CHICAGO (IL)
Patch

Posted by Lorraine Swanson (Editor) , April 23, 2014

A Chicago priest has agreed not to enter the school or be alone with children at his current parish until a second allegation of child sex abuse is sorted out.

Rev. Michael W. O’Connell was reinstated at St. Alphonsus Church at 1429 W. Wellington Ave. on April 17, when law enforcement authorities could not find evidence to support an earlier claim of sexual misconduct with a minor at a south suburban parish from 20 years ago.

O’Connell was removed from ministry at St. Alphonsus when the earlier allegation surfaced last December.

In recent weeks, a 33-year-old Nevada man, “John Doe #2,” contacted SNAP, the Survivor’s Network of those Abuse by Priests, stating that he witnessed O’Connell touching and fondling a younger male at an Orland Park fitness club around 1999 or 2000. John Doe #2 was 19 or 20 years old when he witnessed the alleged assault.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

by: JEAN HOPFENSPERGER and CHAO XIONG , Star Tribune staff writers Updated: April 24, 201

The release of Archbishop John Nienstedt’s court deposition on clergy abuse Tuesday has aggravated his already difficult relationship with concerned Catholics but also reinforced his support among admirers.

That divide could widen Thursday, when the deposition of the archdiocese’s point person on child sex abuse — the Rev. Kevin McDonough — will also be made public on video and text.

Even as Nienstedt’s testimony stoked new debate among 800,000 Catholics in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, there were pleas from all sides to reform how the church handles child abusers.

“I think the message to the faithful members of the archdiocese is this: If you have a question about whether a child is at risk, pick up the phone and call law enforcement,” said Suzanne Severson, a member of Spirit of St. Stephen’s Church in Minneapolis.

Like many Catholics, Severson, a member of a group called Voice of the Faithful, logged into her computer after work Tuesday to read and watch portions of Nienstedt’s deposition, ordered as part of one of more than two dozen abuse lawsuits filed against the archdiocese in the past year. She was particularly interested in Nienstedt’s testimony about the Rev. Jonathan Shelley, who had been a priest at her church, she said.

To hear Nienstedt say that he couldn’t determine whether the pornography on Shelley’s computer was of adolescents or older boys, and that he didn’t report it, was particularly disturbing, she said.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

HAWAII
Star-Advertiser

Victims of child sexual abuse in Hawaii would have more time to file lawsuits against abusers if lawmakers pass one of two bills pending in the Legislature.

In a highly publicized law, victims had been given a two-year window to file suit in cases that have passed the statute of limitations, which led to the filing of many claims. That window is set to close Thursday.

In advance of the deadline, former child model Michael Egan III filed several lawsuits against Hollywood executives, claiming that “X-Men” director Bryan Singer and several others abused him as part of a Hollywood sex ring. Singer and others have denied the allegations. The director’s attorney has called the claims defamatory.

Lawmakers plan to debate the proposals Wednesday afternoon.

Rep. Mele Carroll says it’s important to empower victims of sexual assault no matter how much time has passed.

“Too often, by the time a victim is ready to admit the abuse they have suffered the statute of limitations is expired and the victims are left powerless and unable to receive the justice they deserve,” Carroll said in a statement.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

ILLINOIS
CSN Chicago

A teacher accused of sexually abusing a teenage girl in the 1990s is back in the classroom in suburban Buffalo Grove after an internal investigation found no wrongdoing in the school.

Cheri Carlson had been on paid administrative leave since November when allegations — unrelated to her work at the school — were made in a lawsuit reported on NBC 5.

A woman whose identity we agreed to conceal said Carlson was her spiritual mentor at a religious camp and began abusing her in 1996 when she was 16.

“She said she was showing me God’s love,” the alleged victim said. “Eventually the physical demands became constant. Sometimes, maybe four times a week.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

AUSTRALIA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Perth

Dear sisters and brothers,

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse will begin its public hearings in Perth on Monday, April 28th. The initial hearings are expected to last for two weeks.

Many people who have suffered terribly through the abuse inflicted on them as children and young people will relive their experience as they tell their stories to the Royal Commission. In doing so, they will demonstrate great courage and resilience. They deserve our admiration, our gratitude and our support. They also have a right to know that the Church really does recognise their suffering and genuinely apologises for the terrible things they have endured, both at the time of their abuse and through all the years they have carried these burdens with them.

As I did in November 2012 when the Royal Commission was announced, I again want to express my full support for the work of the Commission. I am hopeful that the public hearings in Perth, difficult though they will be for many, will provide an opportunity for people to finally have their voices heard. It is my hope too that when the Royal Commission finishes its work it will be able to put forward recommendations which will help all Australians, including the Catholic Church, to deal more justly, more compassionately and more effectively with this scourge of sexual abuse of children and young people.

A particular focus of the hearings in Perth will be the terrible experiences of abuse at institutions run by the Christian Brothers, especially at Castledare, Clontarf, Tardun and Bindoon. It was from these institutions that horrific stories of sexual abuse by Catholic religious brothers and others associated with the Church first emerged in our Australian context. We now know, to our shame, that this problem has been far more widespread. The curse of sexual abuse has infected the Catholic Church right around the country. Tragically, it is becoming ever clearer that it is a universal problem for the Church. We have some hard questions to answer.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

AUSTRALIA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Perth

Press Release

Thursday 24th April 2014

As members of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse arrive in Western Australia , Archbishop Timothy Costelloe of the Archdiocese of Perth has written to the entire Catholic community.

In his letter, the Archbishop admits to the past failures of Church leadership and assures Catholics and society at large of his determination to make church communities places of safety for all, especially minors.

The Archbishop’s letter begins by praising the “great courage and resilience” of survivors who will share their stories with the Royal Commission, stressing that “they deserve our admiration, our gratitude and our support”.

He states that the Church “recognises their suffering and genuinely apologises for the terrible things they have endured”.

The Archbishop expresses his “full support for the work of the Commission”, seeing this as “an opportunity for people to finally have their voices heard” especially as “the curse of sexual abuse has infected the Catholic Church right around the country” becoming “a universal problem for the Church”.
His letter goes on to state that “as a Church we have failed terribly” confessing that “Church leaders have at times failed to respond adequately… moving abusers from one place to another” thereby “putting other young people at risk”. Regarding the Church’s protocols, “mistakes have been made,” he says, “processes have not always been followed, and not everyone has been able to find the healing” they sought after.

The Archbishop points out that the Church’s first response “must be one of absolute support for those who have experienced this abuse” and that “every avenue [be explored] to make sure that the scourge of sexual abuse is eradicated from our Catholic community”.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

AUSTRALIA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Perth

Archbishop Costelloe’s FULL LETTER – click here (PDF – 548KB) to download.

MEDIA RELEASE relating to the full letter – click here (PDF – 372KB) to download.

Below is the EXECUTIVE SUMMARY of the Archbishop’s letter containing the main points – click here (PDF – 513KB) to download.
____________________

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Perth, 24th April 2014

Dear sisters and brothers,

On Monday 28th April, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse begins two weeks of public hearings in Perth. Many who have suffered terribly as a result of their childhood abuse will relive their experience as they tell their stories to the Royal Commission, demonstrating great courage and resilience. They deserve our admiration, gratitude and support. The Church recognises their suffering and genuinely apologises for the terrible things they have endured, both at the time of their abuse, through to the present day and beyond.

As in November 2012, I again express my full support for the work of the Commission, hopeful that the difficult public hearings in Perth will provide an opportunity for people to finally have their voices heard. I hope that, when the Royal Commission finishes its work, its recommendations will help all Australians, including the Catholic Church, to deal justly, compassionately and effectively with the sexual abuse of minors.

The hearings in Perth will focus on truly horrendous abuse at institutions run by the Christian Brothers, especially at Castledare, Clontarf, Tardun and Bindoon. To our shame, we now know that sexual abuse has infected the Catholic Church nationwide and even universally. We have some hard questions to answer.

Knowing as we now do that sexual abuse of children is a pervasive problem throughout society does not, and must not, allow us to use this as some kind of perverse excuse. Christians hold up very high standards, ones that we also propose to those who do not share our faith. And yet, as a Church we have failed terribly. The perpetrators of sexual abuse have robbed so many of their childhoods and left deep scars. Church leaders have at times failed to respond adequately, even moving abusers from one place to another, thereby putting other young people at risk. Often children simply were not believed and left to grapple alone with a situation about which they were powerless to do anything.

Programmes such as our Towards Healing were put into place in part due to revelations made in the Media,. Even then victims were not and have not always been treated with the sensitivity and compassion they had a right to expect from the Church. Towards Healing has indeed helped many survivors of sexual abuse. Nevertheless, mistakes have been made, even by the generous and compassionate people undertaking a difficult and demanding role. Regrettably, not everyone has been able to find the healing they had hoped Towards Healing would offer.

As we hear some terrible and shocking stories over the next few weeks, of suffering inflicted on innocent and trusting young people our hearts will be torn. As Christians, our first response must be one of absolute support for those who were abused. We must help survivors with the heavy burden they carry, and find ways forward for them.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

AUSTRALIA
NEWS.com.au

Catholic Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe apologises for abuse in open letter

[the letter]

THE head of the Catholic Church in Perth has written to all members before next week’s royal commission into child sexual abuse hearings, saying “we have failed terribly”.

In an open letter to the entire Catholic community, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe of the Archdiocese of Perth reiterated his full support for the work of the commission, which will hold hearings in the city from April 28 until May 9.

He expects a particular focus will be the abuse at institutions run by the Christian Brothers, especially at Castledare, Clontarf, Tardun and Bindoon.

“It was from these institutions that horrific stories of sexual abuse by Catholic religious brothers and others associated with the church first emerged in our Australian context,” the archbishop wrote.

“We now know, to our shame, that this problem has been far more widespread.

“The curse of sexual abuse has infected the Catholic church right around the country.

“Tragically, it is becoming ever clearer that it is a universal problem for the church.

“We have some hard questions to answer.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

AUSTRALIA
Queensland Times

Geoff Egan 23rd Apr 2014

AN IPSWICH pastor “had a guilty passion” for the best friend of his 12-year-old daughter an Ipswich jury has heard.

Crown prosecutor Sal Vasta yesterday told the court the 51-year-old man, who is standing trial for raping and maintaining a sexual relationship with his daughter and her best friend in 2004 and 2005, had an “unnatural sexual attraction” to the friend.

An Ipswich jury yesterday heard the closing arguments from Mr Vasta and defence lawyer Geoff Seaholme.

The man, who cannot be named so as to not identify the girls, has pleaded not guilty at the Ipswich District Court to a raft of child sex offences including rape and maintaining a sexual relationship.

Mr Vasta told the jury the evidence of the best friend had remained uncontradicted by sworn testimony throughout the trial.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MINNESOTA
People Magazine

By STEVE HELLING
04/22/2014

Victor Barnard had always been known as a charismatic leader with an easy smile and pleasant demeanor. Moving to rural Minnesota in the early 1990s, the affable pastor started The River Road Fellowship, a tight-knit church on several acres of remote land. Within a few years, he had a small but dedicated following.

But the River Road Fellowship was no ordinary church, and Barnard was no ordinary minister. Authorities say that he had a dark side, ruling with intimidation and fear.

After a former church member contacted the Pine County Sheriff’s Office in 2012 to report rampant sexual abuse, authorities opened a two-year investigation. On April 11, the county attorney charged Barnard with 59 felony counts of criminal sexual misconduct with two young girls while they were members of his church.

But Barnard is nowhere to be found, and authorities in several states have begun a nationwide manhunt to find the 52-year-old leader.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MONTANA
Beartooth NBC

By Camilla Rambaldi

An order of nuns being sued for child sex abuse want to bring the roman catholic diocese of helena back in state court.

Attorneys for the Ursuline Sisters of the Western Providence say they may want the diocese to pay a portion of any judgment that could go against them.

The Ursuline sisters and the diocese are being sued by 362 alleged abuse victims from the 1940s to the 1970s.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

HAWAII
Hawaii News Now

[with video]

By Tim Sakahara

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) –
There are more troubling accusations against the Roman Catholic Church of Hawaii. The main defendant is Father Marc Alexander who has already had a brush with controversy.

Marc Alexander is still technically a priest although the Diocese of Honolulu suspended all his priestly service in 2011. Now he and the church are named in a new lawsuit filed today.

“We are also very much aware we have a crisis in our midst,” said Marc Alexander, back on March 3, 2011 when he was the State Homeless Coordinator.

Homeless crisis aside, Marc Alexander has a controversy of his own.

“This was an assault. It was not invited or permitted conduct,” said Mark Gallagher, Plaintiff’s Attorney.

The lawsuit specifically says there was “unpermitted, harmful and offensive sexual contact.” It was 1984. The anonymous accuser says she was 16 years old and a member of St. John Vianney Church in Kailua. She claims Marc Alexander forced himself upon her.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

HAWAII
Star-Advertiser

A woman filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Marc Alexander, the former vicar general of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu, accusing him of sexually abusing her when she was a minor, according to the mainland law firm representing her.

The plaintiff attended St. John Vianney in Kailua in the 1980s when the woman, who is now in her 40s, was allegedly sexually abused, according to her attorney.

The woman, identified only as Jane Roe 42, filed the lawsuit a day before a two-year deadline lapses that allows the filing of civil complaints by adults who were sexually abused as minors.

The lawsuit names Alexander, who stepped down as vicar general and became Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s homeless coordinator, and the diocese, claiming the church was grossly negligent in allowing Alexander to work with children.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

NEW GUINEA
Radio Australia

[with audio]

But the country’s Archbishop admits it faces various challenges, including the ‘wantok’ system, that are preventing some perpertators from being brought to justice.

Catholic Archbishop John Ribat’s comments come as the case of priest, Philip Kelera, has been in court in recent weeks.

Kelera’s been charged with five counts of incdecent assault against five school boys aged between 11 and 15 in East New Britain.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED STATES
The Week

[with video]

By Michael Brendan Dougherty

It was Oct. 3, 1992, when Sinead O’Connor sang a haunting a capella cover of Bob Marley’s “War” on Saturday Night Live, in which she replaced the word “racism” with “child abuse” and tore up a picture of Pope John Paul II while singing about the victory of good over evil. She finished her performance by shouting, “Fight the real enemy.” At the end of the clip you can practically feel the SNL audience lose its breath.

The freak-out was immediate and severe. O’Connor was pilloried tabloid to tabloid in perhaps the last collective utterance by ethnic outer-borough Catholic New York. The reaction was epitomized almost perfectly on the following week’s show, when Joe Pesci held up a taped-together picture of the Pope and said he “would have gave her such a smack” to vigorous applause.

As John Paul II’s canonization approaches, I can’t stop thinking about this event, these two people, and their subsequent history.

For the rest of the 1990s, Pope John Paul II was increasingly considered a holy man, made more saintly by his daring embrace of the suffering brought on by Parkinson’s disease. Devotion to him as “John Paul the Great” developed even as he lived.

Meanwhile, O’Connor’s career diminished. She was commonly assumed to be a silly weirdo. In a kind of religious left-right mash-up, she was ordained a “priest” in a breakaway Catholic sect founded by Latin Mass devotees. Rather charmingly, she embraced a vow of celibacy only to give that up after three months. “I tried,” she said, “No thanks.”

It took more than a decade before people came around to the fact that O’Connor may have been on to something. She no longer seems to have anything to do with breakaway Traditionalists, but she still occasionally performs in a Roman collar, still rocks an unbelievably expressive voice for pop music, and has an album due out soon. In a recent formal debate, she took the position that the Scriptural prophets, the Gospels, and the Book of Revelation show that the story of God is one of a divine enemy fighting against organized religion.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism

Jerry Slevin

With all the problems the Vatican now faces, why are more “papal saints” being declared now, and what is the rush on Pope John Paul II? With almost a hundred popes already declared “saints”, do Catholics need more papal saints to pray to? What is really going on? Is Pope Francis’ “infallible” declaration of sainthood, or canonization, for Popes John XXIII and John Paul II part of a larger undisclosed strategy? It seems so. Despite the usual cheerleading from conflicted and opportunistic papal apologists, neither pope deserves to be declared a saint, for the reasons specifically discussed below.

Francis’ “divinizing” these two popes now, thereby seeking to enhance selectively Francis’ ability to capitalize on their individual moral influence over various Catholic groups, appears aimed at consolidating Francis’ papal power base and at maximizing his influence over a divided world Catholicism.

Francis’ strategy appears directed at both so-called “conservative” Catholics, who often favor John Paul II’s more dogmatic approach in his rigid encyclicals and self-serving Catechism, and “liberal” Catholics, who often favor John XXIII’s seemingly more pastoral approach in initiating the Second Vatican Council reforms. Since the Catechism contains many positions that support a dominant papacy that depends on a rigid sexual morality, Francis’ rushed and unsurprising “elevation” of the Catechism’s papal proponent, John Paul II, is both symbolically, practically and perhaps ominously significant for many key “doctrines” that Francis is purported by some to be reconsidering, such as women priests, contraception, divorced and remarried Catholics’ readmission to sacraments, and marriage equality.

As to the seeming rush to sainthood, maximizing Francis’ power over a less theologically divided Catholicism appears to be especially important to the Vatican currently. The Vatican now faces its greatest external threat since the loss of its extensive Papal States’ territory almost a century and a half ago. The democratically driven threat for the Vatican is the increasing pressure, including potential criminal prosecutions of the hierarchy, from powerful democratic governments over the Vatican’s mismanagement, especially of its bishops’ poor child protection performance. The Vatican over a 1,500 year period has eliminated democratic pressure internally, but is now paradoxically facing democratic pressure externally.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED STATES
POPE FRANCIS the CON-Christ.

Paris Arrow

Updated April 23, 2014

Today the Media report released a statement that made a big deal out of the crocodile tears apology of Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. It said: One essential element of the media’s sex abuse narrative is the idea that the Catholic Church must repeatedly and perpetually apologize for past abuse committed by priests. Pope Benedict repeatedly apologized and even met with victims to hear their stories. So it was big news when Pope Francis recently asked for forgiveness for the past abuse committed by a small number of priests decades ago.

What is this “big news about Pope Francis apology”? He was an unknown cardinal from Argentina who has suddenly skyrocketed to instant fame at the Vatican – and the Opus Dei Beast is capitalising on his podgy ass – that looks different from the ugly Benedict XVI-RATzinger – all he does is his Jesuitical skill — to papal fart at Catholics left and right – and his apology is supposed to “erase” or “salve” decades of Vatican crimes against children – that even the United Nations after careful investigations – condemned?

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
CBS News

MANCHESTER, N.H. – A priest who was the former leader of one of America’s top clergy treatment centers was sentenced Wednesday to serve at least four years in prison for stealing $300,000 from a hospital, a dead priest’s estate, and the state’s Roman Catholic bishop.

Monsignor Edward Arsenault held several senior positions in the New Hampshire diocese from 1999 to 2009, when he became president and CEO of Saint Luke Institute in Maryland. He resigned in May of 2009 after allegations arose involving an inappropriate adult relationship and misuse of church funds.

Details of the thefts revealed Wednesday show a priest who billed the church for lavish meals and travel for himself and often a male partner. He was convicted of writing checks from the dead priest’s estate to himself and his brother and billing Catholic Medical Center $250 an hour for consulting work he never did.

“It’s criminal behavior. It’s disturbing behavior,” Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane Young said. “These are thefts from a charitable institution by someone very high up.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED STATES
POPE FRANCIS the CON-Christ.

Paris Arrow

Updated April 23, 2014

Vatican PR Stunt of the Day in the USA: Goliath-bully Bill attacks woman NYT writer for her article, A Saint, He Ain’t, and distracts American Catholics from JP2 Army – John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army to a British pedophile actor.

Anyone who has watched Hollywood war movies can see how wars were won when informants gave the wrong information of the whereabouts of the enemy or divert attention and split concentration of armies. Likewise, American Goliath-bully Bill Donohue is doing exactly that to American Catholics by diverting their attention from the 27 years cover-up of John Paul II on thousands of pedophile priests worldwide, more than 6,100 in USA alone, so that on his canonization, stupid American Catholic robots – especially those yes-women, will simply sing the Opus Dei Hitlerism chant “JP2, we love you”.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CANADA
Nunatsiaq Online

DAVID MURPHY

Justice Robert Kilpatrick is insisting that the trial of former Oblate missionary Eric Dejaeger be wrapped up, as scheduled, during the week of May 26.

The trial at the the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit is still in an adjournment — the third break in proceedings since it began five months ago on Nov. 18.

Proceedings were supposed to conclude at the end of the last sitting in March, but Crown prosecutors made three legal applications to the court that created delays and prevented lawyers from wrapping up their final arguments.

Kilpatrick threw out two of those applications in court and he’s now reserving his decision on the third application until after he hears final arguments.

The third application seeks to allow similar fact evidence for all the charges Dejaeger faces — effectively combining all evidence given by the complainants into one package.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED STATES
City of Angels

by Kay Ebeling

“There in a picture from 1981 are my parents, my sister, and her nipples, smiling at the camera in the family photo album.” (See cartoon below)

In his home in the Castro district, conversation with my cousin* finally came to why I’d come to San Francisco with my six year old daughter. I asked him, “Do you remember Father Horne?” and then blurted out a version of events from the past few months, where I’d recovered the memory of the priest sexualizing me at age five, and confirmed that he’d molested my sister Patricia too. I ended with “Now I know why I’ve been so screwed up my whole life,” excited, thinking my cousin would share my elation. Instead: The Thud.

When you’re in a conversation and everything is going fine, then you mention you’re a pedophile priest victim, there it is: The Thud. [BEAT] All talk comes to a complete stop, any ambiance of friendliness that had once been there evaporates, the room is silent, and all persons within hearing distance stiffen. Once The Thud happens, communication is never the same again.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MARYLAND
Associated Baptist Press

By Bob Allen

A lawsuit described as the biggest evangelical sex abuse scandal to date is headed for appeal, a year after being dismissed on a technicality, elders of the church involved informed members in a letter dated April 22.

Elders of Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Md., said a lawsuit dismissed by a district judge in May 2013 due to statute of limitations will be heard by the Maryland Court of Special Appeals in early June.

The lawsuit originally filed in October 2012 and amended in 2013 alleges a decades-long conspiracy that led to numerous children being sexual abused on church and school property by employees and volunteers.

It accuses church leaders of colluding “to suppress the reporting of sexual abuse to civil authorities, to interfere with the prosecution of child abuse and to prevent other church members from learning of past reported child abuse.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED STATES
The New York Times

By ADAM LIPTAK
APRIL 23, 2014

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday set aside a $3.4 million award to a victim of child pornography who had sought restitution from a man convicted of viewing images of her. That figure was too much, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote for a five-justice majority, returning the case to the lower courts to apply a new and vague legal standard to find a lower amount that was neither nominal nor too severe.

The victim in the case said the majority’s approach was confusing and meant that she might never be compensated for her losses.

The two dissents to the majority opinion would have taken more categorical approaches. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., joined by Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, said that restitution was a worthy goal, but that the federal law at issue did not allow awards when many people had viewed the images.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor took the opposite view, saying that each viewer could be held liable for the full amount of the victims’ losses.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, April 23, 2014

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

In light of today’s U.S. Supreme Court child porn ruling, we urge lawmakers to redouble their efforts to deter future child sex crimes and help those who suffer because of these heinous crimes.

[The New York Times]

Most child sex offenders are never caught, charged or convicted, so hundreds of thousands of boys and girls keep getting severely hurt.

So we challenge those who celebrate today’s decision to come up with better ideas. For kids, the status quo stinks. So if you think this award isn’t appropriate, what will you do instead to stop this horror and expose the perpetrators?

It’s fine to say ‘this is unreasonable.’ So too, however, is the sexual exploitation of tens or hundreds of thousands of kids. It’s not enough, then, for adults to say ‘this amount of money is excessive.” It’s incumbent on critics to come up with a better plan.

To those who back this ruling, how much would someone have to pay you to sexually violate your child? What price should be put in this devastation?

We hope lawmakers will remedy this injustice as quickly as possible.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MICHIGAN
Mortgage Daily via United States Department of Justice for the Eastern District of Michigan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

April 23, 2014

A Catholic priest and a parish administrator were indicted for stealing almost $700,000 from St. Thomas More Church in Troy during an eight-year period, U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade announced today.

McQuade was joined in the announcement by Paul M. Abbate, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detroit Division.

Charged were Edward Belczak, 69, of Troy, and Janice Verschuren, 67, of Bloomfield Hills.

The five-count indictment alleges that between 2004 and 2012, Belczak and Verschuren stole money and diverted funds from St. Thomas More Church and the Archdiocese of Detroit for their unjust enrichment and then concealed their criminal acts by creating or verifying false financial reports that were submitted to the Archdiocese. Charges in the indictment include mail fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy.

The indictment alleges that Belczak, assisted by Verschuren, used the proceeds of their illegal conduct in a number of ways, including:

* Diverting to their own use nearly $500,000 donated or bequeathed by parishioners to St. Thomas More Church

* Using almost $110,000 stolen from the church to pay closing costs on the sale of Verschuren’s condominium in Palm Beach, Florida, to Belczak

* Diverting to their personal bank accounts more than $26,000 in commissions paid to St. Thomas More Travel Group

* Diverting to themselves more than $33,000 owed to St. Thomas More Church by Diocesan Publications

To conceal the theft and diversion of money, Belczak approved false financial reports that were submitted to the Archdiocese of Detroit. The reports underreported the amount of the parish’s operating receipts.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

NEW YORK
WGY

A 30 year old priest with the Albany Roman Catholic Diocese has been arrested in Saratoga County on misdemeanor charges of endangering the welfare of a child.

Saratoga County District Attorney Jim Murphy says James Michael Taylor has been involved in an “ongoing pattern” of conduct with a 15 year old Clifton Park girl that involved physical conduct, text messages, phone calls and photos.

Murphy credits the girl and the Sheriff’s office with putting a stop to the cycle of abuse.

Taylor has been serving as the associate pastor of St. Kateri in Niskayuna.

Murphy says he met the girl while he was a deacon in Clifton Park.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

NEW YORK
WNYT

[with video]

By: WNYT Staff

A Schenectady priest is accused of ongoing inappropriate conduct with a 15-year-old girl from Clifton Park.

Rev. James Michael Taylor is a Roman Catholic priest at St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish.

He was arrested in Saratoga County after the sheriff’s office says he had ongoing physical contact with the girl that included phone calls, text messages and photos.

Officials say the 30-year-old priest met the teenage girl while he was serving as Deacon and youth minister for the Corpus Christi Church in Round Lake.

The incidents allegedly took place between October 2013 and April 2014.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
New Hampshire Public Radio

[with audio]

By MICHAEL BRINDLEY

A former top Manchester diocese official has been ordered to pay back hundreds of thousands of dollars to the church and other organizations in a plea deal reached this morning.

Msgr. Edward Arsenault will also serve at least four years in prison.

Appearing in Hillsborough County Superior Court in Manchester Wednesday morning, Arsenault pled guilty to three felony charges and apologized for his actions.

As part of the deal, Arsenault must pay restitution on the order of $184,000 the Diocese of Manchester and $104,000 to Catholic Medical Center.

Arsenault was chancellor at the Manchester Diocese from 1999 through 2009.

It was in May of last year when prosecutors first announced an investigation into allegations that Arsenault misused church funds and had an improper adult relationship.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester

On being advised that the Reverend Monsignor Edward J. Arsenault pleaded guilty to Misappropriating funds of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Manchester, Catholic Medical Center, and the Estate of Rev. Msgr. John Molan, the Most Reverend Peter A. Libasci, Bishop of Manchester, made the following statement:

“This is indeed a sad day. Foremost on my mind are the more than 275,000 Catholic faithful in our state. Every week, parishioners freely give their funds to support the mission of the Church to worship, evangelize, and serve the poor and vulnerable. They place their trust and confidence in the Church that these contributions will be safeguarded and used for its good works.

“Msgr. Arsenault’s criminal actions profoundly betrayed this trust and confidence by diverting substantial amounts of diocesan funds for personal use. While the sentence imposed by the court today includes restitution, the loss of diocesan funds is not the full measure of the damage that has been done.

Many of the faithful and former co-workers inevitably will be left with a profound sense of betrayal and mistrust. They are very much the victims here.

“It is important to acknowledge another reason for feelings of sadness and betrayal. I know that many people benefitted from Msgr. Arsenault’s ministry over the years. As a pastor, he served his parishioners as a source of spiritual guidance and support. As a leader in the Diocesan dministration, he was dedicated and hard-working, managing the establishment and implementation of diocesan policies and procedures that provided for greater efficiency, accountability, and transparency. That Msgr. Arsenault would use his many skills and talents for improper purposes is tragic.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester

The following narrative sets forth information regarding the events that led to an investigation and the conviction of Msgr. Edward J. Arsenault for misappropriation of diocesan funds. Much of the information contained in this narrative is or will be publicly available. The information is provided to the faithful because Msgr. Arsenault has been a public figure in the local Church, and his conduct has had a significant impact on the Church. Msgr. Arsenault has rights under civil and canon law that constrain the Diocese from further comment.

Rev. Msgr. Edward J. Arsenault, III

Edward J. Arsenault, III was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Manchester in 1991. He attended Mount Saint Mary Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He later received a Pontifical License in Sacred Theology from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology, and a Master of Science degree in Finance from Bentley University. Father Arsenault began working in the Diocese of Manchester Administration offices after obtaining his degree in Finance.

In 2000, Most Reverend John B. McCormack, Bishop of Manchester, appointed Father Arsenault to serve as a member of the College of Consultors, Chancellor, and Delegate for Ministerial Conduct. In 2003, he was appointed Cabinet Secretary for Administration. In light of the facts that Father Arsenault had a degree in Finance and demonstrated that he possessed the knowledge, talents, and leadership and management skills necessary to oversee an effective and efficient administration, Bishop McCormack delegated to Father Arsenault oversight of the diocesan administration, including finances.

In 2004, Bishop McCormack appointed Father Arsenault to serve as Moderator of the Curia in addition to his duties as Cabinet Secretary for Administration and Delegate for Ministerial Conduct. As Moderator of the Curia, in addition to oversight of the diocesan administration, Bishop McCormack delegated to Father Arsenault the responsibility to oversee the work of all of the other Cabinet Secretaries. During his tenure as Moderator of the Curia, Father Arsenault was involved in establishing a Parish Finance Manual to institute financial controls in all parishes of the Diocese.

In addition to the aforementioned duties, Father Arsenault served as the Bishop’s Delegate for Healthcare on the Board of Directors for Catholic Medical Center (“CMC”). Father Arsenault also served as chair of the Board of Governors of CMC Healthcare System, the parent company of CMC.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester

On April 23, 2014, the Reverend Monsignor Edward J. Arsenault, III, a priest of the Diocese of Manchester, pleaded guilty to criminal charges of misappropriating funds of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Manchester, Catholic Medical Center, and the Estate of Rev. Msgr. John Molan. The Diocese of Manchester issued the following documents in connection with this matter:

Statement of Bishops Libasci and McCormack

Bishop Libasci’s Letter to the Faithful

Victim Impact Statement

Narrative Regarding Investigation

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Berlin Daily Sun

If you were to find out that the leadership of a group or organization you belonged to had appeared before commissions and grand juries and openly admitted to covering up the abuses of children, from rape to severe beatings, to even the death of a child, and that this involved tens of thousands of members own children, and that the cover ups are wide spread throughout the organization or group, you would think that the membership of the group would rise up in arms and make sure that the leadership is arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent the law allows. That they would stand up and defend and protect their children over the leadership of their group or organization. Yet there is one such organization…though there are others….that its leadership is totally immune from liability for crimes such as these by it’s membership. This organization is known as the Roman Catholic Church.

While they have come far with this problem of child abuse, the Vatican announced that for 2011-2012 almost 400 priests had to be let go because of credible accusations of child abuse, including rape, there is still much to be done. While it is commendable that they caught and fired these priests, what about those whom participated in the cover ups of these crimes? Why are they not called to account for their crimes of the members own children? Why are the leadership of the church put above the law and those whom they have harmed? Why are they defended and even praised or made a saint?

There have been at least a half a dozen commission reports, like the Ryan Report, that detail the systematic sexual, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual abuse of children and teens, children of the Roman Catholic Church; and the cover ups of these abuses by the leaders and even their highest leaders, ones whom are supposed to be the Vicars of Jesus while on this earth and in their position. Yet even to this day, not one credibly accused leader has ever been arrested or prosecuted for their crimes save one, Bishop Robert Finn and that case is being retried. Matter of fact, one of these, John Paul II was given sainthood. There is overwhelming evidence he participated in the cover up of and through acts of omission, turned a blind eye to, the pederast Rev. Marcial Maciel, founder of the Legion of Christ. Yet he is given sainthood? This is an insult to all those whom are survivors of these evil crimes against us.

There are some incredible priests and leaders of the Roman Catholic Church. I have met some of them. From Fr Tom Doyle, ret., whom has fought tirelessly for the victims of priest abuse, at the cost of his being a priest, to even our own local priest Fr Kyle Stanton whom has helped me immensely, to groups like Catholic Whistleblowers, and others, they have sort of restored my faith that this problem of priests and nuns abusing children and teens will stop. Yet to truly set things right the following must be done.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MICHIGAN
Macomb Daily

By Dave Phillips, dave.phillips@oakpress.com
POSTED: 04/23/14

A priest and a parish administrator have been indicted on federal charges, accused of stealing nearly $700,000 from a Troy church.

Edward Belczak, 69, of Troy, and Janice Verschuren, 67, of Bloomfield Hills, were charged in a five-count indictment, U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade announced Wednesday.

Belczak and Verschuren are accused of stealing money and diverting funds from the church and the Archdiocese of Detroit “for their unjust enrichment, then (concealing) their criminal acts by creating or verifying false financial reports that were submitted to the Archdiocese,” McQuade’s office stated.

Authorities accused Belczak and Verschuren of diverting to their own use nearly $500,000 donated or bequeathed by parishioners to the church; using almost $11,000 stolen from the church to pay closing costs on Verschuren’s sale of her condominium in Palm Beach, Fla., to Belczak; diverting to themselves more than $26,000 in commissions paid to St. Thomas More Travel Group; and diverting to themselves more than $33,000 owed to St. Thomas More Church by Diocesan Publications.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, April 23, 2014

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

We hope

—that Msgr. Edward Arsenault (he has not been defrocked) will serve all or most of his sentence, and

—that Manchester’s Catholic bishop will tell citizens and Catholics whether he thinks Msgr. Arsenault is guilty of sexual misconduct.

Today, the bishop is meeting with his priests to discuss Msgr. Arsenault. But he owes it to his flock to disclose the status of the sexual misconduct allegations against Msgr. Arsenault.

We hope New Hampshire’s bishop will “come clean” about allegations that Msgr. Arsenault has been involved in an inappropriate sexual relationship with an adult. And we hope that anyone who has seen, suspected or suffered clergy sex crimes in New Hampshire will report to secular officials, not church officials.

There can be no true sexual consent between a doctor and a patient, a therapist and a client, a clergyman and a congregant, and a general and a soldier. Period. The power differential is just too great.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED STATES
TheMediaReport

One essential element of the media’s sex abuse narrative is the idea that the Catholic Church must repeatedly and perpetually apologize for past abuse committed by priests. Pope Benedict repeatedly apologized and even met with victims to hear their stories. So it was big news when Pope Francis recently asked for forgiveness for the past abuse committed by a small number of priests decades ago.

But acting on cue, the anti-Catholic group SNAP issued a nasty media statement which not only belittled the Pontiff’s gesture but actually compared the pope to a “deranged gunman,” a “drunk driver,” and a “husband [who] keeps beating his wife.”

Meanwhile, scores of mainstream media outlets – including The Boston Globe, the New York Times, and CNN – continue to trumpet the angry efforts of SNAP.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

NEW YORK
The Saratogian

By Caitlin Morris, The Saratogian
POSTED: 04/23/14

BALLSTON SPA >> A 30-year-old priest and youth pastor has been charged with endangering the welfare of a minor by county sheriff’s deputies following allegations involving a teen female.

James Michael Taylor, 30, who was ordained in 2012 and most recently served at Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Niskayuna, which also has an elementary school, was arrested Tuesday and, according to a statement from the Roman Catholic Dioceses of Albany, he was placed on administrative leave immediately following his arraignment.

Details of the arrest were released at a Wednesday morning press conference conducted by Saratoga County District Attorney James A. Murphy and County Sheriff James Zurlo.

Sheriff’s investigators say the victim was a 15-year-old Clifton Park girl that Taylor met while serving as a deacon and leader of a youth ministry program at Corpus Christi Church in Round Lake. …

Murphy said Taylor used his position in the church to gain trust and access to the victim and her family, and warned that more victims and more severe charges for Taylor are possibilities.

“We also want the media to help us to the degree that we suspect that there may be other victims out there. While his name is James Michael Taylor, he went by Father Michael, which is how the public may know of him,” Murphy said, adding that he wants potential other victims to know they will be protected if they come forward.

Murphy said the girl’s parents contacted authorities Monday, triggering the investigation.

This story, Murphy said, could be used by parents as a springboard to talk about what is and isn’t appropriate.

“Be vigilant. Be inquisitive. If your kid tells you something that’s unusual or out of the ordinary, ask questions,” Murphy advised.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED STATES
GlobalPost

Jason Berry

On Sunday, Pope Francis will elevate two past popes to sainthood, John XXIII and John Paul II, each a figure of major historical weight, each a visionary, each bearing responsibility for the divergent trail of the church beyond their own lives.

Francis’s decision to canonize the two popes on Divine Mercy Sunday is a gesture of unity for a church battered by scandals in the public square by appealing to camps on the left and right who revere the two popes in different ways. It also provides a chance to look closely of the history of both popes.

John XXIII and John Paul II loom as polar figures in the church we know today. It represents the largest faith in the world, one thought for centuries to be changeless, yet a church that has changed constantly, if not utterly, since John XXIII called the Second Vatican Council from 1962-65.

Conservatives decry the council for opening the floodgates of Vatican II, unloosing too much change. They have a point. The church once described as “Here comes everybody” by the noted Irish agnostic James Joyce in Finnegan’s Wake is still a big tent, yet one divided into blue and red followers, like election-time TV maps. …

After Pope Benedict beatified John Paul in 2011, putting him on a fast track for canonization, abuse survivors raised an outcry over John Paul’s unwavering support of the long-accused pedophile, Legion of Christ founder Father Marcial Maciel.

After 1998, when former seminarians filed detailed allegations seeking Maciel’s excommunication in Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s tribunal, John Paul continued praising Maciel. In late 2004, five months before the pope died, Ratzinger ordered an investigation of Maciel, and as Pope Benedict dismissed him from active ministry in 2006.

At a Vatican briefing on Tuesday, Msgr. Sławomir Oder, who worked on John Paul’s sainthood cause, told reporters: “Without getting into details, I can say that the investigation was carried out with the real desire to clear things up and confront all the problems as they came up…. An investigation was carried out, documents were studied, (documents) which are available, and the response was very clear. There is no sign of a personal involvement of the Holy Father in his matter.” Meaning to cover up.

But the details matter. Until the Vatican releases documents to explain why John Paul sheltered a notorious moral criminal, as the prosecution against Maciel stalled under the pope’s watch, his sainthood will be stalked with questions, a trailing credibility asterisk. Why not release the documents? Saints are people, people are sinners. “The Pope goes to confession like the rest of us,” wrote Flannery O’Connor. “The church is mighty realistic about human nature.”

Withholding information is what grubby politicians do. Whatever his flaws, John Paul, a saint come Sunday, deserves better than a continuing cover up.

So do People of God.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

NEW YORK
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, April 23, 2014

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

A Round Lake priest was arrested for inappropriate conduct with a minor. We are grateful this predator is being held accountable, but worried that he has been released. Even though there is an order of protection for the victim, there could be more victims who have not yet come forward.

[Troy Record]

We hope, although it is unlikely, that this was an isolated incidence. Predators rarely attack only once. Fr. James Michael Taylor was a deacon and youth minister for the Corpus Christi Church during the alleged abuse and is now an ordained priest at Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Schenectady.

Church officials should aggressively seek out any other people who may have been hurt. Bishop Edward Scharfenberger should personally go to each parish where Fr. Taylor worked and beg victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to speak up and call police.

We hope that anyone who saw suspected or suffered abuse will contact law enforcement.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MICHIGAN
The Detroit News

Robert Snell
The Detroit News

Detroit — A Catholic priest and a parish administrator were indicted and accused of stealing almost $700,000 from St. Thomas More Church in Troy and blowing the cash on a condominium and other expenses.

The five-count indictment, announced Wednesday, charges the Rev. Edward Belczak, 69, of Troy and Janice Verschuren, 67, of Bloomfield Hills with stealing the money from the church and Archdiocese of Detroit between 2004 and 2012.

The stolen money allegedly included most of a $350,000 gift to the church from the family of a dead parishioner and cash donated by churchgoers during special Mother’s Day and Father’s Day collections, prosecutors alleged.

The duo tried to hide the alleged crime by creating false documents and submitting them to the Archdiocese, prosecutors allege. The documents under-reported the amount of the parish’s operating receipts.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MICHIGAN
Detroit Free Press

By Robert Allen
Detroit Free Press staff writer

A Catholic priest and his parish manager are accused of stealing nearly $700,000 from St. Thomas More Church in Troy, according to an indictment from U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade’s office.

Rev. Edward Belczak, 69, of Troy, and Janice Verschuren, 67, of Bloomfield Hills face charges of mail fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy in connection with the eight years of alleged thefts dating to 2012, the U.S. attorney announced Tuesday.

Among the allegations are that Belczak used $109,570.80 from a parish bank account to put a down payment on a swanky Palm Beach, Fla. condo he was purchasing from Verschuren, according to documents previously filed by the FBI to seize the property. Belczak, since suspended as pastor, had approved false financial reports that were submitted to the Archdiocese of Detroit in an effort to conceal thefts, according to a news release from McQuade’s office.

Belczak, assisted by Verschuren, is accused of stealing nearly $500,000 donated or bequeathed by church members, more than $26,000 in commissions paid to St. Thomas More Travel Group and more than $33,000 owed to St. Thomas More Church by Diocesan Publications in addition to the amount used for the Palm Beach property.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED STATES
World Magazine

By WARREN COLE SMITH
Posted April 22, 2014

More than a month after stepping down as president of the ministry he founded, Bill Gothard released a statement that attempts to respond to allegations of sexual impropriety that ultimately led to his resignation from the Institute for Basic Life Principles (IBLP).

“God has brought me to a place of greater brokenness than at any other time in my life,” Gothard wrote in the statement released April 17. “It is a grief to realize how my pride and insensitivity have affected so many people. I have asked the Lord to reveal the underlying causes and He is doing this.”

But the statement denied some of the more serious charges leveled against Gothard by the group Recovering Grace, which earlier this year released statements from 34 women detailing incidents dating back to the 1970s. The statements accuse Gothard of sexual harassment and—in one case—sexual abuse that included fondling but not rape.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED STATES
Chicago Sun-Times

BY FRANCINE KNOWLES Religion Reporter April 22, 2014

The former head of a controversial Oak Brook-based religious and home-schooling organization, who resigned in March following allegations he sexually harassed teen girls, is denying any inappropriate sexual behavior.

Bill Gothard, who led the Institute in Basic Life Principles for decades — a conservative organization whose seminars have reached millions — said, “I have never kissed a girl nor have I touched a girl immorally or with sexual intent.”

But he confessed that his “actions of holding of hands, hugs and touching of feet or hair with young ladies crossed the boundaries of discretion and were wrong. They demonstrated a double-standard and violated a trust. . . . I have failed to live out some of the very things that I have taught. I am committed to learning from my failures by God’s grace and mercy, and do what I can to help bring about biblical reconciliation as Jesus commands.”

The statement, released on Gothard’s personal website, was labeled as “disingenuous” Tuesday by Recovering Grace, a website that has received reports from dozens of women, who’ve alleged they were sexually harassed by Gothard with unwanted touching, including bare foot games of footsie, years ago. The behavior Gothard described fits the standard legal definition of sexual harassment, Recovering Grace said in a statement on its website.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED STATES
Catholic League

Bill Donohue explains why Maureen Dowd is a phony:

If Maureen Dowd had guts, she would demand the resignation of her boss, Mark Thompson, president and CEO of the New York Times.

In her column today, Dowd rails against the canonization of Pope John Paul II, saying, “he presided over the Catholic Church during nearly three decades of a gruesome pedophilia scandal and grotesque cover-up.”

Dowd ought to get her facts straight: there was no pedophilia scandal—less than five percent of molesting priests were pedophiles—it was homosexuals who accounted for 81 percent of the sexual abuse cases. The facts are incontrovertible. So it’s time she stopped her cover-up.

More important, Thompson worked at the BBC for decades, and claimed to know nothing about the BBC’s biggest child molestation case in its history: Jimmy Savile was a true pedophile, raping hundreds of children. Both Savile and Thompson worked at the BBC for decades; Thompson was Director General from 2004-2012. And unlike John Paul II, we have proof that Thompson lied: after Savile died in October 2011, a “Newsnight” story exposing his conduct was spiked, and Thompson said he knew nothing about it. In fact, he was told about the cover-up at a Christmas party that year. On top of that, he told his BBC lawyers in September 2012 to write a letter to The Sunday Times threatening to sue if they ran a letter implicating him in the Savile matter. His only concern was to land a plum job at the New York Times (he was set to join the Times on November 12, but events forced him to wait).

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

NEW YORK
Troy Record

By staff report

POSTED: 04/23/14

SARATOGA COUNTY >> A 30-year-old former Round Lake priest has been charged with endangering the welfare of a minor by county sheriff’s deputies following allegations of an offense involving a minor female.

James Michael Taylor, 30, last serving at St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Schenectady, was arrested Tuesday.

Details of the arrest were released at a Wednesday morning press conference conducted by Saratoga County District Attorney James A. Murphy’ and county Sheriff James Zurlo.

Sheriff’s investigators say the victim was a 15-year-old Clifton Park female that Taylor met while leading a youth ministry program when stationed at Corpus Christi Church in Clifton Park.

It is alleged that between October 2013 and this month Taylor, who is now a Roman Catholic priest of the Albany Diocese, engaged in an ongoing course of inappropriate conduct with the girl. The charge is a misdemeanor.

Contact consisted of physical contact, telephone calls, text messaging and the sending of photos, authorities said. Taylor met the youth when he was serving as a deacon and youth minister for the Corpus Christi Church. …

The investigation is ongoing. Given the nature of the case and Taylor’s positions in the various communities, the sheriff’s office is asking for anyone with relevant information to contact the sheriff’s office at 518-885-6761.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CHICAGO (IL)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, April 23, 2014

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

The Archdiocese of Chicago says a twice-accused predator priest will stay in a parish, but has supposedly agreed not to be alone with children.

This is ridiculous. It’s like putting a drug addict to work in a pharmacy and claiming “he’s agreed to never be alone with pills.”

[Chicago Sun-Times]

This is precisely the claim that hundreds of bishops made for decades: that somehow, priests could still be in parishes and stay away from kids because their colleagues will supervise them 24/7.

This is precisely the claim that had led to thousands of children being molested by priests, nuns, brothers, seminarians and bishops.

This is precisely what bishops promised they would stop doing more than a decade ago, when, in Dallas in 2002, they committed to a much-ballyhooed but rarely enforced “zero tolerance” policy for child molesting clerics.

Fr. Michael W. O’Connell faces two accusers. The most recent one met with and is being taken seriously by law enforcement officials. A criminal investigation has been re-opened. Yet Cardinal Francis George and his staff insist on keeping Fr. O’Connell in a position where he will undoubtedly encounter children.

We challenge Chicago Catholic officials to explain in detail how they’ll make sure Fr. O’Connell will keep himself away from kids.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
The Republic

By LYNNE TUOHY Associated Press
April 23, 2014

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire — A New Hampshire priest who was the former leader of one of the nation’s top clergy treatment centers was sentenced Wednesday to up to 20 years in prison for stealing at least $104,000 from a hospital, a dead priest’s estate and the state’s Roman Catholic bishop.

Monsignor Edward Arsenault held several senior positions in the New Hampshire diocese from 1999 to 2009, when he became president and CEO of Saint Luke Institute in Maryland. He resigned in May after allegations arose involving an inappropriate adult relationship and misuse of church funds.

Arsenault pleaded guilty Wednesday to three felony theft charges, which included a theft of at least $104,000 from Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, where he had done some consulting. When his initial plea was announced in February, prosecutors would say only that he committed a felony in each case by stealing more than $1,500 from the hospital, the estate of a Manchester priest who died in 2010 and the bishop.

The plea agreement calls for Arsenault to serve 4 to 20 years in prison. He will go back to a judge after serving the minimum to determine if the sentence can be reduced.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

NEW YORK
Fox 23

BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. – Saratoga County Sheriff Michael Zurlo and Saratoga County District Attorney James Murphy III say a Roman Catholic priest has been arrested.

Authorities say James Taylor, 30, has been charged with misdemeanor Endangering the Welfare of a Child. Taylor was arrested on Tuesday.

The Sheriff’s Office said that between October 2013 and April 2014, Taylor engaged in an ongoing course of inappropriate conduct with a 15-year-old Clifton Park female. Taylor, who is currently a priest for the Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Schenectady, is accused of having physical contact, telephone calls, and text messages and photos with the teenager.

Taylor allegedly met the girl when he was serving as a Deacon and Youth Minister for the Corpus Christi Church in Clifton Park.

Taylor has been arraigned and released on his own recognizance to re-appear in the Town of Clifton Park Court at a later date.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
CBS Boston

CONCORD, N.H. (CBS/AP) — The former leader of one of the nation’s top clergy treatment centers pleaded guilty Wednesday to stealing at least $4,500 from a hospital, a dead priest’s estate and the state’s Roman Catholic bishop.

Msgr. Edward Arsenault held several senior positions in the New Hampshire diocese from 1999 to 2009 before becoming president and CEO of Saint Luke Institute in Maryland in 2009. He resigned in May 2013 after allegations arose involving an inappropriate adult relationship and misuse of church funds.

The attorney general’s office said in February that Arsenault waived indictment and would plead guilty to three felony theft charges.

The agreement was heard Wednesday morning in superior court in New Hampshire. During the hearing, prosecutors said Arsenault was in a relationship and used the stolen money to pay for a vacation.

“I broke the law. I’m truly and sincerely sorry,” Arsenault told the judge.

Arsenault will serve four-years in state prison and was ordered to pay $300,000 in restitution to the church and affected parties.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
New Hampshire Union Leader

By MARK HAYWARD
New Hampshire Union Leader

MANCHESTER — The right-hand man to former Manchester Bishop John McCormack was in a Manchester courtroom this morning and sentenced for stealing thousands of dollars from the Catholic church diocese, Catholic Medical Center and the estate of a fellow priest.

His sentence calls for the Rev. Msgr. Edward J. Arsenault III to pay restitution of $184,240 to the Diocese of Manchester and $104,000 to Catholic Medical Center.

The Rev. Msgr. Edward J. Arsenault III has already signaled his intent to plead guilty to the three felonies, and his lawyer and prosecutors have agreed to ask Superior Court Judge Diane Nicolosi for a four-year prison sentence.

(The sentencing hearing is still ongoing, and more details will be reported as they become available.)

Last May, the Diocese of Manchester announced that it had suspended Arsenault from his priestly duties, citing both illegal financial transactions and an “inappropriate adult relationship.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

OREGON
KOIN

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Another lawsuit has been filed against the Catholic Archdiocese of Portland by a man who says he was one of dozens of boys sexually abused by a priest in the 1960s and 1970s.

In the lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court in Portland, the 52-year-old man says he was molested by Maurice Grammond when the priest was assigned to a church in Seaside. The man was between 7 and 12 years old at the time.

The Oregonian reports (http://is.gd/ezD9Ui ) the complaint seeks $2 million.

The archdiocese said it “will work for a just resolution of the claim.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, April 23, 2014

For more info: David Clohessy, 314-566-9790, SNAPclohessy@aol.com

Abuse victims seek apology
Top Baptist official attacked them
He called support group “opportunistic”
Group wants to speak at SBC annual meeting

A victims group is asking the head of the Southern Baptist Convention to apologize for his “very hurtful comment” about the organization and for a chance to speak at the annual SBC meeting in Baltimore this summer.

Leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, are writing Frank Page hoping to talk about preventing clergy sex crimes before thousands of Baptist who will gather in Baltimore this summer. And they want Page to publicly apologize for what they call his “hurtful comment” in 2007 when he wrote that their group was “nothing more than opportunistic persons motivated by personal gain.”

[Ethics Daily]

“Publicly castigating brave clergy sex abuse survivors effectively demonizes and hurts already wounded men and women who were traumatized as kids,” said David Clohessy, executive director of SNAP. “We hope that, over the past few years, [Page will] have reflected on [his] words and realized the extraordinary harm he has caused,” Clohessy added.

He also said that SNAP has “25 year of experience working with victims,” so the organization “can help SBC get their abuse policy and handling of victims where it needs to be.”

Among other reforms, SNAP urges church officials, including Southern Baptist officials, to establish review boards to hear molestation reports and instituting and enforcing a ‘zero-tolerance’ policy.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

NEW YORK
Albany Times Union

By Dennis Yusko
Updated 10:37 am, Wednesday, April 23, 2014

BALLSTON SPA – A priest in the Albany Roman Catholic Diocese has been arrested and the Saratoga County District Attorney’s office says the charge involves an offense committed against a “minor female.”

Officials identified him as James Michael Taylor, 30.

Authorities have not yet released charges he faces.

District Attorney James A. Murphy III and Sheriff Michael H. Zurlo will discuss the arrest at a 10:30 a.m. news conference.

Taylor was ordained in 2012. He was raised in a Protestant family in Georgia and began his conversion to Catholicism while a freshman in college. …

Murphy called it important that the child’s parents went to authorities rather than try to work out a secret agreement with the diocese, saying “a civil complaint would not have been appropriate remedy in this case.”…
The diocese released a statement about the arrest late Wednesday morning, stating that the diocese “notified law enforcement authorities in Saratoga County Monday afternoon immediately after receiving a complaint concerning a Diocesan priest and his alleged contact with a minor.”

The diocese said Scharfenberger placed the priest on administrative leave after his arraignment Tuesday and promised to “cooperate fully with the investigation.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, April 23, 2014

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

The long-time second-in-command of the New Hampshire Catholic diocese, Msgr. Edward Arsenault (he has not been defrocked), is being sentenced Wednesday, April 23 after pleading guilty to theft.

[Religion News Service]

[New Hampshire Union Leader]

Most recently, Msgr. Arsenault was paid $170,000 to head St. Luke’s Institute in Maryland, which has housed hundreds of predator priests over many years.

We hope he gets the longest sentence possible. That would be justice for each of the three groups he stole from – a family, a hospital and the Catholic faithful of New Hampshire.

A long sentence would show New Hampshire citizens that no one is above the law and would deter thefts and abuse of power by other officials in the future.

A short sentence would show New Hampshire citizens that Catholic officials continue to use their power to protect themselves and their colleagues, and that there are different standards for regular people and for those who claim to be religious figures.

A long sentence would also be some measure of justice for the dozens of victims who were sexually violated by New Hampshire priests who were quietly protected by Msgr. Arsenault and his Catholic colleagues for decades while they deceived parishioners, destroyed evidence, transferred predators, misled police, stonewalled prosecutors, intimidated witnesses, and discredited whistleblowers so they could protect their assets, reputations and clerical careers.

Our hearts ache for New Hampshire clergy sex abuse victims and Catholics who have been betrayed, time and time again, by Msgr. Arsenault and his colleagues and supervisors in clergy sex abuse and cover up cases.

Msgr. Arsenault has repeatedly defended the indefensible by denying, minimizing, mischaracterizing devastating crimes against children. He is a self-serving charlatan.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED STATES
The New York Times

Maureen Dowd

WASHINGTON — There were some disturbing elements to the Easter Mass I attended at Nativity, my childhood church.

The choral director sang “Amazing Grace” to the tune of “Danny Boy.” The pews were half-empty on the church’s most sacred day.

My sister reminisced about my christening, when the elderly Monsignor Coady turned away while he was dedicating me to the Blessed Virgin and I started rolling off the altar, propelling my gasping mother to rush up and catch me.

But it was most upsetting as a prelude to next Sunday. In an unprecedented double pontiff canonization, Pope John Paul II will be enshrined as a saint in a ceremony at St. Peter’s Basilica.

The Vatican had a hard time drumming up the requisite two miracles when Pope Benedict XVI, known as John Paul’s Rasputin and enforcer of the orthodoxy, waived the traditional five-year waiting period and rushed to canonize his mentor. But the real miracle is that it will happen at all. John Paul was a charmer, and a great man in many ways. But given that he presided over the Catholic Church during nearly three decades of a gruesome pedophilia scandal and grotesque cover-up, he ain’t no saint. …

One of John Paul’s great shames was giving Vatican sanctuary to Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, a horrendous enabler of child abuse who resigned in disgrace in 2002 as archbishop of Boston. Another unforgivable breach was the pope’s stubborn defense of the dastardly Mexican priest Marcial Maciel Degollado, a pedophile, womanizer, embezzler and drug addict.

As Jason Berry wrote last year in Newsweek, Father Maciel “was the greatest fund-raiser for the postwar Catholic Church and equally its greatest criminal.”

His order, the Legionaries of Christ, which he ran like a cult and ATM for himself and the Vatican for 65 years, denounced him posthumously in February for his “reprehensible and objectively immoral behavior.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

AUSTRALIA
Maribymong and Hobsons Bay Weekly

By Goya Dmytryshchak 22/04/2014

A Catholic brother charged with sexually abusing four children at Altona and Altona North is facing an allegation of abuse in the US, according to a US report.

Bernard Joseph Hartman, 74, has entered pleas of not guilty to 14 counts of indecent assault, two counts of gross indecency with a girl under 16, and two counts of assault.

Police allege the offences happened at St Paul’s College at Altona North and at Altona homes between 1976 and 1982.

According to the US report, an alleged victim contacted church officials after media coverage of the Australian case. Reverend Ronald Lengwin, of Pittsburgh, said the allegation had been turned over to the “appropriate legal authorities”.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The judge in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee’s bankruptcy is scheduled to take up its reorganization plan in October. But lawyers for the creditors committee said Tuesday that they would file a motion aimed at throwing out the plan before then.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Susan V. Kelley on Tuesday scheduled a four-day hearing on the reorganization plan for Oct. 14 to Oct. 17, with the understanding that the lawyers for the creditors committee would file their motion.

They contend that Kelley has no authority to approve the plan — which includes the settlement of a lawsuit over $60 million in a cemetery trust created by the archdiocese — while that lawsuit is pending before the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Attorneys for the archdiocese accused the creditors committee of trying to delay the process.

The archdiocese sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 2011 to deal with its mounting sexual abuse claims. Under the reorganization plan it proposed in February, it would set aside up to $4 million for abuse survivors and create a $500,000 therapy fund, among other provisions. The plan also would settle the pending litigation over the cemetery trust, which abuse survivors allege was created to shield the funds in the event of lawsuits.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Daily Journal

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First Posted: April 23, 2014

CONCORD, New Hampshire — A judge is set to rule on a deal that would send the former leader of one of the nation’s top clergy treatment centers to prison for up to 16 years for stealing at least $4,500 from a hospital, a dead priest’s estate and the state’s Roman Catholic bishop.

Msgr. Edward Arsenault held several senior positions in the New Hampshire diocese from 1999 to 2009 before becoming president and CEO of Saint Luke Institute in Maryland in 2009. He resigned in May 2013 after allegations arose involving an inappropriate adult relationship and misuse of church funds.

The attorney general’s office said in February that Arsenault waived indictment and will plead guilty to three felony theft charges.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
New Hampshire Union Leader

By MARK HAYWARD
New Hampshire Union Leader

MANCHESTER — The right-hand man to former Manchester Bishop John McCormack is slated to appear in a Manchester courtroom this morning to be sentenced for stealing thousands of dollars from the Catholic church diocese, Catholic Medical Center and the estate of a fellow priest.

The Rev. Msgr. Edward J. Arsenault III has already signaled his intent to plead guilty to the three felonies, and his lawyer and prosecutors have agreed to ask Superior Court Judge Diane Nicolosi for a four-year prison sentence.

Last May, the Diocese of Manchester announced that it had suspended Arsenault from his priestly duties, citing both illegal financial transactions and an “inappropriate adult relationship.”

Some details of the investigation are expected to be disclosed this morning:

• Court records at this point only say that Arsenault stole more than $1,500 in each of the three thefts charges he faces. The amount is the legal benchmark that makes each theft a Class A felony; the exact sums are expected to come out in court today, said Jane Young, a prosecutor in the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office.

• Less will likely be revealed about the CMC investigation. Young said Arsenault’s role in the CMC theft will be dealt with today. But the investigation is continuing, and that includes whether anyone else will be charged in the crime, she said.

• It’s unclear how much information will come out about the adult relationship. While not a criminal matter for Arsenault, the relationship appears to be a violation of the pledge of celibacy that a priest takes.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED KINGDOM
Croyden Advertiser

By Gareth_Davies | Posted: April 23, 2014

A CATHOLIC priest accused of sexually assaulting a teenage boy is still waiting to learn whether he can return to work.

Francis Moran has been withdrawn from St Andrew’s Roman Catholic Church, in Brook Road, Thornton Heath, since being arrested in September 2012.

Canon Moran was questioned by police after a man in his 30s made allegations of abuse dating back to when he was in his early teens but, last July, the priest was told he would face no further action as there was insufficient evidence to arrest or caution him.

Since then the Archdiocese of Southwark, where Canon Moran worked as a safeguarding officer, has been conducting its own investigation before deciding whether he should return to church life.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

NETHERLANDS
News Pakistan

The Dutch Supreme Court has banned the Martijn group, which promoted pedophilia in the name of freedom of expression and association, both enshrined in the Constitution. The judges have decided, however, that “physical and psychological integrity of the child just when you need protection and is far more important than dependent older people.” The ruling also states that “this type of contact is contrary to the values of the Dutch society and can affect a child for life.” The decision follows the advice of the State Attorney General and ends a long judicial process that had been dragging on since 2011. It further forces the dissolution of the group, whose president was in jail for possession of child pornography.

Although child abuse is against the Dutch law, it was not easy to get rid of Martijn. Founded in 1982, its members have always asserted “discussion forum for social acceptance of sex between adults and children (from 12 years) provided they are voluntary and sanctioned by the parents.” In 2011, the Ministry of Justice decided to promote such an idea, even reprehensible, was part of the freedom of expression. A year later, however, the courts ruled that the ideology of pro pedophilia itself contradicted the norms of Dutch society, and ordered its dissolution. In 2013, that ruling was overturned, this time in the name of freedom of association. State Attorney General then appealed to the Supreme court and has now won the case.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

23 April, 2014

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse today released an issues paper on the effectiveness of redress schemes in relation to child sexual abuse in institutions.

Royal Commission CEO Janette Dines said Issues Paper 6 inquired into what institutions and governments should do to ensure justice for survivors of child sexual abuse in Australian institutions through the provision of redress.

“Redress schemes in Australia have taken various forms, including financial compensation, provision of services, recognition and apologies,” Ms Dines said.

“The Royal Commission is required under its terms of reference to consider the role of redress in addressing and alleviating the impact of child sexual abuse. This is a very important part of the Royal Commission’s inquiries.

“The Royal Commission is seeking submissions from interested individuals, government and non-government organisations on the matters raised in Issues Paper 6.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CIUDAD DEL VATICANO
Caracol (Colombia)

La Santa Sede rechazó las acusaciones de que el papa Juan Pablo II -quien será declarado santo el domingo- hizo caso omiso a uno de los escándalos de abuso sexual que más daño le ha hecho a la iglesia católica.

Un portavoz del Vaticano dijo que no hay evidencia que vincule personalmente a Juan Pablo II con el caso de un sacerdote mexicano fundador de la orden religiosa Legionarios de Cristo y quien terminó siendo expuesto como un abusador de adolescentes.

Durante muchos años el sacerdote Marcial Maciel, fundador de los Legionarios de Cristo, fue un visitante asiduo al Vaticano durante el papado de Juan Pablo II.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CANADA
Canada.com

Residential-school records may not arrive in time for aboriginal commission’s final report, director says

Mark Kennedy
Published: April 22, 2014

OTTAWA — The federal government, after months of delay, is hiring a firm to sort through millions of documents at Library and Archives Canada so they can be passed on to the commission probing the aboriginal residential school saga.

But concerns are already being raised from that group, The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Its executive director, Kimberly Murray, said Tuesday she is worried the records will trickle in and arrive too late to be used for the commission’s report.

That multi-volume report is now being written and will be released by June 2015 but must be finished months before then so it can be translated and edited.

“They know we have to do all that,” a frustrated Murray said of the government. “They know it takes a year to do all that.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CANADA
The Globe and Mail

STEVE RENNIE
OTTAWA — The Canadian Press
Published Tuesday, Apr. 22 2014

After wrapping up nearly four years of public hearings, and with the clock ticking on a final report on the legacy of physical and sexual abuse at Indian residential schools, a pile of new documents is about to land on the doorstep of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

It has been more than a year since an Ontario court ordered the federal government to hand over reams of material to the commission.

The inquiry was supposed to end in July, but its mandate has been extended by a year.

Even with the extra time, researchers are still under the gun to sort through the latest additions to the millions of documents the government has already provided. Early estimates indicate tens of thousands of boxes are in storage at four different Library and Archives Canada locations. “Preliminary estimates identify up to 60,000 boxes of material … requiring review,” says a procurement notice. “A significant portion of these documents are not available in a digitized and searchable format, which is a requirement for the disclosure of documents to the TRC.”

The contract to put the documents into such a format is expected to run until July 2015, when the commission ends.

The commission’s executive director, Kimberly Murray, said she expects documents will still be coming in next summer.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CANADA
Winnipeg Free Press

By: Danelle Cloutier
Posted: 04/23/2014

Almost one-third of adult Canadians were abused as a child and many of them struggle with mental-health issues, according to a study led by a University of Manitoba professor.

Study lead and U of M professor Tracie Afifi said her findings that 32 per cent of adult Canadians have experienced child abuse is consistent with the rate of child abuse in other countries.

“I think people often don’t realize how prevalent child abuse is in Canada and that we really need to be investing in preventing child abuse from occurring,” said Afifi, an associate professor in the departments of community health sciences and psychiatry.

Afifi’s team of researchers from the University of Manitoba took data from more than 23,000 adults 18 and older from across Canada who participated in the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey: Mental Health.

Details of the study were released Tuesday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MINNESOTA
KARE

[with video]

Jay Olstad, KARE

MINNEAPOLIS – In a newly released deposition Tuesday, Archbishop John Nienstedt claimed he was unaware of clergy sex abuse during his tenure.

CLICK HERE FOR TRANSCRIPTS OF THE DEPOSITION OF ARCHBISHOP JOHN NIENSTEDT

He also claimed that one of his top deputies advised him not to write down conversations they had about clergy misconduct, advice he said he followed.

A judge ordered the deposition, which is part of a lawsuit filed against the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. It took place April 2 and lasted four hours.

Attorney Jeff Anderson pressed Nienstedt on many topics, including why the archbishop did not inform parishioners they had priests working in their churches with allegations of child sexual misconduct

“I believe that we felt that we could monitor the situation without making a total disclosure to the people,” said Nienstedt.

Nienstedt claimed church officials have always turned over information to police, but only if they first found evidence they deemed to be credible of illegal behavior.

“So is it your position and practice that you don’t turn it over unless they ask?” asked Anderson. “That is correct,” responded Nienstedt.

Nienstedt put a lot of the responsibility on Father Kevin McDonough, former Vicar General. In fact, he admitted that McDonough told him not to put some of their discussions in writing because it may end up in a lawsuit.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Sun-Times

BY FRANCINE KNOWLES Religion Reporter April 22, 2014

A Chicago Catholic priest, who became the subject of a second child abuse allegation on Monday, will remain in active ministry but will not be alone with children, the archdiocese of Chicago said Tuesday.

The Rev. Michael W. O’Connell was reinstated last week to active ministry as pastor of St. Alphonsus Catholic Parish on the North Side after a sexual abuse allegation lodged against him in December was deemed unfounded following investigations by the Cook County Sheriff’s office and the archdiocese.

“This morning, a person with information regarding alleged abuse of a minor that happened 15 years ago, met with officials from the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Office for the Protection of Children and Youth,” archdiocese spokeswoman Susan Burritt said in an emailed statement Tuesday.

“The Office for Child Abuse Investigations and Review will review the limited information provided and discuss the matter with the Independent Review Board for its advice,” the statement said.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CHICAGO (IL)
Daily Reporter

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First Posted: April 22, 2014

CHICAGO — The Cook County Sheriff’s office says it is reopening an investigation of sexual abuse allegations made against a Roman Catholic priest.

Father Michael W. O’Connell stepped down as pastor of St. Alphonsus Parish in Chicago in December 2013 after allegations he engaged in sexual misconduct while assigned to Our Lady of the Woods Parish in Orland Park. The Archdiocese of Chicago last week reactivated O’Connell after the sheriff’s department concluded there’s no evidence he abused a minor 20 years ago.

An unidentified man, speaking Monday at a Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests news conference, alleged he witnessed O’Connell behaving improperly at a gym years ago.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CANADA
The Telegram

Mark Rendell Special to The Telegram
Published on April 22, 2014

The Supreme Court of Canada will announce Thursday whether Guardian Insurance Co. has to continue paying for the sins of the Roman Catholic Episcopal Corp. of
St. John’s.

The decision is part of a 20-year dispute between Guardian and the administrative arm of the Catholic Church in

St. John’s over whether the insurance company has to pay indemnities to victims of sexual abuse by priests.

It goes back to 1989, when a minor filed a claim against the Episcopal Corp. related to allegations of sexual abuse by James Hickey, a priest in the St. John’s diocese, between 1982 and 1988.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

PENNSYLVANIA
Tribune-Review

By Patrick Cloonan

Published: Wednesday, April 23, 2014

An Episcopal priest known in the Mon-Yough area for his work as a Pittsburgh oldies disc jockey was sentenced to five years in prison for downloading child pornography.

In Pittsburgh on Tuesday Chief U.S. District Judge Joy Flowers Conti imposed the sentence as well as a 10-year probation to follow on the Rev. Charles W. Appel Jr., 72, of Ben Avon.

Appel pleaded guilty to receiving video depicting sexual exploitation of minor boys from a Canadian firm, Azov. He was indicted on Sept. 26, 2013, on charges of receiving such videos on 29 occasions.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn J. Bloch prosecuted the case, brought as part of the eight-year-old federal Project Safe Childhood initiative aimed at combatting child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

WEST VIRGINIA
Bluefield Daily Telegraph

CHARLES OWENS
Bluefield Daily Telegraph

BLUEFIELD — A Bluefield man who police say used a promise of magical spells to lure children into committing sexual acts with him remains incarcerated at the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver on multiple sexual assault and sexual abuse charges.

Police say James “Jim” Irvin, 57, of Bluefield, claims to be a “warlock” and used his wiccan religion to allegedly get close to the children and ultimately sexually abuse them. Irvin was arrested Monday and arraigned on five counts of sexual assault and 10 counts of sexual abuse involving juveniles. The victims in the case were 3, 9 and 13 years of age at the time of the alleged abuse, according to Detective K.L. Adams of the Bluefield Police Department.

Irvin remained incarcerated Tuesday in lieu of a $100,000 bond set by Mercer County Magistrate Susan Honaker. A preliminary hearing for Irvin has been set for April 30 before Magistrate Jim Dent.

Also Tuesday, David Clohessy, director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priest, issued a statement to the Daily Telegraph regarding the case.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

VATICAN CITY
Denver Post

By The Associated Press
POSTED: 04/23/2014

VATICAN CITY — The Polish priest who has spearheaded the case to make Pope John Paul II a saint said Tuesday that no documentation exists linking the pontiff personally to the scandal of the Legion of Christ religious order.

John Paul and his closest advisers had held up the legion and its late founder, the Rev. Marcial Maciel, as a model for the faithful, even though the Vatican for decades had documentation with credible allegations that Maciel was a pedophile and drug addict with a questionable spiritual life.

Monsignor Slawomir Oder, the postulator for John Paul’s sainthood case, didn’t mention John Paul’s closest advisers, who were among Maciel’s staunchest supporters. These cardinals still were praising Maciel’s work years after the Vatican in 2006 ordered him to observe a lifetime of penance and prayer for having sexually abused seminarians.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

VATICAN CITY
Radio New Zealand

The Vatican has dismissed allegations that Pope John Paul II – who it will declare a saint on Sunday – turned a blind eye towards one of the Catholic Church’s most damaging scandals.

John Paul is accused by a number of commentators of failing to come to grips with the sexual abuse crisis and highlighted by the Vatican’s warm welcome to a priest who became known as a serial abuser.

More than 1 million people are expected to attend the ceremony at the Vatican, at which Pope John XXII, who reigned from 1958 to 1963, will also be made a saint.

John Paul is being fast-tracked to sainthood, only nine years after his death, and an all-time record, the BBC reports.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press

By Emily Gurnon
egurnon@pioneerpress.com
POSTED: 04/22/2014

The top official in the Twin Cities archdiocese said in a sworn deposition that he learned early on about priests who had been accused of sexually abusing children but believed only “certain people in parishes” needed to know.

Archbishop John Nienstedt said he has since changed his mind about that.

Plaintiff’s attorney Jeff Anderson and his co-counsel Michael Finnegan made public Tuesday morning the 200-page written transcript and selected video clips from Nienstedt’s April 2 deposition, taken as part of a lawsuit by an alleged abuse victim.

As Anderson held his press conference, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis also released the written transcript via email to the media and posted it on its website.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED STATES
Star Tribune

Article by: PAT FERGUSON HANSON Updated: April 22, 2014

How could this happen? A window into the culture that protected pedophile priests.

I have often referred positively to the parish of my youth as the village that helped to raise me. I have used the term “village” in the same way Hillary Rodham Clinton did in her book, the title of which was attributed to an African proverb: It takes a village to raise a child. It has shaken me to the core to learn that one of the priests assigned to the parish of my youth is on “the list” that the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis recently submitted to civil authorities. This is the list of priests for whom the church has credible evidence of sexual abuse. My four siblings and I all attended our parish school; my brothers served as altar boys. I thank God we came out whole.

Long before I learned that our parish priest appeared on this list, I had to ask myself how this kind of abuse could happen over and over in the Catholic Church. What was it that kept sexual crimes against children from seeing the light of day? I used to say that if I could understand something, I could accept it. But that is not the case here. I can never accept the fact that grown men — guardians of the church — came to seriously harm the very people they took vows to help. But I can share with you how I think these things came to be.

I am no longer Catholic, but I was for more than 60 years. During that time, I came to learn a fair amount about the culture of the church, and my focus in graduate school was on cultural anthropology.

Everyone knows that Catholic priests are not allowed to marry and that they take vows of celibacy. What kind of man is attracted to the priesthood? Well, for one, men who believe they can spend a lifetime not having sex with women. Now, for some, this is not a sacrifice. They are gay. I have personally known a number of them. If you were a homosexual Catholic male growing up in a homophobic society and did not care to ever have sex with women, becoming a priest might be seen as an attractive option. In the priesthood you could escape discrimination for your sexual orientation and be surrounded by people who share your spiritual goals and beliefs. I have repeatedly read that gay men do not engage in pedophilia any more than straight men do. But those straight men who are not priests have traditionally had many legitimate outlets for expressing their sexual desires. This has not been the case for celibate priests. I believe that when suppressed, even healthy sexual desires can become twisted. And what can be more twisted than preying on the very children one is charged with protecting?

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CHICAGO (IL)
WLS

[with video]

Chuck Goudie

April 22, 2014 (CHICAGO) (WLS) — A popular North Side Roman Catholic pastor, Father Michael O’Connell, is curbing contact with children until the latest sexual abuse allegation against him can be investigated, the ABC7 I-Team has learned.

O’Connell, pastor at St. Alphonsus Church in Lakeview, is once again under investigation by officials of the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Cook County Sheriff’s Department, after just being reinstated a week ago. The latest controversy comes after a former south suburban resident claims to have witnessed lewd acts by Father O’Connell 16 years ago in the locker room of a local health club.

The alleged sexual misconduct is said to have occurred in the late 1990s when O’Connell was assigned to Our Lady of the Woods in Orland Park.

The former south suburban resident says he contacted the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, SNAP, after learning that O’Connell was being reinstated after an investigation of a sex abuse claim made last December. That first accusation prompted O’Connell to “voluntarily” step aside from ministry during the investigation.

Now in his 30’s, the new accuser told police and church investigators on Tuesday that he saw Father O’Connell molest a teenage boy at a gym on S. Harlem Avenue.

“I saw Mike in the locker room with this young man who was sitting on the bench in the locker room and Mike had his, he was behind him and he had his hands down his pants in the frontal section,” the man told the I-Team.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MINNESOTA
dotCommonweal

[with video]

Grant Gallicho

On April 2, Archbishop John Nienstedt of St. Paul and Minneapolis was deposed by attorney Jeff Anderson as part of a lawsuit filed by a man who claims he was molested by a priest in the 1970s. The plaintiff alleges that the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, along with the Diocese of Winona, created a public nuisance by failing to disclose information about clerics accused of sexual abuse. At a press conference this afternoon, Anderson released a slightly redacted transcript of the deposition. The archdiocese posted the transcript and full video to its website, noting that Anderson did not ask any questions about the abuse allegations that occasioned the deposition.

The wide-ranging and often contentious conversation reveals an archbishop who felt comfortable delegating authority to deal with the abuse crisis–even though he’s “a hands-on person”–and who still believes that he and his delegates have done a good job handling the problem. According to Nienstedt’s sworn testimony, one of those delegates recommended that conversations regarding accused priests shouldn’t be put in writing because they could be discovered in litigation.

“You followed his advice, didn’t you?” Anderson asked the archbishop.

“In terms of?”

“Not putting things into writing.”

“Yes,” Nienstedt replied.

The man who offered that advice, according to Nienstedt, is Fr. Kevin McDonough. He served as vicar general under the previous archbishop, Harry Flynn, and then as “delegate for safe environment” under Nienstedt. Last week, a task force created by Nienstedt to investigate diocesan abuse procedures sharply criticized McDonough for mishandling reports of clergy misdonfuct.

McDonough features in two troubling cases brought to light after Nienstedt’s former top canon lawyer, Jennifer Haselberger, went to the police and the press with her concerns about how the archdiocese had handled them. In one case, McDonough objected to the archdiocesan review board’s recommendation to warn a parish staff that their new pastor had a history of sexual misconduct (with adults), which included allegedly propositioning a nineteen and twenty-year-old at a bookstore, trying to pick up teenagers at gas station, driving drunk, and being spotted by a cop cruising for sex. That priest–and he is still a priest–is Fr. Curtis Wehmeyer. He’s in jail for molesting children and possessing child pornography. Among his victims were the children of a parish employee.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MINNESOTA
Mankato Free Press

AMY FORLITI Associated Press

ST. PAUL — Twin Cities Archbishop John Nienstedt said in a recent sworn deposition that he hasn’t reprimanded or disciplined anyone for the way church officials have handled allegations of clergy sexual abuse, and he doesn’t think he should have, according to a recording of the deposition that was made public Tuesday.

During the interview, the head of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis said he does not believe any priests or church leaders mishandled allegations of abuse. He also said his staff told him there was nobody in ministry who had credible accusations of child abuse made against them, and that he believed another church official was responsible for notifying parish officials about problem priests.

Attorneys for victims of alleged sexual abuse by priests said the deposition, recorded April 2, shows an ongoing practice of denial and deflecting responsibility. Attorney Jeff Anderson said Nienstedt lied during the deposition, but when asked what he believed was a lie, he said there has been a “longstanding pattern of deceit and deception.”

In response to Anderson’s comments, Jim Accurso, a spokesman for the archdiocese, told The Associated Press that Nienstedt “was under oath when he gave that deposition.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

OREGON
Oregonian

By Helen Jung | hjung@oregonian.com

A 52-year-old Oregon man is suing the Archdiocese of Portland, saying he was one of a dozens of boys that former pedophilic priest Maurice Grammond sexually abused in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Portland, alleges that while Grammond was assigned to Our Lady of Victory in Seaside, he molested the plaintiff, who was between 7 and 12 years old at the time. The plaintiff, who filed the complaint under the pseudonym Mark Roe, suppressed the memories of the sex abuse and did not realize its connection with his depression, anxiety and substance abuse until fall 2013, the lawsuit states.

The complaint seeks $2 million in pain and suffering and unspecified punitive damages from the archdiocese for sexual battery of a child, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence. The archdiocese knew of several reports by families that Grammond had sexually abused boys but failed to take any action to protect children from Grammond, the complaint alleges.

In a statement, the archdiocese said, “The protection of children is vitally important to the Archdiocese of Portland. We continue to work to ensure a safe environment at all of our parishes and schools. We are saddened to hear of these allegations from 40 years ago in Seaside. We will consider this lawsuit carefully, and we will work for a just resolution of the claim.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

VATICAN CITY
inSerbia

VATICAN CITY – An appeal by Holocaust survivors and their heirs from former Yugoslavia and Ukraine has been sent to Cardinal-Prefect George Pell.

Cardinal Pell was recently appointed by Pope Francis to head up the new Vatican Secretariat of the Economy with unprecedented power over secretive Vatican finances including the troublesome Vatican Bank.

Since 1999 the Holocaust survivors have been requesting the scandal plagued Vatican Bank audit accounts alleged to contain Holocaust era assets looted from the Balkans and Ukraine. About 30 current and former Vatican Bank accounts have been identified as suspect including accounts controlled by the Franciscan Order and various Dioceses.

The appeal also includes declassified documents from the US National Archives requested in 2000 but only produced 12 years later which establish both the British and Americans were certain the Vatican was harboring a major Nazi war criminal, Ante Pavelic, the brutal ruler of World War Two era Croatia.

Pavelic was the source of the Ustasha Treasury which consisted of funds looted from Serbs, Jews, Roma, and Ukrainians during the genocide of over 500,000 people in wartime Yugoslavia.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MONTANA
Missoulian

Associated Press

HELENA — An order of nuns being sued for child sex abuse wants to bring the Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena back into state court.

Attorneys for the Ursuline Sisters of the Western Province say they may seek to have the diocese to pay for part of any judgment that goes against the order.

They want a judge to lift a stay in legal proceedings against the diocese granted when it filed for federal bankruptcy protection.

The Ursulines and the diocese are being sued by 362 alleged abuse victims from the 1940s to the 1970s.

The bankruptcy is part of a proposed settlement with the victims. The Ursulines are not part of the settlement

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MINNESOTA
The New Civil Rights Movement

by DAVID BADASH on APRIL 22, 2014

After much stonewalling, the archbishop of Minneapolis and St. Paul finally testified in a four-hour court deposition on April 2 about his role in managing child sex abuse cases, and his comments can only be described as damning.

Archbishop John Nienstedt claimed to have no knowledge that known child sexual abusers were working under his nose during his current six-year tenure, claimed to have delegated all duties surrounding allegations and follow-up of child sex abuse cases, admitted to actively hiding information of priests suspected of child abuse, and even admitted that his diocese had never handed over to law enforcement authorities a single complete case file.

One of the plaintiffs’ attorneys is accusing Nienstedt of lying under oath. “We have a serious pattern of deceit and deception by this archbishop and his predecessors,” Jeff Anderson says, according to Minnesota Public Radio.

Throughout the contentious questioning, Nienstedt portrayed himself as a leader who relied on others to handle the clergy sexual abuse crisis. He professed little knowledge of the scandal within his archdiocese and said he assumed it was safe for children. Nienstedt said it “didn’t occur” to him to ask for a list of abusive priests when he arrived in 2007 and that he didn’t review any clergy files. He said he did not know that one priest had pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a boy in the 1980s or that another was receiving secret disability payments for pedophilia. Several of his statements are contradicted by internal documents obtained by MPR News.

“Typically, I’m a hands-on person, but I have to delegate responsibilities,” Nienstedt testified.

And later:

“Do you think you’re doing a good job?” Anderson said.

“I believe I am, yes,” Nienstedt said.

“When Nienstedt became archbishop in 2008, he said he had a briefing with key archdiocese officials about clergy abuse,” the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports. “He testified he didn’t remember any names of abusive priests mentioned at the time, how many were being monitored, and even the names of the archdiocese officials present.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED STATES
Associated Baptist Press

By Bob Allen

A victims’ advocate says there is a glaring omission at this week’s summit for Southern Baptist pastors on sexual issues — any mention on the program about the church’s response to sexual abuse.

Amy Smith, a lifelong Southern Baptist who works with Catholics and people from other denominations in an advocacy organization called the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, found the subject “noticeably absent” among topics being covered in the April 21-23 “leadership summit” sponsored by the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.

“How can a summit on ‘The Gospel and Human Sexuality’ not include a topic on the pervasive, devastating, destructive issue of sexual abuse?” Smith asked April 22. “Sexual abuse ravages the lives and souls of people that we hope that churches would be trying to minister to, yet the ERLC doesn’t devote a session, or even a breakout session or panel, to cover how pastors and churches should properly respond to abuse allegations to pursue justice, heal the wounded and protect kids in their midst.”

Leaders of SNAP, a support-and-advocacy group begun in response to the abuse crisis in the Roman Catholic Church a decade ago, have questioned the inclusion on the summit program of a Mississippi Baptist pastor whose church was at the center of controversy about its long-time music minister who pleaded guilty to sexual abuse of multiple boys committed decades earlier.

Greg Belser, pastor of Morrison Heights Baptist Church in Clinton, Miss., agreed with other members of a panel at the ERLC summit discussing “The Gospel and Homosexuality” that the time has come for pastors to get rid of “redneck theology” — repeating clichés and claims about sexual orientation that aren’t backed up by the facts.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED STATES
POPE FRANCIS the CON-Christ.

Paris Arrow

Updated April 22, 2014

Since Pope Francis can reincarnate magically the real flesh-and-blood of Christ in the Eucharist daily, for sure John Paul II must have reincarnated himself in Pope Francis for he has become an instant rock star (from Argentina to the Vatican) with his polls ever rising as Archbishop Dolan boasted today (read news below). Most of all, John Paul II must have reincarnated his papal ruse to cover-up the worst crimes of the Vatican against children – which the UN condemned last February – because Pope Francis is likewise covering up the biggest heist in mankind’s history between the Vatican Bank and Switzerland, the other “little” country the pope owns. The greater the powers of the pope, the greater are his crimes, thanks to the cover-ups by the Opus Dei Beast PR Deceits Team.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

OREGON
KTVZ

[note: The issue between Father Radloff and the Catholic bishop does not involve an allegation of abuse.]

BEND, Ore. –
More than six months after his removal as pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Bend, a move that sparked controversy in the congregation and an unsuccessful appeal to the Vatican, Father James Radloff announced Tuesday he is resigning from the Roman Catholic Church and will start a new parish in Bend, affiliated with the Evangelical Catholic Diocese of the Northwest.

Here’s the full statement issued by the Evangelical Catholic Diocese Tuesday morning:

“After a prolonged period of personal and spiritual discernment, Father James Radloff, in accordance with the Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church, has submitted his resignation from the order of the presbyterate of the Roman Catholic Church and his resignation as a member of the Roman Catholic Church to Bishop Liam Cary of the Diocese of Baker effective April 22, 2014.

“On May 16th, 2014, Father Radloff will make his Profession of Faith with the Evangelical Catholic Church and will petition the Evangelical Catholic Diocese of the Northwest to begin the process of Clerical Incardination.

“Father Radloff stresses, “Though I leave the Diocese of Baker as a priest in good standing, my decision to take this step may not be interpreted by Bishop Cary or his Chancery as a nolo contendere response to the meaningless direct, indirect, inferred or implied charges leveled against me. My response to all the issues Bishop Carey has inferred against me remains an unconditional not guilty.”

“Father Radloff, who was ordered by Bishop Cary to return to his family home in Orland Park Illinois on October 1st, 2013, plans to return to Bend Oregon in June after he has been granted transitional faculties to function as a priest of the Evangelical Catholic Diocese of the Northwest. Upon his return Father Radloff will begin responding to requests by the laity to establish a new mission parish of the ECC in Central Oregon.

“Bishop James Alan Wilkowski, Bishop for the Evangelical Catholic Diocese of the Northwest, is “pleased to welcome Father Radloff into our catholic community of faith and l look forward to sharing with him the directions we both shall be called upon by the Holy Spirit in providing sacramental and pastoral care to the People of God within the State of Oregon.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CHICAGO (IL)
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago

April 21, 2014

The Archdiocese of Chicago is committed to the protection of children and youth and responds compassionately and thoroughly to all allegations received. The Archdiocese has continuously invited victims to come forward, regardless of how long ago the abuse took place.

We are disappointed that SNAP’s information today was presented to the media at a street-corner press conference directly outside the Archdiocese. We are further concerned that SNAP has been in communication with an individual “for several weeks,” and only now is making the information known to authorities and the Archdiocese. We look forward to meeting with the person and listening to his information. If SNAP has any additional information or other accusations, it is imperative that they bring it forward immediately.

Finally, in the comments Barbara Blaine made today, she claims that Cardinal George removed and reinstated three priests before removing them permanently. This is totally false. None of the priests mentioned by Blaine were withdrawn and reinstated by the Cardinal.

The abuse of any child is a crime and a sin. The Archdiocese encourages anyone who has been sexually abused by a priest, deacon, religious, lay employee or volunteer, to come forward. Complete information about reporting sexual abuse can be found on the Archdiocesan website under Protecting Children at www.archchicago.org or by calling the Office for Child Abuse Investigations and Review, 312-534-5205 or 1-800-994-6200, or the Office of Assistance Ministry, 312-534-8267 or toll-free at 866-517-4528.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

OREGON
National Catholic Reporter

[note: The issue between Fr. Radloff and the Catholic bishop does not involve abuse allegations.]

Dan Morris-Young | Apr. 22, 2014

Fr. James Radloff’s status as a priest in good standing in the diocese of Baker, Ore., has come to an end as he announced in an open letter Tuesday that he is leaving the Roman Catholic Church to “continue my journey as a priest” with a breakaway denomination, the Evangelical Catholic Church.

In addition, Radloff told NCR he has sent a demand through his civil attorney to Baker Bishop Liam Cary to “turn over a complete copy of my personnel records, and everything he used to make his decision.”

That decision was to implement a formal removal of Radloff as pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Bend, effective Oct. 1, 2013. At the time of the ouster, Cary praised Radloff’s ministry at the diocese’s largest and Bend’s only parish. The bishop said Radloff remained a priest in good standing and had done nothing illegal. Cary refused to reveal the reasons for the termination, stating that he was “not at liberty to do so.”

No change in Radloff’s status with the diocese was announced even after the Vatican Congregation for Clergy rejected the pastor’s appeal of Cary’s action. Dated Jan. 31 and made public in Bend on Feb. 14, the ruling let Cary’s removal of Radloff stand, allowed the bishop to keep the reasons private, and did not require lifting the ban on public ministry imposed on Radloff.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

Article by: Associated Press Updated: April 22, 2014

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Attorneys for victims of alleged sexual abuse by priests say a deposition by Twin Cities Archbishop John Nienstedt shows deceit continues in the church.

Nienstedt is head of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. On April 2, he testified about the church’s response to sexual abuse allegations.

Attorneys made the deposition public Tuesday. In the interview, Nienstedt said under oath that he hasn’t reprimanded or disciplined anyone for how abuse cases were handled. In several instances, he says the responsibility for notifying people about problem priests fell on another church official, the Rev. Kevin McDonough.

Victims’ attorney Jeff Anderson says the deposition shows Nienstedt continues to deny the problem and deflect responsibility.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, April 22, 2014

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

In our view, here’s the most important admission in Archbishop John Nienstedt ‘s deposition.

Anderson: Have you at any time reprimanded, punished, demoted or taken any disciplinary action against any priest or official of the archdiocese for their mishandling of child sexual abuse allegations?

Nienstedt: I don’t believe so, no.

Anderson: Do you believe you should have?

Nienstedt: No.

Look at a few undisputed facts:

There are 52 publicly accused Twin Cities child molesting clerics. (See BishopAccountability.org)

There are more who have not yet been publicly exposed.

Many have stayed hidden for years or even decades.

Many have molested more victims because Twin Cities Catholic staff have ignored or concealed their crimes.

Many have been “outed” only because of courageous victims, skilled police and smart journalists.

Some have been on the job or unsupervised until very recently.

Despite all of this, Nienstedt cannot bring himself to even slap the hand of one of his employees for helping predators, hurting victims, deceiving parishioners, stonewalling police, misleading prosecutors or endangering kids.

Not one.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CANADA
Global News

By Steve Rennie The Canadian Press

OTTAWA – After nearly four years of public hearings and with the clock ticking on a final report into the legacy of physical and sexual abuse at Indian residential schools, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is about to get a pile of new documents.

The development comes more than a year after an Ontario court ordered the federal government to hand over reams of material to the commission.

The inquiry was supposed to end in July, but its mandate has been has been extended by a year.

Even with the extra time, researchers are still under the gun to sort through the latest additions to the millions of documents the government has already provided. Early estimates have tens of thousands of boxes sitting in storage at four different Library and Archives Canada locations.

“Preliminary estimates identify up to 60,000 boxes of material … requiring review,” says a procurement notice.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

ST. LOUIS (MO)
KMOX

Maria Keena
April 22, 2014

ST. LOUIS (KMOX) – It’s not the first allegation against Father Joseph Jiang.

The suspended 31-year-old priest is charged with first-degree statutory sodomy, and was previously accused of having improper contact with a teenage girl and giving the family $20,000 in hush money. Those charges were dismissed in November 2013.

But the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) want to know why he was able to live unsupervised, following the first allegation of abuse.

David Clohessy tells KMOX that Archbishop Carlson is deliberately trying to discourage others from coming forward about Father Jiang’s crime by going after the latest alleged victim’s family. He says that Archbishop Carlson claims that the family reported that their son had been bullied at school, and that he only recently made his abuse disclosure.

“Catholic parishes are tightly knit,” he says. “And they’re especially tightly knit when they have a school, like Cathedral has. So, for Archbishop Carlson to disclose information that lets other parishioners know who this family is, and who this victim is—he’s still a boy—that’s just unconscionable.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MINNESOTA
KARE

Associated Press

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Attorneys for victims of alleged sexual abuse by Minnesota priests have released both transcripts and videotape of the deposition of Twin Cities Archbishop John Nienstedt.

Nienstedt is head of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. On April 2, he was questioned by attorney Jeff Anderson and testified about the church’s response to sexual abuse allegations. It was the first time since Nienstedt became archbishop six years ago that he has addressed these questions under oath.

CLICK HERE FOR TRANSCRIPTS OF THE DEPOSITION OF ARCHBISHOP JOHN NIENSTEDT

The deposition was taken as part of a lawsuit filed by a man who claims a priest abused him in the 1970s.

Transcripts of Nienstedt’s testimony reflect a line of questioning from Anderson that became increasingly testy, especially when it came to child pornography and sex abuse.

At the end of the deposition, Anderson indicates his desire to continue questioning the Archbishop. Attorneys for the Archdiocese tell Anderson that his time is up. “So we are done?” Anderson asks. “We’re done. You’re past your time,” Nienstedt’s attorney replies.

Church lawyers tried to block the deposition, claiming it wasn’t relevant to the case because Nienstedt was not Archbishop at the time of the alleged abuse. But a Ramsey County judge and the Minnesota Court of Appeals disagreed.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MINNESOTA
Jeff Anderson & Associates

CLICK HERE FOR THE DEPOSITION TRANSCRIPT OF ARCHBISHOP JOHN NIENSTEDT

This site includes videos of the deposition.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

[with video]

Madeleine Baran St. Paul, Minn. Apr 22, 2014

Archbishop John Nienstedt acknowledged in sworn testimony that he took steps to hide information on abusive priests and never provided complete files to police, according to a transcript released today.

• Transcript: Read the text of Archbishop John Nienstedt’s deposition (April 2, 2014)

Nienstedt made the remarks in a four-hour deposition taken April 2 as part of a lawsuit filed by a man who said he was sexually abused by the Rev. Thomas Adamson in the mid-1970s. The man alleges the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the Diocese of Winona created a public nuisance by keeping information on accused priests secret. The man’s attorneys, Jeff Anderson and Mike Finnegan, argued that the deposition could provide evidence of a pattern of deception by the archdiocese.

Anderson and Finnegan released a partial transcript of the deposition at a news conference this morning. They said they redacted several pages that related to victims or sealed information.

“The archbishop and his predecessors have promised zero tolerance,” Anderson said, but “there has been an ongoing tolerance of sexual predators” among the clergy on the Twin Cities archdiocese.

And, generally speaking, he said, “We’re alarmed. We’re sad, and we’re scared, the more we learn, the more we see.”

Anderson said he believes Nienstedt lied under oath. “We have a serious pattern of deceit and deception by this archbishop and his predecessors,” Anderson said.

Throughout the contentious questioning, Nienstedt portrayed himself as a leader who relied on others to handle the clergy sexual abuse crisis. He professed little knowledge of the scandal within his archdiocese and said he assumed it was safe for children. Nienstedt said it “didn’t occur” to him to ask for a list of abusive priests when he arrived in 2007 and that he didn’t review any clergy files. He said he did not know that one priest had pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a boy in the 1980s or that another was receiving secret disability payments for pedophilia. Several of his statements are contradicted by internal documents obtained by MPR News.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MINNESOTA
CBS Minnesota

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO/AP) – Attorneys for victims of alleged sexual abuse by priests have released the deposition of Twin Cities Archbishop John Nienstedt to the public.

Nienstedt is head of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. On April 2, he testified about the church’s response to sexual abuse allegations. It was the first time since Nienstedt became archbishop six years ago that he has had to answer these questions under oath.

The deposition was taken as part of a lawsuit filed by a man who claims a priest abused him in the 1970s.

Church lawyers tried to block the deposition, claiming it wasn’t relevant to the case. But a Ramsey County judge and the Minnesota Court of Appeals disagreed.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MINNESOTA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis via KSTP

In his deposition, Archbishop John Nienstedt repeatedly stated that the safety of children is the archdiocese’s highest priority. He responded to questions about the tragedy of sexual abuse by clergy, and how the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis handled this issue during his tenure.

He expressed regret for mistakes that were made in the past with how the archdiocese responded to allegations of sexual abuse against clergy. He assumed responsibility for mistakes that have been made since he became archbishop of the archdiocese in 2008. The archbishop was not asked any questions about the plaintiff, Doe 1, or Thomas Adamson, the offending former priest.

The archbishop noted recent changes that have been made by the archdiocese to address how any new reports of sexual abuse will be handled. He repeated his commitment to adopt upcoming recommendations, including those of an outside expert firm that is reviewing existing procedures and clergy files.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MINNESOTA
KSTP

[with video]

By: Jennie Olson

Details on what Archbishop John Nienstedt said when he testified under oath earlier this month were released Tuesday, including a transcript and video.

It was the first time Nienstedt has had to answer questions under oath regarding the alleged sexual abuse of children by priests. Church lawyers tried for months to block the deposition on the grounds it is not relevant to a case that will go to trial in September, but a Ramsey County judge and the Minnesota Court of Appeals disagreed.

A statement from the Archdiocese released Wednesday, April 2, said the Archbishop expressed regret for mistakes that were made in the past and assumed responsibility for mistakes that have been made since he became Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis in 2008, according to the statement. Read the full statement here.

Read the entire un-redacted transcript of the deposition of Archbishop Nienstedt that took place on April 2 in St. Paul.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

Article by: JEAN HOPFENSPERGER and CHAO XIONG , Star Tribune Staff Writers Updated: April 22, 2014

Attorney Jeff Anderson shows video of deposition of archbishop on clergy abuse cases. Archdiocese releases its own copy.

The sworn testimony of Archbishop John Nienstedt in a clergy sex abuse case was made public Tuesday morning by St. Paul attorney Jeff Anderson, who said the Catholic Church continues to tolerate and hide predatory priests.

“The methods they have employed in the past are being employed in the present,” Anderson said during a news conference. “We’re alarmed, we’re sad and we’re scared.”

Nienstedt’s pledge that the church would protect children and the public are untrue and “have been broken,” Anderson added.

The archdiocese has not yet released a statement, but it released a copy of Nienstedt’s testimony about the time Anderson began his news conference. It has previously stated that children’s safety is its highest priority, and that Nienstedt had expressed regrets for “mistakes made in the past.”

On Tuesday, Anderson showed a short video clip of Nienstedt’s deposition, in which the archbishop said he recently learned about previous abuse committed by a priest, the Rev. Kenneth LaVan, even though LaVan’s abuse of two girls was known.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

UNITED STATES
Charisma

4/22/2014 JENNIFER LECLAIRE

Bill Gothard made quite a name for himself in the home-schooling movement. Now his name is associated with something less honorable.

Gothard, 79, resigned from Basic Life Principles, the organization he founded, after allegations he was sexually harassing women. He has remained silent until now.

“I have withheld this statement in order to honor the request of the Board of Directors to wait until an initial review has taken place,” he wrote in a blog post. “As the review continues, I now want to make this statement.”

Here is Gothard’s statement:

“God has brought me to a place of greater brokenness than at any other time in my life. It is a grief to realize how my pride and insensitivity have affected so many people. I have asked the Lord to reveal the underlying causes and He is doing this.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, April 22, 2014

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

“It’s just about money.” That’s what many Catholic officials say when they’re sued for committing and concealing child sex crimes. But today’s release of Archbishop John Nienstedt’s deposition is proof that civil lawsuits are a key tool in the struggle to safeguard children from predators.

Civil suits can help expose wrongdoers, protect kids, reveal truth and hopefully deter future cover ups. Sometimes, information gleaned from civil litigation helps police and prosecutors catch and convict child predators. Always, information from civil litigation educates us all on how cunning predators operate and how callous supervisors collude.

So we applaud this brave victim for seeking justice for himself, while also seeking to reveal the truth for others. He could have pushed hard for a quick and quiet settlement. Instead, he’s pushing hard to expose those who commit and conceal horrific crimes against innocent boys and girls. Every Minnesota Catholic owes him – and dozens of other equally courageous Minnesota clergy sex abuse victims – a debt of gratitude.

For decades, bishops have tried to seal any court records about clergy sex crimes and cover ups. But for the last decade, bishops have pledged to be “open and transparent” about clergy sex cases. They continue, at virtually every opportunity, to keep trying to seal such records. We’ve seen absolutely no decline whatsoever in efforts by bishops to keep every single page of court documents about this crisis hidden from public view.

We hope other child sex abuse victims who were hurt in institutional settings take note of today’s disclosure. We hope they find the strength and courage to call law enforcement and support groups and civil lawyers, so they too can protect children by exposing wrongdoers.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.