ABUSE TRACKER

UNITED KINGDOM
The Star

CHURCH leaders and social services have been condemned for a ‘cover-up’ of a vicar’s sex attacks on a teenage girl in Sheffield.

John Yallop’s 16-year-old victim was sent to him for counselling after losing her mother, father and grandmother all within seven months in the late 1980s.

But the Burngreave vicar forced her to perform a sex act on him, and exposed himself to her in his own home and car over two months.

On two occasions, he groped the orphan at St Peter’s Church, Ellesmere – where he had conducted the funeral of her late mother.

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

An ex-vicar who sexually assaulted a teenage girl he was counselling after the deaths of her parents has been jailed for three years.

John Yallop, 65, of Accrington, Lancashire, molested the 16-year-old while he was a priest in Ellesmere, Sheffield, 25 years ago.

He made the girl perform sex acts and touched her inappropriately.

Yallop was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court on Monday after he admitted six counts of indecent assault.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Mail

By Chris Brooke

A judge has condemned the Church of England and social services for a cover-up that allowed a vicar who sexually abused a teenage orphan to escape justice for 26 years.

John Yallop, a married father of four, had been offering bereavement counselling to the 16-year-old girl just months after she lost her entire family.

He admitted the abuse, which took place over two months, when confronted by a social worker.

But instead of reporting him to police, the Bishop of Sheffield and social services chiefs hushed up the scandal and Yallop, then 40, was allowed to leave his job and move away from the area to restart his life.

The victim, now aged 42, has suffered depression and suicidal thoughts ever since.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Yorkshire Post

By Martin Slack
Published on 10/04/2013

A FORMER bishop accused of covering up a sex abuse case involving a vulnerable orphan and a vicar has rejected a judge’s criticism and said remarks about his involvement were “unjust”.

The Rt Rev David Lunn, now 83 and retired, was the Bishop of Sheffield in 1987 when vicar John Yallop was found to be abusing a 16-year-old girl, but the crime did not come to light until last year.

Yallop, now 65, has been jailed for three years, but Judge Simon Lawler QC, who heard the case, said social workers and “church elders” involved at the time should “reproach themselves”.

Speaking at his home in Wetwang, East Yorkshire, yesterday, Bishop Lunn told the Yorkshire Post: “I think the judge’s remarks were unjust, but I can understand why he made them.

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AUSTRALIA
Advertiser

By Ben Chenoweth
April 9, 2013

CHILD abuse victim John Hennessey has likened the start of last week’s royal commission proceedings to the demolition of the Berlin Wall.

The Ingleburn resident — a former deputy mayor of Campbelltown — has campaigned for years to see those who inflicted, ignored and covered up the abuse exposed.

Last Wednesday proceedings in the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse began in Melbourne. More than 5000 victims are expected to testify.

“There has been a lot of suffering and hidden pain because nobody would believe us,” Mr Hennessey said.

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UNITED STATES
The Jewish Daily Forward

Editorial

Horace Mann. Poly Prep. Deerfield Academy. The scourge of sexual abuse has not bypassed some of the nation’s most exclusive names in education, as each of these schools now must confront charges of inappropriate, perhaps illegal, certainly immoral behavior by some of their teachers. Each case is different, of course, but the stories contain a striking similarity: a treasured institution unwilling to listen to its students and alumni until it was forced to publicly.

Some believe the same is true for Yeshiva University. Ever since December, when the Forward first published stories of allegations that two rabbis at Y.U.’s High School for Boys in Mahattan sexually, physically and emotionally abused students, the university has faced calls for greater transparency and accountability from within its own community.

First Shmuel Herzfeld, a Y.U. graduate who serves as rabbi of The National Synagogue in Washington D.C., pleaded with his alma mater to institute a “truly independent” investigation of the abuse charges and the university’s role in — by its own admission — allowing the alleged abusers to leave quietly for other positions in Jewish education.

Though Y.U.’s Board of Trustees appointed the respected Manhattan law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell to conduct an investigation and promised “unfettered access” to all documents and personnel, the school has not been clear about whether the full report will be made public. “We expect the findings of the investigation will be communicated to the public following completion of the investigation,” was the last statement, issued January 16.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Rhein-Zeitung

Trier – Diesen Gang zum Briefkasten wird S. nicht vergessen: Per Anwaltsschreiben hat ihm ein ehemaliger Kaplan und Priester, der in den 1960er und 1970er Jahren in der Eifel und in Trier tätig war und zig Kinder missbraucht haben soll, mit einer Unterlassungsklage gedroht.

Der ehemalige Geistliche wehrt sich gegen „Behauptungen, (…) im Rahmen seiner kirchlichen Tätigkeit Kindesmissbrauch begangen zu haben“, heißt es in dem Anwaltsschreiben.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Rhein-Zeitung

Trier – Liegt es an der harten Hand des katholischen Missbrauchsbeauftragten Stephan Ackermann oder der seines obersten Richters Georg Holkenbrink? Oder ist die Zahl der Missbrauchspriester im Bistum Trier höher als in anderen Diözesen? Seit Februar 2010 wurden im Bistum Trier gegen 21 der insgesamt 700 Priester sogenannte kirchenrechtliche Voruntersuchungen eingeleitet, sagte jetzt Bischofssprecher André Uzulis auf Anfrage des Trierischen Volksfreund. Dabei geht es um eine mögliche Bestrafung der Geistlichen durch die katholische Kirche.

Nach Angaben von Uzulis sind elf Verfahren „seitens des Bistums abgeschlossen“. Über eine Bestrafung wurde nur in einem Fall etwas bekannt. Ein emeritierter Theologieprofessor war im vergangenen Jahr aus dem Klerikerstand entlassen worden. Der 72-jährige Trierer Geistliche hatte sich zwischen 1966 und 1980 an fünf minderjährigen Jungen vergangen, in zwei Fällen über einen längeren Zeitraum. Unter den Opfern war auch der Neffe des Priesters.

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

A retired Anglican priest accused of 37 sex attacks against children used to wander a children’s home unaccompanied and visit the dormitories, Lewes Crown Court has heard.

Canon Gordon Rideout, 74, Polegate, East Sussex, denies 35 indecent assaults and two attempted rapes.

Thirty two of the charges relate to his time as an assistant curate in Crawley, when he would visit a West Sussex home.

He is accused of abusing boys and girls there between 1962 and 1973.

Prosecuting, Philip Bennetts QC said: “It would appear from the evidence that he would wander the house and indeed the grounds unaccompanied, and he would visit children when they were sick and alone in bed.”

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AUSTRALIA
Australian Psychological Society

HIDDEN TRUTHS REVEALED: Handling secrets from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse IMPLICATIONS FOR PSYCHOLOGISTS

Presenters

Mark Fabro, Mark Griffin MAPS, Danielle Mutsuo, Gerard Webster MAPS

Description

More than 5,000 people are expected to share their experiences with the Royal Commission, it is estimated. Examining the role of psychologists in the wake of the Commission is the aim of this workshop.
A panel of speakers will address various aspects of this topic, including three psychologists specialising in this area from both survivor and perpetrator perspectives. An overview of current evidence in relation to the aetiology of sexual offending (particularly within the Catholic context), evidence-based treatment approaches and outcome and case studies will be considered. The CUBIT program for sex offenders in Department of Corrective Services will be discussed and a psychologist who has been working with the survivors of abuse for over twenty years will present. Another speaker, who experienced abuse from the clergy will share some of his story and discuss his involvement in the organisation, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
Workshop participants will be invited to engage in a case study discussion to consider legal, ethical and clinical perspectives which will be followed by a response from the panel.

Overview of Day
9.00 – 9.15 Registration
9.15 – 9.30 Introduction to Training and Terms of Reference of Royal Commission
9.30 – 10.15 Mark Fabro – SNAP Member (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests)
10.15 – 11.00 Mark Griffin
11.00 – 11.20 Morning Tea
11.20 – 12.05 Danielle Mutsuo
12.05 – 12.50 Gerard Webster
12.50 – 1.45 Lunch
1.45 – 2.45 Small group case study discussion
2.45 – 3.30 Themes and issues from small groups presented
3.30 – 4.00 Afternoon tea
4.00 – 5.00 Panel response to issues and questions

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UNITED STATES
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on April 9, 2013

On April 5, The Wall Street Journal reported that:

As the church’s most powerful official in Argentina, [Pope Francis] didn’t comply with a Vatican call to create guidelines for handling sexual-abuse allegations in the country.

But then, in the next paragraph:

On Friday, Pope Francis met with Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, who heads the office in charge of leading the Vatican’s global crackdown on abusive priests and instructed him to continue the Vatican’s strategy for fighting sex abuse. The pope urged him to “act decisively with regard to cases of sexual abuse, pushing above all the measures to protect minors,” the Vatican said. Swift detection, Vatican officials have said, is crucial to stopping abusive priests.

So I ask: Why is it so important for Pope Francis to crack down on abusive priests NOW, when it wasn’t such a big deal three weeks ago, when he was still Cardinal Archbishop of Buenos Aires?

How can he possibly implement a program on a global level when he couldn’t even draw up simple guidelines to prevent abuse in his own country … on time?

Yesterday, he couldn’t do his homework. Today, he’s the principal of the school. Only one conclusion comes to mind – and it’s not terribly optimistic.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
UTV

A former Loughinisland parish priest has admitted defrauding the diocese of up to £145,000 — to give to a woman in “dire need”.

Details of the extraordinary case involving 78 year-old Father Conleth Byrne, who also gave the woman thousands of pounds of his own money, were revealed following his last-minute guilty plea at Downpatrick Crown Court on Tuesday afternoon as his trial was about to begin.

Father Byrne, now retired to Bethlehem Abbey, Portglenone, had previously denied the charge of fraud by abuse of position, which involved giving 50 year-old Marie Hanna, from the Ballycastle area, up to £145,617 between January 2008 and October 2009.

The exact amount is to be confirmed at sentencing next month.

In an agreed statement of facts between the prosecution and defence, prosecuting lawyer Laura Ives said the payments were made in cash, obtained mostly through the cashing of cheques from the parish account, and followed a period where Father Byrne gave the woman around £45,000 of his own money.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Darlington & Stockton Times

Catholic church suffering “institutional paranoia” over abuse allegations, claims former pupil of suspended Darlington priest

By Joe Willis, Regional Chief Reporter

A FORMER Catholic school pupil taught by a priest suspended from his parish for almost a decade says the case highlights the church’s “institutional paranoia” over abuse allegations.

Blogger Ed Devlin was taught by Father Michael Higginbottom at St Joseph’s College, near Wigan, in the early 1980s.

He said he never had a problem with the priest and never witnessed any inappropriate behaviour towards pupils from staff while at the school.

“He was an excellent teacher although very strict, but he never enforced physically punishments or needed more than the odd acerbic put-down – certainly nothing that could merit complaint,” he said.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian

Robert Booth
The Guardian, Tuesday 9 April 2013

More than a dozen children at a Barnardo’s home in Sussex were victims of sexual abuse by a Church of England priest, a court heard on Tuesday.

Boys and girls aged five to 18 were subjected to indecent assaults during the 1960s in the dormitories, outbuildings and grounds of Ifield Hall near Crawley by Canon Gordon Rideout, it was claimed. Some were severely beaten by orphanage staff when they complained, as part of “a brutal regime where children were taught to behave by beatings”.

Rideout, now 73 and retired from the diocese of Chichester, was then an assistant curate at the nearby St Mary’s church in Southgate, where the children attended Sunday services.

A jury at Lewes crown court heard that Rideout faces charges of 37 separate sexual offences against 17 children between 1962 and 1973 at Ifield, at another Barnardo’s home at Barkingside in Essex, and at the Middle Wallop army base in Hampshire where he served as forces chaplain.

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MALTA
Times of Malta

Eleven men who were sexually abused by priests when they were boys have not heard from a thera­peutic board set up by the Church six months ago to help such victims.

Lawrence Grech, one of the victims, said he expected to be approached by the board set up for the very purpose of offering therapeutic help to abuse victims.

He added that “over the coming days” he and the other victims will be formally filing the court case against the Church requesting compensation for damages suffered at the hands of its priests.

In October, the Church announced the setting up of the Therapeutic Evaluation Board tasked with directing victims of sexual abuse by clerics to therapy.

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FRANCE
The New York Times

By MAÏA de la BAUME

Published: April 7, 2013

SAINT-VALLIER, France — In Togo, the Rev. Rodolphe Folly used to conduct exuberant Sunday services for a hundred believers of all ages, who sang local gospel music and went up to him to offer what they had.

In this quiet town in Burgundy, he preaches to a more somber audience of about 40 gray-haired retirees in an unadorned 19th-century church that can accommodate up to 600 people.

“In my country, we applaud, we acclaim, we shout,” said Father Folly, a Roman Catholic priest who spoke in the living room of his modern, modest house. “Here, even when I ask people to shake hands, they say no.”

Father Folly, 45, has settled in this town of about 9,000 residents, assigned to replace an aging priest. He has brought his jovial smile and good heart to a place where religious practice is weak, as it is in many other areas of France. He is part of a battalion of priests who have come to France from abroad — from places like Benin, Burkina-Faso, Cameroon but also Vietnam and Poland — who now represent about 10 percent of France’s declining clerical ranks.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Volksfreund

Ehemaliger Trierer Bistumspriester droht Missbrauchsopfer

Ein ehemaliger Trierer Bistumspriester, der in den 1960er Jahren mehrere Messdiener missbraucht haben soll, droht nun einem seiner Opfer mit rechtlichen Schritten. Kommt es wegen der sexuellen Übergriffe doch noch zu einem Prozess?

Anfang Juli 2010 schildern in einem Trierer Pfarrsaal drei Männer Mitte 50, was ihnen vier Jahrzehnte zuvor in genau dieser Pfarrei widerfahren ist: Über Jahre hinweg wurden die damals minderjährigen Messdiener demnach von einem offenbar pädophilen Kaplan missbraucht. Wie ihnen erging es Ende der 60er Jahre nach deren Angaben mindestens 14 weiteren Jungs – in Trier und in der Vulkaneifel, wo der Kaplan zuvor eingesetzt war.

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OSTERREICH
kathweb

Staatsanwaltschaft Steyr belastet früheren Internatsleiter – Stift will sich “der Vergangenheit stellen” und aktiv an der Aufarbeitung von Missbrauchsfällen beteiligen

09.04.2013

Linz, 09.04.2013 (KAP) Das Stift Kremsmünster hat das am Dienstag angekündigte Gerichtsverfahren gegen einen des Missbrauchs verdächtigen Ex-Pater begrüßt. Die Staatsanwaltschaft Steyr hatte bekanntgegeben, dass gegen August Mandorfer, der früher als Pater Alfons der Benediktiner-Gemeinschaft von Kremsmünster angehörte, Anklage erhoben wurde. “Dass nach drei Jahren die Untersuchungen abgeschlossen sind und durch das zuständige Gericht Vorfälle früherer Jahrzehnte geklärt werden”, begrüßte das Stift in einer Stellungnahme ausdrücklich.

Die Staatsanwaltschaft legt dem heute 79-jährigen Ex-Geistlichen schweren sexuellen Missbrauch, Unzucht mit Unmündigen, Nötigung, den Missbrauchs eines Autoritätsverhältnisses sowie das Quälen oder Vernachlässigen unmündiger, jüngerer oder wehrloser Personen zur Last. Zudem wird ihm der fahrlässige Besitz einer verbotenen Waffe, nämlich einer Pumpgun, vorgeworfen.

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AUSTRIA
USA Today

VIENNA (AP) — Austrian authorities have charged a defrocked priest with sexually abusing 15 children as head of a Catholic boarding school.

They say Alfons August Mandorfer is also accused of torturing and neglecting young boys under his care between 1973 and 1993, when he was director of the school run by a monastery in the Upper Austrian town of Kremsmuenster.

But spokesman Andreas Pechatschek of the regional public prosecutor’s office says most of the charges against the 79-year old are based on suspicion of “numerous crimes of a sexual nature.”

Mandorfer was dismissed as a priest after several former pupils accused him several years ago of abuse.

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PITTSBURGH (PA)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by David Clohessy on April 09, 2013

At least 33 Pittsburgh priests are publicly accused child molesters. For the third time, the bishop is writing a letter letting a few hundred of his 700,000 members about one of them.

And he’s writing it only to parishioners at one of the eight churches where the predator – Fr. John Wellinger – worked.

And Bishop Zubik’s public relations man refuses to disclose or even confirm all the parishes where Fr. Wellinger worked.

The question is: why won’t Zubik warn all of his flock about these 33 child molesting clerics and write letters to ALL the places where they worked?

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VATICAN CITY
Huffington Post

By Simon McCormack Posted: 04/08/2013

Someone in Vatican City had better get to confession.

Torrent Freak has unearthed the download history from an IP address in the Pope’s place of residence and some of the movies are of the porn persuasion.

For a full list of the dirty downloads, go to Torrent Freak.

Rev. Debra Haffner of the Religious Institute told The Huffington Post she’s “not surprised” at the Vatican City findings.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Lancashire Telegraph

By Wendy Barlow, Court reporter

A 27-YEAR-OLD man, said by a judge to ‘pose a real risk to children’, has been jailed for 10 years for sexually abusing two girls.

Richard Simcock, who told the authorities he has since studied for the Mormon priesthood, repeatedly tried to rape one frightened victim and committed indecent acts on the other.

He was said to have pinned down the girl he attempted to rape as she tried to stop him.

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CANADA
CTV

CTV Windsor
Published Tuesday, April 9, 2013

A St. Anne’s priest is facing theft charges after a financial audit of the parishes’ accounts yielded over $180,000 in irregularities, according to Essex County OPP.

Provincial police have completed a lengthy theft investigation dating back to 2002.

Officials from Ste. Anne’s Parish in Tecumseh notified the OPP in August of 2011 regarding an internal theft that occurred between 2002 and 2010.

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ROME
The Tablet (UK)

9 April 2013

An Italian priest has been arrested for embezzling more than €4 million from a Rome clinic owned by his religious order and forcing the facility into bankruptcy after accumulating some €600 million of debt.

Fr Franco Decaminada, 68, was placed under house arrest on 4 April for misappropriating funds from the Istituto Dermatologico dell’Immacolota (IDI), of which he was the executive director from 2004-11. The clinic was founded in 1925 by his order, the Congregation of the Sons of the Immaculate Conception.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Pottstown Mercury

WILKINSBURG (AP) — The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh has alerted parishioners in one suburban parish of sex abuse allegations against a now-dead priest.

The diocese says the letter was sent to members of St. James Church in Wilkinsburg, and involved an allegation church officials received from the brother of a man — who is also now dead — that he was abused by the Rev. John Wellinger.

Wellinger was the assistant pastor of the church from 1981 to 1985 when the alleged abuse took place. The diocese is alerting parishioners so that anyone who may have also been abused by Wellinger at that parish, or others he served at in the diocese, can receive counseling and other help from the diocese.

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UNITED STATES
National Survivor Advocates Coalition

Pope Francis, who gave orders to the head of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith to act decisively” against priests who rape and sodomize children and minors drug his feet, the Wall Street Journal reports, when it came to complying with the Vatican’s request for national conferences of bishops to set up policies to combat abuse.

We are providing the Wall Street Journal’s story to our readers today. It’s a Wall Street Journal subscriber only story and we are providing it because of the importance, we believe, it carries and its great impact on survivors, survivor advocates, Catholics in the pew, Catholics out of the pew, and men and women of goodwill.

Here is the link (you may have to copy and paste into your browser):

[Wall Street Journal]

The Argentinian Bishops Conference was headed by Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio. Twenty-five percent of bishops conference worldwide have not complied with the Vatican’s request. Most of the non-compliers are in Africa.

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CANADA
CP24

The Canadian Press
Published Tuesday, April 9,

TECUMSEH, Ont. – A priest is facing a theft charge after officials at a Windsor-area church reported money missing from parish accounts going back to 2002.

Provincial police say officials from Ste. Anne’s Parish in Tecumseh, Ont., contacted them in August 2011 to report an internal theft had occurred between 2002 and 2010.

Police say they completed a lengthy investigation and that a financial audit of the parish accounts showed more than $180,000 in irregularities.

Father Robert Couture, 49, of Windsor, is charged with one count of theft over $5,000.

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OSTERREICH
Radio Vatikan

Das Stift Kremsmünster hat das am Dienstag angekündigte Gerichtsverfahren gegen einen des Missbrauchs verdächtigen Ex-Pater begrüßt. Die Staatsanwaltschaft Steyr hatte bekanntgegeben, dass gegen August Mandorfer, der früher als Pater Alfons der Benediktiner-Gemeinschaft von Kremsmünster angehörte, Anklage erhoben wurde. „Dass nach drei Jahren die Untersuchungen abgeschlossen sind und durch das zuständige Gericht Vorfälle früherer Jahrzehnte geklärt werden“, hieß das Stift in einer Stellungnahme ausdrücklich gut. Die Staatsanwaltschaft legt dem heute 79-jährigen Ex-Geistlichen schweren sexuellen Missbrauch, Unzucht mit Unmündigen, Nötigung, den Missbrauchs eines Autoritätsverhältnisses sowie das Quälen oder Vernachlässigen unmündiger, jüngerer oder wehrloser Personen zur Last. Zudem wird ihm der fahrlässige Besitz einer verbotenen Waffe, nämlich einer Pumpgun, vorgeworfen.

Als im März 2010 einzelne Vorwürfe bekannt wurden, „haben wir jene Opfer, die sich bei uns gemeldet haben, darum ersucht, sich bei den zuständigen offiziellen kirchlichen und staatlichen Stellen zu melden“, heißt es weiter. Das Stift habe “sofort personelle Konsequenzen gezogen“ und seither die Aufarbeitung aktiv unterstützt: „Wir sind auf die uns bekannten Opfer zugegangen und haben sie zum Gespräch eingeladen.“ Im Kloster und im Stiftsgymnasium Schule seien die Vorfälle aus der Zeit, in der der nun angeklagte Ex-Geistliche Internatsleiter war, „bewusst gemacht und intern aufzuklären versucht“ worden. Die Stiftsleitung habe „uneingeschränkt mit der sogenannten Klasnic-Kommission zusammengearbeitet“. Bei der Unabhängigen Opferschutzanwaltschaft wurden insgesamt 38 Fälle gemeldet, davon 29 wegen sexuellem Missbrauch. 700.000 Euro an Entschädigungszahlungen – davon 200.000 Euro an Therapiekosten -seien insgesamt zugesprochen worden.

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OSTERREICH
Kleine Zeitung

Die Staatsanwaltschaft Steyr hat wie erwartet Anklage gegen einen ehemaligen Pater des Stiftes Kremsmünster (Bezirk Kirchdorf) u.a. wegen schweren sexuellen Missbrauchs erhoben. Dem heute 79-Jährigen wird angelastet, von September 1973 bis Juni 1993 an insgesamt 15 Zöglingen “Handlungen unterschiedlicher Intensität” vorgenommen zu haben. Ihm drohen bis zu 15 Jahre Haft.

Vom Bekanntwerden der Vorfälle in den Medien bis zur Anklage sind mehr als drei Jahre vergangen. Ursprünglich wurde in 39 Fällen ermittelt. Einige Verfahren wurden eingestellt, weil die Vorfälle verjährt oder die Beweise zu dünn waren. Übrig blieben 24 Opfer. Dem heute 79-jährigen Angeklagten wird angelastet, von September 1973 bis Juni 1993 an 15 Zöglingen “sexuelle Handlungen unterschiedlicher Intensität” vorgenommen zu haben. Die übrigen neun sind laut Staatsanwaltschaft Gewalt-, aber keine Sex-Opfer. Die Behörde wirft dem Mann zudem den fahrlässigen Besitz einer verbotenen Waffe, nämlich einer nicht registrierten Pumpgun, vor.

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SCHWEIZ
kath.ch

Ende Februar dieses Jahres erhielt der Rektor der Marienburg in Thal SG, Pater Stephan Dähler, einen eingeschriebenen Brief mit schwerwiegendem Inhalt. Ein ehemaliger Internatsschüler des Gymnasiums Marienburg bezichtigt darin einen Steyler Missionar schwerer sexueller Übergriffe.

Dieser Brief ist für uns ein riesiger Schock“, sagt Pater Hans Weibel, Provinzial der Steyler Missionare in der Schweiz. „Wir sind uns bewusst, dass sexuelle Übergriffe auf Minderjährige einen zerstörerischen Charakter gegenüber Kindern und Jugendlichen haben. Eine schonungslose Aufklärung ist unabdingbar. Wir werden alles dafür tun.“

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DEUTSCHLAND
Volksstimme

Magdeburg. Er arbeitete in der Seelsorge und sammelte nebenher auf dem Computer tausende Kinderpornobilder: Der Fall des Priesters, den das Amtsgericht Bitterfeld-Wolfen gestern zu einer Bewährungsstrafe verurteilt hat, ist nicht der erste dieser Art in Sachsen-Anhalt.

Dem Bistum Magdeburg sind aus den vergangenen 60 Jahren 13 Fälle bekannt geworden, bei denen Priester Minderjährige sexuell misshandelt oder Kinderpornos gesammelt haben sollen. Das berichtete Bistums-Sprecher Thomas Lazar der Volksstimme. Zur Rechenschaft gezogen wurde allerdings kaum jemand. Denn viele Betroffene meldeten sich erst Jahrzehnte später nach Aufrufen in den Medien. “Die meisten Beschuldigten waren dann bereits tot”, sagte er.

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AUSTRALIA/UNITED STATES
Brisbane Times

April 10, 2013

Richard Baker, Nick McKenzie

A self-confessed paedophile who sexually abused several boys in Sydney is being harboured by a leading Los Angeles Jewish welfare group.

The man, who is being investigated by NSW detectives over several sexual assaults at Bondi’s Yeshiva school in the 1980s, has been shielded from exposure and scrutiny by Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles.

The service, more than 150 years old, provides medical, housing, food, counselling, educational and family support services.

Emails obtained from US sources show that since mid-2011 its board members have been aware of the man’s sexual abuse history in Australia but have not reported him to authorities in Sydney or the US.

In an email to the man in November 2011, Debbie Fox, executive director of the Los Angeles organisation, refers to phone calls to board members about his activities in Sydney.

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PENNSYLVANIA
PhillyBurbs

Tue Apr 9, 2013.

By Jo Ciavaglia Staff writer

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has permanently removed three more priests from its ministry, including a former assistant pastor at St. Mark Parish in Bristol accused of molesting altar boys in the early 1980s.

The defrocking of Rev. Joseph Gallagher, 78, who retired in 2006, brings no sense of victory to the family of Daniel Neill, who allegedly told diocesan officials in 2007 about abuse at the hands of Gallagher, but officials declined to act, says the attorney who represents his family in a lawsuit against the archdiocese.

Church officials contacted Neill in 2008, advising him that his allegations were deemed unsubstantiated and not credible, according to the grand jury. He took his own life 11 months later at age 38, the family said.

“Obviously they had a serious problem with this priest,” attorney Marci Hamilton said Monday. “It still took them four years to remove him from ministry. It is outrageous. The fact they removed him, for the family, it’s really much too little, too late.”

In a statement released Sunday, Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput announced that Gallagher and the Rev. Mark Gaspar, 43, were removed from public ministry in the archdiocese citing “substantial violations of The Standards of Ministerial Behaviors and Boundaries.” The nature of the accusation against Gaspar has not been reported.

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PENNSYLVANIA
The Kittanning Paper

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, which aims to increase public awareness of the need to ensure the safety and welfare of children. In the wake of the Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal, the House has taken up the call to strengthen Pennsylvania’s child protection laws.

Two bills recommended by the Task Force on Child Protection are scheduled for a vote by the full House next week. House Bill 90 (introduced by Rep. Rick Saccone, R-Washington/Allegheny counties) authorizes an administrative subpoena, from the attorney general or a district attorney, to obtain the IP address and the name, address and phone number of the subscriber in child sex exploitation cases. Investigators would need a search warrant issued by the court to obtain additional information or view anything on the person’s computer. The legislation basically mirrors federal law but is more restrictive.

House Bill 429 (introduced by Rep. Kathy Watson, R-Bucks County) aims to protect a person who makes a good faith report of child abuse from retaliation or discrimination in the workplace. The bill is intended to remove that potential barrier which could keep some people from reporting suspected child abuse. It is also intended to provide recourse for those who do make a good faith report and suffer consequences at work as a result.

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PENNSYLVANIA
WPXI

WILKINSBURG, Pa. —

The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh sent out a letter Friday warning parishioners of a Wilkinsburg church of abuse accusations against a former parish priest.

The late Rev. John Wellinger served at St. James Church, and several other Pittsburgh churches, during his time as a priest in the diocese.

Friday’s letter came as Pope Francis I called for the Catholic Church to act quickly in sex-abuse cases and punish priests who harm children.

In Friday’s letter, Bishop David Zubik addressed the accusations against Wellinger by saying:

“My dear parishioners of Saint James in Wilkinsburg:

The Diocese of Pittsburgh has recently received a troubling allegation that Father John W. Wellinger, who was stationed as Parochial Vicar at Saint James Parish from June 1981 to July 1985, abused a member of the parish during that time. Father Wellinger, who died in 2011, had not served publicly as a priest since June 1995.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
U.S. Catholic

By Maryangela Layman
Roman Catholic News Service

ST. FRANCIS, Wis. (CNS) — The Archdiocese of Milwaukee announced April 3 that it will publicly release approximately 3,000 pages of documents that contain details about clergy sexual abuse and will post them to the archdiocesan website by July 1.

The documents, taken from priest personnel files, files of the bishops and vicar for clergy and other sources in the archdiocese, include the depositions of retired Milwaukee Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland, as well as those of Milwaukee Auxiliary Bishop Richard J. Sklba and Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan that were taken in Chapter 11 proceedings. Cardinal Dolan, now New York’s archbishop, headed the Milwaukee Archdiocese from 2002 to 2009.

The records will be posted online at www.archmil.org/archmil/home.htm.

The announcement came a day before a scheduled hearing before Judge Susan V. Kelley in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin to discuss a motion filed by the creditors committee and attorneys Michael Finnegan and Jeffrey Anderson to lift the protective order to make public documents and depositions taken as part of the proceedings.

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PITTSBURGH (PA)
Tribune-Review

By Bill Zlatos

Published: Monday, April 8, 2013

The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh waited six months after it received the first allegation of child sexual abuse involving one of its priests before notifying parishioners.

The Rev. Ronald Lengwin, spokesman for the diocese, said it sent a letter on Friday to parishioners of St. James Church in Wilkinsburg because it received an allegation of sexual abuse involving the late Rev. John Wellinger, parochial vicar of the church, from the brother of the late victim on March 25. Lengwin said the diocese first received an allegation from the victim’s sister in September.

“What changed is we had another person coming forth with an allegation — a brother and a sister,” Lengwin said.

Mike Manko, spokesman for the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office, confirmed the office received the information on Wellinger in September. He said it would be inappropriate for the office to comment on how the diocese communicated with its parishioners.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Eastbourne Herald

Published on 09/04/2013

The trial of retired Eastbourne priest Canon Gordon Rideout began at Lewes Crown Court yesterday (Monday).

The 74-year-old Church of England minister has pleaded not guilty to 38 sexual offences against 18 young boys and girls, some as young as five.

Rideout lives in Filching Close, Polegate, and is currently on bail.

Thirty-six of the alleged offences are of indecent assault on 16 girls and boys aged between five years old and their mid-teens, 31 of those are alleged to have been committed at a now closed Barnardos children’s home, Ifield Hall in West Sussex and one at a Barnardos children’s home in Essex between 1961 and 1967; and four are alleged to have taken place at an army site in Hampshire against two girls under 13 between 1971 and 1973.

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OREGON
KGW

[Click here for the story.]

by KGW Staff

Posted on April 8, 2013

SALEM – Advocates for reforming the statute of limitations for childhood sex abuse crimes in Oregon took to the Capitol steps Monday before a public hearing to discuss HB 3284.

People who described themselves as adult survivors of child sex abuse rallied and held signs describing what happened to them.

Oregon has a six-year statute of limitations on most sex crimes. The law allows for a longer period of time if the victim is under the age of 18. In those cases, the crime can be prosecuted any time before the victim turns 30, or within 12 years after the crime is reported to police or social workers.

Nationwide, 33 states have eliminated the statute of limitations on some or all child sex offenses, but not Oregon. In 2011, the Oregon legislature considered eliminating the statute of limitations, but the bill died in committee.

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PENNSYLVANIA
WTAE

Parishioners at St. James Church in Wilkinsburg received a letter in the mail from the diocese informing them of the allegation, which is said to have occurred between 1981 and 1985.

Parishioner Jim Ruck said, “It’s sad and especially for people in positions of trust to abuse that trust, that’s horrendous.”

Mike Ference, a local advocate for victims of sex abuse by priests, said the alleged victim is a man in his 40s who recently died.

Ference said the man’s family came to him and told him that the alleged victim divulged detailed accounts of the abuse in the months before he died. Ference said, “The man started to talk about it and a few months later he passed away.”

The abuse, they said, began when the alleged victim was about 10 years old.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Daily Mail (UK)

Three Philadelphia priests removed …

Three Philadelphia priests removed over child sex abuse scandal after ‘victim’ killed himself when church dismissed the allegations

Three more priests were permanently removed from ministry by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on Sunday, including one whose accuser killed himself after his allegation was dismissed by church officials.

The Revs. Joseph Gallagher and Mark Gaspar were suspended following a scathing 2011 grand jury report that ultimately led to the landmark conviction of a high-ranking archdiocese official on child endangerment charges. Two other priests and a Catholic school teacher were also convicted.

The February 2011 grand jury report prominently named Gallagher as a priest who remained in ministry despite apparently credible allegations of abuse. The grand jury said the archdiocese had found the allegation against him unsubstantiated despite the accuser’s ‘obvious credibility.’

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PENNSYLVANIA
CBS Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — There are allegations that a late Wilkinsburg Catholic priest abused a parish member more than 20 years ago.

Bishop David Zubik released a statement dated April 5 alerting members of the St. James Parish in Wilkinsburg that a member claims to have been abused by Father John W. Wellinger between 1981 and 1985.

Wellinger died in 2011.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Patch

By Becky Brindle

Parishioners of St. James Church in Wilkinsburg received a letter from the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese informing them of a sex abuse allegation that is said to have occurred between 1981 and 1985, according to WTAE.

A man in his 40s reportedly told his family of the alleged abuse months before he recently died.

The priest who is accused of abusing the man when he was about 10 years old, Rev. John J. Wellinger, died in 2011.

Bishop David Zubik wrote in the letter that any other possible victims should call the victim’s assistance hotline at 1-888-808-1235 or the state abuse hotline at 1-800-932-0313.

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UNITED STATES
John Thavis

This week brings another change of scenery and a change of pace. I’m on a book tour on the West Coast, beginning in Seattle and continuing to Portland, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Los Angeles and Denver.

This is new territory for me, in more ways than one. Here are some first impressions:

— Interest in the Vatican has once again been revived by the election of a new pope. At a book event yesterday at Elliott Bay Book Company, the Q&A period went on for quite some time, with several questions focusing on whether Pope Francis wants to change things – and if he does, whether he’ll be “allowed” to do so.

There’s a general impression out there that no matter what a new pope’s good intentions, he’s going to run up against resistance from inside the Vatican. My own take is that while that’s undoubtedly true, this pope seems to know that he’s calling the shots. If he faces opposition to some of his ideas, he won’t be a shrinking violet.

— Financial issues are key to restoring Vatican credibility. I can’t tell you how many readers and interviewers have asked about the Vatican bank and its problematic history. I’m convinced that suppressing the bank and finding a new way to move church funds around the world would send an immediate signal that Pope Francis is serious about cleaning up financial mismanagement.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

by Dennis Coday | Apr. 8, 2013 NCR Today

You may have missed this one over the weekend from the Wall Street Journal: Argentina Bishops Delayed Abuse Plan

Friday the Vatican issued a statement that Pope Francis met with Archbishop Gerhard L. Muller, prefect of the Vatican’s powerful Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the office tasked with overseeing cases of clergy accused of sexual abuse of minors. While the release states the two talked about the various responsibilities of Muller’s office, it also says the pope made a particular point of highlighting its work to counter clerical sexual abuse.

According to the Vatican, the pope told Muller “to act decisively concerning cases of sexual abuse.”

The Vatican press release about the Friday meeting between Muller and Francis noted that the Vatican has been pressing national conferences of bishops to draw up comprehensive policies for detecting abuse and helping victims. The press releas said, “The commitment of bishops conferences in formulating and implementing the necessary guidelines is so important for the witness and credibility of the church,”

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CANADA
Toronto Star

Reformist priest refused permission to speak to Toronto-area educators on Catholic property. He’s now speaking at Sheridan College.

By:Leslie Scrivener
Feature writer, Published on Mon Apr 08 2013

As Catholics around the world wait to see if Pope Francis ushers in a new era of openness, the local archdiocese has been accused of stifling free speech.

Rev. Michael Crosby, a reformist American priest who supports women’s equality and critiques church governance, was set to address a conference for Catholic educators in April.

Crosby was approved to speak at the Canadian Forum on Theology and Education, but the Archdiocese of Toronto’s chancellor for spiritual affairs pulled the plug in February. The event has now been moved to Sheridan College in the Archdiocese of Hamilton.

“If you can’t have a discussion about the basic issues, you don’t have a viable organization.”

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CHILE
Huffington Post

The Huffington Post | By Peter Finocchiaro Posted: 04/08/2013

Gen. Augusto Pinochet’s military dictatorship was responsible for the deaths of as many as 3,200 people in Chile in the 1970s, but the Vatican dismissed reports of bloodshed at the time as “communist propaganda,” according to diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks on Monday.

Pinochet came to power in 1973 as the head of a military coup against democratically elected socialist President Salvador Allende. The right-wing junta that subsequently ruled the country from 1973 to 1990 was responsible for the murders of as many as 3,200 people, as well as the arrest of tens of thousands more, many of whom were tortured.

In a 1973 diplomatic cable addressed to Henry Kissinger, then serving as the United States’ Secretary of State, high-ranking Vatican official Giovanni Benelli was quoted as relaying “his and the pope’s grave concern over successful international leftisf campaign to misconstrue completely realities of Chilean situation.” Benelli dismissed reports of massacre as “unfounded” and “possibly [the] greatest success of Communist propaganda,” while explaining away whatever violence had occurred as “unfortunately natural following coup d’etat.”

The cable was written five weeks after the coup, during the reign of Pope Paul VI, with reports already surfacing that political opponents of the regime were being arrested and killed.

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TEXAS
Associated Baptist Press

By Bob Allen

A former Southern Baptist “cowboy church” pastor was sentenced to 50 years in prison without the possibility of parole after a Texas jury found him guilty April 5 of continuous sexual abuse of a child.

According to the Corsicana Daily Sun, Mark Allen Green, 42, will not be eligible for release from prison until he is 92 years old.

Green was arrested May 31, 2012, on charges of sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl in Waxahachie, Texas. The news disrupted the Cowboy Church of Marshall County, Ala., which fired him after only a couple of months as pastor.

In September, a grand jury in Ellis County, Texas, returned a “no bill,” or refusal to indict. Another grand jury in neighboring Navarro County, however, handed down an indictment in July.

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ARIZONA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Dorris on April 08, 2013

We hope that the records request that is holding up the case against Fr. Jack Spaulding will be over soon and Mr. Pain will get the chance to have his day in court. Two and a half years is a long time to wait.

We also hope that the action taken in this case by Vatican officials will be decisive, punitive, and serve as a deterrent to future child sex crimes and cover-ups. Spaulding’s abuse of at least four kids is a horrible crime and must be treated by church officials as such. If the new pope is to live up to his words to “act with determination” in child sex crimes, he must act on Fr. Spaulding – and all other priests with credible allegations against them – immediately.

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NORTH DAKOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Dorris on April 08, 2013

As Fargo, ND prepares for a new bishop, we hope that Bishop John Folda will be a better advocate for clergy sex abuse victims than his predecessor was.

Fargo catholic officials have acted poorly in the past on clergy sex crimes. For example, in 2009, it was revealed that three monsignors, after receiving a credible accusation of abuse, refused to share the information with anyone outside the diocesan hierarchy. The diocese first heard the accusation against Fr. Gregory Patejko in 1994, and paid a settlement to the Patejko’s victim that same year. Yet it wasn’t until 15 years later that the allegation was made public, and even then only because the victim grew tired of the diocese’s silence and went to the media himself.

Catholic officials’ silence in this matter only served to help the Diocese of Fargo avoid public embarrassment, and actually worked against victims by allowing others who may have been abused by Patejko to continue suffering in silence. We don’t know how many other allegations may have been kept under wraps in the same way, but we suspect that this was not the only case.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Pennsylvania Record

April 8, 2013

By Jon Campisi

A Pennsylvania couple is suing the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, a Bucks County parish and a priest who formerly worked at the church over claims that the man sexually assaulted the wife during a retreat last year.

Malvern, Pa. attorney Daniel F. Monahan and Washington Crossing, Pa. attorney Marci A. Hamilton filed suit at Philadelphia’s Common Pleas Court April 4 against the archdiocese, the Order of St. Paul The First Hermit, the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa and Father Marek Lacki.

According to the complaint, the female plaintiff, who is referred to as Jane Doe in order to protect her identity due to the fact that she was a victim of an alleged act of sexual assault, first met Lacki in early March of last year when the plaintiffs volunteered to assist with events at Rachel’s Vineyard, a church-sponsored couples retreat promoted by the Pauline Fathers and hosted at the place of worship.

The Pauline Fathers is a group that works with the Archdiocese to place priests in various parishes.

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AUSTRALIA
Hume Weekly

By HELEN GRIMAUX
April 9, 2013

DISCONTENT is spreading among parishioners of the Church of the Good Shepherd at Gladstone Park after the “sudden” resignation of much-loved priest Father Victor Buhagiar at the start of this year.

A petition signed by more than 300 of the congregation has been sent to Melbourne Archbishop Dennis Hart on the eve of the Catholic Church’s very public expose before the Royal Commission into institutional responses to child sex abuse.

The petition follows several letters to Archbishop Hart from parishioners, who claim Fr Buhagiar has been forced out because of his tough stance on child abuse and his belief that there is an ongoing cover-up of illegal behaviour involving the Melbourne priesthood.

This has been denied by the archbishop.

“Father Buhagiar has claimed that he was forced to resign against his will, that he resigned in protest ‘over the way the truth is being handled’, and also that he ‘resigned quietly’ as a circuit breaker,” Archbishop Hart told The Weekly.

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VATICAN CITY
Raw Story

By Agence France-Presse
Monday, April 8, 2013

ROME — The Vatican once dismissed reports of massacres by Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet as “Communist propaganda”, according to US diplomatic and intelligence documents from the 1970s leaked on Monday.

One cable dated October 18, 1973 sent to Washington by the US embassy to the Holy See relayed a conversation with the Vatican’s then deputy Secretary of State, Giovanni Benelli, the leak by whistleblowing website WikiLeaks showed.

Benelli expressed “his and the pope’s grave concern over successful international leftist campaign to misconstrue completely realities of Chilean situation,” read the cable to then US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

“Benelli labelled exaggerated coverage of events as possibly greatest success of Communist propaganda,” it said, adding that the Italian monsignor said this showed “how Communists can influence free world media in future”. …

The cables also showed the Vatican later realised the full extent of the abuses being carried out but refused to criticise Pinochet’s regime openly and continued with normal diplomatic relations.

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AUSTRIA
Montreal Gazette

By The Associated Press
April 8, 2013

VIENNA – Reacting to criticism, an Austrian bishop says he has changed his mind and will not attend a memorial Mass for a cardinal accused of molesting young boys.

Agidius Zsifkovics, the bishop of Eisenstadt, was to participate in Monday’s Mass marking the 10th anniversary of the death of Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer. But Zsifkovics says he decided not to “after numerous encounters and discussions over the past days.”

Groer stepped down as archbishop of Vienna in 1995 after former theological students accused him of sexual abuse.

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ARGENTINA/ROME
The Wall Street Journal

By STACY MEICHTRY in Rome and JOSÉ DE CÓRDOBA in Buenos Aires

As the new leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics, Pope Francis pledged Friday to forge ahead with measures aimed at stemming sexual abuse in church ranks. But as the church’s most powerful official in Argentina, he didn’t comply with a Vatican call to create guidelines for handling sexual-abuse allegations in the country.

The delay, which hasn’t been previously reported, opens new questions about the new pope’s record of addressing the issue of sexual abuse by priests, even as the Vatican vowed anew to address the issue.

On Friday, Pope Francis met with Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, who heads the office in charge of leading the Vatican’s global crackdown on abusive priests and instructed him to continue the Vatican’s strategy for fighting sex abuse. The pope urged him to “act decisively with regard to cases of sexual abuse, pushing above all the measures to protect minors,” the Vatican said. Swift detection, Vatican officials have said, is crucial to stopping abusive priests.

The Vatican highlighted the importance of pressing national conferences of bishops to draw up comprehensive policies for detecting abuse and helping victims. “The commitment of bishops conferences in formulating and implementing the necessary guidelines is so important for the witness and credibility of the church,” the Vatican said following the meeting Friday.

Among those that haven’t met the Vatican’s deadline for the guidelines—which passed nearly a year ago—is the Argentina conference that was run by Cardinal Jorge Bergolio, who on March 13 was named Pope Francis.

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ROME
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Posted by Barbara Blaine on April 08, 2013

For the third time in less than a month, a disturbing revelation has surfaced about Pope Francis’ handling of clergy sex crimes and cover ups.

The Wall Street Journal reports that while he was Argentina’s most powerful prelate, the pope did not meet a Vatican deadline for writing an abuse policy.

This disclosure follows two other recent troubling ones: Pope Francis’ meeting with Cardinal Bernard Law hours after his election and Francis’ intervention to help free a convicted Argentinian priest.

Catholic officials have been dealing with – and ignoring, hiding and enabling – child sex crimes for decades if not centuries. So writing an abuse policy is an extraordinarily minimal move. This is the most simple, cheap and ineffective step prelates can take, in response to this horror: simply writing an abuse policy.

(In our experience, these policies are largely meaningless. Bishops continue, no matter what written policies say, to handle abuse cases however they like. But an abuse policy, even if consistently violated, is better than no policy at all. And when the Vatican orders that such polices be adopted, the least prelates can do is to adopt them.)

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UNITED KINGDOM
Petersfield Post

Published on 08/04/2013

A retired Church of England priest from East Sussex goes on trial after pleading not guilty to a string of sex attacks on 18 girls and boys dating back more than 50 years.

Canon Gordon Rideout, 74, is accused of committing 38 offences over an 11-year period between January 1962 and January 1973.

At Lewes Crown Court in October, he denied 36 counts of indecent assault and two counts of attempted rape which are alleged to have taken place in Crawley, West Sussex; Middle Wallop, Hampshire; and Barkingside, Essex.

Rideout, of Filching Close, Wannock, Polegate, was charged in June following a nine-month inquiry by Sussex Police detectives into allegations of child sex abuse in the 1960s and early 1970s.

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FARGO (ND)
In-Forum

FARGO – Pope Francis today appointed Monsignor John Thomas Folda of Nebraska to be the next bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Fargo.

The Holy See made the announcement at noon in Rome, or 5 a.m. Fargo time, according to diocese spokeswoman Tanya Watterud.

The Fargo Diocese serves more than 72,000 Catholics and 132 parishes and missions in the eastern half of North Dakota.

Folda will be the eighth bishop of Fargo, succeeding Bishop Samuel Aquila, who was named Archbishop of Denver on May 29. Bishop David Kagan of Bismarck will continue to serve as apostolic administrator for the Fargo diocese until the episcopal ordination of Folda, which is expected to take place in the second half of June.

A press conference to introduce Folda will be held at 10:30 a.m. today at the Diocese of Fargo Pastoral Center, 5201 Bishops Blvd. S.

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IOWA
Telegraph Herald

Associated Press

Jerome Hanus, archbishop of Dubuque, will retire, and his successor will be the bishop of Wichita, Kan.

The Dubuque Archdiocese says Bishop Michael Jackels of Wichita, Kan., has been appointed by Pope Francis to be the new archbishop of Dubuque. Jackels replaces Archbishop Jerome Hanus.

The Wichita diocesan website says Jackels was named the Wichita bishop in January 2005 by Pope John Paul II. Before being named to the post, Jackels worked for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome for eight years.

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IOWA
WCFCourier

The coat of arms that I created for myself when I was named a bishop shows an image of St. Michael the Archangel and a unicorn, representing the families of my mother and father.

When read from left to right, the coat of arms declares “ecce adsum” -here I am, Michael Jackels, introducing myself to the people God has called me to serve My episcopal motto “ecce adsum” also expresses my surrender to God’s will, giving the same response as Samuel the prophet and the Virgin Mary at the Annunciation.

Those same words express too my trust in God’s care, who says “here I am” to all who call on him for strength, wisdom and goodness.

So, here I am, Michael Jackels, trusting in God and ready to do God’s will.

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IOWA
WCFCourier

As many of you know, my health has declined in recent years. As a result, some time ago I submitted my resignation as Archbishop to the proper authorities.

In a recent telephone conversation, the Pope’s representative in the United States, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, informed me that our Holy Father, Pope Francis, had accepted my resignation and appointed as the next Archbishop of Dubuque, the Most Rev. Michael O. Jackels, currently Bishop of Wichita, Kansas. My immediate response to the selection of him as my successor was: “I am thrilled.”

For eight years, Archbishop Jackels has served faithfully and effectively as the Bishop of Wichita. His experience will serve him well here in Northeast Iowa. Wichita and Dubuque are similar in many ways. I think initially of the commitment to Catholic schools and all forms of Catholic education. The Diocese of Wichita is known as the premier diocese in its practice of stewardship: the entire membership supports parents in their choice of Catholic education.

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IOWA
WCFCourier

DUBUQUE, Iowa — The Archdiocese of Dubuque, which oversees the Cedar Valley area, was expected to announce today a new archbishop, replacing Jerome Hanus, who is resigning.

A press conference was scheduled for 10 a.m. at which time Hanus, who has been archbishop of the Dubuque Archdiocese since 1995, was to introduce Bishop Michael O. Jackels, bishop of Wichita, Kan., as the new archbishop. Jackels was appointed by new Pope Francis to be the next archbishop.

In a statement released this morning, Hanus, 72, said, “As many of you know, my health has declined in recent years. As a result, some time

ago I submitted my resignation as Archbishop to the proper authorities.

In a recent telephone conversation, the Pope’s representative in the United States, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, informed me that our Holy Father, Pope Francis, had accepted my resignation and appointed as the next Archbishop of Dubuque, the Most Rev. Michael O. Jackels, currently Bishop of Wichita, Kansas. My immediate response

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Agency

By David Uebbing

Vatican City, Apr 8, 2013 / 05:59 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Bishop Michael O. Jackels received an early birthday present of sorts when Pope Francis named him April 8 to lead the Archdiocese of Dubuque.

The Vatican press office made the appointment public just after noon Rome time, saying that the Pope also accepted the resignation of current Archbishop Jerome G. Hanus.

The announcement cited canon law 401, section two as the reason Archbishop Hanus is stepping down. This means that he has become “unsuited” for fulfilling his obligations “because of illness or some other grave reason,” according to the regulation.

A press conference is planned for 10:00 a.m. in Dubuque, where further details will be revealed.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 8 April 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father:

– appointed Bishop Michael Owen Jackels as Metropolitan Archbishop of Dubuque (area 45,074, population 979,560, Catholics 206,843, priests 216, permanent deacons 91, religious 861), Iowa, USA. The archbishop-elect, previously bishop of Wichita, Kansas, USA, is a member of the Subcommittee on the Catechism in the U.S. Conference of Bishops. He succeeds Archbishop Jerome George Hanus, O.S.B., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.

– appointed Msgr. John Thomas Folda as bishop of the Diocese of Fargo (area 92,650, population 396,000, Catholics 89,400, priests 120, permanent deacons 43, religious 126), North Dakota, USA. The bishop-elect was born in Omaha, Nebraska, USA in 1961 and was ordained a priest in 1989. Since ordination he has served in several academic and pastoral roles, most recently as rector of the St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward, Nebraska, USA. He was named a chaplain of His Holiness in 2007.

On Saturday, 6 April, the Holy Father appointed Fr. Jose Rodriguez Carballo, O.F.M., as secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, at the same time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop and assigning him the titular see of Bellicastrum. The archbishop-elect was born in Lodoselo, Spain in 1953 and was ordained a priest in 1977. Since ordination he has served in several academic and administrative roles, most recently as minister general of the Order of Friars Minor. Archbishop-elect Rodriguez is a member of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life

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MASSACHUSETTS
The Salem News

BY JULIE MANGANIS STAFF WRITER

IPSWICH — The former head of a religious order in Ipswich pleaded not guilty yesterday to new charges that he sexually abused a child in the early 1980s.

The Rev. Richard McCormick, 72, who once held a position that is the equivalent of a bishop with the Salesian Brothers of Don Bosco, was charged last summer with molesting a child who was 9 and 10 years old at the time, while he was serving at the Salesian’s Sacred Heart retreat center some 30 years ago.

After seeing coverage of the case in the media, a second person came forward, saying he, too, had been sexually abused in the early 1980s while attending a summer camp run by the Salesians. The accuser was between 7 and 9 at the time, according to prosecutors.

McCormick was indicted in the second case last month, and yesterday traveled from Missouri to be arraigned.

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ARIZONA
Arizona Republic

By Michael ClancyThe Republic | azcentral.com
Sun Apr 7, 2013

More than 2 1/2 years have passed since Mike Pain reported an allegation of abuse against the Rev. Jack Spaulding to the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix.

The report led to a civil lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court and a canon-law case in Vatican offices, both of which remain unresolved.

Both cases show the church’s reluctance to deal openly with the issues, said Patrick Wall, a former priest who now is an investigator in clergy-abuse cases.

“I don’t think they have the ability to improve the situation,” Wall said of church officials. He said he believes if church leaders were thorough in dealing with sex-related cases, the church would lose so many priests that it would be hard to continue.

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VATICAN CITY
Chiesa

VATICAN CITY, April 8, 2013 – In addition to the unprecedented selection of the name Francis, pope Jorge Mario Bergoglio is immediately impressing on the central government of the Church innovations that those in the curia are looking at with trepidation, if not with terror.

The decision not to live in the pontifical apartment on the third floor of the Apostolic Palace but to continue to reside in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, which had accommodated him as a cardinal during the conclave, is already in itself an act of rupture.

In practice, this allows the new pope to remove himself physically from the bureaucratic pressure that – if he were to move up there – would risk turning his life upside down and suffocating his effective capacity of governance.

It would be interesting to know if and to what extent there has already been a reduction in the volume and weight of the briefcases of documents that the secretariat of state customarily brings to the desk of the pope to submit to him texts for study, approval, endorsement, etc.

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VATICAN CITY
International Business Times

[with videos]

By Vittorio Hernandez | April 8, 2013

The Vatican receives about 600 claims yearly against abusive priests. Some of the charges go all the way back to the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Under the previous popes, most of the accusations were swept under the rug and the Roman Catholic Church imposed silence both on the victims and perpetrators.

However, Pope Francis is taking the first step in stopping the culture of silence by ordering the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the body tasked to handle such cases, to act with determination on the complaints.

He ordered the change in policy after meeting on Friday with Archbishop Gerhard Mueller, the head of the congregation. Pope Francis said that battling sex abuse is important for the Church to regain its credibility.

The pontiff’s new policy is a reversal of a secret document that the Vatican wrote in 1962 titled Crimen Sollicitationis which imposed silence on sex abuse victims, the abusers and even witnesses on the pain of excommunication for violators.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has been criticised for not doing anything about the sex abuse cases when he still headed the congregation as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and when he became pope in 2005. When he retired on Feb 28, 2013, he left a thick folder about the sex abuse cases for his successor to deal with.

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OSTERREICH
DBN

“Die Missbrauchsverbrechen durch Kirchenmitglieder wurden in Österreich bis zum heutigen Tag nicht aufgeklärt. Das Verhalten von Bischof Zsifkovits ist symptomatisch für die herrschende Geisteshaltung der Vertuschung und Verharmlosung”, empört sich Sepp Rothwangl von der Plattform Betroffener kirchlicher Gewalt. Für Opfervertreter ist es unverständlich, dass der burgenländische Bischof heute an einer Gedenkmesse für jenen Kardinal teilnimmt, mit dem das wahre Ausmaß der Missbrauchsskandale in der katholischen Kirche in Österreich publik wurde. “Es ist schlichtweg skandalös, dass der Staat der Kirche gestattet hat, mit der kirchlicheigenen Klasnic-Kommission die Aufarbeitung der Verbrechen unter Kontrolle zu halten und so der Vertuschung weiter Vorschub leistet”, so Rothwangl weiter. Die Kommission ist organisatorischer Teil der Kirche, wie auch ein Bescheid Bundeskanzleramtes jüngst bestätigt hat.

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DEUTSCHLAND
MDR

Wegen des Besitzes von Kinderpornografie ist vom Amtsgericht Bitterfeld-Wolfen ein katholischer Priester zu einer einjährigen Bewährungsstrafe verurteilt worden. Zudem verhängte das Gericht gegen den 40 Jahre alten Geistlichen eine Geldstrafe von 2.400 Euro. Dieser Betrag wird an den Kinderschutzbund gezahlt. Der Priester hatte zuvor über seinen Anwalt ein umfassendes Geständnis abgelegt. Er gab zu, mindestens 4.000 Bilder mit Kinderpornografie auf einer externen Festplatte seines Computers gespeichert zu haben.

Angeklagter schweigt vor Gericht

Persönlich wollte sich der Angeklagte vor Gericht nicht zu den Vorwürfen äußern. Laut Staatsanwaltschaft hatten die Ermittler die Bilder 2011 bei einer Durchsuchung der Wohnung des Mannes sichergestellt. Er war im Zuge europaweiter Ermittlungen gegen Kinderpornografie aufgeflogen, da er mit seiner Kreditkarte für die Bilder bezahlt hatte. Als besonders schwerwiegend wertete die Anklage den Umstand, dass der Mann die rund 4.000 Bilder “fleißig gesammelt und sortiert hatte”, wie die Staatsanwältin in ihrem Plädoyer sagte.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Augsburger Allgemeine

Der in München lebende Komponist Wilfried Hiller hat schwere Vorwürfe gegen zwei Benediktiner-Patres vom Gymnasium St. Stephan erhoben. Sie sollen ihn missbraucht haben. Von Rüdiger Heinze

In einem Interview unserer Zeitung spricht Wilfried Hiller erstmals öffentlich von mehrfachem sexuellen Missbrauch sowie von schwerer körperlicher Züchtigung Mitte der fünfziger Jahre, als er Schüler der Institution war. Erst heute, nahezu 60 Jahre nach den Vorfällen, könne er offen darüber sprechen, weil er sie – auch künstlerisch – verarbeitet habe. Die Namen der beiden bereits verstorbenen Beschuldigten sind unserer Redaktion bekannt.

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OSTERREICH
APA

Wien (OTS) – “Die Missbrauchsverbrechen durch Kirchenmitglieder wurden in Österreich bis zum heutigen Tag nicht aufgeklärt. Das Verhalten von Bischof Zsifkovits ist symptomatisch für die
herrschende Geisteshaltung der Vertuschung und Verharmlosung”, empört sich Sepp Rothwangl von der Plattform Betroffener kirchlicher Gewalt.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Volksfreund

Der Missbrauch am früheren katholischen Johanneum-Internat in Homburg hat aus Sicht der Opferinitiative ein größeres Ausmaß gehabt als bisher bekannt. Die Initiative ehemaliger Missbrauchsopfer gehe inzwischen von mindestens acht Tätern aus, berichteten mehrere Medien am Freitag.

Zwei weitere ehemalige Internatsschüler hätten von schweren sexuellen Übergriffen zweier Ordensmitglieder berichtet. Einer dieser Täter sei bereits gestorben, der andere nicht mehr Mitglied des Ordens Hiltruper Missionare. Die Staatsanwaltschaft Saarbrücken erklärte auf Anfrage, sie werde die Berichte prüfen. Möglich sei aber, dass die Taten bereits verjährt seien. 2010 war der erste Missbrauchsfall bekanntgeworden.

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AUSTRALIA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn

08 April 2013

The Truth Justice and Healing Council says its work with the royal commission into child sexual abuse is consistent with the Pope’s call for the Catholic Church to “act decisively” on the issue.

Council chief executive officer Francis Sullivan said Pope Francis’ comments that the Church must move to protect young people, help victims and punish the guilty reinforced the way the Church in Australia was responding to the royal commission.

“It is also in line with the Australian Church’s drive to develop new, consistent policies and procedures to protect children in the future.

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PITTSBURGH (PA)
Tribune-Review

By Bill Zlatos

Published: Monday, April 8, 2013

As new Pope Francis I calls for a tougher stance in addressing sexual allegations against priests, the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh plans to send its third letter this year warning of accusations against a cleric who once served in Pittsburgh.

“We’re looking at that right now,” the Rev. Ronald Lengwin, spokesman of the diocese, said Sunday. “We have an allegation. I can go that far.”

Lengwin would not give details of what the letter will say, except that the victim was a male from a parish, not a school. He would not identify the priest allegedly involved.

“I wouldn’t want to say anything until people from the parish receive a letter,” he said.

Mike Ference, 61, of Clairton, a self-described advocate for the victims and families of clergy child abuse, said the letter from Bishop David Zubik will refer to the late Rev. John Wellinger.

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NORRISTOWN (PA)
Patch

By James Myers

April 7, 2013

According to a release issued by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on Sunday, April 7, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. has found Monsignor Richard T. Powers, a retired priest with the Archdiocese, not suitable for ministry. The decision comes after an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor that occurred approximately 40 years ago outside of the Philadelphia area was substantiated through an investigation by the Archdiocese.

The 77-year-old Powers was stationed at St. Patrick’s Church in Norristown from 1964 to 1967. Sources familiar with the case say the incident in question happened during his foreign mission service in Venezuela in the late ’60s through mid ’70s. Details of the incident have not been released, but a source told Philly.com that it involved a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl.

According to the Archdiocese, Powers’ case is not directly connected to the cases of priests placed on administrative leave following the February 2011 Grand Jury Report.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Daily News

JASON NARK, Daily News Staff Writer| narkj@phillynews.com, 215-854-5916

Posted: Monday, April 8, 2013

THERE WILL be no more masses, no nervous couples to wed or babies to baptize, and no more white collars against a simple black suit for three Archdiocese of Philadelphia priests implicated in sexual-abuse scandals.

In a statement released Sunday, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput said the Rev. Joseph J. Gallagher, 78, and the Rev. Mark S. Gaspar, 43, will have no further public ministry in the Archdiocese “due to substantiated violations of The Standards of Ministerial Behaviors and Boundaries.” The two were among the 26 Archdiocese priests placed on administrative leave in 2011 following a grand-jury report that prompted the Catholic Church here to look into old allegations that they molested children or acted inappropriately around them.

Monsignor Richard T. Powers, 77, a retired priest, was also deemed “not suitable for ministry,” Chaput said, following a substantiated allegation that he sexually abused a minor approximately 40 years ago outside the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. His case is not releated to the grand-jury report.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

John P. Martin, Inquirer Staff Writer

Posted: Monday, April 8, 2013

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput has permanently removed three more parish priests from public ministry over allegations of sexual abuse or misconduct around minors, including one whose accuser killed himself in 2009, allegedly after church officials first declared his claim unsubstantiated.

That priest, the Rev. Joseph J. Gallagher, has been deemed “unsuitable for ministry due to violations” of church standards, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia said Sunday. A second priest, the Rev. Mark Gaspar, was removed for the same reason, officials said. As it has in other cases, the archdiocese did not identify the violations or release details about the accusers or their claims.

A third priest, Msgr. Richard T. Powers, 77, was permanently removed over substantiated allegations that he abused a 17-year-old girl during an overseas trip 40 years ago.

Each of the priests had been on administrative leave, along with two dozen others suspended after a 2011 grand jury report that accused the archdiocese of failing to act on credible allegations of child sex abuse or misconduct by priests. In the last year, Chaput has restored eight of the suspended clerics to ministry and declared seven others unfit to continue to serve publicly as priests. …

Marci Hamilton, attorney for the Neill family, said the announcement was good news.

“That is exactly what they should have done,” Hamilton said. “But, it should have been done long ago.”

She said the archdiocese dragged its feet in the case and gave the benefit of the doubt to the priests. She said it should have removed all the priests named by victims.

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AUSTRALIA
NEWS.com.au

Carly Crawford
Herald Sun
April 08, 2013

THE Catholic Church has admitted that a priest who for 20 years oversaw its insurance scheme, which covers claims for sex abuse by clergy, was himself a serial abuser.

The Melbourne archdiocese says it received and upheld three complaints about Monsignor Penn Jones after his death in 1995.

It comes as the federal royal commission into child abuse has taken legal action to retrieve documents from the church and its insurer to assist with its inquiries.

The complaints against Msgr Jones included that he abused at least three young boys at summer camps in the 1960s, touching them in showers and raping at least one.

Msgr Jones was the school chaplain at Cathedral College in the ’60s, and had regular contact with choirboys when he was based at St Patrick’s Cathedral.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Washington Post

3 more Philadelphia priests removed from ministry following allegations in sex scandal

By Associated Press
Published: April 7

PHILADELPHIA — Three more priests were permanently removed from ministry by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on Sunday, including one whose accuser killed himself after his allegation was dismissed by church officials.

The Revs. Joseph Gallagher and Mark Gaspar were suspended following a scathing 2011 grand jury report that ultimately led to the landmark conviction of a high-ranking archdiocese official on child endangerment charges. Two other priests and a Catholic school teacher were also convicted.

The February 2011 grand jury report prominently named Gallagher as a priest who remained in ministry despite apparently credible allegations of abuse. The grand jury said the archdiocese had found the allegation against him unsubstantiated despite the accuser’s “obvious credibility.”

“Our only problem is that it took so long,” Marci Hamilton, the attorney for the family of Daniel Neill, said Sunday. Neill committed suicide in 2009, less than a year after being told his allegation of couldn’t be substantiated.

Hamilton, who also represents two others who claim to have been abused by Gallagher, said the archdiocese’s failure to act means Gallagher will never face criminal charges.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
CBS Philly

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Two priests in the Philadelphia Archdiocese implicated in sexual abuse scandals have been declared unfit for service.

Archbishop Charles Chaput has decided Father Joseph J. Gallagher and Father Mark S. Gasper are unsuitable for public ministry.

They will have no public ministry in the archdiocese. They have the right to appeal this decision.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Daily Herald

Newly exposed sexual abuse allegations at the Diocese of Joliet and reports that Cardinal Francis George intervened in at least one case in the southwest suburbs drew victims’ advocates to Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago on Sunday.

The allegations are contained in records released as part of a legal settlement in an unrelated case.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
CNN

From Sarah Hoye, CNN

updated 6:23 PM EDT, Sun April 7, 2013

(CNN) — Two Catholic priests accused of wrongdoing have been declared unfit for service by the Philadelphia archdiocese and will no longer be allowed to minister.

Joseph J. Gallagher, 78, and Mark S. Gaspar, 43, are two of the 26 priests who were suspended by the archdiocese after a 2011 grand jury investigation into the archdiocese’s handling of child sex abuse allegations. They were placed on administrative leave while the church looked into allegations of abuse and misconduct.

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput said the investigations of Gallagher and Gaspar found substantiated violations of the “Standards of Ministerial Behavior and Boundaries,” an archdiocese guide for behavior, including interaction with children and youths. The violations were not explained.

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ARGENTINA
Pagina 12

Por Diego Martínez

La Justicia de Bahía Blanca se resiste a investigar a los sacerdotes que actuaron al servicio del terrorismo de Estado. El ex capellán Aldo Omar Vara admitió en 1999 que supo de las torturas en el centro clandestino La Escuelita y que vio las secuelas de la picana sobre el cuerpo de jóvenes secuestrados en el Batallón de Comunicaciones 181. El entonces fiscal general Hugo Cañón pidió su imputación pero la Cámara Federal se la negó. Trece años después, el tribunal que condenó al primer grupo de represores del Cuerpo V de Ejército –integrado por jueces foráneos porque sus pares bahienses no daban garantías de imparcialidad– tomó nota de los testimonios sobre Vara, consideró probada su “culpabilidad” en secuestros y torturas, y ordenó que se lo investigara en primera instancia. Los fiscales federales José Nebbia y Miguel Palazzani desmenuzaron las pruebas contra el ex capellán, a quien caracterizaron como un agente de Inteligencia que sólo por su técnica se diferenciaba de los militares, y pidieron su detención e indagatoria. El juez federal Santiago Martínez rechazó el pedido con cuatro palabras: “No surgen elementos suficientes”.

Vara fue capellán auxiliar del Cuerpo V entre 1971 y 1979 y es el único sobreviviente de los religiosos que tuvieron un rol protagónico junto a los represores del comando bahiense. En los últimos años murieron impunes el ex arzobispo Jorge Mayer, que llegó a bendecir medallas de torturadores hoy condenados; su segundo Emilio Ogñenovich, quien en 1976 justificó que “los profetas de una moral sin Dios están recogiendo las consecuencias lógicas”; y Dante Inocencio Vega, el capellán del Cuerpo V que durante la dictadura admitió ante madres de secuestrados que sus hijos estaban en La Escuelita y en democracia juró por la Biblia no conocerlas.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Main Line

Published: Sunday, April 07, 2013

Press.release

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. has found Monsignor Richard T. Powers, a retired priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, not suitable for ministry following a substantiated allegation of sexual abuse of a minor that occurred approximately 40 years ago outside the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia also announced today that Archbishop Charles J. Chaput has made final decisions in two more cases of priests placed on administrative leave following the February 2011 Grand Jury Report. Priests on administrative leave are not permitted to exercise their public ministry, administer any of the Sacraments, wear clerical garb, or present themselves publicly as priests.

Archbishop Chaput has decided that Father Joseph J. Gallagher and Father Mark S. Gaspar are unsuitable for ministry due to substantiated violations of The Standards of Ministerial Behaviors and Boundaries. They will have no public ministry in the Archdiocese. They do have the right to appeal the decision to the Holy See.

Announcements were made at the parishes where both priests last served when they were placed on administrative leave in March of 2011. Follow up announcements were made at those parishes this weekend regarding the final decisions in their cases. Crisis counselors were made available.

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CHICAGO (IL)
CBS Chicago

[with audio]

CHICAGO (CBS) — A few members of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, demonstrated in front of Holy Name Cathedral – praising Cardinal George but asking him to do more.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests is pleased Cardinal George intervened in a Joliet case of alleged abuse by a priest.

And they handed out fliers commending the cardinal.

But at the same time – their flier and their members – asked parishioners to ask the cardinal for more: to release more files on abusive priests.

“He said he was going to do it in 2008 and he hadn’t had time to do it yet. So we’re trying to encourage people to encourage him.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
My Fox Philly

PHILADELPHIA –
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced on Sunday that two priests who were placed on administrative leave are unsuitable for ministry.

The decision was made by Archbishop Charles Chaput due to what the archdiocese described as “substantiated violations of “The Standards of Ministerial Behaviors and Boundaries.”

According to the archdiocese, Father Joseph Gallagher and Father Mark Gaspar will not have public ministry in the archdiocese. The two fathers do have the right to appeal the decision to the Holy See, the archdiocese said.

The two priests were placed on administrative leave in March 2011 following a February grand jury report that alleged child abuse. The announcements were made at the parishes the priests last served Sunday.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Catholics4Change

April 7, 2013 by Susan Matthews

The Philadelphia priests removed from ministry have three options:

1- Live a life of prayer and penance.
2- Laicization.
3- Appeal to the Vatican.

The archdiocese has not updated the public on what each of the priests removed from ministry has chosen. Their choices impact the laity and society in general.

There are no official updates on those choices, according to Kenneth A. Gavin, Director of Communications for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

So where do priests appealing to the Vatican live?

The priests who chose a life in the prayer and penance program are housed at Villa St. Joseph, a retirement home for the clergy in Darby. Click here for info on the program. You’ll find the Q&A info a little spotty. For instance:

Q: How can a victim or the public find out if a priest is in the Prayer and Penance Program?

A: Victims of sexual abuse or the general public can visit the Delegate for Investigation Web Site at: http://archphila.org/delegate.

Good luck. I tried to look up the status of one of the priests Archbishop Chaput removed in July. I couldn’t locate him on any list. Also, there is no specific list for those in the program.

It’s no surprise the archdiocese pays for the food, shelter and healthcare for the priests in the prayer and penance program, but I was a bit taken back by the almost $1000 a month pension they each receive in addition.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

John P. Martin, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Posted: Sunday, April 7, 2013

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput has permanently removed three more priests from public ministry over claims of sexual abuse or misconduct around minors, including one whose accuser killed himself in 2009, allegedly after his complaints were unheeded.

That priest, the Rev. Joseph J. Gallagher, has been deemed “unsuitable for ministry due to violations” of church standards, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced Sunday. The same reason was cited in the permanent removal of the Rev. Mark Gaspar.

As it has in other cases, the archdiocese did not identify the violations, or any details about the accuser or his or her claim.

A third priest, Msgr. Richard T. Powers, 77, was permanently removed over substantiated allegations that he abused a teen during an overseas trip 40 years ago.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. has found Monsignor Richard T. Powers, a retired priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, not suitable for ministry following a substantiated allegation of sexual abuse of a minor that occurred approximately 40 years ago outside the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Today’s announcement regarding Monsignor Powers is not directly connected to the cases of priests placed on administrative leave following the February 2011 Grand Jury Report.

Background Information
In March of 2012 an internal document was discovered in response to a subpoena following the February 2011 Grand Jury Report and turned over to the courts as soon as it was found. That document included a list of priests, among whom were those who had allegations of sexual abuse against them. All of those priests were either deceased, laicized, or living a life of prayer and penance with the exception of Monsignor Powers.

Subsequent to turning the list over to the courts last year, the Archdiocese placed Monsignor Powers on leave, and began its customary investigation. During that time Monsignor Powers was not permitted to exercise his public ministry, administer any of the Sacraments, wear clerical garb, or present himself publicly as a priest.

An announcement concerning this situation was made last year at Epiphany of Our Lord Parish in Philadelphia, where Monsignor Powers had been residing. The Archdiocese was not permitted to make a broader public announcement due to the court imposed gag order in the trial taking place at the time. An announcement regarding the final decision in Monsignor Powers’ case was made at the parish this weekend. Crisis counselors were made available.

Following Archbishop Chaput’s determination of unsuitability for ministry, Monsignor Powers will have no public ministry in the Archdiocese. He does have the right to appeal the decision to the Holy See. If he does not appeal, or if his appeal is unsuccessful, he could be laicized (removed from the clerical state) or live a life of prayer and penance.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia

Archbishop Chaput makes final decisions in two more cases of priests placed on administrative leave following the February 2011 Grand Jury Report

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced today that Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., has made final decisions in two more cases of priests placed on administrative leave following the February 2011 Grand Jury Report. Priests on administrative leave are not permitted to exercise their public ministry, administer any of the Sacraments, wear clerical garb, or present themselves publicly as priests.

Archbishop Chaput has decided that Father Joseph J. Gallagher and Father Mark S. Gaspar are unsuitable for ministry due to substantiated violations of The Standards of Ministerial Behaviors and Boundaries. They will have no public ministry in the Archdiocese. They do have the right to appeal the decision to the Holy See.

Announcements were made at the parishes where both priests last served when they were placed on administrative leave in March of 2011. Follow up announcements were made at those parishes this weekend regarding the final decisions in their cases. Crisis counselors were made available.

Father Gallagher’s and Father Gaspar’s cases followed the same procedure as all other cases of priests placed on administrative leave following the February 2011 Grand Jury Report. Prior to an investigation conducted by the Multi-Disciplinary Team, the case was submitted to the appropriate local district attorney’s office. After being released by the district attorney, an investigation was conducted by the MDT. The results of the investigations were provided to the Archdiocesan Review Board (ARB), now known as the Professional Responsibility Review Board (PRRB) , which provided a recommendation to the Archbishop, who made the final decision. This rigorous investigative process involved more than 20 experts in child abuse.

Archbishop Chaput said, “As I’ve done in the past, I relied closely on the Professional Responsibility Review Board and the Multi-Disciplinary Team during this process. The counsel provided by these experts, who have devoted their careers to combatting sexual abuse, is key to this work. I’m grateful for their efforts. After reviewing all the facts, as well as recommendations from competent external authorities, I made the decisions I feel are right and just.”

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PHILADELPHIA
NBC 10

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced Sunday that two more priests implicated in sexual abuse scandals have been declared unfit for service by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput.

According to Chaput, Father Joseph J. Gallagher, 78, and Father Mark S. Gaspar, 43, will have no further public ministry in the Archdiocese “due to substantiated violations of The Standards of Ministerial Behaviors and Boundaries.” Both men have the right to appeal the decision to the Holy See.

Gallagher retired from the church in 2006, after spending sixteen years at Saint Richard in Philadelphia. He was placed on administrative leave in 2011. Last year, Gallagher was one of seven priests named in a civil suit alleging the Archdiocese covered up child sex abuse allegations. Gallagher is also the priest at the center of a wrongful death suit filed against the Archdiocese by the family of a man who killed himself in 2008 after his allegations were deemed not credible.

Gaspar most recently ministered at Our Lady of Charity in Brookhaven from 2008 to 2011, when he, like Gallagher and others, was placed on administrative leave. Gaspar was one of 21 priests suspended following an investigation into 37 “cases of concern” by former Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney Gina Maisto Smith.

In addition, Chaput confirmed Sunday that Monsignor Richard Powers was deemed not suitable for ministry last year. An announcement was made to that effect at Epiphany of Our Lord Parish in Philadelphia, where Powers had been residing. A broader announcement was not possible at the time due to a court-imposed gag order that was in place at the time, according to the Archdiocese.

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FRANCE
Le Mondo

Gabriel (Robinson Stévenin), 27 ans, est un homme coincé dans une souffrance dont il n’est jamais parvenu à se libérer. Il y a quinze ans, il fut contraint à une relation amoureuse et sexuelle avec un prêtre, le père Vincey (Robin Renucci), directeur de son école religieuse. Ce secret, il ne l’a confié à personne, pas même à sa mère. S’estimant à la fois victime et complice, il s’est muré dans un silence qu’il décide de rompre, après un accident de voiture dans lequel son fils a failli mourir. Gabriel retrouve le père Vincey, affronte l’institution, se heurte au pouvoir de l’Eglise, mais aussi au déni des uns et des autres, notamment, des parents de certaines victimes.

Le téléfilm réalisé par Edwin Bailly retrace ce combat, tout en remontant dans le temps, afin de raconter la façon dont s’effectue ce glissement progressif du désir vers l’acte criminel. Le père Vincey se présente, en effet, sous un jour séduisant, homme généreux, attentif et prévenant. A l’égard du petit Gabriel (excellent Florian Vigilante), il ne fait preuve d’aucune brusquerie mais use d’une tendresse qu’il convertit subtilement, jusqu’à faire croire à l’enfant que ce lien leur a été envoyé par Dieu et doit demeurer leur secret.

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ESPANA
ABC

Día 07/04/2013 – 17.23h

Esta es una historia que debe comenzar por su último capítulo. O, mejor dicho, por el penúltimo, ya que el final, si es que llega a ser escrito, pertenecerá a otro pontificado.

El 17 de diciembre de 2012 tres cardenales fueron recibidos por el Papa y le hicieron entrega de un informe previamente encargado por él. Una frase sencilla, que encierra un enorme secreto. Y que, para empezar, no es del todo exacta. El “informe” no se entrega como quien da un sobre o un cuadernillo, porque estamos hablando de un grueso volumen, hay quien dice que consta de trescientas páginas, que está encuadernado en rojo y no lleva título alguno. El Santo Padre no se limita a recibirlo, sino que de inmediato lo guarda, no bajo siete llaves, sino “setenta veces siete”, como el perdón en el Evangelio, decidiendo antes de su histórica renuncia que el informe será entregado solamente al que será su sucesor. Desde el momento en que pronunció el encargo, en abril de ese mismo año, uno de los tres cardenales ha sido recibido privada y reservadamente con mucha frecuencia por el Papa, que así ha ido sabiendo todo lo que los tres purpurados descubrían. Golpe a golpe. El cáliz, una vez más, apurado hasta el fondo.

El cardenal que ha mantenido al Papa al día es el español Julián Herranz, miembro del Opus Dei, grandísimo jurista durante el pontificado de Juan Pablo II y hasta su jubilación consejero jurídico del Santo Padre en su cargo de presidente del pontificio Consejo para los Textos Legislativos. Él fue quien recibió en primera persona el encargo de redactar el informe sobre el estado de la curia, y aunque lo aceptó de inmediato, no quiso llevarlo a cabo solo, más por razones de oportunidad y justicia que por considerarlo una carga demasiado pesada. Pudo elegir en total libertad a sus dos compañeros de investigación, el cardenal italiano Salvatore de Giorgi y el eslovaco cardenal Jozef Tomko. Ninguno de los tres estará dentro de la Capilla Sixtina durante el cónclave porque ya han rebasado el límite de los ochenta años. Y tal vez para ellos mismos sea mejor así, porque ahora comparten con el Papa emérito el conocimiento directo de muchos males que se han infiltrado tras los muros vaticanos. […]

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MALTA
Malta Today

Nestor Laiviera

Weekly newspaper Illum reports that the Curia confirmed that the case revolving around allegations that a priest sexually abused a psychologically and mentally vulnerable person were investigated by the Church Response Team.

The Curia also said that the priest in question did not agree with the decision reached by the Response Team, and requested for this decision to be revised.

The confirmations emerged from a number of clarifications made by the Curia to Illum following revelations that a prominent priest in the Maltese Church is facing a number of police reports.

The most serous of these reports deals with accusations by a person who alleges that she was abused by the priest for sexual purposes despite being vulnerable both emotionally and psychologically.

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DEUTSCHLAND
MDR

Am Amtsgericht Bitterfeld-Wolfen muss sich am Montag ein katholischer Geistlicher verantworten, weil er Kinderpornos besessen haben soll. In seiner Wohnung in Zörbig hatte es im November 2011 eine Razzia gegeben. Die Fahnder entdeckten auf dem Rechner des Mannes rund 4.000 kinderpornografische Bild-Dateien. Bei einem Schuldspruch drohen dem 40-Jährigen bis zu zwei Jahre Haft. Das Gericht geht davon aus, dass noch am selben Tag das Urteil verkündet werden kann.

Bistum kündigt eigenes Verfahren an

Der Angeklagte hatte zuletzt als Vikar seelsorgerisch gearbeitet und zudem den Pfarrer in Wolfen-Zörbig vertreten. Kurz nach der Durchsuchung in seiner Wohnung wurde er vom Bistum Magdeburg beurlaubt. Selbst bei einem Freispruch wird der Mann zunächst nicht in seinen Beruf zurückkehren können. Das Bistum hat bereits angekündigt, ein kirchenrechtliches Verfahren einzuleiten. Bis zum Abschluss der kircheninternen Untersuchung bleibt der Mann vom Seelsorgedienst ausgeschlossen. Wie ein Bistumssprecher in Magdeburg mitteilte, muss schlussendlich der Vatikan über die berufliche Zukunft des Mannes entscheiden.

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OSTERREICH
Relevant

Pfarrer Helmut Schüller im relevant-Gespräch über Missbrauchsfälle in der Kirche, den Pflichtzölibat und Kirchenaustritte.

Er gilt als Rebell in der römisch-katholischen Kirche: Pfarrer Helmut Schüller spricht sich offen dafür aus, dass auch Frauen zur Priesterweihe zugelassen werden, kämpft gegen Missbrauchsfälle innerhalb der Kirche und tritt für die Abschaffung des Zölibats ein. 1999 ging das inbesonders Kardinal Schönborn gegen den Strich, der Schüller schriftlich aus seinem Amt der Erzdiözese Wien entließ.

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UNITED STATES
NBC News

By Joan Raymond
msnbc.com contributor

updated 6/30/2011

Young girls who are the victims of sexual abuse experience physical, biological and behavioral problems that can persist for decades after, a new study shows.

Researchers, who tracked a group of girls ranging in age from 6 to 16 at the start of the study in 1987 for the next 23 years, found that they had higher rates of depression and obesity, as well as problems with regulation of brain chemicals, among other issues, compared to a control group of girls who were not abused.

The study, published in the Cambridge University Press journal Development and Psychopathology, was conducted by researchers from the University of Southern California and the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Those in the study were assessed by researchers six times at varying ages and developmental stages. Researchers hope to continue the study looking at the women, who are now in their 30s, as well as their children.

The racially-diverse group of 80 girls, who lived in the Washington, D.C., area, were victims of incest, broadly defined as suffering sexual abuse by a male living within the home. On average, the girls were abused for about two years prior to the abuse coming to the attention of child protective services. Some girls were abused when they were as young as age 2.

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SCOTLAND
The Observer

Catherine Deveney
The Observer, Saturday 6 April 2013

A former child protection consultant for the Scottish Catholic church has criticised its procedures for dealing with abuse, branding them a sham, only weeks after the country’s most senior cleric, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, was forced to resign over allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct.

As evidence mounts of the chaotic response in the church to the crisis that O’Brien’s resignation caused, Alan Draper, who worked for the Motherwell diocese for seven years, says in an interview with the Observer that the church has been unable to produce the annual audits of abuse claims that it promised in 1996, or give any details of a coherent national policy, and that individual bishops are allowed to make decisions piecemeal. “For too long the bishops have been kings in their castles and accountable to nobody,” said Draper. “It’s very corrosive. Some dioceses may be doing a good job – but we have no knowledge or information about what’s been going on.”

Draper worked for Bishop Joseph Devine but left in 2003 because, he says, his advice was consistently ignored. He said he had to take Devine “kicking and screaming” with him when he tried to implement good practice. Last month, after revelations that Draper knew of 20 abuse cases where no action was taken, the church issued a statement about his departure. Draper has now consulted his lawyer about a defamation action against the church.

Devine’s handling of abuse cases continues to be controversial. Last week his solicitors sent a letter to a victim of abuse, confirming that her counselling would be axed despite warnings from her psychotherapist that she has been suicidal “for substantial periods” during treatment. The woman, Ann Matthews, was abused from the ages of 11–18 by her parish priest. “They are being told someone’s life is in danger and all they can say is too bad,” says Matthews, who has attempted suicide on four occasions. “I am just a drain on their resources.”

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JOLIET (IL)
Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet

Media reports in the past few days have focused on the removal of Fr. Thomas Corbino as a volunteer hospital chaplain at Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield. Since some of the reporting may contain incomplete information, the leadership of the Diocese of Joliet would like to set the record straight.

In August of 2011, the diocese received information indicating that Fr. Thomas Corbino may have engaged in inappropriate behavior with a minor when he served as a pastor at both St. Irene Parish, Warrenville and St. Anthony Parish in Frankfort from 1987 to 2008. The diocese sent the information to the states attorneys of DuPage and Will counties and immediately began an internal review into the matter. After several months of review by the diocesan review board, it was determined that Fr. Corbino’s actions did not rise to the level of sexual abuse of a minor.

Nevertheless, because of Fr. Corbino’s inappropriate behavior, he resigned from parish ministry and was placed in a restricted ministry with supervision. In that ministry, he served as a volunteer chaplain at Central DuPage Hospital. He was under the supervision of the hospital’s head of chaplain services and was to have no unsupervised contact with children. All involved with Fr. Corbino, whether at the hospital or elsewhere, were informed about the circumstances of Fr. Corbino’s restricted ministry.

As always, the Diocese of Joliet welcomes anyone who has information about sexual abuse of a minor by a member of the clergy, employee or volunteer of the diocese to report the abuse to civil authorities and to us. If a victim comes to us, we will offer pastoral assistance and counseling. Reports to the diocese should be made to any pastor or to the Victim Assistance Coordinator at 815-263-6467.

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