AUSTRALIA
Perth Now

What Archbishop Philip Wilson knew about paedophile priest James Fletcher in 1976 will be tested in court next month

MICHAEL MCGUIRE THE ADVERTISER MARCH 20, 2015

DANIEL Feenan was born in 1976. The same year a newly ordained priest by the name of Philip Wilson was living in Maitland, in country NSW, with another priest called James Fletcher.

Fletcher was a paedophile.

Through the 1970s Fletcher was a serial preyer on young, defenceless boys and was left to run unchecked by the Catholic Church.

By 1989, when Feenan was 12, Fletcher was still on the prowl and the young boy was to become just another in a long line of the priest’s victims.

The question is: Why wasn’t Fletcher stopped? Did the Catholic Church turn a blind eye to the monster in its midst or was it just oblivious?

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MICHIGAN
The Detroit News

Associated Press March 20, 2015

Detroit — The men who preach from the holy book want a closer look at the financial books.

Three priests lost an appeal this week in an effort to get more details about a pension fund at the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit.

They wanted a Wayne County judge to order an accounting of the fund for priests. They’re concerned that it might not be healthy enough to pay benefits when they retire. But Judge John Gillis Jr. ruled in favor of the Archdiocese.

The Michigan appeals court agreed, saying the priests have no right to intervene in management of the pension fund. The court noted that the priests at least got access to years of financial data because of the lawsuit.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By court reporter Loukas Founten

An Adelaide Jesuit priest and teacher found with more than 1,500 pornographic images of boys has been jailed for more than two years.

Stanislaus Hogan, 70, was found with books, magazines and videos of young and teenage boys, in his private quarters at Saint Ignatius’ College in Adelaide’s eastern suburbs in August 2013.

He was on the college staff at the time of his arrest.

Hogan told the Adelaide District Court he used some of the books and videos as a way to help understand both paedophiles and himself.

Judge Peter Brebner told Hogan the production of child pornography meant children were sexually exploited and his actions had helped create a market for such material.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Herald

Thursday, March 19, 2015

By: Erin Smith

The Archdiocese of Boston is facing another mounting financial crisis, with a staggering $74 million in unfunded pensions for priests — and a growing number of aging clergy heading into retirement, the Herald has learned.

The archdiocese currently has enough funds on hand to cover only about 37 percent of its more than $117 million in retirement obligations for priests, according to its fiscal 2014 financial filings for priest retirement benefits in the Clergy Health and Retirement Trust.

“It’s not a looming crisis. It’s happening right now,” said Charles Zech, director of the Center for Church Management and Business Ethics at Villanova University.

“The numbers jump out at you in Boston because they’re so large, but most dioceses are struggling with this,” Zech said. “Priests are living longer than anticipated, and they haven’t been as smart in investing as they should have been. The church investments haven’t been keeping up.”

In the past decade, the percentage of so-called “senior” priests receiving retirement payments from the archdiocese has jumped from 28 to 38 percent of the total clergy in the archdiocese, according to the trust.

In fiscal 2014, the average age of active priests in Boston was 58, and church officials estimated that 134 of the 392 active priests would reach retirement age within the next decade.

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CHILE
La Tercera

Víctimas de Karadima por Barros: “Con dolor tenemos que resignarnos ante esta decisión del Papa Francisco”

[Victims of Karadima by Barros: “With pain we must resign ourselves to this decision of Pope Francis”]

por A. Baeza – 19/03/2015

A través de un comunicado las víctimas de Fernando Karadima, James Hamilton, Juan Carlos Cruz y José Andrés Murillo, entregaron sus impresiones por ya la inminente asunción como obispo de Osorno de Juan Barros Madrid.

Desde su elección hemos puesto toda nuestra esperanza en el Papa Francisco. Nos ha animado con sus palabras respecto del abuso sexual cuando le dijo a los obispos que: ‘Hay que continuar haciendo todo lo posible para erradicar de la iglesia la plaga de los abusos sexuales a menores y abrir una vía de reconciliación y curación para quienes han sufrido abusos’. Llamó también a ‘los obispos diocesanos y superiores mayores de congregaciones, deben verificar que las parroquias e instituciones de la Iglesia garanticen la seguridad de los menores y adultos vulnerables”, indican.

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ROME
Crux

By Inés San Martín
Vatican correspondent March 19, 2015

ROME — Despite protests that appointment of a new bishop in Chile allegedly linked to the country’s most notorious abuser priest undercuts a “zero tolerance” stance, the country’s bishops’ conference issued a statement on Wednesday pledging support for the controversial prelate.

“Given the various manifestations” that have surrounded the appointment of Bishop Juan Barros Madrid to the small Osorno diocese, the bishops said, they wanted to vow “a spirit of faith and obedience to Pope Francis.”

The prelates said they were close to the priests, deacons, consecrated, and lay people of the diocese, “called by Jesus to be disciples and missionaries, in communion with their shepherd.”

They expressed their commitment to continue praying so that the faithful and the bishop can walk together “being one in the Lord.”

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MINNESOTA
Bankruptcy Review

Parishes of Bankrupt Archdiocese Seek Greater Representation

Tom Corrigan
March 19, 2015

About 113 parishes of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis want their own voice as creditors in the archdiocese’s bankruptcy case, a development that is “troubling” to victims of alleged clergy sexual abuse and their advocates, who say another creditors’ committee would effectively give the archdiocese a place on both sides of the bargaining table.

In papers filed Wednesday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in St. Paul, Minn., the parishes are seeking increased representation in their bid to reach a settlement with victims and to avoid future sexual abuse lawsuits. If their request is approved by a bankruptcy judge, any legal fees generated by a separate committee would also be paid by the archdiocese, sparing the parishes a significant expense….

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WASHINGTON (DC)
WUSA

[with video]

Bruce Leshan, WUSA March 19, 2015

WASHINGTON (WUSA9) — The D.C. police officer accused of sexually assaulting two teenagers had twice been in trouble earlier for alleged sexual misconduct.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah McClellan says Officer Darrell Best attacked a 20-year-old police cadet at the police academy in 2007. He allegedly cornered her in a cloakroom, shut the door and fondled her breasts and buttocks. Then, in October 2008 at the Fifth District police station, Best allegedly told another officer he wanted to take her to a hotel room and give her a massage – and then hit her buttocks. In that case, police supervisors demoted him from sergeant to officer.

That was all years before the latest allegation that he attacked two teens in the last few months.

In court Thursday, Best waived his right to a preliminary hearing on four counts, including sexual assault of a minor while armed. The judge said he was admitting that prosecutors had probable cause to believe he had forced himself on a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old.

Best allegedly attacked the 17-year-old in his office at police headquarters and the 16-year-old in his office at a Southeast D.C. church where he serves as founder and senior pastor. The judge called him a danger to the community and refused to set bail that might get him out of jail pending trial.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Washington Post

D.C. officer accused of sexually assaulting 2 teens is denied bail

By Paulina Firozi March 19

A D.C. police officer and pastor accused of sexually assaulting two teenagers has a history of sexual misconduct involving women, including improperly touching a female cadet at the police academy, a prosecutor said in court Thursday.

Prosecutors mentioned the incidents as they successfully sought to persuade a D.C. Superior Court judge to order that Darrell Lavon Best, 45, continue to be held without bond. Best also waived his right to a preliminary hearing.

Best, who has been on the police force for 25 years, is accused of assaulting two teenagers — a 17-year-old inside police headquarters on Indiana Avenue NW and a 16-year-old inside his church in Southeast Washington — while wearing his badge and gun. He is charged with first- and second-degree sexual abuse of a minor, first-degree sexual abuse while armed and third-degree sexual abuse with force.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
CBS DC

WASHINGTON (WNEW) – A pastor and D.C. police officer charged with sexually abusing minors is going to remain in jail without bond.

Darrell Best, 45, appeared in Superior Court Thursday.

He is accused of sexually abusing two teenage girls, a 17-year-old at MPD headquarters and a 16-year-old at the church he founded in Southeast.

In addition to those allegations, the prosecution says in 2007 and 2008 Best also made unwanted advances toward two female officers, including a cadet. Best was demoted as a result.

Metropolitan Police Department says Best is currently on paid administrative leave, pending the outcome of the investigation.

The prosecution suggested in court there may be more victims, saying Best contacted a third young female and asked her for erotic photos.

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SPAIN
Newsweek

BY FELICITY CAPON
3/19/15

A Spanish priest and an exorcist have been charged with gender violence and causing injury and mistreatment after the exorcist performed repeated exorcisms on an anorexic teenage girl.

A judge in Burgos has called for the arrest of exorcist Jesús Hernández Sahagún, the official exorcist of Valladolid, along with the girl’s priest, after she endured 13 exorcisms while still a minor.

The chain of events began in 2012, according to the Spanish newspaper El País, when the girl began to suffer from anorexia. Her parents, convinced that she had become possessed by a devil, decided to have her exorcised, and appealed to their priest for help. She was then tied up and had crucifixes hung above her bed, an ordeal which later led her to attempt suicide.

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MARYLAND
Baptist News

By Bob Allen

A mother who says her 3-year-old daughter was sexually abused at a prominent D.C.-area evangelical church urged Maryland lawmakers March 12 to extend the statute of limitations for bringing a civil suit against a child sexual abuser.

Pam Palmer — a plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit alleging abuse and cover-up at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Md., and parent organization Sovereign Grace Ministries — told the Judicial Proceedings Committee of the Maryland General Assembly her case was dismissed in 2013, primarily due to the state’s current statute of limitations.

Currently the law requires victims of child sex abuse to file a lawsuit within seven years of turning 18. The problem with that, Palmer and other witnesses testified, is that because of the peculiar psychological impact of violation by a family member, minister or trusted neighbor, many victims never talk about it until later in life than age 25.

“Sex abuse survivors often face lifelong psychological trauma, unable to deal with it until their 30s, 40s or even 50s,” Palmer said. “Sex abuse survivors have a high incidence of psychological disorders and suicide attempts, often needing years of therapy. When the abuse is incestuous, there are complex family issues involved that can delay reporting. When there is pressure to not report from religious leaders, it can take decades for victims to break free from indoctrination and come forward.”

Palmer says when she learned her 3-year-old daughter was sexually abused in 1993 her pastors advised her not to call the police. Six months later, the dismissed lawsuit claimed, the child was re-victimized by a “reconciliation” meeting organized with her abuser “as if a 3-year-old was supposed to forgive the perpetrator.”

“I was absolutely terrified,” daughter Renee Gambi remembered last June while distributing fliers outside the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Baltimore. “As soon as I could, I crawled under my mom’s chair.”

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CANADA
CBC News

A former priest found guilty of sexually abusing children in Igloolik three decades ago was back in Nunavut court earlier this week to face outstanding charges from Alberta.

Eric Dejaeger was sentenced in February to 19 years of jail time for 32 sex crimes against boys and girls in Igloolik. Dejaeger was a priest in the Nunavut community between 1978 and 1982 when the crimes were committed.

Dejaeger is in court to face three sex-related charges stemming from a period in the mid-1970s, when he was studying at the Newman Theological College in Edmonton.

The Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench agreed to move Dejaeger’s case to Nunavut, after he requested to have his Alberta charges heard in the territory.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

[with video]

By JOANNE McCARTHY March 17, 2015

COMMENT

THE charging of Archbishop Philip Wilson for allegedly concealing a child sex allegation against Hunter priest Jim Fletcher is significant for anyone who has been sexually abused as a child, whether in an institution or by a family member.

It says that no one is above the law. It says that child sexual abuse is a crime and is ultimately about the abuse of power.

And what we have seen so distressingly since the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is that many, many children over many decades have reported that they were sexually abused, and many adults in many institutions beyond the Catholic Church have failed them.

It is fitting, if immensely saddening, that the most senior Catholic clergyman in the world to be charged with concealing the child sex crimes of another priest should be from the Hunter region.

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ALABAMA
School Bullying Council

Hallie Dixon … facing contempt motion.

Lawyers for a former St. Pius X School student who alleges that administrators failed to stop her severe bullying have asked a judge to hold Baldwin County’s district attorney in contempt for failing to appear at a deposition last week.

The judge in the case on Monday set a March 20 hearing to consider that and other motions.

The plaintiff’s lawyers subpoenaed Baldwin County District Attorney Hallie Dixon in order to ask her questions about a report she received regarding an allegation that the pastor had an improper relationship with a teenager when he was a priest in Baldwin County.

Dixon did not appear at the deposition. According to the request seeking sanctions, Chief Assistant District Attorney Rushing Payne sent an email nearly an hour after the scheduled start of the deposition informing lawyers that Dixon had a court hearing in a capital murder case and would not attend.

The attorneys wrote in their contempt motion that they offered to accommodate Dixon by rescheduling the deposition for later in the day. Payne sent a follow-up email indicating that Dixon did not intend to submit to the questioning.

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SPAIN
International Business Times

By Samantha Payne
March 19, 2015

An anorexic Spanish teenager endured 13 exorcisms because her religious parents were convinced her eating disorder had something to do with her being possessed by the devil.

The girl, who has not been named, attempted suicide after being subjected to the physical abuse, which involved her being tied up and having crucifixes positioned over her head, reported El País.

A judge in Burgos called for the arrest of Jesús Hernández Sahagún, the official exorcist in Valladolid, a city situated in Castile and Leon in northwestern Spain. The charges against the exorcist include gender violence, causing injury and mistreatment, during the series of exorcisms dating back as far back as 2012 reported El Diario de Burgos

According to El País, the girl’s parents were convinced she was under the control of the devil and arranged for the exorcisms. They told the court that the exorcist was aware that the young girl was having medical treatment for her eating disorder.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
NBC Washington

[with video]

A Washington, D.C., police officer charged with sexual assaulting two teen girls, one of them at police headquarters and the other at his church, now faces accusations from a third victim, prosecutors said Thursday.

Officer Darrell Best, 45, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was in court Thursday for a preliminary hearing

Best is facing multiple charges in connection with the sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl at police headquarters and a 16-year-old girl at the church where he serves as pastor.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
WTOP

By WTOP Staff
March 19, 2015

WASHINGTON – A D.C. police officer and pastor charged with sexually abusing two teen girls waived his preliminary hearing Thursday and remains in jail without bail.

Darrell Best, 45 of Upper Marlboro, is on paid leave from the Metropolitan Police Department and is taking a sabbatical from the D.C. church, where he also worked as a pastor, since he was arrested Monday.

An assistant pastor is now running the God of a Second Chance Ministry Church in Southeast D.C.

Best appeared in court and whispered to his attorney during the short hearing, during which the defense requested that Best to be placed on house arrest. Best appeared annoyed when the judged ordered that he remained held in jail.

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CHILE
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, March 19, 2015

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 )

We in SNAP are deeply grateful for every person who is joining us in opposing Bishop Juan Barros’ promotion to head the Diocese of Osorno in southern Chile – victims, witnesses, whistleblowers, politicians and Catholics. Barros faces “allegations that he helped cover up – and at times participated in – abuse against minors by his longtime mentor, a priest called Fernando Karadima.” (The Guardian)

All too often, public officials take a “hands off” approach when Catholic officials act in hurtful ways. And all too often, parishioners feel and act powerless when the church hierarchy makes hurtful moves. In this egregious case, we are encouraged to see so many concerned individuals and organizations stepping up and speaking out.

Regardless of what happens to Barros, for the safety of kids, the healing of victims and the sake of simple justice, it’s important that those who want to stop clergy sex crimes and cover ups take action. Sitting passively back and wishing things were different helps no one. We hope more people will speak out and contest Vatican officials’ continual and reckless promotion of wrongdoers.

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PENNSYLVANIA
The United States Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, March 18, 2015

PHILADELPHIA – Mark Haynes, 56, of West Chester, PA, was indicted on March 12, 2015, on charges of child exploitation, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. Haynes, a former parochial Vicar, is charged with using the Internet to entice a minor to engage in sexual conduct, transfer of obscene material to a minor, distribution of child pornography, possession of child pornography, and destruction or concealment of evidence.

According to court documents, around 2010, Haynes posed as a 16-year old girl named “Katie” on a teen dating website. As “Katie,” Haynes would meet minor girls online and allegedly request that they take and send sexually explicit pictures. Haynes is also charged with distributing other images and videos of children being sexually assaulted over the Internet in 2014, again posing as “Katie.”

If convicted of all charges, Haynes faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison with a maximum sentence of life, possible fines, and at least five years up to a lifetime of supervised release.

The case was investigated by the FBI in conjunction with the Chester County Criminal Investigative Division. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Rotella.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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MARYLAND
The Baltimore Sun

By C.T. Wilson
Maryland General Assembly

Senate Bill 668 would extend the statute of limitations for bringing a civil suit against a child sexual abuse

Child sexual abuse is a heinous crime. Maryland law, as is, protects those who destroy lives, families, and whole communities. It is a crime that will forever change and affect the lives of children who have been subjected to it.

Statistics show one in five girls, as well as one in 20 boys are sexually abused before the age of 18, according to data from the Crimes Against Children Research Center. Nearly three quarters of victims do not tell anyone about the abuse for at least a year, 45 percent of victims do not tell anyone for at least five years, and some never disclose it. In 56 percent of the cases the victim is abused by someone familiar to them, such as a family member or an acquaintance. This fact makes it difficult for the victim to come forward.

Many victims who have suffered through child sexual abuse experience long-term emotional and psychological effects. Many children who continuously endure extreme trauma in their childhood years struggle in certain areas of brain development and live with the weight of their trauma every single day. As time goes on, and life continues to move forward, many victims find it more and more challenging to cope with these issues. It is extremely difficult to say how much time victims will need to assimilate and work through these effects. Some may need a few years, while others may need an entire lifetime.

One thing is certain: In many cases, victims will need therapy, likely for the rest of their lives. A civil action against their abuser, if won, may help to lighten the economic burden of therapy and other necessary treatments to work through the issues they may be suffering through.

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CALIFORNIA
Orange County Weekly

By R. Scott Moxley Wed., Mar. 18 2015

If you’re a liberal, Allan Bartlett most definitely holds an opposing political view, but the amicable Irvine resident and city finance commission chairman isn’t your typical, knee-jerk Orange County Republican. Sure, he’ll roll his eyes at the mention of Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, but in a county in which partisanship almost always trumps principle, regardless of party affiliation, Bartlett is a rare breed. He’s a self-employed businessman and relentless political activist who is unafraid to challenge his own party and its characters, even powerful ones, when they screw up.
To read all of our OC People 2015 profiles, click here!

In 2012, Bartlett’s reasons for leading an underdog revolt on the local Republican Party central committee to deny GOP Congressman John Campbell an endorsement were twofold. He loathed Campbell’s vote for President George W. Bush’s 2008 plan to send taxpayer money to private, Wall Street companies that made lousy investments. Worse, in Bartlett’s view, was the wealthy congressman’s elitist attitude that resulted in shunning contact with residents.

“He didn’t want to get his hands dirty with us,” says Bartlett, who, incredibly, managed to gather the votes to block a sitting congressman’s endorsement. Campbell chose to not seek re-election in 2014. “He blamed not liking to take the trips back to D.C., but I like to think we had an impact on his decision.”

Other examples illustrate Bartlett’s independence. Though he grew up Catholic and graduated from Mater Dei High, he refused to remain silent about pedophile-priest scandals. Though a Republican, his libertarian leanings prompt him to loathe the Patriot Act and “NSA snooping” as sneaky assaults on freedom. Though an activist who supports real-estate development, he cherishes daily, 4-mile nature-trail walks near Irvine’s Shady Canyon. Though married to his gorgeous wife, Lynn, he isn’t alarmed by increasing legal protections for gay citizens. Though someone who gets misty-eyed looking at an American flag, he feels nothing but anger that “neo-conservatives” advocate a policy of “let’s go bomb people at the first sign of a problem overseas,” calling it “a colossal waste of lives and money.”

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CHILE
SS.CC

[Monsignor Juan Barros should resign.]

El nombramiento de Monseñor Juan Barros como obispo de Osorno nos ha dejado perplejos.

En primer lugar, porque no se ha tomado suficientemente en cuenta el hecho de que esté comprometido en las acusaciones de abusos realizadas en contra de Fernando Karadima; y, por tanto, su nombramiento no está en sintonía con la tolerancia cero que está queriendo instalar la Iglesia.

En segundo lugar, porque parece haber sido una decisión llevada adelante en solitario por el Nuncio Apostólico, sin el respaldo de la mayoría de los obispos de Chile. Cuesta entender cómo es posible que todavía se den este tipo de mecanismos, que llevan a una decisión con tan poco respaldo. Hay aquí algo disonante, que “desafina” en relación a los últimos nombramientos episcopales, que nos han parecido muy en la línea de lo que quiere el Papa Francisco. Nos cuesta creer que él confirmase este nombramiento si hubiese tenido todos los antecedentes sobre la mesa.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

March 19, 2015

Chris McGillion

Archbishop Philip Wilson of Adelaide is not the Pope and he is not Cardinal George Pell. People need to remember this when digesting the news that he has been charged by NSW Police with concealing child sexual abuse while a priest in the Hunter region in the 1970s.

This is big news but not quite as big as many seem to be assuming and not for the same reasons.

Media coverage of the action against Archbishop Wilson has emphasised that he is the most senior Catholic prelate to have been charged by civil authorities in connection with child abuse anywhere in the world. That may be so but he is not the only senior Catholic prelate to have been hauled before the civil courts. In September 2012, for instance, Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City-St. Joseph in the US state of Missouri was convicted of shielding an abusive priest in his diocese and given a two-year suspended sentence.

Ask any Australian Catholic who Bishop Robert Finn is and you will probably get a blank stare. Ask any American Catholic how much of an impact Finn’s conviction has had on his or her faith and the answer is probably “None at all”.

In many people’s minds the Catholic Church is defined by the bulk of its churches, schools, hospitals and assorted office blocks or by its rigid and highly public chain of organisational command. But the fact of the matter is that religious identity is deeply ingrained in culture and tradition and religious faith and practice is primarily a matter of intimate personal commitment.

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UNITED KINGDOM
London 24

Claims a ‘satanic cult’ in north London where peadophiles abused and murdered babies, drank their blood and wore shoes made from their skin have been dismissed by a High Court judge as ‘baseless’.

Mrs Justice Pauffley, who had been asked to investigate by Barnet social services, said detail of the claims has been circulating on the internet.

She said: “Specifically, it was said that babies were supplied from all over the world.

“They were bought, injected with drugs and then sent by TNT or DHL to London. The assertions were that babies had been abused, tortured and then sacrificed.

“Their throats were slit, blood was drunk and cult members would then dance wearing babies’ skulls (sometimes with blood and hair still attached”) on their bodies. …

Barnet Council had begun care proceedings in relation to the youngsters but Justice Pauffley said last September ‘lurid allegations of the most serious kind’ were drawn to the attention of police.

The two children, their mother and her partner said the father was the ‘cult leader’ – and other members included a headteacher, a priest, social workers and police.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

BY JOHN CASSIDY – 19 MARCH 2015

A disgraced former Catholic priest was will learn next week if he is to serve any more time in custody after he admitted sexually a young altar boy at his family cottage in Co Down over 20 years ago.

Reserving his decision today (Thursday) at Downpatrick Crown Court, Judge Piers Grant told Daniel Curran that he will pass sentence on Monday, March 23.

Curran (64), of Bryansford Avenue, Newcastle, pleaded guilty to one count of gross indecency towards a male child and also admitted a single charge of indecent assault on the same victim.

The offences took place between August 1990 and August 1993 at a cottage owned by his family in the seaside village of Tyrella, Co Down when the victim aged between seven and ten.

Prosecution QC David McDowell told the court that the victim was a pupil of a primary school in north Belfast when he was aged around seven years old.

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CANADA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, March 19, 2015

For more information: Melanie Jula Sakoda ( 925-708-6175 cell, melanie.sakoda@gmail.com ), Cappy Larson ( 415-637-2006 cell, cappy@rlarson.com ), David Clohessy ( 314-566-9790 cell, davidgclohessy@gmail.com )

Archbishop is “deceiving flock” group says

He’s been ousted and convicted of child sex crimes

Yet he’s started deceptive new website hiding those facts

SNAP: “Church officials should denounce him and warn congregants”

A support group for clergy sex abuse victims is urging Canadian Orthodox Church officials to order an archbishop who was convicted of child sex crimes to take down a deceptive new website. They are also begging them to publicly denounce the predator and warn their flocks about him.

Leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, are writing to the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) ruling body, the OCA’s synod of bishops, prodding them to inform church-goers that Archbishop Seraphim Storheim is “basically pretending he’s still head of the Canadian church.”

Last year, Storheim was convicted of sexually assaulting a boy who had come to visit him in Winnipeg in 1985. In October, his lawyer Jeff Gindin, said he’d appeal that verdict.

“According to Archbishop Seraphim’s new website, he is the ‘retired Archbishop of Ottawa,’” fumed Melanie Jula Sakoda of SNAP. “There is no mention of the fact that his retirement was the decision of the OCA’s synod and followed on the heels of his child sexual abuse conviction.”

“The site also omits telling its readers that in 2010 he was banned from administering the sacraments by that same synod,” added Cappy Larson, also of SNAP. “The archbishop even ignores the fact that the OCA has selected a new bishop for Ottawa!”

“When child predators are exposed, they do and say almost anything to maintain their power, prestige and access to kids,” said David Clohessy, the executive director of SNAP. “And when this happens, it’s crucial that other responsible adults share the truth and do everything possible to warn parents and the public about these dangerous and deceptive predators.”

SNAP wants the OCA to force Storheim to take down his website. They also want the bishops to publicly denounce the deception, and warn their members about the archbishop.

“Quite simply, Archbishop Seraphim’s site tries to legitimize him by listing him among the Orthodox bishops of Canada. He even positions himself at top of the list! The synod needs to put a quick end to this farce,” concluded Sakoda.

The URL for Storheim’s new website is http://archbishop-of-ottawa.org/

His list of Orthodox bishops in Canada can be found here: http://archbishop-of-ottawa.org/node/89

The text of SNAP’s letter, previously sent to the synod by email, is below, as is the list of hierarchs to whom it was sent.

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CHILE/ROME
The Guardian

Jonathan Franklin in Santiago and Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Rome
Tuesday 17 March 2015

Pope Francis’s vow to stamp out sexual abuse by priests – and the Catholic church’s decades-long cover-up of such scandals – is being tested following the appointment of a bishop in Chile who has been linked to a notorious abuse case.

Politicians and some church leaders in Chile have demanded the resignation of Juan Barros, the pope’s appointment as bishop of Osorno in southern Chile, following allegations that he helped cover up – and at times participated in – abuse against minors by his longtime mentor, a priest called Fernando Karadima.

The case has consequences far beyond Chile, given Pope Francis’s repeated promises to confront the abuse scandals. Victims’ rights activists are calling for the pontiff’s intervention in the case following an outcry by parishioners in the region.

So far, however, Barros appears to have the full weight of the Vatican behind him.

Priests in Osorno say the pope’s choice has left them “confused and irritated”.

In Santiago, the nation’s capital, Father Alex Vigueras, a priest in the congregation of the Sacred Hearts, said the appointment “is not attuned with the zero tolerance [policy on pedophilia] that is trying to be installed in the church”. …

Peter Saunders, a British abuse survivor who sits on a new papal commission to protect children, credits Pope Francis for being vocal about the abuse scandals. But he said that proof of the church’s seriousness in tackling the problem will be revealed by its action – or inaction – in cases like the one in Chile.

Saunders has also been critical of the church’s handling of another case in Missouri, where Bishop Robert Finn has remained in power even after he was convicted of failing to report clerical child sex abuse.

“If we don’t see real change, if we don’t see the likes of Bishop Finn removed immediately and this case in Chile being resolved, then the committee will be a pointless exercise,” Saunders told The Guardian.

The Vatican declined to comment.

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MISSOURI
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, March 19

Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, 314 566 9790, SNAPclohessy@aol.com

A member of Pope Francis’ new child sex abuse panel is calling for the removal of Kansas City Bishop Robert Finn. It’s the first time a Catholic official is publicly and explicitly pushing for Finn’s ouster.

[The Guardian]

Peter Saunders of London was tapped by Pope Francis to be on the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors . He founded and heads a charity for abuse victims called NAPAC (The National Association for People Abused in Childhood).

“If we don’t see real change, if we don’t see the likes of Bishop Finn removed immediately . . .then the committee will be a pointless exercise,” Saunders told The Guardian.

Many pundits, journalists, abuse victims and concerned Catholics have advocated for Finn’s removal. But this is the first time a church official has explicitly done so. It’s especially significant that Saunders has met with Pope Francis and was appointed to the Vatican abuse panel by Francis.

This month, however, marks two anniversaries. It’s the two year anniversary of Francis’ papacy. And it’s the 2.5 year anniversary of Finn’s conviction.

There are two travesties here. First, it’s a travesty that Francis has done nothing to discipline or even denounce Finn. Second, it’s a travesty that – in a world with thousands of Catholic bishops – no one in the Catholic hierarchy except Saunders, a lay person, has found the courage to publicly denounce Finn.

Let’s put this as simply and clearly as we can: With lightening speed, Francis ousted a German bishop who mismanaged church money.

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SCOTLAND
National Secular Society

Posted: Thu, 19 Mar 2015 by Alistair McBay

Why did the CPS abandon investigation into Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor?

As the full scale of the British Establishment’s cover-up of child sex abuse becomes apparent, Alistair McBay argues it is time for the Crown Prosecution Service to make public its reasons for dropping the investigation into Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor 12 years ago.

It’s hard to know where to begin in writing about the issue of child sex abuse in Britain. As Home Secretary Teresa May said earlier this month, the abuse is “woven, covertly, into the fabric of British society”. She warned that “what the country doesn’t yet appreciate is the true scale of that abuse” but might have added “or the scale of the cover-up.”

The almost daily revelations suggest collusion between the various arms of the Establishment to protect the great and the good from investigation, either for abuse or for covering it up – police, priests, politicians and performers are all implicated one way or another. Beyond the police, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is another arm of law enforcement that has some questions to answer. First, in the light of all that has been revealed in the intervening 12 years, why did it instruct Sussex police to drop a 2003 investigation into the head of the Catholic Church in the UK? And second, why did the CPS decide that its reasons remain confidential?

This case related to decisions made by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor when he was a mere bishop in the Catholic diocese of Arundel and Brighton in Sussex between 1977 and 2000, and centred on how he handled allegations of child rape by priests and the notorious Father Michael Hill in particular. At the time, the chairman of the Association of Child Abuse Lawyers, which was dealing with a number of claims against various orders of the Catholic Church, called Murphy-O’Connor’s role in the case “indefensible” and called for his resignation. According to a Catholic Herald report at the time, a CPS spokesman advised that the details of the advice given to Sussex police to abandon the case against the Cardinal were ‘confidential’. The article also claims that the Cardinal was never formally contacted by the police during their investigation, although the police had contacted the CPS at least twice for formal advice on how to proceed.

So, in short, here was a situation in which a high-profile figure implicated in a child abuse scandal was never contacted by detectives over several months, during which the police were asking the CPS for guidance on how to proceed. Eventually the CPS instructed the police to drop the case and declared their reasons for this decision not open to public scrutiny.

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AUSTRALIA
Broken Rites

By a Broken Rites researcher (article posted 19 March 2015)

A member of the Catholic religious order of Marist Brothers in New South Wales — Brother Francis William Cable, known as Brother “Romuald” — was found guilty on 17 March 2015 of 13 serious child sex offences against two schoolboys after a jury trial in Sydney. Two days later, on March 19, he entered guilty pleas to offences against another 17 schoolboys. He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on a later date. The offences, which occurred in the 1960s and 1970s, include buggery, plus multiple counts of indecent assault.

How the case began

In December 2012, New South Wales detectives (from Strike Force Georgiana, investigating historical child sex allegations) arrested Brother “Romuald” Cable (date of birth 3 May 1932) in a Canberra suburb (where he was living) after information from two former Marist Brothers school students in the Newcastle region. The detectives charged Brother Romuald with three indecent assault offences against the two students.

On 29 January 2013 Brother Romuald Cable appeared in Newcastle Local court, where the charges were officially recorded. The detectives increased the number of indecent assault charges to 23, and added two buggery charges. The number of alleged victims increased from two to six. After this court appearance, more former students contacted Strike Force Georgiana detectives.

On 13 March 2013 the case came up for mention again in the same court.The number of charges against Cable was increased to 33 and the number of alleged victims was increased to 12.

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UNITED STATES
Verdict

The Seventh Circuit Injects Common Sense into Religious Liberty Debates with Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors v. Listecki

Marci A. Hamilton

There are times when I despair that the United States will never return to the common sense religious liberty principles established by the Framers and respected by the Supreme Court in its long line of First Amendment, free exercise decisions. From Reynolds v. United States through Employment Div. v. Smith and Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. Hialeah, the Court has held the line on extreme demands for religious liberty rights. They—the Framers and the Court—have been responsible for creating a system of ordered liberty where believers are full-fledged members of the community, accountable to the laws that apply to everyone else, while having the ability to request legislative exemptions, which have been granted hundreds of times. It’s a system that has worked for centuries (including for the Native American Church members who lost in Smith).

Congress let loose the furies when it caved to demands for extreme rights with the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (“RFRA”) and its unfortunate “least restrictive means” test, which persuades believers (and courts) that the laws that apply to everyone else should be shaped specifically to a believer’s particular beliefs. This reasoning has opened a new and scary dialogue about carving back the public accommodations laws to permit believers to refuse service to those they disapprove, e.g., Arizona’s state RFRA, which was vetoed last year, and this year’s pending Indiana RFRA. The public rhetoric has been about the LGBTQ community and same-sex marriage, which is bad enough, but the principle equally applies to discrimination based on race, gender, and national origin. Such reasoning is poisoning the United States and threatening the Court’s careful and delicate balance between extraordinary religious diversity, the rule of law, and plain old common sense.

With these thoughts in mind, last week’s unanimous opinion by the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit involving the Milwaukee Archdiocese bankruptcy is a much-needed breath of fresh air.

The Milwaukee Archdiocese Bankruptcy Is Filed to Avoid Compensating Survivors of Clergy Sex Abuse

As I discuss here, Timothy Cardinal Dolan, when he was Archbishop of Milwaukee, set into motion the conflict between the Archdiocese and its creditors that culminated in the dispute decided last week. He engaged in scorched earth tactics in the few live clergy abuse cases, including pursuing extreme religious liberty arguments; blocked statutes of limitations reform with the argument that the Archdiocese would be “bankrupt” if it had to pay the victims for what it had done to them; he moved $55 million to a “trust” for purposes of avoiding compensating victims; and negotiated settlements with victims that were pennies on the dollar of what the victims deserved, in effect removing them from the pool of victims who could sue in the event of SOL reform or who would be part of a bankruptcy if it were ever filed.

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BOSTON (MA)
The Daily Beast

Luke O’Neil

The family of Shaun Harrison, the Boston English dean and reverend accused of shooting a student who went afoul of his alleged drug ring, may have helped cover up church sex abuse.

The story of Shaun Harrison—the Boston reverend, public school dean, and anti-violence community activist accused of the shooting of one his students, an apparent employee of his alleged drug-dealing operation—seems almost too outlandish to be true. Many have compared it to something out of a movie, but with its overstuffed combination of drugs, religion, public schools, and violence, it’s the type you’d likely walk out of on account of its heavy-handedness.

But the story got even more distressing this week, as the details of his son’s alleged molestation at the hands of a fellow youth minister resurfaced.

Many in the Boston community in which he worked have rightly asked how Harrison, who was arraigned in Roxbury Municipal Court on Monday on additional gun and drug charges stemming from a search of his home earlier this month, could have flown under the radar for so long. He pleaded not guilty.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Sutton Guardian

by David Lindsell, Digital editor

Efforts to tackle child sexual exploition and abuse are progressing but they are still “too patchy” according to charity NSPCC.

Jon Brown, a qualified social worker and head of strategy for the NSPCC, made his comments on national child sexual exploitation awareness (CSE) day.

The Metropolitan Police and others have used today to highlight the work they are doing, including jailing 77 perpetrators, but also in training everyone from taxi drivers to pub and hotel staff to identify victims.

Mr Brown said: “Progress is definitely being made but it is patchy.”

He said: “It is a national issue and a national problem. That’s been reflected in recent cases. The response to that at local authority level continues to be patchy.”

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

Thousands of child sex abuse victims would benefit from tougher laws to make it easier for them to seek justice from their abusers, the New South Wales Greens said as part of their election campaign.

The Greens announced a plan to reform legislation so victims could seek compensation more easily and lodge civil claims years after the abuse.

The reforms would also permit judges to impose tougher sentences.

The three-point plan also included preventing churches from hiding their money in trust funds.

Greens MP David Shoebridge said the reforms were similar to measures being introduced in Victoria and some countries overseas.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Titusville Herald

By Joshua Sterling
jsterling@titusvilleherald.com

Due to a new state law intended to protect children from sexual abuse, a response to the Jerry Sandusky case at Penn State University, any employee or volunteer who has “routine interaction” with children is required to obtain extensive background checks, every three years.

On Oct. 22, 2014, House Bill 435 was signed into law, becoming Act 153.

The law went into effect Dec. 31.

Now, employers and volunteer groups are making the effort to get their people through required background checks, which can range between $10 to nearly $50 per person.

Those required to submit to the background checks and not doing so could face civil and criminal penalties.

Who needs clearances?

For volunteers, the answer is, beginning July 1, any adult applying for an unpaid position as a volunteer responsible for the welfare of a child or having direct contact with children.

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SCOTLAND
Scottish Catholic Observer

Fr Richard Rodgers, parish priest of St Mary’s, Cleland, North Lanarkshire, has been suspended following an allegation of historic sexual abuse made to his diocese.

“Following a complaint received by the Diocese of Motherwell and passed to Police Scotland, he will not be in active parish ministry for an unspecified period of time,” a Motherwell Diocesan spokesman said.

“Fr Rodgers has agreed to this and will not be living in the parish house or undertaking any public ministry. While the Diocese of Motherwell await the outcome of the police investigation, no further statements will be made.”

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MINNESOTA
Canonical Consultation

03/18/2015

Jennifer Haselberger

Some of you might have seen these stories covered by other media, but since they are of general interest to readers of this blog I thought I would mention them here. The final two are specific to the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

1). Yesterday, the Archbishop of Adelaide, Australia, was charged with concealing knowledge of child sexual abuse. Archbishop Philip Wilson, who became the highest ranking Catholic prelate to be charged with such a crime, denies the charges and is vowing to mount a vigorous defense. In the meantime, he has temporarily stepped down from his positions with the Australian Bishop’s Conference and the Truth and Justice Healing Council, which is working with the Royal Commission. Interestingly, the charges are not related to Wilson’s episcopal administration, but instead allege that he concealed knowledge of sexual abuse of a minor by a priest with whom he was assigned in the 1970s.

2). The National Catholic Reporter is reporting that the investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct by Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the former Archbishop of St. Andrew’s and Edinburgh who stepped down prior to the conclave of 2013, has been completed and the report presented to Pope Francis. Unlike the debacle of an investigation taking place in Saint Paul, the investigation into allegations that O’Brien had engaged in inappropriate sexual activity with priests and seminarians for decades was ordered by the Holy See and entrusted to Archbishop Charles Scicluna, the former prosecutor for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and now Archbishop of Malta. Reputed to be ‘hot enough to burn the varnish off the Pope’s desk’, the report on O’Brien was completed within a year. Meanwhile, in Saint Paul…

3). Speculation is mounting that a big announcement regarding the W.D.O.E. is coming in mid-April after priests were informed today that the Clergy Study Day originally scheduled for April 22 has been postponed. In a brief email, priests were informed that both the new date and the topic of the study day will be ‘forthcoming’. There has already been speculation among priests that the Archbishop’s resignation would be accepted by Pope Francis on or around April 15, while others (mainly non-clergy) have predicted a proposed settlement to the bankruptcy announced around that time. We shall see…

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FLORIDA
Legal Examiner

Posted by Joseph H. Saunders
March 18, 2015

Father Leo P. Riley, a priest working at St. Peter the Apostle church in Naples, Florida has been placed on administrative leave after he was accused of molesting a child while he was an associate pastor at Resurrection Parish in Dubuque, Iowa.

The Archdiocese of Dubuque is investigating the sexual abuse claim against Riley, which is alleged to have occurred in 1985. This investigation comes after the Archdiocese of Dubuque paid $5.2 million to settle sexual abuse claims with 26 people in 2013. It is not known yet whether Riley was part of any of those claims.

Church officials in Iowa are urging anyone with information or suspicions about Fr. Riley to call them. However, David Clohessy , director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, says that contacting the church is wrong. Clohessy urges victims or whistleblowers in Iowa or Florida to call police or prosecutors. SNAP is adamant that child sex crimes should be reported to the independent, unbiased professionals in law enforcement and not to self-serving, biased church bureaucrats.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Wicked Local Randolph

By Lane Lambert
The Patriot Ledger

Posted Mar. 18, 2015

RANDOLPH – The South Shore Chamber of Commerce rarely gets homilies, but the business group got one Wednesday from Cardinal Sean O’Malley.

Speaking to a full room at the Chamber’s luncheon at Lantana, the cardinal said “we are here to take care of each other.”

He also said the church is “a field hospital” whose primary mission is to tend to “the poor and downtrodden.” …

He outlined the bleak situation he faced when arrived, in the wake of a clergy sex abuse scandal that forced his predecessor, Cardinal Bernard Law, to resign.

“The Archdiocese was in free fall,” he said. “We had a thousand (sex abuse) lawsuits. We owed the Knights of Columbus millions. Our Catholic hospitals were losing millions.”

“Welcome to Boston,” he quipped.

He said the Archdiocese’s finances and programs are now “much improved,” after a decade of lawsuit settlements, parish closings and mergers, and property sales.

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MAINE
WABI

MAR 18, 2015

ADRIENNE DIPIAZZA

The faithful at St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Bangor are reacting to the conviction of their former leader on child sex charges.

A judge found ex-priest Adam Metropoulous guilty Tuesday of sexual abuse of a minor.

He pled guilty Monday to child pornography and invasion of privacy charges.

The church’s parish council president Lee Speronis says he and many parishioners never expected that the case would go to trial, and that it’s been a rough several months for the church.

But now that Metropoulos has been found guilty, Speronis says the healing process can begin.

“Everybody heals at their own pace, and everybody reacts differently. And it’s really important to understand that, respect each other’s sensitivities. The Diocese of Boston has been great. It’s given us access numbers for people to call, call the professionals that know how to care for people in this scenario. And we all need hugs, that’s for sure. But some people need more than that. And Boston’s been fantastic about that. And this is all pretty fresh. It just happened yesterday. So I’ve heard from many people. The feelings are all over the place, quite honestly,” Speronis said.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Written by
Steve Limtiaco
Pacific Daily News

The priest in charge of the Merizo and Umatac Catholic churches has resigned after being arrested by Guam police Tuesday, according to the Archdiocese of Agana.

In a written statement, the archdiocese announced that Archbishop Anthony Apuron has accepted the resignation of the Rev. Father Luis Camacho as pastor of the San Dimas, Malesso, and San Dionisio, Umatac, parishes, effective immediately.

According to the archdiocese, the Guam Police Department provided information that Camacho was booked and released Tuesday on allegations of custodial interference.

That specific crime is listed under the section of Guam law under “kidnapping and related offenses.”

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GUAM
Yahoo! News

Associated Press

HAGATNA, Guam (AP) — The Catholic Church says a priest in Guam has resigned as pastor after being arrested.

The Pacific Daily News (http://bit.ly/1CwgQwt ) reports the Archdiocese of Agana says it accepted Rev. Luis Camacho’s resignation effectively immediately. Camacho was the pastor of several parishes in the U.S. territory.

The archdiocese says Camacho was booked and released Tuesday on allegations of custodial interference.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

Reporter: Emma Alberici

Reporter Joanne McCarthy from the Newcastle Herald helped expose the Catholic Church’s protection of paedophile priests. She speaks to Emma Alberici about the decision to charge Archbishop of Adelaide Philip Wilson with covering up the sexual abuse of children in the Hunter Valley.

Transcript

EMMA ALBERICI, PRESENTER: The Catholic Church is facing serious allegations of covering up crimes.

The Archbishop of Adelaide, Philip Wilson, has taken leave after being charged with concealing child sexual abuse.

The charge relates to a long-dead notorious paedophile priest, Jim Fletcher, in the Maitland-Newcastle diocese in New South Wales.

Archbishop Wilson was a junior priest at the time when he worked with Fletcher. It’s alleged Philip Wilson was told Fletcher had abused a child in 1976.

Archbishop Wilson isn’t speaking to the media, but he’s declared his innocence in a statement in which he reaffirms his “commitment to dealing proactively with the issue of child sexual abuse.”

Back in 2010, Archbishop Wilson said he was unaware of any abuse allegations.

PHILIP WILSON, ARCHBISHOP, CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF ADELAIDE (Stateline SA, ABC TV, May 20 2010): Well, I think that it’s all based on the claim that I knew that there was something happening. I did not know and therefore there was no way in which I had responsibility to do anything.

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SAN FRANCISCO (CA)
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco

(SAN FRANCISCO, March 18, 2015)

The Archdiocese of San Francisco is,alongwith the Catholic St.Vincent de Paul Society, the largest supporter ofservicesforthe homeless inSan Francisco. Every year, it helps many thousands of people through food, housing, shelter programs for people at risk including homeless mothers and families, and in countless other ways.

St. Mary’s Cathedral is a huge part of that program, and does more than any other Catholic church. The Cathedral itself serves hundreds of homeless people giving them food and shelter, as an integral part of the San Francisco Interfaith Council’s efforts in that regard, for example, opening its doors for shelter and food for five weeks over the holidays.

This sprinkler system in alcoves near our back doorways was installed approximately two years ago, after learning from city resources that this kind of system was being commonly used in the Financial District, as a safety, security and cleanliness measure to avoid the situation where needles, feces and other dangerous items were regularly being left in these hidden doorways. The problem was particularly dangerous because students and elderly people regularly passthese locations on their way to school and mass every day.

When the system was installed,after other ideas were tried and failed, the people who were regularly sleeping in those doorways were informed in advance that the sprinklers were being installed. The idea was not to remove those persons, but to encourage them to relocate to other areas of the Cathedral, which are protected and safer. The purpose was to make the Cathedral grounds as well as the homeless people who happen to be on those grounds safer.

We are sorry that our intentions have been misunderstood and recognize that the method used was ill-conceived. It actually has had the opposite effect from what it was intended to do, and for this we are very sorry.

We have also now learned that the system in the first place required a permit and may violate San Francisco water-use laws, and the work to remove this system has already started, and will be completed by the end ofthe day.

For more information, please call Larry Kamer at (415) 290-7240 or email:
lkamer@kamergroup.com

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SAN FRANCISCO (CA)
Newsweek

BY LUCY WESTCOTT 3/18/15

A prominent San Francisco cathedral is removing a water system that served as a deterrent to homeless people as they slept after a local television station reported about the system Wednesday.

St. Mary’s Cathedral, the main church of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, installed a mechanism two years ago that drips water from a hole about 30 feet above an alcove where homeless people typically shelter and sleep, KCBS in San Francisco on Wednesday. The stream lasts for about 75 seconds and runs every 30 to 60 minutes, according to KCBS.

A homeless man identified only as Robert told KCBS, “They actually have signs in there that say, ‘No Trespassing.’” Those who gather in the alcove are not warned before the water starts dripping.

The Archdiocese of San Francisco released a statement on Wednesday morning after KCBS’s broadcast apologizing for using the water system, which it said was intended to mimic similar systems used by other buildings in the area to keep the area clean of “needles, feces and other dangerous items [that] were regularly being left in these hidden doorways.… The idea was not to remove those persons, but to encourage them to relocate to other areas of the cathedral, which are protected and safer. The purpose was to make the Cathedral grounds as well as the homeless people who happen to be on those grounds safer,” the archdiocese said in a statement.

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SAN FRANCISCO (CA)
KGO

by Elissa Harrington
Wednesday, March 18, 2015

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Does the premier Catholic church in San Francisco have a confession to make? The homeless trying to find refuge at St. Mary’s Cathedral claim the church is using water not to cleanse them, but to get rid of them. The Archdiocese of San Francisco is now looking into accusations that well-timed sprinklers are preventing the homeless from taking shelter at the landmark church.

Homeless like to sleep in the church’s covered doorways to protect themselves from the elements. But if you look directly above, you’ll see a spout that sprays water on them while they sleep.

“Sometimes I come here to sleep,” said Ignacio.

Ignacio slept outside San Francisco’s Saint Mary’s Cathedral on Tuesday night. He placed his sleeping bag near the main entrance to stay dry. That’s because he says under the covered doorways, “the water comes down every 30 minutes.”

He says throughout the night, water sprays from a spout above, soaking the homeless and their things.

One person camping out in one of the nooks came prepared with an umbrella.

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SAN FRANCISCO (CA)
Washington Post

By Abby Ohlheiser March 18

In order to prevent homeless people from sleeping outside of Saint Mary’s Cathedral, the Archdiocese of San Francisco installed a system that dumps water onto the ground near its sheltered doorways, where people tend to rest at night.

On Wednesday, after facing substantial backlash for the deterrent, the archdiocese announced that the system will be removed “by the end of the day.”

In the statement, the archdiocese said it initially decided to install the controversial system “after learning from city resources” that similar deterrents were “commonly used in the Financial District” in San Francisco to “avoid the situation where needles, feces and other dangerous items were regularly being left in these hidden doorways.”

“The Archdiocese of San Francisco is, along with the Catholic St. Vincent de Paul Society, the largest supporter of services for the homeless in San Francisco,” the statement adds.

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NEW HAMPSHIRE
National Catholic Register

by BRIAN FRAGA 03/18/2015

CONCORD, N.H. — Imprisoned for 21 years after his conviction for crimes he is adamantly denies he committed, Father Gordon MacRae says he is “cautiously hopeful” that the federal courts will give him a new opportunity to prove his innocence.

“I know that Supreme Court decisions and precedents have made it very difficult for innocent defendants to have a case re-heard at this level. Most people who judge the justice system by TV’s Law and Order don’t understand the steep uphill climb,” Father MacRae told the Register in an email message Tuesday after his attorneys presented oral arguments on behalf of his habeus corpus appeal at U.S. District Court in Concord, N.H.

Father MacRae, whose story is told on the These Stone Walls blog, has been incarcerated in the New Hampshire State Prison since his September 1994 conviction on one count of sexual assault and four counts of felonious sexual assault charges. Now 62, Father MacRae was a parish priest in the Diocese of Manchester, N.H., when the alleged victim accused Father MacRae of molesting him several times when he was a 15-year-old boy in the early 1980s.

In court documents, Father MacRae’s attorneys argue that “newly discovered evidence,” which include allegations that the accuser concocted his story for financial gain, establishes Father MacRae’s “actual innocence.” His lawyers argue that innocence should override any time limits or procedural bars that prevent a new hearing of the case.

The March 7 “hearing, for which there is no decision yet, was not a hearing on the merits but solely on whether case law and procedure will even allow for a hearing on the merits,” Father MacRae said.

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NEDERLAND
Aartsbisdom Utrecht

[Victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church should report the abuse by May 1.]

De voorzitters van de Bisschoppenconferentie, KNR, en slachtofferkoepel KLOKK, VPKK en MCU waren op maandag 16 maart bijeen in Utrecht en geven gezamenlijk de volgende verklaring af:

De voorzitters van de Bisschoppenconferentie, KNR, KLOKK, VPKK en MCU roepen mensen die als minderjarige slachtoffer werden van seksueel misbruik binnen de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk, op zich voor 1 mei 2015 te melden bij het Meldpunt Seksueel Misbruik RKK.

Men kan zich melden via de website www.meldpuntmisbruikrkk.nl

Of schriftelijk:
Meldpunt misbruik RK Kerk
Postbus 13277
3507 LG Utrecht

Of telefonisch: 030-2306900

Er kan worden volstaan met het indienen van een klacht in enkele korte zinnen.

Kardinaal Eijk, voorzitter Bisschoppenconferentie
Br. C. van Dam, voorzitter KNR
G. Klabbers, voorzitter KLOKK
Mw. A. Knibbe-van Dijck, voorzitter VPKK
B. Smeets, voorzitter MCU

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NEW JERSEY
NJ.com

By Michaelangelo Conte | The Jersey Journal
on March 18, 2015

A Hudson County Superior Court judge has issued a warrant for the arrest of a North Bergen pastor convicted of molesting a 13-year-old child last month after he failed to appear at a pre-sentencing hearing this week, officials said.

Gregorio Martinez, 47, who was described as a prophet and exorcist during testimony, was convicted on Feb. 25 of aggravated sexual contact, child abuse and endangering the welfare of the child.

He was to appear before Hudson County Superior Court Judge Mitzy Galis-Menendez on Tuesday for the pre-sentencing hearing and the judge issued a bench warrant for his arrest when he did not show up, a court official said.

Officials have also released additional details of unrelated sex charges the Jersey City resident faces.

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GUAM
Marianas Variety

19 Mar 2015 By Jasmine Stole – jasmine@mvguam.com – Variety News Staff

HAGÅTÑA — Following the arrest of Rev. Luis Venancio Benavente Camacho, 29, the Archdiocese of Agana announced his resignation as pastor of San Dimas parish in Merizo and San Dionisio parish in Umatac effective immediately.

According to A.J. Balajadia, Guam Police Department public information officer, Camacho was found with a 17-year-old girl at a beach in Agat Tuesday morning. Balajadia said Agat precinct officers arrested Camacho at 11:45 a.m. Tuesday.

Police charged him with custodial interference for being with a female minor who was not in school at the time the priest and the girl were found parked at a beach in Agat, Balajadia said.

Camacho was booked and released. Police and the Agana Archdiocese did not issue further details related to Camacho’s arrest.

Yesterday morning, the Office of the Attorney General said it had no knowledge of Camacho’s arrest. Usually, the AG’s office does not pursue criminal charges until after it is given information by the police.

The archdiocese issued a short statement yesterday evening regarding Camacho’s arrest:

“The Archdiocese of Agana was made aware that Father Luis was booked and released yesterday, March 17, 2015. The alleged offense is custodial interference, according to information provided by the Guam Police Department. The archdiocese has initiated a canonical investigation and is cooperating fully with civil authorities. In the meantime, Father Luis’ faculties have been restricted.”

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CONNECTICUT
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, March 18

Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, 314 566 9790, SNAPclohessy@aol.com

A new civil lawsuit charges that a priest abused a child and that Catholic officials could and should have prevented the crimes.

[CT News]

The complaint is filed against Fr. Walter Phillip Coleman, who worked at churches in Stamford, Danbury, New Canaan, Fairfield, Bridgeport, Brookfield Center, Danbury, Norwalk, Georgetown, Trumbull and Shelton.

We worry that others who have been hurt by Fr. Coleman are still trapped in shame, silence, confusion and self-blame. We desperately urge them to find the strength to seek help from independent sources, not church officials. And we beg them to call experienced sources, like police, prosecutors, therapists and groups like ours.

If any other people – especially current or former church staff or members – have seen suspicious behaviors or crimes by Fr. Coleman, they must step forward if kids are to be protected.

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SCOTLAND
BBC News

A Roman Catholic priest has been suspended from his North Lanarkshire parish amid a police investigation into allegations of historical sexual abuse.

The Diocese of Motherwell said Father Richard Rodgers, 79, would be absent from St Mary’s Parish Church in Cleland for “an unspecified period of time”.

It said the action had been taken after a complaint was received and passed to Police Scotland.

A spokesman for the force said the matter was being investigated.

A spokesman for the Diocese of Motherwell said: “Following a complaint received by the Diocese of Motherwell and passed to Police Scotland, Father Richard Rodgers, parish priest of St Mary’s, Cleland, will not be in active parish ministry for an unspecified period of time.

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AUSTRALIA
J-Wire

March 19, 2015 by J-Wire News Service

In the wake of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Sydney’s Rabbi Selwyn Franklin became interim president of NORA, the New Organisation of the Rabbis of Australasia…a post he will not contend at NORA’s inaugural conference.

Nora has issued the following statement: “NORA is presently operating only as a steering committee in order to co-ordinate the reformulation of the rabbinic association of Australia to ensure that it meets with contemporary standards of governance and accountability. The steering committee is directed solely to that task with a view to a new rabbinic association becoming operative after a conference of Australian rabbis planned for June in 2015.

Rabbi Selwyn Franklin’s role as interim “president” has been to co-ordinate the various tasks of the interim steering committee. Rabbi Franklin does not intend to be a candidate for the position of president of the newly reformulated organisation.

It has been suggested that Rabbi Franklin ought not to continue his present function with NORA because of his role as vice-president of the KA in light of conclusions reached by the KCI operating under the auspices of the Board of Deputies of New South Wales. Those conclusions are disputed by the KA and the competing contentions of the KCI and the KA have been ventilated publicly.

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AUSTRALIA
Lewis Blayse

Image: Archbishop Philip Wilson being chauffeur-driven away from the Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide yesterday (Source: Herald Sun, 17 March, 2015). [Author’s note: Is that a Rolex, Phil? Might wanna pawn it, babe; Ian Temby QC don’t come cheap, and I hear Pope Francis is on some sort of economy drive or something, new Vatican ‘financial czar’ Cardinal George Pell’s embarrassing shopaholism notwithstanding.]

For a tiny country at the ass-end of the world, Australia occasionally punches well above its weight.

It did so yesterday, making world headlines in the process.

In a day that may just end up, in years to come, overshadowing the anniversaries of other Australian world firsts such as the much-celebrated invention of cask wine, Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson (pictured above) was yesterday formally charged with a “charge of concealing a serious indictable offence” (The Australian, 17 March, 2015).

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SCOTLAND
Daily Record

POLICE are investigating after a complaint was made to the Diocese of Motherwell about Father Richard Rodgers.

A PRIEST has been removed from his parish while police investigate allegations of historic sex abuse.

A complaint was made to the Diocese of Motherwell about Father Richard Rodgers, priest at St Mary’s church in Cleland, North Lanarkshire.

It was passed to police earlier this month and the diocese said the 79-year-old “will not be in active parish ministry for an unspecified period of time”.

He is said to have agreed to the suspension and priests from nearby churches will look after St Mary’s.

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SCOTLAND
Daily Record

18 March 2015 By Stratton Williams

Parishoners in a close-knit community this week told of their shock at their priest being probed by police over sex abuse allegations.

Father Richard Rodgers is under investigation by police into claims of “historic sex abuse.”

And the Cleland St Mary’s priest has been axed by Motherwell Diocese “for an unspecified period of time” after they received a complaint.

Fr Rodgers has also been kicked out of his parish house and his current whereabouts are unknown.

He is also chaplain to Cleland Hospital and St Mary’s Primary School.

A worried parishioner, who didn’t want named, said: “If what’s being said is true, then it’s disgusting.

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SAN FRANCISCO (CA)
CBS SF Bay Area

Doug Sovern

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) — KCBS has learned that Saint Mary’s Cathedral, the principal church of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, has installed a watering system to keep the homeless from sleeping in the cathedral’s doorways.

The cathedral, at Geary and Gough, is the home church of the Archbishop. There are four tall side doors, with sheltered alcoves, that attract homeless people at night.

“They actually have signs in there that say, ‘No Trespassing,’” said a homeless man named Robert.

But there are no signs warning the homeless about what happens in these doorways, at various times, all through the night. Water pours from a hole in the ceiling, about 30 feet above, drenching the alcove and anyone in it.

The shower ran for about 75 seconds, every 30 to 60 minutes while we were there, starting before sunset, simultaneously in all four doorways. KCBS witnessed it soak homeless people, and their belongings.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Channel 4

[with video]

Richard Kerr, who was abused at the notorious Kincora boys’ home in Belfast, tells Channel 4 News police tried to stop him testifying at a trial where three staff were jailed.

Mr Kerr, who was sent to Kincora in 1975 when he was 14, also said he was trafficked from Belfast to London and taken to the Dolphin Square flats in Pimlico, where children are alleged to have been abused by well-connected paedophiles in the 1980s.

In 1981, three senior staff at Kincora – Joseph Mains, Raymond Semple and William McGrath – were jailed for abusing 11 boys. Mr Kerr told Channel 4 News ” two plainclothes policemen” visited him before the trial.

Interrogated

He said: “They came to my home and they removed stuff from my drawers, and they put me in a car and they took me to the police station and they interrogated me, put me in a cell for seven hours and as they removed me from my cell, they made it clear to me that I’m not to talk about this and that I’m lying and not to tell lies, and I felt they were giving me a warning.”

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CONNECTICUT
CT News

Posted on March 18, 2015 | By Daniel Tepfer

BRIDGEPORT – A Shelton man claims, in a lawsuit filed Wednesday against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport, that he was repeatedly sexually assaulted by a priest while he served as an altar boy at the former St. Patrick Parish here in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The lawsuit, filed in Superior Court, brings to six the number of men who have claimed in lawsuits to have been sexually abused by the Rev. Walter Phillip Coleman since the 1970s.

“Father Coleman was sexually exploiting, assaulting and abusing minor children in his parish for years, with impunity,” said Jason Tremont, of the Bridgeport-based law firm Tremont Sheldon Robinson Mahoney. “Parents and guardians entrusted their children to the care and protection of the church. Rather than protect them, Father Coleman violated them physically, morally and spiritually.”

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MAINE
Greek Reporter

by Ioanna Zikakou – Mar 18, 2015

Former Greek Orthodox priest Adam Metropoulos was convicted of four counts of child sexual abuse in Bangor, Maine. A judge delivered the verdict on Tuesday, March 17.

Metropoulos’ trial began on Monday with the testimony of a former altar boy at St. George Greek Orthodox Church. The young man who is now 23 years old testified that he had been sexually abused by the former priest when he would sleep over at the man’s house.

Furthermore, during his testimony the young man said that he would often pretend to be asleep and never mentioned the assault to protect the lives of people around him.

The 52-year-old former priest who had already pleaded guilty to child pornography charges and violation of privacy involving the secret videotaping of a woman while she was showering in September, took the stand on Tuesday. He attempted to defend himself saying that he never had intercourse with the teenager. However, he did admit to touching him inappropriately when he was asleep.

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CANADA
Montreal Gazette

JOHN MEAGHER, MONTREAL GAZETTE

Published on: March 17, 2015

A Catholic brother and former educator at Collège St-Hilaire southeast of Montreal was arrested Tuesday in connection with sexual assaults on a teenager more than 25 years ago.

Brother Jean-Paul Thibault, 72, is accused of using his position of authority to commit sexual assault and indecent exposure at the college in Mont-St-Hilaire.

Police say the crimes took place between 1982 and 1989, partly at the college where the adolescent victim was boarding.

Thibault, a Lac-Sergent resident, is still part of college’s board of directors. He also belonged to the congregation of Frères de Notre-Dame de la Miséricorde.

Following their investigation, Richelieu-St-Laurent police, who were assisted by the Sureté de Québec, believe there may be other victims of Thibault.

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NEW YORK
The Jewish Week

03/18/15
Hannah Dreyfus
Staff Writer

A Yeshiva College faculty vote of “no confidence” in the university’s president, Richard Joel, has made public in dramatic fashion a long-simmering debate within the institution — and the greater Orthodox community — over who is to blame for the financial crisis and what should be done about it.
The vote of the fulltime faculty of Yeshiva College, the undergraduate school for men, which was taken last Friday, was organized by its executive committee. Eighty percent voted “no confidence,” 3 percent “confidence,” and 17 percent abstained, with nearly two-thirds of the faculty casting votes. Sixty-six faculty members took part in the vote.

In response, the university’s board of trustees issued a letter backing Joel, noting that he and his administration — and an outside firm brought in to help resolve the school’s money problems — “have performed admirably in a difficult environment.”

Somewhere in the middle, perhaps, members of the Orthodox community, including prominent alumni in a wide range of fields, express sadness over YU’s predicament and deep concern about its future, recognizing the unique role it plays beyond the classroom as the flagship and center of Modern/centrist Orthodox life.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Telegraph and Argus

A PHOTO- GRAPHER and writer in Haworth is releasing a novel based on the experiences of survivors of sexual abuse.

The work by Paul Hartnett (pictured), called Deletion, is due out as an electronic book on March 30.

He said: “Sickened as I am by the revelations that shine a light upon historic child sex abuse that is often connected to a breach of the duty of care within faith schools, my book takes the form of a fictional television documentary set in and around a Catholic school.

“The focus is upon four survivors of systematic sexual abuse by Catholic priests.”

“The four decide to release a download single, EP and an album 40 years after the tracks were recorded in the latter part of their school days, back in the mid 1970s.

“In some respects, this is a punk protest against decades of failings by the Catholic Church.

“This is a subject very close to my heart as a ‘survivor’ of attempted molestation as a child by Catholic priests at Ealing Abbey’s St Benedict’s School.”

Mr Hartnett, who lives in the Brow area of Haworth, added that to accompany his new book he formed a band and recorded tracks in both Keighley and Colne studios, to develop the lyrics featured in the book.

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SCOTLAND
Evening Times

Victoria Brenan
Reporter

Father Richard Rodgers was suspended from his North Lanarkshire parish after a complaint was made to the diocese and passed to police.

The 79-year-old, who served at St Mary’s Parish Church in Cleland, has been suspended for an indefinite period while the investigation continues.

Bishop of Motherwell Joseph Toal has reportedly stepped in to cover mass at St Mary’s while cover from elsewhere in the diocese will be put in place for parishioners in his absence.

A spokesman for the Diocese of Motherwell said: “Following a complaint received by the Diocese and passed to Police Scotland, Fr Richard Rodgers will not be in active parish ministry for an unspecified period of time.

“Fr Rodgers has agreed to this and will not be living in the parish house or undertaking any public ministry.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

MARCH 19, 2015

Dan Box
Crime Reporter
Sydney

A ROYAL commission plans to hold a public hearing into church child abuse in Newcastle after gathering evidence of past crimes by priests of two churches.

The move comes after NSW Police this week charged the Catholic Archbishop of Adelaide, Philip Wilson, with allegedly concealing abuse by a pedophile priest when both men were working in the area during the 1970s.

As the most senior Catholic ­official internationally to face such a charge, the decision to prosecute the archbishop, revealed by The Australian, made world headlines.

Some Catholic schools in Adelaide asked parents and students to pray for the archbishop, who has denied the allegation and will ­appear in court next month.

In an email sent hours after the formal charge on Tuesday, Nazareth Catholic Community director Michael Dahl asked parents of the school’s 1300 pupils to “keep (the) archbishop in your prayers”.

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SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland

Gerry Braiden
Senior reporter

A CATHOLIC priest has been suspended from the church after police launched an investigation into historic sex abuse allegations.

Father Richard Rodgers, a priest in North Lanarkshire, was suspended from his parish after a complaint was made to the Diocese and then passed on to Police Scotland.

It is understood Bishop of Motherwell Joseph Toal arrived at St Mary’s Parish Church in Cleland and told parishioners of the move before stepping in to cover mass himself.

The congregation was also told cover from elsewhere in the Diocese would be put in place for parishioners in his absence.

The 79-year-old has been removed from active ministry for an “unspecified period of time” after the allegations came to light.

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MICHIGAN
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, March 18

Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, 314 566 9790, SNAPclohessy@aol.com

A Saginaw native and ex-Greek Orthodox priest has been found guilty of sexual abuse in Maine, some 30 years after having committed similar crimes in Michigan. We’re grateful that he’s been caught but now the focus shifts to his church former colleagues and supervisors in Michigan and Maine.

[WGME]

A Maine newspaper reports that Adam Metropoulos “was convicted in Michigan in 1983 of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor under the age of 13, according to Saginaw court records.” And yesterday, a judge found him guilty on four counts of child sex crimes in Bangor.

[Bangor Daily News]

These church officials have a moral and civic duty to aggressively reach out now to anyone who may have seen, suspected or suffered child sex crimes by Metropoulos or cover ups by his ex-colleagues or superiors. All too often, church officials recruit, educate, ordain, hire, and train clergy, giving them vast authority over and access to vulnerable families and kids. When one of those clerics is caught abusing, church officials immediately distance themselves from him or her and do little or nothing to help law enforcement charge or convict them.

Metropoulos will soon be sentenced. That sentence should be based on as much information as possible. And getting more information about his crimes is possible if only his ex-colleagues and supervisors take immediate steps to find others he may have hurt. They should use church bulletins, parish websites, and pulpit announcements to beg anyone with suspicions or information about Metropoulos to step forward immediately.

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SPAIN
The Local

A priest has been arrested in Burgos for performing repeated exorcisms on an underage girl suffering from anorexia.

A judge in Burgos has called for the arrest of exorcist, Jesús Hernández Sahagún, along with the girl’s priest after she went through 13 exorcisms while still a minor.

Sahagún, the official exorcist of Valladolid, is facing charges of gender violence, causing injury and mistreatment according to local newspaper, Diario de Burgos, and has been asked to make a statement on the events.

The events date back to 2012, when the girl began to suffer from anorexia. According to El País, her religious parents became convinced she was possessed by the devil and decided to have their child exorcised.

She was tied up and had crucifixes positioned over her head, according to El País.

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SCOTLAND
Motherwell Times

A priest has been removed from St Mary’s Parish Church in Cleland as Police Scotland investigate historic sex abuse allegations.

Father Richard Rodgers was axed from the parish after a complaint was made to the Motherwell Diocese, and subsequently passed to police.

The 79-year-old has been removed from active ministry for an ‘unspecified period of time’ and will not be living at the parish house as the enquiry is conducted.

Bishop of Motherwell Joseph Toal recently stepped in to cover mass at St Mary’s, while cover from elsewhere in the Diocese will be put in place for parishioners in Fr Rodgers’s absence.

It is thought Fr Rodgers was also involved with St Mary’s Primary School and worked as chaplain at Cleland Hospital.

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SCOTLAND
STV

A priest has been suspended from a North Lanarkshire catholic church amid a police investigation into historic sex abuse allegations.

Father Richard Rodgers was suspended from his parish after a complaint was made to the diocese and then passed on to police.

The 79-year-old, who served at St Mary’s Parish Church in Cleland was axed from active ministry for an “unspecified period of time” after the allegations came to light.

He will not be living in the parish house while the investigation takes place.

Bishop of Motherwell Joseph Toal is understood to have stepped in to cover mass at St Mary’s while cover from elsewhere in the diocese will be put in place for parishioners in his absence.

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BOSTON (MA)
Fox Boston

BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) –A Boston reverend accused of shooting a teenager was back in court Tuesday, and facing additional charges after police searched him home.

New details have emerged in what investigators say is the double life of Shaun Harrison. Police say after the community activist and former dean of Boston English High School allegedly shot his 17-year-old student in the head in a drug deal gone bad, they found his stash of guns, drugs and ammunition.
“I don’t have a comment and when I do have a comment, you’ll be the first one to know. Have a good day,” Harrison’s family member said to our cameras outside of court.

When asked if he thought Harrison was guilty, a friend of the reverend, Vernard Coulter, refused to comment.

However, he did say, “I am not defending Shaun and I’m not defending anyone. I’m just here as a friend and as a clergy, that’s all.”

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BOSTON (MA)
Boston Herald

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

By: Antonio Planas

A search warrant at the Rev. Shaun Harrison’s Roxbury home — executed three days after he allegedly shot a teen boy he mentored — turned up guns, nearly 30 grams of cocaine and bags of marijuana stored in a basement safe, a prosecutor said today.

Harrison, 55, was arrested March 4 for allegedly shooting a 17-year-old English High School student in the back of the head.

At his Roxbury District Court arraignment today, Harrison was held on an additional $150,000 cash bail for evidence seized during the March 6 search of his basement.

According to court documents, in the basement safe of Harrison’s home were: 29.5 grams of cocaine, four plastic marijuana bags, one Ruger .380, one Smith and Wesson revolver, and ammo including one spent shell casing from a .38.

Prosecutor David Bradley said the spent shell casing did not come from the firearm used to shoot the teen. He also said a previous search of Harrison’s home on a separate warrant turned up a rifle, shotgun, scales and other paraphernalia.

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BOSTON (MA)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

BOSTON (AP) — A Boston cleric and former public high school employee already facing an attempted murder charge for allegedly shooting a 17-year-old student in the head has pleaded not guilty to gun and drug charges.

A judge Tuesday bumped bail for the Rev. Shaun Harrison by $150,000 to a total of $400,000 following his arraignment on two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm and single counts of trafficking in cocaine, and other charges.

The gun and drug charges came after a search of the 55-year-old Harrison’s home. Police found two guns and drugs in a safe in his basement.

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BOSTON (MA)
Boston Herald

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

By: Antonio Planas

The Rev. Shaun O. Harrison had a “dispute” over pot dealing with the teen he is accused of shooting on March 3 after recruiting him to sell drugs, a prosecutor said yesterday, as the fired school employee was hit with new charges from a cache of cocaine, marijuana and guns cops found in his building.

The search warrant executed March 6 on a safe in Harrison’s basement at his Roxbury home turned up: 29.5 grams of cocaine, four plastic marijuana bags, one Ruger .380, one Smith & Wesson revolver, ammo and one spent .38 shell casing, court documents said.

Harrison, 55, who has been held on $250,000 bail on an attempted murder charge, pleaded not guilty in Roxbury District Court yesterday to the additional gun and drug trafficking and possession charges. Judge Kenneth Fiandaca slapped Harrison with an additional bail of $150,000, raising his total to $400,000.

Prosecutor David Bradley said in court investigators spoke with the wounded teen — who had bullet evidence removed from his cheek — at Boston Medical Center.

Harrison is accused of shooting the 17-year-old English High School student in the back of the head as they walked alone on a Roxbury Street the night of March 3 following “a dispute over drug dealing that was going on — selling marijuana,” Bradley said.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Written by
Steve Limtiaco

The priest in charge of the Merizo and Umatac Catholic churches has resigned after being arrested by Guam police Tuesday, according to the Archdiocese of Agana.

In a written statement, the archdiocese announced that Archbishop Anthony Apuron has accepted the resignation of Rev. Father Luis Camacho as pastor of the San Dimas, Malesso and San Dionisio, Umatac, parishes, effective immediately.

According to the archdiocese, the Guam Police Department provided information that Camacho was booked and released Tuesday on allegations of custodial interference.

That specific crime is listed under the section of Guam law under “kidnapping and related offenses.”

Guam law states a person is guilty of custodial interference if: they take or entice a relative under the age of 18 from lawful custody and cause serious bodily injury to that person; they take or entice a person under the age of 18 or an incompetent person from their lawful custodian, knowing they have no right to do so; they are the parent of a child and violate a court order related to child custody and attempt to conceal the child.

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GUAM
Pacific News Center

Written by Janela Carrera

Father Luis Camacho of the Umatac and Merizo Churches was arrested on a charge of custodial interference after he was caught with a minor inside of a car while she was supposed to be at school.

Guam – The pastor of the San Dimas and San Dionisio churches down south, Father Luis Camacho, is facing charges of custodial interference after he was found inside of a car with a minor sometime Tuesday.

Guam police Spokesman officer AJ Balajadia confirms that Luis Camacho was arrested for being with a 17-year-old female who was supposed to be at school. Balajadia says Camacho and the minor were found inside of a car parked at a beach in Agat. Father Luis Camacho was booked and released.

The Archdiocese of Agana released a statement today announcing that Father Luis Camacho resigned effective immediately. The Archdiocese says they are also conducting their own investigation as well cooperating with local authorities.

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GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Mar 18, 2015

By Jolene Toves

KUAM News has confirmed a priest has tendered his resignation following his arrest on Tuesday. It’s yet the latest controversy to come out of the local Catholic church, already torn apart over many issues. Guam Police Department spokesperson Officer AJ Balajadia confirms a man by the name of Luis Camacho was arrested Tuesday on charges of custodial interference.

Balajadia says Camacho was with a 17-year-old female minor who was not in school at the time they were found by police parked at a beach in Agat. Balajadia says Camacho was booked and released.

According to the Archdiocese of Agana website, in January 2014 Father Camacho was assigned as pastor of San Dimas Church in Merizo and San Dionisio Church in Umatac.

According to news files it was in November 2013 that Camacho who was 28 years old at the time was ordained by the archbishop into the sacred order of priesthood. According to a press release that was issued at the time, Camacho was formed at the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Yona. It went on to state that Camacho is a native son of Guam and will be the first Chamorro to be ordained from the seminary and that he is part of the Agana 2 community of the Neocatechumenal Way.

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CHILE
La Tercera

[The new bishop of Osorno told a judge in 2011 that he did not cover up sexual abuse in the case of Fernando Karadima.]

“Llegué a la parroquia de El Bosque el año 1971 o 1972, cuando cursaba 3° Medio. Allí el párroco era el padre Iglesias y el padre Karadima era vicario (…). Me gustó el ambiente que allí se vivía, y como ya estaba presente mi vocación sacerdotal, me acerqué más al padre Fernando, para que me orientara”. Así comienza la declaración judicial que, el 7 de junio de 2011, el actual obispo electo de Osorno, Juan Barros Madrid, le entregó a la ministra en visita Jéssica González, quien investigaba los presuntos abusos sexuales denunciados en contra del sacerdote Karadima. Barros testificó casi cuatro meses después de que se hiciera pública la condena del Vaticano a Karadima (ver recuadro). Su declaración constó de cuatro páginas y está firmada por él.

Frente a la polémica que generó su nombramiento en la diócesis de Osorno, ocurrido el pasado 10 de enero, y la acusación de Juan Carlos Cruz, denunciante de Karadima, que lo sindicó como “encubridor” del párroco de El Bosque, Barros difundió este lunes una carta pública, ratificando que asumirá el cargo y asegurando que jamás supo de los abusos de Karadima, los que condenó.

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MINNESOTA
Hutchinson Leader

Posted: Wednesday, March 18, 2015

By TERRY DAVIS davis@hutchinsonleader.com

The Diocese of New Ulm has been named in 12 Notices of Claim alleging sexual misconduct with a minor by four priests of the diocese, including one who served St. Anastasia Catholic Church in Hutchinson for 11 years.

The Rev. Dennis Becker, the only one of the four still alive, served here from June 1987 to June 1998, before moving on to churches in Kandiyohi and Lake Lillian. He retired in July 2000. He was the only one of the four not previously identified by alleged victims of abuse, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

According to a press release issued by the diocese to area churches March 6, the allegations that put Becker on the list stem from his time at Winsted’s Church of the Holy Trinity in 1964 to 1965, soon after the 1962 ordination of the Lind, Minn., native.

Prior to serving at St. Anastasia, Becker served at Catholic churches in Nassau, Minn., North Mankato, Winsted, Cottonwood, where he also was the city mayor for four years, Clarkfield, DeGraff, Benson and Danvers.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Mail

Why I fear this monstrous sex abuse cover-up is FAR worse than we know… by SIMON DANCZUK, the MP who first exposed the Cyril Smith scandal

By SIMON DANCZUK FOR THE DAILY MAIL

Countless times I’ve heard the sentence now, and it’s usually followed by an exasperated sigh. ‘Yes, we knew all about Cyril.’

Former Lancashire police officers, Greater Manchester police officers and Metropolitan police officers all knew.

Thames Valley detectives knew. Special Branch knew. Even former prime minister Margaret Thatcher had been warned.

Everyone except the public seemed to be aware that the former Liberal MP for Rochdale and ‘national treasure’ Cyril Smith was a child abuser. But no one, apparently, was able to do anything to stop him.

When, in April last year, I first started to speak about the police’s certain knowledge of Smith’s serial offending after publishing my book on his double life as a child abuser, I was dismissed as a conspiracy theorist.

I had researched Smith and his revolting proclivities for more than two years, so I knew what I was talking about. Yet when I mentioned the word ‘cover-up’ it provoked cynical laughter among some of the old guard in Parliament.

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ILLINOIS
Chicago Tribune

By George Houde
Chicago Tribune

A Catholic priest from an Arlington Heights church will return to court Friday to face indictment on allegations he kept pornographic images of children on his home computer.

The Rev. Clovis Javier Vilchez-Parra, who made a brief appearance in court Tuesday morning, when the indictment was originally due to be issued, was arrested in February after an investigation by Palatine police and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Vilchez-Parra was freed after posting $17,500 on a $175,000 bail bond.

Prosecutors said Vilchez-Parra, 34, was charged with reproduction of child pornography and felony possession of child pornography after investigators traced Internet images to his computer at his home in Palatine.

The home is provided by the Archdiocese of Chicago, which also is providing him the services of his lawyer, Joseph Roddy, the attorney said. It’s not clear if the priest is staying in the house again as he awaits trial. Roddy said the archdiocese did not post Vilchez-Parra’s bond.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

ANDREW DOWDELL THE ADVERTISER MARCH 18, 2015

PATRICIA Feenan lost her faith in the Catholic Church years ago, but is pinning her hopes in the legal system to determine if Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson conspired to hide child sex abuse.

Mrs Feenan — whose son, Daniel, exposed the crimes of paedophile priest Father James Fletcher — said a charge of concealing church sexual abuse against Archbishop Wilson was a major development.

“It was a relief to realise finally that a senior person could be charged. I have faith in the legal system, I always say the church let us down but the legal system and the police didn’t,” she said.

Fletcher died in prison in 2006 while serving a sentence for abusing Daniel Feenan in the early 1990s, however it is alleged the priest’s crimes dated back to at least the mid-1970s.

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AUSTRALIA
9 News

The Salvation Army is shutting down its emergency counselling phone hotline after operating it for more than 30 years.

The Salvos, as the Christian organisation is commonly known, said the telephone service would close at the end of June. It has been running since 1983.

The decision was made as part of an internal Salvation Army review that’s “considering the best possible means by which The Salvation Army can serve the Australian community”.

“The review by senior Salvation Army leadership and independent external experts commenced two years ago and aims to determine the long-term viability of all the services The Salvation Army currently runs,” the Salvos said in a statement on Wednesday.

The organisation flagged further changes to its services.

“Some programs and Salvation Army churches will close, have support funding reduced or be amalgamated as part of the overall review,” it said.

Last year, the Salvos blamed a shortfall in revenue from its annual Red Shield Appeal Doorknock on the tough federal budget, and Salvation Army-related revelations before the child abuse Royal Commission.

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AUSTRALIA
The Conversation

Kathleen McPhillips
Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Science at University of Newcastle

On Tuesday, NSW Police charged one of the most senior Catholic clergymen in Australia – the Archbishop of Adelaide, Philip Wilson – with the concealment of an allegation of child sexual abuse by convicted paedophile priest James Fletcher in Maitland in the 1970s. Wilson said he will “vigorously defend” his innocence.

The significance of Wilson’s charges

The importance of Wilson being charged cannot be overstated. Despite state inquiries and court hearings finding time and again that Catholic Church clergymen systematically failed to report child sexual abuse to police, no Catholic clergyman in Australia has ever been convicted of this crime.

Only a handful of clergymen have been charged and convicted with this crime globally in, for example, the US and France. Wilson is the most senior clergyman in the world to face this charge.

The charge against Wilson is a result of the ongoing work of Strikeforce Lantle. This was established by Newcastle police in 2010 to investigate the alleged concealment of child sexual abuse by church officials in the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle.

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AUSTRALIA
Sky News

The Catholic archbishop of Adelaide should stand aside until the finalisation of a claim that he concealed child sexual abuse by a priest, says a victim support group.

Philip Wilson has strenuously denied a NSW police allegation that he concealed a serious offence regarding child sexual abuse in the state’s Hunter region.

The abuse was allegedly committed during the 1970s by another priest, when both men worked in the Maitland Diocese, near Newcastle.

The 64-year-old archbishop released a statement on Tuesday saying he had taken immediate leave and had retained Ian Temby QC, one of the country’s top barristers, to represent him.

But Broken Rights spokesman, Dr Bernard Barrett, said it would be ‘more credible and the public would then know they can have confidence’ if Wilson officially stood aside from his position while the criminal charge is pending.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

Former Catholic priest and District Court judge Chris Geraghty says the charging of an Australian Archbishop over allegations he concealed child sex abuse in the 1970s is likely to lead to other charges against Catholic clergy embroiled in similar cases.

Archbishop Philip Wilson, who is on indefinite leave, has denied the allegations and said he will be defending them.

Mr Geraghty told Radio National’s Religion and Ethics Report that the charging of Wilson was a big blow to the Catholic Church.

“If Philip Wilson is getting charged, there will be others I would think going to be charged too and they’d be running for cover worrying what’s going to happen,” he said.

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AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

Ian Temby QC: the ‘$1000 an hour’ barrister who will defend Catholic Archbishop Philip Wilson against sex abuse cover up claims

ANDREW HOUGH THE ADVERTISER MARCH 18, 2015

THE Catholic Church will likely pay the legal fees and the cost of one of the country’s leading barristers to defend Archbishop Philip Wilson against a sex-abuse cover-up charge.

Sydney QC Ian Temby, 72, who charges up to $1000 an hour, will oversee Archbishop Wilson’s defence as the latest prominent case in an almost 50-year career.

Having represented both sides of the bar table, he was Australia’s first Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, the founding NSW corruption watchdog and is a former royal commissioner.

The Archbishop’s case, described by experts as “extremely unusual”, is expected to cost at least $10,000 a day to defend.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
WTOP

By Dick Uliano
March 17, 2015

WASHINGTON — A second teenage girl has stepped forward to accuse a D.C. police officer and pastor of sexual abuse.

Court documents accuse 45-year-old Darrell Best of Upper Marlboro, Maryland with assaulting a 17-year-old girl in December, inside his office at the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters. The girl has told police the assault occurred after Best took the girl to dinner at an upscale D.C. restaurant.

According to the documents the victim works with her mother cleaning the SE D.C. church where Best serves as pastor — God of a Second Chance Ministry Church.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Fox DC

By Marina Marraco, FOX 5 Reporter

WASHINGTON – Disturbing new details continue to surface about a D.C. police officer and pastor accused of sexually abusing two teenagers.

Monday night, FOX 5 spoke exclusively with the teens and their families.

Now, we are hearing from a woman who says Darrell Best inappropriately accosted her when she was a small child.

“I just remember him being very creepy,” the woman told FOX 5 exclusively.

Now in her 30s, the woman does not want to show her face but says Best made inappropriate advances when she was just six.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
WUSA

[with video]

WASHINGTON (WUSA9) — A second alleged victim has come forward in the case of a D.C. police officer and local pastor who is accused of sexually assaulting an underage girl.

Officer Darrell Best faces four counts, including first-degree sex abuse while armed.

One teen says Best forced himself on her in an office inside D.C. police headquarters.

The two victims say Best was armed when he sexually assaulted them and they tried desperately to get him to stop.

Best is not just a cop; he’s also a youth minister. The younger teen, who is just 16, says he called her out of choir practice and repeatedly pushed her down on his desk and sexually assaulted her.

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AUSTRALIA
SBS

By Manny Tsigas
18 MAR 2015

Archbishop Philip Wilson is the most senior Catholic clergyman in the world to face such a charge.

But some Catholics are defending his reaction to the charge.

Archbishop Philip Wilson has been charged with one count of concealing a child-sex allegation, an allegation made against a priest, Jim Fletcher, in the 1970s.

Both men were working in the Maitland Diocese of New South Wales at the time, but they went on to meet very different fates.

In 2001, Philip Wilson was appointed Archbishop of Adelaide.

In 2006, Jim Fletcher died — two years after being jailed for raping a 13-year-old boy between 1989 and 1991.

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AUSTRALIA
The Guardian

Helen Davidson
@heldavidson
Wednesday 18 March 2015

The Archbishop of Adelaide, charged on Tuesday over the alleged cover up of child sexual abuse by a fellow priest, has stepped down from his role in a supervisory group that deals with the royal commission.

Victims’ advocates have welcomed the charge, but labelled the church’s response to it “arrogant.”

NSW police charged the archbishop, Philip Wilson, and issued a court attendance notice over allegations he concealed knowledge about child sexual abuse committed by a fellow priest, Jim Fletcher, in the 1970s, when the pair worked together in the Hunter region.

He is the highest-ranking church official in the world to be charged with such a crime. Wilson denies any wrongdoing and released a statement saying he would defend the charge.

Nicky Davis, head of the international advocacy group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said that for survivors of abuse the news was “as big as the announcement of the royal commission”.

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MISSOURI
Webster-Kirkwood Times

Man Accused Of Setting Fire To Shrewsbury Playground Was Seminary Student

The man accused of setting fire to playground equipment at a Shrewsbury park earlier this month was studying to become a Catholic priest.

William C. Holmes, 23, of the 300 block of Hoener Street in Waterloo, Ill., was in an undergraduate program at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in Shrewsbury, according to the Archdiocese of St. Louis. Police say he confessed to starting two fires at Brinkop Park in Shrewsbury, which caused roughly $100,000 of damage to the playground equipment and a picnic table.

Holmes was charged with two felony counts of knowingly burning or exploding, and released after posting a $10,000 bond, according to court documents filed with the case.

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SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland

Sheriff urged to allow priest to stay in parish house

A SHERIFF has been urged to allow a priest at the centre of a row with the Catholic Church to stay in his parish house.

Father Matthew Despard, 50, is involved in a long-running dispute over a book he wrote alleging a gay mafia was operating at the top of the Church.

Fr Despard was ordered to leave his home at St John Ogilvie in High Blantyre, Lanarkshire, but refused, disobeying the wishes of the Bishop of Motherwell, Joseph Toal.

Bishop Toal told Fr Despard to leave the house in November 2013 but the Church later launched a legal action at Hamilton Sheriff Court to evict him.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Lucy McNally

A woman whose father was sexually and physically abused at an Anglican Church-run home in New South Wales says she will keep fighting for compensation money for her family, even though the church has rejected her claim because she is a “secondary victim”.

Kim Brannigan barely knew her father Wayne for the first 26 years of her life.

Scarred by an horrific upbringing of sexual and physical abuse at the North Coast Children’s Home in Lismore, he was a heavy drinker who would erupt in fits of rage when remembering the men and women responsible for robbing him of his childhood.

But when Ms Brannigan reunited with her father as an adult, she formed a close bond with him and saw first-hand the devastating effects the abuse had on him.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Lucy McNally

The Anglican Church is quietly preparing for a hearing that could see the defrocking of one of its former bishops, five months after the royal commission recommended he face disciplinary action for ignoring complaints from sexual abuse victims.

Keith Slater, whose title remains the Right Reverend, was forced to resign as the Grafton Bishop in 2013 for the way he handled abuse claims from a group of 40 people.

They were men and women who had been sexually, physically and or psychologically abused at the North Coast Children’s Home in Lismore between the 1940s and the 1980s.

Bishop Slater gave evidence at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, where he said he was “personally humiliated” by his decision to put the church’s finances over the victims in a compensation battle.

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AUSTRALIA
SBS

Source: AAP
18 MAR 2015

The Catholic archbishop of Adelaide should stand aside until the finalisation of a claim that he concealed child sexual abuse by a priest, says a victim support group.

Philip Wilson has strenuously denied a NSW police allegation that he concealed a serious offence regarding child sexual abuse in the state’s Hunter region.

The abuse was allegedly committed during the 1970s by another priest, when both men worked in the Maitland Diocese, near Newcastle.

The 64-year-old archbishop released a statement on Tuesday saying he had taken immediate leave and had retained Ian Temby QC, one of the country’s top barristers, to represent him.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian

Alan Travis, Rajeev Syal and Matthew Weaver
Tuesday 17 March 2015

Theresa May has said the claims a police investigation into the late Liberal MP Cyril Smith was scrapped, and corruption blocked other historic police operations into child abuse, were “shocking and could lead to criminal prosecutions”.

The Conservative home secretary also told a committee of MPs on Tuesday she hoped immunity from prosecution under the Official Secrets Act will be offered to former police officers and intelligence agents who are prepared to testify about allegations of paedophile rings and other child sex abuse to the police, or to the government’s separate public inquiry.

May was speaking after a Newsnight report on Monday that an ex-detective had claimed Smith was arrested in the early 1980s as part of an investigation into child-sex parties, but was released hours later.

Officers were ordered to hand over notebooks and video footage from their undercover operation, the BBC programme claimed, and were told they would be violating the Official Secrets Act if they revealed what had happened.

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