ABUSE TRACKER

SURRY HILLS (NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA)
The Australian

May 30, 2018

By John Ferguson

The Catholic Church will formally opt in to the $4 billion child abuse redress scheme in the first major declaration from the faith’s new head of bishops.

Catholic Church leaders have written to Social Services Minister Dan Tehan declaring the move, which is a significant fillip for the national scheme.

Once all states and territories have opted into the scheme and federal law is enacted, the church will establish an agency to enable all church bodies to interact with the scheme’s national operator.

It is possible that, with so many different branches of the church, the church entities will sign up at various different times during the next two years.

The new Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president Archbishop Mark Coleridge was a joint signatory of the letter to Mr Tehan with Catholic Religious Australia president Sister Ruth Durick.

“We support the Royal Commission’s recommendation for a national redress scheme, administered by the commonwealth, and we are keen to participate in it,’’ they said.

“We recognise that redress will not take away a survivor’s pain, but hope that it can provide some practical assistance in the journey towards recovery from abuse.

“Once the scheme is initiated, we are committed to providing redress to survivors who were abused within the Catholic Church.

“Given the diverse structure of the Catholic Church, Catholic officials have been working with the commonwealth government to enable church authorities to work effectively with the independent National Redress Scheme Operator.

“We are grateful for the commonwealth’s support in helping create the best possible solution to simplify the process for survivors who will seek redress from a Catholic institution.’’

Archbishop Coleridge was recently appointed president of the bishops’ conference as his predecessor Denis Hart from Melbourne is due to retire as an archbishop.

The scheme will provide up to $150,000 in redress to proven victims but with a lower burden of proof compared with the courts.

The scheme will require participants to release offending institutions from civil liability for the abuse but in turn will enable them to receive a one-off payment or an additional top-up payment if any original redress were deemed inadequate.

Labor backed a $200,000 cap, in line with the royal commission recommendation, but the federal government and major states believe $150,000 will be as high as the scheme can go.

The key number will be the average cost of each claim, which is likely to be about $75,000.

The scheme bears significant similarities with the original Catholic systems set up in the 1990s and has not been embraced by some victim groups.

The key difference is a greater level of independence and higher payouts, coupled with relatively low standards of proof that abuse occurred.

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LONDON (ENGLAND)
The Guardian

May 30, 2018

By Melissa Davey

‘Survivors deserve justice and healing’, says spokesman

Catholic church opts in to national redress scheme for survivors of child sexual abuse, following the Anglican church which signed up on Sunday.

The Catholic Church has signed up to the federal government’s national redress scheme for survivors of child sexual abuse.

The scheme will take effect from July and requires the states and territories as well as non-government organisations such as churches and charities to opt into the scheme and agree to pay victims abused within their organisations up to $150,000 compensation.

Australia’s royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse found 7% of Australia’s Catholic priests were accused of abusing children in the six decades since 1950. Up to 15% of priests in some dioceses were alleged perpetrators between 1950 and 2015, the commission found.

Almost 2,500 survivors told the commission about sexual abuse in an institution managed by the Catholic church, representing 61.8% of all survivors who reported sexual abuse in a religious institution.

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LONDON (ENGLAND)
BBC

May 30, 2018

An inquiry into sexual abuse in Australia found institutions had “seriously failed” to protect children

The Catholic Church has confirmed it will be part of a national redress scheme for victims of child sexual abuse in Australia.

The nation recently held a five-year inquiry into sexual abuse in the country’s institutions.

Among harrowing stories, it heard that 7% of Australia’s Catholic priests abused children between 1950 and 2010.

Governments and institutions have faced intense pressure to join a compensation programme for victims.

The Church said it was “keen to participate” in the scheme, to be co-ordinated by the Australian government.

“Survivors deserve justice and healing and many have bravely come forward to tell their stories,” said Archbishop Mark Coleridge, president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.

The Church is the first non-government organisation to join the scheme, which is scheduled to begin in July.

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ERIE (PA)
BishopAccountability.org

Summary of Case: Samuel B. Slocum was ordained for the Diocese of Erie in 1980. He was a faculty member until 1997 at high schools in DuBois, St. Mary’s, Erie and Bradford while residing and ministering in area parishes. From 1990 on he was the sole priest at parishes in Eldred, Shinglehouse, Bradford, then Lewis Run.

In April 2011 Slocum was arrested on charges related to a recent inappropriate relationship with a 15-year-old Lewis Run boy. Slocum had been giving the boy expensive gifts and taking photos of him and other boys. The boy’s parents forbade the priest from contacting their son, but Slocum did not stop; he lied to the mother and encouraged the boy to be secretive. The mother reported him to the police. Slocum admitted to engaging in inappropriate behavior with the boys. He was placed on leave by the diocese.

Slocum was convicted in 2012 and given two years’ probation. His laicization was announced in November 2016.

Ordained: 1980
Laicized: 2016

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UNITED STATES
Vanity Fair

SUMMER 2018

By Vanessa Grigoriadis

As new accusers continue to emerge in the wake of Larry Nassar’s abhorrent crimes, gymnastics—and the idea of girlhood that the sport perpetuates—is undergoing a revolution.

Few icons of American girlhood are as symbolically complex as elite gymnasts. They appear on the mat as tiny shining birds: gems sewn into their leotards sparkling under bright competition lights, and colorful bows plopped on their French-braided hairdos like feathered crowns. Scouts looking for young gymnasts with the potential to reach the Olympics sometimes spot girls as young as seven. Their careers usually peak before they can vote and end before they can legally order a glass of wine in a restaurant. Yet they are athletes of extraordinary accomplishment and fortitude. They’re strong women, or girls becoming women, who fly through the air seemingly by sheer force of will. As a child glued to the television during the Summer Olympics in the 1980s, I thought of them as real-life versions of Superwoman. Women of steel, lighter than air.

In the past few months, these girls have also become bellwethers for our evolving views on femininity, agency, and sexual abuse. Until recently the story they told about their lives in gymnastics was one of unique powerlessness. As top gymnasts, they were supposed to be silent, sexless, obedient little girls. They had one purpose and one purpose only: to perform fearsome acrobatics. They were never supposed to complain about ragged palms, stress fractures, and excruciating back pain. They didn’t question the sport’s rigid attitudes toward diet, which often veered suspiciously close to starvation. And they certainly never would have told an authority figure that Larry Nassar, the respected osteopathic doctor who was the physician for the U.S. women’s Olympic gymnastics team and other club and university-level teams, was inappropriately penetrating their vaginas and rectums with his fingers while they lay on his massage table to receive treatment for injuries. Good girls, and good gymnasts, didn’t create waves.

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ROME
CRUX

May 27, 2018

By Inés San Martín

A Chilean bishop who’s acknowledged he was slow in investigating allegations of abuse and misconduct in his diocese resigned as president of the Chilean Church’s National Commission for the Prevention of Abuses.

The announcement was made by the Chilean bishops’ conference, which said on Saturday that it had accepted the resignation of Bishop Alejando Goic of Rancagua from the commission. At this point, he continues as the head of his diocese.

Together with most of Chile’s active bishops, Goic presented his resignation to Pope Francis mid-May. The prelates were summoned by the pontiff to Rome to discuss a crisis in the local Church, a product of decades of abuses and cover-ups and which began detonating in early 2015, when the pontiff appointed Bishop Juan Barros, accused of covering up for the country’s most notorious pedophile priest, to the southern diocese of Osorno.

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CALIFORNIA
CBS NEWS

May 29, 2018

Aaron Persky is speaking out one week before voters decide if he should be removed over his handling of a sexual assault trial. The California judge gave former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner a short jail term after Turner was found guilty of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman. The sentence generated global outrage and raised questions about judicial independence and politics in the courtroom.

Persky has remained largely silent as the campaign to remove him from the bench has built over nearly two years. But now, in his only television interview, he defended the sentence that has been so widely condemned.

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VATICAN CITY
UCA News

May 29, 2018

By Robert Mickens

Can Pope Francis fix the clergy sex abuse crisis?

The deeply disturbing scandal of clergy sex abuse in Chile and its cover-up by church leaders in the country continues to go from bad to worse.

After a Vatican-led investigation in February, which prompted Pope Francis to call an emergency summit in Rome of the entire Chilean hierarchy, there has been a seemingly non-stop flow of newly revealed cases of sexual crimes against young people.

First, there was a news report of an organized pedophilia (or at least ephebophilia) ring in a diocese north of the capital Santiago where priests have been involved in exchanging pornographic images of minors and information on how to sexually engage with these adolescents.

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FORT ATKINSON (WI)
FOX6 Now

May 27, 2018

By Suzanne Spencer

There is a twist in a sexual misconduct case against a Diocese of Madison retired priest.

Police say Fr. William Nolan sexually assaulted a former student and altar boy at St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Fort Atkinson.

“Is there any prior information the diocese had about him?” asked Peter Isely of SNAP — the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.

Isely works with a network devoted to victims of abuse and remembers Nolan’s name — when the retired priest was a witness in a fellow priest’s case in 2005 involving Rev. Gerald Vosen. At the time, Vosen was trying to prove the man who accused him of sexual assault defamed him.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Penn Live

May 29, 2018

By Ivey DeJesus

In the mid-2000s, when then-Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham launched an investigation into clergy sex abuse and cover-up in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, she was assailed for waging a campaign against the Roman Catholic Church.

It was a virtual repeat of what had played out just a few years prior in 2002 in Boston. That year, officials at the Archdiocese of Boston accused The Boston Globe of mounting an anti-Catholic agenda after the paper published a series of scathing reports detailing decades of molestation of thousands of children by priests and its systemic cover up by church officials.

At times, both in Philadelphia and Boston, Catholics rallied behind the church and defended their faith as legions came to terms with revelations of the assaults.

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BRIDGEPORT (WV)
The Intelligencer

May 29, 2018

By Matt Saxton

A retired Belmont County Catholic priest and former schoolteacher has been relieved of active ministry duties after the Roman Catholic Diocese of Steubenville received what it says is a credible sexual abuse allegation against him.

Diocese spokesman Dino Orsatti said Monday that Msgr. Mark Froehlich, 75, of Belmont will no longer be able to participate in church-related activities.

Although Froehlich retired in 2014, he was still helping some churches with activities such as Masses, confessions and church functions.

As of Monday night, Froehlich was not facing criminal charges. But Bishop Jeffrey M. Monforton decided that the allegation was serious enough to remove him from active ministry, Orsatti said.

“We take every allegation extremely seriously,” said Orsatti, who also said the Roman Catholic Church issued a zero-tolerance policy regarding sexual abuse allegations in 2002. “We’re just following that decree and taking extra precautions.”

However, Froehlich said Monday night that he disputes the allegation.

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AUSTRALIA
Catholic Outlook

May 29, 2018

“How does the Catholic welfare sector continue with ‘good works’ post the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse?”

PART 1: INTRODUCTION

Dear friends,

I would like to pay my respect and acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which this meeting takes place, and also pay respect to Elders both past and present.

Thank you for the invitation to speak at this forum and to have the opportunity to share the podium with a very distinguished Catholic woman. Two months ago, I was in Rome for a conference on migrants and refugees. It took place at the same time as the Voices of Faith International Women’s Day Conference at which Mary McAleese, former President of Ireland gave a powerful speech on women and the Catholic Church. I was particularly struck by the image she uses to describe the state of the church. She said – practically within the Pope’s earshot – that the exclusion of women from decision-making roles “has left the church flapping about awkwardly on one wing”. And if that wasn’t enough, she went on to say that “the church has long been the primary global carrier of the virus of misogyny.” Whoa! Talk about pulling no punches. I hope Geraldine Doogue is going to be a bit gentler to me than Mary McAleese was to Pope Francis.

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CANADA
Recorder and Times

May 28, 2018

By Wayne Lowrie

A former church organist and youth leader, who used his position of authority in the Catholic Church to sexually abuse a 15-year-old boy, was sentenced to three years in prison on Monday.

Brian Joseph Lucy, 70, of Gananoque, started abusing the altar boy and member of the Junior Knights youth group while organist of St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church and leader of the youth group, the court heard.

Starting in the early 1990s, the abuse, which included oral, anal and group sex, occurred more than 100 times before the victim turned 18, often two or three times a week and sometimes lasting four to five hours, according to a statement of facts read into the record by Crown Attorney Jacqueline Masse. The encounters continued until the victim was in his early 20s.

In an impact statement to the court, the victim, who can’t be identified because of a court order, called Lucy a “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” who used his friendship with his family and his position with the church to cause the boy to trust him. The youth, in Grade 9 when it started, was a troubled teen when Lucy began taking him to his house, plying him with alcohol and persuading him to engage in the sex acts, the victim said.

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CARY (NC)
The Biblical Recorder

May 29, 2018

By Albert Mohler Jr.

The last few weeks have been excruciating for the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and for the larger evangelical movement. It is as if bombs are dropping and God alone knows how many will fall and where they will land.

America’s largest evangelical denomination has been in the headlines day after day. The SBC is in the midst of its own horrifying #MeToo moment.

At one of our seminaries, controversy has centered on a president (now former president) whose sermon illustration from years ago included advice that a battered wife remain in the home and the marriage in hope of the conversion of her abusive husband. Other comments represented the objectification of a teenage girl. The issues only grew more urgent with the sense that the dated statements represented ongoing advice and counsel.

But the issues are far deeper and wider.

Sexual misconduct is as old as sin, but the avalanche of sexual misconduct that has come to light in recent weeks is almost too much to bear. These grievous revelations of sin have occurred in churches, in denominational ministries and even in our seminaries.

We thought this was a Roman Catholic problem. The unbiblical requirement of priestly celibacy and the organized conspiracy of silence within the hierarchy helped to explain the cesspool of child sex abuse that has robbed the Roman Catholic Church of so much of its moral authority. When people said that Evangelicals had a similar crisis coming, it didn’t seem plausible – even to me. I have been president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for [25] years. I did not see this coming.

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AUSTRALIA
The Border Mail

May 29, 2018

By Shana Morgan

Cathy McGowan has called on churches to show more “humility” to help improve the situation for survivors of child sexual abuse.

The Indi MP spoke in parliament yesterday in support of a national redress scheme for institutional child sex abuse, which will give survivors access of up to $150,000 in compensation.

She said religious institutions needed to improve their culture, so this never happens again, and be transparent in their responses.

“It can’t just be done in private. We need public recognition from our institutions that serious hurt has been caused, that they are going to make appropriate changes to the way they do things and then work with survivors to actually improve the situation,” Ms McGowan said.

“While I understand some institutions have gone some way in this regard, I think there is more that can be done in terms of humility, in practical signs of sorrow.”

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HALIFAX (NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA)
The Chronicle Herald

May 28, 2018

By Maryanne McNeil

Since the April 7 publication of my opinion piece about why I was walking away from the Roman Catholic Church, I have read with great interest the many responses it generated.

The great majority of these were unwaveringly supportive; however, there were some critical voices. For the most part, the ensuing debate has been healthy, prompting interested individuals to examine their own beliefs and, sometimes, to state them publicly.

Only a tiny portion of the responses went beyond the bounds of civil discussion into the realm of rather personal attacks. One small example is that, for decrying the lack of opportunity for women to serve in leadership roles in the Roman Catholic Church, I was called “an obvious radical feminist.” That one made me smile; I’m still trying to decide if I should take it as an insult.

I do understand that when criticism is levelled at a cherished institution, emotions will flare and reaction will sometimes be intense. It takes restraint to refrain from hurling personal barbs and it seems that our present social climate has taken enthusiastically to modelling the opposite tactics: maligning, denying and dismissing. It’s far easier to do that than to examine issues through as honest and objective a lens as possible.

I had decided that it was better for me to allow this debate that I’d initiated to play itself out without wading into it again. After all, other opinions, both supportive and in opposition, are as valid as my own.

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CHILE
National Catholic Reporter

May 25, 2018

Under increasing scrutiny about the handling of clergy sexual abuse cases over decades, Chile’s Catholic bishops said that Pope Francis’ emotional meetings at the Vatican with three abuse victims “shows us the path that the Chilean Church is called to follow.” Shortly after releasing this statement, the Chilean bishops in Rome announced they have submitted their resignations to Francis en masse and will await his decision for which of their dismissals he will accept.

On the show today:

– Joshua J. McElwee, Vatican correspondent
– Fr. James Connell, a retired priest in the Milwaukee Archdiocese, canon lawyer, and a founding member of Catholic Whistleblowers

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INDIA
The News Minute

May 26, 2018

By Megha Varier

A court in Thalassery reportedly refused to entertain the plea by three of the accused to quash charges against them.

More than a year since a Catholic priest allegedly raped and impregnated a minor girl in Kottiyoor in Kannur district, the trial proceedings in the case is set to begin.

The police had, in February last year, arrested and booked ten people including the priest Father Robin Vadakkumchery.

According to a report published by Mathrubhumi News, a court in Thalassery refused to entertain the plea filed by three of the accused seeking to drop the charges against them.

With this, the Additional Sessions Court in Thalassery ordered for the chargesheet to be read out to all the accused.

Although the third, fourth and fifth accused in the case, Sr Dr. Tesi Thomas, Dr Hyderali, and Sister Ancy Mathew, had previously approached the Supreme Court with a plea to quash charges against them, the apex court had refused to do so.

The apex court had also dismissed their plea to put a stay on the trial.

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BUFFALO (NY)
The Buffalo News

May 27, 2018

By Jay Tokasz

When a mother complained that the Rev. Norbert F. Orsolits propositioned her teenage son in a bar, the Diocese of Buffalo quietly sent him away for mental health therapy and listed him as “on leave” in its official 1979 directory.

Then, within months, the diocese reassigned him to a new parish, where he later was accused of molesting at least two boys.

Orsolits isn’t the only Buffalo priest accused of sexual abusing children who had been marked as “on leave” and then put back into a parish.

The Buffalo News found that from 1973 to 2000 the diocese assigned 11 priests to work in a parish or other ministry after they were marked as “absent on leave” or “awaiting assignment” in official directories. The diocese this year identified nine of those priests as having been credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors. The two other priests were publicly accused but not part of the diocesan list.

At least three of the 11 priests – while on leave from a parish or otherwise unassigned – were treated at Southdown Institute, a mental health facility near Toronto, for sexual transgressions with minors and then reassigned to parishes.

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AUSTRALIA
Catholic Culture

May 28, 2018

By Phil Lawler

While thirty Chilean bishops have submitted their resignation after being accused of covering up sexual abuse, Archbishop Philip Wilson of Adelaide, Australia, has not resigned after being convicted in a court of law of the same offense.

Following his conviction, Archbishop Wilson said that he would step down from his position, leaving his vicar general in charge of the archdiocese, but would not resign. “He’s standing aside until process has run its course,” said an archdiocesan spokesman, whereas a resignation would be “forever.” The “process” in this case could mean either an appeal of the verdict or a prison sentence of up to two years.

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DUBLIN (IRELAND)
NewsTalk

May 29, 2018

By Jack Quann

The commission will take up to one year to report

The Cabinet has approved a proposal to establish a Commission of Investigation into the response to complaints or allegations of child sexual abuse made against Bill Kenneally.

The Government also approved the appointment of retired Circuit Court Judge Barry Hickson as sole member of the commission.

The Houses of the Oireachtas will now be required to pass motions so that the commission can be formally established.

This is expected to take place in the coming weeks.

Kenneally, a former basketball coach, is currently serving a 14 year prison sentence in relation to 10 sample counts of indecent assault against minors – which took place in the 1980s.

A number of survivors of that abuse have claimed that the State and other bodies failed to intervene sufficiently in order to prevent him continuing to abuse children.

They allege there was collusion between An Garda Síochána, the Catholic Church authorities and elements within the political system, which prevented Kenneally from being arrested and charged at a much earlier stage.

As a result of these concerns, the Government agreed in principle on May 30th 2017 to establish a Commission of Investigation.

The commission will be called the ‘Commission of Investigation (Response to complaints or allegations of child sexual abuse made against Bill Kenneally, and related matters’.

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DUBLIN (IRELAND)
The Associated Press

May 27, 2018

Irish Catholics attending Sunday Mass were disappointed with the result of a referendum in which voters opted to legalize abortion and think it reflects the weakening of the Church — a situation that was unthinkable in Ireland a generation ago.

There was no mention of the referendum during the sermon at St. Mary’s Pro Cathedral, but it was weighing heavily on the minds of some worshippers as they left the Mass in central Dublin.

Ireland voted by a roughly two-to-one margin Friday to end a constitutional ban on abortion, and parliament is expected to approve a more liberal set of laws governing the termination of pregnancies.

Some worshippers said the overwhelming victory of abortion rights activists seeking the repeal of the Eighth Amendment of the constitution reflects a weakening of the Catholic Church’s historic influence and fills them with dread for Ireland’s future.

“I think the ‘yes’ vote was an anti-Church vote,” said Annemarie McCarrick, referring to the “yes” vote in favor of ending the constitutional ban.

The 52-year-old lecturer said on the cathedral steps that a series of sex abuse scandals had undermined the influence of the Church in Ireland. She said the Church had in recent weeks taken a “quiet” stand against repeal, but hadn’t been able to sway people.

“I am religious but the Church has definitely lost influence here because of the scandals,” she said. “The people will not take direction from the Church anymore. It’s hard for the Church to have credibility.”

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SCRANTON (PA)
The Times-Tribune

May 29, 2018

Two events last week related to former state Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s tempestuous and truncated term of office offer a lesson for all public officials who have a difficult time separating governance from politics.

Friday, a three-judge panel of the state Superior Court unanimously upheld Kane’s Aug. 15, 2016, conviction in Montgomery County Court for perjury, false swearing, obstructing the administration of law, official oppression and criminal conspiracy. She was sentenced Oct. 24, 2016, to 10 to 23 months in prison, but has remained free pending appeal. And she still can petition the state Supreme Court to hear an appeal of the Superior Court decision.

Earlier in the week, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced that bishops of six Catholic dioceses, including Bishop Joseph Bambera of Scranton, had agreed not to contest the public release of an impending grand jury report on sexual abuse by clergy and the dioceses’ handling of those cases.

Kane, who had handled child sexual abuse cases as an assistant district attorney in Lackawanna County, launched that important investigation in 2016.

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NEW YORK (NY)
New York Times

May 27, 2018

By Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura

Dublin – Some were joyous. Others were devastated. But most of all, in the hours after Irish voters swept away a ban on abortion, many were simply astonished.

However they felt about the result of the referendum, they were witnessing, they knew, the culmination of a fundamental shift in Irish society — and one that has come about with stunning speed.

In a remarkably compact span of time, the country has gone from being a bastion of social conservatism in the West to a place that wholeheartedly embraces positions that would have been unthinkable just a generation ago.

The culture of silence and deference to religious authority that long dominated Ireland is gone. The country that has emerged is an unlikely leader of liberal values.

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NEW YORK (NY)
New York Times

May 26, 2018

By Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura

Dublin – Ireland voted decisively to repeal one of the world’s more restrictive abortion bans, sweeping aside generations of conservative patriarchy and dealing the latest in a series of stinging rebukes to the Roman Catholic Church.

The surprising landslide, reflected in the results announced on Saturday, cemented the nation’s liberal shift at a time when right-wing populism is on the rise in Europe and the Trump administration is imposing curbs on abortion rights in the United States. In the past three years alone, Ireland has installed a gay man as prime minister and has voted in another referendum to allow same-sex marriage.

But this was a particularly wrenching issue for Irish voters, even for supporters of the measure. And it was not clear until the end that the momentum toward socially liberal policies would be powerful enough to sweep away deeply ingrained opposition to abortion.

* * *
The church lost much of its credibility in the wake of scandals involving pedophile priests and thousands of unwed mothers who were placed into servitude in so-called Magdalene laundries or mental asylums as recently as the mid-1990s.

The church was, in fact, largely absent from the referendum campaign. Anti-abortion campaigners actively discouraged its participation, preferring to emphasize moral values and human rights rather than religion, possibly to avoid being tarnished by the church-related scandals.

During the campaign, the Association of Catholic Priests urged its members not to preach politics from the pulpit. The guidance came after some priests had threatened their congregations that they would not be able to receive Communion if they voted “yes,” according to people who attended the Masses.

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NEW YORK (NY)
New York Times

May 27, 2018

By Jason Horowitz

Vatican City – When nearly one-third of Ireland’s Catholic population came to see Pope John Paul II celebrate a papal Mass in Dublin in 1979, divorce, homosexual acts and abortion were all illegal in the country. Ireland, like much of Europe, toed the line on Roman Catholic Church teaching.

In August, Pope Francis will return to Ireland for a World Meeting of Families event attended by the church’s most committed anti-abortion activists. But they will find themselves, after Saturday’s historic repeal of an abortion ban in a landslide vote, in a country that is clearly part of Europe’s secular sprint out of the Roman Catholic fold.

Across Western Europe, the church’s once mighty footprint has faded, in no small measure because of self-inflicted clerical sex abuse scandals and an inability to keep up with and reach contemporary Catholics. Church attendance has plummeted, parishes are merging, and new priests and nuns are in short supply. Gay marriage is on the rise, and abortion is widely legal.

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WHEELING (WV)
WTRF

May 28, 2018

[See a bio of Msgr. Mark Froelich.]

The Diocese of Steubenville has received what it considers to be credible allegations of sexual abuse against retired diocesan priest Msgr. Mark J. Froehlich.

Due to the allegations, he has been removed from active ministry.

The “Chapter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” which are special laws approved by the Holy Father to deal with child abuse, are handling the case.

Any victim or victims harmed by a priest or anyone serving on behalf of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Steubenville can contact the Diocese or authorities.

In the Diocese victims can call Thomas S. Wilson at (740) 282-3631 or email twilson@diosteub.org.

On Sunday night, SNAP, the Suvivor’s Network of those Abused by Priests responded to the allegations:

“Church officials wrongly tell us that incidents such as this case can be reported to Diocesan officials or authorities. All incidents of child sex abuse must be reported to the police or child protective services. The church officials are not the proper officials to be investigating child sex crimes as we have seen a history of church authorities covering up clergy who abuse children. If you have been abused or have a reasonable suspicion of abuse, please report to the police.”

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

CHILE
La Tercera

May 27, 2018

[Karadima victims criticize appointment of Bishop of San Bernardo in Abuse Prevention Council]

By Alejandra Jara

Esta noticia fue criticada por José Andrés Murillo, y Juan Carlos Cruz, denunciantes del ex párroco de El Bosque, Fernando Karadima quienes sostuvieron que González “no tiene empatía”.

La Conferencia Episcopal designó ayer sábado al obispo Juan Ignacio González como presidente del Consejo Nacional de Prevención Abusos de la Iglesia Católica, tras la renuncia del religioso Alejandro Goic a la instancia.

Esta noticia fue criticada por José Andrés Murillo, Juan Carlos Cruz, denunciantes del ex párroco de El Bosque, Fernando Karadima, quienes mostraron su rechazo a la desginación de González.

“Un tipo con la empatía de una piedra, prepotente, despectivo y con una historia turbia durante la dictadura”, escribió Murillo en su cuenta de Twitter.

[Google Translation: This news was criticized by José Andrés Murillo, and Juan Carlos Cruz, denouncers of the former pastor of El Bosque, Fernando Karadima, who maintained that González “has no empathy.”

The Episcopal Conference appointed Bishop Juan Ignacio González on Saturday as president of the National Council for the Prevention of Abuses of the Catholic Church, following the resignation of the religious Alejandro Goic at the instance.

This news was criticized by José Andrés Murillo, Juan Carlos Cruz, denouncers of the former pastor of El Bosque, Fernando Karadima, who showed their rejection of González’s desegination.

“A guy with the empathy of a stone, arrogant, derogatory and with a turbulent history during the dictatorship,” Murillo wrote in his Twitter account.]

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

CHILE
La Tercera

May 27, 2018

[O’Higgins prosecutor will investigate ex-chancellor of the Church of Santiago]

By Leyla Zapata

Ministerio Público abrirá causa de oficio tras la autodenuncia por abuso del sacerdote Óscar Muñoz.

Tras conocerse la autodenuncia por eventual abuso sexual que hizo en el Arzobispado de Santiago el ahora excanciller de la entidad, Óscar Muñoz Toledo (56), el Ministerio Público de O’Higgins abrirá una investigación de oficio para indagar posibles delitos cometidos por el sacerdote, quien también se desempeñaba como párroco de la Iglesia Jesús de Nazareth, ubicada en la comuna de Estación Central.

Esto, porque los hechos en cuestión se habrían cometido en el ámbito familiar del presbítero, en la Región de O’Higgins, hace cerca de 10 años, según trascendió.

La fiscalía, además, agruparía este caso a la indagatoria que inició en marzo pasado contra la llamada “cofradía” de sacerdotes de la zona, que está siendo indagada por la Unidad de Alta Complejidad del Ministerio Público, por eventuales delitos contra menores.

Por este caso, el obispo de Rancagua, Alejandro Goic, suspendió de sus funciones eclesiales a 14 párrocos de la Región de O’Higgins.

[Google Translation: The Public Ministry will open an ex officio case after the self-denunciation for abuse of priest Óscar Muñoz.

After knowing the self-denunciation by eventual sexual abuse that did in the Archbishopric of Santiago the now ex-chancellor of the entity, Óscar Muñoz Toledo (56), the Public Ministry of O’Higgins will open an investigation ex officio to investigate possible crimes committed by the priest, who also served as parish priest of the Jesus of Nazareth Church, located in the commune of Central Station.

This, because the facts in question had been committed in the family of the priest, in the O’Higgins Region, about 10 years ago, according to reports.

The prosecution, in addition, would group this case to the investigation that began last March against the so-called “brotherhood” of priests of the area, which is being investigated by the High Complexity Unit of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, for possible crimes against minors.

In this case, the bishop of Rancagua, Alejandro Goic, suspended 14 priests of the O’Higgins Region from their ecclesiastical functions.]

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

DUBLIN (IRELAND)
RTÉ

May 26, 2018

By Joe Little

Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Dr Diarmuid Martin has expressed surprise at the outcome of the referendum, and reiterated that his church cannot compromise on its opposition to abortion.

It follows the declaration of the official result this evening, one which campaigners for a No vote described as a “tragedy of historic proportions”.

Dr Martin said that compassion is a Christian concept and that the Catholic Church has to show, in the way it lives and witnesses to the gospel, that it is genuinely compassionate.

“We have to speak with compassion even if what we speak is not acceptable,” he said.

He added that above all, the Catholic Church had to revamp all that it does to be pro-life.

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

DUBLIN (IRELAND)
The Independent

May 27 2018

By Aoife Kelly

While the Yes side saw a landslide victory on Saturday with two-thirds of the country voting to repeal the Eighth Amendment, one county stood alone in producing a majority No vote.

Donegal was the only constituency in the country to return a majority No with 51.9 per cent of people voting No compared to 48.1 per cent voting Yes.

There was a 57 per cent turnout.

With many people questioning why the result was different in Donegal to the rest of the country, one Donegal man took to Twitter to offer his take on the result.

Noel Sharkey’s thread is garnering praise from people all over the country.

Here it is in full:

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

DUBLIN (IRELAND)
Irish Times

May 26, 2018

By Una Mullally

‘The fiction of Ireland as a conservative, dogmatically Catholic country has been shattered’

The handover period is over. The fiction of Ireland as a conservative, dogmatically Catholic country has been shattered. The past is left back there, and a new legacy is being created. A legacy of compassion, empathy, and maturity – a country taking responsibility for the care and health of women and girls. What happened in the referendum vote was seismic, but more seismic still was the realisation that this vote was reflecting change, not just instigating it. “They listened to us. They actually listened to us,” a young woman said to me, crying, in the RDS on Saturday morning.

Together For Yes ran an excellent campaign, from start to finish. As the No campaign scraped the barrel, the Yes campaign always acted with dignity, with facts to the fore, and never once stooped. Together For Yes built an army around the country. An army of Us. In the RDS, people burst into tears when the Together For Yes bosses came into the room.

For many, Ailbhe Smyth’s determination and calmness has been a source of great inspiration for decades. During the campaign she wore herself down so much that she struggled to walk in the final days. Meanwhile, female journalists from competing newspapers hugged each other when they spotted one another. Mary Lou McDonald was cheered by Labour party members, Simon Harris was cheered by people from Sinn Féin. This was a feminist movement; non-partisan, grassroots, non-hierarchical where possible. We were all Together For Yes.

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

DUBLIN (IRELAND)
Irish Times

May 26, 2018

By Sarah Bardon

Thirty-five years after its introduction, Eighth Amendment repealed after bitter campaign

The country has voted to remove the constitutional ban on abortion by a two-thirds majority.

Thirty-five years after it was placed into the Constitution, the electorate voted for the Eighth Amendment to be repealed and for provision be made for the regulation of termination of pregnancy. See here for liveblog updates on Saturday on developments as count results on the resounding result became clear across the State.

Every constituency except Donegal, which voted in favour of retaining the Eighth Amendment by 51. 87 to 48.13, passed the referendum by a clear mandate.

There were joyous and tearful scenes in Dublin Castle as the results were announced just after 6pm, showing 66 per cent of the electorate had supported the proposition.

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

DUBLIN (IRELAND)
Irish Times

April 21, 2018

By Jack Power

[Note: This important article was not included in Tracker at the time it was published.]

Audit of hundreds of files not yet begun despite safeguarding expert’s recommendation

Locked away in Scouting Ireland’s national office in Larch Hill, Tibradden, south county Dublin, sit hundreds of past child-protection case files in an alarmed room under lock and key, some dating back decades.

Most staff working in the organisation’s headquarters go about each day without a thought about the ageing folders gathering dust in the organisation’s national office near the Co Wicklow border, which is sheltered by woods and is set amid surrounding campsite fields.

The potential revelations within those safeguarding files about how past cases were handled, which range from minor incidents to more serious allegations of abuse, remain undisturbed.

But an initial look at a small number of serious sexual abuse allegations among the historic files showed they “haven’t been handled well”, according to one senior source.

A full audit of all historic cases of alleged abuse, which five months ago safeguarding expert Ian Elliott recommended should take place, has not started. In January he told Scouting Ireland’s board again the historic review should be a “priority”, given that “past practice has been shown to be suspect regarding alleged abuse” cases.

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

BRIGHTON (MA)
Boston College Torch

May 3, 2018

By Jeffery Lindholm

The girl with the pseudonym “Mary Ross” called her experience “my little Hell.” God had abandoned her. Her desire for God endured, and what she desired was His presence. She prayed, “If you [God] really want me, you have to do something to or for me.” The next thing she remembers was waking up with scrapes all over her body. This was her sign—violence as her indication of God’s presence.

Professor Robert Orsi, a scholar in American History and Religious Studies at Northwestern University, spoke of Mary Ross and others in a lecture entitled “Violence, Memory, and Religion.” The talk centered around the clerical sex abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, which came to light in the Archdiocese of Boston in the early 2000s. Orsi called clerical abuse “the worst crisis in Catholicism since the Reformation.”

A historical basis is important for understanding the stories of abuse survivors. Orsi began with the early 1900s, when child abuse became a national issue. The topic of trauma was introduced into the public discourse in the 1960s and 70s. With sexual experimentation in the 1970s, the modernization of the Church after Vatican II, and overt homosexuality in the priesthood, Orsi argued that the groundwork was laid for clerical 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.

SARANAC LAKE (NY)
Adirondack Daily Enterprise

May 26, 2018

By Glynis Hart

A compensation fund for victims of sexual abuse by former priests of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ogdensburg is approaching the deadline to file a claim: May 31.

Victims of abuse who have already made their complaints known to the diocese may seek confidential settlements, the diocese announced on March 1. The Independent Compensation and Reconciliation Program was voluntarily established by the diocese and will be administered by two independent, private individuals who will determine the amount of compensation for each victim.

The priests

In 2002, to comply with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People that American bishops had passed, the diocese reported that since 1950, 56 people, 37 of whom were minors at the time, have made sexual-abuse allegations against 35 of its clergymen. The diocese found allegations against 23 priests credible but has not disclosed all their identities.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. 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

May 26, 2018

By Inés San Martín

An ongoing crisis in Chile’s Catholic Church continues to develop, with new allegations, accusations and compromising media reports arising almost daily. Last week, most of the country’s bishops handed their resignations to Pope Francis, who had summoned them to Rome and presented them with a document accusing the Chilean hierarchy of destroying evidence and of a systematic cover up of sexual abuse.

The man registering allegations reports himself

A Chilean priest who was tasked with receiving allegations of clerical sexual abuse against minors was removed from his position in early January, after he reported himself for having abused someone.

Father Óscar Muñoz Toledo, former chancellor of the archdiocese of Santiago, was removed from that position on Jan. 2, days before Francis’s visit to the country.

The information was first reported by Chile’s El Mercurio, and the Chilean newspaper La Tercera received confirmation from the archdiocese through a statement that says that on that date, the priest “reported himself for abuse. After this, cautionary measures were implemented, he was relieved from his position of chancellor in the curia and parish priest.”

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

TRURO (ENGLAND)
Diocese of Truro
Church of England

May 25, 2018

The Diocese of Truro today (May 25, 2018) published the findings of a review that looked at the selection and employment of Jeremy Dowling within the diocese.

In June 2015, Jeremy Dowling pleaded guilty at Truro Crown Court to a number of charges of indecent assaults on boys between 1959 and 1971 while working as a teacher in a Cornish school.

In September 2016 he was further found guilty of indecent assault on one boy over the period of 1973-1977.

In addition, the Crown Prosecution Service left on file matters concerning the possession of indecent images of children on a computer.

Jeremy Dowling was closely involved with the church during these periods, and latterly employed by the diocese.

This case review was commissioned by the Safeguarding Committee of the Diocese of Truro and was researched and written by academic and magistrate, Dr Andy Thompson.

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

LONDON (ENGLAND)
The Guardian

May 25, 2018

By Harriet Sherwood

Jeremy Dowling was jailed in 2015 over abuse carried out in the 1960s and 70s

Four former Church of England bishops failed to act over sexual abuse carried out by a former member of the church’s ruling body, the General Synod, in a catalogue of missed opportunities, a review has found.

Among the four was Michael Ball, the bishop of Truro between 1990 and 1997 and the identical twin brother of Peter Ball, the former bishop of Lewes and Gloucester, who was jailed in October 2015 for abusing vulnerable young men over a 15-year period.

The review examined the church’s response to disclosures of abuse against Jeremy Dowling, who was jailed in 2015 for indecently assaulting boys while a teacher at a school in Cornwall in the 1960s and 70s.

Dowling, who was also a lay preacher at St Michael’s, Bude, was elected to the General Synod in 1977, and was employed by the diocese of Truro as a communications officer from 2003 to 2009.

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

McLEAN (VA)
USA Today

May 25, 2018

bY Brent Schrotenboer

The diving coach at the University of Idaho was suspended for a sexual misconduct allegation less than a week before being named co-diving coach of the year in the Western Athletic Conference, according to records reviewed by USA TODAY Sports.

Jim Southerland, who joined the Idaho staff in 2015, was issued an interim suspension in February by the U.S. Center for SafeSport and USA Diving, the sport’s national governing body. Six days later, the WAC honored his accomplishments, unaware of the case against him as misconduct allegations continue to rock Olympic sports and now have added to similar issues at Idaho, where the athletic director last month was placed on leave.

In this case, the allegation involves an improper sexual relationship between Southerland and a female diver who had been under his tutelage near Seattle prior to 2010. It since has led to him being placed on leave at Idaho in April, enraging a fellow diving coach who said Southerland has fallen victim to “political witch-hunting” after major sex abuse scandals in gymnastics and other sports.

More: U.S. Olympic leaders need to walk the talk after showing zero sense of urgency

“There comes a point where the law swings too far one way,” said Bob Ketrick, a longtime colleague of Southerland who recently bought Southerland’s diving club business. “Before, there were no protections for kids. A lot of stuff was unreported. OK, so we made the system better, but (also created) … opportunity for people with vendettas to take advantage of a new system.”

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COLORADO (CO)
Crux

May 23, 2018

By Inés San Martín

[Note: This article quotes from a Letter to the Editor by Cardinal Errázuriz.]

Chile’s ongoing Catholic crisis remains fluid, with Pope Francis summoning another group of victims of clerical abuse to Rome, a cardinal accused of covering up those abuses continuing to claim he’s innocent, and yet another Prince of the Church who risks losing Chilean citizenship.

Here’s a rundown of the latest developments, after the Chilean bishops offered Francis their resignations en masse. During a summit meeting in Rome last week, the pontiff didn’t name names, but he did say there’s evidence that at least some covered up cases of clerical sexual abuse, mishandled accusations, failed to protect children, and destroyed damaging evidence.

* * *

A cardinal tries to defend himself [again]

Cardinal Francisco Javier Errázuriz, emeritus Archbishop of Santiago and a member of Pope Francis’s “C9” council of cardinal advisers, published a letter in one of Chile’s newspapers, La Segunda, on Tuesday. In it, he responded to a story from last week, the headline of which was “What to do with Errázuriz, [Cardinal Ricardo] Ezzati and [Archbishop Ivo] Scapolo.”

The three clerics have been accused by victims of Chile’s most notorious pedophile priest of not providing Francis with accurate information.

Furthermore, both Errázuriz and Ezzati, currently the archbishop of Santiago, have been accused of covering up for Karadima, and his victims want to see both cardinals stand trial for it.

According to Errázuriz, the story from Friday the 18th spreads “falsehoods and defamations,” which led him to write a letter to the editor of the paper, in “respect of the truth and the readers.”

Regarding the accusations that he misinformed the pope on the case of Bishop Juan Barros, whom Francis transferred to the southern diocese of Osorno in 2015, the cardinal said that it hadn’t been him. Accusations arose in April, when the pope sent a letter to Chile’s bishops saying that he’d made grave errors of judgement, in part because he didn’t have accurate information.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. 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

May 22, 2018

By John L. Allen Jr.

NOTE: Use caution in visiting the link to Costanza Miriano’s blog, which is cited in this article as a source. McAfee Antivirus flags the blog as a potential problem.

In the wake of the May 17 World Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, the Vatican’s former top doctrinal official, German Cardinal Gerhard Müller, has declared that homophobia “simply doesn’t exist” and is “an invention, an instrument of totalitarian dominion over the minds of others.”

“The homosexual movement doesn’t have scientific arguments, so it’s constructed an ideology that wants to dominate, seeking to construct its own reality. It’s the Marxist scheme, according to which it’s not reality that builds thought, it’s thought that builds reality,” Müller said.

* * *

In the interview, Miriano asked Müller for his reaction to bishops who promote prayer vigils or other events around the World Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.

“Some bishops today don’t have the courage to speak the truth, and allow themselves to be intimidated,” he said. “They don’t understand that homophobia is a hoax that serves to threaten people.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. 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

May 25, 2018

By Kristin E. Holmes

Juan Carlos Cruz risked upending his life as a Philadelphia executive to speak out about the trauma he had spent decades trying to forget. He went so far as to write an eight-page letter to Pope Francis in 2015 recounting the alleged sexual crimes against him as a teenager and the cover-up that ensued — only to have the pontiff disbelieve him.

The abuse that he claimed he endured while growing up in Chile at the hands of a then-respected cleric, the Rev. Fernando Karadima, was dismissed as “slander” by the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics. What hope was there for change in the church, a disheartened Cruz wondered, if the most powerful figure in Christendom refused to listen?

Earlier this year, however, the Vatican dispatched investigators to look into not only Cruz’ accusations but other reports of sexual misconduct roiling the Chilean church. They found even the worst to be true.

So on April 29, in the private papal living room at Casa Santa Marta in Vatican City, Cruz sat face-to-face with Francis, as the pontiff pleaded for forgiveness.

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

STOCKTON (CA)
Stockton Record

May 25, 2018

An accusation of sexual misconduct with a minor in 1973, involving the Rev. Louie Ladenburger at Stockton’s St. Mary of the Assumption Church, has been reported to the Diocese of Stockton.

Ladenburger, a member of the Franciscan Friars of California, was at St. Mary’s from 1972 to 1974.

In accordance with diocesan policy, the matter was reported to the Stockton Police Department and the diocese is cooperating with law enforcement. The policy regarding allegations of sexual abuse of minors may be found on the diocesan website, stocktondiocese.org, under Protecting Our Children.

Anyone with information regarding this matter or any sexual abuse of a minor by a church leader should notify Connie Jacob, the diocesan victim assistance coordinator, at (209) 466-0636.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. 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
Australian Broadcasting Corporation

May 25, 2018

By Danny Tran and Matt Neal

It was only years later, long after he had been admitted to practise as a lawyer, that John Ellis decided to exercise his legal right to sue the Catholic Church.

As a altar boy, he’d been abused by a paedophile priest. Now an adult, he sought damages.

But Mr Ellis ultimately failed because the church successfully argued it did not legally exist as its assets were held in a trust, and that was protected from legal action.

And in a galling circumstance of fate, Mr Ellis’s name was unwittingly shackled to the method the church had used to avoid the legal action. Since then it’s been known as “the Ellis defence”.

But last night, more than 16 years after the fact, the Victorian Government passed a law closing the legal loophole.

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

CORNWALL (ENGLAND)
BBC News

May 25, 2018

The Church of England ignored child sex abuse carried out by a former member of the general synod, a review has found.

Jeremy Dowling, a lay preacher, teacher and church employee, abused young boys in the 1970s and was jailed in 2015.

A review by the Diocese of Truro said several bishops were told about the abuse and did not take action.

It found there was a “probable misunderstanding” by church leaders over a decision not to prosecute 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.

AUSTRALIA
The Guardian

May 25, 2018

By Melissa Davey

Adelaide archdiocese says standing aside ‘doesn’t necessarily mean it’s forever’

The disgraced archbishop of Adelaide, Philip Wilson, officially stood aside from his duties on Friday but has not resigned.

On Tuesday Wilson, 67, was found guilty of concealing child sexual abuse, becoming the most senior Catholic in the world to be convicted of the crime.

He was found to have covered up the child abuse perpetrated by paedophile priest Jim Fletcher, whose crimes date back to the 1970s while he was working in the Maitland/Newcastle diocese in NSW.

“Standing aside doesn’t necessarily mean it’s forever,” the archdiocese spokeswoman, Jenny Brinkworth, said. “He’s standing aside until process has run its course.”

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

NEW ZEALAND
Stock News Caller

May 25, 2018

Church abuse survivors have resigned themselves to being excluded from the upcoming Royal Commission of Inquiry.

The public consultation period about how the inquiry should run wrapped up a week ago and its chair Sir Anand Satyanand has begun going through the 300 submissions.

“At this stage I have not formed any final views or recommendations,” he said in a statement last night.

However, Liz Tonks of the Network of Survivors of Faith-based Institutional Abuse said she got a very different impression from meeting with Sir Anand.

“I asked him who he had received submissions from when he suggested there wasn‘t anyone else except us asking for all survivors to be included,” she said.

“I asked him had they been proactive in the inquiry and approached other churches, had they considered approaching sportsclubs. His response to that was that he didn‘t see it as his job, that the inquiry was public and people knew they could make submissions.”

The commission launched a major public awareness campaign at the start of April, two months into the three-month public consultation period on the inquiry‘s terms of reference which closed last week.

Ms Tonks said her group had trouble getting to see Sir Anand, but he said he had met a wide range of people and groups and canvassed many issues.

“The issues have involved things like clarity of expression, appropriate placement of the Treaty of Waitangi, coverage of Pacific people as well as Māori, and as well the matter of a parallel inquiry financed by the Churches,” 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.

NORTHERN IRELAND
BBC News

May 25, 2018

A further complaint has been received in connection with a 90-year-old former monk who sexually abused three boys, the Court of Appeal heard today.

Judges were also told Vincent Lewis made financial contributions towards compensation paid to victims.

The prosecution wants his sentence increased, arguing his nine-and-a-half-year term was unduly lenient.

Lewis was formerly Brother Ambrose of Our Lady of Bethlehem Monastery in Portglenone, Co Antrim.

He pleaded guilty to more than 50 offences committed over a 10-year period up to 1983.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. 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
The Northern Echo

May 24, 2018

By Julia Breen

A CAMPAIGNER who wants to overturn a two-witness rule over child abuse within a major religious organisation has enlisted the support of his MP.

Steve Rose, from Hartlepool, a former Jehovah’s Witness, has been protesting against the rule, which stops senior figures in the church from acting against wrongdoing unless there are two witnesses.

Now he has contacted Hartlepool MP Mike Hill, who is raising the issue with Cheltenham MP Alex Chalk, who in turn is bringing the debate to Parliament, saying it was an ongoing child safety concern.

Mr Rose, who was once a member of Hartlepool’s Kingdom Hall, said the two-witness rule makes it nearly impossible for action to be taken against perpetrators within the church who are brought to the attention of elders. And he claims anyone who reports the abuse faces being shunned by the congregation.

The church says the two-witness rule does not stop victims reporting allegations to the police. A safeguarding inquiry by the Charity Commission is ongoing.

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

PEORIA (IL)
Mother Jones

May 25, 2018

By Becca Andrews

#ChurchToo has opened the floodgates.

The #MeToo stories that were flooding Emily Joy’s social feeds for weeks had been nagging at her. Last November, as her own story played on a loop in her mind, she finally texted a group of close friends: “Do I out my high school abuser? Probably, huh?”

Joy’s story is familiar in all the ways we’ve become intimately acquainted with over the last six-plus months. But while the accused was a man in a position of power over his victim, her story also had a key difference: Joy’s abuser was a trusted member of her evangelical church. After talking it over with her friends, the 27-year-old poet decided to post to Twitter her story about Ty Sïlzer, the then-thirtysomething man in her mega-church in Peoria, Illinois, who she says manipulated her into a romantic relationship when she was still a teenager.

“When you’re 16, sometimes you fancy yourself an adult,” Joy tells Mother Jones. “It took me a long time and therapy even to understand, ‘Oh, that’s because I didn’t have an understanding of consent—my church community didn’t have an understanding of consent.’”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. 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 Week

May 25, 2018

Women who have accused former movie producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual abuse and harassment reacted strongly to his surrender to New York police on Friday. A few of the more than 50 women who have alleged misconduct took to social media to address his arrest.

Rose McGowan, who alleges that Weinstein raped her in 1997, appeared on Megyn Kelly Today and Good Morning America and described how his criminal charges made her feel. “We got you,” she said in a message to Weinstein. “I have to admit I didn’t think I would see the day that he would have handcuffs on him. I have a visceral need for him to have handcuffs on.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. 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
Cornwall Live

May 25, 2018

By Martin Freeman

The diocese failed to investigate the accusations against Jeremy Dowling

A leading figure in the Church of England in Cornwall went on to commit child sex offences for several years after allegations about his behaviour with young boys were raised with the diocese and not acted upon, an official investigation has revealed.

The diocese failed to investigate the accusations against Jeremy Dowling, a lay preacher, allowing him to rise to influential positions including communications officer to the bishop, an independent review for the church concludes.

The report, released today, says there were “historic failings” within the diocese in dealing with the allegations, first raised in 1972. There was “ongoing knowledge” of the situation among senior figures in the diocese “well into the 1980s” with references to “a big fat file” on Dowling.

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FORT WASHINGTON (MD)
Patch

May 25, 2018

By Cameron Luttrell

A Fort Washington pastor, minister and church member were charged for the sexual abuse of members of a church program for at-risk youth.

Police have charged three Prince George’s County church leaders for the alleged sexual abuse of four girls who were members of a church program for at-risk youth.

The suspects are a church pastor, his son and his son-in-law. Joshua William Wright, 67, of Brandywine is the Head Pastor of the Oxon Hill Assembly of Jesus Christ. Wright’s son is a minister at the church, identified as William Joshua Wright, 46, of White Plains. Wright’s son-in-law is a leading member at the church named Donald Jackson, 40, of White Plains.

Court records state William Wright is a U.S. Capitol Police officer.

Police said the suspects allegedly sexually assaulted the girls between 2001-2008, when the girls were between the ages of 15 and 18.

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FORT WORTH (TX)
National Public Radio

May 23, 2018

By Tom Gjelten

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has removed its president over past advice he gave women regarding sexual abuse. He advised women to pray for their abuses and not report them to authorities.

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MARYLAND
The Huffington Post

May 23, 2018

By Carol Kuruvilla

The victims, who are now adults, were enrolled in a church-run program designed to give troubled teens a safe place to live.

Police in Maryland have charged three church leaders with sexually abusing four teenage girls over a decade ago who were enrolled in a faith-based program meant to help at-risk youth.

Prince George’s County detectives have identified the suspects on Wednesday as Oxon Hill Assembly of Jesus Christ head pastor Joshua Wright, his son and church minister William Wright, and the elder Wright’s son-in-law and church member Donald Jackson. All three men have been charged with child abuse and various other sex offenses.

The men allegedly abused the teens between 2001 and 2008, when the victims were between 15 and 18 years old. The women took their stories of abuse to police as adults.

The victims were placed under the suspects’ care as part of a church-run program called Children Having Overcoming Power (CHOP) that dissolved in 2011. It was designed to provide troubled teens with safe living accommodations in church members’ houses.

The police report alleges that the suspects abused the victims in different locations, including the suspects’ homes, various parks and the church itself.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
WisPolitics.com via Waunakee Tribune

May 25, 2018

Milwaukee attorney Matt Flynn will remain among the field of candidates for Wisconsin’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, despite calls for him to drop out because of his role defending the Milwaukee Archdiocese in sexual abuse lawsuits.

Women’s March Wisconsin recently called on Flynn to withdraw from the race, but Flynn’s campaign manager, Bryan Kennedy, said the criticism amounts to an attempt “to take someone who is a likely frontrunner out of this race, and to attack him for priest sex abuse when he’s the one who actually cleaned up the problem.”

Flynn is one of nine top Democratic candidates looking to take on GOP Gov. Scott Walker in the Nov. 6 general election. The Democratic primary is Aug. 14.

When Flynn, a retired partner with the Quarles & Brady law firm in Milwaukee, first launched his campaign last fall, he fielded hits from the state GOP regarding his work on behalf of the archdiocese. The party labeled Flynn as a “dirty defense attorney” guilty of “putting Wisconsin families at risk.”

The issue was again brought up again after The Wisconsin Gazette published an article quoting abuse victims who said they were “appalled” by Flynn’s bid.

Then, in a statement on May 6, Women’s March Wisconsin said Flynn should bow out of the race. The call came after Sarah Pearson, the group’s co-chair, approached Flynn following a Democratic debate in Madison. In an encounter filmed live on the group’s facebook page, she asked Flynn about his “involvement in the cover-up and transfer of pedophile priests.”

Pearson pointed to a series of church documents released in 2014 that the group said revealed he “directed and knew of secret transfers of dozens of child-molesting clergy, many of which went on to abuse more children.”

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ENGLAND
The Guardian

May 25, 2018

By Harriet Sherwood

Jeremy Dowling was jailed in 2015 over abuse carried out in the 1960s and 70s

Four former Church of England bishops failed to act over sexual abuse carried out by a former member of the church’s ruling body, the General Synod, in a catalogue of missed opportunities, a review has found.

Among the four was Michael Ball, the bishop of Truro between 1990 and 1997 and the identical twin brother of Peter Ball, the former bishop of Lewes and Gloucester, who was jailed in October 2015 for abusing vulnerable young men over a 15-year period.

The review examined the church’s response to disclosures of abuse against Jeremy Dowling, who was jailed in 2015 for indecently assaulting boys while a teacher at a school in Cornwall in the 1960s and 70s.

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AUSTRALIA
The Advocate

May 25, 2018

The quaint country church Patricia Stewart attends is one of her small community’s lasting landmarks.

But now a cloud hangs over its future.

St George’s Anglican Church sits within Moriarty’s fertile farming landscape.

The pretty weatherboard place of worship is one of the properties earmarked for sale by the Anglican diocese to help pay redress to victims of child sexual abuse.

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AUSTRALIA
Eternity News

May 25, 2018

By Kylie Beach

It’s time for churches to act

“Men need to speak to other men about what a respectful marriage looks like,” a survivor of seven years of verbal, emotional, spiritual, sexual and physical abuse told about 300 people who gathered on Wednesday night to talk about how church communities can take action on domestic violence.

Attendees at Time to Act held at North Sydney’s Independent Theatre heard journalist Julia Baird and an expert panel discuss the action churches need to take in the wake of a sold-out forum last year, called Time to Listen.

Between the two “Time to” events, much has occurred, notably the #MeToo movement, described by Julia as a “global reckoning” that had begun in the entertainment industry and reached even the church.

Asked what she believes are the most important things for Time to Act attendees to know, the DV survivor stressed the need for men to talk to other men about respecting their wives because she suspected that, even if her husband had heard a sermon denouncing domestic violence, he “wouldn’t have thought it was referring to him.”

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AUSTRALIA
Australian Broadcasting Corporation

May 23, 2018

By Julia Baird

The white Styrofoam heads stand on shelves in neat, solemn rows in a little-used backroom of the ABC. Their faces are devoid of colour; blank, anonymous, unknown.

These mannequin skulls hold the national broadcaster’s collection of wigs; long blonde bobs, smooth brunette locks, ginger beehives, afros, mullets, perms, and shaggy manes.

Over the decades, these wigs have been fixed to the heads of Australian actors and comedians for skits and dramas and children’s shows.

Sometimes TV producers also borrow them for stories where interviewees need to keep their identities hidden, for legal, safety or other reasons.

Which is what we did when reporting on women in church communities who experienced decades of domestic violence, and wanted to speak to us but needed their identities protected. They didn’t want violent ex-husbands to hunt them down and seek revenge, or to expose their children to shame or suffering.

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PENNSYLVANIA
TribLive

May 25, 2018

By Debra Erdley

Mark Rozzi’s phone rang relentlessly after an Erie newspaper reported Thursday that a judge released copies of a statewide grand jury report on sexual abuse in six Catholic dioceses to church officials more than a month before it is to be released publicly.

Rozzi, a Democratic state representative from Berks County, has been a lightning rod for victims since publicly accusing a priest of molesting him more than 30 years ago and then testifying before the grand jury, which completed its investigation last month.

“To myself and other victims, it’s that feeling of outrage again,” Rozzi told the Tribune-Review on Friday. “Why do we always cater to them? They are the ones who committed these crimes, and we’re still giving them special treatment.”

Attorney General Josh Shapiro on Monday said he expects to release the report that examined allegations of abuse going back decades in six Catholic dioceses in late June. The probe included the dioceses in Allentown, Scranton, Erie, Greensburg, Pittsburgh and Harrisburg.

The same week the Greensburg diocese publicly agreed that the report should be made public, church officials on Friday wouldn’t say whether they already have a copy.

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UNITED STATES
The Week

May 25, 2018

By Peter Weber

Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein turned himself in to police Friday morning. “Today, at the NYPD’s 1st Precinct, Harvey Weinstein was arrested, processed, and charged with rape, criminal sex act, sex abuse, and sexual misconduct for incidents involving two separate women,” the New York Police Department said. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are in the final stages of an investigation into allegations of sexual assault from actresses Paz de la Huerta and Lucia Evans. Weinstein, accused of wide-ranging abuse by more than 50 women, has denied all wrongdoing. After being booked and charged, NBC News reports, Weinstein is expected to be moved to New York County Criminal Court, then likely released on $1 million bail and fitted with an ankle monitor.

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UNITED STATES
Chicago Sun Times

May 24, 2018

By Jon Seidel and Michael O’Brien

The controversy swirling around suburban youth volleyball coach Rick Butler reached the nation’s capital this week, where a local congresswoman declared Butler “should have been in jail” after sexual abuse allegations first surfaced in the 1990s.

U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky made her comment during a hearing Wednesday held to examine the Olympic community’s ability to protect athletes from sexual abuse. The hearing took place across the street from the U.S. Capitol.

Among those to testify was Jamie Davis, CEO of USA Volleyball, who recounted the lifetime ban his organization recently handed Butler based on allegations Butler sexually abused players in the 1980s. Butler has denied the accusations.

But USA Volleyball had banned Butler once before — in 1995 — only to rescind the ban conditionally five years later. Schakowsky called his reinstatement “just shocking.”

“This really underscores the problem that has occurred over so many years,” Schakowsky said Wednesday. “Anyone in this room, I think certainly the women, know if someone has abused underage girls, reinstating him is so unacceptable. He should have been in jail. And now, in today’s world, I think he would have. I hope he would have.”

Schakowsky, a Democrat whose district spans Chicago’s North Side and several north suburbs, made her comment during the hearing held by the House Energy and Commerce oversight subcommittee.

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NEW YORK
Reuters

May 25, 2018

By Alice Popovici, Karen Freifeld

Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein appeared in handcuffs in a New York court on Friday to face charges of rape and other sex crimes against two of the scores of women who have accused him of misconduct, ending his reign as a Hollywood kingpin.

Weinstein, the 66-year-old co-founder of the Miramax film studio and the Weinstein Co, intends to plead not guilty to the charges, his attorney, Benjamin Brafman, told reporters outside the Manhattan courthouse.

Prosecutors charged him with two counts of rape and one count of a criminal sexual act following a months-long investigation with the New York Police Department. They did not identify the two women, but said the crimes took place in 2004 and 2013. If convicted on the most serious charges, Weinstein could face between five and 25 years in prison.

Weinstein has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than 70 women, with some of the allegations dating back decades. He has denied ever having nonconsensual sex.

The accusations, first reported last year by the New York Times and the New Yorker, gave rise to the #MeToo movement, in which hundreds of women have publicly accused powerful men in business, government and entertainment of sexual misconduct.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
USA TODAY Sports

May 23, 2018

By Rachel Axon

Under pointed questioning before a House subcommittee, the U.S. Olympic Committee’s acting CEO acknowledged the organization had not exercised its authority enough to enforce policies and procedures to prevent sexual abuse.

Before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, sport leaders – including the USOC’s Susanne Lyons – on Wednesday explained their efforts to protect young athletes in the wake of sexual abuse scandals in several sports.

Over nearly three hours, the representatives pressed Lyons and the heads of the national governing bodies for gymnastics, swimming, taekwondo and volleyball on the Olympic movement’s failure to prevent abuse.

It also focused on the U.S. Center for SafeSport, a year-old entity set up by the USOC, and its ability to address misconduct with limited resources.

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UNITED STATES
CNN

May 25, 2018

By An Phung and Chloe Melas

A young production assistant thought she had landed the job of her dreams when, in the summer of 2015, she started work on “Going In Style,” a bank heist comedy starring Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Alan Arkin.

But the job quickly devolved into several months of harassment, she told CNN. She alleges that Freeman subjected her to unwanted touching and comments about her figure and clothing on a near-daily basis. Freeman would rest his hand on her lower back or rub her lower back, she said.

In one incident, she said, Freeman “kept trying to lift up my skirt and asking if I was wearing underwear.” He never successfully lifted her skirt, she said — he would touch it and try to lift it, she would move away, and then he’d try again. Eventually, she said, “Alan [Arkin] made a comment telling him to stop. Morgan got freaked out and didn’t know what to say.”

Freeman’s alleged inappropriate behavior was not limited to that one movie set, according to other sources who spoke to CNN. A woman who was a senior member of the production staff of the movie “Now You See Me” in 2012 told CNN that Freeman sexually harassed her and her female assistant on numerous occasions by making comments about their bodies.

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LOS ANGELES (CA)
Inside Edition

May 22, 2018

A gynecologist at the University of Southern California is accused of sexually abusing his young patients for years.

A lawsuit filed Monday by four alleged victims accuses Dr. George Tyndall of “forcing [them] to strip naked… groping [their] breasts” and using techniques that have “no legitimate medical purpose and for no other reason than to satisfy his own prurient sexual desires.”

Tyndall practiced at the student health clinic at USC for nearly three decades. Now, the university says 200 calls have come in to a hotline set up for any patients who may have experienced inappropriate conduct.

One lawyer says the total number of victims could be “staggering.”

At a news conference in Los Angeles Tuesday, another alleged victim held a news conference with her lawyer Gloria Allred.

Daniella Mohazab claimed the doctor watched and smiled as she undressed from the bottom down.

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UNITED STATES
Brit+Co

May 22, 2018

By Kylie Cheung

On Friday, tragedy struck yet again in the form of the 22nd school shooting this year. 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, the alleged shooter, killed 10 people at Santa Fe High School in Texas with a firearm he stole from his father. One of his possible motives, according to the mother of one of the victims, sounds all too familiar: Pagourtzis had been rejected by one of his female classmates. He had allegedly been “harassing” the victim, Shana Fisher, to be in a relationship with him.

“I know he had pestered her to go out with him,” Fisher’s father told the Daily Mail last week. “She kept telling him no. For one, he supposedly already had a girlfriend. And two, she just didn’t have feelings for the boy.”

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BOSTON (MA)
VOX

May 23, 2018

By Jen Kirby

Roland Fryer is accused of creating a hostile work environment at his Harvard lab.

An influential Harvard economics professor is under investigation by the university and the state of Massachusetts for allegations of creating a hostile work environment through “sexually inappropriate” comments.

A report in the Harvard Crimson said the investigation into Roland Fryer, who founded the university’s Education Innovation Labs (EdLabs), is based on at least one complaint under Title IX, which forbids sex-based discrimination in education; two people claim to have filed such complaints with the university. According to the Crimson, Fryer has not been allowed to enter the research lab he runs since March.

Fryer is one of the most prominent economics researchers working today, conducting studies on the racial achievement gap, the effects of charter schools, and racial disparities in police shootings (a somewhat disputed study). The allegations, part of a broader #MeToo reckoning, are likely to reverberate through academia and the field of economics.

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MICHIGAN
Pop Sugar

May 25, 2018

by Lindsay Miller

Twenty years ago, former Michigan State University softball star Tiffany Lopez told three of her trainers that she was being sexually abused by one of the university’s team physicians. His name was Larry Nassar.

It would be 19 years before Nassar — who has been accused by at least 265 women with sexually abusing them in his role as a doctor to young athletes at MSU and USA Gymnastics — would be arrested for his crimes.

Lopez says she stopped playing the sport she loved and left MSU after her claims went unheard.

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MONTROUGE (FRANCE)
La Croix International

May 23, 2018

By Isabelle de Gaulmyn, Deputy Editor

It is rare to hear church leaders thanking journalists and even rarer when it involves cases of clergy sex abuse of minors

In a sign of change in the church, Chilean bishops have thanked journalists for their contribution to exposing cases of pedophilia.

“We thank members of the press for their contribution to serving the truth,” the Chilean bishops wrote in their collective resignation letter last week.

It is rare to hear church leaders thanking journalists and even rarer when it involves cases of pedophilia.

So this is a sure sign that things are changing seriously in the Catholic Church.

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MONTROUGE (FRANCE)
La Croix International

May 25, 2018

By Robert Mickens

The stakes are high and we should hope and pray that the pope gets this right

Vatican City – The deeply disturbing scandal of clergy sex abuse in Chile and its cover-up by Church leaders in the country continues to go from bad to worse.

After a Vatican-led investigation in February, which led Pope Francis to call an emergency summit in Rome of the entire Chilean hierarchy, there has been a seemingly non-stop flow of newly revealed cases of sexual crimes against young people.

First, there was a news report of an organized pedophilia (or at least ephebophilia) ring in a diocese north of the capital Santiago where priests have been involved in exchanging pornographic images of minors and information on how to sexually engage with these adolescents.

Now, there are those in the South American country who claim that this abuse cartel is not limited to one diocese, but involves several other dioceses.

Then this past Thursday the Archdiocese of Santiago publicly admitted that its chancellor, Fr. Óscar Muñoz Toledo, turned himself in to church authorities last January for sexually abusing youths.

What makes this case even more dramatic is the fact that the 56-year-old priest was in charge of handling clergy sex abuse complaints in Santiago – including those against the serial predator Fernando Karadima, who has been the central figure in Chile’s abuse crisis.

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

May 25, 2018

By Erin Heffernan

Parents at a St. Louis Catholic grade school are speaking out after learning a priest twice accused of misconduct involving children will be joining their parish.

The Rev. Xiu Hui “Joseph” Jiang was recently appointed associate pastor of St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish. The priest had been charged with statutory sodomy in St. Louis and child endangerment in a Lincoln County case, but charges in both were dropped several years ago. Jiang denied the allegations, and a jury sided with him last year in a civil suit tied to the Lincoln County case.

Jiang is set to begin work at St. Gabriel, which is in the St. Louis Hills neighborhood and includes a K-8 school.

Katie Schmitt, a parent of two St. Gabriel students and a graduate of the school herself, said she feels the Archdiocese of St. Louis has made the wrong decision both for the students’ safety and Jiang himself.

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STAUNTON (VA)
News Leader

May 24, 2018

On May 8, 2018, William Kerr, a former Sunday school teacher and member of the Knights of Columbus at St. Francis Catholic Church, was sentenced in Staunton Circuit Court to 17 years and 11 months for maliciously sexually abusing children within the congregation for over 2 decades.

The victims submitted Victim Impact Statements and one of the victims courageously took the stand to give a verbal statement. They all described how the trauma from the abuse had negatively impacted their lives. Although most of them have had years of therapy to cope with the trauma, their lives will never be the same. Someone who they knew and trusted had sexually abused them. Someone who was highly respected within the church had robbed them of their youth. Among the people who came to the sentencing hearing was another member of the Knights of Columbus and who is also well known and respected at the church. He took the stand in support of the defendant. Who was there from the church in support of the victims?

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DETROIT (MI)
Detroit News

May 24, 2018

By Beth LeBlanc

Lansing — The Michigan House approved on Thursday more than two dozen bills tailored to address the failings that allowed former sports medicine doctor Larry Nassar to sexually abuse hundreds of women and girls over two decades.

Emotions were high as lawmakers debated parts of the scaled-back legislation, but the House eventually passed all of the 27 bills by wide margins. Rep. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, grew emotional as she defended the legislation before the full House.

“I believe that we are taking critical steps to address sexual assault and childhood sexual abuse,” Chang said as she fought back tears. “And the legislation that we pass today will make a difference in the lives of countless Michiganders in the years to come.”

The legislation, some of which originated in the Senate, has been the subject of hours of testimony in the House Law and Justice Committee over the past six weeks. The panel advanced the legislation Wednesday to the full House.

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CANBERRA (AUSTRALIA)
Australian Catholic Bishops Conference

May 23, 2018

By Archbishop Mark Coleridge

Archbishop Philip Wilson has today decided to stand down as Archbishop of Adelaide, following yesterday’s verdict in a New South Wales court. We, his brother bishops, believe Archbishop Wilson’s decision, though difficult, was appropriate under the circumstances.

Our prayers are with all those who have felt the impact of this long legal process, including the survivors who shared their stories, as well as with the Archdiocese of Adelaide and with Archbishop Wilson himself.

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ADELAIDE (AUSTRALIA)
Archdiocese of Adelaide

May 23, 2018

By Archbishop Philip Wilson

I have taken the opportunity overnight to consider His Honour’s reasons.

I am still considering those reasons together with my legal advisors. While I do so, it is appropriate that, in the light of some of his Honour’s findings, I stand aside from my duties as Archbishop.

I am now putting in place the necessary administrative arrangements to ensure that the affairs of the Archdiocese are managed responsibly. I therefore intend to step aside as of Friday this week once those arrangements are in place.

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ULTIMO (AUSTRALIA)
ABC

May 24, 2018

By Camron Slessor

A letter from the Archbishop of Adelaide, who has been convicted of covering up child sexual abuse, has asked families to “please continue to pray” for him.

The closing line was sent in a letter written by Philip Wilson which was sent out to children and parents across Adelaide following his decision to step down from his duties as Archbishop earlier this week.

Wilson is facing up to two years in jail for covering up child sexual abuse — after being found guilty by a New South Wales court in a landmark ruling earlier this week.

The 67-year-old was accused of covering up abuse by priest Jim Fletcher in the NSW Hunter Region in the 1970s.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide released a statement on Friday announcing that Adelaide Vicar General Father Philip Marshall will take responsibility for the affairs of the Catholic Archdiocese in Wilson’s absence.

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HANOVER (PA)
Evening Sun

May 24, 2018

By Kaitlin Greenockle

A former Delone Catholic High School teacher allegedly exchanged thousands of texts, which included explicit messages and images, with a female student and gave the student underwear while she was at school, according to police.

Gary Jon Hatez Jr., 31, of the 300 block of Penn Street, Hanover, was arrested and charged May 24 with two counts of sexual abuse of children, unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of minors and criminal use of a communication facility, according to a news release from the Adams County District Attorney’s Office.

Delone Catholic High School officials contacted McSherrystown Borough Police Chief Michael Woods on March 27 to inform him of alleged inappropriate contact and communication between a 16-year-old student and Hatez, according to an affidavit filed with District Judge Daniel Bowman.

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MECHANICSBURG (PA)
Penn Live

May 24, 2018

By Ivey DeJesus

The six Pennsylvania Catholic dioceses at the center of a grand jury investigation into the potential child sex abuse of children by priests have received a copy of the findings.

Mark Rush, an attorney working with the Diocese of Erie, on Thursday confirmed his office had received the report. The 884-page report covers the findings across the six dioceses, which, in addition to Erie, include: Harrisburg, Allentown, Pittsburgh, Scranton and Greensburg.

Rush indicated the other dioceses had also received the report, which remains sealed until otherwise ordered by a judge.

Rush, of the Pittsburgh-based K&L Gates law firm, said Erie Bishop Lawrence Persico will now review the findings. By law entities investigated by a grand jury have the opportunity to respond to the findings of any investigation. Responding is not mandatory, however.

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TORONTO (ONTARIO)
Basilian Fathers

May 22, 2018

As an update to our April 27, 2018 statement, the Basilian Fathers will be pursuing an appeal of the judgment rendered April 26 in favour of Mr. Rod MacLeod in relation to the punitive damages awarded and the damages awarded for economic loss. It is believed that those two awards are not legally sound or justified. The Basilian Fathers are not appealing the awards for general and aggravated damages, nor for the amount awarded for counselling costs. Those amounts will be paid to Mr. MacLeod shortly.

When Mr. MacLeod first brought forward his claim in 2012, the Basilian Fathers accepted full responsibility for the actions of Hodgson Marshall, and continue to be committed to providing support to the victims of abuse, as well as ensuring that policies and protocols are in place that support the eradication of sexual abuse.

As Mr. MacLeod made his circumstances known throughout the course of his lawsuit, the Basilian Fathers focused on efforts to fairly compensate Mr. MacLeod. They think the appellate court can best make a final determination of this compensation.

For further information contact:

Father Thomas Rosica, CSB
Media Spokesperson
Basilian Fathers
(416) 879-5766

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SAULT STE. MARIE (ONTARIO)
Sault Star

May 25, 2018

The legal saga of a now dead, predatory pedophile priest who victimized a young Sudbury student more than 50 years ago is not quite over.

In a release posted to its website, the Basilian Fathers said they are appealing certain aspects of a judgment in favour of the student, Rod MacLeod, issued just last month.

The order, which employed Father William Hodgson Marshall, said it will challenge the punitive and the economic loss damages awarded to MacLeod, who now lives in Toronto.

“It is believed that those two awards are not legally sound or justified,” the statement said. “The Basilian Fathers are not appealing the awards for general and aggravated damages, nor for the amount awarded for counselling costs. Those amounts will be paid to Mr. MacLeod shortly.”

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LONDON (ENGLAND)
Catholic Herald

May 24, 2018

By Junno Arocho Esteves

Pope Francis will meet five priests who suffered abuse by Chilean Fr Fernando Karadima or his followers, the Vatican said.

Two priests who have accompanied the survivors “in their juridical and spiritual journey” and “two laypeople involved in this suffering” also were invited by Pope Francis, the Vatican said. They will all be guests at the Domus Sanctae Marthae, the Vatican residence where Pope Francis lives.

The Pope will celebrate a private Mass with the group June 2 and will meet members of the group together and individually, the statement said. In late April, Pope Francis had hosted three laymen who were sexually abused by Fr Karadima.

“With this new meeting, planned a month ago, Pope Francis wants to show his closeness to abused priests, accompany them in their pain and listen to their valuable opinion to improve the current preventative measures and the fight against abuses in the Church,” the statement said.

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PITTSBURGH (PA)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

May 24, 2018

By Peter Smith

Six Roman Catholic dioceses have copies of a Pennsylvania grand jury report critical of their handling of sexual abuse by priests and others over the past seven decades, an attorney for one of the dioceses said Thursday.

The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office provided the mammoth report based on an investigation by the 40th statewide grand jury of sexual abuse in the church.

Pittsburgh attorney Mark Rush, representing the Erie diocese, said that under court order he could only confirm the receipt of the 800-plus-page report by the dioceses. Officials of the Pittsburgh and Greensburg dioceses would not confirm receipt of the report.

The action followed several days of meetings and behind-closed-doors legal maneuvers in which some dioceses, including Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Greensburg, called for due process in how the report was disseminated. Other dioceses under investigation include Erie, Allentown and Scranton.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

May 25, 2018

By Haidee V Eugenio

The Archdiocese of Agana instructed Father Adrian Cristobal, who has been accused of sexually abusing three boys, to return to Guam by June 15 or sanctions would be imposed on him.

The sanctions would be in addition to precautionary measures imposed on Cristobal when the first allegation was filed on April 10, such as temporarily banning the priest from celebrating Mass publicly or hearing confession while investigations are ongoing.

Cristobal is believed to be in the vicinity of New York, after leaving the Diocese of Phoenix in Arizona in April.

Tony Diaz, director of communications for the archdiocese, on Friday said the archdiocese has repeatedly communicated to Cristobal, via e-mail, that he is to return to Guam immediately.

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INDIANAPOLIS (IN)
IndyStar

May 24, 2018

By Tim Evans and Marisa Kwiatkowski

USA Gymnastics officials agreed to provide what Larry Nassar’s attorney called “false excuses” for his absence from major gymnastics events in 2015, rather than disclose to parents and gymnasts that Nassar was under investigation for child sexual abuse.

Emails obtained by The Indianapolis Star reveal that on two separate occasions, Nassar and a USA Gymnastics attorney negotiated cover stories — first that Nassar was sick and later that he was focusing on his private practice — to explain why the longtime team physician was not attending two major events in the run-up to the 2016 Olympics.

In one of the emails, Indianapolis attorney Scott D. Himsel told Nassar his medical techniques were under investigation, and “it is in everyone’s best interest” that Nassar not attend a gymnastics event that weekend.

Himsel said USA Gymnastics would tell people Nassar was not attending for “personal reasons.”

Nassar replied: “Can we just say that i am sick? That would make more sense to everyone. Would that be ok?”

Himsel agreed to have USA Gymnastics use that story.

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INDIANAPOLIS (IN)
The Associated Press

May 24, 2018

USA Gymnastics agreed to use false excuses in 2015 to account for the absence of sports doctor Larry Nassar, who had been accused of sexually abusing female athletes, according to emails obtained by a newspaper.

Nassar suggested that USA Gymnastics tell people that he couldn’t attend two major events that summer because he was sick or needed to focus on his work at Michigan State University, the Indianapolis Star reported Thursday.

“We’ll let Ron know to advise people that you weren’t feeling well and decided to stay home,” Scott Himsel, an attorney hired by USA Gymnastics, replied, referring to Ron Galimore, chief operating officer.

USA Gymnastics, which trains Olympians, is accused of covering up assault allegations against Nassar. The group didn’t tell Michigan State or elite gymnastics clubs about complaints against him in 2015.

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NEW YORK (NY)
The Wrap

May 24, 2018

By Thom Geier and Jeremy Fuster

Indie mogul has suffered a rapid reversal after accusations of misconduct first emerged last October

Harvey Weinstein is expected to be served with criminal charges by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office and will turn himself in to authorities on Friday, according to the New York Daily News.

The news of an arrest comes after a months-long investigation by New York law enforcement into accusations of sexual misconduct. According to the Daily News, Weinstein faces charges in connection with accusations made by aspiring actress Lucia Evans, who said Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex on him in his Manhattan office in 2004.

A grand jury convened several weeks ago was also presented evidence related to crimes of financial fraud, the paper reported, though it is unclear if he will also be charged for any financial crimes.

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NEW YORK (NY)
The Week

May 25, 2018

By Summer Meza

Former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein will surrender to authorities and face charges of sexual abuse on Friday, NBC News reports.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are in the final stages of an investigation into allegations of sexual assault from actresses Paz de la Huerta and Lucia Evans. Weinstein has been accused of wide-ranging abuse by more than 50 women.

Weinstein has denied ever engaging in nonconsensual sex acts, but the New York Daily News reports that he will turn himself in to New York City police. The charges are expected to be brought in state court in Manhattan. A lawyer for Weinstein declined to comment.

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UNITED STATES
Reuters

May 22, 2018

USA Gymnastics CEO Kerry Perry plans to apologize to the victims of Larry Nassar in her opening statement of a testimony she will give before a House subcommittee on Wednesday.

The testimony will be her first public comments since taking over her position in December. The subcommittee released Perry’s five-page opening statement on Tuesday.

“First, I want to apologize to all who were harmed by the horrific acts of Larry Nassar,” Perry’s statement reads in part. “I was in the courtroom to listen to the incredibly courageous women explain in vivid and painful detail the damage he did to their lives. Their powerful voices will not be forgotten. I commit to you that I will keep their words and experiences at the core of every decision I make, every day, as the leader of this organization. Their stories have broken my heart, but also strengthened my resolve.

“Let there be no mistake; those days are over. USA Gymnastics is on a new path, with new leadership, and a commitment to ensure this never happens again.”

Perry’s statement goes on to detail the changes that USA Gymnastics has made since her hiring in order to “regain the trust and confidence of our athletes, their families, and all who are a part of the gymnastics community.”

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WASHINGTON (DC)
The Associated Press

May 23, 2018

By Eddie Pells 

The tears and anger this time came from lawmakers who spent the day fuming over a growing sex-abuse problem in Olympic sports that leaders have taken too much time to solve while devoting too little money for the fixes.

“I just hope everyone here realizes the time to talk is over, and you need to walk your talk,” Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., said Wednesday shortly after choking back tears while questioning leaders of the U.S. Olympic Committee, USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Center for SafeSport.

The hearing of the House subcommittee was filled with both substance and spectacle — the latter coming mostly courtesy of a five-minute burst from Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., who told the USOC’s acting CEO, Susanne Lyons, “you should resign your position now,” and tore into USA Gymnastics CEO Kerry Perry and the rest of the panel for not uttering the exact words: “I’m sorry.”

“If you don’t want to say you’re sorry, I don’t want to talk to you,” said Carter, who represents the district where a lawsuit that triggered the mushrooming scandal in gymnastics was filed.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
USA TODAY

May 23, 2018

By Christine Brennan

The new post-Nassar leadership of the U.S. Olympic movement was on full display for all to see Wednesday morning at a Congressional hearing focused on the terrible sex abuse scandals in the nation’s Olympic sports.

Everyone was so calm, so measured, so lawyerly, so sorry — and so full of excuses about how they weren’t around when all the bad stuff happened, but now care very much about what has become the worst scandal in U.S. Olympic history and are doing their best to try to put a stop to it.

It was enough to make a normal person scream. One blast-furnace of a politician, Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), did just that, verbally lambasting two of the Olympic leaders even though he got more of his facts wrong than right, seriously weakening an otherwise fascinating performance.

But Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), getting her turn near the end after having absorbed about two hours of the conversation, said it just right.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Think Progress

May 23, 2018

By Lindsay Gibbs

“I thought the witnesses got off pretty easy.”

About two hours into the House Commerce Committee’s hearing on sexual abuse in Olympic sports, decorum was finally thrown out the window.

Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) had five minutes to ask questions of the heads of the U.S. Olympic Committee, USA Gymnastics, USA Taekwondo, USA Swimming, USA Volleyball, and the U.S. Center for SafeSport. He did not waste that time with pleasantries.

Carter began by going directly after USA Gymnastics (USAG) CEO Kerry Perry, demanding to know whether William McCabe, a convicted sex offender from Carter’s home state who served as a coach for USAG despite the cloud of suspicion that followed him throughout his career, had ever been subjected to a background check. When Perry tried to evade the question by saying that she’d only started working with USAG in December 2017, Carter wasn’t having it.

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LOS ANGELES (CA)
Los Angeles Times

May 23, 2018

By Harriet Ryan and Matt Hamilton

After an appointment with Dr. George Tyndall in 1995, USC undergraduate Alexis Rodriguez wrote a letter of complaint on a typewriter in the English department. The gynecologist, she recalled writing, had a Playboy magazine on his desk, used a scalpel on a vaginal abscess without anesthetic and, when she objected, marked her chart with the word “difficult.”

A student health clinic administrator sent back a letter, apologizing and pledging to remove the notation from her chart, Rodriguez said. It would be 21 years before the university forced Tyndall out of the clinic.

“They missed an opportunity to save a lot of other women from his mistreatment,” said Rodriguez, now 46 and a federal probation officer in Los Angeles.

The USC Board of Trustees’ executive committee announced Wednesday that outside attorneys would conduct an independent investigation into the Tyndall matter. The inquiry is to examine not only the physician’s behavior, but also what the trustees called “reporting failures” that allowed Tyndall to remain at the clinic for 27 years and treat tens of thousands of students.

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LOS ANGELES (CA)
CBS NEWS

May 23, 2018

The president of the University of Southern California is facing calls to resign in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against a former doctor at the school. Two-hundred faculty members signed a letter Tuesday saying president Max Nikias has “lost the moral authority” to lead USC. That comes as several women filed lawsuits accusing USC of not properly responding to complaints against campus gynecologist George Tyndall.

The university said over the last few days it has received around 200 reports about Dr. Tyndall. Some of his alleged victims are now represented by the same lawyers who represented the victims of disgraced MSU doctor Larry Nassar. Like in that case, there are now questions about who knew what and when, reports CBS News’ Bianna Golodryga.

USC master’s student Daniella Mohazab said that during an STD test in 2016, Tyndall sexually harassed and molested her.

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FORT WORTH (TX)
Fox News

May 23, 2018

By Kaitlyn Schallhorn

Paige Patterson, a prominent Southern Baptist leader, has been removed from his position as president of a Texas seminary following allegations that he made abusive and demeaning comments to women.

Patterson, 75, has been heavily criticized over his past comments about women. According to The Washington Post, he encouraged abused women to stay with their husbands, implored female seminarians to look more attractive and commented on an “attractive” teenage girl’s appearance.

Patterson, a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, also allegedly told a rape victim to forgive her assailant and not report the assault to police, a woman told The Washington Post earlier this week.

Patterson was removed from his position as president of the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS) in Fort Worth, Texas, by its board of trustees, according to an online statement.

The SWBTS board of trustees said it has appointed Patterson to the position of president emeritus, which includes compensation, after a 14-hour meeting. He and his wife will still be allowed to live on campus at the Baptist Heritage Center as “theologians-in-residence,” the statement added.

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FORT WORTH (TX)
The Associated Press

May 23, 2018

A former head of the Southern Baptist Convention was removed Wednesday as president of a Texas seminary following allegations of “unbiblical teaching” through sexist and demeaning comments to women who he suggests should tolerate abuse.

The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary board of trustees said in a statement that 75-year-old Paige Patterson was dismissed following a 13-hour meeting “to move in the direction of new leadership for the benefit of the future mission of the Seminary.”

The board named Patterson president emeritus with unspecified pay and will allow him and his wife to continue to live on campus as theologians-in-residence.

The statement does not directly address Patterson’s alleged comments. He’s accused of remarking on a teenage girl’s body, saying female seminarians should work hard to look attractive and that abused women should almost always stay with their husbands.

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FORT WORTH (TX)
The Huffington Post

May 23, 2018

By Willa Frej

Paige Patterson was demoted to president emeritus after thousands of evangelical women signed a petition calling for his ouster.

A prominent Southern Baptist Church leader who is known to have made inappropriate comments about abuse and women’s bodies was removed from his position early Wednesday after thousands of evangelical women signed a petition calling for his ouster.

Paige Patterson, formerly the head of the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, was demoted to president emeritus of the church after a 13-hour board meeting on Tuesday, according to a statement.

He will receive compensation for the position. The statement didn’t refer specifically to his comments about women, but said the discussion about the new leadership direction focused on “challenges facing the institution, including those of enrollment, financial, leadership and institutional identity.”

Dr. D. Jeffrey Bingham, dean of the School of Theology, was appointed as interim president. He currently serves as the vice president of the North American Patristics Society.

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BOSTON (MA)
Boston Magazine

May 23, 2018

by Lisa Weidenfeld

The move comes after a series of tweets about McGrory written by former staffer Hilary Sargent.

Executives at the Boston Globe are investigating misconduct allegations against the publication’s top editor, Brian McGrory. The move comes after former Boston.com staffer Hilary Sargent sent a series of tweets on Sunday and Monday that included a screenshot of a text exchange that appeared to show McGrory flirting with her in response to a question seeking writing advice.

Sargent initially wrote the tweets in response to a recent 60 Minutes exposé on sexual harassment, discussing how dehumanizing it can feel when young women realize they’re not being seen as professionals. Later that day, she shared the screenshot of the text exchange, and then followed up the next day, saying, “It never occurs to men like @GlobeMcGrory (see text) that maybe we actually *are* looking for advice about WRITING, that maybe we don’t want to be asked what we are wearing while we write, that maybe we want to work, to be journalists.”

The allegations come as the Globe strives to find ways to cover the #MeToo movement, publishing impactful stories about harassment on Beacon Hill. Sargent included the hashtag in one of her tweets about McGrory. It’s only the latest in a series of Twitter broadsides she’s sent in recent months suggesting the Globe was failing to contend with its own harassment issues.

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