Shattered Faith, Part II: The wide circle of silence

Editor's Note: This story is the second in a series called "Shattered Faith," in which KOB 4 Investigates examines the cases of three former Catholic priests in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe whose alleged widespread abuse of children decades ago not only went undealt with, but has contributed to what many mental health professionals call a mental health crisis for New Mexico.

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The first story in this series, "A dangerous shuffle game," can be found here. The third story in this series, "Getting help," can be found here.  Read on for the second part of "Shattered Faith."

http://www.kob.com/investigative-news/shattered-faith-part-ii-the-wide-circle-of-silence/4675858/ 

The Father professor and his student

I’m Adele. When I was twenty, I met Fr. Karol. He was my professor first, and our friendship, relationship, whatever you want to call it, took place over about nine months. We got to know each other slowly because his class was a lecture, so he didn’t have much interaction with students. But I made a point of bringing him food, and asking him how he was doing because while he was all passion and jubilance in public, he’d make off comments in class which suggested he was lonely—he was a foreigner in a new country, after all.

https://maltesemarriedcatholicpriest.wordpress.com/2017/11/20/the-father-professor-and-his-student/ 

Slavery Ensnares Thousands in U.K. Here’s One Teenage Girl’s Story.

LONDON — Every Friday morning, as commuters arrived in London Victoria station, a teenage girl would board a train to Eastbourne, a coastal town about 60 miles outside the city.

Dressed in her sports uniform and carrying a shoulder bag covered in badges of pop icons, she tried to give the impression that she was on her way to school. But this teenager was already three hours into her workday.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/18/world/europe/uk-modern-slavery.html?emc=edit_tnt_20171118&nlid=63876270&tntemail0=y 

Why we still don't understand sex abuse

His name was Jim and he was a victim of sexual abuse.  I thought of him this week amid the continuing stream of revelations of all manner of sexual harassment and outright attacks by powerful men against younger women.

In most of the recent sexual abuse cases involving women, the revelations of what happened to them have been met with justifiable anger against the perpetrators and welcoming support for the victims. But hovering on the edge of this national discussion  is a strangely persistent and creepy criticism: Why did it take the women so long to speak up?

http://www.northjersey.com/story/news/columnists/mike-kelly/2017/11/17/why-we-still-dont-understand-sex-abuse/866303001/ 

Irish priests advised on how to deal with being accused of sexual abuse

An organization which represents over 1,000 Catholic priests across Ireland, has given each member a memo of instructions to follow in the event of an allegation of sexual abuse being brought against them.
The set of guidelines were unveiled by the Association of Catholic Priests at their recent annual meeting, following growing concern within the group that some members who have been falsely accused in the past have not received the backing from their religious superiors.

https://www.irishcentral.com/news/irishvoice/irish-priests-advised-on-how-to-deal-with-being-accused-of-sexual-abuse 

Shattered Faith: A dangerous shuffle game

By now, we know a lot about the priest abuse scandal that swept across the country. There are already countless news stories, big-budget motion pictures and thousands of legal settlements. So the question is, why keep fighting the Catholic Church for more information? Why does it still matter today?

In a three-part series we are calling Shattered Faith, we lay out why all this still matters. There are former priests walking the streets of New Mexico today who are responsible for victimizing dozens upon dozens of children. They have never been criminally charged and they have never faced prison time. In the time span of a few decades, clergymen preyed on more than a hundred children. Now as adults, their mental health has suffered. In fact, many mental health professionals believe the sheer number of adults dealing with childhood sexual trauma has put New Mexico into a mental health crisis.

http://www.kob.com/investigative-news/shattered-faith-a-dangerous-shuffle-game/4673127/

Diarmuid Martin says gender issues a bigger factor in falling engagement than sex abuse

The low standing of women in the Catholic Church is the most significant reason for the feeling of alienation towards it in Ireland today, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has said.

“Next would be the ongoing effect of the scandals of child sexual abuse,” he said in an address on Thursday.

“I believe, in particular, that people have underestimated the effect of the scandals on young people.” 

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/catholic-church-s-stance-on-women-alienates-people-archbishop-says-1.3294859 

Sex abuse victims to push again for child victims' act

ALBANY — Advocates for a bill in New York that would loosen the statute of limitations for molestation are hoping the national attention on sexual misconduct gives their cause fresh momentum.

The bill would have given victims more time to file civil lawsuits or seek criminal charges against their abusers. It also would create a one-year window for past victims to file civil suits.

http://poststar.com/news/state-and-regional/sex-abuse-victims-to-push-again-for-child-victims-act/article_60f94e75-65fe-5d4e-b7a2-d2c951d382db.html 

Chrissie Foster says the Federal Government must implement all royal commission recommendations

IT’S been a tough year at the end of several decades of tough years for Chrissie Foster, who campaigned for a royal commission into child sexual abuse after two of her daughters were raped by a Catholic priest.
Her husband, Anthony, died suddenly in June, a decade after the overdose death of one of their daughters who was five when she was raped.

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/5055097/grieving-widow-wants-action-after-the-speech-that-shamed-police/#slide=1 

Defrocked priest facing 31 counts of sex abuse in Maine pleads not guilty

ALFRED, Maine (WGME/SBG) - A former Roman Catholic priest who spent more than a decade in a Massachusetts prison for raping an altar boy has been re-indicted on sexual abuse charges in Maine.
Ronald Paquin pleaded not guilty to all 31 new charges against him at an arraignment Thursday morning.

The 31 charges are for all gross sexual misconduct, and all crimes are alleged to have happened in the 1980s.

 

http://www.ktxs.com/news/defrocked-priest-facing-31-counts-of-sex-abuse-in-maine-pleads-not-guilty/657252208 

NY Times Whistle-Blower in Federal Court Exposing Wide-Scale Abuse & Neglect within Cuomo’s Agencies

Overwhelming evidence produced reveals many of the same systemic failures of Willowbrook that allow countless people with disabilities to be harmed or die
ALBANY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES, November 16, 2017 /EINPresswire.com/ -- New York Times Whistle-Blower, Jeffrey Monsour, who is a voice for the voiceless, cannot be silenced in federal court. State attorney’s from the New York State Attorney General’s office have and continue to do everything imaginable to try to stop and silence Mr. Monsour further and to squelch the truth and evidence from the jury.

http://www.einnews.com/pr_news/415949793/ny-times-whistle-blower-in-federal-court-exposing-wide-scale-abuse-neglect-within-cuomo-s-agencies 

How to Help Your Child Not Be a #MeToo

They are public officials, celebrities, coaches, doctors, teachers: adults in positions of authority who are accused of sexually assaulting minors. In many of the cases, the perpetrators were men the kids knew well and the children frequently felt unable to report it.

Parents may have a sense of panic that the problem is getting worse. But in fact, some of the cases now making news aren’t new at all: Some of the accusations against Roy Moore, the Republican running for Senate in Alabama, stem from the 1970s.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/16/well/family/how-to-help-your-child-not-be-a-metoo.html?emc=edit_tnt_20171116&nlid=63876270&tntemail0=y 

Lawyers urge clergy abuse victims to come forward before deadline

KINGS PARK - Lawyers are asking anybody who may have been sexually abused by a Long Island priest to come forward. Former Catholic priest Romano Ferraro is now a convicted serial pedophile. "It is hard to hear this and know what he has done," says Marianne Helldorfer, a parishioner of St Joseph's Church in Kings Park, where Ferraro once served.
Attorneys who represent Ferraro's victims want to get the word out to others who may have been abused. That's because a monetary compensation program offered by the Brooklyn Diocese, where Ferraro was ordained, has a Dec. 21 deadline.

http://longisland.news12.com/story/36852657/lawyers-urge-clergy-abuse-victims-to-come-forward-before-deadline 

Why do sex-abuse victims remain silent for decades? Look at firestorm greeting Moore accusers

I have read, watched and listened to the commentary concerning the allegations that have been swirling around Roy Moore, candidate for the U.S. Senate seat that was vacated when Sen. Jeff Sessions joined the Trump Cabinet as attorney general. I can no longer remain silent. I had been hopeful that we had evolved beyond the “destroy the victim” culture, but it is clear that we have not.
In 2002, a lengthy series of investigative articles were published in the Boston Globe, exposing the U.S. Catholic Church’s long history of sexual abuse of minors by priests. Ultimately, after months of stories validating this evil, the church was forced to confront its demons.

http://www.kentucky.com/opinion/op-ed/article184798433.html

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/opinion/op-ed/article184798433.html#storylink=cpy

 

http://www.kentucky.com/opinion/op-ed/article184798433.html 

Ex-priest now faces 31 charges of sex abuse

A York County Grand jury has re-indicted a former Catholic priest from Boston on additional charges alleging he repeatedly sexually abused young boys in Kennebunkport in the late 1980′s.
Ronald Paquin, 75, was originally indicted on 29 counts of sexual misconduct last February stemming from an investigation by Kennebunkport police after one of the victims contacted them. He was re-indicted last week with two new charges, bringing the total now to 31.

http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/20171115/ex-priest-now-faces-31-charges-of-sex-abuse 

11 investigates suicides going unreported at local schools

Each year, Pennsylvania schools submit data to the state Department of Education. That data includes information about crimes committed on school property, like assaults and bullying. Included in that data is supposed to be the number of students who took their own lives.
But 11 Investigates' Aaron Martin found that not a single school in Western Pennsylvania has reported a suicide in the last two years.

http://www.wpxi.com/news/top-stories/11-investigates-suicides-going-unreported-at-local-schools/647712948 

Lawyers urge clergy abuse victims to come forward before deadline

KINGS PARK - Lawyers are asking anybody who may have been sexually abused by a Long Island priest to come forward. Former Catholic priest Romano Ferraro is now a convicted serial pedophile.
"It is hard to hear this and know what he has done," says Marianne Helldorfer, a parishioner of St Joseph's Church in Kings Park, where Ferraro once served.
Attorneys who represent Ferraro's victims want to get the word out to others who may have been abused. That's because a monetary compensation program offered by the Brooklyn Diocese, where Ferraro was ordained, has a Dec. 21 deadline.

http://longisland.news12.com/story/36852657/lawyers-urge-clergy-abuse-victims-to-come-forward-before-deadline 

TNT’s ‘Major Crimes’ Continues Major Assault on 'Self-Righteous' Catholic Church, Priests, Conservatives

TNT’s Major Crimes continued its all-out assault on the Catholic Church and priests in its Tuesday, November 24 episode, “Sanctuary City: Part 3.” They also kept up with their caricature of deranged, gun-toting, right-wing white males who oppose illegal immigration to the point of wanting illegals dead, and, for good measure, took a quick jab at homeschooling, too.
This final season of Major Crimes aired in five parts and centered around the disappearance of three teenage boys while on a field trip with their Catholic church and school, St. Joseph’s. In Tuesday’s episode, Father Jonas, a teacher at the school and mentor of the three boys, remains a prime suspect in the boys’ disappearance but has fled to Mexico.

https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/culture/dawn-slusher/2017/11/15/tnts-major-crimes-continues-all-out-assault-catholic-church 

Lawyer expects new N.B. Catholic abuse lawsuits: 'It's going to be shocking

FREDERICTON — A lawyer representing dozens of alleged Catholic sex abuse victims in New Brunswick says he expects hundreds more complainants may emerge.
Robert Talach said he believes more people will seek compensation through the courts after a 2012 reconciliation process that saw 80 victims compensated, and that the actual number of victims in the province is in the hundreds. “It’s going to be shocking for people,” he said Wednesday from his office in London, Ont.

http://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/lawyer-expects-new-n-b-catholic-abuse-lawsuits-its-going-to-be-shocking 

Sins of omission – should Catholic confession always be confidential?

Australian law may soon require priests to break the confidentiality of the confessional and report anything they hear about sexual abuse. Would it simply bring the practice into line with therapy or does it pose a mortal threat to a cherished sacrament?
There’s a story that is sometimes told, in refresher courses for priests who regularly take confession, that goes like this: when a well-known local criminal died, he was given a full Catholic funeral. The faithful were outraged – not only was he a sinner, he was a well-documented, public sinner. Don’t worry, said his son (who happened to be a Catholic priest), I heard his confession on his deathbed. At once, the son was hauled in by his bishop and ticked off – not for taking his father’s confession, but for talking about it. Everyone knew he meant well, said the bishop, but the seal of confession was sacrosanct: under no circumstances could it be revealed who had given confession to whom, and what it was about. If he had done the latter, he might even have been excommunicated.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/15/sins-of-omission-should-catholic-confession-always-be-confidential 

Religion Is the Catholic Church in crisis?

From costly sex-abuse payouts to a growing shortage of priests, the Church is facing enormous challenges. There are more Roman Catholics in the world than ever before. Numbers have risen to 1.26bn, up from 626m in 1970, according to Georgetown University’s Centre for Applied Research in the Apostolate (Cara), with Asia, Africa and the Americas providing the bulk of the increase.

http://www.theweek.co.uk/89322/is-the-catholic-church-in-crisis 

56 lawsuits against Catholic Church that allege sexual abuse are before N.B. courts

Almost every month for a year, lawsuits have been filed against the Catholic Church in New Brunswick by alleged victims seeking compensation for sexual abuse by priests.
Many of the priests are dead, but that hasn't stopped the lawsuits in Moncton, Bathurst and Edmundston from piling up.  CBC News has found at least 56 lawsuits are still before the courts, despite an extensive conciliation process a few years ago.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/pedophile-priests-56-civil-lawsuits-1.4401729

Man says priest, who was family friend, abused him at home

A 58-year-old man has accused former Guam priest Antonio Cruz, who died more than 30 years ago, of sexually abusing him in 1974, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court of Guam.

The lawsuit, filed by a man identified only by the initials “L.J.G.” states Cruz was close friends with the man’s parents and visited the family weekly.

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2017/11/15/man-says-priest-who-family-friend-abused-him-home/865338001/ 

What really happened at Royleston Home for Boys in Glebe

FROM the outside, Royleston Home for Boys in Glebe looked like a majestic Victorian manor, with magnificent arched windows and a sweeping veranda. Yet behind the facade the secrets of hundreds of young boys were hidden for almost 60 years.
With as many as a dozen different names – including Royleston Home for Wayward Boys – the home was established to provide accommodation for boys who were wards of the state waiting to be placed in foster care.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/what-really-happened-at-royleston-home-for-boys-in-glebe/news-story/868ba2fe3e3c9d9e122e7d0e849c6d94 

Duncan Storrar: Porter's cruel 'redress' joke for abuse victims

Institutional abuse victim Duncan Storrar says the Commonwealth Redress Scheme is a cruel joke that continues to make victims feel worthless by not addressing issues of inadequate housing, poverty or ongoing health problems.

LET ME START by saying I only speak for me. I don’t and never will claim to speak for other survivors of institutional sexual, physical or mental abuse.

https://independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/duncan-storrar-porters-cruel-redress-joke-for-abuse-victims,10889 

Government must not limit child abuse inquiry to state care, victim advocates and experts say

When will all New Zealanders be classed as ONE NATION...We are all KIWIs... child rape and child abuse should be for all men and women who were abused as children... and they all should be included in The Royal Commission Inquiry Into Child Abuse and Child Rape... Ann

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

 Bill Kilgallon is the director of the Catholic Church's National Office for Professional Standards, which investigates claims of abuse. He wants to make sure faith-based institutions are not missed from an inquiry promised by the new Government.

A senior member of the Catholic Church has thrown his support behind a strengthening bid for a royal commission into child abuse, but will not pledge the same from the institution as a whole.
Bill Kilgallon wants his own church – and all other faith-based institutions – to be included in the Government's inquiry into the abuse of children in state care before 1992.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/98799043/government-must-not-limit-child-abuse-inquiry-to-state-care-victim-advocates-and-experts-say 

Catholic Church Waits 25 Years to Reveal Pedophile Past of Arizona Professor

The Diocese of Brooklyn, where Rev. James Lara worked from 1973 to 1992, could have disclosed the fact that he was dropped from the ministry due to credible allegations of child molestation years ago. Instead he became an award-winning author and professor (with the name Jamie Lara).
Lara had taught at Yale Divinity School for years before becoming a professor at Arizona State University in Tempe, according to the Washington Post.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2017/11/14/catholic-church-waits-25-years-to-reveal-pedophile-past-of-arizona-professor/

Cockeysville man sentenced to 18 years for sexual abuse of 4-year-old girl at Timonium church

A Cockeysville man was sentenced Tuesday to 18 years in prison for sexually abusing a 4-year-old girl at the Church of Nativity in Timonium.
Terrence Shondry Smalls, 27, had pleaded guilty to a charge of sexual abuse of a minor and was sentenced to 25 years, with all but 18 suspended. He will be on five years’ probation upon his release, according to a news release from the Baltimore County State’s Attorney.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-co-church-abuse-sentencing-20171114-story.html 

Priest's child pornography case set for Nov. 27

The Rev. F. David Broussard's trial date on child pornography charges remains set for Nov. 27, according to court officials and the office of the accused man's defense attorney.

Broussard is scheduled to appear before Judge Vincent J. Borne of St. Mary Parish in 16th Judicial District Court in St. Martinville.

http://www.theadvertiser.com/story/news/2017/11/14/priests-child-pornography-case-set-nov-27/862237001/ 

Kadner: Alabama’s forgiving view of child molesters

In an era of zero tolerance for pedophiles, Alabama voters seem to be taking an enlightened attitude that should send a message to the rest of the nation.
Judge Roy Moore, the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate and former state supreme court justice, has been accused of sexually molesting a 14-year-old girl in 1979 when Moore himself was 32 and an assistant district attorney in Alabama.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/kadner-alabamas-forgiving-view-of-child-molesters/ 

Former Massachusetts priest reindicted on Maine sex abuse charges

The York County grand jury has reindicted a former priest from Massachusetts who is accused of repeatedly sexually abusing two boys he brought to Maine in the 1980s.
Ronald Paquin now faces 31 counts of sexual abuse in York County. He was originally indicted in February on 29 counts of sexual abuse for acts he allegedly committed in the mid- to late 1980s when he brought the boys to Maine for “short-term stays,” Kennebunk Police Chief Craig Sanford said at the time Paquin was charged. Sanford would not say where the alleged abuse occurred, other than to describe it as “a seasonal location,” or provide any other information on the charges.

http://www.pressherald.com/2017/11/13/former-massachusetts-priest-re-indicted-on-maine-sex-abuse-charges/ 

'We carry negativity in our bodies': Therapy sessions for priests affected by abuse scandals

AN IRISH PRIESTS group is launching therapy sessions for its members whose morale has been affected by sexual abuse scandals within the Catholic Church.
The Association of Catholic Priests will run its first Circle of Healing session in Cork on 28 November, as part of its move to help churchmen affected by the Church’s scandals, including those who have been wrongly accused of sexual abuse.

http://www.thejournal.ie/therapy-priests-sexual-abuse-3695958-Nov2017/ 

Our stolen generation: a shameful legacy

Indigenous peoples throughout English-speaking countries have had their children taken away by the state for generations. Most countries have faced up to this legacy but New Zealand has been in denial about its own Stolen Generation – a group now known as Ngā Mōrehu (The Survivors).

The new Labour government has agreed to set up an inquiry into historical abuse of children in state care between the 1960s and 1990s as one of its priorities in the first 100 days.

https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/14-11-2017/our-stolen-generation-a-shameful-legacy/#.WgqhvCTO_5I.facebook 

Broader sex abuse inquiry called for

A former Dunedin man says any Government inquiry into the historic sexual abuse of children needs to include those abused in the care of religious institutions, or it risks excluding more then half the victims.
A resolution was passed in Christchurch on Wednesday at the South-South Institute conference, organised by the Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse Trust, asking the Government to commit to a royal commission or similar level of inquiry into the institutional abuse of children in New Zealand.

https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/crime/broader-sex-abuse-inquiry-called 

Study Confirms 'Culture of Celibacy' to Blame for Catholic Pedophile Priests

A major 5-year study into the pedophile epidemic within the Catholic Church has revealed that the mandatory celibacy and culture of secrecy is to blame for the unprecedented number of child sex abuse incidents among the male clergy.
This tradition of cover-ups and a forced "celibate" lifestyle for clerics in the male-dominated Catholic Church are "the major precipitating risk factor[s] for child sexual abuse", according to the study.

http://www.nnettle.com/features/1166-study-confirms-culture-of-celibacy-to-blame-for-catholic-pedophile-priests

Carolyn Henwood: Time has come for New Zealanders to clearly state how children should be treated

When Judge Carolyn Henwood explains her job to her three-year-old grandson, she tells him it's about fairness. But, as the former Chair of the Confidential Listening and Assistance Service, she says there is little fairness for the 1,100 New Zealand children who were horrifically abused while in state care until the early 1990s. She says the time has come for New Zealanders to clearly state how our children should be treated.

For the last seven years I have heard reported accounts of children suffering sexual abuse, punchings, kickings, and beatings with jug cords. I heard from children who were locked up in solitary confinement, unable to learn at school because they were so worried about what would happen to them when they got home.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/89359350/Carolyn-Henwood-Time-has-come-for-New-Zealanders-to-clearly-state-how-children-should-be-treated 

Three-year-old girl 'critical' after alleged torture, sex abuse

A CHILD was allegedly tortured and sexually assaulted and left in a critical condition after police say she was set upon by her mother's boyfriend in a house in the Brisbane suburb of Capalaba.
The three-year-old girl was taken to Redlands Hospital with what is understood to be critical external and internal injuries about 8pm on Thursday. Her mother took her to hospital.
Police said the girl had serious injuries to her head, arms and legs.

https://www.gympietimes.com.au/news/redlands-hospital-staff-call-police-over-toddlers-/3262319/ 

Gympie man's child abuse horror story nears final chapter

JOE Kiernan was born into a real-life Stephen King horror story in 1960.
Stolen from his unmarried mother at birth, "because that's what they did then," he was sent to the infamous St Joseph's orphanage at Neerkol, near Rockhampton - an institution so evil its grounds include a memorial to the abused children who died there.

https://www.gympietimes.com.au/news/gympie-mans-child-abuse-horror-story-nears-final-c/3261437/ 

My best mate at uni had a terrible secret. I only found out 30 years later

Discovering his best mate from university was sexually abused as a child sends Mark Dapin on a quest for understanding.
I was drinking in a raucous, shallow bar at the Sydney Writers' Festival with my UK publisher, Ravi Mirchandani, when Ravi told me he planned to publish a memoir by an author from the northern English town of Accrington, Lancashire.

http://www.smh.com.au/good-weekend/my-best-mate-at-uni-had-a-terrible-secret-i-only-found-out-30-years-later-20171026-gz9944.html 

New book alleges gay sex in Vatican dorm, shady banking involving Mother Teresa

Gianluigi Nuzzi, one of the journalists charged by the Vatican in 2015 in the Vatileaks II case, has written a new book covering scandals in the Vatican. He alleges sexual abuse of a minor took place at a seminary within Vatican City, and that Mother Teresa's account at the Vatican Bank was so large, the institution would have defaulted if she removed the money.

ROME  - The Italian journalist who was put on trial by the Vatican for publishing confidential documents has written a new book alleging a host of Catholic sins, including gay sex in the Vatican’s youth seminary.

https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2017/11/10/new-book-alleges-gay-sex-vatican-dorm-shady-banking-involving-mother-teresa/ 

Royal commission into sexual abuse: Who are the Brothers of St John of God?

Forty per cent of the members of the Brothers of St John of God had allegations of child sexual abuse made against them from 1950 until 2010, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has revealed.

So who are the Brothers of St John of God? The Catholic order first came to Australia in 1947, establishing a special school for boys with learning difficulties at Lake Macquarie in New South Wales.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-06/who-are-the-brothers-of-st-john-of-god/8245306 

Gambling and the church

Last year punters lost $130 million gambling at the Catholic Clubs of Sydney, writes Wendy Carlisle. How can this fact be reconciled with the tenets of the Catholic faith?

Have you heard the one about the gambling addict who punched a poker machine at one of Sydney's most successful Catholic Clubs and broke the glass and his finger?

 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-27/carlisle-catholic-clubs/4283660 

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.
The process is likely to drag on for a long time. After the committal hearing, trials may follow for each of the charges or clusters of them if there be a collection that can be broken up into different trials.

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

'I was there': Anna Paquin backs Ellen Page's claim against Brett Ratner

Kiwi actress Anna Paquin says she witnessed under-fire director Brett Ratner's sexual misconduct first-hand. Paquin has come out in support of Juno star Ellen Page, who says Ratner made her feel shamed about being homosexual.
In a Facebook post, Page alleged that at a cast meet-and-greet for X-Men: The Last Stand - a film Ratner directed and Paquin starred in - Ratner told a woman 10 years Page's senior: "You should f... her to make her realise she's gay."

https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/celebrities/98788330/i-was-there-anna-paquin-backs-ellen-pages-claim-against-brett-ratner 

Abuse victims demand Royal Commission

A Dunedin survivor of sexual abuse says he and others like him are ready for a long fight for justice.
A resolution was passed in Christchurch yesterday at the South-South Institute conference, which is organised by the Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse Trust, asking the Government to commit to a Royal Commission or similar level of inquiry into the institutional abuse of children in New Zealand.

https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/abuse-victims-demand-royal-commission 

Staff members speaks of abuse at Gravesend children's home

New details have emerged of the horrific abuse inflicted upon young girls at a Church of England children’s home during a callous regime lasting more than three decades.

Dozens of harrowing accounts from Kendall House in Gravesend were told in an independent review published last year and in a follow-up report, which both featured stories of how girls as young as nine were injected with drugs, kept in straitjackets and raped.

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/gravesend/news/inmates-were-given-drugs-with-134688/ 

Jane Seymour says sexual harassment almost made her quit acting

Jane Seymour almost put the kibosh on her Hollywood career before it even started after a powerful producer sexually harassed and threatened her. The actress, 66, explained Tuesday that she ventured across the pond from her native England to screen test for a movie.
"I did the screen test, and then another major producer asked if he could meet me, and he had another movie that he wanted me to star in – it was very exciting," she told Australian morning show

Sunrise.https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/film/98701144/jane-seymour-says-sexual-harassment-almost-made-her-quit-acting

Hunter Catholic priest Father Glen Walsh found dead

THE NSW Coroner’s Office will investigate the death on Monday of retired Maitland-Newcastle Catholic priest Glen Walsh, only weeks before he was due to give evidence at an historic trial involving a Catholic archbishop.
There are no suspicious circumstances. Maitland-Newcastle diocese confirmed his death and the Coroner’s investigation but made no further comment. Father Walsh is believed to have taken his own life.

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/5043533/coroner-called-on-priests-death/ 

A pedophile who raped babies has been found dead in his prison cell with his penis chopped off.

A pedophile who was part of a sick gang that drugged and raped babies has been found dead in his prison cell with his penis chopped off. James King, 31, who changed his name from Robin Hollyson, was jailed for 24 years for raping a three-month-old baby and filming it. A fellow prisoner, John Denham, confirmed to the inquest that inmates at HMP Bristol took contacts on King. King was part of s sick gang that took delight in drugging and raping babies described by a judge as “evil beyond rational understanding” "In the worst nightmare, from the very deepest recesses of the mind, at the darkest hour of the night, few can have imagined the terrifying depravity which you men admit."

http://www.nnettle.com/news/3120-pedophile-who-raped-baby-found-dead-in-cell-with-penis-chopped-off 

Inwood Priest Sexually Assaulted Children At Bronx Parish: Lawyer

A priest at Our Lady of Martyrs Church in Inwood allegedly molested two boys while serving at a parish in the Bronx.  A catholic priest accused of molesting two boys at a Bronx church is now stationed at an Inwood parish, lawyers told Patch Thursday.
Two men have accused Lawrence Quinn of molesting them at Our Lady of Mercy Church in the Bronx, but the priest still serves the New York Archdiocese as a Parochial Vicar at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church in Inwood on Arden Street, the accusers' lawyer Patrick Noaker told Patch.

https://patch.com/new-york/washington-heights-inwood/inwood-priest-sexually-assaulted-children-bronx-parish-lawyer 

Ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses Are Crashing Kingdom Hall Meetings to Talk About Abuse.

Last year, an Australian commission found that the Jehovah’s Witnesses were turning a blind eye to serious problems within their ranks. The Royal Commission’s report said kids were not “adequately protected from the risk of sexual abuse” in the organization.
And just last month, in Canada, a $66 million class action lawsuit was filed against the Witnesses by victims who said the religious group not only failed to prevent abuse but didn’t do much even after it was reported.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2017/11/09/ex-jehovahs-witnesses-are-crashing-kingdom-hall-meetings-to-talk-about-abuse/

Politics of Sexual Abuse in Pennsylvania

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on legislation aimed at curbing sexual abuse in Pennsylvania: The sexual abuse of minors is not taken seriously by many of the critics of the Catholic Church, unless, of course, the offenders are members of the clergy.
This certainly includes the editorial board of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Proof: It spares no criticism of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in dealing with this issue, yet remains silent on demanding much needed legislative reforms governing the public sector.

http://www.standardnewswire.com/news/2649313239.html 

Revered South Bay monsignor accused of covering up sex abuse

For 22 years, until 2003, Monsignor Michael Lenihan led the congregation at St. Lawrence Martyr Catholic Church in South Redondo Beach where he continued to live until his death in 2011. By most accounts the Irish-born Lenihan was a revered spiritual leader.
Now, an attorney handling a child sex abuse case against former St. Lawrence priest Chris Cunningham claims Lenihan knew the priest was accused of sexual assault before Cunningham arrived at the Redondo Beach parish in 1998. The lawyer also said he has a witness prepared to testify that Lenihan was notified about the incident involving a child at St. Lawrence school before Cunningham was transferred to another parish in 2001 where he allegedly continued to molest young boys.

http://tbrnews.com/news/redondo_beach/revered-south-bay-monsignor-accused-of-covering-up-sex-abuse/article_5c562fc6-c0f8-11e7-a417-b30025dfd442.html

Married priests

It is possible that in the not too distant future, we will be seeing married priests administering to the Roman Catholic faithful in this country.
Brazilian Claudio Cardinal Hummes, who is a friend of Pope Francis, requested the Pope to lift the ban on the ordination of married men specifically for Brazil which is the largest Roman Catholic country in the world.

http://thestandard.com.ph/opinion/columns/duty-calls-by-florencio-fianza/251282/married-priests.html 

'SHAME ON YOU' Kevin Spacey accused by former TV news anchor Heather Unruh of ‘sexually assaulting her 18-year-old son after plying him with alcohol’

Cops in Boston, the US, are now investigating television news anchor Heather Unruh’s claims that the two-time Oscar winner groped the teenager. The Sun revealed that the award-winning reporter had made allegations against a top star – later revealed to be Spacey – last month.
Explaining for the first time about her allegations, a tearful Unruh told a press conference that the incident had happened at the Club Car restaurant in Nantucket, Massachusetts.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/4872870/kevin-spacey-accused-heather-unruh-sexually-assaulting-son/ 

They Quietly Left the Church, but the Sexual Abuse Continued

After leaving active ministry in 2002 as a priest in Brooklyn, Stephen Placa got his pilot’s license and founded a flight school in Ronkonkoma, Long Island, the Heritage Flight Academy. Seven years later, he was convicted in Suffolk County of the sexual abuse of two boys, ages 8 and 10.

In 1987, the Rev. Thomas O. Morrow went on an indefinite leave of absence from the Diocese of Brooklyn and began working as a psychologist in Forest Hills. He was still officially a priest when he was indicted in 1996 on charges that he sodomized a 15-year-old boy he was hired to counsel, took nude photographs of him and gave him crack to smoke. The diocese said at the time it had never gotten any complaints of abuse. Eventually, it defrocked him.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/10/nyregion/they-quietly-left-the-church-but-the-sexual-abuse-continued.html?emc=edit_tnt_20171110&nlid=63876270&tntemail0=y 

God Should Sue Roy Moore

For decades, one of the most sanctimonious moralizers in American politics has been Roy Moore, the longtime Bible-thumper in Alabama who crusaded against gays, transgender people, Islam and “sexual perversion.”

Moore suggested just this year that the 9/11 terror attacks were God’s punishment because “we legitimize sodomy.” He has said that homosexuality is “the same thing” as sex with a cow and should be criminalized, and argued that Representative Keith Ellison should not be allowed to serve in Congress because he is a Muslim.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/10/opinion/roy-moore-sexual-assault.html?emc=edit_tnt_20171110&nlid=63876270&tntemail0=y 

Brooklyn Diocese Names 8 Priests Who Sexually Abused Children

Over the past 25 years, a university professor named Jaime Lara built an illustrious career in the academic world of sacred art history. He was a professor at Yale University for more than a decade, wrote five books and won more than a dozen prestigious awards and fellowships. Since 2013, he has been a professor of medieval and renaissance studies at Arizona State University.

But through his rise, Mr. Lara has kept a secret. On Thursday, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn revealed that 25 years ago, Mr. Lara, then known as the Rev. James Lara, was laicized by the Vatican for sexually abusing children.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/09/nyregion/brooklyn-diocese-priests-sexual-abuse.html?emc=edit_tnt_20171109&nlid=63876270&tntemail0=y 

Renewed calls for Royal Commission into abuse of people in state care

NZ President, Mr / Mrs / Ms MPs, Doctors and Lawyers, first take a look at the men and women of today and ask yourself if you can help to brake down their wall of Shame, Pain and Torment? With your help you will be able to stop our horrific nightmares of terror, which we have had since we were little children. Put your hand out to the child who is within us, show the child that you care and only then will we see and know that we too the unwanted children = men and women of today, will get the help that we all deserve. We put our hands and voices out as children for help, but we went unnoticed and still today we feel that way. You today have again turned your backs on the most vulnerable people in New Zealand who will not give up or go away because we want and need help to get peace as we grow older each day, before it is too late, like many before us who did not survive the rape and abuse of their childhood.

This fight for justice for child rape and child abuse is for all of the men and women who were raped and abuse as children NOT just for the state run homes. It must be a Royal Commission Inquiry = NOT a Ministerial inquiry because we have had so many of these Government Inquiry throughout the many years and they always end up the same way and nothing has ever being done. Children in orphanages, Children homes, foster care are not being heard or listened to. Let New Zealand go one further and learn from the mistakes of the other countries and bring in all the men and women who were abused and raped as children and leave no child out.
We are ONE NATION and it is time for all of us...
to stand together as ONE PEOPLE...
A survivor of Child Abuse and Child Rape
in two catholic church orphanages Christchurch New Zealand…
Ann Free Spirit = Ann Thompson.

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

When Judge Carolyn Henwood chaired the Confidential Listening and Assistance Service, she did not think an independent inquiry into state care abuse was needed. Now she does.

Government departments could be "sheltering" child abuse perpetrators as calls for a Royal Commission into historical state care abuse remain unanswered, a judge says.
On Wednesday, experts outlined what they believe an independent inquiry into child abuse in state care before 1992 should look like.
The new Government promised an inquiry in its 100-day plan, but what shape that will take remains to be seen.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/98657938/renewed-calls-for-royal-commission-into-abuse-of-people-in-state-care 

Almost 300 tires dumped on church property, investigation underway

It's hard to imagine why someone would do it. Sometime late Sunday night or early Monday morning a person or persons dumped roughly 300 semi tires, tractor tires and vehicle tires on the property at St. Augustine Catholic Church in Reed.

County officials said it wasn't a random act but likely in response to Monday being a Community Cleanup Day for Baskett, Reed, Spottsville and Beals. The church had volunteered to be a designated drop-off site from the hours of 8 a.m. to noon on Monday.

http://www.thegleaner.com/story/news/2017/11/08/officials-almost-300-tires-dumped-church-property-investigation-underway/840570001/ 

Former Boston news anchor says her teenage son was sexually assaulted by Kevin Spacey

A former Boston news anchor said Wednesday that her son was assaulted by actor Kevin Spacey at a Nantucket restaurant in July 2016, when he was 18 years old.
Heather Unruh, who worked at WCVB until 2016, described an alleged incident involving Spacey and her son during an emotional press conference at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Boston. Unruh was joined by attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who is best known for representing victims of the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal, and her daughter, Kyla.

https://www.boston.com/culture/national-news/2017/11/08/kevin-spacey-to-be-accused-of-nantucket-sexual-assault-wednesday-morning 

How female vengeance powers Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

“You joined the gang, man,” spits Mildred, the righteously furious protagonist of Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, at the small-town priest visiting for tea in her kitchen. She’s wrapping up the hottest of multiple fire-breathing monologues, penned and played with equal vim by writer-director Martin McDonagh and star Frances McDormand respectively, and her analogy is a specific one – likening the Catholic church’s long-held complicity in acts of violence and sexual abuse to the Crips and Bloods’ protection of their own. In a midwestern community grimly riddled with crime and prejudice, Mildred suggests, her supposedly kindly pastor must bear some of the responsibility.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/nov/08/three-billboards-outside-ebbing-missouri-frances-mcdormand-feminism 

Ampleforth monks in training before abuse inquiry public hearings

One of Britain’s leading Catholic schools, Ampleforth College, has revealed that some Benedictine monks there have received specialist training on how best to help victims and survivors of sexual abuse. In a statement ahead of its participation in the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) later this month, Ampleforth said the aim was “to be much more focussed on survivors of abuse.”
So far, four monks have undergone two days of intensive training with an external agency which was recruited for the task, with the aim of rolling it out further in the coming months. A spokeswoman told The Tablet: “We wanted to make sure the monks were able to listen and respond to abuse survivors in the most appropriate way possible and to better understand the journey of abuse survivors. “

http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/8043/0/-ampleforth-monks-in-training-before-abuse-inquiry-public-hearings 

Sean Hannity Talks Child Sexual Abuse Cases With Corey Feldman, Says He Can’t Even Go To Church Anymore

Sexual abuse leaves a lasting impact on a person’s life, as evidenced by those coming forward in the Harvey Weinstein case and with the Corey Feldman truth campaign. Sean Hannity spoke to Corey and his wife Courtney Feldman about Corey’s $10 million fundraiser and goal to create a documentary that once and for all sheds light on Hollywood’s pedophilia problem and how pedophiles target children in the entertainment business. While the focus of the interview was on Corey Feldman, Sean Hannity revealed something interesting about his personal life: he no longer goes to church due to the Catholic Church’s pedophile sex scandal.

http://celebrityinsider.org/sean-hannity-talks-child-sexual-abuse-cases-with-corey-feldman-says-he-cant-even-go-to-church-anymore-83134/ 

TNT’s ‘Major Crimes’ Majorly Smears Priests and Catholic Church

When a show begins with a main character looking at Jesus Christ on a crucifix in a Catholic Church while snidely saying to Him, “Thanks for nothing,” you know right away that there is a clear anti-Catholic bias and that things will go downhill from there. In the same program, a detective remarks, “We found Lucas Garza's body at a Catholic church. You know who hangs out at Catholic churches? Priests.”

https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/culture/dawn-slusher/2017/11/08/tnts-major-crimes-majorly-smears-priests-and-catholic-church 

Accusers describe abuse in court hearing for Italian ‘Archangel’

The preliminary hearing in a trial of the leader of a Catholic lay association, who is charged with the sexual abuse of at least six underage girls, took place Nov. 4 in southern Italy. Three of the alleged victims took to the stand to testify to their accounts of the abuses which the accused was able to perpetrate for the better part of forty years with no ecclesiastic or governmental oversight.

https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2017/11/08/accusers-describe-abuse-court-hearing-italian-archangel/ 

Church keeps sex abuse redress property

Church keeps sex abuse redress property.  Documents obtained reveal a further 13 properties “handed over” in 2009, including the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dublin, also continue to remain outside of the State’s control.
The Department of Education has been sharply criticised by the chairman and members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for the “unacceptable delays” in transferring the properties over to the State. bThe PAC is to bring the secretary general of the Department of Education, Seán Ó Foghlú, next week to seek answers from him over the failure to transfer the lands.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/church-keeps-sex-abuse-redress-property-462458.html 

Anti-Abuse Video and Song, 'It's Not Okay'

“It’s Not Okay to abuse and use anyone,” says singer/songwriter/author Linda Newlin in her new, provocative song and music video. The images and scenes depict all forms of abuse going on in our world and challenge the abusers who have hurt others and those who have been complicit by keeping quiet.
Newlin originally wrote the song and produced the video on the heels of the sexual abuse scandals perpetrated by the Catholic Church and the Boy Scouts but its message is just as relevant today. Just this weekend, Facebook was flooded with “Me Too” messages from tens of thousands of women speaking up about sexual harassment and abuse.

http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/3550676

The Costume Institute Takes On Catholicism

any one remember the word pansy?... it was a word I did not take seriously... When I started going dancing after meeting Brian... I would hear some people addressing a guy as being a pansy... I would give them a smile back... and never thought anything more about it... about 12 years later the word gay come into the picture... with lots of other words... but this time round I found out the meaning to those words... and I always thought that they were talking about the flower Pansy... it is just that that word came into mind as soon as I saw these pictures...  Ann

 =================================

The Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is stepping into the religious fray.

The title of the department’s blockbuster 2018 fashion exhibition will be “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.” Stretching across three galleries — the Anna Wintour Costume Center, the medieval rooms in the Met on Fifth Avenue and the Cloisters — and approximately 58,600 square feet, it will feature 50 or so ecclesiastical garments and accessories on loan from the Vatican, multiple works from the Met’s own collection of religious art and 150 designer garments that have been inspired by Catholic iconography or style.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/08/style/met-museum-costume-institute-catholicism.html?emc=edit_tnt_20171108&nlid=63876270&tntemail0=y 

Murray Kannewischer, 85, found guilty of historical sex abuse against girls

An 85-year-old man is in custody after a jury found him guilty of historical sexual offending, including two charges of rape, against six girls. Murray Kannewischer walked to the dock with the aid of a walking stick before the guilty verdicts were returned in the Dunedin District Court on Friday.
He was found guilty of 21 historical sex charges, including two counts of rape, and remanded in custody. The former Dunedin man denied abusing six girls between 1963 and 1983, prompting a five-day trial, which ended on Friday evening.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/98514508/murray-kannewischer-85-found-guilty-of-historical-sex-abuse-against-girls 

Young men treated woman as 'less than human' during gang rape

Make sure that you remember their names... Once a rapist always a rapist... as a survivor who have never forgotten about the pain at the time of the rape to me... same goes for the rapist who always remember the control and power... they got from the rape and abuse... that they do to their victims... Ann

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

A woman will spend the rest of her life battling demons inflicted upon her by four young men, who all took part in raping her for hours. Judge Lance Rowe said she was degraded, violated and treated as "less than human" and a "sexual plaything" by Lou William Harrison, Meha Hemi Taylor-Haeata, Renee Chaz Haeata and Anthony Simon Hirawani during the ordeal.
The quartet were all sentenced in the Palmerston North District Court on Friday to lengthy jail terms for their roles in the gang rape, which the judge simply described as "very serious sexual offending".

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/98537007/young-men-treated-woman-as-less-than-human-during-gang-rape

Police failed to tell congregation of paedophile inquiry

The judge leading Scotland’s child abuse inquiry has criticised police after they failed to inform a religious order of an investigation into one of its former employees.
Brian Dailey was jailed for ten years in July after being found guilty of physical and sexual offences against children in the 1970s and 80s, including at the now-closed Ladymary residential school in Colinton, Edinburgh.

http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/police-failed-to-tell-congregation-of-paedophile-inquiry-1-4601630

Child abuse in care was "vastly underestimated"

CHILD sex abuse in Scotland’s care homes has been “drastically” underestimated, a leading social worker told an inquiry, as police were criticised for failures in investigating allegations.
Appearing at the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry in Edinburgh, Professor Angus Skinner, former chief social work adviser to the Scottish Executive and Scotland's former chief social work inspector, said too little was done about abuse because "we just didn't believe there could be so much."

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15631572._We_just_didn_t_believe_there_could_be_so_much_child_abuse___social_work_chief_tells_inquiry/ 

Shared Blessings, Nacogdoches discourages abuse of charity services

NACOGDOCHES, TX (KTRE) -In Nacogdoches, Love in the Name of Christ is inviting additional participation in its Shared Blessings event. Recipient application started Wednesday.  However, the clearinghouse wants to combat what's commonly referred to as, “double dipping.”
Saprina Lathan applies for next month's Shared Blessings. It's a way to select Christmas presents for her three children. "They're grateful for the gifts they do get from shared blessings,” Lathan said.

http://www.ktre.com/story/36741820/shared-blessings-nacogdoches-discourages-abuse-of-charity-services 

Child abuse documentary Hollywood 'didn't want you to see' goes viral

When the documentary An Open Secret tried to lift the lid on child abuse in Hollywood, it billed itself as “the film Hollywood doesn’t want you to see”. The marketing tagline did not exaggerate.
The film died upon release in 2015. There was no theatrical release to speak of, no television deal, no video-on-demand distribution. “We got zero Hollywood offers to distribute the film. Not even one. Literally no offers for any price whatsoever,” said Gabe Hoffman, a Florida-based hedge fund manager who financed the film.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/nov/01/an-open-secret-hollywood-child-abuse-documentary 

Attorney: Brouillard cooperative, making an effort to answer difficult questions

Former island priest Louis Brouillard was cooperative and appeared to make an effort to answer difficult questions during the first day of his deposition in Minnesota, according to one of the attorneys involved in the dozens of lawsuits accusing Brouillard of child sex abuse.

Brouillard, who has admitted to abusing boys decades ago on Guam, this week is providing additional sworn evidence related to more than 80 lawsuits accusing him of sexually abusing or raping Guam children. As of this week, Brouillard is named in 87 lawsuits. 

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2017/11/01/shell-deposition-begins-priest-who-admitted-sexually-abusing-guam-kids-suggested-call-around-6-7-am/816503001/

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.
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.At the age of 15, the Rev. Joseph Theisen entered Halpin’s life.

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

Graeme Curran, high-profile NSW magistrate, charged with child sex offences

High-profile New South Wales Magistrate Graeme Curran has been charged with nine counts of indecently assaulting a teenage boy in the 1980s.

The ABC understands Magistrate Curran, 67, was a family friend of the boy, who was aged in his early teens when the alleged assaults occurred. The alleged assaults took place on at least nine occasions between 1981 and 1983 and are understood to be "explicit in nature".

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-31/nsw-magistrate-charged-with-historical-sex-offences/9103460 

New sex abuse claim filed by victim who’s not catholic

Over a hundred lawsuits have been filed agains the church, over half of which name Father Louis Brouillard.

Guam – Once again, alleged pedophile priest Father Louis Brouillard has been named in a sex abuse lawsuit filed against the Catholic Church, this time by a victim who was not catholic.

This latest claim was filed by 50-year-old M.S.M. who says he became an altar boy in 1979 even though he was not catholic. 

http://pacificnewscenter.com/new-sex-abuse-claim-filed-by-victim-whos-not-catholic/ 

The “Final Days” of Religion

With childish supernaturalism, many churches think we’re living in the “final days”–”end times” before Jesus returns for doomsday.

Well, the truth may be different. These could be the end times for religion in western civilization. I think we’re entering a new Secular Age when magical supernatural beliefs cannot be swallowed by educated modern people. It’s the final days of faith.

http://churchandstate.org.uk/2017/07/the-final-days-of-religion/ 

Former Priest Says Revered Colleague Was a Predator

Stephen Ryan-Vuotto was 14 and had recently lost his father to lung cancer when a priest in his Greenwich Village parish began inviting him to sleep over at the rectory. His mother was happy, he recalled, because she revered priests.

In particular, she loved the Rev. Robert V. Lott, the man who had befriended her son. He had ministered to the boy’s dying father, and was starting charitable organizations. Before his death in 2002, Father Lott’s reputation grew, as he led an effort to build hundreds of low-income housing units in East Harlem. To this day, an assisted living center, a home health care organization, a community development corporation and a charitable foundation in East Harlem are named for him.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/29/nyregion/priest-sex-abuse-robert-lott.html?_r=0 

The rotten Hollywood establishment protected Harvey Weinstein

OPINION: Hardly a day passes without a fresh allegation against the serial Hollywood sex predator Harvey Weinstein.
As I write this, the latest claims have come from Annabella Sciorra, who starred in The Sopranos – she played a mentally unstable woman who had a turbulent affair with Tony Soprano – and Daryl Hannah, best remembered as the mermaid in the 1984 Disney movie Splash.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/film/98388082/the-rotten-hollywood-establishment-protected-harvey-weinstein 

‘People are tired of their kids coming home in body bags’

Carrie Lester is surrounded by posters that tell of a people in despair. Outside the Indigenous and Northern Affairs government office in Toronto, she maintains a vigil she and others started in July to demand action for deeply troubled indigenous communities in Canada.

Four children aged from 12 to 16, including two sisters, took their own lives in a single First Nations community in northwestern Ontario in July, and activists say 33 people have died by suicide across the northern region of the province so far this year.

https://www.irishtimes.com/people-are-tired-of-their-kids-coming-home-in-body-bags-1.3235981 

Lawsuit: Priest sexually abused boy during confession

A former altar boy alleges he was sexually abused and raped in the confessional at the Mount Carmel Church in Agat in 1979 when he was 10.
J.C., who used initials to protect his identity, alleges he was sexually molested, abused and raped by John "Jack" Niland when he was the priest assigned to the Agat parish. The victim became an altar boy at the urging of his father and alleges that he was then sexually abused.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/lawsuit-priest-sexually-abused-boy-during-confession/article_4129288c-be02-11e7-8ccb-7b9dbbe2e8ce.html 

Retired priest charged with child porn has Ossining ties

A 96-year-old retired Catholic priest was charged Tuesday with more than 70 counts of possession of child pornography, the Bronx District Attorney's Office said.

Monsignor Harry Byrne, who celebrated weekend masses at St. Ann's Church in Ossining during the 2000's, was charged after a five-month investigation that determined he surfed online for images of young girls, prosecutors said. 

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/crime/2017/10/31/retired-bronx-priest-child-porn/818270001/

Merkel warns on abuse of religious freedom at Reformation event

Chancellor Angela Merkel, the world’s most famous Lutheran pastor’s daughter, has warned against abusing freedom of religion to undermine tolerance in the name of belief.

The German leader was speaking in Wittenberg where, exactly 500 years ago , Martin Luther presented 95 reform demands for corruption rife in the Catholic church.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/merkel-warns-on-abuse-of-religious-freedom-at-reformation-event-1.3275702 

When it comes to redress for child sexual abuse, all victims should be equal

The men and women who were raped as children, teens and young adults... by nuns and priest... should all be compensated for these crimes by the catholic church... any wrong which some victims / survivors did years later... should have nothing to do or held against them... to do with be compensated by the catholic church... the raped to them as children was and still is a crime... and they were innocent children... I will say this though... it was the abuse and rape of them as children... is why some have turned to crimes latter on in their lives..  Ann

 ===================================

The federal government last week announced details for its long-awaited redress scheme for victims of institutional child sex abuse. The proposed scheme is a response to recommendations from the ongoing Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
Controversially, the government proposes to exclude from redress anyone convicted of sex offences, and those sentenced to prison terms of five years or more for crimes such as serious drug, homicide or fraud offences.

 https://theconversation.com/when-it-comes-to-redress-for-child-sexual-abuse-all-victims-should-be-equal-86456

Retired priest, 96, who slammed Catholic Church for mishandling pedophilia cases facing child porn charges

A 96-year-old priest was indicted on charges of hoarding vile photos of underage girls on his computer after folks at his Bronx retirement home spied the creepy collection.
Monsignor Harry Byrne “had dozens of photographs on his computer of girls 8 to 14 years old performing sex acts with men or posing naked,” Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said in announcing Tuesday’s indictment.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/retired-manhattan-priest-facing-child-porn-charges-article-1.3601852 

Former priest accused of sexually abusing minors at Covina, Redondo Beach and Palmdale churches

A former priest who served in Southern California and was named in a 2015 child sexual abuse lawsuit allegedly molested at least four additional children at parishes in Palmdale, Redondo Beach and Covina, according to lawsuits recently filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Civil complaints filed in July and October allege former Rev. Chris Cunningham sexually molested boys ages 10 to 15 from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Palmdale, St. Lawrence Martyr Catholic Church in Redondo Beach and St. Louise de Marillac Catholic Church in Covina.

http://www.sgvtribune.com/2017/10/31/former-priest-accused-of-sexually-abusing-minors-at-covina-redondo-beach-and-palmdale-churches/ 

'I have never felt so angry and physically sick

'I have never felt so angry and physically sick... it seemed I would never get back my normal life' - Victim impact statement reveals abuse by Tom Humphrie Sentencing adjourned to later this month 
Writer pleaded guilty to six offences relating to defilement and sexual exploitation of child Victim says Humphries actions led to loss of her childhood and thanked Humphries family for alerting gardaí Humphries wrote letter of apology for victim who did not wish to see it

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/i-have-never-felt-so-angry-and-physically-sick-it-seemed-i-would-never-get-back-my-normal-life-victim-impact-statement-reveals-abuse-by-tom-humphries-36193125.html