ABUSE TRACKER

IRELAND
Irish Examiner

By Conall Ó Fátharta and Niall Murray

The terms of reference for the mother-and-baby home inquiry will be published following the first Cabinet meeting in the new year.

A spokesperson for Children’s Minister Dr James Reilly said to allow the “requisite space for debate” on the issue, the terms of reference, which had been promised before the Christmas recess, would now be brought to Cabinet for agreement on January 8. A Dáil debate on the inquiry would take place the following week.

Dr Reilly has been meeting with advocacy groups in recent weeks and says he is “confident” the inquiry will be as “inclusive as possible” and have the support of “those most centrally involved”.

A number of the groups have warned that the inquiry needs to be as wide as possible to achieve any degree of support and must look at issues like forced and illegal adoptions, the Magdalene Laundries and the vaccine trials.

Earlier this year, the Adoption Authority admitted for the first time that potentially thousands of people had been illegally adopted here. The claim directly contradicted former children’s minister and now Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald’s statement in the Dáil last year that every adoption carried out by the State was legal.

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.

MONTANA
Independent Record

ALEXANDER DEEDY Independent Record

The Diocese of Helena filed information on Friday detailing its financial situation and a reorganization plan to resolve its Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Jan. 31, 2014 as part of a $15 million settlement to victims who said some diocese clergy had sexually abused them decades ago.

The plan was submitted in collaboration with the Unsecured Creditors Committee, which represents the hundreds of people who have filed those claims of abuse.

Dan Bartleson, spokesman for the diocese, said it’s good for the diocese to have these steps and the submission of a disclosure statement is a positive move.

The disclosure statement detailing the diocese’s financial situation is intended to give creditors enough information so they can be informed when deciding if the reorganization plan will be sufficient or not.

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

SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland

Monday 15 December 2014

Gerry Braiden
Senior reporter

PLANS to hold public inquiry into historical child abuse in Scotland are expected to be announced this week, it has been reported.

Ministers are expected to confirm a high-profile investigation into allegations of abuse carried out in care homes and educational institutions, amid reports this will included claims against religious orders and high-profile members of the Scottish establishment.

The Scottish Government said former Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning Mike Russell has given a update Parliament in any decision on an inquiry before Christmas, with his successor Angela Constance due to make a statement on Wednesday.

The announcement is expected to confirm a timetable, although the precise terms of reference have yet to be drawn up.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “A month ago Mr Russell updated Parliament on the Government’s response to the Scottish Human Rights Commission InterAction process for survivors of historic cases of abuse in care.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian

Alan Travis, home affairs editor
Monday 15 December 2014

The home secretary is prepared to give significant new powers to the official inquiry into child sex abuse, including compelling witnesses to give evidence, she has told MPs.

“The overwhelming message I’m getting from those that I have been meeting, survivors and survivors’ representatives that I’ve been meeting, is that it’s important to make sure that we do get this right. I’m very clear that the inquiry should have the powers of a statutory inquiry,” Theresa May said on Monday. “This should be an inquiry that has the power of compulsion.”

The home secretary also indicated that she is reconsidering the inquiry’s terms of reference to enable a current 1970 cut-off date to be revised to allow allegations dating to the 1950s to be examined.

But May admitted that she was not yet on the verge of appointing a new chair to the controversial inquiry, with the Home Office considering more than 100 possible names for the job.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

An inquiry into historical child abuse should be able to compel witnesses to give evidence, Home Secretary Theresa May has said.

Mrs May told MPs she was “very clear” the investigation “should have the powers of a statutory inquiry”.

The panel, which has started work, still has nobody to chair it after the first two nominations stood down.

Mrs May had previously said the inquiry could become statutory if that was requested by the person leading it.

But with nobody in that role, the home secretary appeared to go further in an appearance before the Home Affairs Select Committee.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
The Times

Richard Ford Home Correspondent

Published at 12:01AM, December 16 2014

Theresa May is to give the historic child sex abuse inquiry tougher powers after survivor groups complained it could not force witnesses to provide evidence.

The Home Secretary said she is now clear that the inquiry, which has been hit by setbacks over the choice of chairman, should have the powers of a statutory investigation.

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

UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism

Jerry Slevin

1. The double standard continues among the Catholic hierarchy on financial accountability. Cardinal Dolan reportedly “buried” millions in a Milwaukee cemetery trust, seemingly to avoid paying priest abuse survivors. He now is closing many schools and churches in NYC, as he reportedly plans to spend nearly $200 million to renovate his elite Cathedral and residence, all with minimal oversight and accountability.

2. Pope Francis, after almost two years as pope, reportedly has failed so far even to select an independent outside auditor for the Vatican’s financial assets and operations. Meanwhile, his “financial czar”, Cardinal Pell apparently stumbles over hundreds of millions of “newly found” Vatican assets, conveniently a few days before the announcement of the latest Vatican Bank embezzlement scandal.

3. Yet an anti-abortion priest advocate is being faulted by +Dolan and the Vatican for lack of financial accountability, that is by hierarchs who themselves appear generally quite thin on accountability.

4. Cardinal Dolan, who has reportedly stated that he had been asked by the Vatican to help anti- abortion activist , Fr. Frank Pavone, “restructure” his big fundraiser, Priests for Life, has now reportedly said that he has informed Rome that “I am unable to fulfill their mandate, and want nothing further to do with the organization.” The Cardinal indicated he had “no idea” what the Vatican intends to do now.

5. What +Dolan’s action does make clear, however, is that the Vatican is micro-managing US cultural warriors like Pavone. This appears to be part of Pope Francis’ ramping up of his US election push to help elect in 2016 a “US bishops’ friendly” right wing US president and Congress, and thereby preserve a “Vatican friendly” US Supreme Court majority as priest child abuse related litigation and prosecution risks continue to proliferate.

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.

CANADA
CBC News

Some Catholic churches in the Moncton area could be forced to close due to financial challenges, says the archbishop.

Valéry Vienneau told parishioners over the weekend the future of all 54 churches in the Archdiocese will be reviewed in light of diminishing attendance and a shortage of priests.

“We can’t let a parish go into a deficit for a number of three or four years,” he said.

​”We would ask them to look at their finances and present us with a plan and see if they can correct it. Because if a parish goes into deficit and has to close, the diocese has to pick up the tab, and we don’t have the means right now to do that.”

​The Moncton Archdiocese has already been struggling financially, as it looks for millions of dollars to pay compensation to victims of sexual abuse.

The diocesan centre was closed last year, after at least 90 victims came forward in a confidential compensation process headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Michel Bastarache, and about 10 lawsuits were filed against the church and two former priests.

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.

WISCONSIN
LaCrosse Tribune

The Diocese of La Crosse has barred Monsignor Bernard McGarty from public ministry while it investigates his being fined for disorderly conduct at a massage salon in Wausau, Wis., Thursday.

McGarty, an 89-year-old retired priest, was not arrested but was issued a $250 ticket after he was accused of lifting the covering off of his groin during a massage and asked the masseuse to rub his genitals.

The massage therapist refused and left the room, she told Wausau police. McGarty also called her a derogatory name, she told police.

On Monday, the diocese issued a statement saying, in part, “We are saddened to learn of a recent situation involving Msgr. Bernard McGarty. … According to diocesan policy as stated in the pastoral letter On Sexual Misconduct for the Diocese of La Crosse, Msgr. McGarty, from this moment forward, is not to have any public ministry while this current situation is investigated.”

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

UNITED STATES
New York Times

By JAMES MARTIN

The most controversial incident in Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s tenure as Jesuit provincial (that is, regional superior) of Argentina came in 1976. Father Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, was a prayerful man, a charismatic leader and a priest deeply committed to the poor. As Jesuit provincial, he was also charged with the care of Jesuit priests and brothers throughout Argentina. A few years after taking office at the alarmingly young age of 36, he was faced with the thorny problem of how best to support two priests, Orlando Yorio and Franz Jalics, who had moved into a slum in Buenos Aires and were advocates for the poor in the face of brutal government opposition during Argentina’s so-called Dirty War.

Father Bergoglio supported the work of those referred to as slum priests, but warned the two of the dangers inherent in their ministries. Around the same time, Father Yorio sought approval for his final vows as a Jesuit. Because of suspicions about his work, the evaluations Father Bergoglio received from other Jesuits were largely negative. Some Jesuits in Rome, according to Austen Ivereigh, author of “The Great Reformer,” a fine new biography of Pope Francis, also believed rumors that the two were linked with guerrillas, and so their community in the slums was ordered disbanded.

As a compromise, Father Bergoglio suggested they continue their work with the poor, but live in a nearby Jesuit community. Rather than abide by his request — which they were obliged to do under their vow of obedience — the two decided to leave the Jesuits. Shortly afterward, they were captured and tortured by military forces, who held them captive for several months. Father Bergoglio worked furiously behind the scenes, going to what Mr. Ivereigh calls “extraordinary lengths” to secure their release.

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

AUSTRALIA
Naitonal Catholic Reporter

Catholic News Service | Dec. 15, 2014

SYDNEY
Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney said there is no link between celibacy and child sexual abuse after the body charged with responding to a national inquiry on behalf of Australia’s bishops appeared to link the two.

The Truth Justice and Healing Council made the apparent link in its activity report, released Friday, detailing its actions in response to the Australian government’s Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which began Jan. 13, 2013.

In an opinion piece for The Australian newspaper Monday, Fisher wrote that while abuse in the church was “sickening” and “shameful,” the great majority of cases occurred in non-institutional settings, particularly in the family.

“We must avoid glib explanations or simplistic solutions,” Fisher wrote in the piece. “As I have said before, there must be no more excuses, no more cover-ups.

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

CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Magazine

BY ELIZABETH FENNER

Beyond the metal barricades and phalanx of cops blocking off State Street, inside the massive stone-walled Gothic cathedral, right near the polished wood confessionals, the TV cameramen checked their cables. And checked them again. For November 18 was no ordinary news day. In half an hour, every station in the city would interrupt its usual broadcast schedule to beam out live coverage of the two-hour Mass formally installing Blase Cupich as the ninth archbishop of Chicago. It would be the culmination of more than eight weeks of near-daily reporting on what this m­­ild-mannered 65-year-old was planning (he won’t live in the cardinal’s mansion!), doing (attending a bishops’ conference in Baltimore!), and saying (“People in Chicago are much like the people in Omaha, where I grew up. They work hard, they pray hard”).

Such wall-to-wall media coverage of one religion’s change in leadership is hard to imagine in any other big American city. You wouldn’t see it in New York or L.A., for example. But Chicago, as if you needed reminding, is different. It’s the city whose first European settler was a Catholic priest. Run for decades by Catholics. And continually flooded with Catholic immigrants, at first from Western Europe and these days mostly from Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America. More Catholics live here than do members of any other single religion. Heck, even Rahm probably knows what parish he’s from.

If you tuned in to Cupich’s installation and saw the 1,000-plus priests, bishops, civic dignitaries, and other invitation-only guests streaming into Holy Name Cathedral on that freezing November day, you might believe Chicago is just as robustly Catholic as ever. But looks can be deceiving. In 1980, Catholics made up 43 percent of the total population of Cook and Lake Counties, the territory encompassed by the Archdiocese of Chicago. Today they constitute about 35 percent, or 2.07 million people, according to an exclusive poll conducted by Fako Research & Strategies for Chicago in November (see full poll results here). That figure correlates with the downward trend reported in other studies.

Meanwhile, 14 percent of the residents of those two counties—more than 800,000 people—used to be Catholic but have left the church. Put another way: For every 10 Catholics here, there are now four ex-Catholics. Among those born in the United States, the exodus has been greater still. Says Susan Ross, who chairs Loyola University’s theology department, “If it weren’t for Latino immigration, the church in Chicago would be losing many more people.”

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

UNITED STATES
Huffington Post

Charles J. Reid, Jr.
Professor of Law, University of St. Thomas

There is a growing crisis haunting the Catholic Church. And it is a crisis larger than the events that have so greatly afflicted the American Catholic Church. The pedophilia scandals are a horrifying element of this crisis. So, too, are the bishops who covered up and excused these outrages. And so, also, the more general loss of confidence Catholics have in a hierarchy that seems oddly concerned with rank and privilege and with fighting yesterday’s culture wars. Yes, these are all elements of the crisis, but the crisis is larger than this.

And that something larger is both sad and profound: a loss of faith in the institutions of the Church. Pope Francis, in his remarkable interview with La nacion, published the weekend of December 6 and 7, made it clear that he recognized the gravity of the moment. He was asked why so many people were leaving the Church. As posed, the question addressed Latin America. By implication, it looked to the world.

Pope Francis could have directed his answer at factors external to the Church. Indeed, one can imagine his predecessors alternatively blaming culture, or relativism, or the forces of secularism. Pope Francis, however, is different. His was a more introspective answer. We must look within, he advised, to what Catholics are themselves doing wrong.

At the root of the crisis, he proposed, was the problem of clericalism. Clericalism is strangling true Christianity. Pope Francis has spoken often about clericalism during his brief pontificate. It was the reason, early in his tenure, that he ceased granting applications by priests to be raised to the rank of monsignor. Being called monsignor adds little to a priest’s life. But the quest for this title led, in Francis’s judgment, to careerism and a preoccupation with title and honor that had little to do with the Gospels.

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

UNITED STATES
Religion News Service

David Gibson | December 15, 2014

NEW YORK (RNS) In the latest clash between the Catholic hierarchy and one of the church’s leading anti-abortion crusaders, New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan accused the Rev. Frank Pavone of continuing to stonewall on financial reforms, and Dolan said he is cutting ties with his group, Priests for Life.

In a Nov. 20 letter to other U.S. bishops, Dolan said he did not know if the Vatican would now step in to take action against the New York-based priest, who for years has angered various bishops by rejecting oversight of the organization by church authorities and for refusing to sort out his group’s troubled finances.

“My requests of Father Pavone were clear and simple: one, that Priests for Life undergo a forensic audit; two, that a new, independent board be established to provide oversight and accountability,” Dolan wrote in the letter, which was first reported by Catholic World News.

“Although Father Pavone initially assured me of his support, he did not cooperate. Frequent requests that he do so went unheeded. I finally asked him to comply by October 1st. He did not,” Dolan wrote.

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.

MICHIGAN
Detroit Free Press

Patricia Montemurri, Detroit Free Press
December 15, 2014

The Rev. Timothy Kane, convicted of stealing money from the now-discontinued Angel Fund to help the poor of Detroit, was sentenced Monday to 12 months in jail served over 5 years during the months of June and December plus about 8 weekends.

Kane was also sentenced to pay $131,400 in restitution.

Kane begins serving his sentence Tuesday through December in the Wayne County Jail.

A Wayne County Circuit Court jury found Kane guilty in October of six counts related to theft from the charity fund for poor people, including embezzlement between $1,000 and $20,000.

Kane, 58, testified that he didn’t steal Angel Fund monies, even though he had signed a confession to police after his arrest in February. Kane said he signed the confession because of confusion related to his diabetes.

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.

MICHIGAN
The Detroit News

Holly Fournier, The Detroit News December 15, 2014

Detroit — A Metro Detroit Catholic priest was sentenced to 12 months in jail Monday afternoon after being convicted in October for stealing money from a charity for the poor.

The Rev. Timothy Kane was convicted on embezzlement, conspiracy and other related charges for stealing about $131,000 from a charity fund through a scam using “straw” applicants to apply for $1,500 grants for the needy and then receiving kickbacks on some of the money paid out.

Kane’s jail sentence is to be served over a five-year period in June and December each year with two extra months to be determined. Kane also must pay $131,400 in restitution. Kane was ordered to report to the court Tuesday to begin serving time in Wayne County Jail.

The 58-year-old priest has denied the charges and said he wrongly signed a confession to police. He again proclaimed his innocence before being sentenced Monday by Wayne County Circuit Judge Bruce Morrow.

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.

MICHIGAN
ABC News

AP

A Detroit-area Catholic priest will spend two months in jail each calendar year for the next five years for stealing money from a charity for the poor.

Wayne County Circuit Judge Bruce Morrow’s sentence calls for the Rev. Timothy Kane to be jailed during the months of December and June. Another eight weeks will be determined by probation officials.

Kane also was sentenced Monday to five years’ probation and restitution of $131,400. He was ordered to report Tuesday to the Wayne County Jail.

A jury found Kane guilty in October of crimes including embezzlement between $1,000 and $20,000 from the Angel Fund, an Archdiocese of Detroit charity created to help people in need. The 58-year-old denied the charges and said he wrongly signed a confession to police.

Assistant prosecutor Maria Miller says sentencing guidelines called for 36 months to 60 months.

“This is a most unusual sentence that is below the defendant’s guidelines,” Miller said. “It is especially troubling considering that he was convicted as charged of multiple counts of stealing money from the poor. We will be determining whether we will appeal the case in the next several days.”

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.

NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

BY AMANDA FERGUSON – 15 DECEMBER 2014

The Lord Mayor of Belfast will attend a special service this afternoon to remember the 11,000 people buried in mass graves in Belfast, including hundreds of babies and children.

During a ceremony at 3.30pm today Nichola Mallon, and deputy mayor, Maire Hendron, will lay flowers at unmarked mass graves at Milltown Cemetery to remember the city’s ‘forgotten babies’ and other poor and marginalised citizens buried there.

It is estimated around 11,000 people are buried in the mass graves at the point where the cemetery meets the Bog Meadows. …

Patrick Corrigan, Northern Ireland Programme Director of Amnesty International, said: “After the revelations about the mass grave of babies at Tuam, it is more important than ever that we discover of the truth of what happened at Mother and Baby Homes in Northern Ireland, including whether their short lives were, in any way, attributable to neglect or abuse while in care and whether those babies ended up in unmarked graves in the Bog Meadows.

“We have asked the First and Deputy First Minister to establish an inquiry into Mother and Baby homes here, as has been promised in the Republic.

“Unfortunately, eighteen months on from the original request to Ministers, families are still awaiting a response.”

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.

NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

BY MICHAEL MCHUGH – 15 DECEMBER 2014

Calls for an inquiry into “forgotten babies” from institutional homes in Northern Ireland who were buried in mass graves have still not been answered 18 months later, campaigners claimed.

At least 11,000 people are interred in west Belfast on land which used to form a nature reserve.

Hundreds of infants from homes for unmarried mothers and their offspring were routinely placed there without ceremony or marker during the last century, Amnesty International said.

Patrick Corrigan, director at Amnesty in Northern Ireland, said their short lives could be due to neglect or abuse while in care.

“We have asked the First and Deputy First Minister (at the Stormont Executive) to establish an inquiry into Mother and Baby homes here, as has been promised in the Republic.

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
Brisbane Times

December 15, 2014

Kristina Keneally

Last Friday the Australian Catholic Church’s Truth, Justice and Healing Council released a ground-breaking report on child sexual abuse. That morning, ABC’s Samantha Donovan interviewed the council’s chief executive Francis Sullivan and asked him if he had received any response yet from the Vatican.

Sullivan laughed and said, “No, not at all.”

“You’re laughing there?” said Donovan.

Sullivan replied, “Well, I think they’re all asleep at the moment … [awkward pause] … with it happening overnight.”

I know what Sullivan meant, but it is hard not to think that when it comes to child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, many in the Vatican are still asleep.

The Truth, Justice and Healing Council’s report publicly named two aspects of church practice as possible contributors to the sexual abuse of children by priests: obligatory celibacy and clericalism (that is, that only ordained men exercise power in the Church). Most Australians, Catholic or not, likely responded with the equivalent of “well, duh …. yeah”.

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.

MONTANA
Great Falls Tribune

The Catholic Diocese of Helena filed its Chapter 11 Disclosure Statement and Plan of Reorganization on Friday, Dec. 12, as part of a process being overseen by the Diocese and the Unsecured Creditors Committee. The committee represents the interests of those who have filed abuse claims against the church.

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

VATICAN CITY
Bolletino

Accredited journalists are informed that on Tuesday 16 December at 11.30, in the Aula Giovanni Paolo II of the Holy See Press Office, a press conference will be held to present the Presentation of the Final Report of the Apostolic Visitation of Institutes of Apostolic Life of Women Religious in the United States of America.

Presenters:

– His Eminence João Braz Card. de Aviz, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life;

– Archbishop José Rodríguez Carballo, O.F.M., Secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life;

– Mother M. Clare Millea, A.S.C.J., Director of the Apostolic Visitation of Institutes of Apostolic Life of Women Religious in the United States of America;

– Sr. Sharon Holland, IHM, President of Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR);

– Mother Agnes Mary Donovan, SV, Coordinator of the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious (CMSWR):

– Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB, Assistant to the Visitation Committee.

The Press Conference will be transmitted via live streaming.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
The Tablet

15 December 2014 11:03 by Christa Pongratz-Lippitt

Cardinal Christoph Schönborn has said that some participants’ responses at October’s Extraordinary Synod on the Family were characterised by fear.

In a four-page interview in the December issue of the German theological monthly Herder Korrespondenz, he said he had been most surprised to find that many of his fellow bishops were “afraid” of his suggestion that they recognise the good present in irregular relationships.

Some cardinals had even expressed a longing for authority and had held Russian President Vladimir Putin up as a model, for his defence of family values. This he found “very worrying indeed”.

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

UNITED STATES
The Tablet (UK)

12 December 2014 by Abigail Frymann Rouch

Mother Mary Clare MilleaThe woman tasked with carrying out the Vatican’s three-year investigation into the health of Religious life in the US admitted she faced resistance and criticism from fellow sisters.

Writing in this week’s Tablet Mother Mary Clare Millea said the Vatican allowed her to select her own collaborators to carry out the apostolic investigation of the nearly 400 institutes of women Religious. She said she felt she had “the complete trust of the congregation in Rome” to formulate a strategy for carrying out the investigation.

The long-awaited report from the investigation is to be released on Tuesday. Mother Clare, who is superior general of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, said she completed her report in January 2012.

She said she had felt “overwhelmed” when asked to carry out the task by the then-prefect of the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life in 2008, Cardinal Franc Rodé.

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
Royal Commission into Institutional Response to Child Sexual Abuse

The Royal Commission will hold a public hearing in Melbourne from Monday 2 February 2015. The hearing will examine the response of Yeshivah Melbourne and Yeshiva Bondi to allegations of child sexual abuse.

Live streaming times

The public hearing will be streamed live via this website between 10am and 4pm (AEDT), with the following break: 12:00pm – 12:30pm.

Join us on Twitter and Facebook for regular updates.

Please be aware that the content of the public hearings can be distressing for viewers. Visit support services to find services near you, or for immediate support call the Royal Commission on 1800 099 340 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Location

The hearing will be held at: County Court of Victoria, 250 William Street, Melbourne 3000.

The scope and purpose of the public hearing is to inquire into:

1. The response of the Yeshivah Centre and the Yeshivah College in Melbourne to allegations of child sexual abuse made against David Cyprys, David Kramer and Aaron Kestecher.

2. The response of the Yeshiva Centre and the Yeshiva College Bondi to allegations of child sexual abuse made against Daniel Hayman.

3. The systems, policies, practices and procedures for the reporting of and responding to allegations of child sexual abuse of:

a. Yeshivah Centre,
b. Yeshivah-Beth Rivkah Colleges,
c. The Yeshiva Centre – Chabad NSW, and
d. Yeshiva College Bondi.

4. Any other related matters.

Any person or institution who believes that they have a direct and substantial interest in the scope and purpose of the public hearing is invited to lodge a written application for leave to appear at the public hearing by 16 January 2015.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
The Tablet

15 December 2014 by Joanna Moorhead

A priest who left active ministry after admitting a relationship with a woman is being replaced by a married priest.

Parishioners at St Thomas More Catholic Church in Coventry were informed in October that their parish priest, Fr Philip Gay, had decided “after careful consideration and for personal reasons” to step down from his duties in order to consider his future.

A fortnight ago, his departure was confirmed in a statement from the Archdiocese of Birmingham that said: “It is with regret that we must now let you know of [Fr Gay’s] decision to leave the priesthood.”
According to parishioners, Fr Gay – who celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of his ordination earlier this year – left after falling in love with a female parishioner.

The archdiocese also announced that Fr Gay’s replacement would be Fr Stephen Day, a 53-year-old former Anglican priest who is set to arrive at the presbytery next week, from his current parish of St Anne’s in Nuneaton, with his wife and three children aged 10, 13 and 16.

“This really points out the contradictions in the Church’s current position on celibacy,” said Dr Michael Winter, chair of the Movement for Married Clergy. “The truth about any law is that it has to be consistent, and here we see an inconsistency.

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

NEW YORK
The New York Times

By SHARON OTTERMAN
DEC. 14, 2014

The sweeping reorganization of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, set to take effect next year, is likely to involve the merger or the closing of significantly more parishes than was originally announced last month, archdiocese documents show.

Church officials said in November that 112 of the archdiocese’s 368 parishes would be consolidated to create 55 new parishes, the largest realignment of the parish structure in the history of the archdiocese, which stretches from Staten Island to the Catskills. In 31 of those new parishes, one or more of the original churches would no longer be used for regular services, effectively shuttering those churches by August.

But the documents show that Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan has now proposed that an additional 38 parishes merge, to create 16 new ones. Among the affected churches, 11 would effectively close, with no regular Masses to be celebrated there. The remaining 27 church buildings would remain open for the celebration of the sacraments after the parishes merge.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
Bedfordshire on Sunday

Posted: December 14, 2014

By STEVE LOWE

BOYS as young as nine were shipped out from a former Catholic boys home to a life of abuse and 
torture in Australia.

Bedfordshire Police are currently investigating claims of physical and sexual abuse at St Francis Boys Home in Shefford.

The home was closed in 1973, in part due to concerns of abuse allegations.

During the investigation police heard that some boys were sent to Bindoon, a notorious town in Western Australia. The youngsters were sent over there in the late 1940s and early 1950s, where they endured a life of back-breaking work and both physical and sexual abuse that some have said amounted to torture.

The home in Bindoon was also run by the Catholic Church.

Police have confirmed that some youngsters were sent from St Francis Boys Home and it is not entirely clear whether parental 
consent was always obtained before they were shipped out.

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
Sydney Morning Herald

December 15, 2014

Rachel Browne
Social Affairs Reporter

One of Australia’s leading Jewish groups will be the subject of a child sex abuse inquiry early next year, following a series of horrific assaults on young people.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse will hold a public hearing into Yeshivah Bondi and Yeshivah Melbourne.

The hearing, to begin in February, marks the first time a Jewish institution has been the subject of a royal commission inquiry.

It will look at how the Yeshivah Centre and the Yeshivah College in Bondi dealt with allegations of sexual abuse against Daniel Hayman, a former Yeshivah director.

Earlier this year Hayman pleaded guilty to one charge of indecent assault by a person in authority relating to an incident that involved a young boy on a Jewish camp in the 1980s. He was given a a 19-month suspended sentence at the Downing Centre Local Court in June.

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

UNITED STATES
The Daily Beast

Jay Michaelson

A unique report on the ultra-conservative Bob Jones University points to the theological roots of sexual abuse and scandals

At this point, there are so many sex scandals among conservative religious organizations, we’re no longer surprised by any of them. The latest revelation—that for decades, the evangelical Bob Jones University blamed victims of sexual assault and discouraged the prosecution of predators—should be shocking, but probably isn’t.

Yet, the recent report on BJU’s misconduct is different. Unusually for such a document, it makes a theological case against sexual abuse—but in so doing, it points to the deep roots of rape culture that may not be so easily uprooted.

The fact pattern is by now familiar—though a little different in the BJU case, which covers counseling for all reported sexual abuse, not just abuse perpetrated by members of the Bob Jones community. Of the 166 respondents to the BJU survey who reported sexual abuse, about half of the abuse took place before they came to the university; this particular report is more about counseling victims than prosecuting perpetrators. This is not another cover-up.

The university’s responses, though, were depressingly familiar. Only 7.6 percent of victims were encouraged by BJU staff to report their abuse to the police. Forty-seven percent were actively told not to do so and 55 percent said the university’s attitude toward abuse reports was “blaming and disparaging.” Women were invited to confess what they had done to entice the abuser—the wearing of revealing clothing, for example. And if their bodies “responded favorably,” then they, too, had sinned.

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.

FLORIDA
Brainerd Dispatch

A priest, who served for a short time in the 1960s at St. Francis Catholic Church in Brainerd, has been recently accused of past sexual misconduct with a minor child while he served at the church, it was learned Sunday.

Father Tony Wroblewski shared the news Sunday with parishioners at Mass. St. Francis received a letter dated Thursday from the Rev. Paul D. Sirba, the Bishop of Duluth. Sirba wrote the Diocese of Duluth were notified that a “notice of claim” was recently filed against Father Charles Joseph Gormly on behalf of his alleged victim who accused him of past sexual misconduct.

Gormly, who died in 1968, was born in Ireland and ordained for the Diocese of Cheyenne, Wyo., but also briefly served in the Diocese of Duluth. Gormly worked in the Duluth Diocese as a priest from 1960-61 and served at St. Francis in Brainerd, St. Raphael, St. Lawrence and St. James in Duluth.

In Sirba’s letter, he wrote: “I deeply regret the long-lasting and devastating effects of sexual misconduct on the part of clergy and am completely committed to assisting its victims and preventing any recurrence of these crimes. I ask you to join me in prayer for all those who have been wounded by sexual misconduct on the part of the clergy.”

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

NEW YORK
Arutz Sheva (Israel)

Yeshiva University (YU) is offering a new online course for rabbis to prepare them in dealing with a topic that many say does not receive enough attention in the religious world – child abuse.

The 12-week course on preventing child abuse is a joint offering by YU’s Center for the Jewish Future (CJF), YU-affiliated Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) and Gundersen National Child Protection Training Center.

“Rabbis engage the issues relating to child abuse on multiple levels,” explained Rabbi Yaakov Glasser, Dean of the CJF. “They play a crucial role in educating the community regarding awareness and prevention, they contribute to setting policies in local institutions to prevent and address issues of child abuse and they are often on the front lines of guiding families through these extraordinarily difficult circumstances and counseling them through the complexities of the situation.”

Expanding on that point, Rabbi Naphtali Lavenda, director of online rabbinic programming at CJF, said “the rabbi is in a unique position. The rabbi has to be this Superman: he’s the first responder for all crises in the community and bears the weight of every person’s pain, suffering and troubles.”

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.

BOSTON (MA)
UPI

In 2002, Cardinal Bernard Law, under fire for allegedly protecting priests accused of abusing minors, resigned as Roman Catholic archbishop of Boston. (Pope John Paul II put Law in charge of a basilica in Rome in 2004.)

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.

DETUSCHLAND
rga

[The court has freed a religion teacher who was accused of sexual abuse. The 47-year-old pastor said after three-and-a-half years his life was difficult. He was acquitted by the Wuppertal criminal court.]

URTEIL Richter sprachen Religionslehrer frei, der wegen sexuellen Missbrauchs angeklagt war. Nach dreieinhalb Jahren endete gestern für einen 47-jährigen Pfarrer eine Geschichte, die sein Leben schwer belastet hat. Der Religionslehrer wurde von der zuständigen Strafkammer im Wuppertaler Landgericht in zweiter Instanz freigesprochen.

Es folgte damit nicht der Einschätzung des Amtsgerichts, das den Angeklagten wegen sexuellen Missbrauchs zweier Schülerinnen im Jahr 2011 zu elf Monaten Haft auf Bewährung und 10.000 Euro Geldstrafe verurteilt hatte. Für den Vorsitzenden Richter Thomas Bittner konnte nicht der Nachweis erbracht werden, dass sich die vier Taten tatsächlich ereignet hatten.

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.

DEUTSCHLAND
Nordbayern

[The pastor of Heideck/Reichertshofen has returned to his parish. After more than a year-long investigation by the Nuremberg-Furth prosecutor and a church investigation, the charges of abuse against the pastor were said to be unfounded.]

EICHSTÄTT/ HEIDECK/ REICHERTSHOFEN – Nach Abschluss eines mehr als einjährigen Ermittlungsverfahrens durch die Staatsanwaltschaft Nürnberg-Fürth und einer kirchenrechtlichen Voruntersuchung nimmt der Pfarrer von Heideck – der auch in Reichertshofen tätig war – wieder seinen Dienst auf: Die Untersuchungen haben ergeben, dass der Vorwurf des sexuellen Missbrauchs nicht begründet ist.

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

UNITED STATES
Talk to Action

Frederick Clarkson
Sat Dec 13, 2014

One of the deep scandals of our time, and apparently times past, is that sex abuse, particularly of children, has been so tolerated and covered-up. What’s more, it is clear that the problem is not limited to the Catholic Church, where the problem is of such extraordinary depth and breadth. It is deeply ingrained in more of society than most of us who were not affected by these things can easily believe. In the past year, I have written a bit about the difficulties the Southern Baptist Convention has had contending with its problems. (Here, here, and here.)

Now comes an investigative report on the ongoing scandal at the fundamentalist Bob Jones University, in Greenville, South Carolina, where Republican candidates for president used to have to make a pilgrimage as part of their courtship of voters in the South Carolina primary.

The report focused on how the college treated sexually abused women like criminals.

Earlier this year, the University fired the outside agency it had hired to investigate the situation — just before it was set to publish its findings. Ultimately, the school was forced to rehire the well regarded “Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment” (GRACE), an evangelical organization led by Boz Tchividjian, a grandson of Billy Graham, former prosecutor of child sex abuse cases, and a law professor at Liberty University.

The resulting report (PDF) is devastating. It has been widely reported, notably by The New York Times, and by the always excellent Kathryn Joyce, writing in The American Prospect.

But all is quiet on the Christian Right.

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
Sydney Morning Herald

December 14, 2014

Adam Morton

Sex abuse victims would have access to a reparation scheme with the power to award cash support and direct that the abuser be removed from their job – while still leaving open the possibility of the victim taking legal action – under a new proposal by the Anglican Church.

As the Anglican proposal is examined by victims and religious groups, the new Victorian government has launched a review into whether its existing Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal could be expanded to run a scheme for abuse victims.

Consideration of a state-based victims’ redress scheme comes as the Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sex Abuse – which has heard the stories of 2724 abuse survivors, with at least another 1400 still to give evidence – works on a national model. A discussion paper is due next month and final recommendations mid-year.

The previous Coalition state government accepted in principal a recommendation by the Victorian parliamentary inquiry into sex abuse that the victims’ of crime tribunal run a scheme for sex abuse survivors, and former attorney-general Robert Clark quietly sought submissions on how a scheme would work before last month’s election.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
Mail on Sunday

New blow for May’s sex abuse probe as Diana inquest QC agrees to lead rival investigation because of government’s ‘serious shortcomings’

By Simon Murphy and Martin Beckford for The Mail on Sunday

Theresa May’s troubled child abuse inquiry suffered a fresh setback last night as it emerged that a rival investigation is to be held by a top human rights lawyer.

Michael Mansfield QC, who represented Mohamed Al Fayed at the inquests into the deaths of Princess Diana and Al Fayed’s son Dodi, has been appointed as the judge of a new ‘people’s tribunal’ on historic abuse claims.

The Home Secretary’s official inquiry has barely started, even though it was launched several months ago.

First, ex-judge Baroness Butler-Sloss and then corporate lawyer Fiona Woolf had to resign from chairing it because of their links to figures alleged to have been involved in a cover-up of VIP paedophile rings.

But just like the Government’s inquiry, the new tribunal – set up by child abuse campaigners – has been beset by problems.

Only weeks after the steering committee was appointed, four members resigned, citing attacks on social media.

Among them was ex-social worker Liz Davies, a leading child protection expert.

Organisers insist it is not in conflict with the Government’s inquiry but will instead complement it.

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.

NEDERLAND
Trouw

Kardinaal Simonis wist al veel eerder van misbruik

[He is one of the highest ranked Dutch Catholic clergy who is known to have abused children. Between the 1950s and 1970s Former Auxiliary Bishop Jan Nienhaus of Utrecht is said to have molested four boys. There was a long silence until it became known in 2012. It now appears that Cardinal Adrianus Johannes Simonis knew of the accusations much earlier. He received a letter in 2000 from a man who claimed Nienhaus had been guilty of “erotic romps” with him. Simonis decided not to take action.]

Emiel Hakkenes − 13/12/14

Hij is een van de hoogstgeplaatste Nederlandse katholieke geestelijken van wie bekend is dat hij kinderen heeft misbruikt. Tussen de jaren vijftig en zeventig van de vorige eeuw vergreep voormalig hulpbisschop van Utrecht Jan Niënhaus zich aan vier jongens. Dat bleef lang stil, totdat dit voorjaar bleek dat de rk kerk in 2012 klachten tegen Niënhaus (1929-2000) gegrond had verklaard. Dat was niet bekendgemaakt omwille van ‘vertrouwelijkheid’.

Naar nu blijkt wist kardinaal Ad Simonis al veel eerder van beschuldigingen tegen Niënhaus. Simonis was van 1983 tot 2007 aartsbisschop van Utrecht en voorzitter van de Nederlandse bisschoppenconferentie. In oktober 2000 ontving hij een brief van een man die stelde dat Niënhaus zich had bezondigd aan ‘erotische stoeipartijen’ met hem. Simonis besloot geen actie te ondernemen naar aanleiding van die beschuldiging.

Deze gang van zaken wordt beschreven in Simonis’ biografie ‘Kerkleider in de branding’. Het boek, dat deze week verscheen, is geschreven door voormalig Trouw-journalist Ton Crijnen.

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

UNITED STATES
Call to Action

WRITTEN BY RYAN HOFFMANN | DECEMBER 12, 2014

On Tuesday December 16 we invite you to join members of the Nun Justice Project in watching a live- stream press conference from the Vatican about the outcomes of the Congregation for Religious’ Apostolic Visitation of U.S. sisters conducted from 2009 to 2012.

The press conference is being held in Rome at 11:30 am Rome time, (5:30 am Eastern time in the U.S.). Here is the link:

https://www.youtube.com/user/ vatican

While early reports indicate the report will be positive, it is important to remember that the mandate against the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) still stands.

It is encouraging that the president of LCWR, Sr. Sharon Holland,will participate in the press conference. However, until the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) rescinds the mandate and apologizes to LCWR, the sisters remain under a Vatican cloud.

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

UNITED STATES
Bilgrimage

William D. Lindsey

Earlier today, I suggested that Pope Francis would do well to read some women theologians like Ivone Gebara as he continues to put both left feet into his mouth when he makes jaw-dropping strawberries-on-the-cake statements quips about women. I ended that posting saying, “One can dream, I suppose.”

Here’s Jerry Slevin dreaming today at his Christian Catholicism site:

As Pope Francis next week begins his 79th year, he needs to act boldly now. Women cardinals would surely be bold and constructive.
Pope John XXIII understood shrewdly the advantage of “surprises” to shake the Vatican bureaucrats up. He did this with his dramatic and unexpected call in 1958 for a new ecumenical council and in 1962 with his papal birth control commission that had active women participants who made a real difference. Some women commission members reportedly explained, among other things, to some of the celibate members that thermometers and “natural family planning” were usually not conducive to a happy marriage.

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

IRELAND
Sunday World

Friday 12th December 2014

● FR. BRIAN D’ARCY

Thirty-Three Good Men is a book which analyses the lives and beliefs of 33 Irish Catholic diocesan priests and former priests.

It deals with the years 1960 to 2010. The author, Dr John Weafer, an experienced and highly regarded researcher, had personal interviews with each of the 33 priests.

They knew what he was researching and they were willing participants, though they retained their anonymity.

The interviews were limited to three basic areas of their lives.

1. How do Irish diocesan priests understand and experience celibacy in their day to day lives?

2. How do Irish diocesan priests negotiate their priesthood within a large and complex organisation?

3. How do Irish diocesan priests understand their priesthood, and how has this understanding changed over time, if at all?

The study is not easy reading though it is at all times interesting. The sample of 33 is small but the honesty of the participants adds greatly to its significance.

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

MINNESOTA
Canonical Consultation

12/13/2014

Jennifer Haselberger

This week, the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis continued its efforts to get itself out of financial hot water by sending a message to all pastors with a suggested text for parish bulletins which offers the Archdiocese’s explanation of how contributions made to parishes are spent. The recommended text (for parishes without schools) is this:

[copy of the document]

As I explained in a previous post, I disagree with the Archdiocese’s claim that ‘less than half a cent of every dollar you give…goes to the Archdiocese to pay expenses related to clergy sexual abuse and other clergy misconduct’. I think that the costs of misconduct are spread fairly broadly throughout the various categories of the pie chart (General & Administrative, you will note, includes the Archbishop’s Office…).

But, I am also concerned about the ways in which the Archdiocese’s legal troubles (and history of bad decision making) are beginning to impact the 91% of contributions that remain with the parishes. I noticed that the description of ‘parish initiatives’ in the suggested bulletin text does not include paying the ‘initial retainer’ or subsequent (and as yet undetermined) legal fees that were discussed at this week’s meeting with Mary Jo Jensen-Carter, the attorney who would like to represent all the parishes in the ‘Archdiocese’s process of obtaining a global settlement of the clergy abuse claims’.

While I was initially hopeful that this would be a positive step forward for parishes, my opinion has since changed. Rather than an initiative of the parishes, it is becoming more and more clear that this effort is really coming from the Chancery. Like the appointment of Tim Healy as President of the Catholic Services Appeal Foundation, the choice of Jensen-Carter, a former paralegal for the law firm of the current Chancellor for Civil Affairs (Joe Kueppers), removes any plausible claim that this is an independent initiative.

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

UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism

Jerry Slevin

At least half a billion Catholics, women, know very well that a major reason for the unabated continuation of the priest child abuse scandal is men, in particular over a hundred celibate Cardinals. These men likely do not even know “how to change a nappy”, as Mrs. Mary McAleese, the former Irish President recently so well put it. As the latest “Cardinalmania” heats up, why are no women being proposed, as shown here:

[National Catholic Reporter]

[National Catholic Reporter]

All Catholics should weigh in now and propose some women as Cardinals in comments to these two National Catholic Reporter articles in the above links. Why not? It is your Church and your children, no? The comments are often read by some in the Catholic hierarchy. For more details on women as Cardinals, please see my further remarks at:

[Christian Catholicism]

As supreme Church lawmaker, Pope Francis could re-write the rules quickly before February. He could authorize women Cardinals, just like he created the Council of Cardinals almost instantly out thin air. He really needs to invite some women and mothers, like Ireland’s “straight talking” leader, Mrs. Mary McAleese, and brave Illinois Justice Anne Burke, to become Cardinals in February, and then to attend October’s Final Synod.

Indeed, Justice Burke, a devout Catholic and friend of the Obamas, even negotiated courageously, if somewhat futilely, with ex-Pope Benedict as then Cardinal, and with several US Cardinals, earlier on trying to put some teeth in the US bishops’ Child Protection Charter. Both these women could teach the Pope and Cardinals a few things about Catholic families, among other things, no?

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
Broken Rites

By a Broken Rites researcher (article updated 12 December 2014)

A retired Australian Catholic bishop, Most Reverend Ronald Mulkearns, has been ordered by a court to give evidence in a case against a former priest, Robert Claffey. This order was made by the Geelong Magistrates Court in Victoria on 12 December 2014 when ex-priest Claffey (now aged 70), was charged with multiple incidents of indecent assault against seven children.

Bishop Mulkearns (born in 1930) was the head of the Catholic Church throughout the western half of the state of Victoria (with his cathedral in the city of Ballarat), from 1971 to 1997. Father Robert Claffey worked in west Victorian parishes under Bishop Mulkearns in the 1970s and 1980s.

The court was told that one of the alleged assaults involved Father Claffey going to a boy’s house and indecently assaulting him during the 1980s. Detective Sergeant Tim Kennedy, from the Sano Taskforce in the Victoria Police, told the court that the boy allegedly reported the assault to his father, who then allegedly reported it to Bishop Mulkearns. Claffey was then moved from his parish at Wendouree (in Ballarat) to another parish [in a different part of the diocese], Sergeant Kennedy said.

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

IRELAND
Irish Times

Mark Hilliard

Sat, Dec 13, 2014

Free medical care will be provided to survivors of the Magdalene laundries in new legislation ushering in the next phase of a Government support package as recommended in the Quirke Report.

Under the scheme the women will be entitled to GP care, prescription medicines, nursing and home-help.

The Redress for Women Resident in Certain Institutions Bill 2014 was published by Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald on Friday.

Other care provided by the HSE under the legislation will include dental, ophthalmic, aural, counselling, chiropody and physiotherapy services.

The HSE will also deal “on an administrative basis” with arrangements for equivalent health services for participants living abroad, the Department of Justice has said.

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

GUAM
Kuam

by Jolene Toves

Guam – As the controversies continue within the local Catholic Church, Father Paul Gofigan continues to wait for his case to be heard in Rome. Over a year ago the riff between the priest and Archbishop Anthony Apuron first began which led to his removal as the head of Santa Barbara Church in Dededo.

“I don’t really see it as persecution,” he said. “I just see there are a few partialities going on in the archdiocese but I don’t let that bother me I didn’t sign up for that sort of stuff I signed up to be a priest a priest to serve the people and as long as he allows me to serve the people I’m happy I don’t have to be a pastor I don’t have to be anybody in the hierarchy I just want to be a priest and I’m actually satisfied with the life I’m living now.”

As we reported Archbishop Apuron alleged that Gofigan failed to follow a directive warranting his removal, and while Gofigan says he is content with the life he is living now in the recent months a close friend of his, John Toves has taken on Gofigan’s fight. “I didn’t ask him to do anything as I said he’s really good friend of monsignor and myself and this is something that he feels deep down in his heart that he has to do and he’s sort of acting on that making something sort of raise awareness of what’s going on especially in our island church,” he explained.

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.

ARIZONA
Fox 10

[with video]

MESA, Ariz. –
Mesa Police detectives arrested 5 suspects in an undercover child prostitution sting.

One of the suspects is a priest and police say they had to use a Taser to arrest him.

According to court documents detectives posed as a 16-year-old girl who the suspects solicited to have sex with.

Police say the suspects were between 26 to 49 years-old. All the suspects admitted to police that they knew they were coming to have sex with a 16-year-old female.

One of the men, 49-year-old Solomon Bandiho was a Catholic Priest at a Holy Cross Catholic Church in Mesa.

“We get people from all walks of life, almost anything you can think of from a stay at home mom or dad to executives of businesses, we certainly see all types in these operations,” said Detective Steve Berry.

According to police Bandiho asked the undercover detective for sex offering $60, he said he wanted extras and a long-term relationship.

When police tried to arrest him he resisted and they had to deploy a Taser to subdue him.

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
The Guardian

The Catholic church is not considering abandoning its requirement for priests to be celibate despite a report which acknowledges the policy may contribute to child abuse.

A report from the church’s Truth Justice and Healing Council has, for the first time in Australia, drawn a link between priests’ vow of celibacy and the child abuse that has been revealed in disturbing detail before the current royal commission.

But the council’s chief executive, Francis Sullivan, said his report was not a first step to ending celibacy for priests.

“There would be a long way to go before that conversation would be had and it would be beyond our brief anyway,” Sullivan said.

The report touched only briefly on celibacy amid discussion of issues that had emerged before the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse.

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.

SOUTH CAROLINA
The State

BY MICHAEL GORDON
The Charlotte Observer
December 13, 2014

A leader and four members of a controversial Rutherford County church have been indicted on charges that they kidnapped, beat and strangled a 21-year-old man to cleanse him of gay demons.

The allegations by Mathew Fenner mark the second time in the past three years that the members of Word of Faith Fellowship in Spindale have been accused of beating someone over the victim’s sexual orientation.

In a statement, church attorney Josh Farmer said the allegations against church members are untrue.

“We look forward to proving their innocence and to their complete vindication before a trial court,” said Farmer, who is listed on the Word of Faith website among the church’s pastors and ministers.

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

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Concord Monitor

By JEREMY BLACKMAN
Monitor staff
Saturday, December 13, 2014
(Published in print: Saturday, December 13, 2014)

Daniel Leaf, a former Concord man and convicted sex offender with ties to Trinity Baptist Church, was sentenced yesterday to a year in jail for having molested his stepdaughter decades ago.

Leaf, 55, of Tilton, was found guilty last month in Merrimack County Superior Court. A judge had delayed his conviction after a last-minute request by prosecutors to amend the charges from aggravated felonious sexual assault to felonious sexual assault. The defense had argued that the aggravated charges, a Class A felony, had been incorrectly applied given the timing of the crimes – 1990. The victim was 9 at that time.

Felonious sexual assault is a Class B felony worth a maximum prison sentence of seven years.

Judge Larry Smukler had allowed jurors to go forward with deliberations, but gave Leaf’s attorneys until Monday to respond in writing to prosecutor’s request. A hearing had been set for Jan. 12. They have agreed to drop their arguments and forgo future appeals in exchange for the sentence announced yesterday, which Smukler described as “on the lenient end.”

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.

ESPANA
El Economista

La Guardia Civil detiene en Madrid a Feliciano Miguel Rosendo da Silva, exlíder de una secta

Efectivos de la Guardia Civil han detenido este jueves en Collado Villalba (Madrid) al exlíder de Orden y Mandato de San Miguel Arcangel, Feliciano Miguel Rosendo, por asociación ilícita, según han confirmado fuentes del Tribunal Xuperior de Xusticia de Galicia.

La causa, declarada secreta, está en el Juzgado de Instrucción número 1 de Tui (Pontevedra).
Las mismas fuentes explican que no está aún determinado cuando pasará el detenido a disposición judicial, aunque descartan que sea a lo largo de este jueves. Fuentes de la investigación han añadido que se sabía que miembros de esta organización iban a tener una reunión en el municipio madrileño este jueves.

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.

ESPANA
La Voz de Galicia

Feliciano Miguel Rosendo da Silva, vigués de 55 años, creía que era un elegido de Dios, «la reencarnación de San Miguel Arcángel». Así lo definen personas que vivieron con él durante los años que lideró la asociación San Miguel Arcángel de Oia y otros que aún tienen familiares atrapados en el grupo que formó tras dejar de ser bendecido por la Iglesia. Para impresionar a sus fieles simulaba hablar en arameo. Formaba un círculo con sus seguidores y algunos parecían entrar en trance, llegando incluso a vomitar y desmayarse. Era un hombre con gran capacidad de atracción y convicción, por lo que llegó a tener centenares de seguidores bajo su mando. Ejercía un dominio omnímodo sobre el colectivo.

Construyó un mundo intramuros, tras las conocidas por sus seguidores como «las murallas de Jerusalén», que cercaban la casa con torreón almenado de su propiedad ubicada en el municipio pontevedrés de Oia y que fue creciendo a la par que sus fieles. Comenzó a ganarse simpatías en la trastienda de una herboristería del barrio vigués de O Calvario. Al calor de estos encuentros fue como nació el coro San Miguel, que posteriormente derivó en el grupo San Miguel Arcángel. El líder religioso, finalmente apartado por la Iglesia por su conducta presuntamente inmoral, ofrecía toda clase de rituales y pócimas a quienes se acercaban a su tienda.

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.

SPAIN
The Local

Police in Spain have detained two leaders of a sect accused of sexual abuse and taking money from up to 400 followers, a court said on Friday.

The sect’s leader, Feliciano Rosendo da Silva, and his right-hand woman, the self-described “nun” Marta Paz Alonso, were detained on Thursday in the town of Collado Villalba, around 50 kilometres (30 miles) northwest of Madrid.

An investigating judge will question the suspects “once several outstanding police procedures” are completed, the High Court of Justice of Galicia, in northwestern Spain, said in a statement.

The pair ran the sect, dubbed Mandate and Order of Saint Michael Archangel, in Galicia but moved to the Madrid region after Da Silva was expelled from the Roman Catholic diocese of Tui for “inapproriate moral behaviour”. They then renamed the sect “The Voice of the Serviam”.

Police accuse them of sexual abuse, money laundering, tax fraud, criminal association and crimes against moral integrity.

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.

SOUTH CAROLINA
The American Prospect

KATHRYN JOYCE DECEMBER 12, 2014

With multiple publications still gleefully dissecting the failures of a recent Rolling Stone exposé on campus rape, granting rape skeptics an unusually warm national spotlight, a new report from an unlikely corner of American culture confirms just how real the problems with reporting sex abuse in American higher education can be.

On Thursday, the Christian nonprofit ministry GRACE (an acronym for Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment) released its long-awaited report on the mishandling of sex abuse allegations at Bob Jones University, the South Carolina school that for most of a century has served as the flagship institution of fundamentalist Christianity in the United States. The report is at once a grim autopsy detailing just how badly college administrators botched the handling of sexual abuse and rape claims, and also an example of surprising transparency from one of the most cloistered and conservative schools in the country.

In the 301-page report, GRACE shows Bob Jones University responding to rape and abuse claims with woeful ignorance of state law, a near-complete lack of training in psychology and trauma counseling best practices, and an overarching campus culture that blames women and girls for any abuse they suffer, and which paints all sexuality—from rape to consensual sex—as equivalent misdeeds.

That a fundamentalist institution—one most famous for banning interracial dating up until 14 years ago—has also been cartoonishly terrible at handling rape claims is not much of a surprise. But that Bob Jones University commissioned and, albeit with some serious reluctance, allowed the publication of this damning report is a major new contribution to the current debate on campus rape.

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.

SOUTH CAROLINA
Greenville News

Lyn Riddle, lnriddle@greenvillenews.com December 12, 2014

Solicitor Walt Wilkins said today he will begin an investigation into the way Bob Jones University handled sexual abuse reports from students to see if state law was broken or obstruction of justice occurred.

In addition, he hopes anyone who wants to prosecute abuse will contact his office.

His investigation stems from a report issued Thursday by GRACE, a Lynchburg, Va., group that works with churches and other Christian organization on the proper ways to prevent abuse and how to work with victims.

GRACE found that the teachings of the university as well as counseling served to re-victimize students. There were also reports from victims that they were discouraged and in some instances told not to contact law enforcement about what had happened to them.

“If they were convincing individuals not to report crimes that could be considered obstruction of justice,” Wilkins said. “We need to see if it rises to that level.”

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.

COLORADO
CBS Denver

WESTMINSTER, Colo. (CBS4)- A pastor pleaded guilty on Friday to sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust.

Prosecutors say Gerald Clark’s victims include three children and two women.

The offenses date back as far as 2005 and as recently as April 2012.

Clark originally faced 10 counts, but those were dropped in exchange for a guilty plea to one count that covers all three felony counts of victims under the age of 18.

The first young woman to come forward told police that Clark was a father figure and mentor to her. She said the sexual abuse occurred approximately 30 to 50 times between 2009 and 2012 when she was 13 to 16 years old.

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/ROME
Telegraph (UK)

By Jonathan Pearlman, Sydney, and Nick Squires in Rome

Priests’ vows of celibacy may have led to paedophilia, the Roman Catholic Church in Australia has said, in what is believed to be the first such admission by Catholic officials worldwide.

A group advising the Australian Church on how to deal with thousands of cases of child sex abuse said celibacy may be psychologically damaging for some priests.

“Obligatory celibacy may also have contributed to abuse in some circumstances,” said a 44-page report from the group, called the Truth, Justice and Healing Council. The group, which is supervised by some of Australia’s senior archbishops, does not necessarily reflect the views of all the clergy.

Its conclusions were quickly dismissed by the Vatican. “We certainly don’t take the issue lightly, but are these claims [by the Healing Council] based on a serious, long-term psychological study?” a senior Vatican source said. “We know that most sexual abuse of children takes place within the family, and family members are by their nature not celibate — they could be fathers or uncles,” he argued.

The Healing Council report criticised the “closed environments” of some religious orders and dioceses.

“Church institutions and their leaders, over many decades, seemed to turn a blind eye, either instinctively or deliberately, to the abuse happening within their diocese or religious order, protecting the institution rather than caring for the child,” it said.

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

AUSTRALIA
VICE News

By Sally Hayden

December 12, 2014

The Australian Truth, Justice and Healing Council has published a report stating that celibacy among Catholic priests may have been contributing factor in child abuse.

The church advisory group made the statements in its December 2014 activity report. The council is comprised of 12 people with expertise across specialized fields including child abuse, trauma, mental illness, and psychosexual disorders. These include the archbishop of Brisbane, Mark Coleridge, and bishop of Maitland-Newcastle, Bill Wright.

Since February 2013 it has heard more than 2,600 victims tell stories of abuse, and have held 21 public hearings.

In a section called “Culture and clericalism,” the report said that along with issues around parents being reluctant to believe their children when they report abuse, and church institutions protecting themselves rather than young people, “obligatory celibacy may also have contributed to abuse in some circumstances.” The report goes on to suggest that there may be flaws in “the way in which candidates for the priesthood or religious life were accepted for entry.” …

While this report has garnered mixed reactions, David Clohessy, national director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, told VICE News that he agrees with its assessment of the celibacy requirement.

“We feel the celibacy requirement contributes to the crisis in two ways. First, when all priests are forbidden from having any sex, many priests end up with sexual secrecy. So priests who masturbate, watch pornography, exploit adult parishioners, or pick up sex partners in bars are very reluctant to speak up when they see a colleague take a child to his bedroom.

“Second, we believe that some devout young Catholic men and teenagers feel disturbing sexual urges towards kids. Since church teaching says the celibacy is a gift from God, some of these troubled men are attracted to the priesthood, thinking if they pledge to serve God and his church, he will in turn help them overcome these urges. Sadly, that doesn’t seem to happen often.”

“So,” Clohessy concluded, “celibacy both fosters a climate of sexual secrecy while also attracting to the priesthood a higher percentage of men with sexual difficulties.”

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.

SPAIN
The Olive Press

By Jacqueline Fanchini and Tom Powell

“THE truth is the truth, and we must not hide it,” the Pope ruled, just days before a judge in Granada filed preliminary charges against three priests and a religious teacher for the sexual abuse of a former altar boy.

With up to a dozen more under investigation – and new victims coming out by the week – it has been dubbed the ‘gravest sexual abuse scandal’ in the history of the Catholic church in Spain.

The gravity of the situation certainly became apparent, with Pope Francis himself feeling the need to step into the scandal, after a victim contacted him personally.

Since the court launched its investigation a fortnight ago, at least one more victim has gone public with a similar litany of abuses. There are believed to be many more victims.

Either way, the scandal has now led to the most extraordinarily unprecedented display of humility from religious men, who normally like to pontificate from on high.

In a bizarre picture opportunity, the Archbishop of Granada and other clerics prostrated themselves at the city’s cathedral during Mass, ‘asking forgiveness for the sins of the Church, for all of the scandals that have, or might have, occurred among us’.

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

MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press

By Richard Chin
rchin@pioneerpress.com
POSTED: 12/12/2014

Steven Joseph Schulz, a Golden Valley man convicted of felony online solicitation of a minor for sex, was sentenced Friday in St. Paul to 30 days in jail and probation for five years.

Schulz, 56, corresponded online with someone he thought was a 15-year-old boy. The boy actually was an undercover St. Paul police sergeant who responded to a Craigslist ad that Schulz had posted.

The police set up a sting and Schulz was arrested when he arrived with Red Bull and vodka at what he thought would be a rendezvous with the boy at an address on St. Paul’s East Side in April 2013.

At his trial in Ramsey County District Court, Schulz testified that he himself was molested as a child at the hands of a priest, and that he wanted to meet the boy he corresponded with to warn him away from the fate he suffered.

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.

WISCONSIN
WKBT

[with video]

WAUSAU, Wis. (WKBT) –
Reverend Monsignor Bernard O. McGarty with the Diocese of La Crosse was cited for disorderly conduct for an incident at a salon in Wausau Thursday afternoon.

According to the citation from the Wausau Police Department, McGarty, 89, was getting a massage at about 3:45 p.m. The massage therapist was rubbing his leg when he lifted up the blanket around his groin area and told her to rub oil on his genitals.

The citation stated that the massage therapist said no and then ran out of the room. She told Wausau police McGarty then yelled an obscenity after her.

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.

WISCONSIN
WSAW

[with video]

An 89-year-old Monsignor in the La Crosse Diocese has been issued a disorderly conduct citation after he’s accused of asking a Wausau massage therapist to touch his genitals.

The incident happened around 3:45 p.m. Thursday at a salon in Wausau.

According to the citation, Bernard McGarty was dressed in full robes and said he was in town for a funeral and was heading back to La Crosse following the massage. The massage therapist told police McGarty was demanding and she was scared. According to the citation, the massage therapist told police she said ‘no’ and McGarty then called her a derogatory name.

“I think it’s unfortunate that someone who represents the Catholic church and arrives discussing the fact he’s a priest in the Catholic Church and is dressed in the robes of a Catholic priest would behave in that manner. Which is unfortunate if anyone would behave that manner but I think everyone expects priests and individuals in the clergy role to behave in a better manner,” said Wausau Police Lieutenant Matt Barnes.

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.

ARIZONA
Daily Journal

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First Posted: December 12, 2014

MESA, Arizona — A Catholic priest assigned to an east Mesa church is among five men arrested by Mesa police in a sting operation that targeted prostitution involving underaged girls.

Mesa police detectives posed as 16-year-old girls and advertised their services on a website known for trading in prostitution.

Police say the men came to a Mesa motel at a predetermined time Thursday to rendezvous with the prostitutes for sex.

When the men agreed to have sex with the supposed prostitutes even after being told they were minors, they were arrested on suspicion of child prostitution.

Police say the suspects include 49-year-old Solomon Bandiho, who’s a parochial administrator at Holy Cross Parish.

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
Boston Globe

By Matt Rocheleau
GLOBE CORRESPONDENT DECEMBER 12, 2014

Citing a new Massachusetts law extending the statute of limitations in child sex abuse cases, a judge has ruled that a former Billerica man can proceed with a lawsuit against Harvard University that alleges he was repeatedly raped and molested by a swimming coach at the campus more than four decades ago.

The lawsuit filed in June 2012 by Stephen Embry had been dismissed by a judge last November because it was filed about 15 months after the state’s statute of limitations on such cases had expired.

However, Embry’s lawyer, Carmen L. Durso, appealed that ruling, and in June lawmakers passed new legislation extending the statute of limitations in such cases. The law applied retroactively.

A judge this week ruled in favor of the appeal, overturning the dismissal of Embry’s case and allowing his suit against Harvard to proceed.

“Harvard’s motion to dismiss was originally granted solely on the basis of a statute of limitations which no longer applies to similar causes of action,” Middlesex Superior Court Judge Bruce R. Henry said in his nine-page decision Monday, which Durso provided a copy of to the Globe on Friday.

Durso applauded the ruling.

“When someone is abused as a child and they get to the point in t

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

UNITED STATES
The Week

By Peter Weber

here are some acts so horrible and morally revolting that we assign them special little rooms in the halls of the damned: Genocide, terrorism (the real kind, like blowing up civilian airliners and crashing planes into skyscrapers), torture, and sexually abusing children, to name a few.

Thanks to some intrepid reporting in the mid-2000s, we already knew that the Central Intelligence Agency tortured people in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, with at least the blessing of the Bush administration. Now, after Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee, released a lengthy report this week on those CIA actions, we know some of the gruesome details of those “enhanced” interrogation methods used at secret “black site” dungeons outside the U.S. and outside the view of the law. They aren’t pretty.

The CIA and former Bush officials delayed, obstructed, and fought against the release of the report. Now that it’s out, they’ve launched a full-bore offensive to discredit it. They are calling it a partisan witch hunt. They are accusing Senate staffers of cherry-picking details (while not denying the veracity of those details), comparing that to cheating on a crossword puzzle. They argue (unconvincingly) that the torture saved American lives.

Some people, even a good number, will accept the CIA’s side of the story. For now. The CIA torture report has effectively been politicized, and that’s a shame. Torture shouldn’t be a partisan issue. And the CIA shouldn’t ask people to take its side.

Langley would be well-advised to look toward the Catholic Church.

Ask any Catholic how awful it felt in 2002 to read in the pages of The Boston Globe about Fr. John Geoghan and other priests who serially abused young boys in the Boston Archdiocese. Then there was the sinking feeling when reports started coming in from across the country about priests who abused young people, sometimes after being quietly transferred to another parish or diocese following an ineffective treatment program. It didn’t help when it turned out this wasn’t just an American problem.

There’s no way to whitewash it: Purported servants of God sexually molested thousands of innocent children over five decades, and their superiors tried to cover it up. For some Catholics, that was slow to sink in.

After all, there had been reported cases of priest sexual abuse before. It was just a small number of bad apples, when the huge majority of priests did so much good. Almost all the alleged abuse cases were old news, by a decade or more. Every organization that works with children has some number of child predators. Closing down churches to pay for sex abuse settlements will only hurt innocent people. The Catholic Church and its clerics serve the poor, feed the hungry, clothe the naked — why the sudden pariah treatment?

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

ALABAMA
AL.com

By John Sharp | jsharp@al.com
on December 12, 2014

Children victimized by sexual abuse can get free services until adulthood.

After age 18, the expenses kick for continued treatment.

In addition, research continues to indicate between 60 to 80 percent of children withhold disclosure of sexual abuse during childhood until they reach an adult age.

It can be a costly and traumatic experience, one that Alabama is ranked as one of the “worst” in the U.S. in terms of aiding victims through the civil court system.

“That cost to the public is enormous, because the victims typically have about $1 million over their lifetime in needed therapy,” Marci Hamilton, professor at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York and an author on the topic, said.

Hamilton, an expert in the statute of limitation laws throughout the U.S., tracks what each state does in terms of loosening restrictions on when a victim can file civil claims.

The settlements, she says, can help provide financial relief to seek therapy throughout the victim’s lifetime.

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

UNITED STATES
POPE FRANCIS the CON-Christ.

Paris Arrow

December 8, 2014 feast of the Immaculate Conception

In his first interview with a woman – about women – Pope Francis revealed his narrow-minded outdated medieval view on women by citing the oldest ancient book of Catholicism, the Bible, that woman was formed from the rib of Adam, read our related article Pope Francis treats Catholic women as a joke, says “woman was from a rib” and “priests often end up under the sway of their housekeepers” http://pope-francis-con-christ.blogspot.ca/2014/07/pope-francis-treats-catholic-women-as.html This week, at his (first and probably last) European Union Parliament speech, Pope Francis again demonstrated where his VA heart is about women — which proves what we have been saying that the Vatican aka Holy See is made of a few all-male oligarchy who are gays and misogynists. The Vatican’s website is Vatican.va. VA really means Vatican Autocracy because it is one of the last “divine right” autocratic governments left on earth. Jesus said, “The good person produces good things from the store of good in his heart, while the evil person produces evil things from the store of evil in his heart. For his mouth speaks what overflows from his heart” (Luke 6:47).

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.

PITTSBURGH (PA)
Pittsburgh Catholic

by: Pittsburgh Catholic Staff Report

Following a thorough on-site audit of procedures, the Diocese of Pittsburgh again has been found to be in full compliance with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.”

The week of Oct. 20, auditors from StoneBridge Business Partners of Rochester, N.Y., visited the diocese to interview people and do spot inspections in parishes. StoneBridge conducts independent audits of compliance with the charter by dioceses and eparchies under an arrangement with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The auditors inspected diocesan policies and procedures for addressing allegations and ensuring that children are protected from potential abuse.

“As part of the audit, they met with seven or eight members of our diocesan staff, asking questions regarding those staff members’ knowledge with all of the policies and procedures required by the charter and how those specific staff members ensure that children are protected and a safe environment is maintained in the diocese,” said Father Tom Kunz, diocesan vicar for canonical services.

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.

VATICAN CITY
Religion News Service

Josephine McKenna | December 12, 2014

VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Roman Catholic Church in Australia acknowledged that “obligatory celibacy” may have contributed to decades of clerical sexual abuse of children in what may be the first such admission by church officials around the world.

A church advisory group called the Truth, Justice and Healing Council made the startling admission Friday (Dec. 12) in a report to the government’s Royal Commission, which is examining thousands of cases of abuse in Australia

The 44-page report by the council attacked church culture and the impact of what it called “obedience and closed environments” in some religious orders and institutions.

“Church institutions and their leaders, over many decades, seemed to turn a blind eye, either instinctively or deliberately, to the abuse happening within their diocese or religious order, protecting the institution rather than caring for the child,” the report said.

“Obedience and closed environments also seem to have had a role in the prevalence of abuse within some religious orders and dioceses. 
Obligatory celibacy may also have contributed to abuse.” …

The Vatican’s chief spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, could not be reached for comment Friday. But Maltese Bishop Charles Scicluna, the Vatican’s former chief prosecutor for abuse cases, tried to put the report in context in remarks to the Italian daily La Stampa.

“You mustn’t forget that most abuse occurs in the family,” he said. “Obviously I don’t exclude individual cases where celibacy is lived badly that may have psychological consequences. But it should be said clearly that it is certainly not the origin of this sad and very painful phenomenon and remember that there is no nexus between cause and effect.”

The suggestion of a link between celibacy and child sexual abuse has divided Australian Catholic leaders in the past.

Cardinal George Pell, former archbishop of Sydney and now head of the Vatican’s powerful economic ministry, acknowledged there may be a connection when he testified before a separate government inquiry in Australia last year. He was unavailable for comment at the Vatican Friday.

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.

ARIZONA
azfamily

by Mike Gertzman
azfamily.com
Posted on December 12, 2014

MESA, Ariz. — Mesa police officers arrested five men, including a Catholic priest, in a child prostitution sting.

Officers conducted operation “Buyer Beware” on Dec. 11.

Undercover detectives posed as underage females.

During the sting, five suspects responded to the designated location to pay for sex with a person they believed was a 16-year-old female.

The suspects arrested ranged in age from 26 to 49 years old.

Subsequent to the arrest, all of the suspects admitted that they knew they were coming to the location to have sex with a 16-year-old female.

Through the investigation, it was also learned that Solomon Bandiho, 49, is a Catholic priest at a local parish in Mesa.

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.

CHILE
El Universo

[The Vatican has permanently suspended from priestly function Chilean priest Marcelo Mendez Gloor, who was convicted of sexually abusing a minor.]

El Vaticano suspendió de por vida en el ejercicio del sacerdocio a un sacerdote chileno que es investigado por abuso sexual de un menor con discapacidad mental, informó este viernes la Conferencia Episcopal de Chile.

“Conforme a lo establecido en el Código de Derecho Canónico y en las normas de la Santa Sede sobre los delitos más graves, el sacerdote Marcelo Méndez Gloor ha sido declarado culpable del delito de abuso sexual de menor de edad”, se informó en un comunicado.

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

UNITED STATES
National Catholic Register

by JOAN FRAWLEY DESMOND 12/12/2014

WASHINGTON — Capuchin Father John Pavlik recalls the deep sadness he felt when confronted with an allegation of sexual abuse that involved a member of his religious order.

The accused had died, and the accuser was an elderly woman who resided in a nursing home and had contacted the order for the first time. Father Pavlik checked the priest’s file and found no allegations, but scheduled a meeting with the woman to hear her story and to ask what the Capuchins could do to offer support.

“I listened whole-heartedly, and based on my training, I believed what she said,” Father Pavlik told the Register, noting that the woman had been a minor when the priest fondled her during a counseling session.

“She had gone to find assistance from a priest, and instead he ends up harming her.”

The woman didn’t want a financial settlement. But she accepted the Capuchins’ offer of counseling and help with medical bills, and the order continued to reach out until her death.

Years later, Father Pavlik is still “heartbroken” that the Capuchins’ offer of assistance couldn’t erase the trauma she had experienced long ago and never forgotten.

But the story also serves as a reminder that Father Pavlik, like many superiors of religious orders of men, had learned the importance of acting quickly on allegations of abuse and putting victims first.

Now, in his present role as the executive director of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM), he directs an annual review of new information and research that helps members fine-tune the implementation of standards designed to safeguard minors and prevent further abuse.

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
Durso Law

RETROACTIVITY OF NEW CHILD SEX ABUSE LAW AFFIRMED

In a groundbreaking first test of the new Child Sex Abuse Statute of Limitations law, adopted by the Legislature on June 26th, a Middlesex Superior Court Judge ruled in a decision released today that the law applies, retroactively, to a claim against Harvard University which was pending before the law was passed.

Judge Bruce R. Henry issued a 9 page decision in which he stated: “the Legislature intended that § 4C½ apply retroactively, even in cases brought before its enactment.”

The claim by Stephen Embry alleges that he was sexually abused by a Harvard swim coach “in the Harvard pool, locker room, and showers on approximately one hundred occasions;” that the coach “sexually assaulted at least two other young boys in the swimming program;” and he “took numerous nude photographs of Embry in the Harvard locker room, showers, and pool.” Embry also saw numerous “nude pictures of other young boys” taken on the Harvard campus.

Copies of the decision and the Complaint are available. For more information, contact:

Carmen Durso
DURSO LAW
LAW OFFICE OF CARMEN L. DURSO
175 Federal Street, Suite 1425
Boston, MA 02110-2287
Tel: 617-728-9123 – Fax: 617-426-7972
carmen@dursolaw.com

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

UNITED STATES
Religion Newswriters Association

This version was corrected on 12/12/14 to fix a numbering problem.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Dec. 11, 2014

Columbia, Mo.—The extremist Islamic State’s violent reign of terror in Iraq and Syria was voted the No. 1 Religion Story of 2014 by the world’s leading religion journalists. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision giving closely held companies the ability to claim religious objections to health care mandates was a close second.

For the second year in a row, Pope Francis was named the top Religion Newsmaker of the Year. He was selected overwhelmingly, receiving more than half of all the votes among a slate of 10 newsmakers.

The online ballot was conducted Friday, Dec. 5 through Wednesday, Dec. 10. Only RNA members, who comprise religion journalists in the U.S. and abroad, were eligible to vote. The Top 10 ballot items are listed here. Because of two ties, the list actually includes 12 stories:

1. The self-styled Islamic State expands a reign of terror into Iraq and Syria, driving out the Iraqi army from Mosul and exiling ancient Christian communities, Yazidis and other religious minorities on threat of death. The United Nations, Christians and many Muslim groups strongly condemn the videotaped beheadings of American journalist James Foley and other hostages as inhumane and un-Islamic.

2. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court rules that two closely held companies — Hobby Lobby and Conestoga — can claim religious objections to contraceptive mandate in the Affordable Care Act. The ruling is considered a victory for the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and is highly controversial.

3. (TIE) A cascading deterioration of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict includes the kidnappings and murders of Israeli and Palestinian civilians, an Israel-Hamas war that leaves more than 2,000 dead, tensions over Temple Mount access and attacks on Israeli and Palestinian civilians, including a deadly attack on rabbis praying in a synagogue.

3. (TIE) Pope Francis continues to draw both worldwide admiration and consternation for his efforts toward inclusiveness, including outreach to the needy and people of other faiths.

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
Herald Sun

A BRIEF HISTORY OF CELIBACY IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

IN the 1st century Peter, the first pope, was a married man and so were many of his successors until the 16th century.

* 2nd and 3rd Century – The age of Gnosticism, when it was believed a person cannot be married and be perfect. However, most priests were married.

* 4th Century – Council of Nicea decrees a priest could not marry after ordination; Council of Laodicea decreed priests may no longer sleep with their wives; Pope Siricius left his wife in order to become pope.

* 6th Century – Pope Pelagius II’s policy was not to bother married priests as long as they did not hand over church property to wives or children.

* 7th Century – French documents show the majority of priests were married.

* 8th Century – St Boniface reported to the Pope that in Germany almost no bishop or priest was celibate.

* 11th Century – Pope Benedict IX dispensed himself from celibacy and resigned in order to marry; in 1095, Pope Urban II had priests’ wives sold into slavery and children were abandoned.

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.

DECEMBER 13, 2014

Natasha Bita
National Correspondent
Brisbane

AUSTRALIA’S most senior Catholic cleric has proclaimed that families are more likely than priests to abuse children and ­rejected a church report that linked celibacy to sexual abuse.

Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher said that celibacy could not be to blame for abuse, which occurred in every church, regardless of whether it was celibate.

“The thing about child abuse is most of it happens in families,’’ Archbishop Fisher told The Weekend Australian yesterday.

“It’s an awful thing, we hate to even touch on it, but it can’t be about celibacy … because you look around society at the ­moment, it’s in every church, celibacy or not. It’s in many families and they’re not celibate, generally speaking.’’

The Australian yesterday revealed that the Truth, Justice and Healing Council of the Catholic Church in Australia had concluded that celibacy might have contributed to decades of child sex abuse committed by Catholic priests and clergy.

The council called for ongoing training and “psychosexual development’’ for priests to deal with celibacy.

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.

VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 12 December 2014 (VIS) – The seventh meeting of the Council of Cardinals (the so-called C9) concluded yesterday evening. The cardinals’ three-day meeting, which began on the morning of 9 December, was mostly dedicated to three themes: the reform of the Curia, the composition of the Commission for the Protection of Minors and the reorganisation of the economic organs of the Holy See. As usual, Pope Francis participated in all meetings aside from the Wednesday morning session, due to his weekly general audience.

With regard to reform of the Roman Curia, alongside general observations on the criteria that must guide this task, the Cardinals also addressed the specific question of the reorganisation of the Pontifical Councils that work in relation to the laity, the family, justice, peace and charity. However, no formal decision was reached; the director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., remarked that reform will a long and gradual process.

The Commission for the Protection of Minors, which currently has eight members and a secretary, is to be enlarged with the addition of representatives from various ecclesial and cultural contexts around the world, reaching a total of around eighteen members. The candidates have been selected and their availability to participate is currently in the process of being verified. From 6 to 8 February 2015 the Commission will hold its plenary session and it is expected that all members will be confirmed by that date, enabling it to define its field of action and activities.

Professor Joseph Zahra, the lay deputy coordinator of the Council for the Economy, reported to the Cardinals on the matter of the reorganisation of the economic dicasteries. Although no specific decisions were made, the importance of continuing good coordination between the Council for the Economy and the C9 was emphasised. It is hoped that another meeting of the Council for the Economy will take place before the next C9 meeting, to allow an overview of the reform process to be presented at the latter event.

The next plenary session of the C9 will be held from 9 to 11 February 2015, immediately before the Consistory convoked on the 12 and 13 of the same month, at which its work and proposals will be presented. Finally, it was announced yesterday that a consistory for the creation of new cardinals will be held on 14 and 15 February.

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

SOUTH CAROLINA
International Business Times

By Zoe Mintz

Students at Bob Jones University who self-identified as sexual abuse victims were blamed, encouraged not to file police reports, and directed to untrained staff for counseling, according to findings from a report released by an independent watchdog group on Thursday. The conservative Christian school has about 3,000 students at its campus in Greenville, South Carolina.

Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment, also known as Grace, was hired by Bob Jones University to conduct a two-year investigation into sexual abuse claims at the university and into the response. The report was originally intended to be published in March, but the school fired the firm in January, saying it was concerned about the direction the investigation was taking. After several complaints, Bob Jones University said it rehired the firm after negotiations.

The investigation included a review of over 900 confidential surveys, 20 written statements and hundreds of documents provided by Bob Jones University and participating witnesses. The firm conducted interviews with 116 individuals, 50 of whom self-identified as victims of sexual abuse. Some experienced abuse during their childhood, others while attending the university.

The survey included in the report found that 47 percent of sexual abuse victims were discouraged from reporting. Survey comments included reports of Bob Jones University personnel telling sexual abuse victims to “deal with your own sin” and to “not be selfish in sharing the experience with others and gaining inappropriate attention for the 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.

MICHIGAN
WOOD

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Former Christian radio host John Balyo is headed tp federal prison after a judge sentenced him 40 years for sexually exploiting boys and posessing child pornography.

Judge Robert Holmes Bell said Thursday in federal court he wants Balyo to report to him every year that he’s in prison regarding what he’s doing to help others and rehabilitate himself.

Balyo will also be responsible for $8,500 in restitution to the victims and a lifetime of supervised release after he completes his prison sentence.

During the sentencing, Bell said Balyo, a former radio host at WCSG in Grand Rapids, was two people in one — a trusted member of the community and another who committed repulsive sexual acts on young boys.

Balyo told the judge he wants a chance at a life someday and admitted what he did was horrible. He said he didn’t think through the consequences of his depravity.

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.

MICHIGAN
Fox 17

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — John Balyo was sentenced to 40 years in prison Thursday for sex crimes involving children.

Balyo, 35, was sentenced to 25 years for a charge of sexual exploitation of a child and 15 years for possession and production of child pornography.

Balyo’s sentence includes a lifetime of supervised release after prison. The former WCSG radio host will also pay $8,500 in restitution to the victims. District Judge Robert Holmes Bell told Balyo those victims will never fully recover from what he’s done to them. Bell said that is something Balyo will have to live with.

Prior to sentencing, Balyo told the judge he wants to be rehabilitated and help others who may be hiding similar “addictions.”

However, the federal prosecutor told the judge Balyo isn’t a safe person to have out in the community. She referenced the beginning of the case, when investigators found Balyo’s storage unit filled with things like a bondage kit and a collection of newspaper articles on abducted children and serial killers.

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.

VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Agency

By Andrea Gagliarducci

Vatican City, Dec 12, 2014 / 12:15 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Efforts to reform the Roman Curia have moved forward with the latest round of Vatican meetings and will continue next year, said Fr. Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See Press Office.

“Curia reform is an ongoing process, there are no formal decisions,” Fr. Lombardi told members of the media at the end of the Dec. 9-11 meeting of the Council of Cardinals at the Vatican.

He explained that after final reform proposals are presented, “there will be the need of a team of Canon Law and juridical experts to write down a final draft.”

The Council of Cardinals was instituted by Pope Francis shortly after his election, to aid him in governing the Church and to revise “Pastor Bonus,” the apostolic constitution governing the Curia. …

Regarding the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, Fr. Lombardi said that the body’s president, Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston, reported to the cardinals on how the group’s work is proceeding.

The commission has been given an official headquarters in the Vatican, and it will now hire the personnel to carry on its work, with the efforts of Secretary Msgr. Robert W. Oliver to shape the commission and its statutes.

The body is currently composed of eight members, but membership will soon be enlarged to improve geographic representation.

“The number of members of the Commission should be increased to 18 people, and it is reasonable that the composition will be completed by Feb. 6, when they will have their plenary session,” said Fr. Lombardi.

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
La Voz de Galicia (Espana)

La Iglesia Católica en Australia ha vinculado por primera vez los votos de celibato de los sacerdotes como un factor que pudo haber contribuido a los abusos sexuales de menores, según un informe publicado hoy.

«El celibato obligatorio ha podido contribuir al abuso en algunas circunstancias», señala el texto del Consejo de Justicia y Sanación que coordina la posición de la Iglesia Católica a la comisión gubernamental que analiza la respuesta de las instituciones australianas a los abusos sexuales a menores en el seno de las entidades estatales, sociales y religiosas.

El documento también admite que algunos líderes religiosos aparentemente soslayaron estos abusos en las órdenes y las diócesis e intentaron proteger la reputación de la Iglesia Católica en lugar de velar por el bienestar de los menores, reporta la Agencia Australia de Prensa. Asimismo recomienda reformar los procedimientos para abordar las quejas de las víctimas proporcionando asistencia en lugar del enfrentamiento, así como pide apertura ante los eventuales juicios en este tipo de casos.

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.

MICHIGAN
Detroit Free Press

By Patricia Montemurri, Detroit Free Press December 12, 2014

The Rev. Timothy Kane, a Catholic priest convicted of embezzling money from the Angel Fund charity for Detroit’s poor, will be sentenced Friday by Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Bruce Morrow.

Kane, 58, was convicted in October of six felony counts related to defrauding an Archdiocesan inner-city charitable program known as the Angel Fund. In February, Kane was removed as pastor of St. Moses the Black Parish in Detroit (which encompassed the formerly named Madonna, St. Benedict and St Gregory churches).

Last month, the parish bulletin included a notice of how to send character references to the judge determining Kane’s sentence. The notice was placed in the bulletin by the Detroit Catholic Pastoral Alliance, a non-profit organization whose members promote urban community redevelopment and outreach programs.

“Fr. Tim is a friend and everyone knows him to be a kind and generous man who has helped many, many people. Now he needs our help. Please send a letter that tells about a side of Tim’s character that did not come out at the trial nor in the newspaper accounts of his conviction,” said the notice.

“The letter should not dispute the conviction, but should show overwhelmingly that there is another side to this serious issue.”

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
The Guardian

Adam Brereton

The representative of the Australian Catholic church to the royal commission into child abuse has claimed that “obligatory celibacy may also have contributed to [child] abuse in some circumstances”.

In their 2014 activity report the Truth Justice and Healing Council also recommended that priests undergo “Ongoing training and development, including psycho-sexual development”.

This has been leapt upon as an admission that the church’s regime of sexual discipline for clergy is broken at best, and at worst, is a factor in producing paedophiles.

“By publicly acknowledging the potential role of celibacy in this way, the report sets an international precedent,” The Australian’s Dan Box reported.

It’s not quite as simple as that. The council’s Francis Sullivan told Guardian Australia that their statement on celibacy – one highly-qualified line in the whole report – was “not research that we’ve done that we’ve now come to an opinion on”.

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
Courier Mail

BY PETER TRUTE AAP DECEMBER 12, 2014

THE Catholic church is not considering abandoning its requirement for priests to be celibate despite a report which acknowledges the policy may contribute to child abuse.

A REPORT from the church’s Truth Justice and Healing Council has, for the first time in Australia, drawn a link between priests’ vow of celibacy and the child abuse that has been revealed in disturbing detail before the current royal commission.

But the council’s chief executive, Francis Sullivan, says his report is not a first step to ending celibacy for priests.

“There would be a long way to go before that conversation would be had and it would be beyond our brief anyway,” Mr Sullivan told AAP.

The report touched only briefly on celibacy amid discussion of issues that have emerged before the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

One line in the 40-page document read: “Obligatory celibacy may also have contributed to abuse in some circumstances”.

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

UNITED STATES
PR Web

MINNEAPOLIS (PRWEB) December 12, 2014

As incidents of sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church continue to come to light – most recently in Chicago and Minnesota after reportedly being hidden for decades – author C.M. Morgan shares her own story in her new book, “Altar(ed) Girl: One Woman’s True Story of Confronting Clergy Sexual Abuse” (published by Balboa Press).

“There are so many others who have experienced this type of abuse,” Morgan writes. “We hear so much about the perpetrator priests and the church and all they do to defend against the accusations; we need to start hearing from the victims/survivors.”

In her new book, Morgan chronicles the sexual abuse she experienced as a child at the hands of a clergy member and the confrontation she had with her abuser years later.

“Altar(ed) Girl” tells what happened, what it was like for Morgan and what it’s like now as she travels a path of healing, forgiveness and inner reconciliation. She shares her experiences so that others may also find the strength to heal and turn out of their inner isolation.

“I want readers to understand that clergy sexual abuse happens to young girls, not just boys,” Morgan writes. “It is a devastating experience, but it is possible to confront our worst fears. It is important to talk about it so we can heal, although it never goes away. I also want people to know that most of these predators who have been accused have not been sentenced to serve any prison time and are still living amongst us in our communities.”

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.

SOUTH CAROLINA
Greenville News

Lyn Riddle, lnriddle@greenvillenews.com December 11, 2014

A two-year investigation into the way Bob Jones University officials handled reports of sexual abuse from students has recommended personnel action against Bob Jones III, the grandson of the founder of the university and former president.

The report, issued by GRACE this morning, says Jones was ultimately responsible for many of problems GRACE found.

“Dr. Jones, III has also repeatedly demonstrated a significant lack of understanding regarding the many painful dynamics associated with sexual abuse,” the report states. “Due to the central role Dr. Jones, III played in the many issues outlined within this report, it is recommended that the university impose personnel action upon Dr. Jones, III.”

Randy Page, a spokesman for BJU, said the university would be evaluations personnel recommendations and all other recommendations within 90 days. Jones remains chancellor at the university founded by his grandfather.

The report also says James Berg, a former dean of students, was largely responsible for failing the respond adequately to reports of sexual abuse and recommends that he no longer be allowed to teach on any issue related to sexual abuse and that he no longer be allowed to counsel students.

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

SOUTH CAROLINE
Aljazeera America

by Claire Gordon @clairedon

Watch Al Jazeera America Thursday at 9 p.m. for more on the Bob Jones University revelations, including exclusive TV interviews with two alleged abuse victims who attended the school

For decades, Bob Jones University (BJU), a self-described fundamentalist Christian college, has urged sexual abuse victims not to go to the police and counseled them to repent for the blame it said they share, according to an extensive independent investigation published Thursday.

The report, nearly two years in the making, is a catalog of grief stretching back four decades, based on hundreds of survey results, dozens of in-depth interviews and a wealth of corroborating documentation. It details a culture that shamed victims into believing they were ruined by their abuse. It also strongly criticizes the school’s own brand of counseling that rejects modern psychology, and urges victims to look for the “sin” behind their rapes and view their continued trauma as a struggle with God.

More than half of alleged victims surveyed reported they felt the school’s response was hurtful or very hurtful. Some victims said they found counseling sessions worse than their abuse. But the vast majority of the 50 self-identified victims interviewed for the study said they loved Bob Jones University, that they wished it no ill, and hoped sharing their experiences would bring much-needed change.

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.

MICHIGAN
Battle Creek Inquirer

John Hogan December 11, 2014

GRAND RAPIDS – Christian radio host John Balyo operated beneath the radar as a married family man, a wedding photographer, a volunteer with the Kent County Sheriff’s Department, camp counselor and an overseas mission volunteer with children.

Underneath the surface, the expectant father was “a wolf in sheep’s clothing” feeding a morbid and sadistic fascination with children, collecting pedophilic materials, rehearsing a sexual kidnapping fantasy with a child-sized mannequin and meeting clandestinely in hotel rooms with young boys in bondage.

The secret life of the 36-year-old Caledonia man was laid bare Thursday in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids in an emotional sentencing hearing that all but assures Balyo will be an old man when he gets out of prison.

He’ll serve 40 years in federal prison – on top of a lengthy sentence handed down last month in Calhoun County for first-degree criminal sexual conduct. His wife of seven months was granted a divorce just three weeks ago. And Balyo’s assets will go to support his unborn child, who is due in February or March.

“I’m having a lot of trouble trying to reconcile two people in the orange jump suit before me,” Judge Robert Holmes Bell told Balyo during the sentencing hearing. “There’s the Christian man with a reputation as a value-driven individual. But there is something else going on that is troubling … filthy, obscene. I don’t get it. I don’t get where you went off.”

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
Pro Bono Australia

Posted: Friday, December 12, 2014

Author: Xavier Smerdon

Catholic priest’s vow of celibacy may be behind decades of sexual abuse in the Church, according to a landmark report released today.

The Truth Justice and Healing Council, which is coordinating the Catholic Church’s response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, released its December Activity Report today.

In it the Council claims that restrictions on priests having sex could have caused some of them to commit sexual assaults.

“Obligatory celibacy may also have contributed to abuse in some circumstances,” the report said.

It is believed to be the first time the Catholic Church has ever pointed towards celibacy leading to abuse.

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

NEW YORK
Syracuse.com

By John O’Brien | jobrien@syracuse.com
on December 12, 2014

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Catholic Diocese of Syracuse has found credible evidence that as many as nine of its priests sexually abused children, but has not made their names public.

Bishop Robert Cunningham might change that. He’s considering publishing the names of every priest against whom the church has found credible allegations of child sexual abuse.

Cunningham said he’s been thinking about a request from Kevin Braney, a Colorado man who says Monsignor Charles Eckermann raped him as a child at a Manlius church 25 years ago.

Eckermann would be on the list. The diocese and the Vatican found Braney’s accusations credible.

Braney asked Cunningham to consider following the lead of the Rochester diocese, which publishes the names of the accused priests.

Rochester is one 27 dioceses out of the 194 in the U.S. that publishes the names, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

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
IOL (South Africa)

December 12 2014

Sydney – The vow of celibacy could lead clergy to commit child sex abuse, the Catholic Church in Australia said in a report Friday.

A council set up by the Australian branch of the Catholic Church to respond to a public inquiry into decades of child sex abuse by priests and others released a report concluding priests needed training on how to deal with celibacy.

The report by the Catholic Church’s Truth, Justice and Healing Council said the church had turned a “blind eye” to abuse for decades and that in the past some of the church’s leaders did not understand that abusing a child was a crime.

“Church institutions and their leaders, over many decades, seemed to turn a blind eye, either instinctively or deliberately, to the abuse happening within their diocese or religious order, protecting the institution rather than caring for the child,” the report said.

“Obligatory celibacy may also have contributed to abuse in some circumstances,” it said.

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

CANADA
Ottawa Community News

A priest who guided the growth of Holy Spirit Catholic Parish in Stittsville for nine years has been charged with two counts of sexual assault and two counts of sexual interference with a person under 16 years of age.

Father Stephen Amesse, 56, who has been pastor at St. Patrick’s Catholic Parish in Fallowfield since leaving Holy Spirit Parish in 2009, appeared in court on Thursday, Dec. 4. The charges were laid following an investigation by the Ottawa Police Service Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Section into allegations of a sexual assault that occurred in 2008 at a Catholic church simply identified as being located in the west end of Ottawa.

It was in late Feb. 2014 that police investigators received a complaint and began this investigation into allegations of sexual assault involving a priest and a boy who was 14 years old at the time. In 2008, Father Amesse was pastor of Holy Spirit Catholic Parish in Stittsville.

Police investigators indicate that they are concerned that there could be other victims. Anyone with information should contact the Ottawa Police Service Sexual Assault/Child Abuse Unit at 613-236-1222, ext. 5944. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers at 613-233-8477 (TIPS), toll free at 1-800-222-8477 or by downloading the Ottawa Police iOS app.

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
Hurriyet Daily News (Turkey)

The Catholic Church in Australia on Dec. 12 said that obligatory celibacy may have contributed to priests abusing children, and recommended that clergy should be given “psychosexual” training.

In a landmark report, an Australian Catholic Church body dealing with the legacy of child sex abuse added that some church institutions and their leaders turned a blind eye to what was going on for years.

“Obligatory celibacy may also have contributed to abuse in some circumstances,” the Truth, Justice and Healing Council said.

The council is helping the Catholic Church respond to Australia’s Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which was set up last year.

The commission is investigating widespread allegations of paedophilia in religious organisations, schools and state care.

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

UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism

Jerry Slevin

Pope Francis plans to add new Cardinals in two months. He really needs to invite courageous Swiss theologian, Fr. Hans Kung, and Ireland’s “straight talking” leader, Mrs. Mary McAleese, to become Cardinals in February, and then to attend October’s Final Synod. Of course, they may be overqualified. Please see:

[National Catholic Reporter]

Many Catholics, especially those seeking real reforms, including countless women, are losing hope that this media star pope is the “real deal”. Even some in the media are shedding their earlier “Francismania” mentality, for example, please see David Gibson’s recent article, “Lost in translation? 7 reasons some women wince when Pope Francis starts talking” at:

[National Catholic Reporter]

Pope Francis needs to act boldly now and these surprise appointments would surely be bold. Pope John XXIII understood shrewdly the advantage of “surprises” to shake the Vatican up, as he did with his dramatic and unexpected call in 1958 for a new ecumenical council and a papal birth control commission in 1962 with active women participants. Francis should now follow his effective example with these two appointments.

If Pope Francis fails to act boldly now, the escalating child abuse tsunami may sink the Vatican Titanic even before his struggling Synod strategy plays out. He should consider seriously appointing these two exemplary Catholics as Cardinals. He likely can do so practically fairly easily, instead of relying so heavily, as he has been, mainly on unpredictable, cumbersome and even amorphous Synods.

If Pope Francis wants to steer his papacy promptly out of the ceaseless child abuse tsunami the Vatican is facing, he must act creatively now. After almost two years as pope, his advisory committee on child abuse will not even hold its initial meeting with its full membership until next February. The sole current abuse survivor member, Marie Collins, months ago even complained publicly and bravely to AP’s Nicole Winfield about the commission’s slow pace, now ominously operationally under Cardinal Law’s former canon lawyer. Fr. Robert Oliver.

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
news.com.au

Vow of celibacy may have contributed to child sex abuse says landmark report from Catholic Church in Australia

THE vow of celibacy may have contributed to decades of child sex abuse committed by Catholic priests and clergy, according to a landmark report from the church’s leaders.

According to The Australian, the church establishment within Australia has for the first time said that “obligatory celibacy” may have resulted in the abuse of thousands of children. The stunning admission in a report to be released today, sets an international precedent and is in stark contrast to a recent US study that said celibacy could not be blamed for the epidemic of abuse.

“Obligatory celibacy may also have contributed to abuse in some circumstances,” the report says, and “ongoing training and development, including psychosexual development, is necessary for priests and religious (figures in the church)” as a result.

The church’s Truth, Justice and Healing Council has issued the report and its chief executive Francis Sullivan told The Australian that the Catholic Church must now examine how individuals can remain healthy while being celibate, “and not begin acting out of a dysfunctional sense of self”.

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
ABC News

The Catholic Church has conceded that its vow of celibacy may have led to the abuse of children at the hands of the clergy.

The church’s Truth, Justice and Healing Council to respond to the Royal Commission into child sexual abuse today released an activity report conceding that “obligatory celibacy” may have contributed to decades of child abuse involving the clergy, and that ongoing training was necessary for priests.

The council’s CEO Francis Sullivan said the training should include “psychosexual development”.

“The proper training, formation, the proper understanding of psychosexual issues for individuals has been raised, and it’s a no-brainer,” Mr Sullivan said.

He said in the wake of the report even the most sacred traditions were up for discussion, but was not recommending that celibacy no longer be a requirement for priests.

AUDIO: Australia’s Catholic Church admits link between celibacy and child sexual abuse (AM)
“When we have a public inquiry into the sex crimes in the Catholic Church, you need to address how sexuality is understood and acted out by members of the clergy,” Mr Sullivan said.

“You need a very clear understanding about your own sexuality, your own sexual development, your own way of relating as a person to others.

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