Vatican launches investigation into George Pell's child sexual abuse offences

Now we wait to see if the Pope keeps to his words... Stripped any Bishop... priest,... found guilty of child abuse and cover up or raped of children boys and girls and young men and women... Ann

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The Vatican has confirmed it is investigating disgraced cardinal George Pell over child sexual offences committed in Australia. The move could see Australia's most senior Catholic cleric dismissed from the priesthood. Pell, 77, has been remanded in custody for the first time on five child sex offences, which he was convicted of last December, after his bail was revoked in the County Court on Wednesday.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-28/vatican-launches-investigation-into-george-pell-sex-abuse/10855782 

DC priest convicted of sexually abusing 2 kids in parish

A Catholic priest faces up to 45 years in prison for sexually abusing two children in his parish in Washington, D.C. News outlets report 47-year-old Urbano Vazquez was convicted Thursday after a weeklong trial. The girls, now 12 and 18, testified he assaulted them, even during Mass. Prosecutors said that underneath the Mexican national’s holy robes was a devil that took advantage of his predominantly Latino parish.

https://www.citynews1130.com/2019/08/16/dc-priest-convicted-of-sexually-abusing-2-kids-in-parish/

Choirboy's father anxious about former Cardinal George Pell's appeal

The father of a choirboy sexually abused by former Catholic Church Cardinal George Pell is waiting "with bated breath" to see if the disgraced cardinal's conviction is overturned. The Australian man's son died in 2014 from a drug overdose, which the man argues was linked to post-traumatic stress disorder caused years earlier when Pell sexually abused the boy as a 13-year-old.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/115148822/choirboys-father-anxious-about-former-cardinal-george-pells-appeal 

Matthew Bojanowski calls on diocese to shut down Christ the King Seminary

Only days after the dean of seminarians resigned in disgust from Buffalo, New York's seminary over its corrupt culture, another seminarian is also calling it quits. Matthew Bojanowski, whose mother took to media in early August to expose what she calls Bp. Richard Malone's cover-up of homosexual harassment, took part in a protest outside the Buffalo chancery Tuesday morning, where he called out Malone and his staff for attempts to "sabotage" his priestly vocation.

https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/another-buffalo-seminarian-quits-in-disgust-over-corruption-cover-up 

NY Catholic sex abuse lawsuit: former Nashville bishop part of 'racketeering enterprise'

Former Nashville Catholic Bishop Edward Kmiec has been named in a sweeping lawsuit filed in New York by 22 plaintiffs alleging the Diocese of Buffalo systematically covered up sexual abuse of minors by pedophile priests. Kmiec served as Bishop of the New York diocese between 2004 and 2012. He served as Bishop of the Diocese of Nashville between 1992 and 2004. He is now retired.

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2019/08/20/former-nashville-catholic-bishop-edward-kmiec-named-ny-sex-abuse-lawsuit/2060780001/ 

A Sex-Abuse Story Catholics Need to Hear

I met my beloved husband, Walter, in 1966 at the University of Missouri, where he was studying to be a chemical engineer and I was enrolled in the School of Journalism, hoping to earn a living as a magazine writer. Almost from the moment we met, Walter and I were fast friends. After our marriage, he left engineering to become a struggling novelist, and we both freelanced from home, working, playing and raising our children side by side.

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/a-sex-abuse-story-catholics-need-to-hear 

Courageous Voices: Victims of Abuse Speak Out.

Allen Hebert is a devout practicing Catholic. He and his wife, Denae, have nine children. They are active in numerous Catholic apostolates, including Your Holy Family Ministries, which they founded. Allen is also a survivor of childhood clergy sexual abuse. Allen Hebert is a devout practicing Catholic. He and his wife, Denae, have nine children. They are active in numerous Catholic apostolates, including Your Holy Family Ministries, which they founded. Allen is also a survivor of childhood clergy sexual abuse.

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/courageous-voices-victims-of-abuse-speak-out 

Dioceses of Boston launched system to report abuse by Bishops

The Bishops of the dioceses of Boston have agreed to make and in fact launched a third party independent system to report abuses by Catholic Bishops. The decision was taken in the wake of Pope Francis’ landmark Vos estis letter which found a nearly unanimous response by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in June 2019 according to ZENIT news agency.

https://www.newsbook.com.mt/artikli/2019/08/21/dioceses-of-boston-launched-system-to-report-abuse-by-bishops/?lang=en 

Vatican responds after George Pell's appeal denied

The Vatican has responded to the Court of Appeal's decision to deny George Pell's bid for freedom as Australia's highest ranking member of the Catholic Church failed to have his appeal against child sex convictions dismissed in court. By a majority of two to one, Victoria's Supreme Court dismissed the appeal earlier today, ordering Pell to "return to prison". "He will continue to serve his sentence of six years' imprisonment," Chief Justice Anne Ferguson said.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12260721 

Ex-Vatican treasurer George Pell loses appeal against child sex offence convictions

EAn Australian court by a 2-1 majority ruling on Wednesday (Aug 21) upheld convictions against Cardinal George Pell, the most senior Catholic to be found guilty of child sex abuse. The Victoria state Court of Appeal rejected Pell's appeal of the unanimous verdicts a jury issued in December finding Pope Francis' former finance minister guilty of molesting two 13-year-old choirboys in Melbourne's St Patrick's Cathedral in 1996 and 1997.

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/australianz/ex-vatican-treasurer-george-pell-loses-appeal-against-child-sex-offence-convictions 

Catholic Cardinal George Pell will be stripped of his Order of Australia

Catholic Cardinal George Pell will be stripped of his Order of Australia after losing an appeal against his child sex abuse conviction. Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday his sympathies lay with the victims of child sexual abuse, not just today but "on every single day". "My understanding is that this (appeal loss) would result in the stripping of the honours that are decided externally to the government," Mr Morrison said. "That is a process that is done independently, and that course will now follow."

https://www.thecourier.com.au/story/6340737/george-pell-stripped-of-order-of-australia/?fbclid=IwAR2kbmzGsNEcUjqJTIKKoPBEfI7wai-Q5PoP7GxgYsd4lP2bud1QEEqp4kM  

How does a priest get reinstated with three allegations of sexual abuse and a failed polygraph?

Critics describe the investigative report of sexual abuse allegations against The Rev. Dennis Riter as a biased, twisted sham not worth the paper it is printed on. Scott Riordan, a former sex crimes prosecutor contracted by the diocese to investigate allegations, told News 4 Investigates in an exclusive television interview that he began this case with the same open mind that he had for the other 12 complaints assigned to him.

https://www.wivb.com/news/investigates/how-does-a-priest-get-reinstated-with-three-allegations-of-sexual-abuse-and-a-failed-polygraph/ 

Nearly 600 priests, lay people have been publicly named in Pa. sex abuse scandal

The 2018 grand jury identified 301 priests who had sexually assaulted and abused hundreds of children over the past several decades. As large as that number is, the true scope is much higher. Last year’s grand jury report has been the largest in scale, covering six of the state’s eight dioceses — including the ones based in Greensburg and Pittsburgh — and identifying 1,000 victims. But it was just the latest in a string of Pennsylvania investigations dating back 15 years.

https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/nearly-600-priests-lay-people-have-been-publicly-named-in-pa-sex-abuse-scandal/ 

Child Victims Act takes effect with many lawsuits targeting Catholic Church

Victims of child sex abuse in New York who had been waiting decades to bring their cases to court finally had their chance on Wednesday. The state’s long-awaited Child Victims Act went into effect at midnight Wednesday, prompting an immediate flood of electronically filed New York State Supreme Court lawsuits — the majority of which targeted Catholic dioceses across the state.

https://nypost.com/2019/08/14/child-victims-act-takes-effect-with-many-lawsuits-targeting-catholic-church/ 

Wyoming police who investigated ex-KC priest recommend charges in sex abuse cases Read more here:

Wyoming police are recommending that charges be filed against a member of the Catholic clergy and a person who was seeking membership in the clergy who police allege sexually abused male juveniles in the 1970s and ‘80s. Though the suspects are not named, The Star previously reported that Cheyenne police were investigating allegations against Joseph Hart, a former Kansas City priest who later served as bishop of the Diocese of Cheyenne.

https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article231023633.html

New Law Could Open Floodgates on Decades of Child Sexual Abuse Within Jehovah's Witnesses

It can take years, even decades, for victims of child sexual abuse to gather the strength to go to authorities. By then, the statute of limitations may have run out, leaving them with no legal recourse. But a law going into effect in New York today could open the door to a deluge of new abuse lawsuits: Signed earlier this year, the Child Victims Act (CVA) temporarily lifts the statute of limitations for civil suits alleging abuse, regardless of the age of the plaintiff or how long ago the abuse allegedly occurred. While the "window" the CVA opens expires after one year, legal experts expect thousands of lawsuits to be filed in the coming months.

https://www.newsweek.com/jehovahs-witnesses-child-sex-abuse-lawsuit-1453610 

Former McQuaid priest part of new lawsuit alleging Jesuit conspiracy

When the boy first met the Rev Leonard Riforgiato, he was told to call him Father Lenny— that's what he asked all his friends to call him. They met at a program sponsored by the Children and Youth Agency of Center County while Riforgiato was a Jesuit seminarian at Our Lady of Victory Parish in State College, Pennsylvania.

https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2019/08/14/sex-abuse-scandal-ex-mcquaid-priest-part-of-pa-lawsuit-alleging-jesuit-conspiracy/2008872001/ 

Melbourne Catholic Archbishop Peter Comensoli would choose jail over breaking confessional seal

The Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne has said he would rather go to jail than report admissions of child sexual abuse made in the confessional. A bill which would make it mandatory for priests to report suspected child abuse to authorities, including abuse revealed in the confessional, was introduced to Victoria's Parliament on Wednesday morning.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-14/melbourne-catholic-archbishop-petrer-comensoli-on-confessional/11409944 

Deaf victims at trial of ‘demonic’ Argentine priests recount decades of sexual abuse

The trial of two priests and a layman accused of serial sexual abuse of impoverished deaf boys and girls in their care began in a courtroom in Argentina, where dozens of survivors and their supporters are demanding transparency and justice for “abominable crimes” committed at the Instituto Próvolo for deaf-mute children.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/deaf-victims-at-trial-of-demonic-argentine-priests-recount-decades-of-sexual-abuse 

Archbishop says prison preferable to complying with child abuse confession law

Melbourne’s Catholic archbishop insists three years jail is preferable to breaking the seal of confession and reporting child sexual abuse to authorities. Priests will risk prison if they don’t report child abuse revealed to them during the sacrament of confession, under new laws introduced in Victoria on Wednesday.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/aug/14/victorian-bill-would-compel-priests-to-report-child-abuse-confessions-or-risk-jail 

Catholic sex abuse: Brothers say priest 'crushed my soul and spirit'

Two brothers have returned to a Catholic church where they experienced harrowing child abuse at the hands of a priest. Mike Ledingham​ launched his book The Catholic Boys on the church steps at Our Lady of the Assumption in Auckland's Onehunga on Saturday. Huddled under umbrellas, the former SAS soldier, 68, and his brother Chris spoke to friends, family and a Māori healer who came to cleanse the clergy house.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/113113796/he-crushed-my-soul-and-spirit-brothers-speak-out-about-catholic-priests-abuse 

Flix: ‘Spotlight’ – A great film that reminds us of the importance of reporting

Anyone already saddened by what sometimes seems to be the imminent death of investigative print journalism to the accompaniment of all those “fake news” accusations might be further saddened in that regard by “Spotlight.” This terrific journalistic drama shines a spotlight on “Spotlight,” the journalistic team that uncovered the massive child-molestation scandal and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese in Boston and won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for the Boston Globe.

 https://www.chestnuthilllocal.com/2019/07/26/flix-spotlight-a-great-film-that-reminds-us-of-the-importance-of-reporting/

After 25 years investigating Church sex abuse, I can’t do it anymore

For more than 25 years now, I have been reporting and writing about scandal within the Catholic Church. Yesterday, as I wearily wrote one more article about episcopal corruption, I realized how much the topic has come to nauseate me. I can't do it anymore. Since the 1990s I have been digging in the muck, uncovering more and more of what Pope Benedict XVI aptly termed the "filth" in the Church — the filth that obscures the image of Christ. It hasn't been pleasant work.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/after-25-years-investigating-church-sex-abuse-i-cant-do-it-anymore 

A woman says she didn’t realize an influential bishop sexually abused her for 20 years — until he called her 6-year-old daughter 'sexy'

Kimberly Pollard first met Bishop James L'Keith Jones, a pastor in the Church of God in Christ, in Clovis, New Mexico, 1994. Pollard was helping her godmother make phone calls for a June youth convention organized by the church, also known as COGIC, which describes itself as "the largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States," with 6.5 million members across 63 countries.

https://www.insider.com/kimberly-pollard-bishop-james-lkeith-jones-sexual-abuse-lawsuit-2019-7 

Unmarked buildings, quiet legal help for accused priests

The visiting priests arrived discreetly, day and night. Stripped of their collars and cassocks, they went unnoticed in this tiny Midwestern town as they were escorted into a dingy warehouse across from an elementary school playground. Neighbors had no idea some of the dressed-down clergymen dining at local restaurants might have been accused sexual predators.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/priests-accused-of-sex-abuse-turned-to-under-the-radar-group/2019/07/29/b6502186-b1b9-11e9-acc8-1d847bacca73_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.1d188138f634 

U.S. priest to receive reports of abuse, cover-up at Vatican City State

Vatican City State will have its own reporting system in place before the end of the year for flagging suspected cases of the abuse of minors and vulnerable people and instances of cover-up or negligence in handling such cases, the Vatican said. In the meantime, U.S. Msgr. Robert Oliver was appointed to be the contact person for people with information or concerns about potential cases of abuse and cover-up within the Vicariate of Vatican City State, the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, reported July 30.

<a href="https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/us-priest-receive-reports-abuse-cover-vatican-city-state"></a> </div> 

List of clergy accused of child abuse includes 26 never before publicized in STL, church won't give details

t the end of a long gravel driveway, in a remote swath of eastern Franklin County, a community of disgraced Roman Catholic priests sang in a chapel last week during a feast day Mass. Vincent A. Heier, 68, who lives there, briefly stepped away from officiating. He told the Post-Dispatch that he didn’t want to comment about being on a list of 64 clergy facing sexual abuse and child pornography allegations that the Archdiocese of St. Louis recently made public. He started to walk away.

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/list-of-clergy-accused-of-child-abuse-includes-never-before/article_5651ccc0-8bd8-5030-95b9-6c00260b76e2.html 

Faith Perspectives: Archdiocesan list of 64 abusers is an appropriate and meaningful step forward

Last fall, St. Louis Archbishop Robert J. Carlson promised to publish the names of clergy who had substantiated claims of sexual abuse of minors against them, as a first step toward the healing and reconciliation the Catholic Church needs surrounding the ongoing scandal of individual priests and, in the minds of many, of coverup within the Church itself. Last week, he fulfilled that promise, releasing the names of the 64 criminals, some of whom were charged and imprisoned during their lifetimes. Others — many — were removed from ministry and have since died.

https://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/civil-religion/faith-perspectives-archdiocesan-list-of-abusers-is-an-appropriate-and/article_262a06c5-fffe-5255-b659-9e0c0b909792.html 

French Catholics increasingly asking to be de-baptised

Adherence to the French Catholic church is dropping, and while it's impossible to know how many people officially renounce their faith, even the French bishops conference says de-baptism requests are going up, especially in the face of paedophilia and sex abuse scandals. Anne-Charlotte had been thinking about apostasy, official renouncing her Catholic faith, for years before she finally wrote a letter to the parish where she was baptised in 1985.

https://www.modernghana.com/news/948422/french-catholics-increasingly-asking-to-be-de-baptised.html 

Catholic priests in India protest cardinal’s return 0

India’s Catholic Church, already rocked by allegations that a bishop raped a nun, is facing an uprising by hundreds of priests against one of the country’s four cardinals following his reinstatement by Pope Francis. Francis last year effectively suspended Cardinal George Alencherry, head of the eastern rite Syro-Malabar church in the southern Indian state of Kerala, amid a controversy over disputed land sales. Francis named a temporary administrator to run Alencherry’s Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese, resolve its financial problems and try to heal the divisions the dispute had caused among the priests.

https://www.infosurhoy.com/cocoon/saii/xhtml/en_GB/news/catholic-priests-in-india-protest-cardinals-return/ 

Catholic Church in N.H. Publishes Names of Priests Accused of Sex Abuse of Minors

The Catholic Diocese of Manchester is publishing a comprehensive list of priests accused of sexually assaulting minors. The report includes the names of priests both living and deceased dating back to 1950. While all of the names were previously public, the Diocese says it created a website page as an act of "ownership and accountability."

https://www.nhpr.org/post/catholic-church-nh-publishes-names-priests-accused-sex-abuse-minors#stream/0