ABUSE TRACKER

VATICAN CITY
Religion News Service

Rosie Scammell | July 16, 2015

VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican had more than $1.2 billion (1.1 billion euro) in assets before an accounting cleanup last year, the Holy See said Thursday (July 16) in announcing its financial statements for 2014.

Inclusion of the previously unreported funds saw the Vatican’s overall assets increase by just over $1 billion (939 million euro), in what the Holy See described as a “year of transition” in the management of its finances.

Since becoming pontiff in 2013, Pope Francis has brought in large-scale reform of the Vatican’s murky finances and pushed for greater transparency. The publicly released financial statements are “the first important steps” in the financial overhaul, led by Australian Cardinal George Pell, the Vatican said.

Overall, the Vatican had a deficit of $27.9 million (25.6 million euro) in 2014, higher than the $26.6 million (24.4 million euro) deficit reported the previous year.

But Vatican finances are improving to a much greater degree than at first glance, as the latter figure would have been $40.5 million (37.2 million euro) if the new accounting standards had been applied in 2013. The positive change was put down to “favorable movements” in the Holy See’s investment portfolio.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Star

Thursday 16 July 2015

A former South Yorkshire priest kept more than £24,000 that was paid for from weddings and funerals a court heard.

Simon Reynolds, aged 50, of Upper Church Lane, Farnham, Surrey, is accused of pocketing fees handed over to him by bereaved families and engaged couples when he was priest-in-charge of All Saints Church in Darton, near Barnsley.

Reynolds is alleged to have stolen £9,754 meant for Darton All Saints Parochial Parish Council and £14,604 which should have gone to Wakefield Diocesan Board of Finance.

The accused appeared at Sheffield Crown Court yesterday to deny four counts of theft relating to his stint as priest from March 2007 to March 2013.

The jury was told that Reynolds had a responsibility to hand over fees worth £24,000 but didn’t.

The prosecutor explained how suspicions about Reynolds began after he left Darton, in March 2013, to take up a new post at a church in Surrey.

A church warden thought it was ‘irregular’ that a fees cheque from a stonemason relating to a church yard monument was made out personally to the former vicar.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Sussex Express

Thursday 16 July 2015

The trial of former Uckfield deputy principal and lay priest Christopher Howarth is still ongoing.

The 67-year-old’s trial, over alleged sexual offences against two boys, began at Hove Crown Court on Monday, July 6.

The jury retired on Wednesday afternoon (July 15) and have been sent home this evening (Thursday, July 16) after a whole day of deliberations. The case will resume again at 10am tomorrow morning (Friday, July 16).

Mr Howarth, of Rocks Park Road, Uckfield, is charged with inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, five counts of sexual activity with a child, three of sexual assault on a child under 13, one of assault on a child under 13 by penetration and one of taking indecent photographs of a child.

There are further charges relating to another boy which include two of sexual activity with a child, two of sexual assault of a child under 13 and two of causing a child to watch a sexual act.

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UNITED STATES
skipshea

Posted on July 16, 2015 by skipshea

Scrolling through my various social media sites I see all sorts of positive posts from my lefty friends praising Pope Francis for his harsh words against capitalism. In an article by by Philip Pullella and Daniela Desantis written on July 11th they said Francis called on world leaders “to shun policies that “sacrifice human lives on the altar of money and profit.”

He left out the part about making profits the Vatican way. In a report on the Holy Fiscal Year of 2014 the profits of the Vatican soared to 76 million dollars. More than twenty times to the previous year.

A New York Times article written by Gaia Pianigiani on May 25th states, “Jean-Baptiste de Franssu, the bank’s president, said that its long-term strategic plan prioritized the interests of more than 15,000 clients while trying to provide adequate return during a period of ultralow interest rates in Europe.

“The main focus is on fundamentally improving our overall client service standards and further professionalizing our asset management services,” Mr. de Franssu said in a statement.”

So I guess this isn’t the type of unbridled capitalism Pope Francis is complaining about. That’s a different kind.

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VATICAN CITY
ABC News

VATICAN CITY — Jul 16, 2015

Associated Press

The Vatican’s cultural activities, in particular its museums, helped boost profits by nearly double at the Vatican city-state last year, while the budget to run the Roman Curia continued to show a deficit, according to final budget figures released Thursday.

The Vatican city-state, which includes the post office, museums and other activities, saw its surplus surge to 63.5 million euros ($69 million) last year from 33 million euros a year earlier. The Vatican said investments also played a role.

Meanwhile, the Holy See, which governs the universal church, reported a 5 percent increase in its deficit to 25.6 million euros ($28 million), up from 24.5 million euros a year earlier, as the Holy See transitioned to international accounting standards.

Had the same standards been used in 2013, the Vatican said the deficit in 2014 would have been reduced by nearly half over the period, from 37 million euros in 2013.

Net assets rose by 939 million euros, as the Vatican brought on to the balance sheets 1.1 billion euros of previously unreported assets and 222 million euros of previously unreported liabilities. That wider accounting is part of Cardinal George Pell’s efforts to get a clear handle on all of the Vatican’s and liabilities since being named to head the new economic secretariat.

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PENNSYLVANIA/NEW JERSEY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, July 16

Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 503 0003, bdorris@SNAPnetwork.org)

A suspended, twice-accused predator priest is now a therapist. Shame on Catholic officials in Camden and Philadelphia for doing almost nothing to protect kids from him and warn parents about him.

[Philadelphia Inquirer]

Despite decades of devastation to families and repeated church pledges to reform, bishops continue, at best, doing the absolute bare minimum in clergy sex abuse and cover up cases.

They protect their careers and reputations by suspending predator priests. But they refuse to protect the public by warning them about predator priests.

We see this all the time. Two quick examples:

—Last week, it was revealed that a credibly accused Oblate priest, Fr. Michael Charland, is now a therapist in the Twin Cities.

(He also worked in Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Texas, Mississippi and Canada.)

[Anderson Advocates]

—A Catholic school teacher, Tom Hodgman, is a professor today at Adrian College in Michigan, despite admitting that he molested two girls and is accused of molesting at least one more. (His former employer, a Catholic high school, had to pay $1.6 million to Joelle Casteix who was repeatedly sexually violated by Hodgman when she was a youngster.)

[BIshopAccountability.org]

Camden church officials did and are doing very little to protect kids from Fr. Igle. And what little they did, they did late and under duress. Notice the timeline:

–In 2000, Catholic officials suspended Fr. Igle from active ministry over an allegation of sex abuse.

–Catholic officials kept this move secret from law enforcement for two years.

–Not until 2011 did they tell New Jersey regulators about two abuse reports against Fr. Igle, both

of which, church officials admit, are credible.

–And allegedly they ever told Fr. Igle about a second allegation or that the first allegation was deemed credible.

The Inquirer story raised a troubling questions: “Where have the accused priests gone? And who bear

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MINNESOTA
Daily Journal

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
July 16, 2015

MINNEAPOLIS — Dozens of parishes in the Twin Cities want the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to pay their costs for settling clergy abuse claims.

About 120 parishes want the archdiocese to reimburse them for paying too much into church insurance plans. They also want compensation for costs to resolve sex abuse claims against priests the archdiocese assigned to parishes.

Creditors are required to file their claims against the archdiocese by Aug. 3 in the bankruptcy case. Minnesota Public Radio News (http://bit.ly/1gDlfUR ) reports the parish filings have not place a monetary value on claims. More than 160 people alleging sex abuse by clergy members have filed claims against the archdiocese.

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IRELAND
The Tablet (UK)

16 July 2015 by Sarah Mac Donald

The Archdiocese of Dublin has announced it is to review a major new fund-raising initiative amid concerns over the targeting of some parishioners and excessive demands for donations.

The “Living the Joy of the Gospel” initiative, which American fundraising firm CCS is helping to operate, has been piloted in four Dublin parishes, with parishioners asked to contribute as much as €1,000 (£700) per year for five years.

The aim of the campaign is to fund the cost of parish pastoral workers and catechists to offset the decline in priest numbers, as well as to form and support serving priests and promote vocations. CCS has worked with the Archdioceses of Armagh and Westminster on similar fundraising campaigns.

According to Fr Andrew O’Sullivan, Episcopal Vicar for Financial Development, the fundraising campaign has been “focused on three pillars; strengthening parishes, building strong pastoral teams and ensuring support for clergy in active ministry”.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, July 2015 (VIS) – At the Council for the Economy meeting on 14 July 2015, Cardinal Pell and the staff from the Secretariat for the Economy presented the Consolidated Statements for the Holy See and the Financial Statements for the Governorate. The Statements had been prepared by the Prefecture for Economic Affairs and reviewed and verified by the Secretariat, the Audit Committee of the Council and the External Auditor.

It was noted that 2014 was a year of transition to new Financial Management policies based on International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). The former accounting principles and consolidation perimeter (comprising 64 Holy See entities) were used in preparation of the 2014 Statements. Managers were however asked to ensure they had included all assets and liabilities and provide appropriate certification as to completeness and accuracy. Working with the external auditor, third party confirmation of balances were requested so that, consistent with sound audit practice, amounts could be independently verified. To include all assets and liabilities in the accounts at year end and to prepare for the new policies, a number of closing entries were included which make direct comparison with 2013 figures difficult. Where appropriate relevant points of comparison were provided to the Council.

The journey of transition to new policies is progressing well and the Secretariat was pleased to report high levels of interest and cooperation in the entities. The 2014 Financial Statements reflect an enormous amount of work by staff in many Holy See entities, particularly in the Prefecture for Economic Affairs and the Secretariat for the Economy and Council members expressed their gratitude for the rigorous and professional work and the strong commitment to implementing the financial reforms approved by the Holy Father.

The Financial Statements for the Holy See for 2014 indicate a deficit of 25,621k Euro which is similar to the deficit of 24.471k Euro reported in the 2013 Statements. Had the same accounting treatment applied in 2014 been applied in 2013, the 2013 deficit would have been reported as 37,209k Euro. The improvement in 2014 was largely due to favourable movements in investments held by the Holy See. The main sources of income in 2014, in addition to investments, include the contributions made pursuant to canon 1271 of the Code of Canon Law (21m Euro) and the contribution from Institute of Works of Religion (50m Euro).

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IRELAND
Irish Mirror

BY JAMES WARD

Mary Collins’ mother Angela was “snatched from the side of the road” and spent 27 years in a hellhole institution where she tragically died

A woman whose mother was buried in a mass grave after spending 27 years in a hellhole Magdalene Laundry last night begged for her body to be returned.

Mary Collins has told how her family was torn apart when the Traveller was “snatched from the side of the road” and thrown into the hated institution.

The 54-year-old said at St Vincent’s home in Cork her mum Angela was forced to give up her youngest child in an illegal adoption and was denied vital medical treatment, which eventually led to her death.

Mary, who lives in London, believes the grave is filled with Traveller women subjected to the same inhumane treatment.

She told the Irish Mirror: “She was put into a mass grave with 72 other women in Cork and that is where she lays.

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AUSTRALIA
Daily Mail

Female Jewish principal who fled to Israel after being accused of child sex abuse claims she is ‘psychotic and stressed’ as she fights extradition to Melbourne

By Emily Crane and Sarah Dean for Daily Mail Australia

A former principal of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish school in Melbourne who was accused of molesting students has claimed through her lawyer she is psychotic as she fights her extradition from Israel.

Malka Leifer fled to Israel after she was accused of sexually abusing students at Adass Israel School in Melbourne when she was principal in 2008.

Victoria Police are working to force Ms Leifer to be extradited back to Australia where she could face dozens of criminal charges, the ABC reports.

But Ms Leifer, who was placed under house arrest after she was arrested in Israel in August, now claims she is psychotic and unfit to face court.

She was expected to appear at Jerusalem District Court on Wednesday but didn’t attend because of ill health, according to lawyers.

Her lawyer Yehuda Fried successfully argued for her case to be delayed claiming she is suffering from ‘psychosis and stress’.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

Wayne O’Connor
PUBLISHED
16/07/2015

Survivors of Mother and Baby Homes believe that the government is intentionally slowing an inquiry into the scandal with a policy of “deny until they die”.

A commission of investigation was established to investigate 14 Mother and Baby Homes nationwide and a sample of county homes.

However, chairperson of the Coalition of Mother and Baby Home Survivors Paul Redmond said that too many people are being excluded from the investigation.

“We feel that the government are stalling every inch of the way in the hope that elderly survivors will die off,” said Mr Redmond.

That sounds very cynical, but most of us are cynical,” he added.

A number of groups representing survivors of the Magdalene laundries and several homes protested outside the Dáil yesterday and called on the government to expand its inquiry.

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MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

Martin Moylan Jul 15, 2015

Twin Cities parishes want the bankrupt Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to cover their costs in settling clergy sex abuse claims.

Some 120 parishes are filing creditor claims against the archdiocese.

The parishes want the archdiocese to reimburse the over-payments they made to church insurance plans. They also are seeking compensation for costs related to resolving sex-abuse claims against clergy the archdiocese assigned to parishes.

All creditors are required to file claims by Aug. 3 in the bankruptcy proceedings to protect their interests, said attorney Mary Jo Jensen-Carter, who represents the parishes.

“To the extent that the parishes have been subjected to clergy-abuse, claims … we’re also seeking indemnification and contributions from the archdiocese for the damage the parishes have suffered, or may suffer,” Jensen-Carter said.

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WATIKAN
wprost

[Jozef Wesolowski left the hospital and returned to Vatican City but the legal process so far is postponed.]

Józef Wesołowski, były nuncjusz na Dominikanie, wrócił do Watykanu. Arcybiskup od ostatniego piątku przebywał na szpitalnym oddziale intensywnej terapii.

Według BBC, Wesołowski czuje się już lepiej i nie było potrzeby, by przebywał na intensywnej terapii. Teraz został przewieziony do szpitala w Watykanie.

Wesołowski trafił do szpitala dzień przed otwarciem jego procesu przed watykańskim trybunałem. Ponieważ duchowny nie pojawił się na miejscu, proces otwarto w sobotę, a następnie bezterminowo odroczono.

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NEW YORK
Democrat and Chronicle

Tina MacIntyre-Yee, Public safety reporter

July 15, 2015

A former city man accused of sexual abuse of two teens who appeared in Monroe County Court Wednesday was taken into custody after new charges out of Kentucky, similar in nature, came to light.

Roy Battle, 26, of Studio City, California, was charged with 10 counts of first-degree sex abuse, a felony, and was held without bail when Judge Christopher Ciaccio learned of the Kentucky warrant for Battle’s arrest, as well as the indictment against Battle.

Because the indictment is sealed, no one knows yet what the exact charge is, but it could drastically change the complexity of the case, said Brian DeCarolis, Battle’s lawyer.

Battle is accused of having inappropriate sexual contact with two male teens at his former Glendale Park apartment starting in February 2009, said Kyle Rossi, Monroe County Assistant District Attorney. The teens had met Battle through a church where he volunteered, he said.

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NEW YORK
TWC News

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Roy Battle, a former Rochester church group leader accused of having inappropriate sexual contact with two teenagers, appeared Wednesday morning in a Monroe County courtroom.

Battle, 36, was originally indicted on 10 counts of sex abuse. He was indicted on June 18 in Kentucky on four counts of unlawful transaction with a minor for allegedly having sexual activity with a minor less than 16 years of age between Aug. 2009 and Feb. 2011.

Police say Battle was a church youth group leader in Rochester between 2005 and 2012 before moving to California.

Investigators said they started looking into Battle in 2014 and since then, several people have come forward saying they were subjected to sexual contact with Battle through his work at church.

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AUSTRALIA
Pro Bono

Thursday, July 16, 2015

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is about to release its recommendations around a national redress scheme but has warned that the solutions are not as simple as just paying out dollars.

The Chair of the Royal Commission Justice McClellan foreshadowed the redress recommendations and outlined the complexity of the issues at the Uniting Church in Australia’s 14th Assembly meeting, held at the University of Western Australia.

“Our terms of reference require us to consider justice for survivors,” Justice McClellan said.

“There are three avenues through which justice can be provided. The first two are the civil and criminal justice systems. However, legal proceedings often present insurmountable challenges, both financial and emotional, to survivors. There can be no doubt that for many people their only opportunity for justice will be through an effective redress scheme.

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MINNESOTA
Canonical Consultation

07/15/2015

Jennifer Haselberger

Yesterday, MPR reported that the first hearing in the criminal case against the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis had been postponed. The hearing, which was originally scheduled for this Friday, has now been rescheduled for August 25.

No reason was given for the delay, and so many will likely feel frustrated that the case will apparently drag on. However, the postponement could be a good thing, if in the intervening time the Archdiocese is able to reach some sort of agreement with prosecutors. In my opinion, an ideal solution may be for the Archdiocese to agree to the relief sought in the civil petition in exchange for a lessening of the charges in the criminal case.

I realize that for many, this would not be an acceptable option. I know that many of you would like to see the Archdiocese taken to task for its myriad failures in relation to Curtis Wehmeyer. But, it may prove in the best interests of the public and the victims for some sort of accommodation to be reached without a lengthy and potentially expensive trial.

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CALIFORNIA
KTLA

A 24-year-old youth leader at a Rowland Heights church was arrested on suspicion of a number of alleged sex crimes against a teenage girl, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department announced Wednesday.

Yanhao Ren, also known as Eric Ren was taken into custody on Monday, one day after California Highway Patrol officers found him in the back of a vehicle parked in a turn-out of Highway 330 with the 13-year-old victim, according to a San Bernardino sheriff’s news release.

Both Ren and the victim allegedly told the detectives that they had engaged in a sexual relationship since this past May, the release stated.

Ren faced a number of charges, including sex crimes with a child under 14, sodomy with a child under 14, oral copulation with a child under 14, penetration with a foreign object with a child, and kidnapping, sheriff’s officials said in the release.

The suspect has been a youth leader for Evangelical Formosan Church of Rowland Heights for the past two years, and investigators said he met the victim through the church’s youth programs, the release stated.

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CALIFORNIA
Highland Community News

With the cooperative efforts of personnel from California Highway Patrol’s Lake Arrowhead Office, and San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Twin Peaks Station, Sheriff’s detectives from the Crimes Against Children Detail arrested 24-year-old Eric Ren of Fullerton on Monday, July 13, 2015 for engaging in a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old girl.

On Sunday, July 12, 2015, just before midnight, CHP officers conducted a welfare check on the occupants of a vehicle parked in a turn-out of Highway 330, near Fredalba Road (in San Bernardino County). Ren was found in the back of the vehicle with the victim. The victim and Ren told detectives that they began a sexual relationship in May of 2015. Investigators have determined that during the following months they engaged in several sexual acts in the counties of Orange, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino.

Ren was booked at Central Detention Center and was being held on on $500,000 bail.

Ren is a youth leader for Evangelical Formosan Church of Rowland Heights for the past two years, and has attended the church since 2006. The victim met Ren while attending the youth programs of the church.

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CALIFORNIA
Press-Enterprise

BY RICHARD BROOKS / STAFF WRITER
Published: July 15, 2015

RUNNING SPRINGS: Church youth leader arrested in underage sex case

A 27-year-old Orange County church youth leader was arrested in an underage sex case involving a 13-year-old girl, say San Bernardino County sheriff’s officials.

Fullerton resident Yanho Ren — who goes by Eric Ren — and the girl were in the back of a vehicle parked along a turnout off Highway 330 near Fredalba Road near Running Springs at 11:55 p.m. Sunday, July 12, when California Highway Patrol officers stopped to check on them, sheriff’s officials said in a written statement.

“The victim and Ren told detectives that they began a sexual relationship in May of 2015,” according to the statement. “Investigators have determined that … they engaged in several sexual acts in the counties of Orange, Los Angeles and San Bernardino.”

For the past two years, Ren has been a youth leader for Evangelical Formosan Church in Rowland Heights and has attended the church since 2006, sheriff’s officials say.

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CALIFORNIA
CBS Los Angeles

SAN BERNARDINO (CBSLA.com) — A Rowland Heights church youth leader remained in custody on Wednesday for allegedly engaging in a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old girl.

Just before midnight on Sunday, California Highway Patrol officers conducted a welfare check on the occupants of a vehicle that was parked in a turn-out of Highway 330 near Fredalba Road in San Bernardino County.

Police located Yanho “Eric” Ren, 24, of Fullerton, in the back of the vehicle with a 13-year-old female who lived in Rowland Heights.

According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, Ren and the girl told detectives they began a sexual relationship in May.

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CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles Times

By JOSEPH SERNA

A youth pastor in San Bernardino has been arrested after he was caught in the back of a car with a 13-year-old girl, authorities said Wednesday.

Sheriff’s officials said they found 24-year-old Yanhao Ren, who goes by Eric, in the back seat of the car with the Rowland Heights girl just before midnight Sunday. The car was parked off California 330.

Authorities were doing a welfare check on the vehicle when they made the discovery.

The girl and Ren told authorities that they had begun a sexual relationship in May, and detectives learned Ren and the girl had met in Orange, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties since then.

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AUSTRALIA
Daily Examiner

Hamish Broome | 16th Jul 2015

THE Anglican Deacon involved in the Diocese of Grafton’s initial response to child abuse allegations at the North Coast Children’s Home has been removed from holy orders.

Patrick Comben was the former registrar of the Diocese of Grafton and also stood on the Clarence Valley Council between 2008-12.

Mr Comben, 65, also served as an education and health minister in the Queensland Goss administration before he was ordained and relocated to NSW.

His removal from holy orders followed a hearing by an independent professional standards board led by Sydney barrister Kevin Rolfe QC.

The board’s recommendation was made to current Grafton bishop, Rev Dr Sarah Macneil, who adopted it and informed Mr Comben of his removal from the church. Under church law there is no avenue of appeal.

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NEW JERSEY
Philadelphia Inquirer

CAITLIN MCCABE, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
LAST UPDATED: Wednesday, July 15, 2015

After the Diocese of Camden removed Edward Igle from active ministry in 2000 over an allegation of sex abuse, he turned to his second career: Family counseling.

Licensed as a therapist since the 1980s, the former priest still runs a South Jersey practice, counseling families and children, and teaches related classes through a Philadelphia-based center, including how to identify and clinically treat victims of sex abuse.

In 2011, church officials told New Jersey regulators about two men who claimed Igle abused them in the 1970s. The diocese deemed both “credible,” a spokesman said, but they were beyond the statute of limitations to be prosecuted.

Still, the state has repeatedly renewed Igle’s licenses.

In interviews this month, Igle, now 68, vehemently denied any misconduct. He called “inaccurate” any suggestion that the first abuse allegation forced him from ministry, and he denied knowing about the second claim.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

Malka Leifer: Former Melbourne Jewish school principal wins further delay in fight against extradition from Israel on abuse allegations

By Middle East correspondent Sophie McNeill

A former principal accused of molesting students at an ultra-Orthodox Jewish school in Melbourne has had her extradition hearing to Australia delayed.

Malka Leifer fled to Israel just hours after allegations of sexual abuse at the Adass Israel School in Elsternwick first surfaced in 2008, and has been there ever since.

It is understood Ms Leifer could face dozens of charges of indecent assault and rape if she ever returns to Melbourne.

Ms Leifer was first placed under house arrest in Israel last September but nearly a year later there still has not been an initial hearing on her extradition petition.

On Wednesday, her lawyers successfully argued in a Jerusalem court for yet another delay to her case, claiming she is suffering from “psychosis and stress”.

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PENNSYLVANIA
WGAL

CARLISLE, Pa. —A Cumberland County pastor charged with sexually assaulting two girls is now charged with witness intimidation.

Pennsylvania State Police said 64-year-old Raymond Buhrow tried to get the girls’ father to drop the sexual abuse charges, but the father informed police.

Buhrow was pastor at Calvary Temple Holiness Church in South Middleton Township.

News 8 called the church for a comment, but the man who answered did not have anything to say.

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UNITED STATES
BishopAccountability.org

Summary of Case: Paul Madden was ordained a priest of the Natchez-Jackson MS diocese in 1970. He assisted at parishes in Ocean Spring, Jackson, Natchez and Meadville, before pastoring in Crystal Springs, Hazelhurst, Forest, Paulding and Meridian. He also did stints at the V.A., at a junior college and at a state hospital. He spent two years in Mexico in the late 1970s, and worked in Peru as a member of the Society of St. James missionary from at least the early 1990s through 2002. Madden was accused in a 2002 lawsuit of having sexually abused a 13-year-old boy in 1973 during a trip the two took two Ireland. Despite acknowledging the abuse, Madden was allowed to stay in ministry. In 2003 the bishop of Peru’s Chimbote diocese accepted Madden as one of his priests.

Ordained: 1970

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ISRAEL
Artuz Sheva

By Benny Moshe
First Publish: 7/15/2015

The Kiryat Shmona Magistrates Court has extended the detention of the northern rabbi accused of sexual abuse for an additional eight days Wednesday, until Thursday, July 23.

Judge Ruth Spielberg Cohen explained that since the rabbi was arrested, a great deal of investigative work has been done into the case. Among the findings: that the number of complainants has been confirmed as 2-10 women. Unofficial reports have so far listed the number of women who came forward as eight.

“Investigative actions were and continue to be made in the present, and this morning material evidence was added to the case,” she said. ”Charges against the suspect strengthened significantly at several levels, among other things due to his own version of events.”

The rabbi met with three of the complainants on Tuesday night, Channel 2 reported – the first time since the affair broke. The conflict evolved into a loud dispute between the parties as the complainants spared no words for the accused.

The confrontation follows the publication of an emotional open letter to the rabbi from one of his alleged victims on Monday night.

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CALIFORNIA
San Bernardino Sun

Rowland Heights youth pastor reportedly caught in Running Springs with 13-year-old in backseat of car

By Beatriz Valenzuela, San Bernardino Sun
POSTED: 07/15/15

RUNNING SPRINGS >> A Rowland Heights church youth leader was reportedly caught in the backseat of a car with a 13-year-old girl over the weekend in Running Springs, and sheriff’s investigators are now searching for additional possible victims.

Yanhao Ren, 24, of Fullerton was arrested early Monday on suspicion of sexual abuse of a child after California Highway Patrol officers found the couple parked on a turnout along Highway 330 near Fredalba Road late Sunday, according to a San Bernardino County Sheriff’s release.

With help from the sheriff’s Twin Peaks station, investigators learned from the girl that the two had met when she attended the Evangelical Formosan Church of Rowland Heights’ youth program. She confirmed that she and Ren had been engaged in a sexual relationship since May of this year, officials said.

Authorities determined that during the following months they engaged in several sexual acts in Orange, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.

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CHILE
Cooperativa

[The frustration of the laity of Osorno who traveled to Bolivia to speak with Pope Francis.]

Juan Carlos Claret, representante del movimiento laico de Osorno, relató este miércoles en Cooperativa el difícil viaje que realizó junto a otras personas a Bolivia en el marco de la visita del papa Francisco a ese país, con la intención de informarle personalmente al pontífice sobre la “insostenible situación” de la diócesis comandada por el obispo Juan Barros, quien es sindicado como encubridor de los abusos sexuales del cura Karadima.

“Se nos había brindado una oportunidad para llegar al papa, que era justo a la llegada de Francisco a la casa del cardenal Julio Terrazas. Estábamos ahí dispuestos, con ayuda inclusive, y ocurrió que la policía e Interpol, sin determinados cargos, nos toman detenidos por 14 horas”, relató Claret a Una Nueva Mañana.

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BRAZIL
Catholic Culture

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of a Brazilian archbishop following an apostolic visitation conducted by Cardinal Claudio Hummes.

Archbishop Antônio Carlos Altieri, 63, was appointed archbishop of Passo Fundo in 2012. For the previous six years, he had served as bishop of Caraguatatuba.

According to a Brazilian media report, local clergy complained to the apostolic nuncio following a $600,000 renovation of the episcopal residence as well as renovations to the seminary, chancery, and a retreat house.

Priests also opposed the imposition of a 10% diocesan assessment on parish income and complained about prelate’s “rubricism” and “ritualism” in the liturgy, as well as his willingness to accept seminarians who had left other dioceses and religious orders, according to the report.

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PHILIPPINES/OREGON
Inquirer (Philippines)

SAN FRANCISCO – The Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon has placed a Filipino priest on administrative leave after he waited more than three weeks to tell police about a hidden camera found in a church bathroom, while falsely assuring parishioners that police was investigating the matter.

Father Ysrael Bien, 34, was placed on leave for his failure to follow church protocol and immediately report the camera. Bien, who was born in the Philippines, was ordained into the Portland archdiocese in 2010.

“It is deeply troubling that well-established Church protocols for the protections of parishioners were not followed,” Archbishop Alexander Sample said in a statement last week. “Finding a hidden camera in a church restroom should have been the cause for prompt and decisive action.”

Bien was not named as a suspect, though officials reportedly said in a search warrant affidavit they believe he may have “aided or abetted” whoever planted the camera, according to a report by the newspaper the Oregonian.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 15 July 2015 (VIS) – The Holy Father has:

– accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the archdiocese of Passo Fundo, Brazil, presented by Archbishop Antonio Carlos Altieri, S.D.B., in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.

– appointed Fr. Dominicus Meier. O.S.B., as auxiliary of the archdiocese of Paderborn (area 14,750, population 4,900,000, Catholics 1,581,343, priests 1,008, permanent deacons 173, religious 1,647), Germany. The bishop-elect was born in 1959 in Heggen, and was ordained a priest in 1989. He holds a doctorate in theology from the University of Salzburg, as well as a licentiate and professional diploma in canon law from the University of Munster. He has served as ordinary professor of canon law at the Philosophical-Theological High School of the Pallottines in Vallendar, judge at the diocesan tribunal of Salzburg and defender of the bond and promoter of justice at the tribunal of the archdiocese of Paderborn. He was elected abbot of the abbey of Konigsmunster at Meschede in 2001, for a twelve-year mandate. He is currently judicial vicar of the archdiocese of Paderborn. He succeeds Bishop Manfred Grothe, whose resignation from the office of auxiliary of the same archdiocese upon reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.

– appointed Fr. Laurent Camiade as bishop of Cahors (area 5,216, population 395,000, Catholics 170,700, priests 66, permanent deacons 8, religious 96), France. The bishop-elect was born in Agen, France in 1966 and was ordained a priest in 1992. He holds a degree in philosophy and a doctorate in theology from the Institut Catholique de Toulouse, and has served as parish vicar, diocesan director of youth pastoral ministry, and parish priest. He is currently vicar general of the diocese of Agen and parish priest of Laverdac, and teaches spiritual theology at the Institut Catholique de Toulouse.

– appointed Fr. Udo Bentz as auxiliary of the diocese of Mainz (area 7,692, population 2,891,000, Catholics 749,583, priests 504, permanent deacons 124, religious 447), Germany. The bishop-elect was born in 1967 in Rulzheim, Germany and was ordained a priest in 1995. He holds a doctorate in theology from the University of Freiburg im Breisgau, and has served as parish vicar in the Cathedral of Worms and special secretary to Cardinal Karl Lehmann. He is currently rector of the major seminary of Mainz and president of the Conference of rectors of German major seminaries.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 25 June 2015 (VIS) – The Holy Father has:

– accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Autlan, Mexico, presented by Bishop Gonzalo Galvan Castillo, in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

David Gibson Religion News Service | Jul. 15, 2015

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of a Mexican bishop who reportedly shielded a priest accused of sexually molesting an 11-year-old boy, and on Wednesday the Vatican announced that a Brazilian archbishop who spent $600,000 on renovations to his home and offices had been dismissed.

The moves are the latest signs that Francis is pursuing a hierarchical housecleaning that aims to address the heart of the clergy sex abuse scandal — accountability for bishops — while also removing prelates who don’t reflect the humble and simple lifestyle he says is key to promoting the Gospel.

Both Bishop Gonzalo Galvan Castillo, 64, of the Autlan diocese in Mexico, and Archbishop Antonio Carlos Altieri, 63, of the Passo Fundo, Brazil, archdiocese were well under the canonical retirement age of 75.

They both also resigned under the canon law that says a bishop “who has become less able to fulfill his office because of ill health or some other grave cause is earnestly requested to present his resignation from office.”

That is the statute that is usually cited when a bishop has been forced to step down by Rome because of a scandal.

Galvan’s resignation was quietly noted in a Vatican bulletin on June 25, but Mexican media reports noted that the bishop had been under fire for years for refusing to report to police or remove from ministry a priest, Fr. Horacio Lopez, suspected of abuse.

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NEW JERSEY
Road to Recovery

Bergen Catholic High School and the Congregation of Christian Brothers continue to re-victimize five (5) former students of Bergen Catholic High School who are survivors of sexual abuse as minors by either one of two Christian Brothers who taught at Bergen Catholic High School through its foot-dragging in settlement talks

Br. Charles B. Irwin and Br. John B. Chaney have been credibly accused of sexually abusing many Bergen Catholic High School students who were minors at the time of the sexual abuse. Br. Irwin sexually abused 4 of the 5 minor teenagers from approximately 1963-1966, and Br. Chaney sexually abused 1 minor teenager in 1978.

What
A demonstration and leafleting highlighting the foot-dragging by the leadership of Bergen Catholic High School and the Congregation of Christian Brothers in helping 5 minor teenaged sexual abuse victims of either Br. Charles B. Irwin or Br. John B. Chaney heal by acting in a timely, fair and just manner in settling their claims against Bergen Catholic High School

When
Thursday, July 16, 2015 from 9:00 am to Noon

Where
On the public sidewalk outside the main vehicle entrance of Bergen Catholic High School, 1040 Oradell Avenue, Oradell, NJ 07649

Who
Members of Road to Recovery, Inc., a non-profit charity that assists victims of sexual abuse and their families, including its co-founder and President, Dr. Robert M. Hoatson

Why
Five former students of Bergen Catholic High School, all of whom are in their 50’s and 60’s, are being re-victimized by Bergen Catholic High School and the Congregation of Christian Brothers because of their foot-dragging surrounding negotiations to settle the victims’ claims, help them heal and get on with their lives. The leadership of Bergen Catholic High School and the Congregation of Christian Brothers are aware of the many sexual abuse victims of Br. Charles B. Irwin and Br. John B. Chaney; yet, they refuse to settle their claims. Demonstrators will call on Bergen Catholic High School and the Congregation of Christian Brothers to stop their foot-dragging and help these victims heal by acting in a timely and manner any be being fair and just.

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

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MICHIGAN
Detroit Free Press

By Katrease Stafford, Detroit Free Press July 14, 2015

A Catholic priest who worked at a Detroit high school was sentenced to 12 years in prison today after he pleaded guilty to transporting child porn to Chicago and admitted to sexually assaulting a former student.

Fr. Richard James Kurtz, 70, was a chemistry teacher years ago at the University of Detroit Jesuit High School in Detroit.

Kurtz, who was brought in the courtroom Tuesday shackled and handcuffed, read a statement before Judge Mark Goldsmith, saying he was “deeply sorry” for his actions.

“Words can’t express how much remorse I feel,” Kurtz said. “… Some of my victims have names that are known to me. I am guilty of capturing images of them for my perverse pleasure. … The damage I’ve done must be borne by them for time to come. I accept full responsibility for betraying them.”

Before handing down a 144-month prison sentence, Goldsmith said Kurtz’s crime victimized children, who are an especially vulnerable population.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic League

Bill Donohue comments on the exoneration of Father Leo Riley:

On March 17, I wrote a news release titled, “Fr. Leo Riley Also Has Rights.” I gave four reasons why I believed that this priest was innocent of accusations made against him. Yesterday, he was cleared of all charges of wrongdoing by an independent investigative unit.

I have never met, nor have I ever corresponded with, this Naples, Florida priest, but I felt from the beginning that he was innocent. Here’s why.

First, I wondered why it would take 30 years to elapse before an accusation of sexual assault would be made; others may want to delude themselves into thinking that “repressed memories” are real, but I am not among them. Second, if Father Riley were truly guilty it is likely that others would have made accusations against him—he is 58—yet the record shows that this was the first and only time anyone charged him with abuse.

Third, I mentioned the fact that “there are many Father Rileys all over the nation who have had their reputations smeared by vindictive men looking to take advantage of the hostile climate that exists against priests.” Fourth, I emphasized that he was entitled to a presumption of innocence.

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AUSTRALIA
The Courier-Mail

Anglican Church strips former government minister of holy orders over role in sex abuse scandal

GREG STOLZ THE COURIER-MAIL JULY 16, 2015

A FORMER state government cabinet minister has been defrocked by the Anglican Church over his role in the church sex abuse scandal.

Pat Comben, who served as education and environment minister in the Goss government, was ordained as a deacon by controversial Brisbane archbishop and former governor-general Peter Hollingworth after retiring from politics in the mid 1990s.

In 2013, he gave evidence at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse over the abuse of orphans at the North Coast Children’s Home in Lismore.

As registrar of the Anglican Church’s Grafton diocese, Mr Comben was the first to hear of the allegations and was central to the hardline approach taken against 42 people seeking apologies and compensation for beatings and rapes.

The royal commission heard that as the number of claimants increased, the diocese disputed liability, pleaded poverty despite having almost $200 million in assets and cast doubt on some of the claims.

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AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

Ex Melbourne principal facing sex abuse claims, Malka Leifer, suffering psychosis, lawyer says

ANDREW FRIEDMAN, SHANNON DEERY HERALD SUN JULY 15, 2015

A PRINCIPAL accused of molesting students at an ultra-orthodox Jewish school has claimed through her lawyer she is psychotic in her latest attempt to fight her extradition to Melbourne.

Authorities are working to force Malka Leifer’s return from Israel amid accusations she sexually assaulted a string of teen girls while principal at Adass Israel School in Elsternwick.

She is currently under house arrest while extradition proceedings continue at the request of Victoria Police who have indicated she could face criminal charges.

Almost a year after being arrested in Israel, lawyers for Mrs Leifer, who has vowed to never return to Melbourne, now claim she is psychotic and unfit to face court.

Mrs Leifer was expected to appear at the Jerusalem District Court overnight but failed to attend because of ill health.

Lawyer Yehuda Fried said the extradition was “only at the beginning” and said his client pledged to drag the case out.

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LOS ANGELES (CA)
Jamaica Observer

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

2007: The Los Angeles archdiocese reaches a $660-million settlement with more than 500 alleged victims of clergy sex abuse.

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ISRAEL
Arutz Sheva

Meeting quickly descends into shouting match after well-known rabbi meets two of the women accusing him of sexual abuse.

By Uzi Baruch
First Publish: 7/14/2015

A well-known rabbi in northern Israel suspected of a series of sex offenses against women in his community has met with three of his alleged victims for the first time since the case hit headlines.

According to Channel Two, the confrontation soon descended into a loud shouting match, as the women leveled serious accusations of abuse at the rabbi – whose identity is still the subject of a court-imposed gag order.

According to the report, at one point one of the women shouted at the accused: “You are impure, I will look you in the eye. It is you who should lower your gaze!”

The rabbi reportedly stuck to his version of events, admitting to having had intimate relations with several women while denying he at any point forced himself on them.

“The rabbi confronted several of the complainants and not one of them claimed he had raped her,” defense lawyer Ephraim Dimri said. “He replied coolly and in a businesslike manner to all the claims.”

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AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

Wednesday 15 July

The Hon Justice Peter McClellan AM
Chair, Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

I speak to you today as the Royal Commission enters the second half of its five year term. As you are probably aware the Commission was originally tasked to finish at the end of this year. However, the many and complex issues that we are required to examine led the Commissioners to ask the government for a further two years to complete our work. The Commission will now conclude at the end of 2017. I have told the government that there will definitely be no request for a further extension.

Our terms of reference provide us with two fundamental objectives: to expose what has happened in the past and to make recommendations aimed at ensuring, so far as possible, that children are not sexually abused in an institutional context in the future.

As with any Royal Commission a significant part of our work is done through public hearings. A public hearing will be preceded by intensive investigation and research. Although it may only occupy a limited number of days of hearing time, the preparatory work which must be completed by Royal Commission staff and by parties with an interest in the public hearing can be very significant.

The Royal Commission is aware that sexual abuse of children has occurred in many institutions, all of which could be investigated in a public hearing. However, if we were to attempt that task, a great many more resources would need to be applied over an indeterminate, but lengthy, period of time. For this reason the Commissioners have accepted criteria by which appropriate matters are brought forward to a public hearing as individual ‘case studies’.

The decision to conduct a case study is informed by whether or not the hearing will advance an understanding of systemic issues and provide an opportunity for institutions to learn from previous mistakes. We must ensure that any findings and recommendations for future change that the Royal Commission makes have a secure foundation. In some cases the relevance of the lessons to be learned will be confined to the institution the subject of the hearing. However, in most cases they will have relevance to many similar institutions in different parts of Australia.

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NEW ZEALAND
Hawke’s Bay Today

A Napier-based Anglican minister has pleaded guilty to indecent assault charges.

John Hamilton Tovey, 64, pleaded guilty to two charges of indecent assault on females aged over 16, in Napier District Court this morning. The alleged offending occurred in Napier between April last year and January 2.

A third charge was withdrawn. He was remanded on bail to be sentenced on September 17.
Tovey was a vicar in Wainuiomata for more than 10 years before he moved to Hawke’s Bay in 2010 to take up the associate priest role in the Taradale parish. He left the following year.

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NEW ZEALAND
Dominion Post

MARTY SHARPE

An Anglican priest has pleaded guilty to two charges of indecent assault.

John Tovey entered guilty pleas to the charges in Napier District Court on Wednesday morning. The alleged offending occurred in Napier between April last year and January 2.

A third charge was withdrawn.

Tovey, 64, was previously a vicar in North Canterbury and a priest in charge at Churton Park in Wellington for five years, and then in Wainuiomata for 10 years, before moving to Hawke’s Bay in 2010, where he became associate priest at All Saints parish in Taradale, a position he held until late 2011.

The church suspended Tovey’s permission to officiate indefinitely, meaning he is not licensed or authorised to undertake any priestly duties.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Christian Today

Ruth Gledhill CHRISTIAN TODAY CONTRIBUTING EDITOR 14 July 2015

The sufferings inflicted on children by clergy in the child sex abuse scandals that have come to light in recent decades are beyond belief, and that has been one of the problems. For too long, none believed the children who told the tales. The actions of those involved were intrinsically evil.

Justice is still working its way out on those responsible, in the Church and in the wider world. It will take a long time. Justice Goddard’s public inquiry alone in the UK is expected to take at least five years. And of course it is not just the churches. These crimes infected all society. There is a massive public reckoning to come.

In a world where individuals must be made to take responsibility for crimes if they refuse to do so voluntarily, a world that in the West at least believes little in the devil and possession, theologians and psychologists of the future must explore how and why these crimes ever took place.

To differentiate between the sin and the sinner, and thereby somehow seem to excuse the latter, can appear to be unacceptable casuistry, but we still need to ask whether individuals who perform these actions are themselves intrinsically evil.

In the church as well as in the wider world, there have been too few sackings, too few public reckonings against those responsible. So many abusers have simply been allowed to pass into old age and die without ever being called to account for the crimes. Such terrible damage has been done, such awful mistakes made. Defrocking is only now being restored to the penalties available to the Church of England, for example. It is no wonder that victims’ groups say that what is being done is too little, too late, no wonder that there is such great anger.

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IRELAND
Irish Health

The HSE has been asked to reissue medical cards for women who were resident in certain institutions, including the Magdalene Laundries.

The request was made by the Minister for Primary Care, Social Care and Mental Health, Kathleen Lynch, after concerns were expressed that the cards in their current format ‘unnecessarily identified these women’.

The current cards state that the holder qualifies for health services as part of the Redress for Women Resident in Certain Institutions Act 2015. As a result, they identify card holders as having been former residents in these institutions.

According to Minister Lynch, ‘it was never intended to cause any offence or embarrassment by referring to the Act on the card’.

“However, I accept that by putting the full title of the Act on the card it identifies the holders in a way that is unnecessary. I am completely open to changing the title as it appears on the card if this is what the women want. It requires only a small amount of effort to correct this and I am happy to ensure that this happens,” she commented.

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IRELAND
Herald

MAGDALENE Laundries survivors have hit out at the HSE for breaching their privacy on new medical cards issued to them.

Laura Larkin – 15 July 2015

The cards arrived this week, clearly marked with the words “Redress for Women Resident in Certain Institutions Act 2015”.

Mary Smith, a survivor who has campaigned for redress for women who were sent to the laundries, has said the cards amount to a continuation of the abuse she and others suffered.

“It’s just more abuse for us to be labelled again,” she told the Herald.

“If I was released from prison, would my medical card read ‘criminal’?” she asked.

“We are not accepting this. It’s outrageous and appalling. Everyone affected is fuming.”

Ms Smith has contacted the HSE to complain about the wording on the card.

“It’s just more injustice for us,” she said. “They’ve added further insult to injury.”

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

By Conall Ó Fátharta
Irish Examiner Reporter

The HSE will reissue medical cards sent to Magdalene survivors after complaints they identified the women as having been in a laundry.

The cards, issued in the last few days to survivors under the State’s redress scheme, identify the holder as a member of the Magdalene redress scheme.

The card is headed with “Redress for Women Resident in Certain Institutions Act, 2015” with the hol- der assigned an RWRCI number.

Survivors would have had to produce the card when seeking certain services they are entitled to.

A number of women were deeply upset by the cards with some fearing they would be forced to travel to avail of services under the scheme to conceal their past institutionalisation.

However, in a statement issued yesterday evening, mental health minister Kathleen Lynch said she had asked the HSE to reissue the cards and said they were not intended to cause offence or embarrassment to survivors.

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IRELAND
RTE News

The Health Service Executive has been asked to reissue special medical cards to former residents of Magdalene Laundries and other institutions.

The existing card identifies the holder as qualifying for health services under the Redress for Women Resident in Certain Institutions Act 2015.

Minister for Primary Care, Social Care and Mental Health Kathleen Lynch said she has asked the HSE to make the change, after concerns were expressed that the cards in their current format unnecessarily identified the women, by including the name of the Act on the card.

Ms Lynch said it was never intended to cause any offence or embarrassment and the cards will be reissued in a more anonymised format.

Speaking in the Dáil, Independent TD Clare Daly said the medical cards were “branded” and described the layout as a breach of privacy.

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MAINE
ABC News

AP

PORTLAND, Maine — Jul 14, 2015

The founder of an orphanage in Haiti who is accused by a Maine activist of molesting boys told jurors that he never sexually abused children and that he wouldn’t wish his imprisonment in Haiti on his worst enemy.

Michael Geilenfeld, a U.S. citizen, testified in his defamation lawsuit against Paul Kendrick in federal court that the activist who leveled the accusations and refused to back down began sending email “blitzes” starting Jan. 31, 2011.

He and his attorneys blame Kendrick for his arrest last fall on child molestation charges. He was released after 237 days when a judge dismissed charges. Attorneys for the accusers have petitioned to have the case re-examined.

“It was an experience that I wouldn’t wish on anyone in this room, and that includes Mr. Kendrick. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy,” Geilenfeld testified Tuesday, according to the Portland Press Herald (http://bit.ly/1fFglqc).

Geilenfeld and Hearts with Haiti, a Raleigh, North Carolina-based charity that raises money for the orphanage, contend the accusations cost the orphanage more than $2 million in donations.

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MAINE
Portland Press Herald

BY SCOTT DOLAN STAFF WRITER
sdolan@pressherald.com | @scottddolan | 207-791-6304

Orphanage founder Michael Geilenfeld describes the first cell where he was kept during his 237 days in a Haitian prison as “my picture of hell.”

There were 95 men yelling and fighting, sweating and smoking, while crammed so tightly together in a single room with overflowing sewage that they could not lie down, he said.

Geilenfeld told members of a jury about his imprisonment while testifying Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Portland in the trial of his lawsuit against Freeport resident Paul Kendrick.

Geilenfeld has accused Kendrick of defamation for an email campaign falsely alleging he sexually abused the boys at the orphanage in Haiti and for using those false allegations to have him arrested and imprisoned by Haitian authorities.

“Literally like sardines, you were shoulder to shoulder. You could kneel on the floor, but you couldn’t stretch out,” Geilenfeld testified, describing the first prison holding cell in Haiti where he was held for six days.

Tuesday was Geilenfeld’s second day on the witness stand, first answering questions Monday and Tuesday morning by his attorney, Peter DeTroy, followed by cross-examination by Kendrick’s attorney, David Walker.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC – AM

ASHLEY HALL: The head of the royal commission into child sex abuse says it’s time to consider whether institutions should be criminally liable for the abuse of children under their care.

The chairman of the commission, Justice Peter McClellan, is set to make the comments today in Perth in a speech to mark the half way point of the hearings.

He says greater accountability is needed for the places and organisations where sexual abuse takes place.

Bridget Brennan reports.

BRIDGET BRENNAN: The royal commission has been running for two and a half years now and there’s already been more than 13,000 allegations of institutionalised child sexual abuse.

Leonie Sheedy is from Care Leavers Australia Network, one of the groups that’s been encouraging victims to speak up.

LEONIE SHEEDY: You know, I sat in a country town in Victoria on Saturday with a man of 80 years of age, with his wife, and she learnt things that she’d never heard in 58 years of marriage.

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AUSTRALIA
The Guardian

Guardian publishes Rabbi Feldman’s statement in relation to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

Tuesday 14 July 2015

In view of the reporting of Rabbi Yosef Feldman’s evidence at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, the Guardian is publishing his position as set out in his written statement of 6 February 2015, read out by him at the commission hearing on 9 February 2015.

I have followed the evidence of the victims of sexual abuse at this hearing and I have read their statements. I have been affected by that evidence. I agree wholeheartedly with the statement my father gave yesterday.

I feel deeply sorry for the suffering they have experienced from the sexual abuse that they have suffered as children. I am also deeply sorry for the pain that they have experienced as a result of the vilification and abuse from the community for having reported or publicised that abuse.

I agree without qualification that it is obligatory to immediately report all allegations of sexual abuse to the police.

I agree that such an obligation arises whenever that sexual abuse is alleged to have occurred and whatever the form of that sexual abuse.

I agree that people in the Jewish community should be encouraged to report child sexual abuse to the police without, in any way, being subjected to shunning or bullying or being labelled a moser.

I agree that all rabbis should receive training in how to identify, handle and report sexual abuse and educate our community about child sexual abuse. It is our duty as rabbis to convey a clear message to the whole community that victims of child sexual abuse who have complained to the police should be supported.

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AUSTRALIA
The Guardian

Melissa Davey
@MelissaLDavey
Tuesday 14 July 2015

Institutions including religious organisations, schools and sporting groups must never again be allowed to silence children or fail to protect them, according to the chair of the royal commission into child sexual abuse.

“A picture is emerging for us that although sexual abuse of children is not confined in time – it is happening today – there has been a time in Australian history when the conjunction of prevailing social attitudes to children and an unquestioning respect for authority of institutions by adults coalesced to create the high-risk environment in which thousands of children were abused,” justice Peter McClellan will say when he addresses the annual meeting of the Uniting church in Perth on Wednesday.

“The societal norm that ‘children should be seen but not heard’, which prevailed for unknown decades, provided the opportunity for some adults to abuse the power which their relationship with the child gave them,” he will say.

“The power of the institution must never again be allowed to silence a child.”

Since the commission was established in 2013 to investigate child sexual abuse within Australian institutions and responses to it, 13,256 allegations of abuse and/or failure to report abuse or help those being abused had been received, McClellan will say.

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GEORGIA
WSAV

By Andrew Davis
Published: July 14, 2015

An historic day in Georgia.

That’s how advocates described the moment in June Governor deal signed the Hidden Predator Bill into law.

Wednesday, a major portion of that bill will “open the doors of justice” for victims.

That’s the day a 2 year retroactive window opens for any child abuse victims.

That means no matter what age you are, even if your statute of limitations are up, and you have a “preponderance of evidence – you can file a civil suit in the next two days.

And alleged abusers won’t be the only ones in the legal crosshairs.

“At any point a survivor discovers their injuries, be it PTSD, depression, eating disorder, whatever,” explains Angela Williams of Voicetoday.org. “Is linked to their trauma of child sexual abuse, at any point in the future they can file suit against their perpetrator and against any entity that was involved. So say that’s a church, other organizations.”

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Irena Ceranic

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has so far referred 666 matters to police with a view to prosecuting the offenders.

The commission has received more than 13,000 allegations of sexual abuse with approximately half of those relating to faith-based institutions.

Commission chairman Justice Peter McClellan gave an overview of the figures during an address to the 14th Assembly of the Uniting Church meeting in Perth this morning.

The speech marked the halfway point of the hearings which began two and a half years ago.

So far, the commission has completed 3,766 private sessions, and there are another 1,527 people waiting.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

July 15, 2015

Jane Lee
Legal affairs, industrial relations and science correspondent

Churches, schools and hospitals could be held criminally liable for child sexual abuse perpetrated by people linked to them, according to a report before a royal commission.

The president of the Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Justice Peter McClellan, flagged on Wednesday that the commission was considering a report which discusses whether an institution should be held criminally liable “for the sexual abuse committed by a person associated with that institution.”

It is a crime in Victoria for certain responsible people to negligently fail to reduce or remove the risk children will be abused by others in an organisation.

“One of the key aims of the … offence was the promotion of cultural change in the way in which organisations who care for and supervise children deal with the risk of child sexual abuse,” Justice McClellan said.

“This aim could be further pursued by having the offence apply to the institution itself,” he told an assembly of the Uniting Church of Australia in Perth.

Instead of imprisonment or fines, “which … may have unwarranted and deleterious effects on non-profit organisations”, probation orders could prevent people from certain types of conduct for a period of time, he said, citing the report by criminologists Professor Arie Freiberg and Karen Gelb and NSW Judicial Commission member Hugh Donnelly.

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AUSTRALIA
Daily Examiner

A FORMER Registrar of the Anglican Diocese of Grafton, and fomer Clarence Valley Councillor, has been removed from holy orders on the recommendation of an independent Professional Standards Board.

Patrick Comben had been a licensed deacon in the Anglican Church.

The recommendation follows a hearing by the Board, headed by Sydney barrister, the Hon. Mr Morton Rolfe QC.

The hearing related to the diocesan response to allegations of abuse at the North Coast Children’s Home in Lismore during the period 1940-1980 and claims for compensation.

The hearing followed findings by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and evidence given at the hearing by Mr Comben.

The Board’s recommendation was directed to the Diocesan Bishop, the Rt Rev Dr Sarah Macneil.

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NEW MEXICO
Albuquerque Journal

By Olivier Uyttebrouck / Journal Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Attorneys representing alleged victims of sexual abuse by clergy in the Diocese of Gallup have asked a judge to allow civil trials to proceed in three cases as a way to “break logjams” in the diocese’s chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The request followed the failure of court-ordered mediation talks last month.

An attorney for the diocese, meanwhile, is asking U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge David T. Thuma to order another round of negotiations with a new mediator.

The Diocese of Gallup in 2013 became the nation’s ninth Roman Catholic diocese to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in response to a growing number of lawsuits filed by alleged victims of sexual abuse by priests.

Motions filed in the case indicate that mediation efforts failed because parties, including the diocese’s insurance companies, could not agree on the value of claims filed against the diocese.

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AUSTRALIA
WA Today

July 15, 2015 –

Emma Young
Journalist

Perth police have charged an 83-year-old former priest and scout leader with the sexual assault of three boys between 1954 and 1979.

WA Police spokeswoman Susan Usher said the alleged assaults against two ten-year-old boys and one 16-year-old occurred when the man was an Anglican Priest in Ravensthorpe and a scout leader in Wembley.

The state taskforce investigating historical child sexual abuse complaints has charged the Wembley Downs man with two counts of indecent treatment of a child under 14 and one count of committing indecent practices between males in a private place.

The man is due to re-appear at Perth Magistrates Court on August 27.

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MEXICO
La Jornada San Luis

[Juan Jesus Priego Rivera, Potosi archdiocese spokesman, demanded that Proceso magazine apologize for publishing the photo of the current archbishop on the magazine cover regarding a story about an alleged systemic cover-up in the church of pedophile priests.]

sterday, archdiocese spokesman Potosi, Priego Juan Jesus Rivera, demanded the magazine Process to apologize for having published the photo on the cover of the current archbishop calling it part of a systematic cover-up that the Church makes pedophile priests or become accused of any abuse.

No han pasado más de dos semanas desde la liberación del último cura detenido por presunto abuso sexual, cuando la iglesia vuelve a la guerra de declaraciones con algunos críticos. Ayer, el vocero del arzobispado potosino, Juan Jesús Priego Rivera, exigió a la revista Proceso que se disculpara por haber publicado en portada la foto del actual arzobispo calificándolo como parte del encubrimiento sistemático que la Iglesia hace de los curas pederastas o que llegan a ser acusados de algún tipo de abuso.

Apenas una horas antes, Alberto Athié, el ex sacerdote que hoy se ha vuelto uno de los más duros acusadores contra estas prácticas y complicidad al interior de la Iglesia, señaló, en declaraciones a Sinembargo.mx, que la procuraduría potosina estaba siendo negligente, pues no han llamado a comparecer al arzobispo emérito Luis Morales Reyes, quien a su decir incluso habría sacado a Eduardo Córdova del país, y quien sería responsable de encubrirlo pues buena parte de los abusos de que se encuentra acusado, además de su ascenso en la cúpula social potosina, habrían sido durante su tiempo al frente de la Arquidiócesis.

“Mi pregunta es si las autoridades ya fueron a ver a Luis Morales Reyes, han sido negligentes en materia de investigación y los potosinos deberían de presionar para saber si Eduardo Córdova Bautista salió del país o no”, dijo Athié, quien criticó también la tardanza de la Procuraduría en “armar el caso” para decidir si llamarán a comparecencia a los dos arzobispos eméritos que recibieron las primeras denuncias y desecharon supuestamente por infundadas, Morales y su antecesor, Arturo Szymanski.

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MEXICO
Noroeste

Gabriela Soto
06-07-2015

CULIACÁN._ El Obispo de la Diócesis de Culiacán, Jonás Guerrero Corona, rechazó ser protector de sacerdotes acusados de pederastia como se publicó en una revista nacional.

Justificó que él denunció al ex Sacerdote Carlos López Valdés, acusado de abuso y corrupción de menores, además, aseguró que El Vaticano no lo investiga, lo que contradice la versión del ex Sacerdote de la Arquidiócesis de México, Alberto Athié Gallo.

Ayer, tras una semana de la publicación de la revista Proceso donde se da a conocer una lista de jerarcas católicos “enjuiciables” por encubrir pederastas, en la que se incluye al Obispo de Culiacán, Guerrero Corona citó a conferencia de prensa donde dijo que la Iglesia carece de materia para investigar y acusarlo.

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MEXICO
Mega Noticias

[con video]

[Bishop Jonás Guerrero Corona, Culiacan bishop, has denied covering-up for pedophile priests. He rejected remarks made abut him and said the Vatican did not investigate.]

Julio 7, 2015

Escrito por Megacanal Culiacan

Tras haberse publicado en un medio nacional acusaciones contra el obispo de Culiacán Jonás Guerrero Corona, sobre encubrimiento de pederastia, en conferencia de prensa rechazó los señalamientos que se le atribuyen, y sostuvo que el vaticano no lo investiga en ese sentido.

Aseguró que como obispo auxiliar en la ciudad de México, actuó en el 2007 contra el sacerdote Carlos López Valdés, acusado de abuso sexual a un menor.

JONÁS GUERRERO CORONA/OBISPO DE LA DIÓCESIS DE CULIACÁN

“Yo a nadie, y ahí están mis 14 años de obispo, y me sujeto a cualquier indagatoria. Eso ni existe, ni existe el tribunal, existe el dicasterio de obispos donde se lleva el currículum del obispo donde hay un asunto que diga oiga en su diócesis está pasando esto que está pasando… pero ese tribunal todavía no existe al que hace referencia esta noticia calumniosa…”

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MEXICO
Proceso

[MEXICO CITY .- The Archdiocese of Mexico plans to civily sue former priest Alberto Athie Gallo, because he said Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, head of the Archdiocese, covered up for pedophile priests in an interview published in the currently circulating edition of the journal Proces. The archdiocese is also considering civily suing Proceso. Announcement of these legal measures was made by Armando Martinez, Cardinal Rivera’s lawyer.]

LA REDACCIÓN
30 DE JUNIO DE 2015
NACIONAL

MÉXICO, D.F. (apro).- La Arquidiócesis Primada de México demandará civilmente al exsacerdote Alberto Athié Gallo, debido a que denostó al cardenal Norberto Rivera Carrera, titular de la Arquidiócesis, al señalar que encubrió a sacerdotes pederastas, en una entrevista publicada en la edición que circula actualmente de la revista Proceso.

Además, la Arquidiócesis estudia la posibilidad de también demandar civilmente a Proceso, ya que en esa entrevista que le hizo a Athié Gallo el semanario se alejó de la “nota periodística” para pasar al “ataque y la difamación”.

El anuncio de estas medidas legales fue hecho por Armando Martínez, abogado del cardenal Rivera, en una entrevista concedida el pasado lunes al noticiero radiofónico matutino de MVS, conducido por Alejandro Cacho.

Al preguntársele si demandará a Athié, el abogado Martínez respondió:

“Sí, por supuesto. Y también estaremos evaluando la situación de la revista Proceso, porque una cuestión es la nota periodística y otra cuestión es el ataque y la difamación”.

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MEXICO
Proceso

[MEXICO CITY (Process) .- Given the imminent opening of a Vatican tribunal to judge the bishops covering up pedophile priests in the Church, in an unprecedented move in Mexico there is already a list and records of Mexican Catholic leaders triable for the offense and that most likely will be reported in the new instance.

Led by Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, archbishop primate of Mexico, the list also includes Jesus Carlos Cabrero Romero, archbishop of San Luis Potosi; Jose Luis Chavez Botello, Archbishop of Oaxaca; Jonah Guerrero, bishop of Culiacan; Marcelino Hernandez, bishop of Colima; and Raul Vera, bishop of Saltillo, among others.

One of the most militant fighters against priestly pedophilia in Mexico, Alberto Athie Gallo, told Proceso that now that Pope Francis has gone from recognizing that there are pedophile priests, he now moves against bishops who protect these priests.]

RODRIGO VERA
27 DE JUNIO DE 2015
REPORTAJE ESPECIAL

En lo que constituye un hecho inusitado, este mes el Papa Francisco ordenó la creación de un tribunal especial en el Vaticano para juzgar a quienes hayan protegido a curas pederastas. En México, uno de los hombres que más ha luchado contra el flagelo de los abusos sexuales perpetrados por sacerdotes es Alberto Athié. En entrevista, dice ya tener la lista de los jerarcas católicos del país que caen en ese supuesto: la encabeza el arzobispo primado Norberto Rivera Carrera, defensor de Marcial Maciel.

MÉXICO, D.F. (Proceso).- Ante la inminente apertura en El Vaticano de un tribunal para juzgar a los obispos encubridores de sacerdotes pederastas –hecho inédito en la Iglesia–, en México ya se tienen la lista y los expedientes de los jerarcas católicos mexicanos enjuiciables por ese delito y que muy probablemente serán denunciados en la nueva instancia.

Encabezada por el cardenal Norberto Rivera Carrera, arzobispo primado de México, dicha lista también incluye a Jesús Carlos Cabrero Romero, arzobispo de San Luis Potosí; José Luis Chávez Botello, arzobispo de Oaxaca; Jonás Guerrero, obispo de Culiacán; Marcelino Hernández, obispo de Colima; y Raúl Vera, obispo de Saltillo, entre otros.

Uno de los más combativos luchadores contra la pederastia sacerdotal en México, Alberto Athié Gallo, comenta a Proceso: “Ahora el Papa Francisco le subió de nivel al reconocer que no solamente existen sacerdotes pederastas, sino también obispos que los protegen. Reconoce la necesidad de procesar a estos obispos encubridores a través de un tribunal exclusivo para ellos. Es algo novedoso, nunca antes visto”.

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MEXICO
W Radio

[The former priest Alberto Athie noted that there is a list of some Mexican bishops who should be prosecuted for covering up pedophile priests Interviewed in the weekly Proceso, Athie said Cardinal Norberto Rivera has been harboring Mexican pedophile priests. The archbishop said he may sue the magazine.]

Por Cynthia Basulto

México.- El ex sacerdote Alberto Athié Gallo es demandado por La Arquidiócesis Primada de México porque en una entrevista para el semanario Proceso denostó al máximo líder en México de la organización religiosa, es decir, al cardenal Norberto Rivera. En la publicación, el ex sacerdote señaló a Rivera por encubrir a los sacerdotes pederastas mexicanos.

El abogado de la iglesia católica en México, Armando Martínez rechazó que Norberto Rivera haya encubierto a sacerdotes. Dijo que las declaraciones de Alberto Athié no tienen pruebas y reprobó que tan sólo se busque denostar simplemente porque está de moda.

La Arquidiócesis Primada de México ha declarado que también buscarán demandar a la revista Proceso pues de acuerdo con la Iglesia Católica la revista se aleja de la “nota periodística” para pasar al “ataque y la difamación”.

Según la Arquidiócesis los señalamientos de Athié son parte de “una campaña nueva que se está iniciando contra los obispos de México”.

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MICHIGAN
C and G News

By Thomas Franz
July 14, 2015

MACOMB COUNTY — The case of a former employee at a local catholic high school is heading to Macomb County Circuit Court.

Joseph Sturza, a former director of admissions at Austin Catholic High School in Ray Township and a former youth minister at St. Isidore Catholic Church in Macomb Township, is charged with four felony counts: child sexual abuse activity, accosting a child for immoral purposes, and two counts of using a computer to communicate with a minor in order to commit a crime.

On July 8, Sturza and his defense conditionally waived his right to a preliminary exam at district court 42-A District Court in Romeo.

“We appear to have a resolution of this matter that will be entered in at circuit court, but in the event that plea is not entered, then we would ask that this court agree to conditionally waive this matter,” prosecuting attorney William Harding said.

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MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

Madeleine Baran Jul 14, 2015

The first hearing in the criminal case against the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has been pushed back several weeks.

The hearing, originally set for this Friday, is now scheduled for Aug. 25.

In an interview last week, Archbishop Bernard Hebda, the temporary administrator of the Twin Cities archdiocese, said he wasn’t “exactly sure” how the archdiocese would plead. “Of course, we want to plead the truth,” he said, “and then also to be able to figure out what’s correct, and I need a little bit more time to do that.”

Ramsey County Attorney John Choi charged the archdiocese last month with six gross misdemeanor counts for allegedly failing to protect children from Curtis Wehmeyer, a former priest now in prison for sexually abusing children and possessing child pornography.

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MICHIGAN
Midland Daily News

DETROIT (AP) — A Catholic priest who was a teacher years ago at a Detroit high school has been sentenced to 12 years in prison in a child pornography case.

The government calls the Rev. Richard Kurtz a “wolf in shepherd’s clothing.” His collection of child porn was discovered in 2011 when priests were packing his belongings in Oakland County and Chicago.

The 70-year-old Kurtz got his sentence Tuesday in Detroit federal court.

In 2001, he was dismissed from University of Detroit Jesuit High School when a student accused him of sexual assault on a trip to Colorado. The family didn’t pursue charges at the time, but Kurtz was convicted 10 years later and placed on probation.

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UNITED STATES
BishopAccountability.org

Summary of Case: Ruben V. Abaya is a Filipino priest who worked in the US from 1977 to 1982, in New Jersey. He was accused in a 1984 lawsuit with six other priests of sexual abuse of a girl 1980-1982 in the Los Angeles CA archdiocese. Abaya visited the other priests at St. Philomena parish in Carson CA in April 1980, and allegedly assaulted the girl then. The girl became pregnant by one of the priests (not Abaya). The priests fled the US and returned to the Philippines after the 1984 lawsuit was filed; the suit was then dropped. In 1991 Santiago Tamayo, the priest who first raped the girl, held a news conference to apologize to the victim for his own crimes and for involving the other priests in her abuse. In 2007, the LA archdiocese paid $500,000 to settle the victim’s case. A Rev. Ruben V. Abaya, JCD is listed online in a 2012-2013 Catholic directory as Defender of the Bond of the Laoag diocese and as chaplain for Monasterio de Santa Clara, a convent in Laoag City, province of Illocos Norte

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UNITED STATES
The New York Times

Editorial

With the issue of sexual assault becoming more visible on campuses, colleges are trying a variety of approaches to addressing the problem. One recent study of Canadian universities found that teaching female freshmen risk assessment and self-defense techniques reduced their risk of being assaulted. Other experts have argued that such programs need to reach all young people, including boys, much earlier than college.

A recent editorial in The New England Journal of Medicine pointed out that 40 percent of women who report being raped say they were first assaulted before the age of 18, which suggests that assault prevention education should start well before high school. In fact, several programs introduced in middle schools have proved effective.

In a group of Illinois middle schools, teaching communication and emotion management to students reduced both sexual harassment and homophobic name-calling. And a study of 30 New York City middle schools found that a combination of anti-violence posters, student-led mapping of especially dangerous areas of the school building (with corresponding increased security in those areas) and safety planning for victims led to significant reductions in inappropriate touching at school.

Researchers are also studying whether teaching students about sexual health reduces the risk of assault. Some educators believe that it does and that students should learn not just about preventing pregnancy and diseases but also about how to decide when they want to have sex and how to respect other people’s decisions.

Parents may object to their children learning about sexuality in middle school and even before, but it’s possible to address this issue with children in age-appropriate ways. In the Netherlands, for example, children in kindergarten learn about things like how to express affection, as part of a broader educational program that in later grades includes information about contraception and consent. Dutch teenagers do not have sex any earlier, on average, than teenagers in the United States. And the birthrate of teenagers in the Netherlands is about one-fifth the United States rate, according to the World Bank.

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UNITED STATES
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on July 14, 2015

There has been no shortage of news this summer when it comes to the US clergy sex abuse crisis. Although the Vatican is attempting to clean up the mess as much as possible before Pope Francis’ September visit (including accepting the resignations of the St. Paul and Minneapolis archbishop and bishop, as well as finally ousting the convicted Kansas City-St. Joseph bishop), very little has changed when it comes to zero tolerance.

You can read about some of the recent scandals—where credibly accused priests remain in ministry—here, here, and here.

We still need to remain vigilant. And as more victims in other organizations such as the Boy Scouts and religious groups besides the Catholic Church come forward and demand justice, it’s vital that we remember that our top priorities must always be child safety and victim healing.

In light of this, let’s go back to basics: the Code Words.

If you or your child are a part of an organization with an allegation of child sexual abuse, demand transparency … or leave the group. And if you’re wondering if your institution is transparent, keep an eye out for these cover-up Code Words. Not every code word means that there is sexual abuse, but every one of these code words can be a sign of real trouble and cover-up.

* Boundary violation
* Inappropriate touching
* Victim alleged additional details, discredited
* Long hugs
* Kissing
* Secrets
* Confidential investigation
* Accused is a minor
* Tickling, horseplay, rough-housing
* Questionable photos
* Monitored employee
* Not allowed to work with children
* Immature (when describing an employee)
* Consensual relationship with a teen/child
* Well-developed child
* Troubled/emotionally disturbed child or family
* History of alcohol/drug abuse (in victim or alleged perpetrator)
* Mature teen
* Lap-sitting
* Co-sleeping
* Overnight, unsupervised trips
* Affair with a teen/child
* Inappropriate (and not described) conduct
* Internal investigation (that is not made public)
* Employee sent to undisclosed treatment
* “Times were different”
* After numerous interviews, child retracted the story
* Complete review of personnel file (that is not made public)
* Misunderstood affection

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Big Brial

TUESDAY, JULY 14, 2015

By Ralph Cipriano
for Bigtrial.net

The civil case of Billy Doe, the truth-challenged former altar boy who’s seeking to cash in on an improbable tale of serial sex abuse, was originally scheduled for trial against the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on Aug. 3rd.

The Pope is scheduled to be in Philadelphia a month later, from Sept. 25-27, for the World Meeting of Families.

What were the chances of the Pope and Billy, however briefly, sharing a media spotlight?

Apparently zero. On July 10, on the court docket there’s a new trial date posted for the civil case of Billy Doe v. the Archdiocese of Philadelphia et al of Nov. 9th.

Meanwhile, when Pope Francis visits the city, he’s scheduled to visit Philadelphia’s Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility. But one of the inmates the Pope won’t be meeting with is Msgr. William J. Lynn, the first Catholic administrator in the country to be sent to jail for failing to supervise predator priests.

According to Lynn’s lawyer, Thomas A. Bergstrom, Lynn was moved last week from Curran-Fromhold to SCI Waymart, a state prison located two and a half hours north of the city.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
CBS Philly

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A former church official jailed for his handling of priest sexual-abuse complaints no longer resides at a Philadelphia jail on the pope’s U.S. itinerary.

Monsignor William Lynn is serving a minimum three-year sentence for endangering children in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

The 64-year-old Lynn has recently been housed at the city’s Curran-Fromhold Correctional Center while appealing his 2012 conviction.

But defense lawyer Thomas Bergstrom says he is now back at a state prison near Scranton.

Appeals courts have been split on whether Lynn should have been convicted under the child-endangerment law and he has been in and out of prison.

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ARKANSAS
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

By Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
This article was published July 10, 2015

A former Mount St. Mary Academy athletic director who was convicted of not immediately reporting a sexual relationship between a teacher and a student had her teaching license suspended for a year Thursday.

Kathy Griffin, 58, will have her teaching license suspended from July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2016, according to an agreement that her attorney, Clayton Blackstock, made with the state Department of Education. She could receive her license at the end of that period.

The Arkansas Board of Education unanimously agreed to accept the agreement Thursday.

Griffin would have faced a revocation of her teaching license, but Blackstock said he had looked back at similar cases to see what type of punishment was imposed. She had voluntarily surrendered her license after her misdemeanor conviction and hasn’t been teaching for three years, he added.

A jury convicted Griffin in 2013 of failing to immediately report a sexual relationship between former math teacher and coach Kelly O’Rourke, now 44, and a student, who was 16 at the time the relationship began. O’Rourke was later convicted of first-degree sexual assault.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Mail

Ex-priest, 67, who used to dress up as Santa says he couldn’t have sexually abused two young boys because he is too fat

By EMMA GLANFIELD FOR MAILONLINE

A former priest who used to dress up as Santa has claimed in court that he couldn’t have abused two young boys because he is too fat to be sexually active.

Christopher Howarth, from Uckfield, East Sussex, who is also a former deputy school principal, is accused of 19 counts of abusing two underage boys between 2005 and 2011.

However, the 67-year-old, who dressed as Father Christmas to visit families in his parish, denies the offences – telling jurors he has not been sexually active since the mid-1990s because of his weight.

Howarth, who was a lay priest at St Michael’s in Little Horsted, East Sussex, Holy Cross in Uckfield and St Margaret’s in Ifield, West Sussex, said he was in ‘total, utter shock’ when he was arrested by police a fortnight after being suspended as a priest in December 2012.

He said he believes the allegations were motivated by financial gain.

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

CANADA
CBC News

The Archdiocese of St. Boniface issued an apology Tuesday after a former priest that served at the Holy Family Parish on Winnipeg’s Archibald Street pleaded guilty to sexual assault in court Monday.

Rev. Ronald Léger, 77, pleaded guilty to three sex assault charges and one charge of sexual interference when he appeared in court. The offences occurred between 1984 and 2004.

The sexual interference charge is because one of the victims was under 16 years of age.

“The Archdiocese of St. Boniface continues to express its deep sorrow to the victims who have come forward, as well as to their families and the entire parish community of Holy Family who have been affected by the acts of their former pastor,” the organization’s statement read.

The statement also praised the courage of the victims who had come forward, as well as those you had yet to reveal their experiences.

The archdiocese said the organization has been working closely with police since February 2014.

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

NEW MEXICO
Gallup Independent

Published in the Gallup Independent, Gallup, NM, July 3, 2015

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Independent correspondent
religion@gallupindependent.com

ALBUQUERQUE — The Diocese of Gallup’s request to auction unwanted real property in Arizona and New Mexico was approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David T. Thuma June 26.

The purpose of the property auction is to help the Gallup Diocese fund its plan of reorganization, including payment of administrative expenses.

With Thuma’s approval, the Gallup Diocese will now hire Tucson Realty & Trust and Accelerated Marketing Group, a California firm, to conduct the auction and an accompanying media blitz designed to promote the auction. Statements submitted by both companies assert the firms have “extensive experience marketing difficult, rural properties” in the Southwest.

If the auction is scheduled as diocesan attorneys first proposed, it should be held within 90 days of Thuma’s order, or before the end of September.

The Diocese of Gallup listed 38 properties, made up of 116 land parcels, on its initial auction list. In its motion, the diocese said it might add or delete properties from the list as the marketing and sale process proceeds.

The initial auction list included 18 parcels in Apache and Navajo counties in Arizona, and 98 parcels located in nine New Mexico counties, including 64 parcels outside of San Rafael, in La Vega Estates. Six parcels are located in Gallup.

According to Thuma’s order, Tucson Realty & Trust and Accelerated Marketing Group will be paid “the sum of $45,000 or such lesser cost as may be the actual expense” of marketing the properties. The companies will also retain a 10 percent buyer’s premium from the auction for each property sold.

St. Bonaventure dispute

No one filed an objection to the proposed auction, although the attorney for St. Bonaventure Indian Mission and School was apparently considering such a move. Thuma twice issued orders extending the deadline for the Thoreau mission to file an objection, but no objection was ever filed.

Instead, Thuma’s order approving the auction included reference to St. Bonaventure and its property dispute with the Diocese of Gallup. Thuma noted the disputed Thoreau property is not currently listed on the auction list, but added the diocese had reserved the right to add more property for auction.

“The Debtors dispute that St. Bonaventure has any interest in the Disputed Property,” Thuma’s order stated. “The Debtors and St. Bonaventure wish to reserve all their rights and arguments with respect to the interests they assert in the Disputed Property.”

In his order, Thuma prohibits the Gallup Diocese from adding any of the disputed property to the auction list absent further order of the court, but he said the diocese may seek to do so after providing at least seven days’ notice to St. Bonaventure.

In addition, Thuma’s order included an attached exhibit that featured a list of the disputed property in Thoreau that included St. Bonaventure’s use of the property. This was an apparent nod to St. Bonaventure’s recent complaints.

When the Diocese of Gallup filed for bankruptcy, Bishop James S. Wall and his bankruptcy attorneys listed more than a dozen properties in Thoreau as being real property owned by the diocese. However, they neglected to note that most of the Thoreau property had been used by St. Bonaventure for decades.

In a recent media interview, St. Bonaventure executive director Chris Halter cried foul and complained that Wall and his attorneys had noted the use of other property by church entities such as Catholic Charities but excluded any mention of St. Bonaventure.

Now with Thuma’s order, the disputed Thoreau property’s use is finally listed as St. Bonaventure Indian School, a school parking lot, teacher housing, mobile home parks, thrift store, transportation barn/garage, volunteer/low income housing and vacant lots.

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NEW MEXICO
Gallup Independent

Published in the Gallup Independent, Gallup, NM, July 10, 2015

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Independent correspondent
religion@gallupindependent.com

GALLUP — Tucson businessman George H. “Hank” Amos III is optimistic his company will be able to replicate for the Diocese of Gallup what it was able to do for the Diocese of Tucson a decade ago.

And for Amos that means auctioning off every piece of excess real property and getting good prices with each sale.

Amos, the CEO and president of Tucson Realty & Trust Co., has been authorized by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, along with Todd Good, the CEO and president of Accelerated Marketing Group, to conduct the marketing and auction of excess real property owned by the Gallup Diocese.

The auction is part of the diocese’s effort to raise money to help fund its Chapter 11 plan of reorganization.

Amos said Monday that he and Good were successful in selling all of the Diocese of Tucson’s excess property, including a number of land parcels that Amos described as out in the “middle of nowhere.”

“We sold every single one,” he said, adding, “They sold their properties for more than what they appraised for.”

Amos credited those unexpected sales and high prices to supporters of the diocese who purchased the properties. “A lot of people wanted to help the church out,” Amos said, adding that he assumes the same thing will happen with the Diocese of Gallup sales.

“It’s definitely the best way to dispose of these properties,” Amos said, explaining if the diocese tried to sell the land through traditional real estate methods, it would take years to sell all the properties.

According to Amos, there are currently 19 land parcels in Arizona on the auction list and 101 parcels in New Mexico. The Arizona parcels are slated to be auctioned in Phoenix on Sept. 12, he said, and the New Mexico parcels are scheduled to be auctioned in Albuquerque on Sept. 19.

Amos said he and Good plan to market the properties locally, regionally and nationally. They also plan to physically visit each property prior to the auctions, he said, as part of their marketing research.

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NEW MEXICO
Gallup Independent

Published in the Gallup Independent, Gallup, NM, July 11, 2015

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Independent correspondent
religion@gallupindependent.com

ALBUQUERQUE — A month after the Diocese of Gallup entered court ordered mediation, the diocese’s bankruptcy case seems to have derailed.

Any hopes that the Gallup Diocese might be closer to a resolution of its Chapter 11 case were dashed this week with a flurry of motions filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court by attorneys for the diocese and attorneys representing clergy sex abuse claimants.

On Monday, attorneys for the diocese filed notice of an expedited status hearing slated for July 17 and requested the bankruptcy court order the parties back into mediation with a new mediator. Two days later, attorneys representing clergy sex abuse claimants filed several motions asking the court to lift the bankruptcy case’s automatic stay that prohibits civil lawsuits against the diocese from moving forward. And in a surprising development related to those motions, an Arizona attorney revealed he recently filed a 14th clergy abuse lawsuit against the Diocese of Gallup in spite of the case’s automatic stay.

Failed mediation

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge David T. Thuma now has the challenge of getting the case back on track and moving forward during Friday’s upcoming hearing.

Exactly what went wrong during last month’s mediation is unclear. Retired U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Randall J. Newsome conducted the failed mediation June 10-11. Newsome also presided over the failed mediation in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee bankruptcy case, a case that has dragged on for more than four years.

“The Debtors believe that a change in mediator will facilitate the mediation process,” lead diocesan bankruptcy attorney Susan G. Boswell stated in her motion to the court Monday. Boswell declined to further elaborate in response to media questions.

“Mediation matters are confidential by law,” she said in an email Friday. “We will not be commenting on the mediation.”

However, in her motion, Boswell requested Thuma approve attorney Frank “Dirk” Murchison as the new mediator. According to Murchison’s website, he has been an attorney for more than 40 years and has offices in Texas and New Mexico. Since 2001, Murchison’s practice has been limited to arbitration and mediation of catastrophic personal injury litigation and complex commercial, estate, trust, employment and sexual abuse cases. His website states he has successfully mediated over 60 clergy sexual abuse cases.

New abuse lawsuit

When contacted Friday, Phoenix attorney Robert E. Pastor, who represents 17 sex abuse claimants in the bankruptcy case, also agreed he was “not permitted to speak about the mediation or settlement discussions.” However, in court documents filed this week, Pastor blamed the Diocese of Gallup and its insurance companies.

“I believe that the mediation failed because the Debtor and its insurance carriers, despite sworn depositions of individual Survivors, did not conduct a fair, independent, and reasonable claims evaluation,” Pastor stated.

Pastor did, however, email a copy of an amended civil lawsuit he filed in Arizona’s Coconino County Superior Court on June 24. The plaintiff in the case, identified as Jane L.S. Doe, alleges she was sexually abused by the late Brother Mark Schornack “when she was a young girl at the Catholic church and school located in St. Michael’s Arizona” on the Navajo Nation. The lawsuit does not specify a time period when the abuse allegedly occurred.

Schornack, a Franciscan friar who was assigned to Native American missions in the Southwest, died in 2012. He was named as a perpetrator in another lawsuit filed by Pastor previously.

The Diocese of Gallup was initially named as a defendant in this latest civil complaint, along with Franciscan provinces in New Mexico and Ohio, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, St. Michael’s Mission and School and Schornack.

But should the Gallup Diocese have been named as a defendant while it is in bankruptcy? When the diocese filed its Chapter 11 petition in November 2013, that filing triggered an “automatic stay” that halted all litigation against the diocese from moving forward.

Pastor has since dropped the Gallup Diocese as a defendant. In a notice of voluntary dismissal without prejudice, filed with Coconino County Superior Court Tuesday, Pastor reserved the right to amend the complaint in the future and add the diocese back in as a defendant if the U.S. Bankruptcy Court lifts the automatic stay.

Lifting the stay

On Wednesday, Pastor and his co-counsel John Manly filed motions for relief from the automatic stay so three of their clergy sex abuse lawsuits could move forward in Arizona. The three cases include the recently filed lawsuit against Schornack, as well as earlier lawsuits alleging abuse by the late Rev. Clement Hageman and the Rev. Raul Sanchez, a former chancellor for the Gallup Diocese who is reportedly now living in Mexico.

Diocesan attorney Boswell declined to comment on the Schornack lawsuit or the motions to lift the automatic stay because they are matters pending before the court.

However, attorney James Stang, the legal counsel for the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors that represents the interests of sex abuse claimants, has weighed in with his committee’s support for lifting the automatic stay. In a detailed 35-page memorandum also filed Wednesday, Stang laid out his legal arguments and cited dozens of court cases and bankruptcy law.

“Civil trials will provide valuations of abuse cases that will educate and inform all of the parties,” Stang argued. “Trials may also force the debtor and its insurance carriers to make a reasonable evaluation of the claims. Ultimately, trials will lead to a speedier conclusion of this bankruptcy process and the sooner payment of entitled creditors.”

Stang described the Diocese of Gallup’s bankruptcy case as being “at a near dead-stop,” and he cited the Diocese of Wilmington’s Chapter 11 case as an example of how allowing such civil trials can prove to be “a constructive way to break logjams” in church bankruptcies.

In an email Friday, Pastor said lifting the automatic stay was important to his clients who are survivors of clergy sex abuse.

“Over the course of the last five years, Bishop James Wall has had every opportunity to make good on his promise to help heal the wounds caused by clergy sexual abuse,” Pastor said. “Throughout that time the diocese has refused to disclosed (sic) the files of credibly accused priests, refused to publish a complete list of priests who hurt children, and refuses to acknowledge the severity of the harm these Gallup priests caused. The diocese has used our civil justice system and the bankruptcy court to delay and deny survivors of abuse the justice they deserve. We believe a civil jury made up of citizens of this community has the power to resolve these disputes in a fair and just manner.”

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NEW MEXICO
Gallup Independent

Published in the Gallup Independent, Gallup, NM, July 7, 2015

Property listed in documents has low value

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Independent correspondent
religion@gallupindependent.com

GALLUP — With the U.S. Bankruptcy Court’s approval of the Diocese of Gallup’s plan to auction some of its real property, the question arises: Just how much money might the diocese get from the sale of its six properties it is willing to sell in Gallup?

That’s anybody’s guess at this point, but if the “actual values” of the six properties — as listed by the McKinley County Assessor’s Office — offer any clues, it won’t be a large amount. In fact, those assessor’s actual values for the properties only added up to about $183,000, or about the price of one middle class home in Gallup.

The diocese is auctioning off real property in Arizona and New Mexico to help fund its plan of reorganization. Although it owns more property in and around Gallup, the diocese is currently only listing six of those properties for sale. In addition, the diocese is selling about 19 parcels of real property in Arizona and about 95 other parcels in various New Mexico counties.

Of the six Gallup parcels, three are on Gallup’s south side and three are on the city’s north side. One is zoned for commercial use, but the remaining five, although they are located in residential districts, are poorly suited for residential use. Four are on rocky hillsides, and three are landlocked, with no road access. The following is a closer look at each property.

■ Parcel No. 2-106-088-088-110 (McKinley County Assessor’s Account No. R050261): This downtown parking lot is located on the northwest corner of Aztec Avenue and Fourth Street. It is directly across the street from the Lowe’s Downtown Plaza, another Diocese of Gallup property that is not included on the auction list. The former site of a gas station, the parking lot is currently being leased by the city of Gallup for city vehicles. It is located in a heavy commercial district zone of C-3A. The assessor’s office lists the property as having an actual value of $119,280, but the lot’s real market value is unknown.

■ Parcel No. 2-105-087-522-352 (McKinley County Assessor’s Account No. R050547): This small vacant lot sits directly east of the Sacred Heart School gym and is located on the southeast corner of Park Avenue and Fourth Street. The parcel’s actual boundary lines do not follow the boundaries of the gravel lot. The parcel is zoned as RS-2, or a single family residential district, although there are no nearby homes. Currently, the lot is sometimes used for overflow parking for sporting events. The assessor’s office lists the actual value of the parcel as $16,090.

■ Parcel No. 2-105-088-052-047 (McKinley County Assessor’s Account No. R005169): This is a landlocked parcel of land on a steep hill. The parcel is directly west of a house sitting on the corner of Burke Drive and Idaho Circle, and the parcel runs down the hillside from Burke. Another hillside parcel just to the north is currently listed for sale by another owner. The zoning is RM-4 for a multiple family residential district. The assessor’s office lists the property as having an actual value of $2,840.

■ Parcel No. 2-105-088-519-402 (McKinley County Assessor’s Account No. R179523): This is another landlocked parcel of land on a steep hill. Located north of East Wilson Avenue, the parcel is the rocky hillside behind the Missionary of Charities property, beginning at 201 E. Wilson, and ending behind the Casa Reina Prayer Chapel at 217 E. Wilson. It is zoned as RS-OD, or a single family residential overlay district. The assessor’s office lists the parcel as having an actual value of $10,590.

■ Parcel No. 2-105-088-428-444 (McKinley County Assessor’s Account No. R051012): This is a large rocky hillside and canyon parcel located north of Pershing Avenue and south of Wilson Avenue. It has a steep roadway access by way of Pershing and Grandview Drive. It also has an RS-OD zoning as a single family residential overlay district. Much of the hilltop is strewn with broken glass. The assessor’s office lists the parcel as having an actual value of $30,940.

■ Parcel No. 2-105-088-476-479 (McKinley County Assessor’s Account No. R205842): This is another landlocked rocky hillside on Gallup’s north side. The parcel, which features a steep cliff, is located southeast of Gallup’s Sky City Park. It also has an RS-OD zoning as a single family residential overlay district. The assessor’s office lists the parcel as having an actual value of $3,570.

McKinley County Assessor Kathleen Arviso did not return a call requesting information about how the county determines actual values of property compared to market values.

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AUSTRALIA
7 News

AAP
July 14, 2015

An elderly former Anglican priest and scout leader has been charged over child sex allegations dating back 60 years.

Police say the 83-year-old Wembley Downs man sexually assaulted three boys – two aged 10 and the other 16 – in separate incidents between 1954 and 1979 while he served as an Anglican priest in Ravensthorpe and as a scout leader at Wembley.

He has been charged with two counts of indecent treatment of a child under 14 and one of committing indecent practices between males in a private place.

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IRELAND
Irish Central

Dara Kelly @irishcentral July 14,2015

A letter from the nuns at Sean Ross Abbey in County Tipperary to adoptive parents, published this week, throws a harsh light on the prevailing attitudes of the clergy to unwed Irish mothers and their offspring, who were often forcibly adopted for cash, records show.

Mary Lawlor was offered for adoption by the nuns at Sean Ross Abbey in the early 1960s. This week she published letters to her adoptive parents from the nuns that underline their disapproving attitudes to the children of unwed and poor mothers.

In the letter the nuns warn Lawlor’s adoptive parents not to choose a child of the “wrong class,” and they advise them that “the better class girl has to leave here quickly so as not to be detected in her sorrow,” implying that her child will be much younger and easier to parent.

In the letter dated July 26, 1961, the sister in charge of the Roscrea institution writes to Lawlor’s adoptive parents:

“We had a wonderful reference from your priest and we think you should take a baby over six months, for one reason the baby will be brought up just as you would bring your own child up and a child of two years has been too long in an institution to fall easily into your ways.”

The letter continues: “Another thing is the better class girl has to leave here quickly so as not to be detected in her sorrow, so the better class child will be younger… We have a very nice little girl Mary Margaret who is of good background and very intelligent,” the nun wrote.

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MICHIGAN
Click on Detroit

DETROIT –
Prosecutors are seeking a 14-year prison sentence in a child pornography case involving a priest who was a teacher years ago at a Detroit high school.

The government calls the Rev. Richard Kurtz a “wolf in shepherd’s clothing.” His collection of child porn was discovered in 2011 when priests were packing his belongings in Oakland County and Chicago.

The 70-year-old Kurtz is returning to federal court for his sentence Tuesday.

In 2001, he was dismissed from University of Detroit Jesuit High School when a student accused him of sexual assault on a trip to Colorado. The family didn’t pursue charges at the time, but Kurtz was convicted 10 years later and placed on probation.

He was living in Missouri last year when he was arrested in the child porn case.

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MICHIGAN
CBS Detroit

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) – Prosecutors are seeking a 14-year prison sentence in a child pornography case involving a priest who secretly recorded hockey players while teaching years ago at a Detroit high school.

The government calls the Rev. Richard Kurtz a “wolf in shepherd’s clothing.” The 70-year-old is returning to federal court for his sentence Tuesday.

Kurtz’s collection of child porn was discovered in 2011 when priests were packing his belongings in Oakland County and Chicago.

The government says Kurtz went into the hockey locker room and secretly recorded video of players as they changed clothes in the late 1990s. Beyond that, the FBI also discovered that Kurtz transferred additional child pornographic material from his residence in Clarkston, Mich. to another home in Chicago.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Sexueller Missbrauch durch Angehörige der katholischen Kirche im Bistum Trier

[Diocese of Mainz: controversial e-mail]

Mit freundlicher Genehmigung darf ich in diesem Zusammenhang auch folgende Fragen, die mich per email erreichten, veröffentlichen:

“Warum wurde im Fall der Mainzer Kita so schnell mit fristloser Kündigung reagiert, statt die ErzieherInnen -wie es fair gewesen wäre- erst einmal bis zur Klärung des Sachverhaltes freizustellen? Durch die Kündigungen wird den Mitarbeiterinnen die Möglichkeit genommen, sich öffentlich zu den Vorwürfen zu erklären.

Wenn die MitarbeiterInnen in summa derart pädagogisch unfähig waren, wie vom Bistum Mainz dargestellt, stellt sich die Frage, wie diese jemals vom Träger eingestellt worden konnten bzw. ob die von diesem angebotenen Schulungen entsprechend hohen Qualitätsstandard haben (dies wird von Insidern bezweifelt): “Alles mit über 14- jährigen ist ok” (Zitat Generalvikar Giebelmann)

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ISRAEL
Arutz Sheva

By Tova Dvorin
First Publish: 7/13/2015

One of the complainants alleging she was sexually abused by a well-known – but yet-unnamed – rabbi in Tzfat (Safed) has written to Arutz Sheva on Monday, before the rabbi is due in court, in an open letter to the defendant.

“I read the things you said to reporters, that you do not know us and want to look us in the eyes,” she began. “The truth this time is that you’re right for a change.”

“You really do not know us, you know just know our bodies; you never saw us,” she wrote. “You did not see our souls.”

“We have husbands, children, families,” she continued. “You trampled on our dignity.”

“Thank God we were released from you, you are in prison and probably will stay there for many years to come.”

“Thanks to your arrest, we can lift our heads high,” she added. “We know you are evil and we’re fine, that you are bent and we are straight, that you are unclean and despicable and we are your victims of that.”

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ARKANSAS
5 News

JULY 13, 2015, BY CURT LANNING

POPE COUNTY (KFSM) – An Arkansas youth minister was arrested for the second time in 2015 and accused of sexually assaulting a college student, telling her “God wants this,” authorities say.

Jonathan Neeley, of Nashville, Ark. (formerly of Russellville) surrendered himself to authorities on Friday (July 10) after learning of the warrant for his arrest, according to the River Valley Leader.

Court documents state that between July 1, 2012, and June 30, 2013, Neeley sexually assaulted an intern working directly for him at a student center near the Arkansas Tech University campus.

The victim told authorities that during the time they worked together, Neeley began to ask her about her “past experiences with boys” and making comments about how beautiful she was, according to court documents.

She said their relationship became physical, and it happened nearly every time they were together, court documents state.

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IOWA
KCRG

By Katie Wiedemann, KCRG-TV9 July 14, 2015

DUBUQUE — The Catholic Archdiocese said it has cleared one of its former priests of sex abuse allegations from the mid-1980s.

Earlier this year, Jeff Buchheit accused Reverend Leo Riley of abusing him while he was an altar boy in 1985. That year, Riley was serving as a Church of the Resurrection associate pastor.

Buchheit made the claims after the statute of limitations had expired, meaning no criminal case was possible. However, any time a priest or former priest in the Archdiocese of Dubuque is accused of sexual abuse, its Clergy Abuse Review Board investigates. The board draws its members from a wide range of disciplines.

“The head of the review board right now is a judge,” said Archbishop Michael Jackels. “We have former police investigators and people involved in the mental health area.” Jackels added no Archdiocese employees are allowed on the review board.

But the President of Iowa Survivor’s Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) takes issue with one aspect of the board’s composition: the lack of abuse survivors.

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MAINE
Portland Press Herald

BY SCOTT DOLAN STAFF WRITER
sdolan@pressherald.com | @scottddolan | 207-791-6304

Michael Geilenfeld, the American founder of an orphanage for boys in Haiti, testified Monday that he had never heard of Freeport resident Paul Kendrick before Kendrick’s first email arrived on Jan. 31, 2011, accusing him of sexually abusing children in his care.

“I never sexually abused children anywhere,” Geilenfeld said. “I did not know what he was relying on. … This is the first time I had heard from him.”

Geilenfeld said that after that first email, he would awake nearly every day at St. Joseph’s Home for Boys in Port-au-Prince to find new “blitzes” of emails from Kendrick to more than 500 recipients claiming that Geilenfeld was a pedophile.

Geilenfeld filed a federal lawsuit against Kendrick in 2013, accusing him of defamation.

Geilenfeld’s testimony came as the defamation trial entered its second week in U.S. District Court in Portland. He testified all day Monday and is expected to return to the witness stand Tuesday.

The trial was supposed to begin in October but was delayed after Geilenfeld was imprisoned in Haiti while police investigated Kendrick’s claims. Criminal charges against Geilenfeld were dropped in April, but only after he spent 237 days locked up. Haitian officials have since told the Associated Press that attorneys for alleged abuse victims have petitioned to have the case re-examined.

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NEW MEXICO
Albuquerque Journal

By Associated Press
PUBLISHED: Monday, July 13, 2015

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup wants a new mediator in its bankruptcy case after negotiations fell apart last week.

The Gallup Independent reports (http://bit.ly/1jl8YBA) the diocese filed for bankruptcy in November 2013 as lawsuits mounted over claims of clergy sex abuse.

Lawyers for the diocese filed a motion in bankruptcy court following last week’s mediation, calling for a new mediator, while attorneys representing the claimants have filed a motion to remove bankruptcy protections preventing civil lawsuits against the diocese from proceeding.

Phoenix attorney Robert E. Pastor represents 17 of the case’s sex abuse claimants, and filed an amended lawsuit in Coconino County Superior Court that adds a plaintiff.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian

Helen Pidd
Monday 13 July 2015

Alexis Jay officially retired two years ago – not that you’d notice. In 2013 she stepped down from her role as Scotland’s chief social work adviser, shortly after being awarded an OBE. But rather than tending to her garden she ended up digging up horrific claims of child sexual exploitation in Rotherham. That job done, the scalps of many officials taken, she moved on to sort out Northern Ireland’s safeguarding children boards.

But last week the 66-year-old began her biggest task yet, when she joined the panel of what has been described as Britain’s most complicated and wide-reaching statutory inquiry ever. The independent inquiry into child sex abuse (IICSA) is expected to take five years investigating claims of abuse in faith and religious organisations, the criminal justice system, local authorities and national institutions such as the BBC, NHS and Ministry of Defence.

Jay was one of the first names confirmed as part of the panel. So mammoth is the task that last week the government committed £17.9m to cover the next year of the inquiry alone. “I think it’s very complex and I don’t under-estimate the scope of the inquiry. It’s huge. Very wide ranging,” she says, when I meet her in Glasgow.She is under no illusions about how tough the new gig is – not least because the inquiry had such a rocky start, losing the support of victims very early on, along with its first two chairs, who were found to be too close to the establishment figures they would be investigating. But Jay, who is a visiting professor at the University of Strathclyde’s Centre For Excellence For Looked After Children, insists she is determined. “I am passionately committed to it taking place and to the victims and survivors, and to get justice and truth out of the process,” she says.

Almost a year on from the televised press conference at Rotherham football club that made her name, Jay still can’t believe the rumpus her report caused. Taking her place in front of a cluster of microphones last August with a leopard-print iPad, she read out a statement to the assembled press corps revealing that, by her conservative estimate, 1,400 children had been sexually exploited in Rotherham over a 16-year period.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic News Service

By Nancy Frazier O’Brien Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Because the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” is a “living document” open to differing interpretations, those in charge of implementing the charter at the diocesan level face a variety of challenges, according to the head of the bishops’ national office.

“We’re dealing with a charter that is loose in the way it is written … in order to respect the bishop’s right to govern his own diocese,” said Deacon Bernie Nojadera, executive director of the Secretariat for Child and Youth Protection at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington.

“We’re 12 years into the (sex abuse) crisis and we’ve done quite a bit to get to where we are,” he added, referring to the first audit after the 2002 adoption of the charter by the bishops in Dallas. “But there are always things to learn.”

Deacon Nojadera said U.S. Catholics at every level need to guard against “a tendency for complacency” toward the sex abuse crisis.

“We have established procedures and policies, and we think that we have that in place,” he told Catholic News Service. “There might not be that ongoing mindfulness and certain small things might start to slide. They are not really paid attention to the way they should.”

In a separate interview, Francesco Cesareo, chairman of the National Review Board, echoed Deacon Nojadera’s concerns. The board is the all-lay group that monitors dioceses’ performance in dealing with sexually abusive priests and creating a safe environment for children throughout the church.

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CANADA
Winnipeg Sun

BY DEAN PRITCHARD, WINNIPEG SUN
FIRST POSTED: MONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

A former Winnipeg priest who founded a drop-in centre for youth pleaded guilty Monday to sexually assaulting three boys.

Ronald Leger, 77, will return to court for sentencing early next year. Crown and defence lawyers have agreed to jointly recommend a sentence but did not disclose it to court.

“My client is presently in a therapeutic setting, more than anything to deal with some of these issues and prepare him for what will … ultimately be a significant incarceratory period,” defence lawyer Saul Simmonds told court.

Leger ran Ron’s Drop-in on Sterling Avenue between 1980 and 1995. Leger admitted to sexually assaulting two boys he met through the centre, the first in 1984 and 1985, the second in the late 1980s, and a third boy in 2004 and 2005.

Court heard the offences involved brief fondling of the boy’s genitals. The first victim was 12 or 13 years old and visiting the drop-in centre when Leger came up behind him and squeezed his genitals, Crown attorney Debbie Buors told court. The boy asked Leger what he was doing and immediately left the drop-in centre.

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FLORIDA
NBC 2

By Sophie Nielsen-Kolding, Collier County reporter

EAST NAPLES, FL –
A priest accused of sexually abusing a child 30 years ago has been cleared and could return to his East Naples church.

The Diocese of Venice tells NBC-2 that an investigation done by another district found the allegation against Father Leo Riley couldn’t be substantiated.

Last year, a man came forward with accusations Riley sexually abused him in the 1980s, when Riley worked in Iowa.

Following the allegation, Riley was placed on administrative leave from St. Peter Parishioners Church in East Naples.

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CANADA
Winnipeg Free Press

By: Mike McIntyre

An elderly, defrocked Catholic priest is facing a lengthy prison sentence after admitting to years of sexual abuse against three young Winnipeg boys he took under his care.

Father Ronald Léger, 77, the former pastor of Holy Family Parish on Archibald Street, pleaded guilty Monday to sexual assault and sexual interference. It was a surprise move. Léger had been arrested months earlier and was expected to make a routine court appearance.

Sentencing isn’t expected to be held until early 2016 to allow Léger, who is out on bail, to finish an treatment program.

“He’s presently in a therapeutic setting,” defence lawyer Saul Simmonds said.

But that freedom has an expiry date, as Crown and defence lawyers said Léger will be receiving a “significant incarceratory period” under a joint recommendation they expect to make.

Léger was arrested earlier this year after the victims went to police after years of silence. Two of the victims were attacked in the 1980s, while the third occurred between 2002 and 2004. They were between the ages of nine and 18 at the time of the abuse.

Crown attorney Debbie Buors read a brief statement of facts in court Monday, saying Léger was like a mentor to the three victims. He repeatedly fondled them at various locations, including his own home and even a school changing room following a basketball game one of the boys had just played in.

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UNITED KINGDOM
London Evening Standard

MARTIN BENTHAM

Published: 13 July 2015

The judge leading the Government’s inquiry into historical child sex abuse will receive a pay package worth up to £500,000 a year.

New Zealander Justice Lowell Goddard, who has vowed to name politicians and other high-profile figures involved in paedophile activity, will be paid an annual salary of £360,000.

That means she is due to be paid £1.8 million by the end of the five-year inquiry. The total could rise if the inquiry overruns.

Justice Goddard will also be given a living allowance of £110,000 a year, £12,000 a year to cover utility bills, and other entitlements including four return flights a year to New Zealand for her and her husband.

A further two economy-class return flights a year will be provided by taxpayers for other family members.

Her package also includes the use of a chauffeur-driven car for official business. The size of the judge’s pay deal will prompt renewed concern about the scale and cost of the inquiry.

It is budgeted to cost taxpayers £17.9 million in its first year alone and is certain to cost tens of millions of pounds before it is completed.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian

Alan Travis Home affairs editor
Monday 13 July 2015

The New Zealand high court judge chairing a UK inquiry into child abuse is to receive a pay package worth £500,000 a year, it has been disclosed.

Justice Lowell Goddard, who officially opened the inquiry last week, is to receive a salary of £360,000 a year with a rental allowance of £110,000 a year and a £12,000 utility allowance on top.

The terms of her appointment also provide for four return flights a year to New Zealand for Goddard and her husband, plus two economy return flights a year for her family. The Home Office will provide her with a car and driver to be used for official travel only.

Goddard’s appointment is for the duration of the inquiry, which is expected to last until at least 2020, but she is on an initial fixed-term contract until December 2018 with provision to extend it for a further period to be agreed with the Home Office.

Keith Vaz, chair of the Commons home affairs committee, who has praised Goddard’s “outstanding credentials” for chairing the child abuse inquiry, nevertheless complained in March that his committee had been “duped” into approving her appointment without being told any details of her salary package.

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