ABUSE TRACKER

OHIO
ABC 6

Judah Christian Community Church sent a statement regarding the sexual abuse allegations that one teenager and his mother has revealed to ABC 6 / FOX 28.

Camp Impact Vision:
Impact Camp exists to provide a fun and safe environment where students can encounter God and build godly relationships with each other.

Statement:
As senior pastor of Judah Christian Community, I was heartbroken when I received word on Friday morning of this serious incident.

I am grateful for the student’s quick reporting of this incident, for the Impact Camp leadership contacting the authorities, and the fast actions taken by the Erie County Sheriff’s Department.

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ITALIA
QN

Rovigo, 22 giugno 2012 – Nuovo scandalo sessuale nella Chiesa. Il Vaticano, nell’organo del Pontificio Consiglio per i laici, ha rimosso dal suo incarico il 73enne padre Luigi Prandin, missionario e fondatore della comunita’ di Villaregia (Rovigo). Il religioso è accusato di ‘’gravi atti immorali nei confronti di alcune missionarie’’, avvenuti in passato. Il sospetto e’ che si tratti di abusi sessuali nei confronti di donne impegnate nelle missioni gestite dalla comunita’ polesana in Sud America.

Ma l’azione del Vaticano non si è conclusa con questo atto. Ad essere rimossa dal suo incarico è stata anche la co-fondatrice laica della comunita’, la 61enne Maria Luigia Corona. La donna lavora assieme a padre Luigi dal 1981. Secondo quanto trapela dal riserbo dei missionari, la donna sarebbe stata a conoscenza dei ‘’gravi atti immorali’’ imputati a Prandin, ma li avrebbe taciuti, per coprirlo.

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CIUDAD DEL VATICANO
Excelsior

CIUDAD DEL VATICANO, 26 de junio.- El Papa Benedicto XVI aceptó hoy la renuncia anticipada del obispo argentino Fernando Bargalló, tras la publicación en la prensa de unas comprometedoras fotografías suyas con una mujer en el balneario mexicano de Cancún.

En un comunicado la sala de prensa del Vaticano informó que la renuncia fue acogida según el apartado 402.2 del Código de Derecho Canónico, la ley fundamental de la Iglesia, que considera dimisiones anticipadas de prelados por enfermedad o “causas de fuerza mayor”.

El pontífice designó como administrador apostólico de la diócesis de Merlo-Moreno, hasta ahora pastoreada por Bargalló, a Alcides Jorge Pedro Casaretto, obispo emérito de la diócesis de San Isidro.

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ARGENTINA
El Pais (Espana)

El Papa Benedicto XVI aceptó ayer la renuncia del presidente de Cáritas Latinoamérica, Fernando Bargalló, a su cargo de obispo de la diócesis de Merlo-Moreno, dos municipios pobres de la periferia oeste de Buenos Aires. Después de que se difundieran la semana pasada unas fotos de Bargalló bañándose en la playa con una mujer, el obispo reconoció el romance y dimitió el viernes por tratarse de una “causa grave”, según el Código de Derecho Canónico.

El prelado, de 57 años, no era progresista ni ultraconservador. Era de una línea moderada, fiel a Roma, pero tolerante con curas tercermundistas, con un compromiso social que lo llevó a enfrentarse con políticos. El viaje con su amante a un hotel de lujo en México en 2011 ha puesto en tela de juicio su austeridad, pero también ha demostrado que alguien quería arruinarle la carrera y lo siguió en todo su periplo. ¿Quién fue y por qué guardó las fotos casi un año y medio? No se sabe. El obispo se defendió ante la Nunciatura Apostólica (embajada del Vaticano) acusando de difamación al alcalde de Merlo, Raúl Othacehé.

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ARGENTINA
El Dia

El Papa Benedicto XVI aceptó la dimisión del titular de la diócesis de Merlo-Moreno, monseñor Fernando María Bargalló, involucrado en un escándalo por la publicación de unas fotografías que lo vinculan sentimentalmente con una empresaria, de quien dijo ser “amigo de toda la vida”.

Además, el Santo Padre nombró Administrador Apostólico -ad nutum Sanctae Sedis- de esa diócesis a monseñor Alcides Jorge Casaretto, de 75 años, obispo emérito de San Isidro y ex presidente de la Comisión Episcopal de Pastoral Social.

Esto quiere decir que Casaretto permanecerá en el cargo de Administrador Apostólico hasta que la Santa Sede designe al nuevo obispo diocesano.

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‎ARGENTINA
Buenos Aires Herald

The Vatican said today it accepts the resignation tendered by Argentine bishop Fernando María Bargallo, who was caught living an alleged affaire with a woman in a Mexican beach resort, in the latest of a string of sex scandals that hit the Catholic church.

Monsignor Bargallo, bishop of Greater Buenos Aires districts of Merlo and Moreno since 1997, was forced to tender his resignation after photographs emerged this month showing him embracing a blonde a woman at a luxury resort in Mexico.

Bargallo, 57, has allegedly admitted to having “love ties” with the woman he was seen embracing in the waters of a hotel swimming pool, who’s been indicated as a single (divorced) owner of a restaurant in the exclusive City area of Las Cañitas.

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VATICAN CITY
Telegraph (United Kingdom)

The Vatican has accepted the resignation of an Argentine bishop who was caught cavorting with a blonde, bikini-clad woman on a Mexican beach.

Bishop Fernando Bargallo, 57, was forced to hand in his resignation after photographs emerged this month showing him frolicking and embracing the woman at a luxury resort in Mexico.

Bargallo, who led the Argentine diocese of Merlo-Moreno outside Buenos Aires since May 1997, has reportedly admitted to having “amorous ties” with the woman he is seen embracing in the water, thought to be a divorced restaurant owner.

He had initially claimed she was just a longtime friend.

The news broke as the Vatican ousted the founder of an Italian mission for “serious immoral behaviour,” after it emerged he had sex with female missionaries during a posting in South America.

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Agency

Vatican City, Jun 26, 2012 / 12:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of an Argentinean bishop who admitted a romantic relationship with a woman photographed with him on a beach in Mexico.

The resignation of Bishop Fernando Maria Bargallo of Merlo-Moreno, the diocese west of Buenos Aires, was accepted June 26 under a provision of canon law allowing bishops to resign if they become unsuited for their office for a “grave reason.”

The Pope has appointed Bishop emeritus Alcides Jorge Pedro Casaretto of San Isidro as apostolic administrator of Merlo-Moreno.

Last week, photos were published showing the 57-year-old Bishop Bargallo and a woman on a beach in Mexico. He initially acknowledged that the photos were of him but said that the woman was only a “childhood friend.”

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 26 June 2012 (VIS) – The Holy Father:

– Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Merlo-Moreno, Argentina, presented by Bishop Fernando Maria Bargallo, in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law, appointing Bishop Alcides Jorge Pedro Casaretto, emeritus of the diocese of San Isidro, Argentina, as apostolic administrator “ad nutum Sanctae Sedis” of Merlo-Moreno.

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VATICAN CITY/ARGENTINA
Huffington Post

[with video]

By NICOLE WINFIELD 06/26/12

VATICAN CITY — The pope has accepted the resignation of an Argentine bishop photographed frolicking on a Mexican beach with a woman, one of several personnel changes announced Tuesday by the Vatican before the pontiff heads off for summer vacation.

Monsignor Fernando Maria Bargallo, bishop of Merlo-Moreno outside Buenos Aires, initially denied having had any improper relationship with the woman, whom he described as a childhood friend. But the 57-year-old Bargallo later decided to step down under the church rule that lets bishops retire before age 75 if they’re found to be unfit for office.

Photographs of the encounter were broadcast on television last week and have been circulating on the Internet.

The resignation was one of several personnel changes announced Tuesday by the Vatican before the pope leaves next week for Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer residence in the hills south of Rome. The Vatican frequently announces a rash of personnel moves before the pope leaves town and the Vatican slows down for the summer.

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UNITED STATES
Bilgrimage

William D. Lindsey

Breaking news, thanks to this press release by David Clohessy of SNAP: a woman who alleges sexual abuse by Father Thomas Euteneuer, formerly head of the pro-life organization Human Life International, has sued the Catholic diocese of Arlington, Virginia, its Bishop Paul Loverde, and Human Life International for, as she alleges, covering up sexual abuse she says she endured as Euteneuer performed exorcisms on her.

The suit claims that the defendants knew that the rite of exorcism should not be performed by a priest acting alone and with no observers–and that this did, indeed, happen in her case, as Euteneuer, who told her that her case was “severe,” took her to a bedroom where he lay with her all night, touching her, and “blowing the Holy Spirit” into her with passionate kisses. I’ll spare readers other details of subsequent exorcism sessions that are provided in the preceding article, and which the plaintiff alleges involved physical violation under the guise of exorcism that became more intense.

She is also alleging that because Euteneuer knew she had kept a journal chronicling her interaction with him, he asked to keep the journal in a safe place for her and then informed her he had burnt it, and searched her house for other journals she might have kept. She also maintains that Euteneuer remained in his position at Human Life International for two months after she described in detail his violation of her to a priest of the Arlington diocese.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
In-Forum

By MARYCLAIRE DALE, The Associated Press – PHILADELPHIA

A judge might release a convicted Roman Catholic priest to await sentencing if the Vatican will honor his waiver of extradition if he flees.

Monsignor William Lynn could be released on house arrest if the conditions are met. The judge also would double his bail to $100,000. The judge will reconsider Lynn’s request for release July 5.

Lynn is set for sentencing Aug. 13 after he was convicted of felony child endangerment.

He faces about 3-1/2 to seven years in prison. His lawyers say he is not a flight risk.

Prosecutors say at least 35 priests have fled during criminal cases, but most apparently fled before trial, often to their native country.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
dotCommonweal

June 26, 2012

Posted by Paul Moses

Having spent about eight years as a reporter covering various court beats, I was surprised when Monsignor William Lynn was jailed immediately after his conviction on a charge of child endangerment. The practice I’ve witnessed countless times, except for gangsters, drug dealers and other violent criminals, is for the defendant to be free on bail pending sentencing. And even then, the judges I covered – some very tough judges in the federal court – often allowed defendants to remain free pending appeal.

At a hearing in Philadelphia today, prosecutor Patrick Blessington came up with a surprise piece of information to support his call for Lynn to remain in jail pending his Aug. 13 sentencing: a Chicago Tribune article reporting that since 1985, some 32 priests who were charged or under investigation in child-abuse cases fled the country. Only five returned to face trial.

I hadn’t caught that troubling story when it ran in March and, as the Philadelphia Inquirer makes clear, neither had Judge M. Teresa Sarmina, who “appeared to be taken aback.”

Blessington warned her that the Vatican doesn’t have an extradition treaty with the U.S., implying that Lynn could find refuge there.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By Joseph A. Slobodzian
Inquirer Staff Writer

Updated 12:35 p.m.:

Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina has given conditional approval to the idea of house arrest for Msgr. William J. Lynn, who was convicted last week of child endangerment in a Catholic sex-abuse scandal. But Lynn will have to remain in jail until at least a scheduled July 5 hearing on several legal issues the judge asked the lawyers to research.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By Joseph A. Slobodzian
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

A Philadelphia judge has given conditional approval to a plan that would release Msgr. William J. Lynn on house arrest pending his sentencing for child endangerment in the Catholic church sex-abuse case.

But Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina said Lynn, 61, must remain in prison at least until a July 5 hearing so lawyers can try to answer what would happen if Lynn were to flee.

Lynn, the first church officially criminally charged for his administrative duties in the landmark sex-abuse trial, was found guilty by a jury on Friday and Sarmina ordered him immediately taken into custody.

Lynn’s attorney asked for today’s hearing to proposed a monitored house arrest program to allow Lynn to remain out of prison pending his Aug. 13 sentencing.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
CNN

By Sarah Hoye, CNN

updated 3:46 PM EDT, Tue June 26, 2012

Philadelphia (CNN) — The highest-ranking Catholic church cleric charged and convicted in the landmark child sexual abuse trial will remain in jail for the time being, a Philadelphia judge ordered Tuesday.

Monsignor William Lynn was found guilty Friday of one count of child endangerment, the first time a U.S. church leader has been convicted of such a charge.

The trial marked the first time U.S. prosecutors have charged not just the priests who allegedly committed abuses but church leaders for failing to stop them. Lynn is the highest-ranking cleric accused of imperiling children by helping cover up sexual abuse.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Newsworks

June 26, 2012
By Elizabeth Fiedler

The jurors have spoken in the landmark priest sexual abuse case in Philadelphia. Now what?

In addition to a spate of civil lawsuits, there are also the upcoming trials of the Reverend Charles Engelhardt and former schoolteacher Bernard Shero. The two are accused of molesting the same altar boy and will be tried in the fall.

The jury found Monsignor William Lynn, a former high ranking church official, guilty of one count of endangering the welfare of a child. Jurors found Lynn not guilty on two other charges.

“The civil lawsuits may well be stayed a little bit longer,” said Law professor Marci Hamilton is co-counsel in seven cases brought by plaintiffs who allege abuse and cover-up by Philadelphia church officials. “Because there’s a case against Engelhardt going forward in the fall and we wouldn’t be surprised at all if there were further grand jury charges arising out of some of what we learned during this criminal trial.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Newsworks

June 26, 2012
By NewsWorks Staff

Monsignor William Lynn in jail until July 5 at least.

After being convicted last week on one count of child endangerment in a landmark sex abuse trial for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Lynn is hoping to be put on house arrest.

The judge is reviewing the house arrest conditions, including that Lynn double his cash bail to $10,000 on $100,000 bond. Lynn would also sign a waiver acknowledging that if he flees, he could be extradited from any country—including the Vatican, which does not have an extradition treaty with the US.

The judge has not made a decision, but put Lynn in line to receive an electronic bracelet for house arrest; a process that could take several weeks.

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NEW JERSEY
New Jersey 101.5

In New Jersey, as the law currently stands, if you’re a victim of sexual abuse, you have 2 years from the time you realize you’ve been sexually abused to file a lawsuit against the individual or institution that carried out the abuse.

A two year limit is way too little.

However according to a recent report: an Assembly panel has approved a bill abolishing 2-year time limit for sex abuse lawsuits… but would allow them to file suit no matter how much time has passed.

In one example in the report,

Todd Kostrub said his seventh birthday was “a big deal” because that was the day he became an altar boy at Holy Assumption Elementary School in Roebling.

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by David Clohessy on June 26, 2012

Fr. Thomas Euteneuer is a manipulative, sick charlatan. He has sexually violated other devout, vulnerable Catholic women. Like Fr. Daniel McGuire and Fr. John Corapi, Fr. Euteneuer travels widely and trades on his charm and charisma to exploit unsuspecting parishioners who are often in awe of his high profile and impressive connections.

Catholic officials rarely supervise or monitor these kinds of predators, making them particularly dangerous.

We are grateful that more victims of Fr. Euteneur are stepping forward. When victims stay silent, nothing changes. But when victims find the courage to take action, there’s at least a chance for prevention, healing and justice.

If you were hurt by a priest, suffering in shame, isolation and self-blame won’t fix it. Only by stepping forward, speaking up and getting help can you both recover personally and help others. Now is the time to do it.

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OSTERREICH
Kreuz

Es genügt, daß ein Wiener Dechant nur äußerlich an der Einheit mit dem Bischof interessiert ist, um im Amt bleiben zu können.

(kreuz.net, Wien) Am 12. Juni trat Pfarrer Peter Meidinger von der altliberalen ‘Ungehorsam-Initiative’ auf Druck von Homoporn-Kardinal Christoph Schönborn von Wien als Dechant zurück.

Heute verschickte die Erzdiözese Wien dazu eine ausführliche Rechtfertigung.

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DEUTSCHLAND
News

Berlin – Die katholische Kirche in Berlin hat Konsequenzen aus den Missbrauchsvorwürfen gegen einen Pfarrer aus Reinickendorf gezogen. Der Mann, der in den 90er Jahren einen Jugendlichen missbraucht haben soll, verzichtet auf Wunsch der Kirchenführung künftig auf sein Amt.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Hamburger Abendblatt

Der Missbrauchsskandal in der katholischen Kirche ist auch an Hamburg nicht vorbeigegangen. Um sexuelle Gewalt in der Kirche künftig zu verhindern, hat das Erzbistum Hamburg – wie bereits andere Diözesen zuvor – Mitte Juni eine Präventionsordnung in Kraft gesetzt. Damit solle eine „Kultur des Hinhörens“ gefördert werden, betonte Domkapitular Ansgar Thim am Dienstag.

+++Neue Missbrauchsfälle – Vorermittlungsverfahren+++

Seit Bekanntwerden des Skandals in der katholischen Kirche haben sich beim Erzbistum Hamburg etwa 50 mögliche Opfer sexueller Gewalt gemeldet. 38 Anträge von Betroffenen seien an die Deutsche Bischofskonferenz in Bonn geleitet worden, sagte Thim. „Wir zahlen dann, wenn die Anträge positiv beschieden werden, 5000 Euro pro Antrag.“ Zusätzlich zu der Entschädigung könne es Therapieleistungen geben.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Unabhangige Beauftragte

Der Unabhängige Beauftragte für Fragen des sexuellen Kindesmissbrauchs, Johannes-Wilhelm Rörig, lädt in regelmäßigen Abständen Betroffenen-Initiativen zu einem Gesprächsaustausch nach Berlin ein, um mit ihnen Schwerpunktthemen zu identifizieren, die auch nach Ende des Runden Tisches „Sexueller Kindesmissbrauch“ aus Sicht der Betroffenen im Vordergrund der weiteren Arbeit stehen sollten.

Vier Vertreterinnen und Vertreter der teilnehmenden Betroffenen-Initiativen sind auch in den Fachbeirat beim Unabhängigen Beauftragten berufen worden. Der Fachbeirat begleitet die Arbeit des Unabhängigen Beauftragten und wird Schwerpunktthemen in Hearings vertiefen.

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DEUTSCHLAND
netzwerkB

Offener Brief  an:

Frau Ministerin Prof. Dr. Anette Schavan
Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung
Platz der Republik
1
11011 Berlin
Fax: 030 227 76794

Frau Ministerin Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger
Bundesministerium der Justiz
Platz der Republik 1
11011 Berlin
Fax 030 – 227 764 02

Frau Ministerin Dr. Kristina Schröder
Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend
Platz der Republik 1
11011 Berlin
Fax: 030 18555 4400

Herr Johannes-Wilhelm Rörig
Unabhängiger Beauftragter für Fragen des sexuellen Kindesmissbrauchs
Glinkastraße 24
10117 Berlin
Fax: 030 20655-41551


Forderung Beteiligung am Runden Tisch

Sehr geehrte Frau Dr. Schavan,
sehr geehrte Frau Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger,
sehr geehrte Frau Dr. Schröder,
sehr geehrter Herr Rörig,

das Netzwerk Betroffener von sexualisierter Gewalt e.V., kurz netzwerkB, ist eine Vereinigung von und für Menschen, denen sexualisierte Gewalt, oftmals verbunden mit weiteren Formen von psychischer und physischer Gewalt, angetan wurde, einmalig, mehrmalig bis hin zu jahrelang systematisch, im Säuglings-, Kindes-, Jugendlichen- oder Erwachsenenalter. Sie wurde 2010 in Scharbeutz gegründet.

Die Vereinigung arbeitet bundesweit, sie besteht aus einem Bundesvorstand, Landesgruppen und der Mitgliederversammlung. Sie versteht sich als Interessenvertretung der Opfer und ihrer Angehörigen. Sie setzt sich für die Aufklärung und Prävention ein.

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OSTERREICH
News4Press.com

Hans Hermann Kardinal Groër OSB * 13. Oktober 1919 in Wien; † 24. März 2003 in St. Pölten war Erzbischof von Wien. Am 27. März 1995 erhob im Nachrichtenmagazin „profil“ Ausgabe 13 < / > 95 ein ehemaliger Schüler Groërs schwere Vorwürfe wegen seinerzeitigen sexuellen Missbrauchs von Jugendlichen gegen den Kardinal. Dieser hüllte sich darauf in Schweigen und trat am 6. April 1995 als Vorsitzender der Bischofskonferenz zurück. Der Vatikan reagierte „diplomatisch“: Groër wurde am 13. April 1995 Christoph Schönborn als Koadjutor-Erzbischof mit dem Recht auf Nachfolge beigestellt und mit Wirkung per 14. September 1995 sein schon am 13. Oktober 1994 – vor der „Affäre Groër“ – aus Altersgründen eingebrachtes Rücktrittsgesuch angenommen. Die Affäre Groër führte in Österreich im März 1995 zu einem Kirchenvolksbegehren. Die Initiative Wir sind Kirche sammelte mehr als 500.000 Unterschriften für eine „grundlegende Erneuerung der Kirche Jesu“. Reformen seien notwendig, um der katholischen Kirche „wieder zu mehr Ansehen und Akzeptanz zu verhelfen“.

Nach dem Rücktritt wegen der Vorwürfe des sexuellen Missbrauches zog sich Groër in das von ihm gegründete Zisterzienserinnenkloster Marienfeld zurück. Am 1. September 1996 übertrug man ihm wieder ein kirchliches Amt als Prior des Hauses St. Josef in Maria Roggendorf, einem Ableger des Stiftes Göttweig, das er allerdings nach anhaltenden Vorwürfen am 5. Januar 1998 ebenfalls aufgeben musste. Nachdem die Bischöfe Christoph Schönborn, Johann Weber, Georg Eder und Egon Kapellari in einer Stellungnahme erklärt hatten, dass sie zur „moralischen Gewissheit“ gelangt wären, dass die Vorwürfe gegen Groër „im Wesentlichen zutreffen“, und nach einer vom Vatikan verordneten Visitation im Stift Göttweig bat Groër 1998 in einer Erklärung, „Gott und die Menschen“ um Vergebung, „wenn ich Schuld auf mich geladen habe“. Kardinal Groër zog dann in ein Nonnenkloster der Nazarethschwestern in Goppeln in Deutschland, ab Oktober 1998 lebte er zurückgezogen in Marienfeld.

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OSTERREICH
Kleine Zeitung

LEOBEN. Es geht um sexuelle Übergriffe auf Ministranten. Mindestens ein Mädchen und fünf Buben aus Leoben soll der 24-jährige Pastoralpraktikant aus dem Bezirk Graz-Umgebung unsittlich berührt haben. Zu sexuellen Handlungen ist es nicht gekommen.

Chefinspektor Josef Klec vom Kriminalreferat des Polizeistadtkommandos Leoben bestätigt: “Es ist richtig, die Vorwürfe stehen im Raum. Wir ermitteln.” Kaplan Lukas Wojtyczka vom Pfarrverband Leoben-West, wo der Pastoralpraktikant bis vor wenigen Tagen beschäftigt war, hatte Anzeige erstattet. Es seien Vorwürfe laut geworden, man habe daraufhin sofort reagiert, sagt Georg Plank, Pressesprecher der Diözese.

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VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

Jun. 26, 2012
By John L Allen Jr

ANALYSIS

In the original “Star Trek,” Capt. James T. Kirk was both the brilliant tactician and the swashbuckling ladies’ man. When “Star Trek: The Next Generation” rolled around, Kirk’s character was split in half, with Capt. Jean-Luc Picard as the brains and First Officer Will Riker as the brawn.

In effect, the Vatican has now unveiled a “Next Generation” strategy to address its perceived PR woes.

During the John Paul years, the Vatican had its Kirk on the communications front, someone who combined both external visibility and insider clout. Spanish layman Joaquin Navarro-Valls was a power broker in his own right, with a place at the table when decisions were made and the public face of the institution, second only in terms of visibility to the pope himself.

Under Benedict XVI, the Vatican has limped by on half that formula. Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi, the current spokesperson, is endlessly accessible and visible, but he lacks the insider muscle wielded by Navarro-Valls.

The Vatican has finally moved to plug that hole.

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CHILE
La Tercera

Víctima de Karadima responde a Yrarrázabal y asegura que parroquia estaba “llena de heridas”

El actual párroco de El Bosque, Carlos Yrarrázaval, señaló que no ha ido a ver a Fernando Karadima debido al rol de los medios de comunicación en el caso y que al momento de recibir esta iglesia del sector oriente de Santiago, ésta estaba viva y llena. Sin embargo, estas palabras hicieron eco en Juan Carlos Cruz, una de las víctimas del ex párroco.

Cruz afirmó a La Tercera que cuando viene a Santiago -ya que vive en Estados Unidos- no ve a una parroquia El Bosque “llena”. “Si el párroco dice que recibió a una iglesia llena, será llena de heridas, porque las veces que he pasado por ahí no se ve llena para nada”.

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DEUTSCHLAND
taz

HAMBURG taz | Wenn es um sexuelle Übergriffe geht, tut sich die Kirche immer noch schwer, eine Sprache zu finden. Von „Anerkennung von Leid“ spricht der Hamburger Domkapitular Ansgar Thim, Beauftragter für Fragen der sexuellen Gewalt an Minderjährigen beim Erzbistum Hamburg. 50 Anträge auf „Anerkennungsleistungen“ seien bei ihm eingegangen, 38 habe er an die Deutsche Bischofskonferenz nach Bonn weitergeleitet, sagt Thim auf der Pressekonferenz am Montag. „Heißt das, Sie gehen davon aus, dass die Anschuldigungen in diesen Fällen der Wahrheit entsprechen?“ – „Ja.“

Thim ist ein gepflegter Herr mit randloser Brille, seine Aufgabe ist es, Gespräche mit den potenziellen Opfern zu führen. Und mit den Tätern. „Kein Fall ist wie der andere“, sagt er. Oft sei die Situation die, dass Vorwürfe erhoben würden, und die Beschuldigten sagten: „Das war nicht so.“ Die Staatsanwaltschaft sei in allen Fällen eingeschaltet worden, aber sie ermittle in keinem – die Vorgänge seien verjährt.

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CALIFORNIA
Contra Costa Times

By Tracey Kaplan tkaplan@mercurynews.comcontracostatimes.com
Posted: 06/26/2012

The judge in the priest beating trial this morning once again denied a renewed motion by defense attorneys for a mistrial, then made a ruling that dealt a blow to their case.

Although Judge David A. Cena ruled that three other alleged victims of Rev. Jerold Lindner will not be able to testify in the trial of Will Lynch, who is accused of beating Lindner at a Jesuit retirement center in Los Gatos two years ago.

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic Culture

Paolo Gabriele, the valet to Pope Benedict XVI who was arrested on May 23 in connection with the leaks of confidential papal documents, will remain in a secure room inside the Vatican.

Gabriele has been questioned extensively about his role in the “Vatileaks” affair in two sessions with magistrates. Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Vatican press office, said that no further questioning is currently scheduled.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

June 25, 2012

By Ruth Ann Dailey

Two adult men, Monsignor William Lynn and Jerry Sandusky, were convicted Friday of, simply put, hurting children.

One is a high-ranking priest, the other a respected football coach. Both harmed society’s most vulnerable members.

Both men are, or were, part of great institutions whose reputations — and whose other innocent members — have been damaged by their crimes.

But there the likeness ends, because Mr. Sandusky is a predator, and Monsignor Lynn is an enabler of predators.

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WEST VIRGINIA
The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register

June 25, 2012

No one will ever know how many children have suffered needlessly because adults decided it was less important to protect them than to avoid the taint of scandal at a school, church or other institution. But last week two juries in Pennsylvania issued reminders that the children always take priority.

By coincidence, separate trials in Philadelphia and Bellefonte ended Friday. In one, a jury in Philadelphia convicted a Roman Catholic church official of child endangerment for covering up situations in which priests had abused children. Monsignor William Lynn was the first U.S. church official convicted of a felony in such a coverup.

In Bellefonte, another jury convicted former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky of sexually abusing children during a period of about 15 years.

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KENTUCKY
The Courier-Journal

Editorial

Do not think that the guilty verdicts handed down in Pennsylvania last Friday have little or nothing to do with anyone here.

Just because they dealt with a Roman Catholic official in Philadelphia who was convicted of child endangerment for his role in moving around predatory priests without informing the public of the danger that awaited in their churches, and with a serial molester who used his Penn State coaching credentials and his community standing as a “saint” who worked with at-risk kids to shield his crimes, doesn’t mean those horrors are somehow removed from us.

It is true that Monsignor William Lynn, who could spend up to seven years in prison, and former football coach Jerry Sandusky, who faces more than 400 years behind bars, were convicted of crimes they committed in a different state, and held accountable by juries of their peers.

But both defendants and what landed them in court illustrate unthinkable horrors that are visited on children throughout the country, including those in our own communities.

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NEW YORK
Times Herald-Record

Similar verdicts in similar cases in two Pennsylvania courtrooms last week provided a small measure of justice to some of the most vulnerable victims imaginable, young men who trusted older figures of authority who then abused them.

In Bellefonte, Pa., a jury quickly decided that Jerry Sandusky, a legendary part of the legendary Penn State football program, had systematically lured and abused these victims over decades. In Philadelphia a jury took almost two weeks before deciding that Msgr. William J. Lynn was guilty of endangering children because of his role in covering up abuses by Roman Catholic priests.

While the Sandusky case had the bigger media impact, the decision concerning the church could have much longer-lasting and wide ranging effects. For the first time, prosecutors were able to convince a jury of something that most people have already concluded, that failing to do something about this abuse is almost as despicable as the abuse itself. And when the cover-up has been an integral part of the institutions, as the cases showed it has been in Penn State and the church, the message is as clear as those warnings we see in another context: If you see something, say something.

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PENNSYLVANIA
The Patriot-News

By Patriot-News Editorial Board

Pennsylvania lawmakers cannot continue to hide behind the “we’ll get to it” mantra when it comes to reforming the state’s child abuse laws.

We owe it to the victims of Jerry Sandusky who bravely came forward against community pressure and in the midst of a media circus.

We owe it to the victims of child molestation at the hands of certain Catholic clergy in Philadelphia. They, too, stood their ground, leading to a landmark guilty verdict in the case of Monsignor William Lynn.

And we owe it to all the victims who have only felt able to come forward recently or who are still living in confusion and shame.

Just last week The Patriot-News received a letter to the editor from a woman in Camp Hill alleging abuse from a neighbor when she was growing up.

Lawmakers know what they should do.

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MINNESOTA
CBS Minnesota

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) – A St. Paul priest has been dismissed from his parish after allegations that he engaged in misconduct involving a minor.

According to Jim Accurso, media and external relations manager for the St. Paul and Minneapolis Archdiocese, Reverend Curtis Wehmeyer was removed by Archbishop John Nienstedt after learning of allegations of misconduct. Wehmeyer was the pastor of Blessed Sacrament parish in east St. Paul.

The Archdiocese reported the allegations to police, and is fully cooperating in the investigation. Wehmeyer is barred from any involvement in ministry in the Archdiocese pending the outcome of the investigation. He is no longer in residence at Blessed Sacrament.

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ARLINGTON (VA)
Courthouse News Service

By JAMES BRIDGE

ARLINGTON, Va. (CN) – A Roman Catholic priest “kissed (a woman) on all parts of her body” during a so-called “exorcism” session, and “frequently explained full, passionate kisses as ‘blowing the Holy Spirit into’ her,” the woman claims in court.

Jane Doe sued the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, its Bishop Paul Loverde – who is not the priest accused of the abuse – and Human Life International and the HLI Endowment Inc., of Charlottesville, in Arlington County Court.

Doe claims she was sexually abused repeatedly by her “exorcist,” Thomas J. Euteneur, who was president of Human Life International and the HLI Endowment; Euteneur, however, is not named as an individual defendant.

Doe claims that Euteneur, a Roman Catholic priest, offers “‘spiritual deliverance’ and the performance of the rite of exorcism,” and did it “with the knowledge and consent of the Diocese and the Most Rev. Paul S. Loverde. … On at least one previous occasion, the Diocese and Bishop Loverde gave permission to Euteneur to conduct an exorcism within the Diocese.”

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider

In an interview with Vatican Insider, Greg Burke, the Vatican’s new media adviser said his job would not just involve putting together responses but coming up with strategies

Andrés Beltramo Álvarez
Vatican City

Last 10 June, U.S. journalist Greg Burke decided he was going to turn his life around. He accepted the offer of a position as media adviser to the Vatican Secretary of State. This is a new role and was conceived in light of the Vatileak scandal, the crisis triggered by the leak of confidential documents belonging to Benedict XVI. Burke said this was a “high risk” job.

The 52 year old Opus Dei member will officially start his new role on Monday 2 July. Up until now he has been working as a correspondent for Fox News, following a stint at Time magazine. He has been living in Rome for over two decades and is well aware of the difficulties that exist within the Vatican. Burke is also aware of the fact that no one can snap their fingers and change the world of the Roman Curia just like that. No one. Not even the Pope.

But like any journalist, he is also well aware that the Holy See is going through a terrible moment in terms of its image. It is being tormented by news leaks, poison pen letter writers and by a series of obvious internal management errors which have received negative attention in the press. In an interview with Vatican Insider, Burke explained how he imagines his contribution, which he refers to as his “grain of sand”, to the vital change of course in apostolic communication.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
BBC News

The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) has decided that a senior priest in the Diocese of Down and Connor has no case to answer following abuse allegations.

Father John McManus from Portaferry has always denied any wrong-doing but stepped aside during the investigation.

The police conducted an inquiry after a complaint was made to the Down and Connor child safeguarding office more than a year and a half ago.

The PPS has now directed that no prosecution will be brought.

When contacted by the BBC, Fr McManus said he had “nothing to say”.

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CALIFORNIA
The Press Democrat

By PAUL PAYNE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Published: Monday, June 25, 2012

Three men who said they were molested by a Humboldt County priest in the 1980s have settled their lawsuit against church officials for $550,000.

A fourth man has rewritten his lawsuit to avoid being timed out by the statute of limitations.

All claim they were victims of Father Patrick McCabe, a priest at St. Bernard Parish in Eureka from 1983 to 1985. McCabe was arrested in 2010 on unrelated child-sex charges and extradited to Ireland for prosecution.

In March, three men who sued the Santa Rosa Diocese and the Archdiocese of Dublin, alleging officials knowingly placed a pedophile in their midst, settled their case for $550,000, their lawyer, Joseph George Jr., said Monday.

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MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

by Jon Collins, Minnesota Public Radio
June 25, 2012

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A St. Paul priest has been removed from his post after allegations surfaced that he sexually abused a minor.

The priest was arrested on Friday, but has not yet been charged. MPR News typically does not name suspects before they are charged. The abuse allegedly occurred during a two-year period.

Police spokesperson Howie Padilla said the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis approached police with the allegation.

“We had information on Thursday that there was a possible allegation of sex abuse regarding an employee of the archdiocese and a juvenile male victim,” Padilla said. “The investigation is at this time ongoing.”

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

A St. Paul priest was removed from his job after allegations surfaced that he sexually abused a minor.

The Rev. Curtis Wehmeyer is no longer at the Blessed Sacrament parish in St. Paul, according to a statement from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

The archdiocese learned of the allegations and reported them to police, according to the statement posted on its website Sunday.

St. Paul police filed a report Thursday that said a juvenile reported being sexually abused by Wehmeyer for two years, starting in 2010. Police arrested Wehmeyer on Friday. He has been released, and has not been charged.

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CONNECTICUT
New Britain Herald

Monday, June 25, 2012

By Lisa Backus
Staff Writer

Newly released arrest warrants allege that a popular priest was having sexually oriented conversations with at least nine teenage boys, most under the age of 16, while he was working at St. Paul’s Church in Berlin.

Michael Miller, 42, was arrested in July 2011 on charges he made inappropriate comments during conversations on Facebook with a 13-year-old boy. As part of the investigation, police seized several of Miller’s computers, according to three warrants issued for Miller’s June 14 arrest.

The warrants detail the results of the computer examination which revealed that Miller was having inappropriate conversations with several teenage boys, most of whom were parishioners who met him through the church, according to police.

In the talks on Facebook, which were retrieved by the Digital Forensics Unit at the New Britain Police Department, Miller described for one 15-year-old boy the pornographic movie he was watching and said he preferred boys “because they know how the parts work.”

Another 15-year-old confirmed that Miller, who used the screen name “Brendan Duvey,” would describe sex acts to him and how to perform certain maneuvers. Yet another 15-year-old told police he began talking to Miller about his parents’ divorce and his girl problems and ultimately the priest began discussing his bisexual relationships with the boy and which sex acts he preferred to perform, according to the warrant.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Catholics4Change

June 26, 2012 by Susan Matthews

Many on this site, including myself, have commented that they no longer wish to contribute to the archdiocese. We’d like to offer a comprehensive a list of Catholic or victim organizations that could use those funds for their good works. Please submit you suggestions (with url and short description) in the comments and I will create a Charity Resource page. Thank you.

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MINNESOTA
My Fox Twin Cities

[with video]

by Leah Beno

St. Paul Police are investigating a local priest accused of abusing a boy for the past two years.

Last Tuesday, a spokesman for Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis says it was brought to their attention that Reverend Curtis Wehmeyer maybe abusing a boy within the church. The next day, the church spoke with the victim. By Thursday, St. Paul police were investigating.

“We have been in complete communication with the Archdiocese and they have cooperated to this point,” said Howie Padilla, St. Paul police spokesman.

According to the police report, the victim claims Wehmeyer has been sexually assaulting him for two years. To complicate things further, the boy’s mother also works for the church.

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CALIFORNIA
Contra Costa Times

By Tracey Kaplan
tkaplan@mercurynews.com

In another bizarre legal twist, the judge in the San Jose priest-beating case Monday threw out the testimony of the Jesuit after he invoked his right against self-incrimination and refused to answer more questions in the trial of a man charged with assaulting him.

Judge David A. Cena said he will instruct the Santa Clara County jury to ignore the Rev. Jerold Lindner’s 40-minute testimony last week, including his insistence that he did not sexually molest his suspected attacker, Will Lynch, 35 years ago when Lynch was 7 years old.

The ruling deprives the prosecution of its star witness, making the assault case against Lynch potentially more difficult to prove.

But it also could hurt Lynch, whose attorneys immediately called for a mistrial, saying it was unfair to proceed with the case because they will not have the opportunity to cross-examine Lindner. They said the jury heard half the story and could be left with a lingering impression of the May 10, 2010, attack at the Sacred Heart retirement center in Los Gatos, which the elderly priest described as “vicious” and painful.

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MINNESOTA
Legal Examiner

Posted by Mike Bryant
June 26, 2012

This week, St Paul priest, Rev. Curtis Wehmeyer, was removed as pastor of Blessed Sacrament parish in St. Paul , according to a statement from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis..

The Minneapolis Tribune reported that :

St. Paul police filed a report Thursday that said a juvenile reported being sexually abused by Wehmeyer for two years, starting in 2010. Police arrested Wehmeyer on Friday. He has been released, and has not been charged.

Police spokesman Howie Padilla said the victim was a boy, but could not divulge more details because of the ongoing investigation.

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MINNESOTA
KSTP

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has relieved a priest of his duties while police investigate allegations of abuse.

St. Paul police arrested 47-year-old Curtis Wehmeyer, of Oakdale, after a juvenile male told investigators he had been assaulted over a two-year period. Wehmeyer has not been charged with a crime. He served as pastor at the Parish of the Blessed Sacrament on St. Paul’s east side.

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DEUTSCHLAND
netzwerkB

Norbert Denef, Sprecher des Netzwerks Betroffener von sexualisierter Gewalt e.V. mit Sitz in Scharbeutz, befindet sich seit dem 8. Juni 2012 im unbefristeten Hungerstreik. Ihm schlossen sich eine Reihe von Unterstützern an, darunter Christiane Kieburg, Katharina M., Anette W., Alwin Michel, Wilfried Fesselmann und Brigitte Lunzer Rieder aus Österreich.

Das Netzwerk Betroffener von sexualisierter Gewalt e.V., kurz netzwerkB, ist eine Vereinigung von und für Menschen, denen sexualisierter Gewalt, oftmals verbunden mit Formen von psychischer und physischer Gewalt angetan wurde, einmalig, mehrmalig bis hin zu jahrelang systematisch, im Säuglings-, Kindes-, Jugendlichen oder Erwachsenenalter. Sie wurde 2010 in Scharbeutz gegründet.

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The pope’s new PR strategist not only hails from Fox News; he belongs to the secretive Opus Dei society and lives in an all-male house cleaned by women members.

June 25, 2012

By Adele M. Stan

Let’s say you’re at the top of a large, right-wing institution; one with such a patriarchal bent that only men are allowed into leadership. Imagine that, in recent times, your once-powerful worldwide conglomerate is losing oodles of clout, thanks in part to media coverage of the scandals that have beset you: the leaking of your CEO’s private correspondence to a reporter, that pesky decades-long epidemic of child sexual abuse by your branch managers, mutiny amid the ranks of the service wing of your organization, and the perception that you have played dirty with one of your competitors.

Where would you find a really savvy player in the media world with legendary message discipline on a range of issues that serve the interests of the moneyed, exclusionary, patriarchal elite? Who ya gonna call?

Why, Fox News, of course.

This weekend the Vatican announced its hire of Fox News correspondent Greg Burke for the newly created role of communications strategist. Since the beginning of Pope Benedict XVI’s reign over the Roman Catholic Church, the Holy See, as the Vatican is known, just can’t seem to catch a break in the media. Kicking off his papacy with hard-line rhetoric against Islam that resulted in rioting, Benedict now seems to have lost all control even of his own subordinates, as evidenced by the spilling over into the public sphere a round of internecine Vatican battles that resulted in the arrest of the pope’s butler for allegedly leaking Benedict’s private correspondence to a journalist.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Derry Journal

Published on Tuesday 26 June 2012

The jury in the trial of a priest accused of indecently assaulting a teenage girl are expected to consider their verdict today.

Fr Eugene Boland, of Parochial House, Killyclogher Road, Omagh, denies five charges of indecently assaulting the 14-year-old girl between June 28, 1990 and June 30, 1992.

The allegations made by the complainant are that the now 66-year-old hugged her, kissed her on the lips and rubbed her back underneath her clothes.

During day six of the trial, the jury of eight women and four men heard from a number of defence witnesses giving evidence on behalf of Fr Boland and closing speeches by the prosecution and defence counsel.

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VATICAN CITY
The New York Times

By ANDREW ROSENTHAL

The Roman Catholic Church has been getting a lot of press lately, much of it negative: The priest sex abuse scandal won’t go away (on Friday, a former cardinal’s aide was convicted of covering up sexual abuse by priests under his supervision); the pope’s butler leaked private documents alleging corruption in Vatican finances (he was then arrested); and church leaders are cracking down on nuns for daring to buck doctrine.

So the Vatican has done what all powerful institutions do in this sort of a situation – it’s hired a new press consultant. Because none of these cases reflects an actual problem. (As the pope’s right-hand man, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, put it last week, the media are guilty of “pettiness and lies.”) It’s all just a matter of getting the message right and getting it out there more efficiently.

This job, which has to be the last prize in the 2012 public relations career lottery, is going to Greg Burke, a 52-year-old correspondent for Fox News who has covered the Vatican since 2001. Much is being made of the fact that Mr. Burke is the first person hired to work on the Vatican’s public relations who came from outside the Catholic news agencies, although he is a numerary of the Opus Dei movement, which means that he is celibate and gives the church most of his income.

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OHIO
ABC 6

[with video]

ERIE COUNTY, Ohio — A mother wants a local youth leader locked up amid allegations he sexually assaulted the her 16-year-old son.

ABC6/FOX28 spoke to the mother of the alleged victim, who did not want to be identified.

“I felt numb. I felt sick to my stomach,” the mother said. “I did what a normal mother would do. I started crying. It was devastating.”

According to investigators, the group from Judah Christian Community Church in Columbus arrived to Beulah Beach Christian camp in Vermillion Twp. last weekend.

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CANADA
The Globe and Mail

OLIVER MOORE and KIM MACKRAEL
The Globe and Mail

Published Monday, Jun. 25 2012

Scouts Canada has referred more than 100 allegations of historic sexual abuse to police after a forensic audit raised troubling questions about the organization’s handling of the cases over the past several decades.

A report from KPMG, released Monday, offers new detail on the organization’s reaction to sexual abuse allegations. It found no evidence of a systemic cover-up but showed that even after 1992, when internal rules changed to require that such allegations be reported to the authorities, the information was not always shared.

“We have decided to confront the good and the bad of our past,” Scouts Canada chief commissioner Steve Kent told a news conference in Ottawa.

Information on 65 cases, about one-fifth of which were reported after 1992, was not given to police when allegations surfaced. And for another 64 cases, roughly split between pre- and post-1992, there were not sufficient records to be sure the cases were reported, the audit found.

All 129 of these cases have now been handed over to police, Mr. Kent said. He would offer no details of the individual circumstances, citing the active investigations, but suggested the cases spanned the country.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By Joseph A. Slobodzian
Inquirer Staff Writer

For the last four nights, William J. Lynn has been known as No. 1102886 – one of 2,883 men living at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, the largest of the city’s prisons, in Northeast Philadelphia.

On Tuesday, Lynn’s lawyers hope they can persuade a Philadelphia judge to grant Lynn bail, allowing him to resume his role as a monsignor of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and, at least temporarily, live at a relative’s home instead of solitary confinement.

Lynn, 61, was found guilty Friday by a Common Pleas Court jury of a count of child endangerment, the first Catholic Church official criminally charged for his administrative duties as part of the ongoing sex-abuse scandal.

From 1992 to 2004, Lynn was archdiocesan secretary for clergy, responsible for investigating allegations of sexual abuse against priests.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Brockton Enterprise

By Erik Potter
Enterprise Staff Writer

Posted Jun 26, 2012

EASTON —

“I want people to know that they are safe from Paul Hawksley.”

The child that Hawksley repeatedly and forcibly raped eight years ago has been waiting years to be able to say that.

After coming forward in 2010 with his story of sexual abuse at the hands of an Easton church youth leader, the young man, whose name is not being published because he is the victim of a sex crime, has watched the criminal case against Hawksley wend slowly through the justice system.

When he heard the verdict on Monday – guilty on all counts – he cried.

“I was in tears. I was overjoyed,” he said in a phone interview with The Enterprise. “I’m working on putting back the pieces and getting my life back together. This gets me a lot closer. Closure is what I’m feeling now.”

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UNITED STATES
Patch

By Penelope Ettinger, Executive Director of PEI Kids

When are we going to create a safe community to protect our children from sexual abuse? Jerry Sandusky has been convicted of 45 out of 48 counts of child sexual abuse. Monsignor William Lynn of Philadelphia, in a landmark clergy-abuse trial, was convicted of child endangerment for covering up abuse claims. In the past year, coverage of child sexual abuse has increased with more than 1,800 stories in the news. Yet, in our communities we do little to create a safe environment for our children.

The alarming statistics of child sexual abuse are well substantiated – 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused by their 18th birthday. Ninety percent of child sexual abuse is committed by someone the child (and the family) knows, trusts and in many cases loves. Thirty percent of these cases are committed by a family member. And most sexual abuse is never reported. The grim reality is child sexual abuse happens in every community. If the child doesn’t receive treatment, the adverse emotional and social impact on the child victim is life-long. The long-term economic costs to business and community are great.

Still, there is a solution. It is our primal moral responsibility to educate ourselves and our children about these potential dangers in our communities. Recently the Greater Mercer Coalition to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse was formed to do exactly this –educate every adult who lives and/or works in the greater Mercer area on how to keep children safe, how to recognize signs of abuse and how to respond with compassion to any child who tells of abuse. The Coalition, which is part of a statewide effort, comprises a growing group of community leaders from business, the faith-based community, health care, , the media, youth and social service organizations, government and education to address this issue within their own disciplines and to get the message out to constituents—and where appropriate—adopting appropriate child safety policies.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Sports Illustrated

John Wertheim

Last Friday, a 12-member Pennsylvania jury issued a groundbreaking decision that will change the way we prosecute and perceive sex crimes against children. The guilty verdict will have far-reaching consequences for how authority figures and institutions can be held criminally liable when committing and covering up sexual abuse.

Yet when Monsignor William J. Lynn, a former cardinal’s aide with the archdiocese of Philadelphia, was found guilty of endangering children — and now faces jail time for concealing evidence about predatory priests, transferring them to other parishes instead of confronting allegations about their abuse — a nation hardly stopped its business. Twitter wasn’t atwitter, networks didn’t break from regularly scheduled programming to announce the verdict, and reporters on the ground didn’t file reports over the whir of circling news helicopters.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CALIFORNIA
NBC Bay Area

By Breena Kerr

Monday, Jun 25, 2012

Lindner testified last week in the trial, in which defendant William Lynch, 44, has been charged with felony assault and elder abuse for allegedly attacking Lindner at a Los Gatos retirement home in May 2010.

A Jesuit priest who was allegedly assaulted in 2010 by a man who claims the priest molested him several decades ago is refusing to testify further in his accused attacker’s San Jose trial.

The Rev. Jerold Lindner told Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge David Cena Monday morning that, under the advice of his attorney, he is invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and is declining to give additional testimony.

Cena is taking the matter under consideration and has recessed the case until 1:30 p.m. Monday.

Lindner testified last week in the trial, in which defendant William Lynch, 44, has been charged with felony assault and elder abuse for allegedly attacking Lindner at a Los Gatos retirement home in May 2010.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

IRELAND
The Irish Times

A FORMER priest has admitted the attempted rape of a young girl and the sexual assault of her brother in west Cork more than 30 years ago.

John Calnan (73), of the Presbytery, Paul Street, Cork, pleaded guilty to the attempted rape of the girl between January 1st, 1980, and April 30th, 1980, in west Cork. She was aged seven at the time.

Calnan also admitted three counts of sexually assaulting the girl between October 25th, 1976, and October 24th, 1979.

He further admitted one count of sexual assault on the girl’s brother between August 10th, 1975, and October 9th, 1979. The victim was aged between nine and 12 at the time.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

ROCHESTER (NY)
Democrat and Chronicle

Written by
SEAN DOBBIN
Staff writer

A momentous undertaking, the Diocese of Rochester’s three-day synod in October 1993 centered on the recommendations of more than 30,000 parishioners, who over several years had submitted countless suggestions regarding the future of the diocese and how it tied in to their faith, their values and their dreams.

But while the synod itself ranks highly among his favorite moments in Rochester, engaging with the parishioners beforehand and drawing on their strength, joy, and goodwill, is among Bishop Matthew H. Clark’s most cherished memories of his time here.

“The experience of doing it that way has had its good fruit for all the years since,” said Clark. “The realization that yes, what we do is extremely important, and the decisions we make are crucial, but no less important are the ways we come to it.”

In July, Clark will reach the age of 75, whereupon he will submit his resignation to the Vatican as is mandated by Canon Law. On Monday, he spoke to members of the media and reflected on his 33 years as bishop, saying that interacting with his parishioners was the best part of the position. …

But most painful of all was the national sex abuse scandal which saw thousands of priests nationwide removed from the priesthood; earlier this month, the Diocese of Rochester published the names of 23 such priests it had removed from the ministry over the past 10 years.

“It’s the worst thing that has ever happened in my lifetime to the church,” said Clark. “The core damage done to the young people victimized by priests, of whom had every right to expect the highest level of trust and care, that is a terrible black mark and stain on our recent history.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Priest Abuse Trial Blog

Ralph Cipriano

Lost in all the hoopla over the “historic” conviction of Msgr. William J. Lynn was the jury’s repudiation of the prosecution’s central allegation in the priest abuse case: that Lynn had somehow conspired with predator priests to keep them in ministry, so they could abuse new victims.

The prosecution’s conspiracy theory was that Lynn got up every day and said in effect, what can I do to keep pedophile priests in ministry, so they can continue to rape, molest and abuse more innocent children.

On Monday, the jury foreman in the case went on Fox 29 and said that not only did he and other jurors not believe the prosecutors’ theory, but also that they didn’t understand it. It would be comical, except that the Commonwealth just spent millions of dollars and eight weeks of trial trying to convince the jury that Bill Lynn the quintessential company man was the alleged mastermind of the conspiracy down at the archdiocese to endanger children.

The jury found Lynn not guilty of conspiring with Father Edward V. Avery, or anyone else, to endanger the welfare of children.

On Monday morning, jury foreman Isa Logan went on Fox 29’s Good Day and told anchors Mike Jerrick and Karen Hepp that he didn’t buy the prosecution’s conspiracy theory, and neither did anyone else on the jury.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

ST. PAUL (MN)
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

Date:
Sunday, June 24, 2012

Source:
Jim Accurso

Archbishop John Nienstedt has removed the pastor of Blessed Sacrament parish in St. Paul, Reverend Curtis Wehmeyer, after learning of allegations that the priest had engaged in misconduct involving a minor. Following archdiocesan policy, the Archdiocese immediately reported the allegations to the police, and an investigation into the allegations was begun. The Archdiocese is cooperating fully with police in their investigation.

Pending the outcome of the investigation, Father Wehmeyer is prohibited from exercising any ministry in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. He is no longer in residence at Blessed Sacrament.

Another priest will be appointed to Blessed Sacrament to provide for parishioners’ sacramental and pastoral needs.

Anyone having knowledge of misconduct within a parish should call the proper authorities and is encouraged to notify the Archdiocese at 651.291.4497.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

ST. PAUL (MN)
Patch

By Hannah Gruber

A St. Paul priest was arrested in Oakdale Friday after he was accused of having sexual contact with a minor.

Curtis Carl Wehmeyer, 47, was arrested Friday and released from Ramsey County jail on Monday, according to the Pioneer Press. He has not been formally charged, but police are investigating the case as a sexual assault.

A juvenile male told police that the abuse occurred for two years, said Howie Padilla, a spokesman of the St. Paul Police Department.

Since the allegations emerged last week, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis removed Wehmeyer from his position as the pastor at the Parish of the Blessed Sacrament at 1801 LaCrosse Avenue in St. Paul, according to the Pioneer Press.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

ST. PAUL (MN)
Pioneer Press

mgottfried@pioneerpress.com
twincities.com
Posted: 06/25/2012

Police arrested a St. Paul priest on suspicion of criminal sexual conduct, and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has removed him as a pastor.

The move came after the archdiocese learned “of allegations that the priest had engaged in misconduct involving a minor,” archdiocese spokesman Jim Accurso said in a Sunday, June 24, statement. “Following archdiocesan policy, the archdiocese immediately reported the allegations to the police, and an investigation into the allegations was begun.”

Police arrested Curtis Carl Wehmeyer, 47, in Oakdale on Friday. He was released from the Ramsey County jail Monday, pending further investigation. He has not been charged.

Police are investigating the case as a sex assault, said Howie Padilla, police spokesman. A juvenile male told police Thursday it happened over a two-year period, he said.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by David Clohessy on June 25, 2012

It’s disturbing that Minnesota Catholic officials stayed silent about these serious and credible allegations for days.

Days of delay enable criminals to destroy evidence, intimidate victims, threaten witnesses, discredit whistleblowers, fabricate alibis and even flee the country.

It’s irresponsible for Catholic officials to sit on crucial information that could protect kids while they selfishly wait for a more opportune time to release it.

Let’s hope that every person who saw, suspected or suffered Fr. Wehmeyer’s crimes (or misdeeds by any Catholic employee) will find the strength and courage to step forward, call police, protect kids, expose wrongdoing and start healing.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

NEDERLAND
Limburgs Dagblad

Binnen Huize Sint Joseph in Heel was in de periode dat tientallen jongens onder verdachte omstandigheden stierven, sprake van een verziekte cultuur.

Door onze verslaggevers
Heel

De leiding van het gesticht in Heel kampte begin jaren vijftig van de vorige eeuw met grote problemen. Binnen de muren van de instelling was sprake van seksueel misbruik van de kinderen, agressie en gedwongen nachtarbeid. Er was een machtsstrijd gaande tussen de verschillende broeders. Dat blijkt uit onderzoek van deze krant naar de omstandigheden waaronder tientallen jongens in Heel overleden.

De problemen escaleerden tussen 1950 en 1954. Dat is precies de periode dat tientallen jongens in Huize Sint Joseph stierven. Een groot deel van hen verbleef op de verpleegafdeling van broeder Andreas, die nu verantwoordelijk wordt gehouden voor de sterfgevallen. Deze ‘broeder des doods’ claimde in zijn later geschreven biografie dat hij als onervaren verpleger in Heel volledig aan zijn lot werd overgelaten. Justitie heeft nadrukkelijk naar de rol van de verantwoordelijken in die tijd bij Sint Joseph gekeken, bevestigen bronnen.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
WIBW

(CBS/AP) PHILADELPHIA – A Roman Catholic church official convicted of child endangerment will learn Tuesday if he’ll get out of jail to await sentencing.

Monsignor William Lynn was found guilty of child endangerment Friday, making him the first U.S. church official convicted for covering up abuse claims.

A judge revoked his bail, but his lawyers want the 61-year-old priest released on house arrest until his Aug. 13 sentencing. They filed a motion Monday asking to have him released from prison.

“You guys are going to have to look a long, long time to find a 61-year-old defendant convicted of a third-degree felony with no prior record, with community ties who was remanded,” defense lawyer Jeffrey Lindy told CBS Philadelphia station KYW-TV Friday.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CALIFORNIA
Santa Cruz Sentinel

By Tracey Kaplan
tkaplan@mercurynews.com
mercurynews.com

Posted: 06/25/2012

A Santa Clara County judge has stricken the key testimony of a retired Catholic priest who is the victim in a beating case after he invoked his right against self-incrimination and refused to answer more questions.

Judge David A. Cena also indicated Rev. Jerold Lindner can legally invoke 5th Amendment rights and refuse to continue his testimony.

But Cena indicated he will move forward with the trial against Will Lynch, who is accused of assaulting Lindner at a Catholic retirement center in Los Gatos in 2010.

Lynch’s attorneys said it is unfair to proceed with the case because the jury has already heard 40 minutes of Lindner’s testimony and defense would have no opportunity to cross-examine him. They said the jury heard half the story.

The trial was adjourned in the mid-afternoon and will reconvene at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, at which time the defense is expected to formally put their objections on the record.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CALIFORNIA
Contra Costa Times

The Associated Press
Posted: 06/25/2012

SAN JOSE, Calif.—A judge has tossed out a priest’s testimony against a man charged with assaulting him after the reverend invoked his right to avoid self-incrimination as it became clear he may be accused of lying on the stand.

The man accused of attacking the priest in 2010 at a retirement home in San Jose, William Lynch, claims Father Jerold Lindner raped him and his brother decades ago. Lindner has denied the accusations.

The San Jose Mercury News reported (http://bit.ly/KIWRz9) on Monday that Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge David Cena allowed Lindner to invoke his Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination.

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UNITED STATES
Legal Examiner

by John McKiggan
June 25, 2012

On Friday, June 22, 2012, Monsignor William Lynn was convicted by a jury on charges of criminal endangerment. The case marks the first time that any official within the Catholic Church has been held criminally responsible for sexual abuse by Catholic priests.

Landmark Decision

I don’t believe the importance of this conviction can be understated. Every province in Canada and every state in the United States have laws that require persons in authority to report suspected cases of child abuse. The website BishopAccountability.org has a database of almost a hundred American priests who have been publicly accused of sexual abuse.

But until last week, not a single catholic official in charge of any of these priests have ever faced charges about their knowledge or complicity in failing to report these priests to civilian authorities.

Civil lawsuits by priest-abuse victims have uncovered, time and time again, evidence that persons in authority within the Church knew about abuse by priests and failed to report the abuse, or worse, moved the priests from parish to parish allowing them to continue their predatory acts.

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CALIFORNIA
KTVU

KTVU And AP Wires

SAN JOSE, Calif. —

A Superior Court judge rejected a mistrial motion Monday filed by a man who is accused of beating a priest who he claims raped him decades ago.

Judge David Cena denied the motion before testimony started for the day Monday.

The attorneys for William Lynch had claimed a prosecutor committed misconduct in handling the priest’s testimony. The defense attorneys accused the prosecutor of knowingly allowing false testimony, known as “suborning perjury.”

Father Jerold Lindner denied under oath on the witness stand Wednesday that he molested Lynch during a 1975 camping trip.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CALIFORNIA
Patch

By Sheila Sanchez

A mistrial motion filed Friday afternoon citing prosecutorial misconduct and suborned perjury was denied this morning by Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge David Cena, who’s presiding over the high-profile Los Gatos priest-beating case.

After attorneys representing William Lynch, accused of beating Father Jerold Lindner at the Sacred Heart Jesuit Center in Los Gatos in May of 2010, and Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Kevin Smith defended his colleague, prosecutor Vicki Gemetti, Cena ruled that the prosecution wouldn’t knowingly use perjured testimony to obtain a conviction on the case.

Cena further ruled that Lindner’s testimony denying the molestation accusations didn’t relate to either of the crimes with which Lynch is being tried for, assault and elder abuse of the priest, the judge said.

Cena also stated that Lindner has never stated that he’s molested anyone and has never been convicted of any molestation charge. He also said the defense had failed to prove that his testimony is 100 percent false when he denied abusing Lynch.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

VATICAN CITY
Washington Post

By Alessandro Speciale| Religion News Service, Updated: Monday, June 25

VATICAN CITY — The sexual abuse scandal has tarnished the image of the priest and contributed to a crisis of priestly vocations in the Roman Catholic Church, the Vatican said Monday (June 25), while also faulting a widespread “secularized mentality” and parents’ ambition for their children, which leaves “little space to the possibility of a call to a special vocation.”

The “Pastoral Guidelines for Fostering Vocations to Priestly Ministry” were prepared over the last seven years by the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education.

The document says candidates to the priesthood shouldn’t be accepted if they show “signs of being profoundly fragile personalities,” and says future priests should learn the “importance” of their future commitments, “in particular with regard to celibacy.”

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

DEUTSCHLAND
Zeit

Bonn (AFP) Nach zweieinhalb Jahren stellt die katholische Kirche ihre Hotline für ehemalige Heimkinder zum Monatsende ein. Seit Januar 2010 wurde das Angebot von 909 Betroffenen genutzt, die zwischen 1945 und 1975 in katholischen Einrichtungen schlechte Erfahrungen gemacht hatten, wie die Deutsche Bischofskonferenz am Montag in Bonn mitteilte. 645 der Nutzer meldeten sich telefonisch, 264 im Zuge einer Online-Beratung. 73 Prozent der Anrufer berichteten demnach von körperlichen Strafen, 48 Prozent von Demütigungen. 243 Anrufer gaben an, sexuellen Missbrauch erfahren zu haben.

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OREGON
The Garden of Roses: Stories of Abuse and Healing

Letter From a Father Struggling for Justice
Dear Friend:

My friend, Nam Hoang. asked me to post this letter. It is about a priest mentioned in a previous article posted to my blog — I Am Greatly Saddened By This Case.

The priest, who is Nam Hoang’s brother, had a credible accusation of abuse against him, but the Archdiocese placed him back into ministry. When Nam came forward in private to Church officials several years ago, he did not receive support from the community. Instead he and his wife, and children were harassed so badly they decided to leave the state of Oregon.

I edited some names but the most important one can be found in the previous blog post.

Peace be with us all. We need it.

Sincerely,
Virginia Jones

Email: paxdeus11@live.com
P.O. Box 11105
Manassas, Va 20113
Washington DC June 22 2012.
TO: Archdiocese of Portland and the Committee Review Board.
CC: Catholics and victims of sexual abuse, Media Outlets, Gov. John Kitzhaber (OR), Gov. Mac Donnell (VA), delegate David Albo (VA), Senator Scott Brown (Mass). Parishioners of Tillamook, Sacred Heart Church.
This letter will also be given to passerby and hand delivered to US congress of America.
Re: 1/Fr JVH erratic behavior and sexual misconducts.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
National Catholic Reporter

by Michael Sean Winters on Jun. 25, 2012 Distinctly Catholic

The jury in the trial of Msgr. William Lynn took 13 days to reach its verdict, and the verdict was clear: Those charged with oversight of clergy and who did not use that charge to protect children will be found guilty of criminal behavior — in this case, child endangerment.

We know something about what took the jury so long. The jurors had sent the judge a note saying they had reached a verdict on one count but were deadlocked on the others. In the end, they concluded they could not break their deadlock regarding Fr. James Brennan, who was charged with molestation, and consequently, they could not convict Lynn on the charge of child endangerment regarding Brennan’s assignments. But they did convict Lynn on the charge of child endangerment as regards his actions towards Fr. Edward Avery, who had previously pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and sexual assault. In other words, once the underlying crime was proven, the jury had little doubt as to the guilt of Msgr. Lynn, who served as the secretary for the clergy in Philadelphia from 1992 to 2004.

“This trial was not about a specific religion. It was about evil men who did evil things to children they should have protected but people were more concerned about the institution than about those victims or future victims,” Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams said after the verdict. Williams is, by all accounts, a loyal Catholic.

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VATICAN CITY
The Daily Beat

Barbie Latza Nadeau

Mired in scandal, the Vatican poached an American Fox News journalist to handle communications. Greg Burke tells Barbie Latza Nadeau how he’ll bring the Holy See back to good graces.

One week after the Pope’s butler was arrested for allegedly leaking private Vatican documents to the press, Fox News’s Rome correspondent, Greg Burke, got what he refers to as “a curious call” from the Vatican. Burke was in the United States at the time, celebrating his father’s 90th birthday, and had turned off his Italian cellphone. When he turned it back on, he had several messages from the Holy See. “The Pope’s chief of staff would like to see you,” said one.

“I knew it was something important,” Burke, 52, told The Daily Beast. “I figured it wasn’t to talk about the best restaurants in Rome.”

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VATICAN CITY
The Guardian – Greenslade Blog (United Kingdom)

Would you believe it? The Vatican has hired a Fox News journalist to be its senior communications adviser.

Greg Burke, the News Corp channel’s Rome correspondent, has covered the Vatican for Fox since 2001. He is a member of the conservative Opus Dei movement.

He becomes the Vatican’s first communications expert hired from outside the insular world of the Roman Catholic news media. He is not replacing the current spokesman, Federico Lombardi, but will advise officials on how to shape their message.

Some Vatican observers regard the move as a power play by media-savvy Americans — including Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York and the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops — inside a Vatican hierarchy that is run by Italians.

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VATICAN CITY
The Age (Australia)

Rome
June 26, 2012

A FOX News reporter has been chosen by Pope Benedict XVI to sort out the Vatican’s media strategy amid signs that the 85-year-old pontiff is plotting a radical shake-up at the top of the Roman Catholic church.

Greg Burke, a 52-year-old member of the conservative Opus Dei fellowship, is to take a job in the Vatican’s secretariat of state. He said: ”I feel exactly the way I felt in Lebanon at the start of the 2006 war – nervous and excited at the same time.”

Burke, who is Rome correspondent for Fox television, said he had twice refused a similar offer from the Vatican ”because I had a really great job”.

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VATICAN CITY
NPR

by Bill Chappell

Seeking to modernize and widen its dealings with the media, the Vatican has hired Fox News Channel’s Rome correspondent to advise its press office. The move will put journalist Greg Burke, who is also a member of Opus Dei, into a new role working with Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi.

For NPR’s Newscast desk, Sylvia Poggioli reports from Rome:

“Greg Burke, 52, has been with Fox 10 years, and he’ll be the first Vatican communications expert with experience outside the world of Catholic media.

Last week, the pope’s right hand man, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. accused the media of ‘pettiness and lies.'”

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VATICAN CITY
AFP

By Francoise Kadri (AFP)

ROME — A scandal-hit Vatican, struggling to combat years of bad press, has hired American Fox News correspondent Greg Burke to modernise a communications strategy tainted by serious blunders in the past.

Burke told AFP he has been hired “primarily as a strategist” to “simplify the Vatican’s message (and) improve communications,” though Vatican watchers have said his appointment fails to tackle the real issues within the Holy See.

One of his main tasks, Burke says, will be “avoiding too many surprises.”

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CANADA
National Post

Kelly McParland Jun 25, 2012

Embroiled in more scandals than it has commandments, the Catholic Church hierarchy has reacted like governments everywhere do when they’re in trouble: hire a public relations adviser to “craft its message.”

In this case the Church has turned to what must be one of the world’s more questionable sources, if you’re looking for straightforward, unbiased communications: Fox News.

Well, not Fox News exactly, but Greg Burke, a veteran Fox News correspondent in Rome, and a member of Opus Dei.

Gee, how promising — a member of the Church’s most conservative wing, who works for the world’s most right-wing news organization, will now be guiding the Pope in trying to reassure the flock that everything is under control inside the world’s last independent walled city-state.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.

CALIFORNIA
Mercury News

By Tracey Kaplan
tkaplan@mercurynews.com
mercurynews.com

Posted: 06/25/2012

A retired Catholic priest has refused to answer more questions in the trial of the man accused of beating him in Los Gatos, a move that could end the case.

When Rev. Jerold Lindner was called back to the stand this morning, he invoked the 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination. Lindner is the key witness against San Francisco resident Will Lynch, who is accused of assaulting Lindner in 2010.

Lindner allegedly molested Lynch decades ago when he was a child.

Judge David A. Cena dismissed the jury until this afternoon. He is considering whether Lindner can invoke his right against self-incrimination. The statute of limitations has run out on the alleged molestations, but Lindner’s attorney says the priest could be charged with perjury. He has already in court denied he molested Lynch.

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CALIFORNIA
Ventura County Star

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) – Attorneys representing a California man charged with assaulting a priest who he claims raped him decades ago have filed a second motion for a mistrial.

William Lynch’s attorneys say prosecutor Vicki Gemetti withheld evidence she obtained from Father Jerold Lindner. Lindner allegedly told Gemetti that he would take the stand and say he did not molest Lynch. But Lynch’s attorneys say Gemetti denied knowing what Lynch would say.

The San Jose Mercury News (http://bit.ly/Q37bl6) obtained the second motion late Sunday.

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INDIANAPOLIS (IN)
Catholic Sentinel

Catholic News Service

INDIANAPOLIS — Noting that the church in Philadelphia is “now my family, an intimate part of my life” a year after being appointed to lead the church there, Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput said that the clergy sexual abuse scandal “has caused terrible suffering for victims, demoralized many of our clergy, crippled the witness of the church and humiliated the whole Catholic community” in that region.

He made this assessment June 20, hours after a Philadelphia jury told Judge Teresa Sarmina that they could not agree on four of five charges in a clergy sexual abuse trial. Judge Sarmina instructed the jury, which has been in deliberations for 12 days, to continue to seek a verdict in the case against Father James J. Brennan and Msgr. William Lynn.

Archbishop Chaput made his remarks during a keynote address in the 2012 Catholic Media Conference, sponsored jointly by the Catholic Press Association and the Catholic Academy for Communications Arts Professionals.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Dorris on June 25, 2012

We call on Penn State officials to disavow confidentiality or “gag” orders and to agree not to ask victims to sign them before their cases are settled. From a PR perspective, these orders may be tempting, but from a prevention perspective, these orders will only do the public a disservice.

It is important that the facts about this harrowing situation can be made public, so that people may learn where things went wrong, and what can be done to prevent such wrongdoing in the future.

Penn State officials have publicly said they want these suits to be resolved quickly. But in some ways, we hope not all of them will be.

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OSTERREICH
Kaernten@ORF

Seit bekannt wurde, dass es auch in Heimen der evangelischen Diakonie in Treffen Missbrauchsfälle gegeben hat, läuft die Aufarbeitung. Die Diakonie zahlte den Opfern bisher 150.000 Euro Entschädigung. Rektor Hubert Stotter im Interview.

Sexueller Mißbrauch, sexualisierte Gewalt, schwarze Pädagogik, darüber berichteten bisher zehn Opfer, die als Kinder Zöglinge im Heim „de la Tour“ im Treffen waren. Manche wurden zu Hause missbraucht, kamen ins Heim, wurden dort wieder missbraucht. Als sie verhaltensauffällig wurden, kamen sie zu Kinderarzt Franz Wurst, dieser habe sie wieder missbraucht.

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PENNSYLVANIA
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on June 25, 2012

Penn State must have something to hide. And it’s bad enough that they’re trying to bamboozle victims into gag orders.

From the Philadelphia Enquirer:

… School president Rodney Erickson said in a statement released just after the 45 guilty verdicts against Sandusky were brought in Friday night, ”The purpose of the program is simple. The university wants to provide a forum where the university can privately, expeditiously, and fairly address the victims’ concerns and compensate them for claims.” (emphasis mine)

Even the US Catholic Bishops have a rule against gag-orders, (Article 3 of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People). They give it the run-around as much as they can, but still.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
ABC News

PHILADELPHIA June 25, 2012 (AP)

Attorneys for a Roman Catholic church official convicted of child endangerment are asking a judge to release him on house arrest.

Monsignor William Lynn was found guilty of child endangerment Friday, making him the first U.S. church official branded a felon for covering up abuse claims.

His lawyers filed a motion Monday asking to have him released from prison pending his sentencing Aug. 13.

Prosecutors say Lynn helped the Archdiocese of Philadelphia keep predators in ministry, and the public in the dark, by telling parishes their priests were being removed for health reasons and then sending the men to unsuspecting churches.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
My Fox Philly

[with video]

PHILADELPHIA –
Two big verdicts were handed down by two different juries on Friday, including the conviction of Jerry Sandusky and the conviction of Monsignor William Lynn.

But the jury in the Philadelphia church sex abuse trial could not agree on the charges against Father James Brennan, which resulted in a mistrial.

Joining “Good Day” Monday was Issa Logan, the jury foreman on that case.

The jurors come to agreement on the charges against Brennan, who was accused of trying to rape a teenager, “because the evidence didn’t allow us to actually believe – or all of us to believe – that he actually raped a child,” Logan said.

The accuser testified during the trial, but Logan said some of the jurors had problems with discrepancies in the evidence, adding that “the story didn’t stay as consistent as we needed it to be in order to make a decision.”

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CALIFORNIA
Marin Independent Journal

By Tracey Kaplan
tkaplan@mercurynews.com
mercurynews.com

Posted: 06/25/2012

A Santa Clara County judge this morning rejected the defense’s motions for a mistrial in the priest-beating case.

Judge David A. Cena also said testimony will resume later this morning with Rev. Jerold Lindner back on the stand.

Lindner allegedly molested Will Lynch when he was a child. Decades later, Lynch is accused of beating Lindner at a Los Gatos center for retired priests.

Lynch’s attorneys filed two motions for a mistrial. The first was that prosecutor Vicki Gemetti suborned perjury when Gemetti put Lindner on the stand Wednesday after announcing to the jury in her opening statement that he molested the brothers and would almost certainly lie under oath by denying the alleged molestation or saying he didn’t remember.

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CALIFORNIA
Oakland Tribune

By Tracey Kaplan tkaplan@mercurynews.comcontracostatimes.com
Posted: 06/25/2012

Prosecutors in the San Jose priest-beating trial have said they pursued the case despite the accused man’s understandable motive — retaliating against the cleric he said brutally molested him as a child — because it’s the right thing to do.

No matter how good the motive, they said, victims cannot be allowed to mete out justice in defiance of the rule of law.

But now, lawyers for the priest’s alleged assailant, Will Lynch, are filing a second motion for a mistrial, claiming among other grounds that prosecutor Vicki Gemetti violated the rule of law herself — by withholding evidence and lying about it.

Gemetti told the lawyers and judge she did not know what the victim and star witness — the Rev. Jerold Lindner — would say in court when she asked if he molested Lynch and his then-4-year-old brother on a camping trip in the Santa Cruz Mountains in the mid-1970s. The defense had asked for the information in multiple discovery requests right up until Wednesday, the first day of trial, so the lawyers could prepare to cross-examine him. Gemetti that morning “stated she had not discussed it (with the priest) and that she had no idea what he was going to say,” according to the motion.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 24 June 2012 (VIS) – The American journalist Gregory Burke, who is currently Rome correspondent for Fox News, will shortly take up the post of “communications advisor” to the Secretariat of State, according to an announcement made by Holy See Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J.

“This new figure”, Fr. Lombardi explained, “will have the task of dealing with communications issues in the work of the Secretariat of State, and will oversee relations with the Holy See Press Office and other media institutions of the Holy See”.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 24 June 2012 (VIS) – Fr. Lombardi has provided journalists with information about meetings the Pope held on Saturday 23 June, first with heads of dicasteries of the Roman Curia, and subsequently with Cardinals George Pell, archbishop of Sydney, Australia; Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops; Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue; Camillo Ruini, vicar general emeritus of His Holiness for the diocese of Rome, and Jozef Tomko, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples.

“In the context of the circumstances that have arisen following the publication of reserved documents, the Holy Father is seeking to deepen his knowledge of the situation through continuous dialogue with those people who share with him the responsibility for governing the Church”, Fr. Lombardi said.

“Last Saturday, as has already been made public, he became more fully informed on the course of the investigations in a meeting with the Commission of Cardinals responsible for conducting them, led by Cardinal Julian Herranz.

“This morning he is participating in the meeting with heads of dicasteries which, as is customary, is focusing on the issue of coordinating the work of the Roman Curia, something which is particularly important and urgent today in order to bear effective witness to the spirit of union which animates it.

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NEDERLAND
RTL News

Eén man zou verantwoordelijk zijn voor de dood van tientallen jongens in de jaren vijftig in een katholieke zwakzinnigeninstelling in Limburg. Dat blijkt uit onderzoek van Dagblad de Limburger.

Tussen 1952 en 1954 was het sterftecijfer in de instelling Sint Joseph in het plaatsje Heel opvallend hoog. Volgens De Limburger onthult het Openbaar Ministerie binnenkort een onderzoek naar de zaak, en naar de rol van een zekere broeder Andreas. De krant schrijft dat deze broeder, die inmiddels zelf ook is overleden, verantwoordelijk is voor de dood van de ernstig gehandicapte jongens.

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NEDERLAND
Knack

maandag 25 juni 2012

Westvleteren – De dood van tientallen jongens in het psychiatrisch instituut Sint Joseph in het Nederlands-Limburgse Heel wordt toegeschreven aan één man, broeder Andreas. Dat blijkt uit onderzoek van dagblad De Limburger naar een van de grootste misstanden ooit binnen Nederlandse katholieke jeugdinstellingen. De broeder belandde later bij de Trappisten in het Westvleteren.

Tussen 1952 en 1954 vonden tientallen zeer ernstig gehandicapte jongens de dood in de een instelling in Heel. Oorspronkelijk luidde het dat ze een natuurlijke dood waren gestorven. Maar daar is vorig jaar twijfel over ontstaan. Onderzoek van Dagblad De Limburger leerde dat het extreme sterftecijfer te maken had met broeder Andreas. Die werkte in Heel met de groep ernstigst gehandicapte kinderen die niets meer konden dan eten en slapen. Hulp bij de behandeling kreeg hij niet.

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NEDERLAND
de Stentor

Auteur: door Paul Bots, Hans Goossen | maandag 25 juni 2012

HEEL – De dood van tientallen jongens in zwakzinnigeninstelling Sint Joseph in Heel wordt toegeschreven aan één man, broeder Andreas. De doden vielen tussen 1952-1954.

Dat blijkt uit onderzoek van Dagblad De Limburger/Limburgs Dagblad naar een van de grootste misstanden ooit binnen katholieke jeugdinstellingen. Het Openbaar Ministerie presenteert op korte termijn het resultaat van een eigen studie naar het extreme sterftecijfer en de rol van broeder Andreas.

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