ABUSE TRACKER

MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press

By Andy Greder
agreder@pioneerpress.com
POSTED: 09/23/2013

The Rev. Mark Huberty is taking an indefinite leave of absence from his Maplewood Catholic church after a woman has accused him of inappropriate touching, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis said Sunday.

Huberty, of Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, had denied the allegations and is not being suspended or removed as pastor, the archdiocese said. Huberty notified parishioners of the situation during services last weekend.

The allegations have been reported to police, the archdiocese said. Police and the church have opened investigations, the archdiocese said. Huberty will remain on leave during the investigations, the archdiocese said.

The archdiocese said it has been working with parish trustees “from the beginning to ensure they are informed and involved.” The archdiocese has appointed an administrator to oversee pastoral duties and is arranging for priests to lead Masses.

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GEORGIA
WSAV

By Andrew Davis, Anchor/Reporter

CINCINNATI, OHIO –
A former Savannah Diocese priest was convicted of sex charges in a Ohio Federal Court.

Fr. Robert Poandl was convicted of one count of transportation of a minor across state lines for illicit purposes.

The 72 year old priest now faces up to 10 years in prison for the crime.

Poandl was accused of molesting a 10 year old boy 22 years ago in a West Virginia rectory.

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ARGENTINA
La Voz

El Tribunal Oral de Morón dará a conocer esta tarde, después de las 19, si efectiviza o no el pedido de “inmediata detención” del sacerdote Julio César Grassi, condenado por abuso sexual.

Después de escuchar la palabra de Grassi, que se manifestó inocente y dijo no ser un “pedófilo”, el tribunal notificó que a las 19 dará a conocer su resolución.

Grassi recusó por presunta “parcialidad” al tribunal oral de Morón.

El cura, condenado a 15 años de prisión por abuso sexual agravado y corrupción de menores, formuló el planteo al notificarse esta mañana del fallo que confirmó la pena en su contra.

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ARGENTINA
Urgente 24

CIUDAD DE BUENOS AIRES (Urgente24).-Este lunes 23/09 a las 19 horas, el tribunal oral de Morón definirá si Julio Cesar Grassi queda detenido o no. Así lo expresó la jueza Mariana Maldonado, junto a Claudio Chaminade y Pablo Lucero.

Previamente a este anuncio, se rechazó la recusación al fiscal Alejandro Varela y al Tribunal que presentó esta mañana Grassi.

El fiscal apoyó el rechazo a la recusación planteada por la defensa de Grassi y expresó “Una vez más asistimos a maniobras dilatorias”, dijo Varela.

Y además agregó “La nulidad planteada por el imputado carece de valor”, y añadió a sus argumentos “Acá no es una cuestión de gustos, es una cuestión de Ley y hay que cumplirla”.

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ARGENTINA
Buenos Aires Herald

The first criminal court of Morón is expected to decide today whether priest Julio César Grassi, convicted to 15 years in prison for sexual abuse of minors, will be detained.

The court will release their decision around 7pm local time, after hearing the arguments of both prosecutors and the clergyman.

Prosecutor Alejandro Varela, speaking today, urged judges to issue an arrest warrant for Grassi, founder of the Happy Children Foundation. “Leaving Grassi in freedom is almost like collaborating with the crime,” the attorney fired.

For his part, the priest denied that he was a flight risk and criticised Varela as well as the media for their treatment of him.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
UTV

In an emotional and moving interview the 32-year-old man looked back on his years of torment by a man he believes was protected by the Catholic Church.

“I wanted to be a priest from a very young age, and in fact I wrote to the bishop when I was ten and, saying I wanted to be a priest,” said David – not his real name.

“That dirty b****** has destroyed my faith. I don’t even know if anybody exists up there anymore, I have no feelings for the Catholic Church whatsoever.”

David’s dreams of the priesthood were shattered when he became the target of unwelcome sexual assaults from the ruthless, sexual predator, Fr James Donaghy.

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NEW JERSEY
Edmonton Journal

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

NEWARK, N.J. – The Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, is getting a second archbishop.

The National Catholic Reporter reports on its website Monday that Pope Francis is appointing a coadjutor archbishop to assist Archbishop John Myers.

The Reporter says the bishop of Gaylord, Mich., Bernard Hebda, will be named to the post Tuesday.

A co-adjutor bishop immediately succeeds a diocesan bishop who retires or dies.

Myers is 72, about three years from mandatory retirement. He’s been under fire for his handling of the case of the Rev. Michael Fugee.

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ARGENTINA
Agencia Fe

Finalmente, los Tribunales de Morón fueron escenario de la audiencia judicial que definirá el futuro del sacerdote Julio César Grassi. Su defensa presentó a primera hora de la mañana un pedido de recusación para que los tres jueces del Tribunal Oral 1 de Morón se aparten del caso y no se realice el encuentro.

Sin embargo, el tribunal rechazó los escritos de recusación y nulidad presentados por la defensa de Grassi, y el encuentro entre las partes tuvo lugar. Tras las declaraciones de los interesados, la audiencia concluyó y los magistrados anunciaron que a las 19 darán su veredicto. En ese momento se sabrá si Grassi continúa en libertad o si será detenido.

En primer termino tomaron la palabra el fiscal Alejando Varela y los abogados Sergio Piris y Juan Pablo Gallego. Todos reiteraron el pedido de “inmediata detención” del sacerdote, argumentando que existe “peligro de fuga” y que además incumplió las normas que se le habían establecido al ser condenado a cambio de su libertad.

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NEW JERSEY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Monday, Sept. 23

Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 566 9790, SNAPclohessy@aol.com )

A coadjutor bishop has been named for the Newark Archdiocese.

[National Catholic Reporter]

Any step, however small, that in any way reduces Archbishop John Myers’ authority or status is positive. At the same time, however, Pope Francis is again missing a clear opportunity to discipline, demote, denounce or even defrock a blatantly reckless, callous and deceitful prelate and send a powerful signal that cover ups will no longer be tolerated.

It will be tempting for many to read more into this appointment than they should. Because Vatican officials usually refuse to disclose the rationale for their actions – or are notoriously vague when they do so – no one can really know whether this move is in any way connected to Myers’ repeatedly irresponsible actions with predator priests.

But many Catholics will assume this. We caution them against leaping to conclusions. No one person caused the horrific scandal in Newark. No one person can fix it. The real solution isn’t juggling secretive church officials. The real solution requires every single current and former Catholic church employee and member to call law enforcement with any knowledge or suspicions of clergy sex crimes and cover ups, no matter how old, small, vague or seemingly insignificant that knowledge or those suspicions might be. That’s what protects kids – the courage of many adults, not the shuffling of two officials.

Bishop Bernard A. Hebda is a lawyer, a fact that worries us. Most bishops approach clergy sex abuse and cover up cases like lawyers, instead of shepherds.

And he’s worked in two states with particularly archaic, predator-friendly child sex abuse laws, which means it’s hard to really assess how he’s handled clergy sex crimes and cover ups.

Neither of those dioceses has posted names of predator priests on their websites, as roughly 30 US bishops have. And Hebda has done nothing in Gaylord that indicates to us that he’ll be any different or better than the overwhelming majority of his clerical colleagues who continue to conceal clergy sex crimes.

The safest course for Newark victims, witnesses and whistleblowers is to keep calling secular officials, not church officials, when they see, suspect or suffer clergy sex crimes and cover ups.

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NEW JERSEY
The Record

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 23, 2013
BY JEFF GREEN
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

Pope Francis is appointing a coadjutor archbishop to assist embattled Archbishop John J. Myers in running the Newark Archdiocese, according to a report in a Catholic newspaper.

Bishop Bernard A. Hebda of Gaylord, Mich. will be named coadjutor on Tuesday, according to the National Catholic Reporter today.

Jim Goodness, a spokesman for Myers, would not confirm or deny the report, but he said that Myers would make “an announcement of significance” Tuesday during an 11 a.m. press conference at the archdiocesan center in Newark.

For the last four months, Myers has been harshly criticized for his handling of the Rev. Michael Fugee, who was arrested in May for hearing confessions of minors and attending youth-group retreats in alleged violation of a court order. The archbishop has insisted he didn’t know or sanction the activities, but four state senators, victims’ advocates and some Catholic parishioners have called for his resignation for not more closely supervising the cleric.

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UNITED STATES
View from the Heights

We’ve all heard the jokes, maybe laughed at them, or maybe even told a few. We’ve watched the monologues on the late-night comedy shows. We scoff and shake our heads at Penn State, or at the various Catholic sex scandals that run across the CNN ticker. We often look at them haughtily and say, “Well I’m glad MY church isn’t that way!”

Are you sure about that?

At a Nominating Team meeting last week (yes, I’m stubbornly sticking to “team” instead of “committee”), a couple of members mentioned that they heard of churches requiring background checks for volunteers. One said, “We’d never do that, would we?”

I looked at them and said, “We already are.”

They were stunned, much as I was when I first heard of this concept some years ago. A children’s minister at a former church suggested in staff meeting that we should perform background checks on both staff and volunteers. I couldn’t imagine insulting our membership in such a way.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic League

Bill Donohue discusses the way the left is responding to Pope Francis:

If ever there were any doubt that the Catholic left and the secular left have much in common, it is doubted no more. Consider that Jane Fonda tweeted this weekend that Pope Francis “hates dogma,” and that today we learned from Fordham theologian Michael Peppard that while the pope “is a lover of traditional prayers and books,” the “old Q-and-A Baltimore Catechism is not among them.” Of course, neither quoted the pope as making these comments, and that’s because he never did.

Whoopi Goldberg, who has made a career criticizing the pope’s predecessors, loves Pope Francis because he said, according to her, that atheists are going to heaven. On the website of the New Republic, we find out that New York mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio, outed today in the New York Times as a former Marxist, shares with the pope a fondness for liberation theology (never mind that just last week it was reported that the pope’s exchange with the Peruvian father of liberation theology was “serious and sharp”).

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IRELAND
Association of Catholic Priests

Joe O’Leary praises ‘this stunning interview’ and hopes for more from Pope Francis. But he wonders whether Francis can implement structural changes that would enable his vision of church to become real.

I note that the pope’s self-designation as a sinner may be inspired by St Escriva who had “a sinner” inscribed on his tomb.

We must make the most of this stunning interview and hope there will be more. The pope is not just ‘shooting his mouth.’ It is a very carefully reflected and calculated intervention, and can even be seen as his real first Encyclical. I read it with the same sentiments as those of my mother on hearing Pope John Paul II preach in Limerick in 1979: ‘Wasn’t it great to hear a man tell you what you’d always believed!’

What most strikes me is the lucidity with which the Pope expounds a mature, broad, and integrated vision of the nature of the Church and its teaching, and with which he names and refutes the distortions created by conservatives who see the Church in sectarian terms and its teachings as a collection of shibboleths. He takes aim in particular at the Congregation for the Doctine of the Faith, suggesting that its role is to be a mediator not a manager and that worries about the orthodoxy of a given teacher are best handled by the local bishops.

The hierarchy of truths has been restored by Francis. Strikingly, at the top of the hierarchy he does not place any dogma, be it that of the Holy Trinity, but rather the first, original teaching of Jesus. The earliest layer of the Q document, reconstructed by scholars, that it the nearest we can come to the actual words of the historical Jesus and that underlies much of the Sermon on the Mount for example, provides the themes that Francis has most insistently stressed.

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AUSTRALIA
lewisblayse.net

The Royal Commission has now finished the first hearings, so there is not a second week to report on. The enquiry will go into recess until at least Monday 21st October, when it is expected to have two weeks on the case of YMCA associate, Jonathan Lord.

There are probably several people who spoke to commissioners, during private hearings, on the Scouts. Nothing has come up so far on these other cases, and it is not known if the commission will revisit the Scouts to cover their stories.

Consequently, this blog invites any person who feels left out of the hearing process to make contact, so that their issues can be raised here.

The same applies to the estimated 200 public submissions to the Victorian Parliamentary enquiry which that enquiry has decided to withhold from the public.

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UNITED STATES
Whispers in the Loggia

As the docket progressively returns to life after the summer lull, this Monday morning brings the third turnover of a Stateside see in five days: at Roman Noon, the Pope named Bishop Shelton Fabre, the 49 year-old auxiliary of New Orleans since 2006, to head the neighboring Houma-Thibodaux diocese, succeeding Bishop Sam Jacobs, who reached the retirement age of 75 last March 5.

On a context note, that word of the move didn’t leak last week – with over 350 of Louisiana’s priests, and all the state’s bishops, gathered in the Crescent City for the US’ only province-wide convocation – approaches the miraculous. (This scribe was there, and it was a beyond graced and moving experience. More on it in a bit… but for now, grazie mille to everybody for the welcome – and, again, above all, for all your work and witness.)

One of the few active American bishops who’s an alum of the late, lamented American College Louvain, the Baton Rouge-bred nominee has juggled double duty as a pastor and Chancery official both before and after his 2006 arrival as a NOLA auxiliary, and even after subsequently becoming the archdiocese’s lead vicar general/moderator of the curia. Warmly regarded and more on Louisiana soil, Fabre has kept a low profile on the wider scene, keeping with what friends have termed a “lovable” shyness.

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NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

By Mark Mueller/The Star-Ledger
on September 23, 2013

Newark Archbishop John J. Myers, who has been heavily criticized this year for his handling of priests accused of sexual abuse, will receive a coadjutor archbishop, or partner, to help run the archdiocese, according to a published report.

Pope Francis will name Bernard A. Hebda, 54, currently bishop of Gaylord, Mich., coadjutor archbishop on Tuesday, sources close to the process told National Catholic Reporter.

Myers, 72, is three years from the mandatory retirement age of 75. He has been archbishop since 2001. Previously, he served as bishop of Peoria.

Hebda was appointed bishop of Gaylord in 2009, according to the National Catholic Reporter. He was ordained a priest for the Pittsburgh diocese by then Pittsburgh Bishop Donald W. Wuerl in 1989, the newspaper said. Wuerl is now a cardinal and archbishop of Washington D.C.

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NEW JERSEY
National Catholic Reporter

Dennis Coday | Sep. 23, 2013

Pope Francis will appoint a coadjutor archbishop to the Archdiocese of Newark, N.J., tomorrow to assist Archbishop John J. Myers in his ministry, NCR has learned.

Bernard A. Hebda, 54, currently bishop of Gaylord, Mich., will be named coadjutor archbishop of Newark on Tuesday, sources close to the process have told NCR.

Myers is 72 years old, putting him about three years away from mandatory retirement. He has been a bishop for 26 years and archbishop of Newark since 2001.

Newark has four auxiliary bishops, two in their 50s and two in their 70s.

It is common for bishops of large dioceses to be assisted by one or more auxiliary bishops, who generally exercise authority in the name of the local bishop over a defined territory or administrative responsibility. A coadjutor bishop is usually appointed when a current bishop needs significant help in his ministry.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

DAN BOX THE AUSTRALIAN SEPTEMBER 24, 2013

A NSW detective who claimed on television that he was ordered to stand down from a police inquiry into Catholic Church child abuse was under internal investigation for alleged disciplinary offences before the broadcast, an inquiry has heard.

Confidential documents tendered to the NSW Special Commission of Inquiry reveal Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox also had previously refused to provide “explosive” information about the church to other police officers.

In his closing submission to the commission yesterday, the barrister representing NSW Police, Wayne Roser SC, accused Mr Fox of using an interview in November last year with ABC1’s Lateline to deliberately undermine the police.

Mr Fox was never part of the police strike force formed to investigate the alleged cover-up of abuse committed by priests, Mr Roser said, “and it follows that there was no way he could ever be removed”.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

TO clergy abuse victims, he is the serving officer who risked his career to speak out on Catholic Church cover-ups and inadequate police investigations, precipitating a NSW inquiry and then a national royal commission.

But to the NSW Police Force, Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox is the officer who went rogue, who conspired with a Newcastle Herald journalist, leaked sensitive information, tried to undermine a strike force he was excluded from and then attacked personally anyone who challenged him.

Wayne Roser SC, barrister for Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione, put that assessment of Mr Fox to the Special Commission of Inquiry on Monday, as its public hearings into abuse by priests James Fletcher and Denis McAlinden, and the police and Church’s handling of their offending, draw to a close.

Summing up for police, Mr Roser said Mr Fox was never ordered in late 2010 to cease investigating clergy child sex abuse – only to stay out of matters assigned to Strike Force Lantle.

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MISSISSIPPI
Clarion-Ledger

Written by
Ruth Ingram

A Catholic priest convicted last week in federal court of child sex charges decades ago served in five Mississippi parishes – his first assignments after taking his holy vows.

Fr. Robert “Bob” Poandl was found guilty in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati of federal child sex charges that he transported a 10-year Cincinnati old boy to Spencer, W. Va., in August 1991 where he sexually assaulted the child.

Poandl worked from 1968-73 in Aberdeen, Amory, Okolona, Houston, and Fulton, according to the records of SNAP, the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.

“This victim and his family are very brave,” Judy Jones of SNAP said today of the child abused by Poandl in 1991. “They are to be commended for their courage and determination to seek justice and to keep this child predator far away from kids for a long time.”

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UNITED STATES
Ms. Magazine

Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) sharply criticized Pope Francis for failing to make child sexual abuse in the church a top priority. Pope Francis made headlines last week for remarking that the Catholic church had become obsessed with gay rights, abortion and birth control, and for putting moral doctrines before serving the poor and marginalized. He described his vision of the church as a “home for all.”

“It’s good to make adults happier,” said SNAP director David Clohessy. “But it’s better to make children safer. That should have been the pontiff’s top priority on day one. It should become his top priority now. He’s done nothing to protect children, expose predators and deter cover ups. Not as a priest, bishop, archbishop or cardinal. Not as the pope.”

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DEUTSCHLAND
Kolnische Rundschau

Fulda .
Der Vorsitzende der Deutschen Bischofskonferenz (DBK), Erzbischof Robert Zollitsch, hat Limburgs Bischof Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst wegen der Finanzaffäre um seinen Bischofssitz-Neubau kritisiert. Zollitsch sagte am Montag in Fulda mit Blick auf die Negativschlagzeilen um Tebartz-van Elst: „Die ganze Kirche in Deutschland leidet darunter. Wir alle sind davon betroffen.“

Kosten werden öffentlich gemacht

Eine Kommission werde nun untersuchen, warum die Kosten für das neue Domizil auf mehr als zehn Millionen Euro explodierten. Die Kosten würden öffentlich dargelegt, versprach Zollitsch zum Auftakt der Herbstvollversammlung der Bischofskonferenz. Auf der Tagesordnung stehe die Affäre, die einen Imageschaden verursachte, bei dem Treffen der katholischen Bischöfe und Weihbischöfe in Fulda aber nicht.

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ARGENTINA
La Voz

[Summary: Can a person who was sentenced to 15 years in prisons remain free even if that sentence has been ratified by three courts? Can a person remain free without arrest even if this person has violated rules of probation and has spoken publicly on television about the alleged victims? In Argentina, he can. Priest Julio Cesar Grassi, convicted of three instances of aggravated child sexual abuse and corruption of minors remains at large.]

Por Jorge Londero

¿Puede una persona que recibió una condena de 15 años de prisión permanecer en libertad aun cuando esa sentencia haya sido ratificada en tres instancias judiciales?

¿Puede permanecer sin ser detenida una persona que violó las reglas de la libertad condicional al presentarse a un programa de televisión e incluso hablar públicamente de las supuestas víctimas?

En la Argentina, sí puede. El cura Julio César Grassi, quien fue condenado en tres instancias por abuso sexual agravado y corrupción de menores, sigue en libertad.

Para el abogado querellante Jorge Calcagno se trata del “único caso en la historia jurídica argentina en el que una persona condenada a 15 años está libre”.

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ARGENTINA
Clarin

[Summary: The Moron criminal court has rejected the objection raised by priest Julio Cesar Grassi who alleged that the court was biased against him.]

El Tribunal Oral Criminal 1 de Morón rechazó la recusación planteada por la defensa de Julio César Grassi por presunta “parcialidad”, al tiempo que también negó otro planteo del cura que pedía la nulidad de la audiencia de hoy, por lo que comenzó a resolverse si efectivizan o no el pedido de “inmediata detención” en su contra.

La audiencia comenzó minutos antes de las 15, y lo primero que hizo el tribunal fue rechazar la recusación presentada por la defensa del cura que apuntaba a los jueces porque “median circunstancias que, por su gravedad, afectan su independencia e imparcialidad”.

Luego el TOC1 de Morón dio tiempo para que las partes analizaran otro planteo del cura que pedía la nulidad de la audiencia donde se debe resolver si efectivizan o no el pedido de “inmediata detención” en contra del cura, condenado en triple instancia a 15 años de prisión por abuso sexual y corrupción de menores.

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ARGENTINA
Pagina/12

En el reinicio de la audiencia, en la que se debe resolver la detención del sacerdote Julio César Grassi, el Tribunal Oral N°1 de Morón rechazó los pedidos de recusación y nulidad presentados esta mañana por la defensa del ex titular de la Fundación Felices los Niños. Antes de la decisión de los magistrados, las partes exponen sus argumentos. Al mediodía, durante un cuarto intermedio, el abogado querellante, Juan Pablo Gallego, sostuvo: “Si Grassi no queda detenido hoy, esto es un papelón a nivel internacional”, sentenció Gallego.

El abogado querellante solicitó “la inmediata detención” del cura por “entorpecimiento” del proceso judicial ya que “sabiendo que venía a ser detenido, una vez más intentó evitarlo” con la presentación de las recusaciones y la nulidad de la audiencia, lo que retrasó la cita convocada en primera instancia para las 13.

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ST. CLOUD (MN)
St. Cloud Times

Written by
Kirsti Marohn and Kevin Allenspach

A bishop who has spent recent years in Alaska dealing with the repercussions of decades-old clergy sexual abuse has been appointed to lead the Diocese of St. Cloud.

Donald Kettler, who has been a bishop in Fairbanks since 2002, will take over as the new bishop of the St. Cloud diocese Nov. 7.

Kettler, 68, was born in Minneapolis and graduated from St. John’s University. At a news conference Friday morning, Kettler said he’s happy to return to his Minnesota roots.

“In a little bit of a sense, I’m coming home,” he said.

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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Catholic Culture

A prosecutor in the Dominican Republic says that he has clear evidence that the apostolic nuncio there, Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, was guilty of sexual abuse of minors.

Archbishop Wesolowski was recalled to Rome in August, after Church leaders in the Dominican Republic informed Pope Francis that they had uncovered evidence of sexual abuse by the papal representative. The evidence was also turned over to civil authorities.

Bolivar Sanchez, the chief prosecutor in the case, reports that Church officials have cooperated fully with his investigation. The Vatican has also promised full cooperation.

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GEORGIA
Savannah Morning News

By For Bryan County Now

A Catholic priest, Fr. Robert “Bob” Poandl, who worked in Pembroke and six other Georgia towns was found guilty of criminal child sex abuse last week in U.S. Federal Court in Cincinnati.

Poandl was found guilty of federal child sex charges that he transported a 10-year Cincinnati old boy to Spencer, W.V. in Aug. 1991 where he sexually assaulted the child.

In Georgia the priest worked in Blairsville, Dahlonga, Cleveland, Glenville, Claxton and Sand Hill as well as Pembroke.

Poandl belongs to a Fairfield Ohio-based Catholic religious order called the Glenmary Missioners. Besides Georgia, he worked at churches and church assignments in Ohio, Okla., Pa., Texas, Ky., La. and Miss.

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NEW YORK
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

[Grad goes public in prep sex suit – New York Post]

For immediate release: Monday, Sept. 23

Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 566 9790, SNAPclohessy@aol.com )

Shame on every single employee of St. Francis Prep School and the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn. They’re using junk yard dog lawyers to force a child sex abuse victim to publicly reveal her identity.

For decades, Catholic officials have deliberately used inexcusable and mean-spirited tactics to intimidate victims, witnesses and whistleblowers into staying silent about clergy sex crimes and cover ups. But there’s no more inexcusable and mean-spirited tactic than this one – insisting that a victim of a heinous, invasive and devastating child sex crime disclose her name.

Shame on every Catholic official involved. Every single church or school employee who doesn’t publicly denounce this viciousness basically condones it and should be ashamed of himself or herself.

We admire Felicia Mooradian and two others – Mark Evangelista and Elizabeth Cucinotta Sorvillo – who are bravely exposing clergy sex crimes and cover ups. We commend them for their courage. We are glad they realize that they have nothing to be ashamed of and have done nothing wrong. The shame here, and there’s plenty of it, belongs to current and former St. Francis Prep School employees who saw, suspected or knew about Br. Ben O’Reilly’s crimes and ignored or conceal them and who keep quiet about this stunningly callous and hurtful legal assault on the privacy of a child sex crime victim.

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LOUISIANA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Monday, Sept. 23, 2013

Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 862 7688 home, 314 503 0003 cell, SNAPdorris@gmail.com )

Bishop Shelton Fabre, an auxiliary bishop of New Orleans since 2006, has been promoted to head the Houma-Thibodaux diocese, succeeding retiring Bishop Sam Jacobs. We are disappointed with this move.

[Whispers in the Loggia]

Earlier this year, we urged Bishop Fabre and his colleagues to aggressively seek out others who may have been hurt by Fr. Mark A. Broussard, who had just been sued for child sexual abuse. As best we can tell, neither Bishop Fabre nor any of his peers took any helpful action.

[SNAP]

In 2009, Bishop Fabre met with a group of clergy sex abuse victims in New Orleans. “We’re not impressed with him,” attorney Roger Stetter said. “I know many of clients were deeply offended by Bishop Fabre.”

[BishopAccountability.org]

Bishop Fabre worked under Archbishop Albert Hughes, who was part of a long line of church staffers in Boston who ignored, concealed and enabled heinous child sex crimes for decades.

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ARGENTINA
Telam

Alejandro Varela aseguró que el hecho de que el cura Julio César Grassi esté en libertad “viola el principio de igualdad ante la ley”. “Prácticamente constituye un fuero personal, repugnante para la Constitución Nacional”, agregó.

“En la provincia de Buenos Aires no hay duda de que esta persona es culpable de los delitos por los que fue acusado”, afirmó Varela en declaraciones a Radio Provincia.

Aseguró que el Tribunal “convocó a la audiencia sólo para saber si debe o no quedar detenido”.

Puntualizó que quienes se oponen a la restricción de la libertad argumentan que la causa todavía puede llegar a la Corte Suprema de la Nación, pero recordó que las cárceles están llenas de personas procesadas sin sentencia firme.

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ARGENTINA
Diario Uno

El sacerdote Julio César Grassi recusó este lunes al Tribunal Oral Criminal N° 1 de Morón. Hay que recordar que este tribunal lo condenó a 15 años por abuso sexual y corrupción de menores, y que el fiscal pidió su “inmediata detención”.

Grassi al concurrir a una audiencia a las 9:00 en el Tribunal 1 de Morón para notificarse de un fallo reciente de la Cámara de Casación Bonaerense que avaló una orden de detención en su contra, y en persona recusó a los jueces por parcialidad y al fiscal Alejandro Varela por “enemistad manifiesta”.

“Vengo a recusar a los señores jueces (Mariana) Maldonado, (Claudio) Chaminade, y (Pablo) Lucero, ello en cuanto median circunstancias que, por su gravedad, afectan su independencia e imparcialidad”, sostuvo Grassi en su recusación.

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ARGENTINA
Telam

La audiencia que había sido convocada para las 13 con el fin de resolver sobre la libertad del cura condenado por los delitos de abuso sexual y corrupción de menores, se pospuso debido a que la defensa recusó al fiscal y a los integrantes del Tribunal.

“La audiencia se pospuso para las 14.30 por la recusación que presentó el imputado contra el tribunal de Morón”, indicó a la prensa el fiscal de la causa Alejandro Varela, quien informó que todavía no había sido notificado sobre la recusación en su contra.

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ARGENTINA
Clarin

23/09/13
La defensa del cura Julio César Grassi, condenado a 15 años de cárcel por los delitos de abuso sexual agravado y corrupción de menores, recusó hoy por presunta “parcialidad” a los jueces del tribunal oral de Morón, que deben resolver si efectivizan o no el pedido de “inmediata detención” en su contra.

El cura formuló el planteo contra el tribunal al notificarse esta mañana del fallo que confirmó la pena en su contra. Al mismo tiempo, sus defensores recusaron al fiscal Alejandro Varela, quien pidió su detención por la presunta causal de “enemistad manifiesta”.

Para analizar esta recusación, el Tribunal Oral en lo Criminal 1 de Morón pospuso hasta las 14.30 el comienzo de la audiencia en la que se analizarán la situación del sacerdote luego de que la Corte bonaerense confirmara su condena por abuso sexual, según confirmó esta tarde el fiscal.

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TEXAS
El Diario de El Paso

Juliana Henao
El Diario de El Paso | 2013-09-22

El tema resulta escabroso, muchos prefieren no pensar en él u obviarlo. Otros dicen que les resulta increíble, repulsivo e incluso, doloroso.

Lo cierto es que se trata de un problema real, lamentablemente latente, que cubre con una estela de tristeza y sufrimiento a las víctimas y la iglesia católica a nivel mundial.

Nos referimos a la pederastia.

Con paciencia, sinceridad y una valentía casi sobrehumana, arropadas en el afecto que siente por los fieles, el recién instalado obispo de la Diócesis Católica de El Paso, Mark J. Seitz, puso interés en abordar el tema.

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MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

[Archdiocese knew of priest’s sexual misbehavior, yet kept him in ministry – Minnesota Public Radio]

For immediate release: Monday, Sept. 23

Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 566 9790, SNAPclohessy@aol.com )

It seems clear that at least two top Catholic officials hid, tampered with, or tried to tamper with evidence in a recent clergy sex abuse case. In light of this, we call on Minnesota prosecutors to open a grand jury investigation into the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese’s handling of clergy sex crimes.

A lengthy Minnesota Public Radio story details how high-ranking staff of the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese kept Fr. Curtis C. Wehmeyer on the job despite “repeated troubling actions by and allegations against” the priest.

Last year, Fr. Wehmeyer pled guilty to 20 charges related to criminal sexual conduct against two St. Paul boys and possession of child pornography.

At least two archdiocesan staffers – Fr. Kevin McDonough and Greta Sawyer – acted recklessly and inappropriately, and did so, we believe, with the intent to hide or minimize Fr. Wehmeyer’s crimes.

Fr. Kevin McDonough

In 2012, “Before police arrived, McDonough and (Deacon John Vomastek) confronted Wehmeyer at the Blessed Sacrament rectory, according to police. McDonough took the priest’s handgun and one of his computers.”

We can’t help but wonder if Fr. McDonough destroyed or tampered with evidence – either on the computer or elsewhere. Without a grand jury investigation, Twin Cities Catholics and citizens will never know whether this prominent and powerful Catholic official helped or tried to help a criminal hide some of his crimes.

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LOUISIANA
Roman Catholic Diocese of Alexandria

Pope names Auxiliary Bishop Fabre of New Orleans to succeed Jacobs

WASHINGTON—Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Sam Jacobs, 75, from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodeaux and named Auxiliary Bishop Shelton Fabre of New Orleans, 49, to succeed him.

The resignation and appointment were publicized in Washington, September 23, by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Shelton Fabre was born October 25, 1963, in New Roads, Louisiana. He earned a bachelor of arts degree from St. Joseph Seminary College, St. Benedict, Louisiana, and a master of arts degree from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1989, and auxiliary bishop of New Orleans, 2006.

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POLONIA
Fakt

Dziennikarz „Newsweeka” pojechał na Dominikanę, aby dowiedzieć się, o co dokładnie chodzi w aferze pedofilskiej, w którą zamieszani są polscy duchowni: nuncjusz abp Józef Wesołowski oraz ks. Wojciech Gil. Oto fragment reportażu „Newsweeka”:

Bolîvar R. Sánchez Veloz z prokuratury generalnej poprawia szarą marynarkę: – No więc najpierw chodzili za nimi dziennikarze. Nie wiem jak, ale informacje o tym, że telewizja kręci się wokół nuncjusza, trafiły do kardynała Lópeza Rodrigueza, arcybiskupa Santo Domingo. Latem ktoś od kardynała sprawdzał, czy mieliśmy jakieś postępowanie w sprawie nuncjusza. Dziś rozumiem, że Kościół robił własne śledztwo

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REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
Al Momento

SANTO DOMINGO.- El diácono Francisco Javier Occi Reyes, preso en San Pedro de Macorís, al momento de ser arrestado seducía a un jovencito para llevarlo donde el ex nuncio Joseph Wesolwski, que lo esperaba cerca.

Las declaraciones habrían sido emitidas a los investigadores por el mismo religioso, quien pertenecía a la iglesia Santa Cruz de El Seibo.

De acuerdo al procurador adjunto Bolívar Sánchez, Occi dijo que buscaba llevar al jovencito donde Wesolowski cuando la víctima alertó a un agente de Politur sobre lo que estaba pasando, y éste arrestó al diácono.

Señaló que en ese momento, Wesolwski abandonó el lugar, pero que no dijo nada porque pensó que éste lo iba a sacar de la prisión a través de sus influencias. Dijo que, además, la iglesia le prometió resolver su caso, pero supo que todo era una farsa cuando se enteró por los medios de comunicación que había sido suspendido por el obispo de Higüey, monseñor Nicanor Peña, el pasado 16 de este mes.

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REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
Panorama Diario

Santo Domingo.- El procurador adjunto y fiscal asignado para investigar las denuncias de pederastia en contra del ex nuncio Jósef Wesolowski y Bolívar Sánchez, reveló que el sacerdote Wojciech Gil (Alberto), sindicado como abusador de menores en Juncalito, Santiago, “tenía más de 87 mil fotos y videos en una computadora de la parroquia”.

Entre otros detalles, el procurador Sánchez explicó que los departamentos de Crímenes y Delitos de Alta Tecnología de la Procuraduría y la Policía Nacional analizaron el disco duro y “encontraron en él una gran cantidad de archivos pornográficos”.

“Muchas de las fotos son pornográficas y otras insinuadoras de niños posando con ropa interior como si fueran niñas, menores teniendo relaciones con adultos y niños sosteniendo relaciones homosexuales”, detalló.

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ARGENTINA
Pagina/12

El sacerdote Julio César Grassi calificó así la condena a 15 años en su contra por abuso sexual de menores y aseguró estar “tranquilo, con fe en Dios y esperanza en la justicia”. Grassi se presentó esta mañana en los tribunales de Morón y desde el mediodía participará de la audiencia donde será notificado sobre su posible detención.

“Con el tiempo se va a tener mayor claridad”, sostuvo el cura esta mañana al defender nuevamente su inocencia. Además, al ser consultado sobre si teme quedar preso, sentenció: “La libertad nunca se pierde, es un don interior

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ARGENTINA
Diario Panorama

[23/09/2013] Juan Pablo Gallego, abogado querellante de la causa en la que se condenó a 15 años de prisión al sacerdote Julio César Grassi, reclamó este lunes al papa Francisco que “elimine” al cura de la Iglesia Católica, al considerar que resiste su detención con “medios espurios” y brinda un “espectáculo bizarro” al mostrarse ante la prensa.

“Grassi es un pedófilo condenado de manera irreversible; lo único que tiene que esperar es cuándo va a la cárcel y cuándo el papa Francisco lo elimina de la Iglesia Católica”, enfatizó Gallego, al analizar la situación del sacerdote condenado por abuso sexual.

El letrado opinó que el cura “resiste con medios espurios su situación de libertad, que es insólita”, pese a que “la causa Grassi, formalmente, terminó cuando la Suprema Corte (de Justicia bonaerense) impuso como sentencia definitiva para él la condena de 15 años (de prisión)”.

“Grassi es una persona especialmente trasgresora; le divierte trasgredir, denostar a las víctimas por televisión y le quitaron el beneficio de libertad condicional por no respetar las mínimas indicaciones judiciales”, dijo Gallego en declaraciones radiales.

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ARGENTINA
La Verdad

23 de septiembre de 2013
Escribe Omar Bello

El sacerdote Julio César Grassi fue condenado en casi todas las instancias legales y debe estar preso. Si llegó hasta acá libre es porque tuvo un apoyo legal y económico que, aprovechándose del impacto que genera su condición de cura en algunos casos y haciendo lobby en otros, logró crearle una situación de privilegio que, por el delito del que está acusado (abuso de menores) resulta inaceptable y plantea un serio precedente en términos sociales.

Es cierto que muchos creen que la causa fue armada después del episodio mediático que incluía los juegos telefónicos de Susana Giménez, y que hasta se ordenó una investigación paralela (sólo destinada a los miembros de la Iglesia) donde se ponen en duda varios de los planteos realizados durante el juicio. Sin embargo, aún con todos sus defectos, la justicia es el único medio que tenemos a la hora de seguir siendo una civilización, y en tres instancias diferentes no sólo lo condenó sino que fue permisiva en cuanto al tránsito del sacerdote que, salvo por un período insignificante, logró permanecer libre a lo largo de una década. Más aún, algunos juristas señalan que ese tiempo podría ser considerado dentro de la pena y, pasado un breve tiempo, Grassi estaría libre.

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ARGENTINA
Buenos Aires Herald

Priest Julio César Grassi, whose arrest is imminent on charges of sex abuse against minors who were under his protection, today came on stage to say the sentence to 15 years in prison “is a cross one must know how to bear.”

“Time will bring clarity. Justice takes time,” he told reporters after arriving today at a court in Morón locality where he will be notified about the arrest warrant issued last week against him.

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REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
Al Momento

Por AURA CELESTE FERNANDEZ
LA AUTORA es abogada. Reside en Santo Domingo.

He sido y soy católica desde que nací. Confieso que tengo mucha fe en Dios. Creo en que existe la vida después de la muerte. Creo en nuestro Señor Jesucristo. Oro todos los días de mi vida.

No concibo vivir sin fe. La fe me fortalece y me posibilita tener confianza en esta vida con tantas incertidumbres.

Cada día lucho por el incremento de mi fe.

Les confieso que me trabajo diariamente para que los desafueros humanos de quienes se dicen tan cercanos a Dios, no cuestionen mi fe y mi cercanía al Señor. Pero les manifiesto que es duro para los creyentes lo que está pasando en la Iglesia con sacerdotes y el ministro denunciados por sus comportamientos delictuales y altamente abusivos.

Para nadie es un secreto que la iglesia tiene muchos sacerdotes consagrados, nobles, coherentes, entregados, humildes, con votos de pobreza y con alto sentido de misión, que trabajan día a día por el bienestar de la gente y de las comunidades. A mí me consta y doy testimonio de ello.

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REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
Noticias SIN

[Summary: In Poland, the St. Michael the Archangel congregation said it does not know the whereabouts of priest Alberto Gil Wojciech who has been accused of abusing minors in the Dominican Republic.]

SANTO DOMINGO, República Dominicana.- En Polonia, la congregación del sacerdote Alberto Wojciech Gil, acusado de pedofilia en Juncalito, tampoco sabe de su paradero.

Según informaron el padre Gil fue suspendido de sus funciones tan pronto estalló la noticia en junio.

Según el portavoz de la congregación San Michael Arcángel, sus superiores desconocen el paradero de Alberto Wojciech Gil.

“Desde el momento que el Superior General le instruyó que regresara a la República Dominicana no se ha tenido contacto con el Padre Wojciech y tampoco sabemos dónde se encuentra. No está en ninguna casa de la congregación”, informó el padre Tadeusz Musz portavoz de la Congregación San Miguel Arcángel

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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Dominican Today

Santo Domingo.- The lead investigator in the child abuse case against former Vatican envoy Józef Wesolowski on Sunday revealed that the priest Wojciech Gil (Padre Alberto), accused of the crimes in Juncalito, Santiago, had more than 87,000 photos and videos with children on the parish computer.

Deputy prosecutor Bolivar Sanchez said among other details, the Justice Ministry’s and the National Police’s tech crimes units analyzed Gil’s hard drive and found a large number of porno images.

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MINNESOTA
KTTC

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – When the Rev. Curtis Wehmeyer was accused last year of sexually abusing children, officials from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis told police he would immediately be relieved of his duties and were praised for their response.

But Minnesota Public Radio reports (http://bit.ly/1eBMg7q ) top archdiocese officials had known of Wehmeyer’s sexual compulsions for nearly a decade yet kept him in ministry and failed to warn parishioners.

Wehmeyer is serving a 5-year prison term for sexually abusing two boys and possessing child pornography. He declined to comment, as did Archbishop John Nienstedt.

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AUSTRALIA
SBS

[with video]

By Marion Ives

Ten months after the historic Royal Commission was announced, counsellor help lines are being flooded with calls.

They say people reporting to the inquiry are reliving old traumas.

“This discussion will be quite painful for all of us, but it will also help us to move to a place where we are going to be much better prepared to protect our children”.

The Rape and Domestic Violence Services Australia received almost $3 million of extra funding.

It traditionally helps women in New South Wales, but with demand soaring, it has now become a national service.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Dan Cox

The inquiry into child sexual abuse within the Hunter Valley’s Catholic Church has heard there is a “total commitment” by New South Wales Police to investigate allegations of abuse.

The special commission’s public hearings have wrapped up but the legal representatives for the key witnesses have been given the opportunity to make oral submissions.

The inquiry’s first part is looking at whistleblower senior policeman Peter Fox’s claims he was ordered to stop investigating two paedophile priests.

Representing New South Wales Police, Wayne Roser told the commission “officers at all levels take allegations of child sexual abuse, and allegations of concealment, seriously”.

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NEW YORK
New York Post

By Rich Calder and Lorena Mongelli
September 23, 2013

A former student at a prestigious Queens prep academy who anonymously signed on to a scathing $17 million sex-abuse lawsuit against the school is revealing her identity to The Post after officials there coldly sought a court order demanding her name be made public.

“My goal is to be a brave face for other victims to come forward,” said Felicia Mooradian, a 2009 graduate of St. Francis Preparatory School who claims to have been sexually harassed and bullied at age 14 by a 62-year-old Franciscan brother who taught Spanish there.

“It should be called St. Francis ‘Predatory’ School,” she said. “The Christian thing would be to admit your mistakes, not hide them.”

The 21-year-old Queens native initially signed on as “Jane Doe” to the Brooklyn federal-court lawsuit, which was filed in June and accuses school officials of ignoring decades of complaints by her and other students of sexual and physical abuse by faculty.

Lawyers for the Fresh Meadows school — which is run by the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn — argued in court that there are no legal grounds for her to remain anonymous.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 23 September 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father:

– appointed Bishop Shelton J. Fabre as bishop of Houma-Thibodaux (area , population , Catholics , priests , permanent deacons , religious ), U.S.A. Bishop Fabre, previously auxiliary of New Orleans, U.S.A., was born in New Road, U.S.A. in 1963, was ordained to the priesthood in 1989, and received episcopal ordination in 2007. He succeeds Bishop Sam G. Jacobs, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese upon having reached the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.

– appointed Archbishop Martin Krebs as apostolic nuncio to Fiji, Samoa and Vanuatu. Archbishop Krebs was previously apostolic nuncio to New Zealand, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia, and apostolic delegate in the Pacific Ocean.

On Saturday, 21 September, the Holy Father:

– appointed Cardinal Mauro Piacenza as penitentiary major of the Apostolic Penitentiary. Cardinal Piacenza was previously prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy. He succeeds Cardinal Manuel Monteiro de Castro, whose resignation, upon reaching the age limit, was accepted by the Holy Father.

In the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith:

– confirmed Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller as prefect and Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer as secretary of the same Congregation;

– appointed Archbishop Joseph Augustine Di Noia as adjunct secretary. Archbishop Di Noia was previously vice president of the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei”;

– confirmed all members and consultors of the Congregation;

– appointed Bishop Giuseppe Sciacca, adjunct secretary of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura as consultor.

In the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples:

– confirmed Cardinal Fernando Filoni as prefect; Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-Fai S.D.B. as secretary; Archbishop Protase Rugambwa as adjunct secretary; and all members and consultors.

In the Congregation for the Clergy:

– appointed Archbishop Beniamino Stella as prefect. Archbishop Stella was previously president of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy;

– confirmed Archbishop Celso Morga Iruzubieta as secretary;

– appointed Bishop Jorge Carlos Patron Wong of Papantla as secretary for Seminaries, at the same time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop;

The Holy Father also:

– appointed Msgr. Mauro Rivella, of the clergy of the archdiocese of Turin, as delegate of the Ordinary Section of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See.

– appointed Archbishop Nikola Eterovic as apostolic nuncio to Germany. Archbishop Eterovic was previously secretary general of the Synod of Bishops.

– appointed Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri as secretary general of the Synod of Bishops. Archbishop Baldisseri was previously secretary of the Congregation for Bishops.

– appointed Archbishop Miroslaw Adamczyk as apostolic nuncio to Sierra Leone. Archbishop Adamczyk was previously apostolic nuncio to Liberia and Gambia.

– appointed Msgr. Giampiero Gloder, as apostolic nuncio and president of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, at the same time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop. The archbishop-elect was previously nunciature councillor and office chief with special duties at the Secretariat of State.

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OHIO
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY DAVID CLOHESSY ON SEPTEMBER 20, 2013

Today, an Ohio jury found Fr. Robert Poandl guilty of molesting a boy years ago.

[Cincinnati.com]

But in the most crucial sense, this brave victim and his family won long before today.

The son won when he found the strength to tell his parents. His parents won the minute they believed their son. The family won when they decided to contact the police. They won again when police believed them. They won again when prosecutors believed them. They won again when criminal charges were filed in West Virginia. They won again when Fr. Poandl was taken off the job. They won again when criminal charges were re-filed in Ohio. They won again when news media (time and time again) put Fr. Poandl’s name out there as a credibly accused child molester, warning families about him and making it impossible for Catholic officials to put him back on the job.

Church officials transferred Fr. Poandl roughly 30 times in 44 years (sometimes to the same location twice) in Ohio, Texas, Georgia, Mississippi, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Pennsylvania.

[BishopAccountability.org]

Dozens and dozens of Catholic officials, in virtually every one of these places, have done nothing to warn parents, parishioners and the public about Fr. Poandl. In contrast, this courageous family has done everything responsible adults should do when they know about a predator. We are so, so proud of them!

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PERU
Religion Digital

El ex obispo de Ayacucho: “En algunas circunstancias he sido imprudente”

En una carta que data del 1 de julio de 2013, el ex obispo de Ayacucho, Gabino Miranda, acusado de pedofilia, reconoce que “en algunas circunstancias he sido imprudente”. En la carta asegura que esas “supuestas faltas no pueden ser tipificadas de delito contra sextum (sexto mandamiento)”.

La misma fue leída en el programa Panorama, y en ella el ex obispo Miranda dijo desconocer los motivos por los que fue separado de la Iglesia Católica y considera “desproporcionadas” las sanciones impuestas a su persona.

“Desconozco los delitos que se me acusa, desconozco la procedencia de los denunciantes y la jurisdicción y la época en la cual se cometieron los supuestos delitos”, expresó el ex obispo auxiliar de Ayacucho.

Miranda indicó que presentará un recurso para revocar el decreto que establece su sanción de pedofilia.

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PERU
La Republica

Respuesta. A través de carta difundida por Panorama, obispo acusado de pedofilia desconoce los delitos que se le imputan. Hay más casos de sacerdotes cuestionados.

El ex obispo auxiliar de Ayacucho Gabino Miranda Melgarejo respondió a las críticas de la opinión pública y a la investigación que le inició el Ministerio Público a través de una carta que fue difundida por el programa periodístico Panorama de canal 5 TV.

En su comunicación, Miranda cuestionó que se le haya cesado sin decirle por qué, rechazó las acusaciones y aseguró desconocer la procedencia de los denunciantes, así como la época en que fue cometido el supuesto delito de pedofilia. Cabe recordar que el ex obispo auxiliar de Ayacucho ya es investigado por la Fiscalía.

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ARGENTINA
Pagina/12

Por Carlos Rodríguez
María Inés Olivella, testigo en la causa contra el cura Julio César Grassi luego de haber sido terapeuta de uno de los chicos que lo denunciaron por abuso sexual, aseguró que el caso “reactualiza la problemática psicológica y social de la que son víctimas los niños, niñas y adolescentes que llegaron tarde en el reparto de bienes de nuestra sociedad y que, por tanto, los define como excluidos sin destino ni futuro”. Olivella, miembro fundadora de Amnistía Internacional en Argentina y candidata a legisladora por Izquierda Democrática, resaltó que “no es casual, a la luz de la historia, que demore tanto considerar a un niño sujeto de derecho”, en relación con lo que está viviendo “Gabriel”, quien era un chico cuando ocurrieron los hechos por los cuales ha sido condenado Grassi.

“Todavía es difícil librarlos de sus crueles sometimientos porque en nuestra sociedad cumplen funciones de servicios sexuales, trabajo no pagado o mal pagado y hambre sin salud. Todos sabemos quiénes son los adultos hipócritas y cobardes escondidos en la impunidad, mientras siguen gozando de lo que los niños les proveen; y esta situación parece ser un ejemplo”, expresó Olivella en un comunicado enviado a Página/12.

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CANADA
CNW

Métis National Council President Clément Chartier Once Again Calls for Métis Nation Inclusion in the Residential Schools Reconciliation Initiative

VANCOUVER, Sept. 22, 2013 /CNW/ – With the second last national event of the TRC now concluded, and the last one being put in place for March 2014 in Alberta, President Chartier calls upon the federal government to reconsider its position with respect to Métis boarding/residential schools and include such excluded schools in the reconciliation process.

“If the federal government continues to exclude Métis residential schools from the reconciliation process, including the government’s apology and settlement agreement, a stain will remain in its efforts to correct its past racist assimilation efforts” stated President Chartier, concluding that “if all Aboriginal peoples are not included in the reconciliation initiative, then it will ultimately remain as incomplete and exclusionary”.

President Chartier also calls upon the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to carefully craft its final report to ensure that it does not inadvertently leave the impression that Métis residential schools were part of the reconciliation effort under their mandate, while at the same time making note that a small number of Métis were fortunate to have attended an Indian residential school and were therefore included in the process.

“The work of the TRC is both important and critical to the evolving relationship between Aboriginal peoples and Canada” stated President Chartier, re-affirming that “in the case of the Métis Nation and the exclusion of Métis residential schools, the TRC must be extremely vigilant in its conclusions that this issue must be addressed head-on, with a direct statement that such residential schools were excluded, and that the federal government must work positively to rectify this exclusion”.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

SARAH MACDONALD – 23 SEPTEMBER 2013

A HIGH-profile priest has lashed out at Cardinal Sean Brady for listening to “malicious complaints intended to discredit” Fr Iggy O’Donovan.

Fr Tony Flannery, a spokesman for the Association of Catholic Priests in Ireland, accused the Catholic primate of behaving “very inappropriately” over his role in reporting the Augustinian priest to the Vatican over a baptism deemed invalid on the basis of a complaint by someone who attended the ceremony.

The parents of the child were asked by a local priest in Drogheda to have their son rebaptised following the complaint to Cardinal Brady.

The complainant reported the priest for allowing the godparents and parents pour water over the child’s head. This is considered incorrect procedure in the Catholic Church.

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KENYA
Osun Defender

Nairobi convents have been turned into a house of sexual immorality, a nun has revealed.

The woman of God has revealed for the first time that priests who are well-connected to John Cardinal Njue, are sex pests and are preying on nuns everyday.

She told The Nairobian that she lives in fear of falling into a sex trap.

The Catholic church’s leadership has neither confirmed or denied allegations that priests and nuns have been engaging in sex.

Open discussion on sex in the Catholic Church is almost taboo, yet there is widespread intimacy between priests and nuns.

A number of priests have abandoned the celibacy vow, succumbing to the urge of the flesh with nuns being the principal partners either willingly or through coercion.

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MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

[includes documents]

[with audio]

[timeline]

By Madeleine Baran, MPR News
September 23, 2013

Curtis Wehmeyer kept his white 2006 camper parked outside Blessed Sacrament Church in St. Paul where he served for six years, three of them as pastor.

With the shades drawn, Wehmeyer could avoid the obligations of priestly life. He got drunk, smoked pot and looked at child pornography. He also lured to the camper two boys whose mother worked at the parish, plied them with alcohol, turned on pornography and told them to touch themselves. Several times, he touched one of the boys, according to police records.

The family trusted “Father Curt.” As a priest, he had special powers. He could anoint the sick and baptize the young. Maybe, the mother hoped, he could inspire one of her sons to become a priest.

That hope died last summer when one of the boys told his aunt what happened in the camper. The mother went to another priest, and then to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Soon after, police arrested Wehmeyer, who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing the boys, ages 12 and 14, and possessing child pornography. A judge sentenced the priest to five years in prison.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By MICHELLE HARRIS Sept. 23, 2013

UPDATED

Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox was never ordered by senior police not to investigate clergy abuse – only to stay out of those matters Strike Force Lantle was investigating, the Special Commission of Inquiry has been told.

Barrister for the Commissioner of Police, Wayne Roser SC, told the inquiry on Monday afternoon that Mr Fox was not made a strike force member but remained “at liberty” to investigate other allegations relating to other victims.

But instead he had leaked information that could adversely effect the strike force’s work on paedophile priest Denis McAlinden and chose to advocate to “anyone who would listen to him” that Lantle was a “sham set up to fail”.

Mr Roser told the inquiry that NSW Police had “total commitment” to investigate child sexual abuse allegations.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

September 23, 2013

By P.J. D’Annunzio / The Legal Intelligencer

A former Catholic Church official convicted of endangering the welfare of children abused by other priests should not have been considered a supervisor of the children’s welfare because he never had direct contact with them, his counsel argued before the state Superior Court in Philadelphia.

A three-judge panel composed of President Judge John T. Bender, Judge Christine L. Donohue and Senior Judge John L. Musmanno heard arguments in Commonwealth v. Lynn last week.

The lawyer representing Monsignor William Lynn, the former secretary for clergy in the Philadelphia archdiocese, is arguing that the law he was convicted under does not apply to the official, given the facts of the case.

Thomas A. Bergstrom, of Pittsburgh’s Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, argued that prosecutors did not make the case that, under Pennsylvania’s endangering-the-welfare-of-child statute, Lynn had any contact with children.

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VATICAN CITY
Chiesa

The secretary general of the Italian bishops is at the end of his mandate, and it will be the pope who decides whether to confirm him or not. On the calendar the first episcopal ordination done by the current pontiff. And also his is the strange about-face after the appointment of Camaldo as canon

VATICAN CITY, September 23, 2013 – After the appointments made in the curia two days ago, another substantial change is approaching at the summit of the Italian Church, and this time as well Pope Francis will have the last word.

Today the leadership of the Italian episcopal conference is meeting in Rome. And in two days, on September 25, comes the expiration of the five-year term of its secretary general, the Sicilian bishop Mariano Crociata (in the photo).

Crociata could be confirmed in the position, but it is also possible that he will be promoted to archbishop and made military ordinary for Italy. What is certain is that his name is on the short list of candidates for this position.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Dan Cox

The Special Commission of Inquiry into claims of a Catholic Church cover-up returns to Newcastle.

The inquiry into child sexual abuse within the Hunter Valley’s Catholic Church has heard there is a “total commitment” by New South Wales Police to investigate allegations of abuse.

The special commission’s public hearings have wrapped up but the legal representatives for the key witnesses have been given the opportunity to make oral submissions.

The inquiry’s first part is looking at whistleblower senior policeman Peter Fox’s claims he was ordered to stop investigating two paedophile priests.

Representing New South Wales Police, Wayne Roser told the commission “officers at all levels take allegations of child sexual abuse, and allegations of concealment, seriously”.

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CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles Wave

By Wave Wire Services
NORWALK — An Oct. 16 arraignment on sexual assault charges is scheduled for an associate pastor of Las Buenas Nuevas Church here, who is suspected of preying on undocumented women parishioners.

Jorge Juan Castro, 54, of Norwalk, is jailed in lieu of $2 million bail while awaiting arraignment in Norwalk Superior Court on a six-count complaint stemming from alleged sexual assaults on two woman who attended services at his church.

Investigators with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department — who arrested Castro at his home Sept. 13 — believe there are additional victims.

A sheriff’s statement says “numerous female parishioners” were allegedly sexually abused, and “many of the victims are Spanish-speaking undocumented immigrants.”

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CALIFORNIA
Christian Post

BY MORGAN LEE , CP CONTRIBUTOR
September 22, 2013

An associate pastor in California has been arrested and accused of molesting as many as 20 female church members in the past eight years.

Jorge Juan Castro, 54, worked as an associate pastor and counselor at Las Buenas Nuevas Church in Norwalk, Ca. In April, he was placed on leave after 20 women reported sexual abuse to a church official, who in turn reported it to police.

Castro allegedly told the women who questioned his actions that they were part of a faith-healing process, said police.

“He claimed to have healing hands and ulitized that process to eventually sexually assault them,” Esson said. “He preyed upon them from a trust position. He warned them they’d be the subject of ridicule in the church if they told others,” L.A. County Sheriff’s Capt. Robert Esson told The Los Angeles Times.

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AUSTRALIA
SBS

An inquiry into abuse by NSW priests has heard claims of a “gross, grubby and black conspiracy” by a whistleblower to hinder police are baseless.

Source AAP

Two pedophile priests were able to get away with years of abusing children in the NSW Hunter Valley because “a lot of good men did nothing”, an inquiry has been told.

A special commission is examining how Catholic church officials and police handled child sex abuse allegations involving priests James Fletcher and Denis McAlinden.

In his final public submission on behalf of whistleblower policeman Peter Fox, lawyer Mark Cohen said on Monday many people had failed to act to protect the child victims.

“A lot of good men have done nothing, and this has allowed the ilk of James Fletcher and Denis McAlinden to do what they did,” he said.

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NEW YORK
Failed Messiah

Haredi Rabbis Who Cover Up Child Sex Abuse To Have Complete Control Over Leiby Kletzky Security Camera Footage

After almost 2 years of secrecy (and, many say, deception) by NY State Assemblyman Dov Hikind, Agudath Israel of America and State Senator Dean Skelos (who funded the $1 million grant with Hikind), 100 security cameras are reportedly about to be installed in Borough Park – under the complete control of the very haredi rabbis who have spent decades covering up child sex abuse and other crimes in the haredi community.

Remember that $1 million dollar New York State grant for security cameras from New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind and State Senator Dean Skelos to Agudath Israel of America after the Leiby Kletzky murder two years ago?

After more than one year of secrecy (and, many say, deception) by Hikind, Agudah and Skelos, 100 security cameras are reportedly about to be installed in Borough Park – under the complete control of Agudath Israel of America.

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MINNESOTA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

Date:Sunday, September 22, 2013
Source:Jim Accurso

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis announced today that an accusation has recently been made against Fr. Mark Huberty by a woman alleging inappropriate touching. Fr. Huberty denies the allegations.

Huberty is a priest of the archdiocese and pastor of the Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Maplewood, Minnesota.

The allegation has been reported to the police, and the police and the Archdiocese have opened an investigation, which is ongoing. The Archdiocese is cooperating fully with all civil authorities.

As a result, Fr. Huberty is taking a temporary leave of absence until the matter is resolved. He is not being removed as pastor or being suspended; however, he will not be living at the Presentation rectory or exercising parish ministry during this time.

In the interim, the archdiocese is appointing an administrator to oversee pastoral responsibilities for the parish and arranging for priests to celebrate Masses and attend to all other sacramental needs of the community.

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MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

by Tom Scheck, Minnesota Public Radio
September 22, 2013

MAPLEWOOD, Minn. — A Maplewood priest told parishioners at the Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Sunday that he’s taking a leave of absence after an allegation surfaced that he had inappropriate contact with a woman.

During Sunday mass, the Rev. Mark Huberty, pastor of the chuch, characterized the situation as a “serious concern.”

“An accusation was recently made against me by a woman who alleges inappropriate touching, which I deny,” Huberty said.

Several parishioners appeared surprised by the news. Some were seen crying after Huberty made the announcement.

Huberty said he’s cooperating fully with investigations being conducted by police and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. In a statement, the archdiocese said Huberty is not being removed as pastor or being suspended. The statement also said Huberty will not be living at the parish during the investigation.

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AUSTRALIA
Courier Mail

EDITORIAL: For the sake of our children, truth must emerge from Royal Comission into institutional child sex abuse

IT’S now almost 11 months since former prime minister Julia Gillard announced a far-reaching Royal Commission into institutional child sex abuse.

In that time the Commission has heard hundreds of stories, both horrifying and heartbreaking.

More than a thousand survivors are yet to give their own evidence.

As Commissioner Peter McClellan recently said, the personal accounts confirm the devastating effects of abuse, and prove any exploitation has “catastrophic consequences” for survivors who are then likely to lead “a life which is seriously compromised from what it might otherwise have been”.

Tragically, abuse robs not just the child but also the woman or man who grows from that point.

Allegations of child abuse in institutional settings have long plagued organisations, some with proud histories.

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BRIDGEPORT (CT)
The Hartford Courant

By BERNARD T. DAVIDOW, bdavidow@courant.com
The Hartford Courant
10:28 a.m. EDT, September 22, 2013

New Bridgeport Bishop Frank J. Caggiano, who has promised to reach out to those Catholics who feel disenfranchised, has offered to meet with the local chapter of the Voice of the Faithful — a meeting the group says it was never able to arrange with his predecessor.

“He has a real chance to put his mark on the diocese, and we’re very excited about it,” said Jamie Dance, chairwoman of the group, which was formed after the priest sex abuse scandal broke more than 10 years ago.

The group’s relationship with former Bishop William Lori — now archbishop in Baltimore — was not a good one. They say he never accepted an offer to meet despite repeated requests.

After the pope selected Caggiano in late July, the group sent the incoming bishop a welcoming note. He wrote back and offered to meet. Caggiano was installed as the new bishop on Thursday.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

THE NSW Special Commission of Inquiry into child sex abuse allegations in the Hunter will return to Newcastle Supreme Court today.

Representatives for whistleblower Detective Chief Inspector Fox, Newcastle Herald journalist Joanne McCarthy, NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione and several Catholic Church clergy members are expected to read submissions during the final three hearing days.

NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell established the commission of inquiry, the first of its kind in Australia, after Mr Fox’s open letter to the Premier was published in the Herald in November last year and after he appeared on the ABC’s Lateline.

The inquiry, which ran between May and August this year, has considered police investigations of the late Hunter paedophile priests Denis McAlinden and Jim Fletcher and examined the Church’s handling of allegations involving the priests.

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ARGENTINA
Ambito

[Summary: Priest Julio Cesar Grassi, sentenced to 15 years in jail for aggravated sexual assault and corruption of minors, said the penalty is “unacceptable.” He will continue to try and prove his innocence.]

El cura Julio César Grassi, condenado a 15 años de prisión por abuso sexual agravado y corrupción de menores, consideró “inaceptable” la pena que le impuso la Justicia y aseguró que seguirá tratando de “demostrar su inocencia”.

El Obispado de Morón, al que pertenece Grassi, informó que el párroco se comunicó con esa Diócesis y ratificó su inocencia en los casos por los cuales fue condenado. La sentencia fue confirmada por la Sala II de Casación y la Suprema Corte de Justicia de la provincia de Buenos Aires. El jueves pasado, la Cámara de Casación ordenó la detención de Grassi “al no cumplir los términos de la libertad provisional otorgada como alternativa al asistir a un programa televisivo”.

“El Obispado de Morón toma conocimiento del resultado del proceso judicial, mediante el cual la Suprema Corte de la Provincia de Buenos Aires ratifica lo actuado por los jueces inferiores. El padre Julio César Grassi es nuevamente absuelto en quince casos y condenado en dos”, dice el comunicado.

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ARGENTINA
La Nacion

Uno de los abogados querellantes en el caso que condenó al sacerdote Julio César Grassi a 15 años de prisión por abuso sexual agravado y corrupción de menores, consideró hoy que el Tribunal de Morón que lleva la causa “nunca va a dictar de oficio la detención” y cuestionó “influencias” de la defensa en la Justicia local.

Se trata del abogado Sergio Piris, representante de un adolescente que acusó a Grassi por abuso. El letrado también confirmó que mañana a las 13 se realizará una audiencia en los tribunales de Morón respecto de la causa sobre la violación de las condiciones de prisión domiciliaria.

Piris cuestionó que el imputado no cumpla su condena en prisión tras conocerse el fallo de la Corte bonaerense que ratificó la condena y aseguró que esa es una “respuesta que tienen que dar los jueces del Tribunal 1 de Morón”.

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UNITED STATES
Telegraph-Herald

Associated Press
NEW YORK — In recent years, many American bishops have drawn a harder line with parishioners on what could be considered truly Roman Catholic, adopting a more aggressive style of correction and telling abortion rights supporters to stay away from the sacrament of Communion.

Liberal-minded Catholics derided the approach as tone-deaf. Church leaders said they had no choice given what was happening around them: growing secularism, increasing acceptance of gay marriage, and a culture they considered more and more hostile to Christianity. They felt they were following the lead of the pontiffs who elevated them.

But in blunt terms, in an interview published Thursday in 16 Jesuit journals worldwide, the new pope, Francis called the church’s focus on abortion, marriage and contraception narrow and said it was driving people away. Now, the U.S. bishops face a challenge to rethink a strategy many considered essential for preserving the faith.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Express

KREFELD –
Die Staatsanwaltschaft Krefeld will die Auslieferung des in Südafrika lebenden Krefelder Priesters K. wegen Verdachts des sexuellen Missbrauchs an Kindern und Jugendlichen erreichen.

Sie hat jetzt einen entsprechenden Antrag gestellt. Der Mann sei in Auslieferungshaft gewesen, aber gegen Auflagen wieder auf freiem Fuß.

Dem Priester wird sexueller Missbrauch von Kindern und Jugendlichen in 37 Fällen vorgeworfen. Nach Angaben des Bistums Aachen steht der suspendierte Priester auch in Südafrika wegen Missbrauchs vor Gericht.

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UNITED STATES
The Freethinker

BY BARRY DUKE – SEPTEMBER 22, 2013

A CATHOLIC priest, found in a car on a college campus in Pennsylvania with a boy aged 15 who was not wearing pants, has been charged with one felony count of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and one felony count of unlawful contact with a minor.

The Rev W Jeffrey Paulish’s arrest comes days after a 53-year-old associate pastor at a Riverside County Church was arrested by Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials and charged with six felony counts of rape, oral copulation and penetration with a foreign object.

Police nabbed Paulish, 56, was nabbed at the Worthington Scranton campus of Penn State. He is also charged with three misdemeanor counts ­– indecent contact with a person under 16, indecent exposure, and corruption of a minor. He is being held at the Lackawanna County jail on $50,000 bail.

Paulish allegedly told police he was at the campus working on his homily when he met the teen, who he said was in emotional distress, and began “counselling him”.

According to the affidavit, he later admitted to police that he had arranged the meeting with the teen through the “casual encounters” section of Craigslist. Paulish told investigators that he had asked the boy three times if he was over the age of 18, the affidavit said.

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ARGENTINA
Online-911

{Summary: “Gabriel”, one of three men who accused priest Julio Cesar Grassi of abuse when they were minors, said it is hard to put into words the horror he suffered and continues to suffer because of the abuse. He said he had received death threats and was told he would not arrive alive for the trial. Grassi called him a liar and a criminal. “Gabriel” said that while Grassi remains free he remains a prisoner for life.]

11:10 : “Gabriel”, uno de los tres denunciantes que acusaron al padre Julio Cesar Grassi de abuso se refirió al calvario que vive en torno al proceso judicial contra el cura.

“Me costó mucho poder ponerle palabras al horror. Sufrí y sigo sufriendo por lo que me hizo el cura Grassi en el lugar en que creí y sentí que iba a recibir amparo”, dijo a través de una carte enviada al Diario Perfil.

Luego, detalló el proceso vivido desde que se animó a denunciar: “Fue una liberación poder decirlo. Pero nunca imaginé, más de diez años después, todo lo que se me vino encima y que aún no logro procesar. En la calle, desde la televisión y en donde estuviera me llegaban los mensajes y hasta una bala. Me dijeron que no podía llegar vivo al juicio”.

“Concurrí a todas las citaciones y me sometí a pericias. Grassi se negaba a todo. Me trataba de mentiroso y de delincuente, repetía mi nombre y distribuía mi imagen. Llegó el juicio oral. Una vez más, ante su mirada amenazante, sostuve mi verdad”, remarcó.

Respecto a la situación actual del cura, quien se encuentra en libertad a pesar de estar agotadas todas las instancias judiciales provinciales, dijo: “Escuchar la condena me reparó una parte de tanto daño. Pero cuatro años después, Grassi sigue libre. Y yo, preso en la vida sin poder recomenzar, por esta situación que nunca termina. Escuchando incluso esta última semana en televisión cómo la persona más allegada a Grassi disfrutaba y se ensañaba repitiendo una y otra vez mi nombre –lo único que tengo–, insultándome y humillándome”.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

DAN BOX
From: The Australian
September 23, 2013

ONE of Australia’s worst pedophile priests was brought from Ireland at the request of his former Catholic order, which warned he was difficult, bad-tempered and should be kept away from other people.

Documents tendered to the NSW Special Commission of Inquiry into church child abuse, which begins hearing closing submissions today, also reveal Denis McAlinden went on to commit dozens of sexual crimes against adults and children over several decades.

In 1949, the then Redemptorist provincial in Limerick, John Treacy, wrote to the Bishop of Maitland in the NSW Hunter Valley asking if “there be any possibility of taking one of our students”.

“You will very justly say then: ‘What is wrong with him, so why do you not wish to retain him? Well, his difficulty is community life . . . he is a bit hard to get on with in ordinary life. His temper is difficult,” the letter states.

While he did not specifically mention sexual crimes, the late Father Treacy recommended McAlinden “for the secular priesthood, in which he will have to live in that close association (as) we have to live with one another”.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By JOANNE McCARTHY Sept. 22, 2013

AN ‘‘organised ring’’ of paedophiles, believed to include Anglican and Catholic clergy, used a Sunday afternoon ‘‘children’s Christian program’’ in the 1970s to sexually abuse boys at a church-run boys home in Wallsend.

‘‘These men just came, got the boys, used them, and put them back,’’ said a Hunter woman whose husband has told a private hearing of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse that he was sexually assaulted by multiple offenders at Woodlands boys home.

The United Protestant Association has issued an unreserved apology for the ‘‘tragedy’’ of what occurred to child sex victims at Woodlands, where some of the smallest and youngest boys were targeted by the Sunday group.

‘‘From what the victims have told us, these men changed from week to week, suggesting a larger, organised ring,’’ UPA general manager Steve Walkerden and after-care support worker Graham Hercus said in a joint statement on Friday in response to Newcastle Herald questions.

‘‘We are aware of a group of men who did come to the home in the 1970s for a number of years on a Sunday afternoon, ostensibly to conduct a children’s Christian program, but who routinely took smaller boys into downstairs rooms in the building and abused them.’’

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AUSTRALIA
lewisblayse.net

The Royal Commission last week spent a lot of time on the failures of the “working with children” checks concerning Steven Larkins during his time with the Hunter Aboriginal Children’s Services organisation. It did not touch on the issue with regards to his other employers, namely the Education department, the Lutheran Church and the Catholic Church.

In a July 2013 report by the NSW Children’s Guardian, 700 religious organisations were surveyed concerning these checks, which have been compulsory for the past 15 years. Almost half of these organisations had not registered for the checks. Given that only 700 of the 4,000 such organisations were surveyed, the problem of non-compliance with the law is probably extreme.

The report stated that “appropriate governance arrangements were either not in place or given little attention.” It attributed the reason for this to “a lack of resources as well as an expectation or perception that someone else did it.” This is not a reason, it is an excuse. The Children’s Guardian has not said what steps have been taken to ensure compliance now.

Critically, it was found that religious organisations, especially the Baptist and Catholic Churches, were the main offenders, so it is even more unusual that the enquiry’s attention, in the first week, was exclusively on non-religious organisations concerning the “working with children” checks.

Many will be watching with interest to see if the commissioners touch on the religious organisations during next week’s proceedings.

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PERU
La Republic

Editorial

Aciertos y omisiones en el caso del obispo Miranda

Fiscalía de Ayacucho abrió investigación por pedofilia contra el ex obispo auxiliar de esa diócesis Gabino Miranda Melgarejo. Esta decisión fue adoptada de oficio luego de que un columnista de nuestro diario diese la alarma. Miranda fue destituido hace más de 40 días.

Según revela el corresponsal de La República en Ayacucho, el obispo de esa jurisdicción comunicó el 15 de agosto a la Iglesia la destitución de Miranda y su expulsión del estado clerical.

El fulminante proceso contra el obispo se realizó en mérito a las nuevas reglas canónicas. El año 2010 se reformó el documento De Delicta Graviora endureciendo la lucha contra la pederastia en la iglesia, ampliando el plazo para la denuncia, introduciendo el delito de adquisición y difusión de pornografía infantil y estableciendo que los casos graves sean presentados directamente al Papa. …

Translation:

The Ayacucho prosecutor opened an investigation into charges of pedophilia against former auxiliary bishop of that diocese, Gabino Miranda Melgarejo. This decision was officially adopted after a columnist for our paper give the alarm. Miranda was removed more than 40 days ago.

As revealed by the correspondent of the Republic in Ayacucho, the bishop of that jurisdiction announced on August 15 the Church Miranda’s dismissal and expulsion from the clerical state.

The withering process against the bishop was made in recognition of the new canonical rules. Vatican rules were reformed in 2010 to fight pedophilia in the church. The deadline for reporting was extended, the crime of acquisition and dissemination of child pornography was added and it established that serious cases are presented directly to the pope.

By intervening in this case based on canon law, the Church collected evidence and testimony of (the) victim (s) and their families. This information has not been referred to the civil authorities. For this reason, the prosecution questioned why having heard the case the national church hierarchy had not contacted the prosecutor.

In May 2011, American Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, ordered bishops to denounce clergy suspected of pedophilia to civil justice saying that child sexual abuse is not just a canonical delict but it also a crime to be prosecuted by the civil authorities. These efforts are aimed at no longer keeping these crimes in secrecy and asked the episcopal conferences to develop prevention programs and listen to and compensate the victims.

Contradictory to the spirit of the Universal Church are the words of the Cardinal Primate of the Peruvian church, Juan Luis Cipriani, who has criticized the public denunciation by the renowned Bishop of Chimbote, Luis Bambaren. We can say the same about the release from Opus Dei in Peru focused on explaining that Miranda does not belong to this prelature, a half truth, and instead of having solidarity with the victims states that Miranda denied any wrongdoing with minors.

It is also unfortunate that the President of the Episcopal Conference postponed explaining the facts until his return home. This attitude is far from adopting what other episcopal conferences in the region have done. For example, in April 2010 the Chilean church apologized for child abuse cases reported and urged victims to report these crimes.

This is an opportunity to bring change to the Peruvian church hierarch. New cases are added every yea. In February 2011, Sodality of Christian Life canceled the process of beatification of their leader Germán Doig due to serious accusations without revealing whether the facts have been judged by the law. In May of that year it was discovered that in Moquegua a Belgian priest served when a case file was reopened showing three alleged cases of child sexual abuse.The priest was suspended but the bishop of that diocese has refused to report on the outcome of the case. Then, other cases have been reported in Pucusana and Vitarte, in Lima, without further information from the authorities of the diocese.

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PERU
La Republica

[Summary: Juan Luis Cipriani, archbishop of Lima, minimized the pedophile charges against former Bishop Gabino Miranda, who was removed by the Vatican, and he blamed the scandal on the media. He asked for mercy. MIranda is being investigated by prosecutor for alleged abuse of minors.]

Excesos. Arzobispo de Lima minimizó caso de pedofilia del ex obispo Gabino Miranda pese a que el Vaticano lo destituyó. Además, culpó del escándalo a la prensa y pidió misericordia.

A pesar de que se ha confirmado que el ex obispo auxiliar de Ayacucho Gabino Miranda ha sido expulsado de la Iglesia Católica y ya es investigado por la Fiscalía por presunto delito de pedofilia, el Arzobispo de Lima Juan Luis Cipriani trató de minimizar el caso e incluso pidió tener misericordia con el sancionado sacerdote.

“En estos temas de cualquier situación de pedofilia, la Iglesia exige una claridad y transparencia y justicia muy grande. No sé qué tendrá que decir el propio interesado al respecto. Es muy dolorosa, si es como menciona, una situación de este estilo, pero las personas tienen derecho a defenderse y a saber qué ha pasado”, expresó.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

ELAINE KEOGH – 22 SEPTEMBER 2013

A COMPLAINT that Fr Iggy O’Donovan, the Drogheda-based rebel Augustinian priest, allowed godparents to pour water on a baby’s head during a baptism was used as the basis of a complaint about him to Rome that contributed to him being removed from his parish.

The complaint was made without the knowledge of the parents, who have told the Sunday Independent they fully support Fr O’Donovan.

It was initially made to Cardinal Sean Brady and subsequently forwarded to Rome.

As a result, another priest in the diocese approached the parents and told them the baby would have to be baptised again – and not by Fr Iggy, who leaves Drogheda this weekend for a year-long sabbatical in Limerick.

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PERU
Volkskrant (Nederland)

Een rooms-katholieke bisschop uit Peru is door het Vaticaan uit zijn ambt ontheven omdat hij wordt verdacht van seksueel misbruik van minderjarigen. Het openbaar ministerie in het Zuid-Amerikaanse land erkent dat een justitieel onderzoek naar de bisschop is ingesteld, maar wil niet aangeven waarover.

Het gaat om de 53-jarige Gabino Miranda. Hij was voorzitter van de jeugdcommissie van de rooms-katholieke kerk in Peru en stond in nauw contact met aartsbisschop Juan Cipriani. Zijn vertrek werd zaterdag bevestigd door een woordvoerder van de kerk.

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ARGENTINA
Rio Negro

[Summary: The president of the children and adolescents council, Patricia Baeza, said Bishop Marcilo Cuenca must make a quick explanation about why he and others in the church believe Julio Cesar Grassi is totally innocent of charges of abusing minors. The council is alarmed by these statements.]

ROCA (AR).- La presidenta del Consejo de Niñas, Niños y Adolescentes (CONyA), Patricia Baeza, aseguró ayer que las declaraciones efectuadas por el obispo Marcelo Cuenca “rayan la perversión” y reclamó una rápida explicación de la Iglesia Católica sobre los dichos del religioso, quien aseguró que Julio César Grassi “es totalmente inocente”.

“Como institución nos alarman y nos preocupan sus declaraciones. No alcanza sólo con repudiar”, dijo la trabajadora social.

Aclaró que las personas que trabajan con niños o adultos que han sido víctimas de un abuso saben perfectamente lo que implica la condena como una reparación del daño que han efectuado. “Pero también nos preocupa que no haya voces disidentes, por lo menos hasta ahora no las hemos escuchado. La Iglesia no se expidió”, dijo.

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ARGENTINA
Perfil

Por Cecilia Di Lodovico | 22/09/2013

Pasaron 11 años desde que se atrevió a denunciar al cura Julio César Grassi. Desde entonces, “Gabriel” crece a la sombra del hombre condenado a 15 años de prisión por abuso sexual agravado y corrupción de menores.

Hoy, tiene 30 años y vive de changas, en el rubro de la construcción, porque no consigue un trabajo fijo, aunque finalizó un curso de computación para poder avanzar. El miércoles, un llamado a su celular lo alertó sobre la decisión de la Corte Suprema de Justicia bonaerense que, al igual que la Cámara de Casación, confirmó la sentencia condenatoria del Tribunal Oral Nº1 de Morón del 10 de junio de 2009. Sin embargo, el sacerdote continúa en libertad. Y Gabriel –la víctima– lo sufre. En una carta que envió a PERFIL les implora a los jueces que detengan al cura y relata su padecimiento.

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VATICAN CITY
DFW Catholic

Vatican City, Sep 21, 2013 / 11:53 am (CNA/EWTN News).-
Pope Francis made several key decisions in establishing his Curia today, appointing new officials and confirming others in their positions in the Vatican.

The series of announcements includes the confirmation of top officials in key departments and the return of an American to the upper ranks of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith.

It has been over six months since Pope Francis announced he was temporarily confirming Vatican officials in their positions, taking “some time for reflection, prayer and dialogue, before any definitive nominations or confirmations.”

On Sept. 21, some of those major decisions were made.

Most notably, Pope Francis has confirmed confidence in German Archbishop Gerhard Mueller as prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, and titular Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer as the department’s secretary.

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ARGENTINA
El Debate

El Tribunal Oral Criminal 1 de Morón citó a todas las partes para el próximo lunes a las 13, con el objetivo de analizar la solicitud hecha ayer por la Fiscalía. El abogado defensor dijo que su cliente apelará a la Corte Suprema para seguir libre

El kirchnerismo no tratará la baja en la edad de imputabilidad hasta después de las elecciones
DyNAyer, los fiscales de Morón Alejandro Varela y Carolina María Rodríguez pidieron al Tribunal Oral Criminal 1 (TOC) de esa localidad la “inmediata detención” del cura Julio César Grassi, cuya condena de 15 años de prisión por abuso sexual fue confirmada por la Suprema Corte Bonaerense.Según supo Infobae, la solicitud fue hecha, ya que consideraron existe peligro de fuga. Asimismo, también realizaron el mismo pedido los querellantes Juan Pablo Gallego y Sergio Piris, representantes de chicos presuntamente abusados por el sacerdote.

Ante esta situación, el TOC citó para este a lunes a las 13 a todas las partes y así analizar el pedido hecho por la Fiscalía. “Esperemos que de acá al lunes se pueda cumplir esta situación dado el peligro de fuga”, afirmó Gallego.

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PERU
First Post

LIMA (Reuters) – The Vatican, under Pope Francis’ “zero-tolerance” policy for pedophile priests, removed an auxiliary bishop from his post in a Peruvian province because of allegations he sexually abused children, a bishop said on Friday.

Luis Bambaren, the former president of Peru’s bishops’ conference and bishop emeritus of Chimbote, told local media that Gabino Miranda was dismissed as auxiliary bishop in the dioceses of Ayacucho, a poor Andean region in southern Peru, after he was accused of having sexual relations with minors. …

Reuters was not able to reach Miranda for comment, but conservative Catholic group Opus Dei said that Miranda has denied the abuse allegations. “He denies any crime related to minors,” Opus Dei in Peru said in a statement on Friday.

The group said that while Miranda had received “spiritual assistance” from an organization closely linked to Opus Dei – the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross – Miranda is not a member of Opus Dei. “Gabino Miranda has never been incardinated in the clergy of Prelature of Opus Dei,” the statement said.

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PERU
The Kansas City Star

September 21
The Associated Press

LIMA, Peru — A Catholic official says the Vatican has removed a bishop in Peru amid allegations that he sexually abused minors.

Bishop Luis Bambaren told reporters Friday that 53-year-old Gabino Miranda had been removed as part of Pope Francis’ “zero tolerance” policy against abuse.

Peruvian authorities said in a statement they are investigating the charges against Miranda, who is the second known bishop to be removed recently by the Vatican amid abuse allegations.

The Rev. Percy Quispe of the archdiocese of Ayacucho in Peru told The Associated Press Saturday that Miranda has not belonged to the Catholic Church since July but did not specify why he had left. Quispe said Miranda had departed Ayacucho that month.

Miranda had led the local episcopal youth commission.

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AUSTRALIA
lewisblayse.net

The Royal Commission into child sexual abuse has been much-anticipated. After almost a year, it finally began public hearings at the beginning of last week. To the surprise of many, it did not begin with matters relating to religious organisations, instead focusing on an old case where Steven Larkins was jailed for forging his “Working with children “ documents, and being in possession of child pornography. Associated charges of abuse of boys in his Scouts group attracted a suspended sentence.

Larkins was arrested when he was head of the Hunter Aboriginal Children’s Services organization, which receives funding from the New South Wales State government. His association with the Scouts was as a volunteer, but he was employed during that time, sequentially, by the New South Wales education department, the Lutheran Church and the St. John of God Catholic Church religious order. This order has had serious cases of abuse in Australia.

The enquiry heard evidence from Scouts, the Hunter organisation, the New South Wales government and local police. It did not hear evidence from his other employers.

At the beginning of the week, the hearings attracted widespread media attention, even though it only went back over matters revealed during Larkins’ court case. By the middle of the week, reporting fell off dramatically, so that, basically, only the public broadcaster, the ABC, carried the story at all. By the end of the week, even the ABC dropped coverage.

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SCOTLAND
Edinburgh Evening News

The Catholic Church in Scotland has welcomed a new archbishop with the ordination of Cardinal Keith O’Brien’s successor.

Monsignor Leo Cushley officially became Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh at a ceremony in the Capital.

It was announced in July that he was replacing Cardinal O’Brien who left the post because of inappropriate sexual conduct during his religious career. …

Cardinal O’Brien stepped down after 27 years at the end of February when three priests and a former priest made allegations of inappropriate behaviour against him.

He later issued an apology, saying that ‘’there have been times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me’’.

Archbishop Cushley said he was ‘’humbled’’ by his appointment on July 24.

‘’I know it’s a delicate moment and that there is a lot to be done but with God’s grace and the kind support of the clergy and people of Edinburgh, I will work cheerfully and willingly with all the energy I can muster,’’ he said.

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VATICAN CITY
USA Today

Pope Francis removed conservative Italian Cardinal Mauro Piacenza from position, but kept Archibishop Gerhard Mueller as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis, on Saturday, effectively demoted a highly conservative Italian cardinal who led the Vatican’s department on clergy, while keeping in place a German prelate who wages the Catholic church’s crackdown on liberal U.S. nuns and helps craft its sex-abuse response.

After six months on the job to study the workings of the Vatican’s curia, or bureaucracy, Francis has now put his imprint on several key positions, which help administer the Roman Catholic church’s worldwide flock. His management picks will likely both please and disappoint both conservatives and liberals alike, perhaps in line with his fledgling papacy, which has often defied labels in either camp.

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PENNSYLVANIA
The Republic

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
September 21, 2013

SCRANTON, Pennsylvania — A Catholic priest whose ministry included counseling troubled youths is facing charges in northeastern Pennsylvania after police say he admitted to sex acts with a 15-year-old boy.

The Rev. William Paulish was in Lackawanna County prison, unable to post $50,000 bail Friday.

The charges involve sexual contact with a minor. Court records didn’t list a lawyer for Paulish.

The Times-Tribune of Scranton reports (http://bit.ly/1dywtU3 ) that the 56-year-old Paulish has been reassigned 15 times by the Diocese of Scranton after being ordained in 1988 and has had three separate leaves of absence.

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SCOTLAND
The Tablet

Christopher Lamb in Edinburgh – 21 September 2013

The new Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh said today he will seek to bring mercy and forgiveness to his new archdiocese, which is still reeling from allegations of sexual misconduct levelled against its former leader.

Archbishop Leo Cushley was ordained today in a ceremony lasting over two hours at St Mary’s Catholic Cathedral in Edinburgh.

He succeeds Cardinal Keith O’Brien, who resigned after allegations of sexual misconduct were made against him by five men, four of them priests. The cardinal later admitted that his sexual conduct had fallen below the standards expected of a priest, archbishop and cardinal.

The archbishop, a papal diplomat who was previously working in the Vatican, said that Pope Francis had urged him during a recent meeting to be merciful in his new ministry.

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PERU
RPP

[Summary: Parishioners in Ayacucho expressed disbelief and shock at removal of the region’s auxiliary bishop who has been accused of abusing minors. Since appointment as auxiliary in Ayaucho in 2004, Gabino Miranda Melgarejo has toured many rural communities. He traveled to Spain for World Youth Day in 2011.]

Incredulidad y conmoción son los sentimientos entre los feligreses de Ayacucho por la destitución del obispo auxiliar de esa región, Gabino Miranda Melgarejo, acusado de pedofilia.

Como se recuerda, desde su designación como segunda máxima autoridad del Arzobispado Metropolitano de Ayacucho en el 2004, Miranda Melgarejo recorrió muchas comunidades campesinas, evangelizando y pacificando la comunicación con la práctica del “runa simi” o practica del quechua.

También fue presidente de la Comisión Apiscopal de Juventud, trabajó de cerca con la pastoral de jóvenes y viajó a España a la Jornada Mundial de la Juventud el 2011.

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PERU
Peru 21

Tras la acusación fiscal, destitución y expulsión de la Iglesia del obispo auxiliar de Ayacucho Gabino Miranda Melgarejo, por el delito de pedofilia, el cardenal Juan Luis Cipriani habló desde Roma y dijo que no estaba enterado del escandaloso caso, aunque pidió “no hacer leña del árbol caído” y apeló al derecho de defensa del involucrado.

“Estando en Roma no me resulta fácil interpretar los datos tan delicados que me están anunciando. Es una noticia de la que recién tomo conocimiento. Yo diría que en estos temas de pedofilia la iglesia exige una transparencia muy grande y una justicia muy grande. No sé qué tendrá que decir el interesado. Es muy dolorosa una situación de este tipo, pero por otro lado creo que las personas tienen derecho a defenderse”, dijo en Diálogos de Fe.

Asimismo, Cipriani, quien fue arzobispo de Ayacucho durante los años 90, indicó que si bien Miranda tenía una “cercanía espiritual” al Opus Dei, no era un sacerdote incardinado en dicha congregación, por lo que consideró “de muy mal gusto” que se quiera maltratar a la institución con este lamentable caso de abuso de menores.

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