ABUSE TRACKER

MARYLAND
The Baltimore Sun

By Colin Campbell, The Baltimore Sun

10:01 p.m. EST, November 7, 2013

A former Archbishop Curley High School student is accusing a Catholic priest and former teacher at the school with sexually abusing him on several occasions, according to a news release from the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

The priest, Fr. Michael Kolodziej, 69, has been suspended from the priesthood. He taught at Curley from 1975-79, during which time the former student says he “wrestled him” and abused him.

Kolodziej was ordained in Buffalo, N.Y., and has spent more than 30 years as a priest and teacher across several states.

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

Article by: JEAN HOPFENSPERGER and TONY KENNEDY , Star Tribune staff writers
Updated: November 7, 2013

A Catholic priest known by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis for sexual misconduct was sued Thursday — the first of what attorneys say will be multiple lawsuits against him and the archdiocese.

The Rev. Jerome C. Kern was accused in a lawsuit of “sexual battery” involving an Edina boy from 1972 to 1976. Kern had been transferred to our Our Lady of Grace Church in Edina in 1969, after parents at his St. Paul church informed the archdiocese that he had sexually fondled their two school-age sons, attorneys said.

The lawsuit, in Ramsey County District Court, also names the archdiocese on civil charges related to its transfer of Kern to that church without addressing his alleged problems and without notifying families.

The plaintiff, now a man in his 50s, is one of at least 10 people abused by Kern that the law firm of Jeff Anderson & Associates is aware of, attorney Mike Finnegan said. The firm is preparing three more suits against Kern, he said.

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KENTUCKY
WDRB

By Courtney Godfrey

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A former Louisville priest accused of sexual abuse will stand trial.

After hearing from witnesses on both sides, Jefferson Circuit Judge Mitch Perry decided that James Schook is competent enough to stand trial.

Schook is charged with sexually abusing teenage boys in the 1970s. He currently faces seven charges of sodomy.

During a competency hearing Thursday, the defense attorney called Schook’s brothers to the stand. They both described him as forgetful, paranoid, and lethargic.

“He should be dead. According to the statistics with what he has, he should be dead,” said Jesse Schook.

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MINNESOTA
KAAL

By: Leslie Dyste

A lawsuit was filed Thursday on behalf of a man who said he was abused by the Rev. Jerome Kern while he was at Our Lady of Grace in Edina.

Attorneys Jeff Anderson and Mike Finnegan announced the lawsuit at a press conference Thursday in St. Paul, which names Kern and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis as defendants.

The victim, who is now in his 50s, alleges he was abused when he was between the ages of 12 and 16 years old. The suit says the Archdiocese let Kern continue working with kids even after there were reports of misconduct. The earliest reports were received in 1969, and Kern remained in the ministry until 2002, according to the attorneys.

The victim was not named, but another man who claims he was also sexually abused by Kern spoke out about abuse Thursday.

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MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press

[lawsuit and documents]

By Emily Gurnon
egurnon@pioneerpress.com
POSTED: 11/07/2013 12:01:00 AM CST | UPDATED: 109 MIN. AGO

A priest who worked in St. Paul and Forest Lake parishes was sued Thursday by a man who alleges the priest sexually abused him after archdiocese officials covered up earlier reports of abuse.

The Rev. Jerome Kern, now 72, was serving as a priest at Our Lady of Grace in Edina when he “engaged in unpermitted sexual contact” for several years in the 1970s with the plaintiff, identified as Doe 26, the suit claims. The man, now in his 50s, was 12 to 16 years old at the time, he said.

Kern had come from an assignment at the Church of St. Mark in St. Paul — where reports of at least two abused children came to the archdiocese, said the suit, filed in Ramsey County District Court.

“Upon receiving complaints about Kern’s involvement with the two children, the archdiocese transferred Kern to Our Lady of Grace” in Edina, the lawsuit says.

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

By Nic Rigby
BBC News

Former residents of a Catholic orphanage who claim they suffered physical and sexual abuse have expressed anger at a police decision to end an inquiry into the allegations.

In May Bedfordshire Police said it had started an investigation into abuse at the St Francis Boys Home in Shefford in the 1950s and 1960s.

Police said they had ended the inquiry as there was no-one alive to prosecute.

Ex-resident Tony Walsh said he was “disgusted” at the development.

The BBC has talked to former residents of the home who allege they were physically and/or sexually abused at the orphanage, run by the Catholic diocese of Northampton.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

06 NOVEMBER 2013

THE high-ups in the Catholic Church must wonder betimes if the fairies tiptoed into Enda’s room on the night he was crowned Taoiseach and left a changeling in his place.

For instead of getting a head of government who set his face firmly towards a conservative agenda while paying unquestioning obeisance to the church, they were landed with a leader who delivered a landmark eloquent denouncement of the Vatican’s response to child sex abuse scandals – in his excoriating address to the Dail on the Cloyne Report in 2011 – and who oversaw the passage of abortion legislation through the Oireachtas this summer.

And if this wasn’t enough for the religious hierarchy, Enda Kenny’s Government has now announced that a referendum on same-sex marriage will take place sometime in 2015.

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

Posted by: Baird Helgeson Updated: November 7, 2013

A group of Catholics plan to hold a rally outside the Cathedral of St. Paul on Saturday to ask Archbishop John Nienstedt to step aside.

The Catholic Coalition for Church Reform is holding the event in the wake of mounting criticism of the way the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has handled a new wave of clergy sexual misconduct allegations.

“We can’t heal until the divisive figure is gone, and Archbishop Nienstedt is the divisive figure himself,” Paula Ruddy, party of Catholic Coalition for Church Reform. “Until then, we have no hope.”

The archbishop told the Star Tribune on Wednesday night he has no intention of stepping down and is taking numerous concrete steps to root out bad priests and restore faith and confidence in church leadership.

The Catholic group has rallied outside the Cathedral before, concerned about Nienstedt’s public statements and deep spending to block same-sex marriage. But members have never before called for him to step down.

Ruddy said the group tried to reach out to Nienstedt since 2009, believing that an open dialog would relieve their concerns. They have not been successful getting time with Nienstedt.

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KENTUCKY
WHAS

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) — James Schook, a Louisville Catholic Priest accused of sexually abusing two teenage boys in the ‘70s, was found competent to stand trial, on Nov. 7 and will go to trial on March 31 at 1 p.m.

Schook entered the courtroom using a walker, and kept his eyes closed for most of Thursday’s hearing.
A former member of Schook’s congregation, Helen Deines, testified she saw him without a walker at a Panera Bread on Sept. 27 of this year and was acting fine.

Deines teaches social work at Spalding on how to observe and diagnose patients.

Schook’s brothers testified that James Schook cannot take care of himself and he can’t make decisions. His brothers also say he needs constant care.

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KENTUCKY
Daily News

Posted: Thursday, November 7, 2013

Associated Press

A judge has ruled that a terminally ill Catholic priest accused of abusing two boys at a Louisville church in the 1970s is not too sick to stand trial on sodomy charges.

A state doctor called by prosecutors testified Thursday that she examined the Rev. James Schook in July and concluded that he can “rationally participate in his defense.”

Schook is suffering from skin cancer and other ailments and doctors have said the disease is terminal. He appeared in court Thursday but did not speak during the two-hour hearing.

Schook’s attorney, David Lambertus, said the priest’s health has steadily degraded since he was examined over the summer and relatives testified that Schook requires round-the-clock care.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Tribune-Review

By Brian Bowling

Published: Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013

A former pastor in Charleroi admitted in federal court Thursday that he viewed child pornography and traveled to Thailand to meet teen boys.

David Dzermejko, 65, of Braddock pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography.

The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh released a statement saying it had no knowledge of the criminal activity, and noted that Bishop David Zubik told priests and deacons in January that “viewing child pornography is a criminal act for which society will hear no excuse, accept no extenuating circumstances, or grant any mercy.”

U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer scheduled Dzermejko’s sentencing for March 20.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Bloch said Microsoft Corp. notified the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that a SkyDrive user by the name of Lord Winchester Cuthbert Thurston VII uploaded a nude image of a prepubescent child on Dec. 21.

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MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

Lawsuit alleges church officials knew priest abused children as early as 1969; kept him in ministry

[lawsuit and documents – Jeff Anderson and Associates]

by Laura Yuen, Minnesota Public Radio
November 7, 2013

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A new lawsuit alleges that top officials in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis allowed a priest to continue working with children despite reports that he sexually abused children as early as 1969.

The Rev. Jerome Kern was a “serial offender” who abused victims at three parishes over his 35 years in ministry, according to the lawsuit, filed by St. Paul attorney Jeff Anderson.

In a lawsuit filed Thursday morning against Kern and the archdiocese, Anderson’s client — a man in his 50s named in court records as “Doe 26” — alleges Kern sexually abused him in the 1970s when the alleged victim was 12 to 16 years old. Despite numerous reports to archdiocesan officials over the years, the Catholic church moved Kern from parish to parish rather than barring him from ministry, Anderson said.

“Promises were made to the moms and to the kids that something would be done and he would be removed,” Anderson said. “Instead, those promises were broken.”

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MASSACHUSETTS/MARYLAND
WGGB

BALTIMORE, Md. (WGGB) — A priest, who spent ten years serving at a Chicopee church, has been accused of sexual abuse in Maryland.

Archdiocese of Baltimore spokesperson Sean Caine says in a statement that a former student of Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore alleges that 69-year-old Father Michael Kolodziej abused him on several occasions “while Fr. Kolodziej wrestled him” from 1975 to 1979.

Caine adds that Kolodziej has held several positions at churches and Catholic schools along the east coast since his ordination in 1970, including serving at St. Stanislaus Basilica in Chicopee from 1991 to 2001.

Upon learning of the allegation, officials at Archbishop Curley High alerted authorities, Caine says, who adds that police have also been notified.

The school, The Order of Friars Minor Conventual, of which Kolodziej is a member, and the Archdiocese of Baltimore are cooperating in the investigation.

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MARYLAND
ABC 2

By: WMAR Staff

BALTIMORE – A priest and former Catholic school teacher has been suspended following allegations of abuse against a minor, the Archdiocese of Baltimore released Thursday.

Father Michael Kolodziej was accused of abusing a former student at Archbishop Curley High School. The 69-year-old priest taught at the high school between 1975 and 1979.

“A former student from this time period has alleged that he was abused on several occasions while Fr. Kolodziej wrestled him,” the release from the Archdiocese states. “Archbishop Curley High School reported the allegation immediately to authorities, and the police were promptly informed; the School, the Order, and the Archdiocese, which owns Archbishop Curley High School, are cooperating fully with authorities.”

Kolodziej was suspended from all public ministry. Officials in the Catholic community are unaware of any further allegations against Kolodziej.

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MARYLAND
WBAL

Thursday, November 07, 2013

Robert Lang and Associated Press

Police are investigating an allegation that a Roman Catholic priest sexually abused a student while he was teaching at Baltimore’s Archbishop Curley High School in the 1970s.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore says it’s cooperating with the investigation of the Rev. Michael Kolodziej , a Franciscan Friar who taught at Curley from 1975 to 1979. Kolodziej is 69 years old and most recently served as vicar of a parish in Jonesboro, Ga. He has been suspended from public ministry.

The archdiocese said in a statement Thursday that a former student has alleged that Kolodziej abused him on several occasions while they were wrestling.

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UNITED STATES
Nonprofit Quarterly

WRITTEN BY RICK COHEN
CREATED ON THURSDAY, 07 NOVEMBER 2013

A commentary by Christa Brown, a self-identified survivor of Baptist clergy sexual abuse, addresses how churches should deal with sex abuse allegations, but the lessons that extend much beyond both the issue of sexual abuse and the institution of churches.

Brown’s commentary is in response to a statement by Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary president Paige Patterson, who has been teaching Baptist seminaries that churches should solve their own issues internally and not turn to or open up to “the world of unbelief.” It’s clear in Brown’s quotes that Patterson is suggesting that persons who have been “offended…misused and abused” within the Baptist church should be keeping the information within the church and not talking to the courts, the press, or the government.

“This insular sort of anti-outsider stance is dreadfully dangerous,” Brown writes. “Yet, for decades, it has been a common Baptist teaching, and tragically, it is now being inculcated into still another generation of Baptist pastors.” She argues that “outsiders are essential to any organizational system of accountability. They bring objectivity and detachment, and these ingredients are critical for the effectiveness and credibility of an accountability system. Without outsiders, you get cover-ups and cronyism.”

Because of the likelihood that churches typically accept an accused pastor’s word in allegations of clergy sexual abuse, Christa argues, “not only should they go to outsiders, but they must go to outsiders.” Beyond turning to the law, which actually requires the reporting of sexual abuse, she points out that most other religions have clergy accountability systems, but the Southern Baptists apparently don’t. “If a Southern Baptist pastor isn’t literally sitting in prison,” Christa charges, “he can probably find a pulpit to stand in. The denomination has no alternative system for stopping him.”

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UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

Thomas Reese | Nov. 7, 2013 NCR Today

Fall bishops’ meeting 2013

When the U.S. bishops meet Nov. 11-14 in Baltimore, people expect them to discuss the pastoral priorities facing the church in the United States. Instead, they are dealing with minor liturgical translations, a statement on pornography, and political conflicts over contraception and gay marriage. It is as if they have not heard anything Pope Francis said in the last eight months.

If Pope Francis dropped in on their meeting, what would he say to them? I doubt he would waste much time talking about their agenda. Instead, he would challenge them, as he did the Latin American bishops when he talked to them in Brazil.

In his July 27 address to the Brazilian bishops and his address the next day to the episcopal council of CELAM, Pope Francis set forth his ecclesiology, his pastoral priorities for the church. In his address to the Brazilian bishops, he spoke of the church as a reconciler that restores what was broken and unites what was divided. He also spoke of a church of the heart that presents the beauty of God in a way that attracts and entices. He also called for the church to use simple language and avoid “an intellectualism foreign to our people.”

Francis then presented practical challenges for the Brazilian (and U.S.) bishops that follow from this ecclesiology:

• “Unless we train ministers capable of warming people’s hearts, of walking with them in the night, of dialoguing with their hopes and disappointments, of mending their brokenness, what hope can we have for our present and future journey?”

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Sometimes, I find hope in odd places, like the “international” of yesterday’s New York Times.

On page one, there was a story about the hundreds of paintings that were stolen by Nazis and finally recovered decades later.

Inside, there was a story about records relating to Argentina’s “Dirty War.” Government officials have found a “trove of secret documents” that “provide rare insight” into “human rights abuses” that took place under Argentina’s dictatorship from 1976 – 1983.

Given the extent of the harm and wrongdoing in both cases, it would be easy to read them and feel depressed about how often and how severely authority figures abuse their authority.

But somehow, my “take away” is more hopeful. Both stories reminded me of Martin Luther King quotes:

“No lie lives forever.”

“The moral arc of the universe is long but it bends towards justice.”

Both stories remind me that while evil often wins in the short term, good often prevails in the long term.

Church officials continue to win skirmishes. They get child sex abuse cases tossed out on technicalities. They deceive citizens and congregants, calling heinous child sex crimes “boundary issues” and “suspected misdeeds.” They persuade themselves and their hand-picked lay panels that abuse isn’t really abuse. They “explain away” their deliberate complicity, calling it “missteps” and “errors.” They keep sex offenders on the job, claiming that the “restrictions” they allegedly put on cunning criminals can somehow stop them from acting on their deeply-rooted and overwhelming compulsion to sexually violate others.

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MASSACHUSETTS
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 )

We are grateful that Springfield Catholic officials are disclosing credible child sex abuse allegations against Fr. Michael Kolodziej who belongs to a religious order called the Franciscans and who worked in Chicopee.

Far too often, bishops let religious order clerics into their dioceses but suddenly pretend they have no responsibility for them when they assault kids.

We are disappointed, however, that Bishop Timothy McDonnell is apparently having a notice about Fr. Kolodziej read at only one parish. Child molesting clerics don’t spend 100% of their time at their parish assignment. And they don’t just molest kids at the church where they happen to be working.

We strongly suspect that Fr. Kolodziej spent at least some time at three or four Springfield area parishes. We believe the notice should be read at churches throughout the diocese and posted in their bulletins.

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POLAND
The News

Poland’s attorney general has received investigation files concerning two Polish clerics accused of child abuse in the Dominican Republic.

“A cursory look at them has confirmed that they will be of value in the case, as we had hoped,” said Maciej Kujawski, spokesman for the attorney general.

The 650 documents have been passed on to the district prosecutor’s office in Warsaw, but the office has declined to reveal whether any extradition request has been made.

“All the documents are in Spanish, and we cannot refer to their contents until the translation has been carried out,” said Przemyslaw Nowak, spokesman for the office.

At present, Poland has no extradition agreement with the Caribbean republic.

Father Wojciech Gil, who in recent months has been staying with family in a village near Krakow, stands accused of sexually abusing at least seven boys while he headed a parish in the highland town of Juncalito.

Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, former Vatican nuncio in the Dominican Republic, faces similar accusations, although his current whereabouts are unknown.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

November 7, 2013

By Rich Lord / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

After 10 years of downloading Internet pornography and periodic trips to Thailand to meet teenage boys, retired priest David F. Dzermejko faces a potential three to four years in prison following his guilty plea today.

Mr. Dzermejko, 65, now of Braddock, was formerly the pastor of Mary, Mother of the Church in Charleroi. He pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography.

In January 2013, he was living in an apartment provided by the Diocese of Pittsburgh near Bishop Canevin High School. A detective with the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office got a tip from Microsoft Corp. that someone at that address, who used the online moniker “Lord Winchester Cuthberg Thurston VII” and an email address that included “DAWizard2” had uploaded an image of a naked, pre-pubescent child, according to assistant U.S. attorney Carolyn Bloch.

Agents assigned to the Crimes Against Children Task Force searched the apartment and Mr. Dzermejko admitted to looking at child pornography on the Internet for a decade, Ms. Bloch said. He also told agents that he had traveled “to Thailand on numerous occasions during which he would meet with teenage boys,” said the prosecutor, adding that he kept in touch with some of them through email.

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CONNECTICUT
Washington Post

Conn. college, others face more sex abuse lawsuits involving founder of Haiti school

By Associated Press, Updated: Thursday, November 7

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Fairfield University in Connecticut and others that supported a charity designed to help feed and educate boys in Haiti are facing additional lawsuits alleging children were sexually abused by a school founder.

The 21 new federal lawsuits, filed Thursday in Connecticut, allege the defendants, who also include the Society of Jesus of New England and others, were negligent in their hiring and supervision of Douglas Perlitz. The suits seek $20 million in damages for each victim.

The university and others reached a $12 million settlement in July with children sexually abused by Perlitz. He was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison for sexually abusing boys who attended Project Pierre Toussaint School in Cap-Haitien.

Stanley Twardy Jr., an attorney for Fairfield University, declined to comment. A message left with a Jesuit spokeswoman was not immediately returned.

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NEW YORK
Daily Voice

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Amanda Iles, a former teacher at Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, has been charged with rape of a 14-year-old boy while she was an employee at the school.

Between June 11 and July 14, 2013, Iles allegedly engaged in sexual encounters with the boy in Eastchester, according to a Westchester District Attorney release.

Iles reportedly knew the boy was a student at the school. The boy’s parents became aware of the encounters and contacted Yonkers police.

“As a teacher, this defendant was in a position of trust and authority,” District Attorney Janet DiFiore said in the statement. “In becoming involved with a student incapable of consent, she abused that privilege.”

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NEW YORK
Daily Voice

by Eric Gendron

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains said in a statement on Wednesday that the alleged improper relationship between Amanda Iles and a 14-year-old student happened after Iles resigned her position.

“We are deeply concerned with matters involving the well-being of our students who are our top priority,” spokesman Geoff Thompson said in the statement. “Stepinac has and will continue to fully cooperate with any investigation into this matter.”

Thompson reiterated that the investigation of the relationship is looking into dates after the last day of school at Stepinac.

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NEW YORK
PIX 11

A former teacher at a Westchester Catholic high school is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old student.

Amanda Iles, 27, was a teacher at Archbishop Stepinac High School, an all-boys school in White Plains.

According to authorities, the boy’s parents discovered he was having an inappropriate relationship with Illes and contacted Yonkers police. Illes and the boy allegedly had several sexual encounters between June 11 and July 14 of 2013.

Illes moved back to California recently but returned to New York to surrender to Eastchester police Wednesday morning.

“As a teacher, this defendant was in a position of trust and authority. In becoming involved with a student incapable of consent, she abused that privilege. Multi-jurisdictional detective work by police quickly led to the identification and arrest of the defendant,” said District Attorney Janet DiFiore in a statement.

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NEW YORK
CBS New York

WESTCHESTER, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) – A former teacher at a Catholic school in White Plains is under arrest for allegedly having sex with a teenage student, prosecutors said.

Between June 11 and July 14, prosecutors said Amanda Iles, 27, engaged in sexual encounters with a boy who was then 14. The boy was a student at Archbishop Stepinac High School where Iles taught religion, prosecutors said.

The victim’s parents became aware of the alleged encounters and contacted police.

Iles has been living in California, but returned and surrendered to authorities in Eastchester, 1010 WINS reported.

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NEW YORK
WABC

WHITE PLAINS (WABC) — A former high school religious teacher in Westchester County is accused of raping a teenage boy.

Amanda Iles is charged with two counts of rape.

Police say she had sex with a 14-year-old student over the summer.

At the time, she was a teacher in the religion department at Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains.

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NEW YORK
Digital Journal

By Brett Wilkins
Nov 7, 2013

White Plains – A former teacher at a private Catholic boys’ high school in suburban New York accused of raping a 14-year-old student has turned herself in to authorities.

NBC New York reports 27-year-old Amanda Iles, formerly a teacher in the religion department at Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, surrendered to police on Wednesday morning after returning to New York from California.

Lohud.com reports Iles was arraigned on two counts of second-degree rape for incidents investigators say occurred at her Eastchester home following the end of the last school year in June. The boy’s parents notified police after learning of the alleged illicit sexual relationship.

Assistant District Attorney Frank Luis said investigators have photo and video evidence of the illicit affair. Police said the evidence shows the couple engaged in sexual activity.

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NEW YORK
Gothamist

A woman who taught at an all-boys Catholic high school in Yonkers surrendered to the police yesterday after allegedly raping a teen student. Amanda Iles, 27, had moved to California but returned to New York to face rape charges.

Iles is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old student between June 11 and July 14 of this year. She resigned from her job in the religious studies department at Archbishop Stepinac High School before the alleged rape occurred. According to the Ossining Daily Voice, “Iles reportedly knew the boy was a student at the school. The boy’s parents became aware of the encounters and contacted Yonkers police.” The encounters allegedly took place in Eastchester.

Westchester DA Janet DiFiore said, “As a teacher, this defendant was in a position of trust and authority. In becoming involved with a student incapable of consent, she abused that privilege.”

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NEW YORK
News 12

[with video]

WHITE PLAINS – A former religion teacher at an all-boys Catholic school in White Plains has been accused of raping a 14-year-old boy.

Amanda Iles, who once taught at Stepinac High School, allegedly had sex with the Yonkers boy between June and July of this year. Investigators say she and the teen had several encounters at her home in Eastchester.

The boy’s parents allegedly learned of the incidents through cellphone video of their son’s visits. Iles tutored him twice a week after school.

Iles was employed by the school for only a year before resigning and moving to California. News 12 has learned that the student is no longer enrolled at the school.

School officials released a statement, saying they “are deeply concerned with matters involving the well-being of our students, who are our top priority.”

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MINNESOTA
Jeff Anderson and Associates

Alan Michaud, another Kern survivor, will speak publicly about reporting Kern to Fr. Kevin McDonough and Archdiocesan Officials in the early 1990s

Summons and Complaint
Father Jerome Kern Timeline
Heutmakers to Your Excellency
Memo from O’Connell 6-15-1987
O’Connell to Jemez Springs 6-17-1987
Memo from Kenney to O’Connell 11-17-1987
O’Connell to Gary Schoener 11-30-1987
Kern to Families 3-28-1988
Memo from Roach to Carlson, Ham, O’Connell, McDonough 2-23-1989

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MINNESITA
Star Tribune

[the lawsuit]

Article by: JEAN HOPFENSPERGER and TONY KENNEDY , Star Tribune staff writers
Updated: November 7, 2013

A Catholic priest who was sued more than a decade ago for alleged sexual abuse of a child was sued again Thursday on behalf of another victim for abuse that allegedly took place after the priest was moved to an Edina parish in the mid-1970s.

The lawsuit in Ramsey County District Court against the Rev. Jerome C. Kern also names the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis on civil charges related to placing Kern around children in parish settings. The suit alleges that the archdiocese moved the priest to Our Lady of Grace Church in Edina in the early 1970s after parents of two young teenage boys at St. Mark’s Church in St. Paul complained to archdiocese officials that Kern molested the boys during a swimming outing at Lake Nokomis in the summer of 1969.

The lawsuit said that Kern later sexually abused a boy at Our Lady of Grace from 1972 through 1976, when the child was 12 to 16 years old, according to the lawsuit. Jeff Anderson and Mike Finnegan, the St. Paul attorneys who filed Thursday’s lawsuit, said the victim, now in his 50s, approached them recently about his experience in the wake of media coverage of priest sexual misconduct and reported coverups by the archdiocese.

The Kern lawsuit is at least the 19th filed against Minnesota Catholic clergy and leaders since a new state law took effect in late May. The law lifted the statute of limitations for lawsuits claiming clergy sexual abuse of children and it provides a three-year window for litigation of previously barred claims.

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.

ITALY
The Guardian (UK)

Tom Kington in Rome

The Guardian, Thursday 7 November 2013
The holy reputation of an Italian religious order that has nursed the sick since 1582 has taken a body blow after its leader was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and corruption.

Father Renato Salvatore, head of the Camillians, which offers medical care in 30 countries, is accused of hiring corrupt policemen to take two rival priests into custody on trumped-up accusations to stop them voting against his re-election.

Bearing red crosses on their cassocks, Camillians have tended to victims of plagues and wars through the centuries, inspired by their founder, Saint Camillus, an Italian soldier turned priest who described a hospital as “a house of God, a garden where the voices of the sick were music from heaven”.

The order also manages hospitals, and investigators believe Salvatore’s desire to control lucrative construction contracts, including at one hospital in Casoria, near Naples, pushed him to try to fix his re-election in May.

Working with an accountant, Paolo Oliviero, it is alleged, Salvatore convinced two tax police officers to haul in two priests, Rosario Messina and Antonio Puca, for questioning about property deals on the day of ballot, seizing their mobile phones to prevent them from alerting the order.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
UTV

A Catholic priest who was jailed for sexually abusing three young girls more than 40 years ago is to continue his fight to clear his name at the UK’s highest court.

In 2010, Father Eugene Lewis was handed a four-year jail sentence following his abuse convictions.

He was freed last year, however, after partially winning his appeal and having the jail term reduced to two years and nine months.

The 78-year-old has already successfully appealed three of the 11 indecent assault charges he was convicted of.

On Thursday, senior judges in Belfast refused to endorse his application to challenge the remaining convictions at the Supreme Court.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
BBC News

A Catholic priest jailed for sexually abusing young girls more than 40 years ago is to take his fight to clear his name to the UK’s highest court.

Fr Eugene Lewis has already successfully appealed three of 11 indecent assault charges he was found guilty of committing.

Senior judges in Belfast have denied his application to go before the Supreme Court on the remaining counts.

But his lawyers confirmed he will now make a direct petition for a hearing.

They argue a point of law of general public importance has been established.

In 2010 the 78-year-old priest was sentenced to four years in prison for molesting three girls.

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BALTIMORE (MD)
Fox 45

Updated: Thursday, November 7 2013

A priest at the Archdiocese of Baltimore and former High School teacher has been accused of sexual abuse of a minor. Father Kolodziej, 69, has been suspended from all public ministry and the Archbishop has withdrawn Fr. Kolodziej’s faculties to function as a priest in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Kolodziej was a teacher at Archbishop Curley High School from 1975-79.

A former student from this time period has alleged that he was abused on several occasions while Kolodziej wrestled him. The allegations were reported to authorities by Archbishop Curley High School.

“The Archdiocese of Baltimore, the Order, and Archbishop Curley High School are unaware of any other allegations of misconduct against Fr. Kolodziej during his time at Archbishop Curley High School,” The Archdiocese of Baltimore said in a statement released on Thursday.

“Anyone who has any knowledge of child sexual abuse is urged to come forward, and to report it immediately to the police. If clergy or other Church personnel are suspected of committing the abuse, please also call the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Office of Child and Youth Protection at 410-547-5348.”

After serving at Archbishop Curley High School, Kolodziej served as teacher and assistant principal at St. Francis High School in Athol Springs, NY (1979-82), principal at Cardinal O’Hara High School in Tonawanda, NY (1982-88), pastor at Holy Trinity Parish in Lawrence, MA (1988-91), rector at St. Stanislaus Basilica in Chicopee, MA (1991-2001), Minister Provincial of the Order in Ellicott City, MD (2001-2010), and parochial vicar at St. Philip Benizi Parish in Jonesboro, GA from 2010 until his recent suspension.

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MASSACHUSETTS
iBerkshires

12:33PM / Thursday, November 07, 2013

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield has released the following statement regarding allegations of sexual abuse by the Rev. Michael Kolodziej, who was assigned to St. Stanislaus Basilica in Chicopee between 1991 and 2001. The diocese is urging anyone with knowledge of sexual abuse of a minor by any member of the clergy or other church personnel to contact Patricia McManamy, LSW, victim assistance coordinator for the Diocese of Springfield at 1-800-842-9055.

Statement Regarding Father Michael Kolodziej

The Archdiocese of Baltimore, the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, and Archbishop Curley High School have received an allegation of the sexual abuse of a minor by Father Michael Kolodziej (kuh-low-jay), OFM Conv. Kolodziej is a member and former Minister Provincial of the Order, which has staffed Archbishop Curley High School since its founding.

Kolodziej, age 69, was a teacher at Archbishop Curley High School from 1975-79. A former student from this time period has alleged that he was abused on several occasions while Kolodziej wrestled him. Archbishop Curley High School reported the allegation immediately to authorities, and the police were promptly informed; the School, the Order, and the Archdiocese, which owns Archbishop Curley High School, are cooperating fully with authorities. The Order has suspended Kolodziej from all public ministry and the Archbishop has withdrawn Kolodziej’s faculties to function as a priest in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore, the Order, and Archbishop Curley High School are unaware of any other allegations of misconduct against Kolodziej during his time at Archbishop Curley High School.

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.

MARYLAND
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore

November 07, 2013

The Archdiocese of Baltimore, the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, and Archbishop Curley High School have received an allegation of the sexual abuse of a minor by Fr. Michael Kolodziej (kuh-low-jay), OFM Conv. Father Kolodziej is a member and former Minister Provincial of the Order, which has staffed Archbishop Curley High School since its founding.

Father Kolodziej, age 69, was a teacher at Archbishop Curley High School from 1975-79. A former student from this time period has alleged that he was abused on several occasions while Fr. Kolodziej wrestled him. Archbishop Curley High School reported the allegation immediately to authorities, and the police were promptly informed; the School, the Order, and the Archdiocese, which owns Archbishop Curley High School, are cooperating fully with authorities. The Order has suspended Fr. Kolodziej from all public ministry and the Archbishop has withdrawn Fr. Kolodziej’s faculties to function as a priest in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore, the Order, and Archbishop Curley High School are unaware of any other allegations of misconduct against Fr. Kolodziej during his time at Archbishop Curley High School.

Fr. Kolodziej was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Buffalo in 1970 and served in Buffalo as a hospital chaplain (1970), associate pastor and school director at St. Mary of Sorrows Church (1970-71), and teacher at Bishop Turner High School and Villa Maria College (1971-74) until he entered the Franciscan Order in 1974. After serving at Archbishop Curley High School, Fr. Kolodziej served as teacher and assistant principal at St. Francis High School in Athol Springs, NY (1979-82), principal at Cardinal O’Hara High School in Tonawanda, NY (1982-88), pastor at Holy Trinity Parish in Lawrence, MA (1988-91), rector at St. Stanislaus Basilica in Chicopee, MA (1991-2001), Minister Provincial of the Order in Ellicott City, MD (2001-2010), and parochial vicar at St. Philip Benizi Parish in Jonesboro, GA from 2010 until his recent suspension.

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.

MASSACHUSETTS
iobserve

Staff report

SPRINGFIELD – The Archdiocese of Baltimore announced today that Conventual Franciscan Father Michael Kolodziej, who served as rector of St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Basilica in Chicopee from 1991 to 2001, has been accused of sexually abusing a student at Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore in the 1970s.

Because Father Kolodziej was assigned to a local parish, the Diocese of Springfield also is publishing the notice below and urging anyone with knowledge of sexual abuse of a minor by any member of the clergy or other church personnel to contact Patricia McManamy, victim assistance coordinator for the Springfield Diocese, at 1-800-842-9055.

A copy of the notification also will be distributed at all Masses this weekend at St. Stanislaus Basilica.

The full text of the official announcement follows:

“The Archdiocese of Baltimore, the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, and Archbishop Curley High School have received an allegation of the sexual abuse of a minor by Fr. Michael Kolodziej (kuh-low-jay), OFM Conv. Father Kolodziej is a member and former Minister Provincial of the Order, which has staffed Archbishop Curley High School since its founding.

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MASSACHUSETTS
The Republican

By Anne-Gerard Flynn, The Republican
on November 07, 2013

The following information has been released by Mark Dupont, communications director of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, about a sexual abuse allegation against the Rev. Michael Kolodziej, who spent 10 years at St. Stanislaus Parish in Chicopee. Kolodziej spent a year at St. Stanislaus as pastor, and principal of its kndergarten-to-eighth-grade school, prior to his appointment as provincial of the St. Anthony of Padua Province, in 2001

Before being stationed at St. Stanislaus, Kolodziej spent three years as a pastor of Holy Trinity Church in Lawrence. He also served as a teacher and principal in eastern New York state.

He was ordained in Buffalo, N.Y.

“Because Fr. Michael Kolodziej was assigned to St. Stanislaus Basilica in Chicopee between 1991 and 2001, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, is also publishing the notice below, and urging anyone with knowledge of sexual abuse of a minor by any member of the clergy or other Church personnel to contact Patricia McManamy, license social worker and victim assistance coordinator for the Diocese of Springfield at (1-800) 842-9055.

A copy of this notification will also be distributed at all Masses this weekend at St. Stanislaus Basilica.”

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MASSACHUSETTS
WWLP

By Anthony Fay
Updated: Thursday, November 7, 2013

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – The Diocese of Springfield is alerting parishioners of a Chicopee church that a priest once stationed there has been accused of sexually abusing a minor back in the 1970’s.

Mark Dupont, spokesperson for the Diocese of Springfield notified 22News that an accusation of abuse has been made in Maryland against Franciscan Fr. Michael Kolodziej. The priest had been stationed at St. Stanislaus Basilica in Chicopee from 1991 to 2001.

According to a news release from the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Kolodziej is accused of abusing a student while he was a teacher at Archbishop Curley High School, an all-boys Franciscan school in Baltimore. The student says that the abuse happened on several occasions between 1975 and 1979 when Kolodziej would wrestle with him.

In response to the allegation, the Franciscan Order has suspended Kolodziej from all public duties as a priest.

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PENNSYLVANIA
The Republic

By JOE MANDAK Associated Press
November 07, 2013 – 12:35 pm EST

PITTSBURGH — A Roman Catholic priest removed from public ministry in 2009 after an allegation of past child sex abuse pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal charge of possessing child pornography, and a diocesan official said the clergyman could be removed from the priesthood entirely or be assigned to a life of “prayer and penance” by the Vatican.

The Rev. David Dzermejko, 65, of Braddock, faces a likely term of more than three years in federal prison when he is sentenced March 20, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Bloch. The priest and his attorney declined to comment after Thursday’s hearing.

Dzermejko was the longtime pastor of Mary, Mother of the Church parish in Charleroi when he was removed from active ministry. He never was criminally charged in the alleged abuse, which dated to the 1980s and involved another parish. The allegations surfaced in 2009 when a couple accused Dzermejko of molesting their son, who had since died. Another man came forward to accuse the priest after seeing news reports about the couple’s claims.

Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik determined the allegations were sufficient to remove Dzermejko from priestly duties after a diocesan review board deemed them “credible.”

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.

PENNSYLVANIA
WTAE

PITTSBURGH —A Pittsburgh-area Roman Catholic priest removed from public ministry in 2009 after an allegation of past child sex abuse later deemed “credible” by his bishop has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of possessing child pornography.

The Rev. David Dzermejko once posted “shame” signs on a church building after it was vandalized. Now, he faces federal charges for what the bishop calls “heinous” allegations.

Prosecutors say The Rev. David Dzermejko faces a likely term of more than three years in federal prison when he is sentenced March 20. He and his attorney declined comment Thursday.

The 64-year-old priest now lives in Braddock but was pastor of Mary, Mother of the Church parish in Charleroi when he was removed four years ago.

Dzermejko was never criminally charged in the alleged abuse, which dated to the 1980s and involved another parish.

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IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

07 NOVEMBER 2013

Some survivors of the Magdalene laundries will be paid tax free compensation before Christmas, it has been revealed.

Lump sums will be paid over the next four to six weeks to some of the 205 women who have agreed to a payment ranging from 11,500 euro to 100,000 euro.

The maximum one-off payment will be 50,000 euro with any remaining money to be paid in weekly instalments over a year.

But the Magdalene Survivors Together group, which includes about 100 women, claimed their concerns over the low level of some lump sums and weekly instalments are not being taken on board.

“The women aren’t being listened to, the Government have let them down,” he said.

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ARIZONA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

Child sex offender is music minister
Man pled guilty in 2000 to molesting girls
He did prison time and is still on probation
Now, musician heads group that performs in churches
SNAP fears he may have hurt or may be hurting AZ kids

What:
Holding signs and childhood photos, child sex abuse victims and their supporters will pass out leaflets at a Tucson church where a convicted sex offender now works. The leaflets will warn church members about the music minister, who pled guilty in 2000 to two counts of child molestation, and urge them to

–demand his immediate removal, and
–talk to their kids about the sex offender.

When:
Sunday, November 10 at 11:15 a.m.

Where:
Outside of Dove of Peace Lutheran Church, 665 W. Roller Coaster Rd (at Oracle) in Tucson

Who:
Members and supporters of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, (SNAPNetwork.org) the nation’s largest support network for men and women abused in religious and institutional settings, including a California woman who is the group’s volunteer Western Regional Director

Why:
This week, members of SNAP learned that Eric Holtan, a music minister at Dove of Peace Lutheran Church in Tucson church http://www.doveofpeacetucson.org/ plead guilty in 2000 to two counts of child sexual abuse involving two girls in Duluth, Minnesota. Holtan served two years in prison and is still on probation. As a part of his probation, he is supposed to have no unsupervised contact with underage females.

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IRELAND
RTE News

The Government has agreed details for the implementation of the Magdalene redress scheme.

Minister for Justice Alan Shatter said 250 applications had already been processed and around 600 applications have been received to date.

Mr Shatter said he would hope that provisional offers of payments would be made in the next four to six weeks.

Eligible women are entitled to a lump-sum payment of between €11,500 and €100,000, with amounts over €50,000 to be paid by weekly instalments.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Riverfront Times

By Lindsay Toler Thu., Nov. 7 2013

St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson asked a judge to immediately dismiss a lawsuit from the family of a teenage girl who claims he failed to prevent her molestation by Father Xiu Hui “Joseph” Jiang.

Circuit Judge Chris Kunza Mennemeyer did not immediately dismiss the case, which accuses Carlson of tampering with witnesses by asking the victim’s family to return hush money paid by Jiang.

The archdiocese put Jiang on administrative leave last summer after he was charged with first-degree child endangerment for allegedly fondling a teenage girl on four occasions.

See also: Father Joseph Jiang: Supporters of St. Louis Priest Accused of Molestation Launch Website

Court filings say Jiang, who was a close friend of the victim’s family, offered to pay “any amount of money” to ignore the abuse, eventually leaving a $20,000 check for them on their van.

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POLSKA
Super Express

[Summary: The Dominican Republic prosecutor has completed an investigation of alleged pedophilia by Archbishop Jozeph Wesolowski and has sent all materials to the Vatican. The Vatican when it began investigation in August did not have enough material yet to charge the suspect. Vatican authorities have said there is no chance the archbishop will be transferred to Polish authorities.]

Według informacji podanych przez rzeczniczkę dominikańskiej prokuratury Tessie Sanchez, Prokuratura Generalna na Dominikanie zakończyła śledztwo ws. podejrzewanego o pedofilię abp. Józefa Wesołowskiego. Wszystkie materiały zostały przesłane do Watykanu.

Sprawa abp. Wesołowskiego badana jest od sierpnia przez Kongregację Nauki i Wiary. Według informacji TVN24 Watykan nie dysponował dotychczas materiałami wystarczającymi do postawienia zarzutów podejrzanemu.

Czytaj też: Ksiądz pedofil rozgrzeszał seksem! Sąd dał mu drugą szansę…

Sprawę polskiego duchownego bada również polska prokuratura, która wysłała do Watykanu wniosek o pomoc prawną w sprawie abp. Wesołowskiego. W rozmowie z “tvn24.pl” watykańscy duchowni powtarzali, że nie ma szans na to, by arcybiskup Józef Wesołowski został przekazany polskim władzom. Nikt w Watykanie nie wyda zgody na ekstradycję tutejszego obywatela i dyplomaty.

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COLORADO
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013

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

We are deeply grateful to Boulder authorities for charging two church staff and two church officials with “duty to report child abuse.”

[9 News]

[Daily Camera]

All too often, church employees and members selfishly try to handle known or suspected child sex crimes privately. All too often, they foolishly put the reputation of their institution above the well-being of the innocent.

And all too often, prosecutors go after the “low hanging fruit” – the child molester himself or herself, and they turn a blind eye to the “enablers” – the church colleagues who ignored or hid suspicions or knowledge of the horror.

If kids are to be protected from predators, we must aggressively report and pursue every single adult who refused to call 911 at the first hint of possible child sex crimes.

We can deter cover ups. We can prevent abuse. We can stop a child molester after his or her third victim, instead of after his or her 33rd victim.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

By Harold Brubaker, Inquirer Staff Writer
POSTED: November 06, 2013

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia plans to freeze the traditional pension for about 8,500 parochial school teachers, church office workers, and other lay employees, church officials said Tuesday.

The change, designed to keep the plan’s estimated $150 million deficit from increasing and whittling it down over time, will take effect June 30, after which current employees will no longer accrue benefits under the plan.

The pension plan, known as a defined benefit plan because it guarantees a certain benefit to participants, had $478 million in assets June 30, 2012, about 76 percent of what it needed to meet its projected long-term obligations of $630 million.

“This action isn’t being taken to resolve a short-term concern,” Timothy O’Shaughnessy, chief financial officer for the archdiocese, said in an interview. The plan has enough money to continue paying retiree benefits for years.

“The shortfall of $150 million is an issue that needs to be dealt with for the long term, both for the plan and for the archdiocese,” O’Shaughnessy said.

Rita C. Schwartz, president of the labor union that represents 650 teachers in archdiocesan high schools, said the move was not surprising, given the financial restructuring underway at the archdiocese in the last year.

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AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

Cultural differences allow paedophiles to escape the law, says child sex abuse investigator Chris O’Connor

PAEDOPHILES from some ethnic groups in Australia are avoiding capture because of a cultural reluctance to report the abuse.

“I can’t recall the last person of black nationality who was charged with serial sexual assaults on kids,” Det-Sen-Sgt Chris O’Connor said yesterday.

Sen-Sgt O’Connor, one of Australia’s leading child sexual abuse experts, said common sense suggested paedophilia was just as common in ethnic groups as it was among white Anglo-Saxons,

He is calling for urgent research to be carried out into the problem.

Sen-Sgt O’Connor said the ethnic groups who should be targeted would probably claim it was racist to single them out.

But he urged authorities to ignore the complaints and not bow to political correctness by refusing to probe the paedophilia problem just because of the cultures and races involved.

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MINNESOTA
St. Paul Area Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

[Archdiocese led lobby to stop abuse law change – Star Tribune]

November 5, 2013

Dear Partners in Ministry:

Today’s Star Tribune carried an article about the Minnesota Religious Council and the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, in which it identified the six ELCA synods in Minnesota as members of the Minnesota Religious Council (MRC). The article described the MRC’s lobbying effort against recent legislation that changed the statute of limitations on claims of child sexual abuse. Tony Kennedy, the reporter, spoke with me last week, and I sought to provide accurate information about our involvement.

I think it could be helpful for me to provide you with some perspective so that you are better able to interpret these matters to parishioners and others and to remind you of how we in the ELCA view and respond to matters of misconduct.

I will focus on three arenas: the Minnesota Religious Council; the concerns we had about the proposed legislation; and how the ELCA responds to misconduct and abuse issues.

The Minnesota Religious Council

While records are sketchy and the origin of the MRC pre-dates me and the current ELCA bishops, it is my understanding that the MRC was originally formed when leadership of several church bodies came together in the early 1990s to discuss the concern of sexual abuse and clergy misconduct and how church bodies can properly respond to and seek to prevent such misconduct. The initial group included Roman Catholics, Lutherans (both ELCA and LC-MS), Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Methodists, and maybe others. Later, faced with lobbying by attorneys and others hoping to change state laws, the MRC became a forum for discussing and responding to proposed legislation aimed at the statutes of limitations for bringing suit against perpetrators and institutions. (See next section.)

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MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

[with copy of the memo]

Internal memo shows church dispute
Lutherans say they were “unaware” of costs
And they’re refusing to pay for expensive lobbying
Dispute stems from Catholic-led effort against child sex victims

For immediate release: Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013

For more information: David Clohessy of St. Louis, SNAP Director (314) 566-9790 cell, SNAPclohessy@aol.com

A Protestant church official claims, in an internal memo written this week, that he and his colleagues were kept in the dark about an expensive but unsuccessful Catholic-led lobbying against a Minnesota child safety law.

The memo, sent by Lutheran Bishop Peter Rogness on November 5 to the Saint Paul Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, was written as a response to a Star Tribune headlined “Archdiocese led lobby to stop abuse law change.”

[Star Tribune]

In the memo, Rogness claims that “records are sketchy” but “the cost of the lobbying” against the Child Victims Act “was an expenditure of which we Lutherans were unaware.”

(A copy of the memo, obtained by SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is below.)

And Rogness says “In recent months, we were surprised by a request that we help pay for costs which we had neither authorized nor budgeted, and therefore have not paid.”

Leaders of SNAP, say they’re “not surprised” that Catholic officials didn’t disclose lobbying costs to the Lutherans.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Times Union

By JOE MANDAK, Associated Press
Updated 8:12 am, Thursday, November 7, 2013

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A Pittsburgh-area Roman Catholic priest who was removed from public ministry in 2009 after an allegation of past child sex abuse later deemed “credible” by his bishop is set to change his not guilty plea to a federal charge of possessing child pornography.

The Rev. David Dzermejko’s (jer-MAY’-kohs) defense attorney didn’t immediately respond to calls about whether the priest will plead guilty or no contest when he appears before a federal judge Thursday morning.

The 64-year-old priest now lives in Braddock but was pastor of Mary, Mother of the Church parish in Charleroi when he was removed four years ago.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Telegram & Gazette

By Victor D. Infante, TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Rome is a long way from Uxbridge, but for local filmmaker and Uxbridge native Skip Shea, the journey proved worthwhile. Not only did his short horror film, “Ave Maria,” walk away from the 2013 Interiora Horror Film Festival with the Premio Del Pubblico, or audience award, at the film festival, he got to make a deeply personal artistic statement while doing so.

Shea, an open and vocal survivor of clergy abuse, was able to screen the film —which is to a great degree fueled by the rage and pain of his experiences — on the Vatican’s doorstep.

” There was a satisfaction in showing this in Rome,” says Shea. “I know people who are dead because of clergy sexual abuse, who killed themselves. In a lot of ways, I carry their ghosts with me. I wanted to make a stand there, to say that I’m alive and that they can’t do anything to me. To tell other survivors that they don’t have any control or power over you. There’s just none.”

“Ave Maria” is the sequel to Shea’s first short horror film, “Microcinema,” both featuring a character named Missy, who exacts a harsh brand of justice on men who prey on women.

“I wanted to change the formula of the rape revenge movie,” says Shea. “I wanted to make the woman not be a victim at all when she gets justice. An ‘avenging angel’ kind of character.”

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MINNESOTA
Jeff Anderson and Associates

[Assignment Record – Rev. Jerome C. Kern via BishopAccountability.org]

Alan Michaud, another Kern survivor, will speak publicly about reporting Kern to Fr. Kevin McDonough and Archdiocesan Officials in the early 1990s

WHAT: At a news conference Thursday in St. Paul, clergy sexual abuse attorneys Jeff Anderson and Mike Finnegan will:

• Announce the filing of a sexual abuse lawsuit on behalf of a man in his 50s, Doe 26, naming Father Jerome C. Kern and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis as defendants. Doe 26 was sexually abused from 12-16 years old while a parishioner at Our Lady of Grace in Edina, Minnesota. The lawsuit was filed in Ramsey County District Court and alleges the Archdiocese was negligent in allowing Kern to continue working with children despite receiving reports of misconduct as early as 1969. Kern remained in ministry until 2002.

• Introduce Alan Michaud, a survivor who was sexually abused by Father Kern and met with then-Vicar General Kevin McDonough in the early 1990s. Michaud will share and detail his experience and the broken promises made by Archdiocesan Officials to remove Kern from ministry.

• Again demand the release of a list that contains 33 names of priests with credible allegations of sexual abuse.

WHEN: Thursday, November 7, 2013 at 11:00 AM CST

WHERE: Law Office of Jeff Anderson & Associates
366 Jackson Street
Suite 100
St. Paul, MN 55101

WHO: Sexual Abuse Attorneys Jeff Anderson and Mike Finnegan will release internal documents and memos exchanged by top Archdiocesan officials pertaining to Father Jerome C. Kern as well as discuss Doe 26’s recent lawsuit filed in Ramsey County. Alan Michaud, a courageous sexual abuse survivor, will recount his meetings and the actions taken by church officials after he reported Father Kern’s abuse.

Notes:
• Information packets and copies of the complaint will be available at the press conference.
• Father Jerome Kern worked in parishes in St. Paul, Edina, Minnetonka and Forest Lake, Minnesota from 1966-2002. Kern’s last two jobs included assignments at churches where there was a school and religious education program for children.

Contact Jeff Anderson: Office/651.237.5143 Mobile/612.817.8665
Contact Mike Finnegan: Office/651.237.5143 Mobile/612.205.5531

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AUSTRALIA
Broken Rites

By a Broken Rites researcher (article updated on 7 November 2013)

A former Catholic priest (aged 60 in 2013), who is charged with sexual offences against children in towns (including Moree and Armidale) in northern New South Wales, appeared in Armidale Local Court again on 6 November 2013 for an administrative procedure. The prosecutors and the defence have reached “substantial agreement” in relation to the facts regarding nine of the eleven alleged victims and the defence team is expected to submit a written plea-offer in relation to these nine, the court was told. There might need to be a trial regarding the tenth and eleventh victims.

The ex-priest is charged with a total of 138 sexual offences against boys and girls.

These charges relate only to those alleged victims who have spoken to a special team of detectives (named Strike Force Glenroe) in the NSW Police. The investigation is continuing and detectives are prepared to hear from any more persons who have information about this matter.

The court decided to continue (until further notice) a non-publication order regarding the ex-priest’s name and residential details. This non-publication order can be reviewed at an approprite stage in the prosecution process.

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ROME
Zenit

Rome, November 07, 2013 (Zenit.org)

Cardinal Velasio De Paolis, Pontifical Delegate of the Legionaries of Christ, has accepted the resignation of Fr. Deomar De Guedes LC, a general counselor of the order.

Fr. De Guedes said he resigned from the Council because he did not have the necessary energy to confront the challenges of the position.

Fr. De Guedes had asked the Pontifical Delegate to be exclaustrated from the Legion, but Cardinal De Paolis granted him permission to resign “extra domum,” meaning Fr. De Guedes may reside outside of the religious community for one year. The Cardinal asked Fr. De Guedes to re-evaluate his situation during that year in light of the new superiors who will be elected in the next General Chapter.

The General Chapter will begin on January 8, 2014, and is an important step in the Legion’s renewal and purification process called for by Pope Benedict XVI and confirmed by Pope Francis.

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MINNESOTA
KAAL

The Minnesota Supreme Court overturned an Appeals Court decision granting a new trial for a former Catholic priest convicted of criminal sexual conduct in 2011.

Former Catholic Priest, Christopher Wenthe, admitted in court he had sex with a 21-year-old woman who attended his St. Paul Parish.

But, his attorneys argued the relationship was consensual and was not in the context of his role a religious counselor. The Minnesota Court of Appeals overturned his conviction and ordered a new trial saying there was an entanglement of law and religious doctrine protected under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

But, the state appealed to the Minnesota Supreme Court and Wednesday the state’s highest court struck down the Appeals Court ruling and upheld Wenthe’s conviction.

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

AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

By JOANNE McCARTHY Nov. 7, 2013

FORMER Anglican Dean of Newcastle Graeme Lawrence and another priest must pay a diocese legal bill of more than $450,000 after failing to overturn sexual misconduct findings against them.

Mr Lawrence declined to say how the bill to the diocese’s insurer would be paid, other than: ‘‘That’s to be worked out’’.

But he ruled out bankruptcy, saying it was ‘‘not an option’’.

Mr Lawrence and former Cardiff priest Graeme Sturt must pay the bulk of a legal bill of about $550,000 to the diocese’s insurer after a cost assessor’s recent decision.

This was in addition to their own legal costs of more than $200,000 after an unsuccessful appeal to the NSW Supreme Court to quash sexual misconduct findings against them.

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NEDERLAND
knr

– Vandaag boden de Katholieke Kerk en slachtofferkoepel KLOKK aan minister Opstelten een rapport aan over de stand van zaken rond de aanpak van seksueel misbruik in de Katholieke Kerk.

Het rapport werd gezamenlijk aangeboden door de voorzitters van de Bisschoppenconferentie, de KNR en KLOKK: kardinaal Eijk, broeder Van Dam, de heer Klabbers. Op 15 mei 2013 kwamen zij als voorzitters van de Bisschoppenconferentie, KNR en KLOKK overeen een gezamenlijk Voorzittersoverleg in het leven te roepen naast de al bestaande contactgroep onder voorzitterschap van Mgr. Van den Hende. Terwijl de contactgroep oplossingen zoekt voor concrete probleemdossiers waarin stagnatie is opgetreden, richt het voorzittersoverleg zich op de regelingen als zodanig die met betrekking tot het seksueel misbruik zijn getroffen.

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UNITED STATES
Headlines from the Catholic World

November 7, 2013

Washington D.C., Nov 7, 2013 / 02:24 am (CNA/EWTN News).- When bishops from across the country gather in Baltimore next week, they will consider issuing a formal statement on pornography and discuss a Spanish translation of Mass prayers, among other issues.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will hold its annual fall General Assembly Nov. 11-14.

The nation’s bishops will elect a new conference president, as Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York concludes his current presidency. They will also hear an address from Cardinal Dolan, as well as from Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

In addition, the bishops will hear a presentation for a proposal to create a formal statement on pornography, as studies continue to confirm concerns about its devastating social and spiritual effects.

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MIAMI (FL)
Miami Herald

BY HOWARD COHEN
HCOHEN@MIAMIHERALD.COM

Archbishop Thomas Wenski of the Archdiocese of Miami is on the shortlist for nomination to the presidency of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The position would make Wenski the face and the voice of the Catholic Church in the United States.

But first, Wenski has to get the nod over nine other religious leaders during an election process to be held at the bishops’ annual fall General Assembly Nov. 11-14 in Baltimore.

The position currently is held by Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York.

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

Article by: BAIRD HELGESON , Star Tribune Updated: November 6, 2013

They want a change in leadership. Nienstedt says he’ll continue to work to restore trust.

Several significant donors to the Catholic Church and Catholic causes say they no longer support Archbishop John Nienstedt and will stop giving money to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis until it has a new leader.

“His leadership has lost a lot of effectiveness,” said Jim Graves, a prominent Twin Cities hotelier and devoted Catholic. “I have nothing personally against the archbishop, but I think a change is appropriate.”

The archdiocese and Nienstedt have drawn intense criticism over the handling of allegations of sexual misconduct by priests and the archbishop said last month he is refocusing plans for a $160 million capital campaign. A feasibility study had been done to gauge support for fundraising the archdiocese described as essential.

In written responses to questions from the Star Tribune Wednesday, Nienstedt acknowledged the difficulties facing the archdiocese.

“I am sorry that many have lost confidence in me,” Nienstedt wrote. “I completely understand the sadness and frustration that is being expressed. It is my most sincere hope that the commitments and actions my leadership team and I are taking and will continue to take will restore trust with our communities.”

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ALASKA
Alaska Dispatch

Yereth Rosen
November 6, 2013

A former Anchorage church deacon was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison, with 33 months suspended, for possessing child pornography.

Donald Johnson was arrested in January after state troopers and Anchorage police traced videos of sexual assaults to his home. He could serve as little as 18 months if he qualifies for good-behavior release, officials said.

Johnson’s sentence was the result of a plea agreement struck shortly before a new Department of Law policy was put into effect to limit the scope of such agreements in serious felonies, including sexual offenses. Under the new policy, announced in July, prosecutors and defendants may not negotiate sentence terms in cases involving serious violent crimes, sexual assault, sexual abuse or domestic violence. Prosecutors and defendants may continue to negotiate over charges in such cases under the new policy, but sentences are to be determined by judges.

Johnson, a former deacon at Anchorage’s Shiloh Baptist Church, pleaded guilty to a single consolidated offense. He was originally charged with several felony counts of possession and distribution.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Mail

By AMANDA WILLIAMS

Officers working on Operation Yewtree – the police probe sparked by disgraced DJ Jimmy Savile – have earned almost half a million pounds overtime.

The cost is in addition to the £2.2million basic bill for the operation, which has led to the arrests of a string of high profile stars.

Campaign group, the Taxpayers’ Alliance, has labeled the overtime costs – racked up in just ten months – ‘scandalously large’.

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COLORADO
9 News

[with video]

LONGMONT – Boulder Police served summonses to two pastors and two elders associated with VineLife Church in Longmont after a police investigation revealed the officials failed to report a youth pastor allegedly sexually assaulted a child – who was a member of the church.

A fifth church official, who is currently out of the country, will be served a summons when he returns to Colorado.

Three tickets were served on Tuesday and one ticket was served Wednesday morning.

The victim in the case is now 23 years old. She told police the relationship with her pastor began when she was 15 years old and continued for seven years.

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COLORADO
KDVR

[with video]

November 6, 2013, by Brooke Way and Web Staff, updated on: 10:05pm, November 6, 2013

BOULDER, Colo. — Police plan to serve summonses to five church officials associated with Longmont’s VineLife Church, after investigators say a youth pastor sexually assaulted a child who was a member there.

Boulder police spokeswoman Kim Kobel said detectives served summonses to two pastors and two elders associated with the church located at 7845 Lookout Rd. A fifth church official, who is currently out of the country, will be served when they return to Colorado, according to Kobel.

Officials said 35-year-old Jason Allen Roberson, a youth pastor at VineLife, was arrested on Sept. 4 after turning himself in to the Boulder County Jail. He was charged with sex assault on a child by one in a position of trust, sexual exploitation of a child, unlawful sexual contact and stalking.

The victim in the case, now a 23-year-old woman, told police her “inappropriate” relationship with Roberson started when she was 15 years old, and continued for seven years. She said she trusted Roberson as an authority figure and spiritual guide, and felt uncomfortable disclosing the relationship to others, according to police records.

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NEW YORK
Democrat and Chronicle

Written by
Sean Dobbin
Staff writer

Saying that his first priority in Rochester would be to bring people back to Mass, Bishop Salvatore Matano implored disenfranchised Catholics to return to the church.

“Come home. We miss you. Come home. The Lord is awaiting. Come home. Because again, his arms will be open,” he said.

Matano, 67, who currently serves as the bishop of the Diocese of Burlington, Vt., has been selected by Pope Francis to become the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Rochester. He will be officially installed on Jan. 3.

The move appears to be a promotion of sorts — the Diocese of Rochester has about 350,000 people who identify themselves as Catholic, or about three times as many as those in the Diocese of Burlington. But for Matano, it’s also a fresh start, as his new home will provide some distance from the sexual abuse litigation that plagued the Diocese of Burlington during his tenure. …

Early in his remarks Matano addressed the sexual abuse scandal, which was more damaging to the church’s finances and reputation in the Diocese of Burlington than elsewhere.

“Much of my administration was dealing with these situations,” he said. “It has been a very, very painful time, a very painful time for the victims and all affected by this crisis. I want to take this opportunity again to apologize (to) the victims of sexual abuse for what they’ve endured at the hands of those who they trusted. I pray I handled those circumstances as best I could.”

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COLORADO
Huffington Post

Five church officials in Longmont, Colo. are accused of failing to report a youth pastor who allegedly sexually assaulted a minor over the course of seven years.

VineLife youth pastor Jason Allen Roberson, 35, was arrested by Boulder police on Sept. 4, but it wasn’t until this week that detectives began issuing summonses to two other pastors and two elders associated with the church following an investigation. Failing to report child abuse in Colorado is a Class 3 misdemeanor.

The identities of all but the fifth man were revealed by police on Wednesday: VineLife Church’s executive pastor Robert Phillip (“Bob”) Young, 66; pastor Luke Michael Humbrecht, 30; Edward Charles Bennell, 65; and Warren Lloyd Williams, 66. A press release by the Boulder Police says that the fifth church official is currently out of the country, but that he will also be served a summons once he returns to Colorado.

The victim, who lives in Boulder and is now 23 years old, told police the inappropriate relationship with her pastor began when she was 15 years old. According to an affidavit obtained by 7News, she said she had trusted Roberson “as an authority figure and spiritual guide, and felt uncomfortable disclosing the relationship to others.”

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COLORADO
Daily Camera

By Mitchell Byars, Camera Staff Writer
POSTED: 11/06/2013

Boulder police this week ticketed two pastors and two elders at Longmont’s VineLife Church for failing to report child abuse after investigators say they did not tell police about reports that a youth pastor at the church had sexually assaulted a child, despite evidence he “repeatedly confessed” to them.

Jason Allen Roberson, 35, is facing six felony charges after police said he had an “inappropriate relationship” with a teenage church member.

The victim, who lives in Boulder and is now 24, told police she and Roberson had an inappropriate relationship that began when she was 15 and continued for seven years.

Roberson turned himself in to police in September.

Over the course of the past two days, police ticketed two pastors and two church elders for failing to report the possible sex assault.

Executive Pastor Robert Phillip Young, 65, and Pastor Luke Michael Humbrecht, 30 were ticketed, as were church elders Edward Charles Bennell, 65, and Warren Lloyd Williams, 66.

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COLORADO
TheDenverChannel

lan Gathright
BOULDER, Colo. – Five officials at Vinelife Church in Longmont are accused of failing to report that a youth pastor had allegedly sexually assaulted a church member since she was 15 years old.

Boulder police said Wednesday detectives have served summonses on Vinelife Church executive pastor Robert Phillip “Bob” Young, pastor Luke Humbrecht, pastor Edward Bennell and church elder Warren Lloyd Williams. A fifth church official, who is currently out of the country, will be served a summons when he returns to Colorado, said police spokeswoman Kim Kobel. Police will identify the fifth after he’s been charged.

Each official faces one charge of duty to report child abuse, and is accused of failing to report the alleged child abuse to law enforcement or human services officials.

Boulder police arrested Vinelife youth pastor Jason Allen Roberson, 35, on Sept. 4 and charged him with one count of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust; one count of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of unlawful sexual contact. After reviewing the case, the Boulder County District Attorney added one count of stalking.

The victim, who is now 24 years old, is also a former church staff member. She told police the “inappropriate” relationship with the youth pastor began when she was 15 years old and continued for seven years. She said she “trusted (Roberson) as an authority figure and spiritual guide, and felt uncomfortable disclosing the relationship to others,” police said.

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VERMONT
WCAX

By Keith McGilvery
BURLINGTON, Vt. –
Pomp and circumstance welcomed Bishop Salvatore Matano to Vermont in 2005 when the Vatican tapped him to lead the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington.

“Bishop Matano is very capable person and certainly it is not unexpected that he might be tapped and chosen to go elsewhere,” said Professor Edward Mahoney, a Religious Studies Professor at St. Michaels College.

Mahoney says Matano has been a strong leader. “I think his strengths are pastoral and also in management in terms of getting a diocese organized and functioning properly,” he said.

But others have been less than impressed with 67-year-old’s time as Bishop. “He came in well after the sexual abuse had come to an end, however he wasn’t willing to take the steps that we really believed were needed going forward,” said Jerry O’Neill, a lawyer who was involved in settling roughly 50 priest sex abuse cases involving the diocese. Those cases forced the church to sell much of its property and fork over millions to victims.

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MINNESOTA
Minnesota Public Radio

[the court decision]

by Laura Yuen, Minnesota Public Radio
November 6, 2013

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Supreme Court has denied a new trial to a Roman Catholic priest convicted of third-degree criminal conduct for having sexual relations with a parishioner he was counseling.

The decision today reverses an earlier ruling from an appeals court that granted a new trial for Christopher Wenthe, who had a relationship with a young woman when he working at a St. Paul parish.

Minnesota law prohibits clergy members from having sexual contact with people who seek their counsel.

Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said the Supreme Court decision ensures that police and prosecutors can charge clergy who abuse their position of power to sexually prey on the vulnerable.

“There is a huge, huge power imbalance between that priest or clergy person, and that person seeking spiritual guidance and counsel,” Choi said.

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ROME
National Catholic Register

by Edward Pentin Wednesday, November 06, 2013

One of the most senior leaders of the Legionaries of Christ has resigned from the order, saying he “did not have the necessary energy to confront the challenges” of his position.

Fr. Deomar De Guedes LC, second general counsellor of the order, submitted his resignation to Cardinal Velasio De Paolis, pontifical delegate of the Legionaries of Christ.

Cardinal De Paolis has been leading a reform of the Legion since revelations of grave abuse and corruption by its founder, Father Marcial Maciel, came to light.

In a statement, the order said Fr. De Guedes “had asked the pontifical delegate to be exclaustrated from the Legion, but Cardinal De Paolis granted him permission to resign “extra domum,” meaning Fr. De Guedes may reside outside of the religious community for one year.”

“The cardinal asked Fr. De Guedes to reevaluate his situation during that year in light of the new superiors who will be elected in the next General Chapter,” the statement added.

The General Chapter will begin on January 8, 2014 – a meeting the Legion says will be “an important step in the Legion’s renewal and purification process called for by Pope Benedict XVI and confirmed by Pope Francis.”

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PERU
Peru this Week

By Rachel Chase

Priest Luis Alejandro Bazalar García of Ayacucho allegedly raped a 17-year-old victim.

The Catholic Church in Ayacucho has faced another setback in the wake of accusations against priest Luis Alejandro Bazalar García, who has been accused of sexually abusing a young congregant.

According to Peru21, the accusations have split the church in Ayacucho.

Javier Obón, the general vicar of Ayacucho, told Peru21 that the allegations were nothing more than “tall tales” made up by the victim’s family.

However, archbishop of Ayacucho Salvador Piñeiro has openly stated that Bazalar is facing church disciplinary procedures and said that he had already collaborated with the Ayacucho prosecutor’s office on the case as well.

Peru21 reported on Oct. 31 that Bazalar had traveled to Lima on the advice of his lawyer.

The Peruvian Catholic church has been rocked by a number of scandals in recent months. In September, accusations against Gabino Miranda, the now ex-auxiliary bishop of Ayacucho, came to light, claiming that Miranda inappropriately touched a young confessor at his parish. He denied any wrongdoing, but was defrocked and a criminal investigation was initiated.

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MISSOURI
Columbia Missourian

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

BY ALAN SCHER ZAGIER/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

TROY — The St. Louis archdiocese asked a judge Wednesday to dismiss a lawsuit accusing the archbishop of failing to report child sexual abuse allegations against a priest he lived with and apparently mentored.

Attorney Gerard Noce, who represents Archbishop Robert Carlson and the archdiocese, told Circuit Judge Chris Kunza Mennemeyer that the lawsuit filed by the family of the alleged victim fails to spell out how Carlson and the priest’s other superiors acted improperly. She told attorneys for the two sides she would review the request and scheduled another hearing for next June.

The priest, the Rev. Xiu Hui “Joseph” Jiang, was charged in June 2012 with first-degree child endangerment and witness tampering. His trial had been scheduled to begin last month but was postponed. Jiang, who has pleaded not guilty, was placed on administrative leave. His attorney, Paul D’Agrosa, didn’t respond to a phone message Wednesday seeking comment.

Prosecutors allege that on several occasions earlier in 2012, Jiang had improper sexual contact with an underage girl in a church rectory parking lot and at her family’s home in Old Monroe, about 45 miles north of St. Louis. She was 16 years old when the alleged abuse began.

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MINNESOTA
Duluth News Tribune

The Associated Press – ST. PAUL, Minn.

The Minnesota Supreme Court has upheld a state law that deems it a felony for clergy members to have sex with people they’re advising on spiritual matters.

The court on Wednesday reversed a state Court of Appeals ruling granting a new trial to Catholic priest Christopher Wenthe (WHEN’-thee).

In 2011, Wenthe was convicted of third-degree criminal sexual conduct for having sex with a woman when she sought spiritual counseling.

In a two-part ruling, the Supreme Court ruled 4-1 that Minnesota’s clergy sexual conduct statute is constitutional, and that religion was not excessively entangled in Wenthe’s conviction.

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NORTH CAROLINE
WCNC

by STUART WATSON / NBC Charlotte

Posted on November 4, 2013 at 11:31 PM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Elevation Church, led by pastor Steven Furtick, has doubled its average weekly offering in the last two years to more than a half-million dollars a week, and plans to open up to five new locations costing up to $86 million in the Charlotte area, three of which it has not made public.

Those numbers are revealed in a confidential internal report obtained by the NBC Charlotte I-Team. The chief financial officer of the church confirms the numbers are accurate, but says they represent potential deals which may not materialize.

Elevation is the largest megachurch in North Carolina, and one of the fastest-growing churches in the United States. The church has kept its finances secret even from donors, asking staff and some volunteers to sign a confidentiality agreement which threatens to sue them if they disclose internal numbers.

The NBC Charlotte I-Team is withholding some numbers contained in the confidential report to minimize any harm to Elevation’s pending real estate deals.

Elevation’s founding principles called “The Code” state “we are all about the numbers”, and emphasize a reliance on numbers as metrics for growth and success. In one promotional film for Elevation, congregation members identify themselves by the “number” of the order in which they joined the church.

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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC/POLAND
Dominican Today

Warsaw.- Poland’s Attorney General confirmed Wednesday that it has received from Dominican authorities around 650 documents in the case of ousted Vatican envoy in the country, Joszef Wesolowski, and Polish priest Wojciech Gil, both accused of pedophilia.

Przemyslaw Nowak, spokesman for the Poland Office of the Prosecutor said that documents, including testimony from alleged victims, psychological evaluations and investigation results have already been handed to translators.

The Polish officials however didn’t specify whether the documents from Santo Domingo request Gil’s extradition, who’s currently in Poland.

In a press conference, Nowak said they’ll await the translation of the documents, and noted that there’s no extradition treaty between Poland and Dominican Republic.

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NORTH CAROLINA
Watch Keep

An investigative reporter at NBC Charlotte, Stuart Watson, has done a series on the Southern Baptist megachurch, Elevation Church, and its pastor, Steven Furtick’s 16,000 square foot home currently being built in North Carolina. In the most recent report, the NBC Charlotte I-team obtained a confidential Elevation report:

NBC Charlotte obtains confidential Elevation report

Elevation Church, led by pastor Steven Furtick, has doubled its average weekly offering in the last two years to more than a half-million dollars a week, and plans to open up to five new locations costing up to $86 million in the Charlotte area. view full article

Elevation is the largest megachurch in North Carolina, and one of the fastest-growing churches in the United States. The church has kept its finances secret even from donors, asking staff and some volunteers to sign a confidentiality agreement which threatens to sue them if they disclose internal numbers.

Elevation’s founding principles called “The Code” state “we are all about the numbers”, and emphasize a reliance on numbers as metrics for growth and success. In one promotional film for Elevation, congregation members identify themselves by the “number” of the order in which they joined the church.

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ROM
Pisaversteher.com

[Summary: Clergy abuse victim Norbert Denef has been hositalized following a protest in St. Peter’s Square in Rome. He was demonstrating for establishment of a foundation for break the silence on abuse and laid down to rest. He was taken away to the hospital. The demonstration was quickly broken up.]

Veröffentlicht am 2013/11/06 von robertcaesar
Missbrauchsopfer Norbert Denef ist nach einer Protestaktion auf dem Peterplatz in einer Mischung aus Polizei- und Notarzteinsatz ins Krankenhaus gebracht worden. Denef hatte für die Einrichtung einer Stiftung zum Schweigenbrechen demonstriert – und zwar schweigend

PISAVERSTEHER AUS ROM

Wer auf dem Petersplatz in Rom zu lange das falsche Schild hochhält, wir schnell abgeführt. Insofern hatte Norbert Denef, prominentes deutsches Missbrauchsopfer und Vorsitzender des Vereins „Netzwerk Betroffene“, Glück, dass ihn ein halbes Dutzend Carabinieri und ein Notarzt erst nach drei Stunden abtransportierten. Denef hatte zuvor – schweigend und nur mit einem großen Foto von sich als 9jährigem – bei einer Generalaudienz des Papstes für eine Stiftung „Schweigenbrechen“ demonstriert. Das nahm fast niemand der rund 50.000 Gläubigen zur Kenntnis – trotz (oder wegen) mehrfacher Vorbeifahrt des Papstes Franziskus in seinem offenen Papamobil.

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GERMANY
NetzwerkB

Dear members and friends of netzwerkB,
dear supporting members of the printed media, radio and tv,
dear supporters in politics,

On 6 November 1993, I broke my silence at a gathering of my family of origin with my two perpetrators present.

20 years of trying to come to terms with all of this – time for new roads to be explored!

On 13 May 2013 I wrote the following letter to Pope Francis:

Act of Reconciliation – N. 555.086

Your Holiness,

I am writing to you today in regards to the letter of 27 April 2004 (Schreiben vom 27. April 2004) which I received from the state secretary, section 1 General Affairs, with the No. 555.086. This letter was an answer by Pope John Paul II to my letter of 9 December 2003 (Schreiben vom 9. Dezember 2003). Today I would like to ask your holiness for an act of reconciliation.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Schwigen

November 6, 2013 · von nordenef · in Schweigen, Stiften
Norbert Denef auf dem Petersplatz in Rom

Denef demonstrierte schweigend für die Einrichtung einer Stiftung >>> “Schweigen-Brechen”. Siehe auch gesonderten Bericht auf pisaversteher.com

+++ 14:30 Uhr +++ Norbert Denef wird aus dem Krankenhaus entlassen; es geht ihm gut

+++ 13:30 Uhr +++ Denef wird zum Gesundheitscheck ins Krankenhaus Spirito Santo gebracht. Jedenfalls teilt das die Erste Hilfe auf dem Petersplatz mit

+++ 12:54 Uhr +++ Die Polizei entdeckt Norbert Denef und transportiert ihn ab. Alle Filmaufahmen werden sofort unterbunden. Keiner spricht Englisch. Der Kameramann des MDR wird ermahnt, er soll sein Aufnahmegerät sofort ausmachen

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MISSOURI
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday November 6, 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 )

St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson didn’t get what he wanted this morning – the immediate dismissal of perhaps the most serious clergy sex abuse and cover up suit the archdiocese has ever faced. It charges Fr. Joseph Jiang of molesting a girl as recently as 2012. And it charges Carlson with attempted witness tampering.

[KSDK]

We’re grateful that the judge is taking this case under advisement. Carlson faces six charges in the suit. If even one of them is upheld, this brave family may get to expose the corruption and complicity of top Catholic officials in court.

Despite more than a decade of pledges to be “open” about clergy sex crimes, Carlson still refuses to say

–where Fr. Jiang is now,
–how he met Fr. Jiang,
–why he and Fr. Jiang moved from city to city,
–why Fr. Jiang had a room in Carlson’s home,
–whether Fr. Jiang admitted his guilt to him,
–whether he called the victim’s parents, and
–whether he tried to get Fr. Jiang’s $20,000 check from the victims’ family.

(The latter three or four allegations are included in the civil suit against Carlson.)

(Carlson DID call the allegations against the archdiocese “baseless,” but that’s a legal term. Carlson has never addressed questions about his involvement in the Fr. Jiang case and never flatly denied that he called the victim’s mom and asked if she would give him Fr. Jiang’s $20,000 check.)

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NEW YORK/VERMONT
National Catholic Reporter

Catholic News Service | Nov. 6, 2013

WASHINGTON Pope Francis has named Bishop Salvatore Matano of Burlington, Vt., to head the diocese of Rochester, N.Y.

He succeeds Bishop Matthew Clark, who retired in September 2012.

The appointment was announced Wednesday in Washington by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

November is Black Catholic History Month, and each day NCR will profile a different black saint.

You can receive daily email alerts to learn more about these holy men and women. Sign up here for our Black Catholic Saints list.
Matano has headed the statewide Burlington diocese since 2005.

The Rochester diocese is made up of 12 counties, covering a 7,100-square-mile area. It has a Catholic population of more than 311,000 out of a total population of 1.5 million.

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NEW YORK
Webster Post

By Linda Quinlan
Posted Nov. 6, 2013

The community had its first chance to “meet” the ninth Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester this morning.

Pope Francis has named Bishop Salvatore R. Matano, who has been the Bishop of Vermont since 2005, the ninth bishop of the Rochester diocese. The diocese covers a 12-county region, including Monroe County, in central and western New York.

At a press conference this morning, Wednesday, Nov. 6, Bishop Matano talked about blessing a sugar farm in Vermont.

“Was it all idyllic? No,” he answered, noting that he also dealt with “the sexual abuse crisis … and it has been a very painful time.”

Bishop Matano said his first priority will be “to bring people back to Mass.”

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NEW JERSEY
Whispers in the Loggia

Amid these long, strange months in the nation’s seventh-largest church, it wouldn’t be an ecclesial event in Newark if there weren’t protestors.

And so – even if the demonstrations outside yesterday’s Welcome Mass for Coadjutor-Archbishop Bernie Hebda were mostly the customary troupe of 50 guitar-strumming, drum-beating, full-out-rejoicing Neocat singers – three advocates for victim-survivors were likewise on the scene, toting full-body, all-caps signs blaring that incumbent Archbishop John “Myers must still go” and urging “Hebda: ignore Myers.”

If nothing else, that even the toughest crowd of all hasn’t demonized the new arrival – at least, not yet – underscores the extraordinary goodwill and high hopes invested in the figure the locals have dubbed “AB2.” But now that he’s wheels-down and taking anew to life in a college dorm, the question becomes how he’ll handle what archdiocesan officials maintain will be a three-year apprenticeship of one of American Catholicism’s most complex outposts.

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MINNESOTA
MinnPost

By Brian Lambert | 11/05/13
Their most avowed enemies couldn’t generate worse press … Tony Kennedy of the Strib reports: “The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis was at the forefront of extensive lobbying against efforts to expand the time limit for lawsuits by victims of childhood sexual abuse, according to a document obtained by the Star Tribune. An internal accounting analysis prepared by the archdiocese shows that the lobbying association known as the Minnesota Religious Council received more than $800,000 from the Catholic Church during a seven-year period ending in the middle of 2008. A similar analysis was not available for subsequent years, but state lobbying records show the council spent more than $425,000 on lobbyists from 2006 through 2012.” Add that to the cash they spent on trying to defeat gay marriage and pretty soon you’re talking real money.

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MINNESOTA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2013

Statement by SNAP leader Megan Peterson ( 218-689-9049, Survivor19@live.com )

A law banning clergy from sexual contact with congregants has been upheld by the Minnesota Supreme Court. This is a victory for every man and woman who has been sexually exploited by priests, ministers, rabbis and other clerics.

[Pioneer Press]

We are grateful that Minnesota’s highest court has upheld a law criminalizing the sexual exploitation of adults by clergy.

At the same time, we are saddened that Twin Cities Archbishop John Nienstedt let one of his priests (Fr. Christopher Wenthe) challenge this law.

It is inherently problematic when clergy have any sexual contact with congregants. There can be no true “consent” given the power difference between the individuals.

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MINNESOTA
KARE

[the court decision]

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Supreme Court issued a ruling Wednesday that upholds the conviction of a priest on third degree sexual assault.

The decision means Christopher Wenthe will not receive a new trial on charges he repeatedly had sexual relations with a 21-year-old parishioner he was allegedly counseling.

The priest admitted having a relationship with the woman, who was struggling with bulimia and past sexual abuse, but said it did not happen while he was giving her counsel. Wenthe was an assistant priest at Nativity Catholic Church in St. Paul during the time of the sexual relationship.

Wenthe was convicted in 2011 and sentenced to 57 months in prison, but was granted a new trial by the Minnesota Court of Appeals in 2012 when the Minnesota Court of Appeals found that the religious evidence used against Wenthe violated his constitutional rights.

In today’s ruling the Supreme Court disagreed 4-1, saying that a law banning sexual encounters between a member of the clergy and someone he or she is offering counsel does not excessively entangle religion in the legal process.

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

The St. Louis archdiocese is seeking the dismissal of a lawsuit by the family of a teenage girl who claims Archbishop Robert Carlson failed to prevent her molestation by a priest with whom he lived in the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica.

The Rev. Joseph Jiang is accused in eastern Missouri’s Lincoln County of leaving a $20,000 check atop a car belonging to the girl’s family after the alleged improper sexual contact. The lawsuit says Carlson asked for the check’s return. The family instead reported the exchange to police.

A motion by the archdiocese to dismiss the lawsuit was scheduled to be heard Wednesday in a Troy courtroom.

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MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

[the court decision]

Article by: ABBY SIMONS , Star Tribune Updated: November 6, 2013

The ruling means the Rev. Christopher Wenthe will not receive a new trial for having sex with a

A Roman Catholic priest convicted of a felony for his relationship with a female parishioner 10 years ago does not deserve a new trial, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Wednesday, upholding a state law that deems it a felony for clergy members to have sex with people they’re advising on spiritual matters.

In a two-part ruling, the court ruled 4-1 that the state’s clergy sexual conduct statute is constitutional, and that religion was not excessively entangled in the Rev. Christopher Wenthe’s 2011 criminal sexual conduct conviction.The ruling reverses a Minnesota Court of Appeals order last year that granted Wenthe a new trial, when they found that the religious evidence used against him violated his constitutional rights under the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause, which holds that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”

Justice Alan Page dissented on both counts, reasoning that the state law is unconstitutional. Justices Christopher Dietzen and Wilhelmina Wright did not take part in the ruling.

Wenthe was convicted in Ramsey County of third-degree criminal sexual conduct “during the course of a meeting” for a sex act that occurred with a 21-year-old woman in the rectory of Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church in St. Paul in 2003. Wenthe did not dispute that the two had an 18-month relationship, but denied that it occurred while he was providing spiritual aid and comfort. Wenthe had served eight months of a 57-month sentence when he was granted a new trial. Prosecutors appealed and the high court heard arguments this summer.

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MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press

[the court decision]

By Emily Gurnon
egurnon@pioneerpress.com
POSTED: 11/06/2013

A former Nativity of Our Lord priest who became sexually involved with a 21-year-old penitent is not entitled to a new trial, the Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled.

The high court upheld the state’s clergy sex statute, which makes it a felony for a priest or minister to have sexual contact with a person “during the course of a meeting in which the (victim) sought or received religious or spiritual advice, aid, or comfort from the (clergy member) in private.”

Rev. Christopher Wenthe was convicted in a Ramsey County District Court trial on one count of criminal sexual conduct.

He admitted during trial that he had sex with a 21-year-old member of his parish. She testified that she told Wenthe about her struggles with an eating disorder and previous sexual abuse. He agreed to serve as her confessor. She said Wenthe exploited her vulnerability and her trust in him as a priest.

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MINNESOTA
TheMediaReport

Madeleine Baran and Tom Scheck of Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) recently trumpeted the lurid story that a computer owned in 2004 by a Catholic priest from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis contained e-mail messages that “may have included inappropriate correspondence” with a “possible minor,” thus suggesting that the priest might be a child molester.

Indeed, any story about a Catholic priest committing a crime with a minor is not only troubling but big news, and the duo’s eye-opening story received wide media attention.

However, as it turns out, the priest, Rev. Jonathan Shelley, a very popular cleric in his region, was simply corresponding with a longtime friend who was not a minor at all.

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AUSTRALIA
J-Wire

The president of the Yeshiva Centre has told Daniel “Gug” Hayman he is not welcome at the syngagogue following confirmed reports that he lead prayers on the same day he was granted bail on charges of indecent assault against two young boys in the 1980s.

Tzedek, an advocacy group focusing on child sex abuse, issued the following statement:

“This morning Tzedek received an anonymous phone call from a concerned member of the Sydney Yeshiva community stating that last night Daniel “Gug” Hayman, soon after his release on bail, went to Sydney’s Yeshiva Centre and led the evening services (as a cantor) in their main synagogue. We have now been able to confirm this with a Yeshiva congregant who was present during these services. Apparently Mr Hayman led the second, smaller service.

It should be noted that Mr Hayman recently lost his mother and there is a special prayer (Kaddish) that mourners are required to say during services for one year (and on other special occasions). However, there is no obligation to lead the services – this is only a custom within mainly the ultra-Orthodox community. There is also no obligation for these prayers to be conducted in a synagogue – they may be conducted anywhere where there are ten Jews (a Minyan).

We believe that everyone should be given the opportunity to adhere to their religious beliefs and practices, but questions must be asked. Importantly, how is it that Mr Hayman was given this honour on the day he was released from prison – and within the same institution that the offences were alleged to have been committed and in light of the allegations that the leadership were themselves involved in a cover-up? It is also astounding that so many members of this congregation felt that it was befitting Mr Hayman to be their conduit to God through this prayer service.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian Jewish News

A FORMER member of Sydney’s Jewish community has been charged with offences relating to child sexual abuse within the community.

Daniel “Gug” Hayman was arrested on Monday and charged with two counts of gross indecency by a male with a male under 18 years.

It is alleged that Hayman, who was a volunteer and director of Yeshiva in Sydney, assaulted two boys, aged 14 and 16 between 1985 and 1986.

Hayman, who is now 49 years old and lives in Los Angeles, was released on strict bail conditions on Tuesday. He has been permitted to attend synagogue services because he was visiting Australia following the recent death of his mother. …

Hayman is the first person to be charged in relation to the police’s investigation into historic child sexual abuse allegations in the Sydney community.

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POLSKA
Natemat

[with copy in English of an Interpol document on Gil.]

[Summary: The Polish prosecutor genernal’s office has received materials from the Dominican Republic government regarding alleged allegations that Father Wojciech Gil and Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski abused minors in the Dominican Republic.]

Polska Prokuratura Generalna otrzymała od dominikańskich władz materiały dotyczące afery pedofilskiej, w którą mieli być zamieszani ks. Wojciech Gil oraz abp Józef Wesołowski. Do Polski trafił m.in. dysk twardy, który został już przekazany biegłemu. Po wstępnym przejrzeniu dokumentów Prokuratura Generalna poinformowała, że mają one “walor procesowy”.

Przekazana Polsce materiały trafiły do Prokuratury Okręgowej w Warszawie, która prowadzi śledztwo ws. domniemanego wykorzystywania dominikańskich dzieci przez ks. Gila oraz abp. Wesołowskiego. Rzecznik Prokuratury Okręgowej w Warszawie prok. Przemysław Nowak poinformował, że dokumenty zostały lub niebawem zostaną przekazane tłumaczom, a ci przełożą je z hiszpańskiego na polski.

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VERMONT/NEW YORK
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, Nov. 6, 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 )

Vermont Catholic Bishop Salvatore Matano has been promoted to head the Rochester diocese. We’re disappointed that Pope Francis has promoted a bureaucrat with a terrible record on children’s safety.

[Whispers in the Loggia]

In 2006, Matano’s diocese was one of just two in America to have been found in violation of the US bishops weak and vague national abuse policy because Matano refused to ensure that adequate abuse prevention training was provided to all his staff, as the policy requires.

[BishopAccountability.org]

For eight years, he refused to list Vermont’s predator priests on his website or house and supervise them, two simple, proven abuse prevention steps that we asked him to take.

[SNAP]

[SNAP]

Matano’s also been accused of financial misdeeds. In 2009, two lawsuits – by 27 alleged victims – were filed charging that Matano “transferred assets into separate entities to make it harder for victims of priest sexual abuse who have sued the church to collect monetary damages in their cases,” according to the Burlington VT Free Press. The newspaper noted that in 2006, “the diocese transferred $3,819,000 to a church pension fund and another $3,704,000 was placed in a newly created trust for Vermont Catholic Charities.”

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MISSOURI
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, Nov. 6, 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 )

Today, Archbishop Robert Carlson is trying to have the most troubling child sex abuse and cover up lawsuit in the archdiocese’s history tossed out of court. Shame on him.

[San Francisco Chronicle]

The suit charges Carlson with attempted witness tampering. It involves Fr. Joseph Jiang’s alleged abuse of a girl that ended in the summer of 2012. Fr. Jiang reportedly left a $20,000 check for the victim’s parents after they learned and confronted him about his crimes.

The Associated Press reports that it is Carlson, not Jiang, who’s trying today to have the case tossed out.

If Carlson did nothing wrong, why not let the suit proceed? Instead, Carlson’s trying to hide behind technicalities. If he wins, there will always be a cloud of doubt over him. So if he’s innocent, wouldst it be better for him to show this through a trial?

The St. Louis archdiocese has faced at least 100 child sex abuse and cover up lawsuits (dating back to the late 1980s or early 1990s).

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