A digest of links to media coverage of clergy abuse. For recent coverage listed in this blog, read the full article in the newspaper or other media source by clicking “Read original article.” For earlier coverage, click the title to read the original article.
GUAM
Jungle Watch
Tim Rohr
I received a call this morning at 9:00am from the Chancery advising me that there were no appointment slots available to meet with the Apostolic Visitators. Of course, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t get one anyway. Let me know though if you get one. (P.S. There’s more to this.)
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
WJZ
Mike Hellgren
BALTIMORE (WJZ) –Timeline of a tragedy. What WJZ is uncovering about the crash that killed a cyclist and father of two. And what the church is saying now about the drunk driving past of a high-ranking bishop at the center of the investigation.
Outrage and sadness, over the death of cyclist, Tom Palermo in North Baltimore. Police at the scene of what they call a hit and run and the Episcopal Church is releasing updated information about the bishop behind the wheel.
Investigator Mike Hellgren has the details on where the investigation stand at this moment.
The pain is intense over the loss of Tom Palermo, the father of two, who was hit and killed on his bike Saturday. The outrage is intense as well after Maryland’s Episcopal Church confirmed its number two in command, Bishop Heather Cook, was behind the wheel and left the scene before returning.
“It makes me sick to think that someone in her position can just ride off,” cyclist and mourner Kimberly Rohloff said. “It makes me very angry and sick inside.”
“I think people have to regard each other and that’s what’s missing her,” a cyclist said.
WJZ has reviewed police dispatch calls that show how they initially referred to the incident.
“On Roland Avenue. It’s a hit and run of a bicyclist who is not doing well.”
“Thomas Patrick Palermo P-A-L-E-R-M-O.”
“There was a green Subaru Forester station wagon, just went down the street with its window busted out. There was a female driver. A citizen saw it coming back up Roland Avenue.”
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 Baltimore Brew
[with court record]
Fern Shen and Danielle Sweeney December 30, 2014
Citing the Christian value of “forgiveness,” officials of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland said today that Bishop Heather Cook disclosed her 2010 drunk driving and marijuana arrest, but that they decided it should not disqualify her from consideration to serve as bishop.
“One of the core values of the Christian faith is forgiveness. We cannot preach forgiveness without practicing forgiveness and offering people opportunity for redemption,” said the statement from the director of communications for the Baltimore-based diocese.
Cook’s arrest on the Eastern Shore has been in the spotlight since the 58-year-old “Bishop Suffragan” was identified as the driver of the car that hit bicyclist Thomas Palermo Saturday. Cook initially left the scene of the crash, returning after being chased to an apartment complex by a bicyclist. Palermo was pronounced dead at Sinai Hospital.
Since the crash, Diocesan officials have been peppered with questions about whether they knew of Cook’s arrest record when she was placed into consideration for, essentially, the #2 spot in the diocese. She was elected to serve as bishop in May.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.
MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio
Martin Moylan Dec 30, 2014
A major insurer asked a court Tuesday to limit or eliminate its responsibility to cover some clergy sex abuse claims against the Twin Cities archdiocese.
Last month, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis sued about 20 insurers in federal court to try to clarify the amount of money the carriers would pay to settle clergy sex abuse claims. In a court filing, the insurer CNA is now contending that the company and its predecessors have no responsibility to pay claims related to events that were “not unexpected or unforeseen,” or claims that otherwise breach contractual obligations.
The insurer said it has no record of some policies that the archdiocese claims exist. The insurer also said some coverage doesn’t include sexual abuse.
CNA is also seeking rulings that would limit its financial responsibility if it is determined that the company is obligated to cover abuse claims.
The archdiocese faces numerous claims from people who say they were abused by priests and says it could file for bankruptcy as a result.
Archdiocese attorney Lauren Lonergan said the insurers’ move was expected.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.
UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism
Jerry Slevin
* With some help, it appears, from an ongoing right wing influenced media push, Pope Francis, according to polls, is beginning 2015 with a very positive public image worldwide. Also, he has twice as many Republican fans as Democratic fans in the USA (although many less than likely 2016 US Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, with whom the pope will likely clash in 2015).
Please see here:
* [Pew Research]
* [Gallup]
* Meanwhile, the editors at the National Catholic Reporter (NCR) seemingly struggled to name the pope, barely, as Person of the Year after twenty one months. NCR conceded that Francis’ abuse commission has yet to act and that he was tone deaf on women, while NCR also apparently skipped over Francis’ reported failure so far even to appoint independent auditors for the Vatican’s own significant financial operations and assets. Other than on children and women and some financial matters, the pope seems to be doing great for some of NCR’s editors. Hello? Perhaps NCR’s multi-million dollar right wing foundation donor nudged a bit here? Will we ever really know?
* Will Pope Francis’ high positive public polling be maintained in 2015? That is very unlikely, for some of the reasons discussed below. Child abuse scandal investigations, especially in Australia, the UK, the Dominican Republic and the USA (e.g., in Minneapolis) and elsewhere will likely boil over in 2015. The October Final Synod on the Family on its current trajectory will likely leave many women, children, couples, gay folks, divorced Catholics and many others in a “merciless lurch”. Significantly, on his present path, Francis will after his October Synod likely be “flushed out” on changing sexual morality teachings. Thereafter, his folksy public relations spin will probably lose much of its appeal and seem even more contrived, as reality raises its truthful head.
* Pope Francis has had a long ‘honeymoon period” with Catholics. He followed “bad acts” — two failed popes. He could only “go up in the polls”. For almost two years, his folksy rhetoric, winning smile, symbolic gestures and vague promises have offered faint hope for many of the millions of disgusted, even despairing, Catholics whom he inherited upon his election in early 2013.
* Nevertheless, after nearly two years with much spin and sparse results, the “era of good feelings’” and media adulation for this unexpected pope clearly seems to have crested. The widely read and respected Financial Times (FT) recently even labeled the Vatican after almost two years under Francis as “criminally slow” on curtailing child abuse. FT also viewed the initial Synod on the Family as having been a “victory for conservatives” ! The FT then even added, “Yet untold millions of Catholics have drifted away from the Church not just because of that but because its obsession with personal morality is so at variance with the lives they live. {My emphasis}
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 Baltimore Brew
Brew Editors December 30, 2014
From the Caroline Co. Sheriff’s office Case Report Summary
Alcohol Influence Report
On 09/10/10 I, Dfc. Reibly, was patrolling East on Preston Rd. in the area of Greenfield Ct., Preston, Caroline County, MD while operating moving radar. I observed a vehicle traveling West on Preston Rd. that appeared to be going significantly slower than the posted 50 mph speed limit. As I got closer to the vehicle I noticed the vehicle was riding on the shoulder of the roadway. I activated my Stalker (#5) radar unit and received a digital readout of 29 mph. I also noticed the vehicle was dragging something under the front passenger side of the car.
I conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle. The vehicle was a 2001 green Subaru wagon with Maryland registration 56837BY. As I approached the vehicle I detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from within and the smell of burned rubber. I noted that the driver, who was alone, had vomit down the front of her shirt. I requested the driver’s license and registration. The driver was identified as Heather Elizabeth Cook. Cook stated that she was traveling from Canada to Hurlock, MD. Cook’s speech was slurred and her responses were slow. I asked her if she had consumed any alcohol prior to driving. Cook stated that she stopped in Pennsylvania and had a few alcoholic drinks.
I investigated the burned rubber smell and found the front passenger side tire to be completely shredded from the rim. (A later search did not find the tire or any parts of it) It appeared that Cook had been riding on the rim for some distance.
I asked Cook to exit her vehicle and perform a series of standardized field sobriety tests. Cook agreed and exited her vehicle. The following tests were explained and demonstrated to Cook, The results of said tests are as indicated:
Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus: Cook had a hard time following the stimulus (my finger). Cook kept moving her head instead of following my finger with her eyes only, as directed. Eventually, I was able to detect all six clues of impairment in both eyes, to include, lack of smooth pursuit, nystagmus present at maximum deviation, and nystagmus present prior to a 45 degree angle. She displayed equal tracking in both eyes.
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
ABC 2
Episcopal Diocese of Maryland was aware of bishop’s previous DUI prior to fatal hit-and-run
BALTIMORE – The Episcopal Diocese of Maryland said it was fully aware that a bishop involved in a deadly hit-and-run of a bicyclist in Roland Park Saturday afternoon had been previously arrested for driving under the influence.
According to a statement from the Diocese, Heather Elizabeth Cook, Bishop Suffragan of Maryland, fully disclosed the 2010 DUI for which charges were filed resulting in probation before judgment. Following the disclosure, Cook was elected as bishop suffragan on May 2, 2014. She is the first woman bishop in the diocese.
“One of the core values of the Christian faith is forgiveness,” the statement read. “We cannot preach forgiveness without practicing forgiveness and offering people opportunity for redemption…After extensive discussion and discernment about the incident, and after further investigation, including extensive background check and psychological investigation, it was determined that this one mistake should not bar her for consideration as a leader.”
Baltimore police said Cook, 58, was driving a Subaru Saturday that struck and killed the bicyclist, 41-year-old Thomas Palermo.
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 Baltimore Sun
By Mark Puente
The Baltimore Sun
Before being elevated to a position as a high-ranking bishop, Heather Elizabeth Cook was subjected to an extensive background check and psychological investigation regarding a 2010 drunken driving incident, the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland said Tuesday.
“One of the core values of the Christian faith is forgiveness. We cannot preach forgiveness without practicing forgiveness and offering people opportunity for redemption,” the diocese said in a statement about the search process for an elected bishop.
Cook — who in September became Maryland’s bishop suffragan, the No. 2 leader of the diocese — was driving a car involved in Saturday’s fatal crash on Roland Avenue. Bicyclist Thomas Palermo, 41, a married, father of two, died from his injuries.
No charges have been filed in connection with the afternoon crash in North Baltimore, and police said an investigation was in its early stages.
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.
LOS ANGELES (CA)
CBS Los Angeles
December 29, 2014
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A former teacher at a private Westside girls school pleaded not guilty Monday to sexually molesting a 16-year-old student.
Elizabeth Ann Brewer, 39, of Culver City, is charged with three counts of sexual penetration by a foreign object, two counts of oral copulation and one count of forcible oral copulation between January 2004 and December 2006.
Brewer was a teacher at Notre Dame Academy, a Catholic college-prep school for girls in West Los Angeles, during the time in question.
Brewer, who faces up to 21 years in prison if convicted, is scheduled to return to court Jan. 20.
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.
LOS ANGELES (CA)
KTLA
A former teacher at a Catholic girls’ high school pleaded not guilty Monday to multiple criminal charges in connection with an alleged nearly three-year sexual relationship with an underage student.
Elizabeth Ann Brewer, 39, was a teacher at Notre Dame Academy, a Westside all-girls private school, when she had the alleged relationship between January 2004 and December 2006, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Brewer was arrested in October by police in Culver City, where she lives. Police said a “lengthy investigation” led to her arrest after an alleged victim came forward.
She was accused of having a relationship with a 16-year-old student at the Rancho Park school, according to the DA’s office.
Brewer pleaded not guilty to three counts of sexual penetration by foreign object two counts of oral copulation and one count of forcible oral copulation, the DA’s office stated.
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.
LOS ANGELES (CA)
ABC 7
By ABC7.com staff
Monday, December 29, 2014
LOS ANGELES (KABC) — A former teacher at Notre Dame Academy has been charged with having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old student. The alleged abuse occurred between January 2004 and December 2006.
Elizabeth Brewer, 39, faces three counts of sexual penetration by a foreign object, two counts of oral copulation and one count of forcible oral copulation.
Brewer pleaded not guilty Monday. She is due back in court on Jan. 20.
Notre Dame Academy is a Catholic college preparatory school for girls in West Los Angeles.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.
MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio
Laura McCallum December 30, 2014 …
7. After more than a year’s worth of reporting on the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, MPR News’ special report, Betrayed by Silence, goes inside the cover-up led by three archbishops to see how and why the church protected priests who sexually abused children. Hundreds of hours of interviews and thousands of documents make clear that that church leaders knew they had abusers in the priesthood and they did everything in their power to keep the situation quiet. Meanwhile, they reassured the faithful and the media that clergy sexual abuse was a thing of the past.
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.
INDIANA
Catholic Sentinel
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON — The Diocese of Fort-Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, plans to appeal a $1.9 million judgment against it in a lawsuit over the firing of an elementary school teacher who it claimed violated the morals clause of her contract.
A U.S. District Court jury determined Dec. 19 that the diocese discriminated against Emily Herx, a former language arts teacher at St. Vincent de Paul School in Fort Wayne, when her contract was not renewed in June 2011 after she informed a school official that she had undergone in vitro fertilization a second time.
Diocesan spokesman Sean McBride told Catholic News Service that work on an appeal was underway and would be filed in the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago.
In a statement, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades said the jury’s decision was disappointing.
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.
WISCONSIN
Sawyer County Record
Posted: Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Frank Zufall, staff reporter
A former Catholic priest alleged to have committed molestation against children in the village of Winter in 1983, and who admits in a Dec. 1 report that he abused, has never been charged even though Wisconsin’s statute of limitations allows for charges to be filed.
Thomas Ericksen, 67, now living in the Twin Cities, served as a Catholic priest in the Diocese of Superior at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in the Village of Winter.
Two alleged victims, Paul Eck and his nephew, James, filed a civil lawsuit against the diocese and Ericksen for alleged assault and settled for $3 million in 1989, the year after Ericksen left the priesthood.
However, criminal charges have never been filed against Ericksen.
In 2010, investigating Ericksen on the Internet, Paul Eck discovered the former priest had been volunteering for three years in Kansas City with Special Olympics. Ericksen was subsequently suspended from Special Olympics.
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.
BELGIUM
National Catholic Reporter
John A. Dick | Dec. 30, 2014
LEUVEN, BELGIUM — Bishop Johan Bonny of Antwerp, Belgium, has called for ecclesiastical recognition of gay relationships, according to an interview published in De Morgen, a Belgian newspaper, on Dec. 27.
The official teaching that the Catholic church can recognize only male-female committed relationships has to change, Bonny said.
“There should be recognition of a diversity of forms,” he said. “We have to look inside the church for a formal recognition of the kind of interpersonal relationship that is also present in many gay couples. Just as there are a variety of legal frameworks for partners in civil society, one must arrive at a diversity of forms in the church. … The intrinsic values are more important to me than the institutional question. The Christian ethic is based on lasting relationships where exclusivity, loyalty, and care are central to each other.”
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.
BELGIE
De Morgen
Het Katholiek Vlaams Hoogstudentenverbond (KVHV) Antwerpen reageert in een persbericht fel op de Antwerpse bisschop Johan Bonny, die de voorbije weken verschillende keren opriep om homoseksuelen met meer respect te behandelen. De Antwerpse Jongsocialisten reageren verontwaardigd en dienen klacht in.
“Monseigneur, wat u voorstelt is niet katholiek”, klinkt het fel in het persbericht van het KVHV. De vereniging verwijst daarmee naar Bonny’s oproep in deze krant, toen de Antwerpse bisschop opriep om “de inhoudelijke kwaliteit van holebikoppels” ook binnen de kerk te erkennen.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.
UNITED STATES
Waiting for Godot to Leave
Kevin O’Brieni
We pray and pray for bishops who give a damn, who care enough about children to protect them and
who care enough about the Faith to take a stand. But things are so rotten in Denmark that even when a heroic bishop like Martino comes along, Rome, politics, the money trail and other nasty things will keep the Church seriously corrupt and deeply in need of reform. And the Latin Mass is no guarantee of either sanctity or common sense.
Again, that even a good bishop who tried his best to do the right thing was unable to protect either children from sexual assault or adults from financial fraud is tremendously troubling.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.
UNITED STATES
Commonweal
Grant Gallicho December 30, 2014
This is the seventh in a series of posts on the Urrutigoity case. Read the first part here, the second here, the third here, the fourth here, the fifth here, and the sixth here.
In November 2003, Joseph Martino attended his first meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops after succeeding James Timlin as bishop of Scranton, Pennsylvania. During the weeks following his October 1 installation Mass, Martino had been briefed on the scandal Timlin brought to the diocese in 1997 when he allowed the Society of St. John, a band of traditionalist clerics looking for a home, to set up shop in Scranton. As Martino walked down the aisle of the USCCB convention hall, flanked by nearly all the nation’s bishops, he turned to his auxiliary bishop, John Dougherty, and said, “I think we need to suppress that group.”
But Dougherty wasn’t convinced that was the wisest course of action. Canonically suppressing the Society of St. John, Dougherty worried, might put Martino “in the position of attempting to undo an administrative act of his predecessor,” he wrote to a canon lawyer in early 2003. The “administrative act” Dougherty had in mind was Bishop Timlin’s decision to approve the Society of St. John as a “public association of the faithful,” which afforded the group certain rights under canon law—including the right to appeal to the Vatican.
Timlin’s “Decree of the Erection of the Society of St. John” was issued just a year after he met the group, then led by Fr. Carlos Urrutigoity—a native of Argentina. In the spring of 1997, Urrutigoity and his followers were ousted from the Society of St. Pius X—a schismatic organization that rejects the reforms of Vatican II—after it was discovered that they planned to establish a more spiritually rigorous group within the SSPX. Urrutigoity convinced Bishop Timlin that SSJ priests and deacons wanted to return to the Catholic Church in order to promote the old Latin Mass. Timlin was known as a friend to those who preferred the pre-Vatican II liturgy. Urrutigoity claimed that his fondest hope was to establish a seminary, a liberal-arts college, and a Catholic village. None of that would come to pass, as the Society’s efforts became mired in allegations of financial and sexual misfeasance.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.
DEUTSCHLAND
Frankfurter Allgemeine
29.12.2014, von MARKUS GÜNTHER
In der Nacht vom 13. auf den 14. Dezember, fast auf den Tag genau vor 50 Jahren, irrte ein Student namens Franz durch die Straßen Münsters. Er konnte nicht schlafen. Zu aufgewühlt war er von der Predigt, die er am frühen Abend im Dom gehört hatte von einem jungen Priester und Professor, nur ein paar Jahre älter als er selbst, der Advent und Weihnachten auf ganz neue, ja revolutionäre Art deutete: Die alte Lehre, nach der die menschliche Geschichte sich in die Zeit des Dunkels und die des Heils teilt, die Zeit vor und nach Christi Geburt nämlich, könne doch heute niemand mehr ernst nehmen, sagte der junge Theologe. Wer wolle nach den Weltkriegen, nach Auschwitz und nach Hiroshima noch von der Zeit des Heils sprechen, die vor 2000 Jahren in Bethlehem begonnen habe? Nein, die Grenze zwischen dem Dunkel und dem Licht, zwischen Gefangenschaft und Erlösung, gehe nicht mitten durch die Geschichte, sondern mitten durch unsere Seele. Der Advent finde nicht im Kalender statt, sondern in unseren Herzen – oder er breche genau dort ergebnislos ab. Das ist starker Tobak, und man kann sich gut vorstellen, dass der Student nach dieser Predigt keinen Schlaf fand, sondern allein sein wollte, um das alles für sich zu durchdenken.
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DEUTSCHLAND
Die Welt
Von Miriam Hollstein
Es war ein ungewöhnlicher Brief, der Bundesarbeitsministerin Andrea Nahles (SPD) kürzlich erreichte: Unterzeichnet hatten ihn die Behindertenbeauftragten aller vier Fraktionen im Bundestag – ein seltener Akt der Einmütigkeit. “Sehr enttäuscht” habe man zur Kenntnis gekommen, dass die Arbeits- und Sozialminister der Länder auf ihrer Sitzung Ende November sich mehrheitlich gegen eine Beteiligung an einem Hilfsfonds für missbrauchte behinderte Heimkinder ausgesprochen hätten. “Aus unserer Sicht geht es um eine gemeinschaftliche Verantwortung der Länder, des Bundes und der Kirchen”, steht in dem Schreiben. “Eine Verweigerung der Länder ist deshalb aus unserer Sicht nicht akzeptabel.”
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.
ROMA
Corriere della Sera
Bergoglio è imprevedibile per il cattolico medio. Suscita un interesse vasto, ma quanto sincero?
di Vittorio Messori
Credo sia onesto ammetterlo subito: abusando, forse, dello spazio concessomi, ciò che qui propongo, più che un articolo, è una riflessione personale. Anzi, una sorta di confessione che avrei volentieri rimandata, se non mi fosse stata richiesta. Ma sì, rimandata perché la mia (e non solo mia) valutazione di questo papato oscilla di continuo tra adesione e perplessità, è un giudizio mutevole a seconda dei momenti, delle occasioni, dei temi. Un Papa non imprevisto: per quanto vale, ero tra quelli che si attendevano un sudamericano e un uomo di pastorale, di esperienza quotidiana di governo, quasi a bilanciare un ammirevole professore, un teologo sin troppo raffinato per certi palati, quale l’amato Joseph Ratzinger. Un Papa non imprevisto, dunque, ma che subito, sin da quel primissimo «buonasera», si è rivelato imprevedibile, tanto da far ricredere via via anche qualche cardinale che era stato tra i suoi elettori.
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.
ROME
Crux
By John L. Allen Jr.
Associate editor December 30, 2014
ROME — For those in and around the Vatican, the most talked-about piece of rhetoric during the holiday season has been Pope Francis’s Dec. 22 blast at the Roman Curia. A close second, however, has been Vittorio Messori’s own Dec. 24 fusillade at the pope, published in the Italian paper of record, Corriere della Sera.
Under the headline, “Doubts about the turning point of Pope Francis,” Messori wrote that “my evaluation of this papacy oscillates continually between adhesion and perplexity,” and also asserted that Francis’ unpredictability has caused even “some of the cardinals who were among his electors to have second thoughts.”
Messori did not name any repentant cardinals, but his claim has been taken seriously because he is Italy’s most famous living Catholic writer, the man whose 1984 interview book with then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, The Ratzinger Report, made the future pope a star.
In other words, he’s the kind of person in a position to know what at least some segment of the College of Cardinals is thinking.
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MARYLAND
New York Daily News
BY ALEJANDRO ALBA NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Published: Monday, December 29, 2014
The Episcopal Diocese of Maryland said a newly ordained bishop, Heather Elizabeth Cook, was the driver allegedly responsible for a hit-and-run that killed a bicyclist Sunday afternoon in Baltimore.
The Right Reverend Eugene Taylor Sutton identified Cook, who was ordained in September, in an email, the Baltimore Brew reports.
“I am distressed to announce that Bishop Heather E. Cook was involved in a traffic accident Saturday afternoon that resulted in the death of bicyclist Thomas Palermo, 41,” Sutton wrote.
Palermo was still alive when police arrived at the scene. He was taken to Sinai Hospital where he died of his injuries, according to cops.
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
Heavy
1. Bishop Cook Initially Left the Scene
In an email to parishioners Sunday, Bishop Eugene Sutton said that Bishop Suffragan Heather Cook left the scene of the crash but returned about 20 minutes later “to take responsibility for her actions.”
Sutton wrote:
“Together with the Diocese of Maryland, I express my deep sorrow over the death of the cyclist and offer my condolences to the victim’s family. Please pray for Mr. Palermo, his family and Bishop Cook during this most difficult time.”
2. The Deceased Was a Well-Known Cyclist
Thomas Palermo, 41, was known for building custom bike frames, and was well acquainted with the area of Baltimore in which he was killed.
Baltimore bicyclist Chris Merriam told the AP:
“He was a craftsman. A lot of people owned frames built by him with loving care. He was a very talented guy, and a lot of people knew him.”
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
Washington Post
Maryland Episcopal bishop investigated in car accident that killed cyclist
By Michelle Boorstein December 29
The No. 2 Episcopal bishop in the Diocese of Maryland has been placed on administrative leave after she was involved in a car crash Saturday that killed a bicyclist.
Bishop Heather Elizabeth Cook, who is the bishop suffragan, or second bishop for the diocese of Maryland, which is headquartered in Baltimore, left the scene but returned later “to take responsibility for her actions,” her bishop said in a statement.
Baltimore police said Monday that they are investigating a fatal car crash that killed Thomas Palermo, 41, a father of two and a computer specialist who ran a bike shop out of his garage. Palermo, whose family lives in Baltimore County, was on a recreational ride, said his brother-in-law, Jeff Hulting.
Police did not identify the driver, saying in a statement that they were interviewing a 58-year-old woman who “left the scene but returned back to the scene during the investigation.” No charges have been filed.
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
Baltimore Brew
Fern Shen and Danielle Sweeney December 29, 2014
The station wagon with the smashed windshield that drove away from Saturday’s fatal Roland Avenue bike crash was gone for close to 45 minutes – not the reported 20 – before returning to the scene, according to a reliable witness interviewed by The Brew.
The woman, a Roland Park resident who was at the crash scene minutes after it happened, said she pulled over – horrified by the sight of the inert bicyclist – and remained there.
“When I arrived, I saw a group of teenage boys and also a Fed-Ex truck. The boys and Fed-Ex truck may have been the first to see the accident. People were already calling the police, when I arrived,” said the woman, who remained in her car watching.
The car that had struck cyclist Thomas Palermo was not there while she watched the first responders work, but after a time – a long time, she said – it pulled up.
As first reported in The Brew, Right Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton told Episcopal clergy yesterday that the driver of the car was newly ordained Bishop Heather Elizabeth Cook and that she “returned after about 20 minutes to take responsibility for her actions.”
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph
Child abuse: Bathed in disinfectant, whipped with kettle flexes, beaten and forced to eat vomit… victims’ harrowing testimonies
BY ADRIAN RUTHERFORD – 30 DECEMBER 2014
Harrowing accounts of how children were beaten and abused in care homes in Northern Ireland have dominated the news during 2014.
The Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry is investigating allegations between 1922 and 1995.
It was set up by the Executive to investigate institutions run by the State and churches or owned by the private sector or voluntary bodies. Victims have given a series of powerful testimonies of the abuse they suffered while in care.
The inquiry heard how children at homes run by nuns were made to eat their own vomit.
Some were also forced to bathe in disinfectant and beaten for wetting the bed.
Children at Sisters of Nazareth properties in Derry were known by their numbers rather than their names.
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NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph
Child abuse: Media coverage of high-profile cases has given more children courage to seek help
BY NEIL ANDERSON – 30 DECEMBER 2014
Over the last few years the news agenda has been flooded with reports of large-scale sexual abuse including the horrendous actions of Jimmy Savile and accounts from victims giving evidence to the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry here.
While the figure of 718 ongoing sex abuse investigations by the PSNI is a stark statistic which highlights, to a degree, the scale of this heinous crime, the figures need to be seen in context.
There is reason to believe that media coverage of high-profile cases may be encouraging victims to come forward in the confidence that they will be believed.
Changes to the child protection reporting systems in Northern Ireland have also made it easier for victims to disclose abuse.
We also know that sexual offences involving children and young people reported to the PSNI over the last decade have shown an increase from 875 in 2002/03 to 1,182 in 2012/13.
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NORTHERN IRELAND
Befast Telegraph
BY ADRIAN RUTHERFORD – 30 DECEMBER 2014
Police are investigating more than 700 claims of child abuse in Northern Ireland, it can be revealed.
Officers are probing 718 “live” cases where the victim was aged under 18.
The figure is thought to include a number of historic allegations relating to children’s care homes.
It comes as a leading charity revealed it has seen the number of calls to a specialist helpline jump by almost a quarter in the last year.
The issue of child abuse has been in the headlines throughout 2014. A State inquiry into historical abuse in Northern Ireland, chaired by retired judge Sir Anthony Hart, opened in January.
The inquiry, which has so far been contacted by 524 individuals, has already heard harrowing testimonies from victims.
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UNITED STATES
Naitonal Catholic Reporter
EDITORIAL
A year ago, Pope Francis’ photo adorned the covers of Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, TIME magazine and The Advocate. The latter two named the pope their person of the year. Francis’ personal humility and simplicity, his common-sense rhetoric seasoned with homespun charm had captured the imagination of Catholics, non-Catholics and even nonbelievers. Acutely aware of the power of simple language and of images, Francis set about molding a pontificate for the age of Facebook and Twitter. Though he has little computer knowledge himself, Francis harnessed these tools for a new kind of evangelization.
Many among our readers, editors, staff and contributors embraced the message he advocated. They heralded not just a change in tone and style, but a change in substance and direction. Just as many among us, however, were not convinced. The refrain was, “Yes, but what has he done? To what real change can we point?” And so NCR resisted naming Francis our person of the year for 2013.
A year later, the resistance is weakening. We can name many points of disagreement with Francis: He is consistently tone-deaf in the way he speaks about women. We do not believe he clearly understands the powerful contribution women are already making to church life, and we believe he is mistaken not to appoint more women to leadership positions in church administration. His remarks to the November symposium at the Vatican, “An International Interreligious Colloquium on the Complementarity of Man and Woman,” suggest he and the church hierarchy need an updated theology and science on human sexuality. Despite these objections, we also find a growing list of accomplishments.
One clear message from the conclave that elected Francis was that the new pope must reform the Roman Curia — not only to bring it up to date, but to restore its mission of service to the church at large. We have said that the reform of that institution needs changes in at least three key areas: a change in culture; personnel to support the reform; and new structures, policies and procedures to make it work. …
We have taken Francis to task for not understanding the seriousness of the sex abuse crisis in the church. In the last year, Francis has made tremendous strides in this area by — most important — meeting with victims of clergy sexual assault and by appointing a high-level commission of professionals, half of whom are lay and women, to advise him directly. The commission has yet to act, but its formation indicates the pope is grappling with the issue.
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UNITED STATES
Pew Research
Pope Francis, leader of the world’s nearly 1.1 billion Catholics, enjoys broad support across much of the world, according to a new survey report by the Pew Research Center. A median of 60% across 43 nations have a favorable view of the pontiff. Only 11% see the pope unfavorably, and 28% give no rating.
Francis’ strongest support comes from Europe, where a median of 84% offer a favorable rating. Latin America – the pope’s home region – also gives him high marks, with 72% saying they have a positive opinion.1 However, Francis is less well-known in other parts of the world. In Africa, 44% say they like the pope, but 40% offer no rating. Asians are similarly unfamiliar with Francis, with 41% supporting him and 45% expressing no opinion. The Middle East is the most negative toward Francis, with a quarter viewing him unfavorably. However, an equal number (25%) give a positive rating and a plurality (41%) do not rate him.
Americans are particularly fond of Pope Francis, with more than three-quarters (78%) giving him positive marks.
These are among the key findings from two surveys by the Pew Research Center, one conducted from October 30, 2013 to March 4, 2014, among 14,564 respondents in nine Latin American countries, and another from March 17 to June 5, 2014, among 36,430 respondents in 34 countries.
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UNITED STATES
Catholic News Service
By Carol Zimmermann
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) — During the second year of his pontificate, Pope Francis was still feeling the love, and not just from Catholics or those from his homeland of Argentina.
A Pew Research Center study released Dec. 11 showed that the pope has broad support across much of the world. Sixty percent of the 43 nations polled had a positive view of the pontiff.
And Americans, in particular, have shown their fondness for Pope Francis, often extolling his simple style. According to the Pew study, 78 percent of Americans view the pope favorably. …
One catch, so far with the pope’s popularity, is that it has not, as of yet in the U.S., drawn more people, or those who have left the church, back to Mass or the sacraments in measurable numbers, according to a Pew Research Center poll earlier this year.
Some observers have said the pope’s impact shouldn’t be measured in returning Catholics, but in the restored image of the Catholic Church and the number of Catholics who feel proud of their faith again thanks to Pope Francis.
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INDIA
Kaumudi Online
KOCHI: A church priest who took boys for pleasure trips and dining in high-end hotels, as a means to lure them into sexual acts with him, has been absconding since complaints were raised against him recently.
Since December 22, the main priest of a significant church at Kaloore has not turned up for conducting mass in the church. Currently, the assistant priest is carrying out his duties. “The tainted priest mostly hobnobbed with senior students. He used to conduct trips for them in posh cars. He also took them to have lunch and dinner in big hotels. This was how he attracted the boys towards him,” according to reports.
The boys who went to Saturday’s ‘Thirubalasakhyam’ and Sunday classes often fell prey to the priest’s homosexuality. In the third week of December, a boy disclosed to his parents the priest’s misdemeanour. Following this, three parents and a few party men jointly manhandled the priest.
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OSTERREICH
Profil
In der oberösterreichischen Gemeinde Hohenzell bei Ried im Innkreis formiert sich Protest gegen ein Denkmal für den verstorbenen ehemaligen Wiener Erzbischof Hans Hermann Groer.
Von Franziska Dzugan
Das Denkmal erinnert seit Jahren daran, dass Hans Hermann Groer in der Hohenzeller Kirche 1989 für ungeborene Kinder gebetet hat. 1995 musste Groer wegen Missbrauchs von Zöglingen zurücktreten. In profil bezieht Pfarrer Josef Bauer erstmals Stellung. Er will die Gedenktafel nicht entfernen lassen: „Es hat keine gerichtliche Verurteilung Groers stattgefunden. Ich kannte ihn persönlich und kann mir nicht vorstellen, dass an den Vorwürfen etwas dran ist.“ Auch die Diözese Linz habe kein Interesse, das Denkmal zu demontieren, sagt Sepp Rothwangl (siehe Bild), Obmann der Plattform “Betroffene kirchlicher Gewalt”. Generalvikar Severin Lederhilger habe einem Missbrauchsopfer, das sich beschwerte, gesagt, er könne in dieser Angelegenheit nichts machen.
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UNITED STATES
skipshea
Posted on December 30, 2014 by skipshea
Recently the news has been going crazy with glee over the Pope dressing down the Vatican Curia. At least that’s what the headlines called it. It is actually the Roman Curia which is the governing body of the Holy See, which is the sovereign state in which the Vatican resides. But why let facts get in the way.
So this dressing down has more to do with the business end of the Vatican and not all of that other stuff they do. Which is why Francis was elected in the first place. The Vatican Bank was in scandal and crisis, laundering money for pre-repentant sinners and stuff like that. Monsignor Nunzio Scarano was arrested and Peter Sutherland from Goldman Sachs flew to the Vatican with words of wisdom.
As an aside, no one flew to the Holy See with any kind of warning while they were called in front of two UN Committees to investigate global crimes against humanity or the clergy sexual abuse screwing around with kids scandal. But screw around with the money of the one percent and, Holy See look out!
And man did Pope Francis listen. Not to the UN but to the bankers. After all the bank manages between 7 and 8 billion dollars in assets and investments and that needs protecting. So he took the job seriously.
Pope Francis appointed Jean-Baptiste de Franssu of Invesco Ltd. as bank president. And Cardinal Pell as Secretariat of the Economy. They did such a good job that Pell announced that they found millions tucked away. I can’t even tuck away 20 bucks, how they heck do you tuck away millions?
As an aside on Pell, when he was a Cardinal in Australia he lived with one of the worst pedophiles Gerald Ridsdale for a year and accompanied him to court. He later admitted he was unaware this would be insulting to victims. Let alone discourage more from coming forward because they would see the powerful institution they would be up against. Okay, I made up the last sentence.
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UNITED STATES
The Economist
Dec 20th 2014 BY E.W. | WASHINGTON, DC
WOMEN entering religious life in the Catholic church take, among other vows, the vow of obedience. This vow demands deference to both God and church doctrine; in other words, to the men who set and uphold Catholic teaching. But the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), an organisation representing 80% of American nuns, hasn’t always been so keen on meek deference. Members in the past have publicly dissented with the Vatican on issues including gay rights, abortion and the ordination of women. More recently, the group has been criticised for concentrating too much on social justice, rather than championing the church’s teachings on abortion and sexuality.
In 2008, under Pope Benedict XVI, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith initiated an investigation of American nuns, citing concerns about “a certain feminist spirit.” As Reverend Paul Sullins at the Catholic University of America explained, these women “have suggested that the church’s teachings are wrong or dated or need to be changed, and it wants to enter into some sort of conversation… It’s a huge arrogance.” The investigation continued under Pope Francis and concluded recently, with a report from the Vatican just in time for Christmas.
Though many sisters resented the investigation when it began six years ago, it seems to have ended on a positive note. The report expresses gratitude for the contributions of American nuns, and otherwise falls short of making concrete suggestions or changes. It even cites Pope Francis’s call to create “still broader opportunities for a more incisive female presence in the church.”
The change from Benedict’s castigating tone to Francis’s supportive one seems wise: the Catholic church isn’t in a position to further alienate women religious, whose numbers have been dwindling for years. According to Pew Research, the number of American nuns has dropped 72% since 1965—from 180,000 to 50,000. By contrast, the number of American priests has fallen only 35% over the same period. The number of nuns is also declining much faster in America than elsewhere in the world: in 1970, American nuns represented 16% of the world’s religious sisters; today, they’re only 7%.
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UNITED STATES
AlJazeera
December 30, 2014
by Elizabeth Stoker Bruenig @ebruenig
In January 2014, Italian sculptor and pop artist Mauro Pallotta explained the inspiration behind a series of paintings depicting Pope Francis as a Marvel-esque superhero, cape and all. “I thought of representing this pope, Francis, as a superhero,” he said, “simply because, according to me, he is one of the few people who, having a real power as a pope, he uses it for the good.”
This year saw further realization of Pallotta’s depiction: Francis established himself as a crusader against economic exclusion, perpetrators of violence and clergy who flaunt wealth and abuse power. Still, Francis’ most impressive gambit is his farthest ranging: a genuine effort to challenge rigidity and cynicism both inside and outside the church. …
September proved a monumental month for progress in accountability for the church’s history of child sex abuse. Francis placed former Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski under house arrest in Vatican City in late September, pending an investigation of Wesolowski’s alleged abuse of children in the Dominican Republic. Shortly thereafter, Francis removed Paraguayan Bishop Rogelio Ricardo Livieres Plano pursuant to accusations that the bishop protected an Argentine priest accused of committing sex crimes in the United States.
Meanwhile, Francis has continued to add victims of church sex abuse to his advisory council on the abuse crisis, indicating an ongoing commitment to rooting out the rot in the church while seeking forgiveness from its victims. External groups, such as the U.N.’s Committee on the Rights of the Child, have nonetheless found fault with the church’s response. An early February report released by the committee criticized the secrecy with which sex abuse cases have been handled so far and called for the Vatican to establish clear, consistent mechanisms to respond to cases of abuse in conjunction with legal authorities.
Some Catholics have expressed displeasure with Francis’ approach. October featured the first half of the Synod on the Family, a meeting of church officials meant to hash out questions of divorce, remarriage, the role of gay and lesbian Catholics in the church and other “pastoral challenges” in the context of the family. Francis’ affinity for flexibility and honest contemplation on matters affecting modern families led to all manner of paroxysms in the church, a tendency augmented by the reassignment of a popular conservative cardinal near the end of synod proceedings. Nonetheless, Francis’ approval ratings remain stellar, with 67 percent of U.S. Catholics rating him favorably and only 13 percent unfavorably. In fact, his popularity among Catholics and non-Catholics alike has continued to grow over preceding quarterly polls.
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GUAM
Pacific News Center
[with video]
Written by Janela Carrera
Guam – As the Archdiocese of Agana prepares for an important visit from three Vatican officials next week, a group of concerned Catholics is also planning to meet with the delegation. The group says they will hand over what’s called a white paper.
“This is a very rare occasion that would have this many Vatican officials come here,” says Concerned Catholics of Guam Vice President David Sablan.
It’s been dubbed a pastoral visit by the Archdiocese of Agana, but some believe the visit from three important Vatican officials next week has more to do with the troubles plaguing the Church than a mere trip just to say hello.
“For all the times that I could remember, usually they would come passing through, it’s usually just the papal nuncio … so he is someone we could expect to visit with us at least once a year but he’s been here twice in the past six months so there’s something telling about that,” notes Sablan.
“In addition to it being a rare occasion it’s also interesting to note the duration of the visit. It’s a seven day visit and normally they pretty much come in, spend a day or two, then they move to the next area,” CCOG President Greg Perez points out.
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AUSTRALIA
7 News
AAP
A former Catholic brother facing hundreds of child sexual abuse charges has been refused bail at a Sydney court.
Bernard McGrath, 66, was extradited from New Zealand to Australia earlier this month.
He did not apply for bail when he appeared at Parramatta Local Court via video link on Monday afternoon, and bail was formally refused.
He is facing a total 252 charges, including 102 counts of indecent assaults on males.
The allegations date back to the 1970s and 1980s.
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CANADA
The Globe and Mail
MARK HUME
VANCOUVER — The Globe and Mail
Published Tuesday, Dec. 30 2014
Documents filed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia have raised questions about a man’s claim he was sexually abused by former Vancouver Olympics CEO John Furlong.
Last year, Mr. Furlong was accused of abuse by the man, who has asked that his identity be withheld by the media, and by two women, Beverly Abraham and Grace West, who did not seek anonymity.
The three accusers filed suits against Mr. Furlong, the Roman Catholic Episcopal Corp. of Prince Rupert and Catholic Independent Schools Diocese of Prince George, saying they were abused when Mr. Furlong was their teacher at Immaculata Elementary School in Burns Lake in 1969-70.
But in a 2005 document filed with the Indian residential schools dispute resolution process, the man claims he was at a different school in 1969-70, in a different community, where he was sexually abused by a Catholic brother.
“In 1969 when I was nine years old and attending Lejac Residential, there was a brother [who] … would call me to his office,” states the compensation claim, which graphically describes acts of sexual assault. “This abuse happened ten times over three years.”
Lejac, which closed in 1976, was in Fraser Lake, 70 kilometres west of Burns Lake, where Mr. Furlong worked. Mr. Furlong moved from Immaculata to Prince George College, 160 kilometres west of Fraser Lake, in 1971.
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ALABAMA
Times Daily
By Tom Smith Senior Staff Writer
Three former Shoals area youth ministers made headlines this year when they were accused of abusing children who were members of their churches.
The combined stories of their arrests was voted the third story of the year in a TimesDaily newsroom poll.
Charles Kyle Adcock, 31, who now lives in Frisco, Texas, and is a former Woodward Avenue Baptist Church youth minister, is charged with 22 counts of second-degree rape and nine counts of second-degree sodomy.
Adcock was a youth minister at Woodward Avenue Baptist Church from 2010-12. Investigators said Adcock faces sexual abuse charges that date back to his days as a youth minister.
Adcock is accused of having an inappropriate sexual relationship with a girl who was 14 at the time. Adcock was the girl’s youth minister.
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UNITED STATES
The Costarican Times
Martin LeFevre
“60 Minutes,” one of America’s last remaining bulwarks of the status quo, devoted a full fawning hour to Pope Francis Sunday, between Christmas and New Years. Can this media-canonized pope save the world’s institutions, beginning with the Catholic Church and extending to the American-made international system?
What’s at issue is the whole crumbling world order, and the desperate need by those in positions of wealth and power (and make no mistake about it, the papacy is a position of wealth and power) to shore up the rotten timbers, even as more and more people are giving up on religions and the old order altogether.
When I was young, the news magazine “60 Minutes” challenged the powers that be, but in recent years it has been more concerned with falling ratings and stale rehash. It also has a developed a decidedly reactionary bent that covers the spectrum from nostalgia to ‘ain’t America wonderful’ segments.
But three puff pieces on the pope is too much. Toadying to the pope’s image, the show quotes a cardinal waxing lyrical about Pope Francis: “An evangelizer must never look like someone who is coming back from a funeral.” America’s leading news magazine is now shilling for this pope’s mission of remaking the Roman Catholic Church into a “missionary church.”
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MARYLAND
Episcopal Diocese of Maryland
Posted on December 29, 2014
I am distressed to announce that Bishop Heather E. Cook was involved in a traffic accident Saturday afternoon, Dec 27, that resulted in the death of a bicyclist, Thomas Palermo, 41. Bishop Cook did not sustain any injuries. Together with the Diocese of Maryland, I express my deep sorrow over the death of the cyclist and offer my condolences to the victim’s family. Please pray for Mr. Palermo, his family and Bishop Cook during this most difficult time. Please do not contact Bishop Cook directly, but feel free to send written notes to the Diocesan Center.
There is an ongoing police investigation into the accident. Several news agencies have reported this as a ‘hit and run.’ Bishop Cook did leave the scene initially, but returned after about 20 minutes to take responsibility for her actions.
Because the nature of the accident could result in criminal charges, I have placed Bishop Cook on administrative leave, effective immediately. I will meet shortly with the Standing Committee to discuss ways we can move forward. Also, I have decided to delay my sabbatical to Jan. 24 indefinitely to be pastorally present in this difficult time.
The Right Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton
Bishop of Maryland
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MARYLAND
9 News
The Episcopal diocese of Maryland says the state’s first female bishop has been put on leave after her involvement in a fatal hit-and-run crash that occurred in Baltimore during the weekend.
“I am distressed to announce that Bishop Heather E. Cook was involved in a traffic accident Saturday afternoon … that resulted in the death of a bicyclist,” the Right Reverend Eugene Taylor Sutton said in a statement.
Sutton added that Cook left the scene initially, but returned after about 20 minutes “to take responsibility for her actions”.
Cook, who was ordained as a priest in 1987 and elected bishop in September, was placed on immediate administrative leave while an oversight committee considers the situation.
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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter
Kevin Eckstrom Religion News Service | Dec. 29, 2014
For most of recorded history, Isis was an Egyptian goddess, a benevolent type who cared for widows and orphans, cured the sick and even brought the dead back to life.
This year, the world met the other ISIS.
The rise of the so-called Islamic State, variously known as ISIS or ISIL, dominated headlines in 2014 as a self-proclaimed caliphate sowed death and destruction across Iraq and Syria. For some, the group confirmed their worst fears about Muslim extremists, bent on killing religious minorities and subjugating women in a quest for domination that included leveling villages and beheading hostages. …
Among the names that captured the public imagination in 2014:
* Seattle megachurch pastor Mark Driscoll resigned after facing a series of allegations involving plagiarism, bullying and an unhealthy ego.
* Conservative activist Bill Gothard, an advocate of home-schooling, modest attire and large families, resigned after a series of abuse allegations.
* German Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, whose $43 million housing renovation earned him the unwelcome nickname “Bishop Bling,” was fired by Pope Francis.
* Washington, D.C., pastor Amy Butler became the first woman named senior pastor of New York’s storied Riverside Church, and Libby Lane was appointed the first female bishop in the Church of England.
* Retired Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson, whose election as the first openly gay bishop ruptured the Anglican Communion, announced his divorce from his husband, Mark Andrew.
* Popes John Paul II and John XXIII were proclaimed saints by Pope Francis, and Pope Paul VI was beatified.
* Sudanese Christian Meriam Ibrahim was finally freed after nearly being executed for apostasy, becoming an icon for many Christians.
* Mormon feminist Kate Kelly was excommunicated for advocating for women in the priesthood.
* Rabbi David Saperstein was confirmed as the first non-Christian U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.
* Blase Cupich was installed as the new archbishop of Chicago, Pope Francis’ first major appointment to the U.S. hierarchy.
* Washington, D.C., Rabbi Barry Freundel was fired after allegedly installing a hidden camera in the mikvah, or ritual bath, used by women at his prominent Georgetown synagogue.
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NEW YORK
NRC (Nederland)
[The Zen Predator of the Upper East Side – The Atlantic]
door Anouk Eigenraam
Bij seksueel misbruik binnen religies is de associatie met het misbruik binnen de katholieke kerk snel gemaakt. Je denkt niet zo snel aan het boeddhisme. In een artikel in The Atlantic betoogt Mark Oppenheimer dat het misbruik binnen het zenboeddhisme niet alleen vele malen groter is, maar ook veel banaler.
Komt seksueel misbruik binnen andere religies niet voor of is het gewoon nog een blinde vlek? Tot nu toe horen we nog weinig over misbruik onder leiders van andere geloven. Maar de vraag is of het misschien niet wat onwaarschijnlijk is om te denken dat seksueel misbruik alleen maar voorbehouden is aan de katholieke kerk.
Het artikel van Oppenheimer, dat onderdeel is van een e-book, spreekt wat dat betreft boekdelen. Bij boeddhisten denk je eerder aan vriendelijk uitziende, vredelievende, kale monniken in een seksloze jurk dan aan achterkamertjes waar de geestelijken hun fysieke lusten botvieren. Maar dat is kennelijk het plaatje aan de buitenkant. Veel zenleiders zijn de afgelopen jaren beschuldigd van seksueel misbruik, intimidatie of het verleiden van hun volgelingen meldt de auteur.
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FRANCE
France 24
Pope Francis began the year with an overhaul of the Vatican’s scandal-ridden bank and ended it with a scathing critique of the Vatican’s power-hungry bureaucracy.
Since his election as the church’s first Jesuit head, the Argentinian pope has proved to be a popular force in the Catholic world and beyond.
He is the first pontiff to have received victims of sexual abuse by clergymen at the Vatican and has set up a commission to root out the “plague” of paedophilia inside the church.
The 78-year-old pope has also launched a number of sweeping financial and administrative reforms, and drawn up a list of the “15 ailments” he says are afflicting Catholicism’s highest-ranking officials.
His calls for “tenderness” and “love”, and salvos against the church bureaucracy’s “spiritual Alzheimer’s”, have sanctioned his reputation as the people’s pope. But his soaring popularity and reformist zeal have unsettled some.
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NEW MEXICO
Gallup Independent
Published in the Gallup Independent, Gallup, N.M., Dec. 23, 2014
By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Independent correspondent
religion@gallupindependent.com
GALLUP — When the Diocese of Gallup publicly released its list of credibly accused sex abusers last week, it failed to include the names of four former Gallup priests who had previously been identified as abusers by other Catholic dioceses or religious orders.
Diego Mazon had been publicly confirmed by an official with the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, Harry R. Morgan and Laurence A. Florez had been identified by the Diocese of Phoenix, and Justin Weger had been identified by his religious order, the Crosier Fathers and Brothers.
“The investigation into names and the process of adding to the list has not ended,” diocesan spokeswoman Suzanne Hammons said in an emailed response to a question about the discrepancy. “Bishop Wall mentioned in his letter that ‘The publication of these additional names does not mean that our vigilance and continued investigation ends here. The investigations remain ongoing.’”
Hammons did not explain what further investigation could reveal about four men who have already been identified as credibly accused sexual abusers by other Catholic officials.
Diego Mazon
Diego Mazon is a Franciscan friar living at a retirement facility run by Albuquerque’s Franciscan Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe. In 2005, Mazon was named as a defendant, along with the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and Cincinnati’s Franciscan Province of St. John the Baptist, in a clergy sex abuse lawsuit (D-202CV-200503804) filed in Albuquerque’s district court. The lawsuit claimed that Mazon had sexually molested a young Hispanic girl in St. John’s Parish in Roswell in the 1970s.
Mazon was working in the Diocese of Gallup when the abuse survivor came forward, and diocesan officials removed him from ministry at Gallup’s St. Francis Church. Parishioners were not informed of either the allegation or the lawsuit; instead they were told Mazon was stepping down because of ill health. In 2009, Annette M. Klimka, the victim assistance coordinator for the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, confirmed that church officials had reached a settlement with the female abuse survivor in 2006.
Mazon was also recently listed as being credibly accused in U.S. Bankruptcy Court documents. James Stang, the legal counsel for the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, stated the Diocese of Gallup “has admitted there are credible allegations of sexual abuse against members of the Franciscan Friars, (i.e. Fathers Charles Cichanowicz, Julian Hartig, Diego Mazon) …” in a motion filed Oct. 30.
In addition to working at St. Francis in Gallup a decade ago, Mazon worked at Our Lady of Blessed Sacrament in Fort Defiance, Ariz. from 1991-94, and at St. Joseph’s in San Fidel, N.M. in 1978, according to the Official Catholic Directory.
Morgan and Florez
Harry R. Morgan and Laurence A. Florez were two longtime Gallup priests who transferred to the Diocese of Phoenix when that diocese was created in December 1969. In 2012, the Phoenix Diocese publicly released its own list of credibly accused sex abusers, and both Morgan and Florez were — and still are — on that list.
Gallup Bishop James Wall, a former Phoenix priest, served as vicar for priests in the Phoenix Diocese under Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted. It is not known why Wall hasn’t relied on information about Morgan and Florez that Olmsted released two years ago.
According to the Official Catholic Directory, the Gallup chancery always assigned Morgan to its parishes in Arizona. Morgan worked at St. Joseph’s Church in Winslow, Ariz., in 1954, St. John the Baptist in St. Johns, Ariz., from 1955-58, St. Pius X in East Flagstaff, Ariz., from 1959-63, and St. Joseph’s in Williams, Ariz., from 1964-69. Morgan also served as the Diocese of Gallup’s Family Life Director from 1961 to 1966.
Later, while Morgan was working for the Diocese of Phoenix in Fountain Hills, Ariz., he was arrested Feb. 17, 1975, and charged with molesting a 9-year-old boy. In August 1975, Morgan pleaded no contest in Maricopa County Superior Court, and two months later, Judge C. Kimball Rose sentenced him to 10 years probation.
During Florez’s years in the Diocese of Gallup, he worked at the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Flagstaff, Ariz. in 1960, the Santo Nino Parish in Aragon, N.M., in 1961-62, Our Lady of Guadalupe in Holbrook, Ariz., from 1963-64, St. Mary’s in Kingman, Ariz., in 1965, and St. John Vianney in Sedona from 1966-69. Florez and the Diocese of Phoenix were later named in a clergy abuse lawsuit in Arizona in 1993.
Weger and more
Earlier this year, the Crosier Fathers and Brothers released a comprehensive list of 19 current, former and deceased members of their religious order who have credible allegations against them. Two Crosier priests who worked in the Gallup Diocese, Timothy Conlon, O.S.C. and Justin Weger, O.S.C., were included.
Although the Diocese of Gallup’s recently released list included Conlon, it did not include Weger.
According to the Crosiers, Weger worked part-time for the Gallup Diocese in 1974-75, providing weekend assistance in the diocese’s Arizona and New Mexico parishes. He was removed from ministry in 1976.
The addition of Mazon, Morgan, Florez and Weger would push the Diocese of Gallup’s list of credibly accused abusers to 34 priests and one lay volunteer. That number, however, still does not include Brother Mark Schornack, O.F.M. and the Rev. James Lindenmeyer, who were both named as alleged abusers in clergy abuse lawsuits filed in Arizona before the Diocese of Gallup filed its Chapter 11 petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
It also does not include five reported Franciscan friars — Ephrem Beltramea (listed as Ephraim Beltremea), Eugene Botello, Crispin Butz, Finnian Connolly and Clementin (listed as Clemetine) Wottle — who were named as alleged perpetrators by confidential claimants in the bankruptcy case.
If all those alleged abusers are eventually determined to be credibly accused, that will drive the Diocese of Gallup’s list up to more than 40 men.
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GUAM
Pacific Daily News
Written by
Malorie Paine
Pacific Daily News
The Concerned Catholics of Guam, a nonprofit organization formed to bring attention to what it believes are financial and leadership problems within the local Catholic Church, is circulating a petition to gather support in “resolving the divisive misunderstandings that currently plague our Catholic parish communities.”
The petition is not against the archdiocese, but is intended to show support for the Concerned Catholics, Vangie Lujan, secretary of the nonprofit group, said during a press conference yesterday morning.
The petition will be presented to three Vatican officials, who will be visiting Guam from Jan. 3 to 10, 2015, and to the archdiocese.
The petition addresses three objectives of the Concerned Catholics, including the clergy and laity, parish affairs, and archdiocesan affairs, according to organization’s website.
Under the clergy and laity objectives, one of the main areas of focus is to provide grants and scholarships to aspiring local seminarians to attend an established and an accredited Diocesan seminary.
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UNITED STATES
The Worthy Adversary
Posted by Joelle Casteix on December 29, 2014
Last, week, I spoke with Miranda Dempsey McCroskey of Lawpreneur Radio about the importance of civil rights for crime victims, how plaintiffs’ attorneys have been instrumental in exposing abuse … and, of course, THE WELL-ARMORED CHILD. The podcast is up and you can listen here.
Or, you can check out the interview on iTunes.
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DEUTSCHLAND
Domradio
[After becoming aware of the abuse scandal five years ago, the psychotherapist and theologian Wunibald Müller has called for structural changes in the Catholic Church. An initial assessment.]
Nach dem Bekanntwerden des Missbrauchsskandals vor fünf Jahren hat der Psychotherapeut und Theologe Wunibald Müller strukturelle Veränderungen in der katholischen Kirche gefordert. Eine erste Bilanz.
Im Interview mit der Katholischen Nachrichten-Agentur (KNA) zieht der Leiter des Münsterschwarzacher Recollectio-Hauses für kirchliche Mitarbeiter in Lebenskrisen Bilanz.
KNA: Herr Müller, fünf Jahre sind seit dem Bekanntwerden des Missbrauchsskandals vergangen. Was hat sich getan?
Müller: Die Bischöfe sind wachsamer geworden. Die Überarbeitung der Leitlinien hat viel gebracht. Mittlerweile werden auch alle kirchlichen Mitarbeiter in Prävention geschult und sensibilisiert.
Externe sind oft die Ansprechpartner für Opfer. Und es ist jetzt klar, dass Jugendliche nicht mehr im Pfarrhaus schlafen oder der Pfarrer mit ihnen duscht. Verglichen mit dem, was vor 15 Jahren war, ist das sehr viel. Da konnte noch jede einzelne Diözese entscheiden, wie sie im Falle von sexuellem Missbrauch vorgeht.
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DEUTSCHLAND
Domradio
[Jesuit priest Klaus Mertes talks about the five years since he opened up the major sexual abuse scandal at Canisius College in Berlin.]
Bilanz, nicht Schlussstrich: Der Jesuit Klaus Mertes spricht im Interview über fünf Jahre Aufarbeitung von Missbrauchsfällen in der katholischen Kirche. Und er hofft auf weitere Reformen der Kirche, um Machtmissbrauch wirksam zu bekämpfen.
KNA: Pater Mertes, hätten Sie sich jemals vorstellen können, mit Ihrem Brief vor fünf Jahren eine solche Lawine auszulösen?
Mertes: Nein, aber das heißt nicht, dass ich den Schritt bereue. Im Gegenteil. Mir war von Anfang an klar, dass es allein bei dem einen Pater in Berlin mindestens 100 Opfer geben muss. Ich musste mich daher an die potenziell betroffenen Jahrgänge richten, um klar zu machen: Damals ist Euch nicht zugehört worden, heute aber bin ich dazu bereit.
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OSTERREICH
HPD
[A millstone monument has been erected in fron of Vienna’s St. Stephen’s Cathedral to draw attention to the church abuse scandal and as a protest against the lasting admiration for the late Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer. It has been alleged that Groer abused minors and covered-up sexual abuse.]
Von Christoph Baumgarten
WIEN. (hpd) Die Plattform Betroffener kirchlicher Gewalt hat vor dem Wiener Stephansdom ein Mahnmal in Form eines Mühlsteins aufgestellt. Es soll auf den Missbrauchsskandal in der Kirche aufmerksam machen – und Protest gegen die nach wie vor anhaltende Verehrung für den verstorbenen Kardinal Hans Hermann Groer sein.
Es war ein symbolträchtiger Tag, den sich die Plattform Betroffener kirchlicher Gewalt für ihre Protestaktion ausgesucht hat. Und es war eine symbolträchtige Geste. Am katholischen “Tag der unschuldigen Kinder” deponierte Obmann Sepp Rothwangl einen 300 Kilogramm schweren Mühlstein vor dem Wiener Stephansdom.
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OSTERREICH
Betroffen
[A 300-kg millstone was deposited at Stephansplatz in Vienna to remember cover-up and dneial of sexual, physical and psychological violence against innocent children by church representatives.]
(Wien, 28.12.14, PUR) Einen 300 kg schweren Mühlstein deponiert die Plattform Betroffener kirchlicher Gewalt am 28. Dezember am Stephansplatz. Der 28.12 ist der “Tag der unschuldigen Kinder“ – Gedenktag der ermordeten Kinder von Bethlehem nach Herodes´ Geheiß. Mit der Hinterlegung des Mühlsteins vor dem Stephansdom erinnert die Plattform an die Vertuschung und Verleugnung sexueller, körperlicher und seelischer Gewalt an unschuldigen Kindern durch Kirchenrepräsentanten. Der nunmehr vor dem Stephansplatz angekommene Mühlstein ist bereits weitgereist: Zuerst war er – im kleineren Format – im oberösterreichischen Hohenzell. Dort wurde er von Aktivisten als Gegengewicht neben einer Ehrentafel für den verstorbenen Kardinal Hans Hermann Groer angebracht.
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GUAM
Jungle Watch
[with documents]
Submitted by Tim Rohr
timrohr.guam@gmail.com
December 28, 2014, Hagatna, Guam
A PDF copy is available here.
July 16, 2013. Fr. Paul Gofigan is called to a meeting with Archbishop Anthony Apuron and Msgr. David C. Quitugua, the Vicar General. At the meeting he is read a letter 1 :
* accusing him of disobeying an order from the Vicar General to terminate an employee two years previously
* accusing him of causing “grave harm to the parish…especially the youth” and creating “a lasting and potential threat to the safety and well-being” of his parishioners and staff
* demanding his immediate resignation as pastor of Santa Barbara parish or face a more “arduous and painful closure to your assignment”
* telling him to go “look for a benevolent bishop willing to accept you.”
According to Fr. Gofigan, upon returning to his office, Fr. Gofigan finds himself locked out of his office – the archbishop having ordered the locks changed while he was at the meeting with the archbishop.
July 17, 2013. The very next day Fr. Paul Gofigan is officially removed as pastor of his parish by an Aviso 2 appointing Rev. Father Dan Bien as the Parochial Administrator of Santa Barbara Church, upon which Fr. Gofigan is then:
* removed from the schedule of presiders, effectively censuring him without due process
* told to vacate the rectory with no alternative residence provided
July 22, 2013. Fr. Gofigan writes to Archbishop Apuron stating his rejection of the archbishop’s demand that he resign and asserts his canonical rights for “basic due process”, all of which had been heretofore violated by the archbishop. 3
July 22, 2013. The chancery releases a public statement to the media 4 :
accusing Fr. Gofigan of disobeying “ a directive from the Archbishop”
implying that the subject employee was and is a danger to children: “A school full of children is in very close proximity to the parish.”
July 28, 2013. Fr. Gofigan writes Archbishop Apuron and requests a copy of his decree of removal and states his intention to seek “recourse to the author of the decree in accordance with C. 1734.1 and names his advocate: Father Adolfo N. Dacanay, S.J. 5
August 2, 2013. The Vicar General writes Father Gofigan saying that there is no decree of removal because he was never removed and that the letter of July 16, 2013 demanding his resignation was only an attempt to “persuade the pastor to resign.” 6
August 20, 2014. Archbishop Apuron writes Father Gofigan:
* again accusing him of disobeying his 2011 instruction to terminate the employee
* again accusing the employee of being a danger to parishioners
* again accusing the employee of specifically being a danger to children
* claiming that there is no guarantee that the employee, who went to prison in 1981 for sexual assault, * will never commit sexual assault again, thus justifying his accusation that the man is still a danger.
* again demands Fr. Gofigan’s resignation as pastor (even though he was already officially replaced with an administrator, effectively removing Fr. Gofigan as pastor and making a letter of resignation unnecessary.) 7
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GUAM
Pacific News Center
Written by Janela Carrera
Guam – The Concerned Catholics of guam is demanding an apology from Archbishop Anthony Apuron for referring to them as a group that’s plotting against the Church.
The group held a press conference today saying they are appalled that the archbishop would refer to them that way as their objective is to assist the church in healing the division within the catholic community. The reference was allegedly made in a letter Archbishop Apuron wrote to Deacon Steve Martinez last week, demanding that Deacon Martinez cut ties with CCOG or face censureship.
“We wanted to bring this to the attention of the media of the public that this is wrong. We are not plotting against the church. We love our church, we wanna help her,” said Vice President Dave Sablan. “Is this group really plotting against the church and that is why Deacon Steve is being asked to step down or face censurehsip? That is not true. So if he is censured he’s being censured on false claims because we have been very transparent about our organization. We have requested to meet with the archbishop.”
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GUAM
KUAM
by Jolene Toves
Guam – The Concerned Catholics of Guam organization is demanding an apology from Archbishop Anthony Apuron as the pastoral visit nears for implying that the organization is plotting against the church.
As you may recall the latest rift stems from Deacon Steve Martinez’s involvement in the organization where he serves as the treasurer, and although Martinez was absent from today’s meeting he has pledged his support. Martinez was given an ultimatum by the archbishop to discontinue his involvement with the CCOG or face censure, in which all his faculties would be removed.
“But the deacon has basically said what we are doing is right and good therefore there is nothing wrong with his membership here and he is willing an prepared to continue his work with us even under threat of censureship so he is not really concerned with the deadline he hopes that things will get resolved before the deadline of the 19th of January I believe,” said CCOG vice president Dave Sablan.
Archbishop Apuron in a letter dated December 17th accuses Martinez of being in violation of Canon Law 1374. Sablan said, “It says that if an individual is a member of an association that is plotting against the church then they would be receiving a just punishment and interdiction.”
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NEDERLAND
NRC
Verzoening, tederheid, vrijheid, verantwoordelijkheid, gemeenschapszin, begrip voor de ander – ik zeg ja! Mooie woorden horen bij de Kerst, net als het fossiele Home Alone, de sleetse André Rieu en de overdaad aan interviews waarin wordt teruggekeken op groot verdriet („Ik liep de helft van de week te janken”). Gerieflijk omdat het zo voorspelbaar is, een koesterende oproep aan je betere ik, dat diep in jezelf begraven ligt, maar in de laatste dagen van het jaar plotseling ruim baan krijgt. Driehonderd dagen per jaar gaat het over jezelf, de laatste dagen van het jaar zijn voor de Ander.
Juist daarom was de jaarlijkse „kerstgroet” van de paus aan de Romeinse curie een vlammende verrassing: een verzengende aanklacht tegen de al te wereldse, al te menselijke aanvechtingen van de kardinalen die in het Vaticaan de dienst uitmaken. Zonder pardon somde Franciscus de zonden van zijn gehoor op, in vijftien schrijnende punten – men voelde zich onsterfelijk, immuun of onvervangbaar, men werkte excessief hard, raakte geestelijk „versteend”, plande te veel, werkte slecht samen, zag de ander vooral als rivaal, er werd teveel gekletst en geroddeld, men keek te slaafs op naar meerderen, te weinig om naar anderen, men liep rond met een begrafenisgezicht, bewoog zich het liefst in een klein, besloten kringetje, wilde van alles steeds maar meer, en er heerste een grote hang naar winst en exhibitionisme.
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UNITED STATES
InForum
Editorial
What are Catholics, and the world for that matter, to make of the stern words of Pope Francis in his Christmas lecture to senior Vatican staff? The pope minced no words in an unexpectedly harsh critique of the conduct and lifestyles of cardinals and church high officials. His extraordinary rebuke of Vatican hierarchy and bureaucracy signaled that the reforms he said he would institute will happen.
The pontiff’s denunciation of the scandal-ridden Curia, the Vatican’s administrative apparatus, was in keeping with criticism he has leveled since he was elected in March 2013. But the intensity and strong language of the Dec. 22 address to the assembled Curia were an unexpected ramping up of his campaign. And that he chose the annual address in the Apostolic Palace to denounce the Curia added more weight to his pledge to reform the Vatican’s bureaucracy.
He’s already started the housecleaning. Several senior cardinals have been replaced and/or demoted, including a few who have openly resisted the pope’s initiative. Francis shined his rhetorical klieg lights on cardinals and other church leaders who, by his definition, have adopted patrician lifestyles that are not in keeping with the doctrines of the Catholic Church.
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VATICAN CITY/UNITED STATES
Forbes
Robert W. Wood
In his annual Christmas messages to more than one billion Catholics, the Pope may have left out something: offshore account compliance. Maybe, but the U.S. Treasury is more than happy to fill in the blanks. Just before Christmas, the Holy See reached the substance of an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) to hand over American account details. FATCA is everywhere, and the fact that the Treasury Department now trumpets the Vatican deal should come as no surprise.
The Holy See is not part of the European Union and should not be confused with Vatican City. The Holy See is the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic church. The Vatican Bank has had its share of corruption kerfuffles in the past. Indeed, the Vatican Bank isn’t exactly transparent, and released its first annual report in 2013.
With transparency comes compliance, and there may well be some accounts held for American clergy that will need to be cleaned up. If accounts are held through entities or via proxies, they still could require disclosure. Presumably the ultimate beneficiaries of the accounts will be known to someone, and that means reporting.
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SOUTH DAKOTA
Washington Post
Written by Sari Horwitz
In WANBLEE, S.D.
He was a world-famous medicine man, a traditional healer and spiritual leader. Followers would travel long distances to this tiny hamlet on the Great Plains to be in his presence and pray in the darkness with him in a sacred sweat lodge.
But Charles Chipps Sr., a medicine man on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation, had a dark secret, federal prosecutors say.
For years, they allege, Chipps sexually abused and raped girls, including some of his own daughters and granddaughters; many of the alleged victims were younger than 12 and several were as young as 5. A girl from Colorado whose aunt brought her to meet Chipps for spiritual guidance committed suicide after revealing the abuse she allegedly suffered.
TOP: Lena Chipps, shown near the skeleton of a sweat lodge, is the sister-in-law of Charles Chipps Sr., above, who is accused of sexually abusing girls for years on an Indian reservation. The allegations against Chipps have torn his family apart, with some relatives and friends supporting him and others shunning him. Now 67, the medicine man has pleaded not guilty. (Obtained by The Post)
The sexual abuse of children has long been regarded as a rampant if largely unspoken problem on Native American reservations, in part a legacy of a boarding school system that was designed to assimilate students and subjected them to widespread sexual, emotional and physical abuse, according to Native leaders and prosecutors. But Chipps’s case, as described in court testimony, is among the most shocking — entailing allegations that a respected elder sexually abused at least six girls.
It is also an illustration of the ways in which the federal, state and tribal legal maze that governs Indian country can complicate the pursuit of justice and, in Chipps’s case, allowed him to go free for three years after he was first jailed.
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OHIO
Cincinnati Enquirer
[BishopAccountability.org database – Cincinnati archdiocese]
Reverend Thomas R., died December 21, 2014, Fr. Hopp was born October 8, 1940 and was Ordained May 28, 1966. He served in various parishes in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Monday, December 29, 2014 at 10 AM at All Saints Church in Kenwood. Burial will immediately follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery.
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UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism
Jerry Slevin
* It is astonishing to me as the youngest of ten children and father of four children to read that Pope Francis, a celibate bachelor, is still pushing couples to have more children. Francis even stresses the need to pump up Italy’s low birth rate, as militaristic Mussolini likely did in 1930 when his “ally”, Pope Pius XI, banned birth control apparently out of concern for the threat of the expanding atheistic Soviets and a depleted post-World War I population in Western Europe.
* Pope Francis even suggests that couples may be having less children due to “egoism”. Francis reportedly said on 12/28/14: “In a world often marked by egoism, a large family is a school of solidarity and of mission that’s of benefit to the entire society, … ” . This is likely insulting and offensive to many sincere and responsible couples, I believe. It is to me. To paraphrase pertinent remarks of former Irish president, Mary McAleese, how many “nappies” has Francis ever changed? Is he really serious here?
* Family size should be the decision of couples and their families and not of their celibate and out of touch priests, no? Of course, it should be left up to each couple to assess and act responsibly and reasonably depending on their circumstance. Please see my related remarks at:
* This papal population push is apparently endorsed by papal promoter, John Allen. He is married, but seemingly is as unaware as Francis is, as to the serious consequences for families of having more children than a family may be able to handle. Children may be good, but more children may or may not be better — for the newest child, as well as for siblings and the parents involved. It just depends on the individual circumstances. Only childless celibates seem to have difficulty understanding this, it seems, no?
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UNITED STATES
POPE FRANCIS the CON-Christ.
December 26, 2014
Paris Arrow
Introduction. Read our related articles: Learning from the Temple of Solomon and saving historical Our Lady of Assumption Church – ‘No building is more important than this one’ http://pope-francis-con-christ.blogspot.ca/2014/11/learning-from-temple-of-solomon-and.html
Jesus Christ is liberated from hundreds of tabernacles (prison) in Catholic churches shut down, sold-off, converted into apartments, stores, warehouses http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2014/09/jesus-christ-is-liberated-from-hundreds.html
Last November, Cardinal Dolan announced the merger of 112 (of the archdiocese’s 368) parishes consolidated to create 55 new parishes and the sale of 30 churches located in prime real estate in New York. A month later, on December 14, The New York Times published an article that “New York Archdiocese Appears Likely to Shutter More Churches” – indicating that an additional 38 parishes will merge, to create 16 new ones, among the affected churches, 11 would effectively close.
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GUAM
Concerned Catholics of Guam
The Concerned Catholics of Guam (CCOG) organization has stepped forward to offer assistance in resolving the divisive misunderstandings that currently plague our Catholic parish communities. The objectives of CCOG can be found by clicking here. In support of these objectives, CCOG is distributing a petition to collect names and signatures of supporters. Click the links below to view and download the petition and objectives:
We hope to gather 2000 signatures by January 3, 2015. Please return any signed pages to Perez Brothers, Inc. in Harmon or contact Vangie Lujan by sending her a message on our Contact Us page.
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GUAM
Marianas Variety
28 Dec 2014 By Jasmine Stole – jasmine@mvguam.com – Variety News Staff
HAGÅTÑA — The recently organized Concerned Catholics of Guam group has decided to circulate a petition to collect names and signatures of people who support the organization’s mission and objectives. The group aims to collect 2,000 signatures by Jan. 3, 2015, one day before three high level Church leaders are expected to visit Guam.
The petition is the latest development amid several connected controversies surrounding the local archdiocese.
The Concerned Catholics of Guam or CCOG posted a blank printable petition sheet and their objectives online. They aim to target local parishioners ages 16 years old and older for support.
In a short announcement posted on its website, the organization said it has “stepped forward to offer assistance in resolving the divisive misunderstandings that currently plague our Catholic parish communities” and invited the community to endorse their cause.
The group listed 15 objectives it wishes to tackle. The issues are related to the clergy, laity, parish affairs and the archdiocesan affairs. Seven of the fifteen objectives focus on more involvement, strengthening Catholic traditions and amending the Agana Archdiocese’s current policies.
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UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism
Jerry Slevin
* Pope Francis is a sports fan, a “football enthusiast”. Recently, he cutely observed reportedly that “oddsmakers” last year had him, in effect, as a “dark horse” candidate for papal election at 25-1. Francis convincingly cleared the papal field, but after almost two years of play, he is falling behind in the “match” to save the Catholic Church.
* Pope Francis at times seems like the legendary “Dutch Boy” trying to plug the Vatican dikes’ unending leaks with his papal fingers, but ten fingers are woefully inadequate for the task. The child abuse tsunami is too massive. He needs help, real help!
* Pope Francis needs now to follow Nike’s advice and “Just Do It“. The odds against him “Just Doing It” must be even higher, especially given his present losing “gameplan”. He needs at a minimum to add new players as Cardinals in February, especially women like the former Irish president , Mary McAleese, and Illinois Supreme Court Justice, Anne Burke, and some wise men, like Fr. Hans Kung and Fr. Thomas Doyle. The pope must revise his losing “gameplan” now before his papal clock runs out and a new coach takes over, even further behind in the score.
* Francis needs to be at least as bold as Pope John XXIII was a half century ago. John, in effect, appointed several “dissident” theologians as key experts at the Second Vatican Council and some informed women to advise his major birth control commission.
* Francis’ recent Christmas “attack move” on Vatican officials was surely an exciting play that thrilled Francis’ many fans, but it is not enough. Pope Francis cannot avoid any longer changing fundamentally the dysfunctional and obsolete top down monarchical management structure, and acting effectively and convincingly to curtail the scandals involving continuing priest child abuse, sexually repressive teachings and hierarchical financial corruption, among others, that evidently thrive in the present structure.
* The first Catholics consensually managed their leaders; Catholics can and must do so again, as discussed below. Otherwise, the Vatican Titanic will continue to sink. Unless Pope Francis acts promptly, while he yet is still able, to make the worldwide Catholic 0.01% leadership accountable again to the Catholic 99.9% laity, he will likely lose his final match.
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AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse
January
Tues 20 – Fri 30 Private sessions in capital cities Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth
Wed 28 – Fri 30 Private sessions in regional areas
February
Mon 2 – Fri 13 Public hearing: Case Study 22, Melbourne
Tues 3 – Fri 27 Private sessions in capital cities Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Sydney
Wed 18 – Fri 27 Private sessions in regional areas
Mon 23 – Fri 6 Public hearing Sydney
March
Tues 3 – Tues 31 Private sessions in capital cities Sydney, Perth, Canberra, Melbourne and Brisbane
Tues 10 – Fri 20 Public hearing Sydney
Tues 17 – Fri 20 Private sessions in regional areas
Wed 25 – Fri 27 Public hearing Sydney
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SCOTLAND
Scottish Sunday Express
By PAUL GILBRIDE
PAEDOPHILES will “face the full force of the law” promised education secretary Angela Constance yesterday as she unveiled a landmark probe into historic child sex abuse.
Ms Constance told MSPs the statutory public inquiry would have the powers to force witnesses to give evidence.
She said abusers would be brought to justice where evidence of crimes was uncovered. The long-awaited move follows a string of scandals and claims of an Establishment paedophile ring.
Abuse in the Catholic Church and in children’s homes in Scotland is also likely to be investigated. Ms Constance said the full remit of the inquiry and who will lead it would be confirmed by the end of April. Consultation with abuse survivors will take place next month.
She said: “This parliament must always be on the side of victims of abuse. We must have the truth of what happened to them and how those organisations and individuals into whose care the children were entrusted, failed them so catastrophically.
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UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Mail
Two more former ministers accused of sexually abusing children 30 years ago in alleged Westminster paedophile ring
By JENNIFER SMITH FOR MAILONLINE
Another two former ministers have been accused of sexually abusing children in the 1980s as part of an alleged ring of Westminster paedophiles.
Their names were given to police investigating claims politicians routinely raped young boys and girls at a number of addresses in the capital 30 years ago.
MP John Mann, who handed a dossier of information to Scotland Yard, was approached by the two new politicians’ alleged victim last week.
They join 22 others named by Mann to police, six of whom are still in Parliament, the Sunday Times reports.
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SOUTH AFRICA
Business Standard
Press Trust of India
The South African Hindu Maha Sabha has announced plans to regulate Hindu priests in the country amid growing concerns over alleged exploitation and abuse by priests.
The South African Hindu Maha Sabha has asked all temples in the country to submit qualifications of the priests for consideration by its Priests’ Accreditation Committee, which will be accredited by the government-run South African Qualifications Authority.
“We have received reports of people posing as priests and duping people who put their trust and faith in them. It is this type of priest who taints the name of all Hindu priests, especially when their activities are highlighted in the media and even brought to court sometimes,” Sabha President Ashwin Trikamjee said.
He said the committee was established after receiving complaints of priests conducting rituals with naive devotees in questionable ways, charging exorbitant fees for ceremonies.
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UNITED KINGDOM
The Observer
Observer editorial
On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis, “a pope for the poor”, the first Jesuit elected to the papacy, returned to what has become a recurring theme of his first two years in office – the venality of power and extreme wealth and the lessons wrenched from poverty. The light in the sky at the birth of Christ, he said in his address, was not seen by “the arrogant, the proud, by those who made laws according to their own personal measures”, but by “the unassuming”.
Some of the cardinals, bishops and priests who run the Holy See, whom earlier in the week had been the recipients of the pope’s blistering attack on the 15 ailments that plague the Vatican, must, again, have felt the sting of criticism. On Monday, the 78-year-old had railed against the upper echelons of the church for being infected by careerism, backstabbing and hypocrisy. The pope criticised “the terrorism of gossip” that could “kill the reputation of our colleagues and brothers in cold blood ”. Officials, he said, suffered from “spiritual Alzheimer’s”, they were rivals and boastful, they sought worldly profit and had become hardened to others. His reception was frosty.
Pope Francis, born in Argentina of Italian heritage, is a man engaged with the world. He recently achieved a major coup, brokering the restoration of relations between the US and Cuba. At Davos, he chided the rich for neglecting the “frail, weak and vulnerable”. A neoliberal he isn’t. In Evangelii Gaudiium (The Joy of the Gospel), his first major work after he became pope, the pontiff wrote: “The worship of the ancient golden calf… has returned in a new and ruthless guise in the idolatry of money and the dictatorship of an impersonal economy.”
On the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, 70 miles from the Tunisian coast, he demanded more action to save African refugees drowning in the seas in their quest for a better life. “In this globalised world,” he said, “we have fallen into globalised indifference.” …
The Vatican still has its scandals, most notably the incalculable hurt caused to tens of thousands by helping to cover up decades of child sexual abuse, but Pope Francis appears to be trying to bring transparency and accountability. He speaks on behalf of the poor but how much is he prepared to challenge the power of those, including the church, with an excess of influence and wealth?
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PHILIPPINES
Inquirer
Editorial
Sunday, December 28th, 2014
Pope Francis continues to shock and astound. The first Latin American pontiff, who has shaken up the Vatican and the worldwide Catholic congregation with the refreshingly casual, forthright approach he has brought to his centuries-old office, made headlines anew this week with a broadside that must have left many in his intended audience squirming in their chasubles.
The recipients of his strong words were not the usual bête noires of the Church he leads—the gays, divorcees, practitioners of contraception, peoples of other faiths and moral relativists of the world—but men closer to his backyard. His colleagues, in fact, in the Vatican, the august cardinals who run the Roman Curia, the governing body of the Catholic Church. To them, Pope Francis spoke not in the pious felicitations that had heretofore characterized the traditional pre-Christmas meeting between the Vatican bureaucrats and the Pope, but in words that clearly intended to cut through the banalities to get to the point.
In a stinging rundown of “15 diseases” that he said were eating away at the top hierarchy of the Church, the outspoken Pope outdid himself with a speech that brimmed with strikingly vivid, unapologetically straightforward language. The Curia—long the subject of scrutiny for its widely reported penchant for intrigue, infighting and disreputable activities, from the careerism of its officials to the irregularities attending its finances—was in danger of bringing the Church down not only with its internal rot, but also by its inability to recognize its errors, he warned. “A Curia that does not practice self-criticism, does not keep up to date, does not try to better itself, is an infirm body.”
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IRELAND
The Corkman
PUBLISHED 28/12/2014
A 71-year-old retired missionary priest from North Cork has been jailed for three years for sexually abusing two boys at a Co Cork boarding school where he taught in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
Tadhg O Dalaigh, a native of Boherbue but with an address at Woodview, Mount Merrion Avenue, Dublin, pleaded guilty earlier this year to five counts of abusing one of the boys at Colaiste an Chroi Naofa in Carrignavar in 1982 and 1983
And in June, O Dalaigh, a member of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, was convicted by a unanimous verdict of a jury following a two day trial at Cork Circuit Criminal Court of sexually assaulting a second boy at the school in 1979.
Last week, Judge Donagh McDonagh sentenced O Dalaigh to five years in jail with two years suspended for the abuse of the boy whose complaint went to trial while he imposed a three year concurrent sentence for the abuse of the other boy to which O’Dalaigh pleaded guilty.
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UNITED KINGDOM
The Sunday Times
Peter Stanford Published: 28 December 2014
HERE is a lesson on keeping faith with voters for today’s politicians: when Pope Francis was elected by his fellow cardinals 21 months ago, they gave him a mandate to overhaul the curia, the Vatican bureaucracy that many feared had become more powerful than the pontiff.
The subject had come up time and again in the “general congregations”, the gatherings of cardinals before the vote to choose a new pope in 2013. Francis, they decided, was the man best placed to deliver.
Once in office, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, an outsider who had never worked in the curia, has been as good as his word and his reforms have been progressing purposefully since he took up residence in the Vatican.
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MALTA
Times of Malta
Sunday, December 28, 2014, 00:01 by Fr Joe Borg
The following was the reaction of Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, the former Vatican governor and foreign minister, to the Pope’s address to the Roman Curia earlier on last week, which quite naturally made the headlines: “To be honest, nothing like this has ever happened before.”
It is customary for the Pope to meet the officials of the Roman Curia at this time of year to exchange Christmas greetings. During this meeting the Pope addresses the gathered cardinals, bishops and monsignors about the state of the world, the main events and projections of the pontificate. Instead Francis spoke about the Curia, and, to boot, about the “illnesses we encounter most frequently in our life in the Curia”.
He listed 15 different illnesses or diseases. The news bulletin released by the Vatican Information Services minced no words when titling the report: “Francis: a Curia that is outdated, sclerotic or indifferent to others is an ailing body.”
The Pope, quite naturally, departed from tradition for a reason. He is fully conscious of two things: structural change without personal conversion leads to a cul-de-sac and his plan to radically reform the Roman Curia – a reform mandated by the cardinals during their pre-papal election meetings – is opposed by many high officials within the same Curia. Some express their dissent underhandedly while others, as is their right, do it publicly. Cardinal Leo Burke, who before his recent re-assignment was the prefect of the Church’s highest court, had said that there is a strong sense among many that the Church under Pope Francis “is like a ship without a rudder”.
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SOUTH CAROLINA
Greenville News
Lyn Riddle, lnriddle@greenvillenews.com December 27, 2014
Cathy Harris quickly read through the report criticizing Bob Jones University leaders for the way they handled reports of sexual assault and abuse.
Now she’s making her way through it again, deliberately this time, trying to sort it all out, letting herself feel all the emotions she tries hard to hold back.
Harris is one of the survivors of sexual assault who spoke with investigators from GRACE, Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment, which was paid by Bob Jones University to look into the school’s counseling practices.
GRACE’s two-year investigation found that counseling services were harmful, some students were dissuaded from making police reports, and sermons and classroom lectures made victims feel as if they had brought the abuse on themselves by what they wore or how they acted.
The report singled out Bob Jones III, the chancellor and former president, and Jim Berg, the former dean of students who counseled between 200 and 300 sexual abuse victims in 30 years. GRACE recommended personnel action against Jones and suggested that Berg not be allowed to counsel students, teach counseling and that his books on counseling be removed from the bookstore and online.
Jones and Berg could not be reached for comment.
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MASSACHUSETTS
Sun Chronicle
Posted: Sunday, December 28, 2014
BY DAVID LINTON SUN CHRONICLE STAFF
A former assistant pastor of an Attleboro church is now in prison and a former music teacher and guidance counselor in North Attleboro has a rape indictment pending against him in two shocking sex abuse cases this past year.
The Rev. Jeffrey A. Nichols, 48, was a trusted man of the cloth at Grace Baptist Church and a well-respected principal of Grace Baptist Christian Academy until his arrest Jan. 13 for molesting one of his seventh-grade female students.
He confessed to Pastor Jeff Bailey, who urged him to immediately turn himself in, and then admitted to his crimes when questioned by police. Nichols repeatedly indecently touched the girl, beginning in 2008 when she was only 13. He also made sexual comments to her, exposed himself to her and asked her to expose herself to him, prosecutors said after his arrest.
On Nov. 6, Nichols, a married father of three children whose wife was also a teacher at the school, was sentenced in Fall River Superior Court to a maximum 5-year prison term after pleading guilty.
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UNITED STATES
PopeCrimes& Vatican Evils.
Paris Arrow
December 25, 2014 Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all our friends and readers
Christmas Vatican Circus: Master of Deceits – Pope Francis embodies the 15 ailments – plus more secret Jesuit illnesses
In Christmas 2010, we wrote “The Devil’s Bowels smell like roses in the Vatican” http://jp2army.blogspot.ca/2010/12/devils-bowels-smell-like-roses-in.html . Last month we wrote (unknowingly, St. Michael inspired it to be a prelude to the 15 ailments speech), “Pope Francis points two finger at bishops and three fingers at himself when he says, ‘Bishops must not be vain careerists after power, honor’” http://pope-francis-con-christ.blogspot.ca/2014/11/pope-francis-points-two-finger-at.html
The Jesuit Master of Deceits Pope Francis is being praised by Vatican Pied Pipers worldwide for delivering his (hypocritical) scathing speech to his staff at the Vatican Curia – listing their 15 ailments – which are really ultimately about him as the first Jesuit Pope – especially the Vatican Mammon Beast’s sickness of “accumulating wealth and leading double lives which [is] existential schizophrenia.”
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UNITED STATES
Christian Today
Ruth Gledhill 28 December 2014
Mark Driscoll, former lead pastor of soon-to-be-defunct Mars Hill Church, has launched a new website, MarkDriscoll.org.
It contains Scripture reflections, writing and other blog posts going back to last summer and earlier.
In a Christmas welcome message on the site, an author described as markdriscoll.org writes of Driscoll in the third person. He says: “This website was built in response to requests from people wanting access to Pastor Mark Driscoll’s past and future Bible teaching. This is the only official resource from Pastor Mark Driscoll, and will soon be the exclusive home for content from Pastor Mark and his family.
“Our prayer is that these resources will help non-Christians meet Jesus and help Christians become more like Jesus – because as Pastor Mark says, ‘It’s all about Jesus!’
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GUAM
KUAM
by Jolene Toves
Guam – The Concerned Catholics of Guam organization will be holding a press conference on Monday.
The group will be issuing a response to Archbishop Anthony Apuron’s actions against Deacon Steve Martinez.
Martinez received a letter from the archbishop threatening censure until January 19th as well as accusing him of exciting hatred, inciting animosities against an ordinary and joining a group which is plotting against the church. In the letter Martinez was given the ultimatum to discontinue his involvement with the Concerned Catholics of Guam or face censure. The CCOG was formed to investigate all the recent controversies that have erupted within the local Catholic Church.
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OHIO
Star Beacon
Posted: Saturday, December 27, 2014 12:00 am
By DAVE DELUCA / ddeluca@starbeacon.com
GENEVA — Charges against a priest accused of assault and disorderly conduct against have been dropped.
Western County Court Judge David A. Schroeder ruled the charges against Fr. Robert M. Lanterman, pastor of Assumption Church be dismissed on Monday.
Lanterman was charged with one count of misdemeanor assault and one count of misdemeanor disorderly conduct on Sept. 19. The complainant in the case said Lanterman pushed and grabbed her and subjected her to verbal abuse in church after mass that day.
At a pretrial hearing on Dec. 10, the city of Geneva moved to dismiss the case. City Solicitor Lauren Gardner stated on the record that the city could not prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt, and therefore moved the court for dismissal.
The court allowed Valerie Ferrante, identified as the victim of the alleged assault, to address the court. She referred to the incident, stating she was “physically aggressed” by Lanterman, who she said was also verbally hostile toward her.
During her statement she also recited several sections of the rules of the Youngstown Diocese pertaining to child protection and standings of ministerial behavior. Lanterman’s attorney, William Bobulksy, objected and the court sustained the objection on the basis that church rules were irrelevant to this criminal proceeding.
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UNITED KINGDOM
The Times
Francis Elliott Political Editor
December 23 2014
Theresa May should lift secrecy restrictions to encourage former police officers to provide information relating to allegations that paedophile rings operated in Westminster, a campaigning MP said yesterday.
John Mann said that more informants had come forward since he had handed a dossier naming 22 MPs and former MPs to detectives investigating allegations of historic child abuse.
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UNITED KINGDOM
The Times
Richard Ford Home Correspondent
December 24 2014
A group of survivors of child abuse are pressing for the most senior female judge in England and Wales to chair the inquiry into historic sexual abuse.
The Home Office is trawling through more than 100 names put forward to be Theresa May’s third choice to chair the investigation. The home secretary has promised to find a way of involving survivors in her choice.
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UNITED KINGDOM
Los Angeles Times
By CHRISTINA BOYLE
The allegations about so-called VIP pedophiles involve prestigious London addresses, some of the highest-ranking members of Britain’s establishment and the suspected abuse of young boys in the 1970s and 1980s, including three who were slain.
Six members of Parliament have been implicated in the scandal, which threatens to expose a powerful political elite who may have raped and exploited juveniles for more than a decade and put their self-interests ahead of the protection of children.
John Mann, a member of Parliament, has presented Scotland Yard with a dossier that he said names 22 high-profile figures, including three serving in the House of Commons and three members of the House of Lords, who are believed to have been involved in a pedophile ring. There are no allegations that the six members of Parliament were involved in incidents in which children died.
The dossier includes the names of 14 Conservative politicians, five Labor politicians and three from other parties, Mann told reporters.
He also alleges that up to five pedophile rings were operational at the same time during the 1970s and 1980s, and that two whistle-blowers who knew about nefarious activities by members of Parliament met suspicious deaths.
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UNITED KINGDOM
Huffington Post
By Jack Sommers
A campaigning MP has called for the reinvestigation of the suspicious deaths more than 20 years ago of two whistleblowers who he believes had significant information relating to organised child abuse by a group with alleged links to Westminster.
Labour’s John Mann made the comments after he handed Scotland Yard a dossier that includes allegations about the involvement of 22 politicians – some of them apparently still serving – in paedophile rings.
He told Sky News: “What I want to see is both those suspicious deaths reinvestigated because what links them together was both were people who in essence were blowing the whistle on child abuse.”
One was council official Bulic Forsythe, whose body was found in a burning flat in 1993, and the other an unnamed Lambeth caretaker who died in a suspected arson attack a couple of years earlier.
The two men’s deaths were “undoubtedly linked to child abuse and potentially linked into the wider scandal”, Mr Mann added.
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UNITED KINGDOM
Lexology
Clyde & Co LLP
Judith Martin and Mary Coyles
United Kingdom
December 22 2014
Amidst wider claims of failings within Westminster and the Criminal Justice system, the Home Secretary, Theresa May, states that the new wider panel inquiry into historic child abuse will examine churches, the BBC and political parties.
The government is now facing increasing pressure about the viability of the inquiry in its current form. There is pressure for the inquiry to be disbanded and replaced with a more powerful body. Inevitably if this occurs there will be further delays and it remains to be seen what format the inquiry will ultimately take. The inquiry has previously faced controversy having already come under pressure and scrutiny with criticisms about potential conflicts of interest and that it is not fit for purpose. Fiona Wolfe, Lord Mayor of London, resigned in October amidst concerns and issues with her past links to Lord Brittan followed by the resignation of Baroness Butler-Sloss in July, owing to her late brother’s role as Attorney General during one of the relevant periods. It is fair to say that whoever is finally appointed as the Chair of the inquiry will have a challenging task ahead.
Despite the current challenges and controversy the Home Secretary appears to remain steadfast in her commitment to the inquiry and has confirmed the government’s willingness to consider, if necessary, an upgrade to a full public inquiry. She has also suggested the possibility of granting the inquiry statutory status at some point in the future. The Home Secretary reiterates that the “confidence of survivors is paramount.”
In the wake of the recent widespread, highly publicised and investigated activities of celebrities, MPs and priests it is likely that the government’s inquiry will be both long running and politically sensitive. The government has indicated that is unlikely that the inquiry will be completed before the next general election.
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UNITED KINGDOM
Liverpool Echo
Dec 27, 2014 By Helen Davies
A former Catholic school pupil who says he was sexually abused by a priest from Merseyside has fresh hope the truth will finally be exposed.
Home Secretary Theresa May revealed a troubled inquiry into child sexual abuse across the UK could be given extra powers, including the ability to force witnesses to give evidence.
The Sunday ECHO told earlier this year of how both a priest at the centre of a scandal at Mirfield junior seminary in Yorkshire and a former student there – one of those who made the allegations – came from Merseyside.
A group of 11 men settled out of court with the Verona Fathers, the Catholic order which ran the college, for payments totalling £120,000.
The order said the payouts are not an admission of liability but were made on a commercial basis following legal advice.
Gerry McLaughlin, who says he was abused by the late Father John Pinkman from Maghull, and a man from Liverpool who claims he was abused by another priest, have this week spoken of their optimism that tougher inquiry powers backed by Theresa May will mean former priests from the college could be made to appear before the Home Affairs Select Committee.
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CANADA
Durham Region
By Jacques Gallant
DURHAM — An Oshawa judge’s decision to sentence a man to house arrest for Internet child luring rather than jail because police publicly revealed his HIV status is the latest example of judges finding creative ways to manoeuvre around mandatory minimum sentences.
Former youth pastor Kris Gowdy was given two years less one day house arrest and three years probation last week by Ontario Court Justice Michael Block rather than the mandatory minimum sentence of one year in jail. Mr. Block found Durham Regional Police violated Mr. Gowdy’s constitutional rights when they indicated in a news release shortly after his arrest in August 2012 that he was HIV-positive.
The story of the “HIV-positive ex-youth pastor” made headlines around the world, causing significant emotional trauma to Gowdy, Mr. Block wrote in his decision.
“Mr. Gowdy had a right to make his own choices concerning the disclosure of his HIV status,” he wrote. “No doubt he would have chosen his own method and different timing if he ever determined to inform those near to him. Absent evidence of serious risk of transmission and rigorous compliance with statute, no one had the authority to make that decision for him.”
Avoiding mandatory jail time due to Charter of Rights and Freedoms violations first received widespread attention last month, when the approach was used by Toronto Superior Court Justice Ian Nordheimer.
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UNITED STATES
Legal Examiner
Posted by Mike Bryant
December 27, 2014
At times one of the defenses we will see in abuse cases is the confidentiality of penance, which is that things were said to other members of the clergy, but they are protected because they were as part of the sacrament of penance. There would be no duty of disclosure even under the strictest of first reporting laws. There would be no use of this information to show notice of the dangers that would have prevented future abuse. Not even a tip to those in present danger that they need to stay away.
The Huffington Post recently reported that Archbishop of York John Sentamu, Church of England’s No. 2 official ,
said that the Church of England must break the confidentiality of confession in cases where people disclosed the abuse of children. “If someone tells you a child has been abused, the confession doesn’t seem to me a cloak for hiding that business. How can you hear a confession about somebody abusing a child and the matter must be sealed up and you mustn’t talk about it?”
This is a intriguing suggestion and I can hear the immediate response that it would serve as a chilling of people confessing. It is an interesting comparison of the need to confess and find salvation vs. the confessed acts which involve the innocence of children. The statements followed an investigation into Anglican priest Robert Waddington as a serial sexual abuser of children in England and Australia for more than 50 years. Earlier this year, Anglicans in Australia backed a historic change that breaks the convention that the confidentiality of what a man or woman tells a priest during confession is inviolable.
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UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism
Jerry Slevin
* Yes, probably not. Pope Francis is surely a remarkable person and is clearly giving it his best in his 79th year. Yet by now he must know what the ex-Pope’s quitting last year signified. Popes now cannot save BOTH the Catholic Church and the Vatican for the reasons discussed below. Francis appears to have chosen mainly to protect the Catholic hierarchy, a losing proposition, and likely has as a result set the stage for an accelerated division into various Church factions. The Catholic Church may survive as a “catch all label” for splintered groups, but its hierarchy is playing out its final act from many indications.
* This future outcome may seem too pessimistic for a purported “unchangeable 2,000 year old institution”. But is it? For reasons discussed below, it is more likely than not.
* The Catholic Church has changed and really changed a lot over two millennia, often due to external pressures. For example, in the 19th Century, Pope Pius IX and his Vatican allies were urged by many, including other rulers, to modernize and reform his declining medieval Papal States kingdom. The pope, in effect, imprudently refused to do so, and instead concentrated on being “declared infallible” by many intimidated bishops. He then quickly militarily lost to Italian troops (including many Catholic troops) a large portion of Italy that popes for centuries had ruled as unaccountable absolute monarchs. So too, a corrupt and imprudent Vatican refused to take Martin Luther’s call for needed reforms sufficiently seriously and lost a major part of the European Catholic Church mainly as a consequence. The Vatican can, does and will err, claims of infallibility notwithstanding!
* Pope Francis is quite old and yet is working non-stop. He appears, unfortunately, to be surrounded by some men who seem to be oblivious to the Vatican’s precarious position. Francis faces at least three major scandals involving priest child abuse, sexually repressive teachings and officials’ financial corruption, while his hierarchy debate arcane matters like “graduality” and most of the media focus on counting papal “tweets”.
* The scandal that has changed everything for the previously “untouchable” Vatican is the child abuse scandal. The pope clearly has not done nearly enough here. And his efforts to change the sexually repressive teachings are facing strong resistance from conservative Cardinals as discussed below. He is almost out of time. While the pope has made a start, in Rome at least, on curtailing his hierarchy’s financial corruption, he still has a long way to go. In New York, for example, even prominent conservative Catholics are complaining about Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s very expensive renovation of his NY mansion as discussed below.
* Pope Francis’ response to date on the most sensational scandal, the abuse cover up, seems to be mostly more of the same half measures used by his failed predecessors. Bishops are still not required under Church rules generally to report child abuse claims to the police, for example, and accused clerics are investigated secretively by other clerics mainly. The respected and informed Financial Times recently has even labeled the Vatican as “criminally slow” on curtailing child abuse and has also viewed the initial Synod on the Family as having been a “victory for conservatives” ! {My emphasis}
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MICHIGAN
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Saturday, December 27
Statement by Melanie Jula Sakoda of Moraga, California, Orthodox Director of SNAP, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (925-708-6175, melanie.sakoda@gmail.com )
A former Orthodox subdeacon was recently sentenced to prison on one count of “Child Sexually Abusive Commercial Activity.” We are very grateful that Robert Aaron Mitchell will be kept away from children, at least for a while, and applaud all who contributed to this result.
[Third Judicial Court of Michigan]
Mitchell had an earlier conviction for child abduction in Illinois. Despite this 1998 conviction, he was made a Subdeacon by Archbishop Nathaniel Popp on March 2, 2003. According to Popp, Mitchell was stripped of the title of subdeacon more than 10 years later, on November 20, 2013, after allegations of sexual misconduct were substantiated by the Office for Review of Sexual Misconduct Allegations of the Orthodox Church in America.
[SNAP]
Dangerous predators like Mitchell can have many, many victims. We urge Orthodox officials to use all the resources at their disposal to reach out to those who may have been harmed by the former subdeacon. Anyone who either experienced, witnessed or suspected abuse by Mitchell should contact law enforcement, get help and begin healing.
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GUAM
Jungle Watch
Dear Most Reverend Archbishop Savio HON Tai-Fai, Your Excellency Archbishop Martin Krebs, and Reverend Father Nowak:
The people of Guam were made aware of your upcoming visit to our island (January 4- 10) by Archbishop Apuron’s news release of December 18, 2014.
While we are sure that you would have preferred a quieter context for your visit, now that your arrival is a matter of very public attention and in fact proudly (but falsely) trumpeted as a response to an invitation from Archbishop Apuron, please permit me to publicly share and document just a few of the matters at the heart of the ongoing and crippling division in the Archdiocese of Agana.
To assist you in your investigation (though Archbishop Apuron wants us to think you are just dropping by for coffee), I will attempt over the next few days to address and document as many of the following tragic items as possible. Most of these are already thoroughly documented throughout this blog but I will gather them together for easier reference.
Thank you for your attention to the war that rages in this archdiocese. We pray you will see what is at the root of it…or rather, WHO is at the root of it.
Here are a few of the items I intend to document for you:
1. The illegitimate removal of Fr. Paul Gofigan as pastor of Santa Barbara parish.
2. The defamation of Joseph Lastimoza and the subsequent persecution of his family for implying that he was guilty of a crime that he did not commit when labeling him a “danger to children”.
3. The slander and calumny of Fr. Paul Gofigan and Joseph Lastimoza by Archbishop Apuron by his implying to a group of clergy that Fr. Paul and Mr. Lastimoza were engaged in a homosexual relationship.
4. The public rejection of a magisterial instruction issued by the Prefect for the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacrament as regards the manner in which the neocatechumenals distribute Holy Communion.
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IRELAND
Irish Times
Joe Humphreys
Sat, Dec 27, 2014
TK Whitaker explored the possibility of getting the Holy See to invest in Ireland in the mid-1960s but was informed the Vatican was “disinclined” to put money into poor countries.
A newly released file documenting the Department of Foreign Affairs’ dealings with the Vatican bank includes a confidential letter in 1965 from Mr Whitaker, then secretary of the Department of Finance, seeking information on whether the Holy See would “consider investments in Irish government securities or in property development here. If this were so, it would provide considerable relief for us at the present time when we are short of capital,” he wrote.
It was agreed the Irish ambassador to the Vatican, Tom Commins, would make “some very discreet soundings”.
In a memo labelled “highly confidential”, Mr Commins said he had spoken to a “highly placed” member of the Vatican court who was also the director of one of Italy’s biggest banks.
Informed by such sources, Mr Commins wrote: “Vatican policy on investment is prompted and inspired, not only primarily, but exclusively, by considerations of (a) profit and (b) security.”
The Holy See’s operations were almost exclusively carried out on the New York, Zurich and Geneva exchanges and were confined to “top ranking” bonds, he said.
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IRELAND
Irish Times
Patrick Logue
Sat, Dec 27, 2014
The list of most-read stories of 2014 on irishtimes.com tells us a little about what our readers like to consume, but it tells us more about media, social media and their global nature.
The list includes a viral story about a singing priest, a breaking-news report on the death of a celebrity, a report about the winner of an art competition, and an article that cut to the heart of a serious social issue of national and international interest. …
The second-most-read story of 2014 on irishtimes.com concerned what happened in at a mother-and-baby home in Tuam, Co Galway, where hundreds of children died between 1925 and 1961. The issue of how both lay people and clergy had treated Ireland’s most vulnerable citizens became the subject of a national debate and made headlines around the world.
Rosita Boland’s calm, analytical piece “Tuam mother and baby home: the trouble with the septic tank story”, in June, became central to that debate, and it was widely shared during the summer. The article also attracted more than 600 reader comments.
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UNITED STATES
Toledo Blade
Editorial
Pope Francis is popular with millions of Catholics around the world who appreciate his humility, folksy style, and rejection of official splendor. He has fewer fans in the Vatican bureaucracy.
This week, he gathered the Curia — the cardinals, bishops, and priests who run the Vatican’s daily operations — and scolded the surprised and mortified throng.
Outlining 15 problems with the church’s top bureaucracy, Pope Francis accused the princes of the church of being more concerned with accumulating wealth and power than serving God and the ordinary people in the pews. Along with reform of the bureaucracy, he demanded spiritual reform. The stinging rebuke to the men who work directly under him was without historical precedent, some Vatican observers said.
Others speculated that Pope Francis’ fury was informed by the results of a secret investigation ordered by his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, of backstabbing and infighting in the Vatican bureaucracy. After Pope Benedict’s butler leaked stolen documents that described the discord in 2012, the pope, now retired, wanted to understand the depths of the tension and corruption that surrounded him.
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ROME
irish Times
Paddy Agnew
When Ireland’s new Ambassador to the Holy See, Emma Madigan, was chatting to Pope Francis in the pontifical library the day she presented her diplomatic credentials last month, the pope at one point told her: “You know, before the conclave last year the bookmakers were quoting me at 25/1, and then look what happened.”
If Francis’s election in 2013 saw the triumph of a 25/1 shot, what price do we put on the rapid turnaround – even U-turnaround – in Irish-Vatican relations now as compared with three years ago? Those were the days when Taoiseach Enda Kenny, rightly in the opinion of many, accused the Holy See of being dominated by a culture of “dysfunction, disconnection, elitism and narcissism”.
Rather than listen to evidence of clerical sex abuse with “St Benedict’s ear of the heart”, the Holy See had preferred to “parse and analyse it with the gimlet eye of a canon lawyer”, he said in a celebrated speech to the Dáil in July 2011.
When Madigan met Pope Francis last month there was no mention of those strained relations. A veil has been drawn over that awkward moment. But that is not to say that, from 2015, Irish relations with the Vatican will return to their genuflecting past.
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VATICAN CITY
New Zealand Herald
In 2013 Pope Francis had a lot to celebrate. Not only was he named Time magazine person of the year, but was also awarded the title of Esquire’s best-dressed man.
But the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics had a very eventful 2014 too. Here are nine of the most awesome things the first non-European pope in 1200 years did: …
7) Personally asked for forgiveness for the ‘evil’ of sexually abusive priests
Pope Francis pleaded for forgiveness for the “evil” of priests who sexually abused children, and promised to take an even stronger stand than before against Catholic abuse scandals. Vatican Radio quoted him as saying: “I feel compelled to personally take on all the evil that some priests — quite a few in number, [although] obviously not compared to the number of all priests — to personally ask for forgiveness for the damage they have done for having sexually abused children.”
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CANADA
Toronto Star
By: Jacques Gallant Staff Reporter, Published on Fri Dec 26 2014
An Oshawa judge’s decision to sentence a man to house arrest for Internet child luring rather than jail because police publicly revealed his HIV status is the latest example of judges finding creative ways to manoeuvre around mandatory minimum sentences.
Former youth pastor Kris Gowdy was given two years less one day house arrest and three years probation last week by Ontario Court Justice Michael Block rather than the mandatory minimum sentence of one year in jail. Block found Durham Regional Police violated Gowdy’s constitutional rights when they indicated in a news release shortly after his arrest in August 2012 that he was HIV-positive.
The story of the “HIV-positive ex-youth pastor” made headlines around the world, causing significant emotional trauma to Gowdy, Block wrote in his decision.
“Mr. Gowdy had a right to make his own choices concerning the disclosure of his HIV status,” he wrote. “No doubt he would have chosen his own method and different timing if he ever determined to inform those near to him. Absent evidence of serious risk of transmission and rigorous compliance with statute, no one had the authority to make that decision for him.”
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FLORIDA
WFSU
[with audio]
By SASCHA CORDNER
At least one lawmaker has followed through on an abuse survivor’s vow to make sure legislation was filed to allow young victims to use private recordings in sex abuse cases. It follows a recent Florida Supreme Court ruling that will now allow a man convicted of abusing his stepdaughter to get a new trial, after she taped an incriminating conversation without his consent.
The Case
The case revolves around a girl, who at 16, privately recorded a conversation between herself and her stepfather Richard McDade.
According to the court documents—while he didn’t use sexually explicit language, he “appeared to be asking her to have sex with him.” And, if she didn’t, he’d be “physically sick.” He also indicated that he was doing her a favor by not telling her mother, otherwise the victim would be taken back to Mexico.
And, reading from the brief, sex abuse survivor Lauren Book says there are so many other things wrong with this case, including the fact that McDade was an ice cream truck driver who had ready access to kids.
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