ABUSE TRACKER

ARKANSAS
Arkansas Matters

BENTONVILLE, AR — As many as 98 percent of sexual abusers are not caught, according to the Arkansas Coalition Against Sexual Assault. While thousands of kids head to local schools and churches regularly, not all places have training to recognize abuse or policies to report it.

So the Children’s Advocacy Center is calling all adults to make children’s safety a top priority.

“We had a child here one time, he was an 8-year-old boy,” remembers Andrew Lentz, Children’s Advocacy Center(CAC) director of education. “He was asked to describe what physical abuse was and he said, ‘That’s when they scream at you and they hit you, they tell you that they don’t deserve to live, and you bleed and you cry.’ Those are the words of a child who grew up in our community.”

The CAC in Benton County opened 772 cases of child abuse in 2012, but say thousands more go unreported each year.

“People don’t understand that while child abuse is complicated and reporting child abuse can be difficult, as a teacher, as an adult, it’s your responsibility to protect kids, explains Lentz.

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.

TUCSON (AZ)
Tucson Weekly

POSTED BY MARI HERRERAS ON FRI, NOV 8, 2013

A national group that advocates on behalf of victims of sexual abuse plans to protest outside a Tucson church this Sunday at 11:15 a.m to demand the resignation of music minister Eric Holtan.

The group SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is a national support network for men and women abused in religious and institutional settings. Joelle Casteix, the organization’s volunteer western regional director, told the Range recently that SNAP did try to contact the pastor of Dove of Peace Lutheran Church to talk about the protest.

“We sent an email to the church, but we never received a response,” Casteix said.

Casteix said that this week SNAP learned that Holtan, who plead guilty in 2000 to two counts of child sexual abuse involving two former choir students in Duluth, Minnesota, was working at Dove of Peace. Holtan also works as director of Tucson Chamber Artists.

“He’s still on probation,” she said, adding that part of that requires that he have no unsupervised contact with underage women.

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

NEW JERSEY
Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office

Friday, November 8, 2013, 04:16 PM
TO: ALL NEWS MEDIA
FROM: PROSECUTOR JOHN L. MOLINELLI

Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli announces that a resolution has been reached in the matter of State of New Jersey v. Michael Fugee. An investigation began in April of this year arising out of allegations that Michael Fugee had violated certain terms of a Judicial Order and Memorandum of Understanding which restricted his ministry to children. This investigation resulted in the issuance of five (5) Criminal Warrants dated May 17, 2013 charging Michael Fugee with several counts of criminal contempt by having attended multiple youth retreats and having heard confessions of children under the age of eighteen in violation of the judicial order. All charges were of the 4th degree, punishable by fine and a term of imprisonment from 0 to 18 months. As Fugee had no prior convictions, probation was likely upon conviction.

On November 1, 2013, by way of a binding agreement and court order issued by the Honorable Bonnie Mizdol, P.J.S.C. Acting Assignment Judge, Bergen County, Michael Fugee has admitted to committing acts of civil contempt of a judicial order. Specifically, Michael Fugee admitted that he violated the restriction placed upon him in the 2007 Judicial Order and its accompanying Memorandum of Understanding by having attended youth retreats and having heard confessions of children under the age of eighteen on multiple occasions from April 2010 through December of 2012.

As a penalty for his violations, Michael Fugee has agreed that he will seek and obtain laicization from the Roman Catholic Church. In non-Canon terms, he will be terminated from the priesthood which will be accomplished on his request through the Vatican. So that the public is aware, this is a requirement that could never have been achieved even if Michael Fugee was convicted of 4th degree criminal contempt, as it is not believed that the American Justice System has such authority as a condition of probation or upon conviction. This is a requirement that will eliminate the threat of Michael Fugee, ever again, obtaining the trust of people through his clerical position nor using his ordained position as a Priest to exert improper contact with children. This is a requirement that the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark (RCAN), did not nor would ever obtain. The agreement that has been reached forever bars Michael Fugee from holding himself out as a current or former priest or spiritual advisor. Most importantly, he is prohibited from working with children in any capacity.

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.

NEW JERSEY
National Catholic Reporter

[press release – Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office]

Brian Roewe | Nov. 8, 2013

In an agreement with county prosecutors, the priest at the center of a clergy sex abuse scandal in the Newark, N.J., archdiocese has agreed to leave the priesthood to avoid criminal prosecution related to his violation of a court order forbidding contact with children.

In a press release, first reported by the New Jersey Star Ledger, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli announced Friday that Fr. Michael Fugee had admitted to violating restrictions placed upon him in 2007 that barred him from contact with minors. From April 2010 through December 2012, Fugee attended several youth retreats and heard, on at least seven different occasions, confessions from children.

Rather than pursue the five, fourth-degree criminal contempt charges it brought against the priest, the prosecutor’s office and Fugee agreed that he would “seek and obtain” laicization from the priesthood. The fourth-degree charges carried a punishment of a fine and maximum 18 months in prison. Molinelli indicated that had his office sought Fugee’s conviction, the soon-to-be former priest likely would have received a probation sentence, since he had no prior convictions.

Molinelli said the agreement prohibits Fugee from presenting himself as a spiritual advisor or “working with children in any capacity.

“This is a requirement that will eliminate the threat of Michael Fugee, ever again, obtaining the trust of people through his clerical position nor using his ordained position as a Priest to exert improper contact with children,” he said in the release.

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.

NEW JERSEY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY BARBARA DORRIS ON NOVEMBER 08, 2013

Prosecutor blasts Newark archbishop; SNAP responds

For immediate release: Friday, Nov. 8

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

Prosecutors have reached a highly unusual deal with a Fr. Michael Fugee, a Newark predator priest who was to be kept away from kids by Archbishop John Myers and his staff but was not.

[The Record]

[The Star-Ledger]

This is an unprecedented agreement. But the crisis in Newark’s Catholic archdiocese is not a Fugee or even a Myers crisis. It’s a deeply-rooted crisis that involves dozens of current and former Catholic clerics who have committed and are concealing heinous child sex crimes. Only a grand jury will uncover the full truth and truly protect kids and deter future cover ups and recklessness.

Fr. Fugee has repeatedly broken secular laws and religious vows. We are not confident he’ll obey this order. And it’s not clear how or if this deal will in any way hold Archbishop Myers or his top aides responsible for their inexcusable, deceitful and self-serving role in Fr. Fugee’s crimes. That must happen if Newark kids are to be safer and more cover ups of child molesting clerics are to be prevented.

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.

NEWARK (NJ)
Superior Court of New Jersey

November 1, 2013

[PDF also includes prior Indictment, Order, Memorandum of Understanding, and Complaint-Warrants.]

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Michael Fugee will commence, without delay, the appropriate proceedings to become laicized through the Archdiocese of Newark on truthful grounds as set forth herein, and that he will fully participate and take all necessary action to ensure that the Roman Catholic Church completes his laicization; and

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Michael Fugee, through counsel, will communicate the status of the laicization process in writing every sixty (60) days from the entry of this Consent Order to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office until such process is complete and together provide copies of all written documents submitted and/or received in furtherance of his laicization proceeding.

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.

NEW JERSEY
Cliffview Pilot

Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli today accused the Archdiocese of Newark of not keeping its agreement to monitor a former Wykoff associate pastor who was allowed to continue working as a priest after admitting that he groped a 13-year-old boy.

The prosecutor’s comments come amid the announcement of an agreement between his office and Michael Fugee that spares him prison time in exchange for his permanent removal from the priesthood and the condition that he never work in a job that puts him in contact with minors.

Fugee, who could have gone to prison for up to 18 months, admitted that he repeatedly violated a court order to stay away from children.

Also going back on its word, Molinelli said, was the archiocese, which agreed six years ago to supervise Fugee in order to help spare him a trial.

“[I]t has not appeared that the Archdiocese made any significant effort to adhere to the terms of the MOU such that, at this juncture, we no longer have confidence in its ability as a signatory to honor the clear intent of the 2007 Memorandum of Understanding,” Mollinelli said in a statement.

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

OHIO
Cleveland Scene

Experts Discuss Media Coverage of Catholic Priests’ ‘Struggles,’ Odd Bouts of Navel-Gazing Ensue

Posted by Eric Sandy on Fri, Nov 8, 2013

For some reason, The Plain Dealer posted a story titled “Experts discuss why the struggles of priests are so well publicized.” The occasion for this little discussion comes about following the Rev. James McGonegal’s three-count indictment, which includes a felony count for failing to disclose his HIV-positive status when he propositioned a Metroparks ranger.

…It’s unclear why the preceding was classified among the “struggles” of priests on Cleveland.com.

Anyway, the newsworthiness of the McGonegal incident should be clear to any reader or writer – Catholic or otherwise. McGonegal, a man who bears some semblance of moral authority in his community and certainly qualifies as a public figure, solicited sex in a public parking lot and hid the fact that he was harboring a life-threatening virus. Potentially dangerous stuff, hence the news coverage (which, to be sure, The Plain Dealer heaped online en masse).

And that reportage is important for numerous public safety, criminal justice and religious dialogue reasons, but today’s bout of navel-gazing and apologia surely isn’t.

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.

NEW JERSEY
MyCentralJersey

Written by
Susan Loyer
@SusanLoyerMyCJ

MIDDLESEX COUNTY — The pastor of a Jamesburg-based parish will remain out of ministry until an alleged claim of sexual misconduct is resolved, according to the Diocese of Metuchen.

The Rev. Kevin Duggan, who served at St. James the Less since August 2009, has been accused of sexually abusing a developmentally challenged adult at St. James Parish in Woodbridge more than 20 years ago, according to the diocese.

Parishioners of the St. James the Less parish were told of the allegation last week when a letter from Bishop Paul Bootkoski was read at Masses. Duggan, who took himself out of ministry for treatment of alcoholism, was due to return to the parish soon, when the alleged claim of abuse was announced.

In the letter, the bishop said Duggan, 59, “adamantly denies these charges.”

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

MISSOURI
Berger’s Beat

. . .Kansas City Bishop (and St. Louis native) Robert Finn is apparently letting a priest who did 90 days in jail for theft work at a parish. Back in 2000, Fr. Glen Gardner, was convicted for stealing “thousands of dollars worth of antiques” from two Catholic churches, including “linen, candles, a pair of 3-foot-high altar candlesticks, and incense burner, two candelabra, a ciborium that holds communion wafers and a $9,000 monstrance that displays eucharistic bread.” Fr. Gardner is at St. Patrick’s Oratory and is part of the Institute of Christ the King – an ultra-conservative outfit with a church in our town. The institute was first welcomed to the U.S. by then-Bishop Raymond Burke of LaCrosse (who went on to head the St. Louis archdiocese and is now the highest-ranking U.S. prelate in the Vatican. . .

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.

LOUISIANA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release Friday, November 8, 2013

Statement by Barbara Dorris, Outreach Director, 314-862-7688 SNAPdorris@gmail.com

An Alexandria predator priest has been ordered to live a “life of prayer and penance.”

[Diocese of Alexandria]

Shame on Alexandria Bishop Ronald P. Herzog for issuing perhaps the most vague and unhelpful notice about a child molesting cleric we have seen in years.

Bishop Herzog refuses to tell parents, parishioners or the public what crimes Fr. Lyons committed against how many kids during what years at what locations. Worse, Herzog refuses to say where Fr. Lyons is now. And worst yet, Herzog makes no appeal to victims, witnesses, and whistleblowers to call police and prosecutors so that Fr. Lyons might be charged, convicted and kept away from kids.

This notice is yet another effort by Catholic officials to do the absolute bare minimum about clergy sex crimes and cover ups.

“A life of prayer and penance” is a silly claim. Time and time again church officials try to imply that this is some sort of penalty. What it means, in reality, is that the priest gets all the benefits – financial and otherwise – of being a priest but doesn’t have to go to work. That of course just frees up more of his time to groom kids, intimidate victims threaten witnesses, discredit whistleblowers, destroy evidence and fabricate alibis.

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.

NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

By Mark Mueller/The Star-Ledger
on November 08, 2013

A Roman Catholic priest who was criminally charged with violating a court order to stay away from children earlier this year has agreed to his permanent removal from the priesthood and to never work in a position that places him in contact with minors.

The agreement between the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and the the Rev. Michael
Fugee resolves the criminal case against him without jail time. Fugee had been facing up to 18 months for multiple counts of violating a judicial order.

In its announcement, the prosecutor’s office also strongly criticized the Archdiocese of Newark, which had been required to supervise Fugee under a 2007 memorandum of understanding with the law enforcement agency. The memorandum was one condition of a deal that spared Fugee from retrial on charges of molesting a teenage boy.

“It has appeared, based on many public comments by Archbishop Myers, that the Church had no intention of monitoring Fugee any further and … it has not appeared that the Archdiocese made any significant effort to adhere to the terms of the MOU such that, at this juncture, we no longer have confidence in its ability as a signatory to honor the clear intent of the 2007 Memorandum of Understanding,” Prosecutor John Mollinelli said in a statement.

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.

NEW JERSEY
The Record

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2013
BY ABBOTT KOLOFF AND KIBRET MARKOS
STAFF WRITERS
THE RECORD

A former Wykoff associate pastor who was allowed to continue working as a priest despite confessing to groping a 13-year-old boy has agreed to be defrocked after admitting he violated a legal agreement that barred him from working with children, authorities said Friday.

Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said in a statement Friday that Rev. Michael Fugee has agreed to be laicized and never work again as a priest. The agreement announced on Friday was unusual because of its requirement for Fugee to undergo a formal process of being defrocked.

Had Fugee been found guilty of violating the agreement with law enforcement, a fourth-degree crime, the judicial system would not have had the authority to require him to be laicized, Molinelli said.

Molinelli also delivered a scathing assessment of the way the Newark Archdiocese monitored Fugee, who attended youth retreats and heard the confessions of children at churches in Rochelle Park and Paramus after he and church officials signed an agreement with law enforcement in 2007.

“It has not appeared that the Archdiocese made any significant effort to adhere” to the memorandum of understanding with law enforcement, Molinelli said.

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

Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Catholic officials apparently ignore request
UN panel seeks info about crimes & cover ups
Hierarchy was supposed to reply by Nov. 1
Victims blast top church staff for “stonewalling”
“Again, prelates thumb their noses at secular authorities,” SNAP says

For immediate release: Friday, November 8, 2013

For more information: Barbara Blaine ( +1-312-399-4747, SNAPblaine@gmail.com )

A support group for clergy sex abuse victims is blasting top Catholic officials for apparently missing a deadline to answer questions from a United Nations panel about clergy sex crimes and cover ups.

Last July, a UN committee sent Vatican authorities a list of about 20 questions, with a November 1 deadline. The questions were designed to help the committee determine whether the church is honoring the 23 year old Convention on the Rights of the Child.

[SNAP]

But it seems clear that Catholic figures are ignoring the committee’s request. Responses from three other countries that were given the same deadline as the Vatican have been posted on the UN committee’s website. No response from the Vatican has been posted.

[Committee on the Rights of the Child]

“Once again, top Catholic officials thumb their noses at secular authorities and hide information about on-going crimes and cover ups,” said SNAP spokesperson Miguel Hurtado of London. “Some hoped the church hierarchy might be more open about clergy sex crimes and cover ups under Pope Francis. But that’s obviously not happening.

“We believe that the high-ranking Catholic staff is violating the Rights of the Child treaty,” said Mary Caplan of New York, SNAP representative to the UN. “They do this because they can. They get by with it because few secular authorities have the courage and strength to hold the Catholic hierarchy accountable for repeatedly reckless, callous, deceitful and self-serving actions regarding vulnerable kids, powerful prelates, and child molesting clerics.”

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 Friday, November 8, 2013

Statement by Barbara Dorris, Outreach Director, 314-862-7688 SNAPdorris@gmail.com

We are alarmed that Chicago Catholic officials never contacted police, prosecutors or the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services about alleged “sexually explicit photographs” of a girl at a parochial school.

[Chicago Tribune]

It is stunning that Hales Franciscan High School principal Jeffrey Gray told the Chicago Tribune that “We did not think it was a criminal act because it [was] dealing with minors.” At best, that’s alarmingly wrong-headed. At worst, it’s a lie.

The photos apparently circulated a month ago.

Coincidently, this troubling report arises at the same time a similarly troubling case is unfolding in the Kansas City Missouri.

[SNAP]

To anyone who reads or follows the news at all, it’s as clear as it can possibly be: even now, despite decades of heinous sex crimes against kids and cover ups by Catholic officials, Catholic officials STILL try very hard to handle reports of such crimes quietly and internally, telling the fewest people possible and NOT telling law enforcement.

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.

LOUISIANA
Roman Catholic Diocese of Alexandria

The Most Reverend Ronald P. Herzog, Bishop of Alexandria, has now been informed by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome of its decision regarding Reverend Frederick James Lyons. He was accused of sexual abuse of minors during a period in his early life as a priest. In its decision, the Congregation imposed on Father Lyons a life of prayer and penance.

Father Lyons is specifically prohibited from the following: he may not publicly celebrate or concelebrate Mass or publicly or privately administer the other sacraments (except confession in danger of death); he may not preach; he may not participate in or attend at any public liturgical celebration; he may not wear clerical dress, vesture or vestments in public; and he has been deprived of the honor Protonotary Apostolic Supernumerary along with the customary use of the title monsignor.

“The Diocese of Alexandria has established policies and procedures that are in accord with The Charter for the Protection of Children and Youth and The Essential Norms for Diocesan/Eparchial Policies Dealing with Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Priests or Deacons,” said Bishop Herzog. He added, “It is my duty as the Bishop of Alexandria to implement this decision of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. I ask for your prayers for all who are affected by these accusations: victims, their families, our Church and the accused. I urge any victim of clerical sexual misconduct to allow us the opportunity to help heal the wounds inflicted through such actions, and I invite any victims to come forward in order that healing may begin and justice can be served.”

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
Catholic League

Bill Donohue comments on the suspension of Father Michael Kolodziej:

Father Michael Kolodziej, a former Minister Provincial of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, has been suspended from all public ministry by the Franciscans. Furthermore, the Archdiocese of Baltimore has withdrawn his faculties so that he can no longer serve as a priest.

Sounds as if the priest must have been convicted of something serious. In fact, Father Kolodziej has not been found guilty of anything. His accuser says he was abused by the priest while they were wrestling at Baltimore’s Archbishop Curley High School in the mid-to-late 1970s. That’s it.

This is insanity. Priests evidently have no rights. To top things off, the Order has posted an 800 number asking anyone else who was abused by the priest to come forward. No other organization, religious or secular, acts this way. By the way, Father Kolodziej, who is 69, has never had an accusation made against him until now.

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)
Chicago Tribune

By Adam Sege
Tribune reporter
9:53 a.m. CST, November 8, 2013

The head of a South Side Catholic school said he doesn’t think there is anything criminal about sexually explicit photographs that were passed among students, even though a staff member has told police “a more serious crime may have been committed.”

Hales Franciscan High School president Jeffrey Gray refused to release details of the photos and would not say whether the female in them is a student at the school, which just went co-ed this year. “I can’t confirm that right now,” he said.

Gray said the photos surfaced about a month ago and the school disciplined the students involved after talking to their parents. Asked what they did, he would only say, “There’s a couple of incidents that we have been looking into.” The students have since returned to school, he said.

“The proper discipline actions were meted out and we thought this was done and over with,” Gray said.

But then the matter somehow came to the attention of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, and Gray said it was decided to contact the police last weekend, “a little less than 30 days” after the school administration learned of the photos.

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.

VIRGINIA
The News-Gazette

Written by Roberta Anderson

Buena Vista pastor the Rev. Larry Clark, of 263 41st St., was taken into custody Thursday night by the Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office on charges related to sex offenses committed against at least one male juvenile.

A spokesman for the sheriff’s office said a press release will be issued Friday afternoon detailing the exact charges. Clark remains in the Rockbridge Regional Jail awaiting a bond hearing.

Deputies seized a computer and VHS and camcorder tapes during a search of Clark’s home yesterday. Information conveyed to sheriff’s office investigator Miles Kelly during interviews with two alleged victims provided the probable cause for the search.

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.

VIRGINIA
WHSV

By: Todd Densmore
Updated: Fri 12:04 PM, Nov 08, 2013

VERONA — A pastor with the Cornerstone Pentecostal Outreach Church in Verona was arrested Thursday on three charges of child sexual abuse.

Larry Clark, 61, of Buena Vista, was charged by the Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office after an investigation into incidents that took place in 2011. An investigator with the Sheriff’s Office tells us that the victim was a male and 15 years old at the time. He also tells us that the incidents took place in Rockbridge County.

Larry Clark is the temporary pastor at the Pentecostal Outreach Church in Verona and the pastor of the POC in Buena Vista.

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
National Catholic Reporter

NCR Editorial Staff | Nov. 8, 2013

Fall bishops’ meeting 2013

EDITORIAL

Anyone looking at the published agenda of the meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (see story) would say that an efficient, business-like organization could deal with that in half a day. The published agenda is beyond prosaic: approval of some liturgical translations, an election of officers, some committee reports, and a “presentation for a proposal to develop a formal statement on pornography.” (Spoiler alert: They are against porn.)

There is, it seems, very little action in the bishops’ action items.

The bishops should quickly deal with this old agenda, and then address the central question facing them: What kind of conference do they want to be?

Pope Francis has been clear about what he expects of bishops: He has condemned in no uncertain terms clericalism and careerism. One of his earliest statements was that priests — and by extension bishops — should “be shepherds with the smell of sheep” on them. In late October, ordaining two archbishops, Francis told them: “Keep in mind that you were selected to serve, not to dominate.”

Francis has been even more explicit about what he expects from bishops and their national conferences. In his July 27 address to the Brazilian bishops and his address the next day to the leadership of the Latin American Episcopal Conference, he laid out his vision and agenda. We would highlight these points:

* “Central bureaucracy is not sufficient; there is also a need for increased collegiality and solidarity.” What is needed is “not unanimity, but true unity in the richness of diversity.”

* “Let us not reduce the involvement of women in the church, but instead promote their active role in the ecclesial community. By losing women, the church risks becoming sterile.”

* Do diocesan and parish councils, “whether pastoral or financial, provide real opportunities for laypeople to participate in pastoral consultation, organization and planning?”

* Do we give the laity “the freedom to continue discerning, in a way befitting their growth as disciples, the mission which the Lord has entrusted to them? Do we support them and accompany them, overcoming the temptation to manipulate them or infantilize them?”

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
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on November 8, 2013

Eric Holtan is slowly getting exposed. From The Duluth News:

Holtan, who was convicted of first-degree and third-degree criminal sexual conduct, was ordered at his 2000 sentencing to serve two years at the Northeast Regional Corrections Center, register as a sex offender and meet the conditions of his probation for 15 years. Any violation of that probation could result in him being sent back to prison for more than 16 years.

Hmmm … well, we already know he is NOT registered as a sex offender.

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.

DELAWARE
The News Journal

Tom Ferrier, who coached St. Elizabeth High School to the DIAA state championship in girls basketball last spring, was fired by the Wilmington school Thursday.

St. Elizabeth sent a letter to parents stating that Ferrier had been terminated, effective immediately. The letter said Ferrier violated the technology policies of the Diocesan protocol “For the Sake of God’s Children.” The letter said the protocol focuses on the ethical and behavioral standards for diocesan personnel, including coaches and volunteers.

Ferrier could not be reached for comment Thursday night. St. Elizabeth Athletic Director Joe Hemphill declined to comment and referred questions to St. Elizabeth Principal Shirley Bounds. Late Thursday, Bounds said in an email that the letter to parents states the action was taken as a result of violation of technology policies that all teachers, staff, coaches and volunteers agree to follow.

“At this point, St. Elizabeth has no basis or information to support any criminal issue that would require any report at this point,” Bounds said. “We are still investigating and will always cooperate fully with the authorities although none are involved at this time.”

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

KANSAS CITY (MO)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Friday, Nov. 7, 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 )

A cleric at a Kansas City Catholic school has been fired allegedly because of one ‘suspicious’ and sexual picture on a school computer, church officials say. We are troubled and skeptical.

[Fox4kc]

Again, Bishop Robert Finn and his staff delayed in telling police and the public about the disturbing photo.

Again, Bishop Robert Finn and his staff told the smallest number of people possible about the report of suspected sexual crimes – only the current parents of the school.

Again, Bishop Robert Finn and his staff are withholding key information. They refuse to say whether there have been other reports of sexual misdeeds or crimes by Brother Richard Geimer, a Christian brother who spent 28 years as a teacher and principal at Archbishop O’Hara High School.

It’s also troubling that Fox 4 TV reports that the photo was found on Oct. 25 – two weeks ago.

[Fox4kc]

And it appears that Catholic church and school officials did not voluntarily disclose this allegation to the public. It seems that journalists obtained a copy of a letter sent by the school to parents of current students.

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.

NEW YORK
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013

Statement by Steve Theisen of Hudson IA, board chair of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 319 231 1663, Ltreggiefan@cs.com)

A Westchester Catholic school teacher is accused of raping a 14 year old boy.

[News 12]

While any child sex abuse is horrific, it’s even harder when women sexually violate boys. I know. I was sexually abused as a youngster by a Catholic nun.

Virtually every abused child feels alone and believes no one will understand if they find out. Boys molested by women feel this even more acutely. I’ve spoken with hundreds of them.

And while my heart goes out to every single person – adult or child – who was sexually assaulted by anyone, I especially feel sorry for this boy. At the same time, however, I admire his courage.

No Catholic official in America seeks out the media limelight like Cardinal Tim Dolan. We urge him to use his vast resources and public relations team to aggressively seek out others who saw, suspected or suffered child sex crimes by Amanda Iles, either at __ school or elsewhere.

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.

KENTUCKY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013

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

We are relieved and grateful that Fr. Shook will be brought to justice. For far too long in far too many cases, Catholic officials who commit and conceal child sex crimes succeed in “running out the clock” and escaping responsibility for their reckless, callous and deceitful crimes.

[Daily News]

We hope every single person who saw, suspected or suffered Fr. Shook’s crimes – or his church supervisors’ cover ups – will come forward, get help, expose wrongdoing, protect others and start healing. It’s the duty of every adult – especially current and former Catholic Church members and staff – to help ensure that the truth about Fr. Shook’s crimes surfaces.

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.

RUSSIA
Interfax

St. Petersburg, November 8, Interfax – Gleb Grozovsky, former senior priest of a church in the Leningrad region, who is accused of molesting two children and has been put on an international wanted list, will be detained when he crosses the Russian border, the press service for the Investigations Committee’s Department for St. Petersburg reported.

“A decision on his extradition will be made through diplomatic channels in accordance with the law. He has a temporary visa until a certain date. His period of stay there will expire some time. He will be detained when he crosses the border,” the press service for the Investigations Committee’s Department for St. Petersburg reported.

It was reported earlier that a criminal case has been opened against Grozovsky based on the article of the Russian Criminal Code dealing with the molestation of a child under the age of 14.

According to information possessed by the investigators, Grozovsky, 34, molested two girls, aged nine and 12, in a hotel located on the territory of a children’s camp belonging to the Orthodox travelers club, Philadelphia, on Kos Island in Greece in June 2013.

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.

NEW JERSEY
NJToday
j
MIDDLESEX COUNTY – The Catholic Church has indefinitely barred the pastor of a Jamesburg church from the ministry following an accusation that he sexually abused a developmentally disabled man in the 1990s, according to a Star-Ledger report.

In a letter to the parishioners of St. James Parish, Bishop Paul G. Bootkoski asked for prayers for Father Kevin P. Dugan, 59, who has also been struggling with alcoholism.

Dugan denies the sexual abuse allegations, which date back to a time when the priest was serving at St. James Parish in Woodbridge. The allegations came to light when the alleged victim, who suffers from a neurological impairment, told a nurse about the alleged abuse when he was hospitalized for emotional problems in April, according to the report.

The alleged victim has accepted the diocese’s offer to pay for counseling, according to the report.

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
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, Nov. 7, 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)

Catholic officials in Baltimore and Springfield MA are disclosing credible child sex abuse allegations against Fr. Michael Kolodziej who belongs to a religious order called the Franciscans and who worked at St. Philip Benizi Parish in Jonesboro, GA from 2010 until his recent suspension.

[iobserve]

We urge Archbishop Wilton Gregory to post notices about Fr. Michael Kolodziej read at all Atlanta archdiocesan parishes.

While he may have been assigned to one church, we strongly suspect that Fr. Kolodziej spent at least some time at three or four other Atlanta area parishes. We believe notices should be read at churches throughout the archdiocese and posted in their bulletins.

We also urge Gregory will personally go to each parish where Fr. Kolodziej worked and beg victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to call police.

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
ABC News

A group representing Ballarat survivors of clergy sexual abuse is meeting a Federal Government minister today to discuss improving support services.

Abuse survivor Andrew Collins represents a group of more than 80 survivors and is meeting the Minister for Social Services, Kevin Andrews, in Melbourne today.

Mr Collins is calling for an increased pension for abuse survivors, similar to a disability pension for people suffering from post-traumatic stress and depression as a result of their abuse.

He says being granted a meeting with Minister is a significant step in lobbying for survivors’ rights.

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
ABC – PM

PETER LLOYD: In Victoria, a group of people who have been sexually abused are asking to be put on the same disability pension as returned soldiers.

The idea is coming from Ballarat, a city with a dark past of child sexual abuse by members of the Catholic clergy.

Kate Stowell reports from the central Victorian city.

KATE STOWELL: Abuse survivor Andrew Collins represents a group of more than 80 people from the Ballarat area.

During the course of the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into institutional child sexual abuse and the Royal Commission, he’s become a spokesman for the local community of abuse survivors.

He says a lot of people aren’t coping.

ANDREW COLLINS: There was one survivor that we knew of who would struggle every month, did he get his medication? Did he have his mobile phone? He was suicidal so he needed his mobile phone to talk to people and you know keep in touch with the world but he also needed his medication.

He’d exhausted his so many ‘free sessions’ under the mental health plan very quickly and was just living in limbo.

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

OHIO
Cleveland.com

By Patrick Cooley, Northeast Ohio Media Group
on November 08, 2013

CLEVELAND, Ohio — More than 30 people were charged on suspicion of soliciting for sex in Cleveland in October, but only one made the news. That one was James McGonegal, pastor of St. Ignatius of Antioch, a West Side Catholic church, and he is accused of soliciting sex from an off-duty ranger at Edgewater Park on Oct. 11.

McGonegal’s arrest made headlines in every major northeast Ohio media outlet. Reporters attended mass the weekend of his arrest, and camera crews from television stations camped out near the venerable stone church on Lorain Avenue, hoping to convince parishioners to speak on the record.

“It’s important to remember that many people are arrested for soliciting, and most of them are not priests,” said Candice Risen, a therapist for Levine, Risen and Associates, a Beachwood practice which deals with marital and sexual issues.

Priests however, tend to receive more scrutiny after such an arrest.

“Some would say it’s because of the anti-Catholic bias in the media,” said the Rev. Donald Cozzens, a writer in residence at John Carroll University.

But he said it’s more likely that their status as a moral authority makes their arrests more noticeable. Catholics tend to have a lofty notion of priesthood, Cozzens said, which can be difficult to live up to, and can make a public failure or embarrassment all the more biting.

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UNITED STATES
National Survivor Advocates Coalition

Editorial

There is no attempt in this space or by this writer to negate or lessen in any way the impact upon the world of Pope Francis’ embrace of a severely physically disfigured man on Wednesday at the General Audience nor to negate or lessen the immensely heavy burden that this physically disfigured man carries day in and day out.

If you are not aware of this event, here is a link to a news story:

[CNN]

What we have to say is simply this:

Holy Father, this is what the survivors of sexual abuse by priests and nuns look like on the inside.

Embrace their suffering.

Listen to them.

Hear them.

Know them.

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

ITALY
The Australian

THE head of the 431-year-old Catholic religious order that first used the Red Cross as a symbol for helping the sick was under arrest yesterday after allegedly kidnapping two priests so that they could not vote against his re-election.

Father Renato Salvatore, 58, was re-elected Superior General of the Order of Clerics Regular, Ministers of the Sick on May 13 in an alleged plot worthy of a Dan Brown novel.

The Camillians, founded by St Camillus de Lellis in 1582, became known for the large Red Cross its members wore on their black cassocks as they tended to those afflicted by the plague.

The group, which counts more than 1000 clergy and 20,000 lay staff, runs hospitals, convalescent homes and AIDS clinics in 35 countries.

Prosecutors allege that Father Salvatore only won re-election, beating the Irish priest Frank Monks, because two “grand electors” were illegally detained during the vote. Father Rosario Messina and Father Antonio Puca, who backed Father Monks, were allegedly told to get into a car because they had been summoned for questioning by police in Rome. They were taken to a police station where two officers, who were alleged accomplices in the scheme, interrogated them for hours.

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
Broken Rites

Examining the “Towards Healing” process: a submission to Australia’s national Royal Commission in 2013, prepared by WAYNE CHAMLEY, of Broken Rites Australia (updated 8 November 2013)

The Broken Rites executive team has gained first-hand experience and insights into the “response” processes that are followed by the various church and religious organisations. In regards to the Catholic Church’s process “Towards Healing”, our executive team has worked directly with many individual victims over the years. These victims have sought to have their claims heard by the Catholic Church and some have been less than satisfied by their experience of the process and the behaviour of church representatives.

We have also been contacted by many other victims who chose not to seek any advice or support at an early stage. Instead, these people made contact with us after they had gone to “Towards Healing”.

Towards Healing – principles, provisions and procedures

Since 1996, in Australia, a person who experienced sexual or extreme physical abuse while in a catholic-run institution, school, parish etc, has been able to seek to have a complaint considered by entering the church’s process or by resorting to civil litigation. In 1996 the Catholic bishops and the Heads of Religious Orders in Australia released the document “Towards Healing” and since that time many complaints have been brought to the attention of church officials, by persons entering this internal process, in good faith.

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
Broken Rites

Broken Rites is pleased that Australia’s national Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is investigating the Catholic Church’s so-called “Towards Healing” process, which claims to “help” the church’s abuse-victims. Broken Rites has been researching “Towards Healing” since 1996, and this article sums up some of our main findings so far. This Broken Rites article demonstrates how “Towards Healing” is really a business strategy, designed to protect the church’s assets and its corporate image.

The Royal Commission’s hearings about “Towards Healing” are scheduled to begin on Monday 9 December 2013 and will continue for two weeks.

The Catholic Church in Australia operates its “Towards Healing” scheme to receive (and respond to) complaints from the church’s sex-abuse victims. Broken Rites found that Towards Healing was designed in conjunction with the church’s lawyers, its accountants and its insurance company. The name “Towards Healing” is the kind of brand-name that could be inspired by any public-relations consultant or advertising firm.

In some cases, Towards Healing might give help a victim to “heal” but this help is incidental to the primary object – the church’s business strategy.

The Towards Healing scheme is conducted in association with the Catholic Church’s own insurance company, Catholic Church Insurances Limited (CCI). CCI has stated that this company “carries the burden of salary and support staff” for Towards Healing and, furthermore, that CCI will “provide practical support” for any future fine-tuning of the Towards Healing system.

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CANADA
Sylvia’s Site

Posted on November 7, 2013 by Sylvia

A number of people have been asking questions regarding the pending sex abuse trial of Oblate priest Father Eric Dejaeger.

Here then is a brief update. I have spoken to persons close to the case. This is far from an exhaustive account of what to anticipate, but is to give a general idea and to answer questions which have been posed to me. Remember that time lines can change due an unexpected change in circumstances, and the setting of dates for verdict and sentencing depend on both the time the judge feels he/she needs or wants, and the common availability on any given date of a courtroom, judge, defence and the Crown.

(1) The Edmonton charges will be prosecuted in Edmonton, Alberta. There will have to be a change in dates there: his preliminary hearing in Edmonton is scheduled for 2-3 December 2013. Since he will be at trial in Iqaluit that if course is impossible. As soon as a new date is set I will pass it on

(2) Douglas Curliss, a prosecutor with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada Regional Office in Saskatoon, is the lead prosecutor for the case. He will be assisted by Scott Hughes of Iqaluit, and Barry Nordine, formerly of Iqaluit and now of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

(3) The trial is scheduled to start 18 November 2013 and will run until 20 December 2013. That’s five weeks vs the ten weeks originally scheduled some time back. The ten weeks were based on estimates at the time;.

(4) The witnesses will travel to Iqaluit, Nunavut. Most witnesses live in Igloolik. Those who travel to Iqualuit will be in the city for a short time, long enough to get settled prior to taking the stand, and then back home after testifying.

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

Allan “Kitch” Kitchingman will be the object of the third “case study” in the present set by the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The first one was on Steven Larkins (see previous posting) and the second was on Jonathan Lord (see previous posting).

The first two covered associations with Scouts Australia and the YMCA (New South Wales state branch). This one will relate to the Anglican Church of Australia, known elsewhere as the Church of England or the Episcopalian Church. However, it will be restricted to the Grafton and Newcastle dioceses in New South Wales, so people like Anglican Primate, Phillip Aspinall (see previous postings), are off the hook.

But Back to Allan Kitchingman. He was an Anglican pastor who, as the “chaplain” to the North Coast Children’s Home, abused an inmate in 1975. For this he pleaded guilty, and was imprisoned for 21/2 years, in 2002, with parole in February 2004. His victim described the sentence as a “joke”. This victim claims the priest assaulted him “several times a week for a year” and that church officials put him on a bus to Kings Cross, in Sydney, after complaints were made. Hence, the enquiry must investigate the church’s response to the Kitchingman allegations.

Kitchingman went on to become parish pastor at the St. Cuthbert’s church at Tweed Heads, on the New South Wales – Queensland state border. His name was entered on the church’s national professional standards register according to the terms of a church canon in 2007.

Nevertheless, his name still appears on the Honour Roll of the church for his time as pastor from 1981-1988. The church’s website refers to his time there as having “seen growth in the work with children and youth.” Apparently, to the church officials, paedophilia means “working” with children.

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.

KANSAS CITY (MO)
KMBZ

[letter from the school]

KANSAS CITY – A brother at O’Hara High School has been fired after a student allegedly found a “suspicious photo” on his computer. Investigators said a student last week borrowed Geimer’s computer to print a paper.

When she was finished, she closed the file and the photo allegedly popped up.

In a letter sent home to parents yesterday, school leaders said Brother Richard Geimer was fired on Monday, but there was no reason to believe the photo involved O’Hara students.

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.

KANSAS CITY (MO)
KSHB

[with video]

By: 41 Action News Staff
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An O’Hara High School teacher has been fired after a “suspicious” picture was found on his school computer Monday.

Brother Richard Geimer taught at O’Hara but just three days after a tip to school officials, he was out of a job and cut off from the Diocese of Kansas City- St. Joseph.

41 Action News asked the church’s internal investigator, if Monday’s report was the first time anyone had complained about inappropriate behavior by brother Geimer and but said they couldn’t comment on that.

Church officials said a parent came forward to say her child had seen a “disturbing” photo while using Geimer’s computer.

According to a release from the school’s principal, John O’Connor said Wednesday that the school does not believe the picture involves an O’Hara student and so far, no charges have been filed.
“We think its really important to be, to take swift, decisive action when it involves the safety of children and we also think its very important to be open and transparent in that action,” Jenifer Valenti, Ombudsman for the Diocese of Kansas City- St, Joseph said.

The church moved quickly to suspend Geimer and called the police who seized his computer the next day.

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.

KANSAS CITY (MO)
KCTV

[with video]

By Laura McCallister, Multimedia Producer
By Heather Staggers, Reporter

KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) –
Police are investigating an alleged porn report at a local Catholic high school.

Kansas City police said they have opened an investigation after a report of porn found on a computer at Archbishop O’Hara High School. The school is located near James A Reed Road and East 90th Terrace.

A note was sent to parents explaining that the school’s principal, John O’Connor, was told on Monday about a photo that is suspicious and sexual in nature on Brother Richard Geimer’s computer.

School officials said a female student used the staff member’s computer to print something and she noticed a lewd picture on it. She told her mother who then contacted the school.

Police went to the school, retrieved the computer belonging to Geimer and are investigating.

O’Connor said he initially placed Geimer on administrative leave and notified police. Officials with the school and the Diocese of Kansas City – St. Joseph then decided to fire Geimer.

Below is the letter sent home to parents:

“Dear Archbishop O’Hara Parents,

“On Monday, November 4th, I became aware of a suspicious photographic file on Brother Richard Geimer’s computer. That day he was placed on administrative leave, he left the property, and the police were notified. On November 5th, the police were on site; his computer was reviewed and taken by authorities.

“Based upon information we know ourselves and what was provided by the police, there is no reason to believe the suspicious file involved O’Hara students. At this point, the investigation is in the hands of civil authorities. With the investigation pending, I will not be able to disclose further information regarding particulars of the allegation at this point.

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.

KANSAS CITY (MO)
Fox 4

[with video]

November 7, 2013, by Michelle Pekarsky, Charly Arnolt and Macradee Aegerter

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A letter sent home to parents of Archbishop O’Hara High School students on Wednesday indicated a school staff member has been fired after a suspicious photographic file was found on his computer. It has been described as suspicious, disturbing and it involves a youth.

Brother Richard Geimer was first placed on administrative leave on Monday and left the property, located at 9001 James A. Reed Road. John O’Connor, O’Hara High School principal said that at that time, he called to notify police.

Jack Smith, the Director of Communications with the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph said that a senior student alerted school administrators to the file. She discovered it after receiving permission to use Brother Geimer’s computer during school hours to print a document.

Based on information provided to them by police, O’Connor said he, Bishop Robert Finn and Superintendent Dan Peters, determined there was sufficient cause to permanently terminate Brother Geimer. A determination to fire him was made before an FBI cyber-crimes task force had completed its investigation because O’Connor found the pictures inappropriate enough to warrant termination.

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
Newcastle Herald

By JOANNE McCARTHY Nov. 8, 2013

ANGLICANS across Australia will be ‘‘disappointed’’ with the church as the royal commission exposes child sexual abuse at the North Coast Children’s Home, Newcastle Anglican Bishop Administrator Peter Stuart says.

‘‘They will wonder why we [the church] made these decisions and quite rightly they’ll be listening to the way the royal commission investigates these practices,’’ he said yesterday, almost a year since the royal commission was announced by then Prime Minister Julia Gillard on November 12, 2012.

It was ‘‘an important royal commission, making it clear to the wider community that child sexual abuse is not acceptable in the community’’.

It occurred ‘‘in places we thought we could trust, including the church’’.

He encouraged victims to speak to the royal commission, or make contact with the diocese’s professional standards unit on 1800 774945.

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.

RUSSIA
Interfax

Moscow, November 8, Interfax – Svetlana Nekrasova, who visited summer camp in Konevets with her daughter in Priest Gleb Grozovsky’s shift, believes a possible reason for accusing the priest in seduction of two schoolgirls could be the priest’s conflict with the girl’s father.

“The man should have taken Father Gleb to the airport in his car as the priest had to go on a trip before the shift was over. However, at the last moment the man refused and rowed with the priest. He called me personally and said he had enough money “to close” Father Gleb for a long time,” Nekrasova was quoted as saying by the Moskovsky Komsomolets daily.

According to her, such a reaction of the parent was a result of the rumors which several girls, including Nekrasova’s daughter, spread in the camp. Finally, father of one of the priest’s wards believed that the priest tried to seduce them and started threatening him. Eyewitnesses believe that the girls could slander Father Gleb out of childish jealousy as, according to the priest’s sister, “he has often become an object of girls’ love.”

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
Newcastle Herald

By JOANNE McCARTHY Nov. 8, 2013

THE late Newcastle Anglican Bishop James Housden kept a ‘‘very careful watch’’ on Allan Kitchingman when the former ‘‘nightclub entertainer’’ and major record company public relations officer studied to be a priest at St John’s College, Morpeth, from 1960.

That was because of Kitchingman’s ‘‘earlier background and associations’’, the bishop said in a letter in 1968.

But when Kitchingman was charged with a ‘‘child sex matter’’ in 1968, the bishop offered his immediate support and pledged to keep him in the ministry ‘‘under a bishop who would be fully informed of the circumstances’’.

Two weeks later, in late December 1968, Kitchingman was interviewed by a Grafton Bishop and appointed to Lismore parish, which included the church-run North Coast Children’s Home.

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.

NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

By Mark Mueller/The Star-Ledger
on November 08, 2013

The pastor of a Middlesex County church has been barred from ministry indefinitely following an accusation that he sexually abused a developmentally disabled man in the 1990s.

In a letter read aloud at St. James the Less Church in Jamesburg last weekend, Metuchen Bishop Paul Bootkoski alerted parishioners to the allegation against the Rev. Kevin P. Duggan, 59.

Duggan, who has served at six parishes in the diocese, “adamantly denies these charges,” Bootkoski wrote.

The claim was brought to the diocese in April by the accuser’s caretaker. In July, the alleged victim spoke with the Diocesan Review Board, a panel of lay people and clergy members who examine allegations of sex abuse.

That same month, Duggan took a leave of absence from the church for treatment of alcoholism, Bootkoski wrote. Duggan spent the next four months at Guest House, a Minnesota treatment center for Catholic clergy members with substance abuse problems.

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ALASKA
KTVA

ANCHORAGE – A deacon convicted earlier this year for possession of child pornography was sentenced to five years in prison Wednesday.

Donald T. Johnson, 62, had no criminal record when he was arrested in early January. Alaska State Troopers said Johnson possessed thousands of videos and images depicting the sexual abuse of children as young as 8. Detectives with the Anchorage Police Department worked with troopers to investigate the case: They determined Johnson had not physically harmed any children in Alaska, although his wife worked as a daycare provider.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children identified some of the children depicted in the material Johnson shared and saved as victims in previous abuse cases.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Church Times

by Tim Wyatt

Posted: 08 Nov 2013

A MARRIED priest who had an affair with an 18-year-old woman from his youth group has been suspended from ministry for eight years.

The priest, the Revd Paul Meier, aged 47, admitted misconduct before a disciplinary tribunal of the diocese of Chichester on 24 October. He was suspended from his post at St Margaret’s in Horsmonden, Kent, last year.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

Joanne Hunt

Thu, Nov 7, 2013

Some of the survivors of the Magdalene laundries will receive their first compensation payments from the State before Christmas, Minister for Justice Alan Shatter has said.

Accepting in June this year the recommendation of Judge John Quirke that a cash lump sum payment based on the duration of stay in the laundries be paid to the women, the Government tasked an inter-departmental group with considering how to implement other recommendations made by the judge.

The group’s report was reviewed by Government this week and details of the scheme were finalised.

In the next four to six weeks, the Department of Justice will pay eligible women a tax-free sum of between €11,500 and €100,000, depending on the duration of their stay in the laundries. Amounts of more than €50,000 will be paid in weekly instalments, as recommended by Judge Quirke.

Women who have registered an expression of interest with the department or submitted an application but who have passed away before payment will receive a lump sum of €50,000, paid to their estate.

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REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
Entorno Inteligente

[Summary: Judge Yanet Bernabel on Thursday began hearing objection to admissibility of the complaint against priest Juan Manuel Mota de Jesus, also known as Padre Johnny. He is accused to sexually abusing several women in his pastoral work. The priests lawyers have asked that the complaint be dismissed.]

El Caribe / El Constanza.− La jueza Yanet Bernabel inició este jueves la audiencia de objeción a la admisibilidad de la querella contra el sacerdote Juan Manuel Mota de Jesús (padre Johnny), quien está acusado de abusar sexualmente de varias mujeres durane su labor pastoral.

Los abogados del cura nueva vez pidieron que sea sobreseído el caso hasta tanto el procurador general de la República, Francisco Javier García, se pronuncie con relación al pedido del abogado de las alegadas víctimas, que en su momento pidió la inhibición del procurador de la Corte de Apelación de La Vega, Víctor González, y el fiscal del distrito judicial de Constanza, Fernando Quezada.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Church Times

[The Foundation of Abuse – Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command]

by Tim Wyatt

Posted: 08 Nov 2013

CHILDREN within hierarchical institutions – including churches – are particularly at risk of being sexually abused, a new report has warned.

The report, The Foundations of Abuse, was compiled by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command, part of the new National Crime Agency. It analyses institutional sexual abuse of children in the UK. The Church of England was among the organisations consulted.

The authors of the report state that “There is something about institutions, as environments for child sexual abuse, which appears to aggravate the vulnerability of potential victims, and amplifies the power over them that abusers can exercise.”

Rigid, hierarchical, often male-dominated and closed organisations can subsume people into a structure where they feel unable to challenge abuse, the report says. “There is a complete submission to authority, leaving individuals powerless and blind to their rights.

“In pursuance of the institution’s goals, staff are unable to see signs of abuse, or, if they do, are fearful for their careers if they report it.”

Institutional sexual abuse of children is a product of a “malign climate” within organisations which leaves an offender’s propensity to abuse unchecked, the report suggests.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Church Times

by Paul Handley

Posted: 08 Nov 2013

THE horrors of child sexual abuse were laid out once more in Panorama this week. The programme featured two victims: one of the several boys abused at Downside, the Roman Catholic school, and a woman who, at the age of 12, had been raped by a porter at Stoke Mandeville Hospital who turned out to be Jimmy Savile. The now familiar tale was told of ignored reports and cover-ups, prompting the former Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, to argue that the reporting of child abuse to the police should be made mandatory for those working in certain institutions. No list was given, but schools and churches are obvious candidates.

On the face of it, mandatory reporting makes sense. It would help to prevent the persistent offending by abusers who escape exposure because their employers wish to avoid scandal. It would help to convince victims that their witness will be taken seriously. It is, however, an awkward precedent to criminalise a specific type of non-disclosure, especially when existing laws cover the most egregious examples. There is also a danger that it would take a degree of control away from victims. Increasing numbers go directly to the police; those who choose to tell somebody else might well be nervous of the police’s involvement. The shadow of compulsion hanging over any sort of disclosure could act as an inhibitor. In any case, a change in the law is possibly unnecessary. Recent moves made by the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church, among others, mean that the police are now brought in as a matter of course.

Another instance when a mandatory element would cut across existing practices is the confessional. The code of conduct for clergy, drawn up in 2003, restates: “There can be no disclosure of what is confessed to a priest.” This principle is respected in civil courts, though this might not remain the case for all time. The code refers specifically to abuse: “Where abuse of children or vulnerable adults is admitted in the context of confession, the priest should urge the person to report his or her behaviour to the police or social services, and should also make this a condition of absolution, or withhold absolution until this evidence of repentance has been demonstrated.” Confession would lose its efficacy if a penitent withheld information out of fear that the confessor might be forced to reveal it.

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MINNESOTA/ARIZONA
Duluth News Tribune

By: Tom Olsen, Duluth News Tribune

A former Duluth high school teacher convicted of sexually abusing two students now is working as the choir director at an Arizona church, and that has drawn the ire of an abuse victims’ advocacy group.

Eric Holtan, 42, who taught music classes at Duluth East High School, admitted in 2000 that he had repeated sexual contact with 15-year-old and 16-year-old students. He since has relocated to Tucson, Ariz., where he now serves as the choir director for Dove of Peace Lutheran Church.

“It’s inherently reckless to put a convicted child molester in any position of authority over kids,” David Clohessy, the executive director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, told the News Tribune.

“Either church officials and others in Tucson were irresponsible and did little or no background check, or even worse, they knew about his crimes and put him around unsuspecting families and vulnerable kids regardless,” Clohessy said.

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AUSTRALIA
Courier Mail

JAMES CAMPBELL HERALD SUN NOVEMBER 08, 2013

CLERGY who fail to report child abuse by their colleagues should face jail, a landmark state parliamentary inquiry is set to recommend.

After more than 160 hearings over nine months, Australia’s first parliamentary inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other organisations will table its findings next week.

The findings of the committee, which considered more than 400 submissions, are scathing of the Catholic Church’s actions over several decades, sources have told the Herald Sun.

The committee will recommend a new criminal offence be created for ministers of religion who fail to report physical or sexual abuse of children by other clergy.

The inquiry was set up following 2011’s inquiry into the child protection system by retired Supreme Court judge Philip Cummins.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By JOANNE McCARTHY Nov. 8, 2013

NEWCASTLE man Steven Smith has a simple message for victims of child sexual abuse almost a year to the day since the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse was announced.

‘‘It’s time to speak,’’ he said, as the Anglican Church braces itself for the next round of royal commission public hearings starting on November 18, and the ugly truth about a Hunter priest and the church that protected him.

The royal commission will hear evidence about former ‘‘nightclub entertainer’’/Anglican priest Allan Kitchingman, who was convicted of a ‘‘child sex matter’’ in Newcastle in 1968 and immediately transferred to Grafton diocese where he sexually assaulted a child in 1975 at the church-run North Coast Children’s Home.

The evidence will include the role of the late Newcastle Anglican Bishop James Housden, who organised the Grafton transfer because he was ‘‘anxious to help him [Kitchingman] in every way possible whatever the result of the trial’’.

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COLORADO
Daily Camera

By Mitchell Byars, Camera Staff Writer

The woman who alleges she was sexually abused by a youth pastor at VineLife Church while she was a minor reported it to Boulder police because she feared the church would not take the matter seriously after attending a meeting with church leaders, according to police reports released Thursday.

Jason Allen Roberson, 35, the son of VineLife’s senior pastor, Walt Roberson, is facing six felony charges in relation to the alleged abuse.

Four other church officials — Executive Pastor Robert Phillip Young, 65, Pastor Luke Michael Humbrecht, 30, and church elders Edward Charles Bennell, 65, and Warren Lloyd Williams, 66 — have been ticketed for failing to report child abuse, with an unnamed fifth person still due to be ticketed.

The victim, Danielle DesGeorges, also is suing Roberson and VineLife Church in Boulder District Court. The Daily Camera generally does not identify victims of sexual abuse, but does have a policy of naming them in cases in which they initiate civil litigation.

DesGeorges, who lives in Boulder and is now 24, went to police in April and told investigators that she and Roberson had an inappropriate relationship that began when she was 15 and continued for seven years.

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MARYLAND
The Baltimore Sun

By Colin Campbell, The Baltimore Sun

10:01 p.m. EST, November 7, 2013

A former Archbishop Curley High School student is accusing a Catholic priest and former teacher at the school with sexually abusing him on several occasions, according to a news release from the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

The priest, Fr. Michael Kolodziej, 69, has been suspended from the priesthood. He taught at Curley from 1975-79, during which time the former student says he “wrestled him” and abused him.

Kolodziej was ordained in Buffalo, N.Y., and has spent more than 30 years as a priest and teacher across several states.

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

Article by: JEAN HOPFENSPERGER and TONY KENNEDY , Star Tribune staff writers
Updated: November 7, 2013

A Catholic priest known by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis for sexual misconduct was sued Thursday — the first of what attorneys say will be multiple lawsuits against him and the archdiocese.

The Rev. Jerome C. Kern was accused in a lawsuit of “sexual battery” involving an Edina boy from 1972 to 1976. Kern had been transferred to our Our Lady of Grace Church in Edina in 1969, after parents at his St. Paul church informed the archdiocese that he had sexually fondled their two school-age sons, attorneys said.

The lawsuit, in Ramsey County District Court, also names the archdiocese on civil charges related to its transfer of Kern to that church without addressing his alleged problems and without notifying families.

The plaintiff, now a man in his 50s, is one of at least 10 people abused by Kern that the law firm of Jeff Anderson & Associates is aware of, attorney Mike Finnegan said. The firm is preparing three more suits against Kern, he said.

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KENTUCKY
WDRB

By Courtney Godfrey

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A former Louisville priest accused of sexual abuse will stand trial.

After hearing from witnesses on both sides, Jefferson Circuit Judge Mitch Perry decided that James Schook is competent enough to stand trial.

Schook is charged with sexually abusing teenage boys in the 1970s. He currently faces seven charges of sodomy.

During a competency hearing Thursday, the defense attorney called Schook’s brothers to the stand. They both described him as forgetful, paranoid, and lethargic.

“He should be dead. According to the statistics with what he has, he should be dead,” said Jesse Schook.

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MINNESOTA
KAAL

By: Leslie Dyste

A lawsuit was filed Thursday on behalf of a man who said he was abused by the Rev. Jerome Kern while he was at Our Lady of Grace in Edina.

Attorneys Jeff Anderson and Mike Finnegan announced the lawsuit at a press conference Thursday in St. Paul, which names Kern and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis as defendants.

The victim, who is now in his 50s, alleges he was abused when he was between the ages of 12 and 16 years old. The suit says the Archdiocese let Kern continue working with kids even after there were reports of misconduct. The earliest reports were received in 1969, and Kern remained in the ministry until 2002, according to the attorneys.

The victim was not named, but another man who claims he was also sexually abused by Kern spoke out about abuse Thursday.

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MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press

[lawsuit and documents]

By Emily Gurnon
egurnon@pioneerpress.com
POSTED: 11/07/2013 12:01:00 AM CST | UPDATED: 109 MIN. AGO

A priest who worked in St. Paul and Forest Lake parishes was sued Thursday by a man who alleges the priest sexually abused him after archdiocese officials covered up earlier reports of abuse.

The Rev. Jerome Kern, now 72, was serving as a priest at Our Lady of Grace in Edina when he “engaged in unpermitted sexual contact” for several years in the 1970s with the plaintiff, identified as Doe 26, the suit claims. The man, now in his 50s, was 12 to 16 years old at the time, he said.

Kern had come from an assignment at the Church of St. Mark in St. Paul — where reports of at least two abused children came to the archdiocese, said the suit, filed in Ramsey County District Court.

“Upon receiving complaints about Kern’s involvement with the two children, the archdiocese transferred Kern to Our Lady of Grace” in Edina, the lawsuit says.

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

By Nic Rigby
BBC News

Former residents of a Catholic orphanage who claim they suffered physical and sexual abuse have expressed anger at a police decision to end an inquiry into the allegations.

In May Bedfordshire Police said it had started an investigation into abuse at the St Francis Boys Home in Shefford in the 1950s and 1960s.

Police said they had ended the inquiry as there was no-one alive to prosecute.

Ex-resident Tony Walsh said he was “disgusted” at the development.

The BBC has talked to former residents of the home who allege they were physically and/or sexually abused at the orphanage, run by the Catholic diocese of Northampton.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

06 NOVEMBER 2013

THE high-ups in the Catholic Church must wonder betimes if the fairies tiptoed into Enda’s room on the night he was crowned Taoiseach and left a changeling in his place.

For instead of getting a head of government who set his face firmly towards a conservative agenda while paying unquestioning obeisance to the church, they were landed with a leader who delivered a landmark eloquent denouncement of the Vatican’s response to child sex abuse scandals – in his excoriating address to the Dail on the Cloyne Report in 2011 – and who oversaw the passage of abortion legislation through the Oireachtas this summer.

And if this wasn’t enough for the religious hierarchy, Enda Kenny’s Government has now announced that a referendum on same-sex marriage will take place sometime in 2015.

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

Posted by: Baird Helgeson Updated: November 7, 2013

A group of Catholics plan to hold a rally outside the Cathedral of St. Paul on Saturday to ask Archbishop John Nienstedt to step aside.

The Catholic Coalition for Church Reform is holding the event in the wake of mounting criticism of the way the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has handled a new wave of clergy sexual misconduct allegations.

“We can’t heal until the divisive figure is gone, and Archbishop Nienstedt is the divisive figure himself,” Paula Ruddy, party of Catholic Coalition for Church Reform. “Until then, we have no hope.”

The archbishop told the Star Tribune on Wednesday night he has no intention of stepping down and is taking numerous concrete steps to root out bad priests and restore faith and confidence in church leadership.

The Catholic group has rallied outside the Cathedral before, concerned about Nienstedt’s public statements and deep spending to block same-sex marriage. But members have never before called for him to step down.

Ruddy said the group tried to reach out to Nienstedt since 2009, believing that an open dialog would relieve their concerns. They have not been successful getting time with Nienstedt.

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KENTUCKY
WHAS

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) — James Schook, a Louisville Catholic Priest accused of sexually abusing two teenage boys in the ‘70s, was found competent to stand trial, on Nov. 7 and will go to trial on March 31 at 1 p.m.

Schook entered the courtroom using a walker, and kept his eyes closed for most of Thursday’s hearing.
A former member of Schook’s congregation, Helen Deines, testified she saw him without a walker at a Panera Bread on Sept. 27 of this year and was acting fine.

Deines teaches social work at Spalding on how to observe and diagnose patients.

Schook’s brothers testified that James Schook cannot take care of himself and he can’t make decisions. His brothers also say he needs constant care.

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KENTUCKY
Daily News

Posted: Thursday, November 7, 2013

Associated Press

A judge has ruled that a terminally ill Catholic priest accused of abusing two boys at a Louisville church in the 1970s is not too sick to stand trial on sodomy charges.

A state doctor called by prosecutors testified Thursday that she examined the Rev. James Schook in July and concluded that he can “rationally participate in his defense.”

Schook is suffering from skin cancer and other ailments and doctors have said the disease is terminal. He appeared in court Thursday but did not speak during the two-hour hearing.

Schook’s attorney, David Lambertus, said the priest’s health has steadily degraded since he was examined over the summer and relatives testified that Schook requires round-the-clock care.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Tribune-Review

By Brian Bowling

Published: Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013

A former pastor in Charleroi admitted in federal court Thursday that he viewed child pornography and traveled to Thailand to meet teen boys.

David Dzermejko, 65, of Braddock pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography.

The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh released a statement saying it had no knowledge of the criminal activity, and noted that Bishop David Zubik told priests and deacons in January that “viewing child pornography is a criminal act for which society will hear no excuse, accept no extenuating circumstances, or grant any mercy.”

U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer scheduled Dzermejko’s sentencing for March 20.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Bloch said Microsoft Corp. notified the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that a SkyDrive user by the name of Lord Winchester Cuthbert Thurston VII uploaded a nude image of a prepubescent child on Dec. 21.

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MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

Lawsuit alleges church officials knew priest abused children as early as 1969; kept him in ministry

[lawsuit and documents – Jeff Anderson and Associates]

by Laura Yuen, Minnesota Public Radio
November 7, 2013

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A new lawsuit alleges that top officials in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis allowed a priest to continue working with children despite reports that he sexually abused children as early as 1969.

The Rev. Jerome Kern was a “serial offender” who abused victims at three parishes over his 35 years in ministry, according to the lawsuit, filed by St. Paul attorney Jeff Anderson.

In a lawsuit filed Thursday morning against Kern and the archdiocese, Anderson’s client — a man in his 50s named in court records as “Doe 26” — alleges Kern sexually abused him in the 1970s when the alleged victim was 12 to 16 years old. Despite numerous reports to archdiocesan officials over the years, the Catholic church moved Kern from parish to parish rather than barring him from ministry, Anderson said.

“Promises were made to the moms and to the kids that something would be done and he would be removed,” Anderson said. “Instead, those promises were broken.”

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MASSACHUSETTS/MARYLAND
WGGB

BALTIMORE, Md. (WGGB) — A priest, who spent ten years serving at a Chicopee church, has been accused of sexual abuse in Maryland.

Archdiocese of Baltimore spokesperson Sean Caine says in a statement that a former student of Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore alleges that 69-year-old Father Michael Kolodziej abused him on several occasions “while Fr. Kolodziej wrestled him” from 1975 to 1979.

Caine adds that Kolodziej has held several positions at churches and Catholic schools along the east coast since his ordination in 1970, including serving at St. Stanislaus Basilica in Chicopee from 1991 to 2001.

Upon learning of the allegation, officials at Archbishop Curley High alerted authorities, Caine says, who adds that police have also been notified.

The school, The Order of Friars Minor Conventual, of which Kolodziej is a member, and the Archdiocese of Baltimore are cooperating in the investigation.

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MARYLAND
ABC 2

By: WMAR Staff

BALTIMORE – A priest and former Catholic school teacher has been suspended following allegations of abuse against a minor, the Archdiocese of Baltimore released Thursday.

Father Michael Kolodziej was accused of abusing a former student at Archbishop Curley High School. The 69-year-old priest taught at the high school between 1975 and 1979.

“A former student from this time period has alleged that he was abused on several occasions while Fr. Kolodziej wrestled him,” the release from the Archdiocese states. “Archbishop Curley High School reported the allegation immediately to authorities, and the police were promptly informed; the School, the Order, and the Archdiocese, which owns Archbishop Curley High School, are cooperating fully with authorities.”

Kolodziej was suspended from all public ministry. Officials in the Catholic community are unaware of any further allegations against Kolodziej.

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MARYLAND
WBAL

Thursday, November 07, 2013

Robert Lang and Associated Press

Police are investigating an allegation that a Roman Catholic priest sexually abused a student while he was teaching at Baltimore’s Archbishop Curley High School in the 1970s.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore says it’s cooperating with the investigation of the Rev. Michael Kolodziej , a Franciscan Friar who taught at Curley from 1975 to 1979. Kolodziej is 69 years old and most recently served as vicar of a parish in Jonesboro, Ga. He has been suspended from public ministry.

The archdiocese said in a statement Thursday that a former student has alleged that Kolodziej abused him on several occasions while they were wrestling.

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UNITED STATES
Nonprofit Quarterly

WRITTEN BY RICK COHEN
CREATED ON THURSDAY, 07 NOVEMBER 2013

A commentary by Christa Brown, a self-identified survivor of Baptist clergy sexual abuse, addresses how churches should deal with sex abuse allegations, but the lessons that extend much beyond both the issue of sexual abuse and the institution of churches.

Brown’s commentary is in response to a statement by Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary president Paige Patterson, who has been teaching Baptist seminaries that churches should solve their own issues internally and not turn to or open up to “the world of unbelief.” It’s clear in Brown’s quotes that Patterson is suggesting that persons who have been “offended…misused and abused” within the Baptist church should be keeping the information within the church and not talking to the courts, the press, or the government.

“This insular sort of anti-outsider stance is dreadfully dangerous,” Brown writes. “Yet, for decades, it has been a common Baptist teaching, and tragically, it is now being inculcated into still another generation of Baptist pastors.” She argues that “outsiders are essential to any organizational system of accountability. They bring objectivity and detachment, and these ingredients are critical for the effectiveness and credibility of an accountability system. Without outsiders, you get cover-ups and cronyism.”

Because of the likelihood that churches typically accept an accused pastor’s word in allegations of clergy sexual abuse, Christa argues, “not only should they go to outsiders, but they must go to outsiders.” Beyond turning to the law, which actually requires the reporting of sexual abuse, she points out that most other religions have clergy accountability systems, but the Southern Baptists apparently don’t. “If a Southern Baptist pastor isn’t literally sitting in prison,” Christa charges, “he can probably find a pulpit to stand in. The denomination has no alternative system for stopping him.”

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

Thomas Reese | Nov. 7, 2013 NCR Today

Fall bishops’ meeting 2013

When the U.S. bishops meet Nov. 11-14 in Baltimore, people expect them to discuss the pastoral priorities facing the church in the United States. Instead, they are dealing with minor liturgical translations, a statement on pornography, and political conflicts over contraception and gay marriage. It is as if they have not heard anything Pope Francis said in the last eight months.

If Pope Francis dropped in on their meeting, what would he say to them? I doubt he would waste much time talking about their agenda. Instead, he would challenge them, as he did the Latin American bishops when he talked to them in Brazil.

In his July 27 address to the Brazilian bishops and his address the next day to the episcopal council of CELAM, Pope Francis set forth his ecclesiology, his pastoral priorities for the church. In his address to the Brazilian bishops, he spoke of the church as a reconciler that restores what was broken and unites what was divided. He also spoke of a church of the heart that presents the beauty of God in a way that attracts and entices. He also called for the church to use simple language and avoid “an intellectualism foreign to our people.”

Francis then presented practical challenges for the Brazilian (and U.S.) bishops that follow from this ecclesiology:

• “Unless we train ministers capable of warming people’s hearts, of walking with them in the night, of dialoguing with their hopes and disappointments, of mending their brokenness, what hope can we have for our present and future journey?”

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Sometimes, I find hope in odd places, like the “international” of yesterday’s New York Times.

On page one, there was a story about the hundreds of paintings that were stolen by Nazis and finally recovered decades later.

Inside, there was a story about records relating to Argentina’s “Dirty War.” Government officials have found a “trove of secret documents” that “provide rare insight” into “human rights abuses” that took place under Argentina’s dictatorship from 1976 – 1983.

Given the extent of the harm and wrongdoing in both cases, it would be easy to read them and feel depressed about how often and how severely authority figures abuse their authority.

But somehow, my “take away” is more hopeful. Both stories reminded me of Martin Luther King quotes:

“No lie lives forever.”

“The moral arc of the universe is long but it bends towards justice.”

Both stories remind me that while evil often wins in the short term, good often prevails in the long term.

Church officials continue to win skirmishes. They get child sex abuse cases tossed out on technicalities. They deceive citizens and congregants, calling heinous child sex crimes “boundary issues” and “suspected misdeeds.” They persuade themselves and their hand-picked lay panels that abuse isn’t really abuse. They “explain away” their deliberate complicity, calling it “missteps” and “errors.” They keep sex offenders on the job, claiming that the “restrictions” they allegedly put on cunning criminals can somehow stop them from acting on their deeply-rooted and overwhelming compulsion to sexually violate others.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, Nov. 7, 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 are grateful that Springfield Catholic officials are disclosing credible child sex abuse allegations against Fr. Michael Kolodziej who belongs to a religious order called the Franciscans and who worked in Chicopee.

Far too often, bishops let religious order clerics into their dioceses but suddenly pretend they have no responsibility for them when they assault kids.

We are disappointed, however, that Bishop Timothy McDonnell is apparently having a notice about Fr. Kolodziej read at only one parish. Child molesting clerics don’t spend 100% of their time at their parish assignment. And they don’t just molest kids at the church where they happen to be working.

We strongly suspect that Fr. Kolodziej spent at least some time at three or four Springfield area parishes. We believe the notice should be read at churches throughout the diocese and posted in their bulletins.

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POLAND
The News

Poland’s attorney general has received investigation files concerning two Polish clerics accused of child abuse in the Dominican Republic.

“A cursory look at them has confirmed that they will be of value in the case, as we had hoped,” said Maciej Kujawski, spokesman for the attorney general.

The 650 documents have been passed on to the district prosecutor’s office in Warsaw, but the office has declined to reveal whether any extradition request has been made.

“All the documents are in Spanish, and we cannot refer to their contents until the translation has been carried out,” said Przemyslaw Nowak, spokesman for the office.

At present, Poland has no extradition agreement with the Caribbean republic.

Father Wojciech Gil, who in recent months has been staying with family in a village near Krakow, stands accused of sexually abusing at least seven boys while he headed a parish in the highland town of Juncalito.

Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, former Vatican nuncio in the Dominican Republic, faces similar accusations, although his current whereabouts are unknown.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

November 7, 2013

By Rich Lord / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

After 10 years of downloading Internet pornography and periodic trips to Thailand to meet teenage boys, retired priest David F. Dzermejko faces a potential three to four years in prison following his guilty plea today.

Mr. Dzermejko, 65, now of Braddock, was formerly the pastor of Mary, Mother of the Church in Charleroi. He pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography.

In January 2013, he was living in an apartment provided by the Diocese of Pittsburgh near Bishop Canevin High School. A detective with the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office got a tip from Microsoft Corp. that someone at that address, who used the online moniker “Lord Winchester Cuthberg Thurston VII” and an email address that included “DAWizard2” had uploaded an image of a naked, pre-pubescent child, according to assistant U.S. attorney Carolyn Bloch.

Agents assigned to the Crimes Against Children Task Force searched the apartment and Mr. Dzermejko admitted to looking at child pornography on the Internet for a decade, Ms. Bloch said. He also told agents that he had traveled “to Thailand on numerous occasions during which he would meet with teenage boys,” said the prosecutor, adding that he kept in touch with some of them through email.

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CONNECTICUT
Washington Post

Conn. college, others face more sex abuse lawsuits involving founder of Haiti school

By Associated Press, Updated: Thursday, November 7

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Fairfield University in Connecticut and others that supported a charity designed to help feed and educate boys in Haiti are facing additional lawsuits alleging children were sexually abused by a school founder.

The 21 new federal lawsuits, filed Thursday in Connecticut, allege the defendants, who also include the Society of Jesus of New England and others, were negligent in their hiring and supervision of Douglas Perlitz. The suits seek $20 million in damages for each victim.

The university and others reached a $12 million settlement in July with children sexually abused by Perlitz. He was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison for sexually abusing boys who attended Project Pierre Toussaint School in Cap-Haitien.

Stanley Twardy Jr., an attorney for Fairfield University, declined to comment. A message left with a Jesuit spokeswoman was not immediately returned.

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NEW YORK
Daily Voice

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Amanda Iles, a former teacher at Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, has been charged with rape of a 14-year-old boy while she was an employee at the school.

Between June 11 and July 14, 2013, Iles allegedly engaged in sexual encounters with the boy in Eastchester, according to a Westchester District Attorney release.

Iles reportedly knew the boy was a student at the school. The boy’s parents became aware of the encounters and contacted Yonkers police.

“As a teacher, this defendant was in a position of trust and authority,” District Attorney Janet DiFiore said in the statement. “In becoming involved with a student incapable of consent, she abused that privilege.”

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NEW YORK
Daily Voice

by Eric Gendron

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains said in a statement on Wednesday that the alleged improper relationship between Amanda Iles and a 14-year-old student happened after Iles resigned her position.

“We are deeply concerned with matters involving the well-being of our students who are our top priority,” spokesman Geoff Thompson said in the statement. “Stepinac has and will continue to fully cooperate with any investigation into this matter.”

Thompson reiterated that the investigation of the relationship is looking into dates after the last day of school at Stepinac.

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NEW YORK
PIX 11

A former teacher at a Westchester Catholic high school is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old student.

Amanda Iles, 27, was a teacher at Archbishop Stepinac High School, an all-boys school in White Plains.

According to authorities, the boy’s parents discovered he was having an inappropriate relationship with Illes and contacted Yonkers police. Illes and the boy allegedly had several sexual encounters between June 11 and July 14 of 2013.

Illes moved back to California recently but returned to New York to surrender to Eastchester police Wednesday morning.

“As a teacher, this defendant was in a position of trust and authority. In becoming involved with a student incapable of consent, she abused that privilege. Multi-jurisdictional detective work by police quickly led to the identification and arrest of the defendant,” said District Attorney Janet DiFiore in a statement.

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NEW YORK
CBS New York

WESTCHESTER, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) – A former teacher at a Catholic school in White Plains is under arrest for allegedly having sex with a teenage student, prosecutors said.

Between June 11 and July 14, prosecutors said Amanda Iles, 27, engaged in sexual encounters with a boy who was then 14. The boy was a student at Archbishop Stepinac High School where Iles taught religion, prosecutors said.

The victim’s parents became aware of the alleged encounters and contacted police.

Iles has been living in California, but returned and surrendered to authorities in Eastchester, 1010 WINS reported.

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NEW YORK
WABC

WHITE PLAINS (WABC) — A former high school religious teacher in Westchester County is accused of raping a teenage boy.

Amanda Iles is charged with two counts of rape.

Police say she had sex with a 14-year-old student over the summer.

At the time, she was a teacher in the religion department at Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains.

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NEW YORK
Digital Journal

By Brett Wilkins
Nov 7, 2013

White Plains – A former teacher at a private Catholic boys’ high school in suburban New York accused of raping a 14-year-old student has turned herself in to authorities.

NBC New York reports 27-year-old Amanda Iles, formerly a teacher in the religion department at Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, surrendered to police on Wednesday morning after returning to New York from California.

Lohud.com reports Iles was arraigned on two counts of second-degree rape for incidents investigators say occurred at her Eastchester home following the end of the last school year in June. The boy’s parents notified police after learning of the alleged illicit sexual relationship.

Assistant District Attorney Frank Luis said investigators have photo and video evidence of the illicit affair. Police said the evidence shows the couple engaged in sexual activity.

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NEW YORK
Gothamist

A woman who taught at an all-boys Catholic high school in Yonkers surrendered to the police yesterday after allegedly raping a teen student. Amanda Iles, 27, had moved to California but returned to New York to face rape charges.

Iles is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old student between June 11 and July 14 of this year. She resigned from her job in the religious studies department at Archbishop Stepinac High School before the alleged rape occurred. According to the Ossining Daily Voice, “Iles reportedly knew the boy was a student at the school. The boy’s parents became aware of the encounters and contacted Yonkers police.” The encounters allegedly took place in Eastchester.

Westchester DA Janet DiFiore said, “As a teacher, this defendant was in a position of trust and authority. In becoming involved with a student incapable of consent, she abused that privilege.”

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NEW YORK
News 12

[with video]

WHITE PLAINS – A former religion teacher at an all-boys Catholic school in White Plains has been accused of raping a 14-year-old boy.

Amanda Iles, who once taught at Stepinac High School, allegedly had sex with the Yonkers boy between June and July of this year. Investigators say she and the teen had several encounters at her home in Eastchester.

The boy’s parents allegedly learned of the incidents through cellphone video of their son’s visits. Iles tutored him twice a week after school.

Iles was employed by the school for only a year before resigning and moving to California. News 12 has learned that the student is no longer enrolled at the school.

School officials released a statement, saying they “are deeply concerned with matters involving the well-being of our students, who are our top priority.”

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MINNESOTA
Jeff Anderson and Associates

Alan Michaud, another Kern survivor, will speak publicly about reporting Kern to Fr. Kevin McDonough and Archdiocesan Officials in the early 1990s

Summons and Complaint
Father Jerome Kern Timeline
Heutmakers to Your Excellency
Memo from O’Connell 6-15-1987
O’Connell to Jemez Springs 6-17-1987
Memo from Kenney to O’Connell 11-17-1987
O’Connell to Gary Schoener 11-30-1987
Kern to Families 3-28-1988
Memo from Roach to Carlson, Ham, O’Connell, McDonough 2-23-1989

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MINNESITA
Star Tribune

[the lawsuit]

Article by: JEAN HOPFENSPERGER and TONY KENNEDY , Star Tribune staff writers
Updated: November 7, 2013

A Catholic priest who was sued more than a decade ago for alleged sexual abuse of a child was sued again Thursday on behalf of another victim for abuse that allegedly took place after the priest was moved to an Edina parish in the mid-1970s.

The lawsuit in Ramsey County District Court against the Rev. Jerome C. Kern also names the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis on civil charges related to placing Kern around children in parish settings. The suit alleges that the archdiocese moved the priest to Our Lady of Grace Church in Edina in the early 1970s after parents of two young teenage boys at St. Mark’s Church in St. Paul complained to archdiocese officials that Kern molested the boys during a swimming outing at Lake Nokomis in the summer of 1969.

The lawsuit said that Kern later sexually abused a boy at Our Lady of Grace from 1972 through 1976, when the child was 12 to 16 years old, according to the lawsuit. Jeff Anderson and Mike Finnegan, the St. Paul attorneys who filed Thursday’s lawsuit, said the victim, now in his 50s, approached them recently about his experience in the wake of media coverage of priest sexual misconduct and reported coverups by the archdiocese.

The Kern lawsuit is at least the 19th filed against Minnesota Catholic clergy and leaders since a new state law took effect in late May. The law lifted the statute of limitations for lawsuits claiming clergy sexual abuse of children and it provides a three-year window for litigation of previously barred claims.

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ITALY
The Guardian (UK)

Tom Kington in Rome

The Guardian, Thursday 7 November 2013
The holy reputation of an Italian religious order that has nursed the sick since 1582 has taken a body blow after its leader was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and corruption.

Father Renato Salvatore, head of the Camillians, which offers medical care in 30 countries, is accused of hiring corrupt policemen to take two rival priests into custody on trumped-up accusations to stop them voting against his re-election.

Bearing red crosses on their cassocks, Camillians have tended to victims of plagues and wars through the centuries, inspired by their founder, Saint Camillus, an Italian soldier turned priest who described a hospital as “a house of God, a garden where the voices of the sick were music from heaven”.

The order also manages hospitals, and investigators believe Salvatore’s desire to control lucrative construction contracts, including at one hospital in Casoria, near Naples, pushed him to try to fix his re-election in May.

Working with an accountant, Paolo Oliviero, it is alleged, Salvatore convinced two tax police officers to haul in two priests, Rosario Messina and Antonio Puca, for questioning about property deals on the day of ballot, seizing their mobile phones to prevent them from alerting the order.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
UTV

A Catholic priest who was jailed for sexually abusing three young girls more than 40 years ago is to continue his fight to clear his name at the UK’s highest court.

In 2010, Father Eugene Lewis was handed a four-year jail sentence following his abuse convictions.

He was freed last year, however, after partially winning his appeal and having the jail term reduced to two years and nine months.

The 78-year-old has already successfully appealed three of the 11 indecent assault charges he was convicted of.

On Thursday, senior judges in Belfast refused to endorse his application to challenge the remaining convictions at the Supreme Court.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
BBC News

A Catholic priest jailed for sexually abusing young girls more than 40 years ago is to take his fight to clear his name to the UK’s highest court.

Fr Eugene Lewis has already successfully appealed three of 11 indecent assault charges he was found guilty of committing.

Senior judges in Belfast have denied his application to go before the Supreme Court on the remaining counts.

But his lawyers confirmed he will now make a direct petition for a hearing.

They argue a point of law of general public importance has been established.

In 2010 the 78-year-old priest was sentenced to four years in prison for molesting three girls.

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BALTIMORE (MD)
Fox 45

Updated: Thursday, November 7 2013

A priest at the Archdiocese of Baltimore and former High School teacher has been accused of sexual abuse of a minor. Father Kolodziej, 69, has been suspended from all public ministry and the Archbishop has withdrawn Fr. Kolodziej’s faculties to function as a priest in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Kolodziej was a teacher at Archbishop Curley High School from 1975-79.

A former student from this time period has alleged that he was abused on several occasions while Kolodziej wrestled him. The allegations were reported to authorities by Archbishop Curley High School.

“The Archdiocese of Baltimore, the Order, and Archbishop Curley High School are unaware of any other allegations of misconduct against Fr. Kolodziej during his time at Archbishop Curley High School,” The Archdiocese of Baltimore said in a statement released on Thursday.

“Anyone who has any knowledge of child sexual abuse is urged to come forward, and to report it immediately to the police. If clergy or other Church personnel are suspected of committing the abuse, please also call the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Office of Child and Youth Protection at 410-547-5348.”

After serving at Archbishop Curley High School, Kolodziej served as teacher and assistant principal at St. Francis High School in Athol Springs, NY (1979-82), principal at Cardinal O’Hara High School in Tonawanda, NY (1982-88), pastor at Holy Trinity Parish in Lawrence, MA (1988-91), rector at St. Stanislaus Basilica in Chicopee, MA (1991-2001), Minister Provincial of the Order in Ellicott City, MD (2001-2010), and parochial vicar at St. Philip Benizi Parish in Jonesboro, GA from 2010 until his recent suspension.

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MASSACHUSETTS
iBerkshires

12:33PM / Thursday, November 07, 2013

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield has released the following statement regarding allegations of sexual abuse by the Rev. Michael Kolodziej, who was assigned to St. Stanislaus Basilica in Chicopee between 1991 and 2001. The diocese is urging anyone with knowledge of sexual abuse of a minor by any member of the clergy or other church personnel to contact Patricia McManamy, LSW, victim assistance coordinator for the Diocese of Springfield at 1-800-842-9055.

Statement Regarding Father Michael Kolodziej

The Archdiocese of Baltimore, the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, and Archbishop Curley High School have received an allegation of the sexual abuse of a minor by Father Michael Kolodziej (kuh-low-jay), OFM Conv. Kolodziej is a member and former Minister Provincial of the Order, which has staffed Archbishop Curley High School since its founding.

Kolodziej, age 69, was a teacher at Archbishop Curley High School from 1975-79. A former student from this time period has alleged that he was abused on several occasions while Kolodziej wrestled him. Archbishop Curley High School reported the allegation immediately to authorities, and the police were promptly informed; the School, the Order, and the Archdiocese, which owns Archbishop Curley High School, are cooperating fully with authorities. The Order has suspended Kolodziej from all public ministry and the Archbishop has withdrawn Kolodziej’s faculties to function as a priest in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore, the Order, and Archbishop Curley High School are unaware of any other allegations of misconduct against Kolodziej during his time at Archbishop Curley High School.

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MARYLAND
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore

November 07, 2013

The Archdiocese of Baltimore, the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, and Archbishop Curley High School have received an allegation of the sexual abuse of a minor by Fr. Michael Kolodziej (kuh-low-jay), OFM Conv. Father Kolodziej is a member and former Minister Provincial of the Order, which has staffed Archbishop Curley High School since its founding.

Father Kolodziej, age 69, was a teacher at Archbishop Curley High School from 1975-79. A former student from this time period has alleged that he was abused on several occasions while Fr. Kolodziej wrestled him. Archbishop Curley High School reported the allegation immediately to authorities, and the police were promptly informed; the School, the Order, and the Archdiocese, which owns Archbishop Curley High School, are cooperating fully with authorities. The Order has suspended Fr. Kolodziej from all public ministry and the Archbishop has withdrawn Fr. Kolodziej’s faculties to function as a priest in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore, the Order, and Archbishop Curley High School are unaware of any other allegations of misconduct against Fr. Kolodziej during his time at Archbishop Curley High School.

Fr. Kolodziej was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Buffalo in 1970 and served in Buffalo as a hospital chaplain (1970), associate pastor and school director at St. Mary of Sorrows Church (1970-71), and teacher at Bishop Turner High School and Villa Maria College (1971-74) until he entered the Franciscan Order in 1974. After serving at Archbishop Curley High School, Fr. Kolodziej served as teacher and assistant principal at St. Francis High School in Athol Springs, NY (1979-82), principal at Cardinal O’Hara High School in Tonawanda, NY (1982-88), pastor at Holy Trinity Parish in Lawrence, MA (1988-91), rector at St. Stanislaus Basilica in Chicopee, MA (1991-2001), Minister Provincial of the Order in Ellicott City, MD (2001-2010), and parochial vicar at St. Philip Benizi Parish in Jonesboro, GA from 2010 until his recent suspension.

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MASSACHUSETTS
iobserve

Staff report

SPRINGFIELD – The Archdiocese of Baltimore announced today that Conventual Franciscan Father Michael Kolodziej, who served as rector of St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Basilica in Chicopee from 1991 to 2001, has been accused of sexually abusing a student at Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore in the 1970s.

Because Father Kolodziej was assigned to a local parish, the Diocese of Springfield also is publishing the notice below and urging anyone with knowledge of sexual abuse of a minor by any member of the clergy or other church personnel to contact Patricia McManamy, victim assistance coordinator for the Springfield Diocese, at 1-800-842-9055.

A copy of the notification also will be distributed at all Masses this weekend at St. Stanislaus Basilica.

The full text of the official announcement follows:

“The Archdiocese of Baltimore, the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, and Archbishop Curley High School have received an allegation of the sexual abuse of a minor by Fr. Michael Kolodziej (kuh-low-jay), OFM Conv. Father Kolodziej is a member and former Minister Provincial of the Order, which has staffed Archbishop Curley High School since its founding.

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MASSACHUSETTS
The Republican

By Anne-Gerard Flynn, The Republican
on November 07, 2013

The following information has been released by Mark Dupont, communications director of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, about a sexual abuse allegation against the Rev. Michael Kolodziej, who spent 10 years at St. Stanislaus Parish in Chicopee. Kolodziej spent a year at St. Stanislaus as pastor, and principal of its kndergarten-to-eighth-grade school, prior to his appointment as provincial of the St. Anthony of Padua Province, in 2001

Before being stationed at St. Stanislaus, Kolodziej spent three years as a pastor of Holy Trinity Church in Lawrence. He also served as a teacher and principal in eastern New York state.

He was ordained in Buffalo, N.Y.

“Because Fr. Michael Kolodziej was assigned to St. Stanislaus Basilica in Chicopee between 1991 and 2001, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, is also publishing the notice below, and urging anyone with knowledge of sexual abuse of a minor by any member of the clergy or other Church personnel to contact Patricia McManamy, license social worker and victim assistance coordinator for the Diocese of Springfield at (1-800) 842-9055.

A copy of this notification will also be distributed at all Masses this weekend at St. Stanislaus Basilica.”

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MASSACHUSETTS
WWLP

By Anthony Fay
Updated: Thursday, November 7, 2013

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – The Diocese of Springfield is alerting parishioners of a Chicopee church that a priest once stationed there has been accused of sexually abusing a minor back in the 1970’s.

Mark Dupont, spokesperson for the Diocese of Springfield notified 22News that an accusation of abuse has been made in Maryland against Franciscan Fr. Michael Kolodziej. The priest had been stationed at St. Stanislaus Basilica in Chicopee from 1991 to 2001.

According to a news release from the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Kolodziej is accused of abusing a student while he was a teacher at Archbishop Curley High School, an all-boys Franciscan school in Baltimore. The student says that the abuse happened on several occasions between 1975 and 1979 when Kolodziej would wrestle with him.

In response to the allegation, the Franciscan Order has suspended Kolodziej from all public duties as a priest.

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PENNSYLVANIA
The Republic

By JOE MANDAK Associated Press
November 07, 2013 – 12:35 pm EST

PITTSBURGH — A Roman Catholic priest removed from public ministry in 2009 after an allegation of past child sex abuse pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal charge of possessing child pornography, and a diocesan official said the clergyman could be removed from the priesthood entirely or be assigned to a life of “prayer and penance” by the Vatican.

The Rev. David Dzermejko, 65, of Braddock, faces a likely term of more than three years in federal prison when he is sentenced March 20, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Bloch. The priest and his attorney declined to comment after Thursday’s hearing.

Dzermejko was the longtime pastor of Mary, Mother of the Church parish in Charleroi when he was removed from active ministry. He never was criminally charged in the alleged abuse, which dated to the 1980s and involved another parish. The allegations surfaced in 2009 when a couple accused Dzermejko of molesting their son, who had since died. Another man came forward to accuse the priest after seeing news reports about the couple’s claims.

Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik determined the allegations were sufficient to remove Dzermejko from priestly duties after a diocesan review board deemed them “credible.”

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PENNSYLVANIA
WTAE

PITTSBURGH —A Pittsburgh-area Roman Catholic priest removed from public ministry in 2009 after an allegation of past child sex abuse later deemed “credible” by his bishop has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of possessing child pornography.

The Rev. David Dzermejko once posted “shame” signs on a church building after it was vandalized. Now, he faces federal charges for what the bishop calls “heinous” allegations.

Prosecutors say The Rev. David Dzermejko faces a likely term of more than three years in federal prison when he is sentenced March 20. He and his attorney declined comment Thursday.

The 64-year-old priest now lives in Braddock but was pastor of Mary, Mother of the Church parish in Charleroi when he was removed four years ago.

Dzermejko was never criminally charged in the alleged abuse, which dated to the 1980s and involved another parish.

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IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

07 NOVEMBER 2013

Some survivors of the Magdalene laundries will be paid tax free compensation before Christmas, it has been revealed.

Lump sums will be paid over the next four to six weeks to some of the 205 women who have agreed to a payment ranging from 11,500 euro to 100,000 euro.

The maximum one-off payment will be 50,000 euro with any remaining money to be paid in weekly instalments over a year.

But the Magdalene Survivors Together group, which includes about 100 women, claimed their concerns over the low level of some lump sums and weekly instalments are not being taken on board.

“The women aren’t being listened to, the Government have let them down,” he said.

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