ABUSE TRACKER

CIUDAD DEL VATICANO
La Nacion (Argentina)

En una entrevista con el Corriere della Sera, que LA NACION publica en forma simultánea y exclusiva, Bergoglio habla de su revolucionario primer año al frente de la Iglesia

Por Ferruccio de Bortoli | Corriere della sera

Un año ha transcurrido desde aquel simple buona sera que conmovió al mundo. El lapso de doce meses tan intensos no alcanza para contener la gran masa de novedades y signos profundos de la innovación pastoral de Francisco. Nos encontramos en un pequeño salón en Santa Marta. La única ventana da a un patio que abre un minúsculo ángulo de cielo azul. El Papa aparece de improviso por una puerta, con la cara distendida y sonriente. Se divierte con los varios grabadores que la ansiedad senil del periodista colocó sobre la mesa. “¿Funcionan todos? ¿Sí? Menos mal.” ¿El balance de este año? No, los balances no le gustan. “Yo sólo hago balance cada 15 días, con mi confesor.”

Santo Padre, usted cada tanto llama por teléfono a los que le piden ayuda. ¿Y algunas veces no le creen que sea usted?

Sí, ya me ha pasado. Cuando uno llama es porque tiene ganas de hablar, una pregunta que hacer, un consejo que pedir. Cuando era cura en Buenos Aires, era más fácil. Y a mí me quedó esa costumbre. Es un servicio. Me sale así. Pero es cierto que ahora no es tan fácil hacerlo, dada la cantidad de gente que me escribe.

¿Hay alguno de esos contactos que recuerde con particular afecto?

Una señora viuda de 80 años que había perdido a su hijo. Me escribió. Y ahora le pego una llamadita una vez por mes. Ella está feliz, y yo hago de cura. Me gusta.

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VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

Joshua J. McElwee | Mar. 5, 2014 NCR Today

ROME Pope Francis has marked the first anniversary of his pontificate with a wide-ranging interview touching on his views on a host of topics, including the role of women in the Catholic church, the ongoing clergy sexual abuse crisis, and possible changes to the church’s family pastoral practices.

Published Wednesday simultaneously in Italy and Argentina, the interview seems to find the pontiff walking a bit of a tightrope — expressing support for church teachings that have sometimes divided Catholics but also calling for mercy and consideration in their application.

Speaking on the church’s prohibition on the use of artificial contraception, for example, Francis says a lot depends on how you consider Pope Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae, which reaffirmed the ban. But, Francis also says, Paul was a “genius” in making the decision.

“It all depends on how you interpreted Humanae Vitae,” states Francis in the interview, published in Italy by the daily Corriere della Sera. “The same Paul VI, in the end, recommended to confessors much mercy, attention to concrete situations.”

Pope Paul, states Francis: “Had the courage to stand against the majority, to defend the moral discipline, to exercise cultural restraint.”

“The question is not that of changing the doctrine, but to go deep and to ensure that pastoral care takes into account situations and what is possible for people,” the pontiff continues.

Wednesday’s interview, published in Spanish by the Argentinian paper La Nación, was conducted by Ferruccio de Bortoli, the editor-in-chief of the Italian paper. It is the last of several lengthy the interviews the pontiff has granted in the year since his election as pope on March 13, 2013.

The interview contains some of the pope’s only public words on the sexual abuse crisis, which continues to roil dioceses across the world. Asked about the subject, Francis replies: “I want to say two things.”

“The cases of abuse are awful because they leave profound wounds,” he states. “Benedict XVI was very courageous and has opened a way. On this way the church has done so much. Perhaps most of all.”

“The statistics of the phenomenon of violence against children are staggering, but show clearly that the vast majority of abuse happens in the family setting and neighborhood,” he continues.

“The Catholic church is maybe the only public institution to have moved with transparency and responsibility,” he states. “No one else has done more. Yet the church is the only one to be attacked.”

In the nearly 3,000-word exchange the pope also touches on a number of personal subjects, calling himself “a man who laughs, cries, sleeps peacefully, and has friends like everyone else. A normal person.”

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

By Lilly Fowler lfowler@post-dispatch.com 314-340-82210

In the category of in case you missed it, the documentary program Frontline aired “Secrets of the Vatican” last week, which is available online for viewing.

The piece starts out with a profile of the Legionaries of Christ, an order founded in Mexico by Marcial Maciel. Maciel was recently denounced by the organization he founded for having sexually abused children. Pope Benedict XVI removed him in 2006, and he died in 2008, but for years, even as criticism mounted, the Vatican supported him.

The program also features victims from the archdiocese of Milwaukee, which one expert said faces some of the most callous and disturbing cases of sexual abuse he’s ever witnessed. It recounts Cardinal Timothy Dolan, former auxiliary bishop in St. Louis, 2007 transfer of $57 million to a cemetery fund to protect the archdiocese’s assets from victims of clerical abuse.

The Associated Press recently reported that the archdiocese has proposed setting aside $4 million to compensate victims; it filed for bankruptcy in 2011 and the question of whether the cemetery funds can be used to compensate those abused is under appeal, according to the article.

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VATICAN CITY
Wall Street Journal

By DEBORAH BALL
March 5, 2014

ROME—The Vatican could soon make significant changes to the role of women in the church and to the Catholic church’s approach to divorcées, said Pope Francis in a sweeping interview with Italian and Argentinean newspapers. He also suggested the church could consider a shift in its approach to contraception, although he ruled out a wholesale change in doctrine.

As the anniversary of his election approaches, the Argentinean-born pontiff also sought to rebuff criticisms that he has done too little to respond to the sex abuse scandals that have rocked the church, while he also renewed his criticisms of globalization. At the same time, Pope Francis sought to play down the huge popularity that his papacy has generated, saying that he is “not some sort of superman.”

In an extensive interview granted to Italian daily Corriere della Sera and Argentinean newspaper La Nacion, the pope said that women could have greater decision-making power in the church’s hierarchy. Some Vatican experts have raised the possibility of the pope’s appointing women to senior positions within the Vatican’s bureaucracy, perhaps as the head of one of its powerful departments.

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VATICAN CITY
Newstalk

John Alexander O’Dowd

The Pope has defended the Catholic Church’s record on tackling the sexual abuse of children by priests, saying “no-one else has done more” to root out paedophilia.

Last month, the United Nations denounced the Vatican for allowing child abuse to be covered up. The UN accused the church of preserving its own reputation and the reputation of abusers over the protection of child victims.

In an interview with an Italian daily, ‘Il Corriere della Sera’ published this morning, Pope Francis says statistics show the great majority of abuses are carried out in family or neighbourhood environments.

And he praised his predecessor Benedict the 16th for being the first pope to apologise to abuse victims.

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INDIA
Press Trust of India

New Delhi, Mar 5 (PTI) Chief priest Keshavan Namboodiri of Badrinath shrine in Uttarakhand, who was arrested for allegedly confining and molesting a woman in a hotel here, has been denied bail by a Delhi Court.

Metropolitan Magistrate Shreya Arora Mehta dismissed the application of Keshavan, saying the allegations against him are serious in nature and if he is released on bail, he may try to influence the witnesses in the case.

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UNITED STATES
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on March 4, 2014

The sexual abuse of teens by powerful adults (teachers, coaches, priests, family members) is a trauma double whammy: teens damaged by the abuse AND they are often blamed for the abuse by community members who say that the teen wanted it, was a slut, or should have known better.

What these people don’t understand—but predators do—are the intricacies of a teenager’s brain.

I’m not talking about hormones here. I’m talking about the physical, mental and emotional maturation of the white matter between a kid’s ears.

In his book Brainstorm, Daniel J. Siegel talks about why teenagers act the way they do. Without getting into the meat of the book (which is a must read for teens and parents), there was one specific point he made (among many) that shows why predators who target teens are far more likely to use alcohol to groom their victims.

According to Siegel’s studies, the teenage brain is subject to much greater dopamine releases than either children or adults. That is, they get much greater pleasure and a much bigger “rush” from alcohol, drugs, or dangerous behavior (sex, fast driving, BMX racing, etc.). So the euphoria a teen feels after drinking is much more intense than what an adult feels. Therefore, it’s harder to resist … or stop.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

JOSEPH A. SLOBODZIAN, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
LAST UPDATED: Wednesday, March 5, 2014

After three days of prosecution testimony, the sexual-assault trial of Catholic priest Andrew McCormick moves to the defense Wednesday with the priest’s lawyers saying they have not decided whether their client will testify.

On Tuesday, Assistant District Attorney Kristen Kemp completed her case in a day dominated by a former Bridesburg altar boy’s conflicted testimony about his relationship with McCormick.

Adam Visconto, now 27, told the Common Pleas Court jury that McCormick was an influential spiritual mentor at St. John Cantius parish in Bridesburg. Visconto testified that McCormick “grew my soul” at a time he considered becoming a priest.

Visconto denied that McCormick ever molested him or was sexually inappropriate. But he also said he cut off contact with the priest because of what he called “proximity issues.”

Visconto cited several times when McCormick put his arm around him as they sat on a sofa in the rectory and a time when, he said, the priest asked him and another altar boy to meet him in the church’s basement.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Irish Times

Dan Keenan

Wed, Mar 5, 2014

Allegations of rapes, beatings and other abuses made by former residents of Derry care homes run by the Sisters of Nazareth have been heard by the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry. Statements submitted to the inquiry from those implicated strongly deny all claims.

The allegations and subsequent denials dominated evidence on the 15th day of the inquiry into alleged abuses in residential institutions.

One witness, who alleged she was repeatedly physically abused at St Joseph’s Home, Termonbacca, in Derry, said she was also raped while in care outside the institution.

The woman, who is now herself a foster parent, told the inquiry panel she and her husband provided homes for children in care because she “didn’t want them to go through what I went through”.

The witness, who cannot be identified, cited regular beatings from a named nun who also showed alleged bias against children who “did not tell her things”. The inquiry heard this nun also force-fed children.

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UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism

Jerry Slevin

In three year’s time, the world will mark both (A) the 500th anniversary of the German theologian, Martin Luther’s Reformation launch, and (B) the first Jesuit Pope, Francis’ 80th birthday. That is the current retirement age of cardinals and Francis may retire then to establish a term limit precedent.

Recent reports from Germany indicate that Francis by then may be well on the way to completing, not merely countering, the Reformation that Luther had started and, paradoxically, Jesuits had been founded mainly to counter. Francis now has the unprecedented opportunity (1) to complete the reform of the Catholic Church, (2) to end the scandalous religious rift that never should have occurred, and (3) to consolidate the fruits of the enormous efforts of both Luther and Loyola and their many followers.

Why Germany? A central element of the explanation is that it is where Swiss born, Rome Jesuit educated, Fr. Hans Kung has boldly taught scholars and advocated for reform for almost six decades, often working closely with Luther’s principal Protestant intellectual successors. Hans Kung has for decades clearly been a key, if not the key, Catholic intellectual, and pastoral, force behind this “New Reformation”. He has suffered much at the hands of the last two popes for his reform advocacy, but he is continuing to press, as he soon celebrates his 86th birthday.

Francis would likely benefit if he soon read carefully, if he hasn’t already, the superb, comprehensive and straightforward new reform book, “Can We Save the Catholic Church?”by Jesuit educated, Hans Kung described further at: http://amzn.com/B00CR42LNG that Fr. Kung already sent him, and then met with Hans Kung, who surely would be pleased to consult with him. Pope Francis, by a gracious hand written note, has already thanked Hans Kung for the reform book. Fr. Kung knows much about what ails the Church and what is needed to cure it, as best I can tell.

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CANADA
Edmonton Journal

BY BRENT WITTMEIER, EDMONTON JOURNAL MARCH 4, 2014

EDMONTON – Willie Littlechild has heard the dark stories, exposed to light after a half century of secrecy.

In the past five years, the former Conservative MP has listened to thousands of horror stories while travelling to 600 Canadian communities as part of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

He’s also seen the relief and healing that can follow.

Between March 27-30, Edmonton will host the seventh and final national event for the commission, established in 2008 as part of a settlement between aboriginal students, churches and the federal government. Up to 4,000 people are expected to attend the Shaw Conference Centre each day to learn about the history of the schools, rife with abuse and home aboriginal children removed from their families.

Health Canada will have 350 support workers on-site to help people who react to what they hear.

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VATICAN CITY
Chiesa

VATICAN CITY, March 5, 2014 – The comprehensive reform of the Roman curia is not yet around the corner. This was reiterated at the end of February by the coordinator of the council of cardinals instituted by Pope Francis with this aim in mind as well.

Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga in fact said in an interview published in “Avvenire” on February 25:

“Reforms of the curia have always taken a great deal of time. We are living in the age of the immediate, and many would like answers. The positions in the dicasteries are being examined, and those on the councils will follow. They should have patience.”

But Pope Francis is not sitting back to wait for this comprehensive reform. He is proceeding with his own acts of reform, by motu proprio.

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VATICAN CITY
SBS

AAP

Pope Francis has defended the Catholic Church’s record on tackling the sexual abuse of children by priests, saying “no-one else has done more” to root out pedophilia.

“The Catholic Church is perhaps the only public institution to have acted with transparency and responsibility. No-one else has done more. Yet the Church is the only one to have been attacked,” he said in an interview with Il Corriere della Sera daily published on Wednesday.

Last month, the United Nations denounced the Vatican for failing to stamp out child abuse and allowing systematic cover-ups, calling on the Church to remove clergy suspected of raping or molesting children.

It accused the Vatican of systematically placing the “preservation of the reputation of the Church and the alleged offender over the protection of child victims” – an accusation which was heatedly rebuffed.

The Argentine pontiff, who will celebrate the one-year anniversary of his election on March 13, said in the interview the abuse cases “are terrible because they leave very deep wounds”.

“The statistics on the phenomenon of violence against children are shocking, but they also clearly show that the great majority of abuses are carried out in family or neighbourhood environments,” he said.

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

AUSTRALIA
Standard

By PETER COLLINS March 5, 2014

AFTER weathering years of negative feedback about sexual abuse cover-ups, Warrnambool’s Catholic Church parish leaders have taken a proactive approach by opening up the previously taboo topic for discussion.

Tomorrow two discussion workshops will be held in St Joseph’s Church foyer to address the issue of child sex abuse within the wider community and its impact on victims.

“This is an opportunity for the church and wider community to come together for a greater understanding of the issues associated with child sexual abuse,” parish priest Father John Fitzgerald said.

“We know that child sexual abuse was ineptly and unsympathetically handled by the Catholic Church.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Less than two weeks shy of one year on from his election as bishop of Rome, Pope Francis describes himself as, “A man who laughs, cries, sleeps well and has friends like everyone else.” It is the self-description the Holy Father offered to the editor-in-chief of the Italian daily, Corriere della sera, Ferruccio De Bortoli, in an interview appearing in the paper’s Wednesday, March 5th edition.

The Pope’s wide-ranging conversation with the veteran journalist covers themes from bioethics, to styles and modes of Church governance, to his friendship with and esteem for his predecessor, Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI.

Some of the strongest remarks concerned the role of women in the Church. “It is true that women can and ought to be more present in the places where the Church’s decisions are made. This, however, I would call a promotion of a ‘functional’ type. Only, in this way, we do not get very far: We need to consider that the Church takes the feminine article,” he said, “She is feminine in her very origins (It. dalle origini).”

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic Culture

In an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Pope Francis praised Humanae Vitae, Pope Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical on contraception.

Emphasizing that confessors should be merciful, Pope Francis said that his predecessor’s “genius proved prophetic: he had the courage to stand against the majority, to defend moral discipline, to exercise a cultural ‘brake,’ to oppose present and future neo-Malthusianism. The question is not that of changing doctrine, but of going into the depths, and ensuring that pastoral [efforts] take into account situations, and what it is possible for people to do.”

“Cases of abuse are terrible because they leave very deep wounds,” Pope Francis said. “Benedict XVI was very courageous and opened up a path. The Church has done so much on this path.”

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CITTA DEL VATICANO
Corriere della Sera

di Ferruccio de Bortoli

Un anno è trascorso da quel semplice «buonasera» che commosse il mondo. L’arco di dodici mesi così intensi — non solo per la vita della Chiesa — fatica a contenere la grande messe di novità e i tanti segni profondi dell’innovazione pastorale di Francesco. Siamo in una saletta di Santa Marta. Una sola finestra dà su un piccolo cortile interno che schiude un minuscolo angolo di cielo azzurro. La giornata è bellissima, primaverile, tiepida. Il Papa sbuca all’improvviso, quasi di scatto, da una porta e ha un viso disteso, sorridente. Guarda divertito i troppi registratori che l’ansia senile di un giornalista ha posto su un tavolino. «Funzionano? Sì? Bene». Il bilancio di un anno? No, i bilanci non gli piacciono. «Li faccio solo ogni quindici giorni, con il mio confessore».

Lei, Santo Padre, ogni tanto telefona a chi le chiede aiuto. E qualche volta non le credono.

«Sì, è capitato. Quando uno chiama è perché ha voglia di parlare, una domanda da fare, un consiglio da chiedere. Da prete a Buenos Aires era più semplice. E per me resta un’abitudine. Un servizio. Lo sento dentro. Certo, ora non è tanto facile farlo vista la quantità di gente che mi scrive».

E c’è un contatto, un incontro che ricorda con particolare affetto?

«Una signora vedova, di ottant’anni, che aveva perso il figlio. Mi scrisse. E adesso le faccio una chiamatina ogni mese. Lei è felice. Io faccio il prete. Mi piace».

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VATICAN CITY
BBC News

Pope Francis has strongly defended the Catholic Church’s record on tackling sexual abuse by priests.

In a rare interview with an Italian newspaper, the Pope said “no-one else has done more” to root out paedophilia.

He said the church had acted with responsibility, yet it was the only institution to have been attacked.

Last month the UN strongly criticised the Vatican for failing to stamp out child abuse.

In an interview with Corriere della Sera, Pope Francis said: “The Catholic Church is perhaps the only public institution to have acted with transparency and responsibility. No-one else has done more. Yet the Church is the only one to have been attacked.”

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VATICAN CITY
7 News

AFP

Vatican City (AFP) – Pope Francis has defended the Catholic Church’s record on tackling the sexual abuse of children by priests, saying “no-one else has done more” to root out paedophilia.

The comments, in an interview published Wednesday, were the pope’s first response to a scathing UN report that denounced the Vatican for failing to stamp out child abuse and allowing systematic cover-ups.

“The Catholic Church is perhaps the only public institution to have acted with transparency and responsibility. No-one else has done more. Yet the Church is the only one to have been attacked,” he said in an interview with Il Corriere della Sera daily.

Last month’s hard-hitting UN report called on the Church to remove clergy suspected of raping or molesting children.

It accused the Vatican of systematically placing the “preservation of the reputation of the Church and the alleged offender over the protection of child victims” — an accusation the Church heatedly rebuffed.

The Argentine pontiff, who will celebrate the one-year anniversary of his election on March 13, said in the interview that the abuse cases “leave very deep wounds.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Big Trial

TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 2014

By Ralph Cipriano
for Bigtrial.net

In her opening statement to the jury, Assistant District Attorney Kristen Kemp accused “Father Andy” McCormick of taking some altar boys to see an R-rated movie.

Kemp told the jury that when the priest took the altar boys to see What Lies Beneath, he was too embarrassed to wear his Roman collar out in public, so he went to the movie theatre dressed in plainclothes.

Today in court, one of the former altar boys who went to see the film reprised that tale on the witness stand, saying it was one of the few times he’d ever seen Father Andy not dressed like a priest. Adam Visconto, now 27, said he was in seventh grade and presumably around 13 when he went to see the R-rated movie with Father Andy. The implication was the priest, wearing a polo shirt and pants, had snuck the altar boys in to a see a movie that according to its rating required kids under 17 to be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

But William J. Brennan, McCormick’s defense lawyer, brought to the courtroom a DVD copy of the 2000 supernatural suspense thriller starring Harrison Ford and Michelle Pheiffer. Brennan asked the former altar boy to read the fine print on back of the box. Instead of an R-rating, the movie was rated PG-13, meaning parents were “strongly cautioned” to consider whether kids under 13 should see the movie.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

By Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel
March 4, 2014

A federal appeals court has upheld the dismissal of a claim in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee bankruptcy that was filed by a man who was molested by a priest at age 7 and who had signed a $100,000 settlement agreement with the church in 2007.

John Pilmaier had filed a claim in the bankruptcy asserting that the archdiocese lied to him to induce him to sign the agreement. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Pilmaier’s attorneys “failed to show that the alleged misrepresentations were a substantial factor in his decision to accept the settlement.”

The ruling upholds earlier decisions by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Susan V. Kelley and U.S. District Judge Rudolph T. Randa but applies a different legal standard.

Pilmaier is one of about 90 individuals with prior settlements who filed claims in the bankruptcy alleging they were misled by the archdiocese during their settlement talks. It was not immediately clear whether the appeals court decision in Pilmaier’s case would affect those because of the narrow issues addressed by the court.

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MINNESOTA
Legal Examiner

Posted by Mike Bryant
March 4, 2014

With the passage of the Child Victims Act, survivors who were sexually abused as children now have an open window in Minnesota to bring cases that have been previously barred by the statute of limitations. It will be important that every person who was abused, knows of abuse, or suspected abuse come forward and make sure that justice is done.

If you have questions concerning particular priests, MPR has a great resource to check out. They have listed information about each of the named priests and where they have been assigned.

If you know of a priest who is not on the list, it is worth contacting an experienced priest abuse attorney because history has shown that there continue to be names that are protected. The safety of future children has been insured when new names are added and each pedophile can be found.

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

NORTHERN IRELAND
Irish Times

Dan Keenan

Tue, Mar 4, 2014

A woman who was repeatedly physically abused at a Derry children’s home has said she was also raped while in care outside the institution.

The witness told the Historical Institutional Abuse inquiry heard the claims from the woman who is now herself a foster parent. She told the inquiry panel she and her husband provided a home for children in care because she “didn’t want them to go through what I went through”.

The witness, who cannot be identified, cited regular beatings from a named nun who also showed bias against children who “did not tell her things”. The inquiry heard this nun also force-fed children who refused to east the institution’s porridge.

She said her and her siblings had to walk to school rather and were not brought there in a bus driven by the same nun because they were not among “her favourites”.

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

HAWAII
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on March 4, 2014

I’ll be in Honolulu next week to talk about child sex abuse, the Hawaii civil window, victims rights and abuse prevention. If you are in the area, I hope you can join us.

Here are the details. The event is free and open to the public.

The Unspeakable Crime: Childhood Sexual Abuse Panel

When: March 13, 2014 7-9 PM
Where: Harris United Methodist Church, 20 N. Vineyard, Honolulu
Sponsored by Rainbow Family 808.com

Rainbow Family 808.com, is proud to announce their First Support Group Meeting. It will address Childhood Sexual Abuse in our midst. This timely Panel focuses on the two-year window for Childhood Sexual Abuse which ends in April 2014. Families need to understand the harm this ‘unspeakable’ crime does to their children.

Joelle Casteix is the leading national “in the trenches” expert on the prevention and exposure of child sex abuse and cover-up, especially within institutions such as the Catholic Church. A former journalist, educator, and public relations professional, Joelle has taken her own experience as a victim of child sex crimes and devoted her career to exposing abuse, advocating on behalf of survivors, and spreading abuse prevention strategies for parents and communities.

Attorney Jeff Anderson is widely recognized as a pioneer in sexual abuse litigation and a champion of survivors of childhood sexual abuse. In nearly four decades as a litigator Jeff has represented thousands of clients and has tried over two hundred and fifty jury trials to verdict. Known for his optimism, energy and compassion for clients, Jeff is credited with being instrumental in exposing the large scale cover-up of pedophile priests in the early 1980′s. As one of the first trial lawyers in America to publicly and aggressively initiate lawsuits against sexual predators—and the institutions that conceal and protect them—Jeff’s efforts have obtained justice for thousands of survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

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OREGON
KOIN

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – The Archdiocese of Portland has a new auxiliary bishop appointed by Pope Francis.

The Vatican Information Office identified him as Msgr. Peter Leslie Smith, 55. It will be only the third such appointment of an auxiliary bishop in the 168-year history of the Portland Archdiocese.

A news conference was scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center.

According to the Vatican Information Office, Smith was born in South Africa and was ordained as a priest in 2001. He was a priest at the St. Rose of Lima parish in Portland and is currently vicar general and moderator of the Curia.

He has a law degree from the University of Natal Law School in South Africa, with a master’ degree in theology from Mount Angel Seminary in Saint Benedict, Ore.

The Survivors Network of the Abused Priests (SNAP) issued a news release Tuesday, calling the choice “disappointing.”

“Smith is a civil and a canon lawyer,” SNAP wrote. “In our view, the church hierarchy needs fewer lawyers, not more lawyers. Kids and victims need prelates who are trained to deal with this horrific, on-going crisis from a pastoral perspective, not a legal perspective.

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

AUSTRALIA
Western Advocate

March 5, 2014

A FORMER priest at St Stanislaus’ College has become the 11th man charged over historic allegations of sexual abuse at Bathurst schools.

Former Bathurst officer Detective Sergeant Justin Hadley, now attached to Sydney’s Northern Beaches command, arrested the 70-year-old man in Marsfield about 7.25am yesterday.

The man was taken to Ryde police station where he was interviewed before being charged with 14 counts of aggravated sexual assault relating to alleged incidents between 1975 and 1982, during the man’s time at St Stanislaus’ College.

The man was bailed with strict conditions and will appear before Burwood Local Court on April 23.

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UNITED STATES
Huffington Post

George Heymont

One of the joys of watching world cinema is that it takes you outside your standard frames of reference. In some cases this means stories with fewer guns, gore, and explosions. In other situations, it simply means that the influence of Jesus is never a given.

Consider Draft Day, a short documentary by Josh Kim that follows a handful of ladyboys in Bangkok as they take their chances in the national lottery for military service. Note the care with which military personnel comfort young men as they learn whether they will be exempt or subject to the draft. It’s a touching ceremony unlike anything you would ever see in America’s armed forces.

When it comes to narratives that challenge the traditional concept of family values, the fresh perspectives gained from world cinema can seem like a breath of fresh air. Here in the United States it seems as if the people who bray the loudest about family values are the people who are incapable of practicing what they preach.

Need an example? Try Minnesota’s Archbishop John Nienstedt, who spent $600,000 in church funds to lobby against Minnesota’s same-sex marriage initiative and sent anti-gay DVDs (unrequested) to 400,000 Minnesota homes in an attempt to get voters to ban same-sex marriage. In September 2013, Nienstedt claimed that “Satan is the source of same-sex marriage.” But on December 17, Nienstedt announced that he was temporarily stepping down from his ministry after allegations surfaced that, during a photo session several years ago, he had inappropriately touched an underage male’s buttocks.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Crawley News

A FORMER priest jailed for ten years for historic sexual abuse at an Ifield children’s home is reported to have applied for an early release from prison on compassionate grounds, because of ill health.

Gordon Rideout abused boys and girls as young as five at Ifield Hall, a Barnado’s children’s home which has since been demolished.

It was during his time as assistant curate at St Mary’s Church, in Southgate, between 1962 and 1965, that he would visit the home and carry out the abuse.

It is understood Rideout, 74, was released from prison to go to hospital on a temporary licence.

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OREGON
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, March 4, 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 )

Msgr. Peter Leslie Smith is the new auxiliary of the Portland Catholic archdiocese. We are disappointed by this choice.

[Vatican Information Service]

Smith is a civil and a canon lawyer. In our view, the church hierarchy needs fewer lawyers, not more lawyers. Kids and victims need prelates who are trained to deal with this horrific, on-going crisis from a pastoral perspective, not a legal perspective.

He is also the vice chair of the presbyteral council, the vicar general and moderator of the Curia – all high ranking posts. So we strongly suspect that he knows of or suspects clergy child sex crimes and cover ups that he’s not helping to uncover.

We are encouraged when rank-and-file priests, not consummate church insiders, are promoted. That’s the way to bring real change.

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VATICAN CITY
The Tablet (UK)

03 March 2014 14:27 by Abigail Frymann

The Pope’s newly announced finance minister has said that the working languages of the forthcoming Secretariat for the Economy will be English as well as Italian, a sign that the new Vatican department will be run as a global institution.

Cardinal George Pell, whom Pope Francis announced last week would head the Secretariat which will have authority over all the financial and administrative activities of the Holy See, said the Italian-dominated curia and his Anglo-Saxon appointment marked “two different ways of thinking”.

“It will be a change for some people who bring a different level of understanding and patterns of thought,” he told The Boston Globe. “There will probably have to be formation courses to explain what’s needed.”

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VATICAN CITY
Gazzetta del Sud

Vatican City, March 4 – Members of the investigative Commission of Cardinals studying reforms of the Vatican Bank on Tuesday appointed Cardinal Santos Abril y Castello as group president. The commission members, appointed by the pope for five years, meet at least twice per year to approve business processes and strategies at the Vatican Bank, officially known as the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR). The present commission was appointed in January by Pope Francis in what was seen as a radical reshuffling of appointments originally made by his predecessor Benedict XVI. The new committee consists of Santos Abril, archpriest of the papal basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome; Christoph Schoenborn, archbishop of Vienna; Thomas Christopher Collins, archbishop of Toronto; Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interfaith Dialogue; and Secretary of State Pietro Parolin.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 4 March 2014 (VIS) – The members of the Cardinals’ Commission of the Istituto per le Opere di Religione (IOR) have nominated Cardinal Santos Abril y Castello as their President.

According to the Institute’s Statutes, the members of the Cardinals’ Commission are appointed by the Holy Father for a period of five years. The Cardinals’ Commission is called to meet by its President at least twice a year. It reviews reports on major business processes and strategy presented by the President of the Board of Superintendence. The Commission further oversees the Institute’s adherence to statutory norms and appoints the members of the Board of Superintendence.

The Institute’s current Cardinals’ Commission was appointed in January 2014 by the Holy Father and is composed of Cardinal Santos Abril y Castello (Archpriest of the Papal Basilica of St Mary Major), Cardinal Thomas Christopher Collins (Archbishop of Toronto), Cardinal Pietro Parolin (Titular Archbishop of Acquapendente and Secretary of State), Cardinal Christoph Schonborn (Archbishop of Vienna) and Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran (President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue).

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MONTANA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, March 04, 2014

Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 862 7688 home, 314 503 0003 cell, SNAPdorris@gmail.com )

As part of a yet-to-be-finalized settlement with clergy sex abuse victims, Helena Catholic officials say they’ll release the names of credibly accused child molesting clerics. They should have done this years ago and we urge them to do this now. There’s no reason they cannot or should not.

[Montana Standard]

For the sake of healing and the safety of kids, church officials should name all the pedophile priests right now, and not wait to be forced to do so by legal settlements. Helena Bishop George Thomas should especially name the proven, admitted and credibly accused who are still alive and capable of hurting more kids. He should be ashamed that he has kept these names hidden for years. He’s done so only for the sake of his own convenience, comfort and reputation (and the reputations of other high ranking church officials, past and present).

Roughly 30 U.S. bishops have posted the names of predator priests on their websites, almost always after considerable litigation and pressure. Both Montana bishops should do so right now.

[BishopAccountability.org]

Some of the roughly 50 predator priests belong to religious orders, like the Jesuits and the Ursuline Sisters. Those Catholic institutions should also disclose these names immediately.

More than 360 adults report having suffered horrific child sex crimes by Catholic clerics. In our view, this likely means that hundreds of current and former Catholic employees either knew about or suspected these crimes and either ignored or concealed them. That is horrific too.

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ILLINOIS
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, March 4, 2014

For more information: Barbara Blaine, SNAP Founder and President (312) 399-4747, SNAPblaine@gmail.com and David Clohessy, SNAP Executive Director (314) 566-9790 cell, SNAPclohessy@aol.com

Pedophile priest worked in 3 Illinois dioceses
He was publicly exposed two weeks ago for first time
Sex abuse victims seek help from Cardinal George
Group blasts “bare minimum” approach by Catholic officials

A credibly accused predator priest who was exposed for the first time two weeks ago, worked for years at St. Augustine’s school in Chicago. And a support group for clergy sex abuse victims is urging Chicago Catholic officials to “aggressively seek out others who may have seen, suspected or suffered his crimes.”

[Minnesota Public Radio]

Because of a court order, St. Paul Minnesota church officials revealed that Fr. Kenneth Gansmann was removed from active ministry because of allegations that he molested a child. Fr. Gansmann, who is now deceased, also worked in two other Illinois dioceses: Springfield and Joliet.

Leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, are asking Cardinal Francis George to “use his vast resources to seek out any others who may have seen, suspect, or suffered abuse.” Cardinal George should visit every parish were Gansmann worked and beg victims or witnesses to come forward, they say.

Gansmann worked in Chicago at St. Augustine’s school from 1936 until 1945.

“He had access to hundreds of children every year. It is never too late to report abuse,” said David Clohessy of St. Louis, SNAP’s director. “We hope those who are suffering in silence will find the courage to speak up. And we hope Chicago church staff will gently but firmly prod them to do so.”

“It’s difficult for some people to understand this, but often, victims stay silent unless someone in a position of authority – a prosecutor, a bishop, or even a parent – begs them to step forward and get help,” said Barbara Blaine of Chicago, SNAP’s founder and president. “Fr. Gansmann’s victims are likely getting older. They were children in a time when children were expected to never question adults, so it’s likely they’re still carrying this horrible burden alone. Catholic officials can and should gently but firmly prod them to break their silence and start healing.”

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OKLAHOMA
Tulsa World

Molestation charges against McAlester church elder dismissed on statute of limitations grounds

By DYLAN GOFORTH World Staff Writer

McALESTER —- Charges have been dismissed against a Pittsburg County church elder who prosecutors say molestated children more than 30 years ago, with a judge citing the statute of limitations in a case alleging a church cover-up.

Ronald Lawrence, 76, was charged in November with 11 counts of lewd molestation, five counts of forcible oral sodomy, two counts of forcible sodomy and one count of rape by instrumentation.

Lawrence, an elder at the Jehovah’s Witness church in McAlester, was arrested after three accusers said he had abused them in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Associate District Judge Jim Bland dismissed the charges Thursday over the state’s objections due to statute of limitations issues, Lawrence’s attorney, Warren Gotcher, said Monday.

Court records show that Bland stayed the decision, pending prosecutors’ appeal.

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OKLAHOMA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Statement by Judy Jones of St. Louis, Midwest Assistant Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 636 433 2511, 314 974 5003, snapjudy@gmail.com )

We are grateful that McAlester prosecutors are appealing the recent dismissal of a child sex abuse case involving a Jehovah’s Witness elder (Ronald Lawrence) who is accused of molesting three girls.

[Tulsa World]

No predator should walk free because of an arbitrary, archaic deadline called the statute of limitations. It’s a law that gives adults who commit and conceal heinous crimes against kids tons of incentive to intimidate victims, threaten whistleblowers, discredit witnesses, destroy evidence, transfer predators and keep a tight lid on the truth (until the deadline expires and they escape consequences.)

Many judges in many jurisdictions have ruled that deliberate moves to hide child sex crimes effectively freezes the statute of limitations and have let prosecutors proceed in those cases. No callous employer should be rewarded for concealing suspicions or knowledge of dreadful crimes against kids from law enforcement.

We hope the prosecutors win their appeal. That will not only protect kids from Lawrence. It will also protect other kids by deterring decision-makers from helping child predators hide their crimes.

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NEW YORK
Wall Street Journal

By SOPHIA HOLLANDER
March 3, 2014

Last summer, Robert Boynton was strolling through his Brooklyn neighborhood when he was struck by the grades pasted in the windows of every restaurant.

“This is weird,” he remembers thinking. “Why do I know more about the health conditions at my local restaurant than the school I spend $45,000 sending my kid to?”

It was one of the inspirations behind a decision by the Horace Mann Action Coalition, a group of alumni, to create letter grades for private schools in the New York City area based on the strength of their policies to prevent sexual abuse. Mr. Boynton helped found the group to address allegations that faculty and administrators at the elite Bronx private school sexually abused more than two dozen students from the 1960s through the 1990s.

Last May, the school apologized in a letter posted on its website for “unconscionable betrayals of trust,” acknowledging that “it is clear” that former teachers and administrators “in fact did abuse” students.

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NEW YORK
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 862 7688 home, 314 503 0003 cell, SNAPdorris@gmail.com )

We applaud these compassionate men of the Horace Mann Action Coalition who are devising a system of rating New York private schools on how they handle child sex crimes.

[Wall Street Journal]

For far too long, private institutions – both religious and secular – have evaded scrutiny on child safety issues. Many of these institutions do little to prevent abuse and cover up but spend lavishly on defense lawyers and public relations consultants when abuse reports surface. Many of them write nice-sounding policies but then ignore them.

We offer one caution, however. We urge the group to pay more attention to officials’ behavior and less attention to the formal, written abuse policies of these schools. Over the past 25 years, we’ve seen that such policies almost always sound good on paper but are usually ignored in reality. Most private institutions are answerable to almost no one. So they often not only break secular laws, but also violate their own stated policies.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 4 March 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father has appointed Msgr. Peter Leslie Smith as auxiliary of the archdiocese of Portland (area 85,541, population 1,379,000, Catholics 207,300, priests 168, permanent deacons 42, religious 347), U.S.A. The bishop-elect was born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa in 1958 and was ordained a priest in 2001. He holds a degree in law from the University of Natal Law School, a master’s degree in theology from the Mount Angel Seminary in Saint Benedict, Oregon, a bachelor’s degree in theology from the St. Anselm Pontifical Athenaeum, Rome, and a licentiate in canon law from the Catholic University of America in Washington, U.S.A. He has served in a number of pastoral roles, including: priest of the “St. Rose of Lima” parish in Portland, archdiocesan delegate for the charismatic movement, adjunct judicial vicar, local superior of the Brotherhood of the People of Praise and vice chair of the presbyteral council. He is currently vicar general and moderator of the Curia.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge and Toowoomba Bishop Robert McGuckin tell parents kids are safe from sex abuse at school

TANYA CHILCOTT THE COURIER-MAIL MARCH 05, 2014

CATHOLIC education officials admit their schooling system has been undermined in Queensland because of the way sexual abuse allegations were dealt with.

Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge and Toowoomba Bishop Robert McGuckin have written to every school parent in their dioceses in an attempt to reassure them their children are protected at school.

It comes two weeks after the royal commission into child abuse heard shocking evidence of the abuse of 13 girls at a Toowoomba Catholic school as ­recently as the last decade.

The man who committed the crimes is now behind bars, but the commission heard allegations the school did not alert police to the abuse when it was first reported.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Katholisch

[Summary: Pope Francis must now decide the fate of former Limburg Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz van Elst. Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, chairman of the German bishops conference, on Monday presented at the Vatican a report on how money was spent in the diocese. The report findings will only be disclosed once deliberations of the Congregation of Bishops has been completed. Zollitsch said recently he does not expect a decision on the future of Tebartz van Elst before the German bishops assembly to be held March 10-13 in Munster.]

Ppst Franziskus hat nun das wichtigste Papier für eine Entscheidung über die Zukunft des Limburger Bischofs Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst vorliegen. Erzbischof Robert Zollitsch, der Vorsitzende der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz, übergab am Montag im Vatikan den mit Spannung erwarteten Prüfsbericht zu den Kosten für den Limburger Bischofssitz an den Präfekten der Bischofskongregation, Kardinal Marc Ouellet.

Das Rätselraten über die Zukunft von Tebartz-van Elst geht damit aber zunächst weiter. Wie im September vergangenen Jahres mit dem Domkapitel und dem Limburger Bischof vereinbart, würden die Ergebnisse des Berichts erst offengelegt, sobald die Beratungen der Bischofskongregation abgeschlossen seien, teilte die Bischofskonferenz in Bonn mit.
“Fairer und umfassender Beratungsprozess”

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NEDERLAND
Omroep Gelderland

[Summary: The Klokk Foundation wants quick recognition of complaints from victims of abuse in the Catholic Church.]

BEUNINGEN – De Stichting KLOKK (Koepel Landelijk Overleg Kerkelijk Kindermisbruik) wil dat er snel erkenning komt voor slachtoffers van misbruik van wie de klacht ongegrond is verklaard, terwijl de klachtencommissie het wel gelooft.

De klachtencommissie die zich buigt over seksueel misbruik in de Rooms-katholieke Kerk heeft een kwart van de klachten niet bewezen verklaard, maar vindt wel het grootste deel van de misbruikverhalen geloofwaardig. KLOKK gaat nu de uitspraken inventariseren. De lotgenotenorganisatie verwacht dat zo’n 300 mensen in aanmerking komen voor een speciale regeling.

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OSTERREICH
Anwalt

[Summary: A monastery is liable if it is negligent in selection of personnel or known abusers, according to the supreme court. The plaintiff attended the Cistercian boarding school of Wettingen-Mehrerau in Bregenz.]

Ein Kloster haftet, wenn sie bei der Personalauswahl fahrlässig ist und einen bekannten Missbrauchstäter einstellt. Ein Missbrauchsopfer hatte vor dem Obersten Gerichtshof mit seiner Klage Erfolg.

Geklagt hatte im Anlassfall ein Mann, der vor rund drei Jahrzehnten das Internat der Zisterzienserabtei Wettingen-Mehrerau in Bregenz besuchte. Missbrauchstäter war Pater Johannes, doch der war im Kloster schon einschlägig bekannt. Bereits Ende der 1960er-Jahre wagte der Pater Übergriffe auf Buben. Karriere machte er trotzdem. So konnte er sich 1982 an dem damals 15-Jährigen, der nun vor Gericht prozessierte, vergehen. Schadenersatzansprüche verjähren grundsätzlich drei Jahre, nachdem das Opfer weiß, wer ihm das Ungemach zugefügt hat. Kann man dem Täter die Straftat nachweisen, dann sind es 30 Jahre. Allerdings ist es oft nicht einfach, dem Täter im Zivilprozess die Straftat nachzuweisen, zumal es nach Jahrzehnten – diesmal wegen der strafrechtlichen Verjährung – auch keine Verfolgung durch die Justiz mehr gibt.

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DEUTSCHLAND
taz

BERLIN taz | „Es erinnert mich an Konzepte, die wir aus Nazi-Zeiten noch kennen und das in unseligen DDR-Zeiten fortgesetzt wurde: Bindungsfähigkeit zerstören, Strafen und Sanktionen“. So urteilte die Traumatherapeutin Michaela Huber, nachdem die taz Vorfälle in den Heimen der Haasenburg GmbH dokumentiert hatte.

Tatsächlich reihen sich die Haasenburg-Heime ein in eine wenig rühmliche Geschichte von Erziehung nicht nur der DDR sondern auch der wirtschaftsliberal verfassten westdeutschen Bundesrepublik.

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AUSTRALIA
J-Wire

March 4, 2014 by Henry Benjamin

Bill Doogue is Rabbi Avrohom Glick’s solicitor. He talks to J-Wire following the announcement that Victoria Police are not proceeding with their investigation on allegations made against Rabbi Glick of sexual abuse on a student at Melbourne Yeshiva without foundation.

From Bill Doogue:

We do not name our clients normally. The aim is to provide them with some level of anonymity and to respect their privacy. Often they have been through the judicial system and whether convicted or acquitted, they should be given the opportunity to move on with their lives. The last thing you want is to be ego-surfing (ie looking yourself up on google) or for someone else to be looking you up and a lawyer’s website pops up.

But in this case we have asked our now former client if we can speak about him and he has agreed.
His name is Rabbi Avrohom Glick. He is head of religious studies at the Melbourne Yeshivah College. He is an important figure in his community internationally.

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NEW JERSEY
Patch

Posted by Joseph M. Gerace (Editor) , March 03, 2014

As the Roman Catholic pope makes headlines for his bold calls to austerity and humble living, one Newark archbishop is being skewered in the news for a half-million dollar addition on his weekend home in Franklin Township.

The archdiocese purchased the 8.2 acre “future retirement home” of John J. Myers for $700,000 in 2002 and is currently renovating the residence. When construction is complete, the home will boast two swimming pools, an elevator, a three-car garage, and stand at some 7,500 square feet.

Local parishioners are “infuriated” by the “tone-deaf show of excess” by Myers and the Newark Archdiocese and may stop donating to the organization, according to a report in the Star-Ledger.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

A retired priest has been charged with a series of sexual assaults at a Sydney church.

The 73-year-old man was arrested at Tweed Heads on the far north coast.

Police allege he sexually assaulted a boy between 1984 and 1991 in a church at St Marys.

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AUSTRALIA
Sky News

A retired priest has been charged with historical sex offences after a two-year investigation into alleged sex assaults on a boy in Sydney’s west.

The 73-year-old was charged with three counts of aggravated indecency after he allegedly sexually assaulted the boy between 1984 and 1991 while working at a church in St Mary’s.

Detectives from the Manning/Great Lakes region began investigating after receiving information from a local man in 2012.

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MONTANA
Montana Standard

[poll]

What do you think of the $15 million the Catholic Church of Western Montana must pay to the 362 victims of sexual abuse?

1. It’s too much money
2. It’s not enough money
3, It’s the right amount

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AUSTRALIA
New South Wales Police Force

Catholic Priest charged over historical child indecent assaults – Strike Force Belle

Tuesday, 04 March 2014

Police investigating the sexual and indecent assault of children at schools in the state’s central west have arrested and charged another man.

Investigators from Strike Force Belle arrested a 61-year-old man at his residence in Marsfield today (Tuesday 4 March).

The priest was taken to Ryde Police Station and charged with 14 counts of aggravated indecent assault which allegedly occurred between 1975 and 1982 at a catholic secondary college in Bathurst.

The man has been granted conditional bail and will appear at Burwood Local Court on Wednesday 23 April.

This is the 11th priest or former priest to be charged by Strike Force Belle detectives, which was formed to investigate allegations of the sexual and indecent assaults of students at two secondary colleges in Bathurst between 1960 and 1993.

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AUSTRALIA
My Daily News

Jessica Grewal 4th Mar 2014

AN ACCUSED predator priest has been arrested in Northern NSW following a two-year-investigation into historic sexual assault allegations.

The 73-year-old retired priest, who now lives at Tweed Heads, is accused of sexually assaulting a young boy while working at a Catholic church at St Mary’s in Sydney’s west.

An investigation was launched in 2012 after an alleged victim from the Great Lakes region came forward to police.

Detectives travelled to Tweed Heads last week and quizzed the elderly man over sexual abuse allegations spanning several years between the early 80s and 90s.

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AUSTRALIA
7 News

AAP

A Catholic priest has been charged with child abuse allegedly committed at a church-run Bathurst high school in the 1970s and 1980s.

The 61-year-old is the eleventh priest or former priest to be charged over historic child abuse at the St Stanislaus secondary college dating back to 1960.

He was arrested at his northern Sydney home on Tuesday and charged with 14 counts of aggravated indecent assault, police said.

It’s alleged he abused two boys at the church-run school between 1975 and 1982.

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UNITED STATES
Bucks County Courier Times

Posted: Tuesday, March 4, 2014

By ROBERT MORRISON

People (or institutions) that live in glass houses should not throw stones. The green glass facade of the United Nations building in New York City came to mind when I read articles regarding recent criticism of the Catholic Church by the UN over the priest child abuse scandal.

In true UN fashion, the report was not only a day late and a dollar short regarding the scandal in terms of ignoring the actions taken by the Church to address the very issues raised by the report, it ignored the lack of action by the UN in correcting its own child sex abuse problems. The report, released the first week of February, accused the Church of protecting itself rather than the victims of the priest sex abuse scandal.

“The Holy See has consistently placed the preservation of the reputation of the Church and the protection of the perpetrators above children’s best interests,” the report stated. In response, the Vatican rightly stated that the UN ignored its efforts to address the abuse crisis in recent years. In fact, Pope Benedict XVI made zero tolerance the universal law of the Church by mandating that every priest who is involved in the abuse of a child be defrocked with approximately 400 priests dismissed from the priesthood prior to his retirement. The policy further requires that churches follow local laws in reporting abuse to civil authorities. In addition, most dioceses require Catholics involved in youth ministry to undergo criminal background checks and receive training on reporting abuse allegations.

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SCOTLAND
The Times

Jeremy Watson

Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the disgraced Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, is facing an investigation into financial mismanagement in his former diocese after a former priest claimed that he had bought a jet ski for a friend.

Cardinal O’Brien stepped down a year ago after three priests and a former priest accused him sexual misconduct.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

Catherine McCann

Mon, Mar 3, 2014

To understand happenings of the past and why situations unfold in the manner they do requires an unbiased knowledge of history. Seeking accuracy necessitates taking into account the views of the various parties involved.

Both before and after the McAleese report, the views of the Magdalene women have rightly been given, but almost nothing is noted from the sisters’ perspective. Recent history gives a clue as to why.

Reporting on the industrial schools’ sad situation was from the start one-sided and largely hostile towards religious sisters. This made it then, and now, almost impossible for sisters to speak publicly, knowing they are likely to be prejudged. The media has failed to offer balanced reporting on the orphanage and the Magdalene situations.

While deeply saddened by what children and the “Magdalene women” had to suffer, I am also saddened at the stressful situation the sisters of the four congregations (who managed the laundries) are going through. Many are old, after a life in the service of others, and are left carrying this “shadow” placed on them.

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NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

By Tom Moran/ Star-Ledger Editorial Board
on March 03, 2014

It is tragic to hear Catholics say they will boycott Newark Archbishop John J. Myers’ annual appeal this year as a protest against his decision to build a luxurious addition to his retirement home in Hunterdon County.

That will do concrete harm to people in need. It will deny money to the soup kitchens and homeless shelters run by Catholic Charities. And it will worsen the financial pinch at Catholic schools, many of which have already shut down for lack of funds.

It has also drained away any surviving scrap of credibility Myers clung to in the wake of his shameful failure to protect children from abusive priests. This bleeding is likely to continue until Myers finally resigns, or is shoved into retirement by Pope Francis.

Some Catholics, taking a cue from Myers’ playbook, blame all this on the press. “For the love of God, the media is our devil,” one priest in Garfield wrote in his weekly bulletin.

But the press is not in the business of hiding secrets like this. And the facts of this case are unchallenged.

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MINNESOTA
BishopAccountability.org

Summary of Case: Rev. James P. Stark was ordained for the St. Paul archdiocese February 22, 1964. For thirteen years he moved through a number of parishes in the archdiocese as an assistant priest. In 1977 Stark was named pastor of St. Michael’s in Farmington, where he remained until his removal in 1986. He died March 29, 1999. Stark’s name was included on a February 2014 list released by the archdiocese of priests with “substantiated” claims of sexual abuse of minors against them. The archdiocese did not reveal details of claims against Stark.

Ordained: Feb. 22, 1964
Died: March 29, 1999

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MINNESOTA
BishopAccountability.org

Summary of Case: Rev. Kenneth LaVan was ordained for the archdiocese of St. Paul in 1958. In the late 1980s two women alleged having been sexually abused by LaVan as teenagers, one of them in the early 1960s beginning when she was 12 years-old, and until she was 17. LaVan was also known by the archdiocese to have had “boundary violation” issues with adult women. He was removed from all active ministry November 30, 2013, yet was not included on the archdiocese’s list released December 5, 2013 of credibly accused priests. LaVan was included on the archdiocese’s February 17, 2014 list of priests with “substantiated” claims.

Ordained: Feb. 23, 1958
Retired: 1998

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OKLAHOMA
Tulsa World

By DYLAN GOFORTH World Staff Writer

McALESTER — Charges were dismissed last week against a Pittsburg County church elder whose alleged molestation of children more than 30 years ago was claimed by prosecutors to have been covered up.

Ronald Lawrence, 76, was charged in November with 11 counts of lewd molestation, five counts of forcible oral sodomy, two counts of forcible sodomy and one count of rape by instrumentation.

Lawrence, an elder at the Jehovah’s Witness Church in McAlester, was arrested after three accusers said Lawrence had abused them in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

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NEW JERSEY
Wonkette

So here is a fine kettle of Ichthys — as we mentioned a couple weeks back, John J. Myers, the Archbishop of Newark — which is a pretty fun title to say, we’ll admit — is building himself a new wing on the Barbie’s Dream Bishop Retirement Home, to the tune of half a million dollars. This is not going over especially well with parishioners, who are less than thrilled that Myers’s 4500-square-foot residence is getting a brand new wing at a time when the archdiocese has had to close schools because of budget shortfalls, and for that matter, after New Pope’s call for priests to drive boring cars and knock it off already with the luxurious manses. And so, when the “Archbishop’s Annual Appeal” envelopes were handed out last month, a lot of cheesed-off Catholics have been sending the Archbishop a message, loud and clear, in the form of empty contribution envelopes, to which we say, way to go, pissed-off parishioners who aren’t going to give one more cent for this foolishness.

Except for the part that kind of sucks, which is that the costs of the new additions to Meyers’s residence came from the sale of other property, so withholding contributions won’t slow down the construction by so much as a nail. It’s almost as if the archdiocese carefully planned the building project to insulate it from pissed-off parishioners, isn’t it?

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY BARBARA DORRIS ON MARCH 03, 2014

Bishops consistently claim they aren’t responsible for child sex crimes and cover ups committed by religious order clerics. “They’re totally separate from us,” bishops repeatedly say about the Jesuits, Salesians, Benedictines and the like.

And Vatican officials consistently claim they aren’t responsible for clergy sex crimes and cover ups across the globe. (Their jurisdiction, they want us to believe, is limited to the actual, tiny, physical Vatican city/state.)

But today, the National Catholic Reporter is disclosing that hundreds of treasurers of religious orders have been summoned to Rome by the bishop of Rome, Pope Francis, to talk about money.

[National Catholic Reporter]

Once again, church officials say they’re A, until that’s disadvantageous. Then, they say they’re actually B. And when claiming to be B becomes disadvantageous, then they go back to claiming to be A.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Irish Times

Dan Keenan

Mon, Mar 3, 2014

A former resident of St Joseph’s home at Termonbacca in Derry has accused Catholic clergy, state agencies and the police of failing a generation of children in residential care.

The witness, who cannot be named, told the Historical Institutional Abuse inquiry he had received kind and loving treatment from one named nun while he was a resident during the 1970s.

However he alleged many others suffered under a system of childcare which left them vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse by others. He alleged he suffered at the hands of other boys but felt unable to raise it when it happened.

“There was more than an element of collusion between the RUC, social services and the clergy,” he said.

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CHILE
Bio Bio

Publicado por Alberto Gonzalez

El fallo que condenó al sacerdote Audín Araya por abuso sexual contra menores quedó a firme, luego que su defensa se desistiera del recurso de nulidad presentado y que debía tramitarse este lunes en la Corte de Apelaciones de Concepción.

Fueron los ministro del tribunal de alzada penquista quienes informaron antes de iniciarse los alegatos en la audiencia, que el abogado del religioso, Marcelo Torres, había presentado un escrito desistiendo del recurso que buscaba anular el fallo del Tribunalde Juicio Oral de Concepción.

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CHILE
Cooperativa

[Summary: The defense of Audin Araya, priest and former rector of the Salesian College of Conception, has decided not to seek a mistrial in the trial that convicted the priest of cases of sexual abuse against students. The priest was sentenced to two years is prison and is forbidden to have contact with minors.]

La defensa de Audín Araya, sacerdote y ex rector del Colegio Salesianos de Concepción, decidió no pedir la nulidad del juicio que lo condenó por uno de los casos de abuso sexual en contra de sus alumnos.

Los alegatos para pedir la nulidad se realizarían este lunes, pero la defensa de Araya desistió alegando cansancio del sacerdote por una posible extensión del proceso judicial.

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NEW JERSEY
Newser

By Kate Seamons, Newser Staff
Posted Mar 3, 2014

(NEWSER) – It seems like a pretty sweet way to retire: living in a 7,500-square-foot mansion with two swimming pools. But when the soon-to-be retiree is Archbishop John J. Myers, and the construction bill tied to the 3,000-square-foot addition on his existing weekend home will be footed by the Archdiocese of Newark—which the New York Times points out had to close a beloved Catholic elementary school two years ago due to a lack of funds—well, the news isn’t going over so well. It didn’t two weeks ago, when the Star-Ledger reported on the addition to the Franklin Township house, where Myers has spent his weekends since the archdiocese bought it in 2002. And it didn’t go over well this Sunday, which saw parishioners closing their checkbooks, particularly to the ongoing Archbishop’s Annual Appeal, which supports Catholic schools, feeding the poor, and retired priests, among other causes.

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NEW JERSEY
National Catholic Reporter

Brian Roewe | Mar. 3, 2014 NCR Today

The costs of renovating Newark, N.J. Archbishop John Myers’ weekend residence for his upcoming retirement could exceed the $500,000 estimated for construction — it could also put a dent in archdiocesan donations.

Over the weekend, the Newark Star-Ledger reported on the hundred-plus people who wrote to the newspaper after it first reported Feb. 17 on the ongoing renovations that will expand the 4,500-square-foot home to 7,500 square feet, complete with six bedrooms, five bathrooms, a three-car garage, two pools (one outdoor, another small one indoors for exercise), a library, an elevator and a gallery room. Myers is set to retire in 2016.

The latest Star-Ledger story highlighted Newark Catholics who have pledged to cut off support of the appeal in protest of the construction project:

Parishioners, infuriated by what they call a tone-deaf show of excess at a time when Catholic schools are closing and when the pope has called on bishops to shed the trappings of luxury, say they’re cutting off contributions entirely or sharply curtailing them.

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NEW JERSEY
Philadelphia Magazine

BY JOEL MATHIS | MARCH 3, 2014 AT

TPM: “Churchgoing Catholics in New Jersey are closing their wallets to the church following reports that the Archbishop of Newark is having a large addition built on the already-large home where he will spend his retirement, The Newark Star Ledger reported on Sunday.”

The Newark Archdiocese’s plan to build a $500,000 addition to the retirement home for Archbishop John Myers received press attention last month, prompting a public backlash. One Star-Ledger reader wrote a letter to the editor dubbing Myers the “Bishop of Bling.”

In its story on Sunday, the Star-Ledger spoke with parishioners, some of whom said they were cutting off contributions to the church entirely, and others who said they would still support local parishes but won’t give to the archdiocese’s annual fundraising appeal. A spokesperson for the archbishop told the newspaper that the annual appeal has in recent years brought in between $10 million and $11 million.

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VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

Joshua J. McElwee | Mar. 3, 2014

VATICAN CITY
Pope Francis has asked the treasurers of the thousands of Catholic religious orders around the world to meet in Rome this weekend to discuss how they can use their orders’ financial assets “for the service of humanity.”

The first-of-its-kind summit puts an unusual focus on the wealth of the orders. Last fall Francis pointedly asked leaders of religious orders to reevaluate management of their assets, especially empty monasteries and convents which in recent years have frequently been turned over to non-religious pursuits, such as hotels and restaurants.

The event, to be held near the Vatican March 8-9, has not been announced publicly but is expected to draw hundreds of representatives of the estimated 900,000 men and women religious globally. It is to have 15 talks on issues ranging from the use of church property, to financial debts, to economic solidarity.

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MONTANA
Independent Record

By Derek Brouwer

Bankruptcy will allow the Diocese of Helena to efficiently compensate sex abuse victims, Bishop George Thomas hopes, so it can begin rebuilding a church already in financial straits.

While the bankruptcy case will take several months to sort out, Thomas and diocese attorneys believe they can reach an agreement that will allow the church to emerge financially viable and with parishes intact.

That hasn’t been the case in some other diocese bankruptcies around the country, which have taken years to resolve and with mixed outcomes. Attorneys and church leaders in Helena say cooperation with victims has led to an arrangement that will allow the diocese to move forward.

“Mediation in my opinion benefits the entire group of people that are involved,” Thomas said.

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TEXAS
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Monday, March 3, 2013

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

In a shocking display of bias, a Catholic prosecutor has impugned a man’s honesty because he left the priesthood.

[The Monitor]

Dale Tacheny says that Fr. John Feit admitted that he murdered Irene Garza. But prosecutor Rene Guerra doesn’t believe Tacheny because, he says, “Anybody that’s a former priest who left the priesthood has broken the vows of the church and now he says he’s the biggest truth-teller in the world. I don’t believe that.”

That’s worrisome and prejudiced. We call on the prosecutor to apologize for his hurtful remarks. Fewer victims and witnesses will likely report known and suspected crimes – especially against Catholic parishioners and staff – fearing that Guerra may also publicly attack their credibility because of choices they have made that he disapproves of.

Millions of Americans get divorced. Hundreds of thousands of men have left the Catholic priesthood for many reasons. Tens of thousands of priests have not honored their pledge to be celibate.

Each could be considered to have “broken” a “vow.” But none of that reflects on the integrity or truthfulness of any of these individuals, especially one like Tacheny who, without any apparent ulterior motives, has voluntarily shared what he knows about a murder with police and prosecutors (and who continues, decades later, to push for justice).

If Rene Guerra has adopted a new standard and now refuses to believe any witness who has ever “broken” a “vow,” we suspect he’ll have a very hard time winning many convictions.

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NEW JERSEY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Monday, March 3, 2014

Statement by Mark Crawford, New Jersey director of SNAP ( 732-632-7687, mecrawf@comcast.net )

A Newark Catholic pastor is telling his flock that “the media is our devil.” We believe Fr. Peter Palmisano should be disciplined for this hurtful remark.

[The Star-Ledger]

Fr. Palmisano, who heads Our Lady of Mount Virgin Church in Garfield, didn’t make this awful statement “off the cuff.” He wrote this in his Feb. 28 parish bulletin.

It’s harmful when Catholic officials publicly attack those who expose clergy sex crimes and cover ups – whether they are victims, police, attorneys or journalists – because they deter others from exposing clergy sex crimes and cover ups. (Maybe this was Fr. Palmisano’s intent. We don’t know. But regardless of his motives, the impact is the same – it discourages victims, witnesses, whistleblowers, and advocates from protecting kids by exposing criminals.)

Fr. Palmisano is free to think journalists are devils. He should not be free, however, to use a parish bulletin to spread his venom. Archbishop John Myers should publicly punish him for his irresponsible and mean-spirited behavior. Otherwise, Myers’ is sanctioning irresponsible and mean-spirited behavior and basically encouraging other church officials to follow Fr. Palmisano’s lead.

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CANADA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Monday, March 3, 2014

For more info: Melanie Jula Sakoda 925-708-6175 cell, melanie.sakoda@gmail.com, Cappy Larson cappy@rlarson.com, David Clohessy 314-566-9790 cell, SNAPclohessy@aol.com

Ministers say they were “deceived”
Fundraiser for convicted predator won’t happen in Ottawa
He was Orthodox Church’s highest ranking cleric in Canada
But in Jan a judge found archbishop guilty of sexually assaulting a boy
Victims’ group calls for investigation into “hurtful & disturbing situation”
SNAP: “Discipline church officials who participated in this callous effort”

Two ministers at an Ottawa parish say that they were “deceived” by a group planning to use their church to hold a fundraiser for a convicted child molesting cleric.

Late last week, leaders at Woodroffe United Church in Ottawa wrote to SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, saying that they did not know the scheduled March 5 event was to benefit Archbishop Seraphim Storheim, who was found guilty last month of molesting a boy. Storheim was the Orthodox Church in America’s (OCA) highest ranking cleric in Canada.

SNAP had written to Woodroffe pastors Rev. Matt Gallinger (613-722-9250 x223, matt@woodroffeunited.org) and Rev. Jan Lougheed (613-722-9250 x226, 613-799-6238, jlough@rogers.com) urging them to block the fundraiser.

Within hours of hearing from SNAP, the pastors cancelled the event and said that it would not be rescheduled in their parish.

(The complete text of the pastors’ letter is pasted below.)

Now, SNAP is asking OCA officials to identify those who allegedly deceived the Woodroffe parish and who they say hurt victims by promoting a public benefit for a child predator. They are also asking that any church officials who participated be severely disciplined.

“Publicly rallying around a proven child predator is morally wrong and intimidates other child sex abuse victims into staying silent,” said Melanie Jula Sakoda of SNAP. “It’s also wrong to lie to other churches. The OCA hierarchy should investigate both parts of this controversy and publicly discipline those responsible so it won’t happen again.”

SNAP sent letters denouncing the proposed fundraiser to the OCA, the OCA’s Archdiocese of Canada, the United Church of Canada, and the Woodroffe parish on the morning of February 27th. The victims’ group asked each to cancel or denounce the event. SNAP pointed out that a public event benefiting a convicted pedophile “hurt at least one child sex abuse victim and deterred other child sex abuse victims from speaking up.”

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CALIFORNIA
Santa Barbara Independent

Friday, February 28, 2014

by LYZ HOFFMAN

Michael Norris, a 69-year-old man who pleaded guilty last month to molesting his granddaughter in Carpinteria, was sentenced Thursday to three years in state prison per a plea agreement that will require him to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. Deputy District Attorney Benjamin Ladinig, who handled the case, said the deal stemmed from the fact that Norris could have received only probation, given his age, his poor health — he wore a neck brace in court on Thursday — and his lack of a criminal history.

The District Attorney’s Office, with input from the victim’s parents, also wished to spare her from a trial, Ladinig said. The girl, who was between six and eight years old at the time of the incidents and is now 15, is a “straight-A student” who is doing well “with her studies and her life right now,” Ladinig added.

Ladinig said that the girl told her father in 2012 about what Norris had done years prior. The Sheriff’s Office investigated the allegations and issued an arrest warrant in late 2012 for Norris, who had moved to Costa Rica many years earlier. According to the Sheriff’s Office, Norris agreed to surrender once he learned of the warrant. He was arrested when his flight from Costa Rica landed in Los Angeles in February 2013.

Norris initially faced charges of child molestation, continuous sexual abuse of a child, exhibiting pornographic material to a child, and attempted aggravated sexual assault of a child, the last of which Ladinig said presented some accuracy issues. Norris initially pleaded not guilty to the charges but agreed to the deal in January. Once he is released from prison — he will be required to serve 85 percent of his sentence — he will be subject to “strict monitoring” as part of his sex offender registration, Ladinig said.

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CALIFORNIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Monday, March 3, 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)

We are grateful that a Jehovah’s Witness elder will spend time in prison and register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. Now, JW officials and congregants must aggressively seek out others who may have seen, suspected or suffered his crimes.

[Santa Barbara Independent]

On Feb. 28, Michael Norris pleaded guilty to molesting his granddaughter in Carpinteria, CA. He also spent time in Costa Rica. We worry that there may be other kids who were assaulted by him – in both countries – who are suffering in shame, silence, confusion and self-blame. Jehovah’s Witness officials and members should work very hard to find and help these victims, and beg them to call police.

Anyone who may have seen or suspected Norris’ crimes should also contact police. It’s possible that current or former JW officials or members could be prosecuted for concealing Norris’ crimes.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Zeit

EIN INTERVIEW VON EVELYN FINGER

Aktualisiert 2. März 2014

DIE ZEIT: Pater Zollner, der Vatikan hat eine Kommission gegründet, die sexuellen Missbrauch von Kindern verhindern soll. Ist das eine Reaktion auf die jüngste Rüge des UN-Kinderrechtsausschusses, die katholische Kirche habe den Ruf der Institution systematisch über das Wohl von Kindern gestellt und verletzte trotz entsprechender Zusagen die Kinderrechtskonvention?

Hans Zollner: Nein. Das neue Gremium hatten die acht Kardinäle, die den Papst beraten, ihm bereits im Herbst vorgeschlagen. Und Franziskus hat zugestimmt. Die Kommission soll dem Schutz von Kindern und Jugendlichen dienen und unter anderem Modelle pastoraler Hilfe für Missbrauchsopfer entwickeln. Angeregt und vorgestellt hat das Kardinal Sean O’Malley, der als Erzbischof von Boston lange Erfahrung mit diesem Thema hat. Die Kommission kann aber nicht alle Erwartungen der UN an den Vatikan erfüllen, zum Beispiel die Missbrauchsfälle weltweit aufzuarbeiten. Das müssen die Bischofskonferenzen und Ordensprovinzen in den jeweiligen Ländern selber tun, am besten mithilfe unabhängiger Experten.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Derby Telegraph

By zhawley@derbytelegraph.co.uk

Following the child sex abuse case against former Mackworth parish priest Francis Paul Cullen, the Bishop of Nottingham has stepped in to reassure parishoners of his ongoing support.

YOU could have heard a pin drop as the Rt Rev Malcolm McMahon read through his carefully worded sermon during mass at Christ the King Church in Mackworth.

Up to 60 people were at the Prince Charles Avenue church for the regular 5.30pm Saturday mass, which Bishop Malcolm used to offer his apologies to them.

The mass was intended to bring comfort and healing in the wake of the scandal surrounding disgraced Mackworth priest Francis Paul Cullen.

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MALTA
Times of Malta

The Pope’s personal secretary, Gozitan Mgr Alfred Xuereb, has been appointed prelate secretary general of the Vatican’s new Secretariat for the Economy.

The decree was signed by Pope Francis this morning together with the decree appointing Cardinal George Pell prefect of the same secretariat.

The secretariat’s responsibility includes handling all economic and administrative business of the Holy See and the Vatican state. It has the same level of duties and rights as that of a State Secretariat.

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SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland

Monday 3 March 2014

Phil Miller
Arts Correspondent

Three priests and an ex-priest whose allegations against Cardinal Keith O’Brien led to his resignation a year ago are appealing directly to the Pope to intervene in the case.

His successor as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, Leo Cushley, has insisted that only the Vatican can initiate an inquiry into O’Brien’s sexual behaviour, which lie at the centre of the allegations, but he has agreed to an investigation into his financial actions.

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SCOTLAND
Scotsman

A FORMER priest whose allegations of sexual misconduct led to the resignation of Cardinal Keith O’Brien has claimed the financial management of the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh during the disgraced archbishop’s tenure, is now under ­scrutiny.

Archbishop Leo Cushley, who succeeded Cardinal O’Brien, has agreed to an investigation of the ­financial transactions according to “Lenny”, a former priest who said he had been the victim of an “abusive” sexual relationship with the cardinal.

The former priest said he and the other three diocesan priests whose allegations brought down the cardinal in February last year were now anxious to ensure there had been no mismanagement of church funds.

In an interview Lenny said he would have contacted the charity regulator if Cushley had not launched an investigation.

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CANADA
Straight

by CHARLIE SMITH on MAR 2, 2014

THE FORMER CEO of the Vancouver Olympics has claimed in several media interviews that journalist and author Laura Robinson went to the RCMP with allegations that he had sexually abused a former student.

But in a statement of defence filed in B.C. Supreme Court, John Furlong revealed that this wasn’t because of any “actual knowledge”.

Furlong’s statement is in response to Robinson’s notice of civil claim alleging defamation.

In it, he declares that he “believes that the plaintiff brought Beverly Abraham’s allegations to the RCMP based on his diligent review of the information available to him and the information provided to him by the RCMP”.

“The defendant Furlong has no direct or actual knowledge of whether the plaintiff initiated a complaint with or otherwise reported Ms. Abraham’s allegations to the RCMP,” the document adds.

Furlong has sued Robinson in connection with an article in the Georgia Straight in September 2012, in which she reported that he had been a teacher at a Burns Lake Catholic elementary school in 1969 and 1970.

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CANADA
The Tyee

By BOB MACKIN
Published March 2, 2014

In new B.C. Supreme Court documents, the CEO of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics admits he has no proof that a journalist made an abuse complaint about him to the RCMP.

John Furlong filed his statement of defence Feb. 27 in the defamation lawsuit launched a month earlier by Laura Robinson, who wrote a 2012 expose about the Irish-born Furlong’s initial years in Canada as a Catholic school physical education teacher.

In his court filing, Furlong “believes,” based on information he claims was available to him and provided by the RCMP, that Robinson brought Beverly Abraham’s allegations to the RCMP. But it said he “has no direct or actual knowledge of whether the plaintiff initiated a complaint with or otherwise reported Ms. Abraham’s allegations to the RCMP.”

The court filing is different from what Furlong said in an Oct. 28, 2013 interview with Global BC’s Chris Gailus (“she went to the RCMP and made the complaint”) and in an Oct. 29, 2013 statement on his website (“the RCMP have cleared me of the allegations that Ms. Robinson brought to the RCMP on behalf of Beverly Abraham in the summer of 2012”).

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AUSTRALIA
Canberra Times

March 3, 2014

Michael Inman
Courts reporter for The Canberra Times.

A Canberra catholic priest has been committed to stand trial over allegations he molested a young parishioner in the 1990s.

Father Edward Evans, 84, maintained pleas of not guilty when he appeared before the ACT Magistrates Court on Monday.

Defence lawyers had asked a magistrate to conduct a full committal hearing – so they could cross-examine prosecution witnesses – before sending the matter to the ACT Supreme Court.

But Chief Magistrate Lorraine Walker rejected the application, finding it would not be in the interest of justice.

Ms Walker said the cross-examination of witnesses would be best conducted before a jury.

Ms Walker continued Father Evans’ bail and committed him to stand trial in the higher court on seven charges, including committing acts of indecency and sexual intercourse with a child.

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UNITED STATES
UCA News

[with video]

Lance Dickie for the Seattle Times
Vatican City
March 3, 2014

Here is how a stunning PBS documentary describes itself:

“In Secrets of the Vatican, FRONTLINE tells the epic, inside story of the collapse of the Benedict papacy and illuminates the extraordinary challenges facing Pope Francis as he tries to reform the powerful Vatican bureaucracy, root out corruption and chart a new course for the troubled Catholic Church and its 1.2 billion followers.”

Viewers might easily imagine they’ve heard it all. Oh that. Why bother? Take everything you have ever heard about the Catholic Church and the global clergy child sexual abuse scandals, the dodgy Vatican bank, add in drug abuse, and multiply it all by ten. A primary insight is that Pope Benedict really did not step down from the papacy so much as flee the job.

No one could make up what this documentary reveals. For all of the horror on display, the reality is basic: arrogance, hubris and insularity will bring down any organization, even one ordained to do God’s work on earth. A human organization manifests all human frailties. Allow it to make its own rules and hide, and the worst happens.

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DEUTSCHLAND
shz

Ganz still war es im großen Tagungssaal des Travemünder Maritim-Hotels. Hätte ein Mitglied der Landessynode der Nordkirche einen Bleistift fallen gelassen, alle anderen hätten es gehört. „Vertuschung, das ist das Wort, das an der Kirche klebt“, sagte Hamburgs Bischöfin Kirsten Fehrs (Foto) am Rednerpult. „Vertuschung, das wird man schwer los.“ Die Theologin berichtete vor den 156 Synodalen zur Aufarbeitung des sexuellen Missbrauchs in der Nordkirche. „Das Spiel mit der Abhängigkeit war ein Perfides“, sagte Fehrs.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Die Welt

[Summary: Bishop Kirsten Fehr stood before to lectern to hold a nearly house-long speech when the synod of the north church met this weekend at Travemunde. There was absolute silence and there was no applause. The discussion to too serious because there is still shame of the abuse cases in the Protestant church, especially in Ahrensburg. She lamented the failure of the church in the scandal.]

Von Edgar S. Hasse

In einem schwarzen Kostüm trat Bischöfin Kirsten Fehrs vor das Rednerpult, um eine fast einstündige Rede zu halten. Die ganze Zeit über herrschte unter den Synodalen der Nordkirche, die am Wochenende in Travemünde tagten, absolute Stille. Auch nach dem Bericht der Hamburger und Lübecker Bischöfin schwiegen die Kirchenparlamentarier: Es gab keinen Applaus.

Zu ernst war das Thema, zu stark die Betroffenheit, so tief noch immer die Scham über die Missbrauchsfälle in der evangelischen Kirche – vor allem in der Kirchengemeinde Ahrensburg. Rund vier Jahre nach dem Bekanntwerden dieser Fälle, die juristisch alle verjährt sind, legte die Bischöfin jetzt erstmals einen umfangreichen öffentlichen Bericht über das System Missbrauch in der Institution Kirche vor. Darin beklagte sie das Versagen der Kirche in der Aufarbeitung dieses Skandals, bei dem ein inzwischen aus dem Dienst entlassener Pastor mehr als 20 Jahre lang Jugendliche in einer “letztlich unbekannten Anzahl” sowie Familienmitglieder sexuell missbraucht hat.

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CANADA
Ottawa Sun

KRISTIN ANNABLE QMI AGENCY

A small but fervent group remains committed to raising funds for convicted sex offender and disgraced archbishop Kenneth (Seraphim) Storheim.

But the group were stopped in their tracks this weekend when an Ottawa church pulled the plug on one of their fundraising events.

An attempt by the group to throw the party March 5 at Woodroffe United Church was thwarted when SNAP, a U.S.-based support group for clergy abuse victims, alerted the church of the group’s true intentions.

It was touted as a chamber music concert on a website devoted to raising money for Storheim’s legal defence.

“We don’t support funding for people who have been convicted of sexual abuse,” explained Rev. Jan Lougheed of her decision to cancel the event.

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MONTANA
Billings Gazette

Helena Catholic Diocese faces tough decisions as it negotiates bankruptcy

[Part 1: Catholic church will name 50+ priests who abused 100s of children in state]

By DEREK BROUWER Independent Record

Editor’s note: This story is the second of a two-day series on the aftermath of the proposed bankruptcy settlement of sex-abuse cases against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena.

HELENA — Bankruptcy will allow the Diocese of Helena to efficiently compensate sex abuse victims, Bishop George Thomas hopes, so it can begin rebuilding a church already in dire financial straits.

While the bankruptcy case will take several months to sort out, Thomas and diocese attorneys believe they can reach an agreement that will allow the church to emerge financially viable and with parishes intact.

That hasn’t been the case in some other diocese bankruptcies around the country, which have taken years to resolve and with mixed outcomes. Attorneys and church leaders in Helena say cooperation with victims has led to an arrangement that will allow the diocese to move forward.

“Mediation, in my opinion, benefits the entire group of people that are involved,” Thomas said.

However, the church still faces difficult decisions in the coming months as the diocese, creditors and a bankruptcy judge negotiate its financial future.

The settlement reached with victims’ attorneys in January will require the diocese to pay at least $2.5 million of $15 million in damages.

But the money the diocese owes to its parishes is much greater, and is the result of several years of financial problems and past sex-abuse claims, Thomas said.

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MONTANA
Billings Gazette

Plantiffs’ attorneys expect numbers to go up in Great Falls-Billings diocese sex abuse lawsuits

By Susan Olp

The number of plaintiffs in two sexual abuse lawsuits filed against the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings has increased to 50, and lawyers in both suits predict that figure will grow.

Both civil suits have been filed in Cascade County District Court in Great Falls, home of the Roman Catholic Diocese, which had jurisdiction over the churches and the clergy named in the suits.

One lawsuit was filed by the Morales Law Office in Missoula and the Tamaki Law Offices in Yakima, Wash., in June 2012. It was filed on behalf of a Northern Cheyenne woman in her 60s who said she was repeatedly molested and raped as a young girl by the Rev. Emmett Hoffmann, longtime priest at St. Labre Mission School in Ashland. The Order of Friars Minor, Capuchin, to which Hoffmann belonged, also was named as a defendant.

The attorneys filed a second amended complaint in February 2013, which boosted the number of plaintiffs to six women and 11 men who claimed they had been sexually abused by Roman Catholic priests and nuns in central and Eastern Montana. The abuse was said to have taken place from as early as 1943, and included schools, missions, homes and churches in Ashland, Hays, St. Xavier and Harlem.

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NIGERIA
allAfrica

Vanguard

BY ESTHER ONYEGBULA, 2 MARCH 2014

The peace of Akute, Ogun State was disrupted by aggrieved non-governmental organizations, NGOs, and women protesting the relocation of an orphanage allegedly being run by a pastor standing trial on a four-count charge of sexual abuse.

The protesters, led by Josephine Effah-Chukwuma, Executive Director, Project Alert, and Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, founder, Women Arise, were, mostly, lawyers, child right and women activists. They stormed Akute-Ijoko Road at about 12 noon displaying placards with inscriptions: “Say no to child abuse”, “This pastor is a pedophile”, “Orphanage or child abuse center”, “Justice for sexually-abused children”, among others. The protesters lamented that the founder of the orphanage had gone ahead to relocate it when he had not been cleared of the case of sexual abuse hanging on his head.

The protest was prompted by a text message about the relocation of the orphanage allegedly sent by the pastor. The text message read: “RELOCATION OF ORPHANAGE – Beloved, come rejoice with us as we celebrate God’s faithfulness in thanksgiving and dedication of the new place God appointed us at Akute-Ijoko Road on Saturday February 22, 2014, at 11am. Please pray and plan to attend. God bless you.”

The protesters alleged that the orphanage is a killer and “the people of this vicinity must know because we can’t keep allowing these abuses to go on”. They went on: “This place must be closed down. We will not keep quiet and allow a pedophile to truncate the future of our children.

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COSTA RICA
A.M. Costa Rica

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

A suspected child molester who has lived in Quepos since 2006 is finally in custody in the United States. The case has religious dimensions because the man, Michael J. Norris, 67, was an elder of the Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation where the long-running molestation is alleged to have taken place.

A warrant for Norris was issued in Santa Barbara, California, in December. The Sheriff’s Office there posted his photo and a request for information. But persons associated with the Carpinteria, California, congregation knew exactly where the man was. They notified sheriff’s detectives and employees at the U.S. Embassy here.

There are conflicting reports on where Norris was detained. One version is that he was arrested when he got off a plane at Los Angeles International Airport. A second version is that he was detained here at a Costa Rican airport and escorted to Los Angeles by law officers where the official arrest took place.

In any event, he is in the Santa Barbara county jail in lieu of $250,000 bail. The allegations include multiple counts of molesting a minor under the age of 14. There also is an allegation of distributing pornography to a minor. The investigation has been going on for a year or more.

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UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism

Jerry Slevin

Cardinal Walter Kasper, a highly respected Cardinal and long time theological rival to the ex-Pope, has challenged Pope Francis to act boldly on women’s roles in the Catholic Church’s hierarchy, as reported here:

[Vatican Insider]

and here:

[Avvenire]

Meanwhile, Mary McAleese, the former President of Ireland, now in Rome studying canon law, has also called for greater Church hierarchical roles for women as reported here:

[Irish Times]

Pope Francis has gotten some additional honest and pertinent assessments recently, including in “From Benedict to Francis”, an extremely informed, insightful and frank interview with the UK Tablet’s Robert Mickens, here:

[PBS]

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IRELAND
The Journal

MEMBERS OF THE public gathered today in Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin, to remember and honour all of the women who were incarcerated in the Magdalene laundries.

The annual Flowers for Magdalene event was attended by many who came bearing flowers to place on the graves.

Survivors

Speaking at the remembrance event Sinn Féin Deputy Leader Mary LouMcDonald said that it was one year after Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s apology to the Magdalene survivors and still many surviving women have been excluded from the redress scheme and just a fifth of the eligible women have yet to receive their payments, she said.

She called on the government to introduce the long awaited Restorative Justice Bill.

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NEW JERSEY
Daily Mail (UK)

Newark Archbishop John Myers is facing an enraged flock as news of his plan to spend $500,000 renovating his retirement home spreads through the pews.

Myers, who prefers to be addressed as ‘Your Grace,’ is using the money to build an expensive addition to the house in New Jersey’s Franklin Township that he now uses as a weekend retreat.

Contractors have already begun adding 3,000 square-foot addition including bedroom with sitting area, large study with attached library, full-floor gallery, two bathrooms, three fireplaces, and an elevator to the three-story house.

The archdiocese purchased the house in 2002 for $700,000 with real estate proceeds.

It currently features five bedrooms, three full-bathrooms, a three-car garage, and a basement office.
Myers, 72, will be at mandatory retirement age in 2017.

Many of the archdiocese 1.3 million Catholics across four counties are now snapping their wallets and purses in protest.

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NEW JERSEY
Fox News

Angry parishioners in New Jersey are withholding donations following reports that Newark Archbishop John Myers is building a pricey addition to his lavish retirement home.

The faithful are upset that Myers, who likes to be called “Your Grace,” is spending more than $500,000 to expand a palatial home in New Jersey’s Franklin Township that he now uses as a weekend retreat.

The Newark Star-Ledger reports parishioners are cutting off donations or sharply curtailing them “infuriated by what they call a tone-deaf show of excess at a time when Catholic schools are closing and when the pope has called on bishops to shed the trappings of luxury.”

Joe Ferri, 70, told the newspaper he writes a $100 check to the Archdiocese of Newark each year for the archbishop’s annual appeal, but he didn’t send money this year after he read about Myers’ expansion plans.

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WISCONSIN
Renew America

By Matt C. Abbott

On March 4, 1998, Father Alfred Kunz, a parish priest and canon lawyer – and discreet whistleblower of corrupt clergy – from the Diocese of Madison, Wis., was found in a pool of blood with his throat slit. The murder remains unsolved to this day.

It’s essentially a cold case now, even if the police are reluctant to say so. I’ve been following and writing about the case for the past several years, and, to my knowledge, there haven’t been any significant developments in the investigation as of late. Still, I did recently find out a bit of interesting information that I hadn’t heard before.

More about that later.

For a past column, I had asked two individuals who were friends and supporters of Father Kunz – Catholic attorney Peter Kelly and Catholic businessman Chuck Weigel – to contribute their fond memories of the priest. Those reflections are worth reprinting.

Peter Kelly wrote:

There are a number of points that I recall about Father Kunz. They all deal with his pastoral style which people might characterize as true ‘servant leadership.’ It was that – and so much more.

Father did not have a great deal of financial resources upon which to draw to support his school and his teaching staff. Still, he tried to do what he could to help make life a little easier for his underpaid teachers. One ‘fringe benefit’ that his teachers received from their boss was free auto repair. As a Wisconsin farm boy, he was as good with a wrench as he was with his traditional Catholic theology.

Father was fluent in both Latin and in the language of engine maintenance. He even had a set of coveralls which he would wear that exposed only his Roman collar, lest no one would recognize that the greasy fellow who just slid out from under the car in the parking lot of St. Michael’s was the pastor and chief mechanic of the parish.

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PUERTO RICO
Metro

[Summary: An ex-seminarian of the Arecibo diocese – Educardo Rivera Ortiz – on Sunday denied he was sexual abused by Father Ovidio Perez Perez when Perez was rector of the Jesús Maestro seminary. Ortiz’ name was mentioned in a publication. He said he was never contacted to confirm the information which he said was false.]

Un exseminarista de la Diócesis de Arecibo, identificado como Eduardo Rivera Ortiz, negó el domingo haber sido víctima de abuso sexual por parte del Padre Ovidio Pérez Pérez, cuando éste era rector del clausurado seminario “Jesús Maestro”, según cuentan informes de prensa.

“Aclaro que mi relación con el rector siempre fue una de rector sacerdote a seminarista formando. Siempre que hablaba con el rector era sobre de los estudios, regaños o advertencias de algún comportamiento que estuviera haciendo mal (comportamientos como dormirme en la oración, olvidar algún compromiso, fallos en la vida social, problemas con el horario, etc.), nada de índole sexual. Eso ni pasaba por mi mente fuera posible en el seminario”, dijo Rivera Ortiz en declaraciones escritas.

En un escrito Rivera Ortiz expresó su sorpresa por la publicación, pues dijo nunca fue llamado para confirmar la información. Además, dijo que entiende que la carta en la que se narra una supuesta conducta impropia con el Padre Ovidio Pérez Pérez, y publicada en un diario del país, es fruto de un exseminarista, a quien identificó como Daniel Collazo.

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UNITED STATES
BishopAccountability.org

Summary of Case: Gansmann was ordained a priest of the Springfield, IL – based Franciscan Province of the Sacred Heart in 1935.
He ministered in Chicago and Joliet schools and parishes until 1948, when he was transferred to the St. Paul archdiocese. In 1959 he was moved back to Chicago for a year, and then to Nashville, TN, where he pastored a parish until his death in 1974. In 2007 a man reported to the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese that he was sexually abused by Gansmann in Minnesota many decades previously. Archdiocesan officials deemed his allegations credible; documents show they also had reason to believe the man wasn’t Gansmann’s only victim. The allegations against Gansmann weren’t made public by the archdiocese until February 2014.

Ordained: June 24, 1935
Died: May 21, 1974

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ILLINOIS
Chicago Tribune

Graphic: Sister Peg’s attempts to expose abuse

By Christy Gutowski, Tribune reporter
12:49 a.m. CST, March 1, 2014

Amid the thousands of pages of despair in files documenting how Chicago church leaders in the past shielded pedophile priests, one name emerges repeatedly as a persistent, but frustrated, voice for the victims.

She is, at times, referred to as Sister Siena or by her real name, Sister Ivers, or by the name used by students and parishioners, Sister Peg.

The trove of Chicago Archdiocese records recently made public tell of her first encountering an allegedly abusive priest in the 1970s when she was a young, inexperienced principal at a Northlake parish school. After her pleas for his dismissal were ignored, she eventually resigned in disgust.

A decade later, after another priest with a history of sexual misconduct was reassigned to serve as a college chaplain, leaders moved him again “due to difficulties with (Sister) Peg.”

(See documents on Sister Peg’s reports of alleged priest abuse.)

The files describe the sister later warning church officials about questionable behavior of three other clergymen. Despite frequent references to her, the records do not give her religious order or say what happened to this outspoken woman. So the Tribune set out to find her.

An important clue surfaced in a 1964 story in the newspaper’s archives that detailed how sisters from the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary served as principals at some archdiocese schools, including one in Northlake.

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IRELAND
An Phoblacht

MARK MOLONEY

OVER 100 people took part in an event in Glasnevin Cemetary on Sunday to honour the memory of the hundreds of women and girls who died while incarcerated in the Magdalene laundries.

The third annual ‘Flowers for Magdalenes’ event was addressed by Martina Keogh, a survivor of the Gloucester Street laundry; Claire McGettrick of Justice for Magdalenes and Mary Lou McDonald of Sinn Féin – a long time supporter and advocate on behalf of the Magdalene survivors.

In February 2013 Taoiseach Enda Kenny apologised to the women on behalf of the Government and the State for the hurt they endured, and promised to put in place “a process in place to help and support the women in their remaining years”.

Mary Lou McDonald TD criticised the failure of the Taoiseach to deliver on his promise. Speaking to those in attendance, she said:

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DEUTSCHLAND
Mittelbayerische

[Summary: The Catholic Church is struggling with its critics. The Rev. Helmut Shueller was to give a lecture on March 11 in the parish hall of St. Boniface/St. George in Regensburg. Permission was given by the parish priest but permission was withdrawn on instructions of the prelate Michael Fuchs. Schueller is founder of the Pfarrer Initiative which seeks changes in the church.]

VON SUSANNE WIEDAMANN, MZ

REGENSBURG. Die katholische Kirche tut sich schwer mit ihren Kritikern. Das musste nun auch Berthold Starzinger vom Aktionskreis Regensburg (AKR) erfahren, der für 11. März, 19.30 Uhr, eine Vortragsveranstaltung von Pfarrer Helmut Schüller im Pfarrsaal von St. Bonifaz/St. Georg organisiert hatte. Zunächst habe er vom dortigen Pfarrer Dr. Herbert Winterholler ein Okay bekommen, nachdem sich dieser zuvor vom Pfarrgemeinderat Grünes Licht geholt hatte. Letzten Dienstag dann die Überraschung: Winterholler machte auf Anweisung von Generalvikar Prälat Michael Fuchs einen Rückzieher. Die Veranstaltung des Gründers der Pfarrer-Initiative Österreichs über „Katholische Kirche – deine Zukunft?“ sei in Räumen der Pfarrei nicht möglich.

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