ABUSE TRACKER

NEW JERSEY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday November 5, 2013

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

Today and tomorrow, four cardinals, 40 bishops, and 250 priests will wine, dine and celebrate the promotion of one of their own as the newest monarch of the Newark Catholic Archdiocese.

And when it’s over, the on-going crisis of clergy child sex crimes being covered up by Newark Catholic officials will remain unaddressed.

It’s a disservice to kids to suggest otherwise. It hurts kids when adults deceive themselves into believing that any one man can or will “fix” this continuing crisis.

We are all desperate to see kids protected, predators exposed, enablers punished and cover ups uncovered in the Catholic church. But we cannot, in our desperation, cling to illusions that make adults feel better but leave children vulnerable.

Make no mistake about it: Archbishop John Myers is still in charge. Nothing has changed. When he retires, nothing will change. This isn’t about “bad apples.” It’s about a very, very corrupt barrel, led by old, secretive, rigid, male monarchs who are accustomed to being treated like royalty and often ignoring or breaking secular laws about children’s safety.

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.

CYPRUS
Greek Reporter

By Nikoleta Kalmouki on November 5, 2013

The District Court of Nicosia, passed a guilty verdict to a priest in Cyprus accused of abusing a minor girl. The family of the priest was the girl’s foster family.

The priest was accused for indecent assault, between 1995 and 2000, while the victim decided to speak after years, at the instigation of a psychologist who also testified in court. The psychologist explained that children of vulnerable ages are not able to understand what constitutes as abuse.

The court ordered the detention of the priest in the central prison until his sentencing. According to the newspaper “Politis,” the court having heard the oration of the defence counsel, will announce the priest’s sentence on Monday.

The welfare services office, who placed the girl in the family wasn’t worried as they hadn’t received any complaints. The girl had only once reported maltreatment by the priest’s wife, but they didn’t believe her.

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AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Chile Sexual Abuse

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is calling on former residents of the North Coast Children’s Home in Lismore NSW, who suffered child sexual abuse, to come forward.

Royal Commission CEO Janette Dines said the Commission is particularly interested in talking to anyone who made a claim to the Grafton Anglican Church.

“The Royal Commission is in the process of gathering information relevant to this matter. People’s experiences could help inform our next public hearing commencing on 18 November.

“We want to talk to anyone who was sexually abused at the North Coast Children’s Home and who made a claim,” Ms Dines said.

“We know that many children suffered terrible sexual abuse at the North Coast Children’s Home over a very long period of time, from the 1940s–1980s and that many victims are still suffering the long lasting effects of child sexual abuse.

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

AUSTRALIA
Broken Rites

By a Broken Rites Australia researcher (article updated 4 November 2013)

A Catholic religious Brother is to face a committal hearing in a Queensland magistrates court, charged with sexual assault.

Police arrested the Brother in May 2013, placing him on bail pending the court proceedings. The case came up for a brief mention in court on 3 June 2013, and this was reported in the Cairns Post daily newspaper.

The case relates to one alleged incident. The alleged victim was not a student or a child.

The Brother, who occupies a senior position in a Catholic school in regional Queensland, indicated in court through his lawyer that he intends to contest the allegation.

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 has researched a Sydney Catholic priest, Father Finian Egan, who has has been found guilty on one charge of rape and seven charges of indecent assault, committed against four young girls during a period of almost three decades.

On Monday 4 November 2013, a jury returned these Guilty verdicts in Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court. He was found not guilty on one other charge of indecent assault.

Finian James Egan worked as a priest at Leichhardt and Carlingford (suburbs in Sydney), and at The Entrance (north of Sydney on the Central Coast).

The court was told that he targeted girls aged between 10 and 17 in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

Egan, aged 78 in 2013, pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The court was told that Egan is still officially a priest, although (now in his late seventies) he has retired from being in charge of a parish.

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CANADA
Sylvia’s Site

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Sylvia

The verdict for the Paul Leroux sex abuse trial will be delivered tomorrow in Battleford, Saskatchewan. I don’t have the start time, but it will probably be around 10 am. It wouldn;t hurt to be there at 09:30 am, just in case…

Let’s pray for the complainants, and pray that justice is done.

I encourage anyone who is within driving distance to try to get there. The complainants need your support.

Please send along a link to any media coverage of the outcome, or, if you do attend please post a comment or send me an email to let us know what happens.

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NEW JERSEY
NJTV

This week on NJ Capitol Report with Steve Adubato and Rafael Pi Roman: Mark Crawford, NJ State Director, SNAP; Thomas A. Bracken, President & CEO, New Jersey Chamber of Commerce; Joseph F. Scott, FACHE, President & CEO, Jersey City Medical Center; Chair, The Hospital Alliance of NJ

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NEW JERSEY
The Record

By ALFRED P. DOBLIN
RECORD EDITORIAL COLUMNIST

THERE IS a change coming in Newark, and it has nothing to do with Cory Booker’s departure for the U.S. Senate. On Tuesday, Bernard Hebda is officially welcomed to the Archdiocese of Newark as a coadjutor bishop. Archbishop John Myers will no longer be solo at the helm.

Myers is only 72, three years shy of mandatory retirement. When the announcement came in September that the Vatican had named a coadjutor archbishop, Myers said he had requested one. Maybe so, but as a longtime observer of bishops and their relations with Rome, the odds of the Vatican sending in a second-in-command three years before a bishop’s usual retirement for no reason other than a simple request for help are about as likely as Justin Bieber announcing he has a priestly vocation and is entering a seminary.

The Archdiocese of Newark is in need of a shepherd, not an autocrat. And Myers has been very good at the latter and not so hot at the former. The archdiocese may be on good financial footing; the cogs may be turning fine and dandy when it comes to processing money coming in and money going out. But when it comes to speaking to the people of his church, Myers has been less successful.

Today every Catholic bishop pays the price for what too many bishops failed for decades to do: stop pedophile priests from doing harm. Knee-jerk defenders of Catholicism contend that the media’s refusal to let this issue die is proof that most journalists are anti-Catholic.

Defending children is about as Catholic and Christian a thing as there is. The media doesn’t let the issue die because bishops can come and go, but the children who were scarred under their watch remain and someone has to shout to the heavens, “No more.”

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AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

PATRICK CARUANA AAP NOVEMBER 05, 2013

THE Catholic Church doesn’t want police allegations that it hindered investigations into child abuse included in a Victorian parliamentary committee’s report.

The report, which is due to be handed to parliament next week, will make findings and recommendations on institutional responses to child abuse.

Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Graham Ashton told the inquiry that the church had covered up offending and not reported a single case to police.

Church spokesman Father Shane Mackinlay says the church has some reservations about the inquiry as it had not been able to test the evidence.

“The allegations that were made were presented in very general terms and without evidence to support them,” he told AAP.

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AUSTRALIA
9 News

No amount of time or institutional muscle can match the power of the truth.

With the impending release of a Victorian parliamentary inquiry report, it appears the truth of institutional responses to child abuse is about to come out.

Abuse survivors have high hopes for the report’s findings, which come after an arduous 12 months of hearings around the state, involving often graphic and harrowing stories of sexual and physical abuse.

Judy Courtin, who is doing a PhD on sexual abuse and the Catholic Church, said the release of the report was hugely significant for victims.

“I think it will be a huge day for the victims and their families,” she said.

“They’ve opened up their hearts and souls to give evidence, which is always traumatic for them, and they will be hoping that there will be equal respect, if you like, coming back in the report.”

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NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

By Star-Ledger Editorial Board
on November 05, 2013

The Catholic Church has a troubling track record of tucking its problems out of sight. It’s common for priests accused of molesting children to be shuffled to new parishes, allowing church leaders to ignore them.

The latest example: The Star-Ledger’s Mark Mueller reported Sunday that a number of priests — including some stripped of robes and collars after the church found accusations of abuse to be credible — were sent to a retirement home in Rutherford, right next to two Catholic schools. That follows other reports of accused priests who chaperoned youth retreats or taught in parish schools, each under the supposed supervision of church hierarchy.

Those are the acts of an organization and leadership that believe they are immune from consequences.

Were it not for expired statutes of limitations — which often ran out before young victims could report their abusers to authorities or even understand the full consequences of those attacks — many of these men might have faced prison, not retirement. That escape hatch closed in 1996, when New Jersey eliminated the time limit for criminal charges.

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AUSTRALIA
J-Wire

November 5, 2013

A 49-yr-old man has appeared in Waverley Local Court charged with the indecent assault of two male children in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs in the 1980s.

Daniel Hayman was granted conditional bail with the matter being adjourned until November 20.

Rabbi Pinchus Feldman is the spiritual leader of the Sydney yeshiva Centre in Bondi which the two alleged victims attended. He has repeated his claims that he has no recollection of Hayman confessing his crimes in light of media claims that he did.

A report issued by NSW police stated: “Strike force detectives have arrested and charged a man over the alleged historical indecent assaults of two children in Sydney’s east.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

Businessman Daniel Hayman has been arrested and charged with the alleged abuse of two teenagers dating back to the 1980s. Members of the New South Wales Strike Force Bungo were tipped off by the advocate group Tzedek about Mr Hayman’s return to NSW. The group’s CEO Manny Waks spoke to PM.

Transcript

MARK COLVIN: New South Wales Police have charged a 49-year-old man over the alleged abuse of two teenage boys in Sydney’s tight-knit Chabad Yeshiva community.

The man in question is a successful businessman, Daniel Hayman. In the 1980s he was a volunteer at camps ran by the Yeshiva Centre in Bondi.

Later, he became a philanthropist and set up a separate synagogue. For years he’s been living overseas.

The advocacy group Tzedek tipped off police to Daniel Hayman being back in the country.

Tzedek’s Manny Waks spoke to Sarah Farnsworth.

SARAH FARNSWORTH: How did you know Daniel Hayman was back in the country?

MANNY WAKS: We were given that information by a contact, that he had come back to Sydney apparently for the funeral of his mother, and when we had that information, we conveyed that to the New South Wales Police.

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AUSTRALIA/UNITED STATES
JTA

November 5, 2013

SYDNEY, Australia (JTA) – An Australian-born man who resides in the United States was charged with two counts of indecent assault against two children at a Sydney Chabad center in the 1980s.

Daniel (Gug) Hayman, who now lives in Los Angeles, was back in Sydney for the funeral of his mother last week. The 49-year-old was arrested Monday for allegedly assaulting two boys, then aged 14 and 16, between 1985 and 1986. He is alleged to have preyed upon them while he was a volunteer for a Chabad-run camp.

Hayman, the first alleged child sex offender to be arrested from the Sydney Jewish community,
appeared in court Monday but the case was adjourned until Nov. 20. He was refused bail, according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Although Hayman was involved in the Yeshiva Center, the headquarters of Chabad in Sydney, he was never an employee, according to a Chabad spokesman.

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AUSTRALIA
The Age

November 5, 2013

Richard Baker, Nick McKenzie

Sydney detectives have charged a businessman with child sexual abuse offences at Bondi’s Jewish Yeshiva centre during the 1980s.

A 49-year-old man was arrested on Monday afternoon in the suburb of Queens Park in Sydney’s east and later charged with two counts of gross indecency against 14 and 16 year old males at the Jewish Centre in 1985 and 1986.

He has been refused bail and detectives want people with further information about the alleged 1980s offences to come forward.

Fairfax Media has confirmed the arrested man is Daniel Hayman, who has been residing in Los Angeles in recent years.

The arrest and charging of Hayman overnight is likely to put some of Australia’s most senior rabbinical figures under scrutiny over their failures to act on complaints from victims.

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AUSTRALIA
Failed Messiah

Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com

Police in Sydney, Australia have arrested and charged a 49-year-old businessman, Daniel “Gug” Hayman, with charges related to child sexual abuse allegedly carried out at a camp affiliated with Chabad’s Yeshiva Centre in Bondi, The Age reported.

The alleged abuse took place in 1985 and 1986. The two alleged male victims were 14- and 16-years-old at the time of the alleged abuse, which allegedly took place while Hayman was working as a senior counselor at a Chabad camp run by the Yeshiva Centre.

Hayman, who was approximately 21- to 22-years old at the time the alleged abuse took place, was charged with two counts of gross indecency and was refused bail.

The Age reports that Hayman’s arrest and charging is “likely to put some of Australia’s most senior rabbinical figures under scrutiny over their failures to act on complaints from victims. Despite complaints, Hayman was never reported to police and left Australia to live in Los Angles Jewish community, where leaders again acted to shield him.”

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AUSTRALIA
9 News

Advocates of victims of clergy abuse want laws changed to enable religious organisations like the Catholic Church to be sued and those who covered up crimes to be charged.

Churches have long been able to use technical defences to avoid being sued and advocates hope the Victorian parliamentary inquiry helps stop the practice.

Judy Courtin, who is conducting research into sexual assault and the Catholic Church, says there needs to be reforms within the Crimes Act to address the crime of concealment and cover up.

“If we are going to address one of the main elements of justice for victims, which is accountability of the hierarchy, that has to be addressed by making it easier to prosecute bishops and archbishops and other senior clergy,” she told AAP.

Ms Courtin says civil laws also need to be reformed.

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SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland

Colette Douglas Home
Columnist

Charlene Downes was 14 when she disappeared 10 years ago, presumed murdered.

In her short life she might have been sexually abused by up to 100 men. The ghastliness of Charlene’s life and potential death cannot be exaggerated. She was of school age; in fact she had been expelled from school. Over the years did her behaviour ring no alarm bells about abuse with her teachers? Did a school nurse see no signs of sexual activity? What about her GP?

How could this happen in 21st-century Britain? Not only is it possible; we have a list of victims over whom we can only weep. The question is: how we can stop the growing litany of those who are abused time and time again.

Keir Starmer thinks there is a way. The former director of public prosecutions in England and Wales believes professionals who fail to report suspected child sex abuse should be prosecuted. He proposes fines or short prison sentences as punishment. On Panorama last night, he pointed out that similar mandatory reporting laws worked well in America, Canada and Australia. The Westminster Government reacted by saying no such reform was needed south of the border. Why not? Why not in Scotland?

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

Article by: TONY KENNEDY , Star Tribune Updated: November 4, 2013

Church spent heavily to prevent expansion of time limit for lawsuits by childhood sexual abuse victims.

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis was at the forefront of extensive lobbying against efforts to expand the time limit for lawsuits by victims of childhood sexual abuse, according to a document obtained by the Star Tribune.

An internal accounting analysis prepared by the archdiocese shows that the lobbying association known as the Minnesota Religious Council received more than $800,000 from the Catholic Church during a seven-year period ending in the middle of 2008. A similar analysis was not available for subsequent years, but state lobbying records show the council spent more than $425,000 on lobbyists from 2006 through 2012.

Lobbying records also show the council doubled its lobbying force to six individuals on March 22, 2013, just weeks before the passage of the Child Victims Act. That law eliminated the statute of limitation for child sexual abuse cases going forward. It also created a three-year window for litigation of many previously barred claims in cases where churches, schools and other institutions failed to provide protection to children.

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AUSTRALIA
9 News

Support to stop the tragically high number of suicides among victims of clergy sexual abuse must be a key recommendation of a Victorian parliamentary inquiry, victims and advocates say.

Clergy abuse survivor Stephen Woods says the deaths are a indictment of the Catholic Church, with as many as 60 linked suicides in western Victoria.

He hopes the Victorian parliamentary inquiry will recommend providing funds for abuse survivors to pay for health bills, counselling, housing and living expenses.

“There are so many victims who are hurting and whose lives are still shattered from pedophilic activity, that society is going to have to support them for the rest of their lives – and that support needs to be adequate to stop the deaths,” he told AAP.

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AUSTRALIA
International Business Times

By Vittorio Hernandez | November 5, 2013

A jury at the Downing Centre District Court declared on Monday that 78-year-old Fr Finian Egan is guilty of seven counts of indecent assault and one count of rape which he committed over 30 years.

Fr Egan had been assigned as priest and youth worker in several Sydney dioceses and on the central coast.

Among his victims was a 10-year-old female student at the St Martha’s Institution for Disadvantaged Girls at Leichardt. The girl testified, quoted by The Sydney Morning Herald, “Father Egan pulled me onto his knee, he put his hands up my dress, pulled down my underwear and put his hands into my vagina … He had an erection.”

The incident happened at the sacristy of the church.

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IRELAND
Journal

AN IRISH CATHOLIC priest has been found guilty of the rape and indecent assault of three girls between 1961 and 1987 in Australia.

A jury in Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court yesterday found Finian Egan, 78, guilty of eight charges spanning almost three decades.

All of the girls were aged between 10 and 17 when the abuse took place, the court heard. Egan, who is now retired, had denied the allegations during the three-week trial.

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NEW JERSEY
Road to Recovery

Road to Recovery, Inc.
P.O. Box 279
Livingston, NJ 07039
roberthoatson@gmail.com
NOVEMBER 4, 2013

Will new Newark Archbishop be transparent about clergy sexual abuse?
Will new Newark Archbishop release information about pedophile priests?
Can victims of clergy sexual abuse be confident that new Archbishop will treat them fairly?

What: A demonstration calling on the new Archbishop of Newark, Bernard Hebda, to be
honest, transparent, and truthful regarding sexual abuse of children by personnel of the Archdiocese of Newark and to treat victims with the respect they deserve.

When: Tuesday, November 5, 2013 from 1:00 PM until 3:00 PM (before and after the “Mass of Welcome” for new Archbishop Bernard Hebda).

Where: On the sidewalk across from the headquarters of the Archdiocese of Newark, 171
Clifton Avenue, Newark, NJ

Who: Survivors of clergy sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Newark; the President of
Road to Recovery, a non-profit charity that assists victims of sexual abuse; supporters, and friends.

Why: For twelve years under the leadership of Archbishop John Myers, the Newark
Archdiocese has spiraled out of control relative to clergy sexual abuse. Archbishop Myers repeatedly has allowed credibly accused priests to remain in ministry, live in church facilities where children are often present, and not to be held accountable for their crimes against children. When he has gotten caught, he arrogantly blames everyone else for his blunders, including sexual abuse victims and the media. The new Archbishop of Newark, Bernard Hebda, has a herculean task ahead if he adopts the leadership and management style of Archbishop Myers. He will fail. He will succeed, more than likely, should he choose to operate with complete honesty, truthfulness, and transparency.

Bernard Hebda must come with a clean slate. He must be what Archbishop Myers is not:
open, honest, truthful, compassionate, and transparent. Archbishop Hebda needs to meet with survivors and listen to their stories. He needs to treat survivors and their advocates with respect. In general, the “air” of arrogance, so visible in the administration of Archbishop Myers, must be replaced with the “air” of compassion and mercy.

Contacts: Robert M. Hoatson, Road to Recovery, Inc. – 862-368-2800 (survivor of clergy sexual abuse)
Kevin Waldrip, survivor of sexual abuse at Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Newark, NJ – 862-202-1499
Fred Marigliano, survivor of sexual abuse at St. Bernard’s Parish, Plainfield, NJ –
732-421-0033

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CYPRUS
Cyprus Mail

A 58-YEAR-OLD priest who was found guilty of indecently assaulting his underage step-daughter will be sentenced by Nicosia District Court next week. The decision was made after the welfare services report on the incident was released on Monday.

Residents from Ergates vuillage gathered outside the courts on Monday to show their support for their priest.

In her police statement, the girl claimed that she had been indecently assaulted between 1993 and 2000 during which time she was considered a minor.

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AUSTRALIA
Irish Times

Padraig Collins

Mon, Nov 4, 2013

An Irish priest has been found guilty of child sex offences committed in New South Wales over a period of 26 years.

Father Finian Egan was convicted in the Australian District Court on seven counts of indecent assault and one count of rape between 1961 and 1987, while he worked as a priest at two parishes in Sydney and one on the state’s central coast. He was found not guilty on one count of indecent assault.

Egan (78), who worked as a priest and youth worker in several dioceses, was found guilty of repeatedly abusing girls aged 10 to 17.

One attack he was convicted of was the indecent assault of a 10-year-old girl at St Martha’s Institution For Disadvantaged Girls in the Sydney suburb of Leichhardt.

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UNITED STATES
U.S. Catholic

By Bryan Cones

The promotion of the current bishop of Toledo, Leonard Blair, to archbishop of Hartford, Connecticut is being treated as a sign that Pope Francis is not as serious as he seems to be about putting an end to careerism among bishops. Protests have come especially from the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, though notably Tablet journalist and Toledo native Robert Mickens has also described Blair’s appointment as “more of the same.” Blair is known most recently for his position as one of the episcopal visitors of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious.

While I think the “promotion” of any bishop from one diocese to another is a sign of the careerism embedded in the current process of episcopal appointments, I’m not sure that some of the critics really understand how this works (not counting Mickens, who surely does). Take SNAP’s Claudia Vercellotti: “There is no congruency between the vision that Pope Francis puts forward and his actions here in Toledo, Ohio,” she said according to Toledo Faith and Values, a community news service associated with Religion News Service. “Either Pope Francis is asleep at the wheel and has no idea who he’s promoted, or he is ambivalent. Either way, it’s dangerous.”

The fact is, Pope Francis probably indeed has no idea who he has promoted because he likely doesn’t know Blair at all. These kinds of appointments begin at the national level, go through the papal nuncio, and on to the Congregation of Bishops, which makes the final decision for all practical purposes, and then forwards its decision to the pope. He could, of course, make a change, but he’d have no data on which to make that kind of decision. There are just too many dioceses in the world for him to be that hands on. Mickens is right: It’s an old boys’ network, and as long as the current crop of old boys in the U.S. are still bishop, they will still heavily influence who gets appointed.

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VATICAN CITY
Irish Times

Paddy Agnew

Mon, Nov 4, 2013

The Holy See yesterday dismissed as “nonsense” weekend Irish media reports that Pope Francis might nominate two Irish women as cardinals.

Responding to reports in Irish and Irish-American media that Pope Francis might name both TCD ecumenics Prof Linda Hogan and former president Mary McAleese as cardinals at a future conclave, senior Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi said: “This is just nonsense . . . It is simply not a realistic possibility that Pope Francis will name women cardinals for the February consistory.

“Theologically and theoretically, it is possible,” he added. “Being a cardinal is one of those roles in the church for which, theoretically, you do not have to be ordained but to move from there to suggesting the pope will name women cardinals for the next consistory is not remotely realistic.”

Since his election last March, Pope Francis has often spoken of the need to reassess the role of women in the Catholic Church.

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VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

Joshua J. McElwee | Nov. 4, 2013 NCR Today

The Vatican’s chief spokesman said women could become cardinals in the Roman Catholic church, calling such a move “theologically and theoretically” possible, according to an Irish newspaper.
Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi, the director of the Holy See Press Office, made the comments to The Irish Times, a daily published in Dublin.

While the Times reports that the Vatican spokesperson called “nonsense” the idea that Pope Francis would name a cardinal soon, it also reports the priest was rather open about the possibility in the future.

“Theologically and theoretically, it is possible,” Lombardi said about a female cardinal, according to the Times.

“Being a cardinal is one of those roles in the church for which, theoretically, you do not have to be ordained but to move from there to suggesting the pope will name women cardinals for the next consistory is not remotely realistic.”

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UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Mail

By WILLS ROBINSON
PUBLISHED: 07:04 EST, 4 November 2013

A banking executive has resigned after his past as an abusive vicar who preyed on young boys was revealed.

Former vicar Stephen Brooks, who was jailed for carrying out 19 sex attacks in Swansea, South Wales, during the 1980s and 1990s, quit his job as a director at Santander after the truth about his abusive background came to light.

The 59-year-old preyed on young boys over a seven-year period while working as a clergyman at St Paul’s Church in Sketty and was given a four-year prison sentence in 1994.

Eight of his victims are said to have suffered mental problems and one 38-year-old is said to have attempted suicide and turned to alcohol as a result.

Santander told The Sun they were ‘shocked’ to learn of his criminal history and confirmed he had quit his role after taking ‘immediate steps’ to resolve the matter.

Brooks moved to London to get away from the people he had abused and rose to become regional director of education, healthcare and communities at the bank.

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MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press

By John Brewer
jbrewer@pioneerpress.com
POSTED: 11/04/2013

Two priests in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis have taken leaves of absence for “prior misconduct,” officials announced Sunday.

The instances of misconduct did not involve sexual abuse of minors, according to church officials, and did not involve members of any parish where the priests served. The church did not otherwise detail the misconduct.

The priests — Father David Barrett of the Church of St. Wenceslaus in New Prague and Father Paul Moudry of St. Margaret Mary in Golden Valley — took the leaves voluntarily, the church said.

Barrett, an assistant priest in New Prague since 2009, “has been under supervision by pastoral leadership and others at the Archdiocese,” according to a press release, “and has undergone counseling during his current and prior assignments.”

Moudry has served as priest in Golden Valley since 2001.

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MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

by Madeleine Baran, Minnesota Public Radio
November 3, 2013

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis announced late Sunday that two priests have decided to take leaves of absence for “prior misconduct.”

The priests are the Rev. David Barrett, assistant pastor at the Church of St. Wenceslaus in New Prague, and the Rev. Paul Moudry, pastor of St. Margaret Mary in Golden Valley.

In separate statements posted to its website late Sunday, the archdiocese said the priests volunteered to take leaves of absence. The archdiocese did not explain why both priests reached this decision at the same time.

In the statement regarding Barrett, the archdiocese said, “The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis announced today that after careful discernment and much prayer in conjunction with the Archdiocese, Father David Barrett has chosen to take a voluntary leave of absence. His decision is as a result of prior misconduct which occurred many years ago and did not involve members of any parish in which Fr. Barrett has served. This misconduct did not involve a violation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.”

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OREGON
The Republic

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
November 04, 2013

BEND, Oregon — A Roman Catholic priest is appealing his bishop’s decision to remove him from his post as pastor of a Bend church.

The Bend Bulletin (http://bit.ly/1cHKBt9 ) reports that the Rev. James Radloff was removed on Oct. 1.

Bishop Liam Cary of the Diocese of Baker didn’t explain the removal in a public statement he issued at the time

But in a letter to members of the congregation, Cary said Radloff had circulated a petition protesting the bishop’s decision to transfer another priest from St. Francis. Cary called that a serious error of judgment.

An Idaho priest advising Radloff says the appeal went to the Congregation for Clergy. The Rev. Tom Faucher says the Vatican body consists of clergy and laypeople appointed by the pope.

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MINNESOTA
BishopAccountability.org

Summary of Case: Ordained a priest of the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese at age 46 in 2002, Keating was an assistant parish priest for three years before settling into a career as an associate professor of Catholic studies at the University of St. Thomas. In 2006 the parents of a young woman reported to the archdiocese and to law enforcement that Keating sexually abused their daughter from 1997-2000, beginning when she was 13 years-old. Keating was a seminarian at the time, and almost 30 years the girl’s senior. The family gave archdiocesan investigators emails the girl had received from Keating in which he professed his love for her. An internal archdiocesan investigation also yielded allegations that Keating had an “at best emotionally intense and at worst sexually abusive relationships with as many as four young women or girls“, including a 14-year-old Italian girl he met while studying for the priesthood in Rome. The archdiocesan review board determined that there was not enough evidence, but that Keating should be restricted from ministering to young adults or adolescents. He nonetheless continued to as a chaplain and teacher of young people at St. Thomas. He was not charged criminally. The young woman who’s family went to the archdiocese in 2006 filed charges against Keating in October 2013, and went public with the accusations. Keating denied the abuse and went on a leave of absence.

Ordained: 2002

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CANADA
Calgary Herald

BY MICHAEL WRIGHT, CALGARY HERALD NOVEMBER 4, 2013

As a boy, Nelson Mayer couldn’t understand why his mother would not speak her native tongue.

Mayer, the president of the National Association of Friendship Centres, addressed the opening of the Calgary hearing of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee for Indian residential schools, and spoke of the effects the government-enforced education system had on his mother.

“I can remember my mother being ashamed to speak her own language – Cree,” he said.

He asked his mother why.

“She said she had witnessed her cousin being beaten because he was speaking Cree to her (at residential school). I could begin to understand why my mother would walk with her head down.” …

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was set up as part of a 2007 agreement to allow people to share their stories of the school, collect records and establish a national research centre. The agreement included a $1.9 billion settlement between the Canadian government, the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian and United churches and the Assembly of First Nations, and came with an apology from Prime Minister Stephen Harper to former residential school students.

The commission has heard from more than 75 communities across Canada in the last five years. The Calgary hearing is the last of six community hearings in Alberta. It concludes Tuesday.

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UNITED STATES
They Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on November 4, 2013

I have never had any kind of tolerance for institutional malfeasance. Shocker, I know. But what really intrigues me is this: Why are the vast majority of America’s Catholic priests silent when it comes to child sex abuse and cover-up in the church?

In Los Angeles, a document release in January showed that high-ranking church officials knew about abuse, hampered police investigations, didn’t look for victims, lied to parishioners, and helped abusers escape justice. In Orange County, documents released in 2005 showed much of the same thing … except we are still MISSING the files of many of OC’s biggest perpetrators (Michael Harris, anyone?).

Then there is the fact that the man who personally engineered the cover-up of abuse and protection of predators, Msgr. John Urell, has never been punished and sits in a swanky south county parish. No shame, no remorse, no accountability.

In St. Paul & Minneapolis, an ever-growing scandal is unfolding daily. Besides the cache of porn and the sex abuse and cover-up lawsuits filed almost daily, two more priests were removed over the weekend. A long-time St. Paul priest finally admitted openly, “I am embarrased to be Catholic.”

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UNITED STATES
Huffington Post

Sophia A. Nelson

As Fix My Life OWN Reality TV Star & Life Coach Iyanla Vanzant likes to say, “You must call a thing a thing” in order to get healed from that thing.

For years we have rightly dissected, discussed, and demanded change within the Catholic Church relative to the cover-up of sex scandals involving priests, homosexuality, and the molestation of boys. It is time that the black community, and America’s larger faith community start doing the same with respect to the black church. It is time we held senior clergy, church ministry leaders, and the gospel artists who make millions annually from their faithful following to a standard: God’s standard. The black church can no longer continue to be the sacred cow of religion, that we are not allowed to scrutinize, question, and challenge when the behavior of its leaders does not mesh with the doctrine it is founded upon.

The last few weeks have not been the best for black preachers, and gospel recording artists. Yet another “sex scandal” has emerged on the Internet, featuring a young black male gospel star (Kevin Terry) engaged in well, let’s just say a very graphic sexual act. Worse, just last week Preacher’s of LA star Pastor/Singer Deitrick Haddon was “exposed” on the Internet when photos of his genitals emerged via an ex-girlfriend who decided to share the star’s private texted images sent to her while they were dating.

“Sex Scandals” are nothing new, especially not in the black church. Atlanta Mega Church Super Star Bishop Eddie Long faced a myriad of lawsuits and allegations in the past few years that he had coerced and “groomed” young teen boys and young men under his stewardship to have sex with him. Using his powerful position as their “shepherd” to keep them silent, and subject to his advances for years. Of course, Long denied the allegations, but he settled the lawsuits out of court reportedly for millions of the churches money (churches have to carry liability insurance like most corporations do). And despite the public uproar, and disturbing nature of the allegations his “flock” stayed pretty much in place, supported him, lauded him, and some claimed he was the victim of a “smear” campaign.

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UNITED KINGDOM
International Business Times

By DOMINIC GOVER
November 04, 2013

A convicted paedophile has been forced to quit his job as a senior manager at Santander, the Spanish banking group.

Former priest Stephen Brooks led an executive team at the bank and even judged its award for “responsible business of the year”.

Brooks, 59, was managing director of Santander’s UK corporate banking healthcare team. He helped business customers access cash tied up in assets and provided bank funding for growth.

He rose through the ranks of Europe’s biggest retail banking institution despite holding convictions for 19 sex attacks on young boys during the 1980s and 1990s.

Brooks was sentenced to four years in jail for the offences which he carried out for seven years until 1994 in Swansea, while he was a priest at St Paul’s Church in Sketty.

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MINNESOTA
National Catholic Reporter

Brian Roewe | Nov. 4, 2013

Attempts in the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese to take hold of a snowballing sexual abuse scandal have done little to quiet a growing clamor for a change in leadership.

Since the end of summer, Archbishop John Nienstedt and his predecessors, as well as other archdiocesan leaders, have drawn intense criticism for their handling of allegations of clergy sexual abuse of minors in recent decades, particularly when they were presented with suspicious behavior or apparent evidence of abuse.

Amid a stream of media reports — largely fueled by accounts and documents from former archdiocesan canon lawyer Jennifer Haselberger (NCR, Oct. 25-Nov. 7) — Nienstedt’s first response came in appointing Dominican Fr. Reginald Whitt vicar of ministerial standards, and assigning him to select an independent lay task force to review archdiocesan policies and procedures related to abuse allegations.

But the shine of that move soon wore off after a letter Whitt sent Oct. 21 to archdiocesan clergy led to questions about how independent the six-member task force would be. Addressing access to individual priest files, he wrote: “Access to these files will be within my control, and limited only to what is necessary for the Task Force to be able to make an informed decision with respect to their policy review.”

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UNITED KINGDOM
Messenger

VICTIMS of child sexual abuse will be better supported by the criminal justice system under new guidelines published by the Crown Prosecution Service.

A list of myths concerning victims’ behaviour is included in the guidelines, to prevent the undermining of victim credibility. Prosecutors have been told to focus on evidence.

Tony Lloyd, Greater Manchester’s police and crime commissioner, said: “Victims of child sexual abuse have already made a brave step in coming forward and the criminal justice system has a duty to support them through the court process.

“Preconceived assumptions about how a victim is expected to behave have no place in a courtroom and only serve to undermine and humiliate them.”

A joint protocol has also been published by the CPS. They outline expectations for information in child abuse cases to be shared by prosecutors and police with child protection, family courts, schools and social services.

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WISCONSIN
Stevens Point Journal

Julie Lassa

Becoming the victim of any crime is enough to change your life forever, but sexual assault victims undergo a unique set of challenges. The shame and stigma of being victimized sexually makes it very difficult to go before strangers in the criminal justice system and relive the details of the crime. Unfortunately, some people are quick to blame the victims, believing that they “brought it on themselves” through their actions.

In most instances, the perpetrators of sexual assault are not strangers to the victim, but someone the victim knows – often authority figures like parents, relatives or coworkers. Reporting this crime means not only reliving one’s own humiliation, but can potentially turn the victim’s world upside down. This is especially true for children, who are the victims of two-thirds of sexual assaults.

For all these reasons, authorities estimate that sexual assault is among the most underreported crimes. According to the U.S. Justice Department, 74 percent of completed and attempted sexual assaults against females were not reported to law enforcement. It can take years for victims to come to terms with what has happened to them and to find the courage to talk about what happened to them.

Through the years, I have advocated for public policy that understands and respects the unique challenges that sexual assault victims face in reporting these horrific crimes. Arbitrary statutes of limitation and other deadlines that unnecessarily penalize victims who, for whatever reason, don’t immediately report these crimes have two negative consequences: They prevent sexual assault victims from obtaining justice and, because they discourage victims from reporting the crime, leave the perpetrator free to victimize others.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

SARAH MAC DONALD – 04 NOVEMBER 2013

SPECULATION is mounting that Pope Francis may be poised to open the way for women cardinals in the Catholic Church.

Last night, the Association of Catholic Priests in Ireland (ACP) said it was particularly delighted, as an Irish theologian was a leading contender.

Spokesman Fr Tony Flannery told the Irish Independent the ACP was very happy that women may finally get this recognition.

The Redemptorist priest was responding to media reports that TCD Professor of Ecumenics, Linda Hogan, who is also Vice Provost of the college, has been nominated on a list of contenders by the Professor of Moral Theology at Boston College, Fr James Keenan SJ.

Fr Keenan is one of a number of liberals proposing this key structural change.

He listed Prof Hogan top of his nominees of possible candidates. However, a spokeswoman for Prof Hogan said she would not be commenting on the matter, while a spokesman for the Irish bishops said he had no information and therefore could not comment.

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IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

04 NOVEMBER 2013

A Catholic priest has stepped aside while an allegation of sexual abuse is investigated.

Bishop Leo O’Reilly, of the border diocese of Kilmore, said gardai are aware of the complaint against the parish priest, which is said to date back a number of years.

In a statement, he said all matters relating to child safeguarding, the safety and welfare of children, are an overriding concern in the diocese.

“It is in that context that I deeply regret to say that I have received a complaint against a priest of the diocese in pastoral ministry which raises concerns in relation to child safeguarding matters,” said Bishop O’Reilly.

“In accordance with diocesan child safeguarding procedures, the priest has voluntarily agreed to take administrative leave whilst an investigation takes place concerning the complaint.

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AUSTRALIA
7 News

LEMA SAMANDAR – AAP
November 4, 2013

A Catholic priest accused of child sex offences spanning almost three decades, has been found guilty.

Father Finian Egan, 78, was found guilty of rape and seven counts of indecent assault by a jury in Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court on Monday.

The charges relate to three girls aged between 10 and 17, between 1961 and 1987 while he worked as a priest at Leichhardt and Carlingford in Sydney, and The Entrance on the Central Coast.

His trial, which ran for about three weeks, heard that Egan regularly invited a 10-year-old girl into a small room.

The girl lived in a Catholic boarding house at Leichhardt, in Sydney’s inner-west, for almost two years.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Thomas Oriti

A Catholic priest remains on bail after being found guilty of child sex offences committed in New South Wales over almost 30 years.

Father Finian Egan was on trial for seven counts of indecent assault and one count of rape between 1961 and 1987, while he worked as a priest at Leichhardt and Carlingford in Sydney, and The Entrance on the Central Coast.

The court was told he targeted girls aged between 10 and 17.

Today in the Downing Centre District Court, a jury found 78-year-old Egan guilty of the eight charges.

The ABC understands that a complaint from one of his victims in the case was upheld by the church in 2009, but it celebrated Egan’s career in a mass just weeks later.

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AUSTRALIA
NEWS.com.au

A CATHOLIC priest accused of child sex offences spanning almost three decades was yesterday found guilty.

A District Court jury found Father Finian Egan, 78, guilty of rape and seven counts of indecent assault.

The charges relate to attacks on three girls, aged between 10 and 17, which occurred between 1961 and 1987 while Egan worked as a priest at Leichhardt and Carlingford as well as The Entrance on the Central Coast.

His trial, which ran for about three weeks, heard that Egan regularly invited a 10-year-old girl into a small room.

The girl lived in a Catholic boarding house at Leichhardt, in Sydney’s inner-west, for almost two years.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

November 4, 2013

Paul Bibby
Court Reporter

A prominent Catholic priest who worked at dioceses across the state during a 40-year career has been found guilty of repeatedly sexually abusing young girls over the course of three decades.

A jury on Monday found Father Finian Egan, 71, guilty of seven counts of indecent assault and one count of rape in relation to attacks on girls aged 10 to 17 in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
He was found not guilty on one count of indecent assault.

Among the attacks committed by Egan, who worked as a priest and youth worker in multiple dioceses in Sydney and on the central coast, was the indecent assault of a 10-year-old girl at St Martha’s Institution For Disadvantaged Girls at Leichhardt.

“Father Egan pulled me onto his knee, he put his hands up my dress, pulled down my underwear and put his hands into my vagina,” the victim said of the incident, which allegedly occurred in the church’s sacristy.

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

Monday, November 04, 2013

The Government was told to scrap its pledge on the cost of the child abuse redress scheme before the most powerful religious order in education would discuss school patronage.

By Conor Ryan
Investigative Correspondent

The demand was revealed in newly released records of a three-year stand-off between the State and congregations covered by the indemnity deal.

The Government’s original plan had been to pursue the transfer of school properties from religious orders to bridge a perceived €500m shortfall in contributions to the redress scheme. The Sisters of Mercy said no.

The 2011 Programme for Government said the transfers would be used to get the orders to cover 50% of the €1.5bn redress bill.

In July, Education Minister Ruairi Quinn got Cabinet approval for a more conciliatory tack that would allow congregations to remain in control of schools but relinquish title to the land.

According to a policy proposal put to Mr Quinn in February, the new strategy was designed to move the schools’ property debate away from the battle to get congregations to accept the 50:50 redress bill principle.

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IRELAND
Irish Mirror

A popular Catholic parish priest has been suspended pending a probe into complaints levelled against him.

Shocked parishioners received the new yesterday morning that Fr Owen Collins has temporarily stepped down voluntarily following an accusation.

Church-goers across Kilmore Diocese were dealt the hammer blow through a statement from Bishop Leo O’Reilly which was read out at all masses in the parish of Drumgoon in Cootehill, Co Cavan.

He said: “I deeply regret to inform you that I have received a complaint against your parish priest.

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IRELAND
The Journal

A PARISH PRIEST has voluntarily stepped down from his duties after a complaint was made against him.

A statement from the Bishop of Kilmore Leo O’Reilly, which was read in churches across the diocese over the weekend, said that the bishop had received a complaint in relation to a “child safeguarding matter”.

O’Reilly said that the alleged incident happened “a considerable time ago”.

“I deeply regret to say that I have received a complaint against a priest of the diocese in pastoral ministry which raises concerns in relation to child safeguarding matters.

In accordance with diocesan child safeguarding procedures, the priest has voluntarily agreed to take administrative leave whilst an investigation takes place concerning the complaint.”

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IRELAND
RTE News

A parish priest in the border diocese of Kilmore has voluntarily stepped aside while an allegation that he sexually abused a child is investigated.

Announcing the move on the diocesan website, Bishop Leo O’Reilly said the civil authorities had been informed of the complaint, which relates to events alleged to have taken place a considerable time ago.
He said the priest’s decision was in accordance with diocesan child safeguarding procedures.

Saturday evening mass-goers in the affected parish were first to learn of the developments when other clergy read a statement from Dr O’Reilly from the altar.

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

Gardaí are investigating a child protection issue in the Diocese of Kilmore after a complaint was made against a priest.

The priest has voluntarily stepped aside from office while an investigation takes place in Co Cavan.

The details of the allegation made against the priest are not clear, but Bishop Leo O’Reilly said it relates to events which took place a considerable time ago.

He said the complaint raises concern in relation to child safeguarding matters and the priest has voluntarily agreed to take administrative leave while an investigation takes place.

Civil authorities have been made aware of the issue.

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

A Catholic priest, who has stepped aside while an allegation of sexual abuse is investigated in Co Cavan, must have “the right to the presumption of innocence”, according to Bishop Leo O’Reilly.

Bishop O’Reilly, of the border diocese of Kilmore, said gardaí are aware of the complaint against the parish priest, which is said to date back a number of years.

In a statement, he said all matters relating to child safeguarding, the safety and welfare of children, are an overriding concern in the diocese.

“It is in that context that I deeply regret to say that I have received a complaint against a priest of the diocese in pastoral ministry which raises concerns in relation to child safeguarding matters,” said Bishop O’Reilly.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Wicked Local Walpole

By Mary Garrity
Wicked Local Walpole
Posted Nov 03, 2013

WALPOLE —
Christ’s message of love, respect and service to others seems to be missing from the Boston Archdiocese’s pastoral plan called “Disciples in Mission.” The ouster of the parish priests from their current assignments as part of this plan is the latest in a string of deceptive acts created by the hierarchy and imposed on the parish priests and their congregations. The plan is designed to keep churches “open” so that the money continues to flow in, but fails to address the priest shortage in any meaningful way, while inflicting pain on the parish priests and parishioners.

In gratitude for years of service, parish priests were asked to tender their “resignations” earlier this month. In the work world, requesting a resignation means the termination of employment. Requesting the resignation of priests who have taken a vow of obedience and know they can be reassigned at any time shows a complete lack of respect for these men.

At St. Mary’s of the Assumption parish in East Walpole on Oct. 20, when questioned about the need for resignations and the pain inflicted on the parish priests by this plan, Fr. Paul Soper’s response was that he went to the chapel and cried. How similar to Peter’s weeping after he denied Christ three times in the garden.

After the clergy sex abuse scandal festered for years in the Archdiocese of Boston, and across the globe, under legal pressure, the hierarchy finally admitted its wrongdoing. For failing to supervise and take action, Cardinal Law was reassigned to a position in the hierarchy in Rome. People left the Catholic Church.

In 2004, the Archdiocese under Cardinal Sean O’Malley made decisions with limited, if any, input from the congregations to shutter parishes. People left the Catholic Church.

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MINNESOTA
WCCO

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis announced that two Minnesota priests have both taken unrelated voluntary leaves of absence from their parishes.

On Sunday evening, the archdiocese released two statements in regards to Father David Barrett and Father Paul Moudry’s decision.

Barrett has chosen to take a leave of absence as a result of “prior misconduct which occurred many years ago and did not involve members of any parish in which Fr. Barrett has served,” and did not involve a violation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, according to the archdiocese.

Barret had been serving as an assistant priest at the Church of Saint Wenceslaus of New Prague since 2009.

Moudry’s decision is unrelated, according to the archdiocese, but of a similar vague description, according to the statement, which states it was his decision “as a result of prior misconduct which occurred many years ago and did not involve members of any parish in which Fr. Moudry has served.” It was also not in violation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

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MINNESOTA
KAAL

By: Leslie Dyste

Two Minnesota priests took leaves of absences Sunday for “prior misconduct,” according to the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

Both Father Paul Moudry and Father David Barrett took a “voluntary leave of absence.”

Father Moudry and Father Barrett’s leaves of absences were announced by the Archdiocese in separate statements.

In both instances, the decision was due to “prior misconduct” which occurred many years ago and did not involve any members of any parish where they had served, according to the Archdiocese.

Father Moudry has been serving as a pastor of St. Margaret Mary in Golden Valley since 2001.

Father Barrett has been serving as an assistant priest at the Church of Saint Wenceslaus of New Prague since 2009.

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MINNESOTA
Valley News Live

Updated: Nov 04, 2013

(KARE 11) ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis announced late Sunday that two priests have decided to take leaves of absence for “prior misconduct.” The priests are the Rev. David Barrett, assistant pastor at the Church of St. Wenceslaus in New Prague, and the Rev. Paul Moudry, pastor of St. Margaret Mary in Golden Valley.

In separate statements posted to its website late Sunday, the archdiocese said the priests volunteered to take leaves of absence. The archdiocese did not explain why both priests reached this decision at the same time.

In the statement regarding Barrett, the archdiocese said, “The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis announced today that after careful discernment and much prayer in conjunction with the Archdiocese, Father David Barrett has chosen to take a voluntary leave of absence. His decision is as a result of prior misconduct which occurred many years ago and did not involve members of any parish in which Fr. Barrett has served. This misconduct did not involve a violation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.”

Barrett “has been under supervision by pastoral leadership and others at the Archdiocese and has undergone counseling during his current and prior assignments,” the statement said.

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MINNESOTA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

Date:Sunday, November 3, 2013
Source:Jim Accurso

The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis announced today that after much prayer and reflection and in conjunction with the Archdiocese, Father Paul Moudry has chosen to take a voluntary leave of absence. His decision is as a result of prior misconduct which occurred many years ago and did not involve members of any parish in which Fr. Moudry has served. This misconduct did not involve a violation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

Father Moudry has been serving as pastor of St. Margaret Mary in Golden Valley since 2001.

While on his leave of absence, Fr. Moudry will not be performing any public ministry and will cooperate with the Ministerial Standards Board of the Archdiocese which will make recommendations as a result of a review of Fr. Moudry’s actions.

The Archdiocese is grateful for Fr. Moudry’s decision and asks for prayers for all affected by his decision.

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MINNESOTA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

Date:Sunday, November 3, 2013
Source:Jim Accurso

The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis announced today that after careful discernment and much prayer in conjunction with the Archdiocese, Father David Barrett has chosen to take a voluntary leave of absence. His decision is as a result of prior misconduct which occurred many years ago and did not involve members of any parish in which Fr. Barrett has served. This misconduct did not involve a violation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

Father Barrett has been serving as an assistant priest at the Church of Saint Wenceslaus of New Prague since 2009. He has been under supervision by pastoral leadership and others at the Archdiocese and has undergone counseling during his current and prior assignments.

While on his leave of absence, Fr. Barrett will not be performing any public ministry and will cooperate with the Ministerial Standards Board of the Archdiocese which will make recommendations as a result of a review of Fr. Barrett’s actions.

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MINNESOTA
Seattle PI

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis says two priests are taking leaves of absence for prior misconduct.

KARE-TV reports (http://kare11.tv/1bR2kxe ) the Roman Catholic archdiocese made the announcement late Sunday. The church identified the two priests as the Rev. David Barrett, assistant pastor at the Church of St. Wenceslaus in New Prague, and the Rev. Paul Moudry, pastor of St. Margaret Mary in Golden Valley.

The archdiocese says the two priests volunteered to take leaves of absence and that neither of them had committed misconduct involving children. It did not explain what the misconduct entailed.

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ST. PAUL (MN)
Star Tribune

Article by: ANTHONY LONETREE and PAUL LEVY , Star Tribune staff writers
Updated: November 3, 2013

On the same night it announced that two clergy members had taken leaves of absence for prior misconduct, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis set about the process of healing Sunday through communal prayer at the Cathedral of St. Paul.

The evening service came after a month of stinging headlines and allegations about clergy sexual misconduct and accusations that some Catholic leaders had ignored warnings of sexual misconduct.

The service was billed as a Penitential Holy Hour prayer service, and Archbishop John Nienstedt made plain in his opening remarks that the 175-plus attendees would be praying for all those harmed by the failures of the church and its “shepherds.”

He hoped, he said, they’d find new trust in the church.

About an hour later, the archdiocese released statements revealing that the Rev. Paul Moudry, pastor of St. Margaret Mary Church in Golden Valley, and the Rev. David Barrett, an assistant priest at the Church of Saint Wenceslaus of New Prague, had taken voluntary leaves of absence this weekend as a result of “prior misconduct which occurred many years ago.”

Neither case involved parishioners or a violation of the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” the archdiocese said. Both priests made their decisions in consultation with the archdiocese, the statements said.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Shropshire Star

As former director of public prosecutions Keir Starmer says failing to report allegations of child sexual abuse should be made a criminal offence, we want to know what Star readers think.

Mr Starmer believes it is time to “change the law” and said it should be “mandatory” to report allegations.

Speaking on BBC Panorama, he said: “I think the time has come to change the law and close a gap that’s been there for a very long time.”

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

[with video]

Sanchia Berg and Meirion Jones
BBC Panorama

Teachers and other professionals who do not report child abuse suspicions should face prosecution, the ex-director of public prosecutions says.

Keir Starmer said under a British “mandatory reporting” law, those who failed to act could be sent to jail.

Declassified files uncovered by BBC Panorama show how schools have repeatedly failed to protect children from sex offenders.

But the government said mandatory reporting was not the answer.

While statutory guidance has been issued previously urging professionals such as teachers, doctors and social workers to report child abuse, failure to do so is not a crime in England, Scotland and Wales.

In Northern Ireland, the Criminal Law Act 1967 makes it an offence to fail to disclose an arrestable offence – including those against children – to police.

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

Many victims of abuse by Jimmy Savile and others were “let down by the professionals who were meant to help them”, a lawyer has warned.

Alicia Alinia, whose firm, Slater and Gordon, represents more than 70 of Jimmy Savile’s alleged victims, has backed a call for “mandatory reporting” of suspected child abuse.

Former director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer, has suggested that failure by professionals to report such allegations should be made a criminal offence.

Ms Alinia told the BBC that such a system had already been successful in Australia.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian

Josh Halliday
The Guardian, Sunday 3 November 2013

Teachers and health workers should be prosecuted for failing to alert the police to allegations of child abuse, according to the former director of public prosecutions, who is calling for an overhaul of the law to prevent more victims from slipping through the net.

Keir Starmer QC, who left his role as Britain’s top prosecutor last week, becomes the most senior official to call for the introduction of mandatory reporting following a string of high-profile cases, including the Jimmy Savile scandal, in which victims of the TV and radio star were repeatedly failed by the social care system.

In an interview with BBC1’s Panorama programme to be aired on Monday, Starmer says: “I think the time has come to change the law and close a gap that’s been there for a very long time. I think there should be a mandatory reporting provision.”

Starmer says Britain should be brought into step with countries such as the US, Canada and Australia, where it is a criminal offence for care professionals not to report child abuse allegations to the authorities.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Mail

Failure to report child sex abuse should be a crime otherwise there will be another Savile, says former top prosecutor

By SUZANNAH HILLS

Failing to report allegations of child sexual abuse should be made a criminal offence in Britain, the former director of public prosecutions said.

Keir Starmer believes it is time to ‘change the law’ and said it should be ‘mandatory’ to report allegations in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal.

Speaking on BBC Panorama, Mr Starmer said: ‘I think the time has come to change the law and close a gap that’s been there for a very long time. I think there should be a mandatory reporting provision.

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

Declassified files uncovered by Panorama show how schools repeatedly failed to protect children from serial sex offenders.

It comes alongside a call from the former Director of Public Prosecutions to criminalise failure to report allegations of child abuse, as the aftermath of the Savile affair continues to be felt.

Rob Hastings was abused by one of his teachers while a pupil at Downside School in Somerset.

Speaking to Sanchia Berg, Mr Hastings told of how he was groomed by his geography master and what happened after the abuse came to light.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Irish Independent

04 NOVEMBER 2013

Teachers, doctors and social workers who fail to report concerns over suspected cases of child abuse should face criminal charges, one of Britain’s most senior barristers has said.

Keir Starmer, the former Director of Public Prosecutions, has reignited calls for mandatory reporting which would compel all professionals to report suspicions of child abuse or face legal consequences.

In comments to the BBC’s Panorama programme, to be broadcast tonight, Mr Starmer will call for Britain to consider a “very straightforward, simple scheme” that would “change the law and close a gap that’s been there for a very long time”.

The programme will also claim that senior civil servants knew for decades that children’s homes and schools had covered up cases of child abuse. Mr Starmer’s call was supported by the Church of England, with Bishop Paul Butler, chairman of the church’s National Safeguarding Committee, saying: “We have to think of the child first, not ourselves, not the institution. [We must do] what’s best for the child.”

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MARYLAND
CBS Baltimore

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — A former church youth leader is behind bars, charged with child sex abuse. The victims are adults now and still attending the church.

Gigi Barnett explains police say there may be more victims.

Forty-nine-year-old Raymond Fernandez held several positions at Greater Grace Church in northeast Baltimore. One of them was as a youth leader in the late 1990s.

Last week, Baltimore County Police arrested and charged him with sexual child abuse of two teens. Police were tipped off to the alleged abuse when one of the victims came forward.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Telegraph

The former Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer QC calls for a change in the law to force doctors, social workers and priests to report all allegations of child sexual abuse

By John Bingham, Social Affairs Editor
7:30AM GMT 04 Nov 2013

Doctors, social workers and priests should be required by law to report all allegations of child sexual abuse, according to the former Director of Public Prosecutions.

Keir Starmer QC, who recently stepped down as DPP, called for a change in the law to make it a crime not to raise the alarm about such suspicions.

His call has received support from both the Church of England and Roman Catholic Churches, which have both faced accusations of covering up sexual abuse in the past.

But the department for Education has ruled out introducing so-called mandatory reporting claiming that it could even make children less safe in some situations.

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MINNESOTA
St. Cloud Times

Written by
Lois Thelen
Times Writers Group

You know there’s a problem in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis when one of its priests in his Sunday homily says “It’s the first time, I must say, in 69 years that I’m embarrassed to be Catholic.”

During the past decade, some of its Roman Catholic priests have been accused of sexually abusing children and minors, frequenting areas known for men seeking anonymous same-sex encounters and having pornographic images on their computers.

Since last spring, the diocese has been under almost constant fire. Its former canon lawyer resigned after her entreaties to investigate a priest whose discarded computer possibly contained more than 2,000 images of child pornography were ignored. Several priests have been sued for sexual abuse by their victims. And most recently, the archdiocese’s vicar general, the Rev. Kevin McDonough, was accused of protecting priests to limit damage to the church. He has since resigned.

All this occurred despite the archdiocese being warned a decade ago to clean up its act.

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IRELAND
Newstalk

Diocese of Kilmore parish priest voluntarily steps aside while an investigation is launched

Gardaí are investigating a child protection issue in the Diocese of Kilmore after a complaint was made against a priest.

The priest has been removed from office while an investigation takes place.

The details of the allegation made against the priest are not clear however Bishop Leo O’Reilly says it relates to events which took place a considerable time ago.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Register

NEWS ANALYSIS: Lessons learned from a harrowing, complex struggle to protect children by changing institutional culture.

by JOAN FRAWLEY DESMOND 11/04/2013

WASHINGTON — More than a decade after the clergy abuse crisis made headlines, Catholics remain aghast when they read fresh reports of predatory priests, innocence lost, and ambiguous or inadequate responses from local bishops.

Have we learned anything in the past 11 years?

“Yes,” say two experts who have approached the clergy abuse scandal from different vantage points. One man, Auxiliary Bishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, led the Holy See’s investigation of clergy abuse cases from his post at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, while the other, Deacon Bernard Nojadera, implemented reforms in the Diocese of San Jose, Calif., before taking up his post as executive director of the Office of Child and Youth Protection for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

From 2002-2012, then-Msgr. Scicluna, a civil and canon lawyer, served as the first promoter of justice at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He spearheaded the prosecution of a vast number of clergy abuse cases, including appeals by priests who contended that they had been wrongly accused.

On Oct. 16, Bishop Scicluna addressed the Canon Law Society of America at its annual meeting in Sacramento, Calif., and used that forum to provide often-pointed reflections about the Church’s ongoing effort to address clergy sexual abuse of minors. Deacon Nojadera outlined his views during an Oct. 21 interview with the Register.

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IRELAND
The Nationalist

A Catholic priest, who has stepped aside while an allegation of sexual abuse is investigated in Co Cavan, must have “the right to the presumption of innocence”, according to Bishop Leo O’Reilly.

Bishop O’Reilly, of the border diocese of Kilmore, said gardaí are aware of the complaint against the parish priest, which is said to date back a number of years.

In a statement, he said all matters relating to child safeguarding, the safety and welfare of children, are an overriding concern in the diocese.

“It is in that context that I deeply regret to say that I have received a complaint against a priest of the diocese in pastoral ministry which raises concerns in relation to child safeguarding matters,” said Bishop O’Reilly.

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REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
Analitica

[Summary: The Dominican Republic attorney general has urged Polish authorities to arrest and surrender priest Wojciech Gil. He is accused of sexually abusing several children in the Dominican Republic. Gil is now in his native Poland. Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito said this is a serious case and the accused priest must be arrested and prosecuted. Dominican officials have sent an indictment file to Poland which includes hundreds of photographs, videos and links to internet publications which they said would incriminate Gil.]

Domingo, 3 de noviembre de 2013

AFP – La fiscalía general de República Dominicana urgió a las autoridades de Polonia a detener y entregar al sacerdote polaco Wojciech Waldemar Gil, acusado de abuso sexual de menores y que permanece libre en su país.

“Es un caso muy serio y de nuevo reiteramos la necesidad de que esa persona sea apresada, sea condenada, sea sancionada drásticamente”, dijo el fin de semana a una televisora local el procurador (fiscal) general, Francisco Domínguez Brito, cuya oficina envió al finales de octubre el expediente acusatorio contra Gil.

El expediente incluye cientos de fotografías, videos y enlaces a publicaciones de internet que incriminan a Gil en el alegado abuso sexual a menores de edad, en el pueblo de Juncalito, según la Fiscalía de la Provincia Santiago (Norte). “Hay que esperar que culmine también el proceso de investigación en Polonia para la presentación de los cargos correspondientes”, agregó Domínguez Brito.

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IRELAND
Roman Catholic Diocese of Kilmore

Bishop of Kilmore

3 November 2013

The policy of the diocese of Kilmore is that in all matters relating to child safeguarding, the safety and welfare of children are an overriding concern. It is in that context that I deeply regret to say that I have received a complaint against a priest of the diocese in pastoral ministry which raises concerns in relation to child safeguarding matters. In accordance with diocesan child safeguarding procedures, the priest has voluntarily agreed to take administrative leave whilst an investigation takes place concerning the complaint. The civil authorities are aware of the complaint. It is important to stress that the priest enjoys the right to the presumption of innocence whilst these matters are being investigated. The complaint relates to events alleged to have happened a considerable time ago.

I want to assure everybody again, as I have done before, that the Diocese of Kilmore is fully committed to safeguarding children and I invite anybody in the diocese who may have concerns in this regard to bring them to the attention of the Child Safeguarding Designated Person of the diocese, Suzie Duffy at 049 437 5004 (Ext 105), and / or to an Garda Siochána and the Health Service Executive. For further contact details see the Safeguarding Children section of this website.

I ask you to join me in prayer for God’s help for all concerned at this difficult time.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

Patsy McArdle

Mon, Nov 4, 2013

A Catholic parish priest in the diocese of Kilmore has taken voluntary leave pending an investigation into a complaint “which raises concerns in relation to child safeguarding matters”.

The announcement in relation to Fr Owen Collins, parish priest of Drumgoon, Cootehill, Co Cavan, was made yesterday in a statement from the Bishop of Kilmore, Bishop Leo O’Reilly, which was read at all Masses in the parish.

The bishop’s statement said, “I deeply regret to inform you that I have received a complaint against your parish priest. He has, in accordance with child safeguarding procedures, voluntarily agreed to take administrative leave whilst an investigation takes place.

“It is important to stress that the priest enjoys the right to the presumption of innocence whilst these matters are being investigated.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

NICOLA ANDERSON – 04 NOVEMBER 2013

A CATHOLIC parish priest has been temporarily suspended over allegations of child sex abuse which is claimed to have taken place “a considerable time ago”.

The suspension of the priest in the diocese of Kilmore, Co Cavan, was announced by Bishop Leo O’Reilly in a statement that was read out at all Masses in the parish concerned.

Stunned parishioners were informed that the priest had, in line with child safeguarding procedures, voluntarily agreed to take “administrative leave” for the duration of an investigation into the allegations.

The bishop’s statement said: “It is important to stress that the priest enjoys the right to the presumption of innocence whilst these matters are being investigated. From experience, I am aware that investigations of this nature can take a considerable time to complete.”

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AUSTRALIA
Examiner

By PATRICK BILLINGS Nov. 4, 2013

TASMANIA’S parents and friends association wants past disciplinary action, including non-convictions, to feature in a national background- check system.

In a submission to the Royal Commission into child sex abuse the association called for information such as being excluded from working with children to be included in the checks.

The association also backed the establishment of an Australia-wide working with children check.

Association president Jenny Eddington said a national screening system would be more uniform, convenient and robust.

She said it wasn’t unusual to find Tasmanians involved in the youth sector to be carrying up to five or more types of authorisation allowing them to work with children.

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MISSOURI
Daily Journal

A Jackson County judge has approved a $1.35 million settlement in a civil lawsuit involving a Kansas City priest who’s serving 50 years in prison for producing child pornography.

Jackson County Circuit Judge Kenneth Garrett III approved the settlement in the lawsuit filed in 2011 by a girl and her parents against the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese, Bishop Robert Finn and the Rev. Shawn Ratigan. Ratigan was sentenced in September to 50 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to five child pornography counts, one charge for each of five victims.

The judge’s approval of the civil settlement was added to the court record last week, nearly a month after the diocese reached the agreement. The diocese says the settlement was paid by insurance, The Kansas City Star reported (http://bit.ly/HouxlL).

The diocese also expressed its “great sorrow for the harm and grief visited upon children and their families by the actions of Shawn Ratigan.”

A computer technician working on Ratigan’s laptop in December 2010 found hundreds of troubling images of young girls and reported it to diocese officials. Instead of turning the photos over to police or reporting suspicions about Ratigan, Finn sent him for psychiatric evaluation and later ordered him to stay at a convent and stay away from children.

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AUSTRALIA
South Coast Register

Nov. 4, 2013

A FORMER Catholic priest who worked in the Shoalhaven in the 1970s has appeared in court charged with five counts of indecent assault against children.

Robert Flaherty, 70, who now lives at Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains, appeared in Penrith Local Court on Friday.

The offences were alleged to have taken place in the Shoalhaven and Sydney up to 40 years ago.

Detectives from Blacktown Local Area Command established Strike Force Nemesis to investigate the allegations.

The alleged victims were aged between 11 and 15.

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IRELAND
Daily Mail (UK)

Could this married feminist be the Catholic Church’s first woman cardinal? Rumours rife that reforming Pope Francis is preparing to break with 900 years of history

An Irish feminist is causing a stir in the Catholic world as rumours are rife the married 49-year-old could be set to join the world’s ‘most exclusive’ club.

Linda Hogan is being tipped as a contender to become the Vatican’s first female cardinal.

A woman has never held the title, and while current precedence states only ordained men can be appointed to the role, Pope Francis could be poised to make history.

The leader of the Catholic church, elected eight months ago, has emerged as a liberal prompting speculation he will invite a woman to don the red hat and welcome the first female cardinal into the Vatican’s fold.

The reformist Argentinian pope has made no secret of the fact he aims to increase the role of women in the church, calling for ‘a truly deep theology of women’.

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UNITED STATES
Patch

Posted by Courtney Elko (Editor) , November 03, 2013

Written by Brittany Tressler

Most Catholics say that reforming the Vatican should be a priority for Pope Francis, according to a Pew Research Center report.

Do you agree? Tell us in the comments section below.

Most of the Pope’s fellow cardinals had elected him in part to address problems in the Vatican’s bureaucracy, the report said.

According to the Pew survey, 75 percent of U.S. Catholics said that the reform should be an important priority for the Pope, including 35 percent who said it should be a “top priority.”

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PENNSYLVANIA
Tribune-Democrat

Kathy Mellott
kmellott@tribdem.com

JOHNSTOWN — A pending lawsuit is a black cloud hanging around, be it for a business or the board of a private high school, with the contents of that lawsuit often best revealed, a legal expert said.

That cloud is the lawsuit a Greensburg attorney plans to file against a host of defendants, including the Bishop McCort Catholic High School board of directors, stemming from allegations by former students that they were sexually molested by Brother Stephen Baker.

Pittsburgh attorney Kathleen Gallagher is asking the Cambria County court, on behalf of the Bishop McCort board, to force attorney Susan Williams to file the complaint in 20 days.

Louie Freeh recently filed a similar request in Centre County court in an attempt to see what former Penn State President Spanier has to say in his lawsuit stemming from the sex abuse scandal involving Jerry Sandusky.

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

JON TEVLIN , Star Tribune Updated: October 30, 2013

Thomas Lyons virtually grew up in the Catholic Church. He attended Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Chicago through the fourth grade and served as an altar boy at St. Edward, where he also sang in the choir.

Lyons still attends mass at Church of St. Peter in North St. Paul and he has contributed money to the many good charitable efforts of his parish and the church at large.

But after a string of allegations and subsequent resignations by some of the top officials of the archdiocese, Lyons is done giving.

“I used to contribute to the archbishop’s appeal,” said Lyons, a Vadnais Heights attorney. “But now I don’t want [Archbishop John Nien­stedt] to have access to any of my money.”

Given his long-held faith, Lyons may be an unlikely church rebel. Like a lot of church members, however, he’s concerned that the archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is not handling the crisis over allegations of priest abuse openly, and he doesn’t want his money used for damage control.

Lyons made the news last week when he took the dramatic step of starting a petition on change.org calling for Nien­stedt to resign for the good of the church. As of Tuesday, it had 188 signatures.

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MINNESOTA
ABC Newspapers

By Don Heinzman
November 1, 2013

While stories on questionable judgment and the conduct of priests in the Archdiocese of Minneapolis and St. Paul dominate the media, the positive message of Pope Francis is energizing many Catholic church members.

Across the metropolitan area, Pope Francis’ emphasis on having a welcoming, inclusive, forgiving and loving church is being received well by suburban Catholic church leaders. They are welcoming the tone and surprising message of Pope Francis, while acknowledging church teachings probably will not change.

That emphasis on love may be his “trump card,” notes the Rev. Lauren Germann, pastor of St. Andrew’s church in Elk River.

Citing the pope’s emphasis on loving everyone regardless of their faults, Germann wrote in his parish bulletin, “Our love for others does not discriminate. There can be no exceptions to love. We love those who have had abortions, love those who use contraception, we love all people regardless of their sexual orientations.”

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CANADA
Sylvia’s Site

Another name added. Father Aylre’s Cormier‘s name has been added to the Accused pages and a new page opened with further information.

Father Cormier, a former teacher and late vocation to the priesthood is a priest with the Archdiocese of Moncton, New Brunswick. Father Cormier, ordained in 1992, received an absolute discharge in 1999 after pleading guilty to charges related to trying to hire the sexual services of an undercover police officer.

This is another one which strikes me as bizarre. The man is a teacher. Well into life he decides he is called to the priesthood. At he age of 52 (1992) he is ordained by Bishop Chiasson. Seven years after ordination he has presumably retired, but, – is out doing relief work for the neighbouring Diocese of St. John. NB (Bishop Faber MacDonald). And, the same year he is doing the relief work he is out soliciting from a male who turns out to be an undercover officer!

But the thing is that he decides he wants to be a priest, and then, after a mere seven years ‘on the job,’ he retires? That’s a very early retirement for a priest, even one who is a ‘late vocation.’ And it doesn’t seem that he retired for health reasons – he was helping out in the neighbouring diocese?

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NEDERLAND
Onderzoek

[VPKK]

[Commissievergaderingen]

Den Haag, 29 oktober 2013

Aan de voorzitter en leden van de Commissie voor Veiligheid en Justitie van de Tweede Kamer

Postbus 20018

2500 EA Den Haag

Geachte voorzitter en leden,

Graag reageer ik op uw verzoek dat mij op 7 oktober heeft bereikt (uw kenmerk 2013Z17597/2013D39162). U vraagt mij te reageren op een uitgave van het Vrouwen Platform Kerkelijk Kindermisbruik (VPKK), die op 11 september aan u is toegezonden.

Graag voldoe ik aan uw verzoek.

Voor een goed begrip van mijn reactie licht ik u allereerst in over het tweede onderzoek waaraan ik leiding heb gegeven. In dit verband ga ik ook in op de betrokkenheid van de huidige voorzitter van het VPKK bij dit onderzoek en de contacten die niet alleen ik, maar ook mijn medewerkers met haar hebben gehad in de aanloop naar dit tweede onderzoek en na publicatie. Ten slotte ga ik in op de 56 klachten waarover het VPKK in zijn uitgave spreekt.

1. Aard en reikwijdte van het tweede onderzoek naar seksueel misbruik van en geweld tegen meisjes in de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk

Op 16 december 2011 is het eerste onderzoek naar seksueel misbruik van minderjarigen in de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk gepubliceerd. Dit eerste onderzoek heeft anders dan mevrouw Knibbe stelt (bladzij 2 en 6 van haar notitie) betrekking op mannen én vrouwen. Hier is sprake van een misverstand. In het kader van het eerste onderzoek heeft de Onderzoekscommissie enkele honderden slachtoffers individueel of in groepsverband gesproken. Hieronder waren ook tientallen vrouwen. Ook – anders dan mevrouw Knibbe aangeeft – over misbruik in parochies en gezinssituaties. Zie hierover het eerste onderzoeksrapport, bladzij 200 tot en met 285, bladzij 310 tot en met 330 en bladzij 667 tot en met 685.[1]

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UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Mail

Esther Rantzen leads calls for law to compel doctors, teachers and social workers to report suspected cases of child abuse

Childline founder Esther Rantzen is leading calls for a law to compel doctors, teachers and social workers to report suspected cases of child abuse – or face imprisonment or a fine.

Ms Rantzen, along with MPs and lawyers representing the victims of Jimmy Savile, believe decades of cover-ups and scandals – including those involving Baby P, Daniel Pelka and the grooming of children in Rochdale – would have been prevented if professionals had been legally obliged to pass on their concerns.

Similar systems already operate in Australia, the US and Ireland, and campaigners want to add mandatory reporting to the Children and Families Bill currently going through Parliament.

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MISSOURI
The Kansas City Star

November 2

BY JUDY L. THOMAS
The Kansas City Star

A judge has approved a $1.35 million settlement in a civil lawsuit involving a Kansas City priest convicted of producing child pornography.

Jackson County Circuit Judge Kenneth Garrett III approved the settlement in the lawsuit filed in 2011 by a minor girl and her parents against the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese, the Rev. Shawn Ratigan and Bishop Robert Finn. The approval was entered in the court record last week.

The diocese reached the agreement with the plaintiffs on Oct. 2, days before the case was to go to trial. The settlement was the diocese’s third in five months involving allegations of sexual abuse by a priest and brings to more than $4 million the amount it has paid in those cases.

The diocese said in a statement that the current settlement was paid in full by insurance.

In confirming the settlement, the diocese said it “reiterates its great sorrow for the harm and grief visited upon children and their families by the actions of Shawn Ratigan.”

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ESPANA
Levante

[Summary: The priest who served for years at a church in Ribera while teaching in the township has been sentenced to five years in prison. He told children they would go to hell if they told of the abuse they were subjected to for months. The judge said the children were forced to undress and submit to touching, acts which the children considered to be repulsive.]

CARLOS ALÓS El cura que ofició durante años en una iglesia de la Ribera mientras impartía clases en el municipio, y que ha sido condenado a cinco años de prisión, amenazaba a los menores con que irían al infierno si contaban los abusos a los que fueron sometidos durante meses. Los menores silenciaron las vejaciones de que eran objeto porque les atormentaba esa idea y por miedo y vergüenza.

El juez declara probado que existió reiteración y frecuencia en los actos de abuso sexual, en los que el acusado obligaba a que le realizaran tocamientos y les hacía desnudarse, lo que los menores consideraban «repulsivo».

Las víctimas, que declararon en el juicio por videoconferencia, señalaron, según recoge la sentencia, que se sentían «obligados» y que tenían miedo a las consecuencias si contaban los hechos. Uno acababa de cumplir 13 años cuando comenzaron los abusos y otro contaba con 14, aunque la situación se prolongó hasta que cumplió los 15 años. Cuando el párroco acababa con los abusos, siempre les pedía disculpas y les decía que no volvería a pasar.

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NEW JERSEY
The Record

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2013
BY JEFF GREEN
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

One thousand Catholics, 33 bishops from around the country and four cardinals will welcome Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda to the Newark Archdiocese on Tuesday at a special Mass.

Pope Francis appointed Hebda, 54, formerly the bishop of a rural diocese in northern Michigan, as a coadjutor, or assistant, to Archbishop John J. Myers in September. Myers, 72, said in a press conference at the time that he requested help from the Vatican to run several major initiatives as he and two of his regional bishops near the mandatory retirement age of 75. …

Governor Christie, a close confidant of Myers, is not scheduled to attend the ceremony, which is on Election Day, but he does plan to be at an annual Mass for law enforcement officers on Thursday. Goodness said the nuncio’s office chose the date for Hebda’s ceremony.

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UNITED STATES
Bilgrimage

William D. Lindsey

No, the religious right hasn’t gone the way of the dodo bird. No, it’s not extinct. No, it’s not somehow distinct from the tea party movement that is now indistinguishable from the Republican party itself.

These are all points that Fred Clarkson makes very well yesterday in a piece at Talk to Action linking to an essay Simon Brown has just published in Church and State. I like, in particular, a point that Fred has made in the past and which he reiterates very clearly in his latest statement at Talk to Action: this is that the religious right has received in infusion of new blood in American politics due to the deliberate decision of the U.S. Catholic bishops to ally themselves with the evangelical right in an even more direct and bellicose way after Barack Obama was elected to the presidency.

Fred writes:

Earlier this year, I published a report in The Public Eye about the historic convergence in the politics of the protestant evangelical Christian Right and the Roman Catholic Bishops. This convergence, decades in the making, fully emerged in the publication of the 2009 manifesto, The Manhattan Declaration, in which more than 50 Catholic Bishops and such familiar Christian Right figures as Tony Perkins, James Dobson and Samuel Rodriguez expressed solidarity to the point of civil disobedience on three interrelated matters: life, marriage, and religious liberty. In that order.

Why don’t the U.S. bishops under the leadership of Timothy Dolan want to survey American Catholics about their views re: contraception, same-sex marriage, and divorce? They don’t want to do so because they have made a bargain with the devil by entering into an overtly partisan alliance with other U.S. religious groups for whom the GOP is God’s anointed party and President Obama is in league with the devil. “Discovering” that a majority of U.S. Catholics disagree with them about contraception and same-sex marriage, and consider their absurd Fortnight for Freedom protests a colossal waste of time and a sinful misallocation of resources, would make waves for that alliance that now drives much that the bishops do and think.

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UNITED STATES
Pope Crimes & Vatican Evils…

Paris Arrow

November 1, 2013 Feast of All Saints

Saints, giant statues, holy cross, rosaries and sacred relics cannot protect children

Today is All Saints Day and it’s time to set their records straight — that all saints in the ‘one, holy, catholic and apostolic Vatican Catholic Church’ (not Roman Catholic Church) — really did nothing to save children during the entire latter half of the 20th century of pedophile priests of Biblical Proportion – for which Amnesty International named the Vatican guilty of violation of human rights of children,
http://pope-ratz.blogspot.ca/2011/05/amnesty-international-names-vatican-in.html.

Children are taught the history of wars but they must also be taught the true history of saints. It’s time to teach children that realistically, all saints despite their holy names, big colorful statues and sacred relics — said nothing and did nothing to save and protect children from the bestial 6,100 pedophile priests in the USA where their victims were 15,750 (plus) that’s five times more than 3,000 victims of 9/11.

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LOUISVILLE (KY)
The Courier-Journal

[with video]

Written by
Peter Smith
The Courier-Journal

As the nation’s Roman Catholic bishops gather in Washington the week of Nov. 11, the man they are expected to elect as their new president is Louisville’s archbishop, 67-year-old Joseph E. Kurtz.

It’s one of the most influential positions in American Catholicism, the public face and voice of 445 bishops who shepherd the largest religious body in the United States, with 67 million members.

As president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Kurtz would advocate his colleagues’ views in Washington on such issues as same-sex marriage and the federal mandate for employers to cover contraception for employees. He’d also serve as a conduit to the Vatican, conveying bishops’ concerns to Rome and Rome’s views to them.

He was appointed to his Louisville position under now-retired Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and has been a vocal advocate in echoing Benedict’s opposition to same-sex marriage and growing secularism in Western culture.

But his expected rise to president of the bishops conference coincides with the new era of Pope Francis, who has created a sensation in the first months of his pontificate by shedding the trappings of wealth, connecting with the poor and issuing gestures of empathy toward gays, the divorced and others estranged from church life and traditional beliefs.

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NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

By Mark Mueller/The Star-Ledger
on November 03, 2013

Norberto Nierras says he saw the man with the shock of white hair all the time along Home Avenue, a residential block that teems with children from the Catholic elementary and high schools a few hundred yards away.

The man, Nierras said, came and went as he pleased, strolling the Rutherford neighborhood or sitting on a bench outside the four-story building he called home: the St. John Vianney Residence for Retired Priests.

What Nierras didn’t know is that the man, the Rev. Msgr. Peter Cheplic, had been accused of drugging and molesting four teenage boys in the 1970s and 1980s. Or that the Archdiocese of Newark found the claims credible enough to remove him from ministry in 2006.

Cheplic, who has denied the allegations, is one of at least seven alleged sexual predators quietly placed in the Rutherford retirement home in the past decade, The Star-Ledger found. Some lived there a short time. Others have stayed for years. Neighbors said they were never informed of the men’s presence until told by a reporter.

“Parents need to be made aware of this,” said Nierras, 25, who has lived across the street from St. John Vianney for more than three years. “There are kids around this area constantly. I’m pretty sure people would be upset. I’m upset.”

Eleven years after the nation’s bishops confronted the clergy sex abuse crisis, vowing at a landmark summit in Dallas to make the protection of children a priority and to open a new era of transparency, the church continues to wrestle with a host of vexing questions and competing interests.

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AUSTRALIA
Brisbane Times

It’s about the Pope’s move last week to dismiss German Bishop Franz-Peter Terbatz-van Telst of Limburg, after finding out he’d spent no less than 31 million euros on his private residence. An admirable move, one might think, given that this Pope’s motif seems to be simplicity and humility?

I agree. But what about our own Cardinal George Pell? How is he going when it comes to simple living?

In 2011, Cardinal Pell was instrumental in the Australian Catholic Church using money, mostly from the Sydney archdiocese, to spend $30 million – though one estimate goes as high as $85 million – to buy Domus Australia, an old Marist Fathers home in Rome’s Via Cernaia that has been converted into a guest house, with a 150-seat auditorium, and includes a private apartment for Cardinal Pell.

“It’s the cost of a high school, perhaps a high school and a church,” the Cardinal conceded to Good Weekend, before noting: “We haven’t given the money away. It’s an investment.”

And yet, the vice-president of the Rationalists Association of NSW, Max Wallace, raises a fair question: “How is it that the maximum payout of victims of sexual abuse can hope to achieve through Cardinal Pell’s Towards Healing process is $75,000 yet the church can find as much as $30 million to acquire a property in Rome? This surely tells victims that the church really doesn’t care about them, and the church’s mea culpas in the light of all the revelations about abuse are hollow and insincere.”

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PENNSYLVANIA
WJAC

Updated: Saturday, November 2 2013

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — An investigation by a Pittsburgh attorney into allegations of sexual misconduct by a Franciscan Friar at a Johnstown private high school is complete and in the hands of the Cambria County District Attorney.

Now, the county investigator said she will turn the report over to the state’s Attorney General. In a statement to 6 News, District Attorney Kelly Callihan said it will be up to the state to decide the merits of the information, especially since the case may involve more counties than Cambria.

Brother Stephen Baker was a Franciscan friar and a former athletic trainer at Bishop McCort and was the subject of child abuse investigations in Ohio, Minnesota and Pennsylvania.

Baker lived at St. Bernadine Monastery in Hollidaysburg when he committed suicide earlier this year. The attorney representing some of Bakers alleged victims conducted an investigation into who possibly knew of the abuse at the school.

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ALBANY (NY)
Albany Times Union

By Brendan J. Lyons
Updated 11:23 am, Saturday, November 2, 2013

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany has been ordered by a federal judge to turn over nearly 40 years worth of clergy abuse files to a Warren County man who is suing the diocese and a priest who raped him as a young boy.

It’s the first time the Albany diocese has been ordered by a court to fully disclose its confidential files on priests and other employees accused of sexual abuse. But the ruling by U.S. District Judge William K. Sessions III includes a sealing order that, for now, will keep the records from being made public. The sealing order was requested by the diocese and Gary J. Mercure, an imprisoned Albany priest who is accused of systematically raping and abusing altar boys for years.

The order requires the diocese to turn over its internal records on sexual abuse by priests and other employees dating to 1975.

“This is the first time the diocese has been ordered to turn over 38 years of records involving individuals — current and former clergy and employees, and even those who have made complaints of sexual abuse — who have absolutely nothing to do with the case at hand,” said Kenneth Goldfarb, a spokesman for the diocese. “The diocese sought a protective order because, surely, the privacy rights of these individuals warrant the same protection that the federal court already granted to Gary Mercure by issuing a protective order for his files.”

The decision was handed down in a lawsuit filed by a 37-year-old man who said he was raped by Mercure in New York, Massachusetts and Vermont beginning in the early 1980s when he was about 8 years old. The victim filed his lawsuit against the diocese and Mercure in Vermont because New York’s statute of limitations prevented any claim or criminal action here.

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IRELAND
Association of Catholic Priests

Padraig McCarthy reviews Archbishop Diarmuid Martin’s response to the legal review of the Murphy Report, agreeing that it makes valid points — but also pointing out that there is more to be said.

The day following the launch at the ACP AGM of the legal review by Fergal Sweeney of the Murphy Report, the Irish Times published an item under the heading “Martin defends Murphy report“. This referred to Archbishop Diarmuid Martin’s statement on the Dublin diocesan website. It is worthwhile noting that Archbishop Martin did not contradict what Fergal Sweeney wrote. The Archbishop said that children abused by priests must be remembered during any criticisms of the Murphy Report. In saying that, Archbishop Martin is fully in agreement with Fergal Sweeney, who emphasises the same point. Any criticism of the Murphy Report must indeed recognise that the Report is to be valued greatly for its vindication and validation of the accounts of those who were abused.

On other matters, some qualification may be useful. Archbishop Martin says that diocesan officials had no problem in being accompanied by their lawyers.

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ST. PAUL (MN)
Minnesota SNAP

Saturday, November 9
1:30 – 2:00 p.m.
Cathedral of St. Paul
239 Selby Ave, Saint Paul, MN

Join Us!

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