CHILE
Chronicle Bulletin

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — A bishop was ordained in southern Chile on Saturday amid riot police and shouting protesters who accuse him of covering up crimes of a mentor the Vatican has sanctioned for abusing young boys.

Hundreds of churchgoers dressed in the black of mourning denounced the 58-year-old Rev. Juan Barros as he took more than as bishop of the southern city of Osorno. Quite a few named for him to instantly resign.

Police had to escort Barros out of the church immediately after his ordination, which was attended by only 15 of the country’s 35 bishops and about 20 of the 35 priests in the diocese some 580 miles (930 kilometers) south of Santiago.

Though Barros himself is not accused of molestation, at least 3 victims of sex abuse say he was present when they have been molested by the Rev. Fernando Karadima in the 1980s and 90s.

The controversy has been closely watched by victims, advocacy groups and lawmakers as a test of Pope Francis’ promises to crack down on clerical sex abuse.

“I hold the Pope accountable,” stated Juan Carlos Cruz, a 51-year-old journalist who is 1 of the accusers.

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CHILE
La Jormada

Santiago. En un suceso prácticamente inédito por décadas, el repudio a un obispo nombrado inexplicablemente por el Vaticano en la ciudad sureña de Osorno, se transformó en pugilatos callejeros que continuaron al interior del templo de San Mateo y tuvieron su epílogo frente al altar mayor y el prelado tuvo que protagonizar una vergonzosa huida por una puerta lateral.

La ceremonia estaba programada originalmente para las 11:00 horas, pero los pugilatos retrasaron su inicio, en medio del resguardo de un numeroso contingente policial, que resultó impotente.

Barros es acusado por religiosos y laicos de encubridor y cómplice del sacerdote Fernando Karadima, condenado canónicamente por abusos sexuales y como financista de la policía secreta dictatorial DINA. El religioso aseguró que jamás supo de esos hechos en la elegante parroquia de El Bosque, de Santiago, donde el pedófilo sacaba dinero para el infame y encarcelado ex general Manuel Contrerasfa, a sus beatas millonarias.

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CHILE
La Tercera

por Pablo Cádiz – 21/03/2015

En medio de un ambiente polarizado y de incidentes, Juan Barros asumió como obispo de Osorno. La ceremonia -originalmente fijada para las 11.00- comenzó con retraso, ya que un grupo de personas intentó impedir el ingreso del sacerdote. La investidura se vio interrumpida en varias oportunidades por manifestantes que gritaban “fuera”, una y otra vez.

Los cuestionamientos a Barros apuntan a sus vínculos con Fernando Karadima, quien recibió una condena canónica por abusos sexuales. Fueron los denunciantes del ex párroco de El Bosque los que iniciaron una fuerte ofensiva, en la que acusaron a Barros de haber encubierto los delitos de Karadima.

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CHILE
Excelsior

SANTIAGO, 21 de marzo.- Con inéditos enfrentamientos y gritos entre partidarios y detractores, dentro y fuera de la catedral de Osorno, asumió el sábado el nuevo obispo Juan Barros, visto por algunos como un encubridor del mayor cura pederasta de la Iglesia chilena.

Tras asumir, Barros abandonó la catedral custodiado por efectivos antimotines, mientras en las afueras unas 4 mil personas -muchas portando globos negros o vestidos de ese color en señal de luto- demandaban la renuncia del clérigo de 58 años. Simultáneamente, algunos conductores en caravanas de automóviles con pancartas también exigían su salida.

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CHILE
The New York Times

By PASCALE BONNEFOY
MARCH 21, 2015

SANTIAGO, Chile — Hundreds of demonstrators dressed in black barged into a cathedral in southern Chile on Saturday and interrupted the installation ceremony for the city’s new Roman Catholic bishop, Juan Barros, whom they accuse of complicity in a notorious case of clerical sexual abuse, blocking his passage and shouting, “Barros, get out of the city!”

The scene inside the Cathedral San Mateo de Osorno was chaotic, with television images showing clashes between Barros opponents, carrying black balloons, and Barros supporters, carrying white ones. Radio reports said several protesters tried to climb onto the altar where Bishop Barros was standing. After the ceremony, he left the cathedral through a side door escorted by police special forces. Outside, about 3,000 people, including local politicians and members of Congress held signs and chanted demands that he resign.

Weeks of protests, candlelight vigils and letters to Pope Francis were not enough to persuade him to rescind his decision in January to appoint Bishop Barros to lead the Diocese of Osorno, 570 miles south of the capital, Santiago. Bishop Barros was a close associate of the Rev. Fernando Karadima, a prominent Santiago priest whom the Vatican found guilty of sexual abuse in 2011. Father Karadima, now 84, was ordered to retire to a “life of prayer and penitence.”

The appeal was also a test case for the pope’s stated policy of zero tolerance for clerical abuses.

“We are used to the blows by the Chilean Catholic hierarchy, but it’s especially hurtful when the slap in the face comes from Pope Francis himself,” Juan Carlos Cruz, 50, who said he was abused by Father Karadima in the ‘80s, said in an interview. “We hoped he was different.”

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CHILE
Fox News Latino

Some 600 people gathered Saturday in front of the cathedral in the southern Chilean town of Osorno to protest against Fr. Juan Barros as he assumed the position of bishop of the diocese, because he is perceived to have covered up another priest’s sexual abuse of minors.

Many of the protesters, dressed in black and carrying hundreds of black balloons, waited for the arrival of Fr. Barros, who had to enter through a back door to avoid the booing.

San Mateo Cathedral in Osorno, a city located 942 kilometers (585 miles) south of Santiago, was cordoned off at sunrise by police, who failed, however, to prevent scores of demonstrators from entering the cathedral grounds throwing things and shouting “Pedophile priest!”

Nonetheless, Barros said Mass under normal conditions.

The naming of Juan Barros by Pope Francis was met from the beginning with rejection both at a political level and by the Catholic community itself, which in Chile constitutes some 68 percent of the population.

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UNITED STATES
The Anchoress

March 20, 2015 by Elizabeth Scalia

I never write about these stories because they make me physically ill, so I leave it to others. But it seems like this story is dying on the vine, and I’m not sure it should. And it’s Lent, when we’re supposed to do difficult things, so here goes.

Pope Francis has appointed Juan de la Cruz Barros Madrid to a Bishopric in Southern Chile, and Barros is set to be installed there tomorrow, March 21.

This may be a problematic appointment, one that blows up in the Holy Father’s face, because it conflicts with his own “zero tolerance” policies in matters of sexual abuse.

There have been several news reports on the controversial nature of the Barros appointment, but for whatever reason, not much reaction. I can’t help but be surprised. It seems to me that if Pope Benedict were making this appointment, it would be front-page and above-the-fold, and leading every newscast, and the punditry would be unrelentingly interested.

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CHILE
U-T San Diego

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — A bishop was ordained in southern Chile on Saturday amid riot police and shouting protesters who accuse him of covering up crimes of a mentor the Vatican has sanctioned for abusing young boys.

Hundreds of churchgoers dressed in the black of mourning denounced the 58-year-old Rev. Juan Barros as he took over as bishop of the southern city of Osorno. Many called for him to immediately resign.

Police had to escort Barros out of the church after his ordination, which was attended by only 15 of the country’s 35 bishops and about 20 of the 35 priests in the diocese some 580 miles (930 kilometers) south of Santiago.

While Barros himself is not accused of molestation, at least three victims of sex abuse say he was present when they were molested by the Rev. Fernando Karadima in the 1980s and 90s.

The controversy has been closely watched by victims, advocacy groups and lawmakers as a test of Pope Francis’ promises to crack down on clerical sex abuse.

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CANADA
Kamloops This Week

By: Cam Fortems in Courts, First Nations, News March 20, 2015

Four elders from the Tk’emlups Indian Band (TIB) will accompany Chief Shane Gottfriedson and band councillors to Vancouver next month when lawyers begin arguing to certify a class-action lawsuit on behalf of thousands of First Nations students who attended residential schools.

Gottfriedson told reporters at a press conference on on Friday, March 20, that local corporations and others have donated to a special fund to allow the elders — day scholars themselves — to be in Vancouver to hear arguments in Federal Court for one week starting on April 13.

While First Nations people who lived at Indian residential schools were given compensation by the federal government, Ottawa has refused to compensate those who attended the schools only during the day.

Gottfriedson said those students suffered many of the same sexual, physical and emotional abuses as those who lived in dormitories.

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NEDERLAND
Volkskrant

[An elderly priest who was accused of abuse still works with children in Brazil.]

De hoogbejaarde Nederlandse pater Cornelio die in eigen land kinderen misbruikte, werkt in Brazilië nog altijd met kinderen. Dat blijkt uit een uitzending van het EO-televisieprogramma Dit is de Dag Onderzoek, die vanavond wordt uitgezonden.

Door: Jenne Jan Holtland 21 maart 2015

De congregatie van de pater, de Broeders van Onze Lieve Vrouw van Lourdes, is zeker vanaf 2012 op de hoogte van het misbruik. Eerder zegde de congregatie toe ‘passende maatregelen’ te nemen tegen de pater, maar die zegt daar zelf niets van te hebben gemerkt.

Drie mannen hebben tegenover het Meldpunt Seksueel Misbruik RKK verklaard meermalen te zijn misbruikt door pater Cornelio (90), die tussen 1962 en 1988 katholiek jongerenwerker was in Vught. De pater zelf heeft dat schriftelijk erkend, maar vertelt tegen Dit is de Dag Onderzoek (NPO 2, 21.15 uur) een andere versie. ‘Ik ben eunuch, heb geen seksuele gevoelens. Het zijn allemaal leugens, leugens, leugens.’

Het Meldpunt bestaat sinds najaar 2011. De onderzoekers zouden zijn gestuit op tientallen geestelijken die in Nederland kinderen hebben misbruikt en van wie ‘signalen’ bestaan dat ze ook overzee in de fout zijn gegaan. Het zou gaan om missionarissen die werkzaam waren in Kenia, Chili, Suriname en de Antillen. Vier van hen zouden nog in leven zijn, onder wie pater Cornelio.

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AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

DAVID PENBERTHY SUNDAY HERALD SUN MARCH 22, 2015

IT IS difficult to imagine a darker scenario. Two adult men having a private conversation in which one reveals he has perpetrated sickening acts of sexual violence against a child, with the second agreeing that he will take the man’s secret to the grave.

A dark scenario and under Australian law, a wholly legal one.

Over the past few months there has been a lot of talk, fuelled in large part by the abject behaviour of radical Islamists, about how in a secular society such as ours the law should trump God every time.

There were those two ratbags in a Sydney court last year who refused to stand for the judge, saying the only authority they recognised was Allah. Whatever. Those men were denounced for their actions and rightly so, with the NSW Attorney-General investigating the application of contempt laws in that case.

If Australia is going to be consistent on this issue it seems bizarre that our laws currently doff their caps to the strictures of the Catholic Church when it comes to the question of information obtained in the confessional.

We can tut-tut about our rattier Muslim friends not respecting the primacy of law, yet when it comes to the Seal of the Confessional, we have the perverse situation where every state of Australia has deliberately structured its laws to run second to a theological tradition which places children at risk and lets bad people reoffend.

This week one of the most senior Catholic priests in Australia, Archbishop Peter Wilson, was charged with allegedly concealing allegations of child sexual abuse by the convicted paedophile priest James Fletcher in the Newcastle-Maitland diocese in the 1970s.

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NEDERLAND/CURACAO
Seksueelmisbruik

[Robert Chesal: Sexual abuse is massively condoned in Curacao.]

Toen journalist Robert Chesal het seksueel misbruik in de katholieke kerk op grote schaal onthulde in 2010, kwamen vele meldingen binnen van mensen die waren misbruikt in Nederland, maar per direct waren er ook meldingen uit Curaçao. Een golf van publiciteit was het gevolg. In Nederland welteverstaan, niét op Curaçao. In zijn recent verschenen boek Een verzwegen leven doet Chesal verslag van de gruwelijkheden, ook op Curaçao. Maar wie denkt dat het misbruik is gestopt, heeft het mis: met financiële vergoedingen en in die zin afhankelijkheid van de kerk worden momenteel veelal arme gezinnen het zwijgen opgelegd.

“Een misbruikt kind is getekend voor zijn leven, misbruik verdwijnt nooit uit je hart en bestaan. De zoektocht naar erkenning is levenslang.” Dat zegt de uit Amerika afkomstige Robert Chesal, die als journalist bij Radio Nederland Wereldomroep (sinds 1990) samen met NRC-journalist Joep Dohmen het grootschalige misbruik binnen de katholieke kerk op het spoor kwam. Ze doken er samen in en het liet hen niet meer los. Chesal was genoodzaakt enige tijd te stoppen aangezien de meldingen hem te zwaar vielen.

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NEW JERSEY
The Record

BY MARINA VILLENEUVE AND STEFANIE DAZIO
STAFF WRITERS | THE RECORD

A youth pastor in a Wyckoff church has been charged with sexual assault and child endangerment in connection with alleged physical contact and text messages with several teenage girls in a church youth group.

David M. Hayman, 37, of Oradell is charged with two counts of sexual assault in connection with offenses committed in 2014 and 2011, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office said. He also is charged with five counts of endangering the welfare of children in 2003, 2006, twice in 2010 and also in 2013, according to jail records.

Hayman’s arrest Thursday came 10 months after a church representative had first reported inappropriate text messages to authorities, Cornerstone Christian Church senior Pastor Fred Provencher said Friday. Hayman remained in the Bergen County Jail on Friday on $250,000 bail.

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NEDERLAND
Dit

[Dutch missionaries have been accused of abuse but where can the foreign victims go with their story. What happens to the perpetrators. Read our complete investigation.]

Wat weten we over misbruik door Nederlandse missionarissen? Waar kunnen buitenlandse slachtoffers heen met hun verhaal? En wat gebeurt er met de daders? Lees ons complete onderzoek.

Er zijn weinig landen in de wereld die zoveel missionarissen hebben uitgezonden als Nederland. Op het hoogtepunt, in 1963, zijn er wereldwijd 8866 Nederlandse missionarissen actief. 1 op de 11 missionarissen is op dat moment van Nederlandse afkomst. Sommigen werken als priester, andere werken in het onderwijs of de gezondheidszorg. In de kaart hieronder een overzicht van alle Nederlandse missionarissen per land in 1963.

Ondanks het grote aantal is er in Nederland nooit onderzoek gedaan naar seksueel misbruik door missionarissen in het buitenland. Ons onderzoek begint op de website van het Meldpunt Misbruik RKK, het officiële meldpunt van de katholieke kerk in Nederland. We bekijken meer dan 700 geanonimiseerde meldingen die op de website staan, op zoek naar aanwijzingen van misbruik in de missie.

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DEUTCHLAND
Rhein-Erft Rundschau

[The accusation of sexual abuse against one of the educators St. Dionysius in Heppendorf was rejected by the prosecution in Cologne. The prosecutor saw no evidence of a crime.]

Der Vorwurf des sexuellen Missbrauchs gegen eine Mitarbeiterin der Kita St. Dionysius in Heppendorf wurde von der Staatsanwaltschaft Köln zurückgewiesen. Sie sieht keine „tragfähigen Anhaltspunkte“. Von Bernd Rupprecht, Eva Müller und Manfred Funken

Elsdorf-Heppendorf.
Im Ort ist es Tagesgespräch: Gegen eine Mitarbeiterin der Kindertagesstätte St. Dionysius in Heppendorf hat das Erzbistum Köln Anzeige wegen des Verdachts des sexuellen Missbrauchs erstattet. Die Mitarbeiterin wurde vom Dienst freigestellt. Die Staatsanwaltschaft Köln jedoch sieht „keine tragfähigen Anhaltspunkte für einen Anfangsverdacht“ und hat keine Ermittlungen eingeleitet. Über eine Beschwerde muss die Generalstaatsanwaltschaft Köln entscheiden.

Nach Einschätzung des Trägers, des Kirchengemeindeverbands Elsdorf, und des Erzbistums bestehe der Anfangsverdacht des sexuellen Missbrauchs, sagt der Pressesprecher des Erzbistums, Christoph Heckeley. Eltern hätten sich bei den Ansprechpartnern des Erzbistums gemeldet. Die Angaben seien zunächst protokolliert worden. Dann seien Experten eingeschaltet worden, weitere Gespräche hätten stattgefunden.

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CURACAO
BN de Stem (Nederland)

[‘Abuse Father’ still works with children]

HILVERSUM (ANP) – Een 90-jarige Nederlandse pater die in de jaren 70 op Curaçao jonge jongens seksueel heeft misbruikt, werkt in Brazilië nog steeds dagelijks met kinderen. Pater Cornelio, die ook nog enkele jaren in Vught heeft gewoond, heeft tegenover het Meldpunt Misbruik van de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk schriftelijk erkend dat hij zich aan jongens heeft vergrepen. Dat meldt het tv-programma Dit is de Dag Onderzoek (EO) zaterdag.

Nooit bestraft
De Broeders van Onze Lieve Vrouw van Lourdes, de congregatie waar de pater aan verbonden is, was al geruime tijd op de hoogte. Maar de beloofde ‘passende maatregelen’ bleven uit. Zelf zegt de pater daarover: ,,Ik heb daar nooit iets van gemerkt. Ik heb een dagopvang opgezet waar ik dag in dag uit kinderen begeleid bij het maken van speelgoed.” Pater Cornelio werkt sinds 1988 in Brazilië. ,,Ik heb van de congregatie voor misbruik ook nooit een bestraffing gekregen. Helemaal niets.” Andere beschuldigingen verwijst hij naar de prullenbak.

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CURACAO
Caraibisch Uitzicht

[Abuse scandals in the Catholic Church become known here in 2010. Robrt Chesal, who wrote about the abuse, said there must first be recognition of the damage incurred. In many cases the perpetrators cannot be found so the problem cannot be discussed face to face with the victims.]

Het feit dat misbruikschandalen in de katholieke kerk vanaf 2010 boven tafel zijn gekomen, dat mensen hun verhaal kwijt konden, heeft gemaakt dat er enige verlichting kwam. Robert Chesal: “Wil er sprake zijn van genezing dan dient er eerst erkenning te komen voor de beschadiging die is opgelopen. In de meeste gevallen zijn de daders onvindbaar, waardoor het probleem nooit face to face besproken kan worden. Veel slachtoffers hebben de pijn toegedekt en verstopt, maar pijn toelaten is de enige manier om vooruit te komen.”

Veel slachtoffers in Nederland hebben zich na 2010 kunnen uiten en zijn daardoor individueel een stuk opgeschoten. In een maatschappij als die van Curaçao is het niet zo gebruikelijk te praten over zaken als deze. Chesal: “Ik herken dat uit mijn eigen jeugd in Florida; op Curaçao kreeg ik hetzelfde gevoel. De code is: Keep it light, keep it happy, blijf lachen, alleen maar de succesverhalen. De altijd maar sterke buitenkant, de machocultuur. Ik heb me altijd afgevraagd hoe het kan dat macho’s zelf niet kunnen zien hoe ‘zwak’ ze zijn. Voor mij zijn de sterkste mensen diegenen die toegeven dat ze ook zwak zijn.”

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MALTA
Malta Independent

Mgr Charles Scicluna this morning was installed as the new archbishop of the archdiocese of Malta in a ceremony that took place at the Mdina Cathedral.

The ceremony was a formal occasion in which he officially took over the running of the archdiocese after his appointment was announced a month ago.

In comments he made to the media present as he left his parents home in Lija (see video below), Mgr Scicluna said he was both nervous and excited.

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SCITUATE
The Patriot Ledger

By Fred Hanson
The Patriot Ledger

Posted Mar. 20, 2015

A Norfolk Superior Court judge is considering a request that would order the parishioners out of St. Frances Cabrini Church after a decade-long vigil.

Judge Edward Leibensperger gave lawyers representing the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston and the Friends of St. Frances Cabrini until Tuesday to make additional filings in the case. He did not give any indication on when he would issue his ruling.

The archdiocese brought the action after parishioners failed to meet a March 6 deadline for leaving the church.

“The defendants have no right to occupy the church,” said Bill Dailey, a lawyer representing the archdiocese said during an hour-long court hearing on Friday. “There is no legal right to occupy the church.”

Dailey said the archdiocese allowed the group to occupy the church while it appealed the decision to close the church. The Vatican’s highest court, the Apostolic Signatura, last summer upheld the archdiocese’s decision to close the church.

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MALTA
Malta Independent

Vatican wanted Mgr Scicluna in Rome, Mgr Mercieca wanted him here – parents of new archbishop

Duncan Barry
Saturday, 21 March 2015

New Arcbishop Mgr Charles Scicluna had to decide whether to work closely with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger – who later became Pope – or remain here at the request of the then Archbishop of Malta Joseph Mercieca. This after Mgr Scicluna ended his studies in Rome back in the 1990s, his parents said in an interview.

“At the time, Cardinal Ratzinger asked our son Charles to work at his side but Archbishop Emeritus Joseph Mercieca wanted him here,” his father recalled. But with his legal background, Mgr Scicluna chose to go to Rome, eventually becoming the Vatican’s chief prosecutor in abuse cases when Cardinal Ratzinger became Pope.

Speaking to The Malta Independent inside their Lija home before their son’s installation ceremony, his parents – Manwel and Maria Carmela – and their other three children, said that Charles showed interest in priesthood at a very young age.

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VATICAN CITY
Yahoo! News

Vatican City (AFP) – Pope Francis came under fire on Friday after accepting the de facto resignation of a British cardinal disgraced in a sex scandal without any follow-up on the allegations against him.

A statement from the Vatican said Francis had accepted British former archbishop Keith O’Brien’s resignation of the rights and privileges of a cardinal in a highly unusual move for which the last precedent dates from 1927.

It came two years after O’Brien stepped down as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, having admitted inappropriate sexual behaviour towards priests in the 1980s.

At the time of his resignation, O’Brien was the most senior Catholic churchman in Britain and an outspoken critic of homosexuality — which he described as a “moral degradation” — and gay marriage.

He was exposed as a hypocrite when several priests who had been in his charge, one of whom had left the priesthood, came forward with testimony that he had made unwanted sexual advances to them, often after late night drinking sessions.

In a statement, the Vatican said the resignation had been presented “after a long period of prayer” — a formulation which means the matter was dealt with by the pope personally, without reference to an internal church court.

“With this provision, His Holiness would like to manifest his pastoral solicitude to all the faithful of the Church in Scotland and to encourage them to continue with hope the path of renewal and reconciliation,” the statement added.

SNAP, a global campaign group on the issue of clerical sex abuse which counts many victims among its activists, said the pope’s handling of the issue was tantamount to a cover up.

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OREGON
Bend Bulletin

By Scott Hammers / The Bulletin
Published Mar 21, 2015

The Bishop of the Diocese of Baker is again critiquing a former Catholic priest, posting a letter on the Diocese website advising “faithful Catholics” not to take part in services and rituals performed by James Radloff.

Radloff was at the helm of the Bend-based St. Francis of Assisi parish for nearly two years until he was dismissed by Bishop Liam Cary in October 2013. The diocese has said little about the reasons for Radloff’s dismissal, other than to say — at the time — that Radloff remained a priest “in good standing.”

Shortly after he was removed from his post, Radloff appealed to the Vatican to reverse Cary’s decision. After his appeal was denied, Radloff announced he was leaving the Roman Catholic Church to serve as pastor of the Holy Communion Evangelical Catholic Church, a small sect that embraces much of the ritual and doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church while taking a more liberal approach on social issues.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

March 21, 2015

Rachel Browne

A former Catholic brother has been arrested over a number of sex offences allegedly committed against boys at two Sydney schools in the 1980s.

The 52-year-old man was charged on Friday after a police investigation into allegations he sexually assaulted boys at St Joseph’s College in Hunters Hill in 1987 and St Gregory’s College in Campbelltown in 1989.

The two students were aged 12 at the time of the alleged sexual assaults.

Both matters were reported to the police in late 2014, with the investigation run by the Campbelltown Local Area Command.

The former brother, who was working at the Marist Brothers schools when the alleged assaults occurred, was arrested at Tweed Heads Police Station on Friday afternoon.

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GERMANY
National Catholic Reporter

Christa Pongratz-Lippitt | Mar. 20, 2015

The church must change its perspective on sexuality, have more confidence in the faithful, and take greater heed of decisions of conscience, the German Conference of Religious Superiors (DOK) emphasized in its input for the coming Synod of Bishops in October.

In their eight-page statement to the German bishops’ conference’s request that DOK participate in the opinion-forming process up to the synod, the superiors pointed out how important it is for the church to have a more open view of sexuality.

The statement said Catholics today think it particularly important that sexuality should not inspire fear and anxiety as it so often did for many Catholics in the past. The faithful in Germany today are convinced that sexual fulfillment is “important and precious.”

The large majority, moreover, do not believe that every sexual act must be open to procreation but strive to practice responsible parenthood.

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GEORGIA
News 2

By JoAnn Merrigan

Savannah – A lawsuit filed Thursday and served on the Savannah Catholic Diocese today opens up new wounds and new questions. The suit was filed in South Carolina Jasper County Court of Common Pleas by a 41 year old man who says he was a victim of sexual abuse when he was 13 and attending St. James Catholic School in Savannah.

It was in 1987 that the Savannah Diocese assigned then priest Wayland Brown to the school. (Wayland was defrocked in 2004, has served time in prison in Maryland for sex abuse and was also the subject of another civil suit. He has been called a “serial predator” by the group SNAP which stands for Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.)

The lawsuit says the abuse of the 13 year old from St. James School took place from 1987 through 1988 and that the victim was abused in Jasper County which is why the legal action was filed in South Carolina. The suit contends the young victim would be driven to the island which was mostly wooded area at that time by the priest and abused abused in the woods.

Attorney for the victim, Mark Tate of Savannah, contends his legal filings show that Catholic officials then in charge of the diocese knew of prior problems with Brown and even had a meeting in 1986 after reportedly hearing that law enforcement in Augusta was asking questions about Brown.

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CALIFORNIA
The Garden Island

WOODLAND, Calif. (AP) — Federal immigration authorities have arrested a former Northern California priest and are preparing to deport him to Mexico after he admitted having unlawful sex with a 16-year-old altar girl.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say agents arrested 46-year-old Hector Coria Gonzales at his home in Davis on Friday.

He was being held without bond at a county facility while his case is reviewed by an immigration court.

Gonzales pleaded guilty to statutory rape in Yolo County Superior Court in July for engaging in sexual acts with a 16-year-old girl who belonged to the St. James’ Parish in Davis where he served as a priest.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Oxford Mail

by Annabal Bagdi, Reporter covering East Oxford and Cowley. Call me on (01865) 425430

COMMUNITY members in East Oxford and Cowley have said they will work to build bridges after the child sexual exploitation scandal that shook the city.

Dr Hojjat Ramzy, director of the Cowley-based Oxford Islamic Information Centre, said the community needs to unite in the aftermath of the Serious Case Review into Operation Bullfinch.

In 2013 seven men, some of whom were described as having Muslim backgrounds, were jailed for a total of 95 years for raping, trafficking and prostituting six girls.

The review identified catastrophic failings in police and social services that allowed the sexual abuse to continue.

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CALIFORNIA
Sacramento Bee

BY CATHY LOCKE
CLOCKE@SACBEE.COM
03/20/2015

A former Catholic priest from Mexico convicted last year of sexually assaulting an underage altar girl in his Davis parish now faces deportation.

Hector Coria-Gonzalez, 46, was taken into custody at his Davis residence early Friday morning by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Removal Operations. He is being held without bond at Sacramento County’s Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center while his case is reviewed by the immigration court, according to a Immigration and Customs Enforcement news release.

Coria-Gonzalez pleaded guilty in Yolo County Superior Court in July 2014 to statutory rape for engaging in sexual acts with a 16-year-old girl who belonged to the St. James Parish in Davis, where he served as a priest.

At the time of his arrest in 2014, Coria-Gonzalez was in the United States lawfully, immigration authorities said. But when the Catholic Church stripped him of his priesthood following his conviction, it paved the way for ICE to seek his removal from the country.

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SCOTLAND
Edinburgh Evening News

DAVID O’LEARY

DISGRACED Cardinal Keith O’Brien has again apologised for his “sexual conduct” after formally resigning from his role at a meeting with Pope Francis.

Cardinal O’Brien, 77, stepped down from the archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh in February 2013 after three priests and a former priest made allegations of inappropriate behaviour against him.

At the time, he issued an apology saying “there have been times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me”.

He left Scotland and said he would play no further part in the public life of the Catholic Church in the country.

He will retain the title of cardinal, the Church said, but has now been formally stripped of the “rights and duties” of the role after an investigation.

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POLAND
The New York Times

By JOANNA BERENDT
MARCH 20, 2015

A Polish priest accused of sexually abusing minors in Poland and in the Dominican Republic, where he led a parish for almost a decade, offered to serve a seven-year jail sentence as his trial opened on Friday, according to a spokeswoman for a regional court in Warsaw. The priest, the Rev. Wojciech Gil, is charged with committing 10 crimes, most of which relate to the molestation of boys under the age of 15. If convicted, he could serve up to 15 years in prison. During the trial, which is closed to the public, Father Gil for the first time since his arrest did not deny the charges, the court spokeswoman said, but it is unclear whether he pleaded guilty. Under Polish law, a defendant can offer to serve a jail term for some crimes without admitting to any guilt. The prosecutors are to respond to his offer when the trial resumes on Wednesday.

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SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland

Herald View

Saturday 21 March 2015

Pope Francis gave a clear indication that he was taking the offences of Cardinal Keith O’Brien seriously when he effectively exiled him from Scotland in May 2013.

Now, by accepting his resignation and clarifying the extent to which Cardinal O’Brien has been stripped of his duties, the pontiff has effectively found him guilty of the sexual misconduct he has already admitted to.

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ALABAMA
AL.com

By Casey Toner | ctoner@al.com
on March 20, 2015

Attorneys that are suing St. Pius X School in a bullying case can depose a school priest who allegedly had a sexual relationship with a teenage boy 15 years ago, a judge ruled Friday.

Mobile County Circuit Court Judge Sarah H. Stewart said that plaintiff attorneys David Kennedy and Christine Hernandez will be allowed to ask Rev. Johnny Savoie, the school administrator, about the incident and the teenager as long as they identify the teenager by his initials in the deposition.

Furthermore, Stewart said that the deposition would not automatically fall under a confidential protection order. Attorneys for St. Pius would have to request such an order after the fact.

“It’s relevant, it’s discoverable,” Stewart said, in a testy exchange with Finn Cox, an attorney representing St. Pius X School.

The plaintiff’s lawyers subpoenaed Baldwin County District Attorney Hallie Dixon earlier this month in order to ask her questions about a report she received regarding the allegation made against Savoie.

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ALABAMA
AL.com

By Theresa Seiger | tseiger@al.com
on March 20, 2015

Law enforcement officials have said little in the two weeks since investigators with the Department of Human Resources and Mobile Police Department removed nearly 40 children from a pair of youth residential facilities. In the meantime, the pastor at the center of the controversy has spoken out about what he characterized as a targeted attack at his organization.

The Rev. John Young, pastor at Solid Rock Ministries on Springhill Avenue, said an accusation of child abuse levied against his Saving Youth Foundation amounted to nothing more than “outrageous lies.”

“When DHR, the (Mobile County District Attorney’s) Office (and) the Department of Health all came in, I’m sure it was their intent to shut us down,” he said. “I don’t feel like there’s anything to hide.”

On March 5 authorities removed 15 children from a girls residential facility on Sullivan Avenue after receiving a complaint from a mother, according to police. While investigating, the health department noted numerous code violations, including a sewage leak near the home’s kitchen and expired food.

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UNITED STATES
dotCommonweal

Grant Gallicho March 20, 2015

Today the Holy See announced that Cardinal Keith O’Brien of Scotland has resigned the “rights and privileges” of being a cardinal. The news follows the conclusion of a Vatican investigation of allegations that O’Brien sexually harrassed adult men, including a seminarian, and carried on a long-term sexual relationship with a priest. O’Brien, once an outspoken critic of homosexuality, resigned as archbishop of Edinburgh in 2013, admitting that “many times” his sexual conduct had “fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop, and cardinal.” And he recused himself from the conclave that elected Pope Francis. Until now, O’Brien had been living in a seaside home apparantly enjoying the rights and privileges of a cardinal. Not anymore. He won’t be able to participate in any more conclaves, or act as an adviser to the pope. Still, O’Brien gets to keep his title, even if he’s permitted to wear his red hat and vestments only in private.

This is “an extraordinarily decisive act of governance that combines justice with mercy,” according to Gerard O’Collins. Andrea Tornielli called the pope’s decision “courageous.” It may be merciful and it’s certainly extraordinary (the last time a cardinal resigned was in 1927). But is it decisive? Courageous? I have my doubts.

First, the allegations against O’Brien surfaced nearly two years ago. Pope Francis did not appoint Archbishop Charles Scicluna–once the Vatican’s top abuse investigator–to look into the situation until 2014, well after the pope had ordered O’Brien to get out of Scotland for a few months. Of course, thorough investigations take time, and Scicluna is a busy man, but it’s not as though O’Brien’s accusers were unknown, or difficult to reach. They sent their initial complaints to the papal nuncio in late 2012 and early 2013. Why has it taken nearly two years to get to the bottom of this?

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NEW JERSEY
WABC

WYCOFF (WABC) — A New Jersey youth pastor was arrested on Thursday and charged with sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child.

David Hayman, 37, of Oradell and former pastor of Cornerstone Christian Church in Wycoff, is accused of engaging in inappropriate sexual contact with youth members of the church.

Police say Hayman engaged in inappropriate sexual contact and exchanged explicit videos with two 16-year-old girls on multiple occasions.

Hayman is also accused of sending multiple sexually explicit text messages to three other girls.

Hayman was the Pastor of Youth and Children’s Ministries for nearly 10 years, where he was led a high school youth group and oversaw younger aged youth groups. He was fired from his position during the summer of 2014 when the church learned of inappropriate text messages he sent.

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NEW JERSEY
NJ.com

By Noah Cohen | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on March 20, 2015

HACKENSACK — A former pastor at a Wyckoff church exchanged sexually explicit messages and videos with girls in a youth group he supervised and had sexual encounters with two of the teens, authorities said today.

David Hayman, 37, was arrested Thursday, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said in a statement. He was charged with two counts of sexual assault and five counts of child endangerment.

Hayman exchanged the videos with two girls in the youth group beginning when they were 16 years old and “engaged in inappropriate sexual activity,” with the teens, Molinelli said. He traded explicit text messages with two other girls when they were 15 and another when she was 16.

“All of the victims were members of a church youth group, of which Hayman was the pastor and for whom he had direct supervisory responsibility,” the prosecutor said.

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ROME
Wall Street Journal

By FRANCIS X. ROCCA
March 20, 2015

ROME—A Scottish cardinal who admitted sexual misconduct has given up the right to vote in any future papal conclave following a Vatican investigation of his actions, in one of the most significant outcomes of the pope’s efforts to hold church leadership accountable.

Cardinal Keith O’Brien, who until 2013 presided over the archdiocese of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, gave up the “rights and privileges of cardinal,” including voting in a papal election—the most important power exercised by cardinals—and advising the pope on governance of the Catholic Church, the Vatican announced Friday.

The move, which the Scottish bishops’ conference called “unprecedented,” followed an investigation into claims that Cardinal O’Brien had had inappropriate sexual contact with seminarians under his authority in the 1980s.

No cardinal has experienced such a demotion since 1927, when French Cardinal Louis Billot resigned after friction with the Vatican over his involvement in French politics. Unlike Cardinal Billot, Cardinal O’Brien will retain his title. But he will lose the prerogatives ordinarily attached to it.

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GEORGIA
Savannah Morning News

By Jan Skutch
Former Roman Catholic priest Wayland Yoder Brown and two Savannah diocese bishops on Thursday were sued for alleged sexual encounters with a minor parishioner.

The suit, filed in the Court of Common Pleas in Jasper County, S.C. by attorney Mark Tate, alleges Brown took the plaintiff to Jasper County and had “multiple sexual encounters” with him between August 1987 and May 1988.

The plaintiff was a 13-year-old student at St. James Catholic School in Savannah at the time. He filed the suit in his own name, but the Savannah Morning News does not identify victims of sexual assaults.

The suit named Brown, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah, former Bishop Raymond Lessard and current Bishop Gregory John Hartmayer as defendants.

It is the third lawsuit naming Brown involving similar conduct.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

By Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel

The former vice chancellor of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, now an advocate for clergy sexual abuse victims, has asked the judge in the archdiocese’s bankruptcy to investigate how the church funds its cemetery operations.

In a letter to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Susan V. Kelley, Fr. James Connell questions whether the archdiocese may have used its cemetery trust funds to subsidize its other operations, contradicting its assertion that the money can be used only for the perpetual care of its cemeteries. And Connell, a canon lawyer and certified public accountant, who previously sat on the archdiocese’s finance council, suggests she pull in the FBI to look into it.

It’s highly unlikely that the judge would do that, according to at least one bankruptcy expert.

But Connell’s concerns echo those likely to be raised by abuse victims if and when a pending lawsuit over the cemetery trust, which the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals refused last week to dismiss on religious liberty challenges, resumes in Milwaukee later this year.

James Stang, lead attorney for the creditors committee, which is composed of victims but represents all of the archdiocese’s creditors, declined to comment on Connell’s assertions. But he said the committee’s financial experts are reviewing his letter.

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GEORGIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Friday, March 20

Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314-503-0003, bdorris@SNAPnetwork.org )

A new clergy sex abuse and cover up lawsuit has been filed against the Savannah Catholic diocese. It charges that a notorious serial predator – Fr. Wayland Brown – repeatedly assaulted a 13 year old boy in 1987-88 at St. James Catholic School in Savannah. The victim is represented by Savannah attorney Mark Tate, marktate@tatelawgroup.com, 912-484-1762

In an earlier civil case, a victim molested by Fr. Brown received a $4.2 million settlement.

Fr. Brown was ordained in 1977 but church records show that concerns about him go back as far as 1969. In 1986, for instance, at least one Catholic official knew Fr. Brown was being investigated for possible criminal child sex charges. But Fr. Brown was kept on the job and quietly shuffled around for years hurting children over and over again.

We applaud this brave, wounded man who is filing suit. It takes real courage to break his silence and expose the dreadfully reckless and callous actions Catholic officials took that repeatedly endangered innocent kids and helped a shrewd predator.

We hope this lawsuit will prod and inspire others who have been hurt by Brown and other clergy to call police, protect others and start healing.

When victims, whistleblowers and witnesses speak up, predators are exposed and children are protected. But when victims, whistleblowers and witnesses stay silent, predators walk free and kids are assaulted.

Brown once served prison time in Maryland for his crimes. We hope police and prosecutors are able to convict him again and keep this dangerous predator behind bars. But that will only happen if others who saw, suspected or suffered his crimes come forward.

We call on Savannah Catholic officials – including Bishop Gregory J. Hartmayer – to use their vast resources to reach out to others who were assaulted by Brown and who are likely still suffering in shame, silence and self-blame. Church staff should use parish bulletins, church websites and pulpit announcements to prod others in pain to step forward.

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SCOTLAND
Spectator

Keith O’Brien stripped of the rank of cardinal – an extraordinary disgrace for the Scottish Church

Damian Thompson

Keith O’Brien, former Cardinal Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, was today stripped of the rank of cardinal by Pope Francis. Technically he has resigned. But the statement above leaves us in little doubt that O’Brien has had the red hat forcibly removed from him. He’s the first cardinal to lose his title since Louis Billot, a French Jesuit who resigned as cardinal in 1927 in protest at the Church’s condemnation of the far-Right anti-Semitic Action Française movement. Billot was the only cardinal to resign in the 20th century.

Full marks to the Tablet for setting out the background to this extraordinary move a few days ago (my emphasis):

Following public accusations by a number of priests and one former priest, and following the cardinal’s resignation, the Pope appointed Bishop – now Archbishop – Scicluna, to speak to all those involved and report back to the Vatican.

One of the men who have accused Cardinal O’Brien of inappropriate sexual conduct said that despite Archbishop Scicluna’s report being ‘hot enough to burn the varnish’ off the Pope’s desk, the Church was moving with ‘glacial’ speed when it came to making public its findings.

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CANADA
The Province

BY JENNIFER SALTMAN, THE PROVINCE MARCH 20, 2015

A former Abbotsford Hindu priest convicted of sex crimes against two teen girls was deported to India last month after being granted statutory release.

Karam Vir, 35, was found guilty in May 2013 of two counts of touching a younger person for a sexual purpose and one count of sexual assault. He was sentenced in September 2013 to 2-1/2 years in prison, minus four months of credit for time served.

The incidents that sent Vir to prison took place in 2009 and 2010 while he was employed at a Hindu temple on Walmsley Avenue. Vir made sexual advances toward the two victims, who were 17 years old, after befriending them at the temple. He had intercourse with one girl and attempted intercourse with the other.

In August 2014, Vir was denied day and full parole. In late January of this year he was granted statutory release, which is automatically given to most offenders after they have served two-thirds of their sentence.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Katholisch

[No investigation into abuse.]

Die Staatsanwaltschaft Köln weist Vorwürfe des Erzbistums Köln zurück, im Fall einer nach Missbrauchsvorwürfen entlassenen Erzieherin nicht zu ermitteln. Es gebe bislang keine tragfähigen Anhaltspunkte, die Ermittlungen rechtfertigen würden, sagte der Sprecher, Oberstaatsanwalt Ulrich Bremer, am Freitag der Katholischen Nachrichten-Agentur (KNA). Er verwies darauf, dass auch keine Strafanzeigen von Eltern vorlägen.

Das Erzbistum hatte eine Erzieherin an einer katholischen Kindertagesstätte in Elsdorf im Rhein-Erft-Kreis entpflichtet. Ihr wirft die Erzdiözese sexuellen Missbrauch in mindestens zwei Fällen vor. Weil die Staatsanwaltschaft nicht ermittelt, legte die Erzdiözese Beschwerde bei der Generalstaatsanwaltschaft in Köln ein.

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ILLINOIS
Daily Herald

A change of judge was granted Thursday by Cook County Circuit Court Judge Joseph M. Cataldo for a prominent former imam and head of an Islamic school in Elgin who was charged last month with sexual assault.

Mohammed Abdullah Saleem, 75, of the 400 block of Jean Street in Gilberts, will next appear before Judge Kara Halios Wednesday, March 25, at the Cook County Courthouse in Rolling Meadows. No reason was given for the imam’s request for a different judge.

Saleem is currently charged only with the assault of a former secretary at the Institute of Islamic Education school he established in Elgin in 1989, but three other women have joined her in a lawsuit alleging they were sexually abused by Saleem as well while they were minors.

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UNITED STATES
The New York Times

By DAMON LINKER
MARCH 20, 2015

Ask a devout, theologically literate ­Roman Catholic to describe the institution of the church, and you’re likely to be told that it was founded by Jesus Christ at the moment he gave his disciple ­Peter the “keys to the kingdom of heaven” and vowed that “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven.” This made ­Peter the head of the universal church, ­empowered to administer the sacraments, spread the Gospel, save souls and forgive sins until Christ’s return, as well as to pronounce with infallible authority on ­matters of Christian faith and morals. Christ also promised Peter that “the gates of hell shall not prevail” against the church — meaning that no matter how corrupt the institution might appear at any given moment of history, it will never be so consumed by evil that it ceases to be capable of fulfilling its God-appointed tasks.

Ask an informed historian or journalist about the history of the church — especially the Vatican and the papacy — and you are likely to hear a different story. On this telling, the church from the beginning has been an all-too-human institution that ­often follows a logic of self-interest, placing the good of its members ahead of those outside it, and the good of those in positions of ecclesiastical power ahead of the good of everyone else. To a greater or lesser extent, this has been true of most institutions throughout history, though it has been a particular problem in the 2,000-year history of the church, with its lack of democratic accountability and deep roots in the corruption-prone political culture of the Italian peninsula. The result has been a tension — and sometimes a blatant contradiction — between the church’s exalted claims for itself and its behavior.

Think of medieval popes waging the Crusades — raising armies, sacking ­cities and conquering territory — in the name of Jesus Christ. Or prelates torturing apostates and heretics during the Inquisition. Or Pope Pius V expelling Jews from the Papal States in 1569. Or Pope Pius XI signing the Reichskonkordat with ­Hitler, which, in return for winning a measure of freedom for German Catholics ­under the Nazis, assured silence from the Holy See over the forced sterilization of 400,000 people and then only the faintest of ­objections to the Holocaust. Or more ­recently, bishops and other church officials concealing widespread and repeated child sexual abuse by priests.

All of these and many other well-known acts of complicity with the ways of the world are touched on in Gerald Posner’s new book, but its main subject is a somewhat more arcane form of corruption. “God’s Bankers” provides an exhaustive history of financial machinations at the center of the church in Rome, from the final decades of the 19th century down to Pope Francis’ sincere but as yet inconclusive efforts to reform the church’s labyrinthine bureaucracy (the Curia) and the Vatican Bank (named Istituto per le Opere di Religione, or Institute for the Works of Religion, also known as the I.O.R.).

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GEORGIA
Fox 6

By Sean Evans
By Don Logana

SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) –
WTOC has learned of a new complaint and lawsuit filed against the Catholic Diocese of Savannah alleging sexual abuse by a former priest.

The name of the priest is a familiar one, as he has been named twice before in similar suits and similar allegations. This complaint states 28 years ago, former priest Wayland Yoder Brown sexually abused a 13-year-old St. James Catholic School student. Brown allegedly took him into South Carolina where he forced him to perform sex acts.

The Diocese, Raymond W. Lessard, bishop at the time, and current Bishop Gregory J. Hartmayer are named as defendants. The complaint also contends the diocese knew about dangers involving Brown as far back as 1969. The Catholic Church removed Brown from active ministry in 1988 when allegations of child molestation first surfaced.

In 2003, Brown was convicted in Maryland on charges of child molestation. He served five years of a 10-year sentence. In 2004 he was defrocked from the priesthood. He remains on the Maryland Sex Offender Registry.

WTOC spoke to the victim’s attorney, Mark Tate, who said the diocese wanted his client to remain silent, like Brown tried to do 28 years ago. …

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, has followed cases involving Wayland Yoder Brown dating as far back as the late 1960’s. SNAP Outreach Director Barbara Dorris said, “We feel the Church has a moral obligation to warn people where this dangerous predator is, to exert and use every resource at their disposal to confine this man to a situation where he would have no access to children.”

The Diocese of Savannah released the following statement:

This matter is the subject of pending litigation. The Diocese of Savannah has confidence in the legal process and looks forward to its opportunity to address the allegations in Court. The Diocese of Savannah does not believe it appropriate to comment on the circumstances of the pending litigation in this forum.

The Diocese of Savannah does not tolerate the sexual abuse of children. The Diocese of Savannah had no prior knowledge that Wayland Brown had abused children at the time periods referenced over thirty years ago. In 1987, Wayland Brown was assigned to St. James Parish, and at that time there were no allegations of sexual abuse against him.

The Diocese of Savannah is adamant that the abuse of children will not be tolerated by anyone, especially church personnel. The Diocese of Savannah encourages anyone with knowledge of abuse to come forward and report such allegations to the Diocese of Savannah Office of Child Protection Services. The Diocese of Savannah will do everything in its power to protect children, to attempt to stop any alleged abuse, and to promote the healing of all the parties affected.

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SCOTLAND
Telegraph

By John Bingham, Religious Affairs Editor

Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the disgraced former head of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland has formally “resigned” the role of Cardinal – but keeps his title.

Pope Francis has ordered the former Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh – who stepped down two years ago after revelations that he made sexual advances to priests – to live a “strictly private life” of prayer and penance, banned from taking part in any future “public, religious or civil events”.

The Cardinal has been living in effective exile in England under arrangements agreed by the Vatican which bars him from setting foot in Scotland. His former archdiocese has bought a house in a quiet cul-de-sac in Northumberland for him to live out his exile.

In a short statement he said he was “deeply sorry” to his victims, remarking that his “sexual conduct” had “fallen below the standards expected”.

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VATIKAN
kath.net

[The Vatican has denied a press report that the home of former Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone was said to have been built by a contractor suspected of corruption.]

Vatikan hat Pressebericht dementiert, wonach die Wohnung von Ex-Kardinalstaatssekretär Tarcisio Bertone von einem unter Korruptionsverdacht stehenden Unternehmer ausgebaut worden sein soll.

Vatikanstadt (kath.net/KNA) Der Vatikan hat einen Pressebericht dementiert, wonach die Wohnung von Ex-Kardinalstaatssekretär Tarcisio Bertone von einem unter Korruptionsverdacht stehenden Unternehmer ausgebaut worden sein soll. Die Behauptung, die Firma des angeklagten Diego Anemone habe die Arbeiten für Bertone durchgeführt, sei «völlig falsch», hieß es am Mittwoch.

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CHILE
EPD

Chile hat einem wegen Kindesmissbrauchs verurteilten Pfarrer die Staatsangehörigkeit aberkannt. Der katholische Geistliche John Joseph O’Reilly war im Oktober wegen wiederholten Missbrauchs einer Fünfjährigen zu vier Jahren Haft verurteilt worden. Der 68 Jahre alte Ire, der seit 1984 in Chile lebt und 2008 chilenischer Staatsbürger geworden war, gehört dem Orden der “Legionäre Christi” an. Er verbüßt seine Strafe derzeit unter Hausarrest.

Die Entscheidung, O’Reilly den Pass zu entziehen, fällte der Senat des südamerikanischen Staates am Mittwoch einstimmig, wie die Tageszeitung “La Nación” berichtete. Die obere Parlamentskammer ist in Chile die einzige Instanz, die eine Staatsangehörigkeit verleihen oder aberkennen kann.

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CHILE
kath.ch

Santiago de Chile, 19.3.15 (kath.ch) Manche Beobachter sehen in dem Fall schon einen Härtetest für Papst Franziskus. Er hat in Chile einen Bischof weiter befördert, dem vorgeworfen wird, als junger Priester einen Missbrauchstäter gedeckt zu haben. Bischof Juan de la Cruz Barros Madrid kämpft um seinen Ruf. Er habe bis 2009 nichts von den Missbrauchsvorwürfen gegen den heute 84-jährigen Priester Fernando Salvador Miguel Karadima Farina, einen 2011 vom Vatikan verurteilten Missbrauchstäter, gewusst.

Tobias Käufer

Und er habe nichts zu vertuschen versucht, erklärte Barros in dieser Woche. Unterstützung erhielt der 58-Jährige von der Chilenischen Bischofskonferenz, die Barros zumindest formal den Rücken stärkte. In einer am Mittwoch (18. März) verbreiteten Stellungnahme der Bischöfe heisst es in drei dürren Absätzen, sie betonten «in einer Gesinnung des Glaubens und des Gehorsams» ihre Verbindung mit Papst Franziskus, «der Mons. Barros zum Bischof von Osorno berufen hat».

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CHILE
Katholisch

Bischof Juan de la Cruz Barros Madrid kämpft um seinen Ruf. Er habe bis 2009 nichts von den Missbrauchsvorwürfen gegen den heute 84-jährigen Priester Fernando Salvador Miguel Karadima Farina, einen 2011 vom Vatikan verurteilten Missbrauchstäter, gewusst. Und er habe nichts zu vertuschen versucht, erklärte Barros in dieser Woche. Unterstützung erhielt der 58-Jährige von der Chilenischen Bischofskonferenz, die Barros zumindest formal den Rücken stärkte.

In einer am Mittwoch (Ortszeit) verbreiteten Stellungnahme der Bischöfe heißt es in drei dürren Absätzen, sie betonten “in einer Gesinnung des Glaubens und des Gehorsams” ihre Verbindung mit Papst Franziskus , “der Mons. Barros zum Bischof von Osorno berufen hat”.

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UNITED STATES
Religion News Service – Rhymes with Religion

Boz Tchividjian | Mar 20, 2015

The horrors of child abuse not only extinguishes the innocence of childhood, but so often defines survivors who spend a lifetime struggling to process such devastating childhood trauma. When abuse is perpetrated in faith communities and is rationalized with scripture and distorted theology, most victims come to understand God as the ultimate abuser. All too often, these precious souls get weary of processing what seems to be a forever dark journey and simply give up hope.

I hope that we can all find some comfort in Trudy’s words that have been formed out of a life that for all intensive purposes should have ended long ago. I’m so grateful God had other plan. – Boz

Boz: Can you tell us a little bit about your family background?

Trudy: I was the 12th living child, of what would eventually be 16, born into an Old Colony Russian Mennonite home. With a history of unaddressed abuse and violence in my father’s family, and murder and unacknowledged sexual abuse in my mother’s family, we didn’t stand much of a chance at escaping abuse. Intertwined with this were deeply rooted religious beliefs that presented God as volatile and harsh, rather than a kind ‘Abba Father’—or ‘Papa’—who loves us and understands our humanity.

Boz: What was it about the culture you grew up in that you believe contributed to an abusive environment?

Trudy: This topic would produce at least a chapter, but more likely a book, if covered with any kind of thoroughness. Certainly male dominance was a problem—and I say that as someone who believes all are created equal, with something of value to contribute in every situation—and this robbed women and children of any voice. Contributing to this was the ‘elders are to be respected view’ that required younger children to submit to older siblings, giving older siblings almost the same authority as parents. While these older siblings were not necessarily the abusers, the mentality very much affirmed ‘voicelessness’ and demanded submission and surrender to the wishes of anyone older. This is a set up for abuse throughout life.

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SCOTLAND
Religion News Service

David Gibson | March 20, 2015

(RNS) Scottish Cardinal Keith O’Brien, who was accused of sexually harassing several men in a scandal that exploded on the eve of the 2013 conclave that elected Pope Francis, has renounced the “rights and privileges” of his office but gets to keep his prestigious title, the Vatican announced Friday (March 20).

O’Brien did not take part in the March 2013 conclave and now he will be barred from any future conclaves; at age 77, he would have lost his voting eligibility at age 80.

Francis had been under pressure to take some action against O’Brien since one of his victims revealed that an internal church report on O’Brien had been sent to Rome and was “hot enough to burn the varnish” off the pope’s desk.

At least five men – three priests, a former priest and a former seminarian – accused O’Brien of either sexually harassing them or pressuring them into sex, in allegations that went back to the 1980s. O’Brien was accused of being sexually active up through at least 2009.

Those were also the years in which O’Brien became increasingly outspoken in denouncing homosexuality and gay rights; he called homosexuality a “moral degradation” that was “demonstrably harmful” to gay people. In response, the gay rights group Stonewall crowned O’Brien “bigot of the year.”

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SCOTLAND
Gay Star News

20 MARCH 2015 | BY JOE MORGAN

Disgraced Cardinal Keith O’Brien has officially resigned today (20 March).

Pope Francis accepted the cleric’s resignation of the rights and privileges of a cardinal after he admitted to ‘inappropriate sexual misconduct’ with four priests.

Prior to the revelation, he had launched a ‘war’ on same-sex marriage in the UK. He likened it to slavery, child abuse and moral degradation.

But he was exposed as a hypocrite, with several priests coming forward to say O’Brien had made unwanted sexual advances towards them in the 1980s. It was also alleged he had a long-term secret boyfriend.

When O’Brien resigned and fled to live in self-imposed exile, the UK lost one of its most homophobic voices and ‘respected’ leaders against same-sex marriage. Without him, same-sex marriage undoubtedly had an easier ride to becoming legal in England, Wales and Scotland.

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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Dominican Today

Santo Domingo.- Polish priest Wojciech (Padre Alberto) Gil, charged with molesting several boys in the Dominican Republic and Poland, on Friday pleaded guilty to the charges to seek a reduced sentence at the court in Wolomin, Poland EFE reports from Warsaw.

The prosecution however has requested time to study the proposal by the defendant’s lawyers.

The Polish court set the next hearing for March 25, when the prelate could be sentenced, local media report.

“The defendant pleaded guilty and agreed to serve a seven year prison sentence,” said court spokeswoman Joanna Adamowicz.

Gil faces 10 charges, eight for child molestation and two for possession of child pornography and illegal weapons possession. If convicted he could spend up to 15 years in prison without taking into account its voluntary declaration of guilt.

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POLAND
Reuters

(Reuters) – A Catholic priest on trial for sexually abusing children in Poland and the Dominican Republic offered on Friday to serve a seven-year jail term, a court spokeswoman said.

The priest was suspended by his religious order in the rural Dominican parish of Juncalito last year after local residents accused him of molesting altar boys, according to the church.

He was arrested after returning to his native Poland and is on trial on 10 charges relating to child sex abuse and possessing pornographic images of children. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in jail.

“The priest filed for voluntary submission to a seven-year penalty,” said court spokeswoman Joanna Adamowicz. “The prosecutors will give their opinion on the motion on March 25.”

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POLONIA
Diario Social

[The Polish priest Wojciech Gil on Friday pleaded guilty to the charges of rape of minors in the Dominican Republic and has asked for a reduced sentence. The prosecution requested time to study the proposal. The court process will continue March 25.]

El sacerdote polaco Wojciech Gil se declaró este viernes culpable de los cargos de violación a menores y su defensa confía en que eso le permita beneficiarse de una reducción de pena, informó el tribunal de Wolomin (Varsovia), que juzga al religioso.

La Fiscalía ha solicitado tiempo para estudiar la propuesta de los abogados del acusado. El proceso continuará el próximo día 25 de marzo, cuanto se celebrará la siguiente vista y cuando, según especulaciones de diversos medios, podría dictarse sentencia.

Sobre Wojciech Gil pesan diez cargos, ocho por abuso a menores y otros dos por posesión de pornografía infantil y tenencia ilegal de armas (una pistola y municiones), lo que podría costarle hasta 15 ańos de cárcel si no se tiene en cuenta su declaración voluntaria de culpabilidad.

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POLSKA
TVN 24

Ks. Wojciech G., oskarżony o molestowanie nieletnich na Dominikanie i w Polsce, chce dobrowolnie poddać się karze – poinformował sąd. Prokurator poprosił o czas na zajęcie stanowiska w tej sprawie. Rozprawa, która odbyła się w piątek przed wołomińskim sądem, została odroczono do 25 marca.

– Oskarżony złożył wniosek o dobrowolne poddanie się karze w łącznym wymiarze 7 lat więzienia – powiedziała Joanna Adamowicz z zespołu prasowego Sądu Okręgowego Warszawa-Praga.

Adamowicz dodała, że prokurator poprosił o czas na zajęcie stanowiska.

“Chcielibyśmy usłyszeć prawdę od Wojciecha G.”. Rusza proces księdza oskarżonego o pedofilię
Prawie dwa lata… czytaj dalej »
O tym, że ksiądz G. chce dobrowolnie poddać się karze informowaliśmy wcześniej w tvn24.pl.

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POLAND
Yahoo! News

WOLOMIN, Poland (AP) — A Polish priest accused of abusing eight minors in the Dominican Republic and in Poland has sought settlement for a seven-year prison term, a court spokesman said Friday.

The priest, Wojciech Gil, has been under arrest since February 2014 on charges of abusing six minors at the Caribbean island between 2009 and 2013 and two in Poland in 2000-2001. The charges also included possession of child pornography and illegal possession of arms. He has denied the charges.

If convicted after full court proceedings, the 37-year-old could face up to 15 years in prison.

Court spokesman, Marcin Lochowski, told The Associated Press that the priest’s attorney made a motion for a settlement and a seven-year prison term for the priest at the start of the closed-door trial in the Polish town of Wolomin.

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POLAND
GlobalPost

Agence France-Presse March 20, 2015

A Polish priest accused of child sex abuse in the Dominican Republic has proposed a plea bargain to serve just under half of the 15-year jail term he is facing, a Warsaw court said Friday.

“The accused has forwarded a request to voluntarily submit to serve seven years in prison … but formally the priest did not plead guilty,” Warsaw court spokesman Marcin Lochowski told AFP.

Identified only as Wojciech G. for legal reasons, the accused priest whose trial began Friday faces up to 15 years behind bars on allegations of child sex abuse and possessing child pornography.

Polish prosecutors charged the 38-year-old priest last year with sex offences against eight children in both the Dominican Republic and Poland.

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CHILE
Crux

By Crux Staff
March 20, 2015

Crux received the following statement from three men abused by Chilean priest Fernando Karadima.

Our Statement Regarding the Appointment of Bishop Barros and the Responsibility of Pope Francis

Since his election we have put all our hope in Pope Francis. We have been encouraged by his words about sexual abuse when he told bishops: “We must continue to do everything possible to eradicate the plague of child sexual abuse in the church and open a path of reconciliation and healing for those who have suffered.” Furthermore: “Diocesan and superiors of congregations must verify that parishes and church institutions ensure the safety of children and vulnerable adults.”

We know that the appointment of bishops is something Pope Francis takes very seriously. However, people in Chile and throughout the world are disappointed because of the appointment of Bishop Juan Barros as head of the Diocese of Osorno, Chile. A man we know and have accused of witnessing abuse, our abuse, and therefore encouraging the perverse dynamics of power. The Chilean Bishops’ Conference, aware of the facts concerning Barros, supported him in a statement.

The Archbishop of Concepción, Fernando Chomalí­, met with the Pope a few weeks ago and warned him that the Barros appointment was causing consternation in Chile, not only in the community of Osorno, but throughout the country. Pope Francis admitted to knowing the suffering of the victims of Karadima and the damage to the Chilean church. However — despite everything — the Pope, through the Nuncio in Chile, Ivo Scapolo, reconfirmed Barros without considering the facts and warnings of so many people, including priests and bishops. With pain we see that the faithful will have to accept and deal with Pope Francis’ decision. A pain and fear we know too well.

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Friday, March 20

Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314-503-0003, bdorris@SNAPnetwork.org )

Two full years after he admitted sexual misconduct, Cardinal Keith O’Brien has resigned. But as it has done with dozens of abusive prelates, the Vatican is disclosing nothing about O’Brien’s wrongdoing.

A year ago, Pope Francis said of sexual abuse and misconduct “The Catholic Church is perhaps the only public institution to have acted with transparency and responsibility.” Yet there’s no transparency here. Not one Catholic official has disclosed anything of substance about O’Brien’s exploitive misdeeds.

And what of his clerical colleagues? Not one of them knew of or suspected that O’Brien was abusing others? That’s pretty hard to believe.

“But a Cardinal has resigned, isn’t that progress?” some will ask. Not really. Had Francis publicly denounced O’Brien and disclosed his wrongdoing, that would have been encouraging. Dozens of bishops have been caught abusing or admitted abusing and resigned. Pope Benedict ousted – belatedly and grudgingly and tepidly – the most powerful predator priest yet, Father Marcial Maciel of the Legion of Christ.

So slow and small Vatican steps involving predator clerics aren’t new. Clear and firm Vatican action against complicit bishops would be new. And it would help prevent future cover ups and crimes. But it still isn’t happening.

Top Catholic officials have long let clerics who commit sexual crimes and misdeeds step down. But they refuse to discipline, in any way, clerics who conceal and enable sexual crimes and misdeeds. And until they do, little or nothing will really change.

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MONTANA
National Catholic Reporter

Dan Morris-Young | Mar. 20, 2015

In what U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Terry L. Myers called a “singular achievement,” a bankruptcy and reorganization plan for the Helena, Mont., diocese reached via mediation and negotiation rather than protracted litigation has been approved.

It will provide $21 million to compensate more than 360 sexual abuse claimants. Distributions averaging about $40,000 per claimant are scheduled to begin in April, attorneys for the diocese said.

During the three and a half years since the original lawsuit was filed, fewer than three hours were actually spent in court, according to lawyers involved in the case.

Approved by Myers on March 4 at proceedings in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, the settlement officially went into effect Thursday following a mandatory two-week waiting period for potential appeals.

The plan, which also includes the restructuring of about $17 million in internal diocesan debt, received “nearly unanimous approval in voting by the sexual abuse victims and other creditors, and the confirmation order by Judge Myers resolves all outstanding sexual abuse claims against the Diocese of Helena,” according to a diocesan press release.

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VATICAN CITY
Gazzetta del Sud

Vatican City, March 20 – Pope Francis on Friday accepted a disgraced Scottish prelate’s resignation from cardinal status because of sex scandals. Msgr Keith Michael Patrick O’Brien, archbishop emeritus of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh, had been accused by some priests of “inappropriate behaviour” and sex abuse. O’Brien, who stepped down from Saint Andrews in 2013, remains a priest and bishop, and retains the title of cardinal, but will have no more public duties and will be excluded from future conclaves to vote on the next pope, according to the Vatican. In a statement, the Vatican said the pope sent “to all the faithful of the Church in Scotland his pastoral concern and encourages them to continue confidently on the path of renewal and reconciliation”. O’Brien had been the Catholic Church’s most senior cleric at the time of his resignation, BBC reported on its website.

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VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

Carol Glatz Catholic News Service | Mar. 20, 2015

VATICAN CITY Pope Francis accepted Scotland Cardinal Keith O’Brien’s decision to renounce all “duties and privileges” associated with being a cardinal.

The former archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, who resigned in 2013 after admitting to sexual misconduct, will no longer exercise the role of a cardinal, including by serving as a papal adviser, a member of Vatican congregations and councils, and as an elector of a new pope, the Vatican press office said.

A written statement from the College of Cardinals, published Friday, said, “The Holy Father has accepted the resignation of the rights and privileges of a cardinal expressed in canons 349, 353 and 356 of the Code of Canon Law, presented by his eminence Cardinal Keith Michael Patrick O’Brien, archbishop emeritus of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, after a long period of prayer.”

Passionist Fr. Ciro Benedettini, a Vatican spokesman, told journalists the resignation was “not a punishment resulting from a process” or any formal proceedings against the cardinal, but rather it came from the cardinal himself after a long period of prayer and reflection “in dialogue with the Holy Father.”

While he will no longer be invited to attend consistories and other gatherings of cardinals, including an eventual conclave for the election of a new pope, Benedettini said, he retains his faculties as a priest and retired bishop.

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SCOTLAND
The Tablet

20 March 2015 12:23 by Christopher Lamb

Pope Francis has today accepted the resignation of Cardinal Keith O’Brien from the “rights and privileges” of being a cardinal.

The highly unusual move took place following a private discussion between the cardinal and the Pope and means that the former Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh can no longer take part in a future conclave or assist with the governance of the Church.

He does, however, retain the title of cardinal and is permitted to wear the red hat or vestments associated with the office in private.

Cardinal O’Brien was accused of sexual misconduct by five men, four of them priests, and stood down as archbishop in February 2013 after these allegations were made public.

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SCOTLAND
RTE News

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the disgraced Irishman who resigned two years ago as Archbishop of Edinburgh after admitting to sexual misconduct.

Scotland’s Catholic bishops have welcomed the unprecedented decision.

Cardinal O’Brien resigned as Archbishop two years ago following allegations by three priests and a former priest that he had behaved inappropriately towards them.

He admitted his sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of him.

In a statement today, he repeated his profound apology of two years ago and thanked the pope for “his fatherly care” of him and of those he has offended in any way.

Following the allegations, the Cardinal had failed to travel to Rome for the election of a successor to Pope Benedict the Sixteenth.

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SCOTLAND
Sky News

By James Matthews, Scotland Correspondent

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Keith O’Brien.

It follows allegations that he had engaged in inappropriate sexual misconduct against junior priests.

He will now be stripped of the right to take part in any of a Cardinal’s key duties.

As Cardinal, he was the leader of Scotland’s Catholics but admitted in 2013 that his sexual conduct “had at times fallen beneath the standards expected of him.”

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SCOTLAND
Daily Record

20 March 2015

O’BRIEN stepped down from the archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh in February 2013 after three priests and a former priest made allegations of inappropriate behaviour against him.

DISGRACED Cardinal Keith O’Brien has again apologised for his “sexual conduct” after formally resigning from his role in a meeting with Pope Francis.

Cardinal O’Brien stepped down from the archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh in February 2013 after three priests and a former priest made allegations of inappropriate behaviour against him.

He issued an apology at the time, saying “there have been times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me”.

He left Scotland and said he would play no further part in the public life of the Catholic Church in the country.

He will retain the title of cardinal, the church said, but has now been formally stripped of the “rights and duties” of the role after an investigation.

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SCOTLAND
The Guardian

Mark Tran
@marktran
Friday 20 March 2015

Pope Francis has accepted the decision of the former leader of the Roman Catholic church in Scotland, cardinal Keith O’Brien, to step down from clerical duties over allegations of sexual misconduct.

O’Brien will retain his title, but he will be reduced to strictly private life. The resignation followed the decision by the pope to send a personal envoy, archbishop Charles Scicluna, to Scotland last year to investigate the allegations.

Francis reached his decision based on the inquiry. Its contents are only known fully know only to the pontiff and Scicluna. O’Brien’s decision followed a private discussion with Francis.

“I wish to repeat the apology which I made to the Catholic church and the people of Scotland some two years ago now on 3 March 2013,” O’Brien said in a statement. “I then said that there have been times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me. For that I am deeply sorry.

“I thank Pope Francis for his fatherly care of me and of those I have offended in any way. I will continue to play no part in the public life of the Church in Scotland; and will dedicate the rest of my life in retirement, praying especially for the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh, for Scotland, and for those I have offended in any way.”

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VATICAN CITY
New Zealand Herald

VATICAN CITY (AP) A disgraced Scottish prelate who admitted to sexual misdeeds has resigned from his cardinal’s post.

The Vatican said Friday Pope Francis accepted 77-year-old Keith O’Brien’s resignation from “the rights and privileges of a cardinal.”

In 2013, O’Brien resigned as archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh and recused himself from the conclave of cardinals that elected Francis as pontiff two years ago.

Once Britain’s highest-ranking Catholic leader, O’Brien left the archbishop’s post after unidentified priests alleged in newspaper reports he acted inappropriately toward them. O’Brien eventually said his sexual conduct had “fallen below the standards” expected of a priest and apologized.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 20 March 2015 (VIS) – The Holy Father has accepted the resignation of the rights and privileges of a Cardinal, expressed in canons 349, 353 and 356 of the Code of Canon Law, presented by His Eminence Cardinal Keith Michael Patrick O’Brien, archbishop emeritus of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, after a long period of prayer. With this provision, His Holiness would like to manifest his pastoral solicitude to all the faithful of the Church in Scotland, and to encourage them to continue with hope the path of renewal and reconciliation.

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SCOTLAND
Irish Times

Scottish cardinal Keith O’Brien, who stepped down from religious duties over sexual misconduct accusations, is to lose all the rights and privileges of his office, the Vatican has announced.

Bishop Charles Scicluna was last year sent by Pope Francis to Scotland’s archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct there concerning Cardinal O’Brien.

The Vatican announced on Friday that O’Brien would be a cardinal in name only: he won’t be allowed to participate in public religious events or enjoy other privileges such as voting for pope.

A communiqué from the Dean of the College of Cardinals read: “The Holy Father has accepted the resignation of the rights and privileges of a Cardinal, expressed in canons 349, 353 and 356 of the Code of Canon Law, presented by His Eminence Cardinal Keith Michael Patrick O’Brien, Archbishop Emeritus of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh, after a long period of prayer.”

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UNITED STATES
Washington Post

By Michelle Boorstein March 20

The Vatican announced Friday that a Scottish cardinal accused of sexual misconduct will lose all the rights and privileges of that high office following his resignation — the first time a cardinal has resigned since the 1920s.

Cardinal Keith O’Brien was Britain’s senior Catholic cleric until he stepped down from his regular duties in 2013 after allegations surfaced that he had made sexual advances to a number of priests. On Friday, the Vatican announced that O’Brien would retain the title of cardinal but would not be allowed to participate in public religious events or have the rights and privileges of a cardinal, such as voting for pope.

[Past coverage: Cardinal Keith O’Brien leaves Scotland under Vatican pressure]

Reaction from clergy abuse survivors to the arrangement, which came after unusual private meetings with Pope Francis, wasn’t immediately available. It also wasn’t immediately clear Friday whether Francis demanded O’Brien’s resignation.

The Tablet, a British Catholic publication, reported Friday that a church investigator’s report on the O’Brien case was “hot enough to burn the varnish” off the pope’s desk.

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KANSAS
KMBZ

MISSION, Kan. — For Peter Saunders of London it hits close to home. He’s an abuse survivor and sits on the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

Saunders told a British newspaper, if someone like Finn isn’t removed immediately, the panel would be a pointless exercise.

Finn was convicted in 2012 of failing to report suspected child abuse.

Bill Tammeus writes for the “Faith Matters” blog and the National Catholic Reporter. He tells KMBZ that Saunders’s statement could carry some weight.

“You get a little cautious about what’s actually gonna happen,” Tammeus said. “I think pressure is building and I hope it results in his removal soon.”

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MASSACHUSETTS/FLORIDA
PRWeb

Merrimack Valley Productions Has Announced The Documentary – BASTA – No pity – No shame – No silence, will be shown Sunday March 29th at The Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center as part of The Fort Myers Film Festival. (BASTA ~ “Enough!” in Italian).

Attempting to battle the cover-up, shame and silence of clergy sexual abuse, three survivors from Boston, Massachusetts travel to Rome reaching behind the secret walls of The Vatican. Their week long effort becomes a decade long mission that exposes mind blowing statistics and unexpected global response.

BASTA – No Pity – No Shame – No Silence is a film documenting the emotional journey taken by simple men detailing their attempts to reach behind and beyond the Vatican walls in search of help, hope & aid in healing a nation reeling from the effects of the clergy abuse crisis. A decade after starting on a personal journey for justice, one man finds that success isn’t always defined by achieving his goal, sometimes it’s defined by the attempt itself. And sometimes, in that attempt, you also find out who you are.

The unlikely film producer of BASTA is Gary Bergeron, 52, a carpenter by trade, who lives in the greater Boston area. Gary and his brother came forward to their parents in 2002 about their abuse at the hands of a Boston priest. Gary consequently discovered his 77 year old father had also been abused by his priest. “Finding out that two generations of my family had lived with this painful secret was a pivotal moment. I realized that not only was I a victim of clergy sexual abuse, I was also the brother of a clergy abuse victim and the son of a clergy abuse victim. I decided to do whatever was necessary to make sure that I would never be the father of a clergy abuse victim. Regardless of the consequences, the Vatican was the next step,” said Bergeron who was recently awarded “Best New Director” for his work on BASTA.

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SCOTLAND
Crux

By John L. Allen Jr.
Associate editor March 20, 2015

A Scottish cardinal who stepped down as an archbishop in 2013 amid revelations of sexual misconduct now has renounced his rights and privileges as a cardinal, although he will retain the title, the Vatican announced Friday.

Though not quite unprecedented, the specter of a Catholic prelate all but losing his privileges as a member of the College of Cardinals is exceedingly rare, with the last such case coming in 1927.

Cardinal Keith O’Brien, 77, originally quit his post as archbishop in February 2013 following accusations published in Scotland’s The Observer that he had engaged in sexual relations with four men, three priests at the time and one former priest, dating back to the 1980s.

One of the men, who was not identified in the newspaper reports, alleged that the degree of control a superior has over subordinate priests made it hard for him to refuse O’Brien’s demands.

“He [the bishop] has immense power over you. He can move you, freeze you out, bring you into the fold … he controls every aspect of your life,” the priest was quoted as saying.

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Agency

Vatican City, Mar 20, 2015 / 05:54 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In a rare move, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of disgraced Scottish Cardinal Keith Patrick O’Brien from the rights and duties of a cardinal, the Vatican announced on Friday.

“As most people are aware, Pope Francis is a good and prayerful man whose character embodies justice and mercy. I am confident therefore that the decision of the Holy Father is fair, equitable and proportionate,” Archbishop Leo Cushley of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh in a March 20 statement.

“Cardinal O’Brien’s behaviour distressed many, demoralised faithful Catholics and made the Church less credible to those who are not Catholic. I therefore acknowledge and welcome his apology to those affected by his behaviour and also to the people of Scotland, especially the Catholic community.”

Cardinal O’Brien stood down as Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh in March 2013 at the age of 74 amid media claims of inappropriate sexual behaviour with other men which allegedly took place in the 1980s.

After the claims surfaced that February, the cardinal’s request for retirement – originally submitted to Benedict XVI in November 2012 for reasons due to age and health – was accepted immediately by Benedict, going into effect Feb. 25.

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SCOTLAND
Scotsman

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Scottish Cardinal Keith O’Brien following a meeting between the two.

It is understood that he will be reduced to strictly private life and no longer perform the key duties of a Cardinal, it has been confirmed.

The Cardinal, had been the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Vatican, after he was forced to resign in February 2013 after three serving priests and one former priest come forward with allegations of ‘inappropriate behaviour’.

In what is an unprecedented action, Cardinal O’Brien has now removed himself from the key duties that pertain to the office of Cardinal and the election of any future Pope.

In a statement Cardinal O’Brien, the former Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, echoed his sentiments from February 2013 when the allegations first emerged: “I wish to repeat the apology which I made to the Catholic Church and the people of Scotland some two years ago now on 3rd March 2013. I then said that there have been times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me. For that I am deeply sorry. I thank Pope Francis for his fatherly care of me and of those I have offended in any way. I will continue to play no part in the public life of the Church in Scotland; and will dedicate the rest of my life in retirement, praying for those I have offended in any way.”

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SCOTLAND
Belfast News Letter

Disgraced Cardinal Keith O’Brien has again apologised for his “sexual conduct” after formally resigning from his role in a meeting with Pope Francis.

Cardinal O’Brien stepped down from the archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh in February 2013 after three priests and a former priest made allegations of inappropriate behaviour against him.

He issued an apology at the time, saying ‘’there have been times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me’’.

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SCOTLAND
Evening Times

Two years after he stood down as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh after admitting sexual relationships dating back decades, Pope Francis has ordered the Cardinal no longer perform any public, religious or civil duties associated with the title.

The unprecedented move will be seen as a humiliation of the former leading cleric and will prevent him taking any future role in the selection of any new Pope.

The move has been welcomed by the Catholic Church in Scotland however, he will be allowed to retain in his Red Hat and is expected to stay in his temporary residence in north east England.

The sanction confirms the Vatican has now formally accepted the claims of the four priests who claimed Cardinal O’Brien’s had been guilty of inappropriate sexual conduct with them.

A further seminarian also launched a civil action against the church claiming Cardinal O’Brien had made sexual contact with him in the late 1970s.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) The Holy Father has accepted the resignation of the rights and privileges of a Cardinal, expressed in canons 349, 353 and 356 of the Code of Canon Law, presented by His Eminence Cardinal Keith Michael Patrick O’Brien, Archbishop Emeritus of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh, after a long period of prayer. With this provision, His Holiness would like to manifest his pastoral solicitude to all the faithful of the Church in Scotland and to encourage them to continue with hope the path of renewal and reconciliation.

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SCOTLAND
STV

By Alastair Brian
20 March 2015

Disgraced cardinal Keith O’Brien has stepped down from his duties following a meeting with Pope Francis, the church has announced.

The cardinal’s resignation comes after allegations of “inappropriate behaviour” were revealed in 2013.

The Catholic Church in Scotland welcomed the decision and confirmed he had removed himself from the key duties of cardinal including the election of the Pope.

Cardinal O’Brien will also be reduced to a strictly private life with no further participation in any public, religious or civil events.

Archbishop Leo Cushley of St Andrews and Edinburgh said: “Cardinal O’Brien’s behaviour distressed many, demoralised faithful Catholics and made the Church less credible to those who are not Catholic. I therefore acknowledge and welcome his apology to those affected by his behaviour and also to the people of Scotland, especially the Catholic community.”

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SCOTLAND
Scottish Catholic Observer

Confirmation from Church this afternoon the that former Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh will continue to lead a ‘simple’ and ‘quiet’ life he adopted—following an admission in 2013 of inappropriate behaviour and his official resignation—but retains his red hat

Pope Francis has formally accepted the resignation of Cardinal Keith O’Brien following a meeting between the two.

It has been confirmed this afternoon that the former Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh will continue to observer the strictly private life he has lived since he resigned in February 2013 before the last Papal election. He will no longer performing the key duties of a cardinal —such as holding Pontifical Commission office or attending or participating in consistories or conclaves—but retains his ‘red hat.’

Pope Francis has asked Cardinal O’Brien (above) to keep living a simple and quiet life following the cardinal’s admission of behaviour unbecoming of his office.

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SCOTLAND
Catholic Herald

It is the first time a cardinal has resigned since 1927

Cardinal Keith O’Brien has renounced all the rights and privileges of being a cardinal, the Vatican announced today.

It is understood he will retain the title of cardinal but none of the powers associated with it.

A Vatican statement said: “The Holy Father has accepted the resignation of the rights and privileges of a Cardinal, expressed in canons 349, 353 and 356 of the Code of Canon Law, presented by His Eminence Cardinal Keith Michael Patrick O’Brien, Archbishop Emeritus of St Andrews and Edinburgh, after a long period of prayer. With this provision, His Holiness would like to manifest his pastoral solicitude to all the faithful of the Church in Scotland and to encourage them to continue with hope the path of renewal and reconciliation.”

Following the Vatican announcement Cardinal O’Brien said: “I wish to repeat the apology which I made to the Catholic Church and the people of Scotland some two years ago now on March 3 2013. I then said that there have been times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me. For that I am deeply sorry.”

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CITTA’ DEL VATICANO
VATICAN CITY
Bolletino

Il Santo Padre ha accettato la rinuncia ai diritti e alle prerogative del cardinalato, espresse nei canoni 349, 353 e 356 del Codice di Diritto Canonico, presentata, al termine di un lungo itinerario di preghiera, da Sua Eminenza il signor Cardinale Keith Michael Patrick O’Brien, Arcivescovo emerito di Saint Andrews and Edinburgh. Con questo provvedimento, Sua Santità manifesta a tutti fedeli della Chiesa in Scozia la sua sollecitudine pastorale e li incoraggia a continuare con fiducia il cammino di rinnovamento e di riconciliazione.

* * *

The Holy Father has accepted the resignation of the rights and privileges of a Cardinal, expressed in canons 349, 353 and 356 of the Code of Canon Law, presented by His Eminence Cardinal Keith Michael Patrick O’Brien, Archbishop Emeritus of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh, after a long period of prayer. With this provision, His Holiness would like to manifest his pastoral solicitude to all the faithful of the Church in Scotland and to encourage them to continue with hope the path of renewal and reconciliation.

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SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland

Friday 20 March 2015

Gerry Braiden
Senior reporter

SHAMED Cardinal Keith O’Brien has been removed from all public life and forced into retirement, the Vatican is due to announce.

Two years after he stood down as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh after admitting sexual relationships dating back decades, Pope Francis has ordered the Cardinal no longer perform any public, religious or civil duties associated with the title.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Catholic Standard

MARK ZIMMERMANN, Editor
Friday, March 20, 2015

Pope Francis on March 20 named Father Mario Eduardo Dorsonville-Rodriguez, 54, as auxiliary bishop of Washington, to assist Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl in the pastoral care of the 620,000-member archdiocese.

Bishop-elect Dorsonville serves as vice president of missions for Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington and as director of the Spanish Catholic Center. Catholic Charities is the social ministry outreach arm of the Archdiocese of Washington and the Spanish Catholic Center offers medical and dental care, job training programs, English classes, a food pantry and case management services to immigrants from around the world.

Born in Bogotá, Colombia, Bishop-elect Dorsonville was ordained in 1985 as a priest of the Archdiocese of Bogotá. He was incardinated as a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington in 1999.

The Archdiocese of Washington in a press release said that Cardinal Wuerl would introduce Bishop-elect Dorsonville to the media at a press conference that morning. His appointment was publicized in Washington that morning by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganó, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

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CITTA’ DEL VATICANO
Bolletino

Il Santo Padre Francesco ha nominato Vescovo Ausiliare di Washington (U.S.A.) il Rev.do Mario Eduardo Dorsonville-Rodríguez, del clero della medesima arcidiocesi, Direttore dello Spanish Catholic Center e Vice President for Mission of Catholic Charities a Washington, assegnandogli la sede titolare vescovile di Kearney.

Rev.do Mario Eduardo Dorsonville-Rodríguez

Il Rev.do Mario Eduardo Dorsonville-Rodríguez è nato il 31 ottobre 1960 in Bogotá (Colombia). Ha frequentato il Seminario maggiore dell’arcidiocesi di Bogotá, San José, ottenendo il Baccalaureato in Filosofia (1981) e in Teologia (1985). Ha ottenuto la Licenza in Teologia presso la Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá (1991) e, poi, il D. Min. presso l’Università Cattolica d’America a Washington (1995).

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MASSACHUSETTS
Wicked Local Scituate

By Patriot Ledger

Posted Mar. 20, 2015

SCITUATE – A group of parishioners who have held vigil in a closed Scituate church for more than a decade have been ordered to appear in court after refusing to abandon the building earlier this month.

The group, which calls itself the Friends of St. Frances Cabrini, said it was served with a summons Thursday from the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston ordering it to appear in Norfolk Superior Court on Friday afternoon. The group said the archbishop is seeking a preliminary injunction against the group, which has refused to leave the Hood Road church it has been occupied for 10 years despite a threat of legal action from the archdiocese last month.

“The Friends stand ready and prepared to meet this next challenge,” the group said in a statement Friday. “The Friends intend to take advantage of every legal avenue and process available to them to fully defend this civil legal action brought against them by the Archbishop and Archdiocese of Boston. ”

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Fox DC

By Emily Miller, FOX 5 Chief Investigative Reporter

WASHINGTON – The prosecution said in court Thursday that a D.C. police officer and pastor facing sex abuse charges was demoted in 2008 for sexually harassing women in the police department.

Speaking exclusively to FOX 5’s Emily Miller, a retired officer has accused Darrell Best of inappropriate conduct. And in a separate case, a retired sergeant said she was punished for reporting sexual harassment by a different superior.

Sgt. Nanette Harris and officer Valarie Eason worked for the D.C. Police Department for over 25 years before retiring.

Before being demoted, Best was Eason’s sergeant. One night he came up to her while she was alone at the station and made offensive comments, she told FOX 5.

“Stuff like, I would like to get in between your legs… You know, something like, I bet you can work your hips… I told him don’t talk to me that way,” Eason said.

After his arrest, Eason felt compelled to tell her story for the first time.

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AUSTRALIA
Daily Mail (UK)

By AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS

There was a time when the Catholic Church knew exactly what to do when one of its clergy molested a child.

“A cleric or monk who sexually molests youths or boys is to be publicly whipped, his head shaved, spat upon, and kept in prison for six months in chains on a diet of bread and water,” wrote Basil the Great, the Greek bishop of Caesarea in the 4th century.

He also recommended the offender be watched and not let anywhere near young people once released.

Basil’s solution is extreme by today’s standards, but it leaves you asking how, 1600 years later, secrecy and cover-up became the Catholic Church’s modus operandi with errant clergy.

So overarching is the church’s operating style that it’s worldwide news when a Catholic archbishop in Australia – Philip Wilson of Adelaide – is charged with concealing the crime of child sex abuse.

NSW Police allege Wilson knew about it, yet failed to report priest Jim Fletcher for abusing boys in the 1970s, when both were working and sharing a house in the Maitland Diocese, near Newcastle.

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AUSTRALIA
9 News

A Catholic priest who says he was interested in finding out “what makes young males tick” has been jailed for at least 10 months for possessing child pornography.

Fr Stanislaus Hogan, 70, had 1555 child pornography images, as well as magazines, videos and books, in his locked bedroom at the Jesuit St Ignatius College in Athelstone in Adelaide.

The former teacher pleaded guilty in the District Court to an aggravated count of possessing child pornography and to using a carriage service to access child pornography.

In jailing Hogan on Friday for two-and-a-half years with a non-parole period of 10 months, Judge Peter Brebner said the priest had assembled the child pornography collection over a long period.

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CHILE
IPS

By Marianela Jarroud

SANTIAGO, Mar 20 2015 (IPS) – Victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests in Latin America are taking the first steps towards grouping together in order to bolster their search for justice – a struggle where they have found a new ally: filmmaking.

“Besides entertaining us, movies urge people not to forget, to memorise what is happening to us as a society,” Chilean filmmaker Matías Lira told IPS.

He added that, with respect to the sexual abuse committed within the Catholic Church, “the media has a pending task, and society has a duty.”

Based on this premise, Lira directed “Karadima’s Forest”, based on real events. The film, which comes out in Chile in April, tells the story of a priest who sexually and psychologically abused dozens of boys and young men, and who was one of the country’s most influential priests thanks to his enormous charisma and his reputation as a “saint” – which was even his nickname.

There is great expectation surrounding Lira’s film in Chile, a country with a highly conservative society where 67 percent of the population of 16.7 million identifies as Catholic.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

BY JOHN CASSIDY – 20 MARCH 2015

A seven-year-old boy fell victim to a paedophile priest after the clergyman went to his primary school and asked him to become an altar boy, a court has heard.

Disgraced former Catholic priest Daniel Curran will learn next week if he is to serve any more time in custody after he admitted sexually assaulting the boy at his family cottage in Co Down over 20 years ago.

Curran (64) of Bryansford Avenue, Newcastle, pleaded guilty to gross indecency and indecent assault at Downpatrick Crown Court.

The offences took place between August 1990 and August 1993. Prosecution QC David McDowell told the court that the victim was a pupil in north Belfast when Fr Curran asked his teacher if he wanted to become an altar boy at St Paul’s Church.

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AUSTRALIA
The Age

March 20, 2015

Joanne McCarthy

In January 1996, as Hunter priest Philip Wilson prepared to be made the Bishop of Wollongong, a young police officer who would go on to become NSW Nationals leader, Troy Grant, interviewed senior Hunter Catholic priest Monsignor Patrick Cotter.

Grant wanted to know what Cotter knew of child sex allegations involving fellow priest Vince Ryan.

Individuals need to speak and act. That can only happen … where speaking and acting is not only supported but encouraged.

The late Cotter, who was 82 at the time, denied that anguished parents of boys as young as 5, 6 and 7 had told him in the early 1970s about serious allegations against Ryan. A 25-page transcript of the interview shows Cotter repeatedly declined to answer questions on legal advice. He told the then Senior Constable Grant, “I don’t wish to answer that”.

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REPUBLICA DOMINICANA/POLONIA
Univision

Wojciech Gil, acusado de abusar sexualmente de varios adolescentes en la comunidad dominicana de Juncalito

Este viernes arranca en una corte de Polonia el juicio contra el exsacerdote polaco Wojciech Gil, acusado de abusar sexualmente de varios adolescentes en la comunidad dominicana de Juncalito (norte) donde cumplía su misión pastoral, informó la Procuraduría General de República Dominicana.

Un comunicado de la Corte Regional en Wolomin remitido a la Procuraduría General de la República, se informó que la audiencia sobre Gil, conocido en Jucalito como padre Alberto, fue fijada para los días 20 y 25 de marzo y continuará el 10 y 24 de abril.

El procurador general de la República, Francisco Domínguez Brito; y la procuradora fiscal titular de Santiago, Luisa Liranzo, fueron notificados de la audiencia a través del Departamento de Cooperación Internacional de la fiscalía polaca, según la información de la PGR.

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POLSKA
TVN 24

“We would like to hear the truth from Wojciech G.”]

Prawie dwa lata po wybuchu afery pedofilskiej na Dominikanie z udziałem polskich księży, w Polsce rusza proces jednego z głównych bohaterów skandalu. Wojciech G. po raz pierwszy stanie przed sądem w Warszawie. Grozi mu nawet 15 lat więzienia. Prokuratura jest przekonana, że ksiądz jest winny.

– Mamy materiał dowodowy, który nie pozostawia żadnych wątpliwości, że doszło tu do przestępstw przeciwko wolności seksualnej – mówi Przemysław Nowak, rzecznik Prokuratury Okręgowej w Warszawie.

Oskarżenie nie ma wątpliwości

Ksiądz oskarżony o molestowanie nieletnich dłużej posiedzi w areszcie. Kiedy proces?
Sąd przedłużył… czytaj dalej »

Śledczy postawili księdzu dziesięć zarzutów. Kapłan jest oskarżony o wykorzystywanie seksualne sześciu chłopców podczas swojej posługi na Dominikanie i dwóch nieletnich w Polsce, przed wyjazdem na Karaiby. Akt oskarżenia mówi także o posiadaniu pornografii dziecięcej i nielegalnej broni.

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POLAND
The News

The trial of a Polish priest accused of sexually abusing children in Poland and the Dominican Republic began on Friday morning in Wołomin, near Warsaw.

Father Wojciech G. (full name withheld under Polish privacy laws) could serve 15 years in prison if found guilty at the district court.

The hearings will take place behind closed doors, with no access given to journalists.

In October 2014 the priest was charged with committing 10 crimes, 8 of which relate to the sexual abuse of boys below the age of 15.

Two acts were allegedly committed in 2000-2001 in Poland, the others at various times over the years 2009-2013, in the Dominican Republic.

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