Boston Globe Pulizer Prize-Winning Journalist Michael Rezendes Comes to the MAC

McAninch Arts Center (MAC) located at 425 Fawell Blvd. on the campus of College of DuPage showcases Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael Rezendes in "The Man Behind Spotlight" a special lecture event Tuesday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. Rezendes will address the role of the investigative reporter and the power of journalism in a world of "Fake News" and talk about his newest projects, including reporting on the children of Catholic Priests and the reimagining of healthcare in Bridgewater State Hospital. A book signing with Rezendes will take place in the MAC lobby immediately following the program.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/chicago/article/Boston-Globe-Pulizer-Prize-Winning-Journalist-Michael-Rezendes-Comes-to-the-MAC-20170921 

An Australian priest is being investigated in Papua New Guinea over confessional allegations

AN Australian Catholic priest is being investigated by Papua New Guinea police for allegedly touching female students during confession after a bishop denied the priest “caressed their thighs to get some personal satisfaction”.
Vincentian priest Father Neil Lams allegedly held a teenage girl on his lap, “cuddled” some girls and bought gifts for them, touched girls on the thighs during confession, asked them questions about whether they had sex with their boyfriends and “how many times”, slapped some students on the head and called others “sweet baby”.

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/4939161/priest-touched-girls-in-confession/ 

Pope Regrets Failing to Discipline Sex Abuser

The Holy Father is promising to work more diligently against sex abuse perpetrated by priests.
Speaking on Thursday to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors during its Plenary Assembly, Pope Francis declared, "The Church irrevocably and at all levels seeks to apply the principle of 'zero tolerance' against sexual abuse of minors."

https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/pope-francis-vows-to-double-down-on-priest-sex-abuse 

'Pontifical secret' in abuse cases needs review, advisers tell pope

Members of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors believe they have done important work over the past three years, but, because there is so much more to be done, they presented Pope Francis with a list of suggestions, including changing the way confidentiality is imposed during church investigations of child sexual abuse.
Pope Francis had his first face-to-face discussion with commission members Sept. 21 and, during the meeting, members summarized the work they have accomplished and detailed a number of recommendations, including regarding the invocation of "pontifical secret" during abuse investigations and trials.

https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=180369 

Zero Tolerance

The Church, will respond with the application of the firmest measures to all those who abused the children of God.

In his September 20 remarks to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, Pope Francis stated the important point that “the Church, at all levels, will respond with the application of the firmest measures to all those who have betrayed their call and abused the children of God.” That reaffirmation of the Church's commitment to child protection cannot be said too often or too strongly.

http://catholic.net/op/articles/4079/zero-tolerance.html 

Pope Francis’s abuse panel to also look into priests’ children

Pope Francis’ committee of advisers on protecting children from sexually abusive priests is expanding its workload to include the needs and rights of children fathered by Roman Catholic priests.
Committee members told the Associated Press on Sunday that a working group is looking into developing guidelines that can be used by dioceses around the world to ensure that children born to priests are adequately cared for. “It’s a horrendous problem in many cultures, and it’s not something that is readily talked about,” commission member Dr. Krysten Winter-Green said.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/world/2017/09/24/pope-sex-abuse-advisory-panel-takes-issue-priests-children/YzO3OmPzwQTKwKQ3At9PTJ/story.html?et_rid=647554390&s_campaign=todaysheadlines:newsletter 

Marist Brothers admit suicides by some sex-abuse victims

Broken Rites Australia is doing research about adults who have suffered a premature death while still feeling damaged by church child-abuse (and by the church's cover-up). For example, Broken Rites has discovered that two former pupils, from a prestigious Marist Brothers school, have died by suicide.
Before dying, both men revealed that they had been sexually abused during their childhood by a long-serving teacher, Brother Aubrey Tobin. The Marist Brothers leadership in Australia has confirmed these two suicides in a letter to another former Marist pupil. Broken Rites has inspected a copy of this letter.

http://www.brokenrites.org.au/drupal/node/207

The Fight to Reveal Abuses by Catholic Priests

Cardinal Edward M. Egan, the former Roman Catholic archbishop of New York, is in no way the principal face of the sexual abuse scandals that have buffeted the church and its priesthood almost without pause for three decades. But he embodies a certain mind-set among some in the highest clerical ranks. It is an attitude that has led critics, who of late include the authors of a scathing United Nations committee report, to wonder about the depth of the church’s commitment to atone for past predations and to ensure that those sins of the fathers are visited on no one else.

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/31/us/the-fight-to-reveal-abuses-by-catholic-priests.html

Fifteen women accuse ex-priest of sexually abusing them at Queens Catholic school over two decades

The women say they were abused by the Rev. Adam Prochaski at the Holy Cross school in Maspeth between 1973 and 1994, according to their lawyer Mitchell Garabedian and Robert Hoatson of the New Jersey-based Road to Recovery group, which helps victims of sexual abuse.
Garabedian was portrayed by Stanley Tucci in the movie "Spotlight" about the Boston Globe's Pulitzer Prize-winning series on clergy sexual abuse.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/14-women-claim-priest-sexually-abused-nyc-school-80s-article-1.3522552 

University report lifts the lid on child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church

Melbourne, Australia — The most comprehensive report ever published on the systemic reasons behind child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church has recently been released.
The August 2017 report, Child Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church: An Interpretive Review of the Literature and Public Inquiry Reports, examined 26 commissions of inquiry, scientific research and literature since 1985 to find common features in the culture, history and structures of the church and the psychological, social and theological factors that contributed to the tragedy.

https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/university-report-lifts-lid-child-sexual-abuse-catholic-church 

1,000 lawsuits: Guam clergy abuse scandal could widen, group says

A year after Gov. Eddie Calvo signed into law a bill allowing victims of child sexual abuse to sue their abusers and the groups they are associated with, at any time, Guam has seen 110 Catholic clergy sex abuse lawsuits.

And the number of cases filed could reach 1,000 because of the extent of cover-up, denials and vast reach of the abusers for decades, a national survivors group says.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/09/24/clergy-abuse-scandal-forecast-1000-lawsuits/698505001/ 

Paedophile priest 'took taxi to home of abuse victim, 13, after he killed himself to check if he had left a suicide note as evidence of the horrific crimes'

After 13-year-old Andrew Nash took his own life, a now-notorious paedophile Marist brother turned up to his house and asked his mother whether the boy had left a note.

More than four decades later, the Newcastle boy's 90-year-old mother believes the brother had been sexually abusing her son at the Marist Brothers high school in Hamilton, north of Sydney, a royal commission has heard.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3777126/Paedophile-priest-took-taxi-home-Andrew-Nash-13-killed-check-left-suicide-note-evidence-horrific-crimes.html 

Marist Brothers: School director admits to abusing student

The general director of an elite school founded by the Marist Brothers in Argentina has admitted he sexually abused a student 38 years ago, an official for the order said Thursday.
Gonzalo Santa Coloma, the order’s official for protecting children in Buenos Aires province, told The Associated Press that Brother Angel Duples acknowledged the abuse after the order began an investigation following a report by a former student who had talked with the victim.

https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2017/08/18/marist-brothers-school-director-admits-abusing-student 

Pope’s sex abuse advisers to protect children of priests

Vatican city. – Pope Francis’ committee of advisers on protecting children from sexually abusive priests is expanding its workload to include the needs and rights of children fathered by Roman Catholic priests.
Committee members told The Associated Press on Sunday that a working group is looking into developing guidelines that can be used by dioceses around the world to ensure that children born to priests are adequately cared for.

http://www.herald.co.zw/popes-sex-abuse-advisers-to-protect-children-of-priests/ 

Vatican to tackle rights of priests’ children

An organisation that represents the children of priests has said the Vatican will have to directly address the issue after it emerged Pope Francis’s committee of advisers on protecting children is already looking at the rights of children fathered by Roman Catholic priests.
Coping International, founded by Irishman Vincent Doyle and representing the children of priests in various countries around the world, made the comments after it emerged the Pontiff’s committee of advisers on protecting children from sexually abusive priests was expanding its workload to cover the area.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/vatican-to-tackle-rights-of-priests-children-459717.html 

Church sex abuse victim fondled in locked closet

Guam – The latest sex abuse lawsuit against the church may involve the youngest alleged victim. It was filed by a man with the initials R.A.J. who says he was only 6 to 7 years old when he was molested.

R.A.J. is now 62 years old and says the abuse happened in the early 1960s at the San Vicente Catholic School in Barrigada. R.A.J. recalls sneaking out of school to buy some snacks at the nearby Aguon Store but was caught by a nun who worked at the school. R.A.J. says the nun punished him by locking him in a closet for several hours. 

http://pacificnewscenter.com/church-sex-abuse-victim-fondled-in-locked-closet/ 

Catholicism’s influence is very much alive in Ireland

A few years ago, Eugene O’Brien and I started work on a book of essays entitled Tracing the Cultural Legacy of Irish Catholicism: From Galway to Cloyne and Beyond. We approached contributors from different disciplines and shades of opinion to provide as balanced an overview as possible of what is an emotive topic.

The timespan covered in the book is revealed, somewhat obliquely, in the subtitle. It begins with the visit by Pope John Paul II to Ireland in 1979, when the large crowd at the youth Mass in Galway was entertained by two high-profile and charismatic clerics, Bishop Eamon Casey and Fr Michael Cleary.

https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/catholicism-s-influence-is-very-much-alive-in-ireland-1.3233376 

Woman Claims Abuse Allegations Against Queens Priest Fell On Deaf Ears

Over a dozen women claim they were abused by a Queens priest over a span of two decades.
Linda Porcano said she never forgot the names of the girls who said they were sexually abused by Father Adam Prochaski in 1990, 1010 WINS’ Carol D’Auria reported. She said she had reported the abuse to the principal at Holy Cross in Maspeth, but the principal laughed at her.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2017/09/26/catholic-church-abuse/ 

SNAP founder Barbara Blaine, who advocated for survivors of clergy sex abuse, dies

Barbara Blaine, who did pioneering work on behalf of individuals abused by priests and founded the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), died on Sunday, the organization said in a statement.
Blaine, 61, who resigned as SNAP president in February, was surrounded by family and friends when she died, the statement said.  Blaine stepped down after three decades of campaigning to force the Catholic Church to recognize the extent of the scandal and compensate thousands of people affected.

http://abc7chicago.com/society/snap-founder-barbara-blaine-who-advocated-for-survivors-of-clergy-sex-abuse-dies/2450970/ 

Capuchin brother accused of sexually abusing boy in restroom, car

Former Capuchin brother Vernon Kamiaz allegedly sexually abused a boy in the Agana Heights Parish restroom after a choir practice and in a vehicle after a church service, around 1983, a lawsuit filed in federal court on Friday states.

The plaintiff, identified in court documents only as R.I.C. to protect his privacy, was about 14 years old when Kamiaz allegedly sexually molested and abused him.

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2017/09/15/capuchin-brother-accused-sexually-abusing-boy-restroom-car/669119001/ 

Archdiocese of Santa Fe’s sexual abuse list brings relief — and questions

As the Catholic priest sexual abuse scandal burst into the nation’s collective consciousness in the 1990s, two brothers filed lawsuits against a church order, charging that some of its members had molested them while they were growing up in Santa Fe.

Tom McConnell, a teacher at St. Michael’s High School, had been one of their tormentors, they said, accusing him of repeatedly abusing young boys.

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/archdiocese-of-santa-fe-s-sexual-abuse-list-brings-relief/article_da1bc5f9-7410-5c8f-939d-313b9d5a751c.html 

Celibacy and secrecy drive Catholic Church child abuse, report claims

Enforced celibacy and secrecy are the major factors in why child abuse is so ;prevalent; in the Catholic Church around the world, a major new report claims.
Examining the findings of inquiries, police records and church reports since 1985, the study pointed to the patriarchal nature of Catholic establishments that means abuse can go unchallenged.

https://www.christiantoday.com/article/celibacy.and.secrecy.drive.catholic.church.child.abuse.report.claims/113602.htm

The sex abuse case against Father Anthony J. Cipolla

On the morning of Tuesday, August 30, 2016, the former Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Roman Catholic priest, Father Anthony Joseph Cipolla, 73, died of a cardiac arrhythmia before his speeding car struck a tree at a dangerous curve near the Warren Bible Methodist Church in Warren, Ohio. He was declared dead at the scene of the accident. Behind the tree was a church sign that read "Faith means continuing to run the race confident you will get your second wind."

http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/engel/161128 

Hearing today on whether ex-priest who molested boys should be locked up indefinitely

The accusations against "Father Dan" were seemingly endless.
Court records show more than two dozen boys and young men have alleged Daniel McCormack molested them in their youth, most notably at St. Agatha Parish on Chicago's Southwest Side, where the young Roman Catholic priest coached basketball, taught algebra and delivered eloquent sermons.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-ex-priest-daniel-mccormack-sexually-violent-hearing-met-20170902-story.html 

Ann Free Spirit Ann Thompson = Give A Little

I did not want to tell anyone or talk about the overwhelming damaging and humiliating assault on my mind, body and soul, I could not escape the emotional damage, it just tore me apart.
I still wanted to be by myself. I felt safer that way, but as the years went on I knew deep inside that I needed help, I was always looking for someone to tell and trying to get enough strength in me to find a counselor who would be there just for me.
I needed so much to cry and for someone to hold me right at that time.
To publish my book, They Promise Heaven But Led Me To Hell. Also to do our flate up for Bridget so she feels safe living next door to us. it need lots of tender, loving care and it has being a home for many a family who I have helped when they needed a roof over their heads and now I need to keep my daughter Bridget warm and safe near her family.
PLEASE>>> PLEASE>>> PLEASE<<< take care when you open my video... I took this video while my daughter Bridget was having treatment for her foot. The guy tried to cut her foot off so as she could not run away from him... after ten years of abuse... Ann

https://givealittle.co.nz/profile/individual/annthompson 

The real handmaiden's tale:

Woman, 26, who escaped a religious CULT run by her sex offender grandfather reveals what life was like inside - and how she finally broke free.  Lilia Tarawa is unlike many young women her age.

The 26-year-old New Zealander grew up in the repressive, fundamentalist religious cult of Gloriavale Christian Community, which was founded in 1969 by her grandfather, Neville Cooper, who is known as Hopeful Christian.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4838632/Woman-lived-Gloriavale-cult-religious-Lilia-Tarawa.html?ito=social-facebook

Gerald Ridsdale could die in jail as Australia’s worst child sex offender priest

NOTORIOUS paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale is unlikely to ever taste freedom again. In Victoria’s County Court this morning Australia’s worst sex offender priest had another three years added to his minimum jail term, meaning he cannot seek parole until 2022.
Part of the 11-year sentence he was given today will be served at the same time as a previous sentence, meaning he may serve just an extra three months for each of the 12 new victims who bravely came forward to report abuse.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/notorious-paedophile-gerald-ridsdale-resigned-to-die-in-jail/news-story/d6381dc14450eb5e127f4b83397b5745 

Bunbury victim seeks justice for alleged child sex abuse by Catholic priest

Twenty years after Alan Rowe first approached the Catholic Church seeking an apology for alleged sexual abuse by a priest in Bunbury, he is set to file writs against the Catholic Diocese of Bunbury in the New South Wales Supreme Court.
Mr Rowe was an altar boy at St Patrick's Cathedral in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He claims Father Kevin Johnston, one of the parish priests, abused him on about 12 separate occasions.

http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/bunbury-victim-seeks-justice-for-alleged-child-sex-abuse-by-catholic-priest-20170830-gy7icr.html

Catholic Church in Australia unlikely to change, abuse review head says

Two members of the Truth Justice and Healing Council - the body established by the Australian bishops and religious orders to liaise with the Royal Commission - have spoken out, with Vice Chair Ms Elizabeth Proust telling the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that she was "pessimistic" about the Church's willingness to reform and Council member Professor Greg Craven criticising the Commission and media coverage.
Ms Proust, a businesswoman and former leading civil servant, said she feared the Church would emerge from the Royal Commission only "partially cleansed and unreconstructed".

http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/7679/0/catholic-church-in-australia-unlikely-to-change-abuse-review-head-says 

Three strikes but he's still on the stairway to priesthood

Is it not first strike out and he is not even a priest yet.... and he never should be a priest... what is the catholic church doing... she seems to enjoy... watching children being raped and abused...  Ann

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

You tell me whether this wanna-be Catholic priest should be sacked or not.
Five years ago, in 2012, as complaints against the church flooded in and the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was announced, he took a fondness to an altar girl.

http://www.smh.com.au/queensland/three-strikes-but-he-s-still-on-the-stairway-to-priesthood-20170906-p4yvr9.html 

'Shame keeps so many victims silent': MN clergy abuse victim speaks out

Joe McLean grew up the youngest of six kids in a devout St. Paul Catholic family. He was a product of Catholic schools, weekly religious classes and Mass every Sunday, including a stint as an altar boy.
Religious retreats and confession were a normal part of that life. At a 1981 retreat for teen boys at St. Mary's church in downtown St. Paul, 17-year-old Joe met the Rev. Mike Charland, who was essentially on loan to the archdiocese from his religious order.

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2017/08/29/twin-cities-clergy-abuse-victim-speaks-out 

Collapsed executive leaving seriously ill abuse survivors in limbo says support group

A SUPPORT group for survivors of institutional child abuse have said four of their members have died in the last two months, with several more having been given just months to live.
Left in limbo after the collapse of the Stormont executive, victims have been told that the redress, recommended by Sir Anthony Hart, which includes compensation and an apology, cannot be implemented until the executive is up and running again.

http://www.irishnews.com/news/2017/08/29/news/victims-dying-while-waiting-on-an-government-that-may-never-happen-1122391/ 

Victims, advocates push for Archdiocese of Santa Fe officials to come clean

Everyone finally believed them. At least that is how they felt.

In the days and weeks after the Catholic Diocese of Gallup in 2014 published a list naming 30 priests and a teacher who church executives said had been credibly accused of sexually abusing children, Elizabeth Terrill got one phone call after another from survivors whose allegations had been met for years with denial and doubt.

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/victims-advocates-push-for-archdiocese-of-santa-fe-officials-to/article_a96f0fc2-901e-59a3-8004-da11a0b6b160.html 

The Catholic church must stop blaming victims: children cannot consent to sex

Child abuse is never the fault of children, they cannot consent.’ What has consent got to do with child abuse? A simple question, which should have a simple answer. A child under the age of 16 is in law unable to consent to sexual acts. The age of consent exists for a reason: to protect vulnerable members of society who have not yet developed the emotional or physical maturity to engage in sexual relationships.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/aug/24/catholic-church-victim-blaming-children-consent-sex-abuse 

Clerical abuse of children has to be addressed

Arrest of priest shows everyone has to answer for their behavior no matter what station they hold in life.  The arrest of a Filipino Catholic priest accused of trafficking a 13-year-old minor is highly unusual. He has been charged with violating the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of the Philippines. 
Most cases of alleged clerical child abuse go unreported or are covered up in the Philippines. In other countries, the scandal of clerical child abuse has left thousands of child victims without redress, help, therapy, or a chance for justice.

http://www.ucanews.com/news/clerical-abuse-of-children-must-be-addressed/79964

Papal abuse commission considers restructuring, survivors may lose direct role

Rome — Pope Francis' commission on clergy sexual abuse is considering whether to restructure itself so that it no longer includes the direct participation of abuse survivors. It is evaluating the possibility of creating instead a separate advisory panel of individuals who have been abused by clergy.
A member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors revealed the group's consideration of the idea in an NCR interview Aug. 14, saying that one of the commission's work groups has been tasked with weighing the pros and cons of such a change.

https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/papal-abuse-commission-considers-restructuring-survivors-may-lose-direct-role 

Across the nation, priest sexual abuse cases haunt Catholic parishes

In May 2003, Thomas O’Brien, then bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix, admitted to sheltering at least 50 priests accused of sexual abuse, often shuffling them around to parishes across the state.

O'Brien's admission, released under an agreement with the county attorney, acknowledged he "allowed Roman Catholic priests under my supervision to work with minors after becoming aware of allegations of sexual misconduct." He also waived his own immunity should sexual misconduct allegations against him surface. 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/08/23/priest-sexual-abuse-cases-catholic-parishes-nationwide/569221001/

Outrage at primary school's Stolen Generation play showing 'nuns abusing Aboriginal students'

A primary school in Sydney’s Northern Beaches is in hot water over a play that featured Year 6 students dressing up as nuns and abusing Aboriginal children.
Parents of students at Forestville Public School, including former Socceroos star Robbie Slater, were left horrified by the “Australia You’re Standing In It” production. While the school was full of praise for their play that depicted the “truth about our treatment of the Stolen Generation”, audience members said it was “bloody disgraceful” to push a political agenda on children.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/nsw/a/36741981/outrage-over-sydney-primary-schools-stolen-generation-play/ 

Settlement expected to affect diocesan services

So the catholic church should pay... for the abuse and harm that they did to many children (boys and girls)... all that they thought about back then... was getting their dirty rocks off... they should pay and pay dearly for the harm they did.  Ann

 ====================================

The Great Falls-Billings Diocese this month is working through the claim review and settlement process with victims alleging sexual abuse and their attorneys. Church officials believe the settlement won’t directly affect the parishes, although some are waiting to believe it until the final settlement amount is announced.

Since the deadline to file a claim in the case, 86 people have come forward to enter claims of sexual abuse by priests, nuns and brothers, according to Vito de la Cruz, a Seattle attorney representing 38 of them. The dates of abuse range from 1947 to 1994. Attorneys for the victims say the Great Falls-Billings Diocese is the 15th to file for bankruptcy en route to settling with sexual abuse victims.

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/2017/08/15/settlement-expected-affect-diocesan-services/568731001/ 

Australian Catholic Church Falls Short on Safeguards for Children, Study Finds

SYDNEY, Australia — A study that examines child sexual abuse worldwide in the Roman Catholic Church has found that the Australian church has done less to safeguard children in its care than its counterparts in similar countries have.

The report, released on Wednesday by the Center for Global Research at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, also found that the church’s requirement that priests be celibate was a major risk factor for abuse. And it said that the possibility of abuse in Catholic residential institutions, like orphanages, should be getting more attention, especially in developing countries.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/12/world/australia/australia-catholic-church-child-abuse.html?emc=edit_tnt_20170912&nlid=63876270&tntemail0=y 

Vatican Sex Abuse Scandal Reveals Blind Spot for Francis

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis came to power promising not only to create a more inclusive church and to clean up an ossified Vatican bureaucracy, but also to remove the stain of child sex abuse.

A global pedophilia scandal plagued his two immediate predecessors. With Francis’s election in 2013, many expected progress. Francis talked about powerful committees to safeguard children, tribunals to try bishops and a “zero tolerance” policy for offending priests.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/29/world/europe/cardinal-pell-charges-australia.html?action=click&contentCollection=Australia&module=RelatedCoverage&region=Marginalia&pgtype=article

Bishop heading anti-racism committee says ex-KKK priest “a tragic story with noble end”

Bishop George V. Murry of Youngstown says the conversion of an ex-KKK grand wizard who later became a priest is a "hopeful sign." The couple terrorized by William Aitcheson in 1977 says the priest needs to do more before he can be forgiven.

“It was tragic that this man was involved in the KKK, and that his behavior was of such a degree that he ended up in trouble with the authorities about it. What is hopeful and noble is the fact that he realized he was going down the wrong path,” said Bishop George V. Murry of Youngstown during a press conference announcing the new Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2017/08/24/bishop-heading-anti-racism-committee-says-ex-kkk-priest-tragic-story-noble-end/ 

Christian Sect Members Charged With Abusing Children in New Mexico

Eight members of a paramilitary Christian sect in New Mexico were arrested this week on charges of child sexual abuse and other crimes against children, officials said on Friday.

Three members of the sect, the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps, were arrested on Sunday in Fence Lake, a remote, sparsely populated area in western New Mexico, and a fourth was arrested that day in the city of Truth or Consequences, more than 100 miles away, Sheriff Tony Mace of Cibola County said.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/25/us/new-mexico-cult-abuse.html?emc=edit_tnt_20170825&nlid=63876270&tntemail0=y 

Parramatta Girls’ School staff to stand trial over rape, assault in 1960s

A pregnant teenager was locked in the notorious dungeon at the old Parramatta Girls’ School and beaten, it has been alleged. The harrowing claims were made today as Noel Greenaway, 80, the former relieving deputy superintendent of the school faced court for the first time charged with raping and assaulting four of the girls who are now women.
Another two women who he also allegedly abused have died since charges were laid against the former school official last year. Greenaway, of Normanhurst, will plead not guilty to all the charges

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/parramatta-girls-school-staff-to-stand-trial-over-rape-assault-in-1960s/news-story/d69be1af274dd41cf20dbcc0b827fb05 

When I was 16, I went to confession. I wish the priest had reported what I'd told him

Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart has said he’ll risk going to jail rather than report what’s said to him in the sacrament of confession, even if what’s confessed relates to child sexual abuse.
His latest comments, made on ABC radio, were responding to a recommendation from the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse to make reporting child sexual abuse allegations mandatory in institutions including when an allegation is made in religious confession. Failure to report would be a criminal offence.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/aug/18/when-i-was-16-i-went-to-confession-i-wish-the-priest-had-reported-what-id-told-him?CMP=share_btn_fb 

Court jails 87-year-old priest for abuse in Australia

A Court in  Brisbane sentenced a priest, Francis Brophy, 87, of the Catholic De la Salle Brothers, on Monday, to eight years behind bars for sexually abusing orphans.

Prosecutors said Brophy sexually abused nine boys at an orphanage decades ago at a facility in the Queensland town of Beaudesert, Australia between 1978 and 1983. “Your legacy disgusts me and every right-minded member of society,’’ Brisbane District Court Judge William Everson told Brophy, according to Australian Associated Press.

http://thenationonlineng.net/court-jails-87-year-old-priest-for-abuse-in-australia/ 

Ex-Catholic Bishop of Phoenix accused of sex-abuse of a boy

Thomas O'Brien is the former Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church in metro Phoenix. He served there as Bishop for 21 years before resigning under controversial circumstances in 2003. Although he served during the time of the worldwide child sex abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church, O'Brien has never been suspected, until now. But O'Brien's accuser recently took the matter to court and the allegations are currently being investigated.

http://us.blastingnews.com/news/2017/08/ex-catholic-bishop-of-phoenix-accused-of-sex-abuse-of-a-boy-001905993.html 

No justice in ‘notorious’ Catholic priest abuse

Described by a Philadelphia grand jury in 2005 as one of the most notorious serial abusers in Philadelphia, Catholic priest Rev. James J. Brzyski was never charged. Now, a man who says he was one of his victims is speaking out.
John-Michael Delaney, 46, of Sevierville, Tennessee, grew up in the Fox Chase section of Northeast Philly and attended St. Cecilia's Catholic school where he lived with his mother and stepfather, as well as his little sister, who is now a Philadelphia police detective.

https://www.metro.us/news/local-news/philadelphia/catholic-priest-sex-abuse 

Children of Catholic priests live with secrets and sorrow

He carried his doubts and disappointment across miles and decades, from childhood to adulthood, and finally at the age of 48 to the kitchen table of a modest house outside of Buffalo. There, he would ask an elderly aunt and uncle to help him answer the question that had troubled him all his life: Why had his father always seemed to dislike him so much?
With his parents already dead, Jim Graham pleaded with his Aunt Kathryn and Uncle Otto to tell him the truth about his family. Finally, Kathryn unfolded a newsletter published by a Catholic religious order and slid it across the table. She jabbed a finger at a picture of a sad, balding figure wearing a priest’s clerical collar.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/08/16/father-father-children-catholic-priests-live-with-secrets-and-sorrow/mvYO5SOxAxZYJBi8XxiaqN/story.html 

Pope Francis says sexual abuse by priests is an 'absolute monstrosity' in new book

Pope Francis has branded sexual abuse of children by Roman Catholic priests a “monstrosity” and pledged action against perpetrators and bishops who protected them.
The pope made the comments in the foreword of a new book titled Father, I Forgive You: Abused But Not Broken, written by Swiss man Daniel Pittet, who was first raped by a priest when he was eight years old.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/17/pope-francis-sexual-abuse-priests-absolute-monstrosity-terrible-sin 

Maltese Married Catholic Priest's Blog

Jack (priest) and Annie (married woman).
I’m Annie and my priest’s name is Jack. I’ve been reading your blog for sometime now and I wanted to finally share some of my story (it’s okay to post this). It’s not very detailed but it’s enough. I met a priest in 2013 just before my husband left on a business trip. This trip was to last 5 months abroad. My husband is very kind, and I would say we have a good marriage. This priest was from an other parish filling in for our priest.
After my husband departed for his business trip, I filled my days with daily mass and volunteer work. In those days I would see this priest. There was an instant chemistry that I was very aware of. He was too. There was much eye contact, both catching and looking away and catching again. I felt that his homilies always spoke to me personally. I felt the hot and cold too at first. It would go from one week he’d “see” me and then the following week completely ignoring me. In those moments of being ignored I felt crushed. We didn’t speak much. I would email him occasionally asking for a Mass intention or pray for someone or something but nothing beyond that.

https://maltesemarriedcatholicpriest.wordpress.com/2017/09/11/jack-priest-and-annie-married-woman/