ABUSE TRACKER

FLORIDA
News-Press

MELISSA MONTOYA, MMONTOYA@NEWS-PRESS.COM March 13, 2015

A Naples priest has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into child molestation accusation stemming from 30 years ago.

The accusation against Father Leo Riley, a priest at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church on Rattlesnake Hammock Road, began in December of last year at the Archdiocese of Dubuque in Iowa.

According to John Robbins, director of communications for the Archdiocese of Dubuque, the alleged child molestation took place in 1985 when Riley was an associate pastor at a parish there.

In February, the Archdiocese of Dubuque Review Board advised the Archbishop Michael Jackels that accusations were “not manifestly false or frivolous.”

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UNITED KINGDOM
Telegraph

By Peter Dominiczak, Political Editor

A major inquiry into child abuse will reveal that sexual exploitation runs through every level of British society like a “stick of Blackpool rock”, Theresa May warns today.

Writing in The Daily Telegraph, the Home Secretary, says that people across Britain do not yet “appreciate the true scale” of the abuse and that once the inquiry is done, “we will never look at society in the same way again”.

In a highly personal intervention, Mrs May says that the panel, being led by Justice Lowell Goddard, will encourage more victims of abuse to come forward and lead to perpetrators being brought to justice.
“I hope and believe it will give all victims and survivors a voice,” Mrs May says. “For too long nobody listened, nobody wanted to admit the darkness in our midst.”

She warns that “the trail” will lead into schools, hospitals, churches and youth clubs as well as “and many other institutions that should have been places of safety but instead became the setting for the most appalling abuse”.

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OHIO
WTOV

BELMONT COUNTY, Ohio – A victim’s advocate group took its protest to the campus of Belmont College on Friday where defrocked priest Gary Zalenski recently worked as a member of the faculty.

While Zalenski hasn’t been teaching for a while, he has said would like to get back to it. Judy Jones and Steven Spaner are with the group “SNAP” — Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “He’s on the faculty there, and we believe he should never be on a faculty at a college,” Jones said.

The recently defrocked catholic priest was once accused of sexually assaulting a young girl from his former church. A grand jury investigated the case and didn’t find enough evidence to file charges.

Jones and Spaner presented the school with a letter in hopes of getting answers. “If he’s too dangerous to be a priest at a parish, he is too dangerous to be on the faculty at Belmont College, and he needs to be fired,” Jones said.

Belmont College released this statement: “Mr. Zalenski is not currently teaching, nor is he on the payroll, at Belmont College. Prior to August of 2014, he contracted with us part-time on an as needed basis. There are no current plans to contract Mr. Zalenski in the future.” The statement is still not enough for SNAP.

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FLORIDA
WINK News

BY EILEEN COFRE • MARCH 13, 2015

COLLIER COUNTY, Fla.- A Catholic priest in East Naples is on paid administrative leave.

Father Leo Riley is accused of molesting a child in 1985. The allegations just surfaced in December 2014 from Iowa where Riley used to live.

Parishioners say they are shocked to hear the news about the allegations.

In a statement to WINK News, the Diocese of Venice says Riley denies the claims. He is on paid administrative leave, pending the outcome of an investigation at the Archdiocese in Dubuque, Iowa.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic Culture

By Phil Lawler | Mar 13, 2015

A Catholic priest who is falsely accused of sexual abuse can’t count on his bishop to defend him. That’s the unhappy conclusion one reaches after reading informative article in the Homiletic and Pastoral Review by David Shaneyfelt and Joseph Maher.

Twenty years ago, diocesan officials and their legal representatives would defend aggressively against sex-abuse claims: disclosing little, admitting nothing, and demanding silence if the victim accepted a financial settlement. The system was tilted against the accusers. But now the pendulum has swung to the opposite extreme; the system tilts against the accused.

Shaneyfelt and Maher explain that even if bishops wanted to defend priests, in cases when they were convinced the accusations were fraudulent, they might not be free to do so. Often the legal strategy of the diocese is dictated by the insurance companies that would be obligated to pay off a claim.

For the insurer, the best possible outcome in a sex-abuse lawsuit is an inexpensive resolution. If the claim can be settled out of court, without the expense of a trial, that will often be the insurer’s preference.

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MINNESOTA
Roman Catholic Diocese of New Ulm

Contact: Office of Communications Release #487
Diocese of New Ulm March 6, 2015
(507) 359-2966; FAX (507) 354-0268
dnu@dnu.org

Statement on 12 Notices of Claim

NEW ULM, Minn. – The Catholic Diocese of New Ulm, Minn., has been named in 12 Notices of Claim
alleging sexual misconduct involving a minor by four priests of the diocese:

• Fr. Dennis Becker (retired)
• Fr. David Roney (deceased)
• Fr. John Murphy (deceased)
• Fr. Michael Skoblik (deceased)

The parishes at which the alleged abuses took place have also been named in the claims. Below is a list of the parishes named in the claims, the priest named, and the time period of the alleged abuse.

• Church of the Holy Trinity, Winsted (Fr. Becker, 1964-1965)
• Church of St. Francis, Benson (Fr. Roney, 1965-1967)
• Church of St. Mary, Willmar (Fr. Roney, 1967-1968 and 1968-1970)
• Church of St. Paul, Walnut Grove (Fr. Roney, 1959-1963 and 1960-1961)
• Church of St. Joseph, Montevideo (Fr. Murphy, 1968)
• Church of St. Catherine, Redwood Falls (Fr. Murphy, 1973-1974, 1974-1975, and 1978-1982)
• Church of St. George (now the Church of St. Pius X), Glencoe (Fr. Skoblik, 1962-1965)
• Church of St. Joseph (now the Church of the Holy Family), Silver Lake (Fr. Skoblik, 1964-1968)

A Notice of Claim is not a lawsuit; it is a notice stating the time, place, and circumstances of the alleged abuse. Under Minnesota law, the eight parishes are independent religious corporations, as is the Diocese of New Ulm.

Anyone who has suffered sexual abuse by a cleric of the Diocese of New Ulm should immediately report such misconduct to local law enforcement. They are encouraged to contact the Victim Assistance Coordinator or the Bishop’s Delegate in Matters Pertaining to Sexual Misconduct, 1421 6th Street North, New Ulm, MN 56073, phone: 507-233-5313, for counseling or assistance, if that is desired.

The diocese has been diligent in its efforts to establish a safe environment program that educates clergy, diocesan and parish staff, teachers, parents, students, and volunteers who work with minors, and helps them identify and prevent sexual misconduct. We are committed to offering help and healing to anyone who has been a victim of sexual misconduct and to preventing this terrible crime from occurring in the diocese.

“The effects of sexual misconduct on the part of clergy are devastating and last a lifetime for those abused,” the Most Reverend John M. LeVoir, bishop of the Diocese of New Ulm, stated in his October 2014 column of The Prairie Catholic. “Please join me in working and praying for healing, reconciliation, and hope in Jesus Christ,” he said.

Fr. Becker was ordained in February 1962. His assignments included the following:

• Church of St. James in Nassau, 1962
• Church of the Holy Rosary in North Mankato, 1962-1963
• Church of the Holy Trinity in Winsted, 1963-1966
• Church of St. Mary in Cottonwood, 1966-1977 (offered one weekend Mass at the Campus
Religious Center at Southwest State University starting in 1976)
• Church of St. Isidore in Clarkfield, 1969-1977
• Church of St. Bridget in DeGraff, 1977
• Churches of St. Francis in Benson, St. Bridget in DeGraff, and Our Lady of the Visitation in
Danvers, 1978-1987
• Church of St. Anastasia in Hutchinson, 1987-1998
• Church of St. Patrick in Kandiyohi and the Church of St. Thomas More in Lake Lillian, 1998-
2000.

Fr. Becker retired from active ministry on July 1, 2000.

Fr. Roney was ordained in August 1945. His assignments included the following:

• Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis, 1945-1952
• Church of St. Francis in St. Croix Beach, 1952-1955
• Church of St. John-Assumption in Faxon Township, 1955-1958
• Church of St. Paul in Walnut Grove, 1958-1963
• Church of St. Francis in Benson, 1963-1967
• Church of St. Mary in Willmar, 1967-1980
• Church of St. Gregory the Great in Lafayette, 1980-1993.

He also served as director of the diocesan San Lucas Mission Office and as director of the Office of the Propagation of the Faith. Fr. Roney retired from active ministry in 1993. He died on Jan. 27, 2003, at the age of 82.

Fr. Murphy was ordained in June 1951. His assignments included the following:

• Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis, 1951-1957
• Church of St. Theresa in St. Paul, 1957
• Church of St. Willibrord in Gibbon, 1957-1963
• Church of St. John in Ortonville, 1963-1967
• Church of St. Joseph in Montevideo, 1967-1971
• Church of St. Catherine in Redwood Falls, 1971-1981
• Church of the Holy Rosary in North Mankato, 1981-1986
• Church of St. Raphael in Springfield, 1986-1989
• Church of St. Joseph in Lamberton, 1989
• Church of St. John in Appleton and the Church of St. Joseph in Holloway, 1989-1991.

Fr. Murphy retired from active ministry in 1991. Between 1996 and 2000, he volunteered in ministry at
the Church of St. John in Little Canada. Fr. Murphy died on April 30, 2001, at the age of 74.

Fr. Skoblik was ordained in June 1939. His assignments included the following:

• Church of the Most Holy Redeemer in Montgomery, 1939-1946
• Church of St. Wenceslaus in New Prague, 1946
• Church of the Most Holy Trinity in Veseli, 1946-1947
• Church of the Immaculate Conception in Lonsdale, 1947-1948
• Church of St. Mary in Bechyn, 1948-1952
• Church of St. George in Glencoe, 1952-1965
• Church of St. Joseph in Silver Lake, 1965-1988.
Between March 1964 and August 1965 he served as superintendent of St. Pius X School in Glencoe. Fr.

Skoblik retired from active ministry in 1988. He died on Nov. 22, 1989, at the age of 79.

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MINNESOTA
Jeff Anderson & Associates

Father Dennis Becker Publicly Named for the First Time

The Diocese of New Ulm quietly released the names of four accused clerical offenders. One offender, Father Dennis Becker, was publicly named for the first time. To our knowledge the media and general public were not alerted to this important announcement. The names released include:

• Father Dennis Becker
• Father David Roney
• Father John Murphy
• Father Michael Skoblik

Any time there is a release of information about offenders, it is a step forward. However, when done quietly and without substantive disclosure there’s still a lack of transparency.

The Diocese’s release raises several questions: Why has the Diocese of New Ulm fought sexual abuse survivors and their advocates and concealed the release of the full list of credibly accused clerics? What additional secrets are hidden regarding offenders known only to top officials at this point in time?

Until there is a full, complete and rigorous disclosure by the New Ulm Diocese there is a peril to the community. The survivors who were harmed are still suffering alone in silence. We urge the Diocese of New Ulm and the Bishop to come completely clean, stop the legal maneuvering and resistance to the disclosure, and be transparent.

We remain committed to making sure that children in the communities are safe and to helping the survivors that have been harmed by the many clerics whose identities have remained secret to everyone but the top officials. Every effort will be made to make sure that this information becomes public, both for healing and prevention.

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ROME
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Friday, March 13, 2015

Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314-503-0003, bdorris@SNAPnetwork.org )

We hope Vatican officials hire Pete Saunders to head an abuse office, but only if they’re prepared to fully fund it and give him wide latitude. While we are unconvinced that the papal abuse panel on which he sits has much chance to make a difference, we support any move that decreases the role of clerics in dealing with clergy sex crimes and cover ups.

[TheTablet]

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MARYLAND
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Friday, March 13

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

We are glad that an ex-employee is suing the Baltimore archdiocese and we hope the case goes to trial so that parents and the public learn more about child sex abuse allegations at a Catholic school.

[WBAL]

Frankly, we suspect that Annette Goodman is telling the truth and that Catholic officials are trying to cover their behinds here. We urge top staff at Archbishop Curley High School and the Baltimore archdiocese to honor their pledges of “openness” in child sex cases and be more forthcoming about the child sex abuse accusations at the school and how they were handled.

Based on initial media reports, we called on church officials to fire Ms. Goodman.

[SNAP]

But it’s looking more and more like she was actually scapegoated. We’re anxious for the full truth to emerge in this case.

Catholic officials often tout their written abuse policies which they adopted belatedly and grudgingly in response to widespread scandal, criminal prosecution, civil lawsuits and public outrage. But those same Catholic officials often ignore and violate these policies.

And when Catholic school and parish staff see top church officials violating those policies often, it’s tempting for them to move slowly with child sex suspicions. Employees naturally watch and respond to how their bosses act more than what their bosses say. And when actions contradict words, actions are what matters.

It’s becoming clear that church abuse policies are largely for public relations purposes and bishops’ decades-old patterns of ignoring, hiding and minimizing child sex abuse remain intact.

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UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism

Jerry Slevin

1. It took the experienced Vatican bureaucrat and Church historian , Good Pope John (Saint John XXIII), only two months as pope to realize that the Catholic Church could only be fixed permanently by convening a full and open ecumenical council. Why otherwise would John have convened a massive Church council if he thought he could fix the Church alone or with only minor groups of selected cardinals and bishops? This is all Pope Francis has tried for two years so far, unsuccessfully. Francis was elected by the cardinals who helped create the multiple Church crises. He has mainly relied on some of these same cardinals, unsuccessfully and secretively so far, to try to resolve the crises. That cannot succeed. In the little time he may have left, he must now convene a full worldwide council as John XXIII did.

2. Councils have been considered infallible by Catholics and other Christians from the Church’s beginning. They alone have resolved major Church crises over almost 2000 years from the first “Council of Jerusalem” attended by Jesus’ earliest followers in the year 50. So called “infallible” popes’ had, in effect, only been invented by Pope Pius IX in 1870 at an unfinished council he convened and controlled.

3. John XXIII, with much more experience than Francis with the entrenched Vatican bureaucracy and with international politics, had been born under the first pope that had been elected after popes “became infallible”. He had worked directly under the imperious Pope Pius XI, who made his harmful deals with Mussolini in 1929 and Hitler in 1933 and also recklessly banned birth control in 1930.

4. John knew with certainty that only an infallible council could possibly succeed in reforming the corrupt Church. He knew that it was ultimately futile to rely, as a cure for Church crises, on merely an “infallible” pope who could always be overruled by a successor “infallible” pope, as has happened often since John’s papacy untimely ended in 1963. Francis will be overruled by opportunistic future popes as well, if Francis unwisely fails to convene an open and representative worldwide council soon, a council that alone can infallibly and permanently fix the Church now.

5. Francis may win a temporary public relations “battle” in the polls if he refuses to convene a full ecumenical council like Pope John did, but he surely then will also lose the longer term permanent reform war after the polls settle down. Unlike John, Francis faces multiple major scandals in a 24/7 media Internet Age, especially unprecedented scandals involving priest and even bishop child sexual abuse. These scandals alone could well bring down an unreformed Catholic Church, sooner rather than later.

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MARYLAND
The Baltimore Sun

By Alison Knezevich
The Baltimore Sun

As a former librarian at the all-boys Archbishop Curley High School, Annette Goodman says she initially dismissed it as a rumor when she heard last year that a student and a science teacher had sex in a car.

But after a few conversations with the boy, Goodman came to suspect the science teacher had sexually abused him, according to a federal lawsuit filed in Baltimore last week. The science teacher, Lynette Trotta, later pleaded guilty to sexual abuse.

Now Goodman – whom the school fired last year — is suing the school and the Archdiocese of Baltimore, alleging that officials retaliated against her and that they knew about inappropriate conduct by Trotta before they disclosed it to the public. Goodman’s case, filed last week in U.S. District Court, underscores the need for better training on how to report suspected abuse, child abuse experts say.

Goodman eventually reported her suspicions to the school administration, but Baltimore archdiocese officials say she didn’t tell them soon enough.

In the lawsuit, Goodman alleges that school officials knew of Trotta’s “inappropriate physical conduct” with students in February 2014, but did not fire or suspend Trotta. Goodman says she heard what she thought was a rumor on March 6 of that year, but did not confirm it with the boy on March 18.

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MILWAUKEE (WI)
Religion News Service – Spiritual Politics

Mark Silk | Mar 13, 2015

Back in 2007, when he was still Archbishop of Milwaukee, Cardinal Timothy Dolan asked the Vatican for permission to transfer a $55-million fund for the maintenance of its cemeteries into a special trust. Dolan’s request came just a few weeks before the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued a ruling that allowed victims of sex abuse to sue the archdiocese. Seventeen days after the ruling, the Vatican approved the request.

When this move came to light two years ago, Dolan, now ensconced as Archbishop of New York, was roundly criticized for seeking to deny the victims their due. Denouncing what he termed “old and discredited attacks,” he dismissed the idea “that establishing a perpetual care fund from money belonging to cemeteries and designated for that purpose – as required by state law and mandated by the archdiocesan finance council – was an attempt to shield it from the bankruptcy proceedings.”

Given that the Archdiocese of Milwaukee declared bankruptcy four years after the trust was created, this was not, strictly speaking, a fib. Strictly speaking, the point of creating the trust was, as Dolan put it in his letter to the Vatican, to provide “an improved protection of these funds from any legal claim and liability.”

After the archdiocese declared bankruptcy, the bankruptcy judge disallowed Dolan’s move, making the funds subject to the claims of creditors. The archdiocese then went to federal court, where U.S. District Judge Rudolph T. Randa quickly ruled that the archdiocese had a religious right to shield the funds in a way that a secular entity in bankruptcy would not, inasmuch as care of the dead was a central part of the church’s religious practice.

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MINNESOTA
Winona Daily News

Leslie Hittner

A few weeks ago, three Daily News readers asked that I stop my Catholic bashing. In his letter, Jerome Kulas went on to reinforce everything I had written about recent statements of Cardinal Raymond Burke. The only issue of disagreement between Kulas and me appears to be that I think those statements are preposterous, while Kulas thinks they are spot-on.

That single point of disagreement is hardly “Catholic bashing.”

Next, Bill and Rita Clark asserted that the Catholic Church has been doing all it could with respect to the abusive behavior of some of its priests. They offered no evidence of this and apparently believe that their faith in the church is sufficient to make this true.

In their letter, they conclude: “The church has done everything possible to make amends to the victims of sexual abuse, and as for expecting its employees to follow church doctrine, they can’t expect to stay employed if they flaunt church policies. Just what is Hittner’s problem?”

What I fail to understand is why every Catholic in this country — indeed in the world — is not upset about the continuing cover up of priestly sexual abuse by bishops and other members of the hierarchy.

Why do you accept it as OK? Do you accept it because it happens elsewhere? Do you accept it because the bishops dish out feel-good “we’re doing what we can” statements and take them at their word?

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MARYLAND
WBAL

[with video]

BALTIMORE —A Baltimore City school is being sued over a sex abuse case involving a teacher and a student by the librarian who reported the abuse.

Annette Goodman has a new job, but she’s not over how she was fired from her last one as librarian at Archbishop Curley High School.

“They did it in a way that really wasn’t necessary. They published her name in the newspaper and treated her as if she was a wrongdoer,” said Goodman’s attorney, Linda Correia.

Correia is helping Goodman sue the school and the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

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WISCONSIN
Gundersen National Child Protection Center

June 8-10, 2015
Viterbo University
La Crosse, Wis.

The course prepares students to recognize and respond to cases of sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse and neglect. The course discusses in detail the impact of child abuse on a victim’s sense of spirituality and offers concrete suggestions for working with medical and mental health professionals to assist a child in coping with maltreatment. The course also discusses ideal child protection policies for a faith based institution, including handling a situation in which a convicted sex offender seeks to join a congregation. The course includes a review of various child abuse case scenarios and a discussion on appropriate and inappropriate responses.

Intended Audience
Clergy, chaplains, youth ministers, faith leaders, counselors and other members of a faith community who may work with children or families impacted by child abuse

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Tablet

13 March 2015

A leading anti-abuse campaigner has offered to lead the Vatican’s child protection commission in Rome.

Peter Saunders, the outgoing Chief Executive of the National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac), is already a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Adults.

But in an interview with The Tablet this week, Mr Saunders said he would like to see a beefed up commission office with an extended remit to deal directly with allegations of abuse.

Currently, the commission, which includes safeguarding experts from across the world, is staffed by just one priest, Fr Bob Oliver, and its next meeting is not due to take place until October.

Mr Saunders has said he would be willing to lead the commission office and work closely alongside fellow members including Baroness (Sheila) Hollins, professor of the psychiatry of learning disability at St George’s Hospital, London and Marie Collins, an Irish abuse survivor and campaigner.

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VATICAN CITY
Crux

By Inés San Martín
Vatican correspondent March 13, 2015

ROME — Pope Francis has delivered one of his strongest statements to date on the Catholic Church’s child sexual abuse scandals, calling them a “grave problem” and declaring that “one priest abusing a minor is reason enough to move the Church’s whole structure.”

The pontiff also warned against “disproportionate” expectations for change as a result of a looming Synod of Bishops on the family, which is expected to address hot-button issues such as communion for divorced and remarried believers and a more welcoming stance for gays and lesbians.

Francis conceded he’s long had a “vague sensation” that his papacy might be short, perhaps four or five years, but said “I always leave the possibility open” that it might go on longer.

The comments came in a wide-ranging interview on the second anniversary of his election with the Mexican network Televisa, which also covered themes such as his trip to the United States, immigration, reform of the Church’s government, and the Argentine ego.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Radio

In a wide-ranging interview, Pope Francis marks the second year of his pontificate by addressing the hot topics that have dominated public discourse since his election as the 265th Successor of St. Peter.

(Vatican Radio) Migration and drug trafficking, the reform of the Curia, the challenges of the Synod for the Family and the need to make the Church a safe home for all children and vulnerable adults. In a wide-ranging interview with Valentina Alazraki, from the Mexican broadcaster Televisa, Pope Francis has marked the second year of his pontificate by addressing the hot topics that have dominated public discourse since his election to the papacy, revealing details of the Conclave that made him the 265th Successor of St. Peter.

It was the Holy Father’s choice that the interview with the Mexican broadcaster take place in Casa Santa Marta, in the room where the his Council of Nine cardinals hold their meetings and which is dominated by a large image of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

Indicating the image the Pope explained that the Mexican Virgin is a “source of cultural unity, which leads to holiness in the midst of so much shame, so much injustice, exploitation, and so much death”.
The interview begins with the question as to why a stop in Mexico was not scheduled as part of the papal journey to the USA for the World Day of Families in September.

– The Pope replies that he thought of entering the United States through the border with Mexico. But going to Ciudad Juarez or Morelia without visit to Our Lady of Guadalupe would be perplexing for Mexicans. The Pope also says he cannot pay a fleeting visit to Mexico, any visit to the nation and its people would need at least a week and he promises to pay a visit as soon as possible.

The journalist asks the Pope, as the son of immigrants, for a reflection on what it would have meant to have entered the US via such a significant border for the phenomenon of migration.

Pope Francis responds by pointing out that not only Mexicans cross that border, but people from throughout Central America, for example Guatemala, cross Mexico in search of a better future. “Today – says Francis – migration is the result of a malaise in the etymological sense of the word, the result of a hunger. The same happens in Africa, with the Mediterranean crossings, people who come from countries that are going through difficult times because of hunger, wars. “Today – clarifies the Pope – migration is linked to hunger and lack of work. People are being discarded and forced to seek employment elsewhere”.

– “Right now the problem of global migration is very painful. Because there are various borders of migration. I rejoice that Europe is reviewing its migration policy. Italy has been very generous and I want to say that. The mayor of Lampedusa, who is a woman, has put herself on the line at the cost of transforming the island from a tourist destination to a place of asylum and welcome. Which means earning less money. This is heroic. But now, thank God, I see that Europe is reviewing the situation. Returning to the migration across the Mexican border, the area also has ​​problems due to drug trafficking. Morelia and that whole area is an area of ​​great suffering, where organizations of drug traffickers are not subtle in the least. They carry out their work of death, they are messengers of death both for drugs, and their ‘making a clean sweep’ of those who oppose drugs, the 43 students (of Iguala) somehow are asking, I would not say for revenge, but for justice and to be remembered. And in this regard I wish to satisfy a curiosity: I wanted to make the Archbishop of Morelia a Cardinal, because he is in the firing line, he is a man who really is in a hot spot and is a witness of Christian life, a great priest. But we will talk later about the Cardinals. …

On the issue of child abuse and zero tolerance of the phenomenon.

– The Pope replies that the Commission [for the Protection of Minors, which he set up in 2013 – ed] is not about abuse but for the protection of minors. That is, prevention. The problem of abuse is a grave one, with most cases of abuse occurring in the family sphere or involving other people who are known to them. Even one priest committing abuse is sufficient reason to mobilize all structures of the Church to confront the problem. Indeed, it is a priest’s duty to nurture a little boy or girl in holiness and in their encounter with Jesus and what they [abusers, -ed] do is destroy this encounter with Jesus. Francis talks about the importance of listening to victims and speaks of his experience of meeting with 6 survivors of abuse in the Vatican. The Pope says the interior destruction that they experience is devastating and even one priest who is guilty is enough to make us all ashamed and commit to doing all that is possible. Pope Francis also acknowledges Benedict XVI’s courage in publically stating it is a crime to destroy an innocent creature with such actions and Pope Saint John Paul II’s in having started the work of reporting such crimes.

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VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter

Joshua J. McElwee | Mar. 13, 2015 NCR Today

ROME Pope Francis has marked the second anniversary of his election as the leader of the Roman Catholic church by saying he has a feeling that his pontificate will be a short one, lasting perhaps about four or five years.

Speaking in a lengthy television interview with the Mexican program Noticieros Televisa, the pontiff has also reviewed some of the highlights of his papacy so far — including the continuing Synod of Bishops that is touching tough questions like allowing divorced and remarried persons to take communion.

But responding to a question from journalist Valentina Alazraki about remarks he has made several times that he expects to have a short time as pope, Francis gave a very personal and direct answer.

“I have the feeling that my pontificate will be brief,” said the pope. “Four or five years. I do not know, or two, three. Well, two have already passed.”

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DEUTSCHLAND
Clean Kids

[The Catholic Church in Germany has more priests accused of pedophilia than previously thought.]

Die katholische Kirche in Deutschland hat offenbar mehr pädophil geneigte Männer in ihren Reihen als bislang angenommen

Zu dieser Einschätzung kommen namhafte Sexualforscher wie der Berliner Sexualpsychologe Dr. Christoph J. Ahlers und Prof. Klaus M. Beier von der Berliner Charité. Ahlers äußert sich am Montag, 16. März, um 23.30 Uhr im Ersten in der NDR Dokumentation “Das Schweigen der Männer – Die katholische Kirche und der Kindesmissbrauch”.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Tagesschau

Video presentation.

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CANADA
Challies

March 09, 2015

It is terrible but true—sexual predators target churches. In the mind of a predator, a church offers a compelling target and, too often, an easy target. I recently worked my way through On Guard by Deepak Reju and learned that there are at least 6 reasons why sexual predators specifically target churches.

CHRISTIANS ARE NAÏVE

Some sexual offenders state it outright—they go after churches because Christians tend to be naïve. Anna Salter says, “If children can be silenced and the average person is easy to fool, many offenders report that religious people are even easier to fool than most people.” Reju says, “Christian are, generally speaking, trusting folks. Child abusers recognize this fact and want to take full advantage of it.” He quotes a former prosecutor who lays it out: “For a variety of reasons, we naively tend to automatically lower our guard when we are amongst professing Christians. This same naïveté is why offenders flock to the faith community; no other environment provides them such quick and easy access to children without fear of raising concerns.”

CHRISTIANS ARE IGNORANT OF THE PROBLEM

Christians are not only naïve, but also ignorant—ignorant of the problem of abuse and the extent of the problem within faith communities. Many Christians consider it unlikely or impossible that abuse could happen within their church, so they fail to take adequate measures, they ignore warnings, and they disregard reports. Reju says, “Many Christians don’t know how to distinguish likability and trustworthiness. They confuse the two categories, assuming that if someone is courteous and nice, they must also be trustworthy. Moreover, some Christians behave as though the problem doesn’t exist, and some look with suspicion on reports of abuse. They believe children are lying and are more prone to take an adult’s word. Sexual predators know that these dynamics operate in churches, and they know they can get away with a lot on account of it.”

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AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

13 March, 2015

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse will hold private sessions in Townsville for the first time from 17 to 20 March 2015.

Royal Commission CEO Philip Reed explained that private sessions are critical to the Commission’s work, as they allow Commissioners to hear firsthand of the impact of abuse on people and how the response of an institution affects survivors over their lifetime.

“Through private sessions, we are learning about the impact of child sexual abuse not only on individuals, but their families and communities.

Mr Reed said private sessions also provide information on systemic issues and institutions that may be considered in public hearings.

Private sessions are held in a confidential, safe and supported environment. Commission staff provide counselling and can arrange interpreters or other communication assistance if required.

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ALASKA
Alaska Dispatch News

Jerzy Shedlock
March 12, 2015

Clint Landry, formerly a priest with the Catholic Diocese of Fairbanks, pleaded guilty to a single count of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor for messaging contacts in the Philippines and wiring cash for child pornography, according to a federal plea agreement.

According to Ronnie Rosenberg, the diocese’s human resources and legal coordinator, Landry entered his plea Thursday morning at the federal courthouse in Fairbanks.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Reardon did not immediately return a call for comment Thursday.

Landry, 58, was placed on administrative leave and suspended from his ministerial duties on May 23, 2014, after “revelations of Internet computer misconduct,” the diocese said in a release. Landry served as the parish priest for Fairbanks’ largest Catholic congregation, Sacred Heart Cathedral.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

BY TIM SCULTHORPE – 13 MARCH 2015

The Home Secretary has been accused of perpetuating the cover-up of child sex abuse at Kincora Boys’ Home in east Belfast.

Theresa May yesterday announced a new four-person panel, including Professor Alexis Jay, to serve in the reformed statutory inquiry into child sex abuse in England.

Mrs May said Drusilla Sharpling, Ivor Frank and Malcolm Evans will also serve alongside Justice Lowell Goddard, a New Zealand judge.

But despite pressure from MPs and victims of the paedophile ring that operated there, she refused to add Kincora to the inquiry’s remit.

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AUSTRALIA
The Guardian

Melissa Davey
@MelissaLDavey
Friday 13 March 2015

Two days after child sex abuse victims called for the resignations of senior staff from within the Orthodox Jewish Yeshivah community, four of its leaders have stood down.

For two weeks in February, the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse examined the way abuse cases were handled by the Yeshivah centres in Sydney and Melbourne, which run schools, social events and religious activities.

On Wednesday, 11 abuse victims wrote an open letter to the Melbourne centre expressing dismay at what they described as a lack of accountability among senior figures since the commission hearings.

The commission heard how victims were groomed for sexual abuse by staff, then bullied and ostracised by religious leaders when they sought help.

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WASHINGTON
The Spokesman-Review

John Stucke The Spokesman-Review

The auxiliary bishop in San Jose, California, has been named by Pope Francis as the seventh bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Spokane.

Thomas Daly, 54, succeeds Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich, who left Spokane last fall to lead the nation’s third largest diocese.

Daly comes to Spokane from San Jose, where he serves as auxiliary bishop in the nation’s 10th largest diocese. He was born in San Francisco and was ordained as a priest in 1987. He will spend the next two months completing his obligations in San Jose. His installation in Spokane is set for May 20 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes.

During a Thursday news conference Daly acknowledged the challenges of leading a church during an age of an increasingly secular society. …

“We’re worried about Spokane’s new bishop and how he’ll deal with clergy sex abuse cases,” David Clohessy, the director of St. Louis-based SNAP, said in a news release.

Daly noted that San Jose and neighboring San Francisco also faced challenging abuse cases.

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CIUDAD DEL VATICANO
Noticieros Televisa

El Papa Francisco asegura que 90% de los mexicanos no se ofendió por su expresión sobre la mexicanización de Argentina, emitida en un correo privado; afirma que México no le cerró las puertas y hará una visita

CIUDAD DEL VATICANO, mar. 12, 2015.- El Papa Francisco fue entrevistado en exclusiva por Valentina Alazraki, corresponsal de Noticieros Televisa en El Vaticano, a unos días de cumplir dos años como máximo jerarca de la iglesia Católica.

El pontífice habló sobre las reacciones que desató el correo privado que envió a un amigo, donde le decía que se debería tratar de evitar la mexicanización de Argentina.

Evidentemente que es un término, permítaseme la palabra, técnico. No tiene nada que ver ya con la dignidad de México. Como cuando hablamos de la balcanización, ni los serbios, ni los macedonios, ni los croatas se nos enojan. Ya se habla de balcanizar algo y se usa técnicamente y los medios de comunicación lo han usado muchas veces, expresó el papa Francisco.

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic Culture

In a wide-ranging interview with the Vatican correspondent of a major Mexican media company, Pope Francis discussed drug trafficking, the success of evangelical Protestantism in Latin America, the conclave that elected him, the synod of bishops, curial reform, and clerical sexual abuse.

Hesitant to use the word “sects” to describe all evangelical Protestant groups, the Pontiff, according to Vatican Radio, said evangelicals have found success because they are close to the people; the Church in Latin America, in contrast, has a certain clericalism that creates distance from the people. Evangelicals have also found success where priests preach “disastrous” and overly abstract homilies.

Recalling the 2013 conclave, he said:

During the vote I was praying the rosary, I usually pray three rosaries daily, and I felt great peace, almost to the point of insentience. The very same when everything was resolved, and for me this was a sign that God wanted it, great peace. From that day to this I have not lost it. It is ‘something inside’ it is like a gift. I do not know what happened next. They made [me] stand up. They asked me if I agreed. I said yes. I do not know if they made me swear on something, I forget. I was at peace.

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ILLINOIS
Chicago Tribune

By Liam Ford

A 21-year-old Austin man sexually abused a 14-year-old girl he knows from acting as a youth volunteer at a church, prosecutors said today.

Vadonis Landfair, of the 100 block of North Parkside Avenue, abused the girl when she and her 17-year-old boyfriend visited his house in January, according to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office. He was ordered held in lieu of $100,000 bail in a hearing midday Thursday after being charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse, according to court and jail records.

The girl and her boyfriend visited Landfair at home one day sometime between Jan. 6 and Jan 16, prosecutors said.

The three watched movies and ate, and at some point, Landfair said something to the boyfriend that the girl couldn’t hear, prosecutors said.

The boyfriend became upset, and told the girl Landfair had said he wanted to perform a sex act on the girl. Landfair then asked the girl if he could have sex with her, and she looked at him and said “I don’t know.”

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

MARCH 13, 2015

Dan Box
Crime Reporter
Sydney

THE first wave of criminal prosecutions brought as a result of the child-abuse royal commission have begun to hit the courts, with police pursuing more than 140 separate criminal investigations into information provided by the commissioners.

An 88-year-old man appeared in Coffs Harbour Local Court this week charged with sexually abusing his foster daughter during the 1960s, when she was about 12 years old.

His alleged victim said she ­approached the police only after the establishment of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, to which she has given evidence in a private hearing.

“If it wasn’t for the … royal commission being formed, there would be no way I’d have the courage to come forward,” said the woman, who cannot be identified.

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CALIFORNIA
SFGate

By Kale Williams Published Thursday, March 12, 2015

A former high school football coach was vindicated Thursday and awarded a hefty sum in a wrongful termination suit after he was fired for reporting players’ sexual hazing and then further defamed by the diocese that ran the Catholic school, his lawyers said.

After a two-week trial, a Sacramento Superior Court jury found in favor of Chris Cerbone on all claims and awarded him $4 million for wrongful termination from St. Patrick-St. Vincent High School in Vallejo.

The jury also concluded that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, which runs the school, had falsely accused Cerbone of allowing the abuse to occur, said David Lowe, one of Cerbone’s attorneys.

Cerbone, a 52-year-old former New York State Police officer from Petaluma, was hired as head football coach at St. Patrick-St. Vincent in August 2013. In December, Cerbone heard reports that some varsity players had engaged in hazing in which they would “stick their naked buttocks in the face of the freshmen or slap their penises on the freshmen’s faces,” the suit said.

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IRELAND
Newstalk

A Wicklow detective has been acquitted of forging a letter from the Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to the investigation of a priest accused of sexual abuse.

Detective Garda Catherine McGowan (48), who is based at Bray Garda Station, had pleaded not guilty to one count of forgery on January 15, 2009 at Bray Garda Station and two counts of using a false instrument at Bray Garda Station and at Harcourt Street Garda Station between June 21 and 22, 2011.

The instrument was alleged to have been a letter from the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), dated January 14, 2009.

After a 14 day trial a jury of six men and six women deliberated for just over three hours before returning unanimous verdicts of not guilty on all three counts. Judge Mary Ellen Ring thanked the jury for their service and said it had been a “long and not an easy trial”.

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IRELAND
RTE News

A garda accused of forging a letter from the Director of Public Prosecutions has been found not guilty by a jury at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Detective Garda Catherine McGowan, 48, who is based at Bray Garda Station, had pleaded not guilty to one count of forgery on 15 January 2009 at Bray Garda Station and two counts of using a false instrument at Bray Garda Station and at Harcourt Street Garda Station between 21 and 22 June 2011.

The instrument was alleged to have been a letter from the office of the DPP, dated 14 January 2009, directing there be no prosecution in a clerical child abuse case.

The investigation of Det Gda McGowan’s handling of the case was prompted by the publication of the Murphy Report, which investigated the response of church and state authorities to clerical sexual abuse in the Dublin area.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

BY JOHN CASSIDY – 13 MARCH 2015

A notorious paedophile former Catholic priest has been convicted for the fifth time of abusing children.

Daniel Curran (64), of Bryansford Avenue, Newcastle, Co Down, appeared in the dock of Downpatrick Crown Court where he admitted the abuse.

Defence counsel Jim Gallagher QC asked Judge Piers Grant that Curran be re-arraigned on two charges he faced dating back almost 25 years.

Curran, dressed in a long green overcoat and wearing glasses, pleaded guilty to one count of gross indecency towards a male child and also admitted a single charge of indecent assault on the same victim who is now aged 31.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Live

12 March 2015 By Chris McCullough

Home secretary Theresa May risks looking like she is now playing her part in a decades-long cover-up, says Amnesty International.

The organisation has branded a statement from the Home Secretary, which excludes Kincora Boys’ Home from the UK child abuse inquiry, as a “missed opportunity” for truth.

Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland programme director Patrick Corrigan said: “The Home Secretary risks looking like she is now playing her part in a decades-long cover-up.”

The Ministerial statement named new panel members for the statutory inquiry into child sexual abuse in England and Wales, but did not address the call for Kincora to be included within its remit.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Irish Times

Mark Hennessy

Allegations of child abuse at the Kincora boys’ home in Belfast in the 1970s will not be investigated by a major British inquiry to be headed by a New Zealand judge, British home secretary Theresa May has said.

The inquiry to be headed by Justice Lowell Goddard will be confined to abuse allegations in England and Wales, but will liaise with the Hart Inquiry, which is investigating allegations of abuse in institutional homes in Northern Ireland.

“Child protection is a devolved matter, it is right that other jurisdictions in the United Kingdom look at the issues within their own geographical remit so that they can take the action which is right to address the specific issues uncovered,” Ms May said.

“I am clear that no institution or individual should be able to fall through the gaps because of geographical boundaries.” She added that rules would be established to ensure that information was shared between inquiries.

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FLORIDA
JRN

[with video]

By Karl Fortier

NAPLES, Fla. – A Naples priest is on administrative leave after recent allegations of child molestation in his former parish of Dubuque, Iowa.

The incident is alleged to have occurred 30 years ago in 1985.

The priest, Father Leo Riley, was placed on leave from his post at St. Peter the Apostle on Rattlesnake Hammock Road by the Diocese of Venice, which oversees the church.

Frank Kelly, a parishioner at St. Peter who thinks well of Father Riley, wishes he was still on the job.

“That’s all it is, an accusation,” Kelly said. “Everybody’s vulnerable for any little thing you did, and any little thing you might have done in your past that was youth-oriented.”

David Clohessy of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests- or SNAP – says that even though the alleged abuse happened three decades ago, it should still be taken seriously.

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TENNESSEE
WBIR

A Knoxville church is decrying the alleged theft of $360,000 by a former church treasurer “blinded by the temptations of the devil.”

In a letter obtained by 10News, Father Anthony Stratis of Saint George Greek Orthodox Church names the man and states that he has admitted using the money for his own personal use.

“The very idea of a fellow hard-working member of St. George involved in such a diabolically-based scheme brings each of us serious heartache, amidst other emotions,” Stratis’ Feb. 26 letter states.

10News is not naming the church member because he has not been charged.

Numerous members declined to comment Thursday when contacted by 10News.

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GEORGIA
CBS 46

ATLANTA (CBS46) – At Christ The King’s midday Mass Wednesday, there was a sense of peace that transcended all negativity surrounding the Archbishop’s once lavish lifestyle in Buckhead.

“It was a strategic mistake that perhaps I should have seen in advance,” Atlanta Archbishop Wilton Gregory said.

Gregory told CBS46’s Scott Light exclusively last July that he moved into this mansion under Pope Benedict and had to backtrack under Francis, a more frugal leader.

“I failed to understand what an impact it might have on other people,” Gregory said.

Gregory said he learned from his mistake and promised to sell the home. Last November, he did just that. The archdiocese sold the Buckhead mansion for $2.6 million. Gregory then moved into a Smyrna home for $440,000 in comparison.

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VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Service

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Bishops of dioceses around the world have an obligation to work to prevent clerical sexual abuse and to ensure that priests in their dioceses do not commit acts of abuse, said Cardinal Gerhard Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

“If, unfortunately, these crimes are verified, they fall under the exclusive competence of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which, however, always needs the assistance and collaboration of ordinaries and well-prepared canonists to act effectively and prudently,” he said in a speech at Rome’s Pontifical Urbanian University.

The Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, printed what it described as “ample excerpts” from the speech March 12.

The cardinal spoke during a March 9-10 special course at the university looking specifically at “crimes against the sacrament of penance.” However, he spoke in general about the crimes the church defines as “more grave delicts,” which includes the sexual abuse of minors.

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IOWA
KWWL

Written by Brad Hanson, Multimedia Journalist

DUBUQUE (KWWL) – It happened nearly 30 years ago, but somebody recently came forward to accuse former Dubuque priest Father Leo Riley of sexual abuse.

Dubuque Archbishop Michael Jackals said in a letter to his church that the complaint was made in December, and forwarded to him in February.

Riley transferred to the Diocese in Venice, Florida in 2002 to be closer to his family. The Venice Diocese said he’s been put on administrative leave, and say that he vehemently denies the accusation.

The criminal statute of limitations in Iowa has lapsed on this case, so no criminal charges can be brought against Riley if he’s found guilty.

So what’s the point of waiting so long to come forward?

Steve Theisen, an advocate who was also abused as a child, said there are a number of reasons.

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HAWAII
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, March 12

Statement by Joelle Casteix of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests 949 322 7434, jcasteix@gmail.com

We’re appalled that an admitted child molesting teacher may spend just a year in prison.

[Hawaii News Now]

We are deeply disappointed in Judge Glenn Kim’s decision to jail William Plourde so briefly. And we call on him to publicly explain why he gave such a lenient sentence – more appropriate for a purse snatcher than a child molester.

We beg officials in the Hawaii Catholic Church to aggressively reach out to anyone who saw, suspects, or suffered child sex crimes by Plourde and urge them to call police and prosecutors so that he might be charged again and kept away from kids longer. We suspect, based on our group’s 25 year history, that other current or former staff at Sacred Hearts Academy had inklings that Plourde had sexually violated kids but kept silent. We hope they’ll find the courage to step forward now.

It’s very possible that Plourde could be prosecuted and convicted for other child sex crimes. But the best way to make that happen is for Catholic school and church officials to use their vast resources to prod though who may have information or suspicions about Plourde to call law enforcement right away.

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UNITED STATES
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Jay Bookman

If you want to see how easily a so-called “religious freedom amendment” can be abused and distorted, take a look at what’s going on in Milwaukee.

The Milwaukee archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church faces myriad lawsuits stemming from its longstanding failure to protect children from repeated, ongoing molestations by Catholic priests. To shield its assets from the estimated 575 plaintiffs, the archdiocese declared bankruptcy in 2011, claiming it had no money to pay damages. But before doing so, it shifted $55 million in church funds into a newly created trust fund, ostensibly to pay for the maintenance of Catholic cemeteries in the archdiocese.

In a letter to the Vatican that sought permission for the move, the Milwaukee archbishop noted that “[b]y transferring these assets to the Trust, I foresee an improved protection of these funds from any legal claim and liability.”

Not surprisingly, the victims of molestation protested the move to shield church assets. But as the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel explains, “The church maintained that forcing it to turn over even $1 in cemetery funds … would substantially burden its free exercise of religion under the First Amendment and the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act.”

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VATICAN CITY/CHILE
Crux

By Inés San Martín
Vatican correspondent March 12, 2015

ROME — A decision by Pope Francis to assign a bishop in Chile linked to one of the country’s most notorious clerical sex abusers as the new leader of a local diocese has locals gathering signatures to try to block the appointment.

Bishop Juan de la Cruz Barros Madrid, previously Chile’s military chaplain, was appointed in mid-January as the new bishop of the small Osorno diocese and is scheduled to be installed on March 21.

Barros is one of four bishops mentored by the Rev. Fernando Karadima, a longtime point of reference for Catholic clergy in the country. In 2011, the Vatican sentenced Karadima to a life of “penitence and prayer” after finding him guilty of pedophilia and abuse of his ecclesiastical position.

The victims of Karadima have accused Barros and three other bishops — Andrés Arteaga, Tomislav Koljatic, and Horacio Valenzuela — of covering up for Karadima while he sexually abused devoted followers during the 1980s and 1990s.

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ARKANASAS
The Raw Story

DAVID FERGUSON
12 MAR 2015

Arkansas Republican who gave his adopted daughters to a man who raped one of them was apparently in the habit of attempting to cast “demons” out of the children in his federally-funded pre-kindergarten.

According to KNWA news, a former employee of Harris’ Growing God’s Kingdom — who was also a mother of a student in the school — came forward Wednesday to discuss the bizarre pseudo-religious rituals Harris and his wife Marsha would perform on students as a routine part of daily life at the school.

The former teacher — who asked to be identified as “Amber” — said that the Harrises would perform an exorcism ritual when children were acting up.

“If they got in too much trouble they would pray on the kids, do a circle around them, put their hands on their heads, saying, trying to rebuke demons,” she said to KNWA.

Amber worked at the school for about five months in 2013, but was fired when she took exception to the Harrises’ methods for disciplining the children.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Northern Sound

The Norbertine Fathers are to vacate Kilnacrott Abbey in Ballyjamesuff in Cavan next month.

The last ever mass at the Abbey as we know it, will take place on Easter Sunday.

5 priests in Kilnacrott will be relocated.

Profits from the sale of the Abbey which was sold in 2012 for €610,000 to a new Catholic lay movement called Directon For Our Times will be put into the fund for the victims of the Notorious Paedophile priest Brendan Smyth.

It’s hoped that a further €100,000 will be raised for that fund from the sale of the furnishings of the Abbey on Saturday the 6th of June.

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HAWAII
KITV

[with video]

HONOLULU —One year in prison. That’s how much time a former Sacred Hearts Academy teacher will spend behind bars for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old student.

“Teachers are not supposed to tell their students don’t tell anyone about this or I will get in trouble. Mr. Plourde did. You are not supposed to manipulate the students into doing something wrong. But, Mr. Plourde did,” said the sexual assault victim in court on Wednesday.

With tears streaming down her face and hands shaking the victim, a teenage student, begged Judge Glenn Kim to send her former teacher to prison.

“I suffer with days that I questioned my life. Days that I cried and cried. Days that I would have outbreaks of anger and hate. As much as I suffered, he should suffer behind bars as well,” said the victim.

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HAWAII
KHON

[with video]

A teacher who sexually assaulted a student while he working at Sacred Hearts Academy will never teach again.

William Plourde was sentenced Wednesday to a year in prison for the assaults.

The victim was a student at Sacred Hearts when the assaults happened in 2013 and has had to deal with the emotional scars his assaults left behind.

“Mr. Plourde was a teacher that I trusted. Instead of a teacher who taught me right, he left me with a burden. He left me with a burden of being a sexual assault,” the victim said. “Teachers are not supposed to tell their students, ‘Don’t tell anyone or else I will get in trouble.’ And Mr. Plourde did.”

“As parents, we expect teachers to be role models and we trust that they will do the right thing, not the wrong thing. Mr. Plourde is not a role model and he did wrong.” said the victim’s mother.

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HAWAII
Hawaii News Now

By Lynn Kawano

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A former teacher at Sacred Hearts Academy will spend a year in jail and will be on probation for five years after admitting that he sexually assaulted a student.

William Plourde apologized in court Wednesday to the girl, who was 15 years old at the time. He was 53 years old.

Before Judge Glenn Kim handed down the sentence, Plourde spoke to the court and then turned to the girl and her family, telling them that he was sorry for violating their trust and for the pain and suffering he caused them and the school.

In 2013, Plourde was the girl’s teacher. He admitted that he pursued a relationship with her, by sending text messages and emails. He then drove to her home and sexually assaulted her in the car. In another instance, he assaulted her at the school, in a classroom.

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UNITED STATES
Failed Messiah

Jeffrey Shulevitz, husband of Emma Shulevitz, a victim of mikva peeping tom voyeur Rabbi Barry Freundel, writes:

The Deeper Issues

The topic of conversions is a very deeply heated topic in the Jewish world. Growing up in New York City I knew this. However, what I did not know was to what a major extent this was until this past week. There is a famous saying, “you live and you learn”. What I have discovered has forced me come out of my silence. I have never written an article as I have always been a very private person. However, with what I have seen from debates on this topic I feel as if I have an obligation to speak out, so here I am.

Last year I relocated from New York City to Washington, D.C, the nation’s capital. As D.C is a capital, so is New York City – the capital of the jewish people in the United States. There are approximately 1.1 million jewish people in New York City. Roughly half of that jewish population lives in Brooklyn. There are roughly 40,000 Syrians jews who do not believe that a person born with a non-jewish mom can ever become jewish. This has been their teachings passed down from generation to generation and this has become their tradition.

Sadly, there are many others living in the Brooklyn community who share the same ideology on conversions. In researching this subject matter I asked someone living in Brooklyn the question on how converts are treated in Brooklyn? Here was her response. “From what I’ve seen and heard it’s disgraceful to have a convert marry in to your family”.

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RHODE ISLAND
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, March 12

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’re worried that a controversial, secretive Catholic group will open a boarding school in Rhode Island.

[Valley Breeze]

The Legion of Christ is a scandal-ridden and cult-like Catholic religious order. It has been racked with sexual and financial controversies. We see little evidence that it has reformed in any real way in recent years.

For the safety of youngsters, we urge Rhode Island citizens and Catholics to avoid this extreme group.

For more information about the Legion, see our website and/or BishopAccountability.org

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UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Mail

By Tom Mctague and Matt Chorley for MailOnline

A new judge-led inquiry into historic child abuse will investigate allegations from before the 1970s, Theresa May announced today.

The Home Secretary announced a new four person panel would serve alongside Justice Lowell Goddard, a New Zealand judge, to investigate allegations that celebrities and other VIPs were involved in child abuse which was covered up by the establishment.

Mrs May said she had agreed to remove any cut-off date for claims which can be investigated by the probe.

In a written statement to MPs, Mrs May said the inquiry would have ‘access to all relevant information’.

Mrs May scrapped the original panel after two chairs were forced to stand down over their links to establishment figures including the former Home Secretary Leon Brittan.

The Home Secretary announced the new panel would be made up of Professor Alexis Jay, who led the inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham, Drusilla Sharpling, Ivor Frank and Malcolm Evans.

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WASHINGTON
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, March 12

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’re worried about Spokane’s new bishop and how he’ll deal with clergy sex abuse cases.

Thomas Anthony Daly has spent time in the San Francisco archdiocese (26 publicly accused predator priests) and the San Jose diocese (12 publicly accused predator priests). He was promoted to head a seminary by the highly controversial and secretive Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco.

We call on Daly to immediately and aggressively reach out to anyone who saw, suspected or suffered clergy sex crimes or misdeeds by two priests:

1–Fr. Daniel Wetzler, a credibly accused predator priest who was quietly suspended in October 2014. Then-Bishop Blasé Cupich notified only his flock, not the public and refused to disclose when the allegations surfaced. He also urged other victims to call church officials, not secular authorities. And he made no mention of possible criminal prosecution or of the need for Catholics and citizens to share what they know about the priest with law enforcement. This is disturbing and reckless. We hope Daly will rectify this self-serving and hurtful behavior.

[Spokane diocese]

[Spokesman-Review]

Child sex accusations should be made publicly as broadly and quickly as possible. Otherwise, child molesters are given more chances to intimidate victims, threaten witnesses, discredit whistleblowers, destroy evidence, fabricate alibis and even flee the country.

Daly should now say what Cupich should have said – widely and clearly –months ago: If you saw, suspected or suffered clergy sex crimes by Fr. Wetzler, you have a moral and civic duty to call the independent, experienced professionals in law enforcement so that kids might be protected, Fr. Wetzler might be prosecuted and the church itself be more healthy and safe. You may think that by keeping quiet, you’re helping your parish, diocese or faith. But you are doing just the reverse. So please, find the courage to break your silence, safeguard innocent kids, and prevent future crimes.

2–Fr. Brad Reynolds, who (as of a few months ago) was still on the job at a Catholic college in the Spokane diocese even though

–eight years earlier, he was sued for molesting two boys in Alaska,

–he was removed from his duties by his Jesuit supervisors, and

–he was allegedly put under 24 hour surveillance at a Jesuit institution.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
UTV

Story by John Cassidy, Belfast

Father Daniel Curran of Bryansford Avenue, Newcastle, Co Down, appeared in the dock of Downpatrick Crown Court flanked by a female prison officer on Thursday.

Defence counsel Jim Gallagher QC asked Judge Piers Grant that the 64-year-old be re-arraigned on two charges he faced dating back almost 25 years.

Curran, dressed in a long green overcoat and wearing glasses, pleaded guilty to one count of gross indecency towards a boy and also admitted a single charge of indecent assault on the same victim who is now aged 31.

The offences took place between August 1990 and August 1993 at a cottage owned by his family in the seaside village of Tyrella, Co Down when the victim was aged between seven and 10.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

Declan Brennan
PUBLISHED
12/03/2015

A detective has been acquitted of forging a letter from the Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to the investigation of a priest accused of sexual abuse.

Detective Garda Catherine McGowan (48), who is based at Bray Garda Station, had pleaded not guilty to one count of forgery on January 15, 2009 at Bray Garda Station and two counts of using a false instrument at Bray Garda Station and at Harcourt Street Garda Station between June 21 and 22, 2011.

The instrument was alleged to have been a letter from the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), dated January 14, 2009.

After a 14 day trial a jury of six men and six women took just under four hours to return unanimous verdicts of not guilty on all three counts.

The State had alleged that Gda McGowan had forged the letter to “hoodwink” gardaí who were reviewing whether she had acted properly in investigating allegations of sexual abuse by a priest of a teenage girl.

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CANADA
Anglican Communion News Service

By Matt Gardner for Anglican Church of Canada

Marking a new stage in the healing journey of residential school survivors, the Anglican Church of Canada will have a major presence at the upcoming closing ceremonies for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

Since the establishment of the TRC in 2008, General Synod leaders have attended seven TRC national events at which survivors described their residential school experiences. The ceremonies in Ottawa and TRC Final Report represent the culmination of this process.

From May 28 to June 3, a series of activities will take place in the nation’s capital to mark the closure of the TRC and the release of its final report, including a Reconciliation Walk, educational sessions, cultural events, a public feast and an invite-only closing ceremony at Rideau Hall.

Overlapping with the official ceremonies is a national event hosted by KAIROS Canada, the ecumenical organisation through which the Anglican Church of Canada approaches some of its reconciliation work. Entitled Time for Reconciliation, the event will feature intergenerational gatherings on topics such as decolonisation and respecting indigenous rights.

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CALIFORNIA
Waiting for Godot to Leave

Kevin O’Brien

If this news report is true, then here’s what happened in the Sacramento diocese (which is named “Sacramento” after the Blessed Sacrament – Jesus Christ present among us).

Christopher Cerbone (“Christopher” means “Christ bearer”; “Cerbone” is a name related to that of St. Cerbonius, who was thrown to the bears) was a soccer coach at St. Patrick / St. Vincent High School in Vallejo, California. One day, he learned that there was a kind of “hazing” going on among his students that was tantamount to sexual abuse. As soon as he learned of this behavior, he reported it to school officials.

The school responded by expelling five of the guilty students – and firing Christopher Cerbone! They justified this by issuing a press release saying that, as coach, Cerbone was, himself, responsible for the hazing, even though he immediately reported it as soon as he found out about it.

This is an open and shut case. If the news report is accurate, it is clearly unjust termination and defamation, and it will cost the diocese of Sacramento nearly $1 million in actual damages and perhaps as much as $4.5 million in punitive damages.

In trying to argue against a high punitive award, the lawyer for the diocese told the jury that the diocese didn’t mean any real harm, and that (gosh dang it) the matter was handled “very poorly” – so, no biggie, you see. “Mistakes were made” as it were. Nobody’s fault.

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KENTUCKY
The Courier

Pope Francis today appointed Conventual Franciscan Father John Stowe of Carey as the third bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington (Kentucky).

Stowe, 48, was pastor and rector of the Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation in Carey.

The Lexington position was left vacant when the pope appointed Bishop Ronald W. Gainer as the bishop of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Stowe was born in Lorain. He attended Roman Catholic grade school and high school in the Cleveland area. He earned a master of divinity and a licentiate in sacred theology in church history from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, California, now affiliated with Santa Clara University.

Stowe was an associate pastor and pastor in El Paso, Texas before becoming pastor and rector of Our Lady of Consolation in Carey in 2010.

The date and time of the Stowe’s ordination and installation as bishop has not yet been determined.

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WASHINGTON
The Spokesman-Review

John Stucke The Spokesman-Review

Pope Francis has appointed Thomas Daly as the new Catholic Bishop of Spokane.

The announcement was made early Thursday. Details will be released during a 9 a.m. press conference.

Daly, 54, succeeds Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich, who left Spokane last fall to lead the nation’s third largest diocese.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
News Letter

A notorious paedophile Catholic priest has pleaded guilty to more offences of chid sexual abuse.

Fr Daniel Curran, 64, Bryansford Avenue, Newcastle, Co Down, appeared at Downpatrick Crown Court.

Defence counsel Jim Gallagher QC asked Judge Piers Grant that Curran be rearraigned on two charges he faced dating back almost 25 years.

Curran, dressed in a long green overcoat and wearing glasses, pleaded guilty to one count of gross indecency towards a male child and also admitted a single charge of indecent assault on the same victim who is now aged 31.

The offences took place between August 1990 and August 1993 at a cottage owned by his family in the seaside village of Tyrella, Co Down when the victim was aged between seven and 10.

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IRELAND
Irish Examiner

A Wicklow detective has been acquitted of forging a letter from the Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to the investigation of a priest accused of sexual abuse.

Detective Garda Catherine McGowan (48), who is based at Bray Garda Station, had pleaded not guilty to one count of forgery on January 15, 2009 at Bray Garda Station and two counts of using a false instrument at Bray Garda Station and at Harcourt Street Garda Station between June 21 and 22, 2011.

The instrument was alleged to have been a letter from the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), dated January 14, 2009.

After a 14-day trial a jury of six men and six women took just under four hours to return unanimous verdicts of not guilty on all three counts.

The State had alleged that Gda McGowan had forged the letter to “hoodwink” gardaí who were reviewing whether she had acted properly in investigating allegations of sexual abuse by a priest of a teenage girl.

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BELGIUE
La Libre

[Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard should be heard Thursday by the Court of Appeal of Liège in a case concerning Devillet Joel, the name of an inhabitant of Aubange who several years ago filed a complaint against Father Hubermont. He accused the priest of raping between 1987 (he was then 14 years old and was an altar boy at Aubange) and 1991.]

JEAN-CLAUDE MATGEN Publié le mardi 10 mars 2015

BELGIQUE
Monseigneur André-Joseph Léonard devrait être entendu, jeudi, par la cour d’appel de Liège, dans un dossier qui concerne Joël Devillet, du nom d’un habitant d’Aubange qui avait, voici plusieurs années, déposé plainte contre l’abbé Hubermont. Il accusait le prêtre de l’avoir violé entre 1987 (il avait alors 14 ans et était enfant de choeur à Aubange) et 1991.

L’abbé Hubermont avait été renvoyé devant le tribunal correctionnel d’Arlon mais les faits avaient été jugés prescrits. A l’audience, M. Devillet et son conseil, Me Kauten avaient mis l’attitude de l’archevêque en cause. “Monseigneur Léonard n’était pas évêque lors des faits mais il l’était quand Joël Devillet les a dénoncés. En plus, ils n’étaient pas prescrits à ce moment-là”, avait scandé Me Kauten. “Je lui reproche surtout son attitude après les faits”, avait insisté Joël Devillet. Il estime que si Mgr Léonard n’avait pas “noyé le poisson”, il aurait pu se reconstruire grâce à la procédure pénale. Quoi qu’il en soit, M. Devillet et son conseil avaient saisi le tribunal civil d’Arlon et obtenu réparation du dommage causé par l’abbé Hubermont. Celui-ci avait été condamné à verser 65 000 euros à sa victime.

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OSTERREICH
Nachrichten

[KREMSMÜNSTER. The former priest accused of abusing former pupils at Kremsmunster has been sentenced to 12 years in prison. The 81-year-old man is in conditonal detention.]

KREMSMÜNSTER. Der wegen sexuellen Missbrauchs an ehemaligen Zöglingen rechtskräftig zu zwölf Jahren Haft verurteilte 81-jährige Ex-Pater des Stiftes Kremsmünster ist bedingt haftfähig.

Das geht aus einem nunmehr vorliegenden Gutachten eines medizinischen Sachverständigen hervor, wie das “Neues Volksblatt” (Donnerstag-Ausgabe) berichtete.

Eine Haftanstalt muss ihm demnach wie ein Pflegeheim Barrierefreiheit und andere Einrichtungen bieten, wird sein Verteidiger Oliver Plöckinger zitiert. Das zuständige Landesgericht Steyr habe nun bei der Vollzugsdirektion angefragt, ob es hierzulande eine solche Justizvollzugsanstalt gebe. Laut dem Leiter der Vollzugsdirektion Peter Prechtl gibt es in diesem Fall noch keine Entscheidung. Generell sei die Vollzugsanstalt Wilhelmshöhe bei Pressbaum für Personen adaptiert worden, die pflegebedürftig sind.

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BELGIEN
kathweb

[The Chairman of the Belgian Bishops Conference, Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard, is to testify in a court of appeal in Liege. As the newspaper “La Libre Belgique” (Wednesday) reports this involves a hearing of a case of repeated child abuse by a diocesan priest in the period 1987 to 1991.]

Brüssel, 12.03.2015 (KAP/KNA) Der Vorsitzende der Belgischen Bischofskonferenz, Erzbischof Andre-Joseph Leonard, soll vor einem Berufungsgericht in Lüttich aussagen. Wie die Zeitung “La Libre Belgique” (Mittwoch) berichtet, geht es in der Verhandlung um einen Fall von wiederholtem Kindesmissbrauch in der Zeit 1987 bis 1991. Der Kläger, Joel Devillet, wirft Leonard, damals Bischof von Namur, vor, von dem Missbrauch durch einen Diözesanpriester gewusst und diesen geschützt zu haben. In einem ersten Verfahren war Devillet vor einem Gericht in Namur gescheitert; dagegen legte er Berufung ein.

Devillet war in seiner Jugend als Ministrant von dem Priester, der seine Pfarre leitete, missbraucht worden. Dieser war in einem vorhergehenden Verfahren bereits zu einer Entschädigungszahlung von 65.000 Euro verurteilt worden.
.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 12 March 2015 (VIS) – The Holy Father has:

– appointed Rev. Fr. John Stowe, O.F.M. Conv., as bishop of Lexington (area 42,520, population 1,601,000, Catholics 47,900, priests 64, permanent deacons 71, religious 89), U.S.A. The bishop-elect was born in Amherst, Ohio, U.S.A. in 1966, gave his solemn vows in 1992, and was ordained a priest in 1995. He has served in a number of pastoral roles, including deputy priest, administrator and parish priest of the “Our Lady of Mount Carmel” parish in El Paso, Texas; vicar general of the diocese of El Paso; administrator of the “Our Lady of the Valley” parish; and chancellor of the diocese of El Paso. He is currently provincial vicar of the “Our Lady of Consolation” Franciscan Conventual Province and rector of the Basilica and national shrine of “Our Lady of Consolation”, Carey, Ohio.

– appointed Bishop Thomas Anthony Daly, auxiliary of San Jose in California, U.S.A., as bishop of Spokane (area 63,325, population 325,161, Catholics 107,271, priests 146, permanent deacons 43, religious 230), U.S.A.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Care Appointments

Written by The Press Association

Home Secretary Theresa May will decide by the end of the month whether the inquiry into historic child sex abuse involving a Westminster paedophile ring will investigate allegations from before the 1970s.

Mrs May dissolved the original panel after two chairs were forced to stand down over their links to Establishment figures from the 1970s and 80s, appointing a new chair and re-examining the terms of reference.

A change in the terms of reference could include widening the scope to include allegations made before the 1970s.

Once the terms are finalised, along with the number of members that will sit on the panel, the inquiry will be placed on a statutory basis.

Home Office Minister Lynne Featherstone said this would take place before the end of March.

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UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian

Sandra Laville
Thursday 12 March 2015

Four new panel members, including the author of a report into sexual exploitation in Rotherham, have been appointed to the reformed independent inquiry into child abuse, the home secretary has announced.

After months of controversy about the make-up and power of the inquiry Theresa May confirmed on Thursday it was to be placed on a statutory footing “to compel witnesses to determine whether state and non-state institutions have taken seriously their duty of care to children”.

The home secretary revealed she has listened to demands from the survivors that the period of time covered by the inquiry be extended. May said there would be no cutoff point for investigations and added that the no individual or institution should be able to fall through the gaps because of “geographical boundaries”.

She said information would be shared between the inquiry in England and Wales, a forthcoming inquiry being set up in Scotland, the Hart Inquiry in Northern Ireland and the Jersey independent care inquiry; all of which will have joint protocols.

May said the inquiry would have the full cooperation of the government and access to all relevant information.

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UNITED KINGDOM
BBC News

A new four-person panel has been named by the home secretary, as the inquiry into child sex abuse in England and Wales officially starts work.

The panel members are Drusilla Sharpling, Professor Alexis Jay, Ivor Frank and Malcolm Evans.

They will serve alongside the New Zealand judge, Lowell Goddard, who is heading the inquiry.

New terms of reference have been agreed, these include removing any cut off dates.

Theresa May said the inquiry would also reflect the importance of survivors, who will be able to appear as witnesses.

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UNITED KINGDOM
Daily Mail

Press Association

A new four person panel, including Professor Alexis Jay, has been revealed by Home Secretary Theresa May for the reformed statutory inquiry into child sex abuse.

Mrs May said Drusilla Sharpling, Ivor Frank and Malcolm Evans will also serve alongside Justice Lowell Goddard, a New Zealand judge.

New terms of reference for the inquiry have also been agreed, included a removal of any cut off date for claims which can be investigated by the probe.

In a written statement to MPs, Mrs May said: “Survivors have been instrumental in the setting up of this statutory inquiry. Both Justice Goddard and I are clear that they must also have a strong voice in the work of the inquiry as it now moves forward.

“Justice Goddard will be writing to survivors and their representatives shortly to set out her intention to create a survivors and victims’ consultative panel and to seek their views on how this will work and who should be on it.

“This panel will have a specific role and function within the i nquiry.”

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KENTUCKY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Thursday, March 12

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’re worried about Lexington’s new bishop and how he’ll deal with clergy sex abuse cases.

In a 2008 interview, Rev. John Stowe made three troubling comments about the church’s on-going clergy sex abuse and cover up crisis

[BishopAccountability.org]

First, Stowe said that in the past, it was a practice to move offending priests to some other parish after some kind of counseling or treatment. But that no longer happens.

Second, “We know much more now than we did in the 1960s,” he said. His implication is that a lack of knowledge by the church hierarchy was a major reason why 6,300 US priests have sexually assaulted at least 100,000 children. That’s a deceitful claim.

Bishops are smart, well-educated men with many resources and smart consultants. They knew – and know – exactly what they’re doing when they quietly pay off victims and move predator priests. It was – and is – a lack of decency and courage that causes this crisis, not a lack of information.

For ages, bishops have known that child sex abuse is illegal and hurtful. Yet time and time again, they put their reputations, careers and comfort ahead of kids’ safety, and refuse to call police the minute child sex crimes are known or suspected. And sadly, this is still happening in the church today.

Third, he acknowledged that there were abusive priests in the past. Again, we stress that in a rigid, ancient, secretive, all-male monarchy, centuries of recklessness and callousness with clergy sex crimes and cover ups can’t be radically reversed in a few short years. So there still ARE abusive priests and bishops are STILL hiding them, moving them, and minimizing and concealing their crimes. To pretend otherwise is disingenuous.

Stowe has spent time in the Toledo diocese (31 publicly accused predator priests) and the El Paso diocese (14 publicly accused predator priests). He knows the first steps he should take in Lexington. He should:

1) Post predator priests’ names on his diocesan website, for the safety of kids and the healing of victims, and

2) Clearly and repeatedly beg victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to call police and seek therapy.

We hope he has the courage to take these simple steps toward prevention and recovery. We are not optimistic.

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IOWA
KCCI

DUBUQUE, Iowa —The Archdiocese of Dubuque is investigating a sexual abuse claim against a former Iowa pastor 30 years after the alleged abuse occurred.

The Telegraph Herald reports that the claim, made last year against a former Dubuque pastor, alleges the man sexually abused a minor in 1985. Efforts by The Telegraph Herald to reach the man for comment Wednesday were unsuccessful.

Director of communications John Robbins says the accuser’s attorney brought the allegation to the Dubuque County Attorney’s Office. He says criminal investigation isn’t expected because of the statute of limitations.

The former pastor, now working at a Florida parish, has been placed on administrative leave during the investigation.

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AUSTRALIA
J-Wire

March 12, 2015 by J-Wire News Service

The NSW Jewish Board of Deputies has established a Task Force on Child Protection that will focus on the welfare of children in communal institutional settings.

The taskforce is headed by University of NSW Emeritus Professor Bettina Cass, who chairs the Board’s Social Justice Committee and contains eminent members of our community who specialise in the area of child protection.

The task force will develop and roll-out on-going seminars and workshops, the first of which will begin in June this year, that will focus on child safety policies and practices, the prevention of child abuse, procedures to protect children against abuse within Jewish institutional and community settings and the mandatory obligation to report to police.

“We will be contacting every Jewish communal institution –religious and lay– in NSW to invite them to be part of this critically important initiative” NSW Jewish Board of Deputies President Jeremy Spinak said. “We can’t simply say, ‘well the Royal Commission’s over, there’s nothing left to do. The solemn comments made following the commission hearings will count for naught if we don’t follow-up with serious, meaningful grass-roots change. That’s what the task force is seeking to do.”

Professor Cass said that due to the importance of the subject matter she expects strong communal participation in the initiative. “The key principle of the taskforce is that the foremost and overriding concern of all our educational and other community institutions and individuals associated with them is the physical, emotional and psychological protection of every child who comes within their system,” she said. “The rights of our children to that protection must be accorded priority in all our processes and actions.”

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RHODE ISLAND
Valley Breeze

By MELANIE THIBEAULT, Valley Breeze Staff Writer

SMITHFIELD – Now that they’ve been approved for a special use permit from the town’s zoning board, officials from the Legion of Christ will transition the facilities at 60 Austin Ave. from Mater Ecclesiae College to a boarding school for 6th- through 9th-grade girls called Overbrook Academy.

The school, which will be located on 44 acres in Greenville, is set to open in the fall.

The permit was approved by Zoning Board of Review members at their Feb. 25 meeting and will allow the Legion to run the boarding school in a planned development district.

Zoning board Chairman George McKinnon told The Valley Breeze & Observer that officials from the Legion of Christ did not mention making any changes to the facilities.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia

[with list of committee chairs]

Philadelphia, PA (March 11, 2015) – The World Meeting of Families – Philadelphia 2015 today announced the establishment of a comprehensive committee structure in advance of the World Meeting of Families Congress and historic visit of Pope Francis in September 2015. There will be 15 committees advising on myriad planning issues including liturgical development, combatting hunger and homelessness, and visitor experience among others.

Each committee will have a Chair/Co-Chairs as well as Vice Chairs who will work together with the members of their respective committees. Meetings are set to begin in earnest in early April, approximately six months prior to the global event. Several notable committees, such as security and transportation, are being headed by regional authorities and governmental agencies. Senior leadership from the World Meeting of Families – Philadelphia 2015 will represent the organization to those bodies. The World Meeting of Families – Philadelphia 2015 will closely coordinate with the City of Philadelphia on communications.

“In preparing for the World Meeting of Families, we have been blessed with wonderful support from the entire community. Of special note is the willingness of business, civic, and cultural leaders to become engaged,” said Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. “Whether Catholic or of another faith tradition, they have responded equally with open hearts, great enthusiasm and strong commitment. I’m deeply grateful to those who have accepted the invitation to serve on the committees being announced today and I’m confident that we will create a beautiful and memorable week for our families here in the Philadelphia region – and for families from around the world.”

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CITTA’ DEL VATICANO
Bolletino

Il Papa ha nominato Vescovo di Spokane (U.S.A.) S.E. Mons. Thomas Anthony Daly, finora Vescovo Ausiliare di San Jose in California.

S.E. Mons. Thomas Anthony Daly

S.E. Mons. Thomas Anthony Daly è nato a San Francisco, California, il 30 aprile 1960, nell’omonima arcidiocesi. Ha ottenuto il “B.A.” presso l’”University of San Francisco” a San Francisco (1982). Ha compiuto gli studi ecclesiastici presso il “Saint Patrick Seminary” a Menlo Park. Successivamente, ha ottenuto il “Masters” in Pedagogia presso il “Boston College”, Massachusetts (1996).

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CITTA’ DEL VATICANO
Bolletino

Il Santo Padre Francesco ha nominato Vescovo di Lexington (U.S.A.) il Rev.do P. John Stowe, O.F.M. Conv., finora Vicario Provinciale della Provincia Francescana Conventuale “Our Lady of Consolation” e Rettore della “Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation” in Carey (Ohio).

Rev.do P. John Stowe, O.F.M. Conv.

Il Rev.do P. John Stowe, O.F.M. Conv., è nato il 15 aprile 1966 ad Amherst (Ohio). Dopo aver frequentato la “Lorain Catholic High School” ha ottenuto il Baccalaureato in Filosofia e in Storia presso la “Saint Louis University” (1990). Poi, ha ottenuto il “Masters in Divinity” e la Licenza in Storia della Chiesa presso la “Jesuit School of Theology” a Berkeley (California).

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NEW YORK
New York Post

By Susan Edelman
March 12, 2015

An 11-year-old girl was bullied and sexually assaulted by male students at a Catholic school in Manhattan, according to a new lawsuit.

The suit filed, against the Archdiocese of New York and St. Gregory School on the Upper West Side, claims that the principal, Donna Gabella, did not do enough to prevent the constant abuse doled out by the students.

The anonymous plaintiff is seeking $5 million in damages.

St. Gregory School is a Catholic school for children in pre-kindergarten through grade 8.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Magazine

By Joel Mathis | March 12, 2015

Security for the visit of Pope Francis’ September visit to Philadelphia will be led by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, KYW reports.

Bob Ciaruffoli, president of the World Meeting of Families Philadelphia organization, says the federal government has declared the visit by Pope Francis and activities leading up to his arrival a “national security special event.”

“Multiple governmental agencies are extremely involved in the process,” he tells KYW Newsradio, “every step of the process. They’re working closely. There’s multiple committees set up where all the various agencies from the different governmental entities are involved in.”

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PHILADELPHIA (PA0
Philadelphia Inquirer

DAVID O’REILLY, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
LAST UPDATED: Thursday, March 12, 2015, 1:08 AM
POSTED: Wednesday, March 11, 2015, 12:

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia and local organizers of the World Meeting of Families announced Monday the creation of 15 committees to coordinate the international gathering in September, which will feature a visit to Philadelphia by Pope Francis.

The committees will develop programming and coordinate efforts on such topics as music, “visitor experience,” liturgies, youth events, parish preparation, and papal events.

Sponsored by the Vatican and hosted by the archdiocese, the six-day gathering will feature a four-day congress of lectures and workshops at the Convention Center.

The archdiocese expects about 10,000 to 15,000 visitors from around the world to attend the congress, which begins Sept. 22.

Francis is due to arrive Sept. 26 and appear at a festival on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Church and city officials estimate the gathering will draw one million people.

Francis will also celebrate Mass on Sept. 27 at an altar on the Parkway. Officials expect as many as two million people to attend.

Security and some logistical planning for the papal visit are being prepared by city, state, and federal protection agencies in conjunction with World Meeting of Families Philadelphia 2015, a nonprofit created by the archdiocese to raise funds and coordinate planning. It announced the chairs of its special committees would be:

Eustace Mita, CEO of Achristavest, for development and fund-raising.

Karen Dougherty Buchholz, senior vice president of Comcast Corp., and Josephine Mandeville, president of the Connelly Foundation, cochairs for for papal events.

Steve Fera, senior vice president of Independence Blue Cross, for government outreach.

Tod J. MacKenzie, senior vice president for corporate communications at Aramark Corp., for communications.

Meryl Levitz, CEO of Visit Philadelphia, and Sharon Pinkenson, executive director of the Greater Philadelphia Film Office, cochairs for “Go Philadelphia.”

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KENTUCKY
Lexington Herald-Leader

BY JIM WARREN
jwarren@herald-leader.com
March 12, 2015

Pope Francis appointed an Ohio native as the new bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Lexington early Thursday, according to a diocese press release.

The time and date for Rev. John Stowe’s ordination and installation as the third bishop of Lexington will be announced later, the diocese said. Stowe will be coming to Lexington from Carey, Ohio, where he is pastor and rector of the Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation.

The Lexington diocese has been vacant since Bishop Ronald W. Gainer was named Bishop of Harrisburg, Pa., last year. Rev. Robert H. Nieberding has been the diocesan administrator in the interim.

Stowe was born April 15, 1966, in Lorain, Ohio, and attended grade school at a school staffed by Conventual Franciscans. He joined the formation program for the Conventual Franciscan Province of Our Lady of Consolation at St. Bonaventure Friary in St. Louis, after he attended community college for a year.

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday appointed two new bishops for the United States, for the Diocese of Spokane and the Diocese of Lexington.

Bishop Thomas Daly will be the new bishop of Spokane, in the US state of Washington. He has since 2011 served as an auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of San Jose, which is located in California. He was born in nearby San Francisco on April 20, 1960, and was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of San Francisco in 1987.

Bishop-elect John Stowe, OFM Conv., will be the new bishop of Lexington, in the US state of Kentucky. Since 2010, he has served as Vicar Provincial of the Conventual Franciscan Province of Our Lady of Consolation. He was also serving as the rector of the Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation in Carey, Ohio. He previously served as Chancellor, Moderator of the Curia and Vicar General of the Diocese of El Paso in Texas.

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KENTUCKY
WKYT

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – Pope Francis appointed Conventual Franciscan Father John Stowe as the Third Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington.

The Lexington diocese was left vacant when the pope appointed Bishop Ronald W. Gainer, Second Bishop of Lexington, as the Bishop of Harrisburg, PA.

Father John Stowe was born April 15, 1966, in Lorain, OH. Bishop-elect Stowe earned a Masters of Divinity and a Licentiate in Sacred Theology in the field of Church History from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley. In December, 2002, Bishop-elect Stowe was invited to serve the Diocese of El Paso as Moderator of the Curia and Vicar General. He later also served as Chancellor of the diocese.

Pope St. John Paul II established the Diocese of Lexington from portions of the Archdiocese of Louisville, one of the oldest dioceses in the nation, and the Diocese of Covington, KY, in March, 1988. Bishop-emeritus J. Kendrick Williams retired in 2002, and was succeeded by Bishop Ronald W. Gainer, who guided the diocese from 2003 to 2014, when Bishop Gainer was named the Bishop of Harrisburg, PA.

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KENTUCKY/OHIO
Tolodo Blade

BY TK BARGER
BLADE RELIGION EDITOR

CAREY, Ohio —The Rev. John Stowe, a priest in the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, who has served in Carey since 2010 as the rector of the Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation, has been named the bishop of Lexington by Pope Francis.

Bishop-Elect Stowe is in Lexington, Ky., today for the public announcement.

Bishop Daniel Thomas of the Diocese of Toledo, which includes Carey, called the appointment “a reflection of our Holy Father’s confidence in Father Stowe, his deep love for Our Lord and His Church, and his faithful and dedicated priestly ministry throughout the years. The Diocese of Toledo, and particularly the faithful of Our Lady of Consolation Parish, have been blessed by Bishop-Elect Stowe’s presence and pastoral care. I know that he will serve the good people of the Diocese of Lexington as a faithful shepherd. I ask that all priests, deacons, religious and laity of the Diocese of Toledo join me in extending congratulations and prayerful best wishes as he prepares to accept this assignment.”

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UTAH
Deseret News

By Katie McKellar, Deseret News
Published: Wednesday, March 11 2015

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Legislature passed a bill Wednesday that eliminates the statute of limitations for lawsuits against perpetrators of child sexual abuse.

Deondra Brown, co-founder of the nonprofit Foundation for Survivors of Abuse, watched from the Senate gallery as lawmakers engaged in a final debate before voting to pass HB277 and sending it to Gov. Gary Herbert for his signature.

“On behalf of victims across the state of Utah, we’re excited to know that we can kind of breathe, take our time in healing, and come forward and tackle that big legal case when and if we are every ready,” Brown said.

Brown has followed the progress of HB277 and testified in favor of the bill at committee meetings throughout the legislative process. Three Brown sisters, members of the 5 Browns piano quintet, were molested by their father, Keith Brown, as children. The sisters sought criminal charges in 2010 against their father, who had also been their professional manager.

Keith Brown was sentenced in March 2011 to 10 years to life for sodomy on a child, a first-degree felony, and one to 15 years each on two counts of sex abuse of a child, a second-degree felony. The crimes occurred when the girls were 13 years old or younger.

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SCOTLAND
The Edinburgh Reporter

Survivors of historical abuse in care or in institutions in Scotland are being asked to help shape the recently announced Inquiry into historical abuse at events in Edinburgh in the coming weeks.

Additional meetings in Edinburgh and Glasgow are being arranged by the Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland (CELCIS) and will give more people the opportunity to have a say in the remit of the Inquiry and what skills they would want in a chairperson or panel, as well as considering other commitments the Scottish Government has made to support survivors of abuse.

Education Secretary Angela Constance pledged that survivors of abuse would have the chance to feed into the process before the scope of the inquiry and the appointments of a chair or panel were confirmed when she announced there would be a statutory inquiry into historical child abuse in institutional care.

Places for the engagement sessions – taking place in Edinburgh on March 17th and in Glasgow on March 19th – need to be reserved in advance and the meeting by visiting the website or calling the number below. These meetings will not be open to the public. Meetings have already been held in Perth, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

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AUSTRALIA
Pro Bono Australia

Posted: Thursday, March 12, 2015

Charities, churches and Governments will have a chance to outline their positions on compensation to victims of child sexual abuse at an upcoming Royal Commission hearing.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has announced that it will hold a public hearing into possible redress schemes for abuse survivors.

The hearing will enable institutions and Governments to formally respond to a consultation paper released in January this year which claimed that victims could receive up to $4.378 billion in compensation.

CEO of the Truth Justice and Healing Council, which is coordinating the Catholic Church’s engagement with the Royal Commission, Francis Sullivan, said the hearing will be one of the significant milestones in the work of the Royal Commission.

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NEW JERSEY
NJ.com

By MaryAnn Spoto | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on March 11, 2015

TRENTON —A Lakewood rabbi accused of arranging forced divorces orchestrated the beating of a Brooklyn and demanded $50,000 for his work, a convicted Jewish religious leader said on Wednesday.

In the ongoing federal conspiracy trial of Rabbi Mendel Epstein, David Wax detailed the roles of three of the four men accused of resorting to violence in exchange for large sums of cash to extract divorces from unwilling husbands.

Wax, the founder of a charitable organization that funneled millions of dollars to Israel, directly linked Epstein and two of the three other men on trial with him to the 2010 attack on Yisrael Bryskman, an Israeli national who was living in Brooklyn to avoid giving his wife a divorce according to Orthodox Jewish custom.

On the witness stand for the entire day on Wednesday, Wax said he and Epstein had phone discussions about forcing Bryskman to agree to the divorce -known as a get – at Wax’s Lakewood home.

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KENTUCKY
WPSD

By Robert Bradfield
By Justin Jones

PADUCAH, Ky – During his first court appearance Wednesday morning, 44-year-old Michael Parsons kept quiet. He’s charged with two counts of rape and 22 counts of electronic solicitation of a minor for sex.

“Very explicit sexual acts that were recorded and sent to the victim,” McCracken County Sheriff Jon Hayden said of Parsons alleged behavior.

Sheriff Hayden said Parsons told detectives everything Tuesday night – including admitting to sending pornographic images of himself starting in 2013 to a then 16 year-old girl he met while he was youth pastor at Milburn Chapel in West Paducah.

“In the course of this investigation this far, (we) have already recovered in excess of 22 videos and photos,” Sheriff Hayden said.

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OHIO
WLWT

[with video]

CINCINNATI —Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga preached his message to the Queen City Wednesday night.

“It is necessary for the new Pope to change some things,” Rodriguez said before a packed sanctuary at the Athenaeum of Ohio at Mt. St. Mary’s Seminary of the West.

The Cardinal’s sermon wrapped up a five day visit to Cincinnati.

Outside, a much smaller crowd of traditional Catholics with Novus Ordo Watch led a peaceful protest of his visit.

Mario Derksen, a spokesperson for the group, said Rodriguez was not a true Cardinal and Pope Francis was a false Pope.

“We acknowledge Pius XII as the last legitimate Pope. It was after him that the Second Vatican Council was called and has really brought havoc on the faith of thousands, no millions, of Catholics,” Derksen said.

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GUAM
KUAM

By Jolene Toves

It has been months since the Concerned Catholics of Guam organization has requested answers from Archbishop Anthony Apuron, and according to CCOG vice president Dave Sablan, all their letters and requests for meetings have gone unanswered. “We have been wanting to know truly how he handled the transfer of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary to this new corporation that was established or to the seminary corporation that was established,” he explained.

While the archbishop has maintained that he is still in control of the seminary, the CCOG believes otherwise. “We seriously doubt that he has any control as the archbishop of Agana, and so we are looking to the courts now for some remedy,” Sablan added. He says the CCOG is now in discussion with their attorneys on their strategy they will take through the courts, noting, “Basically get back that seminary building and land to be under the archbishop of Agana sole, which is where it should be and that’s what we are looking at right now.”

As far as their other letters seeking financial accountability and transparency with regard to how the annual Archdiocesan Appeal is going to be used and how it has been used in the past Sablan says that there has been no response despite a freedom of information request. He told KUAM News, “It is supposed to go to taking care of our seminarians local seminarians who want to become diocesan priests we suspect that he is using that money actually to form these priests from off-island at the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Yona.

“It seems to me that he is not really interested in responding to any of our requests in light of the fact that we need to know how he is spending this money and how he is managing it with regards to the affairs of the archdiocese and the various parishes.”

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CANADA
CBC News

A high-profile Calgary imam accused of sexually assaulting two women before he was granted refugee protection in Canada says he is innocent and wants to face the charges in the U.S.

Abdi Hersy defended himself Tuesday night after a CBC News investigation revealed there is an active arrest warrant for him in the United States.

The 46-year-old imam is accused of fondling two patients when he worked as a respiratory therapist in the Twin Cities suburb of Woodbury, Minn., in 2006.

He is facing six charges of criminal sexual conduct and criminal abuse.

In front of a large crowd of supporters at the Abu Bakr mosque, Hersy said he is innocent and stated his side of the story.

“I want to clear my name, clearly, I want to clear my name,” he said.

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TEXAS
Lake Cities Sun

Ashley O’Bannon-McClain aobannon@starlocalmedia.com

Posted on Mar 11, 2015
by Ashley O’Bannon-McClain

A former Corinth pastor that was charged in May of 2013 entered a plea bargain on Wednesday. Jeffrey Dale Williams, who was accused of attempted sexual performance of a minor, pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of injury to a child. The charge was part of a plea bargain that offered the amendment to Williams’ indictment, five years probation and 200 hours of community service.

In the initial arrest which took place on May 1, 2013, Williams was accused of attempted sexual performance of a minor after the Corinth police department obtained at least five different recordings of Williams trying to persuade a girl to remove her clothing.

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IOWA
KCRG

[Announcement in the parish bulletin at Church of the Resurrection – page 2]

DUBUQUE (AP) — The Archdiocese of Dubuque is investigating a sexual abuse claim against a former Iowa pastor 30 years after the alleged abuse occurred.

The Telegraph Herald reports that the claim, made last year against a former Dubuque pastor, alleges the man sexually abused a minor in 1985. Efforts by The Telegraph Herald to reach the man, identified as Leo P. Riley, for comment Wednesday were unsuccessful.

Director of communications John Robbins says the accuser’s attorney brought the allegation to the Dubuque County Attorney’s Office. He says criminal investigation isn’t expected because of the statute of limitations.

The former pastor, now working at a Florida parish, has been placed on administrative leave during the investigation.

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IOWA
TH Online

Posted: Wednesday, March 11, 2015

By Ben Jacobson ben.jacobson@thmedia.com

The Archdiocese of Dubuque is investigating a claim of sexual abuse allegedly committed by a Church of the Resurrection associate pastor 30 years ago.

A claim was made last year against the Rev. Leo Riley, who served as a Resurrection associate pastor in 1985 and 1986. According to a March 1 church bulletin, the alleged abuse occurred in 1985 while Riley was working in Dubuque.

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TEXAS
Denton Record-Chronicle

By Megan Gray-Hatfield / Staff Writer mgray@dentonrc.com
Published: 12 March 2015

Jeffrey Dale Williams, the former pastor of The Church of Corinth, was sentenced Wednesday in a Denton County courtroom to five years deferred probation and fined $1,000 after pleading guilty to causing injury to a child.

He pleaded guilty after a plea agreement reduced the original charge of solicitation of a minor, stemming from an incident two years ago.

Williams heard his sentence from 211th District Court Judge Brody Shanklin.

Lauri Frohbieter, chief of the Child Abuse Unit of the Denton County District Attorney’s Office, presented the case, where the original indictment was amended for the plea.

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CALIFORNIA
Chico News & Review

By Meredith J. Graham
meredithg@newsreview.com

This article was published on 03.12.15.

Donny Pauling made a name for himself in Chico more than a decade ago by producing pornography. Then he abruptly left the industry, claiming he’d found God. In the past three months, however, he’s been charged with 13 felonies and one misdemeanor of sexual abuse involving underage girls in Shasta and Sutter counties. And the investigation isn’t even close to being over.

Pauling’s story is nothing if not unique. The son of a pastor, he rebelled against his father and the church at a young age. In his mid-20s, he bought a video camera and set up a porn studio in downtown Chico (above where Beach Hut Deli now sits). He made a lot of money, and it was relatively easy. In an interview with the CN&R in 2007, he said, “The society we live in glamorizes porn. A lot of kids grow up thinking it’s cool to be in porn. So it wasn’t tough for me [to find models].”

After about seven years of running his own website, as well as supplying content for others under the pseudonym Donovan Philips, Pauling had an epiphany. To be fair, a few events led up to it. First, his fiancée left him. Then he started taking to heart phone calls and emails from women he’d photographed, pleading for him to take their photos off the Internet. One threatened suicide if he didn’t; several told him of ruined relationships with their families because of him.

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CALIFORNIA
Sacramento Bee

BY ANDY FURILLOAFURILLO@SACBEE.COM

Fired after reporting a sexual hazing scandal in his program, a high school football coach won $900,000 in damages Wednesday when a jury found that the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento wrongfully fired and retaliated against him and ultimately defamed him.

The number could get a lot bigger for Christopher Cerbone today when the Sacramento Superior Court jury resumes its deliberations in the punitive damages phase of the trial. His lawyers suggested a figure of $4.5 million for their client.

“I was blown away that instead of taking responsibility for protecting the children, the Diocese chose to fire the person who uncovered and reported the abuse,” Cerbone said in a statement released by his attorneys, David A. Lowe of San Francisco and Tyler F. Clark of Encino. “The jury recognized that what the Diocese did was wrong and saw the truth. I am grateful for the verdict.”

Defense attorney Tom Johnson suggested that the diocese may appeal the verdict rendered in Judge David W. Abbott’s courtroom.

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IRELAND
RTE News

The jury in the trial of a 48-year-old garda accused of forging a letter from the Director of Public Prosecutions has retired to consider its verdict.

Detective Garda Catherine McGowan, who is based at Bray Garda Station, has pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to one count of forgery on 15 January 2009 at Bray Garda Station.

She has also pleaded not guilty to two counts of using a false instrument at Bray Garda Station and at Harcourt Street Garda Station between 21 and 22 June 2011.

The instrument is alleged to have been a letter from the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, dated 14 January 2009, directing that there be no prosecution in a clerical child abuse case.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Daily News

JULIE SHAW, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER SHAWJ@PHILLYNEWS.COM, 215-854-2592
POSTED: Thursday, March 12, 2015

AFTER A JURY reported that it was hopelessly deadlocked, a judge declared a mistrial yesterday in the retrial of a Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing a 10-year-old altar boy in 1997 in the rectory at St. John Cantius Parish in Bridesburg.

It marks the second time that Common Pleas Judge Gwendolyn Bright has declared a mistrial in the case of the Rev. Andrew McCormick. Exactly a year ago, on March 12, 2014, a different jury was deadlocked after 4 1/2 days of deliberations.

Bright said the District Attorney’s Office has 30 days to decide whether to try McCormick a third time. She scheduled an April 10 status hearing to see if another retrial would take place.

McCormick, 58, dressed in his black priestly garb and white clerical collar, appeared relieved as he left the courtroom hallway with his supporters, including two nuns.

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