Sex slave’ priest wanted a threesome with my boyfriend

The Bronx priest accused of paying an S&M “slave master’’ to humiliate him during sex wasn’t satisfied with his male lover — he also wanted to romp with the man’s girlfriend, the woman says.
Disgraced Rev. Peter Miqueli — who allegedly swiped $1 million from church coffers to help fund a kinky, drug-fueled lifestyle with beefy beau Keith Crist — pestered his bisexual lover to convince his gal pal to join them in a ménage à trois, says the former girlfriend.

http://nypost.com/2015/12/15/sex-slave-priest-wanted-a-threesome-masters-gal-pal/ 

Aboriginal children at residential schools often buried in unmarked graves.

Aboriginal children attending residential schools died at a higher rate than school-aged children in the general population, and were often buried in unmarked graves, according to the final report from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
The commission released its final report Tuesday afternoon, marking the culmination of six years of research and interviews with more than 6,000 residential school survivors and their families.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/aboriginal-children-at-residential-schools-often-buried-in-unmarked-graves-report-reveals-1.2701373 

Aboriginal leaders leave meeting with Trudeau encouraged reconciliation achievable

Following the first meeting on the road to reconciliation Aboriginal leaders said they are encouraged by what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told them behind closed doors.
” We wanted to say how proud we were to be part of the conversations today, to see people starting to do things in a different way,” said Dawn Harvard, president of the Native Women’s Association of Canada. “I think we’ve seen that here today, is what can be accomplished if you go in with that desire to dialogue.”

http://aptn.ca/news/2015/12/16/aboriginal-leaders-leave-meeting-with-trudeau-encouraged-reconciliation-achievable-2/ 

Former Head of Stepinac High School Faces Sex Abuse Charge: Cardinal Dolan

Msgr John O'Keefe has been on leave from his current parish, St. Margaret of Antioch Church in Pearl River, due to ill health.
Monsignor John O’Keefe, former head of Stepinac High School and the priest at St. Margaret of Antioch Church in Pearl River, has been accused of sex abuse of a minor -- 30 years ago. Timothy Cardinal Dolan wrote the parishioners a letter Wednesday describing the charges and explaining the process.

http://patch.com/new-york/whiteplains/former-head-stepinac-high-school-faces-sex-abuse-charge-cardinal-dolan

Archdiocese, Ramsey County attorney reach unprecedented agreement in clergy sex abuse case

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the Ramsey County Attorney's office reached a settlement agreement in a precedent-setting civil case accusing it of failing to protect children from a predatory priest.
The deal was reached in a civil case that Ramsey County Attorney John Choi’s office brought against the church in June alleging that it failed to protect children from an abusive priest. A criminal case simultaneously filed by Choi’s office against the archdiocese remains active.

http://www.startribune.com/archdiocese-back-in-court-on-abuse-charges/362927531/ 

Judge Rules Against Catholic Prep School in Gay Hire Case

A Massachusetts judge has ruled that a Catholic all-girls school violated state anti-discrimination law by rescinding a job offer to a gay man in a same-sex marriage.  It's a victory for a Massachusetts man denied employment based on his sexual orientation.

A Massachusetts Superior Court judge ruled Thursday that the all-girls Catholic high school Fontbonne Academy in Milton had violated anti-discrimination laws when it rescinded a 2013 Food Services Director job offer to Matthew Barrett after he listed his husband as his emergency contact.

http://www.necn.com/news/new-england/Judge-Rules-Against-Catholic-Prep-School-in-Gay-Hire-Case-362804241.html 

Defending the Indefensible Evil does have its hour — but Truth has its day.

As we wrap up this particular trip to New York covering the initial part of the gay embezzling priest story and the archdiocese and Cdl. Dolan's pathetic, immoral and possibly even criminal conduct, a few reflections.
The Catholic Church has a homosexual priest problem. That much has been made clear time and time again. The issue in this particular case is not just that this salacious case involved lurid accounts of sadomasochistic sex, but that many priests in the archdiocese knew about this case They tell us off the record that this has been allowed to go on because of homosexual relationships stretching back decades and a homosexual collective that runs the archdiocese.

http://www.churchmilitant.com/video/episode/defending-the-indefensible 

Child sex abuse survivor: 'My belief in truth and justice has taken a beating'

Stephen Woods, a survivor of horrendous sexual abuse at the hands of three religious figures within the Diocese of Ballarat when he was a schoolboy, says his belief in truth and justice has “taken an utter beating” over the past fortnight.
Woods has sat and watched as most of the former priests working within the diocese between the 1970s and early 1990s told the royal commission into institutional responses into child sexual abuse that they could not recall information about being informed of the abuse by victims, their concerned parents, or church staff.

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/dec/19/child-sex-abuse-survivor-my-belief-in-truth-and-justice-has-taken-a-beating 

15-year sex abuse compo battle settled with Catholic Church

A family that has been battling for 15 years for compensation after their disabled son was ­abused by a South Australian Catholic school volunteer in the 1980s has settled its claim with the church.
Peter Mitchell, the father of the victim, now aged in his 40s, yesterday said the confidential settlement “means a great deal in going towards my son’s care and we can finally start moving on after so many years”.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/in-depth/royal-commission/15year-sex-abuse-compo-battle-settled-with-catholic-church/news-story/3f97f7888e86031bb0a08d1a200ef900

Rockland priest suspended after sex abuse allegations: NY Archdiocese

A Rockland priest who once led Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains has been suspended after a "credible" allegation that he sexually abused a minor more than three decades ago, the archdiocese told parishioners.
Monsignor John O’Keefe, a pastor at St. Margaret of Antioch Parish in Pearl River, was accused of abusing the minor on two occasions, according to a letter issued on Wednesday to members of the parish from Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York.

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/rockland/2015/12/18/rockland-priest-suspended-sex-abuse/77580496/ 

Former priest jailed for abusing schoolboy

A 77-year-old former Spiritan priest has been sentenced to four years in prison, with the final year suspended, for the indecent assault of a schoolboy in a well-known Tipperary school.
Before sentence was handed down, Clonmel Circuit Court heard the victim would never forget the panic he felt as he stood outside Henry Moloney's bedroom door, having been summoned there by him, knowing what was going to happen to him inside the room.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/1215/753687-henry-moloney/ 

Report Criticizes U.N.’s Handling of Child Sex Abuse Allegations

An independent panel has concluded in a scathing report issued Thursday that United Nations officials passed allegations of child sexual abuse by peacekeepers “from desk to desk, inbox to inbox” and failed to meet the organization’s core mission to protect the rights of the most vulnerable civilians.

The report grew out of allegations that French soldiers deployed in the Central African Republic had offered food to children as young as 9 in exchange for sex. In one of the most damning indictments of the United Nations system, the report found that its officials had “turned a blind eye to the criminal actions of individual troops,” and failed to protect or aid the child victims.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/18/world/africa/report-criticizes-uns-handling-of-child-sex-abuse-allegations.html?emc=edit_tnt_20151217&nlid=63876270&tntemail0=y&_r=0 

North Alabama youth pastor accused of sending obscene material to minor

A Huntsville youth minister was arrested Tuesday and charged with sending obscene material to a minor.
Cristopher Bernal Alfaro, 30, is charged with two counts of transmitting obscene material to a child. Lt. Stacy Bates, a Huntsville police spokesman, said Alfaro used his position to commit the alleged crimes.

http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf/2015/12/north_alabama_youth_pastor_acc.html

Former Catholic priest and psychiatric nurse jailed for historical sex offences in Essex

A former Catholic priest and psychiatric nurse has been jailed for more than 14 years for a number of historical sexual offences committed against men in Essex and north-west London.
Christopher Bosworth was arrested at his home in Wales by detectives from Essex Police in September 2012 following allegations of sexual assault dating back to the 1980s.

http://www.harlowstar.co.uk/Catholic-priest-psychiatric-nurse-jailed/story-28368788-detail/story.html 

Commission wants inquiry into missing indigenous women to be wide-ranging

An upcoming public inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women must explore a range of possible causes, including the role of gangs and the international sex trade,  says the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
It also says the inquiry must expose “systemic” flaws that can be remedied with new policy. In its final report, the commission strongly supports a public inquiry and provides more than 20 specific recommendations on how it should be structured. The TRC says the inquiry should look at the role played by governments, the RCMP and other police and the child welfare system.

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/commission-wants-inquiry-into-missing-indigenous-women-to-be-wide-ranging 

Judge Rules LI Woman’s Lawsuit Can Proceed Against Priest She Claims Molested Her

A Long Island college student who claims she was sexually molested by her parish priest when she was a child has scored a court victory.
A state Supreme Court judge in Nassau County has ruled that the 21-year-old woman’s civil lawsuit against Father Gregory Yachyshyn and the Diocese of Rockville Centre can proceed. “She is thankful that the courts are going to allow this important case to proceed,” said the woman’s attorney, John Michael Reck.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/12/15/diocese-rockville-centre-priest-sex-abuse-lawsuit/ 

Leading Catholic bishop Brian Finnigan accused of lying to royal commission

A LEADING Catholic bishop stands accused of lying to the child abuse royal commission about crimes committed by Australia’s worst paedophile.
Brisbane’s auxiliary bishop, Brian Finnigan, the former adviser and secretary to former Ballarat bishop Ronald Mulkearns, insisted in the past few days he only learned of Gerald Ridsdale’s horrific crimes against children after 1993, when Ridsdale was charged.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/leading-catholic-bishop-brian-finnigan-accused-of-lying-to-royal-commission/news-story/e7615cfd0df9736843ea32a0450e2b67 

Residential schools report calls on all Canadians to join reconciliation

The final report wraps a six-year odyssey that collected decades worth of stories of suffering and tragedy. A teary Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is vowing his government will go beyond the 94 "calls to action" cited in the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission into Canada's residential schools system.
The commission formally wrapped up its six-year-plus odyssey Tuesday with another emotional ceremony in Ottawa, this time to deliver the complete, seven-volume, 3,766-page report that supports the three-member commission's recommendations.

http://www.metronews.ca/news/canada/2015/12/15/final-report-on-residential-schools-survivors-signals-time-for-government-to-act.html 

George Pell 'crestfallen' after call with abuse victim, priest John Walshe says

A Catholic priest has backed Cardinal George Pell's recollections of a 1993 telephone call where he allegedly offered to buy the silence of a sexual abuse victim.

In the phone call, Cardinal Pell and the victim, David Ridsdale, discussed the fact that Mr Ridsdale had been sexually abused by his uncle, Father Gerald Ridsdale.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-15/pell-crestfallen-after-phone-call-with-abuse-victim-priest-says/7029638 

Archbishop criticised for ‘vilifying’ clergy in abuse inquiry

Bishops and senior clergy denied natural justice, says Fr Tony Flannery.  The Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, “vilified” members of the clergy who were criticised by the Commission of Investigation into the handling of child abuse allegations by the Dublin archdiocese, a leading priest has said.

The criticism by Fr Tony Flannery comes just days after a bishop and a priest defended the reputation of Auxiliary Bishop Dermot O’Mahony – a figure who was severely criticised by the inquiry – at his funeral.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/archbishop-criticised-for-vilifying-clergy-in-abuse-inquiry-1.2470356 

Lowell pastors guilty in rape, assault case

Oscar Sanchez, the pastor of a small local church, was convicted of repeatedly molesting and raping a girl for years while his wife and co-pastor, Luisa Osario- Sanchez, was found guilty of abusing the child and allowing the sexual assaults to continue.
After a four-day trial in Lowell Superior Court, a jury found Sanchez, 35, of Lowell, guilty of: aggravated child rape ( four counts), rape of a child by force (four counts), rape (two counts), and one count each of indecent assault and battery on a person under 14, indecent assault and battery on a person over 14, and reckless endangerment of a child, according to the Middlesex District Attorney's Office.

http://www.lowellsun.com/breakingnews/ci_29257857/lowell-pastors-guilty-rape-assault-case

The Hutchins School avoided apologising for sexual abuse to protect reputation,

A report into the abuse of students who attended Hobart's elite The Hutchins School has found it avoided apologising to an abuse victim in order to protect its reputation. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has released its report after weeks of public hearings last year.
It investigated the school's response to allegations against former headmaster David Lawrence and teacher Lyndon Hickman as well as the role and influence of the Anglican Church on the response.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-16/hutchins-school-avoided-sex-abuse-apology-to-protect-repuation/7033586 

'A History of Loneliness' Priests as Pariahs

A quarter of the way through John Boyne’s novel A History of Loneliness, we find the book’s narrator and main character looking for a seat on the train. Fr. Odran Yates is a young Irish priest on his way to visit a friend. The packed train confronts him with the dismaying possibility of having to stand for the next two and a half hours, but he quickly sees the advantage and disadvantage of being a priest in Ireland in 1980.
The advantage is the deference his collar summons: several passengers, including a pregnant woman, offer him their seats, and one man insists on buying him lunch. The disadvantage is unwelcome attention: he’s not hungry, and watching eyes keep him from speaking freely with the woman across from him.

https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/history-loneliness 

Excerpts from Truth and Reconciliation report

Excerpts from the seven-volume, 3,766-page Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada:

"Canada's residential school system for aboriginal children was an education system in name only for much of its existence. These residential schools were created for the purpose of separating aboriginal children from their families, in order to minimize and weaken family ties and cultural linkages, and to indoctrinate children into a new culture — the culture of the legally dominant Euro-Christian Canadian society, led by Canada's first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald." 

http://www.thespec.com/news-story/6194718-excerpts-from-truth-and-reconciliation-report/ 

Former Mortlake teacher tells Royal Commission bishop lacked empathy after child sex abuse was revealed

A FORMER Mortlake teacher was applauded after taking the stand at the royal commission into child sex abuse on Wednesday.
Ann Ryan, a teacher at St Colman's School in Mortlake from 1973 to 1996, revealed a Ballarat bishop lacked “compassion or empathy” when told about disgraced priest’s Gerard Ridsdale’s rampant sexual abuse in the town.

http://www.standard.net.au/story/3575493/speaking-up-applause/

Catholic priest denies making up evidence 'to save' Cardinal George Pell

Priest says he spoke to Pell after 1993 phone conversation between Pell and abuse victim who alleges he was asked what it would take to keep him quiet.
A Catholic priest has denied making up key parts of his evidence to the child abuse royal commission to “save” his friend Cardinal George Pell. Melbourne priest Father John Walshe said he spoke to Pell after Pell’s contentious 1993 telephone conversation with abuse victim David Ridsdale, who alleges he was asked by Pell what it would take to keep him quiet.

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/dec/16/catholic-priest-denies-making-up-evidence-to-save-cardinal-george-pell#_=_ 

HSE knew of ‘quasi illegal’ Bessborough adoptions in 2011

A senior HSE social worker revealed in 2011 that Bessborough Mother and Baby Home files contained information on the “quasi-illegal deportation and adoption” of children to the USA, Britain, and Australia.
The revelation is contained in a business plan prepared by principal social worker in the South Lee region, Pat O’Dwyer, in 2011 in preparation for the HSE’s takeover of about 15,500 adoption files from the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Order which ran the Bessborough, Sean Ross Abbey, and Castlepollard Mother and Baby Homes.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/hse-knew-of-quasi-illegal-bessborough-adoptions-in-2011-371680.html 

Priest denies “saving” Pell

A Catholic priest has denied fabricating aspects of his testimony to a child sex abuse royal commission in an attempt to “save” Cardinal George Pell.
Mentone parish priest Rev John Walshe has told the commission Cardinal Pell looked “shocked and crestfallen” after speaking to sex abuse victim David Ridsdale, who alleges Cardinal Pell asked what it would take to keep him quiet during a 1993 telephone conversation.

http://www.thecourier.com.au/story/3572581/priest-denies-saving-pell/?cs=62 

Hobart’s Hutchins School should have been ‘aware’ of 1960s student risk: commission

PREVIOUS administrators of a Hobart boys’ school should have been aware of the risk posed to students by predatory teaching staff in the 1960s, a royal commission report has found.
Commissioners Justice Jennifer Coate and Andrew Murray today released their report into the response of The Hutchins School and the Anglican Diocese of Tasmania to allegations of child sexual abuse at the school dating back to the early 1960s.

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/national/royal-commission-report-lashes-hobarts-hutchins-school-over-risk-to-students/news-story/b3183b4233c05d56230379eed4865055 

Bishop's apology about sex abuse revealed at Mass

A heartfelt apology by a bishop criticised in the Murphy Report was never made public, giving the perception he did not express remorse, his funeral Mass was told. Bishop Dermot O'Mahony wrote to the Archdiocese of Dublin and its Archbishop in 2009 profoundly regretting if any "action or inaction" of his "contributed to the suffering of even a single child".

Bishop O'Mahony died on December 10, aged 80, following a long illness. His brother, Gerry O'Mahony, told mourners at St Anne's Church, Shankill, Co Dublin, that as his apology was not published, the public never believed he had shown remorse. "It was something that haunted him to the very end of his life," Mr O'Mahony added.

http://www.herald.ie/news/bishops-apology-about-sex-abuse-revealed-at-mass-34291443.html 

Attitudes of ‘coldness, indifference’ behind thousands of residential school deaths:

More than 3,000 aboriginal children died at residential schools, often of causes that could have been prevented, and the failures of those responsible for properly safeguarding the students bordered on criminal, according to a special report on the scandal.
In its final report to be released Tuesday, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) provides a detailed account of the known deaths. The recorded figure is 3,201 but the actual number is probably much higher because of incomplete records, and the commission notes the death rate was much higher than among children in Canada’s general population.

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/attitudes-of-coldness-indifference-behind-thousands-of-residential-school-deaths-trc-report 

Poorly' Cardinal George Pell weighed down with worry over upcoming questioning

Cardinal George Pell was worried about his planned appearance at a child abuse royal commission last month, his former housemate says. Reverend John Walshe​ told the commission on Tuesday that they had had lunch at Cardinal Pell's apartment in Rome in November, towards the end of a European holiday.
Father Walshe said that Cardinal Pell told him that he was trying his best to prepare for the upcoming hearing, where he was to give evidence of his handling of child sexual abuse allegations in Ballarat and Melbourne. The commission was "weighing on him" and he was worried about it, Father Walshe said.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/cardinal-george-pell-was-worried-about-upcoming-royal-commission-testimony-20151215-glnvbc.html 

1 in 3 Kiwi kids 'living in poverty'

"Child poverty - it's not choice." That's the message that outgoing Children's Commissioner Dr Russell Wills wants to spread through social media in a challenge to Government policy.
His latest annual Child Poverty Monitor, out today, says children living in households earning below 60 per cent of the median household income after housing costs, have almost doubled from 15 per cent of all children in 1984 to 29 per cent last year. Children hospitalised with poverty-related illnesses more than doubled in the 1990s and have increased further in the recent recession.

http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11561022 

Cardinal Pell defends decision not to attended Catholic Church sex abuse inquiry in Australia

Cardinal George Pell has defended his decision not to return to Australia for this week's public hearing of the Royal Commission into child sexual abuse, with a spokesperson saying reports casting doubt on the authenticity of the evidence of the 74-year-old Cardinal's heart condition were "misleading" and "mischievous".
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse announced on 11 December that Cardinal Pell would not be appearing from 16 December, as planned, and that Mr Justice Peter McClellan, the Commission Chair, had refused an application by the Cardinal's legal representative, Mr Allan Myers, QC, that Cardinal Pell give evidence by video link.

http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/2905/0/cardinal-pell-defends-decision-not-to-attended-catholic-church-sex-abuse-inquiry-in-australia 

Safeguarding Children and Adults – The Need to Reform Sikh Institutions

There is no honor is silencing victims of abuse: Safeguarding Children and Adults the need to reform Sikh Institutions.  It is commonly asserted that the Sikhs are one of the most successful minority communities in the UK; that the community functions according to a strong ethic of honesty, hard work, social service, social justice and universal kindness. 

Whilst nobody can deny this to be the case, there is also, I would like to suggest a danger in characterizing the Sikhs, or for that matter any community, in such idealistic way.

http://www.sikh24.com/2015/12/15/safeguarding-children-and-adults-the-need-to-reform-sikh-institutions/#.VnDI4eJPJ0R 

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia Recognizes The Catholic Church's Year Of Mercy

In keeping with similar actions in Rome by Pope Francis, a proclamation was read explaining the terms of the Jubilee Year of Mercy. Dressed in rose vestments on Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent, marking the joyful expectation of Christmas, the pope began the ceremony outside the basilica in front of the bronze holy door.
The church and the people of God are called to be joyful, the pope said in his brief homily. But he said: "We can't let ourselves be overcome by weariness".

http://financialcv.com/2015/12/the-archdiocese-of-philadelphia-recognizes-the-catholic/ 

Cardinal George Pell – his personal appearance, a real opportunity

Cardinal George Pell withdrew from his much-awaited personal appearance by at the public hearing into the Melbourne archdiocese and Ballarat diocese this week, due to a sudden exacerbation of long-standing heart condition. The move frustrated not only victims and advocates, but also the very process of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
Call me naïve, but I am struggling to retain a fundamental belief in the moral rectitude of our institutions, and the compassion of those in a position of power and responsibility within them. The wealth of contentious evidence and damning allegations uncovered makes this a primal challenge, and one in which I believe I am far from alone.

http://www.womensagenda.com.au/talking-about/top-stories/item/6628-cardinal-george-pell-his-personal-appearance-a-real-opportunity

Warrnambool priest Lawrence O’Toole stayed silent on child sex abuse, inquiry hears

A WARRNAMBOOL priest says he would have been more likely to report a priest for stealing over clergy he suspected were sexually abusing children. Father Lawrence O’Toole told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse he took a confession at the hospital bedside of a man in 1988 who said Gerard Ridsdale sexually abused him.
The inquiry heard the man was a school boy in Edenhope at the time of the abuse in 1980. Fr O’Toole, then parish priest at Edenhope, said he felt the conversation with the man was a “confession” and therefore he was bound by the Catholic Church’s confessional seal.

http://www.araratadvertiser.com.au/story/3571415/priest-stayed-silent-on-child-sex-abuse/?cs=2452 

Canada’s Dark Secret: Forgotten Case of Duplessis Orphans

Between the 1940s and 1960s, when the Roman Catholic Church dominated life in Canada’s Quebec, the provincial government committed horrible crimes against orphaned children. Sputnik spoke with people closely familiar with the subject, including a former orphan who was confined to a psychiatric institution during his childhood.

The Catholic Church and the provincial government of Quebec, then led by Maurice Duplessis, a strict Catholic himself, made a deal, which falsely certified 300,000 orphaned children as mentally-ill, confining them to psychiatric institutions.

http://sputniknews.com/world/20151215/1031794624/duplessis-orphans-canada-quebec-catholic-church.html#ixzz3uRgpapB4 

Bathurst Catholic Diocese Accused Of Sex Abuse Cover Up

The Bathurst Catholic Diocese is being accused of a “corporate crime.“ Lawyer Robert Talach says it covered up a sex scandal involving former priest Levi Noel. He is currently behind bars for several sex related crimes.

Lowell Mallais says he was assaulted by Noel as a boy and it’s something you can never fully recover from. [audio clip] A press conference was held today where victims and lawyers representing the plaintiffs were present. Eleven new lawsuits have been presented against the diocese.

http://www.theinquiry.ca/wordpress/accused/charged/noel/bathurst-catholic-diocese-accused-of-sex-abuse-cover-up/comment-page-1/ 

Vatican refused to sack priest convicted of child sex abuse, documents show

Paul David Ryan, 67, has still not been removed from the priesthood nine years after the Diocese of Ballarat asked he be dismissed.  The Vatican refused to remove a Victorian priest despite his child sex abuse conviction and the pedophile wanted money to agree to be defrocked, documents obtained by AAP show.
The Vatican has still not agreed to remove Paul David Ryan, 67, from the priesthood, nine years after the Diocese of Ballarat asked he be dismissed, documents before the child abuse royal commission show. Then Ballarat bishop Peter Connors wrote to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2006 telling them Ryan was in jail and asking he be laicised as soon as possible.

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/dec/14/vatican-refused-to-sack-priest-convicted-of-child-sex-abuse-documents-show#_=_

‘Hippie ex-priest’ put ‘Spotlight’ on sexual abuse

Richard Sipe’s studies of celibacy helped uncover the Catholic Church’s scandal. In the new movie “Spotlight,” a character describes Richard Sipe as a “hippie ex-priest shacking up with some nun.”
When the real Sipe heard this line, he laughed. The 82-year-old La Jollan is often called worse: Traitor. Sipe never appears on screen in “Spotlight,” a dramatization of the Boston Globe’s 2001-02 investigation of the Catholic Church covering up the crimes of pedophile priests. Yet his insights, formed after decades of research on priests, permeate the film.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2015/nov/20/richard-sipe-spotlight-sex-abuse/ 

Bishop accused of not being 'candid', lacking 'compassion' in testimony to royal commission

A Catholic bishop has been accused of being untruthful to a royal commission in order to protect himself and the church from criticism over their handling of child sexual abuse allegations against clergy.
Brisbane's auxiliary bishop Brian Finnigan, formerly a secretary and adviser to former Bishop of Ballarat Ronald Mulkearns, has been grilled for almost two days about his knowledge of allegations against serial child sex offenders, including disgraced priest Gerald Ridsdale.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/bishop-accused-of-not-being-candid-lacking-compassion-in-testimony-to-royal-commission-20151214-glnd66.html 

Child abuse royal commission: Bishop accused of changing evidence to 'protect church'

A Catholic bishop has been accused of trying to protect himself and the church while giving evidence at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Bishop Brian Finnigan was among a group of priests who handled complaints of paedophilia among priests in the Ballarat Diocese in the 1980s. Counsel Assisting the Commission Angus Stewart SC asked the bishop why his evidence in a private hearing earlier this year differed from his evidence in public hearings today and last Friday.
"The evidence that you have given for the royal commission on Friday and indeed this morning has not been given in such a way that you have sought to assist the royal commission and the public to understand the history of Gerald Ridsdale in the Diocese of Ballarat," he put to Bishop Finnigan.

http://www.atheistfoundation.org.au/forums/showthread.php?p=544398 

George Pell: the Catholic Church's performance at the royal commission is farcical

The Catholic Church continues to harm sex abuse victims by its failure to acknowledge the extent to which it covered-up sex crimes against children. For three weeks, the County Court of Victoria has been host to countless victim survivors of Catholic clergy child-sex crimes.
The severe psychological and psychiatric harm caused by these crimes was evident not only with the primary victims giving evidence, but also the many family members of loved ones who had killed themselves because the pain and damage of the sex crimes were too great to bear. 

http://www.theage.com.au/comment/george-pells-failure-to-appear-before-royal-commission-another-insult-to-sex-abuse-victims-20151213-glmp01.html

Bishop Brian Finnigan accused of lacking compassion, candour

TIM PALMER: A Brisbane bishop has been accused of trying to protect himself and the Catholic Church in his evidence to the child sex abuse royal commission.
Counsel assisting Angus Stewart told Bishop Brian Finnigan his evidence lacked compassion and candour. The Bishop said that he was sorry if his testimony had created confusion, as Samantha Donovan reports.

http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2015/s4371861.htm?site=brisbane 

Crime & Punishment Retrial of former priest delayed again.

Almost 3-1/2 years after a Philadelphia jury said it could not reach a verdict in the sex-assault trial of former Catholic priest James J. Brennan, the retrial of the 52-year-old has been put off again.
Again, as in the sixth time since June 22, 2012, when a Common Pleas Court jury hung. On Friday, Assistant District Attorney Meghan Goddard and defense lawyer William J. Brennan – not related to his client – met with Judge Gwendolyn N. Bright and decided that Jan. 4 would no longer work for what is estimated to be a three-day jury trial. Instead, the parties will meet on Jan. 4 and decide on a new trial date.

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/crime_and_punishment/Retrial-of-former-priest-delayed-again.html 

Spotlight Takes Place 14 Years Ago, But the Catholic Church Is Still Dealing with Sex Scandals

Holy hell, you should pardon the expression. It is for stories like this that God made tabloid newspapers. "I have made the decision to step aside ... while this unfortunate and regrettable situation is investigated," said Miqueli's resignation letter, which was read to the faithful at St. Frances de Chantal Church.
Two days earlier, a lawsuit filed by members of St. Frances de Chantal and Miqueli's former church, St. Francis Cabrini on Roosevelt Island, accused Miqueli of using the looted funds to help finance a perverse master/slave love affair with boy toy Keith Crist. The priest played the submissive role, even agreeing to drink Crist's urine, the suit charged. The priest paid his sex partner $1,000 a pop for the rough sex sessions, according to the suit.

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a40471/timothy-dolan-catholic-church-scandals/ 

Former Catholic school teacher charged with historic sex offences against a pupil in Wollongong

A former Brother and teacher at a Catholic school in Wollongong has been charged with historic sex offences against a pupil more than 20 years ago.

The 73-year-old is charged with 21 offences, including nine counts of indecent assault in authority and 12 counts of homosexual intercourse between a teacher and a pupil.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-14/former-catholic-school-teacher-charged-with-historic-sex-offenc/7027048 

Survivors of Catholic Church abuse question George Pell's deferred appearance at Royal Commission

Survivors of Catholic Church abuse question George Pell's deferred appearance at Royal Commission

RN Breakfast - Separate stories podcast     Download MP3     

http://omnyapp.com/shows/rn-breakfast-separate-stories/survivors-of-catholic-church-abuse-question-george 

Boys had penises cut off, Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse hears

A MAN who alleged his penis was cut off by a male staff member at a Sydney boys’ home was one of many children who were mutilated and severely abused at the facility, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has heard.
Daruk Training School in Windsor was home to hundreds of state wards and juvenile offenders from 1960-1991. Gordon Myers, 50, told news.com.au he was 13 when he was sent to the institution for the first time in 1978.

http://www.news.com.au/national/crime/boys-had-penises-cut-off-royal-commission-into-institutional-responses-to-child-sexual-abuse-hears/news-story/2a0bc2838d07e59aa81d1225d6e8d16f 

Ex-Catholic brother jailed for boys' abuse

A former Catholic brother who smiled after abusing boys at a Victorian college more than 30 years ago has been jailed.
Edward Mamo, 71, was working as a groundskeeper, bus driver and sports coach when he abused 14 teenagers in the laundry room of Monivae College at Hamilton in the 1970s and 1980s. He used a strap or cane to whip some over their bare buttocks and grabbed the genitals of others.

http://www.skynews.com.au/news/national/2015/12/11/ex-catholic-brother-jailed-for-boys--abuse.html 

'Sex-abuse' priest to getfast-tracktrial

A preliminary hearing judge on Thursday ruled a suspected pedophile priest will get a fast-track trial.  Father Giampiero Peschiulli, 73, was placed under house arrest in May on suspicion of molesting two altar boys while he was the parish priest of Brindisi church.
He is charged with sexually abusing the victims aggravated by "abuse of moral and religious authority". The alleged offenses date back to 2012, when the boys were not yet 14, and reportedly lasted through 2014.  The prelate was unmasked by a satirical TV show that specialises in stings, Le Iene (Reservoir Dogs).

http://www.ansa.it/english/news/general_news/2015/12/10/sex-abuse-priest-to-getfast-tracktrial_78452482-b6db-40bb-aa68-a7622d3702ee.html 

Ex-girlfriend of homosexual reveals sordid details of his sexual escapades with Bronx priest - as it's revealed a cardinal KNEW about the relationship

The ex-girlfriend of a muscled homosexual S&M master sent Timothy Cardinal Dolan emails laying out the details of the dirty sexual escapades her former boyfriend had with a New York Catholic priest.

Tatyana Gudin described in an email how Rev Peter Miqueli wore a locked Lucite chastity belt and wore a dog collar as he let his body builder lover Keith Crist pee in his mouth.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3357492/Former-girlfriend-homosexual-S-M-master-reveals-sordid-details-Bronx-priest-s-sexual-escapades-ex-boyfriend-s-revealed-Cardinal-KNEW-relationship.html 

Dolan turned over e-mails about priest’s ‘sex romps’ to DA

Timothy Cardinal Dolan said Saturday that he did indeed read an ungodly series of e-mails about the secret life of sex-slave priest Rev. Peter Miqueli — and handed the XXX-rated missives over to prosecutors.
“You bet I saw it. You bet I saw it,” Dolan said of the ­e-mails, in which an insider accused Miqueli of embezzling church funds to pay for $300 bottles of Scotch, a house on the Jersey Shore and rent for a bodybuilder boy toy.

http://nypost.com/2015/12/12/dolan-said-he-turned-over-e-mails-to-da-over-priests-sex-romps/ 

National redress disappointment, Ballarat hearing resumes

This week AAP reports thousands of child sex abuse survivors expecting the Turnbull government to commit to a national redress scheme before Christmas face bitter disappointment.
 According to the AAP report hopes the government would, in line with the final recommendation of the child abuse royal commission, announce by year's end its backing of a $4.3 billion scheme are fading, principally because some states are reluctant to come on board

http://www.tjhcouncil.org.au/media/111694/151209-Blog-126-Redress-Ballarat-hearing-more.pdf 

Bishop hid child sex abuse

FORMER Ballarat Bishop secretary Monsignor Glynn Murphy says despite having knowledge of mounting allegations of sexual abuse against children he never went to police.
Australian army chaplain Monsignor Murphy dealt with sexual abuse allegations from 1993 to 1997 as the special issues committee convenor. He told the inquiry he “implicitly” trusted Bishop Ronald Mulkearns to pass complaints onto police.

http://www.barossaherald.com.au/story/3553120/bishop-hid-child-sex-abuse/?cs=2452 

Fed up of sexual abuse by Mathura priest, 3 boys bludgeon him to death

Parmeshwar Das, a mahant in Govardhan, Mathura, was gruesomely killed by three youths who told police they were tired of constant abuse from him. While two are in their early 20s, one is a minor. Police said that one of the youths has already been awarded life imprisonment by a court in Panna (Madhya Pradesh) for killing a woman with axe in 2013.
Mathura senior superintendent of police Rakesh Singh said that the youth was absconding from Panna since the judge announced life sentence for him in 2014. He was living in the ashram in Govardhan for past several months.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/agra/Fed-up-of-sexual-abuse-by-Mathura-priest-3-boys-bludgeon-him-to-death/articleshow/50126924.cms

Ancoats school sex abuse inquiry urges more alleged victims of headteacher John Mulligan to come forward

A lawyer fighting for justice for alleged sex abuse victims of a primary school head has urged others to come forward.
In 2012 the M.E.N. revealed how the late John Mulligan, head of St Anne’s Catholic School in Ancoats, was accused of raping and sexually abusing a pupil 40 years earlier. His alleged victim, now 61 and living in east Manchester, is suing the city council over the claims.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/john-mulligan-abuse-ancoats-appeal-10573193 

Calls for truth and justice

THEY are in a city full of people but there were moments Ballarat’s clergy sex abuse survivors never felt more alone. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse’s public hearing into Catholic Church authorities in Ballarat commenced at the Melbourne County Court last week.
 As more truth emerges of Ballarat’s dark history of abuse, torture and rape survivors Andrew Collins and Peter Blenkiron say the emotional toll of being away from their loved ones intensifies.

http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/3563884/calls-for-truth-and-justice/?cs=2452 

Report condemns Marists over abuse

Two Marist Brothers were allowed to move from school to school in Queensland, NSW and the ACT despite the Catholic order's leadership being aware of their sexual abusing.
The royal commission on Friday released a report into Brothers John (Kostca) Chute and Gregory Sutton. Chute pleaded guilty and was convicted in 2008 of 19 child sex offences against six of his former students between 1985 and 1989.

http://www.9news.com.au/national/2015/12/11/12/08/marists-failed-to-deal-with-abusers 

Treatment and care of children in institutions

Do I often wonder what it would have been like to have been left in a loving home with my family intact, to share Christmas morning with all my brothers, sisters, grandparents and mother? Sure I do! I do not delude myself that it would have been all roses and always loving. We would have had many trying situations but we would have had the only unconditional love that is available, that of the love of family.[207]
 4.1 The highly evocative and emotive language that is constantly repeated through the submissions and evidence received from across Australia is testimony to the nature of the treatment of children in institutions over many decades. Language such as 'my sentence', 'concentration camp', 'prison', 'hell-hole', 'felt like a convict', 'entombed in institutions', 'inmates', 'incarcerated', 'internship', 'tortured', 'nightmare', 'release', 'outside world', 'victims', 'survivors' graphically describe the feelings that remain about the treatment received at an early age of their lives.

http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Completed_inquiries/2004-07/inst_care/report/c04 

Priest says it was 'impossible' that George Pell joked about child sex abuse

A priest has denied a survivor's allegations that Cardinal George Pell joked to him about paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale sexually abusing children.
A survivor, known as BWE, told a royal commission on Monday that he overheard then-Father Pell speaking to parish priest Father Frank Madden in the sacristy at St Patrick's Cathedral in Ballarat while he prepared to serve as an altar boy for a funeral mass in 1983. BWE said Father Madden had asked Father Pell 'How's everything your way?' and that he responded by saying, 'Ha ha I think Gerry's been rooting boys again'."

http://www.smh.com.au/national/priest-says-it-was-impossible-that-george-pell-joked-about-child-sex-abuse-20151209-gljlwd.html 

George Pell withdraws from child abuse Royal Commission hearing due to ill health

CARDINAL George Pell has launched a vigorous denial of allegations raised by the royal commission into child abuse in the Catholic Church.
The Vatican-based 74-year-old released a statement to the Herald Sun yesterday, after ­announcing he could not ­appear before the commission in person next week due to a worsening heart condition that prevented him flying.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/george-pell-withdraws-from-child-abuse-royal-commission-hearing-due-to-ill-health/news-story/b4f3baecba29ff6871d08dd34839610c 

El Salvador lawmakers seek to end impunity in church sex abuse

El Salvador’s Congress on Thursday handed regulation to put off the statute of barriers on intercourse crimes in opposition to minors as the united states of america’s church faces more and more abuse instances.
The bill mentioned that “serious crimes” of sexual abuse of youngsters and teenagers have long gone unpunished because of the statute of barriers. In November, the church fired a senior priest and former secretary of murdered Archbishop Oscar Romero after allegations that the priest had intercourse with a minor. Any Other priest has additionally been accused.

http://currentnewstoday.net/el-salvador-lawmakers-seek-to-end-impunity-in-church-sex-abuse/ 

Missouri man sues Marianists over alleged abuse by clergy

A Wentzville man who attended a Catholic high school in Creve Coeur in the 1970s has filed a lawsuit accusing the Marianists of hiding knowledge of child sex abuse by priests.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the lawsuit is against Chaminade College Preparatory School, the Marianist Province of the United States, and the Rev. Martin Solma, who heads the St. Louis-based Roman Catholic order.

http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/12/10/missouri-man-sues-marianists-over-alleged-abuse-by-clergy/ 

Bronx priest stole more than $1M from two NYC churches, used the cash on wild S&M romance with beefy boyfriend: lawsuit

Father, forgive him. A scandalous lawsuit accuses a Bronx priest of looting more than $1 million from a pair of city parishes — then spending the cash on a long-running S&M romance with a muscle-bound boyfriend.
The Rev. Peter Miqueli reportedly paid $1,000 per rough sex session with his hunky lover, who demanded the priest address him as “Master” — and drink his urine, the lawsuit said.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bronx-priest-sued-allegedly-stealing-1m-churches-article-1.2462101 

Brandon McDade Accused of Lewd Acts with Teens as Church Youth Pastor

For the second time in two months, a youth pastor has been arrested for alleged sex crimes against teen victims on and off property of a South County Christian church.
Brandon McDade, 30, of Mission Viejo, was arrested Wednesday by Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s Special Victims Unit (SVU)  investigators who'd been made aware of allegations of misconduct with children two days before, according to spokesman Lt. Jeff Hallock.

http://www.ocweekly.com/news/brandon-mcdade-accused-of-lewd-acts-with-teens-as-church-youth-pastor-6829173 

Duluth Diocese to Enter Mediation With Abuse Victims

The Diocese of Duluth, Minn., is expected to enter mediation with clergy sexual abuse victims, following in the footsteps of other bankrupt dioceses that have sought to resolve growing legal and financial turmoil tied to the abuse crisis.
Ford Elsaesser, a lawyer for the diocese, said Friday that the diocese will “very likely” seek the appointment of a mediator. Mediation is likely the best opportunity to resolve the diocese’s bankruptcy case, which was filed Monday, through a settlement that compensates victims and also protects the church from future litigation.

http://blogs.wsj.com/bankruptcy/2015/12/11/duluth-diocese-to-enter-mediation-with-abuse-victims/ 

Refund policy not extended to Catholic sex abuse victims

THE Catholic Diocese of Toowoomba will await the findings of the Royal Commission into Child Sex Abuse before deciding whether it will refund tuition fees to abuse victims.

It comes as the Anglican Diocese of Southern Queensland this week confirmed it would refund tuition and boarding fees to confirmed victims of abuse and had begun advertising to locate them. 

http://www.thechronicle.com.au/news/abuse-victims-await-findings/2869165/ 

George Pell 'very concerned' for paedophile victim David Ridsdale, inquiry hears

Royal commission also told that Pell had been overheard in 1983 saying that he believed a notorious paedophile priest had been ‘rooting boys again’.
Cardinal George Pell appeared very concerned for an abuse victim who claims the then bishop tried to bribe him to keep quiet, an inquiry has heard. The child abuse royal commission was also told that, 10 years earlier, Pell was overheard saying he believed paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale had been “rooting boys again”.

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/dec/07/george-pell-very-concerned-for-paedophile-victim-david-ridsdale-inquiry-hears 

Cardinal Pell told to attend child abuse inquiry after video link request denied

Request from Australia’s highest-ranking cleric to appear by video link because of health reasons has been refused by chair of royal commission.
The chair of the royal commission into institutional responses to child sex abuse has refused to allow Cardinal George Pell to appear by video link, instead deferring the hearing until February to ensure Pell can appear in person. A lawyer representing Pell, Allan Myers, made an application for Pell to give evidence next week via video link from Rome rather than appear in person, citing health reasons.

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/dec/11/cardinal-george-pell-to-appear-in-person-at-child-sex-abuse-inquiry#_=_ 

Cardinal George Pell will not appear next week in Melbourne

Cardinal Pell will not be giving evidence in Melbourne next week. Cardinal Pell’s legal representative AJ Myers QC made an application for Cardinal Pell to give evidence by video link at his scheduled appearance on Wednesday 16 December 2015. The basis of this application was the Cardinal’s current state of health.
Justice McClellan refused this application, preferring the Cardinal to give his evidence in person. Justice McClellan noted that Cardinal Pell had previously agreed to give evidence in person.

http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/2015-12/cardinal-george-pell-will-not-appear-next-week-in 

An abuse survivor’s tale

In a frank article, Julie Macfarlane describes her abuse by a C of E priest, and her ongoing struggle for compensation and justice.
I WAS a member of the youth group at my local C of E church. As an idealistic teenager, I was an enthusiastic Evangelical. These were the days of Billy Graham, speaking in tongues, and a growing Christian youth movement. In 1975, at the age of 16, I worried that my faith was fading. I sought out the Rector in his church office for spiritual counselling. He told me that God wanted me to kneel and perform oral sex on him.

https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2015/11-december/comment/opinion/church-litigation-means-my-ordeal-continues 

Royal commission finds Marist failed to remove paedophile Brother John Chute

Marist ignored allegations that a now notorious paedophile teacher was sexually abusing students, instead shuffling him between schools, in one case even promoting him to principal, and failing to refer complaints to police, the royal commission has found.
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse delivered its formal findings on the cases of Brother John Chute, also known as Brother Kostka, and another Marist brother, Gregory Sutton, on Friday.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/royal-commission-finds-marist-missed-opportunity-to-remove-paedophile-brother-john-chute-20151211-gllaq2.html 

Victims angry over George Pell commission delay

The catholic church will try anything... from getting away... from telling the truth... Ann

 =====================================

Victims are angry Cardinal George Pell's postponed royal commission appearance means they have to wait even longer for the Catholic Church to be held accountable.
Cardinal Pell was to appear before the child abuse royal commission in Melbourne next week but will now front a Ballarat sitting in February. Stephen Woods was among victims of pedophile priests outraged by Cardinal Pell's attempt to give his evidence via videolink from Rome next week, due to a worsened heart condition.

http://www.9news.com.au/national/2015/12/12/03/34/victims-angry-over-pell-commission-delay 

Crisis is taking a toll on church: archbishop; poor soul

Perth’s Catholic Archbishop Timothy Costelloe says he is amazed more people have not given up on the Church during the child sex abuse scandal, which he calls the biggest crisis the Church has faced in his lifetime.

He was surprised by the extent of alleged crimes revealed by the child sexual abuse royal commission, adding that the Perth archdiocese has its “fair share”.

 https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/wa/a/30346401/crisis-is-taking-a-toll-on-church-archbishop/

Why Didn't the Church Treat Abusers as Criminals? they already do

The film Spotlight was nominated for three Golden Globe awards, including Best Motion Picture—Drama. The riveting film unveils the true story of the fiercely intrepid Spotlight team of Boston Globe reporters and editors who exposed a massive cover-up of child abuse by more than 245 Catholic clergy.

The film stars a dream team cast including Michael Keaton, Liev Schreiber, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, John Slattery, Brian d’Arcy James, Stanley Tucci, Billy Crudup and Neal Huff. Huff plays Phil Saviano, a key figure in the film who was abused by a priest when he was 11 and came forward to the Boston Globe.

http://parade.com/442927/jerylbrunner/spotlight-co-star-neal-huff-why-didnt-the-church-treat-abusers-as-criminals/#addthis 

Make it safer for sexual violence survivors to name perpetrators

In August, together with 10 other Mennonite or formerly Mennonite advocates for survivors of sexual violence, I attended the annual conference of the Survivors Network for Those Abused by Priests. SNAP is a 30-year-old organization formed by Catholic survivors of clergy sexual abuse. It has since branched out to serve survivors whose abuse occurred in different faith traditions.

https://themennonite.org/opinion/make-it-safer-for-sexual-violence-survivors-to-name-perpetrators/ 

Assignment Record– Rev. David F. West

Summary of Case: David F. West was ordained for the Detroit archdiocese in 1963. He worked in a number of parishes, and as a seminary faculty member and campus minister.
He spent 1976-77 in the Lansing diocese on staff at a University of MI, Ann Arbor, student chapel. He died in April 2004. In December 2015 the archdiocese announced that they had received a credible allegation that West sexually abused a male minor in the 1970s.

http://www.bishopaccountability.org/assign/West_David_F.htm 

Priest named in sex-slave prostitute suit

A New York City Catholic priest is accused of embezzling nearly $1 million in church donations to pay a male prostitute and buy a $264,000 home here for the two of them to live in, according to a lawsuit filed by parishioners.
The complaint, filed Thursday in the Supreme Court of New York, alleges the Rev. Peter Miqueli funneled church money for his personal use which included paying a prostitute $1,000 a session to act out his "sexual fantasies." The prostitute, identified as Keith Crist in court papers, engaged in a bondage-sadism-masochism relationship in which he role-played as the "sexual master" and made Miqueli the "slave,"  the complaint states.

http://www.app.com/story/news/crime/jersey-mayhem/2015/12/11/rev-peter-miqueli-brick-home/77148666/ 

Church worker's threat to abuse inquiry witnesses

LAWYERS for Susan Sharkey, who runs the counselling, co-ordination and support office for the Catholic Church in Melbourne, have sent threatening letters to two witnesses to the state inquiry into how the churches handled child sex abuse.
The letters warn victims' advocates Helen Last and Judy Courtin that if there is ''any publication'' by them to a journalist or anyone that defames Ms Sharkey ''our client will not hesitate to take legal action against you without further notice''

.http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/church-workers-threat-to-abuse-inquiry-witnesses-20121118-29kaw.html

Child sex abuse case heading back to court

The case of a former employee at a local catholic high school is returning to the Macomb County Circuit Court.
Joseph Sturza, a former director of admissions at Austin Catholic High School in Ray Township, and a former youth minister at St. Isidore Catholic Church in Macomb Township, is charged with four felony counts: child sexual abuse activity, accosting a child for immoral purposes, and two counts of using a computer to communicate with a minor in order to commit a crime.

http://www.candgnews.com/news/child-sex-abuse-case-heading-back-court-88677 

How the Catholic and Protestant churches fill their pews in an age of declining attendance

From bells and angels, to mistletoe and nativity scenes, the holiday season brings a slew of Christian symbolism and religious traditions to the streets of Portland, but how many people care? Priests in the Portland area expect an uptick in Church attendance this month, but overall, the number of worshippers in Maine has been declining since the 1960s.
According to a 2010 study by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies, fewer than 30 percent of Mainers belong to a religious institution or independent Christian Church.

http://portlandphoenix.me/2015/12/09/features/church-3-0-how-the-catholic-and-protestant-churches-fill-their-pews-in-an-age-of-declining-attendance/ 

Businessman escapes jail after admitting sexual abuse of two girls

A respected businessman has walked free from court after admitting sexually abusing two young girls he met through the church more than 40 years ago.
David O’Riordan, 79, pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent assault in respect of the sisters- who can not be named for legal reasons. Friends of O’Riordan - who was highly regarded within his church - described his as a “True Christian” and said he was popular with children.

http://www.lancasterguardian.co.uk/news/local/businessman-escapes-jail-after-admitting-sexual-abuse-of-two-girls-1-7615641 

Indian priest arrested for sexually abusing girl

Police in Kerala state arrested a 41-year-old Catholic priest Dec. 8 on charges of sexually assaulting a girl repeatedly for three months while serving as a parish priest in the southern Indian state. Father Edwin Figarez was pastor of Lourde Matha Church in Kottapuram Diocese when he allegedly violated the 14-year-old girl, a ninth-grade student, according to police officer T.M. Varghese.
The priest, who attacked the girl several times between January and March 28 this year, became a fugitive after police registered a case against him in April following complaints from the victim's family, Varghese said.

http://www.ucanews.com/news/indian-priest-arrested-for-sexually-abusing-girl/74755 

SJC upholds time limit expansion in civil sex abuse cases

In a ruling hailed by survivors of child sexual abuse, the state’s highest court on Wednesday upheld a 2014 law that gave victims an additional 32 years to file civil lawsuits against alleged perpetrators.
The Supreme Judicial Court’s unanimous decision also upheld the part of the law that applies the extension to cases that pre-dated the measure’s passage last year. “It’s just a great, great day for so many survivors,” said Rosanne Sliney, 52, of Burlington, the plaintiff at the center of the ruling.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/12/09/sjc-upholds-expanded-statute-limitations-civil-sex-abuse-cases/di7kWNcivZSh7q5Siy2YsJ/story.html 

Bishop apologises for alleged child abuse by former parish priest

BISHOP FRANCIS DUFFY has told communities in the diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnois he is “shamed” by the alleged child abuse of their former parish priest, Fr Brendan Hynds, and apologised for it.
Duffy acknowledged recent testimony he had received about the conduct of Hynds, who was parish priest in Cloghan, Co Offaly and before that, Ballymahon, Co Longford. He died in 1993.

http://www.thejournal.ie/bishop-francis-duffy-brendan-hynds-child-abuse-priest-offaly-longford-apology-2493514-Dec2015/

Wentzville man's suit claims Chaminade prep school leaders hid knowledge of sex abuse

A Wentzville man who attended Chaminade College Preparatory School in the 1970s has filed a lawsuit accusing the Marianists of concealing knowledge of child sex abuse by priests at the school.
Christopher Wimmer, 57, filed the case Tuesday in St. Louis County Circuit Court alleging the Creve Coeur prep school and its leaders lied to “multiple” sex-abuse victims by telling them they were the first to report abuse by clergy.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/wentzville-man-s-suit-claims-chaminade-prep-school-leaders-hid/article_4377bcaa-4d2a-59bd-b720-75a725484680.html 

Archbishop quizzed in sexual abuse lawsuit claims he didn’t know it was illegal for priests to have sex with children in the 1980s

How crazy is this??? A St Louis archbishop embroiled in a sexual abuse scandal has claimed he didn’t know it was illegal for priests to have sex with children in the 1980s, according to a court deposition released on Monday.

Archbishop Robert Carlson, who was chancellor of the Archdiocese of Minneapolis and St. Paul at the time, was deposed as part of a sexual abuse lawsuit in Minnesota involving the archdiocese and the Diocese of Winona.

http://theinternetpost.net/2014/06/11/archbishop-quizzed-in-sexual-abuse-lawsuit-claims-he-didnt-know-it-was-illegal-for-priests-to-have-sex-with-children-in-the-1980s/ 

Abuse victims seeking 'easy cash': bishop

A Catholic bishop now says he was rash when he told a pedophile priest some child sex abuse victims were trying to get "some easy cash".
The child abuse royal commission has heard Bishop Brian Finnigan, then Ballarat diocese vicar-general, told convicted pedophile Gerald Francis Ridsdale in 1994: "Some of these fellows now see the opportunity to obtain some easy cash."

http://www.9news.com.au/national/2015/12/11/03/34/clergy-abuse-compo-not-enough-inquiry 

Documents plunge Cardinal George Pell into further controversy over child abuse response

New documents have revealed a conflict of interest between Cardinal George Pell and the experts he appointed to investigate child sexual abuse allegations in the church.
Cardinal Pell has claimed his discredited "Melbourne Response" to abuse within the church was a world-first in assisting and compensating victims – however he faces allegations the church sought to protect pedophile priests.

http://www.9news.com.au/national/2015/12/06/23/04/secret-documents-plunge-cardinal-george-pell-into-controversy-over-child-abuse-response

Church 'still dealing with history of abuse': bishop

Germany's branch of the Catholic Church will "never" be finished dealing with the fallout from decades of abuse against children by members of the clergy, a bishop said on Tuesday.
 "I don't believe that this chapter will ever come to an end," said Bishop Stephan Ackermann, the man charged with investigating past abuse by the Conference of German Bishops (DBK). At the beginning of 2010, it began to emerge that priests at an elite Jesuit school in Berlin had sexually assaulted dozens of students in the 1970s and 80s.

http://www.thelocal.de/20151208/church-still-dealing-with-history-of-abuse 

Priest warned police officer to drop investigation or lose job, child abuse hearing told

Father Peter Taffe ‘told officer Denis Ryan he would be out of a job’ if he pursued an investigation into the Mildura parish priest Monsignor John Day.
A Victorian priest warned a police officer to drop his investigation into a colleague over child abuse allegations, an inquiry has heard. Father Peter Taffe told the police officer he would be out of a job if he pursued an investigation into the Mildura parish priest Monsignor John Day, the child abuse royal commission was told.

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/dec/07/priest-warned-police-officer-to-drop-investigation-or-lose-job-child-abuse-hearing-told 

Pell faces more claims at abuse inquiry

A former altar boy has told an inquiry he overheard Cardinal George Pell say a Victorian priest was abusing boys again.
Witness BWE told the child abuse royal commission he heard Cardinal Pell, then a Ballarat priest, tell Fr Frank Madden in September 1983: 'I think Gerry's been rooting boys again.' The reference is to Gerald Francis Ridsdale, who has been jailed for child sex offences against 53 victims and who is the subject of 78 abuse claims to the Catholic Diocese of Ballarat.

http://www.skynews.com.au/news/top-stories/2015/12/07/pell-concerned-about-abuse-victim--priest.html 

Victoria Police admits 'Catholic mafia' covered up allegations of abuse

More than four decades after former Mildura police officer Denis Ryan was stopped from investigating allegations of child sexual abuse by a Catholic priest, Victoria Police has admitted a conspiracy to cover up the crimes went right to the top.

Mr Ryan detailed to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse how his attempt to investigate allegations against Monsignor John Day in the 1970s was thwarted by what he describes as a "Catholic mafia" within the force.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-08/victoria-police-covered-up-allegations-of-abuse-inquiry-told/7010442 

Confirmed: Priest who sexually abused Duterte also had same cases in US

On Tue, Dec 8, the Jesuit congregation confirmed that the priest who allegedly fondled Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte when he was a teenager was also accused of child abuse in the US.
In an interview with radio dzMM, Society of Jesus spokesperson Fr. Nono Alfonso, Jr. said they have verified the records of the late Fr. Mark Falvey, SJ, whom Duterte named as his abuser.

http://manila.coconuts.co/2015/12/08/confirmed-priest-who-sexually-abused-duterte-also-had-same-cases-us 

Bathurst Diocese case over clergy abuse goes into final arguments

Lawyers for the Bathurst Catholic Diocese and Aviva Insurance are now preparing their closing arguments after spending the last five days arguing over compensation for abuse victims.
The Diocese of Bathurst filed a civil lawsuit against Aviva Insurance to help recover more than $7 million it paid out to victims of sexual abuse.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/bathurst-diocese-lawsuit-aviva-abuse-1.3355736 

If Catholic Church is serious about its response to child sex abuse it must remove George Pell

IF the Catholic Church is serious about its response to child sex abuse, then it must get rid of Cardinal George Pell.
Pell is expected in Australia this month to face the child sexual abuse royal commission. His presence here is a start, but it isn’t enough. Nothing less than the defrocking of Australia’s most senior church member will indicate the church is a fully reformed beast.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/susie-obrien/if-catholic-church-is-serious-about-its-response-to-child-sex-abuse-it-must-remove-george-pell/news-story/57f1592d762c845263a15ab9b3c9ddc0 

Cardinal George Pell told priest that Gerald Ridsdale was 'rooting boys again',

Cardinal George Pell was overheard in the 1980s discussing the sexual abuse of boys at the hands of convicted paedophile Gerald Ridsdale, a royal commission has been told.

The explosive allegations about what Australia's most senior Catholic knew of abuse by priests in the Ballarat diocese before he became the Archbishop of Melbourne were aired at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-07/cardinal-george-pells-lawyer-questions-abuse-victims-testimony/7006512 

Equal Opportunity Commissioner dismayed by prevalence of sexual harassment

Victoria's Equal Opportunity Commissioner has handed down a report into sexual harassment within the police force.  But Kate Jenkins told Neil Mitchell there is cause for optimism that things will change.
"The research says 40% of women have experienced sexual harassment," Ms Jenkins said on Wednesday. Ms Jenkins said it is "dismaying" how common it is for women to be harassed, devalued, and treated in a sexist manner.

http://www.3aw.com.au/radio/equal-opportunity-commissioner-dismayed-by-prevalence-of-sexual-harassment-20151208-glixpt 

Sly on sexual abuse and cover-up in Victoria Police

A damning report has found a culture of sexual harassment, abuse and cover-up within Victoria's police force. The confidential survey contains reports of female officers being sexually abused by senior officers, sometimes at police stations and in police cars.
Many victims have had suicidal thoughts and most are too frightened to come forward. Forty per cent of respondents say they have been victims of sexual harassment.

http://www.3aw.com.au/news/sly-on-sexual-abuse-and-coverup-in-victoria-police-20151208-gliv75.html

Abuse victim David Ridsdale claims Cardinal George Pell urged him to keep quiet in phone conversation

CARDINAL George Pell is ­alleged to have told a fellow cleric that notorious paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale was “r--ting boys again”, according to contested evidence before the royal commission.
In 1983, the then rising priest in the Catholic Church was allegedly overheard making the comment to Father Frank Madden at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Ballarat a decade before Ridsdale was first charged.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/abuse-victim-david-ridsdale-claims-cardinal-george-pell-urged-him-to-keep-quiet-in-phone-conversation/news-story/868622e6fdcf89815fcd3ccc66284dd1 

Bishop of San Salvador Suspended for Sexual Abuse

Bishop Jesús Delgado, third in line from the Archbishop of El Salvador and the leader of the effort to canonize the martyr Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero, has been suspended from all his functions in the Catholic Church after confessing to having sexually abused a nine-year-old girl.
While the Catholic Church confirmed the news, it has not given details of the case. According to Salvadoran law, sexual abuse of minors including inappropriate touching and acts of sexual violation of a non-carnal nature are punishable by incarceration for eight to ten years.

http://www.cipamericas.org/archives/17769 

Pell angry' after hearing abuse claim

Cardinal George Pell became angry at a boy who told him his brother had been beaten and sexually abused by a Christian Brother, an inquiry has heard.
Witness BWF went to see Cardinal Pell, then a Ballarat priest, after finding out his brother BWG had been molested by Brother Edward Dowlan at Ballarat's St Patrick's College in 1973, the child abuse royal commission heard.

http://www.9news.com.au/national/2015/12/08/03/33/vic-abuse-inquiry-hears-more-pell-claims 

Insurance company says Bathurst diocese knew of abuse by priests

Lawyers for Aviva Insurance are arguing its policies do not cover sexual abuse by priests within the Catholic Diocese of Bathurst. The diocese has filed a civil lawsuit against the insurer to help it recoup more than $7-million it paid out to victims of sexual abuse.
"Clearly there is no coverage," said Aviva's lawyer Charles LeBlond in his opening statement Monday in a Moncton courtroom. "There is no coverage for criminal activity."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/bathurst-diocese-sexual-abuse-priests-1.3354341 

Bishop accused of protecting paedophile priests refuses to appear at inquiry

makes me thing that there are more lies to this priest... if he has nothing to hide... why not go and face up to the Commission of Inquiry Now... and then he will be able to meet... with his maker... IN PEACE... THE TRUTH WILL SET HIM FREE...  Ann

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Bishop Ronald Mulkearns​ is set to again evade questioning over his role as an alleged protector of paedophile priests, with the former Ballarat Bishop expected to shun a royal commission hearing despite being compelled to appear as a witness.
The testimony of Bishop Mulkearns, and the second grilling of Cardinal George Pell, shaped as a crucial piece of the final weeks of the commission's hearings into institutional responses to child sexual abuse.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/bishop-accused-of-protecting-paedophile-priests-refuses-to-appear-at-inquiry-20151204-glfyh0.html