ABUSE TRACKER

PENNSYLVANIA
PA Homepage

Dunmore, Lackawanna County – The assistant pastor of a Lackawanna County church is facing sex crime charges.

William Jeffery Paulish was charged early Friday morning with indecent assault, corruption of minors, indecent exposure and unlawful contact with a minor. He was led out of the Dunmore Police Department around 3 a.m. in handcuffs and taken for arraignment.

Lackawanna County Prosecutors say the investigation began around 9 p.m. Thursday night when security staff at the Penn State Worthington Scranton Campus noticed a suspicious vehicle in their parking lot. Police responded and they allegedly found Paulish in the vehicle with a 15-year-old boy. Police say the boy had no pants on at the time.

Paulish told investigators he placed an ad on Craigslist looking for companionship and the boy responded and they met at the Penn State Campus. Paulish told investigators he asked the boy three times if he was 18-years-old.

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PENNSYLVANIA
WNEP

Posted on: 5:16 am, September 20, 2013, by Ryan Leckey and Renie Workman, updated on: 08:39am, September 20, 2013

DUNMORE– Police said a priest was caught in the act of molesting a teenager in Lackawanna County.

The arrest of Father Jeffrey Paulish happened overnight in Dunmore.

Fr. Paulish was led off to his arraignment to face various charges, including for having sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old boy.

Investigators said Thursday night, they found the priest in a car with the 15-year-old in a parking lot near the tennis courts at Penn State Worthington Scranton campus.

Security officers at Penn State noticed what was happening and called for backup. Dunmore police along with state troopers showed up and arrested the priest.

The Lackawanna County deputy district attorney did not say how long the relationship was going on between the priest and the boy, but said the investigation is exploring a lot of avenues.

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SOUTH AFRICA
IOL

September 20 2013
By RIZWANA SHEIK UMAR

Durban – A Hindu priest from Chatsworth who was jailed for raping a child devotee has failed in his bid to present further evidence.

Cooper Reddy, 60, of Havenside, was sentenced in May to 15 years in prison after being convicted on two counts of rape, a count of indecent assault and one of sexual assault.

The crimes were committed since 2006, when the complainant was nine years old, and continued until 2010.

The girl had been taken to Reddy to be blessed.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
The Republic

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
September 20, 2013

ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson has been deposed in a case involving a priest in the archdiocese.

The deposition was Thursday in the case against the Rev. Xiu Hui Jiang. He is charged with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child after a teenage girl told authorities that Jiang molested her.

The archdiocese says in a statement that the case is in the hands of the Missouri court system, where the allegations can be sorted out.

The girl’s parents filed a lawsuit in July alleging that Carlson knew Jiang was a danger to children. The archdiocese says those allegations are false.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Catholic Insider

Given the financial condition of the Boston Archdiocese, one would think that the archdiocese would try to get as much money as possible when selling properties.

Not necessarily.

Here is an example. St. Catherine of Siena Church in Charleston was recently sold. The properities sold were assessed at more than $8.7M. The were sold for just $1.4M to Suffolk Company. (Note Suffolk Company appears to be different from Suffolk Construction).

A year ago in 2012, according to this article, the value of the property was follows:

* The church building is 22,000 square feet on a plot of 17,000 square feet. It was built in 1890 and is presently assessed for $2.5 million.
*The former parochial school property built in 1900, which is part of the entire package, has a land area of 31,400 square feet and a structure of 29,000 square feet and is currently assessed for $6.2 million.
*There is a third property – The Annex – built in 1920 – which has a 2000 square foot school building. This structure rests on the school parcel aforementioned.

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CALIFORNIA
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on September 19, 2013

It’s Thursday night and you are probably thinking, “I’m watching Thursday Night Football. There is nothing possible I can do to help convince California Governor Jerry Brown to sign SB 131, the California Child Victims’ Act.”

Fortunately, you are WRONG! You can help RIGHT NOW. And we need you.
Here is what you can do:

1. Write Governor Brown using the web form here. Tell him that you support SB 131. Here are some reasons why:

SB 131 exposes predators who may still be abusing kids RIGHT NOW,
SB 131 holds wrong-doers accountable for enabling and covering up child sex abuse,
SB 131 helps victims heal from traumatic injury and takes the burden of their care off of social services and taxpayers,
SB 131 can help provide valuable evidence of criminal activity that law enforcement can use to put predators behind bars, where they belong.
There are many more.
If you do tell your own story, keep it short – no more than two-three sentences.

2. Plan to attend tomorrow’s RALLY IN SUPPORT OF SB 131 at the State Capitol. The rally, organized by concerned citizens in support of SB 131, will be on the lawn to the left of the Capitol steps – 1315 10th Street, between L and N Streets. Attendees will be wearing bright colors. Bring a sign showing your support. If you are a victim, bring a photo of yourself at the age you were abused.

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OHIO
WCPO

[with video]

Greg Noble
gregory.noble@wcpo.com
Anna Langlinais, anna.langlinais@wcpo.com

NOTE: Graphic details were discussed during testimony that may be difficult to read or considered inappropriate.

CINCINNATI – The jury in Rev. Robert Poandl’s sexual abuse trial began deliberations in federal court Thursday afternoon with the task of weighing the accuser’s startling testimony against the defense’s claim that the former drug user made it all up.

The eight women and four men heard a 32-year-old man testify that Poandl sodomized him in a West Virginia church rectory when he was 10 years old in 1991. The man said he suffered nightmares after the attack, experimented with LSD and cocaine, got hooked on Oxycodone and plotted to kill the priest and commit suicide.

During closing arguments, the U.S. attorney said Poandl groomed his victim’s family by giving them money and earning their trust with the intent to molest the boy.

The defense argued that the trip to West Virginia never happened, attacking the accuser’s drug use and credibility.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

Patsy McGarry

Fri, Sep 20, 2013

The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said he was “very encouraged” by the words of Pope Francis.

“It sets a pastoral tone for the whole church,” he said. He said it “fairly unusual for a pope to open his heart on so many issues. It was very deep, but he had said many of these things already.”

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin: He said it was “fairly unusual for a pope to open his heart on so many issues”

Pope Francis “was going back to the old practice in the church, not in a legalistic or rigorist way, of accompanying the person within the situation in which they find themselves, where they can encounter the mercy of God.”

He described this as “the mentality of the good priest.” It was “a way which reflected a Jesus who accompanied people”.

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UNITED STATES
Los Angeles Times

By Michael McGough
September 19, 2013

It’s a familiar cycle: Pope Francis says something that seems to soften the Roman Catholic Church’s attitude toward hot-button issues; liberals (Catholic and otherwise) rejoice; conservative Catholics rush to remind gleeful Francisphiles that the pope really didn’t depart from orthodoxy.

But that sort of spin has become progressively more difficult.

This summer, Francis unforgettably said: “When I meet a gay person, I have to distinguish between their being gay and being part of a lobby. If they accept the Lord and have goodwill, who am I to judge them?” A writer for the National Catholic Register first offered a “nothing new here” gloss, speculating that the pope was referring to “people with same-sex attraction who strive to live chastely (even if they sometimes fail).”

But the Register acknowledged that the pope might also have been extending a hand to “individuals who are not living chastely but who are not actively lobbying a homosexual agenda.” The Register added, “It would be nice if he’d said a little more to clarify the point further.”

Well, the pope’s interview with a Jesuit publication that hit the Internet on Thursday does provide some clarification, but not the kind conservative Catholics were hoping for. Francis made it clear that he thought the church was hurting itself with an excessive emphasis on moral issues such as same-sex marriage, abortion and contraception.

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CANADA
Mission Record

Alina KONEVSKI
Abbotsford News

“We were called savages, heathens. That we wouldn’t amount to anything in our lives if we didn’t adapt by their system.”

Katzie First Nation elder Cyril Pierre recounted his nightmarish years at St. Mary’s Mission and Residential School to University of the Fraser Valley students on Wednesday.

UFV held a “day of learning” on Sept. 18 about Indian residential schools, such as St. Mary’s in Mission. This coincided with the start of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s national four-day event in Vancouver, during which residential school survivors have been sharing their experiences. The province has designated Sept. 16 to 22 as Reconciliation Week.

UFV, like other universities across B.C., suspended most classes on Wednesday, and offered opportunities to learn about residential schools.

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CANADA
Vancouver Courier

Cheryl Rossi / Vancouver Courier
September 19, 2013

Many Canadians know students of Indian residential schools experienced terrible abuse, but the institutions weren’t a living hell for everyone.

At Sister Elizabeth Kelliher’s memorial at St. Paul’s Catholic Church on East Cordova last month, one mourner confided she respects the sisters “because they looked after us in residential school. They left their families, they became a nun and they came all the way into the wilderness to take care of us.”

It’s not a commonly heard view.

But Father Garry LaBoucane, a Métis priest who started Aug. 15 as pastor of the Sacred Heart parish, which includes two Catholic churches and a native centre, says he’s heard stories both happy and horrendous from former students of residential schools.

“It’s not just black and white,” the 65-year-old said, noting former students, particularly of his generation who cope with painful memories sometimes don’t want to hear the positive stories.

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SCOTLAND
Scottish Catholic Observer

Archbishop-elect intends to listen and learn from the laity and priests of the archdiocese

The new Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh says he is in ‘listening mode’ to find out how to heal his archdiocese as he prepares for his ordination on Saturday.

Archbishop-elect Leo Cushley (right) told the SCO in an exclusive interview this week—as he returned to Scotland after 20 years working for the Vatican diplomatic service—that he wanted to hear from the priests and laity of St Andrew’s and Edinburgh before ‘jumping right into’ solving its problems.

He also said that Pope Francis had advised him to be ‘merciful but firm’ in his new role, and stated that he wished to follow the Holy Father in emphasising the Church’s efforts to help the poor. He added that he hoped to adopt a co-operative style of leadership and said it was for the Vatican to decide if Cardinal Keith O’Brien could return to Scotland.

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SCOTLAND
Evening Times

THE man appointed to succeed shamed Cardinal Keith O’Brien said he is ‘looking forward’ to the challenging role.

Monsignor Leo Cushley, from Lanarkshire, will be ordained as the Archibishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh tomorrow at St Mary’s Cathedral in the capital.

Principal consecrators will be Cardinal James Michael Harvey of the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, UK Papal Nuncio Antonio Mennini and Archbishop Philip Tartaglia of Glasgow.

His ordination follows one of the most turbulent periods for the Catholic Church in modern history.

Cardinal O’Brien stepped down in February after three priests and a former priest made allegations of inappropriate behaviour against him.

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ARGENTINA
La Nacion

Por Pablo Morosi | LA NACION

LA PLATA.- El cura Julio César Grassi, condenado a 15 años de prisión por abuso sexual agravado y corrupción de menores, quedó a un paso de la cárcel luego de que la Sala VI del Tribunal de Casación Penal bonaerense confirmó ayer al mediodía un fallo previo que ordenaba la detención del sacerdote por incumplir el régimen de libertad provisional del que gozaba.

No obstante, hasta el cierre de esta edición la detención no se había concretado. Fuentes judiciales y policiales estimaron que podría esperarse una presentación espontánea hoy a primera hora. Otra posibilidad es que sea necesario aguardar la notificación de la medida en el Tribunal Oral en lo Criminal (TOC) N° 1 de Morón -a cargo del caso- o en la Sala I de la Cámara de Apelación y Garantías del mismo departamento judicial, instancia de supervisión del proceso.

Entretanto, trascendió que autoridades del Servicio Penitenciario Bonaerense (SPB) estudiaban la posibilidad de alojar al cura en la Unidad Penal N° 30 de General Alvear, un penal de régimen cerrado que tiene un área de máxima seguridad y otra de mediana seguridad en el que hasta hace pocas semanas estuvo detenido el uruguayo Luis Mario Vitette Sellanes, autor del robo al Banco Río de Acassuso. Allí, hasta anoche no se había reservado cupo para recibir al cura detenido.

Ayer por la tarde, luego de conocida la noticia, y un día después de que la Corte bonaerense dejó firme aquella condena a 15 años, seguidores de Grassi se congregaron en la puerta de la fundación Felices Los Niños, en Hurlingham, para manifestar su apoyo al sacerdote, que, según dijeron, se encontraba en su casa, situada frente a la entidad.

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ARGENTINA
Pagina 12

Tras el fallo de la Corte que ratificó la condena, ayer la Cámara de Casación rechazó el recurso de nulidad presentado por la defensa contra la orden para que vaya preso. Por razones procesales, esta nueva medida aún no se cumplió y Grassi anoche seguía libre.

La Justicia afirmó una vez más que el sacerdote Julio César Grassi, fundador de Felices Los Niños y condenado a 15 años de prisión por abusar sexualmente de dos jóvenes a su cargo, debe ir preso. Al cierre de esta edición, el cura no había sido detenido, aunque fuentes de la Policía Bonaerense aseguraron a este diario que sólo esperaban la orden judicial para hacerlo. La libertad restringida del presbítero se mantenía sólo por una cuestión formal: la sala VI de la Cámara de Casación provincial avaló la decisión del Tribunal Criminal No1 de Morón, que en abril pasado ordenó detener a Grassi luego de que violara las condiciones impuestas para permanecer en libertad; sin embargo, hasta ayer a la noche el tribunal no había emitido el pedido de captura correspondiente. Al parecer, no le había llegado aún la resolución de sus superiores de Casación. Durante la tarde de ayer, un puñado de defensores del sacerdote se congregaron a las puertas de la quinta de Hurlingham en la que vive Grassi, exactamente frente a la Fundación Felices Los Niños.

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ARGENTINA
El Tribuno

Esta semana, la Suprema Corte bonaerense ratificó una condena de prisión para el sacerdote Julio César Grassi, acusado de abuso sexual agravado y corrupción de menores. A las pocas horas, la Cámara de Casación ordenó su detención, pero tal sentencia no tendría operatividad inmediata, de acuerdo a la visión del fiscal de al causa.

“Entiendo que la resolución de la Sala V no se debe ejecutar de inmediato. Así como está dictada, no se va a ejecutar rápido y mucho menos en el día de hoy. El jueves veía a periodistas que decían que la Policía estaba yendo a detener a Grassi, y yo les puedo asegurar que no estaba yendo nadie, son temas procesales”, explicó el titular del Ministerio Público en diálogo con el periodista Luis Novaresio en radio La Red.

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ARGENTINA
Ambito

[Summary: Hector Negri, president of the Supreme Court of the Buenos Aires province, denied that at a meeting held with Pope Francis at the Vatican that they discussed the status of priest Julia Cesar Grassi. He dismissed stories indicating that the pope asked for an exemplary sentence. He said he does not know the pope’s private thoughts on pedophilia.]

El presidente de la Corte Suprema de la provincia de Buenos Aires, Héctor Negri, negó que en la audiencia que mantuvo con el papa Francisco en el Vaticano, hayan dialogado sobre la situación del padre Julio César Grassi y desestimó así las versiones que indicaban que el Sumo Pontífice le había pedido una condena ejemplar.

Además, sobre la situación de Grassi tras el fallo del máximo tribunal bonaerense que el miércoles ratificó la condena al cura, dijo en declaraciones a radio Vorterix que la detención “la tiene que decidir otro tribunal” y afirmó que “nosotros ya hemos dicho en la sentencia todo lo que teníamos que decir, y el tema de lo que se siga a ahora y la consecuencias ulteriores ya escapan a la decisión de la Corte, no fue motivo de nuestro pronunciamiento”.

Respecto de la posición de Francisco sobre los curas pedófilos, el presidente de la Corte bonaerense indicó que “el pensamiento íntimo del Papa en ese sentido no lo conozco”, e insistió que se entrevistó “por razonas absolutamente espirituales, alejadas a miles de kilómetros de cualquier sentencia judicial”.

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AUSTRALIA
Sky News

The stories from the first week of public hearings by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse were ones of bureaucratic box ticking, buck passing, administrative laxity and echoes of the Keystone cops.

However the real story was how that depressing mix allowed a man, known to police as a possible child abuser, to prey on some of Australia’s most vulnerable kids – Aboriginal children in care.

Steve ‘Skip’ Larkins, 47, is now in jail for child pornography, indecent assault and forgery. He gets out next January.

It took almost two decades to nail him. Across those years there were rumours, whistleblowers, secret compensation payments, an apprehended violence order and a DPP recommendation for prosecution that came to nothing.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

Even before this week’s public hearings in the Royal Commission into institutional child sexual abuse opened, hundreds of victims had been given the opportunity to give evidence at private hearings. Some of those victims came from the central Victorian city of Ballarat, a community with a long and much publicised history of sexual abuse.

Transcript

SCOTT BEVAN: Even before this week’s public hearings in the Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse opened, hundreds of victims had been given the opportunity to give evidence at private hearings.

Some of those who have given evidence come from the central Victorian city of Ballarat, a community that has lived with a long and much publicised history of sexual abuse.

As others wait for the Commissioners to come to Ballarat, there are calls for survivors to receive greater support and for more action to prevent suicides resulting from abuse.

From Ballarat, Kate Stowell reports.

KATE STOWELL: The famed gold rush city of Ballarat is full of history.

The city is decorated with the opulent legacy of wealth, grand churches and halls from the late 19th century, when gold money spawned a renaissance of European architecture, amid the clash of cultures of all those who came here to make their fortune.

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AUSTRALIA
Crikey

Can you spot a paedophile? News.com.au has assembled a checklist, but the experts tell Crikey intern Angelo Russo it’s rubbish.

Child abuse advocates and experts have rubbished Australia’s most-read website, news.com.au, for running a story advising readers how to spot a paedophile. They say the checklist was inaccurate, irresponsible stereotyping.

The article, published yesterday, warns the reader of nine different “types” of child molesters and the behaviours they supposedly exhibit. These behaviours are as varied as being a teacher, dating a single mother or simply being overly eager to babysit.

Social media went berserk in protest and forced news.com.au to expunge a passage recommending people not allow child abuse sufferers near their children.

The story, by veteran journalist and former political adviser Candace Sutton, originally warned:

“Paedophiles are often the victims of child molestation themselves. If you know this about a person’s past, beware. It’s all very well to feel sorry for a person, but don’t let them anywhere near young people you know.”

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AUSTRALIA
NEWS.com.au

DR CATHY KEZELMAN, PRESIDENT, ADULTS SURVIVING CHILD ABUSE NEWS.COM.AU SEPTEMBER 20, 2013

AN article, published by news.com.au, about how to recognise a child sex offender sparked controversy.

Dr Cathy Kezelman, president of Adults Surviving Child Abuse, has written the following response, which news.com.au publish in full:

“With the commencement of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse the issue of childhood abuse is being reported, spoken about and thought about far more often than ever before.

Though it is groundbreaking for the Australian society to be more aware of the issue and to have increased conversation about it, it is now more critical than ever before to have accurate reporting from the media about child sexual abuse.

Quite frankly, I was shocked at news.com.au’s piece ‘Could you spot a paedophile?’

The very title evokes fear, as do the images, and it lacked tact and sensitivity.

Although the longstanding stigma and taboo is being eroded – and that is to be welcomed – the challenge for those reporting or speaking about child abuse in the public arena is how to increase community awareness while minimising the risks of re-traumatisation for those affected and secondary traumatisation for members of the community.

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SCOTLAND
The Tablet

State of religion 1: Scotland
Tom Gallagher – 21 September 2013

Today, Leo Cushley is due to be ordained Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh. His installation comes after one of the greatest periods of crisis in the history of Scottish Catholicism. Can his appointment mark a new beginning that will see the Church regain trust and relevance?

Few tourists see Edinburgh’s Ninian’s Church. On 27 August, it was the setting for a Mass dedicated to the victims of clerical sex abuse. It was an occasion for Catholics to gather and “lament the failings of those who minister in your name which has caused such hurt to the innocent”. This was according to the notes issued in advance by the parish council.

Words encapsulating the Church’s mission were displayed on the wall behind the altar with one of them, “Trust”, conspicuously scored through. The notes prepared under the aegis of the local priest, Fr Hugh Purcell, were explicit about the actions needed for trust to be restored: “we have yet to establish the full account of the abuse committed by Cardinal O’Brien … Now some may feel that since [he] has confessed and apologised, should we not just move on? Well, we cannot move on until we establish truth and justice for those who have been abused.”

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COSTA RICA
Tempo

SAN JOSÉ (AFP) – The Costa Rican Catholic church has relieved a nun of her duties over the alleged sexual abuse of two young girls, a church official was quoted as saying Wednesday.

A church probe would be carried out in parallel to the legal process, Sixto Varela, pastor and press officer of the San Joaquin de Flores diocese, told local media. On August 30, a children’s advocacy agency alleged the nun had sexually molested and raped two girls aged three and six at the home in the province of Heredia. After the claim, the 13 girls in the home were moved to other facilities.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Courthouse News Service

By ROSE BOUBOUSHIAN

(CN) – A federal judge threw out claims that the Boy Scouts and a Pennsylvania church let scoutmasters sexually abuse a teenage scout in the 1960s.

The 59-year-old Floridian identified in court documents as John Doe sued the East Hills Moravian Church Inc., of Bethlehem, Pa.; the New Jersey-headquartered Boy Scouts of America Inc. and its Allentown, Pa.-based Minsi Trails Council Inc.; as well as Scoutmaster Mike Jacobs and Assistant Scoutmaster Don Levine, in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania last year.

The scoutmasters allegedly sexually abused and molested Doe dozens of times during his teenage years in Pennsylvania, the complaint says.

The plaintiff alleges defendants “concealed their respective and sometime overlapping institutional child abuse problem for the purpose and with the result of preventing abuse survivors from understanding their own abuse and defendants’ role in it and thereby delay and prevent victims, including plaintiff, from filing suit.”

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AUSTRALIA
9 News

A former Catholic Church deacon has been charged with sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy in NSW during the 1970s.

The 66-year-old was arrested on Thursday over the alleged sexual abuse of the then 14-year-old boy between 1974 and 1975 in the Hunter region.

The abuse was initially reported to police in November last year.

The 66-year-old has been charged with four counts of indecent assault on a male under 14 years of age.

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BRIDGEPORT (CT)
CBS New York

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (CBSNewYork) – The new bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport was formally installed Thursday.

As WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau reported, Rev. Frank Caggiano said in his heart he considers himself a shepard, someone who he hopes can build trust among his parishioners.

“There are some people who in the past have been hurt, people perhaps whose trust in the church has been damaged and they’re very dear to me. We need to reach out to them,” Caggiano told Schneidau.

Caggiano said the priest sex abuse scandal that rocked the Bridgeport Diocese has left anger and mistrust in its wake.

“The process we have now in place I believe is a sound one, it’s a tested one and will keep our children safe, but we will continue to monitor it. We have to,” he said.

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SPRINGFIELD (IL)
WICS

The Catholic community is reacting to surfacing claims that a local pastor sexually abused a minor more than 30 years ago.

The Springfield Catholic Diocese received the claim last week and have since asked Pastor Robert ‘Bud’ Degrand to temporarily withdraw from the four local parishes he currently serves.

The accusation now sits with the Morgan County State’s Attorneys Office, where lawyers are scrutinizing the Statute of Limitations. Lawyers say it may be difficult to bring charges against Degrand since it has been so long.

It was in 1980 when Degrand led a community in faith at Our Savior Parish in Jacksonville. Degrand then went on to lead parishes in Winchester, Bluffs, Granite City and Siegel, Neoga, Green Creek and Lillyville, where he still currently serves.

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ILLINOIS
Herald-Review

NEOGA — A priest whose parishes include Neoga withdrew from the ministry following an allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor that reportedly took place more than 30 years ago, the Catholic Diocese of Springfield announced Thursday.

The Rev. Robert “Bud” DeGrand, pastor of parishes in Sigel, Green Creek and Lillyville as well as Neoga, is cooperating with the recommendation of the Diocesan Review Board that he temporarily withdraw from public ministry and from his ecclesiastical residence, pending further investigation, according to a news release from the diocese.

The release said the alleged abuse occurred in 1980 when DeGrand was assigned to Our Saviour Parish in Jacksonville.

“The Springfield diocese takes such allegations very seriously,” Bishop Thomas John Paprocki said. “We have a strict policy on sexual abuse of minors by church personnel that reflects our desire to safeguard the welfare of minors in our parishes, institutions and programs. It also reflects our determination to deal properly and decisively with any allegations of sexual abuse of minors.”

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SPRINGFIELD (IL)
State Journal-Register

By John Reynolds (john.reynolds@sj-r.com)
The State Journal-Register
Posted Sep 19, 2013

A former Jacksonville priest is being investigated for an alleged incident of sexual misconduct while he was serving at a church there 33 years ago.

The Rev. Robert “Bud” DeGrand, 61, has temporarily withdrawn from serving Catholic parishes in Sigel, Neoga, Green Creek and Lillyville, in east-central Illinois, according to a statement from the Springfield Catholic Diocese.

DeGrand has also served parishes in Winchester, Bluffs and Granite City.

The alleged misconduct occurred while DeGrand was serving Our Saviour Parish in Jacksonville in 1980, the same year he was ordained to the priesthood, according to a news release issued by the diocese Thursday. …

SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, called on Paprocki to suspend DeGrand.

“There’s a difference between someone stepping aside and someone being told to step aside,”

SNAP said in a news release. “To let a credibly accused child molesting cleric decide whether to temporarily step down minimizes the horror he or she allegedly committed.”
SNAP also said the allegation should have been made public earlier.

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ARGENTINA
Clarin

La Cámara de Casación de Morón dispuso esta tarde la detención del sacerdote Julio César Grassi, “al no cumplir los términos de la libertad provisional”. La orden se da luego de que un fallo de la Corte bonaerense ratificó la condena de 15 años de prisión.

El abogado Juan Pablo Gallego, representante de querellantes en la causa por abuso sexual contra el sacerdote Julio César Grassi destacó la sentencia contra el religioso y reclamó su detención al señalar que “se trata de un pedófilo peligroso y condenado”.

Gallego apuntó que en la causa por dos abusos agravados y una corrupción de menores, donde hoy la Corte provincial rechazó las recusaciones de Grassi hubo “un fallo definitivo” y señaló que ahora “corresponde disponer su detención”.”Recibimos el fallo con enorme satisfacción”, resaltó el letrado que representa a los adolescentes que denunciaron los abusos.

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ARGENTINA
Diario Correo

BUENOS AIRES –
Un tribunal argentino ordenó la detención de un cura, de alta exposición mediática, acusado de abuso sexual agravado contra menores, tras ratificarse una condena a 15 años que cumplía en libertad, informó este jueves una fuente judicial.

La Cámara de Casación de Morón (periferia oeste) dispuso la detención del sacerdote Julio César Grassi “al no cumplir los términos de la libertad provisional”, señaló la página web del ministerio de Justicia.

La Corte Suprema de la provincia de Buenos Aires había confirmado el miércoles la condena a 15 años de prisión, en rechazo a un recurso presentado por la defensa de Grassi, luego de que otras dos instancias ratificaran la condena, aunque sólo este jueves el Tribunal de Casación de Morón ordenó su arresto.

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ARGENTINA
ABC (Espana)

La Justicia argentina ordenó hoy la detención del sacerdote Julio César Grassi, quien dirigía un centro benéfico para niños, por abuso sexual agravado y corrupción de menores, después de que el Supremo de la provincia de Buenos Aires hiciera firme la condena de 15 años que recaía sobre el clérigo.

Grassi fue sentenciado en 2009 por 2 de los 17 cargos en su contra, pero se le permitió permanecer en libertad con ciertas restricciones, entre ellas, no ingresar a su fundación, no permanecer a solas con niños ni referirse a los menores que lo habían denunciado.

La Cámara de Casación de la provincia de Buenos Aires dispuso hoy detener al sacerdote “al no cumplir los términos de la libertad provisional otorgada como alternativa al asistir a un programa televisivo, y referirse abiertamente a los denunciantes de la causa por la que resultó condenado”, informaron fuentes judiciales.

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ARGENTINA
TN

“Juro por Dios que no hice nada”. Poco después de esas palabras, el sacerdote Grassi desapareció hasta que se presentó en los tribunales de Morón, poco tiempo después. “Sigo el consejo de mi abogado”, dijo. Fue encerrado en una celda donde se alojan a policías. Fueron 28 días de arresto. Hasta que la Justicia determinó que podía quedar en libertad. Pasaron once años. La situación, hasta hoy, se mantiene de la misma manera.

El caso Grassi tuvo persecución a testigos. Gabriel, uno de ellos, fue amenazado con armas y hasta ingresaron a su casa para intentar cortarle un dedo.

En 2008, Grassi mantuvo su discurso: “Sé que la causa fue armada por Telenoche investiga. Hay pruebas plantadas y eso lo voy a demostrar en el juicio”. Poco después, llegó la condena a 15 años de prisión por abuso sexual y corrupción a menores.

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ARGENTINA
TN

[Summary: A day after ratification of a 15-year sentence, the cessation court in Buenos Aires ordered the arrest of priest Julio Cesar Grassi. Arrest could be imminent. Prosecuting attorney Juan Pablo Gallego today sought the arrest. Grassi was convicted of sexually abusing minor and his sentence was upheld Wednesday by a high court. He had been free during the appeal process.]

ndabusinnjuan
day after the ratification of the sentence to 15 years in prison for sexual assault and corruption of minors, V of Cassation Chamber of the province of Buenos Aires ordered the arrest of the priest Grassi “did not satisfy the terms of parole” . Thus, his arrest could be imminent.

Luego de la confirmación del fallo, su detención podría ser inminente. “El fallo no está firme”, aclaró, no obstante, el fiscal de la causa.

Un día después de la ratificación de la condena a 15 años de prisión por abuso sexual y corrupción a menores, la Cámara V de Casación de la provincia de Buenos Aires ordenó la detención del sacerdote Grassi “al no cumplirse los términos de la libertad provisional”. De esta manera, su detención podría ser inminente.

Hoy, el abogado querellante, Juan Pablo Gallego, había pedido la detención del sacerdote sentenciado. “Todos sabemos que este hombre debe cumplir su condena efectivamente en una prisión”, dijo a TN. Y agregó: “Hoy más que nunca las autoridades judiciales deben tener el mayor cuidado para que no se vuelva a cometer un error con este sujeto. No corresponde ninguna medida de habeas corpus, lo que corresponde es que los próximos 15 años viva en una cárcel”.

Con respecto a la posibilidad de una apelación de la medida de la Cámara a la Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Nación, el fiscal del caso, Alejandro Varelo, explicó que la sentencia “no está firme”, por lo que Grassi podría recurrir a un recurso extraordinario ante el máximo tribunal de Justicia. Y aclaró que, en caso de un fallo adverso por parte de este tribunal, la sentencia quedará finalmente firme. “Es la última instancia dentro de la provincia de Buenos Aires”, indicó el funcionario judicial.

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NEW JERSEY
Catholic Star Herald

THURSDAY, 19 SEPTEMBER 2013

WRITTEN BY CARMELA MALERBA

The Office of Child and Youth Protection is announcing CAP (Child Assault Prevention) sessions. CAP is the safe environment training program for adults who have regular contact with minors. Attendance is required in order to comply with the USCCB’s Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. The policy of the Diocese of Camden is that adults will attend CAP once every five years.

CAP 1 teaches attendees to recognize child abuse and neglect and how to report to the proper authorities. Adults are taught that children have the right to be safe, strong and free. CAP 1 is for new volunteers and employees.

CAP 2 is called No More Bullies, No More Victims and is a workshop addressing bullying awareness and bullying prevention. Cyber-bullying is also presented.

CAP 3 is called Cyber-Empowerment and is a workshop which promotes adults understanding of cyber activity of youth while teaching them realistic ways to help children keep their own rights and guard the rights of others in the cyber-sphere.

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GALLUP (NM)
Gallup Independent

Published in the Gallup Independent, Gallup, NM, Sept. 19, 2013

Gallup Diocese has yet to file bankruptcy petition

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Independent correspondent
religion@gallupindependent.com

GALLUP — After a last-ditch legal maneuver was denied by an Arizona judge, Bishop James S. Wall of the Diocese of Gallup submitted to a deposition Wednesday by two attorneys who have filed 13 clergy abuse lawsuits against the diocese.

Wall’s deposition was held in Albuquerque and was accompanied by the deposition of the Rev. Alfred Tachias, a longtime Gallup priest. The depositions took place as scheduled because the diocese has yet to file its Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition, a move that will halt the proceedings in the civil lawsuits.

However, at least for the time being, the contents of Wednesday’s depositions are confidential, over the objection of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, Robert E. Pastor of Phoenix and John C. Manly of Irvine, Calif.

“Bishop Wall and Father Tachias gave statements under oath today,” Pastor said in an email Wednesday evening. “We are not permitted to discuss the content of their testimony because at the outset of the deposition the Diocese of Gallup designated the testimony confidential. We noted our objection and found it odd that the Diocese would make the testimony confidential before the witnesses even testified. We hope that one day all of the facts surrounding clergy sexual abuse of children in the Diocese of Gallup will be shared with the faithful Catholics of the diocese.”

The depositions were scheduled as part of Pastor and Manly’s first clergy sex abuse case against the Gallup Diocese, which is scheduled to go to trial in February in Coconino County Superior Court in Flagstaff, Ariz. The case involves abuse allegations against the Rev. Clement Hageman, who is deceased. Tachias formerly worked as an assistant pastor under Hageman.

Last-minute motion

In Masses held over the Labor Day Weekend, priests in the Gallup Diocese read a letter from the bishop, announcing plans to seek Chapter 11 reorganization because of increasing numbers of clergy sex abuse lawsuits and claims.

Although diocesan attorneys haven’t yet filed the bankruptcy petition, they did file a last minute motion for protective order on Sept. 11. In the motion, attorneys Robert P. Warburton and Keith Ricker requested Wall’s and Tachias’ depositions be postponed until the week of Oct. 21-25, and they argued for a “pre-filing stay of pending litigation,” which they said would help conserve the diocese’s “scarce financial resources and would leave more money to fund compensation of victims of clergy sexual misconduct.” In addition, the motion stated, the proposed stay would also give the diocese more time to ensure that its Chapter 11 filing would be as complete and accurate as possible, and it would allow the diocese’s recently hired bankruptcy attorney, Susan G. Boswell of Quarles and Brady, LLP, the opportunity to take her “long planned trip to Spain” from Sept. 7-20.

“Plaintiff’s counsel refused to agree to the proposed stay and insinuated that Bishop Wall’s decision to file for reorganization was simply a tactic to avoid being deposed,” Warburton and Ricker stated.

In response, Judge Robert Budoff made the unusual move of conducting a weekend hearing on the motion Saturday, Sept. 14. Although Pastor and Manly’s first clergy sex abuse case is being heard by Judge Mark R. Moran, Budoff, a retired Maricopa County Superior Court judge, is serving as the discovery special master in the case. Budoff then made a quick ruling against the Gallup Diocese, which put Wall and Tachias back on Wednesday’s deposition calendar.

Unanswered questions

In his Labor Day Weekend announcement, the Gallup bishop promised to be “open and transparent” throughout the Chapter 11 process. He also promised to consult with his diocesan attorneys in order to answer a list of questions submitted by the media. Ultimately, however, Wall declined to answer the media questions and just emailed a short statement that repeated much of what was stated in his Chapter 11 announcement.

Wall declined to answer how the planned bankruptcy will affect one clergy abuse lawsuit, filed by a Navajo woman from Gallup, in which the diocese is a co-defendant with two Franciscan provinces that are separate from the diocese’s Chapter 11 reorganization.

Wall did not explain where the diocese has been getting money to pay clergy abuse settlements in recent decades. He also did not explain nor has he ever explained how much money the diocese has paid in clergy abuse settlements, including money to victims and legal fees to diocesan attorneys. These are figures that a number of other dioceses have publicly released.

Although the Gallup Diocese is quick to announce it is one of the poorest dioceses in the country, it is also believed to own considerable property in Arizona and New Mexico. Wall did not respond to a question about the sale of that property to meet Chapter 11 obligations. He also did not say if the diocese will now undergo a new and thorough audit because of the bankruptcy and the recent departure of James Hoy, its longtime controversial chief financial officer.

The bishop did not explain how the diocese will determine which clergy sex abuse allegations are truly credible an ongoing concern for a number of Gallup priests. He did not say when he would finally publicly disclose information about credibly accused abusers — a promise he made more than four years ago. Nor did he say if he would release documents pertaining to credibly accused abusers, and whether he would ever turn over information to law enforcement officials about the whereabouts of living, credibly accused clergy.

However, in contrast, the Gallup Diocese’s unsuccessful motion for protective order did provide some answers about the number of clergy sex abuse claims the diocese is currently facing and the potential financial liability of those claims.

“Of the thirteen lawsuits at least eight are completely uninsured and coverage for the remainder is limited to the $100,000 per claim statutory cap of the New Mexico Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Fund,” the motion stated. “In addition, there are another eight pending claims that are not in litigation and upon information and belief, numerous other claims of clergy sexual misconduct that have yet to be asserted against the Diocese.”

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CALIFORNIA
CBS Los Angeles

NORWALK (CBSLA.com) — An associate pastor at a Norwalk church was being held on $2 million bail Thursday after he was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting female parishioners, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.

Jorge Juan Castro, 53, was arrested Sept. 13 on six felony charges of rape, oral copulation and penetration by a foreign object.

Castro, who works as an associate pastor and counselor at Las Buenas Nuevas Church in Norwalk, is accused of sexually assaulting more than 20 women, between the ages of 18 and 39, from Oct. 2004 to Sept. 2012, officials said.

“During that counseling session, he would perform certain acts with them in the name of God,” Sgt. Al Garcia told KNX 1070. The acts took place both at the church, and at the victims’ homes, he added.

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CALIFORNIA
KABC

[with video]

Carlos Granda

SANTA FE SPRINGS, Calif. (KABC) — An associate pastor in Norwalk has been arrested for allegedly preying on at least 20 female parishioners over an eight-year period. Investigators say he used their illegal status in the U.S. to cower them into silence.

Detectives received information in April that Jorge Juan Castro had sexually assaulted women from Las Buenas Nuevas Church from October 2004 to September 2012. Castro was an associate pastor and a counselor at the church.

Authorities say the women, ages 18 to 39, implicated the suspect to a third party, and that person contacted sheriff’s deputies. Many of the alleged victims are Spanish-speaking undocumented immigrants, and Castro allegedly told the women that if they reported him, he would have them deported. Only four women have come forward to give interviews to detectives.

“From what we understand, some of the victims went to him for counseling for various reasons, and during that counseling session, he would perform certain acts with them in the name of God, telling them that the acts that he’s performing would help them in their problems, whatever they are having, and would sexually molest them,” said Sgt. Al Garcia of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department. “He took advantage of his position as a pastor.”

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CALIFORNIA
KPCC

An assistant pastor and counselor at Las Buenas Nuevas Church in Norwalk allegedly assaulted at least 20 women in the church’s congregation over an eight-year period, preying mostly on undocumented immigrants, L.A. Sheriff’s officials reported Thursday.

Sgt. Al Garcia, with the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department’s Special Victims Bureau, said Jorge Juan Castro, 54, would threaten to report his victims to immigration authorities if they told anyone what he’d done. He also allegedly told the women they’d be publicly humiliated if they came forward.

“From what we understand, some of the victims went to him for counseling for various reasons, and during that counseling session, he would perform certain acts with them in the name of God,” Garcia said.

At some point, Garcia said, the women approached church officials with their allegations and the church’s administrator brought the accusations to the sheriff’s station in Norwalk.

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CALIFORNIA
KTLA

An associate pastor suspected of sexually abusing female parishioners at a Norwalk church over the course of nearly eight years was behind bars Thursday.

Jorge Juan Castro, 53, was booked on suspicion of rape, oral copulation and penetration by a foreign object following his Sept. 13 arrest, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Castro, who worked as an associate pastor and counselor at the Buenas Nuevas Church in Norwalk, allegedly assaulted the women from October 2004 through September 2012.

Many of the victims were Spanish-speaking undocumented immigrants who Castro allegedly threatened with deportation and public embarrassment, according to the sheriff’s department.

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CALIFORNIA
Los Cerritos News

Published on September 19th, 2013

Update: Hews Media Group-Community Newspaper spoke to a female employee at Las Buenas Nuevas Church in Norwalk on Thursday afternoon who claimed that Jorge Juan Castro was “not an associate pastor at the church.” The employee did not want to be identified referred all questions about the case to members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The employee would not elaborate of Castro and his relationship with the small neighborhood church.

By Randy Economy

(Norwalk) A Norwalk associate pastor has been arrested by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s detectives for the alleged sexual abuse of numerous female parishioners.

Details of the arrest of suspect Jorge Juan Castro, who is also a resident of Norwalk emerged on Thursday in a press statement by law enforcement officials.

“Sheriff’s Special Victims Bureau detectives received information that from October 2004 through September 2012, adult women of the Las Buenas Nuevas Church in Norwalk were victims of sexual assaults committed by a suspect,” said Sergeant Al Garcia and Captain R. Esson from the Sheriff’s Special Victims Bureau.

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CALIFORNIA
Seattle PI

NORWALK, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California churchman who claimed to have “healing hands” has been charged with sexually assaulting women parishioners.

Fifty-four-year-old Jorge Juan Castro of Norwalk was arrested last week and charged with rape and other sex crimes. He remains jailed Thursday.

Castro was associate pastor of Las Buenas Nuevas in Norwalk but he’s been removed.

Authorities contend that since at least 2004 he assaulted parishioners at the church or their homes under the guise of performing faith healing.

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CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles Times

By Richard Winton
September 19, 2013

An associate pastor at a church in Norwalk arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting 20 female parishioners may have many more victims who’ve yet to be identified, authorities said Thursday.

Jorge Juan Castro, 53, was arrested Friday on allegations that during his eight years as associate pastor at Las Buenas Nuevas Church in Norwalk he assaulted the parishioners.

Detectives said of the 20 alleged victims have provided investigators with detailed accounts of sex acts that the pastor told were neccesary for his “healing hands.”

LA County Sheriff officials said detectives, who began their investigation April 8, believe there may be additional victims from the Norwalk church and a second location where Castro was sent to preach.

“He has a large number of victims and we suspect there are more. We’d like many more of those victims to come forward to us. They have nothing to fear,” said Sheriff’s Capt Robert Esson, who oversees the sheriff’s Special Victims Unit.

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CALIFORNIA
Whittier Daily News

By Brian Day, San Gabriel Valley Tribune
POSTED: 09/19/13

Sheriff’s officials Thursday announced the arrest of a Norwalk associate pastor accused of molesting as many as 20 female church members over the past eight years.

Jorge Juan Castro, 54, of Norwalk is charged with six felony counts in connection with the alleged sexual assaults of four women between ages 18 and 39 while he worked as an associate pastor and counselor at Las Buenas Nuevas Church, 11910 Alondra Boulevard, Sgt. Al Garcia of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Special Victims Bureau said.

The alleged crimes took place between 2004 and 2012, sheriff’s officials said in a statement.

He was placed on leave in April, immediately after 20 women came forward to report to a church official that they had been sexually assaulted by Castro, Garcia said.

“Multiple victims reported the sexual abuse to a church official, who in turn, reported it to us,” the sergeant said.

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PENNSYLVANIA
BCTV

Rozzi to Host Press Conference on Lifting the Statute of Limitations in Cases of Child Sexual Abuse

State Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-Berks, along with state Sen. Rob Teplitz, D-Dauphin, are teaming up to garner support for legislation that would increase the statute of limitations for victims of child sexual abuse to take civil action against alleged abusers.

The legislators will hold a news conference at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25 in the East Wing Rotunda of the state Capitol Building in Harrisburg.

Those expected to join Rozzi and Teplitz at the news conference include state Reps. Michael McGeehan and Louise Williams Bishop. Additional members of the General Assembly will be in attendance and speaking.

Teplitz will unveil S.B. 1103, companion legislation to H.B. 238, coauthored by McGeehan and Rozzi. Both measures would establish a two-year window during which the civil statute of limitations would be suspended to allow past victims of child sex abuse to access the justice system and expose guilty perpetrators.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
KMOX

Kevin Killeen
September 19, 2013

ST. LOUIS–(KMOX)–Archbishop Robert Carlson testified under oath today, giving a deposition in a criminal case involving a subordinate priest accused of witness tampering and sexual misconduct with a minor girl.

The Lincoln County Prosecutor questioned Carlson behind closed doors at the Rigali Center in Shrewsbury, while protestors picketted on the sidewalk urging him to “tell the truth.”

“We’re told to speak the truth, and I think it’s a very sad day when I have to stand out here with a sign and beg my Archbishop to tell the truth,” said protestor Ellen Prendergast.

The criminal case centers around Father Joseph Jiang, a longtime Carlson associate, accused of four felony counts of sexual abuse against the girl, and accused of giving the victim’s family a check for $20,000.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

By Tim Townsend ttownsend@post-dispatch.com 314-340-82210

Officials of the St. Louis Archdiocese said while they appreciate the interest in Archbishop Robert Carlson’s deposition in a lawsuit involving one of its priests, “this process is in the hands of the Missouri court system and it is important that we allow the process to unfold there where allegation and hypothetical can be sorted out as fact or fiction.”

Carlson was deposed Thursday as part of a lawsuit filed in July in Lincoln County against the Rev. Xiu Hui “Joseph” Jiang.

The suit, filed by the parents of a teenage girl, alleges that Carlson knew Jiang was a danger to children before the priest was charged last year with molesting the girl.

The archdiocese has called the allegations “false.”

In a statement last year, the archdiocese said Jiang, 30, was placed on administrative leave after officials learned about the allegations.

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CINCINNATI
Times Union

CINCINNATI (AP) — A jury has begun deliberations in the trial of an Ohio priest charged with taking a 10-year-old boy to West Virginia for sex more than two decades ago.

The federal jury began deliberating Thursday afternoon in the case of Robert Poandl (POHN’-duhl). The Roman Catholic priest is charged with transporting a minor in interstate commerce with the intent of engaging him in sex.

The prosecutor told jurors in closing arguments that Poandl raped the boy in West Virginia after taking him on a visit to a church there in 1991.

He says the Roman Catholic priest betrayed the boy’s trust and should be found guilty.

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ILLINOIS
KHQA

by Rajah Maples

SPRINGFIELD, ILL. — The Springfield Catholic Diocese is investigating clerical sexual misconduct that allegedly happened in Jacksonville more than 30 years ago.

According to a news release from the diocese, a priest has temporarily withdrawn from the ministry following a misconduct allegation with a minor said to have occurred more than 30 years ago.

Father Robert “Bud” DeGrand, pastor of parishes in Sigel, Neoga, Green Creek and Lillyville, is cooperating with the recommendation of the Diocesan Review Board that he temporarily withdraw from public ministry and from his ecclesiastical residence pending further investigation, according to the release.

Documents state that the alleged abuse was said to have happened in 1980 when Father DeGrand was assigned to Our Saviour Parish in Jacksonville, Illinois.

“The Springfield diocese takes such allegations very seriously,” Bishop Thomas John Paprocki said in the release. “We have a strict policy on sexual abuse of minors by church personnel that reflects our desire to safeguard the welfare of minors in our parishes, institutions and programs. It also reflects our determination to deal properly and decisively with any allegations of sexual abuse of minors.”

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ILLINOIS
Journal Gazette and Times-Courier

NEOGA (JG-TC) — A priest whose parishes include the one in Neoga withdrew from the ministry following an allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor that reportedly took place more than 30 years ago, the Catholic Diocese of Springfield announced Thursday.

Father Robert “Bud” DeGrand, pastor of parishes in Sigel, Green Creek and Lillyville as well as Neoga, is cooperating with the recommendation of the Diocesan Review Board that he temporarily withdraw from public ministry and from his ecclesiastical residence pending further investigation, according to a news release from the diocese.

The release said the alleged abuse was said to have occurred in 1980 when DeGrand was assigned to Our Saviour Parish in Jacksonville.

“The Springfield diocese takes such allegations very seriously,” Bishop Thomas John Paprocki said in the release. “We have a strict policy on sexual abuse of minors by church personnel that reflects our desire to safeguard the welfare of minors in our parishes, institutions and programs. It also reflects our determination to deal properly and decisively with any allegations of sexual abuse of minors.”

The allegation was received by the diocese’s victim assistance coordinator on Sept. 9, the news release said. On Sept. 13, the Diocesan Review Board found the allegation to have “a semblance of truth” and recommended that Paprocki begin a preliminary investigation, it said.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic League

Bill Donohue comments on remarks by Pope Francis that were made last month in a three-part meeting in Rome with Catholic journalists; they were published today by America magazine:

The New York Times issued a “Breaking News Alert,” followed by a story, “Pope Bluntly Faults Church’s Focus on Gays and Abortion.” Here is what the pope said: “We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods. This is not possible.” He also said, “when we speak about these issues, we have to talk about them in a context.”

The pope is right that single-issue Catholics need to rise above their immediate concerns. He did not say we should not address abortion or homosexuality; he simply said we cannot be absorbed by these issues. Both the left and the right should heed his message.

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ILLINOIS
XFM

Written by Greg Sapp

Following an allegation of clerical sexual misconduct with a minor said to have occurred over 30 years ago, an area priest has temporarily withdrawn from ministry.

Father Robert “Bud” DeGrand, pastor of parishes in Sigel, Neoga, Green Creek and Lillyville, is cooperating with the recommendation of the Catholic Diocese of Springfield Review Board that he temporarily withdraw from public ministry and from his ecclesiastical residence pending further investigation.

The alleged abuse was said to have occurred in 1980 when Father DeGrand was assigned to Our Saviour Parish in Jacksonville.

The allegation was received by the diocese’s victim assistance coordinator on September 9. On September 13, the Diocesan Review Board found the allegation to have “a semblance of truth” and recommended that Bishop Paprocki begin a preliminary investigation.

As required by the diocesan policy, the diocese has notified the Morgan County State’s Attorney, where the alleged abuse is said to have occurred, and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

The allegation was communicated to Father DeGrand on Sunday by Monsignor Carl Kemme, vicar general of the diocese, and Father David Hoefler, the local dean. On Wednesday, Bishop Paprocki, Monsignor Kemme and Father Hoefler met with parishioners of the four parishes in a meeting held at St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Sigel to inform them of the reason for Father DeGrand’s temporary withdrawal from ministry.

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NEW MEXICO
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on September 17, 2013

**Update – Thursday, September 19** I just heard that Gallup Bishop James Wall and priest Fr. Alfred Tachias DID sit for depositions with victims’ attorneys yesterday. Hopefully, Wall broke with tradition and was open and forthright, turning over files, naming names and outing abusers. (A girl can dream, right?)

The “explosive news” potential for Fr. Alfred Tachias’ deposition is BIG. He worked closely with Fr. Clement Hageman (the Route 66 Priest), and may be sitting on mountains of evidence. Hageman’s abuse crosses state and diocesan borders, so anything we learn can have a huge ripple effect across the Southwest.

When and if the depositions are made public, I will be sure to post here.

Plans for a bankruptcy filing are still moving forward.

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SPRINGFIELD (IL)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, Sept. 19, 2013

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 week after returning a troubled priest back on the job, Springfield’s Catholic bishop is letting another priest who’s accused of child sex crimes temporarily resign. But the bishop sat on the accusation for weeks, keeping it secret. And the bishop continues to use misleading language and doing the bare minimum.

[State Journal-Register]

Today, Bishop Thomas Paprocki temporarily let Fr. Robert “Bud” DeGrand from his posts at Catholic parishes in Sigel, Neoga, Green Creek and Lillyville.

First, Paprocki should suspend Fr. DeGrand. That’s what the US bishops pledged to do when credible child sex abuse reports surfaced. That’s what the US bishops’ official sex abuse policy mandates. There’s a difference between someone stepping aside and someone being TOLD to step aside. To let a credibly accused child molesting cleric decide whether to temporarily step down minimizes the horror he or she allegedly committed.

Second, Paprocki admits his hand-picked abuse panel quietly urged him to oust Fr. DeGrand almost a week ago. But he kept silent and delayed. Worse, Paprocki admits getting the allegation ten days ago. In that time, he again kept silent and delayed.

Why does that matter? Because every day a child sex abuse report is kept hidden, a child sex abuser is free to keep abusing. And every day of secrecy and delay gives those who commit and conceal child sex crimes more chances to destroy evidence, intimidate victims, threaten witnesses, discredit whistleblowers, fabricate alibis and even flee the country. Every day of secrecy and delay makes it harder for police and prosecutors to pursue child predators.

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UNITED STATES
Boston Globe

By Brigid Schulte | WASHINGTON POST SEPTEMBER 13, 2013

WASHINGTON — In the first major study of child abuse and neglect in 20 years, researchers with the National Academy of Sciences reported Thursday that the damaging consequences of abuse can not only reshape a child’s brain, but can last a lifetime.

Untreated, the effects of child abuse and neglect, the researchers found, can profoundly influence a child’s physical and mental health, their ability to control emotions and impulses, their achievement in school, and the relationships they form as children and as adults.

The researchers recommend an ‘‘immediate, coordinated’’ national strategy to better understand, treat, and prevent child abuse and neglect, noting that each year, abuse and neglect costs an estimated $80 billion in both the direct costs of hospitalization, law enforcement, and child welfare, and the indirect costs of special education, juvenile and adult criminal justice costs, adult homelessness, and lost work productivity.

‘‘Child abuse and neglect is a serious public health problem which requires immediate, urgent attention,’’ said Anne Petersen, a professor at the Center for Human Growth and Development at the University of Michigan who chaired the research committee for the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council of the National Academies. ‘‘The consequences can last into adulthood with significant costs to the individual, to families, and to society.’’

The report, produced at the request of the US Department of Health and Human Services, found that while rates of physical and sexual child abuse have declined in the past 20 years, rates of emotional and psychological abuse, the kind that can produce the most serious long-lasting effects, have increased. Rates of neglect have held fairly steady. Researchers say they don’t know why.

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VATICAN CITY
France 24

AFP – Pope Francis on Thursday lashed out at what he called the scandal of “airport bishops”, urging his peers to remain rooted in their dioceses and spend less time seeking the spotlight.

The Argentine pontiff, who is very attached to his title as bishop of Rome, said residence in a diocese was “not only necessary for organisational purposes but had theological roots.”

“You are betrothed to your community, deeply bound to it. I am asking you, please, to remain among your people,” the pope said at an audience of new bishops from around the world.

“You must stay, stay! Avoid the scandal of airport bishops,” he said.

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ARGENTINA
Windsor Star

Associated Press

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Argentina’s Supreme Court has upheld the 15-year prison sentence of a priest convicted of sexually abusing a boy in his “Happy Children Foundation.”

Father Julio Cesar Grassi has maintained his innocence and he’s been able to live for a decade in a home across the street from the foundation despite allegations that he abused more than a dozen children there. All but one charge was dismissed for lack of evidence, but the courts still found him guilty of abusing one boy.

The victim’s attorney, Juan Pablo Gallego, called for Grassi to be put behind bars quickly now that his conviction is confirmed.

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GERMANY
National Catholic Reporter

Christa Pongratz-Lippitt | Sep. 19, 2013

A German bishop who was criticized by his priests and laity for an extravagant lifestyle and authoritarian leadership has apologized for “misjudgments” and agreed to an outside audit of his diocese’s financial records.

Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst of Limburg issued the apology at the end of a weeklong Vatican-ordered “brotherly visitation” by Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, a veteran Vatican diplomat and the Holy See’s nuncio to Germany for eight years in 1990s.

On Sept. 16, Tebartz-van Elst released a declaration signed by himself, Lajolo and Fr. Günther Geis, the cathedral rector, that calls on the German bishops’ conference to appoint a commission to audit diocesan finances with special attention on the money spent redecorating the bishop’s palace in Limburg. “The final report of the commission, which will examine and include all costs, finances and procedures involved, will be disclosed publicly,” the declaration says.

It is highly unusual for a bishops’ conference to audit the finances of an individual bishop in this way. Canon law has no provisions for such oversight. The power of supervision over individual bishops is reserved for the pope.

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ILLINOIS
Journal-Courier

Following an allegation of clerical sexual misconduct with a minor said to have occurred more than 30 years ago, a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Illinois has temporarily withdrawn from ministry.

Father Robert “Bud” DeGrand, pastor of parishes in Sigel, Neoga, Green Creek and Lillyville, is cooperating with the recommendation of the Diocesan Review Board that he temporarily withdraw from public ministry and from his ecclesiastical residence pending further investigation.

The alleged abuse was said to have occurred in 1980 when DeGrand was assigned to Our Saviour Parish in Jacksonville.

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UNITED STATES
Bilgrimage

William D. Linsey

Some updates on stories about which I’ve posted here in the not-too-distant past:

I told readers several weeks ago that the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) had called on the Catholic bishop of my home city of Little Rock, Arkansas, Anthony Taylor, and on Mount St. Mary high school in Little Rock to publicize an impending court hearing. The court hearing had to do with a teacher at Mount St. Mary, Kelly Ann O’Rourke, who had been sentenced for having sexually molested a student at the school. They also had to do with Kathy Griffin, a counselor at Mount St. Mary and O’Rourke’s live-in partner, who learned of the abuse of the student but did not report it to authorities.

The update: the jury in this trial found Griffin guilty this past week. Max Brantley reports on the verdict for Arkansas Times. At the same trial, O’Rourke pled guilty to having repeatedly violated the terms of her probation by making numerous phone calls to the girl she had molested.

In a press release yesterday that I’m not yet seeing on the SNAP website, SNAP official Barbara Dorris notes that the jury’s decision makes things safer for minors in both Arkansas and Florida, where the predator has been living, but:

Unfortunately, the institutional wrongdoer here – the Little Rock Catholic diocese and Mt. St. Mary’s School – have, for now at least, escaped consequences for their reckless, callous and deceitful behavior in this case. Neither school nor church officials made any real effort to help police and prosecutors pursue these criminals. At best, the diocese and the school did the bare minimum. More accurately, they minimized the crimes by O’Rourke and Griffin and refused to lift a finger to help find more victims, witnesses or whistleblowers that could have been helped or helpful.

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SPRINGFIELD (IL)
WICS

A priest of the Catholic Diocese of Springfield has temporarily withdrawn from ministry following allegations of clerical sexual misconduct with a minor that occurred over 30 years ago. The alleged abuse was said to have occurred in 1980 when Father Robert “Bud” DeGrand was assigned to Our Saviour Parish in Jacksonville.

Father DeGrand, pastor of parishes in Sigel, Neoga, Green Creek and Lillyville, is cooperating with the recommendation of the Diocesan Review Board that he temporarily withdraw from public ministry and from his residence pending further investigation.

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KENYA
Standard

By HUDSON GUMBIHI

John, not his real, name was in an intimate relationship with one of the nuns who could even visit his home.

Only a few trusted people close to John knew what had been transpired – the rest were duped into believing that the two were a ‘brother and sister in Christ’.

Yet the man and the nun would frequently engage in sexual sessions whenever his lover sneaked from an abbey based in Nairobi.

This is one of the cases of sex scandals in the Catholic church, which has vehemently denies that the men and women in the Cassocks who vowed to avoid worldly pleasures, had loosened their zips and pants.

When The Nairobian reached John to seek his side of the story, the man denied any existence of an intimate relationship between him and the nun.

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RHODE ISLAND
National Catholic Reporter

Michael Sean Winters | Sep. 13, 2013 Distinctly Catholic

In July, during World Youth Day, my colleague John Allen asked Archbishop Charles Chaput about Catholics’ reactions to Pope Francis, and part of the archbishop’s reply was: “This is already true of the right wing of the church. They generally have not been really happy about his election, from what I’ve been able to read and to understand.”

Now we know who Chaput was talking to. In his diocesan paper, Providence, R.I., Bishop Thomas Tobin offered his reflections on Pope Francis’ first six months. In the course of that interview, he said:

The other thing I want to say though, is that I’m a little bit disappointed in Pope Francis that he hasn’t, at least that I’m aware of, said much about unborn children, about abortion, and many people have noticed that. I think it would be very helpful if Pope Francis would address more directly the evil of abortion and to encourage those who are involved in the pro-life movement. It’s one thing for him to reach out and embrace and kiss little children and infants as he has on many occasions. It strikes me that it would also be wonderful if in a spiritual way he would reach out and embrace and kiss unborn children.

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VATICAN CITY
KWQC

By NICOLE WINFIELD and RACHEL ZOLL
Associated Press

VATICAN CITY (AP) – Pope Francis has warned that the Catholic Church’s moral structure might “fall like a house of cards” if it doesn’t balance its divisive rules about abortion, gays and contraception with the greater need to make it a merciful, more welcoming place for all.

Six months into his papacy, Francis set out his vision for the church and his priorities as pope in a lengthy and remarkably blunt interview with La Civilta Cattolica, the Italian Jesuit magazine. It was published simultaneously Thursday in Jesuit journals in 16 countries, including America magazine in the U.S.

In the 12,000-word article, Francis expands on his ground-breaking comments over the summer about gays and acknowledges some of his own faults. He sheds light on his favorite composers, artists, authors and films (Mozart, Caravaggio, Dostoevsky and Fellini’s “La Strada”) and says he prays even while at the dentist’s office.

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SPRINGFIELD (IL)
Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 12, 2013
For more information:
Kathie Sass: (217) 698-8500

SPRINGFIELD -€” A Special Panel convened to advise Bishop Thomas John Paprocki concerning the matter of Father Thomas Donovan, former pastor of St. Aloysius Parish in Springfield, has concluded that his “gradual return to ministry is appropriate.”

As a result of the panel’s recommendation, Bishop Paprocki has announced that Father Donovan will be assigned as chaplain to the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George, with residence at their provincial house in Alton, effective Sept. 15.

“The Sisters have agreed to this assignment in a spiritual environment and supportive atmosphere of prayer and compassion,” Bishop Paprocki said.

In a written recommendation to Bishop Paprocki, panel members said they reviewed relevant material concerning the incident that occurred at the rectory of St. Aloysius Parish on Nov. 28, 2012, including reports of mental health professionals summarizing treatment, diagnoses and recommendations for treatment for Father Donovan. Two members of the panel conducted a “lengthy and probing interview” of Father Donovan and the panel as a whole conducted a “full personal interview” with him.

In light of this review, the panel concluded that “Father Donovan was alone at the time of the incident;” that there is “no information to suggest that Father Donovan is a danger to himself or others;” and that “gradual reintroduction to priestly ministry is appropriate” if there are roles for priestly ministry for Father Donovan based on the ongoing reports of mental health professionals.

The panel also recommended that a “respect for the pastoral concerns of any community to which Father Donovan might be assigned is important for the welfare of both the community and Father Donovan” and that “Father Donovan’s ministerial and therapeutic progress should be regularly and carefully monitored for the foreseeable future.”

“I have accepted the conclusions and recommendations of the panel and am grateful to the members of the Special Panel for their time and expertise in addressing this matter,” Bishop Paprocki said. “I also commend Father Donovan for his complete cooperation with his spiritual directors, medical and therapeutic professionals, and members of the panel.”

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SPRINGFIELD (IL)
Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 19, 2013
For more information:
Kathie Sass: (217) 698-8500

SPRINGFIELD -€” Following an allegation of clerical sexual misconduct with a minor said to have occurred over 30 years ago, a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Illinois has temporarily withdrawn from ministry.

Father Robert “Bud” DeGrand, pastor of parishes in Sigel, Neoga, Green Creek and Lillyville, is cooperating with the recommendation of the Diocesan Review Board that he temporarily withdraw from public ministry and from his ecclesiastical residence pending further investigation.

The alleged abuse was said to have occurred in 1980 when Father DeGrand was assigned to Our Saviour Parish in Jacksonville.

“The Springfield diocese takes such allegations very seriously,” said Bishop Thomas John Paprocki. “We have a strict Policy on Sexual Abuse of Minors by Church Personnel that reflects our desire to safeguard the welfare of minors in our parishes, institutions and programs. It also reflects our determination to deal properly and decisively with any allegations of sexual abuse of minors.”

The allegation was received by the diocese’s victim assistance coordinator on Sept. 9. On Sept. 13, the Diocesan Review Board found the allegation to have “a semblance of truth” and recommended that Bishop Paprocki begin a preliminary investigation.

As required by the diocesan policy, the diocese has notified the Morgan County States Attorney, where the alleged abuse is said to have occurred, and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

The allegation was communicated to Father DeGrand Sept. 15 by Msgr. Carl Kemme, vicar general of the diocese, and Father David Hoefler, the local dean. On Sept. 18, Bishop Paprocki, Msgr. Kemme and Father Hoefler met with parishioners of the four parishes in a meeting held at St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Sigel to inform them of the reason for Father DeGrand’s temporary withdrawal from ministry.

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ILLINOIS
State Journal-Register

By Staff reports
The State Journal-Register
Posted Sep 19, 2013 @ 12:14 PM

A central Illinois priest is being investigated for an alleged incident of sexual misconduct while he was serving at a Jacksonville church in 1980.

The Rev. Robert “Bud” DeGrand has temporarily withdrawn from serving Catholic parishes in Sigel, Neoga, Green Creek and Lillyville, according to a statement from the Springfield Catholic Diocese.

The diocese statement says officials first learned of the allegation on Sept. 9 and began investigating. Bishop Thomas John Paprocki and two other Catholic officials met with parishioners Sept. 18 to discuss DeGrand’s absence.

The allegation allegedly occurred while DeGrand was serving Our Saviour Parish in Jacksonville in 1980, the same year he was ordained to the priesthood, according to the diocese statement.

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SPRINGFIELD (IL)
Effingham Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Following an allegation of clerical sexual misconduct with a minor said to have occurred over 30 years ago, a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Illinois has temporarily withdrawn from ministry.

Father Robert “Bud” DeGrand, pastor of parishes in Sigel, Neoga, Green Creek and Lillyville, is cooperating with the recommendation of the Diocesan Review Board that he temporarily withdraw from public ministry and from his ecclesiastical residence pending further investigation.

The alleged abuse was said to have occurred in 1980 when Father DeGrand was assigned to Our Saviour Parish in Jacksonville.

“The Springfield diocese takes such allegations very seriously,” said Bishop Thomas John Paprocki. “We have a strict Policy on Sexual Abuse of Minors by Church Personnel that reflects our desire to safeguard the welfare of minors in our parishes, institutions and programs. It also reflects our determination to deal properly and decisively with any allegations of sexual abuse of minors.”

– See more at: http://effinghamdailynews.com/local/x862162291/Local-pastor-resigns-following-sexual-misconduct-allegations#sthash.ejM26Eye.dpuf

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AUSTRALIA
lewisblayse.net

When a victim complained to police about Larkins, despite the case coming with a recommended follow-up time of 28 days, there were extensive delays. The victim was not interviewed for six months. It then took police three months to send the case file to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

After a further few months, the interviewing police officer was incorrectly advised, by another officer, that the DPP did not want to go ahead with a prosecution. Eventually, the victim declined to proceed with the case because of all of the delays and associated hassles.

The commission was told that an examination of the police logging system used for the investigation also revealed missing entries, entries not made for weeks after actions taken, and entirely incorrect information entered as fact.

The hearing was before all six commissioners, including Bob Atkinson, the former Police Commissioner for QueenslandState (see previous posting). Mr. Atkinson did not appear to ask questions of the police officers.

Sergeant Nigel Turney Evidence: Mr. Turney was the officer who heard allegations against Larkins from a victim and witness. He was quizzed on why police action was so poor in this case. Firstly, Sgt. Turney said that he had no training in interviewing victims of sex abuse. He also said he had been told by Senior Constable Pamela Amloh, a domestic violence officer, that the DPP did not want to proceed, even though it had done the exact opposite.

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MINNESOTA
Swift County Monitor-News

By Reed Anfinson
Publisher, Swift County Monitor-News

Two children who attended St. Francis Xavier Parochial School in Benson are among the at least 20 children that former priest Father David A. Roney is accused of sexually abusing during his career.

The incidents, one involving a boy and one a girl, are alleged to have occurred while he was in Benson between 1963 and 1967. Roney died Jan. 27, 2003.

Monday the law firm of Jeff Anderson and Associates PA conducted a press conference with two women who say Roney abused them while he was a priest in Willmar between 1967 and 1975.

The two, along with a third unidentified person who attended the Catholic school in Benson, are seeking an amount in excess of $50,000 each as well as costs, reasonable attorney’s fees, and other relief “as the court deems just and equitable” from the Diocese of New Ulm. The suit was filed last Friday in Brown County.

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PORTUGAL
Jornal de Noticias

NUNO MIGUEL MAIA E ÓSCAR QUEIRÓS

O pesadelo começou no Externato Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, em Tortosendo. “Paulo” (nome fictício) tinha 16 anos e, a partir de certa altura, em vez de se dedicar aos estudos – estava no 9.°ano – e brincadeiras com amigos, nas aulas estava “distraído” e fora delas vagueava sisudo e sozinho por corredores e recreio.

Andava angustiado porque em casa os pais viviam de costas voltadas, fazendo-o temer pela separação. “Sentia-me muito mal”, conta ao JN, emocionado, recordando esses dias. A amargura era tanta que decidiu desabafar com uma professora. Esta encaminhou-o para o colega de Religião e Moral, o padre Luís Mendes, “pessoa preparada para essas coisas” e que até tinha gabinete próprio para o efeito. Paulo aceitou a sugestão. Estávamos em 2008. Hoje, cinco anos volvidos, ainda se amaldiçoa por tê-lo feito. É vítima de coação sexual, no processo do padre Luís, cujo julgamento se inicia amanhã no Tribunal do Fundão.

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PORTUGAL
Publico

SANDRA RODRIGUES e MARIANA OLIVEIRA 19/09/2013

O ex-vice-reitor do seminário do Fundão, padre Luís Mendes, acusado pelo Ministério Público de 19 crimes de natureza sexual sobre menores, optou por não prestar declarações no arranque do julgamento, que começou na manhã desta quinta-feira no Fundão e decorre à porta fechada.

Segundo informação do oficial de justiça encarregue do processo, o padre Luís Mendes preferiu manter-se em silêncio, recusando esclarecer as dúvidas do colectivo de três juízes relativamente à acusação do Ministério Público, que lhe imputa 11 crimes de abuso sexual de crianças, sete de abuso sexual de menores dependentes e um crime de coacção sexual. Durante o inquérito o sacerdote optara por falar, tendo negado os crimes. Admitiu que se deitava com os jovens na cama, debaixo dos lençóis, mas insistiu que era apenas para confortar os alunos, que estavam afastados da família ou doentes.

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PORTUGAL
TVI 23

[com video]

O Tribunal do Fundão começou, esta quinta-feira, a julgar à porta fechada o padre de 37 anos, ex-vice reitor do Seminário do Fundão, que está acusado de 19 crimes de abuso sexual de menores.

A decisão de fechar o julgamento ao público, incluindo jornalistas, prende-se com o facto de o processo ter vítimas sexuais menores e já era esperada, pelo que no local havia poucas pessoas com intenção de assistir.

Com início previsto para as 09:00, a primeira sessão do julgamento começou já depois das 10:30, altura em que as testemunhas arroladas (50 pessoas) foram informadas de que já não seriam ouvidas durante a manhã desta quinta-feira.

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PORTUGAL
A Bola

O Tribunal do Fundão decidiu que o julgamento do padre, de 38 anos, iria decorrer à porta fechada. O ex-vice reitor do Seminário do Fundão está acusado de 19 crimes de abuso sexual de menores.

Esta decisão já era esperada já que em causa estão vários menores.

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PORTUGAL
A Bola

Inocente. É assim que se declara um padre do Fundão no que concerne às acusações de pedofilia que é alvo.

Arrancou esta quinta-feira no Tribunal do Fundão o julgamento do padre de 37 anos, que estava em prisão domiciliária numa casa sacerdotal após ter sido suspenso das funções.

O caso veio a público em dezembro último. O sacerdote é acusado de abusar sexualmente de seminaristas no Seminário Menor do Fundão. A Polícia Judiciária recebeu queixas por parte das famílias de pelo menos cinco dos jovens abusados.

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PORTUGAL
Renascenca

Depois do caso vir a público em Dezembro passado, o sacerdote foi imediatamente suspenso do seminário e tem estado em prisão domiciliária numa casa sacerdotal.

O sacerdote da Guarda acusado de vários casos de abusos sexuais de seminaristas que estavam a seu cargo no Seminário Menor do Fundão considera-se inocente.

O julgamento do padre Luís Mendes começou esta quinta-feira de manhã. O arguido optou por não falar nesta primeira sessão, onde as cerca de 50 testemunhas, na maioria jovens, acabaram por ser dispensadas. Cinco regressam, esta tarde, para serem ouvidos.

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VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

John L. Allen Jr. | Sep. 19, 2013 NCR Today

In a wide-ranging interview for 16 Jesuit publications around the world, including America magazine in the United States, Pope Francis once again has waded into hot-button questions such as homosexuality, abortion and the role of women, not breaking with traditional doctrine but trying to shift the church’s emphasis from condemnation to mercy.

“The church sometimes has locked itself up in small things, in small-minded rules,” Francis says. “Ministers of the church must be ministers of mercy above all.”

The pope also warns against a “restorationist” mentality in Catholicism and insists that “thinking with the church” cannot mean solely thinking with the hierarchy. Francis also pointedly says, “I have never been a right-winger.”

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ARGENTINA
El Liberal

[Summary: Plaintiff attorney Juan Pablo Gallego has filed a brief with the criminal court asking that priest Julio Cesar Grassi be arrested. One of the country’s high courts has upheld the priest’s 15-year sentence after he was convicted of child sexual abuse charges. Grassi has been free during his appeals.]

El abogado querellante Juan Pablo Gallego presentó un escrito ante el Tribunal Oral de Morón.

Tras el fallo de la Corte bonaerense piden la detencion del padre Grassi

Publicado el 19/09/2013 – Tras el fallo de la Suprema Corte de Justicia bonaerense, que ayer ratificó la condena contra el sacerdote Julio César Grassi, sentenciado a 15 años de prisión por los delitos de abuso sexual agravado y corrupción de menores, el abogado querellante Juan Pablo Gallego presentó un escrito ante el Tribunal Oral Criminal 1 de Morón para pedir su detención.

“El Tribunal Oral de Morón acaba de recibir nuestra presentación. Esperamos que la Justicia esté a la altura de la situación”, sostuvo Gallego en diálogo con TN, y señaló que Grassi “tiene privilegios insólitos”. El domicilio del condenado sigue siendo una quinta cercana a su fundación.
Posible fuga

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ARGENTINA
La Nacion

[Summary: Bishop Marcelo Cuenca defended Julio Cesar Grassi, who has been convicted of child sexual abuse charges, and said he believes the priest is totally innocent.]

Marcelo Cuenca, de la dióscesis Cuenca del Alto Valle, defendió al cura condenado por abuso sexual y afirmó que las pruebas “son una cosa armada por el poder económico”

“Yo creo que el padre [Julio César] Grassi es totalmente inocente”, aseguró esta mañana el obispo de la diócesis Cuenca del Alto Valle, Marcelo Cuenca, y afirmó además que la causa contra el cura condenado por abuso sexual agravado y corrupción de menores es “una cosa armada por el poder económico”.

En diálogo con la radio FM Versión, de General Roca, un día después de que un fallo de la Suprema Corte de Justicia bonaerense, ratificara la condena contra el sacerdote Julio César Grassi, el obispo de Río Negro dijo: “Honestamente, y sin erigirme en juez, creo que el padre Grassi es totalmente inocente y le han querido colgar, sumar, una acusación que responde a otros motivos y no a esta lamentable situación que reconozco pueden haber vivido algunos sacerdotes, de abuso de niños”.

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ARGENTINA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, Sept. 19

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 )

A high profile priest, suspected of molesting kids more than a decade ago, is now one step closer to being imprisoned. While we applaud this move, we’re appalled that this criminal has tied up the court system with a seven year trial and 200 hearings over 11 years while spending only one month behind bars despite sexually assaulting at least two boys.

[Buenos Aires Herald]

We applaud the victims of Fr. Grassi for their courage and determination. They should be extremely proud of themselves. And Buenos Aires Catholics should be grateful to them for exposing a dangerous pedophile.

Every day Fr. Grassi has walked free, kids have been at risk. Shame on Catholic officials in Argentina for doing virtually nothing to help law enforcement investigate and convict and jail him.”>Buenos Aires Herald]

We applaud the victims of Fr. Grassi for their courage and determination. They should be extremely proud of themselves. And Buenos Aires Catholics should be grateful to them for exposing a dangerous pedophile.

Every day Fr. Grassi has walked free, kids have been at risk. Shame on Catholic officials in Argentina for doing virtually nothing to help law enforcement investigate and convict and jail him.

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MINNESOTA
National Catholic Reporter

Joe Winter | Sep. 19, 2013

EDEN PRAIRIE, MINN. Church and school finances and a proposed $165 million capital campaign were on the agenda of a St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese meeting Monday that was held for priests only, and a group of Catholics who are calling for greater transparency from church leaders found themselves without a seat at the table.

Members of the Catholic Coalition for Church Reform sought to have the meeting open to its members as well as to any laity who wished to attend. Robert Beutel, a St. Paul attorney and co-chair of the board for the group, said administrators and financial officers of parishes and of the archdiocese who are not priests, as well as deacons, apparently were excluded from the event — titled Priest Finance Day — held at an Eden Prairie church.

In response to the reform group’s request, Archbishop John Nienstedt, who did attend, said in an Aug. 21 letter that the meeting is “intended to be a professional gathering for those who have been duly ordained to the Catholic priesthood.”

Up for discussion were the capital campaign to raise money for Catholic schools, charities, seminarian education and preservation of the St. Paul Cathedral and Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis; the annual Catholic Services Appeal; and lay and priest pension plans, said Beutel, who obtained the agenda from a member of his group.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
KMOX

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOX) — St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson is scheduled to testify today in a priest abuse case.

The case involves a longtime Carlson associate, Father Joseph Jiang. Jiang is accused of molesting an underage girl in Lincoln County in recent years and accused of attempted witness tampering in the form of a $20,000 check allegedly left on the car on the victim’s family.

Jiang was an Associate Pastor at the Cathedral Basilica and lived in Carlson’s private residence in St. Louis.

Carlson is accused in a separate civil suit of calling the victim’s mother and asking her to give him the check. The archdiocese has denied those allegations

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ARKANSAS
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, Sept. 18

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 )

Today, an ex-Catholic school teacher has been found guilty of failing to report suspected child sex crimes. Yesterday, another ex-Catholic school teacher pled guilty to violating her probation by repeatedly contacting the girl she molested.

As a result, kids in both Arkansas (where the crimes happened) and Florida (where the predator has been living) are both safer. And we hope that these actions, especially today’s verdict, will deter future cover ups of child sex crimes.

The enabler, Kathy Griffin, received a year’s probation and $2,500 fine, which we think is a light sentence. The predator, Kelly O’Rourke, is in jail now awaiting sentencing.

Unfortunately, the institutional wrongdoer here – the Little Rock Catholic diocese and Mt. St. Mary’s School – have, for now at least, escaped consequences for their reckless, callous and deceitful behavior in this case. Neither school nor church officials made any real effort to help police and prosecutors pursue these criminals. At best, the diocese and the school did the bare minimum. More accurately, they minimized the crimes by O’Rourke and Griffin and refused to lift a finger to help find more victims, witnesses or whistleblowers that could have been helped or helpful.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
KTVI

ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI) – For the first time ever, the head of the St. Louis Archdiocese is set to testify under oath.

St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson will answer questions in a deposition on Thursday. It’s related to a criminal case involving a priest.

Father Joseph Jiang is charged with four counts of sexual abuse against a girl in Lincoln County. He’s also charged with witness tampering.

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SHREWSBURY (MO)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Victims to hold vigil outside archbishop’s deposition today
Carlson faces rare questioning this morning in child sex case
He’s accused of evidence tampering with Fr. Jiang’s $20,000 check
SNAP urges him to hold public meeting about “troubling situation”

What:
Holding signs and childhood photos on a sidewalk, a clergy sex abuse victim and two supporters will hold a 30 minute vigil outside the deposition of two top local Catholic officials in an unusual criminal clergy sex abuse case.

They will also
–blast the archbishop’s silence about the serious allegations that he tried to tamper with evidence,
–prod the archbishop to hold an open public meeting about the case, and
–urge him to aggressively seek out others who may have seen, suspected or suffered child sex crimes or cover ups by clergy.

When:
TODAY, Thursday, Sep. 19 at 9:45 a.m.

Where:
Outside the St. Louis archdiocesan compound on Laclede Station Road (near corner of Elizabeth) in Shewsbury

Who:
Three members of a support group called SNAP (the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests), including a St. Louis man who is the group’s long time director

Why:
Today, two top archdiocesan officials – Archbishop Robert Carlson and Deacon Phil Hengen, will be deposed by Lincoln County prosecutors about their possible role in covering up child sex crimes by Fr. Joseph Jiang.

SNAP is urging the two to tell the truth, not invoke the Fifth Amendment, and discuss their involvement in the case later in a public meeting at which parishioners can question them.

A civil lawsuit has also been filed against Carlson regarding Jiang. In response to that suit, Carlson has an eight-page legal reply in which he calls “baseless” the charge that he tried to tamper with evidence. (On five other charges, however, Carlson basically argues that he can’t be held responsible even if the allegations in the case are true. Carlson’s lawyers want the entire case against him tossed out.)

The suit charges that Carlson “knew (Fr. Xiu Hui “Joseph” Jiang) was dangerous to children before (a girl) was abused,” last summer, asked the alleged victim’s parents for a $20,000 check the priest had given them, committing “the criminal offense of attempted tampering with evidence,” because he reportedly suggested that the girl’s parents “return to him the check.” (The parents, however, had given it to police.)

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By court reporter Jamelle Wells

A former caseworker has told the royal commission into child sexual abuse that a child welfare agency was poorly staffed and she was given little training.

Former Hunter Aboriginal Children’s Service (HACS) staff member Jacqualine Henderson today told the inquiry she had no prior experience as a caseworker with children when she went to work for the organisation in 1998.

Nevertheless she was put in charge of up to 12 children at a time.

Ms Henderson said she was not made aware of all the policies and procedures of HACS and sought advice from Department of Community Services (DOCS) staff on some matters.

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AUSTRALIA
Walcha News

By Paul Bibby Sept. 19, 2013

A case manager at the Aboriginal children’s service where paedophile Steven Larkins used his senior position to lure teenage boys into his home has told the royal commission on child sex abuse that he had used her “as a god damn puppet” and threatened her with defamation when she confronted him about his behaviour.

Jacqueline Henderson broke down on the witness stand when asked what she thought of Larkins, who was allowed to remain in the position of chief executive of the Hunter Aboriginal Children’s Services for eight years, despite numerous reports and rumours of inappropriate behaviour.

“I take personal offence to what Steve has done to me and my community,” Ms Henderson, who is also Larkin’s second cousin, said.

“He’s used me as a god damn puppet … because of his dominance, and I don’t want to see that happen to anyone else.”

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AUSTRALIA
ABC – The World Today

TIM PALMER: The Aboriginal children’s agency that employed the convicted child sex offender Stephen Larkins has come under intense scrutiny at the Royal Commission today. Former employees of the Hunter Aboriginal Children’s Service, or HACS have been giving evidence to the national inquiry.

Larkins is in jail on child sex offences and the Royal Commission is examining how various agencies responded to allegations about his conduct. During today’s hearings a former caseworker and chairperson of the service broke down and said she was angry about what Larkins had done to her and her community.

The World Today’s Emily Bourke has been monitoring today’s hearings and joins me now. Emily, what picture is the Royal Commission developing of the way in which Steven Larkins managed to stay in contact with children?

EMILY BOURKE: Basically, Tim, it went unchallenged. People took Larkins at his word and this seems to be the pattern

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AUSTRALIA
9 News

Steve Larkins had long been suspected of abuse but continued to work with vulnerable children until the discovery of child pornography sparked the investigation which finally brought him down.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was told on Thursday that, although there had been rumours within the Aboriginal community dating back to when Larkins worked with the Scouts, he kept his senior position with Hunter Aboriginal Children Services (HACS) because he had forged a working with children check.

He was only exposed as a pedophile when a work colleague found indecent material on a flash drive belonging to him.

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ARGENTINA
Buenos Aires Herald

Priest convicted of sexually abusing teenagers will remain free pending appeal

The Buenos Aires province Supreme Court yesterday rejected the appeal by priest Julio César Grassi and confirmed his sentence to 15 years in prison, ratifying his conviction for aggravated sexual abuse and the corruption of minors.

The case has lasted eleven years, and is likely to drag on a little longer, as Grassi has the option to appeal.

Juan Pablo Gallego, the prosecution lawyer representing the adolescents who were abused by Grassi, defined the latter as a “dangerous pedophile.”

As the Herald went to press, an arrest warrant on the priest had not yet been issued, with judicial sources reporting that such an order was not the responsibility of the provincial Supreme Court, but rather of Morón Criminal Court No.1. However such an order could also be appealed, meaning that he is unlikely to face time in prison in the near future.

Grassi’s sentence was confirmed by the Court in a public document signed by Judges Luis Genoud, Héctor Negri, Juan Carlos Hitters and Daniel Fernando Soria.

The Morón Criminal Court sentenced Father Julio César Grassi to 15 years in prison in 2009 following a seven-year trial, and in April this year, the court determined he had violated his house arrest conditions while his appeal was processed.

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UNITED STATES
The Spectrum

By Samantha Wickramasinghe
Opinion Editor

A few years back when the world-renowned news organizations such as The New York Times, The Guardian and many others were reporting various incidents connected to underage sexual abuse and financial mismanagement of the Catholic Church, I contemplated how institutionalization of religion could break the liaison between the church and its people. The big and powerful Catholic Church with its magnificent and glorious past was no longer a spiritual or influential place. My conclusions were somewhat hasty, and it did not arrive with careful observations of how the Catholics operated worldwide. Nevertheless, I was plainly disappointed how leadership of the church failed to make the world a better place, which I believe what all religious leadership should do. Even though I was not a Catholic, nor a person who believed in any organized religion, I always respected the discipline that that a group of genuine believers created among the community they brought together. I felt that spirituality solely cannot function in this world without discipline, and discipline without spirituality was all meaningless practice.

In March 2013, when the white smoke poured out of the Sistine Chapel chimney, when the Catholic Church declared Pope Francis as the leader of 1.2 billion Catholics around the world, I was not disinterested—at least as much as I was interested—to know when the present pope’s predecessor was elected. “Another Pope, another old religious figurehead.” These were the words that came to my head. However, since Pope Francis’ inauguration, I have observed a continuous progress in the Catholic Church and its vision for the world.

I would like to describe a series of events that makes me think the leadership of the Catholic Church is improving. At first, Pope Francis was questioned when he washed and kissed the feet of two female prison inmates, mirroring Jesus Christ washing his disciples feet. Then he made some controversial comments in the eyes of conservative Catholics about gay people being able to practice their faith without any judgment. According to telegraph.co.uk, Pope Francis said, “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” Pope Francis’ visit to Brazil and his address to millions of young people in the Copacabana Beach was another progressive move that proved he recognizes the future lies in the hands of young people.

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CANADA
The Daily News

SEPTEMBER 18, 2013

BY SYLVIE PAILLARD
DAILY NEWS STAFF REPORTER

The destructive path created by Indian residential schools reaches through Kamloops and across Canada to this day.

Anyone with a shred of doubt need only spend one hour at a truth and reconciliation hearing to get a dose of reality.

Students and locals had a chance to do just that on Wednesday when Thompson Rivers University held its own truth and reconciliation gathering in honour of the federal commission’s hearing in Vancouver this week.

The event opened with a video of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s visit to Kamloops last May.

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CANADA
The Tyee

By Kevin James Ward

Many Canadians know that from the later part of the 19th century through much of the 20th, the federal government and various Christian denominations used residential schools as part of a broader effort to subjugate native peoples and colonize their lands. Less known, however, is the reason for choosing this particular institution as part of facilitating the colonial process.

Research shows that prior to their arrival in North America, comparable institutions had been used in Europe for quite some time. But a deeper look into their design and purpose reveals why they essentially became Canada’s prime colonial instrument of choice.

James G. Gibb, in The Archaeology of Institutional Life, writes, “Institutions permeate our lives, and their actions — and inaction — ramify for generations.” This compels us to understand the influence of institutions on our lives, as well as their historical impact. In so doing, we must understand first the conceptual origins of the institution in question. Understanding the Indian residential school means inquiring into its root.

In A National Crime: The Canadian Government and the Residential School System — 1879 to 1986, historian John S. Milloy says early proponents of Indian residential schools believed they would be the “most efficacious educational instrument” to assimilate Indians into civilization, as well as being a “valuable tool of social control.” However, he says it is “not clear exactly what had brought the idea” to the government’s attention, nor could he locate a “single root from which the Canadian residential school system can be seen to have grown.”

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AUSTRALIA
Perth Now

CANDACE SUTTON, OPINION
From: news.com.au
September 19, 2013

SOME child molesters jump out of bushes and molest your child on the way home from school.

But more likely, he is your friendly neighbour or attentive shopkeeper.

He could be a charming relative or the son of a friend who is all too willing to babysit your children.

The paedophile in your midst may be the schoolteacher, the bus driver, the youth worker or the lay preacher at your church.

The Australian Royal Commission into institutionalised child sex crimes, running since April, has entered a new round of hearings and a concurrent inquiry is continuing into child sex offences in the Catholic Church’s NSW Hunter Valley diocese.

But Australian parents should not comfort themselves with the notion child sex offences were more common decades ago, or they are confined to likely suspects such as Boy Scout leaders or Catholic priests.

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PENNSYLVANIA
WHTM

By Myles Snyder
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) –

Two Pennsylvania lawmakers plan to unveil legislation that would temporarily lift the statute of limitations in child sexual abuse cases.

Sen. Rob Teplitz (D-Dauphin) will introduce Senate Bill 1103 while Rep. Mark Rozzi (D-Berks) will introduce companion legislation, House Bill 238.

Both measures would establish a two-year window during which the civil statute of limitations would be suspended to allow past victims of child sex abuse to access the justice system and expose guilty perpetrators, according to Rozzi.

“It is not right that sexual predators are permitted to continue to walk the streets and essentially be protected by the law. It’s time the law is changed to expose these monsters and keep our children safe,” Rozzi said in a statement.

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ARGENTINA
Info News

Ante la inminencia de un fallo de la Suprema Corte bonaerense sobre la cuestión de fondo en el caso Grassi, la querella teme la existencia de un estratégico lobby de parte de la Iglesia –que llegaría al mismísimo Papa Francisco, el argentino Jorge Bergoglio– para favorecer al cura condenado a 15 años de prisión por pedofilia. Una serie de gestos eclesiásticos provocaron la desconfianza de los querellantes, que suponen que el máximo tribunal provincial podría verse empujado a dictaminar a favor del cura Julio César Grassi, quien viene sorteando las condenas de la justicia de Morón y el Tribunal de Casación. Hasta aquí, jueces y fiscales de todas las instancias lo hallaron culpable.

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ARGENTINA
Clarin

Un tribunal le dio el beneficio hasta que haya sentencia “firme”.

La Corte bonaerense fue contundente ayer al respaldar tanto la condena impuesta a Julio César Grassi por el Tribunal Oral en lo Criminal N° 1 de Morón –el 10 de junio de 2009– como la confirmación posterior que hizo de ella la Sala III de la Cámara de Casación provincial, el 14 de septiembre de 2010. Sin embargo, el cura no irá preso (al menos por ahora) como consecuencia directa de este fallo.

La respuesta a esta circunstancia hay que buscarla entre las decenas de idas y vueltas de un caso que nunca parece llegar a su fin y que en los últimos años se ramificó en dos grandes caminos judiciales paralelos.

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ARGENTINA
Pagina 12

La máxima instancia judicial de la provincia confirmó el fallo del tribunal oral. Pero el pedido de detención se tramita en la Cámara de Casación. Como aún no se expidió, el cura sigue beneficiado con la libertad restringida. La querella pide que lo metan preso ya.

Por Carlos Rodríguez

A trece años de la primera denuncia, a once de la difusión pública del caso y luego de la ratificación, ahora por tercera vez, de una condena a 15 años de prisión por los delitos de “abuso sexual y corrupción de menores agravados”, el cura Julio César Grassi seguirá sin ir a una cárcel, al menos por ahora. El tercer tribunal que encontró culpable a Grassi, sin atenuantes, fue la Suprema Corte de Justicia bonaerense en un fallo de 165 páginas al que tuvo acceso Página/12. La Corte provincial desestimó los recursos extraordinarios de inaplicabilidad de la ley interpuesto por la defensa del sacerdote. Los jueces rechazaron todos los planteos en orden a la supuesta violación de los principios de congruencia en la argumentación de la sentencia, garantía de la doble instancia, valoración de la prueba acusatoria y por último respecto de la presunta vulneración de la figura del in dubio pro reo, que establece que ante un nivel de duda razonable se debe beneficiar al imputado. Ahora, a la defensa del cura sólo le queda apelar ante la Corte Suprema nacional y se descuenta que lo hará para seguir extendiendo lo que parece una interminable partida de ajedrez.

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ARGENTINA
Pagina 12

La defensa de Julio César Grassi hizo mención pormenorizada de supuestas incongruencias de los dos casos de abuso dados por probados en perjuicio del joven conocido como “Gabriel”. Puso énfasis en las dudas sobre en qué día de la semana ocurrieron los hechos denunciados y en algunos detalles de las situaciones vividas. El eje central fue señalar que, ante la duda, se debía preservar “el principio de inocencia” del imputado y que los argumentos de Casación, el fallo revisado por la Suprema Corte, eran “el juego de las conjeturas” y no un cúmulo de pruebas indubitables.

Los jueces de la Corte, sobre la presunta “afectación del principio de congruencia”, respecto al día y la hora en que ocurrieron los abusos contra “Gabriel”, dijeron que la fiscalía “fue variando algunas circunstancias temporales referidas a los hechos”, pero “resulta evidente que no lo hizo según su mejor conveniencia sino para ofrecer mayores precisiones a la defensa”. Por esa razón “fue modificando (…) los términos de la imputación de acuerdo a lo que todos, defensa incluida” fueron escuchando “a lo largo de la dilatada audiencia”.

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ARGENTINA
Minuto Uno

El abogado en representación del Comité por los Derechos de la Niñez, Juan Pablo Gallego, celebró la condena a 15 años de prisión del sacerdote Julio César Grassi en la causa por delitos de abuso sexual de menores.

“Esperemos que en las próximas horas se materialice la condena pero estamos con la satisfacción de que se comprobó la verdad de los niños”, expresó en diálogo “Hola Chiche” por Radio 10.

Gallego sostuvo que “considerando las condiciones psiquiátricas (de Grassi), es probable que este sujeto intente apelar” aunque indicó que “la Corte ha sido muy clara de que la sentencia es definitiva y no tiene otro recurso para el imputado”.

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