ABUSE TRACKER

AUSTRALIA
Sky News

Sex abuse victims who went to a Catholic Church mediation with a lawyer would lose the right to pastoral support, an inquiry has been told.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is looking at the church’s internal process for dealing with sex abuse victims.

It was told on Tuesday the approach in the late 1990s was a standard one and required an insured to make no admission of liability.

The commission is examining the experience of four abuse victims who went through the Church’s Towards Healing procedure, which was established in 1996.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

December 11, 2013

Catherine Armitage
Senior Writer

Catholic Church officials have admitted their treatment of a woman who was sexually abused at 14 by the chaplain of her Brisbane convent school lacked justice and compassion, the Royal Commission on Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse has heard.

The church’s Towards Healing process for responding to victims’ complaints amounted to ”re-abuse” of Joan Isaacs, admitted Mary Rogers, who facilitated Mrs Isaacs’ case for the Catholic archdiocese of Brisbane.

Mrs Isaacs, 60, turned to the church for an apology, counselling and compensation after her abuser, Frank Derriman, was convicted and jailed for eight months. Her Towards Healing meeting with church representatives took place in April 1999. After two years of fraught negotiations she was paid $30,000, most of it wiped out by costs. She had 10 sessions with a psychologist but had to repeatedly chase up the Brisbane archdiocese to pay her psychologist’s invoice.

The protracted negotiations ”had the effect of re-abusing Mrs Isaacs and it was certainly not a compassionate response”, admitted Ms Rogers, now director of the Catholic Church’s Queensland professional standards office. Mrs Isaacs wept quietly in the hearing room at these words, comforted by her husband, Ian. Ms Rogers agreed there was no ”justice” in Towards Healing in any legal sense. ”The word justice is difficult to fit into this protocol,” she said.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

JENNIFER SEXTON THE DAILY TELEGRAPH DECEMBER 11, 2013

THE Catholic Church ran its insurance company as a charity at law but treated sexual abuse claims in much the same way as any other insurance claim – make no admissions of liability and be wary of apologising.

The royal commission yesterday heard that lawyers and insurers were dictating the terms of mediations with the Catholic Church’s victims of sexual abuse.

The church’s insurance representative Laurie Rolls warned priests the victims would forfeit the right to pastoral care if they engaged a lawyer.

Mr Rolls told the commission in a statement that liability was at all times reduced.

Representing Catholic Church Insurances Limited, he said the sexual abuse claims were treated in much the same way as any other insurance claim, “to make no admission of liability”, be wary of apologies and use technical defences and limitations where ever possible.

Rev Dr Adrian Farrelly, Chancellor of the Catholic archdiocese of Brisbane, said that before saying sorry in writing to victim Joan Isaacs, he sent a draft letter to Mr Rolls. Letters show Mr Rolls ordered the removal of a crucial sentence: “I am sorry that you were not believed when you told other priests what had happened to you.”

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

DAN BOX THE AUSTRALIAN DECEMBER 11, 2013

THE Catholic Church’s insurance company instructed a bishop to delete an admission that church officials had been warned about a pedophile priest from a letter of apology sent to one of the man’s victims.

The company, Catholic Church Insurances, dominated the negotiation of abuse claims, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse heard yesterday, instructing clerics to deny liability and dictating the amount of compensation and even counselling offered in response.

On one occasion, the commission heard, the company was consulted on a 1999 letter sent to the victim of a Brisbane priest who claimed to be terminally ill and saying she “needed to have sex with him before he died”.

His victim, Joan Isaacs, had attempted to warn church officials about her abuse but was ignored, the commission heard, allowing the priest to abuse other children.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
BBC News

Down and Connor

Allegations of abuse have been made against 42 priests in the diocese of Down and Connor in the past 38 years, an audit has revealed.

The review was carried out by the Catholic Church’s child protection watchdog, the National Board for Safeguarding Children.

It revealed that since 1975, 59 allegations had been made in the diocese.

Three priests have been convicted of offences against children.

The report went on to say that 14 allegations since the appointment of Bishop Noel Treanor five years ago had been properly managed.

In seven of these cases, there was insufficient evidence to proceed.

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

The Christian Brothers have said that “they deeply regret” the hurt caused by their response to abuse allegations which resulted in only 12 brothers being convicted of crimes in the past 38 years.

The Catholic Church’s child protection watchdog has published eight reviews of the practices and procedures in place to address sex abuse cases.

The audit, which covers the period between January 1975 and May 2013, examines six separate dioceses and two religious congregations.

The work was carried out by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church.

The congregation in a statement said they accept that a “safeguarding deficit” existed in the past and they “deeply regret” the hurt that this causes.

Their statement said: “We want to learn from the mistakes of the past and to create a safe environment for all children and young adults. By developing robust child protection measures and inviting the National Board to independently assess these, we aim to continuously enhance child protection safeguards so that the mistakes of the past may never be repeated.

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IIRELAND
Irish Times

St Patrick’s Missionary Society ( Kiltegan Fathers)

Patsy McGarry

The Kiltegan fathers religious order has been heavily criticised in the latest reviews of child protection carried out by the Catholic Church.

The Church’s National Board for Safeguarding Children (NBSC) said “abuse that has been identified outside the Irish region has not in every case given rise to an appropriate and robust response.”
The reviews which also include six Catholic diocese and the Christian Brothers this morning, have been generally positive where the diocese are concerned.

The reviews which also include six Catholic diocese and the Christian Brothers this morning, have been generally positive where the diocese are concerned.

However the NBSC reviews has been very critical of past handling of allegations by the St Patrick’s Missionary Society based at Kiltegan, Co Wicklow and of the Christian Brothers.

It has also disclosed that 325 Christian Brothers faced a total of 870 child abuse allegations most of which related to the 1950s, 60s, 70s period. All had been reported to the gardaí and health authorities with 12 Brothers convicted in the courts. The NBSC reviewers found that the Christian Brothers’ initial response to reporting allegations to the statutory agencies “was not systematic and was inadequate.”

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IRELAND
BBC News

Child abuse allegations were made against 325 members of one religious order on the island of Ireland since 1975, but only 12 were convicted.

The Christian Brothers is a Catholic order set up to provide education and to help the poor. It ran more than 100 schools across the island of Ireland.

A Catholic Church child protection watchdog has published an audit of the order’s handling of abuse allegations.

Fifty of those accused are still alive and are current members of the order.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Journal

Down and Connor

THE LARGEST DIOCESE ever to be audited by the Catholic Church’s child safety watchdog has properly managed all of the incidents of child welfare concerns that have come to it in recent years.

That is the finding of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, the body responsible for overseeing the welfare of children in the Church.

Down and Connor, which is the second largest diocese in the country, was found to have dealt with cases involving 14 living priests under the current bishop, Noel Treanor.

In all of those cases, the board found that Treanor had “properly managed” the allegations. Seven were investigated by the PSNI, but found not to have enough evidence to warrant a prosecution.

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IRELAND
Newstalk

Christian Brothers

The child protection watchdog of the Catholic Church has published eight reviews of the practices and procedures in place to address sex abuse cases. The audit covers the period between January 1975 and May 2013.

It examines six separate dioceses and two religious congregations.

The work was carried out by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church (NBSCCC).

This latest tranche of reports from the Catholic Church child protection watchdog shows that during a period of almost three decades 870 allegations of child sex abuse were made against 325 members of the Christian Brothers order.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Ulster Herald

Armagh

A report into how the Armagh Archdiocese handled allegations of child sex abuse has revealed that 36 allegations have been made against priests since 1975.

The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church’s audit into child protection in the Archdiocese found that the allegations concerned 16 priests, nine of whom are still alive.

Four are still ‘in ministry’. Just one priest has been convicted since January 1 1975. Seven priests have since died.

The reports refer to alleged abuse perpetrated between 1950 and 2000. The audit was carried out over three days in August this year. The publication of the report has this morning (Tuesday) prompted an apology from Cardinal Seán Brady, Archbishop of Armagh.

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IRELAND
Journal

THE BOARD SET up to oversee the improvement of child safeguarding measures within the Catholic Church in Ireland has noted that it has no power in reviewing cases where Irish priest are accused of abusing children abroad.

The National Board of Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church of Ireland (NBSCCCI) said today that there was an “anomaly” in how safeguarding standards could be applied when a religious organisation is based in Ireland – but carries out its work outside the country.

The NBSCCCI was speaking in relation to the audit of St Patrick’s Missionary Society – also known as the Kiltegan Fathers. There have been 50 allegations made about 14 members of the Society since 1975 but three allegations were not reported in Ireland as they occurred in “other jurisdictions”.

The reviewers of the Society’s efforts were concerned that abuse allegations made outside Ireland “has not in every case given rise to an appropriate and robust response” from the Kiltegan Fathers HQ in Wicklow. In one case, several reports made in the mid to late 1960s of sexual activity between a Kiltegan Father and a number of young Goan boys in Kenya were not looked into until 1997, and the priest in questions remained part of the Kiltegan Fathers until 2002.

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IRELAND
Journal

Armagh

CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY has said he is “truly sorry” to abuse survivors following the publication of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church’s review of practices in the Archdiocese of Armagh.

“The Review finds that this diocese is fully committed to safeguarding children and young people. Nevertheless, my first thoughts today are with those who were abused,” he said in a statement. ”

“I know that for you, survivors of abuse and your families, days such as today are especially difficult. You have suffered terribly and I am truly sorry. I pray for you and will work to ensure that you are supported on your journey towards healing and peace.”

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IRELAND
Journal

Ossory

THERE HAVE BEEN allegations made against 14 priest since 1975 in the Diocese of Ossory.

It’s reported that most of these occurred under the tenure of Bishops Peter Birch and Laurence Forristal.
Bishop Séamus Freeman was appointed in 2007 and has dealt with allegations against two living priests since then.

Both those allegations were made in the past six years and the report says both ‘have been appropriately managed with timely notifications to the civil authorities.’

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IRELAND
Irish Times
.
Patsy McGarry

The latest and largest tranche of reviews by the Catholic Church’s child protection watchdog will be published later this morning.

The reports by the Church’s National Board for Safeguarding Children (NBSC) will cover eight Church institutions, including the archdioceses of Armagh and Cashel, as well as the dioceses of Down & Connor, Achonry, Kerry, and Ossory, as well as the Christian Brothers and the St Patrick’s Missionary Society, Kiltegan, Co Wicklow.

This fourth tranche of reports from the NBSC, which oversees child protection in the Catholic Church in Ireland will address both current practice in the institutions investigated as well as their handling of all allegations received since January 1st 1975.

Interest is likely to focus particularly on the Christian Brothers a congregation which incurred severe criticism from the Ryan Commission in its report, published in May 2009.

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IRELAND
RTE News

An audit by the Catholic Church’s child protection watchdog has found only 12 Christian Brothers were convicted of crimes between 1975 and today.

A review of the congregation’s files found that its initial response to the need to report abuse to the authorities was not systematic and was inadequate.

It revealed allegations were made against 325 brothers – only 50 of whom are still alive – with 870 complaints of abuse in the 38-year period, all of which have been reported to authorities.

The audit, carried out by the church’s own watchdog the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, is one of eight being released today.

The latest and largest group of reviews by the oversight body scrutinise both current practice in two religious orders and six dioceses and the handling of all allegations received since January 1975.

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

Christian Brothers

An audit of how the Christian Brothers dealt with abuse allegations has found only 12 brothers were convicted of crimes between 1975 and today.

A review of the congregation’s files found that its initial response to the need to report abuse to the authorities was not systematic and was inadequate.

It revealed allegations were made against 325 brothers – only 50 of whom are still alive – with 870 complaints of abuse in the 38-year period, all of which have been reported to authorities.

The audit, carried out by the church’s own watchdog the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, is one of eight being released today.

The latest and largest tranche of reviews by the oversight body scrutinise both current practice in two religious orders and six dioceses and the handling of all allegations received since January 1975.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

Christian Brothers

10 DECEMBER 2013

THE audit on the Christian Brothers by the National Board for Safeguarding Children found allegations of abuse against a staggering 325 brothers relating to 870 incidences of abuse.

All of these incidences the NBSCCCI found had been reported to the gardai and HSE.

But the files read by the reviewers left them in no doubt that a great number of children were seriously abused by Brothers.

And according to the NBSCCCI the historical evidence makes it clear that a substantial safeguarding deficit existed within the Province prior to the early 1990s.

The years 1995 –2008 marked a period of acute and fundamental change for the Province evidenced by a dramatic rise in complaints, against deceased, former and living Brothers.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

BY PAUL MELIA – 10 DECEMBER 2013

Cardinal Seán Brady, Archbishop of Armagh, has said he is ‘truly sorry’ for the abuse suffered by children in the Catholic Church.

The Fourth Tranche of the Reviews of Safeguarding practice across the Catholic Church brings the total authorities reviewed to date to 27.

“In the majority of cases the progress that has been made has been heartening,” said Teresa Devlin, Acting CEO of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland (NBSCCCI).

“However, this was not universally the case and we have undertaken to work closely with those that have not met the required standards to ensure that children are properly safeguarded.”

She went on to outline how the completion of 27 audit reports meant that a significant portion of the work to be done had now been completed.

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CALIFORNIA
Manteca Bulletin

By Rose Albano-Risso
City Editor ralbanorisso@mantecabulletin.com 209-249-3536
POSTED December 10, 2013 .

Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of the six-county Catholic Diocese of Stockton announced over the weekend the diocese will likely file for bankruptcy saying there is “no viable option” other than re-organization.

That action may take place “after the first of the year.”

The announcement was made in a letter from the bishop that was distributed to all parishioners in the diocese during all Masses Sunday and during the anticipated Masses on Saturday.

Since his last letter to all the faithful a few months ago, the bishop stated that the diocese has looked into all possible and available alternatives to filing for bankruptcy.

“However, no viable option has emerged other than re-organizing financially under the protection of Bankruptcy Court. Moving in this direction will enable us to continue to meet our obligations to the victims of sexual abuse, to the poor and vulnerable, and to you our people,” the bishop stated in his letter.

A footnote in his letter clarified that the use of the term “the Diocese” refers to “The Roman Catholic Bishop of Stockton, a corporation sole.” That statement means the diocesan “parishes and organizations are not subjects of the possible bankruptcy filing,” he stated, but also added, “Still they need to be prepared in case they are challenged, as has happened in other dioceses.”

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AUSTRALIA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Perth

To download a copy of Archbishop Costelloe’s FULL LETTER, please click here (Word 97 – 61KB).

Below is a shortened version of the Archbishop’s Letter containing the main points. This shortened version is also available to download. Please click here (Word 97 – 57KB).
____________________

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In the coming weeks the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse will turn its attention specifically to the Catholic Church and particularly to the Church’s Towards Healing programme through which people can bring complaints of child sexual abuse to the Church.

Terrible stories of abuse of children and young people by Catholic priests, religious and other Church workers, will be revealed or, in some cases, revisited. This will be distressing primarily for the survivors of sexual abuse themselves and for those who love and care about them.

It is time for the Church to recognise in shame that so many people have suffered, and continue to suffer. We acknowledge that this terrible betrayal has at times been compounded by our leaders who failed to recognise the presence of this evil in our midst and respond promptly with decisiveness and courage.

As Archbishop, I would like to say that:

– I offer my sincere and unreserved apology to all those affected by this terrible abuse;
– I apologise to your families, loved ones and friends who have suffered with you and alongside you;
– I apologise to the wider community for our failure to live up to the high ideals to which we as Church aspire.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Lucy Martin

The Archbishop of Perth Timothy Costelloe has issued a public apology for the Catholic Church’s failure to recognise and prevent the sexual abuse of children.

In an open letter to 100 parishes and the wider community, Archbishop Costelloe says he is sorry the abuse happened and ashamed that some church leaders did not adequately respond to allegations.

“The key message of the letter is really to acknowledge the terrible suffering of people who have been victims of sexual abuse by clergy and other church workers,” he said.

“I really do feel ashamed of the actions of those who betrayed everything the church stands for.

“The words that I said are words that most Catholics would carry in their hearts I’m sure.”

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AUSTRALIA
The Guardian (UK)

Helen Davidson
theguardian.com, Monday 9 December 2013

There have been no meetings between the Brisbane facilitator of the Catholic church’s Towards Healing process and her interstate counterparts to discuss or ensure consistency across states in the treatment of victims of sexual abuse, the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse has heard.

On the second day of the public hearing examining the Towards Healing program, the commission heard from Bernadette Rogers, a state facilitator in charge of meetings between abuse victims and the church. Rogers is currently director of the Queensland professional standards office and was a facilitator for Towards Healing from 1997 to 2003 and again from 2010.

The church established Towards Healing in 1996 in response to complaints of sexual abuse by members of the clergy. It has been criticised for its processes, which are allegedly heavily influenced by the church insurance company, and it has been accused of looking after the church’s interests over victims.

The questioning addressed the differences in Towards Healing after it was revised in 2009 as well as the specifics surrounding the facilitation meetings with abuse victim Joan Isaacs.

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AUSTRALIA
SBS

By David Liddle
Source NITV News

The Royal Commission will hold its final hearing for 2013 over the next two weeks, looking at the Catholic Church’s response to allegations of child sexual abuse within its institutions.

One Murri man, who identifies himself as ‘Paul’ from North Queensland, told NITV News about being adopted into a family where the father sexually abused him, inflicting injuries he still suffers today.

He bravely came forward to share his story with the Royal Commission, but says his voice was ignored.

“I told them what had happened, in more detail, and basically they said it’s not within their jurisdiction to investigate it. So, if they’ve got a Royal Commission into child sexual abuse, why isn’t it being investigated,” said Paul.

Paul says he was also ignored by the authorities in 2006.

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OKLAHOMA
Westmoreland Times

A man serving as a Jehovah’s Witness elder minister in Oklahoma was arrested on 19 counts of sexual abuse, according to authorities. Authorities said they had received numerous reports of other children being molested by Ronald Lawrence, 76 years of age, from more than 30 years ago.

It is believed, according to Lawrence’s arrest warrant, the Kingdom Hall church where Lawrence was an elder, chose not to inform law enforcement of the abuse. Authorities said that if the Jehovah’s Witness church withheld information from authorities that they too could face criminal charges.

There is evidence the Jehovah’s Witness organization was aware of a problem that took place back in 2005, yet he continued to serve as a clergyman for the sect.

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AUSTRALIA
Catholic Culture

The Australian government’s Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has begun its examination of Towards Healing, the Australian bishops’ response to child sexual abuse that was launched in 1996.

“The data indicate the following for the period 1 January 1996 to 30 September 2013: 2,215 complaints were received and about 1,700 people agreed to participate in the Towards Healing procedure, although not all of these were necessarily pursued or substantiated,” said attorney Gail Furness.

“76% of all Towards Healing complaints related to alleged incidents of child sexual abuse that occurred from 1950 to 1980 inclusive,” she continued. “Over 60% of all Towards Healing complaints detailed the incident location as a school, college or orphanage. The Church authority with the largest number of complaints was the Christian Brothers, followed by the Marist Brothers and then the De La Salle Brothers.”

43% of alleged abusers were religious brothers, 21% were diocesan priests, and 14% were religious priests.

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IRELAND
Journal

[Diocese of Achonry]

A REPORT INTO child safeguarding in the Catholic diocese of Achonry has found ’scant evidence’ that the diocese gave information about child sex abuse allegations to gardaí in the past.

The report by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church, one of several published today, was strongly critical of the actions of Bishop Thomas Flynn, who presided over the diocese in Mayo and Sligo for more than 30 years until 2007.

The report found that of the 11 priests against whom allegations have been made in the diocese since 1975, none were ever convicted of an offence. In the majority of the cases, the abuse happened at least thirty years ago.

Nine of the priests are now dead. Of the two who are still alive, one is still in ministry but has retired, while the other has left either the diocese or the priesthood.

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MALTA
Malta Independent

Priest abuse victims see ‘small ray of hope’

Lawrence Grech, the spokesperson for a group of 11 sexual abuse victims involved in the high-profile St Joseph’s Home priest abuse case, sees “a small ray of hope” in Pope Francis’ recent agreement to establish a commission that will help abuse victims with their healing process.

Speaking yesterday to The Malta Independent on Sunday, Mr Grech, who is himself one of the 11 victims, reiterated how, despite the Maltese Church’s claims to the contrary, not a single member of the group of abuse victims he represents has been contacted to follow up on the Church’s offer of assistance to those who had fallen prey to paedophile priests.

In August 2011, Godwin Scerri, at the time 75 years of age, and Charles Pulis, 64, were sentenced to five and six years imprisonment for sexually abusing 11 of the boys in their care at the Santa Venera home over 20 years earlier. Both were defrocked after the sentence.

An ensuing civil court case, in which the victims are claiming damages, is scheduled to continue next week.

Speaking yesterday, Mr Grech was tentatively hopeful that the new commission appointed by the Pope earlier this week may eventually lead to the kind of help that his fellow sexual abuse victims are in need of, and which he says has been denied them despite the Church’s pledges.

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

[list of names – St. John’s Abbey]

Article by: JEAN HOPFENSPERGER and TONY KENNEDY , Star Tribune staff writers Updated: December 9, 2013

New release expands the lists of accused priests, but advocates say many names of abusive clergy remain secret.

The list of local Catholic clergy accused of sex abuse grew longer Monday, when St. John’s Abbey of Collegeville released the names of 18 monks and allegations against a priest working at the University of St. Thomas came to light.

Most of the monks named Monday by St. John’s Abbey also were on a list made public with the settlement of a lawsuit in 2011. That list is missing several credibly accused monks, say attorneys and victims advocates. It’s also missing the monks’ work history and current residences.

“This list reflects our best efforts to identify those who likely have offended against minors,” said Brother Aelred Senna, abbey spokesman. “That task often is complicated by the passage of time, the deaths of some of those involved and sometimes incomplete accounts of the past.”

The developments come days after the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis reversed its long and tenacious resistance to identifying credibly accused clergy and produced a list of 34 priests believed to have committed acts of abuse. The church agreed to a court order releasing the names after a recent wave of new clergy sex abuse allegations that have led to the abrupt departures of several top leaders in the local church. Pressure continues to mount on other Catholic dioceses in the state to make their own lists public.

Richard Sipe, a former St. John’s monk who chaired its Interfaith Sexual Trauma Institute from 1994 to 1996, said he’s disappointed that it took so long for St. John’s to make its list public. Most monks on the list had been identified by the abbey years ago, he said.

Many of the monks were in key positions of authority, Sipe said. The late Rev. Cosmas Dahlheimer was the “novice master,” and all the young monks were under his tutelage for a year, he said. The Rev. Finian McDonald served in the university’s counseling center, he said.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

DAN BOX THE AUSTRALIAN DECEMBER 10, 2013

THE Catholic Church’s insurance company instructed a senior cleric not to accept responsibility or discuss compensation when meeting a victim of child sex abuse committed by a priest.

The royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse has heard the insurer was also sent a draft of a letter sent to the victim and recommended an admission other priests knew of the abuse be taken out.

The chancellor of the Archdiocese of Brisbane, Adrian Farrelly, told today’s hearing that he received the advice from a representative of Catholic Church Insurance before meeting the victim, Joan Isaacs, in 1999.

He subsequently told the retired schoolteacher he was unable to offer her compensation and in his report of the meeting, tendered in evidence, said: “I did not offer an apology on behalf of the church but did express my sorrow at what had happened to her.”

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AUSTRALIA
The Guardian

Helen Davidson
theguardian.com, Tuesday 10 December 2013

The former chancellor of the Brisbane archdiocese says it is “difficult” for the church to take the blame for a priest who “fell short of the standards expected of him” when he sexually abused a 15-year-old girl.

The church sought to avoid condemning the convicted man on advice from lawyers and insurers, in case it was left open to liability claims, the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse heard on Tuesday.

On the second day of the public hearing into the Catholic Church’s Towards Healing program, it was also revealed that a development fund of $154m could have been used to pay victims of child abuse within the Brisbane archdiocese.

Brisbane priest Frank Derriman was convicted in 1998 of the sexual abuse of Joan Isaacs when she was 15 and 16. Isaacs sought redress through the Towards Healing process, which was set up in 1996 in response to claims of sexual assault by clergy.

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AUSTRALIA
Geelong Advertiser

BY ANNETTE BLACKWELL AAP DECEMBER 10, 2013

ALTHOUGH the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane had income from an $154 million development fund, it was trying to avoid a payout to a woman still suffering from being abused as a child by a priest.

The revelation came on the second day of a royal commission hearing into how the church dealt with Joan Isaacs, abused by Father Frank Derriman at a Brisbane convent school in 1967 and 1968,

The former archdiocesan chancellor, the Very Rev Dr James Spence, who acted as a “conduit” between the archdiocese, lawyers and the church insurers during negotiations with the victim in the late 90s and early 2000s said he understood the fund was worth about $154 million in 2001.

Dr Spence, now retired, said he was not aware then if any money was specifically available for abuse matters other than from insurance.

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IRELAND
National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church

Archdiocese of Armagh
Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly
Diocese of Achonry
Diocese of Down and Connor
Diocese of Kerry
Diocese of Ossory
Christian Brothers
St Patrick’s Missionary Society ( Kiltegan Fathers)

Overview of the Safeguarding Practice from 4th Tranche of Reviews conducted in the Arch Dioceses of Armagh and Cashel and Emly; the Dioceses of Achonry; Down and Connor; Kerry and Ossory; St Patrick’s Missionary Society, Kiltegan and the Congregation of Christian Brothers.

December 2013
In May 2013, the fieldwork into the 4th tranche of safeguarding reviews began. Included in this tranche were 6 Dioceses and 1 Religious Congregation; included in this overview report are the findings of those reviews and those relating to St Patrick’s Missionary Society which was reviewed earlier in the year as part of the 3rd tranche. The fieldwork part of the reviews was conducted by reviewers employed by NBSCCCI and took place over a 2/3/4/5 day period between May 2013 and September 2013.

The purpose of the reviews is set out in the Terms of Reference which was agreed by the Bishops Conference, the Conference of Religious of Ireland and the Irish Missionary Union in June 2010.
As with all other reviews, the process was initiated through the signing of a data processing deed which allowed the exchange of information with the NBSCCCI and was overseen by a Reference group made up of Dr Helen Buckley, TCD; Paul Harrison, HSE and John Toner, independent consultant and chair of safeguarding trust boards in Northern Ireland.

Each Review report is an assessment of local policy and practice against the Church’s seven standards, followed by recommendations for improvements to practice as appropriate. The terms of reference are clear in stating that in terms of allegations that the concentration is on current risk, in other words the reviewers read files relating to living priests/brothers. The Reviews involved a time period from 1st January 1975 to the period of the Review.

Key Findings of the Reviews

The fourth tranche shows steady progress across all standards and especially in relation to reporting allegations to the civil authorities. Prior to 2008, when “Safeguarding Children”, Standards and Guidance for the Catholic Church in Ireland were endorsed as the Church standards, the practice of reporting all allegations to the civil authorities was sporadic. From the records it is clear that up to 2008 there were long delays in reporting allegations against living priests/brothers and that, allegations against deceased priests and brothers were not systematically reported. There has been significant improvement and it is now practice across all diocese and orders that all allegations are promptly reported. As will be noted from the individual reports, the follow-up church inquiries were either slowly instituted or in many cases not instituted at all, leaving complainants and respondent priests/brothers in limbo in criminally non adjudicated cases.
The overall findings include:

* There were a large number of allegations and evidence in the files to support that there were significant numbers of children abused by priests and Religious. It is important that everyone recognises the extent of the abuse of children. In total there were 1140 allegations made. (this does not constitute 1140 victims – as there may have been multiple allegations from 1 person; in addition these figures are not confirmed figures of abuse)
* In one example, unacceptable in terms on a complete failure to act appropriately to allegations, – men remained in ministry and children were placed at risk; and non-adherence to any policies was evident until relatively recently
* Response to victims is still inconsistent and often not addressed at all
* Delays in reporting up until 2008, now prompt reporting, particularly good reporting in Dioceses and in some instances for a number of years dating back to early 1990s before any Church guidance
* Canon law processes are not well understood, so there is drift in cases which were not criminally adjudicated on.
* Concerns about lack of State follow through on non-adjudicated men.
* Best examples of overall good safeguarding practice and management of allegations are where the Bishop/Provincial personally gets involved alongside the lay designated person.

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IRELAND
National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church

Progress Good But Not Consistent

10th December 2013

The Fourth Tranche of the Reviews of Safeguarding practice across the Catholic Church was released today by the seven Church authorities involved. They were the Dioceses of Achonry, Kerry, Ossory and Down & Connnor, the Archdioceses of Armagh and Cashel & Emly as well as the Christian Brothers and the St Patrick’s Missionary Society. This brings the total of Church authorities reviewed to date by this process to 27.

“In the majority of cases the progress that has been made has been heartening,” said Teresa Devlin, Acting CEO of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland (NBSCCCI). “However, this was not universally the case and we have undertaken to work closely with those that have not met the required standards to ensure that children are properly safeguarded.”

She went on to outline how the completion of 27 audit reports meant that a significant portion of the work to be done had now been completed.

“Our next tranche will see that last of the Dioceses being reviewed”, said Devlin. “And, we will also be dealing with the larger religious Congregations and Missionary Orders during 2014. Thereafter, many of those organisations still to be audited will be small in terms of membership and may have limited involvement with children – so we are expecting such audits to be quite rapid.”

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

CAROLINE CRAWFORD – 10 DECEMBER 2013

ALLEGATIONS of abuse were made against 13 priests since 1975 in the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, an audit of child protection practices has revealed.

It reveals that 19 separate allegations were made against priests in the area, all of these have been reported to gardai.

The abuse alleged was of both a physical and sexual nature.

The report found that seven priests against whom an allegation was made were still members of the Diocese at the time of the review. Allegations of sexual abuse were made against six of these men with an allegation of physical abuse against one.

Of the seven, only two were removed from ministry after Archbishop Dermot Clifford decided that based on evidence there was “a semblance of truth to the allegations in relation to these two priests”.

After investigations the five remaining priests remained in ministry.

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AUSTRALIA
Eureka Street

Jane Anderson | 10 December 2013

Last week I went to the Royal Commission and had a private session, which means, in short, that I am a victim of sexual abuse. That history spanned nearly three decades. My encounters with one perpetrator prepared me for more harrowing experiences during adolescence, and later in a marriage that turned violent. Those crimes have shaped my life, and telling my tale that spans nearly 50 years was an experience for which I am thankful.

I commend the Royal Commission for the way in which it was conducted; with attentiveness, sensitivity and professionalism, and with an ongoing concern for the wellbeing of the interviewee.

During the process, it was mentioned that after the Commission had finished its work, there might be the possibility of making this process available to those who might subsequently want to recount stories of sexual abuse. I think that could be a valuable option, but it set me thinking about the whole process of dealing with this crime, the wounds, and the tragedy.

First I want to say that we are very well served by a judicial system in our democracy which takes seriously the sexual crimes against the most vulnerable. This independent body, which is separate from executive and legislative bodies in our society, is fundamental to protecting the rights of individuals. This system is not available in the Catholic Church, with these three bodies being collapsed into the role of bishop. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the Church has had so much difficulty with dealing with this crime.

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AUSTRALIA
9 News

Sex abuse victims who went to a Catholic Church mediation with a lawyer would lose the right to pastoral support, an inquiry has been told.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is looking at the church’s internal process for dealing with sex abuse victims.

It was told on Tuesday the approach in the late 1990s was a standard one and required an insured to make no admission of liability.

The commission is examining the experience of four abuse victims who went through the Church’s Towards Healing procedure, which was established in 1996.

The process failed Joan Isaacs, who was abused by a priest when she was 14 and 15 while attending a convent school in Brisbane, the commission heard on Monday.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

December 10, 2013

Catherine Armitage
Senior Writer

Three decades after the chaplain of her Brisbane convent school sexually abused her, Joan Isaacs saw him on a beach with a young woman and child. She felt “really traumatised” to see that Father Francis Derriman was “still interested in young women”. She had “terrible thoughts” about the future of the child he was with. So she decided, at last, in 1996, to take action.

This was the man who stalked her in her teenage years. He stole her innocence, and her promise. He told her he was dying and she had to have sex with him first or he’d kill himself. He read Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita to her to “soften me up for sexual contact”. He called her to the presbytery to pack his underpants in his suitcase for hospital.

He “took me to isolated and unsafe places so he could molest me”, and stalked her when she tried to break away from him. He molested her “in my home, my bedroom, his car and the presbytery”, when she was 14 and 15. He molested her friends, too, and got one of them pregnant at 17.

In 1998 Derriman was convicted of indecently assaulting Mrs Isaacs. He served eight months of a one-year sentence. Then she turned to the church to which she’d stayed loyal, despite her awful experiences. She sought an apology, compensation and counselling through its Towards Healing process, set up for people just like her.

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AUSTRALIA
7 News

BY THOMAS ORITI – ABC
December 10, 2013

An inquiry into child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church has heard the people involved in a pastoral and redress scheme for victims received two days of training.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is examining the Towards Healing process, established by the Church in 1996 to respond to complaints against its personnel.

The Church’s Director of Professional Standards in Queensland, Mary Bernadette Rogers, says she participated in a two-day course in 1997 before she started to liaise with victims.

She told the inquiry that was enough, given that staff already had experience in “dispute resolution”.

Ms Rogers was involved in the case of Joan Isaacs, who was abused by a priest when she was 14 years old.

The commissioner heard that in 1967, Father Francis Derriman told her he was going to die and said he needed to have sex with her.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Sun-Times

BY FRANCINE KNOWLES Religion Reporter December 9, 2013

A network of survivors of priest sexual abuse is criticizing the Archdiocese of Chicago for its handling of an allegation of sexual misconduct by the pastor of a Lake View church.

Meanwhile a parishioner at a church where the priest had previously been pastor offered words of support for the priest.

The Archdiocese of Chicago said Sunday it was notified about an allegation that the Rev. Michael W. O’Connell engaged in sexual misconduct with a minor in the late 1990s while he was pastor at his previous parish, Our Lady of the Woods Parish in Orland Park, a church spokeswoman said. He served as pastor there from 1997 to 2012.

He is currently pastor of St. Alphonsus Parish, which includes St. Alphonsus Catholic Church and St. Alphonsus Academy & Center for the Arts, a pre-school and elementary school, on Chicago’s North Side.

The archdiocese contacted the Cook County state’s attorney’s office and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services after receiving the single allegation, a church spokeswoman said. At the request of Cardinal Francis George, O’Connell agreed to step aside from day-to-day responsibilities and reside away from the parish while the archdiocese investigates, according to the archdiocese spokeswoman.

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CANADA
Huffington Post

By James Keller, The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER – A freelance journalist who wrote an article alleging former Vancouver Olympic CEO John Furlong verbally and physically abused British Columbia students in the 1960s and ’70s asked a judge Monday to force Furlong to put up $100,000 to prove he can pay legal costs if he loses.

The procedural application, which relied on a rarely used section of law that has only been used twice in more than a century, largely focused instead on what Robinson’s lawyer described as the “bitter” feud between the pair.

Laura Robinson wrote an article for the Georgia Straight newspaper published in September 2012, quoting several people who claimed to have been taught by Furlong in Burns Lake, B.C., and Prince George, B.C., in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The former students were quoted alleging Furlong verbally and physically abused them.

Furlong immediately denied any wrongdoing and subsequently sued Robinson and the newspaper for libel. He recently dropped the Georgia Straight as a defendant and has promised to “escalate” his legal action against the reporter.

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HAWAII
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on December 9, 2013

For tomorrow’s event in Honolulu …
Fmr. Bishop and 3-time accused predator Joseph Ferrario
Fmr. Bishop and accused predator Joseph Ferrario
Fmr top Catholic official accused of abuse
Victim speaks publicly for the first time
He says he was 7 when ex-Honolulu bishop molested him
New lawsuit is one of more than two dozen filed since 2012

WHAT:
Holding signs and childhood photos at a news conference, a third alleged child sexual abuse victim of a now-deceased Honolulu Catholic bishop will speak publicly about his abuse for the first time. He’ll discuss why he’s filing a civil abuse and cover up lawsuit, and
–how he tried to warn neighbors and reach out to other survivors,
–how church officials flew to his home and tried to silence him, and
–how he hopes to encourage other survivors to reach out, and get help.

WHEN:
Tuesday, December 10, 2013 at 11 am

WHERE:
7 Waterfront Plaza, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 400 in Honolulu

WHO:
The alleged victim and another abuse victim who is a leader of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPNetwork.org), the nation’s largest support group for men and women sexually abused as children in religious and institutional settings.

WHY:
A third alleged victim of former Honolulu Bishop Joseph Ferrario is filing a lawsuit and coming forward publicly saying that the cleric sexually abused him.

The man, who now lives in Las Vegas, was a seven-year-old student at Kailua’s St. Anthony’s grade school in 1975 when, he says, then-Fr. Ferrario began to groom and sexually molest him during and after school hours. Ferrario allegedly assaulted the boy in rooms on church property for roughly three years.

The alleged victim is the third man to come forward and file a lawsuit accusing Ferrario of abuse. In 2012, former St. Anthony’s parishioner Mark Pinkosh came forward and accused Ferrario and Kailua priest Joseph Henry. Ferrario was first sued for child sex crimes in 1993 by a now-deceased Honolulu man David Figueroa.

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VATICAN CITY
Chicago Tribune

Philip Pullella
Reuters
1:34 p.m. CST, December 9, 2013

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – A European committee evaluating the Vatican’s financial reforms said the Holy See had made significant progress but needed more internal controls over its bank and another key financial office, sources familiar with the report said on Monday.

The plenary of Moneyval, a monitoring committee of the Council of Europe, adopted a progress report on the Vatican following a July, 2012 initial evaluation that made recommendations on how the Holy See could clean up its murky finances. Moneyval will issue its report on Thursday.

It is expected to add impetus to Pope Francis’s efforts after decades of scandal, particularly surrounding its bank.

According to two sources familiar with it, the Moneyval report says the Vatican has made much progress in the past 17 months in areas such as legislation to combat money laundering, tax evasion and the financing of terrorism.

“This is a very positive document,” one person familiar with the report said. Another expressed “massive satisfaction”.

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IRELAND
RTE News

The Catholic Church’s Irish child protection watchdog is to publish reports tomorrow morning on eight church entities.

They will include an audit of the response by Christian Brothers over the past 38 years to allegations of child sexual abuse in day schools.

Also included is a review of the diocese Down and Connor, the largest diocese the watchdog has audited to date.

It is the fourth tranche of audit reports from the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church.

Drawing on records in church files, they will examine the response to allegations since 1975.

It will also report on current arrangements for safeguarding children.

At the top of the list of the eight entities are the Christian Brothers’ day schools.

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MISSOURI
The Kansas City Star

December 9
BY JUDY L. THOMAS
The Kansas City Star

A former altar boy whose case prompted a wrongful-death lawsuit against the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese that resulted in a $2.25 million settlement is suing a national Catholic organization, alleging defamation and invasion of privacy.

Jon David Couzens filed the lawsuit against the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights; its president and CEO, Bill Donohue; the KC Catholic League; and two Kansas City men who were officers of the now-dissolved local organization.

The lawsuit, filed Friday in Jackson County Circuit Court, alleges that Donohue published false statements about Couzens in news releases, on the Catholic League’s website and in documents distributed to churches. In those statements, Donohue said that Couzens had been involved in a botched drug deal and implicated in a murder.

“It’s a very sad thing that William Donohue and the Catholic League are attacking those who the priesthood has already abused,” Couzens said in a statement. “I now understand why other victims don’t come forward. The things said about me are so cruel and offensive they cut to the core of my being.

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MICHIGAN
Fox 17

WAYLAND, Mich.– According to a news release from the Michigan State Police Troopers recently arrested 32-year-old Nathan Lavoie of Middleville in connection with an investigation into Child Sexually Abusive Activity, 2nd Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct and Accosting a Minor.

On December 5 troopers arrested Lavoie following an investigation into the alleged criminal activity, which reportedly occurred between 2011-2013. The allegations include multiple criminal sexual acts perpetrated against a female victim beginning when she was 15 years old.

Lavoie was employed by St. Therese Church in Wayland as the choir director.

The investigation remains open in an attempt to identify and interview other potential juvenile victims.

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MICHIGAN
WOOD

[with video]

WAYLAND, Mich. (WOOD) – An Allegan County parish choir director is facing criminal sexual conduct charges in a case involving a teenage girl.

Nathan Lavoie, 32, who worked as the choir director at St. Therese Lisieux Parish in Wayland, is facing charges of second-degree criminal sexual conduct, child sexually abusive activity and accosting a minor.

Lavoie, who resides in Middleville, was arrested Dec. 5 after Michigan State Police investigated reports of criminal activity that allegedly took place between 2011 and 2013.

Police said the girl, who is connected to the church and was 15 years old when the alleged activity began, was reportedly the victim of multiple criminal sexual acts.

Lavoie has been on administrative leave from St. Therese Church since

The accusations first surfaced in March. A parent reported his suspicions regarding Lavoie’s behavior to the church priest. The priest then called Children’s Protective Services, who brought in MSP, and placed Lavoie on administrative leave.

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MICHIGAN
WZZM

Bob Brenzing

WAYLAND, Mich. (WZZM) – A choir director has been arrested on charges of criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

Nathan Lavoie, 32, of Middleville was arrested December 5 on charges of Child Sexually Abusive Activity, 2nd Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct and Accosting a Minor. He was arraigned in Allegan County’s 57th District Court and faces up to 20 years in prison, if convicted.

Michigan State Police say the alleged crimes happened between 2011 and 2013. Police say the female victim was 15 years old when it began, and Lavoie was the choir director at St. Therese Church in Wayland.

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MICHIGAN
WHTC

UNDATED (WHTC) — A Middleville man who worked as a parish choir director faces criminal sexual conduct charges involving a teenage girl. The man, 32-year-old Nathan Lavoie, worked as the choir director at St Therese Lisieux Parish in Wayland. Mlive reports that Lavoie was arrested on December 5th in connection with the charges, alleging that the sexual abuse went on between 2011 and 2013. Michigan State Police are investigating to find out if there are more victims. Lavoie could face up to 20 years in prison and 100-thousand dollars in fines.

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MICHIGAN
WWMT

[with video]

Updated: Monday, December 9 2013, 07:05 PM EST WAYLAND, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) – The music director at a West Michigan church is now facing multiple sex charges.

32-year-old Nathan Lavoie, an employee with St. Therese’s parish in Wayland was charged late last week with four felonies, including criminal sexual conduct.

Michigan State Police say Lavoie is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 15 year old between 2011 and 2013.

State Police say they are concerned that there may be more victims out there, they’re hoping now that Lavoie has been charged, others will come forward.

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MICHIGAN
MLive

By Andrew Krietz | akrietz@mlive.com
on December 09, 2013

Update: A statement from the Catholic Dioceses of Kalamazoo has been included in this story.

WAYLAND, MI — A man employed as a church choir director was arrested Thursday, Dec. 5, in connection with sexually abusing a teenager during a span of about three years.

Nathan Lavoie, 32, of Middleville, faces several sexual abuse charges, including criminal sexual conduct in the second degree and accosting a minor, according to the Michigan State Police.

He was employed by St. Therese Lisieux Parish in Wayland, police said.

Authorities allege Lavoie committed multiple sexual acts against a teenage female beginning when she was 15 years old from 2011 to 2013.

Police continue to investigate the allegations and are working to identify and interview other potential victims, they say.

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CHICAGO (IL)
WLS

[with video]

Chuck Goudie

December 9, 2013 (CHICAGO) (WLS) — The latest child sex abuse allegation to befall the Roman Catholic Church in Chicago involves the pastor of one of the city’s oldest parishes.

The pastor of St. Alphonsus Catholic Church is being allowed to remove himself from that job after being accused of molesting a child at a previous parish nearly two decades ago. Father Michael O’Connor is voluntarily stepping aside.

And the unusual consideration from church officials that he be allowed a temporary hiatus is angering victims’ rights advocates.

Outside Chicago Archdiocese headquarters, the president of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests says that O’Connell’s victim is now an adult. The alleged victim has told authorities that he was molested at Our Lady of the Woods parish in south suburban Orland Park.

“He’s claiming that the priest abused him on more than one occasion,” said Barbara Blaine, SNAP president. “That he was a student in the equivalent of Sunday school… that the priest called him out of class and that’s when the abuse occurred.”

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AUSTRALIA
The Guardian

David Marr
theguardian.com, Monday 9 December 2013

It was the gallery’s day. At one end of an immensely expensive room in the Sydney legal district was a squad of lawyers briefed months ago for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

But in the gallery at the other end sat victims and the parents and friends of victims who have been on the case for nearly 20 years. For some it has become their life’s work. And they came from all points on Monday to see what they had managed at last: to put the Catholic Church in the dock.

They made their presence felt. They groaned. They protested. A handful walked out when Peter Gray SC, counsel for the church’s Truth, Justice and Healing Council, began by quoting the “ageless words” of St Mark: “Let the little children come to me.”

Gray laid on the apologies not with a trowel but a front-end loader. He called abuse by clergy and its concealment by the church unbearable, disgraceful, heartbreaking, shattering and devastating. He declared the royal commission, “a watershed in church history and indeed in Australian history”.

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UNITED STATES
The New York Times

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Published: December 6, 2013

After decades of Vatican indifference and evasion, Pope Francis has ordered the creation of a commission to study the rape and intimidation of schoolchildren by priests and to recommend measures for effective reform. The new commission, long overdue, will be composed of international experts, both lay and religious, reflecting the global scope of the scandal. Its task is to propose concrete recommendations for firmer safeguarding of schoolchildren and better training of Roman Catholic priests.

The hallmark of the new pope has been a refreshing resolve to shake up Vatican intransigence, but Francis has a way to go to reassure Catholics, particularly parents, that a firmer hand will in fact produce credible reform. His new initiative, for instance, offers no guarantee that he will deal with a major dynamic in the scandal by ordering greater accountability from diocesan prelates, many of whom ran systematic cover-ups of the criminal abuse of children. Catholics, including the non-offending majority of clergy members, are entitled to clear progress on this.

Francis’s call for the commission came just days after Vatican officials rebuffed a request from the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child for details on how the church handled the scandal. The officials said the problem was primarily the responsibility of individual bishops and of local criminal justice authorities.

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Collegeville (MN)
Saint John’s Abbey

Official Statement of December 9, 2013

Saint John’s Abbey voluntarily is releasing the names of current and former monks who likely have offended against minors. Most of the names previously have been made public. The list includes 18 names: nine monks who are living at Saint John’s Abbey under supervised safety plans, seven monks who are deceased and two men who have been dispensed from their religious vows and no longer are connected to the Abbey.

The claims against each of those named were reviewed either by the Abbey’s External Review Board or by the Abbot himself. In each case, it was determined that there was sufficient evidence to include the person on the list. In some cases, however, all the facts could not be completely substantiated. Claims against some of those named on the list, for example, were not brought to the Abbey’s attention for decades after the accused monk’s death. It is in several of these cases where the Abbot made the determination to include the name of the monk on the list despite the lack of corroborating evidence.

The External Review Board was created in 2003. The seven-member panel includes those who have expertise in the treatment of sexual abuse of minors, judges, attorneys and current and former members of law enforcement. In addition, the Board consistently has included a survivor of sexual abuse. The Board is charged with evaluating allegations of sexual abuse against members of the Abbey and making recommendations for action to the Abbot, as well as conducting annual reviews of individual monks’ safety plans.

“This list reflects our best efforts to identify those who likely have offended against minors,” said Brother Aelred Senna, OSB, spokesperson for the Abbey. “That task often is complicated by the passage of time, the deaths of some of those involved and sometimes incomplete accounts of the past. Even so, we are including all 18 names to provide as complete of a list as we can to acknowledge the pain suffered by victims. This list underscores our commitment to being transparent in our policies and procedures for dealing with allegations of abuse.

“Our commitment is reflected in the policies and procedures implemented over the past decade, particularly the External Review Board. This Board gives victims the assurance that allegations of abuse against minors will be investigated objectively, sensitively and thoroughly,” said Brother Aelred.

Bik, Michael
Eckroth, Richard
Gillespie, Thomas
Maiers, Brennan
McDonald, Finian
Moorse, Dunstan
Phillips, James
Schulte, Francisco
Tarlton, Allen
Bennett, Andre†
Blumeyer, Robert†
Dahlheimer, Cosmas†
Hoefgen, Francis*
Hohmann, Othmar†
Keller, Dominic†
Kelly, John*
Wendt, Pirmin†
Wollmering, Bruce†

† = deceased
* = no longer a monk of Saint John’s

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MINNESOTA
KARE

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Days after the Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis released a list of nearly three dozen priests who likely committed sexual offenses against children, St. John’s Abbey is sharing its own list of likely predators.

On Monday Saint John’s Abbey voluntarily released a list of 18 names: Nine are monks who are living at Saint John’s Abbey under supervised safety plans, seven monks who are deceased and two men who have been released from their religious vows and no longer are connected to the Abbey.

“This list reflects our best efforts to identify those who likely have offended against minors,” said Brother Aelred Senna, OSB, spokesperson for the Abbey. “That task often is complicated by the passage of time, the deaths of some of those involved and sometimes incomplete accounts of the past. Even so, we are including all 18 names to provide as complete of a list as we can to acknowledge the pain suffered by victims.”

The claims against each of the 18 were reviewed either by the Abbey’s External Review Board or by the Abbot himself. In each case, it was determined that there was sufficient evidence to include the person on the list.

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

MINNESOTA
Patch

Posted by Mike Schoemer (Editor) , December 09, 2013

Brother John Kelly, who Patch attempted to speak with in 2011 regarding inappropriate contact with minors, was listed today as one of 18 monks “credibly accused” of sexual misconduct, according to the Order of St. Benedict at St. John’s Abbey and multiple news sources today. Kelly, now of St. Michael, is one of 17 monks accused in a lawsuit of sexual misconduct while he resided at the abbey, back in 2011.

Abbot John Klassen, Order of St. Benedict, has also named Kelly in his list of offenders who worked with students at St. John’s Prepatory School and St. John’s University.

Kelly and fellow monk and St. Michael native Cosmas Dahlheimer were both on today’s list, as well as:

Michael Bik, Andre Bennett (deceased), Robert Blumeyer (deceased), Richard Eckroth, Thomas Gillespie, Francis Hoefgen (no longer a monk at the abbey).

Othmar Hohmann (deceased), Dominic Keller (deceased), Brennan Maiers, Finian McDonald, Dunstan Moorse, James Phillips, Francisco Schulte, Allen Tarlton, Pirmin Wendt (deceased), and Bruce Wollmering (deceased).

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
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

Live stream.

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.

CHICAGO (IL)
Catholic New World – Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago

The Archdiocese of Chicago confirms that over the last two years, it has reached settlements with several victims of sexual abuse. For the most part, the cases discussed today are decades old and it is important to note that no priest with even one credible allegation of abuse is in active ministry. Five of the 11 priests discussed today are deceased.

Francis Cardinal George, OMI, archbishop of Chicago, stated, “For many years, despite the sins and crimes of some clergy, the Archdiocese of Chicago has tried to be an instrument of God’s mercy for those who have been sexually abused. This is the vision of the church that Pope Francis had recently brought to the fore.” No money from parish collections, parish savings or the “To Teach Who Christ Is” campaign, is being used to fund these settlements.

It has long been the practice of the archdiocese to reach out to victims regardless of when the abuse occurred and attempt to resolve their claims without the stress of an extended legal process. We remain committed to resolving sexual abuse cases in a way that results in a prompt and fair settlement for the victims and their families.

The names of priests who were credibly accused of abuse have been on the archdiocese’s website for years. We have cooperated with attorneys representing victims to release documents in January on 30 priests and are working to update our website with more complete information on approximately 30 others. The release of this information requires a careful process to ensure the privacy of victims and other innocent individuals. It is our hope that this and other actions will encourage victims of abuse to come forward to receive help and healing.

The Archdiocese of Chicago is concerned first and foremost with the healing of abuse victims and has maintained a victim-assistance ministry for more than 25 years. In addition, the archdiocesan Office for the Protection of Children and Youth, charged with the prevention of abuse, has trained and processed background checks on more than 160,000 priests, deacons, religious, lay employees and volunteers; conducted more than 3,000 training sessions; and trained more than 200,000 children to protect themselves from sexual predators.

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.

NEVADA
Las Vegas Review-Journal

By STEVEN SLIVKA
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

A former Las Vegas priest who faced sexual assault charges in Missouri during the 1980s died Nov. 27 of at the age of 71.

In 2011, the Rev. Bede Parry resigned as organist and choir director at All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Las Vegas after a former choir boy filed a lawsuit in Missouri alleging the Roman Catholic monastery, Conception Abbey, kept secret the boy’s 1987 sexual assault by Parry, then a Catholic priest who directed the choir.

Parry had served at All Saints’ Episcopal Church since 2000. He resigned when his name surfaced in the lawsuit. Parry said he also asked the diocese to relieve him of his priest duties.

“I feel terrible for anybody that I’ve hurt,” he said after his resignation. “I feel terrible that my actions would cause a lawsuit to be filed against the abbey, and I feel terrible about letting down my friends and the diocese here.”

Parry did not deny the 1987 incident in Missouri and said the abbey sent him to New Mexico afterward for several months of treatment.

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
NEWS.com.au

SCHOOLTEACHER Joan Isaacs yesterday claimed a Catholic priest ran a cult-like group sexually abusing young girls and gave them the surname Brown, as in Charlie Brown from the Peanuts comic.

Her voice wavering, Ms Isaacs told the royal commission into institutionalised responses to child sex abuse in Sydney how one member of the Brown group had Father Frank Derriman’s baby while the priest told them that if they loved God, it was OK to have sex with him because he was God’s representative.

He lied that he was terminally ill and wanted to have sex before he died. During holy communion, he put his fingers in her mouth, she said.

“Frank Derriman used the Peanut comic as a platform and used the surname Brown in reference to himself, the other three children and me,’’ Mrs Isaacs, who was known as Junkie Brown, said.

“(He) created a cult-like group which included myself and three other children.”
She said that his actions would now be called grooming.

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

VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Agency

Vatican City, Dec 9, 2013 / 02:07 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The founder of a new center aiding victims of abuse and their families praised the “courageous” actions of Pope Francis in facing the issue, stressing also the importance of helping victims to heal.

Discussing a new commission authorized by Pope Francis last which seeks to increase efforts preventing the abuse of minors, Father Fortunato Di Noto stated that “the commission is a proof” of the Pope’s “commitment to prevent abuses and take care of the victims.”

Fr. Di Noto is originally from Sicily, and is the founder of the new “Meter House” in Rome, which officially opened Dec. 9 and offers psychological, spiritual and legal assistance to both victims of abuse, as well as their families.

In comments to CNA, the priest stressed the importance of the Church addressing the issue, emphasizing that “Pope Francis is a courageous man, courageous as Pope Benedict” for his action in creating the new commission

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

MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Monday, December 9, 2013

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’re glad that three new names of credibly accused child molesting Minnesota Catholic clerics are now public.

[Pioneer Press]

But let’s remember some history.

Thirty years have passed since the first pedophile priest made national headlines in the US (Fr. Gilbert Gauthe in Louisiana). More than a decade has passed since US Catholic officials pledged to be “open” about clergy sex crimes.

So it’s sad that even now, in 2013, Catholic officials are hiding the identities of hundreds (perhaps thousands) of credibly accused child molesters. It’s a shame that Catholic officials only reveal these predators’ names under pressure from brave victims.

Now, St. John’s officials should

–permanently post these names on their websites,
— provide the work histories, photos and current whereabouts of each cleric,
–put these clerics in a remote, secure, independent treatment center far away from kids and from families with whom they have built up trust,
–beg victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to call police so that both these predators and those who concealed their crimes might be prosecuted, and
–urge St. Cloud’s bishop to post them in all his parish bulletins and websites.

And they should include on their list four clerics they disclosed earlier, all of whom sexually exploited vulnerable adults: John Eidenschink, Steven Lilly, James Kelly and Isaac Connolly.

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.

CHICAGO (IL)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Monday, December 9, 2013

Statement by Barbara Blaine, President of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 312 399 4747, SNAPblaine@gmail.com )

Temporarily ousting a credibly accused predator priest is the bare minimum. Cardinal Francis George must do more about Fr. Michael W. O’Connell who just left his post at St. Alphonsus Catholic parish (1429 W. Wellington Ave.) in Lakeview.

First, George should disclose where Fr. O’Connell is now. Parents and neighbors should be warned about him.

Second, George should insist that Fr. O’Connell move into and stay at a remote, secure, independently run treatment center so that he gets help and so that kids are protected.

Third, George should personally visit every parish where Fr. O’Connell worked – even briefly – begging victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to contact law enforcement.

Fourth, George should turn over to police every bit of information he has about Fr. O’Connell (without waiting to be subpoenaed).

Fifth, George should suspend Fr. O’Connell. Yesterday, his parishioners were told that he “voluntarily stepped away from the day-to-day administration of the parish.” (That almost sounds like he’s on sabbatical.)

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

UNITED STATES
Bilgrimage

William D. Lindsey

As anyone reading this blog for some time now may have realized, I tend to read the news with a pair of rabbinic spectacles on: I like to juxtapose news stories that make me think about this hand and that hand. On the one hand, it appears this way. But on the other hand, there’s this perspective.

Here are two one hand, other hand articles that catch my eye this morning:

At the New Ways Ministry blog Bondings 2.0, Francis DeBernardo reports that yet another teacher in a Catholic school has just been fired for choosing to marry his same-sex partner. This time, the story is taking place in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, where Michael Griffin was informed by Holy Ghost Catholic Prep School that he’d been fired after he obtained a license to marry Vincent Gianetto.

Another week, another Catholic school firing a gay teacher. Frank DeBernardo’s posting ends with a list of those fired by Catholic schools in the past two years, several of whom are new names for me.

People–gay people–are seeking to find ways to live in honest, committed, loving, stable relationships, and the Catholic church is doing all in its power to prevent that from happening. The implicit message the Catholic hierarchy keeps giving to those who are gay is that it would be preferable for us to lie about who we are, to remain hidden, to be ashamed of ourselves, to avoid forming honest, committed, loving, and stable relationships, because these make our identities known.

Better to engage in furtive, dangerous one-night stands than to live honestly, openly, in committed, publicly acknowledged relationships . . . .

And then there’s the other hand: for Minnesota Public Radio, Madeleine Baran reports on the list of priests with credible accusations against them for having abused minors that the archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis has just released under duress. The list shows that the archdiocese has for years kept secret at least seven names of priests it has credible reason to know to have abused minors. And though archdiocesan officials have said most priests on its list of credibly accused priests are dead, the current list of 34 priests includes only 11 who have died.

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

ROME
Vatican Insider

The Legion of Christ is to announce a complete restructuring of the order at its General Chapter next month. “All sick branches need to be removed in order to save a plant of great value”

GIACOMO GALEAZZI
VATICAN CITY

Francis is revolutionizing the Legion of Christ. Vatican Insider has learnt that the Legion plans to announce the order’s complete restructuring at its Extraordinary General Chapter in Rome, in a month’s time. “All the work carried out so far is oriented towards making each group that is inspired by the spiritual kingship of Christ, autonomous,” members of the Curia have stated.

The Legion is to be split into three sections: laity, consecrated persons and priests. Each of the Legion’s three branches will have “full autonomy in the organisation and choice of its leaders and internal roles.” The common reference to Christ’s kingship will translate into various “forms of collaboration” between the three groups which will, nevertheless, be completely independent from each another.

On the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi on 4 October, Cardinal Velasio de Paolis, the Pontifical delegate to the Legion of Christ and the “Regnum Christi” movement, wrote a letter addressed to all members of the Legion, stating that the time had come to call an Extraordinary General Chapter. In the letter, the cardinal, who was nominated by Benedict XVI and kept on by Francis, mentions a letter Benedict XVI wrote in 2010. “Although Ratzinger did not give a specific time frame, it was predicted right from the start that the necessary spiritual renewal process and revision of the Constitutions of the Legion of Christ would not be complete in less than three years,” De Paolis informs.

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

MINNESOTA
Duluth News Tribune

By: Tom Olsen, Duluth News Tribune

A suit filed today in St. Louis County seeks the public release of the names and files of 17 Diocese of Duluth priests who are accused of sexually abusing children.

The action comes four days after the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis released the names of 32 Twin Cities priests with credible abuse accusations.

The suit was brought by an anonymous man, identified as Doe 28, who says he was abused by a Duluth priest in the 1970s. The man is represented by St. Paul-based law firm Jeff Anderson and Associates, which has represented thousands of victims of sexual abuse by authority figures and clergy.

According to the suit, the man was repeatedly the victim of “unpermitted sexual contact” by Fr. Robert Klein, a priest who, at the time, was assigned to St. Jean’s Elementary School and the Sacred Heart Church. The man was approximately 11 to 14 years old when the alleged abuse occurred over a period of several years in the early 1970s, according to the suit.

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

MINNESOTA
Northlands News Center

Duluth, MN (NNCNOW.com) — Attorneys have filed a sexual abuse lawsuit against the Diocese of Duluth in connection with accusations of sexual abuse.

Sexual abuse attorney Mike Finnegan of Jeff Anderson & Associates announced the lawsuit on behalf of a man in his 50’s who says he was sexually abused by a priest.

The lawsuit names the Diocese of Duluth as the defendant and alleges the Diocese was negligent in their supervision even though reports of inappropriate behavior with minor boys were received.

Attorneys have also requested the release of 17 names of accused and admitted child molesters from the Diocese of Duluth.

“Today’s lawsuit seeks to have the Diocese of Duluth release the names of 17 accused child molesters that it has kept secret. The sooner the Diocese takes action and releases this list, the better protected our children and communities will be,” says Finnegan.

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

MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press

By Emily Gurnon
egurnon@pioneerpress.com
POSTED: 12/09/2013

St. John’s Abbey has released a list of monks “likely to have offended against minors,” according to a Monday statement.

Most of the 18 names had been made public previously.

Of the monks listed on the Abbey website and released to media Monday, seven are dead, two have been “dispensed from their religious vows and are no longer connected to the abbey,” and nine are living at the abbey under supervision, said the written statement by Abbot John Klassen.

The living monks are: Michael Bik, Richard Eckroth, Thomas Gillespie, Brennan Maiers, Finian McDonald, Dunstan Moorse, James Phillips, Francisco Schulte and Allen Tarlton. Those deceased are Andre Bennett, Robert Blumeyer, Cosmas Dahlheimer, Othmar Hohmann, Dominic Keller, Pirmin Wendt and Bruce Wollmering.

The two who are no longer monks are Francis Hoefgen and John Kelly. …

The abbey released a similar list of 18 names in April 2011, and kept the list on its website temporarily. It included three names that are missing from the current list: former Abbot John Eidenschink, Steven Lilly and Isaac Connolly.

It was not immediately clear why those names were dropped.

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

MINNESOTA
Seattle PI

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. (AP) — Saint John’s Abbey is disclosing the names of 18 current and former monks who it says have likely sexually abused minors.

Most of the names have already been made public.

On its website, the abbey says the list includes the names of nine monks who live at the abbey under supervision, seven monks who are dead and two men who have been dispensed from their religious vows and are no longer monks.

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

MINNESOTA
St. Cloud Times

COLLEGEVILLE — St. John’s Abbey released a list Monday of 18 monks and priests who it believes “likely have offended against minors.”

The list includes several names that previously have been released by the abbey; some are deceased and some are living at the abbey under “supervised safety plans.”

The abbey said Monday that it was voluntarily releasing the names after inquiries from the Times and after a lawsuit filed against the abbey demanded the release of a list as a condition of the lawsuit.

“This list reflects our best efforts to identify those who likely have offended against minors,” said Brother Aelred Senna, spokesperson for the Abbey. “That task often is complicated by the passage of time, the deaths of some of those involved and sometimes incomplete accounts of the past. Even so, we are including all 18 names to provide as complete of a list as we can to acknowledge the pain suffered by victims. This list underscores our commitment to being transparent in our policies and procedures for dealing with allegations of abuse.”

The list includes nine monks who are living at the abbey under supervised safety plans, seven monks who are deceased and two men who have been “dispensed from their religious vows” and no longer are connected to the abbey, according to Senna.

Those listed are:

Michael Bik.
Andre Bennett (deceased).
Robert Blumeyer (deceased).
Cosmas Dahlheimer (deceased).
Richard Eckroth.
Thomas Gillespie.
Francis Hoefgen (no longer a monk at the abbey).
Othmar Hohmann (deceased).
Dominic Keller (deceased).
John Kelly (no longer a monk at the abbey).
Brennan Maiers.
Finian McDonald.
Dunstan Moorse.
James Phillips.
Francisco Schulte.
Allen Tarlton.
Pirmin Wendt (deceased).
Bruce Wollmering (deceased).

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.

MEXICO
Milenio

[Summary: The Vatican did not give detailed answers to questions posed by the UN regarding sexual abuse by priests but noted national civil authorities should proceed against those who commit this crime.]

El Vaticano no entregó respuestas detalladas a las preguntas formuladas por el Comité sobre los Derechos del Niño de la ONU sobre los abusos sexuales cometidos por sacerdotes, y destacó que deja a las autoridades civiles de cada nación proceder contra quienes cometan ese delito.

En el informe entregado a la ONU, del que MILENIO obtuvo una copia, aclara que cuando la sede pontificia se adhiere o ratifica un tratado no lo hace en nombre de todos los católicos, sino que cada miembro de la Iglesia está sujeto a leyes de sus países.

Del 13 al 31 de enero el Vaticano participará en las sesiones de dicho comité, el cual en julio de 2012 formuló una serie de preguntas que la Iglesia católica debió responder a principios de noviembre.

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

CANADA
CBC News

The Diocese of Antigonish is hosting meetings in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality this week in an attempt to heal the wounds created by the sexual abuse scandal.

Three years ago, the diocese reached a landmark settlement with victims of sexual abuse by priests.

Soon after that settlement was announced, then-bishop Raymond Lahey was charged with possessing and importing child pornography. He was later convicted, sentenced to time served, and defrocked by the Holy See in Rome.

The final installment of a $16-million dollar compensation settlement for victims was paid last fall.

Bishop Brian Dunn said the meetings are an effort to reach out to all parishioners affected by the scandal.

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

MINNESOTA
KAAL

There is another sex abuse lawsuit against the Catholic Church in Minnesota.

Jeff Anderson’s law firm will file a suit Monday against the Diocese of Duluth on behalf of a man in his fifties.

Last week the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis released the names of 30 priests credibly accused of assault.

The latest man says Father Robert Klein sexually abused him at Sacred Heart Church in Duluth. The suit alleges the diocese knew about Klein’s inappropriate behavior with boys, and were negligent in supervising him.

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

DULUTH (MN)
Jeff Anderson & Associates

[the lawsuit]

Sexual Abuse Lawsuit Names the Diocese of Duluth

A list of 17 names of priests with accusations of
sexual abuse of minors still remains secret

What: At a news conference today in Duluth, sexual abuse attorney Mike Finnegan of Jeff Anderson & Associates will:

• Announce the filing of a sexual abuse lawsuit on behalf of a man in his 50s, Doe 28, who was sexually abused by Fr. Robert Klein at Sacred Heart Church in Duluth. The lawsuit names the Diocese of Duluth as the Defendant and alleges the Diocese was negligent in failing to supervise Klein and allowing him ongoing access to children, despite receiving reports of Klein’s inappropriate behavior with minor boys.
• Request the release of 17 names of accused and admitted child molesters from the Diocese of Duluth.
• Discuss the release of 34 names released in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis on December 5, 2013 of priests with credible allegations of sexual abuse of minors and encourage other survivors to come forward and report their abuse to law enforcement.

WHEN: Monday, December 9, 2013 at 1:00 PM

WHERE: Holiday Inn – Lyric Conference Center
200 West First Street
Duluth, MN 55802

WHO: Attorney Mike Finnegan, a St. Paul, Minnesota-based, sexual abuse lawyer has represented thousands of survivors of sexual abuse by authority figures and clergy.

Notes: Copies of the complaint will be available at www.andersonadvocates.com.
Contact: Mike Finnegan: Office/651.964.3473 Cell/612.205.5531

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.

DULUTH (MN)
NECN

[the lawsuit – Jeff Anderson & Associates]

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — A lawsuit filed on behalf of a man who claims he was sexually abused by a priest in the Diocese of Duluth in the 1970s is asking the diocese to release its list of 17 priests accused of molesting minors.

The lawsuit was filed Monday in St. Louis County District Court.

It alleges the diocese was negligent because it failed to protect children from a priest who had been previously accused of molesting boys. It says the diocese gave parents no warning that the priest was a risk.

In 2004, the diocese compiled a list of 17 priests who had been credibly accused of sexually abusing minors. Attorneys for abuse victims want that list to be public.

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

VATICAN CITY
Headlines from the Catholic World

December 6, 2013 By CNA Daily News

Vatican City, Dec 6, 2013 / 01:13 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Church’s latest step toward the prevention of the sexual abuse of minors is the newly-announced Vatican commission, which is expected to collaborate with the Jesuit-run Centre for Child Protection.

“The task of the new commission will be greater than what the Centre for Child Protection would ever be able to realize,” the center’s president, Fr. Hans Zollner, told CNA Dec. 6. “We take care of delivering a program with the aim of educating pastoral personnel. At first glance, this will be an occasion to collaborate with the commission.”

He added that “three months ago, we decided that the Centre for Child Protection would be moved to Rome at the end of the pilot phase – that is, at the end of 2014, and this will surely open many opportunities for the synergies O’Malley talked about.”

Cardinal Sean O’Malley, Archbishop of Boston, announced Dec. 5 that Pope Francis “has decided to establish a very specific commission for the protection of children,” which had been proposed by the group of eight cardinals he had assembled to advise him on reform of the Roman Curia and the governance of the Church.

The commission will be officially launched by a document by Pope Francis, and will probably work together with the Centre for Child Protection, which is run the Pontifical Gregorian University and is the fruit of the 2011 conference “Toward healing and renewal,” hosted at the university.

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.

CHICAGO (IL)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

SNAP blast archdiocese
It wants Cardinal to suspend priest
Instead, he’s being asked to “step aside”
Group: He should be put in treatment center
Last week, a serial predator’s time in Chicago was disclosed
He molested in Minnesota; has never been “outed” in Chicago

WHAT
Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims and supporters will

–criticize Chicago Catholic officials for letting a credibly accused predator priest resign,
–urge them to suspend him instead and put him in a treatment center away from kids,
–disclose that another priest, who abused at least three kids in Minnesota, also worked in Chicago, &
–urge anyone who was hurt by either cleric to call police, not church officials.

WHEN
TODAY, Monday, Dec. 9 at 2:30 p.m.

WHERE
Outside the sidewalk outside of the Archdiocese of Chicago headquarters, 835 N. Rush Street (corner of East Chestnut) in Chicago

WHO
Two-five members and supporters of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, (SNAPnetwork.org) the nation’s largest support network for men and women abused in religious and institutional settings

WHY
Yesterday, Fr. Michael W. O’Connell stepped aside from his post at St. Alphonsus Catholic parish (1429 W. Wellington Ave.) in Lakeview. He should have been suspended, SNAP says.

Fr. O’Connell was accused of molesting a boy when he worked at Our Lady of the Woods Parish in Orland Park (1997-2012).

Despite promises to be “open” in clergy sex cases, Cardinal Francis George is not disclosing where Fr. O’Connell is now. SNAP believes he should be put in a remote, secure, independent treatment center so that kids will be safe. The group also says that, according to church policy, Fr. O’Connell should be suspended, not allowed to “voluntarily” step aside (which SNAP says minimizes his alleged crimes and enables more parishioners to assume he’s innocent).

Fr. O’Connell has worked in Lakeview since July 1, 2012. Previously he was assigned to St. Michael Parish in Orland Park and the Church of St. Mary the Lake in Lake Forest.

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.

NEVADA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Monday, Dec. 9, 2013

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

Predator priest passes away
He admitted “inappropriate relationships”
Cleric later moved to NV & became a Episcopalian
Victims blast Catholic bishop for “continuing secrecy”

A support group for clergy sex abuse victims is disclosing that a Catholic priest who was accused of molesting children has passed away.

He is Fr. Bede Parry who was working at All Saints Episcopal (4201 W Washington Ave, Las Vegas, NV (702) 878-2373) in 2011 when the allegations against him surfaced. Parry became an Episcopal priest in Las Vegas in 2004 but resigned from his position after the first of two child sex abuse lawsuits against him were filed. He also worked in Missouri, Minnesota and New Mexico.

Parry’s passing was noted on the Facebook page of his lawyer, Joseph Paul Smith:

[Facebook]

In 2011, Parry was sued for allegedly molesting a boy in the late 1980s in northwest Missouri. He admitted to his church supervisors that he had been involved in three “inappropriate relationships.”

Leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, are urging Las Vegas Catholic Bishop Joseph A. Pepe and Episcopal Bishop Dan Edwards to “aggressively seek out anyone else who may have seen, suspected or suffered Fr. Parry’s crimes.”

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.

ILLINOIS
Patch

Posted by Emily Stone (Editor) , December 09, 2013

A Chicago Catholic priest who previously worked at a Lake Forest church is stepping aside during an investigation into an allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor 20 years ago while he worked at an Orland Park church, the Chicago Tribune is reporting.

The priest, Rev. Michael O’Connell, is currently pastor at St. Alphonsus Parish in Lake View. According to the church’s website, he was assigned to the Church of St. Mary in Lake Forest from 1989-1993. He started at St. Alphonsus last year.

According to the Tribune, the allegation of misconduct dates to O’Connell’s time at Our Lady of the Woods Parish in Orland Park. The Archdiocese of Chicago received the single allegation of misconduct last week and O’Connell has agreed to step aside from his work as pastor and not live at the parish until the investigation is finished.

According to St. Alphonsus’ website, O’Connell served at Our Lady of the Woods immediately prior to St. Alphonsus. The website says he was born in Chicago and grew up in the northwest suburbs.

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
lewisblayse.net

The Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse began its fourth hearing today. The lawyer representing the Catholic Church was afforded the courtesy of giving the opening statements – and he totally blew it.

Peter Gray (gray@blackstone.com.au), who bills himself as a specialist in defamation and related media matters, was an odd choice for the church. He sued the publisher of The Bulletin magazine for defamation, obtaining an ACT record damages verdict. His specialty could be seen as some kind of veiled warning to the media when reporting on the hearings.

His opening remarks caused many people to walk out of the hearing room in protest; many were very upset, to the point of tears while others simmered with rage. The reason? Mr. Gray quoted from the bible, specifically chapter 10 verse 14 from the gospel according to Mark, which refers to “suffer the little children to come to me” and contains the injunction in the image above concerning those who treat children badly, such as the Catholic Church.

Mr. Gray tried to convince the hearing that the church followed the bible with regards to how it treats children, when all of the evidence indicated that one would have to establish a special quarry to provide all of the mill-stones which would be required to deal with the church’s paedophiles.

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ARGENTINA
Diario El Argentino

A un año de la denuncia que sacudió a la Iglesia en Entre Ríos, el sacerdote Justo José Ilarraz rompió el silencio y habló por primera vez de las denuncias por abuso contra aspirantes a sacerdotes cuando ocupaba el cargo de prefecto de disciplina en el Seminario Menor de Paraná, entre los años 1984 y 1992. Ilarraz dijo que es inocente y que los seminaristas que lo acusaron armaron “un complot” en su contra con fines

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CANADA
Nunatsiaq Online

JIM BELL

Though the Oblates of Mary Immaculate sent Father Eric Dejaeger to Igloolik in 1978 for the express purpose of learning Inuktitut, the Flemish priest put little effort into learning the language, Father Robert Lechat said Dec. 6 in the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit.

“Eric could not speak to the Inuit in Inuktitut, only in English,” Lechat said.

One of the eastern Arctic’s oldest surviving Christian missionaries, Lechat, 93, hobbled into an Iqaluit courtroom that morning to appear as a witness for the Crown at Dejaeger’s trial, which enters its fourth week Dec. 9.

When the trial opened Nov. 18, Dejaeger pleaded guilty to eight of the 77 criminal charges he faces, most of which allege the sexual abuse of children in Igloolik between 1978 and 1982.

He’s asked to be tried on the 69 remaining charges. Justice Robert Kilpatrick presides over that trial alone, without a jury.

Still robust and lucid, Lechat, dressed in a long grey cardigan and grey trousers, made his way into the courtroom with the help of a cane. Two workers helped him ease his five-foot-six-inch frame into the courtroom’s narrow witness box.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC – The World Today

ELEANOR HALL: The Royal Commission into Child Abuse has begun its final public inquiry of the year, this one putting the spotlight on Catholic Church. And emotions are already running high: some people in the public gallery in Sydney left the inquiry in tears as the lawyer for the Church quoted from the Bible.

The focus of this inquiry is the controversial Towards Healing process which was set up by the Catholic Church in 1996 to handle complaints about sexual abuse by priests.

The World Today’s Emily Bourke is at the hearings in Sydney and joins us now. Emily, so clearly it’s an emotional hearing already. Can you outline of the scope of this inquiry?

EMILY BOURKE: Eleanor, this is the first chapter of the Royal Commission’s examination of Towards Healing – the process, the redress, the apologies and the outcomes in four individual cases. It’s worth noting that a significantly greater number of people are expected to give evidence from around the country throughout the life of the Royal Commission.

There’s no published data on Towards Healing and so the Royal Commission requested details from the Church, but because of inconsistent and inaccurate databases there’s still no complete data.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

Catholic priest ran cult-like ‘Charlie Brown’ group to sexually abuse young girls, royal commission hears

JANET FIFE-YEOMANS THE DAILY TELEGRAPH DECEMBER 09, 2013

A CATHOLIC priest ran a cult-like group sexually abusing young girls giving them all the surname Brown, as in Charlie Brown from the Peanuts comic strip, the royal commission has been told.

Her voice wavering, one member of the group, Joan Isaacs, said Father Francis Derriman told her he was dying and had to have sex with her first.

He fathered a child with another girl in the group when she was 17.

Ms Isaacs said: “Frank Derriman used the Peanut comic as a platform and used the surname Brown in reference to himself, the other three children and me.”

At the time in 1967 and 1968, Father Derriman was a priest with the Archdiocese of Brisbane and chaplain of Sacred Heart Sandgate in Brisbane, she told the commission.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

AAP

AN ABUSIVE priest set up a cult-like group based on the comic Peanuts and used it to groom convent school girls in Brisbane, an inquiry has heard.

The Brown group was created by Father Francis (Frank) Derriman, who was chaplain of the Sacred Heart Convent at Sandgate in Brisbane in the late 1960s.

Joan Isaacs, now 60, has told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that Derriman used the surname ‘Brown’ in reference to himself, three other children and herself.

“I believe that this conduct by Fr Derriman is what today would be called grooming,” she said.

Ms Issacs, who is a teacher, told how Derriman wrote her letters telling her he was dying from a lung disease and needed her to have sex with him before he died and when she was 16.

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AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

JANET FIFE-YEOMANS THE DAILY TELEGRAPH DECEMBER 10, 2013

THE Catholic Church has admitted paying at least $43 million in hush money to victims of its paedophile priests, as the church’s barrister outraged victims yesterday by quoting from the Bible.

In some cases, victims were not even allowed to tell their husbands, wives or children about the secret settlements negotiated through the church’s controversial Towards Healing process.

The royal commission into child sex abuse was yesterday also told how a Brisbane Catholic priest, Father Frank Derriman, ran a cult-like group sexually abusing young girls and giving them all the surname Brown, borrowed from the Peanuts comic strip’s Charlie Brown.

As the church apologised for its behaviour through the commission, survivors who were abused as children in orphanages and homes, walked out of the Sydney hearing in tears when the church’s counsel, Peter Gray SC quoted from the Gospel of Mark.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

DAN BOX THE AUSTRALIAN DECEMBER 10, 2013

A CATHOLIC priest created a “cult-like group” of teenage girls, fathering a child with one while telling another girl he was terminally ill and she “needed to have sex with him before he died”.

One of the victims, Joan Isaacs, yesterday told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that her attempts to warn the church about the actions of Frank Derriman were ignored and the priest was able to abuse again.

Ms Isaacs, who received several standing ovations while giving evidence at the Sydney hearing, is one of more than 2200 alleged child abuse victims to have contacted the Catholic Church.

The church has paid out more than $43 million in compensation nationwide, the commission heard, but many of the victims felt they had been mistreated during the church’s “Towards Healing” process for dealing with their claims.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Seattle PI

BOSTON (AP) — Child welfare advocates are calling on the head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston to back legislation that would extend the time victims of childhood sexual abuse could file lawsuits.

The open letter to Cardinal Sean O’Malley came days after he announced a major effort by Pope Francis to explore ways the church can protect children from abuse and to care for victims.

The Vatican commission marks the Catholic church’s first comprehensive effort to address a worldwide scandal that exploded in 2002 in Boston.

The letter came Sunday from a group of advocates led by Massachusetts Citizens for Children.

Current state law applies to all abuse cases and is not limited to church-related incidents.

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ARGENTINA
El Litoral

El debate culminará el miércoles. Ese día serán los alegatos y se conocerá la sentencia. Esta mañana declaran ocho testigos. El sacerdote fue detenido en noviembre de 2011 luego de que Osvaldo Ramírez, un joven integrante del coro de una capilla, lo denunciara por abuso sexual.

Esta mañana empieza el juicio al sacerdote Domingo Pacheco, acu-sado de abusar durante años de un joven que integraba el coro de la capilla San An-tonio en la localidad correntina de Esquina. Serán tres audiencias y la sentencia se daría a conocer el miércoles.

El debate se inicia en un clima candente debido a que hace semanas el cura recuperó la libertad luego de que el obispo de Goya, monseñor Ricardo Faifer, decidiera pagar la caución impuesta por la Justicia.

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AUSTRALIA
The Jewish Daily Forward

By JTA
Published December 09, 2013.

Australian police have questioned the former principal of a haredi Orthodox Jewish boys’ school in Melbourne over allegations of decades-old child sex abuse.

Rabbi Avrohom Glick, a senior official inside the Chabad-Lubavitch community, made a voluntary statement to police and was released, his lawyer said Monday.

The allegations are understood to date back to the 1970s. Rabbi Glick vehemently denies them.

He immediately was removed from his position as head of Jewish studies at the Yeshivah College boys’ high school, its principal confirmed in a letter to parents Monday.

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AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

SHANNON DEERY HERALD SUN DECEMBER 09, 2013

THE former principal of a top Jewish school has been stood down after allegations he repeatedly raped a student in the school’s synagogue.

Rabbi Abraham Glick was interviewed by police last week. Police are making further inquiries.

Yeshiva College principal Rabbi Yehoshua Smukler said Rabbi Glick had been stood down immediately and “we will continue his suspension from duties and all contact with the students until the outcome of the inquiry is known”.

“The college’s action … should not be seen as prejudging the outcome of the investigation and the college affirms(the rabbi) is fully entitled to the presumption of innocence,” Rabbi Smukler said.

This is the first time Rabbi Glick has been accused of sexual misconduct.

Through his lawyers, he denied any wrongdoing.

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AUSTRALIA
9 News

The religious studies leader of Melbourne’s Yeshiva College has been stood down following allegations that he raped a student on several occasions during the 1980s inside the school’s synagogue.

Rabbi Abraham Glick, a former principal of the prestigious Jewish school, was last week arrested and questioned by Melbourne police but has not been charged, the Herald Sun reports.

The arrest comes after a statement was made to police in July in which Rabbi Glick was accused of raping a former student on numerous occasions while he was the school’s deputy principal.

“He was always a predator. I remember looking into his eyes and it was like someone looking at meat on a plate. There was no caring, there was something missing,” the alleged victim said in the statement.

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AUSTRALIA
The Age

December 9, 2013

Barmey Zwartz

One of Australia’s most respected rabbis has been stood down from Melbourne’s prestigious Yeshivah College over allegations that he repeatedly raped a student in the 1970s.

Rabbi Avrohom Glick was then deputy principal, later principal and now head of religious studies.
A police spokeswoman said a 67-year-old man from Balaclava was arrested and interviewed on Monday and released pending further inquiries.

Two former Yeshivah employees were jailed in Melbourne this year over separate child sex offences.

Yeshivah College principal Yehoshua Smukler, who recently wrote to the ultra-Orthodox Yeshivah community to reassure them that police had said no staff members were under investigation, said in a statement that the centre learnt of the allegations only late last week.

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UNITED STATES
Bilgrimage

About Rush Limbaugh’s Attacks on Pope Francis: Total Silence from U.S. Bishops

William D. Lindsey

And in case you happen to have missed this:

I’ve noted in recent postings (here and here) some of Rush Limbaugh’s acerbic comments about Pope Francis. Limbaugh has stated that Francis is espousing Marxism, and that someone else must have written Francis’s recent work condemning the exploitation of the poor and trickle-down economics, or someone has “gotten to” the pope. I shared a petition last week by Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good calling on Limbaugh to apologize for his attacks on Pope Francis.

How have the U.S. Catholic bishops responded to Rush Limbaugh’s statements about Pope Francis? In a word, zip. Their lips appear zipped, as Molly Redden notes last week for Mother Jones. When asked why the bishops are being silent about Rush (since, God knows, they can loosen their tongues about all kinds of other issues), USCCB spokeswoman Sister of Mercy Mary Ann Walsh says that “we don’t follow” Mr. Limbaugh.

Speaking out in defense of Pope Francis and against Rush Limbaugh would, I gather, set the bishops at odd with some of their most important friends in the Republican party, and with the super-rich handlers of the GOP.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By CATHERINE ARMITAGE Dec. 9, 2013

JOAN Isaacs was 14 years old and near the top of her class at the Sacred Heart Convent Sandgate in Brisbane when Father Francis Derriman got her to join his “cult-like” group of four children.

She told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Abuse he used the Peanuts comic as a way to bond the group. He called himself and the rest of them Brown after the comic’s main character Charlie Brown.

To her knowledge three girls in their “Brown” group were sexually abused, including her, aged 14 and 15 in 1967 and 1968. One of the girls fathered a child to Derriman at age 17.

Her voice sometimes breaking, Mrs Isaacs detailed how the priest told her he was dying of a fatal lung disease.

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UNITED STATES
Headlines from the Catholic World

December 8, 2013 By CNA Daily News
Washington D.C., Dec 8, 2013 / 04:08 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz, president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, has welcomed Pope Francis’ new commission to fight the sexual abuse of minors, pledging his help and support in its mission.

“Abuse of minors is a sin and a crime, and every step must be taken to eradicate this blight. Such abuse is especially grave when committed by anyone in ministry in our Church,” the Louisville, Ky., archbishop said Dec. 5.

Earlier in the week, Pope Francis approved a proposal for a new commission to advise him on how to protect children from abuse and how to help abuse victims.

Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley of Boston, a member of an eight-cardinal council advising the Pope, explained at a Dec. 5 press conference that the commission will study current child protection programs and suggest new initiatives for the Roman curia, in collaboration with the bishops and episcopal conferences.

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AUSTRALIA
WA Today

Catholic Church’s barrister, Peter Gray, begins his opening statement at Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Sydney on Monday.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

[with video]

By Thomas Oriti

A lawyer representing the Catholic Church has been heckled by victims of child sexual abuse and their families on the first day of a public inquiry.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is examining the Towards Healing process established by the Church in 1996.

The process was used to respond to complaints of abuse involving Church personnel.

When the Royal Commission was first announced by the Federal Government, the Catholic Church established the Truth, Justice and Healing Council.

The lawyer representing the Council at the hearing, Peter Gray SC, began his opening remarks by quoting the Gospel of Mark:

“Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such of these that the Kingdom of God belongs.”

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By JOANNE McCARTHY Dec. 9, 2013

AT first there were howls of anger.

Barrister Peter Gray, SC, for the Catholic Church had barely started quoting from the Gospel of Mark – “Let the little children come to me” – when the public gallery at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Abuse erupted.

“You have got to be kidding,” was clearly heard. “I can’t believe they’re quoting the Bible,” cried another. People left the room.

And then there was the sound of sobbing. One woman’s cries of pain were heard from an outer room as Mr Gray read the Church’s opening statement.

On behalf of the Church he acknowledged it had betrayed the trust of children and their parents. He acknowledged it had “sometimes covered up” and protected “wrongdoers”. He acknowledged victims were disbelieved and “treated coldly”.

In the public gallery were the people who had fought the Church for years to admit those wrongs.

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