ABUSE TRACKER

NETHERLANDS
NL Times

Pastor Dominique Donders from Veldhoven has been reassigned as a chaplain in the Sint Anthonis municipality in Brabant. The priest was convicted and later acquitted of the possession of child pornography.

According to NOS, the diocese and parish believe that Donders deserves a second chance and he will soon preside over funerals and celebrations. The Sint Anthonis church appointed Donders at the request of the diocese. “Comments can certainly be made on his behavior in a moral sense”, the parish writes on its website. “But his pastoral integrity is not fundamentally at stake.”

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UNITED KINGDOM
Law Society Gazette

20 July 2015

By Joshua Rozenberg

Much is expected from the largest and most ambitious public inquiry ever established.

The independent inquiry into child sexual abuse seems to have got off to a good start. Lowell Goddard, who served as a high court judge in New Zealand for 20 years before being appointed to chair the inquiry in April, has not been wasting her time.

The government’s most important decision was to start the new statutory inquiry afresh – avoiding some of the pitfalls that beset the non-statutory panel headed first by Baroness Butler-Sloss and then Dame Fiona Woolf. Goddard (pictured below) is sitting with just four experts, three of them lawyers.

The panel no longer includes victims, although one member spent his childhood in care: Ivor Frank is a barrister who now has four decades of experience in child protection, human rights and family law.

The other three members are Professor Malcolm Evans, an international lawyer specialising in freedom of religion and prevention of torture; Drusilla Sharpling, a former chief Crown prosecutor who subsequently inspected policing responses to child abuse; and Professor Alexis Jay, a former director of social services who led the inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham. Ben Emmerson QC remains counsel to the inquiry and the highly experienced Martin Smith, a partner at Fieldfisher, is the inquiry’s solicitor.

Goddard was right to say that victims should be at the centre of the inquiry. But the officials who decided that victims should be members of the earlier inquiry team were misguided in thinking that people with a direct interest in child abuse could be judges in their own cause. Instead, victims and survivors have been appointed to a new consultative panel, which will offer Goddard and her colleagues advice and guidance. There is a separate victims’ and survivors’ liaison group.

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GUAM
Pacific News Center

Written by Janela Carrera

John Toves has previously accused Archbishop Anthony Apuron of molesting his cousin back in the 1980s.

Guam – Just when everything started to quiet down regarding allegations made against Archbishop Anthony Apuron of sexual abuse, the topic was once again brought up in the form of a letter.

John Toves, the man who brazenly accused the Archbishop of molesting his cousin back in the 1980s, sent PNC a copy of a letter he received from a law firm. It was signed by Attorney Michelle Neal, retained by Archbishop Apuron, ordering Toves to immediately “cease and desist from making any further defamatory comments or publications against Archbishop Apuron’s reputation and character.”

The letter further states “Your comments and published statements that Archbishop Apuron has engaged in unlawful conduct are patently false, and you have made these comments and published these statements with full knowledge of their falsity.”

However, Toves tells PNC that he’s not backing down and that he maintains his assertions.

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ISRAEL
Arutz Sheva

Rabbi Ezra Sheinberg, the rabbi from Tzfat (Safed) accused by no fewer than 11 women of sexual abuse, has been threatening prison guards at the Tzalmon Jail where he is currently being detailed, reports Army Radio.

According to the report Sheinberg has been taking the names of the guards from the name tags on their shirts and writing them on a note. He then goes on to recite: “I place on you a kapida,” a type of curse.

Several of the guards have been frightened by the curses, and are trying to avoid Sheinberg. The Israel Prison Service intends to investigate the complaints of the guards.

The Nazareth District Court last Friday shortened Sheinberg’s detention, moving up his release from this Thursday to Tuesday.

Several of his victims have come forward with complaints of severe sexual abuse they suffered after coming to him for advice.

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NEW YORK
Road to Recovery

Two Brooklyn Diocesan priests will be ordained bishops for the Brooklyn Diocese while two childhood sexual abuse victims of a deceased and dangerous pedophile priest are denied justice from the Brooklyn Diocese in their attempts to heal. The Brooklyn Diocese is hiding behind the antiquated and unfair New York State statute of limitations

Juan Rodriguez, who was sexually abused by Fr. Kenneth Wicks at St. Gabriel Parish in East New York, Brooklyn, and reported the abuse to Brooklyn Diocesan officials in the 1990s, will speak to the media about his twenty-year effort to hold his abuser and the Diocese of Brooklyn accountable

What
A demonstration and leafleting alerting Brooklyn Diocesan Catholics, the media, and the general public about the twenty-year attempt by childhood sexual abuse victims of Fr. Kenneth Wicks to receive justice from the Brooklyn Diocese

When
Monday, July 20, 2015 from 12:30 PM until 2:00 PM

Where
On the public sidewalk outside the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, 856 Pacific Street, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, New York 11238 before the ordination of two new bishops for the Diocese of Brooklyn

Who
Juan Rodriguez, a community activist and leader of the 75th NYPD Precinct Community Board and childhood sexual abuse victim of Fr. Kenneth Wicks at St. Gabriel Parish in East New York, Brooklyn, NY; Members of Road to Recovery, Inc., including its co-founder and President, Robert M. Hoatson, Ph.D.

Why
Two priests will be ordained bishops for the Diocese of Brooklyn while at least two childhood sexual abuse victims of Fr. Kenneth Wicks, who allegedly committed suicide in 1993, are denied justice by the Diocese of Brooklyn in their approximately twenty-year claims against Fr. Wicks and the Diocese of Brooklyn. Juan Rodriguez and Luis Ramos reported their sexual abuse by Fr. Kenneth Wicks to officials of the Diocese of Brooklyn approximately twenty years ago, and nothing has been done by officials of the Diocese of Brooklyn to help them heal and recover. The Diocese of Brooklyn has covered up the horrific sexually abusive activity of Fr. Kenneth Wicks, who abused children in St. Gabriel Parish in East New York and at his vacation home in upstate New York where he tied up children, plied them with alcohol, and sexually abused them. Demonstrators will call on the Brooklyn Diocese to do the right thing by compensating Juan Rodriguez, Luis Ramos and all clergy sexual abuse victims for the sexual abuse they endured. Such compensation helps victims try to heal and gain a degree of closure.

Contacts
Robert M. Hoatson, Ph.D. – Road to Recovery, Inc. – 862-368-2800
Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, Boston, MA – 617-523-6250

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MINNESOTA
Marshall Independent

July 19, 2015

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former Twin Cities Archbishop John Nienstedt says he remains “dumbfounded” by allegations of personal misconduct that emerged last year during an internal church investigation.

In written responses, Nienstedt tells the Star Tribune (http://strib.mn/1MiDTyn ) it “pains” him that his reputation has been “put into question by allegations that are entirely false and based wholly on rumor, hearsay, or innuendo.”

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis commissioned the investigation. The Star Tribune reports the probe looked into claims that Nienstedt had engaged in behavior that was inappropriate for a priest.

Nienstedt resigned last month after prosecutors filed charges against the archdiocese for failing to protect children from a priest later convicted of molesting two boys.

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UNITED STATES
News Review

The Sins of Brother Curtis: A Story of Betrayal, Conviction, and the Mormon Church hits the bookstores today—and author Lisa Davis will be discussing the book and signing copies at the Borders on Fair Oaks tomorrow evening.

In The Sins of Brother Curtis, Davis details the career of one of the most prolific serial child molesters in the U.S., Frank Curtis. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, he was “called” to serve as a Sunday School teacher and Boy Scout leader, which gave him ample access to children.

He molested boys in several Portland, Oregon wards from 1976 to 1991. It was the last victim who filed a lawsuit against the LDS Church—because a bishop had told his mother than they “knew” Curtis was a pedophile and hadn’t warned the family—that it was discovered that the church had, in fact, known for years that Curtis was a danger to children. He’d even been excommunicated, then re-baptized and returned to the positions from which he preyed upon children.

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UNITED STATES
The Museum of Americana

[with audio]

Norbert Krapf, former Indiana Poet Laureate and winner of the Glick Indiana Author Award, and veteran Indiana bluesman Gordon Bonham have been performing together since they were part of the Hoosier Dylan Show 2008-10. Norbert’s eleventh poetry collection is Catholic Boy Blues.

To read Krapf’s “B.B. King on His Bicycle,” click here.

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UNITED STATES
Questions from a Ewe

Dear Pope Francis,

I have written you a few letters but never received the favor of a reply. Nonetheless, I continue writing in hopes that someday we discuss pressing issues in the church.

I am inspired to write again now after listening to this weekend’s reading from Jeremiah, “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the flock of my pasture, says the LORD (Jer 23:1).” With U.S. Catholics’ mere 25% Mass participation rate that’s dropping as I type, I am starting to wonder if it’s possible for the shepherds to destroy and scatter the flock much more than they’ve already done. Have we not suffered enough from their poor shepherding skills? Is it not time to stop doubling-down on the sheep-scattering tactics and exchange them for exemplary shepherding skills? …

Frank, simply put, what are you waiting for? Be the miracle you hope to see! Make the mess you hope gets made!

I offer ten suggestions of miracles and messes you could do today, by mere virtue of the white pointy hats you own and the fabulous chair you sit upon in St. John Lateran’s Basilica.

1. Re-institute married clergy. Nothing needed to do this but the stroke of a pen…specifically your pen. Please take it out, remove the cap, dip it in the papal ink well and scribble away…
2. Re-institute ordaining women as deacons. Again, there’s no obstruction to doing this. Benedict paved the way by declaring that deacons no longer act in persona Christi. While your pen is out please handle this one too.
3. Change Canon Law to remove ordaining women as a grave delict and instead add bishops who mishandle sexual abuse cases. Then please address the numerous bishops guilty of this grave delict.
4. Tell the truth. Dispense with clinging to false biological, medical and psychological teachings as foundations to establishing “truths” about human sexuality. You can’t say you’re the penultimate guardian of truth if you don’t tell it.
5. Change canon law to prevent Catholic employers from denying their employees access to medical care just because they fear it. The medications used to treat many female health issues can also be used for birth control. However, the medication itself is merely a tool. Indeed it is a tool often used to help conceive life. It is one particular usage of that tool to which you object, yet the tool is outright banned. Consistent application of this rule would see the rope cincture around your waist barred since many people have been hanged using ropes. Furthermore having episcopal review boards rather than medical ones determining whether or not women can have certain life-saving procedures performed at Catholic hospitals is just derelict. Stop this practice at once. Scribble that into canon law and make the U.S. bishops fix their medical ethics document to reflect the change.
6. Lift the excommunications hanging over all people. Grant general amnesty since, “Who are you to judge?”
7. Cancel any meetings in Philadelphia that lack women – laywomen – not cheerleaders for church status quo and not only religious women, but regular women who are mothers. They can teach you much about what it means to be a holy mother as you try to lead “Holy Mother Church.”
8. Cancel any meetings in Philly that are exclusively with clergy and all meetings with Archbishop Chaput unless he accompanies you to meet with groups such as Fortunate Families being barred from attending his World Meeting of Families.
9. Take time when you are in Philadelphia to meet with women with such a strong sense of calling that they are willing to endure scorn, rejection and excommunication… Yes, that’s right; meet with Catholic women priests. Understand why they do what they do after you listen to understand what they do. Then make them dinner and serve it to them. This can be done in person and thus save on those expensive charges for overseas cellphone calls you must be racking up with your spontaneous, surprise pope-calls.
10. Update the papal wardrobe to align with the poor – perhaps a nice pair of second hand jeans and a t-shirt from the St. Vincent de Paul store would be in order. These are practical work clothes and require far less bleach and fuss to clean than the flowing white gowns you currently wear… Maybe you can have a big garage sale at the Vatican and sell your white vestments to a traveling band of dentists in dire need of white fabric. It’s just a suggestion.

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MINNESOTA
Legal Examiner

Posted by Mike Bryant
July 19, 2015

There is a longer story today in the Minneapolis Tribune about what is the latest in the Nienstedt Case. Looking at it, there clearly is a lot of issues up in the air. What struck me was the end of the article:

What the archdiocese decides to do with the investigation is being monitored by Twin Cities Catholics as well as national Catholic authorities, who say the St. Paul situation is extremely rare.

Facing scores of priest abuse claims, bankruptcy, civil and criminal charges — and the Nienstedt investigation controversy — the archdiocese is in uncharted terrain.

“I rarely say anything is unique in the Catholic Church, but this is a pretty unique situation,” said the Rev. Thomas Reese, senior analyst for National Catholic Reporter.

I got to ask: What is unique?

There are scores of abuse cases across the world. Thanks to the Child Victims Act survivors in Minnesota can do something about them.

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is one of a number of diocese that have or are using the bankruptcy courts to limit their liability.

Civil claims have for the most part been the only way that survivors have been able to force the Church to do anything.

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DEUTSCHLAND
missbrauch-gelingt-grabosch.

[Dickert disappointed by the lack of reaction of the cardinal of Mainz]
ar apology to the Church and an honest handling of abuse cases (the LA) reported.

Briefwechsel zu Missbrauchsfällen und Rolle der Kirche – Gespräch in Mainz ohne Pfarrer lehnt Rathauschef ab

GREBENHAIN – (cke). Die Einstellung der Missbrauchsstudie durch die Katholische Kirche und die noch immer ausstehende Entschuldigung von Kirchenverantwortlichen aus dem Bistum Mainz gegenüber den Opfern, die vom ehemaligen Grebenhainer Pfarrer Wolfgang Grabosch sexuell missbraucht worden waren, hatten Grebenhains Bürgermeister Manfred Dickert im Februar veranlasst, einen Brief an den Mainzer Bischof, Kardinal Karl Lehmann, zu schreiben. Der Rathauschef, in dessen Gemeinde sich ein Teil der widerwärtigen Taten ereignet hatten, hatte in seinem Schreiben eine klare Entschuldigung der Kirche und einen ehrlichen Umgang mit den Missbrauchsfällen gefordert (der LA berichtete).

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ISRAEL
Arutz Sheva

By Haim Lev
First Publish: 7/19/2015

Haredi leaders appear to be taking stock of several recent sexual harassment scandals, Kikar Hashabbat reports Sunday.

On Sunday, Rabbi Shalom Arush, Breslov leader and head of the Chut Shel Chessed yeshiva (Torah academy), announced that he will stop meeting with women during public reception hours in light of the scandals.

Rabbi Arush explained that the move is to set a precedent for caution.

“The evil inclination of rabbis is even greater than that of other people,” he said, reflecting a Judaic concept that people with great potential also have greater challenges.

Therefore, he said, he will not see women in person anymore, even if they are accompanied by their husbands.

The decision was made against the backdrop of at least ten women accusing Rabbi Ezra Sheinberg of Tzfat (Safed) of sexual abuse in a religious context, which made headlines after Sheinberg attempted to flee Israel and was arrested before his departure.

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UNITED STATES
The Open Tabernacle: Here Comes Everybody

Posted on July 19, 2015 by Betty Clermont

“A measure calling for the statue of Father Junipero Serra in the U.S. Capitol to be replaced with one of NASA astronaut Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, was shelved in the Legislature on July 2. [Ride] would be the first woman to represent California in the collection and the first known gay person.” State legislatures have the authority to decide which two statues will represent their state at the U.S. Capitol.

The measure to replace Serra’s statue had already passed the California Senate in April. The Assembly vote was postponed because of the pope’s visit to the U.S. “Our concerns are mostly due to the timing of this legislative debate,” Sandra Palacios, associate director of governmental affairs at the California Catholic Conference, said at an Assembly committee hearing this week.” The U.S. bishops’ paid lobbyists in every state are called “Catholic Conferences.”

Pope Francis called Serra “one of the founding fathers of the United States, a saintly example of the Church’s universality, and special patron of the Hispanic people of the country.” The pope will canonize Serra in September in Washington D.C. The 18th century Spanish Franciscan friar founded the first nine of 21 Spanish missions in California. In a rare display of criticism for this pope, Native Americans and others protested honoring a man who participated in the brutalization of indigenous people. “By 1818 the percentage of Indians who died in the missions reached 86 percent. Over 81,000 Indian ‘converts’ eventually managed to successfully flee the missions.”

The postponement followed “a heavy campaign to save the statue. A Spanish-language website, ‘Salvemos a Serra’, or ‘Let’s Save Serra’, called on Californians to write their legislators in opposition to the resolution. … ‘Salvemos a Serra’ had also asked supporters of Blessed Serra to sign English- and Spanish-language petitions on the website CitizenGo.org. The petitions were posted by Alejandro Bermudez, executive director of Catholic News Agency. More than 47,000 did so.”

Within five days, the Catholic Church “notched [another] prominent win at the California statehouse.” The July 7 decision by a legislative committee to shelve a bill allowing terminally ill patients to legally end their lives “followed weeks of lobbying by competing interest groups over whether to make California the next state to allow physicians to legally prescribe fatal medication, following Oregon, Washington, Montana and Vermont.” “A new poll released by Compassion and Choices, the chief right-to-die advocacy group, suggests that 69 percent of Californians would vote for the bill if put in front of them.”

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AUSTRALIA
Broken Rites

By a Broken Rites researcher, article updated 1 July 2015

Former Catholic priest John Joseph Farrell appeared in Sydney’s Central Local Court on 30 June 2015, charged with 26 sexual offences which were allegedly committed against five boys between 1981 and 1984 in northern New South Wales. According to court documents, some of these 26 offences allegedly occurred while Father Farrell was based at the Moree parish (within the Armidale Catholic diocese); and some allegedly occurred when Father Farrell visited a parish at Tweed Heads (in the Lismore diocese) on the NSW north coast. The Sydney magistrate refused to suppress Farrell’s name. This court case is confined to these five children (and these 26 charges) and it does not include any charges which Farrell might face regarding any other children. Farrell was refused bail, and he will remain in custody pending his court proceedings.

Father John Joseph Farrell worked as a Catholic priest in the 1980s and the early 1990s. He later lived at a private address in the town of Armidale until late 2012. More recently, he has been living in the Harden area (between Young and Yass) in southern NSW.

In late June 2015 John Joseph Farrell was arrested at Harden by a Sydney-based specialist team of detectives from the Sex Crime Squad of the NSW Police. Police charged him with the 26 alleged offences, with no police bail. On June 25, he was taken in custody to a local court (at Wagga in southern NSW) to enable these 26 charges to be officially filed. Farrell entered the courtroom with two Corrective Services officers. Two specialist detectives were present in court.

In the June 25 hearing, Farrell’s lawyer applied for a media-suppression order which would prevent Farrell’s name from being published. He said that Farrell could be placed in danger if his identity were made public. He said the type of charges laid against Farrell generated vilification and outrage in the community.

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AUSTRALIA
Broken Rites

By a Broken Rites researcher (article updated 11 July 2015 )

A Catholic priest, Father Robert Claffey, indecently assaulted two boys after their sister died in a road accident, a court was told. The priest started visiting the boys’ house after the accident to “comfort” them at bed-time.

Father Robert Patrick Claffey was a priest of the Ballarat Diocese in western Victoria. He pleaded guilty in Ballarat Magistrates Court on 18 February 1998 to having indecently assaulted the two boys, brothers aged 12 and 13, by touching their bodies on several occasions in 1978 while the boys were in bed.

Neither brother knew that the other had been molested by Fr Bob Claffey until they discussed the matter in their twenties.

The boys were part of a devout Catholic family, which was friendly with Father (later Archbishop) George Pell and Father (later Bishop) Peter Connors.

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AUSTRALIA
Broken Rites

A Catholic priest in northern New South Wales, John Patrick Casey, 67, appeared in court on 10 July 2015, charged with sexual offences, allegedly committed against two young boys in the 1980s. Casey has been denied bail. A magistrate said the charges are serious and could bring a custodial sentence if there is a conviction.

John Patrick Casey is a priest of the Lismore diocese, which takes in the NSW north coast from the Queensland border to Camden Haven, south of Port Macquarie. The city of Lismore is where the diocese has its headquarters.

John Patrick Casey is currently a priest for the “Mary Help of Christians” parish at Sawtell, near Coffs Harbour. (After he was charged, the diocese announced that Father Casey is standing down from this position.)

The police investigation was conducted by detectives from the NSW Police’s Richmond Local Area Command, which has headquarters in Lismore. The detectives were investigating information which had been received by Australia’s national child-abuse Royal Commission.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Mail

Inquiry judge will hear 30,000 VICTIMS of predators – but Goddard probe says that’s less than 1% of adults who were abused as children

By David Rose for The Mail on Sunday

The landmark inquiry into historic child sexual abuse is braced to hear testimony from at least 30,000 victims, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

But that extraordinary number represents less than one per cent of the more than three million adults in Britain who were abused as children, according to the Goddard Inquiry.

The figures were disclosed to this newspaper by Ben Emmerson, the QC who is the chief lawyer for the vast investigation set up in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal and widespread allegations of abuse by politicians at Westminster.

In his first interview since he took up his post with the inquiry, Mr Emmerson has for the first time given details of the mammoth task it faces as it takes up evidence going back decades.

He admitted that the inquiry’s scope was ‘vast’, covering the handling of abuse by institutions including children’s homes, the military, youth groups, orchestras, doctors, Westminster, the police, prosecutors, internet service providers and the BBC. It has no past cut-off date.

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ISRAEL
Jerusalem Post

Rabbi Ezra Scheinberg is the rabbi from northern Israel accused of rape and other sexual offenses.

The name of Rabbi Scheinberg, a much respected yeshiva dean who was considered by some to be a mystic, has been released for publication as the rabbi from northern Israel accused of rape and other sexual offenses.

So far 10 separate complaints have been filed against the rabbi who was arrested July 2 at Ben-Gurion Airport and has been held in detention since. He is scheduled to be released to house arrest on Tuesday.

Scheinberg, 46, is married and has eight children. He is the founder of the Orot HaAri yeshiva in Safed, which he established in 1999, and was a respected and prominent figure in the national-religious community, lauded as a particularly spiritual rabbi with even preternatural abilities to see into the future and give advice on that basis.

According to a report on the Kipa national-religious news website, his students threw books he has authored into the garbage when the allegations against him were made public.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

Fiction: The Ballroom Cafe: Secrets Can’t Last Forever, Ann O’Loughlin, Black and White Publishing, pbk, 322 pages, €11.28

Maggie Armstrong
PUBLISHED
19/07/2015

Irish people are only now learning about the forced adoption of babies born to unmarried mothers in mother-and-baby homes, a money-making scheme which may have gone on until the 1970s. Ann O’Loughlin quite fearlessly enters this little-explored ground in her first novel.

A long-time Irish Independent journalist and now reporter with the Irish Examiner, this time she bends the facts into a tale of scandal heaped upon scandal.

Setting her story in remote Co Wicklow in 2008, the author creates a home for our imagination in Roscarbury Hall, the tumbledown mansion shared by ageing sisters Ella and Roberta O’Callaghan.
Slow-marching, romantic prose draws us into an old world that is rustic, genteel, quaint – almost de Valera’s Ireland preserved in aspic.

Scandals lie in wait. It emerges the sisters don’t speak, they communicate through notes. (The many epistolary exchanges in the novel inspired the designers to add as many naff forms of handwriting. Though a book shouldn’t be judged on its fonts.) There is a “hard frost, thick and deep, between them”.

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OHIO
Toledo News Now

By Mark Bickle

MAUMEE, OH (Toledo News Now) –
The Diocese of Toledo has announced that a priest accused of violating Diocesan policy, in behavior involving children, will remain on leave from Saint Joseph’s Catholic Church in Maumee and be sent back to his home diocese in India.

In May, Reverend Samuel Punnoor was accused by a child of violations of the diocesan code of pastoral conduct; specifically, “Appendix A: Diocese of Toledo Code of Pastoral Conduct” of the diocesan “To Protect and to Heal: Policy on Sexual Abuse of Minors.”

The diocese says that an investigation by Lucas County Children Services found that Father Punnoor’s actions were not deemed to be sexual abuse but his behavior with the child did raise concerns.

A press release from the diocese states, “the agency’s assessment determined that Reverend Samuel Punnoor’s actions did not meet the definition of sexual abuse as defined by state law. The agency also indicated that it has concerns about Father Punnoor’s interactions with the victim and that he appears to have boundary issues in not recognizing appropriate interaction with this child.”

An investigation by the diocese concluded that a violation of the diocesan code of pastoral conduct had occurred.

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PHILIPPINES
Rappler

Dale G. Israel
Published July 19, 2015

CEBU CITY, Philippines – The Archdiocese of Cebu is investigating the parish priest of Aloguinsan town accused of molesting a girl who was part of the church choir.

A police report dated June 4, 2015 narrated an incident involving a 16-year-old female who was allegedly molested by Fr. Prudencio Operiano of the St. Raphael Archangel Parish Church on Christmas eve, December 24, 2014.

Together with a witness – the alleged victim’s 15-year-old female friend – the victim filed a complaint at the police station in Aloguinsan on June 4, 2015.

If found guilty, Operiano could be charged with violating Republic Act 7610 or the “Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act.”

Monsignor Joseph Tan, spokesperson of the Archdiocese, said that even before local newspaper reports of the incident came out on Saturday, July 18, the church started a probe on the incident as early as the first week of June through vicar general Msgr. Rey Penagunda.

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

By Jean Hopfensperger and Tony Kennedy and Paul McEnroe Star Tribune staff

JULY 18, 2015

Former Archbishop John Nienstedt said he remains “dumbfounded” by the allegations of personal misconduct that emerged last year during an internal church investigation of his behavior — a report that the archdiocese now is considering making public.

“It pains me deeply that my good name and reputation have been put into question by allegations that are entirely false and based wholly on rumor, hearsay, or innuendo,” said Nienstedt last week, in written responses to questions from the Star Tribune.

Commissioned by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the probe looked into claims that Nienstedt had engaged in behavior that was inappropriate for a priest. The Star Tribune has learned that investigators collected affidavits from priests, former seminarians and a former priest alleging actions, some dating to the Detroit area in the early 1980s, that range from inappropriate touching to visiting a gay nightclub.

Nienstedt resigned June 15, after Ramsey County prosecutors filed criminal and civil charges against the archdiocese, alleging “failure to protect children.” Nienstedt said he hoped his resignation would “give the archdiocese a new beginning.”

But the existence of the investigation has become yet another dilemma for a church sharply criticized for its handling of dozens of cases of alleged sexual abuse by priests. Earlier this year it filed bankruptcy to help deal with the mounting financial toll of those cases.

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OHIO
Roman Catholic Diocese of Toledo

The Diocese of Toledo is announcing today a decision regarding Reverend Samuel Punnoor, who was placed on administrative leave as a result of a May 2015 allegation from a minor that he violated the diocesan code of pastoral conduct.

Following its investigation of the allegation, Lucas County Children Services informed the Diocese that Father Punnoor’s actions were not deemed to be sexual abuse but his behavior with this child raised concerns.

After the necessary ecclesiastical investigation, the Diocesan Review Board unanimously concluded that a violation of the diocesan code of pastoral conduct had occurred. Bishop Daniel Thomas has accepted the Board’s recommendations that Father Punnoor should remain on administrative leave, have no priestly ministry in the Diocese of Toledo, have no access to children and return to his home diocese in India.

Background

On May 22, 2015, the Diocese of Toledo announced that Reverend Samuel Punnoor, a priest of the Diocese of Pathanamthitta (India) who up until that time was serving in the Diocese of Toledo, was that day placed on administrative leave following an allegation that he violated “Appendix A: Diocese of Toledo Code of Pastoral Conduct” of the diocesan To Protect and to Heal: Policy on Sexual Abuse of Minors.

The announcement stated that the Diocese reported the allegation the day it was received to the appropriate civil authorities and placed Father Punnoor on administrative leave pending the results of the civil investigation to be followed by the ecclesiastical investigation.

Findings

Upon the conclusion of the civil investigation, the Diocese of Toledo received correspondence from Lucas County Children Services that the agency’s assessment determined that Reverend Samuel Punnoor’s actions did not meet the definition of sexual abuse as defined by state law. The agency also indicated that it has concerns about Father Punnoor’s interactions with the victim and that he appears to have boundary issues in not recognizing appropriate interaction with this child.

The Diocese of Toledo undertook its own investigation, presenting all findings as required to the Diocesan Review Board. After serious deliberation and consideration of the results of this phase of the ecclesiastical investigation, the Diocesan Review Board concluded its process and presented its report to Bishop Daniel Thomas. The Board unanimously concluded that Father Punnoor violated the following standards in “Appendix A: Diocese of Toledo Code of Pastoral Conduct:”

3.2 – Physical contact with youth can be misconstrued and should occur (a) only when completely non-sexual and otherwise appropriate and (b) never in private.

5.2 – Harassment encompasses a broad range of physical, written or verbal behavior, including without limitation the following: unwelcome sexual advances or touching.

Based on its review of the findings from the ecclesiastical investigation, the Diocesan Review Board unanimously recommended to Bishop Thomas that Father Punnoor’s behavior warrants that he not continue in ministry in the Diocese of Toledo. In addition, the Board recommended that Father Punnoor remain on administrative leave, have no faculties for ministry in the Diocese of Toledo, be monitored and restricted from any access to children and return to his home diocese in India.

Bishop Thomas accepted the recommendations from the Diocesan Review Board and has fully informed the Bishop of Pathanamthitta, Father Punnoor’s Bishop, of the outcome of the investigations. And, as required, Bishop Thomas will forward all findings of the investigations to the Holy See for a final determination.

The Diocese of Toledo has communicated all findings and decisions regarding this case to Lucas County Children Services and the Lucas County Prosecutor’s Office.

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OHIO
Toledo Blade

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Toledo has determined that a priest placed on administrative leave two months ago, after a child complained of improper conduct, should return to his home diocese in India and have no priestly ministry or access to children in Toledo in the meantime.

The Toledo diocese had suspended the Rev. Samuel Punnoor on May 22 following the allegation that he had violated the diocesan code of pastoral conduct as it pertained to sexual abuse of minors. Since then, according to a diocesan statement, a Lucas County Children Services investigation found no actions meeting the statutory definition of sexual abuse.

But an ecclesiastical investigation submitted to the Diocesan Review Board resulted in findings that Father Punnoor violated two standards relating to physical contact with youth and sexual harassment, with the latter including unwanted sexual advances or touching, according to the statement. Bishop Daniel Thomas has accepted the review board’s recommendation that Father Punnoor remain on administrative leave and return to his home country, the diocese said.

Announcements regarding the decision will be made Sunday at two churches where Father Punnoor served as vicar: Most Blessed Sacrament in Toledo and St. Joseph in Maumee. Notices also will be sent to parents or guardians of students at Blessed Sacrament and St. Joseph schools and Central Catholic High School, where the priest formerly served as a faculty member, the diocese said.

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CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles Times

By STEPHEN CEASAR

Nuns locked in a dispute with the Los Angeles Archdiocese over the proposed sale of their convent to singer Katy Perry filed legal papers Friday accusing the archbishop of acting “as if he were above the rules and immune from the obligations of civil law.”

The dispute centers on who has legal authority to sell the villa-style hilltop property in Los Feliz, which spans several acres with expansive views of downtown Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Mountains.

The Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary contend that they have the legal authority to sell the property and that their sale agreement with restaurateur Dana Hollister for $15.5 million is legal.

The Los Angeles Archdiocese, however, sued to stop the sale, arguing that the church has legal authority over the property and that the nuns’ sale was unauthorized. The archdiocese’s agreement to sell the convent to Perry – for $14.5 million in cash – is legally sound, the archdiocese argued.

In documents filed in court Friday, attorneys representing the sisters contended that the archdiocese never sought to established legal control over the order’s nonprofit institute until June, when it installed officers to oversee the institute. That move, however, was illegal and a “hostile takeover” by the bishop of the order of nuns, the attorneys wrote.

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PHILIPPINES
Sun.Star

Friday, July 17, 2015

By KEVIN A. LAGUNDA
JUSTIN K. VESTIL

A PRIEST from a parish in the southwestern town of Aloguinsan, Cebu is accused of sexually molesting a 16-year-old girl.

Shirley (real name withheld) said the incident happened last Christmas Eve, when she was a trainee at the church choir.

Before the incident happened, the priest told her to get fruits inside his car. She obliged.
After she entered the car, the priest followed suit, she said.

Massage

“Iyaha kong gigunitan ug iyaha kong gipalingkod sa iyang paa. Mao tong nihangyo siya mo-kiss nako (He held on to me and asked me to sit on his lap. Then he asked me if he could kiss me),” Shirley said in radio dyHP report.

The girl said she refused his advances.

Her two cousins and an altar boy allegedly saw the priest hugging her.

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CONNECTICUT
The Valley Gazette

Fr. Honore Kombo of St. Augustine Seymour has been removed from his post while an investigation into financial irregularities continues. The parish sent the following letter to parishioners yesterday:

Saint Augustine Church
Seymour, Connecticut
July , 2015

Dear Parishioners,

Because of the news about Father Kombo last weekend many of you were surprised, upset, or had many questions. We are now hearing more questions and unreliable stories that are “floating” around our community of faith.

Although, at this point in time, we can not relate the entire story to you as it would jeopardize the on-going investigation, we were given permission by Reverend Shawn Daly, the Vicar for Priests, to give you a synopsis of what has been happening.

At the beginning of the 2015 year, your Finance Council, the Church Trustees, and the Parish Office began to notice discrepancies in the church’s 2014 financial reports.

After a number of meetings we determined that this was a situation that we did not clearly understand nor were we able to grasp the depth of what was happening. It was decided that we needed to alert several key offices at the Chancery as to what we were finding. Representatives from the Financial Office in Hartford immediately came down to St. Augustine’s and conducted a comprehensive forensic audit of all our accounts, reports and financial paperwork.

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UNITED STATES
The Daily Beast

Isabel Schwab

A few days before Oprah was scheduled to host the Duggar family on her show in December 2006, her production company, Harpo Studios, received a very strange, anonymous email.

At the time, the Arkansas family was best known for starring in the 2004 documentary 14 Kids and Pregnant Again! and for espousing ultra-conservative Christian values, particularly during patriarch Jim Bob’s run for U.S. Senate in 2002. And yet, despite the family’s super clean public image, the email accused the Duggar’s eldest son, Josh, of molesting girls, and his parents, Michelle and Jim Bob, of covering up his actions.

“I think that you should know the truth before they make a complete fool of you and your show,” read the email. “They have been on TV before and come across as a perfect family, which couldn’t be further from the truth. They jump from show to show to receive gifts for their family and to make them look really good. Please consider this and confront them about their secret.”

Oprah did not end up confronting the Duggars about the allegations on her show (she canceled their appearance), but her studio did pass along the email to the Department of Human Services, who opened up a police investigation. Though the police filed a report, by that point, three years had passed since the crimes were committed, which meant that the statute of limitations had expired on prosecuting Josh. So nothing happened.

Well, not nothing: the Duggars went on to act exactly as the email predicted, starring in the incredibly popular TLC reality show, 19 Kids and Counting (formerly 17 and then 18 kids) starting in 2008. Oprah may have been spared from being made a “complete fool,” but TLC either didn’t receive a similar email, or they chose to ignore it.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

July 19, 2015

Eamonn Duff
Sun-Herald senior investigative writer

A Catholic priest has been found guilty of common assault and dismissed from his Sydney parish after he smacked a child in church.

Three days before Holy Communion, eight-year-old Peter* was “grabbed” in the St John Vianney Catholic Church at Greenacre by Father Terrence Millard, “positioned” in front of a symbolic image of Jesus Christ being nailed to the cross and then punished with a “smack” to the upper buttocks for perceived bad behaviour.

When an alarmed teacher reported the incident to the school principal, it triggered a domino effect involving the Catholic Education Office, the NSW Police Force, criminal charges and a court case in which a finding of guilt was delivered – with no conviction recorded against the priest.

After a turbulent 10 months, Peter’s distraught parents were happy with the judgement and thought they had found closure.

They were wrong.

A fortnight ago, and just days after the magistrate’s ruling, the boy’s family became aware of a buzz of chatter among the church community that the priest had “won the case.”

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MASSACHUSETTS
Telegram & Gazette

By Samantha Allen
Telegram & Gazette

Posted Jul. 17, 2015

WORCESTER – The dismissal of charges alleging a man raped a woman in a Worcester alley in 1999 has prompted a state senator to propose the elimination of the time limit to prosecute rape cases altogether.

Sen. Jennifer L. Flanagan, D-Leominster, filed legislation this week to end the 15-year statute of limitations after learning Rudolph A. Williams, 43, with an address listed in Leominster, won’t be prosecuted in Worcester Superior Court for rape and two counts of assault and battery.

Two months ago Mr. Williams was arraigned for a case 16 years old, revived by discovery of a DNA match. The Worcester Police Department received a grant to review old evidence, according to the Worcester District Attorney’s office. When officers got a hit, they tracked Mr. Williams to Palm Beach, Florida, and extradited him back to Worcester County.

District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. said even though he knew the January 1999 case fell outside the 15-year limit, if prosecutors could prove the man had been living out of state for any length of time in the last decade-and-a-half, the case could be “tolled,” meaning the statute clock wouldn’t run during those times.

But Mr. Williams kept his Massachusetts address all these years, Mr. Early said, still registering as a Level 1 sex offender in a separate case and paying Massachusetts taxes. When officers found Mr. Williams in Florida, Mr. Early said the suspect claimed to have been on vacation. A judge ruled prosecutors failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt Mr. Williams had lived outside the state.

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NEW YORK
The Journal News

Jane Lerner, jlerner@lohud.com July 17, 2015

The case is being closely watched in the Orthodox and Hasidic Jewish communities, which have long struggled with allegations that victims of sexual abuse are discouraged from reporting the crimes.

A New Square man recalled in excruciating detail Friday how a New Square educator instructed him to take off his pants and began molesting him on Sept. 11, 2001, when he was 8 years old.

The alleged abuse didn’t stop until he moved out of the village more than five years later, the victim, now in his 20s, said as he took the stand for a second day in the trial of Moshe Menachem Taubenfeld, 55, a family friend.

Taubenfeld, also known as Mendel Zarkowsky, is charged with second-degree course of sexual conduct against a child, a felony. He has denied the charges.

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NEW YORK
Forward

Frimet Goldberger
July 17, 2015

A man testified that he suffered years of child sexual abuse after visiting a respected member of his upstate New York Hasidic community for comfort on the day of the September 11 terror attacks.

Laiby Stern told a court that he was sexually molested for five years from 2001 until his bar mitzvah by Moshe Menachem Taubenfeld, whom he described as one of “the most powerful men” in his Skverer Hasidic-dominated Rockland County community of New Square.

Stern told a packed courtroom that Taubenfeld first molested him when the boy sought reassurance after after hearing about the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

“He called me into his office, closed the door and told me to pull my pants and underpants down,” Stern, now 22, recounted multiple times during his testimony, pausing regularly to regain his composure.

Taubenfeld then allegedly proceeded to rub the boy’s penis. “He then told me to lay flat on the desk and inserted a finger in my anus,” he told the rapt courtroom.

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ITALIA
Il Fatto Quotidiano

[On the eve of the first hearing, the former nuncio was hospitalized. The Holy See spoke of intensive care, but in reality the former archbishop Jozef Wesolowski had arrived in a daze (apparently from a mix of alcohol and drugs) and discharged after three days. As is evident in ilfattoquotidiano.it, Papa Francesco is very upset about the stop in the proceedings. And rumors abound.]

Vaticano, veleni e sospetti dietro la frenata del processo per pedofilia e pedopornografia a Wesolowski

On the eve of the first hearing, the former nuncio was hospitalized. From the Holy See spoke intensive care, but in reality the former archbishop had arrived in a daze (apparently for a mix of alcohol and drugs) and discharged after three days. As is evident in ilfattoquotidiano.it, Papa Francesco is very upset about the stop. And there are those in the corridors of St. Peter speaks of the Polish lobby as principal of referrals

Alla vigilia della prima udienza, l’ex nunzio è stato ricoverato in ospedale. Dalla Santa Sede parlavano di terapia intensiva, ma in realtà l’ex arcivescovo era arrivato in stato confusionale (pare per un mix di alcol e farmaci) e dimesso dopo tre giorni. Secondo quanto risulta a ilfattoquotidiano.it, Papa Francesco è molto irritato per lo stop. E c’è chi tra i corridoi di San Pietro parla della lobby polacca come mandante dei rinvii

di Francesco Antonio Grana | 17 luglio 2015

Il “mistero Wesolowski” si infittisce. Chi c’è dietro la brusca frenata del processo penale vaticano che vede per la prima volta un ex nunzio ed ex arcivescovo alla sbarra per pedofilia e pedopornografia? Ilfattoquotidiano.it ha raccolto tutte le indiscrezioni sulla situazione attuale di Jozef Wesolowski. L’ex nunzio è stato ricoverato al Policlinico Gemelli di Roma, il “Vaticano III” secondo la celebre espressione di Karol Wojtyla, nel pomeriggio del 10 luglio 2015, vigilia dell’apertura del processo penale in cui era imputato con ben cinque capi di accusa: detenzione di materiale pedopornografico; pedofilia, in un caso in concorso con il suo assistente ed amante, l’ex diacono Francisco Occi Reyes; ricettazione di materiale pedopornografico; lesioni gravi alle sue vittime adolescenti; condotta che offende la religione e la morale cristiana per aver visitato siti pornografici.

Al Gemelli, raccontano a ilfattoquotidiano.it, Wesolowski è arrivato in stato confusionale a seguito dell’assunzione di farmaci e alcol ed è stato tenuto in osservazione per un banale calo pressorio. Non è mai stato in terapia intensiva, come invece dichiarato dal Vaticano, né in rianimazione, né in codice rosso. Dopo appena tre giorni di ricovero, il 13 luglio 2015 l’ex nunzio avrebbe lasciato l’ospedale e sarebbe tornato in Vaticano nella stanza numero 5 del Collegio dei Penitenzieri, di fronte Casa Santa Marta, la residenza di Papa Francesco. La Santa Sede continua a smentire e a sostenere che Wesolowski sarebbe ancora ricoverato in terapia intensiva.

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MINNESOTA
Canonical Consultation

07/17/2015

Jennifer Haselberger

This week has seen another wave of disheartening reports about the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. From updated information about the number of claims filed to the addition of more than a hundred parishes as claimants to the ongoing controversy about the filing deadline, there has been much to trouble us. However, the story that I found most disturbing was the confirmed abuse of elderly and vulnerable residents at Saint Therese nursing home in New Hope.

Earlier this week the Star Tribune reported that two nursing assistants employed at Saint Therese were arrested after family members of residents used hidden cameras to uncover and report the assistants’ physical abuse of the residents. In addition to the abuse caught on camera, family members of at least two residents reported having seen numerous bruises and cuts that were ‘too numerous to ignore’. St Therese responded by firing the two nursing assistants as well nine others who the facility believes failed to report the abuse or otherwise violated the terms of the care they were to be providing.

The Star Tribune report also noted that this is the second time in less than a year that a Saint Therese facility has been investigated for alleged abuse of a resident. According to the report, in early 2014 a staff member at Saint Therese at Oxbow Lake slapped a resident who was suffering from severe dementia. And, many of you will recall that in 2009 Archdiocesan priest and military chaplain Father Tim Vakoc died following a fall he sustained while a resident of the St Therese, New Hope facility. Vakoc, who was critically injured while serving with the Army in Iraq, died when two nursing assistants caused him to fall head-first to the floor as they were transferring him from his wheelchair to his bed. A subsequent investigation by the Office of Health Facility Complaints determined that the nursing assistants were negligent in their care of Vakoc and responsible for his fall.

This type of failure to care for and protect the elderly and vulnerable is abhorrent anywhere, but it is especially disturbing when it occurs at a Catholic institution. Saint Therese has been a ministry of the Catholic Church since its establishment, with the permission of the Archdiocese, in 1964. Moreover, with the rapid expansion of Catholic facilities for the elderly, and especially the increase in the development of senior housing and nursing facilities on parish campuses, the Church must ensure that the services it is providing truly reflect its core belief in the dignity of all people.

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NEW YORK
News 12

NEW CITY – The prosecution finished presenting its case Friday in the sexual molestation trial of a prominent Rockland County rabbi.

Laiby Stern, who wants to be identified, told the judge that Rabbi Moshe Taubenfeld sexually molested him when he went for counseling after the Sept. 11. attacks. Stern, now 22, claims the abuse carried on for five years.

He told the court that the rabbi gave him $20 as hush money after each alleged assault.

Taubenfeld has been described as one of the “most powerful men” in one of the most religious communities in America.

During cross-examination, Taubenfeld’s lawyer, Gerard Damiani, tried to show that Stern was not telling the truth. He also tried to get Stern to say he was coached in his testimony by victims’ advocates. Stern denied the allegation.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune

By Manya Brachear Pashman
Chicago Tribune

The former Chicago bishop of the Orthodox Church in America who was asked to retire amid allegations of sexual misconduct two years ago has been serving as a parish priest in eastern Pennsylvania without permission from the national church.

Bishop Matthias, born David Lawrence Moriak, has been serving at the parish in Hermitage, Pa., at the request of another bishop, said a church official. He stepped down from his post as head of the Midwest diocese in April 2013 after the church deemed sexual misconduct what he described as “unwelcome written and spoken comments to a woman that she regarded as an inappropriate crossing of personal boundaries.”

“I do repent of using poor judgment, of using inappropriate words that I thought were being received as humorous,” Matthias said at the time of his ouster. “It was never my intention to cause a complaint of any harm or discomfort. In fact, I was quite concerned for her health and well-being. I am sorry that my kindness and generosity to this person was viewed with suspicion and ulterior motives.”

At the time, Metropolitan Tikhon, leader of the denomination in North America, said Matthias would not return to his leadership post in Chicago. Whether he would be allowed to serve in a ministry role during his retirement was unclear.

“The healing of the diocese and of the complainant as well as Bishop Matthias’ own healing would not be possible should he be returned to the diocese as a ruling hierarch,” the Metropolitan said in a statement at the time. “The Holy Synod offered him some time to reflect upon this action and to plan for his transition.”

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ALABAMA
The Alabama Baptist

After a warrant for his arrest was issued, former Alabama Baptist youth pastor Ryan Scott Rodgers turned himself in to the New Orleans police June 26.

Rodgers was arrested for one count of sexual battery and seven counts of indecent behavior with juveniles, reportedly having molested two teenage boys in New Orleans over the course of one year while working as a youth minister for churches in Orleans, Jefferson and Plaquemines parishes in Louisiana.

He had served as youth pastor at Liberty Park Baptist Church, Vestavia Hills, from 2003 to 2009.

Pastor Scott Guffin told The Alabama Baptist, “No allegations of criminal wrongdoing were made against Ryan Rodgers during his time at Liberty Park Baptist (LPBC).

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CHICAGO (IL)
National Catholic Reporter

Tom Gallagher | Jul. 17, 2015 NCR Today

Moody’s Investors Service affirms the Chicago archdiocese’s A1 rating on its privately placed Series 2012 and Series 2013 Unsecured Notes.

Moody’s defines an A1 rating as “obligations rated A are judged to be upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk.” A triple-A rating is the highest followed by Aa1, Aa2, Aa3, and then A1. The A1 rating is considered an investment grade rating.

The total amount of the notes still outstanding is approximately $154 million. (See the archdiocese’s most recent independent accountants’ review report by Deloitte & Touche, LLP.)

The notes are a general obligation of the archdiocese and will be paid from funds of the chancery and Catholic cemeteries, but the archdiocese can access other funds as available to meet debt service payments on the notes.

The outlook is negative is due in part to weak operations, along with uncertainty around the potential impact of priest sex abuse settlements. In many respects, this is unsurprising.

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VATICAN CITY
National Geographic

By Robert Draper
Photographs by Dave Yoder

When about 7,000 awed strangers first encounter him on the public stage, he is not yet the pope—but like a chrysalis stirring, something astounding is already present in the man. Inside Stadium Luna Park, in downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina, Roman Catholics and evangelical Christians have gathered for an ecumenical event. From the stage, a pastor calls out for the city’s archbishop to come up and say a few words. The audience reacts with surprise, because the man striding to the front had been sitting in the back all this time, for hours, like no one of any importance. Though a cardinal, he is not wearing the traditional pectoral cross around his neck, just a black clerical shirt and a blazer, looking like the simple priest he was decades ago. He is gaunt and elderly with a somber countenance, and at this moment nine years ago it is hard to imagine such an unassuming, funereal Argentine being known one day, in every corner of the world, as a figure of radiance and charisma.

He speaks—quietly at first, though with steady nerves—in his native tongue, Spanish. He has no notes. The archbishop makes no mention of the days when he regarded the evangelical movement in the dismissive way many Latin American Catholic priests do, as an escuela de samba—an unserious happening akin to rehearsals at a samba school. Instead the most powerful Argentine in the Catholic Church, which asserts that it is the only true Christian church, says that no such distinctions matter to God. “How nice,” he says, “that brothers are united, that brothers pray together. How nice to see that nobody negotiates their history on the path of faith—that we are diverse but that we want to be, and are already beginning to be, a reconciled diversity.”

Hands outstretched, his face suddenly alive, and his voice quavering with passion, he calls out to God: “Father, we are divided. Unite us!”

Those who know the archbishop are astonished, since his implacable expression has earned him nicknames like “Mona Lisa” and “Carucha” (for his bulldog-like jowls). But what will also be remembered about that day occurs immediately after he stops talking. He drops slowly to his knees, onstage—a plea for the attendees to pray for him. After a startled pause, they do so, led by an evangelical minister. The image of the archbishop kneeling among men of lesser status, a posture of supplication at once meek and awesome, will make the front pages in Argentina.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Kent and Sussex Courier

A former Uckfield teacher and lay priest who claimed he was too fat to abuse young boys has been convicted of 26 offences.

Ex-Uckfield Community College deputy headteacher Christopher Howarth stood trial on a string of sexual offences against two young boys.

One of his victims told the court how Howarth was considered a “legend” in the community and that he was initially apprehensive about going to the police, fearing no one would believe the accusations.

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IOWA
WCF Courier

By Pat Kinney

WATERLOO | A former Dubuque man who alleges he was sexually abused by a priest as fourth-grader in 1985 says the Archdiocese of Dubuque prematurely concluded its investigation of the incident in clearing the priest.

“It is clear that the archdiocese chose to make this decision before receiving all the facts,” Jeff Buchheit said in a statement released through the Waterloo law firm of Dutton, Braun, Staack & Hellman, which is representing him in his claims against the archdiocese. “Clearly, the investigator was told by the archdiocese to stop working on the matter before all of his work on the case was complete.”

Earlier this week, Dubuque Archbishop Michael Jackels said the Archdiocesan Review Board considered evidence against the Rev. Leo Riley and that church officials hired a licensed private investigator to interview Riley and Bucheit, who is now 39 and made the accusations in March.

Jackels said in a Sunday letter to parishioners that “the best information available does not support a reasonable belief that the allegation is true.”

“Unless additional evidence is presented, there is no need to pursue it any further,” Jackels said.

Riley had served as a Church of Resurrection associate pastor in 1985 and 1986. He was placed on leave as a pastor in the Diocese of Venice, Fla., after the allegations surfaced.

“Jackels’ letter to the parishioners came out only five days after my lengthy interview” by the investigator, Buchheit said.

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NEW JERSEY
Press of Atlantic City

Press staff reports

A priest ousted from the church due to sex abuse allegations years ago has found a new career as a family counselor in Vineland.

Edward Igle has been a licensed therapist since the 1980s, and now runs a practice on Landis Avenue, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Claims by two men who said Igle had abused them in the 1970s were deemed credible; one victim told the newspaper that Igle paid a $7,000 settlement. The church permanently removed him in 2000.

Igle, now 68, told the Inquirer that he never abused anyone. He also said that he never meets alone with children he counsels, and he sometimes mentions the accusations when he teaches professionals about sex abuse.

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CALIFORNIA
News 10

SACRAMENTO (AP) – California defendants accused of sexually abusing children will no longer be able to use a consent defense in civil cases.

Gov. Jerry Brown announced Thursday he signed legislation introduced after Los Angeles Unified School District avoided liability for a teacher having sex with a 14-year-old girl.

The teacher was sentenced to three years in prison in 2011 for lewd acts against a child. The district avoided having to pay the victim money in the subsequent civil case after its attorney argued the girl shared responsibility by consenting.

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CALIFORNIA
The Raw Story

BETHANIA PALMA MARKUS
16 JUL 2015

A California youth pastor has been accused of sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl after police found him in the backseat of a car with her on a highway turn out.

Yanhao “Eric” Ren, 24, of the Los Angeles County community known as Rowland Heights, was arrested Monday on suspicion of a number of sex crimes with a child, local station KTLA reports.

Ren has been a pastor for Evangelical Formosan Church of Rowland Heights for two years and has allegedly carried out a sexual relationship with the child since May, the station reports.

On Sunday just before midnight, the California Highway Patrol found him parked with the girl off of Highway 330, a low-traffic road that runs through the Angeles National Forrest, the Highland Community News reports.

According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, which lead the investigation, the Highway Patrol conducted a welfare check on the car. Both Ren and the girl told investigators they had a sexual relationship. The victim met Ren while attending youth programs at the church.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Archbishop Anthony Apuron has retained an attorney to warn an accuser to stop ruining the name of the island’s Catholic church and its leader.

“This letter serves as a demand to you to immediately cease and desist from making any further defamatory comments or publications against Archbishop Apuron’s reputation and character,” wrote Michelle R. Neal, a Sacramento, Calif., attorney whose expertise includes sexual harassment claim prevention and investigations.

“Your conduct has caused and continues to cause grave harm not only to Archbishop Apuron and the church in Guam, but also to the universal church,” Neal wrote to Toves on July 5.

The accuser, John C. Toves, a native of Guam who lives in California, said Friday he won’t stop publicly questioning Apuron because he believes he’s saving the church by calling for a change in leadership.

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MINNEOSOTA
St. Cloud Times

Bishop Donald Kettler of the Diocese of St. Cloud will have a series of listening sessions in August following allegations of sexual abuse committed by three priests of the diocese.

Four civil lawsuits allege abuse by the Revs. Robert Smith, William Wey and James Thoennes. The suits name the Diocese of St. Cloud as a defendant.

Smith and Wey have been dead for more than 25 years. Thoennes lives in St. Cloud under restrictions.

The listening sessions will be at parishes in areas of the diocese where the three men served. According to a news release from the diocese, the gatherings are “an opportunity for the bishop to acknowledge the accusations, listen and answer questions, and encourage any other abuse victims to come forward.”

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MINNESOTA
KSTP

By: Jennie Lissarrague

The Diocese of Saint Cloud will host a series of listening sessions this summer after allegations of sexual abuse against three priests of the diocese.

Four civil lawsuits claim abuse by the Revs. Robert Smith, William Wey and James Thoennes; the Diocese of St. Cloud is named as a defendant.

The sessions will be hosted in August by Bishop Donald Kettler.

The bishop says the listening sessions will be a chance for him to acknowledge the accusations, answer questions and encourage other victims to come forward. Similar sessions were held in the past after other allegations of abuse in St. Cloud. Between 2002 and 2013, about 60 listening sessions were conducted under the leadership of Bishop John Kinney, the diocese says.

According to the diocese, Smith and Wey have been dead for more than 25 years, and Thoennes is living in St. Cloud under restrictions.

Smith, who died in July 1987, served at Holy Angels Church, St. Cloud; Holy Family Church, Belle Prairie; Our Lady of Victory Church, Fergus Falls; St. Leonard Church, Pelican Rapids; St. Paul Church, Sauk Centre; chaplain, Poor Clare Sisters, Sauk Rapids; Holy Cross Church, North Prairie; and St. Stanislaus Church, Sobieski.

Wey, who died in July 1988, served at St. Mary’s Cathedral, St. Cloud; St. Donatus Church, Brooten; Immaculate Conception Church, Sedan; St. Gall Church, Tintah; Sacred Heart Church, Dent; St. Peter Church, Dumont; and St. Patrick Church, Collis.

Thoennes served at St. Anthony Church, St. Cloud; St. Mary Church, Melrose; St. Joseph Church, Waite Park; St. John Church, Foley; St. Anne Church, Kimball; Sacred Heart Church, Dent; St. Leonard Church, Pelican Rapids; St. Joseph Church, Bertha; St. Edward Church, Henning; Chaplain, St. Mary’s Villa, Pierz.

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MARYLAND
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Friday, July 17

Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, davidgclohessy@gmail.com, SNAPclohessy@aol.com)

A Catholic school teacher faces child sex abuse charges. Cardinal Donald Wuerl must step up now and aggressively seek out anyone else who may have seen, suspected or suffered his crimes.

[Washington Post]

That’s the only way to really break the long-standing, deeply-rooted and, sadly, on-going secrecy and timidity within the church about child sex abuse and cover ups. A terse, vague news release won’t do it. A tiny notice on the archdiocesan website won’t do it. Passing the buck to underlings won’t do it. Only action by the highest-ranking and highest profile Catholic official in Washington DC will do it.

That’s Cardinal Donald Wuerl. Imagine the powerful signal it would send if Wuerl would go to Connelly School of the Holy Child and beg anyone with information or suspicions about Justin Andrew Gordon to call law enforcement right away. But virtually no bishop takes this kind of effective prevention step. They prefer distancing themselves from these heinous crimes and hiding behind their public relations staff and defense lawyers while comfortably ensconced in their cozy offices.

According to the Washington Post, “Montgomery County police said they think other students might have also been abused.” We agree. That’s almost always the case with child predators.

That’s why it’s crucial that Wuerl help these two victims, their families, other victims, and the police and prosecutors by making an immediate, clear, personal appeal for other victims witnesses and whistleblowers to step forward.

Almost never does a Catholic bishop actively help police investigate and prosecutors pursue criminal cases against child molesting clerics, teachers or other church staff. Almost always, bishops make brief and self-serving public statements claiming remorse and reform about abuse. But that’s public relations. And decisive action, not public relations, protects kids.

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MINNESOTA
KARE

AP

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The creditors committee in the bankruptcy of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has asked a judge to give clergy sex abuse victims more time to file claims.

Aug. 3 is the current deadline. The committee wants that pushed back to May 25, 2016, which would align with the deadline the Legislature has set for victims to file abuse lawsuits. In a court filing, the committee notes that the bankruptcy judge has expressed concerns about the church’s efforts to publicize the deadline.

Minnesota Public Radio reports a hearing on the request is scheduled for July 30.

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TEXAS
KTXS

Author: Joe Fry, Assignment Editor/Photographer, jfry@ktxs.com
Published On: Jul 16 2015

ABILENE, Texas –
A former Abilene daycare teacher arrested for having sex with children has been indicted.

Jeffrey Winston Forrest, 43, is accused of molesting a boy while working with children in the 1990s. The specific case occurred in 1993.

Police say at least one other victim has come forward. They are asking other victims to come forward as well.

At the time of his arrest, Forrest listed an address in Aubrey, which is in Denton County.

A spokesman for Pioneer Drive Baptist Church has said Forrest worked at that church from 1990 to 1998. Forrest was an intern in the church’s Child Development Center, Pre-Teen and Recreational Ministries.

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

A priest has been found guilty of sexually abusing two boys after telling one of them he was “preparing” him for a girlfriend.

The Reverend Christopher Howarth, of Rocks Park Road, Uckfield, was found guilty of 26 offences against the boys, now aged 19 and 20.

Hove Crown Court was told the former teacher paid money to the boys in return for sexual gratification.
He admitted one count of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

The offences, including seven counts of sexual activity with a child, took place between 2004 and 2012 in the Uckfield area of East Sussex.

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MARYLAND
Bethesda Magazine

BY AARON KRAUT

Updated at 11:50 a.m. – Montgomery County police say a science teacher at a Potomac private school had inappropriate sexual contact with two students after cultivating close personal friendships with them.

Justin Andrew Gordon, 40, of Poolesville was charged Thursday with two counts of sexual abuse of a minor and two counts of fourth-degree sexual offense. He is being held on $35,000 bond.

The Connelly School of the Holy Child, an all-girls school for grades six through 12, put Gordon on administrative leave when the school learned of the allegations Friday, July 10, said Head of School Shannon Gomez.

Gomez said school officials immediately contacted the police. The school also sent an email to parents that day. Gomez said the school fired Gordon this week after conducting its own investigation in which school officials spoke with the two victims.

“The minute we found out, we contacted the proper authorities,” Gomez said. “We’ll continue to inform our community of the information that we’ve become aware of. We’re just really grateful for everybody who has had the courage to come forward to alert us. The girls’ safety is of foremost importance to us.”

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MARYLAND
ABC 2

POTOMAC, Md. (AP) – Police say a teacher at a girls’ Catholic school in Potomac has been charged with sexually abusing two teenage students.

Montgomery County police say 40-year-old Justin Gordon was arrested Thursday.

Gordon was a robotics teacher at Connelly School of the Holy Child. He also provided technical support at the school. Police say he was fired after administrators became aware of the allegations.

Police say a teenage girl came forward this week and reported that Gordon had developed a personal relationship with her over many months and then began molesting her. Police say they found that Gordon did the same thing to another girl, befriending her in 2008 before abusing her in 2012.

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MARYLAND
Montgomery Community Media

by Aline Barros

A private school teacher was charged with two counts of sexual abuse of a minor and two counts of fourth-degree sexual offense, according to Montgomery County Police.

Justin Andrew Gordon, 40, of Poolesville, was arrested on July 16. Detectives were investigating reports from two students of inappropriate sexual contact between Gordon and them that occurred in 2012 and 2015.

Gordon was a robotics teacher at Connelly School of the Holy Child in Potomac, and police said he initiated a relationship with one of the victims in October 2014. According to police, the relationship started with “with informal association at social and sporting events, then increased to daily personal communications, and by May of 2015, had escalated to inappropriate sexual touching.”

Along the investigation, police received reports from a second victim. Police said the girl was a teenager student in Connelly School of the Holy Child in 2008 when Gordon “cultivated” a friendship and by 2012 turned into a relationship with inappropriate sexual contact.

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MARYLAND
Washington Post

By Julie Zauzmer July 17

A teacher at a girls’ Catholic school in Potomac was arrested Thursday, shortly after a teenage student said that he had touched her inappropriately.

A second person told police that the teacher had also touched her when she was a student at Connelly School of the Holy Child.

Justin Andrew Gordon, 40, of Poolesville faces two charges of sexually abusing a minor and two of fourth-degree sexual offense. Montgomery County police said they think other students might have also been abused. Anyone with information about other possible victims can call police at 240-773-5400.

Shannon Gomez, head of school at the independent Catholic school, said that the teenager’s family told the school July 10 that Gordon had abused the girl. The school contacted police that day and banned Gordon from the campus.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By John Salveson
POSTED: FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2015

I’ve been struggling for months with how to personally deal with this fall’s visit by Pope Francis for the World Meeting of Families.

I would like to share in the excitement — but I am deeply conflicted.

On one hand, I am a proud Philadelphian and active member of the region’s business and civic community who thinks the visit is good for the region. It signals once again that our city is growing in prestige and recognition as a world-class community. I’m confident we will shine brightly in the eyes of the world come September.

On the other hand, I am frustrated and angry. I was sexually abused as a child by a Roman Catholic priest. For 35 years, I have worked to help bring justice to child sex-abuse victims. In doing so, I have encountered the most relentless, heartless resistance to reform from the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church. With every story I read about the World Meeting of Families, all I can think of is the breathtaking hypocrisy of it all.

I believe many of the Catholic faithful are either tired of hearing about the clergy sex-abuse crisis or simply believe it has been corrected. I empathize with them. No one is more tired of talking about it than I am. And no one wishes it was fixed more than I do. But the reality is that the sexual abuse of children by Roman Catholic clergy — and the Church’s ongoing protection of its predators — is a global, decades-long, human-rights catastrophe. Consider this statement issued last year by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child about the Roman Catholic Church:

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UNITED STATES
Religion News Service – Rhymes with Religion

A common struggle amongst Christian child advocates is how to love the church that too often fails to protect children and turns its back on abuse survivors. This has been my struggle. As I take a step back from writing for a few weeks to enjoy some time with my family, I am grateful for these powerful words from a dear friend who has given his life to child protection and who knows this struggle all too well. – Boz
_____________________________________________________________________________

As a Christian who also happens to be a child protection professional, I have a strained relationship with the church. It is a struggle borne by many who share my faith and my profession.

In my personal life, the church is my friend, the center of my world. As a baby, I was baptized in the church. As an adolescent, confirmation classes steadied me through the awkward years of puberty and pimples. When I gave my confirmation vow to die rather than abandon my faith, I uttered the words with grave seriousness. The church pronounced me married, educated my children, and comforted me through the death of loved ones. The rhythm of the church calendar marks the passing of each year and my morning and evening prayers soothe me at the outset and close of the day. Without the church, I would be lost.

In my professional life, though, the church is often my adversary. In the 26 years I have worked in the field of child protection, I have seen the church repeatedly used as an instrument of abuse. We all know of priests and pastors who have sexually abused children. What we fail to realize is that most sex offenders claim to be religious and often use the church to great advantage. When sexual abuse is found within the church, parishioners often rally around the offender and ostracize the victim. I know brave children who testified against the person who hurt them only to look out in the audience and see the courtroom filled with elders and other church members supporting the accused sex offender. Upon witnessing such a spectacle, a girl victim once asked me “does this mean that God is against me too?”

In cases of physical abuse, many Christians spout corporal punishment proverbs as if they were their life verses and pay little heed to the impact of their words. According to research from the Centers for Disease Control and Kaiser Permanente, 28% of all children are hit so hard that they receive injuries and, each year, a large number of substantiated physical abuse cases involve parents who claim they are “disciplining” their children out of Christian love. Some of these children die and those who survive often grow up to associate God with pain. Many of them will one day leave the church.

With respect to medical care, there are at least 20 sects, most of them Christian, who withhold even life-saving treatment from their children. As a result, hundreds of children have died from diabetes, meningitis, measles and numerous other preventable or treatable conditions. Consider, for example, the case of a 4 year old girl who developed a tumor behind her eye. Eventually, the tumor blinded her and grew to the size of her skull. After her death, police officers found streaks of blood on the walls in her room where her head had bumped. Rather than take the child to the doctor, her parents relied on prayer.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Sussex Express

A former Uckfield deputy principal and lay priest has been convicted of sexual offences against two boys.

Christopher Howarth, of Rocks Park Road, Uckfield, was convicted at Hove Crown Court on Friday (July 17) after a ten-day trial.

The retired 68-year-old was found guilty of 26 offences, all committed in the Uckfield area. He was found not guilty of five offences

He had previously pleaded guilty to two other sexual offences against one of the boys.

Howarth, who had been on court bail during the trial, was remanded in custody for sentencing on August 7.

Howarth was convicted of 16 offences against one of the boys, between 2005 and 2011.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Spiegel

[The number of withdrawals from the Catholic Church in Germany has risen to a record: Last year 217,716 people left the church. Thus, the previous record level was significantly exceeded in 2010 – at that time were mainly due to the abuse scandal – when 181,193 people left the church. Catholics in Germany ae now 29.5 percent of the population or nearly 24 million people. The Evangelical Church has approximately 22.5 million members.]

Die Zahl der Austritte aus der katholischen Kirche in Deutschland ist auf einen Rekordwert gestiegen: Im vergangenen Jahr traten 217.716 Menschen aus. Damit wurde das bisherige Rekordniveau von 2010 deutlich übertroffen – damals waren vor allem wegen des Missbrauchsskandals 181.193 Menschen aus der Kirche ausgetreten.

Die Katholiken machen in Deutschland jetzt noch 29,5 Prozent der Bevölkerung aus, das sind knapp 24 Millionen Menschen. Zum Vergleich: Die evangelische Kirche in Deutschland hat rund 22,5 Millionen Mitglieder, auch dort sinken die Zahlen stetig.

Neu eingetreten in die katholische Kirche sind hingegen nur 2809 Menschen über 14 Jahren. Alle Zahlen und Fakten zum Nachlesen finden Sie in dieser offiziellen Statistik.

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UNITED STATES
Friendly Atheist

July 16, 2015 by Hemant Mehta

A few months ago, the ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses on Reddit had an idea: They wanted to put up a billboard in Belton, Texas, where a couple of JW conventions were set to take place in late July/early August. They raised the money by early May and signed the contract in June.

The billboard finally went up yesterday and it’s a doozy:

Is there a child molester at your Kingdom Hall?
Would the Elders tell you if there were?
Find the answers
JWawake.com

That URL leads you to this site, describing sexual abuse cases in which the Watchtower Society had to pay out millions of dollars to victims.

These are not isolated instances. They are not just the work of one or two rogue individuals. They are not persecution by Satan or the product of unjustified attacks by opposers. They are the result of specific, documented instructions issued to congregation elders by Watchtower on how child abuse should be handled.

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NEW YORK
News 12

ROCKLAND – The alleged victim in a sexual abuse case involving a Rockland County rabbi took the stand on Thursday.

Laiby Stern, who wants to be identified, told the judge that respected Rabbi Moshe Taubenfeld sexually molested him when he went for counseling after Sept. 11. Stern, now 22, claims the abuse carried on for five years.

Taubenfeld has been described as one of the “most powerful men” in one of the most religious communities in America.

Stern’s testimony was extremely graphic at times. He told the court that the rabbi gave him $20 as hush money after each alleged assault.

Stern is expected to take the stand again Friday.

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OREGON
OregonLive

By Brenda Tracy

I was gang-raped by four men, two of them Oregon State University football players.

I can’t tell you how many times I have used this introduction when speaking publicly. At first I couldn’t say it without getting a lump in my throat and tears welling in my eyes, but today those jarring words roll off my tongue.

I was …

Gang.

Raped.

The secret and shame that I held private for so many years went public last November when Oregonian/OregonLive columnist John Canzano wrote about my ordeal and the long list of betrayals that followed. After the release of the second column, I had a decision to make. Would my legacy be defined and end with two newspaper accounts of my worst moments, or would I take my story and attempt to change my community, my state and my nation?

I chose the latter.

Sexual assault is an epidemic in the United States. One in five college women will be the victim of an attempted or completed rape. Ninety percent of these women know their attacker, and 80 percent will never report the victimization. Ninety-eight percent of all rapes are committed by men, but it’s only 10 percent of the male population committing these acts of violence and two-thirds of them are serial offenders. Campus serial rapists average six to eight victims each.

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LATIN AMERICA
The Tablet (UK)

17 July 2015 by Barto Joly de Lotbinière

Two Latin American prelates have had their resignation accepted by Pope Francis, including one accused of ignoring allegations of abuse by a priest.

Archbishop Antonio Carlos Altieri, 63, of Passo Fundo in the south of Brazil, has resigned following a Vatican-ordered investigation by Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes.

According to the Brazilian news website O Nacional, Altieri had alienated many priests for spending £120,000 on a renovation of his residence, the archdiocesan offices and the seminary. He also instituted a 10 per cent diocesan “assessment” on parish income and priests complained about him accepting seminarians who left other dioceses and religious orders.

Meanwhile Bishop Gonzalo Galvan Castillo, 64, of the Diocese of Autlan in western Mexico, stepped down last month following years of criticism that he had failed to investigate claims that one of his priests sexually abused an 11-year-old boy, according to Mexican media reports. Bishop Galvan reportedly transferred him to another parish and now the priest’s current whereabouts are unknown.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

Child sex abuse: Criminally liable institutions could be ordered to pay compensation

July 17, 2015

Jane Lee
Legal affairs, industrial relations and science correspondent

Courts could order institutions held criminally responsible for child sexual abuse to compensate victims, a report says.

The report, published on the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse’s website on Friday, said organisations should be held criminally liable for abuse perpetrated by people linked to them, because targeting only offenders did not offer victims complete justice.
The criminal justice system focused only on individual offenders, with sentences varying in different states and territories, it said. This failed to recognise organisations’ contribution to the problem.

The report also criticised the “swathes of laws to extend the custody of sex offenders and restrict their activities and movements” such as detention orders and extended supervision, saying they were aimed more at quelling public fears than at reducing crime.

“An organisation should be held criminally responsible for the creation, management and response to risk when it has materialised in harm to a child,” the report’s co-authors, criminologists Professor Arie Freiberg, Karen Gelb and Hugh Donnelly, said.

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ISRAEL
Arutz Sheva

By Tova Dvorin
First Publish: 7/10/2015

The case of the rabbi from northern Israel who has been accused by at least eight women of sexual abuse has captured the attention of the Israeli public, with the rumor mills swirling after the press has declined to publish the rabbi’s identity.

On Friday, Arutz Sheva spoke to a number of experts involved with the rabbi’s yeshiva and the case on the issue to understand the full extent of the investigation and its ramifications.

“A woman called me and asked if it was true that rabbis are allowed to do things that are forbidden according to the Shulchan Aruch,” Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, the Chief Rabbi of Tzfat (Safed) said, citing a fundamental Jewish legal text. “The answer is ‘of course not’ – and to the contrary, rabbis must be even more careful in areas of Jewish law.”

“The woman did not say who it was, but in the end we realized it was him,” he continued. “I asked Rabbi Haim Bazaq to be the mediator in a hearing in Tzfat over the issue and together we heard her witness testimony. She said other women may have been affected. We called him [the rabbi – ed.] and he admitted these things to me and to Rabbi Bazaq.”

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ISRAEL
Aretuz Sheva

By Tova Dvorin
First Publish: 7/17/2015

The Nazareth District Court shortened the detention of Rabbi Ezra Sheinberg, the rabbi from Tzfat (Safed) accused by no fewer than 10 women of sexual abuse, on Friday, moving up his release from July 23 (next Thursday) to July 21 (Tuesday).

The decision follows an appeal filed by Sheinberg’s defense attorney, Ephraim Demari, against the decision Thursday of the Magistrates Court in Kiryat Shmona to extend his detention by eight days.

Earlier Friday, one victim also came forward about her personal experiences, stating to Walla! News that the way the rabbi “took advantage of us was insane.”

“It was 13 years ago,” she recounted. “I was 25 and in a very difficult period, and I was looking for help.”

The woman, S., explained that she was not accustomed to going to rabbis for help; she hadn’t before and she has never returned to one since.

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WALES
BBC News

A report on the north Wales child abuse scandal was not published for 17 years because of concerns over libel and compensation claims, an MP has said.

Ann Clwyd told the Commons that council insurers had warned that publication of the Jillings report would encourage court cases and compensation claims.

The report found evidence of “extensive abuse” over a “substantial” number of years in north east Wales care homes.

It said that at least 12 young people died from unnatural causes.

On Thursday Ms Clwyd, the Labour MP for Cynon Valley, said that had the report been published at the time “it would have sounded alarm bells and things would have moved much faster”.

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WALES
Wales Online

16 JULY 2015
BY DAVID WILLIAMSON

The Cynon Valley MP told the Government it was ‘high time’ for changes to be made

Veteran Welsh Labour MP Ann Clwyd has called for reform to ensure that insurance companies do not impede investigations into child abuse.

The Cynon Valley MP secured a debate in which she said that reports into abuse in homes run by the former Clwyd County Council had been “prevented from publication by the council’s insurers.”

She said the council was warned by its insurers that the publication of the Cartrefle Report, the findings of an investigation by Detective Inspector Cronin in the early 1990s “could amount to a waiver of public interest immunity or privilege”.

The subsequent Jillings inquiry, commissioned in 1994, also hit roadblocks and was not able to access boxes of material handed to the police by the council.

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NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand Herald

The Anglican Church is distancing itself from a Napier priest who pleaded guilty to indecent assault charges.

John Hamilton Tovey, 64, entered guilty pleas to two charges of indecent assault in Napier District Court yesterday.

The alleged offending occurred in Napier between April last year and January 2.

The charges relate to the same alleged female victim. A third charge, for sexual violation, was withdrawn yesterday.

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AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

Preface

On Friday, 11 January 2013, the Governor-General appointed a six-member Royal Commission to inquire into how institutions with a responsibility for children have managed and responded to allegations and instances of child sexual abuse.

The Royal Commission is tasked with investigating where systems have failed to protect children, and making recommendations on how to improve laws, policies and practices to prevent and better respond to child sexual abuse in institutions.

The Royal Commission has developed a comprehensive research program to support its work and to inform its findings and recommendations. The program focuses on eight themes:

1. Why does child sexual abuse occur in institutions?
2. How can child sexual abuse in institutions be prevented?
3. How can child sexual abuse be better identified?
4. How should institutions respond when child sexual abuse has occurred?
5. How should government and statutory authorities respond?
6. What are the treatment and support needs of victims/survivors and their
families?
7. What is the history of particular institutions of interest?
8. How do we ensure the Royal Commission has a positive impact?

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AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

17 July, 2015

The Royal Commission has released a report that examines sentencing law and practice in Australia as it relates to institutional child sexual abuse.

The report was prepared by Emeritus Professor Arie Freiberg from Monash University, Hugh Donnelly from the Judicial Commission of New South Wales and Dr Karen Gelb, a consultant criminologist.

Royal Commission CEO Philip Reed said the report served to highlight the sentencing approaches that have been adopted in jurisdictions across Australia and overseas.

Mr Reed said that in addition to sentencing law and practice the report also looked at organisations themselves in the context of institutional child sexual abuse. “The study also considered the nature of organisational responsibility for institutional child sexual abuse and criminal offences that could be introduced to target institutional failures.”

“This report is the first major research report published as part of the Royal Commission’s work on criminal justice. This report provides a valuable contribution to our ongoing policy work in this area,” Mr Reed said.

“The report cautions that its intention is not to endorse a particular sentencing response but rather to highlight the approaches adopted across Australian and overseas jurisdictions,” Mr Reed said.

You can read the report via this link:

About the report

Sentencing for Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Contexts

Authors:

* Professor Arie Freiberg
* Mr Hugh Donnelly
* Dr Karen Gelb

Key findings include:

* Offenders who are convicted of offences relating to the care, supervision or authority of a victim often attract statutory aggravating factors such as breach of trust or abuse of authority and are more likely to receive longer sentences involving full-time custody.

* Long delays between committing an offence and the prosecution, conviction and sentencing of an offender are common in cases of institutional child sexual abuse. The report finds that referring to sentencing principles and practices as they existed when the offence was committed is contentious and there is uncertainty around the practicality of this approach. The report notes that sentencing guidelines in the United Kingdom take a different approach and provide a useful opportunity for comparison.

* The report considers a number of possible new offences relating to organisational criminal liability for institutional child sexual abuse, including offences of being negligently responsible for the commission of an offence, of failure to protect, of concealing crimes and of institutional child sexual abuse itself. The report argues that the individualistic orientation of criminal trials and sentencing fails to recognise organisational and institutional culpability.

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NEW JERSEY
The Record

BY JEFF GREEN
STAFF WRITER | THE RECORD

ORADELL – Men who say they were victims as children of clergy sexual abuse are protesting Bergen Catholic High School’s response to their claims against two Christian Brothers who they allege molested them in the 1960s and 1970s.

The men say the school has dragged its feet through settlement talks, now going on four months, and that officials never offered them an apology or counseling, a widely adopted practice in Catholic dioceses since the nationwide sexual abuse crisis exploded in 2002.

On Thursday, Road to Recovery, a victim’s advocacy group, raised those issues in a protest outside the high school, and one of the 19 claimants spoke publicly about how he felt newly victimized by school officials.

“I’ve been routinely brushed off by the powers that be at Bergen Catholic,” said Kobutsu Malone, 65, who started a website called bergencatholicabuse.com. “I’ve been ridiculed, my claims have been declared not viable, and all together I think these people are trying to sweep something under the rug.”

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UNITED KINGDOM/AUSTRALIA
The JC

By Manny Waks, July 16, 2015

With the onset of the independent inquiry into the historical sexual abuse of children in the UK, it is worth reflecting on the ongoing Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse currently underway in Australia.

Since the Commission’s work commenced in early 2013, it is fair to say that Australia has been shocked by what it has been exposed to.

Through case studies or public hearings, we have witnessed first-hand the very worst of our society: the sexual abuse of children and the subsequent and deliberate cover-ups of these crimes, which are often accompanied by the re-traumatisation of victims through a range of actions, including intimidating them and their families into silence.

I can emphatically say that much of its success may be attributed to the fact that it has been victim/survivor-centric, meaning that all its activities seem to be infused with consideration primarily for the interests and wellbeing of past and future victims/survivors of child sexual abuse.

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MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

Martin Moylan Jul 16, 2015

The creditors committee in the bankruptcy of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis wants clergy sex abuse victims to have until next year to file claims against the church.

At this point, August 3 is the final day for submitting claims. The committee wants that date pushed back to May 25, 2016, which would align with the deadline the state Legislature has set for victims to file abuse claims.

In a court filing, Robert Kugler, the attorney for the creditors’ committee, notes the judge overseeing the case has expressed concerns about the breadth and effectiveness of archdiocese efforts to publicize the claims-filing deadline, especially for abuse victims. Kugler wrote that dozens of parishes have provided sketchy or no notice at all of the deadline in their online church bulletins.

Kugler said a May 2016 deadline could also speed resolution of abuse claims against parishes and marshal insurance resources to fund a global settlement with abuse survivors.

Parish insurers — many of whom also insure the Archdiocese — will not enter into any universal settlement until after May 25, 2016, according to Kugler.

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GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Jul 17, 2015

By Jolene Toves

The chancellor for the Archdiocese of Agana, Father Adrian Cristobal, confirms that Archbishop Anthony Apuron has retained the services of Attorney Michelle Neal with the Employment Law Counsel in California. According to Father Adrian, “The lawyer is acting on behalf of the archbishop because of the constant harassment by [John] Toves.”

Toves, a former Guam resident, has made allegations of sexual harassment against Archbishop Apuron, however no victim came forward and the leader of the island’s Catholic faithful denies any such allegation.

According to the letter obtained by KUAM News, the archbishop is demanding that Toves “Immediately cease and desist from making any further defamatory comments or publications against Archbishop Apuron’s reputation and character.” It further states that the conduct causes grave harm not only to the archbishop, but the church as a whole. The letter goes on to state that if Toves does not comply with the demand, “The archbishop will have to pursue all legal remedies including seeking monetary damages for harm to his reputation and character, punitive damages, injunctive relief and an order that Toves pay court costs and attorney’s fees.”

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ISRAEL
Arutz Sheva

By Tova Dvorin
First Publish: 7/17/2015

The Supreme Court cleared the publication of the name of a prominent northern rabbi accused of sexual abuse overnight Thursday, revealing his identity to the press as Rabbi Ezra Sheinberg, Rosh Yeshiva (dean) of Yeshivat (Torah academy) Orot Ha’Ari in Tzfat (Safed).

Ten women have accused the rabbi of sexual abuse, up from earlier estimates of eight in Israeli media.

Since the scandal broke, Rabbi Sheinberg has been distanced from his yeshiva and from the Tzfat community for the sake of public safety.

During the hearing late Thursday, Justice Ari Shaham rejected claims that revealing the rabbi’s name would cause undue damage to his reputation and personal safety.

“I have not found that this damage…tips the balance towards preventing publication of the name,” the judge ruled. “The damage which the applicant indicates, does not differ from the risks to any person subject to criminal investigation into suspicion of serious acts.”

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VATICAN CITY
Financial Times

Rachel Sanderson and James Politi in Vatican City

Cardinal George Pell’s short tenure as the Vatican’s financial tsar has been far from serene.

In an environment known for palace intrigue, he has had to stare down fierce resistance from within the Curia, the mostly Italian Vatican bureaucracy, as he undertakes the daunting task of trying to clean up the Catholic Church’s murky finances.

Seventeen months into the job, Cardinal Pell admits to “small pockets of significant opposition” in a closed world that has long resisted reform.

“[For] people who are used to being totally autonomous, they were not used to telling people anything at all. It can be a little bit sensitive,” he explains.

Still, the 74-year-old Australian believes that the Church has turned the corner in an overhaul begun under Pope Benedict but accelerated under Pope Francis, who has made financial probity a touchpoint of his papacy.

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MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press

By Elizabeth Mohr
emohr@pioneerpress.com
POSTED: 07/16/2015

With the filing deadline weeks away, claims against the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis are flooding into bankruptcy court.

So far, more than 230 claims have been filed for a total of about $7.5 million in requested compensation — not including claims that list no dollar amount.

Some are from retailers, some from government agencies (like the IRS), a couple from clergymen and others from financing firms. More than 170 of the claims are on behalf of sexual abuse victims. And more than 25 churches had filed claims by Thursday afternoon — 14 filed Thursday alone — seeking indemnification against damages from lawsuits, with more filings by the hour.

The Aug. 3 filing deadline was established by the court in April despite objections and is being challenged once again. The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors on Thursday asked the court to consider extending the deadline by nine months.

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MARYLAND
WJLA

By Kevin Lewis, ABC 7 News
July 16, 2015

ROCKVILLE, Md. (WJLA) – A Rockville youth group leader is accused of sexually abusing a young girl he was supposed to educate about God and religion.

In February, Paolo Belarmino, 24, met a 13-year-old girl while leading youth group at River of Life Church in Rockville. The predominantly Filipino congregation is small in size, and therefore rents space from Twinbrook Community Church along Halpine Road.

Police say Belarmino used his position of power and trust to flirt with the teenager. It wasn’t long before he began picking her up from Shady Grove Middle School in Derwood following afternoon dismissal. By April, the two were officially dating, and according to court documents, routinely having sexual intercourse.

In attempt to keep their relationship hush-hush, Belarmino would take the middle schooler to secluded places like Rock Creek Regional Park where they’d engage in sexual relations, court documents state. However, in at least three separate cases, Belarmino was bolder, sneaking into the girl’s bedroom where he allegedly had sex with her.

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UGANDA
New Vision

By Jolly Tobbias Owiny & Charles Mukiibi

GULU – A pastor of a born again church in Gulu is under police custody after authorities and the Union of Born Again Churches of Gulu accused him of sexually assaulting female members of his church.

Ronny Odur was arrested on Tuesday following testimonies by victims who say he sexually assaulted them from his church and extorted money from them before praying for them.

His business card indicates that he is ‘Prophet and bishop of the Holy Power Centre Church’ located in Cereleno.

New Vision understands that investigations into the claims are under way.

Gulu District Police Commander, Martin Okoyo, said that if evidence implicating the church leader is got, Odur will be charged with rape and sexual assault.

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UNITED STATES
Charisma News

SUZANNAH GONZALES AND STEVE GORMAN/REUTERS

Cable television channel TLC is canceling its reality show “19 Kids and Counting” after the disclosure of child molestation within the Duggar family at the heart of the series, the network said on Thursday.

Since the molestation revelations surfaced, child protection advocates have charged that the conservative Christian parents who star on TLC’s top-rated show have downplayed their son Josh’s abuse of four of his sisters, including a girl who was under 10 at the time.

TLC, owned by Discovery Communications, pulled all previously aired episodes of the series in May, and at least a dozen advertisers dropped the program. But the future of the show remained in question until Thursday.

“After thoughtful consideration, TLC and the Duggar family have decided to not move forward with ’19 Kids and Counting,'” the network said in a statement. “The show will no longer appear on the air. The recent attention around the Duggars has sparked a critical and important conversation about child protection.”

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SOUTH CAROLINA
WMBF

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) –
A Columbia pastor has received additional charges following his arrest on criminal sexual conduct charges on Monday.

Walter C. Ballenger III, is now charged with two counts of second degree criminal sexual conduct on top of his third degree criminal sexual conduct charge, police said.

Columbia police received information about the possible misconduct on June 27.

Police have not said where the incident took place, if it may have happened multiple times or if more children might be involved.

Ballenger has been suspended from all ministerial duties, Grace United Methodist Church said in a statement.

“This suspension is for the protection of all parties,” the statement read.

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AUSTRALIA
Leader

Chapel off Chapel play delves into the murky world of sexual abuse and its consequences

BELINDA HUMPHRIES STONNINGTON LEADER JULY 17, 2015

RYAN Lewis was a 14-year-old student when he first encountered Doubt: A Parable as part of the syllabus at Perth’s Hale School.

Recent news reports about the Royal Commission into child sex abuse brought the play to mind at just the right time for the young executive producer, as he was given the chance to fill a sudden opening at Prahran’s Chapel Off Chapel.

“I thought what show can I do that doesn’t have a huge cast and is relevant in this day and age?” Mr Lewis said.

“Then as I was listening to the radio one day they had something about Cardinal George Pell and the (Royal Commission) inquiry and I was like, ‘Oh my God — Doubt — obviously that’s the perfect show to put on at this point in time’.

“I feel like this is such a huge topic in the news at the moment that people will be more intrigued.”

RL Productions will present Doubt: A Parable at The Loft Theatre, Chapel Off Chapel, from August 13-22.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
Wisconsin Gazette

Written by Peter Isley, Special to WiG
Thursday, 16 July 2015

Making good on their verbal threat in open court to “spend down” the remaining money left in their estate to prevent 575 victims of rape, sexual assault and abuse by clergy of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee from receiving restitution, lawyers for Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki have filed an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. They seek to overturn a U.S. 7th Circuit decisive ruling that a fraudulent “cemetery trust” created by former Archbishop Timothy Dolan, now cardinal of New York, was not “protected” by federal religious laws or the First Amendment and can be used to compensate survivors.

A few weeks ago, the archdiocese started carrying out its threat by randomly deposing and, of course, re-traumatizing victims, putting survivors through hours of questioning by church lawyers fishing for reasons to file yet more pointless briefs and run up expensive bills. So far, lawyers’ fees and court costs are soaring near $20 million dollars while Listecki has begrudgingly offered $4 million, total, for all rape victims, less than $7,000 per survivor.

In the latest filing, Listecki again legally howls the discredited excuses of “religious freedom” and “First Amendment rights.” Clearly these rights are not enshrined in our Constitution for bishops, or anyone else, to cover up sex crimes, as if child rape is no one’s business but their own.

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SOUTH CAROLINA
WYFF

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS-TV) —A Columbia pastor was arrested Monday after police received a report he touched a girl in a sexual manner.

Walter C. Ballenger III, was charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct, police said.

Columbia Police received information about the possible misconduct on June 27.

Police have not said where the incident took place, if it may have happened multiple times or if more children might be involved.

Ballenger was taken to the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center and given a $100,000 bond.

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SOUTH CAROLINA
WLTX

Tony Santaella, WLTX July 14, 2015

Columbia, SC (WLTX) – Columbia police are accusing a Columbia pastor of inappropriately touching a girl.

Walter C. Ballenger III, 59, is charged with third degree criminal sexual conduct. Officers say Ballenger is a pastor at Grace United Methodist Church on Harbison Boulevard.

According to investigators, Ballenger touched the girl in a “sexual manner.” Officers were notified about the incident on June 27, and began their investigation. Ballenger was arrested on July 13.

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AUSTRALIA
Lexology

Gadens Lawyers

Australia July 16 2015

Victoria has now abolished limitation periods within which to sue for injury arising out of child abuse.

These amendments resulted from a recommendation from the Betrayal of Trust inquiry in Victoria that the Limitations of Action Act be amended to exclude child abuse from the operation of the limitation periods under that Act. The changes commenced on 1 July 2015.

There will now be no time limit within which to sue if an action is founded on the death or personal injury of a person resulting from:

acts or omissions that is physical abuse or sexual abuse against the person when he or she was a minor; and psychological abuse that arises out of the abuse.

A court will determine what is “physical abuse”, “sexual abuse” and “psychological abuse” by reference to the ordinary meaning of those words. “Psychological abuse” has been included to avoid doubt and allows claims to be made without limitation times in relation to psychological elements of physical or sexual abuse (an example given in the explanatory memorandum is where a child is erroneously made to feel complicit in physical or sexual abuse that has occurred).

These amendments mean that an action may now be brought at any time after the date on which the act or omission alleged to have resulted in the death or personal injury occurred. This is irrespective of the date of the relevant act or omission and irrespective of whether or not the action was subject to a limitation period at any time in the past.

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MINNESOTA
KSTP

By: Brandi Powell

Many individual parishes in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis are taking action to protect themselves financially.

The claim essentially says that if someone files a lawsuit against an individual parish saying he or she was sexually abused by a priest, the archdiocese would be responsible for paying the victim if money is owed, not the individual parish.

Mary Joe Jensen-Carter, the lawyer who represents about 120 of the 187 parishes in the archdiocese, said she expects all of them to file their claims by an Aug. 3 deadline.

“Parishes have no power to hire or fire a priest,” Charles Reid, a Catholicism expert and professor at the University of St. Thomas, said. “This belongs totally in the hands of the Archbishop.”

Jensen-Carter said these individual parishes are filing these claims because the Archdiocese filed for bankruptcy, and the claims are to protect the parishes. The legal claims are essentially preemptive or precautionary, and because of that, the amount each parish is asking for is unknown.

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UNTIED STATES
Frum Follies

Rabbi Shraga Feivel Zimmerman, the community-wide rabbi of Gateshead, UK, an important ultra orthodox Jewish community, recently delivered a stinging rebuke to the community for its past handling of child sex abuse.

Rabbi Zimmerman, broke with past community patterns in testifying for the prosecution in the recent trial in Manchester of Rabbi Todros Grynhaus on child sex abuse charges. Grynhaus, who was once a rabbi in Gateshead, was convicted and sentenced to thirteen years.

Notes of Zimmerman’s weekly (7-11-15) Sabbath sermon were posted on the FaceBook page of Migdal Emunah, a British anti-abuse organization. (See image of full sermon below.) Rabbi Zimmerman’s rebuke included these words (emphasis added):

This week a judge passed sentence over a frum looking individual and sent him to jail for over 13 years for molesting children. … How did our society allow such a person to be in contact with children for so many years? How was such an individual allowed to coast from institution to institution despite his known background? His behaviour wasn’t a secret?!

Was he allowed to continue in his job because he came from a respected family? …

Reb Moshe Sternbuch said …”he’s more sick than wicked”. Yet that doesn’t vindicate the silence of the community and that is why we ask, “How were our children left for hefker” (abandoned)

We have to wonder, how it is that there are those who err so much to provide unlimited support to child molesters and won’t instead help the victims. How is it that there are unlimited funds to aid the perpetrator and yet the victims struggle to get help for expensive therapy?

Not only that, but the victims suffer twice as the offender tries to bully them into silence. How have we stood by and watched this double whammy? These are broken souls which have been hit twice.

You should know that if a Rov is attacked in such a way, it may hurt him and his family, it may harm a community, but a Rov is a healthy individual living with a lot of self-confidence, yet these children are broken people. How has it been okay for us to ignore their plight? Is this the behaviour of people who are supposed to beרחמנים ביישנים וגומלי חסדים (merciful, modest and kind)?

This is a question directed to the public; to the whole community – how is it that we have neglected, how is it that we have kept quiet for something that has been known for so long?

It is most probably because we have no idea what damage is done when children are abused. We have to educate ourselves to understand the pain of these children. The abuse that they have suffered gnaws at them from every direction. Many times these children harm themselves or take their own lives. It can affect their mental state or their married lives even after many years. And of course it affects their spiritual lives too, especially if the molester is in the guise of a frum (ritually observant) person.

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MAINE
ABC News

PORTLAND, Maine — Jul 16, 2015

By DAVID SHARP Associated Press

An orphan who grew up on the streets of Haiti, Daniel Madrigal said he was grateful to find food, clean clothes and shelter at St. Joseph’s Home for Boys in Port-au-Prince. But he says the orphanage founder who took in street kids also sexually abused him.

Daniel Madrigal on Thursday described his arrival as a teenager at the orphanage as “the most beautiful day of my life,” but said he was later kicked out after rejecting the founder’s sexual advances.

His testimony, and that of other former orphans, is key in a defamation lawsuit filed by orphanage founder Michael Geilenfeld and a U.S. charity, Hearts with Haiti. They sued a Maine man who advocates for child sexual abuse victims and sought to publicize the molestation allegations against Geilenfeld through a campaign starting late in 2011. Geilenfeld has denied sexually abusing children.

The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they were sexually assaulted, but Madrigal has consented to being identified, saying he wanted to tell his story.

The federal jury’s decision could come down to whether they believe Madrigal and six other accusers, five of whom are testifying via videotape.

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CANADA
CBC News

A former Winnipeg priest has been formally defrocked from the Catholic Church after he plead guilty to sex assault earlier this week.

Ronald Léger, the former head of Holy Family Parish and founder of Teen Stop Jeunesse, pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual interference on July 13.

On Thursday, the Archdiocese of St. Boniface stripped Ronald Léger of his rights to represent the ministry.

“You are definitively no longer authorized to exercise a public ministry in our Archdiocese of Saint Boniface,” Albert LeGatt, the Archbishop of St. Boniface, said in a release.

The charges brought against the 77-year-old relate back to a series of incidents that occurred between 1984 and 2004. The interference charge was leveled against Léger because one of the victims was under the age of 16.

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MAINE
Bangor Daily News

By Darren Fishell, BDN Staff

Posted July 16, 2015

PORTLAND, Maine — Former Catholic brother Michael Geilenfeld was cleared of sex abuse allegations in a controversial trial in Haiti. But those allegations resurfaced Thursday during Geilenfeld’s defamation lawsuit in federal court against Paul Kendrick, a Freeport resident who continued publicly to accuse Geilenfeld of sexually abusing minors after the trial in Haiti.

As the defamation trial neared the end of its second week in federal court in Portland, Kendrick’s attorney on Thursday introduced testimony from men in Haiti who allege that Geilenfeld abused them.

Geilenfeld, 63, and his nonprofit Hearts with Haiti in 2013 filed a lawsuit against Kendrick, 65, an advocate for victims of clergy sexual abuse, alleging that Kendrick waged a “campaign of vicious, unrelenting and merciless attacks” that damaged his reputation. …

Daniel Madrigal, who now lives in Massachusetts, took the stand first, testifying in person that he eventually arrived at St. Joseph’s after a government crisis in 1994 led to the dissolution of the orphanage where he spent his early years.

“I slept in the street then,” Madrigal said.

He said he went to St. Joseph’s on the recommendation of a government social worker, where he received clean clothes, a place to stay and work in the kitchen. He said he was told he would start school the next year.

Madrigal claimed he was assaulted one day after Geilenfeld had given him a portable cassette player with two cassettes by Phil Collins and Bryan Adams.

“He touched my pants and said, ‘you’re cute,’” Madrigal said. “I didn’t speak English at that time.”

He claimed Geilenfeld later attempted to sexually assault him.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

Dozens of safeguarding records from Northern Ireland have been destroyed, the Home Office said.

A total of 64 files on people seeking work with the vulnerable or children were scrapped between 2010 and 2013 because of data protection legislation – breaking an understanding with the departments of health and education in Belfast that the information be preserved, according to minister Karen Bradley.

Some material in a further 18 documents was destroyed and another two lost.

In all cases where files were disposed of, the Stormont authorities had already made decisions whether to bar individuals from jobs where they might pose a risk to the vulnerable. Only two people had been prohibited.

The UK’s Independent Inquiry Into Child Sexual Abuse and the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry in Northern Ireland have been informed of the breaches, the Home Office said.

Ms Bradley said: “While it is extremely regrettable that these files have been destroyed I can, however, assure the House (of Commons) that the disposal of this information does not present a safeguarding risk to the public.”

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WEST VIRGINIA
Charleston Daily Mail

by Tyler Bell, Police Reporter

The West Virginia Supreme Court concurred unanimously last Tuesday to support a writ of prohibition submitted by the counsel of children being required to foot half the bill for their rapist’s legal expenses in Berkeley County.

The 13-page decision filed by the state’s highest court suggests Judge Gray Silver III, of the Berkeley County Circuit Court, was entirely erroneous in his decision to force the 12 children and 11 parents to foot the legal bills for convicted rapist Christopher Michael Jensen, 23.

“The majority’s conclusion that the circuit court ‘inequitably’ required the plaintiffs to pay the guardian ad litem fees incurred in defense of their accused molester may be one of the more remarkable understatements offered by this Court,” Justice Allen Loughry II and Chief Justice Margaret Workman wrote in a concurring opinion.

“I cannot fathom how the circuit court justified requiring the plaintiffs to contribute to their alleged, and for some, convicted, molester’s defense,” the justices continued. “There is no question that the apportionment of fees was error. Moreover, this error was heavily exacerbated by the circuit court’s abject failure to define the proper scope of the guardian ad litem’s duties.”

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) The Vatican’s final Financial Statements for 2014 showed a deficit on the part of the Holy See, but entities falling under the separate Vatican City State budget performed well.

In the Statements released in the Vatican on Wednesday emphasized that 2014 was a year of transition to the new Financial Management policies.

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Service

By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Under new reporting procedures that are more in line with international accounting standards, the Holy See reported $1 billion in net assets that had never been reported before and in a consolidated form.

The Vatican’s final figures for 2014 also showed a continued budget deficit on the part of the Roman Curia and nearly double the profits brought in by entities falling under the separate Vatican City State budget.

In fact, the profits coming from the Vatican Museums, “cultural activities” and investments offset the deficit in the consolidated budgets of the Roman Curia and Vatican communications outlets to help the Vatican end the year 37.9 million euros ($41.3 million) in the black.

The Council for the Economy presented the financial statements July 14, and they were published July 16. The statements were prepared by the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See, the Vatican’s budget management office. The statements were “reviewed and verified” by the Secretariat for the Economy, headed by Australian Cardinal George Pell, as well as by a brand new auditing committee of lay experts and an external auditor.

The 2014 budget reports were the first financial statements to follow sweeping new procedures begun under new rules that went into effect March 1, governing the guidance, oversight and control of Vatican financial and administrative activities, and codifying the mission of the council and secretariat for the economy.

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VATICAN CITY
Wall Street Journal

By FRANCIS X. ROCCA
Updated July 16, 2015

VATICAN CITY—The Vatican released a summary of its 2014 financial statements on Thursday, reporting more than €1 billion in previously off-the-books assets and showing improved returns on investments over 2013.

Cardinal George Pell, who as prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy serves as the pope’s finance chief, said that the statements give the most accurate picture to date of the financial situation in the Vatican’s two main entities: the Holy See, which is the central administration of the world-wide Roman Catholic Church; and the government of Vatican City State, the 108-acre sovereign territory where the pope resides.

The cardinal said that the statements provide a realistic basis for pursuing the continuing financial reforms that Pope Francis has made a major goal of his pontificate.

As part of what the Vatican called a “journey of transition to new policies,” the 2014 statements are supposed to offer a more complete picture of assets and liabilities, verified by external auditors. The Vatican adopted international accounting standards in 2014, and those standards will be used to prepare the statements for 2015.

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VATICAN CITY
Bloomberg

by Lorenzo Totaro
July 16, 2015

The Holy See, the Vatican’s central administration, posted a deficit of 25.6 million euros ($27.9 million) last year as the cost of staff more than offset the increase in the value of assets.

Last year’s shortfall follows a 24.5 million-euro deficit in 2013, the Holy See said Thursday in a statement. It added that making comparisons with the previous year is “difficult” due to the inclusion of “a number of closing entries” as part of a transition to a new accounting standard.

“The budgets indicate the deficits experienced in recent years are likely to continue in 2015,” the statement also said, adding the Holy See’s budget includes costs for total staffing of 2,880 in 64 “entities.”

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VATICAN CITY
The Australian

TESS LIVINGSTONE THE AUSTRALIAN JULY 17, 2015

Vatican financial chief George Pell last night put his colleagues in the Holy See on notice — the Holy See’s deficit needs to be ­addressed.

The Vatican released its most comprehensive and transparent balance sheet and the ­financial picture is mixed.

The Vatican deficit fell from €37.2 million ($54.7m) in 2013 to €25.6m last year. The 30 per cent improvement was mainly due to currency fluctuations that boosted returns on investments.

“But we can’t continue like this for too much longer,’’ Cardinal Pell said in Rome last night.

No staff would be made ­redundant, the Australian said, but reorganisation of investments, staff development and economies would be needed.

A working group has been set up to identify changes to ­improve investment returns.

“We’ve also got to make our investments work harder,’’ Dr Pell said.

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VATICAN CITY
Toronto Sun

PHILIP PULLELLA, REUTERS

FIRST POSTED: THURSDAY, JULY 16, 2015

VATICAN CITY – Vatican departments had more than a billion euros that were not declared on an overall balance sheet before new accounting standards kicked in last year, a financial statement showed on Thursday.

The man appointed to clean up Vatican finances said last December that departments had “tucked away” millions of euros and followed “long-established patterns” in jealously managing their affairs without reporting to any central accounting office.

Thursday’s statement showed that such funds totalled about 1.1 billion euros ($1.2 billion), the first time the Vatican has quantified the unreported funds discovered after Cardinal George Pell took up the newly created post of economy minister.

Pope Francis picked Pell, an outsider from the English-speaking world, to oversee the Vatican’s often muddled finances after decades of control by Italians.

Pell did not suggest any wrongdoing but said the departments had long had “an almost free hand” with their finances. The Vatican said at the time that Pell was not referring to any “illegal, illicit or badly administered funds”.

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