ABUSE TRACKER

A digest of links to media coverage of clergy abuse. For recent coverage listed in this blog, read the full article in the newspaper or other media source by clicking “Read original article.” For earlier coverage, click the title to read the original article.

April 3, 2012

Extradition of Pinoy priest to US over sexual raps approved

PHILIPPINES
The Philippine Star

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Diocese settles another priest abuse case against former Dover pastor

NEW JERSEY
Daily Record

Written by
Abbott Koloff
Staff Writer

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

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

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

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.

Parents demand apology from priest after explicit image incident

NORTHERN IRELAND
Tyrone Times

Published on Tuesday 3 April 2012

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

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

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

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.

RTE HEAD RETIRES FOLLOWING MISSION TO PREY INVESTIGATION

IRELAND
Galway Bay FM

April 3, 2012

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

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

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

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

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.

Priest, admitted abuser, told to keep a low profile

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By John P. Martin
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Irish Priest Accidentally Shows Gay Porn

NORTHERN IRELAND
Religion Dispatches

Post by Katie Toth

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

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

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

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.

Jury hears dozens of memos from Philly archdiocese

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
San Luis Obispo Tribune

By JOANN LOVIGLIO | Associated Press

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

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

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

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

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

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.

SNAP blasts Diocese of Great Falls

MONTANA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Judy Jones on April 03, 2012

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

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

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

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

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.

Statement regarding Fr. Dennis Gray

TOLEDO (OH)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Blaine on April 03, 2012

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

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

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

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

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

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.

SNAP responds to extradition of former Fargo priest

NORTH DAKOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by David Clohessy on April 03, 2012

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

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

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.

Jury Hears Dozens of Memos From Philly Archdiocese

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
ABC News

PHILADELPHIA April 3, 2012 (AP)

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

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

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

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.

Roman Catholic Church investigating …

NORTHERN IRELAND
New York Daily News

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

By Nina Mandell / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

RTÉ decides to axe Prime Time Investigates

IRELAND
The Journal

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

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

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

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

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.

RTE’s news head retires; current affairs editor resigns

IRELAND
Breaking News

03/04/2012

The Managing Director of RTÉ’s News and Current affairs division, Ed Mulhall, has retired from the organisation with effect from March 2012.

Ken O’Shea has confirmed that he has resigned from his post as Editor of Current Affairs.

He is transferring to an assignment in television, reporting to the Commissioning Editor for RTÉ Two.

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.

RTE axes Prime Time following watchdog report

IRELAND
Irish Independent

Tuesday April 03 2012

RTE’S Prime Time Investigates has been axed while a new current affairs unit will be established at the TV station following a report from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland into a defamatory programme on Fr Kevin Reynolds.

The head of news Ed Mulhall has retired from the organisation while editor of current affairs Ken O’Shea has resigned from his post and will transfer to another assignment in television.

The move comes just a day after the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland compliance committee issued a report into the programme.

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.

Current affairs show taken off air

IRELAND
Leinster Express

RTE’s award-winning current affairs series Prime Time Investigates has been taken off the air for good.

The show, which was responsible for the hugely damaging and defamatory Mission To Prey programme, has been shelved in an attempt to rebuild public trust.

Noel Curran, RTE director general, announced the move as part of wide-ranging reforms in its personnel, management and operations in the current affairs division.

“Mistakes will happen in broadcasting and in journalism, no matter what changes are made. Programme makers must be and will be supported in making challenging programming,” he said.

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.

RTÉ MD of News & Current Affairs Ed Mulhall retires, changes to current affairs announced

IRELAND
RTE News

RTÉ has announced significant changes in the personnel, management structure and operations of its current affairs output.

Yesterday, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland announced it had made a decision in relation to its investigation into the Prime Time Investigates programme, A Mission to Prey.

RTÉ has not yet received formal notification of its decision or the finalised report.

However, the broadcaster’s director general said today that pending the conclusion of the BAI process, RTÉ must deal with issues that have arisen in respect of current affairs programming, and several key changes and actions will now take place.

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.

RTÉ given report on libelling of priest

IRELAND
The Irish Times

RONAN McGREEVY

RTÉ IS to find out shortly if a fine of up to €250,000 is to be imposed upon it as a result of the station’s libel of Fr Kevin Reynolds.

The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) has sent a copy of the independent report into the matter along with notification of any sanction to RTÉ for consideration.

The station will be given 14 days to respond or make submissions.

At the end of the process the BAI will publish the report into the libel action and announce any financial sanctions it might impose on the broadcaster.

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.

Pinoy priest to be extradited to US for child sex abuse

PHILIPPINES
ABS-CBN

by Ina Reformina, ABS-CBN News

Posted at 04/03/2012

MANILA, Philippines – A Filipino priest will face trial for child sex abuse in the United States after the Court of Appeals (CA) First Division upheld a lower court’s order for the priest’s extradition.

CA Associate Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier, in a 22-page ruling, said Fernando Laude Sayasaya should be extradited because the evidence against himon the alleged sexual offenses “met the standard of probable cause.”

Sayasaya allegedly committed “gross sexual imposition” on two 15-year-old boys on several occasions between July 1995 to August 1998, while he was assigned as a priest at the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in West Fargo, North Dakota.

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.

RTÉ’s head of news steps down

IRELAND
The Irish Times

RONAN MCGREEVY

RTÉ’s head of current affairs Ed Mulhall has retired and the editor of Prime Time Investigates Ken O’Shea has resigned from the programme over the Fr Kevin Reynolds libel affair.

The announcement was made to staff in RTÉ this afternoon in a message from director-general Noel Curran.

The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) announced yesterday that it had completed its report into the Prime Time Investigates Programme that had libelled Fr Reynolds. It had sent copies of the independent investigation into the programme to RTÉ. The investigation was carried out by former BBC Northern Ireland controller Anna Carragher.

The programme, which was broadcast last May, falsely accused Fr Reynolds of raping a minor while working as a missionary in Africa and fathering a child by her.

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.

CA allows extradition of ex-Pinoy priest to US to face sexual molestation raps

PHILIPPINES
Zambo Times

by Perfecto T. Raymundo Jr.

The United States government sought Sayasaya’s extradition so that he can face the two counts of gross sexual imposition filed by brothers Hugo Zamarron and Pablo Zamarron before the District Court, East Central Judicial District, Cass Country, North Dakota.

The Zamarron brothers alleged that Sayasaya engaged them in sexual contact in separate occasions at their residence and at the church.

In its decision, the CA echoed the Manila RTC’s findings that the affidavit of detective Grey Clayton Warren of the Police Department of West Fargo, North Dakota, who interviewed the minor victims that described in detail the illegal acts committed by the priest were credible.

“This Court gives respect and credence to the foregoing factual findings, which are amply supported by the evidence on record,” the CA said.

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.

DAILY GRINDER: Priest Abuse Case Gets Sicker

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Weekly – Daily Grinder

Apr 3, 2012 by Randy LoBasso

Priest abuse cases are always bad. Sure. But there’s something about the Philadelphia case, specifically, that sort of makes me throw up a little, each time I read about it. Maybe it’s the detailed, alleged maniacal perversion of the individual, uncharged priests who will never see the inside of a jail cell or that Cardinal Lynn apparently let it all happen. Or maybe it’s the fact that Archbishop Charles Chaput has publicly endorsed Lynn and focused on national healthcare and school vouchers instead of, I don’t know, showing any remorse for what happened or, let’s say apologizing to the victims of the crimes he and his organization have now come to represent in this city. Either way, yesterday a detective read internal church memos about one priest who “joked about how hard it was to have sex with three boys in one week.” Another priest, Rev. John Cannon, used to sneak into a cabin at a church-run camp, “groped the boys in their beds, and forced them to do the same to him.”

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.

Church vs International Law debated

TOLEDO (OH)
WUPW

[with video]

TOLEDO, Ohio (WUPW) – Legal experts and leaders of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests wrangled over the complaint SNAP lodged with the International Criminal Court in a legal debate Monday.

It asks the court to investigate the leaders of the church for allegedly allowing priest abuse to happen.

SNAP leaders say this is not about putting the catholic religion on trial.

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.

Cardinal launches investigation into priest’s porn presentation to parishioners

NORTHERN IRELAND
Irish Central

By
CATHY HAYES,
IrishCentral Staff Writer

Published Tuesday, April 3, 2012

The Archdiocese of Armagh, headed up by Ireland’s Primate Cardina Sean Brady, has launched a formal investigation into Father Martin McVeigh, the Tyrone priest who accidentally aired gay porn to members of his parish during a PowerPoint presentation for parents of First Communicants.

Last week McVeigh was setting up a PowerPoint presentation for a group of parents, in preparation for the parish’s upcoming First Holy Communion services. Sixteen gay porn images allegedly flashed on the screen when McVeigh inserted his USB into the computer.

Brady released a statement on the matter. He said the images had been “immediately removed” from the overhead projector’s screen and he added that McVeigh had “no knowledge of the offending imagery”.

The Archbishop said the Church had immediately sought the advice of the local police who said that no crime had been committed.

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.

Priest allegedly bragged about having sex with boys

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
WFMZ

PHILADELPHIA –
Jurors in the Philadelphia priest sex abuse trial heard startling testimony Monday about a priest who allegedly bragged about having sex with boys.

A detective took the stand and read a memo about a priest who quote “joked about how difficult it was to have sex with three boys in one week.”

Monsignor William Lynn is on trial for child endangerment and conspiracy. He is the first Roman Catholic church official in the U.S. charged for his handling of priest-abuse complaints.

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.

Taking a side…

MASSACHUSETTS
Irish Central

Taking a side in a Boston Irish row – Kevin Cullen’s attack on Eugene O’Flaherty

[Let’s give justice time]

Larry Donnelly

What I’m about to write might not be too popular in the Boston Irish community – or elsewhere, for that matter.

On the pages of the Boston Globe last week, columnist Kevin Cullen blasted Massachusetts State Representative Eugene O’Flaherty (D-Chelsea). Cullen accused O’Flaherty of “stifling a proposal to eliminate the statute of limitations on prosecuting child sexual abuse crimes” in his capacity as co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee. O’Flaherty responded by stating that he took issue with being depicted as someone “unconcerned about the murder of children’s souls” and by announcing that he would resign his chairmanship at the close of the current legislative session.

Kevin Cullen and Eugene O’Flaherty have very close ties to their ancestral country. Cullen was based here as a Globe correspondent for a number of years and is regarded as one of the most knowledgeable journalists in the United States on all things Irish. He continues to contribute regularly to Irish newspapers and is a frequent guest on national radio.

O’Flaherty was born in Boston to emigrants from Co. Kerry, spent nearly as much time in Kerry as he did in Boston growing up and is a first cousin to the McEllistrim Fianna Fáil political dynasty in Kerry. As a state legislator, he spearheads a number of different initiatives to foster cooperation between Massachusetts and Ireland on several fronts.

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.

NSAC SAalutes Jason Berry’s Ire

UNITED STATES
National Survivor Advocates Coalition

We are pleased to congratulate author Jason Berry on being named the Investigative Reporter and Editors (IRE) award winner in the book category for the great work he produced in “Render Unto Rome: The Secret Life of Money in the Catholic Church.”

IRE announced its award winners yesterday.

Here are the judges’ comments regarding Mr. Berry and “Render Unto Rome.”

Author Jason Berry delves deeply into a topic few have examined – the secretive finances of the Roman Catholic Church. Using voluminous background research that takes the reader back centuries, Berry uncovers abuses of the trust of church members by influential bishops who diverted funds intended for philanthropic purposes into accounts used for plugging Vatican operating deficits or defending priests accused of pedophilia. Berry details how the modern church is systematically closing churches in poorer parishes while at the same time opening churches in affluent suburbs where the weekly “take” is greater.

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.

Operatie Kelk in handen van deken Brusselse onderzoeksrechters

BELGIE
Zita

Operatie Kelk, het gerechtelijk onderzoek naar schuldig verzuim bij seksueel misbruik van kinderen in de katholieke kerk, is in handen van een nieuwe onderzoeksrechter. De rechter die het onderzoek in handen had, Wim De Troy (foto links), is sinds 1 april geen onderzoeksrechter meer.

Rechtbankvoorzitter Luc Hénart heeft nu beslist het dossier in handen te geven van onderzoeksrechter Colette Callewaert, de oudst benoemde Brusselse onderzoeksrechter en dus deken van de onderzoeksrechters.

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.

Deetman verwerpt kritiek op misbruikrapport

NEDERLAND
Kerknieuws

Het onderzoek over misbruik in de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk berust op feiten en zorgvuldige afwegingen. Dat schreef de commissie-Deetman vrijdag in een notitie aan de Tweede Kamer.

De volledigheid van het rapport, dat in december verscheen, werd de afgelopen tijd in twijfel getrokken. Volgens NRC Handelsblad ontbreekt in het rapport informatie over castraties in de jaren ’50 in het jongensinternaat Harreveld en de bemoeienis van Vic Marijnen, in de jaren ’50 bestuursvoorzitter van Harreveld en later minister-president. De commissie verwierp die kritiek vrijdag en stelt dat de informatie in de artikelen niet berust op feiten.

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.

‘Ook rol psychiatrie bij misbruik bekijken’

NEDERLAND
Skipr

De overheid moet ook de rol van de psychiatrie en psychiaters bij seksueel misbruik in de kerk en andere instellingen onderzoeken. Dat bepleitte slachtofferkoepel Klokk maandag.

Volgens de organisatie is extra wetenschappelijk onderzoek nodig naar mogelijke medische ingrepen, maar ook naar verbanden tussen psychiatrie, justitiële instanties en kerkelijke organisaties. Vorige maand ontstond ophef over berichten over mogelijke gevallen, in de jaren vijftig, van castratie om homoseksuele gevoelens bij jongens uit te bannen. Klokk roept de Tweede Kamer op bij de regering aan te dringen op het aanvullende onderzoek.

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.

Irish Church Launches Probe After Priest Inadvertently Shows Gay Porn During Meeting

IRELAND
International Business Times

By Amrutha Gayathri:

April 3, 2012

The Roman Catholic Church in Ireland has said that it is looking into claims that a priest inadvertently showed gay pornographic images during a PowerPoint presentation to the parents of children who were set to receive their first communion.

Priest Martin McVeigh has been accused of showing a series of “indecent images of men” while using a projector March 26 to a group of 26 parents at a grade school in Pomeroy, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, the BBC reported.

The parents, who were shocked to watch as many as 16 sleazy images on the big screen, told reporters that the images were from the memory stick the cleric inserted into the computer port before the presentation. However, the priest said that he had no knowledge of the images. “I don’t know how it happened but I know what happened,” McVeigh was quoted as saying.

“He was visibly shaken and flustered,” a parent told the BBC. “He gave no explanation or apology to the group and bolted out of the room. The coordinator and the teachers then continued with the presentation.”

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.

CA allows extradition of Filipino priest accused of sexual molestation in US

PHILIPPINES
Inquirer

By Tetch Torres
INQUIRER.net
4:41 pm | Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012

MANILA, Philippines—The Court of Appeals allowed the extradition of a former Filipino priest to the United States who is facing a case of sexually molesting two minors from 1995 to 1998.

In a 23-page decision, the appeals court’s first division through Associate Justice Amy C. Lazaro-Javier, denied the petition filed by Fernando Sayasaya, formerly assigned as a priest at the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in West Fargo, North Dakota and/or at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fargo, North Dakota.

Sayasaya sought a reversal of the Dec. 28, 2010 decision of the Manila City Regional Trial Court who found probable cause to grant the petition for extradition filed by the Department of Justice (DoJ) on behalf of the US government.

The US government sought Sayasaya’s extradition so that he can face the two counts of gross sexual imposition filed by brothers Hugo Zamarron and Pablo Zamarron before the District Court, East Central Judicial District, Cass Country, North Dakota.

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.

Prosecutors Detail Long History Of Alleged Abuse By Priests

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
CBS Philly

By Tony Hanson

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The prosecution in the clergy abuse case alleges defendant Monsignor William Lynn, charged with endangering children by allowing alleged and admitted predator priests to remain in ministry, is guilty of a pattern of conduct that dates back decades in the Philadelphia Archdiocese.

The prosecution has presented evidence of a priest, Father John Cannon, who allegedly sexually assaulted a series of boys at a school summer camp from 1959 through 1964 and admitted it to church officials. But, he remained in ministry for decades.

And, authorities allege Monsignor William Lynn, who became secretary for clergy in 1992, knew of these allegations, but neither he nor any other church official did anything until a victim came forward in 1992 and threatened legal action.

Then, mental health treatment was ordered, but still Father Cannon continued as chaplain at a girl’s high school until 2004. Cannon was never charged with any crimes. The archdiocese says he has accepted a supervised life of prayer and penance.

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‘I had sex with three boys in a week’: Staggering ‘joke of priest accused of abusing children for years’

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Daily Mail (United Kingdom)

By Damien Gayle

A priest joked about how hard it was to have sex with three boys in one week, claimed internal Catholic church documents revealed in court for the first time yesterday.

The startling testimony came in the trial of Monsignor William Lynn, 61, who is accused of helping the Philadelphia archdiocese bury priest abuse complaints in secret files.

Lynn, who faces charges of child endangerment and conspiracy, is the first Roman Catholic church official to be charged in the U.S. for his handling of priest abuse complaints.

The scandal of child sex abuse by Catholic priests has reverberated internationally, and caused a worldwide crisis of faith in the Roman church.

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Secret church documents presented at clergy trial

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

April 02, 2012|By John P. Martin, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

One priest, the Rev. John Cannon, sneaked into a cabin at night at a church-run camp, groped the boys in their beds, and forced them to do the same to him.

Another, the Rev. Stanley Gana, had a stable of boys rotate through his rectory bedroom, once inviting two at the same time so neither thought he was playing favorites.

In both cases, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia left the men in ministry for years after allegations against them first surfaced, a Philadelphia jury was told Monday.

As the landmark conspiracy and endangerment trial started a second week, prosecutors offered scores of secret church documents in their bid to prove that Msgr. William J. Lynn and other church leaders ignored or failed to act swiftly on claims that priests were sexually abusing children.

By that time, Cannon had similar complaints in his secret file, according to records read at the trial by Detective David Fisher of the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.

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Honoring the tragically flawed is tragically flawed

UNITED STATES
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on April 2, 2012

Why, oh why, does the Catholic Church continue to bestow honors and awards on tragically flawed wrong-doers?

Trial watchers in Philadelphia have been treated to a firsthand view of vile and disgusting human behavior. What makes it worse is that the evildoers are priests and the victims are children. The lede from the Philadephia Inquirer’s Sunday story on the trial is enough to make even the hard-hearted ill:

Stalking. Groping. Gay bondage porn.

A sexually graphic love letter to a grade-school boy.

That they emerged in testimony about priests – and at times, from priests – only amplified the uneasiness.

One would think that the big boss who allowed this activity to continue and flourish would be castigated and forced to live a life of penance and contrition. Not so much.

Disgraced Philly Cardinal Justin Rigali—who retired last year after the Philadelphia Grand Jury exposed the fact that he was keeping more than two dozen accused priests in ministry in 2011—has been honored by the Pope as a special envoy and this week will be a special Mass celebrant at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York.

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Operatie Kelk: huiszoekingen 2010 nietig, Cassatie verfijnt

BELGIE
Knack

dinsdag 03 april 2012

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

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

Operatie Kelk

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

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Medford ex-rector accused of sex abuse

MEDFORD (MA)
Boston Globe

April 03, 2012|By Michael Rezendes

Medford police are investigating allegations that the former longtime rector of Grace Episcopal Church sexually abused a female college student and two high school students during private counseling sessions in the early 1980s.

The former rector, Robert M. Durkee, now 85 and living in New Hampshire, was removed from the priesthood last Tuesday following a January allegation that he sexually abused a female college student in 1980. Durkee was the church rector from 1964 to 1989.

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Hague ‘court of last resort,’ SNAP chief says

TOLEDO (OH)
Toledo Blade

BY DAVID YONKE
BLADE RELIGION EDITOR

It was only after two decades of frustration battling the Catholic Church on behalf of victims of clerical sexual abuse, Barbara Blaine said, that she and SNAP decided to take their case to “a court of last resort”: the International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands.

Ms. Blaine, a Toledo native and lawyer who is founder and president of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, explained the reasoning behind the filing in a panel discussion Monday at the University of Toledo College of Law.

Ultimately, the filing’s goals are to prevent more children from being sexually abused by priests and to encourage victims of abuse to step forward and be counted, Ms. Blaine said. After SNAP filed with the court in September, more than 600 people from 65 nations have contacted the victims-advocacy group saying they were abused by priests, she said.

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Indictment of Fitchburg pastor shocks church members

FITCHBURG (MA)
Telegram & Gazette

By Paula J. Owen TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

FITCHBURG — St. Joseph Parish members are grappling with feelings of shock and betrayal after the indictment last week of their former associate pastor on charges of possession of child pornography and stealing from the church.

The Rev. Lowe B. Dongor, 36, is still at large, said Timothy J. Connolly, a spokesman for District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr., as authorities with a warrant for his arrest try to find him. He is believed to have fled to his homeland, the Philippines.

In July, Rev. Dongor — the Diocese of Worcester’s first Filipino priest — was placed on administrative leave and relieved of his duties from any public ministry after state police were notified by a computer service that one of Rev. Dongor’s laptops contained images of girls around age 10 or 11 with their chests and genitals “prominently displayed.

The computer company copied the images to a thumb drive, stopped work on the laptop and reported its findings to police.

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New internal probe for Swedish ‘sex pastor’

SWEDEN
The Local

Published: 3 Apr 12

A Stockholm-area pastor on probation for having sex with a teen girl in his congregation is to be investigated anew following new accusations that he sexually abused other girls and sent them sexually explicit emails.

In a decision made public on Monday, the cathedral chapter of the Stockholm diocese said it planned to open a new investigation into the pastor’s behaviour.

The decision, taken during a closed-door meeting last week, comes amid calls for the pastor’s resignation from parish members.

“We want to make the point that this isn’t okay. This concerns a pastor in a position which gives him unequal standing relative to the confirmation candidates,” the parish’s deputy vicar told the TT news agency last week.

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Defrocked Priest Heads to Prison

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
NBC 10

By David Chang and MaryClaire Dale
Monday, Apr 2, 2012

Defrocked priest Edward Avery began serving a prison sentence on Monday for his alleged role in the Philadelphia Archdiocese sex abuse scandal.

Avery pleaded guilty nearly two weeks ago for sexually assaulting a 10-year-old altar boy aback in 1999. He turned himself in to authorities in Center City Monday morning. He is sentenced to two and a half to five years in prison.

According to court documents obtained by NBC10, Avery admitted that in 1999, he “engaged in oral sexual intercourse” with a 10-year-old boy while Avery was a priest at St. Jerome’s Parish in northeast Philadelphia. Avery was 57 at the time.

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Sexual abuse slowly coming out of the dark, says journalist Linden MacIntyre

CANADA
Kamloops Daily News

April 2, 2012

By Michele Young
Daily News Staff Reporter

Journalist Linden MacIntyre has known people whose lives were left in shards from sexual abuse. He has reported on it, come from a community affected by it and talked to the victims of it.

And the veteran CBC reporter has written two fictitious books dealing with the dynamics and after effects of sexual abuse.

On Monday morning, MacIntyre — a self-confessed storyteller from childhood — explained his theories as to why sex abuse is not openly talked about in society. His presentation was the third Barrett Lecture on Child, Family and Community Welfare held at Thompson Rivers University.

He offered the audience of about 200 people gathered in the Irving Barber Centre ideas and insights he has gathered from 50 years of reporting, researching and writing.

Much of what he discussed was tackled in his Giller-prize winning 2009 book, The Bishop’s Man. The follow-up to that, Why Men Lie, has just been published.

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Priest arrested again after another alleged victim comes forward

LOUISIANA
KATC

[with video]

by Shawn Kline

Another victim steps forward accusing a former Lake Charles priest of more sex crimes.

The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office says after more than 20-years of silence, a second victim has told detectives his story.

Mark A. Broussard served with the Diocese of Lake Charles with at least three different churches until 1994 when he resigned from the priesthood. He now faces 100 counts of sexual battery and another 40 counts of aggravated rape in addition to more charges from a separate victim.

“These incidents were documented but never reported to law enforcement,” Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Tony Macuso said.

The Sheriff says Broussard sexually abused a total of four children in the late 80’s and early 90’s and each of these cases was documented by the Diocese of Lake Charles.

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Pinoy ex-priest ordered extradited to US for sex abuse raps

PHILIPPINES
GMA News

Mark Merueñas, GMA News April 3, 2012

The Philippine Court of Appeals (CA) ordered the Philippine government to send a former Filipino priest in Fargo, North Dakota — Fernando Sayasaya — back to the United States to face sexual abuse charges filed by two brothers.

In a 23-page decision penned by Associate Justice Amy C. Lazaro-Javier, the CA’s Fifth Division upheld a December 2010 order of the Manila Regional Trial Court to extradite Sayasaya.

Concurring with the ruling were CA Presiding Justice Andres Reyes Jr., and Sesinando Villon.

The Manila court earlier granted a request made by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on behalf of the US government to extradite Sayasaya for two counts of gross sexual imposition filed by brothers Hugo and Pablo Zamarron.

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April 2, 2012

CPSO re-arrests former priest on more charges of sexual battery, rape

LOUISIANA
Sulfur Daily News

By Staff reports
Southwest Daily News

Posted Apr 02, 2012

Lake Charles, La. —

The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office re-arrested former priest Mark A. Broussard Monday and charged him with 100 counts of sexual battery and 40 counts of aggraated rape.

Broussard, who was residing in Duson, was arrested in March after an investigation into accusations made by a victim when he was a boy between January 1986 and December of 1991 — when he was 11-16 years of age.

The victim is now 36 years old. He stated all of the incidents occurred at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Church in Lake Charles, where Broussard was a priest and where the victim attended school and church.

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Update: Priest Child Abuse Trial So Far

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
My Fox Philly

Kristen Byrne, Blogger
MyFoxPhilly.com

Blogger Kristen Byrne is in the courtroom at the Philadelphia Archdiocese priest-abuse trial. Here is a recap of events so far.

A landmark priest-abuse trial began last week. Prosecutors say the Philadelphia Archdiocese made efforts to cover-up victim complaints. The Archdiocese has been under scrutiny with a history of sex abuse while victims’ accusations were allegedly filed in the secret archives.

Monsignor William Lynn is the first church official in the U.S. to be charged with conspiracy of endangering the welfare of children for allegedly burying allegations of molestation by members in the priesthood, and refusing to remove accused priests from the ministry.

In the Philadelphia prosecutor’s opening statement they said Lynn, as the Secretary of Clergy, was “in charge with investigating crimes on children committed by priests … (but) Lynn kept things in the dark.”

During Lynn’s 1992 to 2004 reign as Secretary, he oversaw about 800 priests in the Philadelphia Archdiocese. His attorneys said Lynn composed a list of 37 accused priests, only to have it shredded by the late Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua. According to the defense, Lynn “did his damnedest.”

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Australia Seeks Extradition of Molester

UNITED STATES/AUSTRALIA
The Jewish Daily Forward

By Paul Berger

Published April 02, 2012.

Australia reportedly plans to seek the extradition of an imprisoned former Jewish studies teacher to face charges of child abuse dating back nearly 20 years.

David Kramer, 51, is currently in a Missouri jail after being convicted of sodomizing a 12-year-old boy in 2008. He was sentenced to seven years in prison but is about to become eligible for parole.

Detective Senior Constable Lisa Metcher told a Melbourne Magistrates Court on April 2 that Australian detectives will travel to America later this month to begin proceedings to extradite Kramer, according to The Age. A spokesman for the United States Department of Justice declined to comment.

As the Forward reported earlier this year, Kramer is one of several men formerly associated with Melbourne’s Yeshivah Centre, a Chabad institution, at the center of alleged sex abuse coverup allegations.

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Police to ask US to hand over ex-teacher

AUSTRALIA/UNITED STATES
The Age

Jewel Topsfield
April 3, 2012

VICTORIA Police will this month seek to extradite a former teacher at a Melbourne Jewish orthodox school from the United States over a child sex abuse scandal that was allegedly covered up by the school.

Parents allege that Yeshivah College in East St Kilda assisted the former teacher, David Kramer, to flee Australia in 1993 after they complained he had sexually abused their children.

Kramer was the focus of a Victoria Police probe launched last year into alleged sexual abuse at Yeshivah College between 1989 and 1993, which has widened to include other alleged perpetrators.

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Jason Berry Wins IRE Book Award

UNITED STATES
Fund for Investigative Journalism

Render Unto Rome: The Secret Life of Money in the Catholic Church, by Jason Berry, has won the prestigious IRE Book Award for 2011. Berry wrote the book with a grant from the Fund for Investigative Journalism. The judges of the annual awards contest sponsored by Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) praised the book with these comments: “Author Jason Berry delves deeply into a topic few have examined – the secretive finances of the Roman Catholic Church. Using voluminous background research that takes the reader back centuries, Berry uncovers abuses of the trust of church members by influential bishops who diverted funds intended for philanthropic purposes into accounts used for plugging Vatican operating deficits or defending priests accused of pedophilia. Berry details how the modern church is systematically closing churches in poorer parishes while at the same time opening churches in affluent suburbs where the weekly ‘take’ is greater. The author makes extensive use of public documents, leaked parish records, trial transcripts, interviews and a wide range of published reporting to paint a complete picture of a heretofore secret network of church financial dealings. For shining a bright light on the shenanigans and inner workings of the Catholic Church, IRE honors Jason Berry and ‘Render Unto Rome.’” Investigative Reporters and Editors is a nonprofit professional organization dedicated to training and supporting investigative journalists around the world.

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Tight Control, Few Explanations in Courtroom 304

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Priest Abuse Trial Blog

Ralph Cipriano

Two jurors were dismissed without explanation Monday in the archdiocese of Philadelphia sex abuse trial. Judge M. Teresa Sarmina started court an hour late with the announcement that Alternate Juror No. 1 would be replacing Juror No. 7, and Alternate Juror No. 2 would be replacing Juror No. 9.

Why were the jurors sent packing? The judge didn’t explain. There was courtroom chatter about medical emergencies and jurors who may have overheard things, but no official explanation was forthcoming.

The jury, which began with 12 regulars and 10 alternates last week, is now down to 12 regulars and 6 alternates. Two alternate jurors were also dismissed last week, without explanation. In a trial expected to last two at least months, losing two jurors a week doesn’t bode well, but it’s early yet.

The judge did announce that court will not be held on Fridays during the trial. Jurors have the option of gong to work on Friday, but “my preference is that you don’t go,” the judge said. She warned jurors that if they do show up for work on Fridays, she would prefer that they wear a sign that says, “Don’t talk to me.” The judge was smiling when she said this, but she may not be kidding.

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Lawyers Spar over Archdiocese’s Secret Archive Files

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Priest Abuse Trial Blog

Ralph Cipriano

What do you do when the prosecution is using hardened police detectives to enter a pile of the archdiocese’s secret archive files into evidence against your client?

Jeff Lindy, representing Monsignor William J. Lynn, went through those same files on Monday, trying to point out whatever positive things they had to say about his client.

Lindy asked Detective Joseph Walsh about the files involving Father Michael Murtha. He’s the priest who was discovered to have a large gay porno collection in his bedroom at the rectory, as well as a love letter that he wrote to a seventh-grader named Drew.

Referring to the priest’s literary efforts as “that awful letter,” Lindy said isn’t it true that the priest admitted the letter was a fantasy, and that there was no allegation that the priest had ever touched the boy, or anybody else for that matter.

“That is correct,” Detective Walsh said.

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Trial: Priest joked about abusing 3 boys in week

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

By MARYCLAIRE DALE
The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA — Jurors in a landmark priest-abuse trial heard Monday about a priest-turned-camp prowler and another who allegedly bragged about having sex with three boys in one week.

Also Monday, two jurors were replaced by alternates, but a gag order prevents lawyer from discussing the reasons for the move.

Monsignor William Lynn is on trial for child endangerment and conspiracy. Lynn, 61, is the first Roman Catholic church official in the U.S. charged for his handling of priest-abuse complaints. Prosecutors say he helped the church bury them in secret files, far from the prying eyes of investigators, civil attorneys and concerned Catholics.

In the day’s most startling testimony, a detective read internal church memos about a priest who allegedly “joked about how hard it was to have sex with three boys in one week.” His accuser also stated that the priest had a “rotation process” of boys spending time sleeping with him.

Defense lawyers argue that Lynn tried to address the problem as secretary for clergy from 1992 to 2004, but was blocked by the late Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua and others in the Philadelphia archdiocese.

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Accused priest to appeal verdict on breached seal of confession

WISCONSIN
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

By Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel

April 2, 2012

A Waukesha County Catholic priest ordered to spend the next year in prayer and penance for indirectly violating the seal of confession, is appealing his verdict to the Vatican, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee has confirmed.

Father David Verhasselt of St. Catherine’s Catholic Church in Mapleton notified the archdiocese that he would be seeking a due-process review by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a step known as an administrative recourse, said Father Paul Hartmann, judicial vicar for the archdiocese.

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Matthew Fox talks obedience and courage, young adults and the church

UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

by Jamie L Manson on Apr. 02, 2012 Grace on the Margins

This is the second part of Jamie Manson’s interview with theologian and writer Matthew Fox. Part I can be found here.

You begin your most recent book, The Pope’s War, by taking a look at the childhood of Pope Benedict XVI and his time in Hitler Youth. How do you think that experience might have impacted his view of the church?

In fascism, there is always an obsession to control and to make obedience the first priority. That’s why fascism was allowed to thrive in Nazi times. As I point out in the book, the wonderful priest and moral theologian Fr. Bernard Haring, who was also conscripted into the Nazi army, did not learn from his experience that obedience is a primary virtue. He saw the horrible price that Europe paid for this distorted notion of obedience. So, he built his entire moral theology on the idea that the real meaning of obedience is responsibility.

We hear that there are some bishops who do not agree with the Vatican on some issues and who see how some of the Vatican’s positions do harm to people, but they obey and cooperate with the Vatican anyway. Do you see parallels to fascism there?

So often it comes down to preferring one’s job security or career advancement to the truth or to Jesus. Susan Sontag defines fascism as institutionalized violence: violence in the name of institution and the act of hiding behind an institution. A good example of this, of course, is the pedophilia crisis. I use the word fascism in the book because all fundamentalisms, not just the Catholic kind, are about freezing power.

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Ex-Calcasieu priest faces additional sex charges

LOUISIANA
KPLC

By E’Lyn Taylor

The following is a Press Release from the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office

Today, the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office has re-arrested former priest Mark A. Broussard at the Calcasieu Correctional Center and charged him with 100 counts of sexual battery and 40 counts of aggravated rape.

This victim is one of the four young boys Broussard indicated while he was a priest he had sexual contact with which is documented in his personnel file but never reported to law enforcement.

The investigation revealed the incidents involving this victim occurred between January 1986 and December 1991 when the boy was between the ages of 11-16 years of age. The victim is now 36 years old. He stated all of the incidents occurred at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Church in Lake Charles, LA where Broussard was a priest and where the victim attended school and church.

Judge Clayton Davis set Broussard’s bond at $2,000,000.

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RTÉ awaits BAI sanction over libel

IRELAND
The Irish Times

RONAN McGREEVY

RTÉ will find out in the coming days if fines of up to €250,000 will be imposed upon it as a result of the Fr Kevin Reynolds libel action.

The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland has sent a copy of the independent report into the Fr Kevin Reynolds libel action along with notification of any sanction to RTÉ for consideration.

RTÉ will be given 14 days to respond or make submissions.

At the end of the process, the BAI will publish the report into the libel action and announce if it has imposed financial sanctions on the broadcaster.

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Memo outlines priest’s abuse of campers

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By John P. Martin
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

The boys, nine of them, came forward in the early 1960s, each recounting how the Rev. John A. Cannon had molested them, sometimes repeatedly, at a summer camp run by their South Philadelphia parish, St. Monica’s.

A priest documented the accusations, Cannon was transferred to another parish, and a letter about the claims went into his personnel file at the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

When one of the boys, now a man, came forward in 1992 and later threatened to sue, Msgr. William J. Lynn told him that Cannon would be immediately removed, as were all priests accused of abuse.

“He was told they are never assigned where children are concerned,” according to a memo on their meeting shown to jurors today at Lynn’s trial in Common Pleas Court.

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There’s much finger pointing in Catholic Church’s child sex-abuse trial

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Daily Local News

The child endangerment trial of the Rev. Monsignor William Lynn resumes in Philadelphia. He has the dubious distinction of being the first Roman Catholic Church official to be charged in the United States in connection with clerical sexual abuse.

While the 61-year-old priest himself has not been charged with sexually abusing children, he has been accused of protecting known pedophile priests from criminal prosecution by not reporting them to civil authorities and instead placing them in assignments where they still had access to children.

Defense attorneys maintain that Lynn, who served as secretary of the clergy from 1992 to 2004 and was responsible for investigating clerical sexual abuse, was just following orders of his two superiors, Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua and Cardinal Justin Rigali, former archbishops of Philadelphia. Bevilacqua, who was battling cancer, died Jan. 31, the day after a judge ruled that his deposition videotaped last November could be included in Lynn’s trial.

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2 jurors removed from Philly priest-abuse trial

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The Olympian

By MARYCLAIRE DALE | Associated Press • Published April 02, 2012

Two jurors in the landmark priest-abuse trial under way in Philadelphia were dismissed Monday, just one week into the trial that could last three months or more.

It’s not clear why the pair were removed before the trial resumed, but two of the eight alternates seated replaced them.

Monsignor William Lynn is on trial for child endangerment and conspiracy. Lynn, 61, is the first Roman Catholic church official in the U.S. charged for his handling of priest-abuse complaints. Prosecutors say he helped the church bury them in secret files, far from the prying eyes of investigators, civil attorneys and concerned Catholics. …

The testimony Monday included a 1992 complaint about a priest who allegedly molested boys at a church-owned camp three decades earlier.

Several junior counselors complained in the early 1960s that the priest was on the prowl at night, molesting them in their tents. They said it was a well-known secret among teen counselors for several years.

The priest remained in ministry, working at three archdiocesan high schools and serving as assistant superintendent of Catholic schools in the mid-1960s. Confronted after a man complained to the archdiocese in 1992, the priest admitted to the “sin” of masturbation and said he had read up on that subject because so many people were mentioning it in the confessional.

The campers, too, referred to it as a “sin” that they had committed with the priest on various occasions. Some did not report it then because they “lacked courage” or feared the consequences, a detective testified, based on his reading of the church files.

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Ex-staff member at Kanakuk Kamps is charged with abusing 3 campers

MISSOURI
KY3

by Jay Scherder, KY3 News
jscherder@ky3.com

12:20 p.m. CDT, April 2, 2012
FORSYTH, Mo. — Kanakuk Kamps is dealing with its second sex abuse case within three years. Lee Bradberry, 22, of Auburn, Ala., is charged in Taney County with sexual crimes involving three campers at its Christian-themed sports camps.

Investigators believe the abuse happened last June. Kanakuk says it fired Bradberry last July and alerted law enforcement agencies after receiving reports of inappropriate behavior by Bradberry.

Two years ago, ex-camp leader Peter Newman pleaded guilty for sexually abusing several boys. He was sentenced to life in prison.
—-
News release from Kanakuk Kamps on Monday morning:

At Kanakuk the safety and protection of children is our number one priority. That is why we have implemented a comprehensive Child Protection Plan that combines rigorous policies, extensive staff training, age-appropriate education for campers and encouragement of all staff and campers to report any questionable behavior. Sadly we now believe that in 2011 that Child Protection Plan was needed to play a role in helping to identify and stop

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Kanakuk staff member arrested on sex charges

MISSOURI
The Turner Report

A $100,000 bond has been set for Lee Bradberry, 22, Auburn, Ala., the second Kanakuk Kamps staff member to be charged with felony sex crimes.

Online Taney County Circuit Court records indicate Bradberry faces two counts of statutory sodomy, two counts of child molestation, and single counts of sexual misconduct and attempted statutory sodomy, all allegedly taking place on June 21, 2011.

Conditions of Bradberry’s bond include his having no contact with the underaged victims.

The charges, which were filed Friday, are the latest bad news to hit the Branson-based Kanakuk. Kanakuk was rocked in 2009 when one of its camp directors, Pete Newman, was arrested for committing several sex crimes against underage boys.

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Gerald T. Slevin, Open Appeal to Reporters at the Philadelphia Inquirer: A Time of Truth About Child Abuse

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Bilgrimage

Jerry Slevin, a retired Wall Street lawyer who frequently comments at Catholic blog sites about the abuse situation in the American Catholic church, has sent me a copy of an open letter he wrote yesterday calling on the Philadelphia Inquirer to keep light shining as brightly as possible on the case now going on in Philadelphia, as well as on the abuse situation in the archdiocese of Philadelphia. I’m very happy to post Jerry’s open letter here and at Open Tabernacle. It’s well-written, powerfully stated, and full of valuable information–as with everything he writes. It also fits right in with what I just posted about E.J. Dionne’s article critiquing centrist complicity in the extremist strategies of the far right.

—————————————

Today’s Philadelphia Inquirer articles make clear that last week’s opening of the criminal trial of Monsignor Lynn, the Philadelphia Archdiocese’s former top priest personnel aide to two former Cardinals, was a watershed moment for Philly Catholics and potentially for worldwide Catholicism. Each of you are both witnesses to, and key participants in, the unfolding events. While the Associated Press and NY Times’ columnists and reporters, among others, have followed this story closely, this has mainly been the Philadelphia Inquirer’s story from the start.

The world is watching closely to see if America’s justifiably fabled free press can finally break through the countless diversions offered worldwide by the Catholic hierarchy and their well funded apologists and well placed advocates. Vatican experts recently indicated at an “abuse summit” in Rome that over 100,000 American children have been sexually abused by priests, yet no bishop has yet been held accountable under the American criminal law system. The Lynn trial may lead to changing that, assuming that Philly District Attorney, Seth Williams, doesn’t stop at Lynn and follows through by investigating diligently up the hierarchical ladder to the ultimate decision makers, the Philly Bishops and Cardinals.

The deceitful hierarchical myth that the priest child sexual abuse problem resulted from a few rogue “bad apples” has already been laid to rest forever by the trial, thanks to the exceptional reporting by you and others. The answers to the bigger questions, whether the full truth will be uncovered and whether the hierarchs ultimately responsible will receive justice, remain to be seen.

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Philadelphia Priest Charged With Endangering Children Was Protecting Them, Defense Says

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
CBS Philly

By Tony Hanson

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — The defense in the Philadelphia clergy child abuse case (see related stories) used some prosecution evidence today in the defense of Msgr. William Lynn, charged with endangering children by allowing predatory priests to remain in ministry.

Testimony has continued to focus on a despicable letter allegedly written by a priest to a boy soliciting sex — a letter that was never sent (see related story).

The defense has presented evidence through cross-examination that Lynn acted within days of learning of the letter, talking to Father Michael Murtha and ordering Murtha to treatment.

The defense told the jury Lynn did his job, but he was not responsible for priest placements.

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Klokk vraagt overheidsonderzoek rol psychiatrie bij kerkelijk misbruik

NEDERLAND
Reformatorisch Dagblad

BEUNINGEN (ANP) – De overheid moet ook de rol van de psychiatrie en psychiaters bij seksueel misbruik in de kerk en andere instellingen onderzoeken. Dat bepleitte slachtofferkoepel Klokk maandag.

Volgens de organisatie is extra wetenschappelijk onderzoek nodig naar mogelijke medische ingrepen, maar ook naar verbanden tussen psychiatrie, justitiële instanties en kerkelijke organisaties.

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Klokk: Ook rol psychiatrie onderzoeken

NEDERLAND
L1

De overheid moet ook de rol van de psychiatrie en psychiaters bij seksueel misbruik in de kerk en andere instellingen onderzoeken.

Daarvoor pleit slachtofferkoepel Klokk. Die zegt dat extra wetenschappelijk onderzoek nodig is naar mogelijke medische ingrepen, maar ook naar verbanden tussen psychiatrie, justitiële instanties en kerkelijke organisaties. Vorige maand ontstond ophef over een verhaal van de Heerlense journalist Joep Dohmen over mogelijke gevallen, in de jaren vijftig, van castratie om homoseksuele gevoelens bij jongens uit te bannen. Volgens Dohmen wist de commissie Deetman van deze praktijken, maar deed geen verder onderzoek.

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KLOKK wil meer onderzoek misbruik kerk

NEDERLAND
Kerknieuws

De koepelorganisatie van slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik in de kerk, KLOKK, wil dat de commissie Deetman aanvullend onderzoek gaat doen. Bij dat onderzoek moet worden gekeken naar de rol van onder meer psychiaters bij het misbruik.

KLOKK komt met deze oproep naar aanleiding van recente berichten over gedwongen castraties, uitgevoerd in opdracht van de kerk. Nieuwe onderzoek moet de rol van de psychiatrie, maar ook justitiële instanties, kerkelijke organisaties en de bestuurlijke cultuur van die tijd bij deze praktijken blootleggen.

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PTSD Genes Uncovered by UCLA Study

UNITED STATES
technology update news

2nd April 2012

Newswise — Why do some persons stoop to post-traumatic highlight commotion (PTSD) while others who suffered a same distress do not? A new UCLA investigate sheds light on a answer.

UCLA scientists have related dual genes concerned in serotonin prolongation to a aloft risk of building PTSD. Published in a Apr 3 online book of a Journal of Affective Disorders, a commentary advise that ionization to PTSD is inherited, indicating to new ways of screening for and treating a disorder.

“People can rise post-traumatic highlight commotion after flourishing a life-threatening distress like war, rape or a healthy disaster,” clarified lead author Dr. Armen Goenjian, a investigate highbrow of psychoanalysis during a Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior during UCLA. “If confirmed, a commentary could eventually lead to new ways to shade people during risk for PTSD and aim specific medicines for preventing and treating a disorder.”

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2 jurors removed …

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Washington Post

2 jurors removed from Philly priest-abuse trial for unknown reasons; trial enters 2nd week

By Associated Press, Updated: Monday, April 2

Two jurors have been dismissed just one week into the landmark priest-abuse trial under way in Philadelphia.

It’s not clear why the pair were removed before the trial resumed Monday, but two of eight alternates replaced them.

Monsignor William Lynn’s child endangerment and conspiracy trial could last three months or more.

The 61-year-old Lynn is the first Roman Catholic church official in the U.S. charged for his handling of priest-abuse complaints. Prosecutors say he helped the church bury them in secret files.

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Priest probed over indecent images

NORTHERN IRELAND
UTV

Published Monday, 02 April 2012

The head of the Catholic Church in Ireland has said a priest who revealed pornographic images during a Holy Communion presentation is being investigated.

Father Martin McVeigh was to host a Powerpoint presentation to parents at St Mary’s School in Pomeroy, Co Tyrone last week.

Instead, around 16 pictures of gay porn which had been stored on a memory stick were shown to the 26 parents and an eight-year-old child who was also at the meeting.

Speaking to the Ulster Herald Fr McVeigh said, “I don’t know how it happened.

“There are people making innuendoes who weren’t even there, but in this day and age these stories grow.”

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Priest Martin McVeigh ‘Accidentally Showed Gay Porn’ During Primary School Presentation

NORTHERN IRELAND
The Huffington Post UK

The Huffington Post UK | By Lucy Sherriff Posted: 2/04/2012

Parents got more than they bargained for when a presentation given by a priest at a primary school included some rather raunchy slides – of gay porn.

Father Martin McVeigh was setting up a slideshow for parents of children taking their First Holy Communion when the sexual images “inadvertently” appeared on the screen. The audience, which reportedly included an eight-year-old boy, were left “horrified and distracted”, according to the BBC.

The holy man is said to have quickly removed his memory stick from the hard drive and “bolted out of the room”.

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 2 April 2012 (VIS) – The Holy Father appointed:

– Archbishop Mark Benedict Coleridge of Canberra and Goulburn, Australia, as archbishop of Brisbane (area 65,000, population 2,760,007, Catholics 643,371, priests 239, permanent deacons 13, religious 890), Australia.

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‘Ook rol psychiatrie bij misbruik bekijken’

NEDERLAND
De Telegraaf

BEUNINGEN – De overheid moet ook de rol van de psychiatrie en psychiaters bij seksueel misbruik in de kerk en andere instellingen onderzoeken. Dat bepleitte slachtofferkoepel Klokk maandag.

Volgens de organisatie is extra wetenschappelijk onderzoek nodig naar mogelijke medische ingrepen, maar ook naar verbanden tussen psychiatrie, justitiële instanties en kerkelijke organisaties. Vorige maand ontstond ophef over berichten over mogelijke gevallen, in de jaren vijftig, van castratie om homoseksuele gevoelens bij jongens uit te bannen. Klokk roept de Tweede Kamer op bij de regering aan te dringen op het aanvullende onderzoek.

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Lotgenotengroepen spreken steun uit voor de commissie Deetman.

NEDERLAND
RKnieuws

VUGHT (RKnieuws.net) – Klokk wil aanvullend onderzoek door de heer Deetman en voortzetting van het toezicht op de uitvoering van aanbevelingen door Deetman en de voormalige commissie, samen met de bij KLOKK aangesloten slachtoffergroepen. Dat is op dit moment noodzakelijk voor het proces van erkenning, genoegdoening, hulp, compensatie en zorg.

Met dit standpunt reageren de vertegenwoordigers van groepen aangesloten bij Klokk op de recente berichtgeving in NRC Handelsblad en de reactie van de heer Deetman hierop.

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Persbericht Mea Culpa

NEDERLAND
Bert Smeets

Mea Culpa is het niet eens met de voortzetting van de commissie Deetman. Zeker nu de heer Deetman zelf wordt gehoord over het weglaten van feiten over castraties en de hele problematiek rond oud-minister-president Marijnen, een partijgenoot van de heer Deetman. Het weglaten van deze feiten komt het vertrouwen van de slachtoffers in de commissie Deetman niet ten goede. De opdrachtgever van de commissie Deetman is de Rooms Katholieke Kerk. Daarom is het geen onafhankelijk onderzoek en zal een vervolgonderzoek door de commissie Deetman niet voldoende meerwaarde hebben. Wij als Mea Culpa United blijven op het standpunt dat er een onafhankelijk onderzoek moet worden ingesteld door de politiek in de vorm van een parlementaire enquête.

Er zijn veel slachtoffers die het eindrapport van de commissie Deetman niet hebben omarmd!! Slachtoffers bij wie het beetje vertrouwen dat er nog was een gigantische deuk heeft opgelopen na het in de publiciteit komen van de gedwongen castraties en de affaire Marijnen. Wij als Mea Culpa United vragen ons af er nog meer zaken door de commissie Deetman niet zijn benoemd.

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why pretend the catholic church is anything but an international child-molesting cartel?

End Times News

The detention of an 83-year-old priest in Brazil for allegedly abusing boys as young as 12 has added to the scandals hitting the Roman Catholic Church in Latin America, even as Chile’s bishops asked pardon on Tuesday for past sexual abuse cases.

The allegations against Monsignor Luiz Marques Barbosa — and two other Brazilian priests — have made headlines throughout the world’s most populous Catholic nation and come amid accusations of sexual abuse by priests across the world.

The scandal erupted when Brazilian television network SBT last month broadcast a tape purportedly showing Barbosa in bed with a 19-year-old that was widely distributed on the Internet.

The station said the video was secretly filmed in January 2009 and sent anonymously to the network. It was not clear if the 19-year-old, identified as a former altar boy who had worked with Barbosa for four years, had previous sexual relations with the priest.

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Archdiocese investigating report of ‘inappropriate imagery’ shown at primary school

NORTHERN IRELAND
The Journal

THE ARCHDIOCESE OF ARMAGH has launched a formal investigation into how a parish priest inadvertently showed pornographic images to a group of parents at a primary school last week.

Fr Martin McVeigh was setting up a PowerPoint presentation in the school last week, at a presentation to the parents of the First Communion class at a school in Co Tyrone.

It was reported that the pictures – depicting gay pornography – appeared on the screen after the priest inserted a USB key containing his presentation.

The Ulster Herald newspaper quoted Fr McVeigh as saying the images could be “legitimately explained”, but that he did not know how the images had appeared on the computer.

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Tyrone parents shocked as priest accidentally airs gay porn during presentation

NORTHERN IRELAND
Irish Central

By
KERRY O’SHEA,
IrishCentral Staff Writer

Published Monday, April 2,

Parents at a Tyrone parish had the shock of their lives when gay pornography flashed on screen during a presentation from the parish’s own Fr Martin McVeigh. Fr McVeigh was giving a presentation to the parents of First Communicants from the parish.

The Herald reports on the shocking story that comes out of St Mary’s School in Pomeroy, Co Tyrone. Fr. McVeigh was reportedly setting up a PowerPoint presentation for the parents of the parish when the pornography flashed on screen, at which point Fr. McVeigh promptly ended the presentation.

The images allegedly came on screen after Fr. McVeigh inserted a USB drive into the computer.

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Priest in ‘indecent images’ row at primary school in Pomeroy

NORTHERN IRELAND
BBC News

An investigation is under way after indecent images were “inadvertently” shown by a Catholic priest during a presentation at a primary school in County Tyrone.

Father Martin McVeigh projected the images onto a screen during a meeting for parents in Pomeroy in preparation for First Holy Communion. One child was also present.

Parents said 16 indecent images of men were displayed. The priest said he had no knowledge of the offending imagery.

Cardinal Sean Brady said the PSNI had indicated that no crime had been committed.

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Holy spirits

AUSTRIA
Austrian Independent

Austrian priest Franz Lauterbacher is hailing success for a project to win back the faithful to the country’s scandal ridden Catholic Church by inviting people who have left the church to discuss their lack of faith – in a brewery run by monks.

The Augustiner Bräu brewery was founded in 1621 in Salzburg and is still owned by and run by the monks.

Austria’s Catholic Church has seen record numbers of people leaving if after a series of sex abuse scandals and growing pressure from reformists who want to see women priests and who want to allow priests to marry.

Father Lauterbacher said that at his first meeting in the brewery nine people decided to return to the church and that numbers had been consistently high at the regular meetings since then.

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Passion Sunday: We Crucify Him Updated

UNITED STATES
Followed By Glory …

I always get choked up during the Passion narrative. It always makes me so sad when we yell out “crucify him!”

I was thinking about how the great religious leaders of the day completely missed it when Jesus was smack in their midst. I cannot help but think about what our religious leaders are missing right in front of them.I think the Passion should be a huge warning to Christians, especially the devout and pious ones, what happens when we are so sure we understand God. When we treat theology as if it is a big math problem and we can give answers in our sleep about right conduct. If we are devout and practicing Catholics, we should walk away from the Passion narrative in complete humility.

Think about it. A hooker, a nobody, takes an EXTREMELY expensive bottle of perfume and dumps it on Jesus. All the proper folks are completely and properly scandalized by such behavior. This hooker then takes her hair and she debases herself at Jesus’ feet. Jesus defends her.

Today, in our Church in America and abroad, our Hierarchy is attacking those who survived being brutalized and raped by God’s priests and representatives. In PA and MO Church lawyers, paid for by faithful Catholics who continue to tithe to their Churches, are attacking volunteer organizations of survivors of those abused by priests. SNAP (Survivors Networks of Those Abused by Priests) has been subpoenaed as lawyers defending the Church seek out any and all means of destroying the case against the Church.

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St. Stan’s has joyous rebirth on Palm Sunday

ADAMS (MA)
Berkshire Eagle

By Derek Gentile, Berkshire Eagle Staffberkshireeagle.com

Posted: 04/02/2012

ADAMS — For Sandra Mod erski, hearing the bells tolling at her church Sunday morning was the most beautiful sound in the world.

“It was so wonderful to hear them again,” she said.

After three years of silence, the bells summoned the faithful to celebrate Mass on Sunday, and Moderski and about 300 other parishioners gathered at the former St. Stanislaus Kostka Church for Palm Sunday services.

Sunday’s service was the first since the church was closed in 2009 following an announcement by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield that the parish would be consolidated at Notre Dame Church as part of a new Pope John Paul the Great parish. After a vigil by parishioners lasting 1,150 days and an appeal that went all the way to the Vatican, the church was reopened as a “chapel/mission” of the parish. But what is most important is that the church has now reopened for worship, as well as weddings, baptisms and funerals.

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St. Stanislaus Kostka reopens among community support

ADAMS (MA)
CBS 3

By Cherise Leclerc

ADAMS, (WSHM) –
Parishioners at one Berkshire County church are thankful after their church re-opened.

The St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in Adams has been closed for three years.

During that time the parishioners held round-the-clock vigils.

That story may sound familiar.

The embattled Mater Dolorosa Church parishioners in Holyoke have been holding round-the-clock vigils for the past seven months since their church doors were officially closed.

Around 60 of their parishioners headed out to Berkshire County on Sunday morning to help celebrate the grand re-opening of St. Stanislaus.

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A Monsignor Goes on Trial

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The New York Times

Editorial

A long overdue step of accountability in the sex abuse of children by wayward Catholic priests — the first-ever trial of a diocesan supervisor for allegedly covering up the scandal — has opened in Philadelphia. The issue of hierarchal responsibility is finally front and center.

Msgr. William Lynn, the supervisor of Philadelphia priests for 12 years, is defending himself from criminal conspiracy charges by alleging that culpability for the scandal extended to the head of the archdiocese — via a secret archive he compiled on predator priests that he said was ordered shredded in 1994 by Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua.

Whether the jury believes Monsignor Lynn’s contention that he innocently did his duty by compiling the archive and handing it on to his superiors is an open question. But its value in shedding light on backroom maneuvering is already clear. A copy was found in a diocesan safe six years ago and turned over to authorities this year as criminal investigators looked into years of alleged rapes and other abuses of schoolchildren. Cardinal Bevilacqua was expected to testify but died earlier this year.

The trial is recapitulating painful aspects of the nationwide scandal in which more than 700 priests had to be dismissed in a three-year period while the church’s upper echelons faced no criminal charges. The trial unfolds eight years after a review panel of laity appointed by the nation’s bishops urgently warned that to repair the church’s reputation “there must be consequences” for ranking church officials who engineered cover-ups.

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Vatican Diary / The Holy Office at the click of a mouse

VATICAN CITY
Chiesa

VATICAN CITY, April 2, 2012 – For a couple of weeks, the Vatican documents concerning Catholic doctrine have been more easily accessible in all the major languages of the world.

On March 16, in fact, the congregation for the doctrine of the faith, CDF, while still keeping its documents on the official website of the Holy See, inaugurated a new website to make it easier to consult them:

> Congregation for the doctrine of the faith

On it one can read all of the postconciliar pronouncements of the congregation. In practice, this means all of those issued after the congregation changed names – with the December 7, 1965 motu proprio “Integrae Servandae” from Paul VI – from congregation of the Holy Office to congregation for the doctrine of the faith.

For easier consultation, the links to the documents are offered not only in a general list, but also in three thematic lists: those of a doctrinal nature (74 documents), those of a disciplinary nature (33), and those concerning the sacraments (39).

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Archbishop Hart reaffirms the Church’s position on a public inquiry

AUSTRALIA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne

Friday 30 March 2012

The Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart, has issued a statement in response to an article in The Age newspaper (29/03/12) in which Father Tony Kerin, Episcopal Vicar for Justice and Peace, appeared to be supporting demands for a public inquiry into the Church’s handling of sex abuse by clergy.

Archbishop Hart pointed out that whether or not an inquiry is called is a matter for the State, not for the Church. He reaffirmed his position as stated in The Age on 15 March 2012 that the Melbourne Archdiocese has nothing to hide from an independent inquiry.

“I am confident that any inquiry into the Melbourne Response process would confirm this,” writes the Archbishop. “The Melbourne Response has functioned effectively since 1996.”

The Archbishop states that Father Kerin is not his “advisor on sexual abuse issues” as was reported.

“Father Kerin has spoken to me to express his concerns about the article in The Age on 29 March. Contrary to what was reported, he [Father Kerin] has told me that he has not “called for an inquiry”. He has said that what he told The Age is that an inquiry would clear the air”, states Archbishop Hart.

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Abuse victim welcomes notice of audit by Spiritans

IRELAND
The Irish Times

PATSY McGARRY, Religious Affairs Correspondent

A NOTICE on the Spiritans (former Holy Ghosts) congregation’s website announcing it has invited an audit of its handling of clerical child abuse allegations has been welcomed by abuse victim Mark V Healy.

The review follows a lengthy campaign by Mr Healy to have it put in place. The audit, by the Church’s National Board for Safeguarding Children, will take place in May, and its findings will be published.

Mr Healy was abused as a pupil at St Mary’s College, Rathmines, Dublin, by a Spiritans priest who was convicted in the courts. He said the audit was “a first regarding an Irish review of a missionary order” and “a first to be carried out anywhere in the world” on a missionary order.

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Archbishop, Anglicare chief welcome Cummins Report

AUSTRALIA
Anglican Diocese of Melbourne

2/04/2012

by Staff writer

The Cummins Report, which was the outcome of an inquiry into the protection of vulnerable children in Victoria, was released on 28 February. The Report made 90 recommendations, including that the reporting of child abuse should be mandatory for clergy, and that a separate inquiry should be conducted into religious organisations.

Archbishop Freier made the following media statement in response to the Report on 29 February:

The Anglican Diocese of Melbourne strongly welcomes the intent of the Cummins Report which is to improve outcomes for Victoria’s vulnerable children.

The Diocese is presently working through the detail and recommendations of the report but can confirm that:

•Clergy and church workers within the Diocese of Melbourne have an existing obligation to report criminal offences and matters of child sexual abuse;
•The Anglican Church takes its responsibilities to the community very seriously and has well established and independent processes for complaints and reporting;
•The Anglican Church strongly welcomes any measure which strengthens protection for vulnerable children, and in 2009 the Church undertook an independent study of child sexual abuse within the Anglican Church of Australia, the findings of which were made public and made available in June 2009.

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April 1, 2012

Priest cleared of abuse allegation

IRELAND
The Irish Times

A TIPPERARY parish priest returned to his ministry on Saturday night with an unblemished character after an abuse allegation against him was stood down.

Fr Tadhg Furlong (62) will now return to his post as parish priest of Cappawhite, Co Tipperary.

Speaking at Mass on Saturday evening, the Archbishop of Cashel and Emly Dermot Clifford said Fr Furlong “has endured the prolonged ordeal of his standing aside with outstanding courage and honour. His approach has been fully in keeping with the dedication which he has shown throughout his priestly life to selfless service of church and community.”

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Clergy sex abuse support group formed

NEW MEXICO
Gallup Independent

[The Gallup Independent is now completely online; however, readers must pay for access to the website]

Published on March 26, 2012 in the Gallup Independent:

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Independent correspondent
ALBUQUERQUE — A new, online support network for clergy sex abuse survivors is being formed to assist survivors from New Mexico, Northern Arizona and Native American communities.

The group, Hope Heal Help, has a website — www.hopehealhelp.net — and is sponsoring two meetings in Albuquerque this week. One of the group’s organizers, Hank Estrada of Moriarty, talked about the goals of the group in a telephone interview Wednesday. Estrada, who said he is a survivor of both family sex abuse and clergy sex abuse, is the author of “UnHoly Communion — Lessons Learned from Life among Pedophiles, Predators, and Priests.”

“We’re starting from the ground up,” Estrada said of the group. “We’re helping ourselves out because we’re not getting help any other way.”

According to Estrada, Hope Heal Help is a grassroots, online volunteer network open to clergy sex abuse survivors, their partners and family members. It will offer safe, confidential and non-professional support to help individuals emotionally heal from their abuse and move on to live healthy and happy lives, he said.

“It doesn’t have to run your life,” Estrada said of sexual abuse. “You can put your energies elsewhere.”

The group formed after the recent death of former Santa Fe Archbishop Robert F. Sanchez, Estrada said. A number of clergy sex abuse survivors were dismayed to see many Catholic Church officials, lay people and even news media representatives heap praise on Sanchez while giving little recognition to the role Sanchez played in covering up sex abuse in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and in his own personal life, he said.

However, Estrada said, the Hope Heal Help group is not affiliated with the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests. Although Estrada said he once volunteered as a SNAP representative and admires some of the work they’ve done, he said the members of Hope Heal Help are more interested in offering personal support for clergy sex abuse survivors rather than pursuing SNAP’s more confrontational tactics with institutional church leaders.

“Our interest is not in confronting the church. … In my opinion, that’s a waste of time,” Estrada said. “We need to focus on ourselves and how we can heal ourselves.”

Hope Heal Help will offer a free support and discussion group at 6-7:30 p.m. Wednesday at 609 Gold St. SE in downtown Albuquerque. The group is open to male and female clergy abuse survivors, their partners and supporters. Estrada said the group will use some meeting guidelines from 12 Step programs to insure that participants can respectfully share and listen in a safe and confidential manner. Individuals interested in attending are being asked to call or email in advance to confirm their attendance. The group is scheduled to meet on the last Wednesday of each month at the same time and location.

On Saturday, Estrada will be the featured speaker at a lecture and book signing at 10 a.m.-noon at the Hear Better, See Better store, located in the Cost Plus World Market shopping center, just west of Menaul and Carlisle. Estrada’s presentation, “Healing the Unspeakable: Life After Abuse,” will be followed by a question-and-answer session and a book signing. The event is open to anyone, but there is a $15 admission fee, which Estrada said will help cover the cost of renting the facility. Interested participants are also asked to confirm their attendance in advance via phone or email.

Estrada said he will discuss six steps that he believes contribute to healing from sexual abuse: researching sources, disclosing what happened, seeking appropriate counseling, finding support, volunteering to help others, and moving forward. Estrada will also have copies of “UnHoly Communion” for sale.

In his book, which he published in 2011, Estrada writes about the abuse he endured in his home and church. According to Estrada, he was sexually molested as a child for more than a decade by an uncle who lived with his family, and he was also emotionally and physically abused by a violent, alcoholic father. After high school, Estrada was accepted into a Catholic seminary for training into the priesthood. It was then, Estrada said, he was sexually assaulted in his sixth year of studies by the Rev. John Raab, a member of the Claretian Missionary Order who served as his spiritual director. Estrada then left the seminary and abandoned his goals of becoming a priest.

In the years since, Estrada said, he has learned that Raab subsequently supervised seminarians in India and Nigeria. Estrada said he eventually reported the abuse to the Claretian order and later outed Raab in his book. Estrada said he believes Raab has not been laicized, but his work as a priest has been significantly limited.

Information: www.hopehealhelp.net or hopehealhelp@yahoo.com or Hank Estrada at (505) 515-8230

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St. Stanislaus Reopens For Palm Sunday Mass

ADAMS (MA)
iBerkshires

ADAMS, Mass. — The congregation restrained itself until the church began to empty. Then a hoot and a cascade of applause filled the historic St. Stanislaus Kostka Church on Sunday morning in celebration of a reopening that some thought would never come.

The Mass on Palm Sunday marks a new beginning after three years of vigil, appeals to the Vatican and, finally, an agreement brokered in hopes of healing a rift that had threatened to tear the Catholic Community of Adams apart.

“It was a great day in Adams, a great day for the church, a tremendous day,” said a beaming Rev. Daniel J. Boyle afterward. “It’s the unity and peace we need in this community … it’s been a tough three years.”

He likened the attendance of the packed church for the 8 a.m. Mass to that of Christmas Eve.

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The List Minnesota Bishops Do Not Want You to See

MINNESOTA
Minnesota SNAP

[with map of the state]

122 accused villainous clerics

1) Adamson, Thomas [St. Paul Park]
2) Andert, Thomas (Prior) [Abbey] ^
3) Bates, Christopher [Buffalo]
4) Bennett, Andre [Abbey] ^
5) Berres, Peregrin [Abbey] ^
6) Bik, Michael [Anoka, Shoreview] ^
7) Blumeyer, Robert P [Hastings] ^
8) Boyd, Richard [Bagley, Fosston]
9) Brisson, Pascal [Abbey] ^
10) Brom, Robert (Bishop)
11) Bussman, John [Robbinsdale, Rogers] **
12) Carriere, Henry [Crookston, Bemidji, Roseau]
13) Caskey, John [Morris, Chokio,]
14) Chateauvert, Victor [Bull Dog Lake]
15) Connolly, Isaac [StJohn Abbey] ^
16) Dahlheimer, Cosmas [St. Paul]
17) Dean, Mark [Buffalo, International Falls] **
18) DeSutter, Gilbert J [Fridley, Prior Lake]
19) DeSutter, Terry [Abbey staff] ^
20) Dinya, Patrick J [St Paul] ….

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Happy April Fools Day?

UNITED STATES
AlterNet

Joey Piscitelli April 1, 2012

What’s a fool? The dictionary defines it as ; “A person lacking in judgment; one who is victimized; or made to appear foolish; a harmlessly deranged person lacking in understanding; a jester; clown,” etc.

And today happens to be “April Fools Day,” which Wiki defines as a day when people play jokes, hoaxes, and foolishness on one another. Practical jokes are played on friends, family, teachers, colleagues, etc. The person who the hoax is played on, or is fooled, is often called a victim.

When the hoax is successfully played on the victim, then the event can be concluded by saying “April Fool!” And this tradition can be celebrated by all involved in the hoax; to laugh, and share in the merriment of the foolish experience.

No harm done.

Well, maybe. That’s up to interpretation and argument, like everything else. Sometimes, people do not like to be the recipient of a hoax, or to be made a fool by a person who was successful in taking advantage of their trust – as in the definition of a fool as “a person lacking in judgement; or one who is victimized”.

In that sense, I believe, that I am a fool- because that definition haunts me.
I was the victim of a hoax years ago, and I’m reminded of that almost everyday of my life. Especially today, when being a fool is commemorated. I’m still trying to figure out who was it that played the hoax on me. Was it God? Was it the Catholic Church? Was it my belief that priests are the representatives of God on this earth? Or was it myself?
Perhaps it was all of the above. The hoax was complicated.

You see, I was born and raised Catholic, and I had been programmed to believe that God was everywhere, and that he protected me, and that priests were the closest men on earth to God, and that the world was a safe place for me as a child. So I was a happy, fun loving kid, and April Fools Day was something to look forward to. It was a day of clowning, and joking, and nobody was really hurt, because the hoax always ended in a laugh. I was always excited to be the victim in an April Fools antic.

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Help Victims Carry Their Cross and Pray for Church: Join Us Good Friday At Steps of Cathedral

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Catholics4Change

April 1, 2012 by Susan Matthews

During last Sunday’s homily, a priest at St. David in Willow Grove, asked congregants to pray for the victims of clergy sex abuse this Easter season as we enter the clergy sex abuse trial and what could be called the “passion of the Philadelphia Church.” It’s not enough to pray alone at home. More than one victim has explained that they survived the abuse but are still victimized by the turned backs of fellow Catholics. They lost their community when they weren’t believed or were blamed. It’s time to let them know we stand with them against child sex abuse.

This isn’t a protest against the Church, this is a prayer service for the Church. And by Church, I mean us – all of us. What would Jesus do for the victims and to protect children? We are called to be Christ-like. On Good Friday we carry the cross with Jesus. What will you do? Please join us.

Who: Moms, Dads, Survivors, Students, Priests, Nuns, Christian Brothers, Deacons, Teachers… all Catholics

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

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

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

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Kerk verbiedt castratie al eeuwen

NEDERLAND
Trouw

Artsen en geestelijken overtraden de wet, de regels van de kerk en de ethische beroepscode toen ze in in 1956 een twintigjarige jongen lieten castreren om hem van zijn vermeende homoseksualiteit af te helpen. Dat zegt Peter Nissen, hoogleraar cultuurgeschiedenis van de religiositeit aan de Radboud Universiteit.

Hij reageert op een artikel dat zaterdag verscheen in NRC Handelsblad over Henk Heithuis, een voogdijkind dat in de jaren vijftig in een katholieke instelling in Harreveld werd misbruikt. Hij kaartte het aan, maar werd weggestopt in een inrichting en gecastreerd omdat hij homoseksueel zou zijn. Een jaar later kwam hij om het leven bij een auto-ongeluk.

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The Depths of Depravity Revealed As Priests’ Trial Opens

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Catholics4Change

April 1, 2012 by Susan Matthews

Area Catholics are digesting the full scope of priest sex abuse crimes this Palm Sunday as they read the Inquirer. Some clergy tried to prepare their parishes last Sunday for what one called “the passion of the Philadelphia Church.” But what could ready congregations for the details that have emerged during the trial that began on Monday?

I beg Catholics to get past the sickening salacious details to the realization that this happened to terrified children – children just like their own. I don’t like the word scandal so much anymore. Scandal is fluffy stuff compared to what happened.

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HC upholds 7-yr jail term to priest for raping girl in temple

INDIA
Hindustan Times

Press Trust Of India
New Delhi, April 01, 2012

The Delhi high court has upheld the seven-year jail term to a priest for raping a 16-year-old girl repeatedly in a temple here, ruing that the “dehumanising act” has been committed by a “trustworthy and respected” person of the society.

“The heinous offence was committed by a priest who is respected in the society and considered to be a trustworthy person. But disregarding morality and consequence of his act, he committed such a barbaric offence upon a young girl repeatedly.

“In my considered opinion, the prosecution has brought home the guilt of the appellant beyond reasonable doubt,” Justice M L Mehta said and dismissed the plea of the convict.

Justice Mehta upheld the lower court’s conviction and award of seven years rigorous imprisonment to Prem Dass, a priest with Lord Shiva temple in North West Delhi here who repeatedly raped the school-going girl inside the temple.

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Trenton diocese poll seeks ‘sheep’ who’ve strayed

NEW JERSEY
Times of Trenton

By Erin Duffy/The Times

Pamela Thoresen first left the Catholic Church in the early ’90s, when she was still living in California. Asked to sign her name to a prewritten statement opposing a right-to-die voter referendum after listening to a long recording by Pope John Paul II on the sanctity of life, Thoresen felt her personal opinions weren’t welcome or appreciated.

“The Church uses the term ‘flock’ for its members, and it isn’t just a euphemism — they treat their congregants, in my opinion, like sheep,” she said. …

“Eliminate the extreme conservative haranguing,” one respondent wrote.

Some survey respondents pointed fingers at church leadership, blaming the Church for its response to the clergy sex-abuse crisis and characterizing some pastors as haughty and unapproachable, “with a holier-than-thou bearing.” In one of the most striking responses, one woman said a priest refused to attend her 9-year-old son’s burial because it wasn’t at a Catholic cemetery.

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Polish church’s survival an underdog tale

ADAMS (MA)
Albany Times Union

By Paul Grondahl

Published 08:19 p.m., Saturday, March 31, 2012

ADAMS, Mass. — You can’t keep a strong Polish church down.

On this Palm Sunday, a standing-room-only crowd of more than 600, including busloads from out of town, is expected at the 8 a.m. reopening Mass at St. Stanislaus Kostka Church.

It is the first time in more than three years that the Eucharist is to be consecrated within the twin-steepled, yellow-brick Gothic landmark known affectionately as St. Stan’s. The Mass follows a contentious dispute set off by the church’s December 2008 closure that reached to the highest level of the Vatican courts and resulted in an unprecedented victory for the occupying force.

For 1,150 consecutive days, church members kept a vigil at St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in defiance of Bishop Timothy McDonnell in Springfield and stood their ground.

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