ABUSE TRACKER

MARYLAND
CBS Baltimore

Derek Valcourt

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Bail remains the same—$2.5 million—for the Episcopal church bishop charged in the December drinking and driving death of a Baltimore bicyclist.

Derek Valcourt has new information learned during Monday’s court hearing.

Prosecutors asked the judge to revoke bail. That didn’t happen, but for now, the bishop remains locked up. Her attorney says she’s unlikely to be able to come up with the $2.5 million needed to post bail.

Fifty-eight-year-old Episcopal church Bishop Heather Cook does have an alcohol problem, her attorney told a district court judge at her Monday bail review hearing. Cook’s attorney said after the fatal accident that killed bicyclist and father of two Thomas Palermo, Cook spent 12 days at Father Martin’s Ashley: a posh, non-denominational rehab facility in Havre de Grace, which boasts online of its treatment programs for alcoholism and drug addiction.

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.

MARYLAND
The Blatimore Sun

By Justin Fenton
The Baltimore Sun

Episcopal Bishop Heather Cook, who has been accused of killing a bicyclist while driving drunk and texting, is expected to remain jailed after a judge on Monday upheld her $2.5 million bail — an amount her attorney says she cannot post.

District Court Judge Nicole Pastore Klein rejected a request from prosecutors to deny bail, but also disagreed with Cook’s attorney that her bail should be lowered. Klein said the allegations against Cook show a “reckless and careless indifference to life.”

“I can’t trust her judgment if released,” Klein said.

Cook, 58, was arrested Friday and charged with manslaughter and other offenses related to the crash that killed bicyclist Thomas Palermo, 41, in North Baltimore last month. Her initial bail was set by a District Court commissioner that night.

Cook, who is being held at Central Booking, appeared in court Monday afternoon via a video link. She wore a pink jumpsuit and was brought in separately from other defendants, while most defendants are escorted in groups. Her attorney, Jose A. Molina, said he didn’t know why she was treated differently.

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ITALY
Times LIVE (South Africa)

An Italian bishop who has come under fire for failing to check on the sexual misconduct of his priests has been given an “assistant,” the Vatican said Saturday.

Pope Francis’s decision to dispatch Bishop Guglielmo Borghetti to the diocese of Albenga-Imperia was widely seen as an attempt to help resident bishop Mario Oliveri, 70, get a better grip on local church affairs.

In a statement, Oliveri said he voluntarily asked for assistance, admitting that he had neglected certain duties due to old age and the need to look after a sick brother.

He said Borghetti would specifically help him with the training of priests.

In November, the Corriere della Sera newspaper had reported that some priests from the Albenga-Imperia diocese had criminal records for paedophilia, some had posed naked on Facebook, one doubled up as a barman in nightclubs, while another was caught stealing church money.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Independent

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby admits Church cannot stop banned paedophile ex-vicar from using ‘Reverend’ title

The Archbishop of Canterbury has admitted that the Church is powerless to stop banned members of the clergy from using the “Reverend” title, after a convicted paedophile allegedly used the honorific and wore a clerical collar.

In 1999, Guy Bennett, the former vicar at St Mary’s parish church in Oxted, admitted to indecently assaulting three 11-year-old girls between 1976 and 1988, according to BBC News.

He was jailed for nine months and placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years. During the proceedings, he denied four further offences which were left on file.

Following his suspension by the Church of England, Bennett retired from the post as he awaited the outcome of his trial.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Giselle Wakatama

Dozens of suicides, allegedly linked to abuse by several Hunter Valley priests, has prompted the formation of a group that is calling for an in-depth probe by the Royal Commission.

Scores of Hunter Valley men and women suffered abuse at the hands of the region’s priests, and more than a dozen clergy and lay people have been charged with around 500 offences.

It has resulted in several convictions and hefty jail sentences.

The abuse prompted a Special Commission of Inquiry into two dead paedophile Catholic priests from the Hunter Valley, with it recommending one senior church official be prosecuted.

The toll it has taken on families is not lost on child abuse advocates, who have repeatedly raised concerns about a mass number of suicides of people who allegedly suffered abuse.

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INDIA
Pune Mirror

By Prakruti PK | Jan 13, 2015

YET ANOTHER OCCASION FOR POCSO ACT ENFORCEMENT IN B’LORE

Three members of the school management allegedly manhandled, sexually assaulted students staging a protest against installation of new principal.

In what may be described as an appalling first for a prestigious all-girls’ private school located in the heart of Bangalore, the Central division police have registered a complaint under various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act along with Section 354 (a) of the Indian Penal Code against three members of the school management for allegedly manhandling and sexually assaulting students, who were staging a protest on the school’s premises, on Thursday morning. The protest was against the installation of a new principal.

Highly placed police sources confirmed that a former teacher and member of the Church of South India, Karnataka Central Diocese, approached the Cubbon Park police on Saturday and filed an FIR against three members of the school management claiming they used foul language to abuse the girls, reportedly threatened to hurt them, and allegedly sexually assaulted them in a bid to get the protesters to disperse and return to their classrooms.

A senior police officer told Mirror, “We received a letter from the school on Wednesday saying they were anticipating some sort of trouble due to the announcement that the temporary principal was being replaced by a new one. They requested us to be present near the school the next morning, and accordingly, we reached the premises by 7.30 am on Thursday, but were asked to stay outside.”

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MASSACHUSETTS
The Justice

By Tate Herbert

After almost nine years as the Catholic chaplain and coordinator of the Multifaith Chaplaincy at Brandeis, the Rev. Walter Cuenin has left the University for unspecified health reasons, according to a campus-wide email from Dean of Students Jamele Adams.

Cuenin previously left Brandeis temporarily in 2012 to undergo treatment for cancer at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. It is unclear whether this year’s permanent departure is related.

According to Adams’ announcement, the University is working with the Archdiocese of Boston to identify a new Catholic chaplain to serve on campus. In the interim, the University will provide transportation to and from Our Lady, Help of Christians church in Newton for the 6 p.m. Sunday services in place of the regular Sunday evening services at Bethlehem Chapel. …

Cuenin joined Brandeis as the Catholic chaplain in 2006, according to a Justice article from February of that year. He came to the University from Our Lady, Help of Christians, where the archdiocese accused him of mishandling funds and forced his resignation, according to the article.

However, many viewed it as punishment for his outspoken criticism of the Boston Archdiocese’s and Cardinal Bernard Law’s handling of the clergy sexual abuse scandals in the early 2000s. In 2002, Cuenin successfully led a cohort of local priests in calling for Law’s resignation.

By that time, he had also established a reputation as an advocate for controversial issues within the Church, such as gay and lesbian rights and the role of women in Catholic leadership.

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PHILIPPINES
Rappler

Aries Rufo

Published 4:00 PM, Jan 13, 2015

AT A GLANCE:

* Sex scandals in the Church have affected the youth’s desire to enter religious life
* 13% of youth respondents said they entertained thoughts of leaving the Church
* A Church protocol on erring priests allowed ‘one-child policy’
* In recent times, two high-ranking bishops resigned due to sexual misconduct
* More priests are seeking clerical dispensation than face dismissal

MANILA, Philippines – Will the rock star Pope be able to reignite the waning attraction of the Filipino youth to religious life? Is there hope in Pope Francis?

A national youth survey has confirmed what Church leaders have known all along: there’s a yawning gap between the youth and the Church, and it’s validated by how the young are shying away from entertaining thoughts of entering religious life.

In particular, financial and sex scandals in the Philippine Catholic Church have created a dent on the faith of young Filipino Catholics, a national survey on the youth showed.

While the gravity of the situation has not reached the scale of the West, Asia’s largest Catholic country has shown symptoms of crisis in faith, inflicted by the very people supposed to safeguard the faith.

The national youth survey commissioned by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines-Episcopal Commission on the Youth showed that young Catholics are not as attracted to joining a religious vocation as in the past, which is attributed to the scandals faced by the Church in recent years.

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SPAIN
The Local

The Spanish government is considering raising the age of sexual consent from 13 to 15 in a reform of the country’s penal code, in a bid to limit child sexual abuse.

Adults embarking on sexual relationships with those under 15 would be liable to be arrested for the crime of child abuse, under the new proposal.

Sources close to the ruling Popular Party were quoted in Spain’s Huffington Post as saying that the introduction of the proposed measure depends on the approval of the ministries of health and justice.

The issue will be debated in the Spanish parliament in the next few days.

The debate over the age of consent and age of marriage has been raging in Spain for some time.

Spain remains one of Europe’s most permissive countries regarding teenage matrimony and consensual sex. The country’s age of consent, 13, is the lowest in Europe after the Vatican’s 12.

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PHILIPPINES
The Freeman

By Miriam Garcia Desacada and Jessa J. Agua (The Freeman) | Updated January 13, 2015

PALO, LEYTE — A top official of the Armed Forces of the Philippines yesterday morning dismissed reports that a nephew of a “bomber” from Mindanao is now in Palo and has been here for the past several months, renting a P40,000-per-month house.

Colonel Mario Dimaesep, commander of the AFP’s Civil Military Relations Service, said the reports were baseless and merely intended by a group to frighten people who will be coming to Leyte to welcome Pope Francis.

Dimaesep said the military, which will be joining the security detail of the Pope during the entirety of his visit to Leyte, are fully equipped in all aspects and can give the Pope the best security.

“We are ready and people who have criminal desires have no place in this occasion. People must remain calm, as we are here for peace and not for war,” Demaesep added.

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MINNESOTA
KSTP

[with video]

By: Ellen Galles

Up until now, she has been known as “Jane Doe 20.” But for the first time, 29-year-old Marie Mielke shared her name and her story of clergy abuse. She has pending lawsuits against the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and two of its priests.

Monday the file on her accused abuser, Fr. Michael Keating, was made public as part of the 2014 settlement agreement in the John Doe case.

Mielke says Keating started abusing her when she was a teenager. When she finally had the courage to report it several years later in 2006, she says the archdiocese failed to believe her, treated her like she was unbalanced and helped cover up for Fr. Keating.

She says sharing her story is part of the healing process.

“Hiding something that isn’t your fault is exhausting. Being told something didn’t happen when it really did… being told you’re crazy. After a while, the burden isn’t worth carrying anymore,” Mielke said.

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MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

Madeleine Baran
Jan 12, 2015

Internal archdiocese documents released Monday by a clergy sex abuse attorney claim former University of St. Thomas president Dennis Dease knew of child sex abuse allegations against a Catholic Studies professor for several years.

The newly released documents contradict the university’s public statement last year that Dease and other top administrators did not know about the allegations against the Rev. Michael Keating until late 2013.

The timing is important because Keating was allowed to work closely with students at St. Thomas. In October 2013, MPR News reported a clergy review board had recommended Keating not mentor young people. But it wasn’t clear then if the archdiocese had passed along that recommendation to the University of St. Thomas. Last October, St. Thomas officials concluded that Dease and those who reported directly to him did not know of the accusations.

Documents released Monday, however, indicate that was not the case and that some St. Thomas leaders were told about the claims against Keating.

In one 2010 memo, Archbishop John Nienstedt rebuked Donald Briel, then head of St. Thomas’ Catholic Studies program and Keating’s boss, for letting Keating work a semester at the university’s Catholic Studies program in Rome. Nienstedt also tightened Keating’s monitoring plan to require him to receive approval for additional assignments.

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MICHIGAN
ClickonDetroit

LANSING, Mich. –
James Francis Rapp, 74, has been charged with multiple felonies for the alleged sexual assault of several Michigan boys in the 1980s.

Rapp was a priest, teacher, maintenance supervisor and wrestling coach at Jackson Lumen Christi High School in Jackson Michigan from Sept. 1980 to Feb. 1986. The charges against him come after an investigation by Jackson police.

“People who abuse their authority by preying on children must be brought to justice, no matter when the crime was committed,” said Attorney General Bill Schuette. “Our aggressive, victim-centered approach has brought us one step closer to securing justice for these brave men who stepped forward to tell of the abuse they endured many years ago.”

“I would like to praise the work of Sgt. Tim Schlundt in this investigation,” said Jackson County Sheriff Steven Rand. “Many hours were spent in an attempt to gather facts about this case. Despite the age of this case, the lives of the victims continue to be impacted. It is my hope that the opportunity for victims to have their day in court will bring some degree of comfort.”

Two of Rapp’s alleged victims reported being sexually abused by Rapp in the spring of 2013, more than 30 years after the alleged crimes happened. The claims led to police launching an extensive investigation, which revealed several more people who claimed to be victims.

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MINNESOTA
Fox 9

by Fox 9 staff

ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) –
A woman who says she was sexually abused by former St. Thomas professor and priest Michael Keating spoke publicly for the first time Monday. The law firm handling the case also released once-secret files on Keating, who has denied any wrongdoing.

Marie Mielke had previously been identified as Jane Doe 20 in legal documents. Monday, the 29-year-old mother of two said that hiding something that isn’t your fault is exhausting. As a young teen, she says a man on his way to becoming a priest befriended her family and ultimately took advantage of her.

“It was not my fault and it was never my fault,” Mielke said. “The shame that I carried was not mine to carry — it was his.”

She says Father Michael Keating sexually touched her many times from the time she was 12 to 15. St. Paul attorney Jeff Anderson says new documents from a clergy sex abuse settlement help Mielke prove her case.

“This file reflects the way the archdiocese and top officials chose to handle Marie’s report,” Anderson said.

The file shows a clergy review board didn’t find sufficient evidence when Mielke brought the case to them in her 20s, but it did order monitoring in 2007 for Keating that three years later the archdiocese realized wasn’t happening at all. Anderson also says the documents show Keating had a history of physical contact with young women — a history he feels was ignored.

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MINNESOTA
CBS Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A woman who says she was sexually abused as a child by a Catholic Priest told her story openly and shared her name for the first time on Monday.

Marie Mielke said Father Michael Keating sexually abused her beginning when she was 12 years old back in the late 1990s.

She says she didn’t recall or understand what had happened until years later, and when tried to tell the Archdiocese of Minneapolis and St. Paul what happened, they covered it up.

After years of therapy she got an attorney and decided to sue the Archdiocese and Keating.

Keating’s attorney said he denies the claims. The Archdiocese said he is on a leave pending an internal investigation.

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MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press

By Katie Kather
kkather@pioneerpress.com
POSTED: 01/12/2015

A Chisago County woman previously identified as Doe 20 in a clergy sexual abuse case against the Rev. Michael Keating has come forward.

Marie Mielke, 29, filed a lawsuit against Keating, the archdiocese and former Vicar General Kevin McDonough in Oct. 2013.

Mielke told reporters Monday that her goal in telling her story is to help other victims of abuse step forward and hold alleged abusers like Keating accountable.

“Hiding something that isn’t your fault gets exhausting,” Mielke said.

She said she first reported to archdiocese officials in 2006 that she had been molested, between 1997 and 2000 by Keating, who joined the University of St. Thomas faculty in 2005.

The abuse began when she was about 12, Mielke said. Keating was 30 years her senior and in the seminary at the time.

Keating, now 58, had been a frequent guest at her family’s Chisago County home. He was placed on leave after Mielke filed her suit in October 2013. He resigned Sept. 16.

Mielke called Keating’s alleged abuse the greatest betrayal of her life.

“It almost killed me. I felt so ashamed I wanted to die,” she said.

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PAKISTAN
Nation

Wishal Raheel

It is one thing to be criticized for doing something by individuals who do not indulge in similar things themselves. It is a completely different thing to get criticized for doing something by people who do the same things in private.The former can be productive and beneficial; productive criticism allows an individual to see things with a new perspective. The latter, however, is an open act of hypocrisy; something that can be found in abundance in the Pakistani society.

Hypocrisy is something that can be found at all levels within our society. However, it seems as if certain religious groups have managed to remain ahead of all other groups with regard to this fundamental flaw that flourishes in our society. Sad as it is, the ‘maulvis’ that are supposed to be the representatives of Islam have managed to bring immense disgrace to the religion merely because of the great extents to which they practice hypocrisy. From giving interviews while being intoxicated to promoting bigotry to indulging in child molestation, the mullah community has managed to indulge in pretty much everything that it ‘strongly condemns’. As a result of this, these ‘guardians’ of religion have managed to make a joke not only out of themselves but have also managed to attract extremely negative criticism towards their religion.

A mullah who openly condemns the usage of alcohol, promotes violence towards the ‘kafirs’ who drink and makes the masses aware of the terrible punishments that wait in hell for people who drink is naturally expected to stay away from alcohol himself. That, however, isn’t always the case. While many mullahs probably do abstain from drinking, cases of drunkmullahs aren’t unheard of. A mullah on vacation might conveniently forget the beliefs that he promotes for a while. A maulvisahab on an international flight might find himself free from the restrictions imposed by the religion that he himself preaches as he enjoys a glass of wine.

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MINNESOTA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

Date: Monday, January 12, 2015
Source: Anne Steffens, Interim Director of Communications

From Bishop Lee Piche, Auxiliary Bishop

“Rev. Michael Keating has been on a leave of absence from the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis since October 2013, which means he is not exercising any priestly ministry. His leave of absence came after he was named in a lawsuit regarding claims that he had sexually abused a minor before he was a priest. Father Keating will remain on leave until the archdiocesan Clergy Review Board can complete an internal review of this matter, which is still ongoing.

The assessment by the Clergy Review Board will be comprehensive and include a revisit of decisions made in the past, in light of any new information that is produced as a result of the civil lawsuit and the archdiocese’s prevailing commitment of placing victims first.”

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MICHIGAN
Michigan Radio

By STEVE CARMODY

James Francis Rapp spent six years as a teacher and wrestling coach at Lumen Christi High School in Jackson during the 1980’s.

It was during that time that prosecutors allege the former Catholic priest sexually assaulted several young boys.

Prosecutors filed 13 charges against Rapp Monday, including three counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct. Each of the first-degree felony counts is punishable with a sentence of up to life in prison. Rapp faces up to 15 years in prison on each of the 10 lesser counts.

Law enforcement started investigating Rapp in 2013, after several alleged victims came forward with stories of abuse dating back to the early 1980s.

Jackson County Sheriff Steven Rand says the investigation lead to more alleged victims coming forward.

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MARYLAND
The Baltimore Brew

Fern Shen and Mark Reutter January 12, 2015

Calling her a danger to the community and potential flight risk, a Baltimore District Court judge refused to lower Bishop Heather E. Cook’s $2.5 million bail this afternoon.

“To me she represents a grave danger to the community,” said Judge Nicole Pastore Klein at a bailing hearing at the John R. Hargrove Sr. District Court Building on Patapsco Avenue.

“I cannot trust her judgement. . . She showed a reckless and careless indifference to life.”

The judge rejected a request by defense attorney Jose A. Molina to reduce Cook’s bail to $500,000 and allow her to return to an alcohol treatment program she had entered on December 28, the day after she hit bicyclist Tom Palermo, then fled the scene as he lay dying of massive head trauma.

As The Brew previously reported, Bishop Cook was staying at Father Martin’s Ashley, a drug and alcohol treatment center near Havre de Grace, following the public uproar after she was identified as the hit-and-run driver.

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VATICAN CITY
ANSA

(ANSA) – Vatican City, January 9 – Pope Francis is considering the feasibility of expanding the number of cardinal electors who will chose the next pontiff to 140 from the current 120.

The proposal is contained in a document recently presented to Francis by Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera.

The issue is to be discussed in the consistory, or meeting of college of cardinals, next month.

During the March 2013 conclave that elected Pope Francis, only cardinals who were under the age of 80 at the time of the resignation of the previous Pope Benedict XVI were eligible to vote.

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MICHIGAN
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Monday, Jan. 12

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 )

We’re thrilled that an already convicted and imprisoned serial predator priest faces more charges. This should happen more often.

[MLive]

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette is filing more child sex charges against James Francis Rapp who allegedly molested kids at Jackson Lumen Christi Catholic High School in Jackson in the 1980s.

Once a child molester is convicted, many people who could be helpful get complacent. They assume his sentence will stand, his appeals will fail, and he’ll be kept away from kids for many years. But often, child molesters – especially clerics – get top notch defense lawyers, exploit legal technicalities, and escape with little or no jail time. Then, when other victims, witnesses and whistleblowers find this out, it’s too late for them to really make a difference.

So we’re glad Michigan’s attorney general is being prudent and pro-active here.

There are two important lessons. First, these days, police and prosecutors are often more aggressive and creative about pursing child predators, even in older cases. (The old adage “where there’s a will, there’s a way,” fits here.) More law enforcement officials should follow Schuette’s example and consider going after even elderly child molesting clerics.

Second, no victim, witness or whistleblower should ever assume ‘it’s too late’ to seek justice. It’s our job to share what we know and suspect about possible child sex crimes. It’s the job of law enforcement to determine whether anything can be done. If we stay silent, we’re helping those who commit and conceal child sex crimes.

So if you saw, suspected or suffered any crimes or cover ups related to Fr. Rapp, it’s time to find the courage to speak up, so that the vulnerable can be protected, the wounded can be healed and the truth can be exposed and so that cover ups are deterred.

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MINNESOTA
Canonical Consultation

Jennifer Haselberger

01/12/2015

‘…when first we practice to deceive’. Or at least so said Sir Walter Scott, writing in ‘Marmion’. The quote is a particularly apt choice to introduce my reflections on today’s release of the personnel file of Father Michael Keating, a priest of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis ‘on leave’ as a result of accusations of sexual misconduct with a minor. Although much of what the file contains was known to me before today, this most recent review of its contents has left me with seven questions that I believe require a response from the Archdiocese. They are as follows:

1). Where is the rest of the file?

Those of you who have read my affidavit in the Doe 1 case know that I testified about the situation of Father Keating, and also listed several documents that demonstrate the extent of the Archdiocese’s knowledge of the accusations of sexual misconduct against him and other clergy prior to my going public in September of 2013. Some of those documents became public with today’s release, including the list of priests identified as requiring monitoring under the POMS [Promotor of Ministerial Standards] program (Keating File, Part 2, pp. 276-277). So, I ask, where are the other documents that named Keating, including John Selvig’s April 2013 list of POMs participants and their offences, and the ‘Assignment List’ created by Judy Delaney? Also, where is the memo from Andy Eisenzimmer to Archbishop Nienstedt regarding Father Keating’s participating in the ‘Rediscover’ initiative, the Archbishop’s response, as well as all the other emails and memos exchanged during the planning for such major events? I would also ask why the file contains some emails and documents regarding Father Keating’s 2011 appointment to the Presbyteral Council, but none whatsoever regarding the 2009-2010 decision not to allow him to serve the remainder of Father Laird’s term as Academic Dean following Laird’s appointment as Vicar General. Finally, where is the preliminary investigative report of Father Talbot, as well as the subsequent weekly reports required by the decree opening the investigation (more on this below)?

2). What punishment has been administered to Father Kevin McDonough?

This question is not the result of self-interest, as I have long believed that the only way that Father McDonough and I will resolve our quarrel is by meeting with pistols at dawn. Rather, I would like to know what punishment has been inflicted upon the former Vicar General and Delegate for Safe Environment for repeatedly undermining the efforts of his Archbishop(s).

The Keating file demonstrates McDonough working against the will of his bishop beginning in 2006, when the Clergy Review Board recommended that Father Keating be enrolled in the POMS monitoring program (Keating File, Part 1, p. 128). Emails between [Bishop] Lee Piche, Father McDonough, and Tim Rourke show that McDonough deliberately delayed taking action until May of 2010, when it could no longer be avoided (Keating File, Part 2, pp. 1-3).

A similar undermining is evident in McDonough’s exchange with Father James Shea of the University of Mary in August of 2012. Although Father Keating was instructed by Archbishop Nienstedt to disclose his history to the University, Father McDonough intervened and presented Father Shea with a significantly rosier account of what had transpired (along with plenty of his own opinions) in contravention of the Archbishop’s order (Keating File, Part 2, pp. 156, 158, 159-161).

Obviously, the University of Saint Thomas took conclusive steps by removing Father McDonough from its Board of Trustees. But has the Archdiocese taken any action against him? His resignation as Delegate was in the works long before I resigned, and at his request. The website for Saint Peter Claver parish in Saint Paul still lists him as pastor, as does this weekend’s bulletin from Incarnation/Sagrado Corazon. Perhaps rumors of an investigation into Father McDonough’s conduct are true, and the Archdiocese is preparing to impose some sort of penalty. Still, it would seem that leaving him in parishes in the meantime (especially given investigations by law enforcement and the questions that have been asked about Father McDonough’s participation) calls into question the Archdiocese’s commitment to its own disciplinary program.

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For immediate release: Monday, Jan. 12

Statement by Frank Meuers of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 952-334-5180 , frankameuers@gmail.com )

Can proof of deceit possibly be clearer? The newly disclosed email from Fr. Kevin McDonough is conclusive evidence that he endangered kids and lied to a colleague. He should be defrocked.

[Star Tribune]

McDonough is a long time, high-ranking archdiocesan official who dealt with dozens – perhaps hundreds – of clergy sex cases. He deliberately deceived Atlanta Catholic priest who asked a simple question: Has Fr. Thomas Keating been accused of child sex crimes?

McDonough said no when he knew the honest answer was yes. And as a result, Fr. Keating, who was supposedly being “monitored” was able to travel to Atlanta and perform a wedding among completely unsuspecting families.

It takes just seconds for a child predator to shove his tongue down a girl’s throat or his hands down a boy’s pants. How will Fr. McDonough feel if it turns out that Fr. Keating sexually assaulted an Atlanta child during his trip there, a trip that should never have happened and likely would never have happened if not for Fr. McDonough’s decision to lie to his Georgia colleagues?

Every single week, we read of Catholic officials who claim that they are “monitoring” admitted, arrested, paroled, or credibly accused child molesting clerics. Only a fool would believe these claims. Few Catholic officials have had more experience in clergy sex abuse and cover up cases than Fr. McDonough. But his own writings prove he does not take the safety of children seriously and that the alleged “monitoring” of credibly accused predator priests is a dangerous joke. This is a pattern, we strongly suspect, that is repeated almost daily across this country and the globe: Catholic officials misleading police, prosecutors, parishioners, parents and the public about predator priests.

Finally, we applaud Marie Mielke, who is speaking publicly today for the first time about the pain cause by a Fr. Keating, and his callous, selfish archdiocesan supervisors and colleagues. She should be praised and thanked for her courage and compassion. By her bravery, she is exposing wrongdoers and protecting children. We are deeply grateful to her. Every St. Paul parent and parishioner should be too.

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 JERSEY
Essex News Daily

By: Sean Quinn – Staff Writer

WEST ORANGE — Speak with Bob Hoatson for just a few minutes and it becomes immediately apparent that he is a genuinely nice man. Immensely friendly and down-to-earth, Hoatson just seems like the type of guy who would shovel your porch without being asked or check your house while you were away on vacation — selfless. It is easy to imagine him working for the Catholic Church, which he did for more than 30 years.

What is not evident is the fact that Hoatson has experienced many personal tragedies throughout his life. He said he was sexually abused by more than one clergyman as an Irish Christian Brother and later as a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Newark, and is now recalling repressed memories of being molested by a school custodian as a young boy. In 2011, he was dispensed from his priestly vows by the Vatican upon his request after facing years of resistance from the church over his work as a clergy-abuse victims’ advocate.

But Hoatson did not succumb to his hardships. Instead, he co-founded the Road to Recovery nonprofit organization to support victims of sexual abuse like himself. And though his past experiences being molested were undoubtedly horrific, he said they have proven to be an asset in helping those dealing with similar circumstances.

“It is immeasurable, the assistance that it provides,” Hoatson told the West Orange Chronicle in a Dec. 29 phone interview. “When I talk to somebody who has been through it, I can say ‘I know what you are going through, I think. I have an idea of what you are going through because I have had similar experiences.’ So when they talk about nightmares and flashbacks and depression and anxiety and all kinds of other symptoms about having been sexually abused, I know what they are talking about.”

Road to Recovery’s mission is to help victims of sexual abuse in any way possible, including providing financial assistance and getting addicts into drug rehabilitation programs. Yet perhaps the most vital component of its work is simply providing the empathy and emotional support necessary to help abuse victims recover from their trauma.

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MICHIGAN
Road to Recovery

January 12, 2015

Road to Recovery, Inc., a 501 (c) 3 non-profit charity based in New Jersey, applauds Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette for criminally charging James Francis Rapp, a priest of the Oblates of the St. Francis de Sales religious order, who is currently incarcerated.

In addition to congratulating all victims, Road to Recovery, Inc. particularly congratulates Victim #1, a graduate of Jackson Lumen Christi High School in Jackson, Michigan, whom Road to Recovery has been advocating on behalf of since he came forward a few years ago. It was the courage, perseverance, and determination of Victim #1 that prompted other victims to come forward, especially young men who attended Jackson Lumen Christi High School in Jackson, Michigan.

Victim #1, by going forward and pursuing criminal charges against Fr. James Rapp, made it possible for other victims of Fr. Rapp to report their abuse and begin their healing. Road to Recovery offers its assistance and advocacy services to any and all victims of Fr. Rapp and any other abuser, and all information will be held in strictest confidence, as in the case of Victim #1.

Robert M. Hoatson, Ph.D.
Co-founder and President

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

[Replay: News conference on alleged archdiocese coverup]

Article by: TONY KENNEDY , Star Tribune Updated: January 12, 2015

New documents released in a clergy sexual abuse lawsuit show that former Vicar General Kevin McDonough intervened to help a prominent University of St. Thomas priest cover up child sexual abuse allegations so he could perform a wedding out of state.

The Rev. Michael Keating was rejected in his first attempt to have officials in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis verify that he had “never been accused of any act of sexual abuse or sexual misconduct involving a minor.”

But McDonough stepped in and agreed to push the paperwork, in what attorneys for the alleged sexual abuse victim describe as a lie. By then, McDonough had spent years dealing with various sexual allegations involving Keating, who was supposed to be monitored at St. Thomas on the advice of a special church panel that reviewed him in 2007.

McDonough, still a pastor in St. Paul, was the archdiocese’s point person on clergy sex abuse allegations for many years.

The 2011 verification check came from a Catholic parish in Peachtree, Ga., to conform with the Archdiocese of Atlanta’s normal vetting process to determine if an outside priest has the qualifications and moral standing to perform sacraments. Keating needed the approval to preside at the wedding of his godson.

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MICHIGAN
WWMT

LANSING, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) – Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has announced charges against a former priest accused of sexually abusing boys.

74-year-old James Francis Rapp served as a priest, teacher, maintenance supervisor and wrestling coach at Jackson Lumen Christi High School in Jackson from Sept. 1980-February 1986. The charges follow an extensive investigation by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Dept.

Rapp is currently in prison in Oklahoma.

“People who abuse their authority by preying on children must be brought to justice, no matter when the crime was committed,” said Schuette. “Our aggressive, victim-centered approach has brought us one step closer to securing justice for these brave men who stepped forward to tell of the abuse they endured many years ago.”

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MICHIGAN
WTVB

LANSING, MI (WTVB) – Attorney General Bill Schuette today announced his Criminal Division has charged James Francis Rapp, 74, currently incarcerated in another state, with multiple felonies for his alleged sexual assault of several Michigan boys in the 1980s. Rapp served as a priest, teacher, maintenance supervisor, and wrestling coach at Jackson Lumen Christi High School in Jackson, Michigan from September 1980 through February 1986.

The charges follow an extensive investigation by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department with support from Schuette’s Criminal Division.

“People who abuse their authority by preying on children must be brought to justice, no matter when the crime was committed,” said Schuette. “Our aggressive, victim-centered approach has brought us one step closer to securing justice for these brave men who stepped forward to tell of the abuse they endured many years ago.”

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MICHIGAN
Attorney General Bill Schuette

Contact: John Sellek 517-373-8060

January 12, 2015

LANSING – Attorney General Bill Schuette today announced his Criminal Division has charged James Francis Rapp, 74, currently incarcerated in another state, with multiple felonies for his alleged sexual assault of several Michigan boys in the 1980s. Rapp served as a priest, teacher, maintenance supervisor, and wrestling coach at Jackson Lumen Christi (JLC) High School in Jackson, Michigan from September 1980 through February 1986.

The charges follow an extensive investigation by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department with support from Schuette’s Criminal Division.

“People who abuse their authority by preying on children must be brought to justice, no matter when the crime was committed,” said Schuette. “Our aggressive, victim-centered approach has brought us one step closer to securing justice for these brave men who stepped forward to tell of the abuse they endured many years ago.”

“I would like to praise the work of Sergeant Tim Schlundt in this investigation. Many hours were spent in an attempt to gather facts about this case,” said Jackson County Sheriff Steven Rand. “Despite the age of this case, the lives of the victims continue to be impacted. It is my hope that the opportunity for victims to have their day in court will bring some degree of comfort.”

Case Background

In spring of 2013, more than 30 years after the alleged crimes occurred, two of Rapp’s victims reported the alleged sexual abuse to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, who then launched an extensive investigation revealing several more victims.

JLC was not Rapp’s first church or school assignment. Rapp was ordained in 1959 and held teaching assignments in Philadelphia (1959 – 1961), Salt Lake City (1968 – 1973), and in Lockport, New York (1979 – 1980). Following Rapp’s resignation at JLC, Rapp served as a priest and teacher in Naperville, Illinois (1987 – 1990) and Duncan, Oklahoma (1990 – 1998).

On January 12, 2015, Schuette filed the following charges against James Francis Rapp in Jackson’s 12th District Court:

Three counts of First Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct, a felony punishable by up to life in prison; and,

10 counts of Second Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct, a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

If convicted of the first degree sexual assault counts, Rapp must also register as a sex offender for life in Michigan.

Rapp is currently incarcerated in another state. He is eligible for discharge in summer 2016. Attorney General Schuette will immediately begin the extradition process to bring Rapp to Michigan to face charges.

Citizens who believe they may have information about Rapp’s alleged sexual abuse are encouraged to contact the Attorney General’s Criminal Division at 313-456-0180.

Cold Case Sexual Assault Project and Role in Investigation

This case will be prosecuted by Attorney General Schuette’s Cold Case Sexual Assault Project (AGCCSA). Created in 2012, AGCCSA is funded by a United States Department of Justice-Office of Violence Against Women grant to combat sexual assault and sexual violence.

A criminal charge is merely an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

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MICHIGAN
MLive

By Theresa Ghiloni | tghiloni@mlive.com
on January 12, 2015

JACKSON, MI – Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette filed 13 criminal sexual conduct charges against a former Jackson Lumen Christi High School priest in Jackson County District Court on Monday, Jan. 12.

James Francis Rapp, 74, faces three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and 10 counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct for crimes he allegedly committed while assigned to Lumen Christi High School from 1980-86, according to a statement from Schuette’s office.

Rapp served as a priest, teacher, maintenance supervisor and wrestling coach during his time at Lumen Christi High School, according to the statement.

Rapp is incarcerated in Oklahoma on multiple felony charges. The investigation into the allegations against Rapp in Jackson began in the spring of 2013 when two men reported the alleged sexual abuse to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, according to the statement.

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MICHIGAN
WLNS

By Kevin Vanderkolk
Published: January 12, 2015

(WLNS) – After more than 30 years, Attorney General Bill Schuette today announced his Criminal Division has charged James Francis Rapp, 74, currently in prison in another state, with multiple felonies for his alleged sexual assault of several Michigan boys in the 1980s.

Schuette filed three felony counts of First Degree Criminal Sexual conduct and 10 felony counts of Second Degree Criminal Sexual conduct. If Rapp is convicted of the first degree counts, he must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life in Michigan.

In spring of 2013, more than 30 years after the alleged crimes occurred, two of Rapp’s victims reported the alleged sexual abuse to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, who then launched an extensive investigation revealing several more victims.

Rapp served as a priest, teacher, maintenance supervisor, and wrestling coach at Jackson Lumen Christi High School in Jackson, Michigan from September 1980 through February 1986. Prior to coming to Jackson Rapp held teaching positions in Philadelphia (1959-1961), Salt Lake City (1968 – 1973), and in Lockport, New York (1979 – 1980). Following Rapp’s resignation from Jackson Lumen Christi in 1986, Rapp served as a priest and teacher in Naperville, Illinois (1987 – 1990) and Duncan, Oklahoma (1990 – 1998).

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MINNESOTA
Jeff Anderson & Associates

LIVE: DOE 20 PRESS CONFERENCE

On January 12, 2015, Marie Mielke (Doe 20), courageously came forward to publicly discuss her sexual abuse at the hands of Michael Keating and how top officials at the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis mishandled the case between 2006 and 2013. Keating’s once secret priest file was also released to the public. In it, internal church documents show how church officials, especially Father Kevin McDonough, chose to protect Keating over Marie and other survivors.

Key documents from Keating’s file, the Amended Complaint, and other pertinent documents and statements are posted below.

Doe 20 Amended Complaint 9-22-14
Father Michael Keating Priest File Part 1
Father Michael Keating Priest File Part 2
Father Michael Keating Timeline
Father Michael Keating Photo
Father Michael Keating Key Documents
Father Peter Richards Statement
Jeff Huard Deposition-redacted

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MISSOURI
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For the third time in less than a year, Missouri SNAP has lost a dear, loyal and caring member. On Dec. 29, Kathy Woodard of St. Louis passed away. Her obituary ran in the Post-Dispatch on Jan. 11.

[obituary]

In the early 1990s, Kathy was the first person to attend a SNAP support group meeting in St. Louis, in the living room of my tiny apartment at 4023a Botanical. (She also became our oldest son’s first babysitter.)

Around 1992, Kathy joined a small, brave group of SNAP members who leafleted outside the US Conference of Catholic Bishops meeting in New Orleans. On that trip, SNAP also rented a room in the hotel where the bishops were meeting and invited all of them to sit down with us. None showed up.

Kathy was also one of the first to sue a St. Louis predator priest, Fr. John M. Kilcullen (now deceased) who molested her during her childhood.

Identified as “Jane Doe,” Kathy filed a lawsuit to warn parents about Kilcullen and to find and help others he assaulted. In a stunningly mean-spirited act, Catholic officials “outed” her by name in the St. Louis Review (while protecting Kilcullen by not mentioning his name). They also claimed that Kathy’s family didn’t support her allegations.

[BishopAccountability.org]

[SNAP]

It was one of the cruelest moves we’ve seen St. Louis archdiocesan officials take against abuse victims.

( Here’s a similarly mean-spirited one by Archbishop Robert Carlson from just last year:
[SNAP])

Please remember these two instances the next time you hear and read about Catholic officials pledging to be “compassionate” towards victims.

And please remember Kathy’s family and friends. She has two sons whom she loved dearly. She was a gentle, compassionate and dedicated survivor who helped many others struggling to recover from childhood horror.

You are loved and missed, Kathy.

(The other two Missouri SNAP members who passed away recently are Kay Goodnow of Kansas City who was abused by Fr. John C. Baskett and Tom Mullen of St. Louis who was abused two local priests.)

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

Fr. Peter Daly | Jan. 12, 2015 Parish Diary

Everywhere from Boston to Minneapolis, Catholic churches have closed or been consolidated into regional clusters. The chief reason is declining Mass attendance.

In New York, Mass attendance has fallen to European levels, around 15 percent on an average Sunday, according to The New York Times. In Boston, it is even lower, around 12 percent.

Nationwide, only 24 percent of Catholics go to Mass on an average Sunday, down from 55 percent in 1965.

Our parish is doing a little better than the national average on Mass attendance. We see about 30 to 35 percent of our members on an average Sunday. We have 1,100 to 1,200 people at our five Sunday Masses (four in English and one in Spanish).

Who comes? Generally, it’s the elderly, little children and their parents.

Who doesn’t come? Young adults, ages 18 to 40, especially if they are single.

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MINNESOTA
Jeff Anderson & Associates

[Doe 20 complaint]

Media Advisory

WHAT: At a news conference today a sexual abuse survivor of Father Michael Keating, Doe 20, along with her attorney Jeff Anderson will:

· Speak publicly about the sexual abuse she endured at the hands of Father Keating and her experience in reporting the abuse to the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. Doe 20 wants the truth to be known and will share her full story.

· Discuss how Father Kevin McDonough chose to protect Father Keating and lie about his history of sexual abuse allegations.

· Provide and review key documents from Keating’s priest file.

· This public disclosure was made possible by virtue of an agreement reached with the Archdiocese in the Doe 1 case.

WHEN: Monday January 12, 2015 at 1:00PM CST

WHERE: Jeff Anderson & Associates
366 Jackson St. Suite 100
St. Paul, MN 55101

NOTES: Doe 20 will be available for interviews.

The amended complaint filed by Doe 20 on September 22, 2014 and Keating’s priest file and key documents will be available on our website. We will live stream the press event online from our website www.andersonadvocates.com.

Contact Jeff Anderson: Office/651.227.9990 Cell/612.817.8665
Contact Mike Finnegan: Office/651.227.9990 Cell/612.205.5531

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

ALL 30 are dead, probably by suicide.

All 30 were abused by clergy or other religious officials in the Maitland-Newcastle Catholic diocese.

In some cases the link between those two factors appears clear and direct. In others the picture is complicated by time or circumstances.

The time seems right, now that a royal commission is inquiring into sexual abuse in religious institutions throughout Australia, to put the question of these troubling deaths – and many others like them – on the table for closer examination.

Some observers will ask what can be achieved by unearthing these sad stories of suicide tragedies. After all, in many cases it may now be virtually impossible to tease apart the various potential contributing factors and reach any sort of conclusion about the relative contribution of sexual abuse.

But as a series of articles in today’s Newcastle Herald suggest, there are matters worth investigating in several cases. A number of families appear anxious to learn more about the loss of their loved ones, and some others seem determined to simply have an acknowledgement from the church that the abuse may have played a part.

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INDIA
Daiji World

From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Jan 12: In perhaps the first incident of its kind in the history of the Archdiocese of Bangalore and probably even in Karnataka, the Vatican has suspended a priest, who was accused and tried in the court of “forcibly raping” an young college going girl in Tumakuru.

The priest, however, was acquitted by the court of the charge as all the witnesses including the girl, her parents, grandmother and others had turned hostile.

According to information independently confirmed by Daijiworld after contacting several authoritative sources in the Archdiocese, Congregation forthe Doctrine of the Faith, which is the highest body in the Roman Curia, has officially communicated to the Archbishop of Bangalore Dr Bernard Moras last week regarding its decision of suspending the exercise of “the priestly ministry in public” of Fr Simon Bartholomeo with immediate effect.

The Archbishop, when contacted by Daijiworld, declined to either confirm or deny the decision on suspension of the priest and merely said: “I am not at liberty to disclose any information on the issue. You have to speak to the person concerned (Fr Bartholomeo).”

However, it is reliably learnt that the Archbishop has divulged the contents of the communication from the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to the members of the Archdiocesan College of Consultors.

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UNITED STATES
Christianity Today – Leadership Journal

Maureen Farrell Garcia

When I read Leadership Journal’s article “From Youth Minister to Felon” last year, I wasn’t surprised that it had gotten past the editors. I agree with the editors that it was a mistake to publish it, yet I also know what it is like to be unable to discern the harm in a sex offender’s words and to believe a sex offender’s version of reality.

I was married for more than a decade to a Christian man who engaged in disturbing secret behaviors that included sexually abusing a female relative between the ages of 9-12. When the child courageously disclosed the abuse and my husband was confronted, he admitted to some of his abusive behaviors. However, he did so while providing serious spin to the facts.

Still, he was convinced by our pastors to turn himself in to the police, and he pled guilty to a misdemeanor in order to avoid a more serious charge, a trial, and potential jail time. He received probation and court ordered counseling sessions.

Reading the controversial article released a torrent of memories. I identified with the abuser’s wife who was deceived, betrayed, and then casually implicated by her husband. Typical of sexual abusers, my former husband also offered many justifications and reasons for his abuse, all of which shifted the blame and responsibility to someone else.

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MISSOURI
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Monday, Jan. 12

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

One of several Catholic predator priest centers in our area is in the news again today:

[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

Archbishop Robert Carlson refuses to discuss these pedophile priest centers in his archdiocese. (they include RECON, the Vianney Renewal Center, St. Joseph’s infirmary, and other church centers in Shrewsbury and Webster Groves.)

But these places couldn’t operate here without Carlson’s permission. He also refuses to disclose who these dangerous predators are or even how many there are. His continued and reckless secrecy puts children at risk and violates his repeated promises to be “open and transparent” about clergy sex abuse and cover up cases.

[BishopAccountability.org]

[BishopAccountability.org]

We feel very sorry for Mike Stenzhorn who’s disabled and wants to downsize but fears he won’t be able to sell his home. We applaud him for speaking out about this troubling situation. We also feel sorry for every parent and homeowner in Shrewsbury, Jefferson County, Franklin County and elsewhere who have groups of proven, admitted and credibly accused serial child molesting clerics secretly living nearby.

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VATICAN CITY
Gazzeta del Sud

Vatican City, January 12 – The Vatican on Monday denied reports that it has been alerted that it could be the next target of Islamist terrorists after last week’s attacks in France and called on the media not to feed alarmism. Vatican Spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the Holy See had not received “reports of specific risks” from foreign security agencies. “So it is not opportune to feed groundless concerns,” he added. Israeli State television reported that American intelligence services have warned the Vatican that it could be the next target for Islamist terrorists on Sunday, as international leaders joined around two million people taking part in a massive anti-terrorism rally in Paris. Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said Monday the Italian authorities had found no confirmation to the reports either. “We have done checks in the reporting system with the security authorities of other countries as it is not the case for us,” Alfano said.

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

The Archbishop of Canterbury has admitted he is powerless to stop an ex-vicar jailed for child sex offences from using the title “the reverend”.

Guy Bennett, who was a vicar in Oxted, Surrey, was sentenced in 1999 for indecently assaulting three girls.

Bennett was photographed in 2008 wearing a clerical collar.

Writing to another of Bennett’s alleged victims, Justin Welby said Bennett had been disqualified from holding any office in the Church.

Lucy Duckworth, who made a complaint of sexual abuse against Bennett to Surrey Police in 2008, had written to the archbishop about Bennett.

The former vicar, who retired when under suspension pending the outcome of his trial, denies assaulting Ms Duckworth or referring to himself as “the reverend”.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 12 January 2014 (VIS) – The director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., gave the following declaration to journalists today:

“Contrary to the claims made by some organs of the media, the Holy See has not been informed of specific risks by the security services of other Countries.

The Holy See maintains its usual, appropriate contacts with the security services, and in view of the current situation advises a reasonable level of attention and prudence, but concrete and specific risks have not been indicated.

There is therefore no reason to arouse concerns that may needlessly affect both those who live and work in the Vatican and the many pilgrims and tourists who visit on a daily basis”.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 10 January 2014 (VIS) – The presidents of the European Episcopal Conferences and the superiors of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will meet from 13 to 15 January in Esztergom, Hungary.

By the Instruction of 23 February 1967, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, on behalf of Blessed Pope Paul VI, had asked the Episcopal Conferences to institute an internal Doctrinal Commission, as a advisory organ for the same Episcopal Conferences and for the individual bishops in their concern for matters of doctrine of the faith.

To strengthen collaboration between the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Doctrinal Commissions, in 1982 it was decided to periodically gather together the presidents of the aforementioned Commissions at a continental level. One of the original characteristics of these meetings was the fact that the superiors of the Congregation travel to the various continents, thus underlining the importance of local and regional issues and their responsibility in facing doctrinal questions. The first of these meetings, during the prefecture of the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, took place in Latin America, in Bogota, (1984); it was followed by meetings in Kinshasa, Africa (1987); Vienna, Europa (1989); Hong Kong, Asia (1993); Guadalajara, Latin America (1996); and San Francisco, North America (1999). During the prefecture of Cardinal William Levada another encounter took place in Dar es Salaam (2009).

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IRELAND
The Herald

BY LUKE BYRNE – 10 JANUARY 2015

SEVEN Dublin mother and baby homes will be examined by a commission of investigation into the treatment and conditions of residents from the 1920s to late 1998.

St Gerard’s on Mountjoy Square and St Patrick’s at Pelletstown, Cabra, were named yesterday as Children’s Minister James Reilly published the inquiry’s terms of reference.

It emerged last year that documents belonging to the late Archbishop of Dublin John Charles McQuaid, who died in 1973, showed that St Patrick’s had high death rates in at least one year.

allegations

The records show that one in every three babies died in the home on the Navan Road in 1933.

The Pelletstown death rate was 34pc that year.

The other Dublin homes that have been included to be examined are Belmont in Belmont Avenue, Bethany Home in Rathgar, Denny House in Eglington Road, Ms Carr’s in Northbrook Road and Regina Coeli Hostel in North Brunswick Street.

There have been allegations of serious abuse by members of the religious congregations that controlled the homes.

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GUAM
KUAM

by Jolene Toves

Guam – With the delegation from the Vatican no longer on island one individual who was able to meet with them shares why the delegation contacted him for a meeting.

Over the course of a week the delegation met with various clergy, religious, and laity throughout the island filling their schedule with countless meetings but despite a full schedule the delegation managed to meet with Tim Rohr, author of the JungleWatch blog who was initially turned down by the chancery for a meeting. Rohr says it was the delegation who contacted him for the sit down, saying, “They wanted me to name three issues that I had with the archdiocese or with the church leadership and I named them right off the bat cause I was prepared for that number one bullying by these guys second of all lying and third neglect complete neglect of the church except for their little colt.”

Rohr says that the delegation was interested in what he meant with regards to bullying. In response Rohr shared some of the controversies within the archdiocese in particular that of Father Paul Gofigan and the Lastimosa Family, also alleging that the archdiocese from the pulpit has told parishioners not to view his blog, saying “Its sinful its evil”. Rohr says he also spoke of lies making reference to the responses made by the chancellor of the Archdiocese of Agana Father Adrian Cristobal to KUAM regarding the Redemportis Mater Seminary in Yona.

He said, “I have to call those lies because I can’t believe they are that stupid I don’t think they are actually lies they are making themselves I have to think at this point that Archbishop Apuron Father Cristobal and Monsignor David the Vicor General are just really simply foot soldiers for the guys that really run this diocese which I call The Neocatechemunal Masters,” he said.

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MINNESOTA
Fox Twin Cities

Updated: Jan 12, 2015

ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) –

A woman who says she was sexually abused by a priest as a teenager will speak publicly for the first time Monday. The 28-year-old accuses former St. Thomas professor and priest Michael Keating of sexually abusing her when she was 13.

The law firm handling the case will also release once-secret priest files for Father Keating, who has denied any wrongdoing.

The woman filed a lawsuit against Keating in 2013. She first reported the alleged abuse to the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis in 2006, but the lawsuit claims little was done upon her filing the report. Keating was in the seminary and 42 years old at the time of the alleged abuse.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

Mon, Jan 12, 2015

A priest accused of historic sexual offences in Dublin has been sent forward for trial to the Circuit Court.

The 58-year-year old priest, with an address in London, is charged with indecently assaulting a named female on dates unknown between 1978 and 1979 at a religious institution in South Dublin.

He appeared before Judge Bridget Reilly at Tallaght District Court on Monday for service of his book of evidence.

A solicitor for the prosecution told the court that the book was ready to be served.

She said the Director of Public Prosecutions had consented for the man to be sent forward for trial to the present sitting of Dublin Circuit Court.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued the following press release this morning:

WASHINGTON — Pope Francis has named Franciscan Father Fernand Cheri III, 62, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Bishop-elect Cheri is a member of the Sacred Heart Province of the Order of Friars Minor and currently serves as director of campus ministry at Quincy University in Illinois.

The appointment was publicized in Washington, January 12, by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Fernand Cheri III was born January 28, 1952, in New Orleans. He studied at Notre Dame University, New Orleans, where he received a master’s of divinity in 1978, and at the Institute for Black Catholic Ministry at Xavier University, New Orleans. He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of New Orleans on May 20, 1978.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has named Father Fernand J. Cheri, O.F.M., as auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of New Orleans, USA, assigning to him the titular see of Membressa. Father Cheri has been serving as Director of Campus Ministry at Quincy University.

Curriculum vitae of Father Fernand J. Cheri, O.F.M.

Father Cheri was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, on 28 January 1958. He attended Saint John Vianney Preparatory Seminary in New Orleans, and undertook ecclesiastical studies at St Joseph Seminary College in St Benedict, LA, (1970-1974) and Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans (1974-1978). Subsequently he attained a Master’s degree in Theology at the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University, also in New Orleans.

He was ordained priest for the Archdiocese of New Orleans on 20 May 1978.

After his priestly ordination, he served as Parochial Vicar of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in New Orleans (1978-1979), and of Saint Joseph the Worker Parish in Marrero (1979-1984). From 1984-1984 he was Parochial Administrator of St Joseph the Worker. Father Cheri served as Pastor of Saint Francis de Sales Parish in New Orleans from 1985-1991; and as Parochial Administrator of Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus Parish, also in New Orleans, from 1990-1991.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By JOANNE McCARTHY Jan. 12, 2015

TWO victims of John Denham attempted suicide while still students at St Pius school, court documents show.

One of the students was hospitalised after taking barbiturates at age 16 ‘‘with the intention of dying’’, he said in a statement that formed part of the brief of evidence against Denham in 2010.

He shared the barbiturates with another student.

He told police he was bullied ‘‘almost from the first day I went to the school’’, and given alcohol by Denham before he was sexually abused, at times at Charlestown presbytery. Because of his background, which was well known to Denham and principal Father Tom Brennan, he was vulnerable and isolated.

When he turned to Brennan for help, the priest provided some comfort, but sometimes massaged the boy’s shoulders in his office, and took no action about the bullying or Denham’s abuse.

‘‘I took the tablets with the intention of dying as I was sick of the bullying that had been constant over four years,’’ he said.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By JOANNE McCARTHY Jan. 12, 2015

A HUNTER group wants an investigation into the deaths of more than 30 former Catholic high school students by suicide, drug overdoses or possible suicide, because of links to known or alleged child sex offenders.

A list with more than 30 names – all male – of boys, teenagers and men has been compiled for a submission to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, with the youngest aged just 13 when he took his life in his bedroom, and the most recent suicide early last year.

The list includes three former St Pius X, Adamstown, brothers in the one family who died of suicide and drug-related deaths, and two brothers from another Catholic Hunter family who took their own lives aged 16 and 22.

It also includes the names of three students who were in the same year at a Hunter Catholic high school during a period when men who had regular contact with the school went on to be charged with child sex offences years later.

One of the three students was 13 when he died in 1974, the second drove a car over a cliff in 1977 aged 16, and the third died after an incident at Merewether in the 1980s, when he was in his early 20s.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By JOANNE McCARTHY Jan. 12, 2015

A NEWCASTLE woman learned her son was a victim of paedophile priest Vince Ryan when police spoke to her in 1996 only days after her son’s suicide.

‘‘Vince Ryan wrote in his diary the name of the children he abused and the dates he abused them,’’ said the woman this week.

‘‘My son’s name was there. He was 11 when it happened, and an altar boy. He never told us. I was so horrified. I was just beside myself. I didn’t even think anything like that would ever happen, but it did.’’

Her son was 30 when he died. His father called him ‘‘my golden boy’’, but by the time the teenager had left his Catholic school for university he had been smoking cannabis for an unknown period.

He dropped out of university after he started talking to himself. Within a short time he was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and for 10 years he struggled to live with the condition. His family never knew about the sexual abuse, were disturbed by the cannabis use, and will never know if the early cannabis use precipitated the schizophrenia.

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INDIA
Times of India

Chethan Kumar,TNN | Jan 12, 2015

BENGALURU: In a first as is being described, the Vatican has suspended a priest in Bengaluru.

The parish priest of Our Lady of Fatima Church, Jalahalli in North Bengaluru, S Bartholomeow, was accused in a rape case in 2013 in Kunigal, Tumkur district. The case was subsequently closed after the complainant turned hostile. Activists are campaigning for reopening of the case now.

Bartholomeow, police sources investigating Pastor KJ Thomas’ murder case, say, was a close associate of Fr Patrick, a priest arrested in the murder case.

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ISRAEL
The Jerusalem Post

Several senior national-religious rabbis who sit on the Takana Forum, which fights against sexual abuse in the community, issued a letter on Sunday giving public backing for the work of Yehudit Shilat, who founded Takana in 2003.

The most high-profile case Takana has dealt with concerned national-religious superstar Rabbi Moti Elon, who was convicted on two counts of indecent assault by force against a minor by the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court in 2013.

During the legal process against Elon, close associates and devotees of the rabbi sought to discredit Takana and Shilat. Her campaign team has alleged that her current candidacy for a spot on the Bayit Yehudi electoral list has reawakened those same voices.

Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, one of the most senior rabbis in the national-religious world and president of the Takana Forum, signed a letter together with forum members Rabbi Yehoshua Shapira, Rabbi Elyakim Levanon and Rabbi Yuval Cherlow, as well as Prof. Yedidya Stern of the Israel Democracy Institute, saying that Shilat’s work for Takana had been carried out professionally and with their backing.

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NEW YORK
Albany Times Union

By Dartunorro Clark

Albany

A bill that would create the New York Child Victims Act faces uncertainty in the current state legislative session.

After its champion, Assemblywoman Margaret Markey, a Queens Democrat, introduced the bill in the 2006-07 legislative sessions, it has seen many iterations and challenges.

The bill would eliminate the statute of limitations on civil and criminal cases of sex crimes against children in New York and provide a one-year window after the law took effect for victims to retroactively bring cases of alleged abuse no matter how long ago they occurred.

Markey is hopeful the Assembly will pass it early in the session, said her spokesman, Mike Armstrong. “Her commitment to the bill and its urgency is unwavering,” he said.

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LOUISIANA
The Advocate

TERRY ROBINSON
TROBINSON@THEADVOCATE.COM
Jan. 11, 2015

Years of sexual and physical abuse didn’t conquer Angel Austin.

She found the faith to overcome that painful episode of her life and also found deliverance in Christ.

“Knowing Christ enabled me to accept what I could not change and what people had done to me. But he showed me what they did to me was not who I was; it was no fault of my own,” said Austin, the pastor of Faith to Conquer Outreach Ministries in Baton Rouge. “Knowing Christ was like finding me, and I could not find me until I got in him, and I had a reason to live then. I had a new hope.”

Austin turned that hope into a ministry that helps people who have suffered the kind of abuse she endured starting at age 8. She founded Faith to Conquer, at 1037 S. Tamari Drive, in 2005 as a mentoring advisory service and support group for victims of sexual and physical abuse.

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INDIA
Bangalore Mirror

POCSO case slapped against management of leading girls’ school over ‘sexual assault’

By Prakruti PK, Bangalore Mirror Bureau | Jan 12, 2015

In what may be described as an appalling first for a prestigious all-girls’ private school located in the heart of the city, the Central division police have registered a complaint under various sections of the POCSO Act along with section 354 (a) of the IPC against three members of the school management for allegedly manhandling and sexually assaulting students who were staging a protest on the school’s premises, on Thursday morning. The protest was against the installation of a new principal.

Highly-placed police sources confirmed that a former teacher and member of the Church of South India, Karnataka Central Diocese, approached the Cubbon Park police on Saturday and filed an FIR against three members of the school management claiming they used foul language to abuse the girls, reportedly threatened to hurt them, and allegedly sexually assaulted them in a bid to get the protestors to disperse and return to their classrooms.

A senior police officer told Mirror, “We received a letter from the school on Wednesday saying they were anticipating some sort of trouble due to the announcement that the temporary principal was being replaced by a new one. They requested us to be present near the school the next morning, and accordingly, we reached the premises by 7.30 am on Thursday, but were asked to stay outside.” A large number of students belonging to classes VIII, IX, X, and XI were reportedly seated on the ground just inside the school entrance, and some were holding up banners declaring their solidarity with the outgoing principal.

The fracas is thought to have unfolded between 9.15 and 9.45 am, when the new principal arrived flanked by two men – purportedly both members of management – but was not ‘allowed’ to enter the premises by the girls.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

Survivors of child abuse have urged a royal commission to hold public hearings in regional Victoria to allow them to tell their stories in their local community.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse has held a number of public hearings in Melbourne since it was established in early 2013, but hearings in regional areas have been conducted behind closed doors.

Abuse survivor John Coon used a private hearing in Melbourne to share his experience of being molested at the Ballarat Orphanage as a 10 year old.

Mr Coon said it was important the local community also knew what happened.

“An open hearing would do the world of good because people will know exactly what you went through,” Mr Coon said.

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MISSOURI
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

By Lilly Fowler

A quiet street and a quaint three-bedroom home drew Mike Stenzhorn and his family to Dittmer 15 years ago.

Stenzhorn and his two children loved the neighborhood in the small community 40 miles southwest of St. Louis.

They didn’t put much thought to the Roman Catholic facility across the street — a small complex of buildings called the Vianney Renewal Center.

Stenzhorn knew the center had something to do with helping struggling priests. In any case, it seemed harmless, and the neighborhood was nice.

“If you had to live somewhere in the Midwest, and you wanted quiet, this is the place,” Stenzhorn, 62, said one recent afternoon.

But in the years that would follow, the full truth about the Vianney Renewal Center would come to light.

The facility, operated by a Roman Catholic order called the Servants of the Paraclete, cares for religious men who suffer from a variety of illnesses, including alcoholism and depression. The center also treats sexually abusive priests.

The Servants of the Paraclete would not specify how many such priests live at the center today. The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s sex offender registry lists five who are convicted and who stay at the complex under court order. Other priests are sent to the center by various dioceses from around the country.

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IRELAND
Justice for Magdalenes

Justice for Magdalenes Research (JFMR) is greatly concerned that the Magdalene Laundries have been excluded from the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes.

The Mother and Baby homes and Magdalene Laundries were both integral parts of Ireland’s architecture of containment of ‘problem’ women and girls.

As JFMR has previously pointed out to Minister Reilly, the McAleese inquiry did not investigate or make findings about abuse or lines of responsibility for abuse in the Magdalene Laundries.

Furthermore, the McAleese Report does not contain a single word from the 796 pages of testimony submitted by JFM and it failed to adequately examine issues relating to deaths and burials. Serious doubt has been cast on the accuracy of the McAleese Report’s assertions regarding duration of stay [see link to op-ed below].

The McAleese Committee’s terms of reference were limited to investigating State involvement with the Laundries only. We believe that it is partly because of the gaps in the McAleese Committee’s terms of reference that all religious orders involved still refuse to apologise or provide redress to the women who spent time in Magdalene Laundries.

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

By Conall Ó Fátharta
Irish Examiner Reporter

Over 1,600 women died in Magdalene laundries — more than double the figure cited by the McAleese report.

The figures, compiled by Justice For Magdalenes Research (JFMR), are included in a scathing dissection of the McAleese report being prepared by the group — a draft section of which has been seen by the Irish Examiner.

In the lengthy critique of the report’s chapter on deaths, the group states it has so far identified a total of 1,663 who died in Magdalene laundries — almost twice the figure of 879 cited in the McAleese Report.

The JFMR study hits out at a number of the McAleese report’s basic findings, including the fact that it did not include the number of women who died before 1922 and those who died in the care of the religious orders after the laundry closed. JFMR says that some 565 women fall into the former bracket and over 220 women fall into the latter bracket.

The group points out that this figure could be larger but because of how the report presents the figures an exact breakdown is not possible.

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

It is imperative each woman’s final resting place is accurately recorded, writes Claire McGettrick

LAST YEAR, thanks to the tireless work of Catherine Corless, the world was made aware of the 796 babies that lay forgotten in Tuam.

Those of us who have campaigned on these issues were on the one hand relieved that the world was finally taking notice but on the other, we thought: ‘They don’t know the half of it.’

In the case of deaths in the Magdalene laundries, the inter-departmental committee on the laundries (IDC) made sure we only knew the half of it.

The McAleese report acknowledges that just over half of the 1,638 women (that we are aware of) died in these institutions.

Justice for Magdalenes (now JFM Research; JFMR) was established on foot of serious questions raised by the late Mary Raftery about the exhumations at the former Magdalene laundry at High Park.

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UNITED STATES
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on January 11, 2015

This week’s question, two days late.

Joelle, how do scandals in places like Penn State and the Catholic Church start? I mean, these aren’t bad people in these institutions, right? Will new policies by these organizations and others make sure that men and women who abuse children are reported and stopped, instead of protected?

This is a complicated question that I will try to answer as simply as possible. We love our institutions. We love them so much that, sometimes, very good people do bad things in order to protect the reputation of the institution. It’s easy to think, “Gosh, the church/scouts/school promised to take care of us. They would never do something to intentionally hurt a child.”

But unfortunately, they do. Institutions are only as good as the people in them. Good people should stand up for principles, morality, and child safety, even if it means that they risk their job, the reputation of the institution, or community opinion. But as we’ve seen, it’s not always the case.

In places like Penn State and the Catholic Church, people who saw, suspected or learned about abuse didn’t do the one important thing that could have stopped the cycle: Call the police. Yes, there are cases where the police were notified, but in many of these, investigations were stonewalled by employees and polices that kept very important evidence out of the hands of cops and prosecutors.

I don’t have a lot of faith that new policies in these institutions will make real change. Policies don’t change how institutions operate. People do. It’s the culture of the institution that ensures openness, safety, transparency and accountability. Culture is created by people from the top down and the bottom up. The importance of culture goes beyond child sexual abuse—large corporations deal with the problems of culture all of the time. When the culture begins to go sour (Enron, anyone?), all of the policies of the world won’t change it. Only real culture change within the organizations will do that. Only PEOPLE can do that.

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CHILE
Bio Bio

[The new bishop of the Osomo diocese – Juan de la Cruz Barros – is a former associate of priest Fernando Karadima. The decision of the church was rejected by Juan Carlos Cruz, one of the complainants of abuse by Karadima. Cruz said the church has learned nothing and charged that Barros was present when the abuses were committed.].

La Iglesia designó al obispo castrense Juan de la Cruz Barros para ocupar el cargo de obispo de Osorno. Se trata de uno de los discípulos del cura Fernando Karadima, por lo que uno de sus denunciantes declaró que la Iglesia no ha aprendido nada.

“Quiero integrarme con todo el corazón junto a ustedes al caminar de la Iglesia inspirada hoy tan luminosamente por el Papa Francisco, valorando y animando la vocación de las familias, invitando a los niños y jóvenes a dejar entrar a Jesucristo en sus vidas”, fue el mensaje que emitió el sacerdote Juan Barros tras ser designado como obispo de Osorno por el Vaticano.

El cura que ocupaba el cargo de obispo castrense es uno de los cuatro integrantes del episcopado que fueron formados por el sacerdote Fernando Karadima, quien está implicado en una serie de casos de abusos sexuales.

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MARYLAND
The Baltimore Sun

By John-John Williams IV
The Baltimore Sun

The executive council of the Episcopal Church met in Linthicum Heights this weekend to discuss topics that included its presence in Cuba, initiatives to address racism and an upcoming national conference in Salt Lake City.

However, the council didn’t discuss a high-ranking Maryland bishop who was recently charged with manslaughter in the death of a bicyclist last month.

The three-day meeting of 70 of the church’s bishops, priests, deacons, laypersons and staff coincides with the latest developments involving the death of bicyclist Thomas Palermo, 41, a married father of two, who was killed Dec. 27 in a crash on Roland Avenue in Baltimore. Bishop Suffragan Heather Elizabeth Cook was identified as the driver. Cook, 58, left the scene of the crash in the 5700 block of Roland Ave. but returned shortly after, police said.

Cook surrendered to police on Friday and was being held at central booking. A District Court commissioner set her bail at $2.5 million. She also faces other charges, including leaving the scene of the fatal accident and driving under the influence. Both the manslaughter and leaving-the-scene charges carry a maximum sentence of 10 years. Cook’s blood alcohol level was 0.22 percent, nearly triple the legal limit in Maryland, according to Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby, who said that Cook was text-messaging at the time of the collision.

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MINNESOTA
Washington Post

He was abused by a female teacher, but he was treated like the perpetrator

By Simone Sebastian January 9
Simone Sebastian is an assistant editor of Outlook.

Cameron Clarkson was a 16-year-old football player when he suddenly landed in the middle of a sex crime investigation at his St. Paul, Minn., high school. Lawyers grilled him on the details of his sexual history. School officials, in a statement to the press, cited him for not invoking the school’s sexual harassment policy and said he “bragged to fellow students about what had happened.” His car was vandalized with red-dyed tampons and smeared with peanut butter, to which he is fatally allergic, by an unknown assailant. The shape of a penis was burned into his front lawn with bleach.

“People kept reminding me that I ruined that poor girl’s life,” Clarkson says.

The “poor girl” was a teacher at his school. Gail Gagne, a 25-year-old basketball and lacrosse coach, was a full-time substitute teacher at Cretin-Derham Hall High School and a couple of months away from becoming a regular physical education instructor. One day, she offered to give Clarkson a ride home after he left the school gym, leading to what he describes as the first of a series of sexual encounters between them in 2008 — in Gagne’s car, in their homes, in hotels. He says their relationship ended two months later; another student told school officials about it the next spring.

Gagne was fired and charged with two felony counts of criminal sexual conduct with a student. But in the investigations that followed, Clarkson was treated more like the perpetrator than the victim. Gagne, meanwhile, faced an easier path in some ways. She denied any sexual contact with Clarkson but entered an Alford plea, in which a defendant does not admit guilt but recognizes that prosecutors have enough evidence to convict her. The deal reduced her charges to a fifth-degree gross misdemeanor with a one-year sentence, which was suspended — a far lighter punishment than the possible four-year prison sentence for the felony charges she faced. (Gagne’s lawyer still says there was no sexual contact.)

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NEW YORK
New York Daily News

BY NICOLE HENSLEY

After months of building speculation, Catholic leaders with the New York Archdiocese would be stunned if Pope Francis chose not to visit the Big Apple this year.

While no official word has come down from the Vatican, internal chatter at the archdiocese expects a visit during September’s trip to Philly’s World Meeting on Families.

“We can’t really go beyond our strong sense that he will come to New York,” diocese spokesman Joe Zwilling told the Daily News, but adding it would be a “much bigger shock if he was not coming at this point.”

The signs that suggest Pope Francis’ visit — that could also include Washington D.C. — are there.

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ILLINOIS
NBC Chicago

A Roman Catholic priest has pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct for exposing himself in a gas station near Rockford and in a car in the store’s parking lot.

The Rev. Aaron Brodeski was arrested last spring in the March 27 incident.

He was pastor of Holy Cross Catholic Church in suburban Batavia at the time, and he was placed on leave while the diocese investigated. According to Rockford NBC affiliate WREX-TV, Brodeski was a monsignor in the church and had served as a priest in the diocese since1998.

Brodeski was sentenced Friday to two years of court supervision, a $500 fine and 30 hours of community service.

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IRLAND
kath.net

Vatikan (kath.net) Der Antrag eines laisierten irischen Priesters, seine Entlassung aus dem Priesterstand zu revidieren, wurde vom Vatikan abgelehnt. Der 76-jährige Dan Duane (Foto) aus der Diözese Cloyne hatte offenbar in den 70er und 80er Jahren in fünf Fällen weibliche Jugendliche sexuell missbraucht. Darüber berichtete die „Irish Times“. Die Apostolische Signatur (die oberste Gerichtsbarkeit der katholischen Kirche) bestätigte die Entscheidung des Kirchengerichtes in Cork, die auf der Aussage der fünf Frauen beruht.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Dierk Schaefer’s Blog

[“Never be Catholic,” … is the last word of those abused in the Regensburg Cathedral Choir.]

… ist das Schlußwort eines der missbrauchten Regensburger Domspatzen.

DAS ERSTE brachte gestern die Filmdokumentation dazu.

Der Missbrauchsbeauftragte der Regensburger Diözese sagt, „Es ist ja nicht nur das Opfer, oder der, diese Tat schildert, sondern es ist ja auch der, der als Täter genannt wird, hat ja auch Interessen, die vertreten werden müssen“[1].

Sicher, hat er. Aber doch bitte in einem transparenten ordentlichen Verfahren vor unbefangenen Experten und nicht von kirchlichen Beauftragten, die im Interview konkreten Fragen ausweichen, deren Körpersprache aber Bände spricht. Man sieht selten Interessenvertreter, die sich offensichtlich dermaßen unwohl in ihrer Haut fühlen, wie diese. Eine Vertuschungsgemeinschaft hat ihre Lakaien vorgeschoben. Sie hätte besser Schauspieler beauftragen sollen. Diese hatten offenbar nicht den Mut ihrem Bischof zu sagen: Da müssen Sie schon selber ran! Ob sie wohl für ihre Rolle eine Schmutzzulage bekommen haben?

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DEUTSCHLAND
Regensburg-Digital

Der Sprecher des Bistums erklärt sexuellen Missbrauch mit dem „Zeitgeist“, der eigens engagierte Rechtsanwalt will/ kann/ darf nichts sagen. Das hat Gründe. Die ARD-Doku zu den Regensburger Domspatzen offenbart: Aufklärung ist weiter nicht erwünscht.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Focus

[The trial of a 56-year-old pastor, accused of drugging and abusing his godson, has begun.]

Er soll seinen Patensohn unter Drogen gesetzt und über Jahre hinweg missbraucht haben: In Krefeld hat der Prozess gegen einen 56-jährigen Pfarrer begonnen. Zwischenzeitlich wirkte der Kirchenmann in Südafrika – und soll auch dort Kinder belästigt haben.

Ein Pfarrer aus dem Rheinland steht wegen sexuellen Missbrauchs seines Patenkindes von Freitag an vor Gericht. Der 56-Jährige aus Willich soll sich mehrere Dutzend Mal an dem heute Elfjährigen vergangen haben. In zwei Fällen soll der Angeklagte mit dem Jungen vor den Übergriffen Marihuana geraucht, einmal soll er ihm Alkohol gegeben haben. Außerdem soll er den achtjährigen Bruder seines Patenkindes in einer Sauna belästigt haben.

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

Saturday, January 10, 2015

by Susan Lohan

Children’s Minister James Reilly yesterday published the terms of reference for an inquiry called on for many years to no avail.

Matters began to come to a head initially as a result of the Oscar-nominated film Philomena, which chronicled the experiences of a young Philomena Lee and her son Anthony at the Sean Ross Abbey mother and baby home in Tipperary.

The film showed how Philomena and her son were effectively imprisoned for three-and-a-half years before Anthony was trafficked to the US for adoption to a well-off family.

Forty years later, the Sacred Heart Adoption Society, which brokered his “adoption”, deliberately prevented the now high-profile but dying legal expert from reuniting with his mother.

Philomena finally discovered his memorial plaque at the Sean Ross site after a chance viewing of photos of the few private graves allowed there (a privilege paid for in hard cash by Anthony and his surviving partner).

The Government seemed determined to brazen out the relentless storm of similar witness testimony from other mother and baby homes, State maternity hospitals, and private nursing homes.

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
Toronto Sun

BY NICOLE IRELAND, QMI AGENCY
FIRST POSTED: SUNDAY, JANUARY 11, 2015

Aboriginal people in Canada say the 200th anniversary of Sir John A. Macdonald’s birth is anything but a cause for celebration.

“If people really knew the history of Sir John A. Macdonald, I’m not sure if they would celebrate his legacy,” Alvin Fiddler, Deputy Grand Chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation, told QMI Agency. Nishnawbe Aski Nation represents 49 First Nation communities in Ontario.

First Nations and Metis people continue to live with the consequences of Macdonald’s policies — both as minister of Indian Affairs and as prime minister — to this day, Fiddler said.

In particular, Macdonald was “instrumental” in establishing the Indian Residential School system in the late 1800s. Back then, Macdonald insisted aboriginal children must be taken from their families and assimilated into the rest of society, rather than receiving education in their own communities.

“When the school is on the reserve, the child lives with his parents who are savages; he is surrounded by savages, and though he may learn to read and write, his habits and training and mode of thought are Indian,” Macdonald said, according to archived documents. “He is simply a savage who can read and write.”

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.

VATICAN CITY
The Daily Beast

Barbie Latza Nadeau

Days after rebuffing traditionalists as having ‘spiritual Alzheimer’s,’ Pope Francis chose a group of cardinals from the peripheries of the church. Why that move could haunt him.

VATICAN CITY—When Pope Francis travels to Sri Lanka and the Philippines next week, he will do so with even greater support than usual from Asian and other marginalized Catholics thanks his announcement on Sunday of an eclectic mix of new cardinals to be installed on February 14. But does catering to Catholics in the margins put his support at home in Vatican City at risk?

The College of Cardinals, established in its current form in 1150, is one of the most exclusive good old boys’ clubs left in the world. Not only are the 120 or so clerical members hand-picked by popes, they alone form the exclusive voting body to elect the next pope from among their clan. So when Francis announced the second batch of new cardinals of his 20-month-old pontificate, including three from Asia, three from Latin America, two from Africa, and two from Oceania, many saw him stacking the deck to ensure that his successor is, as he describes himself, from the ends of the earth.

But some Vatican experts warn that by expanding the club’s membership to the peripheries, Francis’s plan for an all-inclusive church might just backfire. American Vatican expert John Allen warns that filling the hallowed halls with relative strangers to Vatican business and protocol may ensure that the old status quo might just prevail. “Prelates who have no Vatican experience, who don’t speak Italian, and who don’t themselves have the experience of running a large and complex ecclesiastical operation may feel a natural tendency to defer to the old hands,” he writes. “Vatican insiders will tell you that when the cardinal of, say, Chicago, or Cologne, or Milan, shows up in their offices, he’s taken seriously indeed… It’s not clear that the cardinal of Tonga or Cape Verde will have quite the same muscle, at least right out of the gate.”

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MARYLAND
The Baltimore Brew

The Baltimore Brew has been at the forefront of reporting the unfolding case of Episcopal Bishop Heather E. Cook, who was charged yesterday with DUI, manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident by Baltimore authorities.

Given the worldwide interest in the case and the major issues it raises – about cyclists’ safety, diocesan conduct, equitable justice in Baltimore, the hazards of texting while driving, drunk driving and approaches to substance abuse treatment – we thought to collect our reporting so far in one place.

Here are 11 Brew stories that uncovered or analyzed key facts about the fatal crash on December 27 that claimed the life of a 41-year-old bicyclist and father of two.

Grief and anger at scene of fatal bike crash (12/28/14) – Baltimore bike community reacts to the crash, pays respects to late bicyclist Thomas Palermo. At this point, the identity of the driver – and circumstances of the crash – were publicly unknown and minimal information was disclosed by Baltimore police.

Episcopal Bishop identified as driver in fatal bike crash (12/28/14) – The first media disclosure that Suffragan Bishop Heather Cook was the driver in the crash, that she left the scene, and that she was arrested in 2010 for drunk driving and marijuana possession in Caroline County, Md.

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UNITED STATES
Questions from a Ewe

Mystery solved. Raymond Cardinal Burke will star in the “Our Gang” sequel, “Spanky Gets Older But Never Grows Up.” He does somewhat resemble Spanky McFarland, does he not?

The plotline would center completely on Spanky (a.k.a. Cardinal Burke) trying to resurrect his “He-man Woman Haters Club” through hosting Catholic Men’s Conferences around the world. I can see no other explanation for Burke spouting such unsubstantiated sexist psychobabble about raising “manly men” in his interview on the Misogynists-R-Us website, “The New E-man-gelization.” (By the way, if you’d like a veritable “Who’s Who” list of Catholic sexist and misogynist speakers, direct your eyes to the right nav list entitled, “Men’s Conference Speakers” on this site. I attended the Michigan Statewide Catholic Men’s Conference a few years ago and heard several of these guys speak and it was hour upon hour of non-stop Burke-esque sexisms, misogyny, and poor theology.)

As you may recall, Cardinal Burke was recently reassigned from being Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura…somewhat the chief justice of the Vatican’s highest court…to being the Patron of the Sovereign Order of the Knights of Malta. After reading Burke’s full interview transcript, it should crystallize in your mind why Pope Francis re-assigned Burke to be the spiritual guide of a Middle Ages religious order. It would seem that is his preferred time period in which to operate.

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UNITED STATES
Bilgrimage

William D. Lindsey

In a new posting at his Christian Catholicism site, Jerry Slevin cites a recent observation by Robert Mickens:

Importantly, informed Vatican journalist, Robert Mickens, recently reported on a “rumor” that some experts at pontifical universities in Rome have been “asked to quietly prepare preliminary documents for an ecumenical council to be called during or after the 2015 Synod.”

Jerry notes that Mickens is understandably skeptical about the rumors, but argues (as he has done so for quite some time now) that the Catholic church desperately needs an ecumenical council to clean up its present mess and right its ship. As with everything Jerry writes, the essay is rich, dense, and lengthy. I’m presenting an excerpt here in the hope that it will point readers to the essay in its entirety.

Here’s the section of Jerry’s statement that leaps off the page for me, as the heart of the matter:

• Pope Francis has already bought the Vatican needed time strategically by shrewdly prioritizing the Vatican’s problems, but he has run out of time with that strategy. He put financial scandals first. He moved sexual morality issues to a drawn out two step, nearly three year Synod process. He placed the priest child abuse scandal on a slow track with an advisory commission with no clear mandate.

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PHILIPPINES
Inquirer

Lito B. Zulueta-Lifestyle Arts and Books Editor
@inquirerdotnet

VATICAN CITY—The “Vatican official” who is helping Pope Francis practice and polish his English for his apostolic visit to Sri Lanka and the Philippines next week is American Greg Burke, a former Time magazine and Fox News journalist who has been working with the Vatican State Secretariat as communications adviser since 2012 during the papacy of Benedict XVI.

Perhaps a surprising choice for a Pope who happens to be a Jesuit religious, Burke is a member of Opus Dei, a Catholic group of mostly laymen who take religious vows, including celibacy.

Opus Dei has always taken orthodox positions that have been called “ultraconservative,” positions that often clash with those of the more liberal Jesuits. The group has likewise been smeared by the liberal secular media for its alleged secretiveness and elitism.

The Vatican spokesperson, Rev. Federico Lombardi, had said that the Pope’s second Asian trip, like the first to South Korea, would be an “all-English affair” and that Francis would deliver all his “discourses” in English. (Sri Lanka is a former British colony and the Philippines, a former American colony.)

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MINNESOTA
Canonical Consultation

01/10/2015

Jennifer Haselberger

I was surprised, and honored, to receive an email yesterday morning from a former professor of mine who says that she reads this blog and hopes that I will address the question of donations to parishes in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. Specifically, she wrote:

‘I am troubled regarding contributions to my local parish. Because of the percentage that is automatically taken by the archdiocese, I don’t feel comfortable contributing, though I am sad not to be able to support my local parish.

Reputable nonprofits with which I am familiar will allow you to stipulate restrictions on your donations. For example, the ALS ice-bucket challenge allowed you to stipulate that your donation was not to be used to support the embryonic stem cell research that the ALS Association funds. Why are we not allowed to restrict our contributions to our local parishes?’

The short answer is, you are. Canon law is very clear that donations given for a specific purpose may only be used for that purpose:

Canon 1267, 3- Offerings given by the faithful for a specified purpose may be used only for that purpose.

However, if you make this offering by means of the weekly collection plate or collection envelopes, the parish will have to count that donation when figuring the amount it must pay to the Archdiocese, per the assessment formula (see the Clergy Bulletin posted below). Your dollars may not be used to pay the assessment per se, but since your contribution will be tabulated along with other monies received, the effect will be the same.

But, there is nothing that says that you must contribute in this way. Instead, it is possible to send cash or a check to the parish office with a letter noting that your contribution is to be used exclusively for a particular ministry or purpose, and not towards the parish assessment or any other tax levied by the Archdiocese. Or, you can contribute to specific fundraising efforts, noting that a lesser tax (2%) is applied to contributions to building projects or debt reduction funds.

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NEW YORK
Staten Island Advance

By Staten Island Advance Editorial
on January 10, 2015

The Archdiocese of New York isn’t exactly known for transparency in the way it runs Catholic schools on Staten Island and elsewhere. Going into 2015, the outlook is typically murky.

It’s uncertain at this point whether the archdiocese is prepared to close up to 20 schools in its system over the next two years based on the outcome of contract negotiations with lay teachers, but the archdiocese is putting that possibility out there.

Say what?

Yes, this could be a sorry prospect less than two years after the Catholic schools on Staten Island were officially declared to be operating on a sound financial footing.

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UNITED STATES
The Open Tabernacle: Here Comes Everybody

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Betty Clermont

Pope Frances refused the Dalai Lama’s request for a meeting on December 11, 2014, because “the Holy See’s relationship with the Chinese government is currently going through a very delicate – a crucial in fact – phase. In recent weeks China appeared to be reaching out to the Vatican, signaling a willingness for dialogue.”

“I am deeply saddened and distressed that the Holy Father, Pope Francis, should give in to these pressures and decline to meet the Dalai Lama,’” South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu said in a statement.

China has been waging a “calculated and systematic strategy aimed at the destruction of Tibet‘s national and cultural identities,” often personified by their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. The pope’s choice was a victory for China. “[T]he attention of public opinion in the West to the Dalai Lama is going down by the day,” a Chinese official said on December 19, 2014. “The Dalai Lama also has no good ideas. All he can do is use his religious title to write about the continuation or not of the Dalai Lama to get eyeballs overseas,” he added.

The pope is trying to increase his influence in Asia and China is key to his success.

Five months after his trip to South Korea, the pope will visit first Sri Lanka January 12-15 and then the Philippines January 15-19. “For us Filipinos, (the pope) is really the representative of Jesus on earth, so it’s like Jesus coming to the Philippines,” said one priest. So this journey is sure to end in the pope’s most triumphal foreign trip to date.

On January 4, the pope announced the creation of 15 new cardinals; five are from Asia or the Pacific Rim: Archbishop Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij of Bangkok, Thailand, trained in Rome. Archbishop Pierre Nguyên Văn Nhon of Hà Nôi, Vietnam, where the Vatican has “flourishing bilateral diplomatic relations.” Archbishop Charles Maung Bo of Yangon, Myanmar is president of that country’s Bishops Conference. Bishop Soane Patita Paini Mafi of the Island of Tonga is president of the Bishops’ Conference of the Pacific. Archbishop John Atcherley Dew of Wellington, New Zealand (Pacific Rim), was recommended by Australian Cardinal George Pell, head of all Vatican finance and administration.

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PHILIPPINES
Rappler

Aries Rufo

Published 1:39 PM, Jan 10, 2015

AT A GLANCE

* The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila (RCAM) is one of the richest Catholic dioceses in the entire world
* Dioceses, as corporation soles, are supposed to be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission to acquire a juridical personality. They are supposed to be filing financial statements yearly, but the RCAM has been delinquent, submitting its last statement in 1985.
* Church higher-ups have a tendency to resist financial scrutiny, traced to a mindset that they are not accountable to anyone, except the Pope.
* There had been incidents in the past where Church funds were abused and misused by the very financial experts trusted by bishops.

MANILA, Philippines – On January 16, Pope Francis will say Mass before some 2,000 bishops, priests and select people at the newly renovated Manila Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica. It will be the third time that a Pope will make an apostolic visit to the church property that has been the resting place of former archbishops of Manila.

The papal Mass is a fitting highlight to the freshly earthquake-retrofitted cathedral. In February 2012, then newly-appointed Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle ordered its closure and renovation after issues were raised about its structural integrity.

At the time, in a press conference announcing the closure of the structure in Intramuros, the charismatic church leader appealed for donations for the cathedral’s repair. Repair and construction cost was initially pegged at P40 million-P50 million.

By the time it reopened in April 2014 attended by who’s who in politics and Church circles, the running cost had reached P136 million, former Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban, who is also president of the Manila Cathedral Foundation, said in a news report.

Before the year ended, the total cost had ballooned to around P200 million to include additional improvements like central air-conditioning and installation of new carillon bells from The Netherlands, Panganiban said in a separate interview.

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PUERTO RICO
El Nuevo Dia

[Accusations against Catholic priests for allegedly committing sexual assault against minors marked public discussion over the past year when for the first time a priest was indicted for these crimes. Israel Berrios Berrios, a priest of the Caguas diocese, was charged last May. Six priests were expelled from the Arecibo diocese since 2011 amid investigations but only one was criminally charged. And yesterday priest Jose Colon Otera was reinstated to the priesthood by the Vatican.]

Las acusaciones contra sacerdotes de la Iglesia Católica por cometer agresiones sexuales contra menores de edad marcaron la discusión pública durante el año pasado, año en que por primera vez se encausó criminalmente en la Isla a un sacerdote por estos crímenes.

Israel Berríos Berríos, quien fuera sacerdote en la Diócesis de Caguas, se convirtió en mayo pasado en el primer religioso acusado y arrestado en Puerto Rico por cargos relaciones con abuso sexual de menores.

Aunque seis sacerdotes han sido expulsados de la Diócesis de Arecibo desde el 2011 en medio de pesquisas en su contra, solo uno de estos fue acusado criminalmente. Y ayer, el sacerdote José Colón Otero fue reinstalado al ministerio sacerdotal por el Vaticano “al no haberse alcanzado la certeza moral de lo que se le acusaba”, informó el obispo de Arecibo, Daniel Fernández.

De los restantes cinco curas expulsados, Edwin Mercado Viera se declaró culpable de agresión, mientras las pesquisas contra Tomás Pagán Ramos, Andrés Dávila, Efraín Montesino y Pedro Hernández no han redundado en cargos criminales.

Estos son los casos que se han visto en los tribunales:

Israel Berríos Berríos

El exsacerdote se declaró culpable en el Tribunal Federal el pasado 21 de agosto por transportar a un menor de edad para cometer actos de índole sexual ilícitos. La lectura de sentencia está pautada para el mes de marzo. El 8 de mayo del año pasado, Berríos fue acusado por un gran jurado federal de cuatro cargos por tráfico sexual de menores e inducir a un menor a un acto sexual ilícito. El exsacerdote, quien fuera suspendido del ejercicio ministerial en el 2011, también fue acusado a nivel estatal por dos cargos de actos lascivos.

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UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism

Jerry Slevin

* Pope Francis likely knows well by now that his current Vatican reform strategy needs some major redirection. The pope’s (1) well publicized Curia shaming and reshuffling, (2) limited financial management makeover, (3) clerically dominated Family Synods, and (4) slow moving abuse commission, as presently structured, cannot likely stop the Catholic Church from sinking further and faster in the escalating tsunami of scandals. That seems clear enough.

* Moreover, the pope has yet even to address publicly the most needed structural “fix” — establishing transparent procedures for the selection and oversight of the 0.01% Church leadership by the worldwide Catholic 99.9% faithful. As presently planned, the Final Synod will not even discuss this key reform, which is absolutely required to avoid more scandals under future popes.

* Importantly, informed Vatican reporter, Robert Mickens, recently reported on a “rumor” that some experts at pontifical universities in Rome have been “asked to quietly prepare preliminary documents for an ecumenical council to be called during or after the 2015 Synod.”

* While Mickens understandably appears skeptical, this rumor makes a lot of sense. Pope Francis may have no strategic choice at his Final Synod in nine months but to call then for a full council, as Pope John XXIII did over half a century ago, to keep Francis’ reform effort alive as he begins his eightieth year. After the flawed Synods, a council with a broad and representative participation of lay Catholics, female and male, will likely be Pope Francis final chance to save the Catholic Church and to compel his successor to follow Francis’ lead. It is also how the Catholic Church resolved many earlier crises.

* The Catholic Church’s biggest problem, popes’ self serving illusion of personal papal infallibility, was created at the First Vatican Council almost 150 years ago. This illusion still prevents Pope Francis and his likely successors from addressing and fixing honestly and effectively problems exacerbated by the last two popes, since each new pope, including Francis so far, now tries to cover up his predecessors’ mistakes instead of fixing them. This is vividly shown in the continuing papal refusal to remove the ban on contraception, as Pope Francis prepares to tell the “overchildrened” Catholics of the Philippines they should avoid contraception and just have more Catholic babies. A new council is likely the only way to correct this major and fatal error.

* Some will say that another council, with mainly appointees of the last two popes, will never change this historically unsupportable “infallibility dogma”. If so, and they may be right, the Vatican will then be forced to change by outside governmental and legal pressures soon enough. Pope Francis has a choice. He can call a council to really make the needed changes or he can wait to be forced to do so.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

[with video]

Patsy McGarry

Mon, Dec 29, 2014

Christine Buckley, who died on March 11th last, came from obscure origins.

She was, in the harsh language of the day, illegitimate, half caste and abandoned.

It was Ireland 1946, that same year Irish-born Fr Edward Flanagan of Boys’ Town in the US was appalled by the condition of children in such places as she grew up in. They were “a disgrace to the nation”, he said, before achieving the seemingly impossible and uniting all shades of Irish political opinion in untrammelled apoplexy.

She was a number, not a name, in a childhood full of terror, of endless beatings, casual cruelties, verbal lacerations, scaldings, and infants strapped to potties. She got 100 stitches in her leg after a beating. She made rosary beads, to a quota of 60 sets a day, and no one saw the irony.
Such was the childhood of a 21st century Irish hero.

It wouldn’t have happened in 20th century Ireland – a pious land where no bastard child of an Irish mother and a Nigerian father could hope to become a hero.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

BY BRIAN HUTTON – 10 JANUARY 2015

Pressure is mounting on Northern Ireland to launch a public inquiry into decades of alleged abuse at so-called mother and baby homes after the Republic announced a three-year probe into more than 14 institutions.

The State inquiry is being set up after fresh revelations last year about a mass grave at a Catholic-run home for unmarried mothers in Tuam, Co Galway, where 796 infants died between 1925 and 1961. A team of three commissioners will investigate what happened to more than 35,000 women and children – mostly placed in homes after being ostracised by their families – between 1922 to 1998.

The causes of deaths at the homes, burials, vaccine trials carried out on children, how residents ended up there, how they were treated and where they went afterwards will all form part of the mammoth inquiry.

Former residents will be able to give evidence in private. Others compelled to give evidence face imprisonment or hefty fines if they fail to bear witness or produce requested documents.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

Eilish O’Regan

Philomena Lee, whose heartbreaking search for her adopted son became a major movie, has appealed to other women and children who spent time in mother and baby homes to give testimony to the Commission of Investigation.

Ms Lee was unmarried when she gave birth to her son Anthony in the early 1950s. He was given up for adoption to a couple in the United States when he was just three years old.

The mother and baby home in Sean Ross Abbey in Roscrea, where she gave birth, is now one of 14 institutions which will be part of a promised far-reaching probe by the Commission, which will be chaired by Judge Yvonne Murphy.

The Commission, which will conduct most of its work in private, will have a confidential forum to hear the accounts of past residents.

Ms Lee told the Irish Independent last night: “I encourage those women and children to come forward – even anonymously – to give their testimony as I have done myself, so that every corner is properly investigated and all those affected receive justice.”

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

By Conall Ó Fátharta
Irish Examiner Reporter

By Fiachra Ó Cionnaith
Irish Examiner Reporter

By Noel Baker
Senior Reporter

Tens of thousands of people affected by the mother and baby homes scandal risk being excluded from a State investigation into the decades-long hidden crisis.

Campaign groups for children and women involved in the linked mother and baby homes, Magdalene laundry, and illegal adoption controversies revealed the concern after the high-profile inquiry was launched yesterday.

Under terms of reference published by Children’s Minister Dr James Reilly, the Government will finally investigate how unmarried mothers and their babies were treated between 1922 and 1998 at 14 State-linked religious institutions.

The three-year inquiry — which has a €23.5m budget and could result in a multi- million euro redress scheme — will examine mother and baby homes, county homes, vaccine trials on children, and illegal adoptions where babies were trafficked abroad.

The investigation will also be allowed to compel anyone, including pharmaceutical firms, to give evidence and all available files, and take criminal action against anyone who refuses. In addition, it can exhume land if it believes babies’ bodies were dumped, similar to the recent Tuam scandal.

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MARYLAND
ABC 2

Charging documents say Heather Cook, the Episcopal bishop charged with hitting and killing a cyclist in Roland Park two weeks ago, blew a 0.22 BAC level. So how many drinks did she have to drink to get there?

Watch the video for more details.

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MARYLAND
BBC News

Maryland’s first female Episcopalian bishop will face charges over a hit-and-run crash that killed a cyclist in Baltimore, prosecutors say.

Bishop Suffragan Heather Cook will be arrested for vehicular manslaughter over the death of Tom Palermo, 41.

Prosecutor Marilyn Mosby said Ms Cook’s blood-alcohol level was at .22 after the crash, almost triple the state’s legal limit for driving.

Ms Cook, who was elected bishop in September, has been put on leave.

The Maryland diocese previously said Ms Cook initially left the scene but returned 20 minutes later “to take responsibility for her actions”.

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MARYLAND
The Baltimore Brew

Mark Reutter January 9, 2015

A $2.5 million bail was set for Bishop Heather Elizabeth Cook after a hearing this evening before a commissioner at the Baltimore City District Court.

The 58-year-old Episcopal cleric is currently being held at the downtown Detention Center until bail can be posted. Typically it would cost about $250,000, or 10%, to post bail, although the percentage sometimes is much lower.

Sources told The Brew that Bishop Cook appeared at the hearing after being transported from Father Martin’s Ashley, an alcoholism and drug addiction treatment center near Havre de Grace, where she had been staying.

A trial date was set for February 6, although that date could change if the cleric is indicted by a city grand jury, as State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby said could happen.

Cook was at the wheel of a car that hit and killed 41-year-old Thomas Palermo on December 27. Her alcohol blood level was .22 – or nearly three times the legal limit – an hour after the crash, the state’s attorney’s office said today.

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

By Fiachra Ó Cionnaith
Irish Examiner Reporter

By Noel Baker
Senior Reporter

The terms of reference for the new investigation into mother and baby homes received a broad welcome — but also criticism over its exclusion of Magdalene Laundries and adoptions involving state hospitals.

Among the groups welcoming the announcement on the shape of the three- year investigation were the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission; One Family; the Coalition of Mother And Baby Home Survivors; and the Children’s Rights Alliance.

Geoffrey Shannon, chair of the Adoption Authority of Ireland, particularly “a thorough examination of all adoption practices from 1922 to 1998”.

Susan Lohan of the Adoption Rights Alliance said she was “broadly happy” but had “some concerns”, specifically regarding adoptions involving the “huge number of children in state hospitals”, claiming “the terms of reference has specifically sought to exclude them”.

“We want all of it to be investigated,” she said. “The number of women and babies involved could be as high as the tens of thousands.”

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IRELAND
Irish Times

Sat, Jan 10, 2015

Three years may sound like a long time. But the 36-month deadline for a statutory inquiry into the operation of mother- and-baby homes is likely to be highly ambitious, given the scale of work involved.

The new commission of inquiry isn’t just examining mother-and-baby homes. It will also seek to investigate the complex strands of this dark chapter of Irish life, such as the pathways into these homes from other institutions, living conditions, care arrangements, infant mortality, burial arrangements, vaccine trials, illegal adoptions and social attitudes.

Take adoption. The inquiry will need to establish the extent to which children’s welfare and best interests were considered in making arrangements for thousands of adoptions in Ireland and abroad; the extent of mothers’ participation in these decisions; and whether children’s parentage was concealed illegally.

Huge numbers

The numbers involved are considerable. It’s estimated that at least 35,000 unmarried mothers spent time in the 14 homes run by religious orders in Ireland during the period.

As for burials, we know that at least 800 infants died at Tuam, Co Galway. But other homes, such as Castlepollard in Co Westmeath, are estimated to hold the remains of up to 3,200 babies.

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CANADA
Brantford Expositor

By Michael-Allan Marion, Brantford Expositor
Friday, January 9, 2015

It took Larry Loyie 21 years to research completely the ordeal he went through as a native student in a residential school — and the return to class in middle age for the education he never got there — to be able to write the book he long had in mind.

Loyie’s determination and talent inspired Constance Brissenden and Wayne K. Spear to join him in turning out Residential Schools, With the Words and Images of Survivors, a national history that is going out to schools and bookshelves across Canada.

Their project so impressed multimedia producer Jeff Burnham that he made the book the first publication launched by Indigenous Education Press and GoodMinds.com.

“The residential schools are still a hidden history,” Loyie said with Brissenden and Burham beside him during a launch for the book at the offices of Indigenous Press Education at 188 Mohawk Street.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
International Business Times

By Howard Koplowitz

An effort by the Catholic Church in St. Louis to quash a sexual abuse lawsuit against a priest was unsuccessful after a judge ruled that the civil case can go to trial, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Friday. The Rev. Xiu Hui “Joseph” Jiang is accused of molesting a 15-year-old girl he met while she and her family attended the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica.

“After construing all allegations favorably to plaintiffs, this court determines there exist genuine issues of material face to be decided by the trier of fact,” Lincoln County Circuit Court Judge Chris Kunza Mennemeyer wrote in a Dec. 28 decision, according to court papers obtained by the Post-Dispatch. Lawyers for the defendant said they were first made aware of the ruling on Thursday. Mennemeyer made his ruling in part because the alleged abuse did not happen on church property.

“Despite the fact that one of its priests, Father Joseph Jiang, used his power and authority as a priest to manipulate and abuse a child, the archdiocese tried to have the case thrown out on a technicality,” Nicole Gorovsky, one of the attorneys for the plaintiff’s family, told the paper. “They did not succeed.”

The criminal case against Jiang was dismissed in 2013 because prosecutors failed to prove the priest was with the girl alone in her home as they claimed. The Archdiocese of St. Louis, which is named as a defendant in the civil case, said it would continue to defend Jiang and said he currently serves in a capacity where he is not interacting with children. Jiang is also facing criminal charges alleging that he sexually abused a young boy in the bathroom of St. Louis the King school, located at the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica.

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MARYLAND
The New York Times

By JENNIFER STEINHAUER
JAN. 9, 2015

BALTIMORE — Two days after Christmas, Thomas Palermo took advantage of a rare moment of free time to do what he loved most: ride his bike up a busy road popular with cyclists for its challenging hill and wide bike lanes, the afternoon sun warming his face. About the same time, the police say, an Episcopal bishop got into her car, her blood-alcohol level far above the legal limit, and drove toward him.

Not long after, Mr. Palermo, 41, lay dying the street, killed, the police say, by the drunken, texting bishop with a history of driving while intoxicated who left the scene for nearly half an hour. On Friday, the state’s attorney for Baltimore City announced charges against Suffragan Bishop Heather Cook, one of the highest ranking officials in the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, including criminal negligent manslaughter, driving while impaired and texting, and leaving the scene of an accident.

“This is an extremely tragic incident,” said Marilyn J. Mosby, the state’s attorney, in one of her first official acts since winning election last fall. Ms. Mosby said she had met with Mr. Palermo’s family and had “assured them that no one is above the law.”

Ms. Mosby said Bishop Cook, 58, elected last year to the No. 2 position in the diocese despite having pleaded guilty to driving under the influence in 2010, was found to have a 0.22 blood-alcohol level when brought to the police station after she returned to the crash site. The legal limit in Maryland is 0.08.

The handling of the case has become a flash point for several issues — including the fairness of the criminal justice system, which some critics said failed to move as quickly as it should have to charge Bishop Cook; the due diligence in vetting a high-ranking woman in the church; and bike safety.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Kent Online

by Jamie Bullenjbullen@thekmgroup.co.uk

The Church of England has ordered an inquiry into a former Gravesend children’s home after claims youngsters were forcibly drugged.

The Bishop of Rochester, James Langstaff, announced today he has initiated an independent review after concerns by former residents of Kendall House at how they were treated.

He said: “It is my hope that this review will be of help in pastoral and other ways to all those who have concerns about Kendall House, and will also make clear any outstanding lessons which the Church of England and others need to learn.”

A panel is being put in place to start work as soon as possible with details set to be released on the Rochester Diocesan website when agreed.

In 2010, mum-of-three Teresa Cooper won substantial out of court damages after she suffered three years of alleged abuse at Kendall House.

Teresa said physical, sexual and enforced drug abuse was carried out at the home, adding she had spoken to as many as 18 traumatised women there.

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UNITED KINGDOM
This is Kent

Church of England investigates abuse claims at former Gravesend home Kendall House for ’emotionally disturbed’ girls

by Heloise Wood, reporter

An investigation into abuse claims at a Gravesend children’s home has been launched today (Jan 9) by the Church of England.

The Bishop of Rochester James Langstaff will head the review into Kendall House in Pelham Road and is appealing for former residents to share their stories.

News Shopper spoke to a former abuse victim Teresa Cooper in 2010 who said she still “wakes up screaming” as a result of the abuse she described at the home.

A spokeswoman for the Bishop of Rochester said: “Over a several years, a number of former residents have raised concerns about how they were treated during the time they were living at Kendall House.

“There has at different times been coverage of these concerns in the national media.

“On behalf of the two dioceses concerned, the Bishop of Rochester has decided to initiate an independent review in connection with the management and systems which operated at Kendall House, in particular during the period from 1950 to 1986.”

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