ABUSE TRACKER

JAPAN
Japan Times

BY SIMON SCOTT

St. Mary’s International School is setting up a panel to conduct an internal investigation into reported cases of child sexual abuse — including one confirmed case of rape — at the school in Tokyo, according to a letter issued to alumni earlier this month.

In the letter, dated Oct. 4, Headmaster Saburo Kagei says he has recently heard from “several alumni who shared stories of abuse.” He continues: “It is very distressing to hear these accounts. . . . I want to make sure something like this never happens again.”

The letter says the school is focusing on making sure there are policies, procedures and training in place to ensure the safety of its students.

The letter was the third issued by the school addressing allegations of past child sexual abuse at St. Mary’s. In the second, issued on Sept. 11, Kagei writes, “In the spirit of transparency, I want to tell you what we know and ask for your help in uncovering the truth about what occurred.”

This letter primarily addresses what the school refers to as “allegations” made by a former student against a Catholic Brother and former principal and teacher at the school, Lawrence Lambert. It also mentions another former teacher, Brother Benoit Lessard, now deceased, who has also been accused of sexually abusing students while working at St. Mary’s.

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JAPAN
Japan Times

BY SIMON SCOTT
OCT 27, 2014

Catholic Brother and St. Mary’s International School teacher Benoit Lessard, who has been accused of molesting boys on annual school trips to Yamanashi Prefecture, died of cancer in 1980 aged 64.

The summer tradition of sixth-grade students from St. Mary’s in Tokyo spending a few days at the Seisen-Ryo complex, aka the KEEP Camp, in the Yamanashi resort area of Kiyosato died with him.

Lessard’s replacement as sixth-grade homeroom teacher was a man named Don Andrews.

Andrews, a layman rather than a Catholic Brother like Lessard, had worked under Lessard as a student teacher until the latter’s death, after which Andrews was instated as a full-time teacher.

Although there have been no allegations of sexual abuse made against Andrews by former St. Mary’s students, his record after leaving the school is far from pristine.

Between 1991 and 1992 Andrews was hired as principal of St. Patrick Catholic School in Spokane, Washington. He also taught English literature to seventh- and eighth-grade students.

In 1995 an allegation surfaced that he had sexually abused a 13-year-old male student at the school. He was fired from his position and charged with second-degree child molestation, but his case initially ended in a mistrial in 1996, local media reports and official state documents show. To avoid a retrial on the same charges, Andrews pled guilty to the lesser charge of third-degree assault against a minor in March 1997.

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MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Monday, Oct. 27

Statement by Frank Meuers of Plymouth MN, SNAP’s Twin Cities director

Newly released Twin Cities Catholic church records show that, as of 2012, a convicted predator priest

–lives alone,
–has discontinued therapy,
–admits he’s still attracted to boys,
–works as a consultant for Catholic religious orders,
–is no longer required, by Catholic officials, to attend therapy,
–can travel anywhere without asking permission from his church supervisors or letting them know &
–knows of two or three of his victims who apparently have not yet come forward.

All of this comes “straight from the horse’s mouth” – from the last ten pages of “Gilbert Gustafson Key Documents” on the website of Jeff Anderson’s law firm: AndersonAdvocates.com. And let us stress again: Fr. Gustafson is a convicted child molester. And he is still a priest. He has not been defrocked.

Fr. Gustafson belongs in jail. Archbishop John Nienstedt and his colleagues, we believe, could likely help law enforcement put him there, by aggressively seeking out those who may have seen, suspected or suffered more recent crimes by Fr. Gustafson.

And until Fr. Gustafson is prosecuted and convicted, Nienstedt should insist that he live in a remote, secure, independent treatment facility, not live alone in West St. Paul. (Other employers could not force employees to do this. Catholic officials do, however, have this power.)

Just a few pages back from the most recent ten or twelve of these just-disclosed records and there are other stunning revelations:

–An undated memo says that Fr. Gustafson can be the “conscience” of Fr. Kevin McDonough, a high ranking archdiocesan official who long dealt with clergy sex cases.

–As recently as May 2008, Nienstedt admits he knows Fr. Gustafson appears to be presenting himself as clergy. But he takes no steps to warn the public about him.

–As recently as July 2008, church officials were aware that Fr. Gustafson was acting as a priest.

–As recently as 2011, church officials admit he continues to receive compensation from the archdiocese (and we believe this is still the case today).

–As recently as 2012, the files contain a handwritten note saying “Gil is very smart and is, I am sure, capable of fooling others and himself.” It seems the note is by Fr. Kevin McDonough.

As best we can tell, the only time church officials even talk of potentially changing anything about Fr. Gustafson’s situation is when they fear more civil lawsuits might be coming.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Big Trial

By Ralph Cipriano
for Bigtrial.net

How many courtrooms does it take to unravel a lie?

In the case of “Billy Doe,” the answer these days is three.

Billy Doe is a grand jury’s pseudonym for the former altar boy turned heroin addict who told an incredible and constantly-changing story about supposedly being raped by two priests and a school teacher.

It’s a story that defies all logic and common sense, a story that was thoroughly disproved by evidence gathered by the district attorney’s own detectives. The Billy Doe case also contradicts established patterns of abuse over 40 years as exposed in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s formerly confidential secret archive files.

But in a triumph of absurdity, the three-ring legal circus starring a clown named Billy plays on.

Tomorrow, defense lawyers for Father Charles Engelhardt and former teacher Bernard Shero will be in state Superior Court, arguing that their clients, convicted of sexually abusing Billy, deserve a new trial

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MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

Matt Sepic St. Paul, Minn. Oct 27, 2014

Archbishop John Nienstedt has reinstated a deacon after a clergy review board determined there was no risk to children.

In June, Nienstedt temporarily removed Joseph Damiani from his deacon’s post after Damiani’s younger brothers alleged he sexually abused them in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The review board looked at a variety of legal documents, and because of “distinct differences in the recollections of witnesses,” the board was unable to determine if the allegations were valid, Nienstedt said in a statement released by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

No one has accused Damiani of misconduct in the five years he’s been a deacon, Nienstedt added.

Last year, Damiani sued his brothers and the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests for defamation, arguing that his brothers falsely accused him of abuse because they were unhappy with his management of a family trust fund.

His brothers filed counterclaims, and a judge dismissed all the claims last year after SNAP agreed to remove all references to Damiani from its website.

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MINNESOTA
Jeff Anderson & Associates

OCT 27 2014

As part of the recent settlement of the Doe 1 vs. Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis and Diocese of Winona civil lawsuit, the once-secret priest file of Gilbert Gustafson was publicly released on October 27, 2014, which included many documents that have never been public.

In 1983, Gustafson was criminally convicted of sexually abusing a minor boy and was placed on probation for ten years. Following the conviction, Gustafson was allowed to remain working in the Archdiocese, collecting disability payments. One of Gustafson’s major projects was the revision and reissuance of the Archdiocese’s policy on sexual misconduct in 2000. Gustafson was monitored by the Archdiocese because of his conviction and prior history of sexually abusing minors and every year Gustafson’s monitoring report was signed by the Archbishop.

“There is a sad, painful, and sorrowful story told inside these documents,” stated Attorney Jeff Anderson. “Releasing this information today sheds light on the past so children and our communities can be better protected in the future.”

The entire priest file of Gilbert Gustafson and key documents are available below.

Gilbert Gustafson Key Documents
Gilbert Gustafson Priest File for Release

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Tablet

Call for Catholic priests to deny absolution to abusers as Church of England explores theological basis for breaking seal

27 October 2014 15:11 by Liz Dodd

Priests should refuse absolution to people who confess to abusing children, a Catholic academic has said, days after the Church of England announced it would be examining whether abuse admitted in the confessional should remain confidential.

John Cornwell, who has written a book on confession and is a contributor to The Tablet, warned that withholding absolution would dissuade abusers from seeking the sacrament at all.

But he said that withholding absolution instead could bring to an end cycles of abuse and absolution.
The Cambridge academic, who was sexually propositioned by a priest during confession as a child, told The Times: “Catholic priest abusers appeared to use confession routinely to square their pastoral and offending lives. In one court case in Australia a priest admitted to confessing his abuse 1,400 times.”

Last week a report revealed that an independent inquiry into abuse by a former Anglican dean of Manchester, Robert Waddington, found that the Church of England failed to act adequately to stop the abuse.

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POLSKA/POLAND
Ocaleni

10-letnia Filipinka o imieniu Sweetie została wygenerowana komputerowo by wabić pedofilów w internecie. Przez 10 tygodni Sweetie przyciągnęła ok. 20 tysięcy pedofilów z 71 krajów. Twórcom awatara udało się namierzyć 1000 przestępców internetowych i przekazać ich dane Interpolowi (na liście znajdują się też polskie nazwiska). Terre des Hommes, organizacja dzięki której Sweetie zaistniała w cyberprzestrzeni, przestrzega przed wzrastającą skalą problemu “dziecięcej seksturystyki przez kamerę internetową” — mieszkańcy wysoko rozwiniętych krajów płacą dzieciom żyjącym w ubóstwie, aby te wykonywały czynności seksualne przed kamerą. Zjawisko dotyczy już nawet 6 latków. Do tej pory za sprawą Sweetie skazano jednego pedofila z Australii –to 37-letni Scott Robert Hansen z Brisbane. Gratulujemy pomysłu i życzymy dalszych sukcesów w walcje z pedofilią, Terre des Hommes! Czy wiesz, co robi Twoje dziecko, gdy zostawiasz je przed komputerem? Pamiętaj o ustawieniach kontroli rodzicielskiej. Regularnie sprawdzaj historię przeglądarki. Rozmawiaj z dzieckiem o niebezpieczeństwach czyhających na nie w Internecie.

Więcej o Sweetie przeczytasz na stronie TVN24

Have you heard of Sweetie? She was created to track down pedophiles all around the world:

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POLSKA/POLAND
Ocaleni

OD OFIARY DO OCALONEGO – HISTORIA NASZEGO LIDERA, STANISŁAWA / FROM VICTIM TO SURVIVOR — THE STORY OF STANISŁAW, OUR LEADER

Nazywam się Stanisław Rychowiecki i pragnę podzielić się z wami moją historią przechodzenia z ze stanu ofiary molestowania do pozycji OCALONEGO.

Abyście zrozumieli przez co musiałem przejść muszę zacząć od początku.

Urodziłem się w Warszawie w roku 1979. Moje dzieciństwo w niczym nie odbiegało od normy normalnych dzieciaków. Rodzina normalna, chodząca do kościoła. Po Pierwszej Komunii Świętej postanowiłem zostać ministrantem w swojej parafii. Tam poznałem największy swój autorytet ówczesnego proboszcza ks. Tadeusza. W ciągu 26 lat naszej znajomości był dla mnie kimś więcej niż dziadek czy nawet ojciec. Zawsze mogłem na niego liczyć. Skromny, mądry, wymagający od innych ale przede wszystkim od siebie. Bardzo lubiłem słuchać, kiedy opowiadał o swoim życiu, o swoim powołaniu. Wrócę jeszcze do momentu Pierwszej Komunii. Po kazaniu proboszcza już wtedy (mając 9 lat) postanowiłem zostać księdzem. I z tą myślą zgłosiłem się do parafii zapisując się do grona ministrantów. Moje postanowienie dojrzewało wraz ze mną. Ogromną rolę odegrał także Ojciec Święty Jan Paweł II. Jego nauczanie, życie wywarło na mnie ogromne wrażenie. Dla mnie osobiście te dwie osoby był filarami mojego powołania. Na początku lat 90 do parafii jako wikariusz został skierowany ks. Mateusz.

Proboszcz przydzielił mu funkcję opieki nad ministrantami. Już na pierwszej zbiórce można było odczuć że jest znawcą historii liturgii. Wiele można było się od niego nauczyć. Niestety, w roku 1993 doszło do pewnego wydarzenia, które dało o sobie znać ponad 20 lat później. Bardzo często bywałem na plebanii. Jako zaufany ministrant, księża prosili mnie żebym szedł opłacać rachunki na poczcie czy ewentualnie robić jakieś zakupy. Kiedy po mszy wieczornej Ks. Mateusz zaprosił mnie do siebie, myślałem, że będzie trzeba iść do sklepu. Niestety, cel wizyty był inny. Ks. Mateusz chciał mi pokazać jak radzić sobie z popędem seksualnym. Nie chcę wdawać się w szczegóły — chodzi o masturbację. …

My name is Stanisław Rychowiecki and I would like to share my story of transformation from a victim of clergy sexual abuse to a survivor.

To help you realize what I have been through, I need you to learn this story from its very beginning.

I was born in 1979 in Warsaw. My childhood was no different from other kids’ who lived in ‘normal’ families. By normal family I mean a family that goes to church. After the First Communion, I decided that I wanted to become an altar server. This is where I met my greatest authority of that time – father Tadeusz. During 26 years of our acquaintanceship he was more than a grandfather or a father to me. I could count on him. Modest, wise, demanding from others, but most of all, from himself. I would love to listen to him speaking about his life and his calling. Coming back to my First Communion. After hearing the sermon of our rector, even though I was only 9 years old, I decided that one day I would become a priest. This is why I joined the group of altar boys. My decision was growing with me. Another decisive factor was the figure of John Paul II. I was greatly influenced by his words and the testimony of his life. These two figures were two pillars of my own calling. Back in the 90s, a new vicar joined our parish; his name was father Mateusz.

Our rector assigned him to take care over altar boys. At the very first meeting you could sense that he is specialized in the history of liturgy. You could have learned a lot from him. Unfortunately, back in 1993 he allowed an event which returned to me 20 years later. I used to come to a manse very often. As a trusted altar boy, I was asked by priests to help them with daily issues e.g. paying their bills at the post office or helping with groceries. When after the evening mass I was invited over by father Mateusz, I thought he needed my help with shopping. Unfortunately, the aim of this visit was different. Father Mateusz wanted to show me how to deal with sex drive. I don’t want to get into details. It was all about masturbation.

I was shocked when I was walking back home. The only thing I knew was that it shouldn’t have happened, but I wasn’t even able to call what “it” was. I decided to keep it quiet and try to forget it. And so I did. I graduated from a primary school, high school and I was bothered by flashbacks from time to time, but I managed to silence them. When I joined the seminary, I made a decision that I would not let that past event abuse my life and my decision. I tried very hard not to dwell on that subject, but my thoughts became more and more persistent. The only way was to stifle them. I would go to the seaside on my motorbike to watch the sunset or I would go to the mountains to buy some cheese. Physical exhaustion and nature admiration would calm me down. I didn’t even notice when such an attitude became my own way of dealing with problems.

My problems were not connected with my thoughts, but with my painful disillusionment with the Church. The institutuon which I perceived as ideal when I was a child turned out to be suffused in hipocrisy. I would repeat to myself over and over again that I became a priest to serve other people. But then, more and more clergy sexual abuse scandals were revealed. When victims in America won their battles and received compensations from parished it all appeared distant. I told myself: it is way too far away and it does not concern you. Denial was a way to cope. More victims have become survivors, but I was protecting myself from coming back to this subject. My happiness was a delusion.

In fall 2013 Tarachomin case was revealed. (Tarachomin is a district of Warsaw, and a part of my diocese of Warszawa-Praga). It was overwhelming. I felt was being ripped on the inside. My wound started to bleed, my eyes could not stop crying. My escaping was over. I remember my thougts at that time: If you cannot be a priest anymore, you should end this miserable life. What else can you live for? I cried like a child on that night. In the morning, I would wake up and try to pick myself up. It took days, but finally I began to think: Stachu, you were hurt, but this is not the end of the world. You need to be stronger than your pain. I began my research on how to cope with trauma. This is when I heard about a therapy for the first time. At the beginning of 2014, I decided that I need to start my healing. I have reached this point of mandess when I associated a cassock not with God, but with a pedophile. How ironic is that taking into consideration that I was wearing a cassock myself? I needed to take it off and put it on a “hanger of time”.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By SAM RIGNEY Oct. 27, 2014

THE Royal Commission into child sexual abuse has found former Newcastle Anglican Bishop Roger Herft knew about a priest’s convictions but did nothing to discipline him.

The damning third case study by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was tabled Monday in Federal Parliament, with findings including that both Grafton and Newcastle dioceses could have taken action against convicted child abuser and former clergyman Allan Kitchingman.

The report found Archbishop Herft, then Bishop of Newcastle, became aware that Kitchingman had been convicted of five counts of indecent assault of a child at an Anglican home in the Diocese of Grafton. But between August 2002 and February 2004, Herft did not start disciplinary proceedings against the reverend.

Between those years the dioceses of Newcastle and Grafton had only an informal agreement about who would take responsibility for action, the report found, and Archbishop Herft said he did not take action to discipline Kitchingman because he believed he did not have the power to and that Grafton would do it.

The royal commission also found Philip Gerber, of the professional standards unit for both Newcastle and Grafton dioceses, was also aware of the child abuse convictions and did nothing.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By CATHY KEZELMAN Oct. 27, 2014

WITH the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse well under way, the issue of child sexual abuse now turns its attention towards the Anglican Church in Newcastle.

The recent announcement of a police investigation, Strike Force Arinya-2, will address allegations of child sexual abuse by members of the Newcastle Diocese of the Anglican Church during the 1970s.

This will build upon the findings of the Special Commission of Inquiry into child sexual abuse in the Maitland-Newcastle Diocese of the Catholic Church earlier this year.

The issue of child sexual abuse is at the forefront of Newcastle’s agenda as the institutions that were, and arguably still are, complicit in the repeated abuse, neglect and cruelty towards children in their care are being brought to justice.

We are finally beginning to see a unified response for the estimated 5million adult survivors of childhood trauma nationwide.

The recent announcement by the Abbott government to extend the royal commission by the recommended two years gives everyone hope for real and sustained change.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Harretz

By Allison Kaplan Sommer | Oct. 27, 2014

Barry Freundel was a rabbi with a big problem. If police reports cited in the press are to be believed, he was a compulsive voyeur who exploited his position as a senior rabbi and university professor. His utter control over his synagogue and adjacent mikveh allowed him to feed a need to surreptitiously and criminally watch women undress. Allegedly, of course.

Yes, it is true that his particular – alleged – fetish had the advantage of utter secrecy and total distance from his victims. That’s the difference between the Freundel affair and other sex abuse scandals: Freundel is charged with crimes, in which the victims were, until now, oblivious.

But as the scandal widened in the time since his arrest, with the revelation that Freundel had been under investigation in 2012 by the Rabbinical Council of America, the umbrella organization for Orthodox rabbis for whom he served as national chairman of the group’s conversion system for, as described in the RCA statement on Freundel, “allegations of impropriety” regarding his treatment of converts which include coercing them into doing secretarial work for him and soliciting donations from them both before and after their conversions.

How in the world did this man stay at the helm of the prestigious and savvy Orthodox congregation that included senators, congressmen and cabinet members, and, most famously, the first Jewish vice-presidential candidate, in the heart of nation’s capital for 25 years? When I began talking to current and former Kesher congregants looking for answers to that question, I expected to find people who were shocked and devastated that their longtime beloved senior rabbi was capable of treating anyone badly.

But I was surprised. The way Freundel treated converts, it seems, was not terribly different from the way he treated members of his own congregation and many rabbinical colleagues.

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MINNESOTA
Grand Forks Herald

By Pamela Knudson on Oct 26, 2014

A small support group representing the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) handed out leaflets at a Catholic church in Crookston on Sunday urging anyone who has been a victim to seek out help from independent sources.

Holding signs that read “transparency” and “healing” at the entrance to The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception parking lot, SNAP members offered leaflets to parishioners as they drove in to attend a morning mass.

The group is calling for the bishop of the Diocese of Crookston, the Rev. Michael Hoeppner, to “permanently post the names of all proven, admitted and credibly accused predator priests on church and parish websites,” the leaflet stated.

SNAP members “want victims to come forward … especially because a legal ‘window’ will close in 2016, barring many child sex abuse victims from seeking justice and exposing wrongdoers in court,” according to the leaflet.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Patriot Ledger

By Jessica Trufant
The Patriot Ledger
Posted Oct. 27, 2014

SCITUATE – When the Friends of St. Frances started their around-the-clock vigil at the closed church on Oct. 26, 2004, Saddam Hussein was still alive, Apple had yet to release the iPhone and the Red Sox were still one win away from their first World Series title in 86 years.

“I was 70 then, and I just turned 80,” parishioner Barbara Nappa said from the church foyer as she reflected on the last decade. “My granddaughter Natalie was 4 years old. I remember her coming here to help clean, and she would always notice the fingerprints on the glass doors. Now she’s a freshman in high school.”

Parishioners of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Church gathered Sunday to celebrate 10 full years of holding a continuous vigil. While the archdiocese has considered the church a deconsecrated building since October 2004, parishioners have kept its doors open for 3,652 days. Several longtime members take turns holding a service each Sunday. They use host that has been consecrated by a sympathetic priest whose identity is kept a secret.

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RHODE ISLAND
Providence Journal

BY RICHARD SALIT
Journal Staff Writer
rsalit@providencejournal.com

WEST WARWICK, R.I. — An Irish priest censured by the Vatican for supporting the ordination of women and challenging church teachings on homosexuality received a warm welcome when speaking at Emanuel Lutheran Church on Sunday afternoon.

About 75 people turned out to hear Father Tony Flannery, who is on an 18-city, three-week tour of the United States after being suspended from priestly ministry in 2012.

Thin, short and graying, the 67-year-old priest, while mild-mannered and prone to making occasional jokes, recounted the life-changing episode that began when the Vatican came after him. While he had expressed views critical of the church in articles for Reality magazine, he said he figured that since he was just a Redemptorist preacher from Galway, Ireland, “the Vatican couldn’t care less about me.”
“I never considered myself a radical,” he said.

But when he refused to sign and publish a statement agreeing that women will never be ordained and embracing church orthodoxy on such matters as contraception and homosexuality, Flannery found himself on the outside of the Catholic Church looking in.

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NEW JERSEY
NJ.com

By Mark Mueller | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on October 27, 2014

The Diocese of Trenton has settled a fourth sex abuse claim against a former director of the diocese’s youth group, paying $180,000 to a Florida man who says the priest molested him for three years in the 1980s.

John Tominus, who grew up in Keyport and who now lives in Seminole, Fla., reached agreement with the diocese in September, one month after another alleged victim of the priest, the Rev. Terence McAlinden, settled a lawsuit for $610,000.

Tominus, 48, said McAlinden sexually assaulted him more than 50 times, beginning when he was 14 and continuing until his family moved out of state when he was 17.

“He introduced me to my first drink — made me drink Scotch,” said Tominus, who has struggled with alcoholism for decades. “He sodomized me. He threatened me. He destroyed my life. My life could have been perfect. He took it away from me.”

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

OCTOBER 27, 2014

Dan Box
Crime Reporter
Sydney

THE chair of the child abuse royal commission will today say that thousands of people who have been sexually abused as children should receive financial compensation, potentially awarded by an independent national redress scheme funded by governments and other institutions.

In a speech at Parliament House in Canberra today, Peter McClellan will say the commission is due to formally report on the issue next year but “everyone accepts there should be an effective response available to all survivors”.

This response should include an opportunity to “engage with the institution where they were abused”, the provision of counselling or psychiatric care and “a lump-sum payment which marks the abuse.”

“One of the difficulties faced in providing effective redress is that some of the institutions in which children were abused have ceased to exist. Others have no money,” Justice McClellan will say.

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ITALIA
Grande Cocomero

[con video]

Savona – Un buco di un’ora in un suicidio “sospetto”. Un vuoto da mezzanotte, quando è terminata la lunga telefonata con l’amica Ketty che le dava una mano in casa -«era serena, stava bene, non ha detto nulla di strano» ha riferito ai poliziotti- sino all’una della scorsa notte. L’ora in cui il medico Luisa Bonello, 53 anni, che da anni era diventata la grande accusatrice dei preti pedofili nella chiesa savonese, ha mandato un sms all’ex marito (“Mauro perdonami”) e si è ammazzata sparandosi un colpo di pistola in bocca. Su questo non ci sono dubbi dopo una mattinata di indagini e sopralluoghi.

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ITALIEN
Netzfrauen

[mit Video]

„Schweigen wie bei der Mafia“ – der tragische Tod der Luisa Bonello

[The tragic suicide of Dr. Luisa Bonello and attempts by the Catholic Church to cover-up abuse cases has caused outrage. Six days before her death, Dr. Bonello, a general medicine specialist in the northern Italian town of Savona, was in an urban bookstore where she told listeners she had been a practicising Catholic. She was a catechist and Eucharistic minister who was responsible for bringing communion to the sick. Everything changed six years ago. Two patients told her they had been sexually abused by clergy of the Savona diocese and suffered from consequences of the assaults. Everything changed drastically as soon as the church realized she was preparing to convert from a faithful follower to a” penitent” who would not rest until the truth was known. She was relieved of her church duties and was targeted with threats.]

Der tragische Selbstmord von Dr. Luisa Bonello und die Versuche der Katholischen Kirche, Missbrauchsfälle zu vertuschen, empört.

Sechs Tage vor ihrem Tod sprach Dr. Luisa Bonello, Fachärztin für Allgemeinmedizin in der norditalienischen Kleinstadt Savona, in einer städtischen Buchhandlung zu einigen ZuhörerInnen über das, was ihr Leben zerstört hatte. „Ich bin praktizierende Katholikin, schon immer“ sagte sie zu Anfang.

Mit Hingabe hatte sie sich in ihrer Freizeit für die Menschen ihrer Gemeinde eingesetzt, als Katechistin und Ministerin der Eucharistie war sie für die Kommunion der Kranken zuständig. Ganz besonders wichtig war ihr der gemeinsame Weg des Glaubens mit ihrem Beichtvater Don Nino Majo, in dem sie tiefe Erfüllung fand. Ihr ganzes Leben lang hatte der katholische Glaube eine zentrale Rolle in ihrem Leben gespielt. Bis sich vor etwa sechs Jahren alles änderte.

Sexuell missbraucht

Alles begann damit, dass sich Dr. Bonello in ihrer Funktion als Hausärztin zwei Patienten anvertrauten und über ihre traumatischen Erlebnisse sprachen. Sie waren von Geistlichen, die in der Diözese Savona, ihrer eigenen Diözese, Dienst taten, sexuell missbraucht worden. Und litten seitdem an den schwerwiegenden Folgen der Übergriffe.

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GROSSBRITANNIEN
Evangelisch

Das geistliche Oberhaupt der anglikanischen Kirche wandte sich in einem privaten Brief an die Frau, der in der “Sunday Times” veröffentlicht wurde. Der sexuelle Missbrauch von Kindern in britischen Institutionen sei “weit verbreitet”, beklagte Welby.

“Es ist nun klar, dass wir es mit nachhaltigen Folgen von einer nicht abschätzbaren Zahl von Fällen in der Kirche von England zu tun haben”, fügte er hinzu. Welby versicherte, man werde alle notwendigen Schritte unternehmen, um diese Fälle aufzuarbeiten. Die Täter hätten Christus verraten. Das Versagen der Kirche, den Verbrechen ihrer Amtsträger entgegenzutreten, sei nicht zu entschuldigen.

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ITALIA
Rete L’Abuso

[Documentation relating to Luisa Bonello’s request to obtain a firearm has disappeared or at least wasn’t found in her file. This is a cornerstone on which prosecution is proceeding into the investigation into the death by suicide Bonello. Bonello is among people who brought attention to the brewing scandal in the to the Italian diocese of Albenga-Imperia]

Francesco Zanardi October 26, 2014

Parte di documentazione sparita, o quanto meno non ritrovata, nel fascicolo di Luisa Bonello tenuto in questura per l’ottenimento del porto d’armi.

È uno degli aspetti cardini su cui sta procedendo l’inchiesta della procura sulla morte per suicidio della dottoressa savonese e nella quale è indagato – l’unico al momento – l’ispettore della polizia postale Alberto Bonvicini.

Il sostituto procuratore della Repubblica Giovanni Battista Ferro da settimane è al lavoro per fare luce sulla vita della Bonello e sulle possibili ragioni che l’avrebbero portata a spararsi un colpo di pistola alla testa e questo aspetto, apparentemente secondario, non l’avrebbe convinto.

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AUSTRALIA
7 News

AAP
October 27, 2014

Time limits could be removed for Victorian child abuse victims seeking compensation if the state government is re-elected.

The coalition government has released draft legislation to remove all limitation periods for civil claims relating to criminal child abuse.

Public comment is being sought on the legislation which Attorney-General Robert Clark said would proceed after the November state election if the coalition was re-elected.

“These reforms will mean that perpetrators, and those who have allowed abuse to occur, can no longer hide behind limitation periods to escape liability for the harm they have caused,” Mr Clark said on Monday.

Victim rights group Broken Rites, in welcoming the draft legislation, said “clearly it’s a good thing”.

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AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

27 October, 2014

A report published by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has found the Anglican Diocese of Grafton denied responsibility for sexual abuse that took place at a children’s home established by its local rector on church land.

Other findings include that the Diocese denied financial compensation for some victims abused at the home, failed to comply with its own policies and procedures, and dealt with victims insensitively.

The report of Case Study no.3, examining the Anglican Diocese of Grafton’s response to child sexual abuse at the North Coast Children’s Home, was tabled in the Commonwealth Parliament today.

The report explores how the Diocese responded when former residents revealed their experience of child sexual abuse after 2005 and considers how the Church’s structure, policies and financial arrangements affected the way it managed abuse claims. The report also examines how the Diocese dealt with the clergy who were accused.

The Royal Commission’s public hearing on the matter heard evidence of frequent sexual, psychological and physical abuse perpetrated against nine former child residents at the Home between 1940 and 1985 and the profound, long lasting impacts on their lives and mental health.

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AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

Monday 27 October 2014

I would like to acknowledge and thank Dr Kezelman and ASCA for the work they do every day to help survivors of sexual and other abuse. In particular can I thank Dr Kezelman for her support of the Royal Commission. Dr Kezelman has been working with us, together with many other people, to develop our recommendations for redress – more of that in a moment.

Blue Knot Day is a reminder that there are many Australians who are survivors of childhood trauma and abuse. The strength, courage and resilience of those who have come forward to the Royal Commission to tell us their story shows us that recovery is possible. That possibility is enhanced by the work of Dr Kezelman and ASCA and the other people and organisations who assist survivors.

The Royal Commission held its first public sitting in Melbourne in April last year. On that occasion I remarked on the number of public inquiries which have considered the abuse, including sexual abuse, of children. I said that over time the community has come to acknowledge that fundamental wrongs have been committed in the past which have caused great trauma and lasting damage to many people. Although a painful process, if a community is to move forward, it must come to understand where wrongs have occurred. The Royal Commission has been tasked by its Letters Patent to develop an understanding of where we have gone wrong in the protection of children and bring forward recommendations which, so far as may be possible, will right those wrongs and make it safer for children in the future.

The Royal Commission has now heard from about 2,500 people in private sessions. Many others have provided us with a written account of their abuse. We have also conducted 19 public hearings.

The people who we talk to in private sessions cover a broad spectrum of Australian society. Each of their individual experiences has left a mark on their lives. For some that mark is evident in a profound sadness because of their betrayal by a trusted adult. Others carry greater scars. For others the life consequences have been catastrophic. Each person’s story is unique with impacts of greater or lesser significance in their life journey and with differing impacts upon their psychological and physical well-being.

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AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

The Chair of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Justice Peter McClellan, today addressed an event to mark Blue Knot Day at Parliament House in Canberra.

The speech is available on the Royal Commission website.

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AUSTRALIA
SBS

While the Anglican Church is still digesting a damning report on its handling of abuse allegations, an abuse survivor says it still needs to admit it lied and schemed to protect itself.

In the report handed to the federal government on Monday, the sex abuse royal commission found the Anglican Diocese of Grafton caused even more distress to survivors of extreme abuse at the North Coast Children’s Home in Lismore.

In 28 findings the commission noted the diocese failed to follow its own policies in dealing with abuse complaints and instead was hostile and insensitive to victims.

At first it denied liability for the home and then lied about the state of its finances to survivors who came forward.

The findings follow a 2013 commission hearing into how the Grafton diocese handled complaints by men and women who were raped and beaten at the home between 1944 and 1985.

Children were malnourished and flogged with canes, pony whips and belts. Staff, pastors and other inmates raped young children.

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AUSTRALIA
The West Australian

Annette Blackwell
October 27, 2014

Institutions and the government need to chip in to provide money to compensate thousands abused as children in orphanages, schools and child care organisations, the chairman of a national inquiry says.

Peter McClellan, who chairs the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, said on Monday that some institutions where children were abused had no money or no longer existed.

Justice McClellan says the community has to look to government and institutions to come together so all abuse survivors would have access to effective redress.

Speaking at the launch of Blue Knot day to raise awareness of abuse survivors, he said the commission would publish a paper in January 2015 with proposals on compensation.

It will publish final proposals in mid-2015.

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AUSTRALIA
Daily Examiner

A REPORT published by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has found the Anglican Diocese of Grafton denied responsibility for sexual abuse that took place at a children’s home established by its local rector on church land.

Other findings include that the Diocese denied financial compensation for some victims abused at the home, failed to comply with its own policies and procedures, and dealt with victims insensitively.

The report of Case Study no.3, examining the Anglican Diocese of Grafton’s response to child sexual abuse at the North Coast Children’s Home, was tabled in the Commonwealth Parliament today.

The report explores how the Diocese responded when former residents revealed their experience of child sexual abuse after 2005 and considers how the Church’s structure, policies and financial arrangements affected the way it managed abuse claims.

The report also examines how the Diocese dealt with the clergy who were accused.

The Royal Commission’s public hearing on the matter heard evidence of frequent sexual, psychological and physical abuse perpetrated against nine former child residents at the Home between 1940 and 1985 and the profound, long lasting impacts on their lives and mental health.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Bruce Mackenzie

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has found the Anglican Diocese of Grafton treated victims insensitively and conducted settlement negotiations in a hostile manner.

The commission’s public hearing was told about frequent sexual, psychological and physical abuse of nine former residents of the North Coast Children’s Home in Lismore between 1940 and 1985.

Handing down its findings, the commission found the diocese denied responsibility for the sexual abuse, denied some victims financial compensation and conducted some settlement negotiations in a hostile manner.

It also found the diocese was not following its own policies in handling the matter and that denying legal liability on the grounds it did not control the home had a detrimental effect on abused former residents.

The Right Reverend Keith Slater resigned as bishop of the diocese in May last year admitting that legal liability played a role in his decision not to pass on all complaints to the church’s professional standards director.

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AUSTRALIA
7 News

By Annette Blackwell
October 27, 2014

While the Anglican Church is still digesting a damning report on its handling of abuse allegations, an abuse survivor says it still needs to admit it lied and schemed to protect itself.

In the report handed to the federal government on Monday, the sex abuse royal commission found the Anglican Diocese of Grafton caused even more distress to survivors of extreme abuse at the North Coast Children’s Home in Lismore.

In 28 findings the commission noted the diocese failed to follow its own policies in dealing with abuse complaints and instead was hostile and insensitive to victims.

At first it denied liability for the home and then lied about the state of its finances to survivors who came forward.

The findings follow a 2013 commission hearing into how the Grafton diocese handled complaints by men and women who were raped and beaten at the home between 1944 and 1985.

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AUSTRALIA
Northern Star

NORTH Coast Children’s Home has been subjected to its most damning report yet with the findings the local Anglican Diocese tried to evade responsibility, was insensitive and failed to follow its own policies.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has this morning released 28 findings and two recommendations on the North Coast Children’s Home at Lismore and the Grafton Anglican Diocese’s handling of complaints of child abuse there.

>> Read the full report

Among its findings, the report says:

* The Anglican Diocese of Grafton denied responsibility for sexual abuse that took place at the North Coast Children’s Home.
* The Diocese denied financial compensation for some victims abused at the home.
* The Diocese failed to comply with its own policies and procedures as set out in the Professional * * * Standards Ordinance and Protocol for Dealing with Complaints of Sexual Abuse and in its Pastoral Care and Assistance Scheme.
* The Diocese dealt with victims insensitively
* Despite its knowledge of the potential claims by 2005, the Diocese of Grafton did not make provision for settling child abuse claims in its annual budgets for 2006 and 2008 and 2012.

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AUSTRALIA
The Daily Telegraph

Royal commission into child sex: former bishop Keith Slater ignored advice to report abuse allegations against North Coast Children’s Home to police

JANET FIFE-YEOMANS THE DAILY TELEGRAPH OCTOBER 27, 2014

THE former Anglican Bishop of Grafton, Keith Slater, has come under fire from the child abuse royal commission for the way he mishandled a litany of claims against the church.

When more than 40 former residents of the notorious North Coast Children’s Home at Lismore came forward seeking help and compensation after being abused by at least 12 priests and members of staff, the Anglican Church denied any liability, despite running the home since 1919.

Bishop Slater had been “advised” by his boss, the head of the Anglican Church Archbishop Phillip Aspinall, to tell the police about any criminal allegations from the children’s home and to seek out other people who had been abused there.
He did not do either, the report into the Anglican Diocese of Grafton response to child sexual abuse at the home, said today.

The report, tabled in Federal parliament, said that the diocese denied responsibility for sexual abuse that took place at the home, which had been established by its local rector on church land.

The commission also found that the diocese did not handle the claims with any sympathy.

Bishop Slater resigned last year as The Daily Telegraph was preparing to run stories with one of the victims, Tommy Campion, after a ‘horrified” church official uncovered the full extent of the diocese’s treatment of the former residents.

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IOWA
Des Moines Register

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has disclosed the names of 17 additional priests who have been accused of sexually abusing minors, including one man who worked in Iowa during the 1970s.

Allegations were found to be substantiated in all cases.

Jerry Foley, 82, was executive director of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference in Des Moines from 1976 to 1978, according to information on the archdiocese’s website.

Almost all of his other assignments after being ordained in 1961 were in Minnesota. He was part of the Diocese of Crookston, Minn., and was removed as a priest in 2006.

Foley abused a minor outside the St. Paul archdiocese, officials wrote, without specifying where or when. He now lives in Minneapolis.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests issued a statement Friday saying that church leaders in Iowa should “honor their pledges to be ‘open’ about clergy sex cases” and inform parishioners and the public about Foley and encourage victims to seek assistance.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Times

Francis Elliott Political Editor

The cases of a paedophile priest brought back to face trial from Tenerife and a rapist extradited from Greece are being used to persuade Tory MPs to adopt EU-wide crime powers.

David Cameron has been warned that he faces a crushing Commons rebellion when he asks MPs to vote for Britain to sign up to 35 shared powers, including the European arrest warrant (EAW).

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UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism

Jerry Slevin

Two significant recent UK developments have just come to my attention that bears considerably on “who rules”. Please note that no less than Pope Francis’ main UK competitor, the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, whom the Vatican does not “rule”, has just been reported as having had the courage to call, in effect, as evil, the priest child abuse cover-up, etc., instead of trying so far mainly to just bury it in a “go slow” captive advisory abuse commission, as Pope Francis appears to have done, no?

Canterbury also has, so far, an 84 year “jump” on Rome on approving of contraception. Same New Testament, but different “reads”, apparently. No big deal for celibate Catholic bishops, unlike Archbishop Welby, who is married and has fathered six children. He understands the precious value of each child. See:

[Sunday Mail]

And please also note that an influential Oxford University journalism professor, John Lloyd, has captured the “Synod moment” well at Reuters recently. Lloyd is Director of Journalism at Oxford’s prestigious Reuters Institute, where coincidentally Pope Francis’s new media adviser, Lord Patten, is on the Advisory Board.

Lloyd stated so perceptively and succinctly, in pertinent part, as follows: “This month, Pope Francis had to come clean. Time’s Man of the Year for 2013 {‘s}… honeymoon as the Amiable Argentinian is over.”

Lloyd added: “… the largest problem for the Church is twofold: first, as it recognizes, many Catholics in the West simply ignore the more severe teachings, or where they are applied, prefer to leave the church than submit.”

“Second, and more seriously, the modern eye, and the eye of most media see in the synod a gathering of ageing men with no experience of active sexuality (presumably) or marriage, attempting to enforce prohibitions on those who have, and who have developed ways of integrating these troublesome matters into their lives. At the same time, these ageing men did — and still do — have a serious sex scandal within their ranks – one which they have, in the main, dealt with badly. …” See:

[Reuters]

And yet the sexual and democratic revolutions, that swept the UK a long time ago, are still steadily advancing over the Vatican’s barricades. In response, Pope Francis, so far in a reactionary mode, has created a “holy mess” with his two-step, top down and coercive Synod strategy. It appears evident, after the first Synod step recently, that (1) there are at present no attainable satisfactory solutions, even in sight, to the sexual and structural challenges under review, and (2) a couple of hundred celibate “sons of the Church” in medieval costumes, as the only voting participants, cannot possibly find and agree on real solutions merely by means of a media “staged” Synod.

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MINNESITA
KSTP

By: Cassie Hart

A Deacon removed from ministry back in June during an investigation into sexual abuse allegations of a minor has now been reinstated.

Deacon Joseph Damiani has denied the accusation, which alleges he abused a minor more than 40 years ago, decades before he was ordained. The accusation was brought to local law enforcement, and no criminal charges were filed.

According to a statement released by Archbishop John Neinstedt, the Clergy Review Board did an “extensive, diligent and professional view of the allegations” and “was unable to determine conclusively the validity of the underlying allegations.”

The board found no reason to believe Deacon Damiani poses a risk to the health or safety of others, and found him fit for public ministry and recommended he be reinstated.

Deacon Damiani has served as the deacon at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, and on staff at Gichitwaa Kateri Catholic Church in Minneapolis in the Office of Indian Affairs since 2009.

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UNITED STATES
Bilgrimage

William D. Lindsey

At a discussion thread here earlier today, some of you may have seen that I asked Jerry Slevin if he could perhaps summarize an argument he has just made at greater length in a posting at his Christian Catholicism site. In this posting, Jerry argues that, if Pope Francis is to be effective as a reformer, he must aim for the following at the final synod on the family for which the one that has just occurred set the initial stage:

Can and will Pope Francis now providentially save the Catholic Church spiritually, politically and even legally, (1) by effectively sharing power with the silent Catholic 99.9% majority of the People of God, as the earliest popes did for centuries, and (2) by admitting “infallibly”, as he must, that popes are not infallible and that many “moral certainties” are uncertain?

Jerry has responded to my request for a précis of his argument in the Christian Catholicism essay, and, with his permission, I’m going to lift his response into a posting here. I’m posting this synopsis in the hope that it will point readers to the essay itself. Here’s Jerry’s response:

If Francis is really serious about reform, three key actions, procedurally and substantively, must be addressed now:

(1) Add A Committee Upfront:

Francis must between now and the Oct. 2015 Final Synod have a small independent, expert and representative committee (including preferably as US representatives Dick Sipe, Tom Doyle, Anne Burke, and persons informed on LGBT issues, perhaps you and Jamie Manson, as openers) that thrashes out the key issues honestly and thoroughly and makes specific public recommendations for action to the Synod prior to September 1, 2015;

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MINNESOTA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

Date: Sunday, October 26, 2014

Source: Anne Steffens, Interim Director of Communications

From Archbishop John Nienstedt, Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

At the request of the Clergy Review Board back in June, I temporarily removed Deacon Joseph Damiani from ministry while an investigation was reopened regarding a previous allegation of a sexual abuse of a minor. Deacon Damiani has consistently denied the accusation, which alleges abuse to have occurred more than 40 years ago, decades before he was ordained. The accusation was brought to local law enforcement, and no criminal charges were filed.

The Clergy Review Board engaged in an extensive, diligent and professional review of the allegations. The Board reviewed the multiple transcribed interviews of all available witnesses, Deacon Damiani’s 300-page deposition in the civil case, police reports, court filings, correspondence, psychological evaluations, and all other available materials. Due to the passage of time, the distinct differences in the recollections of witnesses and the lack of extrinsic evidence, the Board was unable to determine conclusively the validity of the underlying allegations.

Based on the thorough review described above, along with the fact that these allegations are over 40 years old and there has been no accusations of any misconduct while he has served as a deacon, the Board found no reason to believe that Deacon Damiani poses a risk to the health or safety of others. The Board concluded that Deacon Damiani is fit for public ministry and recommended that he be reinstated. I am in complete accord with the Board’s Recommendations. Deacon Damiani’s leave of absence is now ended and his faculties are reinstated. He is a Deacon in good standing.

Deacon Damiani has served as the deacon at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, and on staff at Gichitwaa Kateri Catholic Church in Minneapolis in the Office of Indian Affairs since 2009. The staffs of both Annunciation Catholic Church and Gichitwaa Kateri Catholic Church have been notified.

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MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press

POSTED: 10/26/2014

A Minneapolis deacon has been reinstated to ministry after a clergy review board determined he poses no risk to others, after child sexual-abuse allegations leveled by younger relatives.

The allegations against Deacon Joseph Damiani came from his younger brothers, who said Damiani sexually abused them when they were children. Damiani has served at Annunciation Catholic Church and Gichitwaa Kateri Catholic Church, both in Minneapolis, since 2009.

Archbishop John Nienstedt said in a statement Sunday that a clergy review board advising the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis determined Damiani posed no risk to others’ safety.

“Based on the thorough review … along with the fact that these allegations are over 40 years old and there has been no accusations of any misconduct while he has served as a deacon, the Board found no reason to believe that Deacon Damiani poses a risk to the health or safety of others,” Nienstedt said in his statement.

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

The Bishop of Manchester has praised the sexual abuse victims of a former cathedral dean for coming forward and “making it just a little easier for the next person to speak”.

Right Reverend David Walker was responding to a report into how abuse allegations against the Very Rev Robert Waddington were handled.

At least two men made claims of abuse in 1999 and at some time in 2003-04.

Bishop Walker said he wanted to thank them for their “courage”.

Last week the Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu apologised to those who suffered at the hands of the late Dean Waddington, who died in 2007.

His predecessor was criticised for not acting on allegations in the report, by Judge Sally Cahill, which found “systemic failures” within the Church of England.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Sunday Mail

Child abuse ‘rampant’ in British institutions, says Archbishop of Canterbury as he apologises for ‘significant legacy of unacknowledged cases’ in the Church of England

By SARA MALM FOR MAILONLINE
26 October 2014

Child abuse has been ‘rampant’ in the Church of England and other British institutions, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said.

Justin Welby also said there is a ‘significant legacy’ of cases of child abuse within the church which have been ignored and that its failure to hold abusers to account is ‘inexcusable’.

Archbishop Welby made the admissions in a private letter to a mother of three boys who were abused at a Church of England school, reports Exaro, the investigative website.

Writing to a Hertfordshire mother whose sons were groomed and sexually abused by their headmaster, Welby apologised for the church’s failure to root out peadophiles.

‘I read your story with the same deep sense of sadness and dismay that I have felt on far too many other, similar accounts.

‘The betrayal of Christ in such behaviour is complete; the church’s failure to face the misdeeds of those in its service is inexcusable.

‘I can only apologise for what happened then, and for what has happened now, most sincerely and with deep sorrow.

‘It is now clear that in a huge number of institutions and localities, the abuse of children and vulnerable adults has been rampant.

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OKLAHOMA
Tulsa world

By COREY JONES World Staff Writer

The senior pastor of Eastland Assembly of God on Saturday distanced the Tulsa church from a man accused Friday of preying on vulnerable boys in the past several years.

Randy Dyer, a senior pastor at Eastland Assembly of God, said Timothy Shawn Cato of Tulsa was never a youth pastor, nor was he ever on staff or in a classroom at the church. An affidavit filed Friday in Tulsa County District Court indicates witnesses stated Cato, 50, was a youth pastor at the church.
An affidavit is a sworn statement that in this instance is the basis for an arrest warrant.

Cato is charged with eight counts of child sexual abuse of five boys ages 7 to 17. Four of the charges are alleged to have happened between Oct. 1 and Tuesday, while the other four are alleged between Oct. 1, 2009, and Tuesday.

Dyer also said Cato was never a member of the church but occasionally attended services and sporadically volunteered.

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NEW ZEALAND
Stuff

HELEN HARVEY
Last updated 27/10/2014
.
Controversial Aussie broadcaster Derryn Hinch was sacked from the Taranaki Herald the day after a big rugby match was on in New Plymouth.

At the weekend he was back for a reunion marking 25 years since the paper closed.

In 1965 the big game was a Ranfurly Shield match that Taranaki lost, and now veteran Taranaki journalist, Jim Tucker, then 17, had to take the match report over the phone, because all of the senior staff had gone to the pub with Hinch.

Hinch started the night doing the police calls and on the way back to the office, he called in to the Royal Hotel for a drink with a journalist friend who had come up from Wellington, he said.

Several hours later a reporter came looking for him and never went back to work.

A while later another colleague came looking and he also stayed. Then the assistant editor arrived at the pub and, like the others, never left.

“The next day I got a call from the editor Rash Avery – I think you are a bad influence, so don’t come back tomorrow. I said I have never been sacked by a nicer person.” …

He first time in jail was in 1987 for naming a paedophile priest, he said.

“I wasn’t being a cowboy. Before I named him I went to the police. I went to the police minister. I went to the premier. I went to the church. They said he was going to be facing court – leave it.”

But the man was running a camp for children, so he felt he didn’t have a choice, Hinch said.

“If I stopped one parent sending their kids . . . I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t do it. Since then I’ve become a bit of a lightning rod for it I guess.”

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.

MALTA
Times of Malta

The church today launched a code of ethics for volunteers aimed at giving voluntary work to take a holistic approach encompassing both the volunteer as well as the beneficiaries of the various voluntary organisations within the Archdiocese of Malta.

This code, which can be read in the pdf link below, was drawn up by the Diocesan Office for Voluntary Work. It is intended to help both the volunteer and the voluntary organisation.

However, there could be instances where certain organisations might need to amend certain parts of it.
Any such amendments could only be made with the prior written authorisation of the director of the Diocesan Office for Voluntary Work or his designate.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
Bucks Local News

By Patti Mengers
21st Century Media

Chester County detectives have arrested a 55-year-old priest who formerly served at two Bucks County parishes, for possessing and electronically distributing child pornography via email and Instagram, Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan announced Friday.

The Rev. Mark Haynes, who was parochial vicar at SS. Simon and Jude Parish in Westtown Township from Sept. 3, 2013, until his arrest Thursday, served at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Doylestown, from 1989 to 1991, and Our Lady of Good Counsel, Southampton, from 1994 to 2000.

Haynes also served as chaplain at Archbishop Wood High School in Warminster from 1990 to 1991.

He was immediately placed on administrative leave Thursday and no longer resides at SS. Simon and Jude Parish, said Kenneth Gavin, director of communications for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

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.

MALTA
Malta Independent

Without transparency and accountability, codes of ethics are useless, Mgr Scicluna says

Duncan Barry

Auxiliary Bishop Charles J. Scicluna said today that the guidelines to ethics for volunteers and voluntary organisations of the Maltese Diocese give a taste of responsibility, highlighting that it is vital transparency and accountability are brought into the picture since if not, ethics are useless.

Speaking during the presentation of the code of ethics for volunteers and voluntary organisations which operate within the Malta Archdiocese, Mgr Scicluna said that “it does not mean that giving a service voluntarily does not bring about obligations”.

The presentation was held at the Archbishop’s seminary at Tal-Virtu, Rabat in the presence of around 100 individuals involved in the voluntary sector.

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.

OHIO
Daily Standard

MINSTER – The former director of religious education at two area Catholic churches was sentenced to 360 days in jail, five years of community control sanctions and ordered to repay $209,556 on two theft charges.

Judge Frederick Pepple also ordered Jane M. Boeke, 57, of Minster to amend her tax returns within a year to reflect the added income at Boeke’s sentencing Friday in Auglaize County Common Pleas Court.

Boeke, surrounded by family and friends, had a hard time keeping her emotions intact as tears flowed down her face.

She told Pepple that her “primary goal in life” is to repay all the money. Boeke apologized to Pepple, the church, her family and the community, saying she was sorry she had brought shame upon herself.

“This is not the person I was brought up to be,” Boeke said. “Nothing justifies what I did. I tried to pay it back and I want to pay it back.”

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.

ALASKA
KTUU

The Fairbanks Daily News Miner reported a federal grand jury indicted Clint Landry on one count of attempted production of child pornography and one count of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor.

Landry pleaded not guilty to both counts on Friday.

The 57-year-old former Sacred Heart Cathedral priest allegedly attempted the acts on May 18 and 19. The Catholic Diocese of Fairbanks placed him on leave that week.

Charging documents don’t specify the age of the victim or the specific actions Landry is accused of committing.

Diocese Human Resources Director Ronnie Rosenberg says staff called Alaska State Troopers after receiving a report of misconduct by Landry. The troopers passed the case to the FBI.

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
Bilgrimage

William D. Lindsey

Colman McCarthy Publishes a Paean to NCR As Vehicle of Free Speech, and I Think of Jerry Slevin’s Censorship: “The Upstart NCR Was Itself An Effort at Free Speech”

Today, National Catholic Reporter has published a powerful statement by Colman McCarthy noting that, in its very inception some 50 years ago,

At its core, the upstart NCR was itself an effort at free speech — against the controlled speech found in the pages of diocesan newspapers overseen by local prelates and assorted ecclesiastics who had little understanding, much less regard, for independent journalism.

McCarthy says that the free speech he has most cherished in NCR’s pages has been the letters to the editor, which “create a forum for diversity that can’t fail to energize readers to take their antiphonal turn,” and which allow those contributing to this forum to see themselves “as valued members of a team where if we don’t always see eye to eye we can always speak heart to heart.”

As I read Colman McCarthy’s paean to NCR’s dedication to free speech, how can I possibly avoid thinking (as Alexandra does as well in a comment she has just left in response to the article) of NCR’s choice some weeks ago to ban Jerry Slevin from commenting (and here, here, here, here, and here) in its discussion forum? As Alexandra’s comment notes, while Jerry Slevin reports that he found himself inexplicably shut out from leaving any comments at all at the NCR site — with no explanation on the part of NCR until he and others made a fuss about this — NCR has continued to permit some posters whose comments are repeatedly flagged by others as abusive attacks to keep on commenting at the NCR site.

The disparity between the treatment some people posting at NCR receive, and the treatment handed out to Jerry Slevin and others, is deeply troubling. As I’ve repeatedly noted, the system of censorship at the NCR site is simply not transparent, and there is very little accountability about it to the NCR constituency. How censorship appears to be taking place in the NCR comboxes undercuts NCR’s claim to make a valuable contribution to American Catholic discourse by offering an alternative to the “controlled speech fround in the pages of diocsean newspapers.”

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
Failed Messiah

RCA’s Lack Of Transparency With Regard To Abuse Complaints Against Its Rabbis Needs To Change, JOFA Says

In the recent arrest of Rabbi Barry Freundel on voyeurisms charges related to a hidden camera placed in the women’s mikva (ritual bath) adjoining his Washington, DC synagogue, the Washington Post has an article on the Rabbinical Council of America’s lack of transparency with regard to allegations of sex abuse and similar misbehavior by its more than 1,000 member Orthodox rabbis, including Freundel.

Here are two key excerpts:

• “The system of oversight is unknown, and that’s what needs to change,” said Sharon Weiss-Greenberg, executive director of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance. “Rabbinic institutions need to figure out how to relay complaints and concerns about rabbinic authority, abuse, problems with synagogues.”

The alliance, which works to expand opportunities for women within Orthodoxy, said in a statement Friday that the Freundel case should be used “as a catalyst to address those imbalances that have grown in our community.”

• [T]here is an inherent limit to the reach of the RCA. Modern Orthodoxy is an ideology, not a denomination, such as the Roman Catholic Church or the Southern Baptist Convention, with a hierarchy. Its followers, who make up the more flexible part of Orthodox Judaism, are much more likely to look to their local rabbis and other Jewish community leaders than to the RCA. There are also strong cultural norms against disrespecting or challenging one’s rabbi.

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.

WASHINGTON (DC)
Washington Post

Handling of misconduct complaints against rabbi raises calls for more transparency

By Michelle Boorstein October 25

The case of a prominent Georgetown rabbi accused of voyeurism has offered a rare glimpse into the secretive way in which the liberal wing of Orthodox Judaism often handles rabbi misconduct, triggering calls by critics for more transparency and accountability.

A few days after Rabbi Barry Freundel’s Oct. 14 arrest on ­charges alleging that he put a secret camera in a ritual bathhouse, the 1,000-member Rabbinical Council of America said it had investigated two prior unrelated complaints of misconduct against Freundel — one in 2012, the other in 2013 — but never informed his synagogue.

The 2012 case accused Freundel of abusing his power over female conversion candidates, coercing them to do clerical work and donate to his projects. In 2013, he was accused of traveling in a sleeper train with a woman who wasn’t his wife. To some, the secrecy surrounding the complaints echoed that in previous cases­ handled by Modern Orthodox leaders.

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

CONNECTICUT
Hartford Courant

By Edmund H. Mahony

A woman who says she was sexually abused as a minor by her church pastor’s son asserts in a new lawsuit that, by failing to act on her complaint, the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut and its employees permitted the abuse of additional children.

The unidentified accuser, in a suit filed in Superior Court in Fairfield County, claims she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by Jesse Osmun while she was participating under Osmun’s supervision in a youth program at St. Peter’s Church in Milford.

Also named in the suit, brought by attorney Douglas Mahoney of Bridgeport, are Andrew Osmun, Jesse Osmun’s father and Rector of St. Peter’s Church; St. Peter’s Church, and the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut.

The victim claims in the suit that she was abused at the church by Jesse Osmun when she was 13 years old in 2007. In 2010, Jesse Osmun began work for the Peace Corp in South Africa, where he was accused of sexually assaulting three girls, ages 3-6.

Jesse Osmun admitted abusing the children in Africa and, in 2012, was sentenced to 15 years in a U.S. prison under a federal law prohibiting U.S. citizens from traveling abroad to engage in illegal sexual activity.

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.

MISSOURI
The Kansas City Star

BY MARK MORRIS
THE KANSAS CITY STAR
10/25/2014

When the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph child abuse ombudsman took the job three years ago, she was prepared to occasionally be surprised by what crossed her desk.

But Jenifer Valenti, a former Jackson County prosecutor, now sees something that goes beyond surprise. Valenti wrote in a recent report to the diocese that she was “alarmed” by increasing reports of students in local Catholic schools sexually abusing other students.

The youngest case involved a 3-year-old preschooler acting out sexually with classmates, she said.

“It is shocking to get a minor-abusing-a-minor call,” Valenti said.

But if Valenti wanted to compare her figures with those of the surrounding public school districts, she’d find it challenging because of a blind spot in federal law.

Three years ago, the U.S. Department of Education launched an effort to have public primary and secondary schools deal more aggressively with student-on-student sexual abuse. But those officials did not require schools to report what they found.

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.

MALTA
Times of Malta

Sunday, October 26, 2014

by Matthew Xuereb

A 54-year-old priest from Rabat is due in court to face charges of violent sexual abuse against a mentally unstable patient.

He is also being accused of holding the woman against her will and committing indecent acts in public.

The incidents are alleged to have taken place at various locations over a period of years. The woman, in her 40s, was receiving treatment following a suicide attempt at the time the sexual assaults allegedly took place.

The police are also investigating claims of sexual abuse against the priest made by other women.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
Liverpool Echo

Oct 26, 2014

By Helen Davies

A former Catholic school pupil from Merseyside who says he was sexually abused by a priest has broken his silence after more than 20 years.

It follows a compensation payout to a group of 11 men who were past pupils at Mirfield junior seminary in Yorkshire.

We can today reveal Liverpool’s links to the shocking sexual abuse claims.

Both a priest at the centre of the scandal and a former student – one of those who made the allegations – come from Merseyside.

The group of 11 have now settled out of court with the Verona Fathers, the Catholic order which ran the college, for payments totalling £120,000.

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

The sexual and democratic revolutions are steadily advancing over the Vatican’s barricades. In response, Pope Francis so far has created a “holy mess” with his two-step, top down and coercive Synod strategy. It appears evident, after the first Synod step recently, that (1) there are at present no attainable satisfactory solutions, even in sight, to the sexual and structural challenges under review, and (2) a couple of hundred celibate “sons of the Church” in medieval costumes, as the only voting participants, cannot possibly find and agree on real solutions merely by means of a media “staged” Synod.

Many Catholics worldwide are now very confused by this “mess”. Who now decides for Catholics what is “sinful” and how “sinners” are to be treated in this life by the Catholic Church? The Pope? The Ex-Pope? A Synod of Bishops? The “People of God” (all Catholics collectively)? The conscience of of each purported “sinner”? What if some of them disagree? Why have a Synod then? Who is now the final word? Are any of them really “infallible”? Will it really matter much to over a billion Catholics? Pope Francis must step up now, no?

Pope Francis showed, as a younger Jesuit leader at risk, in his dealings with a murderous military in Argentina, that he can act decisively under pressure. He has enough power now, but must apply it to a papal management process that has a real chance of succeeding. Another Synod, without more, cannot possibly succeed, as I endeavor to explain below.

If Francis does not adjust his management process now, I can only then infer he is merely going through some public relations motions in all likelihood. I outline below how he can efficaciously and readily adjust his process, if he is serious about needed reforms and a solution. If he is not serious, outside governments will likely continue to press to reform the Vatican’s sexual morality and organizational structural flaws soon enough, as they already have begun to do in the financial corruption area.

Several competing factions among the Catholic hierarchy appear to be already pressing now ever harder for adoption, at the second Synod step next October, of even more inconsistent and inadequate positions on Church “sexual morality doctrines” and on Church structural reforms.

Pope Francis’ almost desperate attempt at the initial Synod: (1) to “cherrypick” the agenda issues and the bishop participants, (2) to try to control the Synod managers and Synod report draftsmen, and (3) to spin the media with arcane “graduality” and similar discussions and “natural family planning” cheerleaders, has failed completely.

Meanwhile, the unrelenting tsunami of sexual and financial scandals and government investigations and prosecutions is steadily swamping the Vatican in digital filth. Also, Francis’ political and biological clocks are seemingly running out, as the Vatican almost blindly seeks to avoid escalating outside government pressure on Pope Francis, (1) to share power, as the earliest popes did for centuries, with the other 99.9% of the Catholic “People of God” not participating at the Synods, and (2) to make the hierarchy transparently accountable to these Catholics generally, and to the rule of law honestly.

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.

ALASKA
KTVA

By KTVA CBS 11 News

FAIRBANKS – Placed on leave earlier this year while under investigation by the FBI, a Fairbanks priest has now been indicted for child exploitation.

Friday, the U.S. District Attorney’s Office announced 57-year-old Clint Michael Landry was formally charged with attempted production of child pornography and attempted coercion and enticement of a minor. According to court documents, Landry tried to entice a minor to “engage in sexually explicit conduct” in order to produce “a visual depiction of that conduct.”

The indictment, dated Oct. 22, states the alleged crimes took place between May 18-19.

Landry became a priest for the Diocese of Fairbanks in 2011, according to its website. If convicted, Landry faces up to $250,000 in fines for each of the two counts and a maximum life sentence, the U.S. District Attorney’s Office said. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Reardon, who did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday afternoon.

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.

ALASKA
News Miner

Sam Friedman sfriedman@newsminer.com

FAIRBANKS – A former Fairbanks priest was arrested Friday on charges that he allegedly attempted to produce child pornography.

A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted 57-year-old Clint Landry on one count of attempted production of child pornography and one count of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Landry, who until May was the priest at Sacred Heart Cathedral, allegedly “coerced a minor into engaging in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of that conduct” on May 18 and May 19. The Catholic Diocese of Fairbanks placed him on leave that week.

Charging documents don’t specify the age of the victim or the specific actions Landry is accused of committing. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Reardon didn’t immediately return a phone call Friday requesting additional information about the charges against Landry.

Ronnie Rosenberg, director of human resources and legal coordinator for the diocese, said the juvenile identified by initials in the indictment is not part of the Fairbanks church and is not a Fairbanks resident. Rosenberg said in May that diocese staff called Alaska State Troopers after receiving a report about misconduct by Landry. Troopers passed on the case to the FBI.

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.

ALASKA
Express News

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — A former Fairbanks priest has been indicted for allegedly attempting to produce child pornography.

The Fairbanks Daily News Miner (http://bit.ly/ZRIEJz ) reported a federal grand jury indicted Clint Landry on one count of attempted production of child pornography and one count of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor.

Landry pleaded not guilty to both counts on Friday.

The 57-year-old former Sacred Heart Cathedral priest allegedly attempted the acts on May 18 and 19. The Catholic Diocese of Fairbanks placed him on leave that week.

Charging documents don’t specify the age of the victim or the specific actions Landry is accused of committing.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
Exaro News

By Tim Wood

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby admits in a private letter that child abuse has been “rampant” in the Church of England and other UK institutions.

Writing to the mother of three boys who were groomed and sexually abused by the headmaster of a school run by the Church of England (CoE), Welby says: The betrayal of Christ in such behaviour is complete.”

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Sunday Times

Tim Wood and Jon Ungoed-Thomas Published: 26 October 2014

THE Archbishop of Canterbury has admitted child abuse has been “rampant” in British institutions and that the church’s failure to “face the misdeeds of those in its service” has been “inexcusable”.

In his most frank comments yet on historic child abuse, Justin Welby admits there is a “very significant legacy of unacknowledged cases” in the Church of England.

His comments are in a private letter to Marilyn Hawes, whose three sons were allegedly groomed and abused by a Church of England headmaster.

She wrote to the archbishop after receiving what she regarded as a cursory two-paragraph reply from an official to a letter in which she said the experience had resulted in her losing faith in the church community.

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UNITED STATES
POPE FRANCIS the CON-Christ.

Paris Arrow

Updated October 24, 2014

Cardinal Burke campaigned and won majority of votes in the Synod of Bishops to forbid gays and divorcees to partake in the Sacrament of the Eucharist – because these are people are “unforgiveable sinners” that even the Sacrament of Confession will refuse to forgive. These are the people forbidden in the most elite and wealthiest Catholic group on earth, the secret society of the Sovereign Military of the Order of Malta – and he must not water down the (hypocritical Vatican doctrine) of the group.

Read our related article — REBUTTAL to Synod, Cardinal Burke’s Relatio, John Thavis’s proposal. Vatican oligarchy, popes, bishops have bad track record on natural law & divine law http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2014/10/rebuttal-to-synod-cardinal-burkes.html

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.

ITALY
Telegraph

By Fiona Govan, Albenga Oct 2014

Priests who moonlight as bar tenders, post naked photos of themselves on gay websites and run off with the church coffers: welcome to the diocese of Albenga-Imperia on the Italian Riviera.

When the bishop in charge decided that the hand of forgiveness, and a second chance, should be offered to “black sheep” priests from across Italy, it must have seemed the charitable thing to do.

The consequences, though, suggest that recidivism is as much a feature of clerical as prison life.

Pope Francis last week ordered an investigation into a diocese run for 24 years by Bishop Mario Oliveri, 70, who has earned a reputation of welcoming in aspiring priests, even those expelled from seminaries for misconduct.

There is the case of Gabriel Viorel Irla, who presides over Mass at the church in Poggia de Imperia.

He caused a scandal several years ago when the local paper published the naked photos that he had posted of himself on his Facebook page. Down the coast in Pairolo, Fr Alfonso Maria Parente ran off with the church alms during the religious festival of San Remo.

In neighbouring Loano, Fr Silvano de Matteis earned himself a formal police complaint when he became overly flirtatious with the wife of the local port captain, while another priest was kicked off a cruise ship for molesting its passengers.

Don Juan Pablo Esquivel outraged his parishioners when it emerged that he was living with a gay friend and spent more time body building than he did preparing for his sermons. …

Among the worst offenders is Fr Luciano Massaferro, who was sentenced to seven years and eight months for sexually abusing a 12-year-old altar girl. After serving his time, however, he was welcomed back into the Church and is still a priest charged with working with the needy in the parish of Imperia.

Another priest was implicated in running a child prostitution ring. The accusation was not investigated by the Church authorities. Instead, when parishioners’ complaints became too vociferous, he was moved to another church within the diocese.

“That priest, who I personally know was involved in paedophilia and made money from it, is now the priest at a church next to a primary school,” said one insider. “It is one thing to offer forgiveness to those who repent, but to actively cover up such a scandal and continue to put the vulnerable at risk is another matter.”

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

By Nic Rigby
BBC News

A 72-year-old man has described being raped in a boys’ home 65 years ago by a priest who told him if he did not obey him he would “not go to heaven”.

Eddie Murphy is the third man to tell the BBC about abuse carried out by Fr Wilfred Johnson at the St Francis Boys’ Home in Shefford, Bedfordshire.

He attended the home, which closed in 1974, in the late 1940s to early 1950s.

Fr Johnson, who ran the home from 1945 to 1954, died in 1994. Police are investigating abuse allegations.

Mr Murphy has waived his right to automatic anonymity in order to speak out about the alleged abuse.

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

INDIA
Indian Express

Written by Samudra Gupta Kashyap | Guwahati | Posted: October 25, 2014

Ten days after a woman athlete was dubbed as a witch and subjected to physical torture in Karbi Anglong district, central Assam, three more women have been targeted under similar charges in Tinsukia district in upper Assam.

The three women, Mala Bhumij, Ratani Kond and Gangi Orang, were beaten up and physically tortured by several men and women until police reached the spot and rescued them. The incident happened in Koomsong, a 720-hectare tea estate owned by McLeod Russel, whose website says it is the largest tea producer in the world.

While the incident took place yesterday, the police have not been able to arrest the main culprit, a local “bez” (faith-healer) called Santosh, with SP Akhilesh Kumar Singh saying he was absconding.

“A local bez on failing to cure a sick 14-year old boy put the blame on witchcraft and pointed at three women living close by following which the neighbours turned violent and severely beat up the three women. Luckily we intervened on time and saved the women from being lynched,” SP Singh told The Indian Express on Saturday.

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TEXAS
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

By AMANDA CASTRO-CRIST AND JC CORTEZ

A local church leader was arrested on a charge related to prostitution about 3:15 p.m. Thursday at an Amarillo motel, according to Potter County Sheriff’s Office records.

Cameron Tate Reeves, 34, was arrested by Texas Department of Public Safety troopers at Motel 6, 2032 Paramount Blvd.

Reeves is a pastor for Hillside Christian Church’s Canyon campus, where he has served since 2009, according to the church’s website.

Amarillo Globe-News files show Reeves previously worked for Family Support Services as a counselor for foster children who have aged out of the system. He has not worked for the agency for at least 10 years, said Joette Campbell, director of human resources for Family Support Services.

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

TEXAS
Connect Amarillo

[with video]

by Grayson Edds

AMARILLO, TEXAS — A Canyon church campus pastor was arrested on Thursday on prostitution charges.

Cameron Reeves, 34, was arrested at the Motel 6 at 2032 Paramount Blvd. in Amarillo. Kristina Gayle Moon, 31, was also arrested for prostitution at that address, according to Potter County Jail records. She has a record for criminal trespass, theft, bad checks.

Reeves is a campus pastor for Hillside Christian Church at their Canyon campus.

He was booked into the Potter County jail on the misdemeanor charge, and was released on a $1,000 bond.

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

TEXAS
News Channel 10

Amarillo, TX – A campus pastor in Canyon has been arrested on a prostitution charge.

Cameron Reeves, 34, was arrested Thursday night at a Motel 6 at 2032 Paramount Blvd. in Amarillo.

Reeves was the pastor for Hillside Christian Church at their Canyon campus.

Hillside Christian Church Canyon released this statement:

“On Oct. 23, Cameron Reeves resigned as the campus pastor at Hillside Christian Church Canyon, effective immediately. We are saddened by this situation. We ask the community to pray for Cameron, his family, and all who are affected during this difficult time.”

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

UNITED KINGDOM
Telegraph

By David Barrett, Home Affairs Correspondent

Fiona Woolf, the controversial head of the Government’s child sex abuse inquiry, is under renewed pressure after it emerged another member of her inquiry panel has links with Lord Brittan.

The Telegraph can disclose that Dame Moira Gibb – who was appointed to sit on the panel on Tuesday along with a number of other experts – has admitted a close personal friend worked with Lord Brittan during part of the period which will be closely scrutinised by the inquiry.

Lord Brittan, who as Leon Brittan who was in charge of the Home Office in the 1980s, issued a statement through his solicitors in July after being questioned by the police over an alleged sexual offence.

Earlier this year he was questioned under caution over an allegation of rape dating back to 1967, which he said was “wholly without foundation”.

It has also been claimed that while at the Home Office Lord Brittan was handed a file – now missing – in late 1983 which allegedly detailed child abuse at the highest levels of Westminster.

In a letter to Theresa May, the Home Secretary, on October 17 Dame Moira said she had no “direct interest in the matters to which the inquiry relates”.

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ITALIA
Il Fatto Quotidiano

di Andrea Giambartolomei | 28 settembre 2014

Nei suoi anni al duomo di Chieri monsignor Giovanni Carrù, attuale segretario della Pontificia commissione di archeologia sacra del Vaticano, non si è accorto che dalla sua chiesa e dai suoi locali sono spariti molti beni, mentre in altri casi è stato proprio lui a cederli come regali ad amici. Durante i suoi venti anni da parroco in questa città alle porte di Torino molte tele, statue, mobili e altri oggetti sono andati persi e poi ritrovati nelle case di privati. Due candelabri, invece, sono finiti tra gli averi del cardinale Tarcisio Bertone, ex segretario dello Stato vaticano.

Dopo le segnalazioni di alcuni fedeli i carabinieri del nucleo “Tutela del patrimonio culturale” di Torino, condotti dal capitano Guido Barbieri, e il sostituto procuratore Gabriella Viglione hanno avviato un’indagine complessa che non si è fermata di fronte al tempo e all’omertà degli ambienti curiali. Così quest’estate sono riusciti nel loro intento: recuperare e restituire alla parrocchia alcuni degli oggetti scomparsi e finiti chissà come nelle mani di alcuni privati.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

Jason Berry
Oct. 25, 2014

A Vatican monsignor, considered an unindicted co-conspirator by the FBI for his role in a 2008 criminal scheme to sell American church property, has been forced by Italian authorities to return valuable objects to churches in his home diocese of Turin, according to a Sep. 28 report in Il Fatto Quotidiano, a daily in Rome.

Msgr. Giovanni Carrù, an undersecretary at the Congregation for the Clergy from 2003 to 2009, is secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology, a job that oversees the catacombs.

“During his 20 years as pastor in a town on the outskirts of Turin, many paintings, statues, furniture and other objects have been lost and then found in private homes,” Andrea Giambartolomei reported in Il Fatto. “Two candelabra ended up among the possessions of Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, former secretary of the Vatican State.”

Bertone, whose million-dollar renovation of his apartment in the Vatican has drawn bad press, returned the questioned candelabra, according to the report in Il Fatto Quotidiano, an independently owned newspaper that, unlike many larger ones, promotes itself as receiving no government subsidy.

A special division of the Italian police charged with the protection of cultural heritage had two investigators focused on Carrù and missing religious property, Giambartolomei reported.

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UNITED STATES
The Garden of Roses: Stories of Abuse and Healing

Virginia Pickles Jones

As I was preparing to sleep last night, I discovered that my cat vomited on my bed.

Was I annoyed? Honestly, I don’t remember feeling even slightly annoyed.

While I cleaned up the mess I was singing and swaying to the music of Guantanamera from a new music DVD/CD set from Playing For Change.

Music helped make an unpleasant moment fun and uplifting.

Honestly, you don’t want to hear me sing. My voice is meant for showers and lonely mountain tops where only the ants can hear me. I am lousy at making music. I took piano lessons for two years as a child. I liked playing but gave up because my brother complained constantly about how lousy I was and insisted that I practice only when he was not around to hear me. When is became difficult to practice, I felt discouraged and gave up on piano lessons.

It was easier to play when the mood moved me.

Music and one’s mood have much to do with each other. While music can uplift and inspire you, sad songs can make you sadder.

Sadness accentuated by music isn’t necessarily bad. It can promote catharsis.

I experienced catharsis listening to sad love songs. I always struggled with the ends of relationships, going into depressive funks that lasted two years or more. It was only later, when I started to read about the symptoms of child sex abuse, I found that difficulty with the ends of relationships is a common problem for survivors. Often a child sex abuse victim is groomed by their abuser, who then abandons them once they age out of the age of child their abuser is attracted to and then end up being dumped by the formerly attentive pedophile. That wasn’t my problem. I think I felt abandoned by my parents who were struggling so much with their own problems that they didn’t notice the child sex abuse I endured and disregarded it when I finally talked about it.

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TOWSON (MD)
The Towerlight

24 OCTOBER 2014 BY CODY BOTELER, NEWS EDITOR

Police searching the Towson University office of professor Barry Freundel found a backpack that was filled with tiny cameras that were hidden in common objects, including a box of tissues and a clock, according to The Washington Post.

Additionally, police, who filed for a search warrant in Maryland, found flash drives and memory cards, as well as a hand-written list of names and a naked picture of a woman.

Freundel is accused of placing a hidden camera in a ritual bath at his Kesher Israel synagogue in Washington, D.C. His office was located in the College of Liberal Arts.

Since his arrest, Freundel has been suspended from Towson as well as his synagogue.

Director of University Communications Ray Feldmann said there is “absolutely” no evidence at this time that suggests a crime was committed on Towson’s campus.

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MARYLAND
WBAL

Towson University now says a rabbi, accused of secretly recording women changing at a ritual bath, did not record any of his students.

The university had suspended Rabbi Barry Freundel after he was arrested last week and charged with voyeurism in Washington.

He’s accused of setting up a hidden camera in the changing rooms of the bath.

Earlier this week, a former student told the student newspaper, she was among a group of students who Freundel led on a tour of the bath and his synagogue, last year.

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TOWSON (MD)
NBC Washington

[with video]

A D.C. rabbi accused of secretly recording women shower at a Georgetown synagogue also had a collection of secret recording devices in his office at a Maryland college, according to court documents.

Search warrants reveal police found micro cameras inside regular objects including a tissue box and a clock at Barry Freundel’s Towson University office. Police also found hard drives, memory cards and a handwritten list of names.

Freundel has pleaded not guilty to voyeurism. He is accused of recording at least six women at Kesher Israel in Georgetown.

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MINNESOTA
St Cloud Times

David Unze, dunze@stcloudtimes.com October 24, 2014

A Stearns County judge will decide whether a clergy sex abuse victim can continue to pursue a lawsuit against the Diocese of St. Cloud, including a claim that the diocese is a public nuisance for allegedly not telling the public what it knows about its abusive priests.

A hearing Friday in Stearns County included arguments about the public nuisance allegations used by clergy abuse survivors in the Twin Cities to eventually gain access to thousands of pages of documents on numerous priests.

The lawsuit in Stearns County was filed on behalf of Bob Ethan, who also sued the diocese in 1993 and settled in 1995.

Ethan sued the diocese again after the Legislature passed the Child Victims Act, opening a three-year window for victims to sue in cases that are so old they wouldn’t normally have been allowed to proceed in court.

Ethan was abused by Rev. James Thoennes, a diocesan priest who has been removed from priestly duties by the diocese.

The nuisance claim includes allegations that the public hasn’t been told enough about Thoennes, including that he lives in St. Cloud and the extent of restrictions on where he can go within Minnesota, said Ethan’s attorney, Jeff Anderson.

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MICHIGAN
Argus-Press

DETROIT (AP) — A Catholic priest charged with secretly recording high school hockey players in the locker room is moving toward a guilty plea in Detroit federal court.

A criminal “information” was filed this week by the U.S. attorney’s office. It typically means a defendant is waiving indictment and has negotiated a plea deal.

The Rev. Richard Kurtz is charged with producing, possessing and transporting child pornography. He was a teacher years ago at University of Detroit Jesuit High School. The government says he went into the hockey locker room and secretly recorded video of players as they changed clothes in the late 1990s.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia Daily News

STEPHANIE FARR, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER FARRS@PHILLYNEWS.COM, 215-854-4225

A CHESTER COUNTY priest who has been charged with posting child pornography to Instagram admitted during questioning that he’d once posed as a teenage girl online to engage in a relationship with a 14-year-old girl, according to court documents.

When Chester County detectives received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding two photos of a naked, underage girl that were posted to Instagram in April, they tracked the IP address to Ss. Simon and Jude Parish in West Chester.

Believing a student at the parish may have posted the photos, detectives interviewed the pastor who informed investigators that the email address associated with the Instagram account in question, “irishwit2@gmail.com,” actually belonged to the Rev. Mark Haynes, 55, a priest who lived at the rectory, prosecutors said.

When questioned by police on Thursday, Haynes admitted that he had received about 100 images of child porn on Instagram and had sent about 50 pornographic images of children to others, according to court documents.

Haynes referred to the images as ” ‘lascivious pictures or videos of minors,’ ” police said.

He then allegedly admitted to detectives that in 2010, he joined a dating site pretending to be a 16-year-old girl and began communicating with a 14-year-old girl.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Philly.com

A priest at a Chester County parish is facing charges in the alleged possession and distribution of child pornography.

The county District Attorney’s Office said the Rev. Mark Haynes, 55, a priest at SS. Simon and Jude Parish in Westtown Township, was accused of posting sexually explicit images of a teenage girl on Instagram.

The investigation began last month, when law enforcement officials received information from the social media site about images of naked young girls.

Detectives traced the e-mail address associated with the account to SS. Simon and Jude, and eventually to Haynes, prosecutors said.

Investigators also found that Haynes received and posted other images, and exchanged lewd e-mails with an unidentified 14-year-old girl posing as a 16-year-old girl, prosecutors said.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Heart

A retired priest has been cleared of indecently assaulting a young girl after what his barrister described as a “grotesque” inquiry into the allegation.

Jurors at Birmingham Crown Court took around two hours to acquit Father Edward Simpson of indecently touching the girl during the mid-1980s.

The 85-year-old clergyman, of Olton Friary, Solihull, told his trial he could not understand why the historic allegation was made against him last year.

His alleged victim, now in her 40s, told the court she had been groped while in the same room as her parents. But two further witnesses, who had not been interviewed by police before the proceedings were brought, claimed the alleged assault could not have happened.

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NEW YORK
New York Post

By Josh Saul

October 24, 2014

A Hasidic Jewish man accused of taking photos of a sex-abuse victim as she testified in a blockbuster 2012 trial will have the case against him dismissed Friday, the Post has learned.

Yona Weissman, 24, was charged with contempt when court officers caught him with a photo on his phone of the pretty 17-year-old girl on the stand in the trial of her Hasidic counselor, Nechemya Weberman, who was later convicted of brutally abusing her. The photo had also been posted to Twitter.

But the case against Weissman took a hit when Brooklyn Criminal Court Judge Michael Gerstein – citing a recent US Supreme Court decision – ruled the photos inadmissible as evidence because court officers failed to obey search-and-seizure laws.

“There’s no evidence anymore, so that’s it. You need the evidence to convict and without evidence there’s no case,” said Weissman defense attorney Izzy Fried, who said the prosecutor on the case called him Thursday to say the case would be dismissed in court Friday.

“He maintains his innocence. He didn’t do anything wrong. The fact that he had the image on his phone that they illegally searched doesn’t mean he snapped the picture.”

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NEW YORK
New York Daily News

BY OREN YANIV

Nearly two years after a sex abuse victim had her picture taken while testifying in a high-profile trial, charges were tossed Friday against the last defendant standing.

The dismissal of a contempt rap against Yona Weissman, 24, was expected since two months ago, when a judge suppressed all evidence found on his cell phone based on a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that such searches require a warrant.

“In light of that, we can’t proceed with the case,” prosecutor Joseph DiBenedetto said in Brooklyn Criminal Court.

“The primary evidence against this defendant is what was found in his phone.”

After the brief hearing, Weissman said he wasn’t the one who snapped the illicit image during the closely-watched trial of Nechemya Weberman, who was convicted in 2012 for abusing an Orthodox Jewish girl whom he had spiritually mentored for three years.

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UNITED STATES
BishopAccountability.org

Summary of Case: Patrick J. Conway was a priest of the Jesuits’ Oregon Province, ordained in 1934. He was assigned to parishes in Missoula MT and Lewiston ID, high schools in Tacoma and Spokane WA, and to a mission on the EdCrow Indian reservation in MT. His whereabouts after 1951 are unknown. Conway’s name was included on the Province’s 2011 list of “perpetrators of sexual abuse”; the Jesuits agreed to post the list on its website as part of its bankruptcy reorganization plan.

Ordained: 1934

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ILLINOIS
The Southern

By Dustin Duncan

A former Alto Pass pastor was committed to 51 years in the Department of Human Services Friday in Union County Circuit Court.

Bill Vandergraph, 76, during a discharge hearing in September 2013, a judge heard evidence sufficient enough to determine that the defendant would’ve been convicted had the matter gone to trial. The charges were predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, a Class X felony and two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, a Class 2 felony.

Vandergraph, former pastor of Full Gospel Pentecostal Church in Alto Pass and former Union County school bus driver, was arrested in July 2010. He is alleged to have engaged in sexual misconduct with a 4-year-old child between January and April of 2010.

Union County States Attorney Tyler Edmonds said this is essentially a life sentence for Vandergraph.

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OKLAHOMA
Tulsa World

By COREY JONES World Staff Writer

A volunteer with a children’s shelter in Tulsa — who also is a teaching assistant at a private school for students with learning differences and attention disorders — is accused of sexually abusing multiple children and teenagers who had been under his care for several years, according to court documents filed Friday.

Timothy Shawn Cato, 50, is charged in Tulsa County District Court with eight counts of child sexual abuse. An affidavit and court records say the victims are boys ages 17, 16, 15, 7 and 7.

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OKLAHOMA
News on 6

[with video]

TULSA, Oklahoma – A man who had custody of five children and says he is a volunteer at an Oklahoma Department of Human Services children’s shelter has been arrested on eight sexual abuse complaints.

According to court documents, Timothy Shawn Cato, 50, has cared for the children for several years. He reportedly admitted to bathing the children – ages 7 to 17 – and touching their bodies while they are in the bathtub. Child crisis detectives also said Cato regularly shares sleeping space with the kids in a room away from his wife and own child, an affidavit says.

Police said he used his status in the community with various youth organizations as a way to get children to trust him and, ultimately, abuse them.

A coach, mentor, educator and father figure are the roles Tulsa police said 50-year-old Cato took on to get close to young boys.

“Some of the victims indicated that they had met him through a program at a church where he was a, what they referred to as a commander of their group, that would do scouting-like activities for boys of a younger age,” said Tulsa Police Detective, Sergeant Mike Brown.

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OKLAHOMA
KJRH

[with video]

Nathan Edwards

A Tulsa youth pastor accused of shocking crimes against children.

50-year-old Timothy Cato has worked with kids for 20 years. He’s been a coach, youth pastor and teacher.

Police say Cato admitted to sexually abusing five kids at his home, all between the ages of seven and 17.

He also admitted to taking advantage of kids from the DHS children’s shelter in Tulsa.

The disturbing report says he would volunteer to help out two kids each week, but would take them to his home to bath them and lay with them in the same bed.

DHS will not comment on the claims, but are conducting their own investigation.

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VIRGINIA
Northern Virginia Daily

By Joe Beck

FRONT ROYAL — Warren County Circuit Court Judge Dennis L. Hupp has dismissed three of four claims of legal wrongdoing against a Front Royal-based international Catholic organization in a lawsuit involving accusations of sexual molestation by a priest while performing exorcisms.

Hupp’s opinion issued Sept. 30 states that the plaintiff, an anonymous victim identified in court documents only as Jane Doe, failed to show that the priest, Thomas J. Euteneuer, was acting within his role as an employee of the organization during the moments of alleged sexual misconduct.

Euteneuer worked as president of Human Life International Endowment, Inc. and as president of Human Life International, Inc., which are listed as co-defendants in the suit.

The plaintiff’s accusations – formally called causes of action — against Human Life include assault, battery, intentional affliction of emotional distress and negligent retention of Euteneuer for weeks or months after Jane Doe accused him of sexual abuse.

Hupp’s ruling scrapped the claims of assault, battery and emotional distress but left intact the accusation of negligent retention against Human Life International, Inc. Hupp agreed to dismiss the claim of negligent retention against Human Life International Endowment, Inc.

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PENNSYLVANIA
WFMZ

A Chester County priest is facing charges for possessing and distributing child pornography. Mark Haynes, 55, is a priest assigned to Saints Simon & Jude Parish in Westtown Township, Chester County was charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse of children for possessing and disseminating child pornography.

Police allege Haynes posed as a 16-year-old girl and posted nude photos of a 14-year-old girl on Instagram.

When questioned, police said Haynes admitted to receiving and posting other images of child pornography. The girl in the photos has not yet been identified.

“Every person who possesses child pornography is violating the rights and dignity of these young victims. Every person who disseminates child pornography is continuing the cycle of depravity that makes children around the world vulnerable. No matter whether you are rich or poor, young or old, clergy or layperson, the possession of child pornography will lead to arrest, shame, and jail,” said District Attorney Tom Hogan.

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RHODE ISLAND
Turn to 10

[with video]

By Katie Davis, NBC 10 I-Team Reporter

The NBC 10 I-Team has confirmed a local Roman Catholic priest is under investigation by Rhode Island State Police for sexual abuse. The priest is no longer serving in a church, but is still living.

The new development follows an I-Team investigation that’s now stretched more than a year.

“We’re trying to determine whether it rises to the level of criminality, and fits into the statute,” said state police Capt. Christopher Dicomitis.

He said state police are not releasing the priest’s name because he has not been charged with a crime and that the investigation is ongoing. But he said criminal charges are possible.

The I-Team also learned that about 15 people have come forward to report sexual abuse by priests to state police since the NBC 10 first aired stories about the I-Team’s investigation in November.

State police said the people who filed reports in 2014 had not reported the abuse to law enforcement in the past, although some had reported their experience to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence. …

NBC 10 asked the Diocese of Providence for an interview with Bishop Thomas Tobin on Friday, but received a written statement instead.

The statement said in part, “The Diocese of Providence is not aware of any new allegations of sexual abuse; the issues being investigated are old allegations and have already been widely reported.”

The statement did not address the state police investigation involving the living priest.

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MINNESOTA
Forest Lake Times

By Ryan Howard
October 24, 2014

A former priest who worked in the Forest Lake area and reportedly still lives in town is on a new list of Roman Catholic priests that the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis says have had allegations of sexual abuse of a minor filed against them.

John Owens, 85, provided what the archdiocese called “temporary weekend assistance” in and around Forest Lake from 1999 to 2004. He spent most of his priestly career (1960-1999) in the Diocese of Bismarck in North Dakota, where the allegations of abuse originate from. According to the list of 17 names released by the Twin Cities-based archdiocese on Oct. 23, there have been no substantiated claims of child abuse against Owens stemming from his time in Forest Lake. The archdiocese also reported that Owens still lives in Forest Lake, but the Forest Lake Times could not obtain contact information for him before this story was published.

As part of legal action and increased investigations into its past treatment of the victims and alleged perpetrators of sexual abuse in the archdiocese, local church officials have released a number of names over the last several months of priests who have served in the archdiocese who have been accused of sexual misconduct. The Oct. 23 list was released as part of a legal settlement with Jeff Anderson and Associates, a St. Paul-based firm that has brought legal action regarding sexual abuse against the archdiocese a number of times over the years.

While in Bismarck, Owens served as the communications director for the diocese and ran a radio advice show for area adolescents called “Padre’s Platters.” The diocese alerted the North Dakota Department of Human Services in 2002 that a report of sexual misconduct against a minor had been reported regarding Owens. According to the diocese, Owens was instructed to “lead a life of prayer and penance,” and the diocese ordered that he be monitored so as to not pose a risk to minors. In 2005, three years after the Diocese of Bismarck alerted the NDHS, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis removed Owens from ministry.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Daventry Express

A retired priest from Solihull has been cleared of indecently assaulting a young girl after what his barrister described as a “grotesque” inquiry into the allegation.

Jurors at Birmingham Crown Court took around two hours to acquit Father Edward Simpson of indecently touching the girl during the mid-1980s.

The 85-year-old clergyman, of Olton Friary, Solihull, told his trial he could not understand why the historic allegation was made against him last year.

His alleged victim, now in her 40s, told the court she had been groped while in the same room as her parents. But two further witnesses, who had not been interviewed by police before the proceedings were brought, claimed the alleged assault could not have happened.

After Fr Simpson was acquitted, Judge Sybil Thomas thanked jurors for their careful consideration of the case and expressed concern at the police decision not to interview a number of potential witnesses.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Washingtonian

By Benjamin Freed

In the wake of Kesher Israel Rabbi Barry Freundel’s arrest last week on charges that he illicitly filmed women in the changing room attached to his Georgetown synagogue’s ritual bath, several organizations have distanced themselves from the modern Orthodox Jewish leader. Along with the temple’s board of directors, Freundel has also been suspended by Towson University, where he was an associate professor; the Rabbinical Council of Greater Washington, which supervises the application of Jewish dietary laws; and the Rabbinical Council of America, a major Orthodox governing body with which Freundel once led a group overseeing conversions.

But it’s not just big, institutional entities distancing themselves from Freundel. Washington Jewish Week reports that Char Bar & Eli’s Market, a month-old Kosher steakhouse and deli in Foggy Bottom, scrubbed its menu last week of “the Freundel,” a grilled pastrami and smoked turkey sandwich with chipotle dressing served on thick slabs of toast. Naming dishes after influential Jews is standard practice at kosher delis, but one named after an alleged mikveh peeper probably doesn’t move a lot of sandwiches.

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MARYLAND
Washington Post

Police find ‘micro cameras’ in search of rabbi’s Towson University office

By Peter Hermann October 24

Police searching the Towson University office of a prominent Georgetown rabbi accused of secretly recording women in a ritual bath found a backpack with an assortment of tiny cameras hidden in everyday household objects, including ones embedded in a computer charger, a clock and a tissue box, according to a search warrant filed in a Maryland court.

Authorities said they also seized an empty box for a “micro camera” hidden in a key chain, along with flash drives and memory cards — some in freezer bags — capable of holding more than 200,000 images and 25,000 hours of video. In addition, police found a picture of a nude woman and “hand written lists of names.”

The items listed in the search warrant obtained by The Washington Post indicate that devices that could have been used to spy were kept not only in the home of Rabbi Barry Freundel and the bath adjacent to the Northwest Washington synagogue he led but also on the campus where he taught . Police said Freundel used a camera hidden in a clock-radio to record at least six women in the bath, called a mikvah.

The latest discovery raised further questions about the rabbi’s interactions with his pupils at Towson, a public university in Baltimore County with more than 22,000 students. The rabbi has been an associate professor there since 2009 and has tenure.

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PENNSYLVANIA
ABC 7

[with video]

WESTTOWN, Pa. — A priest from Chester County is behind bars, charged with posing as a young girl on Instagram to send and receive child pornography.

55-year-old Mark Haynes, a priest assigned to Saints Simon and Jude Parish in Westtown Township, is with multiple counts of sexual abuse of children for possessing and disseminating child porn.

An undercover investigation revealed Haynes set up an Instagram account and posed as an underage girl named Katie to share multiple pornographic images of children.

Prosecutors say Haynes also posed as a 16-year-old girl to exchange lewd emails with a still-to-be-identified 14-year-old girl.

Investigators have seized all of Haynes electronic devices and are reviewing them.

Haynes has served at eight different parishes in the Philadelphia Archdiocese since 1985. The parishes are located in Chester, Delaware, Bucks and Montgomery Counties.

Haynes is now behind bars after failing to post $200,000 bail.

The Chester County District Attorney says the Saints Simon and Jude Parish immediately excluded him from the parish property after the crimes were discovered, and that the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the parish have been cooperating fully with law enforcement.

The Archodiocese released the following statement Friday afternoon:

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has learned that Father Mark Haynes was arrested by Chester County Police. He was charged with two counts of dissemination of child pornography, two counts of possession of child pornography and two counts of criminal use of a communications device.

These charges are serious and disturbing. The Archdiocese is cooperating fully with law enforcement regarding this matter and remains fervently committed to preventing child abuse as well as protecting the children and young people entrusted to its care. Child pornography is a scourge that must be eradicated.

There were no prior indications that Father Haynes was involved in activity of this nature. Additionally, no allegations of sexual abuse of a minor have ever been lodged against him.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Chadds Ford Live

Posted by Kathleen Brady Shea on October 24th, 2014
*** STORY UPDATED at 4:10 p.m. ***

A Catholic priest assigned to Saints Simon and Jude Parish in Westtown Township was charged on Thursday, Oct. 23, with multiple felony counts of sexual abuse of children for possessing and disseminating child pornography.

Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan announced the prosecution of Rev. Mark Haynes, 55, in an Oct. 24 press release. Hogan said Haynes, who was ordained in 1985, has served as Parochial Vicar at Saints Simon and Jude since Sept. 3, 2013.

The investigation began when Chester County Detective Joe Walton, the lead investigator in the case, received. information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Walton learned that an Instagram account, a social media site that allows users to publish and share photographs, was disseminating images that included child pornography, the release said.

Walton traced the user name on the account — Katie — to an email account registered to the church. Initially suspecting that the account might belong to a student at the parish school, Walton interviewed the pastor at Saints Simon and Jude, who identified the user as Haynes, who resides at the parish rectory.

During a follow-up portion of the investigation, Walton also discovered that Haynes had received and posted a multitude of other images of child pornography and that he had been exchanging lewd emails with a still-to-be-identified 14-year-old girl. Haynes had been posing as a 16-year-old girl in those exchanges, the release said.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Main Line

By Michael N. Price
mprice@21st-centurymedia.com

Westtown >> A Ss. Simon and Jude Parish priest was arrested on Friday amid allegations that he disseminated child pornography on a popular social media site, according to the Chester County District Attorney’s Office.

Mark Haynes, 55, was charged with sexual abuse of children and related charges after investigators traced images of child pornography that were posted with an Instagram account that was registered to a Simon and Jude email account, officials said. Haynes has served as the parish’s Parochial Vicar since last September. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has assigned Haynes to parishes in Chester, Bucks, Delaware, and Montgomery counties. He was ordained in 1985.

Law enforcement officials announced the arrest and said the possession of child pornography would not be tolerated.

“Every person who possesses child pornography is violating the rights and dignity of these young victims. Every person who disseminates child pornography is continuing the cycle of depravity that makes children around the world vulnerable. No matter whether you are rich or poor, young or old, clergy or layperson, the possession of child pornography will lead to arrest, shame, and jail,” said Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan.

Since his ordainment in 1985, Haynes has been assigned to eight different parishes, including: St. Ann, in Phoenixville; Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, in Doylestown; St. John of the Cross, in Roslyn; Our Lady of Good Counsel, in Southampton; St. Pius X, in Broomall; Our Lady of Perpetual Help, in Morton; and Annunciation B.V.M., in Havertown.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
The Times of Chester County

WESTTOWN — A parish priest was charged Friday with possession and dissemination of child pornography.

Mark Haynes, 55, a priest assigned to Saints Simon & Jude Parish in the township, according to Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan. Haynes was charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse of children for possessing and disseminating child pornography.

“Every person who possesses child pornography is violating the rights and dignity of these young victims,” Hogan said in a statement. “Every person who disseminates child pornography is continuing the cycle of depravity that makes children around the world vulnerable. No matter whether you are rich or poor, young or old, clergy or layperson, the possession of child pornography will lead to arrest, shame, and jail.”

Haynes lived at Saints Simon and Jude Rectory and served as Parochial Vicar for more than a year. He was ordained in Philadelphia on May 18, 1985. The defendant had been assigned by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to serve in parishes located in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties. Since 1985, the defendant has been assigned to eight different parishes, including: St. Ann, Phoenixville; Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Doylestown; St. John of the Cross, Roslyn; Our Lady of Good Counsel, Southampton; St. Pius X, Broomall; Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Morton; and Annunciation B.V.M., Havertown.

The investigation began, authorities said, when Chester County Detective Joe Walton received information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (“NCMEC”) that an Instagram account linked to the immediate area was disseminating photographs including child pornography.

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PENNSYLVANIA
CBS Philly

WESTTOWN TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) — A priest in Chester County is accused of possessing and distributing child pornography through a popular photo-sharing network.

Rev. Mark Haynes, a priest assigned to Saints Simon & Jude Parish in Westtown Township, has been charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse of children for possessing and disseminating child pornography.

According to authorities, the investigation began when a Chester County detective received information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an Instagram account was disseminating photographs, including child pornography.

Investigators said that two photographs of a female under 14-years-old were posted to the account. Police said one photograph was of the child posing nude. The other photograph was a close-up of the child’s vaginal area.

The e-mail account that was linked to the Instagram was eventually traced to the Saints Simon & Jude Parish rectory building, police said.

Investigators said a detective spoke to the church’s pastor, who identified Haynes as the user of the email address.

After a further investigation, authorities allege Haynes received and posted a multitude of other images of child pornography and had been exchanging lewd emails with a still-to-be-identified 14-year-old girl. Investigators said Haynes had been posing as a 16-year-old girl in the exchanges.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Daily Times

By Michael N. Price, mprice@dailylocal.com, @MikePriceWrites on Twitter
POSTED: 10/24/14

Westtown >> A Catholic priest from SS. Simon and Jude Parish was arrested on Friday amid allegations that he disseminated child pornography on a popular social media site, according to the Chester County District Attorney’s Office.

Mark Haynes, 55, was charged with sexual abuse of children and related charges after investigators traced images of child pornography that were posted with an Instagram account that was registered to a Simon and Jude email account, officials said. Haynes has served as the parish’s Parochial Vicar since last September. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has assigned Haynes to parishes in Chester, Bucks, Delaware, and Montgomery counties. He was ordained in 1985.

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.