Air New Zealand and Qantas get into friendly feud ahead of World Cup final

Air New Zealand suggests Qantas repaint its fleet black as the two airlines make a wager over the World Cup final.

The stakes of the Rugby World Cup final have never been higher as Air New Zealand and Qantas hammer out the terms of a trans-Tasman wager on the game. 

The two airlines have been engaging in a bit of friendly banter via Twitter throughout the competition. 

Both have strong ties with their nation's teams, with Qantas holding the naming rights for the Australian side. 

 

So, after the Wallabies and All Blacks both qualified for the final last weekend, Air New Zealand threw out the idea of an airline wager, which Qantas readily accepted.

Two days out from the game, Air New Zealand suggested a fleet redesign be punishment for the losing nation.

"@Qantas So we've been thinking about this wager. How about you paint your planes like this? #AirlineWager #NZLvAUS," Air New Zealand wrote, alongside an image of a Qantas plane repainted in black. 

Read More

Air New Zealand and Qantas get into friendly feud ahead of World Cup final

Good Luck to the All Blacks

Kevin Sloniker: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

A former counselor at a church-run Idaho camp has been accused of molesting at least nine boys over the course of a decade.
Kevin Sloniker was a counselor at the Immaculate Conception Church camp in Post Falls, Idaho. He has been charged with rape and lewd conduct involving two underage boys and is a suspect in the sexual assault of at least eight other boys, according to the Spokesman-Review.

http://heavy.com/news/2015/10/kevin-sloniker-rape-victims-camp-counselor-immaculate-conception-church-society-of-saint-pius-x/ 

Speaking out on clergy sexual abuse is an act of faith (Your letters)

To the Editor:
I respectfully disagree with Tim Doyle's Sept. 25 letter, , which states that as a 14- or 15-year-old boy I could resist and walk away from the predators who sexually and violently assaulted me. What Mr. Doyle fails to understand is, my efforts are not about Catholic bashing, but rather a step towards healing for both myself as well as my church.
I agree the Catholic Church does many wonderful things far beyond what could be listed here. However, there is work to be done; hard, heavy, uncomfortable work. This is needed to ensure that as an institution the legacy of the church is not forever tarnished by the sexual abuse crises.

http://www.syracuse.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/09/speaking_out_on_priest-sexual_abuse_is_an_act_of_faith_your_letters.html#incart_story_package 

Children too scared to report abuse at Salvation Army boys’ home

A CULTURE of physical abuse at a Salvation Army boys’ home in Adelaide was a significant barrier to children reporting allegations of sexual abuse, a royal commission has heard.
Senior Salvation Army official Floyd Tidd says he can’t understand why such a culture was allowed to continue at Eden Park in the Adelaide Hills.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/children-too-scared-to-report-abuse-at-salvation-army-boys-home/story-fni6uo1m-1227565972344?sv=bbf3e91ec6642ba01628ac7a34f2120e 

Scrutinise Protestant mother and baby homes’

Church of Ireland Bishop Paul Colton was so moved by the experience of a survivor of the Westbank orphanage that he has called for all Protestant homes to be included in the Mother and Baby Home investigation.
In a letter to the head of the Mother and Baby Home Commission, Judge Yvonne Murphy, Dr Colton said he had been contacted by Victor Stevenson with an enquiry about Cork Mother and Baby Home, Braemar House.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/scrutinise-protestant-mother-and-baby-homes-358955.html 

Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley statement regarding release of "Spotlight"

The Spotlight film depicts a very painful time in the history of the Catholic Church in the United States and particularly here in the Archdiocese of Boston. It is very understandable that this time of the film's release can be especially painful for survivors of sexual abuse by clergy.
The media's investigative reporting on the abuse crisis instigated a call for the Church to take responsibility for its failings and to reform itself -- to deal with what was shameful and hidden -- and to make the commitment to put the protection of children first, ahead of all other interests.

http://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=175073 

Hibbing priest seeks dismissal of sex abuse charges

An attorney for the Hibbing priest accused of sexually abusing four girls is seeking to have his client's criminal charges dismissed, alleging that the case is the result of an overzealous prosecution fueled by the ongoing child sexual abuse controversy in the Catholic Church.

The Rev. Brian Michael Lederer, 29, faces seven felony charges related to the alleged inappropriate touching of the girls and possession of child pornography.

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/3871010-hibbing-priest-seeks-dismissal-sex-abuse-charges 

Survivors of clergy sexual abuse discuss how ‘Spotlight’ portrayed their trauma

Ann Hagan Webb didn’t expect to get emotional while watching Spotlight for the first time. As a survivor of sexual abuse by a Catholic priest, she had already lived through the events depicted in the film.

But Webb found herself feeling completely overwhelmed as she observed how The Boston Globe’s Spotlight team of investigative journalists personally reacted to uncovering the systemic problem of clergy sexual abuse. Seeing it play out on the big screen reminded her of the moment she realized that, as a victim, she wasn’t alone.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2015/10/29/survivors-clergy-sexual-abuse-discuss-how-spotlight-portrayed-their-trauma/iu9S6gnxRiKwFjlONXyM5O/story.html 

A look at other lawsuits where the courts have ordered diocese officials to make records public.

The Weekly’s legal battle for records is certainly not the first, nor will it be the last, in seeking to expose the extent of sexual abuse – and cover-ups by officials – in the Catholic church or anywhere. There are many more cases with diverse circumstances, but what they have in common is media outlets and victims sought to reveal confidential records, while church officials consistently opposed their release. Here’s a look at several of the significant cases where documents were turned over to the public:

http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/news/cover_collections/a-look-at-other-lawsuits-where-the-courts-have-ordered/article_2a1d474a-7dc2-11e5-b718-87d14fdc1a30.html

The Weekly's journey to obtain legal documents in a priest sex abuse case led deep into the Monterey Diocese.

On Feb. 13, 2011, officials from the Diocese of Monterey stood before parishioners at the end of Sunday morning mass at Madonna del Sasso Church in Salinas and delivered a startling revelation.
Their former pastor, a charismatic Irishman named Edward Fitz-Henry, had been removed from his post at the Old Mission San Juan Bautista as police investigated allegations that Fitz-Henry had molested a teenage boy at Madonna del Sasso.

http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/news/cover_collections/the-weekly-s-journey-to-obtain-legal-documents-in-a/article_a2a05b68-7dbc-11e5-b561-3bb5d216046a.html 

Right-hand man of pervert bishop Peter Ball gets jailed as calls are made for the Church to change

Victims have called on government to stop the Church "policing itself" as the right-hand man of pervert bishop Peter Ball was jailed for six and a half years for a series of sex attacks spanning 16 years.
Earlier this week, retired priest Vickery House, 69, was found guilty of five counts of indecent assault on males – with one as young as 14 – in the 1970s and 80s. During much of that time, House was vicar in Berwick, East Sussex, and worked under Ball – who earlier this month was jailed for 32 months after he admitted molesting young men between 1977 and 1992.

http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/Right-hand-man-pervert-bishop-Peter-Ball-gets/story-28079546-detail/story.html 

Searching for new witches in Massachusetts

While the moral panic of Salem’s witches may be over, an equally pernicious panic continues to haunt Massachusetts — that of a pedophile priest embedded in a complicit Catholic Church determined to protect him. This narrative recently resurfaced in the Boston suburb of Revere, where a male janitor at the Immaculate Conception elementary school used a bathroom that had long been used by adults as well as students — and a student saw the janitor using the urinal.
When the parent of that student complained that her child had seen the janitor in the bathroom, the hysteria began. And, although the police and Suffolk prosecutors quickly cleared the janitor of criminal wrongdoing, the Immaculate Conception School’s parish priest was removed by Cardinal Sean O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston, and the school’s principal and a second-grade teacher were forced to resign.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/oct/27/anne-hendershott-in-massachusetts-old-pedophilia-r/ 

Betting on the Synod

The journalist Claud Cockburn (pictured) once said that Catholics could and would never bet on the election of the Pope because they believed it was all up to the Holy Spirit. Whether Catholic abstinence reflected reverence or the absence of a form guide, he did not say.
Cockburn was factually mistaken, of course — many Catholics then and now would place a bet on anything and everything. His reasoning also overlooked the Catholic understanding that human beings cooperate with the Holy Spirit. But his association of God's action with the election and the actions of popes provides a lens for looking at the recently concluded Synod on the Family.

http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=45621#.VjF1TGsUiUl 

‘Spotlight’ screening for abuse victims planned in Boston

The film company that released “Spotlight,” the forthcoming movie about The Boston Globe’s investigation into sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, is offering a free screening for clergy abuse victims in Boston on Thursday evening.
Open Road Films organized the screening this week after some victims complained that they would not have an opportunity to see the film in advance of its official release. A few victims portrayed by actors in the movie have been to screenings and plan to attend the film’s Boston premiere Wednesday night.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/10/27/spotlight-screening-for-abuse-victims-planned-boston/6myrwEuM7ZcIVNOJVLKKIO/story.html 

Based on a true story

Even as we sat there at the table swathed in crisp white linen, I recognized it for the cinematic moment that it was. And now that I’ve seen the movie, I wish the film-makers had asked me about it. They never did. In 1996, I was the Washington correspondent for the San Jose Mercury News, part of a chain of newspapers whose D.C. bureau was housed in the National Press Building. Our paper was riding high on a big story. It was the talk of the town. And its author, Gary Webb, was there to promote his journalistic blockbuster.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/10/27/real-life-outbids-hollywood-version-just-about-every-time/CsjFzbOnKknsledX0HA7YI/story.html 

Trucker kicked out of seminary for self-circumcision admits to molesting 9 boys at anti-Semitic church: police

A church youth camp counselor and failed seminary student admitted to molesting at least nine boys over the past decade, police said.
Kevin Sloniker, an Idaho long-haul trucker, has been charged with rape and lewd conduct involving two underage boys and is a suspect in the sexual abuse of at least eight other boys, reported the Idaho Statesman. The 30-year-old Sloniker met some of the boys when he served as a youth camp counselor at Immaculate Conception Church in Post Falls, according to court documents.

https://www.rawstory.com/2015/10/trucker-kicked-out-of-seminary-for-self-circumcision-admits-to-molesting-9-boys-at-anti-semitic-church-police/ 

Peruvian-based Catholic movement pledges inquiry after claims of abuse

Allegations of physical, psychological and sexual abuse by leaders of a Catholic movement founded here in the 1970s have led to a lawsuit against Lima Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani and a promise of an internal investigation from the group's leader.
The allegations were described in a new book, "Mitad Monjes, Mitad Soldados" ("Half Monks, Half Soldiers"), by Pedro Salinas, a former member of Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, who interviewed about 30 other former members.

http://www.catholicreview.org/article/home/peruvian-based-catholic-movement-pledges-inquiry-after-claims-of-abuse 

A heroic whistleblower in the long, sad mess of clergy sexual abuse

Remember the famous line in “Jaws” when Chief Brody first sees the monster shark and says, “You’re gonna need a bigger boat”?
Phil Saviano remembers a similar line when he first told Boston Globe reporters there weren’t just one or two priests molesting a handful of children. Saviano knew of nearly 30 priests, if not more, with dozens of victims. And the Church was covering it up. He remembers how one editor took it all in, then called his boss to say: We’re gonna need more reporters. This is so much bigger than we thought.

http://www.cruxnow.com/faith/2015/10/28/a-heroic-whistleblower-in-the-long-sad-mess-of-clergy-sexual-abuse/ 

How Dennis Hastert Is Like Jared Fogle and Jerry Sandusky

Three male role models used their power to abuse children and to protect themselves. Respectability politics is partly to blame. Dennis Hastert, the former Speaker of the House whom everyone called “Coach,” pleaded guilty Wednesday to paying off a former student to cover up allegations of sexual abuse.

Hastert likely won’t go to prison—sentencing is set for Feb. 29—but he is the latest in a sorry line of famous men entrusted with the care of minors who instead sexually abused them: Jerry Sandusky, convicted of 45 counts of abusing teenage boys he met through “The Second Mile,” a nonprofit he founded to help underprivileged youth; and Jared Fogle, who traded child pornography with the co-director of his foundation, set up to raise awareness of childhood obesity, and who paid to have sex with teenage girls.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/10/28/dennis-hastert-is-just-like-jared-fogle-and-jerry-sandusky.html 

Diocese, DAs to hold priests accountable in abuse cases

Prosecutors from seven counties have joined the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse in an effort to root out sexual abuse by members of the clergy by improving how those allegations are reported and investigated.
The agreement puts on paper what has been in practice for 12 years, Broome County District Attorney Gerald Mollen said during a Wednesday news conference in his office. But now, he said, this designates the diocese as a mandated reporter of any allegations regarding sexual abuse.

http://www.pressconnects.com/story/news/public-safety/2015/10/28/diocese-das-team-up-hold-priests-accountable-sex-abuse-cases/74736618/ 

Gay Priest Who Lost Vatican Job Assails the Church in Letter to Pope Francis

A former Vatican official, who was stripped of his post early this month after acknowledging publicly that he was gay and in a relationship, on Wednesday renewed his criticism of the Roman Catholic church, accusing it of homophobia.

The official, the Rev. Krzysztof Charamsa, made public a letter that he had sent to Pope Francis, dated Oct. 3, in which he denounced the church, saying that it had made the lives of gay and transgender people “a hell.” He wrote that the church had persecuted gay Catholics and had caused them and their families “immeasurable suffering.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/29/world/europe/gay-priest-who-lost-vatican-job-assails-the-church-in-letter-to-pope-francis.html?emc=edit_tnt_20151028&nlid=63876270&tntemail0=y&_r=0 

Syracuse Diocese agrees to tell DAs about child-molesting accusations against priests

The Catholic Diocese of Syracuse has signed an agreement with the seven top prosecutors in Central New York to immediately report suspected child-molesting by priests.
Bishop Robert Cunningham signed a "memorandum of understanding," along with the seven district attorneys in the diocese, that sets out how the diocese will respond to allegations against priests or other religious workers. No one involved in the agreement is saying what prompted it.

http://www.syracuse.com/crime/index.ssf/2015/10/syracuse_diocese_agrees_to_cooperate_with_area_das_in_accusations_of_priests_mol.html 

Judge rules on brothers’ testimony in archbishop sex trial

Two brothers who say they were sexually abused by an Orthodox priest in Winnipeg will have their testimony considered jointly.  The decision was made by Court of Queen's Bench Justice Christopher Mainella in the trial of Seraphim Storheim.

Storheim's defence lawyer had argued each brother's testimony should not be used to bolster the other's claim. The judge ruled each brother's testimony is important in determining whether sexual abuse occurred.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/judge-rules-on-brothers-testimony-in-archbishop-sex-trial-1.1305807 

Ex-archbishop demoted to monk after conviction for sexually assaulting teen boy

An ex-archbishop found guilty of sexually assaulting a pre-teen boy has been demoted to simple monk. Seraphim Storheim, 68, was sentenced to eight months in jail last year for sexually assaulting a young boy who lived with him briefly in 1985 in Winnipeg.
The boy and his young brother both lived with Storheim when they worked as altar boys during that time.  Storheim was originally charged with sexually assaulting both boys but was only convicted of sexually assaulting one. Now, he has been stripped of his title as archbishop and returned to rank of lay or "simple" monk.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/ex-archbishop-demoted-to-monk-after-conviction-for-sexually-assaulting-teen-boy-1.3291552 

The Media’s Embarrassingly Indulgent Coverage Of The Catholic Church

Eileen McNamara: The internal debates of the Catholic Church might be fascinating to Catholics, but why are they assumed to be of compelling interest to everyone else?  One could hardly tell from the media’s preoccupation with all things papal that Islam, not Catholicism, is the fastest growing religion in the world.

In the 19 months since Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina became Pope Francis, an enchanted media has been dispensing a steady diet of “news” from Vatican City about everything from the pontiff’s preferred footwear to the birthday breakfast he shared with a few homeless men.

http://cognoscenti.wbur.org/2015/10/27/catholic-synod-on-family-eileen-mcnamara 

Peru court sentences Catholic priest to 35 years for raping boy

A Peruvian court sentenced a Catholic priest to 35 years in prison on Tuesday for repeatedly raping a boy in the school where he was chaplain - one of the few times Peru has jailed clergy accused of sex abuse.
The court found that Waldir Perez used his position as priest and chaplain at a private school in a poor district to abuse the boy between July 2010 and April 2012. The boy was 10 years old when Perez first sexually assaulted him, the criminal chamber of Peru's Supreme Court said in a statement

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/27/us-peru-church-rape-idUSKCN0SL2WX20151027 

‘Don’t shield perpetrators of child abuse in churches’

Church leaders in the country have been advised not to shield perpetrators of child abuse in their churches as it is a violation of the Constitution.
 Mr Ebenezer Tetteh Kpalam, the Founder and President of the Kinder Foundation, a Christian non-governmental organisation (NGO), urged churches to have child protection policies that protect children from abuse, and stressed that “Although the church is a place where children are sometimes abused, it is also a place where abuses are not reported.

http://graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/52249-don-t-shield-perpetrators-of-child-abuse-in-churches.html 

Turnbull government yet to meet Catholic Church on abuse redress scheme

The Turnbull government has not met the Catholic Church to discuss a national redress scheme for child abuse survivors, months before it will decide whether to establish such a scheme.
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse last month recommended the federal government set up a $4.01 billion redress scheme for 60,000 people sexually abused as children in institutions. The commission's report - published on the day Malcolm Turnbull ousted Tony Abbott as Liberal leader - said the federal government should announce whether it will do so by the end of this year.

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/turnbull-government-yet-to-meet-catholic-church-on-abuse-redress-scheme-20151027-gkjw5h.html 

I was abused by clergy: Anglican Bishop Greg Thompson tells of abuse as 19-year-old

Anglican bishop Greg Thompson has spoken about being groomed by an Anglican bishop and senior clergyman in the 1970s and later sexually abused, after an historic diocese apology on Sunday for the "shameful" treatment of abuse survivors in the past.
The Newcastle bishop said he was an impressionable 19-year-old when the two men singled him out, made him feel special and used his strong faith and their shared religion as the cover to sexually abuse him.

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/i-was-abused-by-clergy-anglican-bishop-greg-thompson-tells-of-abuse-as-19yearold-20151026-gkiz2x.html 

My life in the cult: How “serving God” unraveled into sex abuse, child neglect and a waking nightmare

I was a naive teenager, desperate for belonging. But my "home" for 30 years turned out to be a house of horror.  I left the Children of God in the early 2000s. It took a long time to come out of the haze of those 30 years, but when I did, I was appalled by my former self. 

One of the most common questions people ask is: How could you be part of such a thing? And how could you stay? For years — as I came to grips with my own guilt, remorse and shame — I asked myself the same things. In 2003, my eldest son, then an adult, sent me a link to a thorough three-year investigation into the COG as part of a child custody case filed with the High Court in England in the early 1990s, and I learned that, according to these court records, I was not alone in the horrors I’d experienced. 

http://www.salon.com/2015/10/25/my_life_in_the_cult_how_serving_god_unraveled_into_sex_abuse_child_neglect_and_a_waking_nightmare/

JESUIT PRIESTS AND BROTHERS CONTINUE TO RE-ABUSE CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE VICTIM OF A JESUIT PRIEST

Neal E. Gumpel is a clergy sexual abuse victim of a previously named predator, Fr. Roy Alan Drake, SJ, now deceased and former teacher and professor at Fordham Prep and University and Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, Maine, where Fr. Roy Alan Drake, SJ, sexually abused Neal E. Gumpel when he was a minor child

The Northeast Province of the Jesuits interviewed five individuals, including Neal E. Gumpel, who provided credible evidence confirming that Fr. Roy Alan Drake, SJ, held himself out at all times as a Jesuit priest at Maine Maritime Academy and sexually abused Neal E. Gumpel there

http://www.road-to-recovery.org/news/ 

No Credit Checks for Clergy?

Yesterday, priests of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis received the following clarification from Tim O'Malley, Director of Ministerial Standards.
As the email explains, while credit checks are required for persons who handle parish money in excess of $250, the definition of 'persons' vis a vis this policy does not include priests. Per O'Malley's email, 'credit checks are not required for priests'.

http://canonicalconsultation.com/1/post/2015/10/no-credit-checks-for-clergy.html

BUSTED: Duggar family’s homeschool program sued for sexually abusing minors

The Institute in Basic Life Principles, (IBLP) the homeschooling program used by the Duggar family, was accused of covering up sexual assault against underage girls in a lawsuit filed on Tuesday, the Washington Post reported.
The five plaintiffs, identified as Charis Barker, Rachel Frost, Rachel Lees, Gretchen Wilkinson and one Jane Doe, are each seeking $50,000 in damages, saying they were “at times minors” when they were subjected to the abuse and “inappropriate touching” during their association with the group.

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/10/busted-duggar-familys-homeschool-program-sued-for-sexually-abusing-minors/ 

Survivor of alleged elite paedophile ring including former prime minister speaks out

A WOMAN claiming to be the victim of a “VIP paedophile ring”, which involved three former prime ministers, has alleged she was prostituted to “paedophile parties” at Parliament House in Canberra.

Speaking to media in Sydney, Fiona Barnett detailed her alleged abuse by the alleged elite paedophile ring 40 years ago. The 45-year-old said she was abused by the ring, which included high-ranking politicians, police and members of the judiciary, at the age of five and claimed there were thousands of other victims.

http://www.news.com.au/national/crime/survivor-of-alleged-elite-paedophile-ring-including-former-prime-minister-speaks-out/story-fns0kb1g-1227579834065 

Teddy Egan honoured with posthumous Medal of Valour 50 years after tracking down Billy Benn

OF ALL the trackers chasing bad guys and rescuing missing persons in Australia’s outback, Teddy Jangala Egan is considered the best. His greatness was obvious to police during the height of his powers in the mid 1960s and he was called upon as late as 2001 to track down the still-missing Peter Falconio.

Tales of his outback prowess are legendary but one tale stands out above them all — the day he not only tracked the untraceable but the day he went above and beyond the call to do so. That story is being told again today as his colleagues posthumously award him the Valour Medal.

http://www.news.com.au/national/teddy-egan-honoured-with-posthumous-medal-of-valour-50-years-after-tracking-down-billy-benn/story-fncynjr2-1227580442836?sv=e9d2c731dba995b12031c897e170add4 

Anglican bishop leading charge against child sexual abuse says he too was a victim

As Newcastle's Anglican bishop Greg Thompson urges his diocese to come to terms with the church's poor handling of child sexual abuse, he has revealed that he too was a victim of abuse.

Members of the Synod took part in an historic vote at the weekend, making a formal apology from the Newcastle Diocese, acknowledging it actively discouraged those who reported abuse. Synod members watched video interviews of two Newcastle priests recounting harrowing stories of their own experience of being sexually abused as children.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-26/bishop-leading-charge-against-child-sexual-abuse-a-victim-too/6884270 

What Have We Learned? What Must Be Done? The Royal Commission and the Challenges for the Catholic Church

Francis Sullivan, the CEO of the Truth, Justice and Healing Council, delivered the following address as part of the Blackfriars Lecture Series at Australian Catholic University, on Tuesday, 20 October 2015.

Over the past two and a half years, the child sex abuse Royal Commission has had a very close look at the way in which institutions, both public and private, have responded to claims of child sexual abuse.

http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2015/10/23/4337562.htm 

The Shadow Behind ‘Spotlight’: How Predator Priests Derailed Boston’s Would-Be Pope, Cardinal Bernard Law

The shadow villain of Spotlight, Bernard Law was one of America’s most ambitious and prominent cardinals—until his handling of the sex-abuse scandal caught up with him. Spotlight is a gripping new film by Tom McCarthy on The Boston Globe’s investigation of how that archdiocese concealed child-molester priests. Set in 2001, the film serves as backstory to the Pulitzer Prize-winning series that began on Jan. 6, 2002—“Feast of the Epiphany,” as we learn in the intelligent script by McCarthy and Josh Singer.

Taking on the church in heavily Catholic Boston was no small order. Several of the reporters came from Catholic homes. Marty Baron, the Globe’s new editor, by way of The Miami Herald, suggested the investigation after reading a Globe columnist on a priest abuse case. Baron wanted to know more; he later became editor of The Washington Post.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/10/26/the-shadow-behind-spotlight-how-predator-priests-derailed-boston-s-would-be-pope-cardinal-bernard-law.html 

After the synod, can Catholics put Humpty Dumpty together again?

Pope Francis on Sunday celebrates a Mass to wind up an unprecedented, and wildly tumultuous, series of two summits of Catholic bishops. They were convened to debate matters related to the family, including the front lines in today’s wars of culture, such as homosexuality, divorce, and the meaning of marriage.
Saturday night, the Vatican released the summit’s final report. In broad strokes, it seemed to reflect a narrow liberal win on the issue of allowing divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive Communion, and a conservative victory at resisting calls for a more approving treatment of gay and lesbian relationships.

http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/10/24/after-the-synod-can-catholics-put-humpty-dumpty-together-again/ 

Coeur d’Alene man jailed on $1 million bond, suspected of raping and abusing underage boys

A long-haul truck driver from Coeur d’Alene who also served as a church youth camp counselor is suspected of raping and abusing underage boys in Spokane and Kootenai counties over the past decade.
Kevin G. Sloniker, 30, faces felony charges of rape and lewd conduct involving two underage boys and is a suspect in the sexual abuse of at least eight other boys, according to court documents. He’s being held in the Kootenai County Jail on $1 million bond.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/oct/26/coeur-dalene-man-jailed-on-1-million-bond-suspecte/ 

Labor to set up fund for victims of church abuse

Sixty-thousand Australian victims of child sexual and other abuses at the hands of churches will be able to seek financial compensation under a future Labor government with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten set to announce Labor's support for a new "national redress scheme".
Mr Shorten will formally unveil the commitment on Tuesday in Melbourne, pledging $33 million initially even though the bulk of any financial liability would still fall on the religious institutions themselves.

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/labor-to-set-up-fund-for-victims-of-church-abuse-20151026-gkitxr.html 

Nunavut court accepts joint sentence deal on Dejaeger’s Alberta sex crimes

Justice Susan Cooper has accepted four five-year concurrent jail sentences that lawyers submitted to her jointly this past Sept. 29 for four sex crimes that the pedophile ex-priest, Eric Dejaeger, now 69, committed against three children in Alberta nearly 40 years ago.
“It is likely that all victims of Mr. Dejaeger have now come forward,” Cooper said. Dejeager, who earned his notoriety for molesting numerous Inuit children in Baker Lake and Igloolik, pleaded guilty to the four charges last month in Iqaluit.

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/stories/article/65674nunavut_court_accepts_joint_sentence_deal_on_dejaegers_alberta_sex_cri/ 

National Catholic Reporter editor on covering Catholic Church through scandal, change

Dennis Coday is editor of National Catholic Reporter, ncronline.org, a daily online and biweekly print publication that covers the Roman Catholic Church for a national and international audience. The newspaper has an eight-person editorial staff in Kansas City, four full-time staffers in Washington, D.C., several correspondents on the West Coast and a correspondent in Rome.
Coday, originally from Nebraska, graduated from Rockhurst University and earned a master’s in journalism at Marquette. He worked for the Catholic Key newspaper in Kansas City, the Union of Catholic-Asian News in Bangkok and as a freelancer before joining NCR in 2003 as Web editor. In 2012, he took over as editor.

http://www.kansascity.com/living/article41054781.html

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/living/article41054781.html#storylink=cpy

 

http://www.kansascity.com/living/article41054781.html 

Monsignor Krzysztof Charamsa: The Church Needs to Wake Up

The Vatican kicked him out and his diocese fired him, but Krzysztof Charamsa says his faith is not shaken. If anything, he says he's a better priest for coming out — and it's time for the Church to wake up.
With Catholic bishops set to release a report on issues of family, Charamsa spoke to NBC News about how he lost his. The life he'd built evaporated when Charamsa stood before television cameras on Oct. 3 alongside his boyfriend and announced he was gay. The Vatican called the declaration "very serious and irresponsible," dismissing Charamsa from his work there and from his teaching roles.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/monsignor-krzysztof-charamsa-church-needs-wake-n449896 

Child sexual abuse victims at 'greater risk' of suicide under planned Medicare changes

Child sexual abuse survivors will be at greater risk of suicide under planned Medicare changes that will increase health costs because they will not be able to afford mental health treatment, psychiatrists say.
The Medicare safety net provides additional Medicare benefits to help people pay for out-of-hospital doctor visits and tests, including psychiatry and radiotherapy services, ultrasounds and X-rays after they reach certain thresholds of appointments. The Turnbull government hopes to save $270 million by reducing the Medicare rebate for some services under plans contained in this year's budget, which are planned to take effect next January.

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/child-sexual-abuse-victims-greater-risk-of-suicide-under-planned-medicare-changes-20150917-gjp8hl.html 

Sexual assaults against aid workers: how serious is the situation?

Since we published Megan Nobert’s story of rape, and Secret aid worker’s accounts of harassment, we’ve had more feedback. How big is this problem?  Over the past few weeks, women from across the aid industry have been coming forward to tell the Guardian and others their stories of sexual harassment and violence on the job.
They range from offensive comments in the office to groping, discrimination, harassment and full-blown rape. But they also illustrate another trend: the difficulties of reporting such incidents, and the failure of many aid organisations to do anything about them. When Megan Nobert went public with her story of rape in South Sudan, and accusations of rape in DRC Congo, also involving UN contractors, also surfaced, the UN was quick to say these were isolated incidents. “I wouldn’t call it a pattern,” said UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, in answer to reporter’s questions.

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/aug/06/sexual-assaults-against-aid-workers-how-serious-is-the-situation 

Change is inevitable, even in the Catholic Church

Change is neither intrinsically good, nor inherently bad. It is, however, inevitable. The only control we have is in how we deal with it. I had occasion to think about change this week, while sitting in the Towne House restaurant during the Delaware County Press Club’s monthly luncheon.
I had to walk through an almost empty restaurant, until I reached the banquet room where the meeting took place. It reminded me of rooms I’d been in as a child, mirrors on the wall, brass lighting fixtures, honey-toned lighting and those thick ceramic place settings no one uses anymore (much to my regret.) I hadn’t spent a lot of time at the Towne House because Media was off of my grid growing up, but I could tell that so many of the people at this luncheon loved this place and had probably spent many hours eating, drinking and making memories.

http://www.delcotimes.com/article/DC/20151024/NEWS/151029769 

How 'vile' paedophile ring targeted victims

Seven men described by detectives as "monsters in disguise" have been found guilty of a string of serious sexual offences against children. nThey were part of an "organised paedophile network" with "tentacles around the world" that arranged the rape of young children, some of them babies.
Three young victims - a baby, a toddler and a child under five - have been identified from thousands of images seized as part of the inquiry, but police believe there are more. The National Crime Agency (NCA) said the offences were "as vile and depraved" as it had ever come across.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-32413508 

Aid agencies accused of hiding scale of sexual assaults on employees

Women come forward to tell of attacks by colleagues worldwide, and accuse NGOs large and small of failing to protect them.  Women working for international aid agencies are facing a hidden threat of sexual violence and harassment which their employers routinely ignore or sweep under the carpet, according to testimonies gathered by the Guardian.
While exact statistics on the scale of sexual assault in the sector are hard to come by, many working for humanitarian groups worldwide say sexual predation is an unreported and growing evil that needs to be addressed by those at the top.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/19/aid-agencies-accused-of-hiding-scale-of-sexual-assaults-on-employees 

Vatican Radio praises movie on Boston Globe coverage of clergy abuse

A new film about The Boston Globe’s coverage of child sexual abuse scandals in the Church 13 years ago has drawn strong praise from the Vatican’s official radio outlet, which described the movie as “honest” and “compelling.”
A Vatican Radio commentator also said the Globe’s reporting, upon which the film is based, helped the Church in the United States “to accept fully the sin, to admit it publicly, and to pay all the consequences.”

http://www.cruxnow.com/life/2015/10/23/vatican-radio-praises-movie-on-boston-globe-coverage-of-clergy-abuse/ 

A Brief Examin ation of Pedophilia and Sexual Abuse Committed by Nuns Within the Catholic Church

As a child, my father was a little hellion.' He's told my sisters and me countless stories of his early years, which were mostly spent tormenting his younger siblings. He would, however, occasionally take a break to torment instead the nuns who ran his Catholic school.
One of my favorite stories concerns my father's practice of putting massive amounts of Butch Wax 2 in his hair. On one particular day, he was acting up in class. A nun grabbed him by his flat-topped hair and slammed the back of his head a black-board. His hair product left a grease spot that never came off the board, rendering it unable to be written upon ever again.

http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1103&context=wmjowl 

Political elite were part of paedophile ring, alleged victim Fiona Barnett claims

A woman who alleges she was a child victim of the paedophile ring named by Liberal senator Bill Heffernan said she had repeatedly reported the abuse to authorities but no action had been taken. Speaking outside the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Fiona Barnett called on the authorities to investigate the alleged ring, which she believes is still operating.
Ms Barnett alleged the ring involved hundreds of perpetrators, including a political elte, such as a former governor-general and a former education minister, but she did not name them. "Throughout my childhood I was a victim of Australia's VIP child sex trafficking ring," she said.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/political-elite-were-part-of-paedophile-ring-alleged-victim-fiona-barnett-claims-20151023-gkgwx8.html 

Paedophiles working as teachers a ‘social good’ - psychologist

Child welfare campaigners condemn claim by Dr Glenn Wilson that paedophiles can channel their sexual desires into positive work with children as ‘dangerous’ and ‘barking mad.  A prominent psychologist has drawn fury from children’s charities after suggesting it can be a “good” thing if paedophiles find jobs teaching or social work.

Dr Glenn Wilson, a consultant psychologist, claimed some paedophiles “gravitate” into such professions to “enjoy the company of children” but would not necessarily abuse them. He said this enabled them to channel their sexual desires towards “social good”.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/11951889/Paedophiles-working-as-teachers-a-social-good-psychologist.html 

Paedophile former teacher at Carmel College in Wallingford Trevor Bolton jailed for 19 years for catalogue of child sex abuse

A FORMER housemaster at a Jewish boarding school has been jailed for a catalogue of sexual abuse against pupils. Trevor Bolton denied 25 allegations of abuse against schoolboys while he was a French teacher at Carmel College in Wallingford between 1968 and 1988.
But a jury of seven women and five men found him guilty of all charges and the 78-year-old was caged for 19 years today. Oxford Crown Court heard that he would invite select groups of boys up to his flat to watch TV and smoke, then abused them – one while allegedly watching the football programme Match of the Day.

http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/13892922.Paedophile_former_teacher_jailed_for_19_years_for_catalogue_of_child_sex_abuse/?ref=fbshr 

Pope Francis: corrupt should be tied to a rock and thrown into the sea

Pope Francis gives fire-and-brimstone sermon, saying the corrupt should be tied to a rock and thrown into the sea.  Pope Francis has delivered a fiery sermon against corruption, quoting a passage from the Bible in which Jesus said some sinners deserve to be tied to a rock and thrown into the sea.

In one of his strongest-worded homilies since he was elected in March, the Argentinean pontiff said Christians who lead “a double life” by giving money to the Church while stealing from the state are sinners who deserve to be punished.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/10441960/Pope-Francis-corrupt-should-be-tied-to-a-rock-and-thrown-into-the-sea.html?fb_ref=Default 

Childhood sexual abuse leaves 'invisible wounds'

Over the last three decades, our culture has invested a good deal of time teaching children about "stranger danger."
The sad fact is, though, more than 90 percent of reported child sexual abuse crimes are committed by someone the child knows. According to RAINN, the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, fully 80 percent of those perpetrators are a parent; 6 percent are other relatives.

http://www.postbulletin.com/news/crime/childhood-sexual-abuse-leaves-invisible-wounds/article_5d8f0b64-550f-5234-b85b-33bdc9855038.html 

Sex assault victim: 'He needs to pay for what he's done to us'

Pam Krueger and her niece, Jessica Evans, have more in common than a family tree. Both say they were sexually assaulted as children by the same man: Darrell Ebling.
Though the abuse happened 45 and 25 years ago, respectively, the women were able to take advantage of a state law passed in 2013, suspending the statute of limitations and allowing victims of child sex abuse a three-year window to hold their perpetrators accountable, both legally and civilly.

http://www.postbulletin.com/news/crime/he-needs-to-pay-for-what-he-s-done-to/article_6792964a-60a8-5970-a54b-fa9f10247c0e.html 

Advocates walk victims through the process

If you take one thing away from what you read today, let it be this: Delayed reporting of sexual abuse is a common, normal reaction from someone who has experienced traumatic events — especially children.
There are any number of reasons for that, Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem said. "Depending on the age of the kids, they may not even know that (the abuse) is wrong," he said. "They've been groomed, so the relationship may seem normal; and oftentimes, there's a significant level of fear put on them: Don't you tell, or …"

http://www.postbulletin.com/news/local/advocates-walk-victims-through-the-process/article_2b71b5b3-9da0-5ed1-b6aa-4f8f36b1ef47.html 

Sex offenders in the pews: Let’s not be deceived

One of the many horrors about child sexual abuse is the inability to definitively assess who poses a danger to our children.  Not only do decades of studies still leave us at a loss as to why offenders offend, but generations of abuse remind us that offenders are some of the most deceptive and dangerous people on the face of the earth.
This combination is deadly.  In order to help bring this horror to an end, we must acknowledge this deadly combination and help to equip our communities to understand so that all of us can be more proactive in protecting little ones from those inside and outside of our communities who want to destroy them.

http://boz.religionnews.com/2015/10/23/sex-offenders-in-the-pews-lets-not-be-deceived/ 

Peru probes possible sex abuse by founder of Catholic society

Peru's attorney general has launched an investigation to determine whether the founder and former head of an elite Catholic society sexually and physically abused children and former members of the secretive group.
The two-month inquiry into Luis Fernando Figari follows the publication of a book by an investigative journalist, in which three unidentified former members of Sodalitium Christianae Vitae accuse Figari of rape and molestation when they were boys. Others, out of 30 interviewed for the book, describe being brainwashed and physically abused.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/23/us-peru-church-sexcrimes-idUSKCN0SH2EW20151023?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews

Lawsuit filed against Archdiocese by man who claims he was sexually abused by priest

A lawsuit has been filed against the Archdiocese of St. Louis by a man who claims he was sexually abused between 1977 and 1981.  The lawsuit alleges that Father Leroy Valentine sexually abused the plaintiff while he was a student at the Church of the Immacolata.
According to the lawsuit, Father Valentine has been accused of childhood sexual abuse multiple times in the past and resigned as an associate pastor at St. Thomas the Apostle in 2002 after another child sexual abuse allegation. In 2013, Archbishop Robert Carlson stated that an allegation of child sexual abuse against Father Valentine was found to be credible.

http://www.kmov.com/story/30307226/lawsuit-filed-against-archdiocese-by-man-who-claims-he-was-sexually-abused-by-priest 

Synod. The “Conspirator” Who Does Everything in the Light of Day

He is Timothy Dolan, one of the thirteen cardinals of the letter to the pope. A living example of that “parresia,” that candor of word and thought, so desired by Francis. In the uproar unleashed by the publication of the letter of the thirteen cardinals to the pope, the Vatican authorities who manage communication - from Santa Marta more than from the Apostolic Palace - have in fact fomented attacks not so much against the one responsible for the publication, but much more against the synod fathers who signed the letter.
And yet these are personalities of the highest rank, archbishops of important dioceses like New York, Toronto, Houston, Utrecht, Bologna, Durban, Nairobi, Caracas. Not to mention three pillars of the Roman curia old and new like George Pell, Gerhard Müller, and Robert Sarah, themselves bishops in the past of dioceses like Sydney, Regensburg, and Conakry.

http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1351160?eng=y 

Cardinal Pell: ‘I am not a synod rebel’

The Australian cardinal discussed Pope Francis and Communion in a wide-ranging interview Cardinal George Pell, the prefect of the Vatican secretariat for the economy, has stressed that he is “not a rebel or an opponent of the Pope”.

In an interview with Catholic News Agency, the Australian cardinal said Pope Francis is “a very good listener” and that they are in agreement over protecting Church doctrine.

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2015/10/20/cardinal-pell-i-am-not-a-synod-rebel/ 

Vatican to Investigate Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Catholic Priest in Javakhk Armenian Village

The Vatican says it will investigate long standing rumors that a Catholic priest serving in the Samtskhe-Javakhk village of Tzghaltbila has sexually abused boys serving in the church. The priest in question is Reverend Father Anatoly Ivanyuk, who has served as pastor in the Armenian-populated village, where most are Catholic, for the past 25 years.
The boys who allege to have been sexually abused by the priest haven’t raised the issue, either to local police or to the Vatican hierarchy. It’s a traditional and religious community and any such charges of pedophilia and homosexuality wouldn’t be taken seriously for starters. The boys are also fearful of being ridiculed by friends and family. They also are fearful of Father Anatoly.

http://hetq.am/eng/news/63233/vatican-to-investigate-sexual-abuse-allegations-against-catholic-priest-in-javakhk-armenian-village.html 

Minnesota boy sought refuge in church, was sexually abused instead

The Diocese of Duluth does not dispute that the boy was abused. It asserts, however, that it wasn’t responsible because the predatory priest belonged to a religious order and was not a diocesan priest. 

John Doe 30 grew up in rural Minnesota the youngest of seven. He loved animals. He loved the Catholic Church. But he didn’t fit in, his attorney Jeff Anderson said Wednesday, and he paid the price. His brothers and classmates called him derogatory names because they thought he was effeminate.

http://www.startribune.com/minnesota-boy-sought-refuge-in-church-was-sexually-abused-instead/335338691/ 

A ‘Plot’ Hatched by Pope Francis?

I was stunned by Ross Douthat’s negative view of Pope Francis. The phrases “ostentatious humility,” “maneuvers” and “plot” really jump off the page. The pope’s humility in rejecting limo rides and the swanky papal apartments is not ostentation but a genuine expression of his personal vocation.

He chose Francis as his name and honors St. Francis of Assisi by emulating his rejection of wealth and privilege and in his outreach to the poor, the ill and God’s creatures.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/23/opinion/a-plot-hatched-by-pope-francis.html?emc=edit_tnt_20151023&nlid=63876270&tntemail0=y 

Indonesia to introduce chemical castration... Good on you Indonesia

Indonesia will begin chemically castrating convicted paedophiles in an effort to combat child sex abuse, an official said, after a string of high-profile attacks.
'(It) will make people think a thousand times before committing such crimes,' Attorney-General Muhammad Prasetyo said on Tuesday after the move was agreed at a cabinet meeting led by President Joko Widodo. 'This crime is extraordinary and there have been so many victims.'

http://www.skynews.com.au/news/world/asiapacific/2015/10/21/indonesia-to-introduce-chemical-castration.html 

Social worker heads Child Protection Party

A fed-up social worker is launching a political party aimed at overhauling child protection across the country. Tony Tonkin, an Adelaide social worker of 20 years, will on Saturday launch the Child Protection Party.
He wants a nationalised approach to child protection and independent body overseeing the issue. 'Over the past 10 years, we've had 44 national inquiries into child protection and nothing seems to have changed. So in my view, we need a political voice,' Mr Tonkin, who works in private practice, told AAP.

http://www.skynews.com.au/news/local/adelaide/2015/10/23/social-worker-heads-child-protection-party.html 

On their own: Britain's child migrants

From the 1860s up to the 1960s, hundreds of thousands of children were sent from Britain to Canada, Australia and other Commonwealth countries under child migration schemes. This picture shows three young boys from Walworth, en route to a new life in Brisbane in 1957.
The idea behind the schemes was to provided much-needed labour for the colonies, while offering a better quality of life to unprivileged children from Britain's overcrowded cities. Here, boys in Liverpool are shown learning farming skills prior to their emigration to Canada to become labourers in the late 1920s. 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatpicturegalleries/9708061/On-their-own-Britains-child-migrants.html?frame=2412033

Victim's Attorneys John Manly And Vince Finaldi Slam Los Angeles Archdiocese

Victim's Attorneys John Manly And Vince Finaldi Slam Los Angeles Archdiocese For Petitioning Supreme Court To Reduce Protections For Child Victims Of Sexual Abuse.  Attorneys representing child abuse victims of the Roman Catholic Church and the Los Angeles Unified School District reacted with outrage to an attempt by Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez to reduce the protections given to minor victims of sexual predators in California.

According to a breaking report by Norma Ribeiro on Univision, the Archbishop's attorneys filed a petition on October 19^th with the California Supreme Court asking them to "de-publish" the recent California Court of Appeals of decision in Sinai M. v. Los Angeles Unified School District, Case No. B253983, 2015 CalApp. LEXIS 814.

http://news.sys-con.com/node/3518401

Security ramps up for George Pell’s date with inquiry

Victoria police are planning a major security operation for the appearance of George Pell at the child sexual abuse royal commission in response to concerns about protecting him from angry victims.
Cardinal Pell, the Vatican’s third most senior official, has retained one of Australia’s most expensive barristers, Allan Myers QC, for what could be a make-or-break appearance in Melbourne on December 14. The Catholic Church will pick up Mr Myers’s bill, which could be up to $20,000 a day.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/in-depth/security-ramps-up-for-george-pells-date-with-inquiry/story-fngburq5-1227580460584 

Scalded, abused and abandoned... man tells of abuse at hands of Nazareth House nuns

A 33-year-old who attacked a man 10 years his junior he called at his flat in the early hours looking for a party has been handed an eight-month sentence An elderly man has revealed harrowing details of being hit by a nun and scalded with boiling water during 10 years at a Belfast home.
The frail man in his 80s told yesterday's Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry how he ended up in hospital for three weeks following the incident at Nazareth House. For others, however, their time to confront their abusers in the home run by the sisters of Nazareth came too late.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/scalded-abused-and-abandoned-man-tells-of-abuse-at-hands-of-nazareth-house-nuns-30891139.html 

New investigation called for into Wollongong priest abuse allegations

An organisation supporting victims of child sex abuse has called for a full investigation into an alleged incident involving abuse of a primary schoolboy by a Wollongong priest in the 1980's.

The claims against the priest, who is now an academic at the University of Wollongong, were aired as part of a court case into another Wollongong Catholic priest and former teacher, Father Patrick Kervin. The allegation was aired in Albion Park local court on October 16, 2015.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-22/uow-defends-priest/6877020 

Those affected by abuse need extra special care – expert

Catholics who are too angry, disillusioned or afraid to return to the Church because of clerical sexual abuse need very special care, according to an observer attending the Synod of Bishops. Maria Harries, a member of Australia’s Truth, Justice, Healing Council said in an interview that abuse by clergy has led to a crisis of faith and a loss of trust in the Church’s moral authority.
Explaining that many people no longer go to Mass, “because of the abuse and we have to work out ways to deal with that,” she said that the shockwaves of abuse and its mishandling can be felt across multiple generations and among extended families and friends

http://www.irishcatholic.ie/article/synod-briefs 

HOPE: Help the Children of Today... Domestic Violence and Rape

HOPE: Help the Children of Today... Domestic Violence and RAPE

FREE on going health care for the abused child

FREE on going health care for domestic abused and Rape victims-survovors.

For above and also: XRAYS, MIR SCANS, HEAD INJURIES, It is essential that the health is seen to first, before anything else. Also all damaged done to the child... Domestic Violence... and RAPE... victims - survivors is all FREE through ACC

ACC is to stop sending people to counselors, before they are ready to go and then because that person stops going to counseling, because they are not in their right state of mind to go (such as still in poor health and pain), ACC is not to take them off their books. No counseling, until the person is back on their feet and in good health, meaning without any pain, as they will not be able to cope with the counseling, because of being on pain killers, or medication of some sort. And all this while, ACC should be paying for all cost...

http://annfreespirit.blogspot.co.nz/p/help-children-of-today-and-domestic.html

Catholic high school official arrested on child sex abuse allegations

A Guerin Prep High School administrator has been arrested for allegations of inappropriate sexual contact with a student off campus.
The 34-year-old assistant principal at the River Grove high school was arrested Wednesday by members of the Chicago Police Department's Special Investigations Unit on accusations of aggravated sexual abuse of a childaccording to a Chicago Police Department spokeswoman. Charges had not been filed as of Thursday afternoon, the spokeswoman said.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/elmwood-park/news/ct-elm-arrest-guerin-prep-tl-1029-20151022-story.html 

While all eyes are on bishops in Rome, the Australian Church takes stock of abuse

Pope Francis had encouraged bishops from more than 120 countries to speak freely when they gathered at the Vatican nearly three weeks ago for a broad discussion of family matters to guide the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics. And speak freely, they have.
“The result has been the most momentous, and contentious, meeting of bishops in the 50 years since the Second Vatican Council, which brought the church into the modern era. The meeting has exposed deep fault lines between traditionalists focused on shoring up doctrine, and those who want the church to be more open to Catholics who are divorced, gay, single parents or cohabiting …

https://voicefaithful.wordpress.com/2015/10/22/while-all-eyes-are-on-bishops-in-rome-the-australian-church-takes-stock-of-abuse/ 

Pope urges US bishops to end Church sex abuse

WASHINGTON: Pope Francis told US bishops on Wednesday to work to ensure the sex abuse scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church never happens again.
"I realize how much the pain of recent years has weighed upon you," he said, at a prayer service with the bishops in Washington on the first full day of a US visit.  "And I have supported your generous commitment to bring healing to victims -- in the knowledge that in healing we too are healed -- and to work to ensure such crimes will never be repeated," he said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Pope-urges-US-bishops-to-end-Church-sex-abuse/articleshow/49086707.cms 

Victims of institutional abuse 'should be compensated'

Victims of institutional abuse in Northern Ireland should be compensated now, say campaigners. It is three years since the Historical Institutional Abuse inquiry was set up to consider allegations dating back to 1922.
Such is the scale of its task, however, that its final report is not expected until next year at the earliest. With the inquiry examining cases stretching back over decades, many of those affected are now elderly.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34603553 

Marist victim calls for oversight of institutional abuse investigations

A Canberra sex abuse survivor has teamed up with a professional standards expert employed by the Catholic Church to push for internal institutional abuse investigations in the ACT to be as open and transparent as they have been in NSW for more than a decade.
Damian De Marco, who testified about abuse at Marist Brothers College in Canberra during last year's sex abuse Royal Commission hearings, said calls for a "reportable conduct scheme" for Canberra, had tentative bipartisan political support.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/marist-victim-calls-for-oversight-of-institutional-abuse-investigations-20151013-gk7qzp.html

Highly respected Church of England bishop was a paedophile

A highly-respected 20th century Church of England bishop was a paedophile, it was revealed today. The shocking revelations about the late Bishop of Chichester George Bell came when the Church of England disclosed it had apologised and paid damages following a civil sex abuse claim against him.
The allegations against Bell date from the late 1940s and early 1950s and concern sexual offences against an individual who was at the time a young child.

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/highly.respected.church.of.england.bishop.was.a.paedophile/68411.htm 

Priest Removed From Ministry Amid Assault Investigation

A Twin Cities priest who was previously acquitted of criminal sexual conduct charges has been temporarily removed from the ministry. Rev. Mark Huberty was arrested in 2013 and charged with one count each of fourth- and fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct.
The complaint said that Huberty and a woman met in 2008 when she came to him for counseling at Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church in Maplewood. He was accused of engaging in a sexual relationship with someone he was counseling and of groping her without consent.

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2015/10/20/priest-removed-from-ministry-amid-assault-investigation/ 

Pope Francis Reminds the Synod that He Has the Last Word

The synod journey culminates in listening to the Bishop of Rome, (who is) called to speak authoritatively as ‘the Pastor and Teacher of all Christians,'" Pope Francis stated on October 17, on the eve of the final week of the synod on the family. 
In a keynote talk of the utmost importance delivered at the celebration for the 50^th anniversary of the establishment of the synod of bishops, Francis spoke about “synodality in the church,” the synod’s place within this, the relation between the synod and the Successor of Peter, and reminded the synod fathers that he has the last word.

http://americamagazine.org/content/dispatches/pope-francis-reminds-synod-he-has-last-word 

Former head of paedophile inquiry to face MPs

DCI Paul Settle will appear before committee despite objections from Met, and Labour’s Tom Watson and DPP will face questions separately.  The detective who quit as head of the VIP paedophile inquiry after reportedly being undermined by Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader, will appear before a select committee on Wednesday despite objections from senior Met officers.
DCI Paul Settle, who stepped away from Operation Fernbridge last October, will give evidence to the home affairs select committee, followed by Watson. Both will be grilled about their alleged roles in the rape and paedophile investigations into Leon Brittan, the late Conservative peer.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/20/former-head-of-paedophile-inquiry-to-face-mps#_=_ 

Abuse survivors demand pedophile action

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull must immediately launch an investigation into elite pedophile rings in Australia, says a survivors' network for people abused by priests.
The call follows a claim by Liberal senator Bill Heffernan that he has a police list which names 28 prominent people, including a former prime minister, as suspected pedophiles. The senator didn't name names but on Tuesday called on Attorney-General George Brandis to expand the child abuse royal commission to include the legal fraternity.

http://www.skynews.com.au/news/top-stories/2015/10/21/abuse-survivors-demand-pedophile-action.html 

Church Spent Decades Stealing or Coercing Babies from Unwed Mothers

Ever the bastion of mercy and forgiveness for wayward women, Catholic church-run charities around the world stand accused of forcing unwed mothers to give up their babies for adoption — or lying and telling them their babies had died and then giving the babies away, anyway.
Depressingly, Operation Hand The Baby Over, You Hellbound Adultress wasn't a relic of Torquemada-era moralizing; the most recent cases of forced or coerced adoption are said to have occurred in the late 1980's. And punitive tactics used on pregnant women then sound oddly like language used in laws designed to be abortion deterrents today.

http://jezebel.com/5896835/church-spent-decades-stealing-or-coercing-babies-from-unwed-mothers?dfp_instream_video_viewability=20&adzone=redirect&utm_expid=66866090-57.ogTKxhToQfiBdvYxi2nmXQ.1 

Retired vicar Frank Baldwick, 91, jailed for sex abuse of boy in Bolton and Atherton vicarages in 1970s

You are never too old...and it is never too late... to pay for your crimes... of RAPE against innocent children...  Ann

 ==========================

A PRIEST who sexually abused a boy at Bolton and Atherton vicarages has been described as an “animal” by his victim after being jailed for three years.
Frank Baldwick appeared at Manchester Crown Court today to be sentenced for offences that dated back to his time as Church of England vicar at St Michael’s Great Lever and then of St Anne’s Hindsford, Atherton, in the late 1970s. His co-defendant Barry Arthurs, aged 55 and now living in Blackpool, earlier pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexual assault and was jailed for four years to be served concurrently.

http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/news/13882087.Retired_vicar__91__jailed_for_sex_abuse_of_boy_in_vicarages/ 

Powerful documentary on child sex abuse in Melbourne's Jewish orthodox community

Filmmaker Danny Ben-Moshe had no interest at first in making a follow-up to Code of Silence, the Walkley-winning documentary about Manny Waks, the whistleblower who lifted the lid on child sex abuse within Melbourne's Orthodox Jewish community.
But listening to the testimony presented to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse, he was dumb-struck at what he describes as the "phenomenally preposterous" answer a prominent rabbi gave to a question about appropriate adult conduct.

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/powerful-documentary-on-child-sex-abuse-in-melbournes-jewish-orthodox-community-20151020-gkba4n.html 

Catholic Church witchcraft allegations in Congo condemn 50,000 children

For Christ sake... just like they said to us children... of the catholic church orphanages worldwide... that we were the devil's daughters and sons...  they do not need any excuse to abuse children... or to put the cures of God... and the devil... onto the innocent children...  it is their way of power... and control... over the children... to get through to their parents... Ann

 ====================

Catholic priests say they have identified children as young as two months old as “witches” thanks to their innate ability to sense witchcraft in children.

The evil and utter immorality of the Catholic Church rear their ugly head once again, this time in the heart of Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo (“DRC”). No matter how hard Catholic leaders try to keep it hidden, the evil inspired by these man-made “holy books” always eventually rises to the surface.

http://www.commdiginews.com/world-news/catholic-church-witchcraft-allegations-in-congo-condemn-50000-children-50384/

Archdiocese defends record as film about Boston priest abuse nears release

One child being RAPED... by priest and nuns is bad enough...  shell we do the count now then?... it is bad enough... that the catholic church RAPED one child... that they now have to... compare their evil ways... amongst themselves...  who among them RAPED... the most children- boys and girls...

RAPIST...  rape more than one child...  so don't make out... that you are still holier than righteousness... take a deep long look... at the Catholic church's long... and many years of  records... of rape of the innocent children... and teens... then tell me that the rape in your part of USA... is not half as bad... as Boston's priest and nuns sexual abuse of children... ALL RAPE OF CHILDREN IS BAD... which ever country it happens in...  Ann

 =====================

In an unprecedented public relations maneuver, top Chicago Archdiocese officials met with several newspapers this week — days before the big screen release of a star-studded Hollywood drama depicting the Boston Globe’s 2002 expose on clergy sex abuse — to say, basically: “Don’t confuse us with Boston.” Vicar General Ronald Hicks, second-in-command to Archbishop Blase Cupich, explained the proactive stance to the Sun-Times’ editorial board earlier this week.
“We think there’s a possibility that there’s going to be new energy and new questions around this and what we want to do is make sure that the media knows that Chicago is extremely different in handling the case of clerical sexual abuse of minors than Boston and how it’s being portrayed in the movie.”

http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/7/71/1034423/movie-priest-abuse