ABUSE TRACKER

UNITED STATES
WCPO

A priest that was a member of the Glenmary Home Missioners, a Catholic society in Fairfield of priests and brothers who are dedicated to establishing a Catholic presence in rural areas and small towns of the United States, has been alleged to have engaged in sexual misconduct for a second time.

Authorities allege that Father Bob Poandl was involved in an incident that took place in the 1980s in the diocese of Savannah, Georgia. A police report containing these allegations was filed on July 14 with the Union County (Ga.) Sheriff’s Department.

Poandl had originally been accused in February of child sex abuse that occurred 30 years ago in West Virginia.

Poandl was brought back to Cincinnati and relieved of his duties following the first set of allegations, the charges of which were dismissed by a West Virginia judge. Poandl has been living at Glenmary’s Cincinnati residence since then and has not been functioning as a priest.

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.

NEW YORK
The Observer

By HARRY HUGGINS
Editor-in-Chief
Published: August 22, 2012

Despite passing a criminal background check in 2011, Br. James A. Ligouri, former associate vice president and executive director of Fordham’s Westchester campus, resigned July 20 after a claim that he sexually abused a child was made public.

According to a story posted on the website of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), the alleged victim, known as John Doe, filed on July 19 a claim in bankruptcy court alleging sexual abuse by Liguori. The alleged incidents occured in 1969, when the victim attended the Cardinal Farley Military Academy in Rhinecliff, New York. Liguori is a member of the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers, formerly known as the Irish Christian Brothers.

Two days later, on July 21, Fordham sent an email to the community expressing their awareness of the allegations against Liguori and his subsequent resignation. The email from Father Joseph M. McShane, S.J., said Liguori passed a criminal background check when he was hired in 2011.

Fordham uses A-Check America for background checks on new hires. One recent hire who wished to remain anonymous described the background check process as rigorous, asking for all employers from the last seven years, and even addresses from when she lived out of the country. Fordham’s employment application does ask for applicants to list any convictions, but does not ask for pending lawsuits or bankruptcy claims.

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.

OREGON
KTVZ

[with video]

By Joe Burns

BEND, Ore. –
This year marks the 10th anniversary of a major national effort by the Catholic Church to combat child sex abuse.

With the news of a Woodburn priest accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy at his home last week, just how effective has the program been?

The document entitled “The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” was adopted by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2002.

In October of that year, the Diocese of Baker published its version.

NewsChannel 21 talked with the local bishop in Bend for his thoughts on the effectiveness of the program.

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.

SAVANNAH (GA)
WTOC

SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) –
A sex abuse report has been filed against a Catholic Priest with ties to Southeast Georgia.

An Atlanta man filed the report, stating that Father Robert Roandl molested him when he was a child.

Leaders of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests want Roandl put in a secure treatment center.

The priest served churches in Pembroke and Claxton under Glenmary Missions of Cincinnati. He has not served with the Diocese of Savannah. He also worked in seven other states.

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.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Concord Monitor

By Maddie Hanna / Monitor staff

August 23, 2012

When she testified last year to being raped and impregnated as a teenager in 1997 by a married man who attended her Concord church, Tina Anderson told jurors she also had been sexually assaulted by her stepfather years earlier.

Anderson said at trial that her mother and her pastor at Trinity Baptist told her to forgive her stepfather, Daniel Leaf, for the abuse, and he never faced charges in connection with her allegations.

That changed last week, when a Merrimack County grand jury handed down two aggravated felonious sexual assault indictments charging Leaf with assaulting Anderson between 1990 and 1992, starting when she was 10 years old.

The indictments – which don’t name Anderson – accuse Leaf, 52, of Tilton of intentionally touching the girl’s genitalia with his penis in Concord during different time periods. Leaf is a sex offender listed on the state’s registry with convictions in 1993 for felonious sexual assault and indecent exposure.

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.

IOWA
KCCI

ADEL, Iowa —
Testimony wrapped up Tuesday in the trial of a former Pella church pastor accused of sexual abuse and exploitation.

Edouard is charged with three counts of third-degree sexual abuse, and four counts of sexual exploitation by a counselor, therapist, school employee or clergy. Four women in his former congregation at Covenant Reform Church in Pella said he coerced them into having sexual relations.

Tuesday, Edouard talked in detail about his relationships with the women — how they started and what happened. He said each woman was upset when the relationship ended.

Edouard said he loved one of the women.

He also talked about almost being caught by one of the women’s husbands.

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.

IOWA
Journal-Express

By Clint Brown Journal-Express

Adel — Tuesday’s session of the trial of Patrick Edouard, former pastor of Covenant Reformed Church in Pella, saw the conclusion of Edouard’s cross-examination by prosecutors and also a pair of expert witnesses with psychology backgrounds.

Edouard is being charged with three counts of third-degree sexual abuse and four counts of sexual exploitation by a counselor or therapist. He allegedly forced sexual contact on at least three women while serving as the minister from 2003-10.

Edouard commented during his testimony on Tuesday that if he had not been caught the affairs mentioned would still be ongoing. When asked about investments he had made with money that was given as gifts from one of the victims. Edouard claimed to not recall exact details of the investments he made and believed that much of the money was lost when the market took a downturn during the time of the affairs.

When asked about specify details about conversations he had with victims, sexual and also other matters, Edouard, again, couldn’t remember details of those conversations. Details Edouard gave to the court regarding where sexual activities would occur contradicted what the victims had told the court. Edouard told the court this each of the relationships had ended prior to his resignation with the church. Although he as unsure of exact dates and lengths of each relationship. He was able to give the court somewhat of a broad estimate length of each relationship.

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.

FLORIDA
Orlando Sentinel

By Arelis R. Hernández, Orlando Sentinel

A judge has ordered that the former pastor of a Chuluota church remain behind bars after being accused of sexually molesting a child for several years.

David Rutherford Downs, 54, of Chuluota was arrested last month after allegations emerged that he had had inappropriate contact with a child under the age of 12. He is charged with two counts of sexual battery, a capital offense.

During a bond hearing Wednesday, defense attorney Tad Yates questioned the credibility of Downs’ alleged victim and argued that his client should be set free because he poses no danger.

Downs, who founded and led Cornerstone Baptist Church in Chuluota for more than 20 years, encouraged church leaders to remove him as senior pastor and report the allegations, Yates 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.

AUSTRALIA
Catholic Herald (United Kingdom)

By Jill Duchess of Hamilton on Wednesday, 22 August 2012

Accusations of cover-ups and blame-shifting by the Catholic Church in its handling of allegations of child sexual abuse by priests have been front-page news in Australia. Newspaper headlines such as “Senior Catholic Priests in Child Sex Cover-Up Inquiry” point to claims that the Church has attempted to hide possible sex abuse within its walls rather than reporting it to the police.

Whether these cases will stand up is yet to be proved, but investigators in the states of New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria are currently searching for evidence that in many instances priests were merely moved on. This is not unique to Australia. There have been far-reaching repercussions from court cases involving cover-ups in Ireland, Germany and America.

Two dedicated investigations by the NSW police, Strike Force Lantle and Strike Force Glenroe, are currently looking into alleged cover-ups involving three senior churchmen, including a bishop and an archbishop.

An MP has renewed calls for a royal commission. Last April in Victoria, following revelations of 40 suicides of abuse victims by two priests, the state government initiated a parliamentary inquiry into the failure of the Catholic Church to protect children from sexual abuse.

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.

GEORGIA
WSAV

By: Andrew Davis | WSAV News 3
Published: August 22, 2012

ATLANTA, GA/SAVANNAH. GA —
A former Savannah Diocese priest is facing a new allegation of sexual abuse, and calls from at least one group for him to be removed from the clergy.

This is now the 3rd person who has come forward claiming Father Robert Poandl molested him when the victim was just a boy, in this case about 10 years old.

In this case, the Atlanta man has filed a police report about the alleged abuse.

From 2010-2012 Father Poandl worked in churches in Claxton, Pembroke and Sandhill.

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.

IOWA
Globe Gazette

By BRIAN WELLNER

DAVENPORT — A U.S. bankruptcy court judge is ordering the Diocese of Davenport to add three of its deceased priests to its online list of those credibly accused of child sexual abuse, records filed late Tuesday show.

The accused priests being added are the Revs. John Bonn, Michael Broderick and William Dawson.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Lee Jackwig came after she reviewed allegations brought to the court by 47-year-old Kathleen Bowman of Clear Lake.

Bowman brought her allegations after bankruptcy proceedings involving the diocese already were under way, and she has received a settlement.

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.

MISSOURI
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

BY ROBERT PATRICK • rpatrick@post-dispatch.com > 314-621-5154

ST. LOUIS • The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests and other victims’ group sued St. Louis police, prosecutors, the Missouri Highway Patrol and the Missouri Attorney General in federal court here Wednesday, seeking to block enforcement of a new law prohibiting the disruption of worship services.

At issue is the “House of Worship Protection Act,” which makes disturbing or interrupting a church or other house of worship, either inside or near that church, a misdemeanor. The charge becomes a felony on the third and subsequent offenses.

The new law becomes effective Aug. 28.

The lawsuit says that the law would ban protests in traditional public areas such as parks and sidewalks near those houses of worship. Those are areas where SNAP and the other group, Voice of the Faithful in Kansas City, often picket or protest, the suit says.

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)
Daily Times

Published: Wednesday, August 22, 2012

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Prosecutors have refiled felony sex-assault charges against a suspended Philadelphia priest, days after a judge dropped them for lack of evidence.

A city judge had found the victim’s testimony at a preliminary hearing last week failed to support the most serious charges against the Rev. Andrew McCormick. The judge upheld misdemeanor charges, including indecent exposure and indecent assault.

But prosecutors insist the 56-year-old priest’s actions amount to felony sexual assault.

The 25-year-old accuser says McCormick molested him at his rectory in 1997, when the boy was 10.

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.

MARYLAND
Patch

By Kirsten Dize

A Catholic priest from Towson was sentenced Wednesday to nearly a year in jail—with all of that time suspended—after pleading guilty to indecent exposure.

Rev. Mark Stewart Bullock was arrested and charged Jan. 16 after two Harford County sheriff’s saw Bullock expose himself in an Abingdon adult bookstore.

Today Bullock plead guilty to a single count of indecent exposure. He was sentenced by retired Harford County District Court Judge Lawrence Lanahan Jr. to 360 days in jail with all of that time suspended. Bullock was also sentenced to three years probation and ordered to pay half of a $500 fine, according to online court records.

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.

UNITED STATES
Palm Beach Post

by Opinion Staff

An anonymous plaintiff who says he repeatedly was raped by a priest in the 1960s has lost his attempt to hold the Vatican financially responsible.

In this file photo provided by the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI addresses a crowd in St. Peter’s Square. A judge in Portland has ruled that priests do not work for the Vatican, so the Holy See cannot be held financially responsible for child abuse by priests.

A federal judge in Portland, Oregon, has ruled that the priest, Andrew Ronan, was not an employee of the Vatican, so the Holy See cannot be named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

According to The Associated Press, Judge Michael Mossman ruled that that “there was insufficient evidence to decide that the Vatican has both directional and operational control over priests in the United States.”

Ronan, who is accused of abusing children in Ireland and in the United States, died in 1992. The plaintiff says the Vatican is responsible for its failure to protect children as the priest moved from place to place.

A lawyer representing the church, however, says Ronan was kicked out of the priesthood very quickly after the Vatican learned of the allegations.

So, the Vatican gets credit for kicking him out, but he wasn’t the priest’s employer?

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.

UNITED STATES
AO Advocates

Posted by: A.Dean on Aug 22 2012

A new book by Ray Mouton called “In God’s House” has gathered significant press attention recently, including interviews on BBC Radio 4 and TV3 in Ireland. The book is a work of fiction, although largely based on the author’s experience as a lawyer involved in the Church sex abuse scandal. Ray Mouton was engaged by the Church in the 1980s to help it defend the rising allegations, but after some time he suggests he saw the Church’s tactics as aimed at camouflaging the situation rather than remedying the victims. The book took the author over 10 years to write as he collated more information about the crisis which he sees as having a global reach. He decided to style it as a work of fiction so as to emphasize the universality of this problem. We welcome the publicity it has been given and hope it will succeed in extending the public’s interest in addressing the ongoing crisis.

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.

OREGON
Boys Don’t Tell

[Woodburn, OR, police department report]

Randy Ellison

The news story last week describing a scene at midnight was one to chill the soul of most people but especially survivors. It was a visual played out in public that a lot of us experienced behind closed doors. Church doors.

A couple standing outside late at night, saw a boy running down the street screaming for help when he should have been at home safe in bed. Wearing only his underwear his priest, Father Angel Perez, was chasing after the 12 year old. OMG, picture an almost naked, drunk priest chasing a child down the street. Folks I gotta tell you this gives me nightmares. It is a representation of what every boy who was abused by their minister or priest experienced, being chased by a grown man with lust in his eyes and a boner in his pants. If you are not a survivor, try to imagine the fear in your heart and mind of experiencing something like this. Imagine living in a world where you are not safe in your house of worship. Imagine a world where you do not feel you could tell someone, and if you did you would not be believed, or worse yet God would strike you dead.

By the grace of God this little boy awoke to a real life nightmare, having his religious mentor holding his genitals and taking pictures. He grabbed his clothes and ran. The couple rescued the boy, took him home to his parents where he recounted what had happened.

A grand jury returned an eight-count indictment against Father Perez. It charges him with first-degree sexual abuse, abuse of a child in the display of sexually explicit conduct, tampering with physical evidence, four counts of furnishing alcohol to a minor and driving under the influence of intoxicants. Stating there was “clear and convincing” evidence that the priest would pose a risk to the victim in the case and the general public, bail was denied by Judge Audrey Broyles. Go Judge Broyles!

Quick action and people doing the right thing ended in best possible results. Right? We are finally having appropriate responses to child sex abuse. Right? Not so much. Better than even a decade ago, but there are miserable failures and actions that do nothing to stop abuse from happening in the first place.

What happen last Sunday night reads like the first chapter in a Stephen King novel. Now here is chapter two. Over 40, yes count them, 40 parishioners showed up at the hearing to arraign Father Perez. Were they there to protest the horror of what happened and support the victim? NOPE, these fine church members were there with ribbons pinned on their shirts that said, “We Support you Father Perez”! Even the judge was appalled that all those people would show up for the perpetrator and not one person present in support of the victim.

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.

CHICAGO (IL)
Catholic League

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments as follows:

Some guy filed a suit yesterday against the Archdiocese of Chicago claiming he was fondled by an Augustinian brother. But there is more than one reason to question his motives: the accused brother is dead; no complaints had ever been filed against him by anyone; he did not work in the Archdiocese; the “victim” claims he did not recall what happened until 2011; and the alleged abuse occurred some 35 years ago.

Those who have truly been victimized are deserving of justice. But cases like this smack of injustice. Quite frankly, it’s been open season on priests for decades, what with contrived “repressed memory” gimmicks and the like. No wonder the sound of “ching-ching” can be heard for miles around.

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.

AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

JOANNE MCCARTHY

23 Aug, 2012

A MAN who attempted suicide in a church-owned building in October last year is one of 14 men alleging that defrocked Catholic priest John Denham sexually assaulted them at a Hunter school in the 1970s.

Mr Denham, 70, did not enter pleas to 47 charges including indecent assault and buggery during a brief appearance at Newcastle Local Court yesterday.

Police allege a man made a statement after attempting suicide last year. He alleged Mr Denham had repeatedly sexually assaulted him at St Pius X School Adamstown in 1977, when the man was 12.

Police allege the man had attempted suicide or contemplated it many times before October last year when he made his allegations against Mr Denham for the first time to an employee from the Catholic Church’s investigative unit, Zimmerman House.

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.

MARYLAND
Explore Harford

BY KAYLA BAWROSKI, kabawroski@theaegis.com

August 22, 2012 | 3:37 p.m.
A Catholic priest from Towson was sentenced to 360 days in jail, with all of the time suspended, after pleading guilty in Harford County Wednesday to a single charge of indecent exposure, stemming from his arrest inside an Abingdon adult bookstore in January.

Although Rev. Mark Stewart Bullock won’t serve any jail time, he will have a significant probation period and, for now, a guilty finding on the misdemeanor charge.

Harford County Sheriff’s deputies discovered Bullock, who at the time was with the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Towson, exposing himself in a back room at Bush River Books & Movies, according to charging documents.

The deputies found Bullock in the last film viewing theater of the Pulaski Highway bookstore on Jan. 16, without pants and in an area that the public could see him, according to Assistant Harford County State’s Attorney Trenna Manners, who prosecuted the case in Harford County District Court.

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.

ROME
Vatican Insider

The author of the book containing the documents leaked from the Vatican comments on the Vatileaks affair. “There are too many irregularities in the Vatican,” he says

Vatican Insider staff
Rome

“I am hopeful for an open trial that will examine all documents, I hope evidence will be made public and the reasons for slinging mud at the individuals involved. But I don’t believe the Vatican will.” Gianluigi Nuzzi – author of the bestselling book “Sua Santità” (His Holiness) which contains the documents leaked to him by the pope’s butler, Paolo Gabriele (the butler admitted to this himself and was committed for trial last week together with an IT technician) – stated this during an interview with Il Giornale di Vicenza, a regional Italian newspaper, commenting on the conclusion of the preliminary investigation into the theft of the Pope’s confidential documents.

Commenting on the fact that he had not been contacted either by Vatican or Italian judicial police bodies (“No. Nobody asked me to confirm any information either on an investigation or a judicial level”), the journalist claimed “that there are many irregularities in the attitudes taken by the Vatican. Starting with the Calvi case. I believe that in relation to my book, there was a greater focus on the document leak and on who – cook, butler, guard or whoever else –handed these to me than on what the documents say.”

Nuzzi did not comment on whether Gabriele was his only source, though he explained that “my sources are based on information based relations with various individuals who contributed to my work, whom I must protect. Whoever gave me the letters is highly trusted.” As far as the attacks received for spreading the news, he stressed: “I did not steal anything; I have not committed any crime. I published documents which readers ask to be informed about because everything that is out of sight in terms of politics, finance, banks, businesses, the Church, foreign influences, is interesting.”

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 Daily News

BY MENSAH M. DEAN
Philadelphia Daily News
Daily News Staff Writer

It took less than a week for the District Attorney’s Office to make good on a promise to refile felony charges against the latest Catholic priest accused of sexually molesting a child.

The refiled charges against Father Andrew McCormick, 56, were received Tuesday by the Court of Common Pleas.

Municipal Judge Karen Yvette Simmons held McCormick for trial on Aug. 16 on four misdemeanor charges related to an alleged incident with a 10-year-old altar boy in 1997 when he was a priest assigned to St. John Cantius Church in Bridesburg.

But Simmons caught the D.A.’s Office off guard when she dismissed the most serious felony charges: involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, which is oral sex with a child under age 13; sexual assault, oral sex without the victim’s consent; and statutory sexual assault, oral sex with a child under age 16 when the defendant is more than four years older.

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.

AUSTRALIA
The Age

August 23, 2012

Jewel Topsfield

AN ORTHODOX Jewish organisation in St Kilda East accused of covering up a child sex abuse scandal has ”unreservedly” apologised to victims.

Yeshivah College has been rocked by allegations multiple students were molested over many years by trusted members of the school community.

In a letter sent to community members this week, the Yeshivah Centre said children were ”entitled to our protection and our vigilance in eradicating abuse, particularly sexual abuse, in our community”.

”We understand and appreciate that there are victims who feel aggrieved and we sincerely and unreservedly apologise for any historical wrongs that may have occurred,” stated the letter, signed by Yeshivah College principal Rabbi Yehoshua Smukler, Rabbi Zvi Telsner and committee of management chairman Don Wolf.

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.

IOWA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by David Clohessy on August 22, 2012

An Iowa judge is ordering Davenport Catholic officials to publicly list three accused priests on their diocesan website. The accused priests are Rev. John Bonn, Rev. Michael Broderick, and Rev. William Dawson.

We applaud this judge and her ruling. The public needs and deserves to know more, not less, about clerics who commit and conceal child sex crimes. Parents and parishioners need and deserve church officials who honor, not disregard, commitments to be open about pedophile priests.

We also applaud Katie Bowman. Her courage and persistence is helping to peel back deeply-held and long-standing corruption and crimes in the Davenport Catholic hierarchy. She’s helping to show that church officials continue to prefer secrecy over transparency.

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.

HAWAII
Tribune-Herald

By JOHN BURNETT
Tribune-Herald staff writer

The child sex abuse scandal surrounding the Catholic Church has hit close to home, with fingers of accusation pointing at a priest revered in the local community.

Father George DeCosta, who for almost three decades was the parish priest at Malia Puka O Kalani Catholic Church in Keaukaha, has been accused of abuse by two Hawaii men. The two were students at Damien Memorial High School in the 1960s when DeCosta was the chaplain there.

The school is operated by Christian Brothers of Ireland, and the allegations have been made in claims filed against The Christian Brothers Institute and The Christian Brothers of Ireland Inc. in federal bankruptcy court in the Southern District Court of New York.

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.

OSTERREICH
Bezirks Blatter

SCHWAZ (fh). Über dem Kinderheim St. Martin in Schwaz steh derzeit kein guter Stern. In der letzten Sonntagsausgabe des “Kurier” berichtet eine 61-jährige Tirolerin, dass sie im Jahr 1968 von einem Soldaten nach einem Faschingsfest mit Wissen der Heimleitung vergewaltigt worden sei. Sie sei von einer Erzieherin in ein Krankenzimmer gerufen worden, wo sie missbraucht worde sein. Das Bundesheer unter Militärkommandant Herbert Bauer ist erschüttert und kündigt an, dass das Heer den Vorwürfen nachgehen werde weil man davon ausgehe, dass es noch mehrere Opfer gegeben hat. Das Bundesheer hat eine Telefonnummer eingerichtet bei der sich Personen vertraulich melden können (Tel. 0810 300 490).

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
Mittelstand Cafe

Wegsehen und vertuschen – diese Strategie verfolgte die katholische Kirche in den Fällen sexuellen Missbrauchs von Kindern und Jugendlichen durch Priester. Nur die Kirche? Diese Frage muss sich die Gesellschaft insgesamt stellen, wie jetzt die erste Studie des Deutschen Jugendinstituts zu Verdachtsfällen von Kindesmissbrauch an Schulen, in Internaten und Heimen zeigt. Danach gehört die seelische und körperliche Schändung zum Alltag der Kinder; fast wie Zähneputzen oder Haare kämmen. Rechnet man noch die Dunkelziffer des Missbrauchs in den Familien hinzu, kann einem nur noch Angst und Bange darüber werden, unter welchen seelischen Qualen Kinder – wohl nicht nur in diesem Lande – heranwachsen. Dass Kinder gequält, erniedrigt und beschämt werden, ist eine Schande für unsere Gesellschaft, die sich zivilisiert nennt und gerne mit dem Finger auf andere zeigt.

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
News

Auch bei sexuellem Kindesmissbrauch häufen sich scheinbar die Fälle. Aktuelle Beispiele: Ein Schulbusfahrer steht seit dieser Woche in Braunschweig vor Gericht. Er soll ein geistig behindertes Mädchen mehrfach vergewaltigt haben. Sie war erst elf Jahre alt, er ein 53-jähriger Familienvater. In Kiel steht ein Schwimmtrainer vor Gericht. Er soll sich 18 Mal an einer damals 16 Jahre alten Schwimmerin vergangen haben. Der 40-Jährige trainierte das Mädchen, er soll das Betreuungsverhältnis ausgenutzt haben. Der Prozess wird im September fortgesetzt. Und vor dem Landgericht Itzehoe wird derzeit ein Fall von Familieninzest verhandelt. Der Vater soll jahrelang seine Töchter vergewaltigt haben. Auch die Söhne machten wohl mit.

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.

OSTERREICH
Kleine Zeitung

Anfang der 60er-Jahre kam es laut Experten zu Misshandlungen im Konvikt Lienz. An sieben Opfer floss nun Geld. Ihnen geht es vor allem darum, gehört zu werden.

Es war keineswegs normal, was damals geschah. Die Narben der Opfer rufen nach Offenlegung, nicht nach Rache.” Mit diesen Worten wandten sich ehemalige Internatsschüler des Bundeskonvikts in Lienz an die Kleine Zeitung. Sie berichten von zehn- bis 14-jährigen Buben, die damals, in den 60er-Jahren, in dem Osttiroler Heim auf “sadistische Weise gequält wurden”. Ihr anonymes Schreiben erreichte auch den Opferschutzverein “Weisser Ring” in Wien. Für Geschäftsführerin Marianne Gammer sind die Vorwürfe nicht neu. Im Gegenteil: “Der Weisse Ring gründete heuer in Absprache mit dem Unterrichtsministerium eine Expertenkommission, die sich mit den Vorfällen in Lienz befasst.” Es gehe vor allem um die frühen 60er-Jahre. Udo Jesionek, der Präsident des Opferschutzvereins, ist Vorsitzender dieses Gremiums. Insgesamt haben sich 15 ehemalige Zöglinge beim “Weissen Ring” gemeldet. Sieben Betroffene erhielten laut Gammer vor Kurzem eine finanzielle Entschädigung. “Die anderen Fälle werden noch geprüft. Auch Untersuchungen zu Vorwürfen betreffend sexueller Übergriffe gibt es, die sind ebenso noch nicht abgeschlossen.”

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
MOZ

Berlin (MOZ) Immer wieder erschüttern Fälle von sexueller Gewalt gegenüber Kindern und Jugendlichen die Öffentlichkeit. Nach zahlreichen Übergriffen in kirchlichen Heimen, teilweise über Jahrzehnte vertuscht, hatte die Bundesregierung einen Runden Tisch zur Aufarbeitung von Missbrauch eingesetzt. Aus Sicht von Experten fehlen jedoch weiterhin professionelle Beratungsangebote – vor allem in Flächenländern.

“Auf dem Land sind die Fachleute weit entfernt und überlastet”, sagte die Sozialpädagogin Barbara Kavemann gestern auf einer Fachtagung des Evangelischen Jugend- und Fürsorgewerks in Berlin. Nach ihren Angaben gibt es in Brandenburg nur neun Psychotherapeuten auf 100000 Einwohner, das Land ist damit Schlusslicht im bundesweiten Vergleich. In Berlin sind es 48 Therapeuten.

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.

SCHWEIZ
Basler Zeitung

Die reformierte Kirche von Bremgarten-Mutschellen hat ihren Pfarrer des Amtes enthoben. Der Mann verletzte die Amtspflicht, als er sexuelle Kontakte mit einer Frau hatte, die bei ihm in Seelsorge war.

Die Reformierte Landeskirche Aargau entlässt einen Pfarrer, der sexuelle Kontakte mit einer Frau hatte, die bei ihm in Seelsorge war. Dem Pfarrer werde angelastet, dass er die Verantwortung für seine berufliche Tätigkeit in der Seelsorge schwerwiegend verletzt habe, gab die Reformierte Landeskirche Aargau an einer kurzfristig angesetzten Medienkonferenz bekannt.

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
domradio

Der Missbrauchsbeauftragte der Bundesregierung, Johannes-Wilhelm Rörig, hat die Kirchen für ihr Engagement zur Vermeidung von Kindesmissbrauch gelobt. Wie beim Deutschen Olympischen Sportbund (DOS) und bei den Wohlfahrtsverbänden sei eine große Bereitschaft erkennbar, bei einem Missbrauchsverdacht einzugreifen und die Prävention vor Ort zu verbessern, erklärte Rörig am Dienstag in Berlin. Die Kirchen hatten im Juni Vereinbarungen zum Schutz von Kindern und Jugendlichen vor sexueller Gewalt in Berlin unterzeichnet. Rörig äußerte sich bei einer Fachtagung zum Schutz vor sexueller Gewalt gegen Kinder. Ziel der Vereinbarung ist es nach den Worten des Missbrauchsbeauftragten, die Empfehlungen des von der Bundesregierung eingesetzten Runden Tisches gegen Kindesmissbrauch umzusetzen. Den Maßnahmenkatalog haben auch der DOS, die Arbeiterwohlfahrt, der Paritätische Gesamtverband, die kommunalen Spitzenverbände sowie der Deutsche Bundesjugendring unterschrieben.

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.

AUSTRALIA
JTA

August 22, 2012

SYDNEY, Australia (JTA) — The Orthodox Jewish school in Melbourne embroiled in a child sex abuse scandal apologized “unreservedly” to the victims.

The apology, issued Monday in a letter from the head of the Yeshivah College and the head of the Yeshivah Center, which houses the headquarters of Chabad-Lubavitch in Melbourne, said: “We understand and appreciate that there are victims who feel aggrieved and we sincerely and unreservedly apologize for any historical wrongs that may have occurred.”

Outlining safety measures the college had taken, the letter said it “wants to make it absolutely clear that we condemn sexual abuse in any form.”

It comes six weeks after a judge ordered David Cyprys, a former security guard contracted to the college, to stand trial next year for multiple child sex abuse charges allegedly perpetrated over two decades ago on 12 students – three of whom now reside in America.

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 Catholic

Wed, 22/08/2012

Here is fhe full text of the homily delivered this afternoon by Archbishop Charles Brown, Papal Nuncio to Ireland at Knock Shrine on the future of the Church in Ireland.

When Blessed John Paul II came here on September 30, 1979, to celebrate Holy Mass, he began with the words: “Here I am at the goal of my journey to Ireland: the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock” and, in a certain sense, his words are true for all of us here today, as we celebrate the conclusion of the National Novena; we too have come to the goal of our journey. We come as pilgrims to pray at the feet of Mary, the humble girl of Nazareth, the glorious Mother of God, the “Woman clothed with the sun” who appeared here in 1879 to comfort and console the Catholic people of Ireland. The passage of time tends to make us forget what things were like in Ireland when Mary appeared. Ireland was not yet a free and independent nation; close to a million people had suffered and died during the Great Famine thirty years previously, and in the year 1879 when Mary appeared, hunger had returned to the West of Ireland. Huge numbers of Irish people had been forced to leave as emigrants, never to return, so much so that the population of Ireland plummeted by something like 25 per cent. …

When we reflect on Our Lady’s apparition at Knock and the historical circumstances in which it occurred, we cannot help thinking about our times and our own future. Certainly, there are reasons for discouragement. It seems as if every few months, a new survey is released showing, or purporting to show, that the Catholic faith is disappearing in Ireland. We have had two decades of scandals, crimes and failures. ‘The Church is finished!’ seems to be the cry heard everywhere.

But, my brothers and sisters, let me tell you what I have seen and heard (cf. 1 John 1:3). Two months ago, I saw the International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin exceed everyone’s expectations, with tens of thousands of people coming to learn more about the central mystery of our faith – the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. One month ago today, I was in Ballyvourney in County Cork, where I had the joy of ordaining a young man to the priesthood. The small country church was filled with people young and old; the liturgy was celebrated in a beautiful way, with music and hymns in the Irish language. The sanctuary was packed with more than eighty good and faithful priests, many very young, some quite old, all of them there to welcome and to support their newest brother in the priesthood. Three weeks ago, in County Mayo, I saw thousands of pilgrims climbing Croagh Patrick on Reek Sunday. Many young people.

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

They may have escaped criminal prosecution, but according to a memorandum of law filed Monday in Common Pleas Court, Bishops Edward P. Cullen and Joseph R. Cistone can expect to be named as defendants in an ongoing civil case against the Archdiocese of Philadelphia regarding the sexual abuse of a former 10-year-old altar boy.

Attorney Slade H. McLaughlin filed the memorandum of law while representing “Billy Doe” in the civil case of Billy Doe V. the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Doe is the pseudonym for the former altar boy sexually abused by Father Edward V. Avery, who pleaded guilty on March 22 to involuntary deviant sexual intercourse with a minor, and was sentenced to 2 1/2 to five years in prison. Avery’s abuse of Billy Doe also resulted in the June 22 conviction of Msgr. William J. Lynn for endangering the welfare of a child. Lynn is now serving a prison term of three to six years.

The former altar boy allegedly was passed from one abuser to another at St. Jerome’s parish. On Sept. 4, two more alleged abusers of Billy Doe — Charles Engelhardt, a former priest, and Bernard Shero, a former archdiocese school teacher — are scheduled to go on trial before Judge M. Teresa Sarmina at the Criminal Justice Center.

Engelhardt and Shero were originally supposed to be tried back in March with Father Avery and Father James J. Brennan, before they were severed from the case, at their request. In the criminal case, lawyers for Engelhardt had been seeking the mental health records of the former altar boy, but Judge Sarmina ruled against them.

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
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Joelle Casteix on August 21, 2012

In response to what they are calling a “stunning silence by Catholic officials and shocking callousness by Catholics parishioners,” victims of sexual abuse are begging the head of the Los Angeles archdiocese to speak out about the arrest of two accused pedophile priests. And they want him to insist that his flock respond “appropriately” when clerics are accused of molesting kids.

Leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests are writing LA Archbishop Jose Gomez about two priests – Fr. Luis Jose Cuevas of Long Beach and Fr. Rafael Venegas of Santa Monica.

Cuevas was charged in July with sexually assaulting a child. Venegas was also charged in July with sexual battery and giving alcohol to minors.

SNAP is “surprised and disappointed” that Gomez has “been silent” about the two arrests. “You pledged to be ‘open and transparent’ about clergy sex cases. This is when your flock needs you the most,” the letter says. “Catholics are confused, victims are scared, and children are at risk. It is your duty to reach out to every parish where these men worked and foster healing and help police, by turning over any information you have on these priests to law enforcement.”

In response to the news of Cuevas’ arrest, more than 100 of the cleric’s supporters came to his arraignment to show vocal support for him.

Such actions, SNAP says, intimidate victims, witnesses and whistleblowers.

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.

SAVANNAH (GA)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Dorris on August 22, 2012

An Atlanta-area man has filed a police report charging that a Savannah Catholic priest molested him as a child, and clergy sex abuse victims are prodding Georgia church officials to widely publicize the latest allegations against the recently-ousted cleric.

Leaders of a support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, are concerned about Fr. Robert F. Poandl. They want Poandl put in a secure treatment center, so that kids will be safer, and they want Georgia church officials to “stop being passive and start being compassionate” by seeking out others who’ve been hurt by the cleric.

Specifically, they’re asking Atlanta Archbishop Wilton Gregory and Savannah Bishop Gregory Hartmayer to personally visit each place where Fr. Poandl worked and reach out to any other victims, urging them to call police.

SNAP members are leafleting today outside the Christ the King Cathedral, 2699 Peachtree Road Northeast (corner of Peachtree Way NE) in Atlanta, the symbolic center of the Atlanta archdiocese. Later, they are holding a news conference outside the Atlanta Archdiocese headquarters, 2401 Lake Park Dr. S.E., Smyrna, GA

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.

SAVANNAH (GA)
Savannah Morning News

By Jan Skutch

An Atlanta-area man has told police he was molested as a child by a Catholic priest who was pastor of missions in Pembroke and two others in the Diocese of Savannah, a support group for victims said today.

Leaders of the survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, SNAP, are asking Atlanta Archbishop Wilton Gregory and Bishop Gregory J. Hartmayer in Savannah to personally visit each place where the Rev. Bob Poandl worked and reach out to any other victims.

They also want Poandl put in a secure treatment center to protect other possible victims.

“Actually he really needs to be in jail,” SNAP official Judy Block Jones said Wednesday. “”We’re really concerned there might be some new victims in that area” of the Savannah Diocese.

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.

FORT WORTH (TX)
San Francisco Chronicle

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A North Texas diocese has reached a settlement with a man who says he was sexually abused by a priest in the 1990s.

The Fort Worth Roman Catholic Diocese on Tuesday announced the settlement with a man whose name has not been released. Terms were not disclosed in the case involving allegations of abuse by then-priest Philip Magaldi.

Officials say the victim was about 9 years old when he allegedly was abused by Magaldi in 1994.

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.

BELGIUM
Expatica

Belgium’s disgraced former Bishop of Bruges, Roger Vangheluwe, features in the latest album of the tremendously popular Kiekeboe series. Vangheluwe has admitted paedophile abuse of a relative but escaped prosecution because of the time that elapsed between the abuse and the time it came to light.

The new album is being published next year, but installments are already appearing in newspapers of the Concentra Group. It is entitled “Sanctimonious Blood”. The disgraced cleric features as “Monseigneur Howrandyman”. In the strip cartoon Howrandyman has taken refuge in the Holy Blood Chapel in Bruges and we see how he takes a baby vampire on his knee. In reality the former bishop found accommodation in a Trappist abbey.

Cartoonist Merho says that he had been thinking about a story located in the Holy Blood Chapel in Bruges for some time. As it’s Bruges it seemed quite right to throw in Vangheluwe, he says in an interview.

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.

UNITED STATES
Irish Independent

By John Breslin and Breda Heffernan

Wednesday August 22 2012

A US court has delivered a landmark ruling that the Vatican cannot be held legally liable for the activities of a paedophile Irish priest.

In a 10-year legal battle, an alleged victim of deceased priest Andrew Ronan had sought to have the Vatican held legally responsible.

The decision could shield the Vatican from possible damages claims.

The alleged victim claimed the Vatican was liable because senior officials in Rome knew of the priest’s previous record of abuse while a teacher at the Servites’ Our Lady of Benburb Priory in Co Tyrone — and before he was moved to Chicago and then Portland.

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.

UNITED STATES
TheMediaReport

Dave Pierre

The trailer for an upcoming film about an abusive Catholic priest in the 1970s appears to rehash the bogus attack on Pope Benedict XVI in March 2010 by the New York Times’ Laurie Goodstein.

MEA MAXIMA CULPA: SILENCE IN THE HOUSE OF GOD, produced by HBO Documentaries, is slated to make a big splash at the prominent Toronto Film Festival in early September, and the trailer for the film is now making the rounds on the Internet.

New York Times/Goodstein vs. the facts

The film is based upon the same story as the much-heralded, March 25, 2010, front-page article in the New York Times, in which the paper managed to reach a journalistic low in its obsession of smearing the Catholic Church.

The story essentially accused Pope Benedict XVI, when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, of somehow refusing to promptly laicize an abusive Milwaukee priest who had already been removed from ministry. The criminal priest, Lawrence C. Murphy, had been accused of abusing scores of boys at a Wisconsin school for the deaf through 1974, the year he was asked to resign from his position at the school. Murphy later retired in 1992 and died in 1998.

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.

COLORADO
The Denver Post

A 23-year-old man told El Paso County Sheriff’s investigators that when he was 13 he started an ongoing sexual relationship with a grown man at his church in the Security-Widefield area.

Robert Gordon, 48, now works as a s a bus driver for Widefield School District 3, but has been placed on leave since his arrest Tuesday on sex assault charges.

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.

OMAHA (NE)
The Georgia Bulletin

OMAHA, Neb. (CNS) — Bishops need help restoring trust and healing wounds inflicted on the faithful by the clergy sexual abuse scandal, and people who work in the church to assist victims and create safe environments for children can be key partners, the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People said Aug. 13. Despite efforts over the last decade by bishops and others in the church to atone for wrongs done and take swift action when abuse is reported, many Catholics “remain hurt, angry, cynical and confused,” Bishop R. Daniel Conlon of Joliet, Ill., told more than 100 people at the National Safe Environment and Victim Assistance Coordinators Leadership Conference in Omaha. Safe environment and victim assistance coordinators carrying out duties called for by the bishops’ 2002 “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” are good candidates to assist bishops as they strive to make the church safe for children and young people and overcome mistrust and anger, the bishop 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.

IOWA
KCCI

[with video]

ADEL, Iowa —
Testimony wrapped up Tuesday in the trial of a former Pella church pastor accused of sexual abuse and exploitation.

Edouard is charged with three counts of third-degree sexual abuse, and four counts of sexual exploitation by a counselor, therapist, school employee or clergy. Four women in his former congregation at Covenant Reform Church in Pella said he coerced them into having sexual relations.

Tuesday, Edouard talked in detail about his relationships with the women — how they started and what happened. He said each woman was upset when the relationship ended.

Edouard said he loved one of the women.

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.

CANADA
Courthouse News Service

By DARRYL GREER

VANCOUVER, B.C. (CN) – Canada unfairly excluded from a monetary settlement Native American students who suffered abuse at residential schools, but did not live at them, according to a federal class action.

Two Native American bands claim Canada unconstitutionally excluded people harmed by residential schools from a settlement reached in 2006.

By their chiefs, members of the Tk’emlups Te Secwepemc Indian Band and the Sechelt Indian Band claim that Canada’s residential school policy “was designed to eradicate Aboriginal culture and identity and assimilate the Aboriginal Peoples of Canada into Euro-Canadian Society.”

“Through this policy, Canada ripped away the foundations of identity for generations of Aboriginal People and caused incalculable harm to both individuals and communities,” the complaint states.

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.

FORT WORTH (TX)
Fort Worth Star-Telegram

By Darren Barbee
DBarbee@star-telegram.com

FORT WORTH — A man who accused disgraced priest Philip Magaldi of sexual abuse settled his claim Tuesday with the Fort Worth Roman Catholic Diocese, according to a news release.

Terms of the settlement were not disclosed at the man’s request, the diocese said.

The man’s attorney, Tom McElyea of Fort Worth, said the abuse started in about 1994 when his client was 9 years old. It occurred in Tarrant County.

Magaldi was in the process of being defrocked when he died in 2008. Prior to his death, the diocese announced he was HIV positive. McElyea said his client does not have the virus.

As with two other known accusations against Magaldi, the man was subjected to enemas as part of his abuse, McElyea 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.

PORTLAND (OR)
Catholic News Agency

By Kevin J. Jones

Portland, Ore., Aug 21, 2012 / 04:08 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A federal judge dismissed a sex abuse lawsuit against the Holy See on grounds that the Vatican was not an employer of the accused ex-priest and cannot be held financially liable for the abuse.

Jeffrey Lena, counsel for the Holy See, told CNA on Aug. 21 that the ruling is “particularly important.”

It follows a years-long legal examination of whether the Vatican has sovereign immunity protecting it from such lawsuits.

On Monday U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman in Portland, Ore. ruled that the laicized Servite priest Andrew Ronan, who allegedly molested the plaintiff as a teenager in 1965 and 1966, did not have an employee-employer relationship with the Vatican.

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.

OREGON
Statesman-Journal

Editorial

We’ve come a long way in confronting sex abuse of children.

The Statesman Journal’s Emily Gillespie told that story in Saturday’s newspaper, recounting how a 12-year-old Salem boy followed his mother’s lessons on “what’s right, what’s wrong and to tell her if anything happened.” According to authorities, the boy ran when a Woodburn priest tried to victimize him.

The Roman Catholic priest, Angel Perez, has been charged with sex abuse, using a child in display of sexually explicit conduct, driving under the influence, furnishing alcohol to a minor, and tampering with evidence. Perez is accused of providing alcohol to the boy on several occasions, which is typical of grooming behavior designed to gain trust and access to a potential victim.

The boy, the strangers who came to his aid, his family and the authorities all acted with immediacy. That’s as it should be.

For too many generations, the Catholic Church turned a blind eye toward sexual abuse of boys and young men. But that church was not alone. Other churches, other organizations and other families found it preferable to deny the potential abuse than to confront it. Many adults are alive today who were molested or otherwise abused in their childhood and found no one to turn to.

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.

UNITED STATES
AFP

WASHINGTON — A US man who sued the Vatican after years of alleged sexual abuse at the hands of a Roman Catholic priest plans to appeal a court ruling dismissing the case, his attorney said Tuesday.

The lawsuit in the western US city of Portland, Oregon was the first in a priest abuse case to directly name the Vatican as a defendant.

The plaintiff alleged that while he was a teenager, the priest raped him repeatedly — abuse he said went on for a decade — and that the Catholic church bears ultimate responsibility for those crimes.

But the alleged victim’s attorney Jeff Anderson told AFP in a telephone interview that the judge dismissed the case Monday, ruling that the Vatican did not employ the cleric.

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.

CHICAGO (IL)
Vatican Insider

The archdiocese of Chicago broke the news that Cardinal George has cancer and said his doctors will work out a plan of treatment with him

Gerard O’Connell
Rome

Cardinal Francis George has cancer, for the second time. He is planning a course of medical treatment after doctors found cancerous cells in his kidney and liver, the Archdiocese of Chicago announced last Friday.

A brief statement released by the archdiocese on August 17 said the cardinal had learned the results of the tests on that same day following an examination two days earlier at the city’s Loyola University Medical Center.

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.

PORTLAND (OR)
Vatican Insider

The U.S. District Court in Portland clears the Vatican of any responsibility for a priest who was pronounced guilty of acts of paedophilia during the 1960s

ANDREA TORNIELLI
Vatican City

On Monday, 20 August in Portland (Oregon), U.S. District Court judge, Michael Mosman, ruled that the Holy See “cannot be considered an employer” of members of the clergy and consequently cannot be held responsible in civil proceedings for sexual abuse committed by priests. Therefore each case should be judged individually and being a priest does not automatically mean the person in question should be treated in the same way as a company employee. In this specific case, the judge ruled that there was a total absence of any “employment relationship” between the Holy See and the priest who committed the abuse.

Legal proceedings ended with a “no jurisdiction” ruling. Attorney Jeff Anderson, who represents a number of sexual abuse victims in the United States, has nevertheless announced that there will be an appeal which the Holy See’s lawyer, Jeffrey Lena, described as “very hard to win”.

The case reached court ten years ago, in 2002, when the Holy See was charged with responsibility for the acts of Fr. Andrew Ronan, a priest belonging to the Servite Order (OSM), who in 1965 abused a 17-year-old boy. Archive documents revealed that Fr. Ronan abused other children in Chicago and Benburg, Ireland over a period of 15 years but that these episodes were kept secret by the Order and that the Holy See had been informed of all this only when Ronan asked to be defrocked. Ronan’s superiors had decided to transfer him – first from Benburg to Chicago and then from there to Portland – without notifying either the Order’s local representative or the Bishop of Portland of what had happened previously.

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.

KANSAS CITY (MO)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Dorris on August 20, 2012

Just because Bishop Finn claims he didn’t see all this evidence, it’s supposed to be suppressed?

If Bishop Finn didn’t personally see all this proof, we suspect that’s because he told his staff he wanted ‘distance’ from child sex crimes and clergy sexual misdeeds. And we strongly suspect he was told about almost all of this evidence, but chose to not look at some of it.

Every single piece of evidence that’s kept out of court will make it harder to convict Bishop Finn. We hope prosecutors prevail and Finn loses on these motions.

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.

OREGON
Kipa

Portland, 21.8.12 (Kipa) Der Vatikan hat in den USA einen gerichtlichen Sieg in der Frage der Haftung für pädophile Priester errungen. Nach dem Urteil eines Distriktgerichts in Portland ist der Heilige Stuhl nicht als Arbeitgeber aller katholischer Geistlicher anzusehen. Somit könne er bei Sexualstraftaten von Klerikern nicht mit Entschädigungen zur Rechenschaft gezogen werden, entschied Richter Michael Mosman am Montag (Ortszeit) laut Medienberichten. Klägeranwalt Jeff Anderson kündigte Berufung an.

Mit dem Urteil im Bundesstaat Oregon endet vorläufig der letzte Prozess in den USA um eine Haftungspflicht der katholischen Kirchenleitung im Vatikan. Ähnliche Klagen in Kentucky und Wisconsin waren in den vergangenen Jahren fallengelassen worden.

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 Inquirer

In a radical, and nationally unprecedented, change to its 120-year-old education system, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is handing over management of its secondary and special education schools to an independent foundation.

The recently-incorporated Faith in the Future Foundation aims to not only maintain but also grow a Catholic school system hit hard by declining enrollments, deficits and closings. It will manage 17 high schools and four special education schools, according to the terms of a five-year contract recently signed by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput.

It will be the first independently-managed Catholic school system in the country. …

Although the archdiocese will still own the schools and their assets, the foundation will cover their operating deficits.

The archdiocese has spent more than $11 million during the past 16 months responding to a 2011 Philadelphia grand jury report on clergy sex abuse, and projects a $6 million deficit in its operating budget for the 2012-2013 fiscal year. However, Hanway said those difficulties did not drive the decision to privatize management of these schools.

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.

UNITED STATES
Stop Baptist Predators

Thanks to BaptistPlanet, these two eye-opening studies were recently brought to my attention.

1. In Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, a study examined “associations between self-reported religious affiliations and official offense histories among 111 incarcerated adult male sexual offenders. Four categories of religiosity were devised according to self-reported continuities and discontinuities in life-course religious affiliations: atheists, dropouts, converts, and stayers. . . . Stayers (those who maintained religious involvement from childhood to adulthood) had more sexual offense convictions, more victims, and younger victims, than other groups. Results challenge assumptions that religious involvement should, as with other crime, serve to deter sexual offending behavior.”

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.

HAWAII
Damon Tucker: Hawaii News and Island Information

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Damon

Holding signs and photos of themselves when they were abused, child sex abuse victims will announce that a long-time Hilo Catholic priest, Fr. George DeCosta, has been accused of molesting two boys, but continues to work for a church group that teaches music to teenagers.

They will also beg Honolulu Bishop Clarence Silva to: disclose why the priest was forced to retire, insist that the music group oust him immediately, personally visit every parish, school and facility where he worked reaching out to others he may have hurt.

Where:
Outside of Malia Puka O Kalani Church, 326 Desha Ave in Hilo

When:
Tuesday, August 21, at 11 am

Who:
One to two members of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPNetwork.org), the nation’s largest support group for men and women sexually abused as children in religious and institutional organizations, including a California woman who is the group’s Western Regional Director

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.

PENNSYLVANIA
Williamsport Sun-Gazette

August 21, 2012

By CHERYL R. CLARKE (cclarke@sungazette.com) , Williamsport Sun-Gazette

WELLSBORO – Thomas Shoback, the former Blossburg Roman Catholic priest accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting a former altar boy during 1990s, was scheduled to be in Tioga County Court Monday but waived his formal arraignment.

A date for the next court proceeding has not yet been set, said court administrator Nancy Clemens.

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.

PORTLAND (OR)
ABA Journal

Posted Aug 21, 2012
By Debra Cassens Weiss

A federal judge in Portland, Ore., has ruled for the Vatican in one of the first cases seeking to hold it liable for alleged molestation by a priest.

U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman ruled the Vatican didn’t employ the priest and dismissed it as a defendant, the Oregonian reports. The priest, the Rev. Andrew Ronan, was transferred from Ireland to Chicago and then Portland.

The suit claimed Ronan molested a teen in 1965 and 1966. His religious order remains as a defendant.

Jeffrey Anderson, the lawyer for the plaintiff, said he would appeal to the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeals court ruled in 2005 that sovereign immunity didn’t protect the Vatican.

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.

OREGON
KPTV

[with video]

By Natalie Brand

PORTLAND, OR, (KPTV) –
A judge ruled the Woodburn priest accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy will be held without bail pending trial.

Father Angel Perez, who served at St. Luke Catholic Church, was indicted by a grand jury on charges of sex abuse in the first degree, using a child in display of sexual conduct, furnishing liquor to a minor, tampering with physical evidence and DUII.

A number of parishioners attended the hearing Monday in support of the priest. One church member told FOX 12 the St. Luke community is heartbroken and remains in disbelief over the allegations.

Woodburn police say Perez is accused of abusing a boy who was sleeping over at the priest’s home following a community church event. According to court documents, the boy told investigators he woke up to a flash, possibly from a cell phone camera, and saw the priest touching him, as well as touching himself. …

The national Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests released a statement, which read in part, “We’re grateful that Fr. Perez is being kept locked up and away from kids.”

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.

KANSAS CITY (MO)
Examiner

By The Associated Press

Kansas City, MO —

Defense attorneys argue that evidence used to convict a Catholic priest of child pornography shouldn’t be allowed to try the diocese and the bishop who leads it.

The effort to have eight pieces of evidence excluded was made in a pretrial motion.

The Rev. Shawn Ratigan pleaded guilty earlier this month to federal charges of producing child pornography. His case led authorities to charge Bishop Robert Finn and the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph with failure to report suspected child abuse. Finn has pleaded not guilty.

A trial in the case is scheduled to start Sept. 24 in Jackson County Circuit Court.

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.

NEW JERSEY
Asbury Park Press

Written by
Michael Symons

TRENTON — State senators might vote next month on a bill that eliminates the statute of limitations for suing in childhood sexual abuse cases, after the plan couldn’t muster the needed support Monday.

The proposal would apply retroactively and could allow victims to seek monetary damages from entities such as the Catholic Church and nonprofits that negligently employed abusers.

Seven of the 40 senators were absent from Monday’s rare summer voting session, and bill sponsor Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, said the bill didn’t appear to have support from 21 of the senators present. He’ll try again in September, when senators — including four Democrats Vitale hopes will back the bill — are back from vacation.

State law has already been changed to eliminate immunity from civil lawsuits related to child sexual abuse for charitable organizations. The new proposal would retroactively allow lawsuits for past incidents, which are currently subject to a two-year statute of limitations.

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.

IOWA
KCCI

ADEL, Iowa –
The former pastor of a Pella church took the witness stand Monday afternoon in his sexual abuse and exploitation trial.

Prosecutors said Patrick Edouard used his position of power at Covenant Reform Church to coerce four women members into having sexual relations with him.

Edouard is charged with three counts of third-degree sexual abuse, and four counts of sexual exploitation by a counselor, therapist, school employee or clergy.

In a matter of fact tone, Edouard told jurors Monday that each of the four affairs he had was consensual.

Edouard’s wife Grace also took the stand as a witness for the defense. She testified that she had no idea her husband was having sexual relations with other women until he told her in December of 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.

NEW JERSEY
The Record

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

BY MICHAEL LINHORST
STATE HOUSE BUREAU
The Record

A Senate vote on a bill to eliminate the statute of limitations for childhood sexual assault victims to sue their abusers was postponed Monday when one of its sponsors decided there were not enough votes to support it.

With six senators missing during Monday’s session, which was held in the middle of the Senate’s summer break, Sen. Joseph Vitale said he was worried the bill would not have garnered the 21 needed to pass.

“When I polled the members — and I polled both sides of the aisle — I didn’t quite get to 21,” said Vitale. He plans to put it back on the Senate’s agenda in September, he said.

Vitale blamed the Catholic Church for rallying opposition to the bill, which would eliminate the state’s statute of limitations and would allow victims to sue organizations that are out of their reach under current law.

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.

OREGON
The Daily News

A Woodburn, Ore., priest accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy has been indicted on eight counts and ordered held without bail.

The Rev. Angel Armando Perez was arrested last week on accusations including sexual abuse, furnishing alcohol to a minor and drunken driving. The boy ran from the parish priest’s house during a sleepover, saying he awoke to find the 46-year-old Perez fondling him and apparently taking a cell phone photo. Police say Perez told investigators he was drunk and didn’t remember what happened.

Besides the initial counts, the grand jury indictment returned Monday charges Perez with giving the boy alcohol on four separate occasions and accuses the priest of evidence tampering. Marion County Deputy District Attorney Katie Suver said investigators believe Perez deleted a photo from his phone.

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.

PORTLAND (OR)
NBC News

By NBC News staff and wire reports

CHICAGO — A U.S. federal judge in Oregon on Monday dismissed a clergy sexual abuse case that was the first to try to hold the Vatican responsible for moving an offending priest into unsuspecting parishes, lawyers in the case said.

U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mosman in Portland, Oregon, ruled the Holy See in Rome could not be shown to be the “employer” of the late Father Andrew Ronan, who abused children in Chicago and later in Portland.

Church officials in Chicago knew that Ronan, who ultimately left the priesthood and died in 1992, had a history of sexual abuse, but he continued to abuse after he was transferred to Oregon, court documents showed. …

“There is no fact in the record on which to base an employment relationship,” Jeffrey Luna, a lawyer for the Vatican in the United States, said in summarizing the judge’s ruling.

The Oregonian newspaper quoted Luna as saying the ruling was “quite significant … because the Holy See has patiently and cooperatively worked with the American judicial process to arrive at this day.”

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.

UNITED STATES
Atheist Revolution

One of the most common objections encountered by atheists who report on child rape by clergy is that it is not fair to focus on clergy since this offense occurs in many other groups. They have a valid point in that clergy are certainly not the only group to engage in this despicable behavior; however, we typically retort that the involvement of religion is relevant. Certain aspects of religious doctrine may facilitate abuse. Abuse by a member of clergy involves a deep betrayal of trust, contributes to the low rates of reporting such crimes, is more likely to be concealed in systematic ways, etc.

But what if there was actually evidence from scientific studies that religiosity was associated with increased dangerousness among sex offenders, that clergy were more likely to get away with sex crimes than other groups of offenders, and that clergy used more force when committing their crimes than other sex offenders? With such evidence, it would be difficult to argue that religion was irrelevant.

As Stop Baptist Predators recently reported, this evidence exists. Male clergy accused of sex crimes were found to be more dangerous in some important ways than matched non-clergy offenders (Langevin, Curnoe, & Bain, 2000). And religiosity was positively associated with the number of convictions for sex crimes and the number of victims among convicted male sex offenders (Eshuys & Smallbone, 2006). It was also inversely related to the age of the victims (i.e., more religious offenders tended to victimize younger children).

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.

PORTLAND (OR)
The Associated Press

By NIGEL DUARA, Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Vatican won a major victory Monday in an Oregon federal courtroom, where a judge ruled that the Holy See is not the employer of molester priests.

The decision by U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mosman ends a six-year question in the decade-old case and could shield the Vatican from possible monetary damages.

The original lawsuit was filed in 2002 by a Seattle-area man who said the Rev. Andrew Ronan repeatedly molested him in the late 1960s.

The plaintiffs tried to show that Ronan and all priests are employees of the Vatican, which is therefore liable for their actions. …

After the ruling, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, director David Clohessy said in a statement that the Vatican wants “to have their cake and eat it too” by varying their definition of the church, sometimes calling it a top-down hierarchical institution and other times asserting that only locals have control over their employees.

“It’s a shame that, once again, top Catholic officials successfully exploit legal technicalities to keep clergy sex crimes and cover ups covered up,” Clohessy said. “The truth is that the Vatican oversees the church worldwide, insisting on secrecy in child sex cases and stopping or delaying the defrocking of pedophile priests.”

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.

OREGON
KOIN

SALEM, Ore. — A local Catholic pastor accused of sex abuse has been denied bail.

On Monday Father Angel Perez — who was expecting a release hearing — learned he’ll stay in jail until his trial. He’s expected to have a preliminary hearing Wednesday, followed by an arraignment Aug. 27.

Perez is listed as a pastor of Saint Luke Catholic Church in Woodburn, Ore.; he is accused of sexually abusing a boy from a church party.

What’s happened so far?

The 46-year-old pleaded “not guilty” in Marion County Court Aug. 14 to one count each of first-degree sex abuse, using a child in display of sexually explicit conduct and furnishing alcohol to a minor.

The charges come after a 12-year-old boy told police that Perez touched and took pictures of him during a sleep-over at Perez’s home. The boy says he ran away from the house to get help from his family.

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.

OREGON
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Blaine on August 20, 2012

We’re grateful that Fr. Perez is being kept locked up and away from kids. He’s clearly a flight risk.

Kids are safest when pedophiles are behind bars. And kids are even safer when every single person who saw, suspected or suffered a predator’s crimes comes forward. So we beg each person with knowledge of or suspicions about Fr. Perez’ crimes to contact police and prosecutors immediately. We can’t be complacent and assume justice will be done. We must all do our part to make sure justice is done.

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.

KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Kansas City Star

By TONY RIZZO
The Kansas City Star

Evidence that led to a Catholic priest’s child pornography conviction should not be allowed in the trial of the diocese and the bishop who supervised him, defense attorneys argue in a pretrial motion.

Bishop Robert Finn and the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph are scheduled for trial starting Sept. 24 in Jackson County on misdemeanor charges of failing to report suspected child abuse by the Rev. Shawn Ratigan.

In their pre-trial motion, attorneys for Finn and the diocese ask a judge to exclude eight pieces of evidence they believe prosecutors intend to introduce at trial, including the contents of Ratigan’s computer hard-drive that was turned over to the diocese in December 2010 and to police in May 2011.

The defense maintains that neither Finn nor another high diocesan official saw or reviewed the hard-drive’s contents. They also seek the exclusion of images found in Ratigan’s possession about the time of his arrest. Again, they maintain that those items were never seen by the bishop or other diocesan officials.

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.

PORTLAND (OR)
The Oregonian

By Aimee Green, The Oregonian

A federal judge has dismissed the Vatican from a lawsuit filed by a former Portland teenager who says he was sexually abused by a pedophile priest who was transferred from Ireland to Chicago and then Portland in an effort to sweep his past under the rug.

In a downtown Portland hearing Monday morning, U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman said the Vatican cannot be held financially liable for abuse allegedly suffered by a Portland victim, identified by the pseudonym John V. Doe, at the hands of Rev. Andrew Ronan in 1965 and 1966. Mosman ruled that’s because the Vatican wasn’t Ronan’s employer and didn’t have control over Ronan — or at least, there weren’t facts to prove that.

“It’s clearly a disappointment, but we’re definitely not discouraged,” said Jeff Anderson, the Minnesota attorney who is representing Doe.

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.

PORTLAND (OR)
Catholic Sentinel

Catholic priests aren’t employed by the Vatican and so the Holy See is not financially liable for priest misdeeds, a federal judge in Portland ruled today.

The entire church leadership, from Pope Benedict and bishops across the nation, have called for better protection for children and worked to make that happen. But bishops have also tried to explain church strcuture to courts, explaining that dioceses are themselves churches, not subsidiaries of the Holy See.

U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mosman got the point. His decision ends an ongoing quest from sex abuse victims and their lawyers to seek monetary damages from the Vatican.

“There are no facts to create a true employment relationship between Ronan and the Holy See,” Mosman said in his ruling.

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.

PORTLAND (OR)
Time

By Associated Press | August 20, 2012

(PORTLAND, Ore.) — The Vatican has won a major victory in an Oregon federal courtroom, where a judge ruled the Holy See is not the employer of molester priests.

The ruling Monday by U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mosman ends a six-year question in the decade-old case and could shield the Vatican from possible monetary damages.

The original lawsuit was filed in 2002 by a Seattle-area man who claimed the Rev. Andrew Ronan repeatedly molested him in the late 1960s.

Mosman made a previous decision strictly on legal theory and determined that if all the facts in the case were true, the Vatican would indeed be Ronan’s employer.

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.

OREGON
The Oregonian

By Maxine Bernstein, The Oregonian

SALEM — A Marion County judge on Monday ordered a Woodburn priest, who is accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy at his home last week, remain in custody without bail.

Judge Audrey Broyles found “clear and convincing” evidence that the Rev. Angel Armando Perez, the parish priest at St. Luke Catholic Church in Woodburn, would pose a risk to the victim in the case and the general public if he was released pending trial.

Broyles said Perez’s position as an ordained priest in a small community gives him a unique position of trust and power.

“He abused that power,” the judge said. “Clearly he had, he has and would have access to children – directly or indirectly.”

Perez appeared behind a glass partition. He wore dark blue jail shirt and pants, and mostly looked down during the 20-minute hearing.

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
Saarbrucker Zeitung

St. Wendel/München. Hat Klaus Leist als Dechant in Völklingen an Drohbriefen gegen den damaligen Köllerbacher Pfarrer Guido Ittmann mitgewirkt und so Mitschuld an dessen Flucht zu Ostern 2011 aus seiner Kirchengemeinde? Christoph Lerg hält diese Behauptung des mittlerweile im Bistum Paderborn tätigen Pastors für abwegig. Der Anwalt aus München vertritt den seit Jahresbeginn in St. Wendel eingesetzten katholischen Geistlichen Leist. “Warum sollte mein Mandant ein Interesse haben, Herrn Ittmann zu verjagen?” Als Beweis führt er an, dass die betroffene Kirchengemeinde Herz Jesu “bis heute keinen neuen Pfarrer” habe.

Die von Ittmann gegen Leist eingereichten Asservate hält der Advokat für fragwürdig. Es handle sich um etwa zehn Schriftstücke. “Ich stelle in Abrede, dass darunter Drohbriefe sind.” Aber: “Zwei bis drei davon enthalten eklatante Beleidigungen, da gibt es nichts zu beschönigen.” Er ist sicher, dass die Briefe keine Abwehr darauf sind, dass Ittmann mutmaßlich sexuelle Übergriffe auf Kinder durch Pater und Pfarrangehörige anzeigte. Es gehe “nicht um die Vertuschung von sexuellen Missbrauchs, sondern dass Gemeindeangehörige stinksauer auf Ittmanns Verhalten waren”. Dies betreffe unpopuläre Entscheidungen zur Kirchenstruktur, die, vom Bistum Trier gefordert, Ittmann habe umsetzen müssen. Die Art, wie er dies tat, habe die Briefe verursacht. “Es gab einen Riss durch die Gemeinde.”

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
SWR

Ein katholischer Priester im Ruhestand muss sich vorerst mit einer Kürzung seiner Bezüge um 20 Prozent wegen Missbrauchs von Minderjährigen in den 1960er Jahren abfinden. Das Verwaltungsgericht Stuttgart lehnte seinen Eilantrag gegen diese Entscheidung der Diözese Rottenburg-Stuttgart am Montag ab.

Die Diözese war Missbrauchsvorwürfen nachgegangen, hatte dem Priester einen Verweis erteilt und am 22. Juni 2011 verfügt, dass ein Fünftel der Bezüge vom 1. August 2011 an für drei Jahre an einen Fonds fließen sollte. Diesen Verweis hielt sie für zulässig, auch wenn die Taten selbst wegen Verjährung nicht mehr kirchenstrafrechtlich verfolgt werden könnten.

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.

OSTERREICH
kathweb

Heuer wandten sich bisher 133 Personen an Unabhängige Opferschutzanwaltschaft

20.08.2012

Wien, 20.08.2012 (KAP) Die im April 2010 von Kardinal Christoph Schönborn ins Leben gerufene “Unabhängige Opferschutzanwaltschaft” unter Leitung von Waltraud Klasnic hat ihre Tätigkeit verlängert. Der Wunsch des Kardinals sei, dass die Kommission noch weitere drei Jahre im Amt bleibe, wurde Klasnic am Wochenende von der “Austria Presse Agentur” (APA) zitiert. Seit 31. Mai 2011 sind die Diözesanen Ombudsstellen wieder Erstanlaufstellen für mutmaßliche Opfer. Die “Klasnic-Kommission” ist aber weiterhin für die Entscheidungen über finanzielle Hilfen zuständig. Das “große Paket” an Fällen sei mittlerweile abgearbeitet, Meldungen träfen aber nach wie vor ein, hieß es. So hätten sich heuer bisher 133 Personen an die Einrichtung gewandt.

Insgesamt gab es bis Mitte August 1.333 Meldungen an die Opferschutzanwaltschaft. 242 davon wurden laut APA bereits nach dem neuen Modus über die Ombudsstellen abgewickelt. Von Gewalt bzw. Missbrauch im kirchlichen Umfeld waren 1.206 betroffen, rund drei Viertel der Meldungen betrafen Männer. Für 810 der Meldungen konnten bisher Entscheidungen getroffen werden, weiter gab es 733 Kommissionsbeschlüsse, darunter 19 ablehnende.

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
netzwerkB

Am kommenden Samstag, 25. August 2012, geht es los, ich breche zu meiner mehrtägigen Wanderung von Wuppertal nach Köln zum Dom auf, um Menschen für die Unterzeichnung der Petition zur Abschaffung der Verjährungsfristen zu gewinnen.

Meine Planungen neigen sich dem Ende entgegen:

am Freitag, dem 24.8., besuche ich einen Freund in Essen-Werden, wo ich nächtigen werde. Samstag morgens fahre ich dann mit der Bahn nach Wuppertal-Barmen. Die Wanderung werde ich voraussichtlich zwischen 09 und 10 Uhr vormittags vom Vorplatz des Wuppertaler Rathauses (Johannes-Rau-Platz 1) beginnen.

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
MissBiT

Pfarrer Ittmann: “Was ist der größte Schaden, den man der Kirche zufügen kann?! Das ist sicherlich nicht, wenn durch ein Erdbeben in Rom der Vatikan zusammenstürzt: Der größte Schaden unserer Kirche ist, dass allein in den letzten 50 Jahren Hunderttausende von Kindern durch Kirchenangestellte weltweit gefoltert und vergewaltigt wurden.“

Eigentlich soll es die Aufgabe von Bischof Stephan Ackermann sein, sexuellen Missbrauch in der katholischen Kirche aufzuklären. Er ist der Missbrauchsbeauftragte der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz. Doch ausgerechnet in seinem Bistum Trier werden immer mehr Fälle bekannt, die Fragen aufwerfen. So auch jetzt in der saarländischen Gemeinde Köllerbach: Vor zwei Jahren hatte dort der Pfarrer Guido Ittmann Missbrauchsfälle in seiner Pfarrei angezeigt und darauf Drohbriefe bekommen. Nun haben Ermittlungen der Polizei brisante Fingerabdrücke zu Tage gefördert, wie SWR-Reporter Erwin Kohla berichtet.

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
MissBiT

“Stephan Ackermann, der Missbrauchsbeauftragte der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz hat in dieser Woche auf dem Arbeitsamt vorgesprochen. Er wollte mal wissen, wie es ist, wenn man sich arbeitslos meldet. Ein Bischof „übt das Leben“ könnte man da ironisch sagen oder – etwas zynischer – die Frage stellen, ob der Bischof von Trier vielleicht schon selbst mit seiner Abberufung rechnet. Denn ausgerechnet in seinem eigenen Bistum läuft die Aufarbeitung von Missbrauchsfällen alles andere als rund – wir haben es gerade eben im Beitrag gehört. Was ist da los im Bistum Trier?

Jörg Vins aus unserer SWR-Redaktion „Religion, Kirche und Gesellschaft“ kommentiert:

„Seit Wochen gibt es keine Ruhe im Bistum Trier. Missbrauchsfälle wurden zwar angezeigt, aber nach wie vor vertuscht. Der Anzeiger wurde für „psychisch gestört“ erklärt und anonym schriftlich bedroht.

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.

NEW JERSEY
NJ.com

By Matt Friedman/Statehouse Bureau

TRENTON — A bill to give victims of childhood sexual abuse unlimited time to file suit against their abusers and the institutions harbored them stalled in the state Senate today, after its sponsor couldn’t round up enough votes to pass it.

The bill (S1651) would lift the statute of limitations for civil suits for sexual abuse for both the perpetrators themselves and institutions that committed “any negligent act that results in the commission of sexual assault, the commission of any other crime of a sexual nature or sexual abuse.”

State Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex), its sponsor, said he wasn’t sure the votes were there to pass it today in part because four of the Senate’s 24 Democrats were absent. He plans to try again in September.

Under current law, victims have two years to file suit from the point they realized the abuse damaged them.

Mark Crawford director of the New Jersey Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), has been pushing for the legislation.

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.

NEW JERSEY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Mark Crawford on August 20, 2012

New Jersey state senators are expected to vote today on a measure that would give child sex abuse victims more time to pursue civil lawsuits against child molesters and those who employ them.

The measure, S1651, eliminates the civil statute of limitations for child sexual abuse. New Jersey eliminated the criminal statute of limitations for child sexual abuse in 1996.

This bill will not only change the law prospectively but would allow past cases as well.

“It also expands the category of those who can be held liable, putting all institutions on notice that they too could be held responsible for knowingly recycling predators and putting children in harm’s way.” said Mark Crawford, NJ Director,

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.

IOWA
KCCI

ADEL, Iowa –
The former pastor of a Pella church took the witness stand Monday afternoon in his sexual abuse and exploitation trial.

Prosecutors said Patrick Edouard used his position of power at Covenant Reform Church to coerce four women members into having sexual relations with him.

Edouard is charged with three counts of third-degree sexual abuse, and four counts of sexual exploitation by a counselor, therapist, school employee or clergy.

He took the stand Monday afternoon after the prosecution completed its case and turned over testimony to the defense.

Monday morning, the state called an elder of the church to the stand.

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.

UNITED STATES
Jeff Anderson & Associates

Judge dismisses historic child sexual abuse case involving Vatican’s role in clergy abuse cover-up

Attorney says appeal is definite

Statement of Jeff Anderson re: John V. Doe v. Holy See

(Portland, Oregon)“We are saddened and disappointed that after ten years in the federal courts, United States District of Oregon Judge Michael W. Mosman dismissed the historic lawsuit (John V. Doe v. Holy See) brought by clergy abuse victim John V. Doe against the Vatican for its role in the cover-up and secrecy of the clergy abuse crisis in America.

However, be assured that we will be appealing this decision to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Along with courageous survivor John V. Doe, we have been there before, and prevailed, and we expect to prevail again.*

In making his ruling Judge Mosman’s thoughtful remarks from the bench clearly expressed his difficulty in deciding the case as he referred to the case as very troubling and a close call. But he ultimately decided that under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) there was insufficient evidence to decide that the Vatican has both directional and operational control over priests in the United States. The Judge also acknowledged that there would likely be an appeal of his decision.

Indeed, I can confirm that there will be an appeal. We believe that under further scrutiny the courts will find that Vatican protocols and practice make it clear that obedience to Rome required the secrecy, and concealment practiced by priests and bishops as the clergy abuse crisis unfolded in the United States.

Finally, it is with renewed vigor that we must, and will, carry on this fight for transparency and accountability on behalf of John V. Doe and every single survivor of sexual abuse by a priest in this country and across the globe.”

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.

OREGON
KGW

SALEM — A Woodburn priest facing sex abuse charges is being held without bail after a judge called him a threat to children.

Father Angel Perez was being held without bail in the Marion County Jail after a release hearing Monday.

Police arrested him last week after a boy staying with Perez said he was fondled. He said he had run away from Perez to find help.

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.

BUFFALO (NY)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by David Clohessy on August 20, 2012

A former Buffalo area Catholic priest’s name appears on a list of priests ‘guilty of sexual misconduct,’ according to yesterday’s Philadelphia Inquirer. The Rev. Ted Podson taught at the Buffalo-area Devon Prep school before leaving the school when he accused of sexually assaulting a child. He was named on a list that was compiled in 1994 by recently-convicted Msgr. William Lynn.

A support group for clergy sex abuse victims is urging Buffalo Catholic officials – including Bishop Richard Malone – to reach out to anyone in the area who may have seen, suspected or suffered the cleric’s crimes.

“It is more likely than not that there are other victims in the Buffalo area,” said David Clohessy of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “We just want to find them and help them heal.”

Msgr. Lynn’s list was recently made public during his trial, but had been hidden since the list was made and shown to then Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua in Philadelphia. Of the five men on the list, four have since been publicly accused, prosecuted, or sued, and three were never named until Lynn’s trial. Those three men are Rev. Podson, Rev. Stanley Jankowski and Rev. DePaul Sobotka (both members of the Franciscan order and currently living in Wisconsin).

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.

AUSTRALIA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne

The Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart, today announced that the leaders of the Catholic Church in Victoria are sending a pastoral letter to all parishes and churches this weekend on the Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and other Non-Government Organisations.

“In our letter we acknowledge the suffering and trauma endured by children who have been in the Church’s care, and the effect on their families.

“The letter also explains the approach of the Church to the Inquiry, speaks of the challenging and difficult period ahead for victims and their families, and the need to learn from past failures to ensure we do everything in our power to protect children,” Archbishop Hart said.

“Mistakes were made and we apologise to victims and their families for these failures.
“The Church has learnt from these failures and our response has changed. We are focused on the needs of those who have been abused and have taken action to prevent future abuse. We have also changed how we deal with offenders.

“Since 1996, we have introduced procedures to protect children and vulnerable persons against sexual abuse. These have been refined as we have learned how to support victims better, and we will consider further changes in the light of recommendations of the Parliamentary Inquiry,” 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.

AUSTRALIA
Roman Catholic Diocese of Ballarat

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ

Over the last thirty years our society has become increasingly aware of the extent of sexual abuse of
children, and of its terrible consequences. We know that the impact of abuse on children and their families can be devastating and lasting. The January 2012 Report on Protecting Victoria’s Vulnerable Children (the Cummins Report) indicates the extent to which the abuse and neglect of children is a significant community issue and concern.

The suffering and trauma endured by some children who have been in the Church’s care, and the effect on their family members, is a matter of continuing shame and dismay to all Catholics.

Let us be very clear. The sexual abuse of a child was, is and always will be a crime, and is contrary to all we believe in.

We know that parents especially feel an intense betrayal of trust, that even one child could have been
so grievously hurt by people whose call it is to serve others. The Church has apologised for these failures. Today we renew this apology to victims and their families.

We are deeply sorry.

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.

AUSTRALIA
Roman Catholic Diocese of Ballarat

The Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart, announced today (21/8/2012) that the leaders of the Catholic Church in Victoria are sending a Pastoral letter to all parishes and churches this weekend on the Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and other Non-Government Organisations.

The Archbishop said that the Pastoral Letter acknowledges the suffering and trauma endured by children who have been in the Church’s care, and the effect on their families. Archbishop Hart said, “The letter also explains the approach of the Church to the Inquiry, speaks of the challenging and difficult period ahead for victims and their families, and the need to learn from past failures to ensure we do everything in our power to protect children.”

The Archbishop said that mistakes were made and “we apologise to victims and their families for these failures.” He said, “The Church has learnt from these failures and our response has changed. We are focused on the needs of those who have been abused and have taken action to prevent future abuse. We have also changed how we deal with offenders.”

PASTORAL LETTER ON THE VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT INQUIRY INTO THE HANDLING OF CHILD ABUSE BY RELIGIOUS AND OTHER NON-GOVERNMENT ORGANISATIONS. READ HERE

MEDIA RELEASE: Catholic Church Issues Pastoral Letter On Parliamentary Inquiry. READ HERE

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.

AUSTRALIA
The Age

August 21, 2012

Barney Zwartz

STATE Catholic leaders have warned parishioners that they will hear disturbing reports about the church’s past failure to respond to child sexual abuse by clergy during the parliamentary inquiry into the handling of abuse complaints.

In a pastoral letter to be sent to every Catholic church in Victoria this weekend, the leaders say the church needs to learn from these failures, and again apologise to victims of abuse and their families.

The letter is signed by the four Victorian diocesan bishops – Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart, Ballarat Bishop Peter Connors, Sale Bishop Christopher Prowse and Sandhurst Bishop Leslie Tomlinson – plus Sister Annette Cunliffe and Sister Helen Toohey, presidents of the national and state religious orders. ”The suffering and trauma endured by some children who have been in the Church’s care … is a matter of continuing shame and dismay to all Catholics,” the letter says.

”Let us be very clear. The sexual abuse of a child was, is and always will be a crime, and is contrary to all we believe in.”

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.

AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

August 21, 2012

Daniel Fogarty
AAP

Victoria’s most senior Catholics have apologised for the sexual abuse of children under the church’s care and say they will continue to take decisive action to protect children.

In a letter to parishioners, the church says it is “deeply sorry” for the suffering and trauma endured by children and the betrayal of trust.

The letter acknowledges that the impact of abuse on children and their families “can be devastating and lasting”.

It also acknowledges the abuse and suffering is a matter of continuing shame for Catholics.

The letter, which is a statement on the Victorian parliamentary inquiry on child abuse, is signed by Archbishop of Melbourne Denis Hart, Diocese of Ballarat Bishop Peter Connors, Diocese of Sale Bishop Christopher Prowse and Diocese of Sandhurst Bishop Leslie Tomlinson.

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)
Paltalk News Network

By JONATHAN WOLFMAN

The other week I wrote here of several, first-of-their-kind criminal prosecutions of churchmen, leaders who perpetuated child abuse.

I raised up the behavior of Kansas City’s Bishop Finn who allowed a known sexually deviant priest to molest his way through that diocese. Bishop Finn reassigned a pedophile priest to a facility in which the priest would have regular contact with kids. . I spoke, too, of Philadelphia’s Monsignor William Lynn who two weeks back became the first priest-administrator in the United States church hierarchy to serve prison time, in his case for shredding archival evidence thereby actively shielding well over 30 pedophile priests.

Word has it that, now that the monsignor’s case has been lost, the Philadelphia Archdiocese has dramatically cut back the support it had provided for Lynn’s defense. Even as Lynn is appealing his six-year term, his legal team, four lawyers prior to his conviction, has been halved and the remaining two will now have to continue to represent the convicted monsignor – for howver long they remain in the picture – largely pro bono.

Any wagers on how long those lawyers and the church will support Lynn?

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.

OREGON
The Oregonian

WOODBURN — The mother of the 12-year-old boy who bolted from the home where he was allegedly abused by his parish priest told the Statesman-Journal she is proud of her son.

The Salem newspaper interviewed the woman last week. She said she taught her children what to do if they were ever touched inappropriately.

“She taught all of us what’s right and what’s wrong and to tell her if something happened,” said the boy’s brother, who translated for his mother.

The mother said she was shocked by the alleged incident and is proud of her son.

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.

OREGON
KGM

[with video]

Posted on August 20, 2012

SALEM — A Woodburn priest facing sex abuse charges is returning to court.

Father Angel Perez was being held without bail in the Marion County Jail, and a release hearing was scheduled for Monday.

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.

CANADA
The Chronicle-Herald

YARMOUTH — An 83-year-old former Roman Catholic priest who sexually abused boys when he was younger used a doctor’s note to say he could not travel to Yarmouth on Friday to be sentenced.

Albert LeBlanc, now married and living in Bouctouche, N.B., pleaded guilty in May to six counts of indecent assault. His guilty plea came at the beginning of what was expected to have been a weeklong trial in Yarmouth.

LeBlanc faced 50 counts but pleaded guilty to six charges, each of which related to a different male victim.

In Yarmouth provincial court Friday, Judge Jim Burrill said the court received a note from LeBlanc’s doctor concerning his medical condition.

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
Marine Corps Times

By Gidget Fuentes – Staff writer
Posted : Monday Aug 20, 2012

A San Diego judge has granted a temporary restraining order to an enlisted sailor who alleges a Navy chaplain tried to rape him.

The sailor, whose identity Marine Corps Times is withholding because he is an alleged victim, is expected to be a key witness in the government’s case against Lt. Cmdr. Steven E. Hicks, a Catholic priest at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, Calif. Hicks was removed from his assignment earlier this year amid an investigation into alleged misconduct, including claims of sexual harassment, indecent conduct, assault and fraternization, a combat center spokesman said June 22.

Hicks has been charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, but Marine officials at Twentynine Palms have refused requests for a copy of his charge sheet, which details the allegations against him.

Marine Corps Times has made numerous unsuccessful attempts to contact Hicks.

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.

KOREA
The Hankyoreh

New book describes a life of enduring father’s abuse, and the hope of drawing attention to social ill

By Lee You-jin, staff reporter

‘When light hits a teardrop, it twinkles’, wrote Eun Su-yeon (a pseudonym) in an essay released on Aug. 15. It is the first writing by a victim of sexual violence by relatives published in Korea. The writer was sexually abused for 9 years from when she was in 5th grade of elementary school. The perpetrator was her own father, who was a pastor. When she was in 6th grade, she had to have an abortion.

When Eun was a freshman in university, she was dragged to a motel by her father. She managed to escape to a police station after pleading with the motel owner that she had been kidnapped.

Her father was arrested. He served seven years in prison and was released. In the past, under South Korean law, for a case of sexual abuse to move forward, the alleged victim had to make a formal accusation. That law has been changed and it is now possible to punish the offender without victim’s accusation.

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.

PHOENIX (AZ)
KTAR

By Associated Press
Originally published: Aug 19, 2012

PHOENIX — The Roman Catholic office overseeing parishes in Maricopa, Coconino, Yavapai and La Paz counties has missed its own deadline to publish a report detailing sexual abuse by priests.

The Diocese of Phoenix promised to publish a comprehensive list of abusive clergy and a financial accounting by June 14. The Arizona Republic reports that diocese officials are refusing to discuss why they missed their own deadline.

The report is supposed to detail the church abuse scandal in Phoenix, where more than two dozen priests were either arrested or accused of sexual misconduct. The scandal erupted in 2002 with the release of diocesan files in Boston and is believed to have cost about $3.3 billion in settlements and verdicts nationwide.

Diocese officials say the report is now expected to be published in the fall edition of the diocese-produced “Catholic Sun” newspaper.

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.

NEW JERSEY
Philadelphia Inquirer

By Barbara Boyer
Inquirer Staff Writer

Lisa Shanahan says she was molested at age 10 by a priest at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Hammonton and has kept quiet about it for decades, alone in her suffering.

She decided to break her silence after learning there were two victims before her.

Now 43, Shanahan has sued the Camden diocese, demanding it reveal why the now-defrocked priest, Thomas Harkins, was permitted to stay in ministry even after the church hierarchy learned of his alleged abuse and, she claims, sent him for therapy.

“They sacrificed me,” says Shanahan, a business executive living in North Carolina.

Though the suit she filed in May is active, it appears vulnerable to dismissal as the diocese argues it was filed past the state’s statute of limitations.

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.