ABUSE TRACKER

MAINZ (GERMANY)
Catholic News Service

March 6, 2020

The German bishops, responding to criticism from survivors of clergy sexual abuse, will begin paying more compensation, reported the German Catholic news agency, KNA.

Bishop Stephan Ackermann of Trier said the Catholic Church in Germany will orient itself to compensation tables and the corresponding court rulings applied in civil law cases.

Those payments currently range between 5,000 euros ($5,650) and 50,000 euros per case. The bishop said the church will always pay sums “at the higher end of the margin of discretion.”

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.

MELBOURNE (AUSTRALIA)
Reuters

March 5, 2020

By Sonali Paul

Australia’s highest court will hear a final bid on March 11 by former Vatican treasurer George Pell to overturn his conviction for sexually assaulting two teenaged choir boys in the 1990s when he was archbishop of Melbourne.

Pell, 78, is in jail serving a six-year sentence which began a year ago after he was convicted by a jury on one charge of sexual penetration of a child under 16 and four charges of an indecent act with a child under 16.

The highest ranked Catholic worldwide to be jailed for child sex offences is appealing to the High Court of Australia after Victoria’s Court of Appeal upheld his conviction last August by a 2-1 majority.

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.

RAPID CITY (SD)
KOTA-TV

March 5, 2020

By Jack Caudill/Caroline Pettey

The jury in the trial of a former Rapid City Catholic priest hears an interview with police where he admits to stealing from the church collection.

41-year old Marcin Garbacz is facing a total of 65 federal charges including wire fraud, money laundering , transportation of stolen money and filing a false tax return.

In the interview from June 2018, Rapid City Police Sergeant Michael Shine asked Garbacz if it was him caught on surveillance video taking the collection bags at St. Therese Church in Rapid City.

He said it was and admitted to taking more than $200.

In that interview, Garbacz also admitted to four other thefts at the church, saying he took between $100 and $120 each time.

He said he took the tamper proof bags into the confessional at the church, took some of the money and then replaced the bags with new ones.

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.

MEXICO CITY (MEXICO)
Associated Press

March 5, 2020

By MARÍA VERZA

The Roman Catholic Church began investigating four Mexican bishops last May for allegedly covering up cases of pederasty, the Vatican’s representative in Mexico said.

Nuncio Franco Coppola said the inquiries were part of measures put in place recently to end “the culture of silence and fear” surrounding sexual abuse in the church.

Priests abusing minors in Mexico was a long-running problem, but until Pope Francis laid out new guidance last spring it wasn’t clear how to handle the issue of the cover-ups, which proved more complicated than looking into the actual cases of abuse, Coppola said in an interview Wednesday.

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.

YOUNGSTOWN (OH)
WKBN-TV

March 5, 2020

The Diocese of Youngstown added two names to its list of priests that were “credibly accused” of sexual abuse of a minor.

The Diocese added Reverend William Hohman and Reverend Daniel Cipar to that list.

Rev. Hohman was ordained in 1938 and came to Youngstown in 1943.

He served at St. Stephen Parish in Niles, St. Brendan Parish in Youngstown, St. George Parish in Lisbon, St. Joseph Parish in Alliance, St. Ann Parish in East Liverpool and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Aurora.

Rev. Hohman died in 1988.

Rev. Cipar was ordained in 1961 and came to the Diocese of Youngstown as a missionary in 1993.

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.

FARGO (ND)
Valley News Live (KVLY)

March 4, 2020

By Joshua Peguero

A former Fargo priest says he is not remorseful for sexual assault incidents that happened dozens of years ago.

New documents revealed his name, Martin Cullen, as well as 52 other North Dakota Catholic priests who were moved to other churches after being accused of sexually abusing minors.

Three lawyers held a press conference in Fargo on Thursday stating they are making it their business to change state laws for victims of 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.

UNITED STATES
GetReligion

February 29, 2020

By Richard Ostling

THE QUESTION:

Are U.S. Protestant congregations facing a dangerous plunge in income?

THE GUY’S ANSWER:

Note the subtitle of this recent book release: “The Coming Revolution in Church Economics: Why Tithes and Offerings Are No Longer Enough and What You Can Do About It” (published by Baker). Will many churchgoers no longer be able to keep the doors of their churches open? How bad will it get?

Authors Mark DeYmaz and Harry Li are evangelicals who lead the Mosaix Global Network based in Little Rock, Ark., which promotes and aids multi-ethnic churches. In addition to the book, they discussed their scenario and solutions in an article for www.christianitytoday.com. Their analysis pertains to Protestant congregations, so this Q & A article will do the same.

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
GetReligion (blog)

February 23, 2020

By Julia Duin

When it comes to fights, the Southern Baptists don’t mess around. Whereas other denominations and religious bodies (Methodists, Episcopalians) at least try to keep things looking civil on the surface, not so America’s largest non-Catholic flock.

When these Baptists want a street brawl, the rest of us need to clear the decks. And what’s interesting in this newest set of battle lines is how women are getting involved and helping redefine this battle as something bigger than theological jousting. It’s even more than sexual abuse and #ChurchToo.

It’s about whether women will ever be taken seriously in the SBC when problems first arise, not when things have gotten so bad, the police are being called in.

The more recent unrest bubbled to the surface about a week ago. Outside of the denominational press, Religion News Service has been the main outlet covering the fracas. This story gives some background.

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.

LEICESTER (UNITED KINGDOM)
Crux

March 5, 2020

By Charles Collins

Former President of Ireland Mary McAleese has written Pope Francis threatening to quit the Catholic Church if it comes to light the Vatican “failed to act to protect members of the L’Arche community” from the organization’s founder Jean Vanier.

Vanier founded L’Arche in 1964 to work with the intellectually disabled under a community model where those with disabilities and the people who assist them live together. Although Vanier was Catholic, L’Arche isn’t affiliated with any religious denomination.

Vanier died at the age of 90 on May 7, 2019. After his death, Francis thanked God for his ministry and called him a “great witness.”

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.

OPEN TABERNACLE (blog)

March 5, 2020

By Betty Clermont

Pope Francis was elected on March 13, 2013. Since then, he has been directly responsible for past, present and future sexual torture and brutalization of children. He has obstructed the battle for women’s and LGBTQ persons’ equal rights and appeased tyrants. The pope has also created intentional and unnecessary acrimony with Vatican employees and within his Church.

VATICAN

On Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019, Vatican police raided offices of the Secretariat of State and the Financial Information Authority, the Vatican’s money-laundering “watchdog” agency, as authorized by Pope Francis. “They seized documents, computers, telephones and passports and blocked bank accounts,” Edward Pentin reported.

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
NOLA.com

March 5, 2020

By Ramon Antonio Vargas

The Archdiocese of New Orleans recently dropped one priest from a list of clergymen facing credible claims of molesting children and replaced him with another priest from the same religious order who had the same last name.

Officials with the archdiocese and the religious order, the Salesians of Don Bosco, this week chalked up the correction to a case of mistaken identity.

Both priests are dead.

The Salesian priest now named in the list is Joseph Sokol, who was born in 1908 and died in 1970. The priest who was removed is Alfred Sokol (no relation to Joseph), who died in 2004 at age 93, after spending much of his career at New Jersey’s prestigious Don Bosco Prep.

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

March 5, 2020

Germany’s Roman Catholic bishops on Thursday approved new guidelines that likely will provide for payments ranging up to about 50,000 euros ($55,700) each for victims of sexual abuse by clergy.

The church has been shaken in recent years by scandals in several countries, including Germany. A church-commissioned report in 2018 concluded that at least 3,677 people were abused by clergy in Germany between 1946 and 2014 — more than half of them 13 or younger and nearly a third of them altar boys. A top bishop has apologized for the abuse.

The German Bishops’ Conference said at the end of a regular meeting Thursday that compensation payments would be decided by “a central and independent body on the basis of an examination of plausibility.”

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.

BALTIMORE
Baltimore Sun

March 5, 2020

By Pamela Wood

A Maryland senator ruffled feathers in Annapolis by sending a lengthy letter to his fellow Republicans, urging them to vote against a bill that would give survivors of child sexual abuse more time to sue their abusers.

In his letter, Sen. Robert Cassilly draws parallels to the confirmation process of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was questioned about allegations that he assaulted a young woman at a teenage party decades ago. He suggests that giving abuse survivors unlimited time to sue would be akin to the “travesty” of the Kavanaugh hearings.

“As the Kavanaugh hearing showed, every day after an event occurs justice becomes less likely as it becomes increasingly more difficult to capture the truth,” wrote Cassilly, a Harford County Republican who also is an attorney.

The letter, which was sent Feb. 10 to Republican members of the House of Delegates, frustrated Del. C.T. Wilson, who has been working for years to make it easier for adult survivors of child sexual abuse to file lawsuits.

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.

MEXICO CITY (MEXICO)
Associated Press

March 5, 2020

By Maria Verza

The Vatican’s announcement that it is sending an investigative commission to Mexico later in March to look into cases of clergy sex abuse could become a turning point in the country that’s home to the second largest number of Catholics in the world. That is, if the information gathered by investigators leads to concrete results within the church and the criminal justice system. With a strong connection to church, a history of abuse denial and a cultural reticence about discussing sexual abuse, Mexico has trailed other countries where far more abuse has been revealed.

__

WHY IS THE VATICAN SENDING THIS MISSION TO MEXICO AND WHY NOW?

More victims, especially of the Legion of Christ religious order, came forward in Mexico and media attention mounted, putting more pressure on the church. Mexico’s Vatican representative Franco Coppola said the Catholic church’s large presence in Mexico means how the abuse cases are handled could serve as a good or bad example for other countries. He cited the “seriousness” of the situation in Mexico for the decision to send the mission now.

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 Leader

March 5, 2020

By Mark Bowling

LEADING Catholic figure Francis Sullivan has criticised Church authorities for a “glaring lack of moral leadership” over the child sex abuse crisis and has called for the Church to change its “terms of engagement” if it is to remain relevant and engaged in Australia.

“Unless we break the shackles of entitlement and cronyism, become inclusive and more representative in our decision-making we risk losing any claim to renewal and reform,” Mr Sullivan, former chief executive officer of the Catholic Church’s Truth, Justice and Healing Council, told the biennial Catholic Social Services national conference in Melbourne on February 27.

“In a society that regards religion as just another lifestyle choice at best, we need to resist trying to pump air into old tyres that have run their course.”

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
MSN

March 5, 2020

By Christine Byers

The attorney for a former Mormon church leader said Wednesday that his client was never a bishop and that the federal child pornography charges he is now facing are the result of a “very unique situation,” between the alleged 16-year-old victim’s family and his client’s.

Larry Deutsch, 54, appeared with his attorney, Gregory Wittner, Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Shirley Padmore Mensah wearing an orange prison sweatshirt and pants with his legs and hands shackled.

St. Charles County Prosecutor Tim Lohmar charged Deutsch with child pornography on Feb. 21. St. Charles County police described Deutsch as a bishop of a Mormon church in the Lake St. Louis area in court documents.

Police also said they had reason to believe Deutsch might have other victims because he had unsupervised contact with children as a part of his leadership and service activities at various churches throughout St. Charles County and Troy, Missouri.

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.

FARGO (ND)
The Associated Press

March 5, 2020

By Dave Kolpack

Three attorneys who conducted an investigation into clergy sex abuse said Wednesday the North Dakota Legislature should open up the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits and demanded that the state’s two Roman Catholic dioceses release more files on accused priests.

The Fargo and Bismarck dioceses in January released a list of 53 clergy members with substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of a minor, but it did not include the assignment histories that were compiled and released Wednesday by attorneys Michael Bryant, Tatum O’Brien and Tim O’Keeffe. The lawyers said they hope their findings will help lay out timelines and encourage victims to come forward.

“I think that it’s really important for our victims to know and really important for the public to know where these priests were located at different times,” said O’Keeffe of Fargo. “Obviously it’s a very private issue for the victims. It’s a tough thing to talk about.”

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.

CHICAGO (IL)
CNS

March 5, 2020

By Michelle Martin

Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, one of the world’s leading experts on safeguarding minors, said the church is suffering “institutional trauma” from clerical sexual abuse, trauma that it must learn to integrate into its theology and understanding of salvation if it is to overcome it.

He visited the Archdiocese of Chicago March 1-3 to speak with seminarians, clergy and members of religious congregations on “The Present Status of Safeguarding in the Church,” which also was the topic of his March 2 DePaul University talk.

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

March 5, 2020

Pope Francis has named Savannah Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer as the new leader of the Catholic Church in Atlanta.

Pope Francis has named Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer as the new leader of the Catholic Church in Atlanta.

Hartmayer, 68, replaces Archbishop Wilton Gregory, who took over as head of the church in Washington, D.C. in the aftermath of the 2018 explosion of the sex abuse and cover-up scandal.

Hartmayer, a Conventual Franciscan, has been bishop of Savannah, Georgia since 2011.

A native of Buffalo, New York, Hartmayer worked as a guidance counselor, school director and teacher in a variety of Catholic schools in Baltimore, New York and Florida.

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.

BOSTON (MA)
The Conversation

March 5, 2020

By Kathleen McPhillips and Tracy McEwan

Women still make up the majority of the Catholic workforce and Catholic congregations, but their participation in church life is in decline.

Indeed, each generation of Catholic women in Australia is less likely than the previous one to attend church and participate in parish life.

There are a number of reasons for this decline, one of which is a continued lack of action by church leadership in including women in agenda-setting and decision-making processes in church 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.

LOS ANGELES (CA)
Angelus News

March 5, 2020

By Tom Hoffarth

For almost the last 20 years, a handful of men and women — among them attorneys, mental health professionals, a couple of priests, a woman religious, even a pediatrician — have met regularly to provide a service Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gomez couldn’t do his job without.

Known as the Clergy Misconduct Oversight Board (CMOB), the independent board has reviewed every case of suspected sexual impropriety committed by priests and deacons in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles since 2002. Some are survivors of sexual abuse by clergy themselves.

Their task: to carefully evaluate every accusation before advising the archbishop on what actions should be taken, whether related to policy or outreach to those affected by 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.

UNITED STATES
USA TODAY

March 3, 2020

By Nancy Armour

Sexual abuse survivors have made it clear they will not accept a settlement offer from USA Gymnastics that releases the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) without it making a significant financial contribution.

They have a powerful ally: the judge overseeing the case.

During a Feb. 10 status call, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robyn Moberly took the USOPC to task, saying it needed to be “actively participating, particularly with their pocketbook.”

“It isn’t news to anybody on this phone call, nor is it news to me, that the U.S. Olympic Committee needs to be an active participant, and I mean beyond just throwing in their insurance coverage in this,” Moberly said, according to a transcript of the call obtained by USA TODAY Sports.

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.

MOUNTAIN VIEW (CA)
CBS SF

March 5, 2020

Mountain View Police arrested a teen who was serving as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as part of a child pornography investigation.

According to police, officers arrested 19-year-old Hayden Hunter on suspicion of child pornography and child pornography distribution. Hunter, who is from Pleasant Grove, Utah, was stationed as a missionary in Fremont at the time of his arrest Wednesday morning.

Police said they received a tip in September of a private Facebook Messenger group chat linked to suspected child pornography, with members possibly as young as 13-years-old. Over the course of the investigation, detectives identified “numerous videos and images” that they determined were child porn.

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

March 4, 2020

By Heidi Schlumpf

A survivor of sexual abuse is conducting what she believes is the first broad survey of victims of sexual abuse in the U.S. Catholic Church, with the hopes that the information will clarify and counteract common misperceptions about the survivor community.

Among those myths: that all the victims are male and were abused by priests.

The survey, which was launched Sunday, already is finding “a lot more women are survivors than generally thought,” said Joelle Casteix, an author and advocate for survivors of child sexual assault and institutional cover-up.

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.

CLAYTON (MO)
Moose Gazette

March 4, 2020

A priest who formerly worked at a St. Louis County Catholic school was sentenced Wednesday to two years’ probation for stalking a woman last year and hiding in the bushes outside her home.Michael McCusker, 37, who was once a theology teacher at St. Louis Priory School in Creve Coeur, was sentenced by Associate Circuit Judge Mondonna Ghasedi. While working at the school, McCusker referred to himself by his religious name, the Rev. John McCusker.McCusker pleaded guilty in January to two misdemeanor counts of second-degree stalking and resisting arrest.His lawyer, Jesse Ullom, said Wednesday he thought the judge “gave fair consideration to everybody’s concerns.” Other conditions of McCusker’s probation include 80 hours of community service, no alcohol consumption and no contact with the victim.

The Rev. Michael McCusker, a former teacher and priest at St. Louis Priory School, was charged Feb. 4, 2019, with stalking and resisting arrest.

Richmond Heights police said in February 2019 that officers were called to a home in the 9000 block of Greenridge Drive where a woman reported a man looking through her windows.Officers spotted McCusker hiding in the bushes, prompting McCusker to run, police said.McCusker now lives in Maryland and is still a priest, his attorney said. He hopes to join the armed forces and become a chaplain.

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.

Christian Century

March 5, 2020

By Philip Jenkins

I would love to see Americans’ reaction if a US politician proposed a law requiring most citizens to pay a tax for the upkeep of churches (albeit with the right to opt out). Surely the vast majority would reject the idea as blatant theocracy, even the first move toward a Republic of Gilead.

Yet that is the prevailing system in several countries in Europe, including Scandinavian lands that we normally think of as highly secular. And that system is surprisingly popular.

The European system is a vestige of an older world of established churches that once exercised great control and influence. Long after churches ceased to exercise any kind of monopoly, millions of believers continued to affirm their membership in a church of one denomination or another, and the state cooperated by collecting the taxes associated with membership.

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.

LAWRENCE (KS)
Lawrence Journal-World

March 5, 2020

What the Kansas Catholic Conference might consider giving up for Lent is its official neutrality on a bill that would eliminate the statute of limitations for civil suits filed by victims of childhood sexual abuse.

To do otherwise would give the surely mistaken impression that the Catholic Church still doesn’t understand and/or care about the extent of the damage caused by its long history of covering up abuse perpetrated by priests.

If you understand abuse at all, you know that it takes even most adult victims many years to come forward. The average age of disclosure is 52.

So Kansas law, which gives childhood victims only three years after they turn 18 to file lawsuits, desperately needs the overhaul that it might finally get, though legislators have opposed such an update in the past and many are hesitant still.

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
Associated Press

March 5, 2020

A Missouri youth group leader has been charged with raping one girl and exchanging nude photos with two others.

Twenty-two-year-old Benjamin Blake, of Rogersville, was freed on bond Wednesday after he was charged last week with the rape count and five other felonies.

The probable cause statement says he convinced one of the girls whom he is accused of exchanging photos with to perform a sex act on him and threatened to harm himself if the other girl didn’t send pictures, the Springfield News-Leader reports.

The statement says Blake, who was a youth group leader at Temple Baptist Church in Marshfield, was 18 and 19 at the time, while the girls were 13 and 14.

His attorney didn’t immediately return a phone message from the News-Leader or The Associated Press.

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)
Notre Dame Magazine

March 5, 2020

By Margaret Fosmoe ’85

A leader among lay Catholics in the response to the abuse crisis calls for a broad coalition to institute meaningful reform.

Responding to the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church requires the active involvement of survivors, the clergy and other religious, as well as lay men and women, according to Kerry Alys Robinson, who has devoted much of her life to the Church.

“Diversity matters. Who is at the tables of decision-making matters,” said Robinson, founding executive director and global ambassador of Leadership Roundtable, an organization dedicated to promoting ethics, accountability and best practices in the Church through lay involvement. “We all need to solve the myopia. We are all myopic, on our own or within our own narrowly defined groups.”

Called and co-responsible

Robinson’s spoke March 4 at the Morris Inn during the first day of a conference, “Called & Co-Responsible: The Mission of the Church,” organized by Notre Dame’s McGrath Institute for Church Life. The conference continues until March 6 and many of the sessions are being livestreamed.

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

PROVIDENCE (RI)
Boston Globe

March 5, 2020

By Edward Fitzpatrick

A R.I. Supreme Court justice has been fighting a $200 ethics fine for months — using a taxpayer-funded insurance policy

The fine came to just $200.

But a Rhode Island Supreme Court justice has spent the past year fighting a legal battle, paid for by a publicly financed insurance policy, to avoid that ethics code penalty.

In February 2019, the state Ethics Commission fined Justice Francis X. Flaherty $200 for failing to disclose that he was the president of a Catholic legal group while he was ruling on a priest sexual abuse case.

Flaherty appealed the ruling nearly a year ago, and oral arguments are set for Wednesday morning in state Superior Court before Judge Brian P. Stern.

“Normally, people settle for a nominal fine, but Justice Flaherty seems to be trying to make some points about his view of the code of ethics,” said John M. Marion, executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island. “It seems like a giant waste of time and resources.”

Flaherty declined to comment Tuesday, and his lawyer, Marc DeSisto, said he won’t comment until the case is over.

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)
Catholic News Agency

March 4, 2020

The day before he left his office, Bishop Richard Malone of Buffalo forbade his former priest secretary from celebrating sacraments, after the priest leaked audio recordings that showed Malone knew about clerical sexual abuse allegations months before he acted on them. Buffalo’s temporary leader is now considering reinstating the priest.

A Dec. 3 document, titled “Decree Imposing A Penal Remedy,” is addressed to Fr. Ryszard Biernat, who served as Malone’s secretary and vice chancellor of the diocese, until he was placed on leave by the bishop in August 2019.

In September 2019, Biernat took recordings of several conversations with Malone to a local media outlet. In those conversations, Malone acknowledged the legitimacy of accusations of harassment and a violation of the seal of confession made against a diocesan priest, Fr. Jeffrey Nowak, by a seminarian, months before the diocese removed Nowak from active 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.

REGINA (SASKATCHEWAN)
Global News

March 4, 2020

By Jonathan Guignard

The Regina Catholic School Division is moving forward with changing the name of Jean Vanier School, after sexual abuse allegations against its namesake surfaced last month.

The decision was made at their board meeting on Tuesday night.

“It’s important to rename the school so the school isn’t painted with the same brush that came from the reports of sexual abuse,” said Twylla West, Regina Catholic School Division spokesperson.

“Our prayers remain with the victims and all victims of sexual abuse.”

According to a report released by L’Arche International on Feb. 22, there was enough evidence to show that Vanier engaged in “manipulative sexual relationships” over a period from 1970 to 2005, usually with a “psychological hold” over six alleged victim

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

ATLANTA (GEORGIA)
Augusta Chronicle

March 4, 2020

By Beau Evans

State lawmakers are mulling whether to broadly expand the statute of limitations in Georgia for people to sue who were sexually abused as children by members of businesses and nonprofit groups like the Catholic Church or Boy Scouts of America.

Since 2015, victims in Georgia have been able to sue their abusers and organizations that covered up the abuse before they turn 23 years old or within two years after those victims realized what they suffered was in fact abuse.

Victim advocates have praised that statute-of-limitation window as a tool for securing justice for people who repressed memories of their abuse for decades. But they argue Georgia law is still too limiting.

House Bill 479, dubbed the “Hidden Predator Act,” would expand the age range and timeframe for many more adults in Georgia to file lawsuits for sexual abuse they suffered as 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.

MEXICO CITY
Reuters

March 3, 2020

Two Vatican officials charged with investigating accusations of sexual abuse by clergy will visit Mexico for a fact-finding mission later this month, the Church said on Tuesday.

Archbishop Charles Scicluna and Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu will meet with church leaders and alleged victims during their week-long visit to the world’s second largest Roman Catholic country, the Mexican bishops’ conference said.

Auxiliary Bishop Alfonso Miranda Guardiola, general secretary of the bishops’ conference, told a news conference in Mexico City that the Church had requested aid from the Vatican in order to help the youngest and most vulnerable in Mexico.

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.

MEXICO CITY
Associated Press

March 3, 2020

Victims of clerical sex abuse have expressed skepticism over a Vatican investigative commission that will collect statements and information about abuse in Mexico, though most said they would meet with Pope Francis’ investigators.

“Only by speaking with them can you demand results,” said Biani Lopez-Antunez, who was abused by a Legion of Christ school director in Cancun between the ages of 8 and 10 years old. “The results of this visit must be measured only based on the facts, the reports, because I’m already tired of the fake action that operates at all levels of the Church.”

The Vatican announced Tuesday that two investigators, Charles Scicluna, archbishop of Malta and deputy secretary for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and Jordi Bertomeu, will be in Mexico City March 20-27. They will meet with bishops, leaders of religious orders and victims who want to speak with them. They promise confidentiality.

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

PROVIDENCE (RI)
NBC 10 News

March 4, 2020

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence said Wednesday that a West Warwick priest who became embroiled in a controversy over comments he made about pedophilia and abortion was hurt in serious car crash north of Boston.

The Rev. Richard Bucci of Sacred Heart Parish was injured in the single-car crash on the Lynnway in Lynn at about 1 p.m. Tuesday. The front end of the car was ripped apart.

State troopers said they believe the driver struck a tree and a pole, trapping him inside the car.

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)
Catholic News Service

March 4, 2020

The bishop serving as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Buffalo said he regretted the “pain and further disillusionment” of clergy sexual abuse survivors caused by the participation of priests credibly accused of abuse in a private Lenten Mass at which he presided.

Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger of Albany, New York, said March 1 in a statement that the Mass at the start of Lent for all priests of the diocese emphasized “the need to atone for and work toward the healing of all who have been harmed by the scourge of sexual abuse by members of the Catholic clergy.”

His statement came in response to angry reaction to the Mass by Robert Hoatson, co-founder of Road to Recovery, an sexual abuse victims’ advocacy group.

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.

FARGO (ND)
Inforum

March 4, 2020

By Patrick Springer

Lawyers representing victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clerics released a report detailing the assignments of priests the church has identified as having been accused of sexual abuse and demanded the public release of church files.

The lawyers released information about the church assignments of 53 priests, deacons and others who face substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of a minor in a news conference on Wednesday, March 4. The Catholic dioceses of Fargo and Bismarck had released the names of the priests and others in January, but did not provide details about which parishes they had served.

The church has a responsibility to release “files pertinent to the histories of each perpetrator to the public and law enforcement,” the lawyers said. Failure to do so, they added, will make the Catholic dioceses of Fargo and Bismarck “complicit in concealing this hazard.”

“There’s still potential dangers to children,” said Michael Bryant, a lawyer from Waite Park, Minn., who spoke at the news conference. “That’s what we’re trying to prevent.”

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 Impartial Reporter

March 4, 2020

By Rodney Edwards

A ground-breaking documentary series by a Fermanagh born filmmaker on the criminal priests and brothers of the Catholic Church and their crimes in Australia will be laid bare for the first time in their own words next month.

In a series of television firsts, Revelation by Nial Fulton features interviews with two of Australia’s worst serial paedophiles, an ordained priest and a religious brother, and takes cameras into court to follow the drama of their criminal trials.

The compelling interviews, carried out by journalist Sarah Ferguson, are the first insiders’ accounts of the system of protection and cover-up that allowed its members to get away with such heinous crimes for so long.

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

PROVIDENCE (RI)
Providence Journal

March 4, 2020

A West Warwick priest who’s been in the news recently for comments on abortion and pedophilia was seriously injured in Lynn, Massachusetts, Tuesday afternoon when his vehicle veered off the road and hit a tree and a pole.

The Diocese of Providence confirmed Wednesday morning that the Rev. Richard Bucci was the person injured in the crash, and requested prayers for Bucci, his family, friends and the parish.

Bucci, pastor of Sacred Heart Church in West Warwick, was freed from the wreckage and taken by helicopter to Salem Hospital, then to another hospital, according to the Massachusetts State 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.

BUFFALO (NY)
Catholic News Service

March 3, 2020

The bishop serving as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Buffalo said he regretted the “pain and further disillusionment” of clergy sexual abuse survivors caused by the participation of priests credibly accused of abuse in a private Lenten Mass at which he presided.

Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger of Albany, N.Y., said March 1 in a statement that the Mass at the start of Lent for all priests of the diocese emphasized “the need to atone for and work toward the healing of all who have been harmed by the scourge of sexual abuse by members of the Catholic clergy.”

His statement came in response to angry reaction to the Mass by Robert Hoatson, co-founder of Road to Recovery, a sexual abuse victims’ advocacy group.

Hoatson charged March 1 in front of diocesan headquarters that Bishop Scharfenberger “disrespected” and retraumatized sex abuse survivors by having the accused priests at the Mass. Hoatson, a former priest, called on Bishop Scharfenberger to resign.

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.

ALBANY (NY)
WAMC

March 3, 2020

By Jackie Orchard

It is a troubled time for the Catholic church and its flock. Roughly 80 priests in the Albany Diocese have been accused of sexual abuse and roughly 70 priests have been accused in Buffalo. Amid that troubling backdrop, Siena College hosted a “Let’s Rebuild Our Church” panel Saturday.

The panel included a priest, a professor of theology, and a survivor of sexual abuse who gathered to answer questions about how abuse in the church occurs and what is being done to stop it.

Father Tom Konopka of the Albany Diocesan Counseling Center is a social worker. He says when he entered the seminary in 1984 there were psychological tests, IQ tests, and several interviews. He says the process is even more thorough today, as New York state’s Child Victims Act helps focus attention on decades of alleged abuse within 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.

BUFFALO (NY)
Law.com/New York Law Journal

March 3, 2020

By Tom McParland

The diocese, a spokeswoman emphasized, was reorganizing, not liquidating, and survivors would be a “No. 1 priority” among its creditors.

The Diocese of Buffalo’s decision last week to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection was expected to complicate, but not foreclose, efforts to recover on behalf of alleged victims of child sexual abuse, an attorney for some of the accusers said 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.

IRELAND
Extra.ie

March 4, 2020

By Graham McGrath

Mary McAleese said that she will leave the Catholic Church if abuse claims from within a community for people with disabilities were ignored by the church.

The former President of Ireland has written to Pope Francis for answers about allegations of abuse from L’Arche Community founder Jean Vanier and priest Fr Thomas Phillipe.

L’Arche International is an organisation for people with intellectual disabilities and it has centres in 39 countries, including four centres in Ireland.

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.

ROCHESTER (NY)
Rochester City Newspaper

March 4, 2020

By David Andreatta

On Sunday, a retired Catholic priest unknown to these parts visited a handful of churches around Rochester and spoke to congregants at the end of Mass.

He was the Rev. John Cusick, a straight-shooter from Chicago, where he was known for reviving a parish and preaching to young adults in barrooms. It has been reported that he delivered his homilies off the cuff.

Cusick told parishioners at Church of the Assumption in Fairport that he had been sent — by whom he didn’t say — to “fire up the troops,” and he invited congregants to join him the following evening for some sort of pep talk.

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

March 3, 2020

By Patsy McGarry

Church must say how it commended ‘a man whose predatory proclivities it was aware of’

Former president Mary McAleese has written to Pope Francis saying she will leave the Catholic Church “if it transpires that the Holy See failed to act to protect members of the L’Arche Community”.

She said people should have been alerted to “the known predatory activities” of the community’s founder Jean Vanier and his mentor, Dominican priest Fr Thomas Philippe.

“I have to say that this will be my final line of least resistance. I could not in conscience continue to support an institution capable of such gross negligence,” Mrs McAleese said in the letter.

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

March 3, 2020

By Kimberly Curth

Serious allegations against the Archdiocese of New Orleans and a former priest credibly accused of child sex abuse. New court filings detail the accusations as part of a civil lawsuit against the church.

In a rare interview, we tracked down Lawrence Hecker, the former priest accused of being a “serial pedophile who has sexually abused countless children” in a new civil court filing.

Attorneys for alleged church sex abuse victims ask the court to declassify confidential documents from the Archdiocese of New Orleans. According to the court filing, “The crux of almost all of these documents are underlying sexual crimes against children and the Archdiocese’s decades-long cover up of these crimes, which is potentially criminal in and of itself.”

“Unbelievable allegations and some of them could still be within the statute of limitations arguably so once again the argument that it should be released is also pressure on the Archdiocese because we’re going to expose you but it’s also possibly criminal exposure that’s going around here so it’s this, as usual, a big bombshell,” said FOX 8 Legal Analyst Joe Raspanti.

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.

HARRISBURG (PA)
Local 21 News

March 3, 2020

By Brian Sheehan

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court says it will consider whether some victims of clergy sex abuse in the Catholic Church have a right to file lawsuits.

The announcement comes nearly two weeks after the Diocese of Harrisburg filed for bankruptcy.

The high court plans to consider whether survivors can sue Pennsylvania diocese’s for allegedly covering up sex abuse, even though statute of limitations in their cases ran out several years ago.

“I totally understand why they’re hearing it. This is an important case,” Rice’s Attorney, Richard Serbin, 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.

MEXICO CITY (MEXICO)
Associated Press

March 4, 2020

By Maria Verza

The Vatican’s representative in Mexico said Tuesday that four Catholic bishops had been referred to their superiors for alleged connections to cases of sexual abuse as part of the church’s efforts to gather information about the possible cover up of abuse.

Nuncio Franco Coppola did not provide details on the bishops’ possible roles, but noted that in January and December an email address opened to receive abuse allegations took in dozens of allegations, mostly accounts of cover ups.

Coppola made the comments at a news conference to announce that the Vatican would send its top sex abuse investigators to Mexico later in March. He acknowledged that the magnitude of the problem “eludes” them because while the Mexican Episcopal Conference says 217 priests are being investigated there are cases in which the religious order sent the complaint directly to Rome, meaning the number could be higher.

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.

ROCHESTER (NY)
WROC-TV, Ch. 8

March 3, 2020

[VIDEO]

A call to victims of sexual abuse Tuesday in Rochester, from a lawyer who says “It’s not too late to come forward.”

Attorneys announced two new legal claims against several churches in our area.

A priest who worked for the Diocese of Rochester in the 1980s was named in legal claims, as were the churches where he presided.

Father Joseph Larabee, who worked at Saint John the Evangelist in Greece, and Church of Good Shepherd in Henrietta, was named in the latest sexual abuse case filed under the Child Victims Act.

Since the alleged incidents took place, one of the churches has been converted into a school. Still, attorney Mitchell Garabedian says he hopes to see this go to trial.

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

WASHINGTON D.C.
Washington Post

March 3, 2020

JUST WHEN it seems there can be nothing more to learn about how former cardinal Theodore McCarrick misused his position and violated the public trust, another rock gets turned over. The latest disclosure: He funneled large sums from a charity account to a controversial religious community whose founder was found guilty by the Vatican of sexual misconduct. In keeping with the sorry way it has handled the decades-long clergy sexual-abuse scandal, the Catholic Church has decided to stonewall rather than be forthcoming.

Only because of reporting by The Post’s Shawn Boburg and Robert O’Harrow Jr. have we learned that Mr. McCarrick, who served as archbishop of Washington from 2001 to 2006 and last year was defrocked for sexual abuse of minors and misconduct with adults, gave nearly $1 million to the Institute of the Incarnate Word (IVE) from 2004 to 2017. The religious community was founded in Argentina in 1984 by priest Carlos Buela, who the Vatican in 2016 determined had committed sexual improprieties with adult seminarians. Mr. McCarrick had helped the order as it expanded into the United States in the early 2000s, giving it control of a church-owned property in suburban Maryland to launch a small seminary, but the extent of the ties and flow of money between the two clerics was not known.

What exactly was the purpose of these gifts — some as large as $50,000 — from a charitable account Mr. McCarrick controlled at the Washington Archdiocese? Who or what was the source of the money? A spokeswoman for the archdiocese, Paula Gwynn Grant, told Post reporters that Mr. McCarrick himself raised the money for the special fund and spent it as he chose. “Therefore, any information needed about these donations, including the specific amount, must be asked of Mr. McCarrick,” she said. Never mind that Mr. McCarrick has been squirrelled away to live at some undisclosed location. When we pressed for more information, Ms. Grant emailed that the money was used by IVE and its sister branch “to support their mission to educate, house, care for and serve many of the most disadvantaged members of our community.” She directed further questions to those religious orders.

It is likely that Mr. McCarrick raised the money under the auspices of his church position (the fund was titled “Archbishop’s Special Fund”), so it is disingenuous for the church to act as if it had nothing to do with these donations. And since the church has a religious exemption from having to file tax forms required of other nonprofits detailing their finances (called Form 990s and available to the public), people who gave money have no way of knowing what it was used for.

Time and time again, as scandals have besmirched the church’s reputation and mission, Catholic officials have said they have learned their lesson and will do better and be transparent with information. Time and time again, they fall short. The refusal to get to the bottom of — and explain — these questionable transactions is another sad sign of the church’s failure to come to grips with the harm it has caused and its disdain for parishioners whom it looks to for financial support.

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

March 3, 2020

By Sean Kirst

Bankrupt.

The word has a new imperative for the Buffalo Diocese, which last week sought protection in federal court after 260 men and women went to court over the past six months under the state’s Child Victims Act, alleging they were abused by Catholic clergy or staff in Western New York.

Yet Michael Eames, 60, has his own definition of bankruptcy.

He learned it at 15, through the behavior of a priest Eames describes as “a wolf.”

Eames is one of 15 men who have filed Child Victims Act lawsuits maintaining they were abused as youths by Donald Becker, who is now 77 and living in retirement in Florida. The sheer number of CVA allegations against Becker, who has never faced criminal charges, dwarfs those of any other priest from greater Buffalo, living or dead.

Diocesan officials say they removed Becker from active ministry in 2003 because of credible evidence of abuse. They reached a settlement with another Becker accuser even before the Child Victims Act process began. According to court documents, the diocese is not providing Becker with any legal help against his accusers.

Becker, for his part, has publicly denied sexually abusing children.

“No, I did not,” Becker told Dan Herbeck of The News, two years ago this month. “Certainly not sexual. … This is quite shocking.”

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)
InDepthNH.org

March 3, 2020

By Gerry Rayno

Victims of childhood sexual abuse urged lawmakers Tuesday to eliminate the statute of limitations on sexual abuse.

Children with that traumatic experience need time to heal before disclosing what happened and that is often longer than the current time limit for prosecution of 22 years, said Catherine Devine, Assistant Hillsborough County Attorney.

“Closing the courthouse door on an arbitrary time limit does not change prosecution,” Devine told the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee on Tuesday. “A victim should always be heard.”

House Bill 1586 would eliminate any time limit for prosecuting sexual assault cases while the current limits vary depending on the crime and circumstances.

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.

CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Catholic

March 3, 2020

By Michelle Martin

Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, one of the world’s leading experts on safeguarding minors, said that the church is suffering “institutional trauma” from clerical sexual abuse, trauma that it must learn to integrate into its theology and understanding of salvation if it is to overcome it.

Zollner, a German, is a licensed psychologist and psychotherapist with a doctorate in theology, the president of the Centre for Child Protection at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and a consultor to the Vatican’s Congregation for Clergy. He was one of four leaders appointed by Pope Francis to organize the February 2019 Summit on Abuse for the Presidents of Episcopal Conferences.

He visited the Archdiocese of Chicago March 1-3 to speak with seminarians, clergy and members of religious congregations on the same topic as his March 2 DePaul University talk, “The Present Status of Safeguarding in 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.

ROCHESTER (NY)
Catholic Courier

March 3, 2020

By Mike Latona

A lawsuit was filed Feb. 19 charging Father Joseph Grasso, CPPS, with sexual abuse of a student in the early 2000s while the priest was principal of Brighton’s Siena Catholic Academy, a diocesan junior high school.

The suit against Father Grasso, a member of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, was filed in Monroe County Supreme Court by the Buffalo law firm of Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria.

According to the complaint — which was amended Feb. 25 to correct the dates and locations of the alleged abuse — Father Grasso “sexually assaulted and committed battery” against an unidentified male student between early January 2002 and sometime in 2003. The suit charges that the abuse took place at Siena Catholic Academy and/or St. Thomas More Church, which are on the same campus. It states that the alleged victim was born in 1990, making him approximately 12 or 13 years old at the time of the alleged abuse.

The complaint was filed only against Father Grasso and not the Diocese of Rochester, St. Thomas More Parish or Siena Catholic Academy. Doug Mandelaro, diocesan director of communications, told the Catholic Courier that the diocese has never received a complaint against Father Grasso for sexual abuse of a minor.

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.

CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune

March 3, 2020

By Javonte Anderson

In their first interview since Pope Francis named them among the leaders of a new worldwide task force on sexual abuse protections, Cardinal Blase Cupich and the Rev. Hans Zollner this week sketched out how they plan to help Catholic leaders across the world comply with new protection guidelines.

The task force was created by Francis to help bishops write new local guidelines to adhere to universal church rules issued last year.

Zollner, who heads the Center for Child Protection at the Pontifical Gregorian University, called the latest move by Francis “unprecedented,” as it is the first time the pope has taken measures to ensure rules to protect children are quickly adopted and practiced around the world.

“This is the first time the (pope) has taken into his own hands the speeding up of the process,” Zollner said in an interview he and Cupich gave Monday to the Tribune.

Zollner was in Chicago for his first appearances following the creation of the task force: a talk with Chicago priests and a lecture at DePaul University.

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.

CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune via GazetteXtra

March 3, 2020

By Javonte Anderson, Chicago Tribune

In their first interview since Pope Francis named them among the leaders of a new worldwide task force on sexual abuse protections, Cardinal Blase Cupich and the Rev. Hans Zollner this week sketched out how they plan to help Catholic leaders across the world comply with new protection guidelines.

The task force was created by Francis to help bishops write new local guidelines to adhere to universal church rules issued last year.

Zollner, who heads the Center for Child Protection at the Pontifical Gregorian University, called the latest move by Francis “unprecedented,” as it is the first time the pope has taken measures to ensure rules to protect children are quickly adopted and practiced around the world.

“This is the first time the (pope) has taken into his own hands the speeding up of the process,” Zollner said in an interview he and Cupich gave Monday to the Tribune.

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
Gettysburg Times

March 4, 2020

Out of the eight Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania, the Harrisburg diocese is the first to file for bankruptcy under Chapter 11.

They won’t be the last.

Due to widespread sex-abuse lawsuits, 20 other Catholic diocese have also filed, nationwide.

It has been less than two years since the Pennsylvania state attorney general’s office released a grand-jury report of over a 1,000 allegations of sex abuse against 300 clergy dating back decades that now includes a growing number of lawsuits filed in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Some states have relaxed their statutes of limitations allowing additional litigations. Pennsylvania isn’t there – yet. However, in 2019, a state appeals court ruled that a case accusing the Altoona-Johnstown diocese of a conspiracy to cover up abuse could continue. Similar cases have been filed statewide.

In an effort to assuage the pain, if such a thing is possible, the diocese’s Survivor Compensation Program formed last year has dished out more than $12 million to 111 victims. Those who accepted settlements are excluded from suing 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.

VATICAN CITY
Reuters

February 29, 2020

By Philip Pullella

Vatican officials acknowledged on Friday that bishops in about 10 countries still have no guidelines for dealing with sexual abuse cases, as it unveiled a new “task force” to help them and others.

The group of experts in preventing sexual abuse will assist bishops conferences in those countries put them into place and help revise guidelines in countries where they exist so they adhere to recent changes in Church law.

At a news conference presenting the task force, the officials said countries still lacking no guidelines are in that situation because of wars, political upheaval or lack of resources resulting from extreme poverty.

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
Ottawa Citizen

March 3, 2020

By Andrew Duffy

The victim of a Catholic priest’s sexual abuse says the incident caused him to lose his desire to be a priest, his faith in God, and his trust in the church.

In a victim impact statement read at the sentencing hearing of defrocked priest Barry McGrory, the man, now an adult, said the betrayal has affected every aspect of his life.

“The worst thing is I lost my faith for a long time: I felt so terrible without God in my life,” he said in the written statement, read in court.

The victim, whose identity is protected by court order, said McGrory became a trusted mentor after his father died. “You are told you can always talk to your priest,” he said. “To be betrayed was devastating to me. It has been a daily struggle. Alcohol, drugs, nothing helped the pain I was in. I keep asking why?”

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.

LOUISVILLE (KY)
PRNewswire

March 3, 2020

MinistrySafe, a leading organization that helps ministries meet legal standards of care and reduce the risk of sexual abuse, will lead a “Church Safety Workshop,” March 5 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. EST at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville in partnership with Philadelphia Insurance Companies and the Kentucky Baptist Convention.

MinistrySafe Founder, Gregory Love, is a leading sexual abuse trial attorney and expert in training churches and ministries to prevent child sexual abuse. Love will lead sessions to equip leaders to establish safe-guards in their places of ministry by focusing on topics such as:

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

March 3, 2020

By Carol Glatz

After receiving a request from Mexico’s bishops for assistance in handling cases of the abuse of minors, the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is sending its top abuse investigator to Mexico.

Archbishop Charles J. Scicluna of Malta, adjunct secretary of the doctrinal congregation, will be accompanied by Spanish Father Jordi Bertomeu Farnos, a congregation official, on a visit to Mexico City March 20-27 to help church leaders with safeguarding and to listen to victims.

Pope Francis had sent Archbishop Scicluna and Father Bertomeu to Chile in 2018 to listen to survivors and investigate charges of abuse and its subsequent cover-up. Their report and supporting documentation — totaling more than 2,300 pages — helped correct the pope’s belief that abuse accusations were exaggerated; after a later meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, every bishop in Chile offered his resignation.

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.

MEXICO
Al Jazeera

March 3, 2020

Mexico is dealing with decades of clerical sexual abuse of children.

The Vatican is sending its top two sex crimes investigators to Mexico on a fact-finding and assistance mission as the Catholic hierarchy in the world’s second-largest Catholic country begins to reckon with decades of clergy sex abuse and cover-up.

Archbishop Charles Scicluna and Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu teamed up in 2018 to investigate the Chilean church and its wretched record of protecting paedophile priests – a bombshell expose that resulted in every active Chilean bishop offering to resign.

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)
Catholic News Agency

March 2, 2020

Father Connor decried the failures brought under the community but expressed hope that reconciliation and healing will take place.

Following the conclusion of the Legionaries of Christ’s general chapter, the religious order’s new leader has vowed to instill ideals for protection and transparency in the face of the sexual abuse crisis.

Father John Connor, the first U.S. leader of the order, announced Feb. 28 the release of two documents containing the reflections of the 2020 General Chapter in Rome, which included over 66 representatives from the order around the world.

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.

KOCHI (INDIA)
UCA News

March 2, 2020

Completion of laicization takes away all the rights and responsibilities of priesthood from the jailed priest

A diocese in southern India has announced completion of the process of laicization of a priest who is serving a 20-year jail term for raping and impregnating a minor girl three years ago.
The laicization of Father Robin Vadakkumcherry has been completed with his acceptance of the Vatican’s dismissal decree and by informing the Vatican of his acceptance, Mananthavady Diocese in Kerala state said in a press release on March 1.
Police arrested Vadakkumcherry, now 51, in 2017 on charges of raping a 17-year-old girl and fathering her child. Sex with a girl under 18, a minor under Indian law, is considered a crime.
Vadakkumcherry was then parish priest of St. Sebastian’s Parish in Kottiyoor under Mananthavady Diocese and manager of the school in which the girl studied.

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.

CHINA
Crux

March 2, 2020

In a new letter, retired Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen says Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin is “manipulating” Pope Francis on the issue of China.

Zen, a fierce critic of a 2018 Vatican-China deal on the appointment of bishops in the communist country, was responding to the contents of a letter by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the new dean of the College of Cardinals.

In a Jan. 26 letter to the rest of the cardinals obtained by La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana, Re defended the China deal, which is an attempt to unite the Catholic Church in mainland China, which has been divided between a state-sponsored “Patriotic” Church not under the authority of the pope, and an “underground” Church pledging allegiance to Rome.

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.

MINNEAPOLIS (MN)
Legal Examiner

March 3, 2020

By Mike Bryant

If you were abused by a member of the Catholic Church, you may have only a limited amount of time to sue for damages. While revisiting such a traumatic experience will undoubtedly be challenging, putting off your legal action could prevent you from obtaining fair compensation and the sense of justice that comes with it.

Thankfully, you don’t have to go up against the Catholic Church alone. A personal injury attorney can gather evidence, estimate a fair settlement figure, and help you fight for the highest possible compensation. Your lawyer can also help you avoid missing critical deadlines.

In the state of Minnesota, the statute of limitations for civil suits involving sex abuse is six years, but only if the victim was at least 18 years old when the incident occurred. If the victim was younger than 18, there is no filing deadline—unless he or she wants to sue for vicarious liability.

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)
WKBW

March 3, 2020

Decision on Gatto also questioned

Msgr. Robert Zapfel, pastor of St. Leo’s Catholic Church in Amherst, allowed his parish to be used last week for the controversial Mass Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger celebrated with priests with substantiated child sexual abuse claims.

At that Mass, Fr. Thomas Gresock was invited to bring up the gifts — bread and wine, to be consecrated into what Catholics believe is the body and blood of Christ — even though Zapfel himself investigated child sexual abuse claims against Gresock in 1987 and determined them to be credible, internal documents obtained by the 7 Eyewitness News I-Team show.

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.

HARRISBURG (PA)
The Associated Press

March 2, 2020

By Mark Scolforo

A mid-level appeals court decision issued last summer that allowed some victims of childhood sexual abuse a way to pursue lawsuits despite time limits will be reviewed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the justices announced Monday.

The high court granted a request to hear the case that was made by the defendants, three priests and the Altoona-Johnstown Roman Catholic Diocese.

The Superior Court ruled in June that Renee Rice could pursue claims that church officials’ silence about a priest who she says molested her amounted to fraudulent concealment.

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
Southeast Missourian

March 3, 2020

By Ben Matthews

One witness took the stand and publicly testified to his allegations of being sexually assaulted by retired Catholic priest Fred Lutz at a bond hearing Monday.

The retired priest was arrested Feb. 19 at his home in Springfield, Missouri, and charged with the unclassified felony of forcible sodomy, two class C felony counts of second-degree statutory sodomy and one class C felony count of sexual abuse.

Lutz’s case was referred to Stoddard County prosecutors after a yearlong investigation by the Missouri Attorney General’s Office into allegations of sexual abuses committed in Missouri by clergy members in the Roman Catholic Church.

In August 2018, a Pennsylvania grand jury investigation showed more than 300 priests were accused of sexually abusing more than 1,000 children in six Roman Catholic dioceses, and inspired multiple investigations in other states.

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.

GHANA
Global Sisters Report in National Catholic Reporter

March 3, 2020

by Doreen Ajiambo

Sr. Bernardine Pemii is known for being a devoted mother to the large brood of children she has rescued from violence, exploitation and abuse.

The African nun, who recently completed a course on child protection at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University, is committed to protecting children from abuse at home, at school, at church, in the community and during humanitarian emergencies.

Kids are victims of trafficking, sexual exploitation, physical and humiliating punishment, and harmful traditional practices, she said, and they can be recruited into armed forces.

Does your community minister to those who are homeless or lack adequate shelter? Tell us about it.

“Parents should protect their children, from home to the school and to the church,” Pemii told Global Sisters Report. “Children are being exploited every day in ways that are shocking to their well-being.”

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.

WINNIPEG, MANITOBA (CANADA)
Winnipeg Free Press

March 3, 2020

By John Longhurst

A report last month revealed that L’Arche founder Jean Vanier, a respected Canadian religious figure, sexually abused at least six women.

Revelations that Jean Vanier, the founder of L’Arche, sexually abused at least six women continues to reverberate throughout the Roman Catholic and wider church world.

Vanier, who died in 2019 at age 90, wrote 30 books. Christian bookstores and publishers are among those dealing with the fallout of last month’s report on Vanier’s “manipulative sexual relationships.”

In Winnipeg, Stephanchew’s Church Goods took the only book by Vanier in the store off its shelves.

“The news shocked and horrified me,” said owner Gilles Urquhart. “I expected more of him. What he did was unacceptable. I will not sell his books anymore.”

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)
CBS3 TV

March 2, 2020

Monsignor William Lynn was back before a Philadelphia judge on Monday. The former archdiocesan official is prepping for his retrial in two weeks.

Lynn and lawyers won’t comment because of a gag order.

Prosecutors are arguing pretrial motions to get certain evidence admitted, including grand jury testimony and testimony from his first trial.

Lynn was the first highest ranking church official convicted of covering up reports of clergy sex abuse.

An appellate court overturned the conviction, ruling the jury may have been prejudiced.

Lynn spent almost three years in jail on a three- to six-year sentence.

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.

SANFORD (FL)
Ethnos360, formerly New Tribes Mission

February 2020

Forward
While this document is written primarily to our members, our first apology is rightly to the
MKs [Missionary Kids] who were victims of abuse and to their families.

To those who have been impacted by abuse as a result of the failures of individuals and our
organization, we want to express our deepest sorrow. The things we have learned through
the investigative reports, and those things we still may not know about, should never have
happened to you or to any child or family. May we never forget the cost of these failures to
our children, our members, and the God we endeavor to represent

Introduction
The stories of the Missionary Kids (MKs) who suffered the atrocities of abuse are a grim
reminder of the ongoing consequences of the sins committed against them. Sadly, abuse and
mistreatment of children is part of the history of New Tribes Mission. There is no excuse for
the wrongs that occurred. Nothing can justify the actions of those individuals who harmed
children or protected abusers. In writing this document, we do not want to forget or
minimize the consequences of these actions. We believe it is appropriate and right that the
MKs have come forward with their stories, and we thank them for their bravery and
tenacity. We believe it is appropriate to make known this history. Additionally, we hope
that anyone reading this will learn from our mistakes. We do not want to see this history
repeated. The damage is long lasting. The cost is too high. We implore any reader to
remain vigilant in your ministry, your life, and the opportunities you have to care for and
protect 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.

NEW ORLEANS (LA)
Nola.com

March 2, 2020

By Ramon Antonio Vargas

A trove of still-hidden church documents show a retired New Orleans priest was “a serial pedophile” who abused children for decades and was never reported to all relevant law enforcement authorities by Archdiocese of New Orleans officials, according to allegations in a court filing Monday by attorneys representing a person claiming to be one of the priest’s victims.

The filing in Orleans Parish Civil District Court is aimed at unsealing the documents as part of a lawsuit against the church and the Rev. Lawrence Hecker, who worked at more than a dozen churches across the area over four decades, including St. Frances Cabrini in New Orleans, St. Francis Xavier in Metairie and Christ the King in Terrytown.

Though the attorneys represent only one person claiming to have been abused by Hecker, the 14-page motion alleges that the documents in question — which the lawyers already have — show Hecker to be “a serial pedophile who has sexually abused countless children.”

While church leaders removed Hecker from ministry in 2002, the motion says the allegations against him weren’t publicly acknowledged until 2018 and have yet to be fully disclosed to 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.

[Victims of the Próvolo: the Pope still does not respond if he will receive them]

GENEVA (SWITZERLAND)
MDZol.com

February 17, 2020

Los sobrevivientes de los abusos en el Instituto de Luján acompañados por abogados de Xumek están en Ginebra para presentar un informe contra el Vaticano por encubrimiento. El próximo destino será Roma, donde entre otras actividades pretenden ver a Francisco, al cual ya le pidieron audiencia formal.

[GOOGLE TRANSLATE: Survivors of the abuses at the Lujan Institute accompanied by Xumek lawyers are in Geneva to present a report against the Vatican for cover-up. The next destination will be Rome, where among other activities they intend to see Francisco, who was already asked for a formal audience.]

Sobrevivientes del Instituto Próvolo y los abogados de la ONG Xumek, Lucas Lecour y Sergio Salinas, ya se encuentran en Ginebra, Suiza. Como parte de su agenda ante los organismos internacionales, tuvieron una reunión con miembros de Ending Clergy Abuse, una organización que lucha por el fin del abuso eclesiástico en el mundo y pieza clave junto a Bishop Accountability de las gestiones que actualmente desarrollan los mendocinos en Europa.

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.

HARRISBURG (PA)
Associated Press

March 3, 2020

By Mark Scolforo

A mid-level appeals court decision issued last summer that allowed some victims of childhood sexual abuse a way to pursue lawsuits despite time limits will be reviewed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the justices announced Monday.

The high court granted a request to hear the case that was made by the defendants, three priests and the Altoona-Johnstown Roman Catholic Diocese.

The Superior Court ruled in June that Renee Rice could pursue claims that church officials’ silence about a priest who she says molested her amounted to fraudulent concealment.

The Rice case has since been cited by other litigants to support their own claims, Rice’s lawyer, Richard Serbin, said Monday.

“Of course I’m disappointed that they’re taking the appeal. But I understand the reason why,” Serbin said in a phone interview. “Because issues were decided which there’s not much case law on. And therefore, while I think the Superior Court decision is sound and will be upheld, the Supreme Court may very well want to put its stamp on it. Because we’re talking about a lot of 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.

OAKLAND (CA)
San Francisco Chronicle

By Matthias Gafni

March 3, 2020

As a future pope and officials from the Catholic Diocese of Oakland weighed the fate of a convicted child molester priest more than three decades ago, the Rev. Stephen Kiesle took a 5-year-old boy into a closet of a Pinole church and sexually assaulted him, according to a claim filed Monday in Alameda County Superior Court.

The boy, now a 39-year-old man living in Del Norte County, sued Kiesle, the diocese and retired Bishop John Cummins, claiming that they knew the priest was a danger to children but allowed him to continue working with children. It has previously been reported that internal church letters found that Cummins had been communicating about Kiesle’s behavior with then-Vatican official Joseph Ratzinger, who would become Pope Benedict XVI, in 1985, the same year the plaintiff alleges he was assaulted.

“What makes this case unique is literally everybody in the chain of command knows and yet they allow this guy to go back to the parish,” said the plaintiff’s attorney John Manly. “They put him in his target population. To me, that’s not a mistake or reckless, it’s malicious.”

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

March 2, 2020

By Nicole Winfield and Maria Verza

The Vatican is sending its top two sex crimes investigators to Mexico on a fact-finding and assistance mission as the Catholic hierarchy in the world’s second-largest Catholic country begins to reckon with decades of clergy sex abuse and cover-up.

Archbishop Charles Scicluna and Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu teamed up in 2018 to investigate the Chilean church and its wretched record of protecting pedophile priests — a bombshell expose that resulted in every active Chilean bishop offering to resign.

Their new mission to Mexico, due to take place March 20-27, was announced Monday in Mexico and at the Vatican. Officials stressed it was not an investigation per se but an assistance mission to help the Mexican church combat abuse.

Nevertheless, the Vatican embassy in Mexico City expressly asked victims to come forward to speak with the two prelates, offering victims an email address to arrange meetings or send their testimony, a phone number to call and total privacy and confidentiality. It stressed that Scicluna and Bertomeu would be “at the disposition of all those who want to share their experiences or to receive direction or assistance.”

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.

OTTAWA (CANADA)
Ottawa Citizen

March 2, 2020

By Andrew Duffy

The victim of a Catholic priest’s sexual abuse says the incident caused him to lose his desire to be a priest, his faith in God, and his trust in the church.

In a victim impact statement read at the sentencing hearing of defrocked priest Barry McGrory, the man, now an adult, said the betrayal has affected every aspect of his life.

“The worst thing is I lost my faith for a long time: I felt so terrible without God in my life,” he said in the written statement, read in court.

The victim, whose identity is protected by court order, said McGrory became a trusted mentor after his father died. “You are told you can always talk to your priest,” he said. “To be betrayed was devastating to me. It has been a daily struggle. Alcohol, drugs, nothing helped the pain I was in. I keep asking why?”

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.

GUAM
RNZ Pacific

March 2, 2020

A support group for victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests on Guam has backed moves to laicize a priest.

Father Adrian Cristobal is named in several lawsuits accusing him of sexual abuse against several minors between 1995 and 2013.

An investigation by the Archdiocese of Agaña recommended that Mr Cristobal be defrocked, although he has taken an appeal to the Vatican.

The Pacific Daily News reports that when allegations against him were first made in 2018, Mr Cristobal was off island and he never returned, defying archdiocese orders for him to do so.

The support group, Concerned Catholics of Guam, has described him as a fugitive, who would probably face a criminal trial if he returned to Guam.

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.

STRONGSVILLE (OH)
The News-Herald

March 2, 2020

By Andrew Cass

Strongsville priest Robert McWilliams is now in the custody of the U.S. Marshals as he waits indictment from a federal grand jury on child sex crime charges.

McWilliams, 39, who was previously a seminarian at St. Helen’s Catholic Church in Newbury Township appeared in federal court Feb. 27 where court records show he waived a preliminary hearing on charges of child pornography, child exploitation and juvenile sex trafficking.

Federal court records show that McWilliams also waived his right to a detention hearing and is being held without bail.

McWilliams was previously being held in the Geauga County Jail before being moved into federal custody.

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
MonstersandCritics.com

March 1, 2020

By Jerry Brown

This week, The Lake Erie Murders examines the death of a nun in a hospital chapel in Toledo, Ohio, in 1980. Sister Margaret Ann Pahl’s body was found on the floor of the vestibule of the former Mercy Hospital on Holy Saturday, a day before Easter. It was also a day before her 72nd birthday.

Her killer was a priest, Father Gerald Robinson, who was the chaplain at the hospital. Church historians have said this is the only recorded case of a priest murdering a nun.

A particularly gruesome murder

An autopsy revealed that Sister Margaret Ann had been choked to the edge of death before being stabbed in the head, neck, and face. She had been draped with an altar cloth, and nine of her stab wounds were in the shape of an upside-down cross. There was a smear of blood across her forehead as if she had been anointed in the last rites.

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
HuffPost

March 1, 2020

By Cole Delbyck

Numerous actors walked out of France’s César Awards, the country’s equivalent to the Oscars, after convicted rapist and disgraced director Roman Polanski took home one of the top prizes at the ceremony.

Nominated for 12 awards, Polanski’s “An Officer And A Spy” had already garnered plenty of controversy before the award show even kicked off in Paris on Friday night, as the 21-person board that oversees the event abruptly resigned en masse earlier this month in protest of his nominations and the organization’s “opaque decision-making process.”

Though Polanski — who pleaded guilty in 1977 for unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl — refused to attend the award show for fear of a “public lynching,” he won best director for the film, which prompted multiple attendees to storm out of the ceremony.

Actor Adèle Haenel, who was nominated for her performance in Céline Sciamma’s “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” stood up and exited the Salle Pleyel after Polanski won the award, appearing to yell “shame” as she left the hall.

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)
Yahoo Sports

March 2, 2020,

By Liz Roscher

Former gymnast and three-time Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman is speaking out about USA Gymnastics’ proposed settlement to the survivors of Larry Nassar’s abuse, and she’s not just unhappy about it — she’s angry. In an interview with NBC’s “TODAY” on Monday, Raisman slammed the proposal and accused USA Gymnastics of covering up who knew about the abuse and when they knew.

Raisman offended by USA Gymnastics settlement offer
The settlement has two main prongs. The first is financial: $215 million would be divided among Nassar’s 150-plus victims in a four-tiered system based on how far they progressed in their gymnastics career and where the abuse happened. The second is legal: the settlement would release former USA Gymnastics president Steve Penny, former coaches Martha and Béla Károlyi, and other officials and gymnastics leaders from any liability. They would not be able to be sued or prosecuted for ignoring or enabling Nassar’s decades-long abuse, which as a doctor he was able to disguise as “medical treatment.”

Raisman, who was sexually abused by Nassar, didn’t mince words when discussing the settlement.

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

March 2, 2020

By Courtney Mares

Pope Francis Monday accepted the resignation of Bishop Edward Grosz, the auxiliary bishop of Buffalo, who has been accused of mishandling a sex abuse allegation.

Grosz, who turned 75 on February 16, offered his resignation at the age required by canon law. The Vatican’s March 2 announcement accepting Grosz’s resignation did not indicate whether it will conduct any investigation into the allegation against the bishop.

His retirement comes following a year of allegations of a cover-up of clergy sex abuse made against the leadership of the Diocese of Buffalo, including an allegation of negligence on the part of Grosz himself.

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.

HARTFORD (CT)
Hartford Courant

March 1, 2020

By Dave Altimari

An all-girls Catholic school in Milford has taken the rare step of filing a civil lawsuit against a New Canaan family, seeking payment of more than $20,000 in tuition even though their daughter never went there and instead decided to attend a different Catholic school.

The lawsuit by Lauralton Hall is seeking to recover the money from the Gervolino family, who in 2018 visited the well-known school and agreed to pay a $1,000 non-refundable deposit to have their daughter become a member of the 2019 freshman class. The family also looked at other Catholic schools and applied to one in the Bridgeport area, eventually deciding to attend that school.

The contract that the family signed with Lauralton said they had until June 30, 2018, to inform the school their daughter would not attend, but Kelly Gervolino said she missed that deadline because she was in the hospital for several weeks recovering from viral meningitis. She said she notified Lauralton officials on Aug. 13, 2018, that her daughter wouldn’t be attending the school.

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

March 2, 2020

By Sarah Delia

The Catholic Diocese of Charlotte has made additions to a list of clergy it considers credibly accused of sexual abuse.

The diocese initally published a list in late December that included 14 former clergy members and 23 clergy members who were assigned here but were accused elsewhere.

The update, noted on the diocese’s website, includes two new names. The first is Harold Johnson, a Boston priest who served at St. Patrick in Charlotte in the late 1950s. Johnson was listed on the Archdiocese of Boston’s list of credibly accused clergy members, first published 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.

ROCHESTER (NY)
Catholic Courier

March 2, 2020

By Mike Latona

In late February, U.S Bankruptcy Judge Paul R. Warren tentatively approved a mediator in the Diocese of Rochester’s Chapter 11 case, approved a form for filing victim claims, and set an Aug. 13, 2020, deadline for such claims to be filed.

These actions came two weeks after Warren ruled that an attorney for sexual-abuse victims could question Bishop Emeritus Matthew H. Clark under oath about his knowledge of sexual abuse during his tenure as bishop.

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.

NOTRE DAME (IN)
University of Notre Dame

March 2, 2020

By Anna Bradley

The 2019-20 Notre Dame Forum series, “‘Rebuild My Church: Crisis and Response,” continues March 4-6 with a look at the relationship between clergy and laity in addressing the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse crisis. Called & Co-responsible will be an academic and pastoral conference hosted by the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame.

Drawing upon Pope Benedict’s 2012 speech, the conference will address questions about the nature of leadership in the Church, and how lay people are not to be merely collaborators with the clergy, but are rather truly co-responsible for the Church’s being and activity.

“Pope Francis says that all of us are asked to obey the Lord’s call to go forth, and that this will involve leaving the comfort zones we have all established for ourselves and for the Church,” said John Cavadini, professor of theology and McGrath-Cavadini director of the McGrath Institute. “How do we form the laity to become co-responsible for the Church’s mission? How do we form priests to nurture co-responsibility, in themselves and in the laity?”

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
UCA NEWS

March 2, 2020

By Robert Mickens

Jean Vanier violated the Second Commandment, not the Sixth

We continue to hear of incidents that more than suggest that Catholics — and, in particular, their bishops — have learned very little from the clergy sex abuse crisis.

This is quite alarming and depressing because the Church in North America has been dealing with issues regarding priests who abuse children and teenagers for at least 30, if not 40, 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.

AUSTRALIA
ABC News

March 1, 2020

By Natasha Johnson

Sarah Ferguson spends her working life wading through murky waters, tackling difficult, confronting and harrowing stories but none has tested her like the project that consumed her for the past year: Revelation — a three-part documentary investigation into child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, in which she comes face to face with two of Australia’s most notorious serial paedophiles.

“I’m used to intense projects but this one has been more intense and more challenging than anything I have ever done,” says Ferguson.

“Throughout the long-running scandal of clerical abuse in Australia, there was one voice we hadn’t heard and that was the perpetrators.

“I wanted to ask them how they led their double lives and how the church enabled them, but how do you interview men whose crimes are so vile and disturbing, who’ve committed crimes against vulnerable children?

“It was a struggle not to let my revulsion at their crimes drag me off course.”

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.

GUAM
Pacific Daily News

March 2, 2020

By Haidee Eugenio Gilbert

Concerned Catholics of Guam, which helped lead efforts to expose Guam’s clergy sex abuse of minors, backs the Archdiocese of Agana’s move to laicize Father Adrian Cristobal over alleged sexual abuse of multiple minors.

“Father Adrian is a fugitive from justice, living outside of Guam, in an unknown location. Obviously, he is afraid to face his accusers for the alleged sexual abuse of children,” Concerned Catholics of Guam President David Sablan said.

The archdiocese held an administrative penal process, or investigation, on Cristobal after four men alleged that Cristobal sexually abused them when they were minors. Cristobal also faces four civil lawsuits over sexual abuse of minors, from 1995 to 2013.

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.