Catholic Church unlikely to change, abuse review head Elizabeth Proust says

The senior Australian businesswoman appointed to supervise the Catholic Church's response to the sexual abuse crisis says she is "pessimistic" about the Church's willingness to reform.

Elizabeth Proust, the head of the Church's own Truth, Justice and Healing Council, fears the institution will emerge from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse only "partially cleansed and unreconstructed".

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-16/catholic-churchs-own-abuse-review-says-it-is-unlikely-to-change/8811764 

Worst of Catholic sexual abuse scandal still to come in developing world:

The worst of the Catholic sexual abuse scandal may be over in Australia, but the crisis is likely to hit the church in Asia, Africa and parts of Europe within a decade, a report has warned.

The RMIT study, Child Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church, has for the first time compiled the findings of 26 royal commissions, police investigations, judicial probes, government inquiries, church studies, and academic research from around the world since 1985. It warns the gravest potential for future abuse of children and teenagers lies in the estimated 9,600 orphanages the church still runs, including 2,600 in India and 1,600 in Italy.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-13/worst-catholic-sexual-abuse-scandal-developing-world/8900616 

15 Stories About Orphanages From Around The World

 And Christchurch New Zealand... as this photo is from and it is one of my photos... this order of nuns were the cruelest witches that ever lived... they enslaved innocent children... who they ripped from their mother's arms... as tiny little babies... I was one of those stolen babies... Ann

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

The Nazareth House orphanages were run by the Sisters of Nazareth beginning in the middle of the 19th century. The first institution began in London, but they expanded to include houses in Britain, Australia, South Africa, the United States and Ireland. The sisters ran a tight ship, enforcing their own brand of discipline which often crossed the line into the worst kind of abuse. Over 500 former residents from different countries have come forward to recount their tales of horror and trauma.

http://www.babygaga.com/15-stories-about-orphanages-from-around-the-world/2/?view=lista 

Corey Feldman fears for safety after revealing Hollywood paedophile documentary plans

US actor Corey Feldman is convinced his recent clash with police is connected to threats he is receiving for pursuing a documentary about Hollywood paedophiles. The Goonies star, who rose to fame as a child in the 1980s, was fined in Louisiana for possession of medical marijuana on Saturday (Sunday NZ Time) after he and his Corey Feldman & The Angels bandmates were stopped by police.
Feldman believes the traffic stop is linked to his intentions to expose prominent members of the entertainment industry, who he alleges sexually assaulted the actor and his late friend Corey Haim while they were child stars in Hollywood, in a new film.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/celebrities/98282581/corey-feldman-fears-for-safety-after-revealing-hollywood-paedophile-documentary-plans 

What caused the Reformation? A Catholic explainer

One fated Halloween, 500 years ago, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of Wittenberg Castle in a dramatic act of defiance against the Catholic Church.
Or, he may have just hung it on the doorknob. Or mailed out copies. Or, if he did nail it, the act of the nailing itself would not have been all that significant, because the door may have been used as a bulletin board where everyone was nailing announcements.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/what-caused-the-reformation-a-catholic-explainer-90517 

Jury selection begins in a trial over the disputed sale of a convent involving singer Katy Perry

decade after the Archdiocese of Los Angeles paid about $600 million to settle allegations of clergy abuse, memories of the scandal loomed over a downtown courtroom today as prospective jurors were interviewed for a trial pitting the religious body and singer Katy Perry against a businesswoman concerning the purchase of a former convent.
Though the lawsuit filed against Dana Hollister deals with a real estate transaction and not with inappropriate behavior by priests with young parishioners, many jurors who spoke individually with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Stephanie Bowick and the attorneys said their memories of the molestations have not faded.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-nuns-perry-20171030-story.html 

Lawsuit: Non-Catholic boy sexually abused

A 50-year-old man alleges he was allowed to become an altar server for the Tumon parish when he was 12 and was sexually abused. M.S.M. filed a lawsuit yesterday in the District Court of Guam against the Archdiocese of Agana, the Boy Scouts of America, and retired priest Louis Brouillard.
The lawsuit alleges that M.S.M. was not part of any religion nor did he practice any religious beliefs, but a few of his friends introduced him to the Catholic Church and convinced him to become an altar boy.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/lawsuit-non-catholic-boy-sexually-abused/article_bcc20ce6-bd50-11e7-bcd6-8ffd87dc7727.html 

“An Open Secret”: Must-watch Documentary on Hollywood’s Casting Couch for Kids

If any good is coming from the Harvey Weinstein affair, it’s that a light is being shined, albeit briefly, on a far greater Hollywood scandal: the sexual abuse of young actors. If it sounds as if I speak of it as “an open secret,” it’s because that’s precisely what it is, as an excellent documentary by that name illustrates most convincingly.
While An Open Secret (AOS) isn’t new any more than is Hollywood child sex abuse (the film was released in 2014/15), the Weinstein scandal has brought it renewed attention. And this it richly deserves. The documentary didn’t do well in theaters, but this is likely, as Flavorwire wrote in November 2014, “due to the fact that distributors won’t touch it. After all, men like Bryan Singer [a director accused of sexual misconduct] make billions of dollars for corporations.

https://www.thenewamerican.com/culture/item/27257-an-open-secret-must-watch-documentary-on-hollywood-s-casting-couch-for-kids 

Former NYC Priest Reveals Abuse After Watching 'Spotlight'

GREENWICH VILLAGE, NY — A former priest has accused a well known figure in the New York City Catholic church of sexually abusing him for a decade staring when the victim was 14 years old.
Stephen Ryan-Vuotto publicly made allegations against Rev. Robert Lott, a priest who worked in the Greenwich Village and Harlem communities until his death in 2002.

https://patch.com/new-york/west-village/former-nyc-priest-says-prominent-church-figure-abused-him 

Archbishop of Santa Fe pens op-ed on sex abuse within church

ALBUQUERQUE — The Roman Catholic archbishop of Santa Fe says the archdiocese has received only two allegations of clergy sexual misconduct involving children since 1993 because of the numerous strict measures aimed at preventing further abuse.

Archbishop John C. Wester published an op-ed in The Albuquerque Journal on Sunday expressing “sadness and shame over the betrayal of trust” by clergy “who were supposed to love and protect our children,” and for the suffering of abuse survivors.

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/archbishop-of-santa-fe-pens-op-ed-on-sex-abuse/article_038a30bf-23e2-5fc1-8050-ac58245c4c79.html 

New Govt will remove 'vulnerable' from Ministry for Vulnerable Children's name

I should think so... what a name to have where children have to go to for help... Ann

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

One of the first casualties of Jacinda Ardern's new Government will be the word 'vulnerable', which is being axed from the name of the Ministry for Vulnerable Children.
Newshub understands Minister for Children Tracey Martin will rebrand it as simply the Ministry for Children: Oranga Tamariki.

http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2017/10/new-govt-will-remove-vulnerable-from-ministry-for-vulnerable-children-s-name.html 

Bronx abuse victim recalls horrors of being part of pervy priest's 'teen club'

Jimmy Halpin grew up an ace student who was so devoted to his Catholic faith that he slept on the floor the night before exams. “So Jesus could sleep in the bed,” said Halpin, who attended the St. Raymond’s Boys School in the Bronx.
At the age of 15, the Rev. Joseph Theisen entered Halpin’s life. It was summertime in the early 1980s and Theisen quickly took a liking to young Jimmy. After that, Halpin’s slide into tragedy did not take long.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bronx/bronx-abuse-victim-recalls-horrors-pervy-priest-teen-club-article-1.3592135 

Fifteen women accuse ex-priest of sexually abusing them at Queens Catholic school over two decades

Fifteen women are claiming Tuesday they were sexually abused by a priest at a Catholic school in Queens over a span of two decades.
The women say they were abused by the Rev. Adam Prochaski at the Holy Cross school in Maspeth between 1973 and 1994, according to their lawyer Mitchell Garabedian and Robert Hoatson of the New Jersey-based Road to Recovery group, which helps victims of sexual abuse.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/14-women-claim-priest-sexually-abused-nyc-school-80s-article-1.3522552 

Victim: Priest offered basketball lessons, abused him instead

A former altar boy and Boy Scout has come forward alleging a priest offered to teach him how to play basketball but instead sexually abused the boy in the Malojloj convent every Sunday for three months.
M.P., 56, who used initials to protect his identity, filed a lawsuit in the District Court of Guam on Wednesday against the Archdiocese of Agana, the Boy Scouts of America and retired priest Louis Brouillard.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/victim-priest-offered-basketball-lessons-abused-him-instead/article_093303f0-b95f-11e7-b262-d35c29f4a56e.html 

Inmates of East Germany’s juvenile homes speak out

Nearly 30 years have passed since East Germany's homes for "difficult children" were shut down. It has taken this long for the former inmates to speak out about their ordeals, and, even now, they're not always heard.
Renate Viehrig-Seger is standing in front of a photo of herself as a 17-year-old at an exhibition about East German children's homes, but she doesn't linger. It brings back profoundly painful memories, and she needs a smoke. Now in her late 50s, she hadn't talked about her past for decades until, a few weeks ago in Leipzig, she spoke at a hearing on the findings of an independent inquiry into the sexual abuse of children in the East German dictatorship, which, the study shows, was widespread in children's homes and juvenile reformatories.

http://www.dw.com/en/inmates-of-east-germanys-juvenile-homes-speak-out/a-41143335 

Brearley School Says 4 Teachers Engaged in Sexual Misconduct With Students

The Brearley School, a prestigious all-girls private school in Manhattan, said Friday that four former faculty members had engaged in sexual misconduct with students as far back as the 1950s and as recently as the 1990s.

The information was the result of an investigation conducted for the school by the law firm Covington & Burling. It found that a teacher on staff from the 1970s through the 1990s made sexual comments to middle and high schools students, “sexualizing class projects and discussions” for example.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/27/nyregion/brearley-school-sexual-misconduct-teachers-report.html?emc=edit_tnt_20171027&nlid=63876270&tntemail0=y 

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.”

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 

Column Priest sex abuse and Hollywood sexual harassment scandals: Cultures of cover-up, cruelty and corruption

Eight years ago, producer Harvey Weinstein and a horde of Hollywood moguls and celebrities banded together in defense of child molester Roman Polanski.
The Polish director, who fled the U.S. in 1977 before being sentenced for forcing himself on a 13-year-old girl, had just been arrested while attending a film festival in Switzerland. The Weinstein gang was outraged at the disruption of the festival, among other things, and demanded Polanski’s release.

http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-lopez-hollywood-catholic-20171027-story.html 

Corey Feldman To 'Name Names' In Hollywood Sex Abuse Ring

In 2013, one the biggest child stars of the 80s released his memoir which alleges the sexual abuse against he and his co-star endured by a string of men in the entertainment industry. Now, Corey Feldman is on the precipice of naming names.
In the book Coreyography, Feldman came forward about a “Hollywood paedophile ring”, in which he claimed he and Corey Haim were abused by a string of men, but stopped short of exposing them. According to Feldman, Haim was raped when he was 11.

http://www.973fm.com.au/entertainment/entertainment-news/corey-feldman-to-name-names-in-hollywood-paedophile-ring/ 

Brouillard to provide sworn evidence in abuse lawsuits

Former Guam priest Louis Brouillard, the only accused clergy member who has admitted to sexually abusing children on Guam, is scheduled to provide additional sworn evidence, during his deposition, in Pine City, Minnesota, from Oct. 31 to Nov. 3.

Brouillard is represented by attorney Thomas Wieser of the law firm Meier, Kennedy and Quinn based in St. Paul, according to Archdiocese of Agana attorney John Terlaje.

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2017/10/29/brouillard-provide-sworn-evidence-abuse-lawsuits/801859001/ 

Guam's Catholic Church says clergy now free of sexual abusers

The historical sexual abuse scandal in Guam's Catholic Church continues to grow with allegations made against another priest.
A lawsuit has also been filed in relation to abuse by a now defrocked priest in the 1990s - raising questions about whether abuse may have been occurring more recently. But the church says it has now taken steps to prevent abuses. Jo O'Brien reports.

http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/programmes/datelinepacific/audio/2018618905/guam-s-catholic-church-says-clergy-now-free-of-sexual-abusers 

Lawyers for John 'Kostka' Chute apply for permanent stay on sex abuse charges

Former Marist brother John 'Kostka' Chute may never face a hearing on historical sex abuse charges from his time in Canberra, after his lawyers on Thursday applied for a permanent stay of the case.
The former brother is charged with 16 sex offences allegedly committed against six children in the 1970s and 1980s. He has been found unfit to plead and was to face a special hearing in December under Canberra's mental health laws

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/lawyers-for-john-kostka-chute-apply-for-permanent-stay-on-sex-abuse-charges-20171012-gyzdia.html?promote_channel=edmail&mbnr=MTIyMzIyNDE&eid=email%3Annn-13omn572-ret_newsl-membereng%3Annn-04%2F11%2F2013-news_pm-dom-news-nnn-ctimes-u&campaign_code=13INO000&et_bid=29099398&list_name=10063_cat_news&instance=2017-10-12--04-53--UTC 

The devil looks after his own! UK government accidentally deletes pedophile ring testimonies

The Independent Inquiry Into Child Sex Abuse (IICSA) apologized this week after vital testimony from victims of child sexual abuse was "instantly and permanently deleted" from their servers. The agency said that the loss of data was due to a technical malfunction, which dumped an untold number of testimonies that were submitted to their official website. The agency now claims that there was no security breach, and that while the testimonies were lost, the privacy of the victims is not at risk.

https://www.sott.net/article/304289-How-convenient-UK-government-accidentally-deletes-pedophile-ring-testimonies 

George Pell: Prince of the Catholic Church walks gauntlet at court

Only the large ring of gold on the big right hand gave away that this man in the clerical collar was more than a mere priest.
That, and the fact that the face, pale today beneath its thatch of grey hair and a bald patch shining beneath the harsh light of the courtroom, is one of the best-known in Australia.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/george-pell-prince-of-the-catholic-church-walks-gauntlet-at-court-20170726-gxixue.html 

I had to restrain myself in order not to leap up and kiss him !

My name is Audrey. My priest’s name is Joe. I’ve had a massive crush on one of the younger priests at my parish for several years now (for the record, I’m 26 and he’s 31). A while back, I asked him to be my spiritual director, and since then, he’s answered many of my questions and concerns and helped me discern several personal issues I’ve been struggling with. On the surface, our relationship overall has been reasonably normal. However, I’m “secretly” absolutely head over heels for him, and it’s not solely because he’s a priest as I’ve never crushed on any other clergy (I work for the parish, so I know/have known/have interacted with many.) In fact, he’s the only person I’ve truly been attracted to in over 7 years.

https://maltesemarriedcatholicpriest.wordpress.com/2017/10/23/i-had-to-restrain-myself-in-order-not-to-leap-up-and-kiss-him/ 

New Mexico judge orders release of clergy sex abuse records

The Archdiocese of Santa Fe has released hundreds of pages of court records related to sexual abuse allegations against clergy members in response to an order from a New Mexico judge, marking the largest disclosure of such records since alleged victims began suing the archdiocese nearly three decades ago.
Church officials said in a statement issued after Wednesday’s (Oct. 18) release that they hope the disclosure along with the recent publication of a list of clergy accused of sexual misconduct will serve as an additional step in healing for survivors, their families and parishioners.

http://religionnews.com/2017/10/19/new-mexico-judge-orders-release-of-clergy-sex-abuse-records/ 

Child Abuse and the Catholic Church

For the first time in Australia, a ground-breaking research study has analysed the systemic reasons why the abuse of children has plagued the Catholic Church in Australia and worldwide.In this podcast series, host David Glanz speaks with the report's authors Emeritus Professor Des Cahill and Dr Peter Wilkinson. Kieran Tapsell, who studied for the Catholic priesthood in the 1960s before choosing to become a lawyer and rising to the rank of acting District Court Judge, also features in the discussion.

https://player.fm/series/child-abuse-and-the-catholic-church 

Diocese of Sioux City in compliance with Dallas Charter

The Diocese of Sioux City submitted its audit on Aug. 30 pertaining to the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People (Dallas Charter) to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and is in compliance.
According to Dan Ellis, diocesan coordinator of the office of safe environment, during the 2016-17 fiscal year, there were nine new allegations of misconduct reported to the diocese. All of the allegations pertained to priests who are currently retired or are deceased. There were no new allegations regarding any priests currently serving in the diocese.

http://www.catholicglobe.org/?p=12688 

Man says he refused to be priest's sex toy in US

Father Louis Brouillard is accused of bringing another altar boy and Boy Scout from Guam to Minnesota and Canada decades ago, allegedly to continue sexually abusing him.

J.T., now 53, said in his lawsuit filed in federal court Tuesday, that he thought Brouillard brought him to Pine City, Minnesota, around 1981, to attend college, which is what Brouillard  told his parents. 

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2017/10/24/man-says-he-refused-priests-sex-toy-us/793414001/

Man gets 100 years for sexually abusing young girl

A district judge on Wednesday sentenced a man to 100 years in state prison for the years-long rape of a young girl who was 14 years old when the abuse began. 

A jury in August found Jeremy Block, 42, guilty of two counts of sex crimes against children. On Wednesday he was sentenced to 100 years each for the two counts. The sentences will run concurrent.

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/crime/2017/10/25/man-gets-100-years-sexually-abusing-young-girl/800465001/ 

Attorney Mitchell Garabedian on unlocking the Catholic Church's Secret Files

Boston attorney Mitchell Garabedian (CGS’71, CAS’73) has represented more than 1,000 survivors of clergy sexual abuse. He was able to get into the public record explosive church documents that had been sealed by a judge; those documents led to the Boston Globe’s first Spotlight story on the scandal. The Globe would win a Pulitzer and actor Stanley Tucci would portray the crusading lawyer in the 2015 Academy Award–winning film Spotlight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTXoDW5iFvw 

23 Women Accuse Former Queens Priest of Abusing Them as Children

A former teacher at a Catholic school in Queens who said she had reported the sexual abuse of seven female students by a priest in 1991 now claims that the Diocese of Brooklyn covered it up for more than a decade, allowing more girls to be abused.

The teacher, Linda Porcaro, said on Wednesday that she is coming forward now because the victims, on whose behalf she was speaking, are ready to seek justice. Over the last two months, 23 women who said they were abused by the former priest, Adam Prochaski, have become clients of the lawyer, Mitchell Garabedian, who was portrayed in the Oscar-winning film “Spotlight,” about clergy sex abuse. Most of the women’s claims have been referred to the police.

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/10/11/nyregion/adam-prochaski-accused-of-sex-abuse-queens.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fnyregion&action=click&contentCollection=nyregion&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront&referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2Fsection%2Fnyregion 

How this South Korean movie about a sinful church helps to shine a spotlight on us all

Given that South Korea boasts the biggest megachurch in the world, Yoido Full Gospel Church – founded in 1958 to serve the poor who moved to the capital city of Seoul– it is a brave enterprise to make a film that shines a light on the darker sides of such a church in such a place.
But that is exactly what the new Korean movie Romans 8:37, named after Paul's line, 'But in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us', appears to do.

https://www.christiantoday.com/article/how.this.south.korean.movie.about.a.sinful.church.helps.to.shine.a.spotlight.on.us.all/116528.htm 

BREAKING: Vatican City State is ranked NO.1 in the world per capita for Pedophiles!

Vatican City State has the disgraceful distinction as ranking NO 1. amongst all the nations of the world with the highest per capita number of pedophiles. 

This is the same Vatican that even had the audacity to stage a phony child "sex abuse" conference a week ago. 

The official statistics for residents of Vatican City are 800. I shall, for the sake of this post, just mention one notorious sex abuser to prove my point: Monsignor Carlo Capella. Now do the math.  In a city of 800,000 that would mean: 1000. 

https://torontocatholicwitness.blogspot.co.nz/2017/10/breaking-vatican-city-state-is-ranked.html 

When power protects: In Hollywood and politics, a history of hiding abuse

Hollywood and politics have always been as famous for sex scandals as they are for winning hearts and inspiring dreams.
More than in most businesses, in Hollywood and in politics, personal attraction matters. Charisma and sex appeal play a role in people’s decisions to buy movie tickets and cast ballots. Entertainment and elective office are also industries where a relative few hold great power, giving those who toil for them strong incentives to protect their images.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/when-power-protects-in-hollywood-and-politics-a-history-of-hiding-abuse/2017/10/18/f252ded2-af5c-11e7-a908-a3470754bbb9_story.html?utm_term=.65b79faafe4b 

New priest accused of raping boy for 5 years

Another priest, the now-deceased Monsignor Jose Ada Leon Guerrero, was added to the list of Guam clergy accused of sexually abusing or raping children.

A plaintiff, identified in court documents only as C.M.V. to protect his privacy, said in his complaint filed Wednesday that the priest sexually abused him, including penetration, when he was about 9 to 13 years old from about 1969 to 1973. 

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2017/10/18/new-priest-accused-raping-boy-5-years/774947001/

Victim reported sex abuse to Apuron and Cristobal but was allegedly “shunned away”

Guam – The most recent sex abuse lawsuit filed against the Archdiocese of Agana details sexual abuse that went on for a period of 8 years. The former altar server says he even reported the abuse to Archbishop Anthony Apuron and former Chancellor Father Adrian Cristobal but was “shunned away.”

It is perhaps the longest period of sexual assault that has been reported since the scores of sex abuse lawsuits have been filed, and it appears to be the most recent–the allegations took place between 1992 to 1999. 

http://pacificnewscenter.com/victim-reported-sex-abuse-to-apuron-and-cristobal-but-was-allegedly-shunned-away/ 

The powerful Maori film taking on child abuse in NZ

When Kerry Warkia's 7-year-old got an infected scratch on his back, she immediately took him to hospital, but she wasn't expecting to be told off for it.

"[The nurse] just rained down on me like: 'This is disgusting, how can a mother treat her child like this, how could you have let this happen? You're not fit to be a mother'," Warkia recalls. "In that moment I kind of thought to myself, wow, we really do carry this."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11933604 

Air Force sex crime inquiry: 'What happened at Whenuapai should never be repeated'

A woman who was just a 17-year-old recruit when she was harassed says the new recommendations would make a huge difference.

A sexual assault victim is welcoming proposed changes to the way the Defence Force handles sexual assault complaint, saying it's "about time" improvements were made.  Stuff has been leaked the executive summary of Queen's Counsel Frances Joychild's inquiry into the Defence Force's handling of sexual assault and harassment complaints.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/97730143/air-force-sex-crime-inquiry-what-happened-at-whenuapai-should-never-be-repeated 

They Promised Heaven But Led Me To Hell

My name is Ann Thompson. I am an author and a poet, I have written about my experience in two Catholic Church Orphanages. I am hoping to raise funds to publish a second book about my experience in the Orphanages. I want to raise awareness and help New Zealanders who have suffered a similar experience.
This book is written through the eyes of a child, telling her story, who’s memories are as vivid today, as though they were yesterday. I was not educated, but the child in me does not go a day without the pain, shame and torment of the abuse, which she was put through, by the very people who should have looked after her. I thought all my life that I was a bad child and that the punishment was done to me for being bad and a bold girl. A child who could not do anything unless she was punished beforehand.

I have written this book because I believe those of us who have been abused by the nuns and priests need to tell our stories so the abuse of children will never happen again.
This crime and our shame will never go away until we stand together as one and say to the Catholic Church. 'No more abuse; No more lies; Tell the world the truth.' Ann Free Spirit = Ann Thompson

https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/annfreespirit 

Lawsuit: Abuse victim told to 'get over it'

A former altar boy described eight years of sexual abuse at the hands of a former priest in a civil suit filed in the District Court of Guam yesterday. He alleges he made several attempts to report the abuse to church officials, but was told he would "get over it."
P.P., who used initials to protect his privacy, alleges the abuse began when he was 15 while serving as an altar boy and facilitator for the Catechism program at Santa Barbara Church in Dededo.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/lawsuit-abuse-victim-told-to-get-over-it/article_a1870fc6-b314-11e7-a905-07b1c80c23d0.html 

The Luciferian Left The whole pack of them are working for Hell.

The Left, all of it — entertainment media, politicians, Hollywood studio liberals, screenwriters, actors, college professors and administrators, NGO's, social justice warriors, liberal philanthropists, nutty philosophers, news media, warped sociologists, man-caused climate change cheerleaders, music industry executives, mind-rot authors, atheist scientists, you name it — the whole lot of them and anyone else who would fit under the anti-God umbrella, they collectively comprise the Luciferian Left. And that is to say the ruling elites of the culture who reject God and morality and seek to destroy any vestige of decency left in society.

https://www.churchmilitant.com/video/episode/vortex-the-luciferian-left 

40-year-old claims molestation by Dededo priest

Another lawsuit filed just as Church status hearings wrapped up late this afternoon.
A 40-year-old man with the initials P.P. alleges he was sexually molested by Raymond Cepeda from 1992 through 1999 when he was a priest at the Santa Barbara Catholic Church in Dededo.
The alleged abuse started as sexual comments, touching, massages, fondling and groping on a daily basis.

http://www.kuam.com/story/36612219/2017/10/Tuesday/40-year-old-claims-molestation-by-dededo-priest 

Alleged victim of clergy abuse shares story as diocese unveils fund

As the Diocese of Rockville Centre unveils a compensation fund for victims of clergy sex abuse, a Long Island man who says he was sexually abused by a priest decades ago is sharing his story.
Thomas McGarvey says he grew up in a typical Irish Catholic family. He also says he was abused by a priest at St. Catherine of Sienna in Franklin Square, starting when he was 16.
Ever since then, McGarvey says he has struggled in both his personal and professional life.

http://longisland.news12.com/story/36607426/alleged-victim-of-clergy-abuse-shares-story-as-diocese-unveils-fund 

Long Island Diocese Creates Program for Victims of Clergy Abuse

Thomas McGarvey was going through a hard time as a teenager in 1981 when he first reached out to his parish priest, the Rev. Robert L. Brown, for spiritual guidance and someone to talk to.

Instead, Mr. McGarvey said he became a victim. At age 16, he began sleeping over at the rectory of St. Catherine of Sienna Parish in Franklin Square, N.Y, in Father Brown’s room, under the noses of the other priests and staff, he said. It was there that the abuse occurred, he alleged, in encounters ranging from fondling to rape. And through the eight years it continued, from 1981 to 1989, Mr. McGarvey alleged, no one helped him, even though he revealed the abuse in confessions with other priests.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/16/nyregion/rockville-centre-diocese-fund-for-victims-of-clergy-abuse.html 

Wolston Park abuse victims win ex gratia payouts from Queensland Government

SOME of the women who suffered abuse when they were wrongly sent to a notorious Brisbane mental health facility have reacted to the news they will finally be compensated by the State Government.
WOMEN who were sexually abused, drugged and physically assaulted at Brisbane’s former Wolston Park adult mental health facility as children will finally be given financial compensation.

http://www.news.com.au/national/queensland/wolston-park-abuse-victims-win-ex-gratia-payouts-from-queensland-government/news-story/5d6ed9d2f28e43368b999391ec696bb8 

Abusive foster dad can't work with kids

A NSW foster parent who "caused physical and psychological harm" to children in his care over many years will no longer be allowed to work with children.

A man who allegedly forced foster children to eat frozen vomit, stand with their noses against a wall for hours and repeatedly go to school in pyjamas has been refused a Working with Children Check Clearance.

http://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/abusive-foster-dad-cant-work-with-kids/news-story/39a7c7c2ee439ad32df78e0480b74c9a 

The powerful Maori film taking on child abuse in NZ

When Kerry Warkia's 7-year-old got an infected scratch on his back, she immediately took him to hospital, but she wasn't expecting to be told off for it.

"[The nurse] just rained down on me like: 'This is disgusting, how can a mother treat her child like this, how could you have let this happen? You're not fit to be a mother'," Warkia recalls.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11933604 

NZ priest's secret children to come out of hiding

The secret children of a Catholic priest in New Zealand are about to reveal their identity to their local bishop, and a New Zealander who personally briefed the Pope on the topic says the Vatican has recognised the right to know one's parents
The adult siblings are among thousands internationally who have contacted the Coping International website, which offers support to the children of clergy. The site's founder Vincent Doyle - an Irish man who himself is the son of a priest - said he expected many more New Zealanders who are priests' children, or their mothers, to come forward as they gained courage to speak up.

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/341876/nz-priest-s-secret-children-to-come-out-of-hiding

Moving an accused abuser to public schools is a new low for the Catholic Church

To the editor: It is appalling that officials in the Seattle Roman Catholic Archdiocese took accommodation of child sexual abuse by a member of the clergy to an unimaginable low. They removed a priest repeatedly accused of child molestation from their diocese — and then recommended him for hire in a public school. (“The Catholic Church knew he was an abuser, but helped him get a job in public schools,” Oct. 13)

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/readersreact/la-ol-le-seattle-archdiocese-priest-abuse-20171019-story.html 

Convicted soul: A priest-perpetrator of child sexual abuse shares his story

West St. Paul, Minn. — Gilbert Gustafson was ordained a priest in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in 1977, served as an associate priest at St. Mary of the Lake Parish in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, until 1982, pleaded guilty to the sexual abuse of a minor in 1983, and served four and a half months in jail and 10 years' probation. Gustafson has admitted to abusing four boys between 1978 and 1982. He was not criminally charged in the other cases.

https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/convicted-soul-priest-perpetrator-child-sexual-abuse-shares-his-story 

Father wants to cleanse you, 29': Nun's chilling words to a young boy, 5, who was given a NUMBER instead of a name when he was raped by a priest in 'horror room' for the first time

A victim of horrific sexual abuse at the hands of a paedophile ring involving Catholic clergy in Ballarat has told how he was assigned a number and a locker number, instead of a name, and that nuns used to pull out his teeth with pliers.

Speaking at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Gordon Hill, 72, described how he was sexually and physically abused at Ballarat's St Joseph's Home in what he called 'horror rooms' and 'dungeons', and did not know his own surname until he was 10 years old. 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3088900/Father-wants-cleanse-29-NUN-told-little-boy-didnt-know-taken-dungeon-known-horror-room-sexually-abused-priest.html

catholic church abuse: criminal nuns and priests

Russell Means  was an activist, a musician, an actor, politician and a writer and  led protests that called attention to the nation’s history of injustices against Native Americans. Russell – named  Wanbli Ohitika by his mother, which means "Brave Eagle" in the Lakota language-- was born in Porcupine, South Dakota, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. His mother was a Yankton Dakota from Greenwood, South Dakota, and his father was an Oglala Lakota. 

http://catholicchurchabusebynunsandpriests.blogspot.co.nz/ 

Marist Brothers admit suicides by some sex-abuse victims

Broken Rites Australia is doing research about adults who have suffered a premature death while still feeling damaged by church child-abuse (and by the church's cover-up). For example, Broken Rites has discovered that two former pupils, from a prestigious Marist Brothers school, have died by suicide. Before dying, both men revealed that they had been sexually abused during their childhood by a long-serving teacher, Brother Aubrey Tobin.

http://www.brokenrites.org.au/drupal/node/207 

This priest became the deputy to a bishop, then was jailed and now is in court again

A senior Catholic priest from western Sydney, Father Richard Cattell, committed sexual crimes against boys in the 1970s and 1980s. Later, in the early 1990s, the Catholic Church promoted this priest to become the Vicar-General of his diocese, supervising 48 parishes in western Sydney on behalf of the bishop. In 1994, Cattell was jailed regarding one of his victims (from the 1970s). In 2015 he was jailed again regarding another victim (from the 1980s). In 2016, police charged Cattell regarding another 1970s victim (case number 2016/00101011), for which Cattell is awaiting sentence. Meanwhile, in 2017, yet another Cattell case (number 2017/00073102) has begun its preliminary procedures, with another brief mention due in Penrith Local Court on 27 October 2017.

http://www.brokenrites.org.au/drupal/node/282 

Woman narrates how she was raped by a Catholic Priest's brother

Rape is a bitter pill which no woman or man would want to experience (Yes, men are raped too). A number of women on the streets of Ghana have suffered some form of sexual abuse. Although men are also raped, there is evidence that women, most often than not, suffer several forms of sexual abuse.
The Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit of the Ghana Police Service in 2014 had 290 rapes and 1,111 defilement reported cases, where majority of the victims were females.

https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Woman-narrates-how-she-was-raped-by-a-Catholic-Priest-589882 

Doubts Grow Over Archbishop’s Account of When He Knew of Abuse

LONDON — The Anglican Church has been embroiled for most of this year in a scandal involving decades-old abuses that occurred in elite Christian holiday camps for boys where Justin Welby worked in his 20s, before eventually assuming his current post as the Most Rev. Archbishop of Canterbury.

The archbishop has said that he knew nothing of the abuse until 2013, when the police were informed about it, and he apologized in February for not having done more to investigate the claims further.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/14/world/europe/justin-welby-archbishop-of-canterbury-iwerne-abuse.html?emc=edit_tnt_20171014&nlid=63876270&tntemail0=y 

Bishop of Mackenzie-Fort Smith diocese moving on after 4 years

After four years of service, the head of the Mackenzie-Fort Smith diocese in the Northwest Territories, Bishop Mark Hagemoen, is moving on.
Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Mark Hagemoen to serve the diocese of Saskatoon beginning at the end of November. "I was very surprised," Hagemoen said about the news of the move, which he called bittersweet.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/bishop-mark-hagemoen-saskatoon-1.4353782 

The ’70s and Us

“I came of age in the ’60s and ’70s, when all the rules about behavior and workplaces were different,” Harvey Weinstein wrote in his awful pseudo-apology, just before the fake Jay-Z quote and the promise to go to war with the N.R.A. “That was the culture then.”

Everyone has made sport of this line, but give the devil his due: In certain ways sexual predation actually was the culture in the years when Weinstein came of age, in the entertainment industry and the wider society it influenced and mirrored.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/14/opinion/sunday/1970s-weinstein-sexual-predation.html 

Lutherans and Catholics working toward unity

Almost 500 years after the Protestant Reformation, an organization representing most of the world’s Lutherans is working toward restoring unity with the Roman Catholic Church.
Last October, Pope Francis and other Catholic officials held a joint prayer service with leaders from the Lutheran World Federation in Lund, Sweden, to kick off the celebration of the milestone anniversary.

http://www.postandcourier.com/features/lutherans-and-catholics-working-toward-unity/article_2d7d46aa-a83c-11e7-846d-7b4f64879828.html 

Hollywood Moralists Exposed As Hypocrites

entertainment industry gave the Oscar for best picture to "Spotlight," a fictionalized version of The Boston Globe's reporting of sexual abuse and its cover-up within the Catholic Church in Boston. The self-congratulation looks amazing now, after the exposure of decades of alleged harassment, and perhaps even rape, by Hollywood heavyweight Harvey Weinstein.
"This film gave a voice to survivors, and this Oscar amplifies that voice, which we hope will become a choir that will resonate all the way to the Vatican," said "Spotlight" producer Michael Sugar. "Pope Francis, it's time to protect the children and restore the faith."

https://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/l-brent-bozell-iii/hollywood-moralists-exposed-hypocrites 

Number of women accusing Catholic priest of sexual abuse rises to 23

The number of women alleging they were abused as children by a Catholic priest in Queens has swelled to 23, the Daily News has learned.
The accusers of former Rev. Adam Prochaski, ranging in age from 39 to 57, say the priest abused them in the Holy Cross parish in Maspeth between 1972 and 1994. The women were between 11 to 16 years old when the abuse allegedly took place.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/number-women-accusing-catholic-priest-sexual-abuse-23-article-1.3552018 

Not just George Pell is on trial

Here is the lead role in the tragedy – Cardinal George Pell – having to endure the humiliation of facing charges for alleged sexual abuse.
The October 6th “mention” at the Melbourne Magistrates Court did not specify charges but reported that there would be up to 50 witnesses testifying in court proceedings. The “mention” occurs to set a date for the committal hearing which establishes whether Pell has a case to answer and provides rules so that all parties have access to the available evidence.

https://international.la-croix.com/news/not-just-george-pell-is-on-trial/6076 

Bullies among clergy contributed most to fall of Catholic Church in Ireland, says priest

he bullying of the people by some clergy played a greater role in Catholic church decline in Ireland than clerical child sexual abuse, a leading Dominican priest has said. 

“They had little or no respect for individual people – and not just for minors,” said Fr Tom Jordan, editor of Spirituality magazine. Referring in the current issue to a remark by an unnamed “acute observer of the church in Ireland,” he said “the failure of the church in recent times was due not so much to the abysmal behaviour by some clergy in sexually abusing minors but that some clergy were bullies.”

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/bullies-among-clergy-contributed-most-to-fall-of-catholic-church-in-ireland-says-priest-1.3251434 

Real life sequel to Rabbit Proof Fence happening right now in Perth

A modern day story that proves Australia’s stolen generations are not a thing of the past is happening right now in Perth.  In a bizarre case, Western Australia’s Department of Child Protection have called on Australia’s national media to publish a missing persons report for a 1 year old Aboriginal girl who is not missing. The mother has even replied to the missing persons report.
There are now serious concerns around the true intentions of the latest actions by the DCP who many believe are trying to shame and bully the mother into harming herself which has occurred under similar circumstances recently.

https://www.welcometocountry.org/rabbit-proof-fence-sequel-in-perth/

Ex-friar accused of sexual abuse in Santa Fe quits Arizona health care job

A top administrator at a health care organization in Arizona has resigned amid allegations that he sexually abused students at the St. Catherine Indian School in Santa Fe while serving as a Franciscan brother there 40 years ago.

Dennis Huff stepped down as behavioral health services administrator at Native Health, a nonprofit that primarily serves Native Americans, late last month after the Archdiocese of Santa Fe listed his name among 74 clergy and members of religious orders accused of sexually abusing children over the last half-century.

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/ex-friar-accused-of-sexual-abuse-in-santa-fe-quits/article_f44a29ab-e075-5930-8c16-870f5de666ea.html 

Pack of hyenas': how Harvey Weinstein's power fuelled a culture of enablers

It was Harvey Weinstein’s most ambitious production. A storyline stretching over 20 years with a rotating cast of actors, multiple locations across the US and Europe, a disciplined crew of assistants, producers and fixers, savvy dealmaking, and a publicity machine like no other.
But this was not The English Patient, Pulp Fiction, Shakespeare in Love, The King’s Speech or any other of his films that earned more than 300 Oscar nominations.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/oct/13/harvey-weinstein-allegations-hollywood-enablers 

The Catholic Church knew he was an abuser, but helped him get a job in public schools

Time and again, the record shows, Brother Edward “Chris” Courtney was accused of child sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic schools where he taught, and the church responded by moving him to another jurisdiction.
That makes his case similar to those of hundreds of other priests and brothers who committed sexual abuse before the problem exploded into national consciousness more than 15 years ago.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-church-abuse-2017-story.html 

481,000 Irish have “no religion” as Catholic numbers dive

That means that atheism is now the second largest belief system in the Irish Republic accounting for 10.1% of the population.
The news was welcomed by the pressure group Atheist Ireland which said, "We are increasingly optimistic that a secular Ireland is inevitable, free of religious privilege and religious discrimination against any citizens."

https://www.irishcentral.com/news/277-000-irish-have-no-religion-as-catholic-numbers-dive 

New allegations raised against Mannetta, Brouillard

An encounter with a priest in Talofofo in 1985 resulted in a teen boy quitting church and living with humiliation and embarrassment, according to the latest lawsuit filed against the Archdiocese of Agana and defrocked priest Andrew Mannetta.
A.J.B.W., 46, who used initials to protect his privacy, alleges he was sexually abused by Mannetta while helping the priest clean outside the rectory of San Miguel Catholic Church.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/new-allegations-raised-against-mannetta-brouillard/article_698dc69c-afe4-11e7-b8ad-2f50765b42a9.html 

Catholic Church in Australia unlikely to change, abuse review head says

Ms Proust said she feared the Church would emerge from the Royal Commission only 'partially cleansed and unreconstructed'.  

Two members of the Truth Justice and Healing Council - the body established by the Australian bishops and religious orders to liaise with the Royal Commission - have spoken out, with Vice Chair Ms Elizabeth Proust telling the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that she was "pessimistic" about the Church's willingness to reform and Council member Professor Greg Craven criticising the Commission and media coverage.

http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/7679/0/catholic-church-in-australia-unlikely-to-change-abuse-review-head-says 

Spotlight Review “Break the Story, Break the Silence”

Break the Story, Break the Silence” – the slogan of the 2015 crime drama film Spotlight – rings powerfully. Based on real events, Spotlight tells the story of a news team investigating widespread child sex abuse by Roman Catholic priests in the Boston area.

The film gets its name from an investigative team on The Boston Globe called “Spotlight.” The Globe hires a new editor for the team named Marty Baron. A column about a lawyer named Mitchell Garabedian piques his interest in a case, in which Garabedian says Cardinal Bernard Law knew that clergyman John Geoghan was molesting children but did nothing to stop him. Baron and another reporter, Michael Rezendes, push for the Spotlight team to investigate this case that drew little press attention previously in the 1970’s.

http://njitvector.com/2017/09/spotlight-review/ 

Faith in an Institution of Lies

The Catholic Church has lost the bearings on its moral compass. Growing up, the Catholic faith was something I never really understood, despite “technically” being Catholic myself. I was baptised as a young child, attended a Catholic High School, I said my ‘Hail Mary’s’ and ‘Our Father’s’ and even (on occasion) attended church with my Grandmother.

The concept of God was something I could never really understand. I couldn’t quite believe that there was this all powerful man (the creator of the universe and protector of the innocent) looking down on us, watching us and guiding us. How could God exist when so many bad things had happened in the world?

https://www.ecudaily.com.au/24171/news/comment-faith-in-an-institution-of-lies/ 

Lawsuit: Priest abused boys simultaneously, repeatedly

Former Guam priest Louis Brouillard sexually abused multiple boys at the same time and repeatedly, offering them food as a reward, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in federal court.

The lawsuit, which is among dozens accusing Brouillard of child sexual abuse, was filed by 48-year-old "M.I.Q." who, like most plaintiffs, used his initials to protect his privacy.

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2017/09/18/lawsuit-priest-abused-boys-simultaneously-repeatedly/676108001/ 

Catholic Church child sex abuse scandal continues on Guam

A child sex abuse scandal is plaguing one of the most Catholic places in the world, with more than 100 lawsuits filed against the church on Guam.
About 85 percent of the island's population identify as Catholic, but that faith has been shaken as new allegations continue to surface, along with signs of a systematic, decades-long cover up.

http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/programmes/datelinepacific/audio/201858968/catholic-church-child-sex-abuse-scandal-continues-on-guam 

More come forward alleging child sexual abuse by school rugby coach

Fresh charges of sexual abuse have been levelled at an Auckland school rugby coach. Alosio Taimo, a long-time school volunteer and member of the Samoan church community, was charged earlier this year with dozens of counts of sexual abuse against young people.
He appeared in the High Court at Auckland on Wednesday for a callover, where the court heard eight more people had come forward alleging Taimo had abused them when they were children.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/91518853/Auckland-school-rugby-coach-faces-81-charges-of-sex-abuse-against-children 

Pensioner in poverty: Life in a caravan

Lynette Haines, 69, is single and doesn't own a home - she receives $390 a week through superannuation.
The cheapest liveable rentals available in Tauranga cost around $300 a week, which Ms Haines said would leave her just $90 for essentials, healthcare, and food. She instead lives in a 3.3 metre caravan - just long enough for an average man to lie down arms stretched overhead - at a campground for $154 a week.

http://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/pensioner-in-poverty-life-in-a-caravan/ar-AArUVRY

 

Fighting for male victims for sex abuse

I have been working with and supporting male victims of childhood sexual abuse and rape as adults since 1996.
Are there male victims of sexual violence in this country? Definitely. How big is the problem? We are not completely sure. There has never been any research done on the sexual victimisation of men and boys in New Zealand. There is also a lack of or no research on female offenders in New Zealand.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff-nation/assignments/rape-in-nz-join-the-debate/9596352/Fighting-for-male-victims-for-sex-abuse 

Legionaries pledge renewal as former rector admits fathering children

If a priest fathers a child, he has a moral obligation to step aside from ministry and provide for the care and needs of the mother and the child' The Legionaries of Christ pledged its ongoing commitment to renewal and reform as it released information about a former rector who has publicly acknowledged being the father of two children.
Legionaries Father Oscar Turrion - who served as rector of the order's seminary in Rome - informed his superiors of "his intention to leave priestly ministry" in light of the recent revelations, the order said in an online communique on 6 October.

http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/7886/0/legionaries-pledge-renewal-as-former-rector-admits-fathering-children

Canada to pay millions in suit over forced adoptions

For decades, Canadian social workers forcibly separated indigenous children from their families, putting them up for adoption by nonnative families in Canada and around the world.

On Friday, the Canadian government took a step to make amends for that adoption program, which began in the 1960s and lasted until the 1980s, by agreeing to pay 750 million Canadian dollars in legal settlements. 

http://www.bendbulletin.com/nation/5652871-151/canada-to-pay-millions-in-suit-over-forced 

‘Magnum Principium’ is the latest event in the ‘liturgy wars’

Pope Francis’ Sept. 9 announcement that he was decentralizing the Vatican’s authority over translations of liturgical texts, turning that duty back over to local bishops, created quite a buzz in Catholic circles because, for some, it capped a story that spans more than 50 years. It is the story of the ‘liturgy wars.’
“Consternation over the liturgy has roiled through the Catholic community since sweeping reforms were introduced by the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) — although truth be told, many of the changes that came in the 1960s rose out of liturgical reform movements in the 1940s and ’50s.

https://voicefaithful.wordpress.com/2017/09/14/magnum-principium-is-the-latest-event-in-the-liturgy-wars-national-catholic-reporter/ 

Church Abuse Victim Speaks Out For First Time In 27 Years

 “Unfortunately my childhood and innocence were stolen from me by Michael Walsh,” said Brian Ward on Sunday. “After two years of constant rape and abuse by Mr. Walsh, it had taken it’s toll on my 1o-year-old self.
Brian Ward said he was abused by Michael Walsh, his former altar boy supervisor at the Church of St. Brendan in Dorchester, beginning in 1988. Now, at 39-years-old, Ward is coming forward to speak out.

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2017/09/17/brian-ward-church-abuse-victim-speaks-out-for-first-time/ 

Guam priest sexually abused boys simultaneously, repeatedly

Former Guam priest Louis Brouillard sexually abused multiple boys at the same time and repeatedly, offering them food as a reward, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in federal court.

The lawsuit, which is among dozens accusing Brouillard of child sexual abuse, was filed by 48-year-old "M.I.Q." who, like most plaintiffs, used his initials to protect his privacy.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/09/18/lawsuit-guam-priest-sexually-abused-boys-simultaneously/679006001/ 

Priest took nude photos of boy, sexually abused him and one other in rectory

Former island priest Louis Brouillard took photos of an 11-year-old naked altar boy around 1961 or 1962, saying it was part of a study of young boys' growth, a lawsuit filed in federal court on Tuesday said.

Brouillard also sexually abused the same boy along with one other altar boy in the Mangilao parish rectory during a sleepover, the lawsuit says. Tuesday's lawsuit was filed by a now 66-year-old man identified in court documents only as M.S.B. to protect his privacy.

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2017/09/19/lawsuit-priest-took-nude-photos-boy-sexually-abused-him-and-one-other-rectory/680054001/ 

Church mediation may be stalled until March 2018

While mediation discussions in more than 100 child sexual abuse cases was expected to begin as early as next month, the parties have agreed that it will take additional time to complete the discovery and prepare for that to happen.
A stipulation was filed in the District Court of Guam yesterday by attorneys John Terlaje and David Lujan, on behalf of the Archdicoese of Agana and plaintiffs, respectively.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/church-mediation-may-be-stalled-until-march/article_663e269a-9d14-11e7-9040-f7f0266178f0.html 

Child Support Agency Accountability - vote to make things fair

Currently, the Child Support Agency has a complaints handling procedure that lacks in accountability.  Employees who do the wrong thing have complaints about them 'managed' by 'Personalised Services' staff, who are in fact 'case managers' that routinely ignore major problems.
An example of this is where an employee committed a serious offence under the Telecommunications Interception and Access Act, yet was excused. When a client wants to make a complaint, issues are routinely ignored. Further, if a client reports a matter of fraud, Child Support Agency Staff routinely ignore this.

http://www.f4joz.com/news/newspage.php?yr=17&id=178 

Why Family Law Needs Reform Now!

David and Sarah* separated after ten years of marriage in September 2014. They had two children, aged eight and five at the time. David was a good father who did not want to stop being a dad because his marriage had ended.
However, nearly three years later, and more than £200,000 paid in legal costs by both parties, David is still fighting through the complex and bureaucratic family courts for the right to see his children eight nights a month instead of the six nights originally offered by Sarah.

http://www.f4joz.com/news/newspage.php?yr=17&id=250 

Sex attacks weren’t just limited to kids in care, meeting is told

Survivors of rape and torture piled into the town hall for the first time on Thursday last week to tell Islington’s cabinet their harrowing stories and demand action.
It came as the council formally ordered an inquiry into this newspaper’s investigation linking former mayor and social services chairwoman Sandy Marks to pro-paedophile activists in the early 1980s. She denies the allegations.

http://www.islingtongazette.co.uk/news/politics/islington-child-abuse-scandal-sex-attacks-weren-t-just-limited-to-kids-in-care-meeting-is-told-1-5216862?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social_Icon&utm_campaign=in_article_social_icons 

'What Were You Wearing?' exhibit takes aim at age-old sexual violence myth

In a gallery space on the fourth floor of the University of Kansas’ student union, a powerful art installation aims to shatter the myth that sexual violence is caused by a person’s wardrobe.
“What Were You Wearing?” displays 18 outfits hanging next to 18 rape survivors’ stories about what they had on when they were attacked. T-shirts, exercise clothes, dresses, cargo shorts — they’re all there.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/stevens/ct-life-stevens-thursday-ku-what-were-you-wearing-0914-story.html 

Let's teach young men how to treat women

Sexism isn't just a problem for women, it's also a problem for men. And we men need to do something about it.  We heard of this appalling behaviour first from the Wellington College boys who penned disgraceful, sexist posts on social media about women and then from those who supported them by liking the posts.
This was followed the next day with news that four students from St Patrick's College, Silverstream had sexually harassed female staff members by inappropriately filming them. Addressing these terrible failings in our society usually falls to women, like the incredibly brave Louise Nicholas, or those from groups such as Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Prevention Network.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff-nation/assignments/rape-in-nz-join-the-debate/17692269/Lets-teach-young-men-how-to-treat-women 

Pope vows 'firmest measures' to deal with abusive priests 'who betrayed call'

Pope Francis vowed to respond with the "firmest measures possible" against priests who rape and molest children.  The pontiff also said bishops and religious superiors who cover up for them will be held accountable.
Francis met for the first time with his sex abuse advisory commission, a group of outside experts named in 2014 to advise him and the Catholic Church on best practices to keep pedophiles out of the priesthood and protect children.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/pope-vows-firmest-measures-to-deal-with-abusive-priests-who-betrayed-call-36155123.html 

The Big Read: Man told sexual abuse is not a crime because it was the 70s

Is it possible in the 21st century to be a child abuser without committing a crime? Terrible as it might sound, John* - now aged 53 - discovered it is when he reported his foster mum to Auckland police this year.

He was 12-years-old and she was 37 when she first took him into her bed in 1977. She would spend the next five years having sex with her young Maori foster son. The abuse wreaked emotional havoc on John, yet, in the eyes of the law, his foster mum did nothing wrong.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11924104 

Marist Brothers admit suicides by some sex-abuse victims

Broken Rites Australia is doing research about adults who have suffered a premature death while still feeling damaged by church child-abuse (and by the church's cover-up). For example, Broken Rites has discovered that two former pupils, from a prestigious Marist Brothers school, have died by suicide. Before dying, both men revealed that they had been sexually abused during their childhood by a long-serving teacher, Brother Aubrey Tobin.

http://www.brokenrites.org.au/drupal/node/207 

State Care Abuse inquiry pressure grows

Pressure on the Government to hold an independent inquiry into the systemic abuse of children and disabled adults held in state institutions has continued to grow, with a UN Human Rights Committee joining the calls for the true story to be told.
Late last month, the Commission welcomed the recommendations made by the United Nation Committee on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination, which included that the Government hold an independent inquiry into the systemic abuse of children and disabled adults held in state institutions.

https://www.hrc.co.nz/news/state-care-abuse-inquiry-pressure-grows/ 

Police ask staff of ex-PM Ted Heath if he smuggled young boys into Downing Street

Staff of former Prime Minister Edward Heath have been asked whether he smuggled children in and out of Downing Street while he was in power, it was claimed on Monday.

The ex-Tory leader’s former staff was questioned as part of an inquiry into child sex abuse allegations made against Heath. The inquiry is understood to have questioned whether or not it was feasible that the former Conservative leader smuggled children into No.10.

https://www.rt.com/uk/404634-edward-heath-inquiry-sex/

N.Y. / Region KIPP NYC Charter School Network Is Investigating Claims of Past Sex Abuse

A prominent New York City charter school network announced on Wednesday that it was opening an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct that occurred more than 10 years ago.

Following a recent precedent set by many private schools, including St. Paul’s School in New Hampshire and Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut, the charter network, KIPP NYC, has hired an outside law firm to investigate the allegations. KIPP NYC, which is part of a national network, said the allegations did not involve any current students or staff members.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/27/nyregion/kipp-nyc-charter-schools-sex-abuse.html?emc=edit_tnt_20170927&nlid=63876270&tntemail0=y 

I thought I was alone': Sixties scoop survivors gather in Ottawa

Todd Coon and his sister Patsy were “scooped” by child welfare authorities when they were just toddlers in the wake of a 1966 Winnipeg house fire. Coon’s father could made only one request — that his children be adopted together.
The pair were shuffled through foster homes over two years before they were adopted by a family in Ontario. For Coon, it was far from a happy childhood. “I seemed to be bullied because of my skin colour. I didn’t know why,” says Coon, now 53.

http://www.ottawasun.com/2017/09/26/i-thought-i-was-alone-sixties-scoop-survivors-gather-in-ottawa?token=1db97b82f077343baaca3335226d364c&utm_source=addThis&utm_medium=addthis_button_facebook&utm_campaign=%27I+thought+I+was+alone%27%3A+Sixties+scoop+survivors+gather+in+Ottawa+%7C+Ottawa+%26+Reg#.Wcxb0NNZuJg.facebook 

NYPD opens investigation into Catholic priest sex abuse claims

Prosecutors and the NYPD have opened an investigation into allegations that a Catholic priest sexually abused 15 victims decades ago at a parish school, officials said.
The Queens District Attorney’s office and the NYPD’s Special Victims squad are looking into the allegations made public Tuesday by the 15 women against former Rev. Adam Prochaski, who once worked at Holy Cross School in Maspeth, police officials said. The alleged abuse took place from 1974 to 1993.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/nypd-opens-investigation-catholic-priest-sex-abuse-claims-article-1.3525577 

Pope denounces porn and corruption of kids' minds, bodies

PORN starts within ROME... you need to first stop the porn... which we have seen over the many years... coming out from the computers from ROME... the porn is right under your nose... and you still do not get it... listen to your people... and stop blaming the children...
the TVs programs use to be censored but not anymore... it should come back... the programs are so bad now on TV... it is up to the world to stand together... the news papers... to put our voices and words out there and say;... STOP NO MORE PORN ON OUR TVs... and OVER RATED MOVIES... they are WORST today than they have ever being... this is the only way we will see a way clear... its got to happened... because NOW... there is no control over what our children and children's children can watch on TV...or the MOVIES any more... Ann  

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Pope Francis on Friday denounced the proliferation of adult and child pornography on the internet and demanded better protections for children online — even as the Vatican confronts its own cross-border child porn investigation involving a top papal envoy.
Francis met with participants of a Catholic Church-backed international conference on fighting child pornography and protecting children in the digital age. He fully backed their proposals to toughen sanctions against those who abuse and exploit children online and improve technological filters to prevent young people from accessing porn online.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/article177375671.html

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/article177375671.html#storylink=cpy

Fight Clergy Abuse: Become a Digital Martin Luther

We are looking for “Digital Martin Luthers!” This letter presents an opportunity for you and your organization to participate in a global effort against Clergy Abuse. However, the timeframe is short and unalterable, so you need to act on this as quickly as possible to get your membership or readership geared up to be a part of this historically significant global protest against clergy abuse.

https://fortythesesagainstclergyabuse.com/

Australian Abuse Report Deeply Flawed – OpEd

On October 6, Cardinal George Pell will appear in a Melbourne court on trumped up sexual abuse charges. The media will no doubt turn its attention to a report issued in August by the Centre for Global Research at RMIT University, Melbourne, “Child Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church.” It offers what it calls an “interpretive review of the literature and public inquiry reports” on the subject. Its reach is wide: it offers biblical and historical analysis, and covers many nations.

http://www.eurasiareview.com/03102017-australian-abuse-report-deeply-flawed-oped/ 

Why the Church still operates under a cloud on the abuse issue

The timing is far from perfect. As the Vatican convenes a major international conference on protecting children from abuse, there’s a shadow over the proceedings, caused by the abrupt recall of an official at the apostolic nunciature in Washington, DC. To be more specific, the focus of the conference is on the protection of children from the dangers posed by the internet, and the Vatican official, Msgr. Carlo Capella, is under investigation for involvement in child pornography.

http://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/otn.cfm?id=1245