BROTHER BEAST Man sues Catholic Church sect over abuse by vile East Lothian monk who molested boys and tortured them with electric shocks

Sick Michael Murphy, known as Brother Benedict or Brother Ben, abused children in the 1970s and 1980s when he worked at St Joseph's School in Tranent. A CHILD abuse survivor is suing a Catholic Church sect after he was attacked by a monk convicted of molesting young boys and torturing them with electric shocks.
He is also suing the local authority as the ordeal occurred at a residential school.

https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/2161885/man-suing-catholic-sect-after-he-was-abused-by-vile-monk-who-tortured-boys/ 

Encino Catholic priest under investigation for alleged ‘inappropriate contact’ with underage girl

The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating an allegation of child annoyance involving an associate pastor at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Encino, authorities said Monday.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles removed the priest, Father Juan Cano, from ministry last week and placed him on administrative leave as a result of reports of “inappropriate contact” by him involving “several females” in the parish — including one who is currently a minor — according to a statement by the Archdiocese.

https://www.dailynews.com/2018/01/29/encino-priest-placed-on-leave-as-lapd-investigates-claims-of-inappropriate-contact-with-women-minor/ 

End Connecticut's Statute Of Limitations For Sexual Assault

Proposals in the legislature to extend or eliminate Connecticut's statute of limitations for sexual assault are an overdue change to an antiquated system that silences victims of these heinous crimes.
I support the elimination of the statute of limitations, which in Connecticut is an insulting five years. I speak out as a man who is sick and tired of hearing about the predatory behavior of some individuals. These cowards give all men a bad name.

http://www.courant.com/opinion/op-ed/hc-op-visone-ct-sexual-assault-statute-0130-20180129-story.html 

Abuse survivor sues council and Catholic church sect

An abuse survivor is suing a Catholic Church sect and a local authority after he was assaulted by a monk at a residential school. Michael Murphy, known as Brother Benedict or Brother Ben, abused children in the 1970s and 1980s when he worked at St Joseph's School in Tranent,
East Lothian. He was jailed for seven years in April 2016 at the High Court in Edinburgh after being found guilty of physically and sexually abusing eight boys.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15906477.Abuse_survivor_sues_council_and_Catholic_church_sect/ 

Catholic Church group fights Colorado bill to reform system of reporting child abuse

Legislation that would reform a mandatory system of reporting child abuse in Colorado is not getting support from the Catholic Church. Senate Bill 18-058 would extend the statute of limitations in cases where a person is required by law to report child abuse but fails to do so.
Currently, the statute of limitations for failing to report child abuse or neglect in Colorado is 18 months, which could result in dropped charges in the recent indictment against three Cherry Creek school leaders accused of hiding allegations made by a specific student in 2013.

https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/politics/catholic-church-group-fights-colorado-bill-to-reform-system-of-reporting-child-abuse 

Why The Hell Did It Take So Long For Everyone At USA Gymnastics To Get Fired?

Not since the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal has there been a systematic failure as wrenching and traumatic as USA Gymnastics'. Under the governing body's watch, at least 150 young women were sexually abused over a period of almost 20 years by then-USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, who was sentenced Wednesday. "For so long, [USA Gymnastics] put medals, reputation and money over the safety of athletes," Aly Raisman told NBC Thursday. (Bustle has reached out to USA Gymnastics for a statement, but has not yet received a response. In a statement addressed to the IOC, the body said that it "supported an independent investigation" into its actions.)

https://www.bustle.com/p/why-the-hell-did-it-take-so-long-for-everyone-at-usa-gymnastics-to-get-fired-8028293 

MSNBC guest calls Evangelicals ‘instigators of evil,’ then hits Catholics and Trump supporters with one ugly punch

Frank Schaeffer, an author who “opted out of evangelicalism,” as The New York Times so eloquently put it, slammed Evangelicals on Sunday as “instigators of evil themselves.” Appearing on MSMBC’s “AM Joy,”
Schaeffer tore into Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University, for saying that Jesus “never told Caesar how to run Rome,” which was seen as a defense of President Donald Trump.

http://www.bizpacreview.com/2018/01/29/msnbc-guest-calls-evangelicals-instigators-evil-hits-catholics-trump-supporters-one-ugly-punch-595169 

St John of God 'pulled up the draw bridge' for Marylands School abuse victims, advocates claim

He was caught breaking into a police officer's car. He was drunk. And he was four years old. Aaron* had no memory of the rampage. He only learned of the incident in his mid 40s, from a 1966 newspaper clipping included in thousands of pages documenting his years at Christchurch's Marylands School and other state institutions.
Among the paperwork released to him was confirmation he was given anti-psychotic drugs as a child. Letters exchanged between his father and the Catholic order who ran the boys' boarding school show his family, wanting to bring him home, were convinced to leave him there.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/100906878/st-john-of-god-pulled-up-the-draw-bridge-for-marylands-school-abuse-victims-advocates-claim 

Departing CEO of council overseeing Church’s engagement with royal commission wants laity, not bishops, to run new implementation body

THE chief executive officer of the Truth, Justice and Healing Council has a blunt, final message to Australia’s Catholic leaders following completion of the Royal Commission into child sexual abuse: “There needs to be reform, renewal and refreshment in the Church”.

As the council’s chief executive officer since 2013, Francis Sullivan is compiling a final report to be handed to the Australian bishops by the end of March. He is also preparing for the council to be disbanded after delivering the report, and for his own next career move.

http://catholicleader.com.au/news/departing-ceo-of-council-overseeing-churchs-engagement-with-royal-commission-wants-laity-not-bishops-to-run-new-implementation-body 

Editorial: Government's proposed abuse inquiry doesn't go far enough.

It is disappointing that a government inquiry into past abuse of children will be limited to those cases which originated in state care. An opportunity to address systemic abuse in non-government institutions, and particularly religious organisations, is likely to be lost.
The inquiry is one of the Government's pledges for its first 100 days in office and will be announced shortly. However, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has already said that inquiries will begin with "the harm that we (the State) had direct responsibility for".

https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/opinion/100958275/editorial-governments-proposed-abuse-inquiry-doesnt-go-far-enough 

North Korea PHOTOS: Kim's FAKE CHURCHES where as actors pretend to pray to cover up abuse

Express.co.uk can today show inside the sham churches with these pictures which reveal the lengths North Korea will go to to hide its shocking treatment of Christians. The photos may look innocent on first inspection, but when viewers learn the realities of believing in God in the hermit kingdom, they soon become chilling. NORTH Korea’s chilling ‘show churches’, where actors pretend to pray in a bid to boost the hermit state’s human rights record, have been laid bare in shocking new photos.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/909477/north-korea-news-latest-pictures-photos-churches-open-doors-kim-jong-un 

Sexual abuse, sports and a betrayal of trust

The voices of the women abused for two decades by Larry Nassar should force all of us to ask and answer: At what price success? At what cost silence? The latest chapter in the nation’s overdue examination of the abusive power and control men exercise over women came to a conclusion in a Michigan courtroom last week when former U.S. women’s gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison. The repudiation of his repulsive behavior followed harrowing accounts by more than 150 girls and women who were sexually abused by Nassar. But putting Nassar away for the rest of his life, however satisfying, does not solve this festering problem.

https://www.newsday.com/opinion/editorial/larry-nassar-usa-gymnastics-sports-coach-relationships-1.16368944

Kenyans accuse largest hospital of rape, abuse of patients

Hundreds of Kenyans held a peaceful demonstration at the country's largest public hospital on Tuesday to demand that management act on allegations of rape and sexual harassment of patients. Human rights activist Wanjeri Nderu estimated that more than 500 people responded to a call on social media to demonstrate and present a petition demanding action by Kenyatta National Hospital. More than 30 women who demonstrated claim to have experienced sexual abuse at the hospital and others have given testimonies on social media, Nderu told The Associated Press. One woman said a medic fondled her while she was partially conscious after surgery.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/kenyans-accuse-largest-hospital-rape-abuse-patients-52544636

The bishop, the priest, and the sins of omission

On a Winter evening in 2016, dozens of churchgoers gathered at a local primary school in the NSW Riverina to bid farewell to the town's most-senior religious figure. Gerard Hanna had been the bishop of Wagga Wagga for 14 years, a servant of God who led a diocese of 66,000 Catholics in 31 parishes. Peter Jurd, brother of sexual abuse victim Damien Jurd, with mother Claire in Tamworth, NSW. Photo: Peter Lorimer But here, in the refurbished sports stadium at Henschke Primary School, Bishop Hanna was set to step down sooner than expected, citing "continuous ill health" as the reason for his early retirement. It was about two weeks before he was due to give evidence at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. As the tributes flowed, few in the room would have known that this church leader was harbouring a secret.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/the-bishop-the-priest-and-the-sins-of-omission-20180126-h0p51h.html

Inside the trial of former priest charged with 1960 murder of Texas schoolteacher

After 57 years, a former priest is on trial for murdering a young woman who had gone to him for confession -- did the church conspire with authorities to cover it up? It was April 1960 in McAllen, Texas, when Irene Garza, 25, told her family she was going to church for confession. She never returned. Five days later, her body was found dumped in a canal. Police say she was beaten, sexually assaulted and suffocated. Investigators kept turning to one person – Father John Feit, then 27, who admitted hearing Garza's last confession in the church rectory. Investigators grew more suspicious when they learned that three weeks before Irene's murder, another young woman had been attacked in a nearby church. That woman later identified Feit as her attacker.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/inside-the-trial-of-former-priest-charged-with-1960-murder-of-texas-schoolteacher

Former Catholic priest who served parishes in Fitchburg and Leominster is defrocked by Pope Francis

A former priest who served Catholic Churches in Fitchburg and Leominster in the late 1990s and early 2000s and accused of sexually abusing a teenager in 1993 has been laicized, or defrocked, according to the diocese. It was announced by diocese Bishop Robert J. McManus that Peter J. Inzerillo had been defrocked on Thursday at his request. Inzerillo, according to the diocese, was "dispensed" from the clerical state by Pope Francis and as a result he cannot function in any capacity as a priest or be referred to as a priest or as a "Father" in writing in any announcements or obituaries.

http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/breakingnews/ci_31624677/former-catholic-priest-who-served-parishes-fitchburg-and

Child safety center says Pope’s ‘failure’ in Chile also an opportunity

A writer for a Rome-based center with close Vatican ties said Saturday that Pope Francis’s “infelicitous” words on the Church’s sexual abuse scandals in Chile amounted to a “failure,” by “inflicting an unintended wound” on victims, and may raise the hard question, “Is there hope for real change in the Church?” “As hard as it is to acknowledge, it seems inevitable that those from whom we expect more will sometimes fail us,” wrote Sara Boehk, a member of the research team at the Centre for Child Protection, located at Rome’s Jesuit-run Gregorian University.

https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2018/01/27/child-safety-center-says-popes-failure-chile-also-opportunity

Why The Catholic Church Needs a #METOO Moment

Needs to Facilitate Discussion To Battle History of Abuse The recent news that Casey Affleck has withdrawn as an Academy Awards presenter over accusations that he has engaged in sexual violence is yet another example of the power of #metoo movement. The movement has been called a “silence breaker” and was awarded the 2017 TIME Magazine Person of the Year. As we see the changes the campaign has brought to the entertainment and business industry we should be looking to religion as the next social institute that needs to reflect and modify their stance in order to espouse the morality that is dictated in their theology.

http://www.worldreligionnews.com/religion-news/catholic-church-needs-metoo-moment

Meet the 71-year-old Catholic priest who wants his church to repeal the celibacy rule

A CONTROVERSIAL Catholic priest has claimed the vow of celibacy is one of the causes of clerical child abuse and called on the church to repeal the ancient law. Father Tony Flannery will deliver a lecture at the University of Edinburgh next month entitled “Celibacy, sexuality and the crisis in the priesthood” when he will also demand the ordination of women.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15902401.Meet_the_71_year_old_Catholic_priest_who_wants_the_church_to_repeal_the_celibacy_rule/

Foss: Too many people enabled Larry Nassar's abuse

Case is disgustingly similar to pedophilia scandals that rocked Catholic Church, Penn State I didn't make any New Year's resolutions this year. For whatever reason, Jan. 1 came and went without a lot of introspection on my part -- without any real consideration of my goals and hopes for the next 12 months. Of course, it's possible to make a resolution at any time of year, and that's what I found myself doing last week while reading one horrifying story after another about Larry Nassar, the former team doctor for USA Gymnastics and sports medicine physician at Michigan State University.

https://dailygazette.com/article/2018/01/27/foss-too-many-people-enabled-larry-nassar-s-abuse

What would you do if you had a chance to protect young girls?

’d like to think I’d be different, though I hope I never find out. I think virtually everyone in this country likes to think they would be different, too. Yet it seems, despite that desire and belief in our own good intentions, truly horrendous things continue to happen in this country that were made possible by the complicit silence or cover-up of people. People who at one point in their life thought to themselves, “if I was in that situation, I never would have let that happen.”

http://pinetreepolitics.bangordailynews.com/2018/01/24/what-would-you-do-if-you-had-a-chance-to-protect-young-girls/

Could the Child Victims Act pass?

After years of being stuck in the state Senate, the Child Victims Act may finally be approved as part of the state budget. The legislation, which would extend the statute of limitations for victims of sexual assaults to bring civil and criminal cases against their attackers, was included in Gov. Cuomo’s proposed budget Jan. 16. It’s one of many policy matters included in the budget package, which must be approved by April 1. And while state lawmakers will spend the next few weeks negotiating what will ultimately pass, advocates of the long-stalled bill believe this may finally be the year it becomes law.

http://www.qchron.com/editions/queenswide/could-the-child-victims-act-pass/article_510d3377-8e26-5eee-9a76-03e6a52a4657.html

Blind faith dangerous with monsters lurking

Larry Nassar should act as a wakeup call. We should balance faith in the power of sports with skepticism about its institutions, because with every scandal it was the institutions that failed the most: Penn State, the Catholic Church, the Boy Scouts, Michigan State and USA Gymnastics, Bruce Arthur writes. Monsters roam the earth, and Larry Nassar was a monster. The doctor for USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University was sent to prison for the rest of his life on Wednesday for molesting hundreds of girls, and 156 of them stood in the Michigan courtroom to give victim impact statements, and stare the monster down. Every one was a shattering example of damage, of strength, of courage.

https://www.thestar.com/sports/opinion/2018/01/25/blind-faith-dangerous-with-monsters-lurking.html

Rosemary Westwood: Larry Nassar trial highlights how we (don't) respond to sexual violence

It took an avalanche. An avalanche of stories over decades. An avalanche of suffering and abuse. More than 150 women and girls — so many the judge and prosecutor debated the exact number — spent six days over the last week telling a courtroom in Michigan of their own personal hells created by sexual abuse disguised as medical treatment at the hands of Larry Nassar, a U.S.A. Gymnastics and Michigan State University doctor whose predation ended Wednesday when a judge sentenced him to 40 to 175 years in prison. “You do not deserve to walk outside a prison again," said Judge Rosemarie Aquilina. That decision was a very long time coming, in a case that exemplifies everything wrong — and entirely commonplace — about how we respond to sexual violence.

http://www.metronews.ca/views/opinion/2018/01/25/westwood-larry-nassar-highlights-respond-sexual-violence.html 

Church defrocks former St. Peter-Marian headmaster named in sex-abuse suit

A Catholic priest named in one of the Worcester Diocese’s largest sex-abuse settlements has been laicized, or defrocked, the diocese announced Thursday. Peter J. Inzerillo, at his own request, was “dispensed from the clerical state” by Pope Francis, the diocese said. As a result, Mr. Inzerillo “may not function in any capacity as a priest or be referred to as a priest or as ‘Father.’ ” The former Rev. Inzerillo was headmaster at St. Peter-Marian High School in Worcester from 1979 to 1985 and coached hockey there and at St. Bernard’s in Fitchburg.

http://www.telegram.com/news/20180125/church-defrocks-former-st-peter-marian-headmaster-named-in-sex-abuse-suit 

Don't compromise on protecting minors from abuse, Pope says

VATICAN – Pope Francis said he told the bishops and priests of Chile to be uncompromising when it comes to protecting minors from sexual abuse and to trust that God will purify and renew his church during this time of trial. Problems and conflicts must never be swept under the rug, he also said, because they can be resolved only through openness and dialogue. At his weekly general audience Jan. 24 in St. Peter's Square, the Pope told an estimated 15,000 pilgrims and visitors about his Jan. 15-21 visit to Chile and Peru.

http://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2018/dont-compromise-on-protecting-minors-from-abuse-pope-says.cfm 

Public inquiry ruled out into paedophile Bill Kenneally 30-year 'cover-up' claims

The government has ruled out starting a public inquiry into claims that a paedophile was protected during a 30-year long cover-up. Tanaiste Simon Coveney told the Dail on Thursday that the Commission of Investigation announced last May will not begin while fresh allegations against Bill Kenneally are probed. Victims of the Waterford basketball coach say members of gardai, Fianna Fail, the HSE and the Catholic Church all knew about the abuse, but failed to act. Kenneally was sentenced to 14 years in 2016 for abusing ten boys.

https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/public-inquiry-ruled-out-paedophile-11915855

Victim testimony raises settlement pressure in Nassar suit

Searing victim testimony during former American gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar’s sentencing hearing has ratched up pressure on the sport’s U.S. governing body and Michigan State University to settle civil lawsuits by girls and women seeking to hold them responsible for his years of sexual abuse, legal experts said. The lawsuits seeking unspecified monetary damages from USA Gymnastics, which used Nassar as team doctor for years, and Michigan State, where he worked as a professor, were filed in January 2017 in federal court in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and were later consolidated into a single case.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gymnastics-usa-nassar-lawsuits-analys/victim-testimony-raises-settlement-pressure-in-nassar-suit-idUSKBN1FE31S 

Pope Francis' blind spot on sexual abuse

The overwhelming consensus in the media is that Pope Francis has a blind spot when it comes to sexual abuse. He may be on the side of refugees, migrants, the sick, the poor, the indigenous and other marginalized peoples, but he just doesn't get it when it comes to victims of abuse. The evidence for this assertion is the pope's unwavering support for Juan Barros, whom he appointed bishop of Osorno, Chile, despite accusations from victims that he witnessed and covered up abuse by the Fr. Fernando Karadima, the charismatic priest who in 2011 was found guilty by the Vatican of abusing minors in his upscale Santiago parish.

https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/signs-times/pope-francis-blind-spot-sexual-abuse

Editorial: Gymnastics' pervert doctor got what he deserved. More heads should roll

The most enduring image from the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta was gymnast Kerri Strug’s courageous second vault and perfect landing on a badly sprained ankle that sealed the all-around gold medal for Team USA. As she was carried off the floor, she was turned over to the tender mercies of team doctor Larry Nassar, helping cement his fame as a healer. On Wednesday, Nassar, 54, was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison on multiple counts of sexual assault involving young women he treated. During seven days of victim-impact hearings in a Lansing, Mich., courtroom, 156 women testified that Nassar had abused them under the guise of providing medical care either as a team doctor for USA Gymnastics or at Michigan State University, where he was a faculty member. He also faces a 60-year federal sentence on child pornography charges.

http://www.stltoday.com/opinion/editorial/editorial-gymnastics-pervert-doctor-got-what-he-deserved-more-heads/article_318c3411-e696-5250-9443-19020d6557fc.html 

St John of God order reports allegations against former principal to Garda

The St John of God order has said it has told the Garda Síochána about new allegations of child abuse against a former school principal who subsequently went to work with children in Africa. Br Aidan Clohessy was head of St Augustine’s, a school for boys with special needs in Blackrock, Co Dublin, from 1970 until 1993, when he was relocated to Malawi. The first serious child-abuse allegation was made against him in 1985; two new claims by former St Augustine’s pupils emerged as late as this week, a newspaper report said on Sunday.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/st-john-of-god-order-reports-allegations-against-former-principal-to-garda-1.3363300 

Dianne Williamson: ‘Calumny,’ yes, but the right object?

I had to look up the word “calumny” while reading about Pope Francis’ disastrous trip to Chile, where he angered victims of clergy sexual abuse by defending a bishop accused of covering up the crimes of a fellow priest. “There is not one shred of proof against him,” the pope told a reporter who asked about Bishop Juan Barros last week. “It’s all calumny. Is that clear?” Crystal, Your Eminence. For the record, the word “calumny” means “the making of false and defamatory statements in order to damage someone’s reputation; slander.” According to the Oxford English Dictionary, synonyms include “character assassination” and “evil-speaking.”

http://www.telegram.com/news/20180120/dianne-williamson-calumny-yes-but-right-object 

LETTER: Church leadership continues to dismiss abuse reports

Church leadership continues to dismiss abuse reports I applaud Tom Marsh’s recent “On the Other Hand” column concerning the openness with which we as a nation are discussing sexual abuse. Tom speaks of the avalanche of stories touching the military, business, politics, entertainment and academic worlds. He contends that successful perpetrators need the silence of those who know or suspect abuse is taking place and rightly submits that people protecting abusers are as guilty as those for whom they are covering up. He concludes the best defense against abuse is a society unwilling to allow it.

http://www.fltimes.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/letter-church-leadership-continues-to-dismiss-abuse-reports/article_18b572fe-8ce6-5086-b202-5d00953204f4.html 

Priest fights witness subpoena in child sex abuse trial

ORLANDO, Fla. - Uncomfortable discussing a sensitive matter with her family, a teenage girl made an appointment with a priest to reveal a dark secret she had been carrying for years, according to prosecutors. While taking part in the Catholic Church's Sacrament of Reconciliation, commonly known as confession, prosecutors claim the girl disclosed to Rev. Vincenzo Ronchi that a relative had sexually abused her on several occasions beginning when she was 7 years old.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Priest+fights+witness+subpoena+in+child+sex+abuse+trial&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b 

Bishop says Mascoutah priest charged with child porn is ‘deeply remorseful’

For the first time, parishioners at the three parishes where a Mascoutah priest was charged with child porn and meth possession heard from Diocese of Belleville Bishop Edward Braxton at Masses this past weekend. A three-page letter written by Braxton was read to parishioners at Holy Childhood Parish in Mascoutah, St. Pancratius Parish in Fayetteville, and St. Liborius Parish in St. Libory during Jan. 20 and Jan. 21 Masses.

http://www.bnd.com/news/local/article195910594.html 

Pope in crisis: From Rolling Stone to sex abuse scandal

Pope Francis has returned to Rome after a trip to South America that he may well wish he never made. The pope began his trip to Chile by asking for forgiveness for clerical sex abuses, saying he felt "pain and shame" for the damage done to victims. But when he followed up by allowing a bishop accused of covering up these abuses to attend all of his masses, consternation was accompanied by troubling questions about the pope's sincerity.

http://www.aljazeera.com/blogs/americas/2018/01/pope-crisis-rolling-stone-sex-abuse-scandal-180123074003630.html 

Analysis: Did Cardinal O’Malley Open a Door to Papal Criticism From US Bishops?

DENVER — It is no secret that the pontificate of Pope Francis has been a challenge for Church leaders to navigate, and the bishops of the United States are no exception. A man often called the Pope of surprises, who has encouraged Catholics to “make a mess,” the pontiff’s spontaneity, new approaches and willingness to rebuff traditional consultative mechanisms has, more than once, seemed to catch American bishops off-guard. But for the most part, America’s Church leaders have been careful to emphasize their unity with Pope Francis. The bishops have mostly expressed strong public support for Francis, even while offering widely differing takes on the meaning of his teachings, especially regarding the interpretation of the apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/analysis-did-cardinal-omalley-open-a-door-to-papal-criticism-from-us-bishops-53316 

Francis' commitment to abuse survivors in question

It is hard even to imagine the pain survivors of clergy sexual abuse have had to endure. After being raped or brutalized by people their communities had taught them to see as nearly infallible, many were left silent for decades, ashamed or just unable to speak. When they did come forward, their motives were questioned and their integrity impugned. They were savaged, re-victimized, in court proceedings and public announcements, as bishops, diocesan lawyers and church officers denied their charges.

https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/francis-commitment-abuse-survivors-question 

Pope Francis apologizes for upsetting abuse survivors, stands by controversial bishop

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE — Pope Francis apologized for remarks he made last week defending a bishop in Chile accused of covering up sexual abuse, but he did not back down from his support of the bishop who has caused a firestorm. The pope's remarks had caused widespread backlash among abuse survivors and even prompted criticism from Cardinal Sean O'Malley, the archbishop of Boston and the pope's top adviser on clerical sex abuse. Francis said that he realized his words hurt many, but he repeated his view that Chilean Bishop Juan Barros — the bishop at the center of the controversy — is innocent, according to reporters on the papal plane flying back to Rome.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2018/01/22/pope-francis-apologizes-for-upsetting-sex-abuse-survivors-but-stands-by-controversial-bishop/?utm_term=.ea4605ab926a

Cardinal O’Malley corrects the Pope on his comments in Chile

For those, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, who have been concerned that Pope Francis has not dealt adequately with the scourge of clergy sex abuse, his trip to Chile last week seemed like the perfect opportunity to do the right thing. Unfortunately, he did the opposite. Next door to the pope’s native Argentina, Chile has been roiled for years by a series of abuse cases, most notoriously that of Rev. Fernando Karadima, a charismatic priest whom the Vatican defrocked in 2011 for abusing teenagers during the 1980s and 1990s. The ongoing issue, as in so many of these cases, has been the Vatican’s failure to discipline those who covered up the abuse.

http://gazette.com/cardinal-omalley-corrects-the-pope-on-his-comments-in-chile/article/1619593

Sexual abuse case against Mormon Church begins in West Virginia

Michael Jensen preyed on children in the close-knit Mormon community around Martinsburg, W.Va. At least, that’s how law enforcement officials and at least half a dozen families see it now. But for years, Jensen was a trusted member of the local church community, a young man whom Mormon leaders praised as a role model for youths — and recommended as a babysitter for one child after another, even as reports allegedly came back to some church volunteers that Jensen was sexually abusing boys and girls as young as two.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2018/01/17/sexual-abuse-case-against-mormon-church-scheduled-to-begin-friday/?utm_term=.c9377e2bf27a

Archbishop's denial: 'God is my witness' Victims say they feel victimized again

Breaking his silence after more than a year away from Guam, suspended Archbishop Anthony Apuron denied all allegations that he sexually abused underage boys. "As I lay sick after another surgery and I face the final judgment approaching evermore close, having lost interest in this world, God is my witness: I deny all allegations of sexual abuse made against me, including this last one."

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/archbishop-s-denial-god-is-my-witness/article_1169a52e-fc35-11e7-9012-e3eb9ebe8ed6.html

California torture house: 13 siblings allowed to eat once a day, shower twice a year

The 13 starving siblings held captive in a California house were allowed to eat only one rationed meal a day and shower just twice a year, a law enforcement official with knowledge of the case told NBC News. Those disturbing details emerged just hours before David Allen Turpin, 57, and his wife, Louisa Anna Turpin, 49, were expected to make their first court appearance. They face possible torture and child endangerment charges.

https://www.aol.com/article/news/2018/01/18/california-torture-house-13-siblings-allowed-to-eat-once-a-day-shower-twice-a-year/23336795/?utm_source=zergnet.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergnet_2458298&ncid=txtlnkusaolp00001361

EXPOSED: 4,333 Catholic Priests in the U.S. Accused of Sexually Abusing Children and/or Possessing Child Pornography

According to the National Federation of Priests’ Councils (NFPC) as of 2016 there was, “a total of 37,192 priests in the United States (25,760 diocesan priests and 11,432 religious priests).” The NFPC reported that 590 priests were ordained in 2017. According to the United States Conference of Bishops, Priestly Life and Ministry website: The Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations (CCLV) serves the bishops’ committee on CCLV which provides leadership regarding priestly life and ministry and to respond to the needs and concerns of priests.

http://drrichswier.com/2018/01/19/exposed-list-4333-catholic-priests-in-the-u-s-accused-of-sexually-abusing-children-and-or-possessing-child-pornography/

Fr. Cessario's Edgardo Mortara essay is inexcusable

Dominican Fr. Romanus Cessario, professor of systematic theology at St. John's Seminary, associate editor of The Thomist, senior editor of Magnificat, and general editor of the Catholic Moral Thought series at the Catholic University of America Press, should be sacked. Not permitted to retire early. Not permitted to resign. He should be sacked and sacked publicly.

https://www.ncronline.org/news/people/distinctly-catholic/fr-cessarios-edgardo-mortara-essay-inexcusable

Sexual abuse allegations against former local priest confirmed

A December notice from The Catholic Key, a newspaper published by the Diocese of Kansas City—St. Joseph, announced that sexual abuse allegations against Father Sylvester James Hoppe have been confirmed by the Diocese. According to the Diocese, this allegation marks the seventh confirmed claim against Hoppe by the Roman Catholic Church, and two additional lawsuits claiming childhood sexual abuse against Hoppe were settled by the Diocese in 2008. The most recent claim dates to abuse that occurred from 1953-1956.

https://www.excelsiorspringsstandard.com/news/sexual-abuse-allegations-against-former-local-priest-confirmed/

Pope Feels the Heat for Defense of Alleged Sexual Predator

The visit “confirmed that Pope Francis is defending a bishop who is seriously accused of (covering up) sexual abuse," says Juan Carlos Claret. The head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, is wrong, says Juan Carlos Claret, one of the many victims of sexual abuse connected to the case against Chilean priest Fernando Karadima. “There are so many testimonies that both the Chilean and the Vatican courts have decided to find the reason for the victims in 2010," said Claret, a spokesman for Laicos de Osorno. He added that following the Pope’s visit, it was painfully clear that the pontiff was protecting Archbishop Juan Barros, who is accused of aiding and abetting Father Karadima.

https://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Pope-Feels-the-Heat-for-Defense-of-Alleged-Sexual-Predator-20180119-0013.html

Time to tax Catholic Church to fund care of abuse victims'

Letters to the Editor FURTHER to The Gympie Times story (December 29, 2017) re child abuse etc. For some weeks now I have occasionally been in Gympie's Mary St or outside Saint Patrick's church with signs calling on the Catholic Church to reform or close. At both locations most people walk straight past the signs without any indication of how they feel about them. Recently I added a sign with specific information, mostly statistics from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

https://www.gympietimes.com.au/news/time-to-tax-catholic-church-to-fund-care-of-abuse-/3314645/

“They Have No Intention of Changing”: An Interview with Sex Abuse Expert on Pope’s Fierce Defense of Accused Bishop

Pope Francis, lauded by liberals for his sharp critiques of free market fundamentalism and environmental neglect, made headlines Thursday for his defense of Chilean Bishop Juan Barros Madrid, widely reviled in Chile for his role in a sexual abuse scandal involving a priest named Fernando Karadima. Karadima, who has been sentenced to “a life of prayer and penitence,” wasn’t investigated by the Vatican until 20 years after the first credible accusations had been leveled. It’s stories like this one, repeated across decades and continents, that have necessitated Pope Francis’ efforts to repair the Church’s reputation with Catholics of all generations.

http://religiondispatches.org/they-have-no-intention-of-changing-an-interview-with-sex-abuse-expert-on-popes-fierce-defense-of-accused-bishop/

Key cardinal rebukes pope over abuse comment in rare move

A key U.S. cardinal distanced himself on Saturday from comments by Pope Francis on sexual abuse, saying they had caused “great pain,” a remarkable move pointing to divisions in the Roman Catholic Church over how to treat accusers. The implicit public rebuke of the pope by one of his top advisers came after two days of pointed attacks from victims and their advocates, and was another setback for Francis’ attempts to come to grips with sexual abuse in the Church. Cardinal Sean O‘Malley of Boston said in an unusually blunt statement that “it is understandable” that the pope’s comments in Chile on Thursday were “a source of great pain for survivors of sexual abuse by clergy or any other perpetrator.”

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pope-latam-abuse/key-cardinal-rebukes-pope-over-abuse-comment-in-rare-move-idUSKBN1F90ZH

Clergy Abuse Advocates Worry Pope Francis Is Making It More durable For Victims To Converse Up

When Joelle Casteix, the pontiff’s words hit close to home. Thursday that he hasn’t seen any convincing evidence against Chile’s Bishop Juan Barros Madrid, whom victims claim protected a pedophile priest. “The day someone brings me proof against Bishop Barros, then I will talk,” Francis said during a papal trip to Chile, according to “But there is not one single piece of evidence. It is all slander. Is that clear?”

https://kaplanherald.com/2018/01/20/clergy-abuse-advocates-worry-pope-francis-is-making-it-more-durable-for-victims-to-converse-up/

Subtle signs of sexual abuse in children that all parents need to know

In a shocking turn of events, Pope Francis, who is the 266th and current Pope of the Catholic Church, recently apologised for the 'irreparable damage' caused by sexual abuse of children by the Catholic clergy in Chile. While conscious citizens around the world are working tirelessly to bring this heinous crime to a stop, unfortunately, child sexual abuse is not easy to spot. What happened behind the closed doors of the Catholic churches in Chile is an example of this. This can happen to anyone and anywhere, in fact, the cases of child sexual abuse in India are on the rise.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/relationships/parenting/subtle-signs-of-sexual-abuse-in-children-that-all-parents-need-to-know/articleshow/62541456.cms

Lawsuit: Priest refused food to boy who didn't swim naked

A Cub Scout who refused to swim naked during an outing at the Lonfit River in the early 1980s was punished afterward by priest and Scoutmaster Louis Brouillard, who refused to buy the boy food at McDonald's, according to the latest lawsuit accusing Brouillard of sexually abusing children. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the Superior Court of Guam, is the 156th to accuse a priest or other person associated with the church of sexual abuse.

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2018/01/17/lawsuit-priest-refused-food-boy-who-didnt-swim-naked/1039068001/

On sex abuse, the Vatican still sends badly mixed signals

The New York Times notes that on the very day when he apologized to Chileans for the Church’s handling of the sex-abuse scandal, Pope Francis concelebrated Mass with Bishop Juan Barros Madrid, who was named by the Pope to head the Osorno diocese despite complaints about his long friendship with a notorious abuser. In fact, last week the Associated Press revealed that Bishop Barros had actually offered his resignation because of the scandal. But the Pope did not accept that resignation. Instead he promoted the embattled bishop, and announced that his critics in Chile were “carried away by the garbage everybody says.”

http://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/the-city-gates.cfm?id=1544

Charlie Flanagan plans to meet Bill Kenneally’s abuse victims

Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan will meet victims of convicted paedophile Bill Kenneally “as soon as he has some news” about a commission of investigation, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has told the Dáil. The Taoiseach insisted the Government was very keen to allow a commission of investigation begin its work as soon as possible. The commission will investigate the handling of complaints in the 1980s against Kenneally by various State agencies.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/oireachtas/charlie-flanagan-plans-to-meet-bill-kenneally-s-abuse-victims-1.3358141

After apologising to victims of priestly sex abuse and then accusing them of slander in Chile, Pope Francis arrives in Peru

has he shown us his worse yet?... or is that yet to come?... SHAME on you Pope Francis... you sure have gone down in my way of thinking about you... I use to think he was pope who stands alone for the Victims... Survivors... and WHAM like a slap across my face by the nuns... but much harder from a person of God whom I believed in... but not anymore... that trust is broken forever now... I can't believe anyone... for Christ sake... it is like a child in me has been hurt again and again... where do I go from here?... I thought that I had a little hold of something I had carried around with me for years... but now I am lost... it has left an empty hole in, my soul... what do I do?... but is this what the catholic church wanted us the victim, Survivor to be like... all because they want us to go away... Well, they have picked the wrong men and women... the survivors of the catholic church have more strength.... and grow stronger every day... because we live by the TRUTH.. We will not go away Pope Frances... and we are many like the sands upon the shores... we have come forward one by one... to clean the church of the rape of her children... as Jesus would want it to be... Ann
                  ==========================================================

 Iquique: Pope Francis arrived on Thursday in Peru on the final leg of his South American trip, where he will meet indigenous people and hear firsthand how the country's gold rush is destroying large areas of their Amazon homeland.Earlier, the pontiff highlighted the plight of vulnerable immigrants and robustly defended a bishop accused of covering up sexual abuse at the end of a visit to Chile overshadowed by controversy. In the northern border region of Iquique — which he said was "the land of dreams" for so many — the pope hit out at human traffickers and others who seek to take advantage of helpless immigrants. "Let us be attentive to those who profit from the irregular status of many immigrants who don't know the language or who don't have their papers 'in order,'" Francis told a colourful congregation of some 50,000 people at an open-air mass on Iquique's sprawling Lobito beach.

https://www.sltrib.com/news/2018/01/16/pope-begs-forgiveness-for-irreparable-damage-done-to-children-sexually-abused-by-priests/

Pope Francis stuns Chile, accusing paedophilia victims of ‘slander’ as he defends bishop accused of cover-up

there are so many sides to this pope, the first time I read about him today... he was crying tears of sorrow and pain for the victims... survivors... now he has changed sides... at the same time turning his back on the men and women who were raped and abused by Jesus brides... this tells me that he does not believe the victim's stories... How are we to believe in him... when he keeps sending out false apologizes... he changes his words... more than he changes his clothes... Ann
                        ===============================================
‘He has just turned back the clock to the darkest days of this crisis. Who knows how many victims now will decide to stay hidden, for fear they will not be believed?’ Pope Francis accused victims of Chile’s most notorious paedophile of slander on Thursday, an astonishing end to a visit meant to help heal the wounds of a sex abuse scandal that has cost the Catholic Church its credibility in the country. The day they bring me proof against Bishop (Juan) Barros, then I will speak,” the pope said in response to a journalist’s question about the 61-year-old bishop, appointed by Francis in 2015 despite being accused of covering up another priest’s abuse of boys.

http://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/2129606/pope-francis-defends-chilean-bishop-accused-covering-sexual

Pope meets victims of child sexual abuse in Chile, 'cries with them'

Pope Francis publicly expressed "pain and shame" on Tuesday over the rape and molestation of children by priests in Chile and later listened, prayed and cried at a private meeting with victims. Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said the meeting took place in the Vatican embassy in Santiago. "No one else was present. Only the pope and the victims," the spokesman said. "This was so they could speak of their suffering to Pope Francis, who listened to them and prayed and cried with them." It was only the second time on his overseas trips that the pope has met victims of sexual abuse, although he has met some at the Vatican. The last meeting on a trip was in Philadelphia in 2015. Burke declined to give details, but his statement came at the end of an intense day for the pope, during which he spoke of sexual abuse twice, once asking forgiveness for abuses he said had done "irreparable damage" to victims.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/a/38629246/pope-meets-victims-of-child-sexual-abuse-in-chile-cries-with-them/?cmp=st

Pedophile Priest Sentenced To 14 Years In Prison After Extradition.

A priest in Russia was convicted on charges of pedophilia and sentenced to 14 years in prison Wednesday. A court in Priozersk — a city in northwest Russia —sentenced 38-year-old Gleb Grozovsky for sexually molesting underage girls in recreational camps in Russia and Greece while he was a priest at a cathedral in Tsarskoye Selo outside of St. Petersburg. According to reports, he sexually assaulted two girls, aged 9 and 12, at a religious-themed youth camp on the Greek island of Kos in 2013.

http://www.ibtimes.com/pedophile-priest-sentenced-14-years-prison-after-extradition-2642237

Blame tough lives of priests' victims on economy, not abuse, says church

The Archdiocese of Moncton continues to deny responsibility for the sexual assaults against children that its priests are accused of having committed decades ago. In two new documents filed in court, the archdiocese says it should not have to pay compensation, whether the abuse happened or not. It also says if victims had difficulty making a living, it is because of economic, linguistic and other factors present in New Brunswick at the time, rather than the emotional and psychological trauma they suffered.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/archdiocese-moncton-defence-lawsuits-1.4490013

Abuse survivor confronts gymnastics doctor: ‘I have been coming for you for a long time’

Two school pictures floated side-by-side on a projection screen in the Michigan courtroom. Both images caught the same small girl — in one, all gawky smile and bangs; the next, braces and long hair — a few years apart. Until this week, the child in the snapshots had been officially identified only as “Victim Z.A.” or “a family friend.” But on Tuesday, Kyle Stephens, now a young woman, stepped out from the curtain of anonymity to directly address disgraced USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar before a judge in Lansing.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/01/17/ive-been-coming-for-you-for-a-long-time-abuse-survivor-confronts-gymnastics-doctor/?utm_term=.3db4965e8555

Pope Francis expresses 'pain and shame' for clergy's sexual abuse of children

Pope Francis has admitted his “pain and shame” over the sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy on a visit to Chile which has been overshadowed by the firebombing of nine churches – allegedly by activists claiming a high-level cover-up. Speaking in Santiago in the presence of the Chilean president, Michelle Bachelet, legislators, diplomats and other officials, Francis asked for forgiveness. “Here I feel bound to express my pain and shame at the irreparable damage caused to children by some ministers of the church,” he said. “It is right to ask for forgiveness and make every effort to support the victims, even as we commit ourselves to ensuring that such things do not happen again.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/16/pope-francis-pain-and-shame-sexual-abuse-children

Watch This Survivor Come Back to ‘Destroy’ Child Molester Dr. Larry Nassar With Her Words

There are few ways to adequately summarize the first victim impact statement at Larry Nassar‘s sentencing hearing on Tuesday. The best approach is to let that person speak for herself. Little girls don’t stay little forever,” Kyle Stephens said in Ingham County court. “They return as strong women to destroy your world.” Nassar, a former doctor with the USA gymnastics team, has admitted to abusing women and girls, and he pleaded guilty in November to seven counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. That doesn’t compare, however, to the sheer number of allegations against him. 88 people are expected to testify against him. Stephens went first, and it was intense.

https://lawandcrime.com/crazy/watch-this-survivor-come-back-to-destroy-child-molester-larry-nassar-watch/

Catholic Church disappointed in abuse inquiry's limits

The Catholic Church is disappointed a Government inquiry into state abuse of children may not expand to include faith-based institutions, including itself. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said the primary role of an inquiry would be to focus on the state's responsibility. The Labour-led government promised to set up an inquiry, but groups of survivors want its scope broadened to cover places like religious institutions and sports clubs.

https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/348251/catholic-church-disappointed-in-abuse-inquiry-s-limits

Pope voices nuclear war concerns at he begins Latin America trip.

SANTIAGO, Jan 16 — Pope Francis admitted today he was frightened by the prospect of an accidental nuclear apocalypse, as he began a weeklong visit to Chile and Peru to bolster a local Catholic Church riven by sex abuse scandals. “I think we are at the very edge,” the pope told reporters aboard his plane when asked about the threat of a nuclear war in the wake of a recent string of tests by North Korea and a false missile alert last week that sparked panic in the US state of Hawaii.

http://www.themalaymailonline.com/world/article/pope-voices-nuclear-war-concerns-at-he-begins-latin-america-trip#Z5zvDMtT9UQwCwRu.97

Irish bishop warns against thinking sexual abuse crisis is “behind us”

LEICESTER, United Kingdom - A bishop in Ireland is warning that the greatest danger in the fight against abuse is to “relax and believe that the worst is in some way behind us.” Bishop Brendan Leahy of Limerick said society sometimes wants “to simplify this issue and move on.” “To stay with an awareness of the pervasiveness of abuse and those dark parts of our human nature and the tendency to exploit weakness and vulnerability, may be almost too much,” he said.

https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2018/01/15/irish-bishop-warns-thinking-sexual-abuse-crisis-behind-us/

MeToo founder backs fight to enact Child Victims Act

The woman credited with founding the #MeToo movement is now also backing the push in New York to make it easier for child sex abuse victims to seek justice as adults. Tarana Burke is expected to formally call for the Child Victim’s Act passage later this month at a public forum at SUNY Stony Brook focused on expanding the #MeToo movement on Long Island. In an email, Burke confirmed her support for the Child Victims Act.

https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2018/01/15/irish-bishop-warns-thinking-sexual-abuse-crisis-behind-us/

Shamed priest will be quizzed at child abuse inquiry

Sex offender Bernard Traynor, 64, has been called to give his testimony after allegations about him were made to the inquiry by former residents at Smyllum Park in Lanark last month. Two former residents told Lady Smith, who leads the inquiry, they were sexually abused by Traynor after they were moved to another orphanage run by the same Catholic order in Newcastle. One witness said he was sexually abused by Traynor at a caravan park in Scarborough in the 1970s.

https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/shamed-priest-will-be-quizzed-at-abuse-inquiry/

Victorian magistrate facing sex assault allegations has moved courts

A MAGISTRATE under investigation for sexually assaulting a junior colleague has been moved to a new court. The magistrate is continuing to work despite the serious allegations, but in a move that has sparked comparisons with the Catholic Church’s handling of problem priests, has been shuffled between courts.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/victorian-magistrate-facing-sex-assault-allegations-has-moved-courts/news-story/193b1e39744a8a7d8969a17c83d1edb5

Abuse settlement brings dark memories — and hope — for journalist who covered Mount Cashel scandal

A journalist who helped break the Mount Cashel sexual abuse story back in 1989 says this week's news of another government settlement — for a former resident of the St. John's orphanage who was sexually abused outside of the facility by a social worker assigned to protect him — shows that the process of justice continues to march on. The man will receive a $750,000 settlement from the Newfoundland and Labrador government after a civil suit was launched claiming government was liable for the abuse.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/mount-cashel-michael-harris-1.4484477

Sex Abuse Victim’s Video Tests Law

One of the men accusing prominent New Haven Rabbi Daniel Greer of sexually abusing him told his story in harrowing detail — on video. Should the public get to watch it? And is watching the deposition video different from reading the text version? Those questions came during a hearing before a federal judge Thursday in U.S. District Court in Hartford.

http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/dressler_hack_deposition_video/

Women haters

2018...new year and new expectations. Many people are already asking: is this the year in which Pope Francis will allow married priests? We are used to times, dates and schedules. Well the Holy Spirit does not work in a time frame! Surprisingly He knows when it’s the best time to help the church grow in certain aspects. We are all in a journey. We grow through experiences, thoughts, questions, encounters, prayer, reflection etc… We can’t promise anybody that this year we’re going to have married priests officially. But it doesn’t mean that if not, the process would have been stopped! In a flick of a second, what is considered impossible may become possible! Let’s remember that very hard experience of Moses. Who would face the pharoah (like a powerful king), to tell him to liberate the slaves? Facing the pharoah could have meant death...let alone proposing such an out of the box question!! It took him a long time to let the people of God out of Egypt, yet at one moment he seemed to have said yes...only to change his mind again after a few days!

https://maltesemarriedcatholicpriest.wordpress.com/tag/women-haters/

Pennsylvania Police Chief Charged in Undercover Sex Sting

The 40-year-old man from a small town in western Pennsylvania met the 14-year-old girl online, prosecutors said. He sent lewd pictures to her and solicited sexual contact and made plans to meet her. On Friday, the man, Michael W. Diebold, showed up at the place where he and the girl had agreed to get together. By day, Mr. Diebold is the chief of the Leechburg Police Department, where he oversees two full-time and 15 part-time officers. His department helps protect the 2,000-person borough, about 25 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/07/us/police-chief-sex.html?emc=edit_tnt_20180107&nlid=63876270&tntemail0=y

Australian of the Year: Chrissie Foster’s resolute battle ‘to right a wrong’ for abused kids

Chrissie Foster said last year she and her late husband Anthony only “struggled to do the right thing and try to right a wrong”. Their struggle resulted in the Victorian parliamentary inquiry into child abuse by religious and other organisations and showed the need for a royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse. Ms Foster drew state attention to the issue of clergy abuse with her book Hell on the Way to Heaven, co-written with Paul Kennedy, which detailed the Fosters’ fight for justice after two of their daughters were abused by pedophile priest Kevin O’Donnell.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/australians-australian-of-the-year/australian-of-the-year-chrissie-fosters-resolute-battle-to-right-awrong-for-abused-kids/news-story/f2e9530f7e6f5a1c8f3cd9f48a04c19

Church reform is coming agonizingly slowly

I once again take up the topic of reform in the Catholic church, because I'm a kind of an insider/outsider, a Pope-watcher, and an analyst who knows the immense power and global reach of this church. And the sad effects of its mistaken teachings and practices. There were two items in recent news: one the death of American Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston, age 86, who, after being indicted on charges related to his cover-up of clergy sex abuse against children, fled to Rome in 2002 and was put in charge of a major church. Remember the courageous journalism of the Boston Globe and the subsequent film Spotlight.

http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/2018/01/04/church-reform-is-coming-agonizingly-slowly

Catholic church in Valais rocked by new sex abuse claims

Accusations of historic sexual abuse have been made against around ten Catholic priests in the bishopric of Sion in the canton of Valais. The bishop of Sion, Jean-Marie Lovey, has asked the victims for forgiveness, the Swiss news agency SDA reported, quoting Radio Rhône FM. It said the abuse of children and young people happened between the 1950s and 1990s, and all the cases were now too old for a prosecution to take place. The paedophile priests were identified after some ten victims went to the diocese of Sion with abuse allegations last year.

https://www.thelocal.ch/20180104/catholic-church-in-valais-rocked-by-new-sex-abuse-claims

Father Tom Doyle says tax concessions should be on table as church responds to royal commission

Be bold: Dominican priest Tom Doyle outside the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in 2017 after giving evidence. He says government deference towards the Catholic church has to end because of the child sex scandal. THE Australian Government should ignore the church/state divide and put “massive pressure” on the Catholic Church to name child sexual abuse as a crime in church law, says the American Catholic cleric who first blew the whistle on the global abuse scandal in 1984. “The church gave up this privilege long ago when they started to enable sex abuse, lie about it to society and cover up for abusers,” said Dominican priest Tom Doyle after the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse’s final report in December recommended major changes, including to celibacy and the secrecy of the confessional.

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/5145496/catholic-church-whistleblower-cleric-urges-australian-government-to-be-bold/

Abuse survivor says conviction rate 'a joke'

A Dunedin survivor of historic abuse in state care says the number of prosecutions resulting from a national listening service is ''a joke''. Figures released to the Otago Daily Times, following an Official Information Act request, showed just two offenders had been successfully prosecuted as a result of referrals to police by the Confidential Listening and Assistance Service (CLAS).

https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/abuse-survivor-says-conviction-rate-joke

‘I Now Feel Free and Can Live My Life.’ Australian Commission Gives Voice to Child Sexual Abuse Survivors

Australia's Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was always certain to stir controversy, particularly with regard to the Catholic Church, and it did just that when it delivered its final report on 15 December 2017. The Royal Commission came about because of, as the report explains, “the sexual and other abuse of children in institutional settings, and the reluctance of those institutions involved to address this problem.” Its five years of hearings had already revealed widespread criminality, cover-ups and systemic failures across a wide range of both religious and other organisations.

https://globalvoices.org/2018/01/02/i-now-feel-free-and-can-live-my-life-australian-commission-gives-voice-to-child-sexual-abuse-survivors/

'I'm not going to cry': Leonie Sheedy reveals personal pain in fight for sexual abuse survivors

For the past five years Leonie Sheedy travelled around Australia urging survivors of childhood sexual abuse in orphanages and foster care to tell their stories to the child abuse royal commission. She was the vocal and visible presence outside the commission’s public hearings, confronting politicians and holding placards. She stood in the glaring sun and pouring rain protesting against the leaders and institutions who failed children, demanding stories of abuse be recognised. But despite imploring survivors of abuse not to take their stories to their grave, it took the 63-year-old until the commission had almost finished its work in December to tell her own harrowing story of being abused while in care at the Sisters of Mercy St Catherine’s Children’s home in Geelong.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jan/03/im-not-going-to-cry-leonie-sheedy-reveals-personal-pain-in-fight-for-sexual-abuse-survivors

Bishop defends comic Al Porter against ‘darkness’ visited upon h

Catholic bishop has called for “balance, proper proportion and fair play” so that comedian Al Porter “may feel free and welcome to make us laugh again”. Bishop Eamonn Walsh, Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin whose area of responsibility includes Tallaght, referred to Mr Porter as “our local comedian”. He hoped 2018 would “be the year that we allow justice take its course and not usurp it through public condemnation, humiliation and sentence without trial. May heads on plates be off the menu in 2018.”

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/bishop-defends-comic-al-porter-against-darkness-visited-upon-him-1.3342468

Swiss Catholic Church receives 250 complaints for harassment and sexual abuse

The Catholic Church in Switzerland received between 2010 and 2017 around 250 complaints about alleged abuses that occurred from 1950 to recent years, cases ranging from fondling unsolicited to harassment and sexual assault, reported the daily "SonntagsZeitung" and "NZZ am Sonntag ". This data has facilitated the Episcopal Conference, and, according to them, only in January last year alleged victims reported 22 suspected cases of abuse, including attacks pedophiles by ten priests in the Swiss town of Sion.

https://businessmonkeynews.com/en/en/swiss-catholic-church-receives-250-complaints-for-harassment-and-sexual-abuse/

A sickness has infected the Catholic church in Scotland

The dawn of the new year brought with it an old tale with some familiar themes for the Catholic church in Scotland. These included an attitude towards some of its most vulnerable and damaged members that bordered on callous. It was revealed that more than two years after the conclusion of the McLellan report into historical sex abuse in the church no contact has been made with victims’ groups. The report was compiled and delivered by the Very Reverend Dr Andrew McLellan, a former moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. He expressed astonishment at the Catholic hierarchy’s conduct.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/07/sex-abuse-survivors-catholic-church-scotland

Catholic church in Switzerland hit by 10 new sex abuse claims

A Catholic church in Valais, Switzerland, has been hit anew with 10 new accusations of sex abuse involving priests that allegedly happened from the 1950s to the 1990s. Ten priests in the Catholic diocese of Sion have been accused of sexual abuse of children and young people. Although three of the accused are still alive, the alleged incidents happened too long ago for them to be prosecuted, The Local reported.

http://www.christiandaily.com/article/catholic-church-in-switzerland-hit-by-10-new-sex-abuse-claims/61763.htm

Bishop warns former US pedophile priest “actively seeking victims” in Ireland

Famous convicted child abuser Oliver O’Grady “an evil menace” living in Waterford city, reported to police. The Bishop of Waterford and Lismore has warned the public in his that former priest and convicted pedophile, Oliver O’Grady, is living largely unsupervised in their community and “actively seeking victims”. In his letter, sent on Dec 21, to priests and schools in the area Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan warned the community to be “aware that this man continues to be an evil menace to innocent children".

https://www.irishcentral.com/news/bishop-warns-former-us-pedophile-priest-actively-seeking-victims-in-ireland

Into Silence and Servitude – How American Girls Became Nuns, 1945-1965 by Brian Titley: review

Nuns are in the air. In Alice McDermott’s recently published eighth novel, The Ninth Hour, much of the plot centres on a community of nuns, the Little Nursing Sisters of the Sick Poor, dedicated to caring for New York’s needy population. Netflix recently had a hit with The Keepers, which explores the unsolved murder of Sister Cathy Cesnik, who taught English and drama at Baltimore’s Archbishop Keough High School, and her former students’ belief that there was a cover-up by authorities after Cesnik suspected that a priest at the school, A Joseph Maskell, was guilty of sexual abuse. And The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood’s 1985 book recently made into a riveting TV series, mimics the hierarchical structures of convent life with its dystopian Handmaids, Marthas and Aunts.

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/into-silence-and-servitude-how-american-girls-became-nuns-1945-1965-by-brian-titley-review-1.3332703

Training sessions to help tackle high rate of rape, sexual assault on Guam

With Guam having the second-highest number of rape per capita in the nation, advocates against sexual assault and family violence want to help change that by organizing training sessions this month on prevention and addressing cases. Guam's only rape crisis center, Healing Hearts Crisis Center, reported serving 903 victims of sexual assault between 2008 and 2015, according to the Guam Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Family Violence.

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2018/01/06/training-sessions-help-tackle-high-rate-rape-sexual-assault-guam/1005881001/

Kansas priest will not return to parish after hiking trip with children

A Catholic priest removed from the pulpit after taking a group of boys on an unsupervised hike in October will not return to the parish, Bishop Carl Kemme announced in a letter to parishioners in Conway Springs. The Catholic Diocese of Wichita would not comment on or confirm Friday the news about the Rev. Andrew Seiler, who was removed from St. Joseph Catholic Church in Conway Springs in mid-October after the incident. Being alone with a minor goes against behavioral boundaries set by the diocese.

http://www.kansas.com/living/religion/article193278499.html

Catholic church in Switzerland still dealing with abuse claims

Some 250 cases of sexual harassment within the Catholic church in Switzerland have been reported since 2010, according to media reports. A sizeable number involve abuse cases against adults. The information was first revealed on Wednesday on local radio station Rhône FM, and was reported again in several Sunday newspapers. According to Le Matin Dimanche, which followed up on statistics released by the Conference of Swiss Bishops, some 10% of the 250 incidents have taken place since 2010; the rest date back as far as 1950.

https://www.expatica.com/ch/news/country-news/SW-Catholic-church-in-Switzerland-still-dealing-with-abuse-claims_1631956.html

Study questions transparency of church finances

Despite a 2017 report rating financial transparency for the Catholic Diocese of Jefferson City as average, the diocese's records are readily available online. A study conducted by Voice of the Faithful, an organization formed in January 2002 in Massachusetts after the Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal, is intended to make certain church leaders use financial resources transparently, according to a news release from the organization.

http://www.newstribune.com/news/local/story/2018/jan/09/study-questions-transparency-of-church-finances/707873/

Catholic ex-priest refuses to speak at sexual abuse trial in Germany

It's the second court session in which the 53-year-old declined to speak. He faces sexual abuse charges, along with several others. He was expelled from the priesthood in 2008 but continued to pose as a cleric. A 53-year-old former priest is currently on trial in a district court in the Bavarian city of Deggendorf. Thomas Maria B., who was born in Wuppertal, is accused of having sexually abused five German boys under the age of 14 a total of 110 times between 1997 and 2016. The man is also accused of the attempted rape of an 18-year-old in Austria. The attorney defending the former Catholic priest has said that the man "feels incapable" of testifying before the court. He also refused to address the court in December.

http://www.dw.com/en/catholic-ex-priest-refuses-to-speak-at-sexual-abuse-trial-in-germany/a-42078560