PENNSYLVANIA
Daily Times

By PATTI MENGERS
pmengers@delcotimes.com

In the more than 15 years that Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua was archbishop of Philadelphia, he was charged with the causes of saints and sinners, financially troubled schools and connecting with close to 1.5 million Roman Catholics.

More than 200,000 Delaware County Catholics were among the faithful overseen by the retired cardinal who died at age 88 Tuesday night at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary after a battle with cancer.

“A true leader has to lead and, at the end of the day, make decisions that do affect people’s lives. I’m sure he made decisions after much prayer and study,” said the Rev. Monsignor Joseph McLoone, who was ordained by Bevilacqua in May 1988.

The monsignor is pastor of St. Katharine Drexel Church in Chester, a parish that was established as a result of Bevilacqua’s controversial decision to merge six parishes into one because of the declining number of Roman Catholics in the small city. In 1993, St. Michael, St. Anthony of Padua, Resurrection of Our Lord, Immaculate Heart of Mary and St. Hedwig parishes merged at the site of St. Robert Church to form Blessed Katharine Drexel parish and grade school.

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LOVELAND (CO)
Coloradoan

Written by
Robert Allen

A Loveland church volunteer accused of sexually assaulting a child has a previous criminal record including child abuse and domestic violence.

Robert Kirchhoff, 54, was advised by videoconference from Larimer County Jail today regarding offenses alleged to have occurred Jan. 27.

Kirchhoff, who until recently was a volunteer with preteens at Resurrection Fellowship church, remains in custody on a $100,000 bond.

He worked with the kids in a group setting, and the volunteer work never involved trips with children away from the church property, said Deborah Kline, administrative assistant to Senior Pastor Jonathan Wiggins.

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COLORADO
TheDenverChannel

Alan Gathright, 7NEWS Content Producer

LOVELAND, Colo. — A volunteer for a Loveland church children’s group who was arrested Tuesday on a child sex assault charge had previously pleaded guilty to a child abuse case, according to court records obtained by 7NEWS.

Robert Kirchhoff, 54, of Loveland was arrested on felony charges of aggravated sexual assault on a child and sexual assault on a child under age 15 by a person in a position of trust, according to court records.

Kirchhoff was held in Larimer County Jail on $100,000 bond.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Daily News

COMPARED with generations of Catholic prelates – to whom the faithful literally bowed in order to kiss their rings – the personal style of Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua was a break from the past.

Bevilacqua, who died Tuesday at age 88, was gregarious and photogenic, personally charming, approachable and funny- for a cardinal, that is. In his 15 years leading the Archdiocese of Philadelphia (1988-2003), he spent a day at each of its 302 parishes, posing for photos with congregants, sometimes tossing his skullcap through the air like a Frisbee. A champion of interfaith dialogue, he was a frequent guest speaker at local synagogues.

What wasn’t a break from the past, though, was Bevilacqua’s continuation of a longstanding policy of refusing to answer questions or countenance any criticism on pretty much any subject, from school closings and finances to the sexual abuse of children by diocesan priests.

In particular, the Archdiocese exerted pressure on news organizations to block coverage deemed negative. “Church leaders believe they are always working for good and find it difficult that anyone would believe otherwise,” an Archdiocesan spokeswoman told the American Journalism Review in 1998. “I think they become uncomfortable, perhaps sometimes even defensive, when their decisions are questioned.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The New York Times

By DOUGLAS MARTIN

Published: February 1, 2012

Anthony J. Bevilacqua, a former cardinal and archbishop of Philadelphia whose passion for Roman Catholic causes like helping the poor and fighting abortion was eclipsed in retirement by accusations that he had covered up sexual abuse by priests, died on Tuesday at a seminary in Wynnewood, Pa. He was 88.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced the death. Cardinal Bevilacqua had dementia and an undisclosed kind of cancer.

Cardinal Bevilacqua was archbishop from 1988 until his retirement in 2003. Pope John Paul II elevated him to cardinal in 1991.

In Philadelphia, as in previous leadership positions in Pittsburgh and Brooklyn, he pushed the church to help immigrants, presided over cutbacks in Catholic parishes and schools, spoke out against homosexuality and abortion, and built up a lay ministry to compensate for the declining corps of priests.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Daily News

Ronnie Polaneczky, Daily News Columnist
Philadelphia Daily News

NINE YEARS AGO, my husband took a photo of our daughter, when she was in kindergarten, with Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua.

She’d just returned from an excursion to the Philadelphia Zoo, where she’d gotten her face painted like a koala bear’s. Afterward, she and my husband hit the St. Pat’s Day Parade, where Bevilacqua was working the crowds on that unseasonably warm day.

The cardinal graciously posed with my daughter for a picture, and it’s a winner (that’s it, to the right). She’s leaning into him, and his arm is curled around her waist. His other arm rests atop her hand. Their smiles are wonderful – his is warm and kind; hers impy.

We gave a framed copy of the photo to my parents, who loved Bevilacqua. We placed another on our piano, with other family photos.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Coventry Telegraph

by Duncan Gibbons, Coventry Telegraph
Feb 2 2012

A FORMER Coventry priest yesterday told a jury he has never sexually assaulted young boys.

Alexander Bede Walsh, 58, is accused of abusing eight boys in Coventry, Warwickshire and Staffordshire between 1975 and 1994.

Walsh, of Church Lane, Abbots Bromley, Staffordshire, denies 23 counts of indecent assault, two of sexual assault and two of gross indecency.

He trained at the Father Hudson orphanage, in Coleshill, in the mid-1970s, and was priest at All Souls Church, in Chapelfields, between 1982 and 1985.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Boston Globe

[Bevilacqua Documents via BishopAccountability.org]

By Maryclaire Dale
Associated Press / February 1, 2012

PHILADELPHIA—Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua’s death may not greatly alter the March trial of an aide charged with child endangerment for allegedly keeping predator-priests around children.

Bevilacqua’s testimony was preserved on videotape late last year, since he was 88 and ailing. And though a judge found him competent to testify, his dementia would have been evident on the witness stand, lawyers said.

Still, his 10 combative appearances before a Philadelphia grand jury in 2003 and 2004 exposed church secrets about 63 accused priests that ultimately rocked the Roman Catholic hierarchy — and the cardinal himself, who grew reclusive in retirement.

Philadelphia priests raped boys in church sacristies, stripped them nude and whipped them as part of a Passion Play, got them drunk and showed them pornography — and remained on the job, the 2005 grand jury report said.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

A priest who is charged with a number of child sex abuse offences will face court next month.

Fr Eugene Boland (65) faces four charges of indecently assaulting a female child.

A preliminary hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to put him on trial is to take place at Magherafelt Magistrates Court.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

Long before his death Tuesday night, even an ailing Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua must have foreseen that one harsh epitaph for him already had been carved in stone.

The words were composed in 2005 by a Philadelphia grand jury investigating the sex-abuse scandal that exposed five dozen alleged predator priests – many of them active during Bevilacqua’s 15-year stewardship of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Archdiocesan officials, including Bevilacqua and his predecessor, Cardinal John Krol, stood by and then covered up hundreds of child-sexual assaults by priests, the jury alleged.

While lamenting that statutes had lapsed for the crimes, the panel said church officials’ actions in remaining silent while accused priests were shuttled around to unsuspecting parishes was “as immoral as the abuse itself” and that there was no doubt the cardinals “were personally informed of almost all of the allegations . . . and personally decided or approved” a cover-up.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

CARRIE ANTLFINGER, Associated Press

Updated 12:18 a.m., Thursday, February 2, 2012

MILWAUKEE (AP) — About 550 people are asking for restitution for alleged sexual abuse by clergy in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee — more than in any of the other U.S. dioceses that have filed for bankruptcy protection, according a lawyer involved in the Milwaukee case.

The Milwaukee Archdiocese filed for bankruptcy protection last year, saying pending sex-abuse lawsuits could leave it with debts it couldn’t afford.

The archdiocese has paid more than $30 million in settlements and other court costs related to alleged clergy abuse. More than a dozen sex abuse suits against it have been halted because of the bankruptcy proceedings. They include allegations against a priest accused of abusing some 200 boys at a suburban school for deaf students from 1950 to 1974.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Blottr

The Catholic Church has come under fire yet again after another priest was accused of sexually abusing children.

Alexander Bede Walsh has denied the allegations put against him that from the years 1975 to 1994 Walsh committed 27 acts of sexual misconduct.

Walsh told the court that while he was working as a priest in the West Midlands, he did enjoy working with older children, but not for the sinister reasons that many have put against him. Instead, he said that he preferred working with teenagers “because of their honesty”.

Walsh had been previously convicted of having downloaded indecent images of children which forced him to give up his position as a priest. He still lives, however, in ecclesiastical accommodation. The prosecutor used this information to his advantage, describing the defendant as a “predatory paedophile” who used his position in the church to make sexual advances on children.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Sentinel

CATHOLIC priest Alexander Bede Walsh claims accusations of sexual abuse have been made up against him so the alleged victims can claim compensation.

He took to the stand at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court yesterday to deny sexually abusing eight boys across the Midlands during a 20-year period.

The 58-year-old is on trial charged with 27 offences including indecency and indecent assault.

Yesterday, he told a jury that he can’t remember two of the alleged victims and believes all eight, who cannot be named for legal reasons, have made it up in order to claim compensation.

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CANADA
The Sun Times

By Scott Dunn

A retired Anglican priest who once served in the Kincardine area is facing sex-related charges from the 1980s, allegedly solely involving male victims, including a boy.

George Ferris, 64, of Cambridge retired as priest at St. James Anglican Church in Paris, Ont.

He faces two sets of charges, all related to events alleged to have taken place in Brant County, OPP Const. Larry Plummer said in an interview Wednesday.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

By MARYCLAIRE DALE
The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA — Church leaders called on parishioners Wednesday to pray for the soul of retired Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who led them for more than 15 years but was also an uncharged central figure in a child sex-abuse case that involves the alleged shuffling of predator priests.

Bevilacqua, who was 88, died in his sleep at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood after battling dementia and an undisclosed form of cancer, according to archdiocese spokeswoman Donna Farrell. He had been the spiritual leader of the 1.5 million-member Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1988 until his retirement in 2003.

Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput encouraged all Catholics to “join me in praying for the repose of his soul.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

[with poll]

Long before his death Tuesday night, even an ailing Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua must have foreseen that one harsh epitaph for him already had been carved in stone.

The words were composed in 2005 by a Philadelphia grand jury investigating the sex-abuse scandal that exposed five dozen alleged predator priests — many of them active during Bevilacqua’s 15-year stewardship of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Archdiocesan officials, including Bevilacqua and his predecessor, Cardinal John Krol, stood by and then covered up hundreds of child-sexual assaults by priests, the jury alleged.

While lamenting that statutes had lapsed for the crimes, the panel said church officials’ actions in remaining silent while accused priests were shuttled around to unsuspecting parishes was “as immoral as the abuse itself” and that there was no doubt the cardinals “were personally informed of almost all of the allegations … and personally decided or approved” a cover-up.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By Nancy Phillips
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

A savvy move by prosecutors could mean that the late Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua will speak from beyond the grave at the forthcoming criminal trial of three priests accused of endangering or abusing children, legal experts said Wednesday.

Bevilacqua, who died Tuesday at age 88, testified on videotape late last year about the church’s handling of sex abuse allegations against priests in the Philadelphia Archdiocese during his 15-year-tenure as its leader.

The tape of the cardinal answering questions from prosecutors and defense lawyers may now be admitted at trial, experts say.

“It comes in,” said James A. Cohen, a professor at Fordham law school and a former defense lawyer. Preserving Bevilacqua’s testimony on tape should enable jurors to hear from him in his absence, he said.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
WISN

MILWAUKEE — A crucial deadline passed late Wednesday afternoon for the victims of a clergy sex abuse case to file their claims.

There are more than 500 claims.

One survivor said he’s increasingly frustrated with the Catholic Church after suffering years of abuse.

“He attacked me once in the sacristy after a mass,” Catholic Church sex abuse victim Mark Salmon said.

For Salmon, the deadline for survivors to file claims is just the latest chapter in a battle he’s fought for nearly 50 years.

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COLORADO
Patch

By Julie Brown Patton

A Catholic priest who served a parish in Wildwood 10 years ago has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation of sexual abuse of a minor at his current parish in Colorado, church authorities announced.

Fr. Charles Robert Manning served the St. Alban Roe Catholic Church in Wildwood but left in 2001. Since 2007, he has been serving the St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church parish in Colorado Springs, CO—until a week ago when parishioners were told at a Saturday Mass by Rev. Rafael Torres-Rico that allegations of sexual assault on a minor have been brought against Manning.

To read the Manning-related press release from the Diocese of Colorado Springs, click here. The allegation was received Jan. 4.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
TheMediaReport

Dave Pierre

Just Awful: Hours Before Cardinal Bevilacqua Passed Away, SNAP’s Clohessy Suggested the Cleric May Be Faking His Illnesses

Less than 36 hours before Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua passed away from lengthy battles with cancer and dementia (he was 88 years old), David Clohessy, the national president of SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests), suggested that the former archbishop of Philadelphia was faking his illnesses.

On Monday afternoon (1/30/12), Clohessy issued a media statement saluting Philadelphia Judge M. Teresa Sarmina for ruling that the frail and ailing cleric was “competent” to appear and testify at the upcoming clergy abuse trials in March. (More on that here.)

Clohessy wrote:

“We are grateful this judge is standing by her conviction that Bevilacqua will have to testify. For far too long, too many Catholic officials have feigned illnesses and memory lapses’ (sic) to avoid facing tough questions, in open court, under oath, about their role …”

Good grief. This is truly awful, even by SNAP standards.

Indeed, we must demand justice and compassion for victims of clergy abuse. This is not optional.

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NEDERLAND
Tweede Kamer der Staten-General

video

Direct naar sprekers

Termijn – Kamer
1.Mevrouw Arib (PvdA)
2.Mevrouw Gesthuizen (SP)
3.Mevrouw Berndsen (D66)
4.Mevrouw Helder (PVV)
5.De heer Van der Steur (VVD)
6.De heer Dibi (GroenLinks)
7.De heer Slob (ChristenUnie)
8.De heer Van der Staaij (SGP)
9.Mevrouw Van Toorenburg (CDA)

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Catholic League

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the death of Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua and news reports on his passing:

I had many opportunities to be in the company of Cardinal Bevilacqua, and each time I found him to be a bright, amiable and committed son of the Catholic Church. His sense of humor was infectious.

Much of today’s commentaries about Cardinal Bevilacqua are unfair. Let’s begin with the Catholic News Service. Never once in the article, “Cardinal Bevilacqua, Retired Philadelphia Archbishop, Dies at Age 88,” does it mention that he was never indicted for any alleged infraction. Oh, they tried.

In 2005, the local District Attorney, Lynne Abraham, smeared Bevilacqua in public with a grand jury report, but came up empty: she knew from the get-go that nothing could be done because of this “civil liberties technicality” called the statute of limitations. Moreover, in the grand jury report of 2001, it said that the grand jury was charged with investigating “the sexual abuse of minors by individuals associated with religious organizations and denominations.” But Abraham ignored this charge and focused exclusively on the Catholic Church. I wrote to her on March 31, 2011 asking her to explain which “religious organizations and denominations” she investigated besides the Roman Catholic Church. She refused to respond.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
National Catholic Register

by JOSEPH PRONECHEN
02/01/2012

PHILADELPHIA — Bells tolled from St. Martin’s Chapel on the campus of Philadelphia’s St. Charles Borromeo Seminary last night, announcing the death of Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua. The 88-year-old cardinal died in his sleep in his apartment at the seminary.

With the death of Cardinal Bevilacqua, who was the retired archbishop of Philadelphia, the Church in the United States lost its second cardinal in less than two months. Cardinal John Foley died Dec. 11 in the archdiocese’s home for retired priests.

Cardinal Bevilacqua, who fought cancer and dementia recently, led his flock of 1.5 million members from 1988 until he retired in 2003.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia today announced services for Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who died in his sleep Tuesday night at the age of 88.

Following a private viewing at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood on Monday, Feb. 6, Archbishop Charles Chaput will receive Bevilacqua’s body at the Cathedral Basilica of Ss. Peter and Paul about 5:30 p.m.

A public viewing follows at the Cathedral Basilica from 5:30 p.m. until 9 p.m. There will be an additional public viewing on Tuesday, Feb. 7, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

A Mass for Cardinal Bevilacqua will begin at 2 p.m. followed by the Rite of Committal in the Cathedral Crypt (located below the main altar).

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Sentinel

A PRIEST accused of sexually abusing eight boys worked in churches across North Staffordshire, it has been revealed.

Alexander Bede Walsh is currently on trial charged with 27 offences including indecency and indecent assault.

The trial has already heard that he was respected and trusted by his parishioners during the 14 years he worked in Cheadle.

Yesterday, Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court was told he also spent time in Newcastle and Burslem.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Wall Street Journal

By PETER LOFTUS

Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua, the former leader of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia who faced criticism for his handling of allegations of sexual abuse of children by priests, died Tuesday at the age of 88, the diocese said.

Cardinal Bevilacqua’s death came a day after a state judge reaffirmed he was legally competent to testify as a witness in a criminal trial of three priests charged in connection with alleged abuse of children during his tenure as archbishop from 1988 to 2003. Defense attorneys for the priests had argued Cardinal Bevilacqua wasn’t competent to testify because he was senile. He provided videotaped testimony in November that may be played at the trial, scheduled to start later this month. Cardinal Bevliacqua wasn’t charged with any wrongdoing in connection with the abuse allegations.

A spokesman for the archdiocese didn’t provide a cause of death. According to a 2011 court document, Cardinal Bevilacqua’s lawyer said he suffered from dementia and cancer. The diocese said in a statement that he died in his sleep at the Philadelphia seminary where he lived.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The New Civil Rights Movement

God Hates Fags To Picket Funeral Of Philadelphia Cardinal Who Died Amid Pedophile Priests Trials

by David Badash on February 1, 2012

God Hates Fags announced today they will picket the funeral of Philadelphia Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who died yesterday, amid several cases of priests on trial for pedophile rape, sex abuse, and molestation. Bevilacqua, 88, was Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1988 to 2003, and was deemed fit to stand trial and deliver testimony prior to his death. Bevilacqua was accused of ignoring the pedophile priest scandal that occurred on his watch.

“Bevilacqua, known for his regular press-the-flesh visits to all 302 parishes in the archdiocese and for his strong stands against racism and anti-Semitism, was also sharply critical of homosexuals and refused for several years to close Catholic churches and schools to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday,” the L.A. Times reported, adding:

Bevilacqua’s tenure was marred by clergy sexual-abuse revelations that rocked the Philadelphia archdiocese in 2002, as the scandal was erupting nationwide and in Europe.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

By Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel

Feb. 1, 2012

More than 500 people have filed sex abuse claims in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee bankruptcy in advance of today’s 4 p.m. deadline. It is the largest number of claims among the eight Catholic dioceses to seek bankruptcy protection since 2004 in response to sex abuse allegations, and on par with a Jesuit bankruptcy that covered five states.

Victims and their attorneys called the numbers staggering and just the tip of the iceberg, noting that statistically only a small percentage of sex abuse victims come forward.

Archdiocese spokesman Jerry Topczewski said the church had cast a wide net for victims in compliance with the court’s instructions, and had no expectations regarding the numbers that would come in. He reiterated Archbishop Jerome Listecki’s assertion that it would seek to bar all claims it is not obligated to cover under bankruptcy law, regardless of whether the abuse occurred.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Newsworks

Retired Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua served as head of the Philadelphia archdiocese for more than 15 years, retiring in 2003.

He was an active and visible leader of the regions 1.5 million Catholics, taking on the tough task of closing dozens of shrinking parishes and parochial schools.

Bevilacqua also campaigned hard for the canonization of Mother Katherine Drexel. Those efforts were rewarded when Pope John Paul the Second recognized her in 2000.

He was known as a social conservative who took traditional views on contraception, abortion and gay rights, and he took on the thankless task of closing parishes and schools that were under-used in the diocese. Though he was active in visiting parishes and spoke out on the need to help the poor, National Catholic reporter Michael Winters says he’ll be remembered mostly for the child sex abuse scandal that engulfed the church.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia

Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua, Archbishop Emeritus of Philadelphia, died on January 31, 2012 at the age of 88. Cardinal Bevilacqua died in his sleep at 9:15 p.m. at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, where he had resided since his retirement. Cardinal Bevilacqua served as Archbishop of Philadelphia from February 11, 1988 to October 7, 2003. He was elevated to the College of Cardinals on June 28, 1991.

“I was greatly saddened to learn of the death of my predecessor Cardinal Bevilacqua,” said Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. of Philadelphia. “I encourage all Catholics in the Archdiocese to join me in praying for the repose of his soul and that God will comfort his family as they mourn his loss. Cardinal Bevilacqua has been called home by God; a servant of the Lord who loved Jesus Christ and His people.”

As the leader of the Archdiocese for 15 years, Cardinal Bevilacqua initiated a renewal process called Catholic Faith and Life 2000 to bring non-practicing Catholics back to the Church. The renewal process culminated on October 22, 2000 with 40,000 Catholics participating in a candlelight procession on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. Cardinal Bevilacqua also reached out to Catholics in the Archdiocese through a weekly live call-in radio program and a monthly bulletin titled, “Voice of Your Shepherd.” He regularly made pastoral visits to parishes, schools, nursing homes and other institutions throughout the Archdiocese and to people of all faiths through his visits to hospitals and prisons as well as ecumenical and interreligious outreach.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Religion Dispatches

Post by Anthea Butler

Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua died last night at the age of 88, just one day after being approved as legally competent to testify in the upcoming sex abuse trial of the Philadelphia Archdiocese.

The trial of Monsignor William Lynn is expected to commence at the end of March 2012, and the case promises to be an explosive one. Prosecutors and the Philadelphia DA want to set a precedent for showing how the archdiocese instructed Monsignor Lynn to move priests from church to church in the hopes that the sexual abuse of children that had been committed in the archdiocese would not be discovered.

The Cardinal, whom church officials said suffered from dementia, was deposed for the upcoming trial in November of 2011. Monsignor Lynn worked under Bevilacqua, and would have taken his orders from the Cardinal concerning abusive priests.

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UNITED STATES
The Huffington Post

Rev. Debra Haffner

When I went to seminary, I was surprised to discover how little information there was about sexuality in my courses, and that preparation for dealing with congregants’ sexuality issues was mostly absent. A decade later, the Religious Institute’s study, “Sex and the Seminary,” found that few of even the most progressive seminaries covered sexuality issues comprehensively, and just one required a course on sexuality issues for graduation. In 2009, the Religious Institute reported that only 10 seminaries met at least two thirds of the criteria for a sexually healthy and responsible institution. This left the majority of future clergy unprepared to minister to their congregants on a broad range of sexuality issues, including marital counseling, incest, domestic violence, teen pregnancy and so on.

Today, I am proud to report that the landscape at U.S. seminaries, divinity and rabbinical schools is shifting toward increased sexuality education. Twenty seminaries now meet a majority of the criteria for a sexually healthy and responsible seminary, or twice what we found in 2009. During the past three years, the Religious Institute has partnered with these seminaries to ensure that tomorrow’s clergy are prepared to minister to their congregants, and to be effective advocates for sexual health and justice. These 20 seminaries now provide coursework on sexuality, policies that support sexual health, a commitment to an environment safe from harassment and abuse and leadership that is committed to activism on sexuality issues. We have designated these 20 institutions as Sexually Healthy and Responsible Seminaries.

The 20 seminaries represent nine denominational schools, plus several interdenominational and nondenominational schools in 12 states.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Los Angeles Times

February 1, 2012

Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua, the former head of the Philadelphia archdiocese who was accused during his 15-year tenure of ignoring sexual abuse of children by hundreds of priests, has died. The diocese announced that Bevilacqua, 88, died in his sleep Tuesday night in his apartment at a seminary in a Philadelphia suburb.

Bevilacqua, known for his regular press-the-flesh visits to all 302 parishes in the archdiocese and for his strong stands against racism and anti-Semitism, was also sharply critical of homosexuals and refused for several years to close Catholic churches and schools to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.

In a statement Wednesday, Pope Benedict XVI praised Bevilacqua’s “longstanding commitment to social justice and pastoral care of immigrants and his expert contribution of the revision of the church’s law in the years following the Second Vatican Council.”

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UNITED KINGDOM
Grantham Journal

Published on Wednesday 1 February 2012

A priest has told a court he never sexually abused or inappropriately touched young boys while he was working at Roman Catholic establishments in the West Midlands.

Alexander Bede Walsh is accused of abusing eight youngsters in Warwickshire, Staffordshire and Coventry between 1975 and 1994.

Jurors at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard that Walsh, of Abbots Bromley denies a total of 27 offences of indecency, buggery and indecent assault. Giving evidence to the court, the 58-year-old said he enjoyed being around children but not because of any sexual motives.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
CBS News

(CBS) PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Archdiocese confirms that Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, retired archbishop of Philadelphia, has died, with sex abuse trials looming for members of his clergy.

CBS Philly reports that toward the end of Bevilacqua’s tour of duty, a Philadelphia grand jury cited him and his predecessor for allowing dozens of predator priests to continue on the job.

Upon his retirement and the fallout from the grand jury report, Cardinal Bevilacqua went into seclusion at the seminary and was rarely seen in public.

In recent months, however, he was compelled to testify on video in proceedings surrounding his former secretary of the clergy, and other priests accused of abuse. Earlier this week, a judge ruled Bevilacqua was still competent to testify in person at their upcoming trials

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CONNECTICUT
The Hartford Courant

By EDMUND H. MAHONY, emahony@courant.com

1:53 p.m. EST, February 1, 2012
WATERBURY —
A former altar boy suing the Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford for abuse by a priest presented psychological evidence in court Wednesday showing that he faces a lifetime of emotional disability because of the abuse.

Clinical psychologist David Johnson of New Haven testified that the victim, known in legal papers as Jacob Doe, suffers from chronic moderatepost-traumatic stress disorder and chronic moderate depression.

The collective effect of the two disabilities — in particular diminished powers of concentration and detachment and estrangement from others — has left Doe with a 10 percent occupational disability, Johnson said.

Doe, a consultant who investigates fires and explosions, claims in his suit that Father Ivan Ferguson sexually abused him repeatedly in the early 1980s when Doe was a student at the diocese-run St. Mary’s grammar school in Derby. In his cross-examination of Johnson, church lawyer Joseph Sitarz suggested by his questions that Doe did not try to avoid Ferguson after the first abusive encounter in a church rectory in Derby when Doe was 13.

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MAINE
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by David Clohessy on February 01, 2012

In a new ruling, Maine’s highest court is letting a child sex abuse victim expose a predator priest in the court. The case involves Fr. Renald C. Hallee, who was found, just last year, working in a Boston-area Catholic church, despite the pending court case against him.

We applaud Christine Angell for her courage and persistence in seeking justice and exposing wrong-doing. If not for her brave and responsible actions, Fr. Hallee would still be working in a Catholic parish among unsuspecting families and perhaps still sexually assaulting kids.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Catholic News Agency

By Benjamin Mann

Philadelphia, Pa., Feb 1, 2012 / 01:31 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI has offered his condolences to Philadelphia Catholics following the loss of their former archbishop Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua, who died on the evening of Jan. 31 at the age of 88.

In a telegram to Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia, the Pope said he joined the faithful of the archdiocese “in commending the late cardinal’s soul to God, the Father of mercies, with gratitude for his years of episcopal ministry among Christ’s flock in Philadelphia.”

Cardinal Bevilacqua, who led the archdiocese from 1988 to 2003, died in his sleep at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pa. He was suffering from cancer and dementia at the time of his death.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
Fox 6

February 1, 2012, by Cary Docter and Ben Handelman

MILWAUKEE — The Archdiocese of Milwaukee expects more than 500 claims from survivors of alleged priest sexual abuse will be filed as part of a bankruptcy court order. Survivors have until 4 p.m. Wednesday to file a claim for the abuse they suffered.

On July 14, 2011, a bankruptcy court entered an order that requires sexual abuse survivors to file a claim no later than February 1, 2012. This deadline is called a “bar date” because it means that people who come forward after that date may be “barred” from ever filing a claim against the Milwaukee Archdiocese.

By getting a bar date, the Archdiocese is able to limit who can sue it after the bar date. In most circumstances, abuse survivors will not be able to sue the Archdiocese if they fail to file a claim with the bankruptcy court before February 1st.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
TheMediaReport

Blatant Injustice in Philadelphia: Trial Judge Declares Abuse in Catholic Church ‘Widespread,’ Said Bevilacqua Was ‘Competent’ For Questioning

Dave Pierre

Have justice and fair treatment gone out the window in the upcoming Catholic clergy abuse trials in Philadelphia? It sure looks like it.

1. In a truly astonishing betrayal of impartiality and discernment, Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge M. Teresa Sarmina sat in an open courtroom yesterday (1/31/12) and declared in front of Catholic priests and their defenders:

“Anybody that doesn’t think there is widespread sexual abuse within the Catholic Church is living on another planet.”

Wow. This is from the woman who is supposed to assure that a fair trial is conducted. One cannot help but conclude that a fair trial is nearly impossible with such a prejudiced and ill-informed judge on the bench.

Sarmina’s comment is not only incredibly biased, but demonstrably false. In all of 2010, there were eight credible accusations against Catholic clergy for contemporaneous abuse of a minor. In 2009, the number was six. (See the 2010 CARA Report. Pardon the self-promotion, but I have operated a web site and authored two books explicitly to try to dispel myths such as those aired by Sarmina.)

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WALTHAM (MA)
BishopAccountability.org

Documents from the Brooklyn diocese and the Philadelphia archdiocese, showing Bevilacqua’s methods in New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Camden, and St. Louis.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
UTV

A hearing is to be held to determine if a Roman Catholic priest accused of child sex abuse offences will stand trial.

Father Eugene Boland is accused of four charges of indecently assaulting a young girl between June 1990 and 1992.

The priest, who has served in parishes in Donegal, Londonderry and Tyrone, was ministering in Derry at the time of the alleged offences.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The Associated Press

By MARYCLAIRE DALE, Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI expressed “sadness” and sent condolences to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on Wednesday over the death of retired Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who led the archdiocese for more than 15 years.

Bevilacqua, who was 88, died in his sleep at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood after battling dementia and an undisclosed form of cancer, according to archdiocese spokeswoman Donna Farrell. He had been the spiritual leader of the 1.5 million-member Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1988 until his retirement in 2003.

“I offer my heartfelt condolences to you and to all the faithful of the archdiocese, the pope wrote in a telegram to Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput. “I join you in commending the late cardinal’s soul to God, the Father of mercies, with gratitude for his years of episcopal ministry among Christ’s flock in Philadelphia, his longstanding commitment to social justice and the pastoral care of immigrants, and his expert contribution to the revision of the Church’s law in the years following Vatican Council II.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Daily Mail (United Kingdom)

Retired Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who led the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia for more than 15 years, died last night aged 88.

Bevilacqua died in his sleep at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, archdiocese spokeswoman Donna Farrell said.

He had been battling dementia and an undisclosed form of cancer.

He served as the spiritual leader of the 1.5 million-member Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1988 until his retirement in 2003.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider

It is open season on the “moles” who disclosed confidential documents. But behind the scenes there is a no-holds-barred fight between different factions

Andrea Tornielli
Vatican City

It is open season on the Vatican moles who released (and continue to release) confidential letters and documents, one week after the explosive episode of “The Untouchables”, an Italian investigative journalism program, conducted by Gianluigi Nuzzi, which was aired on Italian television channel LA7. Last Wednesday, the video revealed some confidential letters sent by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò (currently Nuncio to the U.S. and previously Secretary of the Vatican Governatorate) to the Pope and to Cardinal Secretary of State, Tarcisio Bertone. The letters contain weighty revelations against some clergy and laity in the Holy See, who had been accused of stealing, and against some laypeople in Bertone’s entourage.

The poisonous atmosphere has intensified over the last few days following new developments: in the Italian daily Il Giornale, Mgr. Viganò was strongly disparaged for a legal dispute with family members over the management of an enormous family wealth (€30 million) which he shares with a brother priest. The prelate wanted the brother to be declared incapable of managing said wealth, because he had allegedly been manipulated by a sister. A year ago, Il Giornale published a series of anonymous articles praising the current Secretary of State, calling him “admiral” of the “fleet of Benedict XVI,” with words that were so excessively laudatory as to be embarrassing to him. The same anonymous author also wrote and published articles against Mgr. Viganò in the same paper, predicting his expulsion and calling attention to his nepotism (the prelate had indeed called for his nephew, a priest, to take up a post in the Secretariat of State). Last Saturday, the same newspaper again attacked the former Secretary of the Governatorate with an anonymous article (along with one mentioned above on Viganò’s family problems) in which the prelate was accused of being behind the leaking of the letters to the media in the United States, presenting him as having betrayed the Pope.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
CBS Philly

By John Ostapkovich

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Will Cardinal Bevilaqua’s death (see related story) affect the ongoing priest-abuse case? Not much, says one legal expert who is very familiar with the case.

There is now a gag order imposed on all parties in the case (related story), so neither the prosecution nor defense can make statements in reaction to Bevilacqua’s death.

Bevilaqua underwent a deposition in November, and a judge this week overruled defense claims that he was not a competent witness (another related story).

Charles Peruto Jr., the former counsel for one of the accused priests and a longtime defense attorney, says Bevilaqua’s death changes nothing.

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FAIRFIELD (CT)
The Mirror

Posted by Martin OSullivan

It’s been over 13 months since his almost 20 year sentence was issued, yet the effects of Fairfield University alumnus Doug Perlitz’s actions are still being felt by many.

Seventeen Haitian men have recently brought lawsuits against Fairfield University, the Society of Jesuits and various other figures tied to Perlitz, according to the Associated Press. The lawsuits allege that these organizations and figures failed in their duty to protect these men from Perlitz years ago despite numerous warning signs.

The lawsuit seeks $20 million for each of the seventeen victims. These proceedings increase the alleged number of boys abused by Perlitz to 21.

So how exactly is Fairfield University tied in this time around? The cases assert that in addition to raising over $600,000 for Perlitz’s non-for-profit organization Project Pierre Toussant, the university is responsible for hiring Perlitz and neglecting to adequately monitor his actions in relation to the school in Haiti.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Catholic League

The presiding judge in the trial of two Catholic priests from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia expressed dissatisfaction yesterday with the following question for prospective jurors: “Do you believe child sex abuse is a widespread problem in the Catholic Church?” Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina said, “Anybody that doesn’t think there is widespread sexual abuse within the Catholic Church is living on another planet.”

Catholic League president Bill Donohue responds as follows:

Judge Sarmina should step down immediately. Her remark, whether based on ignorance or bias, demonstrates her inability to preside over any trial concerning allegations of priestly sexual abuse.

Judge Sarmina’s use of the present tense shows she is unfit to rule. Between 2005 and 2010, the average number of new credible allegations made against over 40,000 priests in the United States was 8.3. How does this compare to other religions? Well, in one borough of New York City, Brooklyn, there have been 85 arrests of Orthodox Jews in the last two years (most of whom are rabbis) for sexually molesting minors. So who has the problem today, Judge Sarmina? Perhaps she should acquaint herself with what is going on in the public schools: as the AP reported in a major investigation in 2007, sexual abuse is rampant.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
BishopAccountability.org

Assessments of the Philadelphia Grand Juries in 2003, 2005, and 2011

Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua died on January 31, 2012, shortly before the scheduled trial of his senior manager, Msgr. William Lynn. Below we provide excerpts from the assessments of Cardinal Bevilacqua from the Philadelphia Grand Jury Reports in 2003, 2005, and 2011.

Over the past two decades, Msgr. Lynn has put literally thousands of children at risk of sexual abuse by placing them in the care of known child molesters. We believe that legal accountability for Msgr. Lynn’s unconscionable behavior is long overdue, and that he should be prosecuted for endangering the welfare of the victims in these cases.

We would like to hold Cardinal Bevilacqua accountable as well. The Grand Jurors have no doubt that his knowing and deliberate actions during his tenure as Archbishop also endangered thousands of children in the Philadelphia Archdiocese. Msgr. Lynn was carrying out the Cardinal’s policies exactly as the Cardinal directed. In most of the cases we reviewed from the previous grand jury report, Cardinal Bevilacqua knew substantially everything that Msgr. Lynn knew about the danger posed by the accused priests.
Philadelphia Grand Jury Report 2011, p. 115

We find that Cardinal Bevilacqua, Monsignor Lynn and other Archdiocesan managers most directly put children at risk when they knowingly permitted priests whom they knew, or were substantially certain, had sexually abused children to have continuing access to children. In summary, we find that the Archdiocesan protocols for investigating abuse, for diagnosing and treating sexually abusive priests and for returning sexually abusive priests to ministry, policies Cardinal Bevilacqua either established or continued, jeopardized the safety of children.
Philadelphia Grand Jury Report 2003, p. 6

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CALIFORNIA
California Catholic Daily

Incoming Fresno Bishop Armando Ochoa has been sued by five parishioners from an El Paso, Texas, parish who say the bishop converted funds they donated specifically for construction of a chapel for the traditional Latin Mass to other uses — and they want their money back.

A Mass of Installation for Bishop Ochoa is scheduled tomorrow in Fresno. Pope Benedict XVI named him as the new Fresno bishop on Dec. 1. Before leaving El Paso, where he had been bishop since 1996, Bishop Ochoa took the extraordinary step of suing one of his priests, Fr. Michael Rodriguez. The bishop’s lawsuit alleges that Fr. Rodriguez, a problematic and outspoken priest, committed financial irregularities and violations of diocesan policy on the handling of parish funds.

The parishioners’ lawsuit, announced in a Jan. 30 press release, is the latest development in the ongoing legal battle. The five parishioners say that more than six weeks ago they asked for a meeting with Bishop Ochoa “to resolve this situation in private and in a spirit of Christian charity,” but never received a response from the chancery.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Derry Journal

Published on Wednesday 1 February 2012

A preliminary investigation hearing is to take place at Magherafelt Magistrate’s Court in Co. Derry next month to determine if there is enough evidence to prosecute a priest who is charged with a number of child sex abuse offences.

Fr. Eugene Boland (65) faces four charges of indecently assaulting a female child. He’s alleged to have committed the four offences between June 28, 1990 and June 30, 1992, while he was ministering in a parish in Derry.

Fr. Boland, whose address was given as the Parochial House, Killyclogher Road in Omagh, stepped down as parish priest of Killyclogher last year when a child welfare investigation started.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

Staff Report

The faithful flowed in at 7:15 a.m. as they do each day for daily Mass at Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul in Center City.

The death of Cardinal Anthony Joseph Bevilacqua, 88, was news to some this morning.

One woman clutched her chest upon hearing the news. “I’m really surprised,” she said as she hurried into the side chapel where mass was held.

Msgr. Arthur E. Rodgers asked the 20 people in attendance to remember and pray for Bevilacqua.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Catholic News Service

By Catholic News Service

PHILADELPHIA (CNS) — Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua, retired archbishop of Philadelphia, died Jan. 31 at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, where he resided.

According to the Philadelphia Archdiocese, he died in his sleep at 9:15 p.m. He was 88.

Cardinal Bevilacqua headed the archdiocese from February 1988 to October 2003. Funeral arrangements were pending. …

Just a day before his death a Philadelphia judge ruled that Cardinal Bevilacqua, who suffered from dementia, was competent and could be become a witness in the upcoming trial of a Philadelphia priest, Msgr. William J. Lynn. The priest is accused of having failed to protect children from two priests who were under his direction when he served as secretary of the clergy.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The Associated Press

By MARYCLAIRE DALE, Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Retired Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who led the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia for more than 15 years but became a central figure in a child sex-abuse case involving the alleged shuffling of predator priests to unwitting parishes, has died. He was 88.

Bevilacqua died in his sleep Tuesday night at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary after battling dementia and an undisclosed form of cancer, an archdiocese spokeswoman said. He had been the spiritual leader of the 1.5 million-member Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1988 until his retirement in 2003.

Bevilacqua, trained as civil and canon lawyer, was sharply criticized but never charged by two grand juries investigating child sex abuse complaints lodged against dozens of priests in the archdiocese. His death comes just days after lawyers battled in court over his competency as a potential witness in the upcoming trial of a longtime aide.

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

A former Catholic priest has denied sexually abusing young boys over a 20-year period.

Alexander Bede Walsh, 58, is accused of abusing eight youngsters in Warwickshire, Staffordshire and Coventry from 1975 to 1994.

Mr Walsh, of Church Lane in Abbots Bromley, Staffordshire, told Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court he had never inappropriately touched children.

He pleaded not guilty to a total of 27 offences.

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CHILE
La Discusion

Abrió ayer el diario La Segunda, y sus ojos se llenaron de lágrimas. Lo mismo que durante años guardó y después, ya adulta, compartió y la justicia no quiso escuchar, esta vez era un hecho que la Iglesia Católica certificaba: el ex sacerdote diocesano Jorge Baeza Ramírez ocupaba el segundo lugar en el listado oficial de los presbíteros sentenciados por la justicia canónica por abusos a menores, documento inédito que contempla los dieciocho casos sancionados por la justicia penal o canónica, el cual había sido anunciado en abril pasado, en el marco del recién creado Consejo nacional para la prevención de abusos contra menores.

“Cuando vimos la lista publicada, nos alegramos mucho. Por primera vez la Iglesia reconoce que Jorge Baeza cometió abusos mientras fue sacerdote en Chillán, a pesar que la justicia no fue capaz de condenarlo. Este paso es muy importante, pues deja muy en claro que nosotros en ningún momento mentimos. Siempre dijimos la verdad, y eso le debe doler a mucha gente”, dijo ayer a LA DISCUSIÓN una de las víctimas del ex presbítero, de quien poco se ha sabido el último tiempo.

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CHILE
Revista NOS

Escrito por Sonnia Mendoza en febrero de 2010

En Argentina se hallaría el ex cura Jorge Baeza Ramírez, quien hizo de las suyas entre familias acomodadas de Chillán. Se libró del delito de estupro en 2009, pero no de la paliza de un padre ofendido. Sus víctimas, una madre y sus hijas, no dan tregua. Lo rastrean a diario para poner sobre aviso a quienes se les acerque.

Hay rabia, dolor y desencanto en Carolina, Claudia, Consuelo y Andrea, pero siguen bregando por justicia. Sus testimonios por desenmascarar al abusador sexual que se escondía tras las sotanas del cura top en Chillán, Jorge Baeza Ramírez, ha ido quedando en nada. Y aunque lograron llevarlo a un tribunal de Los Ángeles por estupro en 2009, la prescripción del delito terminó por imponerse.

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CANADA
CBC News

The son of a former Baptist church volunteer accused of sexually abusing young boys says his family is standing behind the man.

Police allege Russell Rodman, 58, assaulted three boys while he was volunteering at churches in Calgary in the ’80s and ’90s. (CBC)Police allege Russell Louis Rodman, 58, assaulted three boys while he was volunteering at churches in Calgary in the ’80s and ’90s.

His son, Greg, a pastor, told CBC News his father recently confided in him and another man that he was struggling with a desire for young boys.

Greg Rodman said he and the other man, family friend Joel Gordon, convinced his father to go to police.

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CANADA
Calgary Herald

By Sherri Zickefoose, Calgary Herald
February 1, 2012

A former Calgary church volunteer who came forward to police has been charged with sexually assaulting boys in the 1980s and 1990s.

Russell Louis Rodman, 58, who now lives in High River, has been charged with two counts of sexual assault and one count each of gross indecency, indecent exposure to a person under 14 and sexual contact with youth by a person in authority.

A publication ban protects the names of churches and victims, however the Herald has learned that Rodman resigned as deacon and treasurer at Bridgeland Baptist Fellowship Church late last summer.

There are no charges stemming from that church, which he joined in the mid-1990s.

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CANADA
CTV

Updated: Wed Feb. 01 2012

A former Calgary church volunteer has been arrested and charged with molesting teenage boys in incidents dating back as far as 1981.

Police laid charges against 58 year old Russell Rodman on Tuesday and his son said the charges are only the latest step in a difficult process.

“He came to me actually and told me this was what was going on and he needed help,” said Greg Rodman.

Rodman’s family and church then urged him to turn himself in to police.

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CALIFORNIA
PRWeb

Newport Beach, CA (PRWEB) January 31, 2012

Pursuant to a conciliation agreement reached between victim Anthony Almeida, the Los Angeles City Fire Department and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Los Angeles City Fire Department will pay Mr. Almeida $494,150.00 and implement widespread anti-harassment training and updated policies and procedures to settle his sexual and religious harassment claim, which was determined by the EEOC to be founded. Anthony Almeida, a firefighter/engineer employed since 1986, was represented by John C. Manly, Esq., and Vince W. Finaldi, Esq., of the Manly & Stewart Law Firm, in Newport Beach, California in Anthony Almeida v. Los Angeles Fire Department (Case Numbers 480 2007 03679 and 480 2008 04019).

The victim, Mr. Almeida, alleged that he was continually harassed by fellow firefighters at his station who employed deeply offensive comments of a sexual and religious nature. An EEOC investigation uncovered that the harassment, which began in late 2006, appeared linked to a lawsuit filed against the Catholic Church by Almeida (Case Number JCCP 5224) regarding sexual abuse he suffered by a priest. One coworker learned that Almeida had filed a lawsuit against the Catholic Church over the abuse, and several coworkers mocked him for that, using explicit and offensive religious and sexual epithets.

Although Almeida complained about the harassment to management officials, the EEOC investigation found that the Fire Department failed to adequately halt or address it. Further, the investigation found that Almeida had suffered retaliatory discipline for his participation in another equal employment opportunity investigation.

Harassment of a sexual or religious nature, along with retaliation, violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Following a determination by the EEOC that there was reasonable cause to believe a violation of law occurred, Mr. Almeida’s counsel represented him in a conciliation process with the Los Angeles City Fire Department and EEOC. The result was a three-year conciliation agreement with the EEOC and Almeida. The agreement effectively settles the case administratively, thereby avoiding litigation.

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MISSOURI
Kansas City Business Journal

Rebecca Randles

Date added: February 1, 2012

Submission Type: Professional Recognition
Current employer: Randles Mata Brown LLC
Current title/position: Partner
Industry: Legal Services
Position department: Legal

Reason for being recognized:
Randles was honored last week by Missouri Lawyers Weekly as one of the state’s most influential lawyers. She represents dozens of clergy sex abuse victims in western Missouri (including 20+ who sued just last year). In 1999 she tried “Bachmann v. Gummersbach,” the only civil lawsuit against a pedophile priest that’s ever gone to trial in Missouri.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Daily Times

By MARITA GREEN
Times Guest Columnist

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has announced that it is going to close 45 grade schools and four high schools. Delaware County has already lost grade schools and will lose two more high schools next September. It has already started the “planning” to close a number of parishes, the total number of which it has not revealed. In the northwest section of Philadelphia five of the nine parishes are on the contemplated closure list.

We are told that the goal is to save “up to $10 million.” To do this, the archdiocese is apparently willing to shut down high schools cold turkey, without letting classes stay together until they graduate – a bad way to treat young people in their vital formative years. Also, they have apparently lost interest in the mission to underprivileged kids who thrive in the Catholic schools.

The elephant in the living room here is the magnitude of the assets of the archdiocese. What fraction of the total net worth is this $10 million? If the people of the archdiocese who put up the money in the first place could see the true balance sheet that would list all assets, including those listed in names other than the archdiocese, they would have a basis on which to judge this issue.

The problem is that this balance sheet is a closely guarded secret. The people are expected to take on blind faith the word of the archdiocese that it cannot afford to keep the schools and parishes open. After the repeated deceptions over the past decade about priests who molested children, how much blind faith is left?

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NEDERLAND
Metro

De Tweede Kamer ondersteunt het pleidooi van de commissie-Samsom voor het instellen van één meldpunt waar slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik terecht kunnen. Voor een aanvullend parlementair onderzoek ontbreekt vooralsnog een meerderheid, bleek dinsdag tijdens het debat over het seksuele misbruik in de kerk.

Een meerderheid van PvdA, SP, PVV, VVD, CDA en GL steunt het voorstel van Rieke Samson voor een onafhankelijk meldpunt. Zij onderzoekt het misbruik van kinderen in overheidsinstellingen en pleitte zondag voor een meldpunt met een lage drempel en deskundige bezetting.

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NEDERLAND
Dagblad Noorden

DEN HAAG – De Amsterdamse burgemeester Eberhard van der Laan wordt voorzitter van de werkgroep tegen kindermishandeling en seksueel misbruik.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Irish Independent

Wednesday February 01 2012

A PRIEST has told a court he never sexually abused or inappropriately touched young boys while he was working at Roman Catholic establishments.

Alexander Bede Walsh is accused of abusing eight youngsters in Warwickshire, Staffordshire and Coventry between 1975 and 1994.

Jurors at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard that Walsh, denies a total of 27 offences of indecency, buggery and indecent assault.

Giving evidence to the court today, the 58-year-old said he enjoyed being around children but not because of any sexual motives.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

VATICAN CITY, 1 FEB 2012 (VIS) – The Holy Father has sent a telegram to Archbishop Charles Chaput O.F.M. Cap. of Philadelphia, U.S.A., for the death of Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, former archbishop of that archdiocese who died yesterday at the age of 88. The Holy Father writes:

“Having learned with sadness of the death of Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, archbishop emeritus of Philadelphia, I offer my heartfelt condolences to you and to all the faithful of the archdiocese. I join you in commending the late cardinal’s soul to God, the Father of mercies, with gratitude for his years of episcopal ministry among Christ’s flock in Philadelphia, his longstanding commitment to social justice and the pastoral care of immigrants, and his expert contribution to the revision of the Church’s law in the years following Vatican Council II. To you, and to all the clergy, religious and laity of the Church in Philadelphia, and to the members of his family, I cordially impart my apostolic blessing as a pledge of consolation and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ”.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
TMJ4

By Jay Sorgi

MILWAUKEE – Wednesday has been set as the final day people can file sex abuse claims against the Milwaukee Archdiocese in its bankruptcy case.

People had until 4:00 p.m. Wednesday to file an abuse claim against a Milwaukee Archdiocese clergy member, teacher, deacon, employee volunteer, or someone connected to the Archidocese of Milwaukee.

The claim would become part of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing the Archidocese made last year.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
WISN

[with video]

MILWAUKEE — Alleged victims of clergy abuse have until today to file a claim against the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.

The archdiocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2011, and the courts set today as the deadline for any new claims to be filed.

The archdiocese will be in court in Feb. 9 as bankruptcy proceedings move forward.

Archbishop Jerome Listecki said at the time of the bankruptcy filing that nearly $29 million had been spend to address more than 200 claims over the past 20 years.

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NEDERLAND
Reformatorisch Dagblad

DEN HAAG – Minister Opstelten (Veiligheid en Justitie) gaat de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk en de commissie-Deetman verzoeken het inmiddels afgeronde onderzoek naar seksueel misbruik van minderjarigen alsnog uit te breiden.

Met de Tweede Kamer is hij van mening dat het gepast is om afzonderlijk in kaart te brengen hoe vrouwen en meisjes in rooms-katholieke instellingen, zoals jeugdinternaten, destijds door geestelijken bejegend zijn.

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NEDERLAND
HartvanNederland

Volgens slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik werken bisschoppen misbruikzaken tegen. Slachtoffers zeggen dat de kerk alleen spijt betuigd met de mond en voelen zich nog steeds aan hun lot overgelaten.

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NEDERLAND
Trouw

Karen Zandbergen − 01/02/12

Zelden krijgt een Kamerlid zo direct antwoord. “Heeft iemand die hier op de tribune zit iets aan een parlementair onderzoek?” vroeg CDA’er Madeleine van Toorenburg tijdens het eerste Kamerdebat over seksueel misbruik in instellingen van de katholieke kerk aan de afgereisde slachtoffers.

Het heldere ‘ja’ vanaf de publieke tribune ten spijt, zo’n onderzoek dat het werk van de commissie-Deetman moet aanvullen, lijkt er niet te komen. VVD, PVV, CDA en minister Opstelten van justitie voelen meer voor een verder onderzoek door Deetmans commissie zelf.

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NEDERLAND
Oisterwijk

Op 31 januari 2012 debatteerde de Tweede Kamer over het eindrapport van de commissie-Deetman die onderzoek deed naar seksueel misbruik binnen de rooms-katholieke kerk. Nieuwsuur (NOS-NTR) besteedde aandacht aan het debat en toont een interview met een slachtoffer van misbruik in de Catharinenberg in Oisterwijk.

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IRELAND
Garda Inspectorate

Foreword

Nothing is more important than protecting our children, yet nations throughout the world continue to struggle to do so effectively. Ireland is no different.

Inquiries in Ireland have resulted in shocking reports of child abuse – in particular, heinous
crimes of child sexual abuse. These reports have primarily focused on the response to incidents of abuse by State agencies and the Catholic Church in Ireland during the past several decades.

One such report, the Commission of Investigation – Report into the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin July 2009, issued on 26 November, 2009, clearly indicates failings on the part of the Garda Síochána in certain historical child sexual abuse cases, including undue deference to the Catholic Church and its hierarchy.

As the result, the Minister for Justice and Law Reform, Mr Dermot Ahern, directed the Garda
Síochána Inspectorate to conduct a comprehensive review of police practices for handling these very sensitive and important cases to ensure that such impropriety on the part of the police could not occur today or in the future

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IRELAND
RTE News

The Garda Inspectorate has published its report into the force’s handling of allegations of child sexual abuse.

The report makes 19 recommendations including that a group of gardaí should be specially trained in how to take reports from those alleging child sexual abuse and only those gardaí should take statements from victims.

It stresses that there is no place for deferential treatment in modern Irish policing.

The report also says that every reported case of child abuse should be the subject of a formal risk assessment.

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OHIO
WHIO

LEBANON, Ohio —

Authorities said a Sunday school teacher from a church in Lebanon is accused and has been charged with having sex with a teenage student.

Daniel Webster, of Loveland, 41, was charged with one count of sexual battery.

Police said Webster served as a teacher at Life Adventure Church. They also said he was a friend of the victim’s family.

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CANADA
The Expositor

By Michael Peeling, QMI Agency

Provincial police have laid a new set of historical sexual assault charges against a retired Anglican minister who formerly preached in Paris.

The Brant County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Criminal Investigation Unit charged Anglican Minister George Ferris, 64, of Cambridge, Ontario.

The sexual offences Ferris is charged with date back to the period from 1981 to 1988.

During the time of the alleged incidents, Ferris was a minister at an Anglican church in Paris.

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LOS ANGELES (CA)
Mercury News

The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES—A federal agency says the Los Angeles Fire Department will pay nearly $500,000 to settle a firefighter’s federal discrimination case.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced Tuesday that the department also will implement anti-harassment training as part of the settlement.

The EEOC says Anthony Almeida filed a discrimination charge in 2007 alleging he was continually harassed by fellow firefighters who used offensive comments of a sexual and religious nature.

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UNITED STATES
The Post-Standard

By The Post-Standard Editorial Board

The child sex-abuse scandals at Penn State, Syracuse University, in the Catholic Church and elsewhere suggest the sexual exploitation of children is a sign of these troubled times. But the appalling violation of childhood innocence has a long history — though finally it is being discussed openly.

The allegations against former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky go back 15 years. The accusers of Syracuse University assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine allege incidents dating back a quarter-century. Some cases against Catholic priests extend to the 1940s and ’50s.

Statistics suggest one in four girls and one in six boys face abuse by the time they reach 18. Onondaga County saw more than 5,000 hotline calls in 2010, representing more than 9,000 potential child abuse cases. (To report possible abuse, call 800-342-3720. You cannot get in trouble for making the call, authorities say; but if you don’t call, abuse could continue.)

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NETHERLANDS
Radio Netherlands

The Dutch parliament may start an official inquiry into sexual and violent abuse committed by members of the Roman Catholic Church.

Such an inquiry is the most far-reaching medium parliament has at its disposal. Only ten have been held since World War II.

Dutch opposition MPs are considering convening an inquiry because they feel the government is not doing enough. Granted, abuse in the church is being looked into by a number of groups. A commission set up by the church itself recently reported its findings, and another commission set up by the Health Ministry is still conducting investigations into abuse conducted at institutions overseen by the government. Yet another group is advising the church about paying compensation to victims.

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CANADA
Calgary Sun

JENNA McMURRAY and DAMIEN WOOD, Calgary Sun

Sex charges have been filed against a former Calgarian and church volunteer following allegations involving three boys in the 1980s and ’90s.

Police launched an investigation in 2011 after word of the alleged incidents surfaced and the man turned himself in to Mounties, said Det. Stephen Johnston of the Calgary police child abuse unit, which took over the case.

“The allegations came to light within the (accused’s) church and from that point, that sparked the accused to make himself available to the RCMP,” he said.

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MICHIGAN
WZZM

Written by
Chris Fleszar

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WZZM)- A former West Michigan pastor accused of inappropriately touching a young boy will spend more time in jail.

Tedd Butler was initially charged with 1st Degree CSC but reached a plea deal. Under the lesser charge he will serve 365 days in jail with 51 days already served. Butler admitted to touching a young boy more than 20 years ago when he was youth pastor at the now disbanded Landmark Baptist Church in Algoma Township.

Last week Butler was sentenced to 12 months in jail in Ottawa County on charges of second degree criminal sexual conduct. The victim in that case was five years old when the abuse occurred.

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SWAZILAND
Swazi Observer

By Starsky Mkhonta

WORSHIP services could not take place on Sunday at the church which has been divided by allegations of sexual abuse against its pastor.

The pastor has since been kicked out of the church, but for the second Sunday running, the service could not be held.

Police officers were in attendance to maintain order. The division in the church started when the alleged sex pest pastor was removed. At one time, a visiting pastor was prevented from taking to the pulpit to preach by a factor supporting the disgraced pastor.

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LOS ANGELES (CA)
LA Daily News

Daily News Wire Services

The Los Angeles Fire Department will pay $494,150 and institute anti-harassment training to settle federal discrimination charges filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the agency announced Tuesday.

Anthony Almeida, a firefighter/engineer since 1986, filed an EEOC discrimination allegation in 2007, alleging that he was continually harassed by fellow firefighters who used offensive comments of a sexual and religious nature, according to the EEOC.

An investigation found the harassment, which began in late 2006, appeared linked to a lawsuit filed against the Roman Catholic Church by Almeida, regarding sexual abuse he suffered by a priest.

After a co-worker learned that Almeida sued the church, several firefighters mocked him, using explicit and offensive religious and sexual epithets, the EEOC said.

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FORT WORTH (TX)
WFAA

[with video]

by MARCUS MOORE
WFAA

FORT WORTH — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth is facing another lawsuit over sexual abuse involving a priest.

The priest’s accuser was once a student at Nolan Catholic High School.

The Diocese has already settled 22 lawsuits involving five different priests — paying out more than $8.4 million.

The latest case involves Father William Paiz, who had been a teacher at Nolan High in the 1980s.

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FORT WORTH (TX)
Fort Worth Star-Telegram

By Mitch Mitchell
mitchmitchell@star-telegram.com

FORT WORTH — A former student at Nolan Catholic High School who says he was abused by a priest who taught there filed suit Tuesday against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth and Bishop Kevin Vann.

The suit also names the Claretian Missionaries of the U.S. Western Province.

The suit states that the diocese, the order and Vann had prior knowledge of the sexual proclivities of Father William Paiz yet continued to assign him to positions of trust, such as religion instructor at Nolan.

The suit states that between 1983 and 1987, Paiz sexually assaulted the plaintiff at All Saints Catholic Church, St. George Catholic Church and other locations.

Tahira Khan Merritt, the attorney for the former student, who is now an adult, said she believes that Paiz is still affiliated with the Claretian Order and may continue to serve as a priest in another state. Paiz’s status could not be confirmed Tuesday.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

By Michael Brennan

Wednesday February 01 2012

ARCHBISHOP Charles J Brown is the youngest Papal Nuncio to have been appointed here.

The 52-year-old is also the first whose first language is English — most of his predecessors having been Italian speakers.

His appointment is being viewed with optimism by the Irish Catholic Church, which has been severely weakened by abuse scandals, falling Mass attendance and declining vocations.

But he has already made it clear that he wants to “help” the church here rather than impose a Vatican-inspired view upon it. He has stated clearly that it is the bishops of Ireland who are in control of the church in Ireland.

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Open Democracy

Shareen Gokal, 1 February 2012

In a landmark effort to bring Vatican officials, including Pope Benedict XVI, to account for crimes against humanity – the widespread and systematic sexual violence perpetrated by the Catholic Church, a case has been filed with the International Criminal Court. Shareen Gokal reports

When Megan Peterson was 14, she was convinced her calling in life was to be a nun. Then, in 2004, she met Father Jeyapaul, a visiting priest from India, at her home parish in the Diocese of Crookston in Minnesota. Having seen him first at a youth retreat, she only hesitated a little when he asked about the book she was reading and offered to lend her one of his own.

According to Megan, Father Jeyapaul offered her a seat in his office, turned around to get the book and unzipped his pants instead. And that he then proceeded to rape her – and raped her repeatedly for almost a year, threatening to hurt her and her family if she did not cooperate. Megan’s experience is emblematic of so many cases of clergy abuse from around the world-marked by violence, betrayal, and long-lasting harm.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia issued a short statement early Wednesday on the death of former Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua:

“Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua, Archbishop Emeritus of Philadelphia, died on January 31, 2012 at the age of 88. Cardinal Bevilacqua died tonight at 9:15 p.m. at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, where he resided, in his sleep. Cardinal Bevilacqua served as Archbishop of Philadelphia from February 11, 1988 to October 7, 2003. He was elevated to the College of Cardinals on June 28, 1991. Funeral arrangements are pending.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By Jeremy Roebuck
Inquirer Staff Writer

The judge in the trial of two Catholic priests and a former priest declared her belief Tuesday that sexual abuse was “widespread” in the Catholic Church.

Reviewing a list of questions to be asked of potential jurors, Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina arrived at one that read “Do you believe child sex abuse is a widespread problem in the Catholic Church?” and hesitated.

“Anybody that doesn’t think there is widespread sexual abuse within the Catholic Church is living on another planet,” she said, recommending the question be stricken from the list.

Jeffrey Lindy, part of a team of lawyers hired by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to represent one of the defendants, Msgr. William J. Lynn, responded: “I’m taken aback by that conclusion, frankly.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By Jim Remsen
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

This story was originally published by The Philadelphia Inquirer on Oct. 5, 2003.

As Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua nears the end of his 15-year tenure as Philadelphia archbishop and moves into new quarters at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, he also has moved into a reflective state of mind.

This was clear in an interview Monday that delved into the cardinal’s faith life. The 80-year-old prelate spoke candidly about issues that he normally holds close: his religious devotions, his prayer strivings and struggles, his own mortality.

Sitting at archdiocesan headquarters, in the 12th-floor executive office nearly cleared of his belongings, Bevilacqua began by discussing his “theology of presence,” by which he delegated many administrative tasks to free himself for pastoral visits to churches, schools, hospitals, prisons and the like – 2,330 visits over his tenure, according to an archdiocese tally.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Daily News

BY MORGAN ZALOT & PHILLIP LUCAS
Philadelphia Daily News
zalotm@phillynews.com 215-854-5928

CARDINAL ANTHONY Joseph Bevilacqua, 88, who led the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia for 15 turbulent years, died in his sleep last night in his residence at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, the Archdiocese confirmed early today.

Bevilacqua, who retired in 2003, had suffered from cancer and dementia in recent years. He died at 9:15 p.m., according to Donna Farrell, Archdiocese spokeswoman.

Bevilacqua, a native of Brooklyn, was appointed archbishop of Philadelphia by Pope John Paul II on Dec. 8, 1987.

As archbishop, Bevilacqua was noted for his strict devotion to the Catholic faith and his visits to the more than 300 parishes in the Archdiocese’s five counties. Under his tenure, Philadelphia native Mother Katherine Drexel became a saint in 2000.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
GlobalPost

The retired Catholic archbishop of Philadelphia, Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, has died ahead of a church sex abuse trial.

The church said that Bevilacqua, 88, died in his sleep Tuesday night in his apartment at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

He had been battling dementia and an undisclosed form of cancer.

Bevilacqua’s 15 years “as shepherd of the 1.5 million-member Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia was marked by both celebration and crisis,” the Inquirer wrote.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Whispers in the Loggia

He was the ultimate man of the law. How bitter the irony, then, that his days would end under a cloud of court scrutiny.

At 9.15 tonight, Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua — Seventh Archbishop of Philadelphia, founder of the Catholic world’s first diocesan ministry dedicated to the pastoral care of migrants, arguably the father of modern canon law in the United States — died in his sleep at his apartment at the city’s St Charles Borromeo Seminary. He was 88, and had been suffering from cancer and dementia over recent years.

Born in Brooklyn to Italian immigrants who would raise ten children, the future cardinal’s grit, smarts and relentless work-ethic singled him out from an early age. Known as “Tough Tony” to his seminary students and “Bevy” among friends, his sense of discipline and prominent hatred of cheese often concealed a softer side, one that led him to night school in his 50s to study for a civil law degree in order to serve the needs of a new generation of migrants.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Reuters

By Dave Warner

PHILADELPHIA | Wed Feb 1, 2012

(Reuters) – Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, the retired Catholic archbishop of Philadelphia whose competence to testify in an upcoming church sex abuse trial was hotly debated in court, died in his sleep on Tuesday, the church said.

The cardinal, 88, led the Philadelphia archdiocese, the nation’s sixth largest, from 1988 to 2003. Church spokeswoman Donna Farrell said Bevilacqua died at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, the traditional home for the leaders of the Philadelphia archdiocese, where he had lived since retirement.

Whether Bevilacqua was well enough to testify had become a pivotal issue in the sex abuse trial of three priests, one now defrocked, and a former archdiocese school teacher. Another church official, Monsignor William Lynn, faces charges of child endangerment but is not accused of abuse.

A jury is set to begin hearing charges in March against the five defendants in a crisis that has put the archdiocese on a national stage.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Patch

By Bob Byrne

A spokeswoman for the Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia confirms that Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua has died at age 88. in a press release late Tuesday night Spokewoman Donna Farrell says

“Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua, Archbishop Emeritus of Philadelphia, died on January 31, 2012 at the age of 88. Cardinal Bevilacqua died tonight at 9:15 p.m. at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, where he resided, in his sleep. Cardinal Bevilacqua served as Archbishop of Philadelphia from February 11, 1988 to October 7, 2003. He was elevated to the College of Cardinals on June 28, 1991. Funeral arrangements are pending.”

Bevilacqua has been a major figure in the Catholic priest sex scandal that has rocked parishes from the Upper Main Line and throughout the five county Greater Philadelphia area.

NBCPhiladelphia reports that just one day before his death Bevilacqua, who suffered with cancer and Alzheimer’s, had been ruled competent by a judge to testify in an upcoming trial.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
CBS Philly

By Mike DeNardo and Ian Bush

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Cardinal Anthony Belivacqua died Tuesday night at the age of 88 at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, leaving a conflicted legacy.

Bevilacqua served as Archbishop of Philadelphia for 15 years, from 1988 to 2003, succeeding Cardinal John Krol. He was elevated by Pope John Paul II to Cardinal in 1991.

Rocco Palmo, editor of Philadelphia-based website, “Whispers in the Loggia,” that follows the Catholic Church, knew Bevilacqua personally.

“I’m sure half the Catholics in the Archdiocese probably have pictures in their homes of one of their kids with Cardinal Bevilacqua and the mitre — you know, the pointy bishop’s hat — on the kid’s head,” Palmo said. “I’m sure that even for the revelations and accusations the last 10 years, I’m sure there are still a lot of people out there who remember him very well and very fondly.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Courier Post

Written by
The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA — Retired Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who led the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia for more than 15 years, championing the Vatican line on homosexuality and abortion but later coming under fire by two grand juries investigating child sex abuse allegations, has died. He was 88.

Bevilacqua died in his sleep Tuesday night at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, a Philadelphia suburb, after battling dementia and an undisclosed form of cancer, an archdiocese spokeswoman said. He had been the spiritual leader of the 1.5 million-member Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1988 until his retirement in 2003.

Bevilacqua, trained in both civil and canon lawyer, was sharply criticized but never charged by two Philadelphia grand juries investigating child sex abuse complaints lodged against dozens of priests in the archdiocese. His death comes just days after lawyers battled in court over his competency as a potential witness in the upcoming trial of a longtime aide.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By David O’Reilly
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Cardinal Anthony Joseph Bevilacqua, 88, whose 15 years as shepherd of the 1.5 million-member Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia was marked by both celebration and crisis, died in his sleep Tuesday night in his apartment at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood.

Donna Farrell, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese, said he died about 9:15 p.m.

After retiring in 2003, he left the cardinal’s residence on City Avenue for the apartment at the seminary and rarely appeared in public.

Cardinal Bevilacqua was emblematic of the church to which he had devoted himself since age 14: progressive on some social-justice issues, staunchly orthodox on matters of doctrine and sexuality, and unfailingly deferential to the will of Rome.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

Staff Report

Just the day before his death, Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua was declared legally competent to testify at the upcoming trial of two Catholic priests and a former priest on sex abuse charges.

Now, it’s unclear what impact his passing will have on the case.

The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office sought to have testimony by Bevilacqua presented to jurors at the trial of Rev. James J. Brennan and Edward Avery, a former priest, for allegedly abuse boys in separate incident the 1990s.

Msgr. William J. Lynn, a secretary for clergy under Bevilacqua, is accused putting the duo in positions that allowed them to continue abusing children.

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