Child sexual abuse: Enough evidence for 1000 hearings

The head of an Australian royal commission into child sexual abuse says he has uncovered enough material to justify public hearings on more than 1000 institutions where child sexual abuse has been alleged.
Justice Peter McClellan, who leads the five-year royal commission, told a child abuse conference in Auckland today that institutions were already responding after hearings on 25 institutions so far.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11425921 

Church’s new face: Former nun given 1.2 million

An Italy-based Catholic religious congregation for women has set a new trend in the Indian Church by monetarily helping a former member settle down in life.
“The Agatha Sisters were generous enough to give her 12 Lakhs (1.2 million) rupees,” Father Paul Thelakat, spokesperson of the Syro-Malabar Church who mediated between the former nun and the congregation, told Matters India on Monday. The decision to pay the former nun, who uses the one name of Anitha, was taken at a conciliation meeting on Sunday held at St Joseph’s Church, Snehapuram Church Road, Aluva, in Kerala.

http://mattersindia.com/churchs-new-face-former-nun-given-1-2-million/ 

Justice Peter McClellan: Assumptions about victims colour judges' decisions

Sexual assault victims' testimony has been called into question by judges ignorant of relevant psychological research, the chairman of the royal commission into child sexual abuse says. 
In a rare and frank appraisal of Australian judges to be presented on Tuesday at an international conference in New Zealand, Justice Peter McClellan said, "Judicial assumptions about human behaviour are still, in relatively contemporary times, informing the content of the law." 

http://www.smh.com.au/national/justice-peter-mcclellan-assumptions-about-victims-colour-judges-decisions-20150330-1mb4ib.html

Nova Scotia legislature passes sex abuse statute of limitations fix

An amendment to fix what the minister of justice calls an error in a law designed to give sex crime victims the right to sue their abuser has been passed by the Nova Scotia legislature.
The original bill, introduced in the fall, removed a statute of limitation in cases of sexual abuse, but only applied going forward, not retroactively. 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/nova-scotia-legislature-passes-sex-abuse-statute-of-limitations-fix-1.3011923 

Judge: Past sex misconduct allegations relevant to St. Pius X bullying case

On Friday a Mobile County judge ruled Father Johnny Savoie, a priest at St. Pius X Catholic School, must appear for a deposition regarding past sexual misconduct allegations. Furthermore, according to the order, the Baldwin County District Attorney's Office will be required to turn over any statements the Archdiocese sent to its office in reference to those past sex allegations, which allegedly happened in 2005.
This, after attorneys representing four parents in a bullying case against St. Pius X found a statement made by Savoie to his parish last year, admitting that he was being accused of the sexual misconduct with a 16-year-old boy in 2005. He denied the allegations in that statement, according to court documents.

http://www.wsfa.com/story/28635260/judge-past-sex-misconduct-allegations-relevant-to-st-pius-x-bullying-case 

National plan launched to stop faith-based child abuse

Teachers, social workers and other front-line staff should be trained how to spot faith-based child abuse, according to experts concerned at the rising number of children being abused by parents with skewed religious views. 
Two leading female academics in the field have joined forces with the Victoria Climbié Foundation – named after the eight-year-old Ivorian girl tortured and murdered by her guardians in 2000 – in calling for a national framework to help reduce the incidence of such cases, which are on the rise and harder to detect than other forms of abuse.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/national-plan-launched-to-stop-faithbased-child-abuse-10141494.html  

In the Name of the Law

They were sexually abused by the clergy and then found themselves targeted by the Church's lawyers. Why did it happen and who was responsible for the strategy?
This week on Four Corners, reporter Quentin McDermott reveals the systematic way the Catholic Church sought to conceal the sexual abuse of children, using lawyers to minimise the potential financial impact to the organisation.

http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2014/08/11/4062942.htm 

Aristocrats 'feel entitled to abuse people' says son of the 10th Earl of Sandwich who was raped by his father as a child

Those from noteworthy families often feel entitled to abuse young people according to Robert Montagu, the son of the 10th Earl of Sandwich who was abused by his own father as a boy.

He made the comments at the Oxford Literary Festival while discussing his book, A Humour Of Love, in which he reveals years of abuse, including a single rape, carried out by father Victor.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3016137/Aristocrats-feel-entitled-abuse-people-says-son-10th-Earl-Sandwich-raped-father-child.html 

German film tackles aftermath of Church abuse

The film "The Culpable" by Gerd Schneider is about three priests whose friendship and careers are shattered by accusations of child abuse. The German film director has an insider's view on Church hierarchy. 
The film "The Culpable" (orginal title: "Verfehlung") tells the story of three priests, Jakob, Dominik, and Oliver, who are good friends. Then all of a sudden everything changes: Dominik is suspected of child abuse. How do the three priests deal with the accusations?

http://www.dw.de/german-film-tackles-aftermath-of-church-abuse/a-18344744 

A ‘wee movie with a big message’ for the people of Scotland

Edinburgh, Scotland, Mar 29, 2015 / 02:35 am (CNA).- Scottish Archbishop Leo Cushley of St Andrews & Edinburgh is launching a new promo film across social media as he unveils his plans for the future of the Catholic Church in his part of Scotland.
“It’s a wee movie with a big message – bringing the joy of the Gospel to a contemporary Scottish society in desperate need of the healing love of Jesus Christ,” Archbishop Cushley said March 29.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/catholicnews/2015/03/a-wee-movie-with-a-big-message-for-the-people-of-scotland/ 

'Haunted house on the hill': Rachel Griffiths describes abuse history at destroyed Melbourne church

The destruction of St James Church in Brighton would be a relief to many former parishioners because of its history of sexual abuse, actress and former parishioner Rachel Griffiths has told 774 ABC Melbourne.

The heritage-listed church was destroyed in an early morning blaze that took hours for fire crews to bring under control. Ms Griffiths said when she heard the news of the fire, she went to visit a friend who lives a couple of doors down from the church.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-30/haunted-house-on-hill-rachel-griffiths-describes-church-abuse/6357960

Abuse of power in the Church

The stripping by Pope Francis of Cardinal Keith O’Brien’s rights and privileges of his office, coupled with an admission by his successor Archbishop Leo Cushley that his behaviour had made the Catholic Church in Scotland “less credible”, might not be enough, sadly, to bury this sorry affair and let healing begin. 
There were major allegations against O’Brien when he was Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh. The first was that he was a hypocrite when he outspokenly attacked the proposal for gay marriage. His exposure as a gay man who had made multiple unwanted sexual advances fatally undermined the Church’s message in what was already a tense debate. The reputational damage has been done; he has apologised and paid the penalty.

http://www.thetablet.co.uk/editors-desk/1/5074/abuse-of-power-in-the-church 

Former WACOSA Employee Accused of Sexually Abusing Vulnerable Adult

WAITE PARK – An investigation by the Minnesota Department of Human Services says a former staffer with WACOSA in Waite Park allegedly sexually abused a vulnerable adult. WACOSA provides training and employment support for those with disabilities.
The investigation report says the abuse happened on several occasions before December 29th, 2014. Both the vulnerable adult and alleged staff person involved in the abuse were not identified in the report.

http://wjon.com/former-wacosa-employee-accused-of-sexual-abuse-of-vulnerable-adult/ 

Former Christian Brother jailed for abusing 20 boys at six schools over 14 years

A former Christian Brother who was part of a notorious paedophile ring involving the clergy in Ballarat has been jailed for a minimum of three years for abusing 20 young boys.
County Court judge Richard Smith said on Friday that Ted Dowlan, who changed his name by deed poll to Bales in 2011, had preyed on vulnerable boys as young as eight years old over a 14-year period at six different schools from the first year he became a Christian Brother in 1971.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/former-christian-brother-jailed-for-abusing-20-boys-at-six-schools-over-14-years-20150327-1m91e2.html 

Government's response further abuses child-sex victims

Last week, I received a message from a man, now in his early 50s, who was raped by a "christian" brother when he was a 12-year-old child. He said: "I can't do this anymore. That's me done".
This very brave survivor, who has been facing his demons for decades, has also been fighting tirelessly for justice for all survivors of child sex crimes, especially for adequate financial support and redress. Like thousands of others, he has, at great personal risk, told his story to the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into child sexual abuse and the Royal Commission.

http://www.watoday.com.au/comment/governments-response-further-abuses-childsex-victims-20150329-1ma65v.html 

Nearly one in four British children abused

The head of a British charity organization says nearly one in four UK kids have been abused.  
Peter Saunders, founder of the National Association for People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC) says: “I think that we as a society need still to do a lot to protect our children from the scourge of abuse, not the sexual abuse, but all forms of abuse in the United Kingdom today.”

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/03/29/403885/Nearly-1-in-4-UK-kids-abused 

HBO Scientology Documentary 'Going Clear' Makes Some Serious Allegations Against The Church

If the new HBO Scientology documentary Going Clear is to be believed, the Church of Scientology is not just shady, it also allegedly keeps people held captive under inhumane conditions — in other words, it’s allegedly made several human rights violations. 
In the documentary, former Scientologists discuss things that they say happened to them while in the church, including several who describe being sent to live in de facto prisons, supposedly “for their own good.”

http://www.bustle.com/articles/72112-hbo-scientology-documentary-going-clear-makes-some-serious-allegations-against-the-church-but-it-wouldnt-be

Kerala Church deal with nun - Hang in there sister

The Catholic Church in Kerala will pay Rs 12 lakh to help a nun "settle herself in life'' after she alleged that she was tortured and expelled from her convent for resisting the advances of a priest.
Reformation campaigners in Kerala said this was probably the first time in the history of the Church that a nun was being paid although some instances of child abuse victims being compensated had been reported abroad.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1150330/jsp/frontpage/story_11618.jsp#.VRiOQ-FrUgJ 

Sinead O’Connor is odd but she led the way on child abuse by priests

THERE has been a lot of bad news around this month: killings, deadly cyclones, more beheadings and suicide bombers, drive-by shootings, the loss of Flight 4U 9525 and, closer to home, Adelaide’s Archbishop Philip Wilson being charged with concealing abuse committed by paedophile rapist Father Jim Fletcher.
But there it was, hidden away — a snippet of good news. A kernel of delight to make your day, to bring a smile and reassure us that the tabernacle of God is among men and that He is looking over us.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/sinead-oconnor-is-odd-but-she-led-the-way-on-child-abuse-by-priests/story-fni0ffut-1227283652773 

Prosecutor says Germany is unlikely to charge N.J. school employees accused of sex with students

The criminal case against two former employees at a Bergen County high school accused of having sex with students on a school trip to Germany is likely dead now that the state Supreme Court ruled that the men cannot be tried in New Jersey, the prosecutor in the case said today.
New Jersey's highest court voted 6-0 Wednesday that the state does not have jurisdiction in the case against former Paramus Catholic High School employees Artur Sopel and Michael Sumulikoski and dismissed a series of sexual assault and child endangerment charges against the men.

http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/03/prosecutor_says_germany_is_unlikely_to_charge_nj_school_employees_accused_of_sex_with_students.html 

Scotland Yard to investigate satanic abuse claim - and demands to see filed held on serving MPs

The probe into an alleged paedophile network at the heart of the British Establishment took an explosive turn last night with the revelation that Enoch Powell’s name has been passed to police.

The Mail on Sunday can reveal that the late Tory MP, one of the most prominent and divisive politicians of the 20th Century, has been named to Scotland Yard by the Bishop of Durham. The claims relate to ‘ritual satanic abuse’.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3016399/Enoch-Powell-named-bishop-sex-abuse-probe-Scotland-Yard-investigate-satanic-abuse-claim-demands-filed-held-serving-MPs.html 

Sworn to Silence

One boy who bravely speaks up. A church determined to keep him silent.‘After a little while he called the other boy over. Did the same to him. I heard everything. Father Smyth was a priest, a good man … But I knew that some rule had been broken'

Brendan was an eleven-year-old altar boy when he first met Father Smyth. When the abuse began, he didn't know what to do – surely he should trust a priest? But he knew he wasn't the only victim, and his worst nightmare was that his sisters would be next. 

http://www.randomhouse.co.nz/books/brendan-boland/sworn-to-silence-9780091957469.aspx 

Abuse probe chief wins appeal over victim's legal aid; Sisters oif Nazareth

An historical abuse inquiry chairman has won his appeal against a ruling that he unfairly denied legal representation to an alleged victim.

Sir Anthony Hart was challenging a High Court verdict that a bar had effectively been erected against the woman who claims she was molested by a "very high-profile figure"

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/abuse-probe-chief-wins-appeal-over-victims-legal-aid-31100226.html 

Abuse police cover-up claims probed

Three new investigations into claims corrupt police officers covered up allegations relating to a VIP child sex abuse ring have been launched.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said it is now looking at 17 allegations of a police cover-up in relation to child sex offences from the 1970s to 2000s.

http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/national/11885005.Abuse_police_cover_up_claims_probed/ 

Christian brother who abused deaf boys has sentence cut on appeal

A former Christian Brother jailed for sexually abusing three young boys at a school for the deaf has had his prison sentence reduced by the Court of Appeal because the Circuit Court operated on the basis of an incorrect maximum sentence.

John McCabe (55), of Kilshane Cross, North Road, Finglas, had pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to six counts of indecently assaulting three young deaf boys on dates between 1981 and 1984.

http://www.sundayworld.com/news/courts/christian-brother-who-abused-deaf-boys-has-sentence-cut-on-appeal 

Murdered Jill Meagher lacked 'faith' priest tells congregation

An Australian Catholic Church official has apologised after a priest told parishioners that had murdered Melbourne woman Jill Meagher's faith been stronger, she would have been "home in bed" and not walking down a street on the night she was brutally raped and killed.
The controversial homily was reportedly delivered during an end-of-term service at St Christopher's Primary School in Airport West on Friday when the priest held up a newspaper article with an image of Meagher's killer, Adrian Bayley.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/67537271/Murdered-Jill-Meagher-lacked-faith-priest-tells-congregation 

Ex-Agent in Patz Case Says Sex Offender Was Suspect

An F.B.I. agent who worked on the Etan Patz case for nearly a decade testified on Friday that a previous suspect in the boy’s 1979 disappearance admitted to having sexually abused a young boy on the same day that Etan disappeared, though he called the boy “Jimmy.”

The former agent, Mary Galligan, who was assigned to the case in 1989, testified in State Supreme Court in Manhattan that in 1991 she interviewed Jose A. Ramos, a convicted child molester and the man that lawyers for Pedro Hernandez, who is being tried on murder charges in the case, have tried to cast as an alternate suspect.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/28/nyregion/ex-agent-in-patz-case-says-sex-offender-was-suspect.html?emc=edit_tnt_20150327&nlid=63876270&tntemail0=y 

Two more Cosby accusers come forward 30 women so far.

Crusading women's-rights lawyer Gloria Allred has introduced two more women who say Bill Cosby sexually assaulted them. And Allred promised there would be more women going public with similar stories.
Allred already represents a half-dozen of more than 30 women who have come forward recently to accuse Cosby of drugging and raping them in episodes dating back decades.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/67538408/two-more-cosby-accusers-come-forward 

Two nations, one order: the Franciscans in medieval Ireland

Niav Gallagher outlines how the Franciscans arrived in Ireland c. 1231 and enjoyed over a century of expansion and consolidation despite racial tensions.
According to the thirteenth-century chronicler Thomas Eccleston, the first Franciscan friars to arrive in the British Isles landed at Dover on 10 September 1224. Within a few years houses of the order had been established in most of the major towns of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, heralding a new period of reform in the church and marking the beginning of the ascendancy of the mendicant orders over their monastic brethren. The two principal orders, the Order of Friars Minor and the Order of Friars Preachers, became known colloquially by the names of their founders, Francis and Dominic, and from their inception they differed from their monastic predecessors in several ways.

http://www.historyireland.com/medieval-history-pre-1500/two-nations-one-order-the-franciscans-in-medieval-ireland/ 

Predatory’ O’Brien now faces more sex claims

One priest allegedly abused by the former leader of Scotland’s Roman Catholics claimed he would groom young clerics while hearing their confessions.
The allegations come days after O’Brien was stripped of high office and banished from public life by the Pope after a damning report. Pope Francis last week agreed to O’Brien’s request to withdraw his “rights and duties” as a cardinal.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/566908/Cardinal-O-Brien-faces-more-sex-claims 

Group founded by Deviant Priest alive and well in New Zealand!

Father Marcial Marciel (1928-2008) is a Mexican priest who founded of the Catholic Orders ‘Legionaries of Christ’ and ‘Regnum Christi’ (think Opus Dei)
Marciel was also a sexual deviate with a taste for young boys & pre-pubescent girls, embezzled money, fathered at least six children - some of which he began fucking, abused drugs and had serious mental-issues – the perfect CV for one in such a pious and lofty position within The Catholic Church. 

 

http://canterburyatheists.blogspot.co.nz/2010/04/group-founded-by-deviant-priest-alive.html 

Novel treats human trafficking in symphonic tale of abuse and healing

The Disappeared is an apparently straightforward title for his new novel. But the writer and philosopher Roger Scruton has created a radiantly beautiful aesthetic whole in which there is even more going on than initially meets the mind’s eye.
The novel is set in present-day Yorkshire and weaves together a rich cast of characters that includes Muslim immigrants to Britain from Afghanistan and Iraq. Given that the book’s overt theme is human trafficking and sex slavery, it is no small achievement on Scruton’s part that he is able to find a beautiful story to tell.

http://bcc.rcav.org/opinion-and-editorial/4943-novel-treats-human-trafficking-in-symphonic-tale-of-abuse-and-healing 

Disgraced Cardinal Keith O’Brien was 'a predator' whose sexual abuse covered 25 years- his entire reign as archbishop

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/disgraced-cardinal-keith-obrien-a-5413348. Last week it emerged the Pope has allowed O’Brien to keep his cardinal title but it carries no “rights or privileges”.
CARDINAL Keith O’Brien was “a predator” whose sexual abuse covered 25 years his entire reign as archbishop, it’s been claimed. The Tablet spoke to the priest who insisted there were multiple incidents of sexual misconduct by O’Brien against seminarians and young clergy. 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/disgraced-cardinal-keith-obrien-a-5413348 

In hope of helping others, delegate reveals abuse as child' SO Sad

Del. C.T. Wilson stepped to the podium of a state Senate committee during a routine hearing, about to confess a secret. He took a deep breath. "I don't really, really want to be here," he said.
He had weighed what might come of revealing his darkest truth to fellow lawmakers. At 43, he'd spent a lifetime building barriers of protection – 231 pounds of hulking muscle, hardly any close friends, training as a combat soldier, earning a law degree while working nights as a bouncer.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-child-sex-abuse-20150327-story.html#page=1

Looking Past Cardinal Dolan's Hearty Smile

In Rome, Vatican watchers like to say that the institutional Catholic Church measures time not with a clock, but with a calendar, and that its memory is as durable as the records in its archives, where Galileo's signature, preserved in the documents from his famous trial, looks like it was penned yesterday. 
In America the one institution that might match the Vatican when it comes to memory and deliberative care is our system of justice where, according to the reliable cliché, the wheels grind slowly. But grind they do and they are gradually revealing the character behind the façade of New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan's hearty smile and twinkling eyes.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-dantonio/looking-past-cardinal-dol_b_6948468.html 

Cardinal Keith O’Brien abuse ‘dated back to 1985’

DISGRACED Cardinal Keith O’Brien was a “predator” who was involved in dozens of cases of sexual misconduct dating back to the 1980s, it has been claimed. 
In an interview with the Catholic newspaper the Tablet, an unnamed priest alleges there were multiple incidents of ­sexual misconduct by O’Brien against seminarians and young clergy dating back to 1985, the year O’Brien became archbishop.

http://www.scotsman.com/news/scotland/top-stories/cardinal-keith-o-brien-abuse-dated-back-to-1985-1-3731414 

Sexual abuse alleged at Italian Home in ’80s

The Jamaica Plain-based Italian Home for Children is facing an allegation that its former chief financial officer—George P. Forte Jr.—sexually abused a boy there during the early 1980s.
The claim was made last month by lawyer Mitchell Garabedian, a famed advocate of Catholic Church sexual abuse survivors, on behalf of the unnamed alleged victim via a letter seeking a financial settlement.

http://jamaicaplaingazette.com/2015/03/27/sexual-abuse-alleged-at-italian-home-in-80s/ 

Church leaders seek potential victims of priest abuse

Church leaders seek potential victims of abuse by deceased Toledo Roman Catholic priest. Roman Catholic leaders are looking for potential abuse victims of a deceased priest who once served at a Toledo high school and who the leaders confirm abused a minor more than a dozen years ago.
The Toledo-Detroit Province of the Oblates of Saint Francis de Sales as well as the Toledo and Detroit Catholic dioceses announced the accusations earlier this week through their websites.

http://www.elkharttruth.com/news/michigan/2015/03/27/Church-leaders-seek-potential-victims-of-priest-abuse.html 

Church not obligated to report abuse, says Polish priest

Responsibility falls to the victim, bishops' conference spokesman tells radio station.  A spokesman for the Polish bishops said the Church was not responsible for reporting cases of child abuse by priests to state authorities.
“There is no such obligation,” Father Jozef Kloch said in an interview with TOK FM radio, reported Radio Poland. “Such a victim is told they have the right to report it to prosecutors. That is the correct way,” Father Kloch said.

http://www.globalpulsemagazine.com/news/church-not-obligated-to-report-abuse-says-polish-priest/992 

Priest faces jail over sex abuse

A Catholic priest who was once moved quietly to a parish in Norwich faces jail after he was found guilty of sexually abusing a teenage boy at a children's home in west London.
Father Anthony McSweeney, 68, dubbed the "fat vicar", preyed on the vulnerable youngster while working at Grafton Close Children's Home in Hounslow between 1979 and 1981.    

http://www.newmarketjournal.co.uk/news/regional/priest-faces-jail-over-sex-abuse-1-6658591 

Catholic priest Anthony McSweeney jailed for sex abuse

A "voyeuristic" Catholic priest who sexually assaulted a teenage boy at a children's home in west London has been jailed for three years. Anthony McSweeney, 68, abused the 15-year-old while working at Grafton Close Children's Home in Hounslow.
He assaulted the boy with his friend John Stingemore, the manager of the care home, who died before the trial. As part of his defence, he had said he was too fat to fit a teenager on him.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-32086627 

Archbishop Philip Wilson becomes world's most senior Catholic charged with concealing child abuse

Former Hunter priest Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson has become the most senior Catholic clergyman in the world to be charged with concealing a child sex abuse allegation against another priest on what a Hunter paedophile priest victim has described as "a Saint Patrick's Day we'll never forget".
The Adelaide archbishop was charged on Tuesday with one count of concealing a child sex allegation made against the late Hunter priest Jim Fletcher in the 1970s, nearly nine months after the NSW Special Commission of Inquiry recommended the charge.

http://www.kiamaindependent.com.au/story/2952153/archbishop-philip-wilson-becomes-worlds-most-senior-catholic-charged-with-concealing-child-abuse/ 

Priest at St. Francis, left nots admitting abuse brfore his Feb-death

Story updated at March 26, 2015 at 6:23 p.m. to clarify that Father McKenna was discussing the circumstances of Father Roth’s death. Catholic church leaders are looking for other potential victims of a now-deceased priest who once served at St. Francis de Sales High School and who they confirmed abused a minor 14 years ago.

The Rev. James H. Roth, 61, died Feb. 11 at Hospice of Northwest Ohio after taking a high dose of insulin. Though his death has not been confirmed as a suicide, he left a note admitting to the allegation, said the Rev. Ken McKenna, provincial of the Toledo-Detroit Province of the Oblates of Saint Francis de Sales.   

http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2015/03/26/Priest-who-served-at-St-Francis-left-note-admitting-abuse-before-his-Feb-death.html

Catholic brother's child sexual abuse case adjourned because of brief

A Hunter region Catholic brother, extradited from New Zealand to face child sexual abuse charges, has had his case adjourned for two months to allow his lawyers time to digest the enormous police brief.

Bernard Kevin McGrath, 67, is facing 252 child sex offences, relating to 35 victims and dating back to the 1970s. The alleged offences happened in the Lake Macquarie region, near Newcastle.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-25/catholic-brother27s-child-sexual-abuse-case-adjourned-because-/6347080 

We are Church Ireland

We are Church Ireland fully supports Marie Collins’s call for Bishop Juan Barros of Chile  to be removed from his  Office as Bishop. We believe that Pope Francis should move immediately to suspend Bishop Juan Barros . The new bishop is accused of  protecting Chile's most notorious paedophile priest Fernando Karadima.

Four years ago he was found guilty by the Vatican of the serial abuse of teenage boys and banned from celebrating mass in public. One of his victims testified that the newly-appointed Bishop saw Karadima molesting him. 

http://wearechurchireland.ie/wac-press-statement-chilean-church-abuse/ 

An 85-year-old priest standing trial on alleged offences

A Canberra priest (Father Edward Evans, aged 85) began facing a trial in the Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court on 25 March 2015. He is charged with alleged offences against a child in the 1990s. Father Evans is based in Canberra, where he has been acting as a chaplain to the German-speaking community. Among other duties, Father Evans has been associated with St Patrick's Catholic Church in Braddon (Canberra), where German-language Masses have been conducted on Sundays.
Fr Evans was interviewed by police in 2013 and was charged with three acts of indecency between 1994 and 1997. He was accused of indecently touching a girl three times, twice when she was between 11 and 12, and a third time when she was 13. He has pleaded not guilty to the allegations.

http://brokenrites.org.au/drupal/node/259 

Federal government's refusal to set up national fund for child sex abuse victims criticised by commissioner

Justice Peter McClellan says federal fund, supported by Catholic and Anglican churches, was most likely to deliver ‘just and fair’ outcome for victim.  The federal government’s refusal to establish a national compensation scheme for child sex abuse victims is disappointing, Justice Peter McClellan, the royal commissioner, has said.
In an opening address on Wednesday to a public hearing into redress for abuse survivors, McClellan said it was disappointing that the approach most likely to ensure a “just, fair and consistent outcome for all victims” was not supported by the Commonwealth.

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/mar/25/governments-refusal-to-set-up-national-fund-for-child-sex-abuse-victims-criticised-by-commissioner 

Shawano lawyer suspended for smearing judges

A lawyer and corporate manager for a controversial religious sect based near Shawano has been barred from practicing law in Wisconsin for a year, in part for publicly smearing federal court officers as "a bunch of ignoramus, bigoted Catholic beasts that carry the sword of the church."
Naomi Isaacson was a lawyer and CEO of the Dr. R.C. Samanta Roy Institute of Science and Technology. The religious sect known as "SIST," based in Wescott, made news in 2008 for having allegedly compiled a list of 60 Shawano area residents that were "potential victims of an implied threat," according to Shawano police.

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/news/local/2015/03/24/shawano-lawyer-suspended-smearing-judges/70366982/ 

Canonical investigation launched into allegations against priest

More information has been discovered regarding allegations against Father Luis Camacho have surfaced, as a report alleging the priest had sexual contact with a minor was filed with the Archdiocese of Agana and Child Protective Services. News that a priest may have had sexual relations with a teenage girl has members of Guam's Catholic community in shock and asking for prayer.  
It was last week KUAM News first brought you the story about the arrest of Father Luis Camacho, who was the pastor for the San Dimas and San Dionisio Churches.  The priest was arrested on allegations of custodial interference.  Police found Fr. Luis and a 17-year-old girl in a parked car at Agat Beach. The girl was supposed to be in school.

http://www.kuam.com/story/28596898/2015/03/24/canonical-investigation-launched-into-allegations-against-priest 

Bishop facing backlash over handling of Belfast priest accused of getting parishioner pregnant

Catholic Bishop Noel Treanor has come under pressure from clergy members over his handling of an alleged sexual relationship between a priest and a parishioner.

West Belfast priest Fr Ciaran Dallat is believed to have left his parochial house to stay with a friend along the north coast as the storm over his alleged affair with a woman, who became pregnant and then miscarried his child, failed to dissipate.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/bishop-facing-backlash-over-handling-of-belfast-priest-accused-of-getting-parishioner-pregnant-31089600.html 

Parishioners to hold rally in support of 'caring' cleric Fr Ciaran Dallat

A rally in support of Fr Ciaran Dallat, who allegedly broke his vow of celibacy to have a two-year affair with a woman, has been organised by his parishioners. 

The rally will be held outside St Peter's Cathedral in west Belfast at 7pm today "to show support for Fr Ciaran from the young and old of the parish to let him know that he is sadly missed".

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/parishioners-to-hold-rally-in-support-of-caring-cleric-fr-ciaran-dallat-31089546.html 

In defense of Cardinal Keith O'Brien, sort of

Was the cardinal's confession and resignation a missed opportunity for the Church? There are good reasons why Cardinal Keith Michael Patrick O'Brien of Scotland should have participated in the last Conclave.

(I'll get to that in a minute.)

Instead, he resigned as archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh just before the papal election got underway. Four men had gone public and accused him of pressuring them into having sex years ago when they were junior priests (one was actually an adult seminarian). The papers ran wild with the story and the cardinal could no longer deny it.

http://www.globalpulsemagazine.com/news/in-defense-of-cardinal-keith-obrien-sort-of/980 

Royal commission: Blow to plan for national redress scheme for child sex abuse victims

Hopes for a single, national scheme to provide assistance and compensation for victims of child sexual abuse have been dealt a heavy blow, with the federal government stating that such a scheme is too complex, time consuming and costly.
The statements were made in a blunt, two-page submission to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which is trying to develop a redress scheme for those who have suffered abuse.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/royal-commission-blow-to-plan-for-national-redress-scheme-for-child-sex-abuse-victims-20150325-1m75wv.html 

Church refuses to comment on reports priest has been suspended after woman's affair claims

Catholic Church officials have refused to confirm or deny reports that a priest at the centre of a storm over allegations he had a sexual relationship with a woman and made her pregnant has been suspended.

Some Mass-goers at St Peter's Cathedral in Belfast last night said they believed Fr Ciaran Dallat (53), the assistant priest in the parish, had been suspended amid an investigation by Church bosses.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/church-refuses-to-comment-on-reports-priest-has-been-suspended-after-womans-affair-claims-31086595.html 

Church rocked by claim that Belfast priest got parishioner pregnant

A priest accused of defying his vow of celibacy to have an affair with a woman who became pregnant was forced to cancel a talk to parishioners about marriage just days before the scandal became public.

The 49-year-old businesswoman at the centre of the storm, known only as 'Linda', claimed she got pregnant by Fr Ciaran Dallat (51) before she miscarried at five weeks.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/church-rocked-by-claim-that-belfast-priest-got-parishioner-pregnant-31086721.html 

Pray for justice and support, say Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson charged with child sex abuse cover-up

THE acting leader of the Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide has promised the church will “remain strong on the safety and protection of children’’ after Archbishop Philip Wilson was charged with concealing child sexual abuse.
Catholics attending Sunday Mass at St Francis Xavier Cathedral were urged to pray for child abuse victims and for Archbishop Wilson, who has taken leave. Vicar General Philip Marshall read out an open letter from Archbishop Wilson at Mass on Sunday morning.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/pray-for-justice-and-support-say-adelaide-archbishop-philip-wilson-charged-with-child-sex-abuse-cover-up/story-fni6uo1m-1227273644221?from=public_rss 

Leo Abse 'being investigated by police in connection with allegations of child abuse

The late Welsh Labour MP and solicitor is being investigated by a police force, according to report. The late Welsh MP and solicitor Leo Abse is being investigated by police examining allegations of child abuse, according to reports.
The Sunday Times says documents from South Wales Police reveal that allegations against the long-serving politician, who died in 2008 aged 91, are being examined by another force. 

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/leo-abse-being-investigated-police-8897463 

Cardinal O’Brien can’t be exiled forever

The Church may be quite good at handing out punishments, but seems less good in letting some sinners know they are forgiven

The news that Cardinal O’Brien is now a cardinal in name only is not really news. Two years ago, he was not present at the conclave that elected Pope Francis. Given that the only real function that cardinals exercise of right is that of voting in a conclave, one can say that by staying away, Cardinal O’Brien effectively resigned his privileges then. What has happened now is that this resignation has been made official. 

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2015/03/23/cardinal-obrien-cant-be-exiled-forever/ 

Abuse victims demand national redress

Survivors of child sexual abuse will band together to force Australian governments to back a national compensation scheme. The opening day of a three-day hearing into redress for thousands of people who were abused as children in institutions heard the federal government had rejected a proposal for a national scheme.
The knock-back was described as disappointing by Peter McClellan, the chair of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Nicky Davis, who heads up the Australian branch of the international advocacy group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, claimed the federal and state governments were telling survivors to "suffer in silence".

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/aap/article-3009700/Abuse-redress-hearing-opens.html 

More Disturbing Details Alleged in Priest Sex Scandal

These alleged disturbing details extend to other seminarians involved in the Neocatechumenal Way. Guam - The saga continues in the priest sex scandal, this time more disturbing details are being alleged and not just with Father Luis Camacho, but with other members of the neocatechumenal way.

It’s the second letter Deacon Steve Martinez has written to Archbishop Anthony Apuron over Father Luis Camacho’s sex scandal involving a 17-year-old female student. Deacon Steve alleges that, based on his understanding, Father Luis and the student engaged in oral sex.

http://www.pacificnewscenter.com/public-safety/item/2827-more-disturbing-details-revealed-in-priest-sex-scandal 

'Did you abuse my son?' mother asks priest 40 years after son died

Andrew Michael Nash was 13 when he died in his bedroom. Other family members were in the Newcastle home, watching television and doing homework, at the time. His death, in 1974, came after an apparently uneventful day at school where his class teacher was also a serial child sex offender.
More than 40 years later, his mother Audrey Nash, 89, wants that teacher, former Marist Brother Romuald to answer a devastating and heartbreaking question. "I want him to tell me if he sexually abused my son," said Mrs Nash, who still lives in the home where her son died.

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/did-you-abuse-my-son-mother-asks-priest-40-years-after-son-died-20150326-1m7vzu.html 

Roman Catholic Church says "no obligation" to report child abuse by priests

The Roman Catholic Church will not report cases of child abuse by priests as a matter of policy, the spokesperson for the Polish Episcopate said. “There is no such obligation,” Father Józef Kloch said in an interview with on TOK FM radio. “Such a victim is told they have the right to report it to the prosecutors. That is the correct way.”
The Church has settled a case with Marcin K., a victim of abuse who sued his diocese for PLN 200,000 (EUR 50,000) and public apologies. The settlement envisages financial help for therapy of the victim, which the TOK FM alleges amounts to PLN 150,000.

http://www.thenews.pl/1/9/Artykul/201446,Roman-Catholic-Church-says-no-obligation-to-report-child-abuse-by-priests 

Child abuse victims deserve more than the commonwealth's excuses

The moment when things went wrong for victims of child abuse in Australia was a very precise one. In the 1990s, Jeff Kennett, then premier of Victoria, met with George Pell, who was at that stage the Catholic archbishop of Melbourne. According to Pell, Kennett told him to “clean this [child abuse] thing up and there won’t be a royal commission”.
Kennett told The Age last year that he was “reassured that George said ‘yes’, he’d get stuck into it ... it’s not for me to sit in judgment … of whether the response was adequate or not”.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/26/child-abuse-victims-deserve-more-than-the-commonwealths-excuses 

Whistleblower Kids' in the Court of Public Interest

From Child Snatching and the Secrecy of Family Courts to Forced Adoptions, Child Sexual Exploitation and Satanic Ritual Abuse.

Dear Home Office

Here is a letter I sent yesterday to the MoJ. As you know I have contacted you before concerning this case which has now been through the High Court and is awaiting further Appeal on behalf of the Mother.

My prime concern is for the children’s/victims safety in the interim from this moment in time until Appeal case is heard. I urge you to contact the MoJ and request details on what they plan to do in light of EU LEGAL DIRECTIVES which very clearly, give their full support only to the child-witness/victim statements given in freedom from influence of alleged abusers.

 

http://whistleblowerkids.uk/tag/catholic-church/ 

Clergyman losing faith in church's leader

Deacon Stephen Martinez is hoping Archbishop Anthony Apuron will take action. He's written another letter to the head of the island's Catholic church not only concerned about Father Luis Camacho's recent arrest, but also about the Redempotoris Mater Seminary, where he learned to become a priest and its connection to the Neocatechumenal Way.
Fr. Luis was arrested last week after police found him with a 17-year-old girl parked at a beach in Agat. The girl was supposed to be in school at the time. According to Martinez, he alleges the two were engaging in cunnilingus. 

http://www.kuam.com/story/28618470/2015/03/26/clergyman-losing-faith-in-churchs-leader 

Missing: drama about abuse in the Catholic Church

Abuse in the Catholic Church: The film “Missing ” shows how the allegation of a sexual offense endangers a male friendship. Clergymen were differentiated rarely shown in cinemas.  A normal male bonding: Man playing football together, the sweat flows freely and is afterwards replaced in the pub with beer and liquor. Laughing, chatting, backslapping.
Every now and then flashes a clerical collar into the picture. Gradually can be calculated from the enigmatic bureaucratic hierarchy levels that cite this men talking, put together a professional image. And it is clear that they do not belong to any normal male society, but one of the oldest in the world:. The Catholic Church 

http://panteres.com/2015/03/26/missing-drama-about-abuse-in-the-catholic-church/ 

Cardinal Keith O'Brien and Sexual Sin

"Cardinal Keith O’Brien, a classic example of church hypocrisy coming back to give him a well-earned bite on the bottom."- Terry Sanderson quoted in The Freethinker^[1] Cardinal Keith O'Brien was Archbishop of Edinburgh and also the highest ranking Roman Catholic dignitary in the UK. O'Brien was named bigot of the year in 2012 due to his opposition to Gay marriage gay adoption and his generally anti-gay position.
^[2] Indeed O'Brien felt allowing gay rights is "a mere step away from legalising Paedophilia and Bestiality." Well really? That's strong language. ^[3] Since the worthy cardinal opposed Homosexuality so strongly did he act consistently and avoid gay behaviour himself? 

http://liberapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Cardinal_Keith_O%27Brien_and_Sexual_Sin 

What should be done with pedophile priests?

Fate of priests convicted of sexual abuse poses numerous problems for French bishops.  A year ago, one father discovered that the priest convicted of sexually assaulting his son had been transferred to the chaplaincy of the hospital next to the neighborhood where they lived. In another urban diocese, it was the bishop himself who admitted he did not know what to do with five pedophile priests, several of whom had spent two or three years in prison, who were subsequently sent to his territory by other dioceses. 
While it is shocking for the victims, the question of the fate of pedophile priests is a real headache for the bishops of France. At the present time, there are no official statistics on their number. The French bishops' conference refuses to centralize the cases “so as not to relieve the bishops of their responsibility.” Only a central monitoring unit has been set up to coordinate best practices in this matter.

http://www.globalpulsemagazine.com/news/what-should-be-done-with-pedophile-priests/986 

UPDATE: Priest abuse survivor speaks out

WATERLOO | A former Dubuque man has come forward with abuse claims against a former Iowa Catholic priest who served parishes in Northeast Iowa. Jeff Buchheit said he decided to go public with the allegations against Rev. Leo Riley to raise awareness of child sexual abuse.
“A child victim’s voice is so soft and far too easy to go unnoticed. Kids need to be protected and given the tools to protect themselves,” Buchheit said. “The fear of revealing that I had been sexual abused and being dismissed or victimized again was paralyzing. It has haunted every aspect of my life,” he said. “I will no longer allow that fear to define me; that starts with me saying publicly that it did happen.”

http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/priest-abuse-survivor-speaks-out/article_b670797b-d23f-5291-9a3f-138caad260a9.html 

For Christ's Sake: End Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church ... for Good

In this new book, Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, controversial author of 'Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church', pulls no punches in his effort to go beyond merely 'managing' sexual abuse in the Church. He seeks to identify, uproot and eradicate abuse - and the poor response to it - by addressing the causes: without limitation.
He leads up to a call for nothing less than a Council of the whole Church to confront the issues raised in the book, within which he insists that the laity must play a major role. 

http://www.garrattpublishing.com.au/product/9781922152602/

Unholy Silence

The Catholic Church says its response to cases of child sex abuse should be compassionate, that abusers should be brought to justice and that concealing the truth is unjust to victims.

But does it follow those principles?
Coming up, Four Corners reporter Geoff Thompson investigates a shocking case of abuse involving many children, committed over several years. The abuse in itself is horrifying, the impact on the victims devastating, but perhaps the most alarming revelation is the fact that the Church turned a blind eye to the priest's crimes. Four Corners asks why, despite clear evidence of abuse, the Church allowed him to move from parish to parish, apparently without alerting the police. The program reveals that even now the Church will not admit the full extent of what it knew about the priest's activities. 

http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2012/06/28/3535079.htm 

We can't let next generation forget cruelty and neglect children suffered

When the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse began its work, hundreds of adults who had grown up in the care of the State gave evidence about their experiences in the residential institutions. A horrifying story began to emerge, as witness after witness gave consistent, compelling accounts of emotional and physical abuse, sexual abuse, cruelty and neglect.

The witnesses spoke on the understanding that the records of their testimony would be destroyed when the final report was published. Many of them had never spoken before about their experiences and some had never told anybody, even wives and husbands, about what they had endured.

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/comment/we-cant-let-next-generation-forget-cruelty-and-neglect-children-suffered-31086755.html 

IRELAND’S HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD: State looked the other way as citizens suffered

Last summer, the chair of the UN Human Rights Committee described Ireland’s human rights record, particularly in relation to women and children, as ‘quite a collection’.

In a withering assessment, Nigel Rodley, a leading expert in international human rights law, and a former UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, said Ireland’s collection of human rights failures have gone on for a period that was hard ‘to imagine any state party tolerating’.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/irelands-human-rights-record-state-looked-the-other-way-as-citizens-suffered-319890.html 

Laure McCourt Lopez Book Review: "No Longer on Pedestals"

In life, there are subjects that one may find difficult to discuss and then there are those topics that create such an emotional upheaval within the soul that few dare venture to acknowledge let alone give words to. Fortunately, a voice has been raised via Carol Kuhnert, author of "No Longer on Pedestals," a book that exposes the darkness that resided in the life of Carol's brother, Fr. Norman H. Christian. The purpose of the writing is made quite clear within the journal's introduction: 
"My purpose in writing this book is to open the minds and hearts of those who find it difficult to believe clergy have been sexually abusing children for many decades and that the Catholic Church has made protecting the abusers and the church's assets its number-one priority, while leaving the victims, their families and church members to fend for themselves in trying to heal, understand and cope."

http://www.magic-city-news.com/Book_Reviews_20/Laure_McCourt_Lopez_Book_Review_No_Longer_on_Pedestals_by_Carol_Kuhnert19230.shtml 

Popes ordered silence, former judge Kieran Tapsell claims in book

A FORMER NSW judge who studied to be a priest with a future notorious Hunter child sex offender has launched a devastating critique of the Catholic Church’s six popes, including two new saints, who covered up a global child sex abuse crisis for nearly a century.
Popes Pius XI, Pius XII, Paul VI, Benedict XVI and the recently named papal saints John Paul II and John XXIII ‘‘effectively facilitated child sexual abuse’’, retired acting NSW district court judge Kieran Tapsell argues in his new book, Potiphar’s Wife: The Vatican’s Secret and Child Sexual Abuse.

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/2311667/popes-ordered-silence-former-judge-kieran-tapsell-claims-in-book/ 

Chile's Bishop Juan Barros, linked to sex abuse priest, faces Catholic fury

Santiago: Black balloons in hand, hundreds of Catholics gathered at a church in the small Chilean city of Osorno to protest against the appointment of Bishop Juan Barros, accused of protecting one of the nation's most notorious paedophiles.
The appointment has sparked outrage from many parishioners and puts into question Pope Francis' promise to rid the church of sex abuse. Critics say Bishop Barros helped cover up abuse by Father Fernando Karadima, whose case is the most infamous of several allegations of paedophilia within the Catholic Church in Chile.

http://www.smh.com.au/world/chiles-bishop-juan-barros-linked-to-sex-abuse-priest-faces-catholic-fury-20150322-1m4she.html 

Scots priest suspended amid investigation into historic sex abuse

A priest has been suspended from a North Lanarkshire catholic church amid a police investigation into historic sex abuse allegations. Father Richard Rodgers was suspended from his parish after a complaint was made to the diocese and then passed on to police.
The 79-year-old, who served at St Mary's Parish Church in Cleland was axed from active ministry for an "unspecified period of time" after the allegations came to light.

http://news.stv.tv/west-central/314297-father-richard-rodgers-suspended-over-historic-sex-abuse-claims/ 

Deep Catholic Roots, Faithful Education Can Help Renew Irish Church

Many Catholics in Ireland are experiencing a crisis of faith, according to reports, but two founders of a new Irish Catholic college are arguing that a new springtime is possible thanks to the country’s rich Catholic patrimony and by means of renewed Catholic education.
The “Irish Catholic Church has fallen on hard times,” Greg Erlandson recently wrote at OSV Newsweekly, pointing to several factors which caused a widespread abandonment of the Church. These include “[g]rowing economic success and what appears to have been a long period of poor catechesis,” as well as “[t]he clerical sexual abuse crisis and the weak response to it.” According to Erlandson, the “system of Catholic catechesis in state-supported schools seems to be collapsing. Children are under-catechized, and parents are under-evangelized.”

http://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/CatholicEducationDaily/DetailsPage/tabid/102/ArticleID/4084/Deep-Catholic-Roots-Faithful-Education-Can-Help-Renew-Irish-Church-Founders-of-New-College-Say.aspx