ABUSE TRACKER

PENNSYLVANIA
Erie News Now

February 1, 2021

By Elspeth Mizner

[Play Video]

Pennsylvania’s Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar will resign this week after a crucial crime victim bill, slipped through the cracks on her watch.

This news today is another setback for survivors of sexual abuse.

Paul Lukach, the Executive Director of the Crime Victim Center was stunned when he heard that abuse victims would have to wait years for their days in court.

“I couldn’t believe it. This didn’t just happen, we thought this was gonna come through. We had enough people on board to make it happen. People were understanding and actually hearing the victims”, said Lukach.

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

[For rape and corruption of minors, they give 65 years in prison to priest Luis Esteban Zavala]

MEXICO
Proceso

January 29, 2021

By Verónica Espinosa

El sacerdote católico Luis Esteban Zavala Rodríguez fue sentenciado a 65 años y tres meses de prisión, al ser encontrado culpable de violación espuria calificada y corrupción de menores

[GOOGLE TRANSLATION: The Catholic priest Luis Esteban Zavala Rodríguez was sentenced to 65 years and three months in prison, when he was found guilty of qualified spurious rape and corruption of minors.]

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

PENNSYLVANIA
TribLive.com

February 1, 2021

By Deb Erdley

https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/just-sick-over-it-backers-lament-bureaucratic-bungle-that-sinks-constitutional-amendment-to-open-courts-to-old-clergy-sexual-abuse-cases/

Mark Rozzi was crushed Monday when Gov. Tom Wolf called to tell him an amendment seeking to open a window of opportunity in court for old child sex abuse claims would not make the primary ballot this year because of an advertising oversight.

Rozzi, a state representative from Berks County who has recounted how he was raped by a priest in junior high school, has led the charge to change the law for several years. During that time, he’s become a champion of other survivors who stayed in the shadows for decades.

He thought the measure to create a limited period to allow old claims to be heard in court had gained sufficient traction to change the state law, following the explosive 2018 statewide grand jury report. The grand jury’s investigation detailed allegations of hundreds of incidents of child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy across the state, going back decades.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
WHTM-TV

February 1, 2021

By Tyler Galaskas

PA Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar to resign after department fails to advertise constitutional amendment

Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar is resigning following news that the Department of State failed to advertise a proposed constitutional amendment that would extend retroactively the timeline for victims to file civil actions against their abusers.

Her last day will be Friday, Feb. 5, according to Governor Tom Wolf. The department will immediately institute new controls, including additional tracking and notifications of constitutional amendments, to ensure similar failings do not occur in the future.

“This change at the Department of State has nothing to do with the administration of the 2020 election, which was fair and accurate,” said Gov. Wolf. “The delay caused by this human error will be heartbreaking for thousands of survivors of childhood sexual assault, advocates and legislators, and I join the Department of State in apologizing to you. I share your anger and frustration that this happened, and I stand with you in your fight for justice.”

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

WASHINGTON D.C.
Catholic News Agency

February 1, 2021

California bishops are asking a judge to overturn a state law that extends the statute of limitations for sexual abuse claims.

The state now allows adult survivors of child sexual abuse to file civil claims in old abuse cases until the age of 40, or five years after an adult survivor realizes they have been abused.

In addition, survivors are eligible under the law for triple damages in the event of an institutional cover up of the abuse. Previously, survivors of child sex abuse had to file civil claims by age 26, or within three years of realizing their abuse.

The new law also created a three-year window for abuse claims beginning on Jan. 1, 2020, in cases where the old statute of limitations had already expired. The legislation, Assembly Bill 218, was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) in Oct., 2019, and went into effect on Jan. 1, 2020.

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

COLORADO
Colorado Sun

February 2, 2021

By Bri Buentello

The dialogue about the need for accountability following reports of priestly abuse should also be the catalyst for examining other areas where the church presumes moral authority, including health care.

Growing up in the Catholic faith, several guiding principles were instilled in me, including the sanctity of human life and dignity, that our humanity is measured by the compassion we show the poor and our most vulnerable, and that regardless of our differences, we are all God’s children.

And of course, and perhaps most fundamentally, to trust in God, his plans, and in his holy church.

Like so many in my community, I was horrified by the recent follow-up report in December from Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser about the systemic abuse of children in the state by Catholic clergy, following an earlier report issued in 2019. The two reports say 212 Colorado children were sexually abused by 52 priests from 1950 onward.

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ENGLAND
StokeOnTrentLive

February 2, 2021

By Hayley Parker

Father Joseph Quigley – former national education advisor for Roman Catholic schools – also beat the boy

A priest who carried out ‘depraved’ sexual and physical abuse on a boy during a sick six-year ordeal has been jailed for more than 11 years.

Father Joseph Quigley – described as a ‘sexual sadist’ – committed a catalogue of offences against his teenage victim.

These included:

— Rubbing the boy’s inner thigh after making him wear gym kit;
— Making him take showers with the door open;
— Inflicting ‘sado-masochistic’ punishments on him such as locking him in the church’s crypt, a cold and dark room containing tombs;
— Beating the boy with a hurling stick and;
— Making the boy do sit-ups and press-ups as punishments, to stand in the corner and suck paracetamols, which have a bitter taste.

The offences took place while he was the parish priest at a church from 2002 until he was forced to resign in disgrace.

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

AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

February 2, 2021

By Daniel Comensoli

I feel uncomfortable writing this; and wondered whether it was even worth it. But I believe the legislation currently before the Victorian Upper House to prohibit LGBTQA+ conversion practices in Victoria is too important an issue to remain quiet.

The debate on the bill is an issue that is of profound importance to me.

The Victorian Upper House is due to debate the Change or Suppression (Conversion) Practices Prohibition Bill 2020. While not being subject to conversion practices myself, this is an issue that is of profound importance to me. Some of my colleagues and friends have been subject to these practices. However, I am a proud gay man. I also happen to be the nephew of the current Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, Peter Comensoli.

The bill has been met with fierce opposition by him, as well as other religious leaders and members of the Christian right with the same fear-mongering and disinformation campaign that we have seen before.

While this no longer surprises me, it makes me angry.

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

VATICAN CITY
Religion News Service

February 1, 2021

By Claire Giangravé

While the summit officially affects only Germany, the bishops’ discussions will likely have consequences for the global church.

Germany’s Catholic bishops will resume discussions this week to plan the Synodal Path, a set of conferences slated to address controversial questions such as women’s roles and LGBTQ acceptance, even as the country faces yet another scandal of sexual abuse by clergy.

Many churchmen believe that the social questions and the abuse crisis are related. “The abuse crisis hurts the church very deeply,” the Rev. Martin Maier, a Jesuit priest and former editor at the German Catholic magazine Voices of the Time (Stimmen der Zeit), told Religion News Service. “One of the most painful consequences is the loss of trust. One of the goals of the Synodal Path is to restore trust, which is crucial and vital.”

Started in 2019 and scheduled to last two years, Synodal Path was put on hold in September 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its purpose is to debate questions of power structures in the Catholic Church, priestly life, sexual morality and the role of women in the church.

While the bishops’ summit officially considers only Germany’s local dioceses and parishes, the discussions and decisions will likely have consequences around the global church. Bishops from Australia to South America and Ireland are grappling with the devastating impact that the sexual abuse crisis has had, as well as with mounting secularization that has depleted church attendance and vocations.

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TIMOR-LESTE
UCA News

February 2, 2021

By Rock Ronald Rozario

Despite his crimes, American Richard Daschbach enjoys celebrity status in the tiny Catholic-majority nation

Richard Daschbach might be 84, defrocked from the priesthood and under house arrest in Timor-Leste capital Dili, but he continues to make a buzz in the tiny Catholic-majority Southeast Asian nation.

The self-proclaimed pedophile and former priest from the Society of the Divine Word congregation has hit the headlines again in Timor-Leste and beyond.

On Jan. 26, former president Xanana Gusmao visited the American to greet him on his birthday and pose for photos in what some believe was a political stunt by the former guerrilla leader turned politician.

The news of the visit was widely covered by news outlets including state-run news agency Tatoli.

Most reports covered the life and work of Daschbach in detail, including his contributions to the country’s independence struggle and support for marginalized people. However, little to nothing was mentioned about his crimes of sexual abuse of dozens of girls and pornography that led to his dismissal from the priesthood by the Vatican in 2018. Neither did they say that he is wanted in the United States for fraud.

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GERMANY
The Tablet

February 1, 2021

By Christa Pongratz-Lippitt

Anger is increasing in the Cologne archdiocese over Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki’s refusal to publish the results of the investigation into the handling of abuse cases, as record numbers of Catholics opt to quit the Church.

The number of Catholics officially leaving the Church has increased at an unprecedented rate, by 70 per cent, and is now a record 1000 a month.

In order to leave the Church in Germany and stop having to pay 8-9 per cent of net income in compulsory church tax which is collected at source, Catholics have to make an appointment with their municipal office and state that they intend to leave in writing.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic League (blog)

January 21, 2021

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the initial success of efforts to protect religious liberty in North Dakota:

Yesterday, I sent a letter to the North Dakota legislature regarding SB 2180. This legislation would break the seal of the confessional and is nothing more than a direct assault on our faith. However, thanks to the support of our members, the sponsors of this bill have come to feel the ire of the Catholic League, and the viability of the legislation is in peril.

Not long after receiving my letter, one of the North Dakota House co-sponsors, Rep. Michael D. Brandenburg, sent me an email stating he will no longer support the bill and intends to vote against it. Rep. Brandenburg’s heroic decision to reverse course and stand with those who support religious liberty delivers a severe blow to this anti-Catholic legislation and harms its ability to become law.

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NORTH DAKOTA
InForum

February 1, 2021

By Rob Port

People who are committed to protecting children actually protect them. They don’t hide behind religious dogmas, however long-standing.

MINOT, N.D. — Catholics and other supposed proponents of “religious liberty” are crowing about the defeat of Senate Bill 2180.

The legislation introduced by Sen. Judy Lee, R-Fargo, would have crossed out a clergy exemption to a state law mandating reporting of child abuse. Lee ultimately withdrew the bill after a pressure campaign organized by lobbyists for the Catholic Church and other interests.

If you want to understand why so many Americans have turned away from religion, generally, and Catholicism, specifically, one need look no further than the Diocese of Fargo’s Bishop John Folda spiking the football because his priests won’t have report child abusers.

“It really was an assault on our practice of the faith, not just for Catholics but for any people of faith,” he said, according to my fellow columnist, Roxane Salonen.

“It’s not the first time in history civil authorities have tried to use the life of the church for their own ends, and that’s kind of what was going on here,” he continued, adding that his church is “utterly and completely committed to protecting children.”

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SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests)

February 1, 2021

Statute of limitations (SOL) reform has hit another obstacle in Pennsylvania, this time due to a devastating clerical mistake that will set back recently-passed reforms until at least 2023. While this news is awful and disheartening, we hope that this terrible situation will not damper the spirits of the survivors and advocates who have fought for this critical reform.

Due to a failure to advertise the proposed constitutional amendment that would pave the way for survivors of sexual abuse to have their day in court, the Pennsylvania Department of State has dealt a serious blow to SOL reform efforts in Pennsylvania.

“This is numbing news,” said Mike McDonnell, leader of SNAP Philadelphia. “But I want to encourage survivors who have fought for this reform to hang in there. We have been through other fierce battles and kept fighting, and this one is no different.”

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PENNSYLVANIA
Spotlight PA via Philadelphia Inquirer

February 1, 2021

by Angela Couloumbis

https://www.inquirer.com/politics/pennsylvania/spl/kathy-boockvar-resign-pennsylvania-election-official-constitutional-amendment-20210201.html

Pennsylvania’s top election official will resign after her agency made a mistake that will delay a statewide vote on whether survivors of decades-old sexual abuse should be able to sue the perpetrators and institutions that covered up the crimes.

Secretary Kathy Boockvar, who oversaw a tense and difficult presidential election in the battleground state, will resign Feb. 5, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Monday. Spotlight PA first reported the news.

The resignation follows the discovery that the Department of State did not advertise, as required, a long-sought amendment to the state constitution that would open a two-year window for litigation by survivors of child sexual abuse who have aged out of the statute of limitations.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Associated Press

February 1, 2021

By Mark Scolforo and Marc Levy

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Some victims of child sexual abuse might have to wait two years or more to pursue legal claims because of a major bureaucratic bungle that prompted angry denunciations across the political spectrum Monday and the resignation of Pennsylvania’s top state elections official.

A proposed state constitutional amendment allowing lawsuits for otherwise outdated claims was not advertised as required and so cannot appear on the ballot this spring, the Wolf administration disclosed.

The Pennsylvania Department of State in a news release called it “simple human error” and apologized, saying the mistake was discovered late last week. As a result, Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar is leaving her job, and both the inspector general and the Legislature will be looking into the matter.

“The delay caused by this human error will be heartbreaking for thousands of survivors of childhood sexual assault, advocates and legislators, and I join the Department of State in apologizing to you,” Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf said in a statement. “I share your anger and frustration that this happened, and I stand with you in your fight for justice.”

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

PENNSYLVANIA
New York Post

February 1, 2021

By Steven Nelson

The Pennsylvania secretary of state who emerged as a villain to supporters of former President Donald Trump said Monday she will resign for failing to comply with an unrelated state election law.

Kathy Boockvar, a Democrat, will leave office on Feb. 5. Her office botched the handling of a state constitutional amendment that would allow more sexual abuse victims to sue their alleged abusers.

In a statement, she said, “I’ve always believed that accountability and leadership must be a cornerstone of public service. While I only became aware of the mistake last week, and immediately took steps to alert the administration to the error, I accept the responsibility on behalf of the department.”

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PENNSYLVANIA
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

February 1, 2021

By Julian Routh and Peter Smith

Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar will soon resign after her department failed to advertise an amendment to the state’s constitution extending the statute of limitations for child sex abuse victims to file actions in civil court against their abusers, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Monday.

Her resignation will take effect on Friday, Mr. Wolf said.

The omission is a stunning setback in an effort by victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and others to gain a window of time in which they could sue over abuse that happened years or decades ago, beyond what the current statute of limitations allows.

The effort, building on grand jury reports in 2016 and 2018 on the long histories of abuse in Catholic dioceses around the state, would have enabled victims to sue dioceses or others deemed complicit in the abuse.

“We trusted the process, and it failed us again,” said James Faluszczak, a former priest of the Diocese of Erie and himself a survivor of clergy sexual abuse, who was a witness before a grand jury that issued a report on six dioceses in 2018.”

The department was constitutionally required to advertise the proposed constitutional amendment — which voters would have eventually decided at the ballot box — in each of the three months before the 2020 general election, but never did, Mr. Wolf’s office said in a statement.

If the resolution would have been advertised by the state and greenlighted by voters, it would have amended Article I of the state’s constitution to say, “An individual for whom a statutory limitations period has already expired shall have a period of two years from the time that this subsection becomes effective to commence an action arising from childhood sexual abuse, in such cases as provided by law at the time that this subsection becomes effective.”

“The delay caused by this human error will be heartbreaking for thousands of survivors of childhood sexual assault, advocates and legislators, and I join the Department of State in apologizing to you,” Mr. Wolf said. “I share your anger and frustration that this happened, and I stand with you in your fight for justice.”

Veronica Degraffenreid, a special adviser to the department on election modernization, will serve as acting secretary of the commonwealth, Mr. Wolf’s office said. In response to the failure, the state department will institute “additional tracking and notifications of constitutional amendments,” according to the statement, and the Pennsylvania Office of State Inspector General will review what happened.

The amendment was in its final stages before going to voters. The state House had given its final approval last month, giving it approval in the second consecutive legislation session, as required. If the state Senate were to follow, the proposal could have been on the election ballot for approval by voters in the May 18 primary.

Attorney General Josh Shapiro called the state department’s failure “shameful,” and said “all options must be on the table to fix this immediately.”

“Too many institutions have failed survivors of sexual abuse for far too long, and I am determined for that disgraceful streak to end and to make sure justice is no longer denied,” Mr. Shapiro said in a statement.

The governor said he’d commit to working with the state legislature to reach a solution legislatively — if they wanted to create a window in civil court for victims of child sex abuse to file claims.

Mr. Shapiro echoed that sentiment, and said he made clear from the beginning that the constitutional amendment process was an “unnecessary hurdle.” He urged the Legislature to pass the reform into law.

Democrats in the state Senate said that instead of starting over the constitutional amendment process again — which would require passing a bill in its identical form in two consecutive sessions — the legislature should statutorily create the window for claims. They plan to introduce the bill themselves that would “establish a 2-year civil window for survivors of childhood sexual assault with expired claims to bring suit against their abusers,” according to a legislative memo uploaded to the chamber’s website on Monday.

“If we continue with the constitutional amendment process, it will be at least another 2 years until the window would be created and that’s simply too long,” said Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills, calling the state department’s failure a “disappointing setback in the process to create the window to justice.”

“A legislative solution can create the window immediately,” he said, “and I’m encouraging bipartisan and bicameral support for the bill that members of our caucus is going to introduce. Survivors need justice now.”

According to the Democrats’ memo, the legislature debated last session whether a constitutional amendment was necessary for the issue at hand, and opted not to adopt an amendment that would have established the civil window statutorily.

“Since then, subsequent court cases have demonstrated the legality of providing a retroactive window statutorily, rather than through a constitutional amendment,” the memo read. “The civil window is supported by Pennsylvania’s Attorney General and has been upheld in seven other states.”

The 2018 grand jury report accused 300 priests of sexual abuse across seven decades in six dioceses, including Pittsburgh and Greensburg. It followed a similar report in 2016 on a seventh diocese, Altoona-Johnstown.

Legislative efforts to pass a window in the statute of limitations failed in 2018, in part due to objections that such a look back would violate the state constitution, although other states have allowed them. That led to a new strategy in 2019 to initiate a constitutional amendment, even though some doubted its need.

“The goal of survivors has always been to have a window,” Mr. Faluszczak said on Twitter. “Most of us said we’d give the … amendment process a chance, even though it was constitutionally unnecessary.”

The Diocese of Pittsburgh and most other Pennsylvania dioceses launched compensation funds after the 2018 grand jury report, seeking to reach out-of-court settlements with victims that would, among other things, reduce their exposure to lawsuits if a window were authorized.

Many victims, meanwhile, have already sued over long-ago abuse under a legal theory that alleges long-running conspiracy and fraud by dioceses. The state Supreme Court is weighing those arguments in a precedent-setting case.

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

VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

February 1, 2021

By Elisabeth Auvillain

A Vatican office has acknowledged that the Catholic Church erred over previous decades in asking its members to keep silent when they heard about priests fathering children.

“Before our times, the Church did like most institutions and avoided addressing publicly matters regarding its members’ behavior, about which it kept silent,” Norbertine Fr. Bernard Ardura, president of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, said in a document published last week.

“This was a mistake, which can be explained by the context, but it remains a mistake,” said Ardura.

The priest, whose office is responsible for fostering cooperation between the Vatican and outside historians, was writing in a letter to Vincent Doyle, the child of a priest in Ireland and the leader of Coping International, a global campaign for the recognition of priests’ children. Doyle’s organization has posted the letter, written in French, on its website.

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

MINNESOTA
Duluth News Tribune

February 1, 2021

By Roxane Salonen

Under canon law, Catholic priests are forbidden from breaking the “seal of confession” by revealing what they’ve heard in the confessional. Doing so leads to automatic excommunication. Additionally, removing the assurance of confidentiality would have inhibited criminals from coming forward to confess their sins, and deter others from this sacrament of healing.

North Dakota Senate Bill 2180 was withdrawn for legislative consideration Friday, bringing a victory for religious freedom. The bill, if approved, could have turned some pastors into criminals, not for their own sins, but for complying with the divine duty of hearing other’s sins — and not divulging them.

Prior to the withdrawal, Chris Dodson of the North Dakota Catholic Conference said North Dakotans had been responding “en masse against this bill,” while “the eyes of the nation …” watched.

The bill zeroed in on the reporting of abuse, removing an exemption for clergy who garner such information specifically in their role as spiritual adviser. Spiritual ministers are already included among those mandated to report knowledge or suspicion of abuse.

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

ENGLAND
Grimsby Telegraph

February 1, 2021

New charges were put to Father Terry Atkinson who worked previously at the Shalom Youth Project, on Grimsby’s East Marsh

A former Church of England priest accused of sex attacks on young boys faced further new charges when he appeared before Lincoln Crown Court.

Father Terence Atkinson, 68, is now accused of offences against seven different complainants over a 21 year period..

He was formerly involved with St Johns and St Stephens Church Centre, which is now known as the Shalom Youth Project, on the East Marsh estate in Grimsby.

Atkinson, of Tetney Road, Humberston, pleaded not guilty to a total of 13 charges of indecent assault on a male person at his court appearance today, Monday, February 1.

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

MALTA
Malta Today

February 1, 2021

Court rules there is enough evidence for Attorney General to issue a bill of indictment against Fr Joseph Sultana and Fr Joseph Cini, accused of sexually abusing an altar boy

By Kurt Sansone

A magistrate has ruled that there is enough evidence for the Attorney General to issue a bill of indictment against two priests accused of sexually abusing an altar boy.

Fr Joseph Sultana, 84, and Fr Joseph Cini, 70, were remanded in custody as the compilation of evidence against them continued today.

Cini is also charged with raping the boy, who is now 24. The abuse happened when the victim was eight or nine.

At the end of today’s sitting, Magistrate Monica Vella said the court had seen sufficient evidence for a bill of indictment to be issued by the Attorney General.

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

GERMANY
Irish Times

January 31, 2021

By Derek Scally

Decision to suppress a critical report opposed by over 30 priests in the archdiocese

Priests in Cologne’s Catholic archdiocese are demanding their archbishop resign for suppressing a critical report into clerical sexual abuse in the western German diocese.

The growing crisis in the powerful western diocese has taken on fresh urgency after claims that Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki ignored church guidelines rather than report a friend’s sexual abuse record to Rome.

The case involves a priest friend who had convictions for sexually abusing young boys in the 1970s. Instead of reporting that and other abuse cases to Rome, in line with new church guidelines, Woelki reportedly held back his friend’s file, citing the poor health of the priest – who died in 2017.

A steady drip of allegations prompted a priest in the Cologne archdiocese to write a letter, published

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SPAIN
El País English

February 1, 2021

By Iñigo Domínguez and Julio Núñes

After the Jesuits admitted to cases of pedophilia, other religious orders have followed suit, for a total of 126 priests and more than 500 victims, according to EL PAÍS’ count

More cases of child abuse by the Spanish Catholic Church are slowly coming to light. After the Society of Jesus, commonly known as the Jesuits, recognized 81 victims since 1927 and announced plans for compensation, other religious congregations have begun to follow the order’s example. EL PAÍS spoke to 10 of the main Catholic orders in Spain, of which seven said they had carried out or were in the process of investigating past cases of abuse, and were equally open to compensating victims.

These investigations, however, are not in-depth internal inquiries, but rather a review of existing archives. Importantly too, the findings have not been made public and are still far from reflecting the extent of the abuse by the Catholic Church, compared to the advances made in other countries such as Germany, where an external audit found that 3,677 minors had been abused by members of the Church.

Of the 10 orders consulted, three – the Marist Brothers, De La Salle Brothers and the Order of Saint Augustine – continue to refuse to investigate allegations of abuse. The remaining seven admitted to 61 cases of pedophile priests, 42 of which were unknown until now. If this number is added to the findings from the Jesuits’ inquiry – 65 cases, 54 of them unknown until now, according to EL PAÍS’ estimates – the Catholic orders have admitted to 126 cases of pedophile priests. Of this figure, 96 had been buried until now. The figures elevate the number of victims of the Spanish Catholic Church to more than 500, according to a count from EL PAÍS, based on criminal sentences, media reports and the newspaper’s own investigations.

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AUSTRALIA
Reuters

February 1, 2021

By Sonali Paul

A dozen Australian media firms have agreed to plead guilty for breaching a suppression order on reporting on the trial and conviction of former Vatican treasurer George Pell in 2018 for child sexual assault, a court heard on Monday.

Pell was cleared last year of the sexual abuse charges after spending 13 months in prison.

The cardinal was found guilty by a jury in December 2018 of sexually assaulting two choirboys, making him the highest-ranking Catholic official convicted on child sex crimes.

Reporting on the trial and verdict was gagged Australia-wide by the County Court of Victoria to ensure the cardinal got a fair trial on further charges he was due to face. Those charges were later dropped.

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

NEW ZEALAND
NZ Catholic

February 1, 2021

Catholic Church leaders in New Zealand will carefully study the interim reports of the Royal Commission on Abuse in Care, to learn lessons that will help the Church continue to better address the way it deals with complaints and prevent abuse.

The royal commission published its first interim reports on December 16.

“These reports will contain much important information and guidance that follow on from what survivors have told the commissioners about their experiences,” said Catherine Fyfe, chair of the Church’s Te Rōpū Tautoko agency.

“Church leaders will be discussing these reports widely, with the aim of looking at how we can continue to improve the way we help people who have been abused, and the systems we have in place to prevent further abuse.”

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NEW ZEALAND
NZ Catholic

February 1, 2021

By Rowena Orejana

The New Zealand Catholic Church needs to show mercy, take responsibility, and accompany abuse survivors.

This was the reaction of Te Kupenga – Catholic Theological College lecturer and abuse survivor Dr Rocio Figueroa to the “heart-wrenching testimonies” of abuse survivors at the royal commission on abuse in care hearings held from November 30 to December 4, 2020.

“It caused me deep pain, not only to listen to the stories of each of the testimonies [of people] who suffered the most atrocious abuses when they were innocent kids, but also to listen to the lack of response or hopeless way in which, many times, we have handled the disclosure within our communities,” Dr Figueroa said.

“As a member or the Catholic Church, I regret our poor response, and I apologise for all that we could have done and we have not done,” she said.

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NEW ORLEANS (LA)
WDSU-TV

January 29, 2021

The Rev. John Asare-Dankwah issued a statement Thursday denying allegations of rape and assault made against him in a lawsuit filed the previous day, saying he was “saddened and appalled” by them.

The well-known pastor at St. Peter Claver Catholic Church was in Ghana visiting his family when he was notified Wednesday night of the allegations in the lawsuit, according to the Archdiocese of New Orleans. The organization said Wednesday it removed Asare-Dankwah from service pending their investigation and would notify law enforcement.

The suit claims the alleged rape and assault of the then-10-year-old plaintiff, identified only as “A.A. Doe,” happened during a January 2008 retreat in Montgomery, Alabama. Doe was a member of Blessed Trinity Catholic Church, where Asare-Dankwah was serving at the time.

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NEW ORLEANS (LA)
KLFY-TV

January 29, 2021

By Aaron S. Lee

A day after a lawsuit was filed alleging a New Orleans priest raped and assaulted a 10-year-old boy during a church retreat in Montgomery, Ala., in 2008, Rev. John Asare-Dankwah has issued an official statement in response to the allegations.

At the time of the incident in question, Rev. John Asare-Dankwah worked at Blessed Trinity Catholic Church in Broadmoor. The Archdiocese of New Orleans has suspended Rev. Asare-Dankwah from his duties, which includes leading his congregation at St. Peter Claver Catholic Church in Treme, pending the outcome of the investigation.

Rev. Asare-Dankwah’s statement reads:

“I am deeply saddened and appalled by the allegations that I’ve just been made aware of. These allegations are false. I have never harmed anyone in my service to God – particularly any child – and I am prepared to fight vigorously to clear my name that I’ve worked for nearly three decades building trust as a man of God. The only time I have been to Alabama is to visit a friend; I have never been to the state in conjunction with any religious retreat.

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NEW ORLEANS (LA)
NOLA.com

January 29, 2021

By Ramon Antonio Vargas

The Rev. John Asare-Dankwah has denied allegations that he raped an underage boy 13 years ago, a claim that prompted the Archdiocese of New Orleans to suspend him from his role as pastor of Treme’s historic St. Peter Claver Catholic Church.

Asare-Dankwah issued his denial in a statement Thursday, a day after a lawsuit was filed in Orleans Parish Civil District Court accusing him of raping a 10-year-old boy while hearing his confession during a weeklong retreat in Alabama in 2008.

“I am deeply saddened and appalled by the allegations,” the statement read. “These allegations are false. I have never harmed anyone in my service to God — particularly any child — and I am prepared to fight vigorously to clear my name that I’ve worked for nearly three decades building trust as a man of God.”

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GUAM
Guam Daily Post

January 31, 2021

By Haidee Eugenio Gilbert

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood on Tuesday approved $476,000 in revised legal fees and costs in the Archdiocese of Agana’s two-year-old bankruptcy case.

Two days later, the judge issued an order approving stipulation for stay of proceedings and suspension of work at least until Feb. 28, 2021, except for certain matters.

The judge, in her Jan. 28 order, said all parties shall make their best efforts to reduce legal fees by limiting work in the main case and the adversary proceeding case for at least a month.

She also ordered the parties to return to mediation before Judge Robert Faris, a U.S. bankruptcy judge.

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NEW ZEALAND
Gisborne Herald

January 31, 2021

By Matthew Epsom

One of New Zealand’s diplomatic relations is actually not with another country, but with a peculiar legal corporate person under international law called the Holy See.

The Holy See is often mistakenly referred to as the Vatican. However, the Vatican and the Holy See are not the same things.

Vatican City is a sovereign country whose ruler happens to be the pope. The pope has absolute unchecked power within his realm which makes Vatican City the world’s only elected non-hereditary absolute monarchy, and the pope, effectively, a king.

The reason why we seldom hear about the king of Vatican City is because while pope and king are two distinct offices, they just happen to be occupied by the same person at the same time.

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NEW HAMPSHIRE
Valley News

January 30, 2021

By Anna Merriman

When trauma resurfaced in Patty Rondeau’s life 50 years ago, it came in a sleek black car rolling up to her sister’s Hartford home.

The day had been beautiful; sunny and bright, just before a christening party one of her sisters was throwing. Rondeau, then in her 30s, was sitting among the lilacs and grass outside, turning the sandy dirt into small castles with her children.

The arrival of the Rev. Daniel Roberts dashed the idyllic moment.

“I lost it. I started shaking and crying,” Rondeau said. It was the first time in years that she’d seen the priest who she says sexually assaulted her as a young girl in White River Junction. “It was like it happened all over again.”

She told her older sister that she refused to go inside as long as Roberts was there. But, in the 1970s, decades before news about sexual abuse within the Catholic Church would make headlines across the country, and long before the #MeToo movement would draw attention to the prevalence and lasting trauma of sexual violence, Rondeau’s sister only sighed.

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DETROIT (MI)
Detroit Free Press

January 29, 2021

By John Wisely

A former longtime teacher claims Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Preparatory High School fired him after he relayed a student’s account of being sexually assaulted by older classmates.

Donald Ambrose taught literature at the Catholic school for more than 20 years until May 2019. He claims in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday that he was fired after pressing school officials to investigate the assault, which occurred on a weekend religious retreat.

The school, which had enrolled only boys until 2020, claimed Ambrose was terminated because of parental complaints about his performance and a run-in with a student who had been disciplined.

“The stated reasons for Donald Ambrose’s termination are mere pretext for unlawful retaliation for Donald Ambrose complaining of the unlawful sexual assault … and the deliberate indifference of the administration,” the lawsuit claims.

The Free Press generally doesn’t name, without permission, individuals who claim sexual abuse.

School officials wouldn’t comment on the dismissal but disputed the claims in the lawsuit.

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RHODE ISLAND
People

January 29, 2021

By Jeff Truesdell

The prison term comes amid a reckoning for the Boy Scouts of America, which is facing more than 92,000 claims of sexual abuse

A former volunteer camp chaplain for the Boy Scouts of America who sexually abused multiple victims, including a developmentally disabled teen, has been sentenced to 40 years in a Rhode Island prison after pleading no contest to his crimes.

James Glawson, 76, faced 11 counts of first-degree sexual assault against six young men, five in the 1980s during his time as a Scout leader, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced Thursday.

The most recent victim, in 2019, was a resident of a group home with developmental disabilities.

Rhode Island State Police began investigating Glawson in January 2019 after staff at the group home reported inappropriate contact between him and an 18-year-old resident, according to the attorney general’s office. The resident later told investigators he’d been assaulted by Glawson multiple times over several years.

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WYOMING
Denver Gazette via trib.com

January 29, 2021

By Seth Klamann

The Wyoming attorney general has decided against charging retired bishop Joseph Hart, effectively ending law enforcement and victims’ efforts to hold accountable a top Catholic cleric facing decades of sexual abuse allegations.

A spokeswoman for the Cheyenne Police Department, which launched the sexual abuse investigation into Joseph Hart in April 2018, said in an email that Attorney General Bridget Hill would not be pursuing charges. Cheyenne Police brought the case to Hill’s office in July, after prosecutors elsewhere in Wyoming also declined to charge the retired bishop. Police had interviewed several alleged victims or their family members. The attorney general’s prospective role has not previously been revealed.

Hart, who as bishop led the Catholic flock in Wyoming from 1978 to 2001, has been accused of sexual abuse by more than a dozen men. Dioceses in Wyoming and Missouri, where Hart worked previously, have settled lawsuits with victims and said their accounts are credible and substantiated.

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NORTH DAKOTA
WRAL-TV

Januray 29, 2021

A bipartisan North Dakota bill that would have required clergy to be included in state law as mandatory reporters of child abuse has been withdrawn.

West Fargo Republican Sen. Judy Lee withdrew the legislation on Friday, saying the bill “is and always has been to prevent child abuse.”

“Unfortunately, because of lack of understanding of the goal and the circumstances, the bill has become a distraction, and attention has moved from the child abuse crisis to other topics,” Lee said on the Senate floor.

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NORTH DAKOTA
KFYR-TV

January 29, 2021

By Hayley Boland

The state Senate has withdrawn a controversial bill that would have included clergies as a mandatory reporting body for child abuse.

The current law requires various groups like teachers, child care workers, doctors, and police to report child abuse or neglect when they see it, but there’s an exemption for clergy members when serving as a spiritual adviser.

Senate Bill 2180 would have included clergies as mandatory reporters.

The bill received pushback from members of the Catholic Church, for fear it would “unseal” the Catholic confession.

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CALIFORNIA
California Globe

January 30, 2021

By Evan Symon

If successful, removal of law would greatly reduce statue of limitations, limit definition of child sexual abuse

This week, the Catholic Church filed motions in the Northern and Southern Superior Courts to remove the AB 218 law.

Assembly Bill 218, authored by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) was passed by the legislature and signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2019. Under AB 218, the crime of ‘child sexual abuse’ was changed to ‘child sexual assault’ and expanded the statute of limitation for the crime from 8 years, or 3 years after the discovery of trauma stemming from the assault, to 22 years, or 5 years from discovery. Damage recovery guarantees were also clarified for certain defendants and increases damages where it was found that previous assaults had been covered-up by the employer.

Assemblywoman Gonzalez wrote the bill to allow more people, specifically those who were abused by clergy members when underage, to come forward with abuse charges, as many younger people had not been ready to come forward with charges until after the age of 26, by which time it became too late under the 8 year statute of limitations.

“The idea that someone who is assaulted as a child can actually run out of time to report that abuse is outrageous,” said the Assemblywoman in 2019. “More and more, we’re hearing about people who were victims years ago but were not ready to come forward to tell their story until now. We shouldn’t be telling victims their time is up when in reality we need them to come forward to protect the community from future abuse.”

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PENNSYLVANIA
The Tribune-Democrat

January 30, 2021

By Todd Berkey

For nearly a decade, we’ve been calling for action in Harrisburg to provide victims of child sexual abuse with the opportunity to seek damages from their abusers – even if they’ve moved past the statute of limitations for civil action.

The state Legislature has been unwilling to directly provide justice for these adults who were victimized as children.

The Pennsylvania House did vote this week to pass the buck and put the idea before the state’s voters. The measure now goes to the Senate, and could be on the May ballot if approved there.

A plan also passed both chambers last year, and needs to be approved twice in successive years to become a ballot referendum item.

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NEW YORK
The New York Times

January 30, 2021

By Jenn Morson

Religious orders have their own hierarchies, so they have their own ways of handling abuse allegations.

Thirty-odd years ago, 8-year-old Timothy Schlenz spent every Saturday being tutored on the sacraments at a Manhattan church. It was there, he said, that he was regularly abused.

Every weekend, his family would drive into the city from New Jersey so that Timothy, who is now 39, could study at St. Catherine of Siena Parish, on the Upper East Side. The priest who tutored him, the Rev. Carleton P. Jones, slowly groomed the boy and eventually molested him, telling him it was a way to check for cancer, according to Mr. Schlenz.

Only years later did Mr. Schlenz come to understand that Father Jones had abused him. He wanted to press charges, though by then the statute of limitations had passed. But the New York State Child Victims Act, which allows for victims to file civil lawsuits against their abusers regardless of how long ago the abuse occurred, has given Mr. Schlenz a chance to make his case.

In August 2019, he initiated a legal action against Father Jones and the Dominican Friars Province of Saint Joseph. But the religious order had already exonerated Father Jones following its own internal investigation just two months earlier.

A complicating factor here is that Father Jones does not report to the Archdiocese of New York, which has been part of the Roman Catholic Church’s effort to make reporting and investigating clergy abuse more transparent. He is an order priest, which means that the Dominicans — not the Archdiocese of New York — were responsible for initially investigating Father Jones in late 2018, following a tip from another Dominican priest whom Mr. Schlenz had confided in.

But orders have their own ways, often private and murky, of doing things. So, after the Dominicans cleared Father Jones, and before the Child Victims Act case was filed against him, he disappeared.

Mr. Schlenz’s case entered its discovery phase last fall. Joseph D’Avanzo, Father Jones’s lawyer, denied all of the allegations and refused to discuss the priest’s whereabouts. Multiple requests to speak with leaders of the order have been rebuffed. But in an email this month, the vicar for child protection of the Dominicans, the Rev. Albert Duggan, responded to a request from The Times. “Because this involves a matter in litigation, the province is not able to make any comment at this time,” he wrote.

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ENGLAND
Coventry Live

January 29, 2021

Joseph Quigley, a former national education advisor for Roman Catholic schools, sexually and physically abused a boy while he was a parish priest at a church near Warwick.

A priest who sexually and physically abused a boy during a sick six-year ordeal has been jailed for over 11 years.

Father Joseph Quigley – described as a “sexual sadist” – rubbed his teenage victim’s inner thigh after making him wear gym kit, made him take showers with the door open and inflicted ‘sado-masochistic’ punishments on him such as locking him in the church’s crypt.

He also beat the boy with a hurling stick during his time at St Charles Borromeo RC church in Hampton-on-the-Hill near Warwick.

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ENGLAND
BBC News

January 29, 2021

A former priest who subjected a teenage boy to “depraved” sex offences has been jailed for 11 years and six months.

Joseph Quigley, 56, had denied engaging in sexual activity with a child, sexual assault, child cruelty, and false imprisonment, but was convicted of multiple counts in December.

The offences were between 2006 and 2009 when the victim was aged between 14 and 16, Warwickshire Police said.

Quigley “abused the trust” of the boy who was said to respect him.

At the time of the offences, police said, Quigley was working as a priest at a church in Warwickshire and as a private tutor.

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ENGLAND
Yahoo News

January 29, 2021

By Emily Cleary

A senior Catholic priest who locked a teenage boy in a church crypt during a “Gothic horror” campaign of sexual and physical abuse has been jailed.

Father Joseph Quigley, a former national education advisor for Roman Catholic schools, also battered the boy with a hurling stick as part of sadomasochistic punishments.

And despite his actions coming to light, the church failed to inform police about his behaviour and sent him for therapy in America before allowing him to resume his duties.

Quigley, 56, began abusing the boy in 2002 under the “camouflage” of being a parish priest of St Charles Borromeo Roman Catholic church, in Hampton-on-the-Hill, near Warwick.

Warwick Crown Court heard how he made his victim take showers with the door open, stroked his inner thigh while forcing him to wear a gym kit and made him chew paracetamol.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

January 30, 2021

‘We owe him a lot’: Political leaders, religious figures and abuse survivors pay tribute

Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin, who formally stands down next Tuesday, has been praised for his “courage, tenacity and compassion,” by President Michael D Higgins in one of many tributes.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has spoken of the archbishop’s “empathy and Christianity” while former president Mary McAleese said he had “brought honest and principled leadership to the vexed issue of clerical sexual abuse of children and a dreadful history of episcopal mismanagement”.

Dublin abuse survivor Marie Collins described Archbishop Martin as “a light in the darkness of the church response to the clerical child abuse crisis”. Others to praise his record in Dublin, since appointment as coadjutor archbishop in May 2003, include church and faith leaders, as well as more abuse survivors.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

January 29, 2021

By Patsy McGarry

Interview: ‘My worst day came early on, when I met the parents of a victim. That shattered me’

Pope Francis once quietly approached the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, in the Vatican guesthouse, the Santa Marta, at the end of an early morning Mass.

“I often think of you, you got a very difficult chalice. I’m sure there are nights you go to bed and you say to yourself why did I not stay in Geneva?” he told the Dubliner.

During his 17 years at the helm in Dublin, it is a question that Martin, who steps down finally as archbishop next week, could have been forgiven for asking himself, and more than once.

He was appointed coadjutor archbishop in 2003, becoming archbishop the following year at a time when the Catholic Church in Ireland was reeling in the face of a swathe of allegations of clerical child abuse.

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GERMANY
Deutsche Welle

January 29, 2021

Pressure has increased on a Catholic cardinal over the release of a report on child sex abuse. The diocese council of Cologne has said Cardinal Woelki has a moral obligation to allow its publication.

A German Catholic cardinal, who has for months prevented the publication of a report on alleged sexual abuse of minors, came under increasing pressure on Friday to relent.

Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, a conservative clergyman who is also the archbishop of Cologne, has often resisted reforms within the Catholic Church and has faced mounting criticism over blocking the release of the independent report on abuse committed by members of his diocese, Germany’s largest, between 1975 and 2018.

In November, Woelki turned to the head of the Catholic Church for assistance, urging Pope Francis to take over the investigation.

Moral obligations

In a rare public rebuke, the diocese council of Cologne, which groups clergy and laypeople, heavily criticized the Woelki, saying he had “completely failed as a moral authority.”

“We find ourselves in the biggest crisis that the Church has ever experienced,” Tim Kurzbach, head of the council, said in a statement.

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GERMANY
dpa via The Courier

January 29, 2021

According to an independent report commissioned by the Catholic Church, several dozen clergy have been involved in the sexual abuse of minors over the past 73 years. The actual figure could be much higher.

Berlin (dpa) – Between 1946 and the end of 2019, at least 61 clergy were involved in the sexual abuse of minors in the area of ​​the Catholic Archdiocese of Berlin. In this period, a total of 121 victims became known from the files.

This is evident from an independent report on behalf of the church, which was presented in Berlin. According to the report from the law firm Redeker Sellner Dahs, the number of unreported cases could be much higher. The suspects are mainly priests and members of the order who worked in the area of ​​the diocese.

Hierarchical structures and a lack of communication have hindered education and prevention, the paper notes. The lawyer Peter-Andreas Brand, one of the authors, spoke of “systematic irresponsibility”. They tried by all means to prevent “damage to the church as an institution,” said co-author Sabine Wildfeuer. Church leadership was more empathetic to the perpetrators than to the victims.

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EAST TIMOR
Post Magazine

January 30, 2021

By Ian Lloyd Neubauer

After meeting American Catholic priest Richard Daschbach in East Timor, a writer helped him procure funding for his orphanage, before discovering the man was a sexual predator

From the moment I first laid eyes on him, in 2009, I knew he was unlike the few other Westerners on the ship. Slowly, steadily, he made his way through the crowd, stopping as local people took his hand and touched it against their foreheads – a traditional sign of veneration for men of the cloth. Yet this old man seemed anything but missionary-like, dressed down in a polo shirt and an old baseball hat, with small stumpy teeth stained red from chewing betel nut.

Later in the evening, I saw him again, resting on the upper deck among the hundreds of passengers making the slow overnight journey from East Timor’s sleepy capital, Dili, to Oecusse, a small coastal territory of East Timor, walled in by Indonesian-controlled West Timor.

His name was Father Richard Daschbach, an American priest who had built the Topu Honis orphan­age and women’s shelter near Oecusse. We talked for more than an hour and at the end of our discussion, he invited me to stay at Topu Honis as his guest. In Meto, Oecusse’s little-known tongue, topu means “to lead by the hand’” and honis means “life”.

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TIMOR-LESTE
Pacific Media Watch via Asia Pacific Report

January 30, 2021

The Timorese Episcopal Conference has called on the entire Catholic community in Timor-Leste to accept and respect Pope Francis’ decision to expel an American accused of child sexual abuse in the country from the priesthood, reports LUSA news agency.

“Mr Richard Daschbach has already received his sentence for the Doctrine of the Faith, with the number 208 / 2018-67069 of November 6, 2018 from Pope Francis: he is no longer a priest, he is now a layman,” said the CET statement.

“Confirmed by the Archdiocese of Dili” and addressed “to priests, religious, deacons, brothers, nuns and all baptised in Timor-Leste”, the statement said.

“According to this decree of the Holy Father, there is nothing more to say about this priest’s priesthood. Priests, deacons, brothers, mothers and all the baptised are asked to respect this decree and not make any further comments ”, it said.

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MALTA
Newsbook

January 30, 2021

By Cedric Farrugia

The Diocese of Gozo said that when Bishop Mario Grech was informed about the alleged abuse by Rev. Joseph Sultana in Australia, he prohibited him from having contact with minors with immediate effect.

The statement which was published on the Diocese of Gozo Facebook page declared that it wanted to explain all the steps taken as soon as the allegations in Australia were made.

Fr Joseph Sultana and Fr Joseph Cini this week have been arrested in relation to accuses related to the abuse of a minor in Gozo. The two priests are being held in custody.

The Gozitan Diocese explained that when the allegations from the Cairna Diocese in Australia surfaced, the Bishop apart from acting and prohibiting Sultana from working with minors, he offered to collaborate with the authorities.

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El sacerdote católico Luis Esteban Zavala Rodríguez fue sentenciado a 65 años y tres meses de prisión, al ser encontrado culpable de violación espuria calificada y corrupción de menores

IRAPUATO, Gto. (apro).- El sacerdote católico Luis Esteban Zavala Rodríguez fue sentenciado a 65 años y tres meses de prisión, al ser encontrado culpable de violación espuria calificada y corrupción de menores, delitos que cometió en contra de una niña.

El párroco del templo de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, en esta ciudad, purgará la sanción máxima establecida en el Código penal del estado.

Luis Esteban Zavala es el tercer sacerdote que enfrenta y es procesado por delitos sexuales en contra de menores en la Diócesis de Irapuato, en menos de tres años.

En octubre de 2019, el Supremo Tribunal de Justicia del estado ratificó una sentencia de 90 años de prisión a Jorge Raúl Villegas, exvocero de la arquidiócesis de León, quien había sido suspendido del ministerio en esa adscripción de la Iglesia católica por delitos sexuales en contra de dos menores en el colegio Atenas de Irapuato, donde a pesar de la restricción de la arquidiócesis leonesa fue admitido como maestro y confesor.

En tanto, actualmente se sigue proceso contra otro sacerdote, Rubén Herrera Luna, acusado de violación en agravio de una menor. Herrera afrontará la audiencia intermedia previa al desahogo del juicio el próximo 10 de febrero.

La sentencia en contra del cura Luis Esteban fue dada a conocer por una jueza penal en audiencia efectuada este viernes. La jueza rechazó la solicitud de la Fiscalía de condenar al inculpado a 74 años (por varios delitos acumulados) y finalmente determinó una pena de 65 años y tres meses, así como multas y reparación del daño moral para la víctima y su familia.

Hasta ahora el cura ha permanecido un año y nueve meses en prisión.

En un comunicado que difundió después de la audiencia de sentencia en el juzgado penal, la Diócesis de Irapuato expuso su postura por la condena al sacerdote Luis Esteban Zavala.

En principio se dijo respetuosa de los procesos civiles de cualquier tipo y las decisiones que se toman en éstos, y aseguró tener un compromiso “con la verdad, la justicia y la transparencia, así como con el respeto y la protección de cualquier persona, sin discriminación, particularmente con los niños, adolescentes y jóvenes, y con las personas vulnerables.

“Por eso, manifestamos que, como Iglesia Diocesana de Irapuato, tanto en el caso del P. Luis Esteban como en cualquier otro que pudiera presentarse, hemos estado siempre dispuestos a colaborar con las autoridades correspondientes, a fin de llegar a una decisión justa, basada también en la verdad, sin encubrir a nadie, y sin tratar de manipular o coartar la libertad de nadie, ni con amenazas ni de algún otro modo”, expuso en el siguiente punto.

En el mismo texto, la Diócesis que encabeza el obispo Enrique Díaz Díaz dijo asumir un “compromiso de transparencia y tolerancia cero”, e invitó a denunciar, aunque matizó su convocatoria: “no con especulaciones sino con las formalidades legales y ante las autoridades competentes”.

Sobre la sentencia al sacerdote, dejó abierta la posibilidad de que sea apelada, como es derecho de las partes.

“Como Iglesia seguimos orando por el bien de los involucrados, pidiendo a Dios sane las heridas que esta situación haya causado y que dé la sabiduría a quienes tienen en sus manos la impartición de la justicia”, termina el comunicado.

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SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests)

January 28, 2021

A priest accused of raping a ten-year-old child in 2008 has been suspended from ministry in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. We call on Catholic officials to bring the priest back from his extended visit abroad so that he can face justice here in the United States and to use every resource at their disposal to encourage other victims to come forward, make a report, and start healing.

Fr. John Asare-Dankwah allegedly raped and later physically abused the boy while he was hearing confession during an out-of-state retreat. We fully support this gentleman and applaud his courage to come forward publicly. We are also grateful he has reached out to our local SNAP group for support. The average age for abuse survivors to disclose abuse is 52, but this man is significantly younger than the national average. It takes real courage to come forward and we hope that this story will encourage others who may have been hurt by Fr. Asare-Dankwah to speak out and make a report to the police.

Currently, Fr. Asare-Dankwah is out of the country, visiting family in Ghana. We are concerned because many priests – such as Fr. Alex Castillo in the Diocese of Oakland, CA – who have been accused of sexual abuse have been able to flee from justice by leaving the United States. Some of them were even allowed to work as priests abroad despite Catholic officials knowing about their criminal tendencies.

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

PROVIDENCE (RI)
Office of Attorney General

January 28, 2021

Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced today that an Exeter man was sentenced in Washington County Superior Court to serve 40 years at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) after pleading to sexually assaulting six young men; five in the 1980’s during his time as a scout leader and the most recent victim in 2019.

James Glawson (age 76) pleaded nolo contendere to 11 counts of first-degree sexual assault.

At today’s hearing before Superior Court Justice Melanie Wilk Thunberg, the court sentenced Glawson to 60 years at the ACI, with 40 years to serve and the balance suspended with probation. Glawson was ordered by the court to register as a sex offender, complete sex offender counseling, and is subject to community supervision. The court also issued a no contact order between Glawson and his victim.

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

RHODE ISLAND
The Westerly Sun

January 28, 2021

By Jason Vallee

An Exeter man and former assistant Catholic chaplain at Camp Yawgoog Boy Scout summer camp in Hopkinton has been sentenced to serve 40 years in state prison for the sexual assault of six young men between 1981 and 2019.

Superior Court Judge Melanie Wilk Thunberg on Thursday sentenced the man, 76-year-old James Glawson, to serve 60 years at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston, with 40 years to serve and the balance suspended with completion of a probation period. Court records show Glawson will also be required to register as a sex offender, must complete sex offender counseling and is subject to community supervision. He was also issued a no-contact order preventing him from contacting victims.

The sentencing came after Glawson agreed to enter a plea of nolo contendere, or no contest, to 11 separate counts of first-degree sexual assault last year.

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

RHODE ISLAND
Associated Press

January 28, 2021

A 76-year-old former volunteer Boy Scout chaplain was sentenced Thursday to serve 40 years in prison after pleading no contest to sexually assaulting six young men, including a developmentally disabled victim.

“Turning to God, I pray each day for God’s help to help heal those that I hurt so badly and to give them comfort for the shame that I have caused,” James Glawson, of Exeter, said in court, The Providence Journal reported.

Glawson was actually sentenced to 60 years in prison, with 40 to serve and the balance suspended with probation, according to the state attorney general’s office.

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

RHODE ISLAND
The Providence Journal

January 28, 2021

By Mark Reynolds

A 76-year-old former Boy Scout chaplain apologized for his “evil ways” Thursday, while pleading no contest to a slate of charges involving “sexually penetrating” five young men and a sixth victim with a developmental disability.

“It makes me sick to think of what I have done,” the Exeter man, James Glawson, told Judge Melanie Wilk Thunberg during a plea hearing in Superior Court, Wakefield.

“Turning to God,” said Glawson, “I pray each day for God’s help to help heal those that I hurt so badly and to give them comfort for the shame that I have caused.”

Thunberg sentenced Glawson to serve 40 years at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston.

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

RHODE ISLAND
The New York Times

January 28, 2021

By Neil Vigdor

James Glawson, 76, sexually assaulted six young men, including one who is developmentally disabled, Rhode Island authorities said.

A former chaplain for the Boy Scouts in Rhode Island was sentenced on Thursday to 40 years in prison after pleading no contest to charges that he sexually assaulted six young men, the authorities said — the latest reckoning for a national scouting movement beleaguered by sex-abuse claims.

The ex-chaplain, James Glawson, 76, of Exeter, R.I., volunteered for the Boy Scouts from 1980 to 2018 and served as an assistant Catholic chaplain at the scouting camp in Hopkinton, R.I., according to the Rhode Island State Police.

Investigators said that Mr. Glawson came to their attention in 2019 when staff members at a Rhode Island group home reported that he had had inappropriate contact with an 18-year-old developmentally disabled resident.

The victim told the police that he had been sexually assaulted several times over the years by Mr. Glawson, who the authorities said later admitted abusing the resident and several other young men during the 1980s while he was a scout leader. It was not immediately clear if the group home resident had ties to the Boy Scouts.

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LOS ANGELES (CA)
Associated Press

January 29, 2021

By Robert Jablon

Most California Roman Catholic bishops are asking a judge to throw out a 2019 law that allowed accusers of clergy sexual abuse to sue even if they were molested decades ago.

Motions filed this month in southern and northern superior courts ask judges to rule Assembly Bill 218 unconstitutional. Among the arguments was the assertion that the amount of time that had passed could make it harder for the defense to gather evidence.

California is one of at least 15 states that have extended the window for people to sue institutions over long-ago abuse, leading to thousands of new cases.

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OAKLAND (CA)
NBC Bay Area

January 28, 2021

By Candice Nguyen, Michael Bott and Mark Villarreal

Two priests from the Oakland Diocese have been accused of sexually abusing a former seminarian. The man came forward with new allegations – some dating back to his childhood – after previously accusing another priest of raping him several years ago.

New sexual abuse allegations within the Oakland Diocese are publicly coming to light for the first time after being included in a lawsuit against the Diocese that settled late last year for $3.5 million, without any admission of liability.

The accusations come from a former seminarian, 28, who had previously alleged in 2019 that he was raped by Livermore priest Fr. Michael Van Dinh three years ago. He does not wish to be identified, so NBC Bay Area is calling him John Doe.

A police report obtained by NBC Bay Area shows Livermore police found a meth pipe and sex toys in the priest’s living quarters while investigating the alleged assault. Detectives recommended two felony charges, including sodomy by force, but the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office said there wasn’t enough evidence to prove the encounter wasn’t consensual.

Dinh remains on leave from the Diocese. Click here for NBC Bay Area’s 2019 story concerning Fr. Van Dinh.

After going through therapy for the alleged assault at the hands of Fr. Van Dinh, Doe’s attorney said he later disclosed being sexually abused by two other priests within the Diocese: Fr. Luis Lopez and Fr. Ricardo Chavez, who is now retired. Lopez is currently assigned to Fremont’s Corpus Christi Church, according to its website.

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RICHMOND (VA)
Diocese of Richmond

January 28, 2021

Accusations were made in 2020

Following a lengthy investigation by the Diocesan Review Board, Bishop Barry C. Knestout of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond has determined that the allegations of child sexual abuse made against Thomas Long, a former priest of the diocese, are not credible. For this reason, Long will not have his name added to the diocesan list of clergy against whom credible and substantiated allegations of child sexual abuse have been made. Long voluntarily left active ministry in 1988.

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

VIRGINIA
Roanoke.com

January 28, 2021

By Casey Fabris

The Catholic Diocese of Richmond announced Thursday it had determined that allegations of child sexual abuse by a former priest were not credible.

Last June, the diocese announced it had received a complaint about former priest Thomas L. Long Jr. related to his time at Christ the King Catholic School in Norfolk in 1986.

The allegations prompted an investigation by the Diocesan Review Board, which reported its findings to Bishop Barry Knestout, who deemed them not credible, according to a news release.

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

RICHMOND (VA)
WRIC-TV

January 28, 2021

By Keyris Manzanares

Catholic Diocese of Richmond finds allegations of child sexual abuse against former priest ‘not credible’

After conducting an investigation, the Catholic Diocese of Richmond announced Thursday that they have found allegations of child abuse made against a former priest are not credible.

Richmond Catholic Diocese reviewing child sex abuse allegations against 4 former priests
Thomas Long, a former priest of the diocese, was accused of child sexual abuse during his time in Norfolk, Virginia in 1986 when he served at Christ the King Catholic School. In 1988, Long took a leave of absence and has since had his priestly faculties suspended.

The diocese said it will not add Long’s name to a list of clergy whom credible and substantiated allegations of child sexual abuse have been made.

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

RICHMOND (VA)
Richmond.com

January 28, 2021

By Holly Prestidge

The Catholic Diocese of Richmond announced Thursday that child sexual abuse allegations against Thomas Long, a former priest of the diocese, were not credible and that his name will not be added to its list of clergy for which credible and substantiated allegations of child sexual abuse have been made.

The allegations were part of an investigation launched in June 2020 after the diocese received an allegation of child sexual abuse against Long, who was accused of the abuse while serving at Christ the King School in Norfolk in 1986. He was ordained as a priest in the diocese in 1981 before serving at St. Joseph in Petersburg and Norfolk’s Christ the King.

Long took a leave of absence from ministry in 1988 and was already suspended from priestly ministry, and remained suspended last summer when the investigation began.

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

RICHMOND (VA)
WTVR-TV

January 28, 2021

Bishop Barry Knestout of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond reported Thursday that allegations of child sexual abuse made against one former priest were not credible.

The report came after a lengthy investigation by the Diocesan Review Board into the claims made against former priest Thomas Long.

A report of the allegations against Long was received by the Catholic Diocese of Richmond in June 2020. Those allegations were then reported to authorities.

The diocese launched an internal investigation of the allegations and the information they found was presented to the Diocesan Review Board, who then reported their findings to Knestout.

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

RICHMOND (VA)
13News Now

January 28, 2021

The Diocese of Richmond said a lengthy investigation into accusations of child sexual abuse against Fr. Thomas Long found that they were not credible

https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/local/virginia/after-investigation-richmond-catholic-diocese-denies-allegations-of-sexual-abuse-by-priest/291-d1aaa417-fdde-4d8d-9105-3ee12595c8a1.

Thursday, the Catholic Diocese of Richmond announced that after an internal investigation, it didn’t find the allegations of child sexual abuse against Fr. Thomas Long credible.

The allegations were announced in June, 2020.

Long was a teacher at Christ the King Catholic School in Norfolk in 1986 (when the alleged abuse happened), and took a leave of absence from ministry in 1988. He hasn’t worked for the Richmond Diocese since then.

“Following a lengthy investigation by the Diocesan Review Board, Bishop Barry C. Knestout of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond has determined that the allegations of child sexual abuse made against Thomas Long, a former priest of the diocese, are not credible,” a release read. “For this reason, Long will not have his name added to the diocesan list of clergy against whom credible and substantiated allegations of child sexual abuse have been made.”

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MALTA
Times of Malta

January 29, 2021

By Matthew Xuereb

They were suspended following an investigation by the Safeguarding Commission

The two Xagħra priests separately charged with sexually abusing an eight-year-old altar boy about 16 years ago were suspended from priestly duties last year, Times of Malta has learned.

The suspension followed the completion of an investigation by the Church’s Safeguarding Commission.

The abusive acts are alleged to have taken place at the Xagħra parish between 2003 and 2005.

Joseph Cini, 70, and Joseph Sultana, 84, are in preventive custody after being charged with defiling the boy on a number of occasions and holding him against his will. Cini was also charged with raping him. Both men deny the charges.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Derry Now

January 28, 2021

By Garrett Hargan

A simple headstone at Ardmore Cemetery in Derry commemorates the dates five former residents of the Good Shepherd’s Laundry died.

They, along with hundreds of others, worked in the local laundry without pay.

Some women spent a lifetime in the institution, died and were buried from there in unmarked or ‘communal’ graves.

This week these women and girls, along with thousands more, were described as the ‘voiceless’ who will finally have their stories heard following the announcement of an independent investigation.

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

AUSTRALIA
Catholic News Agency

January 28, 2021

Starting in February, the Catholic Church in Australia will have a national protocol for responding to allegations of sexual abuse, the bishops of Australia announced this week.

Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane, president of the Australian bishop’s conference, said the new protocol “demands an approach from the Church that is compassionate and just.”

“One of the strengths of the new protocol is that it provides a single national framework, which will ensure a consistent approach to the handling of concerns and allegations,” Coleridge said Jan. 28.

The National Response Protocol lays out principles that Church authorities must adhere to when responding to a child abuse allegation, as well as the concrete procedural steps that must be taken when an allegation is received.

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

AUSTRALIA
Vatican News

January 28, 2021

The Australian bishops have released information regarding a new national protocol for addressing child sexual abuse, due to take over past protocols as of 1 February.

In a media release published on Thursday, the Catholic Bishops of Australia have announced the release of a new protocol aimed at providing “a framework for Catholic entities across Australia to respond consistently to people raising concerns or allegations of child sexual abuse”.

Due to come into effect as of next week, the Bishops write that “the National Response Protocol, which was adopted by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference at its November 2020 plenary meeting, is the product of two years of work and widespread consultation within and beyond the Church”.

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AUSTRALIA
NCA NewsWire via Mercury

January 29, 2021

By Caroline Schelle

A judge has quizzed the former editor of The Age newspaper about why he published a story related to the George Pell sex abuse case despite a “plain prohibition” on the reporting of proceedings.

Alex Lavelle continued his evidence on Friday in the Victorian Supreme Court trial against more than two dozen media companies, journalists and editors for allegedly committing a contempt of court and breaching a suppression order in the Pell case. All defendants deny the charges.

The Age published an article online and in print explaining to readers why it couldn’t report on a high-profile case, without naming Pell.

Mr Lavelle is among 27 media outlets, journalists and editors on trial facing a total of 79 sub judice and contempt charges for publishing similar stories.

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ENGLAND
Daily Mail

January 29, 2021

By Latoya Gayle

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-9190273/Woman-kidnapped-England-sent-baby-mother-institution-Ireland.html

– Terri Harrison from Dublin, was pregnant when she moved to London in 1972
– She was forced to return to Ireland after visit from Catholic Crusade & Rescue
– Her son Niall was given to an adoption agency at around five weeks old
– Terri, now 66, says son Niall, now 47, doesn’t want ‘anything to do with her

An Irish teen mother whose baby was forcibly taken from her at five weeks old has revealed her heartbreak after tracking down her son 30 years later, only to discover he wanted ‘nothing to with her’.

Terri Harrison, 66, from Dublin, moved to London when she fell pregnant aged 18, in 1972.

But the unmarried teen was ‘kidnapped’ and forced to return to Ireland and live in a mother and baby institution after she was visited by a priest and two nuns from the Catholic Crusade & Rescue while in hosp

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NEW ORLEANS (LA)
Archdiocese of New Orleans

January 27, 2021

Today the Archdiocese of New Orleans was informed of a lawsuit alleging abuse of a minor against Fr. John Asare-Dankwah. The archdiocese had no notice of this allegation or this lawsuit prior to today and has not been served with this lawsuit. The archdiocese does not know the identity of the individual bringing this lawsuit and allegations against Fr. Asare.

Effective immediately, Archbishop Aymond has removed Fr. Asare from priestly ministry pending the outcome of the investigation. Fr. Asare has most recently served as pastor of St. Peter Claver Parish in New Orleans. Fr. Asare was informed of the allegations late this afternoon. He is currently out of the country on vacation visiting family in Ghana.

The Archdiocese of New Orleans will ensure law enforcement is informed of this lawsuit and the allegations made.

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NEW ORLEANS (LA)
WVUE-TV

January 27, 2021

By Tiffany Baptiste and Olivia Vidal

The Archdiocese of New Orleans says they have removed a priest from ministry following allegations of sexual and physical abuse.

Officials say the archdiocese was informed of a lawsuit against Fr. John Asare-Dankwah alleging that he abused a minor during a church retreat in 2008.

In the lawsuit filed in Orleans Parish Civil District Court Wednesday, the victim, who is identified as A.A. Doe, says he was 10-years-old when he attended a church retreat with Fr. Asare.

The victim served as a youth minister and lecter at Blessed Trinity Catholic Church, where Fr. Asare served as pastor at the time.

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NEW ORLEANS (LA)
NOLA.com

January 27, 2021

By Ramon Antonio Vargas

The Archdiocese of New Orleans on Wednesday suspended the pastor of St. Peter Claver Catholic Church in Treme after he was accused in a lawsuit of raping a 10-year-old boy while hearing his confession during an out-of-state retreat in 2008.

The Rev. John Asare-Dankwah’s suspension will remain in effect until church authorities can complete an investigation into the allegations, archdiocesan officials said in a statement.

The events outlined in the nine-page lawsuit, filed in Orleans Parish Civil District Court, are not purported to have occurred at St. Peter Claver, the historic church purchased in 1920 by the Josephite Fathers to serve the area’s African American population.

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NEW ORLEANS (LA)
WDSU-TV

January 27, 2021

A lawsuit an anonymous victim filed Wednesday accuses the pastor of St. Peter Claver Catholic Church in Treme of rape and assault during a 2008 church retreat.

The lawsuit filed by “A.A. Doe” alleges the Rev. John Asare-Dankwah attended a church retreat with 11 students from Catholic schools.

The suit claims the alleged rape and assault happened during a retreat in Montgomery, Alabama. Doe was a member of the Blessed Trinity Catholic church, where Asare-Daknwah was serving at the time.

Doe claims that during a confessional Dankwah asked him if he loved God and loved Dankwah.

That is when Doe claims Dankwah exposed his genitals to him.

The lawsuit alleges that Doe refused him two times before being forced to touch Dankwah.

The suit claims Dankwah told Doe, “This will be over soon” before raping the boy.

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UNITED STATES
Religious News Service via Crux

January 28, 2021

By Carol Zimmermann

Father Michael Pfleger, senior pastor of St. Sabina Church in Chicago, faces a second sexual abuse allegation, from the brother of the first alleged victim who came forward in early January.

The popular Chicago priest and outspoken advocate against gun violence has denied these allegations and his parishioners rallied outside the parish in support of him Jan. 25, hours after the allegation was reported by Chicago media outlets.

Over 50 people gathered outside the church denouncing accusations that, beginning more than five decades ago, the priest had abused the two brothers, who now live in Texas. Parishioners spoke from a microphone of the priest’s 45 years at the parish and his nonstop dedication and activism.

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PENNSYLVANIA
PennLive.com

January 27, 2021

By Ivey DeJesus

https://www.pennlive.com/news/2021/01/pa-house-passes-measure-to-allow-voters-to-create-a-window-for-child-sex-abuse-victims-to-go-to-court.html

Pennsylvania on Wednesday stepped closer to paving the way for adults who were sexually abused as children to seek recourse in court against their predators.

By a vote of 187-15, the state House of Representatives passed a measure that could lead to a temporary lifting of expired statute of limitations for some abuse victims, allowing them to file civil suits.

House Bill 14, authored by Rep. Jim Gregory, R-Blair, calls for a voter referendum on a two-year retroactive window that would lift expired statute of limitations to allow such legal civil action.

The bill now heads for the Senate, which has signaled strong support for the measure.

“This is a wonderful day. Attitude of gratitude for the people of Pennsylvania who have waited a long time,” Gregory said just moments after the vote. “This is just another step in the process of recognizing those who have been sexually abused in past decades. They have been waiting a long time for this and I‘m just grateful to colleagues who voted for this so strongly that they believe in justice for victims but also believe in the protection of our families.”

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PENNSYLANIA
The Tribune-Democrat

January 28, 2021

By John Finnerty

The state House on Wednesday voted 187-15 to ask voters whether to amend the Constitution to give adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse an additional two years beyond the normal statute of limitations to sue institutions such as the Catholic Church that have covered up such abuse.

The measure moves back to the Senate. If it passes there, it could be on the ballot in May. The state Senate Judiciary Committee has already approved a companion version of the legislation that passed the House on Wednesday. Both chambers approved the proposed amendment last legislative session as well. Proposed state constitutional amendments must be approved by the General Assembly in two consecutive sessions.

It is one of several potential amendments that could end up on the ballot in May. Both chambers of the General Assembly this week also voted in favor of proposals to amend the Constitution to limit the ability of the governor to keep prolonged emergency declarations in place, a move inspired by frustration over Gov. Tom Wolf’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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ALLENTOWN (PA)
The Morning Call

January 27, 2021

By Michelle Merlin

The Allentown Diocese has sold some of its property in Lower Macungie and Upper Saucon townships to help compensate victims of clergy sexual abuse.

The diocese sold 118 acres on Flint Hill Road in Upper Saucon for $3.55 million and 53 acres on North Krocks Road across from Hamilton Crossings in Lower Macungie for $7.5 million, the diocese said in a Jan. 8 news release. With the land sales, the diocese finished paying off a loan taken out to fund a compensation program for victims of clergy sexual abuse.

Allentown was among seven Pennsylvania Catholic dioceses to establish compensation funds in the wake of a 2018 Pennsylvania grand jury report that revealed efforts to hide decades of sexual abuse by hundreds of priests. The report named 37 priests from the Allentown Diocese, which includes more than 252,000 Catholics in Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton and Schuylkill counties. The diocese added another 15 or so to the list.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Register

January 27, 2021

By Janet E. Smith

The Church really needs to do some deep thinking on how it should respond.

If you had a choice between losing a limb or being psychologically traumatized your whole life, which would you choose?

By “psychologically traumatized,” I mean suffering debilitating lifetime depression and anxiety, having difficulty holding onto a job, not being able to enter into satisfying personal and intimate relationships, unshakeable (and unwarranted) self-blame and even being rejected by family who don’t understand consequent behavior.

Many sex abuse victims struggle with substance abuse throughout their lives, undergo repeated hospitalization, attempt or commit suicide, and many without anyone knowing why they were so troubled. Many of them live in poverty or near poverty their whole lives.

In addition, victims of priestly sexual abuse often lose their faith and are deprived of the healing and consolation that come through the sacraments and the rich spiritual life that faith facilitat

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POLAND
The Tablet

January 27, 2021

By Jonathan Luxmoore

A group of Polish politicians has pledged to press new accusations against Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, former secretary of St John Paul II, after prosecutors refused to investigate TV documentary claims that he ignored and covered up abuse by priests in his Krakow archdiocese.

“The gravity of crimes that Cardinal Dziwisz may have committed is so enormous that failure to investigate them is obviously detrimental to the public good and the private interests of victims,” said Lukasz Kohut, a European Parliament member from Poland’s liberal Wiosna (Spring) party.

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AUSTRALIA
Australian Associated Press

January 28, 2021

By Karen Sweeney

Claims of a “Catholic conspiracy” were partly behind a Melbourne newspaper’s decision to publish a story about Cardinal George Pell’s child sexual abuse conviction, a court has heard.

The Age newspaper, journalists and editors are facing contempt charges over articles published after Cardinal Pell’s now-overturned conviction in December 2018, over alleged breaches of suppression orders.

Australian media were banned from reporting the verdict in the case until February 2019 because Cardinal Pell, who has since returned to Rome, was due to face a second trial.

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

MALTA
Lovin Malta

January 27, 2021

By Sam Vassallo

Joseph Cini, one of two priests accused of raping an altar boy in Gozo, has left court after being arraigned this morning.

Asked by the press where he was ashamed, he responded, waving a handkerchief: “Don’t you see me crying?”

Cini, a priest in his 70s from Għarsi, and Joseph Sultana, an 84-year-old who served in Xagħra’s parish, both pleaded not guilty to charges of rape and corruption of a minor. Both will be kept under arrest as the case continues.

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

MALTA
Lovin Malta

January 27, 2021

By Sam Vassallo

Joseph Sultana, an 84-year-old priest, has pleaded not guilty to raping an altar boy.

Sultana, a well-known figure in Xagħra and its parish, was arraigned in court this morning in Gozo.

He is one of two priests arrested yesterday evening after hours of interrogation. The other was Joseph Cini, a priest in his 70s and ex-parish priest of Għasri. He will be arraigned separately.

Joseph Cini was previously accused of child abuse in Australia but refused to return to the country to face the accuser, who was also a former altar boy.

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MALTA
Lovin’ Malta

January 27, 2021

By David Grech Urpani

‘The First Time Was A Sunday’: Bursting Into Tears, Gozo Rape Victim Recalls Being Pushed Into A Confessional And Touched By Priest

“He used to threaten me and use force when I refused. I often tried to run away but he would hold me down. He would force me in, telling me I’m going to hell or that he was going to speak to my parents.”

These were the harrowing words of a former altar boy who was allegedly raped by priest Joseph Sultana.

In an urgent testimony via videoconferencing, the victim – who was eight years old at the time of the alleged abuse but is now no longer a minor – went into disturbing detail that had him visibly emotional, even bursting into tears at one point.

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

JOHANNESBURG (SOUTH AFRICA)
IOL.co.za

January 28, 2021

By Chulumanco Mahamba

The Heaven Fellowship Church has accused the Cultural, Religious and Linguistic (CRL) Rights Commission of being “unrestrained, reckless and biased” after the hearings into allegations of abuse were live streamed last week.

The Star reported last week that former congregation members of the church in Meyerton laid bare startling allegations of rape against the church’s leader, Bahlakwana Moleko, known as Samuel Paul Heaven, during hearings into allegations of abuse. One witness accused Moleko of allegedly raping her twice in October last year.

The hearings at the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural Religious and Linguistic Communities were heard following complaints that were brought before it by victims and congregants.

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UNITED STATES
First Things

January 27, 2021

By George Weigel

The list of grave issues that must be addressed during a future papal interregnum, and by the cardinal-electors in a conclave, continues to grow.

The finances of the Holy See are arguably in worse shape than at any time since the papal interregnum of 1922; then, money had to be borrowed to pay for the conclave as Benedict XV had virtually bankrupted the Vatican in his efforts to aid refugees and POWs during World War I. Notwithstanding the reforms Pope Francis has put into place, the Holy See now faces a vast, unfunded pension liability; incompetent investment management (and worse) has done serious damage to the Vatican balance sheet; and contributions, not least to Peter’s Pence, are down dramatically.

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AUSTRALIA
Catholic Weekly

January 28, 2021

New benchmark for the Church in place from February

A new national protocol for responding to historical child sexual abuse and any new allegations in the Catholic Church will be both more compassionate and just, says Archbishop Mark Coleridge, head of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.

The new framework to be implemented from 1 February is intended as a national benchmark forming a consistent approach for Catholic authorities and entities in investigating, compensating and providing ongoing care for people alleging child sexual abuse and survivors.

Calling it “an important step forward”, Archbishop Coleridge thanked those involved in preparing the “thorough proces

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UNITED STATES
Crux

January 26, 2021

By John Lavenburg

A Vatican investigation has exonerated retired Bishop Joseph Hart of Cheyenne, Wyoming, on seven accusations of sexual abuse towards minors, while five other accusations “could not be proven with moral certitude,” the diocese announced in a statement Monday.

The decree came from the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (CDF) – the Vatican office responsible for processing clergy sex abuse complaints.

However, the CDF issued a canonical rebuke to Hart for “his flagrant lack of prudence as a priest and bishop for being alone with minors in his private residence and on various trips, which could have been potential occasions endangering the ‘obligation to observe continence’ and that would ‘give rise to scandal among the faithful,’” according to the diocese statement.

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FLORIDA
adamhorowitzlaw.com (law firm blog)

January 25, 2021

An unlikely hero has saved two Florida kids.

She’s not a cop.

She’s not a prosecutor.

She’s not a psychologist.

She’s not a judge.

She’s not a children’s advocate or school teacher or nurse or doctor or day care provider.

In fact, she likely doesn’t have a college degree (or maybe not even a high school diploma).

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WYOMING
Wyoming Public Media

January 26, 2021

By Jeff Victor

This week, the Vatican concluded its own investigation of Wyoming Emeritus Bishop Joseph Hart, ruling that there was not enough evidence to find him guilty of the numerous allegations against him.

Hart led the Catholic Church in Wyoming for more than two decades, from the late 70s to 2001. Since retiring 20 years ago, he has been accused of child abuse by more than a dozen people both in Wyoming and his home state of Missouri.

One alleged victim died of complications from AIDS in 1989. The disease was brought on by years of drug abuse that the victim’s family attributes to the trauma he allegedly experienced at the hands of Father Hart.

In 2018, the Diocese of Cheyenne opened an investigation into the once celebrated bishop. A group of mainly non ordained members of the church with backgrounds in fields such as law enforcement and child psychology determined that at least six allegations against Hart were credible, according to a release from the Diocese.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic News Agency

January 26, 2021

By Christine Rousselle

The Vatican’s doctrinal congregation has exonerated retired Bishop Joseph Hart of Cheyenne over numerous accusations of the sexual abuse of minors, but issued a canonical rebuke.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) said that the bishop had acted irresponsibly as a priest and upheld restrictions placed on him in 2018.

In January 2018, the Diocese of Cheyenne, Wyoming, began an investigation into claims of abuse by Hart, its retired bishop. Hart, who is now 89 years old, led the diocese from 1978 until his 70th birthday in 2001.

The diocese said that its investigative team “were convinced that we had sufficient evidence to conclude with moral certainty that the six accusations against Bishop Hart are credible” and passed the case to Rome for a final decision in the canonical process.

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NEW JERSEY
Asbury Park Press

January 27, 2021

By Kathleen Hopkins

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:F8ZBp5356T0J:https://www.app.com/story/news/local/courts/2021/01/27/judge-has-decided-if-howell-ex-pastor-sex-abuse-accusers-can-testify/4264636001/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Calling into question the accuracy of decades-old childhood memories, a judge on Tuesday ruled that two women who came forward almost 40 years later to accuse their former pastor of sexual impropriety will not be allowed to testify at the retired cleric’s upcoming child sexual abuse trial.

Superior Court Judge Ellen Torregrossa-O’Connor, in a 26-page ruling, said the stories of the two women who came forward in 2019 with allegations from 1983 were not clear and convincing enough to outweigh “the obvious prejudice” their testimony would pose to the Rev. Henry “Brendan” Williams, former pastor of St. Veronica R.C. Church in Howell, at his upcoming trial on child sexual assault charges stemming from alleged incidents in the late 1990s.

The two women came forward to authorities in October 2019 after learning Williams, now 81 and living in a retirement community for Catholic priests in Lawrence, had just been arrested on child sexual assault charges in the case dating to 1998.

One of the two women told detectives she was 13 and at a youth club meeting at St. Veronica’s in 1983 when Williams took her aside to an upstairs room in the rectory, where she thought he was going to kiss her. She told detectives she left before anything could happen.

The other woman told detectives she was 12 years old when Williams approached her in a vestibule after track practice and, while looking at her chest, told her, “You’re awfully big for sixth grade.” She alleged he then began kissing her and touching her buttocks.

Both women told detectives they reported the incidents to their parents, who didn’t take them seriously.

Torregrossa-O’Connor said in her ruling that detectives did not conduct any further investigation to corroborate the women’s claims by seeking out others, such as family members, to whom they told their stories or, in the case of the first woman, finding out who else had attended the youth group meeting that night.

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NEW JERSEY
Asbury Park Press

January 19, 2021

By Kathleen Hopkins

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Uzjsr2RDxe0J:https://www.app.com/story/news/local/courts/2021/01/19/howell-church-sex-scandal-why-did-women-come-forward-decades-later/4152015001/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Soon after news broke about the arrest on sex charges of a beloved former pastor of St. Veronica R.C. Church in Howell, two alumni of the parish’s grammar school came forward in 2019 with allegations that the priest acted inappropriately when they were students at the school decades ago.

One of the women told detectives the Rev. Henry “Brendan” Williams kissed her repeatedly and patted her on the buttocks one afternoon in 1983, when she was 12.

The other said she thought Williams was going to kiss her after he took her aside to an office to show her something, but she got up and left before anything could happen. The woman said she was 13 when that occurred in 1983.

The Rev. Henry ‘Brendan’ Williams, former pastor of St. Veronica Church in Howell, is shown after his arraignment on child sex abuse charges in State Superior Court in Freehold Monday, January 6, 2020.

Williams, now 81, is not charged in connection with either women’s story, but prosecutors want the women to testify at Williams’ upcoming trial on charges he sexually assaulted another child in the late 1990s.

Defense attorney Robert Konzelmann is trying to block the testimony, questioning why the women took 36 years to come forward to authorities with the allegations and suggesting they did so at a time when attorneys handling clergy sex-abuse lawsuits were flooding the airwaves with advertisements for clients.

Thomas Fichter, an assistant Monmouth County prosecutor, acknowledged the statute of limitations has long passed to prosecute crimes that may have occurred in 1983, but said the earlier events are relevant to the case at hand because the stories of the two women are similar to that of the victim in the case for which Williams is under indictment.

That victim was 12 when she claims Williams touched her inappropriately, on her inner thigh and vaginal area, on two different occasions at two different restaurants while she was with her parents and a third time at her home, according to Fichter.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune

January 26, 2021

By Eric Zorn

https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/eric-zorn/ct-column-pfleger-allegations-sex-abuse-corroboration-difficult-zorn-20210126-b2tmsqvyonbitkwmub4wmymqvq-story.html

The accusations against South Side activist priest the Rev. Michael Pfleger are, in a word, revolting.

Either way.

If they’re true, Pfleger repeatedly sexually abused two boys in the early and mid-1970s, a grotesque, inexcusable and scarring violation of trust and innocence that his accusers — two brothers who now live in Texas — say has haunted them ever since.

If they’re false, Pfleger’s good name is being dragged through the mud and his four decades of service to his parishioners at St. Sabina Church and Chicago’s African American community unfairly tainted. He may never get his reputation back.

Like many of you, I’m sure, I’ve been considering both possibilities since the initial allegation arose earlier this month. What to make of this?

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