ABUSE TRACKER

HARRISBURG (PA)
The Associated Press

August 5, 2018

Church leaders were more interested in preventing scandal than protecting children. That’s the finding of a grand jury investigating clergy sex abuse in six Pennsylvania Roman Catholic dioceses according to a court filing. The report also says in some cases leaders discouraged victims from going to police, or pressured law enforcement officials to end or avoid investigations.
The grand jury’s full, nearly 900-page, report is expected to be released in the next two weeks.

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CHICAGO (IL)
The Cut

August 5, 2018

By Opheli Garcia Lawler

Bill Hybels, the former pastor of the Willow Creek Evangelical Church, has been accused of sexual harassment by a woman named Pat Baranowski, according to a new New York Times report. Baranowski is not the first woman to accuse Hybels of sexual misconduct, though her allegations are the most severe.

Baranowski, now 65, was hired by Hybels in the 1980s as an assistant at his growing Illinois evangelical church, and invited her to live with him and his family. While his wife and children were away for a trip in 1986, Hybels allegedly asked to give Baranowski a back rub.

According to the Times report, Baranowski then endured two years of unwanted touching, inappropriate comments, and other forms of sexual harassment — including an instance when Hybels asked her to watch porn with him.

Hybels, in a statement to the Times, denied that any of the allegations made by Baranowski are true. “I never had an inappropriate physical or emotional relationship with her before that time, during that time or after that time,” he wrote.

In April, Bill Hybels announced an early retirement from his role as pastor of the church. The announcement came after a Chicago Tribune report that detailed years of complaints and allegations against the pastor for unwanted touching, inappropriate comments, and once, an unwanted kiss.

Hybels denied the allegations, but announced to his congregation that for he would move his retirement date up by six months. He reportedly called the allegations “flat out lies” and said that he “placed myself in situations that would be far wiser to avoid. I was naïve.”

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CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune

August 5, 2018

By Manya Brachear Pashman

The lead teaching pastor of Willow Creek Community Church announced his resignation from the South Barrington megachurch Sunday, saying he could no longer serve there with integrity.

Steve Carter, who took over as lead teaching pastor in April when Bill Hybels stepped down from the helm of the church he founded 42 years ago, said he was “horrified” by allegations reported Sunday by The New York Times that Hybels had sexually harassed his former executive assistant for two years.

Carter also said he did not agree with the way elders had handled the first reports by the Chicago Tribune in March that revealed allegations of misconduct by Hybels with women — including church employees — spanning decades.

The alleged behavior detailed by the Tribune included suggestive comments, extended hugs, an unwanted kiss and invitations to hotel rooms. It also included an allegation of a prolonged consensual affair with a married woman who later said her claim about the affair was not true, the newspaper found.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
The Washington Times

August 5, 2018

By Bradford Richardson

Catholics in the District of Columbia are conflicted about how to continue to support the church after the resignation of former Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick over reports of sexual abuse.

The former archbishop of Washington stepped down from the College of Cardinals one month after a church panel substantiated a report that, as a priest in New York, he sexually abused a teenage altar boy more than 45 years ago. Pope Francis accepted his resignation on Saturday and ordered him to serve a “life of prayer and penance.”

Scotty O’Connell, who attends the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Northwest Washington, and other members of the diocese are calling for a boycott until Archbishop McCarrick’s enablers are removed from the church. Ms. O’Connell said she had discontinued her weekly offerings at her parish because a percentage of all contributions are given to the archdiocese.

“What I am encouraging people to do is divert their contributions, what they would be giving to their parish, to another charitable organization,” Ms. O’Connell said. “I don’t want any of my dollars, or nickels or dimes, being used by the archdiocese, particularly the Archdiocese of Washington, to settle claims or to get criminals off the hook.”

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STANFORD (CA)
SFGate

August 5, 2018

By Nanette Asimov

After Stanford University concluded that one of its students sexually assaulted a classmate, campus officials imposed what they called a very serious sanction: a suspension of two academic quarters.

The victim said it felt like a second assault.

“Providing my rapist with a gracious invitation back to Stanford pending a brief period of ‘reflection’ disrespects myself and the moral stature of Stanford as an institution,” Sinéad Talley wrote on Dec. 20, 2016, in her unsuccessful appeal. She wanted Stanford to expel the man she said had been her friend until he raped her while she was in a drunken stupor.

Stanford reported the assault in 2016 to campus police, as required by state law. But Talley chose not to pursue the case through the criminal justice system. Instead, like many college students who report sexual assault, she turned to her university’s internal justice system.

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BEIJING (CHINA)
The Associated Press

August 3, 2018

By Gerry Shih

One of China’s highest-ranking Buddhist monks is facing a government investigation over accusations of sexual misconduct, in what is seen by some as an indication the #MeToo movement is gaining traction across the world’s most populous society.

Longquan Monastery abbot Shi Xuecheng is accused of harassing and demanding sexual favors from numerous nuns in a 95-page statement compiled by two fellow monks at the storied center of Buddhist learning in Beijing. The statement including testimony from the alleged victims leaked this week on social media, prompting an outcry and unusual coverage by state media before it was censored.

China’s State Administration of Religious Affairs said Thursday it would investigate the claims. Xuecheng and the monastery denied the accusations, which also included claims of embezzlement.

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BEIJING (CHINA)
The Associated Press

August 3, 2018

One of China’s highest-ranking Buddhist monks is facing a government investigation over accusations of sexual misconduct, in what is seen by some as an indication the #MeToo movement is gaining traction in the world’s most populous nation.

Longquan Monastery abbot Shi Xuecheng is accused of harassing and demanding sexual favors from numerous female nuns in a 95-page statement compiled by two fellow monks at the storied center of Buddhist learning in Beijing. The statement including testimony from the alleged victims leaked this week on social media, prompting an outcry and unusual coverage by state media before it was censored.

China’s State Administration of Religious Affairs said Thursday it would investigate the claims. Xuecheng and the monastery denied the accusations, which also included claims of embezzlement.

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DALLAS (TX)
The Associated Press

August 2, 2018

An elite Texas gymnastics coach was arrested in Indiana after being accused of sexually assaulting three girls at a Fort Worth gym, police said Thursday.

Skipper Glenn Crawley, described as an elite-level team gymnastics coach, is accused of sexually assaulting the victims at Sokol gymnastics in Fort Worth, police said. Authorities arrested him on Wednesday after executing a warrant at an Indianapolis residence. He is being held at an Indiana jail, pending extradition.

Crawley, a former assistant coach at the University of Oklahoma, had been wanted for the continuous sexual abuse of a child, along with two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child.

“The thing was, he was a great coach,” the mother of a victim told TV station WFAA . “And he used that. He’s a very sick man.”

Court records show that the three victims accused Crawley of touching their genitalia, including one who said the coach touched her while he helped her stretch. That victim also reported the coach would make “inappropriate remarks,” commenting that he would want to snuggle or sleep with her, according to an affidavit. She also told authorities Crawley said he wanted to get married and that she was his girlfriend, the affidavit says.

Another victim reported Crawley had inappropriately touched her multiple times and would call her back to his office while other girls were conditioning, according to an affidavit.

The court records say police were notified of the sexual assaults in April.

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CHINA
Business Insider

August 3, 2018

By Sinéad Baker

– Shi Xuecheng, one of China’s highest-ranking Buddist monks, is accused of sexual harassment, including demanding sexual favors from nuns.

– Other monks compiled the document, and one said that he and other whistleblowers had been expelled from the temple since making the accusations.

– But outcry on social media and the launch of a government investigation suggests that the #MeToo movement is gaining traction in the region.

– A whistleblower in the monastery said that Xuecheng, who is a well-known figure in China, had so much power that only the government could protect the nuns.

One of China’s highest-ranking Buddist monks is accused of sexual misconduct including demanding sexual favors from nuns — and the launch of a government investigation shows that the #MeToo movement may be gaining traction in the region.

Shi Xuecheng of the Longquan Monastery in Beijing is accused in a 95-document compiled by his fellow monks.

Both Xuecheng and the monastery denied the claims, but the document, which includes testimony from the alleged victims, leaked onto social media last week, resulting in public outcry and state media coverage before it was censored.

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SANTIAGO (CHILE)
AFP

August 1, 2018

Prosecutors in Chile on Wednesday said they have requested the Vatican files of nine Chilean priests being investigated for sexual abuses.

“The National Prosecutor, Jorge Abbott, today signed an official letter addressed to the Vatican (..), requesting canonical records involving accused persons investigated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office,” the National Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement.

The petition includes three requests for help in criminal cases of nine members of the church.

In July, prosecutors said Chile was investigating 158 members of the country’s embattled Catholic Church — both clergymen and lay people — for perpetrating or concealing the sexual abuse of children and adults.

The cases relate to incidents dating back as far as 1960 and involving 266 victims, including 178 children and adolescents.

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COLUMBUS (OH)
Yahoo Sports

August 1, 2018

By Jack Baer

Two former Ohio State wrestlers say they were personally pushed by former Buckeyes coach Russ Hellickson to backtrack on accusations that Rep. Jim Jordan ignored alleged sexual abuse by a team doctor, according to a report from NBC News.

According to the report, both Dunyasha Yetts and Mike DiSabato received messages and phone calls on July 4, a day after Jordan was hit with the accusations from the two and one more wrestler who requested anonymity. Yetts is the only wrestler of the group to say he directly told Jordan about the abuse from Ohio State doctor Richard Strauss. DiSabato also claimed that Jordan had seen frequent inappropriate behavior in the team’s showers while he was an assistant coach at Ohio State.

Ohio State announced that its independent investigation into the matter revealed more than 100 male student-athletes across 14 different sports with first-hand accounts of Strauss’ sexual misconduct. Strauss committed suicide in 2005.

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UNITED STATES
The Associated Press

August 1, 2018

By Gillian Flaccus

The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said Wednesday that sex abuse allegations against former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick dating back decades raise serious questions about how the claims could stay secret for so long as the retired archbishop from Washington, D.C., rose in prestige and power.

Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo said the allegations against his former colleague reveal a “grievous moral failure” and urged anyone who has experienced sexual abuse at the hands of the church to come forward. DiNardo reminded bishops in the United States to take those reports seriously and contact the police when required.

“Both the abuses themselves, and the fact that they have remained undisclosed for decades, have caused great harm to people’s lives and represent grave moral failures of judgment on the part of church leaders,” he said in a statement.

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WILLIAMSTON (MI)
The Associated Press

August 2, 2018

An embezzlement trial for a Roman Catholic priest is being delayed because he’s getting new lawyers after police say they discovered $63,000 hidden above ceiling tiles in his Michigan home.

The search was conducted in mid-July at the Rev. Jonathan Wehrle’s luxury home in Williamston. State police say money was in $2,000 bundles secured with cash bands that said, “For Deposit Only-St. Martha Parish.”

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AUSTRALIA
ABC Newcastle

Originally published July 13, 2018

By Giselle Wakatama

Three former Anglican bishops heavily criticised by the Royal Commission have not been referred for prosecution, sparking fury among abuse survivors.

The Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse in December 2017 accused former Newcastle bishops Roger Herft, Alfred Holland and Richard Appleby of having a “do nothing” approach in response to child sexual abuse allegations.

Survivor Steve Smith fought back tears when he was told the men had not been referred to prosecutors at both state and national levels.

“I am absolutely astounded … it is a kick in the guts, I am lost for words,” Mr Smith said.

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AUSTRALIA
Australian Broadcasting Corporation

July 31, 2018

Senior Catholics have rallied to the defence of former Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson, who resigned after being convicted of concealing child sex abuse, saying he did “great good” that should not be forgotten.

“We remember that he is a man who has done so much in child protection areas, that this archdiocese was the first to have a child protection unit, a child protection council, a police check unit, and all at the initiative of Archbishop Wilson,” Port Pirie Bishop Greg O’Kelly, who has been acting as Adelaide’s Archbishop, said.

“We must not forget the great good he has done in those areas.

“So they are the sorts of things and now he has made this decision and we have to sort of listen and try to rebuild.

“Restore trust, restore confidence in people.”

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DULUTH (MN)
Duluth News Tribune

August 5, 2018

By Lisa Kaczke

A Duluth priest suing a man who has accused him of sexual abuse has been added to the Diocese of Duluth’s list of priests it has determined to be “credibly accused.”

The Diocese announced on Sunday that the Rev. William C. Graham, who is arguing in his lawsuit that he has been falsely accused, and the Rev. Roland Antus were found to be credibly accused of sexual abuse following the Diocese’s investigation into the allegations.

Graham was credibly accused of sexually abusing a child in the 1970s at St. Benedict’s Catholic Church in Duluth and Antus was credibly accused of committing the same crime in the 1980s at St. James Catholic Church in Duluth, according to the Diocese’s statement.

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DUBLIN (IRELAND)
The Herald

By Cate McCurry

August 6, 2018

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar will express his concerns to the Pope about the Catholic Church’s history of sexual and physical abuse when Francis visits Ireland later this month.

The Taoiseach also said he intends to tell him that Ireland accepts gay parents.

Pope Francis will visit Dublin and Knock on the weekend of August 25 and 26 at the invitation of the World Meeting of Families 2018.

As part of his visit, he will go to the Capuchin Day Centre for the homeless in Dublin and the Knock Shrine.

However, it is not yet clear whether he will meet victims of clerical abuse.

Mr Varadkar said that while his meeting with the Pope could be short, he will express his concerns about issues such as the Church’s involvement in Magdalene Laundries.

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WASHINGTON, D.C.
The Washington Times

August 5, 2018

By Bradford Richardson

Catholics in the District of Columbia are conflicted about how to continue to support the church after the resignation of former Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick over reports of sexual abuse.

The former archbishop of Washington stepped down from the College of Cardinals one month after a church panel substantiated a report that, as a priest in New York, he sexually abused a teenage altar boy more than 45 years ago. Pope Francis accepted his resignation on Saturday and ordered him to serve a “life of prayer and penance.”

Scotty O’Connell, who attends the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Northwest Washington, and other members of the diocese are calling for a boycott until Archbishop McCarrick’s enablers are removed from the church. Ms. O’Connell said she had discontinued her weekly offerings at her parish because a percentage of all contributions are given to the archdiocese.

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[Opinion: We must know the Scicluna report]

CHILE
El Mostrador

August 6, 2018

By Felipe Portales

Como toda gran crisis, representa también una gran oportunidad. La reconstrucción de ella no puede ser solo labor de otros obispos que concentren nuevamente todo el poder. Tanto a nivel nacional como mundial tenemos que aprender que una Iglesia efectivamente cristiana y fraternal debe ser construida con un espíritu democrático, y con la participación responsable y solidaria de todos sus miembros. Y para ello es fundamental contar con la información pertinente. En el caso nuestro tenemos, pues, que conocer el Informe Scicluna en toda su extensión, exceptuando, por cierto, la identidad de las víctimas que hayan declarado bajo condición de anonimato.

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[Catholic Church publishes list of priests condemned for sexual abuse of minors]

CHILE
Emol

August 3, 2018

By Bárbara Osses

La difusión del documento es parte de las medidas que la asamblea plenaria extraordinaria del Episcopado tomó para prevenir casos de abuso al interior de la Iglesia y para fortalecer la cooperación con las investigaciones que realiza la fiscalía.

Durante la tarde de este viernes, la Iglesia Católica chilena publicó un documento en el que se revelan los nombres de clérigos con sentencias definitivas civiles y canónicas por abuso de menores de edad, como parte de las medidas que la Institución adoptó con el fin de prevenir casos de abuso al interior de la Iglesia y para fortalecer la cooperación con las investigaciones que realiza la fiscalía.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

August 6, 2018

By Fr. Peter Daly

On July 28, we woke up to front-page news about my former archbishop Theodore McCarrick’s resignation from the College of Cardinals. He is the first and only cardinal to resign from the college as a part of the worldwide sexual abuse scandal. While two of McCarrick’s victims were minors, it appears that most were adult males. Most often, they were seminarians and priests under his authority. In McCarrick, the child abuse scandal is joined to the #MeToo movement.

It is painful to the whole church to hear the news about McCarrick. It is especially painful to the people of my own archdiocese, Washington, D.C. I have no desire to add fuel to the fire. I always liked McCarrick and appreciated his leadership on many things, especially on social justice issues. But I do have a few things to say about McCarrick and the related scandal, some of them from my personal experience.

First, we knew, or should have known, about some of McCarrick’s behavior.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

August 6, 2018

By Joshua J. McElwee

Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl has proposed that the national conference of U.S. Catholic bishops create a new high-level panel to receive and evaluate any allegations or rumors of sexual misconduct by one of its member bishops.

In an NCR interview focused on how the American church should address the wider systemic questions raised by the revelations of sexual abuse by his predecessor, now former cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Wuerl also suggested that the Vatican could designate one of its offices to act on the proposed panel’s findings.

Although Wuerl said he had not personally been aware of rumors about McCarrick’s alleged abuse of young men during the former cardinal’s time as a priest and bishop, he acknowledged that others have now brought forward earlier existence of such rumors.

“If there were [rumors], and if people heard them, there needs to be some mechanism by which there can be at least an evaluation and review of them,” said Wuerl, speaking in a phone conversation.

“I think it’s very important that we … as bishops enter into that world and say, ‘If there is an accumulation of rumors, ought not something be said?’ ” the cardinal continued.

“Would we have some sort of a panel, a board, of bishops … where we would take it upon ourselves, or a number of bishops would be deputed, to ask about those rumors?” he suggested.

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[Cadem Survey: Catholic Church management reaches a 76% disapproval among Chileans]

CHILE
Emol

August 6, 2018

By Leonardo Núñez

La institución alcanza en Chile los peores registros desde que esta encuesta empezó a medir la crisis que la afecta por los abusos sexuales. Aprobación de Piñera, en tanto, sufre nueva caída significativa y alcanza un 45% de apoyo (39% lo desaprueba).

La crisis que atraviese la Iglesia Católica debido a los casos de abuso sexual repercutió en el apoyo entre los chilenos: un 76% desaprueba la forma en que desarrolla su labor en el país y sólo un 19% la apoya.ml

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[Laity of Osorno on Ezzati: “Te Deum must be done by right people”]

CHILE
BioBioChile

August 4, 2018

By Emilio Lara and Dennys Salazar

Tras conocer que el cardenal Ricardo Ezzati decidió no presidir el Te Deum de Fiestas Patrias, los Laicos de Osorno salieron a mostrar su aprobación de la medida.

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[Ezzati is marginalized from the Tedeum after pressures from the government and the Vatican]

CHILE
La Tercera

August 5, 2018

By Carla Pía Ruiz and Carlos Pérez

La autoridad de la Iglesia Católica en Chile comunicó ayer que no presidirá la tradicional celebración ecuménica. La carta enviada por el Papa Francisco a los obispos chilenos fue clave en su inédito alejamiento.

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[Santiago Silva, president of the Episcopal Conference of Chile: “I greatly value the decision of Cardinal Ezzati, for pastoral reasons”]

CHILE
La Tercera

August 5, 2018

By Sergio Rodríguez Garcés

El prelado aborda no solo lo ocurrido con el tedeum, sino también la crisis de la Iglesia Católica criolla, las diligencias hechas sobre archivos destruidos, el rol de los obispos y las críticas a su liderazgo.

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[Ezzati in the final straight: the secrets of his file that the Pope has in his hands today]

CHILE
CIPER

July 27, 2018

By Pedro Ramírez

Encubrimientos marcan la reunión de la asamblea episcopal en crisis

[Cover-ups mark the meeting of an episcopal assembly in crisis]

Este lunes 30 de julio se inicia una asamblea extraordinaria de obispos, la primera desde que el Papa Francisco recibió la renuncia masiva de los prelados chilenos. La cita estará marcada por las nuevas directrices de Roma sobre los abusos cometidos por clérigos. Las miradas se centran en el cardenal Ricardo Ezzati, sobre quien arrecian las acusaciones de omisión y encubrimiento en casos de abusos sexuales. CIPER reconstruyó su historial de actuaciones cuestionadas que se arrastran desde los años 80, y su alianza con el cardenal Errázuriz para ahogar el caso Karadima y desacreditar a sus víctimas.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

August 4, 2018

[AUDIO: Features interview with Brisbane archbishop Mark Coleridge, president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference]

By Sarah Sedghi

The Catholic Church will release its highly anticipated response to the child abuse Royal Commission by the end of the month.

The response has been months in the making and was discussed at a special meeting in Melbourne this week.

Church leaders say it’s a significant step in the reform process.

But they have ruled out accepting one of the Royal Commission’s recommendations: for priests to break the seal of the confessional to report allegations of sexual abuse against children.

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SANTIAGO (CHILE)
Reuters

August 4, 2018

By Dave Sherwood

Archbishop of Santiago Ricardo Ezzati said on Saturday that he would not lead Chile’s Te Deum, an annual religious ceremony attended by the country’s top politicians and clergy, amid a church sex abuse scandal that has sent shockwaves through the conservative Catholic nation.

Ezzati, who has long led the ceremony and is among Chile’s most recognized religious figures, said in a statement he thought it “prudent that he not lead the traditional Te Deum” given the “profound crisis that the Church is undergoing.”

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera praised Ezzati’s decision on social media, saying he “valued the gesture” and that the ceremony should “unite and not divide Chileans.”

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SOUTH BARRINGTON (IL)
The New York Times

August 5, 2018

By Laurie Goodstein

Bill Hybels built an iconic evangelical church outside Chicago. A former assistant says that in the 1980s, he sexually harassed her.

After the pain of watching her marriage fall apart, Pat Baranowski felt that God was suddenly showering her with blessings.

She had a new job at her Chicago-area megachurch, led by a dynamic young pastor named the Rev. Bill Hybels, who in the 1980s was becoming one of the most influential evangelical leaders in the country.

The pay at Willow Creek Community Church was much lower than at her old job, but Ms. Baranowski, then 32, admired Mr. Hybels and the church’s mission so much that it seemed worth it. She felt even more blessed when in 1985 Mr. Hybels and his wife invited her to move into their home, where she shared family dinners and vacations.

Once, while Mr. Hybels’s wife, Lynne, and their children were away, the pastor took Ms. Baranowski out for dinner. When they got home, Mr. Hybels offered her a back rub in front of the fireplace and told her to lie face down.

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IRELAND
The Irish Times

August 3, 2018

By Patsy McGarry

Former president urges pope to make Ireland point at which ‘hope and history rhyme’

The abuse scandals in the Catholic Church were now entering “an even more disrupting chapter,” former president Mary McAleese has said.

She quoted veteran Vatican correspondent Robert Mickens as saying that, in order to solve the underlying problem, Pope Francis will “have to devote the rest of his pontificate almost exclusively to this gargantuan endeavour.”

The former editor of UK magazine The Tablet claimed the abuse issue now theatened “to engulf his papacy and do lasting damage to Francis’s own reputation”, Mrs McAleese recalled.

She continued that “the recent and ongoing scandals and the McAreavey, McCarrick and Wilson resignations are signalling that this issue is now entering an even more disturbing and disruptive chapter”.

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PONDA, GOA (INDIA)
The Times of India

August 5, 2018

The additional district and sessions court, Ponda, on Saturday rejected the anticipatory bail pleas filed by Mangueshi temple priest Dhananjay Bhave in two cases. After the development, police said the priest was not traceable and launched a search for him.

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GOA (INDIA)
Press Trust of India via Business Standard

August 4, 2018

A local court today rejected the anticipatory bail application of a temple priest accused of molesting two women.

The two women, hailing from Mumbai, had filed a police complaint alleging that they were molested by Dhananjay Bhave, a priest of the famous Mangueshi Temple in Ponda, about 20 kilometres from here, during a visit in June.

Additional District and Sessions Court in Ponda rejected Bhave’s application after it was informed by the police that the priest was absconding since the case was registered against him.

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[La Moneda (Government) receives victims of sexual abuse in the Church]

CHILE
Cooperativa.cl

– Representantes de la Red de Sobrevivientes de Abuso Eclesiástico de Chile entregaron formalmente su solicitud para crear una comisión de verdad.

– La ministra Cecilia Pérez se comprometió a una evaluación del tema junto al Presidente Piñera.

[- Representatives of the Network of Survivors of Ecclesiastical Abuse in Chile formally submitted their request to create a real commission.

[- Minister Cecilia Pérez undertook to evaluate the issue with President Piñera.]

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

[Laymen criticize conclusions of the Episcopal Conference: “It was a minimum condition”]

CHILE
Cooperativa.cl

August 3, 2018

– “¿Por qué nos presentan como la gran novedad decisiones y compromisos que no aportan sustantivamente a la solución de la crisis?”, cuestionaron.

– En tanto, para Juan Carlos Cruz no son los obispos “los que deben hacerse cargo de solución”.

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

[Episcopal Conference will provide background information to the Prosecutor’s Office and apologize to the victims]

CHILE
Cooperativa.cl

August 3, 2018

“Hemos fallado a nuestro deber de pastores”, reconocieron los obispos al cierre de la Asamblea Extraordinaria.

Recalcaron que darán “a conocer públicamente toda investigación previa sobre presunto abuso sexual de menores de edad”.

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

[Chilean president Sebastián Piñera praises Ezzati’s stepping down from the Ecumenical Te Deum]

CHILE
Cooperative.cl

August 4, 2018

“El gesto del arzobispo, que si bien doloroso en lo personal, contribuye a la paz de los espíritus en nuestra Patria”, afirmó el Mandatario.

Si desde el mundo político se agradeció el gesto del religioso, los laicos afirmaron que este no es más que un signo mediático.

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[Mónica Rincón and the insufficient gestures of bishops: “It is necessary to recognize that there has been a cover-up”]

CHILE
CNN Chile

August 3, 2018

“A veces la justicia tarda tanto que ya no es justicia”, dijo la conductora de MR.

Ezzati renunció a presidir el Te Deum y las víctimas tienen asiento reservado en primera fila. Se estableció ya la obligación de denunciar a la Justicia Civil todo antecedente de abusos sexuales cometidos por sacerdotes. José Andrés Murillo fue llamado a presidir el Consejo para Prevención de Abusos en la Iglesia Católica.

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PITTSBURGH (PA)
Diocese of Pittsburgh

August 4, 2018

A letter from Bishop David Zubik is being read at all Masses this weekend in all parishes of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh in order to prepare the faithful for the impending public release of the interim Grand Jury report. A copy of the letter can be found here.

In his letter, Bishop Zubik shares his continued concern for the victims of sexual abuse and sorrow for the harms they suffered at hands of members of the clergy. In addition, Bishop Zubik promises to continue to provide assistance to victims of abuse.

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

PITTSBURGH (PA)
Associated Press

August 4, 2018

[See also: August 4, 2018 letter from Bishop Zubik; and Grand jury report could name 90 offenders in Pittsburgh diocese alone, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 13, 2018]

The bishop of Pittsburgh’s Roman Catholic diocese said on Saturday he will release the names of any members of his clergy who are accused in a state grand jury report of sexual misconduct with a minor.

In a letter being read at all Masses this weekend, Bishop David Zubik said he will go public with the names once the grand jury report has been released. His announcement came days after the Harrisburg Diocese identified 71 priests and other members of the church who had been accused of child sex abuse.

The state Supreme Court disclosed recently that the grand jury had identified more than 300 “predator priests” in the six dioceses that were investigated: Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton. Together, those dioceses minister to more than 1.7 million Catholics.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. 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
AAP (Australian Associated Press) via Yarrawonga Chronicle

August 3, 2018

Australia’s Catholic bishops will reveal their response to the child abuse royal commission later this month after reaching a “common position” on the inquiry’s calls for reforms.

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference on Friday committed to releasing its formal response to the five-year inquiry by the end of August.

While it will be up to the Pope and his advisers to accept many of the royal commission’s far-reaching recommendations, the Australian bishops have already rejected its controversial call to break the seal of confession to reveal child sexual abuse.

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DUBLIN (IRELAND)
The Irish Times

August 4, 2018

By Breda O’Brien

Church and aid bodies wield corruptible power over vulnerable adults and youth

The UK House of Commons International Development Committee published an important and troubling report this week, Sexual Abuse and Exploitation in the Aid Sector. The evil that humans are capable of inflicting on the most vulnerable is truly sickening.

Although this investigation was prompted by revelations about Oxfam personnel exploiting vulnerable people in Haiti, it is clear this was a problem for decades in many aid organisations in all areas of the world.

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UNITED STATES
The Open Tabernacle

August 5, 2018

By Betty Clermont

Just this past week, the U.S. media treated Pope Francis as the world’s leading “moral authority.” The New York Times even posted the pope’s declaration that the death penalty is “inadmissible” on its online front page for two days. Yet they, and the rest of the U.S. media, ignored what else happened the past month.

– As of July 24, Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati, head of the Church in Chile, is under investigation by civil authorities. He covered up clerical sex abuse for decades even before Pope Francis elevated him to cardinal in 2014.

– Letters dated July 12 urged Pope Francis to remove an Indian bishop accused of raping a nun. On July 24, an Indian official called the allegation “true.”

– Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Honduran Bishop Juan José Pineda Fasquelle on July 20. A resignation means that the prelate retains his title, honors, income and benefits. The pope has known that Pineda was accused of sex abuse and financial malfeasance since June 2017. Pineda said he handed the pope his resignation “several months ago.”

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YORK (PA)
CBS 21 News

August 4, 2018

York Catholic High School is acknowledging that a former teacher was a part of a list of accusations provided by the Diocese of Harrisburg earlier this week.

According to the school district Father William Cawley taught at York Catholic from 1988 until 2012. Cawley was included on the list of priest who’s abuse was alleged to have happened at a different diocese.

According to the school district Father Cawley left the Diocese of Harrisburg in 2012 following a lawsuit from Montana accusing him of sexual abuse of a child prior to him joining the diocese of Harrisburg.

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

YORK (PA)
York Catholic High School

August 3, 2018

As you may have already read, Father William Cawley, who taught at York Catholic from 1988 until 2012, was included on the list of priests with allegations released by the Diocese of Harrisburg on August 1, 2018. The Diocese was clear that this was a list of accusations and they did not make assessments of credibility or guilt in creating the list.

Father Cawley was listed under the section including cases where abuse was alleged to have occurred in another Diocese. In 2012, the Diocese of Harrisburg received a report from a 2012 lawsuit in the state of Montana that Father Cawley was accused of sexual abuse of a child prior to his tenure working in the Diocese of Harrisburg. Father Cawley left the Diocese of Harrisburg in 2012 as a result of these allegations. According to Diocesan and York Catholic records, there were no known allegations before the lawsuit in 2012.

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YORK (PA)
The York Daily Record

August 4, 2018

By Geoff Morrow

York Catholic High School acknowledged a former teacher’s inclusion in last week’s Diocese of Harrisburg list of clergy who’ve been accused of sexual abuse.

In a statement released on its website and labeled Friday night as “A message for the York Catholic family,” the school confirmed Father William Cawley taught there from 1988 until 2012.

Reactions to the statement were mixed on the York Catholic Facebook page.

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PITTSBURGH (PA)
PennLive.com

August 4, 2018

By Teresa Bonner

The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh says it too will be releasing the names of clergy against whom allegations of child sexual abuse of a minor have been made.

The announcement was made in a letter to from Bishop David Zubik that was distributed this weekend to be read in all parishes.

Zubik said the names will be made public when the report of a grand jury that has been investigation child sexual abuse in six Pennsylvania dioceses is made public.

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TEGUCIGALPA (HONDURAS)
National Catholic Register

July 25, 2018

By Edward Pentin

But to date, Cardinal Maradiaga has not responded publicly to the allegations regarding his archdiocesan seminary.

Nearly 50 seminarians in Honduras have protested against what they say is a widespread and entrenched pattern of homosexual practice in Tegucigalpa’s major seminary.

In a letter written to the seminary’s formators that was subsequently circulated in June to the country’s Catholic bishops, the seminarians asserted “irrefutable evidence” exists that a homosexual network pervades the institution and is being protected by its rector.

“Heterosexual seminarians are scandalized and really depressed,” one of the seminarians who drafted the letter told the Register.

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KERALA (INDIA)
The News Minute

August 3, 2018

By Dhanya Rajendran

The girl had delivered a baby and DNA tests proved that the priest is the father. Efforts are now on to prove that she was not a minor during the time of the crime.

It was a case that had rocked Kerala. A 48-year-old Catholic priest was arrested for raping and impregnating a 16-year-old girl. The arrest came despite much resistance from the Church and its allied networks. Now, more than a year after Father Robin Vadakumchery of the Mananthavady diocese was arrested, the survivor and the prime witness in the case told the POCSO court at Thalassery in Kannur district that she had consensual sex with the priest.

What has come as a bigger shock for the prosecution is that the survivor claimed that she had attained the age of consent when she had sex with the accused in 2016. The statement by the survivor, who is now an adult, has made the court declare her as hostile. The survivor has also told the court that she was ready to marry Father Robin Vadakkumchery and lead a life with him and their child.

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FORT WORTH (TX)
Dallas Morning News

August 3, 2018

By Marc Ramirez

A pastor has resigned from the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth after sending a hostile and graphically detailed letter to a Dallas-area priest threatening to disclose an alleged affair the priest was having with a woman in his parish.

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ROME (ITALY)
Crux

August 3, 2018

By Inés San Martín

Two priests from a troubled Chilean diocese, part of the 14 local priests suspended after they were accused of being part of a ring of sexual misconduct that included gay prostitution and sexting with minors, have requested to be removed from the priesthood.

Fathers Hector Fuentes and Freddy Gorigoitia are currently suspended from ministry because of the ongoing investigation against them and other priests who were part of the group calling itself “The Family.” The two requested to be laicized on July 28.

The information was confirmed by Bishop Luis Fernando Ramos Perez, auxiliary of Santiago, the country’s capital, who’s currently serving as apostolic administrator in the diocese.

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ALLENTOWN (PA)
The Morning Call

August 3, 2018

By Tim Darragh

The long-awaited grand jury report on sex abuse of children by priests in six Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania is testing a balance of rights and raising questions about the fairness of secretive grand juries.

On the one hand, sex abuse victims say the release of the report naming more than 300 “predator” priests is a key step in healing and gaining justice.

On the other, people named in the report but not charged with crimes say in court records that the grand jury process failed to give them a fair opportunity to rebut the allegations against them. The two-year investigation covered the dioceses of Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton, and ended in April.

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YORK (PA)
WPMT-TV, Fox43

August 1, 2018

By Jack Eble

A Carlisle native, a Pennsylvania university graduate, 30 years of business experience.

One man, who is choosing to stay anonymous, says he is a survivor who wants his story to be told.

“This is not an easy story to tell.”

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HARRISBURG (PA)
WPMT-TV, Fox43

August 3, 2018

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg issued a statement Friday in response to a story that ran earlier this week on FOX43.

On Wednesday, FOX43 aired a story by Jack Eble with a survivor who said he was abused by a priest when he was 12 years old — the alleged abuse continued for a year and a half.

The accused, former priest Herbert Shank, spoke to FOX43 at his home.

Read the Diocese’s statement to Shank’s comments below:

“As we disclosed in our list earlier this week, Herbert Shank, who was removed from ministry in 1994, was the subject of multiple accusations of child sexual abuse. We watched his recent interview with shock and great sadness as he attempted to rationalize clearly inappropriate behavior with children. We have a zero-tolerance policy as it relates to child sexual abuse. Anyone who is accused of this type of behavior is immediately referred to law enforcement and removed from active duties, employment or volunteering. …

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HARRISBURG (PA)
The York Daily Record

August 3, 2018

The Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg released a list of 71 names of clergy members accused of sexually abusing children in cases dating back decades.

The list includes priests, deacons, seminarians and clergy affiliated with an order. The list also includes clergy members from other dioceses and Archdioceses from across the nation.

In the release, the diocese said the list includes those who were accused of abuse of a child since the 1940s, and does not include assessments of credibility or guilt. The church said it was releasing a list of every allegation made in recent decades against clergy in the diocese that had not been proven false.

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FORT WORTH (TX)
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram

August 3, 2018

By Nichole Manna

A priest in the Fort Worth Catholic Diocese has resigned after a letter he wrote to another priest in Dallas was deemed intimidating, manipulative and inappropriate by Bishop Michael Olson.

The Rev. Richard Kirkham, former pastor of St. Martin de Porres in Prosper, is also accused of failing to report knowledge he had of alleged sexual misconduct and predatory sexual harassment in the workplace regarding the Dallas-area priest.

Kirkham submitted his resignation letter on June 4, but later tried to rescind it. Olson said he declined Kirkham’s request.

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PONDA (INDIA)
The Hindu

August 4, 2018

By Prakash Kamat

The Ponda police are on the lookout for Dhananjay Bhave, the accused booked in Mangueshi temple molestation cases of two girls after Additional District and Sessions Court in Ponda on Saturday rejected two anticipatory bail applications filed by the priest.

He was booked for allegedly molesting two women inside the temple in June this year.

A senior police official in South Goa District headquarters told The Hindu on request of anonymity that the accused Dhananjay Bhave could not be traced, after the court in Ponda, located in South Goa district, cancelled both his applications for anticipatory bail. “He is absconding.”

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BUFFALO (NY)
WKBW-TV – 7 Eyewitness News

August 3, 2018

By Charlie Specht

Alleged victim speaks with 7 Eyewitness News

Fr. Gerald P. Sheehan, a deceased priest who served throughout Western New York over a career that spanned 40 years, has been accused of sexually abusing a young girl.

The allegation was recently reported to the diocese by a woman who said she was between 7 and 14 years old and a member of Nativity of Our Lord Church in Orchard Park when she suffered sexual abuse at the hands of the priest in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Sheehan died in 2006.

“This has affected everything in my life,” the woman told 7 Eyewitness News in a phone interview. “It’s really hard to understand why I wasn’t protected and why he was allowed to function.”

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BILLINGS (MT)
Catholic News Agency

August 2, 2018

The Diocese of Great Falls-Billings is awaiting the result of a vote by plaintiffs on whether to accept a $20 million settlement offered to 86 people who say they were sexually abused by 27 priests in the diocese. As a condition of the settlement, the names of those priests would be posted on the diocese’s website for at least ten years.

Litigation began six years ago, and in 2017 the diocese filed for bankruptcy protection as it began negotiating the settlement. If the plaintiffs accept the settlement, funds will come from insurance coverage, parishioner contributions, and the sale of diocesan property, the Billings Gazette reported.

The plaintiffs in the case say there were abused by priests between 1943 and 1993.

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UNITED STATES
America Magazine

August 3, 2018

By J.D. Long-García

When he was 12, Dominic told his parents he did not want to be an altar server anymore. He had been serving at a parish in Southern California run by the ex-priest Michael Baker, who would later be convicted of molesting children.

“We need to learn to listen to our children,” Dominic’s mother, Virginia Zamora, told America. “They do have symptoms…. My son didn’t want to go to church again. He hated God.”

Her son was abused for years, she said. The ex-priest would tell her son: “No one is going to believe you. Who’s going to believe you over me?” Ms. Zamora said the revelations about Theodore McCarrick should be a wake-up call for Latinos, whom she described as reluctant to speak against the clergy.

“Hispanics believe it’s their cross to bear, that’s how they live with it,” said Ms. Zamora, who works with the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, known as SNAP. “But it’s not our cross. We need to speak up.”

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

[Chilean Church in cases of abuse: “We have failed as pastors”]

PUNTA DE TRALCA (CHILE)
La Tercera

August 3, 2018

By María José Blanco

Al cierre de la 116ª Asamblea Plenaria de la Conferencia Episcopal, los obispos emitieron una declaración en la cual reconocen que “a veces no reaccionamos a tiempo”.

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[Sentences enforceable in civil and canonical cases for crimes against minors committed by people who were clerics at the time of the commission of the crime]

CHILE
Conferencia Episcopal de Chile
[Bishops’ Conference of Chile]

August 3, 2018

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[The list of religious sentenced for sexual crimes against minors published by the Chilean Catholic Church]

CHILE
La Tercera

August 3, 2018

Esta tarde, la Conferencia Episcopal subió a su página web un documento en el que aparecen los clérigos que han sido condenados tanto civil como canónicamente. La publicación fue una de las medidas tomadas en la 116° Asamblea Plenaria Episcopal que se realizó en Punta de Tralca.

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[Letter from Archbishop to the Archdiocese of Santiago]

SANTIAGO (CHILE)
Archdiocese of Santiago

August 4, 2018

From Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati

[The Archbishop of Santiago, Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati Andrello, sends a message to the diocese expressing: “I consider it prudent not to head our traditional Te Deum for the Homeland of September 18”.]

El Arzobispo de Santiago, cardenal Ricardo Ezzati Andrello, envía un mensaje a la diócesis expresando: “considero prudente no encabezar nuestro tradicional Te Deum por la Patria del 18 de septiembre”.

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[Ezzati gets off the Te Deum]

SANTIAGO (CHILE)
La Tercera

August 4, 2018

By Carla Pía Ruiz

A través de una carta publicada hace solo minutos en la página web del Arzobispado de Santiago, el arzobispo y cardenal Ricardo Ezzati comunicó su decisión de no presidir el tradicional Te Deum, una de las celebraciones más importantes, a la que asisten las mayores autoridades del país.

[Through a letter published just minutes ago on the website of the Archdiocese of Santiago, the archbishop and cardinal Ricardo Ezzati announced his decision not to preside over the traditional Te Deum, one of the most important celebrations, attended by the highest authorities of the country.]

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UNITED STATES
HLN (Headline News)

August 1, 2018

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UNITED STATES
America Magazine

August 1, 2018

By Michael J. O’Loughlin

A group representing 80 percent of Catholic sisters in the United States is adding its support to other sisters around the world who are calling for an end to sexual abuse and harassment of women religious, an issue brought to light most recently by a story written by The Associated Press.

“We join with all those demanding the end of a culture that ignores or tolerates sexual abuse of Catholic sisters or any other adult or minor perpetrated by those in positions of trust in the church community,” the Leadership Conference of Women Religious said in a statement. “Church authorities must take action to end a culture of silence, hold abusers accountable and provide support to those abused. We thank all those Catholic sisters throughout the world who, at great risk, have spoken publicly about their abuse.”

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PORTLAND (ME)
Portland Herald

August 3, 2018

By Cyndi MacKenzie (formally Yerrick)

The Vatican seems to choose power over children.

This year marks 25 years since my repressed memories of sexual abuse by Fr. Robert E. Kelley surfaced. With the ongoing news of sexual abusive in many professions at all levels, it seems the awareness of these crimes is front and center. I am never shocked by the news because I know it is possible, and it is not about sex.

The years I spent in therapy, court, sitting across from Mr. Kelley and church lawyers in depositions served their purpose. My perpetrator was held accountable, my discovery led to his re-arrest and ultimate jail time for other brave women he had raped and, above all, I had my voice back, which had been taken from me at age 5.

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ERIE (PA)
The Sharon Herald

August 4, 2018

By Melissa Klaric

Bishop Emeritus Donald Trautman has withdrawn his petition to the state Supreme Court redacting his name from the grand jury report chronicling alleged sexual misconduct within six Pennsylvania Roman Catholic dioceses.

Trautman said in a statement released Friday evening that he made the decision to retract his petition for the sake of the victims.

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ERIE (PA)
WENY-TV

August 3, 2018

[VIDEO]

Former Erie Catholic Diocese Bishop Emeritus Donald Trautman has withdrawn his appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to block the grand jury report on clergy sexual abuse, according to a statement Friday.

Trautman initially filed the appeal because the grand jury report did not give a fair, accurate portrayal of his conduct and actions as bishop of the diocese for 22 years, the statement said.

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ERIE (PA)

August 3, 2018

[See also the court document appended to the statement: Joint Stipulation to Dismiss Appeal]

As he has done his entire career, Bishop Trautman sends his prayerful support to all victims of clergy sexual abuse. Bishop Trautman shares the Grand Jury’s and Attorney General’s disgust with clergy sexual abuse and extends a sincere apology to all who have been harmed by clergy abuse. Bishop Trautman has always endeavored to put the needs and concerns of victims of abuse first and his complete record while in office proves this. Today he did that again, even though doing so required him to sacrifice his own personal rights.

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ERIE (PA)
GoErie.com

August 4, 2018

By Ed Palattella

He explains why he filed for a stay of grand jury report under initials D.T., and why he withdrew the challenge. Attorney General Shapiro praises decision; his office agreed to clarify parts of the report that pertain to Trautman.

Bishop Donald W. Trautman, the retired leader of the Catholic Diocese of Erie, said a push for accuracy led him to pursue challenges to the grand jury report on clergy sex abuse in the Erie diocese and five other Catholic dioceses statewide.

After the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office agreed to address some of those concerns, Trautman said, he decided to withdraw his objections to the report.

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ERIE (PA)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

August 3, 2018

By Peter Smith

Erie Bishop Emeritus Donald Trautman has ended an effort to block references to him in a forthcoming grand jury report on sexual abuse in six Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania.

The agreement came after the office of Attorney General Josh Shapiro agreed to stipulate that several of the blistering criticisms in the report — into how the Catholic hierarchy handled predator priests in general — didn’t apply to Bishop Trautman specifically.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Friday granted the bishop’s request to withdraw his petition.

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UNITED STATES
The Week

August 3, 2018

By Chip Bok

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PENNSYLVANIA
Associated Press via York Daily Record

August 3, 2018

By Mark Scolforo

A court filing made public on Friday included excerpts from the grand jury’s findings on the role of church leaders in the clergy abuse scandal.

A grand jury investigating clergy sex abuse in six Pennsylvania Roman Catholic dioceses found that church leaders were more interested in preventing scandal than protecting children, in some cases discouraging victims from going to police or pressuring law enforcement officials to end or avoid investigations, according to a court filing.

The grand jury’s full, nearly 900-page, report is expected to be released in the next two weeks.

But a court filing made public Friday, resolving one of many legal disputes over the report, included excerpts from the grand jury’s findings on the role of church leaders in the clergy abuse scandal.

According to the document, the grand jury concluded that victims were “brushed aside, in every part of the state, by church leaders who preferred to protect the abusers and their institutions above all.”

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PENNSYLVANIA
Sunbury Daily Item

August 2, 2018

By Rick Dandes

Individuals and child advocacy groups on Wednesday reacted sharply to the release of a list of priests and other church officials alleged to have sexually abused minors in the Harrisburg Diocese for decades.

The list of 71, including 37 priests, was made public by diocese Bishop Ronald Gainer on Wednesday ahead of next week’s deadline to redact names from a grand jury report into sex abuse in six Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania, including Harrisburg.

“The Church could have and should have done this five, 10, 15 years ago,” said Tim Lennon, president of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a support group of survivors of sexual abuse. Lennon said the release of that many names left him “speechless.

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[Declaration, Decisions and Commitments of the Bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Chile]

PUNTA DE TRALCA (CHILE)
Los Obispos de la Conferencia Episcopal de Chile
[The Bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Chile}

August 3, 2018

“Señor, ¿a quién iremos? Tú tienes palabras de Vida eterna” (Jn 6,68)

Nos hemos reunido los obispos de la Conferencia Episcopal de Chile y administradores apostólicos en una asamblea plenaria extraordinaria, para abordar la situación que vive la Iglesia Católica en el país, particularmente a raíz de los graves casos de abuso cometidos por personal consagrado.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
National Catholic Reporter

August 3, 2018

By Mark Dent

Details about sexual abuse by 300-plus priests are expected

After a court challenge from clergy members that has lasted more than a month, the long-awaited grand jury report on child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church throughout Pennsylvania is finally slated to be released.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court, in a 31-page ruling, stated the report must be made public by Aug. 14 and could become available as early as Aug. 7. It is supposed to detail sexual abuse and cover-ups perpetrated by more than 300 priests.

The report was disseminated three months ago to the six dioceses under investigation —Allentown, Altoona-Johnstown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton — and was expected to be released to the public in late June. But more than a dozen people, mostly clergy members, according to the Supreme Court, had challenged its release. They argued the report would harm their reputations and that they had not been given an adequate opportunity to respond to accusations. Most of the challengers were not permitted to provide testimony to the grand jury.

The challenge from clergy came after officials from the Pennsylvania dioceses said they would not oppose the report’s public release. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro wrote Pope Francis a letter in late June, indicating two Pennsylvania church leaders, whom he did not name, had orchestrated the challenge.

“Please call on them to ‘follow the path of truth’ you laid out,” Shapiro wrote to Francis, “and permit the healing process to begin.”

Erie Bishop Lawrence Persico, who in April released a list of former Erie clergy implicated in sexual assault allegations, has maintained he did not challenge the report.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Crux

August 3, 2018

By Elise Harris

With much of the US church still reeling from the abuse scandals involving ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, has said that while he believes the church has made progress, bishops must strive for “greater accountability at the level of the episcopacy” in both addressing and reporting abuse allegations.

“Everyone recognizes that words, good intentions, and new policies, while important, are not enough,” Wuerl said in a pastoral letter, published Aug. 3. “We must not only denounce abuse and take steps to stop abusers. We must remove even the appearance of cover-ups as we investigate and address allegations.”

A practical way to do this, Wuerl said, is to cooperate with the pope and his representatives to ensure that bishops are held accountable. Quoting a recent statement from the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Cardinal Daniel Di Nardo, Wuerl said spiritual conversion is needed in order to “restore the right relationship among us and with our Lord.”

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SANTIAGO (CHILE)
Reuters

August 1, 2018

By Aislinn Laing

Chile’s national prosecuting authority said on Wednesday that it had asked the government to submit a formal request to the Vatican for information about nine clergymen and lay workers who have been accused of sexual abuse of children.

The prosecuting authority said in a statement that national prosecutor Jorge Abbott had asked the foreign minister to enact three International Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters requests in relation to cases from the capital Santiago, the city of Valparaiso and the southern region of Araucania.

It said it could submit additional requests in the future.

“The document was sent confidentially through the Unit of International Cooperation and Extraditions of the National Prosecutor’s Office to Chile’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs so that it can send the referral to the Vatican through diplomatic channels,” the prosecutor’s office said.

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IRELAND
The Irish Times

August 2, 2018

By Patsy McGarry

Abuse survivors to gather at Garden of Remembrance during Pope’s visit

The Pope will meet abuse survivors as part of his visit to Ireland later this month, it is understood, though details of when and whom he will meet will not be released in advance to protect the anonymity of survivors.

Sources indicated the meeting would take place a day after the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Dr Diarmuid Martin said “time is very tight” for Pope Francis to meet survivors of church abuse during his visit.

Dr Martin had said he was pushing the Vatican to have the pope meet a cross-section of survivors of industrial schools, Magdalene laundries, mother and baby homes and those who suffered from clerical sex abuse. However, he said Pope Francis will spend only 36 hours in Ireland.

Separately, people abused or hurt by the Catholic Church and those who wish to support them have been invited to take part in a solidarity event at Dublin’s Garden of Remembrance during the visit of Pope Francis.

In a tweet abuse survivor Colm O’Gorman invited people to attend the event as the papal Mass in the Phoenix Park begins at 3pm on Sunday August 26th.

Mr O’Gorman was founder of the One in Four group, which assists abuse survivors.

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SAN FRANCISCO (CA)
The Modesto Bee

August 2, 2018

By Garth Stapley

Modesto’s CrossPoint Community Church is formally sued by a woman who was sexually abused by a youth pastor when she was a teen 30 years ago.

Jennifer Roach, now 47, alleged sexual battery, negligence, failure to supervise the youth pastor, and infliction of emotional distress when she initially sued nine weeks ago. But CrossPoint, formerly First Baptist, was not specifically named because of a legal technicality requiring that a judge sign off on the analysis of a mental health expert.

The analysis remains sealed from public view, but Judge Harold Kahn of San Francisco Superior Court signed the “finding of reasonable and meritorious cause for filing of action” on July 26, granting Roach “leave to designate (defendants) by their true names.”

Roach’s Sacramento attorney, Joseph George, refiled Wednesday using CrossPoint’s current and former names, and including as a defendant former youth pastor Brad Tebbutt. Roach seeks unspecified damages.

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BATON ROUGE (LA)
WBRZ

August 3, 2018

A music minister has been accused of abusing a young girl at an area church.

According to the arrest report, Santo Alvarado is accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting the victim between February 1, 2015, and February 25, 2018. Authorities say, Alvarado touched the girl’s chest and private area over her clothing.

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UNITED STATES
The Washington Post

July 31, 2018

By Elizabeth Bruenig

We live in an era of diminished trust and heightened cynicism. It is hard, now, to imagine someone expressing unqualified faith in government, the media, business — or even, for that matter, religious institutions. And the implication of this development is not simply the erosion of trust. It is the increasing difficulty of learning about the world around us, as we lose belief in those who might teach us.

Learning requires risk-taking. It forces us to face what we don’t know with the hope of advancing toward some grasp of it. The smaller the undertaking, the lower the emotional gamble — learning tomorrow’s weather forecast doesn’t entail an interior journey. But learning about the true and important things in life does require trust and dedication and vulnerability — usually under a teacher’s guidance. It is no surprise so many of us come to love the ones who teach us.

Neither is it a surprise, any longer, that some people charged with these roles of profound responsibility abuse them in the cruelest ways. The latest revelation concerns the former archbishop of Washington, Theodore McCarrick, who resigned Saturday from the College of Cardinals. Over several decades, McCarrick is alleged to have sexually abused at least one child and several adult seminarians or young priests, all of whom looked to the charismatic prelate for guidance — moral, vocational, spiritual. Into his den, he drew them.

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AUSTRALIA
Australian Associated Press

August 3, 2018

By Megan Neil

Australia’s Catholic bishops will release their response to the child abuse royal commission’s recommendations by the end of August.

Australia’s Catholic bishops will reveal their response to the child abuse royal commission later this month after reaching a “common position” on the inquiry’s calls for reforms.

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference on Friday committed to releasing its formal response to the five-year inquiry by the end of August.

While it will be up to the Pope and his advisers to accept many of the royal commission’s far-reaching recommendations, the Australian bishops have already rejected its controversial call to break the seal of confession to reveal child sexual abuse.

The bishops held a special meeting in Melbourne on Thursday and Friday to discuss issues raised by the royal commission.

“After two productive days of meetings, the bishops have reached a common position on the royal commission’s recommendations relating to the Catholic Church and its various ministries,” ACBC president Archbishop Mark Coleridge said in a statement.

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

August 2, 2018

Abuse survivor and campaigner Marie Collins has suggested that any decision by the Pope not to address those impacted by Church abuse would be “shocking … and completely untenable.”

The former member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Vatican was speaking to Miriam O’Callaghan on RTE radio this morning.

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UNITED STATES
The American Conservative

August 1, 2018

By Rod Dreher

[Note: Below is an extraordinary opinion essay sent to me by its author, Peter Mitchell, a conservative Catholic and former priest. Mitchell was ordained in 1999 and laicized in 2017. He says that he “is grateful to be a baptized and practicing Catholic.” — RD]

—

We Catholics ought to thank God that the abuse committed by former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick against young men under his authority is finally coming to light. As a former priest, however, I fear that the bishops may be tempted to allow McCarrick to become a scapegoat for abusive patterns – sexual and otherwise – running deep within the hierarchical power structure of the institutional Church. My own experiences and those of others in seminary and priesthood lead me to conclude that there have been and continue to be numerous other such instances – and not only on the “liberal” side of the Church but, astonishingly for some, on the “conservative” side as well.

In other words, McCarrick’s unspeakable behavior and the conspiracy of silence that protects and enables it is sadly not some bizarre anomaly or rare exception but actually much closer to the norm than the Catholic faithful may at first be inclined to believe.

The revelations about McCarrick, as well as reports coming from Honduras of an entrenched homosexual network throughout the seminary system there raise some significant further questions. Given that we know that many other people in positions of ecclesiastical power have been aware of McCarrick’s behavior and yet said and did nothing about it, the question must be asked: How many other bishops, vocation directors and seminary formators have engaged or are engaging in similar behavior with young adult men considering vocations to the priesthood, and how many other bishops and priests have agreed to remain silent about it “for the good of the Church”? My own experience as a seminarian and priest indicates that there may be many.

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Minnesota (MN)
Forward

August 1, 2018

By Ari Feldman

A popular Minneapolis rabbi known for his student outreach work is facing charges stemming from a child sex sting conducted by Minnesota law enforcement in January and early February.

Rabbi Aryeh Cohen was arrested February 1, after exchanging messages with a federal agent posing as a 15-year-old for over a week, according to the criminal complaint filed Tuesday. The complaint alleges that Cohen discussed a sexual liaison with the agent on Grindr, a popular hookup site for men. He was arrested outside the North St. Paul apartment the agent had invited him to as part of the sting. He was charged with two felonies relating to electronic communication about sex with a minor.

Cohen is one of 17 men who have been charged through the sting in recent days.

“I sort of deserve it,” Cohen said unprompted while being taken to the local police department and before being informed of his Miranda rights, according to the complaint.

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SAGINAW (MI)
Church Militant

July 31, 2018

Fr. James Bessert of Saginaw accused of preying on vulnerable teen

As part of the #CatholicMeToo campaign, Church Militant has asked adult victims of clerical sexual harassment to write in and share their stories. This is one of the stories.

********

In the early 1980s, when I was 18–19 years old, I lived in the diocece of Saginaw, Michigan and was discerning a vocation to the priesthood. The vocations director (who had a foul mouth, using words like Godd**n and F- bombs, etc. in normal conversation with me) put me in contact with a Fr. James Bessert, whom you have featured in one of your recent stories regarding the diocese of Saginaw and the troubles they have had and are having there.

Father Jim had recently graduated from the seminary, less than a year prior to my being introduced to him. He took me under his wing and showered me with attention, making me feel special. I had come from a troubled background, growing up in a toxic home environment, so the attention from this priest flattered me and I was thrilled to be counted among his friends. We would meet about once a month, eating out, where he would offer me alcohol. He had no problem getting me drunk during our visits.

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HARRISBURG (PA)
The Associated Press

August 2, 2018

The Supreme Court is adding another job for the special master it appointed to help black out names and other identifying information from a grand jury report into child sexual abuse in six of Pennsylvania’s Roman Catholic dioceses.

The justices said Thursday Judge John Cleland will also determine what material should be redacted from a sealed brief filed by the attorney general’s office.

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HARRISBURG (PA)
Penn Live

August 3, 2018

By Ivey DeJesus

Patterns of cover-up and criminality by pedophile priests and their supervisors have been documented in scores of Catholic dioceses worldwide.

Now, ahead of a long-awaited grand jury report into clergy sex abuse across Pennsylvania, a major question remains: Is the 900-page report likely to contain new information about the scope of the problem pervading the church?

Most definitely yes, say some expert observers.

“The shock and surprise of what is revealed is never new, unfortunately,” said Mitchell Garabedian, an attorney who represented hundreds of victims in lawsuits against the Archdiocese of Boston. “Is Rome going to be connected to this in any way shape or form, other than defrock papers, which speak to Rome’s role?”

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DUBLIN (IRELAND)
Independent

August 2, 2018

By Rachel Farrell

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/a-year-after-the-1979-papal-visit-i-was-raped-by-a-priest-why-abuse-survivors-are-gathering-during-pope-francis-visit-this-month-37179560.html

Colm O’Gorman, Executive Director of Amnesty Ireland, calls on survivors of clerical abuse to gather in solidarity during Pope Francis’ visit at the end of the month

“Over the weekend I was reading an article that asked readers where they were in 1979 when Pope John Paul visited Ireland. I do remember – I was 13. I went to a Christian Brother’s School. I went to Mass in Wexford every Sunday. I went to a Catholic youth group. Everything I did revolved around the church at that time.

“My brother and sister went to see the pope, but I didn’t get to go. At the time, I remember being disappointed that I wasn’t going. It was a huge, huge moment.

“A year later when I was 14, I was raped by a Catholic priest for the first time.”

These are the words of Colm O’Gorman, Executive Director of human rights organisation Amnesty Ireland, and a survivor of clerical abuse.

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HALIFAX (NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA)
CBC

August 2, 2018

By Jack Julian

Legal action against Halifax-Yarmouth diocese could uncover other allegations, lawyer says

A man who says he was sexually abused by a priest as a boy in Halifax in the 1960s has filed notice that he is planning a lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth.

His lawyer believes if certified by the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, the class-action lawsuit could eventually involve many more sex abuse claimants.

“It seems likely to me that there are hundreds, perhaps many hundreds, of potential victims out there,” lawyer John McKiggan, of the Halifax law firm McKiggan Hebert, said Thursday.

The lead plaintiff in the case is Douglas Champagne, who in court documents claims he was abused by priest George G. Epoch while he was an altar boy at Canadian Martyr’s Church on Inglis Street.

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LEBANON (PA)
Lebanon Daily New

August 2, 2018

By Daniel Walmer

The Diocese of Harrisburg released a long-anticipated list of clergy members accused of sexual crimes on Wednesday, and at least 11 have connections to Lebanon County.

One was principal of Lebanon Catholic High School for a decade. Five served at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Lebanon, one pastored Holy Spirit Church in Palmyra, and one served as a deacon at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Annville. At least two face accusations stemming from activity that occurred in Lebanon County.

More: What we know about priests, clergy listed by Harrisburg diocese and accused of abuse

Bishop Ronald W. Gainer wrote that he hopes the list will “salve some of these historic wounds with the healing touch of transparency.” However, one survivor’s attorney told the York Daily Record that it is too late for the church to get credit for transparency.

Gainer emphasized that the list is based on allegations, not proof of guilt.

Information about church officials with a connection to Lebanon County, listed below, was gathered from either information released by the diocese or a recent PennLive report, unless otherwise noted.

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MADISON (WI)
Isthmus

August 1, 2018

By Peter Isely

As survivors of childhood sexual abuse by clergy of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, we are responding to Dave Cieslewicz’s recent Citizen Dave post, “Flynn should stay in the race.” A number of us were sexually assaulted by priests within the Milwaukee Archdiocese during the time Matt Flynn was chief legal counsel to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, from 1989-2004.

We have suffered together. We have sought healing together. And we have fought for the truth together. Our community includes three generations of survivors. Our oldest survivor is 94; the youngest is 16. Both were raped or assaulted between the ages of 5 and 7. In both cases, the priests had multiple, documented notifications or warnings to the archdiocese about their conduct, extending from 1936 to 2014.

Cieslewicz’s column in support of Matt Flynn remaining in the governor’s race has forced on us again the burden of having to speak the truth about the terrible things that happened to us and how it was covered up by church officials with Flynn’s now well-documented help.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The Inquirer

August 2, 2018

By Maria Panaritis

http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/maria-panaritis/pennsylvania-grand-jury-report-clergy-abuse-catholic-church-attorney-general-josh-shapiro-maria-panaritis-20180801.html

Photo caption: The Reverend John T. Sweeney, center, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Westmoreland County to sexually abusing a fourth grader. The state attorney general is days away from releasing an investigative report about 300 alleged Catholic clergy abusers just like him across Pennsylvania. And yet, only a few have ever faced criminal charges through the years in this state.

Josh Shapiro is delivering a few lessons this week on the power of the people vs. the power of people with deep pockets.

They’re more like jabs, and they are coming from Pennsylvania’s attorney general ahead of the release of a criminal investigative report, days away, that will disclose clergy abuse by more than 300 predator priests at six of Pennsylvania’s eight Catholic dioceses.

Shapiro’s office over the last year has taken a beating behind closed doors from church-affiliated lawyers who have sought to kill or neuter the report. Shapiro seems willing now, as the finish line approaches, to slap back at them.

It’s about time.

It began on Tuesday, when Shapiro held a news conference to announce a conviction against creep-in-a-collar John T. Sweeney. The priest from Westmoreland County pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy who, now in his 30s, serves in the U.S. Coast Guard.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
NPR

August 2, 2018

By Camila Domonoske

For decades, the Catholic Church has grappled with sexual abuse of children by priests — through quiet reassignments and headline-grabbing scandals, internal investigations and public criminal charges, simmering controversies and settlements with survivors.

Now, some parishes in Pennsylvania are reckoning with the problem through an unusual dose of transparency.

In 2016, Pennsylvania’s attorney general launched a grand jury investigation, into allegations of sexual abuse in six of the state’s eight dioceses.

The investigation was conducted under “the umbrella of secrecy,” court documents note. It came closely after a 2016 grand jury investigation that found evidence that two bishops in the Altoona-Johnstown diocese covered up sexual abuse by dozens of church leaders.

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YORK (PA)
York Daily Record

August 2, 2018

By Brandie Kessler

https://www.ydr.com/story/news/2018/08/02/harrisburg-catholic-diocese-clergy-priest-abuse-victim-learns-others-also-accused-priest-guy-marsico/885015002/

He thought perhaps he was the priest’s only victim. Now the York, Pa., man knows others also accused Father Guy Marsico.

For decades, Todd Frey wondered if he was the only child to suffer sexual abuse at the hands of his priest.

“Is there by chance another one? One of my classmates?” Frey asked himself and others over the years. “I’ve really battled with this in ways you can’t imagine.”

On Wednesday, when Frey learned that the Diocese of Harrisburg had released the names of 71 priests and other clergy, he finally got an answer.

On the list, was the name of the priest Frey says abused him in York in the early 1980s:

Guy Marsico.

Next to Marsico’s name, a brief description of the allegations against him:

Multiple.

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SOUTH BEND (IN)
South Bend Tribune

August 3, 2018

By Caleb Bauer

The University of Notre Dame announced Thursday that it will not immediately revoke the honorary degree conferred to Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who recently resigned his position in the College of Cardinals after allegations surfaced that he sexually abused children and adults.

In late June, McCarrick was removed from public ministry, and last week Pope Francis ordered McCarrick to “observe a life of prayer and penance in seclusion,” after a New York archdiocese review board found allegations against him to be “credible and substantiated.” McCarrick is still yet to be tried in a canonical trial in Rome, but is accused of sexually abusing a teenage altar boy 47 years ago while serving as a priest in New York, abusing another 11-year-old boy and continuing the abuse for 20 years and sexually harassing and touching men seeking to become priests.

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DUBLIN (IRELAND)
RTÉ

August 2, 2018

A prominent survivor of clerical child sexual abuse, Marie Collins, has reacted strongly to Archbishop Diarmuid Martin’s statement that Pope Francis may not get time to meet victims during his visit here later this month.

The former Vatican adviser urged the pontiff not simply to meet vicitms’ representatives but also address his failures to reform Church policy in the area.

Pope Francis is to visit Ireland on 25 and 26 August to attend the Catholic World Meeting of Families in Dublin and to visit Knock Shrine in Co Mayo.

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