ABUSE TRACKER

NEW ZEALAND
Radio NZ

May 8, 2018

By Phil Pennington

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.

That last issue came up, he said, when he met the leaders of the Catholic Church and Anglican Church in March.

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WAYNESVILLE (NC)
FOX Carolina

May 7, 2018

By Amanda Shaw

Authorities confirmed on Monday that a former western North Carolina priest has been arrested on child sex crimes.

Howard Willard White was taken into custody on Thursday and is charged with first-degree forcible sex offense, two counts of indecent liberties with a child, first-degree rape, second-degree forcible rape and second-degree rape.

According to indictment documents, the 76-year-old suspect is accused of sexually assaulting multiple children in 1985.

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ERIE (PA)
WJAC

May 8, 2018

By Matthew Stevens

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro on Tuesday charged a priest who was with the Catholic Diocese of Erie for nearly 40 years with sexually abusing two boys.

Father David Poulson, 64, was charged with indecent assault, endangering the welfare of children and corruption of minors. The charges come after a state grand jury investigation.

According to the grand jury presentment, Poulson first started to abuse two boys, when they were ages 8 and 15, over many years.

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ERIE (PA)
WKBN

May 8, 2018

By Chelsea Simeon

A Catholic priest in the Diocese of Erie is facing criminal charges for what prosecutors say was the sexual abuse of two young boys.

Father David Poulson, 64, of Oil City, is charged with indecent assault, endangering the welfare of children and corruption of minors.

He was indicted by a grand jury and was arrested Tuesday morning.

Attorney General Josh Shapiro said one of the victims was 8 years old when the priest began abusing him, while the second boy was 15 when the abuse started.

The assaults took place more than 20 times, including at the rectory where one of the victims served as an altar boy, according to investigators.

Investigators said Poulson required the victim to make a confession to the sexual assaults in which he served as the priest receiving the confession.

“This was the ultimate betrayal and manipulation by Poulson. He used the tools of the priesthood to further his abuse,” Shapiro said.

Investigators said Poulson assaulted the other boy at a remote hunting cabin that he owned in Jefferson County.

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ERIE (PA)
The Associated Press

May 8, 2018

By Claudia Lauer 

A Roman Catholic priest was arrested and charged Tuesday with sexually abusing at least two boys during his four decades in the Erie, Pennsylvania, diocese, and making one of them say confession after the alleged assaults.

State Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced the arrest of the 64-year-old Rev. David Poulson, of Oil City, as part of a statewide grand jury investigation. According to court records, Poulson is facing at least eight charges, including indecent assault and child endangerment for incidents dating to 2002.

Court records did not list an attorney for Poulson, and a phone call to a number listed for him was not answered Tuesday.

Prosecutors said Poulson, who resigned from the diocese in February, abused one of his victims in multiple church rectories more than 20 times while he served as an altar boy. Poulson would then require the boy to make confession to him and confess the sexual assault to receive absolution.

“This was the ultimate betrayal and manipulation by Poulson — he used the tools of the priesthood to further his abuse,” Shapiro wrote in an emailed release about the charges.

The allegations also state Poulson took that victim and another boy to a secluded hunting camp without electricity or running water, where he would watch horror movies with them on his laptop then assault them.

Prosecutors said the Erie Diocese had received complaints about what they say were Poulson’s “sexual predator tendencies” as far back as 2010, but did not report him to law enforcement until the grand jury issued a subpoena in September 2016.

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AUCKLAND (NEW ZEALAND)
National Catholic Reporter

May 7, 2018

By Michael Otto

Bill Kilgallon is looking back on his three years as a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors with sense of achievement, alongside a certain sense of frustration.

Kilgallon’s three-year term on the commission came to an end last year, and he was not reappointed to a second term, an outcome he had anticipated.

When asked to point to the achievements by the commission in its first term, he pointed first to the establishment of the body itself, which involved the bringing together of people from different professional backgrounds from all around the world to work as a team.

The commission did its work by way of working groups and Kilgallon chaired the group dealing with guidelines — starting with those for the prevention of and response to sexual abuse in the Church.

He described the completion of templates for guidelines to assist bishops’ conferences around the world to use as “a very significant piece of work.”

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BALLARAT (AUSTRALIA)
The New York Times

April 29, 2018

By Jacqueline Williams

Rob Walsh was outside Melbourne Magistrates’ Court recently awaiting a pretrial hearing for Cardinal George Pell, the Vatican’s third-highest-ranking official, when, he said, he unexpectedly walked into the cardinal himself.

The encounter wasn’t their first. They both were raised in the same old mining town, which could be why the cardinal extended his hand, inviting Mr. Walsh to shake it. Mr. Walsh declined — a gesture that signified the lasting impact of a decades-long sexual abuse scandal that has rocked this town, Ballarat, and sent shock waves around the world.

“The ripple is still on the lake and it’s still occurring,” Mr. Walsh said from his home in Ballarat, referring to the lingering effects from that scandal, in which priests preyed on children, including Mr. Walsh, during the 1960s and 1970s.

“It’s gone through families and generations.”

This town, officially a city of about 100,000 people, was once the center of Australia’s gold rush, but is now better known as the epicenter of that pedophile ring, in which Catholic clergy preyed on those who depended on them the most — children from Ballarat’s poor, blue-collar neighborhoods.

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TASMANIA (AUSTRALIA)
The Australian

May 9, 2018

By Matthew Denholm

The Anglican Church has been ­accused of “emotional blackmail” after linking the unpopular sale of almost half of its churches in Tasmania with compensation for survivors of abuse by pedophile priests.

Bishop Richard Condie has released a list of 55 churches earmarked for sale, with 21 more to follow, and tied 25 per cent of the proceeds to a redress scheme for child sex abuse survivors.

However, many communities are in revolt over the plans and believe it is unfair and inappropriate to link the fire sale — of 76 of 156 Anglican churches in the state — to justice for abuse victims.

“It is blatant emotional blackmail,” said Angela Turvey, a member of Friends of St John the Baptist, a historic church in Buckland, northeast of Hobart, among those slated for sale.

“It is punishing communities around Tasmania for what the church was ultimately responsible for. That’s what insurance and liability is for. This is not the way to be redressing child sexual abuse.”

The state government also expressed concern and Treasurer Peter Gutwein said he had secured a meeting with the diocese to discuss issues such as public access to cemeteries and interment plots.

Bishop Condie said many Angli­cans were willing to pay for the sins of others.

“Making a costly sacrifice to right past wrongs is a profoundly Christian thing to do, and most worshipping Anglicans I have spoken to in the last weeks are prepared to do it gladly,” he said.

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ULTIMO (AUSTRALIA)
Australian Broadcasting Corporation

May 7, 2018

By Danny Tran

A former detective, who was financially and professionally ruined by his own superiors for trying to bring a paedophile priest to justice, will receive compensation almost 50 years after he was pushed out of Victoria Police.

Denis Ryan gave up his police pension when he chose to resign from the force after being ordered to drop his investigation into Monsignor John Day, a Catholic paedophile priest who preyed on children in the Mallee.

The decision had a profound impact on his life, costing him a marriage and the prospect of a comfortable retirement. Until now, he has lived in a rented unit on the proceeds of an aged pension.

But a month after his plight was revealed by the ABC, the Victorian Government has reached a confidential settlement with the 86-year-old.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Washington Post

May 7, 2018

By Meagan Flynn

Denis Ryan spent more than half his life waiting for someone to listen.

Nearly 50 years ago, when he was a detective on the police force in Victoria, Australia, he tried to tell his superiors that a prominent priest, Monsignor John Day, was sexually assaulting and molesting altar boys and Catholic school girls. Ryan had interviewed 12 alleged victims by 1972, taking statements from all of them.

But Ryan’s superiors — devout Catholics, some of whom were close to Day — didn’t want to hear it, according to a 2017 report.

The superintendent of police told Ryan to drop the investigation, the report said. A top inspector recommended no charges be filed. Day, who was never charged, denied the allegations and was transferred from his post in the town of Mildura and became a priest at another parish far away in Victoria, where he died in 1978.

Ryan resigned, effectively forced out of his job because he wouldn’t stop investigating, the report said. He lost his pension and his benefits, as well as his pay, and became a fruit packer.

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NEW YORK (NY)
New York Times

May 7, 2018

By Kurt Streeter

Corvallis OR – Luke Heimlich, one of the best players in college baseball, and certainly its most controversial, strode to the mound, dusted away a patch of dirt with his cleats and lined up for his first pitch.

The home crowd of nearly 3,000, most in orange and black, the colors of Oregon State, cheered, “Luke! Luke! Luke!” They wanted a victory against Arizona State, one of their biggest rivals.

More than that, they wanted a performance that would hark back to a different time — the time before anyone had heard that Heimlich, 22, their hero, had pleaded guilty to a felony: sexually molesting his 6-year-old niece when he was 15.

Otherwise, this game in Goss Stadium seemed completely normal, as has been true all season, which has unfolded in a surprisingly ordinary way. The Beavers are again among the elite. They have a good chance of making it back to the College World Series in June. They might win the national championship.

But, given his past, the question remained, why was Heimlich even on the mound?

In a series of interviews with The New York Times this weekend, Heimlich flatly denied committing the crime he had admitted to, saying he pleaded guilty to quickly dispense with the case and for the sake of family relations.

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NEW YORK (NY)
New York Times

May 7, 2018

By The Editorial Board

Until Monday evening New York’s Attorney General Eric Schneiderman was a public champion of the #MeToo movement. Now he appears to be the latest sickening example of the scale and insidiousness of the cruelty that movement is confronting. He resigned late Monday after The New Yorker magazine published an article in which four women accused him of abusing them physically and emotionally.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo should appoint a responsible, independent prosecutor to investigate any possible criminal charges against Mr. Schneiderman and abuses of his office.

Mr. Schneiderman admitted no wrongdoing. Instead, he said in a statement that the “serious allegations, which I strongly contest,” had made it impossible to do his job.

But the allegations outlined by the women are consistent, detailed and bone-chilling.

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NEW YORK (NY)
New York Times

May 7, 2018

By Danny Hakim and Vivian Wang

Eric T. Schneiderman, the New York State attorney general who rose to prominence as an antagonist of the Trump administration, abruptly resigned on Monday night hours after The New Yorker reported that four women had accused him of physically assaulting them.

“It’s been my great honor and privilege to serve as attorney general for the people of the State of New York,” Mr. Schneiderman said in a statement. “In the last several hours, serious allegations, which I strongly contest, have been made against me.

“While these allegations are unrelated to my professional conduct or the operations of the office, they will effectively prevent me from leading the office’s work at this critical time. I therefore resign my office, effective at the close of business on May 8, 2018.”

His resignation represented a stunning fall for a politician who had also assumed a prominent role in the #MeToo movement.

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NEW YORK (NY)
The New Yorker

May 7, 2018

By Jane Mayer and Ronan Farrow

Eric Schneiderman has raised his profile as a voice against sexual misconduct. Now, after suing Harvey Weinstein, he faces a #MeToo reckoning of his own

Update: Three hours after the publication of this story, Schneiderman resigned from his position. “While these allegations are unrelated to my professional conduct or the operations of the office, they will effectively prevent me from leading the office’s work at this critical time,” he said in a statement. “I therefore resign my office, effective at the close of business on May 8, 2018.”

Eric Schneiderman, New York’s attorney general, has long been a liberal Democratic champion of women’s rights, and recently he has become an outspoken figure in the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment. As New York State’s highest-ranking law-enforcement officer, Schneiderman, who is sixty-three, has used his authority to take legal action against the disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein, and to demand greater compensation for the victims of Weinstein’s alleged sexual crimes. Last month, when the Times and this magazine were awarded a joint Pulitzer Prize for coverage of sexual harassment, Schneiderman issued a congratulatory tweet, praising “the brave women and men who spoke up about the sexual harassment they had endured at the hands of powerful men.” Without these women, he noted, “there would not be the critical national reckoning under way.”

Now Schneiderman is facing a reckoning of his own. As his prominence as a voice against sexual misconduct has risen, so, too, has the distress of four women with whom he has had romantic relationships or encounters. They accuse Schneiderman of having subjected them to nonconsensual physical violence. All have been reluctant to speak out, fearing reprisal. But two of the women, Michelle Manning Barish and Tanya Selvaratnam, have talked to The New Yorker on the record, because they feel that doing so could protect other women. They allege that he repeatedly hit them, often after drinking, frequently in bed and never with their consent. Manning Barish and Selvaratnam categorize the abuse he inflicted on them as “assault.” They did not report their allegations to the police at the time, but both say that they eventually sought medical attention after having been slapped hard across the ear and face, and also choked. Selvaratnam says that Schneiderman warned her he could have her followed and her phones tapped, and both say that he threatened to kill them if they broke up with him. (Schneiderman’s spokesperson said that he “never made any of these threats.”)

* * *

In a statement, Schneiderman said, “In the privacy of intimate relationships, I have engaged in role-playing and other consensual sexual activity. I have not assaulted anyone. I have never engaged in nonconsensual sex, which is a line I would not cross.”

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ROME (ITALY)
Voice of America

May 7, 2018

By Sabina Castelfranco

[Video report.]

Pope Francis has yet to comment on the latest developments regarding Cardinal George Pell, the highest-ranking Catholic Church official charged with sexual offenses, who faces trial in Australia. Sabina Castelfranco reports from Rome calls have been mounting for greater efforts in the worldwide fight against pedophilia in the Roman Catholic Church.

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JACKSONVILLE (FL)
CBS 47 – Fox 30

May 7, 2018

The arrest warrant for the retired Orange Park pastor accused of sexual battery on a minor says the victim was allegedly raped and molested since 2007.

William Randall, 73, who was arrested Thursday, had preached for over 20 years at St. Simon Baptist Church.

According to his arrest warrant, Randall faces a custodial sexual battery charge, and reportedly had committed the crime between the years 2009-2013.

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LONDON (ENGLAND)
BBC

May 3, 2018

Glasgow – Father Paul Moore, 82, was found guilty of the crimes at the High Court in Glasgow earlier this year.

Judge Lady Rae told Moore he had committed “despicable crimes”.

On Thursday an official at the High Court in Edinburgh confirmed that Moore’s legal team had lodged an appeal against conviction and sentence.

The trial heard that Moore abused one boy at a school, another at a leisure centre and a third on the beach at Irvine in the 1970s.

He was also found guilty of indecently assaulting a student priest in 1995.

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MUMBAI (INDIA)
Reuters via New York Times

May 8, 2018

He was lured into a room near where he played cricket, a man then shut the door and window, and raped him. That’s what a 14-year-old Mumbai boy told his mother from his hospital bed last July.

The boy died soon after, killed by the rat poison he consumed after the assault, according to details described to Reuters by his parents and police.

Inspector Balwant Deshmukh, the investigating officer, said police have all but given up hope of finding out who raped the boy. “We will revive the case if we get new clues, but as of now it’s in cold storage,” he told Reuters.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government last month introduced the death penalty for rape of girls below 12 and increased the minimum punishment for those whose victims were under 16, after the rapes of an eight-year-old girl and a young woman in two states ruled by his party led to public protests.

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BUFFALO (NY)
Buffalo News

May 7, 2018

By Jay Tokasz

{See also the front page with this story]

A Diocese of Buffalo priest accused of having sexual contact with a teenage girl in the mid-1980s has been put on administrative leave.

Bishop Richard J. Malone will reopen an investigation into allegations that the Rev. Fabian J. Maryanski had sexual contact with a female parishioner of St. Patrick Church in Barker starting when the girl was 15.

“This has been one of the most horrific things I and my family has ever had to endure, second only to the abuse itself, and we have hope that speaking out will bring healing to not only us, but to every victim, the Diocese of Buffalo and especially to the entire Church,” said Stephanie McIntyre, the woman who accused Maryanski. “It’s 25 years too late. I wonder how many girls were preyed upon during that time period.”

The diocese was made aware of the accusations in a 1995 letter from the accuser’s lawyer, but it allowed Maryanski to serve in parishes for more than a decade afterward.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Washington Post

May 7, 2018

By Sarah Pulliam Bailey

The Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s largest Protestant denomination and a major force in conservative Christianity, is encountering its own #MeToo moment: a wave of anger over repeated comments by a prominent church leader seen as demeaning to women.

In sermons he gave between 2000 and 2014 that have been made public, Paige Patterson, seminary president and former denominational president, has encouraged women who are abused by their husbands not to divorce but to pray instead. He also commented in the sermons on female bodies, including that of a teenage girl, and women’s appearances. Now, thousands of people are calling for his removal just weeks before he is scheduled to deliver a key sermon at the huge denomination’s annual convention.

As some — including women — in the evangelical denomination rally around Patterson, 75, who is revered as an instrumental figure in the group’s rightward shift over the past several decades, other leaders are voicing concern that this furor is about much more than one man’s sermons. The uproar calls into question how women are treated in this religious community that preaches the theology of complementarianism, which says men and women are called to different roles, with men leading in the church and the home.

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MINNEAPOLIS (MN)
Star Tribune

May 5, 2018

By Jean Hopfensperger

Dozens of men accuse a 96-year-old priest of molesting them when they were boys

The Rev. Louis Brouillard has kept a low profile at his home in Pine City. But the Catholic priest faces growing notoriety on the island of Guam, where he’s been sued by at least 60 men who say he sexually abused them as children.

The tiny Pacific island is reeling from a clergy sex abuse scandal not unlike the one that rocked Minnesota a few years back, with tearful victims revealing memories of sexual indignations committed decades ago. The priest most frequently accused is a 96-year-old man in a senior apartment 7,000 miles away.

A Minnesota native, Brouillard lived more than 30 years on the remote island before being transferred in 1981 to the Duluth Diocese, where he served in three churches even as he reportedly brought teen boys from Guam to live with him.

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VATICAN CITY
America

Gerard O’Connell

May 07, 2018

Pope Francis would not have known in advance that the former archbishop of Guam, Anthony S. Apuron, would be on stage with him in Rome on May 5 at the Te Deum celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Neocathecumenal Way, one of the biggest pastoral and spiritual movements in the church today, if at times a controversial one.

A Vatican source (who asked not to be identified) explained that whenever the pope is invited to such a large public event he does not see the guest list in advance nor is the list checked by Vatican officials, as they trust the organizers of these gatherings to act in a responsible way. Archbishop Apuron had been condemned by a Vatican tribunal on March 16. He left Guam in 2016 after child molestation charges against him surfaced, including a more recent allegation of abuse from his own nephew.

A Vatican source said that the organizers “should have known better” than to invite Archbishop Apron.

At the celebration at Tor Vergata, a field outside of Rome, there were many cardinals and bishops from all over the world, including Archbishop Apuron—who has been one of the most friendly bishops to the movement in the Pacific—as well as around 100,000 people from some 130 countries. All the attendees were invited by the Neocathecumenal Way organizers. The movement began in Spain in 1964 and claims more than one million adherents in 6,000 parishes worldwide.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic Culture

By Phil Lawler

May 07, 2018

One step forward, two steps back. One excellent statement about a no-nonsense commitment to fighting sexual abuse, then a public act that suggests the issue is still not a top priority.

Chilean abuse victims were moved and encouraged by their private meetings with Pope Francis last week. Then on May 5, when the Pontiff joined a public celebration for the 50th anniversary of the Neocatechumenal Way, Archbishop Anthony Apuron— who was only recently convicted of abuse by a Vatican tribunal— was seated on the stage near the Pontiff.

True, Archbishop Apuron has appealed his conviction, and still proclaims his innocence. But he is one of only two archbishops ever found guilty of sexual abuse— not merely of ignoring evidence of abuse, but of molesting boys himself. Why would the Vatican give him a prominent role in a public ceremony, just a few weeks after announcing his conviction?

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TEXAS
Baptist Press

by Tom Strode

, May 07, 2018

DALLAS (BP) — Sexual abuse and assault will be subjects of a panel discussion convened by the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission on the eve of the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention June 12-13 in Dallas.

The ERLC will sponsor a conversation on some of society’s hottest topics during “Gospel Sexuality in a #MeToo Culture” at 9 p.m. June 11. Panelists will discuss how the Gospel of Jesus guides the Christian view of such subjects not only as sexual assault, abuse and harassment but domestic violence, pornography and infidelity.

Even before June 11, the ERLC will co-host with The Village Church a two-day conference on the church’s Gospel engagement with the world. The event — titled “The Gospel and the Future of the Church” — will be held June 8-9 in partnership with Southern Baptist Theological Seminary at The Village Church’s Flower Mound campus in metro Dallas.

The June 11 panel discussion will come at a time when the church and country are going through a crash course regarding sub-biblical treatment of women. Recent months have seen an ongoing series of revelations of sexual harassment, abuse and misconduct by pastors in the evangelical church and prominent men in the culture. The pastoral handling of domestic abuse of Christian wives also has generated controversy recently.

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NEW YORK
WBFO

May 7, 2018

By MICHAEL MROZIAK

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo on Monday announced it has placed a priest on administrative leave, one day after a published report revealed that priest had been accused in 1995 of sexually abusing a then teenaged girl. Meanwhile, a New Jersey-based advocacy group representing victims of alleged past abuse turned up pressure on Bishop Richard Malone, demanding he release all information on abuse cases or step down.

Father Fabian Maryanski, who was most recently serving as a retired assistant priest at the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Clarence, was identified Sunday within a Buffalo News article in which an unidentified woman accuses the priest of abusing her 23 years ago.

Dr. Robert Hoatson of Road to Recovery holds a sign in downtown Buffalo, across the street from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo’s headquarters. One day after the Buffalo News published allegations against a priest, Hoatson demanded Bishop Richard Malone release all files on past cases or resign.

The Diocese, in a brief statement announcing their action, explained that Father Maryanski was being placed on leave “for the purpose of reopening the previous investigation” and added that the move does not imply any determination of truth or falsity of the complaint.

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NEW YORK
WKBW

Charlie Specht

May 7, 2018

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) – Sexual abuse victims on Monday called on Bishop Richard Malone to reveal more information on sexually abusive Buffalo priests or resign as bishop.

“I think Buffalo, New York is ‘Boston, Massachusetts West,'” said Robert Hoatson, a former priest who runs Road to Recovery Inc., which helps victims of clerical sex abuse. “What you and we have uncovered and are uncovering is a cover-up of epidemic proportions.”

Hoatson pointed to Sunday’s front-page story in The Buffalo News which revealed that:

Diocese of Buffalo officials assigned the Rev. Fabian J. Maryanski to work in parishes for more than a decade after he was accused of having sexual contact with a teenage girl in a church rectory.

The priest started his sexual advances on the girl when she was a 15-year-old parishioner at St. Patrick Church in Barker, according to a 1995 letter sent by her lawyer to diocese officials.

Hoatson said it is time for Malone to reveal everything he knows about all 64 accused priests that have been identified by the media. The diocese originally said it had only received abuse complaints against 42 priests.

“So we’re here today to say to Bishop Malone, ‘Reveal it all or resign,’” Hoatson said. “And perhaps the latter is the most appropriate, because he doesn’t seem to be able to reveal.”

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CANADA
The Sault Star

Jim Moodie, The Sudbury Star

May 7, 2018

SUDBURY – A settlement reached last week closes a chapter in the long saga of a Sudbury sex predator and numerous male victims.

But whether it is the final chapter remains to be seen.

On Monday Denis Beland, 61, accepted just shy of $1 million in a pre-trial agreement concerning the abuse he suffered as a youth at the hands of Father William Marshall, who taught at St. Charles College high school in Sudbury between 1961 and 1979.

Beland is one of at least seven known Sudbury victims of the priest and the last of the St. Charles students seeking compensation through civil suits.

Had an agreement not been reached on Monday, the case would have gone to a jury trial on May 14.

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VATICAN CITY
Crux

Charles Collins
MANAGING EDITOR

May 7, 2018

An archbishop accused of the sexual abuse of minors and convicted by a Vatican court “of certain … accusations” was given a place of honor at a recent event attended by Pope Francis.

Guam Archbishop Anthony Apuron was seen seated with other bishops and prelates on Saturday at a papal event to mark the 50th anniversary of the Neocatechumenal Way movement, which was founded in Spain.

In March, a canonical trial found Apuron, accused among other things of the sexual abuse of five minors, guilty of some of the charges and imposed that he leave his position as archbishop and never return to Guam.

Apuron has consistently denied the charges, and his lawyers have said he is appealing the decision.

Over 150,000 people from 135 countries attended the event at the “Tor Vergata” University grounds, on the Roman outskirts. It is unclear if Francis was aware of Apuron’s presence. A Vatican spokesman refused to comment.

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NEW YORK
WGRZ

Dave McKinley

May 7, 2018

BUFFALO, NY – Buffalo’s Catholic Bishop, The Most. Rev. Richard Malone, has placed another priest on leave amid allegations of sexual misconduct.

In a statement, the Diocese confirmed: “After receiving a recent letter regarding a previous abuse complaint against Father Fabian Maryanski, Bishop Richard J. Malone has placed Father Maryanski on administrative leave for the purpose of reopening the previous investigation. Please note that this administrative leave is for the purpose of investigation and does not imply any determination as to the truth or falsity of the complaint.

Maryanski, 77, is accused by a now 49 year old woman of having seduced her into a sexual relationship when she was a teenager in the 1980s, according to an article published in Sunday’s editions of the Buffalo News.

Their encounters allegedly occurred when Maryanski, who most recently celebrating mass Nativity BVM Church in Clarence, was the pastor at St. Patrick’s parish in Barker.

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NORTH CAROLINA
WLOS

by Kristy Steward

May 7th 2018

HAYWOOD COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — A judge in Haywood County sets a high bond for a former Episcopal priest facing sexual abuse allegations.

Howard Willard White, 76, appeared in court in Waynesville on Friday after being returned to our area from Massachusetts. White is one of six offenders named in the sex abuse scandal at St. George’s School in Middletown, R.I. Last year, he entered a guilty plea to five counts of assault and battery for his abuse of a former student in the 1970s. White served 12 months of an 18-month sentence.

After White was dismissed from the Rhode Island school in 1974 he went on to work at other parishes including Grace Church in Waynesville. White was rector at Grace Church from 1984 until 2006.Two accusers in the Waynesville indictment came forward with their claims in the wake of the St. George School scandal in 2015.

White’s charges in North Carolina include first-degree forcible rape, second-degree forcible rape, second-degree forcible sexual offense and indecent liberties with a child. The charges stem from alleged sexual abuse dating to the 1980s.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

May 7, 2018

by Michael Sean Winters

Cardinal George Pell is going on trial in Australia to face charges he sexually abused minors. As victims’ advocate Anne Barrett Doyle told my colleague Josh McElwee, this trial is a “turning point” in the long saga of compelling accountability by church leaders. It is even more of a turning point than Doyle may realize. Because the big story here is the dog that did not bark, the fact that the Vatican has made no protest at the prospect of a prince of the church standing trial before a civil magistrate.

I cannot think of a single preoccupation of the Catholic Church that has more frequently defined the stances she takes vis-à-vis the ambient culture than the concern for the church’s independence and freedom. From the Middle Ages onward, popes undertook a delicate balancing act with other powers seeking control of the Italian peninsula. In individual countries, the church often fought for her rights against monarchs who wanted to control the church’s personnel or money or both.

One of the most famous such cases was that of St. Thomas Becket, the archbishop of Canterbury, England. He was killed precisely because he refused to concede that King Henry II had the right to try a cleric for any reason, not only for violations of ecclesiastical law. The church alone claimed the right to judge ecclesiastical persons.

In the 18th century, the Catholic faith was in a bad way. Pope Clement XIV bowed to pressure from the Bourbon monarchs and suppressed the Society of Jesus. Pope Pius VI was coerced into traveling to Vienna to meet with the emperor and seek a rapprochement: The emperor’s play backfired as the simple peasants lined the route to seek the blessing of their spiritual father. Pius later fell afoul of Napoleon’s endless ambitions and died in custody. His successor also spent many years as Napoleon’s prisoner and, after Waterloo, dispatched his crafty secretary of state, Cardinal Ercole Consalvi, to the Congress of Vienna to earn back the Papal States, all in the interest of preserving papal independence.

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NEW YORK
Spectrum

May 7, 2018

Another priest in the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo is under investigation for allegations of abuse.

According to the Buffalo News, a 49-year-old woman is accusing Father Fabian Maryanski of abuse in the 1980s.

The Diocese confirms there was an investigation in 1995 which is now being reopened.

Bishop Richard Malone released a statement, saying “Since the investigation was conducted at a time before I became bishop of Buffalo, I have decided to reopen the investigation.”

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NEW YORK
WIVB

Evan Anstey

May 07, 2018

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – The Diocese of Buffalo announced Monday morning that Father Fabian Maryanski has been placed on administrative leave.

This was in regard to a previous abuse complaint against Maryanski.

“Bishop Richard J. Malone has placed Father Maryanski on administrative leave for the purpose of reopening the previous investigation,” George Richert, director of communications for the Diocese of Buffalo, wrote.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

Payu Tiwari

May 6 2018

A Catholic priest has allegedly emerged as a prime suspect in a garda probe into images showing two men engaging in sex acts on a church altar.

The images appear to show the men engaging in sexual acts on the altar of a church in Munster.

Yesterday, ‘independent’ bishop Pat Buckley revealed to The Sunday World that he has reported the images to church bosses.

In the photograph, the men can be seen participating in a variety of different acts, both on top of, and adjacent to, the church altar.

Bishop Buckley told The Sunday World that the images originated from a priest, not believed to be attached to the church in question, on a well known website who sent them to another web-user in a bid to solicit him for a sexual rendezvous.

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UNITED STATES
Esquire

And on the island of Guam, they did.

BY CHARLES P. PIERCE

MAY 7, 2018

At what was perceived to be the height of the clerical child abuse scandal in the Catholic Church, I had some good priests and involved laypeople tell me that the next shoe to drop was going to drop overseas, in the Catholic missions to remote areas in places like Africa and the islands of the Pacific Ocean. Surely, they told me, if predatory priests were enabled to commit their crimes in the crowded urban areas of the United States, the same thing, or worse, must have been going on in distant places beyond the reach of the spotlight, or of Spotlight.

The sound you just heard was that other shoe, dropping. From The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

Brouillard’s peaceful life stands in stark contrast to the torment of 122 men and two women–all middle-age or retired now—who accuse him of sexually molesting them as children on the island of Guam. They have broken long-held silences and filed lawsuits. Some have protested and begged for justice. Some have left the church. A long time ago, some of them complained. Brouillard confessed, and was told to pray and try harder. Eventually, the island’s Catholic church simply sent Brouillard away.

It gets worse because it always gets worse. This guy also was a Boy Scout leader.

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VATICAN CITY
KUAM

May 07, 2018

By Krystal Paco

Guam’s suspended Archbishop Anthony Apuron has been sighted again in Rome, this time for a celebration for the Neocatechumenal Way. A video was posted on the Vatican News YouTube channel on Sunday.

Joining Apuron is Guam’s Father Edivaldo Oliveira who is listed on the Archdiocese of Agana’s website as a priest on mission.

Both sit among a crowd of bishops on the same stage as Pope Francis.

As reported, Archbishop Michael Byrnes put a halt to any formation of new communities by the Neocatechumenal Way here on Guam. That year-long period, KUAM files show, ended in March.

Earlier this year, the Vatican released its verdict against Apuron finding him guilty of certain charges.

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VATICAN CITY
Pacific Daily News

Haidee V Eugenio, heugenio@guampdn.com

May 7, 2018

Nearly two months after the Vatican announced he had been convicted in a canonical trial, former Guam Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron was seated near Pope Francis on a stage in Rome during Saturday’s 50th anniversary of the founding of the Neocatechumenal Way.

Apuron is part of the Neocatechumenal Way, which he welcomed to Guam in the mid-1990s, and whose practices are sometimes at odds with Catholic teachings, beliefs and practices.

Pope Francis, in his May 5 message, urged the Neocatechumenal Way to respect different cultures and not try to impose its own pre-established models.

“Love the cultures and traditions of peoples, without imposing pre-established models. Do not start from theories and fixed mindsets, but from concrete situations: it will thus be the Spirit Who shapes the proclamation according to His times and His ways. And the Church will grow in His image: united in the diversity of peoples, gifts and charisms,” the pope said at the event.

Apuron found guilty

Apuron was found guilty of certain accusations in a canonical trial that included allegations he sexually abused or raped children on Guam before or while he was archbishop, based on a March 16 announcement from the Vatican.

Apuron, who said he will appeal the conviction, was stripped of his position as archbishop and banned from the island’s archdiocese.

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VATICAN CITY
The Guam Daily Post

May 7, 2018

Mindy Aguon | The Guam Daily Post

The Vatican may have stripped former Guam Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron of his title following a canonical trial, but Apuron continues to wear his bishop robe as he attended the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Neocatechumenal Way in Tor Vergata, Rome, on Saturday.

Apuron appears seated among cardinals and bishops on the stage holding a cane, in a video posted by Vatican News. Father Edivaldo Da Silva-Oliviera, who is listed as a priest “on mission” from the Archdiocese of Agana, was seated next to Apuron as they listened to Pope Francis deliver an address to the crowd.

The event celebrated the Neocatechumenal Way, one of the Catholic Church’s biggest and most contentious missionary movements.

Pope Francis, in his May 5 message, urged the Neocatechumenal Way not to impose pre-established models or have fixed mindsets or theories.

During his address, the pope urged the movement to respect different cultures and not try to conquer souls as it spreads the faith around the world, according to the Vatican News

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GUAM
KUAM

May 07, 2018

By Krystal Paco

A second man comes forward accusing Father Adrian Cristobal of molestation and rape.

Only identified by his initials to protect his privacy, 33-year-old J.C.C. reports the abuse started in 1995 and ended in 2013, occurring almost daily.

The alleged abuse occurred at San Vicente Catholic School, both the Barrigada and Maina Parishes, at Father Adrian’s residence, his car, and his private beach in Ipan.

It started when the priest groped the boy after teaching him how to properly tuck in his shirt.

Other occasions occurred under the table during meal times – the priest reportedly using his feet to touch the boy’s private parts.

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GUAM
The Guam Daily Post

May 7, 2018

Mindy Aguon | The Guam Daily Post

A 33-year-old man has come forward alleging he endured nearly 15 years of sexual molestation and abuse at the hands of Father Adrian Cristobal, the former Archdiocese of Agana chancellor, leading him to drugs for self-medication.

A lawsuit filed in the District Court of Guam by J.C.C., who used initials to protect his identity, alleges the abuse began when he was 11 years old and an altar boy at San Vicente Ferrer/San Roke Catholic Church in Barrigada, where Cristobal served as parish priest and continued until 2013.

J.C.C. was raised in a religious family whose members were devout Catholics and active in the church.

Beginning in 1995, J.C.C. was repeatedly sexually molested and abused by Cristobal and the boy was forced to perform sexual acts on the priest at San Vicente School where he attended classes, the Barrigada parish, the Maina parish where Cristobal was later assigned, Cristobal’s private residence, Cristobal’s vehicle, and Cristobal’s private beach in Ipan, the civil complaint states.

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NEW YORK
Buffalo News

By Jay Tokasz

May 7, 2018

Bishop Richard J. Malone is reopening an investigation into allegations that the Rev. Fabian J. Maryanski had sexual contact with a teenage girl in the mid-1980s.

Diocese of Buffalo officials confirmed that Maryanski, 77, was investigated in 1995 following an accusation of sexual abuse.

“Since the investigation was conducted at a time before I became bishop of Buffalo, I have decided to reopen the investigation,” Malone said in a statement.

The statement came after The Buffalo News published a story Sunday stating that Maryanski was assigned to work in parishes for more than a decade after he was accused of having sexual contact with a teenage girl in a church rectory.

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AUSTRALIA
The New Daily

May 6, 2018

Lucie Morris-Marr

A series of mysterious adverts are encouraging supporters to donate to a “trust fund” to help Cardinal George Pell pay for a top legal team to fight the abuse allegations against him.

Bank details of the fund, run by a Melbourne-based solicitor, are included in the adverts which have appeared in Catholic newsletters, magazines and websites around the world.

Mystery still surrounds who sent the adverts – which all share similar wording – and whether they were part of a co-ordinated campaign.

One of the adverts posted on the website of the Catholic Diocese of Ballarat says the bank account details were “provided by Cardinal Pell’s staff at the Sydney Archdiocese”.

All of the adverts go on to say that funds can be deposited into a Bendigo Bank account run by Ferdinand Zito and Associates, a law firm with a small office next to a post office in the Melbourne suburb of Ivanhoe East.

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UNITED STATES
KPCC

Thursday, May 24, 2018

The #MeToo movement has rocked the entertainment, political, media and tech worlds. More recently, it has reignited old conversations and started new ones within faith communities in the United States and around the world.

Accusations of sexual impropriety by male religious leaders have surfaced across faiths — from evangelical Christianity to Islam — fanned by the #MeToo movement, and social media has amplified the voices of accusers. But the conversation about women’s rights and treatment in religious circles is arguably less pronounced than in the secular world. Will it stay that way? Or is the conversation a slow burn ready to catch on?

Join KPCC’s Josie Huang on Thursday, May 24, at the Crawford Family Forum in Pasadena for a talk about the #MeToo movement and its place in faith and spirituality.

Guests:

Edina Lekovic – director of policy and programming, Muslim Public Affairs Council
Brie Loskota – executive director, Center for Religion and Civic Culture at the University of Southern California

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PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia Inquirer

MAY 5, 2018

by Mark Scolforo, Associated Press

HARRISBURG — Two Franciscan friars who supervised a third friar who fatally stabbed himself in the heart while facing child-molestation allegations pleaded no contest to child endangerment charges Friday and were sentenced to five years of probation.

Proscecutors say Brother Robert J. D’Aversa, 71, of Hollidaysburg, Blair County, failed to tell officials at Bishop McCort Catholic High School in Johnstown that he reassigned the friar, Brother Stephen Baker, in 2000 because of new credible allegations about Baker’s past.

They also say Brother Anthony J. Criscitelli, 64, of Hollidaysburg, knew a safety plan was in place for Baker, but still allowed him to potentially be around children.

Former Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane brought charges against the two, along with a priest, following a March 2016 Pennsylvania grand jury report accusing bishops of ignoring or hiding decades of sexual abuse by priests and religious leaders against hundreds of children in the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Globe

By Danny McDonald GLOBE STAFF

MAY 06, 2018

A former teacher fired from an elite Cambridge school over sexual abuse allegations in the 1980s committed suicide last month, according to his death certificate.

Edward “Ted” Washburn, who pleaded guilty to raping his 13-year-old nephew in 1987 and received a suspended sentence, killed himself on April 6, according to the certificate.

Washburn, 75, of Lexington, had taught at Buckingham Browne & Nichols, a day school that serves prekindergarten through 12th grade in Cambridge.

The 1987 rape case was the biggest scandal in the history of that institution, which was established in 1974 with the merger of two schools that were founded in the 19th century.

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NEW YORK
Buffalo News

By Matthew Spina

May 7, 2018

The state’s Catholic Conference has spent $1.8 million over six years lobbying Albany to, among other things, derail a bill to make it easier for sex abuse victims to sue.

The Democratic-led state Assembly approved the Child Victims Act last week, but its prospects for passage in the Republican-led Senate are less likely.

The act’s most controversial provision would open a one-year window in which victims currently blocked by New York’s statute of limitations could sue for damages linked to decades-old abuses. But the Catholic Conference says the act would force institutions to defend misconduct “about which they have no knowledge, and in which they had no role.”

To head off the bill and to push other items on its agenda, the Catholic Conference has spent hundreds of thousands a year on lobbyists. For example, the conference last year paid Sheinkopf Ltd. $5,000 a month, the Greenberg Traurig firm $6,000 a month and New York City attorney Stanley K. Schlein another $6,000 a month.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Conservative Woman

By Andrew Tettenborn

May 7, 2018

Politician in need of a headline or two? Easy: demand an inquiry into something. The wider-ranging and less focused the terms of reference, the better the publicity. Unfortunately the more vaguely the remit of any inquiry is drawn, and the more politically charged its subject, the less likely it is to do much good. If you want proof, the saga of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, whose interim report appeared a couple of weeks ago, provides it in spades.

It was set up by then Home Secretary Theresa May in 2014 amid swirling and often self-serving claims of pederasty against what seemed almost anybody connected with the establishment. Things have not gone well. It is now on its fourth chair, ex-chief social work inspector Alexis Jay, assisted by human rights law professor Sir Malcolm Evans, radical barrister Ivor Frank, and former CPS luminary and HM Inspector of Constabulary Drusilla Sharpling. The first two chairs, a judge and a corporate lawyer, were eased out as being too patrician: the third, a New Zealand judge, resigned in murky circumstances after alleged incautious remarks about race and what seems to have been open warfare between her and the other members.

The inquiry’s terms of reference are a curious combination of matters clearly drawn up to placate particular pressure groups. On one side there is a vague injunction to find out all about child sexual abuse in the past, who was to blame, and what to do about it. To this are subjoined instructions to consider the experience of survivors, providing opportunities for them to ‘bear witness’.

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CANADA
The Sudbury Star

By Jim Moodie, The Sudbury Star

Monday, May 7, 2018

A settlement reached last week closes a chapter in the long saga of a Sudbury sex predator and numerous male victims.

But whether it is the final chapter remains to be seen.

On Monday Denis Beland, 61, accepted just shy of $1 million in a pre-trial agreement concerning the abuse he suffered as a youth at the hands of Father William Marshall, who taught at St. Charles College high school in Sudbury between 1961 and 1979.

Beland is one of at least seven known Sudbury victims of the priest and the last of the St. Charles students seeking compensation through civil suits.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Shropshire Star

By Mat Growcott

May 7, 2019

Investigators into child sexual exploitation in Telford must not focus too much on the past, or risk missing how the crime is carried out today, it has been claimed.

Craig Badley, one of the people behind the Telford Time 4 Change survivor support group, said today’s groomers were using the internet to find their victims.

Telford Time 4 Change was started when its founders decided there was too much focus on politics in the discussion of CSE, and not enough on supporting the victims.

“Survivors said they didn’t feel they were being listened to before,” Craig, 45, said.

“We’ve helped about 10 people so far. We’ve had meetings with the police and other similar groups, and we can put their voice across to those organisations.”

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NEW YORK
Post-Journal

MAY 7, 2018

JOHN WHITTAKER

State Assemblyman Andrew Goodell, R-Jamestown, has three reasons for voting against the Child Victims Act legislation approved recently in the state Assembly.

As unfair as sexual abuse is to victims, lengthy statutes of limitations could be just as unfair to everyone else.

The Assembly legislation would extend for five years the statute of limitations on felony sex crime allegations against a minor until the abuse victim turns 28; would extend until the age of 50 the opportunity for child sex abuse victims to pursue civil litigation and create a one-year period where there would be no statute of limitations on claims to come forward. Assemblyman Joe Giglio, R-Gowanda, was one of the 139 Assembly members to vote for the legislation.

After the Assembly’s passage, state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman used the Assembly’s 130-10 margin of passage on May 1 to pressure the state Senate into passing the legislation. The Senate has no votes scheduled on Child Victims Act legislation for the rest of the 2017-18 session; a fact that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has cited several times in speeches in recent weeks as reason for voters to elect Democrats to the state Senate and to try to convince state Sen. Simcha Felder, D-Brooklyn, to begin caucusing with Democrats in the Senate rather than with Republicans.

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AUSTRALIA
BBC News

May 7, 2018

Former Australian detective Denis Ryan was driven out of the police force in 1972 when he tried to bring a paedophile priest to justice.

Now almost 50 years after he was ordered by superiors to drop the case – and deprived of a police pension – Mr Ryan will receive compensation.

The 86-year-old man was recently awarded an undisclosed sum by the state government of Victoria.

“When I heard the news, I nearly jumped out of my socks,” he said.

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FLORIDA
WFLA

By: Corey Davis

May 06, 2018

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. – A church deacon in Hillsborough County is behind bars after deputies say he admitted to sexually assaulting young children.

David Kenneth Buser, 72, of Plant City is believed to have sexually abused at least two victims, according to Hillsborough County arrest records.

The abuse of one of the victims had been going on for a decade, deputies claim. Records show that the most recent sexual assault happened two months ago.

Jessey Bradshaw, pastor of New Hope Freewill Baptist Church in Dover says Buser worked for the church for several years and occasionally taught Sunday school.

According to the report, the abuse did not happen at the church.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC – PM

May 7, 2018

By Felicity Ogilvie on PM

The Anglican church in Tasmania is planning to sell 76 of its 133 churches in order to fund the national child sex abuse redress scheme.

Locals are upset to lose the churches, some which are more than 130 years old.

But those who survived abuse say while they feel for locals, it sends an important message of acknowledgement.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Haidee V Eugenio, heugenio@guampdn.com

May 7, 2018

Former Archdiocese of Agana Chancellor Adrian Cristobal has been accused of sexually abusing and raping a Catholic school student for about 18 years, from 1995 through 2013 at two parishes, the school, the priest’s residence, his vehicle, and in his private beach in Ipan, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court on Monday.

This is the second time Cristobal has been accused in a clergy sex abuse lawsuit. The first lawsuit naming him was filed in April.

Cristobal is currently a priest on a mission to the Diocese of Phoenix in Arizona.

The church has said Cristobal was being called back to Guam as a result of the April lawsuit. As of press time, the church was unable to provide an update on whether Cristobal has returned to the island.

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CANADA
CBC News

Jason Warick · CBC News ·

May 06, 2018

Jenny Spyglass wishes she could forget the day she walked in on a priest raping her sister, Agnes.

“I’m a little better now, but I hate thinking about it,” Spyglass, 76, said in an interview with CBC News.

It’s not the only traumatic memory of her time at Delmas Indian Residential School — little brother Reggie dying of tuberculosis, older brother Martin left outside to suffer massive frostbite to his hands, Spyglass herself being locked for long periods in a dark, concrete basement, and the near-starvation rations of oatmeal, beans and biscuits.

“I still hate porridge,” she said.

Like more than 30,000 residential school survivors, Spyglass and her surviving siblings applied for compensation under a national program.

They were awarded between $10,000 and $20,000 each.

“We got abused, then robbed. I guess there’s nothing we can do about it now,” said Spyglass, who now lives in North Battleford, Sask., and took up powwow dancing late in life as one way to heal.

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MINNESOTA
USA Today

Haidee V. Eugenio and Dana Williams, Pacific Daily News and Nora Hertel, St. Cloud (Minn.) Times

May 6, 2018

PINE CITY, Minn. — Statues of the Virgin Mary and portraits of Jesus loom over Louis Brouillard in his small apartment. He lives alone, two blocks from Pine City Elementary School and across the street from St. Mary’s Catholic preschool – close enough to hear children’s laughter when they play at recess.

The retired priest no longer wears a collar, but the people in this small town an hour north of Minnesota’s Twin Cities still call him “Father.” He is 96 years old.

Brouillard’s peaceful life stands in stark contrast to the torment of 122 men and two women – all middle-aged or retired now – who accuse him of sexually molesting them as children on the island of Guam. They have broken long-held silences and filed lawsuits. Some have protested and begged for justice. Somehave left the church.

A long time ago, some of them complained. Brouillard confessed, and was told to pray and try harder. Eventually, the island’s Catholic church simply sent Brouillard away.

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INDIA
Opindia

May 6, 2018

The 2015 movie ‘Spotlight’ had a profound, lasting impact worldwide, not only because it was a finely made motion picture that spoke about the long-standing issue of child sexual abuse by the church, but also for the manner in which it highlighted the fact that the church and the whole organisational system of Christian authorities go to elaborate lengths to deny, hide, hush up the crimes and take great measures to shelter and rehabilitate the guilty priests. In one powerful scene, Mitchell Garabedian tells the journalist Michael Rezendes, “If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to abuse one.” He was, of course, referring to the deeply rooted system of the clergy, lawyers and private patrons including government officials who go to great lengths to cover up the crimes and help the guilty go unpunished.

India, sadly, has not been immune to the plague either. Christian priests and churches, like most cases worldwide, have been targeting the poor, destitute for their crimes and the cases go unnoticed. At most, a case grabs a little spot in newspapers for a day or two and then is lost in obscurity. It is mostly due to the speed and reachability of digital and social media that nowadays, more and more cases are coming to highlight. Even if there are many, many cases, none of them get the media attention or outrage. The sordid tale was also documented by one Varun Reddy on Twitter.

Recently in Vallampadu, Andhra Pradesh, a 45-year-old pastor was booked for brutally raping an 11-year old girl. In July 2017, Father Saji Joesph, a priest who was the director of a children’s home in Kerala’s Wayanad district, was arrested after allegations of sexually abusing minor boys. In 2013, an illegal shelter home housing dozens of children from extremely poor families in North Eastern India was reported in Jaipur. One girl had accused priest Jacob John of rape and as many as 13 girls were suspected to have been sexually abused by the priest.

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NEW YORK
Post-Star

May 6, 2018

Sometimes it takes a painfully long time to do the right thing.

That gives us hope that the time has come to pass the Child Victims Act.

The New York State Assembly voted 124-9 this week to pass a statute that gives victims of child molestation a longer window to seek justice. The proposal was first considered 10 years ago in New York.

Both local Assembly members — Dan Stec and Carrie Woerner — voted in favor of the measure.

A Siena College poll earlier this year found 79 percent of those polled support the measure.

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NEW YORK
Buffalo News

By Jay Tokasz

May 6, 2018

Diocese of Buffalo officials assigned the Rev. Fabian J. Maryanski to work in parishes for more than a decade after he was accused of having sexual contact with a teenage girl in a church rectory.

The priest started his sexual advances on the girl when she was a 15-year-old parishioner at St. Patrick Church in Barker, according to a 1995 letter sent by her lawyer to diocese officials.

The letter from Rochester attorney Charles A. West Jr. to then-Bishop Edward D. Head alleged that Maryanski’s sexual advances escalated from hugging and kissing to sex. The abuse is alleged to have started in the mid-1980s, when Maryanski was pastor of St. Patrick Church.

Maryanski, 77, was not among the 42 diocesan priests identified by Bishop Richard J. Malone in March as having a credible allegation of child sexual abuse lodged against them.

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CANADA
Anishinabeck News

May 5, 2018

By Kathleen Imbert

Bishops of Canada advised Pope Francis to not apologize to First Nations. Their letter addressed to “Indigenous Brothers and Sisters” said, “The Catholic Bishops of Canada have been in dialogue with the Pope and the Holy See concerning the legacy of suffering you have experienced. The Holy Father is aware of the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which he takes seriously. As far as Call to Action #58 is concerned, after carefully considering the request and extensive dialogue with the Bishops of Canada, he felt that he could not personally respond”. (Letter from Bishop Legendre, March 28, 2018.)

Popes, on the one hand, and in the past, have apologized for the ‘evils’ of the priests that make up the Catholic Church, the latest being in 2014 by Pope Francis.

“Before God and his people I express my sorrow for the sins and grave crimes of clerical sexual abuse committed against you,” the Pope said. “And I humbly ask forgiveness. I beg your forgiveness, too for the sins of omissions on the part of Church leaders who did not respond adequately to reports of abuse made by family members, as well as by abuse victims themselves.”

In 2013, Francis formed a Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, made up of clergy and laity, which included two sexual abuse survivors of the clergy. One of them, Peter Saunders from England, was asked to take leave after criticizing the Pope on how he publicly gave support to the highly placed clergy. Marie Collins, an Irish survivor, resigned and in a letter to Cardinal Muller, who presides the Doctrine of Faith (a key Vatican department and keeper of good Catholic practices), gives an account of her experience in the commission and her insights on its inertia on the case of sexual abuse. “It appears that for you, the concern that the local bishop might feel disrespected far outweighs any concern about disrespecting the survivor.”

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UNITED KINGDOM
Independent

May 5, 2018,

Lizzy Buchan Political Correspondent

A former Conservative MP who was falsely accused of child sex abuse is suing Scotland Yard and his accuser for more than £1 million.

Harvey Proctor, 71, has lodged a High Court claim against the Metropolitan Police and the man, identified only as “Nick”, who sparked the Westminster sex abuse scandal by claiming he had been raped and abused by a VIP paedophile ring.

Operation Midland was launched in 2014 into historic allegations of child murder, rape and torture by senior figures in politics, the army and the security forces in the 1970s and 80s – based largely on Nick’s allegations.

However £2.5m investigation collapsed without any arrests and Nick has since appeared in court charged with possession of indecent images of children.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Associated Press

By MARK SCOLFORO

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Two Franciscan friars who supervised another friar who fatally stabbed himself in the heart while facing child molestation claims pleaded no contest to child endangerment charges Friday and were sentenced to five years of probation.

Prosecutors say Robert J. D’Aversa, 71, of Hollidaysburg, failed to tell officials at Bishop McCort Catholic High School in Johnstown that he reassigned the friar, Brother Stephen Baker, in 2000 because of new credible allegations about Baker’s past.

They also say Anthony J. Criscitelli, 64, of Hollidaysburg, knew a safety plan was in place for Baker, but still allowed him to potentially be around children.

Messages left for their lawyers were not immediately returned.

“These defendants knew the abuser was a serious threat to children — but they allowed him to engage with children and have access to them as part of his job within their order,” said Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat. “They chose time and time again to prioritize their institution’s reputation over the safety of victims.”

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AUSTRALIA
Canberra Times

By Jon White

6 May 2018

The recent article (‘Ineffective’ system sees sexually abused children re-traumatised) has shone a light on a persistent issue in the criminal justice system: how children give evidence.

It is now well accepted in our legal system that the evidence of children is not inherently less reliable than the evidence of adults. Indeed a case I recently took to the High Court, The Queen v GW, was an important development in that area.

The High Court held that unsworn evidence (which generally means evidence given by children) is not any less reliable than sworn evidence.

There have been some significant advances for children giving evidence in the ACT, which is in fact ahead of most Australian jurisdictions. Child witnesses in serious offences (including of course child complainants in sexual offence cases) are interviewed by trained police officers and this interview becomes their “evidence in chief” in court proceedings.

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VATICAN CITY
Associated Press

May 5, 2018

By NICOLE WINFIELD

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis on Saturday urged one of the Catholic Church’s biggest but most contentious missionary movements to respect different cultures and not try to conquer souls as it spreads the faith around the world.

Francis headlined a big rally marking the 50th anniversary of the Neocatechumenal Way’s arrival in Rome. The community founded in Spain in the 1960s seeks to train Catholic adults in their faith and each year sends out families on mission around the globe.

The Vatican under the past two popes in many ways kept the Way at arm’s length because of its unusual liturgical practices, which include celebrating Mass on Saturday nights, and its occasionally divisive presence in dioceses. The Way’s statutes were only approved in 2008. …

Most recently, the Way has been in the spotlight in the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam after its main supporter on the island, Guam Archbishop Anthony Apuron, was removed to stand trial at the Vatican on sex abuse charges.

Apuron’s replacement, heeding criticism by ordinary faithful on Guam, placed restrictions on the Way, mandating a yearlong “pause” in the creation of new prayer communities, ordering that its members obey Vatican rules in celebrating Mass and launching a review into the quality of their training as Catholic teachers.

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OHIO
Cincinnati Enquirer

Kevin Grasha, kgrasha@enquirer.com

May 4, 2018

A Covington man used another person’s identity to try to collect $1 million from a settlement fund for victims of sexual abuse by the Catholic Church, court documents say.

According to a federal indictment unsealed this week, the 32-year-old Covington man had already been awarded $750,000 for a claim he filed in 2006. The charges he faces do not involve that claim.

Prosecutors say he obtained the birth certificate of another person, created an email address in that person’s name, and in 2014 submitted a fraudulent claim for compensation as part of the settlement involving the Diocese of Covington.

Prosecutors say he used the person’s name, date of birth and social security number in the compensation request, which was for approximately $1 million.

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PENNSYLVANIA
PA Homepage

Jayne Ann Bugda

May 04, 2018

HARRISBURG, DAUPHIN COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU-TV) PA Attorney General Josh Shapiro has accepted pleas from two Franciscan friars for their criminal conduct in allowing a member of their religious order to sexually abuse more than 100 children over a period of many years at a Johnstown high school.

According to the Attorney General’s Office, the two Franciscan supervisors are among the first clergy members in the United States to be held criminally liable for covering up sexual abuse of children by other clergy.

These are the first members of a religious order in Pennsylvania to be sentenced for protecting clergy who abused children.

“These defendants knew the abuser was a serious threat to children – but they allowed him to engage with children and have access to them as part of his job within their order,” said Attorney General Shapiro in a internet videotape statement. “They chose time and time again to prioritize their institution’s reputation over the safety of victims. I won’t stand for that in any institution – and any person who fails to protect and safeguard children in their care will answer to me.”

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CALIFORNIA
Modesto Bee

BY GARTH STAPLEY
gstapley@modbee.com

May 04, 2018

The same firm is conducting separate clergy sex scandal investigations of two former youth pastors at Modesto’s First Baptist Church, both of whom went on to long ministry careers elsewhere after church leaders here covered up their alleged abuse.

Virginia-based GRACE, or Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment, has been hired by Scottsdale Bible Church to sort things out in the wake of Les Hughey’s recent resignation from Highlands, a church Hughey founded 20 years ago, also in Scottsdale. Hughey, 64, stepped down after The Modesto Bee revealed accusations of him having sex with girls in the Modesto congregation four decades ago.

GRACE also is investigating Brad Tebbutt, who was a youth pastor at First Baptist in Modesto when he sexually abused another girl 30 years ago. Another Modesto pastor said Tebbutt confessed to him, and Tebbutt’s current employer, the International House of Prayer of Kansas City, hired GRACE, run by a grandson of the late Billy Graham.

Highlands launched an investigation with another firm, MinistrySafe; another of Hughey’s former employers, Fellowship Bible Church in Arkansas, said they will sponsor a probe by an independent company as well.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Tribune-Democrat

May 5, 2018

By Dave Sutor
dsutor@tribdem.com

Two Franciscan friars accepted guilty pleas on charges of endangering the welfare of children, a first-degree misdemeanor, in a case stemming from sexual abuse committed by Brother Stephen Baker, who was under their supervision at the Third Order Regular, Province of the Immaculate Conception.

The Revs. Robert D’Aversa, 70, and Anthony Criscitelli, 63, gave Baker assignments that provided him access to children even after evidence was known he presented a danger as a sexual predator. The cases against D’Aversa and Criscitelli came about as part of an investigation by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General into what was described as a decades-long coverup by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona–Johnstown to protect religious leaders accused of sexually abusing children.

Settlements have been reached with more than 90 of Baker’s victims from his time at Bishop McCort High School in Johnstown where he officially served from 1992-2000 and had unofficial access afterward.

“These defendants knew the abuser was a serious threat to children – but they allowed him to engage with children and have access to them as part of his job within their order,” Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a press release. “They chose time and time again to prioritize their institution’s reputation over the safety of victims. I won’t stand for that in any institution – and any person who fails to protect and safeguard children in their care will answer to me.”

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PENNSYLVANIA
Altoona Mirror

MAY 5, 2018

KAY STEPHENS
Staff Writer
kstephens@altoonamirror.com

HOLLIDAYSBURG — Two Franciscan friars accused of failing to protect children from sexual abuse by a suspected child predator rendered no contest pleas Friday in Blair County Court of Common Pleas to endangering the welfare of a child.

Robert D’Aversa, 70, and Anthony Criscitelli, 63, were supposed to go on trial starting May 29 on felony charges of criminal conspiracy and child endangerment based on a 2016 grand jury investigation, which accused them of failing to properly supervise fellow friar Stephen Baker.

D’Aversa and Criscitelli presented their pleas to Senior Judge Jolene G. Kopriva, who sentenced each to five years’ probation and imposed a $1,000 fine each.

They are the first members of their religious order to be convicted and sentenced for endangering the welfare of a child, Senior Deputy Attorney General Daniel Dye said after court on Friday.

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AUSTRALIA
The National

Lucie Morris-Marr

May 5, 2018

From the United States to Hall’s Gap, a tiny hamlet in Victoria, Australia, discreet adverts have been placed in newsletters, parish notices and Catholic publications across the globe.

They start with identical wording: “A number of people are wanting to know where they can contribute to assist Cardinal George Pell with his defence costs.”

The numerous adverts, uncovered by The National, also include bank account details of a special trust fund overseen by a law firm and an email contact address.

The costs in question are in regards to a legal bill likely to run into millions of Australian dollars, as the treasurer for the Vatican faces historic sexual abuse charges in his native country.

The National can confirm officially for the first time that the Vatican is not contributing to his legal bill, leaving one of the most senior figures in the Holy See to seek these funds from his supporters.

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PENNSYLVANIA
The Morning Call

May 4, 2018

Two Franciscan friars pleaded no contest Friday in Blair County to allowing a member of their order to sexually abuse more than 100 children at a Johnstown Catholic high school in the 1990s, according to Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s office.

Robert D’Aversa, 70, and Anthony Criscitelli, 63, are the first in their religious order in Pennsylvania to be sentenced for protecting a predator, Shapiro said in a news release. They were charged in 2016 with endangering the welfare of children for failing to properly supervise Brother Stephen Baker, a Franciscan friar and child predator who was an athletic trainer at Bishop McCort Catholic High School. Baker committed suicide after allegations surfaced in 2013.

“These defendants knew the abuser was a serious threat to children but they allowed him to engage with children and have access to them as part of his job within their order,” Shapiro said. “They chose time and time again to prioritize their institution’s reputation over the safety of victims. I won’t stand for that in any institution — and any person who fails to protect and safeguard children in their care will answer to me.”

D’Aversa and Criscitelli are the last two defendants in a case that began with a grand jury investigation into the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese and originally charged three clergymen with child endangerment and conspiracy. The third, Anthony Schinelli, was dismissed from the case last year on statute of limitations grounds.

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PENNSYLVANIA
LehighValleyLive

May 4, 2018

By Tony Rhodin | For lehighvalleylive.com

Most of the thousands of Megan’s Law offenders in Pennsylvania keep their information and photographs up to date, as is required by authorities.

But more than 30 “noncompliant” offenders are currently under investigation in the state, according to Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Adam Reed. They need to check in with police, but have yet to be charged with a crime for not doing so, Reed added.

And there are 22 other offenders, including one from the Lehigh Valley, who now have felony warrants out for their arrest and they are considered “absconded” — one step further than noncompliant, Reed said. Wherever they go in the country, if they are stopped by police, a routine check of National Crime Information Center information will flag them as fugitives, Reed said.

“All those guys have active arrest warrants,” Reed said.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Attorney General Josh Shapiro

May 4, 2018

Two clergymen among first religious leaders in the U.S. to be held criminally liable for covering up sexual abuse of children

HARRISBURG – Attorney General Josh Shapiro today announced his office has accepted pleas from two Franciscan friars for their criminal conduct in allowing a member of their religious order to sexually abuse more than 100 children over a period of many years at a Johnstown high school.

The two Franciscan supervisors are among the first clergy members in the United States to be held criminally liable for covering up sexual abuse of children by other clergy. These are the first members of a religious order in Pennsylvania to be sentenced for protecting clergy who abused children.

“These defendants knew the abuser was a serious threat to children – but they allowed him to engage with children and have access to them as part of his job within their order,” Attorney General Shapiro said. “They chose time and time again to prioritize their institution’s reputation over the safety of victims. I won’t stand for that in any institution – and any person who fails to protect and safeguard children in their care will answer to me.”

The two defendants, Robert D’Aversa, 70, and Anthony Criscitelli, 63, entered no contest pleas to endangering the welfare of children, a first-degree misdemeanor. They are the last two defendants in a case that began with a grand jury investigation and originally charged three clergymen with child endangerment and conspiracy. The third defendant, Anthony Schinelli, was dismissed from the case last year by a judge on statute of limitations grounds.

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PENNSYLVANIA
PennLive

May 4, 2018

By Matt Miller mmiller@pennlive.com

Two former Franciscan friars from Altoona each have been sentenced to 5 years of probation after pleading no contest to charges that they shielded a member of their order who sexually abused more than 100 children.

State Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Friday that Robert D’Aversa, 70, and Anthony Criscitelli, 63, entered their pleas to charges of endangering the welfare of children before being sentenced by Blair County Judge Judge Jolene G. Kopriva. The two also were fined $1,000 each.

The AG’s office arrested D’Aversa and Criscitelli two years ago. Charges against a third defendant, former Friar Giles Schinelli, were dismissed on statute of limitations grounds.

All three men were charged with failing to properly supervise Brother Stephen Baker, who was accused of molesting children while working at a Johnstown Catholic high school in the 1990s. Baker later committed suicide.

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PENNSYLVANIA
TribLive

STEPHEN HUBA

May 4, 2018

Two Altoona Franciscan friars will serve five years’ probation for their part in covering up the child sexual abuse committed by Brother Stephen Baker in the 1990s, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said.

The friars, Robert D’Aversa, 70, and Anthony Criscitelli, 63, entered no-contest pleas Friday to endangering the welfare of children, a first-degree misdemeanor, Shapiro said.

They are among the first religious leaders in the United States, and the first members of a Pennsylvania religious order, to be held criminally liable for covering up sexual abuse of children by other clergy.

“These defendants knew the abuser was a serious threat to children, but they allowed him to engage with children and have access to them as part of his job within their order,” Shapiro said. “They chose time and time again to prioritize their institution’s reputation over the safety of victims.”

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PENNSYLVANIA
ABC 27

By: Myles Snyder

May 04, 2018

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – Two Franciscan friars have pleaded no contest to accusations they improperly supervised a suspected sexual predator accused of molesting more than 100 children, most at a Johnstown high school.

Robert D’Aversa, 70, and Anthony Criscitelli, 63, entered the pleas to endangering the welfare of children, a first-degree misdemeanor. Both were sentenced to five years of probation and fined $1,000 and costs of prosecution.

State prosecutors said the men conspired to cover up allegations against Franciscan friar Stephen Baker before and during Baker’s tenure at Johnstown’s Bishop McCort Catholic High School in the 1990s. Baker later took his own life.

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INDIA
Crux

Nirmala Carvalho
CRUX CONTRIBUTOR

May 4, 2018

MUMBAI, India – A bishop in India has asked his diocese to fast and pray for a priest jailed after being accused of sending indecent messages to a school student.

Father Georgish Britto, of St. Anselm School in Alwar, was arrested on April 20 for allegedly sending obscene messages over WhatsApp to a 15-year-old female student who attends the school.

Afterwards, the student also accused the priest of touching her “inappropriately” in the school.

He was charged under India’s 2012 Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) Act.

Bishop Oswald Joseph Lewis of Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, told Crux he visited Britto in jail, and the priest denied the allegations, and told the bishop he was “trapped.”

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NORTH CAROLINA
The Mountaineer

Kyle Perrotti

A former Episcopal priest facing sexual abuse allegations has returned to Haywood County, where he now faces accusations from two more individuals.

White appeared in court Friday May 4, for his first hearing, where he met his attorney, Sean Devereux from Asheville and attempted to get his bond lowered. However, after hearing from both Devereux and Assistant District Attorney Jeff Jones, Superior Court Judge Bradley Letts ended up raising the bond from the $660,000 set by the magistrate the prior evening, to $1.6 million.

White, who acted as rector for Grace Church in the Mountains from 1984-2006 came to Haywood facing one count of first-degree forcible rape, one count of second-degree forcible rape, one count of first-degree forcible sex offense, four counts of second degree forcible sex offense, and two counts of indecent liberties with a child – charges which stem from allegations of the 1985 sexual abuse of two minor victims, one boy and one girl.

The charges came against White after he was indicted by a Haywood County Grand Jury in early April. Authorities thought it could be difficult to get White down to North Carolina as early as they did because he was serving an 18-month sentence in South Bay Correctional Facility in Boston after pleading guilty to five counts of assault and battery relating to the 1973 sexual abuse of a boy. However, after serving about a year, as soon as White was released, State Bureau of Investigation agents were there to apprehend White.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service – Bolletino

The following is the Letter the Holy Father Francis has sent to H.E. Msgr. Giovanni Angelo Becciu, special delegate to the Sovereign Military Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta (S.M.O.M.)

Letter of the Holy Father

To the Venerable Brother
Msgr. Giovanni Angelo Becciu
Titular Archbishop of Roselle
Special Delegate to the Special Delegate at the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta

Fifteen months have now passed since 2 February 2017, when I decided to entrust to Your Excellency the office of my Special Delegate to the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, with the task of accompanying that meritorious Order in the process of updating its Constitutional Charter and the Melitensis Code.

I wish first to thank you for your efforts in this delicate task, which you have performed willingly, especially in encountering and carefully listening to the Members of the Order. Considering the fact that the path of spiritual and juridical renewal of the S.M.O.M. has not yet been concluded, I ask you to continue to hold the office of my Delegate up to the conclusion of the reform process and in any case until I consider it useful for the Order itself. Until then you will continue to benefit from all powers and of being my exclusive spokesperson for all that relates to the relations between this Apostolic See and the Order.

I hereby designate Your Excellency to receive the oath of the New Grand Master of the Order, His Most Eminent Highness Fra’ Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto, to take place on 3 May.

In renewing the assurance of my prayer, I heartily impart my Apostolic Blessing to you, to the Grand Master and to all the members of the Melitense Order.

From the Vatican, 2 May 2018

Francis

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VATICAN CITY
Associated Press

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has extended the mandate of his envoy to the Knights of Malta lay religious order to oversee reforms, further sidelining Francis’ conservative critic, Cardinal Raymond Burke.

The Vatican on Friday released Francis’ letter to Monsignor Angelo Becciu asking him to remain his delegate and “exclusive” spokesman for Knights issues. Francis penned it May 2 after the lay religious order elected Fra’ Giacomo Dalla Torre as its 80th grand master, a life term.

Francis had named Becciu to oversee the Knights after a governance crisis sparked by a condom distribution scandal erupted in late 2016. The previous grand master, Fra Matthew Festing, was forced to resign.

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NEW YORK
Forward

Ari Feldman

May 2, 2018

The principal of an elite ultra-Orthodox girls’ school is defending himself against accusations from a politician and community members that he’s ignored years of complaints about sexual misconduct.

The controversy’s catalyst was the release late last week, through a popular messaging app, of a recording that relates one student’s tale of an unwanted kiss from a kitchen employee at Bais Sura in Boro Park, Brooklyn.

On May 3, the principal, Nuchem Klein, sent a letter to parents stating that the worker has been fired even though a school investigation found that the allegations were “unjustified.”

Yet a local politician, Dov Hikind, said Klein’s response was “pathetic,” and that parents have long complained to Klein about sexual misconduct to no avail. Now the school and its surrounding community are in an uproar over the mounting accusations of sexual misconduct. The controversy is particularly noisy because it involves female purity — a cherished value in the Hasidic world.

“Clearly the administration knew that something was wrong, and they got caught,” said Asher Lovy, the director of community organizing at Za’akah, a group that promotes awareness of sexual abuse in the Hasidic community. “But what’s stopping them from keeping more employees who need to go?”

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UNITED STATES
Sojourners

COMMENTARY

By Angela Denker

5-04-2018

One unintended consequence of recent male sexual misconduct in America, particularly among well-known pastors and Christian leaders, has been a resurgence of what is known as the “Billy Graham Rule” — a code, championed by Billy Graham and followed by some evangelical men, that says married men should not be alone with women other than their wives, under any circumstance.

It’s bogus. Particularly when it’s purported to be a part of “faithful Christian” culture.

Highlands Church pastor Les Hughey is only the most recent pastor to be publicly accused of sexual misconduct. This news broke just one week after prominent evangelical pastor Bill Hybels — of Willow Creek, whose wife Lynne has been a public supporter of the #MeToo movement — stepped down amid growing accusations of sexual misconduct and harassment.

It’s a troubling trend among male pastors and church leaders, as well as among Christians in general.

In response, some pastors and faith leaders, like Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary president Danny Akin, are encouraging men yet again to embrace the Billy Graham Rule.

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NETHERLANDS
NL Times

By Janene Pieters on May 2, 2018

The number of reports of sexual abuse within the Jehovah’s Witnesses now stands at 267, Reclaimed Voices, a foundation that manages the hotline for this type of abuse, said to newspaper Trouw.

Reclaimed Voices was established last year after Trouw published the stories of a number of Jehovah’s Witnesses who were abused during their youth. One victim called the religious group a “paradise for pedophiles”, because the Jehovah’s Witnesses elders tend to keep sexual abuse quiet. In the first week of its existence, the hotline received nearly 50 sexual abuse reports.

According to the newspaper, the victims of sexual abuse asked the Jehovah’s Witnesses elders for a meeting to discuss this abuse six months ago, but still haven’t heard anything. This has a big affect on the victims, Frank Huiting of Reclaimed Voices said to Trouw. “They are angry, they haven’t known where they stand for some time and feel disappointed about the entire process. They still aren’t being heard, is what it comes down to.”

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MONTANA
National Catholic Reporter

May 4, 2018

by Dan Morris-Young

Terms of a negotiated $20-million payment to settle 86 sex abuse claims against the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings, Montana, are scheduled to be presented in U.S. Bankruptcy Court May 8.

If approved by Judge Jim D. Pappas, the scheduled video hearing will mark the end of nearly seven years of litigation and mediation for the diocese.

Payouts to victims could begin as soon as late August, according to Ford Elsaesser, an attorney handling negotiations for the diocese with creditors.

The diocese filed for bankruptcy protection March 31 last year following unsuccessful efforts to address sex abuse filings from 72 plaintiffs dating to 2011.

Fourteen more claimants came forward after the bankruptcy filing. Nearly all the abuse allegations date from the 1950s through the 1990s.

While the earliest sex abuse lawsuits date to 2011, two comprehensive lawsuits each with multiple plaintiffs were filed against the diocese in 2014.

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GEORGIA
Telegraph

May 4, 2018

BY BECKY PURSER

A Centerville pastor faces new child molestation charges days before finishing a 35-day jail sentence for a misdemeanor sexual battery conviction against a 9-year-old girl.

Wiley Green Leverett, 58, preacher at Solid Rock Community Church, is charged with two counts of child molestation and one count each of sexual battery and enticing a child for indecent purposes. All the charges are felonies.

Leverett is accused of enticing a young girl into the church sanctuary to pray and then fondling her, according to arrest warrants. He’s also accused of inappropriately touching the girl’s private parts while he sat on a toilet in a church restroom.

“This is not a child that was involved in the previous case,” Houston County Assistant District Attorney Eric Edwards said.

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GEORGIA
Associated Press

May 4, 2018

CENTERVILLE, Ga. (AP) — A pastor days shy of ending his 35-day jail sentence for sexual battery against a 9-year-old has been charged in a separate child molestation crime.

The Macon Telegraph reports 58-year-old Wiley Green Leverett is accused of enticing a child into a church and then fondling her. Citing an arrest warrant, The Telegraph says he’s also accused of touching the girl inappropriately.

Leverett is a preacher at the Solid Rock Community Church in Centerville and was convicted of sexual battery in March for touching a 9-year-old’s thigh in 2012. Houston County Assistant District Attorney Eric Edwards says the girl in the new charges was around 6 years old at the time of the abuse in 2011. Leverett’s attorney, Russell Walker, says the allegations seem “fishy” but declined to elaborate.

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CALIFORNIA
Modesto Bee

BY ROSS LEE

May 04, 2018

In the early 1970s, I was a pre-teen attending First Baptist Church. In 2002, I was received into the Catholic Church. Sadly, both have experienced the shame of being places of sexual abuse.

The Catholic Church was exposed first, both nationally and locally, as we learned of priests abusing boys and girls. It happened in Modesto and Riverbank and throughout the Stockton diocese and the world.

Recently, our local First Baptist Church (now CrossPoint Community Church) is rocked by the revelations of sexual abuse by ministers decades ago.

Why would anyone want to be a Christian and associated with this hypocrisy?

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AUSTRALIA
Catholic Religious Australia

May 3, 2018

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and Catholic Religious Australia have established a new advisory group that will play a crucial role in influencing and monitoring the Catholic Church’s ongoingresponse to the child sexual abuse scandal.Archbishop Denis Hart, president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, explained that the newImplementation Advisory Group will monitor the response to the findings and recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Response to Child Sexual Abuse and the recommendations of the Truth, Justice and Healing Council, which led the Church’s engagement with the Royal Commission.

Sr Ruth Durick OSU, president of Catholic Religious Australia, said: “There is a huge body of work completed by survivors, the Royal Commissioners and the Truth, Justice and Healing Council.

“The task of the Implementation Advisory Group is to be propositional as to the necessary reforms that Catholic institutions and communities will have to implement to be places of safety and transparency and places where we authentically live out our commitment to the values and vision of the Gospels.”

Sr Ruth and Archbishop Hart said three key groups will take forward the work arising from the Royal Commission and the work led “prophetically and generously” by Francis Sullivan and the Truth Justice and Healing Council:

* Catholic Professional Standards Ltd (CPSL), which was established in 2016 as an independent not-for-profit company limited by guarantee, with a board of directors comprised of lay men and women. Its role includes establishing national safeguarding standards that provide a
framework for all Catholic entities to build child-safe cultures;

* A National Redress Reference Group, working with the Commonwealth Government to bring
about the establishment of the National Redress Scheme; and

* The Implementation Advisory Group.

“It is necessary that the groups work together to identify gaps in response and monitor progress to date in all areas of reform for the Church in Australia as it responds to the crisis, the recommendations of the Royal Commission and the work of the Truth Justice and Healing Council,” Archbishop Hart said.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican News

May 3, 2018

The advisory body, set up by the bishops and religious congregations will monitor responses to the clerical sex abuse scandal

Australia’s Catholic bishops and religious congregations have established a new advisory group to help with monitoring the Catholic Church’s ongoing response to the child sexual abuse scandal.

Archbishop Denis Hart of Melbourne, who heads the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, said the new Implementation Advisory Group will monitor the response to the findings of the Royal Commission, as well as the recommendations of the church’s own Truth, Justice and Healing Council.

In a statement published on Thursday, Archbishop Hart and Sr Ruth Durick, president of Catholic Religious Australia, said three key groups will now be working together to take forward the work arising from the Royal Commission and the work of the Truth, Justice and Healing Council.

These are an independent not-for-profit company called Catholic Professional Standards Ltd, a National Redress Reference Group and the Implementation Advisory Group.

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ISRAEL
Arutz Sheva

Tzvi Lev

04/05/18

With several abuse scandals plaguing the Jewish community over recent years, it is heartwarming to see how Tzfat Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu took a public stand this week against convicted sexual predator ‘Rabbi’ Eliezer Berland.

Berland, who was sentenced to 18-months in prison for sexual assault, is still considered a hero by some Breslov hassidim. A recent article in Haaretz even claimed that some followers literally consider him God-like and excuse his many sexual indiscretions.

On Wednesday evening, Lag Ba’Omer, upon hearing that Berland was scheduled to make a grand entrance at the festivities held at Rashbi’s Tomb in Meron while flanked by his followers, Rabbi Eliyahu tried everything possible to stop it from happening. Invoking an obscure bureaucratic rule that nominally put him in charge of the tomb due to his position of Tzfat Chief Rabbi, he banned Berland from the premises and said that his presence is an”abomination to the holy Rashbi.”

“Mount Meron is a holy place and thousands of people from across Israel who come do not want to seek impurity on this day,” Rabbi Eliyahu told Arutz Sheva. “Such a person who impersonates a hassidic rabbi is an abomination and he should be removed from Meron.”

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BUENOS AIRES (ARGENTINA)
Infobae

May 2, 2018

Three victims of the sexual abuse of Chilean priests met with Pope Francis: “He asked for forgiveness in his own name and that of the Church”

[Includes the entire text of the Cruz-Hamilton-Murillo statement.]

Juan Carlos Cruz, James Hamilton y José Andrés Murillo indicaron que es necesario que además de los gestos del pontífice se produzcan “acciones”, ya que de no ser así “todo esto será letra muerta”

Las tres víctimas de abusos sexuales del cura chileno Fernando Karadima pidieron hoy que el papa Francisco “transforme en acciones ejemplares y ejemplificadoras sus cariñosas palabras de perdón”.

Juan Carlos Cruz, James Hamilton y José Andrés Murillo dijeron que el Papa se mostró “muy receptivo, atento, empático” en sus reuniones a solas con cada uno de ellos en la residencia Casa Santa Marta.

* * *

El comunicado completo:

Después de haber pasado casi una semana en la Residencia Sabta Marta, compartiendo con el Papa Francisco, quisiéramos decir lo siguiente:

Durante casi 10 años hemos sido tratados como enemigos porque luchamos contra el abuso sexual y el encubrimiento en la Iglesia. Estos días conocimos un rostro amigable de la Iglesia, totalmente al que conocimos antes.

El Papa nos pidió formalmente perdón a nombre propio y a nombre de la Iglesia universal. Reconocemos y agradecemos este gesto y la enorme hospitalidad y generosidad de estos días. También agradecemos a monseñor Jordi Bertomeu quien, por encargo del Papa, nos ha acompañado y ha sabido transformar esta estadía en algo constructivo.

Pudimos conversar de manera respetuosa y franca con el Papa. Abordamos temas difíciles, como el abuso sexual, el abuso de poder y sobre todo el encubrimiento de los obispos chilenos. Realidades a las que no nos referimos como pecados, sino crímenes y corrupción y que no se agotan en Chile, sino que son una epidemia. Una epidemia que ha destruido miles de vidas de niños, niñas y jóvenes. Personas que confiaron y que fueron traicionados en su fe y en su confianza. Hablamos desde la experiencia. Una a la que otros no han logrado sobrevivir.

En nuestra vida nos hemos encontrado con sacerdote, religiosos y religiosas comprometidas con la dignidad de las víctimas y la justicia. Personas valientes que han logrado avances en esta lucha. Son muchos y son imprescindibles.

El Papa se mostró muy receptivo, atento y empático durante las intensas y largas horas de conversación. Esto fue muy significativo y de ahí nació la idea de generar sugerencias, que nos comprometimos a enviarle durante los próximos días y seguir trabajando en el tema.

No depende de nosotros que se llevan a cabo las necesarias transformaciones en la Iglesia para detener la epidemia del abuso sexual y el encubrimiento. Esperamos que el Papa transforme en acciones ejemplares y ejemplificadoras sus cariñosas palabras de perdón. De no ser así, todo esto será letra muerta.

Finalmente, quisiéramos repetir que decidimos aceptar esta invitación en nombre de miles de personas que han sido víctimas de abuso sexual y encubrimiento de la Iglesia Católica. Ellos les han dado el sentido a nuestra visita.

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CALIFORNIA
Variety

By Kristopher Tapley and Gene Maddaus

MAY 3, 2018

The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has voted to expel actor Bill Cosby and director Roman Polanski from its membership ranks.

The decision to remove Cosby and Polanski from the membership was made Tuesday, May 1 at a scheduled board meeting.

The move comes a week after Cosby was convicted of three counts of aggravated indecent assault brought against him by Andrea Constand. Cosby has been accused of sexual assault by as many as 60 women, a few of which testified at the emotional hearing.

Polanski has been on the lam for 40 years, ever since fleeing the country while awaiting sentencing for statutory rape in 1978. The case has undergone a number of bizarre twists over the decades, as the L.A. County District Attorney’s office has tried unsuccessfully to extradite him, and Polanski has tried unsuccessfully to resolve the case from afar.

Polanski’s attorney, Harland Braun, told Variety that the director was not afforded an opportunity to defend himself to the Academy, which he says is at odds with the process outlined Academy’s new code of conduct. However, there is a provision allowing the board to act whether that process is followed or not.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

Sarah MacDonald

May 4 2018

The Catholic Church has called gardaí to investigate images apparently showing a man in priest’s vestments performing a sex act on the altar of an Irish church.

It is understood that several senior clerics, including bishops, have been made aware of the shocking images over recent days.

The Catholic Church confirmed to the Irish Independent the matter had been reported to gardaí and a full investigation is expected to follow into the apparent sacrilege.

A spokesperson for the diocese declined to comment further for legal reasons in view of “the criminal nature of the alleged incident”.

A source who obtained the images, and who wants to remain anonymous, described what is depicted as happening in the church as “an abomination”.

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MICHIGAN
Reuters

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Michigan State University’s heightened financial risk in the wake of a sex abuse scandal involving former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar led Moody’s Investors Service to cut the school’s credit rating to Aa2 from Aa1 on Thursday.

The credit rating agency said the downgrade, which affects about $975 million of debt, was prompted by a growing number of lawsuits, federal and state probes, and Michigan legislation that could all hurt the university’s finances.

Plaintiffs and investigators question why the U.S. Olympic Committee, USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University, where Nassar also worked, failed to probe complaints about him going back years.

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SWEDEN
NPR

May 4, 2018

The Swedish Academy, responsible for handing out the annual Nobel Prize in literature, says it will not present the award this year as it struggles to contain the damage from a major sex-abuse scandal.

Anders Olsson, the acting permanent secretary of the Stockholm-based body, announced that the 2018 prize would instead be given in 2019, a decision that “was arrived at in view of the currently diminished Academy and the reduced public confidence in the Academy,” according to a statement.

“Work on the selection of a laureate is at an advanced stage and will continue as usual in the months ahead but the Academy needs time to regain its full complement, engage a larger number of active members and regain confidence in its work, before the next Literature Prize winner is declared,” the Academy said.

It would be the first time since 1943 – in the midst of World War II – that the prestigious prize has not been awarded.

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NEW YORK
Times Union

By David Lombardo

May 3, 2018

Gary Greenberg hasn’t given up hope on the Child Victims Act for 2018

In the wake of the Assembly’s action on the bill this week, he was optimistic about its chances in the Republican controlled Senate, which is seen as the last stumbling block to the Child Victims Act becoming law.

Greenberg, who formed a political action committee to advance the CVA, believes the bill could still reach the floor in the state Senate before the end of session in June. Pointing to meetings with Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan and central Republican staff, he said there is a recognition among Senate Republicans that they need to act on the bill sooner than later.

Greenberg argued that the 40,000 robocalls by his political action committee on behalf of the successful Senate special election campaign of Democrat Shelley Mayer didn’t go unnoticed. “The CVA is a hot potato for the Republican Senate,” he said.

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ISRAEL
Arutz Sheva

03/05/18

On Wednesday evening, Tzfat Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu announced that he was banning Rabbi Eliezer Berland from making his annual pilgrimage to the Lag Baomer festivities at Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai’s Tomb in Meron. As Rabbi Eliyahu is Tzfat’s Chief Rabbi, the going-ons at the nearby tomb in Meron fall under his purview.

According to Rabbi Eliyahu, the fact that Rabbi Berland had been convicted under a plea bargain agreement to two counts of sexual assault would have made his attendance at the Lag Baomer event into “an abomination.”

“Mount Meron is a holy place and thousands of people from across Israel who come do not want to seek impurity on this day,” Rabbi Eliyahu told Arutz Sheva. “Such a person who impersonates a hassidic rabbi is an abomination and he should be removed from Meron.”

Berland, 81, is the founder of the Shuvu Banim yeshiva in the Old City of Jerusalem and was a prominent figure in the Breslov community. After the allegations of sexual misconduct came to light in 2012, Rabbi Berland fled the country, traveling Europe and Africa while evading arrest and extradition.

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CHILE
Prensa Latina

Santiago, Chile, May 3 (Prensa Latina) Although Pope Francis has not announced possible sanctions on the bishops of the Chilean Catholic Church, all signs aim to an unprecedented lesson.

Perhaps the measures will not be as radical as some expect, but the intention of His Holiness clearly is to send a worldwide message to end the scandals of sexual abuses by ministers of the Church.

The three most known Chilean victims of sexual abuses by the priest Fernando Karadima have met separately with the Bishop of Rome over the past few days.

Juan Carlos Cruz, James Hamilton and Jose Andres Murillo noted after the meetings that ‘the Pope apologized to us on his behalf and that of the Church,’ and noted that ‘he will undoubtedly take measures’.

We do not know what kind of sanction or punishment the Holy Pontiff will adopt, but we harbor hopes that he will reflect with his conscience certainly knowing all the abuses committed, Cruz noted.

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NEW YORK
Hudson Valley 360

May 3, 2018

For Gary Greenberg and other backers of the Child Victims Act, passage in the state Assembly on Tuesday must have felt frustratingly like deja vu.

Here were the legislation’s supporters for the second straight year, watching the proposed bill survive the Assembly and then hoping the state Senate would finally get the message and seal the deal.

If the state Senate takes up the legislation before the end of session and it is signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the Child Victims Act would eliminate the statute of limitations in criminal and civil cases of sexual crimes against children, allowing the adult survivors to sue for compensation from their attackers and the institutions that covered up the abuses.

Greenberg, an attorney who lives in New Baltimore, is the survivor of brutal sexual assaults he suffered at the age of 7. He has led the fight for passage of the bill for several years. He is also a survivor of the state Legislature’s failures of nerve. Each year, Greenberg watched as the Child Victims Act came tantalizingly close to full passage, only to see it fall short in the state Senate.

He hopes the outcome will be different this year.

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