ABUSE TRACKER

PITTSBURGH (PA)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

September 28, 2018

By Peter Smith

More than two decades ago, Pittsburgh Bishop Donald Wuerl made a fateful trip to Rome where he challenged the highest court in the Catholic Church over its poorly informed order to lift a suspension on a sexually abusive priest. The trip helped seal his reputation as an early, bold proponent of zero-tolerance toward sexual abusers.

With that reputation now under siege, now-Cardinal Wuerl is making an equally momentous trip to Rome. A photo from the Vatican showed Cardinal Wuerl with the pope on Friday. Cardinal Wuerl previously said he would go to Rome to ask Pope Francis to immediately accept his resignation as archbishop of Washington, D.C.

Cardinal Wuerl says he is stepping down for the good of the church after a Pennsylvania grand jury assailed his record. It cited cases in which known abusers stayed in ministry under his watch and accused the cardinal of presiding over administrative actions that “showed no concern for public safety or the victims of child sexual abuse.”

Now those who worked with Cardinal Wuerl in Pittsburgh when he was bishop here from 1988 to 2006 are processing the shock of the imminent halt to his clerical career.

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PITTSBURGH (PA)
National Catholic Register

October 1, 2018

By Joan Desmond

In 2005, three New Jersey dioceses approved an $80,000 settlement resulting from allegations of sexual misconduct brought by a former priest against three men: a Pittsburgh priest, a New Jersey high school teacher and then-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick.

This weekend, the Washington Post reported that both the settlement document and the accuser, Robert Ciolek, point to an important, previously undisclosed fact: then-Bishop Donald Wuerl of Pittsburgh was also named in the document.

Bishop Wuerl did not sign the settlement papers, and his diocese did not contribute to it. Further, McCarrick’s name does not appear in the document.

Nevertheless, the involvement of a Pittsburgh area priest in this 2005 settlement increases the likelihood that Wuerl was informed about sexual misconduct allegations against McCarrick more than a decade ago, a direct contradiction of Wuerl’s public stance.

Ciolek said for the first time publicly that the settlement included allegations against a third person, a Pittsburgh priest Ciolek says made unwanted sexual contact with him in seminary, where the priest was a professor,” the Washington Post reported, Sept. 29.

The first page of settlement agreement lists the Diocese of Pittsburgh and Wuerl, who supervised the priest as bishop of Pittsburgh at the time, among the numerous parties to the settlement…

Is it possible that Wuerl was informed about the settlement involving one of his priests, but was not told that McCarrick was also accused by Ciolek?

Ciolek’s remarks and the settlement document underscore the vital importance of launching a formal investigation of the four dioceses where McCarrick served as a priest, bishop or archbishop, and the Church leaders who knew of his misconduct with seminarians and priests but remained silent and imposed confidentiality requirements on accusers.

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NEW YORK (NY)
New York Times

October 2, 2018

By David Gonzalez

A child’s sleeping bag. A pair of swim goggles. A bland landscape. These unremarkable items and scenes, barely noticed by most people, can instill dread — or worse — among some people. To survivors of clerical sexual abuse, they can be daily triggers, reminding them in an instant of the moment when their trust was betrayed, and their faith left in tatters.

Tomaso Clavarino, a documentary photographer in Turin, Italy, had been following the Roman Catholic Church’s clergy sex abuse crisis for a few years and was struck by how so many of the stories he saw used stock images of churches or priests. To him, it was as if the victims had been relegated to invisibility, in some cases shunned by their neighbors or disbelieved by their family. A little more than two years ago, he set out to document survivors, as well as the places and things that still linger in their minds.

“I moved around and went to churches, woods, in the mountains, trying to visualize those places,” Mr. Clavarino said. “Those places are the places where me, you, my friends grew up. They are part of ordinary life. Of course, they are not amazing photos, but the quietness of these places is, for me, very frightening. We pass by them, but they have meaning.”

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter

October 2, 2018

by Thomas Reese

The future of the Catholic Church is with the young, which is why Pope Francis has called bishops from all over the world to meet in Rome Oct. 3-28 for a synod on young people. If the church cannot attract and keep young people, it has no future.

This is the 15th general synod since Pope Paul VI called the first one in 1967 as a way to get advice from bishops. Earlier synods have dealt with topics like the family, priesthood, the laity, evangelization, the Eucharist, religious life, and justice and peace. The process involves speeches and small group discussions and usually concludes with nonbinding recommendations.

The church’s future, especially in the developed world, does not look bright. In the United States, great numbers of people are leaving the church and other religious institutions in their teens. Young people are turned off by scandals in the church, the patriarchal and homophobic attitudes of many in the clergy and the involvement of church leaders in conservative politics. They also find the church irrelevant to their lives and frankly boring.

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PROVIDENCE (RI)
GoLocalProv

October 2, 2018

More than a dozen state Attorney Generals across the United States have begun investigations into sexual abuse covered up by Catholic Diocese in their states.

Many states have launched investigations as an outcome of the Pennsylvania grand jury report that unveiled the abuse, torture, and rape of 1,000 children at the hands of more than 300 priests. Of those, 99 priests in the Diocese of Pittsburgh are named in the report, and for three years the Thomas Tobin served as the Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh — today, he is the Bishop of the Diocese of Providence.

But while other states are moving forward seeking to unveil the abuse and identify the abusers, in Rhode Island the office of sitting Attorney General Peter Kilmartin has shown no interest and Democratic candidate Peter Neronha is not committing to such an investigation.

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CINCINNATI (OH)
Cincinnati Enquirer

October 1, 2018

By Dan Horn

Two Catholic bishops accused of failing to protect children from abusive priests are being edited out of church training videos about preventing child abuse.

The videos, titled “A Time to Protect God’s Children” and “A Plan to Protect God’s Children,” are widely used by Catholic dioceses across the country in mandatory training programs for volunteers, coaches, teachers and others who work for the church.

Officials at the Archdiocese of Cincinnati said the decision to revise the videos came after some leaders of the training program complained about the involvement of Buffalo Bishop Richard Malone and New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond.

Abuse survivors have said the two bishops failed to respond appropriately to accusations of child abuse involving clergy.

“We’ll be replacing the DVDs as soon as we have it edited,” said Mike Schafer, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. “We were concerned about that.”

He said the archdiocese shared its concerns with Virtus, the company that produced the video, and was told the company already was in the process of removing the bishops from the training videos.

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[Ezzati expected to testify tomorrow, after defense request for postponement is rejected]

SANTIAGO, CHILE
La Tercera

October 2, 2018

El fiscal regional de O’Higgins, Emiliano Arias, no accedió a postergar nuevamente la diligencia porque, estimó, no habría causa legal para ello.

La Fiscalía Regional de O’Higgins comenzará a partir de esta semana a tomar una serie de declaraciones, en calidad de imputado, a altas autoridades de la Iglesia luego de incautar 461 expedientes canónicos. El arzobispo de Santiago, Ricardo Ezzati, está citado para mañana en la indagación por eventuales encubrimientos de delitos de abuso sexual cometidos por miembros de la Iglesia Católica. Su defensa pidió a la fiscalía revisar la citación, ya que prefieren no declarar hasta que se resuelva este viernes la petición que hicieron de sobreseimiento definitivo. Sin embargo, el fiscal regional de O’Higgins, Emiliano Arias, no accedió a postergar nuevamente la diligencia porque -estimó- no habría causa legal para ello.

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[What’s at play in Ezzati’s testimony tomorrow]

CHILE
La Tercera

October 2, 2018

By L. Zapata and S. Rodríguez

Defensa del prelado ha dicho que lo lógico es discutir primero un eventual sobreseimiento. Fiscalía analiza posible inasistencia con orden de arresto.

Esta será una semana compleja para la Iglesia Católica criolla respecto de las investigaciones por eventuales abusos que lleva la Fiscalía de Rancagua, y que tienen al arzobispo de Santiago, cardenal Ricardo Ezzati, bajo indagatoria.

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[Episcopal Conference responds to controversial Church document]

CHILE
La Tercera

October 2, 2018

By Sergio Rodríguez

Arzobispado publicó un texto que buscaba establecer directrices sobre cómo debe ser la relación del clero con niños, adolescentes y personas con algún tipo de discapacidad. Sin embargo, al día siguiente, este escrito fue eliminado del sitio, diciéndose que se perfeccionaría.

“El único documento oficial de la Iglesia Católica en Chile sobre el tratamiento de los graves delitos de abuso sexual contra menores de edad, y la prevención de los mismos, es el texto Líneas Guías Cuidado y Esperanza, del año 2015, que fue promulgado como decreto en todas las diócesis del país”, explicó el diácono Jaime Coiro, vocero de la Conferencia Episcopal de Chile (Cech).

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NASHUA (NH)
Nashua Telegraph

September 30, 2018

By Rev. Dr.Stephanie Rutt

Your Holiness, Pope Francis,

I write today to humbly offer an idea for action I pray you may consider as you respond to the growing sexual abuse allegations arising in Catholic communities around the world today. Please know that while I do write, in particular, for all those still silent ones, the once helpless, innocent children who wake every morning remembering, I also write for the Priests who would run but cannot escape the hell burning within, and for the Bishops and Cardinals who daily face the relentless knowledge that they knew but turned away. You, kind soul, as Pope, are in the position to answer the silent cries, to shine a beacon of light, far and wide, into the darkest shadows of suffering where only the healing balm of the Holy Spirit can penetrate. Is this not what Jesus would do?

You might wonder who am I to be writing to you? While I am not Catholic, I am an interfaith minister who has a deep and abiding love for Jesus and Mother Mary. In my church in Milford, New Hampshire, USA, there is a tapestry of Mother (Saint) Teresa and one of my most treasured items is a rosary with her picture I received from the Chimayo Chapel in New Mexico, USA, many years ago. Through prayer with the rosary, I have been graced to have experienced healing incidences beyond my understanding. Finally, I worked for many years as a mental health counselor so I know firsthand the long-term effects of abuse.

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LOS ANGELES (CA)
Celebrity Insider

October 1, 2018

By Suzy Kerr

Former 19 Kids & Counting stars Josh and Anna Duggar recently celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary, and the family celebrated the occasion on Facebook with a thoughtful message. Fans watched the couple get married in 2008, and since then they have welcomed five children.

“Happy anniversary Josh and Anna! Today we are thankful to see you celebrating 10 years of marriage! We are so thankful for God’s love, kindness, and redemptive restoration. We love you both so much and of course adore those sweet little ones! Here’s to many more beautiful years for you two!” the family wrote on their official Facebook page, along with posting sweet pics of the couple.

Josh — who is the oldest child in the Duggar family — was the first one in the family to court and marry.

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[Cardinal Raúl Silva Henríquez also falls from his pedestal]

CHILE
El Mostrador

September 25, 2018

By Alejandra Carmona López

La primera vez que alguien denunció a Karadima fue en los años 80, cuando el rector del seminario le advirtió al emblemático fundador de la Vicaría de la Solidaridad sobre los abusos que cometía el entonces párroco estrella de El Bosque. No solo eso, quienes conformaron su círculo de hierro, su núcleo duro –Cristián Precht, Miguel Ortega y Raúl Hasbún–, ahora quedan expuestos ante el ojo público como parte de los protagonistas de los abusos sexuales cometidos por décadas en el seno de la Iglesia católica.

“Si hay alguien que permitió que esta Iglesia creciera, ese es Raúl Silva Henríquez”, dice un sacerdote que pide no revelar su nombre, porque mencionar al cardenal es como una herejía. Sin embargo, con dolor, no son pocos los religiosos que advierten que esa Iglesia católica de los abusos no surgió hace un par de años, sino que se fue consumando al alero de quienes, pese a que enfrentaron la bestialidad de la dictadura, hicieron la vista gorda ante conductas hoy enquistadas como una enfermedad terminal en dicha institución religiosa.

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[The sinister priest Raúl Hasbún]

CHILE
El Mostrador

October 1, 2018

By Alejandra Carmona López

El sacerdote ha estado tras las investigaciones canónicas como abogado de las causas que mantienen en vilo a la Iglesia católica. De carácter controvertido, fue la cara de la Iglesia para la dictadura y también secretario personal de Raul Silva Henríquez. Ahora, pesan sobre él las críticas de los denunciantes que dicen que no solo dilata causas, sino que también muchas veces ni siquiera los llama para testimoniar cuando es designado investigador.

El viernes 28 de septiembre, Javier Molina Huerta recibió un llamado telefónico que reafirmó lo que venía diciendo hace años: el Arzobispado de Santiago le informó que su denuncia contra el sacerdote Jorge Laplagne había sido calificada como verosímil y remitió esos antecedentes al Vaticano.

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[Precht, claiming innocence, says he has not lost hope of reversing his expulsion from the priesthood]

CHILE
BioBioChile

September 30, 2018

By Felipe Delgado and Nicole Martínez

El exsacerdote Cristián Precht, expulsado del sacerdocio por el papa Francisco a mediados de septiembre, rompió el silencio y aseguró que no pierde la esperanza de revertir la decisión vaticana. Mediante una declaración difundida por Imaginacción, empresa ligada al lobbista Enrique Correa, Precht declaró que su expulsión “trastoca duramente el sentido de mi vida que se ha expresado en mas de cinco décadas en actividades propias del ministerio sacerdotal”.

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NEW ORLEANS (LA)
The Times-Picayune

October 1, 2018

By Kim Chatelain

In 1955, a Gallup poll asked U.S. Catholics if they had attended Mass within the last seven days and 75 percent said they had done so. In 2017, a similar poll showed that the number had dropped to 39 percent.

Now, in the wake of recent revelations of clergy abuse in the church and efforts by the Catholic hierarchy to cover it up, questions abound as to whether the scandal will hasten the decline in Mass attendance, in men entering the seminary and in donations to one of the world’s most generous and influential religious institutions. Bishops and priests around the county have acknowledged that the clergy sex scandals outlined in an explosive Pennsylvania report released in August exasperated Catholics and prompted many to contemplate their involvement with the church.

What Catholic leaders do in response to the scandal could play a major role in how many people hold onto their faith. As secretary and an executive committee member of the influential U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond could have a major role in determining the course of action.

“It is a crisis,” Aymond said of the clergy abuse scandal in a recent interview. “It is something that gives a variety of emotions for all of us – anger, disappointment, outrage, heartbreak. It is important that we acknowledge those feelings” and bring about a renewal.

While hard numbers are difficult to come by, local church leaders say there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that many avid Catholics will continue to practice their faith but will demand that priests and bishops do a better job of policing themselves. If they can’t, some Catholics say the church must establish an outside investigative entity to hold religious leaders accountable.

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[Ezzati prayer: “Mother, teach us to stand by the cross of our brothers who have been abused”]

CHILE
La Tercera

September 30, 2018

By Catalina Batarce

En medio de la procesión de la Virgen del Carmen, el cardenal imploró para que se les conceda “corazones abiertos al perdón, que piden perdón y perdonan”.

En medio de la crisis que enfrenta por estos días la Iglesia Católica chilena por los abusos cometidos en contra de menores, el cardenal Ricardo Ezzati, antes de comenzar la procesión de la Virgen del Carmen, entregó un mensaje cargado de simbolismos a los feligreses. “Imploremos a la madre de la Iglesia que nos conceda a todos nosotros corazones como el de su hijo, corazones abiertos al perdón, que piden perdón y perdonan“, dijo el arzobispo de Santiago.

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[Prosecutor prepares for Ezzati’s testimony as an accused party in the case of the Archdiocese’s former chancellor]

CHILE
La Tercera

September 30, 2018

By Carla Pía Ruiz

La instancia estaba programada para el 21 de agosto, pero había sido aplazada. Ahora, de no mediar un cambio de última hora, el cardenal deberá prestar su testimonio al fiscal Emiliano Arias este miércoles 3 de octubre.

Estaba inicialmente programada para el 21 de agosto pasado, pero la fecha se pospuso y no había recalendarización. Sin embargo, y de no mediar inconvenientes de última hora, el cardenal Ricardo Ezzati deberá dar esta semana su declaración en calidad de imputado en la causa por abusos sexuales en contra del ex canciller del Arzobispado de Santiago, Óscar Muñoz.

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NEW YORK (NY)
The Media Project

September 2018

By Clemente Lisi

“Proclaim the truth and do not be silent through fear.” Those words by Saint Catherine of Siena appear most fitting this summer as the Catholic Church in the United States grapples with allegations of widespread sex abuse by priests going back several decades.

In July, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick after it was revealed that the 88-year-old former head of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., had allegedly abused a teenage boy for years starting in 1969. It was also made public that McCarrick had been accused in three other sexual assault cases involving seminarians.

Unlike in 2002 – when an investigation by The Boston Globe unearthed decades of abuse by prelates never reported to civil authorities – accusations of wrongdoing within the Catholic Church these days are mixed with politics.
Last month, a Pennsylvania grand jury released a shocking report filled with decades of allegations regarding sexual abuses by clerics with children and teenagers – and cover-ups by bishops – that reopened a wound within the church regarding pedophilia and homosexuality among the clergy. It also sparked debate for reform regarding whether priests should be allowed to marry like clergy in other Christian denominations.

The incidents came on the heels of sex-abuse scandals that rocked the church in Chile and Australia. If that wasn’t enough, a whistleblower named Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano released an 11-page letter on August 25 describing a series of events in which the Vatican – and specifically Pope Francis – had been made aware of McCarrick’s immoral behavior years ago. Vigano claimed Pope Benedict XVI had placed restrictions on McCarrick, including not allowing him to say Mass in public. Vigano alleges Pope Francis reversed those sanctions. In the letter, Vigano, a former papal ambassador to the United States, said Francis “knew from at least June 23, 2013 that McCarrick was a serial predator. He knew that he was a corrupt man, he covered for him to the bitter end.”

Unlike in 2002 – when an investigation by The Boston Globe unearthed decades of abuse by prelates never reported to civil authorities – accusations of wrongdoing within the Catholic Church these days are mixed with politics. When it was revealed that two Catholic journalists had helped Vigano edit and distribute the letter, those actions shed a light on the increasingly polarized Catholic Church and the growth and influence of conservative news and opinion websites that oppose Pope Francis and what they believe is the pontiff’s assault on orthodoxy.

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NEW YORK (NY)
The Media Project

September 2018

By Clemente Lisi

This is the time of year when Hollywood loves to release horror movies. The weeks before and after Halloween have included past forgettable motion picture schlock like “Jeepers Creepers” in 1991 and “Gingerdead Man” in 2005. This year, “The Nun” has been foisted upon movie-goers featuring a demon named Valak who, disguised as a Catholic sister, terrorizes a convent.

In real life, the Catholic Church’s boogeymen aren’t women, but men like Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and the hundreds of Pennsylvania priests accused of molesting children and teens over the last few decades. The bad guys here are all men. Those who were victimized were children, teens and young people – all in large part males.

“Women really are the lifeblood of the [Catholic] Church, just as we are the heart of the family. It is impossible for us to stay silent in the face of this failure to act.”
— Mary Rice Hasson, Director of Catholic Women’s Forum

In “The Nun,” there’s enough evidence near the end of the film to know Valak is alive and a potential sequel in the works. But how will the real-life saga of “Uncle Ted” and predator priests end? That’s a question best left to the Catholic laity. The solution to the Catholic Church’s ills won’t come from the clergy – certainly not if Pope Francis and others protect the likes of McCarrick – but from the flock. And it will be women who will lead the way.

“Women really are the lifeblood of the [Catholic] Church, just as we are the heart of the family. It is impossible for us to stay silent in the face of this failure to act,” said Mary Rice Hasson, who directs the Catholic Women’s Forum, a network of Catholic professional women and scholars. “I continue to hear daily from women who are shocked and angry about the betrayals – past and present – that continue to come out in the news. Women want answers – and we want the church hierarchy to act.”

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DAVIESS CO (KY)
WFIE

October 1, 2018

By Sean Edmondson

A priest with the Diocese of Owensboro has been permanently suspended from public ministry.

Father Gerald H. Baker was suspended in 2016 from public ministry after allegations of inappropriate conduct with a minor that were of a sexual nature.

[This letter was sent to parishioners to let them know about the allegations against Father Baker.]

Monday, the Diocese of Owensboro released this statement:

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DAVIESS COUNTY (KY)
The Kentucky New Era

October 1, 2018

By Alexia Walters

A Western Kentucky priest has been suspended permanently from public ministry.

The paper reports the Diocese of Owensboro made that decision about Father Gerald Baker.

In 2016, Baker was accused of sex abuse by three minors.

According to the paper, the diocesan review board found the accusations against baker to be substantiated.

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KERALA (INDIA)
Gulf News

October 1, 2018

By Akhel Mathew

Another priest allegedly visited convent to pressure nuns into diluting their case against Mulakkal

Thiruvananthapuram: Three bishops in Kerala on Monday visited the bishop of Jalandhar, Franco Mulakkal, who is being held in a sub-jail in Pala, Kottayam district, over rape charges.
The three who paid him a visit were bishop Mathew Arackal of Kanjirapally Syro-Malabar diocese, Jose Pulickal, the auxiliary bishop of the same diocese, and Samuel Mar Iranios, an auxiliary bishop of the Malankara Church.

Mulakkal has been accused of raping a nun attached to the Kuravilangad convent in Kottayam district 13 times between 2014 and 2016. The bishop has denied the allegation.
The visit by the three bishops comes a day after the prominent Changanacherry diocese published an encyclical to churches under its control on Sunday, offering indirect support for the jailed bishop.

The encyclical also suggested that some within the Catholic Church were working against the church’s interests.

On social media, the visit of the three bishops was criticised, with one commentator saying that it was a tragedy that bishops now had to visit a colleague in jail, and another stating that bishops would not take such efforts to visit a poor man in jail.

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ROCKVILLE CENTRE (NY)
CBS New York

October 1, 2018

A Long Island Catholic priest has stepped away from his duties as the Diocese of Rockville Centre investigates sexual abuse allegations.

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SAGINAW (MI)
MLive

October 1, 2018

By Bob Johnson

A Catholic priest accused of sex crimes will head to trial after withdrawing his no contest plea.

The Rev. Robert “Father Bob” DeLand withdrew his plea on Friday, Sept. 28, according to Saginaw County Assistant Prosecutor Mark Gaertner.

Gaertner said Monday that DeLand did not want to accept the potential sentence he faces and decided to withdraw his plea.

The Saginaw Catholic Diocesan priest pleaded no contest on Sept. 4 to seven criminal charges involving three victims.

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LOS ANGELES (CA)
Los Angeles Times

October 1, 2018

By Laura Newberry

Gov. Jerry Brown has rejected a bill that would have given survivors of childhood sexual assault in California more time to file suits against those who could have stopped their abuse.

The bill, written by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego), would have allowed victims to file abuse claims until they are 40 years old. It also would have permitted those who have repressed memories of abuse to sue within five years of unearthing the cause of their trauma.

On Monday, victims advocates said they felt defeated by Brown’s decision.

“I’m exceptionally disappointed that even after the #MeToo movement, after the [Brett] Kavanaugh hearings, that the governor isn’t doing what he can to reduce harm caused by sexual abuse,” said Tim Lennon, president of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

Under current law, victims can sue a third party that may have ignored or covered up abuse — such as a private school or a church — until they are 26 years old or three years after coming to terms with repressed memories, whichever occurs later.

Advocates say the proposed law would have given survivors more time to process their abuse — memories of which can be repressed for decades — and to seek damages for their trauma when they finally feel comfortable coming forward.

The bill also would have expanded a victim’s ability to sue public institutions, including schools, that might have been aware of the abuse. Current law requires such a claim to be filed within six months of the alleged incident if it occurred before 2009. The proposal would have lifted that requirement entirely.

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ROME
Crux

October 1, 2018

By Elise Harris

With clerical abuse scandals rocking the Catholic Church in all corners of the globe, Scottish Archbishop Leo Cushley said that as someone who has given his life to the institution, he’s ashamed but also convinced that the Church, especially in Scotland, is in a “dramatically different” place today.

Referring to scandals that have erupted in Chile, Peru and the United States, among others, Cushley said each one is a cause of concern, “because this is an institution that I love and that I’ve given my life to, and I’m very dismayed when I see these things.”

In a sit-down interview with Crux, Cushley, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, said he can only speak authoritatively about the Church in Scotland, where he and his fellow prelates look at the abuse crisis “with great shame and great regret and that we wish it could be otherwise, but we do absolutely everything we can to get this right.”

What happened in the past, while tragic, is “dramatically different” than the current context, he said, voicing belief that at least on the home front, “we are doing very, very well indeed by any independent judgement or set of statistics.”

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NEW YORK (NY)
Commonweal Magazine

October 1, 2018

By Massimo Faggioli

How the Laity Can Help Reform the Church

Dietrich Bonhoeffer famously said that God granted American Christianity no Reformation. It’s also true that God granted America no Counter-Reformation. But with the latest phase of the abuse crisis in this country, that might be changing. The depth and magnitude of this crisis—as well as its distinctive combination of clerical corruption and theological division— make it worse than any crisis since the one that rocked the church five centuries ago. The current crisis may not lead to a formal division of the Church the way the Reformation did, but it could well lead to a long period of undeclared schism.

As in the sixteenth century, the question is not whether the Catholic Church will survive this age of scandal, but what form the church will survive in. The abuse crisis is clearly no longer just a scandal, or even a series of scandals. It is, at least in the United States, a revolution in the church that could lead either to reform, or to the moral and cultural marginalization of Catholicism. The question, then, is how best to reform the church, especially in the United States, which is the epicenter of this crisis. Some interpretations of the crisis, such as the idea that the whole hierarchy is corrupt to the root and must be totally replaced by the laity, have given force to ideas of the church that seem hardly compatible with Catholicism.

But those who have the power to stop the bleeding and initiate a process of true reform seem to be incapacitated. It is part of the ecclesiological culture of those who were promoted in the church under John Paul II and Benedict XVI to welcome spiritual renewal but not institutional reform. Right now, the hierarchical leadership of the church—both individual bishops and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops—is in panic mode: almost every day new allegations weaken their authority. It is not clear what path forward they have in mind.

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Service

October 1, 2018

Signaling his belief that the Catholic Church is facing a serious crisis, Pope Francis asked every Catholic in the world to pray for the protection of the church from attacks by the devil, but also that the church would be more aware of its sins and stronger in its efforts to combat abuse.

Pope Francis asked Catholics to pray the rosary each day in October, seeking Mary’s intercession in protecting the church, and “at the same time making her (the church) more aware of her sins, errors and the abuses committed in the present and the past, and committed to fighting without hesitation so that evil would not prevail,” the Vatican said in a statement released Sept. 29, the feast of the Archangels.

United “in communion and penitence as the people of God,” the statement said, Catholics should plead for protection against “the devil, who always seeks to divide us from God and from one another.”

Pope Francis met earlier in September with Jesuit Father Federic Fornos, international director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, formerly known as the Apostleship of Prayer, to ask that the recitation of the rosary in October conclude with “the ancient invocation ‘Sub Tuum Praesidium’ (‘Under your protection’) and with the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel, who protects us in the battle against evil.”

The first prayer, to Mary, has a variety of translations. One reads: “We turn to you for protection, Holy Mother of God. Listen to our prayers and help us in our needs. Save us from every danger, glorious and blessed Virgin.”

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ROCKY POINT (NY)
CBS NewYork

October 1, 2018

A Long Island priest has “agreed to step away from the ministry” while the Diocese of Rockville Centre investigates allegations of sexual abuse.

In a statement, the diocese said it received a complaint in 2002 from a person who claimed Rev. Monsignor William Breslawski sexually abused his or her friend when the alleged victim was in seventh or eighth grade in 1980.

The complaint was passed along to Nassau and Suffolk district attorney’s offices this June, and the diocese launched its own investigation.

On September 25, the diocese received a letter from a relative of the alleged victim describing the same allegation.

The diocese said it also received a complaint from two other people in 2002 who claimed Msgr. Breslawski made inappropriate physical contact with them when they were adults in 1984.

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ROCKVILLE CENTRE (NY)
Newsday

September 29, 2018

By Bart Jones

Msgr. William G. Breslawski agreed to step away while the Diocese of Rockville Centre investigates allegations he sexually abused a middle schooler nearly 40 years ago, a church spokesman said Saturday.

A Roman Catholic priest has stepped aside from his ministry while church officials investigate allegations that he sexually abused a middle schooler nearly 40 years ago and had “an inappropriate interaction” with two adults in the 1980s, the Diocese of Rockville Centre said.

Msgr. William G. Breslawski agreed to step away while the diocese investigates those allegations, Sean Dolan, a spokesman for the diocese, said Saturday.

Breslawski, who was ordained a priest in 1979, most recently served as the pastor of the Church of Saint Anthony of Padua in Rocky Point. He could not be reached for comment.

“We are saddened by these allegations, and we will do everything we can to ensure that a fair and just determination is made,” Dolan said.

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VICTORIA (KS)
The Associated Press

September 29, 2018

The friary in remote western Kansas that is now home to a disgraced former U.S. cardinal removed from ministry by Pope Francis over allegations of sexual abuse is just one block from an elementary school.

The Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., confirmed in a statement Friday that ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick is living at St. Fidelis Friary in Victoria, a rural town of about 1,200 that lies more than 400 kilometres west of Kansas City. The Friary is within a block of Victoria Elementary School.

News of McCarrick’s living arrangement took school officials by surprise, the Kansas City Star reported .

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Service

October 1, 2018

In response to current scandals, clericalism and the need for reform, Catholic women must take the initiative and make their voices be heard, according to a series of articles in a Vatican magazine.

The October edition of Women Church World, published Oct. 1 in conjunction with the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, dedicated its monthly issue to “Women Confronting the Crisis of the Church.”

“We wanted to give voice to a critical reflection from the point of view of women,” Lucetta Scaraffia, the magazine’s director, wrote in the opening editorial.

The first article, titled “Holy Rage,” was a Q&A with Sister Veronique Margron, a moral theologian who works with abuse victims, is president of the Conference of Religious in France and is provincial superior of the Dominican Sisters of Charity of the Presentation.

She said one major factor behind the “omerta” or culture of silence in the church lies in the image the church often has of itself as being a family, which, when it comes to incidences of sexual abuse, “has disastrous consequences.”

The image of a family is meant to describe the beauty of reciprocal care and love for each member, she said. However, just like when abuse is experienced in a family, that abuse is rarely talked about and finds support in sayings that warn against “airing your dirty linen in public.”

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POLAND
DW

October 1, 2018

By Magdalena Gwozdz-Pallokat (Warsaw)

The film “Kler” (“Clergy”) has only just been released in Poland. Hardly anyone has seen it yet, but already it’s adding fuel to the fire in the debate about abuse within the country’s powerful Catholic Church.

The film had already been labelled controversial long before it arrived in cinemas. Now it has, and demand is so high that some movie theaters are screening “Kler” up to 20 times a day. On the other hand, there are also municipalities with conservative local authorities that don’t want it in their cinemas at all. Director Wojciech Smarzowski could hardly dream of better advertising.

The subject matter is one of the hottest topics currently being debated in Poland: How priests deal with money, power and sexuality. And pedophilia. There are many people who want to participate in this debate, especially as it’s taking place in a country where almost half the population regularly attends church on Sundays and more than 90 percent are baptized Catholics.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

October 1, 2018

By Kelly Heyboer

Victims advocates are questioning why the Catholic Church has moved former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick to a home for priests in Kansas located within feet of an elementary school.

McCarrick, the former head of the Archdiocese of Newark and the Diocese of Metuchen, resigned from his post as a cardinal last summer after he was accused of sexual misconduct, including sexually abusing at least two altar boys several decades ago. The 88-year-old priest is awaiting a church trial.

The Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., where McCarrick had been living, confirmed Friday that McCarrick was moved to St. Fidelis Friary in Victoria, Kansas, after Pope Francis told him to withdraw from public ministry and events.

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VATICAN CITY
ANSA

October 1, 2018

Due to grave faults committed by some of its members

The Catholic Church’s ship is being hit by “violent” winds because of sex abuse scandals, Pope Francis said Monday.
“We are living in a context in which the ship of the Church is being hit by contrary and violent winds, especially because of the grave faults committed by some of its members,” he told a group of French priests. It is important, Francis said, “not to forget humble daily faith in the ministry which the Lord lets the great majority of those he has donated the Church as priests live”.

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BERLIN (GERMANY)
La Croix

October 1, 2018

By Delphine Nerbollier

Victims’ representatives express disappointment at the ‘meager announcements’ and ‘absence of concrete measures’

Following their General Assembly, Germany’s Catholic bishops have presented a seven point plan to tackle sex abuse within church institutions.

The bishops also published their initial response to the publication early last week of an independent report that cited 3,677 children and adolescent victims of abuse by 1,670 clerics since World War II.

The German Episcopal Conference on Sept. 27 announced plans to launch “an introspection prospect” in the nation’s 27 dioceses.

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HUNTSVILLE (AL)
Rocket City Now

September 30, 2018

By Mary Stackhouse

The Village Church opened its doors on Sunday to members within the church as well as to the Huntsville community for a training designed to protect kids from child sex abuse.

Mary Anne Hunter, Director of Children’s Ministry at The Village Church, said that the church partnered with Stewards of Children for the training. The training was for members of the church who work with children, along with members outside the church who advocate for children as well.

Topics covered include recognizing child abuse, preventing it, and responding to it.

Responding the right way is key, she explained. The wrong response may cause the individual to go silent about the abuse they have experienced.

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OTTAWA (CANADA)
Ottawa Citizen

October 1, 2018

By Andrew Duffy

An Ottawa priest who is to stand trial next year on historic sex abuse charges has been defrocked by the Vatican.

Barry McGrory, 83, is the second Ottawa priest to be dismissed from the priesthood in the clergy sex-abuse scandal. The Catholic Church calls the dismissal process “laicization,” and it is considered the harshest penalty the Vatican can deliver.

His official removal from the priesthood follows a determined campaign by one of his acknowledged victims, Colleen Passard, who reached an out-of-court settlement with the diocese in 1997 for the abuse she suffered after meeting McGrory at Ottawa’s Holy Cross Parish in the 1970s. She was a young teenager at the time.

Passard said the legal settlement included a commitment by the diocese to remove McGrory from the priesthood. But that didn’t happen.

Rather, McGrory was ordered not to present himself as a priest and he was prohibited from celebrating mass, hearing confessions or administering the sacraments.

Two-and-a-half years ago, after this newspaper published a story about McGrory’s role in the clergy sex-abuse scandal, Passard renewed her calls to have him removed from the priesthood. She met with Rev. Christian Riesbeck, auxilliary bishop of Ottawa, and prepared a victim-impact statement at his request.

That statement gave a detailed account of her abuse by McGrory, and concluded with a plea to church officials: “I urge you on behalf of myself, all of McGrory‘s victims, and all good priests, to laicize Father Barry McGrory. It is the most merciful and compassionate action you can take. Every day that McGrory remains a priest is a shameless hypocrisy — and a mockery of the Sacrament of Holy Orders.”

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HARRISBURG (PA)
The Associated Press

October 1, 2018

By Michael Rubinkam

Even as top Pennsylvania officials assail the Catholic Church over its cover-up of clergy sexual abuse, a state agency is refusing to release a report on allegations of sexual abuse by a high-ranking state university administrator despite lingering questions about how the accusers’ complaints were handled.

In a case that bears some broad similarities to – and contains important differences with – the Pennsylvania Church scandal that exploded in August, Pennsylvania’s higher education agency won’t agree to allow the public to see the 10-year-old report on former East Stroudsburg University Vice President Isaac Sanders. The report has taken on fresh significance in the wake of a new federal lawsuit by Sanders over his firing that could put Pennsylvania taxpayers on the hook for millions of dollars.

The office of Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro – acting as the higher-ed agency’s lawyer – says the report on Sanders remains subject to an 8-year-old confidentiality agreement and can’t be released. But Sanders’ lawyer says he “could care less” if the document is disclosed, and the students who accused Sanders of sexual assault and harassment have long wanted the state’s evidence against him made public, only to be rebuffed by state officials.

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CHICAGO (IL)
ABC7

September 29, 2018

By Chuck Goudie and Ross Weidner

An I-Team investigation has uncovered that a former priest, who church officials say was credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor, worked as a school counselor after leaving Chicago.

Jesus ‘Jesse’ Garza left his priest position at the Archdiocese of Chicago in 2000 and went to work in Beloit, Wisconsin, public schools. Garza claims school district or state officials never questioned him about his background even though in July of 2005 church investigators say they substantiated claims that Garza forced a boy to perform oral sex on him between 10 and 15 times from January to April 1984.

“The people I worked with in Beloit knew I was a priest, they would joke with me about it,” said Garza.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
The Washington Post

October 1, 2018

By Michelle Boorstein

In November 2000, a Manhattan priest got fed up with the secrets he knew about a star archbishop named Theodore McCarrick and decided to tell the Vatican.

For years, the Rev. Boniface Ramsey had heard from seminarians that McCarrick was pressuring them to sleep in his bed. The students told him they weren’t being touched, but still, he felt, it was totally inappropriate and irresponsible behavior — especially for the newly named archbishop of Washington.

Ramsey called the Vatican’s then-U.S. ambassador, Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, who implored the priest to write the allegation so it could be sent up the chain in Rome. “Send the letter!” Montalvo demanded, Ramsey recalls.

He never heard back from Montalvo, and Ramsey has since destroyed his copy of the 2000 letter, he said.

“I thought of it as secret and somehow even sacred — something not to be divulged,” Ramsey told The Washington Post. It wasn’t the concept of a cleric occasionally “slipping up” with their celibacy vow that shocked Ramsey, who believes that’s common. It was the repeated and nonconsensual nature of the McCarrick allegations.

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SALT LAKE CITY (UT)
The Salt Lake Tribune

October 1, 2018

By Connor Richards

Bízhínłth baá says she was repeatedly raped by her foster father in a small town in Utah’s Cache County.

Then 12 years old, the Navajo girl knew that what her foster father was doing to her “three or four times a week” wasn’t right, but when she reached out for help to a local leader of the women’s Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, baá says, she was met with disbelief. Worse, she was scolded and slapped.

“Do not tell anybody,” she recounts being warned. “And you think I had fear? Oh, I had fear. You can’t believe the fear I had.” And so the abuse continued throughout that school year, until the next May, she says, when she was returned home to the Navajo Nation.

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EAST STROUDSBURG (PA)
The Associated Press

October 1, 2018

By Michael Rubinkam

Even as top Pennsylvania officials assail the Catholic Church over its cover-up of clergy sexual abuse, a state agency is refusing to release a report on allegations of sexual abuse by a high-ranking state university administrator despite lingering questions about how the accusers’ complaints were handled.

In a case that bears some broad similarities to — and contains important differences with — the Pennsylvania church scandal that exploded in August, Pennsylvania’s higher education agency won’t agree to allow the public to see the 10-year-old report on former East Stroudsburg University Vice President Isaac Sanders. The report has taken on fresh significance in the wake of a new federal lawsuit by Sanders over his firing that could put Pennsylvania taxpayers on the hook for millions of dollars.

The office of Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro — acting as the higher-ed agency’s lawyer — says the report on Sanders remains subject to an 8-year-old confidentiality agreement and can’t be released. But Sanders’ lawyer says he “could care less” if the document is disclosed, and the students who accused Sanders of sexual assault and harassment have long wanted the state’s evidence against him made public, only to be rebuffed by state officials.

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CANADA
La Croix

October 1, 2018

By Joseph Sinasac

It addresses clericalism but offers no new methods for handling complaints against bishops

Canada’s Catholic bishops have issued updated national guidelines to strengthen the way they deal with the scandal of clergy sex abuse.

At their annual plenary assembly on Sept. 28 in Cornwall, Ontario, the bishops reviewed the final version of the document titled Protecting Minors from Sexual Abuse: A Call to the Catholic Faithful in Canada for Healing, Reconciliation and Transformation.

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DES MOINES (IA)
Des Moines Register

September 28, 2018

By Alex Ivanisevic

The Diocese of Des Moines has heard a third allegation of decades-old sexual abuse of a minor by the same priest.

The complaint — received Sept. 6 — was made against the Rev. Leonard Kenkel, according to a news release from the diocese. Bishop Richard Pates immediately referred the allegation to local law enforcement, the diocese said. Pates has apologized to the victim, who asked for anonymity.

Two allegations of decades-old abuse have previously been made in 2003 and 2005 against Kenkel. The Allegation Review Committee — comprising a chief of police, a judge, a lawyer, a counselor, a retired teacher, a priest and a deacon — determined in both cases there was not strong enough evidence to conclude that sexual abuse happened, but recommended that Kenkel meet with a professional, which he did, to help him better understand personal space and the recognition of appropriate boundaries for physical contact.

“It has always been a top priority for me that we address all allegations of sexual abuse with utmost transparency, consistency and accountability outlined by the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” Pates said in the news release. “The diocese continues to work diligently to ensure a safe environment for children and all vulnerable individuals in our churches and schools.”

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SYRACUSE (NY)
CNY Central

September 28th 2018

Sixty-four of the people sexually abused by clergy plan to take settlements from the Catholic Church.

The Syracuse Diocese confirms to CNYCentral that the 64 victims have agreed to participate in the victim compensation program offered by the diocese.

In Syracuse, 85 victims were invited to participate. That includes 76 victims along with nine others who have not corresponded with the diocese, according to Danielle Cummings, Chancellor and communications director.

Victims have until the end of October to decide whether to participate.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Register

September 28, 2018

By Mariana Barillas

The dioceses involved have pledged to cooperate with the probes, but some observers have questioned if this is the most effective way to move forward.

In response to resurging revelations and allegations of clergy sex-abuse cover-ups in the Catholic Church after the release of the Pennsylvania grand jury report, law enforcement in a growing number of states are initiating their own investigations.

Attorneys general in New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Vermont, Illinois, Missouri, Michigan, Nebraska and New Mexico have already begun probes into diocesan responses to allegations of sexual misconduct through a variety of means, including issuing subpoenas, forming special task forces and asking for full disclosure of diocesan documents. In addition, local police in Wyoming have reopened a case against a former bishop. It is likely that more states will follow suit, as Florida and Kentucky attorneys general have made first steps toward beginning a formal inquiry. Each diocese has stated that it will cooperate with authorities.

In addition, Sept. 24, Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore disclosed that the archdiocese had been in discussions with Maryland’s attorney general about an investigation. In a letter to his clergy, Archbishop Lori stated that “the archdiocese is supportive of the review and will be fully cooperative throughout the process.”

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MINNEAPOLIS (MN)
KSTP/ABC 5

September 29, 2018

Gov. Mark Dayton met Friday with seven county attorneys around the state to discuss how to potentially investigate clergy sex abuse in Minnesota.

In a statement, Dayton’s office said the meeting regarded “the capabilities and challenges of conducting an investigation into possible sexual misconduct in the dioceses of Minnesota.”

The statement went on to say the “Governor has consulted with his legal counsel about the state’s role and authority in this matter and discussions will remain ongoing.”

The seven county attorneys released the following joint statement:

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BUFFALO (NY)
WBFO

October 1, 2018

By Mike Desmond

Western New York Catholics gathered Sunday in St. Joseph’s Cathedral for an hour of Reparation and Healing. A small group of protesters was also there.

Bishop Richard Malone called for the event, so that Catholics could come together to pray for the victims of clergy abuse, to pray for those who offended and for the forgiveness of the church leaders who failed to respond adequately – something the bishop admitted during a short homily during the service.

Many of those who entered the cathedral through the front doors saw a small group of protesters who want the bishop to resign, saying he has failed to deal with the problems of abusive priests in the diocese, as the number of accused diocesan clergy has continued to rise.

While Malone has acknowledged what he calls “past inadequacies” in his handling of complaints, he says he will not resign.

One of the protesters, Robert Hoatson, is a former priest removed for supporting abuse victims. Hoatson said only church members can force change.

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BUFFALO (NY)
The Associated Press

September 30, 2018

The Diocese of Buffalo has hired a former FBI agent to investigate complaints of clergy abuse and other wrongdoing.

Bishop Richard Malone on Friday announced the appointment of Steven Halter as director of the newly created Office of Professional Responsibility.

Halter was a special agent in the FBI for nearly 30 years.

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BUFFALO (NY)
Spectrum Local News

October 1, 2018

By Fadia Patterson

Bishop Richard Malone hosted a “Holy Hour of Prayer” for victims of clergy sex abuse Sunday.

During the hour Bishop Malone took the opportunity to apologize for his own missteps in handling two cases involving adult victims.

“I know that I failed in the way I responded to allegations during my time here,” said Malone.

Bishop Malone has been under constant scrutiny since releasing a list of 42 priests accused within the Diocese of Buffalo.

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BUFFALO (NY)
The Buffalo News

October 1, 2018

By Jay Tokasz

Six Buffalo Diocese bishops or auxiliary bishops allowed the Rev. Brian M. Hatrick to remain in parishes for decades after a teenage boy complained Hatrick sexually abused him in the early 1980s.

Auxiliary Bishop Edward M. Grosz, the current No. 2 ranking administrator in the Buffalo Diocese, and current Syracuse Diocese Bishop Robert J. Cunningham, formerly a high-ranking administrator in Buffalo, kept Hatrick in ministry even after the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops set its “zero tolerance” policy.

Bishop Edward U. Kmiec, more than two years into his tenure, quietly removed Hatrick from priestly duties in 2007. But it wasn’t until March that the current leader of the diocese, Bishop Richard J. Malone, publicly identified Hatrick on a list of 42 priests who had been credibly accused of sexual abusing a child.

“This was a covered-up mess,” said Monica Lesniak, a Cheektowaga mother who first reported the alleged abuse in the early 1980s, after her son told her that Hatrick had molested him.

Instead of alerting the police, Lesniak immediately called her church pastor – a decision she has anguished over for years.

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BALTIMORE (MD)
The Baltimore Sun

September 27, 2018

By Tricia Bishop

Before The Sun moved offices last month, we were told we had to pare down what was in many cases years of accumulated notes and files — drawers full of interviews, court records, gang manifestos and whatever else we’d managed to collect and save in case we might need it again for another story, another day. I chucked two decades worth of papers to get to the goal: bringing a single box. Inside, along with personal items and performance evaluations, I put two large, white binders, each several inches thick — files from the only story I was certain wasn’t over.

They contain much of what I know about John Merzbacher, the child rapist accused of terrorizing dozens of Catholic students in Baltimore in the 1970s. The church turned its back on those children when it was happening, and again, in many ways, in the 1990s, after several of them gathered the courage to come forward as adults, in court, ultimately condemning Mr. Merzbacher to multiple life sentences in prison.

Now, state authorities are investigating how the Archdiocese of Baltimore has handled allegations of sexual abuse made against its representatives through the decades, spurred by a Pennsylvania grand jury report last month that identified more than 300 “predator priests” in that state. Baltimore’s current archbishop, William E. Lori, says officials are supportive of the effort and plan to cooperate.

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ESTONIA
Business Insider

September 26, 2018

By Kelly McLaughlin

– Pope Francis told reporters in Tallinn, Estonia, that everyone covered up sex abuse scandals in the past.
– He suggested that it’s unfair to apply modern standards to the Catholic Church’s cover up.
– His comments come amid Catholic Church sex abuse scandals worldwide, with the most recent revealing at least 3,677 children had been abused by priests in Germany between 1946 and 2014.

Pope Francis says that it’s unfair to apply modern standards to the Catholic Church’s sex abuse cover up.

Speaking to reporters in Tallinn, Estonia, on Tuesday, the pope suggested that everyone covered up crimes in the past, and that the Catholic Church shouldn’t be singled out, the Associated Press reported.

He said he was not excusing the church’s actions but said it was unfair to judge the cover up by today’s standards, comparing it to judging the conversion of indigenous people in the colonial era or the past use of the death penalty.

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AUSTRALIA
The West Australian

September 14, 2018

By Gary Adshead

The legacy of one of WA’s highest profile priests, Father Brian Morrison, is under threat from multiple claims of child sex abuse.

Eastern States law firm Porters is acting for “quite a few” people pursuing allegations that Father Brian abused them. He died from cancer in 2009.

“These victims were young children at the time of their abuse,” Porters said.

A recipient of many awards and honours, including the Senior Australian of the Year, Father Brian and his Catholic Churches Crisis Care Centre in North Perth were synonymous with charity work in WA for more than 30 years and up until his death aged 76.

But Porters — lawyers who have acted in hundreds of child sex abuse cases across the country — is seeking information “in relation to the abuse of children in the Archdiocese of Perth”.

“Porters wish to speak to any former parishioners, teachers, students or parents of students or parishioners who engaged Father Brian Morrison from 1975 to 1990, to obtain further evidence that will assist our clients in their claims,” an advertisement in today’s The Weekend West reads.

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Pedophilia: the Church eaten up by scandal

FRANCE
LE MONDE

September 25, 2018

Editorial. Alors que les révélations d’abus sexuels commis par des prêtres s’accumulent, le pape François ne peut plus se contenter de paroles de contrition, et l’Etat, notamment en France, se doit d’intervenir.

Editorial du « Monde ». Les chiffres sont accablants. En Allemagne, 3 677 mineurs ont été agressés sexuellement par des clercs de l’Eglise catholique entre 1946 et 2014. En Australie, 4 444 cas d’abus ont été identifiés entre 1980 et 2015. Aux Etats-Unis, pendant cinq ou six décennies, plus d’un millier d’enfants et d’adolescents ont été victimes de violences commises par des prêtres. Des scandales de même nature ont été révélés en Irlande ou encore au Chili, avec à chaque fois des évêques qui ont fait écran entre les agresseurs et la justice civile, et même maintenu des prédateurs au contact d’enfants.
La France n’est pas davantage épargnée : des faits d’abus sexuels, tantôt anciens, tantôt récents, surgissent régulièrement. Le mal de la pédophilie, couvert par une intolérable conspiration du silence, ronge l’Eglise. « Abus sexuels, état d’urgence dans l’Eglise », a titré le quotidien La Croix le 13 septembre.

Le pape François, qui depuis son élection en 2013 a toujours pris la défense des plus faibles, ne semble pas avoir pris conscience de l’ampleur de ce tsunami qui ébranle les fondements mêmes de son Eglise. Après son désastreux voyage au Chili, en janvier, où il avait soutenu un évêque accusé d’avoir protégé un prêtre soupçonné d’agressions sexuelles sur mineurs, le pontife argentin avait reconnu « avoir commis de graves erreurs d’appréciation et de perception ». Il avait fait part de sa « douleur » et de sa « honte ». Et il avait même dénoncé une « perversion » ecclésiale. Une sorte d’aveu d’impuissance, comme si l’Eglise admettait qu’elle n’avait rien entrepris contre les fautifs ou que les mécanismes de prévention ou d’alerte qu’elle prétendait avoir mis en place avaient été inefficaces.

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CHILE
BBC News

September 28, 2018

Pope Francis has removed the priest at the centre of Chile’s clerical sex abuse scandal.

In a statement, the Vatican said the pontiff had defrocked Fernando Karadima for “the good of the Church”.

The 88-year-old former priest had previously been sanctioned to a lifetime of “penance and prayer” for having sexually abused minors.

In June, the Pope accepted the resignations of three Chilean bishops in the wake of the scandal.

They included the controversial Juan Barros who was accused of covering up sexual abuse committed by Karadima in the 1980s and 1990s.

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

JEFFERSON CITY (MO)
The Kansas City Star

September 28, 2018

By Jason Hancock

Can the governor grant Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley subpoena power in his investigation into possible clergy sex abuse and cover-ups in the Roman Catholic Church?

Hawley’s office seemed to imply that was an option last week, which inspired abuse survivors on Wednesday to call on Gov. Mike Parson’s office to take action.

But the governor responded by saying his hands were tied without a local prosecutor requesting assistance. The Star asked Hawley’s office to clarify its position Thursday, but instead his spokeswoman re-sent the same prepared statement it released last week that kicked off the debate.

The back-and-forth and lack of clarity is disappointing, said David Clohessy, former director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

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HARRISBURG (PA)
The Morning Call

September 24, 2018

By Steve Esack

One half of the Pennsylvania Legislature moved a step closer to approving a bill extending lawsuits for some childhood sexual abuse victims.

The House voted 171 to 23 Monday to add an amendment to a Senate bill that would give some adults older than 30 a two-year window to sue their alleged abusers and their employers who may have covered up the crime. The bill would give victims 24 months to file retroactive civil lawsuits to try to recoup money and compel their alleged abusers to testify in court.

However, the amended bill creates a different level of legal proof needed to prove a child sex abuse claim in civil court. Anyone suing a private entity, such as the Catholic church, for a child sex abuse cover-up would need to prove a lower level of “negligence” than someone suing a public institution, such a school district. Financial claims against a public institutional also would be capped. They would not be limited against private entities.

The vote was not without drama or biblical verse or cheers.

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ALLENTOWN (PA)
The Morning Call

September 26, 2018

By Peter Hall

Lawyers fighting to protect the identities of nearly two dozen Catholic priests implicated in a grand jury report on the sexual abuse of children urged the state Supreme Court on Wednesday to end the case and adopt the report with the priests’ names blacked out, keeping the allegations secret forever.

If the court does so, the state attorney general’s office argued, it would damage the grand jury process, costing the office a valuable tool.

The grand jury report, released Aug. 14, identified 301 priests accused of abusing more than 1,000 children in six dioceses over several decades, with all but a few cases too old to prosecute. It also described efforts by church officials to cover up allegations and discredit victims.

The court agreed to temporarily withhold the identities of priests whose lawyers say the report would “name and shame” them, violating their constitutional right to defend themselves in the process.

The justices must decide whether to keep the priests’ names concealed or reopen the grand jury process, giving the priests an opportunity to present evidence.

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ERIE (PA)
ErieNewsNow.com

September 29th 2018

By Lisa Adams

Trial for retired priest David Poulson on charges of child sex abuse not scheduled until February of 2018.

The anticipated fall trial date for a former Erie Catholic Diocese Priest on charges he sexually abused two young boys for several years is pushed back to next year.

After a pre-trial conference, a judge in Jefferson County set jury selection in the trial of David Poulson, 64 of Oil City, for February 11 of 2019.

In announcing the charges last May, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said the the Diocese of Erie knew about Poulson’s predator tendencies since 2010 but did not tell police.

Poulson faces trial for felony counts of indecent assault, plus counts of endangering the welfare of children and corruption of minors. One victim was just 8-years-old when the alleged abuse began.

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ROME (ITALY)
The Daily Beast

September 29, 2018

By Barbie Latza Nadeau

The priests and monks created their own sick sign language to command the deaf and mute boys to perform oral sex and be sodomized.

Giuseppe” was born to impoverished parents outside of Verona in northern Italy with a congenital birth defect that left him deaf and mute. When it became clear that his parents could not provide for him—much less communicate with him—they brought him to the local Catholic church, which enrolled him in their Antonio Provolo Institute for deaf and mute children. It was here he learned to communicate through standard sign language and other visual cues. It was also where he became one of scores of victims of the priests and religious brothers who ran the school.

When he was 11, a monk who worked at the institute as an educator started teaching “special secret signs” for things like masturbation, fellatio, penis, and anus. “I didn’t understand at first just why this man was teaching me these strange secret signs,” Giuseppe explained in an exclusive, and very emotional, interview in Rome. “Then one day it became very clear when one of the priests made the secret sign for fellatio when we were alone, which was followed by him pushing his erect penis into my mouth.”

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PENNSYLVANIA
Associated Press via Crux

October 1, 2018

By Michael Rubinkam

Even as top Pennsylvania officials assail the Catholic Church over its cover-up of clergy sexual abuse, a state agency is refusing to release a report on allegations of sexual abuse by a high-ranking state university administrator despite lingering questions about how the accusers’ complaints were handled.

In a case that bears some broad similarities to – and contains important differences with – the Pennsylvania church scandal that exploded in August, Pennsylvania’s higher education agency won’t agree to allow the public to see the 10-year-old report on former East Stroudsburg University Vice President Isaac Sanders. The report has taken on fresh significance in the wake of a new federal lawsuit by Sanders over his firing that could put Pennsylvania taxpayers on the hook for millions of dollars.

The office of Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro – acting as the higher-ed agency’s lawyer – says the report on Sanders remains subject to an 8-year-old confidentiality agreement and can’t be released. But Sanders’ lawyer says he “could care less” if the document is disclosed, and the students who accused Sanders of sexual assault and harassment have long wanted the state’s evidence against him made public, only to be rebuffed by state officials.

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RIVER FALLS (WI)

Hudson Star Observer

September 30, 2018

By Father John Gerritts

I am a Roman Catholic Priest and pastor at Saint Patrick Catholic Church in Hudson. The Catholic Church has been in the national news lately because priests and bishops in our church have been accused of rampant sexual abuse of children — which supposed leaders within the church have covered up for decades. The cover-ups continued even after church leaders made strong public commitments 16 years ago to protect children.

In the late 1970’s and early 80’s, as I was finishing junior high and moving on to high school, a priest was assigned as a chaplain at the local hospital in our community. While his primary assignment was serving at the hospital, he frequently assisted at our parish. People enjoyed it when he offered Mass since he was a good homilist, had a fun sense of humor, and was quite charismatic. He frequently attended various events with kids, such as high school athletic contests and concerts. He was close to several families in the community, including my own.

Families were thrilled that he gave attention to the kids in the church. My parents were excited because they knew I was thinking about becoming a priest, so surely his would be a good influence.

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UNITED STATES
New York Magazine

September 29, 2018

By Ed Kilgore

It gained some attention, even in the middle of a very crowded news cycle, when the prominent Jesuit magazine America rescinded its endorsement of Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation after Christine Blasey Ford’s Senate testimony. Kavanaugh, after all, has constantly and proudly talked about his character and career being shaped by the Jesuit education he obtained at the super-elite Georgetown Preparatory School in the Washington suburbs. And he was at Georgetown Prep when the alleged sexual assault against Ford — along with the gang rapes that Julie Swetnick, herself an alleged victim, has reported in a sworn affadavit — were said to have occurred.

America endorsed Kavanaugh back in July because of the high likelihood (which ironically, he tried so very hard to deny or obscure in his first Judiciary Committee testimony) that he would help overturn Roe v. Wade, and eliminate any constitutional right to an abortion. Its second thoughts involved an issue that is all too familiar to contemporary Catholics:

[T]his nomination battle is no longer purely about predicting the likely outcome of Judge Kavanaugh’s vote on the court. It now involves the symbolic meaning of his nomination and confirmation in the #MeToo era. The hearings and the committee’s deliberations are now also a bellwether of the way the country treats women when their reports of harassment, assault and abuse threaten to derail the careers of powerful men.

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RISING SUN (MD)
Associated Press via Fox 29

A Pennsylvania man has been charged with child sexual abuse dating back to his time as a youth group leader at a Maryland church decades ago.

A Maryland State Police statement says 58-year-old Allen Price of Quarryville, Pennsylvania, was arrested Friday at his home.

Indictments handed down Thursday charge Prince with more than 100 counts, including second-degree child abuse, second-degree assault, and second-, third- and fourth-degree sex offenses.

Police say Price is accused of assaulting and abusing five girls, then aged 11 to 16, who attended youth group meetings at Grace Bible Chapel in Rising Sun from 1987 until 2001. They say Price also has ties to Lewes, Delaware, where he’s been involved in youth activities.

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THOMPSON FALLS (MT)
The Missoulian

September 30, 2018

By Seaborn Larson

Perhaps the largest jury award ever to a single person claiming the Jehovah’s Witnesses church failed to protect her from a sexual predator came Wednesday in Thompson Falls, a 1,300-person town peeking out from the pines along Highway 200 in northwest Montana.

The jury’s award, $35 million in punitive and compensatory damages to one woman, is more than financial relief, the woman’s attorneys say. It’s a message to the church: If leadership won’t amend their policies in handling child sex abuse, they’re going to pay for it.

In 2012, a California jury awarded one woman $28 million for her own claims against the Witnesses. Her attorney said it was the largest jury verdict for a single victim in a religious abuse case in the entire country at that time. The payout is a direct reflection of the church’s enormous and — most importantly — centralized wealth at the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, located in Pennsylvania and New York.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic News Agency

September 29, 2018

In an op-ed column published Saturday, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia has restated his concerns about the upcoming synod of bishops on young adults, faith and vocational discernment, set to begin Oct. 3.

The column was published in the Italian newspaper Il Foglio.

According to Chaput, after the Pennsylvania statewide grand jury report, and abuse problems in Chile, Germany and elsewhere, “the Church is in turmoil.”

“In this turbulent environment, the Holy See will host a world synod of bishops, October 3-28, in Rome. Keyed to the theme of ‘young people, faith, and vocational discernment,’ a more ironic, and more difficult, confluence of bad facts at a bad time for the meeting can hardly be imagined.

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NEW LONDON (CT)
The Day

September 30, 2018

By Editorial Board

Sexual assault and abuse are crimes so revolting that their innocent victims have borne the stigma: blame the victim, shame the victim, silence the victim, shield the victim’s name from the public. The events of the past weeks have upended those old conventions, awkwardly, painfully, but irrevocably.

The Day recently published articles by staff writer Joe Wojtas, whose reporting over the years has covered sexual abuse charges against Roman Catholic priests in the Norwich Diocese and allegations of sexual misbehavior by a former Stonington first selectman. The Sept. 23 stories were prompted by coverage of local reaction to a Pennsylvania Grand Jury report detailing charges against some 300 priests in that state over many years. One is the story of a New London man who says he was assaulted in Noank by a pastor now deceased. He described the emotional burdens ever since.

Christine Blasey Ford testified openly before the Senate Judiciary Committee Friday that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were in high school 36 years ago. She had told only her husband and therapists in most of that time, but she decided that keeping her secret any longer did not serve the public interest: The person she was accusing could be appointed to the nation’s high court.

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BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe

September 29, 2018

By Mark Arsenault

A member of the so-called Silent Generation and grandmother of 13, Mary Ann Keyes is the matriarch of a big Catholic family whose ties to the Roman Catholic Church — like those of many families — have grown more complicated with each generation.

While angered and saddened by the clergy sexual abuse scandals, Keyes, whose family is based in part on the South Shore, would never walk away. “The church means everything to me,” she said.

Her daughter, Kelly Carey, is 53, born between the baby boomers and Generation X. She considered stepping away after the abuse revelations of the early 2000s, she says, but weathered the scandals as a “roaming” Catholic, bouncing among different parishes in the area to hear individual priests she likes and respects.

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ROME (ITALY)
Crux

September 29, 2018

By Inés San Martín

In a move suggesting Pope Francis believes the Church is in a moment of “spiritual turbulence,” the pontiff is asking Catholics around the world to pray the rosary every day during the month of October for protection of the Church from the devil.

The daily praying of the rosary during the “Marian month of October,” a Vatican statement Saturday said, will unite the faithful “in communion and penance, as a people of God, in asking the Holy Mother of God and St. Michael the Archangel to protect the Church from the devil, who always aims to divide us from God and among us.”

The statement also says that, as the pope noted during his daily homily on Sept. 11, prayer is the weapon against “the Great accuser who ‘travels around the world looking for accusations’.”

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ROME (ITALY)
Crux

September 20, 2018

By Claire Giangravè

In February 2013, in his last official act as pope, Pope emeritus Benedict XVI appointed a commissioner for a small, seemingly insignificant hospital in Rome, the Immaculate Dermatological Institute (IDI).

Two years later, that same hospital was at the center of a tug-of-war between Australian Cardinal George Pell and the Vatican’s Secretary of State. Today, IDI is deepening the rift that threatens to tear apart the Church in the U.S., and to poison its relationship with Rome.

To understand what makes this hospital such a lightning rod, one needs to look at the path that led what was once a symbol of excellence in Catholic healthcare to the brink of ruin and almost $1 billion in debt.

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ROME (ITALY)
Crux

September 30, 2018

By John Allen

Moments of great crisis generally affect institutions in multiple ways, some of which are immediately evident and others that take longer to discern. Amid the clerical abuse scandals currently rocking Catholicism, it’s worth asking if one such long-term result is playing out before our eyes.

To wit, are we seeing a redefinition of the traditional left/right divides in the Church because the focus of popular complaint is no longer really teaching, one of the three traditional duties of a bishop, but rather governing?

Recently I sat down with a senior Church leader who was musing on criticism of the bishops of late, which he said at times seems reminiscent of Congregationalism – the idea that it’s the lay congregation, not the clerical caste, that exercises real power over Church affairs.

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SAN JOSE (CA)
San Jose Mercury News

September 30, 2018

By Harvey Barkin

San Jose Bishop Patrick McGrath met with the outrage and clamor for immediate accountability of the clergy accused of sexual abuses at the first of three scheduled listening sessions at Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Palo Alto Sept. 29.

McGrath said the involved clergy “say ‘sorry’ but it’s not enough. Deeds, not words are what we need. This is the beginning of the process.”

Locally, the process of holding abusive priests accountable arguably began in 2002, when the Diocese of San Jose implemented the Dallas Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People after U.S. bishops approved it. The charter was updated in 2005, 2011 and this year. Also, in 2002 the diocese set up its own Office for the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults. In the ensuing years, training, background checks and fingerprinting became necessary for seminarians, employees and even volunteers who work for the diocese. All diocesan personnel are mandated to immediately notify civil authorities of any suspected sexual abuse.

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ERIE (PA)
GoErie.com

September 30, 2018

An anonymous author posted 21 Theses on the doors of St. Peter Cathedral. The message, made in response to the abuse crisis, has gained support.

More than 500 years after Martin Luther, a like-minded activist is at work in the Catholic Diocese of Erie, trying to ignite reform in response to the child sexual-abuse crisis.

Luther in 1517 sparked the Reformation by posting his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. Luther put his name to the earth-shaking document.

The local activist is operating on a more localized scale. And the person is doing so anonymously.

The person taped a document called the 21 Theses to the doors of St. Peter Cathedral in downtown Erie on Sept. 13, according to the Twitter account @21Theses.

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VATICAN CITY
Daily Mail

September 30, 2018

By George Martin

– The Pope said in a statement Saturday that Catholics should protect the church
– He called prayer a ‘weapon’ to be used against ‘the great accuser’ in statement
– The Church has been embroiled in a series of sexual abuse scandals recently
– A German report showed 3,700 children were abused between 1946 and 2014

The Pope has urged Catholics to pray daily to protect the church from ‘turbulence’, as more and more sexual abuse revelations emerge.

In a Vatican statement released on Saturday, Pope Francis urged Catholics the world over to pray every day in October in order ‘to protect the Church from the devil, who always seeks to separate us from God and from each other’.

The Pope called prayer a ‘weapon’ to be used against ‘the great accuser’ who he claimed ‘can only be defeated by prayer’.

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ROCKVILLE CENTRE (NY)
Associated Press via Fox News Channel

September 29, 2018

A Roman Catholic priest accused of sexual abuse and unwanted physical contact dating to the 1980s is stepping away from his official duties while diocese officials investigate the allegations.

Newsday reported the Diocese of Rockville Center, which covers Long Island, will be looking into the allegations against Msgr. William Breslawski, who has been serving as the pastor of the Church of St. Anthony of Padua in Rocky Point, New York.

The diocese said a letter had come Sept. 25 accusing Breslawski of sexually abusing a relative of the writer’s, a middle-school-age child, and referenced a previous complaint about it that had been made in 2002.

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HUDSON (WI)
Hudson Star Observer

September 30, 2018

By Father John Gerritts

I am a Roman Catholic Priest and pastor at Saint Patrick Catholic Church in Hudson. The Catholic Church has been in the national news lately because priests and bishops in our church have been accused of rampant sexual abuse of children — which supposed leaders within the church have covered up for decades. The cover-ups continued even after church leaders made strong public commitments 16 years ago to protect children.

In the late 1970’s and early 80’s, as I was finishing junior high and moving on to high school, a
priest was assigned as a chaplain at the local hospital in our community. While his primary
assignment was serving at the hospital, he frequently assisted at our parish. People enjoyed it
when he offered Mass since he was a good homilist, had a fun sense of humor, and was quite
charismatic. He frequently attended various events with kids, such as high school athletic
contests and concerts. He was close to several families in the community, including my own.

Families were thrilled that he gave attention to the kids in the church. My parents were excited
because they knew I was thinking about becoming a priest, so surely his would be a good
influence.

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

[Karadima victim describes Ezzati’s request for dismissal as “rare” and “irregular”]

CHILE
BioBioChile

September 30, 2018

By Nicolás Parra and Nicole Martínez

“Como rara” e “irregular” calificó José Andrés Murillo, una de las víctimas del expulsado sacerdote Fernando Karadima, la petición de sobreseimiento de Ezzati, realizada por su defensa, para que no sea investigado en el caso de los delitos sexuales que se le imputan al excanciller del arzobispado de Santiago, Óscar Muñoz Toledo.

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

[After Karadima’s expulsion from the priesthood, laity of Osorno ask for the same with Juan Barros]

CHILE
BioBioChile

September 30, 2018

By María José Villarroel

Desde la organización de Laicos y Laicas de Osorno valoraron la decisión tomada por el papa Francisco de expulsar al exsacerdote Fernando Karadima, culpado por la Iglesia Católica como autor de abusos sexuales. Mario Vargas, vocero de la agrupación en Osorno, se mostró conforme con la decisión del Papa, calificando la determinación como un gran avance respecto a la condena que recibe el ahora exsacerdote.

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[Priests abused by Karadima say: “May God forgive him and may he be able to ask forgiveness for everything he did”]

SANTIAGO, CHILE
Emol

September 30, 2018

By Leonardo Vallejos

Sergio Cobo y Eugenio de la Fuente valoran que la expulsión del ex clérigo “marca un precedente a nivel mundial”.

Los sacerdotes Sergio Cobo y Eugenio de la Fuente, son dos de las declaradas víctimas del ex párroco de El Bosque Fernando Karadima. Por eso, valoraron que el Papa Francisco haya tomado la decisión de expulsarlo del sacerdocio. “Marca un precedente a nivel mundial. No creo que pase desapercibido que luego de haber hecho un proceso hace años, el Papa, de modo excepcional, vea que lo correcto sea dimitir del estado clerical a un sacerdote que cometió abusos”, afirmó Cobo, sacerdote de la Iglesia Inmaculada Concepción de Vitacura, a El Mercurio.

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VATICAN CITY
Associated Press

September 29, 2018

Pope Francis asked Saturday for daily prayers to protect the Catholic Church from what he says are “attacks by the devil,” in his latest response to the clerical sex abuse and cover-up scandal roiling his papacy.

A Vatican statement appeared to be an indirect response to accusations that Francis himself, and a string of Vatican officials before him, were complicit in covering up the sexual misconduct of a now-disgraced American ex-cardinal.

The Vatican said Francis had asked for Catholics worldwide to unite and pray the Rosary each day during October “to protect the church from the devil, who is always looking to divide us from God and from one another.”

At the same time, Francis asked for prayers so the church becomes ever more aware of its “guilt, errors and abuses committed in the present and the past and is committed to combat it without fail to prevent evil from prevailing.”

Francis identified the devil as the “Great Accuser, who roams the earth looking for ways to accuse.”

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[What delays the Pope from appointing a new archbishop of Santiago]

CHILE
La Tercera

September 27, 2018

By Paula Yévenes

Algunos sacerdotes dicen que está dentro de los plazos habituales. Otros, que la elección es excepcionalmente compleja. La reciente frase de Francisco, de que “no he encontrado a la persona”, abre suspicacias. Y dudas.

Varios nombres han surgido como eventuales reemplazos del renunciado arzobispo de Santiago, Ricardo Ezzati. Desde otros prelados, como Fernando Chomali -de Concepción y quien la semana pasada se reunió en Roma con el Pontífice-, hasta pastores extranjeros y sacerdotes locales. Todos suenan entre las opciones para encabezar la arquidiócesis. Francisco, sin embargo, mantiene la incógnita. Luego de tres oleadas de aceptación de renuncias de obispos, en las cuales se han ido siete de ellos, aún no define al nuevo pastor de la capital. Y la expectación crece.

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

[The 48-hour controversy over Church of Santiago’s guide to prevent abuses]

CHILE
La Tercera

September 29, 2018

By J. Matus

En el documento, publicado y luego eliminado del sitio web del arzobispado, se detallaban reglas a cumplir.

El Arzobispado de Santiago publicó este jueves, en su sitio web oficial, el documento titulado “Orientaciones que fomentan el buen trato y la sana convivencia pastoral”. El objetivo: dar señales de un cambio respecto de cómo están enfrentando los escándalos por abusos sexuales en la Iglesia Católica chilena. En particular, buscan establecer directrices sobre cómo deber ser la relación del clero con niños, adolescentes y personas con algún tipo de discapacidad.

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[Church: personalities demand a parliamentary inquiry on pedophilia in France]

PARIS (FRANCE)
Le Monde

September 30, 2018

Les signataires ont transmis une pétition aux parlementaires. Prenant l’exemple de l’Australie et des Etats-Unis, ils veulent que le pays rattrape son « retard » en la matière.

[The signatories sent a petition to parliamentarians. Taking the example of Australia and the United States, they want the country to catch up with the “backlog” in this area.]

Religieux, anciens ministres, avocats, victimes… Un groupe de personnalités lance un appel pour une enquête parlementaire indépendante sur les abus sexuels dans l’Eglise en France.

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DES MOINES (IA)
Diocese of Des Moines

September 28, 2018

The Diocese of Des Moines recently received an allegation against Father Leonard Kenkel of decades-old sexual abuse of a minor. Upon receiving the complaint September 6, 2018, Bishop Richard Pates immediately referred the allegation to local law enforcement where the alleged abuse occurred and has been notified that the allegation is beyond the statute of limitations.

Bishop Pates has apologized to the victim, who asked for anonymity. The diocese will honor this request.

“It has always been a top priority for me that we address all allegations of sexual abuse with utmost transparency, consistency and accountability outlined by the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. The diocese continues to work diligently to ensure a safe environment for children and all vulnerable individuals in our churches and schools,” said Bishop Pates.

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VICTORIA (KS)
Kansas City Star

September 28, 2018

By Judy L. Thomas

Officials at a grade school in a rural Kansas town were stunned Friday to learn that a former Catholic cardinal — who stepped down in July over allegations that he sexually abused seminarians and minors — was now living next door.

Former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington is residing at St. Fidelis Friary in Victoria, Kan., within a block of Victoria Elementary School.

“I was never made aware of it until I found out through social media today,” said Kent Michel, superintendent of USD 432 and also principal of Victoria Elementary.

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UNITED STATES
LifeSiteNews

August 31, 2018

In a forcefully-written column titled “A Cancer on the Papacy,” former presidential candidate Pat Buchanan pulls no punches as he contends that the Catholic Church is going through perhaps its “gravest crisis” since the Protestant Reformation, and that homosexuality is to blame.

A former aid to Richard Nixon who in a 2002 column argued that Vatican II was an “unrelieved disaster,” Buchanan calls for not only a thorough investigation of the “stunning” claims made by Archbishop Carlo Viganò, but an extensive “purge” and severing from the priesthood of those who covered up the scandals.

“The issue here is whether Pope Francis knew what was going on in the Vatican and in his Church, and why he was not more resolute in rooting out the moral squalor,” Buchanan writes.

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DUNKIRK (NY)
Observer Today

September 29, 2018

A priest who has been suspended by the Buffalo Diocese is a Dunkirk native.

According to the Buffalo Diocese, on Wednesday, the diocese received a complaint against Father Joseph C. Gatto involving an alleged sexual advance made on an adult. Bishop Richard J. Malone placed Father Gatto on administrative leave as an investigation continues.

“Please note that this administrative leave is for the purpose of investigation and does not imply any determination as to the truth and falsity of the complaint,” the diocese stated on its website. “We continue to pray for all victims of abuse. If you have any information specific to clerical sexual abuse you would like to share, please contact Jackie Joy, our Victim Assistance Coordinator, who can be reached at 716-895-3010.”

Gatto is an alumnus of Holy Trinity Elementary School and Cardinal Mindszety High School. In 1979 he graduated from Wadham’s Hall Seminary College, Ogdensburg and in 1982 he received his Bachelor of Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, Italy. He was ordained a priest at his home parish, Holy Trinity Church on July 9, 1983. Gatto had been the president and rector of Christ the King Seminary in Amherst, which prepares men for the priesthood in the Buffalo Diocese. He is accused of making a sexual advance on an adult male in 2000. In an interview with WKBW, he denied the accusation and said he was already planning on stepping down from his position, saying he was suffering from burnout and needed to take a break.

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DES MOINES (IA)
WeAreIowa.com

September 29, 2018

By Sarah Beckman

A priest serving in the Des Moines area for years has been accused of abuse by a minor.

Father Leonard Kenkel has been accused of decades-old sexual abuse of a minor. The complaint was received by the Diocese of Des Moines on September 6. The allegation was immediately referred to local law enforcement.

Bishop Pates has apologized to the victim, who asked for anonymity. The Diocese has obtained the services of an investigator and will consult with them what to do next.

Father Kenkel is retired from his services at the church and is in a nursing facility. Bishop Pates has suspended Kenkel’s priestly faculties so he can’t engage in public ministry.

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VICTORIA (KS)
Associated Press via the Toronto Star

September 29, 2018

The friary in remote western Kansas that is now home to a disgraced former U.S. cardinal removed from ministry by Pope Francis over allegations of sexual abuse is just one block from an elementary school.

The Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., confirmed in a statement Friday that ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick is living at St. Fidelis Friary in Victoria, a rural town of about 1,200 that lies more than 400 kilometres west of Kansas City. The Friary is within a block of Victoria Elementary School.

News of McCarrick’s living arrangement took school officials by surprise, the Kansas City Star reported .

“I was never made aware of it until I found out through social media” on Friday, Victoria Elementary Principal Kent Michel said.

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ROCKVILLE CENTRE (NY)
Newsday

September 29, 2018

By Bart Jones

Msgr. William G. Breslawski agreed to step away while the Diocese of Rockville Centre investigates allegations he sexually abused a middle schooler nearly 40 years ago, a church spokesman said Saturday.

A Roman Catholic priest has stepped aside from his ministry while church officials investigate allegations that he sexually abused a middle schooler nearly 40 years ago and had “an inappropriate interaction” with two adults in the 1980s, the Diocese of Rockville Centre said.

Msgr. William G. Breslawski agreed to step away while the diocese investigates those allegations, Sean Dolan, a spokesman for the diocese, said Saturday.

Breslawski, who was ordained a priest in 1979, most recently served as the pastor of the Church of Saint Anthony of Padua in Rocky Point. He could not be reached for comment.

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SANTIAGO (CHILE)
The New York Times

September 29, 2018

By Pascale Bonnefoy

Pope Francis has defrocked a once-prominent priest whose case has been at the center of public outrage about clerical sexual abuse and its concealment in Chile — a rare move that Vatican officials said showed his determination to tackle a scandal that has roiled the Catholic Church here and around the world.

The priest, the Rev. Fernando Karadima, was found guilty of sexual offenses by the Vatican as long ago as 2011. But his case has proved particularly toxic for Francis, who long defended a bishop accused of covering it up, Juan Barros, including during a visit to Chile in January.

A month later, following a storm of protest, Francis sent sex crimes investigators to the country, beginning an about-face that was to result in all 34 of the Roman Catholic bishops in Chile offering their resignations.

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BOISE (ID)
Idaho Statesman

September 28, 2018

By Katy Moeller, Christina Lords, and Michael Katz

A retired Boise priest accused of possessing thousands of images and videos of children being sexually abused — and sharing some of them online with others — won’t go to trial in October.

After reaching a deal with prosecutors, the Rev. W. Thomas “Tom” Faucher pleaded guilty Friday to five of the 24 charges against him, including two counts of distribution of sexually exploitative material, two counts of possession of sexually exploitative materials and drug possession. The other charges were dismissed.

He will be sentenced at 9 a.m. Dec. 20.

Prosecutors will ask the judge to sentence Faucher to 30 years in prison, including 20 before he’s eligible for parole. The defense is free to argue for less, under the plea deal

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BOISE (ID)
Associated Press via U.S. News and World Report

September 28, 2018

A former Boise Catholic priest has pleaded guilty to child pornography charges as part of a plea deal.

News outlets report William Thomas Faucher pleaded guilty to five of the 24 charges against him, including distribution of sexually exploitative material, possession of sexually exploitative materials and drug possession.

The other charges were dismissed.

The Idaho Statesman reports Faucher, who will be 73 next month, told the court he sent an email that contained child pornography while in alcohol-induced depression and while being affected by dementia.

Prosecutors say it wasn’t one drunken mistake and that more than 2,000 photos and videos depicting child sexual abuse were found on Faucher’s computer and phone.

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DENVER (CO)
Crux

September 28, 2018

By Paulina Guzik

In the last week, three dioceses in Poland have published their data on clerical sex abuse, saying they are trying to better understand the issue and find effective measures to stop it.

On Sep. 27, the Diocese of Warsaw-Prague – located in the eastern part of greater Warsaw – said in the last 26 years twelve priests were accused of abusing minors, and that all of the cases were reported to the Vatican. It added that two of the accused were cleared of charges.

“I want to do everything in my power to help those who feel hurt, so they could have a safe return to the Church and regain confidence in her,” said Bishop Romuald Kaminski.

The diocese also published its policies on child protection and gave information about its special team of priests and lay experts working on issues related to abuse.

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HOUSTON (TX)
Houston Chronicle

September 28, 2018

By Nicole Hensley

A former Conroe priest facing decades-old child molestation accusations has been staying at a gated retirement community in southwest Houston while out on bail, according to officials.

The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston has been housing Manuel Larosa-Lopez at the St. Dominic Village along Holcombe Boulevard after he was released on a $375,000 bond two weeks ago, the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office confirmed. The property is fenced off save for a guarded driveway.

The diocese touts the village, which includes a senior home and about a dozen apartments for retired priests south of the Brays Bayou, as providing “all the comforts of home” on its website.

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VATICAN CITY
Reuters

September 27, 2018

By Philip Pullella

Pope Francis has defrocked a 88-year-old Chilean priest who sexually abused teenage boys over a period of many years and is at the center of a wider abuse scandal that is still under investigation, the Vatican said on Friday.

Father Fernando Karadima was defrocked, or “reduced to the lay state” by the pope on Thursday, a move the Vatican called “exceptional” and done “for the good of the Church”.

Karadima, who lives in a home for the elderly in the Chilean capital Santiago, was notified on Friday.

He was found guilty in a Vatican investigation in 2011 and ordered to live a life of “prayer and penitence”, but was not defrocked at the time, the final years of the reign of former Pope Benedict. That meant he was still a priest, although he could not minister in public.

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VATICAN CITY
Associated Press via Boston Globe

September 28, 2018

By Nicole Winfield

Pope Francis has defrocked a Chilean priest who was a central character in the global sex abuse scandal rocking his papacy, invoking his ‘‘supreme’’ authority to stiffen an earlier sentence because of the ‘‘exceptional amount of damage’’ the priest’s crimes had caused.

In a statement Friday, the Vatican said Francis had laicized 88-year-old Fernando Karadima, who was originally sanctioned in 2011 to live a lifetime of ‘‘penance and prayer’’ for having sexually abused minors in the upscale Santiago parish he ran.

The Vatican said Francis was doing so for ‘‘the good of the church.’’

‘‘It is without doubt an exceptional measure, but Karadima’s grave crimes have caused exceptional damage in Chile,’’ Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said.

The ‘‘penance and prayer’’ sanction has been the Vatican’s punishment of choice for elderly priests convicted of raping and molesting children. It has long been criticized by victims as too soft and essentially an all-expenses-paid retirement, and Karadima’s whistle-blowers had pressed for it to be toughened.

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DES MOINES (IA)
KCCI 8 CBS

September 28, 2018

The Diocese of Des Moines is investigating an allegation of decades-old sexual abuse of a minor against one of its priests who retired in 2008.

According to a news release, Bishop Richard Pates immediately referred the complaint made Sept. 6 against Father Leonard Kenkel to local law enforcement authorities where the alleged abuse happened. The allegation is beyond the statute of limitations.

Pates apologized to the victim, who asked for anonymity.

“It has always been a top priority for me that we address all allegations of sexual abuse with utmost transparency, consistency and accountability outlined by the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” Pates said in a statement.

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