Eyes on witch hunt against churches as kids suffer at home

On Sky News’ The Bolt Report on Monday, presenter Andrew Bolt asked social commentator Bettina Arndt her opinion on the fact French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron is married to a woman 25 years his senior. Moreover, they met when he was 15 and she was his teacher.

The libertarian Arndt said the matter was of no importance but conceded that such a situation would not likely be repeated in Australia. She then made a hard point: “It’s total hypocrisy. We jump up and down in the royal commission (into institutional ­responses to child sexual abuse) about abuse of people in institutions. We don’t give a stuff about the major risk for children, which is, you know, children in single-parent families being abused by boyfriends passing in and out of those families.”

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/inquirer/eyes-on-witch-hunt-against-churches-as-kids-suffer-at-home/news-story/54ea443aa5dd32e5680c6493e06dd676 

A New Genre of Civic Literature: Official Reports of Government Inquiries Into International Cases of Abuse of Institutionalized Children

This is a story about institutional crime and social justice. At times, it may seem there is too much of the former and not enough of the latter. That’s the bad news. The good news is, when the institutional crime involves the abuse and exploitation of children, a number of different governments, in different countries, in different parts of the world, are finally beginning to do something. Unfortunately, the US government is not one of them. 
Fifteen years ago, the Boston Globe won a Pulitzer Prize for its exposé of the criminal abuse of children inside the Catholic Church; the movie about those Globe reporters, Spotlight, won an Oscar. As the Boston conflagration spread to other cities and dioceses around the country, more hidden abuse was exposed, more predators identified, and their institutional cover blown. But the task of exposure fell primarily to local media, local judiciaries, and local attorneys who brought victims’ lawsuits against their offending archdioceses. The nation’s fourth estate, a free press, did the bulk of the heavy lifting — collecting and broadcasting the evidence in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Chicago, Portland, Milwaukie, and everywhere else religious institutions had colluded. But to date, in contrast to public initiatives in some other countries, there has been no national-level, governmental investigation of child abuse in America.

http://blog.lareviewofbooks.org/essays/new-genre-civic-literature-official-reports-government-inquiries-international-cases-abuse-institutionalized-children/ 

New Website Details the Alleged Sexual Abuse of Minors by Roman Catholic Clergy in 49 Countries;

New Website Details the Alleged Sexual Abuse of Minors by Roman Catholic Clergy in 49 Countries; Advocates Expansion of the Statute of Limitations

New website provides comprehensive statistical information about the alleged abuse of minors and vulnerable adults by Catholic clergy. It covers alleged abuse on six continents during the past century. It was created and designed to encourage legislation to expand the statute of limitations on sex crimes committed against minors.

http://www.pr.com/press-release/713178 

Sexual Abuse at Choate Went On for Decades, School Acknowledges

Choate Rosemary Hall, the elite Connecticut boarding school, said on Thursday that at least 12 former teachers had sexually molested — and, in at least one case, raped — students in a pattern of abuse dating to the 1960s.

The allegations in a report prepared by an investigator for the board of trustees include instances of “intimate kissing” and “intimate touching.” The parents of a Choate student complained to the school in the early 1980s after their daughter contracted herpes from an English teacher. And in another case, the report describes a student’s rape on a school trip to Costa Rica.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/13/nyregion/sexual-abuse-choate-connecticut-school.html?action=click&contentCollection=N.Y.%20%2F%20Region&module=RelatedCoverage&region=Marginalia&pgtype=article 

Retired bishop again accused of sex abuse

Former Guam priest and now Saipan Bishop Emeritus Tomas A. Camacho  on Wednesday was accused for the second time of sexually abusing a former altar boy, this time by a man identified in a federal court complaint only as B.C.
B.C., represented by attorney David Lujan, said in the complaint he was about 10 years old around 1962 when Camacho sexually abused him numerous times when Camacho was priest at the Nuestra Señora de las Aguas Catholic Church in Mongmong.

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2017/04/26/retired-bishop-again-accused-sex-abuse/100920502/ 

India's Church remains in denial over clergy abuse

The issue of how the church deals with officials who abuse women has been brought to the fore in India once more when a Catholic priest was arrested in February.
Father Robin Vadakancherry of Manathavady Diocese in Kerala was arrested for raping and impregnating a 16-year-old parishioner of his and a student of a school under his management. The girl delivered a baby boy in a church-run hospital. The infant was moved to a church-run orphanage, all without informing the authorities of the fate of the girl, a minor under Indian law.

https://international.la-croix.com/news/indias-church-remains-in-denial-over-clergy-abuse/5082

Nuns should hand over maternity hospital site – Coombe ex-master

Dr Chris Fitzpatrick: “Consideration should be given to handing over the ownership of the site cost-free.”   The proposed transfer of the National Maternity Hospital to a religious-owned site at St Vincent’s Hospital is inappropriate and insensitive, according to the doctor charged by the HSE with planning the project.

Dr Chris Fitzpatrick, a former master of the Coombe, has thrown his weight behind fellow obstetrician Dr Peter Boylan by predicting the move would inevitably lead to conflicts of interest between doctors and the Catholic Church.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/nuns-should-hand-over-maternity-hospital-site-coombe-ex-master-1.3061247 

Choate Scrutinized on Reporting of Abuse Claims

Connecticut’s Department of Children and Families has asked the state’s highest criminal law enforcement agency to investigate whether employees at Choate Rosemary Hall failed to report multiple allegations of sexual abuse to the authorities, which they are required to do by law.

Choate, an elite boarding school in Wallingford, Conn., released a report this month that documented decades of sexual abuse at the school, in which teachers took advantage of students. In the mid-1990s, a faculty member used a student’s discipline problems to pressure her to have sex with him, the report said. One woman said she had been preyed upon by two teachers while she was a student.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/26/nyregion/connecticut-will-investigate-choate-on-reporting-of-abuse-claims.html?emc=edit_tnt_20170426&nlid=63876270&tntemail0=y&_r=0 

Don’t let old child abusers off hook, new Pennsylvania attorney general says

The possible inclusion of a retroactivity clause is the most contentious sticking point in the discussion about changing Pennsylvania’s statute-of-limitations laws for cases of child sexual abuse. Many elected officials seem to be in agreement about increasing the current age limits of 30 for civil actions and 50 for criminal complaints.

However, one side, led by state Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-Berks, and advocates in the Johnstown region, want any new law to include a two-year window during which alleged victims could file civil claims against perpetrators of past abuse. Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, a Republican, backed by the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference and the Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania, opposes retroactivity, believing it would violate the commonwealth’s constitution.

http://www.tribdem.com/news/don-t-let-old-child-abusers-off-hook-new-pennsylvania/article_fbcd5fdc-2af5-11e7-8978-336f3b043eef.html 

Reflections on the Royal Commission and the completion of the public hearing schedule

On Friday 31 March 2017 the Royal Commission completed its last case study via a public hearing. The case study The Nature, Causes and Impact of Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings was the 57^th case study completed via a public hearing. The first case study public hearing, Scouts, was held in September 2013.
The Royal Commission will continue its schedule of private sessions of which there are many hundreds to complete. The Final report(s) will come out in December 2017. However it is worth taking stock as the Royal Commissions completes its public hearing schedule.

http://www.findandconnectwrblog.info/2017/04/reflections-on-the-royal-commission-and-the-completion-of-the-public-hearing-schedule/ 

The Other Side of Anne of Green Gables

Do you know Anne Shirley? You would like her. Everybody does. A lively and optimistic survivor with a feverish imagination and unchecked enthusiasms, she is a redheaded outsider who becomes an insider without forsaking her peculiarities or her intelligence. An inadvertent feminist, an unrepentant romantic, a hot-tempered sprite, she’s impulsive, she’s dramatic, she’s smart, she’s funny, she insists on spelling her name with an E at the end because it “looks so much nicer.” She speaks in exclamation marks and italics even when in the “depths of despair,” which, as an abused child, she knows a thing or two about.
She is perpetually seeking “kindred spirits.” She loves trees and stories and nut-brown hair and will burn whatever is in the oven while dreaming about trees and stories and nut-brown hair. She can heal an infant with the croup, but she “cannot tie [herself] down to anything so unromantic as dishwashing” at “thrilling” moments or be asked to eat anything “so unromantic [as boiled pork and beans] when one is in affliction.” She is small and freckled and indefatigable. She is nearly 110 years old.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/27/magazine/the-other-side-of-anne-of-green-gables.html?emc=edit_tnt_20170427&nlid=63876270&tntemail0=y&_r=1 

Santa Fe archdiocese faces new suit as it seeks to conceal documents in separate abuse case

A new lawsuit filed against the Archdiocese of Santa Fe says a 2015 film about widespread child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy in the Boston area triggered a New Mexico’s man’s childhood memories of being sexually abused by two priests at an Albuquerque church.
Attorneys representing the man, identified as John Doe 66, filed the suit Thursday in the 2nd Judicial District Court in Albuquerque. It also names the Church of Ascension Parish in Albuquerque’s South Valley as a defendant.

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/santa-fe-archdiocese-faces-new-suit-as-it-seeks-to/article_7525785c-62ef-55af-aa37-422cf7274b3e.html 

Striking Photo of Sleeping Street Kids and Passing Nuns Goes Viral

Priests, nuns, pastors, and other religious entities always preach about helping the poor and those in need, feeding the hungry, helping the sick, etc. Most will also tell you that contraceptives and other modern methods of family planning are bad, even ‘evil’, because life is precious and that every person deserves to be born – and we’re not talking about abortion here but the conception of the child.
That’s already a given – yet do they always practice what they preach?

http://buzz.definitelyfilipino.net/articles/2017/04/striking-photo-of-sleeping-street-kids-and-passing-nuns-goes-viral/

Canon lawyer: Evidence likely sufficient for Vatican to decide on Apuron by late July

Minnesota-based canon lawyer and former priest Patrick J. Wall said there appears to be more than sufficient evidence for a Vatican tribunal to come to a decision on Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron’s canonical penal trial, after two accusers provided testimony in March.
“In short, the Roman Pontiff can step in and make a decision since he is the supervisor of Apuron,” said Wall, who since 2002 has advocated for hundreds of clergy abuse survivors.

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2017/04/23/canon-lawyer-evidence-likely-sufficient-vatican-decide-apuron/100589628/ 

Justice for abuse victims

Our opinion: A new report documenting decades of sex abuse at Emma Willard is yet another reason why the state needs to revisit the statute of limitations.
About the last thing parents expect when they send their children off to school is that they’ll be sexually abused by a teacher. Yet as a new report from Emma Willard School shows, that happened all too often, over the course of at least seven decades.

http://blog.timesunion.com/opinion/editorial-justice-for-abuse-victims/37918/ 

Catholic Church Knew Of Alleged Child Abuser

A Dutch priest who was arrested in Siem Reap City last week after allegedly taking more than 1,000 photographs of naked boys had told a bishop in his home country about his “sexual preference for underage boys,” church representatives said on Sunday.
Evrard-Nicolas Sarot, 53, was charged with possessing and producing child pornography by the Siem Reap Provincial Court on Thursday and is accused of paying 19 boys, all under the age of 15, a few dollars each to pose nude for photos.

https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/catholic-church-knew-of-alleged-child-abuser-128484/ 

Brunswick Priest Asking Religious Leaders To Address Opioid Abuse

Congregations throughout the state heard about the state’s opioid problem over the weekend as part of a push from a church in Northeast Ohio.
Last year, Fr. Bob Stec of St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Brunswick presided over six funerals for opioid victims in less than a month, and early yesterday morning, he learned of another victim – a 30-year-old – among his parishioners at St. Ambrose in Brunswick

http://wksu.org/post/brunswick-priest-asking-religious-leaders-address-opioid-abuse#stream/0 

Priest accused of abusing boys 'unfit to stand trial'

A retired priest who was accused of abusing boys over three decades is unfit to stand trial. One of the alleged victims, Pat McEwan, has spoken of his frustration at what he feels is a lack of justice.

The 89-year-old priest has been diagnosed with dementia, meaning the accusations will not be tested in court. The clergyman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was reported to the Crown Office in relation to alleged child abuse in Scotland from the 1950s to the 1980s.

https://stv.tv/news/scotland/1385779-priest-accused-of-abusing-boys-unfit-to-stand-trial/ 

Dating Catholic style – ‘Time for God to take the reins’

DENVER - Ask any single person over 30, or under 30 for that matter, and you’ll get the same answer: Dating isn’t easy. Luckily, people can go to the same place for help where they go for almost everything else these days, which is the internet.
In a world where Billy Eichner from “Billy on the Street” makes videos assisting staffers at prestigious magazines with their Tinder accounts, online dating is ubiquitous, acceptable, and if you’re single, basically expected. Most singles have done it at least once, and many have profiles on multiple sites, the idea being if one is good, more must be better.

https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2017/04/24/dating-catholic-style-time-god-take-reins/ 

Could the Vatican face racketeering charges for harboring abusive clergy?

Earlier this year, federal prosecutors in Manhattan made history by arresting officials at the Federation Internationale de Football Association, or FIFA, on charges of racketeering and money laundering.

The case, a groundbreaking example of US authorities policing far beyond America’s borders, raised an interesting question: If prosecutors could target FIFA — an organization headquartered outside the US — could they also take aim at the leaders of another sprawling international enterprise, say, the Roman Catholic Church?

https://www.pri.org/stories/2015-09-25/could-vatican-face-racketeering-charges-harboring-abusive-clergy-0

The priest and today’s world

The media and the common people are very creative when they invent stories especially involving a priest who has just left. Most probably they give a reason to something that they find extremely hard to digest! The usual answer is that one left to get married!
Although in some cases it might ring true, yet in most cases, we encounter a different picture. The priest is not so happy with his surroundings, happenings or way of life. In the quoted article, one finds an ex seminarian (one who is studying for priesthood), who is not happy with the way of life the friars are living in the monastery. He feels very uncomfortable that whilst his mother has to make both ends meet, in his monastery there is a superfluous luxury notwithstanding the fact that they took the vow of poverty! The most important thing of all is that it has effected his spirituality. Although for others it may seem to be trivial, it cost him his place in the monastery. He couldn’t accommodate this divorce between what he believes and what he sees daily in the monastery.

https://maltesemarriedcatholicpriest.wordpress.com/2017/04/24/the-priest-and-todays-world/ 

Hurting in the Church: An honest look at human realities

“If the Church has ever succeeded in her mission, it was every time she was able - in the lives of faithful and committed Christians - to embody the self-sacrificing love exemplified by her Divine Spouse,” Father Thomas Berg writes in his new book Hurting in the Church: A Way Forward for Wounded Catholics.
What many know of the Church today, however, “are the times her members have failed in that great task, the times we have failed to correspond to the mandate of our Savior” to love one another “as I have loved you.”

https://cruxnow.com/interviews/2017/04/24/hurting-church-honest-look-human-realities/ 

Hampstead woman files sex abuse suit against former Phillips teacher

BOSTON — When Marie Sapienza became a student at Phillips Academy Andover in the 1980s, she had dreams of becoming a doctor. But by her junior year, she said, after being sexually assaulted by a teacher, she would have settled for making it to graduation day.
At a press conference Monday morning, Sapienza tearfully talked about former English teacher and poet Alexander Theroux, who she said "robbed her of a normal life" when he fondled her on one occasion in his on-campus residence when she was 15.

http://www.eagletribune.com/news/hampstead-woman-files-sex-abuse-suit-against-former-phillips-teacher/article_34385d60-f11e-56e9-882b-090cd64aefa4.html 

Latest victim alleges priest kept book of names

Two new lawsuits have been filed against former Guam priest Louis Brouillard alleging repeated sexual abuse, and one victim has come forward alleging the former clergy member and Scout Master kept a book with the names of all of the boys he abused and their nude photos.
Thomas A. Cepeda Sr. filed a civil complaint in the District Court of Guam on Wednesday alleging he was sexually abused for three years when Brouillard served as a parish priest at Santa Teresita Catholic Church in Mangilao.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/latest-victim-alleges-priest-kept-book-of-names/article_fa54cf2c-24ed-11e7-8041-0b6bd28a855a.html 

'The government won't remove the Church from its authority over social services until we demand it'

THE CAVALIER ANNOUNCEMENT by the Department of Health this week that the Sisters of Charity are to be given the new State-funded hospital in south Dublin demonstrates the protected status enjoyed by the Catholic Church in Irish public policy.
The consequences of the Church’s role in abusing the Irish people have been well-documented. The failure of the Irish government to protect people from this abuse has also been well-documented. The continued failure of the Irish government to hold the Catholic Church accountable for past abuse of its citizens is well-documented too.

http://www.thejournal.ie/readme/opinion-the-irish-government-wont-remove-the-church-from-its-authority-over-social-services-until-we-demand-it-3347071-Apr2017/

The Emperor Has No Clothes Pray for Holy Mother Church.

For the first time in a hundred years, the U.S. bishops are gathering this summer over the Fourth of July weekend for a spectacle — 2017 Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel in America. They have been talking about and planning this for six years now.
The point is to bring all the bishops together with about 3,500 folks recognized as Catholic "leaders" and have a great, big, huge discussion about how to serve the world by spreading the gospel. It's supposed to be an opportunity for "leaders" to speak their minds and think outside the box and come with ideas and slogans and plans and programs to evangelize the country.

http://www.churchmilitant.com/video/episode/vortex-the-emperor-has-no-clothes 

Marching to a loud future

For 60 seconds Camp Street will be filled with noises – the shrill sounds of whistles, the beating of drums, colourful ribbons will be blowing in the wind.
I think (its been successful) because it is a grass roots initiative that people have really embraced. - Maureen Hatcher  Hundreds of people who have now had their voices heard will ensure there will be No More Silence when it comes to child abuse.

http://www.thecourier.com.au/story/4612117/marching-to-a-loud-future/ 

Will the mystery of who killed Sister Cathy become the next ‘Making a Murderer’?

ONE evening in November, 1969, Sister Catherine “Cathy” Cesnik, left the home she shared with a fellow nun to buy some dinner rolls, shop for an engagement gift and cash a cheque.

When the 26-year-old hadn’t returned by 11pm, her concerned flatmate called two friends who were priests. They eventually contacted local Baltimore police and reported their friend missing.

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/will-the-mystery-of-who-killed-sister-cathy-become-the-next-making-a-murderer/news-story/ab6a0273e2a5738926f0a534fc80d156 

Paedophile baby rapist found dead in his cell after inmates took contracts out on him

One of Britain’s worst paedophiles who was part of a sick gang that drugged and raped babies has been found dead after fellow inmates took out a contract on him.
James King aged 31 originally named Robin Hollyson was sentenced to 24 years behind bars for filming himself raping a three month-old baby.

https://policehour.co.uk/2016/11/paedophile-baby-rapist-found-dead-in-his-cell-after-inmates-took-contracts-out-on-him/ 

Limtiaco leads board to help victims of priest abuses

Guam's previous top federal prosecutor has been named chairwoman of the board of Hope and Healing, the organization created by the archdiocese to address multiple accusations of sexual abuse by former Guam priests, decades ago.
Chairwoman Alicia Limtiaco's role was announced during a press conference yesterday at the Hilton Guam Resort and Spa.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/ex-prosecutor-leads-board-to-help-victims-of-priest-abuses/article_9cb2e1dc-27dc-11e7-94ae-8bdd8f6cbc9d.html 

Russia bans Jehovah’s Witnesses, calling it an “extremist organisation’

RUSSIA’S Supreme Court has issued a ruling banning Jehovah’s Witnesses after the justice ministry called on it to dissolve the “extremist organisation”.

Supreme Court judge Yury Ivanenko said Russia had decided to close down “the administrative centre of Jehovah’s Witnesses and the local organisations in its fold and turn their property over to the Russian Federation.”

http://www.news.com.au/world/europe/russia-bans-jehovahs-witnesses-calling-it-an-extremist-organisation/news-story/8155914919de94a1477377467375d2aa 

Light shines out of darkness: Years later, victims of Catholic Church sex abuse scandal encourage healing

Paul Wesselmann remembers well the day he made the decision to reach out for help for the sexual abuse he endured as a young teen. It was 1994 — the year "Forrest Gump" was buzzing as the must-see movie of the summer. Wesselmann, then a young man in his 20s, went to see it alone. On the way to the grocery store after leaving the theater, he had to pull over because he was sobbing so hard.

It was that famous scene where Forrest came looking for Jenny because she didn’t get on the bus for school that morning that rattled him to the core. As Jenny’s father stumbles drunk outside with a flask in his hand and yelling for his daughter, Jenny tells Forrest to run. They head out into the cornfield behind her Alabama shack as her father chases after her, and she hits her knees and says, “Pray with me, Forrest,” and then begins to chant, “Dear God, make me a bird, so I can fly far, far, far away from here.”

http://thesouthern.com/news/local/light-shines-out-of-darkness-years-later-victims-of-catholic/article_1bafa035-1394-5a83-a075-7450d46a682d.html 

Lawyer: Vatican could decide Guam archbishop's fate by summer

Minnesota-based canon lawyer and former priest Patrick J. Wall said there appears to be more than sufficient evidence for a Vatican tribunal to come to a decision on Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron’s canonical penal trial, after two accusers provided testimony in March.“In short, the Roman Pontiff can step in and make a decision since he is the supervisor of Apuron,” said Wall, who since 2002 has advocated for hundreds of clergy abuse survivors.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/04/23/lawyer-vatican-could-decide-guam-archbishops-fate-summer/100816170/ 

SNAP in the crosshairs II / Thomas Doyle

Rev. Thomas P. Doyle, who has a doctorate in canon law and five master’s degrees, sacrificed a rising career at the Vatican Embassy to become an outspoken advocate for church abuse victims. Since 1984, when he became involved with the issue of sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy while serving at the Embassy, he has become an expert in the canonical and pastoral dimensions of this problem. The first part of his commentary on SNAP was published earlier in this blog.

https://voicefaithful.wordpress.com/2017/04/20/snap-in-the-crosshairs-ii-thomas-doyle/ 

Advocates for victims of clergy abuse say the church is focused on looking after itself

ADVOCATES for sexual assault victims say recent comments by the Catholic Bishop of Ballarat demonstrate the church’s focus is on protecting itself rather than the crimes committed on south-west children.
Bishop Paul Bird refuted calls to remove plaques which include the name of disgraced bishop Ronald Mulkearns. He told The Standard it was important to accurately record historical events where the community had gathered to celebrate with Bishop Mulkearns.

http://www.standard.net.au/story/4577668/church-priority-is-not-victims/

‘We created the abuse’: Church official leading response to child sexual abuse tells priests its time to listen to the community

AN official leading the Church response to child sex abuse has told priests in Brisbane, “we created the abuse”, now it is time for parish priests to listen to their communities, including people who have been abused and are angry with the Church.
“We created the abuse. That is the harsh reality,” chief executive of the Church’s Truth, Justice and Healing Council Francis Sullivan said, addressing about 180 priests from the Archdiocese of Brisbane attending an annual convocation.

http://catholicleader.com.au/news/we-created-the-abuse-church-official-leading-response-to-child-sexual-abuse-tells-priests-its-time-to-listen-to-the-community 

Priest seized every opportunity to molest boys

The Archdiocese of Agana and the Boy Scouts of America should have known about the "sexually abusive and exploitative propensities" of a priest who served in parishes around the island for more than two decades and also served as a leader in the Scouts organization in Guam, said a new lawsuit filed in the District Court of Guam.
An individual identified with the initials "J.D." to protect his identity, filed a lawsuit that marks the 49th civil complaint lodged against the Catholic Church in Guam.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/suit-priest-seized-every-opportunity-to-molest-boys/article_58645c90-2020-11e7-8c2f-dbe670cf8ca5.html 

French cardinal accused of abuse cover-up defends himself

In a letter to the clergy of Lyon, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin also addresses the case of a popular priest who left to get married.
In addition to celebrating mass on Holy Wednesday in Lyon on 12 April, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin spoke at length on the situation of Father David Gréa, the emblematic priest of the Saint Blandine parish in central Lyon who had announced a few weeks ago that he wished to get married. Archbishop Barbarin also addressed matters related to pedophilia

https://international.la-croix.com/news/cardinal-philippe-barbarin-defends-himself/5010 

Guam Archdiocese Moves for Dismissal of Sex Abuse Lawsuits

This week, the Archdiocese of Guam asked a federal court to dismiss dozens of law suits filed by former altar boys who say they were raped and assaulted by priests as far back as the 1970s. The key to the suits was a law passed last year that lifted the statute of limitations, and as we hear from Neal Conan in today’s Pacific News Minute, that law is also the basis of the Archdiocese’s argument.

http://hawaiipublicradio.org/post/pacific-news-minute-guam-archdiocese-moves-dismissal-sex-abuse-lawsuits 

CA--Parish honoring admitted child molester

Victims of child sex abuse wrote a letter today to the Archdioceses of Los Angeles and Chicago and a Chicago-based religious order to express their outrage that a banned priest and admitted child molester is being honored by a local Los Angeles-area parish.

That man, Bruce Wellems, has been banned from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, removed from the priesthood in both Los Angeles and Chicago, and has also been taken out of ministry by the Claretians, a religious order—all for allegations of sexual abuse. 

http://www.snapnetwork.org/ca_parish_honoring_admitted_child_molester#_=_ 

Catholic priest who raped a young boy until he prayed for death is jailed

Father Michael Higginbottom, 74, repeatedly raped his victim who told the court that the “evil” priest had ruined his life. Higginbottom revelled in “cruel, sadistic bullying” at St Joseph’s College, a seminary for prospective priests, in Upholland, near Wigan .

A Catholic priest has been jailed for 17 years after a catalogue of horrific sexual abuse against a young boy which left him praying for death. Father Michael Higginbottom, 74, repeatedly raped his victim who told the court that the “evil” priest had ruined his life.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/priest-michael-higginbottom-jailed-rape-12889511 

Feds release 1,200 pages of blacked-out emails about abuse at St Anne’s residential school

Despite an ongoing threat of legal action by the federal information commissioner, justice department still won’t fully disclose records
The federal government is continuing to obstruct justice for the survivors of St. Anne’s residential school by “thumbing their nose” at the information commissioner and releasing 1,200 pages of almost entirely blacked-out documents, NDP MP Charlie Angus says.

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/04/12/feds-release-1200-pages-of-blacked-out-emails-about-abuse-at-st-annes-residential-school.html 

The dark history of Ballarat’s worst pedophile priest

One of Australia's worst pedophile priests has pleaded guilty to abusing another 11 victims during his time in Ballarat.
Former Ballarat priest Gerald Francis Ridsdale used his exalted position in the eyes of Catholic families and communities to find his prey. Gerard Ridsdale - already convicted of abusing 53 children - appeared via video link at the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Thursday and pleaded guilty to a number of child abuse charges.

http://www.thecourier.com.au/story/4596451/the-dark-history-of-ballarats-worst-pedophile-priest/ 

At Choate, Decades of ‘I’d Rather Let It Go at That’

In August 1987, a former student at Choate Rosemary Hall, the prestigious Connecticut boarding school, wrote to his alumni director with a secret he had kept for decades: One of his late instructors, a man so revered that Choate had named its student center after him, liked “giving little boys back rubs in his bedroom.”

The reply he got was shocking, according to a report released by the school on Thursday. The alumni director, Edward Ayres, told the former student that his complaints were somewhat awkward given that a number of his classmates and their parents had “contributed several hundred thousand” to create a memorial fund for the man. Why had they done that? “Damned if I know,” Mr. Ayres wrote, “but his teaching did reach a lot of kids since 1944, and I’d rather let it go at that.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/14/nyregion/choate-school-sex-abuse.html?emc=edit_tnt_20170414&nlid=63876270&tntemail0=y&_r=1 

Pope Francis voices shame over sex abuse claims against Church in Good Friday speech in Rome

Expressing shame over the failures of the Church and humanity in protecting the dignity and lives of innocent people, Pope Francis called for the almighty's forgiveness during his Good Friday speech at Rome's Colosseum.
Wearing a plain white coat, he presided over the traditional evening Way of the Cross procession and later addressed the 20,000 people gathered at the place amid extremely tight security.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/pope-francis-voices-shame-over-sex-abuse-claims-against-church-good-friday-speech-rome-1617102 

They had nowhere to hide': abuse survivors praise commission for shaking institutions

Anthony Foster, an outspoken advocate for child sexual abuse victims and survivors, noticed a glaring absence from the hearing rooms during the final week of the child sexual abuse royal commission.
“There has not been one representative from one religious institution present,” says Foster, whose daughters Emma and Katie were sexually abused by a Catholic priest. “Not one. And all of the survivors have noticed it.”

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/apr/01/nowhere-to-hide-abuse-survivors-praise-commission-shaking-institutions 

Abuse commission member: We asked pope to create Vatican office to train in responding to survivors

A member of Pope Francis’ commission on clergy sexual abuse says his group has asked the pontiff to create a new Vatican office to train the city-state’s personnel in how to respond to letters from abuse survivors.
Jesuit Fr. Hans Zollner, a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, told the Italian Catholic channel TV2000 Monday that Vatican officials need training before they can respond to survivors.

http://www.cathnewsusa.com/2017/03/abuse-commission-member-asked-pope-create-vatican-office-train-responding-survivors/?newsletter=1 

Victim advocate: The abuse scandal has broken the heart of the Catholic Church in Australia.

In this exclusive interview with America, Francis Sullivan, the chief executive officer of the Australian Catholic Church’s “Truth, Justice, and Healing Council,” reflects on what contributed to the abuse of minors by priests and religious in Australia, and what he thinks the Royal Commission that has been investigating this abuse might say in its report at the year’s end.

http://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2017/03/31/victim-advocate-abuse-scandal-has-broken-heart-catholic-church-australia 

Royal Commission thanked for giving survivors 'justice, strength and hope'

FOR three decades Hunter Catholic school principal Steve Murray buried memories of being sexually assaulted by a Marist Brother, for more than a decade he tried to hold the Catholic Church to account, and by 2012 “I had given up because they were too hard to fight”.
Mr Murray has broken his silence to thank the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, commissioners, and former prime minister Julia Gillard for establishing the historic inquiry, at the end of the 57^th and final public hearing on Friday.

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/4563120/commission-meant-i-knew-i-wasnt-alone/ 

'They were empty words': Abuse survivors lose faith in George Pell's Roman vow

For years, Dominic Ridsdale held a secret locked inside him. The fear his uncle, disgraced paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale, held over him was so entrenched it stopped him disclosing his sexual abuse until 30 years later.
 "He told me if I told anyone, I would die," Dominic said. "I pushed the pain further and further down until I slid down into a hole and I couldn't find my way out."  Dominic battles depression, severe anxiety and has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
He was one of thousands of survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy who broke their silence during the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/they-were-empty-words-abuse-survivors-lose-faith-in-george-pells-roman-vow-20170331-gvarep.html

French 'Spotlight' investigation accuses Catholic bishops of sex abuse cover-up

A provocative French TV investigation has accused several Catholic bishops of protecting alleged clerical sex abusers in France in the past 50 years.
'Paedophilia in the Church: The Burden of Silence,' aired March 21, and accused 25 Catholic bishops of shielding 32 clerics who faced accusations of sex abuse, according to The National Catholic Reporter. The France 2 programme has been described as 'a French Spotlight', comparing it to the famous Boston Globe investigation that unveiled a systemic clerical sex abuse scandal in 2002.

https://www.christiantoday.com/article/french.spotlight.investigation.accuses.catholic.bishops.of.sex.abuse.cover.up/106272.htm?internal_source=ct_related_news 

Disgraced Ballarat Bishop Mulkearns who protected paedophiles erased from history

Across Victoria, on buildings associated with the Catholic church, blank rectangles are appearing. They signify the fresh removal of plaques, installed decades earlier to signify the opening of a school, church, hospital or hall.
Etched on the plaques is a name: Most Reverend R. A. Mulkearns.
Bishop Ronald Austin Mulkearns blessed almost every Catholic building opened in the Ballarat diocese between 1974 and 1996. He also supervised one of the worst periods of clerical child sexual abuse in Australia.

 http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/disgraced-ballarat-bishop-mulkearns-who-protected-paedophiles-erased-from-history-20170328-gv8m9n.html

Lawsuits allege priest used ‘evil campaign’ to abuse victims

A sex abuse victim alleges former priest and Boy Scout Master Louis Brouillard took altar boys and Boy Scouts to watch pornographic films and misappropriated church offerings to pay for outings with minor boys.
Two new lawsuits were filed in the District Court of Guam yesterday against the Archdiocese of Agana, the Boy Scouts of America and Brouillard seeking $10 million each. The cases were filed by two individuals who wanted to protect their privacy.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/lawsuits-allege-priest-used-evil-campaign-to-abuse-victims/article_fc9da5ec-145d-11e7-bff7-9b854ade30b0.html 

Fewer priest accusers to testify at ex-official's retrial

" A former church official in Philadelphia must decide this week whether to be retried on child endangerment charges or seek further appeals.
Prosecutors are seeking to retry Monsignor William Lynn although he has served nearly three years of a three- to six-year sentence in a child endangerment case. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ultimately threw out his 2012 conviction over weeks of testimony from 23 priest abuse victims not directly tied to his case.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11827195 

Pope Francis' clerical sex abuse panel will continue without survivors

Pope Francis' clerical sex abuse panel will continue its work without the abuse victims previously appointed to assist the Church in its handling of the scandal.
The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors previously included abuse survivors Marie Collins and Peter Saunders.  Saunders, a vocal critic of the Church's handling of the crisis, was informally dismissed from the panel a year ago. Collins resigned this month, accusing the Catholic Church of 'shameful' resistance to combatting clerical sex abuse.

https://www.christiantoday.com/article/pope.francis.clerical.sex.abuse.panel.will.continue.without.survivors/106287.htm?internal_source=ct_related_news 

Attorney: Sex abuse victims can hide identity

Victims of sexual abuse can file civil action and protect their identity, according to attorney Kevin Fowler.  The attorney, along with Washington-based law firm Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala, filed two lawsuits in the Superior Court of Guam yesterday against the Archdiocese of Agana and Father Louis Brouillard.
One lawsuit was filed by an individual with the initials "M.M."

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/attorney-sex-abuse-victims-can-hide-identity/article_d8aea586-135a-11e7-8160-03d57ce430be.html 

Head of Norbertine order did not respond to NBSCCCI

When will we stop hearing about the Nazareth house order of nuns??... you will not... because they used us children to make their riches they have today... they are the most vile and evil lot of women on this earth... who god gave breath to... you will hear their names come up... for years to come... not because of their good deeds... but because they used the children that they abused still today... by making money from our family homes... read my new book... "They Promised Heaven, But Led Me to Hell."  Ann

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

he Catholic Church-backed watchdog on child sexual abuse has said the global leadership of the Norbertine order, of which the paedophile priest Brendan Smyth was a member, has failed to respond to its correspondence over the past three years.

Speaking after the publication of reviews of child safeguarding which found that three of four religious orders investigated have not really changed their performance in dealing with abuse, Teresa Devlin, chair of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland, said she will be writing to the Abbot Superior of the order again.

https://www.rte.ie/news/2017/0405/865425-nbscci-abuse-reports/ 

45 victims claim abuse, new priest named

This week's complaints also mark the first female to file a complaint, and the naming of new priests.

Guam - Forty-five: that's how many people have come forward, accusing the church of sexual abuse. Five victims have filed a lawsuit recently: Donald San Agustin, and four more individuals using the initials B.T., R.B., M.B. and G.G.  Aside from former priest Father Louis Brouillard, new priests have been named as well.

http://www.pacificnewscenter.com/local/13276 

New Bill Allows Child Sex Abuse Victims To Sue Abusers

A Maryland delegate’s personal story of being abused as a child is helping to push through new legislation that may make it easier for victims to sue abusers. Ava-joye Burnett tells us the bill which had opposition for years, finally received majority support in Annapolis.
Victims of child sex abuse will now have up to the age of 38 to file a lawsuit against an abuser the bill finally passed this year after a consensus was reached with the catholic church.

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2017/04/04/new-bill-allows-child-sex-abuse-victims-to-sue-abusers/ 

Scottish police trying to extradite Saskatchewan priest over abuse claims: report

On a Tuesday afternoon in Cupar, the main doors to the two-tone brick St. Patrick’s Catholic Church are locked up. The white-on-black sign lists the next service as Saturday.
The rectory is similarly quiet. Its resident, retired priest Robert MacKenzie, has been moved to a retirement home in Regina in light of allegations of sexual abuse in Scotland dating back 36 years.  “He claims he’s innocent,” said Archdiocese of Regina Archbishop Don Bolen, who met with MacKenzie on Monday morning, just hours after returning home from Rome.

http://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/scottish-police-trying-to-extradite-cupar-priest-over-abuse-claims-report 

Former Darlington Catholic priest, now living in Newcastle, on trial for sexually abusing a teenage boy

A CATHOLIC priest repeatedly sexually abused a young boy in his care breaching that trust in a "horrific way”, it has been claimed.
The boy was just 13 and 14 years old when Father Michael Higginbottom allegedly began seriously abusing him in varied ways at a seminary in West Lancashire.  The victim “recalls the college as a cold, dark and forbidding place. He told police that for him it was the venue for ‘mental, physical and sexual abuse’,” claimed David Temkin, prosecuting.

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/15202027.Former_Darlington_Catholic_priest_on_trial_for_sexually_abusing_teenage_boy/ 

Former altar boy fought abuse, called priest 'bad father'

Donald Vincent San Agustin was 10 years old when he served as an altar boy at Saint Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church in Sinajana.
Every day he would go to the Sinajana parish to help clean up and set up the church for evening Mass and clean the church office and rectory.  Now 58 years old, San Agustin filed a civil complaint in the District Court of Guam yesterday against the Archdiocese of Agana, the Boy Scouts of America and Louis Brouillard.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/former-altar-boy-fought-abuse-called-priest-bad-father/article_bb5c8964-1920-11e7-975d-2382052012fb.html 

Pope makes appointments amid criticism of sex abuse response

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Tuesday named a new official to oversee the Vatican office that processes clerical sex abuse cases amid mounting criticism over a yearslong backlog of cases and Francis' handling of the problem.

The promotion of Monsignor John Kennedy to head of the discipline section of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith was the second abuse-related appointment in recent days. Francis named the Rev. Hans Zollner, one of the Catholic Church's top experts on fighting abuse and protecting children, as an adviser to the Vatican's office for clergy on Saturday.

http://www.startribune.com/pope-makes-appointments-amid-criticism-of-sex-abuse-response/418140603/ 

Church sex abuse training encourages victim to come forward

The Archdiocese of Agana will be holding monthly briefings to update the community on various initiatives the church is taking. Guam - Since the Archdiocese of Agana's implementation of the Task Force for the Protection of Minors, some individuals have come forward to report abuse within the catholic community.

Today, Coadjutor Archbishop Michael Byrnes and the task force gave an update on the curriculum so far. They’ve made significant progress in implementing a sexual abuse curriculum within the catholic schools and parishes. Several members provided updates to the public on that progress.

 

http://www.pacificnewscenter.com/local/13250 

Child sex abuse: Catholic bishops 'must meet Pope Francis to push for urgent change'

Australia's bishops must lead an urgent delegation to Pope Francis seeking changes to some of the church's most fundamental views on women, celibacy, governance and the handling of child sex cases, according to Australia's peak Catholic reform group in a call to arms to Catholics across the country.
In an open letter sent to all parishes, Catholics for Renewal has urged bishops and archbishops not to "defer to the Holy See", or wait for the recommendations from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, before acting on serious issues identified by the commission that contributed to the child sexual abuse crisis.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/child-sex-abuse-catholic-bishops-must-meet-pope-francis-to-push-for-urgent-change-20170403-gvcmgu.html 

Sex abuse in Catholic institutions: key questions for the royal commission

his . . . can only be interpreted for what it is: a massive failure on the part the Catholic Church in Australia to protect children from abusers and predators, a misguided determination by leaders at the time to put the interests of the Church ahead of the most vulnerable and, a corruption of the Gospel the Church seeks to profess. As Catholics we hang our heads in shame . Frances Sullivan, CEO, (Catholic) Truth, Justice and Healing Council.
A key official report for one Catholic diocese found that:

http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=18943

Sex crime victims express pain and anger at state inaction

Adults who were victimized by sexual predators as children and advocates for crime victims took to the steps of the state Capitol Monday to share horrific tales of abuse and express anger that lawmakers have been unwilling to open a window to allow civil lawsuits in cases where the statute of limitations has expired.
The rally came a day ahead of a Tuesday committee vote on whether the state House will seek to change the law moving forward without including a clause to include victims who didn’t seek justice before the statute of limitations ran out.

http://www.tribdem.com/news/sex-crime-victims-express-pain-and-anger-at-state-inaction/article_9bac244a-acd7-5ee3-8a7f-48c1cd7dcc47.html 

Spotlight’ reporter talk free to subscribers

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Sacha Pfeiffer, whose work with the Boston Globe’s Spotlight Team brought to light the Catholic Church’s cover-up of clergy sex abuse, will be discussing her career and the state of journalism during a talk at the Barre Opera House on Saturday, April 15, at 7 p.m.
The event, which is being hosted by The Times Argus and Rutland Herald, is free to subscribers who call the Barre Opera House box office to RSVP. Otherwise, there is a $10 fee for nonsubscribers; $5 for senior citizens and students.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/articles/spotlight-reporter-talk-free-to-subscribers/ 

This Easter, it's the Catholic Church that needs redemption

‘I mourn the loss of being part of a parish community in which I can celebrate my faith and receive the sacraments.’... The lost of our FAITH... and this is one sin which is not forgiven by God... because of the rape and abuse to us as children... and through NO FAULT of our own... we have lost our FAITH... each Saint's Day that we celebrated as children... each Christmas... each Easter blackens my SOUL even more... because i can not for the life of me... go into a catholic church... the lost of my faith has left this emptiness in me... and the fare of what was thrashed into my mind... torments me still...  Ann

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

It’s Holy Week, the most sacred time in the Catholic liturgical calendar. Between Thursday and Saturday, Catholic liturgies will recount the last days of Jesus of Nazareth, including his last supper with his followers, his condemnation to death, his crucifixion and his burial.
There would have been a time in which I would have attended church every day of this week. Holy Week marks the key message of the Catholic Christian faith: that Jesus suffered, died, was buried and on the third day he rose again, breaking the bonds of death and redeeming humanity.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/apr/12/this-easter-its-the-catholic-church-that-needs-redemption 

Act now against the criminals protected by the Catholic Church

Chrissie Foster... 12:00AM April 7, 2017 It is difficult to stop crying.
A child sexual abuse expert from the US, Bruce Perry, simply picked a random example. He spoke via video link to the Royal Commission into Institutional ­Responses to Child Sexual Abuse; he was one of 36 experts in the field who gave evidence last week at the final public hearing of the royal commission, titled Case Study 57: Nature, Cause and Impact of Child Sexual Abuse. Perry’s example was of “a little five-year-old child and somebody is raping you”, and he talked of what it does to the young mind.

They were painful words to hear because that is what happened to our little five-year-old Emma and, not long after, to our six-year-old Katie. To hear what their infant minds had to deal with was crushing — a dreadful add-on to the vision of rape by the priest, which already haunts us.

It was like a knife to the heart.

 

http://annfreespiritjusticeforabusedchildren.blogspot.co.nz/p/news-opinion-business-review-national.html