ABUSE TRACKER

A digest of links to media coverage of clergy abuse. For recent coverage listed in this blog, read the full article in the newspaper or other media source by clicking “Read original article.” For earlier coverage, click the title to read the original article.

March 20, 2018

Gove faces fresh scrutiny over school sexual abuse case

ENGLAND
The Guardian

March 20, 2018

By Owen Bowcott and Rob Evans

Second witness tells inquiry that then education secretary intervened in Downside case

Michael Gove is facing fresh questions about his alleged intervention in a sexual abuse investigation at a Catholic school after further evidence emerged that appears to link him to the inquiry.

The independent inquiry into child sexual abuse (IICSA) has already written to Gove asking whether he tried, during his time as the education secretary, to find out about an investigation into a priest suspected of abuse at Downside Abbey boarding school in Somerset.

Now the environment secretary, Gove denied making any calls to the local authority about the investigation.

It has now emerged that a second witness testified to the inquiry that Gove took an interest in the Downside investigation.

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

Guam’s Catholic church apologizes to former archbishop’s abuse victims

GUAM
Pacific Daily News

March 19, 2018

By Haidee V. Eugenio

Guam church apologizes to child abuse victims

HAGÅTÑA, Guam — Archbishop Michael Jude Byrnes on Monday said Guam’s Catholic church is beginning a new journey following a Vatican tribunal’s conviction of former Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron.

“We are becoming a better church,” Byrnes said at a press conference, three days after the Vatican announced its decision to convict Apuron in a case that includes child sexual abuse accusations.

Byrnes apologized to the former altar boys who publicly accused Apuron of childhood sexual abuse, and to the mother of one who is now deceased.

“I convey my deepest apologies to Mr. Roy Quintanilla, Mr. Walter Denton, Mr. Roland Paul Sondia, and the late Joseph ‘Sonny’ Quinata for the tremendous damage inflicted upon each of you by now Bishop Apuron and the Archdiocese of Agana,” Byrnes said.

He said the victims’ families have suffered as well.

“I apologize to them too, most certainly to Doris Concepcion, who stepped forward courageously to speak and lobby on behalf of her son, Sonny,” Byrnes said. “I issue this public apology on behalf of the entire Archdiocese of Agana.

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

Conservative groups split over child sex abuse legislation

VIDALIA (GA)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

March 19, 2018

By Ty Tagami

A lawsuit has split a South Georgia town between supporters of a local church and those who are deeply troubled by allegations of child sexual abuse involving church members.
A man from the world’s sweet onion capital says in a lawsuit that he was a child when an older man associated with the youth group at First Baptist Church molested him a couple of decades ago.

“Things are not real good in Vidalia, Georgia right now. Citizens are torn up,” said Kay Stafford, a church member and retired attorney who isn’t directly involved in the lawsuit but is bothered by what he sees as a culture of silence around child sexual abuse. “It ain’t going to be right until there’s justice.”

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

Longtime pastor removed from Chicago parish over improper conduct

CHICAGO (IL)
WGN News

March 19, 2018

A longtime pastor has been removed from a local church after three decades following reports of improper conduct.

Reverend Frank Phillips from St. John Cantius Church in Goose Island was removed by the Chicago Archdiocese.

Cardinal Cupich says there have been credible allegations that Phillips engaged in improper conduct with other adult males.

The allegations do not involve improper contact with minors.

Church members learned of Phillips’ removal during Sunday services. A statement on the church’s website refers all questions to the archdiocese.

Phillips’ has been with the parish since 1988. He’s also a founder of an order of men who devote their life to the church.

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

Steve Wynn settled with second woman over sex allegations

LAS VEGAS (NV)
The Associated Press

March 19, 2018

By Regina Garcia Cano

Embattled casino mogul Steve Wynn brokered a settlement more than a decade ago with a second woman who accused him of sexual misconduct and recently reported her to the FBI, his attorneys say in court documents.

Wynn and one of his attorneys met with FBI agents last month to accuse the woman of trying to extort him by threatening to go public with details from the 2006 settlement, according to documents received earlier this month in state court in Las Vegas.

It comes two months after the Wall Street Journal reported that several women said the billionaire harassed or assaulted them and that one case led to a $7.5 million settlement with a manicurist formerly employed by the company. He resigned as chairman and CEO of Las Vegas-based Wynn Resorts last month.

Wynn has vehemently denied the accusations reported by the newspaper and attributed them to a campaign led by his ex-wife. Her attorney has denied that she instigated the report.

The recent court filings do not provide details of the newly revealed settlement. The woman on Monday did not return a message seeking comment from The Associated Press, which generally does not name people who say they are victims of sexual misconduct.

Her attorney, Lisa Bloom, said in an email that her client denies the extortion allegations.

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

Weinstein Company Releases All Accusers From Nondisclosure Agreements With Bankruptcy Filing

LOS ANGELES (CA)
The Wrap

March 19, 2018

By Matt Donnelly

Expect a deluge of new details in the coming days

The Weinstein Company has dissolved its nondisclosure agreements with Harvey Weinstein’s many sexual misconduct accusers, Bob Weinstein said on Monday,

In step with announcing its bankruptcy filing, the TWC chairman said his brother “Harvey Weinstein used non-disclosure agreements as a secret weapon to silence his accusers. Effective immediately, those ‘agreements’ end.”

Bob Weinstein said the Company “expressly releases any confidentiality provision to the extent it has prevented individuals who suffered or witnessed any form of sexual misconduct by Harvey Weinstein from telling their stories. No one should be afraid to speak out or coerced to stay quiet.”

It’s not immediately clear what impact the newfound freedom for accusers means for ongoing civil and criminal Weinstein cases, including police investigations in three cities and a class action against the disgraced mogul.

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

Scandal-hit Weinstein Co. files for bankruptcy protection

NEW YORK (NY)
Miami Herald

March 20, 2018

By Alexandra Olson

The Weinstein Co. filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday with a buyout offer in hand from a private equity firm, the latest twist in its efforts to survive the sexual misconduct scandal that brought down co-founder Harvey Weinstein, shook Hollywood and triggered a movement that spread out to convulse other industries.

The company also announced it was releasing any victims of or witnesses to Weinstein’s alleged misconduct from non-disclosure agreements preventing them from speaking out. That step had long been sought by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who filed a lawsuit against the company last month on behalf of its employees.

“Since October, it has been reported that Harvey Weinstein used non-disclosure agreements as a secret weapon to silence his accusers. Effective immediately, those ‘agreements’ end,” the company said in a statement. “No one should be afraid to speak out or coerced to stay quiet.”

In a statement, Schneiderman praised the decision as “a watershed moment for efforts to address the corrosive effects of sexual misconduct in the workplace.”

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

Steven Seagal accused by 2 women of rape and sexual assault

LOS ANGELES (CA)
ABC News

March 19, 2018

By Luchina Fisher

Two women have come forward to accuse action star Steven Seagal of sexual assault and rape.

Regina Simons and Faviola Dadis made the allegations during a press conference alongside their attorney Lisa Bloom. The women have also filed a police report with the Los Angeles Police Department, according to Bloom.

The women first went public with their accusations in a story by The Wrap.

Responding to the accusations from them and others, Seagal told “InfoWars” that women have “lied and been paid to lie about me without any evidence, any proof, any witnesses.”

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

Ex-student sues California college, player in rape case

LOS ANGELES (CA)
The Associated Press

March 19, 2018

By Amanda Lee Myers

A former student is suing a Southern California community college and the football player convicted of raping her, accusing the school of allowing the young man to attend school despite a previous sexual assault conviction.

The woman’s attorneys announced the lawsuit Monday against Cerritos College, the school’s dean of student services and the now-former player, 22-year-old Kishawn Holmes.

The lawsuit accuses Cerritos of accepting Holmes to the school and its football program even though he was convicted of rape in 2014 when he was 17.

“Despite having actual knowledge of Holmes’ conviction for rape, absolutely no safeguards were put into place to protect (the student),” according to the lawsuit, filed March 12 in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

University spokeswoman Miya Walker said the school doesn’t comment on pending litigation.

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

Buffalo Catholic diocese to release names of priests accused of sex abuse

BUFFALO (NY)
WKBW

March 19, 2018

By Charlie Specht

In memo, Bishop Malone calls it a “very dark time”

It took a victim’s courage, a priest’s confession and a scandal that deepened by the day.

But after decades of secrecy, the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo is taking an unprecedented step toward transparency.

Bishop Richard J. Malone — giving in to mounting pressure from sexual abuse victims — announced in an internal memo obtained by the 7 Eyewitness News I-Team that Tuesday he will release the names of “all priests of our diocese who were removed from ministry, were retired, or left ministry after allegations of sexual abuse of a minor.”

Each of Malone’s predecessors — including bishops Edward Head, Henry Mansell and Edward Kmiec — refused to name suspected pedophile priests in the diocese, even after the international clerical abuse scandal first broke in Boston in 2002.

In an email to priests, Malone called the move “difficult but necessary,” acknowledging the church in Western New York is going through “a very dark time.”

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

March 19, 2018

Accused child sex abuser Malka Leifer to stay in jail while extradition case is heard

AUSTRALIA and ISRAEL
The Sydney Morning Herald via AAP

March 19, 2018

With Gabrielle Weiniger

A former Melbourne principal accused of child sex crimes will remain behind bars after a successful appeal against her release to home detention in an Israeli court.

Ms Leifer is the former principal of the ultra-Orthodox Adass girls’ school in Elsternwick in Melbourne’s south-east.

An Israeli judge had said that Malka Leifer could be released to home detention earlier this month after a rabbi offered to take care of her while she awaited an extradition outcome.

But days later, the rabbi withdrew his support for Ms Leifer to be released on house arrest.

Ms Leifer had been ordered to stay in police custody in a medical facility while the Supreme Court considered the prosecution’s appeal against her release to home detention.

The court has now ruled that Ms Leifer is to remain in detention until the completion of the extradition proceedings.

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

Malka Leifer to remain in prison in Israel after appeal against releasing her to house arrest upheld

AUSTRALIA And ISRAEL
Australian Broadcasting Corporation

March 19, 2018

A former Melbourne school principal facing extradition to Australia on child sex abuse charges will remain in an Israeli jail after an appeal against releasing her to house arrest was successful.

Malka Leifer, 54 is wanted by Victorian police on 74 charges of child sexual abuse, including rape.

The former principal of the Addas ultra-orthodox girls school in Melbourne has been in custody since February 12, when Israeli police rearrested her, accusing her of faking mental illness for the past three years in order to avoid extradition to Australia.

Earlier this month there were angry scenes outside a Jerusalem court after an Israeli judge ruled Ms Leifer could be freed from police custody to home detention, following the intercession of a high-profile rabbi.

But Israel’s Supreme Court has now upheld an appeal against that decision.

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

Guam Catholic Church seeks to rebuild after Vatican verdict

GUAM
Pacific Daily News

March 18, 2018

By Haidee V. Eugenio

After a Vatican tribunal convicted Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron and removed him from office, Catholics on Guam said this could be a turning point in the healing process of a church rocked by clergy sex abuse scandal.

“I feel the healing will start. It will be a slow, slow process but it will happen,” Tamuning resident Van Morada said as he and his family were about to attend Sunday Mass at Dulce Nombre De Maria Cathedral-Basilica in Hagåtña, the mother church on the island.

Morada said regardless of the outcome of Apuron’s canonical trial, he and his family pray for Apuron, his accusers, and the people of Guam.

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

Parties for 160 sex abuse lawsuits against clergy due in court

GUAM
KUAM News

March 16, 2018

By Krystal Paco

Back in court this week will be parties for the 160 clergy sexual abuse lawsuits. Back in January, majority of counsels were in agreement on pre-mediation protocol and anticipated mediation to take place in June or earlier.

Only one group of plaintiffs, those represented by attorney Anthony Perez, requested lifting the stay on those cases in the local court.

The deal breaker appears to be how mediation will be handled, the Church proposing global mediation while Perez’s clients have expressed interest in individual settlement.

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

A Nashville judge was caught in a sex scandal. Then he hatched a plot to cover up it up, prosecutors say

NASHVILLE (TN)
The Washington Post

March 19, 2018

By Meagan Flynn

It’s not the crime but the coverup, as the famous phrase goes. But nobody seems to pay the warning much heed.

According to federal prosecutors, it didn’t stop Nashville judge Casey Moreland either. He is now ex-Nashville judge Casey Moreland, in jail awaiting trial for obstruction of justice and embezzlement, all connected with his efforts to cover up a sex scandal that threatened to bring him down.

The problems for Moreland started last year when Natalie Amos publicly revealed that Moreland helped her wipe away debt she owed from court fines and traffic-ticket fees – then pursued a sexual relationship with her.

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

Lujan: ‘It’s a great verdict’

GUAM
The Guam Daily Post

March 19, 2018

By Kevin Kerrigan

Attorney David Lujan reacted to the guilty verdict handed down Friday against suspended Archbishop Anthony Apuron by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

“I think it’s a great verdict,” Lujan said. “It vindicates what everyone has been saying.”

The attorney represents five people who have publicly accused Apuron of sexual abuse.

Walter Denton, Roy Quintanilla, Roland Sondia and the late Joseph “Sonny” Lujan, through his mother Edith Doris Concepcion, have accused Apuron of sexual abuse when he was a priest at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Agat more than 40 years ago.

A fifth victim, Apuron’s nephew, Mark Apuron, came forward in January accusing his uncle of raping him in the chancery bathroom nearly 30 years ago after he had already been promoted to archbishop.

A five-member tribunal, that lasted nearly one year, reviewed several accusations, including accusations of sexual abuse of minors, and found Anthony Apuron guilty of “certain of the accusations.”

The suspended archbishop appealed the verdict, putting a stop to the imposing of penalties cited by the Vatican that included stripping him of his title and banishing him from Guam.

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

George Pell accused of cinema, pool abuse

AUSTRALIA
9News

March 19, 2018

Cardinal George Pell is accused of abusing a complainant while watching the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind at a country Victorian cinema.

Australia’s highest-ranked Catholic is also accused of abusing another complainant at a swimming pool.

Pell, 76, returned to Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday for week three of a committal hearing as he fights charges of multiple historical sex offences involving multiple complainants.

The court has not released details of the charges.

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

Former head of Catholic Church in Britain dies after fall

SCOTLAND
The Irish Post

March 19, 2018

By Ryan Price

THE FORMER most senior cleric of the Catholic Church in Britain has passed away aged 80 after suffering a fall.

Cardinal Keith O’ Brien was taken to hospital in Newcastle after suffering a severe head injury brought about by a fall last month in which he also broke his collarbone.

His successor administered the last rites on Friday, on the eve of his 80th birthday.

His passing was announced early this morning.

The Co. Antrim native resigned as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh in 2013 after apologising for sexual misconduct in his past.

Three priests and a former priest alleged improper conduct in the 1980’s.

Having initially contested the allegations, Cardinal O’ Brien later apologised upon his retirement: “I wish to take this opportunity to admit that there have been times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop, cardinal. To those I have offended, I apologise and ask forgiveness,” he said.

Pope Francis accepted his resignation and stripped him of his duties.

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

Cardinal Keith O’Brien, disgraced Catholic church leader, dies

SCOTLAND
The Guardian

March 19, 2018

By Severin Carrell

O’Brien, who died aged 80, was accused of sexual misconduct by three priests and a former priest

Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the disgraced former head of the Roman Catholic church in Scotland, has died, aged 80, in hospital after being injured in a recent fall.

O’Brien was forced to resign as archbishop of St Andrew’s and Edinburgh in February 2013, after serious allegations of sexual misconduct emerged following an investigation by the Observer.

The most senior Catholic figure in the UK at the time, O’Brien was accused by three priests and a former priest of improper sexual conduct in relation to a series of incidents in the 1980s.

After rising to become one of Scotland’s most famous religious figures, O’Brien left the country in disgrace – moving first to Ireland, then to Northumberland, before settling in Newcastle. He retained his title as cardinal despite his misconduct.

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

Former head of Catholic Church in Britain Cardinal Keith O’Brien dead at 80

SCOTLAND
Metro

March 19, 2018

By Richard Hartley-Parkinson

Cardinal Keith O’Brien, formerly the Catholic Church’s most senior cleric in Britain, has died at the age of 80.

He had recently been injured in a fall and died in a Newcastle hospital.

Cardinal O’Brien resigned as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh in 2013 after admitting sexual misconduct.

Confirmation of his death was announced by his successor, Archbishop Leo Cushley.

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

Vatican says Guam Archbishop guilty of abuse accusations

GUAM
Radio New Zealand

March 19, 2018

A Vatican tribunal has found the archbishop of Guam, Anthony Apuron, guilty of “certain accusations” related to the sexual abuse of minors.

The Catholic Church on the island has been consumed by a child sex abuse scandal that went right to the top of the church’s hierarchy: Archbishop Anthony Apuron.

Apuron was accused of assaulting altar boys when he was a parish priest on Guam in the 1970s.

When the allegations first surfaced in June 2016, Pope Francis suspended Apuron and put his before a secretive Vatican procedure.

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

How #MeToo is leaving child victims behind

NEW YORK (NY)
The Week

March 19, 2018

By Dani Bostick

For years as a child, I was abused by an adult. I kept this secret for decades.

I’m sure I knew other victims. But I heard none of their stories. Like me, they chose silence.

We survivors of child sexual abuse don’t just know how to keep a secret — we were groomed to believe secrecy was essential to our survival.

#MeToo has changed that, as more and more survivors of sexual violence and sexual harassment are coming forward to share their stories. But while some of these stories have included child victims, for the most part, the focus of #MeToo has been on adult victims of workplace sexual misconduct. The subsidiary #MeTooK12 movement emerged recently as a way to address sexual misconduct that occurs in schools, but even still, the scores of young girls and boys who experience child sexual abuse are largely cut out of the conversation.

This has to change. Roughly 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 20 boys experience sexual abuse. It is a sad fact that children are the most vulnerable among us and also the least equipped to advocate for themselves.

Children are victimized at higher rates than adults, per Darkness to Light, a nonprofit organization focused on educating adults to prevent child sexual abuse. Their youth renders them “uniquely vulnerable,” Heidi Fuchs, a criminal justice clinician at TESSA, a domestic violence support center in Colorado, told The Week, as they may not be able to properly understand and process the abuse they’ve endured. Children are “most in need of effective advocacy,” Fuchs said, because “they lack the information, resources, experience, and ability to advocate for themselves.”

Moreover, unlike adults, children are often completely powerless in their environments. Abusers are frequently the people who also meet a kid’s most basic needs, like food and shelter. Even when abuse takes place outside of the home, it is often perpetrated by a trusted individual, and often in the context of activities that are presented as mandatory — like USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar’s rampant abuse of young female athletes during medical treatments.

When children are trapped in these abusive situations, the consequences can be devastating. In fact, child sexual abuse can cause literal changes to the structure of the brain, researchers discovered in a 2015 study.

That’s why it is time for the women and men of #MeToo to advocate for children as ardently as they do for adults. Removing stigma is key, and encouraging survivors to disclose their own experiences will help others feel safe enough to come forward. We must disrupt the silence, because silence benefits only perpetrators, never victims.

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

Sex abuse lawsuit against Scouts halted, for now

ATHENS (GA)
Athens Banner-Herald

March 18, 2018

By Lee Shearer

A lawsuit filed by former Boy Scouts over alleged sexual abuse by a former Scout leader has been dismissed, but that won’t be the end of it, says a lawyer for the men.

The men filed suit nearly a year ago against the Boy Scouts of America, the Northeast Georgia Council of Boy Scouts, several Athens churches and the estate of Ernest Boland, saying they suffered lasting harm from Boland’s sexual abuse.

The Scouts and the churches knew Boland had been accused of sexual abuse as long ago as 1961, yet allowed him to continue as a Scout leader for years, according to the lawsuit.

A successful Athens businessman, Boland died at age 88 in 2013, the year after an Oregon judge forced the Boy Scouts to release the names of thousands of Scout leaders expelled from the organization because of accusations of sexual abuse.

The Clarke County lawsuit, filed last year, alleged the churches and the Scouts had endangered the public with a “persuasive and systematic cover-up” of those identities.

Darren Penn, the lawyer for the men suing the Boy Scouts and Boland’s estate, said the men will file suit again, but just when, and on what grounds, depends on a bill now pending in the Georgia Legislature.

Penn requested the lawsuit be dismissed without prejudice earlier this month, just days before a hearing was scheduled on defendants’ motion to dismiss the lawsuit before new Western Judicial Circuit Judge Regina Quick, who took over the case when she was appointed to take the place of retiring Judge David Sweat.

Their decision to dismiss the suit hinged on several factors, Penn said, including objections defendants had made about notification, and the possibility that Quick could have ruled in favor of the defendants, which would have presented a big obstacle for the plaintiffs.

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

Hannibal Buress’ Microphone Cut During Colossus Performance

CHICAGO (IL)
Loyola Phoenix

March 18, 2018

By Luke Hyland

Comedian Hannibal Buress’ mic was cut after making a joke about the Catholic Church’s history of child abuse during his Saturday night Colossus performance, attendees said.

Colossus is an annual, two-night show held by Loyola’s Department of Programming (DOP) in Gentile Arena, where a musical act performs one night and a comedic act the other night.

Buress reportedly opened his set with pictures of an email he said he received from Loyola detailing the school’s restrictions for Colossus artists, including a ban on any content regarding rape, sexual assault, race and sexual orientation.

The show began with a DJ opener, Tony Trimm, whose set was also reportedly cut short. Buress took the stage soon after another comedian warmed up the crowd.

After making a comment referencing priests’ molestation of children, Buress’ microphone cut out. The upset crowd booed but eventually quieted so Buress could perform without a microphone. The background music’s volume was reportedly increased, according to attendees, and the comedian left the stage for 15 minutes. After the break, he returned and finished his set.

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

Parishioners calling for change after second priest suspended on sexual abuse allegations

SAGINAW (MI)
NBC25 News

March 18, 2018

By Jasmyn Durham

A second Saginaw priest is facing sexual abuse allegations in less than a month.

The Catholic Diocese of Saginaw released a statement this weekend, saying they received a complaint against 72-year-old Father Ronald Dombrowski.

Father Dombrowski was suspended from ministry while he is being investigated, and Saginaw worshipers say they want change.

Saginaw resident Dan Renner say although he doesn’t know Father Dombrowski or the victim, he knows a lot of people of the Catholic faith.

“Kids and people that I know went to them in the 70’s and the 80’s and it’s just very sad.”

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

Víctimas del padre Meño denuncian para superar el trauma

PIEDRAS NEGRAS (MEXICO)
Vanguardia MX [Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico]

March 19, 2018

By El Universal

Read original article

Los abusos sexuales que sufrieron en el seminario cambió sus vidas

PIEDRAS NEGRAS, COA.- El 24 de marzo de 2017 se destaparon varios casos de abusos sexual contra menores de edad por parte de Juan Manuel Riojas Martínez, conocido como el padre Meño, quien fuera rector del Seminario Menor de la Diócesis de Piedras Negras, a raíz de la denuncia del exseminarista Roberto Javier Calzada Tamez ante la entonces Procuraduría General de Justicia del Estado (PGJE), por el delito de violación calificada con abuso de autoridad y agravio a un menor de edad.

“El abuso sexual es algo que te deja marcado de por vida, que no puedes superar ni con el mejor tratamiento Psicológico o Psiquiátrico y más cuando viene de un sacerdote”, dijo Ignacio Martínez Pacheco, otra víctima de violación del padre Meño, quien se encuentra preso desde agosto del año pasado.
Casi un mes después de presentada la primer denuncia, el 19 de abril, Ignacio Martínez se armó de valor y levantó otra acusación contra Meño por abuso sexual cometido cuando era seminarista; así se sumaron otras cuatro denuncias similares.

Riojas Martínez huyó y estuvo prófugo por casi cinco meses. Las autoridades de seguridad comenzaron su búsqueda y hasta colocaron varios anuncios en los que ofrecían 200 mil pesos de recompensa por información que llevara a su captura. 

El 18 de agosto se entregó voluntariamente. Meño fue vinculado a proceso e internado en el Centro Penitenciario Varonil de Piedras Negras, en donde en estos días tendrá la audiencia intermedia, luego de que a la fiscalía se le negara ampliar el plazo para recabar más pruebas.

Ignacio explicó que se salió del Seminario Menor de Piedras Negras cuando tenía 17 años (ahora tiene 32), por la mala experiencia que había vivido. Guardó silencio por casi 14 años por el miedo a las represalias. 
Ignacio describe que lo que se encontró en el seminario fue que varios de los sacerdotes, con ayuda de los encargados de seminarios, buscaban los perfiles de los menores que fueran de familias muy humildes para acercarse a ellos y seducirlos con regalos, dinero y ropa.

“Luego los convencían para que les hicieran sexo oral. Podríamos decir que nada más se arremangaban la sotana y luego hacían con ellos lo que querían”, explicó.

Muchos de los abusos, detalla Ignacio, los cometían en la casa parroquial, o la sacristía, incluso cerca del altar donde se guardan los objetos consagrados para las misas. 

EL TRAUMA

Martínez Pacheco asegura que después de lo que le pasó le vinieron tiempos muy duros, pues sufría pesadillas, estaba intranquilo y con miedo. Aprendió a vivir con eso por casi 14 años.

La acusación del exseminarista Roberto Javier Calzada Tamez impulsó a Ignacio a dar a conocer su caso. 

El exseminarista lamenta que el caso del padre Meño no sea el único en Piedras Negras y por ello pide que la Santa Sede investigue para que se castigue a los responsables, “pues no es suficiente con que el papa Francisco, como lo hicieron sus antecesores, pida perdón a los afectados de padres pederastas”.

“Nada más se arremangaban la sotana y luego hacían con ellos lo que querían”.Ignacio Martínez, víctima del padre Meño.

TODOS HUYERON

“Éramos 36 compañeros en secundaria y preparatoria, pero ninguno se ordenó de sacerdote, algunos son doctores, abogados, empleados, pero ninguno logró ser ni diácono ni sacerdote”, aseguró Martínez Pacheco.

Actualmente Ignacio es técnico en refrigeración y aire acondicionado y licenciado en Administración de Empresas, pero dedica gran parte de su tiempo a la coordinación de enlace de la organización INsCIDE, enfocada en la prevención y apoyo de víctimas de abuso sexual, la cual fue conformada hace menos de un año.

NEGLIGENCIA 

Calzada Tamez, quien en 2017 cumplió su mayoría de edad, fue el primero que denunció el abuso sexual de el padre Meño ante la procuraduría estatal; pero reconoció que hubo negligencia por parte de autoridades eclesiales.

Javier señala que el cura estuvo como seis años en la Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón, en Nueva Rosita, municipio de San Juan de Sabinas, donde acostumbraba acudir a reuniones con amigos, y lo llevaba a él y a otro estudiante. En esos viajes a la región carbonífera, el padre Meño aprovechaba para acercarse de más e intentaba juguetear; le picaba las costillas y lo agarraba de la cabeza. 

“Cuando yo llegaba de la iglesia él iba y tocaba la puerta de mi cuarto y en una ocasión no le abrí. Él abrió con la llave, entró, se acostó en la cama, me hacía señas para que me acostara a un lado de él, y me acerqué, tenía mucho miedo Fueron tres veces las que abusó de mí, de marzo de 2014 a mediados de 2016.

“Yo me quedé callado por miedo, porque pensé que no me iban a creer y porque quería ser sacerdote. Cuando me mandaron a un seminario de Nuevo León, el 12 de diciembre de 2016 les platiqué de mi caso a los formadores y ellos me convencieron de que hablara con el obispo de Piedras Negras, Alonso Garza Treviño (conocido como el padre Loncho)”, recordó Javier.

Días después, el 20 de diciembre, el padre Loncho acudió a Nuevo León para platicar con Javier. 

“Y cuando le iba a platicar, resulta que él ya sabía todo y me preguntó que si era verdad. Luego me pidió perdón a nombre de la Iglesia y me dijo: ‘platícales a tus papás de una manera parcial y atenuada; hazles ver que todo está bien, que no pasó nada grave’”, explicó la víctima.

Javier afirma que Garza Treviño le dijo que “el padre Meño es un 99% bueno y 1% malo; no andes contando cosas malas de él, ten mucha prudencia y discreción”. 

El obispo de Piedras Negras le prometió a Javier que haría una carta donde le ordenaba al padre Meño que no se le acercara, que debería mantener cierta distancia y no le podía hablar. 

“Luego me dijo que él se encargaría de todo, que enviaría el caso a la Santa Sede para que el papa Francisco dispusiera qué hacer al respecto y me asignó a un siquiatra para que me atendiera”, explicó.

Para enero de 2017, los padres de Javier le exigieron al obispo castigo contra Riojas Martínez, y el obispo les ofreció demandarlo penalmente, pero aclaró: “Hasta que pase la colecta del Seminario”, que era el 17 de febrero, para que no se perjudicara la recaudación de limosnas (que son de al menos medio millón de pesos)”.

Los padres no pudieron esperar más y el 24 de marzo interpusieron la denuncia penal contra el padre Meño ante las autoridades estatales, por el delito de violación calificada con abuso de autoridad y agravio a un menor de edad. Horas más tarde, la Diócesis de Piedras Negras interpuso otra querella. Ese mismo día, Riojas Martínez se dio a la fuga y no se supo de él hasta agosto cuando se entregó. 

Se buscó comunicación con la Diócesis de Piedras Negras y de Saltillo, sin que se tuviera respuesta para dar a conocer su postura sobre el tema. 

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Vatican removes Guam archbishop accused of abuse

GUAM
Catholic Herald

March 16, 2018

The Catholic Herald understands that Archbishop Apuron will appeal the verdict

A Vatican tribunal has found Archbishop Anthony Sablan Apuron, who was accused of sexual abuse, guilty of “certain of the accusations” against him, and removed him from office.

A five-judge panel of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) announced the verdict on Friday and imposed upon the archbishop “the penalties of privation of office and prohibition of residence in the Archdiocese of Guam”.

Archbishop Apuron has headed the Archdiocese of Agaña since 1986, but was placed on leave by Pope Francis in 2016 after a series of abuse accusations from young men.

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Sunday school teacher accused of sex abuse

MESQUITE (TX)
WFAA

March 16, 2018

A Sunday School teacher in Mesquite is charged with Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child.

The suspect, Benjamin Baldiviez, was a volunteer at Parkside Baptist Church.

Police issued a news release Friday announcing the arrest.

They believe the abuse happened between March and October of 2017 both at the church and while away on church events.

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Church child sex abuse inquiry revealed stupidity and lying, claims bishop

ENGLAND
The Times

March 19 2018

By Kaya Burgess

A child sex abuse inquiry has exposed “stupidity, incompetence and lying” at the highest levels of the Church of England a serving bishop has said, calling for an independent body to oversee safeguarding policy.

During two weeks of evidence sessions, with another week still to go, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) has heard numerous accounts of abusers within the church whose offences were ignored, dismissed or covered up by senior figures.

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Priest accused of demeaning church employees resigns

TRENTON (NJ)
NJ.com

March 17, 2018

By Olivia Rizzo

A Catholic priest accused of harassing female church employees and making inappropriate comments has resigned from his position at The Church of Saint Ann in Lawrence.

Rev. Gerrard Lynch resigned from his position at the parish on March 7. He has since returned to the Trinitarian Order, a Diocese of Trenton spokeswoman said Friday.

A lawsuit filed last month by current and former employees of the church accuse Lynch of being biased against them and saying vulgar, demeaning and inappropriate things, which caused them “fear, consternation and loss of faith.”

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UCLA student wins sexual misconduct claim against professor

LOS ANGELES (CA)
Los Angeles Times

March 18, 2018

By Teresa Watanbe

Kristen Glasgow was tenacious even after a $110,000 settlement. Last week, just over a decade after her first encounter with the teacher, she learned that he finally had lost his job

UCLA graduate student Kristen Glasgow says she first met Gabriel Piterberg, a history professor, in 2008. They had coffee together and then, she alleged, he walked her to her car, pushed her against it and forced his tongue into her mouth.

Glasgow detailed this and other claims of Piterberg’s sexual misconduct over five years in a lawsuit she filed against the University of California in 2015.

The lawsuit said that UCLA essentially ignored her complaints when she tried to go through the Title IX complaint process. It led to a settlement in which the university gave her $110,000 and a fellowship to support her work on her doctoral dissertation.

But even after that validation, UCLA’s initial response to her charges still gnawed at Glasgow — as did the fact that Piterberg still had his job. When UCLA hired a new Title IX coordinator, Glasgow filed a complaint again, in 2016. This time, she won.

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DUTCH JEWISH COMMUNITY DISTANCES ITSELF FROM CHIEF RABBI JACOBS

AMSTERDAM (THE NETHERLANDS)
Jewish Community Watch

March 17, 2018

The organization representing the Jewish community in Amsterdam has severed ties with Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs because of the Chief Rabbi’s involvement in covering up child sexual abuse.

This is according to a letter by David Brilleslijper, Chairman of the Jewish community of Amsterdam (NIHS), which was obtained by The Parool. (A leading Dutch newspaper.)

These actions mark the first time that a Jewish organization has distanced itself from the Chief Rabbi, after years of allegations of his involvement in several abuse cases.

Jacobs is chief rabbi of all Jewish communities in The Netherlands, except for the capitol Amsterdam, the Hague and Rotterdam.

Several parents came forward and testified that Jacobs urged them in 2012 to not report to the authorities, the sexual abuse suffered by their children at the hands of a teacher employed at the Cheider.

Jacobs warned them of “severe penalties” of falsely reporting crimes, and that their children, the abuse victims, would not be able to find suitable marriage candidates within the Jewish community.

Because of the delay in reporting to the police, the teacher suspected of sexual abuse, Ephraim S, was able to flee to Israel where he became a citizen.

After lengthy legal battles, he was extradited in 2016. On Wednesday he will appear in front of a judge for the initial hearing of the case.

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Ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses break silence on shunning: ‘My mother treats me like I’m dead’

DETROIT (MI)
Detroit Free Press

March 18, 2018

By Tresa Baldas

Amber Sawyer was just 8 years old when it happened.

She was watching cartoons on the living room floor of her Mississippi home when she heard the bang.

She went to investigate and found her 21-year-old sister, Donna, dead in her bed. She had shot herself in the heart with their father’s hunting rifle weeks after being excommunicated by their church for getting engaged to a non-Jehovah’s Witness.

For Sawyer — who sat on the bedroom floor near her sister’s body for hours that day, waiting for her mother to come home from her door-to-door missionary work — it was the beginning of a long, painful journey that would one day tear her family apart.

Years later, Sawyer got excommunicated, too, after seeking a divorce from an abusive husband. She ended up leaving the husband — and the faith. Her family cut all ties.

“Jehovah’s Witness kids grow up knowing that if they ever mess up, their parents will leave them — and that’s scary,” Sawyer, now 38, said in a recent interview from her home in Pascagoula, Miss. “The shunning is supposed to make us miss them so much that we’ll come back. … It didn’t work.”

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Diocesan Priest Suspended from Ministry as Allegation is Investigated

SAGINAW (MI)
Diocese of Saginaw

March 17, 2018

A senior priest of the Diocese of Saginaw, Father Ronald J. Dombrowski, 72, has been suspended from priestly ministry by the Most Rev. Joseph R. Cistone, Bishop of Saginaw, as an allegation of sexual abuse against Father Dombrowski is being investigated. A self-identified victim, who was a minor at the time and is no longer a minor, was in contact with the Diocese on Thursday, March 15. The diocese shared this information with law enforcement.

Although nothing has yet been determined, as a precautionary measure, Father Dombrowski was immediately suspended from priestly ministry. He is to have no contact with individuals under 21. This prohibits Father Dombrowski from going on school properties and participating in school and parish activities and functions. In addition, Bishop Cistone has informed Father Dombrowski that he must refrain from wearing clerical garb, refrain from the exercise of public ministry, and may not present himself publicly as a priest while the allegation is being investigated.

Father Dombrowski most recently served as sacramental minister at Holy Family Parish in Saginaw, 1525 S. Washington Ave., Saginaw, 48601, where he celebrated Mass and the sacraments.

Father Dombrowski was ordained to the priesthood on January 22, 1972. Prior to ordination to the priesthood, he served as a deacon at St. Josaphat Parish, Carrollton, from May 1970 to September 1970; St. Joseph Parish, Auburn, from September 1970 to June 1971; and Sacred Heart Parish, Caro, from June 1971 to January 1972.

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ESPN among ‘worst offenders in the nation’ regarding sexual misconduct, ex-governor says

LANSING (MI)
FOX News

March 18, 2018

A former Republican governor of Michigan took ESPN to task Saturday during a fiery exchange with a reporter for the sports network over recent sexual misconduct allegations involving Michigan State University.

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo was set to speak about his team’s win Friday over Bucknell when ESPN reporter Dan Murphy asked former Gov. John Engler: “Do you not think Michigan State is one of the worst offenders of sexual assault right now?” the Detroit Free Press reported.

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March 18, 2018

Victims’ advocate to Buffalo diocese on priest sex abuse: ‘Secrecy must end’

BUFFALO (NY)
Buffalo News

March 18, 2018

By Jane Kwiatkowski Radlich

A nationally known recovery group for sexual abuse victims increased the pressure Sunday on the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo to release the names of all clergy involved in the growing number of sexual abuse cases in Western New York.

“Bishop Richard Malone told the media recently that he inherited a policy of secrecy regarding the names of sexually abusive clergy in the Diocese of Buffalo, yet he has done nothing to change that policy for five and a half years,” said Robert M. Hoatson, president of Road to Recovery Inc., a nonsectarian organization that works with survivors of sexual abuse.

“In the interest of full transparency, validation and the safety of children, Bishop Malone must release the names of sexually abusive clergymen in the Diocese of Buffalo and the documents surrounding each and every case,” said Hoatson. “The secrecy must end.”

The pronouncement came Sunday morning during a press conference called by Hoatson on Franklin Street, one block from St. Joseph’s Cathedral, where Malone was celebrating Mass. Hoatson was accompanied by a priest who came forward Sunday morning to identify himself publicly as the victim of sexual abuse by a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Erie, Pa.

“I was molested by my priest in Erie from the time I was 16 to 19, and I ended up actually becoming a priest myself,” said James Faluszczak, 48, who lives here now and also called on Malone to release the names of priests accused of abuse.

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Father testifies in Australian court cardinal abused son

MELBOURNE (AUSTRALIA)
Associated Press

March 15, 2018

A father testified in an Australian court Thursday that his son said he was sexually abused by Vatican Cardinal George Pell during a waterskiing outing years ago. When a defense lawyer accused him of lying, the father told the court it was an insult.

The testimony in the Melbourne Magistrate Court came at a hearing to determine whether prosecutors have sufficient evidence to put Pell on trial.

Pope Francis’ former finance minister was charged in June with sexually abusing multiple people in his Australian home state of Victoria. The details of the allegations have yet to be released to the public, though police have described the charges as “historical,” meaning they allegedly occurred decades ago.

Pell, 76, has said he will plead not guilty if the magistrate rules a jury trial is warranted.

The father of one of the alleged victims, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, testified via a video link that he first learned of the alleged abuse in 2015 and that his son struggled to talk about it.

Defense lawyer Robert Richter said the father did not name Pell in a statement he made to police then. “Do you have any explanation as to how it is there is no mention of Pell there, as having done anything wrong at the lake?” Richter asked.

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Vatican Reveals Full Text of Benedict XVI’s Letter to Msgr. Viganò

ROME (ITALY)
National Catholic Register

March 17, 2018 (and earlier reports)

By Edward Pentin

[Includes an English translation of the entire letter. See also the letter as released by the Vatican and also a PDF of the letter.]

The Vatican released on Saturday the full text of Benedict XVI’s letter to Msgr. Vigano showing that two paragraphs were concealed. The Vatican said it had no intention to censor the letter but chose to leave out parts of it as the letter was confidential. The story as it developed.

* * *

The letter in full:

Benedictus XVI
Pope Emeritus
Most Reverend Msgr. Dario Edoardo Viganò
Prefect of the Secretariat for Communications
Vatican City
February 7, 2018

Most Reverend Monsignor,

Thank you for your kind letter of 12 January and the attached gift of the eleven small volumes edited by Roberto Repole.

I applaud this initiative that wants to oppose and react to the foolish prejudice in which Pope Francis is just a practical man without particular theological or philosophical formation, while I have been only a theorist of theology with little understanding of the concrete life of a Christian today.

The small volumes show, rightly, that Pope Francis is a man of profound philosophical and theological formation, and they therefore help to see the inner continuity between the two pontificates, despite all the differences of style and temperament.

However, I don’t feel like writing a short and dense theological passage on them because throughout my life it has always been clear that I would write and express myself only on books I had read really well. Unfortunately, if only for physical reasons, I am unable to read the eleven volumes in the near future, especially as other commitments await me that I have already made.

Only as an aside, I would like to note my surprise at the fact that among the authors is also Professor Hünermann, who during my pontificate had distinguished himself by leading anti-papal initiatives. He played a major part in the release of the “Kölner Erklärung”, which, in relation to the encyclical “Veritatis splendour”, virulently attacked the magisterial authority of the Pope, especially on questions of moral theology. Also the “Europaische Theologengesellschaft”, which he founded, was initially conceived by him as an organization in opposition to the papal magisterium. Later, the ecclesial sentiment of many theologians prevented this orientation, allowing that organization to become a normal instrument of encounter among theologians.

I am sure you will understand my refusal and I offer you cordial greetings.

Yours,

Benedict XVI

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Vatican ‘Lettergate’ scandal comes to a head as text released

VATICAN CITY
Reuters

March 17, 2018

By Philip Pullella

[See also the letter as released by the Vatican and also a PDF of the letter.]

The Vatican “Lettergate” scandal came to a head on Saturday when the Holy See, under pressure from the media and conservatives, released a full text by former Pope Benedict that before was cited only selectively.

The Vatican Secretariat for Communication, which had come under sharp criticism all week for blurring part of a photograph of the letter and for withholding another section, said in a statement there had been “no intent of censorship”.

It said the letter, written for the presentation of a Vatican-published 11-booklet series on the theology of Pope Francis, was private and therefore officials had cited only the “opportune and relative” parts.

But the episode, which has cast a shadow over the Vatican for a week, has proven to be a public relations fiasco, particularly for its communications chief, Monsignor Dario Vigano.

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Vatican bows to pressure, releases retired pope’s letter

VATICAN CITY
Associated Press

March 17, 2018

By Nicole Winfield

[See also the letter as released by the Vatican and also a PDF of the letter.]

Stung by accusations of spreading “fake news,” the Vatican on Saturday released the complete letter by Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI about Pope Francis after coming under blistering criticism for selectively citing it in a press release and digitally manipulating a photograph of it.

The previously hidden part of the letter provides the full explanation why Benedict refused to write a commentary on a new Vatican-published compilation of books about Francis’ theological and philosophical background that was released to mark his fifth anniversary as pope.

In addition to saying he didn’t have time, Benedict noted that one of the authors involved in the project had launched “virulent,” ″anti-papist” attacks against his teaching and that of St. John Paul II. He said he was “surprised” the Vatican had chosen the theologian to be included in the 11-volume “The Theology of Pope Francis.”

“I’m certain you can understand why I’m declining,” Benedict wrote.

The Vatican’s Secretariat for Communications said Saturday it was releasing the full text of the letter due to the controversy over the “presumed manipulation” of information when the volume was launched Monday with great fanfare on the eve of Francis’ anniversary.

It said its decision to withhold part of the letter at the time was based on its desire for reserve, “not because of any desire to censor.”

The so-called “Lettergate” scandal has embarrassed the Vatican’s communications operations and fueled the growing chasm between supporters of Francis’ pastoral-focused papacy and conservatives who long for the doctrine-minded tenure of Benedict.

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Cardinal George Pell abused son at lake, court hears

SYDNEY (AUSTRALIA)
The Australian

March 15, 2018

By Tessa Akerman

Cardinal George Pell allegedly abused one of his victims at a lake in the 1970s, a court has heard.

The Melbourne Magistrates Court this morning heard evidence from the father of an alleged victim that he initially heard about the abuse in 2015 from his other son.

“He could not talk to his father about it and he still cannot,” the man, who cannot be identified, said.

Cardinal Pell is appearing in a committal hearing charged with historical sexual offences in relation to multiple complainants.

The hearing will determine whether the cardinal will stand trial over the allegations.

Today the court heard the offending allegedly occurred when then Father Pell visited the lake with another priest while the father and his family were there.

The man said none of his family told him about improper, sexual or inappropriate behaviour while they were at the lake.

Robert Richter QC, representing Cardinal Pell, said the man was proud that he had given Cardinal Pell a water ski ride.

“I was proud because he was such a big man as to challenge a man driving a ski boat,” the father said.

The court heard the father did not name Cardinal Pell in his 2015 police statement as one of the men who allegedly committed offences against his son.

Mr Richter questioned the man about his statement.

“You say your omission from the statement was just ‘you forgot’,” Mr Richter said.

“That’s an invention of yours since July 2015. You just made that up after you made your statement.”

The father said Mr Richter had insulted him.

“Yes, that may be an insult but it’s true is it not,” Mr Richter said.

“Absolutely not,” the father said.

The man said when he spoke to the alleged victim his son did not go into detail and only said he was abused.

“I cannot remember the details, I was more concerned about the fact that he had been abused by priests.”

The father said he did not ask his son which priests allegedly committed offences against him.

Mr Richter said it was a “huge stretch” that the father did not mention Cardinal Pell when he was questioned by police.

The court heard the father had no idea there was an allegation against Cardinal Pell before his sons spoke to him in 2015.

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First Plenary Council meeting in 80 years to discuss sex abuse fallout

SYDNEY (AUSTRALIA)
The Australian

March 19, 2018

By Emily Ritchie

[See also a description of the council and the council’s mandate.]

Dealing with the fallout from the royal commission into sex abuse is on the agenda at the first Catholic Church national plenary council to be held in more than 80 years.

The significant opportunity, which will be revealed today after Pope Francis gave it his blessing, will involve community consultations from this Easter before two meetings of more than 40 bishops in October 2020 and May 2021.

The event, not held in Australia since 1937, aims to engage the Catholic community in dialogue about the role of the church in the future and redefining Australia’s place in that future.

The process has the potential to initiate landmark changes to the Catholic Church’s code of canon law, with approval from Rome.

“The council will be an opportunity for people to come together and listen to God, and in particular by listening to one another as ­together we discern what God is asking of us at this time — a time when the church in Australia is facing significant challenges,” said Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge, chair of the Bishops Commission for the Plenary Council.

“We sincerely hope the preparation and celebration of the Plenary Council is a time when all parts of the church listen to and talk to one another as we explore together how we might answer the question: ‘What do you think God is asking of us in Australia?’”

A post on the plenary council website says: “There are many reasons for having a plenary council for the Catholic Church in Australia: Pope Francis has invited local church to dialogue; the contemporary society of Australia has changed significantly; and the Royal Commission into Institutional Response to Child Sexual Abuse has been a significant and influential event that requires deep consideration and response.”

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Buffalo diocese paid $1.5 million to settle priest sex abuse lawsuit

BUFFALO (NY)
Buffalo News

March 18, 2018

By Jay Tokasz

[See also this article on the front page of the Sunday Buffalo News.]

The Catholic Diocese of Buffalo quietly paid $1.5 million in 2016 to a man who alleged a priest sexually abused him when he was a teenager more than three decades ago.

It was the diocese’s second financial settlement of a lawsuit alleging abuse by James A. Spielman, a former diocesan priest who served in at least six Western New York parishes and taught religion at Archbishop Walsh High School in Olean.

The settlement is the largest that has come to light so far in the Buffalo diocese for a clergy sex abuse case.

The News found the case in a recent search of federal court records from Hawaii, where the lawsuit was filed.

The massive settlement added to questions about whether diocesan officials have disclosed the full extent of clergy sex abuse in Western New York.

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Second Saginaw Diocese priest suspended amid sexual abuse probe

SAGINAW (MI)
Michigan Live

March 17, 2018

Another longtime priest in the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw has been suspended amid sexual abuse allegations, according to a statement from the diocese.

The Rev. Ronald J. Dombrowski, 72, was recently suspended as a “precautionary measure” after a person told the diocese on Thursday, March 15, that Dombrowski allegedly sexually abused them when they were a minor, according to the statement.

The diocese forwarded the complaint to law enforcement. Saginaw County Assistant Prosecutor Mark Gaertner said Saturday that no charges have been filed against Dombrowski.

The Rev. Joseph R. Cistone, bishop of Saginaw, ordered Dombrowski not to wear his clerical attire, present himself as a priest in public or perform ministry while the allegation is investigated.

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Another abuse claim rocks Anglican Church

CAPE TOWN (SOUTH AFRICA)
Cape Argus

March 18, 2018

By Bulelwa Payi

The Anglican Church has been rocked by another disclosure of sexual abuse, a few weeks after a well-known author broke a 40-year silence on his own experience.
This week, David Fields (not his real name) recalled how the abuse lasted from the late 1970s until the early 1980s when he was 13 years old.

“As a young boy I grew up in church. Our parents wanted us to attend church and priests were looked up to in the community as people with authority and power.

“The priest and another one in the parish started taking an interest in me, but at the time I didn’t know why nor could I understand what the interest was all about. Then the abuse started with touching and led to sexual activity.

“The other priest stopped pursuing me. But one continued. He would come to our home, telling my parents he was taking me to church events. This continued for about four years. And suddenly he was moved about 150km from Cape Town.

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Pope Francis Is Beloved. His Papacy Might Be a Disaster.

NEW YORK (NY)
New York Times

March 16, 2018; print edition, Week in Review, March 18, 2018

By Ross Douthat

The conversation has become predictable. A friendly acquaintance — a neighbor, a fellow parent, our real estate agent — asks about my work. I say I’ve been writing a book about the pope, and the acquaintance smiles and nods and says “Isn’t he so wonderful?” or, “That must be an inspiring thing,” or, “I have a friend who would love to read it.” And then eventually I find myself saying, uncomfortably, “Well, they should know that it’s not entirely favorable.”

A pause, puzzled and slightly crestfallen. “But you’re writing about the nice pope?”

The consistency of these exchanges is a testament to the great achievement of Pope Francis’ five years on the papal throne. He leads a church that spent the prior decade embroiled in a grisly sex abuse scandal, occupies an office often regarded as a medieval relic, and operates in a media environment in which traditional religion generally, and Roman Catholicism especially, are often covered with a mix of cluelessness and malice.

And yet in a remarkably short amount of time — from the first days after his election, really — the former Jorge Bergoglio has made his pontificate a vessel for religious hopes that many of his admirers didn’t realize or remember that they had.

* * *

Meanwhile, the pope’s response to the sex abuse scandal, initially energetic, now seems compromised by his own partiality and by corruption among his intimates. The last few months have been particularly ugly: Francis just spent a recent visit to Chile vehemently defending a bishop accused of turning a blind eye to sex abuse, while one of his chief advisers, the Honduran Cardinal Óscar Maradiaga, is accused of protecting a bishop charged with abusing seminarians even as the cardinal himself faces accusations of financial chicanery.

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March 17, 2018

The revelations about child abuse are insult to memory of St Patrick

BELFAST (NORTHERN IRELAND)
Belfast Telegraph

March 17, 2018

By Alf McCreary

This is St Patrick’s Day, and one hopes that people will celebrate wisely rather than too well. It is a sad irony that some of the greatest drunkenness and disorder from students takes place in what we call the “Holy Land” area of Belfast.

There is nothing holy about such self-indulgent behaviour, or about the blatantly sectarian way in which St Patrick has been hijacked by some die-hard republicans on the edges of the various parades.

St Patrick is the patron saint of Protestants as well, and hard-line republicans who use the Irish flag in the name of St Patrick ought to remember that. So much for Sinn Fein’s hollow mantra about “respect.”

St Patrick, that austere, godly and lovable fifth-century saint, would be distressed by the deep divisions in our society today, and he would be particularly saddened by the shadow which hangs over one major denomination of the Christian Church he established in Ireland so long ago.

He might also be distressed by the secularisation of society, but he would be most deeply hurt by the continued scandal of clerical child sex abuse in the Catholic Church.

This has surfaced again recently with the revelations of the evil and heinous abuse by the paedophile Newry priest Fr Malachy Finnegan on Church premises in the Dromore Diocese and in St Colman’s College where he had been a teacher and, for 11 years, the President.

This scandal only became public recently after it emerged that the diocese had paid a six-figure sum in compensation to one of the abuse victims.

One bizarre aspect was that the tombstone of Fr Finnegan, who died in 2002, was removed from the graveyard under the cover of darkness. This reads like something out of a lurid Dracula novel rather than as disturbing and real facts of only a couple of months ago.

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Fr Malachy Finnegan: A child abuser and his victims

DUBLIN (IRELAND)
Irish Times

March 17, 2018

By Patsy McGarry

During therapy sessions for sex offenders, Finnegan insisted: ‘I’ve done nothing wrong’

A former Catholic priest remembers Fr Malachy Finnegan when he was at the Stroud treatment centre for sex offenders in Gloucestershire, England. It was 1995, and the former priest had himself been sent there because he was gay and was considered a sex addict by church authorities.

He recalls Finnegan during group therapy sessions when everyone was expected to be open and honest about their activities as part of their treatment “He never opened his mouth for the four months he was there [at the sessions] except to say, with resolute stubbornness, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong’.”

If “he had admitted anything he would never have returned to ministry”, the former priest said. “Everything he would have said and done would have been reported back [to his bishop].”

Away from the therapy sessions he and Finnegan became friendly. It was how the former priest discovered Finnegan has spent some time in the South at a parish in Co Laois, and how he had claimed that he and the then bishop of Dromore diocese Francis Brooks had been classmates.

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Donations double for San Jose Catholic girls school accused of ignoring sex abuse

SAN JOSE (CA)
Mercury News

March 15, 2018

By John Woolfork

Despite allegations that administrators ignored sexual harassment and abuse complaints at a San Jose Catholic girls school, donors outraged by the accuser’s tactics have more than doubled their contributions.

Presentation High School reported Thursday that the school raised more than $126,000 in its crowdfunding campaign this week even as critics wrote school supporters urging them to withhold donations to pressure the school to investigate the allegations. That was more than twice last year’s $59,000 haul.

“It’s nice to see these misleading claims not only haven’t made a dent in our reputation, they have encouraged people to stand up and fight the falsehoods by voting their consciences with their wallets,” Kristin Cooke Schneider, the school’s alumnae director, said in a statement. She said money raised will fund scholarships and other student programs at the prestigious school, where tuition is nearly $20,000 a year.

But news of the surging donations came as critics leveled new charges Thursday that Presentation ignored “numerous sexual abuse allegations” about a former performing arts instructor who left in 2004.

The instructor was convicted on child molestation and pornography charges in 2014 while teaching at a private San Mateo school for children with learning disabilities. He is now a registered sex offender. The critics allege that Presentation never reported that instructor to authorities even “after his own admission” to Principal Mary Miller “that he had inappropriately fondled an underage student,” when he was teaching at Presentation High.

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Archdiocese of Mexico backs sentence of priest jailed for abuse

MEXICO CITY (MEXICO)
Catholic News Agency / ACI Prensa

March 15, 2018

The Archdiocese of Mexico reaffirmed its commitment to fighting sexual abuse and expressed its support for the 62-year jail sentence for a priest found guilty of abuse.

The archdiocesan communications office issued a statement March 13 on the sentence imposed on the priest Carlos Lopez Valdés, who was found guilty of molesting Jesús Romero Colín several times between 1994 and 1998.

Lopez Valdés, who is now 72, served at San Agustín de las Cuevas parish in Tlapan, south of Mexico City. Romero was his altar boy, and was abused between the ages of 7 and 11.

Romero filed a complaint against the priest in 2007 and the Archdiocese of Mexico then opened an ecclesiastical trial, which found the priest guilty and dismissed him from the clerical state.

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Suspended sentence for former priest who abused girl as she made First Confession

CORK (IRELAND)
Evening Echo

March 17, 2018

By Liam Heylin

A West Cork priest sexually assaulted a little girl throughout her First Confession, and yesterday the 79-year-old got a suspended jail term.

Judge Sean Ó Donnabháin noted that the accused had served two previous jail sentences for similar crimes at this time and said that there was no point in re-committing him to jail at this point in his life.

John Calnan who is now living at The Presbytery, Roman Street, Cork, pleaded guilty to carrying out the indecent assault on the communion girl in the late 1980s.

The victim said yesterday at Cork Circuit Criminal Court: “I did inform my teacher and parents about the incident at the time but I am not sure they believed me. On the day of the abuse, I knew before ever entering the room for this man to hear my confession that something bad was going to happen. I went through my life never feeling believed.”

On the day she was wearing a little badge. The priest told her to come close to him so that he could see the badge and he then put his hand up her pinafore and put his fingers in her vagina.

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False priest abuse claim brings $60K in sanctions

CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Daily Law Bulletin

A Cook County judge ordered more than $60,000 in sanctions Wednesday against a man accused of making false sex abuse claims against ex-priest Daniel McCormack. The Archdiocese of Chicago filed a motion in July requesting Supreme Court Rule 137 sanctions against John J. Doe one month after he voluntarily dismissed his suit against McCormack.

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Priest denies sexually abusing children; Diocese says allegations prompted removal

BUFFALO (NY)
Buffalo News

March 16, 2018

By Dan Herbeck and Jay Tokasz

Three men have told The Buffalo News they were sexually abused as boys by the Rev. Donald W. Becker, a Catholic priest removed from the ministry in 2003.

On Friday, a spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo told The News that Becker was barred from performing priestly duties then because of sexual abuse allegations against him.

Bishop Richard J. Malone made a similar statement Friday to a reporter from WKBW television news station.

But Becker, now 75 and living in Florida, denied the allegations.

“No, I did not,” Becker told The News, when asked if he had ever molested children. “Certainly not sexual…This is quite shocking.”

Becker’s three accusers said the priest molested them after getting them drunk. Two of the men told The News they were in their teens when they were molested, and the third said he was 10 or 11 years old. One said he recently received a financial settlement from the diocese. Another said the diocese agreed to pay for his psychological counseling, his medical care and his medications after he made a complaint against Becker more than a year ago.

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I-Team: Buffalo diocese forced out priest, hid abuse allegations from public

BUFFALO (NY)
WKBW ABC 7

March 16, 2018

By Charlie Specht

Rev. Donald Becker denies multiple abuse claims

A longtime priest in the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo was forced out of service and put on “medical leave” in 2002 after allegations of child sexual abuse came to light, the 7 Eyewitness News I-Team has learned.

Until now, the Rev. Donald W. Becker has never been named publicly as an alleged child sex abuser even though victims have come forward with stories of abuse and the reverend has long had a poor reputation among some diocesan priests.

The timing of Becker’s forced retirement — he was given a “medical leave of absence” soon after the Catholic sex abuse scandal first broke in Boston in 2002 — looks especially suspect in hindsight, clerical sexual abuse experts said.

Since he was ordained in 1967, Becker has served at multiple parishes — mostly in the Southtowns and in rural areas — including St. Bonaventure in West Seneca, Nativity in Orchard Park, SS. Peter & Paul in Hamburg, St. Agatha’s in South Buffalo and St. Mary’s in Batavia.

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March 16, 2018

Former Catholic church employee charged over sex offences

CANBERRA (AUSTRALIA)
The Canberra Times

March 16, 2018

By Emily Baker

A 79-year-old man has been charged with child sex offences linked to incidents alleged to have happened while he was an employee of the Catholic Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn almost three decades ago.

NSW Police will allege the man was performing an administrative role within the archdiocese when he met the 15-year-old alleged victim.

The offences are alleged to have occurred in 1989 during a work-related trip to Batemans Bay and Huskisson.

Police investigated the alleged incidents after receiving a referral from the archdiocese’s Institute for Professional Standards and Safeguarding last year.

The man was arrested in Brisbane on Tuesday and charged with five counts of gross indecency by male with male under 18 years.

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Woman seeks dismissal of former priest’s counter-claim

GUAM
Pacific Daily News

March 16, 2018

By Haidee V. Eugenio

A woman from Saipan has asked the court to dismiss a recent counter-claim filed by a former Guam priest who denied allegations that he sexually abused her when she was about 12 years old, around 1963.

Former priest Andrew San Agustin, now known as Joe R. San Agustin, told the court he’s been harmed by the accusations against him and asked the federal court to award damages for pain and suffering.

A woman identified in court documents only as B.T. to protect her privacy, on March 14 filed a motion to dismiss San Agustin’s counter-claim.

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Letter: Catholic Church needs to atone for terrible sins

BUFFALO (NY)
The Buffalo News

March 16, 2018

Catholic Church needs to atone for terrible sins

I am replying to the March 7 News editorial, “Is it time for a change?” Just as it focused on the topic of celibacy not always being in existence, the hierarchy of the Catholic Church also wants the laity to believe that women priests never existed in the church’s past history, which is certainly not the truth.

The Vatican has even likened the grave offense of pedophilia to ordaining women priests. As underhanded as that pronouncement is, certainly more despicable and as low as you can possibly get were these so-called men of God and their reprehensible actions. The specific bishops who gave orders of transfer to offending priests were indeed looking out solely for themselves.

With this deed now done, those priests were out of their sight. But how in any universe could they ever erase from their mind the victims, the actual children and young men and women whose lives were forever shattered?

While the hierarchy of the church was only concerned with keeping this hidden, the bishops were only concerned with their own ladder climbing to move up the rung career wise, even if that meant basically stepping over all of these victims while at the same time offering no help or compassion – absolutely nothing other than looking the other way.

Yes, indeed, the hierarchy needs to go over its current centuries-old policies. Cardinal Bernard Law, who was constantly moving offending priests from one area to another, was rewarded by the hierarchy by being transferred from Boston to Rome. Recently a woman sex abuse victim resigned from a papal commission. She was fed up with the public stance the hierarchy presents, but would not actually act on behind closed doors. When an institution still does not seem to get it completely, that needed change will be sorely missing.

Peg O’Connor

Buffalo

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Vatican tribunal finds Archbishop Apuron of Guam guilty of abuse

VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Service

March 16, 2018

By Carol Glatz

A Vatican tribunal found Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron of Agana, Guam, guilty of some of the accusations made against him, accusations which included the sexual abuse of minors.

After a canonical trial conducted by the apostolic tribunal of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Vatican judges imposed the following sanctions on the 72-year-old archbishop: the removal from office and a prohibition from residing in Guam. The archbishop can appeal the sentence.

Archbishop Apuron is among the highest-ranking church leaders to have been tried by the Vatican for sexual offenses.

In a press statement released March 16, the tribunal said, “The canonical trial in the matter of accusations, including accusations of sexual abuse of minors, brought against the Most Reverend Anthony Sablan Apuron, O.F.M.Cap., Archbishop of Agana, Guam, has been concluded.”

“The apostolic tribunal of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, composed of five judges, has issued its sentence of first instance, finding the accused guilty of certain of the accusations and imposing upon the accused the penalties of privation of office and prohibition of residence in the Archdiocese of Guam.” U.S. Cardinal Raymond L. Burke, a noted canon lawyer, was the presiding judge in the canonical investigation of Archbishop Apuron.

“The sentence remains subject to possible appeal,” the Vatican statement said. “In the absence of an appeal, the sentence becomes final and effective. In the case of an appeal, the imposed penalties are suspended until final resolution.”

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Vatican removes from office and exiles Guam archbishop accused of sexual abuse

GUAM
Pacific Daily News

March 16, 2018

By Haidee V. Eugenio and Dana M. Williams

A Vatican tribunal found Archbishop Anthony Apuron guilty of sexually abusing minors, removing him from office and exiling him from the island.

The Vatican said in a statement that Apuron’s trial has concluded, and the tribunal “has issued its sentence of first instance, finding the accused guilty of certain accusations and imposing upon the accused the penalties of privation of office and prohibition of residence in the Archdiocese of Guam.”

The announcement said the sentence remains subject to possible appeal.

“In the absence of an appeal, the sentence becomes final and effective,” the Vatican said. “In the case of an appeal, the imposed penalties are suspended until final resolution.”

Apuron was suspended as archbishop in June 2016 following public allegations that he had sexually abused altar boys when he was the parish priest in Agat in the 1970s. He denied the accusations and threatened to sue his accusers.

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Donations double for San Jose Catholic girls school accused of ignoring sex abuse

SAN JOSE (CA)
The Mercury News

March 15, 2018

By John Woolfolk

Despite allegations that administrators ignored sexual harassment and abuse complaints at a San Jose Catholic girls school, donors outraged by the accuser’s tactics have more than doubled their contributions.

Presentation High School reported Thursday that the school raised more than $126,000 in its crowdfunding campaign this week even as critics wrote school supporters urging them to withhold donations to pressure the school to investigate the allegations. That was more than twice last year’s $59,000 haul.

“It’s nice to see these misleading claims not only haven’t made a dent in our reputation, they have encouraged people to stand up and fight the falsehoods by voting their consciences with their wallets,” Kristin Cooke Schneider, the school’s alumnae director, said in a statement. She said money raised will fund scholarships and other student programs at the prestigious school, where tuition is nearly $20,000 a year.

But news of the surging donations came as critics leveled new charges Thursday that Presentation ignored “numerous sexual abuse allegations” about a former performing arts instructor who left in 2004.

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Fr Seamus Reid connected to Newry sex abuse

NORTHERN IRELAND
BBC News

March 16, 2018

A second priest has been connected to sexual abuse in Catholic schools in Newry during the 1960s.

Fr Seamus Reid, who died in 2001, was not a teacher at St Colman’s College but was known to visit the school.

In 2015 the Catholic Church confirmed a catalogue of allegations had been made against the priest.

In February, it came to light that Fr Malachy Finegan, who taught at St Colman’s from 1967 to 1976, had sexually abused pupils.

He died in 2002.

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Parish priest told to ‘get out of town’ amid abuse scandal involving deceased predecessor

NORTHERN IRELAND
Christian Daily

March 15, 2018

By Rachel Cruz

A parish priest at the County Down in Northern Ireland told parishioners during Sunday Mass that he had received and reported an abusive and threatening letter to authorities.

Father Charles Byrne of the Clonduff parish did not exactly clarify what was in the letter but he described the contents as being “abusive.” The letter also called for him to “get out of town” for he had apparently failed to properly handle an abuse scandal involving his predecessor, Father Malachy Finnegan.

Byrne also told his parishioners that there had been a “very hurtful” social media post that defamed his character. He has referred this matter to a legal counsel.

During the 1980s, Finnegan, who was once the parish priest of Clonduff, allegedly sexually and physically abused over a dozen young boys from the St. Colman’s College at the parochial house for decades. He had taught in the school and was later on assigned to be the school’s president.

Finnegan reportedly used to bring students into his bedroom at the parochial house when overnights were still allowed. Not one of the reported abuses, however, resulted in a prosecution. Clerics were then not permited to use the parochial house for overnight stays when the abuse reports surfaced.

Byrne, who became the parish priest in late 2017, on the other hand, has not used the parochial house after members of the community refused to set foot in the building. When they learned that Finnegan had abused the children on the site, parishioners stopped attending community meetings and other activities.

Finnegan died in 2002. Father John McAreavey, who became the appointed Bishop of Dromore in 1999, officiated his Requiem Mass even though he knew of the allegations.

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Allegations of second paedophile priest in Dromore diocese

NORTHERN IRELAND
The Belfast Telegraph

March 16, 2018

It has been alleged that a second paedophile priest was operating in the Newry area at the same time as Fr Malachy Finnegan.

The allegation came to light on BBC Radio Ulster’s Stephen Nolan Show on Friday, March 16.

An anonymous caller to the show alleged that he and a number of other boys were abused by a second priest at St Joseph’s Boys’ High School and St Colman’s College, Newry.

The caller said that the abuse was carried out by Fr Seamus Reid.

Fr Reid allegedly carried out abuse at St Joseph’s and St Colman’s under the guise of conducting confession.

He was also involved with the local Boys Scouts.

In 2015 the Catholic Church confirmed that 11 allegations have been made against Fr Seamus Reid since 1997.

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Retired priest convicted of historical sexual abuse

GLASGOW (SCOTLAND)
STV

March 14, 2018

A retired priest has been convicted of the historical sexual abuse of three young boys and a trainee priest.

Father Francis Moore, 82, was told by a judge he had abused his position as a parish priest and caused “immeasurable damage” to his victims.

The High Court in Glasgow heard that the allegations against Father Moore, also known as Father Paul, were first raised in 1996, but it was not until 2015 that a major police investigation was launched.

The court heard that the priest groomed some of his victims by taking them swimming or out for meals before sexually abusing them.

His youngest victim was just five when the priest abused him in his primary school.

The man, now aged 46, told the court he was abused by Father Moore on four or five occasions over a six-month period.

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Child abuse inquiry: Diocese had ‘major issue’

UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

March 14, 2018

The diocese of Chichester had a “major issue” with priests carrying out abuse, an inquiry has heard.

Bishop of Chichester, the Rt Rev Martin Warner, made the claim when giving evidence to the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse.

Dr Warner said there had been a “breakdown of trust” between the Church of England and the local council.

He also said he was warned by a senior Church of England official that the area was considered “a basket case”.

The bishop claimed Caroline Boddington, who was the Archbishop of Canterbury’s appointments secretary, made the remark when he was appointed in 2012.

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Church official arrested over child abuse

AUSTRALIA
Australian Associated Press

March 16, 2018

By Daniel McCulloch

Police have arrested a former employee of the Catholic Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn over historical child abuse allegations.

A former employee of the Catholic Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn has been arrested on child abuse charges.

The charges related to offences alleged to have occurred when the 79-year-old held an administrative position with the archdiocese in 1989.

“Police will allege the male offender was performing an administrative role within the archdiocese at the time he met the victim who was then aged 15,” NSW Police said in a statement on Friday.

“The offences are alleged to have occurred in 1989 during a ‘work related’ trip to Batemans Bay and Huskisson.”

The 79-year-old was arrested in the Brisbane suburb of Mitchelton on Tuesday and charged with five counts of gross indecency with an underage male.

The archdiocese referred the complaint to police in 2017 and promised to cooperate with the investigation.

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Alaska Airlines pilot accuses co-pilot of rape in lawsuit, calls it a ‘not-dealt-with issue in our industry’

UNITED STATES
Good Morning America (ABC News)

March 16, 2018

By Catherine Thorbecke and Sabina Ghebremedhin

An Alaska Airlines pilot who is suing her employer, claiming that she was drugged and raped by her co-pilot during a layover, said she believes that what happened to her is an industry-wide issue that is often “swept under the rug.”

“I believe that this is an under-reported, swept-under-the-rug, not-dealt-with issue in our industry,” Betty Pina, an Alaska Airlines first officer and former military pilot, told ABC News. “It’s not just our airline.”

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Man accuses the Anglican Church of ‘silencing’ sexual abuse

CAPE TOWN (SOUTH AFRICA)
Mail & Guardian

March 16, 2018

By Carl Collison

On a wintry Sunday afternoon last year, in Cape Town’s St George’s Cathedral, Gavin Hendricks* sat across from the priest who, he says, had sexually abused him for years as a child. Although the years of abuse ended more than three decades ago, the prospect of sitting face to face with his abuser filled Hendricks with dread.

“I was very anxious, but I had gotten to a place a few months ago where I just thought: ‘I need to approach this guy.’ You see, what happened then played a critical role in my life. I see the devastation that the abuse brought to my life, to my former marriage and also to relationships after that. At 52, I still struggle to form relationships with people,” says Hendricks today.

His anxiety was somewhat quelled by the presence of two people he refers to as his “safety net”: his brother and the dean of St George’s Cathedral, Michael Weeder.

Weeder, who had been providing Hendricks with counselling to better deal with the years of trauma, facilitated the meeting between Hendricks and the former priest whom he accuses of sexual abuse while heading the Cape Flats-based parish.

Weeder says that his role “was not so much counselling [Hendricks] as it was guiding him to the point of meeting [his abuser]”.

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Vatican convicts ex-Guam archbishop accused of abuse

VATICAN CITY
The Associated Press

March 16, 2018

By Nicole Winfield

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican on Friday removed the suspended Guam archbishop from office and ordered him not to return to the Pacific island after convicting him of some charges in a sex abuse trial.

The Vatican didn’t say what exactly Archbishop Anthony Apuron had been convicted of, and the sentence was far lighter than those given high-profile elderly prelates found guilty of molesting minors. It amounts to an early retirement anywhere in the world but Guam, a remote U.S. Pacific territory.

Apuron is 72, while the Vatican retirement age is 75.

The Vatican spokesman declined to comment. Calls placed to the tribunal judge weren’t answered. Apuron’s whereabouts weren’t immediately known.

Pope Francis named a temporary administrator for Guam in 2016 after Apuron was accused by former altar boys of sexually abusing them when he was a priest. Dozens of cases involving other priests on the island have since come to light, and the archdiocese is facing more than $115 million in civil lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse by priests.

Apuron strongly denied the charges and said he was a victim of a “calumny” campaign. He wasn’t criminally charged. The statute of limitations had expired.

A statement from the tribunal in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which handles sex abuse cases, said Apuron had been convicted of some of the accusations against him. It said he had been ordered removed from office and could no longer live in the archdiocese of Guam.

The conviction and sentence can be appealed. If Apuron appeals, the penalties are suspended until the case is resolved.

In the past, when an elderly or infirm priest has been convicted by the Vatican of sexually abusing minors, he has often been removed from ministry and sentenced to a lifetime of “penance and prayer.” Younger priests convicted of abuse have been defrocked, removed from ministry or forbidden from presenting themselves as priests.

Francis, however, has intervened in a handful of cases to lower sentences, and several high-ranking Vatican prelates oppose defrocking convicted molesters and have long lobbied for more lenient sentences.

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Bill Cosby Will Face 5 More Accusers at Retrial for Sexual Assault

UNITED STATES
Vogue

March 16, 2018

By Bridget Read

A judge ruled on Thursday that Bill Cosby will face five additional women who are accusing him of sexual assault at his retrial in April, in a major decision for the case against Cosby. Last year, Cosby’s original trial ended in a hung jury, during which he only faced two accusers, Andrea Constand and Kelly Johnson. Prosecutors asked that they admit testimony from 19 additional women who say Cosby abused them; even the five additional women will aid the prosecution in establishing Cosby as a serial predator, whom they are alleging has exhibited an established pattern of drugging and assaulting victims.

The judge, Steven T. O’Neill, did not readily offer an explanation for why he decided to allow more women to give their accounts this time around. His ruling included a stipulation that the five women who will testify at the retrial be chosen from the eight most recent reported incidents. More than 50 women allege sexual misconduct by Cosby, who maintains his innocence.

Andrea Constand is a former Temple University employee, who testified in court that Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her at his home near Philadelphia in 2004. In the first trial, the defense questioned Constand, among other aspects of her allegations, about why she took a year to report the incident the police and why she continued to have contact with Cosby after the fact. The testimony from the additional five women will allow prosecutors to establish Cosby’s behavior outside of Constand’s account, possibly bolstering her version of events despite the areas in which the defense previously found weakness.

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Archdiocese: Crosier plan objection aims to secure compensation for abuse claimants

ST. PAUL and MINNEAPOLIS (MN)
The Catholic Spirit

March 16, 2018

By Maria Wiering

Leaders of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis said its legal objection filed against the Crosier Fathers and Brothers’ plan for reorganization aims to help victims/survivors of clergy sex abuse, not stymie the Crosiers’ reorganization process.

“The archdiocese is committed to maximizing its resources available to compensate victims and to reach a prompt consensual result in its bankruptcy case through the mediation ordered by Judge Kressel. The availability and value of its insurance is at the heart of these resources,” said Thomas Abood, chairman of the archdiocese’s reorganization task force, in a March 15 statement.

“The archdiocese filed its objection in the related Crosier matter to ensure the preservation of insurance rights for the benefit of the victim creditors in its case,” he added. “The archdiocese fully expects that its filing, as well as the similar filing by the Crosiers in the Archdiocese case, will be resolved in a way that does not delay confirmation of a plan in either case.”

Attorneys for the archdiocese filed the objection with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court March 14 in order to have the plan amended in a way that would preserve the compensation obligations of insurers affected by both the Crosiers’ and archdiocese’s Reorganization efforts. The Crosiers and the archdiocese are among Catholic entities in Minnesota that separately filed for Reorganization following the 2013 lifting of a statute of limitations by the Minnesota State Legislature, which ushered in a wave of historic sexual abuse claims.

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Alleged abuse victims testify against Cardinal Pell at Australian court hearing

MELBOURNE (AUSTRALIA)
CNA/EWTN News

March 15, 2018

Alleged victims of abuse of Cardinal George Pell gave testimonies this week during a hearing in an Australian court which will determine if he will face a trial.

The committal hearing for the Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy took place at the Melbourne Magistrate Court, and will allow prosecutors to determine whether there is enough evidence for a jury trial. The hearing began last week and is expected to take about a month to complete.

This week, the hearing was closed to media and the public while alleged victims gave testimony to the court through a video link. The courtroom reopened to the public Wednesday afternoon.

The total number of charges brought against Pell are not public, although some of the charges previously brought against Pell date as far back as 1961. In January, a key charge against Pell was dropped after the complainant died of leukemia.

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Phillip Kravetsky, 51, charged in ongoing Sexual Assault investigation, Bathurst Street and Lawrence Avenue West area, Man’s photograph released

TORONTO (CANADA)
Toronto Police

March 15, 2018

Sex Crimes
416-808-2922

Case #: 2018-411456

The Toronto Police Service would like to advise the public of an arrest in an ongoing Sexual Assault investigation.

It is alleged that:

– a 51-year-old man sexually assaulted a child at an address in the Bathurst Street and Lawrence Avenue West area.

– this man is employed in Toronto as a psychotherapist with a focus on family counselling and corporate mediation

On Tuesday, March 13, 2018, Phillip Kravetsky, 51, of Toronto, was arrested by Child & Youth Advocacy Centre members. He is charged with:

1) Sexual Assault
2) Sexual Interference

He is scheduled to appear in court at 1000 Finch Avenue West on Friday, April 27, 2018.

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Catholic Dioceses Asked To Release Names Of Priests Accused Of Sexual Abuse

SYRACUSE (NY)
WRVO

March 15, 2018

By Ellen Abbott

An attorney representing some survivors of clergy sexual abuse is calling on both the Catholic Diocese of Syracuse and Ogdensburg to release names of all priests accused of abuse.

Attorney Mike Reck works for a Minnesota law firm that has represented victims of clergy sexual abuse across the country, including central New York and the North Country. After presenting a list of publicly known priests who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse in those dioceses, he called on bishops to release the names of all clergy who’ve been credibly accused in the past.

“We believe the disclosure of this information is vital for the sake of public safety, and for the sake of the survivors who need this in order to begin their healing process,” Reck said.

Reck contends the church knows about dozens of priests who have been accused, but not publicly named.

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Christian Brothers teacher admits abusing Kalgoorlie schoolboy more than 50 years ago

AUSTRALIA
Australian Broadcasting Corporation

March 15, 2018

By Joanna Menagh

A former Kalgoorlie Catholic schoolboy who says he was sexually abused by a Christian Brother more than 50 years ago has expressed his relief that his long battle for justice has finally led to the man responsible admitting what he did.

James Brian Hamilton, who was a teacher at the Christian Brothers College in Kalgoorlie, has pleaded guilty to a charge of indecently and unlawfully dealing with a child under 14 — an offence that happened in 1964.

Hamilton, who is now in his 80s, appeared in Perth’s District Court via video link from Melbourne, where it is believed he has lived for the past few decades.

A second charge was discontinued by the prosecutor, who told the court the decision to drop that count was made on “public interest grounds”.

Watching on from the public gallery was Hamilton’s victim, who cannot be identified and is now in his 60s, but who was only aged about 13 when the abuse happened.

After the brief hearing, he spoke outside the court about his 50-year fight to bring Hamilton to justice and the effect the abuse has had on him.

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She said she was raped on a flight. American Airlines called it a ‘nuisance claim.’ Now, she’s speaking out

UNITED STATES
The Dallas News

March 15, 2018

By Conor Shine

It was shortly before 10 p.m. on June 16 when Aubrey Lane boarded American Airlines Flight 1280 at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, eager to meet up with family in New York for what she described as a bucket-list trip.

Several hours into the red-eye flight, she got up to use the bathroom.

There, Lane said she was trapped in the lavatory and raped by a noticeably intoxicated man who’d been sitting next to her during the flight.

The following hours were a blur of trauma and confusion, Lane said, as she was moved to a seat toward the back of the plane, met by police officers when she got off the plane at JFK International Airport and then transported to a nearby hospital.

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An Alaska Airlines pilot is suing the airline alleging another pilot drugged and raped her

UNITED STATES
Business Insider

March 14, 2018

By Benjamin Zhang

– Alaska Airlines pilot Betty Pina is suing the airline.
– The first officer claims she was drugged and raped during a layover by the captain in charge of her flight.
– She claims Alaska Airlines is responsible for the captain’s behavior.
– The pilot also claims Alaska Airline’s response to the incident was lacking.

An Alaska Airlines pilot has filed a lawsuit against the airline claiming that she was drugged and raped while on the job. Betty Pina, a 39-year-old first officer who has been flying commercially with Alaska Airlines since 2016, alleges that she was drugged and raped at a hotel during a layover in Minneapolis, Minnesota by the Captain in charge of her flight.

(Pina’s name is being used because she has given on the record interviews with media outlets. The identity of the captain named in Pina’s suit is being withheld because he has not been charged with a criminal offense.)

In the lawsuit filed on Wednesday at Washington State Superior Court, the 39-year-old former Army helicopter pilot claims Alaska Airlines should be liable for the alleged actions of employees, including the Captain accused of the offenses. In addition, Pina claims the airline’s response to the incident was inadequate and “unlawfully retaliatory.”

“This is an open and active investigation and we aren’t going to comment,” an Alaska Airlines spokesman said in a statement to Business Insider. “What we can say is that we are taking this matter seriously. The safety and well-being of our employees and guests is a top priority.”

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Press Release from the Apostolic Tribunal of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

VATICAN CITY
Holy See

March 16, 2018

The canonical trial in the matter of accusations, including accusations of sexual abuse of minors, brought against the Most Reverend Anthony Sablan APURON, O.F.M.Cap., Archbishop of Agaña, Guam, has been concluded.

The Apostolic Tribunal of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, composed of five judges, has issued its sentence of first instance, finding the accused guilty of certain of the accusations and imposing upon the accused the penalties of privation of office and prohibition of residence in the Archdiocese of Guam.

The sentence remains subject to possible appeal. In the absence of an appeal, the sentence becomes final and effective. In the case of an appeal, the imposed penalties are suspended until final resolution.

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Reformers urge Australian bishops to release report on child sexual abuse royal commission

AUSTRALIA
Illawarra Mercury

March 15, 2018

By Joanne McCarthy

AUSTRALIAN Catholic bishops face “make or break time”, say prominent Catholics urging the church to make public its first formal analysis of damning child sexual abuse royal commission findings.

Reform group Catholics for Renewal and prominent Catholic author Paul Collins say public release of the Truth Justice and Healing Council’s royal commission assessment report, delivered to bishops last week, is a test of whether Australia’s bishops have learnt the lessons of the royal commission and are prepared to include lay Catholics in decision-making.

Former priest and Catholics for Renewal president Dr Peter Wilkinson and vice president Peter Johnstone said their group had asked bishops and leaders of Catholic orders to regard the TJH Council analysis of royal commission recommendations as a church “white paper” for reform.

They called on bishops to release the report to Catholics and the broader community for comment and consider those responses before preparing the church’s formal response to royal commission recommendations to the Federal Government.

“Not to make that document available is just another sign of continuing secrecy by the bishops,” said Dr Wilkinson, who co-authored a five-year study into systemic reasons for child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.

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Korea sets up panel to curb sexual abuse by priests CBCK president will chair committee as it seeks ways of handling human rights violations

SEOUL (SOUTH KOREA)
UCA News

March 15, 2018

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea (CBCK) will set up a special bishops’ committee in a bid to prevent sexual abuse by priests as more incidences of misconduct are exposed.

Korean bishops held a spring plenary session from March 5-9 and discussed setting up the Special Committee to Prevent Priests’ Sexual Abuse panel under the CBCK.

“A bond has developed among our bishops [who believe] the recent cases of sexual abuse by priests serve as a last warning from God to the church in Korea,” said Archbishop Hyginus Kim Hee-joong of Kwangju, a city in the center of South Korea.

“With this momentum, the church in Korea should repent and prepare a path toward renewal and change,” he said.

“The special committee will work to spread a culture that priests must both respect and care for the faithful.”

In addition to the committee, each diocese will install a window to receive reports of sexual abuse inside the church. Bishops will directly handle such cases.

According to the CBCK, the special committee will consider remedies to prevent human rights abuses and support victims of sexual abuse.

It will also come up with a formal process to punish priests who commit such abuse and integrate an anti-abuse campaign into priestly training.

The committee also plans to research the causes of sexual abuse by priests and sexual discrimination in the church in general, after which it will produce guidelines to help eradicate these.

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Calls for Catholic Church to give equal justice to overseas abuse victims

AUSTRALIA
Australian Broadcasting Corporation

March 14, 2018

By Catherine Graue

As debate continues about the Catholic Church’s approach to the national redress scheme for Australian victims of child sexual abuse, the church is now being challenged to take responsibility and deal with crimes carried out by church officials overseas, in developing countries that include Papua New Guinea and the Philippines.

The call, from the chief executive officer of the Church’s Truth, Justice and Healing Council, comes as police in PNG wrap up their investigations into allegations an Australian priest, still working with children, inappropriately touched students.

Francis Sullivan said it was clear that priests with child sex allegations made against them had been sent overseas, although he is not prepared to concede that those actions were deliberate.

But he said the church needed to treat overseas survivors exactly as they would those in Australia, and ensure they get justice.

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AP: Families feel deserted after sex assaults at base school

UNITED STATES
The Associated Press

March 15, 2018

By Reese Dunklin and Justin Pritchard

The three military fathers sat at the commander’s conference table on the U.S. Army base in Germany, pleading for help.

They told the commander that their daughters were among a half-dozen girls sexually assaulted by a boy in their first-grade class at the base school. The principal had known about the boy’s behavior for months, they said, but the abuse continued.

The girls’ parents had already turned to Army police, military child-abuse authorities and sex-assault specialists. The response throughout the U.S. military’s vast support structure was always the same, they said: Sorry this has happened; there’s nothing we can do.

“It gives us a sense of hopelessness,” one of the fathers, a soldier, said. “We can only do so much as parents.”

Tens of thousands of children and teenagers live and attend school on U.S. military bases while their parents serve the country. Yet if they are sexually violated by a classmate, a neighborhood kid or a sibling, they often get lost in a legal and bureaucratic netherworld . That’s because military law doesn’t apply to civilians, and the federal legal system that typically handles civilian crimes on base isn’t equipped or inclined to prosecute juveniles.

The Pentagon’s response to addressing this problem stands in contrast to how it cracked down on sexual assault in the ranks following congressional scrutiny more than a decade ago.

“If this would have been a soldier, things would have happened much differently,” the soldier’s wife said.

The Office of the Secretary of Defense said it “takes seriously any incident impacting the well-being” of soldiers and families and promised, without elaboration, “appropriate actions.”

The military’s school system — the Department of Defense Education Activity, or DoDEA — said it had “zero tolerance for sexual assault” and that an investigation of what happened at the German base school showed staff “took the appropriate actions to best meet the needs of all students involved.”

Yet, in a military that prizes procedure and protocol, the Pentagon’s school system has no specific policy to respond to student-on-student sexual violence. It doesn’t accurately track the incidents and affords students fewer protections than those assaulted in U.S. public schools, an Associated Press investigation found.

Three sets of parents interviewed for this story spoke on the record. But AP does not name victims of sexual assault without consent and, to protect their daughters’ identities, extended that anonymity to their parents.

“The one place you can feel safe with your child going is school,” said another mother whose daughter was among those who reported being attacked, “and then you can’t even trust school.”

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“Conseguí que se sentencie a 63 años de cárcel al sacerdote que me violó”: Jesús Romero, el joven que logró un castigo histórico en México por pederastia contra el cura Carlos López Valdés

MEXICO CITY (MEXICO)
BBC [London, England]

March 16, 2018

By Ana Gabriela Rojas

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“Fue un camino muy difícil y con muchas trabas. Pero, por fin, después de diez años de denuncias conseguí que se sentencie a 63 años de cárcel al sacerdote que me violó por años”.

Quien cuenta esto es Jesús Romero, un psicólogo mexicano de 35 años, víctima de los abusos del sacerdote Carlos López Valdés, de 72.

López Valdés acaba de ser condenado a pasar más de seis décadas entre rejas, en una sentencia que el abogado de la víctima considera “histórica” por ser la primera contra un cura pederasta en Ciudad de México. 

Tras conocerse la sentencia, la Arquidiócesis Primada de México aseguró que mantendrá “tolerancia cero” frente al delito de pederastia y que tiene plena disponibilidad para colaborar con las autoridades para procurar la justicia.

Jesús Romero era monaguillo de la Parroquia de San Agustín de las Cuevas, al sur de la ciudad, cuando el sacerdote comenzó a abusar de él. 

La primera vez fue en una casa de campo en Cuernavaca a la que el cura lo invitó a pasar un fin de semana, con el permiso de sus padres. 

Mis padres siempre fueron muy creyentes y confiaron en él. Nunca se imaginaron que alguien que consideraban un hombre de fe, un portador de la moral, fuera a hacerme eso“, dice.

En la casa de campo le pidió que se durmiera en la misma cama. Entonces tenía 11 años, el sacerdote 50. 

En la madrugada sintió que el sacerdote le tocaba los genitales, pero no entendía bien que pasaba y creyó que fue sin querer, que lo hizo dormido. 

Pero los abusos continuaron. 

“Primero me obligaba a hacerle sexo oral. Después comenzó a penetrarme”, le explica el hombre a BBC Mundo.

Los abusos siguieron por 5 años. Romero y su abogado, Luis Ángel Salas, aseguran que hay otras víctimas del sacerdote, pero que estas no se han atrevido a denunciarlo

Romero dice que tuvo que tomar terapia psicológica para recuperarse. En 2007 presentó la denuncia y “tras largos años de pedir justicia y muchas trabas legales” López fue detenido en 2016. Esta semana se supo la condena. 

“La sentencia es un triunfo, pero tardó tanto en llegar porque había una estrechacomplicidad entre iglesia y autoridades civiles“, dice el abogado. 

Aunque la condena es por 63 años, en la Ciudad de México la pena máxima que se puede cumplir son 40 años.

Salas explica que, tras la sentencia, ahora están intentando dilucidar la responsabilidad de la estructura eclesiástica en el caso. 

Aunque por ahora, 10 años después de haber denunciado, Romero se concentra en celebrar la sentenciaLa considera una victoria, no sólo para él, sino para todos los que han sido víctimas de abuso sexual

“Con ella también han venido otras cosas buenas. Mi caso ha sido simbólico y mucha gente que ha pasado por lo mismo me ha llamado y escrito. Algunos han encontrado esperanza en que un día alcanzarán la justicia“, dice.

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March 15, 2018

Condena histórica: sentenciaron a 63 años de cárcel a un cura pederasta en Ciudad de México

MEXICO CITY (MEXICO)
Infobae [Buenos Aires, Argentina]

March 15, 2018

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Es la primera sentencia contra un sacerdote pedófilo en la capital mexicana, luego de un proceso que duró 10 años

Hace más de 10 años, en julio de 2007, Jesús Romero Colín denunció al sacerdote Carlos López Valdés por los delitos de pederastia y corrupción de menores. El proceso fue largo y tortuoso, pero el cura acaba de ser sentenciado a 63 años de cárcel, en una histórica condena para estos casos.

El pasado 8 de marzo, el juzgado 55 en materia penal de la Ciudad de México notificó la emisión de la sentencia condenatoria en contra del sacerdote, dentro de la causa penal 244/2008, y le impuso una sentencia privativa de la libertad de 63 años, la cual solo podrá cumplir por los próximos 40 años, debido a que es el tiempo máximo de prisión en la CDMX.

“Esta es la primera sentencia condenatoria contra un cura católico pederasta en la Ciudad de México (CDMX)“, de acuerdo con el abogado defensor de derechos humanos David Peña, integrante del Grupo de Acción por los Derechos Humanos y la Justicia Social, organización civil que acompañó durante estos años a Romero Colín.

El abogado explicó que no hay antecedente alguno y por ello representa un parteaguas en la procuración e impartición de justicia en la CDMX.

El origen de los abusos

Los abusos comenzaron en 1994, cuando Romero Colín tenía 10 años y era monaguillo en la parroquia San Agustín de las Cuevas, en Tlalpan. El sacerdote, que en ese entonces rondaba los 50 años, se hizo muy amigo de la familia, y cuando tenía oportunidad, abusaba sexualmente del menor.

Romero Colín abandonó la parroquia San Agustín de las Cuevas a los 20 años, pero le tomó cinco años más decidirse a interponer la denuncia contra el sacerdote. Actualmente tiene 33 años y asegura sentirse contento por la sentencia contra su agresor. Sin embargo, el proceso para lograrla no fue fácil.

La defensa de Romero Colin afirma que de 2008 a 2016, la Procuraduría General de Justicia de la Ciudad de México consignó varias veces el expediente del sacerdote, pero lo hizo con errores, y hasta agosto de 2016, obtuvo una orden de aprehensión.

Las autoridades detuvieron al sacerdote pederasta en su casa de Jiutepec, Morelos, municipio donde seguía oficiando misa, a pesar de que se le había prohibido hacerlo desde 2011.

La defensa entregó como parte de las pruebas contra el sacerdote 800 fotografías en las que se puede observar al cura teniendo relaciones con Romero Colín y otros menores.

No obstante lo anterior, tuvieron que enfrentar una red de protección y complicidades para evitar que López Valdés fuese acusado, detenido y sentenciado.

En la sentencia, incluso, se integraron los testimonios de dos obispos en funciones: Jonás Guerrero, de Culiacán, Sinaloa, y Marcelino Hernández, de Colima, porque tuvieron conocimiento de las conductas delictivas del sacerdote pederasta desde antes de la denuncia de Romero Colín y no hicieron nada. “No solo fueron omisos, sino, incluso, cómplices”, dijo el abogado.

El defensor, David Peña, adelantó que sigue la batalla legal contra la Iglesia católica, pues tendrán que aceptar sus responsabilidades y pagar una reparación por el daño provocado a Romero Colín.

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Tras sentencia de sacerdote pederasta, podrían ir contra Jonás Guerrero

GUADALAJARA (MEXICO)
Luz Noticias [Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico]

March 15, 2018

By Jessi Jáuregui

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Los Mochis, Sin.- Tras un litigio de más 10 años, las autoridades sentenciaron, de manera historica en México, a 63 años años de cárcel al sacerdote Carlos López Valdés por los delitos de abuso sexual y corrupción de menores.

Sin embargo, las investigaciones continúan, ahora contra quienes desde el seno de la Iglesia Católica de México encubrieron y protegieron al prebístero, entre ellos el actual Obispo de la Diócesis Culiacán, Jonás Guerrero Corona, así como Marcelino Hernández, Obispo de Colima, y el excardenal Norberto Rivera Carrera.

El caso fue denunciado por Jesús Romero Colin, quien por más de una década fue víctima de violaciones sexuales contínuas por parte de López Valdés.

Uno de los primeros en enterarse de los abusos contra niños y adolescentes cometidos por el sentenciado fue Jonás Guerrero, debido a que en ese tiempo se desempeñaba como Obispo Auxiliar para la Sexta Vicaria Episcospal de la Arquidiócesis Primada de México.

Cuando la madre de Romero Colin acudió a él a denunciar las acciones cometidas contra su hijo, fue recibida con malos tratos. Y, tras hacer de su conocimiento que procedería a interponer una denuncia penal, Jonás Guerrero cambió al sacerdote de templo.

Por órdenes del cardenal Norberto Rivera, Guerrero Corona también fue removido de Ecatepec y trasladado a Culiacán, para así permanecer lejos del escándalo de la investigación que se dio en el centro del país.

Cabe subrayar que, de acuerdo a las declaraciones de la madre de la víctima, cuando ella acudió a Jonás Guerrero, en el 2007, éste ya estaba enterado de abusos cometidos contra menores, debido a que en el 2004, un seminarista encontró fotos de niños desnudos en la caja de fuerte López Valdés e hizo de conocimiento al actual Obispo de Culiacán.

La defensa de Romero Colin ha exigido a las autoridades que, tras la sentencia a López Valdés, también se sancione a los que encubrieron por más de una década los abusos cometidos contra niños y adolescentes, los cuales quedaron plasmados en fotografías que el mismo sacerdotes tomaba mientras los cometía.

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Report says priests accused of sex abuse were in a dozen St. Lawrence County towns up to early 2000s

POTSDAM (NY)
North Country Now

March 14, 2018

A report from a Minnesota law firm specializing in representing sexually abused children has released a report identifying eight priests who were assigned to St. Lawrence County churches that have been publicly accused of molesting children.

The report comes from the Jeff Anderson and Associates firm out of St. Paul, Minn.
The priests include fathers John J. Fallon, Theodore M. Gillette, John Hunt, Liam O’Doherty, Robert M. Shurtleff, Clark S. White, David E. Wisniewski and Paul F. Worczak.

The firm says the vast majority of the accusations have not gone to court, and the statute of limitations has expired on many of them.

It is believed that the Diocese of Ogdensburg does not make available to the public the full history, knowledge and context of the sexually abusive clerics,” the report says. “The Diocese of Ogdensburg can be viewed as a microcosm of the national problem of priests sexually assaulting minors because the diocese fails to fully disclose its knowledge of sexually abusive priests. Upon instituting a zero tolerance policy in 2002, half of the eight publically known perpetrators were removed (Fathers Gillette, Shurtleff, White & Wisniewski).”

In 2002, Diocesan Administrator Monsignor Richard Lawler said that since 1950, 56 people, 37 of whom were minors at the time, have made sexual-abuse allegations against 35 clergymen. The diocese determined that the allegations against 23 of the priests were credible, according to the report.

The identities of all 35 priests have not been disclosed to the public.

“In the interest of public safety the identities and the histories should be disclosed,” the report says.

The Ogdensburg diocese has created the Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program, which is a third-party-administered fund that compensates some victims of childhood sex abuse by priests. There is a May 31 deadline for those who qualify.

“Currently, the IRCP is available only for survivors who previously reported their abuse. It is possible the program will be made available in the future to survivors of abuse who have not yet reported their abuse,” the report says. “While the IRCP does provide some measure of justice and accountability, it is also complex and requires a survivor to waive his/her future rights if a settlement is received.”

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Williams: church’s old views on gay clergy led to desire not to judge sexual activities

ENGLAND
The Guardian

March 14, 2018

By Harriet Sherwood

Former archbishop tells child sexual abuse inquiry ‘there was perhaps overcompensation’ for repressive views

The Church of England may have “overcompensated” for earlier repressive attitudes to gay clergy with a reluctance to deal rigorously with priests who sexually abused children, Rowan Williams, the former archbishop of Canterbury, has said.

Giving evidence to the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse, Williams said an “awkwardness” about the church’s views on homosexuality 30 or 40 years ago may have led to a desire not to be “judgmental about people’s sexual activities”.

In recent years, “more and more people [are] coming out of the closet. The question of clergy sexuality has been more openly discussed. The change in climate has been quite striking … I think there has been a sea change.”

He went on: “At a time when people were beginning to feel awkward about traditional closeted attitudes, there was perhaps an overcompensation, [people] saying, ‘Well, we don’t want to be to be judgmental about people’s sexual activities … We must therefore give people a second chance and understand the pressures,’ and so on.”

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State legislators to grill MSU interim president John Engler today

DETROIT (MI)
Detroit Free Press

March 15, 2018

By David Jesse

State senators will grill Michigan State University President John Engler Thursday during a higher education subcommittee meeting. The testimony is set to begin at 1:45 p.m.

Senators hope to hear answers about how MSU failed in itshandling of complaints raised against Larry Nassar, the MSU doctor accused of sexually assaulting dozens of female athletes on campus, and solutions from Engler about how the school is making sure it doesn’t happen again.

Some of those questions will focus on which sexual assault cases make it up to the attention of MSU’s top leaders and board, said Tonya Schuitmaker, the chairwoman of the committee.

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ROWAN WILLIAMS ADMITS FAILINGS OVER C OF E CHILD ABUSE

ENGLAND
The Tablet

March 15, 2018

By Rose Gamble

Former Archbishop of Canterbury says it took ‘unconscionably long’ to focus on needs of abuse complainants

The Church of England was “naive and uncritical” when in came to abuses of power by clergy, former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams told the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse.

On day eight of a three-week hearing on the Anglican church as part of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), Lord Williams of Oystermouth said that a mindset in which the authority of an ordained minister was thought to be “beyond criticism” was a “definitely a problem” when it came to preventing abuse.

“So much of this turns on how we understand the exercise of power in the Church, in which we have often been in the past — myself included — naïve and uncritical,” he admitted. “It did take us an unconscionably long time for us to really focus on the need of the complainant and the proper care,” he told the inquiry.

He added that this “top down model of authority” leaves “little mental or spiritual space for a victim to speak out in the confidence that they will be heard”.

Even when the Church did begin to act, such as in a review of past cases a decade ago, it only “skimmed the surface”, and failed to do justice to the perspective of victims, he said.

Lord Williams was also questioned on the particular problems in the diocese of Chichester, which is the focus of this strand of the inquiry.

Conservatism along with clericalism was a problem in the diocese, Lord Williams said.

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Priest guilty of child sex abuse

GLASGOW (SCOTLAND)
BBC News

March 14, 2018

An 82-year-old Catholic priest has been convicted of sexually abusing three children and a student priest in crimes spanning more than 20 years.

Father Paul Moore committed the crimes in various locations in Ayrshire between 1977 and 1996.

The court heard how he abused one boy at a school, another at a leisure centre and a third on the beach at Irvine in the 1970s.

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

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Church overlooked sexual abuse by bishop because he was gay, former Archbishop suggests

ENGLAND
The Telegraph

March 14, 2018

By Olivia Rudgard

The Church of England may have overlooked abuse by paedophile bishop Peter Ball because he was gay, a former Archbishop of Canterbury has suggested.

Baron Rowan Williams told the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse that “overcompensation” by colleagues who felt “awkward about the traditional closeted attitude” of the Church of England might have allowed Ball “second chances”.

Asked by Fiona Scolding QC, lead counsel to the Anglican investigation, whether attitudes towards homosexuality affected the way Ball was treated, he said that church figures didn’t want to be “seen to be judgmental about people’s sexual activities”.

He said Ball’s colleagues felt that while “we may formally in a disciplinary way disapprove, we may treat them according to the protocols, but we mustn’t be seen to be, or we mustn’t be judgmental, we must therefore give people second chances and understand the pressures and so on.

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Church’s approach to abuse was to ‘stonewall’ and ‘say nothing’, says Rowan Williams’ former aide

ENGLAND
Christian Today

March 15, 2018

By Harry Farley

Rowan Williams’ former spin doctor today admitted the Church of England’s policy was to ‘stonewall’ abuse victims.

A former official for Lord Williams in his time as archbishop of Canterbury said Lambeth Palace’s approach was ‘to do and say nothing’ in the face of allegations of child sexual abuse in 2010.

George Pitcher, William’s former public affairs secretary, insisted the Church should not see him as ‘the bad boy of its communications’ after he was criticised during hearings into whether the CofE, colluded in, covered up or facilitated abuse.

The inquiry into child sex abuse heard the extent to which Pitcher and other Lambeth Palace officials were desperate to shield Lord Williams from the abuse allegations.

In an internal email from Pitcher to other senior officials he said the ‘real danger here is that these stories are used to suggest the CofE is as bad as Rome, both in abuse and cover-up’.

He went on to suggest the then bishop of Chichester, John Hind, ‘may have to be thrown to the press as a sacrifice’ as allegations of child abuse in east Sussex emerged.

‘The aim must be to distance the current ABC [archbishop of Canterbury] from it as much as poss [sic]. All actions must serve that purpose in my view.’

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Former Henrietta pastor pleads guilty to sexual abuse

HENRIETTA (NY)
Democrat & Chronicle

March 15, 2018

By Victoria E. Freile

A former Henrietta pastor known for running a fight club in his church pleaded guilty to sexual abuse charges Wednesday in Henrietta Town Court.

Paul Burress, 43, who was accused of groping three women in his Henrietta home, was charged last fall with four counts of forcible touching, a misdemeanor. On Wednesday, he pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual abuse, a misdemeanor, according to the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office.

Burress was a charismatic pastor at Victory Church in Henrietta, a large non-denominational church, for a number of years.

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Paedophile priest Father Moore guilty of historical child abuse in Irvine

GLASGOW (SCOTLAND)
Irvine Times

March 14, 2018

A DISGRACED retired priest has been convicted of the appalling historic sexual abuse of three young boys and a trainee priest.

Eighty-two-year-old Father Francis Moore was told by judge Rita Rae that he had abused his position as a parish priest.

Moore who was also known as Father Paul, was found guilty after trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

Some of the jurors were openly weeping as they delivered their verdicts.

Judge Lady Rae told the priest: “Mr Moore you have abused your position as a priest in the most horrible manner. You have been convicted of , particularly in relation to the young children, appalling abuse.

“The damage such conduct does to young people is immeasurable.”

First offender Moore will be sentenced next month.

He showed no emotion as he was remanded in custody and led away to the cells.

The court heard that the allegations against Father Moore were first raised in 1996, but it was not until 2015 that a major police investigation was launched after former top cop and Labour MSP Graeme Pearson raised the matter in the Scottish Parliament.

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Paedophile priest Malachy Finegan ministered in Co Laois

IRELAND
RTÉ News

March 14, 2018

By Joe Little

The Catholic Church has said that paedophile priest, the late Malachy Finegan, ministered for three years in the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin.

Responding to a query from RTÉ News, a spokesman for the diocese said the disgraced cleric, who is known by his own northern Diocese of Dromore to have sexually abused minors, worked as a curate in Rosenallis, Co Laois from 1953 to 1956.

The spokesman added that the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin had “no knowledge or record of any complaint or allegation concerning Fr Finegan”.

Earlier this week the former President Mary McAleese called on the civil authorities in Northern Ireland to launch a public inquiry into the Diocese of Dromore’s response to complaints about Finegan’s abuse which, she said, stretch back as far as the early 1970s.

On 1 March Dr John McAreavey announced his resignation as Bishop of Dromore in the wake of revelations by some of Finegan’s victims that, in 2000, he had concelebrated mass in public with Finegan in spite of the church’s ban on the paedophile ministering in public.

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Sexist Church culture may be linked to failure to tackle child abuse – Williams

UNITED KINGDOM
The Belfast Telegraph

March 14, 2018

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams addressed the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

A sexist and misogynist culture in the Anglican Church may have contributed to failings in tackling child sex abuse, the former Archbishop of Canterbury told an inquiry.

Lord Rowan Williams, who held the post from 2002 to 2012, said the Church still has a “mindset”, but not a “dominant ethos”, of being a “close-knit male body of clergy protective of their dignity and authority”.

He made the comments while giving evidence in London on Wednesday afternoon to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

Fiona Scolding QC, the lead lawyer for the Anglican strand of the inquiry, is examining how the Church of England handled allegations of sexual misconduct stretching back to the 1950s, first focusing on the Diocese of Chichester.

She questioned Lord Williams after reading a statement from retired judge Baroness Elizabeth Butler-Sloss who described how she found there was a “culture of denial” about child abuse among police and clergy in Sussex and said the diocese had an “anti-woman culture”.

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Lawyer for clergy sexual abuse survivors calling for naming of all accused priests

SYRACUSE (NY)
CNY CENTRAL

March 14, 2018

By Daniel Messineo

It is a call for clarity aimed at the Syracuse Catholic Diocese.

A lawyer representing alleged victims of clergy sexual abuse is pushing for the diocese to release all of the names of credibly accused priests.

“The disclosure of this information is vital for the sake of public safety and for the sake of the survivors who need this to begin their healing process,” Mike Reck, attorney with Jeff Anderson and Associates, said.

Reck said the release of names, and where and when the credibly accused priest served in the diocese, would go a long way in helping survivors heal.

“We view this as an opportunity and a call to action for the bishops of each of the diocese to disclose what they knew, when they knew it and make this information available to the public,” Reck said.

Patrick Wall is a victim advocate that works with Reck.

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Eastern Montana Catholic diocese’s effort to drop bankruptcy after settlement fails is a first

BILLINGS (MT)
Billings Gazette

March 14, 2018

By Phoebe Tollefson

For the first time ever, a U.S. Catholic diocese is trying to back out of bankruptcy court due to its failure to reach a settlement with victims of clergy sex abuse.

In a motion filed Tuesday, the Great Falls-Billings Diocese said negotiations with the abuse victims had broken down and that continuing through bankruptcy court would only add to litigation costs and diminish the funds that will eventually be used to compensate victims.

The diocese filed for bankruptcy a year ago as part of its plan to settle complaints by 72 people claiming sex abuse by Eastern Montana clergy. Later more victims came forward and there are now 86.

The diocese is required to pay for all litigation costs, including the work of the victims’ attorneys, under bankruptcy court rules. That tab is likely to run into millions of dollars, the diocese said in a press release issued Wednesday by Chancellor Darren Eultgen.

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Vatican Treasurer’s pre-trial hearing re-opens to public

MELBOURNE (AUSTRALIA)
Reuters

March 14, 2018

By Sonali Paul

The pre-trial hearing examining charges against Vatican treasurer Cardinal George Pell of historical sexual offences re-opened to the public and media on Wednesday following a week of closed evidence from complainants.

Pell, 76, a top adviser to Pope Francis, sat quietly next to his lawyers during the open session at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court.

The hearing, scheduled to last four weeks, started on March 5 to determine if prosecutors have enough evidence for a case to be committed to a full trial.

In the open session, Pell’s lawyers called as a witness the father of an alleged victim. The father, who can’t be named under Australian law in case it identifies the alleged victim, told the court he had no reason to suspect his son had been sexually assaulted. The allegation only arose after his son died of what he said was an accidental heroin overdose in 2014.

“I never saw, he never hinted that there was something going on,” the father, who described himself as a practicing Catholic, said via a video link to the court.

He said his son had been in and out of drug rehabilitation centers seven or eight times. The father said his son had said he got hooked on heroin because he enjoyed the drug and had never hinted that he had turned to drugs as a result of sexual abuse.

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Street in new Freeland development named after accused priest changing

FREELAND (MI)
WJRT

March 14, 2018

The name of a new street in Freeland will most likely be changed as fallout from a sex abuse case involving a priest continues.

A new subdivision north of St. Agnes Catholic Church in Freeland has a road called DeLand Drive.

It was named for Robert DeLand, the pastor of the church since 2011. But he now faces sex assault charges and a federal civil lawsuit from one of his alleged victims.

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