ABUSE TRACKER

OGDENSBURG (NY)
Adirondack Daily Enterprise

February 25, 2020

Catholics in northern New York received a message from the Diocese of Ogdensburg on Sunday.

A one-page letter, which was either handed out to churchgoers or included in the bulletin, was not distributed by all parishes Sunday. Some will distribute the letter on March 1.

The letter details the struggles the diocese has faced in the wake of the passage of the Child Victims Act which opened a one-year window for victims of childhood sexual abuse to bring lawsuits that were previously barred due to statutes of limitation. That window closes on Aug. 13.

Since the window opened, 23 lawsuits have been filed against the Diocese of Ogdensburg, headed by Bishop Terry LaValley.

“We want to be transparent,” Diocese Director of Communications Darcy Fargo said. “The diocese is made of the people who reside in the 12,000 square miles the diocese encompasses, and they deserve to know where we stand.”

“We anticipate that more lawsuits may be filed, and we are unable at this time to determine the total number of claims that will be made while the CVA window is open,” the message read.

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.

PIERRE (SOUTH DAKOTA)
Associated Press via National Catholic Reporter

February 25, 2020

By Stephen Groves

Louise Aamot Charbonneau couldn’t make her annual trip to the South Dakota Legislature this year to confront lawmakers with her story of surviving childhood rape and abuse at the hands of priests and nuns at a boarding school for Native Americans during the 1950s and 1960s.

The 69-year-old died suddenly three weeks ago. But her sisters, bonded both through family and survival, showed up, along with their daughters and granddaughters.

They continued their push for lawmakers to open a two-year window for victims of childhood sexual abuse to file lawsuits against organizations in which the abuse occurred. The proposal has died every year, but they keep coming back to confront lawmakers with their testimony that priests and nuns at St. Paul’s Indian Mission School systematically perpetrated rape, abuse and even forced abortions.

For nearly a decade, Charbonneau, along with her eight older sisters, has made their case to lawmakers. Geraldine Dubourt, one of the sisters, said in some ways she was glad her sister Louise died peacefully at her home so she didn’t have to continue the fight.

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-TV

February 25, 2020

By Charlie Specht

Survivors of sexual abuse by priests in the Diocese of Buffalo reacted with outrage and despair Tuesday to news that interim Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger celebrated Mass the day before with multiple priests the diocese admits are credibly accused of child sexual abuse.

Scharfenberger invited priests of the diocese to Mass and lunch at St. Leo the Great in Amherst on Monday. At the Mass, dozens of priests dressed in robes and concelebrated, or shared the Mass and Eucharist with, the Rev. Fabian J. Maryanski.

“I’m so very sad and confused today,” said Stephanie McIntyre, who said she was abused by Maryanski starting when she was 15 years old. “This is an all time low moment that hit me just when I thought I was ready to begin healing.”

Maryanski had been accused of abusing McIntyre decades ago at a parish in Barker, and he denied the allegations. But on Jan. 7, 2019, the diocese included both Maryanski and the Rev. Mark J. Wolski on its official list of “priests with substantiated allegations of child 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.

SPOKANE (WA)
Spokesman-Review

February 25, 2020

By Jared Brown

Jennifer Beste acknowledged the message she brought to Gonzaga University on Tuesday evening wasn’t going to leave her lecture audience in a good mood.

It was a message about how the Catholic Church has the power and wealth to address the ongoing clergy sexual abuse crisis and is complicit in abuse as long as it doesn’t act.

She said young adults have the power to sway Church leaders as fewer young people stay religiously affiliated.

“The Catholic bishops are acting differently than they did the first decade of the 2000s. They are apologizing. They are trying to gain the trust of the laity,” Beste said.

And she urged people to turn those feelings of anger and exasperation into action because a majority of Catholics are necessary to sway the opinion of Church leaders.

“I ask you to please make your voices heard,” Beste said. “We need to organize. We need to protest.”

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.
WTOP-TV

February 26, 2020

By Dick Uliano

In the aftermath of the clergy sexual abuse scandal, churches in the D.C. area report there has been a decrease in church attendance, but not by much.

“From my perspective, we have not lost a lot of people going to church, we have lost some,” said Monsignor John Enzler, a priest in the Washington Archdiocese and the president and CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington.

Parish donations in the D.C. area are also remaining steady, he 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.

UNITED STATES
The National Interest

February 26, 2020

by Pamela Foohey

The Boy Scouts of America has filed for bankruptcy to figure out how to fairly compensate thousands of survivors of alleged sexual abuse who accuse the Scouts of neglecting to protect them.

Revelations regarding decades of the abuse of children and long-running institutional failures to stop the abuse are raising questions about the future of the Boy Scouts and what will become of its troops. The Scouts’ initial bankruptcy documents state that 275 lawsuits are pending in state and federal courts across the country, and that attorneys for survivors estimate another 1,400 claims will be filed. The Scouts disclosed that they have spent US$150 million on settlements and legal fees between 2017 and 2019.

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)
Citizens’ Voice

February 26, 2020

By Joseph Kohut

Barred from representing the Diocese of Scranton at public functions, retired Bishop James C. Timlin dressed in his clerical attire and sat among his peers at last week’s installation Mass of Philadelphia’s new archbishop.

Diocese spokesman Eric Deabill confirmed Tuesday that Timlin attended the Feb. 18 installation of Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez but added “he wasn’t representing the diocese in any way.”

Video footage taken at the Mass and posted by CatholicPhilly.com, the archdiocese’s digital news organization, show Timlin entering the church dressed in clerical attire, including his bishop’s mitre.

Reached at Villa St. Joseph in Scranton, Timlin, 92, said he did not violate any restrictions laid down by Scranton Bishop Joseph C. Bambera.

“I am free to live my life,” Timlin said.

He said he does not represent the diocese and does not attend public events within the Diocese of Scranton.

He stressed he is still a bishop, however, and will attend events outside the diocese.

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

DENVER (CO)
Crux

February 25, 2020

By Inés San Martín

Rome – In a video message sent to an abuse prevention formation center in Mexico, Pope Francis condemned the fact there are people willing to hire a hit man to stop abuse prevention and child protection.

“You will be misunderstood, [some] will tell you are wasting your time,” Francis says in the video sent to the Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Formation for the Protection of Minors (CEPROME), an interdisciplinary center for child protection at the Pontifical University of Mexico. “You will be threatened, because there are those who are threatened. More than one will tell you that they are capable of hiring a hit man to clean up the field.”

“Be prudent,” he adds. “Take care of yourselves, but continue to be brave and work. Preventing the abuse of children, the abuse of those who are at a disadvantage due to their social situation or an illness, is an act of love.”

CEPROME works with the Center for Child Protection at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University.

Standing next to Francis in the video is Father Daniel Portillo, president of CEPROME, who was in Rome recently and who met the pope to discuss the center’s ongoing initiatives.

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)
Episcopal News Service

February 24, 2020

By Egan Millard

Western Massachusetts priest pleads guilty to child pornography possession; diocese reveals abuse allegation

The Rev. Gregory Lisby, a priest in the Diocese of Western Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography on Feb. 21, having been charged after FBI agents raided the rectory where he was living in September. The same day, the diocese also revealed that, since Lisby’s arrest, it has “received devastating credible evidence” that Lisby sexually abused a teenager.

Lisby had been living with his husband, then the rector of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Worcester, in the church’s rectory with their two children when the FBI found nearly 200 images and videos of child pornography in a Microsoft account Lisby used, according to court records.

At the time, Lisby was working as a kindergarten teacher in a public school in Holyoke, having been suspended in 2018 from his position as rector of All Saints Church in Worcester “for an inappropriate relationship with an adult that did not involve sexual contact,” Western Massachusetts Bishop Douglas Fisher wrote in a letter to the diocese shortly after Lisby’s arrest. Fisher added in that letter that the diocese had “no reason to believe that children in our diocese have been victimized in this situation.”

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

ST. LOUIS (MO)
Post-Dispatch

February 25, 2020

By Nassim Benchaabane

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/attorney-general-s-inquiry-leads-to-sex-abuse-charges-against/article_14ce172f-38a6-59a3-9c6b-9a5b4cdddfe8.html

A retired southeast Missouri priest charged with sexually abusing a teen 20 years ago is the first to be prosecuted in connection with a yearlong investigation by the Missouri Attorney General’s office into sex abuse in the Catholic Church.

At least 11 other cases have been referred to county prosecutors, said Chris Nuelle, with the attorney general’s office.

A spokesman for the Archdiocese of St. Louis said Monday that the archdiocese could not confirm whether any former priests here were included in Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s referrals.

Schmitt, Missouri’s top prosecutor, began the referrals in November, following a yearlong statewide review of church records dating to 1945 that reported 163 former clergy had been credibly accused of 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.

DANBURY (CT)
News Times

February 24, 2020

By Kendra Baker

Not guilty pleas have been entered in the case against the former priest accused of sexually assaulting one boy and groping another.

Jaime Marin-Cardona, 51, is charged with three counts of fourth-degree sexual assault, three counts of risk of injury to child and three counts of illegal sexual contact.

Marin-Cardona turned him in to Danbury police on a warrant Jan. 3.

The warrant alleges that he groomed two boys over the course of four years, and sexually abused one of them over the same period of time.

The alleged abuse began in 2014 — the same year Marin-Cardona became a priest at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church on Golden Hill Road.

He was placed on administrative leave Dec. 11, after the Diocese of Bridgeport’s Sexual Misconduct Review Board learned that the state Department of Children and Families had substantiated allegations of abuse against him.

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

ALLENTOWN (PA)
Morning Call

February 24, 2020

By Laurie Mason Schroeder and Daniel Patrick Sheehan

https://www.mcall.com/news/police/mc-nws-allentown-diocese-priest-sentenced-sex-assault-20200224-zqrgadp5o5efjovdrxemzx6jqi-story.html

After the father of a 17-year-old Allentown Central Catholic High School student who was groped by an Allentown Diocese priest lamented to Lehigh County Judge Maria L. Dantos that he was unable to do more to protect his daughter, the judge posed a question:

“Would it surprise you to learn that he was transferred here in 2016 after a similar incident?” she asked the father.

It was a stunning moment in an emotional hearing that ended with the Rev. Kevin Lonergan, 31, being sentenced to one to two years in state prison, the maximum allowed by law.

Lonergan, of Pottsville, will also be a registered sex offender under Megan’s Law for 15 years.

While the prior allegation did not lead to Lonergan’s arrest and was previously revealed in a 2018 news release and letter to parishioners, the judge still had strong words for the Catholic Church, noting that the practice of moving troublesome priests from one church to another has been condemned since the early 1980s.

“We are still transferring priests that molest children?” she asked, her voice raised. “If he had been sanctioned and fired, this victim would not be a victim.”

The diocese said in a statement that it wasn’t accurate to say it transferred a priest who committed an offense.

“Father Lonergan received a new assignment in 2016 only after Northampton County Children and Youth determined that the accusation was unfounded,” the diocese statement said.

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

DENVER (CO)
National Catholic Register

February 24, 2020

By Edward Pentin

According to the victims, there has been insufficient progress in making meaningful changes since the 2019 summit.

Vatican City – A group of clerical abuse survivors gathered in Rome on Feb. 21, one year after the Vatican summit of bishops on clerical sex abuse, to accuse Pope Francis of knowing about the abuse of Argentine deaf children by an Italian priest but not acting to stop it.

The group, who included some of the Argentinian survivors as well as advocacy leaders for abuse victims, also said little progress had been made since the Feb. 21-24 summit last year on protection of minors in the Church.

In a Feb. 13 statement, the survivors argued that the Vatican and Pope Francis could have acted to prevent the widespread sexual and physical violence perpetrated against them at the Antonio Provolo Institute, an educational and religious institution for the deaf in the province of Mendoza, Argentina.

More than 20 deaf victims testified last year to being sexually assaulted and physically abused at the Institute from 2005 to 2016, some from the age of five. Nine more alleged offenders are expected to go on trial, including two nuns, later this month.

Italian priest Father Nicola Corradi, 83, was identified as the ringleader of the pedophile ring who his accusers say had already been reported to the Vatican in 2009 for molesting deaf children in Verona, Italy. Both he and Argentine priest Father Horacio Corbacho, 59, were convicted in November and respectively sentenced to 42 and 45 years in jail.

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)
Associated Press

February 16, 2020

By Matt Sedensky

Wynnewood PA – The seminarians walk along a hallway lined with photos of classes of priests who came before them. Some are pious alumni who have become their teachers and mentors; others climbed the Catholic hierarchy to be revered as bishops and cardinals.

But there are others: Raymond Leneweaver, Class of 1962, subject of at least 14 victims’ reports of abuse, who even made matching T-shirts for those he raped and molested. And Edward Avery, Class of 1970, who pleaded guilty to molesting a 10-year-old altar boy in a church sacristy. And Francis Trauger, Class of 1972, who admitted to molesting a boy in a seminary shower, according to grand jurors.

The 156 young men who call St. Charles Borromeo Seminary home are deeply aware of both the sacred and the profane. They appear unflinchingly optimistic, reverent and committed, yet they prepare to enter ministry at a time when scandals have driven the faithful from pews, shaken the church’s highest tiers and cast doubt on the motivations of those who say they’re answering a call to serve.

“If anything, it probably made the desire to respond to God’s call even more urgent,” says Tucker Brown, a 27-year-old seminarian for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia who finished medical school but felt drawn to the priesthood when it came time to apply to residencies. “It was really a desire to be what a priest is supposed to be, to be a spiritual father and really a source of healing.”

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.

SAN FRANCISCO (CA)
San Francisco Chronicle

February 23, 2020

By Matthias Gafni

The Catholic Diocese of Oakland has placed an embattled priest on leave and opened a new investigation into a sexual misconduct allegation against him after The Chronicle informed church officials of a 2002 complaint by a parishioner who says he groped her.

The discipline came after the diocese had previously told this newspaper that the Rev. George Alengadan — who has been moved out of two parishes since July after five women came forward alleging sexual harassment and Alameda police opened a criminal probe — had no earlier allegations of sexual impropriety.

The parents of the alleged victim said they reported the 2002 fondling allegations to the diocese in the immediate aftermath, deciding against going to police because they trusted the church to handle it internally. But they said they never received a response. The mother again alerted the diocese of the complaint in 2016, sending an email to Bishop Michael C. Barber, but said again nothing was done.

It was only after an inquiry from The Chronicle and a series of articles about its controversial reassignment of the 67-year-old priest that the diocese acknowledged the earlier claim. In a town hall at Christ the King Church in Pleasant Hill on Wednesday night, furious parishioners fumed at how the diocese had quietly moved the priest there, many asking how the church could continue such actions almost two decades after the Catholic priest sex abuse scandal broke in Boston.

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.

WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette

February 23, 2020

By Brad Petrishen

The top priest at All Saints Episcopal Church said Sunday that he has not heard any allegation that former rector Gregory Lisby abused anyone in Worcester.

Lisby, a rector at the Irving Street church from about 2015 to 2018, was accused by his diocese Friday of abusing a teenager at an undisclosed location sometime after he became a priest in 2007.

The Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts made the revelation in a letter to congregants ahead of Lisby’s guilty plea in U.S. District Court in Worcester to one count of possession of child pornography.

It is not clear whether Lisby, who was a kindergarten teacher in Holyoke at the time of his September 2019 arrest, has been investigated by police in connection with the diocese’s allegation.

The diocese – which said it received “devastating credible evidence” against Lisby after his arrest – has declined to release further details or say whether police are involved, citing the alleged victim’s privacy..

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

February 23, 2020

By Jonathan D. Epstein

Hoping to smooth tensions, Buffalo’s interim bishop paid a visit Sunday afternoon to a church whose pastor has been outspoken in his criticism of the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo and even withheld payment of the church’s annual assessment.

Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger, apostolic administrator for Buffalo, spoke to 150 to 200 parishioners and answered questions at St. Mary’s Church on Transit Road in Swormville for nearly an hour, before presiding over 6 p.m. Mass.

He sought to reassure those in attendance that he took their complaints and pain seriously, and would work to respond to their concerns. And he cited the need to heal and reunite as a community.

“Each and every one of us has the right to feel they are part of who we are. We’re a family,” he said.

Paul Snyder, a prominent deacon in the church who was among the first to openly criticize former Bishop Edward Malone and call for his ouster, said he liked what he heard so far. But he still wants to see that translate into actions, noting that the community is suffering from pain and betrayal.

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.

PARIS (FRANCE)
L’Arche International

February 22, 2020

[With links to report annd documents.]

https://www.larche.org/en/web/guest/news/-/asset_publisher/mQsRZspJMdBy/content/inquiry-statement-test?_101_INSTANCE_mQsRZspJMdBy_redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.larche.org%2Fen%2Fnews%3Fp_p_id%3D101_INSTANCE_mQsRZspJMdBy%26p_p_lifecycle%3D0%26p_p_state%3Dnormal%26p_p_mode%3Dview%26p_p_col_id%3Dcolumn-1%26p_p_col_count%3D1

On February 22nd, 2020, the leaders of L’Arche International sent a letter to the Federation of L’Arche Communities, which operates in 38 countries worldwide, publishing the results of an inquiry that had commissioned from an independent organization. The inquiry included testimony implicating its founder, Jean Vanier, and his historical link to Father Thomas Philippe, who he thought of as his spiritual father.

The investigation was carried out by GCPS, an independent U.K. consultancy which specializes in improving procedures for the prevention and reporting of abuse. In addition, L’Arche International established an Independent Oversight Committee made up of two former senior civil servants in France, to assess the integrity and reliability of the inquiry’s process and findings. Following their review of the report they stated: “We have no reason to question the methodology of the inquiry and the seriousness with which it was carried out. We therefore consider these conclusions to be well founded.”

The inquiry received credible and consistent testimonies from six adult women without disabilities, covering the period from 1970 to 2005. The women each report that Jean Vanier initiated sexual relations with them, usually in the context of spiritual accompaniment. Although they had no prior knowledge of each other’s experiences, these women reported similar facts associated with highly unusual spiritual or mystical explanations used to justify these behaviors. The relationships were found to be manipulative and emotionally abusive, and had a significant negative impact on their personal lives and subsequent relationships. These actions are indicative of a deep psychological and spiritual hold Jean Vanier had on these women and confirm his own adoption of some of Father Thomas Philippe’s deviant theories and practices.

The inquiry made no suggestion that Jean Vanier had inappropriate relationships with people with intellectual disabilities.

Alongside the GCPS inquiry, L’Arche International commissioned a major piece of historical research based on previously unseen archives. Analysis of the various archives reveals the sources of Jean Vanier’s attitude towards these women, and confirms that he adopted some of Father Thomas Philippe’s deviant theories and practices.

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.

PARIS (FRANCE)
Associated Press

February 22, 2020

By Sylvie Corbet

A respected Catholic figure who worked to improve conditions for the developmentally disabled for more than half a century sexually abused at least six women during most of that period, according to a report released Saturday by the France-based charity he founded.

The report produced for L’Arche International said the women’s descriptions provided enough evidence to show that Jean Vanier engaged in “manipulative sexual relationships” from 1970 to 2005, usually with a “psychological hold” over the alleged victims.

Although he was a layman and not a priest, many Catholics hailed Vanier, who was Canadian, as a living saint for his work with the disabled. He died last year at age 90.

“The alleged victims felt deprived of their free will and so the sexual activity was coerced or took place under coercive conditions,” the report,commissioned by L’Arche last year and prepared by the U.K.-based GCPS Consulting group, said. It did not rule out potential other victims.

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)
New York Times

February 23, 2020

By Eva Mbengue

The French-based charity, L’Arche International, revealed that its founder, Jean Vanier, had engaged in “manipulative sexual relationships” with women from 1970 to 2005.

Feb. 23, 2020

Paris – The founder of a French charity who helped improve the lives of people with learning disabilities for over half a century had also engaged in “manipulative sexual relationships” with at least six women, the charity has revealed in a new internal report.

The report, released last week by the French-based charity, L’Arche International, said that Jean Vanier, the charity’s founder, had relationships with women from 1970 to 2005 that were at turns “inappropriate,” “coercive” or “non-consensual.” It also said he had a “psychological hold” over some of the victims.

None of the women who said they had been abused by Mr. Vanier had a disability. Some worked in the community, and some were nuns, according to the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail.

Mr. Vanier, a Canadian religious leader who founded the charity in 1964, died in Paris last year at age 90.

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 (DC)
Vox

February 22, 2020

By Anya van Wagtendonk

Once considered a near-saint, Vanier is accused of sexual abuse by six women.

L’Arche founder Jean Vanier speaks at a London press conference in 2015. Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images
A man venerated in Catholic circles and beyond is alleged to have sexually abused six women over the course of decades, according to an internal report commissioned by the charity that he founded.

Jean Vanier, a Canadian who founded the nonprofit L’Arche to serve adults with intellectual disabilities, and who died last year at age 90, engaged in “manipulative and emotionally abusive” sexual relationships with at least six women under the guise of providing spiritual guidance, according to a report conducted by L’Arche and released on its website Saturday.

Between 1970 and 2005, Vanier allegedly exerted a “psychological hold” over his alleged victims, all women living in France, and none of whom had disabilities themselves. The report does not conclude whether there were additional alleged victims beyond the six who came forward and detailed their abuse.

“The women each report that Jean Vanier initiated sexual behaviours with them, usually in the context of spiritual accompaniment. Some of these women have been deeply wounded by these experiences,” reads a summary of the report released by L’Arche International. The report found the allegations to be “credible.”

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.

TENTERFIELD (NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA)
Tenterfield Star

February 24, 2020

By Laurie Bullock

A former Catholic priest, accused of sexually abusing or molesting children while he was working in the New England region, will face trial early next year.

David Joseph Perrett appeared in Armidale District Court on Friday morning where a trial date was set down for two weeks, from January 18, 2021.

But the court head the trial could be as long as four weeks, with hearing days to only run for three or four hours due to Perrett’s poor health.

Perrett had been facing charges in relation to 37 separate complainants, but his defence counsel requested the case be reduced to three or four complainants and be heard before a judge alone rather than a jury.

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

DENVER (CO)
Crux

February 23, 2020

By Carol Glatz

Rome – Since Pope Francis convened a historic summit at the Vatican one year ago to address clergy sex abuse and accountability, much has been done, but advocates say more is needed.

Dozens of experts, abuse survivors and their advocates came to Rome the same week as the summit’s anniversary to emphatically reiterate the need to never let ignorance, complacency or denial ever take hold again and to make the church safe for everyone.

The advocacy groups held media events and worked on talking to as many Vatican officials and religious leaders as possible to highlight still unaddressed concerns such as abuse by women religious, transparency in past and current Vatican investigations of known abusers and the likelihood of ever seeing “zero tolerance” for known predators.

However, significant measures have been rolled out piecemeal over the year. Here is a rundown of the most major changes:

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

DENVER (CO)
Catholic News Agency

February 22, 2020

Mexico City, Mexico – The Church in Mexico has expressed its support for several bills to eliminate the statute of limitations for the sexual abuse of minors, which stands now at ten years. The bills were introduced in the country’s Federal Congress and would only apply to future, not past cases.

The Mexican bishops do not anticipate that reported abuse cases will be comparable in number to those seen by the Church in the United States, and the Church in Mexico has not seen lawsuits filed on a comparable level.

Speaking to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish language news partner, Bishop Alfonso Miranda Guardiola, secretary general of the Mexican bishops’ conference, said the country’s bishops support lawmakers’ efforts to eliminate the statute of limitations for the sexual abuse of minors and have been “respectfully proposing to members of the House and Senate to introduce this kind of proposal.”

“These new legislative proposals are a good thing for the nation,” he said, since “they are legal instruments to take actions, correct, eradicate the evil, care for the victims and prosecute the perpetrators,” Miranda 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.

NAIROBI (KENYA)
Daily Nation

February 23, 2020

By Dickens Wasonga

Police in Siaya County have arrested a priest accused of defiling a primary school girl.

Sub-County Police Commander Justus Kucha said 38-year-old Isaac Omondi was taken to Siaya police station.

Mr Kucha said members of the public called police after the priest was seen with the girl at a lodging house in Siaya town.

“Our officers promptly responded and arrested the priest together with the juvenile at around 3pm on Saturday,” the police commander said on Sunday.

He said the two were examined at Siaya County Referral Hospital and the minor given medication and handed over to her parents.

She is expected to testify in court once investigations are completed.

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.

MILAN (ITALY)
Associated Press

February 17, 2020

By Nicole Winfield and Maria Verza

The Vatican effort to reform the disgraced Legion of Christ religious order is coming under new scrutiny, with four Legion priests and a Legion lawyer due to stand trial on charges they tried to obstruct justice and extort the family of a sex abuse victim.

The preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 12 in Milan. The case is significant because it calls into question the effectiveness of the Vatican reform since the alleged crimes occurred at the end of the Holy See’s four-year effort to turn the Legion around.

In addition, evidence obtained during the investigation, including documents seized when police raided the Legion’s Rome headquarters in 2014, showed an elaborate cover-up that stretched from Milan to Mexico, the Vatican to Venezuela, prosecutors say.

The charges at the heart of the Milan trial center around a settlement proposal offered by the Legion to Yolanda Martinez on Oct. 18, 2013, to compensate for the sexual abuse her son suffered at the hands of a Legion priest at the order’s youth seminary in northern Italy.

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 21, 2020

By Philip Pullella

Victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests at a school for the deaf in Argentina staged a protest at the Vatican on Friday to bring attention to an upcoming trial of more alleged abusers.

Last November a court in the province of Mendoza convicted two priests and the former gardener at a Catholic Church-run school on 28 counts of sexual abuse and corruption of minors.

Trials for about 10 others who worked at the Antonio Provolo Institute for the deaf, including teachers and a nun, are expected to start in a few months. They are accused of abetting the abuse by the priests.

About 20 people, including several former students, held up signs reading “Zero Tolerance,” “Don’t Forget,” and “We Are Not Going Away” in front of the building housing the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine for the Faith, which handles abuse cases. The victims’ lawyers and other victims of abuse were among those who joined the protest.

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 (VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA)
The Age

February 23, 2020

By Debbie Cuthbertson

A three-year research project into paedophile Catholic clerics in Victoria has identified 16 child sex abuse networks operating over six decades involving 99 priests and Christian Brothers.

The investigation found that clergy paedophile rings shared patterns of behaviour with criminal gangs, the Mafia, terrorist cells, corrupt police, drug dealers, money launderers and price-fixing cartels.

The research showed their abuse was facilitated and reinforced by church hierarchy, including five successive archbishops of Melbourne from Daniel Mannix, appointed in 1917, through to George Pell (himself appealing against a conviction for child sex abuse) in 2001.

The researcher, Sally Muytjens, spent more than three years investigating “dark networks” of paedophile clergy in Victorian dioceses. She published the research late last year, receiving a doctorate from Queensland University of Technology.

Muytjens’ research found the largest and most active dark networks were at schools including St Alipius in Ballarat and Salesian College, Rupertswood, and orphanages including St Vincent de Paul’s in South Melbourne and St Augustine’s in Geelong.

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

DENVER (CO)
National Catholic Register

February 21, 2020

By Peter Jesserer Smith

The BSA now joins Church dioceses in filing for bankruptcy over sex-abuse claims, although the legal contexts are different in some respects.

Buffalo NY – For Jennie Marinaro, a Catholic and a scouting parent, the Boy Scouts of America’s announcement of bankruptcy as a result of decades of failures to protect children from sex abuse was heartbreak upon heartbreak.

“It bothers me now that two organizations I am involved with are involved in covering up sexual assault,” Marinaro told the Register. The Buffalo-area mom said she had stopped donating money to the Catholic Church as her own diocese goes through a painful reckoning of the sex-abuse scandal. And while she feels her own scouting troop cares about protecting children, the bankruptcy announcement has her feeling deeply conflicted.

The Boy Scouts of America filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware on Feb. 18. The 110-year-old youth organization is seeking to put an end to hundreds of sex-abuse lawsuits as well as protect from further litigation its 261 local councils and hundreds of local organizations chartering its youth units.

The BSA put up a special website that explained the national organization filed for bankruptcy in order to restructure and fulfill two mandates: first to “social and moral responsibility to equitably compensate all victims who were abused during their time in scouting” and “a duty to carry out our mission for years to come.”

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)
WHTM

February 21, 2020

By Priscilla Liguori

Up for debate in federal court Friday were the assets of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg. It was the first of multiple hearings in the Chapter 11 proceedings.

This comes less than 48 hours after the diocese filed for bankruptcy, and months after it paid more than $12 million to survivors of clergy sex abuse.

No church leaders were at the hearing the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse.

For now, the diocese’s 177 employees will continue to be paid, as operations go on as normal.

The diocese says it has 200 creditors and estimated liabilities between $50 million and $100 million, with assets of less than $10 million.

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

DENVER (CO)
Crux

February 22, 2020

By Elise Ann Allen

Photo Caption: Abuse survivors and advocates from the organizations of SNAP, Ending Clergy Abuse and Bishops Accountability stand in front of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on Friday, Feb. 21, 2020 to demand action on the anniversary of Pope Francis’s global summit on child protection.

Rome – As the Boy Scouts of America slide further into scandal with allegations of widespread sexual abuse continuing to go public, the Catholic Church also finds itself on the public hot seat again one year after a global summit on child protection.

Exactly 12 months after Pope Francis’s historic Feb. 21-24 abuse summit, attended by the presidents of all episcopal conferences worldwide, both survivors and experts have reflected on what the institution has accomplished, and what has yet to be done.

Speaking to Crux, German Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, who was part of the summit’s organizing committee, called the event “a milestone” in both recognizing and accepting that the abuse of children and vulnerable people is a global problem, and that the Church “must be at the forefront” of developing and implementing best practices for safeguarding.

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

February 22, 2020

By Mark Redmond

In 2018 Bishop Christopher Coyne of Burlington, Vermont, announced that he would be forming a committee comprised of lay people to produce a report which would list those priests who had been credibly accused of abusing children. When I read that, I emailed him offering to serve on the committee. I have spent my entire career, almost 40 years, in the field of child protection and safety, I am a Catholic, and I knew Bishop Coyne from prior matters. He emailed back, “Thank you, because I was going to ask you.”

There were seven of us on the committee, including one survivor of abuse by a priest. At the first meeting, Coyne announced that this report was ours and only ours to write and that he would not attend future meetings unless we invited him. He vowed not to change one name, one comma. He also promised us total and complete access to any file of any priest: living, deceased, retired, active — it did not matter, we could see them all, at any time.

A lawyer, a retired state’s attorney, was named head of the committee, but in short order he had to take time off for medical reasons, and I was asked to take over, which I accepted. We started meeting in October of that year and predicted to Coyne that our report would be complete by the end of the year. Once we started digging into the 50-plus files, some of which dated back to the 1940s, we had to tell him we would need many more months. “Take the time that you need in order to get it right,” was his response, which we all appreciated.

The first thing we had to establish was our definition of “credibly accused,” because unfortunately we learned there is no one universally accepted definition among Catholic dioceses. We reviewed reports already done by other dioceses and settled upon that used by the Diocese of Syracuse, New York, which is that an allegation that, based upon the facts of the case, meets one or more of the following thresholds:

1. Natural, reasonable, plausible and probable
2. Corroborated with other evidence or another source
3. Acknowledged/admitted to by the accused

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)
America Magazine

February 22, 2020

By Michael J. O’Loughlin

When Jean Vanier, the charismatic founder of a global network of institutions serving adults with physical and intellectual disabilities, died last May, tributes poured in from around the world, with The New York Times describing him in an obituary as a “savior of people on the margins.” Less than a year later, one of the communities he founded, L’Arche, finds itself confronting troubling details of Mr. Vanier’s past, including his participation in a shadowy group with ties to a priest accused of sexual and spiritual abuse, lies related to what Mr. Vanier knew about that priest and allegations from women who say Mr. Vanier engaged in similar behavior over several decades.

In a report that will soon be released conducted by L’Arche, Mr. Vanier is accused of sexual misconduct with six adult, non-disabled women who sought spiritual direction from the late activist, author and philosopher. According to a press release from L’Arche USA, the investigation “reveals that Jean Vanier himself has been accused of manipulative sexual relationships and emotional abuse between 1970 and 2005, usually within a relational context where he exercised significant power and a psychological hold over the alleged victims.”

According to the release, the inquiry “has found the allegations to be credible.”

According to L’Arche USA, an investigation “reveals that Jean Vanier himself has been accused of manipulative sexual relationships and emotional abuse between 1970 and 2005.”
Tweet this

“Independently from one another, the witnesses describe similar occurrences, which had a long-lasting and negative impact on their personal lives and subsequent relationships.”

The investigation, commissioned by L’Arche International in 2019 shortly before Mr. Vanier’s death, found that Mr. Vanier engaged in unethical and abusive behavior with the women that mirrored the abusive behavior committed by his spiritual mentor and an early advisor to his organizations, the Rev. Thomas Philippe, who died 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.

NEW CASTLE (PA)
New Castle Times

February 22, 2020

By John Finnerty

While the move by the Harrisburg Catholic Diocese to declare bankruptcy puts the brakes on civil lawsuits, it opens the door for other victims to seek compensation regardless of the state’s statute of limitations.

The diocese has already paid out almost $13 million to 111 victims of child sexual abuse, but officials on Wednesday said church officials believe there may be another 200 victims who could seek compensation through the bankruptcy proceeding.

Since the intent of the bankruptcy is to resolve all possible claims, it’s likely that the proceeding will allow victims to seek compensation even if the state doesn’t open a window to allow lawsuits for victims whose cases are beyond the state’s statute of limitations, said Richard Serbin, an attorney who has represented victims in several high-profile church abuse cases.

“Victims will be compensated,” said Serbin. “The question is: ‘How much?’”

The diocese told the court it has estimated its potential liabilities between $50 million and $100 million, with assets of less than $10 million. It listed creditors that include a $30 million loan from the Pennsylvania Economic Development Financing Authority and 12 blacked-out names that were represented by lawyers.

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.

GRAND RAPIDS (MI)
FOX 17

February 21, 2020

Kalamazoo MI – The Diocese of Kalamazoo says it is looking into a credible allegation of sexual abuse by a former priest.

The allegations are against now-retired Rev. Richard Fritz and date back to the late 1970s and early 1980s. Fritz retired after 35 years with the Diocese of Kalamazoo in 2015 while facing allegations of embezzlement.

Fritz faced criminal charges for the alleged embezzlement but they were ultimately dropped by St. Joseph County prosecutors.

The diocese says the Michigan Attorney General’s Office is aware of the allegations and a clergy review board is looking into the matter.

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

ST. LOUIS (MO)
Riverfront Times

February 21, 2020

By Danny Wicentowski

He was “Priest 80,” but after a Missouri prosecutor filed criminal charges alleging sexual assault, that unnamed priest was revealed this week to be Frederick Lutz. Until now, the retired priest living in Springfield had been identified only by a number in a report issued last year by the Missouri Attorney General — just one among 163 cases of reported priest abuse.

On Thursday, Lutz, 76, pleaded not guilty in the Circuit Court of Stoddard County. He’s currently in custody on a $125,000 bond, charged with two counts of statutory sodomy, one count of sexual abuse and one count of forcible sodomy.

According to the probable cause statement, all four charges involve the same then-seventeen-year-old victim; He told investigators that the abuse occurred in 2000 while Lutz was a priest in a parish southeast Missouri.

The fact that Lutz is even facing charges is notable, considering the fact that the allegations against him were known for years to Catholic officials and recorded in the church’s personnel files.

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.

CINCINNATI (OH)
FOX19

February 21, 2020

St. Xavier High School officials say they have established allegations of psychological sexual abuse against a former priest, Father Ed Pigott.

Pigott’s name has accordingly been added to a list published by the U.S. Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus. The list enumerates Jesuits with such established allegations of abuse.

Establishing allegations means “there is a reasonable certainty that the accusation is true,” according to a letter released by the school.

The letter, signed by school principal Terry Tyrrell and school president Tim Reilly, says Pigott was removed from his duties in 2018 after the allegations came to light.

The alleged abuse happened between 1992 and 1994.

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.

CINCINNATI (OH)
WKRC

February 21, 2020

By Katherine Barrier

Springfield OH – A former St. Xavier High School priest has been accused of psychological sexual abuse, according to the school.

Fr. Ed Pigott was part of the St. Xavier community from 1969 to 2018. After the school published a list of Jesuit priests, brothers and scholastics who had established allegations of sexual abuse against minors in 2018, allegations were brought against Pigott. The school said the reported abuse happened between 1992 and 1994.

After the allegations, Pigott was not allowed to have unsupervised access to students and was then removed from his duties at the school on Dec. 19, 2018.

On Friday, the school said an independent investigation shows allegations against Pigott to be established, meaning the allegations are based on facts and circumstances where “there is a reasonable certainty that the accusation is true.” Pigott’s name has been added to the list of Jesuits with established accusations of psychological sexual abuse against minors.

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

NEW YORK (NY)
Associated Press

February 21, 2020

By Tom Hays and Michael R. Sisak

Jurors deliberating in Harvey Weinstein’s rape trial indicated Friday that they are deadlocked on the most serious charges, but the judge told them to keep trying.

In a note sent to the judge during their lunch break, jurors asked if it were permissible for them to be hung on two counts of predatory sexual assault while reaching a unanimous verdict on other charges.

After consulting with prosecutors and Weinstein’s lawyers, Judge James Burke told the jury of seven men and five women to keep working toward a unanimous verdict on all charges and sent them back to continue deliberating.

Weinstein’s lawyers said they would accept a partial verdict, but prosecutors said no and Burke refused to allow it.

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

NEW YORK (NY)
The New York Times

February 19, 2020

By Mike Baker

Hoping to contain a growing deluge of sexual-abuse lawsuits, the Boy Scouts of America took shelter in bankruptcy court Tuesday, filing for Chapter 11 protection that will let it keep operating while it grapples with questions about the future of the century-old Scouting movement.

The bankruptcy filing was made by the national organization, which said that it did not involve the local councils across the country that run scouting programs day to day. Even so, the case sets up what may be one of the most complex and uncertain financial restructurings in American history. Thousands of people have already come forward with allegations that they were abused as scouts, and many more are expected to do so.

The Boy Scouts, whose mission to promote patriotism, courage, self-reliance and kindred virtues was enshrined in a rare congressional charter in 1916, said it plans to continue its work “for many years to come.”

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

February 17, 2020

By Louise Milligan, Mary Fallon and Lauren Day

A top Catholic boys’ school is facing accusations of a culture of cover-up, after revelations its principal and dean of sport gave references for a now-convicted child sex offender but gave no support to the victim during the court process.

St Kevin’s College in Melbourne hit the headlines last year when its students were filmed singing a sexist chant on a Melbourne tram.

The incident tarred the reputation of the school and ignited wider debates about private boys’ school culture.

In recent years, St Kevin’s was also caught up in one of the biggest scandals to hit the Catholic Church. A jury found Cardinal George Pell guilty of sexually abusing two 13-year-old choirboys at St Patrick’s Cathedral. The two victims were on scholarships at St Kevin’s.

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
America: The Jesuit Review

February 21, 2020

By Megan K. McCabe

In October 2017, The New Yorker published Ronan Farrow’s now-famous story identifying the Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein as the perpetrator of numerous acts of sexual assault and harassment against women in the film industry. Weinstein is facing sex crime charges in Los Angeles and is currently on trial in New York City.

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
CNN

February 20, 2020

By Eric Levenson

The Boy Scouts of America’s bankruptcy filing Tuesday puts it into similar company as almost two dozen US Catholic dioceses and USA Gymnastics.

Each of the organizations faces scores of sexual abuse lawsuits that allege the organization failed to stop serial predators from abusing young children. And each has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to figure out a way to pay those victims.
Despite those broad similarities, there are differences in the scale of the lawsuits and abuse claims against each organization.

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 (DC)
ChurchMilitant.com

February 13, 2020

By Paul Murano

Collections from the archdiocese of Washington’s “Annual Appeal” are plummeting after almost two years of scandal involving clerical sex abuse and cover-up.

The Annual Appeal is an yearly fundraiser that finances some archdiocesan programs. Owing largely to the well-documented sexual misconduct scandals that sparked what many Catholics have dubbed “the summer of shame,” the appeal took a big hit this past year, taking in nearly one-third less money in 2019 than it did in 2018.

The archdiocese of Washington, which includes the District of Columbia and its Maryland suburbs, took in $10,350,027 in its 2019 annual appeal, compared to the $14,192,188 it received in 2018. Before this sharp decline, the appeal took in around the same amount each year since 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.

ST. LOUIS (MO)
ChurchMilitant.com

February 17, 2020

By Kristine Christlieb

A former monk and self-described “fixer” for the Catholic Church claims Missouri is uniquely favorable to predator priests.

Speaking to St. Louis’ Fox 2 News this week, Patrick Wall noted that “Missouri law has been very favorable to the Church,” explaining that has fueled the creation of “treatment” centers — housing offender priests — in the state.

Rebecca Randles, a Kansas City attorney who represents clergy abuse victims agrees. She told Church Militant: “All you have to do is start from the top down. Just think about who some of the leaders of the Catholic Church in Missouri have been in the last three decades.”

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

TEL AVIV (ISRAEL)
CBS News

February 19, 2020

By Ian Lee

It’s a tense stakeout, waiting for Jimmy Julius Karow to appear. He is a wanted man and is considered dangerous. Accused of sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl in Oregon in 2000, he fled to Israel before authorities in the U.S. could apprehend him or figure out where he went. Karow has been running from U.S. law enforcement ever since. Currently INTERPOL, an inter-governmental policing organization that works with 194 countries, has a Red Notice to alert police worldwide that he’s a fugitive.

Two years after he fled the U.S., Karow was convicted by an Israeli court of child molestation in a separate case. He served time and was released. Now another alleged Israeli victim has come forward, saying he began abusing her when she was 5-years-old, and continued for years.

Karow has successfully evaded authorities by moving between communities in Israel for almost two decades, and he is not alone.

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.

BENTON HARBOR (MI)
TARGET 8

February 19, 2020

By Ken Kolker

Father Jacob Vellian is a revered religious scholar and author in his native India. He’s known for his singing voice and his knowledge of the Syriac language, which predates Christ.

In Michigan, almost 8,000 miles away, he is known as an accused pedophile priest.

But it’s unlikely he’ll ever face a judge, even though he was one of five Catholic priests charged in May 2019 with sexually abusing children in Michigan.

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)
New Hampshire Union Leader

February 20, 2020

By Kevin Landrigan

Sexual assault victims and their advocates offered emotional testimony Thursday in support of eliminating the statute of limitations to bring civil lawsuits against abusers.

Currently, victims under 18 years old have until they turn 30 to bring a lawsuit for damages against an abuser.

Anyone older than 18 only has three years after the offense to sue.

This bill (SB 508) before the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday would eliminate that statute of limitations and also erase any immunity any government entity might have against being sued.

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 LONDON (CT)
The Day

February 20, 2020

By Joe Wojtas

Victims of childhood sexual assault suffered another setback Thursday as they learned the General Assembly’s Judiciary Committee has decided not to consider a bill that would have eliminated the statute of limitations that prevents older victims from filing lawsuits.

The revelation comes after a state law passed in last year’s session created a task force to study the issue and make a recommendation. That task force, headed by state Sen. Mae Flexer, D-Killingly, recommended the elimination of the statute of limitations, which currently prohibits those older than 51 from suing the person who assaulted them and organizations such as the Catholic Church.

“This is heart-wrenching news,” said Beth McCabe, one of the leaders of the Connecticut chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, and a sexual assault victim herself. “They (the victims) will be hurting tonight. And they will be hurting until we get this law passed.”

Lucy Nolan, director of policy and public relations for the Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence, said, “We know there are some very powerful opponents out there that can block this kind of legislation. They are stopping survivors from getting the help they need to move forward with their lives.”

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.

MECHANICSBURG (PA)
PennLive

February 21, 2020

By Ivey DeJesus

https://www.pennlive.com/news/2020/02/bankruptcy-court-could-force-catholic-diocese-of-harrisburg-to-disclose-secret-archives-of-clergy-sex-abuse.html

In 2015, amid a wave of sex abuse lawsuits, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis filed for federal bankruptcy protection.

Amid the financial wrangling that came with the move, the bankruptcy court ordered the archdiocese to release all of its secret archives on predator priests.

The order tore open the shield that the archdiocese had for decades used to protect priests who sexually abused children. The records showed how church officials had moved predators from one church to another, affording them new victims at every new assignment.

In the end, 91 clergy members were identified as sex abusers. And almost four years later, the archdiocese closed a $210-million settlement with more than 400 survivors, the largest such settlement in the nation. In recent years, other Catholic dioceses have been forced to release files confidential files detailing claims of abuse.

This week, when the Harrisburg Diocese announced it was filing for bankruptcy protection, officials focused on the financial matters at hand.

The matter of confidential church archives at this point has yet to factor in the discussion – at least publicly. But experts in the Catholic Church clergy sex abuse scandal point out the matter is poised to be a pivotal turning point for the Harrisburg Diocese.

“The 40th Statewide Grand Jury report did a good job,” said Terry McKiernan, president of BishopAccountability.org, a non-profit that tracks clergy sex abuse cases. “But their staff was limited. Time was limited. There’s a whole lot more to understand about Harrisburg than was contained in the report.”

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)
Daily News

February 20, 2020

By Shant Shahrigian

Charles Pellegrino was just in second grade when he allegedly suffered physical and sexual abuse at the hands of his Catholic school teacher in Queens.

“He was really savagely beaten by this Sister Mary Jeremy — kicked in his groin and otherwise really injured,” his attorney Diane Paolicelli told the Daily News. “He had to leave the school.”

Earlier this week, he became the latest New Yorker to sue the Catholic Church thanks to the Child Victims Act, which opened a one-year window for survivors to seek justice even if the statute of limitations had already expired.

Pellegrino, 66, is suing the Diocese of Brooklyn and its Flushing-based St. Michael’s Catholic Academy in Queens Supreme Court for enabling Jeremy to savagely attack him.

“This poor child went through hell,” Paolicelli said of her client’s time at the academy, which came during the 1959-1960 school year.

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

PAWCATUK (CT)
Westerly Sun

February 19, 2020

By Brady McCombs and Randall Chase

Salt Lake City – Like millions of other Americans the 1950s and ’60s, Duane Ruth-Heffelbower spent his formative years learning to tie knots, build campfires and pitch tents with the Boy Scouts, whose wholesome reputation was burnished by Norman Rockwell’s paintings of fresh-faced Scouts, brave, courteous and cheerful.

Though he’s no longer involved in Scouting, the 70-year-old Mennonite minister from Fresno, California, has followed the slow deterioration of the national Boy Scouts of America from afar and cringes to think what this week’s bankruptcy filing over a blizzard of sex-abuse lawsuits might mean for an organization already grappling with a decline in membership.

“It’s really sad. I’m afraid that people are going to be more skeptical than they were once about the organization and will be more inclined to look for other alternatives to Scouting,” said Ruth-Heffelbower, who grew up in Kansas. “These days there are so many things pulling at kids.”

With its finances and its reputation for moral rectitude damaged by scandal, the Scouts resorted to Chapter 11 bankruptcy Tuesday in hopes of pulling through the crisis by setting up a victims’ compensation fund for thousands of men who were molested as boys by Scout leaders over the decades.

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

FERNDALE (MI)
Church Militant

February 20, 2020

By Bradley Eli

Stephen Brady: ‘I’m confident the truth will come out’

The finding of “credible” homosexual abuse allegations against California priest Msgr. Craig Harrison by local law enforcement not only discredits the priest’s defamation suit against a whistleblower, says an attorney, it also opens the priest up to a counter lawsuit.

According to attorney Paul Jonna, Friday’s statement by the Fresno County district attorney (D.A.) regarding the existence of credible allegations against Harrison undermines the priest’s defamation lawsuit against Jonna’s client, Stephen Brady, and Brady’s organization, Roman Catholic Faithful (RCF).

On Tuesday Jonna told media, “Because the Fresno DA has now found ‘credible’ allegations of sexual abuse on the part of Harrison, there is no way he can maintain a defamation case against Brady and RCF.”

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

VATICAN CITY
Religion News Service via National Catholic Reporter

February 21, 2020

By Claire Giangrave

One year after Pope Francis called for a summit of Catholic bishops at the Vatican, abuse survivors flocked to the Eternal City on Feb. 20 to report a lack of progress and accountability in the fight against clergy sex abuse.

Three Argentine deaf abuse survivors of the notorious pedophile priest Nicola Corradi, who in November was convicted and sentenced to prison for the abuse of students at the Provolo Institute for Deaf and Hearing Impaired Children, gave a press conference in Rome on Feb. 20 and stood in St. Peter’s Square demanding justice and reparations from the Catholic Church and Francis.

“We demand a law that obligates the Vatican to stop the coverup and change the situation decisively,” said Daniel Sgardelis, one of the Argentine survivors, with the help of an interpreter at the press conference.

“The deaf have always suffered abuse from priests, and we need this to change. That’s enough!” he added.

Another survivor, Ezequiel Villalonga, explained that the group had just returned from a meeting with United Nations officials in Geneva where they accused the Catholic Church of withholding crucial evidence, failing to collaborate with civil authorities and refusing to pay reparations to the 24 victims of Corradi in Argentina.

“In Argentina we haven’t gotten justice,” Villalonga said. “Now we are survivors and we know our rights and we demand for this to stop.”

The deaf victims of Corradi and other members of the Catholic clergy in Argentina were accompanied by their lawyers and representatives from other international survivor networks, Ending Clergy Abuse and bishopaccountability.org.

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.

PORTSMOUTH (NH)
SeaCoastOnline

February 20, 2020

By Alex LaCasse

Concord NH – The Daniel Webster Council responded to Tuesday’s news the Boy Scouts of America filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy by stating the move would have no effect on the programming offered to scouts across New Hampshire.

Daniel Webster Council (DWC) Scout Executive Jay Garee said the council would continue to provide “programming, financial, facility and administrative support to local units and individual scouts in New Hampshire,” in wake of BSA filing for bankruptcy.

“Daniel Webster Council… has not filed for bankruptcy,” Garee said. “Meetings and activities, district and council events, other scouting adventures and countless service projects are taking place as usual. In short, there is no change to the local scouting experience.”

However, BSA’s decision to file for bankruptcy casts the public spotlight on the more than 290 outstanding lawsuits against the organization, the vast majority filed by individuals claiming they were molested by scout volunteer leaders.

BSA officials said the decision to file for bankruptcy would pave the way to setting up a trust for victims of abuse to claim damages, similar to individual Catholic dioceses filing for bankruptcy protection in response to allegations of sexual abuse within their ranks.

“The BSA cannot undo what happened to you, but we are committed to supporting you and to doing everything in our power to prevent it from happening to others. It is a social and moral responsibility that I and the entire organization take extremely seriously,” Jim Turley, national chair of BSA, wrote in an open letter to victims, which ran as a full-page ad in Wednesday’s USA Today. “We believe that all victims should receive our support and compensation – and we have taken decisive action to make that possible.”

Mitchell Garabedian, whose Boston law firm represents victims of sexual abuse, is one of the 25 lawyers with the most outstanding lawsuits against BSA seeking damages for victims alleging they were molested during their time in scouting. He said BSA filed for bankruptcy in response to several states adopting legislation eliminating statutes of limitations with respect to victims of sexual assault pursuing civil damages, such as New York and New Jersey.

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 / Katholische Nachrichten-Agentur

February 20, 2020

Munich – New details seem to emerge in a case involving a priest found guilty on several counts of sexual abuse who had held positions in the Munich archdiocese under then Archbishop Joseph Ratzinger — the later Pope Benedict XVI., now Pope emeritus.

New investigations by the German television programme “Frontal21” and the research centre CORRECTIV indicate that there were more points of contact between the priest identified only as “H.” and Ratzinger than previously known.

The case sparked worldwide attention in 2010 when American media learned that in 1980, the suspected clergyman, with the approval of then Archbishop Ratzinger, was given a position in pastoral ministry on condition of undergoing therapy. H. would go on to serve for decades in the archdiocese of Munich-Freising.

This did not change even after he received a suspended sentence in 1986 following a new abuse case. There would follow further accusations about abusive behaviour towards minors before H. was ultimately suspended from the priesthood in 2010.

The research published on Feb. 18 points to supposition that Ratzinger, who between 1982 and 2005 led the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the Vatican, during that period might have known about the continuing employment of the priest. From 2001 onwards Ratzinger, in his position as prefect, was in charge of the worldwide prosecution of abuse crimes by catholic clergymen.

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.

WAUSAU (WI)
Daily Herald

February 20, 2020

By Laura Schulte

Hayward – A former Northwoods priest convicted of sexually assaulting boys could be released on parole less than a year after he was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Thomas Ericksen will go before the Wisconsin Parole Commission in April, according to a letter the state Department of Corrections sent to one of his victims, who shared it with the Wausau Daily Herald. The hearing doesn’t mean Ericksen will be released, only that he is eligible for parole.

The Parole Commission will take into consideration statements from victims about how Ericksen’s crimes affected them and their feelings about whether he should be released early, the letter said.

Steve Weix, a Merrill educator, was one of the first victims to go to investigators a decade ago, and was the first to reach out to the Daily Herald about the former priest. Weix said he plans to respond to the potential parole and let it be known that Ericksen shouldn’t walk free this soon.

He said he’s shocked the letter arrived so soon.

“I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “A lot of people just spent 10 years trying to get him convicted, and it finally happened in September. Now they’re already looking at paroling him in April? It doesn’t make any sense.”

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

February 20, 2020

By Nicole Winfield

Survivors of church sex abuse have descended on Rome this week, marking the first anniversary of Pope Francis’ summit of church leaders on preventing abuse with calls for more accountability and acknowledgment of their pain.

On Thursday, three deaf Argentines marched to St. Peter’s Square. They were among the victims of violent sexual abuse by priests in the Argentine branch of the Provolo Institute, a Catholic-run school for the deaf that also saw dozens of victims at its school in Verona, Italy.

Recently, an Argentine court convicted two Provolo priests of repeatedly violating the children — including one who also was flagged to Francis as early as in 2014 as an abuser in Verona. “Support the Provolo survivors,” read a banner carried by the victims in front of St. Peter’s Square.

Also marching was Mary Dispenza, a survivor of abuse by both a priest and a nun. She and members of the U.S.-based victims’ advocacy group SNAP walked to the headquarters of the umbrella group of religious sisters and secured a meeting with its executive secretary, Sister Patricia Murray.

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.

FRONT ROYAL (VA)
LifeSite News

February 20, 2020

By Doug Mainwaring

Fr. Mark White used his blog to spotlight the ineffectiveness of the Church in dealing with the sexual abuse scandal.

Martinsville VA – A Catholic priest who joined Archbishop Viganò’s call for Pope Francis’ resignation over the McCarrick scandal has been ordered by his bishop to take down his popular blog and to refrain from commenting on social media.

Fr. Mark White serves as pastor of two rural parishes in the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia. He used his blog to spotlight the ineffectiveness of the Church in dealing with the sexual abuse scandal, especially regarding the Church’s handling of the McCarrick revelations. He was, at times, critical of Pope Francis, and sometimes used infelicitous language when pointing out the incompetence as well as the cover-up he witnessed in the Church’s hierarchy.

The drama began on November 2, 2019, when Bishop Barry Knestout and Vicar General Michael Boehling showed up unexpectedly as the noon Mass concluded at White’s St. Francis of Assisi Parish.

Fr. White said that during the twenty-minute meeting, Bishop Knestout “ordered me, in no uncertain terms, to keep silent. To remove my blog from circulation entirely, and to publish nothing further–not even my Sunday homilies.”

In that same meeting, White said Knestout “sternly threatened to remove me as pastor here if I did not silence myself.”

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

SPRINGFIELD (MO)
KY3

Feb 20, 2020

Advance MO – A retired Catholic priest faces multiple counts of sexual abuse with children while working at a church in southeast Missouri..

Stoddard County authorities arrested Frederick Lutz, 76, at his home in Springfield on a warrant for charges of forcible sodomy, two counts of statutory sodomy second degree and felony sexual abuse related to allegations of sex crimes. Investigators say those crimes happened as Lutz served as the priest at St. Joseph Parish in Advance, Mo.

Lutz served as priest in several parishes across the Springfield-Cape Girardeau Diocese, including Mount Vernon and Springfield.

On Thursday, February 20, Lutz appeared in court in Stoddard County. Lutz entered a not guilty plea. A judge set bond at $125,000. He is scheduled to reappear on Feb. 25 at 11 a.m. to address the issue of bond. Another hearing is set for March 12 at 1 p.m.

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.

JACKSONVILLE (FL)
News 4 JAX

February 20, 2020

Msgr. Michael Servinsky accused of knowing about sex abuse allegations, failing to tell police

The Diocese of St. Augustine has worked since 1989 to reform their reporting policies for sexual abuse hoping to avoid the pain that other dioceses across the country have experienced as lists of credibly accused priests have become available.

But church records show the Diocese of St. Augustine has also welcomed a priest accused of covering up some of the very same abuses.

Msgr. Michael Servinsky was ordained in 1970. He spent most of his service to the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown in Pennsylvania as a member of the Bishop’s Office. He began as a notary and eventually acted in the capacity as tribunal judge. He was appointed the Judicial Vicar in 1989 and later became Vicar General. He’s now a priest in residence at Santa Maria Del Mar Catholic Church in Flagler Beach.

In 2016, the Attorney General of Pennsylvania released a report detailing how more than 50 priests allegedly molested and raped kids within the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown. The accounts date back as far as the 1950s and stretch into the 90s.

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

ST. LOUIS (MO)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

February 20, 2020

Since the 1960s, the official organization of Boy Scouts have amassed more than 14,000 documents alleging complaints of sexual abuse by scoutmasters or volunteers.

Boy Scouts of America has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to protect the organization and its multibillion-dollar assets from seizure amid hundreds of sexual abuse lawsuits. A once-venerable institution, credited by generations of business and military leaders with grounding them in the fundamentals for success in life, finds itself in the same kind of crisis of trust facing the Catholic 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.

HARRISBURG (PA)
Bloomberg

February 19, 2020

By Steven Church

– Diocese faces claims from about 200 sex abuse victims
– Victims, church leaders at odds over payment for past abuses

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg, facing sex abuse claims it says it may not be able to pay, filed for bankruptcy protection, citing changing laws and an increasing number of victims.

The church “has struggled to remain financially viable while funding compensation for survivors and continued litigation by survivors,” the Pennsylvania diocese said in court papers filed Wednesday.

Early last year, church officials launched a compensation program for victims, giving them 90 days to file claims. The program paid more than $12.5 million to more than 110 victims, according to court papers.

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

DENVER (CO)
Associated Press

February 20, 2020

Colorado’s three Catholic dioceses have paid $1.2 million to 10 victims who were abused by priests as children and program administrators have 77 additional claims to process.

There have been 87 people applications for reparations under the program, which allows victims to seek compensation without filing a public lawsuit, The Denver Post reports.

Victims who accept the money can avoid an adversarial court process, but must agree to not file a lawsuit against 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.

ENGLAND
ITV News

February 19, 2020

Victims and survivors of church-related abuse are being asked to come forward as part of a safeguarding review across all 42 dioceses in the Church of England.

In Rochester this is the second time the second time it’s been carried out, to ensure that all concerns about clergy and church staff have been reported, assessed, and acted upon.

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

ENGLAND
ITV News

February 19, 2020

Victims and survivors of church-related abuse are being asked to come forward as part of a safeguarding review across all 42 dioceses in the Church of England.

In Rochester this is the second time the second time it’s been carried out, to ensure that all concerns about clergy and church staff have been reported, assessed, and acted upon.

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

RICHMOND (VA)
ChurchMilitant.com

February 19, 2020

By Bradley Eli, M.Div., Ma.Th.

Victims advocate: ‘They’ll lose their right to have their day in court’

The diocese of Richmond, Virginia is agreeing to compensate childhood victims of clergy sexual abuse but only if they agree to never sue the diocese.

On Monday, the diocese headed by Bp. Barry Knestout launched its “Independent Reconciliation Program” (program). A protocol of the program stipulates that a victim or “claimant” in signing the agreement or “release” forever surrenders the right to have the abuse case publically litigated in court.

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

RICHMOND (VA)
ChurchMilitant.com

February 19, 2020

By Bradley Eli, M.Div., Ma.Th.

Victims advocate: ‘They’ll lose their right to have their day in court’

The diocese of Richmond, Virginia is agreeing to compensate childhood victims of clergy sexual abuse but only if they agree to never sue the diocese.

On Monday, the diocese headed by Bp. Barry Knestout launched its “Independent Reconciliation Program” (program). A protocol of the program stipulates that a victim or “claimant” in signing the agreement or “release” forever surrenders the right to have the abuse case publically litigated in court.

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

BALTIMORE (MD)
Baltimore Sun

February 20, 2020

By Pamela Wood

As he’s done countless times before, Del. C.T. Wilson will sit at a dark wooden table in an Annapolis hearing room Thursday and plead with his colleagues to give victims of child sexual abuse more time to sue their abusers and the institutions that failed to stop the abuse.

He’s hoping to make Maryland the latest state to relax restrictions on when adults can file lawsuits stemming from abuse endured as children.

He acknowledges that he’s fighting an uphill battle.

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 (MD)
Baltimore Sun

February 20, 2020

By Pamela Wood

As he’s done countless times before, Del. C.T. Wilson will sit at a dark wooden table in an Annapolis hearing room Thursday and plead with his colleagues to give victims of child sexual abuse more time to sue their abusers and the institutions that failed to stop the abuse.

He’s hoping to make Maryland the latest state to relax restrictions on when adults can file lawsuits stemming from abuse endured as children.

He acknowledges that he’s fighting an uphill battle.

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)
WWL Radio.com

February 20, 2020

By Chris Miller

Today a New Orleans Civil District Court judge will hear arguments about whether or not emails that the head of public relations for the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans sent to the Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans, advising them on how to handle the church’s sex abuse scandal, should be made public.

The Associated Press says due to the high profile nature of the Saints and the church, the community should see emails, which may be used as evidence in a court case pending against the church over the sex abuse scandal.

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)
WWL Radio.com

February 20, 2020

By Chris Miller

Today a New Orleans Civil District Court judge will hear arguments about whether or not emails that the head of public relations for the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans sent to the Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans, advising them on how to handle the church’s sex abuse scandal, should be made public.

The Associated Press says due to the high profile nature of the Saints and the church, the community should see emails, which may be used as evidence in a court case pending against the church over the sex abuse scandal.

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)
The Associated Press

February 20, 2020

The New Orleans Saints headed to court Thursday in a bid to block the release of hundreds of confidential emails detailing the behind-the-scenes public relations work the team did for the area’s Roman Catholic archdiocese amid its sexual abuse crisis.

The request comes amid claims that the NFL team joined the Archdiocese of New Orleans in a “pattern and practice” of concealing sexual abuse — an allegation the Saints have vehemently denied.

Attorneys for some two dozen men suing the church say the emails show team officials had a say in deciding which priests the archdiocese named on a 2018 list of dozens of “credibly accused” clergy members, a roster an Associated Press analysis found was undercounted by at least 20 names.

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)
The Associated Press

February 20, 2020

The New Orleans Saints headed to court Thursday in a bid to block the release of hundreds of confidential emails detailing the behind-the-scenes public relations work the team did for the area’s Roman Catholic archdiocese amid its sexual abuse crisis.

The request comes amid claims that the NFL team joined the Archdiocese of New Orleans in a “pattern and practice” of concealing sexual abuse — an allegation the Saints have vehemently denied.

Attorneys for some two dozen men suing the church say the emails show team officials had a say in deciding which priests the archdiocese named on a 2018 list of dozens of “credibly accused” clergy members, a roster an Associated Press analysis found was undercounted by at least 20 names.

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

SPRINGFIELD (MO)
KFVS

February 19, 2020

By Frances Watson

Stoddard County, Mo. authorities arrested a retired Catholic priest living in Springfield after prosecutors charged him with multiple counts of sexual abuse.

According to Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Russ Oliver, 76-year-old Frederick Lutz was arrested on a Stoddard County warrant for charges of forcible sodomy, two counts of statutory sodomy second degree and felony sexual abuse related to allegations of sex crimes that happened while Lutz served as the priest at St. Joseph Parish in Advance, Mo. His bond was set at $125,000 cash only.

Prosecuting Attorney Oliver said the offenses are alleged to have happened between January and February 2000.

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

SPRINGFIELD (MO)
KFVS

February 19, 2020

By Frances Watson

Stoddard County, Mo. authorities arrested a retired Catholic priest living in Springfield after prosecutors charged him with multiple counts of sexual abuse.

According to Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Russ Oliver, 76-year-old Frederick Lutz was arrested on a Stoddard County warrant for charges of forcible sodomy, two counts of statutory sodomy second degree and felony sexual abuse related to allegations of sex crimes that happened while Lutz served as the priest at St. Joseph Parish in Advance, Mo. His bond was set at $125,000 cash only.

Prosecuting Attorney Oliver said the offenses are alleged to have happened between January and February 2000.

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

DENVER (CO)
KDVR

February 19, 2020

By Dara Bitler

The Colorado Independent Oversight Committee says 87 victims have filed abuse claims against Catholic priests in the Dioceses of Colorado as of January 31.

The IOC met in January to check the progress of the Independent Reconciliation and Reparations Program. According to the IOC, administrators have issued payment to 10 claimants. More than $1,200,000 has been paid to nine victims since the program launched.

“This is a very important program for victims of childhood sexual abuse. I am pleased that through this unique program, we are helping so many victims. The IOC is satisfied with the administration of the program thus far and looks forward to assisting the remaining victims in the program on their path to healing.” said Chair of the IOC, Hank Brown.

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

DENVER (CO)
KDVR

February 19, 2020

By Dara Bitler

The Colorado Independent Oversight Committee says 87 victims have filed abuse claims against Catholic priests in the Dioceses of Colorado as of January 31.

The IOC met in January to check the progress of the Independent Reconciliation and Reparations Program. According to the IOC, administrators have issued payment to 10 claimants. More than $1,200,000 has been paid to nine victims since the program launched.

“This is a very important program for victims of childhood sexual abuse. I am pleased that through this unique program, we are helping so many victims. The IOC is satisfied with the administration of the program thus far and looks forward to assisting the remaining victims in the program on their path to healing.” said Chair of the IOC, Hank Brown.

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)
Crux

February 20, 2020

By Jack Lyons

As the US Catholic Church’s “summer of hell” drew to a close in Oct. 2018, where major revelations of abuse toppled some of the most senior clergy in the nation, the president of the University of Notre Dame felt the school needed to do something.

“We must look at Notre Dame’s own history, actions and policies and also look for ways in which it can assist the Church,” Holy Cross Father John Jenkins said in a statement. “We will not single-handedly solve problems, but we can contribute to understanding, healing and constructive change.”

In that same statement, Jenkins established two task forces to produce recommendations on what the University could do.

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)
Crux

February 20, 2020

By Jack Lyons

As the US Catholic Church’s “summer of hell” drew to a close in Oct. 2018, where major revelations of abuse toppled some of the most senior clergy in the nation, the president of the University of Notre Dame felt the school needed to do something.

“We must look at Notre Dame’s own history, actions and policies and also look for ways in which it can assist the Church,” Holy Cross Father John Jenkins said in a statement. “We will not single-handedly solve problems, but we can contribute to understanding, healing and constructive change.”

In that same statement, Jenkins established two task forces to produce recommendations on what the University could do.

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 New York Times

February 19, 2020

By Michael Levenson

The Harrisburg Roman Catholic diocese became the latest to seek Chapter 11 protection. It faces claims from an estimated 200 victims of clergy sexual abuse.

The Diocese of Harrisburg in Pennsylvania filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday, becoming the latest Roman Catholic diocese to seek protection from creditors as it faces tens of millions of dollars in outstanding claims from people who were sexually abused by clergy members.

The diocese’s Chapter 11 filing came nearly two years after a devastating state grand jury report found that bishops and other leaders of the Catholic Church in Pennsylvania covered up child sexual abuse by more than 300 priests over a period of 70 years, persuading victims not to report the abuse and law enforcement agencies not to investigate it.

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

HARRISBURG (PA)
The New York Times

February 19, 2020

By Michael Levenson

The Harrisburg Roman Catholic diocese became the latest to seek Chapter 11 protection. It faces claims from an estimated 200 victims of clergy sexual abuse.

The Diocese of Harrisburg in Pennsylvania filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday, becoming the latest Roman Catholic diocese to seek protection from creditors as it faces tens of millions of dollars in outstanding claims from people who were sexually abused by clergy members.

The diocese’s Chapter 11 filing came nearly two years after a devastating state grand jury report found that bishops and other leaders of the Catholic Church in Pennsylvania covered up child sexual abuse by more than 300 priests over a period of 70 years, persuading victims not to report the abuse and law enforcement agencies not to investigate it.

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

DANBURY (CT)
News Times

February 19, 2020

By Peter Yankowski

A former priest at Our Lady of Guadalupe accused of sexually abusing one boy and groping another over the course of several years made a brief appearance in court Wednesday, but did not enter a plea.

Jaime Marin-Cardona was charged with three counts of fourth-degree sexual assault, three counts of risk of injury to child and three counts of illegal sexual contact after turning himself in to Danbury police on a warrant Jan. 3.

Marin-Cardona was present in Danbury Superior Court Wednesday, where his case was continued to March 13, the clerk’s office said.

Police learned of the abuse last September, after they were contacted by a church official about boundary violations and possible grooming of two children by the priest, according to the warrant for Marin-Cardona’s arrest.

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.

DANBURY (CT)
News Times

February 19, 2020

By Peter Yankowski

A former priest at Our Lady of Guadalupe accused of sexually abusing one boy and groping another over the course of several years made a brief appearance in court Wednesday, but did not enter a plea.

Jaime Marin-Cardona was charged with three counts of fourth-degree sexual assault, three counts of risk of injury to child and three counts of illegal sexual contact after turning himself in to Danbury police on a warrant Jan. 3.

Marin-Cardona was present in Danbury Superior Court Wednesday, where his case was continued to March 13, the clerk’s office said.

Police learned of the abuse last September, after they were contacted by a church official about boundary violations and possible grooming of two children by the priest, according to the warrant for Marin-Cardona’s arrest.

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.

JACKSON (MS)
Clarion Ledger

February 19, 2020

By Sarah Fowler

A former priest who was removed from the ministry after being credibly accused of sexual abuse has died.

Paul Victor Canonici, 92, died Saturday, according to his obituary. A cause of death was not listed.

A native of Shaw, Canonici joined the priesthood when he was 30 years old. Over the course of his tenure, he served as the diocesan superintendent of education, assistant principal and then principal of St. Joseph High School in Madison, as well as the priest for multiple parishes throughout the Jackson metro area.

He retired when he was in his mid 70s. Despite his five decades with the diocese, he’s not listed on the church’s website of retired priests.

Canonici was removed from the ministry in 2002. He was on the list of those credibly accused of sexual abuse released by the Diocese of Jackson last spring.

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.

JACKSON (MS)
Clarion Ledger

February 19, 2020

By Sarah Fowler

A former priest who was removed from the ministry after being credibly accused of sexual abuse has died.

Paul Victor Canonici, 92, died Saturday, according to his obituary. A cause of death was not listed.

A native of Shaw, Canonici joined the priesthood when he was 30 years old. Over the course of his tenure, he served as the diocesan superintendent of education, assistant principal and then principal of St. Joseph High School in Madison, as well as the priest for multiple parishes throughout the Jackson metro area.

He retired when he was in his mid 70s. Despite his five decades with the diocese, he’s not listed on the church’s website of retired priests.

Canonici was removed from the ministry in 2002. He was on the list of those credibly accused of sexual abuse released by the Diocese of Jackson last spring.

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

DENVER (CO)
9 News

February 19, 2020

By Janet Oravetz

The deadline to file a claim with the Independent Compensation Program was Jan. 31. It came after an independent review found that 43 priests abused 166 children.

Nearly 90 people have filed claims related to sexual abuse by Catholic priests in Colorado, according to the oversight committee, which was assigned to administer the Independent Compensation Program (ICP).

The final deadline to file claims was Jan. 31 and only included abuse by clergy who worked for Colorado dioceses, not members of independent religious orders. A total of 87 victims filed claims with the administrators.

Details of the program to provide compensation and support for victims who were sexually abused as minors by clergy of the Archdiocese of Denver, Diocese of Colorado Springs and Diocese of Pueblo were revealed last October.

It coincided with an independent review of church sex abuse in Colorado that was led by former Colorado U.S. Attorney Robert Troyer, which launched last February and was completed in October.

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

DENVER (CO)
9 News

February 19, 2020

By Janet Oravetz

The deadline to file a claim with the Independent Compensation Program was Jan. 31. It came after an independent review found that 43 priests abused 166 children.

Nearly 90 people have filed claims related to sexual abuse by Catholic priests in Colorado, according to the oversight committee, which was assigned to administer the Independent Compensation Program (ICP).

The final deadline to file claims was Jan. 31 and only included abuse by clergy who worked for Colorado dioceses, not members of independent religious orders. A total of 87 victims filed claims with the administrators.

Details of the program to provide compensation and support for victims who were sexually abused as minors by clergy of the Archdiocese of Denver, Diocese of Colorado Springs and Diocese of Pueblo were revealed last October.

It coincided with an independent review of church sex abuse in Colorado that was led by former Colorado U.S. Attorney Robert Troyer, which launched last February and was completed in October.

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

DENVER (CO)
Crux

February 20, 2020

By Elise Ann Allen

Rome – Living with acute poverty, inequality and the aftermath of what is arguably the Catholic Church’s worst clerical sexual abuse crisis, Chilean Bishop Tomislav Francisco Koljatic Maroevic is seeking what for some seem like a basic: Management training.

The head of the Chilean Diocese of Linares, Koljatic is currently in Rome for a two-week intensive course as part of the Program of Church Management offered by the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross. And he’s using his vacation to do it.

Speaking to Crux, Koljatic said he decided to enroll in the course because “I will learn important things for my life, for my work, for my duties, and basically to open my mind, to learn new things that are happening in the world now.”

“That’s the most important thing for me, learning new things and improving my work as a leader and as a bishop in Chile,” he 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.

DENVER (CO)
Crux

February 20, 2020

By Elise Ann Allen

Rome – Living with acute poverty, inequality and the aftermath of what is arguably the Catholic Church’s worst clerical sexual abuse crisis, Chilean Bishop Tomislav Francisco Koljatic Maroevic is seeking what for some seem like a basic: Management training.

The head of the Chilean Diocese of Linares, Koljatic is currently in Rome for a two-week intensive course as part of the Program of Church Management offered by the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross. And he’s using his vacation to do it.

Speaking to Crux, Koljatic said he decided to enroll in the course because “I will learn important things for my life, for my work, for my duties, and basically to open my mind, to learn new things that are happening in the world now.”

“That’s the most important thing for me, learning new things and improving my work as a leader and as a bishop in Chile,” he 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.

DENVER (CO)
Crux

February 20, 2020

By Elise Ann Allen

Rome – This week clerical abuse survivors from around the world have flocked to Rome to mark the one-year anniversary of Pope Francis’s global summit on child protection, which took place at the Vatican in February of last year.

Groups such as Bishops Accountability and Ending Clergy Abuse, two prominent American advocacy organizations, have put together a week of events in Rome and Geneva designed to offer an evaluation of progress made and gaps that still need to be filled.

Things got started with a press conference from Bishops Accountability on Monday, during which survivors and advocates were honest in recognizing progress made since the summit, but largely critical of the follow-up, arguing that enforcement of new procedures is still unclear, and many bishops haven’t implemented them at all.

In Geneva, representatives of these organizations on Monday met with the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on Disabilities.

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)
Associated Press

February 19, 2020

By Heather Hollingsworth

A retired Catholic priest has been charged in Missouri with multiple counts of child sexual abuse stemming from a statewide investigation of abuse by Catholic priests.

Seventy-six-year-old Frederick Lutz, of Springfield, was charged Tuesday with forcible sodomy, sexual abuse and two counts of statutory sodomy. His bond was set at $125,000 cash only. No attorney is listed for him in online court records.

He was among 12 former priests that Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt referred for criminal prosecution following a 13-month investigation.

According to charging documents, Lutz sexually assaulted a 17-year-old in 2000, while he was the priest at the St. Joseph Parish in the 1,350-person southeast Missouri town of Advance. The documents said Lutz called the teen to the rectory, where he was drinking and watching a pornographic movie. The document said the teen was forced to perform sexual acts before he could leave.

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

February 19, 2020

By Mark Scolforo

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, filed for bankruptcy Wednesday, six months after disclosing it had paid millions of dollars to people sexually abused as children by its clerics.

The diocese joins at least 20 others across the United States in seeking protection from creditors through the federal bankruptcy system, but it is the first diocese in Pennsylvania to take such a step.

In August, the diocese said it paid 106 people a total of just over $12 million to compensate for claims of sexual abuse they suffered as children from its clerics, deacons and seminarians. Six others did not accept payment offers from the diocese.

The filing in Harrisburg federal bankruptcy court said the diocese “faces potentially significant exposure from remaining claimants” and wants Chapter 11 reorganization to provide money for unresolved claims and perform its ministry and other operations.

The diocese told the court it has more than 200 creditors and estimated liabilities between $50 million and $100 million, with assets of less than $10 million. It listed creditors that include a $30 million loan from the Pennsylvania Economic Development Financing Authority and 12 blacked-out names that were represented by lawyers.

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)
Philadelphia Inquirer

February 19, 2020

By Jeremy Roebuck and Angela Couloumbis

https://www.inquirer.com/news/harrisburg-diocese-bankruptcy-catholic-clergy-sex-abuse-victim-compensation-lawsuits-20200219.html

The Diocese of Harrisburg filed for bankruptcy Wednesday, becoming the first of Pennsylvania’s eight Roman Catholic dioceses to seek protection from financial claims in the aftermath of a scathing 2018 grand jury report that revealed decades of sexual abuse and cover-up by the church’s top leaders.

Diocesan officials are expected to discuss their bankruptcy protection plans at a 3:30 p.m. news conference, two sources familiar with the matter have told The Inquirer and Spotlight PA.

In its petition with the bankruptcy court, the diocese reported having an estimated $1 to $10 million in assets. Among its top 20 creditors, 19 were accusers with unresolved clergy sex abuse lawsuits work their way through the courts.

The move comes six months after the diocese announced it had paid out $12 million to more than 100 victims of decades-old sexual abuse as part of an independently run compensation program similar to those launched by most of the state’s other Catholic dioceses.

Church officials said they hoped the funds would provide compensation to victims whose claims were too old to pursue in court. But victims and their lawyers have viewed the programs with skepticism, saying that while the funds’ payouts are better than nothing, they have allowed the dioceses to limit the crushing financial penalties they might face should Pennsylvania voters approve a proposed “window law” that would allow accusers with expired claims to sue.

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

RICHMOND (VA)
Richmond Times-Dispatch

February 14, 2020

By Bridget Balch

https://www.richmond.com/news/local/retired-priest-who-previously-worked-at-sacred-heart-in-richmond/article_1cd42a98-d176-5136-9b9e-7165dfebfa9b.html

The Catholic Diocese of Richmond announced Friday that a retired priest, Raymond Barton, has been accused of child sexual abuse that allegedly occurred in the early 1970s.

A representative of the alleged victim, who is dead, came forward to report details of the abuse to the diocese, which reported the allegations to civil authorities, according to a news release.

The diocese, which could not be reached immediately for comment Friday afternoon, did not identify the victim, the location of the alleged crime or the agency that it notified of the accusation in the release.

Barton, who retired from ministry in 2011, was an associate pastor at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Richmond, a faculty member at St. John Vianney Seminary in Goochland County and a pastor at Sacred Heart in Norfolk, St. Nicholas in Virginia Beach and Holy Comforter in Charlottesville. He was also co-pastor for Church of the Holy Apostles in Virginia Beach.

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)
Boston Globe

February 18, 2020

By Meghan Sorensen

The Boy Scouts of America’s bankruptcy filing on Tuesday could yield important evidence in the thousands of sexual-abuse cases against the century-old organization, according to a Boston lawyer who has represented dozens of victims.

Attorney Mitchell Garabedian said he looks forward to the opportunity to gain access to the information, which he believes will explain what the organization knew about the abuse, when they learned about it, and how it was handled.

“They’re going to have to fairly compensate victims of sexual abuse and hopefully reveal all files in their possession concerning sexual abuse — so there’s going to be a cost here,” Garabedian said.

Since the 1920s, the BSA has kept confidential files about staff and volunteers implicated in sexual abuse. As of January, a court deposition listed 7,819 suspected abusers and 12,254 victims.

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

DENVER (CO)
Colorado Sun

February 19, 2020

By Jesse Paul

Neil Elms says he was repeatedly sexually assaulted by Lawrence St. Peter, a Colorado priest who rose to high ranks in the Denver Archdiocese. St. Peter wasn’t removed from clergy despite “numerous, reliable, consistent reports” he was abusing boys.

Great Barrington MA – Neil Elms planned to carry his biggest secret to his grave. He thought no one would ever know what he’d kept hidden for 37 years.

Elms never told his mother or father, or any of his six siblings. He concealed it through two marriages, two children, nearly 10 years in the Army and jobs that took him across the globe.

Looking back, Elms says, he never even came close to revealing what happened to him as a young boy at Holy Family School in northwest Denver — not a breath about his father’s best friend, the priest who sexually abused him. Elms’ front was so unbreakable that he attended the funeral Mass for Monsignor Lawrence St. Peter in 2003, sitting with his own grieving family to honor the life of the man who upended his.

“What’s your earliest memory?” Elms asks. That’s how far back the mistreatment goes.

But one day in October, while he was fishing for small-mouth bass near his home in southwestern Massachusetts, his father phoned from Arvada. He had just read a report from Colorado’s attorney general on priest abuse at Catholic churches in the state.

The investigation concluded that there had been at least three credible allegations of child sexual abuse by St. Peter and hinted there were probably many more victims. “Did St. Peter ever lay a hand on you?” his dad wanted to know.

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.

WILLIAMSBURG (VA)
Virginia Gazette

February 18, 2020

The Catholic Diocese of Richmond says it will offer monetary settlements to sexual abuse victims if they give up the right to sue.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that the diocese announced the offer on Monday.

Richmond Bishop Barry Knestout said in a news release that the offer is “the best course for our diocese to reach a just reconciliation with our victim survivors.”

In February 2019, the diocese released a list of 42 clergy with credible allegations of sexual abuse against them, according to Virginia Gazette archives. None of the named clergy were listed as active members. Thirteen were dead. Most were classified as suspended or removed; five were “laicized,” meaning they were removed from ministry.

Previous news reports and information on the diocese website show at least seven have ties to Hampton Roads. Three had ties to Williamsburg.

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.