ABUSE TRACKER

PINELLAS PARK (FL)
Legal Examiner – Saunders & Walker

July 6, 2020

By Joseph H. Saunders

Three former priests with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse have been accused of sexually abusing a young boy in a graphically detailed lawsuit, according to Press Connects. The alleged abuse began when the victim, now 61, was in fifth grade and continued through his high school years.

The lawsuit was filed under New York’s Child Victims Act, which allows survivors of childhood sexual abuse to file claims against their abusers and any institutions that knowingly obscured or failed to prevent the abuse, regardless of how much time has passed. The Syracuse Diocese, which is now facing over 100 sexual abuse lawsuits, filed for bankruptcy on June 19.

The diocese had previously identified the three priests — Robert Kloster, David Pichette and Thomas Zedar — as having been “credibly accused” of child sexual abuse. All three were permanently removed from ministry, but not in time to stop them from abusing this plaintiff.

In the lawsuit, Kloster, Pichette and Zedar are accused of methodically grooming the young boy for the purpose of sexually abusing him. It argues the boy “felt trapped over the years by feelings of helplessness and shame,” and that each former priest committed abusive acts that “ultimately ruined his life.”

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.

COLUMBIA (MO)
Religion News Service

July 6, 2020

By Bob Smietana

Megachurch pastor John Ortberg kept a family member’s attraction to children secret. Then his son blew the whistle.

In the summer of 2018, a volunteer at Menlo Church came to the Rev. John Ortberg seeking help.

The congregation member, who volunteered with youth and children at the Bay area megachurch and in the community, had been experiencing “an unwanted thought pattern of attraction to minors” and needed the pastor’s support.

After hearing this admission, Ortberg asked if the volunteer had ever acted on that attraction.

The volunteer said no.

Once Ortberg was convinced the volunteer was telling the truth and was not a danger to others, he prayed for the person and offered a referral for counseling and then allowed the volunteer to continue working with children.

In what Menlo Church’s elders would later call “poor judgment” and a betrayal of trust, the megachurch pastor did not notify the church’s staff of the volunteer’s admitted attraction to minors.

He did not notify the church’s elder board.

He did not suggest the volunteer stop working with children – in fact, the pastor and his family encouraged the volunteer in his work as a coach of an Ultimate Frisbee team for high school students.

Instead, Ortberg, the lead pastor of Menlo, kept what he had learned about the volunteer secret from his congregation.

Especially the volunteer’s name: John “Johnny” Ortberg III, the pastor’s youngest son.

But nothing in a church or in a family stays hidden forever.

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.

Denver (CO)
Catholic News Agency

July 6, 2020

The Catholic Church can only rebuild trust in its handling of clerical abuse by “taking responsibility for clarifying all crimes and omissions,” the Primate of Poland said Monday.

In a statement issued July 6, Archbishop Wojciech Polak noted the steps that the Polish bishops have taken in response to a burgeoning abuse crisis in the country.

“I am convinced that only by standing in truth and taking responsibility for clarifying all crimes and omissions, we will rebuild our credibility and trust in the Church in Poland,” he said.

Polak is the Polish bishops’ delegate for the protection of children and youth. As the metropolitan archbishop of Gniezno, the Polish primatial see, he is the Primate of Poland.

His comments came a week after more than 600 people took out a full-page advertisement in the Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica urging the pope to intervene in the growing abuse crisis in the country.

A Vatican spokesman said that Pope Francis had been informed of the appeal and was praying for those who sent it.

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.

DENVER (CO)
Catholic News Agency

July 6, 2020

An English bishop has said that parishes have seen “dramatic fall” in income as a result of the coronavirus lockdown.

Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury urged the government to step in to help dioceses struggling financially as a result of the pandemic.

“The weeks of the national lockdown saw a dramatic fall of about a third in parish income. This is having a serious impact on the operation of parishes,” he told CNA.

Mike Kane, a local Member of Parliament, raised the financial plight of the Diocese of Shrewsbury, in western England, in the House of Commons last month.

He noted June 25 that the diocese’s income was down by a third since the government announced a nationwide lockdown March 23. He said that this loss of around $875,000 would have a long-term impact on the diocese’s ability to maintain its buildings.

Kane, the Labour MP for Wythenshawe and Sale East, urged the government to consider introducing an “enhanced gift aid scheme” to shore up diocesan finances.

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.

BELLEVILLE (IL)
Belleville News-Democrat

July 6, 2020

By Teri Maddox

Allegations against five clergymen who worked at metro-east Catholic high schools decades ago had been made public well before June, when the Society of Mary order put them on a list of 46 priests, brothers and aspirants “found to have sexually abused a minor.”

But all of the publicity occurred in other states over the past 20 years.

“For the first time, parishioners and the public in this area are likely being made aware of these allegations and the fact that these five were in the Belleville diocese,” said David Clohessy, co-founder of the St. Louis chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “(The allegations) are now publicly and clearly deemed credible.”

The five clergymen had assignments at Cathedral Central Catholic High School in Belleville and Central Catholic High School and Assumption Catholic High School in East St. Louis, which are all closed. It’s unknown if abuse occurred at these schools.

Four of the clergymen are known to be deceased, according to the order.

The one with the most assignments was the late Eugene T. Fitzsimmons, a brother who professed his vows in 1947 and taught at Assumption, which closed in 1989. He had nine other assignments in Texas, Wisconsin, Missouri, Hawaii and California before leaving ministry in 2000. He died in 2011.

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.

IRONDALE (AL)
National Catholic Register

July 2, 2020

By Edward Pentin

A range of sources agree that profound change is required to correct the flawed underlying mentality that continues to give rise to problems, and has allowed senior officials to escape taking responsibility.

Vatican City – Cardinal George Pell, the former prefect of the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy which Pope Francis created six years ago to monitor and reform Vatican finances, delivered a pointed message on June 30 about the threat that financial corruption poses to the Church’s mission.

“Undoubtedly, money is one of God’s gifts, it is also a source of temptation,” Pell said in a video message delivered June 30 to the Global Institute of Church Management at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome. “To say that the Church is not a business provides no justification for us to be inefficient much less for us to be corrupt.”

He recalled being surprised to learn that St. Teresa of Calcutta had said “for the clergy there are two great challenges: one touches on sexuality and another touched on money. And she thought that the danger from money was greater and stronger than that from errant sexuality.”

Cardinal Pell’s remarks were conspicuously well-timed, coming in the wake of the arrest last month of Italian financier Gianluigi Torzi on charges of “extortion, embezzlement, aggravated fraud and money laundering,” relating to a London property deal carried out by Vatican Secretariat of State officials that went sour.

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

KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter

July 6, 2020

By Michael Sean Winters

George Weigel’s latest book, The Next Pope: The Office of Peter and a Church in Mission, is a thin one at only 141 pages. But it is thin, too, in the sense that what it communicates is either a repeat of Weigel’s earlier themes or a recantation of ideas — some of which are true but banal and others are misleading and given to caricature. The only real novelty is the degree to which he casts aspersions on the current pope with catty insinuations without sufficient courage to say plainly where he thinks Pope Francis has erred.

Does anyone argue against this claim of Weigel’s when he writes, early in the book: “Jesus Christ and his Gospel are the reason the Church is. And because of that, the proclamation of that Gospel and that Christ must be at the center of what the Catholic Church does.” Yes, of course this is true. Does anyone doubt it?

Weigel almost immediately descends into caricatures of the various approaches to evangelization. He writes, “At this moment in Catholic history, in which some deny that God’s revelation judges history and suggest that the flow of history and our present experience judge the truths of revelation, it is important to remember how robust the Second Vatican Council’s defense of the reality and the truth of divine revelation was.”

Who thinks history stands in judgment of revelation? To frame the contemporary debates within the church this way is not an instance of putting one’s finger on the scale, it is a misframing of the debates.

After a beautiful quote from Vatican II’s Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei Verbum, Weigel writes, “The next pope must understand this and teach it to the entire world Church.” Is there any chance he won’t?

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

CAPE TOWN (SOUTH AFRICA)
Cape Town Etc.

July 5, 2020

South Africa continues to be one of the most dangerous places for women to exist. Having extremely high numbers of gender-based violence and rape cases, women are living in fear every day. Now, a survivor is speaking out in the form of a protest.

Reverend June Major, an Anglican priest from the Cape Town Diocese, has gone on a hunger strike, as she continues to fight for justice for herself and other victims of rape and gender-based violence (GBV). The hunger strike began on July 1.

Major was allegedly raped by a fellow priest in 2002 at Grahamstown Seminary. Despite reporting the rape to the SAPS and to the Church authorities her rapist continues to minister to congregations and justice has not been served, according to a press 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.

VATICAN CITY
Associated Press

July 2, 2020

By Nicole Winfield

Another founder of a 20th century lay Catholic movement has been accused of abusing his power, including sexually and spiritually, with nuns in his care.

A German researcher says she found evidence in newly released Vatican archives that the Holy See investigated the Rev. Josef Kentenich during the 1950s and because of his abuses ordered the German priest exiled from the Schoenstatt Movement.

Church historian Alexandra Von Teuffenbach said she wanted to reveal the truth about Kentenich and “demolish the many proposed reconstructions of alternative truths” since the process to get him beatified is making its way to the Vatican after more than 45 years.

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.

BELFAST(NORTHERN IRELAND)
Belfast Telegraph

July 5, 2020

By Michael McHugh, PA

Judith Gillespie has been appointed independent chairwoman.

A former senior PSNI officer is to lead a Stormont-ordered investigation into clerical child abuse and mother and baby homes.

Judith Gillespie has been appointed independent chairwoman of the group tasked with the work.

Academics from Queen’s University in Belfast and Ulster University have been examining the operation of institutions such as the Magdalene Laundries between 1922 and 1999.

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.

NORTH CAROLINA
News & Record

July 5, 2020

By Michael Hewlett

The attorney for the Children’s Home is asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that a couple acting as house parents sexually abused a Winston-Salem boy in the 1970s and the agency did nothing to stop it.

In court papers filed late last month, the attorney, G. Gray Wilson, says that a state law making it easier for accusers in child sexual abuse cases to file claims in civil court is unconstitutional and denies the Children’s Home due process.

A 59-year-old man filed the lawsuit in Mecklenburg Superior Court in April against the Children’s Home, which is now known as Crossnore School & Children’s Home, and the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, which ran the Children’s Home at the time of the alleged 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.

VERMONT
Brattleboro Reformer

July 5, 2020

By Bob Audette

WESTMINSTER — A group of seven men who were sexually assaulted during the 1980s while at Kurn Hattin Homes for Children want to have their stories heard — and they want an apology.

“No client every comes to us and says this about money,” said Nate Foote, of Andreozzi and Foote in Harrisburg, Penn. In this case, Foote said, they want the school to acknowledge what happened to them at the hands of Mark W. Davis, who pleaded no contest in 1990 to charges of lewd and lascivious behavior with students at the residential school.

“They want the school, through words and actions, to say ‘We are sorry. We brought you here to make your lives better and it turned out the opposite,'” Foote said.

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

IRELAND
Irish Times

July 5, 2020

By Barry Roche

Both Micheál Martin and Leo Varadkar promised to deliver on pledge

Children’s rights campaigner Louise O’Keeffe has called on both Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Leo Varadkar to deliver on promises to compensate children sexually abused while attending schools.

Ms O’Keeffe has called on both men to honour commitments they gave in the Dáil last July that they would re-open an ex-gratia payment scheme for those sexually abused while attending Irish primary and secondary schools pre-1992.

“Both Micheál Martin and Leo Varadkar must honour commitments they made in Dáil Éireann a year ago that they would ensure the victims of child sex abuse in Irish schools were no longer wronged,” Ms O’Keeffe told The Irish Times.

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.

SPRINGFIELD (MA)
Berkshire Eagle

July 4, 2020

By Caroline White

[PHOTO: The Springfield diocese plans to move the gravesite of the late Most Rev. Christopher J. Weldon, after an independent inquiry found cause to believe that Weldon, who oversaw the diocese from 1950 to 1977 and died in 1982, sexually abused an altar boy in Chicopee.]

Upon entering the Gate of Heaven Cemetery, visitors find themselves face-to-face with Jesus.

The religious figure’s nearly human-sized granite figure sits atop a 15-foot stone pillar above a sloping grass landscape, the dominant presence amid hundreds of gravestones in the Springfield cemetery.

Soon, that figure will disappear from its vaunted position at the cemetery, along with the remains of the man who lies below.

The monument was erected to honor the Most Rev. Christopher J. Weldon after his death in 1982. Late last month, a report commissioned by the diocese found that child sex abuse allegations against Weldon to be “unequivocally credible.”

Following the report, the current Springfield bishop, the Most Rev. Mitchell T. Rozanski, ordered the monument to be taken down and Weldon’s remains to be moved and “marked with a simple gravestone.”

Diocese spokesperson Mark Dupont said that given the findings detailed in the report by former Springfield Superior Court Judge Peter A. Velis, it was no longer appropriate for Weldon’s remains to be placed in “a high profile area that gives honor to him.” Velis was hired last July to prepare “an independent and outside” probe, with help from a chief investigator, Dennis O’Connor.

That step came years after the victim first reported his abuse, which occurred in the early 1960s, and after a former church insider claimed the diocese was attempted to cover up the assaults to protect Weldon’s reputation. The church did not list Weldon as “credibly accused” even though the diocese’s internal review board told the man it found his claim believable.

The Velis report confirmed that the diocese mishandled the allegations, leading former Berkshire Superior Court Judge Daniel A. Ford, who now leads a task force on the issue, to conclude that the incidents examined by Velis “were nothing short of disgraceful.”

“Those who have failed to live up to their obligations or to carry out their responsibilities properly have been named, exposed and shamed,” Ford said.

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

AUSTRALIA
The Catholic Weekly

July 5, 2020

By Dr Philippa Martyr

Francis Sullivan’s passion is undoubted. His grasp of the real issues facing the Church isn’t.

Francis Sullivan recently expressed concerns in the US National Catholic Reporter that fallout from the Pell case would derail the Plenary Council.

The Plenary Council has little authority to make changes

I suppose my first concern is that Francis believes the Plenary Council is important enough to make changes to the Church in Australia. Really it has very little authority, and its report has to go to Rome for final ratification. The suggestion that it could be derailed by an unrelated High Court decision seems over-dramatic.

Much more interesting is that it’s currently rumoured that the Plenary Council is costing the Church in Australia millions of dollars.

I’m surprised that Francis hasn’t demanded instead that the Plenary Council’s full financials be published and asked why this largely cosmetic exercise is absorbing money that could be used to compensate clergy abuse survivors.

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.

WYOMING
Casper Star Tribune

July 4, 2020

By Seth Klamann

Joseph Hart became a priest in 1955, and over his 46-year career in Kansas City and Wyoming, he developed a reputation for ingratiating himself with families in his flock, especially brothers.

Hart would walk into the Hunter family’s Kansas City home without ringing the doorbell. They never locked their doors — the whole neighborhood was like that. Hart, who in the late ‘50s was just starting out as a priest, was like family to the Hunters; his photo hung in the living room. Mrs. Hunter worked in the cafeteria of Guardian Angels, Hart’s first parish. Darrel, her son, worked at the church after school and over the summer.

John’s father died when he was young. His brother did housework around the Kansas City rectory where Hart lived in the 1960s, when Hart worked at the attached Catholic school. John remembers all the soda Hart had, so much that John would sneak Pepsi to his friends. His mother had Hart over for dinner, happy to have an adult male presence in the lives of her seven children.

The church gave Martin’s mother a job at a Cheyenne elementary school, one of three jobs she worked after his father abandoned the family. The church gave them food, and Martin and his brother did chores for Hart, who arrived in Wyoming in the mid-1970s to become bishop, the highest-ranking Catholic in the state. As such, he commanded significant authority and respect from the tens of thousands of Catholics in Wyoming.

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

OHIO
Christian Post

July 4, 2020

By Brandon Showalter

Former Ohio Catholic priest Robert McWilliams was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday on several charges of child sexual abuse.

McWilliams, 40, a Strongsville priest and former seminarian at St. Helen’s Catholic Church in Newbury Township, allegedly pretended to be a woman on his social media accounts, including Grinder, to lure male victims into exploitation and has been charged with juvenile sex trafficking, sexual exploitation of children, and transportation of child porn, among other charges, according to a news release from the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

“Posing as a female, McWilliams allegedly enticed the minor male victims to send sexually explicit photographs and videos, sometimes threatening to expose embarrassing information McWilliams already knew about the victims if they did not send such images,” the news release adds.

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
Expressiveinfo.com

July 4, 2020

A priest, Rev. John Anthony Clohosey, accused of raping a woman more than 30 years ago will now stand trial next year according to reports.

Rev. Clohosey was priest at Our Lady Immaculate and St Cuthbert’s RC Church in Crook, County Durham until he was suspended last year when he was accused by a woman of raping her more than 30 years.

The 71-year-old priest is alleged to have sexually attacked the woman in Gateshead in 1986.

He did not appear before Newcastle Crown Court on Friday due to the coronavirus pandemic, but his lawyer indicated he would have pleaded not guilty if he had been at the hearing. His trial will now take place at Newcastle Crown Court on May 17, 2021.

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.

BERLIN (GERMANY)
Newsylist.com

July 5, 2020

The controversial pope brother Georg Ratzinger has died. For 30 years he was head of the Regensburger Domspatzen – and tolerated a system of violence.

There is a photo of Georg Ratzinger that has become almost historically relevant. It shows the later director of the world-famous Regensburger Domspatzen on June 29, 1951 in Freising Cathedral during the priestly ordination with his three years younger brother Joseph, later Pope Benedict XVI.

The two black-haired Bavarian men are festively dressed in baroque-style choir shirts and have stretched out their arms in blessing. The 27-year-old Georg, who survived the war as a Wehrmacht soldier, is beaming. His younger brother was only an anti-aircraft helper, he is concentrated and serious – and it is as if the future of the two Ratzingers is already hinted at in this black and white photo.

While Georg Ratzinger devoted his life to the cheerful muse and aspired to a musical career (in the seminary he was nicknamed “Organ Ratz”), Joseph Ratzinger became something of the deepest child prodigy of theology in Germany. After studying church music at the University of Music in Munich, Georg Ratzinger found his life’s work in 1964: he became “cathedral band master” and thus de facto head of the Regensburger Domspatzen for 30 years, which have a 1,000-year tradition.

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.

ERIE (PA)
GoErie.com

July 5, 2020

By Ed Palattella

Retired Erie bishop still a defendant; all claims now over his tenure as a top official in Catholic Diocese of Buffalo.

A lawsuit in Buffalo against retired Erie Catholic Bishop Donald Trautman no longer includes the Catholic Diocese of Erie.

The lawyers in the case agreed to drop the Catholic Diocese of Erie as a defendant, as the diocese had requested.

The suit, filed at the start of the year, tried to connect the Catholic Diocese of Erie to claims that Trautman covered up clergy sex abuse of a minor when he was a top official in the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo in the 1980s.

The Erie diocese argued that Trautman was working for the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo at the time and that the claims relate only to the Buffalo diocese.

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.

BUFFALO (NY)
Buffalo News

July 5, 2020

By Jay Tokasz

The Boy Scouts of America’s bankruptcy filing in February stopped hundreds of child sexual abuse lawsuits, including more than a dozen in Western New York, from moving forward as the national organization attempts to reach a settlement with victims.

But the bankruptcy doesn’t prevent regional Boy Scouts councils, which are separately incorporated, from being sued. In the past month, the Greater Niagara Frontier Council, which has 7,000 Scouts in Erie and Niagara counties, was named as a defendant in seven Child Victims Act cases filed in Erie County State Supreme Court.

In one of the new lawsuits, Scott Miller of Hamburg accused the council of allowing a Scout leader to repeatedly molest him from 1974 to 1977, starting when was Miller was 11 years old. The lawsuit identified Hal Wright as the leader, although it does not name Wright as a defendant.

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.

JEFFERSON CITY (MO)
Fulton Sun

July 5, 2020

By Joe Gamm

Two men who are on the Diocese of Jefferson City’s list of priests who were credibly accused of clergy abuse have been laicized, or dismissed from being priests.

Robert Duesdieker was ordained in 1980 and Mel Lahr in 1972. The changes came at the conclusion of a canonical process that included an independent internal review of diocese files, consultation of the Diocesan Review Board and an appeal to the Holy See for a formal decision, Bishop W. Shawn McKnight said in a statement.

“These changes are the direct result of the responses to the initial publication of a list of credibly accused clergy in November 2018,” McKnight said. “Because of this transparency, survivors of clerical abuse and their families felt safe to come forward and share their pain, several for the first time in 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.

TEXAS
Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette

July 3, 2020

By Lynn Larowe

A Texarkana pastor was sentenced to five life sentences and 11 20-year terms by a Bowie County jury Thursday for the sexual abuse of three women he molested when they were children.

Presiding 202nd District Judge John Tidwell ordered that Logan Wesley III, 56, serve the terms consecutively for a total of five life sentences plus 220 years. The jury also assessed three $10,000 fines for a total of $30,000.

The three victims — now 38, 34 and 32 — testified that Wesley used his position as pastor of Trinity Temple Church of God In Christ on Washington Street in Texarkana, Ark., to prey on them and to conceal his misdeeds. One of the woman is a close relative of Wesley’s who came to live with him when she was 13. She said Wesley continued to sexually assault her until she was about 20.

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
Catholic News Agency

July 2, 2020

The Schoenstatt Movement has rejected a researcher’s claims that its founder engaged in sexual abuse, saying that any past allegations against him would have already been considered in the Vatican’s review of his proposed beatification.

“We firmly reject the accusation that Joseph Kentenich was guilty of sexual abuse of members of the Institute of the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary,” Juan Pablo Catoggio, International President of the Schoenstatt Work, said in a July 2 statement.

“His behavior toward other persons – especially women – was always marked by a pronounced reverence and esteem, as well as by the principle of physical integrity, which he also impressed upon his communities.”

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.

FRESNO (CA)
Valley Public Radio News

July 3, 2020

By Kathleen Schock

[AUDIO]

KQED’s Central Valley reporter Alexandra Hall spent more than a year investigating an Anglican priest in Fresno who some say is a miracle worker and others say is a sexual predator. The audio documentary that came from her reporting was produced for The California Report Magazine. Valley Edition Host Kathleen Schock spoke with Hall about how she gained the trust of the alleged victims, and the reaction from the congregation now that the report is out.

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
Patheos

July 2, 2020

By Hemant Mehta

In 2013, the Australian government set up the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse to look into the very serious issue. Rabbis were implicated alongside Catholic priests. Secular organizations weren’t immune from wrongdoing.

One of the recommendations from that Commission was the creation of the National Redress Scheme, a formal way to literally pay back victims of child sex abuse for all they had suffered. It’s not a perfect system by any means — could anything be? — but the idea behind it is that victims can fill out paperwork explaining what they went through, officials will calculate what that trauma is worth, and victims will receive a check.

Among the many criticisms is that the NRS pushes a hierarchy of abuse; penetration is deemed more damaging than any other kind of abuse, for example. That’s a discussion for another thread.

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.

TEXAS
Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette

July 4, 2020

By Lynn Larowe

They say sexual assaults spanned years, started when they were children

The child sex abuse trial of a local pastor resume Thursday in Bowie County.

Logan Wesley III is accused of using his position to prey on girls, including a family member.

Wesley reportedly founded the Trinity Temple Church of God in Christ in 1997 in Texarkana, Ark. “Elder Logan Wesley III — pastor” remains on the bottom of a sign affixed above the doors of the church, a modest building on Washington Street.

Three indictments, each related to a different girl, accuse Wesley of 18 felony child sex abuse charges, some of which are punishable by five to 99 years or life in prison.

The three girls, now women in their 30s, testified Monday and Tuesday that they were sexually abused by Wesley for years.

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.

CANADA
Canadian Mennonite

July 3, 2020

By Aaron Epp

Evidence of Wilmer Martin’s misconduct ‘sufficiently compelling and credible,’ leadership finds

Mennonite Church Eastern Canada has terminated Waterloo resident Wilmer Martin’s ministerial credentials, citing ministerial misconduct and ministerial sexual misconduct. (Facebook photo)
Mennonite Church Eastern Canada has terminated a retired pastor’s ministerial credential after investigating him for ministerial misconduct and ministerial sexual misconduct. The regional church made the announcement about Wilmer Martin, 75, of Waterloo, Ont., on June 16.

Martin served pastorates at Tavistock (Ont.) Mennonite Church and Erb Street Mennonite Church in Waterloo from 1968 to 1991 before becoming the president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity Canada from 1991 to 2000. He was then president of TourMagination, a Mennonite-oriented travel company, from 2000 until his retirement in 2016.

The complaints against Martin stem from his tenure at Erb Street Mennonite. According to MC Eastern Canada policy, there is no statute of limitations for ministerial misconduct.

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 Politics

July 3, 2020

By Kathryn Robb

If something doesn’t feel right, it likely isn’t. Kids know this. In the name of justice children raise their voices, often kicking and screaming. In fact, most will complain even when the imbalance is in their favor.

Cognitive scientists report that children have a sharp sense of fairness; the pleas from their internal scales of justice, balancing right and wrong, fair and unfair, are active at an early age. Every parent has heard he thunderous protest “that’s not fair!”

Unless the child is silenced.

As I was for years, every time my abuser slithered out my childhood bedroom in the dark of the night. Even at age 10, my sense of justice knew this was terribly, horribly — wrong. As it is for so many survivors, my fear and shame sucked the oxygen out of the room and swallowed my voice. As the walls closed in on me, the clamp tightened on the secret. Suffocating, that little girl folded inward, again and again, until she became so small that the only sound that could be heard was the silence of shame.

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.

CLEVELAND (OH)
Associated Press

July 2, 2020

An Ohio Roman Catholic priest has been accused in a federal indictment of posing online as a female to persuade boys to send him sexually explicit photos and videos of themselves and threatening to tell their parents if they did not send more images, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Cleveland alleged Thursday.

Robert McWilliams, 40, followed through on his threats and sent some mothers images of their sons, prosecutors alleged. Some boys McWilliams targeted belonged to parishes where he served, prosecutors said.

McWilliams was indicted Wednesday on two counts of sex trafficking of a minor, three counts of sexual exploitation of children, one count of transportation of child pornography, one count of receiving and distributing depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and one count of possession of child pornography.

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

UNITED STATES
Independent (U.K.)

July 4, 2020

By James Crump

US attorney’s office said that Robert D McWilliams knew some of his alleged victims through his work

An Ohio priest has been indicted on child pornography and juvenile sex trafficking charges for allegedly enticing young boys to send explicit images of themselves.

Reverend Robert D McWilliams, from Strongsville, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, was initially arrested in December 2019 for possession of child pornography, but was indicted by a Federal Grand Jury on Thursday on several different charges.

The 40-year-old is now facing two counts of sex trafficking of a minor, three counts of sexual exploitation of children and three counts of pornography offences involving children.

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

IRELAND
The Independent

July 4, 2020

By Allison Bray

In her debut work of non-fiction, Irish Independent journalist Ellen Coyne (29) explores these issues in ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Ellen’

Is it ok to be an à la carte Catholic?

That is the central theme in a new book by a young Irish Catholic journalist who explores her own misgivings about wanting to retain her faith amid darker aspects of the Church that have emerged over the years, including child-sex abuse within clergy and how it was handled by the Church, as well as its controversial stances on abortion and homosexuality.

In her debut work of non-fiction, Irish Independent journalist Ellen Coyne (29) explores these issues in ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Ellen’.

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.

THE KIMBERLEY (AUSTRALIA)
Australian Broadcasting Corporation

July 4, 2020

By Erin Parke

Key points:
– Documents show the Catholic Church was told of sexual misconduct allegations against Broome Bishop Christopher Saunders as early as April 2019
– The Bishop voluntarily stood aside in March this year, with separate investigations by WA Police and the Vatican still ongoing
– The Bishop’s continued presence in the Kimberley has sparked a further complaint to Church authorities

The Catholic Church was told of sexual misconduct allegations against a Western Australian bishop nearly a year before it took action, according to new documents obtained by the ABC.

Bishop Christopher Saunders, who has overseen the vast Diocese of Broome for 25 years, remains voluntarily stood aside amidst an ongoing WA Police investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct.

No charges have been laid and Bishop Saunders has previously denied all accusations of inappropriate behaviour.

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.

BUFFALO (NY)
Buffalo News

July 4, 2020

By Jay Tokasz

Afederal bankruptcy judge is giving the Buffalo Diocese two months to sort out a tangled web of historical insurance coverage and determine how those policies might be affected by Child Victims Act lawsuits against the diocese and parishes, schools and other Catholic entities.

A Chapter 11 filing in February immediately stopped lawsuits in state courts against the diocese from advancing as it goes through a reorganization. That same protection does not apply to parishes, which are separately incorporated and not part of the bankruptcy.

But the diocese in May asked Chief Judge Carl Bucki of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Western District to shield parishes, schools and other entities that also have been named as defendants in Child Victims Act cases.

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.

JAKARTA (INDONESIA)
The Jakarta Post

July 4, 2020

By Hengky Ola Sura

Award winning author, Felix K. Nesi, was detained by the Insana Police in Timor Tengah Utara regency, East Nusa Tenggara, on Friday night after allegedly vandalizing a Catholic parish clergy house.

He admitted to The Jakarta Post on Saturday that he had damaged the property, claiming to have done so because he was angry that the parish had let a priest, whom he accused of “mistreating a woman”, to remain at the church.

Felix, who won a literary award from the Jakarta Arts Council in 2018, said on the phone that he had been released from detention on Saturday. He wrote in a public Facebook post that he had used his motorcycle helmet to damage the windows of the SMK Bitauni vocational school parish clergy house and had thrown chairs.

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 ORLEANS (LA)
NOLA.com

July 3, 2020

By Ramon Antonio Vargas

Another man has come forward and added to claims of child molestation decades ago by janitors at Jesuit High School’s Mid-City campus.

The plaintiff, under a pseudonym, filed a lawsuit Thursday at Civil District Court demanding damages from Jesuit and the religious order that runs the school over abuse that he claims to have suffered at the hands of Gary Sanchez and the late Peter Modica.

The case comes about five months after the school and the order reached financial settlements with two other plaintiffs, one who claimed abuse by Modica and the other who alleged that both Modica and Sanchez molested him.

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 ORLEANS (LA)
WVUE-TV, Channel 8

July 3, 2020

Attorneys for the Archdiocese of New Orleans filed new documents in their bankruptcy proceedings.

They are asking Judge Meredith Grabill for a September 29 bar date which would require anyone seeking compensation for clergy abuse to come forward by that date.

The Archdiocese of New Orleans filed for bankruptcy two months ago in the face of what it described as mounting church abuse litigation.

Attorneys for alleged sex abuse victims are expected to ask that the bar date be set later to allow claimants more time to come forward.

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.

MOSCOW (RUSSIA)
The Telegraph

The court chairman says they have received reports of child abuse at the monastery that need to be investigated

July 3, 2020

By Nataliya Vasilyeva

A religious court in Russia has defrocked a controversial monk who has sabotaged coronavirus lockdown restrictions, with the chairman of the court also saying it had reports of child abuse at his monastery.

Father Sergei Romanov, abbot of the Sredneuralsk monastery outside the city of Yekaterinburg in the Urals mountains, has for years been running what many scholars described a religious cult worshiping the family of Russia’s last czar Nicholas II who were killed by the Bolsheviks in 1918.

As the coronavirus epidemic struck Russia, Father Sergei, previously known for hate speech, publicly cursed those closing down the churches in line with lockdown orders and urged believers to disobey the restrictions….

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.

SOUTH BEND (IN)
The Observer

July 3, 3030

By Natalie Weber and Mary Steurer

Mark Fuller, class of 1977, came forward with his experience of priest abuse in 2002. Notre Dame offered little more than an apology.

[Editor’s note: This story includes descriptions of sexual abuse and violence. A list of sexual assault reporting options and on-campus resources can be found on the Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s and Holy Cross websites.]

The first two times Mark Fuller visited Fr. William Presley, then rector of St. Edward’s Hall, they just talked.

It was 1974, and Fuller vividly remembers sitting in an orange lounge chair in the front of Presley’s rectory while the priest asked him questions about his classes, his family and his personal life. Fuller remembers Presley offering him a soda.

Then, in their third or fourth meeting, Fuller said, things changed. Presley told Fuller to wait while he went into the bedroom. When Presley called him in, he was in bed under the covers. He told Fuller to disrobe.

Fuller said this was the first time Presley raped him.

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.

TRINIDAD (WEST INDIES)
Loop News

July 3, 2020

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Port of Spain says it has noted with grave concern, videos recently published on social media in which two young women made allegations against a monk formerly associated with the Mount Saint Benedict Monastery and St Bede’s Vocational School.

In a statement, it said “the loss of innocence of any child through any form of abuse is a tragedy, a deep and lasting wound for the victim as well as a serious crime.”

The Church said its prayers and support go out to the young women and Mount Saint Benedict community at this time.

It said the allegations raised in the videos are under review by the Trustees of Mount Saint Benedict and the brother in question left the monastic life some years ago and is no longer a member of the community of Mount St Benedict.

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

MISSOURI
SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests)

July 1, 2020

A Catholic priest accused of abuse in the Diocese of Jefferson City has resigned his position following a determination that the allegation was “credible” but not able to be corroborated. We are disturbed that diocesan officials are speaking out of both sides of their mouth in this situation and hope that others who may have knowledge in this case will come forward to police and prosecutors.

There are rarely witnesses or video evidence for sex crimes, so we are not surprised that the allegation against Fr. Mark Porterfield was not corroborated. But the fact that the claim was determined to be “credible” by Catholic officials is enough to demand action and we are glad that Fr. Porterfield is no longer leading a parish.

Victims of sexual abuse have long been disbelieved and marginalized, especially by the institutions they have accused, and we are disappointed that diocesan officials are playing both sides in this situation. Rather than continue to cast doubt on allegations by referring to them as “not corroborated,” Bishop Shawn McKnight should be using every resource at his disposal to encourage other victims and witnesses to come forward and make a report to police.

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

CANADA
CBC News

July 2, 2020

By Jorge Barrera

The B.C. RCMP investigation into First Nations day school abuse allegations against John Furlong, the former 2010 Vancouver Olympics CEO, was tainted by “bias” and “discrimination,” according to a recent filing with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.

The filing by six members of the Lake Babine Nation itemized the failures of the RCMP investigation, ranging from limited questioning of alleged victims, to a failure to follow leads or to obtain additional information through production orders.

“The case demonstrates the inequality that Indigenous communities experience in accessing justice,” said the Complainant’s Statement of Particulars, submitted with the tribunal on Monday.

“It reveals the biased attitudes and systemic discrimination that exists in police investigative methods, and shows how Indigenous victims of abuse suffer adverse impacts, such as being disbelieved and/or dehumanized. Bias in favour of powerful non-Indigenous individuals, even if unconsciously held, results in harmful treatment to Indigenous complainants of abuse.”

All six Lake Babine Nation members attended the Catholic-run Immaculata elementary school when Furlong taught physical education there in 1969. The institution was a day school in the First Nation, about 220 kilometres northwest of Prince George, B.C. The school closed in the 1980s.

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 DELHI (INDIA)
Goa Chronicle

July 3, 2020

[VIDEO]

New Delhi: The Founder & Editor-in-Chief of GoaChronicle.com, Savio Rodrigues in a discussion with Sanjay Dixit on Jaipur Dialogues exposed the evil of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church in India, highlighted corruption cases in Christian institutions and mooted a need for an Indian Church without Vatican interference.

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.

CHARLOTTE (NC)
WFAE TV

July 2, 2020

By Sarah Delia and Marshall Terry

The pastor of Charlotte’s St. Matthew Catholic Church will remain away from ministry following an investigation into a decades-old allegation of sexual abuse.

In a letter to St. Matthew parishioners this week, Bishop Peter Jugis, the head of the Charlotte Diocese, said he accepted the recommendation of the diocese’s independent Lay Review Board that Father Patrick Hoare remain away from active ministry at this time.

Hoare had been placed on administrative leave last December after someone told the diocese they’d been sexually abused by Hoare about 25 years ago in Pennsylvania.

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.

CLEVELAND (OH)
Cleveland.com

July 2, 2020

By John Caniglia, The Plain Dealer

A Catholic priest was indicted Thursday on federal charges involving child pornography and the exploitation of children.

A grand jury charged the Rev. Robert McWilliams, 40, with two counts of sex trafficking of a minor, three counts of sexual exploitation of children and three counts of pornography-related charges involving children.

McWilliams had served at St. Joseph Catholic Church on Pearl Road in Strongsville at the time of his arrest Dec. 5. He is being held without bond.

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

UNITED STATES
Catholic News Agency

July 2, 2020

By Jonah McKeown

In late May, allegations surfaced against contemporary Catholic musician and composer David Haas, which claimed that Haas had subjected multiple adult women to serial spiritual manipulation and sexual misconduct.

A former music and youth minister, who alleges that Haas aggressively kissed and groped her when she was 19, spoke to CNA this week about her experience. And one expert told CNA that the allegations against Haas point to the difficulties of ensuring that laity working in Church contexts are trustworthy, and beyond reproach.

Sidney

Sidney*, a California native, told CNA that she has worked in close proximity to the Church for more than 15 years, primarily in religious education, as a youth minister, and as a music minister.

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
Lancaster County Online

July 3, 2020

By Dan Nephin

A western Pennsylvania man who served at three Lancaster County churches in the 1990s and early 2000s has been charged with repeatedly sexually abusing a teenage girl and exposing himself to two other children where he now lives.

William J. Stonebraker, 50, of Altoona, was charged June 22 in Blair County with two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and 96 counts each of unlawful contact with a minor, aggravated indecent assault, child endangerment and corruption of minors — all felonies. He’s also charged with 96 counts each of indecent exposure and indecent assault, which are misdemeanors.

Stonebraker’s attorney, Thomas M. Dickey, said Thursday that Stonebraker has pleaded not guilty to all charges and they’re awaiting details of the accusations.

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.

TEXAS
TXKToday

July 2, 2020

By Field Walsh

A Texarkana pastor was sentenced Thursday to five life sentences plus 220 years for 16 counts of child sexual abuse.

Logan Wesley III, 56, was found guilty by a jury in Bowie County of five counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and sentenced to life on each count. The jury also found Wesley guilty of nine counts of sexual assault of a child and two counts of indecency with a child by sexual contact and sentenced to the 20-year maximum on each count.

202nd District Judge John Tidwell ordered all of the sentences to run consecutively. The jury also ordered three $10,000 fines for a total of $30,000.

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

UNITED STATES
NewsLagoon

July 2, 2020

Danny Masterson, who is best known for ‘The 70s Show’ has been charged with rape of three women. The allegations against him were filed on Tuesday (June 16) by three women who claimed that the actor had forcibly raped them. The incidents reportedly took place between 2001 and 2003. Masterson was arrested shortly after the charges were made public.

If convicted, he could face up to 45 years in prison, as reported by Yahoo Entertainment. While the news about Masterson becomes nationwide news, many people pointed out how the actor, a Scientologist, was previously accused of the same a couple of years ago but it was gagged by Scientology.

In a shocking article that was published by The Daily Beast in 2019, the media outlet had detailed how the Church of Scientology might be helping Masterson bury the crimes under the rug. The outlet stated that the church had received two letters from one of the victims asking the church to speak up on the matter. However, they had remained mum on the matter.

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 ORLEANS (LA)
NOLA.com

By Ramon Antonio Vargas

July 2, 2020

The Archdiocese of New Orleans asked a federal judge late Wednesday to require anyone with clergy abuse claims against the local church to come forward by Sept. 29, almost certainly setting up the next legal dispute in the church’s two-month-old bankruptcy case.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Grabill did not immediately rule on whether to make Sept. 29 the so-called “bar date,” which is expected to prompt many more remaining claimants to file complaints of abuse and demands for compensation. That date would also stand as the deadline for other entities to claim debts from the church that predate its May 1 filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections, except for government agencies, for whom the church requested a couple of extra months.

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
Sight

July 2, 2020

By CLAIRE GIANGRAVÉ

Cardinal George Pell, the former Vatican treasurer who was recently cleared of historic sex abuse charges in his native country of Australia, spoke about his experience in prison, Pope Francis’ financial reform and the need to avoid corruption in a video released on Tuesday.

“In jail, of course, I was there as a Christian, inspired by the teachings of Christ,” Pell said, adding that his time in prison offered plenty of opportunity to pray every day. “And that I did,” he said.

The cardinal was sentenced to six years in prison by the County Court of Victoria, Australia, in late 2018 for the sexual abuse of minors when he was bishop in Melbourne between 1996 and 1997. Pell had vehemently denied all charges against him and, in April, the highest court in Australia dropped all charges for lack of sufficient proof.

The newly released video is the cardinal’s first public appearance since he was acquitted. In it he said that though prison was “an adventure I would not have chosen,” he had “survived it.”

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

LOUISIANA
The Advocate

July 1, 2020

By Jacqueline DeRobertis

A deceased Catholic priest formerly accused of abuse in Ascension Parish has two new credible allegations added in the latest Baton Rouge Diocese report.

The list now includes more information regarding The Rev. George Gensler, who is accused of abuse in the late 1970s and between 1984 and 1998, said Diocese of Baton Rouge Communications Secretary Dan Borné.

Reports of abuse were received in February 1994 and October 2018, but two new credible allegations were reported days apart in February 2020, he said.

Past abuse was reported at St. Anthony of Padua in Darrow, where Gensler served from 1979 to 1994; he was placed on administrative leave and permanently removed from ministry during his last year at the church.

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.

COLUMBUS (OH)
Columbus Dispatch

July 2, 2020

By Danae King

The Columbus Diocese was one of three in the country that had a priest working with survivors of clergy sexual abuse to take their reports. On July 2, 2020, the diocese announced it had hired a counselor to take the reports.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus has hired a licensed clinical counselor to work with victims of sexual abuse by priests, replacing the priest who has been in the position since 1997.

Laura Lewis, a local counselor, will begin work as the interim Victims’ Assistance Coordinator on July 15, replacing Monsignor Stephan Moloney, the diocese announced Thursday.

The change comes after The Dispatch reported in March 2019 that Moloney was one of three diocesan victims’ assistance coordinators in the country who were also priests. Victim advocates and survivors have said such an arrangement makes it harder for victims to come forward to report abuse, and can even retraumatize them.

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

VATICAN CITY
Religion News Service

July 2, 2020

By Claire Giangravé

It’s been more than a year since Pope Francis issued his historic document, “Vos Est Lux Mundi (You are the light of the world),” and ushered in a new wave of transparency and accountability for abuse cases in the Catholic Church.

But according to Archbishop Charles J. Scicluna, much more still needs to be done.

“We need to empower disclosure” of abuse cases by providing victims with avenues for safe communication, said Scicluna, adjunct secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican, during a webinar for “A Safer Church” on Tuesday (June 30).

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.

NORFOLK (VA)
13NewsNow

July 2, 2020

Daniel Wolfe pleaded guilty to abusing a 15-year-old when he taught at Norfolk Catholic High School in the late 1970s.

A former Catholic school teacher will spend three years behind bars for sexually abusing a student.

A judge sentenced 70-year-old Daniel Wolfe on Thursday to five years in prison, with two suspended.

Wolfe pleaded guilty last year to abusing a 15-year-old when he taught at Norfolk Catholic High School.

The abuse happened in the late 1970s, and Wolfe hasn’t taught at the school since the 1980s.

The Catholic Diocese of Richmond maintains an updated list of clergy who have served there and have also had a proven allegation of sexual abuse involving a minor made against them.

Abuse allegations should be reported directly to local law enforcement, including Child Protective Services (CPS) at 1-800-552-7096 and by calling the Attorney General’s Clergy Abuse Hotline at 1-833-454-9064.

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
The Tablet

July 2, 2020

By Madoc Cairns

The founder of the Schoenstatt community, Fr Josef Kentenich, engaged in manipulative and abusive behaviour during his time leading the group, according to a German historian. The allegations against Kentenich, uncovered within the Vatican archives, include sexual abuse.

Alexandra von Teuffenbach, a theologian and church historian living in Germany, has claimed that recently opened sections of the Vatican archives include documents that portray Fr Kentenich as abusing his power within the community he founded. According to von Teuffenbach, after reports of abuse within the community were received by the Vatican in the early 1950s, an official visitation ensued. As a consequence, Kentenich was exiled to the United States for nearly 15 years, only returning to Germany in 1965, three years before his death.

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.

ALLENTOWN (PA)
WFMZ-TV

July 2, 2020

A man is suing the Diocese of Allentown and a Hellertown school and church over allegations that he was sexually assaulted by his teacher several decades ago.

Mark Beaky, who now lives in York, says he was 13 when Lawrence Haftle, his teacher at St. Theresa of the Child of Jesus Catholic School, abused him. Beaky attended the school from 1971-1975, and says the abuse occurred in 1974, when Haftle was his homeroom teacher.

It started with “off-campus car rides” during lunch, in which Haftle, who died in 2010, would offer Beaky marijuana, according to the lawsuit filed in Lehigh County court.

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.

BERLIN (GERMANY)
Associated Press

July 2, 2020

A funeral is to be held in Germany next week for the Rev. Georg Ratzinger, the older brother of Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI who died Wednesday at the age of 96.

The Diocese of Regensburg said Thursday that Ratzinger will be laid to rest in the Bavarian city’s Catholic cemetery Wednesday afternoon following a service led by Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer.

The acclaimed boys’ choir Ratzinger headed for several decades will stage a farewell concert Sunday. The public is invited to attend prayers in Regensburg Cathedral on Monday evening and to sign a book of condolences Tuesday.

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
Catholic News Service via National Catholic Reporter

July 2, 2020

by Junno Arocho Esteves

Documents uncovered from the recently opened archives of the pontificate of Pope Pius XII revealed allegations of sexual abuse and abuse of power against the founder of the Schonstatt movement, Fr. Joseph Kentenich.

Reports of the apostolic visitation made in the early 1950s written by Dutch Jesuit Father Sebastiaan Tromp were made known by German scholar Alexandra von Teuffenbach July 2 after she wrote a letter regarding her discovery to German newspaper Die Tagespost and Italian journalist Sandro Magister.

Von Teuffenbach, a former professor of church history at Rome’s Pontifical Regina Apostolorum University, said the testimonies, letters and conversations Tromp had with members of the Schonstatt Sisters of Mary, as well as Kentenich, revealed “a situation of complete subjugation of the nuns, concealed in a certain way by a sort of family structure applied to the work.”

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

UNITED STATES
Catholic News Service voa CatholicPhilly.com

July 2, 2020

By Deborah Gyapong

“Clerical Sexual Misconduct: An Interdisciplinary Analysis,” edited by Jane F. Adolphe and Ronald J. Rychlak. Cluny Media (Providence, Rhode Island, 2020). 480 pp., $29.95.

Two years ago, the world learned former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick faced credible accusations of sexually abusing underage boys.

The Diocese of Metuchen and the Archdiocese of Newark in New Jersey revealed secret settlements had been made in 2005 and 2007 with former seminarians that McCarrick had preyed upon while he was the bishop in those dioceses. Somehow, despite revelations that several individuals had made internal complaints about McCarrick as early as the 1990s, he rose to become archbishop of Washington and a cardinal.

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.

CHARLOTTE (NC)
Diocese of Charlotte

July 1, 2020

Dear St. Matthew parishioners,

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I am writing to let you know I have accepted the report and recommendation of the Diocese of Charlotte’s independent Lay Review Board that Father Patrick Hoare remain out of active ministry at this time. Father John Allen will continue as administrator of St. Matthew Parish.

As I shared with you previously, the diocese placed Father Hoare on administrative leave Dec. 9, 2019, after receiving an allegation against him of child sexual abuse that was said to have occurred in Pennsylvania more than 25 years ago, before Father Hoare entered ministry.

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.

BATON ROUGE (LA)
WAFB-TV

July 1, 2020

By Nick Gremillion

The Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge has added another name to its list of clergy members credibly accused of abuse.

The additions come one year after the diocese released the list.

Fr. George Gensler, has been added to the list of credibly accused of abuse, bringing the total number of accused clergy members to 45.

Gensler is accused of abuse during the late 1970s and from 1984 to 1998. The diocese says it received reports of abuse allegedly committed by Gensler in 1994, 2018, and 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.

PATERSON (NJ)
NorthJersey.com

July 1, 2020

By Abbott Koloff and Deena Yellin

[VIDEO]

Bishop Kevin Sweeney emphasized a strong connection to the immigrant community and the importance of his family as he took over Wednesday as the leader of the Paterson Diocese in a ceremony held before a relatively small group of people amid the coronavirus pandemic.

His installation and ordination as bishop took place at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson three months after his promotion was announced, postponed because of the spread of COVID-19. About 100 people attended the invitation-only event, most wearing masks and sitting far apart to practice social distancing.

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.

CHARLOTTE (NC)
The Charlotte Observer via WBTV

July 1, 2020

By Joe Marusak

The pastor of Charlotte’s St. Matthew Catholic Church, one of the nation’s largest parishes, will remain out of active ministry after decades-old allegations of sexual abuse of a minor surfaced last year, Bishop Peter Jugis said Wednesday.

In a letter to St. Matthew parishioners, Jugis said he accepted the report and recommendation of the diocese’s independent Lay Review Board that Father Patrick Hoare “remain out of active ministry at this time.”

Father John Allen will continue as administrator of St. Matthew Parish, Jugis said.

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

NEW ORLEANS (LA)
WDSU-TV [includes video]

July 1, 2020

The death of former Deacon George Brignac halted the only ongoing criminal case involving a local member of the Catholic clergy. The 85-year-old was awaiting trial on a rape charge when he died Monday.

He was one of 15 living priests and deacons the Archdiocese of New Orleans has identified since November 2018 as being credibly accused of sexual abuse. So far, Brignac is the only one to face a criminal accusation, a first-degree rape charge dating back to his time at Our Lady of the Rosary in New Orleans in the 1970s. He taught math at the church school and was in charge of its altar boys at the time.

No criminal charges have been brought against the other living clergy, but their accusers fear the clock is ticking. Most are in their 70s and 80s.

“These men are aging, and we don’t want them to age out of being punished for sex crimes … against children,” said Kevin Bourgeois, with the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

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

UNITED STATES
Inside the Games

July 1, 2020

By Neil Shefferd

An open letter, released on behalf of six victims, has called on USA Swimming to “dismantle” a culture of sexual abuse within the organisation.

The letter, delivered to USA Swimming chief executive Tim Hinchey yesterday, has called on the organisation to take action to what it describes as an “epidemic” of sexual abuse within the governing body.

The letter, written on behalf of six victims by their attorney Robert Allard, includes the names of eight individuals, who the victims say should be immediately removed from USA Swimming.

An extract from the letter reads: “Having been deeply involved in the handling of sex abuse claims against USA Swimming for more than a decade, it is clear to us that there remains a deeply embedded culture within your organisation which condones the criminal sexual behaviour of coaches towards its underage athletes.

“This culture is similar to that of the Catholic Church, where a long-standing unofficial code enabled rampant sexual abuse by punishing those who report and rewarding those who remain silent. This must end, and it must end now.”

Last month six women filed lawsuits alleging that USA Swimming failed to protect them from sexual abuse from coaches Mitch Ivey, Everett Uchiyama and Andy King.

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.

EAST ST. LOUIS (IL)
RiverBender.com

July 1, 2020

EAST ST. LOUIS – The U.S. District Court – Southern District of Illinois – on Wednesday announced a federal criminal complaint was filed late on Friday, June 19, 2020, against a Madison County pastor, Steven P. Tibbetts, 61, for one count of knowingly distributing child pornography in December 2019. At the time the complaint was filed, Tibbetts was employed as the head pastor at Resurrection Lutheran Church in Godfrey.

Tibbets’ attorney, Bill Lucco, told prosecutors this afternoon that on account of the charge pending against him, Tibbetts has been “released of all duties, pastoral or otherwise, at Resurrection Lutheran.”

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
The Catholic Universe

July 1, 2020

The Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference has hit back at claims that a new national safeguarding office may be a step backward from the work of Catholic Professional Standards Ltd. over the past three years.

Catholic Professional Standards Ltd. was established by the bishops in response to the findings of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Abuse to conduct audits of Church entities’ compliance with child safe standards and to deliver safeguarding training.

It was set up as a not-for-profit company operating independently of the Church hierarchy and runs at a cost of around $1.8 million (approx. £1.4 million) a year. It is expected to be replaced early in 2021 by a national approach to streamline and co-ordinate the Church’s work to protect children and vulnerable adults.

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.

MALAYSIA
The Herald – Malaysia Online

July 1, 2020

By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp

The International Union of Superiors General unveils two initiatives during a webinar on Tuesday on Victimology and the Relational Safety Model

The International Union of Superiors General hosted the third in a four-part Safeguarding webinar on Tuesday. Guest speaker Dr Gabriel Dy-Liacco treated the topic on Victomology and the Relational Safety Model.

Sr Pat Murray, Executive Secretary for the International Union of Superiors General (UISG) announced two initiatives prior to the webinar. She said that on 22 June the first meeting took place of the Joint Commission for Care of the UISG and its male counterpart, the Union of Superiors General (USG) . The Commission is comprised of five representatives from each organization. This joint commission, Sr Pat said, “will lead our efforts into the future to work with Congregations and others on the protection of minors and vulnerable adults.”

But that was not all. There are “two other developments”, Sr Pat continued. The UISG has established two offices: the Office for Care and Protection and Catholic Care for Children International. “Together”, Sr Pat explained, “they form a world-wide initiative to join with those who are focusing on moving children from institutional-based care to family-based care”.

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
The Australian

July 2, 2020

By Greg Brown

The Jehovah’s Witnesses is openly defying the child sex abuse royal commission, refusing to implement its recommendations because they go against the religion’s “Bible-based beliefs” despite allegations that 1800 children had been abused since 1950.

The secretive religion of nearly 70,000 members is one of six institutions that were publicly shamed and stripped of taxpayer funding by Social Services Minister Anne Ruston who condemned the groups on Wednesday for failing to uphold their “moral obligation” to society by signing-up to the redress scheme.

She warned the refusal of the six institutions, including the Boys’ Brigade NSW, to participate was blocking the compensation claims of 55 abuse survivors.

The Australian can reveal the Jehovah’s Witnesses has failed to reform its structures in line with the directions issued by the royal commission in addition to its rejection of demands it sign-up to the government’s scheme aimed at compensating victims.

The decision means those with sex abuse allegations within the religion will still need to have their stories corroborated by at least two witnesses before church elders consider whether an alleged offender should be sanctioned by the organisation.

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.

TEXAS
Texarkana Gazette

July 1, 2020

By Lynn LaRowe

Three women in their 30s testified Monday and Tuesday that they were sexually abused by a Texarkana pastor when they were children.

NEW BOSTON, Texas — Three women in their 30s testified Monday and Tuesday that they were sexually abused by a Texarkana pastor when they were children.

One of the women, now 38, testified Monday that Logan Wesley III, 56, is a close relative with whom she came to live at age 13. She claims Wesley sexually abused her for years, beat her when she confronted him as a teen and continued in his sexual assaults of her until she was 20, under questioning by Assistant District Attorney Lauren Richards.

A recording of a phone conversation last year between the woman and Wesley was played for the jury Monday. In the recording, Wesley, when asked by the woman if he knew how many times he assaulted her, replied “one time was too many,” and expressing that he could receive “life in prison” should the allegations reach law enforcement.

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

NEW YORK (NY)
The City

July 1, 2020

By Virginia Breen

Alleged victims of abuse decades ago have filed a flood of lawsuits — 95 in the last month alone — against the Archdiocese of New York amid confusion over the deadline for the look-back window provision of the Child Victims Act.

“We have dozens more in the works,” said attorney Jeffrey Anderson, who recently filed 59 cases against the Archdiocese, which serves 2.8 million Catholics in Manhattan, The Bronx, Staten Island and seven counties farther upstate. “The numbers demonstrate the magnitude of the problem never addressed in the archdiocese. Well, the courthouse doors are now open. It’s time for a reckoning.”

“We filed 100 cases against the Catholic Church across the state of New York in the last 60 days,” said attorney James Marsh.

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.

ALLENTOWN (PA)
Morning Call

July 2, 2020

By Laurie Mason Schroeder

A York County man who claims he was sexually assaulted by a Hellertown Catholic school teacher in the 1970s is suing the Allentown Diocese and others in the latest of a trickle of new lawsuits based on a potential legal loophole around the statute of limitations.

Mark Beaky, 59, says he was 13 when Lawrence Haftle, then a teacher at St. Theresa of The Child of Jesus Catholic School in Hellertown, sexually assaulted him.

Beaky claims that Haftle, who died in 2010, also gave him drugs and alcohol when he was a teen.

Named along the with diocese in the suit are the school and St. Theresa of The Child of Jesus Church in Hellertown. Beaky is demanding a jury trial and unspecified monetary damages.

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.

SPRINGFIELD (MA)
MassLive.com

July 2, 2020

The claim by a Berkshire County man that he had been repeatedly raped and molested as altar boy by one of the most revered figures in the history of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield presented the Most Rev. Mitchell T. Rozanski with a most unenviable task.

Rozanski did not turn away. Instead, he turned to a respected retired Superior Court judge, Peter A. Velis, who last week delivered a report bearing uncomfortable news for Rozanski and the entire diocese of Western Massachusetts, from the ranks of its clergy to its devoted parishioners. Rozanski asked for the truth, and he got it.

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.

GREENSBURG (PA)
The Tribune-Review

July 1, 2020

By Tony LaRussa

The Diocese of Greensburg and Bishop Edward Malesic are being sued by a man who claims he was sexually abused by a priest who has since died.

The lawsuit, filed June 22, claims the Rev. Joseph L. Sredzinski began abusing the victim in 1991 when he was 11 years old and continued until the victim was 17.

Sredzinski served at the former St. Joseph Church in Everson, Fayette County, from 1989 to 1999. He died in 2015.

A diocese spokesman declined to comment because he said officials have not yet been served with the lawsuit.

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.

STEUBENVILLE (OH)
The Times Leader

July 1, 2020

Henry Christopher Foxhoven, the Catholic priest who admitted impregnating a 17-year-old altar girl, has been defrocked.

Foxhoven, 46, is serving 12 years in jail after pleading guilty in Athens County, Ohio in November 2018 to three counts of sexual battery.

In March, Pope Francis decreed that Foxhoven be dismissed from the clerical state, or laicized. The Catholic World Report says a priest dismissed from the clerical state can’t celebrate Mass, hear confessions or administer the sacraments, among other things.

The pope’s decision was communicated to Diocese of Steubenville Bishop Jeffery Monforton on June 3, and to Foxhoven on June 19.

“We must remain vigilant in assisting victims of sexual abuse,” Monforton said. “We take every accusation very seriously and we will continue to do so.”

Monforton had revoked Foxhoven’s ministerial faculties and suspended him from priestly ministry on Oct. 27, 2018, when he learned Foxhoven had admitted to having sexual contact with a minor. At the same time, diocesan attorney Tom Wilson filed a report with the Athens County Sheriff’s Department, where Foxhoven said the abuse had occurred and the diocese “fully cooperated with authorities in their investigation,” a news release issued by the diocese Friday noted.

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.

BERGEN (NJ)
Daily Voice

July 1, 2020

By Jerry DeMarco

The pastor of Cliffside Park’s Church of the Epiphany has resigned amid allegations that he abused a minor before he was ordained.

The Rev. Bruce Harger, 66, “has not been convicted of any civil or canonical crime” and has denied any wrongdoing, a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Newark said.

He decided “after thorough and careful consideration” to step down until the matter is resolved, however, “out of concern for the people of the parish and for the benefit of the church,” the spokeswoman, Maria Margiotta, said in a statement.

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

GERMANY
Press Association

July 1, 2020

Father Georg Ratzinger, the older brother of Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, who earned renown in his own right as a director of an acclaimed German boys’ choir, has died at 96.

The Regensburg diocese in Bavaria, where Fr Ratzinger lived, said in a statement on his website that he died on Tuesday.

His death came just over a week after Benedict made a four-day visit to Regensburg to be with his ailing brother.

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.

ST. MARTIN (MO)
KMIZ

July 1, 2020

By Matt Ragsdale

The Diocese of Jefferson City said a St. Martin Parish priest in St. Marins resigned after being placed on leave last year.

Diocese spokeswoman Helen Osman said in an email the priest, Mark Porterfield, resigned on Tuesday.

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.

BERLIN
Associated Press

July 1, 2020

By David Rising

The Rev. Georg Ratzinger, the older brother of Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, who earned renown in his own right as a director of an acclaimed German boys’ choir, has died at 96.

The Regensburg diocese in Bavaria, where Ratzinger lived, said in a statement on his website that he died Tuesday. His death came just over a week after Benedict made a four-day visit to Regensburg to be with his ailing brother.

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
Catholic News Service

July 1, 2020

Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, a musician and retired Pope Benedict XVI’s elder brother, died July 1 at the age of 96.

According to Vatican News, Msgr. Ratzinger died in Regensburg, Germany, where he had been hospitalized. Pope Benedict, 93, flew to Regensburg June 18 to be with his ailing brother.

When the retired pope arrived in Germany, the Diocese of Regensburg issued a statement asking the public to respect his privacy and that of his brother.

“It may be the last time that the two brothers, Georg and Joseph Ratzinger, see each other in this world,” the diocesan statement said.

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

ST. LOUIS (MO)
SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests)

June 30, 2020

A new lawsuit has been filed against the Catholic Diocese of Greensburg. We applaud this brave survivor for coming forward and hope that this news will encourage others who may have been hurt in Pennsylvania to come forward and find help and healing.

The lawsuit alleges that Fr. Joseph Sredzinski abused a child for six years starting when the boy was 11 years old. Fr. Sredzinski was first identified as an abuser in the 2018 Pennsylvania Grand Jury report where multiple incidents and allegations were recorded. Our hearts ache for his victims, especially since it seems clear that Catholic officials had knowledge about Fr. Sredzinski’s behavior and chose not to take any action. Their apparently deliberate inaction allowed other children to come to harm.

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
CNA

July 1, 2020

Pope Francis is praying for a group of lay people who appealed to him to crack down on clerical abuse in Poland, the Vatican said Tuesday.

More than 600 people took out a full-page advertisement in the Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica on Monday, June 29, urging the pope to intervene in the growing abuse crisis in the country.

Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, told journalists June 30: “The Holy Father is informed of the appeal. He is praying for those who sent it. The entire Church must do everything possible so that the canonical norms are applied, cases of abuse are brought to light and those guilty of these serious crimes are punished.”

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.

ROME (ITALY)
Crux

July 1, 2020

By Elise Ann Allen

A leading expert says that the Catholic Church still has a long way to go in acknowledging and being aware of sexual abuse, pointing out that the pope’s environmental encyclical Laudato Si’ is often more visible in the Church than safeguarding.

Speaking during a June 30 webinar session on “Victimology and the relational safety model,” Dr. Gabriel Dy-Liacco noted that the Catholic Church’s response to abuse complaints has changed over time – from sending priests to treatment centers only to recycle them back into ministry somewhere else, to enforcing administrative leave when a complaint comes in, to a stricter adherence to restrictions on ministry when victims made allegations.

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.

FRANCE
Catholic News Service via Crux

July 1, 2020

By Jonathan Luxmoore

Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, who retired from the Archdiocese of Lyon, has left his see to serve as a convent chaplain and envoy for the pope.

In a radio interview, he thanked Catholics for helping the church survive his conviction and acquittal on charges he ignored sexual abuse by a local priest.

“I’m contented and happy to be embarking on something new and joyful at this return to calm after the tempest,” Barbarin told the Lyon-based Radio Chretienne Francophone.

“As an archbishop, I had an incredible amount of administration, official business and financial affairs to deal with, as well as national and international meetings. But my true vocation is as a priest, and I’m now able to rebuild the foundations of my priestly life.”

On July 1, the cardinal was to take up residence with the Little Sisters of the Poor at Saint-Pern, in northwestern France, after celebrating a farewell Mass in Lyon’s St. John Baptist Cathedral.

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.

OGDENSBURG (NY)
North County Public Radio

July 1, 2020

Victims of child sexual abuse have filed 20 more claims against Catholic priests in the Diocese of Ogdensburg, which covers the North Country. The suits were filed under New York’s Child Victims Act by two law firms on behalf of “numerous” people.

They name seven priests publicly for the first time, including clerics who served in Malone, Schroon Lake, Parishville, Potsdam, Dannemora, Lowville, Massena, and Crown Point. They also name three other priests who had been the subjects of previous lawsuits.

The alleged perpetrators worked during various periods between 1961 and 1989.

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.

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Pennsylvania Record

July 1, 2020

By Nicholas Malfitano

An Arizona man pursuing legal action against the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of a priest when he was a boy growing up in Pennsylvania, has had his case transferred to a federal court here.

U.S. District Court Judge Freda L. Wolfson effectuated the transfer to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on June 22.

John Doe first filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey on Dec. 2, 2019 versus the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

The plaintiff, now 52, and his siblings grew up attending Catholic schools in Bucks County, within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. He met Brzyski in 1977, who then became a “fixture” in his family’s home, routinely celebrating Mass there with the plaintiff and family.

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.

ST. LOUIS (MO)
SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests)

June 30, 2020

Five Catholic archdioceses around the country have had a recent change in leadership with the installation of a new archbishop.

New Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski Has the Opportunity to Make an Immediate Impact
Five Catholic archdioceses around the country have had a recent change in leadership with the installation of a new archbishop, including Mitchell Rozanski in St. Louis.

With this promotion, Archbishop Rozanski now has more responsibility for the safety of children and the vulnerable than ever. It is crucial that within his first few official weeks in this new post that he takes tangible steps to prevent abuse.

First, the new archbishop should read every file of every person accused of abuse in his archdiocese and ensure sure that each case is being or was handled properly. He should also turn over every single one of those files to local police and prosecutors to let properly trained experts in law enforcement determine if there are any crimes that can be charged.

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.

OGDENSBURG (NY)
Watertown Times

June 30, 2020

The Diocese of Ogdensburg has been named in 20 additional child sexual abuse complaints under the New York Child Victims Act.

The law firms of Jeff Anderson & Associates and LaFave Wein & Frament announced the lawsuits Tuesday.

“I cannot comment on specific allegations or pending litigation. The Diocese of Ogdensburg takes all allegations of abuse seriously, and these new allegations will be investigated,” Darcy Fargo, director of communications for the Diocese, said in an email. “We hope and pray that victims of abuse are able to find healing and reconciliation, and that justice is served in these cases.”

A total of seven clergymen have been publicly identified for the first time, the law firm claims.

They include:

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.

ST. LOUIS (MO)
St. Louis Post Dispatch

June 25, 2020

By Nassim Benchaabane

A St. Louis-based Catholic order that staffs Catholic high schools across the country on Wednesday named former members who church officials say sexually abused children. The alleged abusers include 18 men who worked at several area schools.

The disclosure by the Marianist Province of the United States follows a review of more than 2,500 personnel files, including allegations dating as far back as 1950, Provincial Fr. Oscar Vasquez said.

The order also named a deceased Marianist, Harold J. Lootens, who it said worked at St. Louis schools and was credibly accused of charges relating to child pornography.

“Today, in a spirit of sorrow and accountability, and with a sincere desire for reconciliation and healing, we are confronting the darkness of these sins,” Vasquez said in a lengthy written statement published with the names of accused clergy on the order’s 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.

[Victims of sexual abuse by the Church reject the appointment of a new Bishop of San Felipe]

VALPARAÍSO (CHILE)
BioBioChile.cl

June 24, 2020

By Nicolás Díaz and Simón Valdebenito

El nombramiento del presbítero Gonzalo Bravo, como obispo de la Diócesis de San Felipe, que se concretó tras el nombramiento del Papa Francisco a fines de mayo, generó rechazo y molestia entre los denunciantes de abusos sexuales por parte de la Iglesia Católica de Valparaíso.

[GOOGLE TRANSLATION: The appointment of presbyter Gonzalo Bravo, as bishop of the Diocese of San Felipe, which took shape after the appointment of Pope Francis in late May, generated rejection and annoyance among those who reported sexual abuse by the Catholic Church of Valparaíso.]

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.

[Laity send letter to “key” priest of the Pope about appointment of Bravo as Bishop of San Felipe]

VALPARAÍSO (CHILE)
BioBioChile.cl

June 30, 2020

By Manuel Stuardo and Nicole Martínez

En una carta dirigida al sacerdote Jordi Bertomeu, oficial de la Congregación para la Doctrina de la Fe, laicos y víctimas de abuso sexual de Valparaíso manifestaron preocupación y dolor por el nombramiento de Gonzalo Bravo como obispo de San Felipe.

“Venimos con toda sinceridad -pero no sin miedo-, a expresarle nuestra profunda preocupación y dolor por el nombramiento del presbítero de la Iglesia de Valparaíso, Gonzalo Bravo, como obispo para la Iglesia de San Felipe”, dice la misiva titulada “Por las heridas de nuestra iglesia de Valparaíso”, en la que enfatizaron las acusaciones de encubrimiento de abusos sexuales.

[GOOGLE TRANSLATION: In a letter addressed to the priest Jordi Bertomeu, official of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, laity and victims of sexual abuse in Valparaíso expressed concern and pain over the appointment of Gonzalo Bravo as Bishop of San Felipe.

“We come with all sincerity -but not without fear-, to express our deep concern and pain for the appointment of the priest of the Church of Valparaíso, Gonzalo Bravo, as bishop for the Church of San Felipe”, says the letter entitled “For the wounds of our church in Valparaíso ” , in which they emphasized the accusations of covering up sexual abuse.]

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

CONCORD (NH)
Associated Press

June 29, 2020

A bill prohibiting sexual contact between New Hampshire teachers and students regardless of a student’s age is back on track after a rocky path toward passage.

Lawmakers proposed multiple bills in response to the arrest last year of Concord High School teacher Primo “Howie” Leung, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of sexually assaulting a student off school property in Massachusetts in 2015 and 2016. In a separate incident, students reported seeing him kiss a different student in Concord in 2018, but school officials did not notify police because state law allows teenagers 16 and older to consent to such contact if they are not being coerced.

While there was bipartisan support for closing that loophole, differences emerged over the scope of the legislation.

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.

ST. LOUIS (MO)
SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests)

June 20, 2020

Finally, 18 years after US Catholic officials began posting the names of priests accused of abuse on church websites, the Marianist Order has released a list of 46 clerics and brothers found to have sexually abused a minor. Parents, police, parishioners, prosecutors and the public should look closely at this list and demand answers from the provincial as to why it took so long for it to be published.

Fr. Oscar Vasquez, Provincial of the Marianist Order, must explain this irresponsible delay. We also want Fr. Vasquez to take two further steps immediately:

First, the provincial should include the photos and whereabouts of every accused priest and brother, as well as the dates for each of his assignments. Additionally, the list should include information about when the Marianists were first informed of the allegations and what actions were taken in response.

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.

MONTGOMERY (AL)
WSFA

June 30, 2020

A former Prattville church employee charged with sex abuse has been sentenced.

According to court documents, John Edgar Harris was convicted of second-degree assault. Harris, previously an employee at Glynwood Baptist Church, was indicted on first-degree sexual abuse, facilitating the travel of a child for an unlawful sex act, and enticing a child for immoral purposes.

The court dropped two of the charges and downgraded the sex abuse charge to second-degree assault after Harris pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to 13 months in the Autauga Metro Jail.

Harris, who was also fined $1,000, was given credit for time served.

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