Kansas school didn’t know Cardinal ousted over sex abuse would be living next door.

Former Cardinal Theodore McCormick is residing at St. Fidelis Friary in Victoria, KS., which is within a block of Victoria Elementary School. Officials at a grade school in a rural Kansas town were stunned Friday to learn that a former Catholic cardinal — who stepped down in July over allegations that he sexually abused seminarians and minors — was now living next door. Former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington is residing at St. Fidelis Friary in Victoria, Kan., within a block of Victoria Elementary School.

https://www.kansascity.com/living/religion/article219202090.html 

Chile abuse priest Fernando Karadima removed by Vatican

Pope Francis has removed the priest at the centre of Chile's clerical sex abuse scandal. In a statement, the Vatican said the pontiff had defrocked Fernando Karadima for "the good of the Church". The 88-year-old former priest had previously been sanctioned to a lifetime of "penance and prayer" for having sexually abused minors. In June, the Pope accepted the resignations of three Chilean bishops in the wake of the scandal.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-45677534# 

Vermont AG investigates abuse allegations at Catholic institutions

As the attorney general of Vermont investigates allegations of abuses at Catholic institutions, the state's bishop has announced that the diocese is waiving nondisclosure agreements for abuse victims. Attorney General T.J. Donovan announced Sept. 11 an investigation of allegations surrounding St. Joseph's Orphanage in Burlington.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/vermont-ag-investigates-abuse-allegations-at-catholic-institutions-20081 

Divisive Polish film skewers Catholic clergy

The Polish film "Kler" (The Clergy) has aroused passionate debate in the deeply religious country, winning awards but also triggering calls for it to be banned. "Those who hold the homeland in their heart, who love God and Poland, must clearly say "No" to the destruction of our nation's values," said an association of Catholic journalists that wants the film about child abuse, clerical corruption and burn-out to be pulled from almost 500 movie theatres.

https://www.france24.com/en/20180929-divisive-polish-film-skewers-catholic-clergy 

Pope: Pray to protect church from devil, step up fight against abuse

Signaling his belief that the Catholic Church is facing a serious crisis, Pope Francis asked every Catholic in the world to pray for the protection of the church from attacks by the devil, but also that the church would be more aware of its sins and stronger in its efforts to combat abuse. Pope Francis asked Catholics to pray the rosary each day in October, seeking Mary's intercession in protecting the church, and "at the same time making her (the church) more aware of her sins, errors and the abuses committed in the present and the past, and committed to fighting without hesitation so that evil would not prevail," the Vatican said in a statement released Sept. 29, the feast of the Archangels.

http://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2018/pope-pray-to-protect-church-from-devil-step-up-fight-against-abuse.cfm 

Pope defrocks Chilean priest at center of abuse scandal

Pope Francis has defrocked a Chilean priest who was a central character in the global sex abuse scandal rocking his papacy, invoking his "supreme" authority to stiffen an earlier sentence because of the "exceptional amount of damage" the priest's crimes had caused. In a statement Friday, the Vatican said Francis had laicized 88-year-old Rev. Fernando Karadima, who was originally sanctioned in 2011 to live a lifetime of "penance and prayer" for having sexually abused minors in the upscale Santiago parish he ran.

https://www.mrt.com/news/crime/article/Pope-defrocks-Chile-priest-at-center-of-global-13265598.php 

As younger Catholics drift away, the church considers what works

A member of the so-called Silent Generation and grandmother of 13, Mary Ann Keyes is the matriarch of a big Catholic family whose ties to the Roman Catholic Church — like those of many families — have grown more complicated with each generation. While angered and saddened by the clergy sexual abuse scandals, Keyes, whose family is based in part on the South Shore, would never walk away. “The church means everything to me,” she said.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/09/29/catholic/H3nroHluETQ6NnH1ykYDrJ/story.html 

As St. Paul Archdiocese bankruptcy wraps up, many call for church leaders to be held accountable

The church bankruptcy settlement last week closed a key chapter of the often contentious relationship between clergy abuse survivors and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, but both sides acknowledged this isn’t the end. Abuse survivors are asking if action will be taken against archdiocese officials in charge during more recent abuses, including former vicar general the Rev. Kevin McDonough and former St. Paul and Minneapolis Archbishop John Nienstedt.

http://www.startribune.com/as-st-paul-archdiocese-bankruptcy-wraps-up-many-call-for-church-leaders-to-be-held-accountable/494708121/ 

World Former U.S. cardinal accused of sex abuse living a block from Kansas school

The friary in remote western Kansas that is now home to a disgraced former U.S. cardinal removed from ministry by Pope Francis over allegations of sexual abuse is just one block from an elementary school. The Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., confirmed in a statement Friday that ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick is living at St. Fidelis Friary in Victoria, a rural town of about 1,200 that lies more than 400 kilometres west of Kansas City. The Friary is within a block of Victoria Elementary School.

https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2018/09/29/former-us-cardinal-accused-of-sex-abuse-living-a-block-from-kansas-school.html 

Brad Pitt Reveals: Elite Hollywood Pedophiles Control America.

A Celevand man says the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland terminated him for posts he liked on social media. Keith Kozak held a position as an outreach minister at a local university. He said his employer pulled him into a meeting to discuss a few posts he commented, liked, and shared on Facebook and Twitter. Both posts related to topics associated with the LGBTQ community. Kozak said after the meeting the Catholic Church fired him from his job.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/withoutacrystalball/2018/09/ohio-man-fired-by-catholic-church-for-liking-social-media-post-on-gay-marriage/ 

Predator: priest who got away

A Catholic priest who sexually abused young boys in Melbourne for more than 20 years is unlikely to face prosecution after fleeing to Britain. The Catholic Church has so far paid out more than $50,000 in compensation, provided counselling and made formal apologies to victims whose lives were shattered by Father Ronald Dennis Pickering. A Melbourne Sunday Age newspaper investigation has revealed that Pickering moved from parish to parish around Melbourne, selecting vulnerable boys. His preferred victims were members of church choirs or altar boys. Several deaths from drug overdoses and attempted suicides among suspected victims have been linked to Pickering's activities.

https://www.peterellis.org.nz/church/2002/2002-0325_ThePress_PredatorPriest.htm 

Silence is not Golden

I applaud counsellor Brent Cherry for speaking up against the gagging orders used by the Catholic Church to silence the victims of sexual abuse when they reach out-of court settlements with victims (The Evening Post, May 20). In my experience, these silencing provisions are thrust on victims whose lives are in turmoil from dealing with sexual abuse. They fear that if they do not accept them they will get no help. By misusing its power in this way, the Church doubles the abuse.

https://www.peterellis.org.nz/church/2002/2002-0531_EveningPost_SilenceIsNot.htm

US sex-abuse scandal mirrors NZ - ex-priest

Former Christchurch priest John Gawith says the Catholic clergy sex-abuse scandal -- and official cover-up -- in the United States mirrors what occurred in New Zealand in the 1980s. He left the priesthood in 1989, disillusioned with the church's conservatism and its reluctance to tackle sex-abuse problems. The culture among Catholic leaders at that time, as in the US, was to protect their own and transfer errant priests to other areas, Mr Gawith said. He remembers at least three NZ cases where priests accused of sex abuse against children were reassigned to different parishes or schools.

https://www.peterellis.org.nz/church/2002/2002-0511_ThePress_USSexAbuse.htm

BACKGROUND: This is why Archbishop Philip Wilson was dumped from his top job

This Broken Rites article gives some important background about Australia's Archbishop Philip Wilson, who covered up Father James Fletcher's indecent assault of a ten-year-old boy (Peter Creigh). Police allege that, when they were investigating Father Fletcher in 2003-2004 regarding a different victim (Daniel Feenan), Archbishop Wilson possessed information (about the abuse of Peter) which might help the case against Fletcher but Wilson concealed this information, thus protecting the criminal Fletcher. A court convicted Archbishop Wilson regarding his concealment of Peter's abuse but he defiantly refused to resign as the Archbishop of Adelaide — until a public outcry forced his resignation. However, Wilson will continue to have the title of a bishop (without a territory to administer) — a criminal bishop. Wilson's crime of concealment carries a 12-months jail sentence but (because of Wilson's bad health) the court is allowing him to serve this jail sentence by going into home-detention at a relative's house on the NSW central coast, instead of going behind bars.

http://www.brokenrites.org.au/drupal/node/162 

The Confessional can enable a priest to abuse a young child

After being silent for eighty years, an elderly Australian woman ("Pamela") has revealed how the Catholic ritual of Confession enabled a priest to indecently assault her in 1938 when she was aged eight. Pamela contacted Broken Rites in 2018 after noticing media reports about Catholic bishops who were defending the secrecy of the Catholic ritual of Confession. Pamela (born in 1930) lived as a child in East Victoria Park, Perth, Western Australia, where her family attended the local Catholic church (the Our Lady Help of Christians parish).

http://www.brokenrites.org.au/drupal/node/437 

Yet another "celibate" priest has pleaded guilty to child-sex crimes

Paul Chris Pavlou, of Melbourne, was originally a school-teacher but, in his thirties, he began studying to become a Catholic priest. In 2004, aged in his forties, he was elevated to the priesthood and began ministering in parishes of the Melbourne archdiocese. Now he has admitted in court that he was committing sexual offences against children before and after becoming a priest. Pavlou's story raises questions about how the church selects its priests. Father Pavlou's religious status gave him access to children. Two victims have succeeded in getting Pavlou convicted in court (in 2009 and 2018) for offences committed between 2003 and 2006:

http://www.brokenrites.org.au/drupal/node/121 

Two people complain about abuse by a priest in the 1960s and 1980s

Father Brian Morrison (born in Melbourne, 1933) was originally a Catholic priest in the Blessed Sacrament Fathers but he left this order and went to Western Australia, doing some parish work in the Perth and Bunbury dioceses. He finally established the "Father Brian Crisis Care Centre" in Perth, raising money for disaster relief (in East Timor etc). The church has received complaints about Father Morrison sexually abusing young people (a girl aged 14 in Melbourne in 1968 and a boy aged 14 in Perth in 1984).

http://www.brokenrites.org.au/drupal/node/438

Police bungle meant child abuse victims waited 20 years for justice

A police bungle in a child abuse investigation meant two sisters had to wait 20 years for justice. The girls were aged just eight when their grandmother's partner abused them in 1980 and 1981. The girls went to police and gave statements some time in 1996 or 1997. Police made initial inquiries, but the investigation went no further. Then an error in the police's administration system resulted in the file being closed.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/100972256/police-bungle-meant-child-abuse-victims-waited-20-years-for-justice 

Royal Commission into Abuse in State Care.

Now tell me why New Zealand government, WHY... WHY have you left the churches out of ... The Royal Commission Inquiry into state child abuse care??... this is so unjust and enables more coverups of child abuse in the churches... WHY HAVE YOU TURNED YOUR BACKS ON THE MOST VULNERABLE ABUSED CHILDREN OF NEW ZEALAND???... We are all New Zealanders and we have the right to be heard with the state abused children... you have done to us what our abusers did to us ever day and night... but this time it hurts us much more because as adults... we feel more abandoned within our pain of our childhood abuse... Ann

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

View a lecture by Elizabeth Stanley (58:29): Acknowledging State Abuse in New Zealand (Victoria University of Wellington, July 2018)

NEW! Introducing Executive Director Mervin Singham (September 2018)

Message from the Chair:

For many years survivors of abuse in New Zealand have called for an inquiry. They were supported on this issue in August 2017 by the United Nations Human Rights Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination recommending the immediate set up of an independent Commission of Inquiry. The Human Rights Commission also ran the “Never Again” campaign. 

On February 1, 2018 Prime Minister, Rt Hon Jacinda Adern announced a Royal Commission of Inquiry into historical abuse. 

As appointed Chair of the Royal Commission, I was tasked with consulting with the public on the Terms of Reference for the Inquiry. I received more than 400 submissions in writing, by phone and at face to face interviews conducted over a period of several weeks. On May 30th I presented my findings from consultation and a report with new suggested Terms of Reference.

Cabinet is now considering and will make a decision on the final Terms of Reference. The Terms of Reference will set out what needs to be investigated and how this can be done. When this happens the Government will publicly announce the terms of the Inquiry and the names of the Commissioners who will join me on the inquiry. 

I will work with the appointed Commissioners to decide how the Royal Commission will operate and receive information. I will make it a priority to share the outcomes of our decisions with you, and continue to keep you informed of our progress. 

For many years survivors of abuse in New Zealand have called for an inquiry. They were supported on this issue in August 2017 by the United Nations Human Rights Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination recommending the immediate set up of an independent Commission of Inquiry. The Human Rights Commission also ran the “E Kore Ano: Never Again” campaign.

http://www.abuseinstatecare.royalcommission.govt.nz/

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. 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.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/the-bishop-the-priest-and-the-sins-of-omission-20180127-h0p51h.html 

A long paternity mystery solved: a Buffalo priest fathered a son in 1940s

For more than three decades, a South Carolina resident born in Buffalo sought the truth about his father’s identity. He had heard whispers for many years that it allegedly was a Catholic priest who served in Buffalo in the 1940. He recently got the results from a DNA test: his biological father was indeed a member of the clergy. "An obituary was passed across the kitchen table and there was a likeness of a priest to me," Graham told WBFO in a telephone interview.

http://news.wbfo.org/post/long-paternity-mystery-solved-buffalo-priest-fathered-son-1940s 

Angry parishioners blast San Jose Diocese, Catholic Church over sexual abuse allegations

Angry and hurt over national reports of clergy abuse that have again rocked the Catholic Church to its core, dozens of residents confronted Bishop Patrick McGrath Saturday to demand transparency as the Diocese of San Jose prepares to launch its own investigation. About 70 people — including alleged victims of abuse — gathered at Our Lady of the Rosary for a listening session hosted by the diocese to allow people to ask questions, express concerns and, in some cases, outrage over recent revelations of the sexual abuse of minors by Roman Catholic priests in Pennsylvania and beyond.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/09/22/horrified-parishioners-blast-san-jose-diocese-catholic-church-over-sexual-abuse-allegations/

The Bristlecone Project expected to help survivors come forward

An installation telling the stories of male survivors of sexual abuse is expected to help other men open up about their own trauma. The Bristlecone Project exhibition, featuring black-and-white photographs of 24 New Zealand men abused in childhood, opens at Canterbury Museum on Monday. "People have been trying to hide this for so long, and now it's going to be in the public's face," said Ken Clearwater, manager of the Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse Trust.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/98514199/the-bristlecone-project-expected-to-help-survivors-come-forward 

Another Priest arrested for sexual abuse, was on ‘house arrest’ after ‘internal inquiry’ by Polish ‘religious authority’

A Priest, who is also a principal in a reputed English medium convent school in Pune, has been arrested from Mumbai for allegedly sexually abusing a student, according to Times of India. According to the reports, the police has booked the priest under the stringent Pocso Act for allegedly showing an adult video clip to a 14-year-old student twice and touching him inappropriately.

https://www.opindia.com/2018/09/another-priest-arrested-for-sexual-abuse-was-on-house-arrest-after-internal-inquiry-by-polish-religious-authority 

'Open the files' More than 1,300 Irish priests accused of child sex abuse but only 82 convicted, says victim campaign group

US group BishopAccountability.org claims 'hiding names of credibly accused child molesters puts children at risk' as it launches list in Ireland. MORE than 1,300 Irish priests have been accused of sexually abusing children, it was claimed yesterday. But only 82 – including evil clerics Father Tony Walsh and Brendan Smyth – have been convicted, according to a US group. Fr Tony Walsh. Director Anne Barrett Doyle said the hidden names represent a “triple threat” because no one knows who or where they are.

https://www.thesun.ie/news/3008612/irish-priests-accused-child-sex-abuse-convicted/ 

Duterte assails Catholic Church’s refusal to investigate child abuse cases

President Duterte has assailed the local Catholic Church for its refusal to investigate allegations of child sexual abuse committed by some priests. The President said church leaders knew of cases of abusive priests but still pretended to be righteous because they were also “a bunch of sh*t.” One of the cases ignored by the church, Duterte claimed, was the abuse he and other Ateneo students endured from a Jesuit priest years ago. “The Catholic Church of the Philippines, never bothered to investigate them,” Duterte said during a health forum in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu last Friday. “

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/09/23/duterte-assails-catholic-churchs-refusal-to-investigate-child-abuse-cases/ 

The silent Popes: Why Francis and Benedict won't answer the accusations dividing their church

One rarely leaves his monastery high on a hill in Vatican City. The other speaks freely -- too freely, critics say -- but has vowed silence on this matter, for now. Two men, both clad in white, both called Holy Father, and now, both facing questions about a crucial facet of the Catholic Church's sexual abuse crisis: What did they know, and when? Amid the onslaught of news about the scandal, it can be easy to overlook the historical novelty and high drama of this moment in the life of the church: For the first time in 600 years, there are two living popes, one retired and one active, whose fates may be intertwined, even as many of their followers are at odds.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/09/23/europe/silent-popes/index.html 

Abuse victim angry over priest list Wonders where the guilty ones go after dismissal

When Brian Cook was 11, he says, his divorced mother, having recently moved back to Fort Wayne, encouraged him to develop a friendship with their parish priest, thinking it would be good for him to have a male role model. Cook says it was good – in the beginning. The priest asked him to sit on his lap while they talked and gave him a hug and a kiss. He didn't think anything of it because his family had friendships with priests before. But during a subsequent meeting, the priest told him he looked tense and said he'd give him a massage if he'd lie down on the bed in the next room of the man's rectory living quarters.

http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/20180923/abuse-victim-angry-over-priest-list

'Painful' healing from clergy sex abuse of children will take time for Catholic Church, its members, experts say

Daniel Lowery sees the Catholic clergy sex abuse scandal as a grieving process. There’s denial, anger, bargaining and depression, he said, but the final stage of acceptance is going to be tough for people. Many are not ready for acceptance yet, he said. “It’s a matter of choice, individually,” Lowery, theology professor at Calumet College of St. Joseph, said.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-clergy-abuse-reaction-st-0921-story.html# 

Alyssa Milano: I was sexually assaulted as a teen. Here’s why I didn’t report.

It took me 30 years to tell anyone. And I’m far from alone. The courage of survivors will always be stronger than Donald Trump’s hate. The lives of survivors will always be more important than Brett Kavanaugh’s career. When I was sexually assaulted, I wasn’t that much older than Christine Blasey Ford — now a PhD in psychology — was when she was allegedly assaulted by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh (Kavanaugh denies the incident occurred). I’ve watched, horrified as politicians and pundits refused to believe or take seriously these allegations.

https://www.vox.com/first-person/2018/9/23/17890700/brett-kavanaugh-alyssa-milano-assault-allegations-why-i-didnt-report 

A priest-in-love writes to us!

Finally we have a priest who is speaking about his heart adventures!! Well, I’m not promising anyone that he is going to answer all questions or any questions at all. At least we can have a glimpse about how he seas this new person in his life. Maybe some day in the future he will continue to reveal more about his life in the parish. Obviously we are hiding his identity for practical purposes. I’m Gabriel, a Catholic priest in my late 50s. I was ordained when I was in my mid-20s. I’m 5 foot 10 inches (1.8 metres) tall. I’m fit and lean: a testament to the control I use when choosing only clean living and what goes into my body.

https://maltesemarriedcatholicpriest.wordpress.com/2018/09/03/a-priest-in-love-writes-to-us/ 

'Truly remarkable': Ralph Riegel reveals the 'slick operation' inside the Papal bubble

The Volo Papale (papal flight) should perhaps more appropriately be called the stress express, at least for the hard-working Vatican support team travelling with Pope Francis and the small group of journalists admitted to the Papal flight. While the public last weekend viewed a smiling 81-year old pontiff being greeted at mostly relaxed public engagements around Dublin and Knock, behind the scenes a slick logistical machine was in military-style overdrive to ensure timetables were met, security was always tight, journalists adhered to the strict rules of the papal 'bubble' and all diplomatic niceties were seamlessly complied with.

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/pope-francis-in-ireland/truly-remarkable-ralph-riegel-reveals-the-slick-operation-inside-the-papal-bubble-37268641.html 

Protester at church yells 'Shame on you!' as Cardinal Wuerl addresses sex abuse scandal

As the embattled Archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, addressed the Catholic Church's clergy sexual abuse scandal on Sunday, one Catholic yelled "Shame on you!" while another turned her back on Wuerl in protest. Wuerl, who faces accusations that he mishandled clergy sexual misconduct while he was a bishop in Pittsburgh, addressed Washington's Annunciation Catholic Church, where the cardinal was installing a new pastor. In a short speech after the Mass, Wuerl asked the 200 or so people in the congregation to forgive his "errors in judgment" and "inadequacies."

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/09/02/us/wuerl-mass-protest/index.html 

Calls grow for ‘extraordinary synod’ in response to abuse crisis

Is an “extraordinary synod” a key piece to the puzzle for finding lasting solutions to the clerical abuse crisis which has engulfed the Church for the past generation? Over the past ten days, three bishops have said they have requested Pope Francis call a synod in light of the recent stories of abuse and cover-up in different parts of the world.

https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2018/09/02/calls-grow-for-extraordinary-synod-in-response-to-abuse-crisis/ 

Catholics must face facts about clergy abuses

Salena Zito’s article “When your priest turns out to be a monster” in the Aug. 30 Daily Inter Lake rings true for many Catholics here in the valley who were fortunate as children to have been protected from the predatory wiles of “monster priests.” Despite the shock that Selena felt learning the ghastly truth about a clergyman she had revered in her Pittsburgh parish, I do hope that she holds on to the good memories of her parochial school past that formed & still bind her to faith in God.

http://www.dailyinterlake.com/letters_to_the_editor/20180902/letters_to_the_editor_for_sept_2_2018 

Church rejects inquiry recommendation

The Catholic Church in Australia has rejected a recommendation by a government inquiry that priests be required to report evidence of child sex abuse disclosed in the confessional. The recommendation that priests be prosecuted for failing to report evidence of paedophilia heard in the confessional was a key finding in December of Australia's Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12117325 

‘I’m Ashamed to be Catholic’

Where is Pope Francis? By Dan Murphy As I listened to Republican commentator Hugh Hewitt say “I’m embarrassed to be a Catholic” on Meet the Press last weekend, I joined in his sentiments, along with millions of other Catholic Americans who cannot believe that we are going through another disclosure of priests who have been coddled, transferred and covered up, once again by our Catholic Church.

http://yonkerstimes.com/im-ashamed-to-be-catholic/ 

Chilean clergy abuse cases triple to 119

SANTIAGO: Scores of new cases of priestly sexual abuse of minors have come to light in Chile, public prosecutors said Friday, deepening a crisis in the country’s Catholic Church that has embroiled Pope Francis. The country’s chief prosecutor’s office said the number of cases it was investigating had soared to 119 as more victims came forward. A total of 167 bishops, priests and lay members of the church are now under investigation for sexual crimes committed in the South American country since 1960.

https://www.nst.com.my/world/2018/09/407053/chilean-clergy-abuse-cases-triple-119 

Catholic church knew of abuse claims against paedophile priest Michael Shirres for 28 years

The Catholic Church was aware of sex abuse accusations against paedophile priest Father Michael Shirres nearly three decades before he was finally withdrawn from public ministry. Another victim of the disgraced Dominican theologian has come forward to say Shirres abused her and her sister in Auckland in 1966 and her parents reported it to a parish priest.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12114773 

Paedophile priest sent to Dunedin after abuse reported

The Catholic Church was aware of sex abuse accusations against paedophile priest Father Michael Shirres nearly three decades before he was finally withdrawn from public ministry. Another victim of the disgraced Dominican theologian has come forward to say Shirres abused her and her sister in Auckland in 1966 and her parents reported it to a parish priest. The New Zealand Herald has confirmed that the priest then told the Dominican order's provincial - the most senior cleric in Australasia at the time - and that Shirres was later sent away from Auckland to live at Aquinas College in Dunedin, but continued to work with families and children for decades.

https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/paedophile-priest-sent-dunedin-after-abuse-reported 

Indian Catholic bishop accused of raping nun steps down

Women living in India describe their experiences of harassment and the constant fear they feel following a poll that named the South Asian nation the most dangerous country for females. An Indian Catholic bishop accused of raping a nun has written to the Vatican asking to step down as protests grow in India’s Kerala state for him to be arrested. “Bishop Franco Mulakkal wrote a letter to Holy Father Pope Francis expressing his desire to step aside temporarily and requested to be relieved from the administration of the Diocese,” the Diocese of Jalandhar, which he heads, said in a release issued over the weekend.

https://globalnews.ca/news/4457736/bishop-rape-sex-abuse-nun-india/ 

Priest calls for Cardinal Donald Wuerl's resignation as parishioners meet in D.C.

Catholics at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Northwest Washington are starting to take the church into their own hands and began that process with a town hall meeting Sunday afternoon. The gathering of around 300 parishioners lasted nearly two hours inside the school gymnasium. A microphone was passed to anyone who wanted to share how they feel or ask questions to the priests. Some parishioners said this could be the start of how the Catholic Church can move past the child abuse and cover-up scandal.

https://wjla.com/news/local/parishioners-dc-priest-cardinal-donald-wuerl-resignation 

Over half of Dutch bishops shielded priest-abusers, according to report

A sensational new report on sexual abuse in the Netherlands claims over half of the bishops in the country from 1945-2010 were involved in either covering up abuse or abusing children themselves. The report appearing in NRC Handelsblad, the Netherlands’ most prestigious newspaper, charges the Dutch hierarchy had a “policy of transfers and turning a blind eye” to abusive priests in the country.

https://cruxnow.com/church-in-europe/2018/09/17/over-half-of-dutch-bishops-shielded-priest-abusers-according-to-report/ 

Childhood Sex Abuse Survivors Sue Eight Pennsylvania Dioceses And Bishops

Attorneys for those affected by childhood clergy sexual abuse filed a lawsuit Monday against eight Pennsylvania Catholic dioceses and their bishops to compel mandatory abuse reporting. The lawsuit named the dioceses of Altoona-Johnstown, Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Scranton-Wilkes-Barre and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia along with their respective bishops as defendants. Attorneys for the plaintiffs said the goal of the lawsuit is to force the aforementioned dioceses to release all of the names of clergy implicated in child abuse or relevant cover-ups in accordance with the Pennsylvania Child Protective Services Law.

https://dailycaller.com/2018/09/17/abuse-survivors-sue-catholic-dioceses/ 

U.S. Bishops offer apology under glare of church sex abuse scandal

America’s Catholic bishops Wednesday said they have come up with a new plan to hold themselves accountable in the wake of allegations of sexual abuse and cover-ups by bishops across the country, including in Buffalo. A committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops released a statement saying that some bishops, “by their actions or their failures to act, have caused great harm to both individuals and the Church as a whole.”

https://www.wkbw.com/news/us-bishops-offer-apology-under-glare-of-church-sex-abuse-scandal 

Jehovah’s Witnesses accused of mishandling abuse in Montana

In this Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015, file photo, the iconic Watchtower sign is seen on the roof of 25-30 Columbia Heights, then world headquarters of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Two women who were sexually abused as children say the Jehovah’s Witnesses failed to report their abuser to authorities in Montana, and instead expelled him from the congregation as punishment until he repented. The Thompson Falls trial that begins Monday, Sept. 24, 2018, is one of dozens of lawsuits filed nationwide over the last decade alleging mismanagement of sexual abuse claims by Jehovah’s Witness clergy and members

https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/article218682775.html 

Indiana bishop names 18 ex-Catholic priests accused of sex abuse

A Catholic Diocese in Indiana published the names of 18 former priests and deacons the diocese said have been "credibly accused" of sexually abusing children. The list, published Tuesday, contains the names of men who at some point served in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend. "It is my hope that by releasing these names, the innocent victims of these horrific and heartbreaking crimes can finally begin the process of healing," Bishop Kevin Rhoades said during an August news conference when the diocese announced it was compiling the list.

https://www.upi.com/Indiana-bishop-names-18-ex-Catholic-priests-accused-of-sex-abuse/3091537377528/ 

Sex Abuse Scandal Deepens Divide Over Gay Priests

The uproar over clergy sex abuse in the Catholic church is no longer just about sex abuse. It now touches on Catholic teaching about sexuality in general and even on Pope Francis himself, his agenda, and the future of his papacy. When a Pennsylvania grand jury last month reported that more than 300 priests had molested more than a thousand children across six dioceses under investigation, it became clear that the cases were not isolated incidents. The problem of abusive priests and the bishops who cover up for them is systemic across the whole church.

https://www.npr.org/2018/09/19/647919741/sex-abuse-scandal-deepens-divide-over-gay-priests 

U2’s Bono says pope’s “aghast” about church sex abuse

U2 frontman Bono has described Pope Francis as being “aghast” about sex abuse in the Catholic Church. The Irish singer met privately with Francis on Wednesday at the Vatican hotel where the pope lives, to discuss themes that Bono told reporters included “the wild beast that is capitalism” and sustainable development. Bono said that because Francis visited Ireland recently, they spoke about the pontiff’s “feelings about what has happened in the church.” The Irish church’s reputation is stained by cases of pedophile priests and systematic abuse cover-ups.

https://lex18.com/ap-world-news/2018/09/19/u2s-bono-says-popes-aghast-about-church-sex-abuse/ 

French priest kills himself in church amid assault claim

A 38-year-old French priest in a town in northern France committed suicide in his church after being accused of molesting a girl, local prosecutors and police sources told AFP on Wednesday. Jean-Baptiste Sebe killed himself on Tuesday in the church in Rouen amid allegations from a local mother that her daughter had been a victim of "indecent behaviour and sexual assault," a police source said. Local prosecutor Etienne Thieffry confirmed that an investigation was underway into "the exact reasons for the suicide" at the St. Jean XXIII church.

https://www.expatica.com/fr/news/country-news/France-religion-assault-suicide_2104845.html 

Path to healing starts with seeking forgiveness, Cardinal Wuerl says

In New Zealand the "Path of Healing" is to get you back into the catholic church... The brain washing starts all over again...  just be very careful of their words... we are not children anymore... and we well know how they worked on us... as  in...we are the ones who are in the wrong... by leaving the catholic church... Ann
===================================== 

A “Season of Healing” for sexual abuse survivors began in the Archdiocese of Washington with a Sept. 14 Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. After the opening liturgical procession, Washington Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl and Auxiliary Bishops Mario E. Dorsonville and Roy E. Campbell Jr. prostrated themselves before the altar. The cardinal said this posture during the Liturgy of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross “is a reminder that the cross of Jesus’ crucifixion and death are, for us, where we find healing.”

http://catholicphilly.com/2018/09/news/national-news/path-to-healing-starts-with-seeking-forgiveness-cardinal-wuerl-says/ 

Cardinal Müller responds to allegations of leniency in cover-up abuse cases

Cardinal Gerhard Müller has responded to the claims of Professor Christian Pfeiffer, the criminologist who formerly headed an examination of clerical sex abuse and cover-up in Germany, that the cardinal was one of the driving forces behind a 2013 attempt at censoring his research. Cardinal Müller told LifeSiteNews today that it was the German Bishops’ Conference itself “who changed the research assignment for Professor Pfeiffer,” and that Pfeiffer “of course now looks for scapegoats for his own failure and shame that the assignment was withdrawn.”

https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/cardinal-mueller-responds-to-allegations-of-leniency-in-cover-up-abuse-case 

Conroe church raided after ex-priest sex abuse arrest

Police have raided the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Conroe less than a week after a former priest was accused of child molestation. Conroe police Sgt. Scott McCann confirmed that detectives and the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office searched the church Monday afternoon in connection with the arrest of Manuel La Rosa-Lopez, who has been charged with four counts of indecency with a child.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Conroe-church-raided-after-ex-priest-sex-abuse-13236941.php 

Aussie bishop calls row over confession seal a ‘huge furphy’

Though it’s hard to imagine this line drawing many laughs outside a philosophers’ convention, Archbishop Anthony Fisher could be thought of as the punchline of a joke about how many Thomists it takes to turn an archdiocese around. A Dominican and an avowed disciple of St. Thomas Aquinas in terms of his intellectual formation, the 58-year-old Fisher took over in Sydney, Australia in 2014 after the controversial Cardinal George Pell left for Rome. He came into office just as a mammoth government-sponsored “Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse” was heating up, a four-year probe that put a grueling spotlight on the Church’s failures when it comes to abuse, both in terms of the crime and the cover-up.

https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2018/09/18/aussie-bishop-calls-row-over-confession-seal-a-huge-furphy/ 

After doctors labeled them as pedophiles, priests were put back in ministry

In July 1985, Father Edmond A. Parrakow was sent to a treatment facility in New Mexico after child sexual abuse allegations were made against him while serving as a priest in the Archdiocese of New York. At the time, Parrakow was waiting to be accepted into the Diocese of Greensburg, according to a Pennsylvania grand jury report released last month. The initial request from the New York archdiocese for the transfer included information that Parrakow was undergoing treatment, but they assured the Greensburg Diocese "there were no unusual psychological problems but that Father Parrakow needs time to sort out his problems."

https://www.ydr.com/story/news/2018/09/18/doctors-labeled-them-pedophiles-but-priests-were-put-back-ministry/1213563002/ 

Pope drawn into study on abusive priest who worked with street children

Pope Francis’ role in Argentina’s most famous case of clerical sex abuse is coming under renewed scrutiny as he faces the greatest crisis of his papacy over the Catholic Church’s troubled legacy of cover-up and allegations he himself sided with the accused. Francis, who at the time was still Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, in 2010 commissioned a four-volume, 2,000-plus page forensic study of the legal case against a convicted priest that concluded he was innocent, that his victims were lying and that the case never should have gone to trial.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/world/pope-drawn-into-study-on-abusive-priest-who-worked-with-street-children-869893.html 

Kamala Harris Covered Up For San Francisco Archdiocese Sex Abuse

More than eight years ago in 2010, Kamala Harris, then-San Francisco District Attorney, was running for California Attorney General. And for some reason, her record of covering up sex abuse records belonging to the San Francisco Archdiocese was never part of the political news of her record. Today, Harris is a United States Senator, with an eye for running for President in 2020. She was San Francisco District Attorney from 2003 until her election in 2010 to State Attorney General.

http://www.flashreport.org/blog/2018/09/18/kamala-harris-covered-up-for-san-francisco-archdiocese-sex-abuse/ 

Wolf to lawmakers: Put victims first, take action

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has joined a growing chorus of reformers calling on lawmakers to give victims of child sex assault greater legal protections as fallout continues over a month-old grand jury report that exposed decades of clergy sex abuse in Catholic dioceses. The governor’s request came Monday, a week before state lawmakers are scheduled to return to the Capitol to debate and vote on several bills aimed at changing laws dealing with child sex abuse, domestic violence, hazing and more.

http://www.poconorecord.com/news/20180917/wolf-to-lawmakers-put-victims-first-take-action 

Sex abuse and the Catholic Church

On Aug 14, a grand Jury in Pennsylvania released a report detailing the abuse suffered by over 1,000 child victims and names 300 Catholic priests as credibly accused. The report shed light on the decades-long effort of Catholic Church officials to shield the perpetrators from prosecution, and generally hide details of the crimes from the public. Catholics are calling on Pope Francis and the U.S. Bishops to order a full, immediate, and impartial investigation of any and all allegations of cover up. Lay leadership must be involved as a step toward re-establishing trust with Catholics in the U.S. and elsewhere. Transparency and accountability must be the goals.

https://www.theolympian.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article218627445.html 

With no verdict, how survivors of child sex abuse find own sense of justice

Whether practicing the rhythmic breathing of her daily yoga practice or hiking along local Rocky Mountain trails near her home in Colorado, Christa Brown says one of the most essential experiences of justice for abuse survivors happens within themselves. It is only a portion of justice, she says, and in many ways it lies beyond the rare punishments handed down by the justice system or church authorities. “How do we integrate justice into our own whole selves, psychologically, spiritually, and physically?” says Ms. Brown, who was abused by her Southern Baptist youth pastor when she was an underage “hyper-religious teen.” “How do we bring about some wholeness and a feeling of completeness for ourselves?”

https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2018/0918/With-no-verdict-how-survivors-of-child-sex-abuse-find-own-sense-of-justice 

Woman says East Bay Catholic priest molested her, others for years

A woman says an East Bay priest molested her and others for years, and now, she is demanding action and answers from the Oakland diocese. This comes on the heels of that big announcement from the San Jose diocese, saying they will name priests who were found to be predators. Kathleen Stonebaker says Stephen Kiesle, a priest at St. Joseph's Church in Pinole, molested her. She says Kiesle sexually abused her for years, as well as other girls and boys.

https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/woman-says-east-bay-catholic-priest-molested-her-others-for-years/1445502387 

‘The cover up was terribly wrong’: London bishop addresses Pennsylvania sex abuse

London’s bishop, Rev. Ronald Fabbro, has issued a statement addressing the Pennsylvania grand jury report while highlighting the London diocese’s efforts to prevent future abuse within the clergy. In the report referenced by the bishop, a grand jury found that more than 1,000 children were molested by hundreds of Roman Catholic priests in six Pennsylvania dioceses, while senior church officials took steps to cover it up.

https://globalnews.ca/news/4451892/london-bishop-pennsylvania-abuse/ 

Why so many accused priests never faced trial

As the Catholic Church grapples with an on-going worldwide scandal of clergy-child sex abuse, Fox 5 took a closer look at why accused priests were so often able to avoid criminal prosecution. We found that the church is often reluctant to move forward on these cases but sometimes the accused priests have law enforcement in their corner as well. "My basketball coach and priest began sexually assaulting me and some of my classmates," said Shaun Dougherty, who lives and works in Long Island City now. But when he 10 and living in Pennsylvania, a Catholic priest repeatedly sexually abused him, he said.

http://www.fox5ny.com/news/why-so-many-accused-priests-never-faced-trial 

Leaked Church Report: Over 3,600 Kids Sexually Abused by German Catholic Priests

The church withheld access to documents A study commissioned by the German unit of the Roman Catholic Church uncovered that over 3,600 children, aged 13 or younger were sexually abused by members of the German Catholic clergy from 1946 to 2014. The contents were leaked prior to the September 25 publication date. The report said as many as 1,670 church personnel committed abuse. The numbers tally up to 4.4 percent of the total German clergy. Every sixth victim complained of being raped. Read more at World Religion News: "Leaked Church Report:

https://www.worldreligionnews.com/religion-news/leaked-church-report-3600-kids-sexually-abused-german-catholic-priests

Cardinal Dolan is spot on about the Catholic Church’s crisis

New York Archbishop Cardinal Timothy Dolan made a truly vital point last week about the Catholic Church’s current crisis: “This isn’t about right or left. This isn’t about gay or straight. This is about right and wrong,” he told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. Exactly. Many within the church, and outside it, automatically treat the abuse scandals as grist for their preexisting agendas. But the abusers and their enablers have popped up in every wing of the church: Pope Francis’ actions are now being called into question, but so are his two predecessors’ handling of these issues — and rightly so, in all three cases.

https://nypost.com/2018/09/15/cardinal-dolan-is-spot-on-about-the-catholic-churchs-crisis/ 

Homo-Clerical Abuse: Smashing the Idol of Lust

Father Paul John Kalchik, pastor of Resurrection Parish in Chicago, Illinois, offered this homily on Sept. 9. "They were exceedingly astonished and they said, 'He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak'" (Mark 7:37). In this moving Gospel account, a group of people brought one of their own to Jesus. The man had a speech impediment, and in a compassionate way, our Lord cured the man. This has always been one of my all-time favorite Gospel stories, for a number of reasons. Let me explain.

https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/clerical-abuse-smashing-the-idol-of-lust 

Catholic Church Suffers ‘Culture of Denial’ of Homoclericalism

Catholics are “outraged” about reports of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s serial homosexual abuse, not so much because a churchman sinned as that he did so with impunity and protection, a new article asserts. In a bracing October essay titled “Catholicism After 2018,” First Things editor Rusty Reno pinpoints an acceptance of a homosexual subculture in the Catholic clergy as the core issue underlying recent sex abuse scandals assailing the Catholic Church.

https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/09/15/report-catholic-church-suffers-culture-of-denial-of-homoclericalism/ 

Refusing To Protect Children

Perhaps the Roman Catholic Church finally is living up to its own teachings by protecting children from predator priests. Events last week may be evidence of that. Pope Francis met with a group of U.S. bishops to discuss the situation. And the church revealed it is investigating just-retired Bishop Michael J. Bransfield of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston — though he is accused of sexual harassment of adults, not sexual assault of children. Each and every priest guilty of harming children or, for that matter, adults, should be punished. So should any church official who aided and abetted them.

http://www.theintelligencer.net/opinion/local-columns/2018/09/refusing-to-protect-children/ 

Open the records

Over the past month, I have written two letters to the editor, published in The News and Sentinel and elsewhere, calling on the Catholic church to be proactively transparent about the scope of the sexual abuse scandal in the wake of the revelations in the August Pennsylvania grand jury report. The first letter was a call for transparency from the Church in general, and the second letter called specifically on Bishop Bransfield of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston–which covers the entire state of West Virginia–to release the names of all priests, bishops, and church officials credibly accused of sexual abuse or the cover-up of abuse.

http://www.newsandsentinel.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/2018/09/open-the-records/ 

Pope Francis expels Chilean priest accused of child sex abuse

Pope Francis on Saturday expelled a Chilean priest under investigation in a case involving the sexual abuse of children, according to a report by local media on Saturday, amid a growing global abuse scandal that has shaken the Roman Catholic Church. The Archdiocese of Santiago said the Pope had decided to defrock the Reverend Cristian Precht, local daily El Mercurio reported.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-chile-abuse/pope-francis-expels-chilean-priest-accused-of-child-sex-abuse-idUSKCN1LW015 

Pope dismissed Cdl. Müller for following Church rules on abuse cases

A highly placed Vatican source told LifeSiteNews that Cardinal Gerhard Müller, together with his much-experienced three CDF priests, were dismissed by Pope Francis because they all had tried to follow loyally the Church's standing rules concerning abusive clergymen. In one specific case, Müller opposed the Pope's wanting to re-instate Don Mauro Inzoli, an unmistakably cruel abuser of many boys; but the Pope would not listen to Müller. In another case, the Pope decided not to give a Vatican apartment to one of Müller's own secretaries, but to the now-infamous Monsignor Luigi Capozzi, in spite of the fact that someone had warned the Pope about Capozzi's grave problems. The Vatican source also said that it was known to several people in the Vatican that some restrictions were put on Cardinal McCarrick by Pope Benedict XVI, and he thereby confirms Viganò's own claim.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/vatican-source-pope-dismissed-cdl-mueller-and-others-for-following-church-r 

I spoke out on sex abuse—and lay people kicked me out of Mass

I was born into the Catholic Church. Throughout my life, I have continued to choose the church, trusting her wisdom. For much of my life, I have said “yes” to a church that has become increasingly difficult to stand by. I have taken those difficulties in stride, sitting by, praying for better days. That changes now. Earlier this month, terrible evil was unveiled in Pennsylvania. It is not new but the magnitude is staggering: the sexual abuse of 1,000 people, perpetrated by 300 priests and covered up by the bishops over a period of seven decades—and this in just six dioceses in one state. Add to that the systemic abuse by former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and its cover-up by church leaders that has been revealed this summer.

https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2018/08/30/i-spoke-out-sex-abuse-and-lay-people-kicked-me-out-mass 

Growing Catholic insurgency threatens top cardinal in Washington

The attorney general for the nation's capital. The president of a Catholic college. Teachers at a celebrated Catholic elementary school. A former White House appointee on religious freedom. Even a popular priest in his own archdiocese. It's not just how many people are asking Cardinal Donald Wuerl, one of the world's most powerful Catholics, to leave office. It's who. Wuerl, archbishop of Washington, has spent more than 50 years climbing the ranks of the Catholic Church, building a reputation as a loyal churchman and fastidious teacher.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/29/us/cardinal-wuerl-catholic-insurgency/index.html 

As child sex-abuse scandal escalates, the Catholic Church is now at war with itself

“Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.” Louis D. Brandeis wrote his often-quoted line about the power and necessity of transparency in 1913, three years before becoming a U.S. Supreme Court justice. A fearless proponent of social justice, he was writing about corruption and the concentration of power in the investment banking world at the time. But he might just as well have been writing about the crisis the Catholic Church is in after a Pennsylvania grand jury released a 900-page report identifying 301 “predator priests” who sexually abused more than 1,000 children since the 1940s.

https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/2018/08/30/as-child-sex-abuse-scandal-keeps-growing-the-catholic-church-is-now-at-war-with-itself 

Catholic Church may replace abuse schemes NZ

The new Melbourne archbishop says the Catholic Church's existing child sexual abuse redress schemes may be replaced. The Catholic Church may replace its existing schemes for handling child sexual abuse complaints and providing redress to survivors. New Melbourne Archbishop Peter Comensoli says the archdiocese's Melbourne Response and the national Towards Healing may be wound up and a new alternative provided to the national redress scheme.

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/catholic-church-may-replace-abuse-schemes 

Ex-Vatican official accuses Pope Francis of covering up McCarrick’s sex abuse

A former high-ranking Vatican official says Pope Francis should step down from the papacy because he knew about sexual abuse allegations against an influential American cardinal — and participated in covering them up. Carlo Maria Viganò, a former papal nuncio (an ambassador-like position), wrote an 11-page open letter alleging that both Pope Francis and his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, knew about decades’ worth of allegations against Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington, DC. McCarrick was removed from active ministry in June and later resigned his cardinalship after revelations emerged that he had sexually abused generations’ worth of junior seminarians and young priests as a priest and then bishop in New Jersey. He is also accused of having sexually abused at least two minors.

https://www.vox.com/2018/8/26/17783168/pope-francis-vigano-cover-up-accusation-sex-abuse 

Bishop's apology over clergy sex abuse prompts more complaints

This follows a public apology by the Bishop of Dunedin, Michael Dooley, for abuse committed by priest Magnus Murray and the late Des Fay. Bishop Dooley issued an open letter saying revelations in the Otago Daily Times which exposed abuses, and the cover-up of it by the Church, have been "distressing". "These past few weeks there have been considerable publicity about sexual abuse carried out in our Diocese, by Magnus Murray, a priest who formerly worked in our Diocese, and Des Fay who taught as a Christian Brother in Dunedin," Bishop Michael Dooley wrote in the letter.

https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/364831/bishop-s-apology-over-clergy-sex-abuse-prompts-more-complaints 

I Stood Up in Mass and Confronted My Priest. You Should, Too.

Catholics should not keep on filling the pews every Sunday. It is wrong to support the church. Last Sunday, I did something that no properly raised Catholic ever does. I stood up in the middle of Mass and called out the priest. As the priest began his homily, I drew my 9-year-old son closer and asked him to pay close attention. Days before, a Pennsylvania grand jury had released a damning report detailing decades of horrific child sex abuse by clergymen and a church culture that covered it up.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/23/opinion/i-stood-up-in-mass-and-confronted-my-priest-you-should-too.html 

I was raped by a priest, then it was covered up. The pope has to tell the truth

I remember the last papal visit to Ireland. It was 1979, and I was aged 13. I went to a Christian Brothers school. I sang at mass every Sunday, occasionally did readings, and the youth group I attended every week took place in a convent. I remember being envious because my older brother and sister got to see the pope, but I didn’t. I was in the minority in that regard: a staggering 75% of the population saw John Paul II during his three-day visit. One-third of the population attended the papal mass in Dublin’s Phoenix Park. That event remains the largest single mobilisation of people in Irish history.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/aug/24/survivors-abuse-pope-sins-vatican-cover-up 

Josh Hawley warns Catholic bishops: ‘If we get any pushback, we’ll go to the public’

Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley wants victims of sex abuse by Catholic priests to know that he is determined to learn everything there is to know about such crimes and cover-ups in this state. “They need to have confidence that this isn’t a whitewash,” he said in a Friday phone interview with The Star’s editorial board.  Along with victims’ groups, we called on Hawley earlier this week to launch a thorough statewide investigation of the kind recently completed in Pennsylvania, where more than 1,000 children were found to have been sexually abused by priests over the last 70 years. For all of those 70 years, that abuse was covered up and victims treated with stunning indifference.

https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/editorials/article217308670.html

Read more here: https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/editorials/article217308670.html#storylink=cpy

New Orleans archbishop 'sick to stomach' about recent sexual abuse reports in Catholic church

New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond spoke after new details were revealed about decades of abuse involving priests and children in Pennsylvania. He wants to reach out to local victims of abuse. "I was sick to my stomach," Aymond said. Advertisement In a candid interview with WDSU, Aymond said the reports of widespread abuse at the hands of priests in Pennsylvania are beyond troubling. "Sexual abuse is evil. It's a sin. There is no excuse whatsoever. It's evil, not of God and we must condemn it," Aymond said. Aymond wants to condemn not just the abusers but also those who were complicit and never reported abuse to the authorities.

https://www.wdsu.com/article/new-orleans-archbishop-sick-to-stomach-about-recent-sexual-abuse-reports-in-catholic-church/22863838 

Former Wyoming Catholic Bishop Faces Third Child Abuse Allegation

The Catholic Diocese of Cheyenne, which includes the geographical area of Wyoming, announced Wednesday there was "credible and substantiated " evidence that a third person was abused by retired Bishop Joseph Hart, according to a press release from the Chancery Office in Cheyenne and Bishop Steven Biegler. This new case came as a result of the diocese's announcement on July 2 that it had conducted a canonical investigation and concluded Hart had abused two Wyoming boys. After this announcement, the third person came forward about an allegation of abuse in 1980. The diocese did not disclose the sex or the age of the victim.

http://k2radio.com/former-wyoming-catholic-bishop-faces-third-child-abuse-allegation/ 

Catholic sex abuse: Pope critic Archbishop Vigano 'in hiding'

A former Vatican diplomat who accused the Pope of covering up reports of clerical sex abuse is lying low over fears for his safety, it is claimed. Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano wrote in a letter that Pope Francis knew of allegations against a US cardinal five years before accepting his resignation. Italian blogger Aldo Maria Valli later said the archbishop had told him that he had "purchased an aeroplane ticket". The senior priest has made no further comment since the weekend.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-45332850#

Catholic man calls out priest on sex abuse scandal during mass

'We have to stand up': Naka Nathaniel says parishioners should no longer sit in pews and let abuse happen. Two weeks ago, Naka Nathaniel did something no one raised Catholic should do: he interrupted Sunday mass to question his priest about the Church's sex abuse scandals. Nathaniel refuses to sit quietly in his Atlanta church any longer and hopes his outspoken frustration will prompt other Catholics to demand answers and reform. This month, more than 1,000 cases of molestation in Pennsylvania was included in a grand jury report amidst ongoing sex abuse allegations in the Church. ​

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-august-29-2018-1.4802853/catholic-man-calls-out-priest-during-mass-about-sex-abuse-scandal-1.4802863 

Cupich dismisses Viganò claims as a 'rabbit hole'

Archbishop of Chicago Blase Cupich has dismissed recent allegations made by a former Vatican ambassador to the U.S., saying that Pope Francis has a “bigger agenda” to worry about, including defending migrants and protecting the environment. Cupich said that the pope has “got to get on with other things, of talking about the environment and protecting migrants and carrying on the work of the Church.” Cupich described the contents of Archbishop Carlos Maria Viganò’s 11-page testimony, published Aug. 25, as a “rabbit hole” that he does not think the Church should be going down.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/cupich-dismisses-vigano-claims-as-a-rabbit-hole-76667 

Local Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing minor, Orlando diocese says

A local priest has been removed from his ministry after he was accused of sexually abusing a minor, according to officials from the Diocese of Orlando. The exact nature of the accusation was not immediately available, but officials said the Diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania, notified the Diocese of Orlando about the allegation against the Rev. David Gillis on Tuesday. A local priest has been removed from his ministry after he was accused of sexually abusing a minor, according to officials from the Diocese of Orlando. The exact nature of the accusation was not immediately available, but officials said the Diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania, notified the Diocese of Orlando about the allegation against the Rev. David Gillis on Tuesday.

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local-priest-accused-of-sexually-abusing-a-minor-orlando-diocese-says 

WTF?! NYT’s HORRENDOUS spin on Catholic Church abuse scandal actually gets WORSE

As Twitchy told you, the New York Times sent jaws crashing into floors with their “conservatives pounce” take on the Catholic Church sex abuse and pedophilia scandal. Jason Horowitz, who wrote the piece, seemed more upset at conservative Catholic pushback against the Church’s inaction and complicity than at the systematic sexual abuse and exploitation of children. And if you thought the Times couldn’t possibly look any worse, you thought wrong:

https://twitchy.com/sarahd-313035/2018/08/29/wtf-nyts-horrendous-spin-on-catholic-church-abuse-scandal-actually-gets-worse

The Catholic Church's only chance for redemption is to come clean about covering up sexual abuse

When the Roman Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal was exposed in 2002, I, a practicing Catholic, waited to see what the church leaders would do. They set up panels to ensure this would never happen again and paid hundreds of millions to the victims, but they never addressed what really bothered me: the cover-up. I continued to practice my faith, but now I am torn. It appears as if the church has, once again, tried to protect the men who covered up these abuses. It is these men who need to be exposed and face consequences.

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/readersreact/la-ol-le-catholic-francis-sexual-abuse-20180829-story.html 

Catholic church knew of abuse claims against paedophile priest Michael Shirres for 28 years

The Catholic Church was aware of sex abuse accusations against paedophile priest Father Michael Shirres nearly three decades before he was finally withdrawn from public ministry. Another victim of the disgraced Dominican theologian has come forward to say Shirres abused her and her sister in Auckland in 1966 and her parents reported it to a parish priest. The Herald has confirmed that the priest then told the Dominican order's provincial - the most senior cleric in Australasia at the time - and that Shirres was later sent away from Auckland to live at Aquinas College in Dunedin, but continued to work with families and children for decades.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12114773 

Cardinal Sean O’Malley Meets With 300 Priests Amid Catholic Church Scandals

Cardinal Sean O’Malley met with about 300 local priests on Tuesday as the Catholic Church continues to deal with new allegations of sex abuse. Protesters also gathered outside the Saint Julia Church in Weston where the meeting took place. “It was an acknowledgment of reality of failures of the past,” said Father Stephen Zukas. The meeting comes amid an investigation into abuse allegations at St. John’s Seminary in Brighton and as reports circle that Cardinal O’Malley may have received a letter about alleged abuse at the hands of D.C. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick.

https://boston.cbslocal.com/2018/08/28/cardinal-sean-omalley-catholic-church-sex-abuse-scandal-allegations-priest-meeting-saint-julia-church-weston/ 

Groomed at Lutheran church in Hanover, victim of abuse says no congregation is safe

In the wake of the Pennsylvania grand jury report finding more than 300 priests and clergy members guilty of child sexual abuse, the Catholic Church is not the only institution that needs to come up with a plan to protect children, according to Woodrow Wagaman Jr. No institution is safe from sexual predators, and there is no watchdog to make sure that institutions are protecting their kids sufficiently, said Wagaman of Hanover.

https://www.eveningsun.com/story/news/2018/08/30/lutheran-child-abuse-victim-wants-make-congregations-safer-hanover/1055110002/ 

Painting gay Catholics not only as sinners, but as a sinister force

I loved the Catholic Church as a boy, but left it as a young man after hearing a priest with long, groovy hair (it was the '70s) sermonize about gay people and our purportedly pernicious ways. Sort of like the slander emanating once again from certain quarters at the Vatican, where Catholic "traditionalists" — I'd call them reactionaries — are accusing Pope Francis of willfully ignoring the supposed role of "homosexual networks" in the church's ongoing sexual abuse scandals.

http://www2.philly.com/philly/columnists/kevin_riordan/catholic-church-sex-abuse-gay-sinners-20180830.html 

Mom of abused son rebukes bishop for making pro-gay priest ‘spiritual guide’ for abuse victims

ATLANTA, Georgia, August 30, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – The Catholic mother of a survivor of abuse within the Atlanta archdiocese has penned a letter to Archbishop Wilton Gregory to let him know the heartbreak he has caused her and the "disgust" she feels by appointing a homosexual-affirming priest as “spiritual guide” for victims of sexual abuse in the archdiocese. LifeSiteNews detailed in an August 14 report how Gregory had appointed Msgr. Henry Gracz as archdiocesan “Spiritual Director for Victims.” Gracz is pastor of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Atlanta, which has long held the reputation within the archdiocese as being the “gay parish.” As Pastor, Gracz oversees ongoing LGBT-affirming initiatives by the parish.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/mom-of-abused-son-rebukes-bishop-for-making-pro-gay-priest-spiritual-guide 

Church Militant claims Cdl. Wuerl fleeing to Rome to avoid U.S. arrest for abuse cover-up

WASHINGTON, D.C., August 30, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – Pope Francis has directed Cardinal Donald Wuerl to leave the United States “before being arrested” by authorities, Church Militant’s Michael Voris reported this evening. The Washington, D.C. cardinal – successor to disgraced ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick – and former bishop of Pittsburgh, where a recent grand jury report says he helped shuffle around and cover for sex abuser priests, is in hiding while “final plans for sneaking him out of the country are executed,” Voris reported. According to Voris, who says he received this information from reliable sources, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) may open up a RICO case against the Catholic Church. RICO, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, is a 1970 anti-organized crime, anti-racketeering law.

http://angelqueen.org/2018/08/30/church-militant-claims-cdl-wuerl-fleeing-to-rome-to-avoid-u-s-arrest-for-abuse-cover-up/ 

Dallas Bishop Calls for Worldwide Gathering on Sex Abuse Scandal

Bishop Edward Burns, of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, is leading an almost unprecedented effort to urge Pope Francis to call for a worldwide gathering of clergy to address the ongoing child sex abuse scandal within the church. “If the church is ever going to restore trust and credibility it would only come after consistently doing what is right and just,” Burns said during a news conference Thursday, detailing the petition signed by the two North Texas bishops and 21 priests that calls for a synod – a gathering of Catholic clergy at the Vatican.

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Dallas-Bishop-492163571.html 

Guest column by man abused by Allentown priest: 'Silence and cover-up only allow abusers to continue their evil acts'

In the wake of the recent release of the Pennsylvania grand jury report on clergy sex abuse, it has become increasingly clear that victim-survivors must be given the opportunity to speak about their experiences if we as a society will have any chance of preventing this horror from happening over and over. Abuse thrives in secrecy. It is time to end the secrecy and stop the abuse of children and the vulnerable. To be sure, it is extremely difficult for survivors of sexual violence to overcome the shame and self-blame to speak about their abuse. It almost always takes years, and frequently decades, for victims of such violence to find their voices.

http://www.mcall.com/opinion/yourview/mc-opi-priest-sex-abuse-victim-cerulli-20180830-story.html 

Cardinal Wuerl asks priests to forgive his 'errors in judgment' amid clergy abuse furor

Washington's Catholic archbishop has asked priests to forgive his "errors in judgment" as he faces public pressure to resign amid growing outrage over clergy sex abuse. Cardinal Donald Wuerl, in a letter published Thursday by his archdiocese, also asked priests to let parishioners know during Mass this Sunday that he shares their pain over widespread allegations of sexual abuse of children by priests and cover-ups by bishops. "I ask you ... for prayers for me, for forgiveness for my errors in judgment, for my inadequacies, and also for your acceptance of my contrition for any suffering I have caused, as well as the grace to find, with you, ways of healing, ways of offering fruitful guidance in this darkness," Wuerl wrote.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/31/us/cardinal-wuerl-letter-church-abuse-investigation/index.html 

I’m a Catholic priest. I’m ashamed at this abuse crisis.

I should not be so shocked. As a Jesuit, a Roman Catholic priest — as somebody who lives and breathes the church — I should have understood already how broken the institution of the church can be. After all, the scandal of child sex abuse and its cover-up by the church hierarchy broke in Boston in 2002. Then it happened again in Minnesota in 2012. That list could go on. I read about those scandals years ago with both anger and sadness. But in reading the recent Pennsylvania reports detailing yet another cover-up of clergy sexual abuse, I found shock giving way to shame.

https://www.vox.com/first-person/2018/8/31/17801204/catholic-church-abuse-scandal-pennsylvania-priest 

US priest sex victims urge Vatican to publish list of accused

WASHINGTON: US groups representing survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests have called on the Vatican to publish a list of clerics accused of sexual assault. The calls came after Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, a former Vatican envoy to Washington, dropped an 11-page bombshell letter on Saturday accusing Pope Francis of ignoring sexual abuse allegations against prominent US cardinal Theodore McCarrick. The 88-year-old former archbishop of Washington -- one of the most senior Catholic leaders to face abuse allegations -- resigned as cardinal in late July even as he denied the charges.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2018/aug/31/us-priest-sex-victims-urge-vatican-to-publish-list-of-accused-1865480.html 

Clergy abuse survivors push for federal investigation into Catholic Church

Survivors of clergy sex abuse stood in front of the Vatican embassy in Washington on Thursday and urged two higher powers -- the Pope and the US Department of Justice -- to take concrete steps to prevent more abuses and hold abusers accountable. "They have plenty of evidence," said Peter Isely, spokesman for the group Ending Clergy Abuse. "Let's launch this investigation. Let's do it now." Belief, religion and spirituality Catholic Church sexual abuse Catholics and catholicism Christianity Continents and regions Crime, law enforcement and corrections Crimes against persons Criminal offenses Embassies and consulates Europe Government and public administration Government bodies and offices Government departments and authorities International relations International relations and national security Investigations Justice departments Misc people Papacy and the Pope Pope Francis Religious groups Religious leaders and clergy Sex and gender issues Sex crimes Sexual assault Society Southern Europe State departments and diplomatic services

http://www.wtva.com/content/national/492121641.html