IRELAND
Irish Times

January 9th.

Pamela Duncan, Aine McMahon

A commission of investigation into mother and baby homes will have the power to compel drug companies which conducted vaccine trials on children resident in the homes to come before it, the Minister for Children has said.

James Reilly said the newly published terms of reference for the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes would examine 14 named institutions and a “representative sample of county homes” between 1922 and 1998.

This will include an investigation into high mortality rates recorded in certain homes, the living conditions experienced by residents and the exit arrangements for single women and children on leaving the homes.

The three-person inquiry will also have the power to investigate alleged forced and illegal adoptions and the relationship between the homes and other key institutions including children’s homes, orphanages and adoption societies.

Social historian Prof Mary Daly and Dr William Duncan, an expert in international public and private family law have been appointed to the committee which is chaired by Judge Yvonne Murphy.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

Amnesty International call for inquiry into allegations of abuse in Mother and Baby homes in Northern Ireland

09 JANUARY 2015

Amnesty International has called for an inquiry into allegations of decades of abuse suffered in Mother and Baby homes in Northern Ireland.

It comes after the Irish government published the terms of reference for a Commission of Investigation into such homes in the Republic of Ireland.

The Human Rights organisation accused Ministers in Northern Ireland of failing to respond to victims’ calls for a probe into abuse which they allege occurred in Mother and Baby Homes and Magdalene Laundry-type institutions in Northern Ireland over a period of decades.

Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland Programme Director, Patrick Corrigan said: “Women in Northern Ireland have told Amnesty they suffered arbitrary detention, forced labour, ill-treatment, and the removal and forced adoption of their babies – criminal acts in both domestic and international law.

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ILLINOIS
Illinois News Network

To honor families everywhere, we are pleased to announce that Stephen R. Bastien, successful entrepreneur, businessman, and writer will be performing his one person play, “A Championship Life,” as part of the 18th Annual Fillet of Solo Festival presented by Lifeline Theatre beginning this Saturday at 4pm at the Heartland Studio venue, 7016 N. Glenwood Avenue in the Roger’s Park neighborhood.

Mr. Bastien’s performances will be on Saturday from 10 through 24 January at 4pm.

A Championship Life is directed by acclaimed director, Mary Beth Reynard Liss.

In this engaging work, Mr. Bastien, who was the last child committed to a tuberculosis sanitarium at the age of 11, expelled from Catholic High School and kicked out of his home at age 16 after rejecting the sexual advances of a priest, and who lost family members to tragedy and addiction, shares his life experiences in an engaging presentation of wit, humor, and original song.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

Pamela Duncan

Fri, Jan 9, 2015

The Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby homes will cover the living conditions of the women and children who resided in the homes, high mortality rates and vaccine trials conducted on children.

The terms of reference for the investigation, published by the Government this morning, will cover the period between 1922 and 1998 in 14 specified mother and baby homes.

It will also look at the experience in a “representative sample of county homes” and will investigate the nature of the relationship between mother and baby homes and other key institutions including children’s homes, orphanages and adoption societies.

It will also look at the extent to which children’s welfareand best interests were considered in making arrangments for their placement, including the “boarding out” of children, fostering and adoption,both inIreland and abroad and the mothers’ consent in such decisions.
Among the issues the commission will investigate are:

– mortality among mothers and children including the cause and circumstances of the deaths as well as the death rates in the various institutions.
– the entry and exit arrangements for single women into and out of the homes and for the children on leaving the institutions.
– living and social care arrangements in the homes.
– the extent to which residents may have been discriminated against on grounds including race, disability and religion.

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IRELAND
The Journal

Updated 12.42 pm

AN INQUIRY INTO mother-and-baby homes will examine how women were admitted, how they were treated there, the mortality rate among children and their burial arrangements.

The investigation will also look at the cases of children whose care was removed from their parents and the circumstances in which consent was given.

The terms of reference for the investigation were announced this morning by Children’s Minister James Reilly following Cabinet approval.

It will cover the period from 1922 to 1998 but the committee will be reduce the “relevant period” of a particular institution if its deems it necessary.

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

A three-year investigation into Mother and Baby Homes will be conducted following the revelations last year about the deaths of almost 800 children at the Tuam home, the Government confirmed today.

The inquiry will look at 14 homes and a representative sample of County Homes and report on various aspects within 18 months. …

List of Mother and Baby Homes to be examined:

1) Ard Mhuire, Dunboyne, Co Meath;
2) Belmont (Flatlets), Belmont Ave, Dublin 4;
3) Bessboro House, Blackrock, Cork;
4) Bethany Home, originally Blackhall Place, Dublin 7 and from 1934 Orwell Road, Rathgar, Dublin 6;
5) Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home, Tuam, Co. Galway;
6) Denny House, Eglington Rd, Dublin 4, originally Magdalen Home, 8 Lower Leeson St, Dublin 2;
7) Kilrush, Cooraclare Rd, Co. Clare;
8) Manor House, Castlepollard, Co Westmeath;
9) Ms. Carr’s (Flatlets), 16 Northbrook Rd, Dublin 6;
10) Regina Coeli Hostel, North Brunswick Street, Dublin 7, and
11) Sean Ross Abbey, Roscrea, Co Tipperary;
12) St. Gerard’s, originally 39, Mountjoy Square, Dublin 1.
13) St. Patrick’s, Navan Road, Dublin 7, originally known as Pelletstown; and subsequent transfer to Eglington House, Eglington Rd, Dublin 4, and
14) The Castle, Newtowncunningham, Co. Donegal.

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IRELAND
Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes and Certain Related Matter via RTE

Establishment of Commission, etc

(1) The Commission is directed to investigate and to make a report to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs in accordance with the provisions of Section 32 of theCommissions of Investigation Act 2004 (No. 23 of 2004) on the following matters in relation to the Mother and Baby Homes listed in Appendix 1:

I. To establish the circumstances and arrangements for the entry of single women into these institutions and the exit pathways on their leaving these institutions; this to include consideration of the extent of their participation in relevant decisions;

II. To establish the living conditions and care arrangements experienced by residents during their period of accommodation in these institutions, including by reference to the literature on the living conditions and care experienced by mothers and children applying more generally during the period;

III. To examine mortality amongst mothers and children residing in these institutions (to determine the general causes, circumstances, and rates of mortality) and to compare it to the literature on mortality amongst such other groups of women and children as might be relevant;

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IRELAND
RTE News

The Government has published its terms of reference for a Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes and Certain Related Matter.

The three-person commission chaired by judge Yvonne Murphy will be given three years to complete its work.

The commission will examine the period between 1922 and 1998 at 14 named institutions and a number of county homes.

A confidential committee will talk to those who lived and worked in there.

The circumstances in which women entered and left these homes, the living conditions and care arrangements in the institutions, the mortality rate of the women and children who lived there and the post mortem practices will all be examined.

It will also look at how children whose mothers were not in these homes ended up being there.

It will investigate the welfare considerations and input of the mothers in placing children from these homes elsewhere in Ireland and abroad.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

Eilish O’Regan

MINISTER for Children James Reilly is to bring the terms of reference for the commission of investigation into mother-and-baby homes before the Cabinet today.

The extent of the inquiry – which was set up following revelations about the deaths of almost 800 children at a Tuam mother-and-baby home from the 1920s to the early 1960s – is expected to disappoint many groups which were hoping to be included in the investigation.

Survivors of Protestant mother-and-baby homes are among those who have been lobbying the minister to include specific institutions in the terms of reference.

Ms Justice Yvonne Murphy is to chair the inquiry. More than 160 submissions were received during the consultation process

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INDIA
Daily Mail

Guru who ordered 400 followers to be castrated ‘so they could be closer to God’ is investigated for grievous bodily harm in India

By AFP and DAMIEN GAYLE FOR MAILONLINE

A guru who ordered 400 of his followers to undergo castrations he said would bring them closer to God is under investigation by police in India.

The country’s top crime fighting agency registered a case against Gurmeet Ram Rahim – known as the ‘guru in bling’ for his penchant for garish clothes and jewellery – over the operations at his ashram.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said Rahim is being investigated for criminal intimidation and causing grievous bodily hurt after an alleged 400 castrations were carried out.

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GUAM
Jungle Watch

[with photos]

A group of laity met today at St. Anthony Church to pray during the clergy meeting with the apostolic visitors in the Spiritual Center. Here’s what happened at the end.

Received this from an attendee:

UNBELIEVABLE! To avoid the group gathered outside the St. Anthony Spiritual Center, they had the delegates leave by an alternate route. We’ve been prayerful and respectful. Btw – if you go to Dwayne Santos’s FB page, you’ll see AAA running out the back door. In a previous comment, we were so scary with our umbrellas and rosaries. WHY are they going to such lengths to avoid us?

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GUAM
Concerned Catholics of Guam

Joe R. San Agustin

To my colleagues in the CCOG.

I am writing to the officers, board directors, and members of CCOG to offer a few words of encouragement in what we are all doing for our Church. May God bless us in our endeavors to try to bring peace, harmony and unity within our Catholic Church.

It saddens me no end to read that Archbishop Anthony Apuron has labeled our organization as one that is “plotting against the Church”. My goodness! How can he say this when EVERYTHING that we are doing is in search of the truth regarding his leadership as the Head of the Catholic Church in Guam, which is so sadly divided. If trying to discover and uncover the results of his leadership of our Church, making known our spiritual needs and desires , and making known our opinions – for the good of the Church – is in fact “a plot against the Church” – we would like to know what part of what we say or do is “a plot against the Church”.

I personally challenge the Archbishop to cite one example of what we say or do which directly or indirectly constitutes “a plot against the Church”. Please, Archbishop, cite us ONE EXAMPLE!

Searching for the truth, and exposing any error where we find them, is not a plot. It is a right – and indeed a duty – of every Catholic to try to uncover what ails our Church, and to seek solutions. The Code of Canon Law is very clear on this:

§2. “The Christian faithful are free to make known to the pastors of the Church their needs, especially spiritual ones, and their desires.

§3. “ … They have the right and even at times the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known to the rest of the Christian faithful without prejudice to the integrity of faith and morals, with reverence toward their pastors…” (Code of Canon Law, Canon #212).

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GUAM
KUAM

by Jolene Toves

Guam – Peaceful protests through prayer have been held throughout the week as parishioners gather in hopes their concerns will be heard.

As the delegation from the Vatican in Rome is wrapping up their one week stay here on Guam Catholic faithful from parishes around the island gathered outside the St. Anthony Spiritual Center in peaceful protest reciting the rosary this afternoon. Santa Barbara parishioner Dr. Larry Kasperbauer said, “It’s not a happy time to have to do this kind of thing and to be here and I think I have said I am just amazed at the number that are growing each day coming public who were probably afraid to step out and be seen.”

Throughout the week prayers have been organized by parishioners and the number of those faithful joining in on prayer has grown steadily sharing their concerns surrounding the controversies in the Catholic Church. Santa Barbara parishioner Becky Toves told KUAM News, “Its heart breaking it really is heartbreaking because we are faithful we are all Catholics and yet there are certain factions certain sects that have a mentality I think that has caused division in the church and part of the problem is the fact that our leaders in the church I think have not been forthright with some of the things that have been happening.”

Over the course of a year the Catholic community has witnessed the removal of Father Paul Gofigan as pastor of Santa Barbara, the removal of Monsignor James Benevente as rector of the Archdiocese of Agana, the threat of censure of Deacon Steve Martinez and most recently the controversy regarding the Redemptoris Mater Seminary.

“We see thing in the newspaper we hear things from other people and I think it’s a lot of misrepresentation going on and part of the reason why we wanted to organize this at least for myself was to give the people who were not able to talk with the delegates a chance to come together to unite and we are hoping that they will see that there are so many faithful out there,” said Toves.

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CANADA
VOCM

A former book keeper at St. Patrick’s Parish in St. John’s will be sentenced in February for defrauding the church of over $300,000.

Dianne Coady was exposed when Parish Priest Father Wayne Dohey decided to follow up on a cheque he had signed, intended for payment of a phone bill. He discovered that the cheque had been paid to the 69-year-old Parish employee, instead of the phone company.

A formal audit later revealed that Coady had defrauded the Parish of over $300,000 between 2007 and 2012.

The Crown has requested that Coady serve 14-16 months in jail, noting her lack of remorse as an aggravating factor. The defense wants a term of “house arrest” as it says Coady poses a low risk to re-offend.

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

By Fiachra Ó Cionnaith
Irish Examiner Reporter

The Government’s high-profile investigation into the mother-and-baby homes scandal will have an “extremely broad scope” and may involve “interim reports during its lifetime”.

Senior coalition officials hinted at the depth of the inquiry last night before the terms of reference of the major investigation are revealed this morning.

Speaking after the first cabinet briefing of the new year, officials said the mother-and-baby homes inquiry will be “extremely broad in scope” and have a “deeply historical” and “broad ranging” element to it. However, they would not be drawn on whether the examination will look at related scandals such as illegal adoptions, Protestant-run facilities, secret vaccine trials on vulnerable children and “county homes” which housed women who had a number of births outside marriage — issues campaign groups insist must be included.

The inquiry — the terms of reference of which will be launched by Children’s Minister Dr James Reilly at Government Buildings at 11am before being brought to the Oireachtas for debate — was established in the wake of revelations last summer about dead babies being left in a septic tank in Tuam.

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MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

[with audio]

Madeleine Baran Jan 8, 2015

Three clergy sex abuse lawsuits against the Twin Cities archdiocese are headed for trial later this month amid uncertainty about whether the archdiocese will file for bankruptcy.

All three trials are scheduled to begin Jan. 26 in Ramsey County District Court. However, a bankruptcy filing would likely halt the trials, and many victims would likely instead file claims as creditors.

One of the men suing the archdiocese said he’s not persuaded by claims that church leaders have put measures in place to prevent other kids from being abused. The man, who asked to be identified only by his first name John, said the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis needs to be held accountable by a jury.

“They can run but they can’t hide,” said John, who sued the archdiocese for allegedly failing to protect him from abuse by the Rev. Thomas Stitts. “Some point, some time, some day, some way, they’re going to have to face this. Whether it’s through a trial, or it’s through a bankruptcy proceeding.”

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OREGON
Christian Post

Evangelical Pastor Facing 37 Charges of Alleged Rape and Abuse Involving 2 Children, One Boy, One Girl

BY VINCENT FUNARO , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
January 8, 2015

An Oregon evangelical pastor is facing 37 charges of alleged rape and abuse that involves two children — one boy and one girl.

James Daniel Worley, 37, served as the senior pastor at Powell Valley Church in Gresham and was arrested on Dec. 30 in Multnomah County following a Dec. 16 grand jury indictment. The sex crimes are said to have taken place 10 to 12 years ago.

Worley, who also worked as a Tillamook police officer, is now being held on $500,000 bail. The charges against him include 20 counts of sexual abuse, 11 counts of sodomy and three counts of using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct.

Documents reveal that the alleged abuse took place between Sept. 1, 2002, and June 30, 2004, while the children were under the ages of 14 and 12. They also state Worley “did unlawfully and knowingly induce (the victims) … to engage in sexually explicit conduct for a person to observe” in the latter of the three charges.

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IRELAND
Irish Central

Cathy Hayes @irishcentral January 09,2015

A Dublin priest received a standing ovation from his congregation this week as he called for same sex marriage equality in Ireland and came out to his parishioners.

Father Martin Dolan, who has been a priest at Church of St Nicholas of Myra in Francis Street in Dublin’s city center for 15 years, opened up to his congregation at the Saturday night Mass. He also confided in his Sunday morning congregation. Dolan is the only priest in the parish.

Calling on his Dublin city congregation to support same sex marriage in the upcoming Irish referendum, set for the end May, Dolan said “I’m gay myself.”

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Riverfront Times

By Danny Wicentowski Thu., Jan. 8 2015

A beacon of old-timey religion, Cardinal Raymond Burke still enjoys the admiration of those traditionalist churchgoers who like their liturgy intoned in Latin and their prelates dressed like a satiny Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade float.

One of those admirers is a group called the New Emangelization Project (yes, that’s their real name), which recently let Burke weigh in on Christianity’s so-called “man-crisis” by way of a lengthy interview posted to the organization’s website. Burke’s closed-mindedness particularly shines through when he casually states that “disordered” (read: gay) priests are ultimately to blame for the molestation and child-abuse cases that continue to rock the Catholic church.

Although Burke was recently demoted from leading the Church’s highest court, the former St. Louis archbishop has has become a frequent, critical voice speaking against Pope Francis’ seemingly inclusive stance on gay and divorced church members.

As for his view of gay clergy’s responsibility for child abuse, Burke’s statements came in the midst of an already befuddling rant against the “feminization” of church services, in which he criticizes women and altar girls for driving men away from traditional Mass.

“We can also see that our seminaries are beginning to attract many strong young men who desire to serve God as priests. The new crop of young men are manly and confident about their identity,” Burke tells New Emangelization Project founder Matthew James Christoff. “This is a welcome development, for there was a period of time when men who were feminized and confused about their own sexual identity had entered the priesthood; sadly some of these disordered men sexually abused minors, a terrible tragedy for which the Church mourns.”

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MISSOURI
Kansas City Business Journal

Brianne Pfannenstiel
Reporter-
Kansas City Business Journal

An insurance company has reached a settlement with the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph after refusing to cover its settlements resulting from a sexual abuse lawsuit.

The disagreement arose following a 2011 lawsuit in which a family claimed their son committed suicide after being abused by a monsignor within the diocese.

The parties reached a $2.25 million settlement. The diocese then sought insurance coverage through Chicago Insurance Co. for the costs of the settlement and for the $1.4 million cost of defending the case.
CIC refused to cover the claims, arguing that they did not warrant coverage under the diocese’s insurance policy.

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ITALIA
l’Espresso

Sandro Magister

La sera di giovedì 8 gennaio il settimanale inglese “Catholic Herald” ha anticipato sul suo sito web la cover story del suo prossimo numero: l’articolo con cui Ettore Gotti Tedeschi rompe per la prima volta il silenzio sui retroscena della sua cacciata dalla presidenza dell’Istituto per le Opere di Religione, il 24 maggio 2012.

L’articolo compare sia in lingua italiana:

> “Ecco cosa avrebbe bisogno di sapere il cardinale Pell”

Sia in inglese:

> “What Cardinal Pell needs to know”

Come si intuisce dal titolo, l’articolo di Gotti Tedeschi prende spunto da un altro articolo sulle finanze vaticane che ha fatto molto rumore, scritto dal nuovo segretario vaticano per l’economia, il cardinale George Pell, pubblicato anch’esso sul “Catholic Herald”, ai primi di dicembre:

> We’ve discovered hundreds of millions of euros off the Vatican’s balance sheet, says cardinal

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UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism

Jerry Slevin

* Pope Francis must be looking forward to escaping the local Rome “heat” being generated by the remarkably revealing expose today (1/8/15) of Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, the Vatican Bank’s ex-head. His frank expose raises serious questions about the ex-Pope, the ex-Secretary of State, Cardinal Bertone, ex- Bank director, Carl Anderson, and even Pope Francis himself, among others. Please see Tedeschi’s surprising revelations here:

* [Catholic Herald]

* By contrast, dealing next week in the impoverished Philippines with the “safer subjects” of global warming and overpopulation may seem appealing to the pope now. Francis, who has key “Big Oil” associated advisers and donors, will likely attempt to tell millions of desperate Filipinos that the preferred solution to climatic catastrophes, plutocratic enslavement, diminishing access to food, water and arable land is to ban contraception and have larger families ! Hello?

* Francis easily “spun away” recently from the Vatican Bank mess in his innocuous interview with his gullible Argentinian biographer. She reported naively and without question that Francis assured her that he had reformed the Vatican Bank, which “is working very well”.

* How could Francis really know that if he has never even spoken with the last two heads of the Bank, as appears to be the case? How long will the media be so gullible about Pope Francis and when will they begin questioning more professionally the “Happy Talk” that the Vatican media machine manufactures 24/7?

* Tedeschi, a well regarded and experienced banker who has cleared an Italian governmental investigation, had been chairman of the Vatican Bank from 2009 to 2012. He had been terminated by Vatican Bank directors reportedly lead by former staffer for US President Reagan, Carl Anderson.

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INDIA
Deccan Herald

Thiruvananthapuram: Fr. Jose Palimattom, 48, a visiting priest from Kerala, was arrested in the US state of Florida, on Monday on charges of possession of pornography and distributing it to a minor.

Born on October 27, 1968, Fr Palimottom was given priestly in 1999. Sources said that he had been asked not to use Facebook and restricted from having access to minors without an adult presence.

Fr Palimottom is a priest of the Franciscan Province of St Thomas the Apostle in India and began serving a two-year residency in December 2014 at Holy Name of Jesus Parish in West Palm Beach. He previously worked with the Benghazi Vicariate in Libya.

The allegation was that Fr Palimattom reportedly asked the victim, a 14 year old boy, to help him delete about 40 pornographic images of young boys from his phone.

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MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, Jan. 6

Statement by Frank Meuers of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 952-334-5180, frankameuers@gmail.com )

A church insider-turned-whistleblower says that an Iowa bishop may temporarily replace St. Paul’s embattled Catholic archbishop. We hope she’s wrong. We hope Pope Francis will pick someone else.

In a 12/30 blog post, Jennifer Haselberger writes that “Persistent rumors suggest that Nienstedt will either resign or be removed shortly after a bankruptcy filing, and it has been suggested that former auxiliary and now-Bishop of Des Moines, Richard Pates, will be appointed to serve as apostolic administrator until a successor can be found.” Again, we hope this does not happen.

[Canonical Consultation]

— In June of last year, Minnesota Public Radio reported on the “investigation into the Rev. Francisco ‘Fredy’ Montero, a priest from Ecuador who returned to his native country amid a criminal investigation into whether he sexually abused a four-year-old girl.” Pates could and should have done more to warn the public about him, help police investigate him and prevent his fleeing overseas during a criminal investigation.

[Minnesota Public Radio]

–Also in June of last year, we criticized Pates for “being far too secretive and lax about the credibly accused child molesting cleric that he has suspended.”

[Des Moines Register]

We said: “For the safety of kids, Pates should disclose where Fr. Howard Fitzgerald, is now. He should disclose when Catholic officials first received allegations of child sexual abuse against Fr. Fitzgerald. He should put Fr. Fitzgerald into a remote, secure treatment center so he’ll be kept away from kids. And he should personally visit every parish where Fr. Fitzgerald worked, begging victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to call police, so that Fr. Fitzgerald might be criminally charged, convicted and be kept away from kids even longer. In short, Pates is not saying or doing enough about Fr. Fitzgerald. Pates has pledged to be “open” about clergy sex abuse cases. He should honor that pledge right now.”

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LOUISIANA
The Times-Picayune

By Rebecca Catalanello, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
on January 06, 2015

A grand jury has declined to indict a man accused of raping girls who were under his care at a notorious religious boarding school in north Louisiana decades earlier.

Mack W. Ford, 82, of Arcadia, was the target of what law enforcement officials describe as a year-long investigation into reports he molested young residents at his now-shuttered New Bethany Home for Girls.

A written statement released Tuesday (Jan. 6) by Bienville Parish District Attorney Jonathan Stewart, said “the grand jury was given research and information regarding the statute of limitations with regard to each alleged act and, after deliberation, returned a no true bill.” A no true bill represents a grand jury’s decision not to indict.

Three women who lived at the home in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s traveled from three states to testify before a grand jury Dec. 18 about their experiences with Ford. Other witnesses testified Oct. 15 and Dec. 29, according to state officials.

The women said their grand jury testimony was the closest they felt they had come to achieving justice for the crimes they said were committed against them as young girls in the place Ford once described as “a mission project to the incorrigible, unwanted rejects.” But after a Louisiana State Police investigator notified them by phone Monday evening that Ford would not face charges, the former residents sounded variously dazed, outraged and despondent. …

New Bethany was affiliated with the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist church. Residents were subject to strict rules, harsh punishment and maintained restricted access to the outside world, according to interviews, news reports and legal documents.

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LOUISIANA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, Jan. 8

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 )

Now that child sex crimes at the New Bethany Home for Girls in Louisiana won’t be pursued, legislators, prosecutors and others must step up to protect the vulnerable and heal the wounded.

[The Times-Picayune]

Specifically, we beg Bienville Parish District Attorney Jonathan Stewart (and prosecutors in nearby parishes) to use his bully pulpit and his resources to launch an aggressive outreach effort to find anyone who may have seen, suspected or suffered child sex crimes by Mack W. Ford of Arcadia

We also beg Louisiana lawmakers to 1) pass legislation that would compensate these brave, wounded women and 2) make it harder for child molesters to exploit legal technicalities in the future. There should be no statute of limitations on child sex crimes, civil or criminal.

Finally, we beg New Bethany victims to keep fighting. Some of the crimes happened outside of Louisiana. So we hope victims who were abused elsewhere contact law enforcement in those jurisdictions about possible criminal charges there under different state laws. And we urge them to also prod legislators to pass bills that help victims and punish wrongdoers.

Our hearts ache for Simone Jones, Jennifer Halter, Tara Cummings, Teresa Frye and all those who were assaulted by Ford. These are incredibly brave and resilient and caring women who deserve respect, gratitude, compensation and healing. They have done more than 99% of child sex abuse victims, most of whom remain trapped in shame and secrecy for decades, and sometimes for their entire lives.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Berger’s Beat

January 8, 2015 11:18 am | Author: berger

Peggy Noonan of the Wall Street Journal is urging NYC Cardinal (and St. Louis native) Timothy Dolan to sell his “splendid 15,000-foot mansion on Madison Avenue” and give the proceeds to parochial schools. “This would more closely (align) the church of New York with the modest style of Pope Francis.”

A recent CNN report called “The lavish homes of American archbishops” revealed that ten of the country’s top Catholic officials defy the pontiff’s example and live in homes worth more than $1 million. The value of Dolan’s crib is estimated to be at least $30 million. (Are clergy abuse pay-offs behind Dolan’s money troubles? It’s hard to know, Noonan writes, because “the last time the New York Archdiocese released numbers on those costs were 11 years ago.”

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INDIANA
The Pilot

ON: 1/8/2015, BY NATALIE HOEFER

INDIANAPOLIS (CNS) — Norbert Krapf, 71, still loves the wooded hills of his southern Indiana boyhood home near Jasper and the Catholic faith that formed his beliefs from infancy.

Such feelings are remarkable not for their longevity, but that they exist despite Krapf being the victim of clergy sexual abuse six decades ago at his small hometown parish tucked away in the Jasper hills.

In recent years, Krapf — a poet, author and one-time Indiana Poet Laureate now living in Indianapolis — identified his abuser to the bishop of the Diocese of Evansville in which Jasper is located, leading to the removal of the deceased priest’s many accolades and honors.

But Krapf then took a much bigger, public step. Using his gift for poetic expression, he published “Catholic Boy Blues,” a book of poems dealing with the abuse through the voices of the suffering boy, the coping adult, the wise Mr. Blues and the abusive priest.

The book, along with Krapf’s other works, helped earn him the 2014 Eugene and Marilyn Glick Regional Author Award.

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MINNESOTA
Jeff Anderson & Associates

Trials Involving Notorious Priest Perpetrators
Jerome Kern and Robert Thurner Set for January 26

First clergy abuse cases to be tried under Child Victims Act

(St. Paul, MN) – Two cases involving priests of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis will start trial on January 26, 2015. These will be the first cases to go to trial under the Minnesota Child Victims Act.

Doe 23 was sexually abused as a child by Robert Thurner. Thurner abused a number of children in the Archdiocese and is listed on the Archdiocese’s website as having substantiated abuse allegations.

Doe 26 was sexually abused as a child by Jerome Kern. Jerome Kern sexually abused dozens of children in the Archdiocese and is listed on the Archdiocese’s site as being credibly accused of child sex abuse.
Jeff Anderson and Mike Finnegan represent both of the survivors. A third case involving Thomas Stitts is also scheduled for trial the same day.

Jeff Anderson and Associates obtained the files on Kern, Thurner and Stitts in the Doe 1 case, among dozens of other files. These are three of over 50 names listed on the Archdiocese’s website as a result of Jeff Anderson’s work in the Doe 1 case. The documents and files are available at www.andersonadvocates.com.

Contact Mike Finnegan: Office/651.237.5143 Cell/612.205.5531
Contact Jeff Anderson: Office/651.237.5143 Cell/612.817.8665

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Written by
Gaynor Dumat-ol Daleno
Pacific Daily News

Archbishop Anthony Apuron remains in full control of a major asset of the local Catholic Church, the Archdiocese of Agana stated yesterday.

At issue is the former Accion Hotel, which was once worth $57 million.

The property, which is being used as a seminary and an academic institution for seminarians, has become a focal point of recent criticisms against Apuron’s leadership.

Some of the archdiocese’s former finance council members and the Concerned Catholics of Guam raised the issue as two representatives of the Vatican are visiting this week.

Department of Land Management documents show that Apuron had signed a deed of restriction giving the Redemptoris Mater Seminary and an academic institution for seminarians “perpetual use” of the oceanfront property, a former 100-room hotel in Yona.

The seminary’s Articles of Incorporation also state that the nonprofit falls under a four-member “board of governors,” a majority of whom aren’t Guam residents. One of them is Apuron, but the majority on the board consists of three New Jersey residents affiliated with the Neocatechumenal Way movement’s leadership, Land Management records show.

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MINNESOTA
Canonical Consultation

01/08/2015

Jennifer Haselberger

Earlier today, the Noaker law firm of Minneapolis announced that no settlement had been reached in the case of John Doe 104, meaning that the matter is headed to trial on January 26, 2015, before Judge Van de North. Clients of the Noaker firm were not included in the much-publicized settlement between the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis and Jeff Anderson and Associates.

The case of Doe 104 involves allegations of abuse against the now-deceased Reverend Thomas Stitts dating back to the 1970s. In 2013, the Archdiocese identified Stitts as having credible accusations against him, although such a declaration was little more than a formality. The first lawsuits involving Stitts were filed in 1993. At that time, the Archdiocese denied knowledge of any previous accusations against Father Stitts, although documents in his personnel file, which I personally reviewed, indicated that they were aware of acts of abuse by at least 1973. I included my concerns about this in my resignation letter to Archbishop Nienstedt in April of 2013.

This case will be interesting for several reasons, one of which is the involvement of Dick Rice, a former Jesuit priest who served in the Twin Cities. Rice is listed among the deponents on the Witness List filed in court this morning. Several other priests will likely be called upon to testify to knowledge that might reflect poorly on their own behavior and/or observance of clerical celibacy, but the situation of Dick Rice has an additional degree of frisson given how actively and aggressively Archbishop Nienstedt and former Vicar General Peter Laird attempted to limit Rice’s activities in the Archdiocese in the years following his laicization.

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PENNSYLVANIA
National Catholic Reporter

Brian Roewe | Jan. 8, 2015

A Philadelphia priest convicted of child sexual abuse claimed his innocence up to his death, according to reports from his prison cellmate.

Fr. Charles Engelhardt, 67, died Nov. 15 at Coal Township Prison in central Pennsylvania two years into a six-to-12-year sentence. In January 2013, a jury convicted the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales priest of corruption of minors, indecent assault of a person under age 13, and endangering the welfare of children.

The charges related to the case of former altar boy “Billy Doe” that over the course of two trials in two years imprisoned Engelhardt, a former priest and a schoolteacher, for abusing the former altar boy in the late 1990s. In addition, Msgr. William Lynn, secretary of clergy for the Philadelphia archdiocese from 1992 to 2004, was found guilty of child endangerment for his handling of the related abuse claims. He was the first U.S. church official convicted on such grounds.

In a February 2011 grand jury report, which brought charges against Lynn, Engelhardt and three others, Engelhardt was accused of showing Doe pornographic magazines and engaging in mutual masturbation and oral sex; at trial, Doe reiterated those allegations.

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MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, Jan. 8

Statement by Frank Meuers of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 952-334-5180, frankameuers@gmail.com )

At least one Twin Cities clergy sex abuse and cover up case will go to trial on Jan. 26, attorneys say. (See http://noakerlaw.com/ )

We are grateful that local Catholics and citizens will learn more about current and former Catholic officials who recklessly and callously put kids in harm’s way. And we hope that anyone with information about the alleged child molesting cleric will speak up at this critical juncture so that justice may be done.

The trial involves Fr. Thomas Stitts. The St. Paul/Minneapolis archdiocese is a defendant. The victim’s attorneys, including Patrick Noaker of Minneapolis, insist that it will NOT settle.

Fewer than 40 of these cases have ever gone to trial. So only a few dozen Catholic officials have ever been forced to answer tough questions under oath in an open court room about their role in hiding clergy sex crimes and quietly moving proven, admitted and credibly accused predator priests.

Those questions are key to showing parishioners and the public just how irresponsible Catholic officials are when it comes to children’s safety. We applaud the courageous victim in this case who clearly wants the truth to be known, even though the trial will no doubt be brutal for him.

We beg Archbishop John Nienstedt to forbid his lawyers from mean-spirited and unnecessary attacks on this victim. (Catholic officials essentially admitted Fr. Stitts faced several credible accusers when they permanently ousted him from ministry.)

Again, we beg anyone who may have seen, suspected or suffered crimes by Fr. Stitts or cover ups by Catholic officials to come forward now. It’s crucial that the full truth about this scandal be revealed so that the vulnerable will be protected, the guilty will be exposed, more cover ups be prevented and the wounded be healed.

Fr. Stitts’ photo and work history are at BishopAccountability.org

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WALES
Daily Post

Jan 07, 2015 By David Williamson

Ex Welsh Secretary Peter Hain labels the department’s decision as ‘scandalous’

The Home Office has rejected former Welsh Secretary Peter Hain’s calls for the inquiry into historic child abuse to have a representative from Wales.

Mr Hain accused the Home Office of showing “total disregard” and warned that unless such person was on the panel the it would “fall short of its purpose”.

In November, Mr Hain warned it would be “scandalous” and “mind-boggling” if the Independent Panel Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse did not include somebody with in-depth knowledge of specific issues about the care of children in Wales.

However, Liberal Democrat Home Office minister Lynne Featherstone has written to the Neath MP and argued this is “not the only way” the inquiry can draw on Welsh experiences and expertise.

The panel has already been rocked by the withdrawal of Baroness Butler-Sloss and Dame Fiona Woolf as chairs following concern about their establishment links.

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UNITED KINGDOM
YouTube

Published on Jan 1, 2015

A recording of the interview in which Baroness Butler-Sloss was supposedly taking evidence from Phil Johnson in the Diocese of Chichester Abuse Inquiry. She claims that he agreed with her that the name of a bishop should be left out of the report and that she was not motivated by her caring for the church.
Listen and make up your own mind.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Christian Today

Sarah Lothian 08 January 2015

A man who was systematically abused by two Anglican priests has told Christian Today why he released a recording of a conversation with Baroness Butler-Sloss at the Chichester Abuse Inquiry.

Phil Johnson says he was forced to defend himself after being accused of ‘changing his story’ by Butler-Sloss when she guest-edited Radio Four’s Today programme at the end of December.

She resigned as chairwoman of the Westminster inquiry into establishment child abuse last summer after claims she was not impartial.

At the time Johnson was among the voices calling for her to stand down. He said that during the Diocese of Chichester Inquiry she told him she wanted to exclude his allegations of abuse by a bishop because she ‘cared about the church’ and ‘did not want to give the press a bishop’.

But on Radio Four Butler-Sloss said Johnson had given an inaccurate account. He had agreed with her not to include the reference to the bishop and agreed it was in his best interests, she claimed.

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UNITED STATES
Pew Research Center

BY MICHAEL LIPKA

In naming his second group of cardinals, Pope Francis has continued to shift the balance of Roman Catholic Church’s leadership away from the continent it has long called home.

Pope Francis’ selection of new cardinalsThe pope – the first modern pontiff born outside of Europe – announced 15 new cardinals on Jan. 4, including representatives from three Southeast Asian countries (Burma, Thailand and Vietnam) as well as New Zealand and the Pacific island nation of Tonga. Another three are from Latin America – Mexico, Uruguay and Panama – while two are natives of sub-Saharan Africa (Cape Verde and Ethiopia). Out of the 15 incoming “princes of the church,” only five are from Europe.

In less than two years, Francis has changed the geographic breakdown of the cardinals. The conclave that elected Francis in 2013 was heavily European: 52% of those cardinals were from Europe, a continent that was home to only 24% of the world’s Catholics as of 2010.

Based on the distribution of the global Catholic population, Europe is still overrepresented among cardinals who are under the age of 80 and therefore eligible to vote for a new pope. But Europe no longer has a majority. After the new cardinals are installed Feb. 14, Europe’s share of the 125 cardinal electors will have fallen to 46%.

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MINNESOTA
Noaker Law Firm

(MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 8, 2014) -Within little more than two weeks, church officials for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis could find themselves taking the witness stand in a civil case and forced to answer questions involving a case of a young boy sexually abused by a priest in the early 1970s. . .

“It is now time for the Archdiocese to take the witness stand and answer questions in a public court of law about the way it handles pedophile priests. Questions about direct reports of sexual abuse by Fr. Stitts, concealing that abuse and destroying evidence of Fr. Stitts’ dark history,” said Patrick Noaker, Minneapolis lawyer and victim’s attorney. “Our client deserves answers after years of anguish.” “We are insisting that this case not be delayed,” said Lee James, victim’s attorney. “This already has been a case of justice delayed by several decades.” Read More.

John Doe 104 Exhibit List – 01-08-2015 – 1st Amended Exhibit List

John Doe 104 Witness List – 01-07-2015 – Witness List

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MINNESOTA
Jeff Anderson & Associates

A civil lawsuit was served January 6, 2014 on behalf of a survivor who was sexually abused by Fr. James Thoennes, a priest of the Diocese of St. Cloud. The survivor, Doe 50, was an elementary school student at St. John’s in Foley, Minnesota in the early 1970s when he met Fr. Thoennes who was assigned there. The sexual abuse occurred at Thoennes’ mother’s home in Central Minnesota where he invited Doe 50 and at least 20 other children to accompany him on overnight visits.

Notably, years before the abuse of Doe 50, Thoennes was busted by an official at the Diocese of St. Cloud and admitted he had sexually abused another boy, and had a sexual interest in children. Thoennes was not only allowed to continue working as a priest throughout the Diocese of St. Cloud, but was allowed unlimited access to children, including Doe 50. The Diocese never warned children, their parents, or the public in general about the threat Thoennes posed to kids.

In a September 2014 deposition in another case, Father Thoennes admitted to sexually abusing at least five boys while working as a priest of the Diocese. He has never been prosecuted for his crimes. Portions of that deposition were previously made public in September 2014 in another case and can be found on our website under “News & Events.”

Also in his complaint Doe 50 alleges the Diocese of St. Cloud has created a public nuisance by its handling of Thoennes and 25 other priests alleged to have sexually abused children. The Diocese continues to refuse to make known to the public critical information about offenders’ dangerous histories refusing to reveal the files that show how top officials, past and present, have protected offenders.

Doe 50 Complaint
Deposition of Father James Thoennes

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UNITED KINGDOM
Catholic Herald

By Madeleine Teahan posted Thursday, 8 Jan 2015

The cardinal portrays men as feeble victims of a ‘feminised’ Church. He should give them more credit than that

One of the most outspoken prelates in the Catholic Church has set tongues wagging with his latest comments.

Cardinal Raymond Burke told a website called The New Emangelization: “I think there has been a great confusion with regard to the specific vocation of men in marriage and of men in general in the Church during the past 50 years or so. It’s due to a number of factors, but the radical feminism which has assaulted the Church and society since the 1960s has left men very marginalised.”

Cardinal Burke goes on to explain that, while “women are wonderful”, they are ubiquitous in the Church: “Apart from the priest the sanctuary has become full of women. The activities in the parish and even the liturgy have been influenced by women and have become so feminine in many places that men do not want to get involved.”

He also blames poor catechesis, female altar servers and a loss of the sacred in the liturgy for the marginalisation of Catholic men. He concludes: “Men are often reluctant to become active in the Church. The feminised environment and the lack of the Church’s effort to engage men has led many men to simply opt out.”

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

Caitlin Hendel | Jan. 8, 2015

Is it possible Cardinal Raymond Burke says these things just to watch the response from the good folks at NCR and from women around the world?

Perhaps, but I’ll bite anyway.

In an interview with a group called The New Emangelization (get it? eMANgelization because it’s a ministry for men, although I thought that was already called the priesthood), Burke decries the influence of women in the church, saying an increased focus on them has “feminized” the church.

According to Burke, there are way too many women on the altar these days — servers, lectors, eucharistic ministers, oh my! Who let them get on the other side of the altar rail? Oh, wait, no more altar rails. Maybe that explains it.

“Apart from the priest, the sanctuary has become full of women,” he said. “The activities in the parish and even the liturgy have been influenced by women and have become so feminine in many places that men do not want to get involved.”

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 8 January 2014 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father received in audience:

– Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education (for Institutes of Study);

– Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta;

– Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, archbishop of Paris, France;

– Bishop Santiago Olivera of Cruz del Eje, Argentina;

– Nicola Zingaretti, president of the Latium region;

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

Scalded, abused and abandoned… man tells of abuse at hands of Nazareth House nuns

BY LESLEY HOUSTON – 08 JANUARY 2015

An elderly man has revealed harrowing details of being hit by a nun and scalded with boiling water during 10 years at a Belfast home.

The frail man in his 80s told yesterday’s Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry how he ended up in hospital for three weeks following the incident at Nazareth House.

For others, however, their time to confront their abusers in the home run by the sisters of Nazareth came too late.

The inquiry was read hand-written testimony from one alleged victim, who died six years ago, that warned his tormentors would some day have to account for their actions.

It is examining abuse claims at Nazareth House and Nazareth Lodge. The two homes have previously apologised to all abused in their care.

The panel of inquiry first heard from a man, just released from hospital, who told how he was scalded with boiling water after being assaulted by a nun.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
BBC News

The Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry has been told children were taunted by some nuns and treated “like slaves” at a Belfast children’s home.

The claim was made by an Irish emigrant, now aged 69, who gave evidence to the inquiry via video-link from Australia.

The inquiry is examining abuse claims at Nazareth House and Nazareth Lodge.

The homes were run by the Sisters of Nazareth, who have made an apology to all in their care.

The pensioner, who broke down and cried during part of his testimony, said children at Nazareth Lodge were called “sons of whores”.

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NEW YORK
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, Jan. 8

Statement by Mary Caplan of New York City, SNAP Leader, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (917 439 4187, mcaplan682@aol.com )

It’s been more than a decade since the New York Archdiocese has revealed how much it’s spending on clergy sex abuse and cover up cases. (So says self-described “loyal Catholic” Peggy Noonan of the Wall Street Journal.) And a NY bishop is now deceitfully minimizing the scope of the pedophile priest/complicit bishop crisis.

[Wall Street Journal]

[CNN]

Bishop John O’Hara, in a NY Post op ed, claims that Noonan “must know” that widespread abuse payouts are “not the case for the Archdiocese of New York, which has not had to pay large settlements.” He claims “The situation in New York is completely different than the one found in Boston, where a decade ago Cardinal [Sean] O’Malley did sell the estate that included the residence for the archbishop of Boston, motivated by a need to pay sex abuse settlements (which we have not had here in New York).”

But Noonan writes, because “the last time the New York Archdiocese released numbers on (abuse) costs was 11 years ago.” So while his boss conceals abuse costs, Bishop O’Hara asks us to take Catholic officials to take him at his word about those costs. Given the church hierarchy’s decades of secrecy around both abuse and finances – and their pledges to be more honest – that’s just silly.

(The truth is that no one knows how many secret settlements the New York archdiocese has paid and continue to pay. That’s because the church is a monarchy and Dolan doesn’t have to disclose this information.)

Furthermore, Bishop O’Hara’s comments mislead the public. In our view, the New York archdiocese handles abuse almost exactly like the Boston archdiocese does – hiding as much as possible, disclosing only when forced to, minimizing the crisis, and exploiting legal technicalities. The difference: New York Catholic officials have more effectively exploited those technicalities and kept a very tight lid on the crisis, thanks largely to archaic, arbitrary and predator-friendly state laws (that Dolan and his colleagues lobby hard to keep in place).

Cardinal Dolan should censure Bishop O’Hara. For decades, Catholic officials have pledged to be “open and transparent” about the clergy sex abuse and cover up crisis. Dolan himself is violating this pledge. But O’Hara goes one step further and deceives the flock about it.

Noonan says that NYC Cardinal Timothy Dolan should sell his “splendid 15,000-foot mansion on Madison Avenue.” The profits, she argues, should be donated to local Catholic schools.

(Dolan’s home is worth roughly $30 million, according to an August CNN report “The lavish homes of American archbishops.” That report shows that almost one third of the US’s top Catholic officials defy the pontiff’s example and live in homes worth more than $1 million.)

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NEW YORK
Wall Street Journal

Peggy Noonan

Now and then a writer hits a nerve. In the case of my column on the threatened closing of my neighborhood church, St. Thomas More, by the Archdiocese of New York, I hit some inflamed and throbbing ones.

Here is the column protesting church closings in the archdiocese, questioning the reasons behind them, and offering suggestions for alternative ways for the archdiocese to raise money.

Here is a reply from Bishop John O’Hara of the New York Archdiocese, printed as a letter to the editor in Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal.

Bishop O’Hara also wrote an op-ed-style response in Sunday’s New York Post. It is not available online, but I will quote from it.

* * *
To clear away small things:

Bishop O’Hara says I imply the decision to close St. Thomas More has been made. I said it is “threatened.” It is. I asked Cardinal Timothy Dolan, New York’s archbishop, to save it. He can.

The bishop says I committed “a deliberate injustice” to the cardinal by implying the cost of the ongoing $180 million refurbishment of St. Patrick’s Cathedral has added to the archdiocese’s financial pressures. But it has added to those pressures: It is not paid for. How is it an injustice to point that out? The bishop says the cardinal “has spent countless hours” fundraising. I am certain this is true, and certain everyone feels sympathy for his efforts to turn pledges and promises into checks.

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic Culture

Catholic World News – January 08, 2015

Pope Francis has appointed Msgr. Joël Mercier, a French priest, as the new secretary of the Congregation for the Clergy and has elevated him to the dignity of an archbishop.

Born in 1945, the prelate studied classics at the Sorbonne and was ordained to the priesthood in 1970. He subsequently earned a doctorate in canon law and returned to his French diocese until 2002, when he was became a staff member of the Congregation for Bishops.

Since 2007, Msgr. Mercier has also served as spiritual director of the Pontifical French Seminary in Rome.

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GUAM
KUAM

by Jolene Toves

Guam – The debate continues over who holds control over the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Yona. Wednesday we shared the responses of Archdiocese of Agana chancellor Father Adrian Cristobal in regards to the seminary his responses have left the Concerned Catholics of Guam dumbfounded as they believe his statements are “flat out lies and the proof is in the paper trail”.

Dave Sablan, CCOG vice president, said, “You got to look at the connection between deed of restriction and what that property can be used for a seminary and so it can be restricted to that he has assigned it by the decree but you connect it over to then what is this company suppose to do and how are they deciding the issues relating to their work you look at the makeup of the board because the board decides everything the policies of how they are to operate and what it can do with that property and you will find that the archbishop is just one of four individuals”. In Father Adrian’s response to KUAM News he states that it was the Archdiocese Finance Council who wanted to alienate the seminary and sell it to cover the debt incurred by the catholic cemeteries, however the CCOG contends that this is not the case and alleges that Archbishop Anthony Apuron secretly made the declaration to assign the property over to the Redemptoris Mater Seminary Corporation in November 2011.

“That’s not true,” he stated. “Mr. Richard Untalan is a member of the Finance Council, Mr. Joe Rivera is a member of the Finance Council – before both have confirmed to us personally that they advised against the alienation of that property they sought legal opinion from the archdiocesan attorney and all opined that alienation assignment the words may be different but they mean the same thing.”

And while Father Adrian is adamant that Archbishop Apuron retains control over the seminary and it remains an asset of the Archdiocese of Agana the CCOG says the paper trail shows otherwise. “The property was definitely assigned to the Redemptoris Mater Seminary Corporation if you read articles nine and ten of the articles of incorporation of that company or organization it specifically states that there are four guarantors one of them is the archbishop,” he said.

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ITALY
Catholic Herald (UK)

by Ettore Gotti Tedeschi posted Thursday, 8 Jan 2015

The ousted chairman of the Vatican bank tells his side of the story for the first time

I have a question for Cardinal George Pell, who as prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy is supervising the reform of the finances of the Holy See. Your Eminence, are you sure you have been properly informed about the recent history of the Vatican bank, of which I was chairman from 2009 until I was dismissed after a vote of no confidence in 2012?

In an article for the Catholic Herald last month, Cardinal Pell explained why he believes that the finances of the Holy See are in good shape and everything is now under control. Indeed, he said that the Vatican’s financial situation was much healthier than it seemed – because hundreds of millions of euros had come to light that were missing from the Vatican’s balance sheet.

The cardinal’s article will have reassured the faithful who make substantial financial sacrifices to support the Church. It will also have offered comfort to the many religious organisations that rely on such resources to make ends meet. Yet the article appeared to unsettle the Vatican’s spokesman, who said that there was “nothing illegal, illicit or poorly administered” about the money left off the balance sheet.

Cardinal Pell mentioned me by name in the article, noting that the last years of Benedict XVI’s pontificate were a troubled time for the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), commonly known as the Vatican bank. “The bank’s director, Dr Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, was sacked by the lay board,” he wrote, “and a power struggle in the Vatican resulted in the regular leaking of information.”

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CALIFORNIA
Visalia Times-Delta

Luis Hernandez, lfhernan@visaliatimesdelta.com
January 7, 2015

Former St. Rita’s Catholic Church priest, the Rev. Ignacio Villafan, was placed on paid administrative leave following his arrest last week on embezzlement charges.

Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno Chancellor Teresa Dominguez said Villafan “has been removed from an active role” in the church.

Villafan, 49, was taken into custody on two counts of felony grand theft after a lengthy investigation into the church’s handling of its finances. A $50,000 bail was ordered for Villafan when he was arrested last week. According to Tulare County Sheriff’s Department jail records, Villafan is no longer in custody, likely having posted bail. He’s scheduled for an arraignment at Tulare County Superior Court on Jan. 22.

Villafan faces a maximum seven-year prison sentence. Previously, Tulare County Assistant District Attorney Anthony Fultz indicated that’s an unlikely outcome.

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INDIA/UNITED STATES
India Today

A 47-year-old Indian priest has been arrested in the US state of Florida on charges of possessing child pornography, with authorities saying he asked a 14-year-old boy to help him delete about 40 pornographic images of young boys from his phone.

Jose Palimattom, a visiting priest from India, was arrested on Monday on charges of possession of pornography and distributing it to a minor.

He is being held at the Palm Beach County Jail in lieu of USD 10,000 bail.

Palimottom is a priest of the Franciscan Province of St Thomas the Apostle in India and began serving a two-year residency in December 2014 at Holy Name of Jesus Parish in West Palm Beach, a parish of the Diocese of Palm Beach.

The priest has allegedly told authorities that he had been reprimanded at his church in India for being “involved with a minor male,” but the incident was not reported to police.

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FLORIDA
WPTV

[with video]

Brian Entin

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – A spokeswoman with the Diocese of Palm Beach says they will not bond Father Palimattom out of jail.

Palimattom was arrested Monday after investigators say he showed a minor child pornography.

The Diocese of Palm Beach says Palimattom’s superiors in India will decide whether or not to bond him out on the $10,000 bond, but the local diocese will not be involved.

Diocese officials say background checks revealed no prior misconduct.

According to probable cause reports, a pastor at the church told investigators Palimattom was told to never have contact with a minor without an adult present and also not to go on Facebook.

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CIUDAD DEL VATICANO
Noticias Sin

[The Polish Press Agency has reported that based on unofficial information that ex-nuncio Josef Wesolowski suffers from depression. There currently is no information on a trial date at the Vatican and there has been a delay in canonical and legal proceedings. He is alledged to have abused boys in the Dominican Republic and fled to the Vatican.]

REDACCIÓN.- La agencia de Prensa Polaca informó que de acuerdo con información extraoficial el exnuncio Josef Wesolowski sufre de depresión.

Wesolowski después de 60 días de arresto domiciliario ahora está libre. Él no ha sido mantenido bajo custodia debido a su estado de salud.

Según un medio polaco, en la actualidad no hay información sobre la fecha del juicio a Wesolowski, acusado de pederastia en República Dominicana.

Según el medio, al parecer hay un retraso en los procedimientos canónicos y legales en el Vaticano.

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UNITED STATES
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

By David Gibson Religion News Service

Cardinal Raymond Burke, a senior American churchman in Rome who has been one of the most outspoken critics of Pope Francis’ push for reform, is roiling the waters yet again, this time arguing that the Catholic Church has become too “feminized.”

Burke, the former St. Louis archbishop who was recently demoted from the Vatican’s highest court to a ceremonial philanthropic post, also pointed to the introduction of altar girls for why fewer men are joining the priesthood.

“Young boys don’t want to do things with girls. It’s just natural,” Burke said in an interview published on Monday. “I think that this has contributed to a loss of priestly vocations. …

Burke’s comments prompted the St. Louis-based group the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, to issue a statement calling on Pope Francis to condemn the remarks.

“The church becomes a more dangerous and unhealthy place when high-ranking Catholic officials mischaracterize and minimize the abuse and cover-up crisis,” the statement read. “That’s why it’s crucial that Francis and other top church staff denounce and clarify Cardinal Raymond Burke’s outrageous claim.”

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IRELAND
The Irish Catholic

by Michael Kelly
January 8, 2015

Ireland is unlikely to see the appointment of a new cardinal until at least 2019. However, changed patterns under Pope Francis could put the tradition of the Archbishop of Armagh being a cardinal in jeopardy.

Pope Francis named his second batch of cardinals at the weekend, including 15 under the age of 80 and therefore eligible to vote in a Papal election.

The Pope also appointed five so-called ‘honourary’ cardinals who are over the age of 80 and therefore, ineligible to elect a future Pontiff.

While Armagh’s Cardinal Seán Brady retired in August last year, he continues to be a cardinal-elector and eligible to serve on bodies of the Roman Curia until his 80th birthday in 2019. While retired Archbishop of Dublin Cardinal Desmond Connell, who turns 89 in March, is no longer eligible to vote, he remains an active member of the College of Cardinals.

It was always considered unlikely that the Pope would choose either Archbishop Eamon Martin in Armagh or Archbishop Diarmuid Martin in Dublin in this consistory since it would be unprecedented for such a small country to have two voting cardinals.

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ITALY
Catholic Herald (UK)

by Staff Reporter
posted Thursday, 8 Jan 2015

Ettore Gotti Tedeschi says Benedict XVI called for his immediate rehabilitation in an exclusive article for the Catholic Herald

The ousted chairman of the Vatican bank has urged the cardinal overseeing Vatican financial reform to throughly examine the events that led to his dramatic departure in 2012.

In this week’s edition of the Catholic Herald, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi explains for the first time in detail why he believes he was ousted.

Dr Gotti Tedeschi says he is writing in response to an article by Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy, published by the Catholic Herald last month.

In the article, Cardinal Pell said the Vatican’s finances were in better shape than many had feared, thanks to the discovery of hundreds of millions of euros that were “tucked away in particular sectional accounts and did not appear on the balance sheet”.

Dr Gotti Tedeschi writes: “Cardinal Pell is absolutely right when he says the Holy See has a strong desire to comply with international standards of financial transparency. That is exactly what Benedict XVI set out to achieve when he launched sweeping reforms of the Vatican’s finances.”

Nine reasons were given at the time for his removal, but Dr Gotti Tedeschi says the reasons were “misleading” and that he is convinced he lost a vote of no confidence after he presented the board “with a plan that would have totally changed the role and governance of the bank”.

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TEXAS
The Dallas Morning News

By JOE SIMNACHER jsimnacher@dallasnews.com
Staff Writer

Published: 07 January 2015

Patricia Ruth Hall “Trish” McLelland of Dallas devoted the last 21 years of her life to preventing predators from harming children.

The legal assistant started with a 1993 research assignment to build a database for a lawsuit against the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. After that case was won, she continued to expand the list of church perpetrators, working evenings and weekends.

In 2004, the database was donated to BishopAccountability.org, making it available to the public. It has since grown to include data on priests around the world.

McLelland, 68, died Jan. 1 of natural causes at Grace Presbyterian Village.

A memorial will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Laurel Land Funeral Home, 6000 S. R.L. Thornton Freeway in Dallas.

“I don’t think it’s any exaggeration that the work she did certainly saved lives — it saved kids from being abused,” said Terry McKiernan, founder and president of BishopAccountability.org. “People use that database and find out that priest is now a counselor in a public school or something like that.”

McLelland was gentle and nice to everyone, but had a “steely determination to do the work she did,” McKiernan said.

“She was very, very focused on making sure that this terrible story that she had devoted her life to working on got told,” he said.

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FLORIDA
International Business Times

By Mangala Dilip January 8, 2015

An Indian-origin catholic priest’s hopes of “joy and happiness” in 2015 were thwarted by his arrest in Florida for possession of child pornography and exposing a minor to the same. Reverend Jose Palimattom, 48, a Catholic priest visiting from India, was arrested by Palm Beach County officers on Monday and his bail is set for $10,000.

Priest jose Palimattom from Kerala, India, with his motherFacebook/ Jose Palimattom
West Palm Beach Florida division of abc reports that Palimattom had sought the help of a 4-year old boy to delete over 40 pornographic images of young boys from his phone. The tag words in the images included “little boys,” and “young boys 10-18 yoa”, etc.

The father of the minor was informed of the matter and he immediately contacted the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s office. That night, the priest even sent a text to the victim, “goodnight, sweet dreams.”
Palimattom, a priest of the Franciscan Province of St Thomas the Apostle in India, was serving a two-year residency at Holy Name of Jesus Parish in West Palm Beach from December 2014. He admitted to the officers that back in India he had been reprimanded by his church for being “involved with a minor male”. The incident was not reported to the police.

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OREGON
KTVZ

[the indictment – via KATU]

Kandra Kent

BEND, Ore. –
Appearing by video from jail Wednesday afternoon, Gresham Pastor James Worley got emotional as he heard the charges against him, alleging that he’d sexually abused a boy and girl between 2002 and 2004.

“(The boy) was approximately 2 years old to 4 years old and (the girl) was between 6 and 8,” Deschutes County Deputy District Attorney Brigid Turner said in Circuit Judge Randy Miller’s courtroom.

Worley, senior pastor at Powell Valley Church, is charged with numerous counts of raping, sodomizing and sexually abusing the girl. He was arrested late last month in Gresham and brought to Bend Tuesday.

He’s also charged with three counts of inducing the boy and girl to engage in sexual conduct in another person’s view.

Prosecutors worry there’s more victims.

“His access to children over the years, working with children, he is currently a youth pastor in Gresham,” Turner said.

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OREGON
KATU

By Joe Douglass, On Your Side Investigator Published: Jan 7, 2015

BEND, Ore. – A pastor from Gresham accused of sexually abusing children faced a judge for the first time in the case as the prosecutor revealed disturbing new details about the charges on Wednesday.

Brigid Turner, a deputy district attorney in Deschutes County, told the court there were two victims, a boy who was two to four years old at the time of the alleged abuse, and a girl who was six to eight.

Turner said James “Jamie” Worley repeatedly molested the children from 2002 to 2004 in Deschutes County. The indictment includes 37 charges.

“Most of the counts are Class A felonies, sexual abuse committed against two minors,” said Turner.

>>The indictment

As the deputy DA talked about the allegations, Worley shook his head and motioned with his hands before the public defender told him to stop.

KATU has confirmed the alleged victims in the case were not children that Worley worked with.

Still, Turner fears there may be more victims.

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OREGON
Bend Bulletin

By Claire Withycombe / The Bulletin / @kcwithycombe
Published Jan 8, 2015

A Gresham youth pastor is being held on $1 million bail after being indicted in Deschutes County on Wednesday in connection with allegations that he sexually abused his son and stepdaughter more than a decade ago.

James Worley, 42, allegedly abused the children consistently between 2002 and 2004 while he was director of recreation at a facility in Sunriver, where he had contact with minors, said Deputy District Attorney Brigid Turner.

In all, Worley faces 37 charges, including two counts of first-degree rape, 20 counts of first-degree sexual abuse, 11 counts of first-degree sodomy, one count of attempted sodomy and three counts of using a child in display of sexually explicit conduct.

Worley was terminated for misconduct from his position as a police officer in Tillamook in 2007 and currently works as a youth pastor at a church in Gresham. Turner said the abuse was “repeated” and “continuous” and allegedly took place while Worley’s son was 2 to 4 years old and while his stepdaughter was 6 to 8 years old.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

PUBLISHED
08/01/2015

A PRIEST facing dismissal has vowed to fight to clear his name after a top Vatican court rejected his appeal against being defrocked following a Church investigation into child sexual abuse allegations.

Fr Dan Duane (76) told the Irish Independent that he was “very disappointed” by the decision of the Vatican to uphold a ruling of the Apostolic Signatura, one of Rome’s highest clerical courts, which recommended he be dismissed.

Fr Duane, from Mallow, Co Cork, has been in restricted ministry for the past eight years, and had appealed the ruling of a canonical court in Ireland that he be dismissed from the clerical state.

Pope Francis has now endorsed the decision of the Roman court and the Diocese of Cloyne yesterday apologised to those who had levelled abuse allegations for the length of time the clerical dismissal process took.

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SOUTH AFRICA/GERMANY
The Citizen

Alleged paedophile and former Randburg priest Georg Kerkhoff is accused of abusing his 11-year-old godson in German court papers.

Kerkhoff, 56, would go on trial on Friday on 23 charges related to crimes allegedly committed in Krefeld and Nettetal, Germany, from 2001 to 2006.The New Age reported.

According to court papers Kerkhoff allegedly touched his godson’s genitals.

He is also accused of showing the boy and his eight-year-old brother pictures of naked men.

“He also lay naked on [top of] the stripped child and did rhythmic movements during sexual intercourse,” the report quoted court documents.

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CANADA
The Carillon

A former Winnipeg priest is facing allegations of sexual assault against children.

Father Ron Léger, the former pastor of Holy Family Parish on Archibald Street, is charged with three counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual interference.

Two of the sexual assault charges date to the 1980s, while the third charge of sexual assault and the charge of sexual interference were for alleged incidents that occurred between late 2002 and late 2004.

His first court date is Jan. 26 at 1 p.m. in Winnipeg.

Léger is out of custody and currently residing in eastern Canada. He is presumed innocent until proven otherwise in a court of law.

Léger was appointed pastor of Holy Family Parish in 1995. Before that, he founded Teen Stop Jeunesse, a teen drop-in centre, in 1980. The centre was originally called Ron’s Drop-In and was located on Rue Des Meurons, but it has since moved to St. Anne’s Road.

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UNITED STATES
PopeCrimes& Vatican Evils.

Paris Arrow

Those who’ll be going to watch the movie ‘Spotlight’ should also go and visit the “Little Rome” in Boston. ‘Spotlight’ is about the Boston Globe’s initial investigation on priest pedophilia (and making Michael Keaton richer than what he already is). “Little Rome” in Boston is the testament written-in-stone of the once-upon-a-time seat of Catholic power of infamous Cardinal Bernard Law (a character in the movie) and where visiting Pope John Paul II slept — which is now owned by Boston College. As the New York Times reported, “The conversion of the cardinals’ residence is the final step in the transformation of a leafy expanse on the western edge of Boston that was once so packed with Catholic institutions — a seminary, a college, the residence and the archdiocesan headquarters — that it was referred to as Little Rome.” The “Little Rome” in Boston is a reminder that — the beginning is not what counts – but – the ending is what matters. “Little Rome” in Boston now joins the ranks of prime real estate of many Catholic churches, especially in New York, that are being shut down and sold for other (secular) uses — just as the New York Times aptly entitled its article, Seat of Boston’s Catholic Power Gives Way to Other Pursuits

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WALTHAM (MA)
BishopAccountability.org

January 7, 2015

It has recently come to our attention that a statement issued by SNAP on September 8, 2014, about Fr. Chinemere Onyeocha of the Altoona-Johnstown diocese has been taken off the SNAP website. BishopAccountability.org has removed the statement from our site because it is no longer on the SNAP site, and because we could find no public sources corroborating assertions in the SNAP statement. Posting the SNAP statement was an error, for which we apologize.

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OREGON
KATU

By Chelsea Kopta, On Your Side Investigator Published: Jan 7, 2015

GRESHAM, Ore. — The investigation into James Worley, an evangelical pastor and former Tillamook police officer who’s now accused of child sex crimes, extends to several other counties across the state of Oregon, KATU’s On Your Side Investigators learned Tuesday.

Worley was already indicted by a Deschutes County grand jury last month but on Tuesday, KATU confirmed that Oregon State Police is investigating other allegations of abuse in counties where Worley lived and worked.

The OSP, which is the lead agency in the Worley investigation, would not specify which counties they were focusing on.

The indictment filed Dec. 16 in Deschutes County charges Worley with 37 counts, including two counts of rape, 20 counts of sexual abuse, 11 counts of sodomy, one count of attempted sodomy and three counts of using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct. The alleged abuse occurred between Sept. 1, 2002 and June 30, 2004 while the children were under the ages of 14 and 12, according to the indictment.

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MINNESOTA
KAAL

By: Dave Aeikens

A former Foley Catholic elementary school student is suing St. Cloud Diocese and a former priest, saying he was abused by a priest that officials knew had abused children.

The suit claims the 50-year-old was abused by the Rev. James Thoennes in the 1970s at the home of Thoennes’s mother in Central Minnesota while he was a student at St. John’s Elementary School.

The suit claims the priest was allowed to continue working and was allowed unlimited access to children including the plaintiff.

The complaint also alleges the Diocese created a public nuisance about how it has handled the charges against Thoennes and 25 other priest alleged to have abused children.

A statement from St. Cloud Diocese said diocese officials have not seen the complaint.

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UNITED STATES
Salon

JENNY KUTNER

American cardinal Raymond Burke is not a progressive guy. The controversial religious leader was demoted from his powerful position as the head of the Vatican’s highest court after criticizing Pope Francis last year, and has not been shy about spewing vitriol at the LGBT community, women’s rights advocates or the Obama administration. In a recent interview with The New Emangelization Project, a website dedicated to attracting men to the church, Burke focused his attention on the “radical” feminists whom he believes have disrupted catholicism, blaming them for the prevalence of priests molesting children.

Burke charged the feminist movement with commandeering the church and forcing leaders to “constantly address women’s issues at the expense of addressing critical issues important to men,” and said that it was “feminization” that led some priests to sexually abuse children:

The Church becomes very feminized. Women are wonderful, of course. They respond very naturally to the invitation to be active in the Church. Apart from the priest, the sanctuary has become full of women. The activities in the parish and even the liturgy have been influenced by women and have become so feminine in many places that men do not want to get involved. […]

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IRELAND
Irish Times

Barry Roche

Wed, Jan 7, 2015

A former priest in the Diocese of Cloyne has lost his appeal against dismissal from the priesthood after the Vatican found that a canonical court was correct in its decision to uphold complaints by five women that he had abused them when minors.

Dan Duane (76), a native of Doneraile in North Cork, had appealed a decision by the Canonical Court in Ireland in March 2013 to dismiss him from the priesthood on foot of evidence given by five woman that he abused them in North Cork in the 1970s and 1980s.

Mr Duane had appealed the canonical court ruling to the Apostolic Signatura, which oversees the administration of justice in the church, and to Pope Francis but the church authorities in Rome rejected the appeal after deliberating for several months on all the evidence presented.

Bishop of Cloyne, Dr William Crean yesterday paid tribute to the women who gave evidence to three priest judges of the canonical court in 2010 and 2012 and he apologised to them for the abuse which they had suffered at the hands of Mr Duane.

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UNITED STATES
The Frisky

Cardinal Raymond Burke once held the high-ranking position of Cardinal Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura. However, last year, Pope Frank — disagreeing with his right-wing positions on things — demoted him to “patron” of the Knights of Malta, which was a major diss.

Now that he has more time on his hands, Cardinal Burke — a man known for having spent $20,000 on a bejeweled crown and $30,000 on a glamorous 20-foot long cape (pictured above) — is giving out interviews to prestigious internet sites like “The New eMANgelization” about how women went and ruined the Catholic Church with all their silly talk of liberation and whathaveyou.

The interview, friends, is utterly, utterly priceless. About as priceless as you would imagine a Catholic MRA site interview with a demoted priest fond of bejeweled crowns would be. It’s full of interesting tidbits about how the women’s liberation movement just about ruined the Catholic Church because we feminized all the men and girls are allowed to be “altar girls” now. There are also, naturally, some fun parts about why boys need to start telling their priests about their masturbation habits.

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ARGENTINA/ITALIA
La Gaceta

[Italy may refuse extradition priest accused of abuse. The extradition of Alessandro Rossi , the priest accused of sexual abuse, from Italy to our country must be processed under the provisions of Law No. 23,719, which is the Extradition Treaty signed with the Italian Republic. Among other regulations, the treaty allows either country to refuse to extradite a national.]

La extradición de Alessandro de Rossi, el sacerdote acusado de abuso sexual, desde Italia a nuestro país debe tramitarse conforme lo dispuesto por la ley Nº 23.719, que es la Convención de Extradición firmada con la República Italiana. Entre otras normativas, el tratado permite a cualquiera de los dos países a rehusarse a extraditar a un nacional.

El sacerdote italiano fue arrestado en Roma por pedido de la justicia salteña, que ahora tiene 45 días para solicitar la extradición antes que vuelva a quedar libre. Si esa solicitud llegase a concretarse, el artículo N° 4 establece que “cada parte podrá rehusar la extradición del propio nacional” y que en caso de negarla, “la parte requerida tendrá la obligación, a pedido de la parte requirente, de someter el caso a las propias autoridades competentes para la eventual promoción de un proceso penal”.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
BBC News

The Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry has been told that a young boy was scalded by boiling water after being assaulted by a nun at a Belfast children’s home.

The victim was praised by the inquiry’s chairman for making “considerable physical effort” to give evidence.

The inquiry is examining abuse claims at Nazareth House and Nazareth Lodge.

The homes were run by the Sisters of Nazareth, who have repeated an earlier apology to all abused in their care.

The inquiry’s chairman, Sir Anthony Harte, said the victim, now an elderly man, has just been discharged from hospital but was “determined to come”.

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FLORIDA
National Catholic Reporter

Catholic News Service | Jan. 7, 2015

WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. An Indian priest faced an obscenity charge after asking a teenage boy to help him delete images of child pornography from his cellphone.
Franciscan Fr. Jose Palimattom was jailed Monday after admitting he asked a 14-year-old boy to help delete various files on his phone and that the image showed up during the purge.

Police said he also told them he had been reprimanded by his superiors in Franciscan Province of St. Thomas the Apostle in India for being involved with a boy, but that the incident was not reported to law enforcement authorities.

The Palm Beach diocese said Palimattom began serving at Holy Name of Jesus Parish in West Palm Beach in December after being screened. The diocese said he had been certified for ministry by provincial authorities in India.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune

By Alicia Fabbre
Chicago Tribune

For the third time in three years, the Diocese of Joliet and a former priest are the subject of a lawsuit charging abuse.

Attorneys for Stan Lewandowski, 47, filed the lawsuit in Will County last week. The suit alleges Lewandowski was abused by Lawrence Gibbs, a priest who left the ministry in the 1990s following allegations of abuse.

Lewandowski, who was 10 at the time of the alleged abuse, served as an altar boy at Divine Savior Catholic Church in Downers Grove and attended a religious retreat with Gibbs and other boys during the summer of 1977, according to the lawsuit.

The 12-count lawsuit claims Gibbs gave Lewandowski alcohol and played strip poker with him. Gibbs also allegedly showed Lewandowski pornography and taught him how to masturbate. Gibbs also performed oral sex on the boy, according to the lawsuit.

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CANADA
CBC News

A former colleague of a priest charged with sexual assault and sexual interference says he believes Father Ronald Léger is innocent.

“I feel really sorry for him and also for all the parishioners​ because Father Ron was an excellent priest,” said Jean-Jacques Serceau, who is the director of Holy Family Parish on Archibald Street. “I don’t think he can commit something like that.”

Serceau said he has known Léger for almost a decade and considers him a close friend.

He added the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Boniface, Albert LeGatt, will speak and offer help at mass next Sunday.

“At least now it’s out and at least we have to deal with that,” said Serceau.

Some Winnipeg Catholics say they will be watching this story closely.

“Priests are often in a position of authority,” said Ken Jones, who does not go to Holy Family Parish. “It’s like anything that’s hidden. Until you talk about it, until you bring it out to the light of day, it stays hidden. That’s unfortunate for the church and especially for the victims.”

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MINNESOTA
St. Cloud Times

dunze@stcloudtimes.com January 7, 2015

A former student at a Foley elementary school has sued a former St. Cloud Diocese priest, accusing him of abusing him years after the diocese knew the priest had abused other children.

The lawsuit accuses Rev. James Thoennes of abusing the boy in the early 1970s when Thoennes was assigned to St. John Parish in Foley. The suit says Thoennes abused the child at Thoennes’ mother’s home in Central Minnesota, a place where Thoennes invited several children to accompany him on overnight visits.

The lawsuit also names the diocese as a defendant and accuses the diocese of knowing that Thoennes had abused children before it assigned him to Foley.

Thoennes was deposed in September for a separate lawsuit and admitted sexually abusing at least five boys while working as a priest in the St. Cloud Diocese.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

[with video]

Written by
Gaynor Dumat-ol Daleno
Pacific Daily News

A few dozen of the island’s Catholics took their prayers to the streets yesterday afternoon in another attempt to call the Vatican’s attention to a variety of concerns about the current leadership of the island’s Catholic Church.

Holding rosaries, saying prayers, and a few of them carrying statues, they walked several blocks from a vacant lot across from St. Anthony’s church in Tamuning to the Carmelite monastery compound, where visiting representatives of the Vatican were holding private meetings with certain members of the local church community.

Yesterday’s walk was the first of three public prayer events being held this week by certain members of the local Catholic community who have been trying to call the Vatican’s attention — for months — to problems they’ve said have divided the local Catholic Church.

Danny Cabe, one of about 50 people who joined the prayer walk, held a statue of Mother Mary.

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IRELAND
Evening Echo

The Vatican has rejected an appeal by a former-priest in the diocese of Cloyne against dismissal from the priesthood over child sexual abuse.

Dan Duane from Mallow, Co Cork was defrocked in 2013, following a Canonical trial for abusing teenagers and minors, and he appealed that decision to Rome.

Mr Duane was previously acquitted of indecent assault at Cork Circuit Criminal Court on two occasions in 2011.

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CANADA
Winnipeg Free Press

A former Winnipeg priest is facing allegations of sexual assault against children.

Father Ron Léger, the former pastor of Holy Family Parish on Archibald Street, has been charged with three counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual interference.

Two of the sexual assault charges date back to the 1980s, while the third charge of sexual assault and the charge of sexual interference were for alleged incidents that occurred between late 2002 and late 2004.

His first court date is Jan. 26 at 1 p.m.

Léger is out of custody and currently residing in eastern Canada. He is presumed innocent until a court of law proves otherwise.

Léger was appointed pastor of Holy Family Parish in 1995. Before that, he founded Teen Stop Jeunesse, a teen drop-in centre, in 1980. The centre was originally called Ron’s Drop-In and was located on Rue Des Meurons, but it has since moved to the 500 block of St. Anne’s Rd.

In a statement provided Wednesday, the Winnipeg Police Service said the investigation into the case was completed by officers with the child abuse unit.

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UNITED STATES
International Business Times

By Zoe Mintz

American Cardinal Raymond Burke, a known conservative and one of Pope Francis’ biggest critics, says the “radical feminist movement” has left Roman Catholic men feeling “marginalized” since the 1960s. His comments were made in an interview published Jan. 5 with Matthew James Christoff of “The New Emangelization,” a Catholic men’s ministry.

“Men are often reluctant to become active in the Church. The feminized environment and the lack of the Church’s effort to engage men has led many men to simply opt out,” Burke said. He points to the popularity of pornography, saying it promotes extramarital sex, a “materialistic and consumer-focused” society that pushes parents to work longer hours and the introduction of altar girls as reasons for men to feel reluctant to be active Catholics.

“The introduction of girl servers also led many boys to abandon altar service. Young boys don’t want to do things with girls. It’s just natural. The girls were also very good at altar service. So many boys drifted away over time,” Burke said, adding that this contributed to the declining number of priestly vocations in the church.

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DALLAS (TX)

The memorial service for Trish McLelland has been scheduled for:

Thursday, January 8, 2015
2:00 p.m.

Laurel Land Funeral Home
6000 South R. L. Thornton Free
Dallas, TX 75232
214-371-1336

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UNITED STATES
The New EMANgelization

Recently, I had the great honor to have an audience with His Eminence Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke to discuss the state of Catholic men in the United States.

Here is the full transcript:

Matthew James Christoff of the New Emangelization Project: Your Eminence, we are delighted and blessed to be here with you. Today, we are here to talk about the state of Catholic men in the United States and how we might draw more men into the New Evangelization. Maybe to start, how would Your Eminence describe the state of men in the Catholic Church today?

Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke: I think there has been a great confusion with regard to the specific vocation of men in marriage and of men in general in the Church during the past 50 years or so. It’s due to a number of factors, but the radical feminism which has assaulted the Church and society since the 1960s has left men very marginalized.

Unfortunately, the radical feminist movement strongly influenced the Church, leading the Church to constantly address women’s issues at the expense of addressing critical issues important to men; the importance of the father, whether in the union of marriage or not; the importance of a father to children; the importance of fatherhood for priests; the critical impact of a manly character; the emphasis on the particular gifts that God gives to men for the good of the whole society.

The goodness and importance of men became very obscured, and for all practical purposes, were not emphasized at all. This is despite the fact that it was a long tradition in the Church, especially through the devotion of St. Joseph, to stress the manly character of the man who sacrifices his life for the sake of the home, who prepares with chivalry to defend his wife and his children and who works to provide the livelihood for the family. So much of this tradition of heralding the heroic nature of manhood has been lost in the Church today.

All of those virtuous characteristics of the male sex are very important for a child to observe as they grow up and mature. The healthy relationship with the father helps the child to prepare to move from the intimate love of the mother, building a discipline so that the child can avoid excessive self‑love. This ensures that the child is able to identify himself or herself properly as a person in relationship with others; this is critical for both boys and girls.

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UNITED STATES
The Raw Story

DAVID FERGUSON
07 JAN 2015

A controversial conservative Catholic cardinal said in an interview that the forces of “radical feminism” have brought the once-mighty church to its knees, led to a “fluffy,” feminized view of sexuality and made way for generations of pedophile priests.

Cardinal Raymond Burke said in an interview with website “The New Emangelism: Drawing Men to Jesus Christ and His Catholic Church” that the church needs to return to its male-centered roots and stop catering to “women’s issues” in order to regain its once robust standing in the world.

Burke is the former St. Louis Cardinal who headed the Vatican’s highest court until a recent run-in with Pope Francis saw him demoted to a ceremonial position far from the church’s seat of power.

Burke has used his position in the Catholic hierarchy to harangue Democrats and endorse radical Republican politics, an ideological orientation that has been increasingly at odds with the new Pope’s more pluralistic church.

Now Burke is lashing out at what he sees as an over-feminized church that has “marginalized men.”

“I think there has been a great confusion with regard to the specific vocation of men in marriage and of men in general in the Church during the past 50 years or so,” Burke told The New Emangelism (TME) in an interview published Monday. “It’s due to a number of factors, but the radical feminism which has assaulted the Church and society since the 1960s has left men very marginalized.”

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IRELAND
Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference

A former priest of the Cloyne Diocese, who was dismissed from the clerical state following a Canonical trial for abusing teenagers and minors, has had his appeal rejected by the authorities in Rome. The decision was taken after a long period of deliberation on all the evidence provided.

Dan Duane, from Mallow, appealed the decision of the Canonical Court in Ireland to dismiss him from clerical ministry to the Apostolic Signatura and Pope Francis. The appeal has now been turned down.

Bishop William Crean, Bishop of Cloyne said: “We are most grateful to the survivors of abuse who had the courage to come forward to tell their stories. This long and painful process for all involved has now reached completion. We regret that the process took so long.

“On behalf of the priests and people of the Diocese may I once again extend my deepest sympathy and sorrow that they had to suffer so much from a person in whom they had placed their trust. I apologise to them once again and to all who have suffered abuse of any kind at the hands of clergy.

“I want to assure the people of Cloyne that the most comprehensive child protection measures are in place in the Diocese to ensure that these evil acts never again occur. We can never be complacent and the work continues on a daily basis, by hundreds of people, to ensure that our children and young people are safe from harm.”

The Vatican’s decision has been communicated privately to the survivors of abuse in this case.

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IRELAND
RTE News

A former priest of the Diocese of Cloyne in Co Cork has lost his appeal against his dismissal as a cleric.

Dan Duane, who is in his mid-70s and from Mallow, was defrocked in March 2013 following a canonical trial for abusing teenagers and minors, the diocese said in a statement.

This afternoon, the diocese announced that Mr Duane’s appeal against his dismissal had been rejected by church authorities in Rome.

Bishop of Cloyne Dr William Crean paid tribute to people who had come forward to tell their stories. He apologised to them and expressed sorrow to them.

Dr Crean insisted that what he called comprehensive child protection measures were now in place in the Diocese of Cloyne.

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NEW YORK
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, Jan. 7

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

We are grateful that Albany Catholic officials are removing the name of a credibly accused predator priest from a church building but saddened by their refusal to explain why and because of their apparent rationale for the move.

[Watershed Post]

Despite at least two child sex abuse accusations against Fr. Robert H. Purcell – at least one of them deemed “credible” by church officials – Purcell’s name remained until just days ago on a building at Sacred Heart Parish in Margaretville. Albany diocesan officials removed him from ministry, but callously kept his name on church property for more than four years.

Now, adding insult to injury, they refuse to explain why his name was removed.

A church strategic planning report recommended the sign change. Joanne Callahan, a Sacred Heart’s parishioner who wrote the report said it didn’t mention the abuse charges against Fr. Purcell but “came to the conclusion that (the building) is underused, we’re going to try to get it more used.”

“Removing Purcell’s name from the sign appears to be key to that strategy,” reported a local newspaper.

Bishop Edward Scharfenberger, Fr. Steven Scarmozzino and other church officials should be ashamed of themselves. They should

–apologize for keeping Purcell’s name on the building for years,
–apologize for their secrecy about the report,
–explain why the sign has now been changed, and
–use their vast resources to aggressively seek out others who may have been hurt by Fr. Purcell and other child molesting clerics in the Albany diocese.

Because almost no Catholic official ever does this kind of aggressive outreach, we beg every single person who saw, suspected or suffered clergy sex crimes and cover ups in the Albany diocese to come forward, get help, call police, expose wrongdoers, deter deceit and start healing.

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, Jan. 7

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

A controversial cardinal “blames gay clergy for the church’s sexual abuse crisis,” and says priests “who were feminized and confused about their own sexual identity” molested children.

[Religion News Service]

The church becomes a more dangerous and unhealthy place when high-ranking Catholic officials mischaracterize and minimize the abuse and cover up crisis. That’s why it’s crucial that Francis and other top church staff denounce and clarify Cardinal Raymond Burke’s outrageous claim.

If one must identify only one crux of the crisis, it is the widespread and continuing cover ups by bishops, – not the crimes or motives of individual priests – that should be cited. To focus strictly on the “bad apple” child molesting clerics – and ignore the devastating role of selfish and secretive bishops – is irresponsible.

In the eyes of many, Burke is a discredited, demoted fanatic. Still, he remains a cardinal and a Vatican official with millions of admirers. His words hurt victims and confuse parishioners. They should not stand unaddressed. It’s callous of Catholic officials do nothing when their colleagues make hurtful comments that make victims, witnesses and whistleblowers become hopeless and stay silent.

We beg Pope Francis to set the record straight here.

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IRELAND
Newstalk

The Vatican has rejected an appeal by an ex-priest in the diocese of Cloyne against dismissal from the priesthood over child sexual abuse.

Dan Duane from Mallow was defrocked in 2013, following a Canonical trial for abusing teenagers and minors, and he appealed that decision to Rome.

Mr Duane was previously acquitted of indecent assault at Cork Circuit Criminal Court on two occasions in 2011.

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UNITED STATES
Jeff Anderson & Associates

BLOG: PATRICK J. WALL

The Capuchin Franciscan Province of St. Joseph has announced that Father Robert Harrison OFM cap has admitted to sexually abusing minors under his care. The fact that a Roman Catholic priest has sexually violated a child while standing in loco parentis is not new.

What is new is that Father Robert Harrison OFM cap went undetected for half a century.
Ordained in 1964, Father Harrison was well trained by the Hierarchy. Father Robert studied philosophy, theology, social work and law. Harrison was given the tools to detect weaknesses, select a vulnerable child and conceal his crimes for several decades.

What stands out however is that for over 50 years dozens of Archbishops, Bishops, Provincials, Pastors and Principles failed to catch a confessed child molester in their midst.

Before Father Harrison confessed he served under dozens of Roman Catholic officials including:

8 Capuchin Provincials, 3 Archbishops of Milwaukee, 4 Archbishop of New York, 6 School Principals and dozens of Pastors and local Capuchin superiors.

Harrison evaded several audits and reviews.

In 2002, the USCCB in Dallas ended the one bite philosophy towards child sexual abuse by clerics and religious. The conference of major superiors of Men in 2003 also promised zero tolerance.

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UNITED STATES
Religion News Service

David Gibson | January 7, 2015

(RNS) Cardinal Raymond Burke, a senior American churchman in Rome who has been one of the most outspoken critics of Pope Francis’ push for reform, is roiling the waters yet again, this time arguing that the Catholic Church has become too “feminized.”

Burke, who was recently demoted from the Vatican’s highest court to a ceremonial philanthropic post, pointed to the introduction of altar girls for why fewer men are joining the priesthood.

“Young boys don’t want to do things with girls. It’s just natural,” Burke said in an interview published on Monday (Jan. 5). “I think that this has contributed to a loss of priestly vocations.

“It requires a certain manly discipline to serve as an altar boy in service at the side of (a) priest, and most priests have their first deep experiences of the liturgy as altar boys,” the former archbishop of St. Louis told Matthew James Christoff, who heads a Catholic men’s ministry that called the New Emangelization Project.

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UNITED STATES
Wonkette

by Rebecca Schoenkopf
Jan 07

There’s this Catholic Cardinal — Raymond Cardinal Burke — and he is the worst! New Pope demoted him already, because Burke is a super-dick, but New Pope forgot to tell him to STFU and go die in a fire. How is Burke delighting us with his words today? Well, he interviews with “The New Emangelization” (not kidding) about how “radical feminists” murdered the Catholic Church. Because of course he fucking did. For his next trick, he will probably cover up some child molestations and excommunicate the entire Democratic Party. Oh wait, he already did.

So which shit, of the holy variety, is bubbling from Raymond Cardinal Burke’s flaccid lips today? Let us blockquote them for you, because we’re not afraid to be servicey!

Radical Feminism ‘Assaulted’ the Church

[T]he radical feminism which has assaulted the Church and society since the 1960s has left men very marginalized.

Unfortunately, the radical feminist movement strongly influenced the Church, leading the Church to constantly address women’s issues at the expense of addressing critical issues important to men; the importance of the father, whether in the union of marriage or not; the importance of a father to children; the importance of fatherhood for priests; the critical impact of a manly character; the emphasis on the particular gifts that God gives to men for the good of the whole society.

We may have seen some radical guitar masses in the 1970s. Radical feminists at Mass, assaulting the Church until it forgot to include “critical issues important to men”? Not so much! And WTF is the “importance of fatherhood for priests”? We thought that was one of those things priests are not actually supposed to do, or it will lead to them becoming hot and sexy DEFROCKED priests? And why are the radical feminists making priests wear frocks anyway?

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FLORIDA
Roman Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach

By: DPB Office of Communications
Date: January 6, 2015

In response to the arrest and criminal charges filed against Reverend Jose Palimattom, OFM, a priest visiting from India, the Diocese of Palm Beach is issuing the following statement:

“The Diocese of Palm Beach is greatly concerned and takes very seriously the charges against Father Jose Palimattom, OFM. Father Palimottom is a priest of the Franciscan Province of St. Thomas the Apostle in India and began serving in December 2014 at Holy Name of Jesus Parish in West Palm Beach, a parish of the Diocese of Palm Beach. Father Palimattom was arrested yesterday on charges of possession of pornography and distributing it to a minor.

Upon learning about the allegations, the Diocese of Palm Beach immediately contacted authorities and cooperated in the investigation conducted by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. This cooperation resulted in the arrest of Father Palimattom.

The Diocese of Palm Beach completes a thorough screening of visiting priests and religious before granting them faculties to minister or celebrate sacraments within its diocese. As part of its due diligence, the diocese completed a background screening which also included a screening in India, and received a Certificate of Aptitude from the Minister Provincial in India. During this background process, no prior misconduct was revealed.

Bishop Gerald Barbarito wishes to assure the faithful community that this allegation is being taken very seriously and expresses sincere regret to the family involved and all the faithful hurt by this regrettable matter.

The Diocese of Palm Beach encourages anyone who may have additional information on this or similar matters to contact the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office at 561 688-3400 and the Chancellor of the Diocese of Palm Beach at 561-775-9500.”

The Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach encompasses the five counties of Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee. Comprised of 280,000 Catholics in 53 parishes and missions, the diocese also serves the faithful community through its schools.

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FLORIDA
WBZT

The Diocese of Palm Beach is responding to the arrest of a visiting priest from India.

The Reverend Jose Palimattom began serving at Holy Name of Jesus Parish in West Palm Beach last month. Investigators say he showed a 14 year old parishioner his cell phone, with about 40 images of nude pre-teen boys, asking for help in deleting the pictures.

Detectives say the 47 year old priest told them he had been reprimanded by his superiors in India for involvement with a minor. But the local Diocese says it did a thorough background check and no prior misconduct was revealed.

Here is the official statement from the Diocese of Palm Beach, with regards to this incident:

“The Diocese of Palm Beach is greatly concerned and takes very seriously the charges against Father Jose Palimattom, OFM. Father Palimottom is a priest of the Franciscan Province of St. Thomas the Apostle in India and began serving in December 2014 at Holy Name of Jesus Parish in West Palm Beach, a parish of the Diocese of Palm Beach. Father Palimattom was arrested yesterday on charges of possession of pornography and distributing it to a minor.

Upon learning about the allegations, the Diocese of Palm Beach immediately contacted authorities and cooperated in the investigation conducted by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. This cooperation resulted in the arrest of Father Palimattom.

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NEW YORK
NY1

[with video]

A longtime teacher at a Bronx Catholic school has been dismissed after the school says he admitted to sexually abusing children several decades ago.

Cardinal Hayes High School sent a letter to parents Monday telling them that Father Robert Harrison had been removed.

He has also been stripped of his ability to serve as a priest or engage in any type of ministry.

The letter said Harrison told school officials about the abuse just before Christmas break, during an investigation into his finances.

Harrison said the abuse took place in the 1970s and 80s in the Bronx, Manhattan and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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IRELAND
The Journal

A FORMER PRIEST who was cleared of criminal charges of child abuse but was dismissed by the church has had his appeal rejected by authorities in Rome.

Dan Duane of the Cloyne Diocese had appealed the decision by the Canonical Court in Ireland to remove him from the priesthood but the Vatican has dismissed the appeal.

Numerous accusations of abuse against Duane were made to gardaí but just two made it to trial, both of which led to the Mallow man being cleared.

Duane’s appeal to the Apostolic Signatura and Pope Francis led to the Catholic Church’s judicial authority reviewing all the evidence against him.

The appeal has now been turned down following “a long period of deliberation”.

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MARYLAND
WTOP

By Kate Ryan | @kryanwtop.com
January 7, 2015

WASHINGTON — An Episcopal bishop called a colleague last month to tell him she thought she had hit a cyclist and was “in shock.”

In a statement released Tuesday, the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland outlined the events after 58-year-old Bishop Heather Elizabeth Cook reportedly hit a cyclist on Dec. 27. Cyclist Tom Palermo, 41, of Baltimore, was killed.

According to the diocese’s statement, at 2:59 p.m. Bishop Cook called the Rev. Scott Slater. She told him she thought she hit a cyclist and “was in shock.” Slater arrived at the scene and found her with police in a patrol car.

At 5:27 p.m., Slater got a call from the Baltimore City Police, who said he could pick up Cook.

Slater took the bishop to her apartment, made sure a friend would stay with her, prayed with her, then left.

Tuesday’s statement from the church explains that a disciplinary inquiry, referred to as a Title IV within the church, is underway. In the meantime, Cook remains on leave with pay and benefits.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Church and State

Exclusive excerpt from Geoffrey Robertson’s book, The Case of the Pope: Vatican Accountability for Human Rights Abuse (published by Penguin Books in 2010). This book delivers a devastating indictment of the way the Vatican has run a secret legal system that shields paedophile priests from criminal trial around the world.

Is the Pope morally or legally responsible for the negligence that has allowed so many terrible crimes to go unpunished? Should he and his seat of power, the Holy See, continue to enjoy an immunity that places them above the law?

Geoffrey Robertson QC, a distinguished human rights lawyer and judge, evinces a deep respect for the good works of Catholics and their church. But, he argues, unless Pope Benedict XVI can divest himself of the beguilements of statehood and devotion to obsolescent Canon law, the Vatican will remain a serious enemy to the advance of human rights.

In the exclusive excerpt below – the first six pages of Chapter 10, “Can the Pope be Sued?” – Robertson reveals that unless the Vatican confronts its history of protecting paedophile priests and abandons its claim to deal with them under Canon Law, then its leader might well be sued for damages or end up as the subject of investigation by the prosecutor at an international court.

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GUAM
KUAM

by Jolene Toves

Guam – As the Concerned Catholics of Guam organization met with a delegation from the Vatican on island for a pastoral visit late this afternoon, the Archdiocese of Agana responds to the findings of the group’s investigation into the Redemptoris Mater Seminary – and according to Father Adrian Cristobal the multimillion dollar property remains an asset of the archdiocese, despite claims and documents provided by the CCOG.

Father Cristobal, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Agana, is responding to recent concerns raised by the group which believes the seminary property is no longer an asset of the archdiocese and that the seminary is not following its intended mission to form young men into diocesan priests.

In response to questions submitted in writing to the archdiocese, Father Adrian says that could not be further from the truth ‘this is totally false” . Father Adrian says the title is listed in the property of the Archdiocese of Agana. Matter of fact he also states that the property came into the archdiocese thanks to the Neocatechumenal Way.

He also responds to the CCOG’s contention that in December 2011 Archbishop Anthony Apuron signed off on a declaration of deed against the advice of the Archdiocese Finance Council. Father Adrian again denies those allegations. He says it was the other way around and that the council wanted to alienate the property ” in fact had the intention to sell the property to cover the debt incurred by the cathedral and catholic cemeteries.”

Father Adrian said that the establishment of a diocesan seminary and a prestigious theological institute are “goods” of such paramount importance for the life of the diocese that to think to sell the property to cover a deficit is “unthinkable and it would be irresponsible for the archbishop to even harbor that idea. The seminary and the institute are both essential to help the evangelization in the Pacific.” and cites that Canon Law 114 requires that a seminary possess the means necessary for fulfilling its goals including the stability of the property on which it is operating.

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