ABUSE TRACKER

AUSTRALIA
The Sydney Morning Herald

March 28, 2018

By Terry Fewtrell

Australian Catholics are being conned. After all the disgrace of the Royal Commission evidence and its specific and telling recommendations, the response effectively proposed by the Australian Bishops is to call a Plenary Council of the church in Australia in 2020-21. Australia’s Catholics seem to be meekly agreeing to what is an unconscionable delay and a fudge. In short, the bishops have us where they want us: corralled and quietened.

In one sense, convening such a forum could be seen as innovative and consultative. Realistically, it downplays the magnitude and urgency of the issues that need to be addressed. Whether the agenda ultimately addresses the main reform issues raised by the Royal Commission is a moot point. Such forums in the Australian church have a habit of being lead down paths that produce platitudinous outcomes and avoid the contentious. More significantly it is openly acknowledged that there is considerable doubt and dispute as to whether such a forum would have the authority to make decisions that address the real issues.

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AUSTRALIA
The Sydney Morning Herald

March 27, 2018

By Michael Koziol

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has tried to pressure the major churches into circumventing the states and immediately joining the national redress scheme for survivors of child sexual abuse, telling them their “indifference and resistance” must stop.

Just two states – NSW and Victoria – as well as the Australian Capital Territory have signed on to the Commonwealth scheme, which would provide up to $150,000 in compensation for 60,000 survivors of abuse in government and non-government institutions.

States must commit to the scheme to enable institutions in their jurisdiction to formally sign on. So far, the major churches in NSW and Victoria have intimated they will join a fully national scheme but want to see the details.

In a letter obtained by Fairfax Media, Mr Turnbull urged institutions including the Catholic church, the Anglican church, Scouts Australia and the YMCA to opt into the scheme “as soon as possible” rather than wait for the holdout states.

“I am seeking your in-principle support to join the scheme, so survivors know your position as we continue to seek agreement from all state and territory governments,” Mr Turnbull wrote.

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LAUNCESTON (TASMANIA, AUSTRALIA)
The Examiner

March 28, 2018

By Stefan Boscia

A Launceston priest has no personal objection to making celibacy optional for Catholic Church clergy.

Father Mark Freeman suggested it was one of several measures that should be considered to bring the church further in line with other Christian denominations.

The Catholic Church forces clergy to remain celibate throughout their life, unlike other mainstream Christian denominations.

A recent royal commission into institutional sexual abuse recommended the Catholic Church reconsider the practice.

“[The Catholic Church] needs to look seriously at anything that puts priests up on a pedestal,” he said.

“I would have no difficulty if the discussion lead to the fact that that [celibacy] was an optional thing [for Priests] – it would not worry me.

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BUFFALO (NY)
WIVB

March 27, 2018

By Rachele Mongiovi

As the Buffalo Diocese celebrates holy week, it is also reeling from a sex abuse scandal involving dozens of priests.

Last week, Bishop Richard Malone released the names of 42 priests accused of child sex abuse. This week, the Bishop placed an active Dunkirk priest on administrative leave following abuse claims.

Tuesday night, Catholics filed into St. Joseph Cathedral for a standing room only Chrism Mass.

Some faithful followers refuse to let the scandal rock their faith.

“I think as a catholic we believe that human nature has problems so it’s not that big of a surprise that even people in the church have problems. You know priests are human beings as well and I think that at the end of the day it’s about love and it’s a crazy journey and none of us are all that great,” said Jonathan Michals, Catholic.

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HAGATNA (GUAM)
Catholic News Service

March 28, 2018

The Archdiocese of Agaña will sell its chancery property in Hagatna and relocate its offices in September.

“The move is part of archdiocesan-wide efforts related to the liquidation and sale of church property on Guam in the midst of challenging financial times and settlement of clergy sexual abuse cases,” the archdiocese said in a statement.

Church offices will be moved to the Cathedral Basilica of the Sweet Name of Mary in Hagatna, the Guam capital.

“Now that the mediation process related to the sexual abuse lawsuits has been set for September, the archdiocese is in the process of evaluating these claims on an individual basis,” the March 21 statement said. “This necessitates the selling of certain properties owned by the archdiocese.”

The chancery property, a gift to the archdiocese from the estate of Henry Flores Nelson in 1950, is tied to St. John Paul II’s historic visit to Guam Feb. 22-23, 1981. The pontiff stayed overnight at the residence of then-Bishop Felixberto C. Flores at the chancery.

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OTTAWA (CANADA)
The Canadian Press

March 27, 2018

By Mia Rabson

Pope Francis will not apologize to residential school survivors and their families for the role the Roman Catholic Church played in operating the schools or the abuses suffered by their students.

A papal apology was one of the 94 recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and during a visit to the Vatican last year, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau personally asked the Pope to consider such a gesture.

The commission recommended an apology similar to that offered by the Pope to Irish victims of sexual abuse in 2010. In 2015, Pope Frances issued an apology in Bolivia to Indigenous peoples in the Americas for the “grave sins” of colonialism.

Bishop Lionel Gendron, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, today released a letter to the Indigenous Peoples of Canada saying Pope Francis has not shied away from acknowledging injustices faced by Indigenous peoples around the world, but that he can’t personally issue an apology for residential schools.

“The Catholic Bishops of Canada have been in dialogue with the Pope and the Holy See concerning the legacy of suffering you have experienced,” Gendron wrote. “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.”

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NEW YORK (NY)
LoHud

March 27, 2018

By Jorge Fitz-Gibbon

The Archdiocese of New York is among the “most secretive” Catholic districts in dealing with sex abuse allegations against priests, a new report alleges.

BishopAccountability.org, a Massachusetts-based clergy abuse watchdog group, said this week that the nation’s second largest diocese has done so poorly exposing sex abuse by priests that it has exposed fewer than one of the nation’s smallest dioceses.

The Archdiocese of New York, with more than 2.5 million members, has had 84 Catholic clergy members identified as sexual abusers of children, compared with 92 in the Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire, which has 316,000 members, the report said.

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VATICAN CITY
CNA/EWTN News

March 26, 2018

By Hannah Brockhaus

On Monday, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Bishop John McAreavey of Dromore, Ireland, who had asked to step down earlier this month following media claims that he mishandled an abuse report in the early ‘90s.

Pope Francis accepted McAreavey’s request to resign as bishop March 26 and appointed an apostolic administrator, retired Bishop Philip Boyce of Raphoe, 78, until the appointment of a successor.

In a letter announcing his resignation March 3, McAreavey wrote that “with a heavy heart” he would be resigning “following recent media coverage which has disturbed and upset many people.”

“I wrestled with this decision over recent weeks; it was not an easy decision to take,” he said, also asking for prayers for anyone who has been abused.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

March 27, 2018

By Allan Preston

Victims who were abused by the late paedophile priest Malachy Finnegan have been urged to contact a dedicated PSNI team.

A number of those abused by Finnegan in St Colman’s College in Newry have already spoken out publicly about his conduct there between 1967 to 1987.

Clem Leneghan, the youngest brother of former President Mary McAleese, has revealed he suffered psychological and physical abuse at the hands of Finnegan and has called for an independent inquiry into allegations of sexual abuse at the college.

Sinn Féin MLA Conor Murphy has also spoken out about how he was savagely beaten by Finnegan. He also claimed the priest attempted to sexually groom him.

Although the disgraced cleric died in 2002 and can no longer be held accountable for his crimes, the PSNI’s public protection branch said other areas needed to be investigated.

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MORRISTOWN (NJ)
The Associated Press

March 26, 2018

A recently ordained Roman Catholic priest accused of groping a 13-year-old girl under her skirt last summer has been indicted on criminal sexual contact and child endangerment charges.

Morris County prosecutors say the Rev. Marcin Nurek touched the girl’s buttocks over her underwear and told her she was “sexy.” The indictment was recently handed up by a county grand jury.

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MEDELLIN (COLOMBIA)
NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune

March 26, 2018

By Maria Clark

Disgraced ex-priest Dino Cinel, 76, was stabbed to death last month by his 18-year-old lover in Medellin, Colombia, according to reports from several international news outlets.

The former Catholic Priest rattled New Orleans in 1991 when a fellow priest discovered a collection of child pornography and homemade videotapes Cinel had filmed of himself having sex with young men in the Uptown rectory he lived in until 1988.

Cinel’s homicide was confirmed by the chief of security of Medellin, Andres Felipe Tobon, who said that local authorities were unaware the former priest had been living in the northern Colombian city for the past five years and that he had been charged with possession of child pornography, according to Colombian news outlet El Tiempo.

Local police told El Tiempo that the young man called emergency services after stabbing Cinel confessing to the crime. Police arrived at the home and found Cinel tied to his bed with a stab wound to his abdomen according to news reports. The young man had been threatening to commit suicide by jumping from the sixth floor of the apartment building where he had been living with Cinel.

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BUFFALO (NY)
WKBW

March 26, 2018

By Charlie Specht

As Holy Week begins, the Catholic sexual abuse scandal that has exploded in the Diocese of Buffalo now reaches an active priest.

The Rev. Dennis Riter, current pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Dunkirk, was put on administrative leave by Bishop Richard Malone this afternoon, the bishop’s spokesman told the 7 Eyewitness News I-Team

Riter’s removal comes as a 7 Eyewitness News investigation was about to break in which two former altar boys or their families came forward to allege inappropriate sexual contact by the priest when he served at a church in Buffalo’s Old First Ward in the 1990s.

Riter presided yesterday at the church’s Palm Sunday service, more than two weeks after an altar boy reached out to the diocese’s victim assistance hotline to report abuse he said occurred decades ago. It was the second time Father Riter was accused of abuse.

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SALT LAKE CITY (UT)
KUTV

March 26, 2018

By Larry D. Curtis

The LDS Church issued a letter from its First Presidency Monday, its highest church office, with guidelines for handling abuse.

Its media page, called MormonNewsroom, said its letter and guidelines published in 2008 are part of its continuing effort to help leaders prevent and respond to abuse.

It read:

To help ensure the safety and protection of children, youth, and adults, we ask that all priesthood and auxiliary leaders become familiar with existing Church policies and guidelines on preventing and responding to abuse. A revised statement of these policies and guidelines is enclosed.

The letter and revised guidelines are sent to the church’s General Authorities, who have regional or world-wide responsibilities and to local leaders in the United States and Canada. The abuse resources were first issued in 2008. The official name of the worldwide organization is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Many know it as the Mormon Church.

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BUFFALO (NY)
WIVB/News 4

March 26, 2018

A pastor from a Catholic parish in Dunkirk has been put on administrative leave by Bishop Richard Malone following an abuse complaint.

Father Dennis G. Riter of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish has been put on leave as the investigation continues, the Buffalo Diocese confirmed Monday afternoon.

The DA’s Office has been notified.

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UNITED STATES
The Daily Beast

March 24, 2018

By Sam Young

Church-sanctioned ‘worthiness interviews’ allow older men to be alone with children and ask them questions of a sexual nature. It’s time to end this practice.

In recent months, our country has been having a critical and long overdue national conversation on sexual harassment and abuse. From Hollywood power brokers to celebrity chefs to members of the news media, we are seeing a new era of transparency and accountability as victims step forward and speak out.

But as a lifelong Mormon and father of six girls, it was the case of former top Trump White House official Rob Porter that struck closest to home. In speaking out about years of alleged abuse by Porter, his two ex-wives began to shed a long overdue light on the unique, deeply personal, and some would say, disturbing, role that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can sometimes play in the lives of its members. In Porter’s case, we learned that two young women had turned to their church leaders for guidance in the face of abuse and instead were encouraged by church bishops to stay in an allegedly abusive marriage. In short, to stay quiet and place the professional career of their husband ahead of their own well-being.

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SALT LAKE CITY (UT)
Daily Herald

March 27, 2018

By Genelle Pugmire

The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued an updated policy on church leadership manuals on preventing and responding to abuse.

It is an update to the guidelines first issued in 2008 in Handbook 1, which is issued to church leadership such as stake presidencies and bishoprics.

In the 2008 letter from the First Presidency they define abuse as, “the mistreatment or neglect of others (such as a child or spouse, the elderly, or the disabled) in a way that causes physical, emotional, or sexual harm.

“Abuse causes confusion, doubt, mistrust, and fear in the victims and sometimes inflicts physical injury. Most, but not all, allegations of abuse are true, and should be taken seriously and handled with great care. Abuse tends to become more severe over time.

“The Lord condemns abusive behavior in any form — including neglect and physical, sexual or verbal abuse. Most abuse violates the civil laws of society.”

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BUFFALO (NY)
WKBW

March 26, 2018

The Buffalo Diocese has placed an active priest on administrative leave as it looks into allegations of child sexual abuse dating back to the 1990s, a spokesperson tells the 7 Eyewitness News I-Team.

The Rev. Dennis Riter is pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Dunkirk. He presided over the church’s Palm Sunday services yesterday and has led masses at the church for the past nine years.

According to the Official Catholic Directory, Father Riter served at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Buffalo’s Old First Ward from 1995 until 2001. An article in the Western New York Catholic states he went on a six-month sabbatical before then-Bishop Henry Mansell appointed him pastor of St. Mary’s in Batavia in 2002. He has served under two more bishops since then, with former Bishop Edward Kmiec transferring him to Dunkirk in 2009.

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UNITED STATES
The Post-Journal

March 27, 2018

By Katrina Fuller

From Page A1

Reed said the issue of child sex abuse is currently being dealt with at the state level and at the federal level which includes support for anti-abuse and anti-human trafficking legislation.

“From a big picture federal level very much is in play, but when you get down to the state avenues of recourse, (it’s) really being handled, from my understanding of the situation, at the state capitals. Albany is dealing with the issue as we speak.”

Reed said his office is making sure any such issues are brought to his attention, but to his knowledge, his office has not dealt with a child sex abuse victim involving a priest.

“If we hear of anything, we’ll obviously be a voice and stand ready to assist anyone who wants that assistance,” he said. “We will be a resource, and we stand firm with them and in their corner as they go through a tremendously difficult situation.”

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MEDELLIN (COLOMBIA)
The New Orleans Advocate

March 26, 2018

By Ramon Antonio Vargas

Authorities tell media he was stabbed to death by man, 18, who was former lover

Disgraced former Catholic priest Dino Cinel — who became infamous in New Orleans when it was discovered that he had taped himself having sex with young men in an Uptown church rectory and had amassed a collection of child pornography — was stabbed to death last month in South America by a young man with whom he had a romantic relationship, according to authorities cited by international media outlets.

Police in Medellin, Colombia, said they discovered the 76-year-old Cinel’s body when Santiago Alberto Morales Parra, 18, called them to report that he had killed his lover inside his apartment Feb. 1.

Morales told investigators that the two had argued while discussing a break-up after three months of living together, and police found Cinel’s body with a knife wound to the abdomen, according to numerous media reports in Cinel’s native Italy as well as Colombia.

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ENGLAND
The East Bourne Herald

March 26, 2018

By Phil Johnson and Peter Tatchell

An Eastbourne man who has campaigned on behalf of survivors of child abuse within the Church of England has been given a top award.

The National Secular Society has named Phil Johnson as one of its Secularists of the Year for 2018.

Phil, abused as a child by paedophile priests in Eastbourne, accepted a £5,000 prize from the human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell at an awards ceremony in central London at the weekend.

He was honoured for his work campaigning on behalf of survivors of child abuse in the Church of England.

Phil has worked as the chair of Minister And Clergy Sexual Abuse Survivors (MACSAS), a support group for those who have been sexually abused by ministers or clergy and also runs Eastbourne Survivors.

The award was handed over the day after the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse concluded three weeks of hearings into the cover-up of abuse in the diocese of Chichester. Phil gave evidence to the inquiry earlier this month.

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MINNEAPOLIS (MN)
The Huffington Post

March 26, 2018

By Carol Kuruvilla

Advocates for survivors of sexual abuse believe John Piper’s traditional theology is part of the problem.

An evangelical Christian pastor has put forth a troubling suggestion for how to deal with the issues highlighted by sexual abuse survivors as part of the Me Too movement.

John Piper, an influential Baptist author and speaker and chancellor of a Christian college in Minnesota, claims that a return to traditional gender roles would help keep women safe from sexual abuse. Piper’s definition of traditional gender roles involves women submitting to male leadership, and men accepting their God-given responsibility to protect these “weaker vessels.” This conservative Christian approach to gender relations is known as complementarianism.

In a recent podcast, Piper argued that society’s departure from these traditional roles over the past 50 years has laid the groundwork for sexual abuse.

“Egalitarian assumptions in our culture, and to a huge degree in the church, have muted — silenced, nullified — one of the means that God has designed for the protection and the flourishing of women,” Piper said, according a podcast transcript published on his website March 16.

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SAGINAW (MI)
Catholic News Service

March 26, 2018

The news that law enforcement authorities served the Saginaw Diocese with a search warrant March 22 was “distressing and disheartening for the greater community and most especially our Catholic faithful,” Saginaw Bishop Joseph R. Cistone acknowledged.

The bishop made the comments in a statement sent late evening March 23 to Catholic News Service and other news media.

The warrant included the Saginaw diocesan offices, Cistone’s residence and the Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption. Records, documents and computers were seized as part of an ongoing probe into sexual abuse allegations against a half dozen priests of the diocese.

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SALT LAKE CITY (UT)
Deseret News

March 26, 2018

By Tad Walch

The LDS Church’s First Presidency announced significant policy changes Monday, providing direction on how bishops and stake presidencies may conduct interviews with women and children and how they counsel victims of abuse and sexual abuse.

The changes specified that children, youth and women now may invite an adult to join them in what traditionally have been personal interviews. Some had said they were uncomfortable being interviewed one-on-one by a male priesthood leader.

The First Presidency also clarified to members of bishoprics and stake presidencies how they should respond to reports of sexual abuse and how to minister in those situations. The changes explicitly state that local leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints should never disregard a report of abuse and should never encourage members to remain in an abusive situation.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
BBC News

March 27, 2018

The police have set up a dedicated team to investigate the circumstances of the child abuse carried out by the late paedophile priest, Fr Malachy Finegan.

The County Down parish priest, who also taught at St Colman’s College in Newry, has been accused of a litany of sexual and physical abuse against young boys.

The PSNI said although he died in 2002 and “can no longer be held accountable in a court”, lessons may be learnt from how authorities dealt with him.

They asked victims to contact the team.

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BUFFALO (NY)
The Daily News

March 26, 2018

The release by the Diocese of Buffalo of the names of priests accused of sexually assaulting children stirs strong and mixed feelings – anger, outrage, sorrow, horror.

Even if you accept that priests are human beings with flaws, it is difficult to accept that such evil flaws were allowed to flourish in the echoing silence of the Catholic Church. The lessons to be learned here are many, and they apply to everyone, not just Catholic authorities – Protestants have had similar problems.

It should be noted, first, that an accusation is not a conviction. Perhaps that is the saddest part of this whole situation — that these reports were handled internally, and the courts were not allowed to sort out the truth.

Now, because there are so many accusations, mixed in with confessions and a few convictions, there is a tendency to view all the accusations as true. In some cases, the accused priests are dead – they do not have an opportunity to defend themselves, and unfortunately, the victims do not have the opportunity to seek justice.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
ITV

March 27, 2018

Police are investigating allegations of abuse by Father Malachy Finnegan.

A team has been set up with within the Public Protection Branch of the PSNI to “investigate the circumstances of abuse committed by Fr Finnegan”.

The priest, who died in 2002, worked for some time in the Diocese of Dromore.

“If you were abused by Father Malachy Finnegan, or abused by any other person at St Colman’s between 1967 and 1987, the investigation team would like to hear from you,” a statement from the PSNI said.

Detectives hope to establish and take action against any living offender from that time, and assess if there are any current child safeguarding risks.

They also want to determine if there was any other abuse of children committed by any other person at St Colman’s College during the time when Fr Finnegan worked there.

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LANSING (MI)
Detroit Free Press

March 27, 2018

By Matthew Clayson

As the collective outrage inevitably wanes in the aftermath of Michigan State University’s botched efforts to effectively address campus sexual assault, there remain serious questions about who will be selected to lead the university as the permanent president and how that person will lead.

Michigan’s citizens need answers about how survivors will be made whole, what efforts will be championed to ensure a safe campus and accountable leadership and what MSU will look like in five years. Interim leadership by its nature is temporary and is not well positioned for compensating survivors, healing a divided campus and leading a strategy to restore trust with Michigan’s citizens. There needs to be a robust conversation about securing a permanent president at MSU, how that individual will engage with the campus community and what sort of future that individual will chart.

Getting this decision right is of utmost importance, especially given the increasingly complicated nature of MSU’s budget and the ramifications that any permanent president’s budgetary priorities will place on survivors, the MSU community and Michigan’s taxpayers.

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LANSING (MI)
The Associated Press

March 27, 2018

By David Eggert

A Michigan State University official who oversaw Larry Nassar was arrested Monday amid an investigation into the handling of complaints against the former sport doctor, who is in prison for sexually assaulting patients under the guise of treatment.

William Strampel was in jail pending an arraignment Tuesday, Ingham County Sheriff Scott Wriggelsworth told The Associated Press. He declined to say what charges Strampel was facing because the probe is being led by the Michigan attorney general’s office.

A spokeswoman for Attorney General Bill Schuette declined to comment. A news conference was scheduled for Tuesday, two months after Schuette appointed a special assistant attorney general to investigate.

Strampel, 70, is the first person besides Nassar to be charged in connection with the worst sexual abuse case in sports history. Nassar pleaded guilty to molesting patients and possessing child pornography. Strampel’s arrest was first reported by the Detroit Free Press, and WILX-TV earlier reported that state police were seen outside Strampel’s Lansing-area home.

Strampel was the dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine, which includes the sports medicine clinic, until he announced a leave of absence for medical reasons in December. He told police last year that he never followed up after ordering Nassar in 2014 to have a third person present when providing treatment to “anything close to a sensitive area.” In letting Nassar resume seeing patients, he also said any skin-to-skin contact should be minimal and needed to be explained in detail.

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MASON (MI)
Detroit Free Press

March 26, 2018

By David Jesse and Gina Kaufman

Police have arrested William Strampel, the former Michigan State University dean who was Larry Nassar’s boss, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation.

Strampel, 70, is being held in the Ingham County Jail.

Ingham County Sheriff Scott Wriggelsworth confirmed that Strampel is lodged in the jail, but said information on what charges he is being held on would not be released until he is arraigned.

Strampel faces multiple charges. At least one is a felony and others are misdemeanors, sources told the Free Press without specifying the charges. Strampel served as dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine from 2002 until December, when he stepped down for medical reasons.

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DETROIT (MI)
Reuters

March 27, 2018

Michigan prosecutors on Tuesday charged a former state university dean who supervised the doctor at the center of the USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal with criminal sexual conduct and other crimes.

In court papers filed in the state district court in East Lansing, prosecutors said a student at Michigan State University had accused William Strampel, the 70-year-old former dean of its College of Osteopathic Medicine, of forcible sexual contact.

Strampel had supervised ex-USA Gymnastics physician Larry Nassar, who has been sentenced to prison for sexually abusing female gymnasts.

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OLEAN (NY)
Olean Times Herald

March 26, 2018

By Tom Dinki

At least three former assistant pastors among diocese’s list of accused

Celebration and victory, as well as shame and betrayal, were the themes the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels conveyed to its parishioners at Palm Sunday Mass.

The basilica celebrated Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem by having its younger parishioners roam the aisles with palm fronds and tambourines, but also acknowledged the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo’s sexual abuse scandal and the revelation several former St. Mary’s priests are among the accused.

“I’m very upset,” said Lucille Shavalier, 81, of Eldred, Pa., holding a palm frond in her hand while on her way out of the basilica on Sunday.

It was St. Mary’s first Sunday Mass since the diocese on Tuesday announced the names of 42 priests who were removed from ministry, left ministry or retired after allegations they sexually abused a minor.

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SALT LAKE CITY (UT)
The Salt Lake Tribune

March 26, 2018

By Peggy Fletcher Stack and Benjamin Wood

Amid a grass-roots outcry about sexually explicit interviews with children and sexual assault allegations leveled at a former Mormon mission leader, the LDS Church’s governing First Presidency unveiled revised guidelines Monday for one-on-one meetings between members and local lay leaders while emphasizing that most abuse allegations are “true and should be taken seriously.”

In a document titled “Preventing and Responding to Abuse,” congregational leaders in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are encouraged to invite a parent or other adult to sit in an adjoining room when meeting with women and children.

A change to those instructions includes the option for the interviewee to ask a witness to sit in on the interview itself.

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BRAZIL
LAD Bible

March 26, 2018

By Tom Wood

A group of Brazilian priests have been arrested on charges of stealing £426,000 in donations to the church, funeral costs, and charity cash.

Jose Ribeiro, who is the Bishop of Formosa – located in Brazil’s state of Goiás – has been arrested alongside five other priests and three non-priests.

They’ve all been detained in prison accused of stealing 2 million reais (£426,000) from the church. The police raided one priests house and found about 90,000 reais (£19,200) hidden in plastic bags and stashed behind a false wall.

It is thought that the scheme took place over three years and aimed at diverting money from the church’s coffers and into the pockets of the gang.

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IRELAND
The Irish Times

March 24, 2018

By Patsy McGarry

Vatican photograph from 2007 captures church past and questions its future

It is the story of a photograph: four cardinals, all Irish, and one president, Mary McAleese. The occasion was the elevation in 2007 of the then primate of All Ireland Archbishop Seán Brady to the College of Cardinals.

The location was the Irish College in Rome. Cardinal Desmond Connell and Cardinal Cahal Daly stand to McAleese’s right. Standing to her left, Cardinal Seán Brady and Cardinal Keith O’Brien.

The latter was born on March 17th, 1938, in Ballycastle, Co Antrim. His family moved to Scotland while he was still young, settling in Edinburgh. His death last Monday, aged 80 brought back memories of the photograph.

However, it raised thoughts, too, about the damage caused to the Catholic Church by its handling of sexual abuse allegations; but also about next August’s visit by Pope Francis.

It could be an opportunity to heal, if the right choices are made now. His personal stature is such that he is seen by many, and not just Catholics, as separate from the institution he leads, and which he himself struggles to reform.

Appropriate contrition from him to all the Irish people – abuse victims, their families, perhaps even the Irish Catholic Church itself where appropriate – could herald a new beginning. For there is much contrition to be done.

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NEW ZEALAND
Otago Daily Times

March 27, 2018

The Catholic and Anglican Churches have both written to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern asking for religious institutions to be included in the Royal Commission into abuse in state care.
The Prime Minister says the terms of reference for the inquiry are still being consulted on and while what churches have to say could feed into the inquiry, she stood by her belief that the inquiry should look primarily into what happened to children while in the care of the state.

“I understand that churches have taken a position and certainly it is important that feeds into the discussion we’re having on the terms of reference as well,” she said yesterday.

“I still absolutely think the primary reason that this was instigated by a large group of people was for us to take responsibility for the role of the state by inquiring into ourselves,” Ms Ardern said.

“I’ve always had concerns around the impact of broadening the inquiry and diluting the responsibility that we need to take for those who were harmed in state care.”

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DUNKIRK (NY)
WGRZ

March 26, 2018

A priest in Dunkirk has been placed on leave by Catholic Diocese of Buffalo following an accusation of abuse.

A priest in Dunkirk has been placed on leave by Catholic Diocese of Buffalo following an accusation of abuse.

Father Dennis G. Riter, a pastor at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, is on administrative leave during the investigation.

The Diocese told 2 On Your Side it received a complaint about Father Riter, so Bishop Richard Malone placed him on leave and notified the District Attorney’s Office.

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BUFFALO (NY)
WGRZ

March 22, 2018

By Claudine Ewing

Rev. David Bialkowski was removed from the Buffalo Catholic Diocese, but he is now an organist in a WNY Lutheran church.

One of the 42 Buffalo Catholic Diocesan priests removed from ministry after allegations of sexual abuse of a minor is now serving as a church organist.

Rev. David Bialkowski served for years at St. John Gualbert in Cheektowaga. It is where many of his alleged victims claim they were abused by him.

2 On Your Side learned that Bialkowski is serving as the organist at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Tonawanda. A church official told Channel 2’s Claudine Ewing that Bialkowski is the organist and confirmed he is the same Bialkowski on the list of priests removed.

Attorney Kevin Stocker represents some of the victims who claim they were abused by Bialkowski. “I called the local police department and the council men and women an advised them of what he had been accused of and I talked to the minister of that church and said he had an obligation to tell the congregation of what this person was accused of so that other children didn’t become harmed by it.”

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BUFFALO (NY)
The Buffalo News

March 26, 2018

By Jay Tokasz

The pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Dunkirk was placed on leave Monday after the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo received a complaint of alleged abuse.

Bishop Richard J. Malone wrote an open letter to parishioners stating that the Rev. Dennis G. Riter was placed on “administrative leave” pending an investigation into the complaint.

“Please note that this leave is for investigation purposes only and does not imply any determination as to the truth or falsity of the complaint,” Malone said in the letter. “Please pray for Father Riter and for this investigation. Of course, we continue to pray for all victims of abuse.”

The bishop’s acknowledgement of the complaint against Riter follows weeks of intense focus on how the Buffalo diocese handles clergy sex abuse allegations and the release by the diocese last week of the names of 42 priests identified as having had credible allegations of abuse against them.

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SALT LAKE CITY (UT)
FOX13

March 26, 2018

By Taylor Hartman

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Monday that it had updated its’ guidelines on preventing and responding to abuse after a former Missionary Training Center President was accused of sexual assault.

The three-page document, first issued in 2008, is meant to act as a guide on how to properly handle all types of abuse for LDS Church leadership. The document states that it operates a free and confidential abuse helpline that can be utilized, and encourages members to look for signs of abuse.

Bryndis Roberts, Chair of Ordain Women, a group within the LDS Church that supports the ordination of women into the priesthood, says the new guidelines are well overdue, but may not be sufficient.

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AUSTRALIA
Central Telegraph

March 24, 2018

By Padraic Murphy

SEVERAL historical sex offence charges against Cardinal George Pell will be withdrawn because a complainant is unable to testify at a hearing that will determine if Australia’s highest ranked Catholic stands trial.

Pell is facing a pre-trial committal hearing at Melbourne Magistrates Court, which wrapped up its third week on Friday.

At the end of Friday’s hearing, prosecutor Mark Gibson SC said one of the complainants will not give evidence because he is “medically unfit”. Pell’s lawyer immediately requested the charges be removed from the committal proceedings.

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AUSTRALIA
News.com.au

March 24, 2018

Cardinal Pell allegedly ‘exposed himself’ to a choir member in the 1990s, claimed a woman whose brother made the allegations during a drunken chat.

CARDINAL George Pell “exposed himself” to a cathedral choir member while working as a bishop in Melbourne in the 1990s, a court has heard.

The sister of one of George Pell’s accusers told the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday that her brother had broken down while revealing the alleged incident to her in 2012 or 2013.

Giving evidence at Mr Pell’s pre-trial hearing before Magistrate Belinda Wallington into alleged historical sexual offences, the woman said her brother was crying when he told her.

She said they had been drinking at their grandmother’s 80th birthday beforehand, and his claim related to an offence which allegedly had taken place about 16 years earlier.

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MELBOURNE (AUSTRALIA)
CNN

March 25, 2018

By Lucie Morris-Marr

Cardinal George Pell is set for a tense wait for a decision over whether an abuse case against him will proceed to full criminal trial in Australia when the committal hearing against him wraps up this week.

The Vatican treasurer is the most senior figure in the Holy See to ever face criminal charges, and the past three weeks of evidence has revealed details of multiple allegations of historical sexual abuse.

The 76-year-old Cardinal, who stood aside from his senior post in Rome when he was charged in June last year, will not hear a final decision from the magistrate on whether the case will proceed to trial for up to two weeks, possibly longer. He has strenuously denied all charges.

This week the remaining 50 witnesses will give testimony at Melbourne Magistrates Court where the case against Pell has been heard since early March.

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AUSTRALIA
The Guardian

March 22, 2018

By Melissa Davey

Pastoral associate agrees that robes not able to be parted to ‘reveal one’s genitals’

A pastoral associate who worked at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne when Cardinal George Pell was archbishop has told a court that the archbishop’s robes were heavy and could not be easily lifted or moved while being worn to expose oneself.

Rodney Dearing was cross-examined by Pell’s defence team on Thursday as part of the committal hearing into historical sexual offence charges against Pell. Dearing told the court that he was responsible for hanging up Pell’s robes and he was therefore familiar with the weight and manoeuvrability of them.

Pell’s barrister Ruth Shann put it to Dearing that the robes were “not able to be parted in the middle to reveal ones genitals or indeed parted to the side to reveal ones genitals”.

“No,” Dearing responded.

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NEW ZEALAND
Anglican Communion News Service

March 26, 2018

A Royal Commission of Inquiry established to investigate historical abuse in state care in New Zealand should be expanded to include the role of the church-related bodies, the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia said today. In a letter to the country’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, and the Children’s Minister, Tracey Martin, Archbishops Winston Halapua and Philip Richardson said that the decision to ask for churches to be included in the Inquiry was made by the Standing Committee of the province’s General Synod when it met earlier this month.

“Our Christian faith teaches us the power of truth, justice and reconciliation,” they said. “We see this Commission of Inquiry as one way we can put that faith into action, and we encourage you to give this request serious consideration, in the hope that this will provide a pathway to healing and wholeness for all concerned.”

In their letter, the co-Primates said: “Our primary concern is for the needs of those whose lives have been impacted by abuse, and we are conscious that abuse has been perpetrated by agencies across our society, including the Church and its agencies. We are concerned that it will be unhelpful to victims and survivors, if the inquiry and its process is limited only to the state sector, denying some the right to have their voices heard.

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BROOKLYN (NY)
Brooklyn Paper

March 26, 2018

By Colin Mixson

Locals sexually abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Brooklyn have one more week to apply for the fund set up to compensate those victims.

Diocesan leaders set a new deadline of March 31 to report incidents in order to be eligible for money from the program, after announcing the fund in June 2017.

Last December, a flock of legal eagles released a list of Kings County’s corrupt Catholic priests that they hoped will encourage sexual-abuse victims to apply for compensation before it’s too late, according to one of the lawyers.

“We’re hoping to raise awareness with this report about the Brooklyn Diocese, the availability of this program for survivors, and specifically that the clock is running and there’s a hard deadline,” said Jerry Kristal, who works for law firm Weitz and Luxenberg, which released the list as part of a multi-firm collective called Lawyers Helping Survivors of Child Sex Abuse.

The document, entitled “Hidden Disgrace,” identified 65 priests within the local diocese who were accused or convicted of sex crimes against children.

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SALT LAKE CITY (UT)
FOX13

March 23, 2018

By Mark Green and Ben Winslow

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has issued an updated statement on allegations of sexual abuse at the Provo Missionary Training Center after an un-redacted police report was published this week.

The new statement acknowledges the LDS Church is aware of at least one other woman who informed local ecclesiastical leaders in 2010 that she was sexually abused by Joseph Bishop at the Missionary Training Center.

“When she reported the alleged abuse to her local Church leaders in 2010, they provided emotional support as well as professional counseling services,” the LDS Church states. “Mr. Bishop’s local ecclesiastical leaders were contacted and they confronted him with her claims, which he denied, and local leaders did not feel they could pursue church discipline for Mr. Bishop.”

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BUFFALO (NY)
The Buffalo News

Published March 23, 2018; Updated March 24, 2018

By Jay Tokasz

Eight priests from the Diocese of Buffalo accused of sexually abusing children live within a short walk of area elementary and middle schools.

Beyond naming the priests, the diocese has declined to disclose addresses or any other information about the 42 priests it said on Tuesday had credible allegations of sexual misconduct involving minors brought against them.

Seventeen of the 42 clergy on the list are alive.

A Buffalo News search of public records showed eight of the living priests resided within blocks of a school. In some cases, they lived across the street from a school or down the road a few houses.

“Obviously, it’s a cause for concern. It’s an issue that the community needs to recognize,” said Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn. “The problem is that these individuals are not required to be registered. They were never found guilty of any offense. They’re not in any local database for sex registry offenses. So legally, there’s nothing that anyone can do to prevent them from living near a school. That’s the unfortunate reality here.”

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SCOTLAND
The Guardian

March 24, 2018

By Kevin McKenna

Instead of tolerance, a grotesque group of inquisitors are alienating the faithful

The most human response to the death of Scotland’s shamed cardinal came from the journalist whose articles forced his resignation. Catherine Deveney spoke with compassion and pity as she expressed the hope that Cardinal Keith Patrick O’Brien had found peace and forgiveness at the end. Deveney’s articles for the Observer in 2013 revealed that O’Brien had, for many years, conducted a series of inappropriate relationships with young priests under his jurisdiction.

Like others, she had been aware of a whiff of scandal surrounding this widely admired man who, unlike many of his predecessors and contemporaries, seemed to possess something that endeared him to people. It was only when O’Brien began to front an ill-advised and nasty campaign against same-sex marriage that three priests who had been in sexual relationships with him felt they had to speak out and subsequently approached Deveney with their stories.

A few months before this, I was informed by the editor of the Catholic Observer that O’Brien had chided her for publishing an article of mine in which I had criticised his attitude to gay people and the use of the word “grotesque” in describing their sexuality. Yet I didn’t derive any delight at his public outing, only a sense of deep sadness that a man with great qualities of leadership and compassion had been brought low by a lie that had probably stalked half his adult life. What misery and self-loathing must he have endured as he preached his fables about human sexuality. And yet what damage had he caused to the faith of thousands not by being revealed as a sinner but as a hypocrite.

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ENGLAND
Australian Broadcasting Corporation

March 26, 2018

By Julia Baird and Hayley Gleeson

One in four churchgoers has experienced domestic abuse in their current relationship, according to a new study in Britain.

The research, conducted in Cumbria by academics at Coventry University and the University of Leicester in conjunction with Christian charity Restored, has led to urgent calls for churches in Britain and Australia to expose and counter abuse in their midst, with the authors finding more priests need to publicly condemn abuse “from the pulpit”.

Almost half of those who sought help from their church (47.2 per cent) said they were unlikely to do so again, if they experienced abuse in the future.

Only two in seven thought their church was adequately equipped to deal with a disclosure of abuse.

Mandy Marshall, a co-founder of Restored, a global Christian alliance that aims to end violence against women, said: “One of the biggest barriers we have faced is Christians not believing that domestic abuse could happen in their church.”

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NEW ZEALAND
NZ Herald

March 26, 2018

By Lucy Bennett

The Catholic Church has written to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern asking for religious organisations to be included in a Royal Commission looking into abuse in state care.

The New Zealand Catholic Bishops and representation from Catholic religious orders wrote to Ardern, Minister for Children Tracey Martin and Sir Anand Satyanand, chairman of the Royal Commission into Abuse in State Care.

The letter, signed by Bishop Patrick Dunn, the president of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference and Sister Katrina Fabish RSM, congregational leader of the Sisters of Mercy, said they supported the work of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care but wanted the Inquiry’s terms of reference broadened to include a range of Church institutions.

“We are of the firm view that no individual should be denied the possibility of making a submission to this government inquiry. It would be wrong if some individuals felt excluded from this process simply because their path of referral to an institution was different from someone else’s,” the letter said.

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ROME
The Washington Post

March 25, 2018

By Amanda Erickson

On Saturday, hundreds of young Catholics gathered to give Pope Francis a piece of their minds.

They called for a more transparent and “authentic” church, one with a bigger role for women and more wisdom about the benefits and challenges of technology. They called for more flexibility, too, arguing that “unreachable” moral standards should not be the only way to live an authentically Catholic life.

These findings were part of a 16-page report assembled by 300 young people at a week-long conference sponsored by the Vatican. It drew, too, on online submissions from 15,000 others.

“We, the young church, ask that our leaders speak in practical terms about subjects such as homosexuality and gender issues, about which young people are already freely discussing,” the report said.

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UNITED STATES
Yahoo Lifestyle

March 26, 2018

By Erin Donnelly

There’s been much debate over how to tackle sexual abuse against young gymnasts following the trial of sports doctor Larry Nassar, who was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison after more than 260 people accused him of molesting them.

For Aly Raisman, one of the many athletes abused by Nassar, real reform means holding everyone accountable. Earlier this year the gold medalist filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Olympic Committee for failing to pursue allegations about him.

But there’s one proposed solution she won’t entertain: a new dress code for gymnasts.

Raisman took to Twitter to lambast suggestions that gymnasts should stop wearing leotards to deter would-be abusers.

The Olympian said such measures implied that the athletes were partly responsible for the actions of perpetrators like Nassar.

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ROME
Catholic Herald

March 25, 2018

By Cindy Wooden

Final document of a pre-synod gathering asks Church to be more credible, honest and transparent

“We need a Church that is welcoming and merciful, which appreciates its roots and patrimony and which loves everyone, even those who are not following the perceived standards,” the final document of a pre-synod gathering organised by the Vatican has said.

The document reflects the input of 305 young adults attending the meeting in Rome and some 15,000 young people who participated through Facebook groups online.

It was to be presented to Pope Francis at the end of Palm Sunday Mass and was to be used in drafting the working document for the Synod of Bishops on young people, faith and vocational discernment in October, said Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, secretary general of the synod.

With a frantic pace of life, thousands of life choices and proponents of different ideas and ideals battling for their attention, young people said what they want most from the Church is “attractive, coherent and authentic models,” who will accompany them in their search for meaning and fulfilment.

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NEW ZEALAND
Stuff

March 26, 2018

By Laura Walters

The Anglican and Catholic Churches of New Zealand are making a last push to have those abused in faith-based institutions included in the scope of the Government’s Royal Commission of Inquiry into State Abuse.

But the prime minister said the primary purpose of the inquiry was to hold the state to account, and there was a risk of “diluting” that responsibility if non-state institutions were included.

Last month, Children’s Minister Tracey Martin and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the draft terms of reference, and scope, of the inquiry.

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ROME
Catholic News Service

March 26, 2018

Young people want to know they are valued members of the Catholic Church and that their questions and struggles are taken seriously enough that someone will spend time with them discussing issues rather than simply repeating “prefabricated” responses, said delegates to a meeting in Rome.

“We need a church that is welcoming and merciful, which appreciates its roots and patrimony and which loves everyone, even those who are not following the perceived standards,” said the final document of a pre-synod gathering organised by the Vatican 19-25 March.

The document reflects the input of 305 young adults attending the meeting in Rome and some 15,000 young people who participated through Facebook groups online.

Released on 24 March, it was to be presented to Pope Francis at the end of Palm Sunday Mass the next day and was to be used in drafting the working document for the Synod of Bishops on young people, faith and vocational discernment in October, said Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, secretary general of the synod.

With a frantic pace of life, thousands of life choices and proponents of different ideas and ideals battling for their attention, young people said what they want most from the church is “attractive, coherent and authentic models,” who will accompany them in their search for meaning and fulfillment.

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NEW ZEALAND
Crux

March 26, 2018

Just months after the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse issued its final report, New Zealand is beginning its own royal commission – and the nation’s Catholic bishops are asking its institutions not to be excluded from scrutiny.

A royal commission is the highest form of inquiry in most countries where Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state, including Australia and New Zealand.

Right now, the New Zealand royal commission will look into youth detention centers, psychiatric hospitals and orphanages, as well as any government care services contracted out to private institutions.

Although this will include some Church-run facilities, the commission doesn’t include a broad mandate to look into religious organizations.

“We are of the firm view that no individual should be denied the possibility of making a submission to this Government inquiry,” said a letter from the New Zealand bishops’ conference.

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ROME
CRUX

March 25, 2018

By John L. Allen Jr.

Since Pope Francis called a summit of Catholic bishops on youth and discernment two years ago, fixing it for this October, speculation has swirled about which topics would loom largest during the meeting, given that its themes seem vast enough to embrace almost everything under the sun.

We won’t really know until the Synod of Bishops gets underway, but if 300 young people from around the world who met in Rome this week to provide input to the bishops have anything to do with it, two tough subjects will be unavoidable: The Church’s sexual abuse scandals, and the role of women in Catholicism.

“The Church should condemn actions such as sexual abuse and the mismanagement of power and wealth,” the young advisers said in a concluding document from their reflections released in a Vatican news conference on Saturday.

“The Church should continue to enforce her no-tolerance stance on sexual abuse within her institutions, and her humility will undoubtedly raise its credibility among the world’s young people,” they said.

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ENGLAND
Independent

March 25, 2018

By Andreas Whittam Smith

Evidence at the inquiry concluded that the abuse was ‘normalised’ because it was practised by so many. Worse still, one member of the clergy believed that God had forgiven him and therefore ‘his slate was wiped clean’

For a long time, I have wanted to understand why one small area of the Church of England has had a large number of the clergy sent to gaol for sexually abusing young people and children. The place is Sussex, particularly East Sussex, part of the diocese of Chichester.

I have not been alone in wanting this question answered. For the Government has set up an Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in England and Wales and this body has turned its attention to the diocese of Chichester. The hearings have been going on for some weeks now. I shall make extensive use of what the inquiry has been told.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The Inquirer

March 25, 2018

By Jeremy Roebuck & Stacey Burling

The pastor of a Northeast Philadelphia Catholic parish has been placed on administrative leave while police investigate a report of alleged misconduct with a minor, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia said Sunday.

The Rev. Armand Garcia, formerly of St. Martin of Tours parish in the city’s Summerdale section, was removed from his post March 16 – the same day that investigators executed a search warrant on the parish rectory, said Kenneth Gavin, chief communications officer for the archdiocese.

Parishioners were informed of Garcia’s leave and the circumstances behind it last weekend. But details of the investigation remained sparse more than a week later.

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IRELAND
The Irish Mirror

March 26, 2018

By Craig McDonald

The accuser is now aged 51 and is to launch a civil action against the Church

A disgraced Irish priest who claimed he had sex with a murder victim has been accused of raping a schoolgirl.

The accuser is now aged 51 and is to launch a civil action against the Church over the alleged attacks that she says destroyed her life.

The woman – who asked to be identified only as Teresa – said Fr Gerry Nugent made his way into her life when she went to stay with her gran as a vulnerable 11-year-old.

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ERIE (PA)
The Courier-Express

March 25, 2018

By Katie Weidenboerner

Former-priest James Faluszczak, 48, now of Buffalo, N.Y., has decided to speak out — naming his alleged abuser, an Erie priest with local ties.

Faluszczak has identified the Rev. Monsignor Daniel J. Martin, who served as pastor of St. Boniface Parish, Kersey, in 1962, and as headmaster of Elk County Christian, as the school was then called, serving there until 1970. Martin died in 2006 at age 88.

The incident has surfaced as Faluszczak claims to have been one of many witnesses to testify before a grand jury, whose proceedings are secret and which was convened at the request of the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office around September 2016 to investigate sex abuse allegations in dioceses throughout Pennsylvania, according to the Erie-Times News.

Faluszczak said that Martin molested him when he was 16 to 19 years old, adding that the abuse occurred at St. George and at Mt. Calvary Church and then at Mercyhurst College, now Mercyhurst University, all in the Erie area, where Faluszczak said Martin was living at the time.

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BALTIMORE (MD)
Baltimore Post-Examiner

March 25, 2018

By Bill Hughes

On a brisk, Palm Sunday morning about 20 activists, carrying signs and posters, gathered at the Villa Assumpta on North Charles St. at Bellona Avenue in Baltimore County, MD. The Villa Assumpta is a retirement home, a convent for nuns run by the School Sisters of Notre Dame. (SSND).

Back in the 1970s, Sister Eileen Weisman was the principal at the Catholic Community Middle School (CCMS), formerly Our Lady of Good Counsel School in Locust Point. It was a SSND school. One of the lay teachers under her supervision from 1972 to 1979, was the later convicted – sexual predator – John Merzbacher.

The protesters claim Merzbacher’s tenure was “a reign of terror” for many of his students – male and female alike. They insist Sister Weisman knew or should have known, about his serial sex abuses and other outrageous conduct, including repeatedly threatened students with a loaded handgun – and did nothing.

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BALTIMORE (MD)
CBS Baltimore (WJZ-TV)

March 25, 2018

By Mike Hellgren

[Includes video]

Several survivors of sexual abuse in Baltimore’s Catholic schools are demanding action against a nun who they say turned a blind eye to crimes decades ago.

“All we want is the truth to be out, and we want justice to be served,” abuse survivor Bill Stankiewicz said.

Survivors and their supporters carried signs outside a home for retired nuns Sunday to draw attention to a former school principal, Sister Eileen Weisman, who they claim knew but never reported a teacher at her former school, John Merzbacher, was sexually abusing students.

Survivors of sexual abuse at Catholic schools in Baltimore—and their supporters—protested outside Villa Assumpta today; they want to draw attention to a nun/former principal who they claim failed to report abuse.

Merzbacher is currently in prison for child rape.

Kathie Lewandowski Richardson says Merzbacher abused her in the 1970s at Catholic Community Middle School. She says Sister Weisman ignored it.

Court records from the Merzbacher case also state Weisman knew Merzbacher was abusing children but didn’t intervene.

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MELBOURNE (AUSTRALIA)
The Wall Street Journal

March 23, 2018

By Robb M. Stewart

Hearings continue on whether charges of historical sexual offenses against Vatican finance chief will go to trial

Several charges against Cardinal George Pell, one of the Vatican’s most senior officials, will be dropped, prosecutors said Friday.

At the conclusion of the third of four weeks of hearings to determine whether charges of historical sexual offenses will go to trial, prosecutor Mark Gibson told the court that a scheduled witness wouldn’t be able to testify for unspecified medical reasons. He said charges would be withdrawn formally next week.

One charge against Cardinal Pell, Pope Francis ’ finance chief, was dropped as the pretrial hearings began.

Mr. Pell stepped away from his role at the Vatican last year, after police in Australia’s southern Victoria state in late June charged the cardinal with multiple historical sexual offenses. The number and nature of the charges, which involve multiple complainants, haven’t been disclosed. Mr. Pell has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and, through his lawyer, indicated a plea of not guilty to all charges.

The hearings allow the defense to examine statements made by dozens of witnesses named by the prosecution.

Mr. Gibson offered to produce a medical certificate for the witness, but Cardinal Pell’s lawyers said it wouldn’t be necessary.

Born in 1941 in the historic gold-rush town of Ballarat in southeastern Australia, Mr. Pell studied for the priesthood in Australia and Rome and was ordained in late 1966. He rose through the church’s ranks in Australia, working in parishes around Melbourne and in senior roles in Catholic education.

In 1987 Mr. Pell was ordained as auxiliary bishop of the Melbourne archdiocese. Pope John Paul II appointed him seventh metropolitan archbishop in 1996 and archbishop of Sydney five years later.

In February 2014, Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Pell prefect of the newly created Secretariat for the Economy at the Vatican.

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MELBOURNE (AUSTRALIA)
ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

March 23, 2018

The Melbourne Magistrates Court has been told a number of charges against Cardinal George Pell will be dropped.

Prosecutor Mark Gibson SC said the charges related to one of the complainants who was medically unfit to give evidence.

He said the charges would formally be withdrawn when the committal hearing resumes next Tuesday.

The announcement was made at the end of Friday’s court hearing.

Cardinal Pell has strenuously denied charges of historical sexual offending against multiple complainants.

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MELBOURNE (AUSTRALIA)
ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

March 23, 2018

By James Hancock

Cardinal George Pell allegedly acted inappropriately against complainants “under the water” of a public swimming pool and out of sight of others, the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court has heard.

A sister of one of the complaints told the 76-year-old’s committal hearing she helped her brother make a report in early 2016 of inappropriate conduct against Cardinal Pell.

Cardinal Pell has strenuously denied charges of historical sexual offending against multiple complainants.

No other details can be reported for legal reasons.

The sister told the court her brother spoke of the alleged offending occurring at a public swimming pool in regional Victoria.

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NIAGARA (NY)
Niagara Gazette

March 24, 2018

By Rick Pfeiffer and Philip Gambini

REPORT: More than 15 years after going public, Catholic Diocese links former pastor to abuse.

For decades, no one but his fellow victims would believe or admit what happened to Nick D’Amico was true.

But now, more than 15 years after he first publicly revealed his alleged sexual abuse at the hands of a priest from the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, D’Amico has found vindication.

On a list of priests that the diocese admits “were removed from ministry, were retired, or left ministry after allegations of sexual abuse of a minor” is the name of the man D’Amico says abused him, Father Richard P. Judd. The revelation has only increased what D’Amico called his “outrage.”

“It’s outrage that it’s taken this long for the truth to come out,” D’Amico said. “It’s outrage (that) when I accused them of this 15 years ago, they called me a liar. And now they want to make amends? They swept it under the rug for six decades.”

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GLASGOW (SCOTLAND)
The Daily Record

March 25, 2018

By Craig McDonald

A 51-year-old woman says the priest disgraced in the Angelika Kluk murder trial repeatedly raped her when she was a child.

The Catholic Church is bracing itself for a compensation action over claims the priest disgraced in the Angelika Kluk murder trial repeatedly raped a schoolgirl.

The Archdiocese of Glasgow has been paying for the victim to attend counselling sessions after she made allegations against the late Father Gerry Nugent three years ago.

Now a 51-year-old mum is to launch a civil action against the church over the alleged attacks which she says destroyed her life.

The woman – who asked to be identified only as Teresa – said Nugent manoeuvred his way into her life when she went to stay with her gran as a vulnerable 11-year-old.

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ERIE (PA)
Erie Times-News

March 25, 2018

By the Editorial Board

The Catholic Diocese of Erie announced on Wednesday that in the coming weeks it will release the names of priests in the diocese who had been credibly accused of sexually abusing minors.

That has taken too long. But it’s a welcome step in the right direction nevertheless.

The Erie diocese made the announcement a day after the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo released the names of the accused there. That diocese identified 42 accused priests, 24 of whom are dead.

When Erie Bishop Lawrence Persico releases the list, the 13-county, 202,000-member Erie diocese will join a relatively small minority of U.S. dioceses that have taken that step. The diocese said it declared its intention to do so in the face of questions about the Buffalo diocese’s actions.

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NORTHAMPTION (MA)
Northamption Gazette

March 16, 2018

By Emily Cutts

South Hadley native Richard Koske was always drawn to a life of holiness. A devout Catholic, he says his faith remains strong despite being abused by three priests and receiving a disappointing response from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield.

“I always had a love for Christ as a kid growing up. I knew, I know he is real,” Koske, 62, said in an interview at the Gazette last week. “People ask me, ‘How can you even step foot in a Catholic church?’ I said, ‘because Christ didn’t do it to me. His workers did.’”

In sharing his story, Koske said he hopes his experience will help others avoid the trauma he endured. “I went through hell and I’m still going through hell,” he said.

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MICHIGAN
The Wall Street Journal

March 25, 2018

By Melissa Korn and Rebecca Davis O’Brien

The tally includes possible settlements with about 250 victims, legal fees associated with an army of law firms representing the university and fines

Financial fallout from sexual-abuse allegations against former U.S. national gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar will likely soar well past half a billion dollars for Michigan State University, estimates from legal experts indicate, more than twice the cost of the abuse scandal at Pennsylvania State University.

The tally includes possible settlements with about 250 victims, legal fees associated with an army of law firms representing the university and fines. Victim settlements alone could account for over $300 million, based on precedents in the Penn State and Catholic Church abuse cases. It isn’t clear how much of the tab would be covered by the school’s insurers.

The looming costs have major implications for Michigan State, especially if state lawmakers pass proposed bills that would increase the statute of limitations for victims and take away legal immunity for public universities. Interim President John Engler, a former Michigan governor, has said increased tuition is one possible way to cover the costs, and warned that consequences could be even more dire.

**

Mr. Feinberg said another potential approach is establishing a victim compensation fund, with an administrator evaluating claims and offering payouts based on specifics of the abuse. With that approach, Mr. Feinberg has overseen payments to resolve more than 450 claims of abuse against the Catholic Church in New York so far. Such systems were also used after the BP oil spill and the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

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NEW ZEALAND
Radio New Zealand

March 25, 2018

By Phil Pennington

The Anglican and Catholic churches are making their most concentrated push yet to get the Royal Commission into abuse expanded to fully include them.

Anglican Archbishop Philip Richardson and Catholic Cardinal John Dew have met with the commission chair Sir Anand Satyanand.

“The Anglican Church needs to collaborate fully with the Royal Commission and we need the terms of reference to be extended in a way that allows that to be possible,” Archbishop Philip Richardson said.

“That’s the best way of addressing long-term hurt and long-term consequences.”

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PHILADELPHIA
Philly.com

March 25, 2018

By Stacey Burling

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia says it is cooperating with the police investigation.

A priest from St. Martin of Tours parish in Northeast Philadelphia has been placed on administrative leave while Philadelphia police investigate a report of “possible alleged misconduct with minors,” a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia said Sunday.

The Rev. Armand Garcia was placed on administrative leave March 16. A search warrant was executed in the parish rectory that day, said Kenneth Gavin, chief communications officer for the archdiocese. He said no charges have been filed.

A police spokeswoman said she was unable to check search warrants on Sunday.

Gavin said the archdiocese is “cooperating fully.” Garcia, he said, had cleared background checks for criminal record and child abuse. He had also completed “safe environment” training courses.

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ERIE (PA)
Erie Times News [goerie.com]

March 25, 2018

By Pat Howard

It’s a rare movie about journalism that doesn’t make me roll my eyes and/or shout at the television.

But “Spotlight,” the Best Picture-winning account of the Boston Globe’s heroic reporting on the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse scandal in that city, gets it mostly right. For me it also carries a personal resonance. …

**

On Tuesday, the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo released the names of 42 priests, 24 of whom are dead, who had been credibly accused of sexual misconduct with minors. On Wednesday, the Erie diocese issued a statement saying that Persico, who became bishop in 2012, would do the same here in the coming weeks.

That plan extends Persico’s policy of proactively releasing information in current cases. And it promises the fullest accounting yet of the criminals who hid behind the collar in the 13-county Erie diocese.

I don’t know why Persico has decided to name the priests and chose this timing. So far he isn’t saying.

It might have something to do with the statewide investigative grand jury that’s been digging into the diocese’s darkest secrets since 2016. The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office sometime this year is expected to release the grand jury’s report, and it, too, is expected to name names. …

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ERIE (PA)
Erie Times News [goerie.com]

March 25, 2018

By Pat Howard

It’s a rare movie about journalism that doesn’t make me roll my eyes and/or shout at the television.

But “Spotlight,” the Best Picture-winning account of the Boston Globe’s heroic reporting on the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse scandal in that city, gets it mostly right. For me it also carries a personal resonance. …

**

On Tuesday, the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo released the names of 42 priests, 24 of whom are dead, who had been credibly accused of sexual misconduct with minors. On Wednesday, the Erie diocese issued a statement saying that Persico, who became bishop in 2012, would do the same here in the coming weeks.

That plan extends Persico’s policy of proactively releasing information in current cases. And it promises the fullest accounting yet of the criminals who hid behind the collar in the 13-county Erie diocese.

I don’t know why Persico has decided to name the priests and chose this timing. So far he isn’t saying.

It might have something to do with the statewide investigative grand jury that’s been digging into the diocese’s darkest secrets since 2016. The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office sometime this year is expected to release the grand jury’s report, and it, too, is expected to name names. …

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PITTSBURGH
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

March 25, 2018

By the Editorial Board

Winston Churchill famously said of Russia in 1939 that “it is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” To hear many commentators and experts on religion, especially the Roman Catholic faith, tell it, this phrase could be used to describe Pope Francis.

The world marked the fifth anniversary of Pope Francis’ installation as bishop of Rome this month, and the verdicts came flying from all directions.

Conservatives say he is doctrinally confused and that he has reversed, or is trying to reverse, the ethical rigor of Pope John Paul II and the liturgical dignity and theological clarity of Pope Benedict XVI.

Liberals complain that Pope Francis has failed to change doctrine, on divorce and remarriage, for example. That he has not reformed church structure. And that he has failed to come to terms with clergy sexual abuse — either as past sin or ongoing sin. They say the church has never really done penance for the horrors of priest pedophilia, not only in the U.S. but around the world.

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SAGINAW (MI)
Diocese of Saginaw

March 23, 2018

“As you are aware, yesterday, March 22, the Diocese was served with a search warrant. This warrant included the Diocesan offices and Center for Ministry, the Bishop’s residence, and the Cathedral.

“I understand this news is distressing and disheartening for the greater community and most especially our Catholic faithful.

“The Diocese has made a sincere effort to cooperate with law enforcement to date and will continue to do so moving forward.”

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GEORGIA
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

March 25, 2018

By Ty Tagami

The sponsor of Georgia legislation to give adults more time to sue people they say molested them when they were children is trying a legislative maneuver to save his bill.

After the Senate reduced what the Hidden Predator Act of 2018 offered victims, Rep. Jason Spencer, R-Woodbine, on Friday got his colleagues in the House of Representatives to revive the version it adopted by a 170-0 vote last month.

That version extended the statute of limitations for victims’ lawsuits to age 38 from the current 23, and it opened a one-year window for adults of any age to sue. It also allowed lawsuits against organizations accused of harboring predators even if the sexual abuse and the cover-up occurred decades ago.

But on Thursday a Senate committee, which had been lobbied by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta and by the Boy Scouts of America, changed the bill in a way that made it harder to sue organizations.

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BUFFALO (NY)
Jamestown Post-Journal

March 25, 2018

By Katrina Fuller

‘Spotlight’ Attorney:Child Sex Abuse By Priests Is ‘Systemic’

[Photo caption: Pictured, clockwise from top left, are Chester S. Stachewicz, Joseph P. Friel, Francis T. Hogan, Martin L. Pavlock, Thomas L. Kemp, Mark M. Friel, John P. Hajduk, and Donald S. Fafinski. The Buffalo Diocese on Tuesday released the names of 42 priests who were removed, retired or left the ministry after being accused of sexual abuse of a minor. Several of the priests named served in churches in Chautauqua County.]

The shudder of an unsavory case first unearthed in Boston about 16 years ago is still being felt today, even in Western New York.

In January 2002, a secret world of child sex abuse was uncovered in the Catholic Church by a special team of investigative reporters at the Boston Globe known as the “Spotlight Team.”

Buffalo and the surrounding areas felt the reverberations this past week after the Buffalo Diocese released a list of 42 priests who had been removed from ministry, retired or had left ministry after allegations of sexual abuse of a minor. Many of those named in the list served in churches in Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties.

REPRESENTING VICTIMS

Mitchell Garabedian, a Boston-based attorney who represents victims of sexual abuse, said the Catholic Church’s issues with child sexual abuse are potentially “endless.” Submitted photo

One of the main players in helping to unravel the secret abuse perpetrated by dozens of priests over many years is Mitchell Garabedian, a Boston-based attorney who specializes in sexual abuse cases. Garabedian said he has represented at least 20 clients in the Buffalo Diocese, which encompasses Chautauqua County and other areas in Western New York.

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BUFFALO (NY)
WBEN

By Dave Debo

March 23, 2018

Wayne Bortle Says Apology Doesn’t Matter

Another man who accuses a Diocese of Buffalo priest of sexually abusing him as a child, stood in front of the Buffalo Catholic Diocese headquarters Friday, and rejected the idea of having Bishop Richard Malone’s apology, just after Malone released one to all victims, via an online video.

Wayne Bortle had previously not revealed his accusations, against Father Robert Conlin until Friday, and did not seem particularly impressed with Malone’s apology saying “I don’t know how an apology would impact me. I mean, the sentiment is nice, but there is more, obviously that needs to be done.,” Bortles ( pictured above center, with victims advocate Robert Hoatson R, and his wife L)

Bortle says that Fr. Robert P. Conlin, then pastor at St. Mary’s Parish in Pavilion, Genesee County abused him in a basement rectory recreation room where youth gatherings were sometimes held, in 1980 when Bortle was approximately 16 years old.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
The Irish News

March 24, 2018

Conor Murphy is the latest high profile figure to speak out following the revelations about Fr Malachy Finegan, the former head of St Colman’s College in Newry.

The Sinn Féin MLA has detailed the appalling physical abuse he suffered at the hands of the priest while a schoolboy at St Colman’s.

Mr Murphy told how he was dragged up two flights of stairs before being beaten with a stick on the hands and about the body.

Once this savage outburst was over, Finegan then switched to asking deeply personal and intimate questions of a sexual nature, a completely inappropriate interrogation that Mr Murphy now characterises as grooming.

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Agency

March 24, 2018

At the end of a week-long meeting held at the Vatican, young people from around the world have urged the Church to be more authentic, modern and creative in the way it interacts with young people, and in addressing controversial contemporary issues.

“We want to say, especially to the hierarchy of the Church, that they should be a transparent, welcoming, honest, inviting, communicative, accessible, joyful and interactive community,” the youth delegates said in the final document of this week’s pre-synod meeting in Rome.

“A credible Church,” they said, “is one which is not afraid to allow itself be seen as vulnerable.”

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Irish News

March 24, 2018

By John Monaghan

Eighteen people have now come forward to report abuse by Co Down priest and school principal Fr Malachy Finegan.

Sinn Féin Newry and Armagh MLA Conor Murphy revealed on Thursday that as a schoolboy he had been beaten with a stick by the paedophile priest, who also attempted to sexually groom him.

Fr Finegan, who died in 2002, was the parish priest of Clonduff in Hilltown and a teacher and later president at St Colman’s College in Newry.

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VATICAN CITY
Associated Press

March 24, 2018

Young Catholics told the Vatican on Saturday they want a more transparent and authentic church, where women play a greater leadership role and where obeying “unreachable” moral standards isn’t the price of admission.

In a fascinating final document from a weeklong Vatican-initiated conference, 300 young people from around the world joined by 15,000 young people online gave the older men who run the 1.2-billion strong church a piece of their collective mind.

They urged Pope Francis and the bishops who will gather at the Vatican in the fall to back their recommendations that church leaders must address the unequal roles of women in the church and how technology is used and abused. They warned that “excessive moralism” is driving faithful away and that out-of-touch church bureaucrats need to accompany their flock with humility and transparency.

**

But mostly, they say, the church needs to admit that it is human and makes mistakes, and that its mentors aren’t perfect people but forgiven sinners. The document cited the clergy sex abuse scandal as both an error that has driven people away and an ongoing issue that requires admission of wrongdoing.

“Some mentors are put on a pedestal, and when they fall, the devastation may impact young people’s abilities to continue to engage with the church,” they said.

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CAPE COD (MA)
Cape Cod Times

March 23, 2018

“Pedophiles abuse as many children as they can get their hands on…”

Mitchell Garabedian is the world-renowned attorney who broke the Boston Roman Catholic priest molestation case wide open. Today his practice continues to focus on representing sex abuse victims/survivors.

This morning Mitchell sat down with CCToday to talk a bit about the alleged sexual molestations at Stony Brook Elementary School in Brewster and school sexual molestations in general.

Imperative to Find All Victims

Attorney Garabedian began by telling us that, in any molestation case, it is imperative that all alleged victims be located. “It’s very important that every single child and their parents receive counseling. The damage is too great…” to let a victim remain without support.

Left unsupported, a sex abuse victim/survivor can suffer years of post-traumatic stress. Such stress can manifest itself in anything from poor grades in school, to substance abuse, violent behavior or even the victim becoming a molester himself.

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SAGINAW TOWNSHIP (MI)
mlive.com

March 23, 2018

By Bob Johnson

[See also: Statement from Bishop Cistone]

Bishop Joseph Cistone issued a statement Friday evening regarding raids conducted by law enforcement agencies on his home and other Saginaw Catholic Diocese properties as part of an ongoing investigation into sexual abuse in the church.

The statement, which was sent shortly after 8 p.m. on March 23, said that the diocese “has made a sincere effort to cooperate with law enforcement to date and will continue to do so moving forward.”

Search warrants were executed on March 22 at the bishop’s home on Corral Drive in Saginaw Township, the rectory at Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption, 615 Hoyt in Saginaw, and the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw offices in Saginaw Township.

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SANTA FE (NM)
Santa Fe New Mexican

March 23, 2018

By Phaedra Haywood

A Santa Fe man is accusing the Archdiocese of Santa Fe of defamation, claiming in a new lawsuit that the Catholic organization wrongly included his name on a list of 74 priests, deacons and brothers who have been convicted or credibly accused of sexual abuse or misconduct over the last few decades.

Rudy Blea says in his complaint, filed this week in the state District Court in Santa Fe, that the list issued last fall identifies him as a member of the Benedictine Order — “by implication” announcing to the world that he was a “Benedictine priest who was a child molester.”

The list, released at the urging of sexual abuse survivors who had long demanded accountability from the Catholic Church, actually refers to Blea as a brother of the Benedictines, which would mean he was a monk rather than a priest.

But Blea says in his complaint that he was never a “brother, monk, deacon, or priest” in any Catholic order.

Court records show Blea was identified as a monk from the Pecos Benedictine Monastery in a 1994 civil suit accusing him of molesting a minor in 1969 or 1970 at a religious event. The suit also named the archdiocese, a bishop and the Benedictine monks as defendants.

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BUFFALO (NY)
The Buffalo News

March 23, 2018

By Barbara O’Brien

Catholics in Western New York have had less than a month to digest the re-emergence of the priest sexual abuse scandal, and less than a week to come to terms with the list of names released by the Buffalo Catholic Diocese of priests accused of misconduct.

And it’s not easy.

Some are resolute: “I’d never leave the church and certainly not over an issue like this,” said Jen Krey of Clarence. “If anything, this makes me feel like the Church needs faithful Catholics now more than ever to get involved and make sure that the ones responsible for this are purged from the Church.

But others, even those who serve in religious orders, are struggling.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

March 24, 2018

By Martyn Turner

Confirmation this week that Pope Francis will attend the World Meeting of Families in Dublin next August is welcome news, in particular for the almost 4.5 million Catholics on the island.

While the drift away from the Catholic Church over the decades since Pope John Paul visited in 1979 is pronounced, as indeed is the case with the other churches in Ireland, it remains a fact that 78.3 per cent of people in the Republic identified themselves as Roman Catholic as recently as in the census of April 2016.

It showed, whether practising or otherwise, that the Catholic Church remains very much part of the DNA of a great majority of Irish people.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

By Alf McCreary

March 24 2018

There was no surprise at this week’s confirmation from Rome that Pope Francis will visit Ireland in August. It had been well flagged in advance that the Pope would be the chief guest at the World Meeting of Families.

However most people were greatly surprised that he will not be coming to Northern Ireland in a visit that historically would complete the visit of Pope John Paul II nearly 40 years ago.

John Paul II was prevented from coming north because of the dire security situation, and this grieved him greatly.

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BATAVIA (NY)
The [Batavia] Daily News

March 24, 2018

By Scott DeSmit

Forgive me Father, for I have sinned, my last confession was Tuesday …

I was here in 2002 when Father Donald Becker disappeared from St. Mary’s Church, now part of Resurrection Parish.

He just left. Gone. No goodbyes.

The Diocese of Buffalo, when pressed, had only this to say: He was on leave for medical reasons

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SANTA FE (NM)
Albuquerque Journal

March 22, 2018

By Mark Oswald

A Santa Fe man says he was defamed when the Archdiocese of Santa Fe last year published the names of 74 men it said were Catholic clergy who had been credibly accused of sexually abusing children in New Mexico.

Rudy Blea, in a state court lawsuit, says he has never been a member of the clergy and that Archbishop John C. Wester and other church officials have refused to correct the archdiocese’s September news release, which came after years of complaints by victims over a lack of transparency about the history of sexual abuse by priests in the state.

Blea says that in the archdiocese’s list of accused abusers, he was wrongly identified as a member of the Benedictine Order.

“By implication,” the lawsuit states, the archdiocese “announced to the world” that Blea “was a Benedictine priest who was a child molester.” The archdiocese list actually identified Blea as “Br. Rudy Blea” of the Benedictines, meaning as a “brother” or monk.

Blea says in the new lawsuit that he has never been a member of the Benedictine order or “employed by them or lived in residence with them at any time during his life,” nor has he ever been “a brother, monk, deacon or priest in any diocese of the Catholic church.”

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MINNEAPOLIS (MN)
The Associated Press

March 22, 2018

A federal bankruptcy judge has approved a $25 million settlement by the Crosier religious order over lawsuits alleging clergy sex abuse in Minnesota.

A federal bankruptcy judge has approved a $25 million settlement by the Crosier religious order over lawsuits alleging clergy sex abuse in Minnesota.

Judge Robert Kressel approved the plan Thursday. The Phoenix-based Crosier Fathers and Brothers filed for Chapter 11 reorganization last year. The order has communities in Onamia, Minnesota, and Phoenix.

The order will pay $5.7 million, with its insurer paying the remaining $19.7 million.

The Rev. Thomas Enneking, the order’s religious superior in the U.S., apologized from the witness stand.

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NEW ZEALAND
Radio NZ

March 23, 2018

By Phil Pennington

Analysis – The sexual abuse of women by men in positions of power takes many guises, writes Phil Pennington.

Where it occurs in the Catholic Church, and priests are the perpetrators, Cardinal John Dew, who is also bishop of Wellington, has been uncompromising in the past in calling it out.

It was “professional misconduct by means of sexual abuse” for any priest to have a sexual relationship with a parishioner, he has said.

“It is always, in the case of a member of the clergy, his professional and pastoral responsibility to recognise the vulnerability of the person he’s ministering to and to take appropriate steps to avoid emotional, physical and sexual involvement.”

There was always a power imbalance between priests and their parishioners, and “meaningful consent” could not apply.

“It is a sad reality that there have been many instances of sexual abuse, this is always a betrayal of trust, it is always an inappropriate use of power and control that a priest …has.”

Cardinal John Dew – the Catholic Archbishop of Wellington – wrote that back in 1996 in a Church paper, following revelations that a bishop in Scotland had been living with a divorcee and had fathered a son with another woman.

His spokesperson this week told RNZ that “the Cardinal stands by his comments”.

But two decades on, Cardinal Dew is not so forthcoming on the related issue of priests who father children.

Others have spoken up, with Pope Francis saying he would be inclined to tell a priest “he must leave his priestly ministry and take care of his child”.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The Associated Press

March 22, 2018

Bill Cosby’s lawyers on Thursday asked the judge in his upcoming sexual assault retrial to step aside, arguing the judge could be seen as biased because his wife is a social worker who has described herself as an “activist and advocate for assault victims.”

Cosby’s lawyers contend some of Judge Steven O’Neill’s recent pretrial rulings could give the appearance he’s being influenced by his wife’s work, particularly his decision last week to let prosecutors have up to five additional accusers testify when he allowed just one at the first trial.

O’Neill did not immediately rule on the request. He and his wife, Deborah, did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

Deborah O’Neill is a psychotherapist at the University of Pennsylvania and coordinates a team providing care, support and advocacy for student sexual assault victims. In 2012, she wrote her doctoral dissertation on acquaintance rape, the type of assault at issue in Cosby’s criminal case.

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SAGINAW (MI)
National Catholic Reporter

March 22, 2018

By James Dearie

After a sting operation resulted in the arrest of a Saginaw diocese priest in late February, another priest has been suspended amid reports of sexual misconduct, and diocesan property has been raided by the police.

Fr. Ronald J. Dombrowski, 72, a sacramental minister at Holy Family Parish in Saginaw, was suspended over the weekend after an adult contacted the diocese claiming to have suffered abuse by the priest as a child, the Midland Daily News reported March 19.

Dombrowski is not allowed to present himself as a priest publicly or have contact with people under 21 while the case progresses. He has not been charged with a crime.

On March 22, the Saginaw News reported that police had raided the rectory of the Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption, Saginaw diocese’s offices, and the house of Bishop Joseph Cistone. It is not clear what officers were searching for, but local officials say that the diocese’s refusal to cooperate with their investigation into sex abuse in the church necessitated the raids.

“Contrary to the statements of the diocese and the bishop that they would fully cooperate with law enforcement, they did not,” county prosecutor Mark Gaertner told the paper. “Therefore it was necessary for law enforcement to use other investigative tools, including search warrants.”

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SAGINAW (MI)
CNA/EWTN News

March 23, 2018

By Mary Rezac

On Thursday, police in Saginaw, Michigan raided the home of Bishop Joseph Cistone, as well as the diocesan chancery and its cathedral rectory, as part of an ongoing investigation into sex abuse allegations against several diocesan priests.

CNA has reached out to the Diocese of Saginaw, Michigan for comment but did not receive a response by press time.

Police told local media that they could not reveal what they were searching for or taking from the properties. However, authorities did say that the search warrants were due to a lack of cooperation on the part of the diocese related to an ongoing clerical sex abuse investigation.

“Contrary to the statements of the diocese and the bishop that they would fully cooperate with law enforcement, they did not,” Saginaw County Assistant Prosecutor Mark Gaertner told local news source Michigan Live. “Therefore it was necessary for law enforcement to use other investigative tools, including search warrants.”

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ALBANY (NY)
New York Daily News

March 21, 2018

By Kenneth Lovett

Gov. Cuomo stood up for survivors of childhood sexual assault on Wednesday, and pushed back against Timothy Cardinal Dolan’s statement that a lookback provision for them to revive old legal claims would be “toxic.”

“These victims have been denied their day in court for far too long and we stand with them,” Cuomo told the Daily News in a statement. “The arguments against a lookback do not stand up against the experience of every other state and this debate only wastes time and delays justice.”

While his statement did not mention Dolan by name, it came one day after the cardinal met with him to argue against a lookback provision being included in the Child Victims Act, which would extend the statute of limitations on criminal and civil child sex abuse cases.

After meeting separately with Cuomo and Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan (R-Suffolk County), Dolan told reporters a lookback provision would be “toxic for us” because it would lead to a flood of civil cases against the Church.

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CAPE TOWN (SOUTH AFRICA)
Eyewitness News (EWN)

March 23, 2018

By Monique Mortlock

Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba says he has begun ‘urgent consultations’ to strengthen procedures for dealing with sexual abuse cases in the church.

A reverend who says she was sexually assaulted by ministers in the Anglican Church is hoping that the church will improve the way it handles sexual abuse cases.

Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba says that he has begun “urgent consultations” to strengthen procedures for dealing with sexual abuse cases in the church.

This includes setting up an advisory team in the different dioceses across Southern Africa to help bishops handle sexual abuse complaints.

Makgoba’s announcement on Thursday was prompted by several cases of sexual abuse that have made it into the public domain in recent weeks, including damning allegations by award-winning South African author Ishtiyaq Shukri.

Makgoba has admitted the church is failing in its duty to offer healing to victims of sexual abuse and more needs to be done.

But Reverend June Dolley-Major is sceptical.

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ALBANY (NY)
The New York Post

March 23, 2018

By Kirstan Conley

A group of women who suffered sexual harassment at their jobs in the state Capitol don’t want “three men in a room” to be the only ones deciding how to stop the culture of misconduct in Albany.

Leah Hebert, Rita Pasarell and Tory Buhrans Kelly — who helped lead to the downfall of late Assemblyman Vito Lopez after complaining that he groped them — issued a joint statement saying they want to give input as the legislature tries to seize on the #MeToo moment.

“We have come together for the first time to raise our collective voice as people who have experienced and/or reported sexual harassment in the New York State Legislature,” they said.

The statement also came from Erica Vladimer, who worked for Independent Democratic Caucus leader Sen. Jeff Klein.

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