ABUSE TRACKER

DENVER (CO)
Crux

February 21, 2018

John L. Allen Jr. and Ines San Martin

Judging by past performance, it would seem Pope Francis enjoys creating new cardinals. So far, he’s held one consistory, the event in which that happens, during each full year of his papacy, which would mean that if things hold to form, there could be one before the end of 2018 as well.

On Tuesday, Cardinal Paolo Romeo, the former archbishop of Palermo, Sicily, turned 80, meaning he’s no longer an “elector,” meaning a cardinal eligible to vote for the next pope. He’s one of six cardinals who will age out between now and June, with the others being:

March 6: Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, Italy
March 17: Cardinal Keith O’Brien of Scotland, United Kingdom (In March 2015, O’Brien lost his right to participate in a conclave, in consistories, and in meetings reserved only to the College of Cardinals.)
March 29: Cardinal Manuel Monteiro de Castro, Portugal
April 1: Cardinal Pierre Nguyễn Văn Nhơn, Vietnam
June 8: Cardinal Angelo Amato, Italy

Those birthdays mean that should Francis choose to hold a consistory sometime over the summer, and, if he elects to retain the limit of 120 cardinal electors established by Blessed Pope Paul VI, he could name six new Princes of the Church.

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DENVER (CO)
Crux

February 21, 2018

John L. Allen Jr.

Rome – Now that Pope Francis has said out loud what many have long suspected, which is that Blessed Pope Paul VI will be declared a saint within the year, it’s worth asking what the current pontiff seems to have picked up from his recent predecessors.

In all honesty, it’s possible to see pieces of each of the previous five popes in Francis.

From John XXII, Francis gets a maverick streak, and a determination to shake up a Church that both popes saw as being excessively closed on itself. From John Paul I, Francis picks up the smile and a populist touch. He’s got John Paul II’s charisma and command of the stage, as well as his relentless drive to make the social and political message of the Church relevant in the here-and-now. And from Benedict, Francis carries forward the root conviction that it’s time to focus on what the Church says “yes” to, not those things to which it says “no.”

That leaves the question of what Francis’s inheritance from Paul VI is, and perhaps the best one-word answer is “bishops” – like Paul VI in his time, Francis seems to want a cohort of pastorally-minded, center-left prelates to steer the Church in a direction perceived as more dialogical and less rigid.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

February 21, 2018

By Haidee V. Eugenio

In response to a lawsuit accusing him of sexual abuse, former priest Andrew San Agustin filed a counter-claim stating that he has been harmed by the accusations against him and asking a court to award damages for pain and suffering.

San Agustin, now known as Joe R. San Agustin, is representing himself in the case. In documents filed in federal court Wednesday, he denied allegations that he sexually abused a girl from Saipan, referred to by the initials B.T., in 1963. She is seeking $5 million in damages.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter

February 21, 2018

A Pope Francis Lexicon is a new volume collecting 54 essays by prominent figures on the different words that have become important in the ministry of Pope Francis. The book has a foreword from Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and a preface from Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley.

The volume is co-edited by Cindy Wooden, Rome bureau chief for Catholic News Service, and Joshua J. McElwee, NCR’s Vatican correspondent. Following are condensed excerpts from three of the essays in the Lexicon, available in the U.S. from Liturgical Press on Feb. 15.

– Careerism, by Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, CSsR

– Throwaway Culture, by Sr. Pat Farrell, OSF

– Women, Astrid Lobo Gajiwala

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FRONT ROYAL (VA)
LifeSiteNews

February 20, 2018

[Includes PDFs of three documents.]

Rome – Leaked documents obtained by LifeSiteNews connect the Pope himself to a new Vatican financial scandal and raise serious questions about his global reputation as the “pope for the poor.”

LifeSiteNews has obtained internal documents of the U.S.-based Papal Foundation, a charity with a stellar history of assisting the world’s poor, showing that last summer the Pope personally requested, and obtained in part, a $25 million grant to a corruption-plagued, Church-owned dermatological hospital in Rome accused of money laundering. Records from the financial police indicate the hospital has liabilities over one billion USD – an amount larger than the national debt of some 20 nations.

The grant has lay members of the Papal Foundation up in arms, and some tendering resignations. Responding to questions from LifeSiteNews, Papal Foundation staff sent a statement saying that it is not their practice to comment on individual requests.

Speaking of grants in general, the Papal Foundation said their mission has not changed. “The grants to help those in need around the world and of significance to the Holy Father are reviewed and approved through well-accepted philanthropic processes by the Board and its committees,” it said.

Lay membership or becoming a “steward” in the Papal Foundation involves the pledge “to give $1 million over the course of no more than ten years with a minimum donation of $100,000 per year.” Those monies are invested in order to make a perpetual fund to assist the Church.

However, the majority of the board is composed of U.S. bishops, including every U.S. Cardinal living in America. The foundation customarily gives grants of $200,000 or less to organizations in the developing world (see a grant list for 2017 here) via the Holy See.

According to the internal documents, the Pope made the request for the massive grant, which is 100 times larger than its normal grants, through Papal Foundation board chairman Cardinal Donald Wuerl in the summer of 2017.

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SANTIAGO (CHILE)
Associated Press via New York Times

February 21, 2018

The special envoy sent by Pope Francis to investigate allegations that sex abuse was covered up has been hospitalized in Chile, a church official said Wednesday.

Catholic bishop’s conference spokesman Jaime Coiro said the problems affecting Charles Scicluna aren’t extremely serious, “but neither are we dealing with a very simple ailment.”

He didn’t give details, but said Scicluna had been hospitalized for tests to determine what treatment is needed.

The Maltese archbishop on Tuesday began meeting victims and others opposed to the appointment of a bishop accused of covering up for the country’s most notorious pedophile priest.

Coiro said the pope has asked that interviews with witnesses continue Wednesday through Friday as planned. They are to be handled by Jordi Bertomeu, a Spanish priest who has been serving as Scicluna’s translator and notary.

Scicluna came to Chile to investigate complaints about Bishop Juan Barros, who has been strongly defended until now by the pope.

Barros has been accused by victims of witnessing and ignoring the abuse of young parishioners by the Rev. Fernando Karadima, who was removed from ministry and sentenced to a lifetime of “penance and prayer” in 2010.

Barros has denied knowing of the abuse.

Barros has been a bishop since 1995, but his 2015 appointment to the city of Osorno by Francis caused outrage after the Karadima scandal had eroded the Catholic Church’s credibility in Chile. He has faced protests in Osorno by priests and lay Catholics who question how someone who says he never saw anything suspicious at the parish could be trusted to protect Osorno’s children today.

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SANTIAGO (CHILE)
La Tercera

>>>Archbishop Scicluna suffers from health complications and is transferred to a clinic

February 21, 2018

By Claudia Soto

El Arzobispo de Malta que estaba a cargo de escuchar a las víctimas de Fernando Karadima, sufrió complicaciones por lo cual debió someterse a exámenes. En su rol asumirá el sacerdote Jordi Bertomeou, quien continuará el proceso de entrevistas.

El arzobispo de Malta, Charles Scicluna, quien fue designado por el Papa Francisco para recopilar antecedentes que pesan sobre el obispo Juan Barros por un posible encubrimiento a Fernando Karadima, debió ser trasladado hasta un recinto médico tras sufrir complicaciones de salud.

Así lo confirmó el vocero de la Conferencia Episcopal, Jaime Coiro, quien indicó que Scicluna sentía malestares hace varios días, pero no fue hasta la noche de ayer cuando se decidió llevarlo hasta la Clínica UC San Carlos de Apoquindo para que fuera revisado por un equipo y sometido a exámenes.

“Se le están practicando exámenes de rigor, al parecer no es un malestar de extrema gravedad, pero tampoco es algo sencillo, y se requieren exámenes para determinar cual es el curso a seguir”, indicó.

[Google Translation:

Archbishop Scicluna suffers from health complications and is transferred to a clinic

The Archbishop of Malta who was in charge of listening to the victims of Fernando Karadima, suffered complications for which he had to undergo tests. In his role will assume the priest Jordi Bertomeou, who will continue the process of interviews.

The archbishop of Malta, Charles Scicluna, who was appointed by Pope Francis to collect background information about Bishop Juan Barros for a possible cover up to Fernando Karadima, had to be taken to a medical facility after suffering health complications.

This was confirmed by the spokesman of the Episcopal Conference, Jaime Coiro, who said that Scicluna felt discomfort several days ago, but it was not until yesterday night when it was decided to take it to the UC San Carlos Clinic in Apoquindo to be reviewed by a team and submitted to exams.

“They are practicing rigor tests, apparently it is not a very serious malaise, but it is not something simple either, and tests are required to determine which course to follow,” he said.

Despite this, and on behalf of the Pontiff, the process of interviews with victims and denouncers will continue, but in the hands of the Spanish priest Jordi Bertomeu , who until now officiated as notary of the case. In addition, he will be accompanied by another priest – until the moment a person was appointed provisionally – to assume as the new notary.

According to Coiro, “Scicluna itself has expressed its willingness to continue with the process of meeting people, as long as their physical possibility allows it.”

Scicluna arrived in the country on Monday, but his inquiries about the Barros case began on Saturday, when he met for almost four hours with Juan Carlos Cruz in the parish of Holy Name of Jesus in New York.

Yesterday, meanwhile, he received in the Apostolic Nunciature James Hamilton, who arrived accompanied by his lawyer Juan Pablo Hermosilla and José Andrés Murillo. For today he had scheduled a meeting with the lay organization of Osorno.

It is expected that around midday a medical report will be delivered on the state of health of the Pope’s envoy.]

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SANTIAGO (CHILE)
La Nación

>>>Monsignor Scicluna Is Rushed to the Hospital

February 21, 2018

El Papa Francisco decidió que el proceso de escucha de los testimonios continué a manos del sacerdote español Hará Jordi Bertomeu.

Este miércoles debió ser hospitalizado el arzobispo de Malta, Charles Scicluna, que se encuentra en Chile como enviado del Papa Francisco para escuchar los testimonios y esclarecer el supuesto encubrimiento del obispo Juan Barros a los abusos sexuales cometidos por Fernando Karadima.

Según informó el vocero de la conferencia episcopal, Jaime Coiro, Scicluna debió ser internado en la Clínica de la Universidad Católica por presentar malestares que mantenía desde su viaje a Estados Unidos, sin embargo, se encuentra estable.

Tras la hospitalización del arzobispo, el Papa Francisco decidió que el proceso de escucha de los testimonios continué a manos del sacerdote español Hará Jordi Bertomeu, oficial de la Congregación para la Doctrina de la Fe que hasta el martes oficiaba como notario en este caso.

[Google Translation:

Monsignor Scicluna Is Rushed to the Hospital

Pope Francis decided that the process of listening to the testimonies continued at the hands of the Spanish priest Hara Jordi Bertomeu.

This Wednesday the archbishop of Malta, Charles Scicluna, was hospitalized and is in Chile as an envoy of Pope Francis to hear the testimonies and clarify the supposed cover-up of Bishop Juan Barros to the sexual abuse committed by Fernando Karadima.

As reported by the spokesman of the episcopal conference, Jaime Coiro , Scicluna had to be admitted to the Clinic of the Catholic University for presenting discomforts that he maintained since his trip to the United States , however, he is stable .

After the hospitalization of the archbishop, Pope Francis decided that the process of listening to the testimonies continued at the hands of the Spanish priest Hara Jordi Bertomeu , official of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that until Tuesday officiated as a notary in this case.

Coiro informed that the meetings scheduled for these four days, from Tuesday to Friday, will be maintained , unless some of the people prefer not to attend, but so far no notice has been received that someone has canceled their participation.

In addition, Monsignor Scicluna is fully aware of the situation, so he has expressed his willingness to resume his duties as soon as possible to be able to hold at least some meetings on Friday.]

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SANTIAGO (CHILE)
24Horas

>>>James Hamilton after meeting with Archbishop Scicluna: “Mr. Errázuriz, you are a criminal”

February 20, 2018

[Includes video (in Spanish) of James Hamilton’s entire press conference.]

Después de reunirse con el sacerdote designado por el Papa Francisco para indagar la vinculación entre el obispo Juan Barros y los abusos de Fernando Karadima, Hamilton hizo fuertes críticas a Francisco Javier Errázuriz y a Ricardo Ezzati.

“Nada ha cambiado, a la Iglesia sigue sin importarle un comino, por lo menos a este Papa y a algunos obispos dentro del Vaticano”, comentó James Hamilton – una de las víctimas del ex párroco de El Bosque, Fernando Karadima- luego de reunirse con el arzobispo de Malta, Charles Scicluna.

Cabe recordar que Scicluna fue destinado a nuestro país por el Papa Francisco con el deber de escuchar nuevos elementos en torno a la vinculación del obispo de Osorno, Juan Barros Madrid, y los delitos cometidos por el ex párroco de El Bosque.

[Google Translation:

James Hamilton after meeting with Archbishop Scicluna: “Mr. Errázuriz, you are a criminal”

After meeting with the priest appointed by Pope Francis to investigate the link between Bishop Juan Barros and the abuses of Fernando Karadima, Hamilton made strong criticisms of Francisco Javier Errázuriz and Ricardo Ezzati.

“Nothing has changed, the Church still does not care a damn, at least this Pope and some bishops inside the Vatican,” said James Hamilton – one of the victims of the former pastor of El Bosque, Fernando Karadima – after meeting with the archbishop of Malta, Charles Scicluna.

It is worth remembering that Scicluna was destined to our country by Pope Francis with the duty to listen to new elements regarding the connection of the Bishop of Osorno, Juan Barros Madrid, and the crimes committed by the former pastor of El Bosque.

During the afternoon of this Tuesday the envoy of the Vatican met with James Hamilton, who went accompanied by José Andrés Murillo to the place. Upon leaving the premises, James Hamilton said he still has confidence and hope that the truth about the cover-up of the abuses committed by Karadima is clarified .

“I am certainly clear that the reports that come out of here from Chile will be truthful and sincere reports , ” said Hamilton, noting that his duty is “to collaborate in any order and search for justice” and that the meeting with Scicluna is He made with “much respect”.

Despite that optimism, Hamilton questioned the leaders of the Catholic Church in our country and referred to Cardinal Francisco Javier Errázuriz and Santiago archbishop Ricardo Ezzati as “liars” and “concealers”, stating that they have omitted and action around the case. He even referred to the first as a “criminal.”

Charles Scicluna arrived on Monday February 19 to the capital and between Tuesday and Friday will continue holding meetings to hear new testimonies and information.]

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UNITED KINGDOM
Metro.co.uk

By Faima Bakar

February 20, 2018

I was ten years old when the priest who came to teach us how to read Arabic started touching me.

Twice a week he would push his hand down along my body and force me to touch him.

I never told anyone, keeping it silent until I spoke to other south Asian women to research this article.

Shamefully, this is the reality for a few of my Muslim peers. In one day I spoke to 13 of my friends who each had some variation of this experience, as though it’s some sort of disgusting rite of passage.

From casual brushes against our bodies to deliberate touching, to full on molesting, and even raping, south Asian women have kept quiet about their abuse and they continue to do so.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

February 19, 2018

Marie Collins fears working groups set up to address care of survivors may be scrapped

By Patsy McGarry

Dublin abuse survivor Marie Collins has criticised a decision by Pope Francis not to reappoint “some of the most hard-working, independent, and active members” of the outgoing Vatican Commission for the Protection of Minors to the new commission announced at the weekend.

The former commission ended its term of office in December. Ms Collins resigned from it last March after serving “three difficult years”, due to frustration with some officials in the Roman curia, particularly at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The only other abuse survivor appointed to the original commission with her , the UK’s Peter Saunders, took leave of absence in 2016 and resigned last December for similar reasons to Ms Collins.

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SANTIAGO (CHILE)
Santiago Times

February 19, 2018

The archbishop of Malta, Charles Scicluna, has begun the investigation ordered by Pope Francis to clarify whether Chilean bishop Juan Barros concealed the sexual abuse of minors committed by nearly 80 priests.

Scicluna opened the case with the testimony of Chilean journalist Juan Carlos Cruz, one of the victims of the influential Chilean priest Fernando Karadima who was accused of pedophilia and sentenced in 2010 by the Vatican to “A life of prayer and penance”, he heard in a parish in the U.S. city of New York.

“It was a long, emotionally difficult meeting, but I am very happy to have been able to speak with Monsignor Scicluna, they behaved incredibly well and for the first time I feel they are listening to us,” Cruz said in statements made in New York, broadcast by local media.

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SANTIAGO (CHILE)
Reuters

February 20, 2018

By Cassandra Garrison

A Chilean man who was sexually abused by a priest said he was hopeful that the testimony he shared on Tuesday with a Vatican investigator would lead to better protection for children.

“I hope that in the Chile of the future, there is security for children, there is no statute of limitations on sexual abuse, that Sename (Chile’s child protection service) cares for children,” James Hamilton told reporters on Tuesday. “It does not matter to me what the Catholic Church determines.”

Hamilton’s testimony against Father Fernando Karadima during a previous Vatican investigation helped convict the priest in 2011 of abusing a number of boys.

Archbishop Charles Scicluna is in Santiago looking into accusations that a bishop covered up crimes against minors. He started hearing victims’ testimony on Tuesday, including that of Hamilton.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider

February 11, 2018

By Salvatore Cernuzio

The February 7th audience with Pope Francis in the Vatican. The verdict of Cardinal Burke’s trial remains unpublished. The latest accusation from his nephew. The Church on the island is hit with an avalanche of lawsuits

Guam’s Archbishop Apuron breaks his silence: “I deny all allegations made against me”

“Holy Father, I wanted to see you before dying.” Arriving at the Paul VI Hall in a wheelchair due to health problems, Msgr. Anthony Apuron, the Archbishop of Guam suspended amid abuse accusations, greeted Pope Francis at the end of the general audience on February 7th. Bergoglio reacted with affection, shaking the bishop’s hand and privately giving him a few words of encouragement.

Apuron had recently undergone surgery, as he revealed in a statement released in the last few weeks breaking his silence concerning the accusations of sexual abuse against minors first made against him in June of 2016—accusations which forced him to suspend himself as archbishop of the Pacific island while a canonical trial was initiated.

“As I lay sick after another surgery and I face the final judgment approaching evermore close, having lost interest in this world” reads the statement, in which the prelate specifically responds to the latest accusation from his nephew Mark Apuron, who in an interview with a Guam news outlet described an alleged assault in the bathroom of his uncle’s house during a family dinner. The incident, according to the man, happened sometime around 1989 or 1990.

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DES MOINES (IOWA)
Des Moines Register

February 20, 2018

By Luke Nozicka

A Council Bluffs priest was suspended Tuesday after an allegation of unwelcome advances, the diocese said.

Father Carlos Gomez Pineda was suspended after Bishop Richard Pates heard about the allegation early Tuesday morning, the Diocese of Des Moines said in a statement. Pineda was accused of making “a serious violation of boundary issues related to unwelcome advances toward an adult,” the diocese said.

Pates has notified authorities about the allegation against Pineda, who serves as parochial vicar of Corpus Christi Parish in Council Bluffs.

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SANTIAGO (CHILE)
Associated Press

February 20, 2018

By Patricia Luna

The Vatican’s sex abuse investigator on Tuesday began a series of meetings in Chile with abuse victims and others who have opposed the appointment of a bishop accused of covering up for the country’s most notorious pedophile priest.

Pope Francis has strongly backed Bishop Juan Barros, who is accused by victims of witnessing and ignoring the abuse of young parishioners by the Rev. Fernando Karadima, who was removed from ministry and sentenced to a lifetime of “penance and prayer” in 2010.

The Chilean conference of bishops said that Maltese Archbishop Charles Scicluna will also talk to a delegation of lay Catholics and priests from the Chilean diocese of Osorno during four days of meetings.

The conference did not provide the names of the victims to protect their privacy, but it said Scicluna will be meeting both with people who reached out, as well as those that he demanded to interview.

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CHILE
BBC News

February 20, 2018

A Vatican cleric leading investigations into sexual abuse has started hearing testimony from victims in Chile.

Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta is looking into accusations that a bishop appointed by Pope Francis in 2015 covered up crimes against children.

The pontiff sparked controversy by saying during a visit to the country last month there was no evidence against Bishop Juan Barros.

Pope Francis apologised and asked the archbishop to investigate the claims.

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>> Photos: Spotlight on the Nunciature: Scicluna collects testimonies about Bishop Barros

CHILE
cooperative.cl

February 20, 2018

[This links to ten photos of scenes today outside the nunciature in Chile, located in the Providencia section of Santiago. The nunciature is where special papal envoy Archbishop Charles Scicluna has begun interviewing witnesses as part of his investigation of possible cover-up by Bishop Juan Barros.]

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>> Juan Carlos Cruz describes meeting with bishop Scicluna for cover up of Barros

CHILE
Bío Bío Express

February 20, 2018

By María José Villarroel

Juan Carlos Cruz, una de las víctimas de Fernando Karadima, conversó con el Expreso Bío Bío sobre la reunión que sostuvo en Estados Unidos con el arzobispo de Malta, Charles Scicluna, en el marco de la investigación por estos casos.

El arzobispo de Malta además desde este martes comenzará con sus actividades en Chile donde se espera que reciba a más víctimas de Karadima y también a testigos del presunto encubrimiento que habría realizado el obispo de Osorno Juan Barros.

Lee también: Arzobispo Scicluna comienza agenda para esclarecer presunto encubrimiento de Juan Barros

[GOOGLE TRANSLATION: Juan Carlos Cruz , one of the victims of Fernando Karadima, spoke with the Bío Bío Express about the meeting held in the United States with the archbishop of Malta, Charles Scicluna , in the framework of the investigation into these cases.

The archbishop of Malta will also begin his activities in Chile on Tuesday, where he is expected to receive more victims of Karadima and also witnesses of the alleged cover-up that the Bishop of Osorno Juan Barros would have carried out.

Read also: Archbishop Scicluna begins agenda to clarify alleged cover-up of Juan Barros]

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CHILE
La Tercera

February 19, 2018

By C. Reyes and Y. Moya

Durante la mañana de hoy arribó al Aeropuerto de Santiago el arzobispo de Malta, Charles Scicluna, quien fuera designado el 30 de enero por el Papa Francisco como enviado especial para recopilar antecedentes de las acusaciones que pesan contra el obispo Juan Barros, a cargo de la Diócesis de Osorno, como presunto encubridor de los abusos cometidos por Fernando Karadima.

El trabajo de Scicluna, quien es especialista en indagar sobre abusos cometidos por sacerdotes, comenzó oficialmente el sábado, cuando por casi cuatro horas se reunió con Juan Carlos Cruz, en la parroquia Holy Name of Jesus, en Nueva York. “ Me sentí escuchado, me sentí muy bien”, indicó Cruz tras ese encuentro.

Durante su estadía en Chile se espera que Scicluna mantenga al menos 20 encuentros con diferentes personas y grupos que lo han contactado para dar antecedentes sobre el caso que afecta a Barros, así indicaron a La Tercera fuentes ligadas al proceso. El arzobispo de Malta quiere desarrollar un trabajo bajo reserva, para así también brindar confidencialidad a las personas que quieran reunirse con él.

[GOOGLE TRANSLATION: During the morning of today, the Archbishop of Malta, Charles Scicluna, arrived at the Airport of Santiago, who was appointed on January 30 by Pope Francis as special envoy to gather information about the accusations against Bishop Juan Barros, in charge of the Diocese of Osorno, as alleged cover-up of the abuses committed by Fernando Karadima.

The work of Scicluna, who is a specialist in investigating abuses committed by priests, officially began on Saturday, when for almost four hours he met with Juan Carlos Cruz, in the Holy Name of Jesus parish, in New York. “I felt heard, I felt very good,” Cruz said after that meeting.

During his stay in Chile, Scicluna is expected to hold at least 20 meetings with different people and groups that have contacted him to provide background information on the case that affects Barros, as they indicated to La Tercera sources linked to the process. The archbishop of Malta wants to develop a work under reserve, in order to also provide confidentiality to people who want to meet with him.]

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NEW YORK (NY)
Catholic News Service via CatholicPhilly.com

February 20, 2018

A former Chilean seminarian who accused a current bishop of abuse cover-up met with a Vatican investigator and said he finally felt he had been heard.

Juan Carlos Cruz met for nearly four hours Feb. 17 with Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, a longtime expert on clergy sex abuse. Cruz, who currently lives and works in Philadelphia, said that this is the first time he felt church officials had listened to how, as a seminarian, he was sexually abused by Father Fernando Karadima, a Chilean priest. Cruz maintains that now-Bishop Juan Barros of Osorno, Chile, witnessed some of the abuse.

In a statement to reporters outside of Manhattan’s Church of the Holy Name of Jesus Feb. 17, Cruz called his meeting “a good experience,” one he described as emotional and at times “very intense and very detailed.” He also said he thought it was “eye-opening” for the archbishop.

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IRELAND
The Irish Times

February 20, 2018

By Patsy McGarry

Tusla review finds ‘a clear shift in attitudes and culture within the congregations’

Sixteen out of 135 Catholic congregations in Ireland had “unsatisfactory” child protection procedures in place to the end of 2015, according to an audit by Tusla, the child and family agency.

The audit found “a clear shift in attitudes and culture” within the congregation and deemed safeguarding procedures in 29 congregations to be “excellent” and said they were “satisfactory” in 43 others.

Among those Tusla deemed “excellent” were the Christian Brothers, the Spiritans, the Sisters of Mercy, the Dominicans, Benedictines, Legionaries of Christ, Society of African Missions, Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, Divine Word Missionaries, Vincentian Fathers, and the Loreto Sisters.

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ROME
The Tablet

February 20, 2018

By Christopher Lamb

Pope Francis has sought to wrestle back the initiative over his handling of clerical sexual abuse by renewing a papal child protection commission and revealing he regularly meets victims.

Last week the Vatican announced a re-booted Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, a body that had been allowed to lapse after the initial three-year membership terms of the members expired at the end of last year.

This led some survivors to question whether the Pope had de-prioritised the issue while his dismissal of victims in the Bishop Juan Barros case – a Chilean prelate accused of turning a blind eye to abuse – has drawn heavy criticism.

But last Saturday the Pope announced a 16-member child protection commission including nine new members coming from six continents and which, according to the Vatican, included unnamed abuse survivors. The body, set up by Francis in 2014, is now looking to set up an “International Survivor Advisory Panel” modelled on the one set up by the Church in England and Wales.

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AUSTRALIA
The Tablet

February 20, 2018

By Mark Brolly

[See the two opinion pieces discussed in this article: Where will relentless campaign leave the most needy? by Archbishop Anthony Fisher, The Sydney Morning Herald, February 12, 2018; and A message from Bishop Vincent Long about recent media reports, Catholic Outlook, February 15, 2018.]

The archbishop said some would like the Catholic Church to be ‘knocked out of the equation’

Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney and Bishop Vincent Long Van Nguyen of Parramatta have both criticised as a “relentless” campaign a series of newspaper articles last week by Fairfax, publisher of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, about the Catholic Church, its purported wealth and its response to victims of child sexual abuse by Church personnel.

Archbishop Fisher, in an article in The Sydney Morning Herald on 12 February, wrote that given its many works, it was inevitable that the Church would have lots of “assets”, but the works were done as a non-profit organisation. “To compare this with the corporates like Westfield and Wesfarmers, as the SMH and Age did yesterday, is unreal,” he wrote. “So is valuing St Mary’s Cathedral as if it were a potential site for a high rise development. Its value is as spiritual and artistic heritage of the Church, city and nation.

“Comparisons with the big corporates fail for another key reason: companies make money for their shareholders, the Church spends its resources on others.

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MODESTO (CA)
Modesto Bee

February 9, 2018

By Brian Clark

A Catholic priest who served in Modesto and throughout Stanislaus County nearly two decades ago is under criminal investigation, suspected of sexual misconduct with a child.

The alleged incident in 1999 involved a 15-year-old girl who was a member of St. Stanislaus Catholic Church, according to Heather Graves, spokesperson for the Modesto Police Department.

Father Eduardo De Jesus Perez Torrez is the focus of the police investigation and a review by the Diocesan Review Board, the Diocese of Stockton wrote in a statement released late Thursday afternoon.

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IRELAND
RTÉ

February 20, 2018

By Joe Little

[See the report published today by Tusla, the state agency in Ireland that oversees child welfare issues: Audit of Religious Orders, Congregations and Missionary Societies Safeguarding Arrangements and Management of Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse – Volume 2 – Section 1 and Section 2. See also Volume 1 on the dioceses in Ireland, published on October 11, 2012.]

Five Catholic religious orders have been criticised by the Child and Family Agency’s audit for their “significant (child) safeguarding weaknesses”.

Tusla’s report on the response to child sexual abuse by 135 orders says it worked closely with four of the weakest ones until it was satisfied that each had significantly improved its safeguarding practices, while another church-appointed audit body supervised the fifth.

Today’s report censures the Christian Brothers, De La Salle Brothers, the Irish Norbertines, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and the Holy Spirit Congregation for weaknesses.

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AUSTRALIA
Australian Associated Press via nine.com.au

February 21, 2018

Cardinal George Pell’s lawyers and prosecutors are due back in court again before a March hearing to determine if he stands trial on historical sexual offence charges.

Australia’s most senior Catholic denies the allegations and is not expected to attend Wednesday’s brief hearing in Melbourne Magistrates Court.

It will be a further administrative update for the defence and prosecution to finalise matters before Pell, 76, faces a four-week committal hearing beginning on March 5.

Pell is the highest-ranking Catholic official to be charged with sexual abuse.

The former Sydney and Melbourne archbishop and Ballarat priest has taken leave from his position as Vatican treasurer to fight the charges.

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SYRACUSE (NY)
The Post-Standard/syracuse.com

February 20, 2018

Kevin Braney, Ph.D., formerly of Manlius, now lives in Denver, Colorado.

By Kevin Braney

I recently reviewed the Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Commission procedures posted on the website for the Syracuse Catholic Diocese. I myself, as a survivor of priest sexual abuse, received a letter Feb. 17 that states I “may” qualify to submit a claim.

I commend Bishop Robert Cunningham for opening a path forward, as imperfect as it is, to aid survivors’ healing. The commission will serve as a valuable tool to provide much needed relief for some.

Based upon my initial review, it appears this commission will not be part of my path forward. I will press onward in hopes the New York Child Victims Act passes. My analysis of the commission’s protocols leads me to the below questions and concerns:

First, why do the protocols require me to relitigate my claim against Charles Eckermann? The Vatican already defrocked Eckermann. It took from September 2013 until April 2014, countless phone calls, meetings with investigators, written statements, oral statements, to ensure Eckermann no longer had access to children in his priestly role. Why is the previous investigation now insufficient?

The continued assertion that all priests who have raped children have been removed is false. Until all pedophile priests are in jail, children are at risk. Here are just two examples:

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SCRANTON (PA)
ChurchMilitant.com

February 20, 2018

By Alexander Slavsky

Special envoy to the pope claims he is “not able to attend”

Cardinal Roger Mahony is canceling his appearance in Pennsylvania after outcry from faithful Catholics.

William Genello, executive director of communications for the diocese of Scranton, confirmed with Church Militant that the former archbishop of Los Angeles won’t be attending the diocese’s 150th anniversary Mass.

“We were informed last week that Cdl. Mahony is unable to attend,” he told Church Militant. When pressed for reasons for the cancellation, Genello simply repeated the statement.

We were informed last week that Cdl. Mahony is unable to attend.Tweet
Church Militant also asked if there would be a replacement for Mahony, but Genello only repeated his statement, providing no further details.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican News

February 20, 2018

[See also the February 19, 2018 press release by the Chilean conference of Catholic bishops: Presencia de Mons. Charles Scicluna en Chile]

The Chilean bishops have released information about the visit of Archbishop Scicluna in Chile, who has been tasked with gathering information concerning the case of Bishop Juan Barros of Osorno.

The Chilean Episcopal Conference (Cech), has released some details regarding the presence in Chile, in recent days of Charles Scicluna, archbishop of Malta and President of the College for the examination of appeals (in matters of delicta graviora) for the Ordinary Session of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The Cech, in a press release, said that Archbishop Scicluna arrived in Chile yesterday, and today he will begin to listen to those who have expressed their desire to provide new facts regarding the situation of the bishop of Osorno. The archbishop will continue to listen to the witnesses until next Friday, in premises made available by the apostolic nunciature.

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ROME (ITALY)
Vatican Insider

February 20, 2018

By Luis Badilla

After the meeting with Cruz in New York, the archbishop will listen to Murillo and Hamilton, two other victims of Karadima. Scheduled a meeting with a delegation of faithful from Osorno who oppose Barros

Pope Francis’ envoy to Chile, Monsignor Charles Scicluna, who has been investigating possible new elements in the “Karadima-Barros” affair since 17 February, arrived yesterday morning in Santiago de Chile. Today, in the Nunciature headquarters (and until Friday 23 February) the envoy will begin his delicate mission in the country: first of all, he will meet and listen to the other two people, out of three, who accuse Monsignor Juan Barros of having covered up the sexual abuse committed by the priest Fernando Karadima, of whom he was a disciple in the Fraternity of the parish of El Bosque.

Scicluna has already met, last Saturday 17th in New York, in the rectory of the Church of the Holy Name of Jesus, the witness and victim Juan Carlos Cruz. Today at 4:00 am local time (it will be evening in Europe), the Archbishop of the Maltese diocese of La Valletta, together with Father Jordi Bertomeu, the Spanish official of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, will meet with the other two victims, José Andrés Murillo and James Hamilton.

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GUAM
Radio New Zealand

February 20, 2018

Another lawsuit has been filed against the Catholic Church in Guam, bringing the total lawsuits alleging historical sexual abuse to 157.

The latest case, against a priest Louis Brouillard, is for raping an altar boy during sleepovers when he was a teenager in the 1970s.

Mr Brouillard, who is now 96, was on Guam from 1948 to 1981, and is accused of abusing boys in 100 of the lawsuits the church is facing.

He has admitted abusing boys during his time on Guam, before the church relocated him to the United States mainland.

Fifteen other priests, two archbishops and a bishop have also been implicated in abuse that spans from the mid-1950s to the early 1990s.

So far, the sum of the lawsuits the Catholic Church is facing exceeds $US600 million.

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MUMBAI (INDIA)
AsiaNews.it

February 19, 2018

By Nirmala Carvalho

The Indian nun has a long experience with the Archdiocese of Mumbai. In 2016 Card Gracias chose her as a member of the expert group for child protection. In India, abuses occur “in schools and even in orphanages,” she notes.

Pope Francis has chosen Sister Arina Gonsalves, an Indian nun, to help the Catholic Church protect children and prevent violence against them.

Sister Arina belongs to the congregation of the Religious of Jesus and Mary (RJM), and has a long history of personal involvement with the Archdiocese of Mumbai to protect children.

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IRELAND
BreakingNews.ie

February 20, 2018

[See also: Publication of Audit of Religious Orders, Congregations and Missionary Societies Volume II, produced by Tusla, the Republic of Ireland’s agency charged with improving the lives of children.]

Almost 1,900 allegations of child sex abuse were made against religious orders between 1996 and 2015.

Tusla has published a new report which shows that 10% of individuals involved were convicted for child sexual abuse offences.

This audit was undertaken as a recommendation of the Ferns report in 2005 and is the second report which covers the period from 1996 up to 2015 and involved all 135 religious orders.

It found that 1,882 allegations were made against 549 current, former and deceased members.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

February 19, 2018

By Haidee V Eugenio

A lawsuit filed on Monday accuses former priest Louis Brouillard of raping an altar boy eight or nine times during overnight sleepovers at the Barrigada parish rectory, around 1971.

Brouillard also allegedly subjected the boy, who was around 14 at the time, to seeing Brouillard walk around naked in the priest’s room before Mass. This happened for more than a year, the complaint states.

The plaintiff is identified in Superior Court documents only by his initials A.B.L. to protect his privacy.

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LEICESTER (UNITED KINGDOM)
Crux

February 19, 2018

By Charles Collins

Catholic international aid charities have pledged zero-tolerance for sexual exploitation by their employees, as a sex abuse scandal affecting one of Britain’s largest charities is now latching onto U.N. aid agencies.

Andrew MacLeod, the former Chief of Operations of the UN Emergency Coordination Center for the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, estimated in The Sun – a British tabloid – that tens of thousand of people have been raped by UN employees, and the international body employs at least 3,000 pedophiles.

“There are tens of thousands of aid workers around the world with pedophile tendencies, but if you wear a UNICEF T-shirt nobody will ask what you’re up to,” MacLeod told the newspaper.

“You have the impunity to do whatever you want,” he said. “It is endemic across the aid industry across the world.”

(The United Nations has disputed Macleod’s methodology, and stated it has a zero-tolerance policy on sexual abuse by staff.)

The scandal began last week when an investigative series by The Times, an English newspaper, revealed Oxfam staff used prostitutes in “Caligula”-like sex parties while providing aid in Haiti in 2011. The newspaper alleges some of those prostitutes may have been underaged.

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ADELAIDE (SOUTH AUSTRALIA)
ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

By Rebecca Opie

A former Catholic priest who snuck through a window to sexually abuse one of his young victims has apologised for his crimes, ahead of his sentencing in Adelaide’s District Court.

Charles Alfred Barnett, 72, was jailed in 2010 for sexually abusing four teenage boys between 1977 and 1994 while he was the priest at a Catholic church in Port Pirie, in South Australia’s mid-north.

He was arrested in Indonesia in 2008 and extradited to South Australia.

On his release from the six-year sentence, he faced further charges relating to the indecent assault of two children and the persistent sexual exploitation of another child.

He pleaded guilty to the charges and will be sentenced for those crimes within weeks.

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SOUTH AUSTRALIA
The Advertiser

February 19, 2018

By Meagan Dillon

A judge urged a former South Australian priest who used his power, influence and authority to sexually abuse teenage boys more than three decades ago to address his apology to his victims.

Charles Alfred Barnett, 72, appeared in the District Court on Monday ahead of sentencing next month after admitting the persistent sexual exploitation of one boy, and indecent assault of two others.

His three victims all read emotional victim impact statements to the court, expressing how the historic crimes had affected their lives.

Barnett apologised, saying: “Your Honour, I’m deeply aware of the seriousness of my offending”, before Judge Jack Costello interrupted him.

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SCRANTON (PA)
LifeSiteNews.com

February 19, 2018

By Claire Chretien

[See also the Vatican’s notice on January 13, 2018 announcing the appointment of Cardinal Mahony as papal envoy to the celebration of Scranton diocese’s 150th anniversary.]

Pope Francis appointed disgraced Cardinal Roger Mahony to be his special envoy to the Catholic Diocese of Scranton’s 150th anniversary Mass. But after uproar, the diocese removed the announcement of Mahony’s visit from their website and told LifeSiteNews the cardinal informed them “late last week” that he’ll be unable to attend.

On January 13, the Diocese of Scranton issued a press release saying, “Pope Francis has appointed Cardinal Roger Michael Mahony, Archbishop Emeritus of Los Angeles, as his special envoy at the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the erection of the Diocese of Scranton, to be observed with a Pontifical Mass on March 4 in the Cathedral of Saint Peter, Scranton.”

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

February 20, 2018

By Caroline O’Doherty

Victims of paedophile basketball coach Bill Kenneally say they have evidence that gardaí suspected him of abusing children at least eight years earlier than has been acknowledged to date.

They say officers who detained a child in Waterford over a juvenile matter in 1979 used the opportunity to ask him what he knew about Kenneally, who lived locally.

They also say they have learned that Kenneally was interviewed about an attack on a child in 1987 (for which he was not responsible) five months before the first formal complaint about him. Gardaí say they knew nothing before this complaint.

They have called for the commission of inquiry agreed by the Government in the wake of Kenneally’s conviction to begin without delay. Kenneally is appealing a 14-year term given in 2016 after he admitted 10 sample counts of indecently assaulting boys in Waterford between 1984 and 1987.

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has said an inquiry can not take place until criminal proceedings end.

A number of victims, who waived their anonymity, claimed this was a “cop out” and said the “substantial and systematic” cover-up of Kenneally’s activities by State agencies, the Catholic Church and local people of influence should not be delayed any further.

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LONDON (ONTARIO, CANADA)
The Toronto Star

February 18, 2018

By Mary Ormsby and Sandro Contenta

The diocese of London, Ont., is suing AXA Insurance for breach of contract. The insurer is pushing back, saying priests’ sex abuse of minors was covered up decades ago.

One of Canada’s largest liability insurance companies wants the Roman Catholic diocese of London, Ont., to return $10 million paid to the diocese for settlements to victims sexually abused by priests.

AXA Insurance, now owned by Intact Financial Corp., accuses the diocese of hiding pedophile priests by moving them to different parishes or duties for decades, thereby misleading the insurance company and exposing it to greater financial risk.

In documents filed with Superior Court in London, the company cites the cases of five notorious offenders, including serial predators Charles Sylvestre and John Harper, for sexual assaults against children and teens from the 1960s to the 1970s.

“The Diocese of London, consistent with the policies and practices of the Roman Catholic church more broadly, engaged in a practice of concealing reports of child sexual abuse by members of the diocese’s clergy, and then assigning the priests in question to different parishes in the Diocese, thereby providing the priests with further opportunity to commit sexual assaults upon children within the new parish,” AXA court documents allege.

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UNITED STATES
TheWorthyAdversary.com

February 19, 2018

By Joelle Casteix

When Pope Francis appoints Cardinal Roger Mahony as a Papal Envoy in a state where almost every diocese is under investigation for the cover up of child sexual abuse, you know the Vatican has gone full tone-deaf on sex abuse.

And now is not the time to go full tone-deaf.

The PR Shine Fades

Since his election as pope, die-hard Pope Francis fans have been singing his praises, calling the South American prelate a “new kind of Pope.” Insiders call it the “Francis effect.”

Victims and advocates know differently. It was good PR, spun by his hired flack.

That glow lasted for years. But in the past few weeks, even Francis couldn’t keep remembering his speaking points. First, he pulled the infamous “I need proof” statement, defending a controversial bishop and saying that victims need to provide him evidence of abuse before he believed that they had been sexually abused.

Little did most of the public know that one of them—Juan Carlos Cruz—already had. And he had the photo to prove it.

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ROME (ITALY)
ChurchMilitant.com

February 19, 2018

By Stephen Wynne

In the wake of criticism over Pope Francis’ handling of clerical sex abuse, the Vatican is reviving the council responsible for advising the pontiff on the crisis.

On February 17, the Holy See announced the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCPM) will return to work in April.

Boston Cdl. Seán O’Malley will continue as president of the 16-member papal advisory body which went dormant after its mandate expired in December. The reconstituted PCPM is a diverse panel composed of eight men and eight women from 15 countries and six continents, designed to reflect “the global reach of the Church and the challenge of creating safeguarding structures in different cultural contexts.”

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ST. CLOUD (MN)
St. Cloud Times

February 18, 2018

By Stephanie Dickrell

Clergy sexual abuse is when a member of clergy uses his or her position and power to exploit, harm, and sexually abuse a member of their congregation.

The recent arrest of the Rev. Anthony Oelrich, a Catholic priest who has worked in the Diocese of St. Cloud since 1992, has the community asking a lot of questions.

What happened? How did it happen? Who’s at risk?

Oelrich is facing a charge of third-degree criminal sexual conduct after he was accused of engaging in a sexual relationship with an adult to whom he was a spiritual counselor.

Bishop Donald Kettler removed Oelrich as pastor of the Newman Center and suspended his priestly faculties, which means he cannot function or present himself as a priest.

Oelrich has not been convicted of a crime.

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NEW ZEALAND
NZCity

February 20, 2018

A New Zealander says a St John of God Catholic brother, who sexually abused him when he was six, says a 33-year Australian jail term is not long enough.

A New Zealand man who had his childhood “stolen” from him by a St John of God Catholic brother says a 33-year jail term for his sexual abuser is not enough.

The jail term was handed to convicted sex offender Bernard McGrath, 70, in a Sydney court last week after he subjected boys at Kendall Grange boys’ home in New South Wales to years of sexual assaults in the 1980s.

Victims and their families cheered the sentence in relief, Australian media reports.

But for Darryl Smith, 54, the jail term is not enough.

McGrath sexually abused him at New Zealand’s Marylands school for boys in Christchurch when he was six-years-old.

“I got my life totally stolen from me. I had no childhood because of this monster, I lost everything,” he told RNZ.

Despite allegations of McGrath’s abuse against Christchurch boys being known to St John, the order transferred him to Kendall Grange in New South Wales and made him the home’s headmaster

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ROME (ITALY)
National Catholic Reporter

February 19, 2018

By Joshua J. McElwee

Pope Francis has removed a Nigerian bishop whose 2012 appointment sparked years of protest from the diocese’s priests, backing down from a confrontation eight months after threatening to suspend the priests should they continue to agitate.

In a short note Feb. 19, the Vatican said the pontiff had accepted the resignation of Bishop Peter Okpaleke, head of the southern Nigerian diocese of Ahiara, and put neighboring Umuahia Bishop Lucius Ugorji in charge as apostolic administrator.

Okpaleke was appointed to his post by Pope Benedict XVI but was never able to take possession of the diocese because of the widespread nature of the protests. Francis wrote to the priests of the diocese last June, giving them 30 days to accept their bishop or be suspended from ministry.

The priests had complained that Okpaleke was not from Mbaise, the region surrounding their diocese. They said it is unfair that there is no Catholic bishop in Nigeria originally from their region, long known as one of the country’s most Catholic areas.

Francis’ removal of Okpaleke represents the second notable about-face the pontiff has made regarding a local bishop in three weeks, following his Jan. 30 decision to send Maltese Archbishop Charles Scicluna to investigate accusations against Chilean Bishop Juan Barros Madrid.

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BRUNSWICK (NJ)
MyCentralJersey.com

February 19, 2018

By Suzanne Russell

An East Brunswick rabbi and two people from the Bronx, New York are facing charges related to human trafficking and prostitution of a 17-year-old girl from Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Rabbi Aryeh Goodman, 35, is charged with one count of engaging in prostitution with a child and one count of endangering the welfare of a child, Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew Carey and East Brunswick Police Chief James Conroy said in a release late Sunday.

Goodman runs a Chabad, a religious learning center, out of his East Brunswick home. Officials said Goodman may have affiliation with another location on Lexington Avenue in East Brunswick. Accompanied by his attorney, Goodman turned himself in to authorities at the East Brunswick Police Department on Feb. 6, the release said.

An investigation indicated that the rabbi allegedly engaged in sexual relations with the 17-year-old girl at an East Brunswick hotel Feb. 1.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican website

February 19, 2018

[See also: Pope backs down, OKs resignation of divisive Nigerian bishop, by Nicole Winfield, Associated Press, February 19, 2018.]

Resignation of bishop of Ahiara, Nigeria, and appointment of Apostolic Administrator sede vacante ed at nutum Sanctae Sedis:

The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Ahiara, Nigeria, presented by H.E. Msgr. Peter Ebere Okpaleke, and at the same time has appointed as apostolic administrator sede vacante et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis of the same diocese H.E. Msgr. Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, bishop of Umuahia.

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GUAM
KUAM News

February 19, 2018

By Krystal Paco

Another clergy sexual abuse lawsuit has been filed in the Superior Court of Guam. Only identified by his initials to protect his privacy, 60-year-old A.B.L. alleges he was raped up to nine times by former Guam priest, Father Louis Brouillard.

The rapes occurred during sleepovers at the Barrigada church when he was about 14-years-old.
According to court documents, A.B.L. slept over at the request of the priest. Upon arrival, he was greeted by hugs and kisses all over his body before the priest allegedly raped him.

Though he reported being in pain and wanting the abuse to stop, the priest told him it was normal and that because he was a priest, he should believe his word. Court documents state “Only as A.B.L. got older did he realize Brouillard’s conducts was very wrong and was in fact criminal.”

Along with being raped on Church grounds, A.B.L. states he and other Boy Scouts were forced to swim naked with the priest who groped and touched them in the water. The swimming trips were always followed by trips to McDonalds and other restaurants.

A.B.L. is suing for $10 million. He is represented by attorney Michael Herman.

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GUAM
The Guam Daily Post

February 19, 2018

By Mindy Aguon

A former altar boy alleges he was raped multiple times by a priest who told him that it was “natural and normal,” according to the latest clergy sex abuse case filed in the Superior Court of Guam.

A.B.L., who used initials to protect his identity, filed a civil lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Agana, the Boy Scouts of America and retired priest Louis Brouillard.

A.B.L. became an altar boy at the Barrigada parish in 1971, when he was 14. Brouillard was the parish priest at the time.

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KOTTAYAM (KERALA, INDIA)
India Today

February 16, 2018

A Catholic priest, accused of raping a Bangladeshi woman, today surrendered before a court in Vaikom in the district.

Thomas Thanninilkkumthadathil (36) had gone into hiding after the woman filed a police complaint on Wednesday. As police intensified the search, the priest surfaced in the magistrate court in Vaikom with his lawyer and surrendered. The court remanded him in 14-day judicial custody. In her complaint, the 42-year-old UK-based Bangladeshi woman alleged that the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church priest raped her after befriending her on Facebook, police said. Thomas allegedly committed the offence after promising that he would marry her. The incident occurred last month when Thomas was serving as vicar of the church at Perumthururth near Kaduthuruthy. Pala diocese of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church dismissed Thomas from pastoral service and “all stages of priesthood” following the incident. An explanation was sought from him after summoning him to the diocese on February 13 when the church authorities came to know about his “misconduct”.

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KERALA (INDIA)
bdnews24.com

February 17, 2019

A Catholic priest in Kerala, who is accused of sexually assaulting a Bangladeshi woman based in the UK, has surrendered to the police.

He has also been booked for extorting money from the woman in a complaint file by her, according to media reports.

The priest was produced in a court in Vaikkom and remanded to a 14-day judicial custody, police told local media.

Father Thomas Thanninilkkumthadathil, in his 40s, is accused of raping the 42-year-old woman after befriending her through Facebook, the Bangalore Mirror and Indian Express reported.

The victim, a dual citizen of Bangladesh and Britain, had come to Kottayam from the UK and stayed as the priest’s guest at the parsonage for about a week in January this year.

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HERMITAGE (PA)
The Herald (Sharon PA)

February 18, 2018

By Melissa Klaric

A Pittsburgh law firm representing the Catholic Diocese of Erie uncovered more information in the case of a Kennedy Catholic priest accused of sending inappropriate text messages to a student, a diocese spokesman said on Friday.

Ann-Marie Welsh, director of communications for the diocese, confirmed on Friday that the law firm of K&L Gates LLC in Pittsburgh concluded that the information warranted further investigation by the state Attorney General’s office. She did not reveal further details.

”This is not just an internal investigation,” Welsh said of the law firm’s findings. “These are professionals who conduct independent investigations.”

Bishop Lawrence T. Persico of the Erie Diocese said the Rev. Sean Kerins has been removed from his assignments at Kennedy and at Church of the Good Shepherd Parish in West Middlesex pending completion of the 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.

VATICAN CITY
Associated Press via ABC News

February 19, 2018

By Nicole Winfield

Pope Francis backed down Monday and accepted the resignation of Nigerian bishop who had been rejected for years by the priests of his diocese, setting a precedent that could have repercussions in Chile and elsewhere when papal authority is challenged.

The announcement came after Francis in June issued a harsh ultimatum to the priests of Nigeria’s southern Ahiara diocese, warning they would lose their jobs if they didn’t obey him and accept Monsignor Peter Okpaleke as their bishop. Francis gave each priest 30 days to pledge their obedience.

The Vatican said Monday that 200 priests obeyed, but some still expressed problems in working with Okpaleke.

Pope Benedict XVI had appointed Okpaleke to Ahiara in 2012, but the local clergy rejected him. Ahiara is in the Mbaise region, and its faithful objected to the appointment of an outsider from the Anambra region to lead them. In protest, the Mbaise blocked access to the cathedral when Okpaleke was to be formally installed, and he was installed outside the diocese.

The Vatican’s mission office said Monday the pope took the priests’ “repentance” into account in deciding not to sanction them for “the grave damage” they had inflicted on the church by rejecting Okpaleke. But the Vatican said it hoped “in the future they will never again repeat such unreasonable actions opposing a bishop legitimately appointed by the Supreme Pontiff.”

The case could affect another divisive bishop appointment, Chilean Bishop Juan Barros.

Ever since Francis appointed him bishop of Osorno, Chile, in 2015, Barros has been rejected by many faithful and priests. His opponents cite accusations by sexual abuse victims who say Barros witnessed and ignored their abuse by Chile’s most notorious predator priest.

After Francis sparked an outcry during his recent trip to Chile by defending Barros, the pope did an about-face and sent in a Vatican investigator to take testimony about Barros’ behavior. The investigator, Archbishop Charles Scicluna, met with Barros’ main accuser on Saturday.

Many Vatican watchers had cited the Nigerian conflict in explaining Francis’ refusal to remove Barros. Barros had been named a bishop by St. John Paul II and confirmed by Benedict, making it difficult for Francis to sack him without compelling reason.

But Francis’ decision to accept the resignation of the Benedict-appointed Okpaleke due to popular opposition suggests he could do the same for Barros, who has already offered his resignation twice and had it rejected by Francis.

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.

ST. CLOUD (MN)
St. Cloud Times

February 18, 2018

By Stephanie Dickrell

The Rev. Anthony Oelrich will be responsible for paying his own legal fees related to a charge of criminal sexual conduct, a church spokesperson confirmed this week.

Oelrich faces charges of criminal sexual conduct in the third degree. He is accused of engaging in a sexual relationship with an adult whom he was giving spiritual counsel.

Joe Towalski, director of the office of communications for the Diocese of St. Cloud, confirmed that the church would not be funding Oelrich’s legal defense.

Oelrich is staying at a residence in St. Cloud owned by the diocese while the judicial process proceeds, Towalski added. The diocese continues to provide for Oelrich’s basic needs.

Bishop Donald Kettler removed Oelrich as pastor of the Newman Center and suspended his priestly faculties, which means he cannot function or present himself as a priest.

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

ST. CLOUD (MN)
St. Cloud Times

February 19, 2018

By Stephanie Dickrell

In the #MeToo moment, it’s important to know how to respond when a loved one says “Me too.”

Nearly a week after the arrest of a local Catholic priest for sexual misconduct, the community is looking for ways to process the news.

The Rev. Anthony Oelrich faces charges of criminal sexual conduct in the third degree. He is accused of engaging in a sexual relationship with an adult whom he was giving spiritual counsel.

The church has organized events for this week:

– 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, listening session and gathering for permanent members of Christ Church Newman Center in the Terrace room at the center.
– 6 p.m., Wednesday, healing prayer service in the lower church at St. Mary’s Cathedral.
– 6:30 p.m., Thursday, listening session and gathering for student members of Christ Church Newman Center in the Terrace room at the center.

In a Facebook post, the Rev. Scott Pogatchnik, rector of the cathedral, wrote:

“So many are overwhelmed with emotion. For me too, the pain and confusion are so raw that I don’t know where to begin or even that I want to begin. Wherever you are, Jesus invites us: Come to me…I will give you rest.’ Through prayer and scripture, rituals of healing and reflection, you are invited to join us as we begin this long journey of healing together.”

Another group is focusing on the victims of clergy sexual abuse, sexual assault and bullying. The grassroots group of parishioners and friends will gather at the cathedral before the prayer service Wednesday.

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

UNITED STATES
Open Tabernacle

February 18, 2018

By Betty Clermont

Pope Francis has a history of dishonesty and hypocrisy on the subject of clerical sex abuse. Survivors of sex abuse, and those who “normally” meet with them, know there are a number of actions the pope can take immediately to protect children, but he refuses to do so.

“On Fridays – sometimes this is known and sometimes it is not known – I normally meet some of them [sex abuse victims],” the pope said. He had “approved for publication” this and other statements he made last month.

“The percentage of pedophiles who are Catholic priests does not reach 2 percent, it’s 1.6 percent. It is not that much,” the pope also told his listeners.

The Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse recently released their findings that “7 percent of Catholic priests had been accused of abusing children from 1950 to 2010. In some Catholic religious orders the figures were much higher: 40 per cent for the St John of God Brothers and 22 per cent for the Christian Brothers …. Even the Church acknowledges these figures are an understatement because many victims have never come forward and never will.”

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.

WINNIPEG (MANITOBA, CANADA)
CBC News

February 16, 2018

Residential school survivor Mary Jane McCallum pens open letter to controversial Ontario colleague

[Includes a PDF of McCallum’s letter.]

The senator from Barren Lands First Nation, Man., is taking Ontario colleague Lynn Beyak to task over her controversial defence of Canada’s residential school system, and her refusal to strip letters supporting that stance from her Senate website.

“No amount of good times can ever override the bad times in the institution, especially if it involves sexual abuse,” Sen. Mary Jane McCallum wrote in an open letter to Beyak shared online on Thursday.

“No amount of good memories can override the negative experiences I have gone through in the past sixty years due to the ‘teachings’ of residential school.”

___________

‘Telling our stories is one way of taking back our power and spirit. Through voicing our stories we are telling Canada our hearts had been broken.’

– Sen. Mary Jane McCallum

___________

In the letter McCallum equates her 11-year experience in residential schools with “spiritual genocide” and being imprisoned, and suggests the Ontario senator’s apologetic stance on the system has “inflamed attitudes against Indigenous citizens.”

She also writes of the importance of letting Indigenous survivors lead the discussion on residential schools.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Washington Post

February 17, 2018

By Fred Barbash

Kamehameha School in Honolulu is one of a kind. Situated on a sprawling 600-acre campus on choice Oahu land, its massive multibillion-dollar endowment supports a first-rate K-12 education for some 3,000 children of Hawaiian ancestry. It offers otherwise deprived families a wealth of facilities, exceeding those of the fanciest private schools in the country, with more than 70 buildings, including an Olympic-size swimming pool and an athletic complex seating 3,000 spectators.

Kamehameha School is “a towering symbol of Hawaiian pride” with a proud legacy, as Hawaii News Now expressed it. Named for the great monarch who united the Hawaiian Islands — King Kamehameha I — and established in the will of his last direct descendant, it has educated some of the Islands’ leading lights since 1887.

But it also harbored a sordid secret for years: The school was covering up what a lawsuit brought by 32 of those former students described as “decades of monstrous sexual abuse” perpetrated largely against male boarders who were entirely in the care of Kamehameha.

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.

MÉRIDA (YUCATÁN, MEXICO)
Yucatan Times

February 17, 2018

A 58-year-old priest was arrested and placed at the disposal of the Central Prosecutor’s Office for the Investigation of Sexual Offenses accused of sexual abuse against a 12 year-old child.

The Attorney General’s Office of Mexico City reported that, according to the first investigations, on February 14 at 7:00 p.m., the mother of the victim left the child in a temple to study the cathecism. The church was located in the Buenos Aires neighborhood in the Cuauhtémoc delegation, downtown Mexico City.

Through deception, the priest took the 12 year-old girl to the offices of the enclosure where he sexually abused 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.

MELBOURNE (AUSTRALIA)
The Age

February 18, 2018

By Stephanie Peatling

Church and religious organisations have told the federal government it should extend its compensation scheme for survivors of institutional child sexual abuse to include those who have been convicted of serious crimes.

A joint submission by the Anglican Church, the Uniting Church and the Salvation Army to a federal government committee examining the scheme said extending it would mean “all survivors are eligible for redress”.

“It is well known and recognised by the royal commission that some survivors – as a result of their abuse – have engaged in abusive conduct themselves, including criminal conduct. It would be unfair that such persons are ineligible for redress,” the submission said.

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

CANBERRA (AUSTRALIA)
Australian Bishops Conference

February 14-17, 2018

[Includes a link to the liturgical texts.]

Dear brothers and sisters,

Last December, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse handed down its final report. Like the Australian Government and many other institutions, the Catholic bishops of Australia and leaders of religious institutes are currently studying the final report and its recommendations.

In the long years since the tragedy of child sexual abuse within the Catholic community became known, the Church has committed to policies, procedures and structures to respond better to survivors of abuse and their families, to establish professional standards for all ministers and Church workers, and to safeguard children and vulnerable people. For the Church, as for other institutions, this has involved gradual learning and development, and so it will continue to be.

Through these years, Australia’s bishops and other Church leaders have often expressed their sorrow and have offered their apology for what has occurred in the past – the harm suffered by victims and survivors, the instances of cover-up, the failure to believe survivors’ stories and to respond with compassion and justice, and the distress that many still experience.

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

NEW YORK (NY)
America Magazine

February 15, 2018

By Gerard O’Connell

Pope Francis “normally” meets with victims of abuse on Fridays, and “sometimes this is known and sometimes it is not known,” he revealed in a Jan. 19 conversation with Peruvian Jesuits in Lima, Peru.

He said it is “terrible” if even one priest abuses a minor, “for God anointed him to sanctify children and adults, and instead of making them holy he has destroyed them. It is horrible!”

He insisted that “we need to listen to what someone who has been abused feels,” and he revealed that he had done so in Chile. “As their process is very hard, they remain annihilated. Annihilated!” he said.

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

VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Service via The Pilot

February 17, 2018

By Cindy Wooden

Pope Francis has named nine new members to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, including abuse survivors or the parents of survivors, the Vatican said.

However, respecting “the right of each person to disclose their experiences of abuse publicly or not to do so,” the commission said Feb. 17, “the members appointed today have chosen not do so publicly, but solely within the commission.”

Pope Francis re-appointed Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley of Boston to be president of the commission, which the pope originally established in 2014. The terms of the original members had expired in December.

The first group of members had included two survivors who were very public about their experience of abuse as children. Peter Saunders, a British survivor and advocate, was asked by the commission to take a leave of absence in 2016; Marie Collins, an Irish survivor and advocate, announced in March 2017 that she had resigned. Both were outspoken about what they saw as resistance to implementing change and ensuring accountability for bishops guilty of covering up abuse.

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

BOSTON (MA)
Boston Herald

February 18, 2018

By Laurel J. Sweet

Pope keeps ‘go-to guy’ despite recent criticism

Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley has agreed to remain president of a Vatican child-abuse brain trust despite his recent unorthodox criticism of Pope Francis for siding with a Chilean bishop accused of covering up sexual molestation by a priest.

The Vatican announced yesterday that the archbishop of Boston will continue to lead the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors — a post O’Malley was first appointed to by Francis in 2014, when the advisory board was created.

O’Malley joins seven fellow returning members and nine new members. The global panel’s only other U.S. representative is Teresa Kettelkamp, a former colonel with the Illinois State Police, who previously served as executive director of the U.S. Bishops’ Office of Child and Youth Protection.

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.

BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe

By Jeremy C. Fox

Cardinal Sean O’Malley has been reappointed as the head of a Vatican commission on child sex abuse, as Pope Francis on Saturday revived the panel in the wake of widespread condemnation last month of the pontiff’s defense of a Chilean bishop accused of witnessing and ignoring abuse.

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors lapsed in December, when its members’ terms expired, prompting concerns that the advisory body could be disbanded.

In addition to O’Malley’s return as the panel’s president, Pope Francis named seven returning members and nine new members representing countries around the world, including Brazil, the Netherlands, Ethiopia, and India, according to a statement from the Vatican.

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VATICAN CITY
Holy See Press Office

February 17, 2018

Pope Francis has confirmed Cardinal Seán O’Malley, OFM Cap. as President of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors [PCPM] and named sixteen (16) members to this advisory body, including nine new members.

The new members are: Prof. Benyam Dawit Mezmur (Ethiopia); Sr. Arina Gonsalves, RJM (India); Hon. Neville Owen (Australia); Ms. Sinalelea Fe’ao (Tonga); Prof. Myriam Wijlens (Netherlands); Prof. Ernesto Caffo (Italy); Sr. Jane Bertelsen, FMDM (UK); Ms. Teresa Kettelkamp (USA) and Mr. Nelson Giovanelli Rosendo Dos Santos (Brazil).

The seven returning members are: Dr. Gabriel Dy-Liacco (Philippines); Bishop Luis Manuel Alí Herrera (Colombia); Fr. Hans Zollner, SJ (Germany); Prof. Hannah Suchocka (Poland); Sr. Kayula Lesa, RSC (Zambia) Sr. Hermenegild Makoro, CPS (South Africa), and Mons. Robert Oliver (USA).

Cardinal O’Malley stated: “Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has given much prayerful consideration in nominating these members. The newly appointed members will add to the Commission’s global perspective in the protection of minors and vulnerable adults. The Holy Father has ensured continuity in the work of our Commission, which is to assist local churches throughout the world in their efforts to safeguard all children, young people, and vulnerable adults from harm.”

The Holy Father has chosen these eight women and eight men from a multi-disciplinary field of international experts in safeguarding children and vulnerable adults from the crime of sexual abuse. Representatives from several new countries will now offer their insights and experience to the Commission, reflecting the global reach of the Church and the challenge of creating safeguarding structures in diverse cultural contexts.

Victims/survivors of clerical sexual abuse are included among the members announced today. Since the Commission’s foundation, people who have suffered abuse and parents of victims/survivors have been members. As has always been the Commission’s practice, the PCPM upholds the right of each person to disclose their experiences of abuse publicly or not to do so. The members appointed today have chosen not do so publicly, but solely within the Commission. The PCPM firmly believes that their privacy in this matter is to be respected.

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 CITY
UPI

February 17, 2018

By Allen Cone

Pope Francis has reactivated a sexual abuse advisory panel, retaining Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston as president of the panel but replacing nine members, the Vatican announced Saturday.

The 16-member Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors concluded its three-year tenure last December.

“Representatives from several new countries will now offer their insights and experience to the Commission, reflecting the global reach of the church and the challenge of creating safeguarding structures in diverse cultural contexts,” according to a Vatican news release.

The commission of eight women and eight men includes victims of clerical sexual abuse and parents of victims, the Catholic News Agency reported.

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.

MONTRÉAL (QUÉBEC, CANADA)
CTV News and The Canadian Press

February 18, 2018

A Senegalese man is suing a Quebec-based Catholic congregation for $1.4 million, alleging one of its brothers sexually abused him when he was a boy in the 1980s at a school the religious order ran in Africa.

Legal experts consulted by The Canadian Press said they weren’t aware of another case where a Canadian religious organization was taken to court for the alleged actions of its members in another country.

Max Silverman, the Senegalese plaintiff’s Montreal-based lawyer, said the congregation indicated it will contest the Quebec court’s jurisdiction, setting up a legal battle over whether the province is the best place to hear the evidence.

“The other side has made it clear they intend to contest the jurisdiction of the court and that debate will happen in the fall,” said Silverman, who filed the suit on behalf of the man who has chosen to remain anonymous.

Known in court documents as NBS, the plaintiff alleges a now-deceased Quebec member of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart congregation sexually abused him between 1984 and ’87, at a school the order ran in Kaolack, Senegal.

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MONTRÉAL (QUÉBEC, CANADA)
Kugler Kandestin

February 7, 2018

By Robert Kugler, Pierre Boivin, and Olivera Pajani

Kugler Kandestin files a class action seeking compensatory damages, as well as punitive and exemplary damages of $15 million.

The class action seeks to enable access to justice to numerous people who were victims of sexual abuse during their childhood, by religious members of the Brothers of Sacred Heart associated with Collège Mont-Sacré-Coeur in Granby. The class action alleges that the reprehensible and unacceptable sexual abuse was perpetrated systematically for several decades by at least 18 religious Brothers.

– Motion to Institute Proceedings dated February 5, 2018

– Judgment dated November 23, 2017

– Application for Authorization to Institute a Class Action

[Note from BishopAccountability.org: According to the documents linked above, the class action pertains to allegations of abuse by religious members of the Brothers of Sacred Heart Congregation, including:
– Brother Claude Lebeau SC (also known as Brother Gatien)
– Brother Jean-Guy Roy SC
– Brother Paul-Émile Blain SC
– Brother Louis Raymond SC (Raymond Decelles)
– Brother Majoric Duchesne SC
– Brother Roch Messier SC
– Brother Hervé Aubin SC (also known as “Frère Économe”)
– Brother Georges-Arthur SC
– Brother Gerry SC
– Brother Eudes SC
– Brother Gilles SC
– Brother Lucien Martel SC (Brother Gédéon)
– Brother Jean Royer SC
– Brother Jean-Claude Leduc SC
– Brother Arcène SC
– Brother Éphrem Chaput SC (Brother Aldéi)
– Brother Patrice SC (Cyrille Picard)
– Brother Antonio SC]

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SYRACUSE (NY)
Diocese of Syracuse

February 14, 2018

[Note from BishopAccountability.org: Includes links to the Protocol and Bishop Cunningham’s letter to parishioners.]

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse has announced another step in its going efforts to respond to the past sexual abuse of minors by clergy with the establishment of a voluntary Independent Reconciliation Compensation Program (IRCP) for survivors of clergy sexual abuse. The purpose of the program is to promote reconciliation and further healing of those who were harmed by members of the clergy.

The program will be administered by Mr. Kenneth Feinberg and Ms. Camille Biros. Mr. Feinberg is world renowned for his experience in mediation, administering compensation programs for the survivors of the 9/11 tragedy, BP Oil spill and most recently the IRCP programs offered in the three downstate dioceses.

Serving as independent administrators, Mr. Feinberg and Ms. Biros will work with those who have previously notified the diocese that they had been harmed by a member of the clergy. These individuals will be contacted by letter to invite them to participate in this voluntary program. Mr. Feinberg and Ms. Biros retain complete and sole discretion over all eligibility agreements and settlement compensation amounts for the eligible individuals. The diocese will accept their determinations without question.

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NEW YORK (NY)
New York Times

Leer en español: El Vaticano reactiva la comisión sobre abusos sexuales ante críticas

February 17, 2018

By Jason Horowitz

After his spirited defense of a Chilean bishop accused of covering up sexual abuse prompted the greatest crisis of his pontificate, Pope Francis reactivated an abuse commission on Saturday that had lapsed into dormancy.

It was the latest in a series of measures by the Vatican to counter criticism that fighting abuse was not a priority for Francis’ papacy.

Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston was reappointed as the leader of the group, called the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. A Vatican statement said the panel would include some victims of clerical sexual abuse.

“The Holy Father has ensured continuity in the work of our commission, which is to assist local churches throughout the world in their efforts to safeguard all children, young people, and vulnerable adults from harm,” Cardinal O’Malley said in a statement.

The Vatican statement said the abuse victims on the commission preferred to keep their histories private.

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.

SYRACUSE (NY)
Diocese of Syracuse

February 14, 2018

[Video of the full press conference announcing the Independent Reconciliation Compensation Program of the Syracuse diocese.]

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse has announced another step in its going efforts to respond to the past sexual abuse of minors by clergy with the establishment of a voluntary Independent Reconciliation Compensation Program (IRCP) for survivors of clergy sexual abuse. The purpose of the program is to promote reconciliation and further healing of those who were harmed by members of the clergy.

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.

KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter

February 16, 2018

By Renee K. Gadoua

Syracuse NY – Citing the Lenten virtues of penance and reconciliation, Syracuse Bishop Robert Cunningham, announced Feb. 14, Ash Wednesday, that the diocese has established an Independent Reconciliation Compensation Program for survivors of clergy sexual abuse.

Victims have until May 16 to submit claims, which the bishop stressed would be paid for through the diocese’s general liability insurance program, not donations. Only people who submitted claims to the diocese before Feb. 14 are eligible. Participants will not sign confidentiality agreements, but they agree not to sue the diocese or diocesan staff.

About 76 victims from cases dating to 1941 are eligible for compensation for “pain and suffering” at the hands of priests, Cunningham said at a press conference. The day’s ashes “outwardly express our guilt before God and we are prompted by the hope that the Lord is kind and compassionate, patient and understanding,” he said.

The diocese previously settled 20 clergy sex abuse cases. Forty priests in the seven-county diocese have been accused since 1941. Of those, 18 are alive; they are considered credibly accused and have been removed from ministry.

Cunningham reiterated his policy of not naming accused priests who have not been identified publicly, saying he is respecting requests from some survivors not to do so.

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.

SYRACUSE (NY)
WSYR-TV

February 14, 2018

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse has announced a new program created to compensate victims and survivors of clergy sexual abuse.

The purpose of the Independent Reconciliation Compensation Program is to promote “reconciliation and further healing of those who were harmed by members of the clergy,” the Diocese stated in a release.

“Over the past year, we have monitored the IRCP in the Archdiocese of New York, the Diocese of Brooklyn and the Diocese of Rockville Centre. The response from survivors and their families has been extremely positive. We know and acknowledge that we cannot reverse the damage that was done but our hope is that this new effort will provide an opportunity to seek forgiveness for the irreparable acts of the past and perhaps, bring a sense of healing to some,” Bishop Robert Cunningham said.

The program will be independently administered.

Those who had previously notified the Diocese of abuses will be contacted by the program and a settlement will be reached at the discretion of the administrators.

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.

SYRACUSE (NY)
Syracuse.com

February 17, 2018

By Dave Pasinski

“The last temptation is the greatest treason: to do the right deed for the wrong reason.” This poignant phrase from T.S. Eliot’s “Murder in the Cathedral” sets a high bar for the motivation for any worthy action. Yet, since the time of Sigmund Freud, most psychologists would recognize that nearly all actions have roots that are ambiguously intertwined.

Therefore, as The Post-Standard editorial stated well, the fact that the Diocese of Syracuse is now attempting to make a good-faith “reparation” for the exploitation of the many known victims of clerical sexual abuse is an important step, even as serious questions of motivation and justice persist.

It is certainly understandable that victims, their advocates and many others of good will may also question the motivation that accompanies this program. If it is an attempt to simply close a window that would allow past claims to be brought to light, it indeed is insidious – even though it is ministered by two people completely apart from the diocese whose integrity is unquestionable.

Yet motivations may abound in all directions. Seeking to punish those perpetrators who are long dead or defrocked — and the irresponsible, naive or duplicitous hierarchy of those past years who sheltered them — through settlements at this point can be of questionable value also. No financial settlement can ever ameliorate innocence and trust lost, but it is nevertheless necessary to both assist victims and deter future negligence.

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.

SYRACUSE (NY)
Syracuse.com

By Bishop Robert J. Cunningham

A video of Bishop Cunningham’s announcement.

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SYRACUSE (NY)
Diocese of Syracuse

Regarding Claims Reported to the Diocese Prior to February 14, 2018

An Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program to pay victims of alleged clergy sexual abuse of minors (the “IRCP”) was announced today by Bishop Robert J. Cunningham of the Diocese of Syracuse, New York (the “Diocese”).

• The Diocese has engaged Kenneth R. Feinberg and Camille Biros (the “Administrators”) to design, implement and administer a program for the submission, evaluation, and settlement of individual claims of sexual abuse of a minor reported to the Diocese prior to February 14, 2018.

• The Diocese of Syracuse (the “Diocese”) IRCP is modeled after the successful programs of the Archdiocese of NY, the Diocese of Brooklyn, NY, and the Diocese of Rockville Centre, NY. All three of these programs are administered by Mr. Feinberg and Ms. Biros.

• The IRCP is purely voluntary; no individual is required to participate in the program. An individual only waives rights to litigate against the Diocese if the individual is satisfied with the compensation provided and signs a release of liability.

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.

SYRACUSE (NY)
WSYR-TV

February 15, 2018

By Andrew Donovan

Oswego NY – Now that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse has announced its compensation program for victims of clergy sexual abuse, the 76 people who’ve previously filed claims will be getting letters with instructions.

That includes 41-year-old George O’Neil, who is still considering whether or not he’ll take part in the program.

O’Neil says:

“Father Casey would take me in various places over 100 times. He would take advantage of me, and take advantage of our situation alone together. Sometimes, in front of people. He violated me in ways that no child should every be violated. It’s hard to talk about. It really is.”

O’Neil, as a fifth and sixth grader, claims he was sexually abused at St. Paul’s Church in Oswego by Father Daniel Casey.

On Thursday, O’Neil got the closest to the front door of the church as he’s been in 30 years.

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

LONDON (ENGLAND)
The Guardian

February 17, 2018

By Catherine Pepinster

He entered office on a wave of energy but, as discontent grows over his attitude to abuse scandals, Francis faces opposition on all sides

Chatham House is one of the most important foreign affairs thinktanks in the UK. But on Wednesday its focus will not be a president, or an organisation like the World Bank, or the future of the EU after Brexit, but a religious leader: Pope Francis. And it will be the third time in recent weeks that Britain has turned its attention to the pope.

Two weeks ago, the Foreign Office-sponsored thinktank Wilton Park took delegates to the Vatican to meet the pope and discuss violent religious extremism, while last week the Metropolitan police commissioner, Cressida Dick, was in Rome to talk with Francis about modern slavery.

This engagement confirms the pope as one of the leading figures of the age. It will be five years on 13 March since the then Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Buenos Aires was elected leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics, following the shock resignation of Pope Benedict XVI.

Since then, Bergoglio, who on election took the name Francis after St Francis of Assisi, has become hugely popular. Even atheists declare: “I love this guy!” on social media. Fellow church leaders, such as the Orthodox leader, ecumenical patriarch Bartholomew, and the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, politicians and other public figures flock to meet him. The Chatham House event will explore the Roman Catholic church’s role in diplomacy, its relationship with the US, and the significance of the first post-western pope, who has diluted the Eurocentrism of the Vatican.

Yet in the Vatican itself, all is not well. Ever since his election in 2013, Francis’s efforts at reform have made him deeply unpopular with conservative Catholics, some in positions of influence within the Vatican itself. They have balked at his efforts to change the way the Vatican is run, including its bank, and to rethink the manner in which the church deals with failed marriages, including welcoming remarried divorcees to receive holy communion. Now the rumblings of discontent have spread to liberals who support Francis but are deeply upset by recent remarks he has made on child abuse.

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NEW YORK (NY)
Reuters via U.S. News & World Report

February 17, 2018

By Alice Popavici

The key witness in the case of a Chilean bishop accused of covering sexual abuse said on Saturday he gave “eye opening” testimony to a papally mandated investigator and hoped it would lead to the truth.

Juan Carlos Cruz met in a church on Manhattan’s Upper West Side for about four hours with Archbishop Charles Scicluna, one of the most experienced and respected Vatican investigators of clergy sexual abuse.

“It’s been a good experience and I leave here very hopeful today,” he told reporters afterwards. “I feel that I was heard … it was very intense and very detailed and very, sometimes, eye-opening for them.”

“Hopefully it will lead to good things,” he said.

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SCOTLAND
The National

February 17, 2018

By Martin Hannan

SCOTLAND’s charities have been asked to consider at a senior level how they protect the people their staff and volunteers are supposed to be looking after.

The missive came from the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) after it revealed it had dealt with 15 cases of alleged sexual misconduct within the sector in the past two years.

OSCR told The National: “All organisations need to develop policies and procedures that are fit for purpose. We wrote to all charities this week asking the trustees to discuss safeguarding at their next board meeting.”

The regulator said the cases it had handled – known as “notifiable events” – were “mostly historical”, and none had resulted in a formal inquiry.

The Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (Sciaf) was the only Scottish charity working internationally to have reported allegations, said OSCR.

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CANADA
CBC.CA

February 17, 2018

By Jaela Bernstien

Montrealer is filing motion to launch class action

Now 62 years old, Marc Boudreau has come to accept that he will likely never find peace, or be able to live a normal life, after a childhood spent in institutions.

Many days are a struggle for Boudreau, who still finds it difficult to talk about his past.

“It was a stolen childhood, because we were children and we were innocent,” he said. “We were defenceless.”

In a motion to be authorized to launch a class action lawsuit, Boudreau alleges that his mother handed him over to a Catholic-run organization as an infant. After some time in foster care, Boudreau spent most of his early years in orphanages and psychiatric hospitals in Quebec.

In the motion, he claims that physical and sexual abuse in those institutions left him with long-term scars — both physical and emotional — and that prevented him from forming stable relationships or finding steady work.

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LONDON (ENGLAND)
The Times

February 18, 2018

By David Quinn

The UN and Oxfam have learnt nothing from the church’s disgrace

When an organisation is hit by complaints of sex abuse, and when it is discovered that the abuse was covered up by those in charge, the effect on that organisation is devastating. The Catholic church is the best example. In this country, abuse by priests and religious was a dominant news story from roughly the mid-1990s until 2011, when the report about abuse in the Cloyne diocese was published.

The blanket coverage of that story is what makes it so mystifying to see other organisations also engage in the cover-up of sex abuse, including sporting bodies, schools, scouting organisations, other churches, the UN and, most recently, Oxfam.

If these abuses had been covered up years ago, before the scandals that embroiled the Catholic church had come to light, that might be one thing. While it would not, of course, excuse the abuses or the cover-ups, it would mean those other organisations had no opportunity to learn from the catastrophic mistakes made by the Catholic church. But many incidences of abuse and cover-ups occurred after those lessons should have been learnt. They were not.

A report last year into the Hillsborough disaster of 1989, in which 96 people were killed at a football match in Sheffield, described what seems to be almost an immutable law of human nature, namely “an instinctive prioritisation of the reputation of an organisation over the citizen’s right to expect people to be held to account for their actions”.

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SANTIAGO (CHILE)
El Mercurio – emol.com

February 17, 2018

El enviado papal llegará a Chile el próximo miércoles 21 de febrero. Su visita se enmarca en la investigación de las acusaciones de encubrimiento en contra del obispo Juan Barros.

El periodista Juan Carlos Cruz se mostró conforme tras la reunión que sostuvo esta tarde con el arzobispo de Malta, Charles Scicluna, quien fue designado por el Papa Francisco para investigar las acusaciones de encubrimiento en contra del obispo Juan Barros.

Cruz, quien fue una de las víctimas de Fernando Karadima, expresó que tanto para él como para el representante de la Santa Sede el encuentro había sido emotivo y agregó que “por primera vez siento que nos están oyendo”. La reunión entre el denunciante del ex párroco de El Bosque y el enviado papal forma parte de la investigación que está llevando a cabo el Vaticano, a la que también se sumarán una serie de conversaciones que Scicluna sostendrá durante la próxima semana en Chile.

La reunión entre el denunciante del ex párroco de El Bosque y el enviado papal forma parte de la investigación que está llevando a cabo el Vaticano, a la que también se sumarán una serie de conversaciones que Scicluna sostendrá durante la próxima semana en Chile. El arzobispo de Malta llegará al país el próximo miércoles 21 de febrero, día en el que se juntará con el vocero de laicos de Osorno, Juan Carlos Claret, y otros dos laicos en la sede de Obras Misionales Pontificias.

[GOOGLE TRANSLATION: The next steps of Archbishop Scicluna after his meeting with Juan Carlos Cruz: The papal envoy will arrive in Chile next Wednesday, February 21. His visit is part of the investigation of the cover-up accusations against Bishop Juan Barros.

The journalist Juan Carlos Cruz was pleased after the meeting he had this afternoon with the archbishop of Malta, Charles Scicluna , who was appointed by Pope Francisco to investigate the accusations of cover-up against Bishop Juan Barros.

Cruz, who was one of the victims of Fernando Karadima , said that for him and for the representative of the Holy See the meeting had been emotional and added that “for the first time I feel that they are listening to us.”

The meeting between the denouncer of the former parish priest of El Bosque and the papal envoy is part of the investigation being carried out by the Vatican, to which will also be added a series of conversations that Scicluna will hold during the next week in Chile . The archbishop of Malta will arrive in the country next Wednesday, February 21 , day in which he will meet with the spokesman of lay people of Osorno, Juan Carlos Claret , and two other lay people at the Pontifical Missionary Works site.]

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NEW YORK (NY)
La Tercera

February 17, 2018

By Francisca Labarca

Este sábado Juan Carlos Cruz, una de las víctimas del ex párroco Fernando Karadima se reunió en Estados Unidos con la comisión enviada por el Papa Francisco que investigan las acusaciones de encubrimiento contra del obispo de Osorno Juan Barros.

En la oportunidad, Cruz sostuvo una reunión con el arzobispo de Malta, Charles Scicluna en Estados Unidos, la que se prolongó por cerca de tres horas y media en una parroquia de Nueva York.

“Fue una reunión larga, emocionalmente difícil, pero estoy muy contento de haber podido hablar con monseñor Scicluna, ellos se portaron increíblemente bien y por primera vez siento que nos están oyendo”, aseguró el Juan Carlos.

[GOOGLE TRANSLATION: Juan Carlos Cruz after meeting with Monsignor Scicluna: “For the first time I feel that they are listening to us”

This Saturday Juan Carlos Cruz, one of the victims of former pastor Fernando Karadima met in the United States with the commission sent by Pope Francisco to investigate the accusations of cover-up against the Bishop of Osorno Juan Barros.

On the occasion, Cruz held a meeting with the archbishop of Malta, Charles Scicluna in the United States, which lasted for about three and a half hours in a parish in New York.

“It was a long, emotionally difficult meeting, but I am very happy to have been able to speak with Monsignor Scicluna, they behaved incredibly well and for the first time I feel like they are hearing us ,” said Juan Carlos.]

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NEW YORK (NY)
National Catholic Reporter

February 17, 2018

By Peter Feuerherd

Juan Carlos Cruz, who has accused a Chilean bishop of witnessing and covering up for sex abuse he endured as a minor, met here Feb. 17 with Archbishop Charles Scicluna, a representative of Pope Francis. “For the first time, I felt someone was listening,” Cruz said after emerging from the three-hour meeting.

On January 30, the Vatican announced that Scicluna, a Maltese archbishop, would collect testimony about Bishop Juan de la Cruz Barros Madrid of Osorno, Chile. Barros has been accused by Cruz, who now resides in the Philadelphia area, and two other men, of witnessing Fr. Fernando Karadima sexually abuse them when they were minors.

Scicluna will travel to Chile to continue the investigation. Karadima, now 87, was a charismatic church leader in Chile. A Chilean court declined to rule on the case because of a statute of limitations, with a judge emphasizing that the case did not lack for evidence.

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NEW YORK (NY)
Associated Press

February 17, 2018

By Claudia Torrens

A key victim in the Chilean sex abuse scandal said he felt his story was finally heard after an hours-long meeting with a Vatican sex-crimes investigator on Saturday, the same day Pope Francis revived his lapsed sex abuse advisory commission amid criticism of how he is handling the scandal.

The meeting at a Manhattan church between Archbishop Charles Scicluna and whistleblower Juan Carlos Cruz was “intense, detailed and eye-opening,” Cruz said to the reporters outside the Church of the Holy Name of Jesus. Scicluna didn’t speak to reporters after the meeting that lasted more than three hours.

“For the first time I felt that someone is listening,” Cruz said. “I think (Scicluna) was sincerely moved by what I was saying. He cried.”

Cruz said they mainly spoke about Chilean Bishop Juan Barros, whom Pope Francis has vigorously defended. Barros is accused by victims of witnessing and ignoring the abuse of young parishioners by the Rev. Fernando Karadima, who was removed from ministry and sentenced to a lifetime of “penance and prayer” in 2010.

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VATICAN CITY
Agence France-Presse

February 18, 2018

The Vatican said yesterday it has renewed its anti-paedophile panel as Pope Francis acts to quell the global scandal over the sexual abuse of children by priests.

The panel had come under fire from two high-profile members, former sex abuse victims who quit at what they saw as a lack of reform and obstruction at the highest level of the Catholic Church.

Victims have come forward from across the world over the past two decades accusing priests of sex crimes, unleashing one of the biggest crises faced by the Catholic Church. US Cardinal Sean O’Malley was confirmed as the head of the child protection panel along with seven other incumbent members, while nine new members were added, the Vatican said.

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PHOENIX (AZ)
The Catholic Sun

February 17, 2018

By Lisa Dahm

“I didn’t think I needed it,” said Alecia Turner of the invitation to attend a five-day Grief to Grace Retreat in Phoenix through Restore Dignity. “I didn’t think my current-day struggles had anything to do with my past.”

As she explored the timeline of her life, Turner realized that with her abuse history she would benefit from the faith-based, holistic program designed to help participants address abuse-related trauma through a Catholic lens.

“It did take a lot of humility and it was a leap (attending the Grief to Grace retreat), but I had hope because I was talking to the Restore Dignity people,” Turner said. “I realized that healing is possible.”

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UNITED STATES
Vox

February 16, 2018

By Tara Isabella Burton

Colbie Holderness and Jennifer Willoughby called out the church for not taking domestic abuse seriously enough.

Last week, White House aide Rob Porter resigned from his position after it emerged that both of his ex-wives had accused him of domestic abuse. But his ex-wives’ accounts, shared in the media, don’t just tell the story of two abusive marriages. They also reveal the structural and institutional failure of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (or, the Mormon Church) to protect women from toxic and abusive relationships.

Both Colbie Holderness and Jennifer Willoughby told CNN this week about how they’d shared their experiences with Mormon bishops, who only downplayed the severity of their accusations or encouraged them to be mindful of the consequences to Porter’s career if they came forward.

Willoughby said one bishop discouraged her from filing a protective order in order to preserve Porter’s reputation. Likewise, Holderness recalled being consistently turned away by the Mormon bishops she sought guidance from. “For years I would go to Mormon bishops and I would try to find the words to explain what was going on, but I was at a loss. … It wasn’t until I went to a secular counselor … [that somebody] told me that what was happening was not okay,” Holderness told CNN.

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NEW YORK (NY)
Associated Press via US News & World Report

February 17, 2018

The Latest on a Vatican sex-crimes investigator meeting in New York with one of the key victims in the Chilean abuse scandal (all times local):

3 p.m.

A key victim in the Chilean sex abuse scandal says he feels his story finally has been heard after meeting with a Vatican sex-crimes investigator for more than three hours.

Whistleblower Juan Carlos Cruz met with Archbishop Charles Scicluna at a Roman Catholic church in Manhattan on Saturday.

Scicluna is investigating accusations against Bishop Juan Barros, a protege of Chile’s most notorious predator priest, the Rev. Fernando Karadima.

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KOTTAYAM (INDIA)
The Times of India

February 17, 2018

The priest against whom a complaint of rape was filed by a Bangladeshi woman with a British citizenship surrendered before the judicial first class magistrate court in Vaikom on Friday. After a medical examination, Fr Thomas Thanninilkumthadathil (44), was remanded in judicial custody for 14 days. He was moved to Kottayam sub-jail. Meanwhile, Kaduthurthy police have requested the court for the custody of the accused.

He was charged under sections 376, 380, 323 and 506 (1) of IPC based on the complaint by the 42-year-old woman. The priest had befriended the woman through Facebook. On January 7 the woman arrived here to meet the priest accompanied by a Zimbabwean youth. They had stayed with the priest at his official residence in the church and also in a resort in Kumarakom. The two were here from January 7-12 during which the alleged offences including the rape had happened. The woman had also complained that while the priest had dropped her at the resort in Kumarakom where she had booked a room, he took away her gold and money after locking her in the toilet.

The Pala diocese had removed him from the post immediately after the allegation came up.

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VATICAN CITY
Associated Press

February 17, 2018

By Nicole Winfield

Pope Francis revived his lapsed sex abuse advisory commission by naming new members Saturday, after coming under fire for his overall handling of the scandal and his support for a Chilean bishop accused by victims of witnessing and ignoring their abuse.

The announcement of the new members of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors came on the same day that a Vatican investigator will take the testimony in New York of one of the main whistleblowers in the Chilean cover-up scandal.

Francis tasked Archbishop Charles Scicluna with the fact-finding mission into Bishop Juan Barros after he came under blistering criticism in Chile for defending Barros and calling the victims’ cover-up accusations against him slander.

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NEW YORK (NY)
Associated Press via US News & World Report

February 16, 2018

By Claudia Torren

A Vatican sex-crimes investigator is meeting in New York with one of the key victims in the Chilean abuse scandal.

A Vatican sex-crimes investigator is meeting in New York with one of the key victims in the Chilean abuse scandal that involves a bishop Pope Francis has vigorously defended.

The meeting on Saturday between Archbishop Charles Scicluna and whistleblower Juan Carlos Cruz will take place at a Roman Catholic church in Manhattan.

Scicluna is investigating accusations against Bishop Juan Barros, a protege of Chile’s most notorious predator priest, the Rev. Fernando Karadima.

Cruz and two others have said Barros witnessed the abuse Karadima inflicted on them and ignored it.

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PATERSON (NJ)
NorthJersey.com (The Record)

February 17, 2018

By Richard Cowen

A former administrator with Catholic Family & Community Services has sued the agency, claiming she was sickened by toxic mold in the workplace and later fired after investigating allegations of child abuse and sexual assault at the Mount Saint Joseph’s Children Center in Totowa.

In a lawsuit, Loretta Urban-Critchett says she went to Mount Saint Joseph’s in June of 2015 to investigate a report that an employee had thrown hot coffee on a student. There were also reports of a boy who had twice been sexually assaulted — once in a van with employees present. And she alleges there was a “fight club” organized by night shift workers at the home for troubled youths.

Urban-Critchett says she spoke to the executive director, Diane Silbernagel, who promised to hire a private investigator. She also spoke to the Human Resources director, Dennis Butler, “and Mr. Butler failed to act on the rape incident,” the lawsuit says.

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