ABUSE TRACKER

VIRGINIA
RichmondTimes-Dispatch

BY LOUIS LLOVIO
Richmond Times-Dispatch

RICHMOND — The former senior pastor of the Richmond Outreach Center said he made the decision to leave the church he founded in 2001 because the sexual assault charges he faces in Texas have become a distraction to ROC’s ministry.

Geronimo Aguilar, in his first public statements since being arrested last month for the sexual assault of two young girls in Texas, also said he would remain in Richmond while free on bond.

“As you all know, my family and I have been facing difficult trials and persecution. This has taken a toll on me and my family, as well as those close to me. Unfortunately, during this difficult season, the focus has been taken off of Jesus and put on me, and that is not what The ROC is all about,” Aguilar wrote in a letter to church members posted on the ROC’s website today.

Aguilar, who had been on paid leave, said he made the decision last week “after much prayer and wise counsel from a dear friend.”

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VIRGINIA
Christian Post

By Leonardo Blair , CP Reporter
June 6, 2013

A swirling controversy over the criminal past and alleged sexual proclivities of the founding pastor of Virginia’s Richmond Outreach Center (ROC) megachurch, Geronimo Aguilar, came to a head on Wednesday when the church’s board announced that it had accepted the resignation of four of its five pastors.

“The Richmond Outreach Center held a Board meeting this evening, June 5, 2013. Upon mutually agreeable terms, we hereby announce that we have accepted the resignations of Pastor Geronimo Aguilar, Pastor Jason Helmlinger, Pastor Andrew Delgado and Pastor Matthew Aguilar,” noted the board in a terse statement posted to its website.

“We wish the best for the pastors and their families. The Richmond Outreach Center remains focused on those in need and we will never stray from this mission,” it added.
Pastor Aguilar, affectionately known as “Pastor G” was extradited to Texas late last month where he is currently facing seven felony charges including aggravated sexual assault of two sisters under age 14, according to an ABC 8News report. These assaults are said to have taken place before Pastor G founded the ROC ministry in 2003. If convicted of the charges he could spend the rest of his life in prison.

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FLORIDA
Vatican Crimes

THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2013

A prominent South Florida priest has taken a temporary leave of absence as allegations of sexual misconduct against him are investigated, Archdiocese of Miami spokeswoman Mary Ross Agosta said Monday.

A civil complaint was filed against Father Daniel Kubala of Miami’s St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church and Parish last month. In the complaint, the unnamed plaintiff alleges Kubala made two unwanted sexual advances towards the plaintiff, identified as “John Doe,” back in April.

An adult male worker at the church has made the accusations, Ross Agosta said in a statement.

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ILLINOIS
Naperville Sun

By Brian Stanley bstanley@stmedianetwork.com June 6, 2013

PONTIAC — A Diocese of Joliet priest who sexually abused a boy for five years was released on parole Thursday.

Alejandro Flores, 40, was behind bars for roughly 80-percent of the 4-year sentence he received under a plea deal in 2010. He is now required to register as a sex offender.

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CALIFORNIA
U-T San Diego

By The Associated Press

STOCKTON, Calif. — A Northern California Roman Catholic diocese has reached a $1.75 million settlement with a man who said he was sexually abused by a priest who spoke openly in a 2006 documentary about molesting children.

The Diocese of Stockton disclosed the settlement on Wednesday.

The alleged victim said he was 11 or 12 years old when he was abused by Oliver O’Grady in Stockton in the 1980s.

In his lawsuit filed in 2009, he said his younger brother and sister were also abused by O’Grady. Those cases were settled for $2 million.

O’Grady talked about abusing more than 20 children in the Academy Award-nominated documentary, “Deliver Us From Evil.”

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NEW JERSEY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY DAVID CLOHESSY ON JUNE 06, 2013

According to trusted Catholic blogger Rocco Palmo (“Whispers in the Loggia”), Newark Archbishop John Myers has named Auxiliary Bishop Edgar da Cunha as the archdiocese’s new vicar general.

For a decade, da Cunha has been Myers’ right hand man. Da Cunha has been silent while Myers has repeatedly endangered kids, broken church policies, deceived parishioners and the public about predator priests.

So how can giving da Cunha more responsibility make any sense or change whatsoever?

Myers could have brought in an untarnished outsider. Instead, he promotes a tarnished insider. This is “circling the wagons,” not solving the crisis.

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Tom Doyle’s bibliography

Tom Doyle is a Dominican priest who has been involved in the clergy sex abuse crisis since 1984. He has offered survivors and their families support and has served as an expert witness in criminal and civil cases. He has also done expert and consultant work with grand juries in the U.S., with the three investigative commissions in Ireland and with the Cornwall Commission in Canada.

The Catholic Labyrinth: Power, Apathy, and a Passion for Reform in the American Church, by Peter McDonough (Oxford University Press, USA July 15, 2013) 978-0199751181. Read review

Sexual abuse scandals, declining attendance, a meltdown in the number of priests and nuns, the closing of many parishes and parochial schools–all have shaken American Catholicism. Yet conservatives have increasingly dominated the church hierarchy.

In The Catholic Labyrinth, Peter McDonough tells a tale of multiple struggles that animate various groups–the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, Voice of the Faithful, and the Leadership Roundtable chief among them–pushing to modernize the church. One contest pits reformers against those who back age-old standards of sexual behavior and gender roles. Another area of contention, involving efforts to maintain the church’s far-flung operations in education, social services, and healthcare, raises constitutional issues about the separation of church and state. Once a sidebar to this debate, the bishops’ campaign to control the terms of employment and access to contraceptives in church-sponsored ministries has fueled conflict further.

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UNITED STATES
TheMediaReport

In all of 2012, there were exactly six credible abuse allegations made against Catholic priests by current minors in all of 2012 (out of some 40,000 active priests), and the “fewest allegations and victims” ever were tabulated since statistics began to be compiled.

In fact, in a body of 77 million people, contemporaneous accusations of abuse against Catholic clergy in the United States are extremely rare, recently averaging 8 allegations merely deemed “credible” each year.

Yet a new group being trumpeted by the New York Times, “Catholic Whistleblowers,” is trying to dupe the public into believing that abuse is somehow still rampant in the Church today.

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UNITED STATES
Gay Soup

The fact that an Ohio jury reached a decision in a civil case against the Archdiocese of Cincinnati is likely to have far reaching consequences. In some ways, the consequences could be similar to those that occurred with the various cases involving pedophile priests in that some people who have been fired from their jobs within Catholic Church run organizations for supposedly breaking their contracts may find themselves capable of suing.

The Ohio Jury awarded damaged to Christa Dias. At one time, she was employed by two different Catholic schools to teach only computer sciences, and believed that the contract that she signed while working there did not require her to absolutely follow Catholic Church teachings on certain subjects like homosexuality and artificial insemination.

Dias was fired after she got pregnant through artificial insemination. At the time, the archdiocese thought that she was single. The reality is that she has a partner. Currently, she and her partner are unable to get married in most states including Ohio, and where they live now, Georgia. The two women and their daughter moved to Atlanta following Dias’ firing.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) noted the inconsistencies and hypocrisy in how Dias was treated compared to how clergy who commit not only an egregious breach of their vows, but of the law in most nations, are treated.

According to SNAP, it comes down to “One standard for clergy, another for laity.” Or put another way “do as I say, not as I do.”

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JOHNSTOWN (PA)
The Republic

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
June 06, 2013

JOHNSTOWN, Pennsylvania — The former principal of Bishop McCort Catholic High School says he’s left the Johnstown school.

Ken Salem announced the decision Wednesday, the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat (http://bit.ly/11uwio1 ) reports. He had been on paid leave since March 1 and had been at the school for nearly two decades.

Some area residents who objected when Salem was put on leave without explanation also lamented his departure.

Rob Eckenrod says the resignation is “a sad day” and that school leaders “unjustly” allowed Salem’s reputation to be tarnished by a separate scandal.

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VIRGINIA/TEXAS
NBC 12

By Ray Daudani

RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) –
A Richmond pastor facing child sexual abuse charges in Texas is speaking out about his recent resignation from his Southside megachurch.

Geronimo “Pastor G” Aguilar published a statement to his congregation on the Richmond Outreach Center’s website Thursday morning, a day after the ROC’s board of directors accepted his resignation along with that of four others.

In the statement, Aguilar says he decided to step down last week due to the criminal charges “taking the focus off of Jesus” and instead putting it on him. He asks his congregation to pray for him and his family, tells them “no person will ever love you like your pastor has” and thanks the ROC’s staff and leadership team.

The ROC’s Board of Directors announced Wednesday evening the acceptance of the resignations from Aguilar, Pastor Jason Helmlinger, Pastor Andrew Delgado and Pastor Matthew Aguilar.

The board says the terms were “mutually agreeable” and wished “the best for the pastors and their families.”

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WORCESTER (MA)
Catholic Free Press

By Tanya Connor

The Catholic Church has led the way in addressing sexual abuse of minors, the incoming chairman of the National Review Board said.

Francesco C. Cesareo, president of Assumption College (in Worcester, Mass.) and a Review Board member for one year, is to succeed Al Notzon III as chairman on Sunday, at the conclusion of the board’s June meeting. Since the board meets four times a year, the first meeting President Cesareo will oversee as chairman will be in September.

His appointment by Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, raises the visibility of the college and the Worcester Diocese, he said, and he expressed hope that it would be a positive reflection on both. His three-year term as chairman is a contribution the college is making to the life of the Church, he said.

His plans are to do what the NRB was set up to do. He said the USCCB established this lay board in 2002 to collaborate with the bishops in preventing sexual abuse of minors in the United States by people working for the Church – now and in the future.

The board does this by making sure that the bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People is being implemented, he said.

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FLORIDA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY DAVID CLOHESSY ON JUNE 06, 2013

An overseas missionary from the Sanford FL-based New Tribes Mission (NTM) has been arrested on child porn and child sex abuse charges. Now, it’s crucial that NTM uses its vast resources to reach out to others who may have seen, suspected or suffered his crimes.

Given NTM’s disturbing track record on children’s safety, church officials must take aggressive steps to help law enforcement convict Warren Scott Kennell.

If they do little or nothing, it will be clear that little or nothing in this troubling organization is changing.

NTM claims 3,300 “missionaries” across the globe, making it the second largest Christian missionary organization in the world. (http://www.ntm.org/)

In the 1980s and 1990s, at a Christian boarding school in Senegal, “child abuse was widespread and routine” and “much of this behavior was criminal.” These are among the stunning conclusions found in a hard-hitting, 68 page investigative report about NTM released 2.5 years ago.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Croydon Guardian

By Hannah Williamson

A catholic priest arrested after being accused of sexually assaulting a teenage boy has been re-bailed by police.

Francis Moran of St Andrew’s Roman Catholic Church in Brook Road, Thornton Heath, was questioned and bailed by police last September.

Parishioners were informed of the allegation when they were read a statement during a Sunday Mass.

The parish priest, who joined the church in 2004, has been re-bailed until the end of June.

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IRELAND
Sunday World

A former priest who received a 16-year prison sentence for the sexual abuse of nine boys in the 70s and 80s has admitted abusing two other boys.

Tony Walsh (59) pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two counts of indecent assault on January 01 and April 4, 1979. The victims were aged between ten and 11.

Walsh, formerly of North Circular Road, Dublin, was known as the “Singing Priest” and featured in the 2009 Murphy Report. Judge Martin Nolan adjourned sentencing until tomorrow.

Garda John Barrett told Vincent Heneghan BL, prosecuting, that the first victim was aged 11 when Walsh caught him eating sweets outside the church before taking Holy Communion.

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CALIFORNIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY DAVID CLOHESSY ON JUNE 06, 2013

Stockton’s Catholic bishop is threatening to seek bankruptcy protection. Shame on him.

[The Record]

It’s a selfish cop-out when Catholic institutions misuse the Chapter 11 process to protect their secrets and deny child sex abuse victims a chance to expose predators in court. Make no mistake about it: that’s the real motivation here. It’s a lack of courage, not a lack of funds. It’s to protect reputations, not assets.

When bishops seek bankruptcy protection, all lawsuits, depositions, discovery and trials come to a screeching halt. The court plays no role in exposing wrongdoers or preventing wrongdoing. It just divides up money. So Catholics and citizens learn nothing about who is committing and concealing clergy child sex crimes.

This isn’t about protecting church assets. It’s about protecting the power and reputations of powerful church officials who desperately want to keep their complicity in child sex cases under wraps.

We hope every single man, woman and child who is being or has been molested by Stockton Catholic employees – past and present – will step forward, call police and protect others. And we hope every single person who saw or suspected crimes by Stockton Catholic employees will do the same.

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ROME
Catholic News Agency

By Estefania Aguirre

Rome, Italy, Jun 6, 2013 / 06:35 am (CNA/EWTN News).- An expert on dealing with sexual abuse cases within the Church says prevention guidelines being developed with Vatican oversight should vary from country to country.

“We’ve realized learning habits and how people respond to some questionnaires and comply to rules varies from country to country,” said Father Hans Zollner, a German Jesuit who heads the Gregorian University’s Centre for Child Protection.

“It is most interesting and most inspiring to see this across the different cultures,” Fr. Zollner told CNA June 5.

He explained that some guidelines should apply to all countries equally, since “sexual abuse is sexual abuse, no matter what.”

“But in the Philippines, for example, there is the ‘culture of touch.’”

“It means that if you don’t touch children, hugging and kissing them, there is something wrong and pathological,” Fr. Zollner said.

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VIRGINIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY DAVID CLOHESSY ON JUNE 06, 2013

Group asks ROC: “Let us speak”
They want to address congregation
Victim’s organization holds candlelight vigil
SNAP also urges victims to contact prosecutor

A support group for clergy sex abuse is asking to speak at a troubled Richmond church and urging anyone who may have seen, suspected or suffered crimes by two ministers to contact local prosecutors, especially if they’re reluctant to speak with the police.

Leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, are writing the board of the Richmond Outreach Center about Pastor Geronimo Scott Aguilar and Pastor Jason Helmlinger, both of whom recently stepped down from their positions at the ROC.

Aguilar was arrest on May 21 on charges of molesting two girls. Then, days later, Helmlinger was arrested and charged after he made a threatening and obscene phone call to a man who said he’d seen allegedly inappropriate behavior between Aguilar and some church wives.

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JOHNSTOWN (PA)
The Tribune-Democrat

For The Tribune-Democrat

JOHNSTOWN — Editor’s note: The following was submitted to The Tribune-Democrat by the Bishop McCort Catholic High School Board of Trustees by Matt Beynon, a school spokesman. Board members, according to the school’s website, are: Bishop Mark Bartchak, Mark Pasquerilla, Jack Buchan, Mike Price, Lou Mihalko, Nicholas Antonazzo, Paul Helsel, Dan Hummel, Richard Kastelic, Joe Martella, Thomas McAneny, the Rev. David Peles, Linda Thomson and trustee emeritus Msgr. Thomas Mabon.

Until January 2013, the Bishop McCort Catholic High School Board of Trustees guided the school’s leadership team on many positive ventures, with our goal being to ensure that Bishop McCort is one of the area’s best educational facilities and spiritual institutions.

But in January, this board was placed in a totally different situation – making choices none of us ever imagined, with the ultimate goal of saving Bishop McCort.

The stories we have learned of those who may have been violated by Brother Stephen Baker are sickening and heartbreaking. The pain and emotional scars that the victims carry are beyond what many of us can ever imagine. These victims must be embraced by our entire school family and community.

But faced with such horror, some in our community have understandably chosen to deny these acts could have occurred, lashing out at members of this board or, in some sad instances, the victims themselves. The facts the alleged victims, their counsel, and – to a certain extent – this board know may never be revealed to the public at large.

While the unavailability of such information is rare in an age when private matters are splashed over the Internet or the ticker at the bottom of a cable news channel, the unavailability of the information in this case does not mean it does not exist or that it is not true. Such denial and the division that it causes are but one more casualty of the type of abuse perpetrated by Brother Baker and only adds to the pain which the victims and the community suffer. The time has come for the community to accept that it may never know that which it does not know, and begin the healing process. To do any less is to harm those who have already been victimized and undermine the future of Bishop McCort.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Telegraph & Argus

A former Bradford vicar has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a teenage boy over a three-year period in the 1990s.

Peter Hedge yesterday admitted eight offences of indecent assault on a male, indecency with a child and a serious sexual offence, all involving one boy when he was aged 13 to 15.

He was remanded in custody at Bradford Crown Court to a date to be fixed.

Hedge, 50, who was vicar of Holy Trinity Church, Queensbury, spent many years working on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway.

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OHIO
Catholic News Agency

By Kevin J. Jones

Cincinnati, Ohio, Jun 6, 2013 / 06:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Although the Archdiocese of Cincinnati has been ordered to pay $171,000 to a school teacher fired for undergoing artificial insemination, a spokesman says it has no intention to end morality requirements.

“For the archdiocese, this case has always been about an employee violating a legally enforceable contract that she signed,” communications director Dan Andriacco said June 5.

“We also believe that we have a First Amendment right to give Catholic school parents what they expect – an environment that reflects Catholic moral teaching,” he added. “Our schools are Catholic schools and the work that our school employees do is an extension of that ministry.”

Andriacco told CNA the archdiocese believes the lawsuit filed by former computer teacher Christa Dias should have fallen under the “ministerial exception” to employment law and “should never have gone to trial.”

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SCHWEIZ
Schwyzer Zeitung

EINSIEDELN In der katholischen Kirche in der Schweiz hat die Zahl der Meldungen zu sexuellen Übergriffen im vergangenen Jahr markant abgenommen. 2012 wurden den Bistümern 9 Opfer und 9 Täter aus der Zeit von 1960 bis 2012 neu gemeldet. Im Vorjahr waren es 23 Opfer und 24 Täter.

Vier der Opfer sind Kinder und Jugendliche zwischen 12 und 16 Jahren, die übrigen Meldungen würden Vergehen gegen Erwachsene betreffen, heisst es in einer Mitteilung der Schweizerischen Bischofskonferenz (SBK) vom Donnerstag.

Nähere Angaben zu den Fällen machte die SBK nicht. Die Statistik wurde von einem Fachgremium der Bischofskonferenz, der Kommission «Sexuelle Übergriffe in der Pastoral», erstellt.

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VATIKAN
Zenit

Vatikanstadt, 6. Juni 2013 (ZENIT.org)

In einem Interview mit Radio Vaticana am vergangenen Dienstag, den 4. Juni 2013, mit dem deutschen Jesuiten Hans Zollner, Vizerektor der Päpstlichen Universität Gregoriana in Rom, berichtete der Leiter der Fakultät für Psychologie von seinem Treffen mit Papst Franziskus, bei dem er den Heiligen Vater über die Präventionsarbeit des Internationalen Zentrums für Kinderschutz der Universität informierte. Der Papst appellierte an die Mitarbeiter, im Kampf gegen sexuellen Missbrauch nicht nachzulassen und „mit Geduld und Beharrlichkeit“ weiterzumachen.

Bei einem Treffen mit dem Präfekten der Kongregation für Glaubenslehre, Gerhard Ludwig Müller, am 6. April, hatte sich Papst Franziskus zum ersten Mal zu dem Thema geäußert, indem er die Kongregation aufforderte, sie solle nach den von Benedikt XVI. gegebenen Vorgaben damit fortfahren, Schritte zum Schutz der Minderjährigen zu ergreifen und sexuellen Missbrauch zu ahnden. So hat die Glaubenskongregation die Bischofskonferenzen weltweit dazu aufgefordert, Regelwerke im Umgang mit sexuellem Missbrauch zu entwickeln, die den Schutz der Kinder gewährleisten. Wie Zollner Radio Vaticana mitteilte, haben bisher 80% bis 85% weltweit Leitlinien der Glaubenskongregation zugesendet, wo der Prozess noch schleppend voran gehe, bemühe man sich um ein stetiges Vorantreiben.

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DEUTSCHLAND
3sat

Der Missbrauchsbeauftragte der deutschen Bundesregierung, Johannes-Wilhelm Rörig, hat sich für eine spätere Verjährung bei sexuellem Missbrauch ausgesprochen.

Das Alter, ab dem die Verjährungsfrist läuft, müsse auf mindestens 30 Jahre angehoben werden, forderte Rörig am 6. Juni 2013 in Berlin. Die “Ruhensregelung” müsse entsprechend geändert werden.

Im Gesetz zur Stärkung der Rechte von Opfern sexuellen Missbrauchs, das der Bundesrat im April verabschiedet hatte, war diese Frist vom 18. auf das 21. Lebensjahr des Betroffenen verlängert worden. Diese Veränderung sei nur ein erster Schritt in die richtige Richtung, so Rörig weiter. Notwendig sei eine umfassende Verlängerung dieser Frist. Er begründete dies damit, dass die Betroffenen lange bräuchten, bis sie über das an ihnen begangene Unrecht sprechen könnten. Häufig sei das erst in der Lebensmitte der Fall.

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PENNSYLVANIA
The Tribune-Democrat

— We’re appalled and shocked at the arrogance of the Bishop McCort Board of Trustees. It is beyond comprehension what the trustees – many of them longtime community leaders – write about the sexual scandal issue involving Brother Stephen Baker.

In a piece appearing in today’s Tribune-Democrat, the board informs our readers and others that “The time has come for the community to accept that it may never know that which it does not know, and begin the healing process. To do any less is to harm those who have already been victimized and undermine the future of Bishop McCort.”

In other words, the board has no intention of coming clean and informing the public, even you who long have supported this school with your hard-earned dollars, about what it knows or has learned about Baker’s alleged assaults on many of McCort’s students.

How insulting.

This would be much like Penn State’s administrators and trustees saying, “Forget what you have heard about Jerry Sandusky. Trust us and move on.”

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UNITED STATES
Joyful Heart Foundation

I spoke recently with a group of college men whose fraternity had been sanctioned for sexually offensive attitudes and behavior. Our discussion was part of a mandated remedy. Not surprisingly, mandated conversations often don’t lead immediately to open dialogue.

Efforts to educate men about sexual violence generally cast them in one of two roles: bystanders, either preventing or supporting sexually aggressive behavior, speech or attitudes; or as perpetrators of violence.

This time, we experimented with introducing a third role to our conversation: the reality that men are also frequently the victims of violence, including the one in six men, who have had unwanted or abusive sexual experiences in childhood.

Make no mistake. Trauma can never be an excuse for hurting others. But I’ve found that acknowledging men’s experiences of trauma can lead to startling insights about violence. And by the end of the session, these men were readily identifying ways that men’s socialized behaviors can cause real harm.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

STUART RINTOUL From: The Australian June 07, 2013

THE Catholic Church has significantly amended the number of victims abused by pedophile clergy and the number of offenders, including priests, brothers and nuns, in a new submission to a Victorian parliamentary inquiry into child abuse.

In its original submission to the Victorian child abuse inquiry, the church said it had paid compensation to 620 victims in Victoria. But after analysing documents held by various orders, the church has now admitted that at least 849 children were abused from the 1950s.

In the submission, released to the ABC yesterday before being handed to the Victorian inquiry, the church also included information on the number of offenders within its ranks. It said 269 men and women had been guilty of child sexual abuse. The majority were priests and brothers, but the figure also included nine nuns and 42 lay people.

In the submission, seen by The Australian, the church says that in its Facing the Truth admissions it reported that the Melbourne Response and Towards Healing processes had upheld the complaints of 618 victims of criminal abuse of children that took place in Victoria.

“Towards Healing and the Melbourne Response are the only processes that hold centralised records, and so their statistics were the only ones readily available for inclusion in Facing the Truth,” the church now says.

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FLORIDA
WFTV

SANFORD, Fla. — Federal agents said a local missionary admitted to molesting children and making child pornography.

Warren Scott Kennell, who claims to belong to New Tribes Mission in Sanford, was arrested at Orlando International Airport Friday.

Investigators said they found pictures of him molesting a young girl.

WFTV reporter Jeff Deal spoke with federal agents about the bust.

Investigators said Kennell admitted to molesting four children, all around the age of 12, and took pictures of them.

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FLORIDA
Orlando Sentinel

[with video]

By Amy Pavuk, Orlando Sentinel
1:51 p.m. EDT, June 5, 2013

Federal authorities say a missionary with the Sanford-based New Tribes Mission sexually abused several children and produced pornography of the acts.

Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations began investigating Warren Scott Kennell after receiving a tip that he posted numerous photographs on a website used extensively by people trading child pornography, a criminal complaint said.

When Kennell arrived at Orlando International Airport on Friday from a flight that originated in Brazil, agents stopped him and found him in possession of three thumb drives and one external hard drive.

Kennell, who said he’s lived in Brazil for several years, initially denied touching a child inappropriately and said there would be no child pornography on his computer-related items.

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UNITED STATES
Atheist Revolution

I don’t imagine most atheists follow the Southern Baptist leadership all that closely. Why would they? But ’round these parts, it pays to know what is going on with the vast Southern Baptist majority. Maybe that’s why this story grabbed my attention.

According to Religion News Service, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) is “the public policy arm for the Southern Baptist Convention.” Since 1988, Richard Land has led the ERLC and has been responsible for their efforts to “rally social conservatives in the nation’s culture wars.” Yes, so we have Land to thank for all the damage that has brought.

The ERLC now has new leadership in the form of Russell Moore, a native of Mississippi.

“I am honored and humbled to be asked to serve Southern Baptists as ERLC president,” said Moore in a statement. “I pray for God’s grace to lead the ERLC to be a catalyst to connect the agenda of the kingdom of Christ to the cultures of local congregations for the sake of the mission of the gospel in the world.”

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VIRGINIA/TEXAS
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY BARBARA DORRIS ON JUNE 05, 2013

Disturbing court records in Texas have been released about the Pastor Geronimo Aguilar case.

A Richmond TV station reports:

“The documents also state the girl’s parents claim they caught the pastor in the act (of sexually abusing a girl) and that the pastor admitted to it. The arrest warrants detail statements from at least half a dozen witnesses in the case.”

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

Dan Morris-Young | Jun. 6, 2013

SEATTLE Reinstating general absolution in the United States, consultation in the selection process for bishops, studying the ordination of women and married men, and collegial exercise of church authority are among topics of 15 resolutions on the agenda of the second annual assembly of the fledgling Association of U.S. Catholic Priests June 24-27.

To be held at Seattle University, the gathering’s theme — “Lumen Gentium: God’s Pilgrim People” — is based on the Second Vatican Council’s 1964 document, also known as the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church.

The association was formed following an Aug. 25, 2011, meeting of 27 self-described “Vatican II priests” from 15 dioceses and 11 states at Mundelein Seminary in Illinois, notes the group’s website (www.uscatholicpriests.org).

The organization’s inaugural assembly last June drew 240 delegates from 55 dioceses to St. Leo University, northeast of Tampa, Fla. Among its actions was approval of a letter of support to the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. LCWR remains under controversial Vatican control and directives for reform.

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CHICAGO (IL)
CLTV

[with video]

by Randi Belisomo
Reporter

A funeral mass is taking place Wednesday for a prominent, Catholic priest from Chicago.

Fr. Andrew Greeley is being remembered at Christ the King Church in the city’s Beverly neighborhood. “CK,” as it’s known by parishioners, was Greeley’s first assignment as a young, assistant pastor. Francis Cardinal George is presiding over the service, while some of his former students are in attendance.

“The older you get, the more wisdom you see in his words. He spent his whole life teaching us how to give of ourselves and the last five years, he was teaching us how to receive, and how to ask with humility,” said former student Peggy Roth.

Greeley authored 120 books, and was once called the most influential American Catholic sociologist of the 20th century. He donated his book royalties to charities and to the “Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.”

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PENNSYLVANIA
Tribune-Democrat

Kathy Mellott
kmellott@tribdem.com

JOHNSTOWN — Ken Salem, a mainstay at Bishop McCort Catholic High School for nearly two decades who many say was the sacrificial lamb following claims of sexual abuse by a former employee, is no longer with the school.

In what was termed as a “public statement,” issued Wednesday, the former principal said he decided to “voluntarily separate from Bishop McCort.”

The statement was circulated to the media by Matt Beynon, spokesman for the school since the beginning of the year, shortly after claims surfaced by former students that they had been molested by Brother Stephen Baker.

Baker was of the Franciscan order and worked at McCort from the early 1990s through the early 2000s as a religion teacher and in the athletic department, where he worked as a trainer.

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PENNSYLVANIA
WITF

Written by Mary Wilson, Capitol Bureau Chief | Jun 5, 2013

State lawmakers are getting ready to move forward with proposals to expand the legal definition of child abuse in Pennsylvania in an effort to flag more incidents of suspected mistreatment.

The changes come at the suggestion of a task force convened last year to study child protection laws and issues.

Sean McCormack, Chief Deputy District Attorney of Dauphin County, was one of a panel of testifiers at a hearing before the Senate Aging and Youth Committee on proposed changes to the definition. At times, the session took on the feel of an essay workshop, with advocates providing line-by-line feedback on word choice in the bill.

Too often, McCormack said, the state’s definition of child abuse becomes the subject of parsing exercises by well-meaning institutions.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Mediathek rbb

Pater Klaus Mertes war es, der Anfang 2010 als Rektor des Berliner Canisius-Kollegs den Missbrauchsskandal in der katholischen Kirche ins Rollen brachte. Doch der sexuelle Missbrauch ist nur eine monströse Facette des Machtmissbrauchs in der katholischen Kirche, sagt er nun, drei Jahre später. Margarethe Steinhausen spricht mit ihm über sein neues Buch „Verlorenes Vertrauen“ und über eine Kirche der Opfer.

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AUSTRALIA
7 News

Michelle Vella, 7News Adelaide, Yahoo!7
June 6, 2013

A Catholic priest named and shamed by Senator Nick Xenophon in Parliament over rape allegations is demanding an apology after being cleared.

The director of public prosecution has announced no charges will be laid against Monsignor Ian Dempsey over sex abuse allegations made by Bishop John Hepworth, dating back to the 1960s.

“Humiliating and demeaning experience and I think I’ve mentioned this before, it’s an evil act to do under parliamentary privilege because Xenophon had never talked to me,” Monsignor Dempsey said.

He says his faith guided him, but it seems he is not entirely prepared to turn the other cheek.

“I can never prove I am innocent, that’s the hurtful thing, yes,” he said.

Monsignor Dempsey now wants Nick Xenophon to apologise in parliament for naming him.

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AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

AAP

INDEPENDENT senator Nick Xenophon is unrepentant for naming a Catholic priest linked to rape allegations, even though no criminal charges will be laid.

South Australia’s Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on Thursday said Adelaide priest Monsignor Ian Dempsey will not face charges over claims made by a fellow seminarian.

John Hepworth, then the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC) Archbishop, first aired the allegations of sexual assault in 2007.

Four years later, Senator Xenophon raised the issue in parliament under privilege, where he also named Monsignor Dempsey, saying he had no choice because the church had taken too long to investigate the claims.

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CALIFORNIA
The Record

By Jennie Rodriguez-Moore
Record Staff Writer
June 06, 2013

STOCKTON – The Diocese of Stockton is considering filing for bankruptcy after years of paying millions of dollars to settle child sex abuse lawsuits.

“We pretty much have depleted the resource funds that we have,” said Sister Terry Davis, a spokeswoman for the diocese that oversees Catholic parishes in San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Calaveras and Tuolumne counties.

“And at this point, everything is on the table for consideration,” she said.

Talk of bankruptcy surfaced during negotiations of a lawsuit that was settled Monday for $1.75 million involving notorious defrocked priest Oliver O’Grady.

The plaintiff in the case, known as John J.S. Doe, filed suit in 2009 in Stanislaus County Superior Court. He was a victim of O’Grady in the 1980s, according to the diocese.

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MICHIGAN
Click on Detroit

[with video]

Author: Sandra Ali, Local 4 Reporter, Anchor , sali@wdiv.com
Published On: Jun 05 2013

TROY, Mich. –
Two weeks ago, a parent filed a report at the Troy Police Department alleging their child was abused by a daycare worker at St. Augustine Lutheran Church Preschool.

Troy police confirm the department is investigating allegations of criminal sexual conduct at the church-run daycare at Livernois and Wattles roads.

“I can’t comment on the victims. I’m not going to comment on a suspect. I’m just going to comment on that there is an investigation, active investigation, into a child involved sexual assault case,” said Troy Police Cpt. Bob Redmond.

Detectives say they are in the process of talking to several employees dating back several years. The Department of Human Services also notified parents about the ongoing investigation with a letter.

No one at St. Augustine’s commented when Local 4 stopped by on Wednesday.

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AUSTRALIA
Courier Mail

COURT REPORTER TESSA AKERMAN ADELAIDENOW JUNE 06, 2013

MONSIGNOR Ian Dempsey says Senator Nick Xenophon would apologise for accusing him of sex crimes if he was a man of integrity – but Mr Xenophon says it is the Catholic Church who should be sorry.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions will not pursue Monsignor Dempsey over alleged sex abuse against now-Bishop John Hepworth in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

It said there was insufficient evidence to convict him.

At the time the allegations were raised, Independent Senator Nick Xenophon named Monsignor Dempsey in Federal Parliament.

Today, Monsignor Dempsey told adelaidenow it was a “great joy” to have the matter cleared.

“It’s a humiliating thing to have one’s name so rubbed in the mud and your reputation, especially when it’s done nationally as Senator Xenophon did, and that’s been difficult to cope with,” he said.

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TEXAS
CBS 6

[with video]

June 5, 2013, by Tracy Sears

(WTVR) — A Fort Worth pastor says he was not aware of the sexual misconduct that allegedly took place in his church involving former ROC pastor Geronimo Aguilar.

Aguilar is accused of sexually abusing two young sisters in the mid 1990’s in Texas.

Before founding the Richmond Outreach Center in 2003, Aguilar was an outreach and youth minister for roughly a year at New Beginnings International Church in Fort Worth, Texas.

Court documents obtained by the Star-Telegram in Fort Worth say that Aguilar was asked to leave New Beginnings after a church member caught him kissing one of the girls, but the church’s senior pastor says it was a difference in theological beliefs, not sex abuse, that led to Aguilar’s departure.

Pastor Don Couch tells CBS 6, “I had no knowledge of that at all. If I had any knowledge of that, I would have immediately dealt with that situation,” Couch says. “I’m very strict with our leadership and teach very strictly that we are to lead godly lives.”

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RICHMOND (VA)
WRIC

RICHMOND – Founding pastor Geronimo Aguilar has resigned from his position at the Richmond Outreach Center amidst his on-going legal troubles in Texas.

Aguilar, known as “Pastor G,” and three other pastors’ resignations were accepted by the ROC’s board of directors Wednesday, according to a release on the church’s website.

Aguilar is facing multiple felony charges in Texas in two alleged cases of child sex abuse.

Also resigning is executive pastor Jason Helmlinger, who is facing a misdemeanor charge of threatening a former ROC pastor who spoke to 8News about the allegations against Aguilar. Two others also resigned Wednesday: Pastor G’s brother Matthew Aguilar and Pastor Andrew Delgado, neither of whom are facing any charges.

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WEST VIRGINIA
Gazette

By Travis Crum

CHARLESTON, W.Va.– An East Fairmont High School driver’s education teacher was arrested Wednesday, after police say he sexually abused a 17-year-old female student on several occasions.

Michael J. Waller, 29, of Fairmont, was charged with four counts of sexual abuse by a person of trust.

On Tuesday, State Police Sgt. Adam Scott got a call from a pastor in Clarksburg who said the alleged victim spoke of a sexual relationship with a teacher at East Fairmont High School.

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RICHMOND (VA)
Richmond Outreach Center

June 05, 2013

Dear ROC Family and Friends,

The Richmond Outreach Center held a Board meeting this evening, June 5, 2013. Upon mutually agreeable terms, we hereby announce that we have accepted the resignations of Pastor Geronimo Aguilar, Pastor Jason Helmlinger, Pastor Andrew Delgado and Pastor Matthew Aguilar. We wish the best for the pastors and their families. The Richmond Outreach Center remains focused on serving those in need and we will never stray from this mission.

Sincerely,

The Richmond Outreach Center Board of Directors

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RICHMOND (VA)
Richmond Times-Dispatch

Posted: Thursday, June 6, 2013

BY LOUIS LLOVIO Richmond Times-Dispatch

Geronimo Aguilar, the embattled senior pastor at the Richmond Outreach Center facing child sex abuse charges in Texas, stepped down along with three other pastors Wednesday evening from the church he founded in 2001.

The resignation, announced by the South Richmond megachurch’s board of directors after a meeting, comes a day after arrest warrants were released alleging Aguilar had sexually abused an 11-year-old girl and her older sister for more than a year while living in their parents’ home in Texas in the 1990s.

“The Richmond Outreach Center remains focused on serving those in need and we will never stray from this mission,” read a letter from the board posted on the church’s website.

It did not address the charges Aguilar is facing, but the board has previously said that it stands by the pastor.

According to the letter, the board met Wednesday evening and accepted Aguilar’s resignation “upon mutually agreeable terms.”

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CALIFORNIA
Modesto Bee

By Deke Farrow
jfarrow@modbee.com

STOCKTON — The Diocese of Stockton announced Wednesday afternoon that it has reached a $1.75 million negotiated settlement with attorneys for a man who was a victim of sexual abuse by notorious pedophile priest Oliver O’Grady in the 1980s. The abuse occurred in Stockton, but Sacred Heart Parish in Turlock also was named as a defendant, leading to the filing of the lawsuit in Stanislaus County.

The diocese will pay $875,000 of the settlement amount. The remaining portion will be paid through insurance proceeds. Under the agreement, the case — the only O’Grady lawsuit filed in Stanislaus County — will be dismissed.

“It is our hope that this settlement will help the victim continue to find healing for the suffering he endured,” Bishop Stephen E. Blaire said in a news release. “We have tried to find resolutions to these cases that will provide some measure of solace for victims. We continue to follow strict measures to ensure that we are protecting the young and the vulnerable.”

An attorney for the victim was critical of the diocese’s news release. “The diocese press release is a cheap PR stunt that’s suitable for a company that engaged in securities fraud but not a church that did what it did,” said John Manly of the Irvine law firm Manly & Stewart. He added that his firm and his client had not intended to publicize the settlement.

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MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press

By Tad Vezner
tvezner@pioneerpress.com
Posted: 06/05/2013

A man who claims he was sexually abused by a now-deceased St. Paul priest has sued the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

The man, a former Minnesotan who now lives in California and is identified only as “John Doe 100,” alleges that beginning in 1971 he was molested by the Rev. Thomas S. Stitts. Stitts was then serving at St. Leo the Great Catholic Church in St. Paul, according to the suit.

A law approved this year by the Minnesota Legislature and signed last month by Gov. Mark Dayton lifts a six-year civil statute of limitations for victims of childhood sexual abuse.

The suit, filed Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court, alleges that Stitts previously engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with boys at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Edina and Guardian Angels Catholic Church in Hastings. It alleges the archdiocese knew or should have known of the abuse, was negligent in supervising Stitts and had a pattern of harboring child abusers.

The suit alleges the archdiocese continues to conceal details of sexual assaults committed by priests.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

Catholic priest Ian Dempsey said it was a relief to have been cleared by a third investigation of sexual assault allegations.

South Australia’s Director of Public Prosecutions Adam Kimber released a statement saying no charges would be laid over allegations dating back more than four decades.

Traditional Anglican movement bishop John Hepworth alleged Monsignor Dempsey and two other priests sexually abused him at an Adelaide seminary in the 1960s.

Monsignor Dempsey said he was keen to get on with his work as the Brighton and Hallett Cove parish priest in Adelaide.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

[with audio]

The South Australian DPP says no charges will be laid against a Catholic priest named by Senator Nick Xenophon under parliamentary privilege as an alleged rapist, but the Senator says faced with the same circumstances again, he would take the same action.

Transcript

ELEANOR HALL: To South Australia where a Catholic priest has accused the independent Senator Nick Xenophon of humiliating him and destroying his reputation by accusing him of sexual abuse.

It’s almost two years since the Senator controversially used parliamentary privilege to name the priest, who had been accused of sexual offences.

It is now clear that the priest will not face any charges in connection with the allegations but Mr Xenophon says the Catholic Church forced his hand with its inaction.

In Adelaide, Rebecca Brice reports.

REBECCA BRICE: Monsignor Ian Dempsey says it’s been a difficult time.

IAN DEMPSEY: I remember Senator Xenophon said he had a few sleepless nights before he made his momentous statement, and he’s caused me about 18 months of sleepless nights I can think since he’s made it.

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AUSTRALIA
7 News

By Daniel Morgan, ABC
June 6, 2013

The Catholic Church in Victoria has revised up the number of children it acknowledges were sexually abused by Catholic clergy and staff.

In its original submission to the Victorian child abuse inquiry, the church confirmed it had paid compensation to 620 victims.

But after analysing documents held by various orders of brothers and nuns it now says that since the 1950s at least 849 children have been abused.

In a new submission to the inquiry, the Catholic Church also includes more information on the number of offenders within its ranks.

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AUSTRALIA
lewisblayse.net

[About Lewis Blayse]

Lewis Blayse

St. Vincent’s Orphanage in South Melbourne had serious links to the St. Augustine’s Orphanage in Geelong (see yesterday’s posting). Most people are familiar with the tactic of moving offending clergy from parish to parish when things became too hot for them, but a similar thing happened with offending at orphanages. Brothers have “served” at more than one orphanage.

For example, Brother Wilfred Eastmure’s career in the Christian Brothers included placements at St Augustine’s orphanage, Geelong, in 1944-45 and 1954-62 then at St Vincent’s orphanage, South Melbourne, in the early 1960s. Brother Thomas McGee not only worked at St. Augustine’s and St. Vincent’s, he also worked at the notorious Bindoon orphanage in Western Australia (see previous posting).

One of the worst abusers at St. Vincent’s orphanage was Brother Rex Elmer (pictured above, on right). Elmer was sentenced to five years’ jail, with parole after 40 months, in 1998. Typically, the Christian Brothers look after their own, even if they are convicted criminals. After his release from jail, Brother Elmer continued to be a member of the Christian Brothers and was given a role in the Christian Brothers’ administration.

The Christian Brothers also helped out Elmer by hiring a leading Melbourne Queen’s Counsel to defend Elmer in court and to oppose the victims. This barrister managed to get the case against Elmer scaled down considerably, resulting in a plea bargain, and a lesser sentence.

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TEXAS
San Antonio Express-News

By Michelle Casady, Staff Writer
Updated 6:22 pm, Wednesday, June 5, 2013

A Bastrop priest who was found by police last week standing in the doorway of his Southtown motel wearing only his underwear, the victim of an apparent assault, left authorities with several unanswered questions about why he was there.

Father Rafael Padilla, 42, was unable to tell police who may have caused the swelling, cuts and bruises on his face and arms.

Padilla also couldn’t explain to police why there was a cold, unopened beer, condoms and lubricating jelly inside the motel room or who the items could belong to, according to the police report.

He checked into the Relax Inn in the 500 block of Roosevelt Avenue about 11:30 a.m. on May 29 and hotel staff told police that 30 minutes later Padilla called them asking for an ambulance.

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NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

By Ben Horowitz/The Star-Ledger
on June 05, 2013 at 8:32 PM

MORRISTOWN — A Superior Court judge refused to lift a gag order today against a man known as “John Doe” who obtained a confidential settlement in 1988 after allegedly being sexually abused by a priest at the Delbarton School and now wants to talk about it publicly.

But the man, now in his 40s and living in California, may still get his day in court.

In a two-part ruling, Judge Stephan Hansbury said neither side had proven its case and he also refused Delbarton’s request to dismiss the lawsuit.

Saying he needs more information on why the man “wants to reveal this information,” Hansbury said he may hold a hearing where John Doe would testify about his motives.

“If he just wants to write a book,” Hansbury said, he would be unlikely to remove the gag order. But if the ruling would allow the man the “cathartic experience” of “counseling,” then he might rule in his favor, Hansbury said.

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WORCESTER (MA)
Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester

As I stated previously on May 6, I made a terrible error in judgement on May 4, 2013. I have been committed to making amends and accepting the consequences of my actions. I am grateful that the legal process has been concluded. As a result, my license to drive is suspended for 6 months, I paid the fine determined by the court and will provide 10 hours of community service and attend safety class. I continue to ask forgiveness from all the good people I serve, as well as my family and friends in the Diocese of Worcester and the Diocese of Providence. I am both grateful for and humbled by the support I have received from clergy, parishioners, and the community as I continue to serve to the best of my ability as the Bishop of Worcester. June 4, 2013

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WORCESTER (MA)
Catholic News Agency

Worcester, Mass., Jun 5, 2013 / 04:05 pm (CNA).- Bishop Robert J. McManus of Worcester, Mass., has again apologized following an agreement with a Rhode Island court to dismiss a drunk driving charge against him.

“I have been committed to making amends and accepting the consequences of my actions. I am grateful that the legal process has been concluded,” Bishop McManus said June 4. “I continue to ask forgiveness from all the good people I serve, as well as my family and friends in the Diocese of Worcester and the Diocese of Providence.”

On May 4, the 61-year-old bishop was arrested in Narragansett, R.I., after his car collided with another vehicle and he drove from the scene. The other driver followed the bishop to his nearby summer home and called police.

The arresting officer said Bishop McManus was not sure whether he had hit another vehicle. The bishop allegedly failed three different sobriety tests and was cited for refusing to take a chemical breath test, the Boston Globe says. The bishop told the officer he had had two drinks at dinner three and a half hours before his arrest.

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NEW JERSEY
Daily Record

Written by
Peggy Wright
@peggywrightDR

A judge Wednesday said he wants to hear evidence and direct testimony before deciding whether a former Delbarton student who settled lawsuit claims in 1988 of being molested by a priest can be freed from a confidentiality clause so he can discuss the case and settlement sum.

For nearly two hours, attorney Gregory Gianforcaro, who represents the abuse victim referred to as John Doe, argued in Morristown that the man now living on the West Coast should be released from a confidentiality agreement that bars him from talking about the settlement reached 25 years ago with the Order of St. Benedict of New Jersey, which runs the private Delbarton School for males in Morris Township.

“Confidentiality should never be tolderated when it deals with a child victim of sexual abuse. We didn’t know it in 1988 but we know it now,” Gianforcaro told Superior Court Judge Stephan Hansbury. The lawyer suggested it would be “cathartic” for the victim to speak publicly about the abuse.

Delbarton attorney Chuck Carella wanted the judge to dismiss Gianforcaro’s complaint, arguing that the settlement is an enforceable contract entered into by the victim when he was an adult, supported by his parents and represented by a lawyer.

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CALIFORNIA
Mercury News

By Tracey Kaplan
tkaplan@mercurynews.com
Posted: 06/05/2013

More determined than ever to punish child molesters, the Bay Area man who admitted punching a priest he claimed sexually abused him as a child — but who was acquitted anyway by a sympathetic Santa Clara County jury — has launched another seemingly quixotic crusade.

Fed up with politicians in the state Legislature, Will Lynch intends to do the very complicated work of putting a measure on the California ballot. His intent is to eliminate the statute of limitations on the criminal prosecution of child molesters. The amount of time prosecutors now have to file charges against molesters depends on when the sexual abuse occurred and how severe it was.
Lynch wants Californians to eliminate the restrictions entirely as eight other states have done. Another 27 states have scratched the deadline for victims of a certain age, or for certain crimes.

“Survivors should be able to come forward when they’re able and get justice,” said Lynch, who claims he and his younger brother were molested by the Rev. Jerold Lindner when they were 7 and 4 on a religious camping trip in the Santa Cruz Mountains more than 35 years ago. Without acknowledging wrongdoing, the Jesuits paid Lynch and his brother about $187,000 each after legal fees to settle a lawsuit they filed claiming that Lindner, in the mid-1970s, raped Lynch and made him have oral sex with his brother.

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MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

[the lawsuit – Jeff Anderson and Associates]

[HAZELDEN 1-14-1980]

[Letter 8-29-1972]

[Letter 6-9-1966]

by Conrad Wilson, Minnesota Public Radio
June 5, 2013

WAITE PARK, Minn. — The second lawsuit under the new Child Victims Act was filed Wednesday in Stearns County District Court.

At a news conference announcing the suit, Edward Bramlage alleged he was sexually abused by Father Gilbert Allen Tarlton while attending St. John’s Preparatory Academy in Collegeville, Minn.

“The reason that I decided to step up was because I couldn’t at 14 [years old],” Bramlage said. “In 1977 when I was going to school there, nobody had ever heard of a priest molesting a child, especially men, and I didn’t think anybody would believe me.”

In addition to Tarlton, who’s now in his 80s, the suit names the school, the Order of St. Benedict and St. John’s Abbey.

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TEXAS
News 4

SAN ANTONIO — A priest from Bastrop was assaulted at a San Antonio Motel, and the Austin Archdiocese now wants to know what happened and how the priest ended up at the motel in an area known for drugs and prostitution.

The Austin Diocese has confirmed the priest is Father Rafael Padilla. According to police, officers arrived at the motel in the 500 block of Roosevelt and found the 42-year-old standing inside a room with the door open and wearing only his underwear. Police said Padilla had swelling and cuts to his face and arms. Padilla could not tell officers what happened to him and said he thought he was dreaming and didn’t know what was going on.

Hotel workers told police Padilla checked in at 11:30 a.m. Saturday. By noon, he called for an ambulance because he was hurt. Officers did notice some condoms and beer inside the room. Padilla was taken to the hospital to be treated.

A spokesperson with the Austin diocese says Father Padilla is a priest at Ascension Parish in Bastrop. Bishop Joe S. Vasquez told us Father Padilla is now in good condition.

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UNITED STATES
Voice of the Faithful

Introduction
Many Catholics are unaware of the extensive consequences of the clerical culture in which priests and the hierarchy spend most of their adult lives. From specified educational paths to socialization opportunities, from living conditions to financial remuneration, in working relationships restricted by oaths of obedience and isolation enforced by celibacy, priests typically live aside and apart from the people they should serve—they are culturally and often physically far removed from the realities of the communities that surround them.

Almost every profession has its own special culture, of course, and that culture supports and protects its members, provides them with useful information, and presents relevant educational opportunities. As examples, think of the cultures of police, doctors, and unions.

These cultures have positive benefits for the members within the culture. However, at the same time, to those outside the culture and those who depend on them for services, these specialized cultures can be opaque and sometimes threatening.

This paper considers the culture of Roman Catholic diocesan clergy in the United States and how that culture often leads to unhappy consequences within the Catholic Church.

Clearly, one of the most disastrous consequences has been the clergy sexual abuse scandal and the cover-up by the hierarchy. But there are other consequences as well, including some that are damaging to the priests isolated within the culture.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Newsworks

June 5, 2013
By Mary Wilson @marywilson

In an effort to flag more incidents of suspected mistreatment, Pennsylvania lawmakers are getting ready to move forward with proposals to expand the state’s definition of child abuse.

The changes come at the suggestion of a task force convened last year to study child-protection laws and issues.

He says the commonwealth’s legal definition of child abuse must be expanded and made clearer, said attorney Jason Kutulakis, a member of the panel.

“It’s not just prosecuting. It’s identifying a child who’s been harmed so they can be provided services – medical services, social services, mental health services where appropriate,” he said.

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UNITED STATES
Voice of the Faithful

[Clerical Culture document (with bibliography) — Clerical Culture Among Roman Catholic Diocesan Clergy]

In 2011 Voice of the Faithful criticized the John Jay Institute’s “Study of the Causes and Context of the Sexual Abuse Crisis” for describing clericalism but not naming it, much less citing it, as a principal cause for clergy sex abuse and the subsequent coverups. “Clericalism,” our report noted, “is an overriding set of beliefs and behaviors in which the clergy view themselves as different, separate, and exempt from the norms, rules and consequences that apply to everyone else in society.”

In these early months of the Pope Francis papacy, some observers see signs that clericalism could be a major target of the reforms this pope might seek. We certainly hope so. Pope Francis’s example of personal simplicity along with some of the changes he is expected to initiate in Church structure could bring about dramatic changes in the clerical culture.

Voice of the Faithful will continue to challenge clericalism as an impediment to the healing and reform essential to the Catholic Church today. As part of this effort, we are posting reports during spring and summer 2013 to help identify key elements of the culture that engender clericalism, to suggest ways we may all work to overcome its failings, and to propose use of a “pastoral provision” that could immediately begin to reduce the impact of clericalism on the faithful.

We urge you to read and reflect on these documents and to find ways to add your voice to those of many others who are calling for reform in the Catholic Church, especially for reform of the clericalism that affects many in the clergy and hierarchy.

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NEW JERSEY
The Republic

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
June 05, 2013

MORRISTOWN, New Jersey — A lawsuit over a confidentiality agreement signed by a victim of sexual abuse at a prestigious New Jersey prep school will proceed.

That’s the ruling issued Wednesday by a state Superior Court judge in the dispute involving the Delbarton School and the unidentified victim.

The victim’s lawyer had sought a ruling to have the 1988 confidentiality order altered or lifted. The school wants it kept in place.

The judge denied both sides’ motions for summary judgment and set the stage for a trial.

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MINNESOTA
St. Cloud Times

Written by
David Unze

A Sauk Rapids man is suing the Order of St. Benedict, St. John’s Abbey, St. John’s Prep School and a monk who lives at the abbey for sexual abuse he said he suffered in 1977.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday by Troy Bramlage is the direct result of a law passed by the 2013 Legislature that lifted a six-year civil statute of limitations for victims of childhood sexual abuse.

The new law gives victims older than 24 three years to sue for past abuse and anyone younger than 18 an unlimited time to file lawsuits regarding childhood sexual abuse. Previous lawsuits of this nature routinely have been dismissed by district courts as being filed too far after the old statute of limitations had expired.

Bramlage is at least the fifth person to sue the Rev. Allen Tarlton, accusing him of sexual abuse. The other lawsuits either were settled or were dismissed on statute of limitations grounds.

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PENNSYLVANIA
The Tribune-Democrat

JOHNSTOWN — Former Bishop McCort Catholic HIgh School Principal Ken Salem, who has been on administrative leave from the school since March 1, announced Wednesday that he has ended his affiliation with the Johnstown school.

Bishop McCort has been involved in a scandal involving Franciscan Brother Stephen Baker.

Baker has been accused of molesting numerous students throughout the 1990s when he worked at the school as a trainer. Baker committed suicide on Jan. 26 by stabbing himself in the heart with a knife.

The school made no mention of the ongoing Baker investigation in its decision to place Salem on leave, but he did mention it in his announcement on Wednesday.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune

November 02, 2012|By Joe Mahr, Chicago Tribune reporter

In a grand ceremony in front of the future first lady, veteran Chicago teacher Harold “Jerry” Mash was lauded for tirelessly working to help his students — a stark contrast to how he was labeled in an Ohio courtroom three decades earlier.

On that drizzly day back in 1976, Mash was found guilty of one of the cardinal sins of the classroom: abuse of a child. He lost his job. He said he was leaving teaching.

But by 2005, he had reinvented himself two states and 200 miles away. He was a guest of honor at that Chicago reception held under the skylights in a special atrium atop the Harold Washington Library. Michelle Obama gave the keynote speech. Mash was among six teachers given $5,000 awards. …

It was that high-profile case, Tremp said, that led him and his wife, Julie, to worry whether Mash still had access to children. They discovered a man by the same name as a teacher in Chicago schools and began digging for records. They contacted an advocacy group, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, which agreed to help even though Mash was never a priest.

The Tremps also contacted the Tribune, which separately sought records across three states — leading to the unearthing of the 1976 case file and its victim.

The advocacy group’s president, Barbara Blaine, said that Mash forfeited any right to be in a classroom after what happened in the 1970s, even if it’s more than three decades later.

“I believe he may have served his sentence,” Blaine said, “and maybe he wouldn’t abuse anyone, but why risk it?”

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TEXAS
New York Daily News

BY STEPHEN WILLIAMS / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2013

The lifeless body of a beautiful 25-year-old woman was found near a church in McAllen, Texas, more than 50 years ago, but the gruesome homicide and the motive -a Catholic priest was a prime suspect – still confounds the victim’s family.

They are obsessed with bringing Irene Garza’s killer to justice. And Garza’s cousins, as well as investigators who reopened this cold case in 2002, are convinced that Rev. John Fiet, 27 years old and a priest at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in McAllen at the time of the killing, is the one who raped and then suffocated Garza.

Today, Feit lives in a quiet neighborhood in Phoenix. He has never been formally charged with the crime, nor was he indicted after a grand jury investigation nine years ago.

In a sworn statement to authorities and during an interview with CNN, Feit denied that he killed Garza. Feit told police Garza left the church rectory on the day before Easter, 1960, after he heard her confession and the last time he saw her, she was standing outside the church.

In the investigation following the crime, police said that near Garza’s body they found items that belonged to the church. One item, a metallic Kodak slide photo viewer, belonged to Feit.

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RHODE ISLAND
Westerly Sun

By A.J. ALGIER / Sun Staff Writer

WAKEFIELD — Charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and leaving the scene of an accident brought against a Roman Catholic bishop were dismissed Tuesday by Narragansett police in 4th Division District Court.

Dismissal of the two misdemeanor charges comes after Robert J. McManus, 61, bishop of the diocese of Worcester, Mass., pleaded guilty in Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal last month to a charge of failure to submit to a test to determine the level of intoxication after his arrest on May 7.

Traffic tribunal Judge William T. Noonan sentenced McManus to a six-month loss of license; ordered him to pay $935 and complete 10 hours of ommunity service — all standard for first-time offenders.

Having pleaded to the RITT charges, his lawyer, William J. Murphy, was successful in having the district court charges dismissed.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

TIM HEALY – 05 JUNE 2013

A WOMAN has apologised in the High Court to a priest she falsely accused of abusing her.

Eileen Culloty, who lives beside the presbytery in Currow, Killarney, Co Kerry, wrote a letter to the Bishop of Kerry in which she made a series of untrue allegations against Fr Liam O’Brien and which she later repeated to the gardai, HSE and Personal Injury Advisory Board.

She also disrupted a funeral mass the priest was officiating at.

Today, she apologised in a letter read out in court and undertook never to repeat the false allegations.

Robert Dore, solicitor for Fr O’Brien, currently based in Killorglin, Kerry, said the priest has agreed not to further pursue his action for damages for defamation against Ms Culloty on the basis of the apology letter.

Fr O’Brien had also sought orders restraining her from watching, besetting and harassing him over the false allegations which he said were damaging and interfered with his peace, privacy and well-being.

Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne agreed to a request from Mr Dore to adjourn the matter generally which means it can come back before the court if there are any further incidents.

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CALIFORNIA
Orange County Register

Posted by Joelle Casteix on June 5, 2013

From today’s Orange County Register

SCOTT M. REID / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

A little-known group calling itself the California Council of Non-Profit Organizations has been working behind the scenes in recent months to defeat a state Senate bill which would extend the time limits in which victims of sexual abuse can file civil lawsuits.

The CCONO spent $75,195 during the first three months of 2013 lobbying against SB131, according to documents filed with the secretary of state. The organization has hired five firms since Jan. 1 to lobby against SB131, which passed out of the Senate last week on a 21-10 vote and now moves to the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

Charmaine Carnes and two other former gymnasts testified before a state Senate committee in May in support of SB 131, describing childhood sexual abuse by former coaches that has haunted them, altering the course of their lives.
BOB PENNELL, FOR THE REGISTER

Introduced by Sen. Jim Beall, D-San Jose, SB131 calls for a one-year window for victims that were previously time-barred by statute to file a civil suit against their actual abuser or the employer of the abuser. This window would be open from 2014-2015. The bill follows a 2011 Orange County Register investigation in which more than dozen female former gymnasts said they were sexually and physically abused by their coaches in the 1970s and 80s.

Beall and SB 131 supporters argue that the accounts of child sexual abuse victims like the former gymnasts demonstrate the necessity of extending the statute of limitations. Nearly half of all victims of child sexual abuse do not tell anyone of the abuse for at least five years, according to multiple studies. In the cases of many victims the memory of the abuse is suppressed for years, even decades.
The California Council of Non-Profit Organizations is not to be confused with the California Association of Non-Profits, a group which counts 1,400 non-profits among its members. The CCONO is not a member of the CANP. The CCONO is also not listed on the Attorney General office’s registry of Charitable Trusts. The CCONO is also not listed on the Internal Revenue Services’ list of tax-exempt organizations that can receive tax-deductible contributions.

The CCONO has no website and it is unclear how many groups actually belong to it. The CCONO was incorporated on August 13, 2012, according to records filed with the Secretary of State’s office.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

VERITY EDWARDS From: The Australian June 06, 2013

THE Director of Public Prosecutions in South Australia has recommended that no charges be laid against Catholic priest Ian Dempsey, after he was accused of sexually assaulting a fellow seminarian in Adelaide in the 1960s.

John Hepworth, the global primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion until April last year, raised allegations in September 2011 that he had been abused by three Catholic priests while in an Adelaide seminary in the 1960s. Two of the priests have since died.

Independent senator Nick Xenophon used parliamentary privilege to name Monsignor Dempsey as one of the alleged perpetrators.

After a three-month investigation commissioned by the Catholic Church, which found no substance to the allegations, Bishop Hepworth reported the allegations to police.

It is understood that DPP Adam Kimber SC advised the police and both parties yesterday that there was insufficient evidence for a jury to have a reasonable chance of convicting Monsignor Dempsey and that no charges would be laid.When contacted late yesterday, Bishop Hepworth said he was considering the decision.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Big Trial

[with photos]

By Ralph Cipriano
for Bigtrial.net

In the last four years, Father Charles Engelhardt has lost 50 pounds.

But as his boss, Father James J. Greenfield, will tell you, “This is a weight loss program I wouldn’t wish on anyone.”

It began in 2009, when a man subsequently identified in a grand jury report as “Billy Doe” accused Father Engelhardt of raping him back when the alleged victim was a 10-year old altar boy.

Four years ago, the 5-foot-11 priest weighed 220 pounds. He had a double chin and a pot belly. But last week, according to his family, when they visited him in jail, Father Engelhardt looked frail and barely weighed 170. His arms, sticking out of a bright-yellow jumpsuit, were skinnier than his baby sister’s.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

TOM TUITE – 05 JUNE 2013

THE case of a former priest awaiting trial on historic child sex abuse charges has been adjourned for two weeks.

William Carney, aged 63, who is currently of no fixed abode, is charged with 34 counts of indecent assault of eight boys and two girls, at locations in Dublin and north east Leinster from 1969 until 1989.

Today at Cloverhill District Court, Judge Grainne Malone further remanded him in custody with consent to bail. His next hearing will take place at the same court on June 19th.

A book of evidence has yet to be served on Mr Carney, who is to face a Circuit Court trial.

At an earlier stage Judge Malone had lifted an earlier gag order prohibiting the news media from naming the 63-year-old who currently has no fixed address.

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MINNESOTA
Jeff Anderson & Associates

JEFFREY R. ANDERSON

Saint Benedict said in the Rule of Benedict that we are to listen with the ear of our heart.

Considerable commentary has been spoken and written of the 22 monks of Saint John’s Abbey accused of sexually abusing minors. None, however, demonstrates the misuse of therapists to cover up Saint John’s knowledge of child sexual abuse more than the case of Reverend Allen (Gilbert) Tarlton OSB.

Five successive Abbots have known since 1958 that Father Allen repeatedly sexually abused students at Saint John’s Prep and Saint John’s University. To squelch the scandal of monks abusing students, time and time again Father Tarlton was whisked away to treatment under the cover of alcohol problems.

This was not the real story. In fact, Father Allen told Abbot Baldwin Dworshak OSB in a 1965 letter that the psychiatrist of Sartel suggested he be laicized.

What did the Abbots do?

The Abbots of Saint John’s continued to camouflage their knowledge of Father Allen’s conduct by sending him to various Catholic doctors, therapists and psychiatric facilities such as Seton Psychiatric Institute, Servants of the Paraclete and the Saint Luke Institute.

Father Allen treated with the Catholic elite such as Dr. Leo Bartemeier at Seton and Father Michael Peterson M.D. at St. Luke Institute.

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AUSTRALIA
lewisblayse.net

Lewis Blayse

The Christian Brothers in the Geelong area have been exposed as a hot bed of abusers in the recent Victorian Parliamentary enquiry. They ran the St. Augustine’s Orphanage, which is now the location of their private school. It is heritage listed. The site was granted by the government originally. Government also donated a third of the building costs. The valuable site should be sold and given to victims in compensation.

It had all of the usual problems associated with the old children’s homes. In 2011, it formed the basis of a claim for dereliction of duty against the State government, by several former residents, represented by barrister Dr Vivian Waller. Much of the claim involved Christian Brother, William Houston. Related claims involved Brother Best, who is usually described as a close associate of Cardinal “Georgie” Pell.

Justice for Brother Houston’s victims appears to be seriously delayed.

In June 1997, he appeared in the Geelong Magistrates Court, charged with committing 14 sexual offences against a boy at St Augustine’s. Houston was remanded on bail pending a County Court hearing. The magistrate’s order was reported in the Melbourne Herald Sun, 18 June 1997, page 10, with a photo of William Houston. However, the County Court trial has not yet been held as the Director of Prosecutions did not wish to fund a single-victim trial in 1997.

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UNITED STATES
The Jewish Press

By: Harry Maryles
Published: June 5th, 2013

I have always been impressed with the students of Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim. I do not recall ever meeting anyone from that Yeshiva that I wasn’t thoroughly impressed with. My son actually attended WITS which is a branch of that Yeshiva in Milwaukee – for his freshman year in high school. I have nothing but the highest regard for – and gratitude to – the two Roshei Yeshiva at the time, Rabbis Cheplowitz and Harris… as well as all of the Rebbeim there.

Chofetz Chaim is a Charedi Yeshiva. Their standards of Torah study are very high. Getting Semicha (rabbinic ordination) from Chofetz Chaim is a 9 year program, if I recall correctly. That tends to weed out the the truly incompetent. One can be sure that a rabbi from Chofetz Chaim has earned his title; that his religious education is broad; and that he has very likely had a good secular education. (I should also mention that Ma’arava is a Chofetz Chaim Yeshiva high school in Israel that is Charedi and has an excellent secular studies department.)

If there was ever a school that was definitive of moderate Charedism – Chofetz Chaim is it. I only wish that its ethos were the standard for every Charedi Yeshiva. Unfortunately that is not the case. In the ‘move to the right’ world we live in, Lakewood’s ethos is the model.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
ABC News (Australia)

Victims of clerical abuse in Northern Ireland which did not take place in an institution are campaigning for their own government inquiry into their experiences. The Northern Ireland Historical Abuse Inquiry only covers people who were abused when they were under the age of 18 and in a state or church-run institution.

Transcript

ELEANOR HALL: To Northern Ireland now and the child abuse inquiry that is being run there is strikingly similar to Australia’s Royal Commission.

As in Australia, there has been controversy over which instances of abuse will be considered by the Inquiry.

In Northern Ireland, abuse which took place outside institutions but at the hands of the local parish priest are not covered, but a campaign is being launched to try to change that.

As Europe correspondent Barbara Miller reports.

BARBARA MILLER: It takes some victims of child abuse many years to speak of their experiences.

Michael Connolly who says he was abused in the 1970s by a priest he’d turned to for help is no exception.

MICHAEL CONNOLLY: I was 48 years of age before I spoke about my abuse, and it came as quite a shock to my wife when I first told her about this. In fact it’s so painful even now when I speak to you, it’s so painful thinking back on that.

I couldn’t tell her. I had to write her a seven page letter… and that was difficult.

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AUSTRALIA
The Age

June 6, 2013

Chrissie Foster

High-ranking clerics must answer for the smokescreen they created in protecting criminal priests.

On the last two Mondays in May, we heard the Archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart, and Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, give testimony to the Victorian parliamentary inquiry into child sexual abuse in religious organisations. They spoke on the sexual abuse of hundreds of “innocent people” – known to the rest of us as children – committed by priests and brothers in Victoria.

Discussion, debate and analysis have followed their evidence. I must add to this argument. I bear personal witness to experiences with both Archbishop Hart and Cardinal Pell which contradict their limited vision of events. Space limits the attack I would like to launch, so I will refer to just two instances, one relating to the cardinal and one the archbishop.

I first locked horns with the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in 1996, and the protection of children has meant I have not stopped challenging them since. In March 1996 I discovered that my eldest daughter Emma had been sexually assaulted by our parish priest, Father Kevin O’Donnell, who at that time was in prison after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting children from 1946 to 1977. Emma’s disclosures and, later, those of our second daughter, Katie, took his offending to his retirement in 1992 – amounting to 50 years of raping, sodomising and sexually assaulting, most likely, hundreds of children.

In Cardinal Pell’s written submission to the parliamentary inquiry, he stated: “Although he [Father O’Donnell] brought shame upon the priesthood and the church, he was buried with other priests in Melbourne. Had he been laicised before he died, this would not have occurred.” Seemingly the cardinal is lamenting that a career child rapist was not laicised before he died so, sadly, a criminal priest is “buried with other priests”. This sounds a noble and reasonable lament for a pious and forthright cardinal.

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UNITED STATES
The Jewish Press

By Rabbi Avrohom Stulberger

The recent guilty plea of an Orthodox Rabbi to molestation charges in New Jersey as well as the District Attorney’s expressed hope that this case will encourage other parents of abused children from the Orthodox community to come forward to report crimes, beg the questions that have bothered me for years : Why is there such a reticence on the part of Orthodox Jews to put these perpetrators behind bars? Why are threats of retribution aimed at the victims and their families if they report these crimes, when logic dictates that our wrath should be aimed at the abuser and not at the abused?

I recently read an article in the L.A. Times about Phil Jackson’s new book, and what he says in it about Kobe Bryant. Jackson writes that he harbored a deep underlying hatred for Bryant the year that he was accused of sexual assault, because Jackson’s daughter was a victim of a similar assault years earlier. That episode, therefore, hit Jackson close to home. It struck me clearly that the mere fact that Jackson had a daughter wasn’t enough to affect him deeply. The basic feelings of empathy and compassion that dictate revulsion at the mere mention of such a heinous crime were apparently beyond even beyond Phil Jackson’s capabilities.

I am not here to criticize Jackson, but could it be that we the chosen people, are mired in the same place? Do we hear the words “abuse” and “molestation,” shake our heads and move on? Do we, Heaven forbid have to feel the pain personally before we react the way a parent of a victim would? Let me make a suggestion: let us rename these people “murderers” instead of molesters. From a religious point of view, that is exactly what they are. Killing one’s souls, in Jewish law, is at least as destructive as killing one physically.

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CALIFORNIA
Catholic San Francisco

June 5th, 2013
By Valerie Schmalz

The California state Senate narrowly approved a waiver of the statute of limitations for child sex abuse damage lawsuits – a bill that could have a devastating effect on nonprofits including Catholic Charities and Catholic schools while exempting public employers.

The legislation, SB 131, would force private schools to defend claims that may be 40 years old but forbid victims from suing any public school for abuse that may have occurred before 2009, the California Council of Nonprofit Organizations said.

“To add insult to injury, SB 131 even protects the actual abuser from being sued – the only claims that are revived are against private employers and nonprofit organizations,” said Ned Dolejsi, executive director of the California Catholic Conference.

Private employers including nonprofits would be eligible to be sued for sex abuse claims going as far back as 40 years, while all public entities as well as convicted perpetrators for whom the statute of limitations has expired would be exempt from civil lawsuits, he said.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Joplin Independent

The Archdiocesan Review Board has concluded that the recent charge of abuse against Father John Wieberg, a priest at the Archdiocese of St. Louis who died in 1963, is “serious and credible,” according to a statement made by Bishop James V. Johnston Jr. This determination by the board has come after interviewing individuals who reported being abused.

Johnston, as well as Archbishop of St. Louis Robert Carlson, are encouraging any other victims of Wieberg to contact the Archdiocese so that “they may receive help for healing.” “The diocese maintains its strong commitment and the allocation of resources toward creating and maintaining safe environments,” Johnston said.

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WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette

By Bronislaus B. Kush TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
bkush@telegram.com

WORCESTER — Elizabeth Darcy said her churchgoing parents, Alan and Irma Blizard, were “filled with joy and pride” when her brother, David, was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1974 by Bishop Bernard J. Flanagan at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul.

“It was a glorious day for them,” said Mrs. Darcy, a Sturbridge resident. “The church was important to them and they were thrilled that one of their sons had become a priest. But a lot has happened since that day and, I think that, if they were still living today, they’d be embarrassed by him.”

Mr. Blizard, who served as a parish curate in Oxford, Worcester, Athol and Upton and taught religion at St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School in Fitchburg and at Holy Name High School, was removed from the ministry in 1988 by Bishop Timothy J. Harrington. Chancery officials determined there was enough evidence to link the clergyman to “a child sex ring” run by diocesan priests that operated out of the former House of Affirmation in Northbridge.

The Vatican last March formally defrocked Mr. Blizard, who is now living in Florida.

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UNITED STATES
Stop Baptist Predators

“In a generational changing of the guard, Southern Baptists are gaining a new advocate for their values in Washington and around the country as Russell Moore, a media-savvy theologian, takes the helm of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.” This news, reported last week by the Religion News Service, means that the ERLC will no longer be headed by Richard Land, who had been at the commission’s helm for nearly twenty-five years.

As the ERLC’s new leader, Russell Moore claims that he will use “convictional kindness” to defend Southern Baptist ideals.

“Convictional kindness.” What do you think that means with respect to the denomination’s do-nothingness on clergy sex abuse? Will there be any change?

Kindness starts with listening. But Southern Baptists lack any system for even hearing the voices of clergy abuse survivors, much less for listening to them. There is no denominational office to which people might report abusive clergymen – no safe place where they might hope to have their abuse reports compassionately heard – no trained panels for responsibly assessing abuse reports – no one in denominational authority who will take any responsibility for doing anything at all, regardless of how many abuse reports a minister may have against him.

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AUSTRALIA
Lawyers Weekly

5 June, 2013 Stephanie Quine

More research on how victims of child abuse in ‘total institutions’ experience justice processes and outcomes is needed, it has been claimed.

Professor Kathleen Daly (pictured), a professor of criminology and criminal justice at Griffith University, said lawyers doing work for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse need to be aware of such research in order to build an effective justice response.

“We know a lot about victims’ and survivors’ experiences in institutions … but we know a lot less about their experiences with justice processes and outcomes,” said Daly, speaking at a multi-disciplinary forum entitled: Responding to Historical Child Sex Abuse, at Sydney University Law School on Friday (May 31).

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TEXAS
WWBT

By Chris Thomas

RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) –
We now have our hands on the arrest warrants for embattled Richmond pastor Geronimo Aguilar.

The founder of the “ROC” church is facing child sex charges out of Fort Worth, Texas.

We are seeing the detailed, graphic allegations against Geronimo Aguilar known as Pastor G for the first time.

Fort Worth Police say the pastor repeatedly sexually assaulted two young girls under the age of 14.

The alleged assaults started back in 1996 when Aguilar was 26 and his youngest victim was 11.

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TEXAS
WTVR

[with video]

June 5, 2013, by Nick Dutton

(WTVR) — Arrest warrants out of Texas are revealing more about the case against ROC head pastor Geronimo Aguilar, who was charged with multiple counts of aggravated sexual battery of a child under the age of 14.

According to the warrants obtained by the Fort Worth Star Telegram, Aguilar began sexually assaulting an 11-year old girl and her 13-year old sister in October of 1996 while he was living in their parents’ Fort Worth home.

The warrants accuse Aguilar of having sex with the two girls for more than a year.

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

AUSTRALIA
Catholica

[the petition]

Editorial Commentary by Brian Coyne

Bishop Geoffrey Robinson’s book, and the accompanying petition were originally planned in the expectation that Pope Benedict would still be leading the Catholic Church in the world. A lot has changed in the last few months. Within the institution a mood of cautious optimism has even re-emerged that Catholicism might be turned around in the world and become something that the broad community might hold in some respect again.

The ABC had provided a twelve and a half minutes video summarising the main points made by Bishops Robinson and Power in launching the petition. Click the image above or HERE to watch the video.

The bottom line for the Catholic Church today is not actually the Clerical Abuse Scandal and its cover-up. That is merely a symptom of a much deeper malaise and illness reflected in the fact that in a country like Australia around 88% of the adult baptized have ceased listening and ceased participating. The statistics for Australia, it seems, reflect the mean of the statistical disenchantment across the industrialised world. The figures are even more disturbing across the Europe – the original heartland of Catholicism, and buoyed only slightly by the statistics across the United States.

While some might place hope that the future of the Catholic Church lies in the Developing World where the use of simple devotions and simple theologies still work as they once worked so effectively in what today is the Developed World, the likely reality as that as the Developing World acquires the general education levels and affluence of the Developed World the Catholics of the Third World will end up following the attitudes of us “clever and affluent things” in the First World. Do the priests and hierarchs of the Church who believe that the future of Catholicism lies in the Third World ever stop for even a microsecond and reflect on what this Supreme Mystery we condense into words like Almighty God actually think of this thinking? Do they ever reflect on how history might judge their judgements, or what accountablity might accompany their lives — whether it is some literal judgment before Almighty God, or that is merely symbolic of some other form of accountability?

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

SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland

[the petition]

Wednesday 5 June 2013

A retired Australian bishop has urged Roman Catholics around the world to sign an online petition to Pope Francis to call a new global council to take effective measures to end the sexual abuse of children in the Church.

Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, a former auxiliary bishop of Sydney who co-ordinated the Australian church’s response to the sexual abuse crisis, said only a council of the world’s bishops would have the power to make the changes needed.

The new organisation would be akin to the 1962-1965 Second Vatican Council, Bishop Robinson told a news conference in Sydney.

However, this council would focus only on solving the abuse issue, he added.

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

VIRGINIA
Delmarva Now

Written by
Nancy Drury Duncan
Staff Writer

ACCOMAC — A 60-year-old man who came to Accomack County with a group of youth volunteers from a Norfolk church to clear brush, improve trails and do other work at a church-owned camp facility pleaded guilty in Circuit Court to sexual abuse.

The case against Hampton Roads, Va., resident Michael Douthat, originally scheduled to be a bench trial, was settled with a plea agreement.

Testimony showed Douthat became intoxicated at the Occohannock on the Bay Camp and Retreat Center near Craddockville, which is owned and operated by the Eastern Shore District of the United Methodist Church, before touching a 14-year-old girl.

Douthat was not well-known to the others in the volunteer group, said Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Matthew Brenner. He stressed that the group was not connected with Camp Occahannock on the Bay but came as volunteers.

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

TEXAS
WRIC

[with video]

FORT WORTH, VA—Arrest warrants out of Texas reveal shocking new details about the case against ROC head pastor Geronimo Aguilar.

Arrest warrants obtained by 8News show the alleged victims claim they were repeatedly sexually assaulted by Aguilar, known as “Pastor G,” and claim the abuse went on for years.

One of the alleged victims claims she was just 11-years-old when Aguilar began penetrating her with his finger.

According to the arrest warrants the girl’s sister alleges “Pastor G” repeatedly sexually assaulted her when she was just 13-years-old. At the time, the pastor was 26-years-old and married.

The documents support what the alleged victims told 8News in an exclusive interview several months ago.

“I was 13, and it started out the same way where he was very flirtatious, and it progressed,” an alleged victim told 8News in an exclusive interview. “Within a month’s time, we started having sexual intercourse.”

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

TEXAS
Richmond Times-Dispatch

Tue Jun 4, 2013.
BY LOUIS LLOVIO
Richmond Times-Dispatch

Geronimo Aguilar, senior pastor of the Richmond Outreach Center, began sexually assaulting an 11-year old girl and her 13-year old sister in October 1996 while living in their parents’ home, according to arrest warrants issued in Fort Worth, Texas last month.

The two warrants, sworn out by Fort Worth Detective D.L. Nash, accuse Aguilar of having sex with the two girls for more than a year.

According to the warrants, Aguilar was taken into the home after the girls’ parents followed him from California to Fort Worth to join him at a church called New Beginnings.

Texas authorities have charged Aguilar with seven felonies in two cases. Four of those charges carry sentences of up to life in prison.

Aguilar is free on bail and on paid leave from the South Richmond megachurch known as the ROC.

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

TEXAS
Fort Worth Star-Telegram

BY DEANNA BOYD
dboyd@star-telegram.com

FORT WORTH — A Virginia pastor recently accused of sexually abusing two young sisters in the 1990s was asked to leave his former Fort Worth church after a member caught him kissing one of the young girls, according to court documents.

A Virginia attorney for Geronimo Scott Aguilar has previously said Aguilar was in Fort Worth during the mid-1990s to help start a small mission but relocated to Richmond, Va., for other opportunities.

But arrest warrant affidavits obtained by the Star-Telegram on Tuesday indicate that Aguilar had been asked to leave the Fort Worth church, New Beginnings International Church, after a member saw him kissing one of the alleged victims and alerted church pastors.

New Beginnings senior pastor Don Couch said Tuesday, however, that he never heard any allegations of sexual misconduct during the roughly year that Aguilar was employed at the church as an outreach and youth minister.

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

UNITED STATES
Catholic Culture

By Dr. Jeff Mirus June 03, 2013

The appointment of Peter French Ryan, SJ to the key doctrinal post for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops is very interesting indeed. Fr. Ryan, who once served on the Board of Directors of the Cardinal Newman Society, is a high-profile advocate not only of doctrinal fidelity but of a strong Catholic identity in Catholic higher education—at a time when Jesuit universities and colleges are among the least faithful. He has just been named Executive Director of the Secretariat of Doctrine and Canonical Affairs at the USCCB.

So now we have the very highest position in the Church occupied by a Jesuit (Pope Francis) and also the highest full-time doctrinal position in the United States. I wonder if there is a connection.

The Society of Jesus is a particularly tough organization to reform. The traditional prestige and academic eminence that many Jesuits enjoy, along with the worldly favor shown to precisely those who betray the teachings of the Church, tends to make them impervious to effective criticism and reluctant to change from within. Successive Superiors General of the Society since the mid-20th century have done surprisingly little to foster renewal despite consistent encouragement by every pope to do exactly that.

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AUSTRALIA
Catholic Culture

By Phil Lawler June 04, 2013

Well, stop the presses! An Australian prelate, Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, has called for a new ecumenical council to address questions related to sexual abuse. It will take a worldwide council to get the job done, he said, because sweeping changes are needed.

This clarion call by Bishop Robinson reminds me that back in 2010, another Australian bishop called for an ecumenical council to address Church teachings on sexuality, offering the same line of reasoning: that sweeping changes were necessary.

Oh, wait. That wasn’t another Australian bishop. That was Bishop Robinson, too.

So how is he coming, with those plans for an ecumenical council? Not too well, I’m afraid. Bishop Robinson doesn’t actually pull much weight in the worldwide hierarchy. For one thing, he isn’t an active bishop. He resigned back in 2004. He wasn’t required to resign because of his age; he was only 66. His health was apparently not a major concern; he’s still going strong, nine years later. He just… resigned.

Not that he has been quiet in his retirement. Far from it. But there are problems with what Bishop Robinson says when he airs his views. In 2008 the Australian bishops’ conference took the rare step of warning about “doctrinal difficulties” in Robinson’s new book. Those problems, the Australian bishops said, included “among other things, the nature of Tradition, the inspiration of the Holy Scripture, the infallibility of the Councils and the Pope, the authority of the Creeds, the nature of the ministerial priesthood and central elements of the Church’s moral teaching.” Even Cardinal Roger Mahony, not ordinarily considered a doctrinal hard-liner, barred Bishop Robinson from speaking in his Los Angeles archdiocese that year.

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WORCESTER (MA)
GoLocalWorcester

Tuesday, June 04, 2013
GoLocalWorcester News Team

DUI charges against Worcester Bishop Robert McManus were dismissed today in Rhode Island, according to his lawyer.

“My client had admitted violation of refusing to take a chemical breath test last month, and today was the pretrial proceedings for the DUI and leaving the scene of the accident charges,” McManus’ lawyer William Murphy told GoLocal. “As he didn’t have prior record, the dismissal of the DUI charge is standard for first time offenders.”

The charges were dropped this morning when McManus appeared before a Traffic Tribunal in Wakefield. McManus had plead not guilty in Washington County District Court on May 7 to driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident, following reports McManus had struck a driver on May 4.

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RHODE ISLAND
WWLP

By Chris Raia
Reporting by Andrew Adamson

NARRAGANSETT, R.I. (WPRI) — A few weeks after he agreed to a six-month license suspension and a $945 fine, criminal charges against Worcester Bishop Robert McManus were officially dismissed Tuesday morning.

McManus was not present in Wakefield District Court for the proceedings, but his lawyer was there.

“The bishop is sorry. He’s remorseful for what occurred,” said lawyer William Murphy. “He’s a fine man, and this is just abhorrent behavior on his part. I think the whole community was saddened when they heard it happened.”

Narragansett police arrested McManus May 4 on charges of drunk driving and leaving the scene of an accident, after he struck a car near his vacation home.

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WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette

By Bob Kievra, TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
rkievra@telegram.com

WORCESTER — A drunken driving charge against Bishop Robert J. McManus was dismissed Tuesday in Rhode Island, a month after he was arrested following a hit-and-run accident near his Narragansett, R.I., vacation home.

Bishop McManus was not present for the dismissal in Wakefield District Court, which was part of a May 14 agreement in traffic court in which he admitted to refusing a chemical test, said his lawyer, William J. Murphy. Such an agreement is common practice for a first-time offender.

At the traffic court, Bishop McManus pleaded guilty to the refusal charge, which resulted in a six-month loss of license, 10 hours of community service, mandatory DUI education charges and a $945 fine.

“The bishop is sorry; he’s remorseful,” Mr. Murphy said. “This was abhorrent behavior on his part and he apologizes to the people of the diocese and the people of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.”

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RHODE ISLAND
Seattle PI

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (AP) — Criminal charges have been dismissed against the leader of a Roman Catholic diocese in Massachusetts after he pleaded guilty to refusing a chemical test after a driving accident.

WPRO-AM reports the charges were dismissed Tuesday against Worcester Bishop Robert McManus, which is common for a first-time offender.

The 61-year-old bishop was arrested last month near his vacation home in Narragansett for an alleged hit-and-run accident. He has said he “made a terrible error in judgment” by driving after drinking wine at dinner.

After he entered his guilty plea before the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal last month, his license was suspended for six months.

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PUERTO RICO
Prensa Latina

San Juan, 3 jun (PL) Las autoridades federales de Estados Unidos se mostraron hoy sorprendidas por el auge que ha tenido la producción de pornografía infantil en Puerto Rico.

La jefa de la fiscalía federal para el distrito de Puerto Rico, Rosa Emilia Rodríguez, expresó que su asombro luego de que se arrestara en hechos separados por tal delito a un pastor evangélico y a la madre de un niño de 9 años.

“Es preocupante que durante las primeras 20 semanas de este año, 21 personas han sido arrestadas por casos de pornografía infantil”, dijo la jefa de fiscales estadounidenses en esta isla del Caribe.

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