ABUSE TRACKER

IRELAND
The Journal

THE GOVERNMENT HAS restated that there are no immediate plans to reconsider the decision to close Ireland’s embassy in the Vatican.

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore announced last November that the Irish embassy in the Vatican would be closed as part of the government’s programme of cuts to its budget with embassies in Iran and East Timor also shuttered.

The decision was criticised by Catholic groups and opposition parties who expressed scepticism as to the reasons behind the closure of the embassy following a cooling of the government’s relationship with the Vatican in the wake of the Cloyne report into clerical sex abuse in a Cork diocese.

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GEORGIA
The Associated Press

By GREG BLUESTEIN, Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — Jewish leaders are criticizing a ceremony that involved a controversial megachurch leader being wrapped in a religious scroll and exalted as a “king” to the applause of his parishioners.

The video from a service last Sunday at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church shows Rabbi Ralph Messer, a Messianic preacher, instructing two men to slowly wrap Bishop Eddie Long in a large scroll that’s purported to be the Torah.

“It doesn’t matter where you go, how you try to attack him. He’s sealed,” Messer proclaims, before the scroll is opened to reveal a teary-eyed Long. Moments later, Long was seated in a plush chair, covered in a prayer shawl while holding the sacred scroll and lifted by four men.

“He now is raised up from a commoner to a kingship,” Messer proclaims, as the men walk Long’s seat around an adoring crowd.

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GEORGIA
International Business Times

By Toyin Owoseje | February 3, 2012

A video showing controversial US Bishop Eddie Long of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church being crowned ‘King’ by Rabbi Ralph Messer during one of the church’s televised services has sparked outrage with the Christian community.

The 14-minute video clip of the crowning of the embattled preacher, who is at the centre of a sex scandal following allegations that he sexually abused several teenage church members over a period of years, has gone viral just hours after it was uploaded on video sharing website YouTube.

Eyebrows were raised across the globe after viewers watched the uploaded ritual like service, currently making the rounds on the internet.

In the footage of the service on January 29 at New Birth, guest preacher Rabbi Messer, who leads Simchat Torah Beit Midrash (STBM) proclaimed Long to be spiritual royalty.

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GEORGIA
Religion Dispatches

[with video]

Post by Anthea Butler

Hat tip to my Twitter follower @Shugah for sending me this clip of Eddie Long being crowned King at New Birth on Sunday, January 29, 2012.

While most Christians were having regular Sunday services, over at Eddie Long’s New Birth Church in Lithonia, Ga, Ralph Messer, who is part of the Hebrew Roots movement, was crowning Eddie Long King in an elaborate ceremony that included wrapping Long in a Torah Scroll purported to be found at Auschwitz and Birkenau.

In case you’re unable or unwilling to watch: the video shows Messer giving Long the Torah scroll declaring that he is the first man to look upon the scroll after 3000 years. Long is “wrapped in the scroll” and prayed over. Messer asks Long to take a seat, and declares that God gave Long a position of power and authority. He is given the constitution of God as a king (6:49), the Torah, and then, Messer has four men representing the four corners of the earth, (7:04) pick the chair up. Messer then declares that Eddie Long is raised up from a commoner to a King, replete with music, cheers, and a poorly executed blessing in Hebrew. If it weren’t so offensive to Christian and Jewish sensibilities, it would be laughable.

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CANADA
Canada.com

By Robert Hiltz, Postmedia News February 2, 2012

OTTAWA – Anglican priest Rev. Wayne Lynch, convicted of indecent assault in 1999 for incidents that occurred in the ’70s, resigned from a church Thursday that recently allowed him to join in eucharist celebrations.

Lynch’s victim said Thursday he’s relieved by the resignation but he can’t understand why he wasn’t involved in the decision to bring the priest to Annapolis Royal’s St. Luke’s Anglican Parish in the first place.

Glenn Johnson, who was sexually assaulted by Lynch when he was 14 years old, says the decision to give restricted duties to Lynch without any consultation with him doesn’t make sense.

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CANADA
The Chronicle-Herald

February 3, 2012 – 4:34am By GORDON DELANEY Valley Bureau

ANNAPOLIS ROYAL — A former Nova Scotia man who was sexually assaulted by an Anglican priest says he was shocked to learn his abuser had again been performing duties at a small Annapolis Royal church.

The priest resigned Thursday in the wake of the controversy.

In an interview from his Ottawa home, Glenn Johnson said he was “flabbergasted” that Rev. Wayne Lynch had been performing duties at St. Luke’s Anglican Church before his resignation.

“I would think that the church would know better.”

Johnson, 48, was sexually assaulted by Lynch in the late 1970s while serving as an altar boy at All Saints Anglican Church in Brooklyn, Queens County. He was 13 at the time.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

[Garda Inspectorate reports]

By Michael Brennan Deputy Political Editor

Friday February 03 2012

GARDA Commissioner Martin Callinan said yesterday that the force had given “huge attention” to improving its handling of child sexual abuse investigations in the wake of a critical report.

He was speaking after a Garda Inspectorate report found fault with the gardai for under-reporting child sexual abuse allegations in its crime statistics and for lacking specialist child abuse investigators.

But Com. Callinan said the force had drawn up a new policy on child sexual abuse investigations since it had received the draft report in 2010.

“All of the areas which have been identified in the report have received huge attention since,” he said.

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

Thursday, February 02, 2012

Nothing is more important than protecting our children.

So begins Kathleen O’Toole, head of the Garda Inspectorate, in her review of the force’s response to child sexual abuse.

Yet the Ferns, Dublin, Cloyne and Ryan reports revealed occasions when gardaí were more concerned with protecting the reputation of the Catholic Church or shielding themselves from the hassle of a potentially difficult investigation.

Chief Inspector O’Toole frankly acknowledges those failings, not only historic but, more importantly, current. On communication between the agencies tasked with child protection, she states: “Effective collaboration still appears to be the exception and not the rule.” One example is the failure to complete joint action sheets between the HSE and the gardaí when a concern about child sexual abuse is reported. In the Dublin Metropolitan Area, only 1% of those concerns resulted in a joint action sheet. Across all six Garda regions, the completion rate averaged just 23%.

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FLORIDA
CBS Miami

[with video]

FT. LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – More charges have been filed against a South Florida youth pastor accused of molesting children.

The Broward Sheriff’s Office said another child has come forward to say that they were sexually abused by 48-year old Jeffrey London. During a court hearing on Thursday, the judge ordered that London be held without bond.

London was arrested last week at his Lauderdale Lakes home for allegedly sexually abusing a boy. The alleged victim in the case said he lived with London for more than a decade and he was repeatedly abused during that time.

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NEVADA
The Henderson Press

Written by Carla J. Zvosec

Otis Holland, 55, a Las Vegas pastor wanted on charges of having sex with underage girls, was captured on Wednesday, Jan. 25, in Mexico.

Holland disappeared from the Henderson area in June, after an arrest warrant was issued for him by the Henderson Police. The warrant was for 11 counts of sexual assault of a victim under the age of 16, one count of child abuse and conspiracy to commit a crime.

On a recent airing of Fox-TV’s America’s Most Wanted, the pastor’s crimes were broadcast, bringing in a tip from a viewer who saw the program. The information was delivered to the U.S. Marshals Service, which had been working in conjunction with the Henderson Police in the search for Holland.

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IRELAND
The Irish Times

[Garda Inspectorate reports]

A REPORT by the Garda Inspectorate into consistent failures by members of the force to properly investigate, record and prosecute cases of child sex abuse makes for disturbing reading. An excessively deferential approach and a reluctance to apply for search warrants to secure church records are suggested as contributory factors. It sounds familiar. Hasn’t that kind of weak-kneed reaction to potentially illegal or criminal actions by senior church, business, banking and political individuals been tolerated for decades?

It is important to realise that this investigation was ordered in the aftermath of the Murphy report concerning clerical sex abuse in the Dublin archdiocese and it deals with criticisms of the Garda Síochána from 2009. The report was delivered in 2010, as public anger over denials and cover-ups by the Catholic hierarchy overflowed and a fresh investigation was launched in the Cloyne diocese. In the circumstances, withholding the document to avoid the Garda being caught up in public condemnations was understandable. The official reason given for the delay was “legal constraints”.

Poor management, indiscipline and inadequate Garda record-keeping has come under scrutiny in recent years. The Morris tribunal, which investigated corruption in Donegal, recommended the establishment of a Garda Inspectorate to review professional standards and to promote best international practice. In this case, it found that record-keeping was so poor that up to 65 per cent of sex crimes against children were not officially noted. Many were not recorded as criminal offences. And a poor level of co-operation existed between the Garda and the Health Service Executive in responding to abuse cases.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Hull Daily Mail

A SOLICITOR representing more than 150 victims of alleged abuse at a notorious Market Weighton care home has called for a public inquiry.

David Greenwood, of Jordan’s Solicitors, is fighting for compensation for the men who suffered physical and sexual abuse at the hands of staff at the now demolished St William’s through the 1960s to the 1990s.

He says the Catholic Church should be held to account over the abuse.

Mr Greenwood said: “The Government can either put up with church’s inadequate excuses on safeguarding, or take positive action to improve safeguarding for children.

“The culture of cover-up is embedded in the Catholic Church. It will never be challenged without full public scrutiny.”

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
Fox News

The Associated Press
MILWAUKEE – Billy Kirchen says the sexual abuse began when he was about 11, when his choir director at a Milwaukee parish assaulted him in the 1970s. After five years of abuse he reported the alleged perpetrator, but says prosecutors and officials with the Archdiocese of Milwaukee did nothing.

Now he’s hoping a financial claim against the archdiocese will finally lead to the emotional closure he has craved. Kirchen is one of about 550 people who filed a claim by Wednesday’s deadline. Like many of them he said he’s not looking to cash in — what he really wants is accountability.

The archdiocese filed for bankruptcy protection last year, saying pending sex-abuse lawsuits could leave it with debts it couldn’t afford. As part of the filing, all sex-abuse victims were given until Wednesday to file a claim seeking monetary damages.

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COLORADO SPRINGS (CO)
The Gazette

RYAN MAYE HANDY
THE GAZETTE

A Catholic priest whose duties were suspended after allegations of sex assault of a minor has retired, according to St. Gabriel the Archangel Church in Colorado Springs.

Father Charles Robert Manning, who has been with the church since 2007, had planned to retire this spring, said Dean Doug Flinn, a spokesman for the Diocese of Colorado Springs.

On Jan. 4 Colorado Springs police informed Manning that he is being investigated on allegations of sexual abuse of a child. He was placed on adminstrative leave and suspended from priestly duties.

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CANADA
CKOM

Reported by David Kirton

First Posted: Feb 2, 2012

The man known for being the NHL’s first aboriginal player has opened up about horrible abuse he experienced at a residential school in Saskatchewan.

Fred Sasakamoose spoke on the third and final day of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s community hearing in Prince Albert.

“I feel that I could be able to talk now,” said Sasakamoose, who dressed for 11 games with the Chicago Blackhawks during the 1950s.

As a child, Sasakamoose attended the Duck Lake residential school. He says when he was nine, he was raped by older children in a bush near the school.

“When I got up, I had no clothes on. Sore. Then I started running, put my clothes on and walked out.

“The priest was there. He could have seen it, but there was nothing that he would do.”

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CANADA
CTV

CTVNews.ca Staff

Date: Thursday Feb. 2, 2012

A Nova Scotia priest who returned to the pulpit after he was convicted of sexually assaulting an altar boy has resigned.

Rev. Ron Cutler, acting bishop of the Nova Scotia diocese, said in a statement provided to CTV News Thursday that he accepted Wayne Lynch’s resignation “from any and all participation in the life of the parish” at St. Luke’s Anglican Church in Annapolis Royal, N.S.

Culter sent the statement to Lynch’s victim Glenn Johnson, who spoke to CTV News about his ordeal.

Some parishioners were outraged to see Lynch back after he pleaded guilty in 1999 to indecently assaulting 13-year-old Johnson in the 1970s.

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UNITED STATES
Joyful Heart Foundation

It’s been gratifying to see the Justice Department’s recent revisions to the definition used to compile statistics about rape. Language is an important part of any discussion about sexual abuse—for men, filtered through the lens of cultural expectations of males. Words shape, define and categorize experiences. And the shift may have some deeper implications than are immediately apparent.

On the surface, the change means that the national data on rape will now include males’ unwanted experiences of sexual penetration—not just females’—and removes “forcible assault” as a criterion for inclusion. This will bring the statistics closer in line with the reality many boys and men face daily and with existing laws and prosecutions in many states. Also, the old definition likely contributed to perpetuating the damaging myth, still believed by many, that men can’t be raped. The change is 80 years overdue.

But then I think about individuals and families I’ve worked with over the years, as a child protection social worker, an advocate for adults who experienced sexual abuse and with men who have physically, emotionally or sexually abused their intimate partners. I realize that many people, including many professionals, will still have a lot of misunderstanding about the meaning of “rape” especially when it is applied to boys and men. Conventional wisdom often conflates rape with other forms of sexual abuse and violations of sexual boundaries, assuming the words mean the same thing. This can create great confusion when media reports use widely varying statistics, alternately citing data either on sexual abuse or on rape of boys (and sometimes both) without highlighting the differences in definition or explaining why one figure might appear higher or lower than another.

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic Culture

The Vatican’s chief prosecutor in sex-abuse cases sees a decrease in the incidence of clerical abuse in those countries where the “code of silence” has been broken.

Msgr. Charles Scicluna reports that the rate of sexual abuse among clerics in the US has dropped sharply. But the worldwide figures on child abuse remain “truly alarming,” he says.

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MISSISSIPPI
Catholic Culture

February 02, 2012

A federal judge in Mississippi has dismissed a complaint against the Vatican, brought by insurance commissioners in connection with an elaborate financial scheme conducted by a man who had no connection with the Holy See.

The insurance commissioners of Mississippi, Tennessee, Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas brought their complaint against the Vatican in 2002, after a man named Martin Frankel took funds from insurance companies in a complicated financial scheme.

Frankel, working under a pseudonym, claimed that he was a “financial advisor” to the Vatican, and set up a foundation which he claimed had the personal authorization of the late Pope John Paul II. With those bogus credentials he managed to manipulate insurance companies.

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UNITED STATES
Christian Newswire

Contact: Twila Belk, 563-332-1622, twilabelk@mchsi.com

ATLANTA, Feb. 2, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ — A statement from veteran author and abuse survivor Cecil Murphey:

Minutes ago I read about the latest scandal. The Catholic Diocese of Milwaukee may have to file for bankruptcy because 550 young men have filed claims of abuse against the clergy.

Most of the article was about money — paying the victims and draining the treasury. But I read nothing about the shattered, broken lives of those 550 men.

And only 550 individuals have made claims — which implies there are probably at least that many who don’t have the courage to speak up.

I admire those 550 and how difficult it must have been for them to say, “I was molested.” Male sexual abuse is probably the most under-reported crime in the world. Like women reporting rape two decades ago, the survivors often become victimized again through publicity and often charges of lying.

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UNITED STATES
The Garden of Roses: Stories of Abused and Healing

Virginia Jones

I lay on the couch, unable to feel my right hand and barely able to move my right arm after having undergone elbow reconstruction surgery early that morning. I wondered at the wisdom of the hospital discharging me, but I was a charity case and the need to save money by cutting every corner possible is an ever present reality in America’s healthcare system.

It was Elizabeth, my clergy abuse survivor partner in healing, who insisted on coming to my house to stay over night. Until I broke my elbow last year, I had largely managed to avoid having to go to a doctor since losing health insurance in the process of getting divorced. Elizabeth, with a much larger family than mine, had seen family members through surgeries in recent years, and knew I needed care even if I did not know it. I thought that my teenagers could handle it. They handled me having bronchitis and pleurisy.

Elizabeth, put aside her son and three young grandsons as well as her husband, and came to my house as soon as she could after work and helped me get up from the couch and carry my nerve blocking medication bag to the bathroom and well…do I have to explain in detail?

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UNITED STATES
Pope Crimes & Vatican Evils…

Paris Arrow

Updated February 2, 2012

Today is the feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem or Temple of Solomon. The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple is the fourth Joyful Mystery of the Rosary. Pope John Paul II connected the feast day with the renewal of religious vows. All those renewal of religious vows made by his JP2 Army and all his squad of Rosary fanatics who pray the rosary everyday – could not defeat the JP2 Army – John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army named aptly after his longest reigning papacy where he said and did nothing to stop pedophile priests, read more here http://jp2m.blogspot.com/2011/10/rosary-could-not-defeat-jp2-army-john_06.html . Not once did John Paul II care to meet with one of the victims of the 80 pedophile priests whom Cardinal Bernard Law aided and abetted. John Paul II was too concern with religious vows and appointing red robe wearing Cardinals and Bishops and conducting religious ceremonies like the Pharisees and the Presentation of wealthy investors at the Vatican Bank.

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POLAND
Catholic Sentinel

A Polish priest testified that a man reported to him that he was sexually abused by the former rector of a parish in Kolobrzeg, Poland.

The testimony is believed to be the first by one cleric against another accused of sexual abuse in Poland. The trial comes amid growing complaints about the church’s lack of response to abuse allegations against clergy.

Leading Catholics, as well as representatives of Poland’s Children’s Rights office, have urged the church to adopt clear procedures for handling abuse claims in line with Vatican guidelines.

A Catholic journal reported the Polish church had no “information policy” or “norms of conduct” and lacked psychological checks for clergy and “transparent norms” for vetting employees.

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NEDERLAND
NOG

Amsterdam (ANP) – De Amsterdamse burgemeester Eberhard van der Laan wordt voorzitter van de werkgroep tegen kindermishandeling en seksueel misbruik.

Dat heeft minister Ivo Opstelten (Veiligheid) dinsdag bekendgemaakt tijdens de behandeling door de Tweede Kamer van de uitkomsten van het onderzoek door de commissie-Deetman naar het seksueel misbruik in de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk.

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NEDERLAND
Gemeente

De Amsterdamse burgemeester Eberhard van der Laan wordt voorzitter van de werkgroep tegen kindermishandeling en seksueel misbruik.

Dat heeft minister Ivo Opstelten van Veiligheid bekendgemaakt tijdens de behandeling door de Tweede Kamer van de uitkomsten van het onderzoek door de commissie-Deetman naar het seksueel misbruik in de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk.

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NEDERLAND
VPRO

De verhalen over misbruik van kinderen door leden van de katholieke kerk blijven maar komen. In 2009 kwam een groep leerlingen die in de jaren zestig op katholieke scholen in Engeland en Tanzania had gezeten dankzij het internet weer met elkaar in contact. Ze bleken allemaal het slachtoffer van geestelijk, lichamelijk en soms seksueel misbruik.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The Philly Post

Larry Mendte

I first met Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua when he walked into the NBC 10 studios as a guest on Live @ Issue, the Sunday morning news interview show I started. He was alone, no PR person, no entourage. The Cardinal was both physically and mentally fit. For a half hour he defended Catholicism, attacked then Mayor Rendell for his refusal to support school vouchers, and ended the show with a blessing for Philadelphia. He was charismatic, combative and impressive. I liked him.

This was before the Philadelphia Archdiocese sex-abuse scandal was exposed. Everything the Cardinal fought for in that interview was undone. The Catholic schools that he loved so much would start to wither and close as families started to question their faith. Bevilacqua himself started to wither and fade. When he died in his sleep Tuesday night it was the final resignation of a mind and body that had stopped working years ago.

The last time Cardinal Bevilacqua showed his combative intelligence was in front of a Philadelphia grand jury. He appeared 10 times in 2003 and 2004 and showed much of the same righteous indignation and defense of the Church that I had experienced five years earlier. Only this time, the Cardinal was trying to defend the indefensible: the sexual abuse of children by 63 priests in the Philadelphia Archdiocese.

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OSTERREICH
news@orf.at

Die Klasnic-Kommission, die im Auftrag von Kardinal Christoph Schönborn den sexuellen Missbrauch und die Gewalt an Kindern durch Priester und Ordensleute untersucht, steht nun in einem besonders dramatischen Fall schwer in der Kritik.

Ein Gewaltopfer erhält keine Entschädigung, obwohl zunächst ein Geständnis vorlag und ein Gutachten der Kommission zum Schluss kam, dass die Vorwürfe stimmen, berichtete das Ö1-Morgenjournal am Montag – mehr dazu in oe1.ORF.at.

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OSTERRICH
betroffen

30 Jan, 2012

Ein Täter immer noch im Amt
Klasnic Kommission verweigert Entschädigung
Schönborn und Kapellari wussten davon und unternahmen nichts

(Admont, Wien, 30.1.12 PUR) In Stifte Admont wurde Anton F. (Name geändert) von 1966 bis 1969 von den zwei Padres Koloman V. und Gebhart G. ausgepeitscht und bewusstlos geschlagen. Er musste eiskalt duschen und stundenlang barfuß auf kaltem Steinboden stehen. Einer der Beschuldigten vergewaltigte den Minderjährigen und ejakulierte auf dem blutenden Rücken des Buben, nachdem er ihn zuvor ausgepeitscht hatte. Das Gewaltopfer leidet – in direkter Konsequenz durch die Gewalt der beiden Padres – an einem 70%igen Gehörsverlust am linken Ohr, an einer Schulterluxation, an Depressionen sowie an eine nach wie vor ungeheilten Wunde im Gesäß. In einem Clearing Bericht der Klasnic Kommission bestätigt ein Psychologe diese Vorkommnisse. Drei weitere Gutachten attestieren die Glaubwürdigkeit des Betroffenen und es gibt weitere Betroffene. Auch die Täter sind geständig: ein profil-Bericht aus dem Jahr 2010 zitiert Padre Koloman V. mit den Worten: „Ich bin für die Hörbehinderung des Herrn Anton F. verantwortlich. Es tut mir unendlich leid. Ich kann es nicht mehr rückgängig machen. Wir hatten damals keine Ausbildung, waren überfordert und haben mit nicht zu rechtfertigenden Methoden versucht, Ruhe und Ordnung zu schaffen. Ich leide darunter, muss damit leben und bitte Gott und Herrn F. um Verzeihung.“

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OSTERREICH
Betroffen

Schönborn, Kapellari und Klasnic als Mitwisser durch Sachverhaltsdarstellung schwer belastet

(Admont, Wien, 1.2.2012 PUR) Vorgestern hat ein heute 58jähriger rituelle Auspeitschungen Ende der 60er Jahre in Stift Admont durch 2 Priester beschrieben. Heute meldet sich ein weiterer Betroffener zu Wort, der im Jahr 2010 eine Sachverhaltsdarstellung an die Staatsanwaltschaft Graz und an die Klasnic Kommission gesandt hatte. Darin werden die Angaben von Anton F. bestätigt: “Besonders in den ersten Jahren kam es zu massivem Missbrauch und Misshandlungen mir gegenüber. Massive Schläge ins Gesicht und Auspeitschungen mit Ledergürtel am offenen Gesäß. Die Auspeitschungen erfolgten in Form sexuell-ritueller Handlungen von beiden Erziehern gemeinsam und im Privatzimmer von Pater Gebhard G. Dabei waren die Auspeitschungen ein “Vorspiel“ zum sexuellen Missbrauch. Mein Kopf wurde zwischen die Beine eines Paters
geklemmt, während dieser onanierte, und der andere Pater (….) mich vergewaltigte. (….) Zusätzlich war es bei Pater Koloman V. gängige Praxis, brennende Zigaretten auf meinem Arm auszulöschen, die Narben sind bis heute gut sichtbar. Nach der Matura wurde die Belastung aus dem Missbrauch und den Misshandlungen während meiner Schulzeit in Admont so groß, dass ich mit 19 Jahren einen Selbstmordversuch unternahm und mir die Pulsadern aufschnitt. Mein Vater rettete mich in letzter Sekunde.“

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CONNECTICUT
NBC Connecticut

By Debra Bogstie

Thursday, Feb 2, 2012

A Moodus priest is on voluntary leave as state police investigate allegations of financial irregularities at his parish.

State police said they launched an investigation into St. Bridget Church in Moodus in December.

That’s the same month in which Father Gregoire Fluet took a voluntary leave of absence, according to Michael Strammiello, the spokesman for the Diocese of Norwich.

The investigation pertains to the church’s finances and was launched after a single parishioner raised questions, Strammiello said.

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CONNECTICUT
The Hartford Courant

By EDMUND H. MAHONY, emahony@courant.com
The Hartford Courant

2:03 p.m. EST, February 2, 2012
WATERBURY —
A judge on Thursday said the Catholic Church cannot defend itself from a priest sex abuse case by arguing that its response to the abuse — while inappropriate now — was widely accepted when the abuse occurred 30 years ago.

It was the second time in less than a year that a judge in Connecticut presiding over a negligence claim arising from child sexual abuse blocked a defendant from preventing historical evidence about changing societal attitudes toward child sexual abuse. Last year, Superior Court Judge Dan Shaban, also sitting in Waterbury, ruled thatSt. Francis Hospital could not present such testimony by an expert witness in a case involving abuse by former hospital endocrinologist Dr. George Reardon.

On Thursday, Superior Court Judge Kevin Dubay ruled against the Archdiocese of Hartford, which is defending itself from the claim that it allowed a priest to abuse a former altar boy when it ignored prior allegations against the priest.

The altar boy, identified in court papers as Jacob Doe, claims he was abused as an adolescent from 1981 to 1983 in Derby by Father Ivan Ferguson. Ferguson admitted to fomrer Archbishop John F. Whealon in 1979 that he had previously abused two boys who attended church in the Tariffville section of Simsbury.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

by Robert McClory on Feb. 02, 2012 NCR Today

Recent reports concerning a high Vatican official who had saved the church millions of dollars by eliminating “corruption and dishonesty” in various Vatican agencies aroused worldwide interest. But no one found the stories about Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò’s reform efforts more fascinating than Michael W. Ryan, a retired U.S. Postal Service security specialist, who has been trying for about 20 years to save the American church the millions it reportedly continues to lose through the embezzlement of Sunday collections and other fund sources.

Their stories bear several similarities. Almost a year ago, Pope Benedict XVI removed Viganò from his post as chief financial officer for the Vatican city-state and sent him to the United States as the new papal nuncio, despite Viganò’s protest that the move could undo his clean-up campaign. Ryan’s attempt to help the church clean up the loose security policies that drain funds has met with such deep-seated disinterest that he has virtually despaired of getting anywhere. He has recently written a book titled Nonfeasance: The Remarkable Failure of the Catholic Church to Protect Its Primary Source of Income. (Nonfeasance is defined in the dictionary as a “failure to do what ought to be done.”)

Hearing of Viganò’s removal from his Vatican job, Ryan said, “Is it any wonder I’m not getting anywhere with the hierarchy?”

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

by Nicole Sotelo on Feb. 02, 2012 Young Voices

Next month, the Knights of Columbus will celebrate the 130th anniversary of their incorporation as a benefit society. Founded by a young parish priest and parishioners, the Knights united to serve their community with a special focus on supporting widows, orphans and those in need.

Since then, the order has grown to 1.8 million Catholic men worldwide, rightly proud of their reputation for parish involvement, volunteer service and charitable contributions. In recent years, however, top officials at the Knights of Columbus have been funneling the organization’s “charitable contributions” not only to charity, but to politics of division.

In 2008 and 2009, the Supreme Knight’s charitable report shows the organization gave more to “family life” projects than they did to “community projects.” On the surface this sounds benign, but “family life” is the Knights’ terminology for predominantly anti-gay initiatives, whereas “community projects” represents soup kitchens and food pantries.

Among the “community projects,” the Knights contributed $5,000 to disaster relief in Indiana and $3,000 to the community soup kitchen in New Haven, Conn., where the organization is headquartered, according to the 2010 Annual Report of the Supreme Knight. This deserves applause, until you learn that under the same category of “community projects,” they financed a $530,000 contribution to the Becket Fund, an organization of politically controversial lawyers. Do these lawyers really need the Knights’ charity?

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CHICAGO (IL)
WLS

[with video]

February 1, 2012 (CHICAGO) (WLS) — Questions don’t die at the Cook County morgue in the case of a Chicago Catholic priest who was stabbed more than 20 times. His death was ruled a suicide.

The I-Team has been told that the body of Father Waclaw Jamroz is going to be exhumed so a full autopsy can be done. The exhumation will come two and a half years after the Cook County medical examiner chose not to do a full examination.

Without a complete autopsy, questions about the priest’s death have festered – questions that some experts and his family say are disturbing and unanswered.

With a popular inspirational show on Polish TV, Father Waclaw was widely known outside his Our Lady of the Snows parish near Midway Airport.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Catholic Culture

Phil Lawler | February 02, 2012

In the prosecution of three priests from the Philadelphia archdiocese, the level of hostility toward the Catholic Church has become so pronounced that it’s difficult to see how a fair trial could take place.

Prosecutors have indicted one former official of the archdiocese (along with two other priests). But they have described the archdiocese itself as an “unindicted co-conspirator.” In practice, that seems to mean that the prosecutors can make charges against the archdiocese without having to worry about rebuttal, since there are no lawyers in the courtroom to defend the archdiocese.

Meanwhile the judge in the case, Teresa Sarmina has showed her own hostility with the outrageous statement: “Anybody that doesn’t think there is widespread sexual abuse within the Catholic Church is living on another planet.” Notice that her claim is voiced in the present tense. She is not saying that there was abuse in the past: a claim that can easily be supported. She’s saying that there is widespread abuse now. Maybe we don’t even need a trial; she’s declared the Church guilty already!

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NEW JERSEY
Catholic Star Herald

Written by Carmel Malerba

CAMDEN — The office charged with promoting a secure environment for young people under diocesan auspices has changed its name. It will now be known as the Office of Child and Youth Protection. It was formerly known as the Office of Safe Environment for Children, Youth and Adults.

The change went into effect Feb. 1.

The change was implemented, according to Rod J. Herrera, director, to “more accurately reflect what the office does in providing safe environments for children and young people.”

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NEW JERSEY
Catholic Star Herald

Written by Carmel Malerba

The Office of Child and Youth Protection is announcing CAP (Child Assault Prevention) sessions. CAP is the safe environment training program for adults who have regular contact with minors. Attendance is required in order to comply with the U.S. bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. The policy of the Diocese of Camden is that adults will attend CAP once every five years.

CAP 1 teaches attendees to recognize child abuse and neglect and how to report to the proper authorities. CAP 1 is for new volunteers and employees.

CAP 2 is No More Bullies, No More Victims and is a workshop on bullying awareness and bullying prevention. Cyberbullying is also addressed. Both sessions are 90 minutes.

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NEW JERSEY
Catholic Star Herald

An Ohio man has accused Father Joseph E. Shannon, a priest of the Camden Diocese who was removed from ministry in 1990, with sexual abuse.

Mark Bryson, 50, alleges that Father Shannon sexually assaulted him when he was in first grade at St. Anthony of Padua School in Camden in the 1970s.

In a suit filed Jan. 27 in U.S. District Court, Bryson said he had repressed memories of the assault until recently, according to media reports.

Father Shannon, now 75, was accused by several males of abuse in the 1990s.

Bryson’s suit charges the diocese with having “fraudulently concealed” Father Shannon’s behavior. Repressed memory and fraudulent conconcealment can be used to extend the statute of limitations in civil sex abuse cases in New Jersey.

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SOUTH DAKOTA
Freedom and Guns

February 2, 2012
By Gordon Howie

I met Robert Brancato a few weeks ago. I soon discovered that we have something in common… We both believe the State Legislature made a serious error when they passed HB1104. It stripped victims of sexual assault of their rights. It was bad legislation. This year, Robert is working with some Legislators to repeal this law. That would be a very good thing. Thanks to him for all his efforts, and for this article.

By Robert Brancato, Rapid City SD.

In South Dakota we live and respect both the Federal and State Constitutions. We have a Bill of Rights. We have a State Legislature that is made of elected official’s; both Republican and Democratic Parties are represented.

South Dakota’s Constitution clearly states in Article VI, Line 20: “All courts shall be open, and every man for an injury done him in his property, person, or reputation, shall have remedy by due course of law, and right and justice, administered without denial or delay.”

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NEW YORK
New York Daily News

By Larry Mcshane / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Thursday, February 2, 2012
A prominent Harlem pastor who dodged prison despite charges of molesting 10 high school kids was sentenced to a life of prayer and penance by the Vatican.

Monsignor Wallace Harris, once the highest-ranking black cleric in the Archdiocese of New York, received the lesser of two possible punishments from Rome, said archdiocese spokesman Joe Zwilling.

The popular priest — who arranged Pope Benedict’s jam-packed 2008 Mass in Yankee Stadium — could have been defrocked.

Instead, “he’s living in a church-run facility, under very, very close supervision,” Zwilling said Thursday. “He is not allowed to act as a priest. He is not allowed to present himself as a priest.

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NEDERLAND
Het Kontakt

ERMELO – Hij had net afscheid genomen van de rooms-katholieke parochies in De Bilt en zou het wat rustiger aan doen, maar Henk van Doorn (73) kan nog niet van de rust gaan genieten. Onverwacht is hij aangesteld als de nieuwe pastoor van de regionale Sint Lucasparochie. ,,Gelukkig heb ik een goede gezondheid. Mijn houding is altijd geweest: Ik ben priester van de kerk van Utrecht, ik hoor wel waar ik nodig ben – en dat is nu in de Lucasparochie.’’Van Doorn neemt de plaats in van pastoor Bert Sturkenboom, die wegens aanklachten van seksueel misbruik van zijn bestuurlijke en pastorale taken is ontheven. In de Sint Lucasparochie zijn sinds vorig jaar de rooms-katholieke geloofsgemeenschappen in Barneveld/Voorthuizen, Achterveld, Leusden, Hoevelaken, Nijkerk, Putten en Ermelo samengevoegd. ,,Afgelopen weekend was ik in Putten en Ermelo om daar voor te gaan. Ik begreep uit reacties dat het gewaardeerd werd dat het bisdom de parochie in de verwarrende situatie die is ontstaan niet aan haar lot heeft overgelaten en heel snel weer een priester heeft benoemd voor de voortgang van het kerkenwerk.’’

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NEDERLAND
NOS

Seks met kinderen die jonger zijn dan 12 jaar moet als verkrachting worden bestraft. Een meerderheid in de Tweede Kamer steunt dat plan van het CDA. Het CDA diende het wetsvoorstel donderdag samen met de VVD in.

Nu is seks met zulke jonge kinderen in de wet vastgelegd als “seksueel binnendringen” en wordt het als ontucht bestraft. CDA en VVD willen dat het als verkrachting wordt bestraft en stellen ook voor de maximumstraf naar 15 jaar te verhogen.

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CALIFORNIA
Leagle

SANTILLAN v. ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF FRESNO
GEORGE SANTILLAN et al., Plaintiffs and Appellants,
v.
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF FRESNO, Defendant and Appellant.
No. B221409.

Court of Appeals of California, Second District, Division Eight.
Filed February 1, 2012.

CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

ORDER MODIFYING OPINION

GOOD CAUSE appearing, the opinion filed January 6, 2012, in the above entitled matter is hereby modified as follows:

1. On page 10, line 11 of the text, delete “as that term is defined in section 340.1, subdivision (b)(2)” so that the sentence ends after “sexual conduct.”

2. On page 10, footnote 4, delete the text of the footnote and replace it with the following sentence: “The Doe court held that the term `unlawful sexual conduct’ refers to the acts specified in section 340.1, subdivision (e), which defines “[c]hildhood sexual abuse’ in terms of seven provisions of the Penal Code describing various prohibited sexual acts against minors. (Doe, supra, 42 Cal.4th at pp. 545-546.)”

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CANADA
Canada.com

Sheila Dabu Nonato, Postmedia News
Published: Wednesday, February 01, 2012

After seven years of therapy and following consultation with high-ranking church officials, an Anglican priest who was convicted of indecent assault more than a dozen years ago, is back at his Nova Scotia parish, but with restricted duties.

Rev. Ron Cutler, a bishop of the diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, told Postmedia News that Rev. Wayne Lynch has been permitted to celebrate the Eucharist at Annapolis Royal’s St. Luke’s Anglican Parish. Lynch returned to the parish two years ago and performs some duties every second month.

“He is permitted to preach, but has very rarely done so. He is permitted to baptize, marry or conduct funerals. Once again, this would be at the request of the rector of the parish,” Cutler wrote in an email.

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NEDERLAND
de Volkskrant

Wim Wolters legt per 1 maart zijn functie neer als voorzitter van het Platform Hulpverlening van het Meldpunt Seksueel Misbruik RKK. Hij verklaart dat hij zijn professionele verantwoordelijkheden niet kan waarmaken. Het bestuur van het platform betreurt het vertrek van de hoogleraar en psychotherapeut, liet het vandaag in een verklaring weten.

‘De intensiteit en de eenzijdigheid van het maatschappelijk debat en de grote onrust die dat oproept, blokkeert de mogelijkheid van zorgvuldige hulpverlening’, schrijft Wolters.

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NEDERLAND
Gemerts Nieuwsblad

WIJCHEN – Rudy de Kruijf is afgelopen week door het bisdom Den Bosch uit zijn priesterlijke taken ontheven. Dat gebeurde op zijn eigen verzoek: De Kruijf wil het celibaat niet langer als leidraad voor zijn leven nemen. Ten tijde van zijn priesterwijding in 1998 en de jaren daarna werkte De Kruijf in Aarle-Rixtel.

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UNITED STATES
Renew America

By Matt C. Abbott

The mysterious and tragic deaths of two priests — Father Waclaw Jamroz of the Archdiocese of Chicago and Father Alfred Kunz of the Diocese of Madison — need closure.

Father Jamroz’s bizarre death in 2009 was ruled a suicide by the Crook County — oops, I mean, Cook County — medical examiner, but, as a Feb. 1 local news segment points out, questions surrounding the case won’t go away.

From ABC7 Chicago investigative reporter Chuck Goudie:

‘Questions don’t die at the Cook County morgue in the case of a Chicago Catholic priest who was stabbed more than 20 times. His death was ruled a suicide.

‘With a popular inspirational show on Polish TV, Father Waclaw was widely known outside his Our Lady of the Snows parish near Midway Airport.

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NEDERLAND
BB

De Amsterdamse burgemeester Eberhard van der Laan wordt voorzitter van de werkgroep tegen kindermishandeling en seksueel misbruik. Dat heeft minister Ivo Opstelten (Veiligheid) dinsdag bekendgemaakt tijdens de behandeling door de Tweede Kamer van de uitkomsten van het onderzoek door de commissie-Deetman naar het seksueel misbruik in de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk.

Actieplan

Het kabinet besloot recentelijk tot deze ‘taskforce’, die er onder meer op moet toezien dat het Actieplan aanpak kindermishandeling wordt uitgevoerd. Dit plan omvat vele maatregelen voor verbetering van de preventie, signalering en bestrijding van kindermishandeling. Die beslaan diverse terreinen. Daarom is een centrale regie nodig. Ook moet er worden ‘aangejaagd’. Verder moet de taskforce het probleem hoog op de bestuurlijke agenda houden en nieuwe initiatieven tegen kindermishandeling en kindermisbruik stimuleren.

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CITTA DEL VATICANO
Il Fatto Quotidiano

di Marco Lillo | 31 gennaio 2012

In un documento riservato, il rifiuto del Vaticano a dare informazioni allo Stato per le vicende antecedenti al primo aprile 2011, ovvero da quando è entrato in vigore il nuovo organismo per la trasparenza finanziaria voluto da Papa Benedetto XVI

Il Vaticano sta prendendo per il naso da mesi la giustizia e la Banca d’Italia. Il Governo Monti dovrebbe fare la voce grossa e ottenere il rispetto degli impegni assunti in materia di antiriciclaggio, ma c’è un piccolo particolare: il ministro della Giustizia, che dovrebbe essere in prima linea in questa battaglia, è stato l’avvocato del presidente della banca vaticana (lo IOR) Ettore Gotti Tedeschi. La linea del Vaticano in questa materia non corrisponde affatto alle promesse di trasparenza contrabbandate in pubblico. Lo dimostra un documento che Il Fatto pubblica in esclusiva (leggi).

Si intitola “Memo sui rapporti IOR-AIF” ed è un documento ‘confidenziale’ e ‘riservato’ circolato negli uffici del Papa e della Segreteria di Stato e annotato a penna da una mano che – secondo gli esperti di cose Vaticane – potrebbe essere quella di monsignor Georg Ganswein, il segretario di Benedetto XVI. E’ stato scritto da un personaggio molto in alto che si può permettere di sottoporre la sua analisi ai vertici del Vaticano. Al di là di chi sia l’autore, il ‘memo’ dimostra che il Papa, il segretario di Stato Tarcisio Bertone, il presidente dello AIF, l’autorità di controllo antiriciclaggio, Attilio Nicora e i vertici dello IOR sono tutti a conoscenza della linea sul fronte antiriciclaggio che si può sintetizzare così: non si deve collaborare con la giustizia italiana per tutto quello che è successo allo IOR fino all’aprile 2011.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider

A newspaper has published a confidential memo on relations between the Vatican Bank and the new internal surveillance Authority, concluding that there is no real wish for transparency. But this is not the case

ANDREA TORNIELLI
Vatican City

Last 31 January, Italian daily newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano published the content of a confidential internal memo regarding the interpretation of the transparency law introduced by the Holy See at the instigation of Pope Benedict XVI and his Secretary of State, in 2011. The document which was partially reproduced from the original, includes some hand written annotations which the Italian newspaper presumed were written by Fr. Georg Gänswein, the Pope private secretary.

The document entitled “Memo on the IOR-AIF reports”, is defined as “confidential” and according to the newspaper “was written by a “high ranking figure who can afford to allow Vatican leaders to analyse the document.” According to Il Fatto Quotidiano the memo is supposed to prove that in spite of their public declarations regarding transparency, Vatican high authorities have agreed not to collaborate with the Italian justice system on what had been going on in the IOR up until April 2011. That is, the enforcement of new regulations which would involve the Holy See being placed on the “white list” of virtuous States engaged in the crackdown against money laundering.

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GERMANY
Vatican Insider

The Bishop of Munich, Reinhard Marx, talks about a tax paid by the faithful “Without it we would still survive, but differently”

Alessandro Alviani
Berlin

The Catholic Church could survive without the revenue from the “Church tax” which is paid by faithful in Germany. In this case however, it would be forced to cut back on initiatives that benefit the community as a whole. This is according to the Bishop of Munich and Freising Reinhard Marx, who gave an interview published in the issue of the German newspaper Die Zeit which will be on sale tomorrow, 2 February. In the interview, the bishop returned once more the controversial appeal to “Entweltlichung” (detachment form the world) launched by Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to Germany in September 2011.

This word has given rise to contrasting interpretations: Was the Pope’s intention to encourage German bishops to renounce all earthly aspects of the Church, starting with the “Kirchensteuer” (Church tax) paid in Germany by all those who openly declare themselves to belong to a religious community recognised by the State, but is really collected by regional public tax offices? Marx says this is not the case: the Pope did not intend to say that the Church should distance itself from the world. Instead, he wanted to give impetus to the role it should play in a pluralistic society: “we want to be at the heart of the world, but not be from this world,” he explained.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider

The Promoter of Justice at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith described to the Vatican Insider the objectives of the conference against paedophilia which opens next week

Andrea Tornielli
Vatican City

“In certain Churches where the code of silence is being broken, the number of reported cases of abuse sharply rose before slowly decreasing again. However the worldwide estimates concerning child abuse in society are truly alarming…”said Mgr. Charles J. Scicluna, 52 years old, promoter of justice in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He is the man who for almost ten years has been working with Joseph Ratzinger to fight the upsetting phenomenon of child abuse at the hands of clerics and now he describes to the Vatican Insider the meaning and the objectives of the Symposium which will take place from 6 to 9 February at the Pontifical Gregorian University.

He said “There is a desire to act and react well, with determination.” The Symposium called “Towards healing and renovation” has been organized by the university together with some dicasteries of the Holy See and the support of the Secretary of State, Tarcisio Bertone. Participants will include the representatives of 110 Episcopal conferences as well as the Father Superiors of thirty religious orders. This will be a truly international conference. According to a press release on the Symposium www.thr.unigre.it one of the speakers at the event will be an abuse victim who will talk to attendees about the necessity for victims to be heard and how positive change can be promoted.

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CANADA
CTV

A Nova Scotia priest who sexually assaulted a young altar boy more than three decades ago is once again preaching to a small-town Anglican congregation, an upsetting revelation to his victim.

Rev. Wayne Lynch pleaded guilty in 1999 to indecently assaulting a 13-year-old boy in the 1970s. He received a conditional sentence of two years less a day and was placed on probation for 18 months.

Since then, he has been slowly regaining responsibilities at St. Luke’s Anglican Church in Annapolis Royal, N.S. The church’s decision to welcome Lynch back has upset some parishioners, and particularly his victim.

“I was beyond stunned, I couldn’t comprehend that any organization like the Anglican Church could do something like that again to me after this many years,” Glenn Johnson told CTV News.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Catholic Insider

Last Thursday, the Boston Archdiocese released the annual report for the 2011 fiscal year. Cardinal O’Malley stated that “The Archdiocese of Boston has greatly benefited by the financial management of recent years that has achieved and sustained a balanced budget.” Chancellor Jim McDonough said, “We have made great progress in moving the Archdiocese from a position of financial freefall just a few short years ago to one of stability, fully committed to supporting our parishes, schools and ministries.” That reflects one perspective, and BCI thought our readers might be interested in another perspective.

BCI received an email a few days ago from former Chancellor, David W. Smith, with his analysis of the 2011 Annual Report. BCI thought the analysis from someone familiar with archdiocesan finances was interesting, so we are sharing it with you:

Last week I was asked by the Boston Globe to comment on the Archdiocese of Boston’s release of financial information. I tried to provide “instant analysis” but it is just not possible to review hundreds of pages of information on a same day basis.

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NEDERLAND
Roel Verschueren

Over geloof, bisschoppen, congregaties, de paus en slachtoffers van 50 jaar seksueel misbruik in de kerk. Zonder voorwoord noch nawoord

(Nu reeds als gratis PDF download)

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
SNAP Wisconsin

Over 500 sex abuse claims, a record number, filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court against Milwaukee archdiocese

Statement by Peter Isely, SNAP Midwest Director
CONTACT 414.429.7259

Nine months ago, in solemn tones, Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki announced he was seeking Federal bankruptcy protection for the archdiocese because of fraud cases filed against church officials for concealing and transferring known child sex offender clergy.

The archdiocese’s books were in the black. There were no trial dates set. There were no judgments pending.

In essence, Listecki was conceding that a jury of his peers–any jury–would find the archdiocese guilty of widespread and systematic corporate fraud.

In doing so, Listecki also made a dramatic and personal public appeal to every single person raped, sexually assaulted or abused by a priest or employee operating or working in the archdiocese to come forward and file a claim with the bankruptcy court as means of achieving a “final resolution” to the clergy abuse and cover up crisis.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Catholic Culture

By Dr. Jeff Mirus | February 01, 2012

You’ve probably already read in our news story that Cardinal Bevilacqua died yesterday at the age of 88, literally days after a Pennsylvania judge ruled once again that he was perfectly capable of giving testimony in the Philadelphia sexual abuse investigation. Considering the state of his health and the fact that he suffered from dementia, this in itself was remarkable.

But something even more remarkable was reported by David Pierre, author of two excellent books on priests falsely accused of sexual abuse. Pierre runs the Catholic Media Report, which seeks to expose anti-Catholic bias in the media.

Anyway, in this case he noticed that in a media statement for the victim advocacy group SNAP, president David Clohessy strongly implied that Cardinal Bevilacqua was faking his illness and memory loss to avoid giving testimony.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By David O’Reilly
Inquirer Staff Writer

The clergy sex-abuse scandal that so dominated the last decade of Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua’s life may well dominate public perception of his legacy, some observers say.

His friends and colleagues, however, described the retired archbishop of Philadelphia, who died Tuesday at age 88, as a “behind-the-scenes” prelate who did much of his best work out of public view.

Bishop Joseph Galante, head of the Diocese of Camden, on Wednesday described Bevilacqua as having been a “leading advocate for assistance for immigrants at a time when society was not as conscious of their needs.”

Galante noted that Bevilacqua, already a church lawyer, also earned a civil law degree as a young priest in order to serve the immigrant poor. “I pray God will give him the reward of his labors,” he said.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By David O’Reilly
Inquirer Staff Writer

Cardinal Anthony Joseph Bevilacqua, 88, whose 15 years as shepherd of the 1.5 million-member Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia were marked by both celebration and crisis, died in his sleep Tuesday night in his apartment at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood.

Cardinal Bevilacqua was emblematic of the church to which he had devoted himself since age 14: progressive on some social-justice issues, staunchly orthodox on matters of doctrine and sexuality, and unfailingly deferential to the will of Rome.

After retiring in 2003, he left the cardinal’s residence on City Avenue for the apartment at the seminary and rarely appeared in public. He was always a private man, given to dining alone. Yet during his time at the archdiocesan helm he delighted in public appearances and was known for his personal touch with the faithful.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Daily News

Christine M. Flowers: A MAN OF GRAVITAS & GRANDEUR: No saint, but deserves our prayer

Christine M. Flowers
Philadelphia Daily News

A FEW YEARS AGO, I went to a conference at the Union League where one of my heroes, Antonin Scalia, was going to be present.

I acted like a ‘tweener faced with the prospect of meeting Justin Beiber: heart palpitations, twisted tongue and a conviction that my hair looked horrible.

You have to understand. For conservative lawyers, Justice Nino is a rock star.

So transfixed was I by the legal lion, I almost missed an opportunity to cross paths with another grandiose presence: Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who was also in attendance and being honored on his retirement. Imagine having those two in the same room: icons of church and state (and there wasn’t much of a wall between them either, since I saw them sharing a drink in a corner.)

When a photographer approached and said that we could have a photo taken with both of the Eminent Italians, I jumped at the chance. For the first time in my life, I was speechless, stripped of the ability to communicate with anything other than my mesmerized eyes.

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VATICAN CITY
Chiesa

by Sandro Magister

ROME, February 2, 2012 – There are no marches of the “99 percent” at the Vatican; the battles are conducted by firing off letters. On Saturday, January 28, the council of ministers of the Roman curia, in the presence of the pope, dedicated part of the meeting to studying how to shore up the leaking of documents. It was just three days after the latest sensational leak: a sheaf of confidential letters written to Benedict XVI and to cardinal secretary of state Tarcisio Bertone by the then secretary of the governorate of Vatican City, now the nuncio to Washington, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò.

Those letters – plus other blistering papers that also threaten to come out into the open in the press or on television – are an act of accusation against one person above all: Cardinal Bertone, who introduced the aforementioned meeting of the heads of the curia dicasteries by explaining how to draft and publish the documents of the Holy See without any more of the mishaps that have proliferated of late. There needs to be, he said, more competence, more collaboration, more mutual trust, more confidentiality.

Benedict XVI listened in silence. He was reminded of the worst evidence of mismanagement in the curia that he has suffered since becoming pope: the avalanche of protests that bombarded him through no fault of his own at the beginning of 2009, after the lifting of the excommunication of four Lefebvrist bishops, including one who denied the Holocaust. Shortly after that incident, in an open letter to the bishops of the whole world, pope Ratzinger did not hesitate to write that he had received more support from “Jewish friends” than from many men of the Church and of the curia who are more interested in creating scorched earth around the pope. And at the end he cited this terrible admonition of the apostle Paul: “If you bite and devour one another, take heed that you are not consumed by one another.”

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NEW YORK
New York Post

By DAN MANGAN

Last Updated: 4:34 AM, February 2, 2012

A disgraced Harlem priest who arranged Pope Benedict XVI’s 2008 Mass at Yankee Stadium has been sentenced to “a life of prayer and penance” by the Vatican for his alleged molestation of up to 10 kids decades ago.

Wallace Harris, the former popular pastor of the Church of St. Charles Borremeo, also now by order of New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan is living in a Catholic-run residence “under very, very close supervision,” said Dolan’s spokesman Joseph Zwilling last night.

Zwilling pointedly said that Harris — once the archdiocese’s top-ranking black priest and chairman of the senate representing all of the archdiocese’s priests — is not living in a location near families, and is barred from ever publicly acting as a priest.

In 2008, Harris, 64, both gave the invocation at former Gov. David Paterson’s and arranged for the Pope’s triumphant Mass in Yankee Stadium.

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IRELAND
The Irish Times

CONOR LALLY, Crime Correspondent

THE GARDA Inspectorate has identified a lack of meaningful co-operation between the Garda, Health Service Executive agencies and NGOs as a major ongoing impediment to the swift and thorough investigation of sexual abuse against children.

In the findings of its report into how the Garda responds to complaints of child sexual abuse, it has recommended a new response across the force and the agencies gardaí work with.

It has urged the appointment of an assistant commissioner who would have an oversight role into all of the Gardas responses to allegations of sexual abuse, both clerical and lay.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
TMJ4

MILWAUKEE- Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki was not fazed by the reported 550-plus claims of sexual abuse in his conversation with TODAY’S TMJ4.

Archbishop Listecki’s message is that the church will see the accusers in court.

While the window for abuse claims has closed, Archbishop Listecki knows his church’s trials have only begun.

“Now we know what we have to deal with in terms of those who have come forward and brought suits against the church,” said Archbishop Listecki.

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IRELAND
The Irish Times

CONOR LALLY, Crime Correspondent

The Garda Inspectorate has identified significant shortcomings in the force’s investigation of sexual offences against children.

It said basic record-keeping was so poor that the official crime figures did not capture up to 65 per cent of sex crimes against children reported to the Garda in recent years.

The situation had only become apparent after the Garda was unable to supply the inspectorate with annual figures for sexual offences against children.

The inspectorate requested paperwork to be checked in all 112 Garda districts. The disparity that emerged between the paper records and the Garda computer database of crime rates called into question the integrity of all child abuse figures, it said.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Daily Times

By PATTI MENGERS
pmengers@delcotimes.com

In the more than 15 years that Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua was archbishop of Philadelphia, he was charged with the causes of saints and sinners, financially troubled schools and connecting with close to 1.5 million Roman Catholics.

More than 200,000 Delaware County Catholics were among the faithful overseen by the retired cardinal who died at age 88 Tuesday night at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary after a battle with cancer.

“A true leader has to lead and, at the end of the day, make decisions that do affect people’s lives. I’m sure he made decisions after much prayer and study,” said the Rev. Monsignor Joseph McLoone, who was ordained by Bevilacqua in May 1988.

The monsignor is pastor of St. Katharine Drexel Church in Chester, a parish that was established as a result of Bevilacqua’s controversial decision to merge six parishes into one because of the declining number of Roman Catholics in the small city. In 1993, St. Michael, St. Anthony of Padua, Resurrection of Our Lord, Immaculate Heart of Mary and St. Hedwig parishes merged at the site of St. Robert Church to form Blessed Katharine Drexel parish and grade school.

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LOVELAND (CO)
Coloradoan

Written by
Robert Allen

A Loveland church volunteer accused of sexually assaulting a child has a previous criminal record including child abuse and domestic violence.

Robert Kirchhoff, 54, was advised by videoconference from Larimer County Jail today regarding offenses alleged to have occurred Jan. 27.

Kirchhoff, who until recently was a volunteer with preteens at Resurrection Fellowship church, remains in custody on a $100,000 bond.

He worked with the kids in a group setting, and the volunteer work never involved trips with children away from the church property, said Deborah Kline, administrative assistant to Senior Pastor Jonathan Wiggins.

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COLORADO
TheDenverChannel

Alan Gathright, 7NEWS Content Producer

LOVELAND, Colo. — A volunteer for a Loveland church children’s group who was arrested Tuesday on a child sex assault charge had previously pleaded guilty to a child abuse case, according to court records obtained by 7NEWS.

Robert Kirchhoff, 54, of Loveland was arrested on felony charges of aggravated sexual assault on a child and sexual assault on a child under age 15 by a person in a position of trust, according to court records.

Kirchhoff was held in Larimer County Jail on $100,000 bond.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Daily News

COMPARED with generations of Catholic prelates – to whom the faithful literally bowed in order to kiss their rings – the personal style of Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua was a break from the past.

Bevilacqua, who died Tuesday at age 88, was gregarious and photogenic, personally charming, approachable and funny- for a cardinal, that is. In his 15 years leading the Archdiocese of Philadelphia (1988-2003), he spent a day at each of its 302 parishes, posing for photos with congregants, sometimes tossing his skullcap through the air like a Frisbee. A champion of interfaith dialogue, he was a frequent guest speaker at local synagogues.

What wasn’t a break from the past, though, was Bevilacqua’s continuation of a longstanding policy of refusing to answer questions or countenance any criticism on pretty much any subject, from school closings and finances to the sexual abuse of children by diocesan priests.

In particular, the Archdiocese exerted pressure on news organizations to block coverage deemed negative. “Church leaders believe they are always working for good and find it difficult that anyone would believe otherwise,” an Archdiocesan spokeswoman told the American Journalism Review in 1998. “I think they become uncomfortable, perhaps sometimes even defensive, when their decisions are questioned.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The New York Times

By DOUGLAS MARTIN

Published: February 1, 2012

Anthony J. Bevilacqua, a former cardinal and archbishop of Philadelphia whose passion for Roman Catholic causes like helping the poor and fighting abortion was eclipsed in retirement by accusations that he had covered up sexual abuse by priests, died on Tuesday at a seminary in Wynnewood, Pa. He was 88.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced the death. Cardinal Bevilacqua had dementia and an undisclosed kind of cancer.

Cardinal Bevilacqua was archbishop from 1988 until his retirement in 2003. Pope John Paul II elevated him to cardinal in 1991.

In Philadelphia, as in previous leadership positions in Pittsburgh and Brooklyn, he pushed the church to help immigrants, presided over cutbacks in Catholic parishes and schools, spoke out against homosexuality and abortion, and built up a lay ministry to compensate for the declining corps of priests.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Daily News

Ronnie Polaneczky, Daily News Columnist
Philadelphia Daily News

NINE YEARS AGO, my husband took a photo of our daughter, when she was in kindergarten, with Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua.

She’d just returned from an excursion to the Philadelphia Zoo, where she’d gotten her face painted like a koala bear’s. Afterward, she and my husband hit the St. Pat’s Day Parade, where Bevilacqua was working the crowds on that unseasonably warm day.

The cardinal graciously posed with my daughter for a picture, and it’s a winner (that’s it, to the right). She’s leaning into him, and his arm is curled around her waist. His other arm rests atop her hand. Their smiles are wonderful – his is warm and kind; hers impy.

We gave a framed copy of the photo to my parents, who loved Bevilacqua. We placed another on our piano, with other family photos.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Coventry Telegraph

by Duncan Gibbons, Coventry Telegraph
Feb 2 2012

A FORMER Coventry priest yesterday told a jury he has never sexually assaulted young boys.

Alexander Bede Walsh, 58, is accused of abusing eight boys in Coventry, Warwickshire and Staffordshire between 1975 and 1994.

Walsh, of Church Lane, Abbots Bromley, Staffordshire, denies 23 counts of indecent assault, two of sexual assault and two of gross indecency.

He trained at the Father Hudson orphanage, in Coleshill, in the mid-1970s, and was priest at All Souls Church, in Chapelfields, between 1982 and 1985.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Boston Globe

[Bevilacqua Documents via BishopAccountability.org]

By Maryclaire Dale
Associated Press / February 1, 2012

PHILADELPHIA—Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua’s death may not greatly alter the March trial of an aide charged with child endangerment for allegedly keeping predator-priests around children.

Bevilacqua’s testimony was preserved on videotape late last year, since he was 88 and ailing. And though a judge found him competent to testify, his dementia would have been evident on the witness stand, lawyers said.

Still, his 10 combative appearances before a Philadelphia grand jury in 2003 and 2004 exposed church secrets about 63 accused priests that ultimately rocked the Roman Catholic hierarchy — and the cardinal himself, who grew reclusive in retirement.

Philadelphia priests raped boys in church sacristies, stripped them nude and whipped them as part of a Passion Play, got them drunk and showed them pornography — and remained on the job, the 2005 grand jury report said.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

A priest who is charged with a number of child sex abuse offences will face court next month.

Fr Eugene Boland (65) faces four charges of indecently assaulting a female child.

A preliminary hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to put him on trial is to take place at Magherafelt Magistrates Court.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

Long before his death Tuesday night, even an ailing Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua must have foreseen that one harsh epitaph for him already had been carved in stone.

The words were composed in 2005 by a Philadelphia grand jury investigating the sex-abuse scandal that exposed five dozen alleged predator priests – many of them active during Bevilacqua’s 15-year stewardship of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Archdiocesan officials, including Bevilacqua and his predecessor, Cardinal John Krol, stood by and then covered up hundreds of child-sexual assaults by priests, the jury alleged.

While lamenting that statutes had lapsed for the crimes, the panel said church officials’ actions in remaining silent while accused priests were shuttled around to unsuspecting parishes was “as immoral as the abuse itself” and that there was no doubt the cardinals “were personally informed of almost all of the allegations . . . and personally decided or approved” a cover-up.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

CARRIE ANTLFINGER, Associated Press

Updated 12:18 a.m., Thursday, February 2, 2012

MILWAUKEE (AP) — About 550 people are asking for restitution for alleged sexual abuse by clergy in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee — more than in any of the other U.S. dioceses that have filed for bankruptcy protection, according a lawyer involved in the Milwaukee case.

The Milwaukee Archdiocese filed for bankruptcy protection last year, saying pending sex-abuse lawsuits could leave it with debts it couldn’t afford.

The archdiocese has paid more than $30 million in settlements and other court costs related to alleged clergy abuse. More than a dozen sex abuse suits against it have been halted because of the bankruptcy proceedings. They include allegations against a priest accused of abusing some 200 boys at a suburban school for deaf students from 1950 to 1974.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Blottr

The Catholic Church has come under fire yet again after another priest was accused of sexually abusing children.

Alexander Bede Walsh has denied the allegations put against him that from the years 1975 to 1994 Walsh committed 27 acts of sexual misconduct.

Walsh told the court that while he was working as a priest in the West Midlands, he did enjoy working with older children, but not for the sinister reasons that many have put against him. Instead, he said that he preferred working with teenagers “because of their honesty”.

Walsh had been previously convicted of having downloaded indecent images of children which forced him to give up his position as a priest. He still lives, however, in ecclesiastical accommodation. The prosecutor used this information to his advantage, describing the defendant as a “predatory paedophile” who used his position in the church to make sexual advances on children.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Sentinel

CATHOLIC priest Alexander Bede Walsh claims accusations of sexual abuse have been made up against him so the alleged victims can claim compensation.

He took to the stand at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court yesterday to deny sexually abusing eight boys across the Midlands during a 20-year period.

The 58-year-old is on trial charged with 27 offences including indecency and indecent assault.

Yesterday, he told a jury that he can’t remember two of the alleged victims and believes all eight, who cannot be named for legal reasons, have made it up in order to claim compensation.

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CANADA
The Sun Times

By Scott Dunn

A retired Anglican priest who once served in the Kincardine area is facing sex-related charges from the 1980s, allegedly solely involving male victims, including a boy.

George Ferris, 64, of Cambridge retired as priest at St. James Anglican Church in Paris, Ont.

He faces two sets of charges, all related to events alleged to have taken place in Brant County, OPP Const. Larry Plummer said in an interview Wednesday.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

By MARYCLAIRE DALE
The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA — Church leaders called on parishioners Wednesday to pray for the soul of retired Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who led them for more than 15 years but was also an uncharged central figure in a child sex-abuse case that involves the alleged shuffling of predator priests.

Bevilacqua, who was 88, died in his sleep at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood after battling dementia and an undisclosed form of cancer, according to archdiocese spokeswoman Donna Farrell. He had been the spiritual leader of the 1.5 million-member Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1988 until his retirement in 2003.

Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput encouraged all Catholics to “join me in praying for the repose of his soul.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

[with poll]

Long before his death Tuesday night, even an ailing Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua must have foreseen that one harsh epitaph for him already had been carved in stone.

The words were composed in 2005 by a Philadelphia grand jury investigating the sex-abuse scandal that exposed five dozen alleged predator priests — many of them active during Bevilacqua’s 15-year stewardship of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Archdiocesan officials, including Bevilacqua and his predecessor, Cardinal John Krol, stood by and then covered up hundreds of child-sexual assaults by priests, the jury alleged.

While lamenting that statutes had lapsed for the crimes, the panel said church officials’ actions in remaining silent while accused priests were shuttled around to unsuspecting parishes was “as immoral as the abuse itself” and that there was no doubt the cardinals “were personally informed of almost all of the allegations … and personally decided or approved” a cover-up.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By Nancy Phillips
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

A savvy move by prosecutors could mean that the late Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua will speak from beyond the grave at the forthcoming criminal trial of three priests accused of endangering or abusing children, legal experts said Wednesday.

Bevilacqua, who died Tuesday at age 88, testified on videotape late last year about the church’s handling of sex abuse allegations against priests in the Philadelphia Archdiocese during his 15-year-tenure as its leader.

The tape of the cardinal answering questions from prosecutors and defense lawyers may now be admitted at trial, experts say.

“It comes in,” said James A. Cohen, a professor at Fordham law school and a former defense lawyer. Preserving Bevilacqua’s testimony on tape should enable jurors to hear from him in his absence, he said.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
WISN

MILWAUKEE — A crucial deadline passed late Wednesday afternoon for the victims of a clergy sex abuse case to file their claims.

There are more than 500 claims.

One survivor said he’s increasingly frustrated with the Catholic Church after suffering years of abuse.

“He attacked me once in the sacristy after a mass,” Catholic Church sex abuse victim Mark Salmon said.

For Salmon, the deadline for survivors to file claims is just the latest chapter in a battle he’s fought for nearly 50 years.

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COLORADO
Patch

By Julie Brown Patton

A Catholic priest who served a parish in Wildwood 10 years ago has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation of sexual abuse of a minor at his current parish in Colorado, church authorities announced.

Fr. Charles Robert Manning served the St. Alban Roe Catholic Church in Wildwood but left in 2001. Since 2007, he has been serving the St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church parish in Colorado Springs, CO—until a week ago when parishioners were told at a Saturday Mass by Rev. Rafael Torres-Rico that allegations of sexual assault on a minor have been brought against Manning.

To read the Manning-related press release from the Diocese of Colorado Springs, click here. The allegation was received Jan. 4.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
TheMediaReport

Dave Pierre

Just Awful: Hours Before Cardinal Bevilacqua Passed Away, SNAP’s Clohessy Suggested the Cleric May Be Faking His Illnesses

Less than 36 hours before Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua passed away from lengthy battles with cancer and dementia (he was 88 years old), David Clohessy, the national president of SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests), suggested that the former archbishop of Philadelphia was faking his illnesses.

On Monday afternoon (1/30/12), Clohessy issued a media statement saluting Philadelphia Judge M. Teresa Sarmina for ruling that the frail and ailing cleric was “competent” to appear and testify at the upcoming clergy abuse trials in March. (More on that here.)

Clohessy wrote:

“We are grateful this judge is standing by her conviction that Bevilacqua will have to testify. For far too long, too many Catholic officials have feigned illnesses and memory lapses’ (sic) to avoid facing tough questions, in open court, under oath, about their role …”

Good grief. This is truly awful, even by SNAP standards.

Indeed, we must demand justice and compassion for victims of clergy abuse. This is not optional.

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NEDERLAND
Tweede Kamer der Staten-General

video

Direct naar sprekers

Termijn – Kamer
1.Mevrouw Arib (PvdA)
2.Mevrouw Gesthuizen (SP)
3.Mevrouw Berndsen (D66)
4.Mevrouw Helder (PVV)
5.De heer Van der Steur (VVD)
6.De heer Dibi (GroenLinks)
7.De heer Slob (ChristenUnie)
8.De heer Van der Staaij (SGP)
9.Mevrouw Van Toorenburg (CDA)

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Catholic League

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the death of Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua and news reports on his passing:

I had many opportunities to be in the company of Cardinal Bevilacqua, and each time I found him to be a bright, amiable and committed son of the Catholic Church. His sense of humor was infectious.

Much of today’s commentaries about Cardinal Bevilacqua are unfair. Let’s begin with the Catholic News Service. Never once in the article, “Cardinal Bevilacqua, Retired Philadelphia Archbishop, Dies at Age 88,” does it mention that he was never indicted for any alleged infraction. Oh, they tried.

In 2005, the local District Attorney, Lynne Abraham, smeared Bevilacqua in public with a grand jury report, but came up empty: she knew from the get-go that nothing could be done because of this “civil liberties technicality” called the statute of limitations. Moreover, in the grand jury report of 2001, it said that the grand jury was charged with investigating “the sexual abuse of minors by individuals associated with religious organizations and denominations.” But Abraham ignored this charge and focused exclusively on the Catholic Church. I wrote to her on March 31, 2011 asking her to explain which “religious organizations and denominations” she investigated besides the Roman Catholic Church. She refused to respond.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
National Catholic Register

by JOSEPH PRONECHEN
02/01/2012

PHILADELPHIA — Bells tolled from St. Martin’s Chapel on the campus of Philadelphia’s St. Charles Borromeo Seminary last night, announcing the death of Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua. The 88-year-old cardinal died in his sleep in his apartment at the seminary.

With the death of Cardinal Bevilacqua, who was the retired archbishop of Philadelphia, the Church in the United States lost its second cardinal in less than two months. Cardinal John Foley died Dec. 11 in the archdiocese’s home for retired priests.

Cardinal Bevilacqua, who fought cancer and dementia recently, led his flock of 1.5 million members from 1988 until he retired in 2003.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia today announced services for Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who died in his sleep Tuesday night at the age of 88.

Following a private viewing at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood on Monday, Feb. 6, Archbishop Charles Chaput will receive Bevilacqua’s body at the Cathedral Basilica of Ss. Peter and Paul about 5:30 p.m.

A public viewing follows at the Cathedral Basilica from 5:30 p.m. until 9 p.m. There will be an additional public viewing on Tuesday, Feb. 7, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

A Mass for Cardinal Bevilacqua will begin at 2 p.m. followed by the Rite of Committal in the Cathedral Crypt (located below the main altar).

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Sentinel

A PRIEST accused of sexually abusing eight boys worked in churches across North Staffordshire, it has been revealed.

Alexander Bede Walsh is currently on trial charged with 27 offences including indecency and indecent assault.

The trial has already heard that he was respected and trusted by his parishioners during the 14 years he worked in Cheadle.

Yesterday, Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court was told he also spent time in Newcastle and Burslem.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Wall Street Journal

By PETER LOFTUS

Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua, the former leader of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia who faced criticism for his handling of allegations of sexual abuse of children by priests, died Tuesday at the age of 88, the diocese said.

Cardinal Bevilacqua’s death came a day after a state judge reaffirmed he was legally competent to testify as a witness in a criminal trial of three priests charged in connection with alleged abuse of children during his tenure as archbishop from 1988 to 2003. Defense attorneys for the priests had argued Cardinal Bevilacqua wasn’t competent to testify because he was senile. He provided videotaped testimony in November that may be played at the trial, scheduled to start later this month. Cardinal Bevliacqua wasn’t charged with any wrongdoing in connection with the abuse allegations.

A spokesman for the archdiocese didn’t provide a cause of death. According to a 2011 court document, Cardinal Bevilacqua’s lawyer said he suffered from dementia and cancer. The diocese said in a statement that he died in his sleep at the Philadelphia seminary where he lived.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The New Civil Rights Movement

God Hates Fags To Picket Funeral Of Philadelphia Cardinal Who Died Amid Pedophile Priests Trials

by David Badash on February 1, 2012

God Hates Fags announced today they will picket the funeral of Philadelphia Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who died yesterday, amid several cases of priests on trial for pedophile rape, sex abuse, and molestation. Bevilacqua, 88, was Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1988 to 2003, and was deemed fit to stand trial and deliver testimony prior to his death. Bevilacqua was accused of ignoring the pedophile priest scandal that occurred on his watch.

“Bevilacqua, known for his regular press-the-flesh visits to all 302 parishes in the archdiocese and for his strong stands against racism and anti-Semitism, was also sharply critical of homosexuals and refused for several years to close Catholic churches and schools to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday,” the L.A. Times reported, adding:

Bevilacqua’s tenure was marred by clergy sexual-abuse revelations that rocked the Philadelphia archdiocese in 2002, as the scandal was erupting nationwide and in Europe.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

By Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel

Feb. 1, 2012

More than 500 people have filed sex abuse claims in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee bankruptcy in advance of today’s 4 p.m. deadline. It is the largest number of claims among the eight Catholic dioceses to seek bankruptcy protection since 2004 in response to sex abuse allegations, and on par with a Jesuit bankruptcy that covered five states.

Victims and their attorneys called the numbers staggering and just the tip of the iceberg, noting that statistically only a small percentage of sex abuse victims come forward.

Archdiocese spokesman Jerry Topczewski said the church had cast a wide net for victims in compliance with the court’s instructions, and had no expectations regarding the numbers that would come in. He reiterated Archbishop Jerome Listecki’s assertion that it would seek to bar all claims it is not obligated to cover under bankruptcy law, regardless of whether the abuse occurred.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Newsworks

Retired Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua served as head of the Philadelphia archdiocese for more than 15 years, retiring in 2003.

He was an active and visible leader of the regions 1.5 million Catholics, taking on the tough task of closing dozens of shrinking parishes and parochial schools.

Bevilacqua also campaigned hard for the canonization of Mother Katherine Drexel. Those efforts were rewarded when Pope John Paul the Second recognized her in 2000.

He was known as a social conservative who took traditional views on contraception, abortion and gay rights, and he took on the thankless task of closing parishes and schools that were under-used in the diocese. Though he was active in visiting parishes and spoke out on the need to help the poor, National Catholic reporter Michael Winters says he’ll be remembered mostly for the child sex abuse scandal that engulfed the church.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia

Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua, Archbishop Emeritus of Philadelphia, died on January 31, 2012 at the age of 88. Cardinal Bevilacqua died in his sleep at 9:15 p.m. at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, where he had resided since his retirement. Cardinal Bevilacqua served as Archbishop of Philadelphia from February 11, 1988 to October 7, 2003. He was elevated to the College of Cardinals on June 28, 1991.

“I was greatly saddened to learn of the death of my predecessor Cardinal Bevilacqua,” said Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. of Philadelphia. “I encourage all Catholics in the Archdiocese to join me in praying for the repose of his soul and that God will comfort his family as they mourn his loss. Cardinal Bevilacqua has been called home by God; a servant of the Lord who loved Jesus Christ and His people.”

As the leader of the Archdiocese for 15 years, Cardinal Bevilacqua initiated a renewal process called Catholic Faith and Life 2000 to bring non-practicing Catholics back to the Church. The renewal process culminated on October 22, 2000 with 40,000 Catholics participating in a candlelight procession on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. Cardinal Bevilacqua also reached out to Catholics in the Archdiocese through a weekly live call-in radio program and a monthly bulletin titled, “Voice of Your Shepherd.” He regularly made pastoral visits to parishes, schools, nursing homes and other institutions throughout the Archdiocese and to people of all faiths through his visits to hospitals and prisons as well as ecumenical and interreligious outreach.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Religion Dispatches

Post by Anthea Butler

Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua died last night at the age of 88, just one day after being approved as legally competent to testify in the upcoming sex abuse trial of the Philadelphia Archdiocese.

The trial of Monsignor William Lynn is expected to commence at the end of March 2012, and the case promises to be an explosive one. Prosecutors and the Philadelphia DA want to set a precedent for showing how the archdiocese instructed Monsignor Lynn to move priests from church to church in the hopes that the sexual abuse of children that had been committed in the archdiocese would not be discovered.

The Cardinal, whom church officials said suffered from dementia, was deposed for the upcoming trial in November of 2011. Monsignor Lynn worked under Bevilacqua, and would have taken his orders from the Cardinal concerning abusive priests.

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UNITED STATES
The Huffington Post

Rev. Debra Haffner

When I went to seminary, I was surprised to discover how little information there was about sexuality in my courses, and that preparation for dealing with congregants’ sexuality issues was mostly absent. A decade later, the Religious Institute’s study, “Sex and the Seminary,” found that few of even the most progressive seminaries covered sexuality issues comprehensively, and just one required a course on sexuality issues for graduation. In 2009, the Religious Institute reported that only 10 seminaries met at least two thirds of the criteria for a sexually healthy and responsible institution. This left the majority of future clergy unprepared to minister to their congregants on a broad range of sexuality issues, including marital counseling, incest, domestic violence, teen pregnancy and so on.

Today, I am proud to report that the landscape at U.S. seminaries, divinity and rabbinical schools is shifting toward increased sexuality education. Twenty seminaries now meet a majority of the criteria for a sexually healthy and responsible seminary, or twice what we found in 2009. During the past three years, the Religious Institute has partnered with these seminaries to ensure that tomorrow’s clergy are prepared to minister to their congregants, and to be effective advocates for sexual health and justice. These 20 seminaries now provide coursework on sexuality, policies that support sexual health, a commitment to an environment safe from harassment and abuse and leadership that is committed to activism on sexuality issues. We have designated these 20 institutions as Sexually Healthy and Responsible Seminaries.

The 20 seminaries represent nine denominational schools, plus several interdenominational and nondenominational schools in 12 states.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Los Angeles Times

February 1, 2012

Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua, the former head of the Philadelphia archdiocese who was accused during his 15-year tenure of ignoring sexual abuse of children by hundreds of priests, has died. The diocese announced that Bevilacqua, 88, died in his sleep Tuesday night in his apartment at a seminary in a Philadelphia suburb.

Bevilacqua, known for his regular press-the-flesh visits to all 302 parishes in the archdiocese and for his strong stands against racism and anti-Semitism, was also sharply critical of homosexuals and refused for several years to close Catholic churches and schools to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.

In a statement Wednesday, Pope Benedict XVI praised Bevilacqua’s “longstanding commitment to social justice and pastoral care of immigrants and his expert contribution of the revision of the church’s law in the years following the Second Vatican Council.”

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UNITED KINGDOM
Grantham Journal

Published on Wednesday 1 February 2012

A priest has told a court he never sexually abused or inappropriately touched young boys while he was working at Roman Catholic establishments in the West Midlands.

Alexander Bede Walsh is accused of abusing eight youngsters in Warwickshire, Staffordshire and Coventry between 1975 and 1994.

Jurors at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard that Walsh, of Abbots Bromley denies a total of 27 offences of indecency, buggery and indecent assault. Giving evidence to the court, the 58-year-old said he enjoyed being around children but not because of any sexual motives.

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