ABUSE TRACKER

DETROIT (MI)
Press & Guide

By Joe Slezak
Press & Guide Newspapers

DETROIT — The Archdiocese of Detroit has restricted a former priest at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in Dearborn from public ministry because of an allegation against him of sexual misconduct with a minor.

The Rev. Louis Grandpre, 79, served at St. Alphonsus, 7469 Calhoun, as a weekend assistant in 1965 and ’66, according to biographical information released by the archdiocese Tuesday.

The archdiocese said that the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office was notified, and the “Archdiocesan Review Board has deemed the allegation substantive.” As of Wednesday morning, there was no case record for Grandpre on the Wayne County Circuit Court website. Felony cases still in the county’s district courts also are on the site.

The archdiocese said the alleged incident happened in his early years as a priest. It gave no additional information about the allegation.

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CANADA
24 hrs

By David P. Ball, 24 hours Vancouver
Tuesday, September 17, 2013

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission begins four days of hearings in Vancouver Wednesday into residential school abuses.

Hundreds gathered around False Creek Tuesday to witness a flotilla of ocean-going canoes paddled by aboriginal youth and non-aboriginal supporters.

It was part of a week of reconciliation for Canada’s residential schools, in which roughly 150,000 students were placed in church-run schools, many abused sexually and physically.

Watching the boats arrive, Irene Stevens recalled the day authorities arrived at her home to take her to Lejac Indian Residential School at Fraser Lake, B.C.

“They had a gun in their hands,” Stevens told 24 hours. “They told my dad that if none of us children went to the residential school, they were going to take (social support funding) away from him.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Big Trial

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

By Ralph Cipriano
for Bigtrial.net

In a sunlight-drenched courtroom this morning, a couple of state appellate judges asked the Philadelphia district attorney’s office to explain the pretzel logic of its suspect prosecution of Msgr. William J. Lynn.

After four years of hiding behind secret grand juries and gag orders, the D.A. finally had to answer some tough questions in broad daylight. Seth Williams wasn’t there, but his top appellate lawyer was. He responded with a litany of legal citations. But when the judges attempted to pin him down, the bottom line was, the D.A.’s office has no real answers. It’s hard to explain the illogical and the politically expedient.

Msgr. Lynn is now serving a 3 to 6 year prison term for his June 22, 2012 conviction on one count of endangering the welfare of a child. Could the appellate judges be contemplating a ruling that might free the defendant? There was a moment today during the intense 40-minute hearing that quickened the pulse of every defense lawyer in the packed courtroom.

It came when John T. Bender, the president judge of the 15-member appellate court, asked defense lawyer Thomas A. Bergstrom how long his client had been in jail. It was a question that seemingly came out of nowhere. The answer was 15 months. But it left defense lawyers wondering whether the appellate court was sending a signal that it would entertain a new bail motion to be filed on behalf of Msgr. Lynn.

“I don’t know what to do; I don’t want to be precipitous,” a smiling Bergstrom told reporters after the hearing. Bergstrom said he would wait until the court issues a ruling on the Lynn appeal. And if that ruling favors his client, Bergstrom said, he’ll be filing that bail motion about “five minutes later.”

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 18 September 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father: …

– appointed Bishop Cirilo B. Flores as bishop of San Diego (area 22,942, population 3,124,081, Catholics 982,183, priests 311, permanent deacons 163, religious 353), U.S.A. Bishop Flores, previously coadjutor of the same diocese, was born in Corona, U.S.A in 1948, was ordained to the priesthood in 1991, and received episcopal ordination in 2009. He succeeds Bishop Robert H. Brom, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese, upon having reached the age limit, was accepted by the Holy Father.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
KMOX

ST. LOUIS (KMOX) – St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson is scheduled to face questions under oath this week in a sexual misconduct case involving a Catholic priest under his authority and allegations of witness tampering.

The case involves a longtime Carlson associate, Father Joseph Jiang. Jiang is accused of molesting an underage girl in Lincoln County in recent years and accused of attempted witness tampering in the form of a $20,000 check allegedly left on the car on the victim’s family.

Jiang was an Associate Pastor at the Cathedral Basilica and lived in Carlson’s private residence in St. Louis.

David Clohessy with the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) says Carlson may face some tough questions from a Lincoln County prosecutor.

“I would hope the prosecutors will ask Archbishop Carlson, ‘did you know about the check in advance? Was it Father Jiang’s money of the Archdiocese’s money?’ and ‘why did you try to get your hands on it?’” Clohessy said.

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IRELAND
Irish Central

Niall O’Dowd

Father Iggy O’Donovan celebrated the funeral Mass for my mother in Drogheda, a large town 30 miles from Dublin, in 2000 when she passed away.

He did a fine job as he always did when his pastoral duties were called for. He was a people’s priest, hugely popular in Drogheda where his down to earth demeanor and friendly smile won him huge popularity.

Now he has effectively been banished from his job and told to take a year’s sabbatical no doubt in some distant place because he has upset the church’s orthodoxy.

Ignoring bureaucratic rules was something Iggy has done. I remember there was some silly rule at the time of my mother’s death that members of the family could not eulogize the departed. Iggy pointedly let me ignore it to speak about my mother’s life.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Keighley News

Rapist vicar Peter Hedge must spend an extra five years behind bars after two more of his victims spoke out, bringing the number of boys he abused to eight.

Hedge, who is former vicar of Holy Trinity Church in Queensbury, was locked up for 14 years in 2009 for what the judge described as the “wicked and cynical” rape and sexual abuse of boys in his pastoral care.

Now 51, Hedge – who spent many years working as a volunteer on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway – was brought from prison to Bradford Crown Court yesterday to be sentenced for sexually abusing two more boys.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Yorkshire Post

A DISGRACED vicar has had five years added to his jail sentence after he admitted having sex with two more vulnerable young boys.

Peter Hedge, 51, was locked up for 14 years in 2009 after a jury found him guilty of raping and sexually abusing six youngsters. But Judge Peter Benson yesterday extended that sentence after the Oxford University graduate admitted offences against two other boys.

Sophie Drake, prosecuting, told Bradford Crown Court that one of two new complainants had been interviewed during the initial police inquiry, but denied anything had happened as he wanted to get on with his life. However, in 2011 he contacted police and revealed how Hedge had sexually abused him on three occasions.

At the time the abuse began in the 1990s, Hedge was the curate of St Margaret’s Church, Thornbury, Bradford, but he continued to target youngsters after becoming the vicar at Holy Trinity Church, Queensbury.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

A PEDOPHILE was able to successfully apply for a teenage boy to live with him despite a previous screening check found that he posed a risk to children, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has heard.

Steven Larkins was employed at the time as chief executive of the Hunter Aboriginal Children’s Service, with court-appointed parental responsibility for some of the most vulnerable children in NSW.

A previous Working With Children Check conducted by the state government had found Larkins posed a “medium risk” to children, the commission heard.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By court reporter Jamelle Wells, Rebecca Armitage and staff

The royal commission into child sex abuse has heard a paedophile was employed by a welfare agency just two months before the ‘working with children’ check was introduced.

The commission is examining how a number of agencies responded to allegations against former scoutmaster and CEO of the Hunter Aboriginal Children’s Service (HACS) Steven Larkins.

The Children’s Guardian Kerryn Boland told the hearing that Larkins was employed by the children’s service in May 2000, but the current ‘working with children’ check came into affect in July that year.

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AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

BY ANNETTE BLACKWELL AAP SEPTEMBER 18, 2013

IT should have raised suspicions at the NSW Department of Community Services when one name appeared three times on forms checking someone’s suitability to work with children.

Steve ‘Skip’ Larkins was listed as subject, applicant and contact, effectively approving himself to work with children from his position as principal officer of the Hunter Aboriginal Children Services (HACS).

But Larkins is now serving time for child pornography and indecent assault of children, and the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was told on Wednesday that no one who came into contact with his forms checked their veracity with anyone else at HACS.

Maree Walk, chief executive of community services for NSW Department of Family and Community Services, said she believes “it was an error” not to look more closely at the man who had legal parental responsibility for a number of Aboriginal children from 2003.

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AUSTRALIA
The Age

Paul Bibby
Court Reporter

A combination of bureaucratic bungling and document forging allowed a suspected paedophile Scout leader to continue working with children after leaving the Scouts movement in disgrace, the royal commission on child sexual abuse has heard.

The commission is investigating the case of former Stockton Scouts leader Steven Larkins, who indecently assaulted two young Scouts in the early 1990s but remained part of the organisation for much of the next decade. He was convicted over these and other offences in 2011.

In 2000, after leaving the Scouts, he took up a role with the Hunter Aboriginal Children’s Services (HACS), reaching a management position with court-ordered responsibility for up to 19 children, which he maintained until 2011.

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CANADA
The Province

BY ELAINE O’CONNOR, THE PROVINCE SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

As a child, Vancouver Aboriginal educator Dallas Yellowfly recalls hearing the story of a wild woman who lurks in the forest ready to snatch children.

It’s a traditional First Nations story used to discourage children from wandering. Sadly, it’s more than allegorical.

In a very real way, it came to pass, when an estimated 150,000 First Nations children were ripped from families, sent to residential schools, stripped of their language and culture and often abused.

“The story of the wild woman is the segue into the real story of the Indian agents who would take children to residential schools,” Yellowfly explained.

On Wednesday, the public school cultural facilitator will re-enact that story at the University of the Fraser Valley’s Indian Residential Schools Day of Learning. His presentation includes a theatre piece, “Qualena”, plus testimony from two survivors of St. Mary’s residential school in Mission — Cyril Pierre and Joe Ginger — detail the abuse they endured and what they’ve had to go through for compensation.

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SOUTH AFRICA
Legalbrief

A German Catholic priest on trial for child abuse in SA could face extradition over 36 more counts of sexual offences against children in Germany, says a report on the IoL site.

Georg Kerkhoff appeared in the Brits Magistrate’s Court in connection with the German offences, after Interpol arrested him at the same court last week. Kerkhoff had been on trial in SA for five years on charges relating to alleged sexual assault of boys during a church camp in Gauteng in 2008. The court heard that German authorities would seek Kerkhoff’s extradition after his SA trial was complete. The report adds the matter was postponed to tomorrow (19 September) for a bail application.

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MICHIGAN
Patch

Posted by Christy Arboscello (Editor) , September 17, 2013

A senior retired priest, who served in Clinton Township, has been restricted from public ministry following an allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor, according to the Archdiocese of Detroit.

The allegation dates back to Rev. Louis Grandpre’s early years with the Detroit archdiocese. Civil authorities were notified and the Archdiocesan Review Board deemed the allegation substantive. Therefore, the 79-year-old is banned from all public ministry, the Archdiocese of Detroit stated in a news release.

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DEUTSCHLAND/SUDAFRIKA
Kapstadt

Ein katholischer Priester aus Deutschland steht in Südafrika vor Gericht und könnte bald ausgeliefert werden.

Georg Kerkhoff musste sich am Montag vor dem südafrikanischen Gericht Vorwürfen der sexuellen Belästigung und Missbrauchs stellen. Nachdem der Geistliche von Interpol aufgrund deutscher Anklagen festgenommen wurde, könnte er nach Deutschland ausgeliefert werden.

In Südafrika wird dem Geistlichen vorgeworfen, junge Männer während eines Kirchentreffens in der Provinz Gauteng 2008 sexuell belästigt zu haben. Obwohl bereits vor zehn Jahren in Deutschland Anschuldigungen gegen Kerkhoff wegen sexuellen Missbrauchs von Kindern und Jugendlichen vorlagen, konnte der Priester im Jahr 2007 problemlos nach Südafrika einreisen. Wie dies möglich war und vor allem warum er erneut dazu befähigt wurde, mit Kindern zu arbeiten, kann die katholische Kirche Südafrikas Berichten zufolge auch nicht erklären.

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SOUTH AFRICA
The New Age

Itumeleng Mafisa and Dudu Dube

The father of a 15 year old boy who was allegedly abused by Fr Georg Kerkhoff during a St Bonifatius Catholic Church retreat at Haartebesport in the North West, claims that the church had punished his son and other victims for alerting the authorities of their abuse.

The father who cannot be identified to protect his son, said the youngster was so traumatised that he eventually moved to Germany while some of the other four alleged victims moved to other parts of Europe.

And instead of support the church accused his son and Kerkhoff’s four other alleged victims of making up stories.

The father also claimed that the five families were isolated by the Church and made to feel like trouble makers until eventually they all left the church.

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SCOTLAND
BBC News

Police officers investigating allegations of sexual and physical abuse at Fort Augustus Abbey School have identified 20 possible victims.

Abuse at the school featured in a BBC Scotland programme in July.

The police started their own investigation into Fort Augustus and its prep-school, Carlekemp, in March, following a former pupil’s complaint.

BBC Scotland has been contacted by more than 50 people making allegations of abuse at the schools.

A joint statement by Police Scotland and the Crown Office said: “The investigation has so far identified more than 20 possible victims and extends to liaison with a number of law enforcement agencies across and outwith the UK.

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IDAHO
Idaho Statesman

By KATIE TERHUNE — kterhune@idahostatesman.com

Four more former Boy Scouts have joined a lawsuit against the Boy Scouts of America and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, alleging that both organizations covered up sexual abuse and allowed known pedophiles to remain in leadership positions.

Both organizations have responded to the allegations in federal court, denying that any wrongdoing or responsibility falls on them.

The lawsuit, filed in June, claims Boy Scout leaders in Idaho sexually abused the plaintiffs in various incidents in the 1970s and ’80s. The plaintiffs seek monetary damages, the amount of which would be determined by a jury, said Boise attorney Andrew Chasan, one of the lawyers representing the men.

The case is still in its early stages and a scheduling hearing is set for Oct. 9.

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IOWA
Des Moines Register

Written by
Rekha Basu

Two years ago, a youth minister at the Pentecostal Victory Fellowship Church in Council Bluffs pleaded guilty to sexually abusing four young men while he was a church elder. He did it under the pretext of helping rid them of any homosexual thoughts they might have.

Brent Girouex admitted having sexual relations with at least four young men before 2009, though as many as eight have claimed abuse by him. One was 14 when it began. In emotional statements at sentencing, he and the others talked of how the man had gained their trust and manipulated them.

Girouex’s idea of what some describe as “praying away the gay” involved having his subjects lie down while he touched their genitals and made them ejaculate, and sometimes oral sex. Girouex is said to have told detectives that would rid them of evil thoughts.

His arrest was reported in Des Moines media at the time. But a recent flurry of national online media outlets have revived the story, some wrongly reporting that the sentencing had just taken place.

At the urging of some readers, I took a closer look and was appalled at the upshot of the case. What began with 89 counts of sexual abuse and 60 counts of sexual exploitation against Girouex ended with a smaller confession to felony sex abuse with a minor, and an Alford plea to two counts of sexual exploitation by a counselor or therapist, which concedes there is enough evidence to convict him.

For that, he got probation.

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UNITED STATES
Bilgrimage

William D. Lindsey

In the thread discussing Dennis Coday’s National Catholic Reporter article noting the sentencing of Father Shawn Ratigan for possession and production of child pornography–I discussed this thread yesterday–Colleen Baker responds to Becca Robinson’s surmisal that “no doubt” Ratigan took pictures of boys by stating,

No, they were females, some younger than two. One of the saddest aspects of this abuse crisis is the under reporting of attacks on girls. There was more speculation about this earlier in the crisis, and one reason given for the discrepancy was that the sexual violation of boys was considered far more egregious, so it was far more likely to eventually be reported. Of course this has it’s alternative assumption for girls–as in oh well, it’s to be expected to some extent. In any event, the girls as victims aspect of the crisis got totally buried by the ‘it’s a gay priest’ meme, since it was the easiest explanation for the discrepancy in victims.

In the meantime female victims were revictimized by being purposely ignored for the sake of the ‘gay priest’ meme, and many have still not come forward.*

As Colleen astutely suggests, the malicious intent of some Catholics like Becca Robinson and Purgatrix Ineptiae, aided and abetted by Father Joseph O’Leary (see the first link above for a discussion of this), to spin the abuse crisis as all about gay men molesting boys diverts attention from the fact that those abused by priests include girls. That’s what Ratigan’s case is all about–and this is what makes the attempt of the aforementioned folks to slip the meme of gay priests abusing boys into the discussion of the Ratigan story mind-boggling.

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LITTLE ROCK (AR)
Arkansas Times

Posted by Max Brantley on Tue, Sep 17, 2013

David Koon reports from the county courthouse, where Kathy Griffin, a former Mount St. Mary Academy employee, is being retried on a charge of failing to report sexual abuse of a student by a sometime partner, Kathy O’Rourke, who was also a Mount St. Mary teacher.

A jury couldn’t reach a verdict in Griffin’s first trial in January. She insists she didn’t know about O’Rourke’s relationship with the student until after she was no longer a student at Mount St. Mary. Her defense is that she had no legal obligation to report the relationship, though she ultimately did.

O’Rourke testified today that Griffin had suspicions about the relationship. Her testimony was part of a plea deal she reached before pleading guilty to a charge of abusing the teenager. She got a 15-year sentence, with all but 120 days suspended, and was ordered not to have contact with the girl for 15 years, plus fined $5,000. Yesterday, she was sent to jail for violating the terms of her probation by calling the girl from jail 56 times and connecting on 46 of them. She’ll be resentenced next month.

KELLY O’ROURKE: Said Griffin questioned her repeatedly about relationship with teen.
O’Rourke testified today in a prison jump suit. O’Rourke said her relationship with the victim began in the victim’s junior year of high school and lasted until O’Rourke broke it off in January 2012. At the time, O’Rourke was in a relationship and living with Griffin, as she had been “off and on” since 2003,

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UNITED STATES
Bilgrimage

William D. Lindsey

So, in case you doubt the intent of a certain contingent of homophobic Catholics to keep alive the meme that the Catholic abuse crisis is all about gay priests abusing boys, regardless of the findings of the John Jay report and regardless of whether the topic of conversation is a priest sent to prison for producing pornographic pictures of little girls, I submit the conversation above. It’s from the discussion thread following Dennis Coday’s “Morning Briefing” column in National Catholic Reporter today. If you click on the picture, it should expand to make the dialogue readable.

Cestusdei begins the thread by stating that Pope Benedict wanted homosexuals banned from the seminaries to protect children. Bumblebee demurs, and Cestusdei then doubles down, stating,

The problem was that many homosexuals and liberal allies infiltrated the seminaries (see Goodbye Good Men). . . . I am so glad that you support the ban on the ordination of homosexuals. That is why the number of new offenses is so low.

Never mind that the John Jay study, the most extensive study of the abuse crisis in the American church to date, found precisely the opposite, as I noted this morning: it found that, in the words of Father James Martin, “the rise in the number of gay priests from the late 1970s onward actually corresponded with ‘a decreased incidence of abuse—not an increased incidence of abuse.'”

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MICHIGAN
The Macomb Daily

By Mitch Hotts, The Macomb Daily
POSTED: 09/17/13

A retired pastor of St. Paul of Tarsus Parish in Clinton Township has been sanctioned by the Archdiocese of Detroit after he was accused of sexual misconduct with a minor, according to a news release.

The Rev. Louis Grandpre, 79, a senior retired priest, has been restricted from all public ministry as a result of the allegation, the release stated.

Archdiocese officials said the incident dated back to Grandpre’s early years of service. The Archdiocese Review Board has determined the accusation to be “substantive.”

The Archdiocese said civil authorities have been notified, but the release did not specify what city or agency that involved.

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DETROIT (MI)
Detroit Free Press

By Niraj Warikoo
Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

A Catholic priest has been removed from public ministry after a board determined that sexual misconduct allegations against him have substance, the Archdiocese of Detroit said today.

The allegations were forwarded to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s office, said Joe Kohn, spokesman for the Archdiocese.

Rev. Louis Granpre, 79, a senior retired priest with the Archdiocese of Detroit, is now prevented from serving as a priest or presenting himself as a priest, said Kohn.

“The Archdiocesan Review Board has deemed the allegation substantive,” said the Archdiocese of Detroit in a statement today.

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ARGENTINA
El Dia

[Summary: A group of women who said they were abused by a priest held a demonstration today in front of his home in Los Hornos. Ricardo Gimenez was convicted ofr abusing five children in 1996 but was granted extraordinary release by a court in La Plata.]

Un grupo de mujeres que fue víctima de abuso por parte de un sacerdote, realizó hoy un escrache frente a su casa, en Los Hornos.

El cura, Ricardo Giménez, había sido condenado por el abuso de cinco menores en 1996, pero luego la Cámara Penal de La Plata le concedió la excarcelación extraordinaria, bajo caución juratoria.

Desde entonces, el religioso estuvo en una capilla de Berisso, luego pasó a la del Hospital Italiano de La Plata y, más tarde, recaló en la del Hospital San Juan de Dios, donde se desempeña actualmente. Durante la protesta, de la que participaron diferentes organizaciones como Las Rojas, la Casa de la Mujer Azucena Villaflor, Pan y Rosas, y la Unión por los Derechos Humanos, se pidió que el sacerdote “no dé más misa”, que “se le revoque la excarcelación” y que “se haga justicia”.

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ARGENTINA
La Noticia1

[Summary: A group of women who said they were abused by priest Ricardo Gimenez held a demonstration today at the cleric’s home. He was convicted by a court in La Plata and was released on bail. He later went to a hospital where he is currently staying.]

Un grupo de mujeres, víctimas de abuso por parte del sacerdote Ricardo Giménez, realizaron hoy un escrache en el domicilio del clérigo.

Giménez fue condenado pero la Cámara Penal de Apelaciones de La Plata le concedió la excarcelación extraordinaria bajo caución juratoria. El curo estuvo en la Capilla de Berisso y luego pasó al Hospital Italiano de La Plata. Más tarde fue trasladado al Hospital San Juan de Dios, donde se desempeña actualmente.

Participaron organizaciones como Las Rojas, la Casa de la Mujer Azucena Villaflor, Pan y Rosas, y la Unión por los Derechos Humanos. Se pidió que el sacerdote “no dé más misa”, y que “se le revoque el beneficio de la excarcelación”.

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ARGENTINA
Telam

Mujeres víctimas de un cura abusador lo escracharon en su domicilio y pidieron justicia en La Plata

Un grupo de personas que fueron víctimas de abuso por parte de Ricardo Giménez realizaron un escrache en el domicilio del clérigo, en el barrio de Los Hornos, en las afueras de La Plata.

Giménez había sido condenado por el abuso de cinco menores en 1996, pero luego la Cámara Penal de Apelaciones de La Plata le concedió la excarcelación extraordinaria bajo caución juratoria.

“El era el único adulto responsable que estaba con nosotras y los demás chicos en el medio del campo. Nos miraba cuando nos bañábamos y nos enjabonaba”
Julieta Añazco, impulsora del escrache Desde entonces, el cura estuvo en una capilla de Berisso, luego pasó a la del Hospital Italiano de La Plata y, más tarde, recaló en la del Hospital San Juan de Dios, donde se desempeña actualmente.

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ARGENTINA
El Neuvo Herald

AFP BUENOS AIRES

BUENOS AIRES — Un grupo de mujeres protestó el martes en La Plata (62 km al sur) frente a la vivienda de un sacerdote acusado de abusos sexuales, dijeron los organizadores.

“La protesta se realizó frente a la casa del cura (católico) Ricardo Giménez (80 años), quien fue condenado a siete años de cárcel por abuso de cinco menores en 1996, pero fue excarcelado y sigue dando misas”, dijo una fuente de la organización “Las Rojas”, una de las convocantes.

La Justicia lo liberó bajo palabra de no volver a delinquir y la “Iglesia se hizo cargo de su conducta”, según la fuente que pidió reserva de identidad,

Las manifestantes exigieron que el religioso “deje de oficiar misas en una capilla de un hospital de La Plata” y que “se le revoque el beneficio de la excarcelación”, agregó.

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AUSTRALIA
Christian Today

Counsel assisting the Royal Commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse, Gail Furness, has laid out the timetable for public hearings this year and early next year with the Catholic Church’s Towards Healing likely to be examined in December.

The Commission started public hearings in Sydney on Monday (16 September) by looking into the “case study” of Steven Larkins, a former Scouts leader who was recently convicted of child abuse in the NSW Hunter Valley.

In her opening statement to the Commission Ms Furness listed the public hearings for this year and forecast for next year:

In 2013 the Commission will look at:
• The institutional responses to the conduct of Steven Larkins, once a Scout leader and formerly General Manager of Hunter Aboriginal Children’s Services (HACS) in New South Wales. Five institutions are the focus of this hearing: Scouts Australia, New South Wales, HACS, two State agencies who had responsibility for checking people who worked with children, together with the NSW Police Force.
• Jonathan Luke Lord, formerly a child care worker employed by the YMCA Sydney, who is now incarcerated following his conviction for child sexual abuse.
• Compensation and litigation of child sexual assault cases on NSW North Coast in the Anglican Diocese of Grafton
• The establishment, operation and review of Towards Healing, including how the process works in practice

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DETROIT (MI)
Detroit News

Mark Hicks

A retired area priest has been restricted from public ministry after an allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor dating back to the early years of his service in the Archdiocese of Detroit, officials said Tuesday.

Details of the allegation involving Rev. Louis Grandpre, 79, were not released Tuesday, but the archdiocese said its review board deemed the report “substantive” and authorities were notified.

Grandpre has been retired since 2003, the archdiocese said. Ordained in 1961, he was on the faculty at Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit; served at Detroit’s Epiphany Parish and Dearborn’s St. Alphonsus Parish in the 1960s; and was a longtime pastor at St. Ives Parish in Southfield as well as St. Paul of Tarsus Parish in Clinton Township, according to biographical information the archdiocese released.

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DETROIT (MI)
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sep 17, 2013

For more information contact:
Joe Kohn, Director of Public Relations
Kohn.Joseph@aod.org
313-237-5802

Father Louis Grandpre Fr. Louis Grandpre, 79, a senior (retired) priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit, has been restricted from all public ministry as the result of an allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor dating back to the early years of his service in the Detroit archdiocese.

Civil authorities have been notified. The Archdiocesan Review Board has deemed the allegation substantive.

Archdiocesan policies and procedures regarding these matters are available online at the Protecting Children page on www.aod.org. To inform the archdiocese of complaints involving sexual abuse of minors by clergy or church personnel and/or speak to the Victim Assistance Coordinator contact: 866-343-8055.

Biographical information
Education: Sacred Heart Seminary, Detroit
University of Detroit, Detroit
Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
St. John Provincial Seminary, Plymouth
Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.

1961 Ordained
1961 Associate Pastor, Epiphany Parish, Detroit
1965 Weekend Assistant, St. Alphonsus Parish, Dearborn
1965 Faculty, Sacred Heart Seminary, Detroit
1966 Weekend Assistant, St. Catherine of Alexandria Parish, Algonac
1971 Weekend Assistant, St. Ives Parish, Southfield
1974 Pastor, St. Ives Parish, Southfield
1990 Pastor, St. Paul of Tarsus Parish, Clinton Township
2003 Senior Priest Status
2013 Administrative Leave of Absence

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DETROIT (MI)
WXYZ

DETROIT (WXYZ) – The Archdiocese of Detroit has announced that a retired priest has been restricted from all public ministry following an allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor.

A news release about the allegations says the Archdiocesan Review Board has deemed that the allegation is substantive.

The Archdiocese says the allegation against 79-year-old Fr. Louis Grandpre concerns the early years of his service in the Detroit archdiocese.

The news release says civil authorities have been notified.

The Archdiocese says Fr. Louis was educated at the Detroit’s Sacred Heart Seminary, the University of Detroit, Georgetown University in Washington, DC, St. John’s Provincial Seminary in Plymouth and Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.

He was ordained in 1961. That was also the year he became the Associate Pastor and Epiphany Parish in Detroit.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune

By Manya Brachear Pashman
Tribune reporter
5:58 p.m. CDT, September 17, 2013

A Cook County judge acquitted a 79-year-old Roman Catholic priest of sexually abusing a traveler who stopped to worship at the chapel inside Midway Airport before boarding a flight to Kansas City.

According to the priest’s attorney Irv Miller, the Rev. Bede Jagoe arrived at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Monday in an ambulance and watched from a gurney as his accuser testified that the priest touched him inappropriately and tried to kiss him in an elevator back in December 2011.

Judge Nicholas Ford said surveillance video didn’t corroborate the accuser’s testimony, Miller said.

Since the alleged incident in December 2011, Jagoe suffered several strokes, said Bill Skowronski, a spokesman for the Chicago-based Dominican Friars Central Province, who added that the province was pleased the priest lived long enough to see his name cleared in court.

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MINNESOTA
Mankato Free Press

By Dan Nienaber
dnienaber@mankatofreepress.com

NEW ULM — Another child sexual abuse lawsuit has been filed against the Catholic Diocese of New Ulm, this time against a dead Willmar priest who faced accusations in the past of sexually assaulting young girls.

In addition to seeking money for damages, the lawsuit is asking a judge to require the diocese to release what is described as a “secret list that contains the names of those with credible accusations of sexual abuse in the Diocese of New Ulm.”

In a different matter, an attorney for a man who filed a lawsuit against the diocese in June, accusing another dead priest of sexually assaulting his client while he was a boy attending a church in Henderson, is highlighting documents he says prove the Roman Catholic Church knew that priest was a child molester before he was assigned to that church.

The new lawsuit was filed Monday in Brown County District Court by Lori Stoltz of Northfield and Kim Schmit of Willmar. Both are claiming they were sexually assaulted by David Roney while he was a priest at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Willmar during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Roney, who died in 2003, was a priest at the church from 1967 to 1980. He later served as a priest at the Church of St. Gregory the Great in Lafayette from 1980 to 1993.

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CANADA
Sun News

MEGAN GILLIS | QMI AGENCY

OTTAWA — A dead and defrocked Catholic priest accused of raping an altar boy decades ago preyed on him as a family member, not a man of the cloth, the archdiocese of Ottawa said Tuesday.

But the lawyer for the victim, “John,” says the brutal abuse happened in the context of their faith and is angry that the diocese revealed his client is a relative of Jean Gravel’s.

“They did it in a vindictive way to punish him for coming forward, I believe,” Robert Talach said.

“I’m really disappointed in the archdiocese.”

Monsignor Kevin Beach was reacting to reports about a lawsuit filed against the archdiocese over abuse the man says he suffered from age eight to 15 in the 1950s and 1960s.

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CINCINNATI (OH)
WCPO

[with video]

Rev. Robert Poandl: Mother testifies she sent son on trip where priest sexually abused him

Greg Noble
gregory.noble@wcpo.com

CINCINNATI – Crying on the witness stand, a mother said she pleaded with her 10-year-old son to go on an overnight trip with a priest who had given their struggling family $800.

The woman testified that her son at first refused to go with Rev. Robert Poandl, but she persisted.

“Father Bob has been so good to us,” she recalled telling her son during the priest’s sexual abuse trial in federal court Tuesday.

Poandl, of Fairfield-based Glenmary Home Missioners, is accused of sexually assaulting the boy on that trip to a West Virginia church in 1991.

The accuser’s fiancée also testified Tuesday and said the attack led to their temporary breakup. The alleged victim is scheduled to testify Wednesday.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
National Catholic Reporter

Brian Roewe | Sep. 17, 2013 NCR Today

Update: Arguments in the appeals process for Msgr. William Lynn have concluded.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the arguments in Pennsylvania Superior Court lasted 30 minutes, and as expected, Lynn’s defense lawyer Thomas A. Bergstrom challenged the priest’s conviction on the grounds of the 2007 revision to Pennsylvania’s child endangerment law.

Bergstrom argued that Lynn was a “supervisor of a supervisor” and that by the time the revision took effect, Lynn was already three years removed from his position as secretary of clergy for the Philadelphia archdiocese. Assistant District Attorney Hugh Burns countered that the endangerment law allows for broader interpretation that extends to areas of not just supervising a child, but “supervising the welfare of children,” according to the Inquirer.

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CANADA
Sylvia’s Site

Posted on September 17, 2013 by Sylvia

I’m just home from Pembroke – the Father Daniel Miller sentencing.

First, the judge has reserved his decision until 28 November at 9:30 am.

Second, there were 35 to 40 people in the courtroom. A good turnout.

Third, the victim impact statements were excellent – heartbreaking, but excellent.

Finally – just for now – I had actually tried to post a comment from my iPhone at lunch. I thought I had posted it but it didn’t make it through 🙁 Another learning curve begins!

There is lots to tell you. I need a few moments to get supper on and clear my mind. I find that these are invariably difficult and frustrating days. If I feel that way, how in the name of goodness do the victims feel?

Anyway, one more little note for now. Robert Carew (Father Miller’s lawyer) actually cross-examined the first few victims after they gave their victim impact statements. He honest to goodness did. It was cruel. It was terrible. Yet another re-victimization for those poor souls. I didn’t expect that. I don’t think they did either.

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IRELAND
Association of Catholic Priests

The treatment by the Vatican of the Irish Redemptorist priest Fr Tony Flannery is disgraceful, and the scant regard shown by Rome for due process procedures is more in keeping with the modus operandi of Stalinist regimes than a Church supposedly wedded to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

This is a Church that preaches justice and purports to defend the dignity of human beings and individual human rights. Yet when it comes to one of its own, all of these norms are violated. The point is well made by our former president, Mary McAleese, in a foreword to a book Fr Flannery has written about his case.

She quotes a passage from a homily by Pope Francis at a Mass in Rome in April in which he said the Church was not a bureaucratic organisation but a mother. “The imagery is beautiful and heartening,” writes Ms McAleese. “But I ask myself what mother treats a son as Tony Flannery has been treated?”

Equally distressing is the evasiveness of the Irish Catholic Bishops on the whole matter, hiding behind the very thin excuse that Fr Flannery’s predicament is not an issue for them as he is a member of a religious order and not a diocesan priest.

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CANADA
Sun News

SEAN CHASE | QMI AGENCY

PEMBROKE, Ont. – A local priest who pleaded guilty to fondling boys decades ago not only took away his victims’ innocence but their faith, court heard Tuesday.

The five men who Father Daniel Miller abused read victim impact statements. The boys, some from broken or impoverished homes, were between the ages of nine and 13 when their trust in the priest was violated.

“For the last 43 years I have kept a dark secret which I couldn’t have told anyone,” said one of the victims, whose identity is protected by a publication ban.

Miller earlier pleaded guilty to five counts of gross indecency and indecent assault against a male. Ordained in Renfrew in 1969, Miller served in parishes in Arnprior, Deep River, Eganville and Petawawa before 1999. The abuse involving the boys occurred between 1969 and 1980.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
GlobalPost

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – Attorneys for the highest-ranking U.S. Catholic church official convicted in a child sex abuse scandal asked an appeals court on Tuesday to overturn the ruling because the law he was prosecuted under was not in place at the time of his crimes.

An attorney for Monsignor William Lynn said the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office acknowledged in its brief to the court that Lynn’s conviction was “ex post facto,” Latin for after the fact.

“They have to use the new statute in order to have this court confirm his conviction,” attorney Thomas Bergstrom told a three-judge Pennsylvania Superior Court panel.

The child endangerment statute in effect when Lynn was secretary of clergy for the Philadelphia Archdiocese, from 1994 to 2004, applied to “a parent, guardian or other person supervising the welfare of a child under 18 years of age.”

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UNITED STATES
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on September 17, 2013

The latest news from New Mexico, California, Minnesota, Hawaii, Missouri and more …

New Mexico

It’s only a matter of hours before the Diocese of Gallup, NM files the official paperwork to declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Why only hours? The diocese is not reeling in debt, but Gallup Bishop James Wall and Fr. Alfred Tachias are scheduled to be deposed TOMORROW in the case of the Route 66 priest, Clement Hageman. The diocese’s own documents show that Hageman was a bad dude, and the last thing that Bishop Wall wants to do is sit in a videotaped deposition and talk about what church officials knew about abuse, hush money, and the transfer of predators across state lines (to small towns where poor Latino and Native American kids wouldn’t complain).

California

In California, victims are waiting for Governor Jerry Brown to sign SB 131, the California Child Victims’ Act. According to the Huffington Post, opponents have spent more than $250K to block the legislation. In a particularly insulting move, Rep. Diane Harkey said that the bill only “opened old wounds” and “feed[s] trial attorneys.”

As I told the Huffington Post:

The only way that old wounds are opened is when abuse is kept secret and wrongdoers are allowed to continue in abuse and cover-up. Victims are re-traumatized when lawmakers with no knowledge of the subject spout hurtful and incorrect rhetoric about the victims’ rights movement in an attempt to keep more victims silent and disenfranchised.

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CANADA
Straight

by ROBIN LAURENCE on SEP 17, 2013

Witnesses
At the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery until December 1

In Chris Bose’s video SavageHeathen, the voice of Stephen Harper sounds over altered historical footage of First Nations children in the “care” of white priests, nuns, doctors, nurses, and teachers. Images break up, overlap, and dissolve into brain-busting colours, while Harper delivers, in flat, businesslike tones, the federal government’s 2008 apology to the victims of the Indian Residential School program. Maybe it’s my personal bias (I’m not exactly a fan of our prime minister), but I had the impression that Harper would have brought more sincerity and depth of feeling to a reading of the 1954 Regina telephone directory. Still, the ghastly facts he alludes to—the abuses and deprivations, the deaths both physical and spiritual, the government’s stated intention to “kill the Indian in the child”—are undeniable. In Canada, for over a century, a campaign of cultural genocide was waged against the First Nations through their youngest and most vulnerable members.

Bose is one of 21 artists from across the country who are represented in Witnesses: Art and Canada’s Indian Residential Schools. Organized by the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, this is one of several shows intended to coincide with the Vancouver events of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (September 18 to 21). Most of the works on view are recent and contemporary, but a few were made in the 1970s and ’80s, when First Nations artists had begun to raise their voices politically through “nontraditional” means such as painting, printmaking, installation, video, performance, and photography. Some of the artists here experienced the residential-school system directly; others know of it through their own research or the stories painfully revealed by their elders.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

DAN BOX
From: The Australian
September 18, 2013

A SENIOR NSW government executive has said she deeply regrets the “inappropriate administrative error” in which a warning about the pedophile boss of an Aboriginal children’s service was sent confidentially to the man himself.

The Working With Children Check, which warned Steven Larkins posed a “medium risk”, was marked “private and confidential” and sent to Larkins himself as the general manager of the Hunter Aboriginal Children’s Service.

Evidence before the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse shows Larkins was later able to challenge this finding with false claims and fraudulent documents, and continue in a role where he had court-appointed parental responsibility for 19 Aboriginal children.

A report last year by the NSW Ombudsman, tendered to the commission, quotes the chief executive of the state’s Department of Community Services, Maree Walk, as saying her department “acknowledges this was an inappropriate administrative error”.

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AUSTRALIA
Telegraph

MIRANDA DEVINE THE DAILY TELEGRAPH SEPTEMBER 18, 2013

IN the lavish corporate environment of a brand new, no-expenses-spared federal bureaucracy on the 17th floor of one of the city’s most prestigious office buildings, the harsh reality of child abuse seems even more surreal.

This is the setting of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse which began its first days of hearings in Sydney this week.

The clear voice of the first witness rang out in the hushed hearing room like a whipcrack from another world, in which pedophile monsters prey on helpless children while cowardice, uncertainty, or something else prevents the adults in charge from stepping in.

Witness AA told of being sexually assaulted by pedophile Scoutmaster Steven Larkins at age 12 in 1992. He suffers depression, bipolar disorder, and sexual dysfuntion as a result. Witness AC became Larkins’ victim at 11, and became a hard, angry person who trusts nobody, “a shell of the person I was.”

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AUSTRALIA
Perth Now

JANET FIFE-YEOMANS THE DAILY TELEGRAPH SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

A PAEDOPHILE Scout leader escaped charges as long ago as 1998 because of a police mix-up, the royal commission into child sex abuse was told yesterday.

Steven Larkins was the leader of the Stockton Scout group when an 11-year scout went to Newcastle police in 1997 with his mother and said he had been indecently assaulted during a sleepover at Larkins’ house.

A solicitor with the state’s Director of Public Prosecutions told police to lay a charge of aggravated indecent assault against Larkins, 47.

But a note on the police’s COPS – Computerised Operational Police System – by the officer in charge of the investigation, Sergeant Nigel Turney, on July 7, 1998, stated that he had been told by a fellow officer, Senior Constable Panela Amloh, that the advice from the DPP was that “no prosecution will proceed.”

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AUSTRALIA
Maitland Mercury

A disgraced Scout leader was urged to quietly resign from the organisation and warned if he appealed the decision it could jeopardise his full-time job working with Aboriginal children.

Former regional commis­sioner of the Hunter Scouts, Allan Currie, told the second day of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Sydney the suggestion was made to Steve “Skip” Larkins that he should resign from the movement in 2003.

Larkins had been suspended three years previously after a ­former Scout, known as AA, came forward and said he had been sexually assaulted by Larkins in 1992.

Before that, Larkins had been removed from face-to-face ­contact with Scouts in 1997 after complaints were made about him giving lollies to children at a swimming pool.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Halifax Courier

A disgraced vicar has had five years added to his long prison sentence after he admitted having sex with two more vulnerable young boys.

Former Queensbury vicar Peter Hedge, 51, was locked up for 14 years in October 2009 after a jury found him guilty of raping and sexually abusing six youngsters, but Judge Peter Benson today (TUES) extended that sentence after the Oxford University graduate admitted similar offending against two other boys.

Prosecutor Sophie Drake said one of the two new complainants had been spoken to during the original police inquiry, but at the time he denied anything had happened because he wanted to get on with his life.

But in 2011 he contacted the police and revealed how Hedge had abused him.

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CALIFORNIA
Pope Crimes & Vatican Evils…

Paris Arrow

Updated September 15, 2013

Dear Governor Jerry Brown,

You are our final hope for the whole truth and true justice…and May the Almighty God help you and give you the courage to do the right thing.

Today is the feast of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Patroness of California and the Americas and She inspires us (again) to write you to please sign bill SB 131 for her sake because she is the true Lady of Justice as she prayed in her Magnificat. The Roman Catholic Church claims to be the sole interpreter of the Bible, and therefore, likewise, they should be fully included the new “Bible of Pedophiles” (priests) that can only become more complete with bill SB 131 in California. The historical unique chapter of California — including the Archdiocese of Los Angeles that history in 2003 has proven to have the most numbers of pedophile priests — must come forth again in bill SB 131.

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CALIFORNIA
Huffington Post

John Hrabe
Investigative Journalist

You’d think that a bill to give victims of childhood sexual abuse more time to file a lawsuit would be the sort of non-controversial legislation that politicians would rush to champion. Well, you’d be wrong.

A California bill to let a small group of sexual abuse victims bring forward lawsuits has faced intense opposition from the Catholic Church. Senate Bill 131 by State Senator Jim Beall, D-San Jose, passed the state Senate without a single vote to spare. It now awaits a decision by former Jesuit seminarian Gov. Jerry Brown.

Why would state lawmakers block an effort to aid sexual abuse victims? Money.

Organizations that harbored abusers are fearful that they will be held civilly liable for their role in covering up cases of childhood sexual abuse. Catholic dioceses in California have already paid out $1.2 billion in abuse settlements. Instead of facing a new round of lawsuits and more settlements, the church decided that it was better to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a lobbying campaign to block SB 131.

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SCOTLAND
STV

The man who will take over from disgraced Cardinal Keith O’Brien has dismissed claims his exile from Scotland is an “ongoing punishment”.

Monsignor Leo Cushley was named as the Cardinal’s replacement as the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh in July and will be ordained on Saturday.

Cardinal O’Brien stood down at the end of February amid allegations of “inappropriate behaviour”. He has since left Scotland for “spiritual renewal, prayer and penance” after discussion with the Vatican.

MSP Margo MacDonald, a friend of the Cardinal, told the Scotsman his exile was an unfair “ongoing punishment”.

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ITALY
Washington Post

By Eric J. Lyman| Religion News Service, Updated: Tuesday, September 17

ROME — An illicit relationship that began in the confessional between an elderly Italian priest and a Gypsy woman from Romania nearly 50 years his junior resulted in more than $460,000 in blackmail payments to keep the woman quiet, Italian newspapers reported Tuesday (Sept. 17).

The reports say the relationship started four years ago with shared personal revelations in the confessional before evolving into a sexual affair and then an extortion racket that cost the priest at least 350,000 euros ($462,000).

At one point, the priest is reported to have handed over his entire monthly stipend to the woman, as well as an inheritance he received years earlier.

The payments reportedly began with the aim of helping the family of the cash-strapped woman but were soon made in order to prevent her from revealing evidence of the affair.

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UNITED STATES/AFRICA
BishopAccountability.org

Summary of Case: A priest of the African Foreign Missions, or “White Fathers” ordained in 1971, Phelan’s ministry took him from Ghana in West Africa to the archdioceses of Chicago IL, Newark NJ and Los Angeles, CA. His whereabouts beyond 1992 are unknown. Phelan was accused of child sexual abuse in a lawsuit settled in May 2013.

Ordained: 1971

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DEUTSCHLAND
Sueddeutsche

Hamburg – Im Ermittlungsverfahren gegen den Limburger Bischof Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst wegen falscher eidesstattlicher Versicherung rechnet die Staatsanwaltschaft Hamburg nicht vor Ende September mit einem Ergebnis. Die Staatsanwälte hätten nun zwar eine vorläufige Einschätzung vorgenommen, derzeit habe die Verteidigung des Bischofs Akteneinsicht, um Stellung zu nehmen. Über den Inhalt gibt es derzeit keine Auskunft. Im Kern geht es um die Berichterstattung des Magazins Der Spiegel über einen Indienflug des Bischofs in der Ersten Klasse im vergangenen Jahr. In einer eidesstattlichen Versicherung vor dem Hamburger Landgericht bestritt der Bischof, gegenüber einem Spiegel-Redakteur den Erste-Klasse-Flug geleugnet zu haben.

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ROME
International Business Times

By Esther Tanquintic-Misa | September 17, 2013

Monsignor Nunzio Scarano, a suspended Vatican official who was arrested in June on money-laundering charges, told prosecutors that his office, the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA), has handled and provided financial services for outside clients.

Based on a transcript copy of questioning, Monsignor Scarano told Italian prosecutors that APSA had indeed “acted as a bank.”

“As APSA, we were not allowed to have outside clients, but, despite this, in reality, we acted as a bank,” he told the magistrates, according to a copy of the transcript of the questioning obtained by Reuters.

“We took in money, used it, and paid out interest to depositors,” he said.

APSA’s main mandate is to pay Vatican salaries, fund its departments and manage its real estate. It also acts as the Vatican’s purchasing office and human resources department. It also handles financial portfolio management and stock management for the Holy See.

Arrested in Rome on June 28, Monsignor Scarano was alleged to have been plotting to smuggle 20 million euros ($26 million) into Italy from Switzerland. An Italian secret service agent and a financial broker were likewise arrested relative to these allegations.

Monsignor Scarano’s lawyers had denied that their client laundered or plan to launder the money.

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AUSTRALIA
lewisblayse.net

The Royal Commission into child sexual abuse has been rather selective in which organisations it has chosen to investigate with regards to their association with paedophile, Steven Larkins, the subject of its first public hearings. It is considering only Scouts Australia, Hunter Aboriginal Children’s Service, NSW police and the NSW government Department of Community Services.

Yesterday, former Scouts official, Armand Hoitink, gave evidence indicating his concerns about Larkins. Oddly, he was not asked about a previous media article in which he is quoted as saying that he had discovered Larkins was working at Kendall Grange, a school for troubled boys run by the St John of God brothers, as a live-in house master. He said he had warned police, who told him they were ”keeping an eye” on Larkins.

The Catholic St. John of God order has been the subject of many cases of child sexual abuse at its institutions, both in Australia and in New Zealand (see previous posting). The Kendall Grange facility, located in the Hunter Region of NSW, has been the subject of several cases. Recently, former principal, Brother Bernard McGrath was extradited to Australia for offences at the school (see previous posting). Larkins was working at the school at the time he was forced to resign from the Scouts.

It was revealed last year that more than a dozen former students have alleged they were sexually abused by St John of God brothers at Kendall Grange School. Two of the brothers who worked at the school were convicted of serious abuse relating to work at homes run by the order in New Zealand in the 1960s. This is the springboard from which Larkins obtained his position with the Hunter Aboriginal Children’s Services organisation.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

Joseph A. Slobodzian, Inquirer Staff Writer LAST UPDATED: Tuesday, September 17, 2013

The legal theory underlying the prosecution of the first Catholic church official convicted in the clergy sex-abuse scandal came under attack Tuesday in an appeal hearing before Pennsylvania Superior Court.

Arguing before a three-judge panel in Philadelphia, the lawyer for Msgr. William J. Lynn told the court that Lynn’s 2012 conviction cannot be affirmed under the state’s original child endangerment statute or the amended version enacted in 2007.

The pre-2007 version requires direct, personal supervision of a child, said Lynn’s attorney, Thomas A. Bergstrom. But as the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s secretary of clergy – responsible for investigating complaints against priests and recommending discipline – Lynn was only a “supervisor of a supervisor,” Bergstrom said.

Bergstrom said the post-2007 law, which enabled prosecution of church officials for crimes committed by priests they supervise cannot be applied to Lynn because he left the secretary of clergy post three years earlier.

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

Article by: ROSE FRENCH , Star Tribune Updated: September 16, 2013

Archbishop John Nienstedt is expected to discuss church finances and a proposed $165 million capital campaign at a meeting with priests on Monday, and a group of Catholics calling for greater financial transparency from church leaders thinks they should be allowed in, too.

Members of the Catholic Coalition for Church Reform asked to attend the Priest Finance Day at Pax Christi church in Eden Prairie but were told by Nienstedt in a letter dated Aug. 21 that the meeting is “intended to be a professional gathering for those who have been duly ordained to the Catholic priesthood.”

Robert Beutel, a St. Paul attorney and co-chair of the board of the Catholic Coalition for Church Reform, said the group of lay Catholics argues that issues dealing with parish and archdiocesan finances should be open to Catholics in the pews, not just clergy.

“It’s our money,” Beutel said. “It’s like taxation without representation. … We want the lay people to be a part of all of this, the budgeting, decisionmaking, the oversight.”

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MINNESOTA
Catholic Culture

A lay group pressing for change in the Minneapolis-St. Paul archdiocese is voicing disappointment at being excluded from a meeting in which Archbishop John Nienstedt will discuss finances with members of the archdiocesan clergy.

The Catholic Coalition for Church Reform asked the archbishop for an invitation to attend the Priest Finance Day, but received a negative response. Archbishop Nienstedt explained that the meeting was open only to priests.

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PENNSYLVANIA
The Times Herald

By MARYCLAIRE DALE, The Associated Press
POSTED: 09/17/13

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Pennsylvania appeals court appears intrigued by arguments that a Roman Catholic church official was wrongly convicted for his handling of priest sex-abuse complaints.

Monsignor William Lynn is serving three to six years in prison after his felony child-endangerment conviction last year.

Philadelphia prosecutors say he reassigned dangerous priests to unsuspecting parishes as secretary for clergy from 1992 to 2004.

Defense lawyers argue that the child-endangerment law in place then only applied to parents and caregivers. A 2007 amendment included supervisors with indirect oversight of children.

Assistant Philadelphia District Attorney Hugh Burns says the 2007 change clarified the law’s intent but didn’t change it.

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PORTUGAL
SIC Noticias

O Tribunal Judicial do Fundão começa na quinta-feira a julgar o padre de 37 anos, ex-vice reitor do Seminário do Fundão, que está acusado de 19 crimes de abuso sexual de menores.

De acordo com a acusação, o padre terá abusado de seis crianças, cinco das quais alunos em regime de internato no Seminário do Fundão, local onde alegadamente os crimes foram cometidos.

A acusação refere que Luís Mendes terá agido sempre com menores que considerava “mais fracos emocional ou familiarmente e sobre quem tinha forte ascendente”.

Às vítimas, o padre diria que aquilo que fazia era “o que os pais faziam aos filhos”.

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PORTUGAL
As Beiras

O Tribunal Judicial do Fundão começa na quinta-feira a julgar o padre de 37 anos, ex-vice reitor do Seminário do Fundão, que está acusado de 19 crimes de abuso sexual de menores.

De acordo com a acusação, o padre terá abusado de seis crianças, cinco das quais alunos em regime de internato no Seminário do Fundão, local aonde alegadamente os crimes foram cometidos.
A acusação refere que Luís Mendes terá agido sempre com menores que considerava “mais fracos emocional ou familiarmente e sobre quem tinha forte ascendente”.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider

The Council of eight cardinals meets with the Pope between 1 and 3 October. All heads of Holy See dicasteries have presented proposals

ANDREA TORNIELLI
VATICAN CITY

The programme for the meeting of eight cardinals in charge of advising the Pope on the “government of the universal Church” and studying ” a project of revision of the Apostolic Constitution Pastor bonus on the Roman Curia” has been set. But before the three-day work session with Francis (1-3 October) begins, next week cardinals will hold a number of informal meetings to set straight as many details as possible and make the meetings in which the Pope will actually be present, more fruitful.

Readers will recall that last 13 April, exactly a month after his election to the papacy, Bergoglio appointed a group of eight cardinals from across all continents: Giuseppe Bertello (the group’s only Italian Curia member), Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa (the group’s only emeritus member), Oswald Gracias, Reinhard Marx, Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, Sean Patrick O’Malley, George Pell and Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga. Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga is also the group coordinator, while Marcello Semeraro, Bishop of Albano (Italy), will function as secretary.

Over the past few months, cardinals have been in touch with one another, bouncing ideas and suggestions off each other and above all, collecting material and requests from their respective Episcopates. But the Pope’s closest collaborators, the members of the Roman Curia were not excluded from this process either. All heads of dicasteries presented reform proposals or at least proposals to improve coordination between Curia offices and their activities. At last Tuesday’s inter-dicasterial meeting, convened by Francis, everyone present gave a summary of the proposals given. So the Curia itself is playing a key part in the global rethinking of its activities.

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CANADA
Sylvia’s Site

Posted on September 17, 2013 by Sylvia

There are three courtdates today, Tuesday, 17 Sept. ’13.:

(1) Father Daniel Miller

Sentencing with facts for Father Daniel Miller in Pembroke, Ontario:

17 September 2013: 10 am, courtroom #1, Sentencing with facts, Pembroke, Ontario courthouse (297 Pembroke Street East)

Those victims and/or family members who wish to give a victim impact statement will do so today.

I encourage those who can do so to attend to support the victims and their families. Heaven knows these people need to know that there are people in the community who care. Please, if you are free and can find your way to courthouse, be there, – for the victims.

As always, keep the victims in your prayers. Every court date is a difficult day, no less so because it is sentencing,

(2) Father John E Sullivan

Father John Sullivan has a court date tomorrow morning in North Bay:

17 September 2013: 09:30 am, courtroom #101, “to set a date,” North Bay, Ontario court house (360 Plouffe Street)

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AUSTRALIA
Tzedek

17 September 2013

Tzedek, Australia’s only dedicated organisation advocating for Jewish victims and survivors of child sexual abuse, is delighted with today’s development in relation to former Melbourne Yeshivah Centre employee David Cyprys.

Going into the trial, which commenced on 12 August 2013, Mr Cyprys faced 40 charges of child sexual abuse related offences. There were 12 complainants in this case. Mr Cyprys entered not guilty pleas in relation to the first complainant – he was found guilty unanimously for all five rape charges. He subsequently accepted a plea deal. Mr Cyprys will be sentenced for a total of 17 charges – some of these are representative charges (multiple incidents of similar conduct). The charges relate to nine out of the 12 victims (three complainants agreed for their charges to be withdrawn as part of the plea deal). Mr Cyprys will face a pre-sentence hearing on Friday 8 November.

Tzedek Founder & CEO Manny Waks stated:

“This is yet another important milestone in the context of the ongoing child sexual abuse scandal currently plaguing our community. It is a most welcome development – one that hopefully sends out a strong message that perpetrators of such crimes will be held to full account, irrespective of when the abuse occurred.

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AUSTRALIA
Canberra Times

September 18, 2013

Hamish Boland-Rudder
Reporter at The Canberra Times

Canberra and Goulburn’s incoming Catholic Archbishop wants a moratorium called to stop the passage of any new laws on same-sex marriage.

Christopher Prowse, currently Bishop of the Sale diocese in Victoria, will take up the role of Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn in late November, and said he thought debate around equal marriage legislation took a narrow view.

He had not seen the proposed ACT bill, due to be introduced into the ACT Legislative Assembly on Thursday, but said generally speaking laws should not be rushed through. …

On a separate issue, Bishop Prowse had high praise for the work of the royal commission into institutional abuse, which began public hearings in Sydney this week. He hailed the bravery of victims who spoke out against abuse, and said the Church would support the commission and any victims in every way possible.

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AUSTRALIA
Failed Messiah

David Cyprys was found guilty of raping one boy and pleaded guilty to sexually abusing 8 others.

The suppression order has finally been lifted.

David Cyprys, who hurt so many boys at Chabad’s Yeshivah Centre while Chabad leadership covered up for him, has been found guilty of raping one boy in a stand-alone trial and pleaded guilty to sexually abusing 8 others in another trial.

The highest level of Chabad in Australia, the late Rabbi Yitzchok Dovid Groner, protected Cyprys and threatened victims’ parents, and his successors have been no better.

Cyprys also has an earlier guilty verdict dating back two decades for sexually abusing a child – something Chabad knew when it protected Cyprys and allowed him to work around children unchaperoned.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

Shannon Deery
From: News Limited
September 17, 2013

A FORMER security guard of an exclusive orthodox Jewish college assaulted nine students there, it can now be revealed.

David Samuel Cyprys, 44, was employed as a karate instructor and security guard at prominent Yeshiva College when he abused some of the students.

Other students were abused while Cyprys was on a youth camp organised by the Yeshiva Centre.

The Herald Sun can today reveal Cyprys was continued working at the school despite being found guilty of indecent assault in 1991.

Cyprys was fined $1500 and placed on a good behaviour bond, without conviction, after appearing at the Prahran Magistrates Court in 1992.

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AUSTRALIA
The Age

September 17, 2013

Adam Cooper
Reporter for The Age

A member of Melbourne’s orthodox Jewish community has been found guilty of raping a 15-year-old boy, and pleaded guilty to molesting eight other boys, it can be revealed.

David Samuel Cyprys, 45, who was affiliated with the Yeshivah Centre in St Kilda East as a locksmith, karate instructor and leader of the centre’s youth group, was last month found guilty by a County Court jury of raping the boy five times between 1990 and 1991.

A suppression order over the trial prevented media reporting the jury’s verdict, until the order was lifted on Tuesday by Judge Peter Wischusen.

Cyprys was to plead not guilty in two more trials, but instead pleaded guilty to a further 12 charges on Tuesday, meaning the suppression order over his name and offending could be lifted.

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AUSTRALIA
9 News

A former member of Melbourne’s Jewish Yeshivah Centre has been convicted of raping a teenager and pleaded guilty to sexually abusing eight other boys.

David Samuel Cyprys, 45, was convicted of five counts of rape against the 15-year-old when he was associated with the Yeshivah Centre.

A Victorian County Court jury last month found Cyprys guilty of raping the boy, but a blanket suppression order prevented details from being reported until all the bans were lifted on Tuesday.

Cyprys was aged 22 and 23 when he raped the boy in 1990 and 1991.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC – PM

MARK COLVIN: As the royal commission began focussing on the scouts, today came further evidence of the extent of the problem that the inquiry confronts.

In Melbourne, the Jewish faith is reeling after the conviction of 44-year-old David Samuel Cyprys for an almost decade-long run of abuse of boys at the respected orthodox institution, Yeshivah College.

He’s the second paedophile to be convicted of abusing students at Yeshivah and in both instances evidence tendered in court suggested that those in charge were given ample warning, but chose to do nothing.

James Bennett reports.

JAMES BENNETT: David Samuel Cyprys’ abuse of young boys began when Cyprys himself was only 14 and involved nine victims who Cyprus variously raped, molested and coerced into performing sex acts with himself and each other in the late 80s and early 90s.

One of those boys is victim M.

VICTIM M: It’s all still so fresh and raw. It’s a feel of relief, I feel vindicated for the public campaign. I do feel that this is going to assist many victims in the Jewish community who will now see that you can get justice. Even though this may have happened decades ago, it’s never too late.

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AUSTRALIA
The Age

September 17, 2013

Richard Baker
Investigative reporter

A Melbourne man found guilty of raping a 15-year-old boy was employed by St Kilda East’s orthodox Jewish Yeshivah Centre as a security guard with a gun licence, despite community leaders being aware of complaints about his sexually abusive behaviour.

A suppression order over the trial of David Samuel Cyprys, 45, has been lifted, enabling the public to be informed that a County Court jury last month found him guilty of raping the boy five times from 1990 to 1991. He has also pleaded guilty to molesting eight other boys.

The lifting of the suppression order has put the focus on senior figures associated with St Kilda East’s Yeshivah Centre and College, in particular their failure to act on repeated complaints about Cyprys dating back more than 20 years.

Documents from Victoria Police’s private security operator licensing and registration area show Cyprys listed his employer as the Yeshivah Centre on his licence forms, which entitled him to carry a firearm and run a security business. One of his licences expires next year and another expired in 2011.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 17 September 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father:

Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the archdiocese of Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, presented by Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, upon having reached the age limit.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Abendzeitung

[Summary: The Germany bishops have changed rules for return of sexual offender priests to pastoral service. Priests will be excluded from service if there is a danger to minors or adults. They also are excluded if they pose a ‘nuisance.” Abuse of adults, which was recently added to the rules, would include adults who live in institutions for the disabled, mental illness, sick and elderly.]

Bonn – Die katholische Kirche in Deutschland hat die Regeln für die Rückkehr straffällig gewordener Priester in den seelsorgerischen Dienst verschärft.

Demnach wird eine Rückkehr künftig völlig ausgeschlossen, wenn dieser Dienst eine Gefahr für

Ob ein Ärgernis vorliegt, muss im Einzelfall geprüft werden. Das geht aus den überarbeiteten Leitlinien zum Umgang mit sexuellem Missbrauch hervor, die die Deutsche Bischofskonferenz am Montag in Bonn vorgelegt hat.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic League

Bill Donohue comments on the way the media are trying to push for reforms in the Catholic Church:

The internal affairs of any religion should be the business of its congregants, yet when it comes to the Catholic Church, the media offer a dispensation. Recent comments by the Vatican’s secretary of state, Archbishop Pietro Parolin, who simply restated the Church teaching on celibacy, have ignited the passions of the media.

Last week, NBC “Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams, and ABC “World News Tonight” anchor Diane Sawyer, both questioned whether the Church is going to drop its celibacy requirement for priests. NBC followed with a story by Tracy Connor that teased the issue further: “Meet Father Dad: How Married Priests Would Change the Catholic Church.” The conclusion: “More students in the seminaries, more people in the pews, and the pitter-patter of little feet padding through the rectory.” They forgot to explain why, if this were likely, the Protestant mainline denominations are sinking.

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ILLINOIS
Riverfront Times

[Donovan recommendation]

[with audio]

By Sam Levin Fri., Sep. 13 2013

The “bondage priest” is back.

Father Thomas Donovan was the man behind the 911 call heard round the world in which he told a dispatcher that he was in the rectory and needed help getting out of handcuffs. Why was he stuck? He said he was “playing with them” and needed to be rescued before it became an emergency. When cops arrived on that November day, they allegedly found him — alone — in some sort of leather bondage mask and an orange jumpsuit.

He was soon after granted a leave of absence and now, many months later, church officials say he is returning to the ministry — headed in our direction to Alton. The Diocese of Springfield says it will be a “gradual” process.

First, let’s listen to that call again, via the Illinois Times, which sparked the viral coverage:

Some notable excerpts of the gagged priest’s labored remarks:

“I am stuck in a pair of handcuffs and am going to need help getting out before this becomes a medical emergency,” he says.

Dispatcher: “What’s the problem?”

“I am stuck in a pair of handcuffs,” he repeats. “I was playing with them so I need some help getting out.”

He goes on to explain that he is in the St. Aloysius rectory and that he is the only one there. The priest was soon thereafter discovered in an orange jumpsuit apparently with “a leather bondage-type mask with a bar in his mouth.”

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LITTLE ROCK (AR)
Arkansas Matters

LITTLE ROCK, AR — A former coach at Mt. St. Mary’s in Little Rock is headed back to jail.

Kelly O’Rourke, 42, was sentenced in January to 120 days in jail as part of a suspended 15-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a student. She was also ordered not to contact the victim.

On July 29, the prosecuting attorney filed a revocation on O’Rourke’s suspended sentence after she reportedly violated the no-contact order.

O’Rourke is currently in the Pulaski County Detention Center on no bond.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

Ballarat survivors of clergy sex abuse have welcomed the start of the royal commission public hearings in Sydney this week.

The public hearings began yesterday, with private hearings held in Melbourne last month.

It is not yet known when the commission will travel to Ballarat for public hearings.

Abuse survivor Andrew Collins has been campaigning for greater financial and medical support for victims while the commission hearings are ongoing.

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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
National Catholic Reporter

Joshua J. McElwee | Sep. 16, 2013

The Vatican intends to collaborate with authorities in the Dominican Republic in any investigation into alleged sexual abuse by its recalled ambassador to the country, the Vatican’s spokesperson said.
Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski served as the Holy See’s apostolic nuncio to the Dominican Republic from 2008 until Aug. 21, when he was removed from the post and recalled to the Vatican.

Wesolowski’s being recalled and relieved of his duties does not preclude the prelate from “taking responsibility for what is eventually determined to have happened,” Vatican spokesman Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi told NCR in a statement Friday.

Initially, no reason was given for Wesolowski’s recall, but a television news program aired in the Dominican Republic days later alleged he had paid for sex with minors. A Dominican bishop later confirmed the nuncio’s removal was related to an investigation into the sexual abuse of minors by clergy in the island nation.

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AUSTRALIA
The Guardian (United Kingdom)

Helen Davidson in Sydney
theguardian.com, Monday 16 September 2013

Outside the building on the first day of the public hearing of the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse, representatives from the Care Leavers Australia Network (Clan), an advocacy and support group for people who grew up in Australian institutions and suffered abuse, gathered in the wind and rain to make their presence felt.

Inside, the commission would hear from two men who were assaulted as children by their former scout leader, the since-convicted paedophile Steven Larkins. It also heard from former scout leaders and employees who faced the hearing to answer questions as to how a man who was the subject of police investigations and numerous allegations of suspicious behaviour was allowed to remain working with children for years.

In his opening address, Justice Peter McClellan said: “I did not adequately appreciate the devastation and long-lasting effect which sexual abuse, however inflicted, can have on an individual’s life.

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AUSTRALIA
The Guardian (United Kingdom)

Helen Davidson in Sydney
theguardian.com, Tuesday 17 September 2013

The former chief executive of Scouts NSW, Peter Olah, did not have confidence in the Department of Community Services (Docs) to follow up on complaints of child sexual abuse within his organisation, describing the process of reporting to them as “a dead end”, the royal commission into child sexual abuse has heard.

The commission heard from current and former scouts employees about how Steven Larkins – now in jail over charges relating to child abuse and child pornography – remained in close contact with children for years despite being the subject of a police investigation, apprehended violence orders and multiple rumours and allegations of suspicious behaviour while he was a scout leader.

Further allegations and details of “sizeable” insurance payouts to victims will come to light concerning abuse within Scouts Australia, the hearing was told.

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AUSTRALIA
The Guardian (United Kingdom)

Helen Davidson in Sydney
theguardian.com, Tuesday 17 September 2013

Testimony given by Newcastle police at the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse on Tuesday revealed an excessively long and disorganised investigation which failed to lead to the prosecution of paedophile Steven Larkins, despite it being recommended by the director of public prosecutions (DPP).

Police officers Nigel Turney and Pamela Amloh gave evidence on their 1998 inquiries into the allegations of abuse of “witness AC” by Larkins before the commission on Tuesday afternoon. Senior constable Turney told the hearing that the investigation was transferred from the sex crime squad to Newcastle police and aspects of the investigation assigned to him. It was Turney’s first child sexual assault case, and one of the first times he had used his training from two years earlier.

The hearing also heard that despite the case coming with a recommended follow-up timeframe of 28 days, there were extensive delays and the victim himself was not interviewed for almost six months.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC – PM

MARK COLVIN: On its second day of hearings, the child abuse royal commission has heard some stunning admissions from New South Wales Police and Scouts Australia.

The former chief executive of New South Wales Scouts said the organisation had failed other children besides those abused by the convicted paedophile Steven Larkins.

Another scout official said there were concerns about how the allegations about Larkins would damage the reputation of scouts.

Today’s hearing also offered some insights into the attitudes of police investigating child sexual abuse matters in the 1990s.

Emily Bourke reports.

EMILY BOURKE: More than a decade before Steven Larkins was convicted and jailed for child sex offences, his conduct with children had made it into the scouts’ internal records, known as the behavioural files.

In 1997, Larkins had been seen approaching children at a local swimming pool, prompting scout official Allan Currie to caution Larkins in writing.

He explained his approach to the royal commission.

ALLAN CURRIE: At the time, I don’t know why because I was only fairly new at the job and had no training whatsoever in this sort of area, but yes, I would have been trying to preserve the good name of the scouts, but would have taken necessary action if required.

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KENTUCKY
WAVE

By Charles Gazaway

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) – The case of a former priest accused of abusing two boys in Louisville in the 1970s was back in front of a judge Monday.

The trial for James Schook was supposed to begin in June, but attorneys on both sides agreed he should be evaluated by a state psychiatric facility.

During Monday’s court appearance, attorneys in the case told the judge the evaluation was completed and that they each received the doctor’s report.

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PHILADELPHIA
Daily Times

By MARYCLAIRE DALE, Associated Press
POSTED: 09/17/13

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Pennsylvania appeals court is being asked to throw out a Roman Catholic church official’s landmark conviction for his handling of priest-abuse complaints.

Monsignor William Lynn is serving three to six years in prison after his felony child-endangerment conviction last year.

Defense lawyers have long argued that Lynn was charged under a 2007 law, although he left his post at the Philadelphia archdiocese in 2004. They will make the argument anew Tuesday in Superior Court in Philadelphia.

Lynn served as secretary of clergy for 12 years. Prosecutors say he transferred accused pedophile-priests to unsuspecting parishes, thereby endangering more children.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

DERMOT KEOGH – 14 SEPTEMBER 2013

Written by the well known Redemptorist priest Tony Flannery, this book ought to be his reflections on more than 40 years’ service to the Gospel and to the Catholic community in Ireland.

During that time, Fr Flannery preached tirelessly at parish and school retreats around the country, holding novenas in towns and cities that frequently attracted large congregations to usually empty churches. In the process he became one of the best known and most valued spiritual leaders in the country among ordinary Catholics.

That’s what this book should have been about – his service to the Catholic community in Ireland and what that has taught him.

Instead, this slim volume, with a foreword by former President Mary McAleese, chronicles Fr Flannery’s painful journey since February 2012 when he was ‘silenced’ by the Vatican. Being ‘silenced’ means he was forbidden from saying Mass, hearing confessions, conducting retreats, leading novenas or otherwise practising his ministry as a priest.

So one of the best-known and most-valued priests in Ireland, a man regarded with respect and affection by so many Catholics here, has been stopped in his tracks – his life’s mission brought to an abrupt halt.

Why? Because of his work as a founder member of the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP). And also because of some passages in articles he had written for the Redemptorist magazine Reality.

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VENEZUELA
La Prensa

CARACAS/AFP

Un sacerdote fue acusado de intento de abuso sexual y violencia física contra cinco mujeres, dos de ellas adolescentes, en el estado venezolano de Táchira (suroeste), informó este lunes el Ministerio Público.

La fiscalía acusó formalmente al sacerdote Isaías Albarrán, de 35 años y detenido el 30 de julio pasado, de los delitos de “violencia sexual en grado de tentativa, amenaza agravada y violencia física agravada”, indicó el organismo en un comunicado.

Contra el sacerdote pesan “diversas denuncias acerca de su presunta vinculación con el abuso sexual a tres mujeres y dos adolescentes”, según el Ministerio Público.

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VENEZUELA
Ultimas Noticias

ÚN.- El Ministerio Público acusó al sacerdote de la capilla Juan Pablo II de San Cristóbal, Isaías Albarrán Villasmil (35), quien fue aprehendido el pasado 30 de julio, por su presunta responsabilidad en el abuso sexual de tres mujeres y dos adolescentes en el estado Táchira.

El fiscal 6º de esa jurisdicción, Juan Sánchez, acusó al presbítero por la presunta comisión de los delitos de violencia sexual en grado de tentativa, amenaza gravada y violencia física agravada, según nota de prensa emitida por organismo.

Tales delitos están previstos y sancionados en la Ley sobre el Derecho de las Mujeres a una Vida Libre de Violencia.

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CINCINNATI (OH)
WCPO

Rev. Robert Poandl: Advocates show support for alleged victim in child sexual-abuse trial

Greg Noble
gregory.noble@wcpo.com

CINCINNATI – Judy Jones says she knows how hard it is for people who are sexually abused by priests to come forward.

“I grew up in southeast Ohio and my brother was sexually abused. My parents wouldn’t even believe their own son,” said Jones, Midwest Director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP). “That’s why I’m here.”

Jones and other victims advocates sat in federal court Monday to show support for the man who was 10 years old when he was allegedly molested by Rev. Robert Poandl 22 years ago.

A jury was seated and opening arguments were completed on the first day of Poandl’s trial. Testimony starts at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
Waiting for Godot to Leave

Kevin O’Brien

Fr. Shawn Ratigan has been sentenced to 50 years in Federal prison without the possibility of parole for molesting and taking explicit photographs of girls as young as age 2.

You can read about it here – but the Kansas City Star goes into some detail about the nature of the crimes, and it’s not easy to stomach.

At the time the story broke, when it was revealed that Ratigan’s bishop, Robert Finn, mishandled the case and showed a flagrant disregard for the victims and their families, Bill Donohue of the Catholic Defense League downplayed Ratigan’s crimes and asserted that no child pornography was involved. The priest was just a shutter bug who liked to take photos of young girls and their crotches, or so Donohue implied.

In the perfect world, Bill Donohue would read the Star’s description of the photos Ratigan took and the physical contact he had with his helpless victims and would issue a heart-felt apology for the shameful way he spun the story with lies and half-truths, not to “defend” the Catholic Church, but merely as a knee-jerk way of running interference for Bishop Finn and his criminal priest. In fact, Donohue didn’t have to wait for the sentencing – much of what Ratigan did was described in detail in a report paid for by the diocese of Kansas City, a report Donohue ignored in order to spin his web of unrighteous indignation.

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CANADA
Metro

By Emily Jackson
Metro

It’s a chance to hear the truth about the injustices of Indian Residential Schools, to celebrate the resilience of Canada’s Aboriginal peoples and to work towards healing and reconciliation.

The B.C. government has proclaimed this week Reconciliation Week to honour the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s sixth national event in Vancouver from Sept. 18 to 22.

The event, mandated as a result of the 2007 Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, aims to raise awareness about Canada’s government-funded, church-run residential schools, the last of which closed in 1996.

More than 150,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit children were plucked from their families and placed in schools with mandates to kill their culture. Many suffered physical and sexual abuse; others died.

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CANADA
The Daily News

A group of compassionate Kamloops women is hoping to lend comfort during emotional testimony at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Vancouver this week.

The St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church group members have been knitting prayer shawls that will be brought to Vancouver and handed out to victims and families impacted by the residential school system.

Wendy Adams, Armstrong’s Presbyterian Church minister, is picking up the 19 shawls and affixing each with a message before delivering them.

The women prayed for the receivers while knitting the shawls.

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AUSTRALIA
7 News

BY COURT REPORTER JAMELLE WELLS, REBECCA ARMITAGE AND STAFF – ABC
September 17, 2013

The second day of public hearings is focusing on how Scouts Australia and four other organisations responded to allegations against former scout leader Steven Larkins.

He is currently serving a jail sentence for offences that include possessing child pornography, after evading prosecution for a number of years.

Former Scouts Australia CEO Peter Olah told the commission that during his three years in the job, he dealt with 10 allegations of child sexual abuse.

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MINNESOTA
KARE

[with video]

[documents via Jeff Anderson & Associates]

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Two women are suing the Archdiocese of New Ulm after alleging abuse by a priest when they were children.

Lori Stoltz and Kim Schmit say they were abused by a priest at Saint Mary’s Church in Willmar in the 1970s.

The priest has since passed away, but the women are suing the diocese under the state’s new child victims act.

“It took years of depression and just shame and everything else trying to figure out what was going on,” said Stoltz at a news conference in St. Paul on Monday.

“The diocese should not be shuffling these priests and hiding what they’re doing to children just to save face of the church,” Schmit added.

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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Dominican Today

Bani, Dominican Republic.- Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez, on Sunday said that in the Church “we’re all, more than anything, praying,” in reference to recent pedophilia cases in which even the ousted ambassador from the Vatican, Jozef Wesolowski, and other priests have been accused.

Visibly moved, the also Archbishop of Santo Domingo said the Church is is currently going through a very sad situation, and that “more than anything, we are praying.”

“This has really mortified us a lot, so we hope things calm down,” he said, but noted that those who’ve been accused, “should stand trial.”

Lopez Rodriguez spoke after officiating a mass in the parish of Nizao township, Peravia Province (south).

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IDAHO
KTVB

[with video]

by Bonnie Shelton
KTVB.COM

Posted on September 16, 2013

BOISE — Four more men have joined an Idaho lawsuit filed in federal court against the Boy Scouts of America and the LDS Church.

All eight involved in the suit say they were sexually abused by scoutmasters and that leaders in both the church and the scouts failed to protect them.

John Elliott is the only person who has chosen to be named in the lawsuit.

He says telling his story isn’t easy, but he hopes it will help other victims have the courage to speak up about abuse.

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AUSTRALIA
Aljazeera

An unprecedented Australian inquiry into church and institutional child abuse began Monday, with warnings that widespread and shocking allegations would be heard against places of worship, orphanages, community groups and schools.

Justice Peter McClellan, the chairman of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, launched public hearings on Monday, as the panel said more than 4,000 victims had come forward.

“It is now well known that the sexual abuse of children has been widespread in the Australian community, however the full range of institutions in which it has occurred is not generally understood,” McClellan said in his opening address.

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IOWA
Estherville Daily News

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Trial has been set for a former Des Moines youth pastor accused of sexually abusing two teenage girls.

Online court records indicate 27-year-old Ryan McKelvey’s trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 18.

McKelvey is a former youth pastor at Heritage Assembly Church in Des Moines. Officers began investigating him after a girl and her parents reported in early August an alleged sexual assault by McKelvey.

The investigation led to a possible second victim, who also told police about other incidents. McKelvey was fired from his job before he was arrested.

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IOWA
WHO

A former Des Moines youth pastor pleaded not guilty to sex abuse charges Monday morning.

Twenty-seven-year-old Ryan McKelvey has been charged with two counts of third degree sex abuse and two counts of sexual exploitation by a counselor.

Police say McKelvey had inappropriate sexual relations with two teenage girls during his time as a youth pastor at Heritage Assembly of God Church in Des Moines.

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