ABUSE TRACKER

WASHINGTON (DC)
Today News

Eun Kyung Kim

Pope Francis’s comments on the clergy sexual abuse scandal that has rocked the church for decades, focusing on Catholic leaders rather than victims caught in the crisis, was not a misstep, Cardinal Timothy Dolan said Thursday.

The pope directly addressed the sex scandal during his speech Wednesday to U.S. Bishops in Washington, praising bishops for their “courage” and “generous commitment to bring healing to victims — in the knowledge that in healing we too are healed.”

While the speech drew criticism from advocates who argued it should have focused more on the victims, Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, described the pope’s speech as “beautiful” and said it set the right tone.

“He spoke about the courage, he spoke about the ongoing sorrow and most importantly, he spoke about the fact that we can never drop our vigilance,” said Dolan, the former president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. “We’ve always got to be as vigorous as we are now.”

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Catholic League

Bill Donohue comments on Pope Francis’ first day in the U.S.:

The most significant thing about the pope’s first day in the United States was his unscheduled visit to the Little Sisters of the Poor. By embracing this order of nuns, Pope Francis laid down an unmistakable marker: He rejects efforts by the Obama administration to force Catholic nonprofit organizations to pay for, or even sanction, abortion-inducing drugs in their health care plans.
Earlier in the day, Pope Francis spoke pointedly about the need to protect religious liberty. That he did so in the company of President Obama, at the White House, was critically important. The pope’s commitment to our first freedom was then underscored with his visit to the Little Sisters of the Poor.

I got a chance to meet the pope briefly following the prayer service at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. It was a moment I will never forget. Whatever Cardinal Donald Wuerl said to him as he introduced me must have struck a chord: the pope broke out into a radiant smile.

Bernadette Brady-Egan, our vice president, was also thrilled to meet the Holy Father.
Of course, not everyone is pleased with the pope. From that preppy school-boy atheist George Will on the right, to the militant atheist Catholic-bashers at the Freedom From Religion Foundation on the left, cheap shots abound. And, of course, the professional victims’ advocates are cashing in on this historic trip. No matter, as we saw at the canonization Mass yesterday, those who love the pope represent the most diverse community on earth. Go Pope Francis!

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VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 24 September 2015 (VIS) – The Holy Father has:

– accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the metropolitan archdiocese of Messina-Lipari-Santa Lucia del Mela, Italy, presented by Archbishop Calogero La Piana, S.D.B., in accordance with canon 402 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Laws.

– accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Alba, Italy, presented by Bishop Giacomo Lanzetti, in accordance with canon 402 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Laws.

– accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Goya, Argentina, presented by Bishop Ricardo Oscar Faifer, upon reaching the age limit. He is succeeded by Bishop Adolfo Ramon Canecin, coadjutor of the same diocese.

– appointed Archbishop Luis Gerardo Cabrera Herrera, O.F.M., of Cuenca, Ecuador as archbishop of Guayaquil (area 14,637, population 3,275,192, Catholics 2,783,913, priests 202, permanent deacons 21, religious 607), Ecuador. He succeeds Archbishop Antonio Arregui Yarza, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese upon reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Vatican Information Service

Vatican City, 24 September 2015 (VIS) – The challenges of a nation whose vast resources require not insignificant moral responsibility in a world seeking new equilibria of peace, prosperity and integration, the importance of never again repeating past “crimes” against victims of abuse, the need for dialogue instead of hard and bellicose language, and the defence of the excluded, migrants and the environment were some of the themes that Pope Francis considered yesterday in the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington D.C., during his meeting with the episcopate of the United States. The following are extensive extracts from his address.

“My first word to you is one of thanksgiving to God for the power of the Gospel which has brought about remarkable growth of Christ’s Church in these lands and enabled its generous contribution, past and present, to American society and to the world. … I appreciate the unfailing commitment of the Church in America to the cause of life and that of the family, which is the primary reason for my present visit. I am well aware of the immense efforts you have made to welcome and integrate those immigrants who continue to look to America, like so many others before them, in the hope of enjoying its blessings of freedom and prosperity. I also appreciate the efforts which you are making to fulfil the Church’s mission of education in schools at every level and in the charitable services offered by your numerous institutions. These works are often carried out without appreciation or support, often with heroic sacrifice, out of obedience to a divine mandate which we may not disobey. I am also conscious of the courage with which you have faced difficult moments in the recent history of the Church in this country without fear of self-criticism and at the cost of mortification and great sacrifice. Nor have you been afraid to divest whatever is unessential in order to regain the authority and trust which is demanded of ministers of Christ and rightly expected by the faithful. I realise how much the pain of recent years has weighed upon you and I have supported your generous commitment to bring healing to victims – in the knowledge that in healing we too are healed – and to work to ensure that such crimes will never be repeated.

“I speak to you as the Bishop of Rome, called by God in old age, and from a land which is also American, to watch over the unity of the universal Church and to encourage in charity the journey of all the particular Churches toward ever greater knowledge, faith and love of Christ. … I too know how hard it is to sow the Gospel among people from different worlds, with hearts often hardened by the trials of a lengthy journey. Nor am I unaware of the efforts made over the years to build up the Church amid the prairies, mountains, cities and suburbs of a frequently inhospitable land, where frontiers are always provisional and easy answers do not always work. What does work is the combination of the epic struggle of the pioneers and the homely wisdom and endurance of the settlers”.

“It is not my intention to offer a plan or to devise a strategy. … I have no wish to tell you what to do, because we all know what it is that the Lord asks of us. Instead, I would turn once again to the demanding task – ancient yet never new – of seeking out the paths we need to take and the spirit with which we need to work. … We are bishops of the Church, shepherds appointed by God to feed his flock. Our greatest joy is to be shepherds, and only shepherds, pastors with undivided hearts and selfless devotion. … The heart of our identity is to be sought in constant prayer, in preaching and in shepherding the flock entrusted to our care”.

“Ours must not be just any kind of prayer, but familiar union with Christ, in which we daily encounter His gaze and sense that He is asking us the question: ‘Who is My mother? Who are My brothers?’. One in which we can calmly reply: ‘Lord, here is Your mother, here are Your brothers! I hand them over to You; they are the ones whom You entrusted to me’”.

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NEW JERSEY
The Record

BY ABBOTT KOLOFF
STAFF WRITER | THE RECORD

Pope Francis’ brief reference Wednesday to clerical sex abuse left advocates for victims wanting him to go further in the coming days, and expressing confusion by what appeared to be the pope’s praise for the way American bishops handled the matter.

The pope, on the first day of his visit to the United States, did not directly address the sex abuse issue but was widely believed to be making a reference to it when he told bishops they have shown “courage” in the face of “difficult moments in the recent history of the church in this country.”

He said he has supported their “generous commitment to bring healing to victims – in the knowledge that in healing we too are healed – and to ensure that such crimes will never be repeated.”

Some victims’ advocates said they expected the pope to make a statement about clerical sex abuse this week, and were hoping he would focus on bishops who covered up crimes. The pope has discussed setting up a tribunal in Rome to punish bishops who are found guilty of negligence in sex abuse cases, a move that would be unprecedented in the church.

Mark Crawford, the director of the New Jersey chapter of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, said he was disappointed by the pope’s first words on the subject during his visit and surprised by his use of the term “courage.”

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MINNESOTA
Canonical Consultation

09/23/2015

Jennifer Haselberger

With Pope Francis scheduled to lead a prayer service at 11:30am ET at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington DC, the American bishops have assembled- including the former Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, John Nienstedt.

Of course, there is no reason that Archbishop Nienstedt should not be in attendance. He resigned from his position as leader of the Archdiocese without any admission of guilt, and as we know he claims that his conscience is clear.

However, his presence creates a potential problem for Pope Francis, who must respond to critics who say that he has not done enough to address the issue of sexual abuse by clergy. In addition, for the Holy Father to greet Nienstedt before meeting with victims of sexual abuse by clergy is a bit of a faux pas.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
National Catholic Reporter

Joshua J. McElwee | Sep. 23, 2015 NCR Today

WASHINGTON Pope Francis made an unscheduled visit to a U.S. community of Catholic women religious that has been fighting against an Obama administration mandate covering contraceptives in health care plans, the Vatican spokesman said late Wednesday.

The pontiff met with a Washington-area community of the Little Sisters of the Poor, Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi said at a press briefing about the pope’s day in DC Wednesday.

Lombardi did not provide any further details about the visit.

The Little Sisters are one of a few Catholic and other faith-based groups that have been protesting the administration’s mandate, saying it forces them to support contraception and sterilization services that contradict their religious beliefs.

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NEW YORK
The Jewish Week

Wed, 09/23/2015
Gary Rosenblatt
Editor And Publisher

Ludwig “Lou” Bravmann, a prime force behind the direction and financial stability of the Riverdale Jewish Center for decades, says that lately he wakes up in the middle of the night “feeling terrible, depressed — I’ve never felt this bad.”

At 90, after more than 45 years of daily prayer attendance and lay leadership at the 600-family Modern Orthodox synagogue, he has resigned from the board of the congregation and is praying on the High Holy Days at a newly formed service a few blocks away.

The service, now known as The Riverdale Minyan and made up of more than 100 families, was created this summer as a response to widespread dissatisfaction among some members of RJC over decisions made in the last three months by the rabbi, Jonathan Rosenblatt, and its lay leadership.

On Rosh HaShanah, making the trek with a wheelchair and walker, Bravmann was one of an estimated 240 adults, almost all RJC congregants, and 40 children, who prayed at an Orthodox service in a room rented in a nearby Reform temple. A similar service was scheduled for Yom Kippur, and efforts are under way to find a more permanent space for the group to use for Shabbat, and perhaps daily, services — a potentially stunning blow to the makeup and sustainability of the RJC, which was founded more than 60 years ago.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Erzdioezese Wien

Papst Franziskus hat die mehr als 200 US-amerikanischen Bischöfe aufgerufen, sich der großen Themen der Zukunft der Welt anzunehmen und sich nicht nur auf Binnenkirchliches zu konzentrieren. Die Vereinigten Staaten seien eine Weltmacht und für die Entwicklungen auf der Erde stark verantwortlich. Mit seinen riesigen materiellen, politischen, technologischen und kulturellen Ressourcen stehe das Land in der Pflicht für die ganze Welt, sagte der Papst am Mittwoch, 23. September 2015 vor den Bischöfen in der St. Matthew’s-Kathedrale der Hauptstadt Washington. Die Welt suche nach einem neuen Gleichgewicht des Frieden, des Reichtums und der Integration.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Spiegel

Papst Franziskus und US-Präsident Barack Obama haben bei ihrem Treffen in Washington zum gemeinsamen Kampf gegen den Klimawandel aufgerufen. “Angesichts der Dringlichkeit bin ich der Überzeugung, dass der Klimawandel ein Problem ist, das nicht länger einer kommenden Generation überlassen werden darf”, sagte Franziskus in seiner Ansprache bei der Begrüßungszeremonie.

Man habe nicht mehr viel Zeit, den Klimawandel aufzuhalten, sagte Franziskus. Es sei ein “kritischer Moment”, man müsse nun “mit Ernst und Verantwortung erkennen, was für eine Welt wir hinterlassen wollen”.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Telegraaf (Nederland)

WASHINGTON –
Paus Franciscus heeft woensdagmiddag tijdens een bijeenkomst met ongeveer driehonderd Amerikaanse bisschoppen gezegd dat seksueel misbruik van minderjarigen door rooms-katholieke geestelijken nooit meer mag voorkomen. Hij sprak in de kathedraal van St.Matthew in de Amerikaanse hoofdstad Washington.

Hij had ook troostende woorden voor zijn gehoor: “Ik weet hoeveel de pijn van de afgelopen jaren op u drukt en ik heb uw inzet om de slachtoffers bij te staan en herhaling van dit soort misdrijven te voorkomen, ondersteund”, aldus de paus in zijn toespraak tot de geestelijken.

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UNITED STATES
The Open Tabernacle: Here Comes Everybody

Pope Met with Bill Donohue, Nuns Fighting Obamacare. He Insulted Native Americans and Sex Abuse Survivors.

Posted on September 24, 2015 by Betty Clermont

Catholic League president, Bill Donohue, who “demagogically conflates progressive and liberal dissent with hate,” met with Pope Francis yesterday following his prayer service with the US bishops at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle.

Also not shown on his public schedule, the pope visited the Little Sisters of the Poor,
the religious order that is involved in a contentious legal battle with the Obama administration over the order’s refusal to comply with an accommodation to provide contraceptive coverage to its employees …

One, it showed that the pope is behind the bishops in their battle with the Obama administration, support which the pontiff signaled in his talk at the White House earlier that day. [“Pointedly, Francis turned and looked at Obama as he delivered the line” about religious liberty.]

And two, it demonstrated how the pope likes to address contentious topics in a low-key, behind-the-scenes way.

Yesterday, Pope Francis canonized Fr. Junipero Serra, “who has a large degree of responsibility for the death of approximately 100,000 California Indians and the complete extermination of many Native tribes, cultures and languages.”

In his sermon, the pope claimed that Serra “protected and defended Native Americans from mistreatment and abuse.” Jeb Bush was in attendance.

Two days ago, three former US ambassadors to the Vatican appointed by President George W. Bush endorsed Jeb Bush for president. Among them was Mary Ann Glendon who was appointed by Pope Francis to his board of the Vatican bank. Glendon also served on the board of several theocon “think tanks” and is probably most famous for refusing an honor from Notre Dame University because the school awarded President Obama an honorary degree. Glendon is just one of the many plutocrats appointed by this pope to a Vatican position.

“I like Jeb Bush a lot,” the prelate of Wall Street, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, said. “I especially appreciate the priority he gives to education and immigration.”

The most immediate danger from this pope is to children around the world. Yesterday, Pope Francis praised his bishops for their response to the clergy sex abuse crisis. He noted their courage in facing “difficult moments in the recent history of the Church in this country without fear of self-criticism and at the cost of mortification and great sacrifice.”

By failing to commit to any action to protect children, the pope put all prelates on notice that they can continue to leave them exposed to dangerous pedophiles as the pope himself did with his ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Archbishop Josef Wesolowski. The US bishops can continue their lobbying to allow all American child sexual predators to avoid apprehension and prosecution.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
CBS St. Louis

Fred Bodimer
September 24, 2015

ST. LOUIS (KMOX) – Local clergy abuse survivors aren’t happy with what they are hearing from Pope Francis so far during his visit to the United States.

In remarks to America’s Bishops, Pope Francis commended what he called their courage in the face of the church’s sexual abuse scandal. Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests’ (SNAP) National Director David Clohessey says that bishops have made no sacrifices.

“He essentially made one oblique reference to the crisis…didn’t apologize,” says SNAP’s National Director David Clohessy. “More importantly, didn’t suggest much less mandate, any reforms at all by the U.S. church hierarchy.”

Clohessy says the Pope is minimizing the crisis and won’t use the word cover-up. He adds instead of praising victims for coming forward, the Pope praises the bishops, which he (Clohessy) says have continued to cause the issue.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Breitbart

The Archdiocese of Washington stands accused of rejecting a journalist from BuzzFeed for special press passes to cover Papal events this week in the nation’s Capitol.

BuzzFeed foreign correspondent Lester Feder and his colleagues have been trying since January to get approval to cover the Pope’s events. They were finally told flat out this week that their request had been denied and were told that the decision had been made by the press office of the Archdiocese of Washington. BuzzFeed News believes it is because a spokesman for Cardinal Donald Wuerl does not approve of BuzzFeed’s and specifically Feder’s coverage of LGBT issues.

In a letter sent yesterday to Don Clemmer of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops and Chieko Noguchi of the Archdiocese of Washington DC, BuzzFeed Washington Bureau Chief John Stanton lays the blame on Archdiocesan spokesperson Noguchi and points to an exchange dating back nearly a year.

Feder had approached Cardinal Wuerl at the Bishops meeting Baltimore last year and asked for a background meeting so he could better understand LGBT issues from the Church’s point of view. Wuerl agreed and asked him to contact his office to schedule a time, at which point, according to the email exchange provided by BuzzFeed to Breitbart News, Feder got the runaround that lasted months.

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IRELAND
Mirror

BY GARRETH MACNAMEE

A caged paedophile priest who is facing another sex abuse charge may have forced himself on a dozen more victims, police believe.

The serial sex beast, who was recently jailed for the horrific abuse of a child, was brought before the courts last month over an alleged attack on a young boy.

The cleric, a pillar of his community in Ireland before the revelations, paid his victims following his horrific attacks on them.

And now police in the region believe there are at least 12 more victims to come forward.

Sources have told the Irish Mirror the shamed priest will have to spend a lot more time in court in the coming months.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
BBC News NI

By Kevin Sharkey
BBC News NI

The PSNI has received complaints against 500 people in connection with allegations of historical abuse.

They include cases currently being examined by the Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) Inquiry.

This is as well as claims of abuse against some clergy and some other state and church institutions.

The PSNI is currently running two big operations into historical abuse – Operation Charwell and Operation Danzin.

The investigations began five years ago.

They include cases before the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry which is examining claims of abuse at 16 institutions and by Fr Brendan Smyth.

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UNITED STATES
Pope Francis CON-artist & Vicar of Plutocrats

Paris Arrow

The Vatican Circus is in town with its fattest clown-in-white Pope Francis, the greatest Jesuit Master of Deceits papal farting at idiots Americans Catholics in Washington, DC. Read his itinerary here and what the mainstream media are not telling you http://pope-francis-con-christ.blogspot.ca/2015/09/washington-subversive-guide-to-pope.html

This time Pope Francis proved how out-of-touch with reality (VA) Vatican Autocracy is in his tiny fake country and how Machiavellian he is as the theocratic monarch when he praised bishops who should all be rotting in jail for aiding and abetting more than 6,500 pedophile priests for decades and paying millions of dollars to lawyers to deprive thousands of American victims of justice and fair compensation. Obviously Pope Francis is out-of-touch with reality and he should study and converse with hundreds of victims of the current and latest most unjust diocesan “settlements” in Milwaukee, read 575 victims in Dolan’s former diocese urging Pope Francis to hold him accountable

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NEW YORK
Road to Recovery

Pope Francis’ comments in Washington, DC today about clergy sexual abuse were offensive toward victim/survivors

Victim/survivors have been re-abused by Pope Francis’ insensitive congratulatory message to the bishops of the United States today in Washington, DC

Victim/survivors will have the opportunity to get together on Thursday outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral to support one another and express disapproval of Pope Francis’ message to the US Bishops about clergy sexual abuse

What
A gathering of victim/survivors of clergy sexual abuse and their supporters in order to express disappointment in Pope Francis’ strange and dangerous address to the bishops of the United States in which he applauded the bishops for handling the clergy sexual abuse scandal with courage. Courageous is the last word the Pope should use to describe the bishops of the United States.

When
Thursday, September 24, 2015 from 5:00 pm until 7:00 pm

Where
On Fifth Avenue between 47th and 48th Streets in Manhattan. The NYPD has set up an area there where groups can gather to demonstrate. We must approach the area from the south only!

Who
Members of Road to Recovery, Inc. who are victim/survivors of clergy sexual, and any other victim/survivors who wish to gather for support, encouragement, and to express disapproval of Pope Francis’ statements to the United States bishops at St. Matthew’s Cathedral on September 23, 2015

Why
Pope Francis, instead of admonishing the bishops of the United States for their mishandling of clergy sexual abuse cases, congratulated them for their courage and applauded them for confronting the scandal. In St. Matthew’s Cathedral today were some of the worst offenders regarding clergy sexual abuse, and many at the Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception should never have been allowed to show their faces. Cardinal Theodore Mc Carrick was in Cuba with the Pope and all over Washington, DC today (and probably tomorrow). He should have been fired years ago. Cardinal Justin Rigali was there today. He was lambasted by the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office for mishandling cases of clergy sexual abuse. He should have been fired years ago. And, Cardinal Roger Mahoney was there today after countless numbers of children were abused by clergy on his watch in Los Angeles.

The phone at Road to Recovery has been ringing off the hook since the Pope made his comments today, and the calls have been from victim/survivors who feel as if they have been re-abused all over again by the Church. Victim/survivors will gather together to support and console one another, and stand once again against the evil of child sexual abuse which Pope Francis seemingly has forgotten about.

Contact
Robert M. Hoatson, Ph.D., Road to Recovery, Inc., Livingston, NJ 07039 – 862-368-2800

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UNITED STATES
YouTube

Published on Sep 23, 2015

An artist and sexual abuse victim at the hand of a Catholic priest uses her artwork for survivors and supporters to connect.

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NEW YORK
Buffalo News

A silent candlelight vigil was held Wednesday evening outside the residence of Bishop Richard J. Malone to support a local man and woman who were abused as children by a priest and a teacher in the Diocese of Buffalo. Bishop Malone was in Washington, D.C., for the visit of Pope Francis.

Antonio “Tino” Flores says he was abused for five years in the 1970s by a now-deceased Franciscan father associated with Bishop Timon High School. Vanessa DeRosa says she was sexually harassed in 2002 and 2003 by a teacher at St. Dominic Savio Middle School in Niagara Falls who later served a prison term for possession of child pornography.

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CHILE
El Dinamo

[Felipe Berrios leads the list of witnesses to be called in the lawsuit against Fernando Karadima.]

El abogado Juan Pablo Hermosilla elaboró una lista de 23 personas que deberían ser llamadas a testificar en la demanda que las víctimas de Fernando Karadima entablaron contra el Arzobispado de Santiago por eventual encubrimiento de los abusos sexuales cometidos por sacerdotes.

De este modo, el representante de James Hamilton, Juan Carlos Cruz y José Andrés Murillo detalla quienes serán requeridos para exponer sobre los puntos de prueba fijados por el magistrado Juan Manuel Muñoz.

La acción judicial busca una indemnización por perjuicios de 450 millones de pesos y un acto de perdón público por parte del Arzobispado para quienes han sido víctimas de abusos sexuales por parte de religiosos, ya que alegan que la Iglesia insiste en descartar negligencia y encubrimiento en los delitos cometidos por el ex párroco de El Bosque.

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CHILE
Diario U Chile

[Bishop Juan Barros does not resign despite pressure.]

Fernando Seymour D. | Miércoles 23 de septiembre 2015

A las críticas por su participación y encubrimiento en el caso Karadima, se suman sus persecuciones a los sacerdotes de esa ciudad. Todo ello, amparado por la Conferencia Episcopal, donde varios obispos estarían presionando para evitar la que podría ser la primera de varias renuncias que se sucederían.

A sus 59 años Juan Barros Madrid no está tranquilo. Desde que fuera nombrado por el Vaticano como Obispo de la Diócesis de Osorno, en enero pasado, las críticas y cuestionamientos en su contra no han cesado. Y no solo desde el ámbito laico. También desde el propio clero.

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CHILE
Terra

El ex capellán de La Moneda, Percival Cowley, declaró ante el ministro Juan Manuel Muñoz en el marco de la demanda que enfrenta el Arzobispado de Santiago luego que las tres víctimas de Fernando Karadima demandaran a la Iglesia por los supuestos actos de encubrimiento de obispos en materia de abuso sexual.

Junto a él también lo hará el sacerdote y vicario judicial del Tribunal Eclesiástico Nacional de Apelación, Jaime Ortiz.

La diligencia es parte de los testimonios que durante los próximos días deberían entregar las 23 personas incluidas en la lista de testigos elaborada por el abogado Juan Pablo Hermosilla, representante de James Hamilton, Juan Carlos Cruz y José Andrés Murillo.

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CHILE
Bio Bio

[Ecclesiastical Court made self-criticism of the church responses to sexual abuse]

El sacerdote y vicario judicial del Tribunal Eclesiástico, Jaime Ortiz de Lazcano, hizo una autocrítica por la forma en que ha reaccionado la Iglesia Católica en casos de abusos sexuales. El religioso declaró -este martes- en el marco de la demanda civil contra el Arzobispado de Santiago por el Caso Karadima.

En la tercera jornada de la etapa testimonial de la demanda civil en contra del Arzobispado de Santiago, por encubrimiento en causas de abusos sexuales y en específico por el Caso Karadima, declararon dos sacerdotes ante el juez de fuero de la Corte de Apelaciones de Santiago, Juan Manuel Muñoz.

Se trata del ex capellán de La Moneda, Percival Cowley, que entregó su declaración por más de dos horas ante el ministro de Corte a cargo de la investigación que surge tras la demanda interpuesta por tres víctimas del párroco del El Bosque, Fernando Karadima, James Hamilton, Andrés Murillo y Juan Carlos Cruz.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Fox Boston

(MyFoxBoston.com) — It’s been more than 50 years since Susan Renehan and her sister were abused by a priest their Irish Catholic family trusted and more than 50 years later, she’s still in a lot of pain.

“I went to a Catholic school and he came to confession on first Fridays and he would pull me out of the classroom after these confessions and would sexually assault me in the hallway of the school,” Renehan said.

Renehan is no longer a practicing Catholic, but she has been watching the pope’s visit from afar.

She was upset Wednesday by the way the pope addressed the clergy sex abuse scandal when speaking to hundreds of bishops in DC.

In Italian, the pope said he knows how much the pain of recent years has weighed upon bishops and said he supports their commitment to bring healing to victims. But for Renehan, it’s the bishops who should be apologizing after some helped cover up the abuse.

“That’s the only thing he said about the sex abuse scandal and I think that when I look at his agenda,” Renehan said, “He’s not planning on meeting with the survivors so far and the whole crisis is not even on his agenda.”

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CALIFORNIA
KTLA

Cardinal Roger Mahony, Retired from L.A. Archdiocese After Sex Abuse Scandal, Attends Events During Papal Visit

Cardinal Emeritus Roger Mahony, retired in 2011 and then in 2013 relieved of public duties over his handling of sex abuse cases in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, was attending papal events during the six-day visit to the U.S. by Pope Francis. Mahony’s presence generated complaints from sex abuse survivors. Chip Yost reports for the KTLA 5 News at 6 on Sept. 23, 2015.

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UNITED STATES
Religion News Service

David Gibson | September 23, 2015

(RNS) When the cardinals gathered in the Sistine Chapel in March 2013 to elect a new pope, they faced a sobering state of affairs: The Vatican had been plagued by scandals and dysfunction during the eight-year papacy of Benedict XVI, who stunned the Catholic Church by becoming the first pope in six centuries to resign.

The sense of crisis in Rome hung like a pall on the rest of the church, and that burden weighed heavily on the 86-year-old pontiff, playing a key role in his decision to retire to make way for a younger, more energetic successor.

But the 113 cardinal-electors also faced a stark choice: select an outsider from among their ranks who would come in and clean house, or go with another insider, someone who knew the Roman Curia — the papal bureaucracy that was widely blamed for the crisis — and could fix it.

“It takes a thief to catch a thief,” the reasoning went.

The problem with that argument was that Benedict, previously known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, had worked in the Curia for decades before he was elected pope, and his familiarity seemed to breed complacency.

It didn’t take the cardinals long to make up their minds: In 24 hours they elected Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, a pope “from the ends of the earth” as Francis said in introducing himself to the world from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica. Bergoglio had never liked traveling to Rome on church business, much less playing church politics, and he had a healthy suspicion of the Vatican’s curial culture.

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NEW YORK
Politico

By BILL MAHONEY

ALBANY — Assemblywoman Margaret Markey is using Pope Francis’s visit to New York to highlight her bill to remove the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse.

Markey sponsors legislation that would remove the existing statute of limitations for future child sexual abuse incidents.

It would also allow for a one-year window in which victims of sexual abuse could bring suits against individuals or private institutions involved in past crimes.

“I respectfully plead with Pope Francis to intervene with New York Bishops, to melt their hearts, to convince them to adopt his own message of healing and reconciliation toward survivors of child sexual abuse,” Markey said. “With New York as one of the very worst states in America for how it treats victims of child sex abuse, it is the Bishops of New York State who are the biggest roadblock to changing that.”

The New York State Catholic Conference has vehemently opposed this bill for years.

Earlier this year, a spokesman for the conference suggested the bill was being advanced in the Democratic Assembly to punish Catholics for their support of education tax credits that were opposed by teachers’ unions, yet supported by private schools. (Both measures failed to pass.)

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UNITED STATES
Bilgrimage

William D. Lindsey

Francis’s Oblique Comments Today on Abuse Crisis: Open Mouth, Insert Foot — Taking Us Back to Square One

As Jerry Slevin says in a comment here earlier today, Dennis Coday has some pointed things to say after Pope Francis’s address to the bishops when they and he gathered for a prayer service in D.C.’s Cathedral of St. Matthew. In that gathering, Francis told the U.S. bishops,

I am also conscious of the courage with which you have faced difficult moments in the recent history of the Church in this country without fear of self-criticism and at the cost of mortification and great sacrifice. Nor have you been afraid to divest whatever is unessential in order to regain the authority and trust which is demanded of ministers of Christ and rightly expected by the faithful. I realize how much the pain of recent years has weighed upon you and I have supported your generous commitment to bring healing to victims – in the knowledge that in healing we too are healed – and to work to ensure that such crimes will never be repeated.

As Dennis Coday says in response, the oblique reference to the clergy sexual abuse crisis here is more than a foot-in-mouth remark: it’s one that brings the entire discussion of the abuse crisis in the U.S. back to square one, suggesting that Pope Francis doesn’t get it, hasn’t gotten it, doesn’t intend to get it:

Praising the bishops for the courage they have shown before acknowledging the pain of the victims, will undoubtedly raise the charges of “he just doesn’t get it.”

Since his election as pope, NCR has both challenged Francis to do more for the sex abuse crisis and encouraged the moves he has made. But the message he delivered today puts him back to square one.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Click On Detroit

(CNN) –
They may be embattled by the culture wars and bruised by the clergy sexual abuse scandal, but American bishops should not stoop to self-pity or harsh responses, Pope Francis said Wednesday.

It was the Pope’s first full day in the United States, but he made it clear, in a speech to 300 bishops in Washington, that he knows the strains his American church is under.

Millions of Catholics have fled the flock, leaving for other religions or for no religion at all. Meanwhile, the Catholic bishops have fought — and largely lost — public battles over same-sex marriage and abortion.

Referring to the clergy sexual abuse scandal, which harmed thousands of children and cost the church billions in legal settlements, Francis praised the bishops’ “courage.”

“I know how much the wounds of these last few years have weighed on your spirit, and I have supported your generous commitment to bring healing to victims — in the knowledge that in healing we too are healed — and to work to ensure that such crimes will never be repeated.”

But advocates for victims of clergy sexual abuse called the bishops anything but courageous.

“Almost without exception, they have shown cowardice and callousness and continue to do so now,” said Barbara Dorris of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Japan Times

Pope couches sexual abuses as ‘difficult moments’ in call to U.S. bishops to avoid further costly scandals

REUTERS
SEP 24, 2015

WASHINGTON – Pope Francis on Wednesday told U.S. Roman Catholic bishops that crimes of sexual abuse of minors by clergy should never be repeated, acknowledging the damage caused by years of scandal in the U.S. Catholic Church.

In the remarks, delivered at Saint Matthews Cathedral in Washington on the first full day of his visit to the United States, the pope did not utter the words “sexual abuse” but referred to the scandal by talking about “difficult moments” and providing help for victims.

“I know how much the pain of recent years has weighed upon you, and I have supported your generous commitment to bring healing to victims … and to work to ensure that such crimes will never be repeated,” Francis told the bishops, who applauded.

Wounds from the scandal, which saw priests who abused children moved from parish to parish instead of being defrocked, are still festering and draining church finances.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
USA Today

Gregory Korte, USA TODAY September 23, 2015

WASHINGTON — A group representing victims of priest sexual abuse blasted Pope Francis Wednesday for his remarks to U.S. bishops praising their response to the scandal while failing to utter the words “sexual abuse.”

Francis referred to the crisis only obliquely, telling the bishops he was “conscious of the courage with which you have faced difficult moments in the recent history of the Church in this country without fear of self-criticism and at the cost of mortification and great sacrifice.”

“What sacrifice?” said Barbara Blaine of Chicago, the president of Survivor’s Network of Those Abused by Priests. “What bishop takes fewer vacations, drives a smaller car, does his own laundry or has been passed over for promotion because he’s shielding predators and endangering kids? None.”

The Vatican stood by the pope’s handling of the issue. “I am not surprised that there are critics that are not happy. This is not the first time,” said the Vatican Press Secretary, Rev. Federico Lombardi.

Allegations of sexual abuse by priests date back decades, but exploded into a full-blown crisis in 2002 when the Boston Globe published a Pulitzer Prize-winning series detailing a litany of abuses and cover-ups by bishops.

Thirteen years and two popes later, U.S. bishops say they have made reforms that prevent the abuse and require reporting of any allegations to civil authorities.

Louisville Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the bishops have made progress over the last 13 years with prevention strategies and mandatory reporting policies. “We continue to need to do more. We need to do more in recognizing the pain that victim survivors themselves experience,” Kurtz said.

“I took to heart the Holy Father’s words today,” he said. “I think he called upon the bishops to restore trust. As you know, rebuilding trust in a relationship takes time, but it also takes positive actions.”

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PENNSYLVANIA
Tribune-Review

By Paul Peirce
Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015

Elizabeth Williams tried to keep her composure as people filed into a courtroom in U.S. District Court in Johnstown to hear the news: Did a jury find a Somerset County priest guilty of sexually abusing three boys at a Honduran orphanage she operated for years as president of a nonprofit foundation?

When four Honduran men she hadn’t seen since they were boys living at the orphanage were led into the courtroom by federal agents, she couldn’t hold back the tears.

Days before, three of the men had testified that the Rev. Joseph D. Maurizio, 70, molested them. The fourth told jurors he saw the priest touching a boy in the front seat of a car and having sex with other boys in a church and outside a dormitory.

“I did become emotional at that point,” Williams said Wednesday. “It had been years since I first saw those tapes (of victim interviews) taken by our own staff in Honduras of those same kids.

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UNITED STATES
Malta Independent

Watch: Pope Francis praises US bishops’ response to sexual abuse by priests, angering victims

Pope Francis praised American bishops on Wednesday for their “generous commitment” to helping victims of clergy sex abuse, drawing an angry rebuke from advocates who said the bishops acted only under the threat of hundreds of lawsuits.

Addressing church leaders in a prayer service at the Washington cathedral, Francis said they had faced the crisis “without fear of self-criticism and at the cost of mortification and great sacrifice.”

“I realize how much the pain of recent years has weighed upon you, and I have supported your generous commitment to bring healing to victims — in the knowledge that in healing we, too, are healed — and to work to ensure that such crimes will never be repeated,” the pope said to loud applause from the bishops.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Philadelphia Inquirer

DAVID O’REILLY, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
LAST UPDATED: Thursday, September 24, 2015

WASHINGTON – Pope Francis on Wednesday surprised and irked victims of Roman Catholic clergy sex abuse when he praised a gathering of U.S. bishops for their “courage” in handling the crisis, and consoled them for how stressful it had been.

He also insisted that sex abuse at the hands of clergy must never happen again.

His remarks brought a stinging rebuke from some abuse victims, who said courage should be reserved for themselves.

“The bishops are poster boys for the fainthearted and timid. They have been cowards in the face of rape and sodomy of innocent children,” said the National Survivor Advocates Coalition.

To the bishops assembled for the first full day of Francis’ six-day U.S. visit, the pope said, “I realize how much the pain of recent years has weighed upon you. And I have supported your generous commitment to bringing healing to victims – in the knowledge that we, too, are healed – and to work to ensure that such crimes will never be repeated.”

Bob Hoatson, a former priest in Newark, N.J., and an abuse survivor, said, “I think he let the bishops off the hook.” Hoatson, who runs a group called Road to Recovery for victims and their families, said he had received numerous calls from “disappointed” victims.

“He would have been better off not saying anything about the issue rather than sugarcoating it,” Hoatson said.

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UNITED STATES/LATIN AMERICA
GlobalPost

Will Carless on Sep 24, 2015

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Earlier this year, federal prosecutors in Manhattan made history by arresting officials at the Federation Internationale de Football Association, or FIFA, on charges of racketeering and money laundering.

The case, a groundbreaking example of US authorities policing far beyond America’s borders, raised an interesting question: If prosecutors could target FIFA — an organization headquartered outside the US — could they also take aim at the leaders of another sprawling international enterprise, say, the Roman Catholic Church?

The sex crimes that Catholic priests have committed across the globe are arguably far more harmful than anything FIFA executives are accused of. Thousands of priests been accused of destroying the innocence of society’s most vulnerable individuals: children. And in many cases, the church hierarchy has looked the other way, or worse. Yet throughout decades of abuse, the Holy See — the church’s central government, housed at the Vatican — has evaded legal consequences.

Objectively, the sex abuse crisis has been destructive for the church. Billions of dollars have been paid out to survivors of sexual abuse by clergy, leading some of the largest Catholic dioceses in the United States to declare bankruptcy. Dozens of priests have been criminally convicted and thrown in prison. But all of this has played out at the local level.

Despite aggressive efforts to put the pope and his senior leadership on trial for concealing priests’ sex crimes, to date not one Vatican official has been successfully sued or jailed, and the Vatican’s coffers have remained untouched — largely thanks to esoteric legal arguments and diplomatic immunity.

The Vatican remains a legal fortress for anyone suspected of aiding predator priests. In some cases, survivor advocates say the Rome-based enclave of Vatican City has even served as a literal sanctuary for prelates: Archbishop Josef Weselowski, for instance, was whisked off to the Vatican following allegations that he abused young boys. The move sheltered him from prosecution in the Dominican Republic.

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MALTA
Malta Independent

Neil Camilleri

Fr Charles Fenech this morning testified in a court case in which the victims of sex abuse carried out by catholic priests are calling for compensation. Fr Fenech, who is himself charged with sexual abuse in separate proceedings, had failed to turn up when summoned last week for the compensation case.

Laurence Grech and Philip Cauchi are calling on the Constitutional Court to stop Mr Justice Joseph Micallef from presiding over the civil case for compensation because he is involved in the institution that abused them. The judge is the President of the Dominican Order-owned Radju Marija. This, according to Mr Grech and Mr Cauchi, puts his impartiality in question.

Last week, Mr Justice Mark Chetcuti fined Fr Charles Fenech, who is the founder of Radju Marija, €150 for contempt of court. He also ordered the police to arrest the priest and bring him to the next sitting. Today the court heard how Fr Fenech had not turned up in court because of a misunderstanding with his lawyer Dr Franco Galea. The court revoked the fine imposed.

Testifying today, Fr Fenech said Radju Marija was set up to convey the message of the Catholic Church, insisting it did not have any political or marketing content. Lay people managed the radio station. The president – until last October Judge Joseph R Micallef – took care of administrative work.

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NEW YORK
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

They remember hundreds of victims who committed suicide
SNAP: Pope’s callous defense of bishops opens new wounds
Organization says papal visit “provokes pain in hundreds”
They beg victims to “reach out, get therapy, call loved ones”

What:
Holding signs and childhood photos of suicide at a sidewalk vigil, clergy sex abuse victims and their supporters will

–remember and honor adults who were molested as kids and took their own lives, and
–express support and concern for other victims who are suffering because of Pope Francis’s visit and the laudatory attention the Catholic hierarchy is enjoying.

They will urge all victims, witnesses and whistleblowers to

–keep coming forward and seeking help (from independent sources),
–stay in therapy, support groups and 12 step programs,
–remember that recovery is possible, and
–focus less on church officials and more on their mental health and well-being.

When:
Thursday, September 24 at 5:30 p.m.

Where:
Outside of St. Joseph’s Church,
371 6th Ave at Washington Place
Greenwich Village, NYC

Who:
Seven-eight members of an international support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org), including 1) an Illinois woman and attorney who is the organization’s long time president and 2) a California woman who is a best-selling author on abuse prevention.

Why:
Pope Francis’ first-ever US trip is already provoking considerable anxiety and pain among many clergy sex abuse victims, SNAP reports. Many struggle with seeing the pontiff’s popularity and what they see as his callous disregard of the sex abuse scandal across the United States, the group says.

“During the past few days, Pope Francis has been treated like a king, while victims of sexual abuse have been minimized and marginalized,” said Megan Peterson, SNAP’s volunteer New York director. “Seeing the Pope meet with the President Obama and address a joint session of Congress is enormously damaging to survivors, especially since the crimes and cover-ups are not over.”

“Learning that disgraced Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony was a part of the entourage was even more upsetting,” said Peter Isely, SNAP’s Mid-West director. “Cardinal Mahony covered up for hundreds of child sex crimes across California and allowed countless men to prey on children. He’s reviled in his own archdiocese. How can we trust that kids are safer from abuse when Pope Francis allows a man like Mahony to accompany him?”

“This week, Pope Francis told the U.S. bishops that many of them have made ‘great sacrifice’ because of the abuse and cover-up crisis,” said Judy Jones, SNAP volunteer Missouri leader. “Families, communities and children are destroyed by child sexual abuse. The bishops have made no sacrifices. They have only made excuses.”

SNAP believes that hundreds of US clergy abuse victims have taken their lives. In the Wichita diocese, five young men who were sexually violated by Fr. Robert K. Larson committed suicide.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Philadelphia Inquirer

Part of Pope Francis’ address to U.S. bishops in Washington, D.C., Wednesday addressed the clergy sex-abuse scandal, and raised the possibility that the pontiff would meet privately with victims:

David O’Reilly
‏@DOREILLYINQ
#PopeInPhilly Francis offers much compassion to US bishops for how stressful the clergy sex abuse crisis has been! Praises their “courage. ”

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UNITED STATES
Los Angeles Times

By ALAN ZAREMBO AND VICTORIA KIM

Pope Francis on Wednesday appeared to praise the Roman Catholic Church’s handling of widespread sexual abuse by priests, drawing rebuke from victims who said his brief remarks were a setback for justice and healing.

Speaking to hundreds of U.S. bishops at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in downtown Washington, the pope told them he was “conscious of the courage with which you have faced difficult moments in the recent history of the church in this country without fear of self-criticism and at the cost of mortification and great sacrifice.”

He continued: “I realize how much the pain of recent years has weighed upon you, and I have supported your generous commitment to bring healing to victims — in the knowledge that in healing we too are healed — and to work to ensure that such crimes will never be repeated.”

Victims said those comments grossly misrepresent how the church has dealt with the scandal, which it managed to cover up for decades.

“The people he was talking to are the people who moved the pedophiles around to prey on kids,” said John Salveson, a 59-year-old Philadelphia businessman who was abused as a child by a priest.

“If you gave me 100 years to pick a word to describe the U.S. bishops’ reaction to this crisis, ‘generous’ would never make the list,” he said.

Terry McKiernan, who runs BishopAccountability.org, a nonprofit group that tracks the abuse scandal, said Francis failed to acknowledge that most dioceses across the country have not disclosed the names of abusers and continue to lobby against reforming statute of limitations laws that shield priests from prosecution for crimes committed many years ago.

“It would be a shame if the pope’s words were taken as encouragement by the bishops to continue that behavior,” he said.

While Francis enjoys worldwide popularity and is widely seen as the best hope for reinvigorating the church, he has yet to win support from many abuse victims. By some counts, there are more than 17,000 in the United States, with some cases dating as far back as the 1950s.

See the most-read stories this hour >>
The National Catholic Reporter, which has been a strong supporter of the pope on many issues, has consistently challenged him to do more in punishing and preventing sexual abuse.

“But the message he delivered today puts him back to square one,” the editor, Dennis Coday, wrote in an online editorial Wednesday.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Huffington Post

Antonia Blumberg
Associate Religion Editor, The Huffington Post

Pope Francis praised U.S. Catholic bishops for their response to the clergy sex abuse crisis Wednesday during an address in Washington — comments that victims called “insulting” and “hurtful.”

The pope applauded what he said was bishops’ “generous commitment to bring healing to victims.” And he praised them for courage in facing “difficult moments in the recent history of the church in this country without fear of self-criticism and at the cost of mortification and great sacrifice.”

John Salveson, a Philadelphia business owner who was victimized by clergy sex abuse, said he found the pope’s comments “bizarre.”

“First of all, he’s characterizing the bishops’ response as generous,” Salveson told The Huffington Post. “They have treated victims for decades like adversaries. It’s just been horrible. I don’t know how you could ever characterize them as generous.”

Barbara Blaine, of Chicago, president of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, released a statement decrying the years of clergy abuse that the church tolerated. By praising bishops, Blaine said in the statement, Francis revealed his own reluctance to take decisive action.

“His remarks today confirm what we’ve long said and suspected: this pope, like his predecessors, is doing and will do little if anything to bring real reform to this continuing crisis,” Blaine said. “Those who care about kids must focus on secular authorities, not church figures (however popular they may be).”

Dennis Coday, an editor for National Catholic Register, [note: He is with the National Catholic Reporter] criticized the pontiff for dancing around the issue without offering specifics.

“At the very least he could have used the words ‘clergy sexual abuse of minors,’” Coday wrote in an National Catholic Register [Reporter] opinion piece. “This oblique reference will do nothing to assuage the fears of victims’ advocates who believe Francis is more public relations manager than crisis manager when it comes to sexual abuse.”

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WASHINGTON (DC)
VICE news

By VICE News

September 23, 2015

One of the world’s oldest and largest support groups for survivors of clergy-perpetrated sexual abuse today blasted the pope after he commented that US bishops showed “courage” in handling a string of Catholic Church abuse scandals over decades, while failing to apologize to victims on behalf of the church.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), which has about 20,000 members, criticized Pope Francis over his choice of words, particularly the “great sacrifice” he said bishops have made in facing “difficult moments in the recent history of the church in this country without fear of self-criticism and at the cost of mortification.”

“[The pope’s] remarks today confirm what we’ve long said and suspected: this pope, like his predecessors, is doing and will do little if anything to bring real reform to this continuing crisis,” SNAP said in a statement Wednesday after the pope delivered his speech in Washington DC. “Those who care about kids must focus on secular authorities, not church figures, however popular they may be.”

In March, a new report released by BishopAccountability.org raised troubling questions about Pope Francis’ complicity in the sexual abuse scandal that has plagued the Catholic Church for more than a decade.

The report, titled “Pope Francis and Clergy Sexual Abuse in Argentina,” focuses on the pope’s stint as archbishop of Buenos Aires from 1998 to 2013, and includes a database with links to public documents and media reports about 42 priests in Argentina previously accused of sexual misconduct. Specifically, the report focuses on five cases of sexual abuse by priests in which it alleges that the then archbishop “knowingly or unwittingly slowed victims in their fight to expose and prosecute their assailants.”

Although Francis has been outspoken on a litany of other issues, he has remained surprisingly silent on the topic of clergy sexual abuse. In his 2010 book, On Heaven and Earth, the future pope claimed his priests never misbehaved during his tenure as archbishop of Buenos Aires.

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UNITED STATES
National Survivors Advocates Coalition

National Survivor Advocates Coalition (NSAC) Statement on Pope Francis’ statement regarding Sexual Abuse during visit to the United States

Pope Francis’ description of bishops and the sexual abuse crisis in the United State is a fairy tale.

The Pope praised the bishops’ courage in the scandal. The word courage should never be used to describe the bishops, it should be reserved for the survivors alone. The best are best described as cowards who were unmoved by the survivors suffering until their neglect and complicity in criminality was unmasked by the news media and the courts.

The hurt and desolation that this Pope of mercy has heaped on the survivors in this one miscalculated section of an address is jaw droppingly stunning.

Pope Francis is aware of words can do. He is a wordsmith but what he constructed in this speech is a faulty scaffolding that needs to be torn down.

Pretty words are not a firm purpose of amendment.

Pretty words do not make a sexual abuse commission work.

Pretty words, even those from a popular Pope, do not soothe wounds, protect children or provide justice to survivors.

The Pope should never have said these words.

The fact that he did is evidence that he believes them, and that it is his intent to push the argument that the crisis is history, the bishops are put upon heroes, and the victims are afterthoughts mentioned only to give lip service while wrapping them in the envelope of the healing that never comes.

This tin ear towards the victims of sexual abuse is a resounding rebuke to survivors and its damage is heavy.

— Kristine Ward, Chair, National Survivor Advocates Coalition (NSAC) 937-272-0308

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release, September 23, 2015

Statement by Peter Isely of Milwaukee, SNAP Midwest Director (414 429 7259, peterisely@yahoo.com)

The editor of the independent National Catholic Reporter takes Francis to task today – as he should – for his first remarks about the church’s seemingly-endless scandal of sexual violence and secrecy.

An NCR reporter says that Francis made “an oblique” reference to the abuse and cover up crisis. And NCR editor Dennis Coday said that the pope’s “sadly disappointing” message was “a glaring oversight” that “will undoubtedly raise the charges of ‘he just doesn’t get it.’”

[National Catholic Reporter]

Both journalists are right. Francis today basically ignored those who are vulnerable because of the crisis: children. He basically ignored those who are suffering because of the crisis: victims.

He praised, instead of chastising, those who are causing the crisis: bishops. And he offered not a single step forward, other than his vague plea that these crimes, still happening now, somehow “not be repeated.”

Francis continues to please many who want a more merciful church but disappoint most who want a safer one.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
New York Magazine

By Marin Cogan

“I saw a news report last night on ‘Pope pizza,’” Becky Ianni, a 57-year-old woman with light-brown hair cropped in a bob, is saying. “We were in Barnes & Noble and it was plastered with stuff about the Pope. Everything was about the Pope.” It’s Monday afternoon, and Ianni and seven other people — most of them former Catholics, most of them sexual-assault survivors or their family members — are protesting outside the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Headquarters in northeast Washington.

This is a rough week to be a Catholic Church protester. The American public’s interest in the Catholic Church right now seems to begin and end with Pope Francis — as a global celebrity, charismatic spiritual leader, and transformative political figure. Francis will make his debut before Congress this week as more than just a media darling: Only 3 percent of Catholics view him unfavorably, according to a recent Times poll. The view of the Pope is so favorable among Catholics here, according to another Pew survey from earlier this summer, that 55 percent of them rated him as doing an “excellent” or “good” job addressing the abuse scandal — a number that, when compared to his approval rating on other issues, was actually considered low. Meanwhile, the decades-old conversation about the church’s legacy of sexual abuse, which for a long time has been the dominant one around the institution, has quieted somewhat.

Francis made remarks to U.S. bishops about sexual abuse and is likely to meet with abuse survivors on this trip, as he has done in the past, but that’s far from enough for this group of abuse survivors, many of whom are pained by the huge celebration surrounding his arrival. “Last week, when we were getting ready for him to come, I started getting more and more anxious,” Ianni says. She and the others who say they were abused by priests don’t think Pope Francis has lived up to his responsibilities on the church’s legacy of abuse. In June, the Pope called for the creation of a Vatican tribunal to judge bishops who covered up the abuse scandal, but the bishops by and large still haven’t faced any consequences for their actions. The Pope has the authority to discipline them on his own, but hasn’t done so. Ianni was sexually victimized by a priest named William T. Reinecke when she was a child growing up in Virginia, but she wasn’t able to step forward with her story until 2006, she says. (Her claim was later ruled credible by her local diocesan review board.) She says she’s never been able to fully get over the betrayal she felt.

Barb Dorris, a grandmother who says she joined the group after discovering a priest in her parish molesting a child and church officials failed to oust him, pointed toward a news report last week showing that American priests accused of sexual assault were sent to Latin American countries to continue working in the church rather than being turned over to the authorities. She, too, wants the Pope to move on disciplining bishops as soon as possible. “I’m one old lady standing on a corner. This Pope has all the power. He could make the changes necessary,” she says.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
NBC New York

By Gabriella Iannetta

A handful of women dressed in traditional priest stoles and albs were arrested after they staged civil disobedience during Pope Francis’ visit in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.

They held signs that read: “Women priests are here.”

The women are calling on the pope and the entire Catholic community to shake up policies of the past, saying it is time to allow women to be priests.

“Women are all parts of life,” Bishop Bridget Mary Meehan with the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests told NBC Owned Television Stations. “Including at the altar.”

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WASHINGTON (DC)
DCist

BY RACHEL SADON

With signs draped across their body advocating for the ordination of women priests, a group of protesters lay down in a crosswalk outside St. Matthew’s Cathedral shortly before Pope Francis arrived this afternoon. The seven men and women were removed by police officers from the intersection of Connecticut and Rhode Island Avenues and issued criminal citations for blocking the passageway, according to a spokeswoman for MPD.

The protesters argued that the church should open the priesthood to women, wearing signs in both English and Spanish saying “This is what a Roman Catholic woman priest looks like” and “We’re all equal in God’s eyes; ordain women.”

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NEW YORK
Jamestown Sun

By Reuters Media on Sep 22, 2015

NEW YORK — An artist and sexual abuse victim at the hand of a Catholic priest uses her artwork for survivors and supporters to connect.

“To me it’s just a different thing that people can relate to,” said Megan Peterson, a leading member of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) in New York on Tuesday.

“It’s a very raw expression of what many of us go through and I feel like a lot of times for me personally as an artist the abuse and the things that I’ve endured, I can’t necessarily put words to it. So I just feel like this is an opportunity for people to connect on that level and people that are walking that path currently.”

Twenty-five-year-old Peterson is one of the tens of thousands of people who allege sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic priests across the globe.

As a child, Peterson was a devout Catholic who attended church in the diocese of Crookston, Minn. Every morning, before school, she would stop by her local church to pray in the hope of becoming a nun. She says everything changed one morning in 2004 when, as a 14-year-old, she was assaulted by Father Joseph Palanivel Jeyapaul. Jeyapaul came from India in 2004 to preach at the Blessed Sacrament Church in Greenbush, Minn., a small town near the Canadian border. In 2005, after being accused of sexual misconduct by another girl, a 16-year-old, Jeyapaul left Minnesota and returned to India to attend to his ailing mother.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release, September 23, 2015

Statement by Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, bdorris@SNAPnetwork.org

We’re sad that Francis claims US bishops have shown “courage” in the abuse crisis. Almost without exception, they have shown cowardice and callousness and continue to do so now. They offer excuses, exploit legal technicalities and hide behind expensive lawyers and public relations professionals, hardly the marks of courage.

We’re also sad that Francis can’t bring himself to call this crisis what it is – not “difficult moments in recent history,” but the continuing cover up of clergy child sex crimes by almost the entire church hierarchy.

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UNITED STATES
Foundation to Abolish Child Sexual Abuse (FACSA)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 23, 2015

Contact: John Salveson at 215-870-0680 salveson@abolishsexabuse.org

Foundation to Abolish Child Sex Abuse (FACSA) Statement Regarding Comments by Pope Francis on Clergy Sex Abuse

BRYN MAWR, PA – John Salveson, President of FACSA, (Foundation to Abolish Child Sex Abuse) released the following statement regarding Pope Francis’ comments in a speech to 300 bishops in Washington regarding their treatment of clergy sex abuse victims in America.

“The Pope’s comments to U.S. bishops this afternoon were both insulting and hurtful to survivors of clergy abuse. To characterize the response of American Bishop’s to clergy abuse victims as ‘generous’ and ‘courageous’ is bizarre. In reality, the Roman Catholic Church in America has treated clergy sex abuse victims as adversaries and enemies for decades.

In addition, his concern about how the abuse crisis has weighed on the bishop’s spirits, and his hope that all of their good deeds will help them heal from the crisis reflects a profound misunderstanding of the role the church has played in this self-inflicted crisis.”

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WASHINGTON (DC)
WPXI

By RACHEL ZOLL
The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Pope Francis praised American bishops Wednesday for their “generous commitment'” to helping victims of clergy sex abuse, drawing an angry rebuke from advocates who said the bishops acted only under the threat of hundreds of lawsuits.

Addressing church leaders in a prayer service at the Washington cathedral, Francis said they had faced the crisis “without fear of self-criticism and at the cost of mortification and great sacrifice.”

“I realize how much the pain of recent years has weighed upon you, and I have supported your generous commitment to bring healing to victims — in the knowledge that in healing we, too, are healed — and to work to ensure that such crimes will never be repeated,” the pope said to loud applause from the bishops.

But the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests said that the bishops had displayed “cowardice and callousness” in response to victims who came forward and that they “hide behind expensive lawyers and public relations professionals” instead of fully confronting the scope of the problem within the church.

Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org, an advocacy group that collects records on abusive priests from around the world, called the pope’s remarks “distressing and quite off-base.”

The abuse crisis erupted in 2002 with the case of one pedophile priest in the Archdiocese of Boston, then spread nationwide. The revelations in Boston, about guilty priests kept in ministry without any warning to parents or police, persuaded thousands of people across the country to come forward with new abuse claims, prompted grand jury investigations in several states and compelled the bishops to take an inventory of how every American diocese had dealt with perpetrators and victims going back decades.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Washington Post

By Terrence McCoy, Sarah Pulliam Bailey and Perry Stein September 23

Advocates for victims of sexual abuse called Pope Francis’s apparent praise of the U.S. church’s handling of the sexual abuse scandal “a slap in the face” that will only inflame the suffering of the abused.

At the Cathedral of St. Matthews, before a gathering of U.S. bishops, Francis lauded the American church on Wednesday for its “courage” in the face of what he called “self-criticism and at the cost of mortification and great sacrifice.” Calling instances of abuse “crimes,” he added: “I realize how much pain the recent years has weighed upon you and I have supported your generous commitment to bring healing to victims.”

Advocates expressed outrage and surprise at these comments, which address a scandal that exploded in the early 2000s. Activists have consistently criticized U.S. Catholic Church, which has spent millions on prevention and training, for continuing to fight survivors in legal battles and declining to hold some bishops explicitly accountable. In 2012, Monsignor William Lynn in Philadelphia, where Francis will end his trip, became the first priest to be convicted on charges of concealing the crimes of accused priests.

This isn’t the first time Francis has waded into an issue that some have cited as a reason why they left the church. Francis embraced victims of sexual abuse and asked their forgiveness at a 2013 Mass “for the sins of omission on the part of church leaders who did not respond adequately to reports of abuse.” Then in June, he launched a Vatican tribunal to punish clergy who try to cover up instances of abuse. He has also created commission that recommends how best to help survivors.

Many activists were hopeful that Francis would add to that momentum during his first visit to the United States, though his official itinerary bore no mention of the topic. But now, some advocates say, Francis has tampered hopes that he’ll push for more accountability among the clergy and opened the church to fresh criticism that it’s more concerned with protecting its own than victims of abuse.

“It’s encouraging that he recognizes [the abuse], but it sounds like it is all aimed at the bishops themselves rather than the survivors,” said Bill Casey, who advocates for survivors with Voice of the Faithful. “If that’s all he says, I think that would be disappointing.”

But Barbara Dorris, victims outreach director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, said she was more than disappointed. “I don’t have much of a temper, very little temper, and this makes me mad,” she said. “It’s a slap in the face to all the victims, that we’re going to worry about how the poor bishop feels? You’re the ones who created it, and now we’re going to feel sorry for what you created?”

Monsignor Stephen Rossetti, a psychologist who advises dioceses worldwide on child protection, said he was nonetheless “pleased” that Francis had mentioned instances of sexual abuse so early in his visit — and that he called them crimes.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
RTE News (Ireland)

Pope Francis has told US Catholic bishops that “crimes” of sexual abuse of minors by clergy should never be repeated.

“I know how much the pain of recent years has weighed upon you, and I have supported your generous commitment to bring healing to victims … and to work to ensure that such crimes will never be repeated,” he told the bishops on his first visit to the United States.

During his six days in the US, the pope may meet privately with victims of sexual abuse.

The Vatican has said an eventual meeting would be announced after it takes place in order to protect the privacy of the victims.

An estimated 6,400 Catholic clergy have been accused of abusing minors in the United States between 1950 and 1980.

In June, Francis sacked two US bishops accused of looking the other way: the archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, John Clayton Nienstedt, and his aide Lee Anthony Piche.

And earlier this month the Vatican replaced Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City, who resigned in April after failing to report a priest accused of pedophilia.

Earlier, cheering crowds greeted Pope Francis in the streets of Washington as he rode in his open pope mobile near the White House following talks with President Barack Obama.

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PENNSYLVANIA
The Morning Call

By Dan Sheehan
Of The Morning Call

Allentown Bishop John O. Barres was among the hundreds of cardinals, bishops and other religious who crowded the Cathedral of St. Matthew in Washington to hear Pope Francis speak about the church’s mission, the clerical sex abuse crisis and the plight of immigrants.

The pontiff received long ovations during the prayer service in the church best known as the site of the funeral for the nation’s first Catholic president, John F. Kennedy, in 1963.

In a statement, Barres said Francis “synthesized so many of his beautiful thoughts and themes with an emphasis on the good shepherd and a culture of encounter for the poor, all those in pain, all those in distress. (He was) calling all of us to be engaged in a culture of encounter with everyone in our global society.”

Francis opened the Thursday service by thanking Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, a former priest of the Diocese of Allentown who now serves as president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the Archbishop of Washington.

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UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

CONTACT

–Peter Isely, SNAP Midwest Director (Milwaukee) – Attending SNAP events in NYC during the papal visit, 414.429.7259 (peterisely@yahoo.com)
–Megan Peterson, SNAP NYC Director, 218.684.0073 (survivor19@live.com)
–Letter from Dolan to the Vatican attached–

9/23/05 Letter to Pope Francis from Milwaukee victims, re: Cardinal Timothy Dolan

Dear Pope Francis,

I am one of 575 victims of childhood rape, sexual assault or abuse by clergy who have worked in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee who have filed cases seeking restitution from the church in US Federal Bankruptcy Court. I am writing to you on our behalf and on behalf of our families.

Every rape or sexual assault of a child is a double act of theft: first it steals the body and then it steals the voice.

Seeking justice as adults through our courts for the crimes that were committed against us as children is an effort by us to restore both body and voice. That is why we were cheered when, early in your pontificate, you directly and explicitly affirmed the rightness and importance for victims to seek justice and restitution through the civil justice system.

We filed our cases for restitution over four and a half years ago in US Bankruptcy Court because the new Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki publically assured us that by doing so he would use the bankruptcy court to bring just “compensation, healing and resolution” to victims.

The chief architect of the bankruptcy, however, was Listecki’s predecessor, Archbishop Timothy Dolan, who repeatedly and directly spoke of his remorse for the crimes committed by Milwaukee clergy against children.

Imagine our sense of betrayal, then, when we learned that Archbishop Dolan before leaving for his new post as Archbishop of New York had acted directly to contravene the spirit of the very principle of civil justice for victims that your words celebrate and affirm.

In a letter obtained in federal court (also attached), Dolan wrote to Cardinal Claudio Hummes, Prefect of Congregation of the Clergy, for permission to transfer nearly $60 million dollars of assets into a new “Cemetery Perpetual Care Trust.” The archdiocese, of course, already had money set aside for the care of cemeteries. Why was Dolan seeking permission to make a new trust? Because the Wisconsin Supreme Court had just issued a unanimous ruling against the Milwaukee Archdiocese stating that there was sufficient evidence of its fraudulent concealment and transfer of clergy child sex offenders that the archdiocese could be brought to civil court by victims seeking restitution. Dolan, in the letter, clearly stated his intent in creating a new and unneeded trust.“By transferring these assets to the Trust, they [the monies]will be protected by any legal claim and liability.”

Additionally, the newly created cemetery trust was intended for only eight cemeteries, most of which also have a mausoleum in or near or near the City of Milwaukee. All the many remaining Catholic cemeteries in the archdiocese do not benefit from this trust. $60 million dollars is hardly required to serve the needs of only eight cemeteries.

Dolan’s transfer of tens of millions of dollars to prevent victims from just compensation is an act of civil and, in all likelihood, criminal fraud under US law.

Court documents also show that Dolan, after public denials to the contrary, devised and executed a secret policy of paying clerics who had abused children (a $20,000 dollar “signing bonus” added to their pension and other benefits) to leave the priesthood without the archdiocese notifying the unsuspecting communities in which they settled.

The new church you are urging us to build together requires you to hold Cardinal Dolan accountable for the planning, direction and, to a very significant degree, the current outcome of the bankruptcy, which has resulted in:

–The lowest settlements of any church bankruptcy in the United States by a factor of ten, with individual amounts to victims that do not even begin to address the severe and lasting harm done to them or provide anywhere near the resources required to begin a true recovery, with some clergy rape victims receiving as little as $2,000 dollars.

–Only 26 percent of the total bankruptcy settlement money will be allocated to help victims. 74 percent of the costs will pay lawyers’ fees, including $19.5 million to church and bankruptcy lawyers, $4 million in legal expenses to defend Dolan’s trust, and $7 million to victim attorneys; in other words, over twice as much money will be pocketed by church and other lawyers then will be given to help survivors.

–Most alarmingly, direct victim reports filed into court detail that at least 100 newly alleged clergy child sex offenders from the archdiocese have not been properly investigated or prosecuted, leaving countless children at risk in our church and community.

You have said that “the courage” victims show “by speaking up, by telling the truth” has been “in the service of love” to “shed light on a terrible darkness in the life of the Church.”

The church believes that God so ordered the universe that he placed at the center of creation the human heart and at the center of the human heart, the faculty of free consent. Love does not exist or enter the embodied soul without free consent. That is why the sexual violence by a priest against a child is a demonic parody of both creation and love, of the very miracle of creation through love.

It is an endless mystery that the shame the priest sex offender should logically and naturally feel within his own soul while violating the body of the child is rarely if ever felt by him. Instead, the shame of this crime, this awful and crushing weight, is poured into the body of the victim – our bodies. This is why it is we, not the offender, who feels the weight of this criminal shame, and why it is so difficult for most of us to come forward and bring our violation to speech.

Is it not a miracle that 575 of us in Milwaukee come forward, three generations of survivors, and together as brothers and sisters speak the unspeakable? Every time a survivor speaks, as you so rightly acknowledged, no matter how difficult to hear or unwanted the effect, it is an act of love for the church.

Victims in Milwaukee can still receive justice with your intervention and help. The money fraudulently transferred by Dolan which should have been used to compensate victims can still be put to that very purpose. Your time here in New York City will give you an opportunity to continue your pledge to hold Cardinal Dolan and other bishops accountable for the ongoing crisis of clerical sexual abuse and honor 575 acts of love and truth.

Sincerely,
Peter J. Isely
SNAP Midwest Director
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnewtork.org)

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UNITED STATES
National Survivor Advocates Coalition

by Kristine Ward, September 23, 2015

Today in NSAC News we offer the images of Thomas Doyle, Richard Sipe, Patrick Wall, Robert Hoatson.

We place them here with our hope that these images will be a counterbalance and a safe place for survivors against the images that are nearly overtaking television screens and other forms of media.

Pope Francis is the man who could with stroke of a pen, or a word, a trademark off the cuff exhortation a walk into the right crowd, or with the right phone calls address and eliminate the behemoth that looms over the largest crisis in the Roman Catholic Church in 5000 years – the complicity in the rape and sodomy of the innocents by the aiding and abetting of predators by bishops, archbishops and cardinals, vicar generals, hatchet and yes men on chancellery staffs,, and in the Curia.

These four men were ordained to the priesthood.

All four of them became true priests. Their personal journeys brought them by varied road to the truth and to true priesthood. They found and remain on the right of the battle: justice for the survivors and leaders in the fight for the protection of children. Their routes took some of them off the official rolls of priesthood but not off real priesthood.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2015

Statement by Joelle Casteix, Southern California Director of SNAP,
Phone: 949-322-7434, Email: jcasteix@gmail.com

In a callous move that will rub even more pain into the already-deep and still fresh wounds of tens of thousands of caring Catholics and suffering victims, disgraced Cardinal Mahony is being allowed to be at papal events at the White House and Congress.

[CBS Los Angeles]

There are few members of the hierarchy who have a more well-deserved dishonorable reputation and well-documented record of wrongdoing as bad as Mahony. Secret sex abuse and cover-up documents and newspaper investigations exposed in 2013 showed Mahony’s career-long, hands-on role in covering up abuse. The documents were so shocking, in fact, that Mahony was temporarily relieved of public duty and more than 10,000 Catholics signed a petition demanding he step down.

His attendance at White House and Congress is a slap in the face to the more than 500 LA victims who sought justice for crimes committed against them. It’s a slap in the face to LA Catholics who are rightfully disgusted at Mahony’s enabling of abuse.

President Obama and Congress should be investigating clergy sex crimes and cover ups, not letting a virtual criminal frolic among them.

As a society, we beg victims of sexual violence to overcome their fear, pain and shame and report these crimes so perpetrators can be stopped and others can be spared. But when we honor men who enable sexual violence, we send precisely the opposite message to victims: your suffering doesn’t matter, the powerful will always prevail, and the bad guys usually win. Shame on every official – religious or secular – who is playing a role in this hurtful injustice.

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TEXAS
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2015

Statement by Amy Smith, Phone: 281-748-4050 watchkeepamy@gmail.com

A child sexual abuse lawsuit was filed this week by the parents of a now deceased victim against First Baptist Church of Rockwall, Texas and pastor Billy Bob Burge, now employed as a pastor at Grace Community Church in Greenville, Texas.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/baptist-pastors-sexual-abuse-of-a-child-leads-to-victims-suicide-as-an-adult-and-lawsuit-300147406.html

DALLAS, Sept. 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/

Carla Sweet and Ed Gomez of Dallas, Texas, filed suit today in Dallas, Texas, state court against First Baptist Church of Rockwall: seeking justice for their son, John “Jeremy” Sweet-Gomez, who was repeatedly sexually abused by a Youth Pastor at First Baptist Church of Rockwall. The suit alleges that a Youth Pastor at First Baptist Church of Rockwall began sexually abusing Jeremy when he was approximately thirteen years old. The abuse included sodomy, oral sex, and inappropriate sexual touching. The suit states that the sexual abuses and assaults occurred “on church property and during church-sponsored religious trips.” Jeremy suffered repeated sexual abuse as a teenager; he later committed suicide. …

The lawsuit alleges that “Defendants entered into a civil conspiracy, accompanied by a meeting of the minds regarding concerted actions, the purposes of which were to conceal and minimize public knowledge of sexual misconduct and/or abuse by Pastor Burge. This conspiracy and concerted action was carried out by Defendants to conceal the fact that they individually and collectively committed acts of neglect, gross neglect, concealment, fraud, and breached fiduciary duties. Officials and agents or representatives of First Baptist Church of Rockwall, acting in concert, engaged in this conspiracy to avoid prosecution, to cover up sexual misconduct and abuse, and to conceal claims arising from crimes or conduct of their Youth Pastor.”

We urge officials at First Baptist Church of Rockwall to come clean with any information and to immediately report any known or suspected abuse by Billy Bob Burge to law enforcement. We hope that any other churches or places where Burge has had access to kids, including his current church employer Grace Community Church in Greenville, Texas, will aggressively reach out to anyone else that may have been harmed by Burge and urge them to call police.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
San Diego Union-Tribune

WASHINGTON (AP) — The latest developments in Pope Francis’ visit to the United States. All times local:

2 p.m.

Pope Francis is telling U.S. bishops there is no place for “harsh and divisive” rhetoric in their ministry, indicating he wants to see a change in tone after years of culture wars.

The pope is encouraging them to build relationships with anyone, no matter that person’s views on church teaching, and to do so with compassion.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Fox News

Associated Press

Pope Francis on Wednesday praised U.S. bishops for their response to the clergy sex abuse crisis.

Speaking before the bishops at a worship service in Washington, Francis lauded them for what he called their “generous commitment to bring healing to victims.” He praised them for having courage and acting, as he saw it, “without fear of self-criticism.”

The clergy sex abuse scandal erupted in the U.S. in 2002 and turned into the biggest crisis in the history of the American church.

Under enormous public pressure, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops pledged to oust any guilty clergy from church work and enact safeguards for children.

However, the scandal persists, and victims say the bishops still haven’t fully accounted for sheltering abusers. This year, three bishops resigned in crises over their failures to protect children.

Francis also encouraged the bishops in their ministry to immigrants, praising them for taking up the immigrants’ cause and urging the bishops to welcome even more foreigners coming across the border.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
National Catholic Reporter

Dennis Coday | Sep. 23, 2015 NCR Today

Let me make just one short observation, about an obviously heartfelt, multifaceted address by Pope Francis to the U.S. bishops. There are many things to compliment and tease out of this speech over coming days. There was, however, one glaring oversight that will draw criticism.

Francis made one (Vatican correspondent Josh McElwee called it “oblique”) reference to the clergy sexual abuse crisis. Here is the entire paragraph:

I am also conscious of the courage with which you have faced difficult moments in the recent history of the Church in this country without fear of self-criticism and at the cost of mortification and great sacrifice. Nor have you been afraid to divest whatever is unessential in order to regain the authority and trust which is demanded of ministers of Christ and rightly expected by the faithful. I realize how much the pain of recent years has weighed upon you and I have supported your generous commitment to bring healing to victims – in the knowledge that in healing we too are healed – and to work to ensure that such crimes will never be repeated.

This was followed by loud applause. Given the audience, I guess that’s not surprising, but it was sadly disappointing.

I have to wonder where is the forthrightness we have come to expect of Pope Francis. At the very least he could have used the words “clergy sexual abuse of minors.” This oblique reference will do nothing to assuage the fears of victims’ advocates who believe Francis is more public relations manager than crisis manager when it comes to sexual abuse.

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UNITED STATES
Vox

Updated by Dylan Matthews on September 23, 2015

For the most part, Pope Francis’s first visit to North America is being met with giddy anticipation from the media and public figures. But one group is not so enthusiastic: survivors of clerical abuse.

Francis gets credit for doing much more than his predecessors to address the crisis. But the bar is low. For example, Pope John Paul II did shockingly little. His defenders asserted that he was unaware of the facts, but he was receiving reports detailing just how grave the situation was as early as 1985. “Other than making nine recorded public statements, all of which were sufficiently nuanced to be innocuous, and calling a meeting of the U.S. cardinals to tell them what everyone already knew, he did nothing positive,” victims’ advocate and priest Rev. Thomas Doyle writes. Pope Benedict XVI did more, but still left bishops like Kansas City’s Robert Finn, who were known to have covered up abuse, in power.

By contrast, some observers argue that Francis has taken meaningfully positive measures.”Pope Francis’s willingness to act on the issue of holding bishops accountable has been a great source of hope for Catholics who’ve wondered when this great unfinished business of the abuse scandal was going to get handled,” Grant Gallicho, an associate editor at Commonweal, contends.

But survivors of clerical sex abuse still aren’t celebrating the pope’s visit. Activists at Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) argue that Francis has offered more happy talk and conciliatory language than actual changes that would crack down on abusive clergy. They point to the breathtaking extent of the abuse: A 2004 paper by investigators at John Jay College found that between 1950 and 2002, 4,392 out of 109,794 total priests faced “not implausible” sexual assault accusations — 4 percent. As of 2014, the total was up to 6,427 priests credibly accused, with 17,259 alleged victims.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

For immediate release: Wednesday, Sept. 23

Statement by Barbara Blaine of Chicago, SNAP president (312-399-4747, bblaine@snapnetwork.org)

In a speech today to U.S. bishops, according to ABC News, Francis “does not specifically reference the pedophilia that has rocked the Roman Catholic Church.”

He does, however, speak of some alleged “great sacrifice” made by bishops because of the abuse and cover up crisis.

What sacrifice? What bishops takes fewer vacations, drives a smaller car, does his own laundry or has been passed over for promotion because he’s shielding predators and endangering kids? None.

Only four US bishops (out of hundreds) have resigned because they hide and enabled horrific crimes, but only after staying in power for years and only after massive public, police, prosecutor and parishioner outrage. (Law, Finn, Piche and Neinstedt)

Virtually none of the other US clerics, (out of thousands) have ever been punished in the slightest for protecting predators, destroying evidence, stonewalling police, deceiving prosecutors, shunning victims or helping child molesting clerics get new jobs or flee overseas.

And no one in the entire US Catholic hierarchy, despite 30 years of horrific scandal and at least 100,000 US victims, has been defrocked, demoted, disciplined or even publicly denounced by a church colleague or supervisor, for covering up child sex crimes, no matter how clearly or often or egregiously he did so.

In carefully-crafted remarks, Francis claims church officials are working “to ensure that such crimes will never be repeated.” He knows, however, this is disingenuous. Such crimes are happening right now, all across the world. He refuses to admit this, however, preferring to conveniently imply that somehow, because of tiny, belated and grudging steps forced on bishops in a few Western nations,

Finally, Francis says he has “no wish” to tell US bishop “what to do, because we all know what it is that the Lord asks of us.” He’s half right – bishops do indeed know precisely how to protect kids. But they refuse, like Francis himself does, to take the simple, proven steps to do this.

Still, we’re deeply disappointed that Francis refuses to tell bishops to do a single thing more than they’ve been forced to do by courageous victims, angry Catholics, determined law enforcement, and the church’s own insurers, defense lawyers and public relations experts.

(Here are just some of the tangible steps Francis could have told US bishops to take to protect the vulnerable, heal the wounded, expose the truth and end the cover ups:

[SNAP]

His remarks today confirm what we’ve long said and suspected: this pope, like his predecessors, is doing and will do little if anything to bring real reform to this continuing crisis. Those who care about kids must focus on secular authorities, not church figures (however popular they may be).

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Reuters

WASHINGTON | BY SUSAN CORNWELL AND PHILIP PULLELLA

Pope Francis on Wednesday told U.S. Roman Catholic bishops that crimes of sexual abuse of minors by clergy should never be repeated, acknowledging the damage caused by years of scandal in the U.S. Catholic Church.

In the remarks, delivered at Saint Matthews Cathedral in Washington on the first full day of his visit to the United States, the pope did not utter the words “sexual abuse” but referred to the scandal by talking about “difficult moments” and providing help for victims.

“I know how much the pain of recent years has weighed upon you, and I have supported your generous commitment to bring healing to victims … and to work to ensure that such crimes will never be repeated,” Francis told the bishops, who applauded.

Wounds from the scandal, which saw priests who abused children moved from parish to parish instead of being defrocked, are still festering and draining church finances.

The U.S. church has already been dealt a heavy financial blow by settlement payments and other costs totaling around $3 billion, which has forced it to sell off assets and cut costs.

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PHILADELPHIA (PA)
PennLive

By Ivey DeJesus | idejesus@pennlive.com
on September 23, 2015

State Rep. Mark Rozzi was offered VIP tickets to attend papal events in Philadelphia this weekend.

Raised in the Catholic Church, the Berks County Democrat declined. Like many other survivors of clergy sex abuse, Rozzi finds the visit from Pope Francis and the reception extended painful and insulting.

“It’s so frustrating seeing everybody get so excited that the pope’s coming,” Rozzi said. “This is all we hear right now. What you hear is him talk about the fact that he wants to help this group or that group, but there is no mention of wanting to meet with victims.”

Rozzi, who was 13 when he and two other friends were sexually molested by priests in the Philadelphia Archdiocese, has long been at odds with the church. One of the priest died in 1999, having never been prosecuted for the alleged crimes as a result of expired statute of limitation. Rozzi’s two childhood friends committed suicide.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Huffington Post

Al Eisele
Editor-at-Large, The Hill

Pope Francis has said he won’t address any domestic political issues during his visit to the U.S., but there’s a good chance he may bestow his blessing on Vice President Joe Biden, and by inference, encourage him to run for president.

That is, if Biden follows the lead of Vice President Walter Mondale when Pope John Paul II visited Washington 36 years ago.

John Paul was wrapping up a six-city visit to the U.S. in 1969 after saying Mass on the National Mall and meeting President Carter at the White House. He was the first pope to visit the White House and I was working for Mondale at the time and won major points with my Irish Catholic wife and her parents by getting them invited to meet him at a White House reception.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
WTOP

WASHINGTON — Pope Francis prayed for the victims of clergy sex abuse during a service at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle Wednesday.

He also praised U.S. bishops for their response to the sex abuse crisis and used his homily almost as a pep talk for bishops, telling them to be good shepherds of their flock.

Speaking before the roughly 300 bishops, Francis lauded them for what he called their “generous commitment to bring healing to victims.” He praised them for having courage and acting, as he saw it, “without fear of self-criticism.”

But he also prayed for the victims of abuse that has spanned decades at the hands of parish priests.

“We have to hope that such crimes will never repeat themselves,” he said.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Los Angeles Times

On the first day of his American visit Pope Francis wasted no time delving into difficult issues: clergy sex abuse, immigration and climate change. In lighter moments, he was welcomed to the White House by thousands of cheering onlookers, posed for a selfie with spectators and took a brief ride on the Ellipse in a popemobile.

One sentence captures it all: Clergy sex abuse, abortion and immigration.

Speaking to hundreds of U.S. bishops at St. Mathew’s Cathedral in Washington, Pope Francis delved into one of the church’s most difficult issues: the clergy sex-abuse scandal. The pontiff told bishops that they must “work to ensure” that those crimes “will never be repeated.”

“I realize how much the pain of recent years has weighed upon you, and I have supported your generous commitment to bring healing to victims — in the knowledge that in healing we too are healed — and to work to ensure that such crimes will never be repeated,” Francis said.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Al Jazeera

September 23, 2015

Pope Francis on Wednesday told U.S. Roman Catholic bishops that crimes of sexual abuse of minors by clergy should never be repeated, acknowledging the damage caused by years of scandal in the U.S. Catholic Church.

In the remarks, delivered at Saint Matthews Cathedral in Washington on the first full day of his visit to the United States, the pope did not utter the words “sexual abuse” but referred to the scandal by talking about “difficult moments” and providing help for victims.

“I know how much the pain of recent years has weighed upon you, and I have supported your generous commitment to bring healing to victims … and to work to ensure that such crimes will never be repeated,” Francis told the bishops, who applauded.

Wounds from the scandal, which saw priests who abused children moved from parish to parish instead of being defrocked, are still festering and draining church finances.

Thumbnail image for Pope Francis highlights climate change, immigration at White House
Pope Francis highlights climate change, immigration at White House
The pope says climate change is an urgent problem that ‘can no longer be left to a future generation’

The U.S. church has already been dealt a heavy financial blow by settlement payments and other costs totaling around $3 billion, which has forced it to sell off assets and cut costs.

The pontiff has vowed to root out “the scourge” of sex abuse from the Roman Catholic Church, and last June created a Vatican tribunal to judge clergy accused of covering up or failing to prevent sexual abuse of minors.

Victims’ groups say the church has not done enough.

On Wednesday, David Clohessy, head of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, who himself was sexually assaulted by a priest as a child, said he was unimpressed by Francis’ words.

“It’s dreadfully disappointing. Bishops have been cowardly, not courageous, and still are,” Clohessy said. “What grudging, belated steps they have taken have been forced on them by the most courageous people in this crisis, abuse victims and their families.”

Clohessy said Francis “refuses to even be honest about what this crisis is. These are not quote-unquote ‘difficult moments,’ this is a centuries-old, incredibly unhealthy and self-surviving pattern of secrecy and recklessness,” Clohessy said in a phone interview after the pope’s remarks.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
The Guardian

Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Rome

Pope Francis has hailed US bishops for their handling of the sexual abuse crisis that has rocked the Catholic church for decades, saying they had shown “courage” throughout and regained the authority and the trust which was demanded of them.

In rare remarks about the string of scandals that first emerged in the mid-1980s, Pope Francis stopped short of addressing the victims of clerical abuse, focusing instead on the pain that had been inflicted on the bishops who were left to weather the storm.

“I am also conscious of the courage with which you have faced difficult moments in the recent history of the church in this country without fear of self-criticism and at the cost of mortification and great sacrifice,” he said.

He then commended the bishops for being ready to sell off church property and assets in order to pay for settlements with abuse victims. “Nor have you been afraid to divest whatever is unessential in order to regain the authority and trust which is demanded of ministers of Christ and rightly expected by the faithful,” he said.

Between 2004 and 2013, US diocese paid $1.7bn in legal settlements, according to a report released last year by the US Conference on Catholic Bishops. In that same period, it also paid $379m in legal fees.

“I have supported your generous commitment to bring healing to victims – in the knowledge that in healing we too are healed – and to work to ensure that such crimes will never be repeated,” he continued, prompting a round of applause from the assembled bishops.

The abuse scandals in the US, as in other countries around the world, did not only implicate pedophile priests but also the bishops and cardinals who protected them, and in many cases allowed them to prey on more young victims.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
CNN

Mr President,

I am deeply grateful for your welcome in the name of all Americans. As the son of an immigrant family, I am happy to be a guest in this country, which was largely built by such families. I look forward to these days of encounter and dialogue, in which I hope to listen to, and share, many of the hopes and dreams of the American people.

During my visit I will have the honor of addressing Congress, where I hope, as a brother of this country, to offer words of encouragement to those called to guide the nation’s political future in fidelity to its founding principles. I will also travel to Philadelphia for the Eighth World Meeting of Families, to celebrate and support the institutions of marriage and the family at this, a critical moment in the history of our civilization.

Mr. President, together with their fellow citizens, American Catholics are committed to building a society which is truly tolerant and inclusive, to safeguarding the rights of individuals and communities, and to rejecting every form of unjust discrimination. With countless other people of good will, they are likewise concerned that efforts to build a just and wisely ordered society respect their deepest concerns and their right to religious liberty. That freedom remains one of America’s most precious possessions. And, as my brothers, the United States Bishops, have reminded us, all are called to be vigilant, precisely as good citizens, to preserve and defend that freedom from everything that would threaten or compromise it.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Washington Post

By Abby Ohlheiser, Greg Jaffe, Michael E. Ruane September 23

Pope Francis did not shy away from controversy Wednesday, condemning priestly sex abuse, mistreatment of immigrants and destruction of the environment, as he traveled across Washington in his first full day in the United States.

He was also greeted by jubilant crowds, kissed some babies, and dispensed blessings and thumbs up from the popemobile.

But in somber midday remarks to American bishops, he said the offenses of the Catholic church’s sex abuse scandal must never be repeated.

Addressing hundreds of clergymen in Washington’s Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, the pope told them:

“I realize how much the pain of recent years has weighed upon you and I have supported your generous commitment to bring healing to victims — in the knowledge that in healing we too are healed — and to work to ensure that such crimes will never be repeated.”

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UNITED STATES
Center for Constitutional Rights

Ongoing revelations of pervasive and serious sexual violence against children and vulnerable adults by priests and others associated with the Catholic Church in different parts of the world have demonstrated that the crisis is not one of isolated random sexual assaults by errant priests but is widespread and systemic. In the wake of scandals around the world, experts and investigators have identified policies and practices of the Vatican and high-level officials of the Catholic Church that have covered up and enabled the sexual violence to continue. Some observers have estimated that the number of victims of sexual violence by priests and clergy occurring over the past three decades is in the hundreds of thousands, particularly as more survivors come forward and civil authorities begin investigations in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. CCR represents the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests in filings before the International Criminal Court, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child and the United Nations Committee Against Torture. The work continues CCR’s history of fighting sexual and gender-based violence and ensuring accountability for rape as a form of torture, and as a war crime and crime against humanity.

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NEW YORK
National Catholic Reporter

Peter Feuerherd | Sep. 23, 2015

NEW YORK Cardinal Timothy Dolan, appointed to lead the New York archdiocese six years ago, didn’t need his doctorate in U.S. Catholic history to realize he was made chief steward of a grand legacy.

There was the massive St. Patrick’s Cathedral, ornate churches scattered around Manhattan and throughout the archdiocese, and small churches, barely noticeable, tucked away amidst apartments and office buildings, whose history dates to ethnic groups who have long moved on.

Impressive, yes, but not always helpful for the modern era. Over the past year, Dolan has unleashed a series of parish consolidations, closings and mergers, affecting a sizeable chunk of the archdiocese’s 368 parishes. After a listening process titled “Making All Things New,” the results landed towards the end of this summer as 112 parishes involved in that process were merged into 55, with 31 churches shuttered permanently.

The goal is a financially stable, revitalized church better able to evangelize a secularized culture, in an archdiocese where only about 12 percent of some 2.8 million Catholics can be found at Sunday Mass. It’s been on Dolan’s mind for a while.

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UNITED STATES
CBS Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — Pope Francis’ six-day, three-city tour of the U.S. this week evolved from a pledge he made last fall to attend the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia.
Stops in Washington and New York were added after Francis put the triennial, Vatican-sponsored conference on his agenda. It opens Tuesday.

Organizers describe the conference that blends prayer, religious instruction and faith-themed lectures as the world’s largest gathering of Catholic families.

With more than 18,000 people signed up, this year’s will be the most attended of the eight World Meetings.

Cardinal Roger Mahony, the retired Archbishop of Los Angeles, will be traveling with the Pope when he meets with President Obama and speaks to Congress.

Mahony told KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO audiences can expect to hear some frank words from this unconventional leader of the Catholic Church.

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GEORGIA
Atlanta Journal-Consitution

A former volunteer youth ministry worker at a Fayette County church has been charged with child molestation and sexual battery against a child under 16 in a case involving two teenage boys.

Matthew Bradley Young, 46, of Norcross, was arrested Sept. 18 after an investigation into complaints made by parents of the two boys, according to incident reports filed by the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office.Young is in Fayette County Jail.

According to the reports, the parents had contacted the pastor and other leaders at the church and told them they believed their sons had been molested at a church planned function on May 9. The sheriff’s office asked that the church not be identified publicly because the investigation is ongoing.

Officers said in the reports that the parents described contact between Young and the boys via text messages, Facebook, email and cell phones as well as during a youth trip to North Carolina and during various meals. The juveniles were told by Young to delete all text messages immediately, the reports said.

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UNITED STATES
skipshea

Thursday September 24th, Pope Francis will address a joint session of Congress. And politicians just couldn’t be happier. Well some of them anyway. The Right used to love the Popes with their somewhat social conservative ways. But now the Left is embracing the Pope as he seemingly makes left leaning statements.

Like in his now famous address in Bolivia when her decried unfettered capitalism. People like presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders fell all over themselves pointing to his quotes like:

“Human beings and nature must not be at the service of money. Let us say no to an economy of exclusion and inequality, where money rules, rather than service. That economy kills. That economy excludes.”

Its odd how at the same time back in Bernie’s home state of New York there is a vast amount of church closings which includes the likes of Sacred Heart Church in Mount Vernon. …

Otherwise would this trip even be happening. Especially with the scathing report from not one, but two UN investigations into the global epidemic of childhood sexual abuse. That should bring pause to inviting the Pope to speak before a joint session of Congress. You would think.

If we look at it through another lens, the Pope is the leader of a very small country that borders Rome, Italy. The Holy See is its own nation. He was elected for life, so by definition he is now a dictator of a theocracy. In his country women have very little rights. They certainly can’t vote nor do they have any equal opportunities for social or political advancement. Like an economy that excludes. And, as the UN has pointed out, they allowed and covered up for the sexual abuse of children throughout the globe. If the Holy See were any other nation or any other religion we would not be extending invitations to its leader to speak at congress, we would be discussing sanctions and possibly military action against this country. Instead our government embraces it.

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UNITED STATES
USA Today

David Gibson, Religion News Service September 23, 2015

Pope Francis is widely viewed as the “pope of change.” But just how is he changing the Catholic Church — and the world? What matters most to him? Here’s a look at 7 main elements of his pontificate.

1. Walking the walk

Every pope is first and foremost a teacher of the faith. A firm faith is the foundation for all that the Catholic Church does and preaches. But for Francis, more than most pontiffs, faith is expressed in deeds more than in sermons. He likes to cite the adage attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, whose name he took when elected pope: “Always preach the gospel — use words if you have to.”

For Francis, this is the essence of Christianity, and it is how the church must live in order to be true to the gospel — and to have any credibility going forward. He has modeled that mission by shunning the trappings of the office, living simply and trying to get the Vatican to do the same: He has installed showers for the homeless near St. Peter’s Square and sends a personal aide into the streets of Rome to dispense charity to the needy.

Francis says the Catholic Church must focus outward if it is to find its true self, and that’s a revolution in the way the institutional church has worked.

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PENNSYLVANIA
WJAC

By: Maria Miller

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A jury reached a verdict Tuesday in the federal trial of Central City priest Father Joseph Maurizio.

The five charges he was found guilty of include one count of international money laundering, one count of possession of pictures that exploit children and three counts of eliciting sexual misconduct with three different boys overseas.

One of those boys recanted his initial story of being abused. Another count for that same boy though, Maurizio was found not guilty of.

WJAC-TV was not able to speak with Maurizio’s defense team who somehow skipped past the media, but the former president of Pro Nino USA, the organization that helped fund and run the orphanage in Honduras that Maurizio was involved with, says Tuesday’s verdict validates everything.

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PENNSYLVANIA
La Prensa

Un sacerdote católico acusado de viajar a Honduras para abusar de niños pobres durante sus misiones, fue declarado culpable el martes de varios cargos.

Un jurado federal dictó sentencia de culpabilidad al reverendo Joseph Maurizio Jr. de cargos entre los que se incluyen tres de cuatro acusaciones relacionadas a abuso sexual de niños durante sus visitas a un orfanato en Honduras.

Maurizio fue acusado de viajar al extranjero entre 2004 y 2009 para tener relaciones sexuales con tres menores, un cargo conocido como turismo sexual. También fue declarado culpable de posesión de pornografía infantil y de transferir de manera ilegal fondos a una caridad que ayudó a costear los viajes.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Spiegel

Eine Jury im US-Bundesstaat Pennsylvania hat einen ehemaligen Priester in einem Sextourismus-Fall in fünf von acht Anklagepunkten schuldig gesprochen: Der Mann war zwischen 2004 und 2009 mehrfach nach Honduras gereist und hatte dort Sex mit drei Jungen aus einem Waisenheim. Zudem wurde der 70-Jährige wegen des Besitzes kinderpornografischen Materials sowie illegaler Finanztransaktionen verurteilt.

Die Höhe des Strafmaßes soll im Februar bekanntgegeben werden. Dem Mann drohen bis zu 130 Jahre Haft, wie die Zeitung “Pittsburgh Tribune-Review” berichtet.

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AUSTRALIA
The Stringer

by Colin Penter
September 23rd, 2015

“Victims and their families have been fighting for recognition and justice for decades and great victories were achieved when the Victorian Inquiry and the Royal Commission were established. But ‘for what’ they say.”

Judy Courtin

The Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is after 2 years, at its halfway mark. The Commission is focused on systemic issues and institutional responses to allegations and incidents of child sexual abuse. Public hearings have been the main way the Commission does its work.

Although the Royal Commission’s brief is overwhelming, the hearings have been revelatory and harrowing. The Commission has heard evidence of horrific and horrendous systematic and institutional physical and sexual abuse and rape of children within religious, faith and welfare organisations.

Evidence to the Commission shows that both low and high level officials in institutions supposed to protect children actively conspired to abuse and rape them. In many cases these were highly sophisticated, organized institutional crimes committed against children.

The Commission has exposed the breadth of institutional settings – churches, schools, hospitals, out-of-homecare, children’s homes, juvenile centres, NFPs and charities- where abuse occurred.

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UNITED STATES
The Detroit News

Pope Francis continues his six-day tour of the United States today with a visit to the White House, where he’ll find a host in President Barack Obama sympathetic to much of his agenda on social and economic matters.

Pope Francis is quickly becoming one of the most beloved and celebrated popes of the modern era, largely for his efforts to open the Roman Catholic Church to the people.

He has set about to fulfill the 50-year-old reforms of Vatican II that were aimed at making the church more accessible and more modern.

His well-expressed compassion and commitment to service is credited with bringing lapsed Catholics back to the fold, and is even increasing interest in the priesthood.

Among his major initiatives is a softening of the Vatican’s hard-line view on homosexuality, divorce and abortion. Pope Francis famously declared it is not for him to judge gays, and has offered reconciliation to Catholics who have divorced or had an abortion.

Mostly, though, his inspiration is his leadership in carrying out the church’s mission to comfort the afflicted and serve mankind. He has made it the hallmark of his papacy to alleviate poverty.

That has rallied a church in desperate need of resurgence. Finances of the Catholic church are in crisis, in no small part due to $3 billion in payouts to the victims of sexual abuse by priests. That scandal disillusioned many Catholics and contributed to a sharp decline in mass attendance that is beginning to reverse under the pope’s guidance.

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GEORGIA
WRDW

Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015

ATLANTA (AP) — A former volunteer youth ministry worker at a Fayette County church has been accused of sexually abusing two teenage boys.

Authorities arrested Matthew Bradley Young of Norcross on Sept. 18 and charged him with child molestation and sexual battery against a child under 16.

Incident reports filed by the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office said an investigation started after authorities received complaints from the boys’ parents.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the parents believed their children were assaulted during a May 9 church function. Sheriff’s office spokesman Allen Stevens said no further details would be released because of the ongoing investigation.

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ALABAMA
AL.com

By Jeremy Gray | jgray@al.com
on September 22, 2015

A gag order was issued today in the case of an Alabama pastor accused of sexually torturing, abusing and raping multiple children and teens.

Clarke County Circuit Judge Robert Montgomery issued the order in the case of Mack Charles Andrews, Jr.

The order also applies to Facebook and other social media, according to court records.

Andrews, 55, was set for a settlement docket today at 9 a.m. At a settlement docket, judges typically ask whether a defendant wants to enter into a plea agreement.

It was not clear this afternoon if a plea was entered. An email to District Attorney Spencer Walker this morning was not returned and an employee in his office said they could no longer comment on the case.

The order comes a day after AL.com shared the story of a woman who said she was sexually tortured and raped by Andrews from the time she was 7 until she was 12.

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ZIMBABWE
Bulawayo 24

by Mashudu Netsianda

A BULAWAYO pastor, who turned a congregant, 16, into a sex slave and allegedly infected her with HIV and genital warts while claiming to be driving out a death demon that wanted to kill her father, has been sentenced to 30 years in jail.

Greatness Tapfuma, 33, of Cowdray Park who is the founder of Kingdom Rulers International Church broke into tears soon after Bulawayo regional magistrate Chrispen Mberewere convicted him on two counts of rape.

His followers who had come to court in solidarity with their leader immediately joined him in weeping following the verdict. Tapfuma’s emissaries, the court heard, attempted to bribe his victim with a house, a car or cash so she could drop the charges against him. The pastor, who was recently acquitted of raping two other congregants will, however, serve an effective 25 years in jail after five years of the sentence were suspended on condition that he does not within that period commit a similar crime.

Magistrate Mberewere, in his judgment, ruled that although Tapfuma’s victim tested HIV positive, there was no evidence that the pastor is the one who infected her. “I don’t find that the victim was aware of her HIV status prior to the rape. She only became aware of it after the doctor who examined her recommended that she gets tested for HIV following genital warts. I, therefore dismiss the link between the victim’s HIV infection and the rape,” said the magistrate. – See more at: http://bulawayo24.com/News/Local/74688#sthash.k9bA2Efx.dpuf

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ALASKA
Alaska Dispatch News

Erica Martinson
September 22, 2015

WASHINGTON — Alaska’s congressional delegation and visitors from the state are getting ready for an unprecedented visit from Pope Francis as he embarks on a tour of the Eastern Seaboard, including Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and New York City.

Pope Francis arrived in the Washington area Tuesday afternoon and was greeted by President Barack Obama and his wife, daughters and mother-in-law.

On Wednesday, Obama will welcome the pontiff at the White House, and Washingtonians will be treated to a papal parade. He’ll then meet with bishops from across the U.S. and celebrate Mass. On Thursday morning, the pope will address a joint session of Congress, the first time the leader of the Catholic Church has ever done so.

While Alaskans recently got a taste of D.C. motorcades and presidential traffic, Washington, D.C., is getting its own dose this week, with widespread street closures and expectations of hours-long transit backups. …

On Thursday, Joan Wilson, an attorney from Anchorage who attends the same church as Sullivan, will be on the Capitol lawn with her sister, who lives in D.C., and several other relatives, during the pope’s address to Congress.

Wilson originally only requested two tickets, but found out there were extras available from both Sullivan and Murkowski’s offices. “I wish people knew about that,” she said. “I think a lot of people would have come this far to see the pope. He’s a pretty magical guy.”

Wilson, a lifelong Catholic, said the pope’s visit has added importance for her.

Her mother, Mary Nockels, 83, is very ill and may not live past the weekend, she said. Nockles asked her daughter to bring her rosary to be blessed by the pope.

Like many Catholics, Wilson has had her own troubles with the church. Her brother was sexually abused by a priest when they were children in Chicago, she said.

The long history of abuse and silence from the church is not unknown to Alaskans. In 2008, the Fairbanks diocese filed for bankruptcy after being unable to settle lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by priests and church volunteers.

Wilson said she wouldn’t have come for a visit by the previous pontiff. “I had no interest in Pope Benedict’s version of the Catholic Church,” she said.

But Pope Francis “seems to be less about image and more about every individual’s ability to have a personal connection to God. It’s not about dogma; it’s about what you hold in your heart,” Wilson said.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Crux

By Margery Eagan
On Spirituality columnist September 22, 2015

David O’Regan will tell you he’s had a “beautiful, blessed life.” Six grown children. Forty-three years of marriage to a wife he adores. “The baby lady.” That’s what they call Jane O’Regan around the town near Boston where the O’Regans live in a rambling house with a great big yard. They are foster parents. Jane O’Regan always has a baby in tow. They’re caring now for the 69th and 70th child they’ve welcomed: one five months old, the other nine months.

David O’Regan, an imposing, 6-foot, 4-inch 65-year-old, will also tell you he is a prayerful man of faith raised on the Baltimore Catechism in the Catholic Church. “My mother wasn’t well. She was bipolar and treated herself with alcohol and so unfortunately, there was no peace at home.”

But there was peace, even a “mystical solace,” at church, says O’Regan, who became a Eucharistic minister, a prayer group leader, and a CCD teacher who made daily Mass during many, many Lents.

But O’Regan will then tell you this: he stopped going to Mass years ago.

And he nearly lost much else in that once-ordered life: his letter carrier job, his money, even his home. For a time, Jane O’Regan bought groceries on a credit card and Dave sold old electrical equipment on eBay for an extra $20 here and there. This unraveling began in 2002, when The Boston Globe started running story after story about the Church cover-up of the sexual abuse of children by deviant priests.

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UNITED STATES
NET Nebraska

GWEN IFILL: It’s not yet clear what issues Pope Francis will directly address during his visit here, but one problem casts a long shadow for the church: sexual abuse scandals.

This pope has pressured top church officials to end abuse involving priests. Just this year, the bishops of Saint Paul-Minneapolis and Kansas city have resigned in the wake of new revelations.

As part of our special coverage of the pope’s visit this week, special correspondent Chris Bury reports on how sex abuse by clergy still haunts American Catholics.

CHRIS BURY: For the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, with more than 800,000 Catholics, the sex abuse scandal still resonates in a raw and immediate way.

JENNIFER HASELBERGER, Former Canon Lawyer, Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis: I think, by anyone’s definition of a crisis, we’re in it. And there doesn’t seem to be any way out.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Chicago Tribune

Michelle Boorstein, Abigail Ohlheiser, Michael R. Ruane
Washington Post

Pope Francis arrived in Washington on Tuesday to a joyous greeting from well-wishers as he began the historic visit that millions of Americans have been awaiting and for which three of the country’s great cities have been anxiously preparing.

The pope’s white and green Alitalia jetliner touched down at 3:50 p.m. on a flight from Cuba at the start of a spiritual and political journey that will take him to the centers of U.S. government, power and history.

Beneath gray skies, the pope stepped off the airplane at 4:05 p.m. at Joint Base Andrews in Prince George’s County and was welcomed by President Barack Obama and a cheering crowd assembled on metal bleachers.

The pope took off his white skullcap as he walked down the steps from the jet to the windy tarmac to greet first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Jill Biden and Washington Archbishop Cardinal Donald Wuerl, among others. …

A group of women held signs protesting the Catholic church’s handling of its ongoing pedophile priest scandal.

Becky Ianni held up a photo of herself as a child, saying she left the church for what she called a failure to crack down on clergy sexual abuse.

“When the pope comes into town, we’ve seen posters everywhere, pope cocktails and pope bobbleheads and such good feeling,” said Ianni, who leads the Virginia chapter of SNAP, a group that advocates for people who were abused by priests. “But on the other side of the coin are all the victims that are still hurting.”

Nearby, Russell Heiland and Anthony Ezzell, of Reston, Va., stopped by the nuniciature to get a glimpse of the pope before their celebrating their 25th anniversary at a restaurant in Washington.

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UNITED STATES
RT

Pope Francis has finally landed in the US for his first-ever visit to the country. The papal swing through the Northeast is guaranteed to captivate Americans, but the popular pontiff is likely to draw praise and criticism on numerous contentious issues.

The Bishop of Rome’s arrival comes at a delicate time for the Church in the US, which suffered damaging setbacks after a child sex abuse scandal. Although Catholicism is still the second-largest religion in the US, the number of Catholics in the US has declined and Pope Francis will be searching for ways to rejuvenate his flock.

So far, Pope Francis has defied being categorized on the traditional left-right spectrum of American politics, but his anticipated comments on a range of issues, from gay marriage and abortion to climate change and prison reform, will undoubtedly be seized upon for their political implications. Here are 10 of the most controversial issues surrounding the visit.

A contentious canonization

After visiting President Barack Obama on Wednesday morning, Francis will hold a canonization mass for Father Junipero Serra, a Catholic missionary who converted thousands of Native Americans in California. Declaring Serra a saint will mark the first time such an event has taken place on American soil, but critics have condemned the move, arguing that Serra was part of a Spanish colonization effort that decimated the Native population.

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UNITED STATES
The Daily Beast

Joelle Casteix

While Pope Francis has a glowing reputation for his progressive views on LGBT issues and poverty, he has done nothing for victims of abuse from within the church—like me.
When I told people that I was going to New York for the Papal visit, those who know me understood that I’m not coming for mass, a blessing, or a chance to see the wildly popular pope.

I’m here because I am a survivor of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

From the ages of 15 to 17, I was sexually abused by my choir teacher at a large Catholic high school in southern California. By the time the abuse ended, I was 17, pregnant, and had a sexually transmitted disease. Even worse: school and church officials knew about my abuser and knew he had other victims. But they did nothing to stop him or help us. In fact, they let him resign with a glowing letter of recommendation.

I suffered the fate of many survivors. I was blamed. I lost my friends and my family. I stayed silent for 15 years because I was ashamed and alone.

But in 2003, I was able to use the civil courts to expose my abuser and uncover more than 200 pages of then-secret documents about my case. They included a signed confession by my abuser, signed documents from school officials, and a letters to and from the diocese on how to keep the matter “quiet.”

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IRELAND
Herald

23 September 2015

For two decades now Catholic bishops have been warning about the vocational crisis in the church. The dwindling number of priests in the ministry is now so acute that the centuries-old tradition of the revered Sunday Mass in many rural parishes is now in danger.

In many parishes, especially in rural areas, only one Mass is now celebrated on a Sunday. The norm used to be at least three

This acute shortage of priests has led to the virtual closure of some churches and the growing practice of two or three parishes sharing a priest.

Many priests are now in their 60s and 70s and are being asked by their bishops to carry on their pastoral work beyond their retirement age.

It is an extraordinary situation for a traditionally Catholic country that has helped spread the Gospel across the globe in years gone past. Now that missionary role is being reversed in a novel way.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

SNAP: “100,000 US clergy abuse victims, but federal officials do nothing”
Group applauds governmental investigations and reports in other countries
Two United Nations panels have done probes and attacked church hierarchy
Organization says “Welcoming Francis is fine but, for kids’ sake, challenge him too”

What:
Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims will blast US federal officials for “doing nothing” about the on-going child molestation and cover up scandal in the church. They will call on

–Congress to hold hearings into the crisis, and–the Justice Department to make crime-fighting funds to states contingent on reforming archaic child safety laws.

They will also

–urge Pope Francis to stop bishops from fighting secular child safety reforms, and
–urge “everyone who saw, suspected or suffered” child sex crimes and cover ups in churches to “protect kids, expose predators, deter cover ups and push for eliminating predator-friendly statutes of limitations.”

When:
Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 2:30 pm.

Where:
Outside the U.S. Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington DC

Who:
Four-five members of an international support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org), including a Missouri woman who is the organization’s long time outreach director

Why:
Some consider the U.S. to be the epicenter of the clergy sex abuse and cover up crisis since the first pedophile priest made national headlines here more than 30 years ago (Father Gilbert Gauthe of Lafayette, Louisiana). Catholic bishops admit that 6,427 US priests are accused molesters and Catholic experts estimate that these child molesting clerics have assaulted more than 100,000 kids.

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PENNSYLVANIA
The Kansas City Star

The Associated Press

JOHNSTOWN, PA.
A Roman Catholic priest accused of traveling to Honduras to molest poor street children during missionary trips was convicted on Tuesday of several charges.

Federal jurors convicted the Rev. Joseph Maurizio Jr. of charges including three of four counts related to sex abuse of boys during trips to a Honduran orphanage.

Maurizio was accused of traveling abroad from 2004 to 2009 to have sex with three young boys, a charge known as sexual tourism. He also was convicted of possession of child pornography and illegally transferring money to a charity to help fund the trips. Jurors acquitted him of another count of traveling outside the United States for sex with a minor and two other counts involving the transfer of funds.

The 70-year-old priest, who has been suspended from Our Lady Queen of Angels Parish in Somerset County, showed no reaction as the verdict was read to the packed courtroom. He is scheduled to be sentenced in February.

The priest repeatedly denied the allegations. His defense attorney presented testimony suggesting that interviewers can plant ideas that lead to false accusations.

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UNITED STATES
The Morning Call

Pope Francis’ visit to Philadelphia is being billed as a “World Meeting of Families.” The motto reads: “Love is our Mission: The Family Fully Alive.”

While the pope has admirably denounced economic inequality and made strides on certain social issues, scandals in the Catholic Church continue to raise skepticism about its self-proclaimed role as protector of the family.

The Morning Call recently reported that an advocacy group for clergy sex-abuse victims, the Catholic Whistleblowers, wants Pope Francis to investigate the child protection records of Cardinal Justin Rigali, former archbishop of Philadelphia, and Cardinal Raymond Burke, who led dioceses in Wisconsin and Missouri.

I admire the group’s efforts, but I’m not sure how much we can expect from the Church’s leaders.

Just last year, Francis whisked away Papal Nuncio Jozef Wesolowski from the Dominican Republic, when it was discovered the nuncio had been luring young boys into his beach house to engage in sex for money. Critics believe this directly contradicted the Church’s stance of reporting pedophile priests to secular criminal justice systems. The Church invoked diplomatic immunity and secretly recalled him to Rome without informing local authorities.

In a New York Times piece, Antonio Medina Calcaño, dean of the faculty of law and political science of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo, argued: “From the pure standpoint of justice, [Wesolowski] should be tried in the country where the acts took place because the conditions for trying him will not be the same elsewhere.” (The nuncio passed away in August. He was under house arrest in the Vatican awaiting trial by Vatican authorities.)

Details about the nuncio’s actions are disheartening, as impoverished boys as young as 14 were offered increasing amounts of money for sex acts. One boy, who normally earned just $1.50 a day, said he was given $10 to shine the nuncio’s shoes and swim naked in the ocean. He was later paid $25. Then $135. Over time, he received gifts like new sneakers. And a new watch.

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UNITED STATES
TheMediaReport

David Pierre

SEPTEMBER 21, 2015

This month’s historic trip of Pope Francis to the United States cannot halt the New York Times’ relentless obsession with decades-old cases of sex abuse committed by Catholic priests.
Despite the Church’s unprecedented corrective measures just in the past dozen years, not to mention nearly $3 billion in settlements and over $85 million in therapy to accusers, one would think it was 1992 all over again in reading the article from Vivian Yee at the New York Times.

Trotting out the tired parade

Yee’s article brandishes a weary parade of well-known Church critics who have a long history of bashing the Catholic Church to rehash the story of abusive priests from many decades ago. Included in Yee’s article are:

* a 72-year-old man who claims that a priest “groped” him 66 years ago at age 6;
another man who claims who was abused in the “early 1970s”;
* Barbara Blaine, president of the lawyer-funded attack group SNAP (Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests), who once wrote a letter of support on behalf of a child pornographer;
* Joelle Casteix, SNAP’s Southwest Regional director; and
* Terence McKiernan, the cranky president of BishopAccountability.org.

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UNITED STATES
Crux

By John L. Allen Jr.
Associate editor September 22, 2015

WASHINGTON, DC – Pope Francis arrived in the United States to a boisterous welcome Tuesday, telling reporters on the papal plane that he won’t raise the Cuban embargo in his speech to Congress and rejecting the suggestion that he’s a political leftist.

“Maybe there’s an impression I’m a little bit more leftie, but I haven’t said a single thing that’s not in the social doctrine of the Church,” Francis insisted, referring to official Catholic teaching on social questions.

At one stage, the pontiff even challenged a journalist to give him an example of something he’s said that was “too strong.”

Asked about a recent Newsweek cover story asking if the pope is Catholic, Francis joked that “I’m ready to recite the Creed if need be,” referring to an ancient statement of core Catholic beliefs recited at every Mass.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Tribune-Review

By Paul Peirce
Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2015

A Somerset County priest was found guilty Tuesday of having sex with three boys at a Honduran orphanage he supported through his nonprofit foundation, possessing child pornography and transferring money outside the U.S. for illicit sexual activities.

The Rev. Joseph D. Maurizio Jr., 70, showed no reaction when the verdict was read in a federal courtroom in Johnstown.

Maurizio’s two sisters and two nieces, who attended every day of the trial, sat in the courtroom with parishioners of his former parish, Our Lady Queen of Angels Church in Central City.

The women gasped as the guilty verdicts were read, then wept.

Jurors deliberated for more than 12 hours over two days and found Maurizio guilty of five of the eight counts against him. Two additional counts involving the money transfer were dismissed.

The priest’s three accusers and another witness who traveled from Central America to testify were brought into the courtroom, where they sat behind prosecutors to hear the verdict.

They had no reaction as their interpreter whispered to them in Spanish as the verdict was read.

A parishioner who left the courthouse after the verdict said she and other supporters were “obviously disappointed.”

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