ABUSE TRACKER

VATICAN CITY
Washington Post

By David Gibson| Religion News Service, Updated: Wednesday, May 15

The Vatican on Wednesday (May 15) said that Scottish Cardinal Keith O’Brien will do penance in an undisclosed location outside of his country following his resignation in February amid reports that he had made sexual advances to a number of priests.

The move is an abrupt change of plans for O’Brien, and apparently came under pressure from Pope Francis, who on Wednesday also delivered a sermon that blasted bishops and priests who “become wolves and not shepherds.”

While the pope’s homily focused on the temptations of money, “careerism” and “vanity,” the dual developments reflected Francis’ well-known disdain for clericalism, and prompted speculation that the new pope might take a harder line against misbehaving bishops.

O’Brien, a vocal opponent of gay rights, stepped down as archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh when reports of his sexual advances and affairs emerged in late February; a week later he apologized and admitted that “there have been times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal.”

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UNITED STATES
C-Span Book TV

Michael D’Antonio

About the Program
Michael D’Antonio reports on the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. The author examines thirty years of sexual abuse claims against priests and the Church’s reaction. Mr. D’Antonio speaks on a panel with Barbara Blaine, president and founder of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, Rev. Thomas P. Doyle, attorney Jeff Anderson, and former priest and monk Patrick Wall. The event is hosted by the Culture Project at 45 Bleecker Street in New York City.

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ILLINOIS
Patch

Incidents of abuse occurred at St. Mary Nativity School, involving then principal Emery Stiglich, and at the now-closed St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.

By Steven Jack

Five new lawsuits alleging cases of sexual abuse by priests and a Catholic school principal were filed in Will County Circuit Court Wednesday.

Two of the suits stem from incidents that occurred in the 1970s and ’80s at St. Mary Nativity School in Joliet and at the now-closed St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, which was located off Route 53 in unincorporated Joliet.

The other three cite abuse that occurred at St. Dominic Catholic Church and St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, both in Bolingbrook, and at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Monee.

Diocese of Joliet officials knew about or suspected the abuse, “yet engaged in a pattern and practice of hiding what it knew, and covertly transferring pedophile priests around the diocese and out of state — ultimately to protect its interests instead of the interests of the children entrusted to it,” according to a statement released by Hurley, McKenna & Mertz, the Chicago law firm that filed the lawsuits.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By STEPHEN RYAN May 15, 2013

CLAIMS by Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox that a strike force established to investigate allegations of sexual abuse cover-ups by the Catholic Church was a sham were ‘‘disgusting’’, ‘‘crazy’’ and had ‘‘destroyed’’ the reputations of police, a senior officer said yesterday.

Former Newcastle crime manager, Detective Chief Inspector Brad Tayler, said every effort was made to investigate claims of concealment by members of the clergy, but the investigation was halted by a victim who refused to make a statement.

Mr Tayler, who has left the force, said suggestions by Mr Fox that Strike Force Lantle was a sham were made ‘‘by someone who had nothing to do [with] and had limited knowledge of what we were trying to do’’, the Special Commission of Inquiry heard.

When asked what his reaction was to claims that the strike force was set up to fail, Mr Tayler replied: ‘‘Frankly, I was disgusted and I’m still disgusted.’’

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ILLINOIS
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY BARBARA DORRIS ON MAY 15, 2013

We applaud these brave men for helping to shine light on the on-going Catholic abuse and cover-up crisis.

Suits like this are critical to help prod Joliet Bishop Conlon towards reform. He has severely mishandled a number of cases. He refuses to move or adequately monitor a serial child molesting cleric, Fr. Howlin, who continues to live and work among largely unsuspecting and vulnerable Kentucky families.

We hope every person who saw, suspected or suffered clergy sex crimes in Joliet comes forward. Staying silent helps no one. Speaking up helps to both expose and deter wrongdoing. It also protects kids and brings about healing.

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SCOTLAND
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY BARBARA DORRIS ON MAY 15, 2013

Physically moving Cardinal O’Brien is a paltry, belated, grudging step that may bring temporary relief or comfort to his victims and his flock. It’s a half-hearted response to a wrongdoing that warrants a serious response.

O’Brien should be harshly disciplined. An investigation – a real one by independent sources – should be done. Those who ignored or concealed or minimized O’Brien’s sexual misdeeds should also be harshly disciplined. That’s what will bring change – severe consequences for severe wrongdoing.

For years, bishops who are caught exploiting the vulnerable have voluntarily stepped down and moved elsewhere when the media firestorm gets too hot. Still, clergy sexual misdeeds and cover-ups are rampant in the church. So, this approach is clearly not working.

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VATICAN CITY
LGBT Nation

NICOLE WINFIELD | Associated Press

VATICAN CITY — The Scottish cardinal who resigned as archbishop after admitting to sexual misconduct will leave Scotland for months of prayer and atonement, the Vatican said Wednesday in a rare sanction.

Cardinal Keith O’Brien recused himself from the March conclave that elected Pope Francis after a newspaper reported unnamed priests’ allegations that he acted inappropriately toward them. There have been no indications the priests were minors at the time. …

O’Brien subsequently acknowledged he had engaged in unspecified sexual misbehavior. He resigned as archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, apologized and promised to stay out of the church’s public life.

The distinction is significant because victims of clerical abuse have long denounced the lack of accountability among the church hierarchy for having covered up the crimes of pedophile priests. In the church, bishops and cardinals have long been virtually untouchable.

Take American Cardinal Bernard Law, whose cover-up of pedophile priests in Boston was at the root of the U.S. church’s sex abuse crisis: Law resigned as archbishop of Boston in 2002, but he was given a plum job as archpriest of one of the Vatican’s prime basilicas in Rome.

Even though O’Brien is not accused of abusing minors, his case had been watched to see if Pope Francis would ta ke any action against a cardinal who had strayed. The Vatican, for example, has refused to even confirm whether it was investigating the allegations against O’Brien, even though the Scottish Catholic Church’s media office said the complaints had been forwarded to Rome and that it expected an investigation.

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ILLINOIS
Daily Herald

[Archdiocesan Priests with Substantiated Allegations of Sexual Misconduct with Minors – Archdiocese of Chicago]

[Database of Publicly Accused Priests in the United States – BishopAccountability.org]

A victims’ advocacy group is calling for an ex-priest accused of sexual misconduct to be removed from his job at Des Plaines health facility where he counsels people struggling with depression, substance abuse, family problems and stress.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests has submitted letters to the Archdiocese of Chicago and Advocate Health Care demanding Russell Lawrence Romano, a counselor in Advocate’s Illinois Professional Health Program, be fired.

Romano is accused of molesting at least five boys and is listed on the archdiocese’s website as a cleric with “substantiated allegations of sexual misconduct with minors.”

He was never criminally charged and left the priesthood in 1991.

“He is working in a position where he … is providing counseling for people dealing with addictions,” said Barbara Blaine, SNAP spokeswoman, who added that Romano does not belong in a job where he has access to children.

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SCOTLAND
Irish Examiner

Cardinal Keith O’Brien, originally from Ballycastle, Co Antrim, is to leave Scotland for several months after admitting inappropriate sexual conduct during his church career, the Vatican has said.

Britain’s most senior Catholic cleric stepped down from his post as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh earlier this year after priests made allegations against him.

A Vatican statement said: “His Eminence Cardinal Keith Patrick O’Brien… will be leaving Scotland for several months for the purpose of spiritual renewal, prayer and penance.

“Any decision regarding future arrangements for his eminence shall be agreed with the Holy See.”

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SCOTLAND
Daily Record

THE disgraced clergyman, formerly the most senior Catholic in Britain, will leave Scotland for “spiritual renewal, prayer and penance”, according to a Vatican statement.

CARDINAL Keith O’Brien is to leave Scotland for several months after admitting inappropriate sexual conduct during his church career, the Vatican has said.

Britain’s most senior Catholic cleric stepped down from his post as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh earlier this year after priests made allegations against him.

A Vatican statement said: “His Eminence Cardinal Keith Patrick O’Brien… will be leaving Scotland for several months for the purpose of spiritual renewal, prayer and penance. Any decision regarding future arrangements for his eminence shall be agreed with the Holy See.”

The cardinal stepped down as leader of the Scottish Catholic Church at the end of February after admitting that his sexual conduct “had fallen beneath the standards” expected of him during his almost 50-year career.

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ILLINOIS
WLS

May 15, 2013 (WAUKEGAN, Ill.) — A Benedictine monk from Wisconsin has denied trying to abduct four Illinois girls.

The Waukegan News-Sun reports that 57-year-old Thomas Chmura was arraigned on Tuesday in Lake County.

He is accused of trying to lure a 14-year-old girl, two 12-year-old girls and an 11-year-old girl into his vehicle last month. He denied the child abduction charges during the hearing.

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ILLINOIS
WLS

May 14, 2013 (JOLIET, Ill.) (WLS) — Five new lawsuits have been filed against the Joliet Diocese of the Catholic Church by people who say they were abused by priests and by a non-priest teacher.

The alleged incidents happened in the 1970s and 1980s when the plaintiffs were between the ages of 8 and 16.

All say they suppressed the memories until recently.

The suits claim the diocese knew or should have known what was going on.

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ILLINOIS
Chicago Sun-Times

By Janet Lundquist jlundquist@stmedianetwork.com May 15, 2013

The Diocese of Joliet is facing five new lawsuits alleging priests and one lay teacher sexually abused boys in the 1970s and 1980s.

The victims, who were between 8 and 16 years old at the time, say they suppressed their memories of the abuse until recently, when the diocese released its “secret archives” of files on priests accused of sexually abusing children.

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ILLINOIS
Chicago Tribune

By Steve Schmadeke
Tribune reporter
10:01 a.m. CDT, May 15, 2013

Five men who allege they were sexually abused by priests in the Diocese of Joliet in the 1970s and 1980s sued the diocese today in Will County circuit court.

The men, who say they repressed memories of the abuse until recent media reports that accompanied the release by the diocese of personnel files of priests with substantiated allegations against them, allege they were between 8 and 16 when it happened.

Their lawsuits allege the diocese allowed known or suspected pedophile priests to have access to young boys who were allegedly abused on church retreats and even in the back row of a school classroom. One boy was allegedly told to strip out of his clothes and wear a loincloth so the priest could practice giving funeral rites.

The boys attended St. Boniface Catholic Church in Monee, St. Charles Borremeo Seminary in Joliet, St. Dominic Catholic Church in Bolingbrook, St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Bolingbrook and St. Mary Nativity School in Joliet.

All of the named priests – Myles White of St. Boniface, Michael Gibbney of St. Francis of Assisi, Frederick Lenczycki of St. Charles Borremeo Seminary and James Nowak of St. Dominic – were removed from ministry between 1992 and 2012, according to a release from the plaintiff’s attorneys. At least one was convicted of sexual abuse and one is deceased.

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SCOTLAND
The Guardian

Lizzy Davies in Rome
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 15 May 2013

Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the disgraced former archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, will leave Scotland for a period of “spiritual renewal, prayer and penance” after he admitted inappropriate sexual conduct with priests, the Vatican has said.

In a statement, the Vatican said the 75-year-old cardinal would be leaving the country for several months, without specifying where he would go.

“His eminence cardinal Keith Patrick O’Brien, archbishop emeritus of St Andrews and Edinburgh, for the same reasons he decided not to participate in the last conclave, and in agreement with the Holy Father, will be leaving Scotland for several months for the purpose of spiritual renewal, prayer and penance,” it said.

Indicating that O’Brien’s long-term future would remain firmly in the Vatican’s hands, the statement added: “Any decision regarding future arrangements for His Eminence shall be agreed with the Holy See.”

Reports earlier this month claimed that O’Brien, who stepped down as head of the Scottish Catholic church in February after the Observer disclosed allegations against him by three priests and one former priest, had been advised by Rome against moving to a house in Dunbar, East Lothian.

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SCOTLAND
Channel 4

Cardinal Keith Patrick O’Brien, who resigned as head of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland after admitting sexual misconduct, is heading to the Vatican for months of “prayer and penance”.

Cardinal O’Brien was Britain’s most senior Catholic cleric until his resignation in February.

He originally denied allegations made against him by four men, but said in March that his actions had fallen below the standards expected of him as a priest.

He stepped down after allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards three priests and a former priest dating back to the 1980s were printed in a national newspaper.

In a statement issued by the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland on 4 March, the cardinal said he had initially contested what he called the “anonymous and non-specific” allegations made against him.

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SCOTLAND
Daily Mail

Disgraced former Catholic leader Keith O’Brien to leave Scotland ‘for spiritual renewal’ after admitting sexual misconduct with male priests

By ROB COOPER

Disgraced former Cardinal Keith O’Brien is to leave Scotland for several months after admitting inappropriate sexual conduct during his church career, the Vatican has said.

Britain’s most senior Catholic cleric resigned earlier this year amid allegations that he made homosexual approaches to young trainee priests.

The Vatican confirmed today that O’Brien will leave Scotland ‘for spiritual renewal’.

The cardinal stepped down as leader of the Scottish Catholic Church at the end of February after admitting that his sexual conduct ‘had fallen beneath the standards’ expected of him during his almost 50-year career.

He indicated that he would not contest claims by three priests and a former priest of inappropriate behaviour dating back to the 1980s, and intended to retire permanently from the public life of the church.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC – Lateline

The inquiry into sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in the Hunter region has heard that police were asked to search the office of the Catholic Archbishop Of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell.

Transcript

TONY JONES, PRESENTER: The former head of a police strikeforce has told a NSW inquiry into child sexual abuse that he was made aware of crucial Church documents in the office of the Archdiocese of Sydney, headed by Cardinal George Pell.

The Special Commission of Inquiry is investigating alleged cover-ups of clerical abuse by police and the Catholic Church in the Hunter region north of Sydney.

And in another development, it’s been revealed that police were concerned about a settlement agreement between an abuse victim and the Catholic Church. Lateline has now obtained the agreement documents, which show a victim was required to repay his compensation payment plus 10 per cent per annum if he decided to take the matter to the police for criminal action.

Suzie Smith reports from Newcastle.

SUZANNE SMITH, REPORTER: This is Gresford Catholic Church and the inquiry has heard that its priest, Father Guy Hartcher, was under investigation for allegedly being part of a paedophile network. The two others involved were Father James Fletcher, who is now dead, and Father Vincent Ryan.

Father Hartcher was charged in the mid-1990s with 22 offences involving young boys in the Bathurst area in western NSW. He was subsequently moved to the Gresford Church in 1999 by the then Bishop of Maitland Newcastle, Michael Malone.

A police intelligence report, which included information about Father Hartcher was tendered as evidence. The report says police were concerned about a compensation agreement between a victim of Father Hartcher and the Catholic Church. It says:

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DEUTSCHLAND
Jani’s Blog

Revolutionen ohne Exzesse gibt es nicht, mahnt Jakob Augstein die Spießer von heute. In der Positionen des vermeintlichen Aufklärers wirbt er um Verständnis für die Libertinagen der sexuellen Revolution.

Beim Lesen seiner seltsamen Verteidigungsschrift für Daniel Cohn-Bendit dachte ich an den Begriff „Kollateralschaden“. Es hat vielleicht ein paar Kinder erwischt. Sei’s drum! Bisher hat sich keiner beschwert. Ohne den Einsatz damals könnten wir heute keine Früchte der sexuellen Befreiung ernten.

Es geht nicht um den Einzelfall und es gibt einen Unterschied zwischen den schrecklichen Missbrauchsfällen in der Kirche und der Lage der Linken in den 70er und 80er Jahren. In der Kirche gab und gibt es viel zu viele Leute, die sich nicht an das halten, was in ihr gilt. (Theologisch gesprochen: Alle Menschenkinder sind Sünder.) In Teilen der linken Szene war der Einsatz für die Entkriminalisierung der Pädosexualität Programm (siehe dazu hier oder auch den willkommenen Aufarbeitungsartikel der TAZ). Gelten sollte, was entlastet: Sex mit Kindern sei „für beide Teile angenehm, produktiv, entwicklungsfördernd, kurz: positiv“ (DIE WELT vom 20. März 1985, S.4, hier zitiert). Berufen konnten sich die Kämpfer für die Freiheit der Kinder auf große Linksintellektuelle wie Jean-Paul Sartre, Michel Foucault, Simone de Beauvoir, Gilles Deleuze oder Herbert Marcuse. Nicht nur die Sexualmoral, sondern auch die Familie galt als repressives System, das aufzusprengen sei.

Matthias Kamann verweist in seinem Beitrag „Zeitgeist förderte bei Grünen gefährliche Tendenzen“ auf diese Doppelmoral:

Auf dem Höhepunkt des Missbrauchsskandals in der katholischen Kirche versuchte im Februar 2010 der damalige Augsburger Bischof Walter Mixa die Verbreitung von Pädophilie bei Priestern zu erklären. Mixa sagte: “Die sogenannte sexuelle Revolution, in deren Verlauf von besonders progressiven Moralkritikern auch die Legalisierung von sexuellen Kontakten zwischen Erwachsenen und Minderjährigen gefordert wurde, ist daran sicher nicht unschuldig.”

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DEUTSCHLAND
Welt

Dass Grüne einst Sex mit Kindern propagierten, beschädigt ihren moralischen Nimbus. Gerade ihre Verbindung mit dem damaligen Zeitgeist der sexuellen Revolution führt die Grünen jetzt an Abgründe. Von Matthias Kamann

Auf dem Höhepunkt des Missbrauchsskandals in der katholischen Kirche versuchte im Februar 2010 der damalige Augsburger Bischof Walter Mixa die Verbreitung von Pädophilie bei Priestern zu erklären. Mixa sagte: “Die sogenannte sexuelle Revolution, in deren Verlauf von besonders progressiven Moralkritikern auch die Legalisierung von sexuellen Kontakten zwischen Erwachsenen und Minderjährigen gefordert wurde, ist daran sicher nicht unschuldig.”

Heftig widersprach ihm damals Grünen-Chefin Claudia Roth: “Es ist nicht nur haarsträubend, sondern auch eine beispiellose Verhöhnung der Opfer sexuellen Missbrauchs, wenn an diesem Skandal innerhalb der katholischen Kirche nun andere schuld sein sollen.” Die anderen Bischöfe, so Roth in der “Augsburger Allgemeinen”, müssten sich “in aller Schärfe von diesen Entlastungsversuchen ihres Bischofs zu distanzieren”.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
WGEM

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – A federal judge has dismissed 1 of 2 civil counts facing the Kansas City diocese and its bishop in a lawsuit filed by victim of sexual exploitation by a former diocese priest.

A ruling issued Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Gary Fenner says the victim will not be able to present evidence that the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph and Bishop Robert Finn aided and abetted the Rev. Shawn Ratigan, who possessed lewd images of her.

A trial in the civil case is scheduled to begin Monday.

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SCOTLAND
BBC News

Cardinal Keith O’Brien is to leave Scotland for several months after admitting improper sexual conduct, the Vatican has confirmed.

He resigned in March after three priests and a former priest alleged improper conduct back in the 1980s.

The Vatican said that with the Pope’s approval Cardinal O’Brien would leave Scotland “for the purpose of spiritual renewal, prayer and penance”.

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VATICAN CITY
The Star

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Cardinal Keith Patrick O’Brien, who resigned as head of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland after acknowledging sexual misconduct, will leave Scotland for months of “prayer and penance”, the Vatican said on Wednesday.

A statement said O’Brien, who was Britain’s most senior Catholic cleric until his resignation in February, would be leaving his country “for the same reasons” that he decided not to participate in the conclave that elected Pope Francis.

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VATICAN CITY
Times-Colonist

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MAY 15, 2013

VATICAN CITY – The Vatican says the Scottish cardinal who resigned as archbishop after admitting to sexual misconduct will leave Scotland for several months of prayer and atonement.

Cardinal Keith O’Brien recused himself from the March conclave that elected Pope Francis pontiff after a newspaper reported unnamed priests’ allegations that he acted inappropriately toward them.

O’Brien subsequently acknowledged he had engaged in unspecified sexual misbehaviour. He resigned as archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, apologized and promised to stay out of the church’s public life.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 15 May 2013 (VIS) – The Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR) intends to open, before the end of the year, a website where it will make public, among other information, the “Yearly Report” of its activities. According to Vatican Radio, the announcement was made by the President of the IOR, Mr. Ernst von Freyberg, during a meeting with that Institute’s personnel. Also, consultation with a new international certification company has been undertaken by the IOR in order to ensure full compliance with international standards for combating money laundering.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 15 May 2013 (VIS) – This afternoon, the Holy See Press Office issued the following press release:

“His Eminence Cardinal Keith Patrick O’Brien, archbishop emeritus of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, for the same reasons he decided not to participate in the last Conclave, and in agreement with the Holy Father, will be leaving Scotland for several months for the purpose of spiritual renewal, prayer, and penance. Any decision regarding future arrangements for His Eminence shall be agreed with the Holy See.”

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SCOTLAND
Scotsman

By ANGUS HOWARTH
Published on 15/05/201

Cardinal Keith O’Brien is to leave Scotland for a period of “prayer and penance”, the Vatican confirmed today.

The former head of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland stood down from his position after acknowledging sexual misconduct.

A statement said O’Brien, who was Britain’s most senior Catholic cleric until his resignation in February, would be leaving his country “for the same reasons” that he decided not to participate in the conclave that elected Pope Francis.

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

POSTED BY BARBARA DORRIS ON MAY 14, 2013

Once again, the criminal who commits child sex crimes will likely be punished and the criminal who conceals child sex crimes gets a break.

We’re disappointed that evidence about the complicity of top Kansas City Catholic officials in the crimes of Fr. Shawn Ratigan will not be shared in open court. At the same time, however, we’re glad that one count against the diocese remains intact.

This ruling should give pause to those who know about corruption in the Kansas City diocese. It’s a reminder that unless every single person who sees, suspects or suffers clergy sex crimes or cover ups must act. None of us should let our fear or complacency cause inaction. All of us have a duty to safeguard kids, and often the best place to start is by sharing what we know and suspect with law enforcement.

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VATICAN CITY
AsiaNews

Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Pray for the priests and bishops so they do not yield to the temptation of money and careerism and are shepherds of their flock and not “ravening wolves.” This was Pope Francis’ request at morning Mass in the Casa Santa Marta. The Pope reflected on the Acts of the Apostles where Paul exhorts the “elders” of the Church of Ephesus to watch over themselves and their flock, to be pastors attentive to the “ravenous wolves. ” It is, he said, according to Vatican Radio reports, one of the “most beautiful pages of the New Testament, full of tenderness, of pastoral love” from which emerges the “beautiful relationship of the bishop with his people.”

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WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette

By Scott J. Croteau TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
scroteau@telegram.com

WORCESTER — Bishop Robert J. McManus has lost his license for six months after admitting to refusing a chemical test after his arrest this month on drunken driving charges.

The head of the Diocese of Worcester appeared Tuesday at the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal in Wakefield, R.I. Court administrator Thomas Laliberte said Bishop McManus pleaded guilty in front of Magistrate William T. Noonan.

Diocese spokesman Raymond Delisle confirmed the events in the traffic tribunal.

Bishop McManus paid approximately $900 in fines and court costs. He must complete 10 hours of community service and participate in alcohol education programs, Mr. Laliberte said. A lane roadway violation charge was dismissed per the Narragansett Police Department.

Bishop McManus’ lawyer, Williams J. Murphy, said the drunken driving charge will be dismissed by Narragansett police as part of the agreement when his client admitted to refusing the chemical breath test.

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CHILE
GlobalPost

A Chilean priest has been defrocked by his order for allegedly sexually abusing two minors, the country’s Roman Catholic church said Tuesday.

The church had investigated the allegations against the priest, Hector Valdes, in 2008, but a new probe was ordered four years later by the archbishop of Santiago, Ricardo Ezzati.

The second investigation found Valdes “guilty of the crime of sexually abusing two minors, and abuse of his ministry,” the church said in a statement.

Valdes “is hereby removed for life from exercising priestly ministry and the religious life,” it said.

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NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

By Mark Mueller/The Star-Ledger

The Archdiocese of Newark has reached a $75,000 settlement with a man who alleges he was plied with alcohol, physically threatened and molested four decades ago by a Roman Catholic priest.

The man, who asked to be identified by his initials, F.P., because he is an alleged victim of sexual abuse, contends the Rev. John Nickas sexually assaulted him at least a half dozen times between 1970 and 1972 at St. Rocco’s Church in Newark. The parish has since merged with St. Ann’s Church to form the Parish of the Transfiguration.

Nickas, who was well known in Essex County for his work on behalf of the poor and the homeless, died in 2008 at age 68. He had served as pastor of St. Rocco’s and, later, pastor of St. Peter Claver Church in Montclair. It is the first time he has been publicly accused of abuse.

Boston attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who represents F.P., and Robert Hoatson, a New Jersey advocate for victims of clergy sex abuse, jointly announced the settlement earlier this week.

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SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland

A WOMAN who gave evidence at the trial of two nuns accused of abusing girls after seeing media coverage, told a court the approved school they worked at set her on the right track.

Helen Lynass, 59, got in touch with the QC for Anne Kenny, known as Mother Rosaria at Dalbeath approved school, after being “shocked” at what she heard on the news.

She said she was a “rebel” who would not listen to anybody when she was sent there in the 1960s but she “listened to Mother Rosaria”.

The mother-of-four claimed she saw no corporal punishment being used and said if it had happened it would have been spoken about.

Mrs Lynass, from Clydebank, was giving evidence at Paisley Sheriff Court at the trial of Anne Kenny, 79, and Agnes Reville, 77, known as Mother Martin.

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TEXAS
Watch Keep

Lastly, he comments how he feels like Luke Skywalker circling the beast as he approaches the Death Star.

Sounds like an excerpt from a science fiction novel right? It’s an actual statement from the Plano Police Department harassment complaint (embedded below) filed by Prestonwood Baptist Church executive pastor Mike Buster on longtime church member Chris Tynes. Prestonwood described Chris Tynes to the police as a “suspicious person” after he arrived in the church parking lot (see video) hoping to catch Mike Buster to ask Mike why he refused to meet with him regarding questions about the church’s handling of “past indiscretions by a former pastor.”

Tynes had questions about the church’s handling of child sex abuse allegations by former youth music minister John Langworthy who pleaded guilty in January 2013 in Jackson, Mississippi to child sex crimes there prior to his employment at Prestonwood.

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ALABAMA
Fox 10

Chasity Byrd
Letisha Bush
MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – FOX10 News sat down with Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi Tuesday, May 14—just one day after the Archdiocese of Mobile confirmed Father James Havens was put on administrative leave after accusations of sexual abuse.

A Twitter message posted last night by Archbishop Thomas Rodi read, “”About to begin a parish meeting dealing with a painful matter. Please say a prayer for all concerned”.

“She made the accusation that Father Havens had sexually abused her in 1989, 24 years ago when this action allegedly took place,” said Archbishop Rodi.

Archbishop Rodi said Father James Havens is now on leave and cannot exercise priestly ministry or live on parish property. The archbishop would not say where Father Havens is living now, but did disclose the district attorney’s office knows where he is. The woman, who is now 34, said the incident happened at her family’s home.

“The accusation of sexual abuse, this is a one-time event, but more than that I really don’t want to say more of what the woman shared. I think that would be inappropriate,” Archbishop Rodi said.

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ILLINOIS
Daily Herald

By Lee Filas
A Benedictine monk accused of attempting to lure four teens into his car on two occasions in Antioch pleaded not guilty Tuesday to child abduction charges that could put him in prison for up to three years.

Thomas J. Chmura, 57, with a listed address at St. Benedict’s Abbey in Benet Lake, Wis., entered his not guilty plea as his attorneys unsuccessfully petitioned a Lake County judge to lower his bond to $50,000 and allow him to reside at his adopted father’s home in Lansing, Ill.

Chmura currently is being held in Lake County jail in lieu of $150,000 bond after his initial $50,000 bond was revoked last week.

Assistant Lake County State’s Attorney Victor O’Block argued that Chmura’s bond should remain as is, noting there may be fifth person harassed by Chmura to get into his car prior to his April 26 arrest.

“The defendant has admitted to coming to Antioch on five to 10 occasions and offer girls rides,” O’Block said.

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ILLINOIS
Kenosha News

BY JANINE ANDERSON
janderson@kenoshanews.com
WAUKEGAN, ILL. — Attorneys for a Kenosha County monk arrested for trying to get underage girls into his car have asked permission for him to live with his father in a Lansing, Ill., retirement community while the case proceeds.

Thomas Chmura, 57, was arrested and charged in Illinois Circuit Court after police say he tried to lure four girls into his car in late April.

He has been charged with four counts of kidnapping, defined in the statutes as luring children under the age of 17 into his car for an unlawful purpose. The girls — between the ages of 11 and 14 — did not get into his car.

Originally released on bond, Chmura went home to St. Benedict’s Abbey in Benet Lake, but Lake County officials revoked his bond after they learned there is a treatment program for children on the grounds. He has been in the Lake County Jail since then, under a $150,000 bond.

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ILLINOIS
Chicago Sun-Times

A Benedictine monk accused of offering rides to four underage girls denied child abduction charges at his arraignment Tuesday.

Thomas Chmura , 57, was in court for his arraignment and bond review before Judge Christopher Stride.

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ILLINOIS
CBS Chicago

SOUTH BARRINGTON, Ill. (STMW) – A 19-year-old man who volunteered for a program assisting children with special needs at a northwest suburban megachurch has been charged with sexually abusing one of those children.

Robert Sobczak was a volunteer in the Special Friends program at the Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington when he allegedly fondled an 8-year-old boy in the program in February, according to Cook County prosecutors.

Sobczak, of the 3900 block of Whispering Trail in Hoffman Estates, was arrested Friday and charged with one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, a Class 2 felony, according to Cook County State’s Attorney’s office spokeswoman Lisa Gordon.

“The victim was in the program on Feb. 17 when the offender removed him from the classroom and took him to a separate room alone. He then fondled the victim,” she said, citing court records.

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POLAND
U.S. Catholic

By Catholic News Service

WARSAW, Poland (CNS) — Polish victims of alleged sexual abuse by Catholic priests have formed a foundation to seek damages from the church.

“This is to be our forum for cooperating with the church — we want the people who harmed us to be penalized, barred from working with children and even dismissed from pastoral service,” the foundation founder, identified only as Marek, told the Gazeta Wyborcza daily May 12.

“Most importantly, our aim is to convince society we aren’t the guilty ones, but the ones who were harmed. In our small communities, we are often treated as black sheep, and many of us have had to move,” he said.

Organizers of the Poznan-based foundation, “Be Not Afraid,” said they hoped to obtain compensation and psychological help for victims and persuade Polish legislators to change a law establishing a 15-year limit for abuse prosecutions.

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ILLINOIS
Chicago Tribune

By George Houde and Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune
May 15, 2013

A volunteer at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington has been charged with sexually abusing a boy in a special needs class, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Robert Sobczak, 19, of Hoffman Estates, was charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse on allegations he touched the boy inappropriately, according to the felony criminal complaint.

Sobczak was volunteering in the church’s Special Friends program on Feb. 17 when he allegedly led the boy to an isolated area at the large evangelical church and fondled him, said Tandra Simonton, a spokeswoman for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.

Sobczak has denied the allegations, church officials said. He was arrested Friday and released Saturday on $10,000 cash bond.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By STEPHEN RYAN May 15, 2013

FORMER Newcastle crime manager Detective Chief Inspector Brad Tayler has denied claims that he did not want allegations of sexual abuse cover-ups within the Catholic Church investigated, saying that he thought it was best handled by the State Crime Command, an inquiry has heard.

Mr Tayler, who has left the police force, also refuted a number of assertions put to him by counsel for Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox, Mark Cohen.

Those assertions included that Mr Tayler wanted to be ‘‘rid’’ of the investigation and that Mr Tayler intimated to Mr Fox at a meeting in 2010 that Mr Fox would have no involvement in the investigation and was to hand over all evidence in his possession.

Mr Tayler denied those claims.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Eastbourne Herald

A man who ran a children’s home in the Eastbourne area and was recently convicted of child sex abuse has narrowly escaped jail.

Michael Mytton, known as Mark, who is 69 and now lives in East Chiltington, was sentenced to nine months imprisonment suspended for two years.

The former church organist was convicted after a three week trial at Hove Crown Court last month of three counts of indecently assaulting a boy under 16 in the Newick area beytween 1990 and 1994.

Also sentenced for sexual offences against young boys between 19 and 27 years ago was priest Keith Wilkie Denford, 78 and from Shoreham who was jailed for 18 months.

Each man was also served with Sexual Offence Prevention Order (SOPO), to last until otherwise directed by the court, severely restricting their access to persons under-16. They must also sign on the Sex Offenders Register for ten years.

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ALABAMA
WPMI

[with video]

TILLMAN’S CORNER, Ala. (WPMI) The priest at St. Vincent De Paul Catholic Church is on administrative leave after allegations of sex abuse surfaced.

A now 34-year-old woman said the alleged act happened in her home in 1989.

The allegations against Father James Havens were reported to the District Attorney’s Office last week. But DA Ashley Rich told Local 15 on Tuesday that it’s just too early in the investigation for her to comment.

No charges have been filed.

But Archbishop Thomas Rodi opened up about the allegations and he’s taking them very seriously.

Rodi said last Wednesday a 34-year-old woman met with the director for child protection and told him that she was sexually abused at her home when she was just 11-years-old.

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ALABAMA
WALA

Andrew Perez
MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – An investigation continues into allegations of sexual abuse against a local Catholic priest.

Victim advocacy groups are reaching out after the alleged victim came forward claiming she had been sexually abused by Father James Havens some 24-years ago.

Havens is a priest at St. Vincent De Paul Catholic Church.

Church officials said he was placed on paid administrative leave following the allegations and reported to the district attorney’s office.

“I’ve heard too many stories. I’ve heard hundreds of horrific stories. People’s lives are in turmoil because of this and it doesn’t have to happen,” said Judy Jones, Associate Director of ‘SNAP’ or Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

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AUSTRALIA
7 News

By Dan Cox in Newcastle, ABC
Updated May 15, 2013

The former head of a police strike force has told a child sexual abuse inquiry he was made aware of crucial church documents in the office of Sydney’s Archbishop, Cardinal George Pell.

The Special Commission in Newcastle is investigating Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox’s claims the Maitland-Newcastle Catholic Diocese and NSW Police covered up allegations of child sexual abuse by two priests.

Brad Tayler, a former Newcastle crime manager, is giving evidence at the public hearings.

The court has heard in a meeting in 2010 Mr Tayler was told by Andrew Morrison SC from the Australian Lawyers Alliance that there were important documents in Cardinal George Pell’s office.

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IRELAND
Galway Bay FM

A 70-year-old priest has gone on trial for the alleged sexual abuse of two brothers in a Co. Galway school during the 1970’s.

The priest denies ten counts of sexual assault, contrary to Common Law, against the brothers which are alleged to have taken place on various dates in the school between September 1, 1970 and June 30, 1971.

The first complainant told the jury of seven women and five men at Galway Circuit Criminal Court that he had just started secondary school aged 13, in September, 1970 when the abuse started.

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VATICAN CITY
Washington Post

Secretive Vatican bank to publish annual report online in ramped-up transparency bid

By Associated Press, Updated: Tuesday, May 14, 3:31 PM

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican bank, long a source of secret and scandal for the Holy See, plans to publish its annual report online as part of its efforts to be more financially transparent.

Vatican Radio said Tuesday that the bank president, Ernst von Freyburg, announced the plans to his staff Monday and said the bank would launch its own website this year.

The moves come ahead of a July deadline for the Vatican to submit to a new evaluation by the Council of Europe’s Moneyval committee, which assesses compliance with anti-money laundering and anti-terror financing norms.

The Vatican is seeking to improve its reputation in global financial circles following a series of scandals at its bank, known as the Institute for Religious Works, and a 2010 money laundering investigation by Rome prosecutors.

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DEUTSCHLAND
WA

MÜNSTER –  In dem Buch „Die Nonnen von Sant’Ambrogio“ zeichnet der Münsteraner Kirchenhistoriker Hubert Wolf anhand der Inquisitionsakten einen Skandal nach: Giftmorde, sexueller Missbrauch, vorgetäuschte Marienerscheinungen und Entrückungen in den Himmel in den 1850er Jahren im römischen Kloster Sant’Ambrogio.

Besonders brisant ist der Fall durch die Verwicklung von Kardinälen und konservativen Spitzentheologen, vor allem des Jesuiten Josef Kleutgen. Er war unter dem Pseudonym Giuseppe Peters Beichtvater der Nonnen und Geliebter der Hauptangeklagten, der Novizenmeisterin Maria Luisa. Diese, mit 13 Jahren selbst Opfer der damaligen Äbtissin, missbrauchte Novizinnen, schlief mit Männern und Mitschwestern. Aufgedeckt wurde der Skandal durch die Anzeige Prinzessin Katharinas von Hohenzollern, die Novizin in Sant’Ambrogio war und nach wenigen Monaten aus dem Kloster floh. Sie berichtete der Inquisition 1859 von Giftanschlägen auf ihr Leben. Zahllose Vernehmungen später stand 1862 fest: Maria Luisa hatte zwei Nonnen ermordet und dies auch bei Katharina versucht, um Enthüllungen zu verhindern. Wegen ihrer Visionen und Ekstasen galt sie als Heilige. Kardinäle und selbst der Jesuitengeneral glaubten auch ihrer Aussage, der Teufel habe in ihrer Gestalt Vergehen begangen. Kleutgen, als Ketzer verurteilt, konnte seine Karriere fortsetzen und hatte maßgeblichen Anteil am Unfehlbarkeitsdogma 1870. Elisabeth Elling hat Hubert Wolf in Münster über „Die Nonnen von Sant’Ambrogio“ befragt.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic News Agency

Washington D.C., May 14, 2013 / 01:56 pm (CNA).- Prominent U.S. priest Father Thomas Williams has asked Pope Francis to dispense him from his priestly obligations in order to care for the child he fathered and the child’s mother.

Fr. Williams wrote Fr. John Connor, assistant for apostolate for the North American Territory of Regnum Christi, the lay branch of the Legion of Christ. He said that he had come to “the serene conviction that what God expects of me now is to devote myself to caring for my child and his mother.”

“By responsibly and lovingly accepting the consequences of my actions, I will continue to serve God and his Church. I know I should be with my son and try to be the kind of father he needs,” Fr. Williams said, according to a May 10 blog post by Fr. Connor.

The priest had served as a theology and ethics professor at the Legion of Christ’s Regina Apostolorum University in Rome. He authored many books and came to prominence as a faith and religion analyst for CBS News and a Vatican analyst for NBC News and Sky News. He served as theological adviser for Mel Gibson’s 2004 film “The Passion of the Christ.”

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NEW JERSEY
NBC New York

David Ushery talks to The Record reporter Jeff Green to get an in depth look at the scandal that has NJ legislators urging the Newark Archbishop John J. Meyers to resign.

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

A retired bishop who was facing disciplinary proceedings over alleged child protection failings has said the case against him has been dismissed.

The complaints were made against former Bishop of Lewes, the Rt Rev Wallace Benn, by the safeguarding advisory group of the Diocese of Chichester.

Bishop Benn said no misconduct of any kind had been established under the Clergy Disciplinary Measure (CDM).

The Diocese of Chichester was asked to comment but has not done so.

Bishop Benn was accused of failing to tell police about paedophile priest Robert Coles, who was jailed in February for sexually abusing three boys aged from 10 to 16.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Kansas City Star

May 14
BY MARK MORRIS
The Kansas City Star

A federal judge has sharply limited the claims that a young sexual exploitation victim can make against the Kansas City diocese and its bishop.

In an order issued Tuesday morning, U.S. District Judge Gary Fenner dismissed one of two civil counts facing the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph and Bishop Robert Finn.

The victim, known in the litigation as Jane Doe 173, will not be able to present evidence that Finn and the diocese aided and abetted the Rev. Shawn Ratigan in his possession of lewd images of her.

Ratigan is awaiting sentencing in federal court after pleading guilty guilty in August to taking pornographic pictures of the girl, who then was about two years old, in a Buchanan County church in May 2006.

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RHODE ISLAND
ABC 6

Dee DeQuattro
ddequattro@abc6.com

Bishop Robert McManus of the Worcester Catholic Diocese pleaded guilty to the civil violation of refusing to submit to a breathalyzer test in the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal Tuesday morning.

McManus was given the minimum sanctions for a first time including a 6-month license suspension, 10 hours community service, DUI school and mandatory fines.

Earlier this month McManus pleaded not guilty to charged of driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident in District Court.

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RHODE ISLAND
Turn to 10

[with video]

A drunken driving charge against the leader of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester will be dismissed after he agreed to plead guilty to refusing a chemical breath test, his lawyer told NBC 10 on Tuesday.

Worcester Bishop Robert McManus appeared before the Traffic Tribunal in Wakefield on a charge of refusing to submit to a chemical breath test.

McManus lost his driver’s license for six months and was ordered to pay $900 in fines and court costs.

“There was an agreement with our entry of admission of chemical test refusal that the DUI would be dismissed,” said former Rhode Island House Speaker William Murphy, who’s representing the 61-year-old McManus.

Murphy said that because McManus didn’t have a prior record, that the dismissal of the DUI charge is standard for first offenders.

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RHODE ISLAND
WPRI

By Chris Raia
NARRAGANSETT, R.I. (WPRI) — A local Catholic bishop appeared in traffic court on Tuesday, and now he will begin facing the consequences.

Worcester Bishop Robert McManus admitted in traffic court to refusing to submit to a chemical test during an altercation with police last week. McManus was arrested last Saturday on suspicion of drunk driving and fleeing the scene of an accident.

His DUI refusal will result in the minimum sanctions for first-offense refusal. His driver’s license will be suspended for at least six months, and he will be required to complete 10 hours of community service and attend DUI education classes.

He also received fines totaling $945.

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RHODE ISLAND
Providence Journal

May 14, 2013 4:44 pm By Thomas J. Morgan

WARWICK, R.I. — Roman Catholic Bishop Robert McManus of Worcester, Mass., admitted refusing a chemical breath test for alcohol Tuesday and was fined $935, according to courts spokesman Craig N. Berke.

McManus’s license was suspended for six months and he was ordered by Judge William T. Noonan of the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal to perform 10 hours of community service and undergo alcohol counseling.

Berke said the punishment was standard for a first offender.

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LOS ANGELES (CA)
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on May 14, 2013

Let me get this straight:

Lawyers for the Archdiocese of LA want six sex abuse and cover-up lawsuits against one of its former priests, Nicholas Aguilar Rivera, tossed out of court.

Even though, according to the Associated Press:

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office in 1988 filed 19 felony counts against Aguilar Rivera,

“[The Archdiocese] has no doubt these children were his victims” (Church lawyer J. Michael Hennigan)

Mahony gave the priest permission to work for one year in the Los Angeles archdiocese after the Mexican cleric had been severely beaten at his parish in Tehuacan, in Puebla State … Police found blood, hair and broken glass at the parish house and interviewed witnesses who said young men from many surrounding villages visited the priest in his bedroom and slept there frequently, and

Aguilar Rivera’s bishop, Norberto Rivera, wrote a letter to Mahony to tell him there had been “several accusations of homosexuality against the priest” that had not been proven, but were believed to be the cause of the attack.

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CHILE
Terra

El sacerdote católico Héctor Valdés, a quien la justicia se negó a procesar por falta de pruebas, fue expulsado de la Iglesia por abusar sexualmente de dos menores de edad.

Un comunicado del Arzobispado de Santiago señaló que “tras el proceso administrativo realizado, conforme a lo establecido en el Código de Derecho Canónico y en las normas de la Santa Sede sobre los delitos más graves, el sacerdote Valdés ha sido encontrado culpable del delito de abusos sexuales de menores de edad en contra de dos víctimas y de abuso de ministerio”.

Con la expulsión de Valdés, que perteneció a los Misioneros de San Francisco de Sales, los curas expulsados de su ministerio en Chile por pederastia rondan la veintena. La investigación fue llevada durante un año por el arzobispo de Santiago, Ricardo Ezzati.

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CHILE
La Tercera

Iglesia remueve a sacerdote por considerarlo culpable de abuso a menores de edad

El Arzobispado de Santiago informó hoy que tras una investigación por parte de la Iglesia, se consideró culpable al padre Héctor Valdés, de abusos a menores de edad.

En mayo de 2012 el Dicasterio para la Doctrina de la Fe encargó al Arzobispo de Santiago, monseñor Ricardo Ezzati, instruir un proceso administrativo penal contra el sacerdote de la congregación de los Misioneros de San Francisco de Sales, acusado de abuso a menores de edad, cuya investigación previa había realizado la congregación sobre la base de antecedentes proporcionados por el Arzobispado de Santiago.

“Tras el proceso administrativo penal realizado, conforme a lo establecido en el Código Derecho Canónico y en las normas de la Santa Sede sobre los delitos más graves, el sacerdote Valdés ha sido declarado culpable del delito de abusos sexuales de menores de edad en contra de dos víctimas, y de abuso de ministerio”, indicó la Iglesia mediante un comunicado.

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CHILE
Business Recorder

SANTIAGO: A Chilean priest has been defrocked by his order for allegedly sexually abusing two minors, the country’s Roman Catholic church said on Tuesday.

The church had investigated the allegations against the priest, Hector Valdes, in 2008, but a new probe was ordered four years later by the archbishop of Santiago, Ricardo Ezzati.

The second investigation found Valdes “guilty of the crime of sexually abusing two minors, and abuse of his ministry,” the church said in a statement.

Valdes “is hereby removed for life from exercising priestly ministry and the religious life,” it said.

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CHILE
Press TV (Iran)

A Chilean priest has been permanently removed from public ministry over allegations of sexual abuse of two minors.

The country’s Roman Catholic Church announced on Tuesday that Priest Hector Valdes has been defrocked.

Valdes “is hereby removed for life from exercising priestly ministry and the religious life,” said the church.

In an investigation conducted last year, Valdes was found “guilty of the crime of sexually abusing two minors, and abuse of his ministry.”

According to the initial probe in 2008, the church ruled there was not enough evidence to investigate the accusations of having sexually abused a 17-year-old.

Valdes is one of about 20 priests, who have been accused of sexually abusing minors in the predominantly Roman Catholic country, Chile.

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VATICAN CITY
ANSA

(ANSA) – Rome, May 14 – The Vatican Bank will start publishing its balance sheets online by the end of the year, its president said Tuesday. In his first full staff meeting since assuming the post in February, Ernst von Freyberg added that other documents would also be made public on a special website, and that an “international organization” would be consulted to oversee that transactions are in accordance with Vatican and international standards.

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VATICAN CITY
Bloomberg

By Lorenzo Totaro – May 14, 2013

The Vatican bank will publish its financial accounts for the first time by the end of 2013, Italian news agency Ansa reported, citing remarks made by the bank’s head, Ernst von Freyberg.

The Vatican bank, which is formally called the Institute for the Works of Religion, or IOR, will also have its balance sheet audited, Ansa cited Von Freyberg as telling the bank’s employees at a meeting today.

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LOS ANGELES (CA)
KMPH

By GILLIAN FLACCUS
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) – A Los Angeles judge has postponed the trial of a lawsuit involving a fugitive priest, possibly until next year, so that cases involving 11 alleged victims can be tried together.

Superior Court Judge Emilie Elias refused Tuesday to dismiss the lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles and retired Cardinal Roger Mahony.

She also denied a request by the archdiocese for a change of venue.

The lawsuit alleges Mahony and the archdiocese were negligent in allowing the Rev. Nicolas Aguilar Rivera to work in Los Angeles because they should have known he abused children.

The priest came to LA in 1987 after being severely beaten at his Mexican parish.

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GERMANY
Spiegel

In the 1980s, some members of Germany’s Green Party advocated the legalization of sex with minors. Now the party wants to come to terms with this dark chapter via an independent review of internal documents — some of which show that the influence of pedophiles on the young party was much stronger than previously thought.

He is a boy, roughly 10 years old, with a pretty face, full lips, a straight nose and shoulder-length hair. The wings of an angel protrude from his narrow back, and a penis is drawn with thin lines on the front of his body.

The 1986 image was printed in the newsletter of the Green Party’s national working group on “Gays, Pederasts and Transsexuals,” abbreviated as “BAG SchwuP.” It wasn’t just sent to a few scattered party members, but was addressed to Green Party members of the German parliament, as well as the party’s headquarters in Bonn.

Documents like this have become a problem for the Greens today. Some 33 years after the party was founded, it is now being haunted by a chapter in its history that many would have preferred to forget. No political group in Germany promoted the interests of men with pedophile tendencies as staunchly as the environmental party. For a period of time in the mid-1980s, it practically served as the parliamentary arm of the pedophile movement. …

It’s embarrassing for the Greens. No other party depends as heavily on the claim of being on the right side of morality. The Greens also played a leading role from the start — as prosecutors — in the debate over abuse within the Catholic Church, emphatically demanding answers to allegations of sexual abuse of children. And, of course, a Green Party parliamentarian, Antje Vollmer, was also a member of the Bundestag’s round table to address the abuses that took place in mainly church-run children’s homes in the 1950s and 1960s.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

May 15, 2013

Stephen Ryan

Senior police were concerned that confidential details about the investigation into alleged cover-ups of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church were being divulged and detective Peter Fox was the suspected source of the leaks, the former Newcastle police commander said.

Assistant Commissioner Carlene York told an inquiry into church abuse on Tuesday that there was no evidence Newcastle police did not want to investigate the claims and the investigation that was done was ”thorough”and ”extensive”.

She also said she had never heard the term ”Catholic mafia” during her time as Northern Region commander and her decision to assign the investigation to the Newcastle City detectives office was based on several factors including the locality of the alleged offences and the resources of that office.

The Special Commission of Inquiry being held in Newcastle is examining claims by Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox that he was ordered to stop investigating claims of concealment of sexual abuse within the church.

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NEW YORK
National Catholic Reporter

Mary E. Hunt | May. 14, 2013

VIEWPOINT Courage is an old-fashioned virtue that comes in many forms: physical, social and political. I have paid attention to it of late — both its absence and presence — in the hope that highlighting courage will make it multiply. A dose of courage would go a long way toward solving many ecclesial and civil problems.

Same-sex love is increasingly seen as part of human diversity, but ugly incidents continue to remind us that courage is still needed to love freely. Nicholas Coppola had been an active parish volunteer at St. Anthony’s Parish in Oceanside, N.Y. He visited the sick, taught, raised money, acted as a lector, even served at the altar as an out gay man. Then someone anonymously reported to the local bishop that Coppola had married his partner.

This prompted an auxiliary bishop to inform the pastor, a Jesuit, that “it would be of concern” if someone teaching in a Catholic parish were known to be married in a same-sex union. Fair enough — congratulations are in order for the happy couple — but that was not what he meant. The pastor, claiming no options, relieved Coppola of his volunteer duties. Tens of thousands of people signed petitions in support of this generous man who only wanted to serve. Oddly, the bishop of the diocese of Rockville Centre mailed the signatures back without explanation.

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AUSTRALIA
The Daily Telegraph

BRUCE MCDOUGALL THE DAILY TELEGRAPH MAY 15, 2013

THE landmark royal commission into institutional responses to child sex abuse will cost taxpayers more than $434 million over the next four years.

Funding earmarked in the Federal Budget this year includes $45 million to provide expert services to support the survivors of child sexual abuse, Treasurer Wayne Swan said last night.

The commission has begun investigating the responses of large institutions such as the Catholic Church to allegations and incidents of child sexual abuse and how children can be better protected in the future.

But Mr Swan said even more money may be needed because the number of complaints and the number and location of hearings was still unknown.

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ALABAMA
AL.com

By Carol McPhail | cmcphail@al.com
on May 14, 2013

MOBILE, Alabama – Parishioners, parents and students at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church were informed at a meeting Monday night that their priest, Father James Havens, had been placed on administrative leave related to an accusation of sexual abuse.

On Tuesday, Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi said he attended the meeting at the Tillman’s Corner church, where parishioners were handed statements saying that a 34-year-old woman had made an accusation of sex abuse against the priest involving a 1989 act in her family home.

The archdiocese reported the accusation to the Mobile County District Attorney’s office. No charges have been filed.

Havens, whose leave was effective Wednesday, May 8, has been at St. Vincent since 2010. According to archdiocese policy, Havens may not exercise priestly ministry or live on parish property while on leave.

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NEW JERSEY
Catholic League

Bill Donohue comments on the way New Jersey newspapers and politicians are reacting to cases of clergy sexual abuse:

A priest gropes a teenager 12 years ago while wrestling and is told not to be around minors unless supervised. He breaks the agreement. Here’s how New Jersey newspapers and politicians responded.

Calling for the resignation of the priest’s boss, Newark Archbishop John J. Myers, are the following: the Newark Star-Ledger, the Asbury Park Press, Sen. Joseph Vitale, Sen. Barbara Buono, Sen. Stephen Sweeney, and Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle. This wasn’t good enough for The Record: it called upon lawmakers to tax church property.

An Orthodox rabbi forces an 11-year-old boy to have sex, and over the course of two years he molests him in the woods, in a storage room, in his car, and in the basement of a synagogue. The boy’s father, a rabbi, brings this to the attention of a prominent rabbi in the Lakewood Orthodox community, seeking justice in a rabbinical court. Nothing is done. No cops are called. This goes on for two years. The boy is taken to a therapist, but she also refuses to notify the authorities. The boy’s father finally reports this to law enforcement, and for this he is punished by his community, loses his job, and is forced to move his family out of state. Yesterday, the raping rabbi pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the boy.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Virtue Online

The former Bishop of Lewes, Rt. Revd. Wallace Benn, released the following statement regarding the dismissal of all Clergy Discipline complaints against him:

By Rt. Revd. Wallace Benn
May 11, 2013

As of 10 May 2013, all complaints against me under the Clergy Discipline Measure have come to an end without any misconduct of any kind having been established. No complaint against me has been allowed to proceed beyond the preliminary stages of the process.

Since November 2011, the Safeguarding Advisory Group of the Diocese of Chichester, its Chairman (Mr Keith Akerman) and the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser (Mr Colin Perkins) have tried to make a number of complaints against me under the Clergy Discipline Measure.

All their efforts were misconceived and unjustified, as has now been established. The decisions that none of the complaints should be allowed to proceed have been made in part by the Archbishop of York and in part by the Right Honourable Lord Justice Mummery, sitting in his capacity as President of Tribunals. Some of the complaints have been dismissed on their merits and the rest on the basis that they have been made outside the time allowed under the Clergy Discipline Measure and where no good grounds exist for any extension of time.

All the facts relating to my conduct about which complaint was sought to be made were known to the Diocesan Bishop or Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor in office at the time of the conduct in question or both, yet nobody saw any grounds for complaint at the time, either against me or against any other Diocesan official.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Times

Ruth Gledhill Religion Correspondent
Published at 2:35PM, May 14 2013

All complaints against the former Bishop of Lewes, the Right Rev Wallace Benn, in connection with his handling of a child abuse case have been dismissed.

In November 2011, a complaint was made to former Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, about the Bishop, who retired last year.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Church Times

by Madeleine Davies

Posted: 14 May 2013

ALL complaints under the Clergy Discipline Measure against a former Bishop of Lewes, the Rt Revd Wallace Benn, have been dismissed, it was announced on Tuesday.

In a statement, Bishop Benn denounced the “misconceived and unjustified” efforts by the safeguarding advisory group of the diocese of Chichester to bring complaints against him. He had been the victim of a “one-sided and unjust process of trial by media . . . orchestrated by unknown people with, it seems, no interest in the truth or the ministry of the Church”.

In November 2011, the diocese of Chichester confirmed that the diocesan independent safeguarding advisory group had made a complaint to the Archbishop of Canterbury concerning Bishop Benn ( News, 17 November, 2011). When Bishop Benn retired in 2012, the charges were unresolved ( News, 26 October).

The complaints from the safeguarding advisory group related to the handling of the case of Robert Coles, a former parish priest who in February was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to 11 sex offences, committed in the late 1970s and early 1980s, against three young boys in West Sussex. The complainants argued that Bishop Benn should have passed information that he possessed about Mr Coles’s conduct to the police. Bishop Benn has maintained that this was the responsibility of the diocesan child-protection adviser ( News, 22 February).

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MOBILE (AL)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY BARBARA DORRIS ON MAY 14, 2013

Shame on the Mobile Catholic archdiocese. Its leader, Archbishop Thomas Rodi, has suspended a suspected predator priest. But he basically kept the accusation and suspension secret, until a journalist’s tweet forced his hand.

For decades, Catholic bishops have pledged “openness and transparency” in clergy sex abuse cases. But more and more in recent years, bishops have broken that promise. Rodi owes parents and parishioners an explanation for his irresponsible secrecy.

The accused is helped every day that a credible child sex abuse allegation remains hidden. It gives him or her more time to intimidate victims, threaten witnesses, discredit whistleblowers, destroy evidence, fabricate alibis and even flee the country. Rodi is no dummy. He knows this. Yet he chose to do what his brother bishops have been doing for centuries – keep quiet about possible child sex crimes.

Even now, there’s no notice on Rodi’s archdiocesan website about the suspension.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Patch

The Archdiocese of Chicago released the following statement Friday after a group demanded the firing of ex-priest Russell Romano, who is now serving as a counselor for Advocate Health Care.

By Melissa Sersland

Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests delivered a letter to the Archdiocese of Chicago last week demanding the firing of Bolingbrook ex-priest Russell Romano, who is now a counselor for Advocate Health Care in Des Plaines.

The Archdiocese of Chicago released this statement in response:

“Russell Lawrence Romano is not a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago. He resigned from the priesthood in October 1991 and was laicized in May of 2009. When the first allegation was received against him in 1986, the civil authorities were informed and he was placed on limited ministry with restrictions and monitoring, according to the regulations in effect at that time.

Romanos current employment had not been known to the Archdiocese, but, after learning about his current profession from his accuser in April of 2011, the Archdiocese promptly forwarded this information to the States Attorney and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).

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NEW YORK
New York Daily News

BY MICHAEL O’KEEFE / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

Horace Mann’s headmaster says he supports a bill that might open the scandal-stained school to lawsuits by sex abuse victims.

But Tom Kelly has reservations about the Child Victims Act, which would eliminate the statute of limitations and open a one-year window for survivors of past abuse to file criminal and civil cases.

“Yes, I’m a supporter, but . . . the bill in its current form falls short,” Kelly said in a recent statement.

Kelly said the bill by Assemblywoman Margaret Markey (D-Queens) falls short because it does not address abuse suffered by students at government-funded programs and schools.

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AUSTRALIA
Catholica

Internationally, the Catholic Church continues to slide towards oblivion — or at least towards the “smaller, purer Church” envisaged by Pope Benedict. There are possibly only three ways the slide can be reversed: by the offering of more rosaries and masses for God to intervene and send more vocations and halt the slide; Brian Pitts in our forum today outlines, with the help of Dr Hans Küng, the second way — by a return to the simplicity of the Gospel message of Jesus [LINK]; or the third way, for those who believe if it is to have any chance of restoring credibility in the educated, first world might well be by the program being offered by Bishop Geoffrey Robinson in his new book “For Christ’s Sake: End Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church … For Good”. The editor of Catholica, Brian Coyne, today offers a review and overview of Bishop Robinson’s new book and what he is proposing.

For Christ’s Sake : here’s a positive contribution you can make to our world…

Let me lay my cards on the table at the outset: I am pessimistic that Catholicism can be restored today to a position of primacy, or even significant relevance any longer, in the big debates that go on in society that shape the future of civilisations. I think we (all of humankind) might be living through a huge sea-change in outlook towards the entire religious and spiritual dimension of life. Religions as influential and large as the Catholic Church have disappeared before today into the sand that archaeologists sift through centuries and millennia later. They all believed their religion would last forever and was guided by some Supreme Deity. I don’t believe though we are watching the rise of atheism, or any sort of anarchism, as the significant alternative. Many people today might have been sucked out of the church by the things people like Pope Benedict blame, such as relativism, secularism, consumerism, etc., etc.. Many though still place great importance on the spiritual side of life. They might have given up on the traditional church communities that nourished their forebears, but they are still searching for the language and means of understanding those powerful forces, or that powerful force, that seems to draw us forward to create a better, more civilised and loving world.

Bishop Robinson’s new book is available for pre-order in Paperback edition from Garratt Publishing, Fishpond and The Book Depository in the Catholica Spiritual Marketplace HERE.

Bishop Geoffrey Robinson is about to launch a project on the 3rd June, based around a new book, that outlines one of the two proposals that I believe, outside of some direct miraculous intervention from God himself, offers any hope of bringing Catholicism back from the brink of societal irrelevance. If it is to work though it requires your enthusiastic input.

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IRELAND
Association of Catholics in Ireland

The ACI are hosting a general meeting entitled ‘The Role of the Laity in Shaping the Future of our Church’ on Saturday 1st June 2013 from 10am to 4pm in the Clarion Hotel, Liffey Valley.

The meeting will be an open and participative space focused on how this organisation can support the role of the laity in the future of our Church. Attendees will engage in discussion and listening on topics around the main theme.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Big Trial

MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

By Ralph Cipriano
for Bigtrial.net

The Catholic League has asked a state disciplinary board to investigate whether any member of the district attorney’s office has a financial interest in Billy Doe’s civil suit against the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, sent a May 9th letter seeking an investigation to Anthony P. Sodroski, Disciplinary Counsel-in-Charge of the Disciplinary Board of the state Supreme Court.

In the letter, which he released to the press, Donohue stated, “What needs to be settled is whether someone from the office of D.A. Seth Williams will be receiving a referral fee for his work in connection with the ‘Billy Doe’ civil suit” against the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.”

“You should know that we are pursuing other avenues of redress in this case,” Donohue wrote Sodroski. “Never in my 20 years as president of the Catholic League have I seen a more egregious series of legal misconduct stemming from one case. All I am asking from you is cooperation in this particular matter.”

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

May 14, 2013

AAP

The Gillard government has pledged more than $400 million for the royal commission into child sexual abuse.

Tuesday’s federal budget sets aside $434.1 million over four years for the inquiry announced by Prime Minister Julia Gillard in December.

Ms Gillard says that figure will provide the commission with the necessary resources to fully investigate where institutions have gone wrong.

“This funding recognises the importance the government places on addressing injustices that have occurred in institutions against the most vulnerable in our society,” the prime minister said in a statement.

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IRELAND
The Journal

A CALIFORNIAN WOMAN is to sue an Irish priest who allegedly raped her in 1970 when she was 16 years old, US court documents show.

The priest, who is believed to be about 80 years old and living in Dublin, was visiting the diocese of Fresno when the alleged incident occurred.

The civil complaint, filed at the Superior Court of the State of California in Fresno County on 6 May, outlines the plaintiff’s claims that she was molested and digitally raped by the member of the Holy Ghost Fathers (now Spiritans) shortly after the sudden death of her father.

According to the woman’s lawyers, the defendant became a close friend of the family while he was assigned to the local St Anthony of Padua Church. He regularly swam with the children in their swimming pool and often played golf with the father.

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CANADA
YouTube

Published on May 8, 2013
Reporter Darren Breckles brings us this story about sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

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BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe

By Kevin Cullen | GLOBE STAFF MAY 14, 2013

The only thing I have in common with Ireland’s Prime Minister Enda ­Kenny, besides a sheer, unadulterated love of everything about County Mayo, is that we’ve both incurred the wrath of a group of ­local zealots called the Catholic Action League.

These people would be deeply offensive if they weren’t so deliciously comical. They are self-righteous, self-appointed keepers of the faith, who especially like pointing out that a la carte Catholics — that is, most Catholics, who use contraception, don’t think gay folks are disordered, and believe that people should be allowed to get a ­divorce — do not belong in their church.

I have fallen afoul of the Catholic Action League many times, most recently when I had the audacity to point out that if Jesus Christ came back to earth he would have been appalled by the spectre of the recent papal election, in which more than a few of the cardinals voting amid much pomp and circumstance had protected predatory priests who raped children. I instead lauded four ordinary priests who should be, but never will be pope.

C.J. Doyle, the executive director of the Catholic Action League, took great offense at the column, suggesting in a letter to the editor that I was insulting the intelligence of “faithful Catholics” by trying to pass off my “dissident friends” as “real Catholics.”

That’s the Catholic Action League for you. Keepin’ it real.

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NEW JERSEY
Huffington Post

By KATIE ZEZIMA

TOMS RIVER, N.J. — With other accusers stepping forward, a former yeshiva teacher changed pleas Monday in the middle of his trial, admitting he sexually abused a boy he met while working as a camp counselor.

Rabbi Yoself Kolko, 36, shifted uncomfortably on the stand as he pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault, attempted aggravated sex assault, sexual assault and child endangerment. The abuse occurred from August 2008 to February 2009. It ranged from fondling to oral sex and stopped when the boy told his father, who confronted Kolko.

The change in plea came after the prosecutor’s office was contacted Friday by a representative for a woman who said she had been a victim of Kolko and a man who said he had a victim, Senior Assistant Prosecutor Laura Pierro said.

The case may be a watershed for the prosecutor’s office and the Orthodox Jewish community in Lakewood, which has in the past been reluctant to bring criminal matters to civil authorities, preferring instead to handle them through rabbinical courts and senior rabbis.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Eastbourne Herald

Published on 14/05/2013 06:55

The son of a retired Anglican priest accused of 37 sexual assaults against children has spoken of how ‘generous’ and ‘principled’ his father is.

Gordon Rideout (pictured), 74, from Polegate, denies 35 indecent assaults and two attempted rapes.

Thirty-two of the charges relate to his time as assistant curate at a children’s home in West Sussex.

He is accused of abusing boys and girls between 1962 an 1973.

Speaking at the trial at Lewes Crown Court on Monday (May 13), his eldest son Andrew, 47, said his father lived a Christian life both publicly and personally.

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IRELAND
Catholic Herald (UK)

By FRANCIS PHILLIPS on Tuesday, 14 May 2013

Reading through Personal Update, the newsletter of the Irish ‘Family & Life’ movement for May 2013, which has just arrived in the post, I see it includes an article entitled, A very brief reflection on the Magdalen Laundries. I think this article is worth a mention because even though the subject has already passed through media spin and pseudo-scrutiny, old prejudices die hard and it could always emerge again. It is the kind of “scandal” that those outside the Church are always happy to hurl at us, so it is good to have a reasoned response at the ready.

The article speaks highly of the report by Senator Martin McAleese, which it describes as “conscientious and respectful of the facts and [which] should have been a corrective to untruths and exaggeration”, both of which were very evident in the media coverage of the subject. For instance, the number of women who worked in the laundries is approximately 10,000, not the 30,000 alleged to have done so. Nor were the laundries seen as a way of making money out of exploitation; most depended on donations and outside finance to survive.

When the modern Magdalen movement began it was a Protestant rather than a Catholic initiative. The first was opened in London in 1758 for the reform and rehabilitation of prostitutes. The idea then spread to Protestant Dublin, with Catholic initiatives soon to follow. Why choose prostitution as a cause among all the social ills of society? The author comments sensibly that “The marriage options for a woman who wanted to leave prostitution were nil in the 18th century. Whatever the reasons that drove a woman to sell her body… there was little chance of escape. She had a poor life expectancy, faced violence, disease and social ostracism, and many women resorted to cheap gin and opium to ease the pain.”

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AUSTRALIA
The Star

Read the transcripts:
Formal opening of the inquiry

Opening Address of Ms Julia Lonergan SC

Opening Address of Commissioner Margaret Cunneen SC

Directions hearing

May 13 – Day 6 – Commission Transcript

May 10 – Day 5 – Commission Transcript

May 9 – Day 4 – Commission Transcript

May 8 – Day 3 – Commission Transcript

May 7 – Day 2 – Commission Transcript

May 6 – Day 1 – Commission Transcript

SCARCE police resources hampered investigations of child sex abuse allegations against Catholic priests in the NSW Hunter Region, a special commission of inquiry has been told.

NSW Assistant Police Commissioner Carlene York, who was the northern region commander in 2010, told the inquiry today a shortage of police at that time had reduced her options for such a complex and potentially lengthy investigation.

Only Newcastle and Lake Macquarie police commands had the manpower to possibly do the job and both had numerous officers on sick leave.

‘‘In March, when I took over, the whole region had significant resource problems. All the commands had resource problems,’’ she told Special Commissioner Margaret Cunneen on the seventh day of the inquiry into how police and Catholic church officials handled child sex allegations.

The commission is focusing on allegations involving serial sex offender Father Denis McAlinden and convicted paedophile Father James Fletcher, both now dead.

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AUSTRALIA
Maitland Mercury

By ELLE WATSON May 14, 2013

Assistant commissioner Carlene York has told the Commission of Inquiry that Peter Fox was removed from overseeing investigations into the alleged Maitland-Newcastle Catholic Church abuse cover-up because his command did not have the resources to cope with a complex investigation.

Assistant commissioner York said she allocated the investigation to Newcastle and would do it again.

“I didn’t consider Port Stephens to be an option … I didn’t believe they had the resources to carry out what could be a complex investigation, even today I wouldn’t have given it to Port Stephens,” assistant commissioner York said from the witness box this morning.

Although detective chief inspector Fox had taken preliminary statements from victims, Assistant Commissioner York said his responsibilities were as crime manager of the Port Stephens Local Area Command.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Dan Cox

The former head of the police force in the New South Wales Hunter Valley has told an inquiry that investigations into child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy could have been “better managed”.

An inquiry has heard claims that important police documents regarding allegations of child sexual abuse in the Hunter Valley’s Catholic Church sat on the desk of the region’s top cop for several months.

Three years ago, when Hunter Valley policeman Peter Fox says he was directed to stop investigating child sexual abuse by two priests in the Maitland-Newcastle Catholic Church, Carlene York was the NSW Northern Region Commander.

In giving evidence at the Special Commission of Inquiry in Newcastle, Assistant Commissioner York said while the investigation into child sexual abuse allegations by two local priests “wasn’t quick”, she had decided to investigate and was “waiting on more information”.

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AUSTRALIA
TVNZ

Scarce police resources hampered investigations of child sex abuse allegations against Catholic priests in the NSW Hunter region, a special commission of inquiry has been told.

NSW Assistant Police Commissioner Carlene York, who was the northern region commander in 2010, told the inquiry on Tuesday a shortage of police at that time had reduced her options for such a complex and potentially lengthy investigation.

Only Newcastle and Lake Macquarie police commands had the manpower to possibly do the job and both had numerous officers on sick leave.

“In March, when I took over, the whole region had significant resource problems. All the commands had resource problems,” she told Special Commissioner Margaret Cunneen on the seventh day of the inquiry into how police and Catholic church officials handled child sex allegations.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

May 14, 2013

AAP

An experienced NSW detective was dumped from investigating child sex allegations against Catholic priests in the NSW Hunter because he was suspected of leaking confidential information to the media, an inquiry has been told.

NSW Assistant Police Commissioner Carlene York, who was the northern region commander at the time, told a special commission of inquiry on Tuesday that detective chief inspector Peter Fox was suspected of being a leaker.

She said she was informed of this by acting Newcastle local area police commander Wayne Humphrey.

Ms York said it was of the utmost importance that the integrity of police investigations be maintained and anyone with “unhealthy media links” should “definitely be excluded from investigations”.

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UNITED STATES
Huffington Post

Michael D’Antonio

Criticized for years for their handling of rape in the services, top officials in the United States military were ordered to increase their efforts after the secretary of defense viewed the landmark documentary Invisible War in April 2012. Now, a year later, a new report shows the problem is getting worse. The data comes just days after Jeffrey Krusinski, the officer in charge of preventing sex crimes in the Air Force was, himself, arrested for sexual battery.

Officials frustrated by the persistent problem of rape in the military and outraged by the spectacle of Krusinski’s arrest have focused mainly on the need for better training and policies. Senator Kirstin Gillibrand of New York recently suggested soldiers and officers don’t understand “what sexual assault is, and how corrosive and damaging it is to good order and discipline.”

Education is good, but the spike in reported crimes occurred even as the services changed their training programs to increase awareness across the services. What hasn’t changed is the system of military justice, which still invests all the real power over investigations, trials, sentencing, and clemency in the chain of command. Rank still rules, even in the military justice system. And this fact explains why the Department of Defense can’t seem to get control of this problem.

For a true understanding of how a sexual assault crisis can resist resolution, it helps to consider how another huge, rank-based institution has suffered through an almost identical, slow-motion disaster. For decades the Catholic Church has tried and failed to end the worldwide scandal caused by priests who rape and molest minors. After more than 6,000 cases involving tens of thousands of victims — in the United States alone — the problem still defies the all-male hierachy who promise “zero tolerance” and implement new policies and education programs.

In both the church and the military, policies and programs fail because they do not address the root issue of male-only, hierachical power. The leaders of official Catholicism maintain and practice the belief that at the moment a man is ordained he becomes ontologically superior to laypeople. From this first on the ladder above the masses he may then climb to monsignor, bishop, archbishop, cardinal and even pope. With each step he gains both authority and respect as a higher order being whose judgment and moral standing are assumed to be simply better.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

The former head of the police force in the New South Wales Hunter Valley has told a child sexual abuse inquiry she did not ask to have whistleblower Peter Fox’s office searched while he was on leave.

Assistant Commissioner Carlene York was the commander of the New South Wales Northern Region until Easter 2013.

She is giving evidence today at the Special Commission of Inquiry into Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox’s claims that police and the Hunter Valley’s Catholic Church covered up allegations of child sexual abuse by two priests.

Carlene York’s told the court she forwarded the abuse allegations to Newcastle’s Local Area Command for review saying she thought that state’s sex crimes squad should be involved early on.

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AUSTRALIA
The Star

By STEPHEN RYAN May 14, 2013

FORMER Northern Region police commander Assistant Commissioner Carlene York said she chose the Newcastle City detectives office to investigate sexual abuse cover-up claims within the Catholic Church because of resources, a special inquiry has heard.

Assistant Commissioner York said every command in her region was under-resourced when the matter came across her desk in 2010 and she initially thought that Lake Macquarie detectives would be better placed to investigate the claims.

However, the Lake Macquarie crime manager did not want the investigation because he didn’t have the resources to properly investigate it and the Newcastle crime manager had similar reservations, Ms York said.

When asked why she didn’t consider the Port Stephens detectives office, headed by Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox, to conduct the investigation, Ms York said Port Stephens was one of the smallest commands in the region and could not afford to dedicate its limited resources to such a complex inquiry.

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AUSTRALIA
7 News

By Dan Cox, ABC
Updated May 14, 2013

The former head of the police force in the New South Wales Hunter Valley has told an inquiry that investigations into child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy could have been “better managed”.

An inquiry has heard claims that important police documents regarding allegations of child sexual abuse in the Hunter Valley’s Catholic Church sat on the desk of the region’s top cop for several months.

Three years ago, when Hunter Valley policeman Peter Fox says he was directed to stop investigating child sexual abuse by two priests in the Maitland-Newcastle Catholic Church, Carlene York was the NSW Northern Region Commander.

In giving evidence at the Special Commission of Inquiry in Newcastle, Assistant Commissioner York said while the investigation into child sexual abuse allegations by two local priests “wasn’t quick”, she had decided to investigate and was “waiting on more information”.

The inquiry heard the files sat on Assistant Commissioner York’s desk for several months while she tried to determine which local area command (LAC) was best placed to investigate.

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NEW YORK
Courthouse News Service

By MARLENE KENNEDY

ALBANY, N.Y. (CN) – A priest’s six-year sexual abuse of a Queens girl counts as multiple injuries under the diocese’s insurance policy, New York’s highest court ruled.

St. Kevin Church in Flushing, N.Y., suspended the Rev. James Smith in 2002 amid allegations of sexual abuse.

In a 2003 lawsuit, a woman claimed that Smith had been molesting her daughter, identified as Alexandra L., since 1996.

The mother worked as a cook at the St. Kevin rectory and allegedly brought Alexandra there after school on most weekdays and sometimes on the weekends.

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ALABAMA
Press-Register

MOBILE, Alabama – The Archdiocese of Mobile confirmed to Fox 10 that Father James Havens of St. Vincent de Paul was placed on administrative leave effective May 8, amid accusations of sexual abuse of a minor from 1989.

According to the report, a woman, 34, made an accusation of sexual abuse against Havens, who has been at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church since 2010 according to its web site.

The alleged act was in her family home, Fox 10 reports.

Fox 10’s Bob Grip reported the news via Twitter on Monday night. The Archdiocese of Mobile, according to Grip, reported the accusation to the Mobile County District Attorney.

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ALABAMA
Fox 10

Updated: Monday, 13 May 2013

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – The Archdiocese of Mobile confirmed a local priest has been placed on administrative leave following an accusation of sexual abuse.

It said on Wednesday, May 8, 2013 a 34-year-old woman met with the Archdiocesan Director for Child Protection and made an accusation of sexual abuse against Rev. James Havens, who is the priest at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, off Three Notch Road.

According to the Archdiocese of Mobile, the alleged act of sexual abuse of a minor was in 1989 in her family home. It said there was no accusation that any abuse occurred on Church property.

The accord with the Archdiocesan policy for the protection of minors, Rev. Havens was immediately contacted and placed on administrative leave effective May 8. The Archdiocese of Mobile said he may not exercise priestly ministry or live on parish property.

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NEDERLAND
Omroep Brabant

EINDHOVEN – Er hebben zich zestien nieuwe slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik gemeld bij de lotgenotengroep Eikenburg. Dat schrijft het Eindhovens Dagblad. Eikenburg was het voormalig internaat van de congregatie Broeders van Liefde in Eindhoven.

Volgens Dolf van Nijnatten van de lotgenotengroep gaat het bij de nieuwe meldingen met name om zwaar beschadigde mensen. Ze hebben lang geaarzeld over het naar buiten treden met hun verhaal.

Misbruik op Eikenburg

Eikenburg was een internaat voor jongens met een school voor lager onderwijs en een broederopleiding. Nu wonen er alleen gepensioneerde paters. De congregatie Broeders van Liefde kwam twee jaar geleden in opspraak toen NRC Handelsblad onthulde dat daar in het verleden ook leerlingen misbruikt zijn door paters.

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