Claims of priest's abuse 'ignored'

FORMER Anglicare Tasmania director Phillip Aspinall ignored allegations of sexual abuse by an Anglican priest, a royal commission has heard.
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse heard Bishop Aspinall, now the Archbishop of Brisbane, ignored a man, identified as BYF, when he told him he had been sexually assaulted by Anglican priest Garth Hawkins.

http://www.examiner.com.au/story/3691504/claims-of-priests-abuse-ignored/?cs=95 

Paedophile priest given promotion

A PAEDOPHILE priest was promoted to Archdeacon of Burnie by a former Anglican Bishop who had been told of allegations he had behaved inappropriately with young boys, a royal commission has heard.
In opening, counsel assisting Naomi Sharp told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that Bishop of Tasmania Philip Newell was made aware of allegations about inappropriate behaviour from priest Louis Daniels in 1987.

http://www.examiner.com.au/story/3691525/paedophile-priest-given-promotion/ 

St. Cronan's priest defends work of Catholic pastors

Priests are supposed to love children. That’s the message of a self-published book, “Are You Still a Priest?” by the Rev. Gerald J. Kleba, pastor of St. Cronan Roman Catholic Church in St. Louis. About 14 years ago, Kleba took over as pastor of a parish devastated by sexual abuse and cover-up.
The sex abuse scandal was erupting in the Boston Archdiocese, thanks to the Boston Globe’s reporting into its failures to protect children from predator priests. In the last week of February 2002, as the Post-Dispatch was preparing its own story about secret settlements by the St. Louis Archdiocese to victims of sexual abuse, the archdiocese removed two priests from their assignments.

http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/books-and-literature/reviews/st-cronan-s-priest-defends-work-of-catholic-pastors/article_9346728b-2fa1-5f24-a461-f8906f9444bb.html 

Missionary priest guilty of child abuse

A federal judge has delayed next week's sentencing for a priest convicted of having sex with poor street children during missionary trips to Honduras.
The judge will hold a hearing Tuesday on whether to grant a new trial for the Rev. Joseph Maurizio instead of sentencing the 70-year-old priest that day in Johnstown, about 60 miles east of Pittsburgh.

http://www.emirates247.com/crime/missionary-priest-guilty-of-child-abuse-2016-01-30-1.619195 

Salford priests sexual abuse exposed after decades

Three former pupils of revered Manchester Catholic school are to sue the Salford bishopric over allegations of a severe sexual abuse cover-up. The claims date back to the 1950s, when St Bede’s College in Whalley Range, now a mixed-gender independent school, operated as a boys-only institution.
Waiving anonymity to raise awareness of the case, the group of ex-students are taking legal action against Salford Diocese. The allegations involve the conduct of three senior clergymen, Father Vincent Hamilton, Monsignor Thomas Duggan and Father Charles Mulholland.

http://www.blacknet.co.uk/salford-priests-sexual-abuse-exposed-after-decades/ 

Spotlight: Supporting Those Affected By Clergy Abuse

In the new Hollywood movie, Spotlight, the story is told of how journalist of the Boston community took on the Roman Catholic Church over the issue of sex abuse. The priest at the center of the abuse was John J. Geoghan.
According to the Boston Globe, the "church allowed abuse by priest for years." Writer Matt Carrol and Michael Rezendes, state, "By 2002, more than 130 people had come forward claiming that former priest, John J. Geoghan, allegedly fondled or raped them [1]."

http://www.crossmap.com/blogs/spotlight-supporting-those-affected-by-clergy-abuse-7225 

Philippine bishops accused of abuse cover-up

Monsignor counters missioner's claim of 'rampant' abuse by clergy.  Catholic bishops in the Philippines are covering up "rampant sexual abuse of children by the clergy," said a missionary priest who has been working with prostituted children for the past four decades.
"We have these bishops who have been covering up so much of this abuse, and we know that it is still going on," said Fr. Shay Cullen, an Irish priest and founder of the People’s Recovery Empowerment Development Assistance Foundation.

http://www.ucanews.com/news/philippine-bishops-accused-of-abuse-cover-up/68411 

Jehovah's Witnesses paedophile and sex abuse 'cover-up' could see records and documents destroyed

A former church elder says a memo has been sent telling them to get rid of notes taken during “judicial meetings” with alleged sex offenders.  Child abuse records could be destroyed by church elders accused of a sex crimes cover-up.
The Jehovah’s Witness church is believed to have sent a memo telling them to get rid of notes taken during “judicial meetings” with alleged sex offenders.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/jehovahs-witnesses-paedophile-sex-abuse-7278824 

Prominent Catholics want Seattle Archdiocese to open all sex-abuse files

Two prominent legal professionals and practicing Catholics want straight answers from the Seattle Archdiocese to questions about its recently published list of clergy members identified as admitted or credibly accused child-sex abusers.
Terry Carroll, a retired King County Superior Court judge, and Mike McKay, former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington, said they’re frustrated with what appears to be more of a public-relations move than a sincere effort at transparency and accountability.

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/prominent-laymen-want-seattle-archdiocese-to-fully-open-sex-abuse-files/ 

Confusion, anger over abuse redress

Anger and confusion has followed a federal government announcement indicating it is not likely to implement a key recommendation of the child abuse royal commission that it establish a national redress scheme for victims of institutional child sexual abuse.
Support groups for survivors of child sexual abuse have given different interpretations to the announcement on Friday that the federal government will lead development of a nationally consistent approach to redress but that responsibility should rest with state and territory jurisdictions where the abuse occurred.

http://www.9news.com.au/national/2016/01/31/17/28/confusion-anger-over-abuse-redress 

Police were not alerted to boys' abuse

Tasmania's Anglican community was Sue Clayton's life in the 1980s, but after hearing reports of sexual abuse by a priest and disagreeing with how the church handled the allegations, her world started to crumble.
Confidential revelations in 1987 by two teenage boys that they had been molested prompted the school teacher to arrange a meeting with Bishop Phillip Newell to express her concerns.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/sex-offender-evidence-continues/news-story/4fcecb85ec132669d251d080cf80933e 

Police were not alerted to boys' abuse

Tasmania's Anglican community was Sue Clayton's life in the 1980s, but after hearing reports of sexual abuse by a priest and disagreeing with how the church handled the allegations, her world started to crumble.
Confidential revelations in 1987 by two teenage boys that they had been molested prompted the school teacher to arrange a meeting with Bishop Phillip Newell to express her concerns.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/sex-offender-evidence-continues/news-story/4fcecb85ec132669d251d080cf80933e 

'We didn't share boys'

TWO convicted child sex offenders told a royal commission they denied sharing boys or that there was a paedophile ring inside the Anglican Church.
Former Anglican priests Garth Hawkins and Louis Daniels told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse they did not discuss their predilection for young boys with other priests.

http://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/3694031/we-didnt-share-boys/ 

George Pell too unwell to fly, days before decision on royal commission appearance

Australia’s most senior Catholic, Cardinal George Pell, is still too unwell to fly and will address a philanthropic Catholic organisation in the US on Thursday via video link from Rome.
It comes days before Australia’s royal commission into institutional responses into child sexual abuse is due to hear from Pell’s lawyers about whether he will be well enough to appear in person before the commission in February, when hearings are due to continue in Ballarat.

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/jan/28/george-pell-too-unwell-to-fly-days-before-decision-on-royal-commission-appearance 

Child sex abuse: Australian government to work on national redress scheme

The federal government will work with the state and territory governments to implement and fund a redress scheme for victims of child sexual abuse by July next year.
While individual states and territories will be responsible for redress that applies to institutions within their jurisdiction, the federal government will work with the jurisdictions to ensure the redress is consistent across the country, according to a statement from the department of the attorney general, George Brandis.

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/jan/29/child-sex-abuse-australian-government-to-work-on-national-redress-scheme 

Activist priest denies abuse allegations

Father Richard Gorman, known for years of activism throughout the Bronx, is denying allegations he sexually abused minors about 30 years ago, according to his lawyer. Murray Richmond said charges made public last week through an Archdiocese of New York press release are completely false.
In the Jan. 21 statement, which did not go into detail about the allegations, the archdiocese said Fr. Gorman would not be permitted “to publicly function as a priest,” including as director of prison chaplains for the archdiocese.

http://riverdalepress.com/stories/Activist-priest-faces-abuse-allegations,59065 

Mexican Church Accused Of Mass Sex Abuse Cover-Up

Several priests and laymen claim the archbishop protected cleric who allegedly abused around 100 children  OAXACA, Mexico (ChurchMilitant.com) - A Mexican archbishop is being accused of protecting a priest many claim abused up to 100 children.

In a press conference held Tuesday, multiple priests and activists charged José Luis Chávez Botello, the archbishop of Antequere-Oaxaca, with intentionally concealing sexual abuse reportedly perpetrated by a diocesan priest.

http://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/mexican-church-accused-of-mass-sex-abuse-coverup 

Judge replaces priest's sentencing with new trial hearing

A federal judge has delayed next week's sentencing for a priest convicted of having sex with poor street children during missionary trips to Honduras.
The judge will hold a hearing Tuesday on whether to grant a new trial for the Rev. Joseph Maurizio instead of sentencing the 70-year-old priest that day in Johnstown, about 60 miles east of Pittsburgh. Maurizio, a suspended Somerset County priest was convicted in September of charges including engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places, also known as sexual tourism.

http://www.morning-times.com/state_news/article_20f40d42-365d-5fda-8f9b-4c8a66c8457f.html 

Palm Beach diocese denies demoting priest for reporting another priest's abuse-related activities

The diocese of Palm Beach has hit back at claims by one of its priests that he has been ostracized for helping to prosecute a suspected pedophile priest who was jailed for six months for having shown a 14-year-old parishioner up to 40 pornographic images on his phone.
The Catholic Whistleblowers network, which is dedicated to exposing abuse cover-ups, has weighed in in support of Fr. John Gallagher, claiming the diocese of Palm Beach demoted him because he wasn't "silent about alleged sexual abuse of minor children."

http://ncronline.org/news/accountability/palm-beach-diocese-denies-demoting-priest-helping-prosecute-suspected-pedophile 

Michael Keaton: Ireland ahead of the curve on abuse issue

Michael Keaton: "I’m too far gone to even describe myself as a lapsed Catholic; but Irish-Catholic is my tribe. And that was true of a bunch of us who worked on this movie.”
So Michael Keaton is back. Again. Arriving hot on the heels of last year’s Academy Award sweeper Birdman, the well-preserved 64-year-old is back on the Oscar trail with Spotlight, a riveting dramatisation of the Boston Globe’s 2001 investigation into a cover-up of sexual abuse by the Roman Catholic Church.

http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/michael-keaton-ireland-ahead-of-the-curve-on-abuse-issue-1.2513964 

Pablo Larraín’s ‘The Club’: At Home With the Sins of the Fathers

The Academy Award-nominated film “Spotlight” brings viewers inside The Boston Globe reporting team that broke the story of a widespread cover-up of sexual abuse by Catholic priests. “The Club,” the latest film by the Chilean director Pablo Larraín, takes a different angle. It brings viewers deep inside the home of four priests removed from ministry for a range of sins — or crimes.

The tension between crime and punishment, sin and redemption, human and divine justice drives the film, which undulates between tragedy and dark comedy. “The Club,” opening Friday, Feb. 5, won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at last year’s Berlin Film Festival and made the longlist for this year’s Academy Award for best foreign-language film.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/31/movies/pablo-larrains-the-clubat-home-with-the-sins-of-the-fathers.html?emc=edit_tnt_20160129&nlid=63876270&tntemail0=y 

Report Exposes the Largest Sexual Abuse Syndicate to Ever Be Reported On Evangelical Church

Many churches have been accused of hiding reprehensible sins committed by church leaders. There have been more tales of s*xual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church, than one cares to say, a number of which leaders have tried to cover up.
In one of the latest article reports on Evangelical churches, a 10-month investigative research resulted in a story published in a February 2016 Washingtonian issue; a report that details an alleged scheme to hide s*xual abuse scandals within an evangelical megachurch.

http://allchristiannews.com/report-exposes-the-largest-sexual-abuse-syndicate-to-ever-be-reported-on-evangelical-church/ 

Abusive Priests On Indian Reservations Leave ‘Profound Wound’

Until the 1960s, Catholic boarding schools forcibly took Native American children from their families.
And often at those boarding schools were priests and nuns with histories of sexually abusing children – they were sent to those boarding schools because of their remoteness and isolation. That’s according to attorney Vito de la Cruz who has represented some of these former students.

http://kuow.org/post/abusive-priests-indian-reservations-leave-profound-wound 

Sexual abuse uncovered at Catholic school

A study has found evidence of child abuse from the 1930s to 50s at a Catholic educational institution in western Switzerland. At least 21 people are thought to have been affected.

The historical study led by Bishop Charles Morerod, found that 11 perpetrators were involved in the “mistreatment, and serious and repeated sexual abuse” of the children and young adults who were pupils at the Catholic Marini Institute in canton Fribourg between 1929 and 1955. The school was closed in 1979.

http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/vulnerable-victims_sexual-abuse-uncovered-at-catholic-school/41920330 

Safeguarding and the Catholic Church in England and Wales

This year will see an increased focus on safeguarding in the Catholic Church in England and Wales with the start of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse, led by Judge Lowell Goddard.
In agreement with the Bishops, the National Catholic Safeguarding Commission and the Catholic Safeguarding Advisory Service the CCN has put together the following update on safeguarding in the Catholic Church in order to ensure that Catholic parishioners are aware of the importance placed on safeguarding in the Church and the safeguarding procedures used across England and Wales.

http://www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=29304 

Priest abuse victims go on hunger strike

I received this posting today in my group Rape Victims of the Catholic Church on Facebook. I am sharing it here with the permission of the author Giuseppe De Gregorio. It is in both Italian and in English.
English translation: On The 7th day of hunger strike of Diego Esposito, victim of the priest pedophile napoletano don silverio walls, we wrote to Pope Francis. His holiness,

https://rapevictimsofthecatholicchurch.wordpress.com/2016/01/26/priest-abuse-victims-go-on-hunger-strike/

Rethinking Celibacy in the LGBTQQIP2SAA Age (Part 1)

Maybe it was the movie Spotlight. Maybe it was the recent news that the real scandal of “Billy Doe” was when he conned the Archdioceses of Philly out of a cool 5-million. Either way, the question of celibacy is back in the air.
It doesn’t matter, statistically speaking, that there is no correlation between the celibate life and sexual abuse. It doesn’t matter that, as a 2004 study of the issue showed, children are some 100 times more likely to be sexually abused by a teacher than a priest. It doesn’t matter that celibates tend to be pretty much as boring as everyone else. We are ideologically and culturally armed against the normalization of celibacy — spiritually committed to the image of the “dirty priest.”
That is to say — we’re Protestant.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/badcatholic/2016/01/rethinking-celibacy-in-the-lgbtqqip2saa-age-part-1.html 

The Largest Sexual Abuse Scandal to Hit the Evangelical Church” Exposed, Report Says

In the works for 10 months, a story in the February 2016 Washingtonian brings to the public details of an alleged conspiracy to cover up sexual abuse by a prominent evangelical megachurch.
The story behind a sex-abuse scandal at an evangelical megachurch near Washington, D.C., kept out of court by a statute of limitations, has hit newsstands in a long-form story in the Washingtonian, a monthly lifestyle magazine read by 400,000.

https://baptistnews.com/culture/social-issues/item/30865-tale-of-evangelical-sex-scandal-hits-washington-newsstands 

Making the Church face up to the truth of abuse

Why doesn’t the Catholic Church de-frock priests who abuse children? It’s a question that perturbs Richard Scorer as he considers the case of paedophile priest Father William Green, who taught at St Bede’s College in Whalley Range.

Green admitted 27 assaults on children in his care and was jailed for six years in October 2008 for ‘systematically’ sexually abusing a string of boys over 20 years ago. But Mr Scorer, who acted for Green’s victims against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford – the diocese includes St Bede’s – is concerned that Green has yet to be laicized (de-frocked).

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/making-the-church-face-up-to-the-truth-856373 

Child sex abuse scandal causes Archbishop to step down

I should think so... those who covered up the rape of children... are enables... as if they too had rape the child... they might as well as given the rapist... the go ahead to abuse the innocent children... boys and girls alike...  Ann

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

According to the Catholic Herald, Archbishop John Nienstedt resigned as the head of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in June after the Ramsey County Attorney's Office filed charges against the archdiocese claiming a boy had not been properly protected by a former priest.
Archbishop John Nienstedt was meant to assist Father John Sleckenstein for six months to complete projects for the Diocese of Kalamazoo, but was forced to withdraw when members of the parish began to question his background.

http://www.catholic.org/news/hf/faith/story.php?id=66883

Accused Priest Had No Role at Our Lady of Sorrows School, Says Principal

Was the catholic church paying him his wages?... come on... there are more than... the little white lies being told here... this does not wash with me... I have seen and heard too much... of the re-abuse of the victims/survivors... to let these feeble words... past their lips... they try anything and this one... is so blatant... that it is staring us right in the face... more lies from the catholic church... what will be their next excuse... to cover up their abuse... of knowing what was happening to children..  Ann

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

Officials report that Fr. Michael Walters, a priest who formerly worked as an assistant pastor at Our Lady of Sorrow Church in South Orange and who has recently been accused of sexual misconduct with minors at another parish in the 1980s, had no role in the school there and no contact with students. Media outlets reported earlier this month that Fr. Walters was removed from his ministry at the church in October amid allegations that he sexually assaulted two minors in the early 1980s.

http://villagegreennj.com/police-and-fire/accused-priest-no-role-lady-sorrows-school-says-principal/

‘No regrets’ at speaking up about paedophile priest - Father John Gallagher

A Derry priest who has been frozen out of his priestly duties in the USA after refusing to cover up sex crimes by another priest, says he has no regrets about what he did.
Father John Gallagher who now lives in Palm Beach but previously ministered in the Long Tower parish told the Journal how the locks were changed on his parochial house after he refused to put a paedophile priest on a plane rather than co-operate with police.

http://www.derryjournal.com/news/no-regrets-at-speaking-up-about-paedophile-priest-father-john-gallagher-1-7184022 

Catholic Church accused of shielding priest who abused some 100 children in Mexico

The Oaxaca Children’s Forum was joined Tuesday by several priests and activists in accusing Mexico’s Catholic hierarchy of protecting a priest who may have abused around 100 children.
The accusation was made at a press conference at which a letter was read from the mother of one of the victims directed to Pope Francis, who will visit Mexico next month, in which she asks the pontiff for justice for the victims and action to ensure that “this doesn’t happen again.”

http://insidecostarica.com/2016/01/27/catholic-church-accused-shielding-priest-abused-100-children-mexico/ 

Royal commission into child sexual abuse to focus on Church of England Boys' Society

A youth group operated by the Anglican Church will come under investigation during a week of public hearings in Hobart by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

Hearings into the Church of England Boys' Society (CEBS), a children's group similar to Scouts, run by the Anglican Church, will run from January 27 until February 5.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-27/royal-commission-focus-on-anglican-group-in-hobart-hearings/7115538 

Church in Florida denies Irish priest frozen out for warning about paedophile

VICTIMS of clerical sex abuse have staged a protest in Florida in support of an Irish priest who claims he was ostracised by the Catholic Church for calling police to arrest a paedophile cleric.

The march and protest at the Diocese of Palm Beach came after a spokeswoman for the church there finally issued a statement on the affair and denied a decision to move Fr John Gallagher was linked to the incident.

http://www.independent.ie/world-news/americas/church-in-florida-denies-irish-priest-frozen-out-for-warning-about-paedophile-34399869.html 

Catholic Church – My Sexual Abuse

Suffer the little children…and suffer we did, and still are.  I sit here in front of my computer and stare at a Towards Healing Pack that has been sent to me from the Catholic Church.
Do the Catholic Church truly believe that their Towards Healing Programme is going to heal the damage they have done to me and the many thousands of others? You don’t heal from these atrocities. You don’t go anywhere near ‘Towards Healing’.

http://mybigfatlie.com/catholic-church-my-sexual-abuse/# 

Fugitive Fathers A disturbing new chapter in the Catholic Church sex abuse scanda

The Vatican has no comment.  Jennifer’s memories were scattered and fleeting. They came suddenly, triggered by a smell or a glimpse of light dappled through stained glass. The aroma of freshly baked mince pies repulsed her nostrils. Scented candles, like the ones in the small San Antonio, Texas church she attended as an elementary school girl, made her gag with disgust.

Jennifer’s mother couldn’t understand these abrupt fits of revulsion, or the angry outbursts that accompanied them. For years, her daughter had been slipping into chaos, flunking classes, running with a bad crowd. The once happy-go-lucky child had changed beyond all recognition.

http://www.globalpost.com/content/fugitive-fathers 

Bad memories rife at sex abuse royal commission hearing

When the child sex abuse royal commission’s hearing into the Marist Brothers concludes in Sydney on June 30, Commissioner Justice Jennifer Coate and her peers must decide if there was a culture of acceptance, complicity and cover-up within the order or if its leaders could possibly be as ignorant, naive and incompetent as they have said.
Given Justice Coate repeatedly expressed amazement at claims by a succession of witnesses that they had not been aware sexual abuse against children was a criminal offence as recently as the late 1980s and early 1990s the former outcome appears more likely.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/bad-memories-rife-at-sex-abuse-royal-commission-hearing-20140618-zsdmd.html 

Victim, attorneys claim names excluded from Seattle Archdiocese abusers list

It has been 55 years since Steve O’Connor was first abused by a teacher at St. Benedict School, in Seattle.  As he talks about it, there are still tears and pain in his eyes. "It will never go away," said O’Connor.
In 2012, a King County jury awarded O’Connor $8 million for the sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of Dan Adamson. Adamson was a teacher, who became principal at St. Benedict School.

http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/victim-attorneys-claim-names-excluded-seattle-arch/nqCLM/

Whistleblower priest claims church ostracizing him

A priest from West Palm Beach says the Catholic Church has tried to force him out after he blew the whistle about a pedophile priest.
Father John Gallagher is breaking his silence. "The Bishop's responsibility is to take care of his priests and that's not happening. I have been ostracized," said Fr. John Gallagher.

http://cbs12.com/news/local/whistleblower-priest-claims-church-ostracizing-him 

Former pupils at St Bede's school to sue Salford Diocese over sexual abuse claims

Former pupils of a leading Catholic secondary school in south Manchester, who are suing church bosses over sex abuse claims, have spoken of their horror experiences.
Ex-students of St Bede’s College in Whalley Range say they suffered appalling treatment at the hands of priests at the school. Harrowing claims from three former pupils, who have bravely waived their right to anonymity, describe in detail how they suffered at the hands of senior staff.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/st-bedes-abuse-victims-sue-10787276 

Bishop Robinson at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

On Monday 24 August 2015, Bishop Geoffrey Robinson spent a day in the witness box at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. He showed the integrity one would hopefully expect from a Christian bishop in focussing on the interests of children ahead of the institutional interests of the Church.
He was there to assist the Commission in its understanding of the Catholic Church’s approach to the scandal of clerical child sexual abuse. Bishop Robinson was transparent in his formal statement, in his responses to questions, and in the multitude of accompanying exhibits.

http://johnmenadue.com/blog/?p=4489

Survivor: Why Isn't My Abuser On Seattle Archdiocese's List?

Steve O’Connor was 63 when he told his full story – to a jury in King County. "When Dan Adamson came to my house and I’m 12 years old, he says, 'I’ve selected Steve as my special boy,'" he said.
Adamson was O’Connor’s seventh grade teacher at St. Benedict School in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood. And for two years, he raped O’Connor routinely at school, in motels and in a basement room O’Connor calls the "torture chamber."

http://kuow.org/post/survivor-why-isnt-my-abuser-seattle-archdioceses-list?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%20KUOWNews%20%28KUOW%20News%29 

Irish Catholicism's Two Abuse Crises A Calamity for Both Church and Society

For an Irish Catholic Church desperate for good news, the bad keeps coming. Most recent are the revelations about a mother-and-child home run by the Bons Secours sisters in the town of Tuam, County Galway, which operated from 1925 to 1961.
While some early, highly sensationalized media reports about hundreds of dead babies dumped into a septic tank have turned out to be false, details about the treatment of children—their living conditions, mortality rates, and burial after death—unleashed a fresh round of shock and outrage in a nation that has seen plenty of both during two decades of reports detailing a history of physical and sexual abuse in Catholic settings.

https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/irish-catholicisms-two-abuse-crises 

Ireland braces itself for another report on clerical child abuse

Ireland braces itself for another report on clerical child abuseDublin Diocese Commission to name up to 15 priests said to have abused up to 450 children in capital over 35 years.  A report into clerical child abuse in Dublin released later today will "shock and horrify" the whole of Ireland, a leading figure in the Catholic church has admitted.

The Dublin Diocese Commission will name up to 15 priests they say were guilty of abusing children in the Irish capital over a 35-year-period. Up to 450 victims have also been identified by the commission which will present the report to the Irish justice minister Dermot Ahern.

 

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=41b_1248186013 

What about disciplining others responsible for priest abuse?

A recent Independent Record article discussed ways to prevent clergy sex crimes and cover ups in the Catholic church (“Attorneys, author, bishop weigh in on how to prevent sex abuse by clergy”). But one obvious and crucial step was not mentioned.
How about defrocking, demoting or disciplining church staff who ignore or conceal known or suspected child sex crimes? In our view, that’s the quickest and easiest way to catch predator priests after victim one or two, instead of after victim 22 or 33.

http://helenair.com/news/opinion/what-about-disciplining-others-responsible-for-priest-abuse/article_5ddbeb52-0aec-56a3-ad15-c5428e02661b.html 

Millennials and abuse: We can learn from this hopeful generation

There I was, standing in an empty ballroom that seated over 500 people in a downtown hotel in St. Louis just three days after Christmas. I had been invited by Intervarsity to speak at Urbana 2015 about the plight of child abuse within the church.
Urbana is an international student missions conference sponsored by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship that brings together over 15,000 students, young people, and ministry workers every three years in St. Louis. This year’s conference made national headlines with its focus on social justice as it boldly embraced #BlackLivesMatter.   What didn’t make the headlines is what happened in that hotel ballroom.

http://boz.religionnews.com/2016/01/25/millennials-and-abuse-we-can-learn-from-this-hopeful-generation/

UPDATED: Cardinal Newman Catholic School "requires improvement" according to Ofsted

VERBAL abuse, risk to children and physical assaults are all listed in a damning Ofsted report of Brighton and Hove’s biggest school.
Cardinal Newman Catholic School has been graded as requiring improvement by the government’s education watchdog after inspectors were sent in amid safeguarding fears. It comes after we exclusively revealed yesterday that a teacher at The Upper Drive site, Hove, was suspended last year over an alleged sexual relationship with a pupil.

http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/14227812.UPDATED__Cardinal_Newman_Catholic_School__requires_improvement__according_to_Ofsted/ 

Update: Diocese suspends St. Michael priest over allegations of sexual misconduct

A St. Michael priest has been placed on leave by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown due to an allegation he sexually abused children several decades ago, Diocese officials said Sunday.
The Rev. Charles F. Bodziak, 74, has been suspended from his post at St. Michael Roman Catholic Church in St. Michael and is being moved to an unnamed housing facility while diocese officials review the matter, spokesman Tony DeGol said.

http://www.tribdem.com/news/local_news/update-diocese-suspends-st-michael-priest-over-allegations-of-sexual/article_fa8d5f90-a1e9-5fe4-81d2-6152cf45bbb7.html 

Child protection screening dropped for parent volunteers

Parents and guardians volunteering at schools and preschools will no longer have to be screened, under child protection policy changes in place from today. 
The State Government says the lifting of relevant history screening for working with children will make it easier for parents and guardians to volunteer their time at the child’s school and preschool activities. Sporting and community groups using school facilities can now determine if screening is required and what type may be needed, in line with current legislation.

http://indaily.com.au/news/2016/01/25/child-protection-screening-dropped-for-parent-volunteers/ 

Just six of 350 cases of alleged school abuse settled under State scheme

Just six of out more than 350 cases of alleged sexual abuse in schools have been settled by the State under a State compensation scheme. The scheme was set up last year after Louise O’Keeffe won her case in January 2014 in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), following a 20-year legal battle.

The court ruled that the State was liable for abuse carried out by Ms O’Keeffe’s teacher at a national school in west Cork in the 1970s, when she was eight years old. The State’s compensation scheme applies to abuse that took place before 1991, when child-protection measures were introduced, subject to the statute of limitation.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/just-six-of-350-cases-of-alleged-school-abuse-settled-under-state-scheme-1.2508871 

Three Kirkland priests included in Archdiocese of Seattle sex abuse list

Three former priests, who worked at several different Kirkland churches, were named last week by the Archdiocese of Seattle in a list of clergy and religious leaders who the church believes were involved in sexual abuse of a minor in Western Washington.
However, not among the names of accused was former youth minister Jim Funnell at St. John Vianney Church who was alleged to have molested a child in the mid-1980s for more than a year. A lawsuit was filed and scheduled before the parish district settled out of court for $635,000 in 2012.

http://www.kirklandreporter.com/news/366455081.html 

Child abuse survivors take their former Catholic diocese to court

Survivors of child abuse within the Catholic Church are taking their former diocese to court after allegations of an institutional cover-up going back decades.

The claims - dating back to the 1950s and featuring pupils at a church school in the north west of England - mirror those in the recent Spotlight film, tipped for Oscars success for its real-life depiction of similar allegations in the Catholic Church in Boston, US, in the 1980s.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-3416564/Child-abuse-survivors-former-Catholic-diocese-court.html 

Muslim cleric says Cologne sex attacks were the victims' fault because they wore PERFUME

A Cologne imam has said the victims of the New Years Eve mob sex attacks had themselves to blame because they wore perfume. Sami Abu-Yusuf added that he was not surprised the girls were sexually assaulted, groped and raped, because of the way they dressed.

Hundreds of women were attacked by a mob of men in Cologne's city centre on New Years Eve, with the number of alleged sexual assaults now tallying up to 521, including three rapes. 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3408033/Muslim-cleric-says-Cologne-sex-attacks-victims-fault-wore-PERFUME.html

Few clergy on Catholic child-sex list ever prosecuted

Out of 77 Catholic priests and clergy members the Seattle Archdiocese listed this month as likely sex abusers of children, only five have ever been convicted of such crimes.
It appears only five of the 77 Catholic priests and clergy members identified this month as likely sex abusers of children have ever been brought to justice for any such crimes, according to a review of the list published by the Seattle Archdiocese.

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/few-clergy-on-catholic-child-sex-list-ever-prosecuted/ 

Priest Accused Of Sexual Abuse Of Minors In Westchester

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. -- A Catholic Priest has been accused of sexual abuse of minors in Westchester County, according to multiple reports.
Father Richard Gorman, the director of prison chaplains for the archdiocese, allegedly committed the acts 30 years ago. The archdiocese immediately reported the allegations to law enforcement official, Catholic New York reported.

http://lewisboro.dailyvoice.com/news/priest-accused-of-sexual-abuse-of-minors-in-westchester/620067/ 

Hutchins writes to former students after royal commission findings

THE board of Hobart all-boys private school Hutchins has again written to former students in the wake of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, accepting the commission’s findings and acknow­ledging the school could have done more in responding to claims of abuse.
The letter, dated January 13 and also sent to other members of the school community — including parents — fulfilled a promise made by former Hutchins chairman David Morris to report back once the board had considered the commission’s findings.

http://www.themercury.com.au/news/scales-of-justice/hutchins-writes-to-former-students-after-royal-commission-findings/news-story/ab73e7400e88dcd9836a7676f6f191fa 

Names of Yakima Valley clergy accused of sexual abuse may go online

The Catholic Diocese of Yakima may soon consider listing names of clergy on its website who have had credible claims of sexual abuse leveled against them. Several years ago, the Diocesan Lay Advisory Board discussed the possibility of publishing names on the website and decided against it.

But the chairman, Yakima attorney Russell Mazzola, said the topic “probably will come up again” at the board’s next meeting in March. The seven-member group, which meets quarterly, investigates any allegations of sexual misconduct in the local Catholic church.

http://www.yakimaherald.com/news/local/names-of-yakima-valley-clergy-accused-of-sexual-abuse-may/article_a68081c0-c260-11e5-a4ef-b38274b0f776.html 

‘Devout Christians’ jailed for murder of ‘possessed’ teen ‘Devout Christians’ jailed for murder of ‘possessed’ teen

Four South African women – described by a judge as ‘instruments of evil’ – have been jailed for the fatal exorcism of Sinethemba Dlamini, 14, above.
The Durban women, according to this report, believed that Dlamini was possessed by a demon and decided to disembowel her via her private parts to take out the demon code “44666” they believed was in her intestines.

http://freethinker.co.uk/2016/01/24/devout-christians-jailed-for-murder-of-possessed-teen/ 

‘Spotlight’ shows people need to be ready for the truth

People have to be ready for the truth before it can be revealed. That’s a theme of the riveting, award-winning movie, Spotlight, which recounts how the Boston Globe newspaper laid bare an ecclesiastical and political coverup of rampant pedophilia by more than 87 Roman Catholic priests and brothers.
After years of Boston Globe staff ignoring clergy abuse cases, the newspaper’s investigative team, called Spotlight, broke its explosive story in 2002. It led to the resignation of Cardinal Bernard Law and helped elevate clergy abuse into an international issue, which continues to reverberate.

http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2016/01/23/spotlight-shows-people-need-to-be-ready-for-the-truth/ 

In defense of Billy Doe

Ralph Cipriano, a blogger who once wrote for a Catholic publication, writes often about the case of Billy Doe of Philadelphia. His abusers have been criminally convicted.
Cipriano believes that experienced and unbiased professionals, including police, prosecutors, judges, jurors and civil attorneys, all got this case completely wrong and he, Cipriano, got it all right. 

http://www.snapnetwork.org/in_defense_of_billy_doe

Lists of accused ND priests still under wraps

FARGO – Over the years, nearly 30 Roman Catholic dioceses around the country have publicly disclosed a list naming priests accused of sexually abusing children.

Sometimes these lists held no surprises – the priests named were already known as alleged predators. But often these lists revealed new names, shedding light on dark corners of the church.

http://www.inforum.com/news/3931507-lists-accused-nd-priests-still-under-wraps 

Possible just 5 of 77 abusive clergymen were convicted

It's possible that just five of the 77 Catholic priests and clergy members in western Washington identified as likely sex abusers of children were ever convicted.

Read more here: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/state/washington/article56360935.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/state/washington/article56360935.html#storylink=cp members in western Washington identified as likely sex abusers of children were ever convicted.

The Seattle Times reported Sunday (http://is.gd/vet1nH ) that it came to that conclusion after analyzing a list published this month by the Seattle Archdiocese. The list includes names of priests and other clergy who served or lived in western Washington since the 1920s "for whom allegations of sexual abuse of a minor have been admitted, established or determined to be credible" following a two-year review by a consultant and an archdiocese-appointed board.

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/state/washington/article56360935.html

Read more here: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/state/washington/article56360935.html#storylink=cpyIt's possible that just five of the 77 Catholic priests and clergy members in western Washington identified as likely sex abusers of children were ever convicted.
The Seattle Times reported Sunday (http://is.gd/vet1nH ) that it came to that conclusion after analyzing a list published this month by the Seattle Archdiocese. The list includes names of priests and other clergy who served or lived in western Washington since the 1920s "for whom allegations of sexual abuse of a minor have been admitted, established or determined to be credible" following a two-year review by a consultant and an archdiocese-appointed board.

Read more here: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/state/washington/article56360935.html#storylink=cpy

Fr Paul Symonds: Ballymena priest to retire after Catholic Church inquiry

A priest who was investigated but never charged after concerns were raised about the safeguarding of children is to retire after a Church inquiry.

Fr Paul Symonds stepped aside from ministry in County Antrim in 2009 to facilitate a police investigation.  After a decision was made to not to prosecute him, the Catholic Church resumed its internal inquiry.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-politics-35388046 

Catholic priest investigated for child abuse to retire after review by church

A Catholic priest who was investigated for what were called "safeguarding issues" is to retire following a church review.
Concerns about Fr Paul Symonds date back to the 1970s, when he worked in England. The priest, who comes from England, was working as a curate in Ballymena when concerns about him were brought to the attention of the authorities.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/catholic-priest-investigated-for-child-abuse-to-retire-after-review-by-church-34389392.html 

Priest who faced abuse claims to stay out of public ministry

Fr Paul Symonds who was not charged by civil authorities to ‘live as retired priest’. The diocese of Down and Connor in Northern Ireland has decided a priest who faced child abuse allegations but was not charged by the civil authorities should remain out of public ministry.

In a statement on Friday the diocese said that in October 2009 it was notified by the civil authorities “of concerns of a safeguarding nature raised against Fr Paul Symonds”. 

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/priest-who-faced-abuse-claims-to-stay-out-of-public-ministry-1.2507263 

Paul Little: She's right to sing out about abuse

The Catholic Church's doughty spokeswoman Lyndsay Freer was being economical with, if not the truth, at least with institutional memory when she defended her employer from criticism from Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. If you can call them criticisms.
The singer probably thought she was doing no more than stating the obvious when she reminisced about being "beaten by nuns".

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11578860 

Former Furlong students file complaint against B.C. Supreme Court judge

Former students and accusers of John Furlong at Immaculata Catholic School in central British Columbia have filed a complaint against B.C. Supreme Court Justice Catherine Wedge, who last year ruled in his favour in a highly-publicized defamation case against investigative journalist Laura Robinson.
The Canadian Judicial Council confirmed the complaint, filed on Jan. 8 on behalf of the Lake Babine Nation's hereditary chiefs, who say their voices were never heard during Furlong’s trial.

http://www.nationalobserver.com/2016/01/22/news/former-furlong-students-file-complaint-against-bc-supreme-court-judge 

Sen. John Cooke works to remove 10-year sex-assault statute of limitations

Greeley’s Sen. John Cooke, the former Weld County Sheriff, wants to remove the statute of limitations on sexual assault crimes.

The Republican senator is working across the aisle with Rep. Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, to completely repeal Colorado’s 10-year statute of limitations on felony sexual assault crimes, such as rape.

http://www.greeleytribune.com/news/20277194-113/sen-john-cooke-works-to-remove-10-year-sex-assault#

Outrage over video showing Catholic priest violently shaking the heads of young children and even KICKING one as they lined up for their First Communion

Share this on your facebook page... let the world see... the truth how children are treated... in the catholic church... this is absolutely terrible... if this is the way the catholic church nuns and priest... still behave as they did to children... in their hell hole orphanages years ago... you can see by this video... the abuse to children by the catholic church... is still happening... what a thing to do to these children... as they were about to receive... the body and blood of Jesus Christ... they are bashed about their heads.. pushed to the ground... and even a little boy... trying to get away from the priest... is kicked in the back.;.. you can certainly tell... which children he does not like... their hair was pulled even harder... Ann 

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

A priest yanks hard on children's hair and kicks one up the backside as he tries to avoid him in this astonishing video filmed inside a Brazilian church.

The images have caused controversy throughout south America where the footage is going viral. The youngsters are said to have been preparing for their First Communion and the unnamed holy man was reported to have been giving them an unorthodox blessing. 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3412216/Outrage-video-showing-Catholic-priest-violently-shaking-heads-young-children-KICKING-one-lined-Communion.html 

New film, "Spotlight": How a U.S. newspaper exposed the church's child-abuse, like Australia's Broken Rites did

You have this wrong folks... it is the victims = survivors who exposed... the catholic church abuse... once we knew that we were innocent of our crimes... and that the lies we were told... by the catholic church nuns and priest... we wanted the world to know the TRUTH... we came forward one by one... knowing that the Truth... was the only thing that we stand for... and as we told our stories... while we were not believed... and being verbal abuse across the airways... on the phone... and in person... called all the names under the sun... as they thought... that by them doing this to me... I would walk away... it was the TRUTH... which kept me going... and it still is today... the TRUTH always wins out in the end... 

Without the victim = survivor stories... the papers... movies... and the TVs... would not have anything... we forth a long hard battle for many years... and still there are some people... who do not believe about the abuse... which many children of yesterday... still suffer the shame and pain alone today... we are ONE OF MANY... and WE WILL NOT GO AWAY... until justice is done for the last... child who suffered at the hands of their abusers... no matter what home... orphanages... state care homes... or religion worldwide... face us and say WE DID ABUSE YOU... but that I think... we will never see... or hear... Ann

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

In 1993, Broken Rites Australia began researching — and exposing — the Catholic Church's sex-abuse cover-ups throughout Australia. Ten years later, in 2002 and 2003, the Boston Globe newspaper revealed similar cover-ups in the United States, Now, people can see the Boston story told in a major film, Spotlight, which is being released in Australian cinemas on 28 January 2016.
In the United States, where Spotlight was released in cinemas in November 2015, it is being hailed as one of the best movies of 2015. In late January 2016, Australian newspapers have begun publishing reviews of Spotlight.

http://brokenrites.org.au/drupal/node/389 

Kenya: Clericalism Is a Crime in Jesus' Name

Churches are popping up everywhere... and all that they are about... is making MONEY... they do not pay TAX... as long as they give money to four charities... they get most of that money back... and that is why... the nuns and priest... made sure without us knowing... that they put us victim - survivors... in with one of their charities... now you will see why... the catholic church orphanages worldwide... were so keen... to pay for our well being... and that was the last thing on their minds... it has always being about money...

So don't be fooled... when you hear the catholic church tell you... about the amount of money that they have paid out... in Australia and most orphanages worldwide... they have paid out in kind... we had to send a quote to them... and they would pay for it... with them keeping the recites...  then handing those recites over to the tax departments... they got their money back... I pulled out because... they turned me down in what every I asked for... it was re-abuse... over and over again... the nuns still have their hold over me... they have our family home... Ann

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

It would appear that there is as much bad religion as dirty politics in this country. Just as politics is often the last refuge for the scoundrel, religion offers sanctuary, power and frequently massive wealth to another breed of opportunists and conmen.

There are over 20,000 registered churches in Kenya. Religion, politics and security are the growth industries at the moment. The lies, deceit, corruption, extortion and showmanship found in many churches would drive a sane person to atheism.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201601230435.html 

Ex-preacher molested girl for 3 years at church

the fight against child rape... and child abuse is very hard... but we must not... give up the fight for the children of today... keep your voice out there... that is what the children need... we had no voice... so now as adults... the children's fight is our fight... as long as the children of today... hear us victims - survivors... shouting on the airways... TV... and the papers... they too will come forward... and lets hope... seen that they are much younger that we were... when we came forward... they can heal their shame and pain... much sooner...  Ann

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

A former Stone County preacher has been found guilty in the sexual battery of a girl at the church he previously led, District Attorney Joel Smith said.

Carlos Smith, 55, of Saucier, was pastor of Unity Baptist Church and the girl was 11 when the sexual abuse began in 2011 and continued for three years, said the DA, no relation to Carlos Smith. A Stone County jury delivered a guilty verdict Friday after deliberating about two hours.

http://www.sunherald.com/news/local/crime/article56144625.html

Catholics who stopped “sitting back and taking it”

There are two very amazing and interesting aspects of today’s news about disgraced Twin Cities Archbishop John Nienstedt. After national media attention and huge (and righteous) push back from Michigan Catholics, Nienstedt has been forced to leave a temporary position in a Michigan parish.
If you’re just catching up to the story, Kalamazoo Catholic officials didn’t think it would be a big deal for Nienstedt to work in a Battle Creek parish, even though, according to MLive:

http://theworthyadversary.com/4056-catholics-arent-sitting-back-and-taking-it-with-nienstedt 

What Did Pope Benedict Know and When Did He Know It?

In the wake of the startling revelation that well over 200 boys were abused over a 40-year period in a Bavarian choir conducted for 30 of those years by the Rev. Georg Ratzinger, the brother of former Pope Benedict, many questions remain unanswered about exactly what the Ratzinger brothers knew and when.
The lawyer who disclosed the abuse after an investigation commissioned by the Diocese of Regensburg said he assumes that Georg Ratzinger was aware of what one survivor called “a system of sadistic punishments connected to sexual pleasure” meted out by Johann Meier, the head of the school that housed the choir. Less clear is what Joseph Ratzinger knew, either during his time as the Archbishop of Munich or after 1981, when he became Pope John Paul II’s right hand man as the head of the powerful Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

http://religiondispatches.org/what-did-pope-benedict-know-and-when-did-he-know-it/ 

State seeks protection from being sued by sex abuse victims

Court asked to strike out decision permitting it to be sued after ruling on Louise O’Keeffe case. The State has asked the High Court to strike out a decision permitting it to be sued, along with the Christian Brothers, by three alleged sexual abuse victims following a European court ruling in the landmark Louise O’Keeffe case.

In January 2014, the European Court of Human Rights ruled Ms O’Keeffe’s rights under the European Convention of Human Rights had been breached by the failure of the State to protect her from abuse by her school teacher, Leo Hickey, in the 1970s.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/high-court/state-seeks-protection-from-being-sued-by-sex-abuse-victims-1.2505868 

MN--Secret records about abusive Duluth cleric are released

More than 900 pages of long-secret records about a child molesting cleric who worked in Duluth have been released and are now on-line, because abuse victims insisted on the disclosure as part of a legal settlement.
Duluth Catholic officials should tell parents, parishioners and the public about him and his crimes. Duluth parents and parishioners should read up about him and tell others about him. If he hurt even one child during his six years in northern Minnesota, we want that suffering person to know that he or she is not alone.

http://www.snapnetwork.org/mn_secret_records_about_abusive_duluth_cleric_are_released

Sexual abuse at St. John's Abbey revealed in 15,000-page disclosure

St. John’s Abbey, one of the largest Benedictine monasteries in the U.S., released more than 15,000 pages of documents Tuesday related to 18 priests it said “likely offended” sexually against minors dating back to the 1960s.
The disclosure comes as the latest chapter in the jagged history for the Benedictine community in Collegeville, Minn., on the issue of clergy sexual abuse, one that at times has seen it attempt to lead in understanding the epidemic but at others fall ill to the plague of its horrors. Like many others before them, the disclosed documents provide a recounting of what the abbey knew when regarding each monk -- nearly half of whom have died -- and often the attempts to shuttle them from place to place to avoid possible lawsuits and scandal.

http://ncronline.org/news/accountability/sexual-abuse-st-johns-abbey-revealed-15000-page-disclosure 

‘The roots of Ireland’s goodness are drawn from a deep Christian faith’

Delia Maguire tells Francis Phillips that, after the abuse crisis, the Church in Ireland will never be the same again

On Monday I blogged about an unusual new novel – unusual because, while not painting a sentimentalised picture of life in a small Irish country parish, it succeeds in breathing life, warmth and credibility into the personality of the main character: Fr Barnabas Salmon. As always with books that make one reflect, it posed questions in my mind so I was glad to make contact with Delia Maguire, author of the novel.

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2016/01/22/the-roots-of-irelands-goodness-are-drawn-from-a-deep-christian-faith/ 

Decades-Old Abuse Claims Resurface

In a case likened to the pedophile cases that rocked the Catholic Church, 25 men now in their 40s and 50s sued Hawaii's Kamehameha Schools this week for turning a blind eye to 27 years of sexual abuse by its paid psychiatrist.
The abuse occurred between 1957 and 1985 while Dr. Robert McCormick Browne was the exclusive school psychiatrist for male students, according to the complaint filed Jan. 19 in Hawaii's First Circuit Court.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2016/01/21/decades-old-abuse-claims-resurface.htm 

Bronx Priest Accused of Sexually Abusing Male Youths

A longtime Bronx priest is under investigation for allegedly molesting several young boys. 
According to a statement released Thursday by the archdiocese of New York, the Rev. Richard Gorman has been accused of sexually abusing several minors nearly three decades ago. Archdiocesan spokesman Joseph Zwilling reports at least two purported victims have come forward, and investigators are planning on speaking with a possible third accuser.

http://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/bronx-priest-accused-of-sexually-abusing-male-youths 

Go beyond sex scandals, internal rows, Church urged

Church leaders speaking in a forum in connection with the 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) opening here on Sunday urged Catholics on Friday to go beyond the scandal of sex abuse and internal conflicts over doctrine and practice and focus on evangelization.
“We have to be careful that we do not become overly absorbed in the domestic life of the Church, but constantly face the world, address our place in it and our responsibility to it,”  said Basilian Fr. Thomas Rosica, head of the Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation of Canada.

http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/220047/go-beyond-sex-scandals-internal-rows-church-urged 

How Sex Abuse By Irish Priests Helped Cripple The Catholic Church

An Irish Tragedy: How Sex Abuse By Irish Priests Helped Cripple The Catholic Church. The story of how Irish immigrants helped to build the American Catholic Church is well-known. 

But the sad tale of how Irish priests later undermined the Church has gone untold, until now. Investigative reporter Joe Rigert's search for the roots of the Catholic sex-abuse scandals led him to Ireland, where he found that rigid sexual repression in both society and the priest.

http://books.cheapstorebuy.co/3984044-an-irish-tragedy.html 

Call for inquiry into paedophile victim suicides

A HUNTER group wants an investigation into the deaths of more than 30 former Catholic high school students by suicide, drug overdoses or possible suicide, because of links to known or alleged child sex offenders.
A list with more than 30 names – all male – of boys, teenagers and men has been compiled for a submission to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, with the youngest aged just 13 when he took his life in his bedroom, and the most recent suicide early last year.

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/2811587/call-for-inquiry-into-paedophile-victim-suicides/ 

Death list reveals blood on the hands of the Catholic Church

A group in the Hunter has compiled a list of more than 30 former Catholic school boys all of whom have two things in common – they were raped by Catholic paedophiles and they died from suicide or drug-related deaths. The group have prepared submissions calling for an investigation by the Royal Commission.
The youngest boy on the list was only 13 when he took his own life in his bedroom in 1974. He was one of three students on the list who were from the same year at a Hunter Catholic high school during a period in which men who were later charged with child sex offences had regular contact with students.

http://royalcommission.com.au/death-list-reveals-blood-hands-catholic-church/ 

No action on paedophile priest, and vandals target Pell

Shocking details of a priest who abused children in the confessional and threatened parishioners at gunpoint emerged at the Child Abuse Royal Commission last month. Doveton parish priest Father Peter Searson molested children in the confessional, and sexually abused a nine-year-old altar boy every Saturday for six months.
Searson paid the boy a pittance to do chores around his home, and told the boy the sexual abuse was the devil punishing him for his sins. Searson was known to carry a gun and a large knife, which he once held to a child’s chest.

http://royalcommission.com.au/no-action-on-paedophile-priest-and-vandals-target-pell/

Former priest barred from contact with anyone under 16, turns up at other NH churches

The South Parish Unitarian Church, locked during a cold winter rainstorm, looked like so many other churches in so many other towns. Its steeple and clock, standing tall at the edge of Charlestown’s main strip, rose through the mist, a sign out front attached to weathered brick reading “built in 1844.”

Recently, a man named Mark Fleming, a former Catholic priest accused of molesting three young boys in the 1980s, worked at this historic site, perhaps breaking an agreement that forbade him from having contact with children younger than 16.

http://www.concordmonitor.com/photos/20537659-95/former-priest-barred-from-contact-with-anyone-under-16-turns-up-at-other-nh# 

The Culture of Cover-Up

Why do so many in the Church establishment not want gay clergy being talked about?  Someone is not being truthful about the whole question of homosexuality and the Catholic clergy.
Our Vortex report last week citing statistics saying somewhere between 15 and 58 percent of priests in America are homosexual seems to have touched a nerve. Some clerics responded privately as well as publicly saying "No way." Others responded privately as well as publicly saying "Right on." So which is it? 

http://www.churchmilitant.com/video/episode/the-culture-of-cover-up

Bishop’s abuse victim wants to know if deal was done with police

THE VICTIM of a bishop jailed for sexual abuse has demanded to know whether “a deal was done” to spare the clergyman a criminal conviction.
The former Bishop of Lewes Peter Ball was jailed for nearly three years last October for the sexual abuse of 16 young men. Graham Sawyer, who was indecently assaulted by Ball while a teenager, told The Argus: “It’s difficult to know who is telling the truth in this case.

http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/14211175.Bishop___s_abuse_victim_wants_to_know_if_deal_was_done_with_police/ 

Catholic Guilt? The Lying, Scheming Altar Boy Behind a Lurid Rape Case

On October 9, 2015, a former Philadelphia altar boy reported to the office of Dr. Stephen Mechanick to undergo a court-ordered forensic psychiatric evaluation. It took nearly three hours because the two men had a lot of ground to cover.
Daniel Gallagher is a slender 27-year-old with a wispy beard who is better known as “Billy Doe.” Under that pseudonym, he made national headlines in 2011 when he claimed to have been serially raped as a fifth- and sixth-grader at St. Jerome’s parish by two priests and a Catholic schoolteacher.

http://www.newsweek.com/2016/01/29/billy-doe-altar-boy-sends-four-men-prison-philadelphia-rape-case-417565.html 

Forty Alleged Victims and Counting in New England Prep School Sex Abuse Scandal

A tony New England prep school that has educated the likes of Howard Dean, George H.W. Bush’s father Prescott Bush, and Tucker Carlson is now embroiled in a sex abuse scandal that has been covered up, victims say, since the 1970s.
 At least 40 former students of St. George’s School in Rhode Island have come forward to say they were abused at the school. The latest known case of abuse allegedly occurred in 2004.

http://gawker.com/forty-alleged-victims-and-counting-in-new-england-prep-1754234663 

Archbishop Nienstedt exits early from Battle Creek, Mich., parish

Less than a month after arriving to assist at the Battle Creek, Mich., parish of a friend, Archbishop John Nienstedt has decided to leave.
Nienstedt, the former head of the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese who resigned the position in June amid accusations of mishandled allegations of clergy sexual abuse, offered to assist at St. Philip Roman Catholic Church to help his friend Fr. John Fleckenstein, who has recently experienced health issues. Nienstedt arrived at the parish Jan. 6 and was expected to serve at the parish for six months. His duties included celebrating Masses and visiting the sick and homebound. The Kalamazoo diocese said last week that the archbishop passed its standards for ministry and viewed him “as a priest in good standing," noting he was not appointed or assigned but there on a temporary basis.

http://ncronline.org/news/accountability/archbishop-nienstedt-exits-early-battle-creek-mich-parish

'Historic shift' in Ireland's attitude to church sex abuse scandal

Hollywood film director Tom McCarthy said he believes Ireland is leading the way in addressing the Catholic Church child sex abuse scandal.
But he warned the Church must do everything "humanly possible" to root out the abuse and ensure it never happens again. The director made the comments at the UK premiere of his new film Spotlight, which tells the story of a 2001 newspaper investigation exposing the child sex abuse scandal in Boston, America.

http://www.careappointments.co.uk/care-news/northern-ireland/item/38910-historic-shift-in-ireland-s-attitude-to-church-sex-abuse-scandal 

German church pay abuse victims

The Catholic Church in Germany has spent the past five years a total of 6.4 million euros was paid to victims of sexual abuse. More than a thousand people received financial compensation. According to a survey the newspaper Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung held in all 27 dioceses in Germany.

The church also contributed to the costs incurred by some victims for psychological help. The Catholic Church in 2011 made possible the victims could apply for financial compensation. Most of the applications came from the diocese of Muenster, where 122 of the 129 requests were honored.

http://www.hotrecentnews.com/en/news/german-church-pay-abuse-victims/4994 

Victoria police seek victims of sexual assault at St Patrick's cathedral

Sano taskforce wants to hear from victims at the cathedral between 1996 and 2001, which was when Cardinal George Pell was archbishop of Melbourne.  Victoria police are investigating allegations of sexual assault at Melbourne’s St Patrick’s cathedral during Cardinal George Pell’s tenure as archbishop of Melbourne. The victims were reportedly 14-year-old boys.
In a statement on Wednesday, Sgt Sharon Darcy said detectives from the Sano taskforce wanted to speak to anyone who was a victim of sexual assault at the cathedral, or who knew of sexual assaults at the cathedral, between 1996 and 2001.

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/dec/23/victoria-police-seek-victims-of-sexual-assault-at-st-patricks-cathedral#_=_ 

St. John's Abbey Releases Information on 18 Monks

St. John's Abbey says it has released the files of 18 monks believed to have sexually abused children. The 18 files include nine monks who have died and two who have separated from St. John's Abbey and live as laymen.
The other seven files include monks who live on the St. John's campus under a safety plan the abbey has developed. The abbey said in a statement it knows of no incident of sexual abuse of a minor by a monk at St. John's in more than two decades.

http://kstp.com/news/stories/s4021520.shtml 

Here's fresh insight into Pell's response to the child sex abuse crisis. It's not encouraging

Rather than heed the law – or follow system rules and regulations – the church continued to believe that individual priests could make individual decisions to stop abusing children.  Viewed through modern eyes, it seems extraordinary that it took the Catholic church nearly two millennia to comprehensively condemn slavery.
After centuries of grappling with the issue, including attempts to distinguish between just and unjust enslavement of human beings, the Catholic church gave a full denunciation of slavery in the 1965 Vatican II document Gaudium et Spes (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World).

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jan/20/fresh-insight-into-pells-response-to-the-child-sex-abuse-crisis-its-not-encouraging#_=_ 

Fr Kevin Dillon breaks silence for abuse victims on St Mary’s Basilica fence

PARISH priest Fr Kevin Dillon wants St Mary’s Basilica’s Yarra St fence to shout on behalf of victims of institutional sexual abuse.
The acclaimed advocate joined abuse survivor Chris Pianto tying ribbons to the fence yesterday, signalling it had become part of the Loud Fence movement which originated in Ballarat and has gone global.

http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/news/geelong/fr-kevin-dillon-breaks-silence-for-abuse-victims-on-st-marys-basilica-fence/news-story/cb92c79ad61ca16008d82c0f24410184#load-story-comments