ABUSE TRACKER

PENNSYLVANIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, July 24, 2014

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

An attorney for a once-convicted preacher accused of sexual misconduct with a congregant is claiming that the victim was over 18 and consenting. Regardless of the age of the victim, there can never be true consent between a congregant and a religious authority figure.

Duane Youngblood works at Higher Call World Outreach Church in Homestead. His attorney referred to the abuse as a consensual relationship with an adult, but that is a dangerous and manipulative claim that obscures the true nature of what happened. There can be no true consent when the power difference between the individuals is so great. That’s why it’s illegal in all states for therapists to sexually exploit clients and doctors to sexually exploit patients. In 17 states, it’s illegal for ministers to sexually exploit congregants. Age doesn’t matter.

Youngblood also has a previous sexual assault conviction involving a minor.

We hope that church officials will aggressively reach out to anyone else who may have been hurt by Youngblood. And we hope anyone who saw, suspects or suffered sexual abuse by Youngblood or any other church official will find the courage to speak up and start healing.

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WALES
Barry and District News

A SECOND victim of jailed Jehovah’s Witness elder Mark Sewell has stepped forward to tell of her ordeal at the hands of the convicted rapist.

Tina Guy, a former employee of Sewell, has told of her horror at recalling an incident where she was driven onto wasteland against her will and locked in a car by him – only to narrowly escape from the man who had already committed rape.

When Sewell drove Mrs Guy onto barren land at Barry docks in the mid 90s, she had no idea that the boss who had targeted her with a campaign of suggestive behaviour and an eventual indecent assault had already committed a rape just a few years prior.

Sewell, 53, of Porthkerry Road, Barry, was jailed for 14 years at Merthyr Crown Court earlier this month after being found guilty of raping a fellow churchgoer, indecently assaulting two young girls – including his niece Karen Morgan – and also indecently assaulting Mrs Guy in their workplace.

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UNITED KINGDOM
ITV

The Catholic Church has defrocked 52 priests in England and Wales since new rules were put in place to combat clerical sex abuse over a decade ago.

The National Catholic Safeguarding Commission (NCSC) statistics were revealed as the commission said there were 81 child protection allegations made last year – a leap from 59 in 2012.

The number of parishes without a safeguarding representative grew between 2012 and 2013 from 88 to 126, the commission said, possibly due to concern over increased paperwork associated with the role.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Tablet

24 July 2014 by Danny Sullivan

It is ten years since the Church began reporting annually on allegations of abuse received by the Catholic Church in England and Wales and on standards of safeguarding. This year’s report was published this week and shows how far we have moved. The first year, 2004, was two years after Lord Nolan’s report that laid out recommendations and a pathway for the Church to follow to become more robust and consistent in dealing with allegations implementing safeguarding protocols. The Cumberlege Review of 2007 reviewed the progress since the Nolan Report and made further recommendations to the bishops of England and Wales, which were accepted in their entirety. This included the setting up of an independent commission which would always be chaired by a layperson. Hence the National Catholic Safeguarding Commission (NCSC) , of which I am chairman.

Ten years on, we have a national structure – the NCSC’s responsibility for strategy and auditing the quality of safeguarding in dioceses through its procedures and guidelines – and agreed procedures for all dioceses and religious congregations to observe. This includes having clear criteria for the appointment of diocesan safeguarding co-ordinators and chairmen or women of diocesan commissions.

While we have rightly learned from the secular world about best practice, it is important to recognise that there is a theological heart to safeguarding and that it is integral to ministry. St John XXIII likened the Church to family, friends and neighbours gathered around a village fountain in Italy; all were welcome and there was a care and concern for each individual.

This vision was shattered by the abuse scandal, affecting not only victims and survivors but others who had their idealised perception of the Church and the priesthood demolished by such criminal behaviour. The Church has apologised for getting things so wrong in the past but in one sense it can never apologise enough, given the damage to the lives of individual victims and survivors.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Tablet

24 July 2014 by Ruth Gledhill

The Catholic Church is to attempt to rebuild relations with sex abuse survivors, who pulled out of talks with the Church when the Church contested an abuse case from the Portsmouth diocese as far as the Court of Appeal. In an attempt to heal divisions, the Church in England and Wales will next year launch a new national advisory board involving victims a well as psychologists and other professionals.

In 2011 survivors groups including the National Association for People Abused in Childhood and the Survivors Trust abandoned their dialogue with the Catholic Safeguarding Advisory Service (CSAS) and National Catholic Safeguarding Commission (NCSC). They acted in protest at Portsmouth Diocese’s decision to appeal a High Court judgment that made the diocese vicariously liable for abuse by its priests.

The case concerned alleged abuse by Fr Wilfred Baldwin in the 1970s at a care home then run by nuns of Our Lady of Charity. The diocese denied the abuse took place and took the case right up to the Court of Appeal, which ruled in 2012 that it was liable to pay compensation for both this case and alleged beatings inflicted by a nun.

The new advisory group, disclosed in CSAS’s annual report published last Thursday, represents its first significant attempt to make a fresh start. The report also reveals the administrative difficulties caused by the Coalition Government’s decision in 2012 to merge the Criminal Records Bureau and the Independent Safeguarding Authority to form the Disclosure and Barring Service. Because of the extra time it now takes to complete checks on parish safeguarding representatives, there has been a rise in the number of parishes without them: up from 88 in 2012 to 126 in 2013, an increase of 1 per cent in terms of all parishes.

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UNITED KINGDOM
International Business Times

By Tabatha Kinder
July 24, 2014

More than 50 Catholic priests in England and Wales have been “defrocked” since 2001 to protect children and vulnerable adults from clerical sex abuse, it has been revealed.

The National Catholic Safeguarding Commission (NCSC) said 52 priests had their ordained powers revoked by the church following the implementation of new rules to combat the well-publicised litany of abuses.

The statistics are revealed as the commission said there were 81 child abuse allegations made last year alone in England and Wales – a leap from 59 in 2012.

The NCSC attribute the rise in allegations last year to the Jimmy Saville scandal that resulted in a surge in calls to child abuse survivor support groups.

New procedures to tackle prolific sex abuse scandals of paedophile priests in the Catholic Church were implemented after late Lord Nolan made 83 recommendations to improve child protection in 2001.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Vatican Radio

[with audio]

(Vatican Radio) The National Catholic Safeguarding Commission in England and Wales issued its latest report on Thursday highlighting significant progress, including a “much more consistent and sensitive approach” to survivors of sexual abuse. The annual report also underlines the importance of religious congregations aligning themselves with dioceses through a ‘One Church’ approach to better coordinate responses to those coming forward with allegations of abuse.

The National Catholic Safeguarding Commission is an independent body working within the framework of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Over the past 3 years it has overseen audits across all of the 22 Dioceses with the aim of providing better child protection in churches and religious institutions throughout the country.

Danny Sullivan is chair of the Commission and earlier this month accompanied two survivors of sexual abuse for a meeting with Pope Francis at his Santa Marta residence. He told us more about the positive developments highlighted in this annual report….

Listen to Philippa Hitchen’s report:

Danny says the new report reflects the ongoing work on training and supporting from the Safeguarding Advisory Service, with diocesan coordinators working with parish coordinators to ensure that procedures and guidelines are robustly adhered to, “so that you’re making the Church the safe place it should be for children and vulnerable adults….”

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

Sarah MacDonald
Published 24/07/2014

The Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Charles Brown, has met Pope Francis in the Vatican to update him on the church in Ireland.

It is believed the pontiff was briefed on the ongoing process of renewal in the Irish church – which Pope Francis’s predecessor, Benedict XVI, instigated with the apostolic visitation which concluded in 2012.

The American archbishop is now two years into his first diplomatic role. He has overseen eight new appointments to the Irish hierarchy in that time, the most recent being the new bishop of Elphin, Dr Kevin Doran, who was ordained earlier this month.

Abuse

The Vatican briefing follows closely on the meeting between the Pope and two Irish survivors of clerical abuse, which was widely regarded as a success.

However, Dr Brown will also undoubtedly have raised the ongoing thorny issue of the Irish church’s dissident priests, five of whom have been censured to varying degrees by the Vatican’s doctrinal watchdog, the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith.

Some of the priests are members of the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) and Dr Brown has yet to meet any representative of the group, despite the fact that it has over 1,000 Irish priest members.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian

Press Association
theguardian.com, Thursday 24 July 2014

More than 50 Catholic priests in England and Wales have been defrocked since new rules were put in place over a decade ago to combat clerical sex abuse, it has been revealed.

The National Catholic Safeguarding Commission (NCSC) said 52 priests had been laicised – or defrocked – since 2001 following the implementation of new procedures to protect children and vulnerable adults in the Catholic Church in England and Wales.

The statistics were revealed as the commission said there were 81 child protection allegations made last year – a leap from 59 in 2012.

The number of parishes without a safeguarding representative grew between 2012 and 2013 from 88 to 126, the commission said, possibly due to concern over increased paperwork associated with the role.

There were 384 “covenants of care” in place by the end of 2013 in England and Wales where either a priest or a lay person is placed under restrictions.

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GUAM
Marianas Variety

THURSDAY, 24 JUL 2014

ARCHBISHOP Anthony Apuron owes Guam Catholics an apology, said Joelle Casteix, a member of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP).

Apuron should apologize to Catholics, quit trying to silence his critics and reach out to the abused, she said. “He must name all credibly accused clerics who have worked in the archdiocese and post those names in parish bulletins and on his website,” Castiex said. “He must act immediately.”

Castiex also said it was troubling that a statement from SNAP was what prompted Apuron to remove John Wadeson. “Why weren’t the voices of Guam’s Catholics enough? Why isn’t zero tolerance enough?” she asked.

Wadeson was recently removed from active and public ministry by Guam Archbishop Anthony Apuron due to growing public concern over Wadeson’s past.

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OKLAHOMA
Fox 25

[with video]

By: Keaton Fox, Primetime Reporter/Weekend Anchor

19-year-old Matthew Durham is charged with 4 counts of leaving the country to engage in “illicit sexual conduct.”

In a federal court filing, agents say Durham volunteered with the Upendo Children’s Home in Kenya.

It reads that “in early June 2014, the live-in caretaker at Upendo began to notice odd behavior… and found Durham late at night lying beside some of the children…”

When the live-in caretaker asked Durham about it, the “children stated Durham often touched them in a sexual manner” and goes on to describe acts with several children.

Durham’s attorney says the claims are preposterous.

“It’s too wild, even for Hollywood,” said attorney Stephen Jones.

Jones says Durham was held for days and never actually spoke with law enforcement or the embassy. All the claims come from the caretaker.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Tribune-Democrat

BY DAVID HURST
DHURST@TRIBDEM.COM

HOLLIDAYSBURG — Stalled negotiations in a case involving 88 former Pennsylvania teens alleging abuse by a former Bishop McCort educator prompted a New Jersey nonprofit to take protest signs to the Altoona-Johnstown Roman Catholic Diocese’s administrative front door Wednesday.

And an attorney representing 33 of the people alleging abuse by the late Brother Stephen Baker said he’ll press on with litigation if the diocese and Franciscan Friars of the Third Order Regular don’t return to the mediation table soon.

“Mediation has been stalled.

“We’re getting nowhere with it … and there’s no timetable for it to continue,” said Massachusetts attorney Mitchell Garabedian.

“If something doesn’t happen, I don’t think we’ll have a choice but to proceed.”

The matter has been in on and off negotiations for more than a year since dozens of alleged victims began filing suits against the diocese regarding Baker’s actions during his nearly nine years at McCort, which started in 1992.

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MINNESOTA
St Cloud Times

Times Editorial Board

What will Catholics, pope do now that they know Minneapolis archdiocese let clergy abuse continue for decades?

What would you do if you just discovered the highest-ranking leaders of an organization you thoroughly believe in have for almost 30 years misled everyone to cover up crimes of their front-line leaders?

Catholics across Minnesota — along with the Vatican and even Pope Francis — need to be asking themselves that question about the the Archdiocese of Minneapolis/St. Paul in the wake of astounding news reports this month from Minnesota Public Radio.

Yes, astounding.

“Betrayed by Silence” uses online reports and a radio documentary to detail how three archbishops — John Roach, Harry Flynn and now John Nienstedt — consistently told the public they were resolving clergy sex abuse while essentially doing the opposite.

As a five-part report posted Monday (http://bit.ly/1k8fiA6) shows, all three leaders routinely found ways to cover up, discredit and ignore an ever-growing number of cases against priests they supervised.

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AUSTRALIA
The West Australian

TIM CLARKE The West Australian
July 24, 2014

A former Catholic priest who molested two girls while serving at two separate Perth churches in the late 1960s and early 1980s has been jailed for three years.

Father Patrick Holmes, 79, admitted the charges of indecent assault at his first appearance at Perth Magistrate’s Court earlier this year.

And at Perth’s District Court today, Judge Henry Wisbey told Holmes he had abused his position in order to abuse the girls – the youngest being just seven years old – at two separate parishes

The court was told the first allegation stemmed from his time as a priest at the Catholic Holy Name Church in Carlisle in 1969.

The abuse occurred in the presbytery on at least three occasions, when Holmes touched the girl on her vagina and rubbed his crotch against hers.

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MISSOURI
News-Tribune

By Katherine Cummins
Thursday, July 24, 2014

A Fulton church has been named as a defendant in a lawsuit that also includes Jack Wayne Rogers, accusing him of sexually assaulting the plaintiff when he was a child 14 years ago.

Kristopher D. Schondelmeyer, formerly of Fulton, names First Presbyterian Church of Fulton, Missouri Union Presbytery, Synod of Mid-America, Presbyterian Church Inc. (U.S.A.), Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Foundation, Bruce W. Berry and Jack Wayne Rogers as defendents. The suit was filed April 14 in the Callaway County circuit court.

According to the petition, Schondelmeyer wants to hold the defendants responsible for abuse he allegedly suffered from Rogers in 2000.

The petition alleges the defendants knew Rogers had previously been convicted on child pornography charges, and had knowingly put youth at risk “by placing Rogers in direct authority over minor children” and failing to provide supervision.

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UNITED STATES
Bilgrimage

William D. Lindsey

Rod Dreher on Nienstedt Story and Jennifer Haselberger Affidavit: “In the Present and Future War on Religious Liberty . . . the US Catholic Hierarchy All Too Often Behaves Like a Fifth Column”

Conservative columnist Rod Dreher, who left the Catholic church due to the disclosures about the abuse situation when the crisis broke wide open in 2002 and afterwards, weighs in on the Nienstedt story and Jennifer Haselberger’s affidavit. Dreher stands with the bishops in their attacks on gay folks and women, and he agrees with them in their claim that religious freedom is under attack in the U.S. today. He reads the presidential executive order defending gay folks from discrimination in federal programs as an attack on religious liberty, as the U.S. Catholic bishops do, too.

But his argument about the Nienstedt story and Haselberger’s affidavit: the bishops are seriously damaging their religious liberty crusade (and that of folks like Dreher) — they’re “fifth columnists” undermining the efforts of right-leaning political and religious groups to protect religious liberty. His conclusion:

If Haselberger is telling the truth, it staggers the mind to think that Pope Francis — who has the right to remove Nienstedt — tolerates this man remaining in charge a single day longer. Then again, Bishop Finn still rules in Kansas City, and according to a comprehensive report done by BishopAccountability.org, the pope had a poor record on responding to abuse as Archbishop of Buenos Aires.

As a non-Catholic, I read this story, and think about how religious liberty in this country is now under assault, especially how right here in Louisiana, the seal of the confessional is severely threatened by ongoing litigation. And I think about how the archbishops of Minneapolis-St. Paul have behaved, saying one thing to reassure the public, but in fact behaving in exactly the opposite way, doing whatever they could to protect the clericalist mafia, and to marginalize Catholics like Jennifer Haselberger, who only wanted the Church to be the Church. I think about how the archdiocese appointed a priest who — if Haselberger is telling the truth (and as chancellor, had access to his personnel file) — had used the confessional as a way to facilitate an adulterous relationship.

I think of this, and it is not hard for me to understand why people have so little sympathy for religious liberty claims. They believe religious liberty is an excuse to let cretins like Archbishop Nienstedt and his minions get away with serving themselves, their careers, and their perverse sexual appetites. Just yesterday, I was speaking to a Protestant friend about the seal of the confessional controversy, and he said something to the effect of, “In this environment, there’s no way people are going to be predisposed to support the Church on this.”

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AUSTRALIA
Pro Bono

The way in which the Archdiocese of Melbourne has responded to victims of child sexual abuse will be the focus of the next public hearing involving the Catholic Church.

The hearing will commence on Monday, August 18 and is scheduled to run for two weeks.

The public hearing will look into the principles, practices and procedures of the victim’s reparation scheme, the Melbourne Response, which was adopted by the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne in October 1996.

The hearing will focus on the application of the Melbourne Response in responding to survivors of child sexual abuse as well as allegations of child sexual abuse against personnel of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne.

It will also look at the experience of people who have engaged in the Melbourne Response process, or otherwise sought redress from the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne.

Francis Sullivan, CEO of the Church’s Truth Justice and Healing Council, is coordinating the Catholic Church’s engagement with the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

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AUSTRALIA
New Zealand Herald

The South Australian government is prepared to consider radical laws, including banning men from working as child carers, after a carer was accused of horrific child sex abuse.

A 32-year-old Adelaide man employed by Families SA has been charged with seven counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with young children under his watch at a residential care facility.

Premier Jay Weatherill has flagged a royal commission into the sexual abuse of children, and foreshadowed “radical changes” to child protection protocols.

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PITTSBURGH (PA)
CBS Pittsburgh

Harold Hayes

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A preacher accused of inappropriately touching a teenage male congregation member was in court Wednesday, but his attorney says whatever happened was between consenting adults.

Following the hearing, the defense attorney and a website reporter, who says he’s been tracking the case, got into a verbal exchange outside of the magistrate’s office in Munhall over whether the reporter had a relationship with the preacher.

Duane Youngblood was treated as a Bishop at the “Higher Call World Outreach Church” in Homestead and was charged with corrupting a minor earlier this month. He has a previous sex assault conviction.

Defense attorney Milton Raiford postponed Wednesday’s preliminary hearing for Youngblood. Raiford told reporters that church politics were behind the accusations and that the most recent sexual acts occurred when the alleged victim was over 18, contrary to the victim’s claims.

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FLORIDA
News-Journal

By Frank Fernandez
frank.fernandez@news-jrnl.com
Published: Wednesday, July 23, 2014

A retired Edgewater detective said he had a gut feeling but no evidence a decade ago when someone reported seeing Matthew Graziotti engaging in suspicious activity with a child at his home.

So, former Edgewater Detective Dan Blazi said Tuesday he was not surprised when he learned that Graziotti, a teacher at Warner Christian Academy in South Daytona, was arrested July 14 on federal charges of production, distribution, receipt and possession of child pornography.

“All of my instincts told me that I was dealing with a person that had a high potential of committing that, but the problem is you have to prove it,” Blazi said.

Graziotti, 43, has been suspended without pay from Warner Christian, where he was a teacher and director of the summer camp program. Graziotti is being held without bail at the Seminole County Jail and has a hearing set for 10 a.m. today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas B. Smith at the federal courthouse in Orlando.

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LOUISIANA
ArkLATex Homepage

[with video]

Kimberly Rusley

Church members are standing by their pastor. Reverend Andre Lewis was sentenced to 6.5 years on Tuesday, July 22, in federal court for taking girls across state lines to have sex with them.

Tonette Fox has been a member of Act on Faith Ministries since 2006.

Even though her pastor, Reverend Andrea Lewis, has been convicted and sentenced, she still stands by him.

“I would like to say he is a good man, he’s a man of god, and I have a five year-old and she loves him to death,” says Fox. “I wouldn’t take him away from her for the world.”

Prosecutors say between 1994 and 2000, Lewis would use choir trips and other church related travel to cover up the sexual abuse.

“I feel like the sentencing wasn’t lengthy enough,” says Jane Doe III. “I mean, because I’ve endured 10 years plus, building the rest of my life. I’ll always be affected by this, and 6.5 years will never equal up to the pain that I’ve endured, because of this situation.”

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IOWA
Press-Citizen

Daniel P. Finney, For the Press-Citizen July 23, 2014

Next time you use a public restroom, take a look around. Scan any vents, towel dispensers or other fixtures, including electric outlets and light switches.

Why? You just might be on camera.

In the past 13 months, hidden cameras have been found in restrooms and other facilities in at least three Iowa communities, including Iowa City, mirroring a nationwide problem.

In May, a church pastor in Indiana was convicted of hiding cameras in a women’s restroom. Chicago police are investigating a hidden camera in the restroom of a funeral home. And this week in Cleveland, a TV station told employees that a hidden video camera was discovered in a women’s restroom.

Prosecuting suspects for hidden cameras is a tricky matter under Iowa law. When cameras capture photographs or recordings of adults, prosecutors must prove the person intended to get nude images, said Kevin Cmelik, of the Iowa Attorney General’s Office.

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MISSOURI
Fulton Sun

By Katherine Cummins
Thursday, July 24, 2014

A local church has been named one of the defendants in a lawsuit that also includes Jack Wayne Rogers, accusing Rogers of sexually assaulting the plaintiff when he was a child in 2000.

In a suit filed in the 13th Judicial Circuit Court in Callaway County on April 14, Kristopher D. Schondelmeyer, formerly of Fulton, names First Presbyterian Church of Fulton, Missouri Union Presbytery, Synod of Mid-America, Presbyterian Church Inc. (U.S.A.), Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Foundation, Bruce W. Berry and Jack Wayne Rogers as defendants.

According to Schondelmeyer’s petition, the current lawsuit is being brought “in order to hold the Defendants responsible” for the abuse he allegedly suffered by Rogers in 2000.

The petition alleges the defendants knew Rogers had previously been convicted on child pornography charges, and had knowingly put youth at risk “by placing Rogers in direct authority over minor children” and failing to provide supervision.

The suit specifically names First Presbyterian Church and Berry as having appointed Rogers to be a lay minister for the Presbyterian Church of Bellflower in Montgomery County.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

By Richard Gazarik
Thursday, July 24, 2014

Retired Milwaukee Archbishop Rembert Weakland, who fell from grace in the Roman Catholic Church amid a sex and financial scandal, had hoped to return to St. Vincent Archabbey on Sept. 1 to live out his final days.

But the archabbey has withdrawn its invitation to the elderly cleric, he said.

Weakland, 87, said Archabbot Douglas Nowicki broke the news during a phone call last month, despite his ties to the Benedictine monastery for more than seven decades.

“He asked me to postpone indefinitely my coming,” Weakland told the Tribune-Review in a phone interview. “You don’t want to interfere in the house, so I’m going to stay here. I did want to spend my final days there.”

Kim Metzgar, director of public relations at the archabbey in Westmoreland County, declined to comment.

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MINNESOTA
KSTP

[with video]

By: Cassie Hart

New details have been released Wednesday surrounding the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis sex abuse investigation.

Documents detail the case of a priest who worked in the archdiocese, even after he was accused of sexually abusing girls.

Michael Kolar was ordained in 1969. He was permanently removed from ministry in 1991, and the Holy See removed him from clerical state in 1993. In that time, he allegedly impregnated one girl, who later miscarried. He was receiving treatment while he was still a priest.

Three girls publicly said he had sexually abused them.

In a deposition, Kolar admitted his actions constituted abuse.

According to a news release from Jeff Anderson and Associates, Kolar later alleged he was sexually abused by former head of Catholic Charities Msgr. Jerome Boxleitner and Kolar attempted to work for the Catholic Church again in 1995.

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AUSTRALIA
Perth Now

AAP

Perth Catholic priest Father Patrick Holmes sentenced to three years jail for child sex offences

A CATHOLIC priest has been sentenced to three years in jail after admitting to indecently assaulting two young girls in the Perth parishes where he worked.

The District Court of Western Australia heard on Thursday that the six offences committed by Father Patrick Holmes occurred in Carlisle in 1969 when his victim was aged seven and in 1980-1982 in Subiaco when his victim was aged 10-11.

Holmes was aged 34 and 45-46 respectively at the time.

The court heard the first complainant was a student at the primary school next to his church.

She would regularly visit him after school and was given treats and cash in return for her co-operation and silence.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Western Daily Press

More than 50 Catholic priests in England and Wales have been defrocked since new rules were put in place over a decade ago to combat clerical sex abuse, it has been revealed.

The National Catholic Safeguarding Commission (NCSC) said 52 priests had been laicised – or defrocked – since 2001 following the implementation of new procedures to protect children and vulnerable adults in the Catholic Church in England and Wales.

The statistics were revealed as the commission said there were 81 child protection allegations made last year – a leap from 59 in 2012.

The number of parishes without a safeguarding representative grew between 2012 and 2013 from 88 to 126, the commission said, possibly due to concern over increased paperwork associated with the role.

There were 384 “covenants of care” in place by the end of 2013 in England and Wales where either a priest or a lay person is placed under restrictions.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Joanna Menagh

A 79-year-old Catholic priest has been jailed for three years for sexually abusing two young girls in Perth decades ago.

Patrick Holmes pleaded guilty to six child sex charges, which were laid against him earlier this year.

The first three offences were committed in 1969 and involved a girl aged about six or seven.

Holmes was the parish priest at Holy Name Church in Carlisle and the offences were committed to a victim in the presbytery.

The last three offences happened in the early 1980s, in the presbytery of the Saint Aloysius Church in Shenton Park where Holmes was again the parish priest.

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UNITED STATES
PopeCrimes& Vatican Evils.

Paris Arrow

The Vatican circus for idiot Catholics stretches far and wide as if the Octopus Dei Beast Tentacles has engulfed the four corners of the globe. Across the Pacific Ocean, from New Zealand (to placate the JP2 Army – John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army earthquake being unraveled by the Royal Commission in Australia) to the Philippines, the Octopus Dei Beast PR Deceits Team is brainwashing millions of idiot Catholics keeping them ignorant about truth of Vatican Evils and making them feel-good Francis-Maniacs about their podgy ass fattest-clown-in-white Pope Francis. Last month, it was in New Zealand. Opus Dei Beast PR Stunt of the Day: “Vatican leas war against child abuse” sounds like “Nazis leads war against terrorism”.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Wales Online

Jul 24, 2014 10:32 By Chiara Rinaldi

The number of Catholic priests in Wales and England who have been defrocked for sex abuse totals more than 50, a report has revealed.

Fifty-two priests have been defrocked since 2001 when new procedures to protect children and vulnerable adults were put in place by the Catholic Church in England and Wales.

The National Catholic Safeguarding Commission (NCSC), who revealed the statistics, said there were 81 child protection allegations made last year – a leap from 59 in 2012.

The number of parishes without a safeguarding representative grew between 2012 and 2013 from 88 to 126, the commission said, possibly due to concern over increased paperwork associated with the role.

There were 384 “covenants of care” in place by the end of 2013 in England and Wales where either a priest or a lay person is placed under restrictions.

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SPENCER (MA)
Bangor Daily News

By Scott Malone, Reuters
Posted July 24, 2014

SPENCER, Massachusetts — Tucked off a two-lane highway in a hilly, wooded section of central Massachusetts, a group of Roman Catholic monks has embraced a centuries-old tradition they hope can sustain their aging members in a world of rapidly rising health costs.

The 60 monks of St. Joseph’s Abbey still rise at 3 a.m. for prayers and pass most of their days in silence. But when it is time for work, a handful head down to the monastery’s new brewery, the first outside Europe to produce certified Trappist Ale.

The venture has proven to be less labor-intensive than the monks’ other businesses, making religious vestments and fruit preserves. More importantly, they believe it can generate enough money to sustain a community of men with an average age of 70, who spend about a third of their budget on health care.

“We’re trying to reinvent our economy,” said Father Isaac Keeley on a recent tour of the abbey’s low-slung stone buildings and starkly modern 30,000-square-foot brewery, nestled in a wooded property some 60 miles west of Boston. …

Supporting an aging clergy is a challenge faced across the Catholic church in the United States. While monasteries and similar religious orders operate outside the structure of local parishes and dioceses, many of which have paid heavy costs to settle claims of sexual abuse by priests, their members also are aging.

The Retirement Fund for the Religious, a Catholic group that acts as a last-gasp source of funding for retired monks, nuns and other members of religious orders, supports 34,243 religious people over the age of 70. It forecast that by 2023, there would be four times as many retired members of such orders as those who are still working.

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MINNESOTA
Twin Cities Daily Planet

By Andy Birkey, The Colu.mn
July 22, 2014

The investigation of alleged cover-ups of child sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has brought a flurry of court documents which reveal some details of Archbishop John Nienstedt’s war on gay marriage. In one case, the Archdiocese allegedly considered having a priest labelled disabled to silence his support of marriage equality.

Father Michael Tegeder of St. Francis Cabrini and Gichitwaa Kateri has been an outspoken critic of Nienstedt’s assault on LGBT rights. He was sharply critical of the anti-gay marriage amendment that was on the ballot in 2012.

He was so outspoken, Nienstedt threatened to remove him from ministry.

“If you choose not to offer your resignation, but continue to act openly or speak publicly about your opposition to Church teaching, I will suspend your faculties to exercise ministry and remove you from your ministerial assignments,” Nienstedt wrote to Tegeder in a letter in November 2011.

But behind the scenes, Nienstedt was considering other measures to silence Tegeder. According to an affidavit by whistleblower Jennifer Haselberger, Nienstedt has the authority to label a church employee as disabled:

However, both the Archbishop and Mr. Haws would be aware (as would others) that the determination of who is considered disabled under the terms of the Priests Pension Plan is the exclusive prerogative of the Archbishop. It is a matter for his prudential judgment. Furthermore, there are no restrictions on the Archbishop’s designation- no medical diagnosis is necessary, and it need not correspond to, for instance, a similar designation by the Social Security Administration. In other words, not only is the Archbishop qualified to evaluate who can be classified as disabled, he ís the only person who can make that evaluation.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

Patsy McGarry

Thu, Jul 24, 2014

A number of new documents including Catholic Primate Cardinal Seán Brady’s handwritten account of answers provided at a secret 1975 inquiry into allegations of abuse by the notorious Fr Brendan Smyth, are contained in a book published this week.

Sworn to Silence, by Brendan Boland, also contains the handwritten record of the oath sworn by the then 14-year-old Mr Boland – who was abused by Smyth – to keep the inquiry secret.

A Garda investigation into the activities of the child sexual abuser began following the broadcast in 1994 on UTV of the programme Suffer Little Children which addressed Smyth’s abuse of children.

After the programme Frank Boland reported the abuse of his son Brendan by Smyth to gardaí in Dundalk and the fact that there has been a secret church inquiry into the allegations some two decades earlier.

On February 15th, 1995, as part the Garda investigation into Smyth’s activities in the State, Msgr Francis Donnelly, a priest of the Armagh archdiocese, was interviewed at his parochial house in Dundalk. He spoke of the inquiry in which he took part almost 20 years previously involving Brendan Boland. However, Msgr Donnelly refused to make a formal statement on the matter to gardaí.

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MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press

By Emily Gurnon
egurnon@pioneerpress.com
POSTED: 07/23/2014

Michael G. Kolar, a former priest who directed the Catholic Youth Center in St. Paul, was kept in ministry even after officials learned he had sexually abused underage girls beginning in the 1970s, according to documents released Wednesday as part of a lawsuit.

The documents also reveal Kolar told officials that Monsignor J. Jerome Boxleitner, the former head of Catholic Charities, tried to rape him at his lake cabin when Kolar was in seminary. Boxleitner died in 2013.

Kolar, 70, asked to be removed from the priesthood in 1992. He later married and currently lives in St. Paul.

One woman alleged in a 1991 lawsuit that she was abused by Kolar beginning in 1972 when she went on a retreat to the Catholic Youth Center as a 10th-grader. That suit was dismissed after a judge determined the statute of limitations had run out.

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MICHIGAN
MLive

By Angie Jackson | ajackso3@mlive.com
on July 23, 2014

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Former Christian radio host John Balyo now faces federal child porn and exploitation charges stemming from alleged incidents involving a 12-year-old boy.

The former radio host for WCSG, a Christian radio station based in Grand Rapids, was charged Wednesday, July 23, with a count each of sexual exploitation of a child and possession of child pornography, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids.

Authorities allege Balyo on April 19 took sexually explicit photos of a 12-year-old boy in Kalamazoo County using an iPhone, a computer and digital camera. Balyo in June allegedly possessed at least nine images of child pornography, some involving prepubescent minors.

Balyo, of Caledonia, in June was charged in Calhoun County with first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving an 11-year-old boy in Battle Creek in May. He allegedly admitted to some of the conduct and is jailed without bond.

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UNITED STATES
The Permanente Journal

Les Gallo-Silver, MSW, LCSW-R; Christopher M Anderson; Jaime Romo, EdD
Perm J 2014 Summer; 18(3):82-87
http://dx.doi.org/10.7812/TPP/14-009

Abstract
The health care literature describes treatment challenges and recommended alterations in practice procedures for female survivors of childhood sexual abuse, a subtype of adverse childhood experiences. Currently, there are no concomitant recommendations for best clinical practices for male survivors of childhood sexual abuse or other adverse clinical experiences. Anecdotal information suggests ways physicians can address the needs of adult male survivors of childhood sexual abuse by changes in communication, locus of control, and consent/permission before and during physical examinations and procedures. The intent of this article is to act as a catalyst for improved patient care and more research focused on the identification and optimal responses to the needs of men with adverse childhood experiences in the health care setting.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Kansas City Star

BY MARY SANCHEZ
THE KANSAS CITY STAR
07/23/2014

A gray-haired woman tilted her head, a hand held cupped to her ear, listening intently as the judge grilled attorneys representing the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese.

The former teacher liked what she heard from Jackson County Judge Bryan Round on Wednesday. He seemed to understand. To grasp why she and about a dozen others attended the hearing to determine if a breach-of-contract ruling ordering the diocese to pay a $1.1 million award will stand.

It’s for the children. To ensure that the diocese will continue to do whatever is within its power to protect children from sexual abuse.

From 1956 to 1995 Marie Mentrup taught at St. Gabriel Archangel School. Among her former eighth-grade students was a boy who later accused a priest of molesting him as a child. She said she knew other victims too. But that student, who died nearly two years ago, was among the plaintiffs in the diocese’s 2008 $10 million settlement to resolve such civil suits.

“It hasn’t stopped,” Mentrup said, alluding to how this wound up back in the courts.

The largest indicator that the diocese failed to live up to its obligations from the settlement is the 2011 conviction of former priest Shawn Ratigan for child pornography. And the deplorable ways the diocese failed to follow up on what turned out to be credible questions about Ratigan’s behavior around children.

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PENNSYLVANIA
WeAreCentralPA

Jim Madalinsky

ALTOONA – Close to 90 people have come forward saying they were sexually abused by Franciscan Brother Stephen Baker.

Baker committed suicide in January of 2013.
In early May the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese was set to take part in settlement negotiations when they were called off pending the attorney general’s investigation. On Wednesday, the mother of one of Baker’s alleged victims was in Altoona.

“Brother Steve was put in place and I handed my son to him and that didn’t have to happen,” Barbara Aponte says.

Brother Steve is Brother Stephen Baker. He’s accused of sexually assaulting close to 90 boys across three states for years.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
KCUR

By DAN MARGOLIES

A Jackson County judge heard arguments Wednesday on whether the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph should pay a $1.1 million arbitration award for breach of contract in its ongoing litigation over clergy sex abuse.

The diocese contends the arbitrator, Kansas City lawyer Hollis Hanover, exceeded his authority when he made the award after finding the diocese had violated the terms of a $10 million settlement it reached with 47 sex abuse victims in 2008.

Under the terms of the settlement, the diocese pledged to adopt a variety of child safety measures.

Forty-four of the victims claimed the diocese and Bishop Robert Finn had breached those measures by failing to promptly inform authorities after it found child pornography on the laptop computer of a diocesan priest, the Rev. Shawn Ratigan.

Last September, a federal judge sentenced Ratigan to 50 years in prison.

Earlier this month, Hanover found that the diocese had breached five of the safety measures spelled out in the 2008 agreement. He awarded the plaintiffs $1.1 million atop the $10 million they were awarded in 2008.

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GUAM
Pacific News Center

SNAP Accuses Archbishop Apuron of “Dangerous” Behavior; Calls Father Wadeson’s Parting Remarks “Self-Aggrandizing”

Guam – SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, has issued another statement accusing Guam Archbishop Anthony Apuron of harboring a twice accused predator priest on island until SNAP revealed the accusations against Father John Wadeson in a release last weekend.
Father Wadeson is named in Los Angeles Archdiocese records, and in LA news reports, as having been accused on 2 occasions of being a predator priest. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has barred Father Wadeson from ministry in LA.

The accusations date back to the early 90’s, they were never brought to trial.

Father Wadeson was incardinated on Guam by the Archbishop Apuron in 2000. Archbishop Apruon removed Father Wadeson from “active and public ministry” on Guam this past Tuesday, 4 days after SNAP issued a release calling attention to the decades old accusations against Father Wadeson.

However, local catholic observer, Tim Rohr, was the first to bring the issue to light on his blog last Wednesday. And last Friday, Father Adrian Cristobal told PNC News that the Archdiocese was aware of the accusations against Father Wadeson in California. But the allegations were just that: allegations.

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AUSTRALIA
The Conversation

James Boyce
University Associate at University of Tasmania

The statistics attached to the Interim Report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse have confirmed what many people suspected – that while child abuse has been widespread in Christian and secular institutions, the Catholic Church is dramatically over-represented.

Of the 1,033 faith-based institutions reported to the Commission, 68% were Catholic. Even when state-run and private sites are included, the figure is 41%.

The Commissioners report that they want to “find out why there have been a significant number of perpetrators in certain institutions”. Given the extent to which our Government has handed over responsibility for publicly-funded education, health and social welfare services to the Catholic Church, so should we all.

This is not a matter of Catholic bashing but of civic responsibility. There is no question that Catholic schools and welfare institutions are now essentially shaped by professional and secular values, but this is still not uniformly the case. Grappling with the Church’s self-evident problem cannot be an in-house chat.

What is distinctive about the Catholic Church that might have fostered child abuse? The grim stories coming out of Ireland and other countries have meant this question has been part of the Western conversation for more than a decade. Compulsory celibacy, the priestly pedestal, and a cloistered culture have all been widely discussed, but what has received much less attention to date is the Church’s core ideology of childhood.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Tribune-Democrat

Update: Victims group calls for end to ‘delays’ involving Altoona-Johnstown diocese, other agencies in Baker sexual abuse cases

BY DAVID HURST
DHURST@TRIBDEM.COM

HOLLIDAYSBURG — The founder of a New Jersey nonprofit formed to help child sex abuse victims stood outside the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown on Wednesday calling for an end to delays in the Brother Stephen Baker sex abuse case, which has been tied up in litigation.

“Let’s settle this case morally, justly and quickly,” Road to Recovery Founder Robert Hoatson said.

Attorneys for the local diocese and other agencies, and those representing Baker’s alleged victims, have been negotiating off and on for more than a year.

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AUSTRALIA
Broken Rites

By a Broken Rites researcher (article posted on 23 July 2014)

New South Wales Police announced on 23 July 2014 that they have charged a 66-year-old religious Brother regarding indecent assaults of a child, committed 40 years ago. Broken Rites understands that the alleged victim was a pupil at a Marist Brothers boys’ school which then existed at Maitland, north of Sydney in the Newcastle region.

The police announcement said that, in March 2013, detectives from Strike Force Georgiana received information about an alleged indecent-assault matter involving a child and they then commenced an investigation. (Strike Force Georgiana is a special unit of investigators located at Charlestown.)

On 22 July 2014, detectives from Central Hunter Local Command and Lake Macquarie Local Command attended Surry Hills Police Station in Sydney and spoke with a 66-year-old man about the alleged offences against a boy.

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UNITED STATES
PopeCrimes& Vatican Evils

Idiot Catholics, ‘Don’t believe what you read from AP, Reuters and Boston Globe’. Small newspaper detects deceit reporting from Opus Dei Beast PR Deceits Team

Paris Arrow

A small newspaper writer Joseph Tevington of the Bucks County Courier Times in Pennsylvania has detected the subtle snaky deceits coming out of giant journalists from AP, Reuters and Boston Globe and he is not afraid to special mention them. Tevington wrote in his article entitled boldly, Don’t believe what you read: Church teaching isn’t changing. Whoa, don’t believe what you read, idiot Catholics!

Tevington began his article, “Like many local newspapers, the Courier Times relies on large news organizations for national and international news. In the area of religious news, those organizations have a small pool of writers who may or who may not be well-equipped for their specialized work”. Then he gave specific examples.

Further on he wrote, “Whether one agrees with what the Catholic Church teaches, it strikes me that anyone seeking information would want, and be entitled to, accurate reporting. Whether it is intentional or not, the reports from the AP, Reuters and Boston Globe seem misleading”.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Kansas City Star

BY JUDY L. THOMAS
THE KANSAS CITY STAR
07/23/2014

The Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese told a judge Wednesday that it shouldn’t have to pay the $1.1 million ordered by an arbitrator last spring for violating the terms of a 2008 settlement with priest sexual abuse victims.

The main reason, diocesan lawyers argued, was because the arbitrator overstepped his authority in issuing the award.

Jackson County Circuit Judge Bryan Round heard arguments from both sides during a 90-minute hearing attended by more than a dozen victims or their family members. The plaintiffs asked the judge to confirm the arbitrator’s order, while the diocese argued that the order be vacated or modified.

“This is obviously a difficult matter for a variety of reasons,” Round said as the hearing concluded. “It’s going to take me a little bit of time to go through everything.”

The order, issued March 23 by arbitrator Hollis Hanover, stems from a breach-of-contract lawsuit filed three years ago alleging that the diocese and Bishop Robert Finn violated parts of the 2008 settlement, putting children in danger. The lawsuit was filed in Jackson County Circuit Court by 44 of the 47 plaintiffs from the previous case.

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ALABAMA
Associated Baptist Press

By Bob Allen

A victim of a former children’s minister sentenced to 30 years in prison has sued both his perpetrator and the church that hired him.

The victim, identified by initials J.G., filed a lawsuit July 22 in U.S. District Court alleging injury by Jeffery Dale Eddie, longtime associate pastor for children and church administration at Highland Park Baptist Church in Muscle Shoals, Ala.

The civil suit claims Eddie, who pleaded guilty to numerous sex crimes in March, molested the man now living in Louisiana over the course of 12 years beginning when he was 11.

The lawsuit accuses Highland Park Baptist Church, a congregation associated with the Colbert-Lauderdale Baptist Association, the Alabama State Board of Missions and the Southern Baptist Convention, of failure to properly supervise Eddie, an employee from 1998 until he was caught storing child pornography on his church computer in 2014.

The lawsuit claims church leaders waited 10 days before reporting the incident to police, after an internal investigation, violating a state law that requires clergy to report suspected abuse immediately.

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ALABAMA
AL.com

By Greg Garrison | ggarrison@al.com
on July 23, 2014

MUSCLE SHOALS, Alabama – A victim of former Highland Park Baptist Church Children’s Pastor Jeff Eddie, charged this year with 36 counts of child sexual abuse, has filed a lawsuit against Eddie and the church.

The lawsuit was filed in Birmingham July 22 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama Western Division. The plaintiff identified as “J.G.,” now living in Louisiana, seeks unspecified damages for the sexual abuse that he said began in 2001 when he was 11. The lawsuit states that Eddie pleaded guilty on March 7 to 16 counts of sodomy for oral sex, three counts of sexual abuse of a child under 12 and one count of possession of child pornography. Eddie, 41, was arrested Feb. 4.

Eddie was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Colbert County District Attorney Bryce Graham said the number of Eddie’s victims was in the double-digits.

Eddie was administrative and children’s pastor at Highland Park, a Southern Baptist Church in Colbert County, from 1998 through 2014. The lawsuit said that sexual abuse took place at Highland Park

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MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 503 0003 cell, SNAPdorris@gmail.com)

St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson chose as his spiritual advisor a Minnesota priest who later admitted to being a sex addict. And Carlson, in turn, became his “close friend” and spiritual advisor too, according to hundreds of pages of long-secret Catholic Church abuse files have just been released.

The documents show that Carlson has had direct, first-hand knowledge and experience covering up sexual abuse for almost 40 years.

They involve a serial predator priest, Fr. Michael G. Kolar. He and Carlson, the archbishop admits, were or are “close friends.” In fact, Carlson wrote “Because of my past and continuing friendship with Fr. Kolar, it would be inappropriate for me to be involved (in his abuse case).” (ARCH 018348)

Still, Carlson meddled in Fr. Kolar’s case, refusing to follow up on leads, corresponding with some victims, and telling others that their allegations had no merit. In fact, Kolar was promoted to head of the Archdiocese Youth Conference after Carlson knew that the priest was molesting vulnerable girls.

Carlson also admits that Fr. Kolar “was my spiritual director.” And Carlson became the priest’s spiritual advisor. (“Fr. Kolar asked me if I would be his spiritual counselor and I agreed to do that.” p. 25- 26)

Fr. Kolar is accused of molesting innocent girls and exploiting devout women. He admitted that he “was simply using (women and girls) because of my sexual needs.” (ARCH 018513)

Despite multiple credible allegations against him over a span of years, Fr. Kolar was quietly moved from parish to parish and even sent to work in Venezuela among unsuspecting families. (The files contain a 1990 letter urging St. Paul’s archbishop to bring Kolar back from South America before he hurt more girls. (ARCH 019734): “Please do not allow any opportunity for more abuse and pain to be inflicted in the future.”

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FLORIDA
Florida Times-Union

When Pope Francis recently met with six victims of clerical sexual abuse, he made an important statement that the Roman Catholic Church is committed to change.

He compared priests who abuse minors to “a sacrilegious cult.”

He begged for forgiveness.

He vowed to take action on priests abusing their vows.

And Pope Francis referred to the “sins of omission” by those who covered up or failed to report incidents of child sexual abuse.

The pope has also appointed a commission to confront the sexual abuse issue.

History suggests that’s a wise and proactive step.

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UNITED STATES
Slacktivist

July 23, 2014 By Fred Clark

Amy @ Watch Keep highlights a rare story of a local church responding appropriately to finding an abuser on its payroll.

John Sluder was an associate pastor at Believers Church in Auburn, Alabama:
His arrest in May got him kicked out of the church where he had been for 30 years. Lee County Sheriff’s detectives say the two adult victims came forward in April to report they were abused in the early 1990′s.

… [Attorney Ben] Hand represents Believers Church where his father is the pastor. Hand says the church was stunned, then angry, when Sluder was arrested by Lee County, after two adult victims revealed Sluder had molested them on several occasions in the early 1990′s when they were 8 and 9 years old.

“Every child, including my own daughter that has had contact with him has been questioned to make sure there are no other potential victims out there,” said Hand.

… ”He was told if he came on church property, he would be arrested from trespassing and was forbidden from every returning to Believers Church. His bond was lowered from $100,000 to $25,000 and that is a nominal bond, and we have recommended that nobody make that bond. He needs to be there,” said Hand.

… ”The full extent of the law needs to be handed down. And we have to do everything we can to protect these kids ant they need to know they are safe and that society will come to their defense,” said Hand.

Amy contrasts this response by Believers Church with the image-control, stonewalling and circling of the wagons she more often encounters in her work with SNAP (the Survivor’s Network of those Abused by Priests):

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FLORIDA
Farmer, Jaffe, Weissing, Edwards, Fistos and Lehrman

by Adam Horowitz James Larkin sexual Tampa Day School abuse lawyer

James Larkin is a long-time educator, having worked as Prinicpal in Tampa Day School and Headmaster at St. John’s Greek Orthodox School. According to a docket entry on Hillsbrough County Clerk’s office dated July 21, 2014, James Larkin now faces felony sex charges in Hillsborough County for the molestation of a minor, who was his former student at Tampa Day School. (Hillbrough County Case No. 14-CF-005573-A)

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, when the boy’s mother was out of town for the weekend in March 2014, Larkin and his wife watched the alleged victim and his sister. Larkin came into the boy’s room at night, laid down next to him and put his hands down the boy’s pants and fondled the boy’s genitals. Larkin admitted his actions were “inappropriate” in a phone call between the student and principal that was recorded by the sheriff’s office. Larkin was 63 years old at the time of the alleged incident. In April, Larkin was terminated after his arrest by Tampa Day School, where he had served for five years. Prior to serving as principal at Tampa Day School, Larkin resigned at headmaster at St. John Greek Orthodox School where he worked for over 30 years.

According to its website, Tampa Day School is a “specialized school for students in grades K-8 with mild to moderate learning disabilities, dyslexia, anxiety, and ADHD.” Larkin founded and led a “dad’s club” at Tampa Day School to develop social bonds between fathers and their sons enrolled in the school. Larkin was also involved in the Boy Scouts and numerous youth groups during his time as an educator. Larkin befriended the alleged victim and his mother over a period of months after the victim’s father passed away. Over time, Larkin became a surrogate dad for the child and routinely took the alleged victim to “Dad Club” meetings and other recreational activities.

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AUSTRALIA
Perth Now

[with poll]

Families SA insider says new child-protection policies will fail without extra resources to help overstretched social workers

LAUREN NOVAK SAM KELTON THE ADVERTISER JULY 23, 2014

A FAMILIES SA insider says a radical rewriting of child-protection policies will be useless without extra resources to help social workers already stretched to breaking point.

In the wake of revelations a man working for Families SA was last month charged with child sex offences against seven preschool-aged children in his care, the State Government has promised an urgent review of policies and processes to shield vulnerable children from predators who use the care system to gain access to them.

But a Families SA worker who contacted The Advertiser said there was no point making major changes without providing extra staff to support them.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Written by
Gaynor Dumat-ol Daleno
Pacific Daily News

A day after he was stripped of authority as a Guam priest over child molestation allegations in Los Angeles, Father John Howard Wadeson has left the island.

Wadeson stated he’s been falsely accused, but decided to leave because he didn’t want the accusations against him to tarnish Archbishop Anthony Apuron.

“I was in such shock at the viciousness and lies of what was being said about me and our archbishop, whom I hold in great esteem, that I was lost for words,” Wadeson stated, in response to the Pacific Daily News’ request for comment.

“For the good of the church, I thought it best that I leave the country, albeit with a very heavy heart, so that these false accusations that are being leveled at me do not become weapons to use against our archbishop or the Church of Guam,” he stated.

“I will continue to pray for our church, our archbishop as well as for those who attack him,” Wadeson stated.

Wadeson left yesterday morning, said Father Pablo Ponce, rector of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary. where Wadeson had been staying.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

JULY 24, 2014

Dan Box
Crime Reporter
Sydney

A CHILD sex abuse victim has criticised the royal commission over an alleged “opportunistic personal attack” on a senior prosecutor during a recent public hearing.

Peter Gogarty, who was repeatedly abused by a Catholic priest, wrote privately to commission chairman Peter McClellan about the treatment of Margaret Cunneen SC, a barrister who led a separate commission of inquiry into child sex abuse.

Earlier this month, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse spent days dissecting confidential advice provided by Ms Cunneen in 2004 about the prosecution of Olympic coach Scott Volkers for allegedly abusing teenage swimmers.

“In all of the circumstances, I am forced to the conclusion that Ms Cunneen during her evidence … was the subject of an opportunistic personal attack unrelated to the question at hand,” said Mr Gogarty’s letter said. “Given my public and strident support of … (the) commission, I am very disappointed that the media has been offered the spectacle of an apparent ‘in-house’ spat.”

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GUAM
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, July 23, 2014

For more information: Joelle Casteix of Newport Beach, 949-322-7434 cell, jcasteix@gmail.com, David Clohessy of St. Louis, SNAP Director (314) 566-9790 cell, SNAPclohessy@aol.com

Abuse victims blast priest & archbishop
Twice-accused cleric lived in Guam for years
SNAP: Archbishop knew about abuse but did nothing
Now exposed, child molesting cleric heads to Bay Area

A support group for clergy sex abuse victims is blasting a twice-accused Catholic predator priest for “hurtful, self-aggrandizing comments” he made as he left Guam for California.

Leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, are criticizing Fr. John H. Wadeson for calling accusations about his alleged abuse “viciousness and lies … about me and our (Archbishop Anthony Apuron).”

Fr. Wadeson worked in Hagatna in Guam until a few days ago, when SNAP publicly exposed that he has been accused of abuse twice and has been banned from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Archbishop Apuron then suspended Fr. Wadeson. The comments were made after Wadeson was removed.

The information about Fr. Wadeson was on the internet and posted in Los Angeles Archdiocese documents dating back to 2004. Guam Catholics have also publicly called on the Archbishop to take action.

SNAP believes that Apuron’s behavior is dangerous.

“Apuron knew that Fr. Wadeson was a predator and had been banned from Los Angeles, but he simply didn’t care,” said Joelle Casteix of Newport Beach, SNAP Western Regional Director. “That behavior is unacceptable, reckless, and against common morality.”

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
KCTV

By Chris Oberholtz, Multimedia Producer
By Erika Tallan, Reporter

KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) –
Earlier this month a judge ordered the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City – St. Joseph to pay $1.1 million to 42 victims of clergy sex crimes.

A Jackson County judge is hearing arguments Wednesday about whether the award should stand or be overturned.

The diocese is facing the penalty for not doing more to stop now-defrocked priest Shawn Ratigan from taking pornographic pictures of young parishioners after the diocese had pledged more than five years ago to prevent future abuse cases.

The diocese and Bishop Robert Finn, who has previously admitted in a criminal court that he failed to report child abuse by Ratigan to state authorities, are seeking to have the arbitrator’s order nullified.

The diocese is appealing the judge’s decision to pay up.

Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a prominent victim’s group, hopes it is upheld and that it will push employers to be more responsible in child sex cases.

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MINNESOTA
Jeff Anderson & Associates

The priest file of former Archdiocesan priest Father Michael Kolar was made public due to a civil lawsuit filed in Ramsey County in 2013 by a survivor of Father Thomas Adamson. Doe 1 and his attorneys successfully sought and obtained the release of a list of credibly accused priests and their secret files from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and Diocese of Winona.

Father Michael Kolar worked in the Archdiocese for decades and with the help of top Church officials, including now-Archbishop Robert Carlson and former Vicar General Kevin McDonough, Kolar was allowed to remain in positions where he sexually abused numerous girls and evaded civil authorities. Warnings from abuse survivors, parents, another priest and Kolar’s therapist were ignored by the Archdiocese and Kolar was sent to St. Luke Institute. To avoid scandal, Kolar was then sent to South America and finally Archbishop Roach pushed Kolar into laicization telling the Holy See, because of the legal and media climate, he was unable to assign Kolar.

Kolar later alleged he was sexually abused by former head of Catholic Charities Msgr. Jerome Boxleitner and Kolar attempted to work for the Catholic Church again in 1995. He is still living and resides in St. Paul.

In 1991 ABC and XYZ sued the Archdiocese of Saint Paul Minneapolis, Reverend Michael Kolar and Mr. Jim Kolar for childhood sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of Father Kolar. At the time, Father Kolar was director of the Catholic Youth Center and NET. It is now known that the Court did not have the full record of Kolar that is produced below. The Court with the Appellate Court affirming, dismissed ABC and XYZ saying as a matter of law that ABC and XYZ brought their action too late and that the statute of limitations barred a lawsuit. In 2013 the Child Victims Act was enacted eliminating the Statute of Limitations in Minnesota.

[ABC v. Archdiocese of St. Paul]

Father Michael Kolar Summary
Father Michael Kolar Timeline
Michael Kolar Hot Docs Part 1
Michael Kolar Hot Docs Part 2
Michael Kolar File, part 1
Michael Kolar File, part 2
Michael Kolar File, part 3
Michael Kolar File, part 4

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CALIFORNIA
Orange County Weekly

By Gustavo Arellano Wed., Jul. 23 2014

Last week, California Governor Jerry Brown announced two new Orange County Superior Court judges: Thomas A. Delaney, and Nancy E. Zeltzer. No idea on who Zeltzer is, but Delaney’s inclusion raised alarms in the part of my brain that tracks pedophile priests and their secular pedophile pals.
Simply put, our new Hizzoner made mucho money defending pedophile-protecting groups in the past couple of years, especially as the Catholic Church sex-abuse scandal spilled over into other organizations that had long protected perverts in plain sight.

Roll call!

* The Boy Scouts: Delaney represented the Scouts, arguing against them turning over secret personnel files that showed how the Scouts knew about the perverts within their midst over the decades. He lost that argument

*Catholic Church: Delaney represented different parts of the Catholic Church, including the Salesians against brothers who said they were molested by a Salesian. Delaney won that one, arguing statute of limitations invalidated their claims–ain’t it nice!

* Los Angeles Unified School District: Delaney was the lead lawyer for the LAUSD in its current fight against dozens of pervert teachers over the decades. In that case, a judge sanctioned Delaney’s firm for withholding evidence. Delaney, for his part, was charging LAUSD $500 an hour for his firm’s services–because there’s nothing like bilking cash-strapped schools, eh?

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NEW YORK
WNYT

By: WNYT Staff

A court date for a local priest charged with endangering the welfare of a child has been postponed.

Father James Michael Taylor was an associate pastor at the Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Schenectady. He’s accused of having inappropriate contact with a 15-year-old girl.

Taylor was due in court on Wednesday but the court date has been postponed until mid-August.

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MISSOURI
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

David Clohessy

I’m sad to share the news that a dear friend and colleague, Kay Goodnow of Kansas City, has passed away at the age of 77.

Kay was a long time member of SNAP and, years ago, of Link Up. She had an acerbic wit and a huge heart. Kay was also a firm believer in using “letters to the editor” and “comment” sections to criticize the corrupt and empathize with the wounded.

While she was healthy, Kay often attended SNAP events, especially in Kansas City. She never hesitated to speak her mind and each time she did, her words rang with truth and compassion.

Often, she spoke highly of her friends in this movement, including Nancy Meyer of Canada, Rick Springer of Chicago, Mike Hunter of Kansas City and Joe McGee of Colorado.

Just two or three weeks ago, right after a news conference outside Bishop Robert Finn’s headquarters, long time SNAP member Abott Durocher drove me to the suburban retirement home where Kay was living. The three of us had a wonderful time catching up and reminiscing.

Kay was visibly glad to see us. And she recounted tales of discussing clergy sex crimes and cover ups with other residents and staff (noting with some glee, that the topic made some of her neighbors feel a little uncomfortable).

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CHICAGO (IL)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, July 23, 2014

For more information: David Clohessy ( 314-566-9790, SNAPclohessy@aol.com )

Clergy sex abuse victims hold 25th anniversary conference in Chicago
Group celebrates 25 years of “growth, healing, justice and prevention”
Speakers include Pulitzer prize winner and noted St. Paul whistleblower

The world’s largest and oldest support group for men and women sexually abused as children will be celebrating its 25th anniversary at a Chicago conference August 1.

SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPNetwork.org), was founded in Chicago in 1988 by clergy abuse survivor Barbara Blaine. What started as an informal group of survivors is now a global network, with support group meetings in 65 US cities and members in 79 countries.

SNAP has become the leading voice in the fight against sexual abuse in religious and institutional settings, with leaders continually quoted as experts by the global media on the topics of abuse, cover-up and healing. The group’s advocacy on behalf of survivors has exposed abuse and cover-up around the world, including the Vatican.

The SNAP Annual Conference will bring together experts in the area of clergy sex crimes, law enforcement, psychology, health, healing, advocacy, and research. This event attracts hundreds of survivors and supporters from the US, Canada, South America, Africa and Europe.

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NEW YORK
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, July 23, 2014

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

A Round Lake priest, who was arrested for inappropriate conduct with a minor, will go to court August 13. We are grateful this predator is being held accountable, but worried that his case has been adjourned for another three weeks. In this time it is possible that he might abuse more children.

We hope, although it is unlikely, that his inappropriate conduct with a minor was an isolated incident. Predators rarely attack only once. Fr. James Michael Taylor was a deacon and youth minister for the Corpus Christi Church during the alleged abuse and is now an ordained priest at Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Schenectady.

Church officials should aggressively seek out any other people who may have been hurt. Bishop Edward Scharfenberger should personally go to each parish where Fr. Taylor worked and beg victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to speak up and call police.

We hope that anyone who saw suspected or suffered abuse will contact law enforcement. It is not too late to speak up and help protect innocent children.

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MISSOURI
The Kansas City Star

KATHARINE A. (LONDON) GOODNOW

1936 – 2014 | Obituary

KATHARINE A. (LONDON) GOODNOW Katharine (Kay) Goodnow, 77, passed away Saturday, July 19, 2014, at Lakeview Village in Lenexa, Kansas, surrounded by the love of her family, her friends and Crossroads Hospice. Kay was born on July 20, 1936, in Kansas City, Missouri, to the late William J. and Emily London. She attended Notre Dame de Sion High School, Baker University and the University of Missouri. Kay’s seemingly endless energy and phenomenal communication skills served her brilliantly in her insurance, publishing, retail and real estate careers. She gave tirelessly of her time and talent to the Alpha Chi Omega Sorority, Daughters of the American Revolution, Johnson County Young Matrons, Shrine Ladies, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests and the Philanthropic and Educational Organization for Women. She was also an accomplished classically-trained pianist and published author. For the last several years, she was actively engaged in the Lakeview Village community; volunteering in the “What Not Shop” and the Lakeview Pantry, contributing writings to the Lakeview Journal and assisting with the 50th Anniversary Celebration. Kay was preceded in death by her brother, William J. London, Jr., who gave his life to his country in 1970 while in the service of the United States Air Force. She is survived by her loyal husband of 51 years, Weston E. Goodnow of Lakeview Village, Lenexa; her devoted sister, Allison “Peachy” Smith and partner Bob Williams of West Plains, Mo.; her daughters, Allison (Goodnow) Verman and husband Brian of Independence, Mo., and Betsy (Goodnow) Masters and husband John of Merriam, Kan., her son, Bill Goodnow, nine grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. A celebration of Kay’s life will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 29, Lakeview Village, 9100 Park St. Lenexa. In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory are suggested to the Child Protection Center; 3101 Broadway, Suite 750, Kansas City, MO 64111, or to Crossroads Hospice, 11150 Thompson Ave., Lenexa, KS 66219.

Ever a crusader in life, our mother has waged her final battle. We mourn her passing, yet rejoice that she finally can be at peace.

Published in Kansas City Star on July 23, 2014

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GUAM
KUAM

by Jolene Toves

Guam – Father John Wadeson is no longer on Guam. It was on Tuesday Archbishop Anthony Apuron took action against Father Wadeson who was twice accused of child molestation in California.

Father Wadeson became a part of the Archdiocese of Guam in 2000.

Four years later his name appeared in a list of accused priests and he was banned from the Los Angeles Archdiocese.

Although he was not convicted these allegations were brought to light by the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests who wrote to Apuron expressing their fear for our islands children.

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NEW YORK
CBS 6

[with video]

Updated: Wednesday, July 23 2014

CLIFTON PARK– A court appearance is set for Wednesday afternoon by a local priest accused of having inappropriate contact with a Saratoga County teen.

Prosecutors say James Michael Taylor exchanged phone calls, text messages and pictures with a 15-year-old girl between October 2013 and April 2014. T

aylor met the victim while serving as Deacon and Youth Minister for the Corpus Christi Church in Round Lake. He most recently served as a priest in Schenectady and is on administrative leave.

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AUSTRALIA
Eureka Street

Andrew Hamilton | 23 July 2014

‘Benedict, Me and the Cardinals Three’ by Bill Morris

Many of Pope Francis’ metaphors have to do with smell. He has urged priests and bishops to go out of the churchy world, saying that it is better to be accident prone than to grow sick through living in fetid air. He has said the clergy must smell like the sheep. And he has remarked on the stuffy air of the Vatican administration.

In mines, where bad air could be lethal, miners used to bring canaries with them. If they fell ill and died, the miners had warning to get out. The recent book by Bishop Bill Morris, replete with documentary evidence, tells the story of a canary caught in the shafts of Vatican culture. His early expiry date pointed to something amiss in the governance of the church, heralding the larger disclosures in the Royal Commission on sexual abuse.

Morris’ story needs no retelling. He was Bishop of Toowoomba, sought to empower the laity and local communities, engaged in serious pastoral planning, was informal in his manner and, earlier than most, understood sexual abuse from the perspective of the victim rather than of the institution.

A small minority of Catholics hostile to him complained regularly to Roman officials and were given credence. Pope Benedict decided on the evidence of his officials that Morris’ grasp of theology was inadequate and that he had to go, and after the many representations and meetings described in this book, he eventually retired.

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IRELAND
Washington Post

By Terrence McCoy July 23

More than 60 years ago, a fair-skinned Irish politician named Sally Mulready was born into a home for unwed mothers called St. Patrick’s. It sat on a road named Navan in Dublin, and Mulready was one of four siblings born there. Her brother John never made it out of St. Pat’s. Like hundreds of other babies born into an Irish homes for “fallen women,” John died in 1947. He was two months old.

“Inanition,” his death record read, according to RTE News. “Failure to thrive.”

But RTE News said the record carried a mystery. John for some reason wasn’t buried until 1950 — three years after his death. The oddity was first discarded as a clerical error.

But it wasn’t. John’s records had the designation “AS,” or “anatomical study.” His infant remains had in fact been given to researchers at Trinity College Dublin, who used them for medical research — though it’s unclear whether his mother had given consent for this.

Mulready eventually tracked down his burial plot, she explained to the Irish Times, but found it marked by a “stick with a number on it. … I cannot imagine that happening to children or young babies who died in … well-to-do-families, families with influence.”

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

A Hunter Valley priest has been charged with indecently assaulting a boy in the early 1970’s.

Police were alerted about the religious brother in March last year and investigators from Strike Force Georgiana were called in.

Yesterday a 66-year-old man was charged with three offences of alleged offences of indecent assault against a boy.

Officers allege the offences happened at Maitland between 1971 and 1972.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

Advocates on child protection say it is clear people remain able to circumvent efforts by authorities to keep children safe.

A royal commission is likely to be held in South Australia into another case of alleged child sexual abuse.

A man, 32, from Adelaide’s southern suburbs is facing charges of unlawful sexual intercourse involving seven preschool-aged wards of the state over 18 months to late 2012, as well as pornography offences.

Authorities say the man had cleared police, child protection and psychological checks before he was hired to care for children in a government-run residential facility.

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AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

22 July, 2014

The Royal Commission will hold a public hearing in Melbourne commencing on Monday 18 August 2014.

The scope and purpose of the public hearing is to inquire into:

The principles, practices and procedures of the Melbourne Response adopted by the CatholicArchdiocese of Melbourne and their application in responding to:

a. Victims of child sexual abuse; and

b. Allegations of child sexual abuse against personnel of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne.

The experience of people who have engaged in the Melbourne Response process, or otherwise sought redress from the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne.

Any other related matters.

Any person or institution who believes that they have a direct and substantial interest in the scope and purpose of the public hearing is invited to lodge a written application for leave to appear at the public hearing by 4 August 2014.

Applications for leave to appear should be made using the form available on the Royal Commission website entitled ‘Application for Leave to Appear at the Royal Commission’ and include a short submission setting out the basis on which it is said the applicant has a substantial and direct interest in appearing.

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AUSTRALIA
Daily Mail (UK)

By AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS

Melburnians who survived child sex abuse within the Catholic Church will have a chance to have their stories heard by the royal commission next month.

Over two weeks of public hearings to be held in Victoria, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse will investigate allegations of abuse in the Melbourne archdiocese and the church’s response.

The church says its formal course of action in Melbourne, adopted in 1996 and known as The Melbourne Response, is the first institutional response in Australia.

The archdiocese will have to explain to the royal commission why it has the Melbourne Response and what it was supposed to achieve.

“This will be a warts-and-all examination of what is arguably the first institutional redress scheme developed in Australia, perhaps the world, to address clerical child sexual abuse,” the CEO of the church’s Truth, Justice and Healing Council Francis Sullivan said.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian

SA Mathieson and Saba Salman
The Guardian, Tuesday 22 July 2014

The Salvation Army failed to investigate allegations of historical child abuse, according to a woman who told the charity 16 years ago that four of its members had sexually assaulted her in the 1970s.

In 1998, Lucy Taylor (not her real name) told the Salvation Army that four men at her local branch of the charity in the north of England had abused her. Her story suggests she was groomed from the age of 10, assaulted from 12 years old and the abuse continued for eight years until she left the organisation.

Taylor says her complaints were not handled seriously either at the local branch, known as a “citadel”, which was at the centre of her allegations, or at the national headquarters in London. When she later approached police, an investigation resulted in two of the four men being arrested on suspicion of indecent assault. They were later released without charge. For legal reasons the Guardian cannot name the alleged victim, now in her 50s, or the men.

Taylor says: “I want somebody to take me seriously – listen to my problem and help me sort this out”. She adds of her alleged abusers: “I just want them to realise what they’ve done to me [but] part of me doesn’t, part of me doesn’t want them to know how it’s upset me and ruined my life.”

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CANADA
Alberni Valley Times

Eric Plummer / Alberni Valley Times
July 23, 2014

One of the most vocal opponents of the Alberni Indian Resident School has died, leaving behind a host of unanswered questions in what many believe is a black mark on the Alberni Valley’s history.

At the age of 10 Alvin Dixon was taken from his family in Bella Bella to attend the school in 1947, part of a mandatory federal program designed to assimilate First Nations children into mainstream society. He would spend the next eight years at the Alberni school, eventually studying at the University of British Columbia and leading careers in teaching, councilling and social activism. Dixon passed on Sunday at the age of 77 in Vancouver.

He was one of several former students at the local school to accuse the institution of experimenting the effects of malnutrition on students. A study released last summer by University of Guelph historian Ian Mosby backed up Dixon’s claims, determining that students were deficient in vitamins A, B, C, iodine and riboflavin due to a lack of fruits, vegetables, eggs, milk and cheese. To measure the effects of an enhanced dairy intake, the amount of milk in students’ diets was tripled.

“There’s no question that there’s more to be discovered and there’s no question that the health issues are reverberating today. It’s disgusting,” said Dixon in an interview with the Victoria Times Colonist last year. “This government is no different from the government 40 or 50 years ago. Racism is still rampant.”

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NEW YORK
Broadway World

This month, as a part of the 15th Anniversary Season of the Midtown International Theatre Festival, Michael Mack will perform the NY premiere of his acclaimed solo show Conversations with My Molester: A Journey of Faith, which will run thru Saturday, August 2 at the Jewel Box Theater (312 West 36th St, 4th Floor). Spanning four decades after his childhood experience of clergy sexual abuse, Mack’s award-winning solo play is his spiritual autobiography charting the crime, the wreckage, and his astonishing, redemptive return to the Catholic Church.

Written by and starring Michael Mack, and featuring direction from Boston stage veteran Daniel Gidron, the production premiered in Boston in 2012 at the 10-year anniversary of the clergy sexual abuse crisis. It won an Artist Grant for Dramatic Writing from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the state’s most competitive and prestigious individual arts fellowship. Mack’s autobiographical work goes where few have ventured on this topic – depicting one clergy survivor’s odyssey full-circle from life-changing trauma to genuine reconciliation.

As a boy from a devout Roman Catholic family, Boston-based playwright Michael Mack wanted to be a priest. That dream ended at age 11 when his pastor first invited him to the rectory to help with “a project.” Mack soon left the Church, haunted for decades by disturbing questions about spirituality and sexuality, but forty years later he landed on his former pastor’s doorstep for the conversations of a lifetime.

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LOUISIANA
ArkLaTex Homepage

[with video]

Nikki Henderson
Kimberly Rusley

A former Shreveport pastor will spend 6.5 years behind bars for sex crimes.

Today, U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote sentenced Andrea Lewis for taking young girls across state lines for sex.

Two of his victims say the sentence was too light.

“I don’t like the length,” says Jane Doe, one of Lewis’ victims. “If it had been done in the early 2000’s or later, he would have had a harsher sentence, but because it was done in 1998/1999, his sentence wasn’t as strong.”

“I feel like the sentencing wasn’t lengthy enough,” says Jane Doe III, another victim of Lewis’. “I mean, because I’ve endured 10 years plus, building the rest of my life. I’ll always be affected by this and six and a half years will never equal up to the pain that I’ve endured, because of this situation.”

Lewis is the former pastor of Act on Faith Ministries off of Hollywood Avenue.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Written by
Gaynor Dumat-ol Daleno

Father John Howard Wadeson, who has been removed from the Archdiocese of Agana over a cloud of sexual abuse allegations in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, has left Guam.

As he left, Wadeson responded to the Pacific Daily News. Here are excerpts:

“…I was in such shock at the viciousness and lies of what was being said about me and our (Archbishop Anthony Apuron), whom I hold in great esteem, that I was lost for words.

For the good of the Church I thought it best that I leave the country, albeit with a very heavy heart, so that these false accusations that are being leveled at me do not become weapons to use against our Archbishop or the church of Guam. Years of evidence shows that our Archbishop Anthony Sablan Apuron has been in the forefront against gambling and the corruption that it would bring; he has consistently defended marriage and the family; he is encouraging vocations to the priesthood and religious life to help in the evangelization of the Pacific. He has truly been a pastor and those who are attacking him know not what they do!

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NEW MEXICO
KOB

[with video]

By: Tom Joles, KOB Eyewitness News 4

The Archdiocese of Santa Fe is looking for a new archbishop and not because it wants to.
Archbishop Michael Sheehan just turned 75 and that means he has to retire.

In a very candid conversation KOB Eyewitness News 4’s Tom Joles talked about him, the church, and that rumored half million dollar house.

“Have you ever questioned whether there’s really a God?” asked KOB’s Tom Joles.

“No. It’s beyond my pay grade,” joked Sheehan. …

“If you could change one thing about the church, what would it be?” questioned Joles.

“Holier priests. There wouldn’t be any of this sexual abuse garbage. And stuff like that and meanness and whatever. Holier priests. That’s the thing I would like to see happen,” answered Sheehan.

Sheehan understands flawed humans, which compelled Joles to ask him if Sheehan has stumbled in the job at all or had anything to regret.

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LOUISIANA
KATC

A 54-year old Shreveport pastor has been sentenced to over 7 years of imprisonment for engaging in sexual activities with minors.

Andrea Lewis, a Shreveport pastor was found guilty for engaging in sexual acts with girls under 18-years old. They were among members of the choir he formed, and of his congregation.

Lewis used his status as a pastor to coerce the girls. He then used choir trips and church related travel to cover up the sexual abuse, and threatened the girls not to tell anyone.

U.S. Attorney Stephanie Finley says Lewis was found guilty for three counts of transporting minors across state lines to have sex. Evidence collected had proved that Lewis transported at least three minors to and from Texas to have sex with him.

“Unfortunately, this defendant took advantage of his position to abuse young girls in his care and left them with emotional and physical scars that may never heal,” Finley stated.

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

By Claire O’Sullivan
Irish Examiner Reporter

A decision is likely early next year on an appeal by a Cork priest into a secret Church court’s decision to defrock him for the serial sexual abuse of minors and teenagers.

As part of the appeal, the priest, Dan Duane, aged 76, was invited to Rome by the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith to outline his objections to the diocese’s decision. He is not obliged to attend.

He was the subject of 11 complaints of abuse and three years ago, Cork Circuit Criminal Court directed that he be found not guilty of indecently assaulting a teenager.

The judge made the direction on the grounds of the 30-year delay in making the complaint.

A month later, Duane was found not guilty of indecently assaulting a 14-year-old girl 31 years earlier.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Road to Recovery

MEDIA RELEASE – JULY 22, 2014

Mother of sexual abuse victim of Br. Stephen Baker, T.O.R., of the Franciscan Friars of Hollidaysburg, PA, to speak of harm done to victims and their families by continuing delays

What: A press conference announcing the disappointment and frustration of dozens of
sexual abuse victims, their family members, and their advocates toward the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, PA, the Franciscan Friars of Hollidaysburg, PA, and the Diocese of Youngstown, OH because of their foot-dragging regarding the settlement of cases of sexual abuse by Br. Stephen Baker, T.O.R.

When: Wednesday, July 23, 2014 at 11:00 AM

Where: On the public sidewalk in front of the headquarters of the Diocese of Altoona-
Johnstown, PA, 927 S. Logan Boulevard, Hollidaysburg, PA 16648 – 814-695-5579.

Who: Barbara Aponte, mother of Luke Bradesku, an alleged Ohio victim of Br. Stephen Baker, T.O.R., who took his life after suffering from the effects of allegedly having been sexually abused as a high school student at John F. Kennedy Catholic High School in Warren, OH; and Dr. Robert M. Hoatson, co-founder and President of Road to Recovery, Inc., a non-profit charity that assists victims of sexual abuse and their families.

Why: Religious leaders, including the Bishop of Altoona-Johnstown, Mark L. Bartchak,
and attorneys representing the Franciscan Third Order Regular Friars of Hollidaysburg, PA; the Diocese of Youngstown, OH; and the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, PA have expressed hollow sentiments that they wish to settle in a timely fashion dozens of cases of sexual abuse by Br. Stephen Baker from Bishop Mc Cort High School, Johnstown, PA, the greater Altoona-Johnstown area, and the Youngstown, OH area. The victim/survivors have waited long enough. It is now time for settlements to occur. One mediation session in May, 2014, was cancelled as a result of foot-dragging, and Bishop Mark Bartchak has promised that cases would be settled in a timely fashion. Another summer has come and nearly gone, and victim/survivors continue to suffer. Barbara Aponte, mother of an alleged Br. Baker victim from Ohio, will speak about the devastating effects not only of the sexual abuse on families but of foot-dragging by church authorities. Because of these delays, victim/survivors are unable to reach closure and heal from the sexual abuse.

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

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ALABAMA
Associated Baptist Press

By Bob Allen

Leaders of a Baptist association in Alabama investigated questions raised in recent media reports about a director of mission’s handling of alleged child sex abuse decades ago in 2009 and found no evidence of cover-up, according to a news story dated July 17 in the Alabama Baptist.

Recent news stories about the May 20 arrest of a former youth minister at Lakeside Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., included comments by one of the alleged victims claiming the pastor at the time, Mike McLemore, knew about the abuse but kept it quiet to protect the congregation’s image.

Mack Allen Davis, 73, minister of youth and recreation at Lakeside Baptist Church from 1977 until his retirement in 1999, faces 15 charges from three counties stemming from allegations by two men who stepped forward to claim that Davis molested them 30 years ago.

One of the men, Davis’ nephew, Andrew Guffey, 44, told the Birmingham News that McLemore, now director of missions for Birmingham Baptist Association, knew about the abuse by the late 1990s but did not report it to the police.

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TENNESSEE
Associated Baptist Press

By Bob Allen

A former Tennessee Baptist youth minister avoided a maximum 20-year sentence for child pornography found on his cell phone during an investigation of his previous arrest on charges of statutory rape and sexual battery.

U.S. District Judge Harry S. “Sandy” Mattice sentenced 38-year-old Joseph Todd Neill to three years and four months for a single charge of possessing child pornography July 21.

Neill, former youth director at North Fork Baptist Church in Shelbyville, Tenn., pleaded guilty Feb. 23 in a plea bargain that included up to 20 years in prison and fines up to $250,000.

According to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, the judge said in reviewing Neill’s record that the incident seemed to be isolated. Neill will receive credit for the five months he has already been in jail.

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MONTANA
Sun Herald

The Associated Press
July 22, 2014

HELENA, MONT. — The Montana Supreme Court on Tuesday publicly reprimanded a judge who gave a lenient sentence to a rapist after suggesting the 14-year-old victim shared some of the responsibility for the crime.

District Judge G. Todd Baugh, of Billings, appeared before the court in Helena, where Chief Justice Mike McGrath read the prepared censure statement. A censure is a rarely used public declaration by the high court that a judge is guilty of misconduct.

“We have determined that, through your inappropriate comments, you have eroded public confidence in the judiciary and created an appearance of impropriety in violation of the Montana Code of Judicial Conduct,” McGrath said. The Supreme Court also suspended him for 31 days, effective in December.

Baugh stood at the podium to receive the reprimand, but he did not speak. McGrath did not read a sentence in the transcript of the censure that asked if Baugh had anything he wanted to say.

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MONTANA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 503 0003 cell, SNAPdorris@gmail.com )

We are glad that Helena Judge Todd Baugh will be suspended in December for his inappropriate rape comments.

We encourage him to spend that month doing community service at a rape crisis center or similar agency so he will learn to be sensitive about horrific sex crimes.

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UNITED STATES
Addicting Info

Could Tom Petty be the counterbalance to Ted Nugent that many Americans have been looking for? It certainly seems that way considering the Heartbreaker blasted the Catholic Church and so-called “Christians” who aren’t acting very Christ-like in a recent interview with Billboard magazine.
The legendary rocker talked a great deal about religion during the interview, pondering why those of the Catholic faith still give money to the Church knowing that it’s being used to shield pedophile priests or cover up their crimes. “I’m fine with whatever religion you want to have,” Petty told the publication.

Petty then went on to criticize alleged Christians who thirst for war and defend killing people like conservative “Christians” do today.

Religion seems to me to be at the base of all wars. I’ve nothing against defending yourself, but I don’t think, spiritually speaking, that there’s any conception of God that should be telling you to be violent. It seems to me that no one’s got Christ more wrong than the Christians.

The Catholic Church has been rocked for decades by the massive pedophile priest scandal that has resulted in thousands of molested and abused children around the globe. The image of the Church has taken a major hit over the years because of it, but they still rake in the cash from Catholics who seem not to care that their money is helping the Church prevent victims from getting justice.

Meanwhile, Conservative “Christians” here in America are bloodthirsty. They support perpetual war, guns everywhere, and senseless violence. The current border crisis involving refugee children has revealed conservative “Christians” for what they really are as they hurl racial epithets and threaten violence against them in the most un-Christ-like manner. In addition, conservative “Christians” want to punish poor people severely by taking food stamps and health care away from them, which is something else that Jesus wouldn’t do.

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OKLAHOMA
The Raw Story

By Travis Gettys
Tuesday, July 22, 2014

A 19-year-old Oklahoma man accused of sexually abusing children while volunteering in Kenya is blaming his actions on “pseudo-tribal psychological voodoo.”

Matthew Durham was charged Friday in federal court with four counts of traveling to engage in illicit sexual conduct, reported The Oklahoman.

The Edmond man was accused of sexually abusing up to 10 children of both sexes, between the ages of 4 and 9 years old, while volunteering this spring at Upendo Children’s Home in Nairobi.

At least one of the victims is HIV-positive, authorities said.

Durham had previously volunteered three times at the children’s home, which was founded by a couple from Edmonds and provides neglected kids with housing, clothing, education and religious instruction.

He was accused of committing the sex acts on his fourth trip, from April 30 to June 17, when he asked to stay overnight at the children’s home.

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UNITED STATES
Watch Keep

A comparison of responses to allegations of child sex abuse- Prestonwood Baptist Church and Morrison Heights Baptist vs. Believers Church: image over child protection

AUBURN, AL (WTVM)
A longtime associate pastor at Believers Church in Auburn has been arrested on child sex abuse charges.

His arrest in May got him kicked out of the church where he had been for 30 years. Lee County Sheriff’s detectives say the two adult victims came forward in April to report they were abused in the early 1990’s.

Every Sunday, for nearly 30 years at Believers Church on Moore’s Mill Road, 53-year-old John Sluder, an associate pastor, would play guitar during services.

“People have shed tears because of what he appeared to be, a gentle old man. So yes, we were very shocked,” said attorney Ben Hand. …

Tears for the victims. Anger at the perpetrator. This is a refreshing response from a church who gets it. It’s not about them. It’s about the kids harmed by one of their own. But they don’t protect their own image and shun and silence these kids, now adults, who though it took a long time, bravely came forward to report the harm done to them. Kids will be safer now, and other possible victims of Sluder will know they are not alone and perhaps have the courage to come forward as well, begin to heal and protect others.

Prestonwood Baptist Church, where are the tears for the victims? Where is the anger at one of your own former ministers, John Langworthy, who confessed publicly to sexually abusing kids at your church? The only public anger we have seen from Prestonwood staff is at those who have dared to ask simple questions of the executive staff like why Langworthy wasn’t reported to police in 1989?

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TENNESSEE
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, July 22, 2014

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

A Tennessee youth pastor has been sentenced to 3 years in jail on child pornography charges. We are glad he is going to jail but believe his sentence should have been much stricter.

Joseph Todd Neill was the youth pastor at North Fork Baptist Church prior to him being investigated on a statutory rape charge. Investigators later found violent and graphic child pornography at his home.

We urge North Fork Baptist church officials to immediately reach out to congregants and beg anyone who saw, suspects or suffered crimes by Neill to call police immediately.

We hope any victims suffering in silence and self blame will find the courage to speak up. Children are kept safe when those who know about or suffered crimes call police and share what they know.

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OKLAHOMA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, July 22, 2014

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

A teenaged missionary from Oklahoma is accused of sexually abusing several young children from an African orphanage. Our hearts ache for the vulnerable children who, instead of receiving much needed aid, were sexually assaulted. We hope the children will now, more than ever, receive the care they need.

Matthew Durham has traveled several times to Kenya to work at a children’s home with an organization called Upendo. The allegations of abuse stem from his most recent trip, but we are concerned there are more victims who have been suffering in silence and self blame from previous trips. We urge Upendo to publically explain how one of their volunteer missionaries was able to sexual assault the children they were meant to help.

We suspect Durham was or is affiliated with a church in Oklahoma. Officials at that church must aggressively seek out others in their congregation who may have seen, suspected or suffered crimes or misdeeds by him.

Children sexually abused in developing countries face added hardships of limited access to recourse and rehabilitative services. Upendo should immediately provide the children with access to rehabilitative services and reach out to anyone else who might be suffering in silence and self blame.

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CHILE
Juan Carlos Cruz Chellew, James Hamilton Sánchez and José Andrés Murillo Urrutia

Santiago, July 22, 2014 — As part of the civil lawsuit we filed against the Archdiocese of Santiago for its complicity, negligence and willful ignorance in the case of abuse by Fr. Fernando Karadima, we would like to report that the conversations initiated in March have stopped; thus, ending the conciliation stage.

On the one hand, we recognize and appreciate the efforts and willingness of lawyers hired by the Archdiocese and the priest chosen by both parties as a mediator, to find common ground, smooth roughness and reach a common story based on the facts established by Chilean criminal justice and the Vatican itself.

However, we were unable to reach the main three key points in our lawsuit: 1) the Archbishop and current head of the Archdiocese of Santiago, Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati, would recognize their negligent liability in the abuse cases that happened to us and several others for more than 30 years; 2) for this reason, the Archbishop would publicly apologize; and, 3) that this damage would be compensated materially according to its severity.

Our effort and openness have continuously sought to establish these three points that are essential not only for our particular case, but for all cases of abuse involving the Catholic Church worldwide. We also believe that the Catholic Church, as a universal institution, has taken a significant step when Pope Francis apologized for the complicity, concealment and omissions of the hierarchy of the CatholicChurch, embodied by Bishops and Cardinals, in cases of sexual abuse.

His words, unlike the words of the Chilean hierarchy, are unambiguous: “I humbly apologize for the leaders of the Church who have not responded adequately to allegations of abuse by relatives and those who were victims of abuse. This brings still further suffering to those who have been abused and endangered other children who were at risk” (Vatican City, July 7, 2014) That recognition and apology should be translated, in the words of Francis himself, in the best abuse prevention policies and material reparation for victims.

However, in Chile these words did not find the expected repercussion. Apparently Cardinal Ezzati, along with his predecessor, Cardinal Francisco Javier Errázuriz – who sits in the Pope’s Council of 8 “reformer” Cardinals — and most of their fellow bishops, interpretedthis step to a possible agreement as an opportunity to rewrite history and clean, instead of their conscience, their image.

We will not take part of this whitewash. We believe that victims of sexual abuse and abuse of conscience deserve justice. We also believe that many members of the Catholic Church at all levels, that are honest and committed men and women that pursue truth and justice, don’t deserve a hierarchy that does not represent them.

We continue to look for a respectful dialogue but in justice and truth. We will not accept a dialogue that benefits these Cardinals’ and Bishops’ self-image by trying to distort history and manipulate the conscience of survivors and the people of Chile.

Juan Carlos Cruz Chellew
James Hamilton Sánchez
José Andrés Murillo Urrutia

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CHILE
Bio Bio

Víctimas de Karadima rechazan acuerdo con Iglesia y acusan intento de lavado de imagen

Las víctimas de abusos sexuales del sacerdote Fernando Karadima rechazaron el acuerdo propuesto por el arzobispado de Santiago para poner fin a la demanda por 450 millones de pesos que interpusieron contra la iglesia.

El periodista Juan Carlos Cruz Chellew, el médico James Hamilton y el filósofo José Andrés Murillo, a través de un comunicado, anunciaron el cese del proceso de conciliación que se inició en marzo de este año.

“Aparentemente el Cardenal Ricardo Ezzati, junto con su antecesor, el Cardenal Francisco Javier Errázuriz, y otros colaboradores eclesiásticos interpretaron esta etapa de posible acuerdo como una oportunidad para reescribir la historia y limpiar, en lugar de su conciencia, su imagen. No estamos disponibles para ello” dice la declaración. …

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TENNESSEE
Greenville Sun

Posted: Tuesday, July 22, 2014

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — A one-time youth pastor from Shelbyville has been sentenced to three years and four months in federal prison for possessing child pornography.

U.S. District Judge Harry S. “Sandy” Mattice could have leveled a 20-year sentence on 38-year-old Joseph Todd Neill on Monday for downloading “violent” and “sadistic” prepubescent child pornography on his home computer.

Shelbyville police were investigating Neill on charges of statutory rape and searched his home computer, finding 72 images of minors, 32 of whom were children. Images contained depictions of bondage and child rape and molestation of children ages 5 to 9 years old. Neill worked at North Fork Baptist Church.

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NORTH CAROLINA
The Raw Story

By David Edwards
Tuesday, July 22, 2014

A North Carolina pastor shot himself to death over the weekend as deputies were trying to arrest him on child sex charges.

According to WCOC-TV, Michael Mullis, the former pastor of Near Calvary Baptist Church in Concord, knew that he was being investigated for indecent liberties with a child before Rowan County deputies showed up on Saturday to serve warrants on him.

The sheriff’s office said that when deputies arrived to arrest him, he went to the bathroom to put on his shoes, and shot himself with a pistol.

“I’m sure he knew because our investigators had talked to him about this incident,” Concord Police spokesperson Maj. Gary Hatley told WSOC. “Or attempted to talk to him anyway — he knows we were investigating.”

A timeline provided by the victim indicated that Mullis was still serving as pastor at Near Calvary Baptist during the years of sexual abuse. The abuse allegedly ended in 2004, and Mullis resigned from the church in 2011 after 20 years as pastor.

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VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service | Jul. 22, 2014

VATICAN CITY
The Pentecostal bishop who used his iPhone to film a video of Pope Francis addressing other Pentecostals died Sunday after a motorcycle accident.

Bishop Tony Palmer, whom Pope Francis referred to as his friend, was riding the motorcycle when he crashed head-on with a car traveling in the wrong lane, according to Ian Findlay, principal of Embassy Bible College in Bath, England.

Palmer, a member of the independent Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches, “was airlifted to [the] hospital and was in [the operating] theater for 10 hours, but the doctors could not save him,” Findlay told Catholic News Service in a telephone interview Monday.

The bishop served as the dean of the Bible college and was “a very dear friend,” Findlay said. “I’m praying the fruits of his ministry,” particularly his promotion of ecumenical cooperation, will continue.

Findlay said the bishop was in his early 50s and leaves behind a wife and two teenage children. As of Monday, funeral arrangements were pending.

Palmer, who was born in the United Kingdom and grew up in South Africa, was co-founder of The Ark Community, which describes itself as “an internet-based, interdenominational” Christian community. Previously he served as the director of the South Africa office of Kenneth Copeland Ministries, a U.S.-based Pentecostal group offering mega-prayer meetings around the world.

Pope Francis’ iPhone video message, which Palmer filmed in January, was addressed to participants in a conference sponsored by Kenneth Copeland Ministries.

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OKLAHOMA
The Edmond Sun

Mark Schlachtenhaufen
The Edmond Sun

EDMOND — A federal grand jury alleges a 19-year-old Edmond man staying at a children’s’ home in Kenya engaged in illicit sexual conduct with residents ages 4-9.

An Edmond couple originally from Kenya established Upendo Children’s Home, located in the Juja area of Nairobi, so impoverished children and orphans could have a place to go to school for free. U.S. churches send financial support and volunteers to the home.

Monday morning, the office of U.S. Attorney Sanford Coats announced that on Friday a criminal complaint was unsealed charging Matthew Lane Durham, 19, of Edmond, with traveling to Kenya to engage in illicit sexual conduct with underage children, both male and female, ages 4-9 from April to June.

Durham is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. Defense counsel information was not available Monday.

An effort to gain comment from the founding couple was under way; they are not named in the complaint.

Federal law makes it a crime for any U.S. citizen to travel in foreign commerce and engage in any illicit sexual conduct with another person under the age of 18. Durham traveled to and from Kenya out of Oklahoma City’s Will Rogers World Airport, according to court records.

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OKLAHOMA
KSWO

EDMOND, Okla_An Oklahoma man faces several charges after allegedly sexually abusing young children on a mission trip to Kenya.

According to court records, 19-year old Matthew Lane Durham of Edmond volunteered at a children’s shelter in Kenya from April to June of 2014. While there, prosecutors say he sexually abused both male and female children ages four to ten years old. According to investigators the children first came forward with the claims, Durham later confessed.

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OKLAHOMA
NewsOK

by Matt Dinger Published: July 22, 2014

A 19-year-old Edmond man is accused of engaging in sex acts with children while volunteering in Kenya this spring.

Matthew Lane Durham was charged late Friday in Oklahoma City federal court with four counts of traveling to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

Lane is accused of committing the acts with four to 10 children of both sexes, according to the probable cause affidavit. The children range in age from 4 to 9 years old.

At least one of the children is HIV positive, records show.

Durham volunteered at the Upendo Children’s Home in Nairobi. The home, which is funded through sponsorships and donations, provides neglected Kenyan children with food, housing, clothing, education and religious instruction. Durham has previously volunteered three times: June 2012, June 2013, and in December. He stayed with sponsor families during prior visits.

The sex acts are alleged to have been committed on the fourth trip, from April 30 to June 17, when Durham requested to stay overnight at the children’s home, the complaint states.

Durham’s attorney, Steven Jones, said, “The affidavit is shot through with inaccuracies.

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OKLAHOMA/KENYA
KTLA

JULY 21, 2014, BY CNN WIRE

An Edmond teenager faces a possible life in prison sentence after authorities say they learned about shocking crimes he allegedly committed on an African mission trip.

The suspect was volunteering at a Kenyan children’s home when he allegedly raped and molested a number of young children.

According to court records, 19-year-old Matthew Durham confessed to raping several young girls, forcing some boys to perform oral sex on him and even making other kids watch.

“This is a young man in our community that made choices to exploit children in an orphanage,” said United States Attorney Sanford Coats. “It’s a true tragedy all the way around.”

The 19-year-old suspect traveled overseas with a group called Upendo.

Upendo is an organization that assists neglected Kenyan kids by providing food, housing, clothes and religion.

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MISSOURI
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, July 22, 2014

For more information: David Clohessy of St. Louis, SNAP Director (314) 566-9790 cell, SNAPclohessy@aol.com

Crucial court hearing is tomorrow
It involves embattled Catholic bishop
Judge may OK “ground-breaking” award
Arbitrator says 42 abuse victims to get $1.1 million
SNAP: “Top Catholic official broke his prevention contract”
Group encourages parishioners to attend court session on Wednesday

A Kansas City judge will hear arguments tomorrow about whether an unprecedented $1.1 million award to 42 clergy sex abuse victims should stand or be overturned.

Judge Bryan Round will hear lawyers for embattled KC Bishop Robert Finn claim that the sum should be tossed out because an arbitrator exceeded his authority during binding arbitration.

A support group for clergy sex abuse victims is urging local parishioners to attend the 10 a.m. hearing Wednesday in Division 8 of the Jackson County court.

The group applauds the arbitrator’s award and agrees with the finding that Finn is guilty of “breach of contract.”

Leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, have called the award “ground-breaking.”

“As best we can tell, there’s never been a case like this – anywhere in the U.S. – in which victims have successfully held a bishop responsible in court for breaking the promises he made during a settlement,” said David Clohessy, SNAP’s director. “And the amount of this award is significant because it may will deter more Catholic officials from breaking the promises they make to victims.”

In 2008, 47 victims settled child sex abuse and cover up lawsuits against Finn and his diocese. As part of that deal, they insisted that Finn commit to 19 non-economic child safety measures.

In October 2011, 44 of those victims formally charged that Finn broke many of those child safety measures, in part by keeping two credibly accused predator priests in ministry (Fr. James Tierney and Fr. Shawn Ratigan) and by not reporting suspicions and knowledge of child sex crimes promptly to law enforcement.

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MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

Madeleine Baran St. Paul, Minn. Jul 22, 2014

A Ramsey County judge decided Monday to allow a clergy abuse lawsuit filed against the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the Diocese of Winona to go forward on claims of negligence.

However, Judge John Van de North said he needed more information before he decided whether a claim that the church created a public nuisance should also go forward to a jury.

Archdiocese attorney Tom Wieser said he’s hopeful that the judge will dismiss the public nuisance claim.

“The majority of courts that have ruled on that have ruled that there’s no legal basis for that claim to move forward,” Wieser said.

Victims’ attorney Jeff Anderson says he’s pleased with the ruling, since it means the case is headed for a trial in September.

“And it’s very clear that the judge gets it,” Anderson said. “And it’s very clear that we’re going to get another opportunity every day for the rest of these days forward to get more information out there to protect kids.”

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