ABUSE TRACKER

AUSTRALIA
The New Daily

Lucie Morris-Marr

It wasn’t the way Cardinal George Pell likes to start his morning.

On a normal weekday the 76-year-old is usually found working inside the grand confines of Saint John’s Tower on the western tip of Vatican City.

In the medieval building, the official seat of the office he holds as Prefect of the Secretariat of the Economy, there are assistants to bring him coffee or run errands across the ancient Roman cobblestones.

The restored tower is a place he can work in peace.

On Wednesday, however, there was nothing peaceful about the scene that greeted Cardinal Pell at Melbourne Magistrates Court, where he arrived just before 9am for his first hearing on multiple charges of historic sexual abuse.

This reporter had been the first in line at the doors of the court in the darkness at 5am. But very soon the William Street building was under siege, with an unprecedented media army of over 150 local, national and international journalists and TV crews.

We all morphed into one huge, breathless, heaving and agitated pack.

In truth, we were hungry for breakfast as well as the story.

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.

AUSTRALIA
Asian Correspondent

By Jo Lane | 27th July 2017

TO SHOUTS, jeers, a media scrum and chaotic scenes outside the Melbourne Magistrates Court, Cardinal George Pell made his first appearance in what is predicted to be a drawn-out case into allegations of historical sex offences.

In scenes reminiscent of other high-profile cases such as the trial by media of Lindy Chamberlain, the Cardinal’s first stoic, silent fronting to the court, that has either satiated or whetted the public and media’s appetite, has also left no one the wiser about what exactly he is charged with.

“Historical sex offences” and “matters that have been under investigation for two years” are some of the phrases that have been thrown around in explanation, but the fact remains that the details of the allegations have not been made publicly available.

On this perplexity, The Guardian columnist David Marr wrote of his coverage of the filing hearing, “My apologies. I can’t tell you what’s going on. A great billowing, lace-edged cloak of secrecy still surrounds the case of the Director of Public Prosecutions v. G Pell.

“Months down the track, we don’t know what the charges are. Even if they fell into my lap, I would not say a word. Why not? Sorry, that’s a secret too.”

And that, Catholic parishioner Michael Curtin said, is forcing the public to make a decision when there isn’t yet enough information.

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.

AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

Shannon Deery, Herald Sun

ANOTHER priest has admitted sex crimes against children at the ­notorious Salesian College in Rupertswood.

Frank De Dood on Thursday admitted abusing five boys, four of them at the Sunbury college while he taught there between 1978 and 1983.

Dozens of young pupils have emerged as victims of relentless abuse at the hands of the Salesian priests, who ran what has been dubbed a “school of horrors”.

At the County Court on Thursday, De Dood, 64, pleaded guilty to six indecent assault charges against the five, aged 11 to 16. He abused one of the boys at the Salesian campus at Chadstone.

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.

MASSACHUSETTS
New York Times

By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE
JULY 26, 2017

BOSTON — When he was 21 and coming out as gay, John Harris was referred to a charismatic street priest, Paul Shanley, for guidance.

“He raped me, under the pretense of helping me,” Mr. Harris, now 59, recalled Wednesday. Since the episode, in 1979, Mr. Harris said he had had difficulty trusting people, which led to heavy drinking and depression so severe that he was hospitalized.

Mr. Shanley was defrocked by the Vatican in 2004 and convicted in 2005 of raping a boy repeatedly during the 1980s in a suburban parish. Sentenced to 12 to 15 years in prison, he became one of the most notorious priests in the sex abuse scandal that rocked the Roman Catholic Church.

While the scandal of priests abusing children has faded somewhat from the explosive headlines of the early 2000s, the issue continues to play out here in Boston, the epicenter of the abuse.

Mr. Shanley is now 86. After 12 years of incarceration, he is scheduled to be released on Friday from the Old Colony Correctional Center, a medium-security prison in Bridgewater, Mass. His pending release has distressed his victims and their families, who on Wednesday said they hoped that residents of whatever town Mr. Shanley is released to will monitor him and report his whereabouts.

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.

CONNECTICUT
JTA

July 26, 2017

NEW YORK (JTA) — A prominent Connecticut rabbi was charged in the alleged sexual assault of a minor two months after he was ordered to pay a civil judgment of $20 million relating to the same allegations.

Rabbi Daniel Greer, 77, the founding rabbi of the Yeshiva of New Haven, turned himself in to police Wednesday morning and was charged with second-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor, police told the New Haven Register. Bond was set at $100,000.

Eliyahu Mirlis of New Jersey, now an adult, claims the rabbi raped and sexually molested him hundreds of times when he was a minor and a student at the religious boarding school in the early to mid-2000s. Mirlis has urged media outlets that normally would not identify an abuse victim to use his name.

In May, a federal jury ordered Greer and the Yeshiva of New Haven to pay Mirlis $15 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. The criminal investigation proceeded more slowly than the civil trial.

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

CONNECTICUT
New Haven Register

By Register Staff
POSTED: 07/26/17

NEW HAVEN >> A rabbi turned himself in to police Wednesday morning following a police investigation into an alleged sexual assault of a minor.

Rabbi Daniel Greer, 77, of West Park Avenue, New Haven, was charged with second-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor, police said. Bond was set at $100,000.

New Haven attorney William F. Dow said Wednesday Greer intends to plead not guilty during a court appearance, which Dow said will likely be in the second week of August.

“I proudly represent Rabbi Greer,” Dow said. “Rabbi Greer has a long history of positive contributions to the New Haven community. He intends to plead not guilty. He looks forward to addressing these unfounded charges in court.”

Attorney Antonio Ponvert III confirmed Wednesday the victim in this criminal charge his is client, Eliyahu Mirlis, who was awarded $15 million in his civil lawsuit accusing Greer in May. The New Haven Register generally does not identify people who allege sexual abuse, but Mirlis wanted to come forward. Ponvert represented Mirlis in the civil trail.

Mirlis, now 29, said the abuse has led him to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder as well as distress, humiliation, depression, low self-esteem and an inability to maintain emotional relationships, according to court documents.

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.

CONNECTICUT
Washington Post

By Associated Press July 26

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A rabbi who founded a Connecticut school and is the center of an abuse scandal there has turned himself in to police to face charges of sexually assaulting a minor.

The New Haven Register reports 77-year-old Rabbi Daniel Greer was charged Wednesday with sexual assault and risk of injury. Defense attorney William Dow says Greer intends to plead not guilty.

A federal jury in May awarded $15 million in compensatory damages to a former student who alleges he was repeatedly raped and molested by Greer when he attended the Yeshiva School of New Haven from 2001 to 2005. Greer founded the school.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
The Charity Commission

From:The Charity Commission
Published:26 July 2017

The charity regulator reports on its investigation into Manchester New Moston Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

A Charity Commission investigation has led to improvements in safeguarding at a Jehovah’s Witnesses charity, according to a report published today (26 July 2017). The report also makes findings of misconduct and mismanagement against the charity’s trustees.

The Commission concludes that trustees of the Manchester New Moston Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses did not deal adequately with allegations of child abuse made against one of the trustees in 2012 and 2013. The individual was subsequently convicted of 2 counts of indecent assault.

The report details the findings of the regulator’s statutory inquiry into the charity, which opened in May 2014 to investigate the charity’s handling of safeguarding matters, including the potential risks to the charity and its beneficiaries relating to this individual.

The report also acknowledges that, since the inquiry was opened, the charity has improved its child safeguarding policy and its procedures for handling misconduct allegations.

The regulator’s detailed report highlights that the trustees did not identify one allegation as potential child abuse, dismissing it as ‘a matter between 2 teenagers’. The report also finds the trustees did not:

* fully enforce the restrictions they decided to place on the individual’s activities at the charity
* adequately consider and deal with potential conflicts of loyalty within the trustee body
* keep an adequate written record of the decision-making process used to manage the potential risks posed by the individual to the beneficiaries of the charity

The regulator’s report examines the events surrounding an internal disciplinary procedure, held to determine whether the abuser should be allowed to continue as a member of the congregation. The Commission finds that the victims of abuse were ‘effectively required’ to attend a hearing at which they had to repeat their allegations in the presence of the abuser, and the abuser was permitted to question the alleged victims. The trustees had argued that they were not responsible for the procedure and that the victims took part in the hearing voluntarily.

The Commission accepts that the trustees did not themselves conduct the disciplinary procedure, but concludes that they carry ultimate responsibility and must be held accountable for the impact it had on the victims.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
Third Sector

26 July 2017 by Andy Ricketts

A Charity Commission report on the Manchester New Moston Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses says its handling of child abuse allegations was inadequate

The Charity Commission has criticised a Jehovah’s Witnesses charity that allowed a convicted sex offender to question his alleged victims as part of proceedings to decide whether he should continue as part of the congregation.

A report from the regulator on the Manchester New Moston Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, published today, says trustees failed to deal adequately with child abuse allegations against former board member Jonathan Rose.

The report says the commission began looking into the charity after being told that Rose was appearing in court in August 2012 charged with sexual offences that took place in 2002, before he became a trustee of the charity.

The commission asked the charity’s trustees for further information and gave advice and guidance. Rose resigned as a trustee.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
Yorkshire Evening Post

ALEX EVANS

A church minister raped and sexually abused seven vulnerable women to “rid them of evil spirits”, a court heard.

John Wilson, 70, allegedly told one victim: “Queens need to be dethroned, God has made me a king so I am allowed to do this” before raping her.

On another occasion he told a victim that if she had evil spirits in her he would need to “go into the womb to release them”, it was said.

Wilson is accused of carrying out the attacks during one-to-one prayer ‘deliverance’ sessions at church and at the homes of his victims – the youngest aged just 13.

Opening the prosecution at Bradford Crown Court, David McGonigal QC said: “This case involves the sexual abuse of seven women in the name of religion.

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.

PENNSYLVANIA
PennLive

By Nora Shelly nshelly@pennlive.com

A Valley Forge church has been implicated in a case of sexual assault in Australia documented on the country’s version of “60 Minutes.”

The episode, which aired earlier this week, featured Joy Harris, whose former husband Larry Harris is serving a five-year prison sentence in Queensland, Australia for two counts of rape against her, according to the show.

Joy Harris moved with her then-husband, Pastor Larry Harris, from the United States to Australia in 1994, to serve as missionaries for the Valley Forge Baptist Church, located in southeastern Pennsylvania. According to the show, the church was referred to as a “cult” by former members and is a part of the breakaway Independent Baptist Movement.

On the “60 Minutes” episode, Harris details the abuse she suffered at the hands of her husband. According to Harris, the church uses the Bible to justify teaching women to submit to their husbands.

The church’s senior pastor, Scott Wendell, said on the show the accusations against Kevin Harris were not surprising. Once he was informed of the accusations — Wendell said he brought the couple back to Pennsylvania for marriage counseling.

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

UNITED KINGDOM/AUSTRALIA
9 News

Former ABC managing director David Hill has told a UK inquiry the British government betrayed thousands of child migrants who were sexually abused, beaten and used as slave labour at Australian farm schools.

The 70-year-old told the child sexual abuse inquiry sitting in London that former prime minister John Major’s assertion that child migrants were not the British government’s responsibility once they were sent away was “disturbing”.

At age 12, Mr Hill was sent to the Fairbridge Society farm school at Molong in NSW in 1959 along with other children who had been put into care.

His 2007 book The Forgotten Children details the routine abuse suffered by children there.

In May, the inquiry heard former child migrants tell of the sexual, physical and emotional abuse they suffered at institutions run by Fairbridge, the Christian Brothers and other church and charity groups in Australia up to the 1970s.

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.

AUSTRALIA
Northern Star

Claudia Jambor | 27th Jul 2017

ANGER has erupted among church abuse victims after a legal loophole within the laws of the Anglican Church has allowed a Bishop and Reverend to be reinstated two years after being deposed.

Former bishop, Rt Rev Keith Slater and Rev Patrick Comben were stripped of their Holy Orders due to their handling of sexual and physical abuse claims by former residents at the North Coast Children’s Home between 1940-1980.

Their attempted defrocking was the result of a church inquiry into evidence of historic child sex abuse at the home at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

Rt Rev Keith Slater appealed the decision before an Appellate Tribunal of the Anglican Church of Australia in November last year.

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.

MONTANA
Great Falls Tribune

Seaborn Larson, slarson@greatfallstribune.com July 26, 2017

The window is closing for victims and survivors to file claims of abuse committed by church officials who served under the Great Falls-Billings Diocese.

The diocese earlier this year filed for bankruptcy to begin financing a settlement fund for those reported to be abused by priests, brothers and nuns. More than 70 victims have emerged as alleged victims of abuse, claiming they were physically, emotionally and sexually abused by priests. The timeline of reports so far stretches from the 1940s to 1990s.

“To be considered in part of the settlement in this pool of money, the plains would have to be made by July 31,” Molly Howard, an attorney representing about 40 victims in the Great Falls-Billings Diocese case.

Forms for filing abuse claims are available on the Great Falls-Billings Diocese website and will be submitted to bankruptcy court.

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.

MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Globe

By Michael Levenson GLOBE STAFF JULY 26, 2017

When John Harris was 21 and just coming out as gay, a professor at the University of Lowell referred him to a priest named Paul R. Shanley, who had started a retreat for gay people called the Exodus Center in Milton. There, he said, Shanley raped him in February 1979. He was one of scores of the priest’s alleged victims, whose lives were irreparably damaged by sexual abuse at the hands of someone they trusted.

On Wednesday, Harris stood with other alleged victims and denounced the doctors who cleared the 86-year-old defrocked priest for release from prison Friday, finding he was no longer a threat to the public after 12 years behind bars for raping a young boy at a Newton church in the early 1980s.

By turns angry, solemn, and resolved, the victims and their attorneys demanded changes in the standards used to determine whether a prisoner is a “sexually dangerous person” who can be held behind bars even after their sentence is completed. They also said they want the public to be on notice that they believe Shanley remains a dangerous predator, despite the doctors’ opinion.

“This is a guy, Shanley, who has manipulated the system, the church, and the public, and knows how to manipulate people,” Harris, 59, said calmly at a press conference at an attorney’s office in downtown Boston. “I’m concerned he’s going to abuse again.”

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.

AUSTRALIA
9 News

A Victorian Catholic priest is set to face court for a plea hearing charged with historical child sexual abuse.

Father Frank De Dood, of the Salesian order, will face a plea hearing in the County Court in Melbourne on Thursday, charged with six child sex abuse related crimes dating back to 1978.

The priest’s first hearing was adjourned after it was revealed Judge Gerard Mullaly, who was to hear the case, had an indirect family link to one of the victims.

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.

ILLINOIS
Chicago Tribune

Dan Campana
Aurora Beacon-News

Kane County prosecutors plan to file an emergency motion seeking a Friday hearing in a last-ditch attempt to keep former Aurora priest Alfredo Pedraza Arias, who is accused of sexual abuse, from being deported.

Arias, 50, had been in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials since May until Kane County Judge Linda Abrahamson, who raised his bail by $100,000 earlier in the month, on July 21 agreed to remand the one-time Aurora priest to the Kane County Jail. Prosecutors sought the move because federal authorities issued a June 14 deportation order for Arias.

Court records show someone posted the additional $10,000 on Monday to allow Arias to be released, however ICE records indicate Arias was taken back into their custody not long after. He is again being held in a Kenosha, Wisconsin, facility, according to immigration officials.

Arias has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving two girls who were under the age of 6 at the time of the alleged incidents, which occurred between 2012 and 2014 while he was at Sacred Heart Church in Aurora.

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.

MASSACHUSETTS
San Antonio Express-News

BOSTON (AP) — Men who say they were raped by a Catholic priest at the center of the Boston clergy sex abuse scandal say they’re worried for children’s safety once he’s released from prison this week.

Paul Shanley is scheduled to be freed Friday after completing a 12-year sentence for the rape of a boy at a suburban Boston church.

Victim advocates, lawyers, and two men who said they were raped by Shanley in the 1970s called on the public Wednesday to help track Shanley’s whereabouts once he gets out and is placed on probation. They urged people to call their local police to report on Shanley.

Shanley’s appellate lawyer says his 86-year-old client has served his time and is not dangerous.

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.

ESTADO UNIDOS
Cineset

[‘The Keepers’: Courageous Women’s Struggle for Justice Results in Powerful Netflix Series.]

Por Ivanildo Pereira · Publicado em 25 de julho de 2017

The Keepers é uma série sobre mulheres. A nova minissérie documental da Netflix tem como ponto de partida o enigma do que aconteceu com uma delas. Em novembro de 1969, a irmã Cathy Cesnik, residente de Baltimore, Maryland, EUA, saiu do seu apartamento para fazer compras e desapareceu. Quase um mês depois, seu corpo foi encontrado num terreno distante. A investigação policial nunca descobriu quem a matou, ou por que. Ela tinha 26 anos.

O capítulo inicial da minissérie, de sete episódios, estabelece as circunstâncias do crime. A irmã Cesnik também era professora do colégio católico Arcebispo Keough, e pouco antes de desaparecer, ficou ciente dos abusos sexuais de algumas alunas do colégio cometidos por uma dupla de padres. E também, logo de cara, somos apresentados às duas investigadoras e ex-alunas do colégio e da freira, que criaram uma página de Facebook para compartilhar dados sobre o caso e hoje mantém ativa a luta por justiça pela irmã Cesnik.

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.

AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

Patrick Carlyon, Herald Sun
July 26, 2017

THE word had been that Cardinal George Pell would be afforded no special favours at court on Wednesday.

Yet he wasn’t like everyone else. The journalists camped out in the pre-dawn inkiness, before the tinkle of the first tram, told you as much.

The cardinal arrived at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court a tick before 9am, to be confronted, as all are, by security scanners. But his presence did not set off beeps and whines, as everyone else’s seems to.

By the time he had passed, after a wave of the electronic wand, everyone was looking at the stooped man in the black suit and coat.

Conversations had stopped mid-sentence, though Pell hardly played to the attention. His was a balding head in a wash of hi-vis security.

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.

MASSACHUSETTS
CBS Boston

[with video]

BOSTON (CBS/AP) – Several victims of convicted pedophile priest Paul Shanley are furious that he’ll be getting out of prison later this week.

Shanley, 86, is one of the most notorious figures in the Boston Archdiocese clergy sex abuse scandal.

He was convicted in 2005 of repeatedly raping and fondling a boy at St. Jean’s parish in Newton in the 1980s, and he was sentenced to 12 to 15 years in prison.

At a news conference in Boston Wednesday, the parents of Shanley victim Greg Ford called the former priest “pure evil.”

“He brutally raped, sodomized children. He pimped out women and children. He brutalized the handicapped. You can’t tell me Paul Shanley doesn’t fit the criteria for a sexually dangerous person,” said Ford’s father Rodney.

“Every parent has to be vigilant with their kids if they see Paul Shanley in their neighborhood,” Ford continued. “Paul Shanley should never feel comfortable in his skin. Paul Shanley is a threat and I can’t believe that the doctors don’t see that.”

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.

MASSACHUSETTS
WCVB

WORCESTER, Mass. —
People who say they were assaulted by former priest Paul Shanley spoke out Wednesday about his scheduled release from prison.

Shanley was convicted in 2005 of raping a boy at his former Newton parish in the 1980s. There are about two dozen other allegations against the 86-year-old.

Prosecutors tried to keep him behind bars past his 12-year prison sentence but said doctors determined he wasn’t sexually dangerous.

Paula and Rodney Ford, whose son, Gregory, was allegedly molested by Shanley in the 1990s, said they are upset that Shanley will be released.

“If anyone ever fit the profile of a dangerous sexual predator, it is Paul Shanley,” said Paula Ford.

Rodney Ford choked back tears as he called for accountability.

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

UNITED STATES
Catholic League

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on Cardinal George Pell’s day in court and the media’s treatment of it:

In the United States it would be unheard of for someone to be summoned to court to face a judge without knowing what the charges are and who the accusers are. But not in Australia.

Cardinal George Pell was summoned to travel from Rome to Melbourne to appear in court today. He did. The proceedings, which were nothing more than a filing, lasted six minutes. Pell said nothing. Moreover, his lawyer did not enter a plea. That’s because the mystery continues—Pell has not been told what he is being charged with or who his accusers are. All we learned is that he must appear again on October 6.

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.

MASSACHUSETTS
NBC Los Angeles

Survivors and family members of those who were sexually abused by convicted pedophile priest Paul Shanley spoke out Wednesday after hearing that he is scheduled to be released from prison on Friday.

“Paul Shanley is evil,” said Rodney Ford, whose son Greg’s case resulted in Shanley’s conviction. “He destroyed my son’s life, my family’s life and so many other victims’ lives.”

Shanley, one of the most notorious figures in Boston’s clergy sex abuse scandal, was sentenced in 2005 to 12 to 15 years in prison for raping a boy repeatedly at St. Jean’s Parish in Newton, Massachusetts, in the 1980s. He was defrocked after dozens of men came forward and said he had molested them when they were children.

Shanley is currently being held at the medium security Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater.

Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said that upon release, Shanley is scheduled to begin 10 years of supervised probation. He is not allowed to have contact with children under the age of 16.

Denis O’Connor and John Harris, two adult survivors of Shanley’s abuse, said they are concerned about the safety of other children and adults upon his release.

“He doesn’t think he’s done anything wrong,” victims’ attorney Carmen Durso said.
Notorious Pedophile Priest Shanley to Leave Prison This Week

The clergy sex abuse scandal exploded in Boston in 2002 after a series of stories by The Boston Globe revealed that dozens of priests in the archdiocese had molested and raped children for decades while church supervisors covered it up and shuffled abusive priests from parish to parish. Thousands of victims came forward in Boston and around the world, describing sexual abuse by priests that dated back decades.

Shanley was arrested that year in San Diego, California.

Phil Saviano, a survivor of sexual abuse at the hands of a different priest, was the whistleblower who exposed the abuse hidden by the church for decades. He said Shanley was one of the worst.

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.

AUSTRALIA
Vatican Radio

[with audio]

(Vatican Radio) Cardinal George Pell made a brief appearance at an Australian court on Wednesday in a preliminary hearing regarding the accusation of “historical sexual offences”.

His lawyer said he would plead “not guilty” to the charges leveled against him by police in the state of Victoria.

Escorted by Australian police, Cardinal George Pell made his way through a mass of journalists and protesters to arrive at a filing hearing before the Melbourne Magistrate’s Court.

Once inside, his lawyer Robert Richter told the court Cardinal Pell would plead “not guilty”.

He said, “For the avoidance of doubt and because of the interest, might I indicate that Cardinal Pell pleads not guilty to all charges and will maintain his presumed innocence that he has.”
Cardinal Pell remained silent throughout the six-minute hearing.

At a Vatican press conference in June, Cardinal Pell announced he would be taking a leave of absence from his role as Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy for as long as the trial would require.

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.

SCHWEIZ
Aargauer Zeitung

[Since the end of March, a Reformed Aargauer pastor has been under investigation for suspected sexual abuse of children. Recent research by the daily newspaper «Blick» now shows that the accused is to be released from custody.]

Seit Ende März sitzt ein reformierter Aargauer Pfarrer wegen des Verdachts auf sexuellen Missbrauch von Kindern in Untersuchungshaft. Aktuelle Recherchen der Tageszeitung «Blick» zeigen nun: Der Beschuldigte soll aus der Haft entlassen werden.

Der Fall sorgte im Kanton und darüber hinaus für Entsetzen: Ein reformierter Pfarrer ist im Kanton Aargau wegen des Verdachts auf sexuellen Missbrauch von Kindern verhaftet worden. Der 68-jährige Beschuldigte sitzt seit Ende März in Untersuchungshaft und legte ein Teilgeständnis ab.

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.

ARGENTINE
cath.ch

[Bishop Alberto Bochatey, auxiliary bishop of La Plata (Argentina), was appointed Apostolic Commissioner for the Society of Mary for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb by the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, according to the Argentine Periodista digital on July 24, 2017. This congregation is currently marked by a scandal of sexual abuse.]

Mgr Alberto Bochatey, évêque auxiliaire de La Plata (Argentine), a été nommé commissaire apostolique pour la Compagnie de Marie pour l’éducation des sourds-muets par la Congrégation pour les instituts de vie consacrée et les sociétés de vie apostolique, a rapporté le site argentin Periodista digital le 24 juillet 2017. Cette congrégation est actuellement marquée par un scandale d’abus sexuels.

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.

TEXAS
KHOU

HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS – A Houston pastor has been charged with sexually abusing a child and investigators are worried there may be other victims.

Hollis Vaughn, 66, is accused of sexually abusing a child over a number of years.

The victim told a family member and they called the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

Vaughn is a pastor of two north Harris County ministries: God’s Awesome Army Ministry; and El Shaddaj World Outreach Church.

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

TEXAS
CBS News – Crime Sider

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — A Houston pastor has been charged with sexually abusing a child repeatedly over the course of several years, reports CBS affiliate KHOU.

Investigators say the child told a family member that Hollis Vaughn, 66, about the alleged abuse. Vaughn was arrested Thursday and charged with first-degree felony charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that it is investigating whether there are any additional victims.

Vaughn is a pastor for two church groups that operate out of his home: God’s Awesome Army Ministry and El Shaddaj World Outreach Church.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
Keighley Online

A church pastor who sexually assaulted seven of his congregation claimed he was doing God’s work, a jury heard.

Rev John Wilson, 70, gave the women cups of tea possibly laced with drugs to put them into a trance before trying to exorcise ‘evil spirits’ and demons from their bodies.

His wife Mary, 79, and assistant pastor Laurence Peterson, 59, helped the self-styled holy healer commit the offences at the Liberty Pentecostal Church, in Keighley, a court heard.

Rev Wilson sexually abused the vulnerable and trusting women over 30 years, and his alleged victims include a mother and daughter, orphaned sisters and a fellow minister’s wife.

Wilson admits inserting his fingers inside many of the women to perform, what he termed ‘deliverances’ or ‘internal ministries’, but claims he was placing his hands where God directed him, to make them better Christians.

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.

TEXAS
Houston Chronicle

By Andrew Kragie Tuesday, July 25, 2017

A 67-year-old man who operates two Christian ministries out of his north Harris County home has been charged with sexually abusing a child over several years.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office expressed concerns about the possibility of other victims and urged anyone with information to call child abuse investigators at 713-830-3250.

Hollis Albert Vaughn faces a first-degree felony charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child, according to court records. It appears to be the first time he has faced a criminal charge in Harris County.

Vaughn’s defense attorney, Tom Zakes, said in a phone interview that Vaughn had “no inappropriate contact with the child whatsoever.” The lawyer questioned some of the specific allegations in the probable cause affidavit, which is not yet public.

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.

AUSTRALIA
The Australian

July 27, 2017

JOHN FERGUSON
Victorian EditorMelbourne
@fergusonjw

TESSA AKERMAN
ReporterMelbourne
@TessaAkerman

There has never been a walk like it in the history of the Catholic Church in Australia.

A couple of hundred steps to and from Melbourne Magistrates Court; a cardinal ever-so-slowly navigating blind hate and blind faith on the way to and from his appointment with the law.

For George Pell, the three-­minute struggle from Crockett Chambers, in the heart of Melbourne’s legal precinct, looked deeply ­uncomfortable as scores of media scrambled for the defining image of a one-time church superpower charged with multiple historical sex offences.

The visual untidiness of the media and police scrum was juxtaposed with the image of an old man — he’s 76 — in immaculate clerical attire making his way into the well-ordered court precinct.

Cardinal Pell’s court hearing provided an opportunity to broadcast his defiance, even if the walk was slow and the welcoming on the concrete steps of the court was mixed. There were those blindly hateful of the cardinal and those blind in their faith, neither group likely to give ground.

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.

MASSACHUSETTS
Telemundo Boston

Se espera que el sacerdote pedófilo convicto, Paul Shanley, sea puesto en libertad el viernes después de haber cumplido 12 años de prisión por abusar sexualmente a varios niños.

Shanley, una de las figuras más notorias en el escándalo del abuso sexual del clero, fue sentenciado en 2005 a 12 a 15 años de prisión por violar a un niño repetidamente en la parroquia de St. Jean en Newton en los años ochenta. Fue expulsado después de que decenas de hombres revelaron que los había abusado cuando eran niños.

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.

MASSACHUSETTS
Eagle Tribune

By Denise Lavoie AP Legal Affairs Writer

BOSTON (AP) — One of the most notorious figures in the Boston clergy sex abuse scandal has completed his prison sentence on child rape charges and will be released this week after two experts hired by prosecutors found he does not meet the legal criteria to be held as a sexually dangerous person.

Paul Shanley was known in the 1960s and ’70s for being a hip street priest who reached out to troubled youths. But in 2005 he was convicted of repeatedly raping and fondling a boy at a suburban parish in the 1980s, and he was sentenced to 12 to 15 years in prison.

Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said Tuesday that her office hired two psychiatric experts to evaluate Shanley, now 86 years old, to see if he should continue to be held after completing his sentence. Both experts told prosecutors that he does not meet the legal criteria for civil confinement as a sexually dangerous person.

Once Shanley is released Friday, he will begin 10 years of supervised probation.

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.

AUSTRALIA
CNN

[with video]

By Lucie Morris-Marr, CNN
Wed July 26, 2017

Melbourne, Australia (CNN)One of the most senior figures in the Vatican will plead not guilty to multiple charges of historical sexual assault offenses, his lawyer told an Australian court on Wednesday.

Cardinal George Pell faced the Melbourne Magistrates Court Wednesday for his first hearing since the charges were made by Victoria Police last month.

The 76-year-old, who has consistently and strenuously denied the charges, has been given a leave of absence from his role at the Holy See as prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy while he fights the case in the city where he was once Archbishop.

A huge media scrum followed Pell as he entered and exited the court house, requiring police officers to help clear the way for the cardinal.
Both supporters and protestors crowded outside the Magistrates Court for a chance to see the cardinal.
Wednesday’s brief court hearing marked a significant moment in Australia, where Pell is the country’s most senior Catholic.

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

UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

Jul. 26, 2017

Cardinal Pell in Court: Statement by Anne Barrett Doyle, Co-Director, BishopAccountability.org

Although today’s hearing in Melbourne was merely procedural, its impact will be felt worldwide. Whatever the outcome of the case against Pell, his presence today in a secular courtroom marks the victory of transparency over secrecy, and of the rule of law over the Vatican’s failed strategy of containment.

Cardinal Pell accuses the Victoria police of targeting him unfairly. There may be some truth to this. But it’s also true that the police have been neither hasty nor cavalier. They have been investigating complaints against the cardinal for more than two years, issued at least two public appeals for witnesses, and twice submitted evidence to prosecutors, seeking advice. (For more on their investigation, see our Timeline: The Victoria Police Investigation of Cardinal Pell.)

And Pell is not the only Australian bishop subject to criminal charges. Adelaide archbishop Philip Wilson, charged with failure to report child abuse, is preparing for trial. Bishop Max L. Davis, head of the military diocese, was recently tried and found not guilty of child sex abuse.

In its quest to stop the sexual abuse of children, the Australian government has put the Catholic church on equal footing with other institutions, and treated its leaders as fellow citizens. Credit for this goes to its astonishingly open and thorough inquiry, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse. That probe is singular in its sweep and power. But Catholic bishops are facing similar demands for accountability from authorities in Pennsylvania, Mexico City, Argentina, Ireland and France.

Accountability is trending, and Pope Francis should take note. He could begin with a simple but hugely constructive step: release the names of the more than 3, 400 priests that the Church itself has found guilty of child sex abuse.

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.

MASSACHUSETTS
The Patriot Ledger

By Fred Hanson
The Patriot Ledger

The scheduled release from prison of an ex-priest convicted of raping a child shows the need for changes in the state’s civil commitment law, an advocate for clergy sex abuse victims said.

BOSTON – A lawyer for victims of clergy sex abuse said the release of a former priest convicted of raping a child shows why the state’s civil commitment law needs to be changed.

Paul Shanley, who as a Catholic priest was assigned to Braintree’s St. Francis of Assisi Parish in the 1960s, will be released Friday from the Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater. He was convicted in 2005 of two counts each of child rape and indecent assault and battery on a child. He was sentenced to 12 to 15 years in prison.

Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said her office was unsuccessful in getting a civil commitment to keep Shanley, 86, in custody.

“The defendant will be monitored by the probation department for the next 10 years and has been ordered to have no contact with children under 16 years of age,” Ryan told WCVB-TV in a statement.

Carmen Durso, a South Shore lawyer who has represented many of Shanley’s victims, said the basis for civil commitment leans too heavily on statistics rather than an evaluation of the individual.

“If Paul Shanley doesn’t fit into the category of a sexually dangerous person then no one would fit,” Durso said. “No one is more dangerous than Paul Shanley.”

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.

ISRAEL
The Jerusalem Post

BY TAMARA ZIEVE JULY 25, 2017

The offered benefits are the result of cooperation between the Foreign Ministry and the Justice Ministry as well as the police.

The Labor and Social Services Ministry on Tuesday called on Israeli members of the extremist ultra-Orthodox Lev Tahor, or “Pure Heart” cult to “come home,” offering each family unprecedented absorption benefits.

The ministry appealed to dozens of families in the sect with the hope they will return to Israel following the death of their leader, Rabbi Shlomo Erez Helbrans, who drowned in Mexico two weeks ago. A statement from the ministry referred to the members as “victims” of the cult and emphasized the large number of children among them.

The benefits offered include flights to Israel, immediate residency and entitlement to children’s health insurance, financial support, housing assistance for a year, the placement of children in educational frameworks, the provision of tools and skills for an independent livelihood and psychological treatment.

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.

AUSTRALIA
Star Weekly

JULY 25, 2017

BY GOYA DMYTRYSHCHAK

A Catholic Brother who sexually abused children in the Altona area in the 1970s and ’80s was released from jail on Sunday to return to the supervision of his church in the US.

Bernard Joseph Hartman, 78, a former teacher at St Paul’s College in Altona North, was jailed for three years with one year suspended for sustained sexual abuse, including penetration, of a boy and two girls as young as eight.

Altona’s Mairead Ashcroft, who brought the first charge against Hartman that led to his extradition from the US, said she held concerns about his supervision by his Marianist order.

“When we were in court we heard that while he was being supervised here, he was allowed to go for a 10-day holiday to Apollo Bay with the Christian Brothers over the Australia Day weekend while families were having a holiday at the beach,” Ms Ashcroft said.

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

AUSTRALIA
SBS

AAP

A ring of police officers linked arms to shield Cardinal George Pell from about 100 journalists, photographers and camera operators who swarmed outside a Melbourne court.

The cardinal walked 100 metres from the office of his high-profile barrister Robert Richter QC to the front steps of the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court through perhaps the largest press pack the city has seen.

Scores of local and international reporters, plus members of the public, queued from early on Wednesday to ensure a seat in the court room to witness Pell’s appearance on historical sexual offences.

The demand for seats forced the court to allocate a second room, so more people could watch a live stream.

Pell, 76, arrived at the court just before 9am, after Victoria Police officers barged their way through the media pack making way for Pell and his lawyer.

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.

AUSTRALIA
3AW

Neil Mitchell says Cardinal George Pell should receive “some special treatment” at his first court appearance today.

The 3AW Mornings host predicted “bedlam” outside the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court when Cardinal Pell arrived.

Up to 100 local and international media are already camped outside, with supporters and protesters also there.

Neil Mitchell said it was undignified and dangerous.

“They won’t do it, but I think George Pell – to some extent – should get some special treatment today,” the 3AW Mornings host said.

“He should be taken in under the building, if possible.

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.

AUSTRALIA
The Guardian

The appearance of the cardinal in a Melbourne court on sexual abuse charges attracted the biggest crowd anyone can remember, but it was still wrapped in mystery, writes David Marr

David Marr

Wednesday 26 July 2017

My apologies. I can’t tell you what’s going on. A great billowing, lace-edged cloak of secrecy still surrounds the case of the Director of Public Prosecutions v. G Pell.

Months down the track, we don’t know what the charges are. Even if they fell into my lap, I would not say a word. Why not? Sorry, that’s a secret too.

Old timers round the Melbourne courts can’t remember the last time the public was left so much in the dark before a great criminal trial. It was certainly baffling for the press of the world who gathered outside the Melbourne magistrates court before dawn for what is usually one of the dreariest rituals of the criminal law: a filing hearing.

But this was entirely Cardinal Pell’s show. He didn’t need to turn up at all and we were only there because he wanted to brave the cameras. Twelve were lined up along the gutter by the time the sun came up. The queue of reporters at the door of the courts went half-way down the wheelchair ramp.

Pell hove in sight a little before 9am dressed all in black with a black overcoat over his arm and black brogues on his feet. He was entirely impassive. Businesslike. Obedient. He did what he was told.

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.

MEXICO
HuffPost

[Ex-priest Alberto Athie attacks Norberto Rivera for protecting pedophiles. The ex-priest mentioned that Norberto Rivera previously acknowledged in December 2016 that 15 cases of pedophilia had been investigated by the church and the cases were sent by him directly to Rome and the pope. These cases were not turned over to law enforcement, he maintained.”It should be remembered that the same cardinal accused ex-members of the Legionaries of Christ of defaming Marcial Maciel, and being in a plot against the church,” says Athie. Rivera made these statements knowing that Maciel had abused hundreds of his disciples and had two women and two children, one in Mexico and another in Spain.]

Luis Baylón Editor HuffPost México

Alberto Athié Gallo es un exsacerdote católico que colgó el habito tras comprobar directamente la protección que brindaba el cardenal Norberto Rivera Carrera a pederastas, declaró en 2007 a La Jornada.

En declaraciones más recientes publicadas por Jorge Ramos en Univisión, Athié Gallo arremetió contra el exarzobispo primado de México (Norberto Rivera sí presentó su renuncia al Papa Francisco), “el cardenal Rivera tiene un historial muy grave, muy delicado por encubrimiento de muchos sacerdotes pederastas, comenzando por Marcial Maciel”.

El exsacerdote menciona que previamente Norberto Rivera reconoció en diciembre de 2016, la existencia de 15 casos de casos de pederastia por los que había realizado las investigaciones correspondientes y por las que se resolvieron sentencias directamente desde Roma y por el papa.

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.

GEORGIA
The Brunswick News

By GORDON JACKSON gjackson@thebrunswicknews.com

WOODBINE — The author of a law that enables victims of child sexual abuse to file civil lawsuits against their attackers is proposing new legislation to strengthen the Hidden Predator Act.

State Rep. Jason Spencer, R-Woodbine, will hold a press conference at 9:30 a.m., Aug. 2, at the state capitol in Atlanta, where he will be joined by a bipartisan group of co-sponsors.

Organizations that knowingly cover up child sexual abuse could face civil lawsuits if the Hidden Predator Act of 2018 is approved during the next legislative session. Increasing the statute of limitations age for victims is another goal of the bill.

“I am holding this press conference in light of the recent developments regarding litigation implicating child sexual abuse cover-ups by various organizations,” Spencer said. “The details of these cases highlight the need for new and tougher changes to the current Hidden Predator Act. It is necessary that we address many of the injustices uncovered in recent child sexual abuse litigation and the shortcomings of a shortened statute of limitations.”

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.

NEW YORK
The New York Jewish Week

BY CHAIM LEVIN July 25, 2017

In a bid to turn up the pressure on Agudath Israel of America over its policies towards sexual abuse victims, activists and abuse survivors protested Sunday in front of the Novominsker shul in Borough Park, the second such protest this summer.

About 30 protesters — including at least 10 of whom said they were abused as children — spent nearly three hours demonstrating their frustration with Rabbi Yaakov Perlow, one of the leaders of Agudah. The charedi umbrella group is one of a few organizations in the Jewish community that has strongly objected to the Child Victims Act, a bill that would increase the statute of limitations for sex crimes committed against minors in New York State. Other groups opposed to the bill include the New York State Catholic Conference and the Boy Scouts of America; they argue that increasing the statute of limitations would expose them to potentially crippling legal bills.

Currently, a victim of childhood sexual abuse can bring charges or a lawsuit until the age of 23. The bill would extend that period until a survivor’s 28th birthday for felony criminal charges and until age 50 for civil cases. It also includes a one-year window to revive old cases.

Upper West Side Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal introduced the bill in the Assembly, where it passed. Midtown state Sen. Brad Hoylman sponsored it in the Senate where it was never voted on, marking the 11th year in a row that the bill has stalled.

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.

MASSACHUSETTS
NBC New York

[with video]

Convicted pedophile priest Paul Shanley has completed his prison sentence and is expected to be released this week.

Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who represented Shanley’s victims and numerous other victims of the Roman Catholic church child sex abuse scandal in Massachusetts, told NBC Boston that Shanley is set to be released on Friday. He is currently being held at the medium security Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater.

Shanley, one of the most notorious figures in the clergy sex abuse scandal, was sentenced in 2005 to 12 to 15 years in prison for raping a boy repeatedly at St. Jean’s Parish in Newton in the 1980s. He was defrocked after dozens of men came forward and said he had molested them when they were children.

During his trial, Shanley’s accuser, then a 27-year-old firefighter, said Shanley would pull him from Sunday catechism classes and rape and fondle him, beginning when he was 6 years old. The man said he recovered memories of the abuse as the clergy sex abuse scandal unfolded in the Archdiocese of Boston during the early 2000s.

“Even though he is an old man, and even though he’s served his time, I worry that, that No. 1, the population is still at risk, and No. 2, this is a terrible thing to put Shanley’s alleged victims through,” said Terence McKiernan of Bishop-Accountability.org.

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.

AUSTRALIA
9 News

Supporters of Cardinal George Pell are worried court proceedings against Australia’s most powerful Catholic could turn into a case of “get the bishop”.

Among the throng of media, protesters and public onlookers gathered outside Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, where the 76-year-old appeared on Wednesday facing historical sex abuse charges, was supporter Karen Baxter.

“We’re here to say this person needs to be given the benefit of the doubt,” she told AAP.

“We’re worried it’s going to be the sort of Azaria Chamberlain media pack, let’s just go get the bishop, you know.”

Ms Baxter said she had known Pell since he was a child and described him as polite, friendly and methodical.

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.

DEUTSCHLAND
Stuttgarter Zeitung

[In the past residential children were educated with penance to piety. Those who violated rules were severely punished. An outgrowth of this system was sexual abuse. Professor Benno Hafeneger, as was the case with the Brüdergemeinde Korntal-Münchingen – church, state, parents – many people were responsible for the residential education of the 1950s and 1960s. But the fate of a few children shows: All have failed. Nobody can escape the responsibility, says the scientist Benno Hafeneger. What influence did national socialism, later the GDR, have?]

Früher sollten Heimkinder mit Buße zur Frömmigkeit erzogen werden. Wer gegen Regeln verstieß, wurde hart bestraft. Ein Auswuchs dieses Systems war sexueller Missbrauch. Professor Benno Hafeneger untersucht, wie das bei der Brüdergemeinde war.

Korntal-Münchingen – Kirche, Staat, Eltern – für die Heimerziehung der fünfziger und sechziger Jahre waren viele verantwortlich. Doch das Schicksal etlicher Kinder zeigt: Alle haben versagt. Keiner könne sich der Verantwortung entziehen, sagt der Wissenschaftler Benno Hafeneger.

Herr Hafeneger, Sie äußern sich nicht im Detail zu Korntal. Gleichwohl sprechen Sie bereits von einem System der Gewalt. Schließen Sie in Korntal irgendetwas aus?

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.

AUSTRALIEN
Sueddeutsche

[Why it is so difficult for the Catholic Church to admit abuse?]

Von Matthias Drobinski

Kardinal George Pell ist zurück in seiner australischen Heimat; eine kurze Filmsequenz zeigt, wie er, von Singapur kommend, auf dem Flughafen von Melbourne von Polizisten und Sicherheitsleuten zu einer weißen Limousine geleitet wird. Es hat ja nicht das Heimweh den 76-Jährigen dazu gebracht, die lange Reise von Rom um die halbe Welt auf sich zu nehmen. Kardinal Pell, als Quasi-Finanzminister des Papstes einer der mächtigsten Männer im Vatikan, soll an diesem Mittwoch vor einem Gericht in Melbourne Rede und Antwort stehen. Der Vorwurf: “historische sexuelle Übergriffe”.

Was damit gemeint ist, bleibt unklar. Seit einigen Jahren gehen immer wieder Männer an die Öffentlichkeit und berichten, Pell habe sich an ihnen vergangen, als er Ende der siebziger Jahre Priester in Ballarat war, einer 80 000 Einwohner-Stadt nahe Melbourne. In seiner Zeit als Erzbischof von 1996 bis 2001 soll er außerdem dazu beigetragen haben, Missbrauchsfälle zu vertuschen. Die australische Justiz hält die Vorwürfe für schwerwiegend genug, um ein Verfahren einzuleiten. Und Papst Franziskus hat dem Kardinal die “Erlaubnis für eine Auszeit” gegeben. Seine Ämter in Rom ruhen.

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.

NORTH CAROLINA
Raw Story

TOM BOGGIONI
24 JUL 2017

A North Carolina church that is already under investigation for kidnapping a gay man and attempting to beat his homosexuality out of him is once again in the spotlight after it was revealed that church members have been importing worshipers from Brazil and turning them into slaves.

According to the Associated Press, the Word of Faith Fellowship recruits young members from two affiliated churches in Brazil to come to the U.S. on tourist and student visas where they are put to work on the church’s 35-acre compound in Spindale for no pay.

One man, identified as Andre Oliveira, told the AP that he was forced to work 15 hours a day, usually for no pay, cleaning offices and warehouses owned by the evangelical church. He well also forced to work at private businesses owned by some of the church’s ministers. Olivera stated that failure to comply resulted in beatings and shaming from the pulpit.

“They kept us as slaves,” Oliveira explained. “We were expendable. We meant nothing to them. Nothing. How can you do that to people — claim you love them and then beat them in the name of God?”

According to AP, “Under U.S. law, visitors on tourist visas are prohibited from performing work for which people normally would be compensated. Those on student visas are allowed some work, under circumstances that were not met at Word of Faith Fellowship.”

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.

NORTH CAROLINA
Christian Times

Jardine Malado
25 JULY, 2017

A North Carolina church allegedly used its branches in Brazil to entice its members to come to the U.S. and make them work for little or no pay.

An investigation conducted by The Associated Press (AP) has found that the Word of Faith Fellowship Church in Spindale, North Carolina used its two branches in Brazil to siphon a steady flow of young workers who came to the U.S. on tourist and student visas.

Andre Oliveira, one church member who was invited to Spindale when he was 18-years-old, recounted that the church leaders confiscated his passport and money when he arrived. He said that he was forced to work 15 hours a day, usually for no pay, cleaning warehouses for the church and toiling at business owned by senior ministers.

“They trafficked us up here. They knew what they were doing. They needed labor and we were cheap labor — hell, free labor,” he said, noting that the church leaders also beat and shamed members who deviated from the rules.

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.

NORTH CAROLINA
Christian Today

James Macintyre 25 July 2017

The controversial Word of Faith Fellowship used its two church branches in Brazil to siphon young labourers on tourist and student visas to its 35-acre compound in rural Spindale, North Carolina, to work as ‘slaves’, an investigation by the Associated Press (AP) has found.

The ‘slave pipeline’ was used by the secretive evangelical church despite US law requiring that visitors on tourist visas are prohibited from performing work for which people would normally be compensated. Those on student visas are allowed some work, under circumstances that were not met at the Word of Faith Fellowship.

Some 16 Brazilian former members told the AP they were forced to work, often for no pay, and physically or verbally assaulted.

One of those was Andre Oliveira, who answered the call to leave his Word of Faith Fellowship congregation in Brazil to move to the mother church in North Carolina at the age of 18, when his passport and money were confiscated by church leaders, supposedly for safekeeping.

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.

AUSTRALIA
Daily Examiner

Tim Howard | 26th Jul 2017

TWO ANGLICAN clergymen controversially returned to Holy Orders after being defrocked for their roles in covering up historic cases of child sex abuse, are unlikely to minister again.

Former Bishop of Grafton Keith Slater and Grafton Deacon Rev Pat Comben have been returned to Holy Orders this year after attempts to “depose” them in 2015.

The pair were found to have acted inappropriately to victims of the notorious North Coast Children’s Home who came to them seeking redress for past abuses.

The attempted defrocking came after an church inquiry into evidence of historic child sex abuse at the home at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

But last year Bishop Slater successfully appealed against the decision on the ground the diocese did not have the necessary powers to strip clergy of Holy Orders.

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.

GERMANY
The Tablet

26 July 2017 | by Christa Pongratz-Lippitt

‘This is not a matter of individual cases of abuse as Cardinal Müller always insisted when he was Bishop of Regensburg’

The Bishop of Regensburg, Rudolf Voderholzer, has asked the hundreds of victims in the Domspatzen choir scandal for forgiveness saying that he is “absolutely shattered” by the findings of the report released last week.

Published on 17 July, the report, commissioned by the diocese of Regensburg and compiled by the lawyer Ulrich Weber, stated that 547 boys were abused at the prestigious choir school in Regensburg, Bavaria, between the years 1945 and 1992.

Bishop Voderholzer’s response contrasted with that of former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Gerhard Muller, who was bishop of Regensburg form 2002 to 2012, who admitted that he “experienced shame for what has happened in the Church” but emphasised “everything that was possible and necessary was done” and refused to apologise.

“All this makes me feel deeply guilt-ridden and fills me with shame”, Bishop Voderholzer wrote in a pastoral letter that was read out in all the parishes in the Regensburg diocese on 23 July. “It weighs all the heavier as all these children were, in good faith, put in the trust of priests and church employees who were under obligation to act on behalf of Christ the Good Shepherd.”

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.

AUSTRALIA
Starts at 60

After being charged with multiple counts of child sexual assault Cardinal George Pell has appeared in a Melbourne court today.

His appearance resulted in chaos. Escorted by police there was a surge of people, including a large contingent of media from all over the world, calling out questions. Protesters and supporters had gathered early, holding posters showing their opposing thoughts on the matter.

Dressed in a black overcoat and his usual clerical garments, Cardinal Pell remained silent, staring mostly at the ground as he entered the court.

The court was only small, so only media who arrived early were able to witness the proceedings first hand.

The Cardinal’s barrister, Robert Richter, QC, spoke in the Melbourne Magistrates Court today and said Pell will plead not guilty to all charges, and will maintain his presumed innocence.

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.

AUSTRALIA
New Daily

Rachel Eddie
Reporter
@heyracheddie

A child sex abuse survivor has called Cardinal George Pell’s first court appearance a “momentous” and “symbolic day”.

Cardinal Pell, 76, fronted Melbourne Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday on historic child sex abuse charges from multiple complainants.

While the Cardinal was not required to enter a plea, his defence barrister Robert Richter, QC, told the courtroom: “I might indicate that Cardinal Pell pleads not guilty to all charges and will maintain the presumed innocence that he has.”

Cardinal Pell has repeatedly and strenuously denied the allegations.

Philip Nagle, a survivor of abuse by convicted Ballarat priest Stephen Francis Farrell, told The New Daily it was a relief to see Cardinal Pell face the allegations.

“It’s a very symbolic day today, because he entered the court as a normal man, not as the third-most powerful man in the Catholic Church,” Mr Nagle said.

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

AUSTRALIA
Sky News

By Sharon Marris, News Reporter

The most senior Vatican official ever charged in the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal has denied the charges against him.

Cardinal George Pell, Pope Francis’s top financial adviser, made his first appearance at a court in Melbourne, Australia, since he was charged with multiple historical sex offences last month.

Full details of the charges faced by the 76-year-old have not yet been released to the public but there are multiple complainants in the case.

The Cardinal, Australia’s highest-ranking Catholic, did not say anything during his court appearance and, although no formal plea was entered, his lawyer told the court that he planned to plead not guilty.

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.

AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

A large media scrum of journalists from around the world swamped Cardinal Pell as he arrived then left the court hearing, flanked by scores of police.

There was also a contingent of supporters, protesters and curious passersby.

In one of the most chaotic scenes ever witnessed at the court in William St, it almost took longer for Cardinal Pell to walk the 100m to his lawyer’s offices afterwards than the eight minute hearing.

He was flanked by a dozen police who largely managed to shield the Cardinal as media threw questions.

This is how the morning unfolded.

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.

AUSTRALIA
The Local (Italy)

AFP
news@thelocal.it
26 July 2017

Vatican finance chief Cardinal George Pell, a top advisor to Pope Francis, denied all charges of historical sexual abuse on Wednesday at his first appearance in an Australian court over the allegations.

The 76-year-old, the number-three figure in the Vatican, returned from Rome earlier this month to face the charges in Melbourne Magistrates Court.

Details of the charges have not been made public although police said they involved “multiple complainants”. The former Sydney and Melbourne archbishop has always maintained his innocence.

Looking sombre and frail, he attended the hearing with his lawyer, top criminal barrister Robert Richter, who told the court his client was not guilty – even though a formal plea is not required at this stage.

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.

AUSTRALIA
7 News

Megan Neil, Jacqui Le, Kaitlyn Offer and Angus Livingston – AAP on July 26, 2017

Cardinal George Pell’s first court appearance lasted only minutes under the intense glare of the world’s media, signalling the start of a lengthy legal fight by the highest-ranking Catholic official to be charged with sexual abuse.

The third most senior Vatican official did not have to be at the Melbourne Magistrates Court for the brief administrative hearing, nor again profess his innocence, but chose to do both.

High-profile barrister Robert Richter QC noted Pell did not have to enter a plea at this early stage but said he will plead not guilty to multiple historical sexual offence charges involving multiple complainants.

“For the avoidance of doubt and because of the interest, might I indicate that Cardinal Pell will plead not guilty to all the charges and will maintain his presumed innocence that he has,” Mr Richter told a packed courtroom.

Pell entered the court as he left it a short time later: shepherded by a ring of police officers, their arms linked, in an attempt to keep a 100-strong media contingent at bay as he walked the short distance to and from Mr Richter’s office.

Several photographers were knocked over as they climbed the steps to the court building.

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.

AUSTRALIA
Telegraph (UK)

Jonathan Pearlman, in melbourne
26 JULY 2017

Cardinal George Pell, one of the most powerful figures in the Vatican and Australia’s most senior Catholic, appeared in court to face historic sex assault offences and declared he was “not guilty” despite not yet being required to enter a plea.

Greeted by a mix of jeers and applause, Cardinal Pell, who has returned from the Vatican to try to clear his name, appeared tired but assured as he entered Melbourne Magistrates Court, which was packed with journalists and onlookers.

Wearing his clerical collar, Cardinal Pell did not speak during the six-minute hearing.

“For the avoidance of doubt and because of the interest might I indicate that Cardinal Pell pleads not guilty to all charges and will maintain his presumed innocence that he has,” Mr Richter told the court.

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.

NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

By Staff Reporter
July 26 2017

The brother of victims’ campaigner Billy McConville, who died from cancer on Sunday, has said that the family now need the time and space to “quietly grieve” for him.

Mr McConville (50) suffered sexual and physical harm as an orphan at Rubane House in Co Down, where he was sent after the IRA murdered his mother, Jean McConville.

The Belfast man had recently been living at a hospice while bravely coping with cancer.

In recent days he had called on politicians to secure justice and compensation for abuse survivors, dragging himself from his hospital bed to support a Belfast rally.

Speaking before Billy’s funeral today, his brother Michael said: “Billy lived out his last days in a media spotlight campaigning for justice for the victims of institutional sexual and physical abuse, a cause he felt passionately about.

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.

NORTHERN IRELAND
ITV

The funeral of victims’ campaigner Billy McConville takes place later in west Belfast.

The 50-year-old passed away on Monday without seeing any form of justice or compensation for years of abuse he suffered in care following the abduction and murder of his mother Jean McConville in 1972.

A Requiem Mass will be held in St Paul’s Church on the Falls Road at 1pm followed by burial in Milltown Cemetery.

Michael McConville said his brother’s last days had been spent in the media spotlight as he campaigned for justice for other victims of institutional abuse, but now his family needed time and space to “quietly grieve”.

“When he was physically at his weakest he showed the greatest strength of character and we are proud of him for that,” he said ahead of the funeral.

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.

NORTHERN IRELAND
BBC News

Peter Robinson has called for immediate action to compensate abuse victims after payments recommended by a inquiry were delayed by Stormont’s collapse.

The ex-first minister suggested seeking “consensus” from political parties that could allow the payments to be set up in the absence of devolved government.

The Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) Inquiry recommended a state apology and compensation for victims.

But the collapse of Stormont in January meant the process was put on hold.

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.

NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

July 26 2017

A brother of abuse victims campaigner Billy McConville has urged politicians in Northern Ireland to fulfil his dying wish and compensate those who suffered

Mr McConville, 50, died at the weekend after a battle with cancer. He was the son of IRA “Disappeared” murder victim Jean McConville.

After her killing in 1972, he was placed in residential care at Rubane House in Co Down, run by brothers from the De La Salle religious order. Mr McConville claimed he suffered sexual and physical harm in their care.

He appeared before a Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) public inquiry in 2014 to detail his experience and in the days before his death called on politicians to secure justice and compensation for abuse survivors, dragging himself from his bed to support a Belfast rally.

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.

AUSTRALIA
Associated Press

BY KRISTEN GELINEAU
ASSOCIATED PRESS

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Silent but defiant, Cardinal George Pell made his first court appearance in Australia on Wednesday on charges of sexual abuse, vowing through his lawyer to fight the allegations that have rocked Rome and threatened the pope’s image as a crusader against abusive clergy.

Pell, Australia’s highest-ranking Catholic and Pope Francis’ top financial adviser, is accused of sexually abusing multiple people years ago in his Australian home state of Victoria, making him the most senior Vatican official ever charged in the Catholic Church sex abuse crisis. Details of the charges have yet to be released to the public, though police have described them as “historical” sexual assault offenses – meaning crimes that occurred years ago.

Pell has not yet entered a plea. But on Wednesday, his lawyer told the court that the 76-year-old cardinal plans to formally plead not guilty at a future court date.

“For the avoidance of doubt and because of the interest, I might indicate that Cardinal Pell pleads not guilty to all charges and will maintain the presumed innocence that he has,” lawyer Robert Richter told the court. …

Anne Barrett Doyle of BishopAccountability.org, an archive of clerical sex abuse documents, said in a statement that while Wednesday’s hearing was procedural, its impact would be felt across the world.

“Whatever the outcome of the case against Pell, his presence today in a secular courtroom marks the victory of transparency over secrecy, and of the rule of law over the Vatican’s failed strategy of containment,” she said.

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

AUSTRALIA
The Mirror (UK)

BY NATALIE EVANS
26 JUL 2017

The Pope’s financial adviser and third-highest cardinal in the Vatican has appeared in court charged with historical sexual offences.

Cardinal George Pell did not speak as he was escorted to and from court in his native Australia by police through a large crowd of media, protesters and supporters.

The 76-year-old was not required to enter a plea at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court.

Australian police said last month Pell had been summoned to appear on charges of “historical sexual offences” from multiple complainants.

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.

AUSTRALIA
Standard Republic

By Alexander Simon

An Australian court has begun the trial of the most senior Vatican official that has ever been charged in Catholic Church sex abuse scandals، according to “Press TV”.

Australia’s highest-ranking Catholic and Pope Francis’ top financial adviser، Cardinal George Pell، made his first court appearance on Wednesday after being charged last month with sexual abuse of multiple individuals years earlier in his Australian home state of Victoria.

While the details of the charges against the 76-year-old cleric — who has maintained his innocence — are yet to be revealed to the public، police have described them as historical sexual assault offenses، which means the alleged crimes happened years ago.

The development came after Australia’s Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse revealed earlier this year that seven percent of Catholic priests were accused of having sexually abused children across Australia over the past several decades.
Pell said nothing during his court appearance on Wednesday، and although he has still not entered a plea، his lawyer Robert Richter said at the brief hearing that the cardinal intended to formally plead not guilty at a future court date.

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.

AUSTRALIA
Christian Today

Joseph Hartropp 26 July 2017

Cardinal George Pell, the Pope’s financial adviser and highest-ranking figure in the Australian Catholic Church, was silent this morning as he entered Melbourne Magistrate’s Court where he faces charges of historic sex offences.

Pell announced late in June that he was taking leave following historic allegations of sex abuse.

Pell, 76, is the most senior Vatican official to have faced charges of sexual abuse. At a Vatican press conference in June, he strongly denied the accusations and plans to clear his name from the charges. ‘I am looking forward finally to having my day in court. I am innocent of these charges. They are false. The whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me,’ he said.

Today, he entered silent, surrounded by a gaggle of press and onlookers, into Melbourne Magistrate’s Court, where the small courtroom was also packed with reporters, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

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.

AUSTRALIA
Aljazeera

Vatican finance chief Cardinal George Pell made his first appearance in an Australian court on historical sex abuse charges on Wednesday, facing a massive media scrum before the primarily administrative hearing.

The 76-year-old, a top adviser to Pope Francis, returned from Rome earlier this month to face multiple charges in Melbourne relating to offences allegedly committed decades ago when he was a senior cleric in Australia.

Details of the charges have not been made public although police said they involved “multiple complainants”. The former Sydney and Melbourne archbishop has always maintained his innocence.

Pell has not yet entered a plea. On Wednesday, his lawyer Robert Richter told the court Pell planned to plead not guilty at a future court date.

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.

AUSTRALIA
Financial Times

by: Jamie Smyth in Sydney

The most senior Catholic priest ever to be charged with sex offences appeared in an Australian court on Wednesday in a case that has dealt a blow to the Church’s efforts to put decades of sexual abuse scandals behind it. 

Cardinal George Pell, the Vatican finance chief, was flanked by about a dozen police officers as he was led through onlookers and a media scrum to appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court. He did not reply to reporters’ questions and did not speak during the brief hearing. 

Cardinal Pell’s barrister, Robert Richter, told the court the 76-year-old would plead not guilty to all charges, which police said last month related to claims of “historical sexual offences” lodged by more than one person. 

The filing hearing, an administrative procedure, lasted just over five minutes. Prosecutors have until September 8 to prepare their brief of evidence related to the charges. 

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.

JAMAICA
The Gleaner

Damion Mitchell, Integration Editor

The sex-scandal-hit Moravian Church in Jamaica has adopted a new policy to govern the interaction of its leaders, workers and volunteers with children.

The policy was approved at the just-concluded 75th Provincial Synod held at the Bethlehem Moravian College in Malvern, St Elizabeth.

The Synod is the highest decision-making body of the Moravian Church in Jamaica.

In a release Tuesday evening, the church did not detail the provisions of the new policy and a copy could not be immediately obtained.

However, the church says the new Child Care and Protection Policy was developed based on the Child Care and Protection Act, adding that the guidelines will be supported by a programme of training and sensitisation of church leaders and staff.

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.

MASSACHUSETTS
The Patriot Ledger

By Fred Hanson
The Patriot Ledger

The scheduled release from prison of an ex-priest convicted of raping a child shows the need for changes in the state’s civil commitment law, an advocate for clergy sex abuse victims said.

BOSTON – A lawyer for victims of clergy sex abuse said the release of a former priest convicted of raping a child shows why the state’s civil commitment law needs to be changed.

Paul Shanley, who as a Catholic priest was assigned to Braintree’s St. Francis of Assisi Parish in the 1960s, will be released Friday from the Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater. He was convicted in 2005 of two counts each of child rape and indecent assault and battery on a child. He was sentenced to 12 to 15 years in prison.

Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said her office was unsuccessful in getting a civil commitment to keep Shanley, 86, in custody.

“The defendant will be monitored by the probation department for the next 10 years and has been ordered to have no contact with children under 16 years of age,” Ryan told WCVB-TV 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.

MASSACUSETTS
WHDH

Tim Caputo

BOSTON (WHDH) — After more than a decade behind bars, convicted pedophile priest Paul Shanley will be released from prison this week, according attorney Mitchell Garabedian’s office.

Garabedian, who represented Shanley’s victims, told 7News that he will be released on Friday. A press conference announcing the news will be held Wednesday at 11:30 a.m.

Shanley, who was one of the central figures in Boston’s clergy sex abuse scandal, was convicted in 2005 of two counts of rape of a child and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child. The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office originally pushed for life in prison, but Shanley was sentenced to 12-15 years in prison.

Shanley, now 86, repeatedly raped and fondled a boy at a Newton parish in the 1980s. Shanley was known in the 1960s and ’70s as a priest who helped troubled children.

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

MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Herald

O’Ryan Johnson Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Those abused by defrocked pedophile priest Paul Shanley were “re-victimized” yesterday when they learned he is soon to be released from prison, according to a lawyer for the victims.

“They’re re-victimized,” said Mitchell Garabedian, who represented several of Shanley’s victims in their suit against the Archdiocese of Boston. “They feel like he should spend the rest of his life in jail. He’s a threat to innocent children.”

Shanley was convicted of two counts of rape of a child and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child in February 2005. He is expected to be released from Old Colony Correctional Center later this week.

“At sentencing our office requested that he be imprisoned for life,” said Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan in a statement. “Shanley was sentenced to a 12- to 15-year prison sentence. He is now scheduled to be released from that sentence and begin 10 years of supervised probation.”

Ryan said Shanley will be on probation for 10 years once he’s released. She said her office hired experts to examine Shanley, in an attempt to have him civilly committed after his release as a sexually dangerous person.

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.

MASSACHUSETTS
CNN

By Emanuella Grinberg, CNN

(CNN)A defrocked US Roman Catholic priest is set for release from prison 12 years after his conviction on child rape charges, a Massachusetts prosecutor said Tuesday.

Paul Shanley was among the first clergymen to stand trial after the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team unearthed allegations against priests of serial child sexual abuse and coverups by the Boston Archdiocese.

The scandal reverberated through the church, exposing similar allegations worldwide that compromised its moral authority and led to years of multimillion-dollar settlements.

Shanley was 74 years old when a Middlesex County jury convicted him in 2005 of repeatedly raping a boy from his parish in the 1980s. His victim, who was 27 years old during the trial, testified that Shanley regularly pulled him out of Sunday catechism class for what he called “special duties” and molested him in various rooms of St. John the Evangelist, a defunct parish in the Boston suburb of Newton. After one day of cross-examination from Shanley’s lawyer, who tried to cast doubt on the victim’s recollections and credibility, the victim begged the judge to not make him return to the stand.

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.

AUSTRALIA
Reuters

Byron Kaye

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Vatican treasurer Cardinal George Pell made a brief court appearance in his native Australia on Wednesday to face what police described as “historical sexual offences”, making him the most senior Roman Catholic official to face such accusations.

Pell, 76, a top adviser to Pope Francis, did not speak as he was escorted to and from Melbourne Magistrates’ Court by police through a large crowd of media, protesters and supporters. He was not required to enter a plea.

Australian police said last month Pell had been summoned to appear on charges of “historical sexual offences” from multiple complainants.

“For the avoidance of doubt … Cardinal Pell will plead not guilty to all charges, and will maintain the presumed innocence that he has,” Pell’s lawyer, Robert Richter, told the court.

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.

AUSTRALIA
Associated Press

BY KRISTEN GELINEAU
ASSOCIATED PRESS

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The most senior Vatican official ever charged in the Catholic Church sex abuse crisis made his first court appearance in Australia on Wednesday in a scandal that has stunned the Holy See and threatened to tarnish the pope’s image as a crusader against abusive clergy.

Cardinal George Pell, Australia’s highest-ranking Catholic and Pope Francis’ top financial adviser, has maintained his innocence since he was charged last month with sexually abusing multiple people years ago in his Australian home state of Victoria. The details of the allegations against the 76-year-old cardinal have yet to be released to the public, though police have described the charges as “historical” sexual assault offenses – meaning crimes that occurred years ago.

Pell entered the small courtroom dressed in a black suit, face devoid of expression as he took a seat behind his legal team. He said nothing during the brief hearing, which dealt largely with administrative matters. Though he has not yet entered a plea, his lawyer, Robert Richter, told the court that Pell planned to formally plead not guilty at a future court date.

“For the avoidance of doubt and because of the interest, I might indicate that Cardinal Pell pleads not guilty to all charges and will maintain the presumed innocence that he has,” Richter told the court.

The hearing lasted just minutes and was remarkably routine. Yet the image of one of the most powerful men in the Catholic Church standing before a cramped courtroom overflowing with journalists and spectators was anything but.

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.

AUSTRALIA
9 News

By Sean Davidson

A packed courtroom has heard Cardinal George Pell intends to plead not guilty to charges of historical sexual offences.

Cardinal Pell today made history as the first cardinal to face court over such offences, arriving at Melbourne Magistrates Court flanked by police who escorted him through a packed scrum of waiting journalists and demonstrators.

The court heard the case for less than six minutes, as the third-highest ranking member of the Catholic Church sat silently behind his defence team, including top Melbourne lawyer Robert Richter.

The 76-year-old looked back at the crowded room once before staring straight ahead during the proceedings.

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

AUSTRALIA
National Catholic Reporter

Barney Zwartz | Jul. 25, 2017

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

The circus – as the media have been calling it – began around 5 a.m.* when a large CNN crew arrived outside the Melbourne Magistrate’s Court, though the mass-circulation Herald-Sun already had reporters there to notice that.

By 6 a.m. dozens of local and international media had arrived, followed by supporters of clergy abuse survivors about 7 a.m. They were all hoping to be in Courtroom 2, which has just 37 seats for public and press, at 10 a.m. Security guards had reportedly been there since 9:30 the night before.

Just before 9 the focus of all the attention arrived at court, Cardinal George Pell, the highest-ranked Catholic prelate to face sexual abuse charges. He was flanked by his legal team – including Robert Richter, one of Australia’s leading, and most expensive, barristers – and enclosed by a phalanx of about a dozen police.

At this point the inaccuracy of the epithet “circus” became apparent, for a circus is usually a highly choreographed and well-organised affair, and this was simply a heaving, shouting scrum. The cardinal, in a heavy black overcoat, remained silent as journalists fired a barrage of questions.

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.

AUSTRALIA
New York Times

By JACQUELINE WILLIAMS
JULY 25, 2017

MELBOURNE, Australia — Cardinal George Pell, one of Pope Francis’ top advisers, made his first court appearance in Australia on Wednesday after becoming the highest-ranking Roman Catholic prelate to be formally charged with sexual offenses.

Cardinal Pell, 76, was flanked by police officers as he entered Melbourne Magistrates’ Court through a thicket of camera crews, reporters and photographers.

He said nothing during the filing hearing, which lasted about six minutes.

One of the cardinal’s lawyers, Robert Richter, told the court that his client would plead not guilty to all charges and vehemently maintained his innocence. Magistrate Duncan Reynolds set the next court proceeding for Oct. 6.

Journalists from around the world started lining up outside the court as early as 5 a.m. to get a seat at the hearing, which was purely administrative in nature and allowed the magistrate to set dates for future hearings. …

The case will test the credibility of Francis’ efforts to foster greater accountability after abuse scandals that have shaken the church around the world.

In recent decades, more than 50 Roman Catholic bishops worldwide have been accused of sexually abusing children, according to BishopAccountability.org, an advocacy group in Massachusetts that documents sexual abuse in the church. Few, however, have faced criminal charges.

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.

AUSTRALIA
NBC News

by ALEX JOHNSON

Cardinal George Pell, the highest-ranking Vatican official ever charged in the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal, appeared in court for the first time Wednesday to face multiple counts of “historical sexual assault offenses.”

Pell, 76, who as Pope Francis’ top financial adviser is the No. 3 official at the Vatican, said nothing as he fought his way through a crowd of media and onlookers into Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday morning (Tuesday evening ET).

The hearing was a procedural session intended to set the dates of future hearings, and cameras weren’t allowed in the courtroom.

Police have released no details of the charges, other than to say they represented “multiple complainants.”

When the charges were announced last month, Pell promised to defend himself vigorously, saying, “The whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me.”

The charges came as yet another shock to the church, coming only four months after Pell appeared to side with critics of the Vatican’s handling of decades of sexual abuse allegations.

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.

AUSTRALIA
Daily Mail

[with video]

By Australian Associated Press

Cardinal George Pell has pleaded not guilty during his brief court appearance to face historical sexual offence charges involving multiple complainants.

Pell did not speak during the brief filing hearing, which lasted six minutes.

But his lawyer Robert Richter QC told the court the 76-year-old denies all charges.

‘Cardinal Pell pleads not guilty to all the charges and will maintain his presumed innocence that he has,’ Mr Richter told the court.

Cardinal Pell’s defence team did not ask the magistrate to excuse the cardinal from appearing when the case returns to court.

The 76-year-old has taken leave from his position as Vatican treasurer to return to Australia to fight historical sexual offence charges involving multiple complainants.

The third most powerful person in the Catholic Church was confronted with a massive contingent of Australian and international media on his arrival at court on Wednesday morning.

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.

AUSTRALIA
The Guardian

Calla Wahlquist

Cardinal George Pell has appeared in the Melbourne magistrates court charged with multiple historical sexual abuse offences.

Seated behind his lawyer, Robert Richter, QC, dressed in a simple black suit and clerical collar, Pell did not speak throughout the six-minute filing hearing.

Richter said that while Pell was not required to enter a plea unless and until the matter was committed for trial, he would, because of the media and public interest in the case, indicate a plea of not guilty now.

“Cardinal Pell will plead not guilty to all charges and will maintain the presumption of innocence,” he said.

Magistrate Duncan Reynolds ordered that the prosecution serve a brief of evidence by 8 September with Pell to return to court for a committal mention on 6 October.

Prosecutor Andrew Tinney, SC, said Pell was facing “multiple historic sexual offence charges with respect to multiple complainants”.

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.

AUSTRALIA
The Australian

AAP

CARDINAL GEORGE PELL’S FIRST COURT APPEARANCE

WHAT CHARGES DOES HE FACE?

Multiple historical sexual offence charges involving multiple complainants

Cardinal Pell denies all the allegations

HOW WAS HE CHARGED?

Pell was charged on summons on June 29 while he was in Rome. The charges were served on his legal representatives in Melbourne and filed in the Melbourne Magistrates Court.

WHAT IS WEDNESDAY’S COURT HEARING?

A filing hearing is the first step in the Magistrates Court.

It is a brief administrative hearing to set a timetable for the early part of the court process.

The magistrate will fix a date for a committal mention and a timetable for the exchange of information between the prosecution and defence.

That determines when the defence receives the prosecution’s brief of evidence (or hand-up brief) that contains all the evidence in the case in the form of witness statements, the accused’s record of interview and copies of exhibits.

The filing hearing may include any other directions the court believes are necessary, such as about the forensic examination of exhibits.

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.

AUSTRALIA
Crux

John L. Allen Jr. EDITOR

Australian Cardinal George Pell made his first court appearance in Melbourne early on Wednesday, fighting to clear his name from what police have described as ‘multiple’ complaints of ‘historical sexual offenses.’ In the brief hearing,

In the first step of what could be a long legal journey, Australian Cardinal George Pell appeared before a court in Melbourne on Wednesday morning for an initial hearing related to charges of sexual abuse, which established that the next act in the drama will come Oct. 6.

The hearing, which began at 10:00 a.m. local time and lasted just six minutes, was a procedural matter intended only to establish when prosecutors will turn over their evidence to defense attorneys and the next time Pell has to appear.

Although details of the charges against Pell have not been revealed, police spokespersons in the Australian state of Victoria, which included, Melbourne, say he’s been accused of “historical sexual offenses” from “multiple complainants.”

Pell has asserted his innocence vigorously.

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.

MINNESOTA
WDAY

By Andrew Hazzard

CROOKSTON, Minn. — A lawsuit filed by a northwest Minnesota man against against the Diocese of Crookston and its Bishop, Michael Hoeppner, saying the diocese covered up abuse and the bishop tried to coerce the victim into silence has reached its fourth judge in a series of recusals and is being contested on grounds some its counts are past the statute of limitations.

Ron Vasek says his efforts to become a deacon, the Roman Catholic Church’s highest lay position, were thwarted by the diocese after he told them he was abused by in 1971 by the Rev. Roger Grundhaus when he was 16 years old and on a mission trip in Ohio and that Bishop Hoeppner asked him to sign a letter retracting his claims in 2015.

Vasek, whose son Rev. Craig Vasek is a priest in the Diocese of Crookston, signed the letter under circumstances he described as blackmail.

A suit filed on Vasek’s behalf in May by St. Paul attorney Jeff Anderson, who specializes as an advocate for victims of abuse within the Catholic Church, is the first case in which a bishop has been sued for coercion, according to Anderson.

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.

NEW YORK
BishopAccountability.org

Summary of Case: Donald J. Whelan was a priest of the Archdiocese of New York, ordained in 1957. He was assigned to assist in Pearl River, Bronx and Nyack parishes before being named Administrator of a Newburgh parish in 1979. He left Newburgh in 1985 to return to Nyack as lead priest. He reportedly died in 1988.

Whelan was accused in a February 2004 lawsuit of having sexually abused a boy during 1964-1965, when the boy was ages 11-12 and Whelan was assigned to St. John Vianney parish in the Bronx. According to the suit, Whelan stepped in to help the boy’s mother after she and her husband divorced, leaving her alone with seven children. The abuse, including penetration, allegedly took place in the parish rectory, in a beach cabana and during overnight trips to the Rockaways. Whelan was said to have told the boy not to tell because it would hurt his mother, and no one would believe him.

Ordained: 1957
Died: 1988

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.

MASSACHUSETTS
WBUR

July 25, 2017

Denise Lavoie, The Associated Press

One of the most notorious figures in the Boston clergy sex abuse scandal has completed his prison sentence on child rape charges and will be released this week after two experts hired by prosecutors found he does not meet the legal criteria to be held as a sexually dangerous person.

Paul Shanley was known in the 1960s and ’70s for being a hip street priest who reached out to troubled youths. But in 2005 he was convicted of repeatedly raping and fondling a boy at a suburban parish in the 1980s, and he was sentenced to 12 to 15 years in prison.

Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said Tuesday that her office hired two psychiatric experts to evaluate Shanley, now 86 years old, to see if he should continue to be held after completing his sentence. Both experts told prosecutors that he does not meet the legal criteria for civil confinement as a sexually dangerous person.

Once Shanley is released Friday, he will begin 10 years of supervised probation.

Shanley was defrocked after dozens of men came forward and said he had molested them when they were children.

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

KANSAS
KCTV

[with video]

Posted by Chris Oberholtz, Digital Content Manager

KANSAS CITY, KS (KCTV) –
Authorities say a Catholic priest charged in Wyandotte County with child sex crimes has been arrested in Maryland.

The Wyandotte County prosecutor’s office announced Tuesday that the Rev. Scott Kallal was charged Friday with two counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child. Online court records show the 35-year-old was arrested Monday in Rockville in Maryland’s Montgomery County.

Prosecutor’s office spokesman Jonathan Carter said he didn’t know whether Kallal had an attorney. No details were provided about the allegations.

The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas announced last week that Kallal was pulled from public ministry duties after two sources accused him of “boundary violations.” The archdiocese said its preliminary investigation “revealed violations of some of the archdiocese’s safe environment guidelines which all clerics, employees and volunteers are asked to observe when interacting with young people.”

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.

KANSAS
The Kansas City Star

BY JUDY L. THOMAS
jthomas@kcstar.com

JULY 25, 2017

A Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas who was suspended this month has been charged with two felony counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child.

The Wyandotte County District Attorney’s office said the alleged incidents took place in the summer and fall of 2015.

The Rev. Scott Kallal, 35, is being held at the Montgomery County Detention Center in Rockville, Md., after being picked up by the Maryland State Police, records show.

The archdiocese said it learned Monday that Kallal had been taken into custody.

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.

KANSAS
Fox 4

BY KERA MASHEK

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A Wyandotte County priest is now facing criminal charges. Father Scott Kallal is charged with two counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child, stemming from an incident involving a young girl at St. Patrick’s School in Kansas City, Kan. in 2015.

Parishioners at St. Pat’s and Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Overland Park just learned of the allegations the weekend of July 15-16, when it was announced during mass that Fr. Kallal had been relieved of his duties.

While incidents like this are relatively rare, the church says it remains committed to ensuring no child becomes a victim.

The inside of a Catholic Church is often beautiful, and a place where many find comfort. But allegations and criminal charges against church leaders like Fr. Scott Kallal can tarnish its prestige.

“The church is in the business of saving souls and in spiritual life. They’re experts in spirituality. But they’ve brought in experts now and worked together with them to ensure safety of children is a top priority,” said Carrie Cooper, director of the Office of Child and Youth protection for the Kansas City, Mo. Archdiocese.

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.

AUSTRALIA
3AW

Cardinal George Pell has just arrived at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court.

The 76-year-old has taken leave from his position as Vatican treasurer to return to Australia to fight historical sexual offence charges involving multiple complainants.

He was flanked by several police upon his arrival.

Local and international media have swarmed on the courtroom, with supporters of Cardinal Pell also outside court.

The appearance is expected to last just minutes, the first stage of a lengthy legal process.

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.

AUSTRALIA
BBC News

Cardinal George Pell has arrived at an Australian court, amid a large media scrum, to face charges of sexual assault.

The Vatican treasurer, 76, is accused of historical assaults involving “multiple complainants”, police in the state of Victoria said last month.

Cardinal Pell has said he will strenuously defend himself against the allegations.

Last month, Cardinal Pell said he was “looking forward” to his day in court.

Australia’s most senior Catholic figure arrived in his home country earlier this month, after being granted a leave of absence from the Vatican to fight the charges.

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.

AUSTRALIA
ABC News

[with video]

Cardinal George Pell has been escorted into the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court by police, surrounded by a large media scrum, ahead of his first appearance over historical sexual offence charges.

Australia’s most senior Catholic was charged by Victoria Police detectives late last month with offences involving multiple complainants.

Details of the allegations have not been made public.

He arrived at court with his legal team, including top criminal barrister Robert Richter QC.

Pell was taken through security as routine and there was a smattering of applause from a crowd inside the building.

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.

AUSTRALIA
Daily Mail

AFP

Vatican finance chief Cardinal George Pell arrived for his first appearance in an Australian court on historical sex abuse charges Wednesday, facing a huge media scrum ahead of the largely administrative hearing.

The 76-year-old, a top advisor to Pope Francis, returned from Rome earlier this month to face multiple charges in Melbourne relating to offences allegedly committed decades ago, when he was a senior cleric in Australia.

Details of the charges have not been made public although police said they involved “multiple complainants”. The former Sydney and Melbourne archbishop has always maintained his innocence.

Pell, looking sombre and frail, made no comment as he was escorted by a group of police through a crush of cameras, reporters and photographers outside the Melbourne Magistrates Court, which hears hundreds of cases a week for alleged crimes ranging from theft to murder.

Several photographers were knocked over in the melee.

He was not required to attend the hearing, which allows lawyers to discuss when the prosecution brief can be handed over and set out the next dates in what is expected to be a lengthy court process.

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.

AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

Adam Cooper Tom Cowie Bhakthi Puvanenthiran

Cardinal George Pell has arrived at a Melbourne court to make his first appearance as the highest-ranking Catholic official to be charged with sexual abuse.

One of the most powerful people in the Catholic Church, Cardinal Pell, made the short trip from his lawyers’ offices on Lonsdale Street to Melbourne Magistrates Court just before 9am on Tuesday.

The 76-year-old has taken leave from his position as Vatican treasurer to return to Australia to fight historical sexual offence charges involving multiple complainants. Details of the charges are yet to be revealed.

Cardinal Pell was shepherded into court by a group of police officers through a crush of camera operators, reporters and photographers from across the country and the world.

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.

AUSTRALIA
The Guardian

Calla Wahlquist
Tuesday 25 July 2017

Cardinal George Pell has arrived at Melbourne magistrates court to appear on charges of multiple historic sexual offences.

Pell is the third highest ranking official in the Vatican and the highest ranking Catholic church official to be charged with sex offences.

The cardinal was shepherded into court by a group of police officers through a crush of camera operators, reporters and photographers. Pell did not answer any questions from the media. Several people clapped as he arrived.

He was screened by court security, like everyone else, and taken to a room in the court house.

Victoria police deputy commissioner Shane Patton said at a press conference announcing the charges that there were “multiple charges” and “multiple complainants,” but no further details have been released.

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.

AUSTRALIA
9 News

By Brett McLeod

If, as expected, George Pell walks into the Melbourne Magistrates Court this morning, he will make history.

Never before has a Cardinal appeared in a courtroom to answer charges of sex offences. Not in Melbourne, not in Australia, not anywhere else in the world.

Unless special arrangements are made the third-highest ranked member of the Catholic Church – the man dubbed the Vatican’s Accountant – will enter via the front steps, where he will encounter a media contingent which may well be larger than any ever seen on William Street.

While reports of swarms of international media being flown by the planeload into Melbourne are probably overstated, there’s likely to be little room for the Cardinal to walk through the phalanx of cameras and microphones.

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.

AUSTRALIA
7 News

The media and spectators are already lining up to ensure a seat in the Melbourne court room where Cardinal George Pell is expected to appear later on Wednesday.

Security has also been stepped up outside the Melbourne Magistrates Court, hours before Pell is scheduled to appear for a filing hearing.

The queue started forming before 7am, more than three hours before Pell’s scheduled 10am hearing.

The court has made no special arrangements for the appearance despite Pell’s high profile and the intense worldwide media attention.

More than 70 media, including many from international organisations like CCN and The Telegraph in London, are already in place outside the court in central Melbourne and have spilled onto the roadway.

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.