ABUSE TRACKER

AUSTRALIA
The Australian

MARCH 07, 2015

Gerard Henderson
Columnist

[Gerard Henderson is executive director of The Sydney Institute.]

WHEN he was the Catholic archbishop of Sydney in late 2012, Cardinal George Pell welcomed then prime minister Julia Gillard’s decision to establish what became the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

He did so on the understanding that the Catholic Church would not be the only cab on the rank.

And so it turned out to be. Over the past couple of years, the royal commission has heard evidence of past child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, to be sure.

But also within Anglican and other Christian churches, the Salvation Army and sections of the Jewish community along with state government institutions.

Despite the evidence that child abuse has been a blight on virtually all sections of Australian society, the ABC has tended to focus its attention on the Catholic Church in general and Pell in particular.

This despite the fact that Pell was one of the first leaders in church or state to address the matter when he established the Melbourne Response, soon after taking over as Catholic archbishop of Melbourne in 1996.

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.

TEXAS
Dallas Observer

By Amy Silverstein Fri., Mar. 6 2015

By 2013, the stories of child molestation in the Catholic church, along with the archdiocese’s attempts to sweep the allegations under the rug, were old news. In that year alone, sex abuse cases cost the Catholic church $108,954,109, according to a report by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The bishops acknowledged the church’s failings and laid out a series of recommendations to prevent more abuse and abuse cover-ups. “We pledge that we will work toward healing and reconciliation for those sexually abused by clerics,” they wrote.

But that same year, the Fort Worth Diocese was working to cover up a new claim of sexual abuse, a lawsuit filed this week claims. The man identified in court documents only as John Doe 117 says he was the victim of sadistic “punishment” by Father John H. Sutton when he was a student at Wichita Falls’ Notre Dame Middle-High School in the early 1990s.

Sutton, who died in 2004, was employed by the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth as the school’s Chaplain, confessor and a history teacher. During a 7th grade history class, Sutton accused Doe of copying an assignment from an encyclopedia, Doe claims. For “penance,” Sutton ordered the boy to pray in the chapel during his lunch hour. Soon, Sutton would look for Doe in the lunchroom multiple times each week, the suit claims, and escort him to the chapel.

In the chapel, Sutton stood over Doe while he knelt in payer, and then began groping him, Doe says. The assaults escalated, the suit says, and eventually Sutton was raping Doe with sex toys that he kept in a black bag:

Doe also recalls hearing the sound of a camera clicking during some incidents of abuse. Sutton even stuffed a towel in Doe’s mouth to prevent his uncontrollable agonizing screams from being heard. “Shut up,” Sutton threatened the child, “or it will be worse.”

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.

CALIFORNIA
Courthouse News Service

By REBEKAH KEARN

SANTA BARBARA (CN) – A Presbyterian youth pastor who also worked at a hotel sexually abused a teenager at church and in the hotel, and the church covered it up, the girl, now a woman, claims in court.

The woman sued Carpinteria Community Church and its corporate parents, including the Presbytery of Santa Barbara and the Presbyterian Church USA, a Holiday Inn Express, and Louis Bristol, in Santa Barbara Court.

Bristol, then 28, pleaded guilty in August 2013 to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, perpetrating lewd acts upon a child and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was sentenced to 1 year in Santa Barbara County jail and 5 years probation, and will have to register as a sex offender during that period, according to local news reports.

The plaintiff’s initial lawsuit, on Feb. 19, was short and somewhat vague. Her attorney Timothy Hale filed a 47-page amended complaint on March 3.

“We were just a bit rushed in getting her lawsuit filed as her statue of limitations was, arguably, about to expire,” Hale, of Nye, Peabody, Stirling, Hale & Miller told Courthouse News. “We had to err on the side of caution and file when we did.”

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 Radio

(Vatican Radio) The Board of Superintendence of the Istituto per le Opere di Religione has appointed Gianfranco Mammi as Deputy-Director with immediate effect for an indefinite term. The appointment has been approved by the IOR Supervisory Commission of Cardinals and the “Autorità di Informazione Finanziaria, the financial supervisory body for the Vatican City State. Gianfranco Mammi (59) began his career at the IOR in 1992 at the cashier desk. Over the past 23 years he has gained vast experience in various positions working with the Institute’s Italian and Latin American clients in subsequent roles as Client Relationship Manager or later as Deputy Head of the Succession Office. Most recently he served as Head of Purchasing Office. In his new position as Vice Director, he reports to the Board of Superintendence and is jointly responsible with the Institute’s Director General Rolando Marranci for all operational activities.

Rolando Marranci has been confirmed as Director General. The position of Vice Director had been vacant. The Board of Superintendence is grateful to Gianfranco Mammi for accepting the appointment. It reflects the Board’s focus on promoting in-house talent whilst IOR is implementing improvements to its services and products as previously announced. Gianfranco Mammi holds a degree in Political Science from the University of Messina.

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.

CIUDAD DEL VATICANO
El Nuevo Herald

POR NICOLE WINFIELD ASSOCIATED PRESS
03/06/2015

CIUDAD DEL VATICANO
El papa Francisco se reunió el viernes con el obispo que encabeza la diócesis en Chile donde ha habido una oposición sin precedentes a la nominación de su sucesor, quien es acusado de encubrir a uno de los pederastas más notorios en ese país.

El Vaticano no difundió detalles de la audiencia del pontífice con monseñor Fernando Natalio Chomali Garib, quien provisionalmente encabeza la diócesis de Osorno desde que el obispo anterior fue transferido en 2013.

En enero, Francisco nombró al obispo Juan Barros Madrid para asumir el cargo permanentemente. Sin embargo, en las semanas que siguieron, unos 1.300 fieles de Osorno, 51 de los 120 legisladores nacionales de Chile y unos 30 sacerdotes de la diócesis exhortaron al papa a anular el nombramiento.

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, 6 March 2015 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father received in audience:

– Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith;

– Archbishop Fernando Natalio Chomali Garib, archbishop of Concepcion, apostolic administrator “sede vacante” of Osorno, Chile.

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
Family Law

Natasha Phillips

The nation’s Independent Panel Inquiry Into Child Sexual Abuse is undergoing a radical transformation, but will it be enough to gain trust it so desperately needs amongst the public and survivors? It could be, but the new Inquiry must heed the lessons of current investigations around the world.

The Statutory Inquiry Into Child Abuse, as it is now known, has been given a powerful makeover. Its Head, New Zealand judge Justice Lowell Goddard looks to be savvy and meticulous, and its newly bestowed statutory status will give this body a brand new set of teeth, which one hopes will bite when necessary, through the compelling of witnesses to give evidence and the production of documents to help move the inquiry along.

A new panel though, has yet to be announced. Section 4 of the Inquiries Act 2005 tells us that each member has to be appointed by a Minister, in this case Home Secretary Theresa May, and that each prospective panel member must be consulted before an appointment can be made. Section 8 of the Act also tells us that whoever is appointed must have the necessary level of expertise, but is this criterion sufficiently robust?

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 Australian

ANNE BARROWCLOUGH THE AUSTRALIAN MARCH 07, 2015

WHEN I was an 11-year-old schoolgirl, one of my teachers was known for inappropriately touching his pubescent pupils. The parents all seemed to be aware of the teacher’s proclivities, but rather than going to the police they simply warned us that we should try never to be left alone with him.

I don’t recall being mishandled by the teacher and although friends have more unpleasant memories of him, none of us thought it was worth raising with the grown-ups. We just got on with our young lives.

Through the years I’ve hardly given that teacher a thought until this week, when a young woman called Lucy Perry told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that 25 years ago she had been indecently assaulted by Ian Paterson, former headmaster of Sydney boys school Knox Grammar.

Perry claims that, when she was a 16-year-old schoolgirl rehearsing for a scene in a school musical, Paterson put his hand on her bottom and touched her genitals.

She reported the alleged indecent assault to police in 2009, when five teachers at Knox were arrested, and later convicted, but she didn’t want to bring charges.

Had it not been for the royal commission, her claims against Paterson might have stayed locked away in a police notebook forever. Instead, they have been aired before a national audience and, while she didn’t lay charges, will her evidence to the inquiry succeed in criminalising Paterson in our eyes? He has strenuously denied the allegations, but how many of us will ignore those denials and condemn him regardless?

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
Manchester Evening News

6 March 2015 By Paul Britton

Canon Mortimer Stanley, who retired from a church in Norden, Rochdale, in 2002, faces a three-week trial in November

A retired Roman Catholic priest has denied a series of sex offence charges involving young girls dating back more than 30 years.

Canon Mortimer Stanley, 83, a former parish priest in Norden, Rochdale, appeared at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court on Friday via a video link from Limerick in Ireland.

He pleaded not guilty to 19 separate counts of indecent assault involving 10 young girls and will now face a trial in Manchester in November.

Wearing a black jumper, a blue and white checked shirt and glasses, Canon Stanley spoke only to confirm his name and to enter a plea of not guilty after each charge was read out to him by the court clerk during the brief hearing.

He also nodded to say he understood the proceedings and instruction given to him after he was addressed at the end of the hearing by Judge John Potter.

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
Commonweal

Robert Mickens March 4, 2015

Pope Francis has finally issued statutes for the three main offices in charge of overseeing financial reforms at the Vatican. And if you believe reports in much of the English-language media, you’d be convinced that he’s strengthened the hand of Australian Cardinal George Pell, who is prefect of one of those entities, the secretariat for the economy. But you would be wrong. One prominent writer even suggested – astonishingly – that proof of this renewed vote of confidence in Pell was the fact that Francis did not sack him. That was never even a remote possibility. And it’s the flimsiest piece of evidence on which to stake such a claim. In reality, the newly published statutes for the three offices – Pell’s, the fifteen-member Council for the Economy headed by German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, and that of auditor general (still to be named) – actually put significant checks on the former Archbishop of Sydney. It is clear, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that these statutes are not what Cardinal Pell had hoped for. The proof of that is in the simple fact that the new texts were published in Italian with no sight of an English version or translation. This is most peculiar, especially since – according to Francis’s “motu proprio” of February 2014 that established the three offices, Fidelis Dispensatur et Prudens – Pell was the person “responsible for the preparation of the definitive statutes” for all three. He certainly would have prepared them in English, since he’s fought to make that his office’s main working language in the year since he took up his job here in Rome. Obviously, the texts he submitted were modified. By the secretariat of state? By Cardinal Marx and his council? Be assured, these statutes do not confirm George Pell as a so-called Vatican finance “czar” with the broad-sweeping powers that perhaps he and others had envisioned. At best, they represent a compromise between him and his allies that have been advancing that ambition and other Vatican chieftains that demanded it be reined in.

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
Mercury News

By Nicole Winfield Associated Press
Posted: 03/06/2015

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis met Friday with the bishop running a Chilean diocese where there has been unprecedented opposition to the nomination of his successor, accused of covering up for Chile’s most notorious pedophile.

The Vatican released no details of Francis’ audience with Monsignor Fernando Natalio Chomali Garib, who has been running the Osorno diocese temporarily since its previous bishop was transferred in 2013.

In January, Francis appointed Bishop Juan Barros Madrid to take over permanently. But in the ensuing weeks, some 1,300 lay faithful from Osorno, 51 of Chile’s 120 national lawmakers and some 30 priests from the diocese urged Francis to rescind the appointment.

They have accused Barros of covering up for the Rev. Fernando Karadima, a prominent and charismatic priest sanctioned by the Vatican in 2011 for sexually abusing minors. A criminal complaint against Karadima was dismissed because the statute of limitations had expired, but the Chilean judge handling the case determined the abuse allegations were truthful.

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.

MILWAUKEE (WI)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A story Thursday on the Archdiocese of Milwaukee bankruptcy case misidentified a childhood sex abuse victim of the late Rev. Lawrence Murphy. Although Arthur Budzinski also was molested by Murphy as a child, he was not the victim in the case discussed in the story.

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
The Chronicle Herald

Nova Scotia’s justice minister said she intends to amend legislation to allow victims of historic sexual crimes to launch civil lawsuits against their abusers.

Lena Diab told reporters in Halifax Thursday she intends to amend last fall’s Limitation of Actions Act in the upcoming spring session.

“It will deal with passing retroactive legislation with respect to sexual assault,” Diab said. “What the legislation will mean is that victims of sexual assault, regardless of when it happened … can launch a civil claims suit.”

The act, previously amended in November, removed time limitations on sexual assault victims’ ability to sue, but not retroactively.

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
CTV

A Nova Scotia survivor of sexual abuse is applauding the provincial government’s promise to amend the Limitation of Actions Act.

Justice Minister Lena Diab said Thursday that means victims of sexual assault, regardless of when it happened, can sue perpetrators.

While the Act currently removes the statute of limitations for any future victims of sexual assault, legislation passed by the province last fall does not afford the same right for assaults that took place before the legislation passed.

Sexual abuse advocate Bob Martin says the proposed amendment is better late than never.
The proposed amendment would allow for retroactive civil lawsuits, Diab said.

The move is what Bob Martin has been hoping to hear from government for years.

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

Victims of sexual assault in Nova Scotia would be able to launch civil lawsuits regardless of when the assault took place under changes to the law promised Thursday by the province’s justice minister.

The proposed amendment does not affect the statute of limitations on criminal charges.

“What the legislation will mean is that victims of sexual assault, regardless of when it happened, can sue, can launch a civil claim suit,” Diab told reporters.

Currently, the Limitation of Actions Act removes the statute of limitations for any future victims of sexual abuse. The proposed amendment would allow for retroactive lawsuits, said Diab.

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.

TEXAS
Washington Times

By – Associated Press – Friday, March 6, 2015

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) – A man is seeking over $1 million in damages in a lawsuit against the Fort Worth Roman Catholic Diocese, alleging he was sexually assaulted by a now deceased priest in the 1990s.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram (http://bit.ly/1Gpno0t ) reports the man, who now lives near Spokane, Washington, said priest John Sutton was his seventh-grade history teacher at Notre Dame Middle-High School in Wichita Falls.

The lawsuit accuses Sutton of threatening the plaintiff if he told anyone about the abuse. Sutton died in 2004.

The suit accuses the diocese and Fort Worth Bishop Michael Olson of “stringing the victim along” to silence him until the statute of limitations ran out. The lawsuit was filed in Tarrant County.

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
Chiesa

The statutes of the new economic dicastery assign Cardinal Pell supervision over the assets of all the Vatican offices. But the ownership and management remain separate. Here is the story of a battle that is not over yet

by Sandro Magister

ROME, March 6, 2015 – The two most remarkable appointments that Pope Francis has made to the curia so far bear the names of cardinals Pietro Parolin and George Pell.

The first, a diplomat of the highest rank, to the secretariat of state, and the second, a manager of Anglo-Saxon pluck, to the newly created secretariat for the economy. Both of them are part of the “C9,” the council of cardinals that the pope wanted to gather around him for the reform of the curia.

And yet there is no agreement between these two.

Even worse. Behind their backs and to their detriment there has re-exploded the chaos of blunt recriminations, poisonous accusations, and vested interests that ravaged the previous pontificate. A terrible accompaniment for the vaunted reform of the Roman curia.

The appointment of Pell last year had been preceded by a barrage of consultation on how to reorganize the Vatican economic-financial structure, requested from companies like McKinsey, Promontory, Ernst & Young, KPMG, among the most distinguished and expensive in the world but certainly inexperienced with the unique profile that distinguishes the Holy See.

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
Daily Telegraph

RAY HADLEY THE DAILY TELEGRAPH MARCH 06, 2015

1 Revelations that the former headmaster of Knox Grammar Dr Ian Paterson ignored the paedophiles offending against boys at his school beggars belief. I don’t cop this rubbish about him being a wonderful educator who simply did what others did about child abusers back in the bad old days. It was only in 1996 Paterson misled police about the abuse of students. He stands condemned.

2 The Baird government has promised the courts will get tougher on sentencing paedophiles. It’s remarkable a government would need to instruct judges that an average sentence of under two years is not acceptable.

3 Deputy Premier Troy Grant distinguished himself this week with discussion about two subjects. Firstly, supporting chemical castration for convicted paedophiles and then by lending his support to Deputy Commissioner Nick Kaldas and others who have been treated like criminals after their phones were tapped. Thank goodness someone in government has spoken out against the reprehensible treatment of many officers and civilians.

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

March 6, 2015

Lisa Visentin
Reporter

The headmaster of Knox Grammar School has announced the school’s Paterson Centre for Ethics and Business Studies will be renamed, after it was revealed this week that former headmaster Ian Paterson failed to stop the pervasive sexual abuse of students that occurred during his 30-year tenure.

“We sadly cannot allow that name to stay on that building,” headmaster John Weeks said outside the royal commission hearing into child-sex abuse in institutions on Friday.

Former student Scott Ashton, who gave evidence to the commission about the years of sexual abuse he endured at the school, welcomed the decision as “fantastic news”.

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

By Nicole Chettle

A former headmaster of prestigious Sydney boys’ school Knox Grammar has told a royal commission he failed to protect the welfare of abuse survivors.

But Dr Ian Paterson told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that for thousands of other students, the school had an “outstanding system of pastoral care”.

“This system had a widespread culture of, for boys, if you are troubled by anything, please speak to your prefect, your tutor, your house master, your year master, the school counsellor, hospital nurse, chaplain, teacher,” Dr Paterson said.

“We were an open school. That this system failed to reveal the victims of abuse is extraordinary.”

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

March 6, 2015

Jacqueline Maley
Parliamentary Sketch Writer for The Sydney Morning Herald

This week the former headmaster of Knox Grammar, Ian Paterson, outed himself as a moral relativist.

Moral relativism, the idea that there are no absolute moral principles, that what is “right” depends on the values of the time or the culture in which you live, is usually the refuge of left-wing ideologues who confuse it for cross-cultural tolerance.

It’s not usually adopted by authoritarian WASPs who have built their careers and reputations on upholding the strictest moral standards, or at least, appearing to.

Men like Paterson, part-governors, part-gods, don’t usually go in for that sort of undergraduate nonsense.

And yet that was what Paterson told the Royal Commission this week, in an effort to excuse his historical failure to protect his students from paedophiles in their midst.

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
Church Times

by Tim Wyatt

Posted: 06 Mar 2015

CLERICS and other church workers should be sent to prison if they fail to act to protect children suffering from sexual abuse, the Churches’ Child Protection Advisory Service (CCPAS) has said.

CCPAS welcomed the Prime Minister’s calls on Tuesday for a new offence of wilful neglect to be introduced to hold public-sector officials, such as social workers or teachers, to account if they act to protect the reputation of an institution or individual rather than to stop child …

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 Daily Beast

Nico Hines

Now that most of the major figures are dead, the truth is emerging about the systematic sexual abuse of children by members of the British government.

LONDON — A newspaper editor was handed startling evidence that Britain’s top law enforcement official knew there was a VIP pedophile network in Westminster, at the heart of the British government. What happened next in the summer of 1984 helps to explain how shocking allegations of rape and murder against some of the country’s most powerful men went unchecked for decades.

Less than 24 hours after starting to inquire about the dossier presented to him by a senior Labour Party politician, the editor was confronted in his office by a furious member of parliament who threatened him and demanded the documents. “He was frothing at the mouth and really shouting and spitting in my face,” Don Hale told The Daily Beast. “He was straight at me like a raging lion; he was ready to knock me through the wall.”

Despite the MP’s explosive intervention, Hale refused to hand over the papers which appeared to show that Leon Brittan, Margaret Thatcher’s Home Secretary, was fully aware of a pedophile network that included top politicians.

The editor’s resistance was futile; the following morning, police officers from the counter-terror and intelligence unit known as Special Branch burst into the newspaper office, seized the material and threatened to have Hale arrested if he ever reported what had been found.

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

Parents sent their boys to Knox Grammar to get the best start in life. Instead some were abused – and it went on for decades

Bridie Jabour
@bkjabour
Friday 6 March 2015

When Dr Ian Paterson, the man who presided over three decades of child sexual abuse at one of Sydney’s most prestigious schools, took to the stand at the royal commission into child sex abuse, he said he came to say sorry – sorry that scores of boys put into the care of Knox Grammar school were sexually abused over decades, sorry it happened under his watch, and also sorry that he did not know.

“As headmaster I am responsible for all that occurs during my headmastership; there were matters that I knew about and other matters that I did not. However, without doubt I should have known and I should have stopped the events which led to the abuse and its tragic consequences for those boys in my care and their families,” the 81-year-old said in the stand, reading from a prepared statement.

“ … An apology seems totally inadequate but I do so with an awful feeling of uselessness in my heart.”

In his evidence he then went on to detail how a resident master who had been convicted of molesting two girls did not undergo a criminal check before being hired by Knox in 1987 because “the times were quite different then, we judged people very much ourselves.”

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.

UTAH
The Salt Lake Tribune

By PAMELA MANSON | The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published Mar 05 2015

A former pastor at the troubled Tongan United Methodist Church in West Valley City, the Rev. Filimone Havili Mone, has been found guilty in a church trial of violating denominational law for failing to timely report suspected sexual abuse by a boy in the congregation.

As part of the verdict, the jury voted unanimously to terminate Mone’s United Methodist membership. He retains his ordination in the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga, an independent Methodist denomination.

The verdict was delivered last week by a jury of 13 United Methodist clergy at the end of a two-day trial in Longmont, Colo., a church news release says. In a church trial, an individual responds to a charge or charges of having violated denominational law, as set forth in the church’s Book of Discipline, according to the release.

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

AUSTRALIA
9 News

Sydney private school Knox will reportedly rename its business and ethics centre that bears the name of former headmaster Ian Paterson, following revelations of child sex abuse carried out by teachers during his tenure.

Headmaster John Weeks said the Paterson Centre for Ethics and Business studies would be renamed following a proposal from the school’s abuse survivors, Fairfax Media reported.

Dr Paterson headed the school for 30 years, and revelations during the royal commission into child sex abuse in institutions have showed he failed to respond to numerous allegations of sexual assault levelled against teachers by students.

“We sadly cannot allow that name to stay on that building,” Mr Weeks said today.

An online petition was also launched on Wednesday by a group of Knox old boys to rename the centre.

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

Australian Associated Press
Thursday 5 March 2015

The former headmaster of Knox Grammar said on Friday that he never misled police who came to ask him about alleged paedophile teachers at the school.

Ian Paterson directly contradicted evidence that he gave earlier in the week where he said he accepted he had deliberately withheld information from Inspector Elizabeth Cullen of the child protection squad in 1996.

Paterson, in his final appearance at a royal commission hearing into how the Sydney boys school handled abuse complaints, went into damage control after two weeks of damning evidence.

He said he knew of only three sex abuse complaints during his 30 years at the school.

And he said that while he failed to protect the welfare of the victims, he believed he had in place “an outstanding system of pastoral care” for other pupils.

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

March 6, 2015

Rachel Browne
Social Affairs Reporter

The motto of Knox Grammar School is the Latin phrase, “Virile Agitur”, translated as “Do the Manly Thing” but Ian Paterson looked anything but heroic as he slipped out of the royal commission via the car park on Friday.

Ignoring the media and former students of the private school, his eyes were mostly downcast and his mouth tightly shut.

The former headmaster of 1969-1998 has been a central figure at the public hearing by Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

On Friday he dramatically recanted evidence given earlier in the week, in which he admitted misleading a police officer, hindering her investigation into child sexual abuse and covering up potential litigation by a victim.

Under questioning from his own lawyer, Jim Harrowell, Dr Paterson also denied knowing about the extent of the abuse, which the commission has heard involved up to eight teachers, five of whom were convicted of sex crimes against 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.

CANADA
Life in Quebec

Quebec City (Quebec) 5 March 2015 – A group of religious leaders from the catholic diocese of Québec has accepted an invitation from one of the church’s sexual abuse victims, Pierre Bolduc, to come and meet him and some other victims face to face to discuss the suffering and lifetime problems the abuse has caused them.

M. Bolduc has been trying to get an audience with the Archbishop, his excellency Mgr. Lacroix, for some time but instead he will only be meeting with a designated group of priests assigned by the church.

Mgr Lacroix understands the concern of M. Bolduc, but first he would like to hear what his delegation has to say concerning the demands of M. Bolduc.

M. Bolduc and three others were abused for years by Father Jean-Marie Bégin in the 70s while taking part in church activities in the area of Thetford Mines. He and three of his co-victims would like to have some kind of compensation for the problems the abuse has caused them throughout their lives. All the church has to offer for the moment is some spiritual and psychological counselling which, according to M. Bolduc, is far from enough.

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.

TEXAS
Texomas

[with video]

[the lawsuit]

A lawsuit filed in Tarrant County alleging long-term and horrendous, sexual abuse of a 7th grader at Notre Dame Middle School in Wichita Falls is seeking an award of more than $1 million from the Fort Worth Catholic Diocese and Bishop.

The suit was filed Tuesday on behalf of the anonymous alleged victim, named as John Doe, 117.

It alleges the sexual assaults began in 1989 and continued into the boy’s 9th grade.

Doe’s attorney says the assailant, Father John Hugh Sutton, was the school chaplain and the boy’s history teacher and confessor.

Sutton died in 2004 after serving in several other states under various aliases, the suit alleges he told the boy the assaults were punishment because the boy copied an assignment from an encyclopedia.

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

A former western Victorian priest, convicted for indecently assaulting a child, has been released on bail while he appeals against his jail term.

Magistrate Michelle Hodgson sentenced Leslie John Sheahan to 12 months in prison, with three months to be completed immediately, for abusing the girl who who was aged between nine and 11, in Horsham.

The magistrate took into account Sheahan’s age, remorsefulness and early guilty plea, and placed the 85 year old on the sexual offenders’ register.

Ballarat Magistrates Court heard Sheahan, who was a priest at the Horsham parish in the 1970s, was interrupted by the victim’s mother during the abuse and told her the girl was screaming because he scared her.

Through her impact statement, the victim told the court that when she revealed the abuse to another priest, she was accused of lying and sent to the confessional.

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 Australian

MARCH 06, 2015

Ean Higgins
Reporter
Sydney

FORMER Knox Grammar headmaster Ian Paterson has reversed his evidence on key elements of the child sexual abuse inquiry, now denying that he deliberately kept information from police, protected pedophile teachers, or covered up in any way.

In the final public hearing of the inquiry into Knox by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Dr Paterson’s lawyer took him back over critical evidence he had given this week.

In his responses this morning, Dr Paterson withdrew a series of admissions he had previously made under oath.

Earlier this week under cross-examination, Dr Paterson had agreed that he had deliberately not told a police officer, who in 1996 had come to him to inquire about child abuse allegations against several Knox teachers, about what by then he knew to be a wealth of claims and in some cases admissions of improper conduct.

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

March 6, 2015

Rachel Browne
Social Affairs Reporter

Former Knox Grammar School headmaster Ian Paterson recanted previous testimony given to a royal commission in which he admitted to misleading a police officer and hindering her investigation into child abuse allegations involving six teachers at the school.

In a dramatic about-face, Dr Paterson told the commission he did not mislead an officer from the Child Protection Enforcement Agency who spoke to him about sex abuse claims in 1996.

Under questioning from his own lawyer, Jim Harrowell, the former headmaster agreed that Inspector Beth Cullen was examining general allegations rather than specific claims.

“So you did not deliberately seek to mislead Inspector Cullen?” Mr Harrowell asked.

“Absolutely not,” Dr Paterson replied.

He also denied in Friday’s evidence that he knew the extent of sexual abuse at the school, which he ran from from 1969 to 1998.

He agreed he had been made aware of concerns about teachers Barrie Stewart and Damien Vance and addressed them. He also said he acted on his suspicion that teacher Christopher Fotis was the so-called balaclava man who sexually assaulted a year 8 boy in his bed by removing Fotis from the boarding house.

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
Radio Australia

Knox Grammar: Former headmaster Ian Paterson backflips on earlier acceptance he deliberately misled police

By Nicole Chettle

A former headmaster of the prestigious Sydney boys school, Knox Grammar, has told a royal commission he did not try to mislead a police investigation into child sexual abuse.

This is despite, earlier in the week, Dr Paterson accepting that he deliberately tried to mislead a policewoman about matters that were centrally important to her investigation in 1996.

On Wednesday, Dr Ian Paterson told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse he provided staff files to Inspector Beth Cullen from the Child Protection Enforcement Agency.

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
NY1

Edward Cardinal Egan, who served as the Archbishop of New York from 2000 to 2009, died earlier today at the age of 82.

Cardinal Egan passed away at NYU Langone Medical Center at 2:20 p.m. The Archdiocese says the cause of death was cardiac arrest.

After being appointed Archbishop, Cardinal Egan set out to improve the finances of the Archdiocese of New York. He trimmed the budget, closed churches and undertook a fundraising effort to raise private money for the church.

“He had the heartiest laugh and a great sense of humour, and he made me laugh,” said Cardinal Timothy Dolan.

Egan also apologized in 2002 for sex abuse in the Catholic Church, but 10 years later, when he was retired, he recanted. He said, “I never should have said that…I don’t think we did anything wrong.”

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
Crux

By Michael O’Loughlin
National reporter March 5, 2015

Cardinal Edward Egan, the archbishop emeritus of New York who was popular in Rome but had a rocky tenure as head of the nation’s second largest archdiocese, died Thursday afternoon of cardiac arrest. He was 82.

His successor, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, said Egan was stricken at his residence at the Chapel of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and rushed to NYU Langone Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 2:20 p.m. Thursday.

“Thank God he had a peaceful death, passing away right after lunch today, with the prayers and sacraments of his loyal priest secretary, Father Douglas Crawford,” Dolan said in a blog post.

Egan was appointed archbishop of New York in May 2000, a post he held for nine years.

In some ways, Egan’s chances for success in New York were slim.

He took over from one of the American Church’s most colorful figures, Cardinal John O’Connor, whose gregarious nature stood in stark contrast to Egan’s, and whose disdain for management left Egan with an archdiocese with severe financial challenges.

His tenure as archbishop of New York was marked by public battles with priests, questions about how he handled allegations of clergy sexual abuse, and criticism of his general demeanor.

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 Daily Caller

Betsy Rothstein

New York’s former Archbishop Edward M. Egan died Thursday of a sudden heart attack. He was 82.

The NYT writeup doesn’t let even one graph go by without bringing up the phrase “sex-abuse scandals.”

In the very first sentence of Egan’s obituary, they manage to say ”stern… troubled finances… dwindling, aging ranks” and “shaken by sex-abuse scandals.”

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
CT Now

RACHEL ZOLL
Associated Press
7:06 p.m. EST, March 5, 2015

NEW YORK — Cardinal Edward Egan, the former archbishop of New York who oversaw a broad and sometimes unpopular financial overhaul of the archdiocese and played a prominent role in the city after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, died Thursday. He was 82.

Egan, who retired in 2009 after nine years as archbishop, died of cardiac arrest at a New York hospital, the archdiocese announced. As a child he survived polio, which affected his health as an adult, and he also used a pacemaker.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the current archbishop of New York, asked for prayers for Egan and for his family.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said Egan “was a generous man who committed his life to serving others.” …

In 2002 The Courant published stories that showed Egan failed to aggressively investigate some abuse allegations, reassigned priests he knew had allegations against them and generally downplayed allegations made against many of the priests.

The Courant obtained more than 440 pages of secret depositions that Egan gave in cases involving 23 people who made accusations against seven priests under his control.

One case involved Lawrence Brett, a priest accused of molesting several boys who then disappeared for years. Brett was found living on St. Maarten by The Courant in 2002 more than 10 years after he had been disciplined. Brett had been getting help from two priests in the Diocese of Bridgeport while he was on the lam.

Egan was named cardinal of New York shortly before the lawsuits in Bridgeport were settled for $12 million.

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.

CONNECTICUT
CT Post

Michael P. Mayko
Updated 8:38 pm, Thursday, March 5, 2015

For a dozen years, he served as the face of 460,000 Fairfield County Catholics and brought their presence to Rome.

Cardinal Edward Egan strived to bring more men into the priesthood by establishing the St. John Fisher pre-seminary residence in Trumbull and later Stamford, took control of diminishing diocesan finances by raising $40 million through the Faith in the Future campaign, created the Catherine Dennis Keefe Queen of the Clergy Retired Priests’ residence in Stamford and built St. Catherine Academy, the only private school for special needs children in the state.

He reorganized and expanded Catholic Charities and created outreach programs such as soup kitchens, clinics and housing for AIDS patients. He opened Malta House, a home for pregnant mothers and reorganized the area’s Catholic School system.

But his image was forever bruised by his failure to halt a growing scandal of pedophile priests who invaded the Diocese of Bridgeport, which includes Stamford, Greenwich and Danbury. …

“May he rest in peace,” said John Marshall Lee, a leader in the Voice of the Faithful, Bridgeport chapter. “He was unable to reconcile the tension of his political vision of being a church man with that of being one of the people of God.”

Lee said Egan, as the leader of the Greater Bridgeport Catholic Diocese from 1988-2000, was in a position to halt the pedophile priest scandal that cost the diocese nearly $40 million in damages.

“He missed that opportunity,” Lee said.

And Christopher Caruso, a former state representative, mayoral candidate and staunch Catholic, said there will always be a scar on Egan’s legacy.

“No one can ever question his love for the Church, his defense of the Church,” said Caruso, who attended Egan’s installation as archbishop of New York in 2000. “But his not being more aggressive in acknowledging and correcting the problem was inexcusable.”

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.

ALASKA
Indian Country Today Media Network

Mary Annette Pember
2/6/14

The memories are coming back to her now in bits and pieces. Sometimes they emerge slowly and sometimes they engulf her bringing a terrible pain she describes as a tsunami wave of hurt.

When this happens she raises her arms up in the air. “I say, dear God in heaven, please help me, and I pray. Prayers keep you in a line of goodness,” said Kim Oseira, Alaskan Native and survivor of the Holy Cross Mission Orphanage in Holy Cross, Alaska.

The boarding school, located along the Yukon River, over 400 miles from Fairbanks, was officially called an orphanage in church records. Holy Cross Mission was founded in 1880 near the village of Holy Cross, a community of Athabascan and Yupik Eskimos, according to the Holy Cross tribal website. The early mission included a day school, boarding school and church. Today, only a church remains, the Holy Family Catholic Church served by Catholic diocese of Fairbanks.

Oseira, 73, has come forward to tell her story because, she says, “It is time.” Over several hours and multiple interviews she takes us through her childhood years at the Jesuit orphanage, sharing memories that she once thought were “completely blotted out.”

Her history, she says, is the same as so many other Native children who were taken from their families and raised in religious mission boarding schools in Canada and Alaska.

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
Publishers Weekly

Garry Wills, Author

Is it possible, or even prudent, for an institution that has survived for 2,000 years to change? The Catholic Church, according to Wills (Why I Am a Catholic), professor emeritus at Northwestern University, has changed substantially over the course of its existence and must continue to do so if it is to survive. The author presents fascinating historical snapshots of the church throughout its history and illustrates the shifts it has navigated, from adopting and then dismissing universal Latin for its liturgical language to rejecting its embedded anti-Semitism at the Second Vatican Council. The current pope is not mentioned as often as the title might suggest, although one cannot fault the author for attempting to ride the wave of interest in Francis that’s sweeping the globe.

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
Kirkus Reviews

By Garry Wills

BUY NOW FROM
AMAZON
BARNES & NOBLE
LOCAL BOOKSELLER

Beautifully conceived and wrought essays that systematically address the wrongheadedness of the Catholic Church over centuries—and the space therein for Francis’ long-needed reforms.

A pope determined to admit change and renounce “infallibility”—is this possible? Pulitzer Prize–winning intellectual and leading Catholic scholar Wills (Why Priests?: A Failed Tradition, 2013, etc.) is guided by his close scholarly readings of the Gospels, as well as by modern commentators, examining how the church can right itself—as it has repeatedly over the ages in the face of bad decisions—e.g., the adoption of Latin for sacraments and documents. This is Wills’ first example of the church’s attempts at controlling the message, at excluding versus including: adopting Latin as a “secret code of the elect” rather than the vernacular of the people of God. From there, the early church was able to exclude forbidden books and even forbidden ideas. From arriving at a language understood by all, Wills moves into a compelling study of how the early church evolved from a marginalized sect of martyrs to a state organization sanctioned by the Emperor Constantine at the Council of Nicaea in 325. The author reminds us that Jesus forbade his followers to have any pre-eminence among them (and rejected any earthly kingdom), yet by the third century, a “Vice Petri” or “stand-in” for Peter, the Rock of the Church, was established, essentially evolving into a monarchy by the 11th century. Wills also labels the long strain of anti-Semitism in the church as a “tragic absurdity,” and he nods to the Second Vatican Council as a template for moving forward. He valiantly destroys the church’s unjustified stances (in the name of “natural law”) on birth control, abortion and the right of women to serve as 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.

TEXAS
Everything Lubbock

By Staff
newsweb@everythinglubbock.com

WICHITA FALLS, TX — A lawsuit filed in Tarrant County alleging long-term sexual abuse of a 7th grader at Notre Dame Middle School in Wichita Falls seeks an award of more than $1 million from the Fort Worth Catholic Diocese.

The suit was filed Tuesday on behalf of the anonymous listed in the lawsuit as John Doe 117. It alleged the sexual assaults by a priest began in 1989 and continued into the boy’s 9th grade.

Doe’s attorney said Father John Hugh Sutton, was the school chaplain and the boy’s history teacher and confessor.

Sutton died in 2004 after serving in several other states under various aliases according to the suit. It said he told the boy the assaults were punishment because the boy copied an assignment from an encyclopedia.

The boy was told he had to do penance in the small chapel inside 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.

NEW YORK
San Diego Jewish World

NEW YORK (Press Release) — The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) mourns the passing of retired Cardinal Edward M. Egan, a friend to the Jewish community and a significant figure in the realm of interfaith affairs.

Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement:

We note with sorrow the passing of Cardinal Edward Egan who will be remembered for his dedicated service to the Church and steadfast interfaith efforts.

Shortly after the declaration of Nostra Aetate, the Cardinal organized the archdiocese new office for ecumenical and interreligious engagement, and during his tenure as archbishop of New York, he demonstrated a continued commitment to interfaith relations. When the Cardinal was named head of the New York Archdiocese, we expressed hope that he would foster harmony among the diverse religious groups of New York — he did just that.

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
Reuters

BY ELLEN WULFHORST
NEW YORK Thu Mar 5, 2015

(Reuters) – Cardinal Edward Egan, a former Roman Catholic archbishop of New York, who won praise for his leadership after the Sept. 11 attacks but was criticized for his handling of a clergy sex abuse scandal, died on Thursday at age 82.

Egan, considered an expert in theology and canon law, was pronounced dead at 2:20 p.m. (1920 GMT) at NYU Langone Medical Center, where he was taken after eating lunch at his residence, the archdiocese said in a statement. The cause of death was cardiac arrest.

As archbishop of New York from 2000 to 2009, Egan was praised for the role he played as spiritual leader of the city’s Catholic community after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center.

“Cardinal Egan spread love and knowledge, and brought comfort to countless New Yorkers and others across the country and the world who sought his guidance and counsel – especially in the aftermath of 9/11,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement. …

In 1988, he was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he came under fire for how he handled allegations of sex abuse by priests under his jurisdiction.

Critics say Egan failed to report the allegations to authorities, sought to cover up the claims and allowed offending priests to continue working.

The diocese eventually paid nearly $40 million to settle dozens of claims of abuse by priests from the 1960s through mid-1990s.

Egan apologized in 2002, saying he was “deeply sorry” about mistakes the diocese may have been made.

After he retired as archbishop of New York, Egan reversed course, saying he had done nothing wrong while presiding over the Bridgeport Diocese and that he regretted making the earlier apology.

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.

NIGERIA
Pulse

Angry teachers in Enugu mobbed a contractor who impregnated a teenage student of their school. The man claimed to be a pastor.

A ‘pastor’ escaped death by the whiskers after a mob of teachers beat him to inches of his life for impregnating a Senior Secondary 1 student of the Metropolitan Girls Secondary School, Ogui New Layout, Enugu.

Student Pulse gathered that the man, who claimed to be a pastor, was handed over to officials of National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), but not before they had beaten him severely.

Reports say the man is an Enugu-based contractor.

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.

HONDURAS
El Heraldo

[A priest was accused of raping a 15-year-old in San Juan, Intibucá, western Honduras.The complaint was filed by the girl’s father, Jose Maximo Cantarero, through the local radio station HRN.The parent accused the priest Francisco Rivas of taking the child to a room of the local church and demanded that she remove her clothes.]

TEGUCIGALPA, HondurasUn sacerdote fue acusado de haber violado a una adolescente de 15 años en San Juan, Intibucá, al occidente de Honduras.La denuncia fue interpuesta por el padre de la menor, José Máximo Cantarero, a través de la emisora local HRN.El progenitor acusó que el sacerdote Francisco Rivas llevó a la menor hasta una habitación de la iglesia local y le exigió que se quitara la ropa.Después procedió a ”tocarle partes íntimas de su cuerpo” y le dijo ”que él tenía una pomada que la había traído de los Estados Unidos para que le devolviera la virginidad a las adolescentes”

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 Courier

By William Vallely March 6, 2015

A FORMER Ballarat parish priest has appealed a three-month jail sentence after indecently assaulting a nine-year-old girl in the 1970s.

Leslie Sheahan, 84, a Ballarat North priest in the 1960s, was on Thursday given a 12-month sentence by magistrate Michelle Hodgson – three of which were to be served immediately.

Ms Hodgson said the historical sex offence was indicative of the culture of silence and accountability by members of the clergy who have abused positions of trust.

“Slowly but surely we have come to recognise people in positions of power are taking advantage of people,” she said.

Sheahan pleaded guilty to unlawful/indecent assault of a girl – a historical charge which predates the sexual penetration of a child charge introduced in 1980s – in February.

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

OHIO/MARYLAND
Cleveland Jewish News

Thu Mar 5, 2015.
ED WITTENBERG | STAFF REPORTER
ewittenberg@cjn.org

Rabbi Ephraim (Frederick) Karp was indicted last week by the state’s attorney’s office for Baltimore County, Md., on charges of sexual abuse of a minor and related charges and is awaiting a trial date in Baltimore County Circuit Court, said Lisa Dever, spokesperson for the state’s attorney’s office.

As of March 2, Karp remained in the Baltimore County Detention Center in Towson, Md., Dever said.

Karp, director of spiritual living at Menorah Park Center for Senior Living in Beachwood, has been charged with sexual abuse of a minor, continuing course of conduct; perverted practice and second- and third-degree sex offenses. The state’s attorney’s office said he sexually assaulted a girl in Baltimore County over a five-year period.

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.

OREGON
The Oregonian

By Stuart Tomlinson | The Oregonian/OregonLive
on March 03, 2015

A 19-year-old woman who was sexually abused by her Salem-area high school teacher is suing the school, the woman’s attorneys said Tuesday.

The suit, which seeks $5.5 million in damages, was filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court against the Western Mennonite School and the Pacific Northwest Mennonite Conference.

The suit alleges that school officials hired teacher Matthew Yoder “despite being aware of previous sexual abuse allegations against him and widespread concerns about Yoder’s inappropriate interactions with students,” a news release from attorneys with the Portland law firm of O’Donnell Clark & Crew says.

Yoder, 32, was arrested on numerous sex abuse charges on Valentine’s Day 2012. He pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree sex abuse in March 2014 in a Yamhill County courtroom. He was sentenced to 32 months in prison.

The Western Mennonite School fired Yoder after learning about the suspected abuse, school Principal Darrel Camp told The Oregonian in February 2012.

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.

OREGON
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priestsf

For immediate release: Thursday, March 5

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

We applaud this brave teenager for having the strength to take action against the man who assaulted her and the school officials who enabled those crimes to happen.

[The Oregonian]

It is very rare that someone so young manages to find the maturity and courage to step forward like this. Usually, it takes decades before a child sex abuse victim understands that what they endured was criminal, hurtful, apt to be repeated, and then summons the strength to act.

By her bravery, she is no doubt sparing other kids horrific trauma and deterring other school officials – in Mennonite circles and elsewhere – from acting so recklessly and callously in the future.

We challenge school officials to why they knowingly put kids at risk. We also urge them to show real courage and compassion by aggressively seeking out others who may have seen, suspected or suffered teacher Matthew Yoder’s crimes, either at Western Mennonite School or elsewhere.

It’s important that school staff mail and call students and staff who spent time around Yoder and beg anyone with information or suspicions about his crimes to call law enforcement, expose wrongdoing, protect others, deter cover ups and start healing.

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.

CONNECTICUT
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, March 5

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

Cardinal Edward Egan was among the most callous, reckless and deceitful prelates ever. We hope his passing brings some comfort to the many adults who were abused as children because of his self-serving secrecy and his relentless protection of predator priests. We grieve for every single victim, witness and whistleblower who was mistreated in any way by Egan and his former top aides, whether in New York or in Bridgeport.

As much as we try to be charitable, sugar-coating Egan’s horrific track record on abuse is irresponsible. We feel duty bound to do whatever we can to deter powerful officials who may be tempted to shield predators, stone-wall police, hide evidence and attack victims, even if it means being honest about their egregious wrong-doing even when they pass away.

We suspect that some current and former Catholic church staff and members have kept silent for years about clergy sex crimes and cover ups, in part because they feared repercussions and punishment by Egan. We hope that his passing will cause at least some of these individuals to finally find the courage to speak up, expose wrongdoers, protect kids, and deter future 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.

ISRAEL
Jerusalem Post

Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, one of the most influential experts on Jewish law in Israel, advises parents of molested boy to report to police without prior recourse to a rabbi.

Sexual abuse of a minor should be reported to the police without prior recourse to a rabbi, a senior ultra-orthodox figure has stated.

In a video posted to You-Tube, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, one of the most influential experts on Jewish law in Israel, was asked if the parents of a young boy who was molested were permitted to inform the secular authorities.

According to a translation of the Yiddish exchange provided by Jewish Community Watch, a Crown Heights based activist group, Kanievsky said that “it’s logical [to go to the police first] because one is saving others.”

“Rabbi Kanievsky’s psak (Rabbinic ruling) reflects a large positive step towards combating Child Sexual Abuse in our community and represents a turning point in the way abuse is being handled, even in the most religious sectors of the Frum [observant] community,” according to JCW.

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.

MILWAUKEE (WI)
WISN

MILWAUKEE — A federal judge has dismissed nine sexual abuse claims challenged by church leaders in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee bankruptcy case, eliminating the largest group of claims to date among more than 500 filed in the four-year long litigation.

In seven of the claims, U.S. District Judge Susan Kelley ruled Wednesday the claimants failed to show evidence of fraud. In the two others that were tossed, Kelley said the cases had previously been dismissed by state courts.

As for the remaining case, the judge ruled there’s evidence the archdiocese may have known as early as the 1950s that the Rev. Lawrence Murphy was molesting boys at St. John’s School for the Deaf in Milwaukee and failed to remove him.

Kelley said that such disputes over facts must be litigated rather than dismissed on summary judgment as the archdiocese had asked.

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
National Catholic Reporter

Marie Rohde | Mar. 5, 2015

MILWAUKEE The judge in the Milwaukee archdiocese bankruptcy case on Wednesday dismissed nine claims brought by sexual abuse survivors, a move that a church spokesman said could affect many of the more than 570 claims filed against the archdiocese.
Another claim was allowed to go forward.

Judge Susan V. Kelley found that there was no evidence supporting the contention in the nine cases that the archdiocese knowingly allowed abusers to work in parishes or other settings where they came into contact with additional victims. She refused to dismiss a 10th case, finding that there was evidence to support the prior-knowledge claim.

The distinction is important because the Wisconsin Supreme Court earlier ruled that the archdiocese could not be sued for negligence in supervising its abusive priests and other employees but in a later case found that it could be sued for fraud if it knew of an abuser and continued to allow him or her to work and abuse others. While the ruling applied to state court, it was the basis of several cases that were put on hold after the bankruptcy was filed.

In none of the cases decided Wednesday was the archdiocese disputing that the abuse occurred. Instead, the question revolved around legal issues, including whether the statute of limitations had expired before a claim was filed and whether the archdiocese was responsible for religious order priests and other employees.

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
KAJ18

A federal bankruptcy judge confirmed a $21 million plan to settle sex abuse cases involving church-run schools in Montana.

During a Wednesday hearing today in Coeur D’Alene, U.S. District Bankruptcy Judge Terry Myers signed off on the agreements.

The settlement is for two cases filed jointly on behalf of victims against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena and the Ursuline Nuns.

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
Huffington Post

AP

By Matthew Brown

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Hundreds of victims of clergy sex abuse that spanned decades in Montana stand to receive payments totaling about $20 million, after a federal judge on Wednesday confirmed the bankruptcy reorganization plan for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Terry Myers approved the plan during an hour-long court hearing in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, in which representatives of both victims and the diocese voiced their support.

More than 360 abuse claims will now go through an adjudication process to determine final payment amounts. Each allowed claim will receive a minimum of $2,500, and attorneys involved in the case said only a handful of the claims are considered dubious.

A $920,000 trust will be established for victims who come forward in the future.

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
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

John Pilmaier’s dad, the roof over our heads as survivors, died Sunday; let’s keep his seat for him at the hearing tomorrow

Most of you know John Pilmaier III, SNAP’s Wisconsin director and a corporate officer of the Survivors and Clergy Leadership Alliance (SCLA). John’s dad, John Jr., died this Sunday of cancer, at home, surrounded by his family. There will be an empty seat, in other words, at the archdiocesan bankruptcy hearing tomorrow, Wednesday, that John Jr. most certainly would have attended if fate would have allowed him to get there. Let’s remember him at the hearing tomorrow as we stand with our fellow survivors as John always stood with his son and with us: 11:00 a.m., Milwaukee Federal Courthouse, Judge Susan V. Kelley courtroom, first floor. You can email John III at pilmaier@milwaukeepc.com and his mom Lynn at lynpilmaier@yahoo.com. I know they would appreciate hearing from us. John’s obituary can be found here and where you can make donations in his memory.

One of my most endearing memories of John Jr. was during an historic day in Rome when his son and I, along with Barbara Blaine and Barbara Dorris, were conducting what would become something of an historic press conference for survivors outside of St. Peter’s Square. Simultaneously with the publication on the front page of the New York Times, we were there discussing the infamous Fr. Lawrence Murphy case, and releasing hundreds of pages of secret church documents from St. John’s School for the Deaf in Milwaukee detailing the cover up by the church of the sexual assault of 200 deaf children by Murphy over several decades. Those documents directly implicated for the first time the Vatican and the Pope in child sex crimes by pedophile priests. We were detained by Rome police after the event, who carried us, press in tow, inside a phalanx of police cars, sirens blasting, creating this truly surreal motor cade through the center of the city, and providing the breaking news scrolling across cable stations around the globe. At one point in this whirlwind, as I was preparing for a live interview in the BBC press room in Rome, I glanced up to look at one of the monitors, and there before me in all his glory, with signature mustache, was John III’s dad. He and his wife Lynn were on a live feed from Milwaukee outside archdiocesan headquarters. With them were deaf and other Milwaukee survivors and family members, readying for remarks. ABC World News used Lynn’s words as their headline story (you can see a clip here). That’s John standing next to Lynn. He was the pillar we could all fall back on, literally or figuratively, if we found ourselves, as is impossible not to when speaking of these crimes, shaking with sorrow or anger.

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
Wall Street Journal

By MELANIE GRAYCE WEST
March 5, 2015

Edward Cardinal Egan, the ninth archbishop of New York, died Thursday afternoon of cardiac arrest, according to the Archdiocese of New York.

He was 82 years old.

Cardinal Egan was born in Oak Park, Ill., ordained in 1957 and consecrated as a bishop in 1985. From 1985 to 1988, he served as auxiliary bishop and vicar for education of the Archdiocese of New York. He served as bishop of Bridgeport, Conn., for 12 years before becoming Archbishop of New York in May 2000.

He was made a cardinal in 2001 and retired as Archbishop of New York in 2009, but continued to live in New York and to serve the archdiocese and the Vatican.

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

NEW YORK
Los Angeles Times

By JAMES QUEALLY

Cardinal Edward M. Egan, a former Roman Catholic archbishop of New York City, died Thursday of cardiac arrest. He was 82.

Egan, who served as archbishop in the city from 2000 to 2009, was pronounced dead at New York University’s Langone Medical Center in Manhattan at 2:20 p.m., the archdiocese said in a statement.

He died at his residence earlier in the day, according to Joseph Zwllling, a spokesman for the archdiocese.

“My sympathy to his natural family, who will grieve for their uncle, and to you, his spiritual family here in the archdiocese of New York,” Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the current archbishop, said in a statement.

Dolan described Egan’s passing as a “peaceful death” in his statement.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo released a statement on Thursday described Egan as a constant positive influence in the city who helped New Yorkers heal after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.

“Cardinal Egan had a powerful and positive impact on our state and the world that will continue to be felt for years to come,” he said in his statement. …

While the church has praised his tenure as archbishop, Egan was fiercely criticized in 2002 after announcing the archdiocese would not immediately refer all cases of alleged sex abuse by priests to prosecutors.

At the time, Egan said the archdiocese would only refer cases if the church determined there was reasonable cause to do so, and if the victims’ relatives did not object to that decision.

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
Roman Catholic

My dear people,

I am saddened to tell you that our beloved Cardinal Edward Egan, the Archbishop of New York from 2000-2009, has gone home to the Lord.

Thank God he had a peaceful death, passing away right after lunch today, with the prayers and sacraments of his loyal priest secretary, Father Douglas Crawford, in his residence at the Chapel of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. He was rushed to NYU Langone Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 2:20 pm this afternoon.

Join me, please, in thanking God for his life, especially his generous and faithful priesthood.

Pray as well that the powerful mercy of Jesus, in which our Cardinal had such trust, has ushered him into heaven.

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
NPR

Cardinal Edward Egan, the former Roman Catholic archbishop of New York, has died. He was 82. The cause was cardiac arrest, the Archdiocese of New York said in a statement.

Egan, who was archbishop during the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, died this afternoon at NYU Langone Medical Center.

In a statement, Cardinal Timothy Dolan offered his condolences to Egan’s “natural family, who will grieve for their uncle, and … his spiritual family” in New York.

The Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest who is editor at large of America, a Catholic magazine, said Egan “was a dedicated bishop, a hardworking priest and a kind man. His Eminence was also extremely supportive and caring of the Jesuits in his archdiocese and of me personally.”

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
Gawker

Andy Cush

Cardinal Edward Michael Egan, who served as the Roman Catholic Archbishop of New York from 2000 to 2009, died of cardiac arrest at NYU’s Langone Medical Center this afternoon. He was 82.

Egan, who was appointed archbishop by Pope John Paul II, was known for his low-key and academic approach to the archdiocese as well as a sometimes icy relationship with New York’s Catholic priests, as a 2007 New York magazine profile lays out:

Historically, the city’s top priest has been a tribal chieftain as much as a spiritual leader—a man who represents the pride of a blue-collar immigrant community that overcame prejudice and hardship to become the most prominent and powerful religious force in the city. Every bishop has a threefold mandate, “to teach, to sanctify, and to govern,” and New York churchmen have made full use of those powers…

Not so Egan. From the start, he approached the job more as a private administrator than as a civic leader. He eschewed partisan politics and shunned the media.

Before his appointment as New York archbishop, Egan served as Bishop of Bridgeport from 1988 to 2000, where priests were accused of sexually abusing minors. Egan half-apologized for his handling of the episode in 2002, saying, “If in hindsight we also discover that mistakes may have been made as regards prompt removal of priests and assistance to victims, I am deeply sorry.” But in 2009, he retracted his apology, claiming, “I don’t think we did anything wrong.”

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
Washington Post

By David Gibson | Religion News Service
March 5

NEW YORK — Cardinal Edward Egan, who served as archbishop of New York through the trauma of the 9/11 terror attacks and the clergy sex abuse scandal but was best known for administrative acumen that helped solidify the finances of the sprawling archdiocese, died on Thursday (March 5). He was 82.

Egan suffered a heart attack right after lunch at his apartment and was rushed to NYU Langone Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 2:20 p.m., said Cardinal Timothy Dolan.

“Join me, please, in thanking God for his life, especially his generous and faithful priesthood,” Dolan said in a brief statement.

Egan was appointed archbishop in May 2000, shortly after the death of the legendary Cardinal John O’Connor. When Egan retired in February 2009 — making way for Dolan — he was the first archbishop of the city to leave office while still living. …

Egan also faced intense criticism for his track record in fighting claims of clergy sexual abuse.

But if Egan was never beloved by priests or parishioners the way other archbishops were, he also had a tough job to do.

When he took over, the 3 million-member Archdiocese of New York reportedly had a $20 million annual operating deficit and an outdated, outmoded infrastructure that needed a serious overhaul.

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

LOUISIANA
Baptist News

By Bob Allen

A Southern Baptist youth minister fired by his church after he was seen on surveillance video sneaking into a closet with a 14-year-old girl faces up to 10 years in prison on a charge of sexual battery.

Jonathan Bailey, 33, minister of youth at First Baptist Church in New Orleans for about two years, was originally arrested Feb. 23 on a lesser charge of indecent behavior with a juvenile and released on $35,000 bond.

Police re-booked him March 4 on the more serious charge, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, after the alleged victim gave details in a second interview she hadn’t previously shared with her parents or police.

The new warrant indicates that since the first arrest a second church contacted police reporting it fired Bailey as youth minister about 10 years ago, because of similar allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a juvenile congregant. The warrant did not name the church or say where it is located.

According to a cached copy of the church staff page before his firing Feb. 9, Bailey is a 2004 graduate of Louisiana College who went on to New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. While there he met his future wife, Tiffany Atkins. The two were married in January 2008 and have a young daughter.

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 ROBERT D. McFADDEN
MARCH 5, 2015

Cardinal Edward M. Egan, a stern defender of Roman Catholic orthodoxy who presided over the Archdiocese of New York for nine years in an era of troubled finances, changing demographics and a priesthood of dwindling, aging ranks shaken by sexual-abuse scandals, died on Thursday in Manhattan. He was 82.

Joseph Zwilling, a spokesman for the archdiocese, said the cause was cardiac arrest. Cardinal Egan’s successor, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, said in a statement that Cardinal Egan “had a peaceful death, passing away right after lunch” in his home at the Chapel of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in Manhattan. He was taken to NYU Langone Medical Center and pronounced dead there, Cardinal Dolan said.

As archbishop of New York from 2000 to 2009 — spiritual head of a realm of 2.7 million parishioners, an archipelago of 368 parishes and a majestic seat at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan — Cardinal Egan was one of America’s most visible Catholic leaders, invoking prayers for justice when terrorists struck on Sept. 11, 2001, and escorting Pope Benedict XVI on his historic visit to the city in April 2008. …

And as the sexual-abuse scandal widened, he tried to protect the church from liability. In Bridgeport, he was accused of withholding information about accused priests and moving some from parish to parish. In New York, he gave prosecutors files on accused priests, but critics said he was slow and reluctant to act.

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
USA Today

Michael Winter, USA TODAY March 5, 2015

Cardinal Edward Egan, who headed the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York from 2000 to 2009, died Thursday after suffering a heart attack at his Manhattan residence. He was 82.

He was pronounced dead at NYU Langone Medical Center at 2:20 pm, the archdiocese announced..

“Thank God he had a peaceful death, passing away right after lunch today, with the prayers and sacraments of his loyal priest secretary, Father Douglas Crawford, in his residence at the Chapel of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary,” Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the current archbishop, said in a statement.

Egan succeeded Cardinal John O’Connor, a major figure among American Catholics. He was elevated to cardinal in May 2001, and retired in May 2009, a month after he was hospitalized and was outfitted with a pacemaker. …

The Bridgeport diocese was rocked by a sexual-abuse scandal involving priests. In 2002, he apologized in a in a letter read at Mass, saying, “If in hindsight we also discover that mistakes may have been made as regards prompt removal of priests and assistance to victims, I am deeply sorry.”

In 2009, the the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that records detailing sexual abuse allegations by priests in the Bridgeport diocese should be released

Three years later, Egan he retracted the apology during a magazine interview, denying that sexual abuse occurred during his tenure.

“I never should have said that,” he told Connecticut Magazine. “I don’t think we did anything wrong.”

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
CBS News

Retired New York archbishop Cardinal Edward Egan died Thursday of cardiac arrest, archdiocese officials said. He was 82.

Egan was pronounced dead at 2:20 p.m. NYU Langone Medical Center, according to an archdiocese statement.

Born in Oak Park, Ill., Egan was ordained a priest in 1957 in the Archdiocese of Chicago. In 1985, he was consecrated as a bishop and served as Auxiliary Bishop and Vicar for Education of the New York archdiocese.

In 1988, he became bishop of the diocese of Bridgeport, Conn., named by Pope John Paul II, but returned to New York to serve as archbishop in 2000 as successor to the late Cardinal John O’Connor. He was named cardinal in 2001. …

Egan’s successor, Cardinal Timothy Dolan released a statement expressing grief at Egan’s passing:

“Thank God he had a peaceful death, passing away right after lunch today, with the prayers and sacraments of his loyal priest secretary,” Dolan said. “My sympathy to his natural family, who will grieve for their uncle, and to you, his spiritual family here in the Archdiocese of New York.”

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
International Business Times

By Zoe Mintz @ZoeMintz z.mintz@ibtimes.com on March 05 2015

Cardinal Edward M. Egan, the archbishop of the New York Archdiocese from 2000 to 2009, died of cardiac arrest on Thursday. He was 82.

“I am saddened to tell you that our beloved Cardinal Edward Egan … has gone home to the Lord,” Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who succeeded Egan, said in a statement. “Thank God he had a peaceful death, passing away right after lunch today, with the prayers and sacraments of his loyal priest secretary.”

In a statement officials at the Archdiocese of New York announced Egan died at NYU Langone Medical Center at 2:20 p.m. Funeral arrangements are pending.

Egan’s time as archbishop was rife with troubled church finances and changing demographics in a see with 2.5 million Catholics, according to the New York Times. During his term, the number of registered parishioners increased as did enrollment in Catholic schools and the budget of Catholic Charities. He was highly visible after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and escorted Pope Benedict XVI when he visited New York City in April 2008.

Still, Egan was not safe from controversy. He was a staunch opponent of gay marriage and abortion, once comparing the latter to the same reasoning behind Adolf Hitler’s actions during the Holocaust.

In 2012 he rescinded an apology he had given to victims of clergy sexual abuse in Bridgeport, Connecticut, The Associated Press reported. The diocese paid nearly $38 million to 60 victims of sexual abuse in 2001. Egan, who was bishop of Bridgeport from 1988 to 2000, wrote a letter to parishioners as cardinal in 2002 saying he was “deeply sorry” for any mistakes he made regarding removing priests from their posts or helping victims.

During his retirement in 2012, he told Connecticut magazine, “First of all I should never have said that,” Egan said. “I did say if we did anything wrong, I’m sorry, but I don’t think we did anything wrong.”

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
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York

March 5, 2015
For Immediate Release:
March 5, 2015

Edward Cardinal Egan, Archbishop-Emeritus , 12th bishop and 9th archbishop and 7th Cardinal of the See of New York, died today.

The cardinal was pronounced dead at NYU Langone Medical Center at 2:20 pm, cause of death was cardiac arrest. Funeral arrangements are pending.

Cardinal Egan was born on April 2, 1932, in Oak Park, Illinois. His Eminence was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Chicago on December 15, 1957.

Cardinal Egan was consecrated a bishop in 1985. From 1985 – 1988, Cardinal Egan served as Auxiliary Bishop and Vicar for Education of the Archdiocese of New York. In 1988 he was appointed the Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport by Pope John Paul II. In the year 2000, he was appointed Archbishop of New York and made a cardinal in 2001.

In May of 2009, at the age of seventy-seven, Cardinal Egan was retired as Archbishop of New York. He maintained and assisted in the works of the Archdiocese, while serving on a number of offices of the Vatican.

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

NEW YORK
The Kansas City Star

ASSOCIATED PRESS
03/05/2015

NEW YORK
Roman Catholic Cardinal Edward Egan, the former archbishop of New York, has died. He was 82.

The Archdiocese of New York says Egan died Thursday afternoon at a New York hospital. The cause of death was cardiac arrest.

Pope John Paul II had appointed Egan as leader of the archdiocese in 2000 to succeed the late Cardinal John O’Connor.

Egan was archbishop during the Sept. 11 terror attacks during which he anointed the dead at a lower Manhattan hospital and presided over many funerals for victims.
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/nation-world/article12632474.html#storylink=cpy

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
New York Daily News

BY CHELSIA ROSE MARCIUS , CORKY SIEMASZKO NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Thursday, March 5, 2015

Edward Cardinal Egan, who was archbishop of New York City during the 9/11 attacks and led the city’s Roman Catholic faithful for nine turbulent years, died Thursday at age 82.

Egan, who battled polio as a child and relied on a pacemaker, died of cardiac arrest at a New York hospital at 2:20 p.m., church spokesman Joseph Zwilling said.

Funeral plans were still being finalized.

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.

CONNECTICUT
Darien Times

By Susan Shultz on March 5, 2015

Cardinal Edward M. Egan, who served as the head of the Diocese of Bridgeport from 1988 until he left in 2000 to become Archbishop of New York, has died. He retired in 2009.

Egan, 82, died at NYU Langone Medical Center at 2:20 p.m. of cardiac arrest, according to the New York Archdiocese. Funeral arrangements are pending.

Egan steered the Diocese of Bridgeport through some of its most difficult times, during years of accusations of sexual abuse by priests who were allegedly sent to other parishes instead of being removed from their roles.

Egan was born on April 2, 1932, in Oak Park, Illinois. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Chicago on Dec. 15, 1957. Egan was consecrated a bishop in 1985. For the next three years, he served as Auxiliary Bishop and Vicar for Education of the Archdiocese of New York. …

In 2002, Cardinal Egan apologized for the handling of sex abuse cases in both New York and Connecticut in a letter read at Masses.

While he was the Bishop of Bridgeport, several Fairfield County priests were accused of sexually abusing boys.

He later withdrew his apology in an interview with Connecticut Magazine in 2012 saying that he did an “incredibly good” job handling the crisis in Bridgeport.

“I never should have said that,” he said. “I don’t think we did anything wrong.”

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.

TEXAS
Fort Worth Star-Telegram

BY ELIZABETH CAMPBELLLIZ@STAR-TELEGRAM.COM
03/05/2015

FORT WORTH
A man who lives near Spokane, Wash., is suing the Fort Worth Roman Catholic Diocese saying he was sexually assaulted in the 1990s by a priest who was his seventh-grade history teacher at a Catholic school in Wichita Falls.

The victim, identified in court documents as John Doe 117, also named Fort Worth Bishop Michael Olson in the suit filed this week in Tarrant County district court.

The victim is seeking over $1 million in damages for emotional anguish, medical expenses and diminished earning capacity because of what is described in the suit as a “sadistic ritual of sexual abuse” by the late priest John Sutton.

Sutton, who died in 2004, told the student that if told anyone of their encounters that “I have the power to ruin your life,” according to the suit.

In a emailed statement to the Star-Telegram, diocese spokesman Pat Svacina wrote that there is an ongoing investigation of the victim’s claims of abuse.

“Bishop Michael F. Olson personally knows John Doe and his family. The Bishop travelled to Washington State in order to provide pastoral care to the former student and family members and to learn more about the allegations,” according to the statement.

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

INDIA
Liberty Voice

A California woman has accused a priest in the city of Vrindavan, India, of physically and sexually abusing her. Days before the world celebrates Women’s Day on March 8, the horrific case of sexual abuse of a woman, allegedly at the hands of a priest, has come up. Local police located the woman while working on a tip. The woman hails from California, U.S., and was found in a tortured condition by the police.

The woman is a citizen of the United States and was visiting Vrindavan to celebrate Holi – the upcoming festival of colors, which is celebrated in India with much fanfare. She was said to have rented a guest house when she reached Vrindavan February 26. The woman was unaccounted for after the first day. The local police started their search operations and located her on Tuesday, March 3. It was reported that the woman was physically and sexually tortured by a priest, and there were wounds and bruises on her body.

The police reported that when they discovered the woman, she was in a drunken state. However, once she regained composure and sobered up, the woman alleged that she had been physically and sexually abused by a priest. Officers from the United States embassy visited Vrindavan on Wednesday, March 4, to get complete information about the incident. A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered against an unidentified priest. Police are currently looking for the priest accused of this crime.

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
Gazzetta del Sud

Vatican City, March 5 – The Vatican is in talks with the Italian authorities for a deal about bank secrecy and other tax issues to help track down Italian tax evaders, Holy See sources told ANSA on Thursday. Italy recently reached deals to end bank secrecy with Switzerland, Monaco and Liechtenstein. In an interview with weekly magazine L’Espresso, Premier Matteo Renzi said he was hopeful the Vatican would be the next State to sign a tax deal with Rome. The sources said an eventual deal would not regard the position of individuals with accounts in the Vatican, as this area has been effectively dealt with via recent reforms of the Vatican Bank, the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), and the closure of accounts of people who are not clergy or Holy See employees.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
ABC 27

By Myles Snyder
Published: March 4, 2015

LANCASTER, Pa. (WHTM) – A former teacher at Lancaster Catholic High School has been arrested for alleged sexual contact with a 17-year-old student eight years ago.

James Scott Dwight III, 47, was taken into custody last week in Harvard, Massachusetts by the Massachusetts State Police and the United States Marshals Office, Lancaster police said in a news release Wednesday.

Police said the former student, now 25, reported last year that Dwight had sexual contact with her at his home in the 500 block of North Pine Street in June 2006.

Lancaster police charged Dwight with two counts of corruption of minors, and police in Massachusetts charged him with being a fugitive from justice.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
WPMT

MARCH 4, 2015, BY HOWARD SHEPPARD

LANCASTER, PA (WPMT) A former Lancaster Catholic High School teacher is arrested on sexual assault charges involving a female student. James Scott Dwight III, was taken into custody on February 26 in Harvard, Massachusetts by U.S. Marshals and state police without incident.

The arrest resulted from an investigation that began after the victim, a 25 year old woman reported in February 2014, an incident in June 2006, when she was a 17 year old student at Catholic High. Dwight, who was then 38 years, reportedly had sexual contact with her at his home in the 500 block of North Pine Street.

Lancaster City Detective Aaron Harnish obtained an arrest warrant for Dwight and asked for the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force Service in locating Dwight. At the time of his arrest as a Fugitive from Justice, he was working at Mount Wachusett Community College in Massachusetts. Dwight has also worked as a part-time Adjunct Professor at Millersville University.

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.

ALASKA
Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Diocese

As the Investigation into allegations against Archpriest Paisius DeLucia proceeds, His Eminence has established a Response Team to conduct additional witness interviews and inquiries, review affidavits and statements received by the Diocese, and engage in additional investigative efforts to address allegations and complaints. Reader Bede, a retired federal investigator, and Licensed Private Investigator with extensive alleged misconduct investigative experience, will serve as the contact person on behalf of the Diocese for this investigation. Reader Bede is not attached to this Diocese.

Witnesses are asked to kindly contact Reader Bede at 866-866-5252 or via KodIsland@gmail.com to provide statements. Intake of those witnesses who would like to appear, if possible, at the Spiritual Court proceedings will likewise be coordinated by him. Witnesses can be assured of a timely response to messages and emails received.

From: The Diocesan Chancery

In response to the allegations and complaints against Archpriest Paisius DeLucia, Rector of St. Innocent’s Academy, Kodiak, Alaska, filed at the Diocesan Chancery by a number of individuals, His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph has called the Diocesan Spiritual Court to convene on March 19-21, 2015.

An investigation by the Diocese is presently in progress and is being led by His Grace Bishop Daniil of Dragovitsa, the Metropolitan Vicar. Last week His Grace visited St. Innocent’s Academy in Kodiak and interviewed witnesses. On Feb 27-28, His Grace will meet with other witnesses in Syracuse, NY and on March 6-8 he will be visiting Indianapolis. All parties who are interested in giving their testimony may contact the Rectors of Holy Transfiguration Church, Syracuse and Joy of All Who Sorrow Church in Indianapolis for the schedule of meetings.

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.

ALASKA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

AK–New church contact in probe of Kodiak school; victims’ group urges survivors to go to the police instead

For immediate release: Wednesday, March 3, 2015

Statement by Melanie Sakoda of Moraga CA, Orthodox Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 925-708-6175, melanie.sakoda@gmail.com )

A new contact person has been designated in the church probe of an Orthodox priest on leave from a school in Kodiak. The clergyman has been accused of abusing current and former students physically, psychologically and spiritually.

On Sunday, March 1, the Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Diocese of the USA, Canada and Australia announced on its website that “Reader Bede” will serve as the contact person for a newly created response team. The diocese is investigating complaints of abuse at Saint Innocent’s Academy in preparation for Archpriest Paisius DeLucia’s March 19-21 spiritual court.

[Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Diocese]

A victims’ group is urging survivors to go to the police instead.

SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is concerned that the Bulgarians are forging ahead with a spiritual court while a police investigation is still pending.

The Executive Director of SNAP, David Clohessy, put it this way.

“What’s the rush? Criminal behavior is best investigated by independent professionals in law enforcement. We hope that anyone who experienced, witnessed, or suspected abuse at the academy will report to the police, get help and begin healing.”

Trooper Robert Casey (907-486-4121, robert.casey@alaska.gov) is in charge of the criminal investigation.

Cappy Larson, also of SNAP, added, “Once again the victims are not being given complete information. While we’re still waiting to learn where Archpriest Paisius is, and who is replacing him at the academy, this new press release from the diocese raises even more questions. What is “Reader Bede’s” legal name, and with which Orthodox jurisdiction is he affiliated? Who else is on the response team and what are their qualifications?”

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.

ILLINOIS
CBS Chicago

Mike Krauser

CHICAGO (CBS) – Proposed legislation to close a loophole in the state’s sex offender laws serves as testament to the persistence of a Plainfield woman who would not take no for an answer.

Tina Estopare’s 15-year-old daughter had been molested by a neighbor in December 2011.
“What he did was fondled her, took her hand, and pleasured himself,” she said.

Prosecutors said the best they could get against her daughter’s molester was a misdemeanor battery conviction. Even the judge wondered aloud why it wasn’t a felony case.

“I squealed in court,” Estapore said.

Estopare has said charging her daughter’s abuser only with misdemeanor battery, there was no option to place him on the state’s sex offender database, because the current misdemeanor battery statute does not include a provision for sexually motivated battery.

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.

ROME
National Catholic Register

by EDWARD PENTIN 03/05/2015

ROME — The Church needs to have “very clear procedures” in dealing with bishops and religious superiors who have mishandled clerical sex-abuse cases “because, right now, it’s very unclear, and, as we see, it’s very open-ended,” Cardinal Sean O’Malley said.

Speaking to the Register Feb. 16, during a recess of a conference at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University, the cardinal-archbishop of Boston, who heads the newly formed Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, told the conference that the failure of the Church to punish bishops who covered up for abusers has seriously harmed its credibility in central areas, such as defending human rights, the unborn and immigrants.

The conference provided an update on the Center for Child Protection, a Church-run resource founded in 2012 aimed at providing prevention and protection against abuse. Along with an e-learning program, the center, which moved its headquarters to Rome in January of this year, will offer in 2016 a course at the Gregorian dedicated to safeguarding minors against abuse.

The Church, Cardinal O’Malley said, must lead the way by “humbly making the commitment to accountability, transparency and zero tolerance.”

Canon lawyers and theologians are reviewing proposals to present to Pope Francis on increasing the accountability of bishops and religious superiors. The proposals were developed by the commission, which comprises experts and two survivors of abuse. “We cannot fail to do all that is possible to restore our credibility,” Cardinal O’Malley 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.

ILLINOIS
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, March 5

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

Six Chicago predator priests, who were ousted from local parishes in the 1990s, may have spent time in the Springfield are, we have learned.

[Journal-Star]

During one year – 1993 – all six Chicago predator priests were mysteriously listed in the Official Catholic Directory as having the same Springfield area phone number. Internet searches show that the phone – 217 324 4192 – is a land line in Litchfield, in the Springfield diocese. (The only Catholic facility in Litchfield is Holy Family parish.)

As best we can tell, neither Chicago or Springfield Catholic officials have told anyone about these six possibly being in Springfield. (All six have been deemed “credibly accused” by archdiocesan officials.)

It could be that there’s a simple explanation for this very unusual listing. If so, Springfield Bishop Thomas Paprocki and Chicago Archbishop Blasé Cupich should provide it. Otherwise, Springfield area Catholics will be left to wonder if their kids were around dangerous Chicago clerics. And Chicago area Catholics will be left to wonder if local predators were secretly or quietly sent out of town and if so, whether this reckless practice continues today.

If one or more of these predators were in Springfield, he or they may well have assaulted a Springfield boyr or girl. If so, that child, or those children are now adults and are likely still suffering. And if so, Archbishop Cupich and Bishop Paprocki have a moral duty to aggressively reach out to them.

Just to be clear: We suspect – but don’t know for sure – that at least one or more of the six priests spent time in the Springfield area. (If not, how can the 217 phone number be explained?)

If so, it’s possible other Chicago child molesting clerics were sent elsewhere too (maybe Springfield, maybe another city). Is that happening now?

We beg Cupich and Paprocki to clear this up. We beg them to honor their repeated pledges of “openness and transparency” by giving Catholics and citizens this information.

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
Focus

[Another victim has come forward to report abuse at Ettal monastery.]

Im Missbrauchs-Prozess gegen einen Benediktiner und früheren Internatslehrer in Kloster Ettal hat ein früheres Opfer am Donnerstag erstmals öffentlich ausgesagt.

Der Pater habe ihn im Schuljahr 2004/2005 in seinem Präfektenzimmer etwa zweimal in der Woche auf den Schoß gezogen und ihm unter die Hose gegriffen. „Ich war daran gewöhnt“, sagte der heute 24-jährige Student vor dem Münchner Landgericht. Er habe mit dem Pater „nie ein Problem“ gehabt, „ich hatte das beste Verhältnis zu ihm“, sagte der Zeuge. Er fühle sich durch die damaligen Vorkommnisse auch im Nachhinein nicht belastet. Als andere Schüler sich wegen des Religionslehrers an die Klosterleitung wandten, habe er sich „gewundert, warum sie das machen“.

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.

ILLINOIS
News Tribune

State Rep. Frank Mautino (D-Spring Valley) is backing legislation to protect victims of sexual abuse by expanding prosecutors’ ability to file charges against alleged rapists.

“Sexual assaults are hideous crimes that can leave victims traumatized for the rest for their lives. Their emotional pain is made worse when their attackers can’t even be arrested and held accountable,” Mautino said in a press release this week.

“Victims must be given every opportunity to see their attackers brought to justice.”

The measure calls for lengthening the statute of limitations in rape cases. Currently, the statute of limitations begins once the crime is committed. Under the bill Mautino supports, the clock on the statute of limitations would not begin until the evidence from the rape is collected, transmitted and analyzed by the state police.

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
Chicago Tribune

By Trine Tsouderos

Soon after coming into office, Pope Francis began reforming the church’s secretive yet powerful institution, the Institute for the Works of Religion, also known as the Vatican Bank. He issued decrees speeding reviews and improving transparency. He created a commission to do a thorough review of its operations. He replaced much of its leadership with experts from the global banking industry, charging them with overhauling the institution.

Francis’ reforms included revising the mission of the bank too. The institution would leave its investment banking days behind to become a payment service and financial adviser to employees and other parts of the Catholic Church. As the prefect of the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy, Cardinal George Pell, said, “The ambition is to be boringly successful, to get off the gossip pages.”

Why all this reform? Wall Street-lawyer-turned-author Gerald Posner lays it out in his deeply researched, passionately argued book, “God’s Bankers: A History of Money and Power at the Vatican.” Posner, whose previous books include the best-seller, “Why America Slept,” about the U.S. government’s failure to prevent 9/11, is a merciless pitbull of an investigator, marshaling mountains of evidence to make his arguments.

Posner began researching “God’s Bankers” after working on “Mengele,” the 1986 biography he wrote with author John Ware on notorious Nazi doctor Josef Mengele. Posner and Ware obtained access to 5,000 pages of Mengele’s personal writings and photos, using this trove to paint a portrait of a monster. During his research, Posner writes that he repeatedly unearthed evidence pointing to church involvement with the Nazis.

While the book traces the history of the Vatican’s ongoing efforts to fund itself and its network, from sales of “indulgences” in the Middle Ages to the creation of the Vatican Bank to Pope Francis’ reforms after decades of scandal, the heart of “God’s Bankers” lies in chapters devoted to the church’s actions during and immediately after World War II. In these chapters, Posner dissects the church’s actions with the eye of a prosecutor.

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 Australian

MARCH 06, 2015

THE current headmaster of Knox Grammar, John Weeks, has defended his actions in protecting students from potential harm at the hands of teacher and serial pedophile Craig Treloar.

Speaking yesterday to The Australian outside the inquiry into child sexual abuse at the school, Mr Weeks insisted that, despite contrary evidence from the NSW police inspector involved, he had in 2007 reported Treloar to the police child protection unit.

Mr Weeks arrived at Knox in 2004, and almost immediately launched an investigation into another pedophile teacher, ­Adrian Nisbett.

He was advised in 2007 by a former Knox general duties master, Stuart Pearson, that Treloar had in the 1980s shown a pornographic video to a student and “attempted to have a sexual ­encounter with this lad”.

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
Daily Telegraph

JANET FIFE-YEOMANS THE DAILY TELEGRAPH MARCH 06, 2015

A KNOX Grammar old boy has come forward to back up a claim his former headmaster Dr Ian Paterson “groped” a scantily-clad schoolgirl during ­rehearsals for Guys and Dolls.

The man told the child sex abuse royal commission ­yesterday he felt he needed to corroborate Lucy Perry’s story after he heard Dr Paterson’s lawyer accuse her of lying, which she denied.

Dr Paterson, 81, has ­vehemently denied touching Ms Perry during the rehearsal in the Knox assembly hall in 1989. This week he did, ­however, admit to covering up sex abuse of pupils by at least five of his teachers and deliberately lying to police.

Ms Perry, 41, claimed she was sexually assaulted by Dr Paterson as a 15-year-old during the rehearsals, when she was part of the chorus of girls wearing feather boas and fishnet tights.

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.

MILWAUKEE (WI)
WTMJ

[with video]

MILWAUKEE — A bankruptcy judge threw out nine of the ten sex abuse claims in the Milwaukee Archdiocese bankruptcy case Thursday.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Judge Kelley said seven of the victims didn’t show evidence of fraud, and two others had already been dismissed by state courts.

The Archdiocese responded by saying in part “These rulings now allow the Archdiocese to move forward with its plan of reorganization to finally emerge from Chapter 11 and return its focus to its charitable, educational, and spiritual mission.”

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

ARKANSAS
Arkansas Times

By Benjamin Hardy

On April 4, 2014, a 38-year-old resident of Bella Vista named Eric Cameron Francis was arrested by the Arkansas State Police for the rape of a 6-year-old girl in what the police said was his temporary care. Sexual crimes against children always attract a certain horrified attention, but this particular case earned additional scrutiny because Francis had recently worked as head teacher at a Christian preschool in West Fork owned by state Rep. Justin Harris (R-West Fork) and his wife, Marsha.

Harris, who said he was “devastated and sickened” by news of the abuse, told the Arkansas Times in April 2014 that Francis had been in his employ only about three months, from November 2013 to January 2014, before being fired for poor work attendance.

“He came with a pristine record,” Harris said at the time, noting that Francis was also a youth pastor at a church and had worked previously in early childhood education for the Bentonville School District and with a Head Start program. Harris added that he was confident nothing had happened to any of the children at Growing God’s Kingdom Preschool, because of strict security protocols (the classroom contains a continuously operating camera that generates a permanent record). Indeed, no further charges against Francis resulted from subsequent State Police interviews of families at the preschool, although investigators uncovered at least two other incidents of sexual abuse of children in the community outside of the school. In November, he was sentenced to 40 years in prison on a negotiated plea.

What Harris did not publicly disclose last spring, however, is how Francis came into contact with the 6-year-old victim. In prosecutor documents recently obtained by the Arkansas Times, state police investigators and multiple witnesses concur that the child was in fact the legally adopted daughter of Justin and Marsha Harris.

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

ARKANSAS
Arkansas Matters

[with video]

LITTLE ROCK, AR — An Arkansas state lawmaker refused to answer questions Wednesday about allegations involving children he and his wife adopted.

The Arkansas Times reported Tuesday that two young children adopted from DHS by State Rep. Justin Harris ended up living with family friends where a six-year-old girl was raped.

Eric Francis was convicted last year and sentenced to 40 years in prison.

He was an employee at a preschool in Washington County owned by Harris.

According to the story, the child was one of two adopted by Harris and his wife. But after about a year living with them was sent to live with Francis’ in a process called “rehoming.”

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

ARKANSAS
The New Civil Rights Movement

A Republican lawmaker who owns a religious pre-school adopted a little girl with his wife. He apparently later “re-homed,” or unofficially but permanently gave over the 6-year old to a man he would end up hiring as a pre-school teacher. That man later raped her.

Justin Harris is a conservative Arkansas State Representative who serves as the chairman of the Subcommittee on Children and Youth. A Tea Party Republican, Harris has voted to allow the Christian bible to be taught in public schools, and has co-sponsored anti-abortion bills. A Pentecostal Christian, he and his family belong to the Assemblies of God fellowship. Harris also owns a religious, Christian pre-school, named Growing God’s Kingdom.

In 2011, Americans United, an organization that advocates for separation of church and state, revealed that Harris’ Growing God’s Kingdom Preschool had “received over $1 million in state funds since 2005,” despite separation of church and state.

That revelation did nothing to discourage Rep. Harris, just two years later, from co-sponsoring a bill that would, as NCRM reported, “force the state to pay for ‘faith-based’ or religious daycare and pre-school, as long as the parent and not the state requests 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.

VATICAN CITY
Time

John L. Allen, Jr./Rome @JohnLAllenJr

A veteran Vatican watcher sizes up Pope Francis

This article is adapted from the new book THE FRANCIS MIRACLE: Inside the Transformation of the Pope and the Church, published by Time Books.

Since his surprise election two years ago, Pope Francis has electrified and baffled the world in roughly equal measure. He’s launched Roman Catholicism on a reform path—though without altering its traditional ­teaching—and he’s tried to put a more compassionate and attractive face on its message. He has moved to address scandals and meltdowns that plagued the church under his predecessor and has done so in such a far-­reaching and unexpected fashion that some of the Cardinals who elected him may be getting more than they bargained for. But on some fronts, the ultimate impact remains unclear. Here’s where Pope Francis’ reform campaign stands on five key issues. …

3. Sex Abuse: PROMISING BUT INCOMPLETE
Pope Benedict XVI left behind a mixed legacy on Catholicism’s child-sexual-abuse scandals. He was the first Pope to meet victims and the first to embrace a zero-­tolerance policy. He moved aggressively to weed abusers out of the priesthood, removing more than 400 in his final two years alone. Yet critics say Benedict fell short of holding bishops around the world accountable for failing to deal with the scandals.

Francis has taken steps to try to complete Benedict’s unfinished business, including the creation of a Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, which is led by Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley of Boston and includes two survivors of clerical abuse as members.

He has also launched a Vatican criminal trial for a former papal diplomat charged with abuse in the Dominican Republic, insisting that there will be no special privileges on his watch. In early February he dispatched a letter to all bishops saying “everything possible must be done to rid the church of the scourge of the sexual abuse of minors.”

Critics nevertheless charge that progress under Francis has been halfhearted and slow. In 2014 he approved an investigation of Bishop Robert Finn in Kansas City—to date the only American bishop found guilty of a crime for failure to report a charge of child abuse. Until victims see a prelate like Finn disciplined, many will argue that the Pope’s efforts deserve a grade of incomplete.

4. Vatican Finances: THE NUMBERS WILL TELL
Over the years, money has been a recurrent source of Vatican scandal. The roll call runs through the Vatican bank crises of the 1970s and ’80s all the way up to the arrest in summer 2013 of “Monsignor 500 Euro”—a onetime Vatican accountant indicted by Italian authorities as part of a cash-smuggling scheme.

Francis began his reform by creating an ambitious three-part structure: a Secretariat for the Economy with power to impose fiscal discipline and accountability; a Council for the Economy composed of heavy-­hitter Cardinals as well as business professionals to oversee operations; and an independent auditor general to keep everyone honest.

To run it all, Francis brought in a tough-as-nails Australian prelate named George Pell. In mid-February, Pell reported to all Cardinals that his team had discovered $1.5 billion in hidden assets and a shortfall of almost $1 billion in the pension fund.

Pell and his team have their critics. Some members of the Vatican’s old guard believe it’s a reform in the spirit of the classic Italian novel Il Gattopardo: “Everything must change so that everything can stay the same.” More will become clear when the secretariat submits its first audited financial statement later this year.

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

LOUISIANA
The Times-Picayune

By Ken Daley, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
on March 04, 2015

The former youth minister who last month was fired from Lakeview’s First Baptist New Orleans church and arrested on accusations of indecent behavior with a juvenile was rebooked Wednesday (March 4) on a more serious charge of sexual battery involving the same underage girl.

Jonathan Bailey’s new arrest warrant said a second church has contacted New Orleans police to say it fired Bailey as youth minister about 10 years ago, because of similar allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a juvenile congregant. Court documents did not name the second church or say whether it’s located in New Orleans.

Orleans Parish magistrate commissioner Robert Blackburn on Wednesday set Bailey’s new bond at $35,000. At a court appearance, Bailey’s attorney, Townsend Myers, told the commissioner, “While this is a rebooking on a new charge, it’s a new spin on the alleged conduct he already has been arrested for.”

Bailey, 33, had been free on bond after being booked Feb. 23 with one count of indecent behavior with a juvenile. That arrest came after First Baptist New Orleans officials and the parents of a 14-year-old girl notified NOPD Special Victims Section Detective Corey Lymous of alleged inappropriate behavior between the youth minister and the student inside a church closet, and during an earlier out-of-state retreat in Mississippi.

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.

ILLINOIS
WICS

[with video]

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priest (SNAP) is searching for answers from the Springfield Bishop Thomas Paprocki. SNAP director David Clohessy said there were two predator priests in the Springfield area decades ago, both are now deceased, and it’s his obligation to reach out to possible now-adult victims.

Neither of these priests had ever been charged with a crime, but Clohessy said Paprocki should post all predator priests.

“We’re asking him to post the names of Father Martinez and Father Fitzgerald and any other proven admitted or credibly accused child molesting cleric who spent any time in the Springfield diocese.

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
Medicine Hat News

BY PEGGY REVELL ON MARCH 5, 2015.
prevell@medicinehatnews.com
@MHNprevell

Hope for healing, hope for understanding, hope for the future.

“People are going to learn to get together from all of this … I feel it,” said Winston Wadsworth, following Wednesday’s banquet in honour of those like himself who are survivors of Canada’s residential school system — one of many ceremonies and events marking Healing and Reconciliation week in Medicine Hat, and organized by the Miywasin Centre and the Blood Tribe Department Inc.

For Wadsworth, the week has been a special one as it brings people together. He hopes it helps people understand what indigenous people have been through, to understand, for example, the “why” when they see a homeless aboriginal person.

The week has included often an emotional sharing of stories by elders and survivors like Wadsworth —of being taken away from their families at a young age for months and years at a time, of being beaten, abused, denied their culture and language, of growing up with parents who also survived residential schools, of how many turned to drugs and alcohol, of the friends and family they’ve lost.

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
Daily Mail

A paedophile priest, two bishops and a sickening conspiracy of silence: He married Frank Bruno and said Mass for Delia Smith. But behind the glitz was one of the Catholic Church’s dirtiest secrets

By RICHARD PENDLEBURY FOR THE DAILY MAIL

Father Tony McSweeney chalked up a number of notable additions to his CV during a lifetime supposedly devoted to the service of children and God.

He said Mass at Norwich City Football Club at the request of its celebrity cook owner Delia Smith, and conducted the marriage of world heavyweight boxing champion Frank Bruno.

He also received the prestigious Silver Acorn for decades of ‘dedication’ to the global Scout movement and his co-authorship of its official songbook.

Last week, he even boasted of being the ‘world expert’ on organising campfire get-togethers.

But now he must add a chilling new entry to his list of achievements: he has become the first paedophile to be tried and convicted after being linked to allegations of a VIP ring based at an infamous South London guesthouse who preyed on boys from a nearby care home.

And unless police make further progress with their investigations, he could well be the last.
For decades — culminating in his trial and conviction at Southwark Crown Court on Friday — McSweeney, 68, lied and lied.

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
Radio Australia

By Nicole Chettle

A former Knox Grammar School student tells a royal commission the sexual abuse he suffered destroyed part of his life and chance at a normal education.

A former student at Sydney’s Knox Grammar School has told a royal commission that sexual abuse had “destroyed a lot of [his] life” and that he was traumatised by the sight of the current and former headmasters at the inquiry.

The royal commission into child sexual abuse has been examining reports of abuse of students at the school from the 1970s through to 2003.

The man, who the ABC will not identify, told the hearing in Sydney that he was abused in 2003, when he was in year six, by Craig Treloar, who was later sentenced to 4.5 years jail for indecent assault.

The man said he had made several suicide attempts, and went from being a promising student to a troubled teenager who was unable to concentrate in class.

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

By Nicole Chettle

The headmaster of Sydney’s prestigious Kings School has told an inquiry he is outraged by the handling of child abuse complaints at Knox Grammar, where he was a teacher in the late 1980s.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was told Dr Tim Hawkes was boarding master at MacNeill House when a sleeping teenager was indecently assaulted by a man wearing a balaclava in around 1988.

Dr Hawkes said he alerted the headmaster at the time, Dr Ian Paterson, immediately, and trusted authorities would be informed.

“I felt that I had been faithful and effective in the exercise of my duty in alerting him to the incident,” he 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.

ILLINOIS
State Journal-Register

By Chris Dettro
Staff Writer

Posted Mar. 4, 2015

A national support group for clergy abuse victims on Wednesday called for more transparency from the Catholic Diocese of Springfield concerning two out-of-state “predator priests” who spent time in the diocese.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, also wants an explanation as to why six priests ousted from their Chicago parishes in the 1990s appeared in an official Catholic directory for the Springfield Diocese, all with the same Litchfield phone number.

The group says it isn’t sure those six priests ever were assigned to or spent time in the Springfield Diocese, but it suspects that one or more did.

The two out-of-state priests are the Rev. Frank R. Martinez Jr. of Iowa and the Rev. James Vincent Fitzgerald of South Dakota, said David Clohessy, director of Chicago-based SNAP.

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.