ABUSE TRACKER

UNITED STATES
The National Herald

By A.P. Cromidas

August 15, 2013

Last year the top layman of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America issued an unprecedented statement about problems in the archdiocese. In perhaps his strongest point, he spoke about “a regrettable and most distasteful subject, i.e. the current state of monasteries in their relationship with the U.S. Church.” Has anything been done about this matter? Not that one would know about. (And, yes, we the laypeople should know about it.)

The layman was Michael Jaharis, who is Vice-Chairman of the Archdiocesan Council. He was speaking at last fall’s Council meeting. He used some rather strong terms about his concerns. And, though details were lacking, he said that “If we are to `bear fruit’ as a faith, we have to make certain to guard our garden from disease.” One can assume that he was referring to an undue influence the monasteries are having among some parishes, and that they are overstepping their “obligations” under the terms of the Charter of the Archdiocese.

These monasteries are the ones directed by the “Elder” Ephraim, a monk who has established some 18 monasteries in the United States and Canada. Jaharis said that the work of an Archdiocese committee charged with examining the problems was being obstructed. He said “severe” action may be required in the case of the young monk who apparently took his own life at the gates of the Arizona monastery that is headquarters for Ephraim in America.

And so, where are we? Take a guess. At the end of this May the next meeting of the council was held in Boston. It is understood that most of the metropolitans (bishops) did not even attend this meeting, and that not much, if anything, was accomplished regarding the problems that Jaharis had spoken about with such urgency at the previous meeting.

Not all that long ago, the metropolitans lobbied to be included in the deliberations of the archdiocesan council. Now, it appears they are quite willing to thumb their noses at meetings of the council. When the committee was set up to look into the Ephraim situation, it was headed by a layman. Since then, a metropolitan has become chairman and not much has happened – he was one of the absent members at this last meeting. At a session of the Synod of Bishops earlier this year, it was reported in the Orthodox Observer, the official paper of the archdiocese, that the matter of the monasteries was “discussed” by the metropolitans, but not surprisingly, no details were given. So the bishops discuss the matter but don’t tell us what they said, and then they are largely absent from the next archdiocese council session where presumably the “distasteful” monastery problems were to be dealt with.

Is this the best we can expect from the council? The only report so far of the May meeting was in the June issue of the Orthodox Observer, and no mention was made of any report or discussion of the monasteries.

One is reminded of the current situation in the American military where the commanders are saying to the country: “Not to worry, we’ll handle the sexual misconduct problem within our chain of command.” Likewise, our bishops seem to be saying: “Don’t worry, we’ll handle the monastery situation, you laypeople don’t have to.”

Well, it is obvious that they are not dealing with it in a forthright, open and timely manner. And, aside from Mr. Jaharis’ serious comments, the laypeople of the council are also failing at the job. TNH, the main Greek-American newspaper, is also letting us down by not providing timely follow-up reporting.

While most of the faithful may only just be learning that there are concerns about the Ephraim monasteries, the matter is not new. It was written about more than 10 years ago by this writer and by TNH.

More recently, two concerned websites have emerged: “weareorthodox” and “gotruthreform”, But, in what seems to be the usual mode of operation by the Church, the matter is being dealt with, as the Greek expression goes, “avrio – avrio” –” tomorrow, tomorrow”.

But that is not good enough. The body of the Church is being hurt and the people deserve better treatment from their leadership, today, not “tomorrow.”

A.P. Cromidas is a retired social agency executive and has served as a parish council president. He lives in Dallas, Texas

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SCOTLAND
BBC News

Scotland’s Children’s Commissioner has called for an independent inquiry into allegations of abuse at Fort Augustus Abbey Catholic boarding school.

A third Australian monk has now been implicated in a suspected paedophile ring, revealed by a BBC investigation.

The Scottish government said the allegations were matters for the Catholic Church in Scotland, and were for Police Scotland to investigate.

But Children’s Commissioner Tam Baillie said an inquiry was needed.

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland he said: “I am actually appointed by parliament, not by the Scottish government, and the government has to listen to the lobby, if you like, the views, the judgement, and in my judgement this requires an independent inquiry.

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SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland

Friday 16 August 2013

ONE of Scotland’s leading ­children’s charities has backed calls for an independent public inquiry to be held into claims of sexual and physical abuse at a Catholic boarding school.

Children 1st, which works with those affected by abuse in Scotland, said a police investigation into historic allegations at Fort Augustus Abbey School in the Highlands may not be enough to address victims’ concerns.

The charity has also called on the Catholic Church to fully co-operate with the ongoing investigation and for it to pass on any information it has to the police.

More than 50 former pupils of the school and its preparatory school Carlekemp in East Lothian, which have now closed, came forward last month with allegations of ill-treatment at the hands of monks from the 1950s to the 1990s.

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FLORIDA
WPTV

Former Rosarian teacher now facing 59 charges of child porn on top of sexual battery accusations

Posted: 08/15/2013
By: Marissa Bagg

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Days before his next court appearance, prosecutors aren’t holding back on Stephen Budd. They’ve added 59 of charges of child pornography in the case against him.

“It was 19 videos and 40 images, the videos were approximately 2 hours total,” says West Palm Beach Police Detective David Lafont.

The former Rosarian Academy teacher is already facing five charges of sexual battery and molestation. He’s accused of forcing two young girls under his desk to perform sex acts on him in class. Police found a hard drive in Budd’s car the day he was arrested for those alleged crimes back in April.

“The daughter when she was interviewed, she said he asked her to swap computers from his car, his work computer with personal computer and leave it in his vehicle. When she went back one comp was missing,” said Det. Lafont.

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CHILE
Bio Bio

[con audio]

Su apoyo al sacerdote Orlando Rogel, que está acusado de abuso sexual reiterado y al momento enfrenta un juicio oral, entregó el obispo emérito de la Diócesis de Villarrica, Sixto Partzinger.

El prelado, si bien manifestó que por su actual condición eclesiástica no está al tanto del desarrollo del caso y que sólo hoy se enteró que Rogel está enfrentando un juicio, precisó que se le debe apoyar tal como señala el evangelio.

El obispo emérito de Villarrica aclaró además que Rogel sigue siendo sacerdote por cuanto esa condición es similar a un sacramento y es indeleble, aunque no tenga ministerio para ejercer.

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AUSTRALIA
Telegraph

THE Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse will be in the Kimberley region next week to meet with Aboriginal community groups.

Commissioners Helen Milroy and Andrew Murray will spend almost a week in the state’s north speaking to representatives from the Kimberley Stolen Generations, Yawuru community leaders, Aboriginal legal and medical services, sexual assault and mental health services and the Kimberley Land Council to explain how the Royal Commission works.

Ms Milroy, a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist from WA and Mr Murray, a Rhodes Scholar and a former WA Senator, will also be there to learn about the extent of institutional child sexual abuse in the Kimberley region.

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ICELAND
Pressan

[Click here for the story.]

Guðrún Ebba Ólafsdóttir – daughter of the late Ólafur Skúlason, previous bishop – wants that every preventative measure be taken to ensure that no sexual offender is able to reach the highest position of any church ever again. Guðrún has invited the Church council (“Kirkjuráð) – the highest executive authority of the Church in Iceland – to a meeting, after her request for a hearing.

As the newspaper DV has discussed in the previous week, Guðrún supported Sigríður Pálína Ingvarsdóttir’s claims, accusing bishop Ólafur of sexual abuse and a rape attempt.

Sigríður had a meeting with the Church Council and presented her side of the story. Guðrún requested to meet the bishop last Spring but never received a reply. She lobbied her claim to the entire Council this Spring and will be allowed another meeting this Fall.

Below is an excerpt of Guðrún’s letter to the Council a year ago. She confirms in a conversation with Pressan that the letter is real, but does not know how it was leaked:

“It is an important issue to me that the Church will attempt with all its capacities to ensure that this does not happen again; that sexual offenders cannot reach the highest positions of respect. I think it is necessary for the Icelandic national Church to take a clear position against sexual abuse and publicly condemn it as sin. The Church must side with the victims, and many of the victims are having religious difficulties – and feel that God has betrayed them. I also think it is important for priests, and everybody else working for the Church, to receive the necessary information about sexual abuse.”

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NEW MEXICO
KOB

[with video]

By: KOB.com staff

An Albuquerque woman filed a lawsuit claiming a church leader sexually abused her as a child.

Monica Jaramillo said Michael Brunner, an elder at the Jehovah’s Witness church in Los Lunas, sexually abused her when she was just 8 years old.

Jaramillo, now 35, filed a lawsuit claiming other elders of the church knew about the incident but chose to do nothing.

The complaint also alleges Jaramillo’s mother was raped by Brunner.

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UNITED STATES
GRACE – Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment

Recent allegations of sexual abuse and cover-up within a well known international ministry and subsequent public statements by several evangelical leaders have angered and distressed many, both inside and outside of the Church. These events expose the troubling reality that, far too often, the Church’s instincts are no different than from those of many other institutions, responding to such allegations by moving to protect her structures rather than her children. This is a longstanding problem in the Christian world, and we are deeply grieved by the failures of the American and global Church in responding to the issue of sexual abuse. We do not just believe we should do better; as those who claim the name of Jesus and the cause of the Gospel, we are convinced we must do better. In the hope that a time is coming when Christian leaders respond to all sexual abuse with outrage and courage, we offer this confession and declare the Good News of Jesus on behalf of the abused, ignored and forgotten.

Through the media we have been confronted with perpetual reports of grievous sexual abuse and its cover-up. Institutions ranging from the Catholic Church, various Protestant churches and missionary organizations, Penn State, Yeshiva University High School, the Boy Scouts, and all branches of our military have been rocked by allegations of abuse and of complicity in silencing the victims. And while many evangelical leaders have eagerly responded with outrage to those public scandals, we must now acknowledge long-silenced victims who are speaking out about sexual abuse in evangelical Christian institutions: schools, mission fields and churches, large and small. And we must confess we have done far too little to hear and help them.

Holocaust survivor and author, Elie Weisel, once said, “Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim…silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” When we choose willful ignorance, inaction or neutrality in the face of evil, we participate in the survival of that evil. When clergy, school administrations, boards of directors, or military commanders have been silent or have covered up abuse, they have joined with those who perpetrate crimes against the “little ones” – often children, but also others who are on the underside of power because of size, age, position or authority. …

Carol Ajamian – Retired Jim Arcieri Pastor of Community Bible Fellowship Church in Red Hill, PA
William S. Barker – Professor of Church History, Emeritus at Westminster Theological Seminary (PA)
Steve Brown – Professor, Emeritus of Preaching and Pastoral Ministry at Reformed Theological Seminary, President of Key Life Network, Inc., and Author
P. J. (“Flip”) Buys – Associate International Director of the World Reformed Fellowship, South Africa
Rebecca Campbell – Member of the Board of Trustees at Biblical Theological Seminary
Alan Chambers – Founder, Speak.Love
Kelly Clark – Attorney with the law firm of O’Donnell Clark and Crew, LLP in Portland, OR
Julie Clinton – President of Extraordinary Women
Tim Clinton – President of the American Association of Christian Counselors and Professor of Counseling and Pastoral Care at Liberty University
Wentzel Coetzer – Professor of Theology at Northwest University (Potschefstroom, South Africa)
James Courtney – Ruling Elder at Trinity Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Rye, NY
Margaret Courtney – Co-Director of Family Ministries at Trinity Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Rye, NY
Glenn Davies – Bishop of North Sydney, Australia D. Clair Davis Chaplain at Redeemer Seminary
Chuck DeGroat – Associate Professor of Counseling and Pastoral Care at Western Theological Seminary and Senior Fellow at Newbigin House
Mary DeMuth – Author and Blogger
David G. Dunbar – Professor of Theology at Biblical Theological Seminary
Diana S. Durrill – Pastor’s wife and Sexual abuse survivor
Michael J. Durrill – Pastor of Valley Community Church in Louisville, CO
William Edgar – Professor of Apologetics at Westminster Theological Seminary (PA)
Rob Edwards – Pastor of Mercy Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Forest, VA
Mr. Rinaldo Lotti Filho – Ruling Elder in the Presbyterian Church of Brazil (Sao Paulo)
Elyse Fitzpatrick – Counselor and Author
Ryan Ferguson – Pastor of Community Connection at North Hills Community Church in Taylors, SC
E. Robert Geehan – Pastor of The Reformed Church in Poughkeepsie, NY (RCA)
Shannon Geiger – Counselor at Park Cities Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Dallas, TX
Douglas Green – Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary (PA)
Fred Harrell – Senior Pastor of City Church in San Francisco, CA
Robert Heerdt – Chief Investment Officer at BenefitWorks, Inc.
Walter Henegar – Senior Pastor of Atlanta Westside Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Atlanta, GA
Craig Higgins – Senior Pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Westchester County, NY and North American Regional Coordinator for the World Reformed Fellowship
Justin Holcomb – Author and Adjunct Professor of Theology and Philosophy at Reformed Theological Seminary
Lindsey Holcomb – Author and former case manager for sexual assault crisis center
Peter Hubbard – Pastor of Teaching at North Hills Community Church in Taylors, SC
Carolyn James – President of WhitbyForum
Frank James – President of Biblical Theological Seminary
Karen Jansson – Board member of the World Reformed Fellowship Board Member and Treasurer of the Russian Orphan Opportunity Fund, USA
Kathy Koch – President and Founder of Celebrate Kids
Matthew Lacey – Development Director for GRACE
David Lamb – Associate Professor of Old Testament at Biblical Theological Seminary
Diane Langberg – Clinical Psychologist and Author
Daniel N. LaValla – Director of Library Services and Development Associate at Biblical Theological Seminary
Samuel Logan – International Director of the World Reformed Fellowship, President Emeritus of Westminster Theological Seminary (PA), and Special Counsel to the President at Biblical Theological Seminary
Tremper Longman – Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies at Westmont College
Kin Yip Louie – Assistant Professor of Theological Studies at China Graduate School of Theology
Fergus Macdonald – Past President of the United Bible Societies (Scotland)
Todd Mangum – Academic Dean and Professor of Theology at Biblical Theological Seminary
Dan McCartney – Professor of New Testament at Redeemer Seminary
Scot McKnight – Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary and Author
Jonathan Merritt – Faith and Culture writer
Pat Millen – Member of the Board of Trustees at Biblical Seminary
Philip Monroe – Professor of Counseling and Psychology at Biblical Theological Seminary
Amy Norvell – Director of Classical Conversations in Bryan/College Station, TX, Pastor’s wife, and Sexual abuse survivor
Thad Norvell -Pastor at Community Church in Bryan/College Station, TX K.
Eric Perrin – Senior Pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Cherry Hill, NJ
Michael Reagan – President of the Reagan Legacy Foundation
Matthew Redmond – Author
Nathan Rice – Director of Middle School Ministries at First Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) in Bellevue, WA
Tamara Rice – Freelance Writer and Editor
Adam L Saenz – Clinical Psychologist and Author
Karen L. Sawyer – Vice Chair and Chair Elect of the Board of Trustees, Biblical Theological Seminary and Adjunct Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Arcadia University
Scotty Smith – Founding Pastor of Christ Community Church in Franklin, TN
Ron Scates – Preaching Pastor at Highland Park Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) in Dallas, Texas
Andrew J. Schmutzer – Professor of Biblical Studies at Moody Bible Institute
Chris Seay – Pastor at Ecclesia in Houston, TX
Mike Sloan – Associate Pastor at Old Peachtree Presbyterian Church in DuLuth, GA
Basyle J. Tchividjian – Executive Director, GRACE and Associate Professor of Law at Liberty University School of Law
Laura Thien – LMHC and Board Chairperson of the Julie Valentine Center in Greenville, SC
Jessica Thompson – Author
Rick Tyson – Senior Pastor at Calvary Presbyterian Church in Willow Grove, PA
John Williams – Ruling Elder in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Washington Island, WI
John Wilson – Pastor in the Presbyterian Church of Victoria, Australia
William Paul Young – Author

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UNITED STATES
The Courier-Journal

Posted on August 15, 2013 by Peter Smith

Evangelical churches need to confront sexual abuse and coverup within their own ranks, according to a statement signed by more than 1,500 people worldwide and promoted by a former sex-crimes prosecutor.

The “Public Statement Concerning Sexual Abuse in the Church of Jesus Christ” was prompted in part by a Maryland lawsuit filed by 11 people against Sovereign Grace Ministries, a denomination now based in Louisville, alleging cover-up of abuse within its churches.

But Boz Tchividjian — a former Florida prosecutor and founder of GRACE, an organization that consults with Christian groups on preventing future abuse and investigating past cases — said the lawsuit underscored larger issues.

“We make public statements about so many issues in the American evangelical world, whether it’s Obamacare, gays in the Boy Scouts,” said Tchividjian, now a law professor at Liberty University in Virginia and a grandson of evangelist Billy Graham. “But here’s a huge issue that’s facing the church, and there’s nothing but silence.”

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CALIFORNIA
Manteca Bulletin

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California bill that would give some sex abuse victims more time to sue failed to gain enough support to make it out of a key Assembly committee in Sacramento.

The bill needed nine votes in the Appropriations Committee move to the Assembly floor but received only six on Wednesday, the Los Angeles Times (http://lat.ms/17qYWHn) reported.

Four members of the committee opposed the bill and seven did not comment following emotional testimony from a sex abuse survivor lobbying for the bill.

Senate Bill 131 would permit the filing of lawsuits against private and nonprofit employers of alleged abusers by people who have been unable to do so due to time and age restrictions.

The proposed law would lift the statute of limitations for one year for the group of alleged victims who were 26 and older and missed the previous deadline set by a similar bill nearly a decade ago.

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CALIFORNIA
DFW Catholic

Los Angeles, Calif., Aug 16, 2013 / 02:03 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A California bill accused of unfairly targeting the Catholic Church and other groups with lawsuits on decades-old abuse charges has stalled in a committee, but the measure is still being considered.

On Aug. 14, Senate Bill 131 received six votes in the local Assembly Appropriations Committee, three short of the nine needed to advance to the assembly floor for a full vote. Four committee members voted against the bill while seven did not vote.

The committee, which primarily considers how much a bill will cost the state government, focused on whether new lawsuits would overburden the legal system, the Los Angeles Times reports. The group will consider the bill again next week.

California’s Catholic bishops have asked Catholics to continue to contact their lawmakers in protest of the legislation.

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IOWA
KCRG

DES MOINES, Iowa — Police reports are providing new information in the case of a youth pastor charged with sexual abuse.

Ryan McKelvey, 27, is charged with two counts of sexual abuse and two counts of sexual exploitation by a counselor or therapist after police said two girls in his congregation came forward with allegations of abuse.

Police reports said at first the 16-year-old girl didn’t provide much detail about what happened, but has now added more details to her account of what happened.

She told police she knew Ryan KcKelvey for two years and trusted and confided in him because he was her youth pastor at Heritage Assembly of God.

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AUSTRALIA
Big Pond News

Friday, August 16, 2013

More victims have come forward with complaints against a former Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing boys in Victoria in the 1970s and 80s.

Former Rupertswood College principal Frank Gerard Klep, 69, of Burwood, has appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court for a committal mention in relation to more than 30 charges of sexual abuse against 11 victims.

The matter was adjourned because more victims have came forward with complaints.

Klep’s lawyer Tony Hargreaves said he hadn’t had a chance to speak with his client about four new complaints against him.

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AUSTRALIA
Border Mail

By Adam Cooper Aug. 16, 2013

An alleged victim of sexual abuse by a Catholic priest was told not to return to a boarding school when his father confronted management, a jury has been told.

The opening day of the trial for David Edwin Rapson heard the boy was 16 or 17 when he was allegedly grabbed on the testicles by the priest in his office at Salesian College Rupertswood one day in 1988.

Prosecutor David Cordy said the boy told Mr Rapson to “f… off” and punched him in the head and went home to report the alleged incident to his parents, who then contacted the Sunbury school.

But the boy’s father was told that the teenager’s behaviour was “inflammatory” and that it would be in the school’s “best interests” for him not to return, the County Court heard.

“So that was the end of that,” Mr Cordy told the jury in his opening address on Friday.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Oxford Mail

A FORMER headteacher of a boarding school at the centre of sexual abuse allegations has “stepped aside” from his position at an Oxford hall.

It follows allegations that Father Francis Davison failed to act on reports of sexual abuse that were made during his time at the Catholic Fort Augustus Abbey School in the Scottish Highlands in the 1970s while he was headmaster.

Yesterday a St Benet’s Hall spokesman confirmed he had stepped aside from his role of religious superior at the hall in St Giles, where he was responsible for the welfare of student monks at the university for a year.

He added: “We would like to offer our heartfelt sympathies to former pupils of Fort Augustus Abbey School and their families.

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SCOTLAND
Scotsman

by STEPHEN MCGINTY
Published on the 16 August 2013

THE head of child protection for the Catholic Church in England and Wales has said the Scottish church should open its files up to an independent inquiry.

Danny Sullivan, chairman of the Catholic Safeguarding Commission in England and Wales, said the Church in Scotland would benefit from outside scrutiny and criticised those in the church who suggested their current system was “streets ahead”.

The chairman was responding to Bishop Joseph Devine, the retired bishop of Motherwell, who has dismissed calls for an independent inquiry, which is currently being considered by the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in Scotland after the controversy surrounding sexual abuse at Fort Augustus Abbey School.

In a letter to Catholic weekly The Tablet, Mr Sullivan wrote: “Bishop Devine is wrong to dismiss an external review of safeguarding in Scotland on the number of cases he believes it involves. Viewing the documentary on Fort Augustus Abbey School makes appallingly clear once more the profound damage to one individual by abuse. England and Wales has benefitted from two external reviews which have given us a sense of purpose and strategy though we never regard ourselves as ‘streets ahead’ of anyone else. There indeed lies the road to complacency.”

He also criticised the bishop for pointing out that abuse is not restricted to Catholic institutions. “The Church above all has no defence. Long before procedures and protocols became necessary we always had the Gospels where Jesus made absolutely clear what should happen to anyone who harmed a child.”

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SCOTLAND/AUSTRALIA
BBC News

By Mark Daly
BBC Scotland Investigations Correspondent

A third Australian monk has been implicated in a suspected paedophile ring at a former Catholic boarding school in the Highlands.

In a BBC programme, Australian monks Fr Aidan Duggan and Fr Chrysostom Alexander were exposed as paedophiles.

They inflicted physical and sexual abuse against pupils at St Augustus Abbey School and feeder school Carlekemp, East Lothian.

Now Fr Fabian Duggan, Fr Aidan’s brother, has been accused of sex abuse.

The BBC has spoken to four former pupils who were abused, or witnessed abuse by Fr Fabian.

Kees Vogt, who started at Carlekemp as a nine-year-old in 1969, is one of them.

He told the BBC: “Father Fabian had a long narrow room and what he would do, he would tend to call children in to talk to them. And, what he would then tend to do, is he would go to the other side where you would be trapped inside the room and you couldn’t get out again.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Catholic Insider

In the wake of the situation with Msgr. Arthur Coyle having been arrested for paying a prostitute, a number of BCI readers–including priests–are asking again about the episcopal leadership in Boston, and also about how Boston cares for their clergy. This falls under the responsibility of Cabinet Secretary Fr. Kevin M. Sepe, Episcopal Vicar and Secretary for Parish Life and Leadership, and ultimately, to Cardinal Sean O’Malley.

One might want to assume the situation with Msgr. Coyle is a “one-off.” Still, with the position of Director of Pastoral Care of Priests vacant for two years and the diocesan website for the Office of Senior Priests currently listing as its director a priest who died in 2011, there is reason to question the archdiocesan commitment to care of clergy in need–whether that be a spiritual or psychological problem, or being elderly or ill. Here are several of the reader comments that jumped out at BCI:

Lazarus’ Table says:
August 9, 2013 at 7:48 am

Anyone who points a finger at Msgr Coyle and shouts “Sinner!” is in dangerous waters himself. Only God can judge, only He knows the degree of Msgr Coyle’s culpability, all the circumstances that led him to act as he did.

There are, however, some things we can know:
1) There is no agent of the archdiocese in whom a troubled priest can confide in confidence (outside Confession). A priest who needs help will not seek it out of fear he will be “reported”, “sent away”, etc.

2) The Cardinal is not only the priest’s ‘spiritual father’, he is also responsible for the good of the entire archdiocese, i.e., the institution. The good of the institution will always trump the good of the individual. Over are the days when the shepherd will leave the 99 to go in search of the lost 1.

3) In the opinion of many in the hierarchy, Msgr Coyle’s greatest fault was not soliciting a prostitute but getting caught. His story is not unique. Priests “in a relationship” –with females or males– are an accepted fact. Just be discreet.

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PEORIA (IL)
Spiritual Politics

Mark Silk | Aug 15, 2013

In the latest chapter of the John J. Myers story, our hero does his best Sgt. Schultz imitation. As in: ”I see nothing. I was not here. I did not even get up this morning.” That’s the gist of the what Myers had to say when deposed three years ago regarding accusations that Msgr. Thomas Maloney had sexually abused a series of children in the Diocese of Peoria during the time that Myers was climbing the greasy pole there.

Here’s a bit of His Excellency’s colloquy with Attorney Jeff Anderson, representing the plaintiff in the case.

Q. Okay. When it comes to Father Monsignor Maloney, at any time while Bishop or Coadjutor or while a priest of the Diocese of Peoria, did you have any suspicions or receive any information from any source suspicions of sexual abuse by him?

A. I did not have any suspicions. I — because of the, perhaps slipshod filing system that we had between the two different buildings of the office of the Bishop, there may have been things that got by me. But I did not have any suspicions.

Q. Since this lawsuit has been brought you’ve — now that this deposition scheduled or attempted to have been scheduled for some time, have you gone back and looked at the Maloney case and the files that you have and come to the realization that complaints and/or suspicions of sexual abuse by Maloney were missed by the diocese?

A. I don’t know if they were missed by the diocese. I was unaware of them. But other diocesan officials may have been.

Now, with Myers sitting halfway across the country as archbishop of Newark, Peoria has settled the case by forking $1.35 million over to the 25-year-old plaintiff, Andrew Ward, who claims Maloney abused him when he was eight. Public release of Myers’ deposition was part of the settlement — and you figure the guys holding the bag in Peoria were not unhappy to let the world see their former bishop in action. As we’ve learned from the Fugee case, passing the buck is Myers’ style.

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FLORIDA
National Catholic Reporter

Joshua J. McElwee | Aug. 15, 2013 NCR Today

ORLANDO, FLA. The archbishop given expansive oversight by the Vatican of U.S. Catholic sisters met Thursday here with some 825 of their representatives, speaking for about 40 minutes in a closed-door session held under lock and key.

Seattle Archbishop J. Peter Sartain was meeting with members of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), over whom the Vatican has placed the prelate as “archbishop delegate” and given wide power to revise statutes and programs.

The meeting was the first between Sartain and the full membership of the sisters group since the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith gave him his authority in April 2012.

Standing outside the assembly hall where Sartain was speaking, the prelate’s voice could be heard faintly for about 37 minutes. Afterwards, there was about a minute of clapping before voices of individual sisters could be heard intermittently until a scheduled break 90 minutes into the meeting.

LCWR members have been asked by the group’s leaders not to discuss Thursday’s meetings with members of the press. Additionally, the doors into the convention hall where Sartain was speaking were locked with uniformed guards placed near them to prevent unauthorized entry. …

“Even our IT [information technology] conferences are not this secure,” said Kimberly Ritter, a meeting planner at St. Louis-based Nix Conference and Meeting Management.

One of the approximately eight security guards posted at the doors to the event said he was with a local security firm that was contracted specifically for Sartain’s talk.

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UNITED STATES
Clergy Sexual Abuse Recovery

An accusation of clergy sexual abuse has been made against your pastor (or another beloved priest). The alleged victim, “Jane Doe”, said she was abused 30 years ago, and had filed a lawsuit against him and the diocese.

What do you think? He’s your pastor, a great guy, very charismatic and loved by all. He involves himself in parish activies, especially at the school. He is invited to dinner at parishioners’ houses regularly and makes people laugh. And those homilies. Oh, those homilies! They are spot on, inspiring and uplifting.

But now this “victim”, she calls herself, is saying he is not the man he says he is. In fact, he is quite the opposite. She claims that he pushed himself on her and gets very specific about the things he allegedly did to her that were unimaginably horrible.

No way. Not Father. He would never do anything like that! He loves the Lord so much and it is evident. And he denies it totally, saying he doesn’t even know who she is, but that there are so many parishioners that he has met while he has served as a priest, he very well may have met her and just doesn’t remember it. He would never lie about that.

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NEW ZEALAND
TVNZ

The Government’s White Paper for Vulnerable Children has sparked debate from various organisations around the country.

NZEI past president Frances Nelson said the Government has missed a “golden opportunity” to tackle child poverty and “virtually ignored the many excellent submissions it received on the Green Paper for Vulnerable Children”.

She said the Government has again “gone down the road of punishment and monitoring”.

“We know that poverty is one of the leading causes of student underachievement. If the Government is serious about lifting student achievement, it would do something about child poverty.”

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NEW ZEALAND
TVNZ

[with video]

Proposed legislation targeting parents who seriously abuse or kill their children is the Government’s way of taking responsibility for New Zealand’s child abuse statistics, Prime Minister John Key says.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett this morning unveiled a raft of child abuse prevention measures which could ban some parents from being near children.

If police or Child, Youth and Family believe someone poses a threat to a child, High Court or District Court judges could impose a ban, similar to restraining orders in cases of domestic violence, preventing them from working, living and socialising with children.

Screening and vetting of every person in the Government Children’s Workforce would also be introduced and people with serious convictions will be permanently restricted from working closely with children.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Vatican Crimes

THURSDAY, AUGUST 15, 2013

The truth about the most criminal organization in existence is being exposed – the Vatican. Already there is evidence of over 10 million crimes committed by priests and nuns worldwide, but the number is increasing daily as more and more victims are finally getting the courage to speak out.

A major inquiry into historical institutional abuse in Northern Ireland is launching an international appeal for victims and survivors to come forward. The inquiry seeks to investigate child abuse which occurred in residential institutions administered by nuns and priests in Northern Ireland over a 74-year period, from 1922 up to 1995.

The Inquiry recognizes that there has been considerable migration from Northern Ireland to various parts of the United States and is anxious to encourage any survivors who suffered clergy childhood abuse in Northern Ireland institutions but who now live overseas to get in touch. The Inquiry’s Chairman, Sir Anthony Hart, said he appreciates that the decision to contact the Inquiry can be a very difficult one for survivors, particularly if they live abroad.

“We recognize that, for many potential witnesses, reliving their experiences will be very painful and traumatic,” he said. “Indeed, some will not have told their closest relatives or friends about the abuse they suffered. If they now live overseas, the thought of contacting the Inquiry may seem especially daunting. But we want to emphasize that we’re doing everything we can to make the process as easy as possible for those living abroad.”

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UNITED STATES
TheMediaReport

What is a “stuntsuit”? It is a lawsuit whose only real purpose is to generate publicity and garner media exposure for one’s cause.

So the word “stuntsuit” can readily apply to the silly lawsuit that was filed over a decade ago in 2002 in Oregon by contingency lawyer Jeff Anderson against the Vatican, wildly claiming that the Vatican is somehow the direct “employer” of all of the world’s 412,000 Catholic priests and is somehow directly and legally responsible for any and all misconduct committed by them.

Anderson’s filing of his “stuntsuit” in 2002 predictably amassed tremendous mainstream media attention. But after years of wasted time and effort, and after a federal judge’s dismissal of the matter a year ago, Anderson quietly dismissed his frivolous appeal just last week.

This time, however, the mainstream media did not even take notice.

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CONNECTICUT
The Hartford Courant

Staff reports
The Hartford Courant
2:50 p.m. EDT, August 15, 2013

HARTFORD — A Catholic priest will spend five years in prison after he admitted in Superior Court Thursday that he had child pornography on his computer and chatted about sex on the Internet with underage boys.

The Rev. Michael Miller, 43, of Berlin, pleaded guilty in May to possession of child pornography, obscenity and three counts of risk of injury to a minor before Judge Hillary Strackbein.

He was sentenced Thursday to a prison term of 20 years, suspended after five, followed by 20 years of probation. He also must register as a sex offender.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Berger’s Beat

. . .It’s been a month now since a civil child sex abuse lawsuit was filed against Archbishop Robert Carlson based on accusations that one of his priests, Fr. Joseph Jiang, molested a girl. The suit contained an incendiary charge that Carlson broke criminal evidence tampering laws by asking the girl’s parents for a $20k check Jiang reportedly gave them after Jiang admitted abusing the girl. Often pedophile priest cases are mentioned in the weekly St. Louis Review archdiocesan newspaper. So far, however, not a word about this unusual accusation has appeared. . .

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CHILE
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday August 15, 2013

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

Because of a legal short coming, a credibly accused Chilean predator priest is listed as able to work around kids.

We hope Chilean lawmakers will reexamine the standard that they use in making such decisions. Regardless of what the law may allow, church officials must be held to a higher standard.

Chilean Catholics and citizens deserve a clear, written pledge from church officials; Fr Karadima will never be allowed around kids.

We applaud Juan Carlos Cruz, James Hamilton, Jose Andres Murillo and other victims of Karadima for continuing to warn the public about the dangers of this predator priest.

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UNITED STATES
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on August 15, 2013

The UN Convention Against Torture has announced that it will be reviewing reports by the Holy See to determine if they are in compliance with the international treaty against torture.

Other states being reviewed include Sierra Leone, Cyprus and Lithuania.

While it’s a routine review—and only in the informational stages—victims and advocates hope that the review will publicly expose Vatican crimes.

This latest news comes on the heels of a request of the UN Committee for the Rights of the Child, in which in the international organization asked the Vatican to account for every child sex accusation by clergy it has received and disclose all records of abuse and cover-up by church officials.

While these actions are symbolic and have no “teeth”—in other words, no one is going to go to jail and the Vatican can simply “quit” the UN if it doesn’t want to play along—it’s reassuring to the victims’ community to see that international bodies DO recognize that there is a problem.

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SCOTLAND
Scotsman

by CRAIG BROWN
Published on the 15 August 2013

A FORMER headmaster of a Scottish Catholic boarding school hit by accusations of serial child sex abuse has resigned from a senior position at a Benedictine college of Oxford University.

Father Francis Davidson has stepped down as monastic superior of St Benet’s Hall, where he was responsible for the welfare of student monks at the Oxford College, it was reported last night.

Fr Davidson has been accused of covering up abuse perpetrated by monks at Fort Augustus Abbey School in the Highlands and its preparatory school in East Lothian, Carlekemp, both of which are now closed.

The alleged abuse committed against pupils, and the surrounding cover-up, were revealed in a BBC investigation broadcast last month.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Oxford Mail

FATHER Francis Davidson has resigned from his role as monastic superior of the Benedictine college St Benet’s Hall, Oxford.

It follows allegations that he failed to act on reports of sexual abuse that were made during his time at the Catholic Fort August Abbey School in the Scottish Highlands in the 1970s where he was headmaster.

Last night it emerged that he’d quit his position at the Hall in St Giles where he was responsible for the welfare of students monks at Oxford University.

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SCOTLAND
Scottish Catholic Observer

A former headmaster of Fort Augustus Abbey School has resigned from a senior role at a Benedictine college of Oxford University in light of ongoing investigations of abuse and coverup at the school in the Scottish Highlands.

Fr Francis Davidson, the only surviving headmaster of the school, faces accusations of covering up child sex abuse during his time as headmaster at Fort Augustus (above) in the 1970s. As a result, he has left his post as monastic superior of St Benet’s Hall at Oxford where he cared for the welfare of students.

In a statement he offered his sympathies to any victims of historic abuse and said he was ‘shocked and saddened’ to hear of the allegations.

“I do not recall them being reported to me during my time as headmaster of Fort Augustus Abbey School,” he said. “As investigations into matters at Fort Augustus Abbey School and Carlekemp Priory School are ongoing, I have stepped aside from my role as religious superior at St Benet’s Hall.”

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SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland

Thursday 15 August 2013

A former headmaster of a Catholic boarding school at the centre of claims of sexual and physical abuse by monks has resigned from a senior role at a Benedictine college of Oxford University.

Father Francis Davidson is accused of covering up child abuse during his time at Fort Augustus Abbey School in the Highlands.

He was accused of failing to alert police to at least one allegation.

He is quitting as monastic superior of St Benet’s Hall, responsible at the Oxford college for the welfare of student monks.

His resignation comes after allegations of abuse at the now closed school and feeder school Carlekemp in East Lothian spanning 30 years. Some 50 former pupils have come forward alleging abuse at the schools between the 1950s and 1990s.

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SCOTLAND
Daily Record

A FORMER headmaster of a boarding school at the centre of sexual abuse allegations has resigned from a role at Oxford University.

Father Francis Davidson has been accused of failing to act on reports during his time at the Catholic Fort Augustus Abbey School in the Highlands in the 1970s.

He has quit as monastic superior of the Benedictine college St Benet’s Hall, where he was responsible for the welfare of student monks at the university.

Alleged victims who attended the Abbey school told a BBC Scotland investigation that they were molested and beaten by monks over a period of three decades from the 1950s.

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SCOTLAND
Kincardineshire Observer

Published on 15/08/2013

A former headmaster of a Catholic boarding school at the centre of sexual abuse allegations has resigned from a role at Oxford University.

Father Francis Davidson has been accused of failing to act on reports during his time at the Catholic Fort Augustus Abbey School in the Highlands in the 1970s.

He has quit as monastic superior of the Benedictine college St Benet’s Hall, where he was responsible for the welfare of student monks at the university.

Alleged victims who attended the Abbey school told a BBC Scotland investigation that they were molested and beaten by monks over a period of three decades from the 1950s.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Telegraph

A former headmaster of a Catholic boarding school embroiled in a sex abuse scandal has resigned from a senior role at a Benedictine college of Oxford University.

By Hayley Dixon 14 Aug 2013

Father Francis Davidson is quitting his post as monastic superior of St Benet’s Hall after being accused of covering up child sex abuse during his time at Fort Augustus Abbey School in the Scottish Highlands.
He was responsible for the welfare of student monks at the Oxford College.

His resignation comes after a BBC investigation found evidence of physical and sexual abuse at the boarding school and its preparatory school in East Lothian.

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FLORIDA
National Catholic Reporter

Joshua J. McElwee | Aug. 15, 2013 NCR Today

ORLANDO, FLA. As U.S. Catholic sisters are meeting to discern their relationship with the church’s bishops, the archbishop given expansive oversight of them by the Vatican told their annual assembly Thursday the Virgin Mary teaches the faithful to hand themselves over “completely to the will of God.”

Mary, Seattle Archbishop J. Peter Sartain told some 825 sisters during a homily this morning, teaches that it’s only in “submitting ourselves over to the one who made us … that we find fulfillment.”

“She shows to us … what God himself desires to do in us all and through the church when we let the grace of God overtake us without placing an obstacle between ourself and that grace,” he continued.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
CBS Philly

By Tony Hanson

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Federal authorities are seeking a sentence of up to 30 years in prison for an admitted con man who targeted nuns, priests and others in a so-called advance fee scam with devastating personal results. But with sentencing set for Thursday morning, the defense is seeking leniency and blaming clergy sex abuse for the defendant’s conduct.

Federal prosecutor Karen Klotz is arguing for the long sentence, well above federal guidelines, because the ruthless crimes committed by defendant Adriano Sotomayor cost some victims all their savings. One victim committed suicide and another attempted suicide.

Klotz says Sotomayor is a repeat offender and this scheme started with an elderly nun in Puerto Rico who was told to send “fees” to collect on an inheritance.

But in its own pre-trial memo, the defense says the defendant was sexually assaulted by members of the Catholic clergy at age 13 and that has resulted in Sotomayor lashing out at his attackers through the proxies of the Catholic clergy and parishioners defrauded in this case.

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CALIFORNIA
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on August 15, 2013

Rep. Diane Harkey: Please take a look at cost of crimes in YOUR district before voting no.

Yesterday, CA Assembly Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Diane Harkey voted no on important crime victims legislation—even though a similar 2003 bill exposed horrible abuse in her own district.
I don’t believe it was a malicious act against victims, I just think she doesn’t know about the child sex crimes and cover-up that have thrived in the 73rd Assembly District.

SB 131—the California Child Victims’ Act, a bill that gives crime victims the opportunity to use the civil courts to seek justice and accountability—has stalled in House Appropriations Committee.
According to the Los Angeles Times:

A key question for the committee is whether new lawsuits would strain an already overburdened court system. At the height of the clergy abuse scandal in 2002, the legislature signed off on a similar one-year window. Hundreds of people filed claims, many of them against the Catholic Church.

Diane Harkey (R-Dana Point) was one of the no votes. She represents the district that is the home of St. Edward’s in Dana Point—home of some of the worst perpetrators in OC history. We wouldn’t know about the scope and scale of the crimes against her constituents were it not for for a similar, but broader, 2003 civil window bill.

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IIOWA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

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

Police have charged an Iowa imam with sexual abuse and sexual exploitation by a member of the clergy.

A 42-year-old woman and her 18-year-old daughter were sexually assaulted by a Muslim religious official in their home. Nermin Spahic was invited into their home to perform a religious ceremony to help with the daughter’s personal issues.

It is outrageous that a man would abuse his religious status. We urge officials at the Islamic and Cultural Center Bosniak to encourage anyone with more information to contact the authorities.

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NEW JERSEY/ILLINOIS
National Catholic Reporter

[Deposition of Archbishop John J. Myers via BishopAccountability.org]

Brian Roewe | Aug. 15, 2013

Newark, N.J., Archbishop John J. Myers, under fire for his lax supervision of a priest under court order not to minister to youth, faces new questions concerning his handling of clergy sex abuse allegations while he was bishop in Peoria, Ill., more than a decade ago.

Attorneys for abuse victim Andrew Ward announced Tuesday that they had reached an agreement with the Peoria diocese over a lawsuit accusing Msgr. Thomas Maloney of molesting Ward when he was a boy in the mid-1990s. The diocese settled the suit for $1.35 million. Maloney died in 2009 at age 73.

Records released as part of the agreement show the Peoria diocese received complaints about Maloney’s inappropriate conduct with children in 1995 and 1999, but that in 2000 Myers wrote to a family that the diocese had no record of complaints against Maloney.

That same year, Myers nominated Maloney for the honorific “monsignor.”

In a 2010 deposition, also unsealed as part of the settlement, Myers said he never had any suspicions of sexual abuse on the Maloney’s part, but acknowledged “there may have been things that got by me” and describes the administration of diocesan records and documents in his time in Peoria as a “loose system.”

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AUSTRALIA
lewisblayse.net

Just an extremely brief posting today.

In the past, paedophiles have concentrated on getting into organisations which have a lot of contact with children. The Royal Commission will be looking at how those organisations have responded to this threat to children. However, if it is limited in this way, and not moving with the times, the problem will continue in a new form.

The reality of the new technologies to do with the world-wide-web is that children are among the major users. Parental blocks can be put on unsuitable sites by all means, but this does not protect their children from the on-line predators, often posing as children themselves.

In the mid-1990s, this author was invited to Queensland State Police Headquarters to consult with the newly established child-protection unit, Taskforce Argos. It was amazing, even at that time, how advanced the methods were. What was equally amazing was just how dedicated, and willing to learn, the members of the unit were. From my background, I am not normally likely to praise coppers, since they are authority figures.

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GENEVA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Committee against Torture calls Catholic officials to account

For the second time in recent months, a United Nations panel will soon determine if Vatican officials are complying with an international treaty. The Geneva-based UN Committee Against Torture (CAT) has set next May as the date for a review of whether top church officials are honoring the 1984 treaty on torture.

[United Nations Human Rights]

“Every time anyone tells Catholic officials ‘You will be held to the same standard as other institutions,’ that’s progress,” said Barbara Blaine of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “This is an encouraging development. We suspect this committee will see and point out how the church hierarchy continues to tolerate and enable sexual violence.”

“Vatican bureaucrats have long made and broken promises with impunity. Ever so slowly, those days are waning,” said David Clohessy of SNAP. “But progress is happening only because of brave victims and determined advocates. So for the safety of innocent kids and vulnerable adults, we all must all keep pressing hard and keep exposing complicity.”

In June, two US SNAP leaders traveled to Geneva and met with the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, chaired by Kirsten Sandberg of Norway. In July, that panel released a list of “issues” related to child sex crimes and cover ups that church officials must response to by Nov. 1.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Irish Central

Published Sunday, August 11, 2013

By JANE WALSH, IrishCentral Staff Writer

A major inquiry into historical institutional abuse in Northern Ireland is launching an international appeal for victims and survivors to come forward. The inquiry seeks to investigate child abuse which occurred in residential institutions in Northern Ireland over a 74-year period, from 1922 up to 1995.

The Inquiry recognizes that there has been considerable migration from Northern Ireland to various parts of the United States and is anxious to encourage any survivors who suffered childhood abuse in Northern Ireland institutions but who now live overseas to get in touch. The Inquiry’s Chairman, Sir Anthony Hart, said he appreciates that the decision to contact the Inquiry can be a very difficult one for survivors, particularly if they live abroad. “We recognize that, for many potential witnesses, reliving their experiences will be very painful and traumatic,” he said. “Indeed, some will not have told their closest relatives or friends about the abuse they suffered. If they now live overseas, the thought of contacting the Inquiry may seem especially daunting. But we want to emphasize that we’re doing everything we can to make the process as easy as possible for those living abroad.”

The Inquiry is offering to meet the travel expenses of those who need to give their testimony in person. If a sufficient number of witnesses come forward from one country, the Inquiry will consider traveling to that country to hear their evidence. Potential witnesses are also offered the option of providing private testimony to the Inquiry’s Acknowledgement Forum if they don’t wish to participate in the public inquiry process. …

Survivors of childhood abuse in Northern Ireland institutions and any other potential witnesses who wish to contact the Inquiry should visit the Inquiry’s website at: www.hiainquiry.org or contact the Inquiry by telephone on 0800 068 4935. For more information or to discuss any of the above please contact Eileen at the Irish Pastoral Centre on 617.265.5300 X 13.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Get Surrey

A former teacher and choirmaster has been found guilty of attempted buggery and two counts of indecent assault against two boys.

John Lillis was convicted by the jury at Guildford Crown Court on Tuesday (August 13). He had already pleaded guilty to four other counts of indecent assault between 1973 and 1982 at an earlier hearing.

Lillis, a teacher at St Dunstan’s Catholic Primary School in Woking at the time of the offences, was allowed to continue in his job at a Woking church 20 years after first admitting indecently assaulting the boys, the court heard.

The 63-year-old, now of Arthur Road, Windsor, was first confronted in 1989 about the offences.

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

A 63-year-old former teacher and choirmaster has been found guilty of indecently assaulting two boys under the age of 16 in Surrey.

John Lillis, of Arthur Road, Windsor, Berkshire, was convicted at Guildford Crown Court of one count of attempted rape and two of indecent assault.

He had earlier admitted five counts of indecent assault against the boys.

Lillis was remanded on conditional bail and will be sentenced at the same court on 6 September.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Express

By: Benjamin Russell
Published: Thu, August 15, 2013

A CHURCH organist who offered to resign after being caught molesting young boys but was persuaded to continue his work with the choir is about to be brought to justice.

The victims of John Lillis, 63, were kicked out the choir and their family given a lecture by a Roman Catholic Bishop about the need for “forgiveness”.

Now, 25 years on, he has been told he is likely to get a long prison sentence after being found guilty by a Crown Court jury of three even more serious sex offences, in addition to four he had already admitted.

The scandal that rocked the catholic community in Woking, Surrey, was outlined during a seven day trial at Guildford Crown Court.

It was also revealed that in addition to his continued work with the choir, at St Dunstan’s RC Church, Lillis was allowed to remain living in a subsidised church property, there The brothers, whose abuse began when one of them was as young as 10, have accused the Church hierarchy of “covering up” the paedophile scandal.

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AUSTRALIA
Illawarra Mercury

By DAVID SHOEBRIDGE Aug. 14, 2013

Too many people have turned a blind eye to the sexual abuse of children, writes DAVID SHOEBRIDGE.

Since coming into the NSW Parliament almost three years ago, I have worked to ensure that the crime of child sexual abuse is prosecuted as one of the most heinous crimes on the statute books. In that time I have been very critical of the failure, especially of the Catholic Church, to report abuse to police.

In working with the many courageous groups and individuals who support survivors of sexual abuse I have had my eyes opened to the real extent of the problem. They have shown me many cases where organisations have treated the sexual abuse of children as a lesser crime than the sexual abuse of adults. In many cases it has not been treated as a crime at all.

This has happened because for too long, too many people have turned a blind eye to the sexual abuse of children. When children reported what had happened to them they were often disbelieved, particularly if the abuser was a person in a position of authority. This must not continue.

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IRELAND
The Irish Catholic

Garry O’Sullivan and Cathal Barry

In what some Dublin priests are describing as a ‘mystifying move’, auxiliary Bishop Eamonn Walsh is to be appointed Episcopal Vicar for Clergy in the archdiocese, the first senior appointment for Bishop Walsh since his dramatic resignation on Christmas Eve 2009 amid public pressure and a lack of full-some support from Archbishop Martin in the wake of the Murphy report.

However in August 2010, in what was widely seen as a public reprimand to Archbishop Martin, the Pope refused to accept the resignation Bishop Walsh and that of fellow auxiliary bishop Ray Field forcing Archbishop Martin to quietly announce their reinstatement buried in a three page letter on the sacraments.

Abuse victim Marie Collins at the time declared that Archbishop Martin’s authority had been “undermined”. However, Bishop Walsh has always considered his treatment ‘an injustice’ and it is believed a case was made to Rome along these lines and hence Rome refused to accept the resignation.

The ‘promotion’ now of Bishop Walsh, given he has been largely consigned to Confirmations has taken the clergy of the diocese by surprise. “It makes sense to give it to him. But it does show a complete lack of imagination” said one priest contacted by this paper. “The diocese is suffering from a lack of imagination. Where’s the vision?”

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IRELAND
Galway Advertiser

By Charlie Mcbride

GALWAY THEATREGOERS are in for a treat next week with a new staging of Patricia Burke Brogan’s Eclipsed from Mephisto Theatre Company.

The production will be directed by Niall Cleary and the cast is Teresa Brennan, Catherine Denning, Siobhán Donnellan, Caroline Lynch, Zita Monahan, Emma O’Grady, Margaret O’Sullivan, and Liz Quinn.

First performed by Punchbag in 1992, Eclipsed is a powerful drama that sheds light on the lives of the women of the Magdalen Laundries. It won a Fringe First at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and was revived successfully at the Town Hall Theatre in 1998. There have been more than 60 productions of the play since its premiere.

Mephisto has been producing work in Galway since 2006. Past productions at the Town Hall include The Mai by Marina Carr, The Honey Spike by Bryan MacMahon, and Grenades by Tara McKevitt.

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CHILE
Bio Bio

[con audio]

Fiscalía acusa a Iglesia Católica en Temuco de no colaborar en caso de sacerdote imputado por abusos

En Temuco, el Ministerio Público denunció la nula colaboración de la Iglesia Católica para esclarecer el caso que mantiene a un sacerdote acusado de abuso sexual reiterado .

Desde el lunes se desarrolla un juicio oral en contra del sacerdote Orlando Rogel Pinuer de 56 años, acusado de seis abusos sexuales que habría cometido entre 2006 y 2011, cuando se desempeñaba como párroco en Cunco y director del hogar de menores dependiente de la iglesia en esa comuna.

El fiscal Omar Mérida, quien sostiene la acusación en contra del prelado a quien lo aqueja una severa diabetes que lo mantiene ciego, precisó que la Iglesia no ha prestado colaboración en la causa. Confirmó que el obispo de Villarrica, Francisco Javier Stegmeier -de quien depende jerárquicamente el sacerdote acusado-, incluso se excusó de asistir como testigo al juicio oral por encontrarse fuera de Chile.

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CHILE
Publimetro

Víctima de Karadima denuncia que el Registro Civil no lo inhabilita para trabajar con menores

El periodista y una de las víctimas que denunció a Fernando Karadima, Juan Carlos Cruz, difundió a través de su cuenta de Twitter @jccruzchellew que el religioso “NO registra inhabilidades para trabajar con menores de edad”, según datos consultados a la página del Registro Civil.

Cabe destacar que Karadima fue sobreseído por la justicia chilena por sus abusos sobre Cruz, Murillo y Hamilton debido a que prescribieron dichos delitos. Sin embargo, fue condenado por el Vaticano a tener “una vida de oración y penitencia”.

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CHILE
Terra

El sacerdote Fernando Karadima se encuentra habilitado para trabajar con menores de edad, según denunció vía Twitter Juan Carlos Cruz, una de las tres personas que presentaron la denuncia por abusos sexuales contra el ex párroco de El Bosque.

En el sitio web del Registro Civil, al colocar el nombre completo y el RUT del religioso, se señala que Karadima “NO registra inhabilidades para trabajar con menores de edad.

El sacerdote fue sobreseído por los abusos en contra de Cruz, José Andrés Murillo y James Hamilton debido a que prescribieron dichos delitos.

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CHILE
24 Horas

POR JOSÉ MORGADO

Habilitado para trabajar con menores de edad.

Así se encuentra el sacerdote Fernando Karadima, según puede apreciarse en el sitio web del Registro Civil, donde -al colocar su nombre completo y RUT- se indica que el cura “NO registra inhabilidades para trabajar con menores de edad”.

La denuncia fue realizada a través de las redes sociales por parte de Juan Carlos Cruz, quien junto a José Andrés Murillo y James Hamilton, presentó la denuncia por abusos sexuales contra Karadima.

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CANADA
CBC News

The Presbyterian Church issued a specific apology on Wednesday to former students of a residential school in Kenora, Ont., where medical and nutritional experiments had taken place.

Former students of the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School attended a commemorative gathering on Wednesday at a memorial where the church-run, government-funded facility once stood.

Recently released documents reveal that aboriginal children who were sent to Cecilia Jeffrey were subjected to experimental treatments for ear infections, as well as nutritional and dental experiments that were recently highlighted by a food historian.

For some survivors, the latest revelations have compounded the pain they have long felt as a result of the residential school experience.

“We had thought that we’d somewhat come to peace with some issues, then there’s ongoing revelations of other events happening,” said Richard Green, a former student who organized Wednesday’s commemorative event.

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CANADA
CBC News

A Yellowknife healing program created to help deal with the legacy of residential schools is closing its doors this week, possibly for the last time.

A program called Embracing Our Humanness has been running out of the Healing Drum in Yellowknife for a while now, courtesy of some federal government funding.

But on Friday, the four-week program will come to an end because Ottawa announced the Aboriginal Healing Foundation funding that was bankrolling the program would not be renewed.

User support

“It makes me sad,” says Dawn Mangelana, who’s been using the service.”There’s a huge waiting list here at the Healing Drum society. Those people who are reaching out for help will not be fortunate enough to receive what I have through this program.”

More than 200 people are waiting to get into the program. It’s scheduled to run for two more cycles, but only for inmates in Yellowknife and Hay River jails.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Should it matter that close family members of a federal judge hearing the Archdiocese of Milwaukee bankruptcy case are buried in archdiocesan cemeteries?

How about when this same judge ruled that the $50 million that the archdiocese holds in trust for its cemeteries was off limits in the bankruptcy case?

It might matter. And that’s why U.S. District Judge Rudolph T. Randa should have disclosed his connection to the archdiocese. It’s the judge’s responsibility to disclose potential conflicts, and on the face of it, this looks like a potential conflict.

In motions filed earlier this week, creditors stated:

“During the week of July 29, 2013, the committee discovered that at least nine of Judge Randa’s relatives (including his mother, his father and his wife’s parents) are buried in cemeteries owned and operated by the debtor, the very cemeteries that are to be maintained with the funds moved from the debtor’s accounts to the Cemetery Trust before filing for bankruptcy. This fact alone creates the appearance of partiality in favor of the Cemetery Trust in this action and establishes strong grounds for recusal.”

By purchasing burial rights, Randa entered into a contract with the archdiocese, which they claim is additional evidence of a conflict.

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CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles Times

By Ashley Powers
August 14, 2013

A bill that would give some sex abuse victims more time to file lawsuits, which has drawn fierce opposition from the Catholic Church, failed to get enough support Wednesday to make it out of a key legislative committee.

The bill, which needed nine votes to leave the lower house’s appropriations committee and go to the Assembly floor, mustered only six. Four committee members opposed the bill and seven did not weigh in after an emotional hearing that included testimony from a lobbyist who is also a sex abuse survivor.

The panel, which mainly considers how much a proposal would cost the state, will take up SB 131 again next week. It has already passed the state Senate and the Assembly judiciary committee.

The bill would, in part, lift the statute of limitations for one year to allow certain victims to sue private or nonprofit employers who may have failed to protect them from known molesters. Supporters say sex abuse victims need extra time to file lawsuits because it often takes decades for them to admit that they were molested.

A key question for the committee is whether new lawsuits would strain an already overburdened court system. At the height of the clergy abuse scandal in 2002, the legislature signed off on a similar one-year window. Hundreds of people filed claims, many of them against the Catholic Church.

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CALIFORNIA
Valley Public Radio

By MAX PRINGLE

A bill that would extend California’s statute of limitations on civil suits for victims of childhood sexual abuse has stalled in an Assembly Committee.

Democratic Senator Jim Beall says his bill would bring a measure of justice to people who may just now be coming to terms with childhood trauma.

“When they discover later in life, through therapy or whatever, that they were attacked by somebody, it allows them to go to civil court,” says Beall.

Under the bill, anyone 26 and older would get an extra year to seek damages against institutions that failed to prevent abuse.

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CALIFORNIA
Sacramento Bee

By Melody Gutierrez
mgutierrez@sacbee.com
Published: Thursday, Aug. 15, 2013

A bill to extend the statute of limitations for some sex abuse victims fell three votes short in an Assembly committee Wednesday amid fierce lobbying, including more than $250,000 from an umbrella organization of the California Catholic Council.

Senate Bill 131 by San Jose Democrat Jim Beall would open a one-year window for victims excluded from a 2003 law that extended the time during which sexual abuse victims can file a civil lawsuit.

The measure is sponsored by the National Center for Victims of Crime and supported by the California Police Chiefs Association and the Consumer Attorneys of California.

Opponents have argued that the bill unfairly targets the Catholic Church and Boy Scouts in order to create a revenue machine for lawyers.

“If the bill loses, the molester protectors win,” Beall said after it failed 6-4 along party lines in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

Police have reopened a 10-year-old investigation into sexual abuse at a former County Durham detention centre, which saw two staff jailed.

Church minister Neville Husband, who worked at Medomsley juvenile detention centre as a prison officer and store man Leslie Johnson were jailed in 2003.

The pair, both now dead, were convicted of sexually abusing inmates.

Durham Police has now reopened the investigation after a former inmate claimed he was also abused.

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TEXAS
ABC 13

[with video]

HOUSTON (KTRK) — A pastor stands accused of molesting an eight-year-old girl at a church in southwest Houston. Now investigators say there could be other victims.

Romulo Jimenez was in court Wednesday morning. He’s charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child. He’s the pastor at Cento Christiano Vida Nueva. Prosecutors say the eight-year-old victim in the case claims the 67-year-old assaulted her in his office, in a church bathroom and in a parked car in the parking. Now they’re looking for more possible victims.

“If there are parents who are concerned, who go to this church where this pastor had contact with their children, they need to contact law enforcement right away so that we can make sure that their children were safe,” said assistant district attorney Angela Smith.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
The Wall Street Journal

By Mark Peters

Lawyers representing sex abuse victims and other creditors in the bankruptcy filing of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee want a federal judge to vacate his own ruling and recuse himself because of where his relatives are buried.

A filing this week calls for U.S. District Judge Rudolph Randa to vacate his recent decision that $55 million in a cemetery trust are protected from creditors in the bankruptcy proceedings.

The reason: Judge Randa has at least nine relatives in cemeteries maintained by the trust and purchased the gravesites of his parents, meaning the trust includes funds from him, according to the motion.

The Milwaukee archdiocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2011 as it faced allegations of sexual abuse by priests. In 2007, then-Archbishop of Milwaukee Timothy Dolan, now a cardinal and head of the New York Archdiocese, asked the Vatican for permission to move the funds into an “autonomous pious foundation,” according to a letter he sent to Rome.

The letter said the funds were diocesan assets restricted for the perpetual needs of the cemeteries.

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CANADA
The Province

BY JENNIFER SALTMAN, THE PROVINCE AUGUST 14, 2013

A former Abbotsford Hindu priest convicted of sexual offences involving teenage members of his congregation continues to deny responsibility for his crimes.

Karam Vir, 33, was convicted in May of two counts of touching a young person for a sexual purpose and one count of sexual assault in connection with incidents that took place in 2009 and 2010 while he was employed at Abbotsford’s Hindu temple on Walmsley Avenue.

A sentencing hearing was held Wednesday in B.C. Supreme Court in Chilliwack .

Vir made sexual advances toward the two victims, who were 17 years old, after befriending them at the temple. One young woman said Vir kissed her and there was brief sexual intercourse and/or touching three times. The other victim testified that Vir talked about wanting to get sexually involved with her but she resisted his sexual advances.

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NEW YORK
Jeff Anderson & Associates

NEWS RELEASE: 32 VICTIMS ALLEGE SEXUAL ABUSE AT YESHIVA UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOL IN NEW YORK

[the lawsuit]

(New York, NY) – The nationally prominent child sex abuse law firm of Jeff Anderson & Associates, has teamed up with New York-based attorney Kevin T. Mulhearn to announce the addition of more survivors of abuse in a sexual abuse lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York naming as defendants Yeshiva University, Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy-Yeshiva University High School for Boys, Rabbi Norman Lamm, Rabbi Robert Hirt and various members of the Board of Trustees for Yeshiva University.

The complaint states that the 32 Plaintiffs were sexually abused while students at Yeshiva University High School by perpetrators including the school’s former Principal George Finkelstein, who targeted vulnerable students, used his power as an administrator to silence the victims and lowered their grades thus affecting their scholastic futures.

“This has been one of the most trusted institutions and through recent revelations it helps us all to realize there are serious problems that are left to be addressed. It’s now the mission of these survivors shared by us advocates to make sure a measure of justice is done for the past so children are protected in the future,” stated Attorney Jeff Anderson.

From 1962-1995, numerous reports were made to report Finkelstein’s abuse but no one listened. Reports of sexual abuse were also made involving another sexual abuser Richard Andron, as well as Judaic faculty member Rabbi Macy Gordon. None of the perpetrators were ever reported to law enforcement despite then-Vice President Israel Miller’s knowledge of Gordon’s sexual abuse. Gordon was allowed to remain on campus and proceeded to sexually assault at least one more student.

During a December 2012 interview, Rabbi Lamm admitted he knew of some allegations of improper sexual activity involving several YUHS staff members but he chose to deal with the allegations privately instead of contacting law enforcement. Lamm resigned July 1, 2013 and issued a letter stating “I acted in a way I thought was correct which now seems ill conceived…I now recognize that I was wrong.”

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CALIFORNIA
Catholic League

Bill Donohue comments on a California bill, SB 131, that would suspend the statute of limitations for one year in cases where someone claims he was molested when he was a minor in a private institution; the law applies to those who were 26-years-old in 2002:

Good news: SB 131 never got out of committee today. While the bill can still be voted on during this legislative session, time is running out. The fact that it stalled today is encouraging.

This bill has more to do with punishing the Catholic Church for offenses alleged to have been committed decades ago than it does with protecting minors today. The bill is also an affront to fairness on another level: it gives the biggest offenders of all—those who work in the public schools—a pass.

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SCOTLAND
BBC News

[with video]

Father Francis Davidson, a former headmaster of the Scottish Catholic boarding school at the centre of an abuse scandal, has resigned from a role with Oxford University.

The initial BBC programme had uncovered evidence of serious physical and sexual abuse at the now-closed Fort Augustus Abbey School in the Highlands and feeder school Carlekemp in East Lothian.

A number of former pupils have since come forward to say that they too suffered abuse while at the schools.

Hugh Kennedy, a former pupil, says he was abused as a boy and that his abuser: “Has to face the consequences of what he has done.

“I will face Chrysostom if need be. This is a bogey man that has been on my shoulder all my life”.

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SCOTLAND
BBC News

A former headmaster of a scandal-hit Catholic boarding school has resigned from a senior role at a Benedictine college of Oxford University.

Father Francis Davidson is accused of covering up child sex abuse during his time at Fort Augustus Abbey School in the Highlands.

He is quitting as monastic superior of St Benet’s Hall.

He was responsible at the Oxford college for the welfare of student monks.

Fr Davidson’s resignation follows a BBC Scotland investigation into physical and sexual abuse at Fort Augustus and its preparatory school in East Lothian, Carlekemp.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
WTMJ

By Jaclyn Brandt

MILWAUKEE – The creditors in the bankruptcy case against the Milwaukee Archdiocese are asking for a judge to set aside a ruling blocking funds from a trust be used to pay their settlement.

The trust is meant to be used for cemeteries owned and operated by the archdiocese, and U.S. District Judge Randolph Randa last month ruled that the funds couldn’t be used in the bankruptcy settlement because it would “substantially burden” their freedom of religion under the First Amendment, according to the Journal Sentinel.

The creditors, many who are sex abuse victims of the church, have also asked Judge Randa to recuse himself from the case because of a possible conflict of interest. They are asking a bankruptcy judge to release records stating whether Randa and his wife own plots in one of the cemeteries.

They “discovered that at least nine of Judge Randa’s relatives (including his mother, his father and his wife’s parents) are buried in cemeteries owned and operated by” the archdiocese.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

By Bruce Vielmetti and Karen Herzog of the Journal Sentinel

The Archdiocese of Milwaukee’s creditors have filed motions asking the federal judge in the church’s bankruptcy case to set aside a key ruling and recuse himself from the case over a potential conflict of interest.

U.S. District Judge Rudolph T. Randa ruled in late July that forcing the archdiocese to tap the $50 million-plus it holds in a trust for the perpetual care of cemeteries would substantially burden its free expression of religion under the First Amendment and a 1993 federal law aimed at protecting religious liberty.

Then Aug. 2, lawyers representing the archdiocese’s creditors — primarily sex abuse victims — asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Susan V. Kelley to compel the release of any records showing whether Randa and his wife, Melinda, have purchased any plots or crypts in one of the archdiocese’s cemeteries, or whether they have any interest as heirs or beneficiaries of several relatives known to be buried in them.

In motions filed Monday — one to set aside the ruling and the other asking Randa to recuse himself — the creditors said they “discovered that at least nine of Judge Randa’s relatives (including his mother, his father and his wife’s parents) are buried in cemeteries owned and operated by” the archdiocese.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
The Republic

By M.L. JOHNSON Associated Press
August 14, 2013

MILWAUKEE — Creditors for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee have asked a federal judge to set aside a key ruling in its bankruptcy case and step down because of what they say is a conflict of interest.

The archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in 2011, saying pending sexual abuse lawsuits could leave it with debts it couldn’t pay. Its creditors include hundreds of people who were sexually abused by clergy and have accused the archdiocese of transferring predator priests to new churches without warning parishioners.

U.S. District Judge Rudolph T. Randa ruled last month that more than $55 million is off-limits from those victims and other creditors because the money is in a cemetery trust fund protected by the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious freedom.

The cemetery fund has been a point of contention because victims’ lawyers see it as one of the few big pools of money that could potentially be available for settlements. The creditors’ committee said in documents filed Monday that Randa’s decision should be set aside because at least nine of his relatives, including his parents, are buried in cemeteries operated by the archdiocese.

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OHIO
The Columbus Dispatch

By Kathy Lynn Gray
The Columbus Dispatch
Wednesday August 14, 2013

Columbus police are investigating why the suspended director of the Ohio State Fair youth choir did not report allegations of a former staff member’s inappropriate interactions with choir members in 2011, a detective said yesterday.

Detective Amy Welsh said Charles R. Snyder learned of the sexual allegations against Zachary R. Ruppel that same year but did not tell police.

Snyder did report a different set of allegations against Ruppel this year, according to fair officials. After that happened, Snyder, the fair choir director since 1992, was suspended by fair manager Virgil Strickler.

Snyder, of Coshocton, did not work at this year’s fair.

Ruppel worked with the fair choir in 2011 but was not asked to return. He was choir director at St. Francis DeSales High School in Columbus from 2010 until the end of the school year in June.

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IOWA
Des Moines Register

Written by
Grant Rodgers

Johnston police on Monday arrested a Muslim imam who serves at the Des Moines Islamic Cultural Center after he reportedly sexually abused two women during a ritual.

Nermin Spahic, 40, was charged with third-degree sexual abuse and sexual exploitation by a clergy and transported to Polk County Jail, according to a press release from the Johnston Police Department.

Spahic’s arrest came after police were called to a house in Johnston where Spahic was allegedly involved in a “ceremonial ritual” with an 18-year-old woman and her 35-year-old mother, according to the release. The woman told police Spahic sexually assaulted them both.

Spahic, a Des Moines resident, denied any sexual contact with the women.

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IOWA
ABC5

By: ABC5 News
Contact: news@myabc5.com
Twitter: @ABC5_WOI

Johnston Police say that an Imam with the Des Moines Islamic Cultural Center has been arrested and charged with sexual abuse.

Nermin Spahic, 40, is facing charges of third degree sexual abuse and sexual exploitation by a therapist or counselor.

Johnston Police were called to a home Monday evening after a report came from a person that their friend and her mother were being sexually assaulted at their home.

Officers says that they found two females, an 18 year old and a 42 year old, along with Spahic in the residence. The females say that Spahic was in the home because the 42 year old mother asked him to provide religious guidance to her daughter.

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IOWA
Patch

Posted by Deb Belt (Editor) , August 14, 2013

A religious leader called by a family to help a teenager with problems has been charged with sexually assaulting the teen and her mother during a ritual ceremony in their home, according to the Johnston Police Department.

Nermin Spahic, 40, of Urbandale was arrested and taken to the Polk County Jail on charges of third-degree sexual abuse and sexual exploitation by a clergy. Police said Spahic is an imam — a Muslim religious leader – at the Islamic and Cultural Center Bosniak.

According to Lt. Lynn Aswegan with the Johnston Police Department, the incident began at about 10 p.m. Aug. 12 when officers were called to a Johnston home on a report of a sexual assault in progress. The person who called police said she had received text messages from a friend claiming that she was at home with her mother and that both women were being sexually assaulted by a male “priest” at the residence.

Officers arrived at the house and talked with an 18-year-old female, her 42-year-old mother, and Spahic. The women told officer Spahic is a Muslim imam that the mother had sought out in an attempt to provide some assistance and religious guidance to her teen daughter on personal issues the daughter had been struggling with.

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IOWA
KCCI

JOHNSTON, Iowa —A woman and her daughter told Johnston police Monday that an imam sexually assaulted them while performing a ceremony at their home.

Police said they received a call about a sexual assault in progress at 10:01 p.m. The caller told police that she had received text messages from a friend claiming that she was at home with her mother, and that both her and her mother were being sexually assaulted by a male priest.

Officers said they found the 42-year-old mother, her 18-year-old daughter and Nermin Spahic, 40, of Des Moines, at the home.

The women told police Spahic was a Muslim imam and that the mother had sought him out in an attempt to provide some assistance and religious guidance to her daughter regarding some personal issues.

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AUSTRALIA
Big Pond News

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

The whistleblower detective whose claims sparked a NSW commission of inquiry into institutionalised child abuse doesn’t expect it will stop pedophile priests and others from molesting the young.

Instead Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox believes the best outcome, along with legislative changes, is that child abuse is minimised.

‘There will always be some degree of wrong-doer or corruption in any organisation,’ he told AAP.

‘You can minimise it but you can never win it.’

Insp Fox was recently grilled for 13 days at the inquiry, set up after he went public with allegations churches in the Hunter Valley covered up for pedophile priests, silenced investigations and destroyed crucial evidence to avoid prosecution.

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

[Catholic Religious Men’s Leaders Explore New Evangelization, Renew Child Protection Commitment, and Elect New Officers]

For immediate release: Wednesday, August 14, 2013

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

A Delaware priest, who claims there’s a “war on the Roman Catholic priesthood” has just been elected head of America’s Catholic religious orders. He also insists that two convicted child molesters are innocent and that prosecutors are “overzealous.” We think he’s an extremist.

He is Fr. James J. Greenfield, an official with the Wilmington-Philadelphia Province of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. He insists that his colleague Fr. Charles Engelhardt and Bernard Spero, who were found guilty of child sex crimes in January by a Philadelphia jury, were wrongly convicted.

Fr. Greenfield is the new president of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men, purportedly representing some 17,000 religious order clerics in the US. ( http://www.cmsm.org/ )

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UNITED STATES
Patrick J. Wall

Throughout the last twenty years of advocating on behalf of survivors of childhood sexual abuse, I have heard countless names for the secret sex abuse archives in the Roman Catholic Church.

These files, according to the Code of Canon Law, are mandatory in every Diocese or Archdiocese around the world:

Can. 489 §1. In the diocesan curia there is also to be a secret archive, or at least in the common archive there is to be a safe or cabinet, completely closed and locked, which cannot be removed; in it documents to be kept secret are to be protected most securely.

§2. Each year documents of criminal cases in matters of morals, in which the accused parties have died or ten years have elapsed from the condemnatory sentence, are to be destroyed. A brief summary of what occurred along with the text of the definitive sentence is to be retained.

Can. 490 §1. Only the bishop is to have the key to the secret archive.

Now comes yet another name from Newark Archbishop John J Myers J.C.D.: the caged files

Caged files, Secret Archives, Hell files, 489 files, Confidential files, the various names speak to the same reality. Big institutions like the Archdiocese of Newark maintain documents and secret histories on people who are credible threats right now. And these “caged files” are NOT designed to protect the public. Instead, they are locked, vaulted, and secreted away to protect the church from the dark immoral haunts whose release—they believe—could upend the institution. Thankfully, survivors in their relentless pursuit of justice continue to rattle the cage, in the hopes that it breaks and frees the secrets.

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FLORIDA
National Catholic Reporter

Joshua J. McElwee | Aug. 13, 2013 NCR Today

ORLANDO, FLA. The archbishop given expansive oversight by the Vatican of U.S. Catholic sisters told their annual assembly Tuesday he seeks to be their “brother and friend.”

The brief remarks by Seattle Archbishop J. Peter Sartain came in the opening session of the four-day meeting of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR).

The group, which represents about 80 percent of the country’s 57,000 Catholic sisters, is meeting 18 months after the Vatican sharply criticized it and placed it under Sartain’s control, naming him its “archbishop delegate” and giving him wide authority to review its statutes and programs.

The past year and a half, Sartain told the 825 assembled sisters, had given him “numerous opportunities” to meet with their leaders over the matter. While they have had some “very significant conversations” during that time, he said they had also had humorous ones too.

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ISRAEL
Failed Messiah

Leading Zionist Orthodox Rabbi Asks Convicted Sex Abuser To Continue Teaching In Yeshiva

Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com

Less a week after politically connected Rabbi Mordechai Elon was found guilty of indecent assault by force on a minor, a leading Zionist Orthodox rabbi – perhaps the leading Zionist Orthodox rabbi – Haim Druckman has asked Elon to keep teaching his weekly class in Druckman’s yeshiva, Ynet reported.

Druckman previously made statements in favor of Elon and against Elon’s victims. He also previously publicly supported Ze’ev Kopolevitch, the former head of Jerusalem’s Zionist orthodox Netiv Meir Yeshiva, who was convicted of sexually abusing his students, and failed to report allegations that Kopolevitch was abusing students to police.

Now Druckman has responded to Elon’s conviction by inviting him to go on teaching at the Or Etzion Yeshiva Druckman heads, as Elon has been doing for the past three years.

And so, on Sunday the convicted child sex abuser returned to his normal teaching duties with Druckman’s full blessing.

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ISRAEL
YNet News

Less a week after he was found guilty of indecent assault by force on a minor, Rabbi Mordechai Elon is receiving significant support from one of the most prominent religious Zionist rabbis. Ynet has learned that Rabbi Chaim Druckman, one of the leaders of the national-religious public, invited the convicted rabbi to deliver his weekly Torah lesson at his yeshiva of Or Etzion.

In the past few days, Rabbi Druckman has avoided voicing a public opinion in regards to Rabbi Elon or repeating his past statements in favor of the man or against those who accused him of committing sex offenses – likely for fear of creating a public row.

Druckman has been criticized in the past for innocently backing Ze’ev Kopolevitch, the former head of Jerusalem’s Netiv Meir Yeshiva, who was convicted of indecent acts against his students, thus hurting the victims once again.

Buy Ynet has learned that last week, shortly after the court delivered its ruling, Druckman invited Elon to go on teaching at his yeshiva, as he has been doing in recent years. On Sunday the convicted rabbi returned to his routine teaching duties, and after delivering a lesson at a Jerusalem synagogue he headed south to the Or Etzion Yeshiva in Merkaz Shapira.

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NEW YORK
Observer-Dispatch

By ROCCO LaDUCA
Observer-Dispatch
Posted Aug 14, 2013

UTICA —
Although the Very Rev. Stephen Enea stands accused of not paying contractors nearly $500,000 for renovations to the Italo-Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan cathedral in Utica, he insists it was always his intention to pay the bill.

But after starting the restoration work about two years ago based on a promised financial donation from a confidential source, Enea said that benefactor’s life-situation changed and he or she could no longer pay the contribution as planned.

The bills went unpaid for months, with Enea hoping that sooner or later the money would be obtained, either from the donor or through other fundraisers and contributions.

Soon the renovations at and around the Cathedral of the Theotokos of Great Grace in Cornhill were put on hold about a year ago, and the contractors finally “ran out of patience” with their demands that the archdiocese pay up, Enea said. The Utica parish has about 130 members.

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AUSTRALIA
CathNews

Mr Sullivan said this week’s meeting at the Vietnamese Catholic Community Centre in Westminster, to discuss the upcoming Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, was overwhelmingly positive. Delegates responded with determination and compassion and all involved understand the importance of the Commission to victims and to the Church.

‘For the Church’s part, the first step to coming to terms with the devastation and the enormity of child sexual abuse is to have an open and honest discussion. The silence that accompanies sexual abuse in the broader community is too often the same as the silence that goes on within institutions including the Catholic Church,’ Mr Sullivan said.

The ABC reports that a psychologist who advised the Catholic Church committee that deals with sexual abuse says the church’s insurance company dictated how victims should be treated under the Towards Healing protocol.

Dr Robert Grant is a US-based psychologist who specialises in abuse and trauma, has worked with the Catholic Church on sexual abuse issues in seven countries, and has written a number of books on clerical abuse.

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PENNSYLVANIA
WFMZ

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Allegations of child pornography against a local athletic coach illustrate the need to strengthen Pennsylvania’s laws to protect children, said Rep. Marcy Toepel (R-Montgomery).

Toepel is prime sponsor of House Bill 321, awaiting action in the Senate, which calls for stricter penalties against those convicted of child pornography charges.

The bill is modeled after federal sentencing guidelines, which establish greater sentences based upon aggravating factors, such as the age of the child, number of images possessed, and the nature and character of the abuse.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

AAP August 14, 2013

ORGANISATIONS that handled child sex abuse claims against a former Aboriginal children’s services CEO will be in focus in Sydney next month, when the new royal commission begins holding public hearings.

The first public hearing of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse will start on September 16 and run for up to a week.

It will specifically look at how organisations responded to child sex abuse allegations made against former CEO of Hunter Aboriginal Children’s Services, Steven Larkins.

Larkins was sentenced to a maximum of 22 months jail last year after being convicted of possessing child pornography.

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UNITED STATES
Christian Newswire

Ann Carey available to address potential impact of organization’s assembly

Contact: Kevin Wandra, 404-788-1276

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 13, 2013 /Christian Newswire/ — The Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) begins its next assembly today in Orlando. Given the LCWR’s ongoing contentious relationship with the Vatican over issues such as life, marriage and sexuality, the assembly is certain to generate headlines. Ann Carey, the foremost expert on women religious, is available to discuss what to expect from the assembly and its potential implications for women religious.

In April 2012, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith revealed the findings of a four-year assessment of the conference that found “serious doctrinal problems” and the need for reform. Letters from LCWR officers and presentations sponsored by the conference revealed themes that do not adhere to the teachings of the Catholic Church, and an actual advocacy for positions on faith and morals that are not compatible with the Catholic faith, such as the female priesthood and homosexuality.

“When the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) meets for its annual assembly this week, the hot topic of discussion is sure to be whether the sisters will cooperate with a reform of the organization ordered last year by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,” Carey said. “Several ‘dialogue’ sessions have taken place over the past year between Archbishop J. Peter Sartain and officers of the LCWR, whose 1,300-plus members lead about 80 percent of the Catholic sisters in this country, but there have been no signs of progress. Thus, LCWR members entering their assembly this week will have to decide if they are willing to correct some doctrinal errors in their corporate policies, publications and programs or refuse to do so and risk losing their canonical status as a Vatican-approved conference of superiors of religious orders.”

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BOSTON (MA)
Irish Central

By IrishCentral Staff Writers,
Published Tuesday, August 13, 2013

A search for a religion with ‘more morals’ than the Catholicism she was raised in led Katherine Russell, 24, the widow of Boston bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev, to convert to Islam, her husband’s former friend has revealed.

According to the Boston Globe, retiree Donald Larking, 67, commenced an unlikely friendship with Tamerlan in 2011 when the Boston bomber was 25 and his mother Zubeidat Tsarnaev had begun caring for Larking’s quadriplegic wife in their home just west of the city.

‘She wanted a church with more morals,’ Larking told the Globe. ‘She felt that a mosque would be a safer place for her daughter to go to nursery school.’

Larking, who is himself a convert from Catholicism to Islam, met Tsarnaev’s wife when Zubeidat Tsarnaev returned to Russia last year. When Zubediat left the country for good Katherine Tsarnaev reportedly took over the role of carer to Larking’s wife.

Speaking to the Globe, Larking claimed that Tsarnaev admitted she had become disillusioned with the Catholic Church following the series of international sexual abuse scandals that engulfed it in recent decades.

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ILLINOIS
Peoria Journal-Star

By PAM ADAMS (padams@pjstar.com)
Journal Star
Posted Aug 13, 2013

PEORIA — The Catholic Diocese of Peoria’s $1.35 million settlement of a sexual abuse lawsuit occurred a month before the case was scheduled for trial in Peoria County.

Attorneys for the plaintiff, once an altar boy in Normal, announced the settlement Tuesday in Newark, N.J., where former Peoria Bishop John Myers is now archbishop.

The lawsuit alleged Myers, while in Peoria, failed to prevent the Monsignor Thomas Maloney from abusing Andrew Ward. Maloney died four years ago.

Ward’s mother, Joanne, called for jail for Myers during a news conference Tuesday in Newark, while Ward’s local supporters gathered outside the Peoria diocese to urge law enforcement officials to review Myers’ deposition and Maloney’s personnel file, both released as part of the settlement, for possible criminal charges.

“If Myers had done something, maybe Andrew wouldn’t have been abused,” said Jeff Jones, 59, of Rockford, referring to a complaint made to Myers about Maloney a year before Ward made his claims.

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NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

By Tom Moran/ The Star-Ledger
on August 14, 2013

The story is familiar by now, but no less infuriating. Newark Archbishop John J. Myers hears a credible complaint of sexual abuse against a priest. He hides that fact. He protects the priest. He doesn’t tell police.

And instead of stopping the abuse, he allows the abuser to search for a fresh victim among the children of the faithful, the little souls he should be protecting.

“I don’t want his resignation,” said the mother of one victim. “I want Bishop Myers to go to jail.”

Her name is Joanne Ward, she lives outside Toledo, Ohio, and she knows that’s not going to happen, despite the convincing evidence in freshly released court documents that Myers flat-out lied this time to protect the accused abuser.

But Ward wants to the world to know about Myers, at least. So she came to Newark yesterday with her husband and stood outside his office holding a poster-sized picture of her boy when he was 8 years old, the year she says he became a sexual play thing to a priest in the Peoria, Ill., diocese where Myers was in charge.

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NEW JERSEY/ILLINOIS
The Star-Ledger

[Bishop Myers deposition via BishopAccountability.org in easy to use format]

By Mark Mueller/The Star-Ledger
on August 14, 2013

In the Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria, Ill., signs that the Rev. Thomas Maloney posed a danger to children were hard to miss.

In late 1994 or early 1995, a woman told church officials Maloney had molested her when she was a child, documents show. Later in 1995, the woman’s sister wrote to the diocese on her behalf, again insisting action be taken against the priest.

Four years later, a couple wrote to the vicar general, second-in-command of the diocese, complaining Maloney had an explicit sexual conversation with their 13-year-old son during confession, the documents show.

The warnings would continue in letters from parishioners and in internal diocese correspondence.

But Newark Archbishop John J. Myers, then bishop of Peoria, says he missed it all.

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COLORADO
The Gleaner

By Beth Smith
Posted August 13, 2013

A trial date has been scheduled in Colorado for a former youth pastor who is facing sexual abuse charges both there and in Henderson.

John Holland Brothers Jr., 44, who was employed here at Hyland Baptist Church, is expected to go to trial on Jan. 21 in Colorado District Court on 16 felony counts of sexual assault on a child and one count that is a sentence enhancer, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Rusty Prindle in Routt County, Colo.

If convicted of the sentence enhancing charge, that means a judge is required to make the sentence more severe, Prindle said.

Brothers — who is being held on a $500,000 bond in a Colorado jail — faces two counts of first-degree sexual abuse in Henderson. A pretrial conference is scheduled here on Sept. 9.

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FLORIDA
National Catholic Reporter

Thomas C. Fox | Aug. 13, 2013 NCR Today

ORLANDO, FLA. Leadership Conference of Women Religious members have begun to check in. Some 850 will be here.

Again, as a year ago, this LCWR assembly faces an very uncertain conclusion, and, one man, a prelate, Seattle Archbishop J. Peter Sartain, appointed by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to oversee LCWR, will largely determine the outcome.

To more than a few here this seems to be a major blunder, a huge waste of time and energy, and a distraction from the Gospel-focused mission of women religious congregations. It also seems to be an episode in a church anachronistically crippled in sexism.

A quick pulse of the women here, however, reveals not anger, but a curious sense of cautious hope, a belief the Spirit, in the end, will have her way.

Sartain is expected to speak for some 30 minutes Thursday afternoon in a room closed to outsiders. His talk will be followed by 45 minutes of responses from the audience. Sartain is attending the entire LCWR assembly, but, according to at least one planner, will not be in other closed sessions. Despite his CDF mandate, he appears to be more guest here than manager. He was not involved in the planning of the gathering, an enterprise still entirely under LCWR control, a source told NCR.

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UNITED STATES
Los Angeles Times

Op-Ed

By David Alvarez
August 9, 2013

By any standard Pope Francis’ Brazil trip was a great success. Enthusiastic crowds clogged the routes of the papal motorcade and reportedly more than a million people were present for the pope’s final Mass on Copacabana beach. The media no less than Catholic pilgrims seemed enchanted by the new pontiff and his appeals for dialogue, conciliation and social justice.

For this pope, who presents himself above all else as a pastor and teacher, the achievements of this first international foray must be satisfying. Now, though, it’s time for Francis to put away his bags, step out of the international spotlight and tackle the job of administering the church of which he is the head. At this moment in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, Francis can do more good working at his desk than waving from the popemobile.

For papal functionaries, the positive headlines from Brazil may have been especially welcome because they displaced several less edifying Vatican story lines. In June, Italian police arrested a priest working in the office responsible for overseeing Vatican properties and investments, charging him with conspiring to illegally move about $27 million from Switzerland to Italy. After the priest’s arrest, the director and deputy director of the Vatican bank resigned and became objects of criminal investigations by the Italian police. Next the media turned to reports that a Vatican diplomat, recently appointed to a senior post in the Vatican bank, dispensed favors to a Swiss army officer with whom he allegedly maintained an inappropriate relationship.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Lancashire Evening Post

A cathedral priest has denied three counts of indecently assaulting a male in the 1990s.

Canon Stephen Shield, 53, who was dean at the Roman Catholic cathedral in St Peter’s Road, Lancaster, appeared at Preston Crown Court to face the charges.

Shield was arrested by police on March 23 and charged with three offences of indecent assault relating to one male.

The offences are said to have been committed more than two decades ago when the alleged victim was aged between 17 and 24.

Shield was granted bail with conditions he does not contact directly or indirectly the alleged victim or have any unsupervised contact with any person under the age of 18.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
National Catholic Reporter

[Catholic Whistleblowers]

Marie Rohde | Aug. 13, 2013

MILWAUKEE
Fr. James Connell, a retired Milwaukee priest who helped found a national network of clergy and sisters committed to reporting instances of sexual abuse within the church, offered advice Tuesday for Catholic leaders dealing with the pedophilia scandal: Come clean.

“Maybe there are other issues that are buried that they don’t want us to hear about,” Connell said at a luncheon of the Milwaukee Press Club. “Maybe there’s something under the lid. I worry that there are other things there.”

Connell, a founding member of Whistleblowers, noted that the 6,000 pages of documents released as part of the Milwaukee archdiocese’s bankruptcy case represent only 10 percent of the documents contained in the court file.

“How much more damaging is the actual truth compared to what we are dreaming now?” Connell asked. “Jesus said ‘the truth will set you free.’ ”

About half the priests serving in the Milwaukee archdiocese are affiliated with religious orders, and the archdiocese has refused to release records of reports of misconduct made against those men, saying that the orders are responsible for them.

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PEORIA (IL)
Journal Star

[Bishop Myers deposition via BishopAccountability.org in easy to use format]

[Via Jeff Anderson & Associates: Deposition of Archbishop Myers Redacted
Deposition of Msgr Gerald Ward Redacted
Deposition of Archbishop Myers Redacted]

By PAM ADAMS (padams@pjstar.com)
Journal Star
Posted Aug 13, 2013

PEORIA —
On the heels of the Catholic Diocese of Peoria’s $1.35 million settlement on sexual abuse charges brought by a former altar boy in Normal, three members of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, gathered near diocese headquarters today to urge all victims of abuse to come forward.

“I’m standing right here to ask every child who’s been abused to come forward, come forward. It doesn’t have to have been by a Catholic priest,” said Jeff Jones, 59, a Rockford man who says he was abused by a Catholic priest while growing up in Pekin.

Jones, his brother, Joe, 63, who currently lives in Pekin, and Bob Heinz, 63, of Kickapoo, who says his wife was abused by a priest in Michigan, said they came to Peoria to show support for Andrew Ward and his family. Ward, now 25 and living in Michigan, filed a lawsuit accusing the late Monsignor Thomas Maloney of sexual abuse at Epiphany Catholic Church between 1995 and 1996. The lawsuit also accused Newark Archbishop John J. Myers, former bishop of the 26-county Peoria diocese, of failing to act on Ward’s allegations.

Ward’s mother, Joanne, speaking during a press conference in Newark, said Myers should be jailed. The settlement includes the release of Myers deposition in the case.

Back in Peoria, Jeff Jones praised Ward for speaking out about his abuse in 2008.

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TEXAS
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, Aug. 13

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

Authorities have charged a Houston pastor with sexually abusing a 9-year-old girl.

This predator is away from kids largely because, according to one news account, “a church member who saw suspicious activity . . . continuously voiced her concerns.” We are grateful to this brave and compassionate person for speaking up.

We are also grateful to the girl’s parents who are apparently cooperating with law enforcement.

At the same time, we are disappointed in the predator’s wife who claims he has “repented.” Even if this is true, it’s irrelevant.

It’s heartbreaking to see churchgoers radically and recklessly misinterpret the concept of forgiveness in ways that endanger children. By all means, let’s forgive the drunk who causes a car accident that hurts kids. But let’s not hire him as a school bus driver. By all means, let’s forgive the adult who beats up a child. But let’s not put her in charge of a classroom.

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MALTA
Times of Malta

The Curia said today that it could not be held legally responsible for the criminal acts made by former priests Godwin Scerri and Charles Pulis, who were convicted of child sex abuse.

The Curia was replying in court to a case filed in May where ten clerical child abuse victims sued the two former priests, the Church and the government for damages.

The victims did not asking for a specific amount but said they were expecting the court to appoint an expert to identify what losses they suffered as a direct result of the abuse.

The civil lawsuit was filed by Lawrence Grech, Joseph Magro, Leonard Camilleri, David Cassar, Noel Dimech, Angelo Spiteri, Raymond Azzopardi, Charles Falzon, Phillip Cauchi and Joseph Mangion.

In its reply today, the Curia said the Church could not be collectively held responsible for the actions of Scerri and Pulis. Although the Archdiocese had pastoral responsibilities, it did not have responsibility for personal actions of its members which exposed them to criminal or civil actions.

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