What cracked open the child sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church?

Thomas Doyle remembers exactly what he was doing 33 years ago. He was a young priest with a big future, working in the Vatican embassy in Washington D.C.
Then an envelope landed on his desk and changed everything – and not just his own life. It would crack open the scandal of clerical sex abuse and become the biggest crisis for the Catholic Church since the Protestant reformation 500 years ago.

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/religionandethicsreport/what-cracked-open-the-child-sex-abuse-scandal-in-the-catholic-c/8228024 

Tom Doyle addresses priest sex abuse survivors

Dominican Fr. Thomas Doyle, who has worked with survivors of priest sex abuse for more than three decades, said Friday, July 31, he continues to grapple with its full dimensions.
“It just seems too big to get my head around,” he said. Doyle spoke July 31 at the 2015 gathering of SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests), which drew several hundred abuse survivors and supporters to the Westin Alexandria hotel here.

https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/tom-doyle-addresses-priest-sex-abuse-survivors 

Church sex abuse victims urged to be more militant

A prominent anti-clerical abuse advocate says Australia is decades behind the United States when it comes to dealing with the victims of sexual abuse.

Reverend Tom Doyle, a Catholic priest who is also a vocal critic of the Church, says Australian abuse victims should become more militant in taking on the Church through the courts and in the media.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-11-12/church-sex-abuse-victims-urged-to-be-more-militant/2334858 

Praying for Peace Two Cloistered Nuns Reach out with the Help of Technology to Help Victims of Priest Abuse;... RIP Dear Sisters

Mother Veronica and Sister Angela... stood along side us survivors... of nuns and priest worldwide... I spoke and emailed Sister Angela many times... and I found comfort from her words... she also emailed Peter from New Zealand as well... the two Sisters were gentle... and you knew by their words of support...  that they truly had us survivors... welfare in their hearts... even though they were having such a hard time... with the catholic church... and if they had a place to call home... they never left us survivors out in the cold... they were sweet caring nuns... Rest in Peace - Dear Sisters... you will always have a place in our Hearts... Ann 

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They love the Catholic Church. But they also ache for victims hurt by it.  Mother Veronica Sweeney and Sister Angela Ferry, diocesan nuns of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Knoxville, have opened up their cloistered lives to reach victims of sexual abuse and the victims' families through the Internet and e-mail.
"People say it's a gay issue. It's not," Ferry said. "Gay men molesting boys, heterosexual men abusing girls, nuns abusing children: They're all abusing the vulnerable."  "Abuse continues when people do not listen to you," Sweeney said.
In late January, statements from the two contemplative nuns of the Monastery of Our Lady of Little Citeaux in Copperhill went online in two recently established Web sites: www.freewebs.com/thenuns and www.nunsfortheabused.com/nunsense.html. Since then, they have received hundreds of e-mails from as far away as Australia and Great Britain.

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2004_01_06/2004_02_28_Hunter_PrayingFor.htm 

Father Bob Calls Tim Minchin Pell Song ‘A Cry From The Heart’

Good on you Fr. Bob... yours is like a voice... waking our SOULS from the dark... I was listening to Fr. Bob yesterday... and he bought tears and laughter within me... tears that these things happened to innocent children... and laughter... because he is so open and honest... and here was a priest... who talked and joked to the people... and his respect for the victims - survivors... poured out of him...  it was so heart warming to watch... Ann

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Catholic priest Father Bob Maguire has dropped a bombshell on Cardinal George Pell by supporting Tim Minchin’s ‘Come Home (Cardinal Pell)’ song calling it “a work of art” and “a cry from the heart”.

Minchin released the song last week and had an instant number one hit on iTunes with a song about child abuse and the cover-ups of the Catholic Church. While the Melbourne Archbishop immediately went into protection mode for Pell, Father Bob says, “Jesus would be on the side of the victims”.

http://www.noise11.com/news/music-news-father-bob-calls-tim-minchin-pell-song-a-cry-from-the-heart-20160222 

Catholic Whistleblowers asking for pope's help

PRIESTS, NUNS and canon lawyers who advocate for clergy sex abuse victims urged Pope Francis, on the eve of his U.S. visit, to investigate the child-protection records of Cardinal Justin Rigali, the former archbishop of Philadelphia, and Cardinal Raymond Burke, who led dioceses in Wisconsin and Missouri. The group, which calls itself the Catholic Whistleblowers, wants an inquiry of Rigali, who was Philadelphia archbishop from 2003 to 2011 and retired amid an uproar over grand-jury allegations that he was keeping about three dozen abuse suspects in ministry. His successor, Archbishop Charles Chaput, has removed several priests from church work since he took over.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/20150917_Catholic_Whistleblowers_asking_for_pope_s_help.html 

Victim advocates seek Vatican inquiry of Rigali, Burke

Priests, nuns and canon lawyers who advocate for clergy sex abuse victims urged Pope Francis, on the eve of his U.S. visit, to investigate the child protection records of Cardinal Justin Rigali, the former archbishop of Philadelphia, and Cardinal Raymond Burke, who led dioceses in Wisconsin and Missouri.
The group, which calls itself the Catholic Whistleblowers, wants an inquiry of Rigali, who was Philadelphia archbishop from 2003 to 2011 and retired amid an uproar over grand jury allegations that he was keeping about three dozen suspected abusers in ministry. His successor, Archbishop Charles Chaput, has removed several priests from church work since he took over.

http://news.yahoo.com/victim-advocates-seek-vatican-inquiry-rigali-burke-201403645.html 

“Real numbers in Catholic church scandal are much higher”

About 407 abuse victims of Twin Cities child molesting Catholic clerics have stepped forward in just a few months. Now, there’s a risk that the extent of the abuse and cover up crisis will be understated.
Starting this week, many people, including journalists, will be inclined to use that number - 407 victims - to describe the crisis in the St. Paul Archdiocese. They should not do so. For the sake of accuracy and healing, all of us should emphasize that this figure is artificially low.

http://www.snapnetwork.org/mn_snap_real_numbers_in_catholic_church_scandal_are_much_higher 

Whistleblower files defamation claim against archdiocese

Whistleblower Jennifer Haselberger has filed a claim against the Twin Cities archdiocese for at least $50,000 for alleged defamation. The claim filed Monday in the archdiocese's bankruptcy case said the defamation occurred after June 6, 2014. It did not elaborate.
Haselberger resigned as the archdiocese's chancellor for canonical affairs in April 2013 and contacted MPR News in July 2013 to reveal a cover-up of clergy sex abuse. She had served as a top adviser to then-Archbishop John Nienstedt since 2008.

http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/08/04/haselberger-claim 

Abuse inquiry hears from outspoken bishop

An architect of the Catholic Church's response to clergy sex abuse will give evidence to the child abuse royal commission.
Retired Sydney Bishop Geoffrey Robinson will detail his discussions with senior Vatican officials and the Catholic Church's response to child sex abuse before the 1996 establishment of Towards Healing, its national internal scheme for handling abuse complaints.

http://www.theage.com.au//breaking-news-national/abuse-inquiry-hears-from-outspoken-bishop-20150804-40fxp.html

Advocates seek Vatican inquiry of Newark archbishop

In what might be the first formal complaint to a new Vatican tribunal, an advocacy group for clergy sexual abuse victims on Wednesday called for an investigation of Newark Archbishop John J. Myers and his handling of child molestation cases spanning three decades.
Eight members of Catholic Whistleblowers, a national group of church reformists, said they would be filing an 80-page document detailing Myers’ actions in various cases in Newark and at his former diocese in Peoria, Illinois. On Wednesday, they hand-delivered a copy of their grievances to Myers’ spokesman at the Newark chancery and said they would send another to the Vatican’s top U.S. diplomat in the coming days.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/advocates-seek-vatican-inquiry-of-newark-archbishop-1.1382658 

Tom Doyle addresses priest sex abuse survivors

Dominican Father Thomas Doyle, who has worked with survivors of priest sex abuse for more than three decades, said Friday he continues to grapple with its full dimensions.

 “It just seems too big to get my head around,” he said.  Dolye spoke Friday at the 2015 gathering of SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests), which drew several hundred abuse survivors  and supporters to the Westin Alexandria hotel here.

http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/tom-doyle-addresses-priest-sex-abuse-survivors 

Victims advocates press Pope Francis to put NJ archbishop before new tribunal

Priests, nuns and canon lawyers who advocate for molestation victims urged Pope Francis on Wednesday to use the new Vatican tribunal he formed on negligent bishops to investigate the archbishop of Newark, New Jersey, who has long been accused of sheltering abusive priests.
The plea comes as Francis prepares for his first visit to the U.S. in September, a trip which will take place against the backdrop of the broad unfinished business of the molestation scandal. The crisis erupted in 2002 with the case of one pedophile priest in the Archdiocese of Boston before spreading nationwide, then engulfing the Roman Catholic Church.

http://www.oregonlive.com/today/index.ssf/2015/07/victims_advocates_press_pope_f.html