ABUSE TRACKER

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Our Lady of Calvary

MEMO from Sister Mildred & Mrs. Costello:

What you should know about the resignation of Father John Paul as Pastor of Our Lady of Calvary parish:

1- This weekend Father Dunleavy, Regional Dean, will inform the parish that Father John Paul has resigned as Pastor and no longer resides at OLC.
2- Earlier this year, the Archdiocese was notified of allegations of sexual abuse of minors against Father Paul dating back 45 years.
3- Consistent with its policies concerning such allegations, the Archdiocese immediately provided this information to law enforcement authorities.
4- After investigating the matter, law enforcement authorities
DECLINED TO PRESS CHARGES AGAINST FATHER PAUL.
5- These allegations involved no member of OLC either 45 years ago or since.
6- As a result of the extreme emotional duress experienced by Father Paul while the allegations were being investigated, and out of heartfelt concern for the families of OLC, Father Paul voluntarily resigned as Pastor so that the best interest of the parish could be served.
7- DURING THE THIRTEEN YEARS IN WHICH FATHER PAUL WAS PASTOR, OLC WAS, AND CONTINUES TO BE A SAFE AND WELCOMING ENVIRONMENT.
8- The Archdiocese has appointed Father John Babowitch as our new Pastor and he will be arriving on December 2nd.
9- As always, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact us at any time.

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NEW JERSEY
Asbury Park Press

Documents via The Star-Ledger

• Read the consent order
• Read the prosecutor’s press release
• Read the archdiocese’s response
• Read Michael Fugee’s confession to police.]

NEWARK — In a rare agreement with prosecutors, an ex-priest who worked in Colts Neck agreed to leave the priesthood after admitting to violating a court order barring him from unsupervised contact with minors.

Michael Fugee has agreed to seek laicization from the Roman Catholic Church as part of settling charges with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office.

Fugee, who served adults and children at St. Mary’s Church in Colts Neck, resigned from the Archdiocese of Newark in May. Prosecutors charged him with flouting a 2007 agreement that allowed him to return to ministry after being convicted on charges that he fondled a boy.

On Friday, Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli slammed the archdiocese for not properly monitoring Fugee after he returned to the priesthood.

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MINNESOTA
KTSP

[with video]

By: Josh Rosenthal

They’re protestors, but they’re also Catholics, and marching in front of the St. Paul Cathedral isn’t easy.

“It’s not an easy thing for any Catholic to do,” said Virginia Meuers.

Added Bob Beutel, “it’s hard, it’s painful, it’s something wrong in our family.”

As Paula Ruddy put it, “this is very difficult. There’s nothing joyful about this experience.”

The group of a few dozen people who protested Saturday afternoon wants Archbishop John Nienstedt to resign after the way the church handled accusations of sexual misconduct.
“We are the church, this is our church,” Beutel said, “and we not only have a right to speak up, we’ve got a duty to speak up.”

KSTP reached out to the Minneapolis-St.Paul Archdiocese for comment, and they gave us a statement from Archbishop Nienstedt. It reads in part, “it is my most sincere hope that the commitments and actions that my leadership team and I are taking, and will continue to take, will restore trust with our communities.”

For some Catholics, that trust is already there.

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IRELAND/UNITED STATES
Irish Central

Tom Deignan

Much attention was paid this week when rumor spread that an Irish academic named Linda Hogan may well become the first female cardinal in Rome.

“She’s married and a feminist to boot, but Irish theologian Linda Hogan is being touted as a candidate to become the first female ‘prince’ of the Catholic Church,” is how the New York Daily News breathlessly reported the rumor.

While canon law says only men can become cardinals, the pope is free to ignore such rules. A papal spokesperson said, “No nomination of women cardinals are due.”

Nevertheless, the rumor seemed to confirm the feeling that Pope Francis may indeed support radical change within the Vatican.

What did not receive much attention this week was an actual appointment Pope Francis made. Leonard P. Blair, the bishop of Toledo, was named archbishop of Hartford.

What’s the connection?

Just over a year ago, a group of nuns led by Irish American Pat Farrell were causing some trouble by speaking out on women’s issues and the church.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

SULAIMAN ABDUR-RAHMAN, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
POSTED: Sunday, November 10, 2013

A pastor of a Northeast Philadelphia Catholic church who was accused of sexually abusing children 45 years ago has resigned and moved out of the parish’s residential premises, according to a memo to parishioners.

The Rev. John P. Paul, pastor of Our Lady of Calvary Parish since June 2000, voluntarily resigned “so that the best interest of the parish could be served,” according to the memo by Sister Mildred Chesnavage and Jeanne Costello, administrators of Our Lady of Calvary School. It is posted on the school’s website. Father Paul’s resignation also was expected to be announced at each Mass at the Knights Road church over the weekend.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia was made aware of the accusations against Father Paul earlier this year and immediately alerted law-enforcement officials, the school communication says. Authorities declined to press charges, the memo says.

Father Paul served as the parish’s pastor for 13 years.

“These allegations involved no member of OLC either 45 years ago or since,” says the memo on the school’s website, further asserting that the parish was and “continues to be a safe and welcoming environment.”

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INDIANA
News-Sentinel

From The Associated Press
Sunday, November 10, 2013

GARY — The bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Gary has submitted his resignation to the pope, as required under church law at age 75.

Bishop Dale Melczek tells The Times of Munster he doesn’t expect Pope Francis to act immediately on his letter.

“He will begin a process that will lead to the eventual appointment of a successor. It could take a few months or it could even take a year,” Melczek said. “I mentioned to the Holy Father my gratitude to God for the gift of life, the gift of faith in baptism, an essential in my life, and then the call to minister to God’s people as a priest and bishop.”

Melczek will become the fifth bishop in Indiana to retire in recent years, all of them serving at least two decades.

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BALTIMORE (MD)
Catholic Democrats

November 10, 2013
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Steve Krueger
617-817-8617
media@catholicdemocrats.org

Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good
Christopher Jolly Hale
615-424-6003
christopherjollyhale@gmail.com

Catholic Democrats and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good Prayerfully Urge U.S. Bishops to Embrace the Leadership of Pope Francis in Creating “a Church for the Poor”

Will Offer Help to, and Make Recommendations for, All U.S. Bishops and Candidates for their Leadership

WHAT:
Two religious advocacy organizations, Catholic Democrats (CD) and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good (CACG), will urge the U.S. bishops to do more for the poor and to become-in the words of Pope Francis-“a Church for the poor.” The organizations will be making specific recommendations that capture the focus and new hope that Pope Francis has brought to both the Catholic Church and the global community. They will also offer their help to the U.S. bishops in solidarity with them and with those living in poverty.

A nationally known expert on Catholic Social Justice ministry, Fr. Ray Kemp of Georgetown University, will discuss one of the recommendations related to social justice ministry in Catholic parishes. He will look at how Catholic social justice can rejuvenate the prophetic role of the Church as a strong and unambiguous advocate for the poor.

CD and CACG will also be releasing a joint public letter to the ten candidates for president and vice-president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The letter will highlight some specific challenges and opportunities the candidates will face and will prayerfully urge the elected candidates to take some additional specific actions on the day of their election.

Despite the passage of six years since the beginning of the Great Recession, the U.S. bishops have yet to collectively issue any statement on poverty. Representatives from Catholic Democrats and Catholics in Alliance will examine how the USCCB’s collective advocacy for the poor has been diminished since the 1980s and 1990s. The two groups will detail the pressing need for the Church to recall its prophetic voice in advocating for the poor at this critical juncture for the United States, the global community, and for the Church, at a time of sustained record poverty and unabated “glaring inequalities.”

Additionally, Catholic Democrats will be available for comment on a new study that looks at a partisan ideological index of the ten U.S. Bishops, Archbishops and Cardinals who have been nominated to become the next USCCB president and vice-president.

WHO:
Rev. Raymond Kemp, Guest Speaker, Georgetown University
Steve Krueger, President, Catholic Democrats
Fred Rotondaro, Chair of the Board, Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good

WHERE:
Hilton Garden Inn
Chesapeake Room
625 S. President Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21202
Phone: (410) 234-0999

Note: The Hilton Garden Inn is across the street from the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel where the USCCB will be holding its conference.

WHEN:
Monday, November 11th
8:15 AM
Please note time change.

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AUSTRALIA
WA Today

[Former priest alleges ‘system of abuse cover-ups’ – ABC Latline]

November 11, 2013

Dan Harrison

An Australian man removed from the priesthood for secretly marrying has been killed by typhoon Haiyan just weeks after becoming a father.

Kevin Lee, who made headlines worldwide in May last year when he was defrocked after revealing he had been married for more than a year, drowned after disappearing in rough surf off Samar Island in the Philippines.

Police found his body on Sunday morning, Australian time.

Mr Lee had been living with his Filipino wife Josefina in her home village, and recently celebrated the birth of a baby girl, Michelle.

The 49-year-old, a whistleblower on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, recently reflected on his blog that had he not broken his vow of celibacy, his daughter would not be alive.

”I have always believed that nothing happens without God’s divine permission,” he wrote.

The couple met in a Manila karaoke bar in 2011, when Mr Lee, then the priest at Padre Pio parish in Glenmore Park in Sydney’s west, was on a pilgrimage with other members of the church.

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OHIO
Cleveland.com

on November 10, 2013

In response to a story examining the media coverage surrounding the arrest of a local priest for solicitation, cleveland.com users speak out about the need for priests and public officials to be held to a different standard.
Mark Crawford posts:

It would be absolutely irresponsible for the media if they DID NOT cover this story. As a priest this man has unfettered access to children and vulnerable adults. Would you care to know if this man was working in youth ministry with your child. Are you willing to take the chance he becomes sexual with anyone else and NOT inform them of his HIV status. This is NOT picking on the church, you can bet other priests knew or suspected he was sexually active, these things don’t remain secret from other clergy for very long.

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UNITED STATES
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

U.S. Bishops General Assembly — November 11-14
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) 2013 November General Assembly in Baltimore will be held on November 11-14. You will be able to view the bishops’ actions at the meeting by viewing the live stream or reviewing video-on-demand of the public sessions and reading through the tweets below. You will also find links to related USCCB news releases and coverage from Catholic News Service on this page. Links to the agenda, speeches, votes and other material are posted in the right hand column of this page.

WASHINGTON—The annual fall General Assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will be November 11-14, at the Baltimore Waterfront Marriott Hotel. During the meeting, the bishops will hear addresses by Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, president of USCCB, and Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

The bishops will also hear a report from the National Advisory Council and a report on the status of their strategic/pastoral plan, The New Evangelization: Faith, Worship, Witness. They will elect the next president and vice president of USCCB, the chairman of the USCCB Committee on Catholic Education, the chairmen-elect of five other USCCB committees, and members of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network Incorporated (CLINIC) and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) boards.

Other agenda items include:
• Discussions and votes on the 2014 Conference budget and 2015 diocesan assessment
• Consultation on the sainthood cause of Mary Teresa Tallon, Servant of God
• Discussions and votes on the Misal Romano, the Spanish translation of the book of prayers at Mass, and adaptations to it for use in the United States
• Discussions and votes on the draft translations of the Order of Celebrating Marriage and the Order of Confirmation, as well as proposed adaptations for the Order of Celebrating Marriage
• An update by Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco, chairman of the USCCB Subcommittee on the Promotion and Defense of Marriage
• Presentation for a proposal to develop a formal statement on pornography
• Presentation by Bishop Gerald R. Kicanas of Tucson, Arizona, chairman of CRS, and Carolyn Woo, CRS president, on the work and strategic priorities of CRS
• An update and discussion on the Call to Prayer for Life, Marriage and Religious Liberty
• Discussions and votes on proposed revisions to the USCCB handbook and regulations

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AUSTRALIA
Broken Rites

By a Broken Rites researcher (article updated 11 November 2013)

Australia’s first parliamentary inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other organisations will table its findings in mid-November 2013. This inquiry, established by the Victorian State Parliament, paved the way for a national Royal Commission which was later established by the Australian Federal Government.

Observers expect that the Victorian inquiry’s report will criticise the Catholic Church’s covering up of child-sex abuse. That is, the church authorities have been failing to make sure that criminal offences are reported to the Victoria Police.

The Victorian inquiry held more than 160 hearings over nine months in late 2012 and early 2013.

The inquiry heard evidence from victims, their families, experts, and other professionals. Almost half of its hearings were held in secret.

The inquiry considered more than 400 written submissions, including two written submissions from Broken Rites.

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

[photos]

More than 100 protesters asked for the resignation of Archbishop John Nienstedt as they protested across the street from the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, Saturday

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

A FORMER Australian priest and sex abuse whistleblower is believed to be among the thousands feared killed by a super typhoon in the Philippines.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has confirmed the death of a 50-year-old NSW man in Typhoon Haiyan, but declined to confirm his identity.

However he is believed to be former Australian priest Kevin Lee.

A whistleblower about child sex abuse in the Catholic church, he was living in the Philippines with his wife.

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AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

PATRICK LION THE DAILY TELEGRAPH NOVEMBER 10, 2013

A FORMER NSW priest who blew the whistle on child sex abuse in the Catholic Church is among more than 10,000 people feared killed by the devastating Philippines typhoon.

Kevin Lee, formerly of Penrith, was believed to be living in the Philippines with his wife when Typhoon Haiyan hit, the ABC has reported.

Mr Lee, 50, blew the whistle on the abuse last year as he was also removed from his parish responsibility after admitting to marrying a woman in secret.

Philippine Community Council of NSW president Arturo Sayas, who returned from a family trip to Manila the day before the typhoon hit, said the group did not know the identity of the NSW man killed.

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AUSTRALIA
Telegraph

A FORMER Sydney priest who secretly married a woman he met in the Philippines is among the hundreds killed in the typhoon that has devastated the archipelago nation.

Kevin Lee, a whistleblower on child sex abuse in the Catholic church, was defrocked last year after he went public about his 2011 marriage and admitted to having had girlfriends during his 20 years as a priest.

Mr Lee founded the Padre Pio parish in Glenmore Park, in western Sydney, but moved to the Philippines after leaving the ministry.

It’s been reported he went swimming as part of a religious ritual, as Super Typhoon Haiyan lashed the Philippines with winds of around 315km/h.

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NEW YORK
Buffalo News

By Melinda Miller | News Staff Reporter
on November 9, 2013

A Franciscan friar who was vice principal at St. Francis High School in Athol Springs and later principal at Cardinal O’Hara in the Town of Tonawanda is accused of molesting a student while he was a teacher at a high school in Baltimore in the 1970s, the Archdiocese of Baltimore has revealed.

The Rev. Michael Kolodziej, 69, has been suspended from the priesthood following allegations that he abused a boy at Archbishop Curley High School during his tenure there in 1975-79. The former student says the priest sexually abused him while “wrestling.”

Following these accusations from Baltimore, the mother of two former students at O’Hara said that Kolodziej also made a habit of wrestling with students there as “punishment” in the 1980s.

Both Curley High School and St. Francis High School, where Kolodziej was assigned from 1979 to 1982 as a teacher and assistant principal, are run by the Franciscan Order.

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UNITED STATES
CNN

By Brian Cahill, Special to CNN
updated 8:34 PM EST, Fri November 8, 2013

Editor’s note: Brian Cahill is the retired executive director of San Francisco Catholic Charities. He is a volunteer suicide prevention trainer with the San Francisco Police Department. He writes occasionally for the San Francisco Chronicle and the National Catholic Reporter.

(CNN) — It is impossible to ignore the impact of Pope Francis, a modern-day pope who operates with humility and directness, who lives simply, who prefers to spend his time with the poor and the marginalized, and who sees his role as pastor, compassionate friend and fellow sinner on the Christian journey.

The photos of Pope Francis embracing a man disfigured by neurofibromatosis and the scene of the little boy on the stage in Vatican Square as Francis addressed pilgrims tell us all we need to know about the humanity and accessibility of our new Pope.

Some bishops are desperately trying to reassure their followers that nothing is changing. But that’s a tough sell when the head of the Roman Catholic Church tells his bishops that they are obsessed with abortion, contraception and same-sex marriage and when he says he doesn’t judge gays and lesbians. Something is changing. But is this change simply one of tone?

Francis’ comments on the appointment of bishops suggest that his criteria has less to do with loyalty and orthodoxy and more to do with pastoral experience and compassion. But in his first American appointment, one that was not in the pipeline before his papal election, he named Bishop Leonard Blair as the new archbishop of Hartford, Connecticut.

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ST. PAUL (MN)
KEYC

[with video]

By Joel Runck, Weekend News Anchor

Catholics gathered in front of the Saint Paul Cathedral on Saturday, urging Archbishop John Nienstedt to resign.

The issue stems from allegations of clergy sexual misconduct.

Nienstedt previously acknowledged that serious mistakes have been made in regard to how he himself handled the allegations. Now some are calling for Nienstedt to resign after allegations of a cover-up.

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SLOVENIA
STA

Maribor, 9 November (STA) – The Maribor Higher Court has upheld a first instance ruling that ordered the Maribor Archdiocese to pay EUR 80,000 to a victim of a paedophile priest, the dailies Delo and Dnevnik report on Saturday. Dnevnik comments that this is a precedence that establishes objective responsibility of the Catholic Church for sexual abuse committed by priests.

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MINNESOTA
WCCO

[with video]

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Dozens of members of the Catholic Church are calling for a change in local leadership.

Nearly 100 people gathered outside the Cathedral of St. Paul on Saturday, calling for Archbishop John Nienstedt’s resignation.

They’re angry about past accusations of sexual abuse by clergy members that became public within the last few weeks.

Eric Fought of the Catholic Coalition for Church Reform says he’s looking for renewed faith in church leadership.

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AUSTRALIA
Courier Mail

Sydney priest Kevin Lee the first confirmed Australian death in Super Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines

PATRICK LION THE DAILY TELEGRAPH NOVEMBER 10, 2013

JUST six weeks ago former western Sydney priest Kevin Lee was celebrating the birth of his daughter Michelle, joking about buying her a Sydney Roosters jersey and enjoying the family life he would never have experienced in his former life as a celibate priest.

But yesterday the priest, who helped blow the whistle on child sex abuse in the Catholic Church and was removed from the Glenmore Park parish last year after admitting to secretly marrying his wife, became the first confirmed Australian death in the wake of Super Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.

A Melbourne family yesterday also pleaded for details of their traveller daughter last heard from in the Philippines as a regional police commissioner upgraded the disaster death toll estimates from 1000 to at least 10,000 people, mainly in the Leyte province, following Haiyan’s sustained winds of up to 315km/h and 3m-high storm surges.

It is understood Mr Lee, who helped bring about the royal commission into child sexual abuse, drowned after going out into the typhoon during his daily swims.

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MINNESOTA
KARE

[with video]

Renee Tessman

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Protesters marched in front of the Cathedral of St. Paul on Saturday demanding change from the top.

The public call on was for the resignation of the Twin Cities Archbishop. The push comes in the wake of the ongoing priest sex abuse scandal.

Protestors claim Archbishop John Nienstedt is not the right man to lead the church as it deals with multiple allegations of clergy sex abuse.

This is the first time the Catholic Coalition for Church Reform has actually asked for Nienstedt’s resignation.

While they still have their faith in God, they said they have lost faith in church leadership.

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ST. PAUL (MN)
Pioneer Press

By Will Ashenmacher
washenmacher@pioneerpress.com
POSTED: 11/09/2013

On Saturday, strong gusts of wind couldn’t whip away the message of the signs at a protest in front of Archbishop John Nienstedt’s personal residence: “Morally bankrupt.” “Again?” “Resign.”

About 150 people gathered on Cathedral Hill in St. Paul to ask that Nienstedt step down. The demonstration followed a tumultuous period for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in which it has been alleged that officials there concealed the sexual misconduct of priests.

“We should not have to stand here,” said Eric Fought, a first-year seminarian at St. John’s School of Theology in Collegeville, Minn. “Over the course of the past 10 years, we’ve been told that these mistakes have been corrected. They haven’t.

Many of those at the protest said they still consider themselves Catholic. They said they respect the religion itself but are angry with the archdiocese’s leadership for what they perceive as its impropriety.

“Why should we not just pray for healing and be nice to one another?” said Bob Beutel of St. Paul, co-chair of the Catholic Coalition for Church Reform. “The answer is simple — wounds cannot heal until the knife is pulled out.”

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MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

by Tom Scheck, Minnesota Public Radio
November 9, 2013

ST. PAUL, Minn. — About 100 people gathered outside the Cathedral of St. Paul Saturday to urge Archbishop John Nienstedt to resign.

The group, which was made up of victims of clergy sex abuse and others calling for greater transparency in the Catholic Church, marched outside of Nienstedt’s office. Some held signs calling for Nienstedt to step down.

Demonstrators criticized Nienstedt’s handling of alleged sexual misconduct by priests, his support for a failed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage and the decision by church leaders to make extra payments to priests who have sexually abused children.

Shawn Plocher of Minneapolis said he was sexually abused by a priest in 1986.

“Who can you trust when you were abused by a person of God in the House of God?” said Plocher. “Something needs to change.”

The protest comes after a series of MPR News reports found Nienstedt and others disregarded warnings of a priest’s sexual conduct and debated internally whether another priest’s computer contained child pornography. The investigation also found that several priests accused of sexually abusing minors were given extra payments after they were removed from ministr

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MINNESOTA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

Date:Thursday, November 7, 2013

Source:Jim Accurso

Today’s press conference concerns a matter that is alleged to have occurred more than three decades ago. Jerome Kern was removed from ministry in 2002 and has been compliant with a monitoring program.

The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis will investigate and respond to the claims raised today.

We are completely committed to ensuring the safety of children and young people who have been entrusted to our care. Since 2002 we have implemented policy and procedural reforms to clarify guidelines and strengthen enforcement. Some of the actions we have taken include completing more than 3,000 adult safe environment training sessions for approximately 70,000 adults; conducting 105,000 background checks on clergy, staff and volunteers; and providing over 100,000 children with age-appropriate lessons to help keep them safe.

As a further demonstration of our commitment to handling these matters aggressively and consistently, an independent, lay task force has been formed and is conducting a full review of our policies and practices. This objective and independent body brings specific and relevant expertise, experience, and a fresh perspective to ensure we are following best practices. Its findings will be made public when final.

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MINNESOTA
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

Date:Thursday, November 7, 2013

Source:Jim Accurso

The Minneapolis StarTribune recently published an article regarding the Minnesota Religious Council (MRC), which is a coalition of Minnesota churches from several denominations that has worked together for common causes since the early 1990s.

While the Archdiocese funded much of the costs of the MRC, there were many churches that supported the cause as members and leaders. More importantly, all of the churches that are part of the MRC have a deep heartfelt commitment to creating and maintaining safe environments and protecting minors.

The MRC, along with dozens of organizations that provide programming and care for minors, had serious concerns about the appropriateness of lifting the statute of limitations for organizations that serve children in Minnesota. One of the just purposes of having a statute of limitations is that after significant time has passed, the ability to reconstruct the situation that is alleged is very difficult, if not impossible in many cases. In addition, lifting a statute of limitations does nothing to protect children going forward. This is why the MRC, and many others, lobbied to protect the rights of youth-serving organizations to defend themselves and to support measures that would genuinely protect young people.

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VATICAN CITY
GlobalPost

Jason Berry

Analysis: In a new book, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz absolves John Paul of blame for praising a priest accused of pedophilia, claiming that the pope was unaware of the accusations at the time.
Facebook

In a new book, John Paul II’s longtime secretary claims that the former pope is not to blame for his support and praise of a disgraced power broker accused of pedophilia and bribery, according to a Catholic News Service report.

The book, written in Italian by Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz and titled Ho Vissuto con un Santo (I Lived with a Saint), has apparently changed certain memories of factual inconvenience — creating a sort of performance piece that sings truths people never knew.

Pope Francis has ordered the canonization of John Paul II despite his failure to act on 1998 pedophilia charges lodged by nine ex-seminarians at the Vatican against Legion of Christ founder Father Marcial Maciel Degollado, a native of Mexico.

During a 1993 speech in St. Peter’s Square, John Paul said, “You are all sons and daughters of Father Maciel!” In 1994, he called Maciel “an efficacious guide to youth.” John Paul continued to praise him after the allegations were filed against Maciel at the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith — where they gathered dust for six years.

“When the Holy Father met him, he knew nothing, absolutely nothing,” Catholic News Service quotes Dziwisz. “For him, [Maciel] was still the founder of a great religious order and that’s it. No one had told him anything, not even about the rumors going around.”

These allegations certainly weren’t ‘rumors.’ In 1997, nine victims gave sworn statements for an investigation Gerald Renner and this writer led for the Hartford Courant. Maciel claimed innocence. The Vatican would not comment. Jose Barba, a Mexico City college professor, led the victims’ 1998 canon law request to ex-communicate Maciel in Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s tribunal.

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GREECE
Greek Reporter

By Ioanna Zikakou on November 9, 2013

Two priests were arrested in Trikala and then convicted by Larissa’s Court of Assize to 18 years and 6 years imprisonment on charges of embezzling a total of 930,000 Euros that were destined for the payroll of clergymen in Farsala.

According to the indictment, the two priests from Farsala, who were responsible for collecting and paying salaries of clergymen in the Metropolis of Thessalia, submitted false documents to the Tax Office by exploiting the fact that the salaries of priests are outside the budget. Having paid their priests the amounts that they were entitled, they kept the extra money reaching a total of 710,000 Euros for one and 220,000 Euros for the other!

The first priest, who was responsible for the payroll in Farsala was sentenced to 18 years of imprisonment for fraud, forgery and use of forged documents. The second one who was responsible for collecting-cashing money from the Tax Office of Farsala and the NBG in Farsala was sentenced to 6 years imprisonment for complicity in fraud.

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

UNITED STATES
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on November 9, 2013

I don’t know the answer to this myself, but it has been bothering me since learning about Tucson conductor/convicted child sex offender Eric Holtan.

Holtan was convicted in 2000 of first- and third-degree sexual assault against two of his former students while he was a teacher in Duluth, MN.

According to the Duluth News Tribune:

“Holtan, who was convicted of first-degree and third-degree criminal sexual conduct, was ordered at his 2000 sentencing to serve two years at the Northeast Regional Corrections Center, register as a sex offender and meet the conditions of his probation for 15 years. Any violation of that probation could result in him being sent back to prison for more than 16 years.”

He is currently the music minister at a Lutheran Church, an obvious problem. But there is another issue:

Holtan is the conductor and the executive director of the Tucson Chamber Artists, a classical music group that performs throughout the area. The TCA is comprised of all adults, although they do perform in churches and their audiences do not know that he is a sex offender.
TCA receives grant money from the Tucson Pima Arts Council and the Arizona Commission of the Arts, among others.

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

ALABAMA
Daily Mountain Eagle

by Rachel Davis

Walker County Circuit Judge Doug Farris declared a mistrial Friday in the case of a Carbon Hill man accused of sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12.

The motion for mistrial was made by defense lawyer Herbie Brewer and granted by Farris after hearing arguments from both sides.

Ricky Robinson, a former Carbon Hill pastor, had been on trial all week facing four charges of sex abuse of a child under the age of 12.

Assistant District Attorney Brian Warren said his understanding was that the case would be slated for retrial on the next trial docket in February.

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

POLSKA
Money

[Summary: The Vatican is silent on former apostolic nuncio Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski. He was dismissed in August by Pope Francis in connection with allegations of pedophilia in the Dominican Republic. Vatican representatives have refused to comment and answer questions on steps to be taken in the Wesolowski case. He is the first such high-ranking prelates to be accused to abusing minors. This is why the situation faced by the Holy See is unique. It also shows the position that the Vatican has taken since the beginning of the scandal.]

Przedstawiciele Watykanu odmawiają wszelkich komentarzy i odpowiedzi na pytania, dotyczące kroków, jakie zostaną podjęte w sprawie abpa Wesołowskiego – pierwszego tak wysokiego rangą dostojnika kościelnego, któremu zarzucono czyny pedofilskie.

Właśnie z tego powodu sytuacja, w jakiej znalazła się Stolica Apostolska, jest wyjątkowa. Świadczy również o tym stanowisko, jakie Watykan zajmuje w tej sprawie od początku skandalu. Wybuchł on latem, gdy dominikańska telewizja pokazała dostojnika, odwiedzającego w stolicy kraju miejsca, znane z prostytucji nieletnich, a następnie zebrała relacje bezpośrednich świadków.

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

MINNESOTA
WCCO

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) – A group of Catholics are planning to gather in front of the Cathedral of St. Paul on Saturday to urge Archbishop John Nienstedt to resign.

Catholic Coalition for Church Reform said the archbishop is not showing leadership for a healthy Christian church.

They’re upset about several cases that have been filed in recent weeks alleging sexual abuse by Twin Cities Catholic clergy members, and the potential cover-up by the church.

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

MINNESOTA
MinnPost

By Joe Kimball | 11/08/13

A group of Catholics plan to protest Saturday at the Cathedral of St. Paul to “respectfully” call for the resignation of Archbishop John Nienstedt.

The Catholic Coalition for Church Reform is urging people “to bring banners and signs respectfully conveying your call for Archbishop Nienstedt’s resignation.”

Recent press reports of allegations of the cover-up of sexual misconduct by priests have led to increased calls for new leadership in the local church.

Bob Beutel, chair of the group, said:

“We need healing, but healing cannot begin with the knife still in the wound. The archbishop himself is fomenting divisiveness, not showing leadership for a healthy Christian church.”

There also have been complaints about Nienstedt’s use of church funds for an expensive campaign against gay marriage.

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

ST. PAUL (MN)
Minnesota SNAP

Saturday, November 9
1:30 – 2:00 p.m.
Cathedral of St. Paul
239 Shelby Ave., Saint Paul, MN

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MINNESOTA
KSTP

By: Cassie Hart

Minnesota Catholics are still calling for one of their own to step down Saturday.

The Catholic Coalition for Church Reform (CCCR) wants Archbishop John Nienstedt to resign from the St. Paul-Minneapolis Archdiocese after the way the church handled accusations of sexual misconduct.

“We need healing, but healing cannot begin with the knife still in the wound,” said Bob Beutel, St. Paul, co-chair of the CCCR. “The archbishop himself is fomenting divisiveness, not showing leadership for a healthy Christian church.”

Since 2002 the Catholic Church has said it has and is following protocols for protecting children. Nienstedt took over the leadership of the Archdiocese in 2008, succeeding former Archbishop Harry Flynn.

In his October 24 statement in the Catholic Spirit, Nienstedt admits that “There is reason to question whether or not the policies and procedures were uniformly followed. There is also a question as to the prudence of the judgments that have been made.”

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

NEW YORK
WIVB

By Rich Newberg
Updated: Friday, November 8, 2013

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – A priest who used to be an assistant high school principal in Hamburg has been accused of sexually abusing one of his former students.

Fr. Michael Kolodziej has now been banned from public ministry. The Buffalo Diocese and other dioceses where he once worked are asking if anyone else may have been abused by the priest.

Kolodziej was ordained in Buffalo in 1970 and first served as a hospital chaplain. Later he was a teacher and assistant principal at St. Francis High School in Athol Springs, Associate Pastor at St. Mary of Sorrows Church, and teacher at Bishop Turner High School and Villa Maria College.

During his time as a teacher Baltimore’s Archbishop Curly High School, from 1975 to 1979, one of his former students now has come forward saying he was sexually abused by Kolodziej.

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

NEW JERSEY
The Record

LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY NOVEMBER 9, 2013, 9:08 AM
BY ABBOTT KOLOFF
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

Click here to read the court order

In a sweeping agreement that legal experts said is unprecedented in its scope, the Bergen County prosecutor announced Friday that he has taken over the job of monitoring a former Wyckoff associate pastor who confessed to fondling a 13-year-old boy because he does not trust church officials to watch him.

The prosecutor, John L. Molinelli, said law enforcement authorities “no longer have confidence” in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark to abide by a 2007 agreement that barred the Rev. Michael Fugee from working with children. He also pointed to recent statements by Archbishop John J. Myers, who said the church is not equipped to monitor priests and never should have signed the agreement.

He also agreed to be defrocked, a process known as laicization that removes him from the supervision of church officials and permanently strips him of priestly authority. And he acknowledged that he was telling the truth when he confessed to fondling a 13-year-old parishioner of the Church of St. Elizabeth of Hungary years ago. He previously alleged that his confession was coerced.

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

NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

RELATED DOCUMENTS

• Read the consent order
• Read the prosecutor’s press release
• Read the archdiocese’s response
• Read Michael Fugee’s confession to police.

By Mark Mueller/The Star-Ledger
on November 09, 2013

The New Jersey priest charged earlier this year with violating a lifetime ban on ministry to children will not face criminal prosecution, but his freedom comes at the expense of his occupation.

The Rev. Michael Fugee, 52, will petition the Vatican for his permanent removal from the priesthood, one of dozens of conditions he must abide by for life under a court-approved agreement with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office. Among the restrictions, Fugee is forever barred from unsupervised contact with minors.

In announcing the consent order Friday, Prosecutor John L. Molinelli sharply rebuked Newark Archbishop John J. Myers, saying it was clear neither Myers nor his deputies made any significant effort to monitor Fugee as required under a previous memorandum of understanding.

Fugee signed the 2007 agreement to avoid retrial on charges he groped a teenage boy on multiple occasions.

The prosecutor said he no longer had confidence in Myers and felt compelled to shift the supervision of Fugee from the archdiocese to the prosecutor’s office.

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

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Berlin Daily Sun

Judge denies motion to dismiss in LaFerriere’s harassment case

Published Date Friday, 08 November 2013

There are three complaints of harassment (by phone) against LaFerriere. The complaints allege that he called the cell phone of William Donohue, President of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, in New York City in January and February of this year leaving, in Donohue’ words, “abusive, annoying and threatening” messages.

At hearing on the charges October 1, tapes of some of the messages left on Donohue’s cell phone were played. At the end of the state’s case, LaFerriere’s attorney, Jay Duguay, filed a motion to dismiss. He argued that although Laferriere’s language on the tapes was offensive, his messages all did have a “legitimate communicative purpose”, something he said the U.S. Supreme Court has held up as freedom of speech.

Berlin Police Prosecutor Dan Buteau argued that LaFerriere’s purpose was solely to alarm, which, Buteau said he does not have an unlimited right to do.

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

NEW YORK
WGRZ

[with video]

Dave McKinley

BUFFALO, NY – Police in Baltimore, Maryland are investigating an allegation that a Roman Catholic priest sexually abused a student while he was teaching at a High School nearly 40 years ago.

However, because that priest also spent considerable time in Western New York, the catholic diocese here is also reaching out to its parishioners, and urging them to come forward with any information they might have.

Father Michael Kolodziej, 69, is a Franciscan Friar who has been suspended from public ministry following the allegations. He most recently served as Vicar of a parish in Jonesboro, Ga.

Kolodziej was ordained as a Priest here in 1970 and was first assigned as a hospital chaplain, while also serving associate pastor and school director at St. Mary of Sorrows Church on Genesee Street.

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

LOUISIANA
Alexandria Town Talk

Written by
Jodi Belgard

Decades after charges of sexual misconduct hit retired Alexandria priest Frederick James Lyons, the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith in Rome has stripped him of the title of monsignor and imposed “a life of prayer and penance” on him.

Lyons, now in his late 80s, was accused of sexual abuse of minors during a period in his early life as a priest.

The Rev. Ronald P. Herzog, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Alexandria, suspended Lyons from all priestly functions in 2006. Lyons’ case was sent to Rome at that time for examination.

Herzog announced the decision of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith in a news release issued Thursday. The diocese was closed Friday.

Lyons is prohibited from publicly celebrating or concelebrating Mass or publicly or privately administering the other sacraments, except for confession in danger of death. He may not preach or participate in or attend any public liturgical celebration. He may not wear clerical dress, in public, Herzog said in the release.

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

NEW YORK
WKBW

[with video]

November 8, 2013

Father Michael Kolodziej, 69 is accused of sexually abusing a student while he was a teacher at a catholic school in Baltimore, MD.

The victim claims Kolodziej abused him several times all while the father wrestled him. The alleged incidents happened between 1975 to 1979.

Kolodziej was ordained into the priesthood through the Diocese of Buffalo in 1970 and over the next 18 years he served in many roles in Western New York including hospital chaplain, associate pastor and school director at St. Mary of Sorrows church in Buffalo. He was a teacher at Bishop Turner High School and Villa Maria College in Buffalo until he entered the franciscan order in 1974.

Kolodziej was also a teacher and assistant principal at St. Francis High School and principal at Cardinal O’hara High School.

The allegations from Baltimore have prompted the Buffalo Diocese to take action and release this statement,

“We are now following our Diocesan policies to determine whether there are any issues arising from his tenure as a priest of our diocese. We have posted the information on our website and requested anyone with knowledge about father Kolodziej to contact us.”

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

NEW YORK
KABC

NEW YORK (KABC) — A rabbi with ties to Beverly Hills accused of child sex abuse in New York pleaded not guilty on Friday.

Rabbi Mendel Tevel, 30, was arrested in October on a charge of committing a sexual criminal act. According to a grand jury indictment out of Brooklyn, the rabbi is accused of performing an oral sex act on one victim several times in the past. The alleged incidents occurred about eight years ago when Tevel was 22 and the victim was 14.

Although only one victim is mentioned in the indictment, authorities are investigating other possible allegations as well.

Community members say Tevel has worked at JEM, a Jewish youth center in Beverly Hills, for the past two years. His father-in-law, Rabbi Hertzel Illulian, is the center’s director.

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

NEW JERSEY
ABC News

[press release – Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office]

NEWARK, N.J. November 8, 2013 (AP)
By KATIE ZEZIMA Associated Press

In a rare agreement with prosecutors, a priest who admitted to violating a court order barring him from unsupervised contact with minors has agreed to ask to be laicized.

Michael Fugee has agreed to seek laicization from the Roman Catholic Church as part of settling charges with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office.

Fugee resigned from the Archdiocese of Newark in May. Prosecutors charged him with flouting a 2007 agreement that allowed him to return to ministry after being convicted on charges that he fondled a boy.

Friday, Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli slammed the archdiocese for not properly monitoring Fugee after he returned to the priesthood.

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

ARKANSAS
Arkansas Matters

BENTONVILLE, AR — As many as 98 percent of sexual abusers are not caught, according to the Arkansas Coalition Against Sexual Assault. While thousands of kids head to local schools and churches regularly, not all places have training to recognize abuse or policies to report it.

So the Children’s Advocacy Center is calling all adults to make children’s safety a top priority.

“We had a child here one time, he was an 8-year-old boy,” remembers Andrew Lentz, Children’s Advocacy Center(CAC) director of education. “He was asked to describe what physical abuse was and he said, ‘That’s when they scream at you and they hit you, they tell you that they don’t deserve to live, and you bleed and you cry.’ Those are the words of a child who grew up in our community.”

The CAC in Benton County opened 772 cases of child abuse in 2012, but say thousands more go unreported each year.

“People don’t understand that while child abuse is complicated and reporting child abuse can be difficult, as a teacher, as an adult, it’s your responsibility to protect kids, explains Lentz.

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

TUCSON (AZ)
Tucson Weekly

POSTED BY MARI HERRERAS ON FRI, NOV 8, 2013

A national group that advocates on behalf of victims of sexual abuse plans to protest outside a Tucson church this Sunday at 11:15 a.m to demand the resignation of music minister Eric Holtan.

The group SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is a national support network for men and women abused in religious and institutional settings. Joelle Casteix, the organization’s volunteer western regional director, told the Range recently that SNAP did try to contact the pastor of Dove of Peace Lutheran Church to talk about the protest.

“We sent an email to the church, but we never received a response,” Casteix said.

Casteix said that this week SNAP learned that Holtan, who plead guilty in 2000 to two counts of child sexual abuse involving two former choir students in Duluth, Minnesota, was working at Dove of Peace. Holtan also works as director of Tucson Chamber Artists.

“He’s still on probation,” she said, adding that part of that requires that he have no unsupervised contact with underage women.

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

NEW JERSEY
Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office

Friday, November 8, 2013, 04:16 PM
TO: ALL NEWS MEDIA
FROM: PROSECUTOR JOHN L. MOLINELLI

Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli announces that a resolution has been reached in the matter of State of New Jersey v. Michael Fugee. An investigation began in April of this year arising out of allegations that Michael Fugee had violated certain terms of a Judicial Order and Memorandum of Understanding which restricted his ministry to children. This investigation resulted in the issuance of five (5) Criminal Warrants dated May 17, 2013 charging Michael Fugee with several counts of criminal contempt by having attended multiple youth retreats and having heard confessions of children under the age of eighteen in violation of the judicial order. All charges were of the 4th degree, punishable by fine and a term of imprisonment from 0 to 18 months. As Fugee had no prior convictions, probation was likely upon conviction.

On November 1, 2013, by way of a binding agreement and court order issued by the Honorable Bonnie Mizdol, P.J.S.C. Acting Assignment Judge, Bergen County, Michael Fugee has admitted to committing acts of civil contempt of a judicial order. Specifically, Michael Fugee admitted that he violated the restriction placed upon him in the 2007 Judicial Order and its accompanying Memorandum of Understanding by having attended youth retreats and having heard confessions of children under the age of eighteen on multiple occasions from April 2010 through December of 2012.

As a penalty for his violations, Michael Fugee has agreed that he will seek and obtain laicization from the Roman Catholic Church. In non-Canon terms, he will be terminated from the priesthood which will be accomplished on his request through the Vatican. So that the public is aware, this is a requirement that could never have been achieved even if Michael Fugee was convicted of 4th degree criminal contempt, as it is not believed that the American Justice System has such authority as a condition of probation or upon conviction. This is a requirement that will eliminate the threat of Michael Fugee, ever again, obtaining the trust of people through his clerical position nor using his ordained position as a Priest to exert improper contact with children. This is a requirement that the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark (RCAN), did not nor would ever obtain. The agreement that has been reached forever bars Michael Fugee from holding himself out as a current or former priest or spiritual advisor. Most importantly, he is prohibited from working with children in any capacity.

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

NEW JERSEY
National Catholic Reporter

[press release – Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office]

Brian Roewe | Nov. 8, 2013

In an agreement with county prosecutors, the priest at the center of a clergy sex abuse scandal in the Newark, N.J., archdiocese has agreed to leave the priesthood to avoid criminal prosecution related to his violation of a court order forbidding contact with children.

In a press release, first reported by the New Jersey Star Ledger, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli announced Friday that Fr. Michael Fugee had admitted to violating restrictions placed upon him in 2007 that barred him from contact with minors. From April 2010 through December 2012, Fugee attended several youth retreats and heard, on at least seven different occasions, confessions from children.

Rather than pursue the five, fourth-degree criminal contempt charges it brought against the priest, the prosecutor’s office and Fugee agreed that he would “seek and obtain” laicization from the priesthood. The fourth-degree charges carried a punishment of a fine and maximum 18 months in prison. Molinelli indicated that had his office sought Fugee’s conviction, the soon-to-be former priest likely would have received a probation sentence, since he had no prior convictions.

Molinelli said the agreement prohibits Fugee from presenting himself as a spiritual advisor or “working with children in any capacity.

“This is a requirement that will eliminate the threat of Michael Fugee, ever again, obtaining the trust of people through his clerical position nor using his ordained position as a Priest to exert improper contact with children,” he said in the release.

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

NEW JERSEY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY BARBARA DORRIS ON NOVEMBER 08, 2013

Prosecutor blasts Newark archbishop; SNAP responds

For immediate release: Friday, Nov. 8

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

Prosecutors have reached a highly unusual deal with a Fr. Michael Fugee, a Newark predator priest who was to be kept away from kids by Archbishop John Myers and his staff but was not.

[The Record]

[The Star-Ledger]

This is an unprecedented agreement. But the crisis in Newark’s Catholic archdiocese is not a Fugee or even a Myers crisis. It’s a deeply-rooted crisis that involves dozens of current and former Catholic clerics who have committed and are concealing heinous child sex crimes. Only a grand jury will uncover the full truth and truly protect kids and deter future cover ups and recklessness.

Fr. Fugee has repeatedly broken secular laws and religious vows. We are not confident he’ll obey this order. And it’s not clear how or if this deal will in any way hold Archbishop Myers or his top aides responsible for their inexcusable, deceitful and self-serving role in Fr. Fugee’s crimes. That must happen if Newark kids are to be safer and more cover ups of child molesting clerics are to be prevented.

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

NEWARK (NJ)
Superior Court of New Jersey

November 1, 2013

[PDF also includes prior Indictment, Order, Memorandum of Understanding, and Complaint-Warrants.]

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Michael Fugee will commence, without delay, the appropriate proceedings to become laicized through the Archdiocese of Newark on truthful grounds as set forth herein, and that he will fully participate and take all necessary action to ensure that the Roman Catholic Church completes his laicization; and

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Michael Fugee, through counsel, will communicate the status of the laicization process in writing every sixty (60) days from the entry of this Consent Order to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office until such process is complete and together provide copies of all written documents submitted and/or received in furtherance of his laicization proceeding.

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

NEW JERSEY
Cliffview Pilot

Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli today accused the Archdiocese of Newark of not keeping its agreement to monitor a former Wykoff associate pastor who was allowed to continue working as a priest after admitting that he groped a 13-year-old boy.

The prosecutor’s comments come amid the announcement of an agreement between his office and Michael Fugee that spares him prison time in exchange for his permanent removal from the priesthood and the condition that he never work in a job that puts him in contact with minors.

Fugee, who could have gone to prison for up to 18 months, admitted that he repeatedly violated a court order to stay away from children.

Also going back on its word, Molinelli said, was the archiocese, which agreed six years ago to supervise Fugee in order to help spare him a trial.

“[I]t has not appeared that the Archdiocese made any significant effort to adhere to the terms of the MOU such that, at this juncture, we no longer have confidence in its ability as a signatory to honor the clear intent of the 2007 Memorandum of Understanding,” Mollinelli said in a statement.

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

OHIO
Cleveland Scene

Experts Discuss Media Coverage of Catholic Priests’ ‘Struggles,’ Odd Bouts of Navel-Gazing Ensue

Posted by Eric Sandy on Fri, Nov 8, 2013

For some reason, The Plain Dealer posted a story titled “Experts discuss why the struggles of priests are so well publicized.” The occasion for this little discussion comes about following the Rev. James McGonegal’s three-count indictment, which includes a felony count for failing to disclose his HIV-positive status when he propositioned a Metroparks ranger.

…It’s unclear why the preceding was classified among the “struggles” of priests on Cleveland.com.

Anyway, the newsworthiness of the McGonegal incident should be clear to any reader or writer – Catholic or otherwise. McGonegal, a man who bears some semblance of moral authority in his community and certainly qualifies as a public figure, solicited sex in a public parking lot and hid the fact that he was harboring a life-threatening virus. Potentially dangerous stuff, hence the news coverage (which, to be sure, The Plain Dealer heaped online en masse).

And that reportage is important for numerous public safety, criminal justice and religious dialogue reasons, but today’s bout of navel-gazing and apologia surely isn’t.

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

NEW JERSEY
MyCentralJersey

Written by
Susan Loyer
@SusanLoyerMyCJ

MIDDLESEX COUNTY — The pastor of a Jamesburg-based parish will remain out of ministry until an alleged claim of sexual misconduct is resolved, according to the Diocese of Metuchen.

The Rev. Kevin Duggan, who served at St. James the Less since August 2009, has been accused of sexually abusing a developmentally challenged adult at St. James Parish in Woodbridge more than 20 years ago, according to the diocese.

Parishioners of the St. James the Less parish were told of the allegation last week when a letter from Bishop Paul Bootkoski was read at Masses. Duggan, who took himself out of ministry for treatment of alcoholism, was due to return to the parish soon, when the alleged claim of abuse was announced.

In the letter, the bishop said Duggan, 59, “adamantly denies these charges.”

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

MISSOURI
Berger’s Beat

. . .Kansas City Bishop (and St. Louis native) Robert Finn is apparently letting a priest who did 90 days in jail for theft work at a parish. Back in 2000, Fr. Glen Gardner, was convicted for stealing “thousands of dollars worth of antiques” from two Catholic churches, including “linen, candles, a pair of 3-foot-high altar candlesticks, and incense burner, two candelabra, a ciborium that holds communion wafers and a $9,000 monstrance that displays eucharistic bread.” Fr. Gardner is at St. Patrick’s Oratory and is part of the Institute of Christ the King – an ultra-conservative outfit with a church in our town. The institute was first welcomed to the U.S. by then-Bishop Raymond Burke of LaCrosse (who went on to head the St. Louis archdiocese and is now the highest-ranking U.S. prelate in the Vatican. . .

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

LOUISIANA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release Friday, November 8, 2013

Statement by Barbara Dorris, Outreach Director, 314-862-7688 SNAPdorris@gmail.com

An Alexandria predator priest has been ordered to live a “life of prayer and penance.”

[Diocese of Alexandria]

Shame on Alexandria Bishop Ronald P. Herzog for issuing perhaps the most vague and unhelpful notice about a child molesting cleric we have seen in years.

Bishop Herzog refuses to tell parents, parishioners or the public what crimes Fr. Lyons committed against how many kids during what years at what locations. Worse, Herzog refuses to say where Fr. Lyons is now. And worst yet, Herzog makes no appeal to victims, witnesses, and whistleblowers to call police and prosecutors so that Fr. Lyons might be charged, convicted and kept away from kids.

This notice is yet another effort by Catholic officials to do the absolute bare minimum about clergy sex crimes and cover ups.

“A life of prayer and penance” is a silly claim. Time and time again church officials try to imply that this is some sort of penalty. What it means, in reality, is that the priest gets all the benefits – financial and otherwise – of being a priest but doesn’t have to go to work. That of course just frees up more of his time to groom kids, intimidate victims threaten witnesses, discredit whistleblowers, destroy evidence and fabricate alibis.

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

NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

By Mark Mueller/The Star-Ledger
on November 08, 2013

A Roman Catholic priest who was criminally charged with violating a court order to stay away from children earlier this year has agreed to his permanent removal from the priesthood and to never work in a position that places him in contact with minors.

The agreement between the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and the the Rev. Michael
Fugee resolves the criminal case against him without jail time. Fugee had been facing up to 18 months for multiple counts of violating a judicial order.

In its announcement, the prosecutor’s office also strongly criticized the Archdiocese of Newark, which had been required to supervise Fugee under a 2007 memorandum of understanding with the law enforcement agency. The memorandum was one condition of a deal that spared Fugee from retrial on charges of molesting a teenage boy.

“It has appeared, based on many public comments by Archbishop Myers, that the Church had no intention of monitoring Fugee any further and … it has not appeared that the Archdiocese made any significant effort to adhere to the terms of the MOU such that, at this juncture, we no longer have confidence in its ability as a signatory to honor the clear intent of the 2007 Memorandum of Understanding,” Prosecutor John Mollinelli said in a statement.

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

NEW JERSEY
The Record

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2013
BY ABBOTT KOLOFF AND KIBRET MARKOS
STAFF WRITERS
THE RECORD

A former Wykoff associate pastor who was allowed to continue working as a priest despite confessing to groping a 13-year-old boy has agreed to be defrocked after admitting he violated a legal agreement that barred him from working with children, authorities said Friday.

Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said in a statement Friday that Rev. Michael Fugee has agreed to be laicized and never work again as a priest. The agreement announced on Friday was unusual because of its requirement for Fugee to undergo a formal process of being defrocked.

Had Fugee been found guilty of violating the agreement with law enforcement, a fourth-degree crime, the judicial system would not have had the authority to require him to be laicized, Molinelli said.

Molinelli also delivered a scathing assessment of the way the Newark Archdiocese monitored Fugee, who attended youth retreats and heard the confessions of children at churches in Rochelle Park and Paramus after he and church officials signed an agreement with law enforcement in 2007.

“It has not appeared that the Archdiocese made any significant effort to adhere” to the memorandum of understanding with law enforcement, Molinelli said.

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

Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Catholic officials apparently ignore request
UN panel seeks info about crimes & cover ups
Hierarchy was supposed to reply by Nov. 1
Victims blast top church staff for “stonewalling”
“Again, prelates thumb their noses at secular authorities,” SNAP says

For immediate release: Friday, November 8, 2013

For more information: Barbara Blaine ( +1-312-399-4747, SNAPblaine@gmail.com )

A support group for clergy sex abuse victims is blasting top Catholic officials for apparently missing a deadline to answer questions from a United Nations panel about clergy sex crimes and cover ups.

Last July, a UN committee sent Vatican authorities a list of about 20 questions, with a November 1 deadline. The questions were designed to help the committee determine whether the church is honoring the 23 year old Convention on the Rights of the Child.

[SNAP]

But it seems clear that Catholic figures are ignoring the committee’s request. Responses from three other countries that were given the same deadline as the Vatican have been posted on the UN committee’s website. No response from the Vatican has been posted.

[Committee on the Rights of the Child]

“Once again, top Catholic officials thumb their noses at secular authorities and hide information about on-going crimes and cover ups,” said SNAP spokesperson Miguel Hurtado of London. “Some hoped the church hierarchy might be more open about clergy sex crimes and cover ups under Pope Francis. But that’s obviously not happening.

“We believe that the high-ranking Catholic staff is violating the Rights of the Child treaty,” said Mary Caplan of New York, SNAP representative to the UN. “They do this because they can. They get by with it because few secular authorities have the courage and strength to hold the Catholic hierarchy accountable for repeatedly reckless, callous, deceitful and self-serving actions regarding vulnerable kids, powerful prelates, and child molesting clerics.”

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

CHICAGO (IL)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release Friday, November 8, 2013

Statement by Barbara Dorris, Outreach Director, 314-862-7688 SNAPdorris@gmail.com

We are alarmed that Chicago Catholic officials never contacted police, prosecutors or the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services about alleged “sexually explicit photographs” of a girl at a parochial school.

[Chicago Tribune]

It is stunning that Hales Franciscan High School principal Jeffrey Gray told the Chicago Tribune that “We did not think it was a criminal act because it [was] dealing with minors.” At best, that’s alarmingly wrong-headed. At worst, it’s a lie.

The photos apparently circulated a month ago.

Coincidently, this troubling report arises at the same time a similarly troubling case is unfolding in the Kansas City Missouri.

[SNAP]

To anyone who reads or follows the news at all, it’s as clear as it can possibly be: even now, despite decades of heinous sex crimes against kids and cover ups by Catholic officials, Catholic officials STILL try very hard to handle reports of such crimes quietly and internally, telling the fewest people possible and NOT telling law enforcement.

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

LOUISIANA
Roman Catholic Diocese of Alexandria

The Most Reverend Ronald P. Herzog, Bishop of Alexandria, has now been informed by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome of its decision regarding Reverend Frederick James Lyons. He was accused of sexual abuse of minors during a period in his early life as a priest. In its decision, the Congregation imposed on Father Lyons a life of prayer and penance.

Father Lyons is specifically prohibited from the following: he may not publicly celebrate or concelebrate Mass or publicly or privately administer the other sacraments (except confession in danger of death); he may not preach; he may not participate in or attend at any public liturgical celebration; he may not wear clerical dress, vesture or vestments in public; and he has been deprived of the honor Protonotary Apostolic Supernumerary along with the customary use of the title monsignor.

“The Diocese of Alexandria has established policies and procedures that are in accord with The Charter for the Protection of Children and Youth and The Essential Norms for Diocesan/Eparchial Policies Dealing with Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Priests or Deacons,” said Bishop Herzog. He added, “It is my duty as the Bishop of Alexandria to implement this decision of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. I ask for your prayers for all who are affected by these accusations: victims, their families, our Church and the accused. I urge any victim of clerical sexual misconduct to allow us the opportunity to help heal the wounds inflicted through such actions, and I invite any victims to come forward in order that healing may begin and justice can be served.”

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

UNITED STATES
Catholic League

Bill Donohue comments on the suspension of Father Michael Kolodziej:

Father Michael Kolodziej, a former Minister Provincial of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, has been suspended from all public ministry by the Franciscans. Furthermore, the Archdiocese of Baltimore has withdrawn his faculties so that he can no longer serve as a priest.

Sounds as if the priest must have been convicted of something serious. In fact, Father Kolodziej has not been found guilty of anything. His accuser says he was abused by the priest while they were wrestling at Baltimore’s Archbishop Curley High School in the mid-to-late 1970s. That’s it.

This is insanity. Priests evidently have no rights. To top things off, the Order has posted an 800 number asking anyone else who was abused by the priest to come forward. No other organization, religious or secular, acts this way. By the way, Father Kolodziej, who is 69, has never had an accusation made against him until now.

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

CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune

By Adam Sege
Tribune reporter
9:53 a.m. CST, November 8, 2013

The head of a South Side Catholic school said he doesn’t think there is anything criminal about sexually explicit photographs that were passed among students, even though a staff member has told police “a more serious crime may have been committed.”

Hales Franciscan High School president Jeffrey Gray refused to release details of the photos and would not say whether the female in them is a student at the school, which just went co-ed this year. “I can’t confirm that right now,” he said.

Gray said the photos surfaced about a month ago and the school disciplined the students involved after talking to their parents. Asked what they did, he would only say, “There’s a couple of incidents that we have been looking into.” The students have since returned to school, he said.

“The proper discipline actions were meted out and we thought this was done and over with,” Gray said.

But then the matter somehow came to the attention of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, and Gray said it was decided to contact the police last weekend, “a little less than 30 days” after the school administration learned of the photos.

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

VIRGINIA
The News-Gazette

Written by Roberta Anderson

Buena Vista pastor the Rev. Larry Clark, of 263 41st St., was taken into custody Thursday night by the Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office on charges related to sex offenses committed against at least one male juvenile.

A spokesman for the sheriff’s office said a press release will be issued Friday afternoon detailing the exact charges. Clark remains in the Rockbridge Regional Jail awaiting a bond hearing.

Deputies seized a computer and VHS and camcorder tapes during a search of Clark’s home yesterday. Information conveyed to sheriff’s office investigator Miles Kelly during interviews with two alleged victims provided the probable cause for the search.

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

VIRGINIA
WHSV

By: Todd Densmore
Updated: Fri 12:04 PM, Nov 08, 2013

VERONA — A pastor with the Cornerstone Pentecostal Outreach Church in Verona was arrested Thursday on three charges of child sexual abuse.

Larry Clark, 61, of Buena Vista, was charged by the Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office after an investigation into incidents that took place in 2011. An investigator with the Sheriff’s Office tells us that the victim was a male and 15 years old at the time. He also tells us that the incidents took place in Rockbridge County.

Larry Clark is the temporary pastor at the Pentecostal Outreach Church in Verona and the pastor of the POC in Buena Vista.

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

NCR Editorial Staff | Nov. 8, 2013

Fall bishops’ meeting 2013

EDITORIAL

Anyone looking at the published agenda of the meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (see story) would say that an efficient, business-like organization could deal with that in half a day. The published agenda is beyond prosaic: approval of some liturgical translations, an election of officers, some committee reports, and a “presentation for a proposal to develop a formal statement on pornography.” (Spoiler alert: They are against porn.)

There is, it seems, very little action in the bishops’ action items.

The bishops should quickly deal with this old agenda, and then address the central question facing them: What kind of conference do they want to be?

Pope Francis has been clear about what he expects of bishops: He has condemned in no uncertain terms clericalism and careerism. One of his earliest statements was that priests — and by extension bishops — should “be shepherds with the smell of sheep” on them. In late October, ordaining two archbishops, Francis told them: “Keep in mind that you were selected to serve, not to dominate.”

Francis has been even more explicit about what he expects from bishops and their national conferences. In his July 27 address to the Brazilian bishops and his address the next day to the leadership of the Latin American Episcopal Conference, he laid out his vision and agenda. We would highlight these points:

* “Central bureaucracy is not sufficient; there is also a need for increased collegiality and solidarity.” What is needed is “not unanimity, but true unity in the richness of diversity.”

* “Let us not reduce the involvement of women in the church, but instead promote their active role in the ecclesial community. By losing women, the church risks becoming sterile.”

* Do diocesan and parish councils, “whether pastoral or financial, provide real opportunities for laypeople to participate in pastoral consultation, organization and planning?”

* Do we give the laity “the freedom to continue discerning, in a way befitting their growth as disciples, the mission which the Lord has entrusted to them? Do we support them and accompany them, overcoming the temptation to manipulate them or infantilize them?”

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UNITED STATES
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on November 8, 2013

Eric Holtan is slowly getting exposed. From The Duluth News:

Holtan, who was convicted of first-degree and third-degree criminal sexual conduct, was ordered at his 2000 sentencing to serve two years at the Northeast Regional Corrections Center, register as a sex offender and meet the conditions of his probation for 15 years. Any violation of that probation could result in him being sent back to prison for more than 16 years.

Hmmm … well, we already know he is NOT registered as a sex offender.

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DELAWARE
The News Journal

Tom Ferrier, who coached St. Elizabeth High School to the DIAA state championship in girls basketball last spring, was fired by the Wilmington school Thursday.

St. Elizabeth sent a letter to parents stating that Ferrier had been terminated, effective immediately. The letter said Ferrier violated the technology policies of the Diocesan protocol “For the Sake of God’s Children.” The letter said the protocol focuses on the ethical and behavioral standards for diocesan personnel, including coaches and volunteers.

Ferrier could not be reached for comment Thursday night. St. Elizabeth Athletic Director Joe Hemphill declined to comment and referred questions to St. Elizabeth Principal Shirley Bounds. Late Thursday, Bounds said in an email that the letter to parents states the action was taken as a result of violation of technology policies that all teachers, staff, coaches and volunteers agree to follow.

“At this point, St. Elizabeth has no basis or information to support any criminal issue that would require any report at this point,” Bounds said. “We are still investigating and will always cooperate fully with the authorities although none are involved at this time.”

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

For immediate release: Friday, Nov. 7, 2013

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

A cleric at a Kansas City Catholic school has been fired allegedly because of one ‘suspicious’ and sexual picture on a school computer, church officials say. We are troubled and skeptical.

[Fox4kc]

Again, Bishop Robert Finn and his staff delayed in telling police and the public about the disturbing photo.

Again, Bishop Robert Finn and his staff told the smallest number of people possible about the report of suspected sexual crimes – only the current parents of the school.

Again, Bishop Robert Finn and his staff are withholding key information. They refuse to say whether there have been other reports of sexual misdeeds or crimes by Brother Richard Geimer, a Christian brother who spent 28 years as a teacher and principal at Archbishop O’Hara High School.

It’s also troubling that Fox 4 TV reports that the photo was found on Oct. 25 – two weeks ago.

[Fox4kc]

And it appears that Catholic church and school officials did not voluntarily disclose this allegation to the public. It seems that journalists obtained a copy of a letter sent by the school to parents of current students.

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

NEW YORK
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013

Statement by Steve Theisen of Hudson IA, board chair of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 319 231 1663, Ltreggiefan@cs.com)

A Westchester Catholic school teacher is accused of raping a 14 year old boy.

[News 12]

While any child sex abuse is horrific, it’s even harder when women sexually violate boys. I know. I was sexually abused as a youngster by a Catholic nun.

Virtually every abused child feels alone and believes no one will understand if they find out. Boys molested by women feel this even more acutely. I’ve spoken with hundreds of them.

And while my heart goes out to every single person – adult or child – who was sexually assaulted by anyone, I especially feel sorry for this boy. At the same time, however, I admire his courage.

No Catholic official in America seeks out the media limelight like Cardinal Tim Dolan. We urge him to use his vast resources and public relations team to aggressively seek out others who saw, suspected or suffered child sex crimes by Amanda Iles, either at __ school or elsewhere.

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KENTUCKY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, Nov. 7, 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 )

We are relieved and grateful that Fr. Shook will be brought to justice. For far too long in far too many cases, Catholic officials who commit and conceal child sex crimes succeed in “running out the clock” and escaping responsibility for their reckless, callous and deceitful crimes.

[Daily News]

We hope every single person who saw, suspected or suffered Fr. Shook’s crimes – or his church supervisors’ cover ups – will come forward, get help, expose wrongdoing, protect others and start healing. It’s the duty of every adult – especially current and former Catholic Church members and staff – to help ensure that the truth about Fr. Shook’s crimes surfaces.

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RUSSIA
Interfax

St. Petersburg, November 8, Interfax – Gleb Grozovsky, former senior priest of a church in the Leningrad region, who is accused of molesting two children and has been put on an international wanted list, will be detained when he crosses the Russian border, the press service for the Investigations Committee’s Department for St. Petersburg reported.

“A decision on his extradition will be made through diplomatic channels in accordance with the law. He has a temporary visa until a certain date. His period of stay there will expire some time. He will be detained when he crosses the border,” the press service for the Investigations Committee’s Department for St. Petersburg reported.

It was reported earlier that a criminal case has been opened against Grozovsky based on the article of the Russian Criminal Code dealing with the molestation of a child under the age of 14.

According to information possessed by the investigators, Grozovsky, 34, molested two girls, aged nine and 12, in a hotel located on the territory of a children’s camp belonging to the Orthodox travelers club, Philadelphia, on Kos Island in Greece in June 2013.

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NEW JERSEY
NJToday
j
MIDDLESEX COUNTY – The Catholic Church has indefinitely barred the pastor of a Jamesburg church from the ministry following an accusation that he sexually abused a developmentally disabled man in the 1990s, according to a Star-Ledger report.

In a letter to the parishioners of St. James Parish, Bishop Paul G. Bootkoski asked for prayers for Father Kevin P. Dugan, 59, who has also been struggling with alcoholism.

Dugan denies the sexual abuse allegations, which date back to a time when the priest was serving at St. James Parish in Woodbridge. The allegations came to light when the alleged victim, who suffers from a neurological impairment, told a nurse about the alleged abuse when he was hospitalized for emotional problems in April, according to the report.

The alleged victim has accepted the diocese’s offer to pay for counseling, according to the report.

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013

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

Catholic officials in Baltimore and Springfield MA are disclosing credible child sex abuse allegations against Fr. Michael Kolodziej who belongs to a religious order called the Franciscans and who worked at St. Philip Benizi Parish in Jonesboro, GA from 2010 until his recent suspension.

[iobserve]

We urge Archbishop Wilton Gregory to post notices about Fr. Michael Kolodziej read at all Atlanta archdiocesan parishes.

While he may have been assigned to one church, we strongly suspect that Fr. Kolodziej spent at least some time at three or four other Atlanta area parishes. We believe notices should be read at churches throughout the archdiocese and posted in their bulletins.

We also urge Gregory will personally go to each parish where Fr. Kolodziej worked and beg victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to call police.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

A group representing Ballarat survivors of clergy sexual abuse is meeting a Federal Government minister today to discuss improving support services.

Abuse survivor Andrew Collins represents a group of more than 80 survivors and is meeting the Minister for Social Services, Kevin Andrews, in Melbourne today.

Mr Collins is calling for an increased pension for abuse survivors, similar to a disability pension for people suffering from post-traumatic stress and depression as a result of their abuse.

He says being granted a meeting with Minister is a significant step in lobbying for survivors’ rights.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC – PM

PETER LLOYD: In Victoria, a group of people who have been sexually abused are asking to be put on the same disability pension as returned soldiers.

The idea is coming from Ballarat, a city with a dark past of child sexual abuse by members of the Catholic clergy.

Kate Stowell reports from the central Victorian city.

KATE STOWELL: Abuse survivor Andrew Collins represents a group of more than 80 people from the Ballarat area.

During the course of the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into institutional child sexual abuse and the Royal Commission, he’s become a spokesman for the local community of abuse survivors.

He says a lot of people aren’t coping.

ANDREW COLLINS: There was one survivor that we knew of who would struggle every month, did he get his medication? Did he have his mobile phone? He was suicidal so he needed his mobile phone to talk to people and you know keep in touch with the world but he also needed his medication.

He’d exhausted his so many ‘free sessions’ under the mental health plan very quickly and was just living in limbo.

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OHIO
Cleveland.com

By Patrick Cooley, Northeast Ohio Media Group
on November 08, 2013

CLEVELAND, Ohio — More than 30 people were charged on suspicion of soliciting for sex in Cleveland in October, but only one made the news. That one was James McGonegal, pastor of St. Ignatius of Antioch, a West Side Catholic church, and he is accused of soliciting sex from an off-duty ranger at Edgewater Park on Oct. 11.

McGonegal’s arrest made headlines in every major northeast Ohio media outlet. Reporters attended mass the weekend of his arrest, and camera crews from television stations camped out near the venerable stone church on Lorain Avenue, hoping to convince parishioners to speak on the record.

“It’s important to remember that many people are arrested for soliciting, and most of them are not priests,” said Candice Risen, a therapist for Levine, Risen and Associates, a Beachwood practice which deals with marital and sexual issues.

Priests however, tend to receive more scrutiny after such an arrest.

“Some would say it’s because of the anti-Catholic bias in the media,” said the Rev. Donald Cozzens, a writer in residence at John Carroll University.

But he said it’s more likely that their status as a moral authority makes their arrests more noticeable. Catholics tend to have a lofty notion of priesthood, Cozzens said, which can be difficult to live up to, and can make a public failure or embarrassment all the more biting.

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UNITED STATES
National Survivor Advocates Coalition

Editorial

There is no attempt in this space or by this writer to negate or lessen in any way the impact upon the world of Pope Francis’ embrace of a severely physically disfigured man on Wednesday at the General Audience nor to negate or lessen the immensely heavy burden that this physically disfigured man carries day in and day out.

If you are not aware of this event, here is a link to a news story:

[CNN]

What we have to say is simply this:

Holy Father, this is what the survivors of sexual abuse by priests and nuns look like on the inside.

Embrace their suffering.

Listen to them.

Hear them.

Know them.

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ITALY
The Australian

THE head of the 431-year-old Catholic religious order that first used the Red Cross as a symbol for helping the sick was under arrest yesterday after allegedly kidnapping two priests so that they could not vote against his re-election.

Father Renato Salvatore, 58, was re-elected Superior General of the Order of Clerics Regular, Ministers of the Sick on May 13 in an alleged plot worthy of a Dan Brown novel.

The Camillians, founded by St Camillus de Lellis in 1582, became known for the large Red Cross its members wore on their black cassocks as they tended to those afflicted by the plague.

The group, which counts more than 1000 clergy and 20,000 lay staff, runs hospitals, convalescent homes and AIDS clinics in 35 countries.

Prosecutors allege that Father Salvatore only won re-election, beating the Irish priest Frank Monks, because two “grand electors” were illegally detained during the vote. Father Rosario Messina and Father Antonio Puca, who backed Father Monks, were allegedly told to get into a car because they had been summoned for questioning by police in Rome. They were taken to a police station where two officers, who were alleged accomplices in the scheme, interrogated them for hours.

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AUSTRALIA
Broken Rites

Examining the “Towards Healing” process: a submission to Australia’s national Royal Commission in 2013, prepared by WAYNE CHAMLEY, of Broken Rites Australia (updated 8 November 2013)

The Broken Rites executive team has gained first-hand experience and insights into the “response” processes that are followed by the various church and religious organisations. In regards to the Catholic Church’s process “Towards Healing”, our executive team has worked directly with many individual victims over the years. These victims have sought to have their claims heard by the Catholic Church and some have been less than satisfied by their experience of the process and the behaviour of church representatives.

We have also been contacted by many other victims who chose not to seek any advice or support at an early stage. Instead, these people made contact with us after they had gone to “Towards Healing”.

Towards Healing – principles, provisions and procedures

Since 1996, in Australia, a person who experienced sexual or extreme physical abuse while in a catholic-run institution, school, parish etc, has been able to seek to have a complaint considered by entering the church’s process or by resorting to civil litigation. In 1996 the Catholic bishops and the Heads of Religious Orders in Australia released the document “Towards Healing” and since that time many complaints have been brought to the attention of church officials, by persons entering this internal process, in good faith.

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AUSTRALIA
Broken Rites

Broken Rites is pleased that Australia’s national Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is investigating the Catholic Church’s so-called “Towards Healing” process, which claims to “help” the church’s abuse-victims. Broken Rites has been researching “Towards Healing” since 1996, and this article sums up some of our main findings so far. This Broken Rites article demonstrates how “Towards Healing” is really a business strategy, designed to protect the church’s assets and its corporate image.

The Royal Commission’s hearings about “Towards Healing” are scheduled to begin on Monday 9 December 2013 and will continue for two weeks.

The Catholic Church in Australia operates its “Towards Healing” scheme to receive (and respond to) complaints from the church’s sex-abuse victims. Broken Rites found that Towards Healing was designed in conjunction with the church’s lawyers, its accountants and its insurance company. The name “Towards Healing” is the kind of brand-name that could be inspired by any public-relations consultant or advertising firm.

In some cases, Towards Healing might give help a victim to “heal” but this help is incidental to the primary object – the church’s business strategy.

The Towards Healing scheme is conducted in association with the Catholic Church’s own insurance company, Catholic Church Insurances Limited (CCI). CCI has stated that this company “carries the burden of salary and support staff” for Towards Healing and, furthermore, that CCI will “provide practical support” for any future fine-tuning of the Towards Healing system.

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CANADA
Sylvia’s Site

Posted on November 7, 2013 by Sylvia

A number of people have been asking questions regarding the pending sex abuse trial of Oblate priest Father Eric Dejaeger.

Here then is a brief update. I have spoken to persons close to the case. This is far from an exhaustive account of what to anticipate, but is to give a general idea and to answer questions which have been posed to me. Remember that time lines can change due an unexpected change in circumstances, and the setting of dates for verdict and sentencing depend on both the time the judge feels he/she needs or wants, and the common availability on any given date of a courtroom, judge, defence and the Crown.

(1) The Edmonton charges will be prosecuted in Edmonton, Alberta. There will have to be a change in dates there: his preliminary hearing in Edmonton is scheduled for 2-3 December 2013. Since he will be at trial in Iqaluit that if course is impossible. As soon as a new date is set I will pass it on

(2) Douglas Curliss, a prosecutor with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada Regional Office in Saskatoon, is the lead prosecutor for the case. He will be assisted by Scott Hughes of Iqaluit, and Barry Nordine, formerly of Iqaluit and now of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

(3) The trial is scheduled to start 18 November 2013 and will run until 20 December 2013. That’s five weeks vs the ten weeks originally scheduled some time back. The ten weeks were based on estimates at the time;.

(4) The witnesses will travel to Iqaluit, Nunavut. Most witnesses live in Igloolik. Those who travel to Iqualuit will be in the city for a short time, long enough to get settled prior to taking the stand, and then back home after testifying.

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AUSTRALIA
lewisblayse.net

Allan “Kitch” Kitchingman will be the object of the third “case study” in the present set by the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The first one was on Steven Larkins (see previous posting) and the second was on Jonathan Lord (see previous posting).

The first two covered associations with Scouts Australia and the YMCA (New South Wales state branch). This one will relate to the Anglican Church of Australia, known elsewhere as the Church of England or the Episcopalian Church. However, it will be restricted to the Grafton and Newcastle dioceses in New South Wales, so people like Anglican Primate, Phillip Aspinall (see previous postings), are off the hook.

But Back to Allan Kitchingman. He was an Anglican pastor who, as the “chaplain” to the North Coast Children’s Home, abused an inmate in 1975. For this he pleaded guilty, and was imprisoned for 21/2 years, in 2002, with parole in February 2004. His victim described the sentence as a “joke”. This victim claims the priest assaulted him “several times a week for a year” and that church officials put him on a bus to Kings Cross, in Sydney, after complaints were made. Hence, the enquiry must investigate the church’s response to the Kitchingman allegations.

Kitchingman went on to become parish pastor at the St. Cuthbert’s church at Tweed Heads, on the New South Wales – Queensland state border. His name was entered on the church’s national professional standards register according to the terms of a church canon in 2007.

Nevertheless, his name still appears on the Honour Roll of the church for his time as pastor from 1981-1988. The church’s website refers to his time there as having “seen growth in the work with children and youth.” Apparently, to the church officials, paedophilia means “working” with children.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
KMBZ

[letter from the school]

KANSAS CITY – A brother at O’Hara High School has been fired after a student allegedly found a “suspicious photo” on his computer. Investigators said a student last week borrowed Geimer’s computer to print a paper.

When she was finished, she closed the file and the photo allegedly popped up.

In a letter sent home to parents yesterday, school leaders said Brother Richard Geimer was fired on Monday, but there was no reason to believe the photo involved O’Hara students.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
KSHB

[with video]

By: 41 Action News Staff
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An O’Hara High School teacher has been fired after a “suspicious” picture was found on his school computer Monday.

Brother Richard Geimer taught at O’Hara but just three days after a tip to school officials, he was out of a job and cut off from the Diocese of Kansas City- St. Joseph.

41 Action News asked the church’s internal investigator, if Monday’s report was the first time anyone had complained about inappropriate behavior by brother Geimer and but said they couldn’t comment on that.

Church officials said a parent came forward to say her child had seen a “disturbing” photo while using Geimer’s computer.

According to a release from the school’s principal, John O’Connor said Wednesday that the school does not believe the picture involves an O’Hara student and so far, no charges have been filed.
“We think its really important to be, to take swift, decisive action when it involves the safety of children and we also think its very important to be open and transparent in that action,” Jenifer Valenti, Ombudsman for the Diocese of Kansas City- St, Joseph said.

The church moved quickly to suspend Geimer and called the police who seized his computer the next day.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
KCTV

[with video]

By Laura McCallister, Multimedia Producer
By Heather Staggers, Reporter

KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) –
Police are investigating an alleged porn report at a local Catholic high school.

Kansas City police said they have opened an investigation after a report of porn found on a computer at Archbishop O’Hara High School. The school is located near James A Reed Road and East 90th Terrace.

A note was sent to parents explaining that the school’s principal, John O’Connor, was told on Monday about a photo that is suspicious and sexual in nature on Brother Richard Geimer’s computer.

School officials said a female student used the staff member’s computer to print something and she noticed a lewd picture on it. She told her mother who then contacted the school.

Police went to the school, retrieved the computer belonging to Geimer and are investigating.

O’Connor said he initially placed Geimer on administrative leave and notified police. Officials with the school and the Diocese of Kansas City – St. Joseph then decided to fire Geimer.

Below is the letter sent home to parents:

“Dear Archbishop O’Hara Parents,

“On Monday, November 4th, I became aware of a suspicious photographic file on Brother Richard Geimer’s computer. That day he was placed on administrative leave, he left the property, and the police were notified. On November 5th, the police were on site; his computer was reviewed and taken by authorities.

“Based upon information we know ourselves and what was provided by the police, there is no reason to believe the suspicious file involved O’Hara students. At this point, the investigation is in the hands of civil authorities. With the investigation pending, I will not be able to disclose further information regarding particulars of the allegation at this point.

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KANSAS CITY (MO)
Fox 4

[with video]

November 7, 2013, by Michelle Pekarsky, Charly Arnolt and Macradee Aegerter

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A letter sent home to parents of Archbishop O’Hara High School students on Wednesday indicated a school staff member has been fired after a suspicious photographic file was found on his computer. It has been described as suspicious, disturbing and it involves a youth.

Brother Richard Geimer was first placed on administrative leave on Monday and left the property, located at 9001 James A. Reed Road. John O’Connor, O’Hara High School principal said that at that time, he called to notify police.

Jack Smith, the Director of Communications with the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph said that a senior student alerted school administrators to the file. She discovered it after receiving permission to use Brother Geimer’s computer during school hours to print a document.

Based on information provided to them by police, O’Connor said he, Bishop Robert Finn and Superintendent Dan Peters, determined there was sufficient cause to permanently terminate Brother Geimer. A determination to fire him was made before an FBI cyber-crimes task force had completed its investigation because O’Connor found the pictures inappropriate enough to warrant termination.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By JOANNE McCARTHY Nov. 8, 2013

ANGLICANS across Australia will be ‘‘disappointed’’ with the church as the royal commission exposes child sexual abuse at the North Coast Children’s Home, Newcastle Anglican Bishop Administrator Peter Stuart says.

‘‘They will wonder why we [the church] made these decisions and quite rightly they’ll be listening to the way the royal commission investigates these practices,’’ he said yesterday, almost a year since the royal commission was announced by then Prime Minister Julia Gillard on November 12, 2012.

It was ‘‘an important royal commission, making it clear to the wider community that child sexual abuse is not acceptable in the community’’.

It occurred ‘‘in places we thought we could trust, including the church’’.

He encouraged victims to speak to the royal commission, or make contact with the diocese’s professional standards unit on 1800 774945.

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RUSSIA
Interfax

Moscow, November 8, Interfax – Svetlana Nekrasova, who visited summer camp in Konevets with her daughter in Priest Gleb Grozovsky’s shift, believes a possible reason for accusing the priest in seduction of two schoolgirls could be the priest’s conflict with the girl’s father.

“The man should have taken Father Gleb to the airport in his car as the priest had to go on a trip before the shift was over. However, at the last moment the man refused and rowed with the priest. He called me personally and said he had enough money “to close” Father Gleb for a long time,” Nekrasova was quoted as saying by the Moskovsky Komsomolets daily.

According to her, such a reaction of the parent was a result of the rumors which several girls, including Nekrasova’s daughter, spread in the camp. Finally, father of one of the priest’s wards believed that the priest tried to seduce them and started threatening him. Eyewitnesses believe that the girls could slander Father Gleb out of childish jealousy as, according to the priest’s sister, “he has often become an object of girls’ love.”

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By JOANNE McCARTHY Nov. 8, 2013

THE late Newcastle Anglican Bishop James Housden kept a ‘‘very careful watch’’ on Allan Kitchingman when the former ‘‘nightclub entertainer’’ and major record company public relations officer studied to be a priest at St John’s College, Morpeth, from 1960.

That was because of Kitchingman’s ‘‘earlier background and associations’’, the bishop said in a letter in 1968.

But when Kitchingman was charged with a ‘‘child sex matter’’ in 1968, the bishop offered his immediate support and pledged to keep him in the ministry ‘‘under a bishop who would be fully informed of the circumstances’’.

Two weeks later, in late December 1968, Kitchingman was interviewed by a Grafton Bishop and appointed to Lismore parish, which included the church-run North Coast Children’s Home.

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NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

By Mark Mueller/The Star-Ledger
on November 08, 2013

The pastor of a Middlesex County church has been barred from ministry indefinitely following an accusation that he sexually abused a developmentally disabled man in the 1990s.

In a letter read aloud at St. James the Less Church in Jamesburg last weekend, Metuchen Bishop Paul Bootkoski alerted parishioners to the allegation against the Rev. Kevin P. Duggan, 59.

Duggan, who has served at six parishes in the diocese, “adamantly denies these charges,” Bootkoski wrote.

The claim was brought to the diocese in April by the accuser’s caretaker. In July, the alleged victim spoke with the Diocesan Review Board, a panel of lay people and clergy members who examine allegations of sex abuse.

That same month, Duggan took a leave of absence from the church for treatment of alcoholism, Bootkoski wrote. Duggan spent the next four months at Guest House, a Minnesota treatment center for Catholic clergy members with substance abuse problems.

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ALASKA
KTVA

ANCHORAGE – A deacon convicted earlier this year for possession of child pornography was sentenced to five years in prison Wednesday.

Donald T. Johnson, 62, had no criminal record when he was arrested in early January. Alaska State Troopers said Johnson possessed thousands of videos and images depicting the sexual abuse of children as young as 8. Detectives with the Anchorage Police Department worked with troopers to investigate the case: They determined Johnson had not physically harmed any children in Alaska, although his wife worked as a daycare provider.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children identified some of the children depicted in the material Johnson shared and saved as victims in previous abuse cases.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Church Times

by Tim Wyatt

Posted: 08 Nov 2013

A MARRIED priest who had an affair with an 18-year-old woman from his youth group has been suspended from ministry for eight years.

The priest, the Revd Paul Meier, aged 47, admitted misconduct before a disciplinary tribunal of the diocese of Chichester on 24 October. He was suspended from his post at St Margaret’s in Horsmonden, Kent, last year.

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IRELAND
Irish Times

Joanne Hunt

Thu, Nov 7, 2013

Some of the survivors of the Magdalene laundries will receive their first compensation payments from the State before Christmas, Minister for Justice Alan Shatter has said.

Accepting in June this year the recommendation of Judge John Quirke that a cash lump sum payment based on the duration of stay in the laundries be paid to the women, the Government tasked an inter-departmental group with considering how to implement other recommendations made by the judge.

The group’s report was reviewed by Government this week and details of the scheme were finalised.

In the next four to six weeks, the Department of Justice will pay eligible women a tax-free sum of between €11,500 and €100,000, depending on the duration of their stay in the laundries. Amounts of more than €50,000 will be paid in weekly instalments, as recommended by Judge Quirke.

Women who have registered an expression of interest with the department or submitted an application but who have passed away before payment will receive a lump sum of €50,000, paid to their estate.

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REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
Entorno Inteligente

[Summary: Judge Yanet Bernabel on Thursday began hearing objection to admissibility of the complaint against priest Juan Manuel Mota de Jesus, also known as Padre Johnny. He is accused to sexually abusing several women in his pastoral work. The priests lawyers have asked that the complaint be dismissed.]

El Caribe / El Constanza.− La jueza Yanet Bernabel inició este jueves la audiencia de objeción a la admisibilidad de la querella contra el sacerdote Juan Manuel Mota de Jesús (padre Johnny), quien está acusado de abusar sexualmente de varias mujeres durane su labor pastoral.

Los abogados del cura nueva vez pidieron que sea sobreseído el caso hasta tanto el procurador general de la República, Francisco Javier García, se pronuncie con relación al pedido del abogado de las alegadas víctimas, que en su momento pidió la inhibición del procurador de la Corte de Apelación de La Vega, Víctor González, y el fiscal del distrito judicial de Constanza, Fernando Quezada.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Church Times

[The Foundation of Abuse – Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command]

by Tim Wyatt

Posted: 08 Nov 2013

CHILDREN within hierarchical institutions – including churches – are particularly at risk of being sexually abused, a new report has warned.

The report, The Foundations of Abuse, was compiled by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command, part of the new National Crime Agency. It analyses institutional sexual abuse of children in the UK. The Church of England was among the organisations consulted.

The authors of the report state that “There is something about institutions, as environments for child sexual abuse, which appears to aggravate the vulnerability of potential victims, and amplifies the power over them that abusers can exercise.”

Rigid, hierarchical, often male-dominated and closed organisations can subsume people into a structure where they feel unable to challenge abuse, the report says. “There is a complete submission to authority, leaving individuals powerless and blind to their rights.

“In pursuance of the institution’s goals, staff are unable to see signs of abuse, or, if they do, are fearful for their careers if they report it.”

Institutional sexual abuse of children is a product of a “malign climate” within organisations which leaves an offender’s propensity to abuse unchecked, the report suggests.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Church Times

by Paul Handley

Posted: 08 Nov 2013

THE horrors of child sexual abuse were laid out once more in Panorama this week. The programme featured two victims: one of the several boys abused at Downside, the Roman Catholic school, and a woman who, at the age of 12, had been raped by a porter at Stoke Mandeville Hospital who turned out to be Jimmy Savile. The now familiar tale was told of ignored reports and cover-ups, prompting the former Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, to argue that the reporting of child abuse to the police should be made mandatory for those working in certain institutions. No list was given, but schools and churches are obvious candidates.

On the face of it, mandatory reporting makes sense. It would help to prevent the persistent offending by abusers who escape exposure because their employers wish to avoid scandal. It would help to convince victims that their witness will be taken seriously. It is, however, an awkward precedent to criminalise a specific type of non-disclosure, especially when existing laws cover the most egregious examples. There is also a danger that it would take a degree of control away from victims. Increasing numbers go directly to the police; those who choose to tell somebody else might well be nervous of the police’s involvement. The shadow of compulsion hanging over any sort of disclosure could act as an inhibitor. In any case, a change in the law is possibly unnecessary. Recent moves made by the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church, among others, mean that the police are now brought in as a matter of course.

Another instance when a mandatory element would cut across existing practices is the confessional. The code of conduct for clergy, drawn up in 2003, restates: “There can be no disclosure of what is confessed to a priest.” This principle is respected in civil courts, though this might not remain the case for all time. The code refers specifically to abuse: “Where abuse of children or vulnerable adults is admitted in the context of confession, the priest should urge the person to report his or her behaviour to the police or social services, and should also make this a condition of absolution, or withhold absolution until this evidence of repentance has been demonstrated.” Confession would lose its efficacy if a penitent withheld information out of fear that the confessor might be forced to reveal it.

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MINNESOTA/ARIZONA
Duluth News Tribune

By: Tom Olsen, Duluth News Tribune

A former Duluth high school teacher convicted of sexually abusing two students now is working as the choir director at an Arizona church, and that has drawn the ire of an abuse victims’ advocacy group.

Eric Holtan, 42, who taught music classes at Duluth East High School, admitted in 2000 that he had repeated sexual contact with 15-year-old and 16-year-old students. He since has relocated to Tucson, Ariz., where he now serves as the choir director for Dove of Peace Lutheran Church.

“It’s inherently reckless to put a convicted child molester in any position of authority over kids,” David Clohessy, the executive director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, told the News Tribune.

“Either church officials and others in Tucson were irresponsible and did little or no background check, or even worse, they knew about his crimes and put him around unsuspecting families and vulnerable kids regardless,” Clohessy said.

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AUSTRALIA
Courier Mail

JAMES CAMPBELL HERALD SUN NOVEMBER 08, 2013

CLERGY who fail to report child abuse by their colleagues should face jail, a landmark state parliamentary inquiry is set to recommend.

After more than 160 hearings over nine months, Australia’s first parliamentary inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other organisations will table its findings next week.

The findings of the committee, which considered more than 400 submissions, are scathing of the Catholic Church’s actions over several decades, sources have told the Herald Sun.

The committee will recommend a new criminal offence be created for ministers of religion who fail to report physical or sexual abuse of children by other clergy.

The inquiry was set up following 2011’s inquiry into the child protection system by retired Supreme Court judge Philip Cummins.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By JOANNE McCARTHY Nov. 8, 2013

NEWCASTLE man Steven Smith has a simple message for victims of child sexual abuse almost a year to the day since the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse was announced.

‘‘It’s time to speak,’’ he said, as the Anglican Church braces itself for the next round of royal commission public hearings starting on November 18, and the ugly truth about a Hunter priest and the church that protected him.

The royal commission will hear evidence about former ‘‘nightclub entertainer’’/Anglican priest Allan Kitchingman, who was convicted of a ‘‘child sex matter’’ in Newcastle in 1968 and immediately transferred to Grafton diocese where he sexually assaulted a child in 1975 at the church-run North Coast Children’s Home.

The evidence will include the role of the late Newcastle Anglican Bishop James Housden, who organised the Grafton transfer because he was ‘‘anxious to help him [Kitchingman] in every way possible whatever the result of the trial’’.

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COLORADO
Daily Camera

By Mitchell Byars, Camera Staff Writer

The woman who alleges she was sexually abused by a youth pastor at VineLife Church while she was a minor reported it to Boulder police because she feared the church would not take the matter seriously after attending a meeting with church leaders, according to police reports released Thursday.

Jason Allen Roberson, 35, the son of VineLife’s senior pastor, Walt Roberson, is facing six felony charges in relation to the alleged abuse.

Four other church officials — Executive Pastor Robert Phillip Young, 65, Pastor Luke Michael Humbrecht, 30, and church elders Edward Charles Bennell, 65, and Warren Lloyd Williams, 66 — have been ticketed for failing to report child abuse, with an unnamed fifth person still due to be ticketed.

The victim, Danielle DesGeorges, also is suing Roberson and VineLife Church in Boulder District Court. The Daily Camera generally does not identify victims of sexual abuse, but does have a policy of naming them in cases in which they initiate civil litigation.

DesGeorges, who lives in Boulder and is now 24, went to police in April and told investigators that she and Roberson had an inappropriate relationship that began when she was 15 and continued for seven years.

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