ABUSE TRACKER

HARTFORD (CT)
Hartford Courant

December 17, 2018

Back in the 1970s, when I was a student at St. Augustine’s in Hartford, we had an active pedophile in Daniel McSheffrey, who was a priest there. McSheffrey was loved by parents and school officials but feared by my classmates, as he should have been. Once you were summoned to his office, you were his next victim. McSheffrey had a lot of victims.

Now the archdiocese, after almost fifty years, wants to say “sorry about that” [Dec. 16, courant.com, “Archdiocese of Hartford announces it will release names of accused pedophile priests, conduct probe into decades of abuse cases”].

Where in their vocabulary does one find the phrase “a little too late”? Is it when their pews are empty? Does it happen when contributions are down? How about when the mass schedule has gone from five masses on a Sunday down to two or fewer?

Some will say that we must forgive and let go of our anger. There will be hordes of people who will say we need to heal. I say put them out of business. As unrealistic as that sounds, it’s really not a bad idea at all.

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BALTIMORE (MD)
Jesuit Province

December 17, 2018

By Rev. Brian F. Linnane

Earlier today, the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus released a list of Jesuits with credible allegations of sexual abuse of minors since 1950.

It is with great remorse and pain that I share with you that seven Jesuits who have been previously affiliated with Loyola University Maryland or Loyola’s Jesuit Community are among those on the list: John F. X. Bellwoar, Louis A. Bonacci, Francis C. Bourbon, H. Cornell Bradley, Arthur J. Long, Garrett D. Orr, and Claude L. Ory. None of these individuals are still associated with Loyola, and none of the allegations occurred while they were on campus. You can find more information on each of those individuals and their time at Loyola in the report.

The Province’s decision to release the names is a welcome and essential step as we work toward healing within the Catholic Church. Only through transparency can we find justice and help build a stronger, better future as a Church and as a community. As a university that works to ensure a safe environment for every member of our community, we have a zero-tolerance approach to abuse and a commitment to report any allegations immediately to authorities.

This news is deeply troubling for all of us to hear, particularly for those members of our community—including alumni—who may recall interactions with these individuals. I hope you will join me not just in prayer but also in support for all survivors of clerical sexual abuse.

If you believe that you, or someone you know, has been abused by a Jesuit or a Province employee, I urge you to contact the Maryland Province by calling the Victim Assistance Coordinator at 443-370-6357, MARadvocacy@jesuits.org, or in writing to the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus, 8600 LaSalle Rd, Suite 620, Towson, Md. 21286. If the Province’s Victim Assistance Coordinator receives an accusation involving a minor, she is required to inform law enforcement in the jurisdiction where the abuse occurred.

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[Some fiercely defend priests accused of abuses: “Even if they are found guilty, we will support them”]

CHILE
BioBioChile

December 17, 2018

By Felipe Díaz and Robinson Cardenas

“Aunque los declaren culpables los apoyaremos”. Ese es el planteamiento de quienes defienden a dos sacerdotes investigados por presuntos abusos sexuales y malversación de fondos en la Iglesia Católica de Puerto Montt.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
WJLA TV

December 17, 2018

By Courtney Pomeroy

The Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus released the names Monday of Jesuits from the province, and others who have served the province, who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors since 1950.

“We are deeply sorry for the harm we have caused to victims and their families,” reads a letter accompanying the list of names. “We also apologize for participating in the harm that abuse has done to our Church, a Church that we love and that preaches God’s care for all, especially the most vulnerable among us.”

Five of the men, the group says, are current Maryland Province Jesuits or are current Jesuits from another Province whose offense took place in the Maryland Province.

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NEW SOUTH WALES
The Australian

December 16, 2018

By John Ferguson

A former chief justice will investigate how a sadistic Catholic pedophile was shifted from South Australia to NSW, where he wreaked havoc at one of the faith’s finest schools.

Former Victorian Supreme Court chief justice Marilyn ­Warren has been engaged by the Jesuits to investigate how serial offender and former brother ­Victor Higgs was able to offend in two states.

Higgs has been convicted of molesting boys from Sydney’s St Ignatius College Riverview and St Ignatius in Adelaide and was moved interstate after offending the first time.

The Australian Province of the Society of Jesus will open its books to Ms Warren to determine what the schools knew and when about Higgs’s offending.

Her findings will be published.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

December 14, 2018

An accused DC priest will remain in jail awaiting trial despite a Pennsylvania colleague’s pleas on his behalf. We applaud the DC judge who denied this request.

According to reports, the attorney for Fr. Urbano Vazquez argued that he should be allowed to return to the “secluded parish outside of Pittsburgh where he had been staying” and said that Fr. Vazquez would be watched over by other priests living at the parish. The lawyer called one of these priests, Fr. Frank Yacobi, to so testify for the defense. Yet the judge assigned to the case ruled otherwise, harshly criticizing the request by saying “to release [Fr. Vazquez] now back in the supervision of colleagues who had been informed of such alleged behavior is troubling to me.”

We applaud this move by D.C. Superior Court Judge Juliet McKenna. Given that church officials were allegedly notified of the accusations against Fr. Vazquez in 2015, it stands to reason that they are as incapable of watching over Fr. Vazquez now as they were in adequately responding to the allegations then.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

December 14, 2018

Each of these priests is listed in a data base of accused clerics maintained by the most credible on-line source on information on the Catholic abuse and cover up crisis, BishopAccountability.org. All have been sued, “outed” by Catholic officials, or mentioned in mainstream secular and/or religious news media, but usually in other states. Their presence in the Kansas City area is confirmed through the same sources.

A victim of one of these clerics (Fr. Coury) was represented by St. Louis attorney Ken Chackes (314 872 8420, 314 369 3902 cell, kchackes@cch-law.com). Victims of some of the accused have been represented by KC MO attorney Rebecca Randles (816 931 9901, 816 510 2704 cell, Rebecca@randlesmatalaw.com)

Jesuits
Fr. John G. O’Flaherty worked at St. Francis Xavier Church and Rockhurst College, He was named as an abuser in a March 2011 civil complaint filed in Pueblo, CO.

Fr. Eugene Maio was a priest in the KC, KS, archdiocese. He was accused in a lawsuit of sexually abusing one person at Marymount High School in Los Angeles.

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SPOKANE (WA)
Reveal

December 17, 2018

This story was produced in partnership with the Northwest News Network

By Emily Schwing, Aaron Sankin and Michael Corey

On the surface, Father James Poole seemed like the cool priest in Nome, Alaska. He founded a Catholic mission radio station that broadcast his Jesuit sermons alongside contemporary pop hits. A 1978 story in People magazine called Poole “Western Alaska’s Hippest DJ … Comin’ at Ya with Rock’n’Roll ’n’ Religion.”

Behind the radio station’s closed doors, Poole was a serial sexual predator. He abused at least 20 women and girls, according to court documents. At least one was 6 years old. One Alaska Native woman says he impregnated her when she was 16, then forced her to get an abortion and blame her father for raping her. Her father went to prison.

Like so many other Catholic priests around the country, Poole’s inappropriate conduct with young girls was well-known to his superiors. A Jesuit supervisor once warned a church official that Poole “has a fixation on sex; an obsession; some sort of mental aberration that makes him see sex everywhere.”

But the last chapter in his story reveals a new twist in the Catholic abuse scandal: Poole was sent to live out his retirement years on Gonzaga University’s campus in Spokane, Washington.

For more than three decades, Cardinal Bea House on Gonzaga’s campus served as a retirement repository for at least 20 Jesuit priests accused of sexual misconduct that predominantly took place in small, isolated Alaska Native villages and on Indian reservations across the Northwest, an investigation by the Northwest News Network and Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting has found.

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ST. PAUL (MN)
Archdiocese of St. Paul

December 14, 2018

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Many of you have reminded me that our Church needs to face today’s challenges with more direct action. Changes must be made that will prevent regression to old ways. I am taking additional steps in this Archdiocese to change the culture that fostered the clergy abuse crisis.

A new position has been created in the Office of Ministerial Standards and Safe Environment to ensure that the voice of survivors of clergy sexual abuse will be regularly heard within Archdiocesan leadership. To strengthen that voice, I want to say again today that any survivor who at any time entered into a settlement agreement containing a confidentiality provision is released from that provision. I also reiterate my pledge to meet with any survivors who would like to do so. I am leaving open all Friday afternoons in February, March and April for that purpose. Meetings at other times and places will still be available as well. Planning for spiritual outreach in 2019 is also underway. It will include opportunities, both at the parish and Archdiocesan levels, for reparation, spiritual renewal, and prayers for healing.

I also want to share a few thoughts regarding bishop accountability. This was a major topic at the recent meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. As mentioned before, I strongly favor the creation of a lay-led mechanism for investigating and assessing any allegations made against me or any other bishop. It is clear to me that expanding meaningful lay involvement is essential for us to accomplish cultural change and put in place a credible and lasting process. In order to fully address bishop accountability, the Church needs a national or regional board empowered to act, much as our well-respected Ministerial Review Board has been empowered to address allegations involving our priests and deacons. The Church cannot fulfill its mission without public trust.

I remain troubled by the failure to bring closure to the 2014 investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct with adult males leveled against my predecessor, Archbishop John Nienstedt. You will recall that Archbishop Nienstedt had delegated the investigation to his senior auxiliary bishop, who in turn sought the assistance of two separate law firms. In 2015, the investigative materials were submitted to the then-Nuncio, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò. Also in 2015, the investigation’s underlying allegations were provided by the Archdiocese to the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office. As far as I know, any effort by the Vatican to further address the allegations was suspended in June 2015 when Archbishop Nienstedt resigned his office. Thus, the matter remains unresolved for the accusers, for Archbishop Nienstedt and for the public. I share the frustration that is felt by them, and believe this situation highlights the need for a better-defined process and independent mechanism to resolve allegations made against bishops.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

December 17, 2018

By Annysa Johnson

More Catholic priests with ties to Wisconsin will be among those identified Monday in an ongoing effort by the Jesuit religious order to make public the names of priests and brothers with credible allegations of sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults.

Monday’s announcement by the Society of Jesus’ USA Midwest Province follows the release of more than 150 names by the west and south-central provinces Dec. 7. Eight of those individuals had ties to Wisconsin, including five who had worked at Marquette University or Marquette University High School in Milwaukee.

Monday’s list also is expected to include two additional Chicago priests supervised by former Marquette University President Robert Wild, who pulled his name from a new $108 million residence hall this fall, saying he mishandled allegations against three priests when he led that province from 1985 to 1991.

The Jesuits are the latest Catholic institution to divulge the names of known or suspected offenders in the wake of an August report by a Pennsylvania grand jury, which identified more than 300 abusive priests believed to have molested at least 1,000 children and prompted at least a dozen criminal investigations of church activities across the country.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
USA Today

December 17, 2018

By Kevin Johnson

Law enforcement officials from up to 45 states have sought assistance from Pennsylvania authorities in pursuit of alleged misconduct by Catholic priests and related efforts to conceal that abuse by the church, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said.

Shapiro, in an interview with USA TODAY, said the surge of outside inquiries has come just in the past four months since a landmark state grand jury investigation found that more than 300 “predator” priests had abused at least 1,000 victims across six decades.

Since August, the attorney general said, Pennsylvania authorities have joined forces with their counterparts across the country, helping them craft search warrant applications and grand jury subpoenas.

Fourteen state attorneys general so far have publicly acknowledged that they have launched separate clergy abuse inquiries, while the U.S. Justice Department is in the midst of a broader review disclosed in October by church officials who had received demands for documents.

At the same time, Shapiro said, 1,450 calls have poured into a Pennsylvania hotline, with many of the contacts providing information not previously known to state investigators during its two-year inquiry.

“We are learning a lot of new information that we and other law enforcement agencies are investigating,” Shapiro said. “Law enforcement, in many ways, is just getting started. I think we’re probably in the third or fourth inning, meaning that we still have a good ways to go and a lot more horrors to unearth.”

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LOUDOUN COUNTY (VA)
Times Mirror

December 14, 2018

By Trevor Baratko

A Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct by a Purcellville priest has concluded with no criminal charges being sought, authorities said Friday.

Father Ronald S. Escalante, a pastor at Saint Francis de Sales Church in Purcellville, had been placed on leave during the investigation. He was accused of “boundary violations” involving a minor and adults, according to the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, which announced Escalante’s leave on Dec. 7.

Escalante denied the accusations and cooperated with the investigation, according to the diocese.

The Loudoun sheriff’s office released the following statement Friday: “On Nov. 21, 2018, the LCSO was contacted by the Catholic Diocese of Arlington regarding potential inappropriate contact by a member of their clergy in Purcellville. The investigation has concluded, and there are no criminal charges.”

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WATERBURY (CT)
Republican American

December 17, 2018

Area Catholics on Sunday expressed cautious hope for more transparency and a thorough investigation by church officials upon learning the Archdiocese of Hartford will next month publish the names of clergy members who have been “credibly accused” of sexual abusing minors over its more than 60-year history. Meanwhile, victims of that abuse expressed skepticism over […]

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WASHINGTON (DC)
National Public Radio

December 17, 2018

By Lauren Frayer

The narrow lane that leads to what may be India’s most infamous convent winds past spindly coconut palms and fat banana leaves flapping in the breeze. Tropical bird calls break through the muffled drone of female voices praying inside a house with pink stucco columns.

The bucolic setting, in the jungle of India’s southwestern Kerala state, is home to about a dozen Roman Catholic nuns who belong to the Missionaries of Jesus order. But their peace has been shattered by what allegedly happened here between 2014 and 2016.

One of the nuns says she was raped by a bishop more than a dozen times. The bishop, Franco Mulakkal, denies the nun’s accusations, and is out on bail. The Vatican has temporarily relieved him of his duties while he defends himself in court.

The alleged victim is huddled upstairs, under police guard in the convent. She has received death threats.

Meanwhile, her fellow nuns have become activists, staging street protests in her defense — a rebellion against India’s church leadership from within.

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FT. WORTH (TX)
Star Telegram

December 15, 2018

By Bill Hanna and Nichole Manna

Bishop Michael Olson says he has been as transparent as possible in dealing with the departures of priests and other decisions affecting parishes under his supervision in the Diocese of Fort Worth.

In a meeting with the Star-Telegram on Friday, Olson also addressed criticism from parishioners who say they fear retribution if they speak out against him.

“People have a right to be critical,” Olson said. “I don’t think people have a right to slander or be destructive or say untrue things.”

Olson agreed to the interview to address concerns raised in an online petition that calls for an investigation by the Catholic Church into Olson and his operations of the diocese.

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WHEELING (WV)
The Intelligencer

December 16, 2018

By Charles Rogerson

In a slow bleed, the Catholic Church is prying open secret files and releasing the names of “credibly accused” pedophile priests. The sheer numbers are staggering. Last summer, the report out of Pennsylvania listed 300 predator priests, with a number of names redacted. That eye-popping list didn’t include priests who had been named earlier.

The Wheeling-Charleston diocese listed 31 names. If nothing else, the revelations put the kibosh on the few-bad-apples excuse the church had lamely offered while still actively covering up the scandal.

And a coverup it was, of monumental proportions, conceived at the highest levels of the church hierarchy. The basic strategy was a cynical transgression of justice and decency: First, take advantage of the unassailable status of the priest to repress victims’ accusations. We’ll never know how many victims there were, because, to this day, may of them have never breathed a word about the crimes perpetrated upon them, body and soul.

Even on the family level, some parents have traditionally (and still do) send a sinister message to their children: Don’t make trouble. Don’t cause a problem. If a child victim hurdled these formidable obstacles and made the complaint, bishops and the police would often conspire to sweep the mess under the rug. Protecting the church’s reputation was always paramount. All too often, lay Catholics persecuted what few victims had the nerve to speak out.

If a particular case continued to fester, the lawyers stepped in with cash settlements, always with a non-disclosure gag-clause fastened to them. Afterward, they simply waited it out, and one could almost hear the sigh of relief which emanated from the clergy each time a specific statute-of-limitations date was reached. Meanwhile, the church would transfer the offending Father Can’t Help Himself to another parish — and not tell anyone about his penchant for molestation.

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BUFFALO (NY)
Buffalo News

December 15, 2018

By Lou Michel

One of two priests cleared of sexual misconduct allegations and returned to active ministry by the Buffalo Diocese said he holds no ill will toward Bishop Richard J. Malone or the woman who accused him of forcibly kissing her 30 years ago when she was 19.

“I’m happy with the way things turned out,” Monsignor Frederick R. Leising, 73, said Saturday. “And I really hold no animosity, not for the Bishop or the woman who made the allegations.”

Rev. Roy Herberger, 76, the other priest, expressed concern that his name was publicly released when the allegation was made against him with no evidence.

“I still don’t understand why the diocese went public and put me on administrative leave, even though there was no evidence,” Herberger said Saturday. “Anyone can make a phone call or have a lawyer write a letter.”

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MINNEAPOLIS (MN)
Star Tribune

December 14, 2018

By Tim O’Malley and Tom Johnson

Along with other lay people, we have devoted much effort over the past four years trying to help the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis reground itself as an institution worthy of public trust. Achieving cultural change is difficult. Disappointingly, past church leaders too often failed to fulfill their most basic moral obligations, leaving victims to endure ongoing pain and eroding trust in the church.

Nevertheless, despite tragic wrongdoings, we see the work the Catholic Church does for our community, including providing schools for children of all means, meals and shelter for homeless people of all faiths, as well as other services. Our communities also benefit in many ways from the efforts of honorable priests and laity. It is worthy of the effort needed to right the ship.

Like the Catholic Church nationally, this archdiocese has had its share of tragedies linked to clergy abuse, resulting in civil lawsuits, bankruptcy and even criminal prosecution. In the last few years, steps have been taken to earn back the trust of victim-survivors and the public. Lay people with suitable skills are in place to help create safe environments and to objectively address allegations of clergy misconduct. Other archdiocesan initiatives make clear the necessity of tapping into lay expertise. We need these demonstrable actions.

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MODESTO (CA)
Modesto Bee

December 14, 2018

By Garth Stapley

A former youth pastor who sexually abused a girl three decades ago is cooperating now with her attorneys in a lawsuit against Modesto’s CrossPoint Church, formerly First Baptist Church.

In return for his help, Brad Tebbutt was dropped as a defendant in the lawsuit brought by Jennifer Roach, now 47 and living in Washington state.

“During the course of discovery, Jennifer realized that Brad did make a genuine apology and she has genuinely forgiven him. And, he has cooperated with the litigation,” her Sacramento lawyer, Joseph George, said Friday in a telephone interview.

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SYRACUSE (NY)
Post Standard

December 16, 2018

At last, the Catholic Diocese of Syracuse has released the names of 57 priests, alive and dead, who were credibly accused of sexual abuse since 1950. For the first time, we can begin to see the scale of the clergy sexual abuse crisis in our midst. It is horrifying.

Two weeks ago, Bishop Robert J. Cunningham wisely reversed his previous stance of keeping the names of accused priests secret unless the victims went public first. Cunningham, who is nearing retirement, said he changed his mind after concluding that “this practice has become a roadblock to moving our local Church forward.”

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse today released a list of priests with credible allegations of child sexual abuse against them.

Indeed, trust in the church and its leadership has been damaged, perhaps irreparably, by their past failures to protect children from predator priests, a lack of transparency and accountability to parents and parishioners, and hostility to survivors of clergy sexual abuse.

Sixteen years after the Boston Globe first exposed the clergy sex abuse crisis in the church, the scandals keep on coming. Just this week, an Australian cardinal was convicted of molesting two children in the 1990s. In July, an American cardinal resigned after being accused of improper sexual behavior toward seminarians. Pope Francis has called bishops to a meeting in February at the Vatican to address it.

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DALLAS (TX)
Associated Press

December 15, 2018

By Ryan Tarinelli

The Texas judge who approved a plea deal allowing a former Baylor University student accused of rape to avoid jail time holds three degrees from Baylor. The criminal district attorney overseeing the case holds two. The prosecutor who agreed to the plea agreement graduated from Baylor law school.

Local leaders say those connections to the world’s largest Baptist university cast doubt on the handling of the criminal case against ex-Phi Delta Theta president Jacob Walter Anderson, who was accused of repeatedly raping a woman outside a 2016 fraternity party.

Anderson was indicted on sexual assault charges, but the agreement allowed him to plead no contest to unlawful restraint. He must seek counseling and pay a $400 fine but will not have to register as a sex offender. His lawyers say a statement from the woman, which she read in court, is riddled with misrepresentations and distortions. Prosecutors have defended the plea deal.

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HARTFORD (CT)
Hartford Courant

December 16, 2018

By Dave Altimari

Following the path of many Catholic Church leaders across the country, Archbishop Leonard Blair announced this weekend that he will release next month the names of all clergy from the Archdiocese of Hartford credibly accused of sexual abuse and hire an independent party to review the church’s personnel files going back to 1953.

“I wish to announce in January the Archdiocese of Hartford will be publishing the names of archdiocesan clergy who have been the object of lawsuits and legal settlements, or otherwise credibly accused, and the names of religious order priests and priests from other dioceses who have been credibly accused of an offense that took place in the Archdiocese,” Blair wrote in a seven-paragraph statement.

Blair went on to say that the archdiocese will be hiring someone to do an “independent review of all our clergy files to identify any additional names from the present going back to 1953,” which is the year the Archdiocese of Hartford was established.

“The publication of names will be updated as any new information becomes available. Finally, the Archdiocese will be publishing the financial outlay that has been made as a result of the abuse of minors by clergy and the sources of these funds,” Blair wrote.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
USA Today

December 16, 2018

By Lindsay Schnell

Bill Reidy says he remembers every detail about the office where he was repeatedly raped by the Jesuit priest who served as his academic adviser at Loyola Academy, a private Catholic school just outside Chicago.

A ficus tree in one corner, a desk chair in another. The credenza covered in photos. The door that opened inward and stayed locked.

While other students learned about literature or chemistry, Reidy says, he was called “every single day” into the private quarters of the Rev. Donald J. O’Shaughnessy, a bedroom that doubled as his office. Each meeting ended with the same nauseating ritual, Reidy says.

“He would always make sure he had a soda in his fridge, and he’d give it to me and say, ‘I want you to drink this and get the taste out of your mouth,’ ” says Reidy, 57, who lives in a Chicago suburb. “Then he’d send me back to class.”

Reidy was hurt and confused. Did other students know? Were other priests at Loyola Academy – a school his father insisted on sending him to because he believed a Catholic education was the best education – aware? Were they laughing at him?

On the weekends, when his parents forced him to go to church with his family, Reidy had to sit in an aisle seat, so he could make an immediate exit. When he walked into Mass, Reidy’s palms went sweaty, and his body shook. He says he flashed back to the time he was gang-raped by O’Shaughnessy and other men at Loyola’s school chapel.

He begged his parents to put him back in public school. When they asked why, Reidy always had the same tortured reply: “I can’t tell you.”

Beyond the horror and panic, Reidy was even more terrified at the consequences O’Shaughnessy allegedly threatened.

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ALBUQUERQUE (NM)
Albuquerque Journal

December 17, 2018

By Colleen Heild

A longtime New Mexico Catholic priest announced to parishioners on Sunday that, despite his “vow of loyalty” to the church, he has been a “whistle-blower” who has privately assisted victims of clergy sex abuse and their attorneys “seek justice” for more than two decades.

Most recently, Father Vincent Paul Chávez said he has been assisting two agents with the state Attorney General’s office in their investigation of clergy sex abuse and how the church has responded to it.

Chávez, pastor of St. Therese of the Infant Jesus Parish and Catholic school in Albuquerque, said during his homily at Sunday Mass that it was time to “talk about the elephant in the room” after learning on Saturday that the planned construction of a new cafeteria for his St. Therese school would have to be postponed indefinitely because of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy action filed by the Archdiocese of Santa Fe in late November.

Archdiocese officials, in citing the financial burden of priest sex abuse litigation, said in late November that parishes likely wouldn’t be impacted by the bankruptcy reorganization.

Chávez told more than 100 people who attended the 10 a.m. Mass Sunday morning, “I felt the Chapter 11 would not affect the day-to-day operation of our parishes and schools.”

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FT. WORTH (TX)
Star Telegram

December 15, 2018

By Neil Nakahodot

After the Fort Worth Star-Telegram published a series of stories about sexual misconduct at independent fundamental Baptist churches, the paper received hundreds of responses

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Catholic News Service

December 14, 2018

By Zita Ballinger Fletcher

An investigation by the Diocese of Hildesheim, Germany, is shedding new light on child sex abuse in Catholic children’s homes in the country in the 1950s. A central figure in the inquiry is an esteemed and controversial figure, Bishop Heinrich Maria Janssen, a former priest in Nazi-occupied Poland awarded Germany’s highest federal decoration in 1966 for postwar charity work.

Volker Bauerfeld, a spokesman for the diocese, told Catholic News Service the allegations against Janssen have “deeply shaken many people” in the diocese, due to Janssen’s status as “one of the most renowned Hildesheim bishops of modern times.”

Although Janssen and his alleged accomplices are long dead, Bishop Heiner Wilmer, the current bishop, is investigating the matter fully to “bring more light into the darkness.” Wilmer is launching a vigorous inquiry to investigate sexual abuse allegedly committed by Janssen and Catholic orphanage chaplains, with the aim of revealing the truth behind a possible local pedophile ring.

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DENVER (CO)
Crux

December 17, 2018

By Inés San Martín

As the clerical sexual abuse scandals continue to work their way through the global church, bishops and religious superiors in Spain are showing similar but also contrasting reactions both to the crime of abuse and the public reactions to it.

During his first remarks as bishop of Avila during his ordination, Jose Maria Gil Tamayo, former secretary and spokesman of the bishops’ conference, said on Saturday that there’s an attempt to “extend an unfair veil of suspicion over the immense multitude of priests.”

He was referring to the recent publication, in several local newspapers, of allegations of clerical sexual abuse and subsequent silence and cover-up. Seeing this “veil of suspicion,” Gil Tamayo said he wanted to offer some words of “encouragement” and “support” for the local clergy, whom he thanked for their service.

“Especially in these moments in which, seeing the sins and crimes that have been committed by the ecclesial community and for which we apologize and work towards their eradication and prevention,” there’s an attempt to discredit the many good priests “who serve God and the people in a faithful, self-denying and exemplary way,” he said, to a cheering crowd.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

December 17, 2018

Bt Haidee V. Eugenio

Father Louis Brouillard and Father Antonio A. Cruz sexually abused the same Yona boy on separate occasions in the early 1970s, according to a $10 million lawsuit filed in local court on Monday.

The two priests were assigned to different parishes on Guam in the 1970s, but on various occasions were assigned to conduct Mass at the Saint Francis Church in Yona. Both priests are now deceased.

More: Religious order Carmelites added as defendant in Guam clergy sex abuse lawsuits

More: Lawsuit: Father Antonio C. Cruz, 2 others told altar boy he would go to hell if he told of sex abuse

The two priests, on separate occasions, sexually abused and molested the boy in their individual cars after offering the boy a ride home. Cruz also tried to rape the boy in the car, after abusing him, according to the lawsuit.

The boy, identified in court documents only as J.C.G. to protect his privacy, was a young parishioner who helped clean the Yona church after Mass at his mother’s instructions.

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IRONDALE (AL)
National Catholic Register

December 14, 2018

By Peter Jesserer Smith

Standing at a payphone in Rome, calling his wife in tears, was not how the newly ordained Catholic deacon planned to end a 10-day pilgrimage in Rome.

On a misty night in February 2006, Deacon Mark King called his wife, Susan, to explain he had just escaped a drunken sexual attack from their pastor, who had subjected him to days of sexual harassment and unwanted sexual advances, at a restaurant.

Upon his return to the United States, Deacon King and his wife met with diocesan officials the next morning, where chancery officials prepared his statement, witnessed by the diocesan investigator and notarized by the chancellor of the diocese, documenting the aggressive sexual harassment, sexual advances and propositioning he had received from Father Greg Mullaney, then-pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Groton, Connecticut, during that trip.

Speaking to the Register more than 12 years later, Deacon King said he was very concerned that he might not be the only person targeted by the priest for sex. According to the deacon’s statement, the priest had made many immoral, suggestive and sexually disparaging comments about fellow clergy and laity, including parish employees.

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[Book authors on Chilean Church crisis: the hierarchy failed]

CHILE
La Tercera

December 15, 2018

By M. J. Navarrete

“Católicos y perplejos”, la primera publicación sobre el tema, será lanzado esta semana en la U. Católica.

Joaquín García Huidobro, académico de la Universidad de los Andes: “No se resuelve cambiando un par de personas” ¿Cree que una de las “piedras de tope” para que se resuelva la crisis son los cardenales Ezzati y Errázuriz?

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[“You judge”: John O’Reilly’s first words after arriving in Rome following his expulsion from Chile]

CHILE
El Mostrador

December 15, 2018

“Dejo todo en las manos de Dios”, alcanzó a decir antes de ser retirado del aeropuerto.

El sacerdote John O’Reilly arribó a Roma tras ser expulsado de Chile luego de cometer abusos sexuales contra menores. A su arribo a Europa, tuvo escuetas palabras, las que fueron captadas por el noticiero de Canal 13. O’Reilly indicó que “juzguen ustedes” ante la pregunta de si es un pedófilo.

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[Network of survivors on O’Reilly’s expulsion: “It’s not a happy ending. No way”.]

CHILE
The Clinic

December 14, 2018

Esta mañana, el sacerdote John O’Reilly dejó Chile. Lo hizo después de cumplir la pena de cuatro años de libertad vigilada dictada por un tribunal civil, el cual en 2014 lo halló culpable de abusos sexuales en contra de una alumna del colegio Cumbres. Pero para la Red de Sobrevivientes de Abuso Sexual Eclesiástico de Chile, su salida no es suficiente: exigen una justicia a tiempo.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
Kansas City Star

December 15, 2018

By Jill Toyoshiba

A group that represents survivors of clergy sex abuse called on the dioceses of Kansas City and Kansas City, Kan., to post online the names of religious leaders credibly accused of abuse. Some dioceses already are.

A group that represents survivors of clergy sex abuse called on the dioceses of Kansas City and Kansas City, Kan., to post online the names of religious leaders credibly accused of abuse.

David Clohessy, the St. Louis volunteer director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, said some dioceses have already done so, including two in Missouri. But not nearly enough.

“Most bishops say as little as possible,” Clohessy said at a news conference Saturday in downtown Kansas City outside the Catholic chancery offices. “Most bishops post these lists only in the face of intense public pressure.”

He said some only post the lists when forced to as part of the terms of legal judgments or settlements.

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BIRMINGHAM (AL)
WVTM 13 Digital

December 14, 2018

The Catholic Diocese of Birmingham today released the names of priests accused of sexual abuse of minors.

Robert Wilford said one of the priests, Charles Cross, abused him as a teenager in Birmingham in the 1960s. “You don’t forget about it. You never will. I don’t really think about it in detail every day. There’s not a day in my life that some thought doesn’t pop up in my head,” he said.

Wilford said he suffered from depression, alcoholism, and post traumatic stress disorder and came forward decades later. “I was just very irate and decided to go ahead and make it my mission to force Cross out of the priesthood, so that’s why I came forward in 2002,” he said.

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NEW JERSEY
North Jersey Record

December 14, 2018

By Joshua Jongsma

Two advocates who have set up compensation funds for Sept. 11 and Boston Marathon bombing victims will lead up the efforts for survivors of sex abuse by the Catholic Church in New Jersey.

Kenneth R. Feinberg and Camille Biros put together similar funds in New York and Pennsylvania. Together they will design and run the program in the state, the Roman Catholic Bishops of New Jersey stated Friday. They were also administrators for the BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster Victim Compensation Fund.

The program will be funded by the five Catholic dioceses of New Jersey: Newark, Camden, Trenton, Paterson and Metuchen. The Catholic Church of New Jersey has paid $50 million so far in settlements to abuse survivors.

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BIRMINGHAM (AL)
WHNT-TV

December 14, 2018

By Chelsea Brentzel

The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Birmingham released a list of names of priests accused of sexually abusing minors. The press release is asking anyone with new information to come forward.

The list does not include where the accused clergy served or the allegations against them.

Charles V. Cross
Ordained in 1960, removed from ministry in 1985, forced to retire without privileges in 2002

John J. (Jack) Ventura
Ordained in 1968, transferred to Diocese of Birmingham in 1974, removed from ministry after allegations received in 1985

Charles Bordenca (died 2017)
Ordained in 1955, removed from ministry in Diocese of Birmingham in 1989

Kevin Cooke
Ordained in 1978, removed from ministry in 2002

Jonathan (John) Franklin
Ordained in 1956, removed from ministry in the mid 1980s

Roger Lott
Ordained in 1954, removed from ministry in 1997

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HOUSTON (TX)
KHOU-TV

December 14, 2018

By Jeremy Rogalski and Tina Macias

Most files are only identified by a last name, but among the few full names listed, at least six are priests who have been publicly accused of sexual misconduct.

Bags of shredded documents, electronics and hundreds of files were among the items investigators seized from a Montgomery County treatment center as part of its sexual assault investigation into a local priest.

Listed among the items taken from the Shalom Center in Splendora in September are files for at least 200 people, according to an evidence log filed in the case and obtained by KHOU. The vast majority of the files are only identified by a last name, but among the few full names listed, at least six are priests who have been publicly accused of sexual misconduct.

It’s unclear how many of the other people listed are priests or why they were seeking treatment. The Shalom Center offers residential, sabbatical and outpatient programs for priests, deacons and male and female members of a religious order.

The center has 20 residential beds and treats more than 400 people a year, according to the Official Catholic Directory. It offers treatment for, “psychological difficulties, interpersonal conflicts, emotional or sexual problems, grief and loss issues, stress and exhaustion, transitional trauma, sexual abuse, addictions,” according to its website.

Former Conroe priest Manuel La Rosa-Lopez, who’s facing four counts of indecency with a child, was treated at the Shalom Center in 2001, and documents about the center found in La Rosa-Lopez’s bedroom reference one of his accusers, according to the search warrant.

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[The bishop of Salamanca allowed accused priest to keep working for three years despite Vatican request]

MADRID (SPAIN)
El País

December 15, 2018

By Íñigo Domínguez

En la web de la parroquia el sacerdote aparece concelebrando misa con el jefe de la diócesis y rodeado de niños recibiendo a los Reyes Magos

El obispo de Salamanca mantuvo tres años, entre 2011 y 2014, a Isidro López Santos, un cura denunciado canónicamente por abuso de menores en 2011, que ya había confesado su culpabilidad y contra el que el Vaticano había ordenado dos veces actuar de forma cautelar hasta la sentencia del proceso eclesiástico. Pero el obispo Carlos López no hizo nada, tan solo le jubiló al cabo de un año y medio, para colocarle en otra parroquia como ayudante de un cura amigo suyo donde continuó con su labor y en contacto con menores. Era la parroquia de La Anunciación-San Mateo, y el blog de esta iglesia demuestra que durante esos dos años, hasta que fue condenado, ejerció como sacerdote a todos los efectos. Es más, en mayo de 2013 aparece en una fotografía concelebrando una confirmación con el propio obispo de Salamanca, que por tanto no podía ignorar que seguía con su actividad. Se ve al cura en celebraciones, comuniones, bautizos, unciones de enfermos, y hasta recibiendo a los Reyes Magos con los niños del barrio. Hay al menos una docena de fechas documentadas con fotografías en el periodo en el que se le suponía apartado. El obispado de Salamanca se ha negado a responder a las preguntas sobre este caso.

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Church Militant

December 15, 2018

By Bradley Eli, M.Div., Ma.Th.

Can’t fight Vatican’s financial corruption or liberal agenda anymore

Cardinal George Pell is appealing the verdict from the Australian jury that found him guilty of actually committing sex abuse. Even if the verdict of guilty is subsequently overturned, it seems certain that Pell will no longer be able to fight financial corruption in the Vatican or the liberal agenda pushing reception of Holy Communion to those living contrary to Christ’s teachings.

It’s worth recalling Pell’s dire warning he gave in 2014 concerning the extreme goals of liberal prelates at the Extraordinary Synod on the Family.

“Communion for the divorced and remarried,” Pell said, “is only a tip of the iceberg. It’s a stalking horse. They want wider changes, recognition of civil unions, recognition of homosexual unions.”

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[Spain’s religious orders are urged to seek justice against pedophilia]

MADRID (SPAIN)
El País

December 15, 2018

By Julio Núñez

La Conferencia Española de Religiosos reconoce la “gravedad” y la “ocultación” de los delitos y trata con los superiores de las congregaciones la evaluación psicológica de los curas

La Conferencia Española de Religiosos (Confer) ha llamado a los superiores mayores de todas las órdenes y congregaciones religiosas del país para tratar los abusos sexuales a menores en la Iglesia católica, un escándalo que está socavando la imagen de la institución en todo el mundo. El primer encuentro se celebró el pasado miércoles, según un comunicado hecho público este viernes por la institución, en el que la entidad reconoce la “gravedad y la culpabilidad” de estos delitos, “el tratamiento de ocultación que se les ha dado” y se solidariza con las víctimas “en su dolor y reclamo de justicia”. La publicación del documento llegó un día después de que los jesuitas de Cataluña confirmasen que van a investigar los abusos sexuales cometidos en colegios de la orden los últimos 60 años, tras la reciente difusión por EL PAÍS de varios casos que afectan a su orden. La mayoría de denuncias de pederastia que han llegado a este periódico atañen a congregaciones religiosas.

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SYDNEY (AUSTRALIA)
Church Militant

December 14, 2018

By an Australian correspondent in Sydney

Cardinal George Pell, formerly the Pope’s right-hand man for Vatican finances and the face of the Catholic Church in Australia, has been convicted of abusing two choir boys when he was Archbishop of Melbourne in the 1990s.

Pell has categorically denied the allegations.

Although this is the biggest news story in Australia, it is not on the front page of a single newspaper here. The state of Victoria, where Pell was tried, has imposed a suppression order that bans all reporting and comment. So Australians are resorting to overseas websites and Twitter for news.

The full-page headline in The Daily Telegraph, of Sydney, one of Australia’s biggest newspapers, was “It’s the Nation’s Biggest Story” — “yet we can’t publish it.” So there are no facts to discuss — other than the brutal fact that a cardinal has been convicted in a court of law for abusing boys. Who, when, where, how, why are all matters of surmise.

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National Catholic Reporter

December 15, 2018

by Jamie Manson

About two weeks into his pontificate in March 2013, Pope Francis uttered a phrase that would quickly become one of his greatest hits in his canon of quotes: “This I ask you: be shepherds, with the ‘odor of the sheep.’ ”

Francis spoke those words to thousands of clerics who had gathered at the Vatican for the annual chrism Mass, a liturgy traditionally held on the morning of Holy Thursday that celebrates the holiness of the priesthood.

The phrase became a common refrain for any progressive Catholic testifying to the promise of Francis’ pontificate.

But the metaphor never sat well with me. Sure, Francis was suggesting that members of the clergy not stay aloof and removed from the people they serve. But what did it say about the laity? Are we a lost, unwashed and simple herd who were utterly dependent on our priests and bishops for guidance?

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[New bishop of Ávila thanks innocent priests for their service, assures them church is working to curb abuse]

MADRID (SPAIN)

December 15, 2018
El País

By Julio Núñez

Gil Tamayo, exsecretario de la Conferencia Episcopal, estima que desde la comunidad eclesial se ha pedido perdón y se trabaja para erradicar los abusos

Durante su primera alocución como obispo de Ávila este sábado, José María Gil Tamayo, ex secretario general y exportavoz de la Conferencia Episcopal Española, ha afirmado que “se quiere extender injustamente un velo de sospecha sobre la multitud inmensa de sacerdotes” con las recientes publicaciones sobre los casos de pederastia que se han cometido y silenciado dentro de la Iglesia en las últimas décadas. Por este motivo, Gil Tamayo ha querido dirigir en la catedral de Ávila unas palabras de “aliento” y “apoyo” a todos los curas inocentes que puedan sentirse afectados. “¡Gracias, hermanos sacerdotes por vuestro servicio!”, ha exclamado. El exsecretario de la Conferencia Episcopal también ha subrayado que, desde la comunidad eclesial, piden perdón por los casos de pederastia y ha asegurado que “están trabajando en su erradicación y prevención”.

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[Definitive dismissal of Ricardo Ezzati will be discussed on January 30]

CHILE
Soy Chile

December 15, 2018

La defensa había solicitado el procedimiento el pasado 30 de octubre, pero aún no se había fijado la fecha de la audiencia. El arzobispo de Santiago es investigado por eventuales delitos de encubrimiento en casos de abuso sexual al interior de la Iglesia.

El próximo 30 de enero se discutirá si el arzobispo de Santiago, Ricardo Ezzati, será sobreseído o no de manera definitiva en la causa donde es investigado por eventuales encubrimientos de delitos de abuso sexual, cometidos por miembros de la iglesia catolica.

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[John O’Reilly: after 34 years, the Legionaries of Christ priest leaves Chile]

CHILE
La Tercera

December 15, 2018

By M.J. Navarrete and S. Rodríguez

Tras cumplir su condena por abuso y ante el inminente decreto de expulsión que emitiría el Ministerio del Interior, el sacerdote dejó hoy el país y viajó a Italia. Llega a una residencia de su congregación en Vía Aurelia, Roma. Como tiene antecedentes penales, su defensa trabajará para que en el futuro pueda regresar.

A las 12.40 horas de este sábado, en el vuelo de ALItalia 689 que despegó rumbo a Roma, Italia, el sacerdote John O’Reilly abandonó Chile desde el Aeropuerto de Santiago, 34 años después de que llegó. Lo acompañaba el superior de los Legionarios de Cristo para Chile y Argentina, el presbítero Gabriel Bárcena.

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[“Predator” priest expelled from Miami worked with teens in Spain for years]

MADRID (SPAIN)
El País

December 14, 2018

By Íñigo Domínguez

El cura expulsado de Miami tras una denuncia vivió años con adolescentes e invitaba a los estudiantes a su casa

El obispado de Salamanca no solo movió de pueblo en pueblo durante dos décadas a Francisco Carreras, el sacerdote español expulsado de la archidiócesis de Miami en 1981 tras una denuncia de abusos y enviado de vuelta a su provincia, sino que también lo asignó como profesor a dos colegios públicos de la ciudad. Carreras, de cuyos antecedentes fue informado el obispado desde EE UU y que en una de las denuncias posteriores fue definido como “depredador sexual”, ha sido acusado por tres víctimas localizadas por EL PAÍS en Sequeros y Calzada de Valdunciel. Ahora sale a la luz, según confirman cinco antiguos alumnos y un exprofesor, que también fue docente de religión en el colegio Campo Charro, entre los ochenta y los noventa, y el Rufino Blanco, en la década de los noventa y hasta 2000. Hasta ahora solo constaba su paso por el centro privado Lorenzo Milani.

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[Lay people of Osorno ask for visibility into commission investigating abuses in Catholic Church]

CHILE
BioBioChile

December 14, 2018

By Nicole Briones and Eduardo Palacios

La Agrupación de Laicos de Osorno llamó a visibilizar el trabajo de la comisión que recepciona denuncias de posibles abusos dentro de la Iglesia Católica. El vocero de la agrupación, Mario Vargas, sostuvo que la instancia se transforma en el único instrumento válido para reconciliar a los fieles católicos, entendiendo que existen casos que fueron reportados y puestos en conocimiento de las autoridades eclesiásticas.

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[O’Reilly’s lawyer plans legal action so the priest can return to Chile]

CHILE
La Tercera

December 14, 2018

By Sebastián Rivas

Cristián Muga señaló que “no existió decreto de expulsión” y que la idea es que en un futuro quede habilitado para regresar al país.

“Se nos encomendó acciones legales que le permitan en el futuro volver al país. No existió decreto de expulsión”. Con esas palabras, el abogado del sacerdote John O’Reilly, Cristián Muga, explicó a radio Universo la lógica que seguirán sus acciones luego de que el religioso abandonara Chile este viernes rumbo a Roma, tras cumplir una condena por abusos sexuales contra una menor de edad.

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[Priest O’Reilly leaves Chile for Rome, asking friends: “I beg you not to abandon me”]

CHILE
La Tercera

December 14, 2018

By Sergio Rodríguez

El sacerdote de los Legionarios de Cristo envió un texto a sus amigos en el que también señala que, “con el corazón detrozado, muy confundido y con una salud debilitada, me despido con inmensa gratitud”. El religioso debió salir del país tras una resolución dando cuenta del cumplimiento de una condena por abuso.

“Amigos: con el corazón destrozado y muy confundido y una salud debilitada me despido con inmensa gratitud, aprecio y admiración. La Fe y la Esperanza en el Señor quedan intactas, a pesar del inmenso dolor que oprime la mente y corazón, casi hasta la muerte”.

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CHILE/ROME
Reuters

December 14, 2018

By Antonio De la Jara

An Irish-born priest, who was convicted of sexually abusing a girl in his care at a religious school in Santiago but served no jail time for the offense, left Chile on Friday for Rome after serving a four-year sentence.

Critics have long pointed to the case of the Rev. John O’Reilly as an example of leniency in a country where the Roman Catholic church has long held powerful sway in politics and society.

A judge in 2014 sentenced O’Reilly, a leader of the Legionaries of Christ religious order, to four years of “supervised liberty” for abusing a preteen girl at the private Colegio Cumbres in the affluent neighborhood of Las Condes between 2007 and 2009.

O’Reilly completed his sentence on Dec. 10, according to a statement issued by the Legionaries of Christ on Friday, and Chilean courts subsequently expelled him from the country.

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CAROL STREAM (IL)
Christianity Today

December 13, 2018

By Morgan Lee

(UPDATED) Beth Moore and other leading Christian survivors don’t just want to take the church to task. They also believe it plays a key role in helping victims heal.

[Editor’s note: This post has been updated with comments from afternoon speakers, including Max Lucado, Nancy Beach, and Ed Stetzer.]

“I am a survivor. My home was my unsafe place. My church was my harbor.”

Growing up as a victim of abuse, Bible teacher Beth Moore was grateful that she could escape to her church. But in retrospect, she wished it could have done more.

“I have often wondered what a difference it would have made if that same harbor had not only been a place to hide, but a place to heal,” Moore said during a summit held Thursday at Wheaton College to address the evangelical church’s response to abuse in the wake of the #MeToo and #ChurchToo movements.

The Southern Baptist ministry leader has repeatedly spoken out on the issue over the past year, joining a wave of evangelicals calling on churches to more explicitly condemn, prevent, and help the victims of sexism, harassment, and abuse.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Daily Herald

December 14, 2018

By Katlyn Smith

It’s been a year of pain, fear and strained relationships for Nancy Beach.

The first female teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church, Beach was one of the women whose allegations of sexual misconduct against founder Bill Hybels led to his early retirement, the resignations of the entire elder board and the ongoing turmoil at the South Barrington-based megachurch.

“I had no idea, no way to foresee what would happen when I joined my voice with the voices of eventually nine other women in calling out the abuse of power and sexual sin in the life of our pastor,” she said.

Beach joined her voice Thursday with some of the most high-profile figures in evangelicalism at a summit convened by Wheaton College. The Billy Graham Center held the one-day gathering to address sexual abuse and harassment within the church.

“We are here to gather our courage. We are here to face that some of our systems have created susceptibility and unanswered culpability,” said Beth Moore, a prominent Bible teacher and author. “We are here to face that, without clarity of teaching and due diligence in training, we have on our hands environments where victimization thrives.”

Even before the opening of the GC2 Summit on Responding to Sexual Harassment, Abuse, and Violence, the event faced criticism from activists behind the #ChurchToo movement, an offshoot of the #MeToo movement that toppled figures in Hollywood and politics.

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AUSTRALIA
National Public Radio

December 13, 2018

By Bill Chappell

Australian news outlets are grappling with how to handle one of the country’s biggest news stories of the year — even though a judge has barred them from reporting the details. The story revolves around Cardinal George Pell, a Vatican insider who was reportedly convicted of sexually abusing minors this week, and public interest in the case has been intense.

A jury in the County Court of Victoria in Melbourne where Pell, 77, was once archbishop, is said to have found the cardinal guilty of “five charges of ‘historical child sexual offenses’ that go back decades,” according to the Jesuit magazine America. Both that outlet and the Catholic News Agency say they have confirmed the initial report of Pell’s conviction that was published by the Daily Beast. All of the outlets are citing sources who either have knowledge of the case or are “close to the cardinal.”

Australian journalists have been forced to either ignore reports of a verdict or refer to it in only the broadest terms. News Corp Australia, which owns a number of print and online outlets in the country, has said it will challenge the court’s suppression order.

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BILOXI (MS)
Sun Herald

December 13, 2018

By Anita Lee

The first principal at Mercy Cross High School in Biloxi, a Jesuit priest named Francis Landwermeyer, in later years railed against the coverup of pedophilia in the Catholic church but did not live to see himself publicly identified as a priest who abused minors.

Landwermeyer’s name was on a list of 42 Jesuit priests, scholastics and brothers whom the religious order identified as having been credibly accused of abusing minors or vulnerable adults.

His name appeared with those facing more than one credible allegation of abuse.

Landwermeyer is accused of abusing minors in the 60s and 70s. No allegations surfaced during the short year he spent at Mercy Cross, the inaugural 1981-82 year of the former co-ed school lost to Hurricane Katrina on Biloxi’s Back Bay.

The Jesuits’ Central and Southern Province, which released the list, said it is trying to protect victims’ identities by keeping private the specific dates and locations of the abuse to protect victims.

Landwermeyer came to Biloxi from Loyola University in New Orleans, where he was a visiting professor. But he didn’t stay long. Accounts from the Sun Herald say the board had some reservations about Landwermeyer’s performance at the end of his first year, but rather than work to improve, he chose to resign.

“There is no confidence in my ability or trust in my integrity among the persons most significant for my effectiveness,” Landwermeyer wrote in his resignation letter in May 1982.

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VERMONT
VT Digger

December 11, 2018

By Kevin O’Connor

A lawyer who has secured more than $30 million in priest misconduct settlements from Vermont’s Catholic Church has found a decades-old case he believes can be tried under the state’s narrow statute of limitations.

Jerome O’Neill has filed civil papers in U.S. District Court in Burlington on behalf of a former Vermont man now living in Texas who alleges he was sexually abused as a child by Alfred Willis, a former priest for the statewide Roman Catholic Diocese from 1975 until his dismissal in 1985.

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TAMPA (FL)
WFLA

December 10, 2018

By Mark Douglas

Massage Envy is the target of yet another lawsuit involving allegations of sexual assault by a massage therapist.

This lawsuit involves a Winter Garden franchise where a previous therapist recently pleaded guilty in another assault case. That therapist, Cesar Guerrero, received 15 years of probation.

“Lightning doesn’t strike twice in one place often. What are the odds of that happening,” said Tampa attorney Joseph Alvarez, who filed the Massage Envy lawsuit in Hillsborough Circuit court on behalf of his unnamed client.

Alvarez sued Massage Envy a few year ago due to another massage therapist who was simply fired from a franchise in Clearwater when allegations arose and went on to assault other women while working for unrelated massage businesses.

“They’re synonymous with the Catholic Church,” Alvarez said. “It’s a head in the sand approach. ‘We don’t know what’s going on, we can’t control this,’ but the reality is they control everything that happens in and around that business.”

Earlier this year, Sarasota police arrested a Massage Envy massage therapist following several allegations of sexual misconduct.

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ALBANY (NY)
Catholic News Service

December 13, 2018

By Father Kenneth Doyle

Q. The news reports of settlements made in the millions of dollars to victims of clergy sex abuse trouble me. Were there secret assets from wills and estates on reserve for that purpose? Where did all that money come from? (Metuchen, New Jersey)
A. National Public Radio reported in August 2018 that dioceses and religious orders in the United States had thus far paid settlements totaling more than $3 billion to victims of clergy sexual abuse. The settlements have come, not from any “secret assets,” but from a combination of cash, proceeds from the sale of land and buildings, and from insurance payments.
What must be said first, though, is that no financial amount is sufficient to compensate victims for their suffering. As Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis said in May 2018 when announcing a settlement of $210 million in restitution to several hundred survivors, “I recognize that the abuse stole so much from you — your childhood, your innocence, your safety, your ability to trust and, in many cases, your faith. … The church let you down, and I’m very sorry.”
That settlement fund came from approximately $170 million from insurance carriers as well as the sale of diocesan assets, including its three chancery buildings on Cathedral Hill in St. Paul. The plan stipulates that a minimum of $50,000 be awarded to each claimant. In 2010, when the Diocese of Burlington, Vermont, settled 26 lawsuits for nearly $18 million, it put its diocesan administration building and a former Catholic summer camp on the real estate market to help cover the cost.

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NEW ORLEANS (LA)
ChurchMilitant.com

December 13, 2018

By Anita Carey

Three new victims are suing over abuse they suffered as young boys at the hands of a suspected serial pedophile.

A lawsuit filed on Tuesday is the fourth one alleging homosexual abuse by the former archdiocese of New Orleans deacon, George F. Brignac. All four cases stemmed from Brignac’s tenure at Holy Rosary School in New Orleans, Lousiana. The first suit was settled by the archdiocese for $500,000 in May.

The three new allegations date from the 1980s, and Brignac’s attorney, Martin Regan, told The New Orleans Advocate that his client “has denied the allegations and he’s not been charged or convicted of any criminal offense.”

While two of the victims have not come forward publicly, Morris Daniels told his story to The New Orleans Advocate to showcase the Church’s failure to stop the abuse. Daniels said, “They could’ve done something about it but they didn’t.”

“They didn’t take care of us as kids. They just let it happen,” he added.

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NEW ORLEANS (LA)
WVUE

December 12, 2018

In a new lawsuit, a man claims a Salesian priest in Marrero raped him. The suit was filed Wednesday at Orleans Parish Civil Court against the Salesians of Don Bosco, the Archdiocese of New Orleans and Archbishop Gregory Aymond.

The alleged victim in the new lawsuit says he was 17 at the time of the crime. The suit doesn’t identify the man but names him as “CJ Doe.” He says he met the priest, Salvatore Isgro or “Father Sam,” in 1979 while working at a local hospital to save money for a class ring. That summer, he says Father Sam asked him to care for a Salesian Brother, a double amputee who lived at the Salesians’ residence at Archbishop Shaw High School in Marrero.

At the end of each day, the man says he would pick up a check signed by Father Sam. The lawsuit claims that in November of that year, as the alleged victim went to pick up his check, Father Sam came from behind and put a vial filled with what smelled like ammonia under his nose. The suit claims CJ Doe became dizzy and disoriented, and that’s when the priest pulled down the alleged victim’s pants and raped him.

According to the suit, that was the last time CJ Doe visited at the Salesians’ residence.

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TACOMA (WA)
The News Tribune

December 13, 2018

Editorial Board

Bellarmine Preparatory School, a Tacoma institution since 1928, turned a harsh but necessary spotlight on itself last Friday when it shared information on 23 disgraced Catholic priests and non-ordained brothers previously assigned to the Bellarmine community. All were “credibly accused” of sexual abuse at some point in their Jesuit careers.

Publicly identifying these alleged offenders was the right thing to do. In fact, it was long overdue. Silence and secrecy should no longer be an option. As Bellarmine President Robert Modarelli said in a statement, for too long this scandal has been allowed to “fester unchecked.”

The private school just off South Union Avenue took a lesson from its own Jesuit catechism: Covering up sin only invites more of it.

To date, there is no information tying these men to crimes in the Bellarmine community, and Modarelli says no victims had come forward as of Thursday. It’s unclear how many of the men worked on campus versus serving in other local Jesuit ministries, but all lived within proximity of thousands of area children.

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SALT LAKE CITY (UT)
FOX 13

December 13, 2018

By Ben Winslow

The president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is being sought for a deposition in a lawsuit alleging sexual abuse involving his daughter and son-in-law.

In a motion filed in federal court, an attorney representing six unnamed plaintiffs is demanding an early deposition of LDS Church President Russell M. Nelson.

“Russell N. Nelson is simply a witness,” Craig Vernon, the attorney for the plaintiffs, told FOX 13 on Thursday.

The lawsuit accuses President Nelson’s daughter and son-in-law, Brenda and Richard Miles, of participating in the abuse of children in a Bountiful ward in the 1980s. The allegations claim a number of people were involved in the abuse and suggests it was covered up.

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CINCINNATI (OH)
Cincinnati Enquirer

December 12, 2018

By Dan Horn

St. Xavier High School, Xavier University and other Jesuit institutions in the Midwest will find out next week if they’ve employed Catholic priests accused of sexually abusing children.

The Midwest Province of Jesuits said Wednesday it would release a list naming every priest in the order who has faced a credible accusation of abuse since 1955.

The decision to make the list public comes as the church is under increasing scrutiny from lay Catholics, abuse survivors and criminal prosecutors to resolve a problem that has plagued it for years.

“It’s a step in the spirit of transparency and reconciliation,” said Mike McGrath, a spokesman for the Midwest Jesuits. “There’s been a lot of discussion and debate in the church about this question.”

Jesuit churches and schools were notified this week that the list was coming out on Monday, Dec. 17. The list will be posted on the religious order’s website at jesuitsmidwest.org, and will include the names of the accused priests, the locations and the dates of the alleged abuse.

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DRAPER (UT)
Deseret News

December 12, 2018

By Pat Reavy

A Draper man described in court documents as a “leader” in a local church was charged Wednesday with sexually abusing a boy in his congregation and being lewd around other boys.

Jeffrey Byron Head, 54, a former bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is charged in 3rd District Court with two counts of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony; and two counts of lewdness, a class B misdemeanor.

In May of 2016, Head went to a boy’s house unannounced, asking him about a recent surgery to his genitals, according to charging documents. After asking “to see the surgery,” the boy pull his pants down and Head inappropriately touched him, the charges state.

A church spokesman said Head was removed from his position after the allegations surfaced.

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MANASSAS (VA)
FOX 5 DC

December 13, 2018

By Lindsay Watts

A former youth pastor accused of sexually abusing a teenager from his Northern Virginia megachurch appeared in court Thursday.

A judge ruled that two additional women can testify in Jordan Baird’s trial – a young woman who Baird was convicted of sexually abusing when she was 16 years old and a third woman who prosecutors say had a sexual relationship with Baird that began when she was underage.

Two additional women who say Baird pursued a sexual relationship with them through the church were not allowed to testify. Those women were not minors at the time.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
The Washington Post

December 13, 2018

By Keith L. Alexander

A D.C. judge on Thursday ordered a Catholic priest accused of sexually assaulting three parishioners to remain in jail until trial and said it was troubling that church leaders did not take action when complaints against the defendant were raised several years ago, possibly allowing additional incidents of alleged abuse.

Prosecutors said leaders at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Northwest Washington were initially notified in mid-June 2015 of allegations that Urbano Vazquez, an assistant pastor, may have sexually assaulted a teenage girl who was a member of the parish. Alleged assaults involving two other victims occurred between June 2016 and December 2017.

In a hearing before D.C. Superior Court Judge Juliet J. McKenna, Vazquez’s attorney argued that his client should be allowed to return to the secluded parish outside of Pittsburgh where he had been staying, saying he would be watched by priests there as he awaited trial. But McKenna rejected the proposal as she questioned the church’s supervision.

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ENGLAND
The Telegraph

December 13, 2018

By Jack Hardy

The country’s most senior Catholic cleric apologised for withholding evidence of abuse allegations made against JRR Tolkien’s son during his priesthood.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols told an inquiry on Thursday he was focused on settling legal action against the church quickly when, in 2002, he chose not to disclose a key document to a complainant.

The note showed that accusations against Father John Tolkien had been made to the church in 1968 – the only evidence of a contemporaneous complaint made about his behaviour.

But despite lawyers telling Cardinal Nichols – then Archbishop of Birmingham – that the findings supported already credible claims by Birmingham man Christopher Carrie, a briefing paper recorded him saying: “The Archdiocese would prefer not to disclose this document even if it means settling the action.”

On Thursday, the clergyman expressed remorse about his actions as he appeared before the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, which is investigating child protection failings within the Catholic church.

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MANASSAS (VA)
FOX 5 DC

December 12 2018

By Lindsay Watts

For the first time, a Virginia mother is speaking about the sexual abuse her daughter endured at the hands of her church youth pastor.

Earlier this year, Jordan Baird, 27, was convicted on five felony counts of indecent liberties with a minor. He later pleaded no contest to electronic solicitation of a minor. He was sentenced to eight months behind bars and forced to register as a sex offender.

Gloria Harding says her family had attended The Life Church in Manassas for a decade and considered Baird a close family friend. Baird’s parents are the head pastors at the church and employ many members of their family, including Baird’s brothers and his wife.

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VATICAN CITY
La Croix International

December 14, 2018

Jesuit priest says it is naive to think it is just a Western problem as Pope Francis’ convocation of bishops looms

The Jesuit priest who directed the Holy See Press Office for a decade published an article on Dec. 15 anticipating Pope Francis’ convention of bishops at the Vatican in February on the subject of tackling clerical sex abuse of minors

Father Federico Lombardi, who stepped down from press office post in 2016, titled the story, “In the run-up to the meeting of bishops on the protection of minors.” It ran in La Civilta Cattolica, a biweekly Jesuit magazine.

“The entire Church must feel in solidarity, above all with the victims, with their families, and with their church communities that have been wounded by the [recent clerical sex abuse] scandals,” he wrote in the article, excerpts from which were relayed by Catholic News Service.

Father Lombardi, one of the journal’s contributing writers, also serves as president of the board of directors of the Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Foundation.

He wrote that attendees at the Feb. 21-24 summit need to share their experiences and best practices to tackle this scourge but also acknowledge that many countries have yet to make significant inroads in preventing the abuse of minors by clergy.

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NEW YORK (NY)
The New York Times

December 13, 2018

By Rachel Abrams and John Koblin

In March 2017, Eliza Dushku, an actress known for her work on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” signed on to play a major role in three episodes of the CBS prime-time drama “Bull,” and there were plans to make her a full-time cast member.

Her time on the set began promisingly. The show’s star, Michael Weatherly — a mainstay of CBS’s prime-time lineup for 15 years — seemed friendly. And a producer and writer on “Bull,” Glenn Gordon Caron, told Ms. Dushku she would be more than a love interest.

Then came a series of comments that made Ms. Dushku uncomfortable. In front of the cast and crew, Mr. Weatherly remarked on her appearance, and made a rape joke and a comment about a threesome. Shortly after Ms. Dushku confronted the star about his behavior, she was written off the show. She believed her time on “Bull” came to a sudden end as a result of retaliation.

After she went through mediation with CBS, the company agreed to a confidential settlement that would pay her $9.5 million, roughly the equivalent of what Ms. Dushku would have earned if she had stayed on as a cast member for four seasons.

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YORK (PA)
York Daily Record

December 13, 2018

By Candy Woodall

Attempts to solve many problems found in the Catholic church today can be traced back to a meeting among U.S. bishops in June 2002.

It was five months after the Boston Globe had exposed widespread child sexual abuse by priests and a pattern of cover-ups by the church and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops gathered in Dallas to vote on a new set of policies.

Those policies gave bishops the power to ban from ministry any priest who abused a child. They also made it a requirement for bishops to report all allegations of sexual abuse of minors to law enforcement and check the backgrounds of all staff in contact with kids.

Additionally, the priests removed from ministry would not be allowed to celebrate Mass publicly, wear clerical uniforms or be known as a priest.

Gone were the confidentiality agreements that had silenced victims and protected abusers.

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FORT WORTH (TX)
Star-Telegram

December 9, 2018

The Star-Telegram began its investigation into abuse at independent fundamental Baptist churches after two men were arrested in February and March on sexual abuse charges at a Mesquite, Texas, church.

Then the church’s pastor, Bob Ross, was arrested in April on a charge of failure to report child abuse. People who had known Ross from his days as youth director at Windsor Hills Baptist Church in Oklahoma said he’d ignored their own abuse allegations and worked for a pastor who wielded absolute control over his congregation by telling members that they would die if they left the church or disobeyed him.

As more and more ex-members of the independent fundamental Baptist movement came forward to the Star-Telegram, a pattern emerged: Despite their use of the word independent, many of the churches were connected with other independent fundamental Baptist churches through colleges and pastoral friendships. And those connections, as well as the church culture, allowed abuse to flourish and abusers to move around the country without consequence.

Ex-members connected reporter Sarah Smith to other members on Facebook and through text messages. The Star-Telegram started a Facebook group of ex-members for informal Q&As and for the ex-members to bring up questions and concerns of their own. The newspaper invited former members to submit videos detailing their experiences in their own words.

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FORT WORTH (TX)
Star-Telegram

December 9, 2018

They were terrorized, trapped and even sexually abused. Now, these former members of independent fundamental Baptist churches share how their experiences will affect the rest of their lives.

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FORT WORTH (TX)
Star-Telegram

December 9, 2018

By Sarah Smith

Former members of independent fundamental Baptist churches describe a culture and teachings that affect the rest of their lives. The following quotes are taken from interviews.

GETTING IN

Independent fundamental Baptist church members are either born into the movement and grow up knowing nothing else or are brought into the churches through evangelism. The tight-knit community of motivated people is appealing, especially to vulnerable people.

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FORT WORTH (TX)
Star-Telegram

December 9, 2018

By Sarah Smith

Pastor Bruce Goddard acted immediately when he learned the principal at Faith Baptist Church’s school in Wildomar, California, had been intimately involved with a 17-year-old student.

He rented the 35-year-old principal a U-Haul and shipped him out of state. He did not call the police.

The accused wound up at First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana, a church affiliated with Goddard’s alma mater, working again with teenagers. The abused girl was later told that church officials in Indiana were aware of his involvement with her when he arrived.

An eight-month investigation by the Star-Telegram shows that what happened at Faith Baptist is just one example in a nationwide pattern of cover-ups and shuffling of suspected abusers among churches and universities that, like Faith Baptist, are part of the independent fundamental Baptist movement.

The cover-ups are reminiscent of the scandals of the Roman Catholic Church, but distinctly different.

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AUSTRALIA
Inquisitr

December 12, 2018

By Manuella Libardi

Cardinal George Pell, the Vatican’s third most powerful official, was found guilty on Tuesday of sexually abusing two choir boys in the late 1990s, a decision that makes him the highest-ranking Catholic Church official to face criminal convictions.

According to The Daily Beast, a jury in Australia returned a unanimous guilty verdict after deliberating for more than three days on the case. The judge ordered the criminal trial to be conducted under a gag order that prevented any details of the trial being made public, the report continues.

The judge placed a suppression order on all press coverage in Australia right before trial proceedings were set to begin in June, according to the judge’s orders reviewed by The Daily Beast. The order was requested by prosecutors and granted to “prevent a real and substantial risk of prejudice to the proper administration of justice,” the order reads, according to the report.

Pell, 77, who is the Vatican’s finance chief and the highest Vatican official to ever go stand trial on sex abuse charges, left Rome in June 2017 to stand trial in Melbourne, the report continues.

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AUSTRALIA
Radar

December 11, 2018

Cardinal George Pell convicted in Australia of child assault.

The Vatican’s third highest ranking official was found guilty of sexually abusing two choir boys in the late 90s.

Cardinal George Pell was convicted by a jury in Australia after a jury deliberated for three days, The Daily Beast reported.

The judge placed a gag order on the Catholic Church official’s trial to prevent details being released during the proceedings. The guilty verdict decision was reportedly unanimous.

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AUSTRALIA
Concise News

December 12, 2018

By Olugbenga Ige

Cardinal George Pell, the Vatican’s third highest ranking official, was found guilty of sexually abusing two choir boys in the late 90s.

Cardinal Pell was convicted by a jury in Australia after a jury deliberated for three days, the Daily Beast reports.

The judge placed a gag order on the Catholic Church official’s trial to prevent details being released during the proceedings. The guilty verdict decision was reportedly unanimous.

Cardinal Pell was the finance chief at the Vatican and reportedly left Rome in June 2017 to stand trail in Melbourne, where he was accused of sexually abusing the choir boys when he was the archbishop.

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AUSTRALIA
the free thinker

December 12, 2018

By Barry Duke

At the end of a trial believed to have cost him millions, the Vatican’s third most powerful official – George Pell – was convicted yesterday (Tuesday) in Australia of all charges relating to the abuse of two choir boys in the late 1990s.

A unanimous jury returned its verdict after more than three days of deliberations

His trial was trial conducted under a gag order by the judge that prevented any details of the case being made public.

Pell, the Vatican’s finance chief and the highest Vatican official to ever go on trial for sex abuse, left Rome in June 2017 to stand trial in Melbourne.

As that trial was about to get underway in June, a judge placed a suppression order on all press coverage in Australia. Prosecutors applied for the order and it was granted to:

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AUSTRALIA
The Daily Beast

December 11, 2018

By Lachlan Cartwright

The highest-ranking Catholic Church official to face such criminal charges.

The Vatican’s third most powerful official has been convicted in Australia on all charges he sexually abused two choir boys there in the late ’90s, according to two sources with knowledge of the case.

A unanimous jury returned its verdict for Cardinal George Pell on Tuesday (Australian time) after more than three days of deliberations, the sources said, in a trial conducted under a gag order by the judge that prevented any details of the trial being made public.

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YORK (PA)
York Daily Record

December 12, 2018

By Candy Woodall

If they can prove torture, there are no statute of limitations laws to keep child abusers safe.

The days of the Roman Catholic Church policing itself are coming to an end.

Federal prosecutors are digging in to the largest investigation of priest abuse ever conducted in the United States, and the effort starts in Pennsylvania.

The investigation began in Pennsylvania, not Justice Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., court filings show.

U.S. Attorney William McSwain in October launched a case from the Eastern District federal court in Philadelphia. First, he subpoenaed all eight Pennsylvania dioceses. Then, he put every bishop in the U.S. on notice not to destroy any records or evidence.

The federal investigation stems from a Pennsylvania grand jury report released in August that reveals a cover-up of systemic child sex abuse that dates back to 1947. Since that time, 301 priests were found to have abused more than 1,000 victims.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC Newcastle

December 13, 2018

By Giselle Wakatama

A survivor of sexual abuse says he was shocked and appalled to learn a paedophile teacher who abused him was still alive decades after Catholic education officials assured him he was dead.

In October, Edward Smith Hall, 68, known as Ted Hall was found guilty of 21 sexual and indecent assault offences in relation to nine boys between 1973 and 1986.

Today several victim impact statements were read in Newcastle District Court, while others were read in a closed court, where media was not allowed.

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AUSTRALIA
The Washington Post

December 12, 2018

By Margaret Sullivan

The front page of Thursday’s Herald Sun newspaper in Melbourne, capital of the Australian state of Victoria, is dominated by a single word in huge white type, all caps, on a black background: CENSORED.

“The world is reading a very important story that is relevant to Victorians,” reads the subhead. “The Herald Sun is prevented from publishing details of this significant news. But trust us. It’s a story you deserve to read.”

The story is, indeed, a blockbuster, especially for Australian citizens: Cardinal George Pell, sometimes described as the third-most-powerful Vatican official, was convicted of all charges that he sexually molested two choirboys in Australia in the late 1990s. (Pell, 77, has been the Vatican’s chief financial officer in recent years; he earlier was the archbishop of Sydney and of Melbourne.)

But because of a court-issued gag order intended to preserve impartiality, the news media has been forbidden from publishing news in Australia on the details of the Melbourne trial, and now on the unanimous decision of the jury.

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AUSTRALIA
Australian Broadcasting Corporation

December 12, 2018

George Pell is one of three “more elderly cardinals” who have been removed by Pope Francis from his advisory body following a Vatican meeting this week.

A Vatican News report on a meeting of the Pope’s Council of Cardinal Advisers this week said 77-year-old Cardinal Pell would no longer sit on the council.

“In October, the Pope had written to three of the more elderly cardinals: Cardinal Pell from Australia, Cardinal Errazuriz from Chile and Cardinal Monsengwo of Congo thanking them for their work,” Holy See press office director Greg Burke said.

“After a five-year term, these three have passed out for the moment.”

Mr Burke said the Pope had not named new cardinals to replace them on the advisory council, which was established in 2013 to help lead reform in the Vatican’s bureaucracy.

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UNITED STATES
USA TODAY

December 10, 2018

Nearly 17 years ago, I woke up from a nightmare I didn’t realize I was in. If you’re a parent whose child has suffered sexual abuse at the hands of someone you know and trust, you will understand what I mean. Sitting in a family counselor’s office, the world as I knew it came crashing down as I learned that my eldest daughter, Lauren, had been sexually, emotionally and physically abused nearly every day from the ages of 12 to 16.

I worked hard to provide my family with a wonderful life and to create a loving and safe environment for my children to grow. I made sure to get references and background checks on everyone interacting with my daughters or son. But I was unable to protect Lauren from the monster living in my own home.

It never occurred to me that sexual abuse could happen to my family, let alone to my children. That is the message I want to send to every other parent out there: Don’t think this can’t happen to you or your children. Child sexual abuse happens in every ZIP code, in every religion and at every socioeconomic level.

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VATICAN CITY
The Associated Press

December 12, 2018

By Nicole Winfield

Pope Francis has removed two cardinals from his informal cabinet after they were implicated in the Catholic Church’s sex abuse and cover-up scandal, shedding embarrassing advisers ahead of a high-stakes Vatican summit on abuse early next year.

The Vatican said Wednesday that Francis in October had written to Chilean Cardinal Javier Errazuriz and Australian Cardinal George Pell thanking them for their five years of service on the so-called Group of Nine, or C-9.

Francis also bid farewell to Congolese Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, who hasn’t been implicated in the scandal but at age 79 recently retired as archbishop of Kinshasa.

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YORK (PA)
York Daily Record

December 7, 2018

By Candy Woodall

The cascade of reports that we know about might be just the tip of the iceberg.

Until Friday morning, Terry McKiernan had 178 Jesuit priests on a list of abusive clergy members in the U.S.

His list grew after Catholic Jesuit provinces released the names of 153 priests and brothers credibly accused of sexually abusing children.

The Jesuits’ U.S. Central and Southern, and West provinces posted the names on their websites Friday, and the Chicago-based Midwest province plans to post its names Dec. 17.

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CINCINNATI (OH)
WCPO

December 13, 2018

Organization releasing report on Jesuit priests

Some school officials will soon learn if they’ve employed priests or others who have faced “established accusations” of sexually abusing children.

The Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus will release a report Monday to Jesuit institutions, including St. Xavier High School and Xavier University, naming every priest who has been accused of sexual abuse since 1955.

St. Xavier’s president has promised to release the names associated with St. X when they get them.

“This isn’t something we’re trying to hide, this isn’t something we’re proud of, but our goal is to build trust,” president Tim Reilly said Thursday.

Reilly said there is the distinct possibility that priests associated with the school will be on the list.

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PITTSBURGH (PA)
The New York Times

December 14, 2018

By Campbell Robertson

It was a list Charles L. Bailey Jr. had wanted to see for years: the names of the priests in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse who had been credibly accused of sexual abuse.

Mr. Bailey, 67, a longtime local advocate for survivors of abuse by priests, had heard excuses for why such a list was impossible to release. The last bishop said naming accused priests would be a violation of the Ten Commandments. The current bishop said he would not disclose the names, citing the request of unnamed victims.

But then on Dec. 3, Mr. Bailey got a call from a local reporter. It was up, on the diocesan website. Fifty-seven priests. None were still in ministry and most were deceased, including, there on Page 4, the priest who had repeatedly raped Mr. Bailey when he was not yet a teenager.

As the Catholic Church faces a wave of federal and state attorney general investigations into its handling of sex abuse, bishops around the country have struggled with how to react. Some have locked down defensively. Others are waiting on guidance from the Vatican, which instructed American bishops last month to wait on taking any collective action until the new year.

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DENVER (CO)
Crux

December 17, 2018

By Inés San Martín

As the clerical sexual abuse scandals continue to work their way through the global church, bishops and religious superiors in Spain are showing similar but also contrasting reactions both to the crime of abuse and the public reactions to it.

During his first remarks as bishop of Avila during his ordination, Jose Maria Gil Tamayo, former secretary and spokesman of the bishops’ conference, said on Saturday that there’s an attempt to “extend an unfair veil of suspicion over the immense multitude of priests.”

He was referring to the recent publication, in several local newspapers, of allegations of clerical sexual abuse and subsequent silence and cover-up. Seeing this “veil of suspicion,” Gil Tamayo said he wanted to offer some words of “encouragement” and “support” for the local clergy, whom he thanked for their service.

“Especially in these moments in which, seeing the sins and crimes that have been committed by the ecclesial community and for which we apologize and work towards their eradication and prevention,” there’s an attempt to discredit the many good priests “who serve God and the people in a faithful, self-denying and exemplary way,” he said, to a cheering crowd.

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WINSTON-SALEM (NC)
Baptist News Global

December 14, 2018

By Bill Leonard

In our better moments of spiritual self-awareness, we Christians are forced to acknowledge our capacity for actions and ideas that shatter an individual and collective “witness” as followers of Jesus. It’s been like that from the start. Judas Iscariot betrayed him with a kiss. After declaring absolute loyalty, Simon Peter denied Jesus three times: “I never knew the man.” The brothers James and John, perhaps anticipating the Prosperity Gospel, demanded “the best seats” in the coming kingdom. In every era of its history, certain Christian individuals and institutions have compelled an “orthodoxy” from others they refused to require of themselves. Dietrich Bonhoeffer called that kind of gospel cheap grace.

In The Cost of Discipleship (1937), Bonhoeffer called us all to account, warning:

Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our Church. We are fighting to-day for costly grace. . . . Cheap grace means grace as a doctrine, a principle, a system. It means forgiveness of sins proclaimed as a general truth, the love of God taught as the Christian “conception” of God. An intellectual assent to that idea is held to be of itself sufficient to remission of sins. The Church which holds the correct doctrine of grace has, ipso facto, a part in that grace. In such a Church the world finds a cheap covering for its sins; no contrition is required, still less any real desire to be delivered from sin. Cheap grace therefore amounts to a denial of the living Word of God, in fact, a denial of the Incarnation of the Word of God (emphasis mine).

I returned to Bonhoeffer’s admonition after reading a heartrending series of articles recently published in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram regarding years of sexual abuse perpetrated by various “Independent Fundamentalist Baptist” ministers, individuals often protected and “moved on” by their pastoral supervisors or church constituencies.

“Underneath it all is a powerful emphasis on ministerial authority, with pastor-figures as ‘God’s anointed’ whose leadership is not to be questioned.”

After months of research, a group of Star-Telegram investigative reporters documented “at least 412 allegations of sexual misconduct in 187 Independent Fundamentalist Baptist churches and their affiliated institutions” based in 40 states and Canada. Their study suggests that some 168 “church leaders” were accused or convicted of sex crimes against children, with as many as 45 of them continuing in ministry after being identified. The articles detail occasions when women and children were sexually molested by pastoral figures who were then moved on to other churches or church-related ministries. The accusers, almost all females, were often ignored, doubted or blamed for enticing the men.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
The Washington Post

December 14, 2018

A D.C. judge on Thursday ordered a Catholic priest accused of sexually assaulting three parishioners to remain in jail until trial and said it was troubling that church leaders did not take action when complaints against the defendant were raised several years ago, possibly allowing additional instances of alleged abuse.

Prosecutors said leaders at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Northwest Washington were initially notified in mid-June 2015 of allegations that Urbano Vazquez, an assistant pastor, may have sexually assaulted a teenage girl who was a member of the parish. Alleged assaults involving two other victims occurred between June 2016 and December 2017.

In a hearing before D.C. Superior Court Judge Juliet McKenna, Vazquez’s attorney argued that his client should be allowed to return to the secluded parish outside of Pittsburgh where he had been staying, saying he would be watched by priests there as he awaited trial. But McKenna rejected the proposal as she questioned the church’s supervision.

“He was in a position of trust and authority,” the judge said of Vazquez. “I am troubled by the number of alleged victims over a number of years of alleged sexual abuse of young girls. And to release him now back in the supervision of colleagues who had been informed of such alleged behavior is troubling to me.”

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By Dana Point Times

December 14, 2018

By Lillian Boyd

Scandal and allegations of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church have spread across the globe—and Dana Point is no exception.

On Wednesday, Dec. 5, the Minnesota-based law firm of Jeff Anderson & Associates released a report on clergy sexual abuse in the Diocese of Orange, which contained information, photographs and assignment histories on 72 clergy accused of sexual misconduct. A spokesperson for the Diocese of Orange says that list is erroneous and overinflated. Of those 72, eight men were found to be, at least at one point, affiliated with Dana Point or St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church.

Mike Reck, an attorney with Jeff Anderson & Associates, led a press conference the day the report was released at Doubletree by Hilton in Orange, alongside Patrick Wall, a former Roman Catholic priest and Dana Point resident, and three survivors of abuse.

“We’re doing this because the Diocese of Orange is not,” Reck said. “It’s important because the release of these identities sends a message to survivors of abuse that they are not alone, that this matters and that healing can begin. Because we know only with the acknowledgment that this happened, that this was wrong and that this was not the survivor’s fault can the healing begin.”

The list of 72 names was compiled from public records, documents, letters and archives from churches and witness testimony, according to the firm. But the firm’s associates say the list is incomplete, just as it believes lists released by the church in 2004 and 2016 were incomplete.

“The public and the survivors deserve two things. They deserve a complete list, which is full and honest and transparent. And they deserve a full disclosure of what is known and when it was known. This is what allows the healing to start and allows for accountability,” Reck said.

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NEW YORK (NY)
Huffington Post

December 14, 2018

By Carol Kuruvilla

An investigation has uncovered hundreds of abuse allegations against leaders of a conservative, loosely affiliated network of evangelical Christian churches.

The report, published by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Sunday, identified 412 abuse allegations in 187 independent fundamental Baptist (IFB) churches and institutions across 40 states and Canada, with some cases reaching as far back as the 1970s.

The Star-Telegram spoke to more than 200 current or former IFB church members who shared stories about “rape, assault, humiliation and fear.” Many of the stories have already been made public through criminal cases, lawsuits and news reports. However, the newspaper said its reporters uncovered 21 new abuse allegations in the course of its eight-month investigation.

In total, the newspaper said it found that 168 IFB church leaders were accused or have been convicted of sexually abusing children.

Some of the women interviewed suggested that the patriarchal theology preached in IFB churches protects its male pastors from criticism and helps create a pattern of abuse and cover-up.

Interviewees told the Star-Telegram that pastors in IFB churches were treated as if they were chosen by God and beyond reproach. Abusers used their power and position to psychologically manipulate and silence their victims, the women said. And often, even when victims spoke up, the accused pastors would manage to avoid criminal charges and use informal pastoral networks to relocate to another church.

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HAYWARD (WI)
Associated Press

December 13, 2018

A former priest accused of sexually abusing at least three boys in Wisconsin decades ago has been bound over for trial.

Seventy-one-year-old Thomas Ericksen was arrested Nov. 16 at his Minneapolis home. He faces child sexual assault charges for alleged abuse between June 1982 and April 1983, while he was at St. Peter’s Church in Winter, Wis.

The Wausau Daily Herald reported that Ericksen appeared in court Wednesday and his attorney argued that credibility of purported victims had to be called into question due to the amount of time since the alleged crimes. The judge disagreed and bound the case over for trial.

Prosecutors haven’t said why so much time elapsed before charges were filed.

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HOUSTON (TX)
Houston Chronicle

December 13, 2018

By Nicole Hensley

The investigation of a Houston area priest on sexual assault allegations led law enforcement to a cache of files on more than 20 clergy members who faced claims of misconduct over the past decade, including some criminal allegations, according to court records.

The files seized from the Shalom Center in Splendora include details on at least five priests publicly accused of sexual misconduct in Texas, California and Missouri, a Houston Chronicle review found.

The files were listed in an exhaustive inventory stemming from a search warrant executed in September on the Shalom property by Montgomery County law enforcement and Texas Rangers. The files identified priests treated at the center, according to Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Tyler Dunman.

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SPRINGFIELD (IL)
WJCT Radio

December 12, 2018

By San Dunklau

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is continuing her investigation of the state’s six Roman Catholic dioceses, and now says criminal prosecution is a potential.

Listen Listening…
0:08 / 0:53 Listen to a summary of the story.

Madigan launched an investigation in August, after a Pennsylvania grand jury report contained “credible” accounts of child sexual abuse incidents committed by over 300 Catholic priests.

The attorney general has been seeking records from Illinois dioceses. She says they should make public the names of priests who have “credible allegations” against them. So far, four of the six dioceses in Illinois have complied, while the other two already had names of priests published.

Madigan says there’s still a lot of information to review.

“It’s become clear that the Catholic Church cannot handle these matters internally. They can’t handle these matters as personnel matters. Crimes were committed.”

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Catholic News Service

December 13, 2018

By Father Kenneth Doyle

Q. The news reports of settlements made in the millions of dollars to victims of clergy sex abuse trouble me. Were there secret assets from wills and estates on reserve for that purpose? Where did all that money come from? (Metuchen, New Jersey)

A. National Public Radio reported in August 2018 that dioceses and religious orders in the United States had thus far paid settlements totaling more than $3 billion to victims of clergy sexual abuse. The settlements have come, not from any “secret assets,” but from a combination of cash, proceeds from the sale of land and buildings, and from insurance payments.
What must be said first, though, is that no financial amount is sufficient to compensate victims for their suffering. As Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis said in May 2018 when announcing a settlement of $210 million in restitution to several hundred survivors, “I recognize that the abuse stole so much from you — your childhood, your innocence, your safety, your ability to trust and, in many cases, your faith. … The church let you down, and I’m very sorry.”

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BUFFALO (NY)
WGRZ TV
.
December 14, 2018

By Steve Brown

Mitchell Garabedian is not hesitant about sharing his feelings on the Roman Catholic Church.

“The Catholic Church is drunk with power. Take away their robes, take away their religion as Catholic priests and they’re just criminals,” said Garabedian.

Garabedian has spent decades representing victims of clergy sex abuse.

Wednesday, in an interview in his Boston office, Garabedian disclosed a number of his clients claiming clergy sex abuse in the Buffalo Catholic Diocese have been interviewed by the FBI.

“Approximately ten”, said Garabedian.

The Buffalo Diocese has been the focus of a federal criminal investigation for months. Diocesan official reports receiving a pair of subpoenas, but little else is known about the probe. Neither the Buffalo FBI office or the US Attorney’s office will even acknowledge there is an investigation.

Ask what agents might have asked his clients about Garabedians said, “I can tell you right now they’re interested in crime of sexual abuse and the cover-up of those crimes.”

But Garabedian would not get into specifics.

The Boston attorney also represents Siobhan O’Connor, the whistle-blower who leaked internal documents while she worked as Bishop Richard Malone’s executive assistant.

When asked if O’Connor had been interviewed by the feds, Garabedian said, “I cannot comment.”

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter

December 14, 2018

By Heidi Schlumpf

A Nashville deacon who has raised questions about the completeness of the diocese’s recently published list of priests accused of sexual abuse has been removed from ministry for “carrying on a public disagreement with the Diocese,” according to a letter from his pastor.

n the wake of the Pennsylvania grand jury report, more and more dioceses are moving to publish such lists, raising questions about who is — and is not — on them. Deacon Ron Deal first raised concerns in October, after an email to priests and deacons indicated the list would contain only nine names.

The Nashville Diocese eventually released a list of 13 names on Nov. 2; which was updated and corrected on Nov. 8, mentioning three more priests, including two Nashville priests accused of abuse in other dioceses as well as one religious order priest.

Deal and other victims and victims’ advocates believe the list is still incomplete and are calling on state law enforcement officials, including Attorney General Herbert Slatery, to open an investigation into cover-up in all three dioceses in Tennessee.

“We need an independent set of eyes,” said Deal, an attorney who formerly worked for the Nashville Diocese as a construction project development manager and headed the diaconate program.

Diocesan spokesperson Rick Musacchio said the October email to clergy was part of “an effort to make [the list] as complete as possible.” The voluntary release of names indicates the diocese’s “ongoing commitment to transparency, accountability and pastoral care,” he told NCR.

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DETROIT (MI)
Detroit Free Press

December 14, 2018

By Robert Allen

The Archdiocese of Detroit transferred hundreds of parishes this year to a separate real estate corporation, a move critics say is similar to attempts across the country by the Catholic Church to shield assets from lawsuits filed by victims of clergy sex abuse.

For the six-county archdiocese, which includes 313 parishes, this is a first step toward creating an individual corporation for each parish, archdiocese spokesman Ned McGrath said Thursday. He said U.S. dioceses had been encouraged by church leadership to make such a change since 1911, and timing has nothing to do with concerns over lawsuits, which have already cost the church billions of dollars.

Terry McKiernan, co-founder of BishopAccountability.org, which tracks the abuse crisis, said this is a shell game to protect those assets from seizure through lawsuits regarding child sex abuse. He compared it to several other cases, such as a fund the Archdiocese of Milwaukee used to try to protect tens of millions of dollars in assets when it entered bankruptcy.

“I don’t know if Detroit will go in that direction,” McKiernan said. “But clearly, they’re bracing for something.”

Across the United States, about 20 dioceses and other religious orders have filed for bankruptcy protection as a result of clergy sex abuse claims, the Associated Press reported last week. As a result, victims’ advocates say they are seeing trends across the country that include shifting of assets to other funds or parishes, a tactic previously used in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Tennessee and Southern California.

“This is not an unusual step,” said James Stang, a Los Angeles attorney who has represented more than 13 creditors’ committees involving survivors of sexual abuse and now represents victims of former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein. “They will tell you that the transfer of the property to a trust or away from the archdiocese actually reflects their canon law concepts. I look at it as club rules.”

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