Child sexual abuse: a female voice

This article is written by a female survivor of child sexual abuse in an institutional setting in the Australian Jewish community.
dr, Michelle Meyer is CEO of Tzedek, an advocacy service for survivors of child sexual abuse, is promoting her voice, both as an opportunity for her to tell her story but also in the hope that it will encourage others to speak up. And whilst this story took place in the Australian Jewish community, it is also an international story.

http://www.jwire.com.au/child-sexual-abuse-female-voice/

Church acknowledges reports of abusive relationship with Hartman

In a March 20 letter to congregants, the staff and board of elders of Lindale Mennonite Church, Linville, Va., acknowledged that staff have been aware of reports of an abusive relationship with congregation member Luke Hartman since August 2014.
On Jan. 8, Hartman was charged with solicitation of prostitution. Hartman’s trial was due to start March 15, but, according to WHSV news in Harrisonburg, Va., new information was received from Virginia State Police, and the trial was rescheduled for March 29. Hartman served as Vice President for Enrollment at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, a role he resigned from on Jan. 12. He was also a frequent speaker at Mennonite Church USA conventions.

https://themennonite.org/daily-news/church-acknowledges-reports-abusive-relationship-hartman/ 

LDS Church named in lawsuit alleging sexual abuse of Navajo children in foster program

Two members of the Navajo Nation have sued The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, alleging the church placed Native American children in Mormon foster homes where they were sexually abused and that LDS leaders did not take adequate steps to protect those children.
The lawsuit, filed in Navajo Nation District Court on March 22, names The Corporation of the President of the LDS Church, The Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of the LDS Church, LDS Family Services and the LDS Church itself.

http://fox13now.com/2016/03/24/lds-church-named-in-lawsuit-alleging-sexual-abuse-of-navajo-children-in-foster-program/ 

Goddard Inquiry: Children were abused 'on industrial scale' at Lambeth Council-run homes

"Physical and sexual abuse on an industrial scale" went "unchecked for decades" at children's homes in a south London borough, a victims' report says.

The report detailing claims by 600 people will go before the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.  At a preliminary hearing earlier, the Shirley Oaks Survivors Association was given "core participant status".

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-35889595 

Italian priest suspected of paying teen for sex suspended

The archbishop of Milan has suspended a 46-year-old priest charged with paying a teenage boy for sex, a statement said on Saturday.
Cardinal Angelo Scola appealed to parishioners for "unity" as he announced he was suspending Father Alberto Paolo Lesmo from his duties as parish priest in the Milan neighborhood of Muggiano.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/560443/news/world/italian-priest-suspected-of-paying-teen-for-sex-suspended 

Maitland-Newcastle Catholic diocese loses argument in legal case over paedophile priest

A NSW Supreme Court judge has rejected a Catholic Church application to suppress the names of senior church officials with knowledge of a notorious Hunter paedophile priest, in a woman’s case that the church should have stopped him from raping her from the age of five.
Justice Desmond Fagan criticised Maitland-Newcastle diocese for providing the woman with church documents about paedophile priest Denis McAlinden with the names of church officials blacked out, including a 1976 letter from the late Monsignor Patrick Cotter in which the monsignor acknowledged McAlinden’s “inclination… towards the little ones”.

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/3812686/judge-refuses-church-black-out-on-names/ 

Church accused of deceitfulness as priest who had affair secretly resumes role

The Catholic church is facing a backlash after it "quietly" reinstated a priest who had a sexual relationship with a parishioner.
Fr Ciaran Dallat, who stepped aside last year following an affair with a woman who allegedly became pregnant, has resumed his duties after "spiritual guidance and counselling".

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/church-accused-of-deceitfulness-as-priest-who-had-affair-secretly-resumes-role-34573514.html 

Chicago Archdiocese Sued Again For Ex-Priest Daniel McCormak

A new lawsuit was filed Friday alleging sexual abuse by convicted child molester and defrocked priest Daniel McCormack and the Archdiocese of Chicago.
The plaintiff — a man identified only as John J. Doe — filed the suit Friday in Cook County Circuit Court against the Archdiocese of Chicago.

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2016/03/25/chicago-archdiocese-sued-again-for-ex-priest-daniel-mccormak/ 

Bill would revive sex abuse victims' right to sue

A movement to revive the legal rights of older sexual abuse survivors in Pennsylvania is gaining momentum in Harrisburg in the wake of new charges that Catholic Church officials conspired to hide sexual predators in their midst.
Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-Berks, has been fighting for four years to pass legislation that would create a two-year window for sexual abuse survivors to file lawsuits against pedophiles and the institutions that harbored them, no matter how long ago they suffered the abuse. The current law in Pennsylvania requires victims to file civil lawsuits by age 30 and criminal charges by age 50.

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-pa-clergy-abuse-reform-constitutionality-20160326-story.html 

The 1-2 Punch the Catholic Bishops Have Delivered to Clergy Sex Abuse Victims

Spotlight is a motion picture with a purpose: to deliver the truth of how every adult that could have halted the sex abuse by Catholic priests in the Boston Archdiocese did not. Children were betrayed by priests, bishops, parents, lawyers, journalists, and the buddy culture of men in power.
The message: these kids did not have a chance, and it is no wonder they are angry and suffer from severe post-traumatic stress, among many other related problems.

https://verdict.justia.com/2016/03/29/the-1-2-punch-the-catholic-bishops-have-delivered-to-clergy-sex-abuse-victims 

Directly Accountable 596 128 142 A stark Ohio case shows how tort reform harms victims of sexual assault.

In the early 1990s, Brian Williams, a youth pastor at Delaware Grace Brethren Church in Ohio, allegedly tried to put his hand down the pants of a teenage girl named April Jokela. Years later, Jokela’s mother testified in court that when she complained to church officials, they told her, “Let’s just keep this quiet to protect our brother.”
In the early 2000s, Williams allegedly told 18-year-old Robin McNeal, during a meeting in his office, that “most men view women as a thing to be fucked.” She said he also told her that “he probably could get away with having sex with me right then and there in his office.” The woman, whose married name is Robin Weixel, testified that she reported Williams to church officials but that they made no record of it.
 

http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2016/03/tort_reform_harms_victims_of_sexual_assault.html 

Churches, charities and councils should fund £13.5m support scheme for abuse victims, says MSP

This is one thing the victims-survovors should think about... when the catholic church tell you... and this goes mostly for the NUNS... we were told that that would set us up... each year with $250,000.00... now this was set up as a charity fund... it was set up in 2003... in 2004 they changed it... and put all of their charities... in with ours... and we got what paddy shot at... piss all so to speak... I have the two lots of papers... the ones we signed in 2003... and the other papers which they made up... in 2004... with not a signature on it... just be very careful... and have your lawyers... that is... if they are not in with the nuns... the lawyers seem to weaken during the many years... and the catholic church... and seen it is a charity... they get all the money back on their tax returns... so they are not losing anything... don't trust the nuns... they are full of deceit and lies...  Ann

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

Charities, churches and other institutions where child abuse took place should be required to pay into a fund to help support victims, according to an MSP.

Labour's Graeme Pearson said institutions in which child abuse is known to have taken place could help provide the fund for survivors of abuse while an inquiry into what happened to them takes place.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14383551.Churches__charities_and_councils_should_fund___13_5m_support_scheme_for_abuse_victims__says_MSP/?ref=fbshr

Maitland-Newcastle Catholic diocese loses argument in legal case over paedophile priest

A NSW Supreme Court judge has rejected a Catholic Church application to suppress the names of senior church officials with knowledge of a notorious Hunter paedophile priest, in a woman’s case that the church should have stopped him from raping her from the age of five.
Justice Desmond Fagan criticised Maitland-Newcastle diocese for providing the woman with church documents about paedophile priest Denis McAlinden with the names of church officials blacked out, including a 1976 letter from the late Monsignor Patrick Cotter in which the monsignor acknowledged McAlinden’s “inclination… towards the little ones”.

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/3812686/judge-refuses-church-black-out-on-names/ 

Catholic Church has investigated a sex-abuse allegation against George Pell (and there is no mention of exoneration)

n October 2002, the Catholic Church in Australia paid a senior barrister, Mr Alex Southwell QC, to investigate an allegation that, about forty years earlier, a trainee priest named George had sexually abused a twelve-year-old altar boy at a holiday camp for young boys in tents on Phillip Island, south-east of Melbourne. According to Mr Southwell's report, the former altar boy (referred to in this article as "C ", for Complainant) has alleged that, on several occasions, the trainee priest George thrust his hand down the inside of C's pants and got "a good handful" of the boy's penis and testicles; and C also alleged that, on other occasions, George tried to guide C's hand into the front of George's pants. In the year 2000, when C was aged 50, he discovered (from television news footage) that the trainee priest George had risen to become the archbishop of Melbourne.  
C was shocked — "he did not think it right that someone who had behaved indecently towards children should lead the church," the Southwell report says. So, beginning in 2000, C wanted to alert the church authorities. C emphasised that he was not seeking compensation; he merely wanted the church authorities to note the alleged incidents.  Mr Southwell concluded that C "appeared to speak honestly from an actual recollection", while Archbishop George Pell (who was indeed present at the altar boys' camp) denied the alleged abuse.

http://www.brokenrites.org.au/drupal/node/36 

Ex-Crespi Carmelite student gets 5-figure settlement for alleged sexual abuse

For nearly three decades, Allan Bruce said he held a closely guarded secret involving the Catholic Church.
While a student at the private Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino, Bruce said he was repeatedly fondled — sometimes plied with alcohol beforehand — by a religious brother from 1984 to 1986. Bruce, then a Saugus resident, claims Brother Damien Chong sexually abused him at least 30 times in his quarters after inviting him to sleep there after football practice.

http://www.dailynews.com/general-news/20160328/ex-crespi-carmelite-student-gets-5-figure-settlement-for-alleged-sexual-abuse 

About 250 people, most saying they were victims, call sex-abuse hot line

One of the roughly 250 calls that have come into a hot line set up for reporting child sexual abuse within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona–Johnstown was made by an 85-year-old individual who claimed to be a victim.
That alleged abuse could have taken place as far back as the Great Depression. State Deputy Attorney General Daniel Dye cited the case as an example as to why his office believes the statute of limitations should be eliminated for cases of sexual abuse.

http://www.tribdem.com/news/about-people-most-saying-they-were-victims-call-sex-abuse/article_68cd57ce-f3d7-11e5-a78e-5316795f01bf.html 

Catholic Church-owned insurer has secret files on paedophile priests

This is the laugh of the century... Catholic Church Insurance, Ltd, owned by the Australian Diocese... owning their own insurances Comp... What next are we going to hear?... A spokeswoman for the Catholic Church referred all queries on the matter to the insurance company, while a spokesman for CCI said the insurer declined to comment....
my mind boggles... at the very thought of the catholic church doing anything right... their greed for money... is way over the top... it is time for every one... to stop giving money to the catholic church... they have already made their millions... from the poor people's hands... it is time for the catholic church... to give that money back to the poor...
what say you Pope Frances??... you have already told the world... that you would never accept Blood money... well you have... through the abuse of children worldwide... all the money you have received... from the catholic church around the world... was made for the nuns and priest... by the blood of the children hands... from 5years old and up...  Ann

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

Catholic Church Insurance, Ltd, owned by the Australian Diocese, assembled thousands of pages of dossiers on rapes committed by paedophile priests in the 1990s when survivors of the assaults started coming forward with compensation claims.
The full extent of the files has become known now that Australia is embroiled in a Royal Commission that some of the Church's most responsible, senior clerisy have undermined by fleeing to Vatican City and refusing to testify in person.

https://boingboing.net/2016/03/26/catholic-church-owned-insurer.html 

Christian Brothers accused of dodging Ballarat child sex abuse compensation claims

A religious order implicated in a notorious child sex abuse ring in Victoria has been accused of refusing to assist victims achieve adequate compensation.

A survivor and his lawyer said the Christian Brothers, who ran the St Alipius Boys School in Ballarat, were adopting a smoke and mirrors approach to avoid paying up.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-29/christian-brothers-accused-of-dodging-ballarat-compensation/7280346 

How Father Denis McAlinden was inflicted on Australian children

Research by Broken Rites Australia — conducted continuously from 1994 to today — has revealed that the Catholic Church knowingly harboured the paedophile priest Father Denis McAlinden for 40 years, thus inflicting him on young girls in parishes around Australia and also overseas.
This Broken Rites research eventually helped to bring about the New South Wales government's decision to establish a Special Commission of Inquiry in 2013 to investigate how church officials and police had handled allegations of child-sex crimes by Father McAlinden (and another priest) in the Maitland-Newcastle diocese, north of Sydney.

http://brokenrites.org.au/drupal/node/86 

Settlements don’t absolve Catholic sex abuse

Accounting for the horrific sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests and nuns over the last half-century continues in the Archdiocese of Seattle. The legal settlement last week of eight abuse claims was the latest installment of a slowly unfolding story that the church could expedite with complete disclosure of files it holds on offenders.
The archdiocese in January released a public list of 77 clergy and others accused of sexual assault against children. Included were about 25 who had served in Catholic Church posts in Thurston and Pierce counties, most recently in 2003.

http://www.theolympian.com/opinion/editorials/article68332962.html

Read more here: http://www.theolympian.com/opinion/editorials/article68332962.html#storylink=cpy

 

 

Names of 16 Priests Accused Of Abuse Released By New Ulm Diocese

The names of multiple priests accused of sexually abusing children while working for the New Ulm Diocese was released for the first time this morning.   This as the names of their alleged abusers were made public this morning, among the 16 priests at the New Ulm Diocese accused of sexual abuse.
Their childhood pain has been hidden for years as a dark secret. Abuse victim Lori Stoltz said, "It was very confusing when I was younger. I didn't have a voice as a child so I was very scared. You kind of keep it a secret. It stays with you as a dark secret and it just kind of manifests itself."

http://www.keyc.com/story/31590429/names-of-16-priests-accused-of-abuse-released-by-new-ulm-diocese 

Lawsuit accuses Mormon church of failing to protect Navajos from alleged sexual abuse

Flagstaff, Ariz. • Two Navajo siblings sued the Mormon church, alleging they were sexually abused during their time in a now-defunct church program that placed them with foster families in Utah in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The lawsuit seeks written apologies, unspecified damages, changes in church policy to ensure that sexual abuse is reported first to authorities and the creation of a task force to address any cultural or social harm to Navajos in the Indian Student Placement Program. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Navajo Nation court.

http://www.sltrib.com/home/3703333-155/lawsuit-accuses-mormon-church-of-failing 

Good Friday ribbons to remember children's suffering at hands of Father Peter Searson

A retired teacher who tried to stop a paedophile priest from assaulting her students has returned to her old school to pay tribute to the victims of clerical sex abuse.
Former Holy Family teacher Carmel Rafferty led a group of people back to the Doveton parish adjoining her old primary school on Friday to tie colourful ribbons to the fence in a mark of respect to survivors.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/good-friday-ribbons-to-remember-childrens-suffering-at-hands-of-father-peter-searson-20160325-gnr0ss.html 

End statute of limitations on abuse claims

The news couldn’t have been more sickening or disgusting. A grand jury report recently accused two former Altoona-Johnstown Roman Catholic Diocese bishops of covering up or failing to act swiftly enough on sexual abuse claims against more than 50 priests from 1966 until 2011.
The report says the late Bishop James Hogan and former Bishop Joseph Adamec kept filing cabinets with 115,042 secret documents detailing victims’ abuse claims. It tells how church officials transferred the accused priests to other parishes, and intervened when local and state police made inquiries, starting in the mid-1960s.

http://www.timesonline.com/opinion/editorials/end-statute-of-limitations-on-abuse-claims/article_ecff538c-f1e6-11e5-ad2e-bf064e06d865.html 

Church abuse survivor speaks out: 'My parents trusted I was safe and I wasn't'

Eight women who were molested by a local priest as children have settled a lawsuit with the Seattle Archdiocese for $9.1 million.
The eight cases happened between 1968 and 1975, but attorneys say there's the potential of many more cases involving former priest Michael Cody. "When a priest gives you attention, you think it's a really good thing -- you're special -- and that's really powerful," said Mary Lynch, one of the women who settled with the church this week.

http://komonews.com/news/local/church-abuse-survivor-speaks-out-my-parents-trusted-i-was-safe-and-i-wasnt 

Royal Commission releases consultation paper on responding to complaints of child sexual abuse in institutions

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has released a consultation paper on best practices in responding to complaints of child sexual abuse in institutions.
Royal Commission Chief Executive Officer Philip Reed said the Commission’s terms of reference require it to look at identification, reporting and investigating allegations of child sexual abuse in institutions.
“A theme identified from our 4,874 private sessions and 38 case studies to date is that there have been institutional failings when responding to complaints of child sexual abuse,” Mr Reed said.

http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/2016-03/royal-commission-releases-consultation-paper-on-re 

Churches, charities and councils should fund £13.5m support scheme for abuse victims, says MSP

This is one thing the victims-survovors should think about... when the catholic church tell you... and this goes mostly for the NUNS...  we were told that that would set us up... each year with $250,000.00... now this was set up as a charity fund... now this was set up in 2003... in two 2004 they changed it... and put all of their charities... in with ours... and we got what paddy shot at... piss all so to speak... I have the two lots of papers... the ones we signed in 2003... and the other papers which they made up... in 2004... with not a signature on it...  just be very careful... and have your lawyers...  that is... if they are not in with the nuns... the lawyers seem to weaken during the many years...and the catholic church... and seen it is a charity... they get all the money back on their tax returns...  so they are not losing anything... don't trust the nuns... they are full of deceit and lies... Ann

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

Charities, churches and other institutions where child abuse took place should be required to pay into a fund to help support victims, according to an MSP.
Labour's Graeme Pearson said institutions in which child abuse is known to have taken place could help provide the fund for survivors of abuse while an inquiry into what happened to them takes place.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14383551.Churches__charities_and_councils_should_fund___13_5m_support_scheme_for_abuse_victims__says_MSP/ 

Scandal creates contempt for Catholic clergy

A steady stream of revelations and civil lawsuits over child sexual abuse by priests seem to signal the Catholic Church has the biggest problem with clerical scandals, but experts deny it is a hot zone of exploitation.
Insurance companies, child advocacy groups and religion scholars say there is no evidence that Catholic clergy are more likely to be involved in sexual misconduct than other clergy or professionals. Yet ongoing civil litigation of decades-old cases against a church with deep pockets keeps the Catholic Church in the headlines.

http://blogs.denverpost.com/hark/2010/05/25/scandal-creates-contempt-for-catholic-clergy/39/ 

There is no plausible evidence that Catholic priests are gangs of sexual predators, as they are being portrayed"

"A steady stream of revelations and civil lawsuits over child sexual abuse by priests seem to signal the Catholic Church has the biggest problem with clerical scandals, but experts deny it is a hot zone of exploitation.
Insurance companies, child advocacy groups and religion scholars say there is no evidence that Catholic clergy are more likely to be involved in sexual misconduct than other clergy or professionals. Yet ongoing civil litigation of decades-old cases against a church with deep pockets keeps the Catholic Church in the headlines.

 http://thenewstalkers.com/community/discussion/21638/there-is-no-plausible-evidence-that-catholic-priests-are-gangs-of-sexual-predators-as-they-are-being-portrayed 

Church credibility ‘almost lost’

POPE Francis has been urged to ask for the resignation of all Catholic bishops who have failed to properly address child sexual abuse cases. Australian Roman Catholic Bishop Geoffrey Robinson made the call yesterday in an effort to restore "trust and credibility" in the Church.
Bishop Robinson told ABC Radio National every bishop who was responsible for the abuse of a child "because he did not do what he should have done" should be asked to resign. 

http://www.gympietimes.com.au/news/church-credibility-almost-lost/2976673/

Catholic mother admits she has questioned her faith — and believers respond by heaping abuse on her

onia Guizar used to attend mass regularly and teach at a Catholic school. But her Catholic employer’s refusal to cover birth control brought her an ill-timed pregnancy and a child with developmental challenges that stretch her family thin.
When she publicly shared her experience and questioned Church teachings in a Washington Post story,  what she got was a heap of abuse from fellow Catholics whose urge to defend religious dogma and authority trumped their kindness and compassion.

https://www.rawstory.com/2016/03/catholic-mother-admits-she-has-questioned-her-faith-and-believers-respond-by-heaping-abuse-on-her/ 

Chicago Heights native works to protect children from abuse

Protecting Roman Catholic children from sexual predators is a full-time job for this Chicago Heights native.
As the newly-appointed Archdiocese of Chicago's director of the Office for the Protection of Children and Youth, Mary Jane Doerr has a candid, but optimistic view of the challenges she faces.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-southtown/news/ct-sta-archdiocese-appointee-profile-st-0328-20160325-story.html 

In ‘groundbreaking’ case, Franciscan friars charged with allowing abuse of at least 80 kids

In a first-of-its-kind case, prosecutors in Pennsylvania announced charges on Tuesday against three Franciscan friars who they say facilitated the abuse of dozens of children.
Prosecutors say that all three men knew about sexual abuse allegations against Brother Stephen Baker dating back to the 1980s but that the three friars continued to place Baker in jobs that gave him access to children, up until 2010.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/03/15/in-groundbreaking-case-franciscan-friars-charged-with-allowing-abuse-of-at-least-80-kids/ 

Family of mother who jumped off cliff with toddler urge victims of domestic violence to speak out

this is happening right under your nose... and every one turns away from it... until it is your own family... will you try to help... or will you turn your back... away from the victim??... but even then... helping your love ones... goes UN-notice... you can fight... and do all that you can... until there is no fight... left in you to go on any more... it is like hitting your head... against a brick wall... when every one turn away... from the cries for help... it is very hard to fight for justice alone... and yet to stay strong enough... to see the next day through... and to come out on the other side... as a whole person... and knowing that you have done your best... and the right thing... in keeping your family safe... that is all I wish for...  Ann

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

The family of a young mother who died with her toddler has called on victims of domestic violence to ‘speak up’.  Jasmine Riley was found dead at the bottom of a Maroubra cliff face, with her son Braxton on Thursday night, following a desperate search, which came too late.
Police were called to the cliff face about 8.30pm, sadly their search ended in the heartbreaking discovery of two bodies.  On Friday, in the morning quiet, police marked a moment of such darkness.

https://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/31184728/bodies-of-woman-and-young-boy-discovered-at-maroubra-beach-after-major-police-operation/?cmp=st

Courts prolong abuse survivors' suffering

Courts prolong abuse survivors' suffering
The effects of being sexually abused as a child are escalated by involvement in the criminal justice system, an abuse survivor who now advises police on interacting with victims says.
Sascha Chandler, an international banker whose battle to bring his abuser Andrew McIntosh to justice in 2006 received wide media attention, on Thursday told the sex abuse royal commission in Sydney fundamental changes were needed.
The commission has spent two weeks examining how the criminal justice system handles child sex abuse cases. Mr Chandler recommended better training for first-response police and that prosecutors significantly improve communication with survivor witnesses.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/going-to-police-a-trauma-for-abuse-victims/news-story/75027be4f8d5b5654147493d05329bbb 

Mount Cashel back in spotlight

Abuse claims scheduled for month-long trial. Roughly seven decades ago, the Roman Catholic archbishop patted the heads of some boys as he passed them in the hallway. Among them was a St. John’s man who is set to stand up in court in less than two weeks in a case about whether the church had a role in operating the infamous Mount Cashel orphanage.

The Roman Catholic Episcopal Corp. of St. John’s, no longer represented by its longtime local lawyer, is scheduled to head to court April 4 to fight four test cases — representing about 60 claimants of physical and sexual abuse by some members of the Roman Catholic lay order, the Christian Brothers, dating back to the late 1940s, ’50s and mid-1960s.

http://www.thetelegram.com/News/Local/2016-03-24/article-4475785/Mount-Cashel-back-in-spotlight/1 

Historical victims of abuse in care homes urged to come forward

SURVIVORS of historical child abuse have been urged to come forward and share their experiences as a four-year investigation into allegations surrounding youngsters in care launches a call for evidence.
Susan O’Brien QC, chair of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, together with other panel members Glenn Houston and Professor Michael Lamb, made the announcement in Glasgow yesterday and outlined how it will take evidence.

http://www.thenational.scot/news/historical-victims-of-abuse-in-care-homes-urged-to-come-forward.15446 

Former fugitive pastor hit with 22 more charges in Henderson

A former Las Vegas-area church pastor already convicted and facing life in prison for sexually assaulting teenage girls in his congregation appeared in court on more charges Wednesday in a similar but new case in Henderson.
Otis Holland remained in custody while Justice of the Peace David Gibson scheduled an April 25 preliminary hearing on 22 felony charges including child sexual assault, lewdness, battery and use of a minor in pornography.

http://www.ccenterdispatch.com/news/state/article_18d9f1b3-4bc7-537f-821a-5db90bd70e80.html 

VA--Victims group discloses a "disturbing letter"

On Sunday, officials at Lindale Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg gave congregants a letter about Luke Hartman, a Mennonite church leader and former Eastern Mennonite University vice president who faces charges of soliciting prostitution.
In the letter, church officials admit that “an abusive relationship . . .was brought to our attention in August 2014” involving a victim “who has been deeply traumatized by Hartman.” They claim they initiated “disciplinary measures” and have been “attempting to hold Luke accountable for his actions.”

http://www.snapnetwork.org/va_victims 

Pedophile Priest Impersonates Twin Brother And Molests 18 Teenagers Over 15-Year-Period

The pedophile priest was jailed for thirty-two months last year after he admitted to sexually abusing eighteen teenagers and young men over 15 years.
Peter Ball formerly served as the Bishop of Lewes and Gloucester when he perpetuated the acts. He also duped the congregation he was serving in after impersonating his identical twin brother. Recent investigations reveal that in 1990’s when he served as a bishop in Cornwall, he might have led services as Michael Ball, a bishop in Cornwall in the 1990’s.

http://www.360nobs.com/2016/03/pedophile-priest-impersonates-twin-brother-molests-18-teenagers-15-year-period/ 

Assignment Record – Rev. Robert J. Kelly

Summary of Case: Robert J. Kelly was ordained for the Altoona-Johnstown PA diocese in 1974. He assisted at parishes in State College, Johnstown, Geistown, Altoona, Bellwood, and Gallitzen, and was pastor in Lockhaven and Philipsburg. He spent several years at the North American College in Rome and, for a short time, was a prison chaplain. In 1993 a man reported to the diocese that Kelly sexually abused him from ages 12 to 14 during 1975-77, when Kelly was assigned to Our Lady of Victory in State College.
Kelly's accuser said the priest offered him alcohol, and that the abuse occurred at the parish, on drives to the mountains, and at a movie theater. Kelly was quietly sent by Bishop Adamec to treatment then given another parish assignment. He was also sent to a Charleston SC convent as chaplain in around 1993-94. Per the PA Attorney General's March 2016 Grand Jury Report, Kelly also attempted sexual advances on a 14-year-old boy in 1978. The Grand Jury called "horrifying" the fact that Adamec returned Kelly to parish ministry. By 1994 Kelly was the diocese's Director of the Society for the Propogation of the Faith and Holy Childhood Association and in 1999 he was named pastor of SS Peter and Paul in Philipsburg; he remained in both positions until his removal in February 2015 by Bishop Bartchak during a review of previous allegations.

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

Child abuse victims feel ‘betrayed’ by Scottish Government plans

SURVIVORS of historical child abuse say they feel “betrayed” by the Scottish Government over plans to support victims of attacks dating back more than 50 years.
Campaigners met with education secretary Angela Constance on Monday to push for compensation for those abused earlier than 1964.

http://www.scotsman.com/news/child-abuse-victims-feel-betrayed-by-scottish-government-plans-1-4079422 

Justice flawed for kids, disabled: inquiry

A "one size fits all" approach to cross-examining child sex abuse victims can make their evidence seem unreliable in criminal trials, an inquiry has been told.

The director of the Tasmanian Law Reform Institute, Terese Henning, told the sex abuse royal commission on Wednesday legal requirements of the rules of evidence could impose barriers for child witnesses, including those with disabilities, and mean they are stereotyped as unreliable.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/a/31166553/nsw-prosecutor-returns-to-abuse-inquiry/ 

‘Father Cody is dangerous’

After being sued by eight women who alleged they were molested by a priest four decades ago, the Seattle Archdiocese has settled for $9.1 million.
The settlement, reported by the Seattle Times, came Wednesday after a damning psychiatrist’s letter, among other documents, surfaced last year reporting Michael Cody, the priest at the center of the suit, was a pedophile who needed to “be removed from parish work as soon as possible.” The letter, part of correspondence among church officials expressing concerns about Cody, was written in 1962; the women were abused between 1968 and 1975.

http://blog.gaycatholicpriests.org/2016/03/father-cody-is-dangerous-seattle-archdiocese-settles-sex-abuse-case-for-9-1-million-after-damning-letters-surface/ 

Catholic bishop calls for resignation of bishops who failed to address child sexual abuse

An Australian bishop has called on Pope Francis to request the resignation of every bishop who has failed to properly address cases of child sexual abuse.  Roman Catholic Bishop Geoffrey Robinson said there needed to be "death and resurrection" in the church this Easter to restore trust and credibility.
"Every bishop who has ever been responsible for the abuse of a child, because he did not do what he should have done, should be asked to resign," Bishop Robinson, now retired, said in an interview with ABC Radio religion specialist Noel Debien.

http://canmua.net/world/catholic-bishop-calls-for-resignation-of-bishops-who-579969.html 

Priest Abuse: An Alleged Victim's Story

Centre County Report's Jaclyn Gross talks with a local man who claims a priest abused him as a teenager in Altoona. Bob Conway says the Rev. Raymond Waldruff was respected and admired, but began using overnight trips to abuse him.

This video is produced by and for the Centre County Report and is shared through a partnership with StateCollege.com.

http://www.statecollege.com/news/local-news/priest-abuse-an-alleged-victims-story,1467283/

Inquiry consults Welsh victim and survivor groups

Following the successful meeting with Welsh stakeholders in Cardiff last month, the Chair of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, Hon. Dame Lowell Goddard was in Colwyn Bay today to meet with Welsh victim and survivor groups and begin the process of ensuring the Inquiry meets the needs of victims and survivors of child sexual abuse in Wales.
Hosted by the Amethyst North Wales Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), the meeting was also attended by Inquiry Panel member, Professor Sir Malcolm Evans, and Michael May from the Inquiry’s Victims and Survivors’ Consultative Panel (VSCP) as well as organisations supporting victims and survivors of child sexual abuse from across Wales.

https://www.iicsa.org.uk/news/inquiry-consults-welsh-victim-and-survivor-groups 

What will it take for female victims of sexual abuse to be believed? Sexual abuse and the court of public opinion

The Center for Integrity Wisdom held its annual board meeting this week, by invitation only. It is a good bet that leading some of the sessions was the Center’s master spiritual teacher, Marc Gafni.

Gafni, 55, has created a following in post-modern spirituality, called the Unique Self, where he offers the wisdom of many faiths and philosophies in order for each person to access their unique self.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/temima-g-shulman/what-will-it-take-for-fem_b_9518828.html 

Lynn fights attempt to block a new trial

Lawyers for Msgr. William J. Lynn have asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to reject prosecutors' appeal of a court decision that granted Lynn a new trial, calling the request "breathtakingly dishonest."

In court documents filed Tuesday, lawyers for Lynn, who was granted a new trial in December after being convicted for his role in supervising Catholic priests who molested children, contend that there are no grounds for appeal under state rules.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20160323_Cleric_fights_DA_s_attempt_to_block_his_new_trial.html 

Judge issues new plea for sex abuse victims to help inquiry reveal truth

The judge heading the Government’s inquiry into historical child sex abuse today issued a new appeal to victims to come forward before a “milestone” first hearing into paedophile targeting of children’s homes in Lambeth.
Justice Lowell Goddard said that those who had suffered exploitation had been left with “permanent scars” but could now help uncover why “so many crimes went unreported and undetected” for years.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/judge-issues-new-plea-for-sex-abuse-victims-to-help-inquiry-reveal-truth-a3209001.html

Bishop George Bell's victim: “He said it was our little secret, because God loved me.”

TODAY, for the first time, the victim of George Bell has spoken about the sexual abuse she suffered as a five-year-old child at the hands of the wartime Bishop of Chichester.
Speaking exclusively to The Argus, she described how he repeatedly molested her over a period of four years while telling her that God loved her. Her testimony brings new clarity to a story which has changed the world’s perception of one of the most revered Anglicans of the 20th century since news of a church payout was announced last October.

http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/14249226.Bishop_George_Bell_s_victim_____He_said_it_was_our_little_secret__because_God_loved_me____/?ref=ar 

Movie Review – The Club (2015)

A crisis counsellor is sent by the Catholic Church to a small Chilean beach town where disgraced members of the clergy, suspected of crimes ranging from child abuse to baby-snatching , live in secluded isolation.
he Club (or El Club), is a beautifully disturbing picture and also something of a tough watch. Give it the time and lose yourself in its grim waters though, and you’re left with an alarming piece with plenty of uncomfortable truths about the church, social dysfunction and existence as a whole.

http://www.flickeringmyth.com/2016/03/movie-review-the-club-2015.html 

Abuse scandal in Lyon: the truth will set everyone free

[Amicie Pelissie Du Rausas in Paris] While the French Church does not always live harmoniously with its anticlerical state and culture, it has been mostly spared the accusations of financial mismanagement and sexual abuse that the Church in other European countries has known.
Our régime of  laïcité — a strict separation between Church and state, in which the public square is declared religion-free — has meant, for example, close state supervision over Catholic educational facilities. 

http://cvcomment.org/2016/03/23/abuse-scandal-in-lyon-the-truth-will-set-everyone-free/

Beyond grief, Part 2: A history of violence

This is the second part of our series on Uashat and Maliotenam, sister Innu communities near Sept-Îles where five people took their lives in the span of nine months last year. Despite great pain, residents invited three Montreal Gazette journalists last December. They wanted to share their struggles, but also the reasons they’re hopeful for the future. We continue this week with some of their stories.

This article contains material about suicide that may be disturbing to some readers.

UASHAT — On the morning of Nadeige Guanish’s funeral, Sylvie Jourdain waited outside the church in her pickup truck. She couldn’t bring herself to walk inside and stand over the 18-year-old’s casket. Nadeige was just four years older than Jourdain’s daughter Shanet.

http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/beyond-grief-part-2-a-history-of-violence 

In Colombia, a priest’s alleged affair is a national soap opera

Scandal is shaking the Catholic Church in Colombia, centered on a man who claims that he was in a gay relationship with a priest for 20 years and now is demanding hundreds of thousands of dollars as his portion of assets he says they shared.
Julio César Cardona, 42, told a local radio station that he’d had a long-standing love affair with the Rev. José Elías Lopera, and that the priest owed him $500,000 in compensation they supposedly agreed upon.

http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2016/03/22/in-colombia-a-priests-alleged-affair-is-a-national-soap-opera/ 

For those who couldn't be heard

I am a strong supporter of the victims that have been sexually abused and I am glad they're finally getting some justice. I am a daughter of a man who was abused as a child by several of the priests, and I would like to see some support for the families that have been left behind.
My father committed suicide 11 years ago because of the trauma he went through. There needs to be some recognition for the men that have taken their lives at the hands of these priests.

http://www.thecourier.com.au/story/3803348/letters-to-the-editor/?cs=64

Victims tell their stories to Australia's royal commission on child sexual abuse

In some respects, the story of the Australian government inquiry into institutional responses to child sexual abuse is a story that can be told in numbers.
Since its first hearing three years ago, the inquiry -- the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse -- has received 29,223 telephone calls from victims and other interested parties, as well as 16,171 letters and emails. It has conducted 4,874 sessions in private (to provide, where requested, a safe and confidential environment for those testifying) and made 961 referrals to authorities, including police, many of which have resulted in arrests and charges.

http://ncronline.org/news/accountability/cardinal-pell-testifies-long-distance-australia-s-church-remains-center-royal 

Josephinum proposes admission changes to weed out predators

In the wake of the arrest of a former student, the leader a Roman Catholic seminary on the Far North Side has recommended a trio of admissions policy changes, including the creation of an applications database that would be available to seminaries nationwide.
The Pontifical College Josephinum announced the proposals publicly on Monday, about seven weeks after former Josephinum seminarian Joel A. Wright, 23, was arrested in San Diego on federal allegations that he planned to travel to Mexico to rape 1- to 3-year-old girls.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/03/21/josephinum-rules.html 

Church: New records confirm ownership of seminary land

The Archdiocese of Agana issued a statement on March 18 following the issuance of new certificates of title from the Department of Land Management and church officials said the new certificates “once again” confirm the archbishop owns the Yona land under the Redemptoris Mater Seminary.
The statement from the archdiocese contradicts what former Sen. Robert Klitzkie said about the new certificates of title. Klitzkie told the Post that the new titles, now with memorials that state the Declaration of Deed Restriction is in favor of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary as a nonprofit corporation, means that the property belongs to the seminary, not the archbishop. Klitzkie’s letter to Department of Land Management about the erroneous certificates of titles prompted the department to issue new certificates.

http://www.postguam.com/news/local/church-new-records-confirm-ownership-of-seminary-land/article_51869124-ef23-11e5-8885-0fc2985ee365.html 

'I only answer to God. Bishops don't bother me.'

The three veteran investigators were speechless.  For just a few months, they had waded into a probe of clergy sex abuse in central Pennsylvania. They didn't yet know much. But they had heard about a man near Altoona named George Foster.

Foster, they were told, had long been "making noise" about eliminating abusive priests in the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown - writing letters in the local papers, meeting with church leaders. Daniel Dye, the deputy attorney general leading the investigation, knew he was someone worth meeting.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20160322__I_only_answer_to_God__Bishops_don_t_bother_me__.html

A pedophilia scandal is engulfing the oldest Catholic institution in France

miracle did not occur in Lourdes last week.
Instead, on March 15, the French media descended on the pilgrimage site in southwestern France, which is hosting a conference of the country's bishops. The journalists came to grill Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, who, as bearer of the ancient title "primat des Gaules," is France's most prominent Catholic cleric.
As the cardinal of Lyon, France's second largest city, he runs a diocese rocked by a series of sexual abuse scandals. (The diocese of Lyons is also the oldest Catholic institution in France, stretching back to the Gallo-Roman period.) With the cicada-like clatter of clicking cameras, Barbarin declared he had "never, never, never" hid any act of pedophilia committed by his priests. Staring hard through his severe wire-rimmed glasses, Barbarin observed that none of these acts had happened under his watch. Besides, he noted, these crimes had passed the statute of limitations, so they could not be prosecuted.

http://theweek.com/articles/613504/pedophilia-scandal-engulfing-oldest-catholic-institution-france 

Memories of a Lost Childhood... Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful

This bought so many memories back to me... what I use to think about Christmas... as an innocent girl growing up... in the catholic church orphanages... I looked on at Christmas time... with peace and faith in my heart... the abuse and rape... were left outside the church... as I was alone.... with the child Jesus... whom I called my little brother... the smell of the Christmas lilies... in the church would blind my senses... and everything else was blocked out...

http://annfreespiritjusticeforabusedchildren.blogspot.co.nz/p/blog-page_60.html

Youngstown Catholic Diocese to observe Child Abuse Prevention Month

Don't forget April... Child Awareness Month...

 ===============================

The Diocese of Youngstown has announced that its parishes, schools and institutions will observe National Child Abuse Prevention Month in April.

According to a news release from the diocese, communities are being encouraged to share child abuse and neglect prevention awareness strategies and activities and promote prevention. The announcement comes just days after three Franciscan friars were charged in Pennsylvania with allowing a suspected sexual predator to hold jobs where he molested more than 100 children.

http://www.wfmj.com/story/31536632/youngstown-catholic-diocese-to-observe-child-abuse-prevention-month# 

Paedophile bishop 'duped congregations by impersonating his identical twin brother - who was also a bishop'

A paedophile bishop is feared to have duped congregations across the country by conducting services while impersonating his identical twin brother.

Peter Ball, 83, the former Bishop of Lewes and Gloucester, was jailed for 32 months last year after he admitted sexually abusing 18 teenagers and young men between 1977 and 1992. The Old Bailey heard how Ball, of Langport, Somerset, hand-picked vulnerable victims to commit acts of 'debasement' in the name of religion, including praying naked at the altar and submitting to beatings. 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3503093/Paedophile-bishop-duped-congregations-impersonating-identical-twin-brother-bishop.html

Rhinebeck priest removed from ministry in wake of sexual abuse allegations

A Dutchess County parish priest has been removed from ministry permanently after decades-old sexual abuse allegations against him were found to have merit.
Law enforcement and the New York Archdiocesan Review Board examined the allegations against Peter Kihm and found them to be credible, Bishop Dominick Lagonegro wrote in a March 14 letter to parishioners of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Rhinebeck. As a result of that review, he said, Kihm cannot return to ministry.

http://www.dailyfreeman.com/general-news/20160322/rhinebeck-priest-removed-from-ministry-in-wake-of-sexual-abuse-allegations 

Former Hunter Marist Brother charged with child porn offences

A FORMER Hunter Marist Brother who was jailed in 2001 for child sex offences, but was selling comic books and school resources on the Marist Schools Australia website until June last year, has been charged with child pornography offences.
Brother Terry Gilsenan, 60, who taught at the Marist St Francis Xavier College at Hamilton in 1995-96, was refused bail after he was charged with making child abuse material at the order’s Provincial House at Drummoyne.

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/3804675/former-hunter-marist-brother-charged-with-child-porn-offences/ 

Religious thought in sacred secular Australia

In light of the publication of his new book Australian Religious Thought, the polymath Wayne Hudson has asked me to offer a few reflections on post-secular consciousness in my capacity as a religious person regularly involved in the public square of a pluralist democratic polity.
Like many of you, I have had cause to reflect these last few weeks on why Cardinal Pell evokes such a visceral reaction from so many Australians who profess to have no religious commitment whatever, especially some in the media.

http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=46118#.VvCPyEc1eUm 

Eliminate statute of limitation on child sex abuse

First, it was Penn State, then it was the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Now, just when you think that scandals involving the sexual abuse of children can’t get any worse, we learn about yet another one.

After a prolonged and extensive investigation, law enforcement professionals have uncovered literally mounds of evidence of countless cases of child sexual abuse and a multi-year cover-up by Roman Catholic Church officials.

http://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/opinion/guest/eliminate-statute-of-limitation-on-child-sex-abuse/article_a33c6470-5fdc-57cb-8961-34f4fc5213bd.html 

Suffer the little children: Winona Diocese taking steps to protect children from predators

It’s a syllogism that continues to haunt the Roman Catholic Church: Some people sexually molest children. Some people are Roman Catholic priests and religious. Therefore, some Roman Catholic priests and religious sexually molest children.

For centuries, this was a reality spoken of in diocesan chanceries in hushed tones behind closed doors, spoken of in whispers at priestly retreats, and that haunted the dreams and blighted the lives of victims until it burst into public view and public consciousness.

http://www.winonadailynews.com/news/local/suffer-the-little-children-winona-diocese-taking-steps-to-protect/article_20fc869c-2122-5b51-871b-7d854c08d2ec.html 

Dutchess priest resigns after sex-abuse probe

A longtime Dutchess County priest has officially been removed from the clergy following an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse from decades ago, according to the Archdiocese of New York.
Allegations of sexual abuse made against Peter Kihm in 2015 have been found to be "credible" by both law enforcement and the Archdiocesan Review Board, said Bishop Dominick John Lagonegro in a letter to parishioners of the Good Shepherd Church in Rhinebeck, where Kihm last served as a priest. However, the accusations against Kihm fall out of the statute of limitations for criminal and civil complaints and the determination by the archdiocese is not a finding of guilt.

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/local/2016/03/21/archdiocese-sex-abuse-claims-against-dutchess-priest-credible/82074624/ 

Vatican sex abuse commission ends turbulent meeting, cites progress

The Vatican commission on clerical sexual abuse has wrapped up a turbulent week-long meeting during which one of two victims on the panel was effectively ousted and Chilean Catholics upset that Pope Francis has not sacked a controversial bishop delivered protest letters.
But a statement released on Monday (Feb. 8) at the end of the biannual meeting of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors made no mention of its decision on Saturday that Peter Saunders, a clerical abuse victim from Britain, would take a “leave of absence.”

http://www.religionnews.com/2016/02/08/vatican-sex-abuse-commission-ends-turbulent-meeting-cites-progress/ 

Nun recounts rape, abuse by priest in memoir backed by Catholic Church - Religion News Service

The Catholic Church, under scrutiny for its response to clergy sex abuse scandals, is backing the publication of an Italian nun’s shocking account of her rape as a teenager and years of subsequent abuse by her parish priest in Milan.
The 40-year-old nun, who has not been identified, claims the unnamed priest raped her when she was 14 and continued to abuse her for another seven years.

http://www.religionnews.com/2016/03/21/nun-recounts-rape-abuse-priest-memoir-backed-catholic-church/ 

Gallup Diocese Files Plan to Compensate Abuse Victims

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup, N.M., on Monday unveiled a $22 million reorganization plan, the bulk of which will be used to compensate 57 clergy sexual-abuse victims.
The plan, filed Monday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Albuquerque, N.M., lays out how the diocese expects to repay its creditors, the vast majority of whom say they were sexually abused by the diocese’s clergy decades ago.

http://blogs.wsj.com/bankruptcy/2016/03/21/gallup-diocese-files-plan-to-compensate-abuse-victims/ 

Why The Movie “Spotlight” Makes Me Feel Guilty

I finally watched the Oscar-winning movie Spotlight tonight, and I had three strong emotional reactions: admiration for The Boston Globe’s investigative team, pride in the profession I labored in for more than four decades, and . . . guilt.
Why guilt?
One day in the 1970’s, I fielded a phone call in the newsroom of The Providence Journal. The caller was a local woman who told me that her ten-year-old son had been repeatedly molested by a Roman Catholic priest in one of the city’s parishes.

https://brucedesilva.wordpress.com/2016/03/19/why-the-movie-spotlight-makes-me-feel-guilty/ 

Appeals court suggests harsher sentence for priest who embezzled from archdiocese

The Michigan Court of Appeals has sent a church embezzlement case back to Wayne County Circuit Court for the possible re-sentencing of a priest originally ordered to serve one year in prison in two-month increments over five years.
Timothy Kane, 59, who served as a pastor at St. Benedict, St. Gregory, and the Church of the Madonna in Detroit between 2008 and 2014, was convicted of embezzling $131,400 from a charitable fund of the Archdiocese of Detroit known as the Angel Fund.

http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2016/03/appeals_court_suggests_harsher.html 

Clerical Sexual Abuse: How the Crisis Changed US Catholic Church-State Relations by Jo Renee Formicola (review)

There is a good book hiding inside the pages of Clerical Sexual Abuse: How the Crisis Changed US Catholic Church State Relations, but it’s not the one that the author, Jo Renee Formicola, chose to write. The subtitle, “How the Crisis Changed US Catholic Church-State Relations,” presents a topic worth investigating.
As a result of a number of public prosecutors’ investigations into how individual bishops and dioceses handled allegations of child sexual abuse by priests, and in order to avoid their own prosecution on criminal charges, some American bishops handed partial control of their dioceses over to the public prosecutor. Ironically, these handovers occurred at the same time the American bishops were gearing up a full-scale campaign, Fortnight for Freedom, to protect religious freedom from government infringement. The irony there is thundering and examining it would have made a wonderful book.

https://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/american_catholic_studies/v126/126.4.cafardi.html 

The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape discusses the Pennsylvania Catholic Church sex scandal

A child sex abuse scandal rocking the Pennsylvania Catholic Church within the past few weeks.
Prosecutors released reports on cases of child sex abuse in western Pennsylvania.
Hundreds of children were abused, leaders documented it but did nothing about it. Delilah Rumburg, CEO of Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, sat down with us to talk about where we go from here and how we make sure this does not happen again.

http://abc27.com/2016/03/20/the-pennsylvania-coalition-against-rape-discusses-the-pennsylvania-catholic-church-sex-scandal/ 

Can Pope Francis Keep Out Running His Sex Abuse Scandals?

Fr. Alessandro De Rossi, 46, pastor of a parish in Rome, was arrested on Dec. 31, 2014, charged with aggravated sexual abuse. An Argentine judge had issued the international arrest warrant on December 26 and transmitted it to Interpol.
De Rossi, born in Rome and sent to Argentina by Church authorities, was accused specifically with corrupting and sexually abusing minors, and “causing also the practice of group sex,” while he was a missionary in the Province of Salta from 2008 to 2013 working with young drug addicts.

https://opentabernacle.wordpress.com/2016/03/20/can-pope-francis-keep-out-running-his-sex-abuse-scandals/ 

CLERGY STUDY AUSTRALIA

"Actively seeking knowledge and outcomes to the abuse of children by the religious"
"Helping to build a better world simply because we are evolving, developing and maturing humans."
"How can anyone believe in a God whose servants abuse children and whose hierarchy protects the abuser?

A study to determine the veracity of the statement that the Catholic clergy is filled with the best educated men and women of action and compassion and are capable of providing support, guidance and assistance to survivors of childhood sexual abuse by their fellow clergy men and women.

http://www.molestedcatholics.com/clergy-study-australia

Convicted sex abuse Bishop may have led services in Cornwall

Churches are being asked to check records for any evidence that a convicted paedophile bishop may have taken services in the 1990s. Former Bishop of Gloucester Peter Ball was jailed last year after he admitted sexually abusing teenagers and young men.
The Diocese of Truro is working to find out what evidence it has that Ball conducted services in the area. Bishop Ball's brother, Michael, was a former Bishop of Truro in the 1990s.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cornwall-35851286 

Sexual abuse survivor meets with Tasmania's new Anglican Bishop

A new Anglican bishop has been consecrated in Tasmania as the church continues to deal with the fallout from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

Richard Condie, the former vicar of the popular St Jude's in Carlton, Victoria, was confirmed as the leader of the Anglican Church in Tasmania.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-19/tasmania's-new-bishop-richard-condie-consecrated-child-sex-abuse/7260608 

Canaan shocked by allegations against youth minister

Community members said Saturday that they were shocked and saddened to learn that a local youth ministry director allegedly sexually abused a young girl at his home in Clinton. Lucas Savage, 37, co-director of Youth Haven Ministry on Easy Street, is charged with unlawful sexual contact and was arrested Friday by state police.
“I trusted him with my daughter,” said Kristine Rice, a Canaan resident who said her 11-year-old daughter used to attend ministry programs at Youth Haven. Savage was also her daughter’s soccer coach through the Canaan Community Sports program, Rice said.

http://www.pressherald.com/2016/03/19/canaan-community-reacts-to-allegation-against-youth-minister/ 

Breaking My Church's Silence About A Pedophile

Thirty-two years in the pulpit have shown me that ministry isn't based on what you plan, it's expressed in how you stand up to what can't be foreseen. That's why, after wrestling with futile internal protest, and seeing no definitively informative and positive change, I decided to make public the failure of my church hierarchy to expose one of its long-term ministers as a pedophile.
On the contrary, last April, the annual report of the American Baptist Churches of Connecticut included praise and gratitude for Eli Echevarria, convicted four months before and sentenced to prison for possessing child pornography involving young girls down to toddlers. The printed endorsement nearly sucked the life out of my soul.

http://www.courant.com/opinion/op-ed/hc-op-insight-keane-break-silence-about-pedophile-0320-20160318-story.html 

Pittsburgh Bishop David A. Zubik to offer Service of Apology Monday in Oakland

I have heard for years... that it is never too late to say sorry... But when rape of innocent children... which has gone on for many, many years... within all the churches worldwide... it is far too late to say sorry... you did the damage... the first day and night... when you violated the child... boys and girls... you led us to hell... and no amount of counseling... can take the pain... shame... and guilt... away from my Soul...  Ann

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

On behalf of the Catholic church, Pittsburgh Bishop David A. Zubik wants to say "I'm sorry."

They're simple words, and it will be at a simple Service of Apology that starts at 7 p.m. Monday at St. Paul Cathedral in Oakland, where Zubik will say them. "It's to anybody who's felt in their lives that they have been hurt by the church," Zubik said.

http://www.timesonline.com/news/local_news/pittsburgh-bishop-david-a-zubik-to-offer-service-of-apology/article_95d3fdfa-ec74-11e5-b0aa-8fd84a68711f.html 

Welby urged to apologise over sex abuse inquiry into bishop whose reputation has been 'carelessly destroyed' by allegations

Senior Anglicans are urging the Archbishop of Canterbury to apologise for an ‘astonishingly inadequate’ Church inquiry into a celebrated bishop whose reputation has been ‘carelessly destroyed’ by allegations of sex abuse.

The 12-strong group, whose members include a former police chief and a retired judge, said Church authorities had leaped to judgment without speaking to key witnesses, such as Bishop George Bell’s former chaplain.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3500889/Welby-urged-apologise-sex-abuse-inquiry-bishop-reputation-carelessly-destroyed-allegations.html 

Advocates for victims aim to put a spotlight back on priest abuse in Portland

A local priest is still on the job weeks after a civil complaint was filed alleging he sexually abused a Portland boy for over 10 years. The man claims he was sexually abused by Father Vogt at Holy Rosary Church in Northeast Portland when he was an altar boy.
Bill Crane and David Clohessy work for Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) helping victims of abuse in the Catholic Church. The recent complaint in Portland against Holy Rosary brought them to the steps of the church.

http://katu.com/news/local/advocates-for-victims-aim-to-put-a-spotlight-back-on-priest-abuse-in-portland 

Foster Father Charged With Sexually Abusing 5 Boys on Long Island

A longtime foster father on Long Island has been charged with sexually abusing five boys, all of them his adopted sons, in a case where the authorities suspect there are many more victims.

The father, Cesar Gonzales-Mugaburu, 60, who had 140 boys placed in his care over 22 years, was being held on $500,000 cash bail at the Suffolk County jail on Friday.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/19/nyregion/foster-father-charged-with-sexually-abusing-5-boys-on-long-island.html?emc=edit_tnt_20160318&nlid=63876270&tntemail0=y 

Many Catholic church sexual abuse cases dealt with in secret: NRC

One third of the sexual abuse cases involving the Dutch Catholic church have been dealt with behind closed doors, the NRC said on Saturday. In total, 342 of the 1,045 proven cases were dealt with outside the official complaints procedure and the amount of financial compensation paid to the victims was kept secret, the paper said. The paper bases its claim on church documents.

http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2016/03/87161-2/ 

Hundreds of Child abuse by Catholic Priest cases Handled behind closed doors the Netherlands

This is really disturbing for me as a Dutch citizen.

For the people who have been living under a rock the past 25 years let me explain what is happening:

The Roman Catholic Church is involved in an immense scandal concerning sexual child abuse perpetrated by their priests. First it came in the news as incidents, but thanks to the internet many thousands more people came forward as being abused by priests in their childhood.
This scandal could very well be the reason that Pope Benedict XVI  -Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger- resigned on 28 February 2013. Usually the position of Pope is from installment until the end of his life. Of the 264 popes before him only five times there was a resignation. 

 

http://dutchheretic.blogspot.co.nz/2016/03/hundreds-of-child-abuse-by-catholic.html 

Vatileaks trial adjourned as new sex and secrets claims emerge

The Vatican's controversial trial of journalists and others was adjourned Thursday until next month as a new account emerged of an alleged night of sex and secrets between two of the accused.
The adjournment until April 6 was announced by the Vatican after one of the five accused, PR consultant Francesca Chaouqui, who is six months pregnant, was advised to rest by doctors.

https://nz.news.yahoo.com/world/a/31129153/vatileaks-trial-adjourned-as-new-sex-and-secrets-claims-emerge/ 

Law professor wins damages from the Church of England over historic abuse

A Canadian law professor has settled for £40,000 ($57,900) in damages from the Church of England for abuse she suffered at the hands of a vicar 40 years ago. Julie Macfarlane, who teaches at the University of Windsor, Ontario, was preyed upon by a priest at the age of 16 in the mid-1970s while undergoing a religious crisis in Chichester. The abuse continued for a year, before she left for university.
She made a complaint to the Australian branch of the church in 1999, as the minister had moved there. He resigned when he discovered he would be subject to a disciplinary hearing.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/law-professor-wins-damages-church-england-over-historic-abuse-1550510 

Franciscan friars surrender; accused of abetting child molestation

hree Franciscan friars charged with allowing a suspected sexual predator to hold jobs where he molested more than 100 children surrendered Friday in western Pennsylvania, where they were confronted by the mother of one of his victims.

Robert D'Aversa, 69, Anthony Criscitelli, 62, and Giles Schinelli, 73, are free on unsecured bond until an April 14 preliminary hearing on child endangerment and conspiracy charges. Each is a third-degree felony carrying up to seven years in prison. 

 

http://www.poconorecord.com/article/20160318/NEWS/160319494 

Hotline staff haunted by clergy child sex abuse calls

Throughout the 1990s, priests across Philadelphia and Altoona were molesting hundreds of children.
Grand jury investigation reports have detailed the horrific crimes of sodomy, rape, and countless other acts of depravity carried out in confessionals, sacristies, rectory bedrooms, locker rooms and cars on altar boys, members of choirs and legions of other children across parishes.
Across Catholic communities, few parents suspected such an unthinkable travesty, investigators concluded, but there were some who did.

http://www.morning-times.com/state_news/article_3d610b36-ddd3-5e6d-afa6-e147e29b2c88.html 

Editorial: Records of alleged priest abuse should go public

Catholic Church leaders often take public positions, staking out what to them is the high moral ground and calling for action on a wide range of social issues ranging from immigrant rights to climate change to abortion to food stamp rules.
But their high road has developed a significant pothole from the refusal to make public the church records involved in the Gallup diocese’s bankruptcy case, including personnel files of alleged pedophile priests.

http://www.abqjournal.com/740581/opinion/records-of-alleged-priest-abuse-should-go-public.html 

Lawsuit filed against Austin Catholic diocese over sexual abuse

A man has filed a lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin, alleging the diocese and its bishops had known a priest at a North Austin church abused him when he was an altar boy and did nothing to stop it.
The man, identified only as John Doe, said the now deceased Rev. Milton Eggerling, who preached at St. Louis Church and School in the 1970s, acted as his mentor and spiritual father figure, luring him with outings and special treatment before he began sexually abusing him, according to Travis County records obtained by the American-Statesman late Friday.

http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/crime-law/lawsuit-filed-against-austin-catholic-diocese-over/nqjjG/ 

St. Cloud Diocese Named in Civil Lawsuit Over Sex Abuse Case

The Diocese of St. Cloud has been named as a defendant in a civil lawsuit involving a priest who has been accused of sexual abusing a minor.
Father Antonio Marfori was charged last October with sexually abusing a student while he was a teacher at St. Cloud Cathedral High School in the late 1970’s.
A statement from the Diocese indicates they are reviewing the civil complaint against them and that there had been no reports of sexual misconduct by Father Marfori prior to the October 2015 complaint.

http://wjon.com/st-cloud-diocese-named-in-civil-lawsuit-over-sex-abuse-case/ 

Letter to the Editor: Abuse scandal in Altoona disheartens ‘lifelong Catholic’

I cannot say that I was shocked, but I was saddened, by the alarming grand jury report about the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese and alleged sexual abuse of minors by priests over a 40-year period. Two former bishops, one still living, allegedly covered up the abuse. If guilty of the egregious conduct of which he is accused, including threatening victims of abuse with excommunication from the church if they pushed their complaints, former Bishop Joseph Adamec, should be defrocked and stripped of the title of bishop.
But you will never see it happen.  The statute of limitations in Pennsylvania should be changed, as state Attorney General Kathleen Kane has suggested, to have no limitations on prosecution of sexual abuse cases where minors are victims.

http://timesleader.com/opinion/letters/522287/letter-to-the-editor-abuse-scandal-in-altoona-disheartens-lifelong-catholic 

Commentary: Phila. archdiocese committed to preventing abuse, aiding survivors

Adults have a duty to love and protect children. Yet not a day goes by when we don't hear a story about children abused by someone they know and trust. Perpetrators cover a very wide spectrum, from parents to coaches to teachers to clergy. But especially bitter for the statewide Catholic community is a March 1 grand jury report detailing historical abuses that took place in Western Pennsylvania's Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown.
This news brings back ugly feelings for so many within our archdiocese, which learned its own lessons about child sexual abuse the hard way. The most important lesson is that the persons who suffer most in these tragedies are the survivors and their families. I've met personally with many survivors over the years. Their stories and experiences are intensely painful. I am deeply sorry for all they've endured, for the past failures of the Church, and for the role it has played in their suffering.

http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20160318_Commentary__Phila__archdiocese_committed_to_preventing_abuse__aiding_survivors.html 

Vatican’s abuse commission needs proper funding

The commission has recognised its duty to create policies with global application, which send very clear messages about what must be done everywhere in the world. We have seen that it is capable of this", writes Nuala O'Loan. Pope Francis established the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, because, he said,

“Many painful actions have caused a profound examination of conscience for the entire Church, leading us to request forgiveness from the victims and from our society for the harm that has been caused. This response to these actions is the firm beginning for initiatives of many different types, which are intended to repair the damage, to attain justice, and to prevent, by all means possible, the recurrence of similar incidents in the future.”

http://www.irishcatholic.ie/article/vatican%E2%80%99s-abuse-commission-needs-proper-funding 

Former Catholic Church insider calls for police and royal commission to subpoena secret 'red files'

A former Catholic Church insider has called on police and the royal commission to subpoena all of the church's secret clergy abuse documents — known as the "red files".
Helen Last, a former coordinator of the Melbourne Archdiocese's Pastoral Response Office, said the full extent of church abuse would not be known until all the documents were made available.
"These files should be handed over, they are of important public interest, they have forensic material in them, they cover criminal activity by clergy, they cover the anguish and information of parents and parishioners speaking to the Vicar General at the time," she said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-17/call-for-catholic-church-red-files-to-be-subpoenaed/7252882