ABUSE TRACKER

RHODE ISLAND
Boston Globe

By Bella English GLOBE STAFF DECEMBER 23, 2015

An investigation by St. George’s School has found that a total of 23 students were sexually abused by three school employees in the 1970s and ’80s, according to a draft of a report provided to the Globe Wednesday evening. The perpetrators were fired, but the prep school did not report them at the time to child protection services, as mandated by law.

In addition, three other employees during the same period engaged in sexual misconduct with a single student apiece, bringing the total to 26 victims of staff abuse, according to the draft report to alumni, signed by headmaster Eric Peterson and board chair Leslie Heaney.

“To all victims, we are truly, deeply sorry for the harm done to you by former employees or former students of the School,” the draft states. “We are heartbroken for you and for the pain and suffering that you have endured. We pledge to do all we can to support you in your efforts to heal, if you want or need our support.”

The document outlines plans to set up a therapy fund for victims, create an independent advisory support group, and consider removing former headmaster Tony Zane’s name from a dormitory. Zane, now 85, led the school in Middletown, R.I., during the years the abuse occurred.

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VATICAN CITY
news.com.au

AAP

Monsignor Lucio Vallejo Balda, a Spanish priest arrested almost two months ago over the VatiLeaks 2 affair, has been released from prison and placed under house arrest, the Vatican says.

Vallejo Balda is on trial, along with two other alleged leakers – his aide Nicola Maio and PR consultant Francesca Chaouqui – for revealing Vatican financial scandals to two journalists, Emiliano Fittipaldi and Gianluigi Nuzzi.

The 54-year-old prelate left his cell on Tuesday and was granted accommodation within Vatican walls, Holy See spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said on Wednesday.

Vallejo Balda was the only VatiLeaks 2 suspect behind bars.

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UNITED STATES
Radar

More than two months after five women filed a damning lawsuit against the Duggar family’s beloved church organization, a judge has dismissed the case— but the alleged victims have vowed to refile the documents, RadarOnline.com can exclusively reveal.

As Radar reported in October, five former employees of Institute in Basic Life Principles, Gretchen Wilkinson, Charis Barker, Rachel Lees, Rachel Frost and a Jane Doe, sued the ministry and six of its directors—including Bringing Up Bates patriarch Gil Bates— for “failing to report known allegations of sexual abuse and sexual harassment…to the appropriate law enforcement agencies.”

While employed by the church, the women claimed they were victims of “sexual abuse, sexual harassment and inappropriate/unauthorized touching” by church staff members and managers.

Now, Radar can report, the defendants have filed a motion to dismiss the suit, claiming the plaintiffs failed to cite specific examples of abuse in their initial filing.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philly.com

by Jeremy Roebuck, Staff Writer.

Msgr. William J. Lynn, the first Roman Catholic Church official convicted in the United States for covering up child sex abuse by priests, wants out of prison and to have his case assigned to a new judge.

A day after a Pennsylvania Superior Court panel overturned – for a second time – the 64-year-old’s 2012 conviction, his lawyer, Thomas A. Bergstrom, sought an emergency bail hearing for his client and the removal of Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina from the case.

In court filings Wednesday, Bergstrom cited Sarmina’s “previous harsh sentence and other rulings,” as well as her decision to admit evidence at trial of decades worth of child-abuse complaints involving Philadelphia area priests, some of which predated Lynn’s tenure as secretary for clergy for the Philadelphia Archdiocese.

Superior Court called that evidence “unfairly prejudicial” in its ruling Tuesday and sided with Lynn’s argument that it effectively turned him into a scapegoat for the wider sins of the church. Prosecutors had argued it offered insight into Lynn’s decision-making, and shed light on the archdiocese’s historic practice of covering up abuse to protect the interests of the church.

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MISSOURI
Fox 2

DECEMBER 23, 2015, BY KEVIN S. HELD

NORMANDY, MO (KTVI) – A 68-year-old man is in jail amid accusations of having inappropriate sexual contact with children at a north county church.

According to Officer Tameika Sanders, a spokeswoman for the Normandy Police Department, police were contacted December 18 regarding a sexual assault of a child at Bethesda Temple Church.

The suspect, Mickey Flanigan, has worked at Bethesda Temple Church since October 2014 as a summer school caregiver and as a bus driver during the school year.

The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Flanigan with first-degree child molestation and first-degree statutory sodomy. He’s being held in St. Louis County Jail on $150,000 cash-only bond.

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MISSOURI
KMOV

[with video]

NORMANDY, Mo. (KMOV.com) — A caregiver at a Normandy church is facing charges for allegedly molesting a child.

Mickey Flanigan, 68, is charged with statutory sodomy and child molestation. Police told News 4 one victim has been identified.

Flanigan works at Bethesda Temple Church as a summer school caregiver and a bus driver during the school year.

Authorities believe there may be more victims.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Herald

Brian Dowling Thursday, December 24, 2015

It’s an unwelcome thought for members of St. Frances X. Cabrini Church that tonight’s Christmas Eve service could be their last at the Scituate parish.

“The reality of the day is it’s possible,” said Maryellen Rogers, a spokeswoman for the parishioners, who are counting on an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to keep them in their beloved house of worship.

Tomorrow will be the parishioners’ 12th defiant Christmas in the church. The archdiocese and civil courts see them as trespassers, while those who have held vigil in the church since October 2004 say they are standing up for the church that their families built and cared for.

Rogers said her hope has helped her stay strong over the years.

“It would be so much easier to walk away,” she said. “We have given up a big part of our lives, but sometimes you have to do the right thing. … There’s only so much you can take until you stand up and say enough.”

Rogers and others spent hours yesterday replacing Advent’s purple decorations with reds and whites of Christmas. The parish’s Christmas Eve celebration is at 5 p.m.

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NEW MEXICO
Albuquerque Journal

By Olivier Uyttebrouck / Journal Staff Writer
Published: Thursday, December 24th, 2015

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — An attorney for alleged victims of sexual abuse by priests has declined to sign a letter listing financial terms of a settlement in the Diocese of Gallup bankruptcy case because the agreement is “nonbinding” and could allow insurers to walk away from the deal, Los Angeles attorney James Stang told a judge on Wednesday.

“We want to know that the letter means something,” and that insurers and others are required to provide the amounts indicated in the letter, said Stang, who represents 57 alleged victims of clerical abuse who have filed claims in the case. “We have got a long road to go here.”

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David T. Thuma said he was not surprised that attorneys are having difficulty finalizing a settlement in the 2-year-old bankruptcy case and asked them to continue working toward resolution. He set a hearing for Jan. 6 to review any progress toward a deal.

The Diocese of Gallup in November 2013 became the ninth U.S. diocese to file for bankruptcy in response to a growing number of lawsuits alleging sexual abuse of children by clergy in the diocese.

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IRELAND
The 42

EDITOR’S NOTE: We caught up with former Dublin goalkeeper John Leonard in October to talk about his extraordinary story of abuse, addiction and Gaelic football. Since then his book Dub Sub Confidential has won the inaugural Setanta Sports Book of the Year and we feel his tale bears repeating.

WE’RE SITTING ON some steps, gazing out across Dublin Bay. It’s late morning and the sun glistens on the water, casting shadows.

John Leonard knows this place well. But it’s complicated. His family home is a five-minute walk away. But high up into the clouds, in the opposite direction, is the imposing spire of St Fintan’s Church. And it was there where Leonard’s childhood was destroyed, his adulthood subsequently descending into a cocktail of wild drug abuse and alcoholism.

He was nine when the prolific paedophile priest Fr. Ivan Payne first sexually abused him. It was years later when Leonard told his parents and his life became engulfed by chaos and self-sabotage.

“I was on a mission of wanting destruction”, he says.

But there was a slight issue.

Leonard became a relatively high-profile athlete – a reserve goalkeeper for the Dublin senior footballers. Balancing the drugs, the drink and the sex with relentless training, recovery sessions and games was a struggle. But somehow, he managed it. Somehow, through bleary eyes and a heavy head, through the paranoia and the hallucinations, Leonard was part of a Dublin squad that reached an All-Ireland semi-final in 2007.

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ILLINOIS
Patch

By Ted Slowik | Commentary

I went to see the movie “Spotlight” about the Boston Globe’s groundbreaking coverage of priests who sexually abused children and the bishops and cardinals who covered it up. Had Catholic Church leaders acted differently, predator clergy wouldn’t have had access to children. Many people who were harmed would have been spared.

As a reporter for the Joliet Herald News in 2002, I spoke with more than 50 people who were sexually abused as children by Joliet priests. The Joliet Diocese lists on its website 35 priests linked to sexual abuse of children. Hundreds of children were horrifically abused in DuPage, Will and five other counties.

The guy in charge of the Joliet Diocese from 1979 to 2006, when a great number of cases were reported, was Bishop Joseph Imesch. Based on my first-hand interviews with abuse survivors, their parents and diocesan insiders, I firmly believe Joe Imesch cared more about protecting his priests and the reputation of the Church than protecting children from harm.

He’d say, in interviews and in depositions, that he relied on the advice of therapists who assured him the sexual deviants could be treated and returned to service. At other times Joe would say there was a lack of evidence that a crime occurred, or some other lame excuse. I call bullshit on all that.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

A Melbourne priest accused of sexual abuse has apologised to his parish for “any hurt or disappointment” his behaviour caused following revelations a church investigation found his conduct inconsistent with his duties.

The ABC has revealed that in 2012 the Catholic Church paid $75,000 compensation to John Roach, who claimed he was sexually abused by Father John Walshe in 1982.

Father Walshe, who now works at St Patrick’s at Mentone-Parkdale, denied he abused Mr Roach, but had engaged in “consensual conduct” with another adult.

“My conduct was contrary to my religious beliefs. However it by no means constituted any form of abuse,” he said in a statement.

Mr Roach, who said the abuse took place while he was an 18-year-old seminarian, made a formal complaint to the Melbourne Response in 2002, which was later upheld following an investigation by Peter O’Callaghan QC.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Loretta Florance

A man who is still fighting for compensation over alleged abuse he suffered at Xavier College in the 1970s has turned to crowdfunding in an effort to establish a foundation to support other abuse victims.

Janusz Skarbek, 54, attended the prestigious Melbourne school for three years in the 1970s, but said it was not until decades later that he remembered his ordeal.

He said he told his story at a private hearing at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, and now he is telling it again as part of a public plea to raise $15,000 to start the Fellows Foundation.

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VATICAN CITY
GMA News (Philippines)

A Spanish priest accused of leaking secret documents to journalists in the so-called Vatileaks scandal was released from prison and placed under house arrest, a spokesman for the Holy See said Wednesday.

Spanish Monsignor Lucio Vallejo Balda was arrested in November over accusations he leaked confidential documents to the Italian press, along with his assistant Nicola Maio and Francesca Chaouqui, a former PR consultant to the Vatican.

Vallejo Balda was released from jail Tuesday and is being housed in a small flat in a convent located above the Vatican police station, spokesman Ciro Benedettini told AFP, adding that he was barred from leaving the city-state.

The priest had made a statement saying he leaked the documents under Chaouqui’s influence and that he had been sorely tempted to break his vow of celibacy as a result of her sexual advances.

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TEXAS
Beaumont Enterprise

Father David Placette, pastor of St. Catherine Catholic Church in Port Arthur, was cleared by Port Arthur police in connection with an indecency complaint involving four juvenile males, according to a statement released today by Port Arthur police.

“Due to insufficient evidence, no charges will be pursued against Father David Placette,” said Deputy Chief Raymond E. Clark. “After interviewing the juveniles, investigators were unable to establish probable cause.”

Clark said the parents of one of the boys complained to police on Dec. 2, launching the investigation on Dec. 4 that resulted in detective interviews of each of the boys. He said the investigation was conducted with the guidelines of the Jefferson County District Attorney’s office.

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VATICAN CITY
The Eagle (Nigeria)

BY SEGUN ADEBOWALE

The Vatican said on Wednesday Monsignor Lucio Balda, a Spanish priest arrested in November over the VatiLeaks 2 affair, has been released from prison and placed under house arrest.

Balda is on trial along with two other alleged leakers – his aide, Nicola Maio, and PR consultant, Francesca Chaouqui – for revealing Vatican financial scandals to two journalists, Emiliano Fittipaldi and Gianluigi Nuzzi.

The 54-year-old prelate, who sat on a now-disbanded church reform committee with Chaouqui, left his cell on Tuesday and was granted accommodation within Vatican walls, Holy See spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi said.

The trial was suspended in December after the court agreed to a request from Chaouqui’s lawyer to have an independent expert review the data prized from defendants’ mobile phones and computers during the investigations.

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TEXAS
Port Arthur News

By Mary Meaux

Port Arthur Police have concluded their investigation thus clearing a local priest of wrongdoing.

Allegations were brought against The Rev. David Placette, pastor of St. Catherine Catholic Church, for an incident reported at the St. Catherine School earlier this month. On Wednesday Placette was cleared and no criminal conduct was found, according to an official with the Port Arthur Police Department.

Bishop Curtis Guillory of the Diocese of Beaumont issued a statement regarding the allegations last week saying the diocese was very concerned to learn about the allegations against Placette. The priest was placed on administrative leave from all priestly ministry, pending both civil and ecclesiastical investigations into the matter.

PAPD Sgt. Scott Gaspard said, in a Dec. 18 interview, that police take the allegations seriously and would investigate thoroughly to determine if a crime had occurred and take appropriate steps toward justice.

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WISCONSIN
WUWM

By AUDREY NOWAKOWSKI

The nationwide sexual abuse scandal involving Catholic priests has gotten increased scrutiny in recent days with the release of a new movie about the investigation. “Spotlight” dramatizes the effort by the Boston Globe newspaper to bring abuses by priests in the Boston archdiocese to light.

It’s a scandal that also involved priests in Milwaukee. Reporter Marie Rohde’s work stretches back to 1980s, when she covered religion for the Milwaukee Journal. More than a quarter-century later, Rohde still writes about the issue as a freelancer, often for the independent National Catholic Reporter.

Rohde says the first time she heard about sexual abuse committed by a priest was in the mid 1980’s when a Louisiana priest was accused of abusing many boys for decades.

“My response was, ‘thank goodness it’s not here,'” she says.

However, within a few years, a priest in a Milwaukee northeast parish was accused by a victim of sexual abuse. At the time the allegations were not widely accepted by the community and the matter proceeded into a civil lawsuit and later, an out-of-court settlement.

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SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland

Martin Williams Wednesday 23 December

A PRIEST who was suspended over unfounded allegations of historic sexual abuse is set to make a return to full ministry in Scotland – over seven months after police said there was no case to answer.

Father Paul Morton is expected to return to St Bride’s RC church in Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire, following the conclusion of a Catholic church canonical inquiry.

Campaigners calling for the re-instatement delivered a 2,037-signature petition to the Chancellor of the Diocese of Motherwell in September, almost a year after the priest was removed from his home and parish following the anonymous claims.

Father Morton, 55, was cleared of any wrongdoing in May after being falsely accused in 2014.

Many worshippers at St Bride’s wanted him reinstated and criticised the Catholic Church for dragging its heels on the issue.

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OHIO
WLJA

Judy Block Jones, who advocates for sexual abuse victims and survivors, is heard in this 30-minute interview.

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UNITED STATES
Religion News Service – Rhymes with Religion

Boz Tchividjian | Dec 23, 2015

As we find ourselves in the middle of this Advent season, Pastor Chris Armfield shares some hopeful reminders to Christians who are weary and find themselves struggling will loneliness, anxiety, and fear. Besides being a pastor of a fantastic church, Chris is my brother-in-law and a dear friend. I am grateful for his words. Merry Christmas and happy holidays! – Boz
_____________________________________________________________________________

It’s officially winter and the Christmas-holiday-season is in full effect. I can nearly feel the cut of the cold breeze outside as I sit inside, fingers cloaked around a hot and freshly brewed chai tea. Looking through an expansive window from a local coffee shop in Greenville, SC, I examine withered trees bearing the battle scars of surrendered leaves due to wrestling with an early Fall. The common busyness of people walking and people watching on sidewalks, benches, waterways and patches of manicured grass has lulled to a few brave souls executing their mandatory A to B commute. The city looks lonely.

It’s no secret that the presence of the holidays ushers in wanted and at times unwanted anticipation and change. For many, holiday anticipation can bring about loneliness and depression. According to Adam K. Anderson, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, “the bombardment of media during the holidays showing images of smiling families and friends often causes people to start questioning the quality of their own relationships.” Studies reveal many people are experiencing what is called SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder, also known as seasonal depression. This makes sense to me on several levels.

Sadly, I know many people who experienced the bulk of their abuse while family spent the holidays together. The festive decorations and songs combined with the gathering of uncles, aunts, grandparents and cousins serves a consistent reminder of the worst days of their lives.

If your mind and heart were visible during this season, what would an onlooker, like me, uncover?

For some, maybe even you, a richly Christian word like Advent may conjure up fear or disappointment. Orthodox Christianity teaches that Advent is a season set apart for anticipating the coming of Christ. Yet for many, Advent means “I’ll be depressed ‘advent-ually.’” If this is you, you’re not alone in this struggle of the mind and spirit.

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TEXAS
12 News

The Port Arthur police department Wednesday cleared a Port Arthur priest of allegations made against him earlier this month.

Father David Placette, 61, who is the pastor of St. Catherine Church, was placed on administrative leave following the allegation.

Police say after interviewing the juveniles involved, investigators were unable to find probable cause for the offense.

The Port Arthur police worked with the Texas Department of Family Services as well as the Diocesan Review Board of the Diocese of Beaumont.

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NEW YORK
Catholic New York

An allegation of abuse of a minor on two occasions more than 30 years ago by Msgr. John J. O’Keefe, pastor of St. Margaret of Antioch Parish in Pearl River, has been deemed credible but not yet substantiated, according to the archdiocese.

The pastor is not permitted to publicly function as a priest until the matter is resolved, Cardinal Dolan said in a Dec. 16 letter to parishioners of St. Margaret’s.

The cardinal’s letter also stated that Msgr. O’Keefe is in a supervised setting as he undergoes a thorough evaluation and risk assessment. He had been on leave from the parish since Sept. 1, receiving treatment for unrelated personal health issues. (Father Eric Raaser has been serving as the parish’s temporary administrator.)

Auxiliary Bishop Dominick Lagonegro, episcopal vicar of Orange, Sullivan, Ulster and Rockland Counties, spoke at weekend Masses at St. Margaret of Antioch on Dec. 19-20. Also representing the archdiocese at the church were Msgr. Edward Weber, director of the Priest Personnel Office, and Joseph Zwilling, communications director for the archdiocese.

When the archdiocese received the allegation, it was immediately turned over to the Bronx and Rockland district attorneys’ offices and then forwarded to the district attorney in Virginia, where one of the acts of abuse allegedly occurred.

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CONNECTICUT
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2015

Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those abused by Priests (314 566 9790, davidgclohessy@gmail.com)

An accused predator priest has supposedly been “cleared” by his clerical colleagues and will be put back to work, a move that we believe may endanger more innocent kids.

[Republican-American]

Hundreds of times, Catholic officials have repeated this dangerous pattern: deeming child sex abuse reports against clerics “not substantiated,” putting those clerics back into parishes, then removing them again later for the same allegations or added allegations, and having put vulnerable kids in harm’s way for years and years. It’s utterly tragic and irresponsible. It’s proof that bishops keep putting their employees above their flocks.

Fr. Jeremiah Murasso of Blessed Sacrament Church and the Shrine of St. Anne is accused of molesting a child years ago at St. Francis Home for Children (also known as Highland Heights) in New Haven. Archbishop Leonard Blair claims his staff did an “extensive” investigation. Really? The let him hold a news conference and explain this process, instead of hiding behind a vague news release.

Shame on Fr. Kevin J. Forsyth of St. Augustine parish in Seymour, who publicly said the accusations were “baseless and just about money.” We strongly doubt Fr. Forsyth has ever met the accuser. His callous, hurtful comment will deter others who have been sexually violated – by clergy, parents, teachers and other trusted adults – from finding the courage to report these horrific crimes.

We beg anyone who may have seen, suspected or suffered clergy sex crimes or cover ups in Hartford to summon the strength to speak up. Kids are safer only when adults are courageous enough to call police, prosecutors, therapists, or support groups like ours with information or suspicions about child sex crimes.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Catholic League

Bill Donohue comments on Monsignor William Lynn:

There are many innocent priests who have been railroaded by lying accusers, malicious so-called victims’ advocates, rapacious lawyers and biased newspapers, but few have been more badly treated than Philly’s Msgr. William Lynn. Yesterday, a Pennsylvania appellate court overturned his conviction—for a second time—and ordered a new trial. The badly tainted Philadelphia D.A., Seth Williams, has not said whether he will appeal.

Finally, Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina was taken down for her disgraceful decision to present evidence against Lynn that antedated his birth. The Superior Court judges ripped her for presenting evidence that was “trivial or minimal.” It was obvious from her deceitful ploy that she was putting the entire Catholic Church on trial. But she is far from the only unethical official in this scam.

* On March 31, 2011, I sent Philly D.A. Lynne Abraham (Williams’ predecessor) a letter in the overnight mail asking her to identify which “religious organizations and denominations” she pursued other than the Roman Catholic Church (that was her specific charge). She never answered.

* On February 1, 2012, I publicly called on Judge Sarmina to step down as the presiding judge, citing an anti-Catholic remark she made from the bench. She said she “misspoke.”

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MINNESOTA
BishopAccountability.org

Summary of Case: Henry G. Carriere was ordained for the Crookston MN diocese in 1946. He served parishes in Crookston, Fertile, Bemidji, Argyle, Radium, Guthrie, Laporte, Blackduck, Brooks, Plummer, Terrebonne, Roseau and Badger. He was also chaplain at a Park Rapids hospital in the 1950s. He retired in 1990. In December 1991 Carriere pleaded guilty to three counts of child sexual abuse. He died in 2003.

Born: May 9, 1920
Ordained: June 16, 1946
Died: November 3, 2003

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PENNSYLVANIA
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

December 23, 2015
By Peter Smith / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A Roman Catholic priest serving a federal prison term for possession of child pornography has been removed from the priesthood, according to the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

David F. Dzermejko, of Braddock, has been incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center in Devens, Mass., since his sentencing in April 2014 in U.S. District Court for possession of what prosecutors said were more than 100 images of child pornography.

The Diocese of Pittsburgh had removed Dzermejko from ministry in 2009 following allegations he had sexually abused children. But he had remained technically a priest until Oct. 31, when the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which handles abuse cases, issued a decree dismissing him from the clerical state.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

Fr. Peter Daly | Dec. 23, 2015

“Spotlight” is a very good movie. It might win an Oscar for best screenplay.

“Spotlight” is a very sad story. It might mark a watershed in the way priests are seen in movies.

“Spotlight” was a tragedy brought on by sins of priests and bishops. The damage is not yet finished and the perpetrators of these crimes have never been held fully accountable.

I went to see “Spotlight” by myself. I knew it would be painful to watch.

The movie is the story of The Boston Globe investigation of the priest pedophilia scandal in the Archdiocese of Boston. The scandal exploded into public awareness in 2002. The investigative team of the Globe, known as “Spotlight” had generally investigated corruption in government or the police. But they turned their attention to the Archdiocese of Boston with devastating effect. While the scandal broke in 2002, it had been simmering below the surface for years.

Michael Keaton leads an ensemble cast that is entirely believable. They capture the atmosphere of the newsroom and the atmosphere of the Catholic church in Boston. The real Spotlight team spent more than a year uncovering the child abuse scandal. They won a Pulitzer Prize for their series and they touched off similar investigations worldwide. It has been a scandal that continues to convulse the church.

As a parish priest I found it painful to watch. I was ashamed.

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

I’m grateful that so many of us whose souls were violated and whose voices were silenced by clergy sex crimes and cover ups have been able to use the arts to help ourselves heal. I’m also grateful that some who have done this share their creative, cathartic work with us at SNAP.

James R. Antonik is one such kind person. He recently sent us a poem he wrote after his mother’s death. He calls it “a work of fiction based on at least one truth,” events relating to St. Stephan’s parish in South Buffalo, NY around 1945.

“I would hope that your sharing of this poem enables survivors to understand the long term damage of abuse and empowers them to come forward,” James says. “Writing this poem was cathartic to a man who lost his religion when his mother related her long suppressed abuse. I could no longer support an organization that was a magnet for pedophiles.”

He reports that “done fine since leaving the Catholic Church” and that his “life and faith have gotten exponentially better” as he now reads the Bible “almost daily.”

Thank you James for your creativity, generosity and concern. Here’s his poem:

Just One Lie
My Mom as a child, told just one lie.
A fib that would haunt her, till the day she die.
2nd Grade Pauline and her friends were just having fun.
When she so innocently told a lie to the Nun.
Monsignor wouldn’t have it, said “Your Daughter’s a liar.”
In retribution, Grandpa’s belt set her britches on fire.
The lesson was learned. All the days of her youth,
Young Pauline Benes…..ALWAYS ….., told the truth.

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ROME
Crux

By John L. Allen Jr.
Associate editor December 23, 2015

ROME — In a Christmas audience with Vatican employees and their families on Monday, Pope Francis issued an unusually blunt mea culpa: “I want to apologize for the scandals that there were in the Vatican,” he said, referring to 2015.

He didn’t say which scandals he meant, and people from the United States or other parts of the world might wonder, since there have been more than a few: A former Vatican official who came out as openly gay, a former papal envoy accused of sex abuse who died under what some see as mysterious circumstances before he could be put on trial, and so on.

In Italy, however, no one is asking that question, because virtually everyone here assumes they know exactly what Francis had in mind: “Vatileaks 2.0.”

The term refers to the sensation that broke out in early November when two Italian journalists, Gianluigi Nuzzi and Emiliano Fittipaldi, simultaneously published books exposing various financial meltdowns, based in part on leaked documents from a study commission set up by Pope Francis shortly after his election to prepare the basis for reform.

In short order, three former Vatican insiders were charged with crimes under Vatican law for leaking those documents, and the two journalists were charged for pressuring them to do so.

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AUSTRALIA
Broken Rites

By a Broken Rites researcher (article posted 22 December 2015)

Australia’s national child-abuse Royal Commission has learned how George Pell recruited supporters from among suburban priests when he began his rise to power in Melbourne in the 1980s and 1990s. Broken Rites understands that Pell was welcomed particularly by conservative (as distinct from moderate-minded) priests. One of these traditionalist supporters, Father John Walshe, has given evidence to the Royal Commission on behalf of Cardinal Pell’s lawyers. This Broken Rites article is an analysis of Walshe’s evidence.

Originally a priest in the Ballarat diocese (which covered the western half of Victoria), George Pell moved to Melbourne in 1985 to become the head of the Melbourne seminary (Corpus Christi College, then based at Melbourne’s Clayton), which trained priests for Victoria and Tasmania. In 1987 he was appointed as one of Melbourne’s four regional auxiliary bishops under the authority of Archbishop Frank Little (Bishop Pell’s region was Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs). This is when he became acquainted with allies such as Father John Walshe.

At this stage, Pell was no more famous nationally than any of Australia’s forty or so other Catholic bishops. But he was working on it.

Father John Walshe and Bishop George Pell

Broken Rites has analysed the Royal Commission transcripts for 15-16 December 2015.

Fr John Thomas Walsh gave the Royal Commission a copy of his curriculum vitae. Born in Melbourne in 1958, Walshe attended school at St James Catholic Primary School Gardenvale (1963-1967) and Christian Brothers College St Kilda (1968-1975). He began studying for the priesthood at the Melbourne seminary in 1976, aged 18, and was ordained as a priest in 1982 [Father George Pell then was still based in Ballarat]

Father Walshe’s early appointments as an assistant priest in the Melbourne archdiocese included:

* Parish of St Mary of the Angels, Geelong (1982-1983);
* Parish of St Thomas the Apostle, Blackbum (1983-1986);
* St Jude’s, Scoresby (1986-1988); and
* St Gerard’s, North Dandenong (1988-1992).

By 1988 or so, Walshe became acquainted with George Pell who was now in leading roles in Melbourne. Walshe told the Commission:

“When I was in the Parish of St Gerard in North Dandenong, Bishop Pell was our Regional Bishop. . . He had the practice of inviting priests of his zone, his area, to dinners, so to get to know them because he wasn’t a priest of Melbourne and he sort of took every opportunity to get to know the clergy, so I came to know him better through then.”

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LAS VEGAS (NV)
Las Vegas Optic

OLOS named as defendant

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Four more lawsuits have been filed against the Archdiocese of Santa Fe alleging that pedophile priests molested and raped boys decades ago while church officials looked the other way. Two of those lawsuits allege abuse at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Las Vegas.

The lawsuits were filed last week in state District Court in Albuquerque by the Law Offices of Brad D. Hall. Two of those lawsuits also list Our Lady of Sorrows Parish as a defendant. The new suits join more than a dozen other lawsuits filed against the archdiocese by Hall’s firm.

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VATICAN CITY
ANSA

(ANSA) – Rome, December 23 – A Vatican court has appointed a technical consultant who will examine digital communications between three defendants in the so-called Vatileaks 2 trial over a document-leaking scandal, ANSA learned on Wednesday.

The expert witness, Paolo Atzeri of Rome, will examine emails, text messages and Whatsapp communications between Monsignor Lucio Vallejo Balda, his former assistant Nicola Maio, and PR expert Francesca Immacolata Chaouqui.

Chaouqui’s attorney requested the examination, sustaining that the version of communications provided in the lawsuit was incomplete, with deletions and omissions.

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VATICAN CITY
TV Newser

By Chris Ariens on Dec. 23, 2015

A former Fox News correspondent has been elevated at the Vatican.

Pope Francis has appointed Greg Burke the new vice director of the Holy See Press Office. Burke was Fox News’s correspondent in Rome until 2012, when he left for a position in the Vatican communications office.

John Allen, associate editor of the Crux and a CNN Vatican analyst, reports the promotion “sets Burke up as heir apparent to the Rev. Federico Lombardi, the 73-year-old Jesuit who’s headed the press office and acted as spokesman for both Popes Benedict XVI and Francis since 2006.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Salina Journal

By MARYCLAIRE DALE Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA — The landmark conviction of a Roman Catholic church official imprisoned over his handling of abuse complaints in Philadelphia was overturned Tuesday for the second time.

The state Superior Court ruling awarded a new trial to Monsignor William Lynn, who has been on a legal roller coaster since his 2012 trial on child endangerment charges.

The appeals court said the trial judge erred in allowing about 20 other victims of sex abuse by clergy to testify about how their complaints were handled by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The judges said the trial court “abused its discretion by admitting a high volume of other-acts evidence.”

Lynn was convicted of endangering a boy who said he was assaulted by two priests and a teacher, including a previously accused priest who was transferred to his parish.

The 64-year-old has been back in prison since April, after the conviction overturned in 2013 on different grounds was reinstated by the state Supreme Court.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Press Telegraph

Arnold White | 23 December, 2015

Tuesday’s Superior Court ruling ordering a new trial also could be appealed to the state’s highest court.

Lynn was the first USA church official ever convicted in the handling of abuse complaints.

The landmark conviction of a Roman Catholic church official imprisoned over his handling of priest sexual abuse complaints was overturned Tuesday for the second time.

The appeals court said the trial judge erred in allowing weeks of testimony from 21…

The Pennsylvania Superior Court found that Monsignor William Lynn of Philadelphia did not receive a fair trial because a trial judge allowed jurors to hear too much evidence about the wrongdoing of priests who had abused children. William Lynn, the central defendant in the landmark 2012 trial involving clergy sex-abuse in Philadelphia.

“It’s certainly taken a toll, but he’s holding up”, said defense attorney Thomas Bergstrom, who visited Lynn last week and hopes to get him released quickly.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Monterey Herald

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Associated Press has withdrawn its story about the conviction of a church official overturned for a second time because it incorrectly names The Rev. Andrew McCormick, a priest in another case, as being convicted and since dying in prison. McCormick’s two trials ended in a deadlocked jury; he was never convicted and is free. A substitute story will move shortly.

The AP

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ILLINOIS
Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet

12/22/2015

Joseph Imesch was born on June 21, 1931 in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, the second son of immigrant Swiss parents, Dionys and Margaret (Margelisch) Imesch. He was baptized at St. Ambrose Church in Grosse Pointe, and later attended the parish elementary school as well as St. Paul Elementary School in Grosse Pointe Farms. He completed his high school and college education at Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit.

He earned a Licentiate of Sacred Theology (STL) while studying in Rome at the North American College (1953 -1957). On December 16, 1956, he was ordained to the priesthood in Rome and completed further studies at the Gregorian University (1969 – 1970).

After ordination, Father Imesch was assigned to St. Charles Parish in Detroit (1957) where he served as associate pastor until becoming Secretary to John Cardinal Dearden from 1959 to 1971. He was named pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Farmington, Michigan in 1971 and served in that capacity until 1977.

On April 3, 1973, while yet ministering as a pastor, Father Imesch was ordained as an Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit. Bishop Imesch served as Regional Bishop of the Northwest Region of Detroit from 1977 to 1979 until being named as Bishop of Joliet. On August 28, 1979, he was installed as Third Bishop of the Diocese of Joliet. …

The body of Bishop Imesch will lie in state at the Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus in Joliet on December 28, 2015 from 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., and on December 29, 2015 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. Solemn Vespers will be celebrated at 7:00 p.m. on December 28, 2015.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m. on December 29, 2015 at the Cathedral.

Following the Mass, the body of Bishop Imesch will be laid to rest in Resurrection Cemetery in Romeoville.

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AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

23 December, 2015

The Royal Commission has called a directions hearing to be held in Sydney on Friday 5 February 2016 at 10am immediately following the directions hearing in relation to Cardinal Pell.

The purpose of the directions hearing is to consider Bishop Ronald Mulkearns’ capacity to attend the third part of the public hearing into Catholic Church authorities in Ballarat.

The directions hearing will be presided over by Justice Peter McClellan AM, Chair of the Royal Commission and will be live-streamed.

Venue: Hearing Room 1, Level 17, Governor Macquarie Tower, 1 Farrer Place, Sydney.
Time: 10:00AM AEDT

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SCOTLAND
Historical Child Abuse Inquiry

The Chair of the Historical Child Abuse Inquiry Scotland has announced two key dates in the work of the Inquiry.

The Inquiry’s Terms of Reference covers that period which is within living memory of any person who suffered such abuse up until such date as the Chair may determine but not beyond 17 December 2014.

Ms Susan O’Brien QC has now confirmed that for a person who suffered abuse to give their account to the Inquiry of their experience of abuse, its impact and the effect on their family, the abuse must have taken place no later than 17 December 2014.

Since it was formally established in October, the Inquiry has engaged with a range of organisations with an interest in the work of the Inquiry to listen to their suggestions as to how the Inquiry should approach its work.

The Chair has indicated that the Inquiry wishes to engage with as many groups as possible to understand their views on how the Inquiry should proceed, with interested parties having until 31 January 2016 to make their views known.

Marking these dates, Ms O’Brien QC said: “We are developing procedures to take the evidence of survivors, as it is likely that many individuals will apply to give us their testimony.

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SCOTLAND
Historical Child Abuse Inquiry

The Inquiry’s Terms of Reference cover that period which is within living memory of any person who suffered abuse, up until such date as the Chair may determine but not beyond 17 December 2014.

The Chair has now confirmed that for a person who suffered abuse to give their account to the Inquiry about the experience of abuse, its impact and the effect on his or her family, the abuse must have taken place before the final date. The date is 17 December 2014. To see the Inquiry’s latest Press Release, please click here.

A Note setting out the reasons for that decision will appear on the website in due course.

Engagement with key groups

Since the Inquiry formally began work in October, several meetings have taken place with survivor groups, and representations have been made to the Inquiry about its Terms of Reference.

Among the concerns raised is that the only abuse we will consider is abuse which affected children in residential and care establishments, or children in foster care. We cannot look at abuse which took place in clubs or in the community generally. The Chair was asked to take that concern to the Cabinet Secretary, and she did so in a letter (which is published here). Decisions about the scope of the Inquiry’s remit are Scottish Government decisions, and not matters on which the Chair can or should comment.

Meetings have taken place, or have been arranged, with several organisations with an interest in the Inquiry. The door remains open for any interested groups to make representations to the Inquiry about how it should go about its task up until 31 January 2016.

Those who wish to make contact with the Inquiry can do so either by email, information@childabuseinquiry.scot or post, Historical Child Abuse Inquiry, PO Box 24085, Edinburgh, EH7 9EA

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SCOTLAND
BBC News

The chairwoman of the inquiry into historical child abuse has announced two key dates for the investigation.

Susan O’Brien QC has said those giving evidence must have experienced abuse no later than 17 December 2014.

Furthermore, the QC wants any group which wants to express how the inquiry should proceed to make their views known by 31 January next year.

Survivors’ groups have previously criticised a lack of progress in the work of the Scottish inquiry.

The probe – established in October after its initial announcement in December, 2014 – will cover abuse within living memory up to 17 December, 2014.

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AUSTRALIA
Sky News

The Catholic Church is urging anyone who was sexually assaulted at Melbourne’s St Patrick’s Cathedral during the 1990s to come forward.

Victoria Police’s Sano Taskforce is investigating allegations male teenagers were assaulted at the East Melbourne church between 1996 and 2001.

The alleged victims were aged 14 at the time.

‘Victoria Police is committed to investigating and bringing to justice those people who prey on children no matter how many years have passed,’ Sergeant Sharon Darcy said in a statement on Wednesday.

Catholic Church spokesman Shane Healy told AAP he couldn’t comment on the investigation but he urged other victims and witnesses to come forward.

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AUSTRALIA
The Guardian

Calla Wahlquist
Tuesday 22 December 2015

Victoria police are investigating allegations of sexual assault at Melbourne’s St Patrick’s cathedral during Cardinal George Pell’s tenure as archbishop of Melbourne.

The victims were reportedly 14-year-old boys.

In a statement on Wednesday, Sgt Sharon Darcy said detectives from the Sano taskforce wanted to speak to anyone who was a victim of sexual assault at the cathedral, or who knew of sexual assaults at the cathedral, between 1996 and 2001.

“Victoria police is committed to investigating and bringing to justice those people who prey on children, no matter how many years have passed,” Darcey said.

Pell was appointed archbishop of Melbourne in 1996 and remained in the role until being appointed archbishop of Sydney in 2001.

He was scheduled to appear at a hearing of the royal commission into institutional responses to child sex abuse last week, but his lawyers said he was too ill to make the flight from Rome where he is the head of the Vatican’s economic secretariat.

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AUSTRALIA
Brisbane Times

Detectives are investigating allegations that teenage boys were abused at St Patrick’s Cathedral in East Melbourne during the late 1990s.

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KENTUCKY
WHAS

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) — The trial for a former priest of St. Margaret Mary that was originally scheduled for next month, has been cancelled.

A change of plea hearing is now set for January 4th for Stephen Pohl.

Pohl is facing child porn charges. He is accused of viewing the explicit images in his office and living space at the Parish.

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AUSTRALIA
The Courier

By Melissa Cunningham
Dec. 23, 2015

Two directions hearings will be held in Sydney in February to find out if Cardinal George Pell and Bishop Ronald Mulkearns are too ill to give evidence to a child sex abuse inquiry in Ballarat.

The Royal Commission into child sex abuse has called the directions hearing on Bishop Mulkearns to be held on February 5 at 10am immediately following a directions hearing on Cardinal Pell. The purpose is to consider Cardinal Pell and Bishop Mulkearns’ capacity to attend the third part of the public hearing into Catholic Church authorities in Ballarat on February 22.

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ITALY
Catholic Culture

December 22, 2015

Italian prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of 54 months for Msgr. Nunzio Scarano, the former Vatican official who is charged with attempting to bring €20 million into the country illegally.

Msgr. Scarano, the former chief of accounting for the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See (APSA), was arrested in June 2013 along with two others charged with involvement in the same scheme. He had earlier been removed from his post at APSA because he was the focus of a separate money-laundering investigation.

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AUSTRALIA
Victoria Police

WEDNESDAY, 23 DECEMBER 2015

Sano Taskforce detectives are appealing for information in relation to allegations of sexual assault at the St. Patricks Cathedral, East Melbourne in the 1990s.

The male victims were aged 14 at the time of the alleged incidents.

Detectives would like to speak to anyone who was a victim of a sexual assault, or anybody with any information relating to any alleged sexual assaults, committed at the St. Patricks Cathedral between 1996 and 2001.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Sano Taskforce toll free on 1800 110 007.

The Sano Taskforce detectives specialise in investigating historical sexual assault and child abuse matters.

Victoria Police encourages all victims of sexual assault and child abuse, and anyone who has knowledge of such a crime, to make a report.

Victoria Police is committed to investigating and bringing to justice those people who prey on children no matter how many years have passed.

Information relating to any alleged sexual assaults, committed at St. Patricks Cathedral, East Melbourne during this time period, can also be provided anonymously to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submitted confidentially on-line at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au

Sergeant Sharon Darcy
Media Officer

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

Allegations of sexual assault at St Patrick’s Catholic Cathedral in East Melbourne between 1996 and 2001 are being investigated by Victorian detectives.

Police have released a statement saying male victims were aged 14 at the time of the alleged incidents.

Detectives from the Sano Taskforce, which specialises in investigating historical sexual assault and child abuse matters, have appealed to anyone with information to come forward.

“Detectives would like to speak to anyone who was a victim of a sexual assault, or anybody with any information relating to any alleged sexual assaults, committed at the St Patrick’s Cathedral between 1996 and 2001,” Victoria Police spokeswoman Sharon Darcy said in a statement.

“Victoria Police is committed to investigating and bringing to justice those people who prey on children no matter how many years have passed.”

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AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

December 22, 2015

REBEKAH CAVANAGH
Herald Sun

BOYS as young as 14 were allegedly sexually abused at St Patrick’s Cathedral in East Melbourne while Cardinal George Pell was in charge.

Sano Taskforce detectives are investigating claims of assault at the Catholic church between 1996 and 2001 — the same period when Cardinal Pell was archbishop of Melbourne.

Investigators are appealing to anyone who was a victim or with any information relating to any alleged sexual assaults committed at the church during this period to contact them.

The Sano Taskforce detectives specialise in investigating historical sexual assault and child abuse matters.

“Victoria Police encourages all victims of sexual assault and child abuse, and anyone who has knowledge of such a crime, to make a report,” Sergeant Sharon Darcy said.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Charlotte King

A religious order in Melbourne has been accused of impeding an investigation into historic sex abuse at a former children’s home.

Barry Potocic, 54, has spent thirty years trying to identify the nun who he says used him as a sex toy at the age of eight, at Nazareth House in Camberwell.

He suffers post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety, as well as serious dental problems — the result of grinding his teeth during regular nightmares.

Mr Potocic is seeking compensation from the Sisters of Nazareth to get counselling and for dental work, but says the order is stalling his efforts.

The Sisters of Nazareth told the ABC they would be happy to provide historic photographs to an assessor as part of a Towards Healing investigation, which is the in-house method the Catholic Church uses to settle historic sex abuse claims.

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AUSTRALIA
The Age

December 23, 2015

Rania Spooner, Steve Lillebuen

The Catholic Church in Melbourne has been hit with child sexual abuse claims just two days before Christmas as police target allegations that fall directly under the leadership of George Pell.

In a rare public statement, Sano taskforce detectives investigating historic allegations of abuse have made an appeal for information about sexual assaults at St Patrick’s Cathedral between 1996 and 2001.

Its investigation centres on claims that 14-year-old boys were sexually assaulted at the East Melbourne landmark, described by the church as the “mother church of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne”.

The taskforce is understood to have executed search warrants on buildings linked to the church in East Melbourne, Melbourne, Maidstone and Toorak, on December 2.

The timeframe of the allegations covers the years when Cardinal Pell was archbishop of Melbourne and current archbishop Denis Hart was vicar-general.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

December 23, 2015

Dr Judy Courtin

Sano taskforce detectives are appealing for information in relation to allegations of child sexual assault of an unknown number of male victims who were 14 years of age at the time.

The alleged crimes were said to have occurred between 1996 and 2001. The location is peculiarly specific – St Patrick’s Cathedral in East Melbourne – the cathedral of the archdiocese of Melbourne.

The police are asking for victims, or anyone with information, to come forward.

The dates here are noteworthy. In 1996 George Pell, then an auxiliary bishop, became the archbishop of Melbourne. Father Denis Hart, as he was then, became Monsignor Hart, the vicar-general (the forerunner to becoming a bishop).

There has been much evidence before the child abuse royal commission that 1996 marked the beginning of an era when the church took its obligations and responsibilities for clergy sex crimes and their cover-up much more seriously.

Church spokesmen have said this new era meant transparency, accountability, justice for victims and a new leadership showing integrity, courage and a commitment to authentic change, including ending the clerical culture that put the good name of the church before the needs and rights of victims.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

December 23, 2015

Jane Lee

A royal commission will test whether Cardinal George Pell and former Bishop of Ballarat Ronald Mulkearns are still too ill to front hearings on their past handling of child sexual abuse claims next year.

Both men were scheduled to give evidence to a Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse hearing in Melbourne earlier this month. Chairman of the commission, Justice Peter McClellan, accepted medical evidence that Bishop Mulkearns was receiving palliative care, and that Cardinal Pell was too ill to travel from Rome to testify in person.

Cardinal Pell’s evidence has been deferred to next February’s third hearing on Ballarat, where children were sexually and physically abused at a number of schools run by Catholic clergy over decades. Justice McClellan rejected his application to appear via video link from Rome, saying he preferred Cardinal Pell to appear in person.

The commission announced on Wednesday it would hold two directions hearings on February 5, to consider both Cardinal Pell and Bishop Mulkearns’ “capacity to attend the third part of the public hearing into Catholic Church authorities in Ballarat.”

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AUSTRALIA
Online Opinion

By Rob Cover – posted Wednesday, 23 December 2015

Former Howard government minister and ambassador to Italy, Amanda Vanstone, is broadly incorrect to characterise Australians as a pack mob, ignorantly going after Cardinal George Pell in the Into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and in media commentary.

In recent weeks, questions have been asked in public sphere debate about whether or not Cardinal Pell’s inability to complete his long-promised travel to Australia for the royal commission, and to give evidence instead by video link, is an insult to victims and to an inquiry that seeks to uncover the framework and reasoning as to why sexual abuse occurred for so long in religious institutions.

In her Age column Vanstone presents a picture of contemporary humanity as having momentarily fallen away from civilisation, fallen under the “primal” animal instincts and seeking to bring about the fall of “a decent, honest, intelligent man” because the public are not satisfied that perpetrators of child sex crimes conducted by Catholic priests and religious have been adequately punished. In other words, baying for the blood of, in her view, the wrong man, a “blood sacrifice”.

Vanstone gives an example to foster the idea of an unthinking mob seeking vigilante-like retribution for child sex crimes, referring to a past case in which an Anglican bishop in a South Australian diocese was forced to retire early after helping a priest who had molested a boy leave the country. For Vanstone, the problem was that there may have been others who knew about but failed to report the priest’s crime, while the early retirement of the bishop meant one man took the fall for the failings of many, as a result of the aggressive demands of the people out for blood-any blood.

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CONNECTICUT
Republican-American

BY DESTINY LOPEZ REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

WATERBURY — The Rev. Jeremiah Murasso of Blessed Sacrament Church and the Shrine of St. Anne will return to ministry after accusations of sexually abusing a minor were found insubstantial by the church.

The Archdiocese of Hartford said in a release Monday it “conducted an extensive and thorough investigation” of the sexual abuse allegations made this past summer and found the accusations without basis.

Attempts to reach Murasso were unsuccessful Tuesday afternoon.

In a statement last June, the archdiocese said the alleged abuse took place 20 years ago while Murasso was serving as director of St. Francis Home for Children in New Haven. The orphanage, also known as Highland Heights, closed in September 2012 after more than 160 years of service.

Established procedures prompted the archdiocese to place Murasso on administrative leave for six months while the allegations were being investigated.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By North America correspondent Stephanie March

A Catholic priest who gave evidence to the child abuse royal commission in defence of Cardinal George Pell was himself the subject of a historical sexual abuse claim, the ABC can reveal.

In 2012, the victim, John Roach, received an apology and $75,000 compensation after the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne accepted he had been sexually abused by Father John Walshe, a parish priest based at Mentone in Melbourne’s south east.

Father Walshe denies he abused Mr Roach.

Mr Roach was an 18-year-old seminarian in 1982 when the incident took place.

Father Walshe had recently been ordained and was in his early 20s.

Mr Roach, who now lives in the United States, said he felt compelled to speak publicly after seeing Father Walshe giving evidence at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse last week.

“Walshe cannot hold himself up as this paragon of virtue,” Mr Roach said.

“I think he is certainly a compromised witness.”

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

December 23, 2015

A Catholic priest who defended Cardinal George Pell at the child abuse royal commission last week was the subject of a historical sexual abuse claim.

ABC TV reported on Wednesday that an apology and $75,000 compensation was given to survivor John Roach in 2012 after the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne accepted Father John Walshe had sexually abused him in 1982.

Mr Roach told the ABC he was an 18-year-old first-year seminarian when he met the recently ordained Father Walshe, then in his early 20s, at the Corpus Christi College in Clayton.

“One night he invited me up to his room, which was not uncommon,” Mr Roach said.

“We had a fair bit of port to drink — I was very unfamiliar with drinking — and I woke up in his bed and he was abusing me.

“I left as quickly as I could, I was very confused, I didn’t know what to do, what to think.”

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AUSTRALIA
The Age

December 23, 2015

Rania Spooner
Crime reporter

Historic child sex crime detectives are investigating allegations that teenage boys were abused at St Patrick’s Cathedral in East Melbourne.

The allegations relate to 14-year-old boys who may have been abused at the cathedral in the late 1990s.

Detectives from the Sano Taskforce, which investigates historical sexual assault and child abuse, is urging anybody with information to contact them.

Detectives would like to speak to anyone who was a victim of a sexual assault, or anybody with any information relating to any alleged sexual assaults, committed at the St Patrick’s Cathedral between 1996 and 2001.

“Victoria Police is committed to investigating and bringing to justice those people who prey on children no matter how many years have passed,” Sergeant Sharon Darcy said.

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MISSISSIPPI
Tucson News Now

Buckatunna, MS –
A Wayne County pastor is facing multiple charges of sexual abuse of a minor.

Pastor Tommy Joe Newberry was arrested last week in Washington County, Alabama.

He is charged with enticing a minor child, and two counts of sexual abuse and sodomy, according to Washington County Sheriff Richard Stringer.

Newberry is listed as the pastor at Red Creek Church of God in Buckatunna, according to the church’s website.

Stringer said the crimes happened at Newberry’s home in Alabama, one of which spanned over several years.

According to Stringer, authorities arrested Newberry after a victim came forward.

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KENTUCKY
WKYT

POWELL COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) – A Powell County pastor and school bus driver who was in a position of authority and trust is accused of using his power to abuse two girls who went to his church.

Steve William’s attorney and longtime friend says the allegations don’t line up with the 52 year old’s character.

Williams didn’t say much during his video arraignment Tuesday morning. His attorney spoke for him, entering a not guilty plea for his charges of first-degree sexual abuse.

Deputies say Williams touched a girl inappropriately during a church field trip and he also is accused of abusing another girl inside Bowen First Church of God, the church where he was pastor. He resigned from Bowen First Church of God on Friday.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic Culture

Phil Lawler

Have you noticed that as Christmas approaches, you spend less time reading news headlines? There are two reasons for that phenomenon. First, you have other things on your mind; you’re busy with your last-minute preparations for the great feast. Second, the people who usually make the news—the politicians and entertainers and corporate executives and religious leaders—all know that you’re busy. So they save their big splashy announcements for a time when they can command more attention.

By the same logic, these last few days before Christmas are an ideal time for under-the-radar announcements. If you need to make a statement, but you really don’t want people to pay attention, this is a good week for it.

Since Vatican officials have the same PR concerns as any other executives, and since the process of reform in the Roman Curia will inevitably involve some in-house conflicts, let’s take a closer look at the news from Rome this week, and see if there are any developments that warrant extra scrutiny.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Belfast Telegraph

The landmark conviction of a Roman Catholic church official imprisoned over his handling of abuse complaints in Philadelphia has been overturned for the second time.

Monsignor William Lynn has been on a legal roller coaster since his 2012 trial on child endangerment charges.

A Superior Court ruling Tuesday awarded Lynn a new trial.

His lawyers say the trial judge allowed too many victims not closely related to his case to testify. They also say the law did not apply to church supervisors when he was secretary for clergy.

Lynn has been back in prison since the conviction overturned in 2013 was reinstated.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Reuters

PHILADELPHIA | BY DANIEL KELLEY

A Pennsylvania appeals court on Tuesday ordered a new trial for a Roman Catholic priest who was convicted in a landmark case of mishandling reports of child sex crimes.

The Pennsylvania Superior Court found that Monsignor William Lynn of Philadelphia did not receive a fair trial because a trial judge allowed jurors to hear too much evidence about the wrongdoing of priests who had abused children.

Lynn, who once oversaw the work of 800 priests in the Philadelphia Archdiocese as secretary of the clergy, was sentenced in 2012 to three to six years in prison for failing to supervise a priest accused of sexual misconduct who later sexually assaulted a 10-year-old boy.

At the time of his conviction, he was the highest-ranking Catholic priest to face charges for covering up abuse by priests in the Catholic church, and his trial re-focused attention on a sex abuse scandal that has roiled the faithful across the United States and undermined the church’s moral authority around the world.

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SCOTLAND
The National

DECEMBER 23RD, 2015

KATHLEEN NUTT

YOUNGER victims of child abuse will entitled to give their accounts to the public inquiry into historical abuse of children in care, its chairwoman revealed yesterday.

Susan O’Brien QC said under-18s who had experienced maltreatment up to and including on 17 December last year are eligible to take part.

She also announced yesterday that anyone who would like to have a say on how the inquiry should proceed should come forward by the end of January next year.

Marking these dates, O’Brien said: “We are developing procedures to take the evidence of survivors, as it is likely that many individuals will apply to give us their testimony.

“We are considering how best to assess the evidence from victims/survivors and all the other evidence the inquiry receives. We also require to determine which of the witnesses will remain anonymous.

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ITALY
International Business Times

By Umberto Bacchi
December 21, 2015

Italian police have arrested an alleged paedophile priest amid media accusation he was protected by the local bishop. Detectives allege father Antonello Tropea, 44, used gay dating app Grindr to groom teenage boys who he then paid for clandestine encounters in the southern Calabria region.

Tropea was held on 18 December at the end of a lengthy investigation that was launched after he was surprised by police while in the company of a minor inside a car parked in a secluded area near the deprived port city of Gioia Tauro. The boy later told investigators the priest had paid him €20 (£15, $21) for an oral sex act, a fee they had agreed on WhatsApp after having first met on Grindr.

Tropea allegedly posed as a scientific researcher in his thirties named Nicola, an alias he apparently drew from the patron saint of his own parish, the San Nicola di Mira church in the rural town of Messignadi. A police search of the clergy house reportedly revealed a trove of evidence, including child porn images and message exchanges with other teenagers. Investigators are also said to have also found 16g of marijuana, sex toys and a penis enlargement tool.

In a warring twist, Tropea’s boss, bishop of the Oppido-Palmi diocese Francesco Milito, had allegedly been aware of accusations against the priest for some time but did not take any action. According to court papers seen by local media confirming the arrest, two parishioners had warned the bishop of his subordinate’s deviant tendencies as early as this summer.

But Milito dismissed the accusations as “nuns’ chatter” in a phone conversation with Tropea that was taped by police, Il Fatto Quotidiano newspaper reported. Moreover, as the clergyman was placed under investigation, the bishop was alleged to have openly advised him “not to talk with Carabinieri police” on the issue.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2015

Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those abused by Priests (314 566 9790, davidgclohessy@gmail.com)

The nation’s only Catholic supervisor in jail for endangering kids and protecting predators will get a new trial. This ruling rubs salt into already deep and still fresh wounds of Philadelphia Catholic and victims. It also emboldens those who are hiding or are tempted child sex crimes.

[The Morning Call]

Msgr. William Lynn was, for years, a key part of a Catholic hierarchy that repeatedly and recklessly put kids in harm’s way, deliberately choosing to safeguard clerical careers while jeopardizing children’s safety. But instead of just serving out his extremely light sentence, Msgr. Lynn is doing what virtually every child molester does: exploiting every legal maneuver and loophole, trying to evade justice.

We hope he’s found guilty again. We hope he serves every day of his sentence. And we hope this outcome will deter other church staff – in Catholic circles and other circles – from ignoring or enabling horrific crimes against kids.

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PENNSYLVANIA
PennLive

By Matt Miller | mmiller@pennlive.com
on December 22, 2015

Saying his trial was unfairly tainted by evidence outlining the bad acts of others, a divided state Superior Court panel Tuesday ordered a new trial for a Roman Catholic Church official convicted of helping hide the child-sex crimes of priests.

The ruling marks the second time in two years that the Superior Court has overturned the child endangerment convictions and 3- to 6-year prison term for Monsignor William J. Lynn, former secretary for clergy of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

In December 2013, the court voided Lynn’s convictions and sentence on grounds that he couldn’t be convicted of child endangerment because he didn’t directly supervise any of the children who were abused.

The state Supreme Court rejected that decision on appeal this past April, reinstated Lynn’s convictions, and then sent the case back to the Superior Court for further consideration. Tuesday’s Superior Court ruling ordering a new trial also could be appealed to the state’s highest court.

Lynn, now 64, was the secretary of the diocese from 1992 to 2004. Prosecutors said he arranged the transfer of priests who were accused of abusing children under their charge to hide the crimes and shield the church’s reputation. A Philadelphia jury convicted him of child endangerment in 2012.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
National Catholic Reporter

Ralph Cipriano | Dec. 22, 2015

PHILADELPHIA
A Pennsylvania appeals court has vacated the conviction of Msgr. William J. Lynn, and ordered a new trial for the Philadelphia archdiocese’s former secretary for clergy.

Lynn, convicted in 2012 on a single count of endangering the welfare of a child, had been serving a three-to-six year prison sentence. He was the first Catholic administrator in the country to be sent to jail for failing to adequately supervise a sexually abusive priest.

In a 43-page decision, a panel of three state Superior Court judges ruled that the trial court — Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina — “abused its discretion” by allowing 21 supplemental cases of sex abuse to be admitted as evidence against Lynn.

The 21 cases dated back to 1948, three years before Lynn was born, and took up at least 25 days of the 32-day trial. In his appeal, Lynn’s lawyer, Thomas Bergstrom, argued that the prosecution “introduced these files to put on trial the entire Archdiocese of Philadelphia, hoping to convict [Lynn] by proxy for the sins of the entire church.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Big Trial

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2015

By Ralph Cipriano
for BigTrial.net

A panel of state Superior Court judges today vacated Msgr. William J. Lynn’s prior conviction on a single charge of endangering the welfare of a child. The Superior Court then ordered a new trial for Lynn, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s former secretary for clergy who has been in and out of prison since his original conviction three years ago.

In a 43-page decision, the Superior Court judges ruled that the trial court — Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina — “abused its discretion” by allowing 21 supplemental cases of sex abuse to be admitted as evidence against Lynn.

The 21 cases dated back to 1948, three years before Lynn was born, and took up at least 25 days of the 32-day trial. In his appeal brief, Lynn’s lawyer, Thomas A. Bergstrom, argued that the prosecution “introduced these files to put on trial the entire Archdiocese of Philadelphia, hoping to convict [Lynn] by proxy for the sins of the entire church.”

The Superior Court judges agreed, ruling that the “probative value” of the supplemental cases “did not outweigh its potential for unfair prejudice, and that this potential prejudice was not overcome by the trial court’s cautionary instructions.”

In their decision, the Superior Court judges included some stinging criticism of Judge Sarmina.

“None of the evidence concerned the actual victim in this case, and none of it directly concerned [Lynn’s] prior dealings with either [former priest Edward V.] Avery or [Father James J.] Brennan,” the two co-defendants on trial with Lynn, the Superior Court judges wrote. “In this regard, the trial court has apparently mistaken quantity for quality in construing the probative value of this evidence en masse.” The Superior Court judges found that the “probative value of significant quantities of this evidence was trivial or minimal.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philly.com

by Jeremy Roebuck, STAFF WRITER.

A Pennsylvania court on Tuesday ordered a new trial for Msgr. William Lynn, the central defendant in the landmark 2012 trial involving clergy sex-abuse in Philadelphia.

In a 43-page opinion, the Superior Court panel found that the Philadelphia judge who presided over the case abused her discretion “by admitting a high volume of unfairly prejudicial other-acts evidence.”

“In our view, it had nothing whatsoever to do with Msgr. Lynn and the allegations against him,” said Thomas A. Bergstrom, lawyer for the 64-year-old Lynn. “I’m pleased with the court’s recognition of that.”

District Attorney Seth Williams could decide to appeal Tuesday’s decision to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court or accept the lower court’s ruling and prepare for a new trial.

A spokesman for Williams’ office said the District Attorney had not yet reviewed the opinion. In a statement, he said:

“The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office is committed to protecting all the citizens of Philadelphia against crimes of violence such as those committed by Msgr. Lynn.”

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PENNSYLVANIA
Pennsylvania Superior Court

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA

Appellee
v.
WILLIAM J. LYNN,
Appellant No. 2171 EDA 2012

Appeal from the Judgment of Entered Sentence July 24, 2012

In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County
Criminal Division at No(s): CP-51-CR-0003530-2011

… In sum, we conclude that the probative value of the individual portions that made up the large quantity of other-acts evidence in this case differed greatly. A limited portion of that evidence was substantially relevant to, or probative of, permitted uses under Rule 404(b)(2), but far more was only marginally relevant for such purposes. The potential for this evidence to unfairly prejudice Appellant was high, both because it involved the sexually abusive acts of numerous priests committed against children over several decades, and because of the high volume of the evidence admitted.

Therefore, we conclude that the probative value of that evidence, in toto, did not outweigh its potential for unfair prejudice, and that this potential prejudice was not overcome by the trial court’s cautionary instructions.

Consequently, we hold that the trial court abused its discretion in its application of Rule 404(b)(2). As our judgement requires that Appellant receive a new trial, we decline to address Appellant’s remaining claims of error.

Judgment of sentence vacated. Case remanded for a new trial. Jurisdiction relinquished.

Judge Musmanno joins this memorandum.
Judge Donohue files a concurring and dissenting memorandum.

Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 12/22/2015

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The Morning Call

[PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Associated Press has withdrawn its story about the conviction of a church official overturned for a second time because it incorrectly names The Rev. Andrew McCormick, a priest in another case, as being convicted and since dying in prison. McCormick’s two trials ended in a deadlocked jury; he was never convicted and is free. A substitute story will move shortly.

The AP]

Maryclaire Dale
Of The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA — The landmark conviction of a Roman Catholic church official imprisoned over his handling of abuse complaints in Philadelphia has been overturned for the second time.

Monsignor William Lynn has been on a legal roller coaster since his 2012 trial on child endangerment charges.

A Superior Court ruling Tuesday awarded Lynn a new trial.

His lawyers say the trial judge allowed too many victims not closely related to his case to testify. They also say the law did not apply to church supervisors when he was secretary for clergy.

Lynn has been back in prison since the conviction overturned in 2013 was reinstated.

He has served about two years of his three-to-six year term.

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ILLINOIS
Chicago Sun-Times

Bishop Emeritus Joseph Imesch, who led the Joliet diocese for nearly three decades, died Tuesday at 84.

Imesch, only the third bishop to lead the Joliet diocese, retired in 2006 after he was heavily criticized for how he handled priest sex-abuse cases.

“Bishop Joseph L. Imesch served as chief shepherd of the Diocese of Joliet for 40 percent of its history to date,” Bishop R. Daniel Conlon said Tuesday in a statement. “His years of service were marked by great change and population growth, which he managed well.”

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ILLINOIS
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2015

Statement by David G. Clohessy, Director, SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests), 314-566-9790 (cell) davidgclohessy@gmail.com

At least 39 Joliet priests are accused of molesting kids and many of them worked under and were protected by the now-deceased Bishop Joseph Imesch. We hope Imesch’s passing will bring some comfort to the hundreds of girls and boys who were sexually violated during his tenure.

[WLS]

One of those 39 is Fr. Fred Lenczycki, the first US priest to be deemed a “sexually violent predator” after being convicted in 2004 of molesting three boys. Another is Fr. Lawrence M. Gibbs, who has been called “Joliet’s most notorious” and “savage” predator priest.

[Patch]

Clerics like these wreaked havoc on trusting youngster and their families. And time and time again, Imesch and his colleagues ignored, concealed and enabled these horrific crimes.

We hope Imesch’s passing will also encourage current and former diocesan staff to speak up about clergy sex crimes and cover ups in Joliet. It’s important that all of us share whatever we know or suspect about abuse with law enforcement officials, no matter how old or small or seemingly insignificant our information or suspicions might seem.

As recently as last year, long-secret church records about predator priests had to be pried loose from Joliet’s current bishop Daniel Conlon. So sadly, the disgraceful patterns of neglecting children’s safety typified by Imesch remain largely in place today under his successor.

As we said in 2006, when Imesch retired: “The clerical culture of cover-up went deep in the diocese of Joliet. Bishop Imesch’s retirement alone will not guarantee reform.

It is tempting for some to naively believe that things will magically and suddenly improve in the Joliet Diocese with this change, but that is reckless and wishful thinking.

Imesch’s tenure has a sordid history. Instead of protecting children Imesch shielded priest predators. Instead of helping victims heal, Imesch directed his attorneys to use legal hard-ball tactics and treated victims as enemies. Most are left with no help for healing from the Diocese of Joliet. In the next few weeks, until his successor takes over, we hope Bishop Imesch will find the courage to finally come clean and reach out to victims still suffering.”

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ILLINOIS
Patch

By SCOTT VIAU (Patch Staff)
December 22, 2015

JOLIET, IL — Retired Diocese of Joliet Bishop Joseph Imesch has passed away at the age of 84, according to the Diocese.

Imesch served with the Diocese from 1979 until his retirement in 2006.

Despite years of service to the church, Imesch’s legacy is now intertwined with Joliet Diocese priests who were accused of sexually abusing young boys. The Joliet Diocese settled the cases out of court for a total of $4.137 million.

While Imesch was never accused of sexual abuse, depositions showed that he knew about it. The Daily Southtown published a series of articles more than 10 years ago claiming then-Bishop Imesch transferred molester priests and ignored or intimidated parents who came forward with complaints.

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Buenos Aires, 22 de diciembre. Juan Carlos Maccarone, ex obispo de la provincia argentina de Santiago del Estero, fue trasladado a México como consecuencia de un escándalo sexual en que se vio involucrado y que actualmente se procesa en tribunales de justicia.

Maccarone se instalará en una casa de retiros, confirmaron hoy fuentes eclesiásticas a la agencia local Télam, luego de que el diario Clarin publicara la versión.

El prelado estuvo en el centro del escándalo a mediados de este año, cuando se publicó un video en el que se le veía teniendo relaciones íntimas con un joven santiagueño.

El 19 de agosto renunció al obispado, decisión que inmediatamente fue aceptada por el papa Benedicto XVI, quien habría recibido una copia de la cinta, supuestamente enviada por medio de la nunciatura apostólica. Las escenas habrían sido filmadas el 4 de agosto, tras concluir una tradicional misa en la catedral de Santiago del Estero. El joven, de 23 años, fue al obispado con una cámara, con la que grabó la relación íntima y, según declaró, lo hizo por venganza, porque Maccarone nunca cumplió la promesa de conseguirle trabajo.

Sin embargo, versiones periodísticas vincularon el hecho a una supuesta venganza de poderosos sectores locales para perjudicar al sacerdote, quien siempre mantuvo una actitud crítica y de oposición a los sucesivos gobiernos provinciales de Carlos Juárez, el ex hombre fuerte de la provincia.

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NEW MEXICO
Gallup Independent

Published in the Gallup Independent, Gallup, NM, Dec. 17, 2015

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Independent correspondent
religion@gallupindependent.com

ALBUQUERQUE — An agreement hasn’t been signed yet, but attorneys for the Diocese of Gallup are finalizing a settlement with attorneys representing clergy sex abuse claimants in the diocese’s bankruptcy case.

Although no specific details were provided during a court hearing Wednesday, attorneys for the diocese and the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, which represents the interests of sex abuse claimants, confirmed a settlement was in the works in brief statements made to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David T. Thuma.

A third mediation session with all the parties in the case was held in Phoenix Dec. 3-4.

Inking a settlement deal will be a step forward toward the diocese’s goal of confirming a consensual plan of reorganization. The Gallup Diocese filed its Chapter 11 petition Nov. 12, 2013, after it was named as a defendant in 13 clergy sex abuse lawsuits in Arizona’s Coconino County Superior Court.

Susan Boswell, the diocese’s lead bankruptcy attorney, and James Stang, the legal counsel for the Unsecured Creditors Committee, who both appeared telephonically, confirmed that parties in the case had come to an agreement on a settlement with abuse claimants. Stang said the parties were now working out the non-monetary terms of the settlement as well as some unresolved issues involving the future claims representative.

Neither Boswell nor Stang indicated when the settlement agreement is expected to be finalized.

Attorneys representing the New Mexico Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association and Catholic Mutual, as well as attorneys for the Franciscan Province St. John the Baptist have been involved in the mediation sessions. For much of the year, disputes about the possible financial liability of the diocese’s insurers have dominated court hearings and motions.

Wednesday’s hearing had been scheduled as a preliminary hearing on a motion for relief from automatic stay, filed by Houston attorney Donald H. Kidd, and a status conference on pending stay relief motions filed earlier in the year by Phoenix attorney Robert E. Pastor. Those attorneys, who represent sex abuse claimants, have sought to have the bankruptcy court’s automatic stay against litigation lifted so they can take some of their clergy sex abuse claims to trial in state court.

Kidd, along with fellow attorney Richard Fass, traveled from Houston to attend Wednesday’s hearing. Without the impending settlement agreement, responses to Kidd’s motion had been due before the court. In comments after the hearing, Kidd and Fass confirmed as long as the settlement agreement is not finalized, hearings on the stay relief motions will continue to be scheduled. With the impending settlement, Wednesday’s hearings were continued.

“We have an agreement in principle in respect to the plan of reorganization,” Fass said.

But until that agreement becomes documented, Kidd added, he will also continue to hold reservations about the settlement.

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NORTH CAROLINA
Winston-Salem Journal

LEXINGTON — Father Albert Gondek, a priest at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church, is now on administrative leave after allegations of sexually abusing minors on church property, according to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte.

The church says Gondek is being investigated after a 23-year-old man recently claimed that the priest touched him in a sexually inappropriate way when he was 18.

David Hains, director of communications for the Charlotte diocese, says the man also claimed that this happened with minors who haven’t come forward.

Hains says the church is removing Gondek as pastor until the investigation is over.

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ILLINOIS
WLS

By Sarah Schulte

JOLIET, Ill. (WLS) — The Joliet Diocese has confirmed that former Bishop Joseph Imesch has died at the age of 84.

Imesch served as the diocese’s bishop for nearly 27 years. He died Tuesday morning.

Last year, depositions showed he knew about priest sex abuse in his diocese but moved priests around to different parishes instead of removing them from service.

The Michigan native was ordained after seminary school in Rome in 1956.

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UNITED STATES
Everything-PR

2015-12-22 by Jason Tannahill

Everything-PR has exclusively learned that Father Joseph D. Maurizio, a priest in Federal Prison for child sexual abuse charges has contacted a number of public relations firms seeking an agency willing to work the media to assist him in getting out of jail, or receiving a lenient sentence.

The Pennsylvania-based 70 year old was found guilty of “having sex with three boys at a Honduran orphanage that he supported through his nonprofit foundation, transferring money outside the United States to fund his illicit activities and having pornographic photos of children.”

Earlier this month, The Associated Press reported that a Federal judge tossed out one of the five convictions against the Priest – yet denied his request for a new trial. The timing of contacting Public Relations firms indicates that he seeks a PR agency previously to being sentenced on February 2, 2016.

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UNITED STATES
Crux

By Michael O’Loughlin
National reporter December 22, 2015

Behind the sensational headlines about a New York priest accused of pilfering church coffers to pay for an extravagant lifestyle – “Priest paid his male ‘sex master’ from collection plate: lawsuit,” as the New York Post put it — is the surprisingly common accusation of a trusted employee or volunteer stealing cash from a parish.

The Rev. Peter Miqueli stepped down as pastor of St. Frances de Chantal in the Bronx Dec. 13 after a group of parishioners filed a lawsuit against him and the Archdiocese of New York. They say the priest embezzled close to a million dollars over the last decade from two parishes, and that the archdiocese refused to take their accusations seriously.

Miqueli says he is not guilty.

“I look forward to my ultimate vindication, and being able to resume my priestly ministry,” he wrote in a letter read at Masses earlier this month.

Miqueli’s case is tailor made for tabloid coverage, but it’s hardly unique. This year alone, a number of high-profile embezzlement cases involving Catholic institutions have been made public. While the reporting to civil authorities has increased, resulting in more publicity about such cases, one thing hasn’t changed: Pastors are too trusting and unwilling to implement strict financial controls.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Big Trial

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2015

By Ralph Cipriano
for BigTrial.net

The State Correctional Institute at Waymart has a new librarian.

Six days a week, Msgr. William J. Lynn, the former secretary for clergy for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, checks books in and out of the prison library for fellow inmates; he also keeps track of periodicals.

“It keeps him busy,” said Lynn’s lawyer, Thomas A. Bergstrom. “They have a huge library and it’s really up to date.”

As he works his job for 19 cents an hour, the monsignor can’t help but watch the calendar and wonder whether he’ll be getting out of jail again soon. Lynn has an appeal for a new trial pending with the state Superior Court. It’s before a sympathetic panel of judges that has already overturned Lynn’s prior conviction once before.

The reason why the wait time on the current appeal is so short is that one of the three Superior Court judges that heard Lynn’s appeal, Christine L. Donohue, was elected last November to the state Supreme Court. So the panel of judges has only two weeks left to issue its decision on the Lynn case before Judge Donohue leaves the Superior Court to become Supreme Court Justice Donohue.

“I saw him on Monday, and he’s doing well,” Bergstrom said about his client currently housed at the state prison some 140 miles north of Philadelphia.. When he’s not working at the library, the monsignor is working out and trying to lose weight.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 22 December 2015 (VIS) – The Holy Father has appointed:

– Bishop Ruben Antonio Gonzalez Medina, C.M.F., of Caguas, Puerto Rico, as bishop of Ponce (area 2,045, population 628,300, Catholics 489,500, priests 112, permanent deacons 102, religious 257), Puerto Rico. He succeeds Bishop Felix Lazaro Martinez, Sch. P., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese upon reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.

– Fr. Gerard County, C.S.Sp., as bishop of Kingstown (area 388, population 118,060, Catholics 102,000, priests 6, permanent deacons 7, religious 10), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The bishop-elect was born in Trinidad and Tobago in 1960, gave his religious vows in 1994 and was ordained a priest in 1996. He has served in a number of offices within his Congregation in Mexico, including bursar and director of youth pastoral care, parish priest of St. David Roldan Lara in the diocese of Tampico, superior provincial of Mexico. He is currently a member of the community of Spiritan Fathers in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

– Fr. Claude Hamelin as auxiliary of the diocese of Saint-Jean-Longueuil (area 2,075, population 735,941, Catholics 625,500, priests 103, permanent deacons 4, religious 387), Canada. The bishop-elect was born in Sherington, Canada in 1952 and was ordained a priest in 1977. He holds a bachelor’s degree in theology and a master’s degree in pastoral theology from the University of Montreal, Canada, and a licentiate in moral theology from the Pontifical Alphonsianum Academy, Rome. He has served as chaplain in a private school, parish priest of St. Mark in Candiac, episcopal vicar for the central, northern and western region of the diocese of Saint-Jean-Longueuil, and head of the diocesan office for the clergy. He is currently vicar general of the same diocese.

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WISCONSIN
Wisconsin Public Radio

Monday, December 21, 2015
By Danielle Kaeding

An advocacy group for those abused by priests is calling on the new leader of Superior’s Catholic Diocese to look into the case of an Ashland priest suspended by the district six years ago.

The previous leader of the diocese, Bishop Peter Christensen, suspended Father Henry Willenborg from parish duties at Our Lady of the Lake in Ashland over accusations that he had sex with a minor. David Clohessy, the director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, said the newly appointed Bishop James Powers should release information on the Franciscans’ investigation into Father Willenborg.

“Even though six years have passed, there’s never been an announcement about that investigation, whether it’s concluded or ongoing,” said Clohessy. “Never even an update.”

Clohessy said the bishop should also contact parishes within the diocese for anyone who may have been hurt by Father Willenborg.

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VATICAN CITY
Premier (UK)

Tue 22 Dec 2015
By Antony Bushfield

Pope Francis is suffering from flu but there is “nothing to worry about”, the Vatican has said.

The pontiff confirmed he was feeling unwell as he was forced to sit down during his Christmas speech.

Francis, 79, told the gathered he was “not feeling strong” as he took his seat.

It reignited concerns for the pope who fell twice in November.

In October, the Vatican was forced to deny reports Francis had been treated for a brain tumour.

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AUSTRALIA
Reveal – The Center for Investigative Reporting

By Trey Bundy / December 21, 2015

In the face of evidence that the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization in Australia failed to report more than 1,000 allegations of child sexual abuse, the religion’s leaders say they’re doing a great job of protecting children.

The response comes from a 141-page document filed by the Witnesses to an Australian government commission investigating rampant child sexual abuse within the religion. It provides an uncommon look into the reasoning of an organization that has come under fire on at least three continents for shielding child abusers from prosecution.

“It is quite apparent that Jehovah’s Witnesses have for at least the last 65 years taken a proactive role in investigating and documenting such abuse and taken action against proved abusers,” the filing reads.

In recent years, Jehovah’s Witnesses leaders have worked to avoid answering for their policies by shutting out the media, withholding documents under subpoena and, in some cases, refusing to testify in court.

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Fergus Finlay

Children in mother and baby homes were “buried in the dead of night with no priest, no cleric, no ritual, no mother beside them”, writes Fergus Finlay

There’s no ad on radio quite like the Barry’s Tea Christmas ad. I’m not a tea drinker, but I always insist on having a packet of Barry’s in the house, especially at this time of year.

You must know the ad. It’s been running for more than 20 years. I wait for it every year, because the instant I hear it, I’m six again.

The ad is about a father thrown back to his own childhood by the sound of a train set in a busy toy store. It reminds him of the moment he woke up on Christmas morning, and heard a sound he hadn’t dared hope for — his first train set, delivered by Santa Claus in the middle of a cold Christmas Eve night.

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MINNESOTA
BishopAccountability.org

Summary of Case: Francis J. Zilkoski was a priest of the St. Cloud MN diocese, ordained in 1924. He pastored parishes in Foreston, Flensburg, Little Falls and Opole. He was also Chancellor and a member of the Diocesan Board of Directors. He died in 1978. Zilkoski’s name was included on the diocese’s list released in January 2014 of clergy with likely claims against them of sexual abuse of minors.

Born: August 5, 1897
Ordained: May 18, 1924
Died: May 19, 1978

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Jimmy Woulfe, Mid-West Correspondent

A man yesterday recalled how he rejected the pleas of his mother on her deathbed to hold her hand due to the anger he felt at being sexually assaulted by a former member of a religious order.

Due to the abuse, he started to regard his mother as his enemy because she was a strict Catholic and clerics were almost living deities to her, Limerick Circuit Court heard.

Chilling details of the devastation wreaked on the lives of six men due to continued sexual abuse waged on them by the cleric primary school teacher were recounted at the sentencing hearing yesterday.

The former teacher, who is now 73, and who cannot be named for legal reasons, was last month found guilty at Limerick Circuit Court of 30 charges of indecently assaulting six boys. The jury failed to agree on 42 charges in relation to seven other boys. The charges related to dates between September 1978 and June 1981.

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CANADA
Hollywood Reporter

by Etan Vlessing 12/21/2015

The Vancouver Film Critics Circle has named Tom McCarthy’s fact-based journalism drama Spotlight as the best film of the year.

The fact-based journalism drama inspired by Boston Globe reporters exposing sexual abuse in the Catholic Church beat out Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s survival thriller The Revenant and George Miller’s action pic Mad Max: Fury Road in the best film category.

Spotlight was earlier named best picture by film critics in Los Angeles and San Francisco. The Canadian critics also hailed Steve Jobs’ Michael Fassbender as best actor and Room star Brie Larson as best actress. And Bridge of Spies’ Mark Rylance and Ex Machina’s Alicia Vikander won in the supporting acting categories.

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CANADA
National Post

Father Raymond J. de Souza | December 21, 2015

The release of the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) on the residential schools system spoke of the need to move from “apology to action.” Yet there was apparently some unfinished business on the apology front, as the TRC called upon the “the Pope to issue an apology to Survivors, their families, and communities for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in the spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children … to occur within one year of the issuing of this Report and to be delivered by the Pope in Canada.”

It is puzzling why the commissioners think an apology would be a good idea. Or, more precisely, why they think it would be a good idea again.

On April 29, 2009 — before the TRC got going, it should be noted — Pope Benedict XVI met with a delegation of aboriginal Canadians he had invited to the Vatican at the request of the bishops of Canada. On the topic of residential schools, Benedict expressed “his sorrow at the anguish caused by the deplorable conduct of some members of the Church and he offered his sympathy and prayerful solidarity,” according to the Vatican press summary of the meeting.

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AUSTRALIA
Independent Australia

Tess Lawrence 22 December 2015

All contributing editor-at-large Tess Lawrence wants is cowardly Cardinal Pell to come back home to Australia and face the Commission.

DEAR SANTA, all I want for Christmas is for Cardinal George Pell to come home and face his accusers.

All I want is justice for both the victims and George Pell.

For justice to be done and to be seen to be done, on Australian soil, in Ballarat, the accused and accusers all first among equals.

I am sick of George Pell’s constant missing in action time wasting antics, calling in sick and whatever to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, doing everything possible to avoid a personal appearance.

I am sick of George’s mate, Bishop Ronald Mulkeans calling in sick to the Royal Commission.

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KENTUCKY
WKYT

POWELL COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) – A 52-year-old minister and school bus driver accused of sexually abusing two girls in his church will go before a judge on Tuesday.

Powell County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 52-year-old Steve Williams Friday afternoon. Williams is charged with one count of sexual abuse of s minor under the age of 12, and a count of sexual abuse of a minor under the age of 18.

Chief Deputy Mathews said the charges stem from allegations that Williams, the minister at Bowen First Church of God in the community of Bowen, inappropriately touched two girls, one during a church field trip and the other at the church.

The chief deputy says Williams turned in his resignation letter to Bowen First Church of God leaders Friday afternoon. He also says Williams was a school bus driver for Powell County Schools, and a firefighter with the Middlefork Volunteer Fire Department.

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NORTH CAROLINA
Fox 8

[with video]

DECEMBER 21, 2015, BY KIM WYNNE

LEXINGTON, N.C. — Father Albert Gondek, a priest at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church, is now on administrative leave after allegations of sexually abusing minors on church property, according to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte.

The church says Gondek is being investigated after a 23-year-old man recently claimed that the priest touched him in a sexually inappropriate way when he was 18.

David Hains, director of communications for the Charlotte diocese, says the man also claimed that this happened with minors who haven’t come forward.

Hains says the church is removing Gondek as pastor until the investigation is over.

“We’re hoping this can be thoroughly and fairly invested and we can get some clarity in the next couple of weeks,” Hains said.

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AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

22 December, 2015

The Royal Commission thanks the community for its support and contribution to our work this year.

In 2015, we have conducted 14 public hearings, held more than 1,800 private sessions, released our final reports into redress and civil litigation and Working with Children Checks and published 13 case study reports. More than 9,300 people have called our call centre, more than 6,600 have sent emails and letters, and we have served 1,139 notices to produce.

During the holiday season this year, the Royal Commission’s call centre will remain open, with the exception of public holidays. The call centre can be contacted on 1800 099 340 Monday-Friday between 8am- 8pm AEDT.

Public holiday dates
Friday 25 December 2015
Monday 28 December 2015
Friday 1 January 2016

The holiday season can be a difficult time. There are a number of organisations available to provide support during this time.

1800 Respect
Website: www.1800respect.org.au
24/7 x 365 national telephone and online crisis counselling, information and referral for anyone in Australia who has experienced or been impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence. Staffed by trauma specialist counsellors.
Phone: 1800 737 732
Online Counselling: www.1800respect.org.au

This call center also services NSW Rape Crisis calls 24/7 1800 424 017 &
Royal Commission SACA 1800 211 028

Rape and Domestic Violence Services Australia
Website: www.rape-dvservices.org.au
National phone counselling. Face-to-face counselling provided within NSW and VIC.
Phone: 1800 211 028

MensLine Australia
Website: www.mensline.org.au
24/7 x 365 national telephone and online support, information and referral service for men with family and relationship concerns.
Phone: 1300 78 99 78
Online Counselling: www.mensline.org.au

Suicide Call Back Service
Website: www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au
24/7 x 365 counselling for people 18 years and over who are suicidal, caring for someone who is suicidal or people bereaved by suicide.
Phone: 1300 659 467

Lifeline
Website: www.lifeline.org.au
24/7 x 365 national crisis support and suicide prevention.
Phone: 131 114

The full list of the support services available in your state or territory can be found here.

Contact us
P: 1800 099 340 Monday – Friday 8am – 8PM AEDT
E: contact@childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au
F: www.facebook.com/CARoyalComm
T: www.twitter.com/CARoyalComm

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VATICAN CITY
Washington Post

By David Gibson | Religion News Service December 21

A year after he delivered a blistering diagnosis of 15 “diseases” plaguing the Roman Curia, including “spiritual Alzheimer’s,” Pope Francis on Monday (Dec. 21) listed a 12-point “catalog of needed virtues” that the bishops and cardinals who run the Holy See should seek to follow.

But if the pope seemed to strike a lighter tone during his benchmark Christmas address — he quipped that after last year’s grim diagnosis he wanted to provide some “Curial antibiotics” — Francis made it clear he won’t let up on his drive to overhaul a church court that has been a source of both scandal and opposition to his reformist agenda.

“It seems necessary to state what has been — and ever shall be — the object of sincere reflection and decisive provisions,” the pope told the prelates gathered in an ornately decorated Vatican audience hall. “The reform will move forward with determination, clarity and firm resolve.”

Without mentioning specific headlines that cropped up in recent months, Francis pointedly referred to the “diseases” that have manifested since his last speech to the Curia, “causing no small pain to the entire body and harming many souls, even by scandal.”

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MASSACHUSETTS
Boston.com

By Charlotte Wilder @thewilderthings
Boston.com Staff

Judge Raymond Brassard of Norfolk Superior Court granted parishioners of St. Frances X Cabrini Church in Scituate a chance to file their case with the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday. The filing with the highest court in America will be the last battle in an 11-year fight to stop the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston from closing their church.

The church hasn’t been empty in over a decade. For 11 years, members of the approximately 100 people who make up the group known as the “Friends of St. Frances X. Cabrini” have kept a constant vigil inside their beloved building to keep it from closing.

The hearing Monday was to consider the parishioners’ emergency motion to suspend any of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston’s future orders to close the church while they work on an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to save St. Frances.

At the hearing, the church’s lawyer, William Dailey, and the parishioners’ lawyer, Mary Beth Carmody, came to an agreement that will allow the parishioners the 90 days they need to file with the Supreme Court rather than having to leave the premises by January 8. However, if the Supreme Court decides not to hear the parishioners’ case or doesn’t find in their favor, they must give up the fight and vacate the premises within 14 days of the decision.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Herald

Associated Press Monday, December 21, 2015

DEDHAM, Mass. — Parishioners occupying a Massachusetts church for over a decade have been granted time to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

A Norfolk Superior Court judge on Monday gave parishioners at St. Frances X. Cabrini until March 3 to file a petition to the nation’s highest court, according to Mary Elizabeth Carmody, the group’s lawyer.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston has agreed to let the parishioners remain in the Scituate church until the Supreme Court decides one way or the other. Protesters have agreed to vacate the church within 14 days if the court declines to take the case, Carmody says.

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VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Register

by Edward Pentin 12/21/2015

After an eighteen-month study and seeking the advice of media experts on reforming the Vatican’s media operation, three Vatican appointments over the past couple of days have signaled the beginning of those reforms.

The Holy See announced today that St. Louis native and former Register and Fox News correspondent Greg Burke is to become the new vice director of the Holy See Press Office, replacing San Marino Passionist Father Ciro Benedettini who has served in the role for 20 years.
The position has until now involved assisting the press office director in staging press conferences, overseeing administration, and disseminating information, as well as sometimes representing the Holy See in Father Lombardi’s absence.

Since June 2012, Burke has served as senior communications adviser at the Secretariat of State, a largely behind-the-scenes role in which he was responsible for the Holy See’s media strategy and helping to improve the Pope’s public image.

Initially hired during the pontificate of Benedict XVI after a series of media “gaffes,” Burke has tried to make the Vatican more media sensitive and aware. He has helped to launch a papal twitter account in December 2012 but his main role has been “putting out fires” and preventing potentially damaging public relations mistakes from reaching the media.

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