ABUSE TRACKER

AUSTRALIA/VATICAN CITY
The Guardian

Kristina Keneally

Cardinal George Pell turned 75 last Wednesday. Usually I don’t mark the birthdays of princes of the church. I’m sure they’ve got enough people around them – fellow cardinals, under-secretaries, Curia officials, Opus Dei acolytes, housekeepers – to organise a cake for morning tea. Besides, there’s nothing I could get for the man who already has everything he ever wanted: a little red hat, a gold ring and the pope’s ear.

But this particular birthday is one in which I thought I might take more than a passing interest. After all, church practice asks cardinals to tender their resignation to the pope at age 75. Kind of like a reverse gift from the birthday boy back to the church.

Before we all get carried away with anticipation that Pell is about to lose his privileged position, allow me to explain: in the Vatican, just because a resignation is offered doesn’t mean it is accepted. This isn’t Australian politics. The pope can pretty much do what he wants with said resignation, including rejecting it outright or filing it in a bottom drawer for when it’s really needed.

Pope Francis is not accepting Pell’s resignation.

Never mind that the Australian government’s royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse has twice has twice preferred the evidence of others over Pell’s recollection. Never mind that the cardinal’s third appearance before the commission a few months ago was a public relations disaster. Never mind Pell’s farcical evidence that he knew nothing about rampant sexual abuse in Ballarat because there was a conspiracy to keep him in the dark. Never mind that staff from the Melbourne Catholic Education Office contradicted Pell’s testimony.

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

ROME
Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has commended the Pontifical Gregorian University’s recently created Centre for Child Protection (CCP) and expressed his hope that new graduates will be “brave and committed” to the prevention of sexual abuse of minors. On Tuesday, 14 June, the first 19 students of the Centre’s new Diploma of Advanced Studies, “Safeguarding Minors” received their degree in a graduation ceremony in Rome.

In a personal letter to the president of the Centre for Child Protection, Fr. Hans Zollner sj, Pope Francis expressed his gratitude to the professors and graduates of the course: “First of all I want to thank you and your entire faculty for this commitment to the prevention of sexual abuse of minors. You have undertaken great efforts for the prevention and healing of minors who have been sexually abused. I extend my greetings to those who complete the programme. I wish you courage and patience; be brave and committed. I assure you that you will receive many signs of gratitude. I pray for you and I ask you to do the same for me.”

A University statement explains that the one term qualification programme educates international students as prevention experts to counteract sexual abuse of minors. This unique worldwide initiative was started as a part of the proactive prevention strategy of the Catholic Church in February 2016.

The CCP of the Pontifical Gregorian University awards the diploma. Instituted in 2012, the CCP is an institution of the Catholic Church advocating safeguarding measures and protection for minors and people in need around the world.

Cardinal Filoni, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, also commends the initiative of the CCP: “The prevention of sexual abuse of minors is a priority for the entire Church. In a special way we want to put our efforts into the young Churches, in order that everything possible is being done to counter this sad phenomenon in schools, kindergartens, universities and parishes. For this reason the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples is very pleased to support the educational and scientific efforts of the Centre for Child Protection.”

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

PENNSYLVANIA
Reading Eagle

By Liam Migdail-Smith

HARRISBURG — Several attorneys and scholars, including Pennsylvania’s top legal officer, told a state Senate panel Monday that reviving now-expired child sexual abuse lawsuits would run afoul of the state Constitution.

Supporters of the plan countered that it passes legal muster and accused opponents of questioning its constitutionality in a last-ditch effort to derail the proposal.

The hearing, before the Senate Judiciary Committee and a standing-room-only crowd, came on the heels of several weeks of fierce public debate, which has abuse victims and their advocates at odds with the Catholic Church and business groups.

The bid to revive expired cases is part of a larger measure designed to give abuse victims more time to take their abusers and those who shield them to court.

State Solicitor General Bruce L. Castor Jr. was among the speakers to call the retroactive part of the plan unconstitutional. His opinion was echoed by three legal scholars, two of them representing the plan’s opponents.

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

NEW YORK
New York Daily News

BY
MICHAEL O’KEEFFE
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Monday, June 13, 2016

The Diocese of Brooklyn plans to publish a list of its sexual predator priests.

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio will post the names of clergy members who have been accused of sexual abuse on the Diocese of Brooklyn’s website, a diocesan official said, calling it an attempt to be more transparent in the wake of the pedophile priest scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church for nearly two decades.

But the diocese has offered no details about its perv priest list and victim advocates say they fear the announcement is more about public relations than protecting children from predators or helping long-suffering sex abuse victims heal.

“We suspect this won’t be a complete list,” said David Clohessy, the national director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP).

Gov. Cuomo leaves Child Victims Act off legislative outline
“We suspect it will contain only the names of predator priests who have already been outed through civil lawsuits, criminal prosecution, media exposés or admissions by the perpetrators themselves.”

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

AUSTRALIA
ABC News

By Giselle Wakatama

The retired Hunter Valley policeman who raised concerns about missing boys’ home documents says he is relieved records have been found, but alarmed he was not told about them.

Greg Harding, who pursued convicted paedophile and ex-St Albans board member James Michael Brown, on Friday said his investigations had showed decades of documents from St Albans boys’ home were either missing or destroyed.

However, later that day, a Newcastle University archivist responded to the concerns, saying documents did exist and were stored in the university archives.

The St Albans boys’ home is expected to be part of a Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse case study looking at abuse allegations in Newcastle’s Anglican diocese.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
PennLive

By Wallace McKelvey | WMckelvey@pennlive.com

In one of her few recent public appearances, Attorney General Kathleen Kane pleaded with lawmakers Monday to lift the statute of limitations on child sex-abuse charges and expand victims’ ability to file civil lawsuits.

“I’m begging you to pass that bill immediately,” Kane told a Senate panel considering House Bill 1947.

But Kane’s advocacy came with an important asterisk.

“I’m not here to give a legal opinion as to the constitutionality of the bill,” she said, as preface to her testimony. With her law license suspended in the wake of criminal charges stemming from the grand jury leak investigation, the attorney general is barred from practicing law.

That set up the latest public conflict between Kane and her office.

Bruce L. Castor Jr., a longtime prosecutor and Kane’s handpicked second-in-command, deflated Kane’s impassioned testimony with his own reading of state law. The bill’s civil litigation element is unconstitutional, he said.

“Without doubt, House Bill 1947 represents a laudable attempt to provide a remedy for a well-identified social problem,” the former Montgomery County district attorney testified. “However righteous the policy goals behind (the bill), the General Assembly in its zeal cannot overrule a state constitutional right.”

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

PENNSYLVANIA
We Are Central PA

Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pa.

Pennsylvania Senators discussed the legality of extending the statute of limitations for child sex abuse cases on Monday.

It would give victims a longer time to come forward with their claims.

House Bill 1947 passed the Pennsylvania House in April.

One of the biggest proponents, Representative Mark Rozzi says that the chair of the Senate Judiciary committee, Senator Stewart Greenleaf, is trying to kill the bill.

Today senators heard testimony about the constitutionality of the bill.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
ABC 27

By Dennis Owens
Published: June 13, 2016

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – Attorney General Kathleen Kane was the first to testify at a Senate hearing on House Bill 1947, which extends the statute of limitations for victims of child sexual abuse.

“I am here to speak on behalf of all of the children and all of the survivors of Pennsylvania,” Kane said and urged senators to vote for HB 1947.

But in a strange moment, Kane’s hand-picked Solicitor General Bruce Castor was next to testify and said that 1947 is, in part, unconstitutional. There is a provision that would let victims sue abusers and institutions even though their statute of limitations has expired. He said lawmakers do not have the power to grant such retroactivity.

“However righteous the policy goal is behind House Bill 1947, the General Assembly, in its zeal, cannot overrule a state constitutional right,” Castor said with conviction.

Basically, in layman’s terms, he’s arguing that the rules of the game cannot be changed after the game has been played. Several of the testifiers before the committee made the same case.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
PennLive

By Ivey DeJesus | idejesus@pennlive.com

In a three-hour long hearing steeped in references to Pennsylvania case law, the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday heard expert testimony on the validity and viability of proposed legislation that would change how child sexual predators are prosecuted.

The hearing, which tipped markedly in favor of opponents of House Bill 1947, was held in a hearing room packed with victims advocates as well as past victims of sexual abuse. Many of them wiped away tears as a cadre of expert witnesses – with the exception of one – argued how the Pennsylvania Constitution prohibits the General Assembly from retroactively altering expired statutes of limitations.

The hearing, which featured five expert witnesses, only one testifying in support of the bill, focused on the constitutionality of the bill, which would impose lookback measures for past victims of abuse, including those molested by priests as children.

Much of the testimony centered around the state’s constitutional remedies clause, which ostensibly bars the General Assembly from retroactively altering expired statutes of limitations.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
The Morning Call

Bill White

In the continuum of bizarre episodes involving state Attorney General Kathleen Kane, her double-cross Monday of child sex abuse victims probably ranks pretty low. She has set a remarkably high standard for weirdness.

Still, Monday’s shocking turnabout — from powerful advocate to weaselly waffler — left a lot of people scratching their heads. “It’s very confusing to me,” said John Salveson, president of the Foundation to Abolish Child Sex Abuse.

I’ve been writing about House Bill 1947, which easily passed the House in April and would eliminate the statute of limitations for criminal cases of child sexual abuse and extend the statute for civil cases until the victim reaches age 50, retroactively, from the present age 30. The state Senate Judiciary Committee, which is considering the bill, held a hearing Monday to consider the constitutionality of retroactively changing the age for civil suits.

There are strong legal opinions on each side of that issue, and we heard both at Monday’s hearing, albeit much more heavily weighted toward those — some of whom were in the employ of chief opponents the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference and the Pennsylvania Insurance Federation — who think it would be ruled unconstitutional under Pennsylvania law. The only expert testifying that what they called the “revival” portion of HB 1947 is constitutional was constitutional lawyer and longtime statute of limitations reform advocate Marci Hamilton, the go-to expert on this subject around the country and even the world.

She was critical of committee Chair Stewart Greenleaf, R-Montgomery, for the lack of balance in the testimony, but she more than held her own. I learned afterward that a law firm representing abuse survivors in Delaware is saying Greenleaf should recuse himself because representatives of his law firm argued against similar legislation in Delaware. Greenleaf, who made no mention of his apparent conflict, said afterward that the Senate parliamentarian has ruled he needn’t recuse himself.

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

NEW YORK
Church Militant

by Joseph Pelletier • ChurchMilitant.com • June 13, 2016

Assemblywoman argues Bp. Nicolas DiMarzio offered her $5K to drop abuse statute reform support
BROOKLYN (ChurchMilitant.com) – The bishop of Brooklyn is being accused of bribing an elected official.

In a speech in Brooklyn last week, Democrat assemblywoman Margaret Markey claimed Bp. Nicholas DiMarzio offered her $5,000 in hush money in exchange for withdrawing her support for proposed reforms to state law concerning the statute of limitations in child sex abuse cases. Markey has been a vocal proponent of the reforms for nearly a decade.

“I’m not a billionaire, but I don’t need $5,000 to buy me off,” she told the Daily News, adding the alleged offer from Bp. DiMarzio came in 2007 ahead of 2008’s New York State Assembly elections. The money was offered as a payoff and not as a campaign donation, she added.

A spokesman for the assmeblywoman claimed the bishop had suggested the money could be used for therapy for a member of her family who was a victim of child sex abuse. …

DiMarzio himself, who has led the Brooklyn diocese since 2003, personally responded to Markey’s allegations in a two-page letter, stating his “character has been impugned and [his] name slandered as the bishop of the diocese of Brooklyn.”

“I am writing this letter to refresh your memory as to our conversation nine years ago and to demand your immediate retraction of your defamatory statements,” DiMarzio wrote. The bishop highlighted the fact that Markey had initially claimed the meeting took place in 2010 and later corrected the year to 2007 as proving his point that the elimination of the statute of limitations is dangerous.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
Fox 43

[with video]

JUNE 13, 2016, BY MATT MAISEL

HARRISBURG, Pa. –State Representative Mark Rozzi walked onto the Capitol steps after a three-hour Senate hearing, incredulous to what he had just heard.

“That whole hearing reeked of being set up,” he said.

On Monday, nearly two months since the state House passed HB1947 by a bi-partisan 180-15 vote, the Senate Judiciary Committee took up the bill which would reform Pennsylvania’s child sex abuse laws. House Bill 1947 would eliminate the statute of limitations for future child sex crimes and allow victims to retroactively seek lawsuits against their abusers.

However, after the hearing, Rozzi cried foul play, claiming the witness list was stacked heavily in favor of those advocating against the constitutionality of the bill.

“Two of the people who testified today, one represented the (Pennsylvania) Catholic Conference and the other represented the insurance federation. We were set up!” Rozzi shouted.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
The Sentinel

Marc Levy
Associated Press

The state’s top legal office told lawmakers Monday that it is unconstitutional to change state law to retroactively give victims of child sexual abuse more time to sue, although some lawmakers said they remain willing to support it.

A packed three-hour Senate Judiciary Committee hearing came against the backdrop of Roman Catholic Church scandals and a renewed push in Pennsylvania and other states to relax laws that prevent some child sexual abuse victims from suing for damages.

With victims of child sexual abuse looking on, Solicitor General Bruce L. Castor Jr. told senators that case law renders such a retroactive provision unconstitutional in Pennsylvania.

Castor was speaking for the state attorney general’s office after Attorney General Kathleen Kane, whose law license was suspended by the state Supreme Court last year, urged the panel in her seven-minute testimony to “get it right.”

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

PENNSYLVANIA
WJAC

BY KODY LEIBOWITZ MONDAY, JUNE 13TH 2016

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Is retroactivity for civil lawsuits constitutional?

It’s a question state senators answered over the battle of the statute of limitations in child sex abuse cases.

The house previously passed a bill in April making civil suits retroactive. The bill came out after the grand jury investigation for the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown.

The hearing lasted three hours Monday morning inside a packed Senate committee room.

And the entire hearing was trying to answer one question: will passing a bill that allows civil lawsuits to be retroactive hold up legally?

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

PENNSYLVANIA
Freedom from Religion Foundation

News Release

June 13, 2016

The Freedom From Religion Foundation condemns the Catholic Church targeting Pennsylvania legislators who have shown support for stronger child sex-abuse laws.

Of 195 members of the Pennsylvania House, 180 recently voted in favor of a bill designed to prevent those accused of sexually abusing children from claiming legal immunity due to the existing statute of limitations. Church leaders have singled out specific legislators and publicly humiliated them for backing the bill.

The archdiocese recently printed church bulletins and had its priests call out legislators by name from the pulpit in order to stir up opposition against the bill. As the bill moves forward to the Senate Judiciary Committee, the message is clear: oppose this child sex-abuse bill or face the wrath of the church.

“It’s outrageous that the church would go to such lengths to kill this bill,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “The Catholic Church has systematically protected sexual predators from legal authorities for decades while claiming to have children’s interests at heart. If the church were really concerned about victims of sexual abuse, it would be doing everything in its power to support this bill.”

Under the proposed House Bill 1947, victims would have until they are 50 years old, rather than 30, to seek legal redress. Considering the severe psychological trauma that can result from childhood sexual assault and the extreme power that the Catholic Church holds over many communities, this legislation is desperately needed.

“This is not some free ticket to target churches for money,” notes FFRF Legislative Analyst Sam Grover. “These victims still have the burden of proof and still must find and submit evidence. The longer they wait, the more difficult that becomes. This new bill simply gives them the chance to try.”

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

NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand Herald

Growing up in New Zealand in the 1950s and 60s, things were nothing like they are today.

There was no television or, for that matter, very much else to stimulate the senses. A new music sheet for the piano in our household was seen as something of a highlight. The other high point of the week was on Monday nights when Life with Dexter, a long running family serial was broadcast, which saw the family gathered around the valve radio.

Church on Sundays was obligatory, not to go was seen as a venial sin, which had to be confessed to at the monthly confessional with the priest behind a curtain at St Marys. It seemed strange because you always knew who the priest was anyway, but it was presumably to hide the blushes as you fessed up to things like taking the name of the Lord thy God in vain, or even worse still, disobeying your parents.

Life was, well pretty dull.

You were taught respect though, to elevate those in positions or power to another level. If you were one of our teachers, a Sister of Mercy, who had to show a fair amount of it to teach me, you were on a pedestal just as you were if you were a priest, who in our innocent mind’s eye, was even closer to The Almighty.

So for those of us who were educated in such an era, some would say indoctrinated, it’s with horror that we’ve come to realise that in some quarters all was not what it seemed to be, not helped by the ignorance of the Vatican that as youngsters we were taught was as close to Heaven on earth as you could get to.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
CBS Philly

June 13, 2016 By Tony Romeo

HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) — A state Senate committee Monday tackled the question of whether a bill that would allow retroactive lawsuits by adults who were sexually abused as children would hold up under the Pennsylvania constitution.

The Senate is considering a House-passed bill that would eliminate the criminal statute of limitations in future cases, and would give victims of child sex abuse more time to bring civil cases. One provision would allow victims to bring civil suits even in cases where the statute of limitations has already expired.

Bruce Castor, now second-in-command to Attorney General Kathleen Kane, told the Senate Judiciary Committee that provision would violate the Pennsylvania constitution.

“The General Assembly, in its zeal, cannot overrule a state constitutional right,” Castor said.

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

CANADA
The Telegram

Barb Sweet
Published on June 13, 2016

An expert on canon law testifying for the RC Episcopal Corp. of St. John’s says historical Vatican documentation backs up the Christian Brothers’ autonomy.

Fr. Francis Morrissey, noted for being a canon law professor at St. Paul University, Ottawa, is on the witness stand today in the Mount Cashel civil trial at Newfoundland Supreme Court.

Reviewing documents tracing back to the late 19th and early 20th century, he said the archbishop could not visit and intervene in the internal affairs of the lay order Christian Brothers.

The Brothers, said Morrissey, were granted a special exemption as they spread out beyond Ireland to places that included Newfoundland and the U.S.

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

NEW YORK
Digital Journal

Parker Waichman LLP, a national law firm dedicated to protecting the rights of victims of sexual abuse comments that sexual abuse legislation has led to various bills being proposed in the New York State Assembly and the Senate. The firm applauds the efforts of Assemblywoman Margaret Markey (Democrat-Queens, New York), Senator Brad Hoylman (Democrat-Manhattan) and other advocates pushing for an expanded Child Victims Act (CVD) that would amend the Statutes of Limitations for child sex abuse. New York has one of the shortest windows in the country for seeking justice against alleged child molesters. Under the current law, sexual abuse victims only have until they are 23 years of age to bring either criminal charges or to file a civil lawsuit against alleged sex abusers.

The firm supports advocates looking to change these outdated laws. One bill in the New York State Assembly and another in the Senate are looking to revise the Statute of Limitations for child sex abuse. The goal is to allow victims more time to file a lawsuit against their attackers. Advocates point out that sexual abuse is a traumatic event that often takes many years, even decades, to surface; the current law simply places too short of a deadline on victims.

Parker Waichman comments that the bill has been proposed and is expected to pass the Assembly, given the majority support; the Senate bill still needs a majority sponsor. Additionally, committee meetings are required for a joint bill to be presented to the Governor. The Senate bill includes all claims, including those against government entities. The Assembly bill allows a short, six-month window for victims to file a claim, no matter the age of the claim—nor the age of the alleged victim—and is only for claims against private entities. With hope, a joint bill will be passed that allows victims to seek justice.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
Philly.com

by Maria Panaritis and Angela Couloumbis, STAFF WRITERS

HARRISBURG – The top aide to Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane testified Monday that portions of a bill that could open the door to a new wave of lawsuits by child sex-abuse victims are unconstitutional.

Bruce L. Castor Jr., who Kane hired this year as her solicitor general, told a Senate committee that retroactively extending the statute of limitations for victims to file civil suits over decades-old abuse would violate the state constitution’s so-called remedies clause.

“However righteous the policy goals behind (the bill), the General Assembly in its zeal, cannot overrule a state constitutional right,” said Castor.

Kane appeared before the panel as well, but steered clear from giving her opinion on the legislation’s constitutionality.

Their testimony came during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing that allowed for the Senate’s first public airing of the measure, which would give child sex abuse victims until age 50 to sue their attackers or the institutions that supervised them.

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

DEUTSCHLAND
Main Post

Per Dekret hat Bischof Friedhelm Hofmann dem Ruhestandspfarrer Heinrich M. die Ausübung der priesterlichen Dienste untersagt. Laut Pressemitteilung des Ordinariats Würzburg muss der Geistliche, dem eine Frau sexuellen Missbrauch vorwirft, zudem das von ihm bewohnte Pfarrhaus im Landkreis Bad Kissingen räumen und darf sich nicht mehr in den Pfarreien des Dekanats Bad Kissingen aufhalten.

In dem im März veröffentlichten Bericht des Missbrauchsbeauftragten der Diözese Würzburg wird dieser Vorwurf aufgelistet. Auf Nachfrage bestätigte Professor Klaus Laubenthal damals, dass er im März 2015 von den Beschuldigungen erfahren habe. Demnach soll die Frau von zwischen 1968 und 1973 von dem Priester sexuell missbraucht worden sein. Die Vorfälle hätten sich in einer polnischen Gemeinde im Kreis Oppeln ereignet. Die Frau sei damals „zum Teil minderjährig“ gewesen, so Laubenthal.

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

DEUTSCHLAND
BR

[Würzburg Bishop Friedhelm Hofmann has suspended a priest in Bad Kissingen district and the priest is prohibited from exercise of all priestly services. He has been ordered to vacate the recory. The priest is said to have abused a minor in Poland more than 40 years ago.]

Würzburgs Bischof Friedhelm Hofmann hat einem Ruhestandspfarrer im Landkreis Bad Kissingen die Ausübung aller priesterlichen Dienste untersagt. Außerdem muss der Geistliche das von ihm bewohnte Pfarrhaus räumen. Der Mann soll vor über 40 Jahren in Polen eine Minderjährige missbraucht haben.

Bischof Hofmann hat den Geistlichen aufgefordert, das Dekanat Bad Kissingen zu verlassen. Gegen den Ruhestandspfarrer läuft seit November 2015 eine kirchenrechtliche Voruntersuchung. Ihm wird vorgeworfen, vor mehr als 40 Jahren während seines Wirkens in Polen eine Minderjährige über mehrere Jahre hinweg sexuell missbraucht zu haben.

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

DEUTSCHLAND
kath.net

Bistumssprecher Kronenburg: Der 52-jährige Priester habe einzelne Jugendliche mit häufigen Handynachrichten für Wallfahrten, Besinnungstage oder andere geistliche Angebote gewinnen wollen.

Rheine/Münster (kath.net/KNA) Weil er Jugendlichen zu viele fromme SMS und Whatsapps schickte, ist ein katholischer Geistlicher aus Rheine vom Dienst entpflichtet worden. Bei den elektronischen Nachrichten sei es nicht um sexuelle Inhalte oder strafrechtlich relevante Dinge gegangen, sagte der Sprecher des für den Fall zuständigen Bistums Münster, Stephan Kronenburg, am Montag auf Anfrage. Der 52-jährige Priester habe einzelne Jugendliche mit häufigen Handynachrichten für Wallfahrten, Besinnungstage oder andere geistliche Angebote gewinnen wollen. Die jungen Menschen hätten sich damit «unwohl» gefühlt.

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

DEUTSCHLAND
Soester Anzeiger

Lippetal/Rheine – Pastor Gereon Beese, der 2015 von Lippetal nach Rheine gewechselt war, musste sein Amt als Seelsorger niederlegen. Wie die bischöfliche Pressestelle in Münster in einer Pressemitteilung erklärte, hat Bischof Felix Genn Beese wegen „völlig unangemessenen“ Verhaltens, seines Amtes enthoben.

Beese (52), der seit Sommer 2015 in Rheine tätig war, hatte dem Bistum zufolge mit Jugendlichen Handynummern ausgetauscht und ihnen elektronische Nachrichten geschickt. Diese Mitteilungen seien in Inhalt und Form „völlig unangemessen und unklug für einen Geistlichen“. Darin seien sich die Verantwortlichen im Bistum Münster und in der Kirchengemeinde in Rheine einig. Beese soll nun zur Fortführung und Vollendung einer Therapie in ein Kloster gehen. Das Bistum betonte in seiner Pressemitteilung aber auch, dass es zu keinem Zeitpunkt Erkenntnisse „über etwaige sexuelle Übergriffe“ oder sonstige Vorkommnisse von strafrechtlicher Relevanz gegeben habe.

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

DEUTSCHLAND
Westfalische Nachrichten

[After less than a year in Rheine, Pastor Gereon Beese is relieved of his duties. The Catholic priest is said to have sent youngsters “inappropriate messages”.]

Münster/Rheine –
(Aktualisiert) Nach nicht einmal einem Jahr in Rheine wird Pastor Gereon Beese von seiner Aufgabe entbunden. Der katholische Geistliche soll Jugendlichen „unangemessene Nachrichten“ geschickt haben.

Pastor Gereon Beese, der seit Herbst 2015 in Rheine tätig war, wird mit Wirkung zum 15. Juni von Bischof Felix Genn von seiner Aufgabe entpflichtet. Das wurde am Wochenende in den Gottesdiensten in Rheine bekanntgegeben. Laut Mitteilung der Bischöflichen Pressestelle des Bistums Münster hatte Beese mit Jugendlichen „Handynummern ausgetauscht und ihnen elektronische Nachrichten geschickt, bei denen sich die Verantwortlichen im Bistum Münster und in Rheine einig sind, dass sie in Inhalt und Form völlig unangemessen und unklug für einen Geistlichen sind“, wie es in der Mitteilung heißt. Wegen desselben Verhaltens habe Pastor Beese bereits im April vergangenen Jahres die Pfarrei in Lippetal verlassen müssen. ­Beese soll nun zur „Fortführung und Vollendung seiner Therapie“ in ein Kloster gehen.

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

UNITED STATES
Catholic League

Bill Donohue comments on the victims’ lobby:

The plight of those who have been sexually abused, especially minors, is a condition eminently worthy of our compassion. Unfortunately, many of those who have professionally taken up the cause of these victims are dishonest activists who are not above lying to advance their interests.

Last week, NY Assemblywoman Margaret Markey lied about Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, accusing him of bribery.

In 2012, the director of SNAP, David Clohessy, admitted under oath that he has lied to the press.

In 2011, Terence McKiernan, founder of BishopAccountability, lied when he told a conference that Cardinal Timothy Dolan was protecting 55 priests.

Jeffrey—”I’m suing the s*** out of [the] Catholic Church” Anderson—has lied repeatedly about “smoking guns” that never seem to fire, trying to implicate the Vatican in U.S. abuse cases.

Last month, Yeshiva University lawyer Marci Hamilton lied to the press when she said the bishops pay my salary. She knows full well that the Catholic League is not funded by the bishops.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
PennLive

By Ivey DeJesus | idejesus@pennlive.com

The state’s second highest ranking law official on Monday told members of the state Senate that a proposed bill that would reform the state’s statute of limitations was unconstitutional.

Solicitor General Bruce Castor, in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, said House Bill 1947 would violate the remedies clause in the Pennsylvania Constitution.

“House Bill 1947, if enacted into law in its current form and without amendment will, in our opinion, violate the Remedies Clause of the Pennsylvania Constitution,” Castor said. “Potential defendants, who have had the statute of limitations pass without their being subjected to suit, will rightly claim a vested right in the applicable statute of limitations. Such operates as a total block to liability which the General Assembly, despite surely the very best of intentions, cannot retroactively cure. Without doubt, House Bill 1947 represents a laudable attempt to provide a remedy for a well identified social problem. However righteous the policy goals behind HB 1947, the General Assembly in its zeal, cannot overrule a state constitutional right.”

Attorney General Kathleen Kane testified before a Senate committee on changes to Pennsylvania ‘s state of limitations.

In replying to questions from members of the panel, Castor noted that he thought that the state’s remedies clause was, in his opinion, “no longer needed.” He said the U.S. Constitution provided adequate protection.

In March the Attorney General’s Office released the report of a grand jury investigation into sexual abuse of children by priests in the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese. That grand jury recommended lifting the statute of limitations for sexual offenses against minors and urged the Legislature to suspend the civil statute of limitations on sexual abuse claims.

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

FRANCE
The Tablet (UK)

13 June 2016 | by Tom Heneghan

Cardinal Philippe Barbarin’s decision not to report him to the authorities should play a central role

The appeals court in Lyon has ruled that sexual abuse allegations against a French priest are not covered by the statute of limitations, making it likely the case of Father Bernard Preynat could go to a trial at which Cardinal Philippe Barbarin’s decision not to report him to the authorities should play a central role.

Preynat is under judicial investigation for abusing four boy scouts between 1986 and 1991. He has admitted guilt and said his superiors knew of his activity.

Barbarin, archbishop of Lyon since 2002, was questioned for 10 hours by the police family protection brigade last week about his failure to report Preynat and his decision to remove him from ministry only last year, despite knowing of his case for some time.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
Pennsylvania Catholic Conference

June 13, 2016

The Senate Judiciary Committee today was scheduled to hear from several witnesses on whether House Bill 1947 violates Pennsylvania’s Constitution, which prohibits the General Assembly from retroactively altering statutes of limitations to revive causes of action that have expired.

“I applaud this Committee for its care in developing legislation to protect victims of childhood sexual abuse and striving to do so in a manner that is consistent with the Pennsylvania Constitution,” said attorney Cary Silverman. “Based on my examination of Pennsylvania law, it is my opinion that H.B. 1947, to the extent it would revive time-barred civil claims, violates the Remedies Clause.”

Silverman, a partner at Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP law firm and an adjunct professor at George Washington University Law School, previously testified before state legislatures on bills that would retroactively eliminate or extend a statute of limitations. He was asked by the Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference to closely examine the issue.

“My conclusion is that over 150 years of Pennsylvania law is consistent and unequivocal on this point: reviving a civil claim for which the statute of limitations has run impermissibly interferes with a vested right and violates the Remedies Clause of the Pennsylvania Constitution,” Silverman wrote.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
Newsworks

The Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a public hearing Monday morning on the constitutionality of House Bill 1947, which passed that chamber with an overwhelming majority.

The bill would abolish the criminal statute of limitations for all future crimes of child sexual abuse. It would also give future victims more time to file civil cases by raising the maximum age to do so from 30 to 50.

The bill was introduced after the attorney general’s office released a report in March detailing the cover-up of sexual abuse by more than 50 priests and religious leaders in the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese over several decades.

The committee has not released a list of witnesses to testify at the hearing, but it is clear the bill faces opposition from Catholic organizations around the state, including the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference. Their ire has mainly been drawn by an amendment to the bill from state Rep. Mark Rozzi that would make the change in civil statute retroactive, meaning people now between the ages of 30 and 50 could file suits over childhood abuse.

In an emailed statement, the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference called that measure “blatantly unfair.” It said, due to state law, that it will be easier for people to sue private institutions, such as churches, than public ones.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
PennLive

By Ivey DeJesus | idejesus@pennlive.com

Armed with posters bearing photos of their children – many of whom have taken their lives – advocates for child sex abuse victims on Monday rallied on the steps of the Capitol to call on lawmakers to push through a bill that would reform child sex crime laws.

Leading the rally, Marci Hamilton, a constitutional law expert and statute of limitations expert, said the effort to reform the law was about the victims.

“This is just about the civil rights of children,” Hamilton said, about an hour before the Senate Judiciary Committee was slated to hold a hearing on the legal aspects of House Bill 1947, which would amend the statute of limitations.

Advocates know that in order for the law to change the bill must survive the scrutiny of the judiciary committee.

John Salveson, president of the Foundation to Abolish Child Sex Abuse, said his attendance at the rally – and the hearing – was a culmination of a lifetime effort to bring justice on the priest who abused him as a child.

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

GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Gaynor Dumat-ol Daleno, gdumat-ol@guampdn.com June 13, 2016

Guam’s Catholic church leadership is now reconsidering whether the “Concerned Catholics of Guam” is a prohibited group, as stated earlier this month in a decree by Archbishop Anthony Apuron.

The interim leadership at the Archdiocese of Agana has removed from its website Apuron’s June 5th decree banning the Concerned Catholics of Guam and forbidding island Catholics from associating with the whistleblower group.

That decree has been placed under review, according to a statement released Monday from Father Tadeusz Jan Nowak, who is assisting Archbishop Savio Tai Fai Hon in the temporary administration of the Archdiocese of Agana, while Apuron is on leave.

Apuron stated his decree would take effect on June 14, but the archdiocesan leadership has placed it under review.

Apuron issued the decree on June 5, the eve of the Vatican’s announcement that Apuron’s administrative authority has been suspended following recent public accusations that he sexually abused young altar boys when he was a parish priest in Agat village.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
Foundation to Abolish Child Sexual Abuse

For Immediate Release

June 13, 2016

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

BRYN MAWR, PA – John Salveson, President of FACSA (Foundation to Abolish Child Sex Abuse) made the following statement at the SOL Reform/Revival Rally on June 13, 2016 on the steps of the Pennsylvania State Capitol.

“My name is John Salveson. I am a clergy sex abuse survivor and the President of the Foundation to Abolish Child Sex Abuse.

I am here this morning to send a very simple message. It is a message I first sent in February of 1980 in a letter to the Bishop of Rockville Centre, John McGann telling him of my abuse at the hands of a priest and alerting him to the presence of a sexual predator in his diocese. I told Bishop McGann I was contacting him for one reason – to protect other children from sexual abuse. That letter began a nine year battle to have Father Robert Huneke removed from contact with children in parishes and schools.

During those nine years the bishop ignored me, scolded me, manipulated me and lied to me – all while continuing to move Father Huneke from parish to parish and school to school.

Here I stand, 36 years later, among my fellow survivors and advocates.

The playbook of the Catholic Church hasn’t changed much. We continue to be ignored, scolded, manipulated and lied to. And Grand Jury Reports tell us that the Catholic Church continues to protect predators and child rapists, moving them from parish to parish and school to school, where they find new children to prey upon.

We all know that the problem of child sex abuse is not entirely a problem of the Roman Catholic Church. Kids are abused mostly by family members and family friends, as well as by teachers, coaches, scout leaders and anyone else who holds a position of trust in their lives.

But the reason I am speaking about the Catholic Church, as represented by the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, is because they are the ones hell bent on killing HB 1947 and denying child sex abuse survivors a modicum of justice. They are cranking out misinformation 24/7 about constitutionality, sovereign immunity, bankruptcy, parish closings and anything else they can think of.

They have spent over $2 million on their campaign by some reports. They are shameless, cowardly, delusional people who think they can convince their parishioners that they are the true victims, that they are being unfairly singled out and that they shouldn’t be held accountable for their decades of criminal, calculated, immoral behavior.

Our elected representatives in the House saw though this charade and voted overwhelmingly to approve HB 1947.

Now the fight goes to the Senate. We will soon learn if our Senate Leaders have the courage to stand up for children and the judgement to see through the insulting, misleading, manipulative campaign being under taken by those who oppose HB 1947.

We are watching them and hoping with all of our hearts that they choose victims over predators, the truth over lies and integrity over fear. We are not going away, and we will never give up until every survivor of child sex abuse has a chance for justice and healing.”

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

GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Jun 13, 2016

By Krystal Paco

While Archbishop Anthony Apuron has been placed on leave, he’s been appointed by the Vatican to run the show. Guam’s interim archbishop has his first run-in with church protestors over the weekend.

They weren’t dressed in their Sunday best – instead, dozens of the island’s faithful came to church to protest for Archbishop Anthony Apuron to resign.

“Pray for us…pray for us…pray for us,” was the chant emanating from scores of islands Catholics. Among them, one of Apuron’s most recent accusers: Walter Denton. Denton alleges he was an altar boy at Mount Carmel Church in Agat when he was raped by then-Father Anthony Apuron. Denton is the fourth individual to publicly accuse Apuron.

He joins Roy Quintanilla and Doris Concepcion whose son, Joseph “Sonny” Quinata, was on his deathbed when he alleged Apuron molested him. Two years ago, John Toves also came forward alleging Apuron molested his cousin. Because the victim never surfaced, the archdiocese never investigated.

Amid the recent allegations, the Vatican placed Apuron on leave last week and appointed apostolic administrator Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-Fai to carry out archdiocese business. Hon addressed the protestors and invited them in to celebrate mass. One protestor announced, “We want to welcome you archbishop – you are sent from Rome and we trust your presence here.” Hon replied, saying, “We all here are doing the will of God. We are His instruments. All of you, including myself.” The protestor maintained, “We hope you also listen to us and hear our message.”

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

GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Jun 13, 2016

By Sabrina Salas Matanane

Tomorrow is the deadline imposed by Archbishop Anthony Apuron for local Catholics to cease any contact with the Concerned Catholics of Guam group. Just prior to the Pope’s appointment of Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-Fai as the Apostolic Administrator, Apuron issued a decree proclaiming the group a prohibited society and accused the CCOG of promoting, instigating and soliciting malicious allegations against him. Fr. Nowak confirms the decree has since been removed from the Archdiocese website and is under review.

Meanwhile, since last week KUAM has been requesting for an interview with the Apostolic Administrator, Fr. Nowak responded saying Archbishop Hon is not prepared to give interviews at this time. He needs time as he continues to gather information on the current situation of the Archdiocese.

Archbishop Hon asks for understanding and will address the media in due time.

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

AUSTRALIA
Daily Examiner

Tim Howard | 13th Jun 2016

A WOMAN who was sexually abused by a former Bishop of Grafton for 40 years, says an official apology from the Diocese has left her feeling stronger and able to manage her pain.

Beth Heinrich, sat in the congregation at Christ Church Anglican Cathedral on Sunday morning to hear the Bishop of Grafton, the Very Reverend Sarah Macneil apologise for the “reprehensible” conduct of her predecessor Donald Shearman.

Shearman was defrocked in 2004 when a church inquiry and tribunal uncovered a sex scandal involving him and Ms Heinrich going back to the mid-1950s.

Those same findings also led to the resignation of the Governor-General of Australia, Peter Hollingworth, for his efforts in attempting to cover up the scandal.

Ms Heinrich hoped her example would encourage others to seek justice.

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

UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian

Sandra Laville
Sunday 12 June 2016

Men and women transported to Australia and Canada in the child migrant programme are being encouraged to give evidence about the sexual abuse they suffered to Britain’s public inquiry into historic and ongoing child abuse.

The Goddard inquiry, set up in 2014 to examine the abuse of children in public and private institutions, is urging those who may have been victims before and after being removed from the country to come forward as a priority.

Judge Lowell Goddard is fast-tracking her investigation into the sexual abuse of child migrants from the UK because of the advanced age and possible ill-health of those who are still alive. A preliminary hearing will take place in July.

They were part of a programme that saw up to 150,000 children aged three and over taken from their families and transported to Australia, Canada and other Commonwealth countries between 1920 and 1970. A parliamentary report in 1998 said the abuse suffered by some of those in Australia was widespread, systematic and exceptionally depraved.

Frances Swaine, a lawyer from Leigh Day, who has worked with child migrants for many years, said: “It is hugely important that the Goddard inquiry is looking at this. Thousands of child migrants suffered sexual abuse. They have never had their voices heard in a judicial setting in the UK.”

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

PENNSYLVANIA
Pocono Record

By Iain Oldman
PublicSource

Posted Jun. 12, 2016

When the Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee meets later this month to consider a bill that would extend the statute of limitations on some child sex abuse crimes, a portion of the Pennsylvania business community will be there to lobby against it.

Six of Pennsylvania’s largest business organizations are opposing House Bill 1947 for the precedent it sets in making changes to the statute of limitations, particularly on civil cases.

According to a PennLive story, the organizations lobbying against the bill are the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania; the Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania; the Pennsylvania Business Council; the Pennsylvania National Federation of Independent Businesses; the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association; and the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry.

In a joint letter to House lawmakers in March, the business coalition wrote: “Retroactively extending the statute of limitations is a dangerous precedent for any business that manufactures, sells, stores or transports any kind of product, as well as for any institution that is an insurer or creditor of any such business.”

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

NEW YORK
New York Daily News

KENNETH LOVETT
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Sunday, June 12, 2016

ALBANY — Advocate opposition to an Assembly bill making it easier for child sex abuse survivors to seek justice may be the final nail in the coffin on the issue this year, legislative insiders say.

Assembly Democrats introduced a bill last week they believe holds the most promise of passing the chamber. The bill would extend the statute of limitations to bring a case to a victim’s 28th birthday, up from 23.

It would also open a six-month window to revive old cases and treat public and private institutions equally when it comes to dealing with sex abuse cases.

But advocates were quick to trash the bill for not going far enough. They want the statute of limitations eliminated or greatly extended.

That could spell doom since it’s unlikely the Senate Republicans would accept a bill that goes further than the Assembly proposal.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
PennLive

By Ivey DeJesus | idejesus@pennlive.com

Advocates of child sex abuse victims are calling it their now-or-never moment.

On Monday, a bill they say would widely tip the scale of justice in favor of victims of sexual abuse and away from predators goes before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

At stake is the future of House Bill 1947, which would amend the civil statute of limitations and eliminate all criminal statutes on future child sex crimes. The bill would also give past victims of sex abuse the opportunity to file civil claims against predators.

Monday’s hearing before the judiciary committee, the first since the bill’s passage in the House in April, is slated to focus on arguments of the bill’s constitutionality.

“We have a moment when the survivors need to make a point – that this is all about survivors from all categories,” said Marci Hamilton, a constitutional law expert and a leading expert on statute of limitations reform. “It’s really time for Pennsylvania to do the right thing.”

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

PENNSYLVANIA
Reading Eagle

By Liam Migdail-Smith

State Rep. Nick Miccarelli said he’s developed a thick skin as a lawmaker.

But the Delaware County Republican said that didn’t prepare him for what he saw last week in the weekly bulletin of the church where he faithfully attends Mass and confesses his sins.

The blurb was amid routine notices: “State Representative Miccarelli voted in favor of House Bill 1947 which states that private institutions can be sued as far as 40 years ago for millions of dollars, while public institutions may not be sued for any crimes committed in the past.”

“I was baffled at first,” Miccarelli said. “And then I was upset.”

In addition to giving an overly simplified (and factually inaccurate) account of the bill he backed to support victims of child sexual abuse, he said, the notice came without warning. He said he heard similar stories from other Catholic lawmakers who had supported the measure.

In a lengthy Facebook post, Miccarelli fired back.

“To explain to the citizens of my district that I bear no ill will toward the Church I belong to, is something that I never thought I would have to do,” he wrote. “Frankly, I would much rather be chastised from the altar, than to be damned for not allowing justice to be done.”

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

GUAM
Pacific Daily News

http://datadana.com/timelinearch/ – Divided Archdiocese

Questions about the leadership of Guam’s Catholic church reached a tipping point June 6, when Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Savio Tai Fai Hon to temporarily run the local archdiocese. While the move comes shortly after Archbishop Anthony Apuron was accused of sexually abusing altar boys in the 1970s, the local church and Apuron have been battling public dissent for many years. Here are some of the key events:

October 2009: Vice Speaker Benjamin Cruz states he was repeatedly sexually assaulted by a priest in California when he was 13, and said he knows of “pedophile priests” in the Guam archdiocese. Cruz stated the allegations publicly after Archbishop Apuron lobbied against Cruz’s bill to allow for same-sex marriage. Cruz called Apuron’s opposition “hypocritical.” Apuron stated, “Unfortunately, sins committed by individuals from every walk of life bear consequences that are painful and should be prevented.”

February 2011: The Archdiocese of Agana tries to stop a proposed law that would eliminate the statute of limitations and open a two-year window for those who were sexually assaulted as children to sue their attackers. The archdiocese, which argues the bill targets the church, asks the governor to veto the bill, and Archbishop Apuron speaks to the governor and several lawmakers about his opposition. The bill becomes law.

July 2013: Archbishop Apuron removes the Rev. Paul Gofigan as pastor of Santa Barbara Church in Dededo, stating Gofigan failed to terminate the employment of a known sex offender. Gofigan, in January 2014, threatens to file a defamation suit, saying Apuron slandered him.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
Reading Eagle

By Liam Migdail-Smith

The battle over legislation to give child sex-abuse victims more time to pursue claims in court is reaching a boiling point.

A key Senate committee is scheduled to review the measure today.

Child abuse survivors and their advocates have fought for years to extend time limits for criminal charges and lawsuits against abusers and those who shield them. The legislation has gained traction in Harrisburg for the first time in a decade, passing the state House with overwhelming bipartisan support in April.

But state Rep. Mark Rozzi, a Muhlenberg Township Democrat, said Friday that he fears the Senate will block or water down the measure amid fierce opposition and intense lobbying from the Catholic Church.

Rozzi, who was sexually abused by a priest when he was a child, has led the effort to extend the statutes of limitation.

After the measure cleared the state House, Catholic Church leaders launched a full-court press aimed at defeating the bill.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
The Morning Call

Steve Esack
Contact Reporter

HARRISBURG — From the pulpits of Catholic churches to the platforms of social media, emotions are running high over a bill that would make it harder for some child sex abusers — and employers who protect them — to escape criminal and civil penalties.

During Sunday Masses in the Philadelphia Archdiocese and elsewhere Catholic priests, at the behest of their bishops, have denounced the bill and the state lawmakers who supported it.

The bill’s supporters, including legislators who have felt the clerics’ wrath, have accused the church of spreading falsehoods that the bill would financially cripple the church while leaving public institutions unscathed if they protect and harbor child molesters.

On Monday, the two sides will face off in the state Capitol. Child sex-abuse advocates are planning a rally before a 10 a.m. Senate hearing on the bill in which Attorney General Kathleen Kane and her solicitor general, Bruce Castor, are to speak and testify.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
Philly.com

by Maria Panaritis, Staff Writer

As he prepares to convene a hearing Monday that could shape the fate of a controversial measure to let Pennsylvania child-sex abuse victims sue over decades-old attacks, Sen. Stewart Greenleaf (R., Montgomery) has declined to publicly take a position on the bill.

But the law firm that bears his name has not always been so reserved.

In 2008, records show, lawyers for the firm, Elliott Greenleaf, were among advocates who unsuccessfully argued that a similar proposal under consideration in Delaware was unconstitutional. Firm lawyers at the time represented Norbertine Fathers Inc., a Catholic order sued by abuse victims.

Greenleaf didn’t personally handle the suit – his namesake firm has about 50 lawyers in Pennsylvania and Delaware – and there’s no record indicating the extent of his role.

But the case adds another subtext as the Senate Judiciary Committee chaired by Greenleaf gathers Monday to weigh the constitutionality of the similar bill in Pennsylvania, one staunchly opposed by the Catholic church. Supporters of the measure, approved in the House by a wide margin in April, have predicted that the Senate will use the constitutionality question to dilute or defeat the bill.

Among the expected witnesses is Solicitor General Bruce L. Castor Jr., a former partner at Greenleaf’s firm, who Capitol sources say plans to testify that the legislation would be unconstitutional.

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

AUSTRALIA
Wellington Times

ANYONE affected by child sexual abuse at schools, churches or sporting groups is urged to attend Tuesday’s Royal Commission public forum (SUBS-TUES) in Bathurst.

This will be the only public forum in the region for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

The forum is open to individuals, community groups and service providers and will give people the chance to find out more about the commission’s work or register to share their story with a Royal Commission officer.

“The issue of child sexual abuse may be a confronting topic for many people,” Relationships Australia Bathurst branch manager Leona Bishop said.

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

GUAM
Guam Daily Post

Louella Losinio | Post News Staff

Just before the 9:30 a.m. Mass yesterday, protesters converged in front of the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica in Hagåtña calling for the resignation of Archbishop Anthony Apuron.

The group – while holding signs welcoming the new apostolic administrator – also urged Apuron to step down. The protest was peaceful and the protesters just prayed and sang religious hymns.

Lou Klitzkie, a member of the Laity Forward Movement, said: “We are here today because we want Archbishop Apuron to resign.”

In the past, the movement had organized several silent protests outside the cathedral, one of which took place Jan. 31. The group had publicly opposed decisions made by Apuron. Klitzkie reiterated the concerns made by the group.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
The Altoona Mirror

June 12, 2016

By Russ O’Reilly ( roreilly@altoonamirror.com) ,The Altoona Mirror

Two religious leaders with roles in the Altoona-Johnstown diocese’s landmark school consolidation set for this fall are banned from high schools where they formerly served.

Sister Donna Marie Leiden, the diocese’s education director, is not welcome at Bishop McCort Catholic High School, where she served as principal during the same time as two child molesters.

“The Bishop McCort Board of Trustees conveyed to the diocese that Sister Donna is not welcome at Bishop McCort,” Bishop McCort Principal Tom Fleming confirmed.

Leiden on Wednesday declined an invitation for an interview with the Mirror regarding her status with McCort and the misbehavior of employees during her tenure as principal from 1997 to 2006.

In addition, the recent social media activity of the Rev. Brian Saylor – pastor of the diocese’s new middle school set to serve all of the diocese’s middle school children in the Altoona area this fall – was investigated by Altoona police this spring upon the request of Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic High School administrators.

The diocese has given no indication that his role has changed as pastor, but he is not allowed at BG.

Saylor has declined to comment until he gets permission from the diocese, and diocese spokesman Tony DeGol refused to discuss Saylor’s status.

“I have nothing to say,” DeGol said.

Leiden was principal when Brother Stephen Baker preyed on McCort students and another teacher and deacon absconded to Canada with a female student.

Allegations of Baker’s abuse during Leiden’s tenure as principal surfaced in 2013 and were followed by the diocese’s $8 million settlement with 88 victims from McCort.

Last summer, Bishop Mark L. Bartchak cited money problems for parishes in the diocese. With Leiden as his education director, he planned a sweeping consolidation of parochial schools.

Simultaneously, the Office of the Attorney General investigators, spurred by allegations against Baker, obtained a warrant to take records from the diocesan offices.

The final report revealed Bartchak’s predecessor, Bishop Joseph Adamec, had been paying victims of priests. Victims appeared before the diocese’s Allegation Review Board without attorneys, the report said.

The grand jury report issued March 1 details the abuse of dozens of priests over decades. It makes no direct mention of Leiden, but she was principal of Bishop McCort under Adamec’s tenure, when Baker and another teacher, Tom Lemmon, had inappropriate contact with McCort students.

Both men allegedly openly groomed victims at McCort, according to grand jury documents and attorneys of victims.

Adamec prohibited a former McCort principal, William Rushin, from firing Lemmon – who was studying to be a deacon, the grand jury report states.

Rushin “had observed Lemmon having contact with female students that seemed unprofessional,” the report states.

Rushin resigned in 1997 and was succeeded by Leiden. Lemmon went to Canada with a female student and committed suicide in 2003 during Leiden’s tenure at McCort.

It’s not clear whether Leiden saw Lemmon’s fraternizing with female students as plainly as Rushin saw it. The report includes no testimony from Leiden about Lemmon or Baker.

Baker, a McCort teacher and athletic trainer, allegedly displayed inappropriate behavior openly in the years Leiden was principal.

Baker took his own life in 2013 amid allegations.

Attorney Richard Serbin, representing victims of Baker, said he was “shocked” at the grand jury report.

“Frankly, I was surprised grand jury did not find culpable conduct on part of school officials – simply by fact it was well known Baker was engaging in inappropriate conduct,” he said. “Many of the young people I represented said it was not unusual for Baker to be massaging students in class, openly.”

He added, “Obviously this was inappropriate conduct and part of the grooming process.”

Serbin said all of his clients were at Bishop McCort during Leiden’s tenure as principal.

The attorney general’s investigators found no “conclusive evidence that Bishop McCort administrators were aware of Baker’s history or his sexually assaultive conduct,” according to the grand jury report.

At Bishop Guilfoyle, President Joe Adams requested police investigate the social media activity of Saylor, a trustee at the school and former teacher.

Though Altoona police found no criminal element in Saylor’s social media activity, he is not welcome at BG.

“When we talk about making students feel safe,” Adams said, “We (Guilfoyle board) aren’t blowing smoke.”

Saylor, however, remains a member of the school’s board of trustees and is involved with the diocese’s youth summer camp.

Parents have been waiting for weeks for Bartchak to make a statement about Saylor’s status, said John Swope, a parent of a student in the diocese’s parochial school system.

“If there is nothing to it, then let’s not have a problem. The diocese should come out and put a stop to it. Don’t let this guy hang, twisting in the wind,” Swope said.

But if there is something to it, then Bartchak’s silence is worse, Swope said.

“As a parent, you are concerned for your kids,” Swope said. “I know nothing of Father Saylor. He seems like a nice enough guy.”

Speaking generally, Adams said adults of the school may set up a professional social media account to communicate with students, but adults affiliated with the school are prohibited from contacting students on a personal social media account that may include interests from their personal lives.

“We have a social media policy in place that teachers and priests are expected to follow,” Adams said.

The schools that banned Leiden and Saylor are currently independent of the diocese and its bishop.

However, Bartchak is a member of the board of trustees for both schools, and as a trustee, Bartchak was party to the decision to ban Saylor, Adams said.

Bartchak’s silence about Saylor and his keeping Leiden as diocese education director disturbs Catholic businessman George Foster of Hollidaysburg, an outspoken critic of the diocese.

Foster said he has met with Bartchak and has written a follow-up letter to Bartchak asking him to remove Leiden.

“Why would you have a director of education who is not welcome in our own high schools?” his letter states.

Regarding Saylor, Foster wrote: “In light of all that has transpired in this diocese, Saylor’s incident seems minor, but he is the pastor of the new school system and often the priest at the kids’ summer camp. The high school took immediate action for the safety of our kids. But we have no assurances from your office.”

Foster added in his letter to Bartchak: “Your silence is deafening.”

Mirror Staff Writer Russ O’Reilly is at 946-7435.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
Lancaster Online

LINDA CROCKETT | SPECIAL TO LNP

On June 2, a letter signed by nearly 100 Christian religious leaders from various traditions was delivered to members of the Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee.

The letter called for the reform of our civil and criminal statutes of limitation in child sexual abuse cases and specifically for passage of state House Bill 1947.

In my work with Samaritan SafeChurch, I connect with leaders of faith communities across the state. Many are troubled that the public narrative has been that “the church” opposes reform.

While the Roman Catholic Church has indeed poured significant resources into blocking reform in Pennsylvania and elsewhere, it does not represent the full spectrum of churches, which includes various denominations, affiliations and theological understandings.

SafeChurch — along with the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape and other organizations — encouraged religious leaders to use the opportunity presented by the letter to counter this narrative.

I am moved by the numerous clergy from Lancaster County who stood up for justice for survivors, for protection of children and for accountability for not just those who harm but for the institutions that cover up sexual abuse.

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

GUAM
Pacific Daily News

Jojo Santo Tomas, jsantotoma@guampdn.com June 13, 2016

Some of Guam’s churchgoers say their faith remains unchanged despite recent controversies surrounding Guam’s Catholic church.

Archbishop Anthony Apuron faces accusations of rape and molestation in the 1970s, recently made public by multiple accusers now in their 50s.

Apuron has said that he is innocent, and is the victim of a smear campaign. He has not been charged with any crime.

Pope Francis recently appointed another archbishop, Savio Tai Fai Hon, to oversee Guam’s Catholic church while the allegations are investigated. Apuron currently remains Guam’s archbishop.

For the morning Masses, Hagåtña traffic and parking was as normal as any Sunday except from about 8:30 to 10 a.m. at the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica. Parishioners attending the 9 a.m. services were greeted by about 50 protesters calling for Apuron’s resignation. The protesters held signs and softly sang before they dispersed right after Hon acknowledged them at the front of the Cathedral steps. Protesters murmured their thanks at his arrival, and one man went to kiss Hon’s hand.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
PhillyVoice

BY DANIEL CRAIG
PhillyVoice Staff

A Philadelphia city councilman of the Catholic faith made it a point to comment on the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s efforts to push back against a piece of legislation meant to extend legal rights to child victims of sexual abuse.

On Thursday, Councilman-At-Large Bill Greenlee said a recent report about some Catholic state legislators being called out by their local parishes for supporting the bill made “the few hairs still on my head stand up.”

House Bill 1947 would allow people who claim they were sexually abused as kids to bring civil lawsuits until they turn 50, up from the current age limit of 30, and would prevent institutions from claiming immunity if they are found to have acted in gross negligence. It passed the House by a vote of 180-15 in April and now awaits Senate action.

This week, the Associated Press reported that several state representatives were essentially shamed by their churches because of their vote. Some say they were called out directly by their priests or in their church bulletins.

Greenlee said the report reminded him of the 2015 movie “Spotlight,” a film about The Boston Globe’s coverage of rampant child sex abuse in the Archdiocese of Boston.

More specifically, Greenlee said the story reminded him of the scene in the film where Mark Ruffalo, portraying journalist Michael Rezendes, says the abuse could have happened to any of his colleagues who grew up as members of the church.

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

GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Jun 11, 2016

By Krystal Paco

A Vigil Prayer Service for Unity was held at the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica on Saturday night. For the first time since his arrival on Wednesday, Guam’s newly appointed Apostolic Administrator Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai addressed issues in the local Catholic Church involving child sex abuse. Archbishop Hon acknowledged there may be those suffering as a result of the accusations and asks the church to approach the issues in a climate of serenity and pray for unity.

He also made mention of Pope Francis’ announcement over the weekend that lays down the law when it comes to Catholic bishops who turn a blind eye to child sex abuse allegations. The apostolic letter, in the form of a Motu Propiu, affirms that the Church, like a loving mother, loves all her children, but treats and protects with special affection the smallest and most helpless.

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

GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Jun 11, 2016

By Sabrina Salas Matanane

The Pope may have appointed an Apostolic Administrator to temporarily oversee the Archdiocese of Agana, but concerned Catholics continue to push for the removal of Archbishop Anthony Apuron.

Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai was appointed Monday night to oversee the local diocese amid sex abuse allegations against Apuron and other issues involving the local church.

Dozens of concerned Catholics stood and marched outside the Cathedral in Hagatna this morning including Walter Denton and John Toves. Denton accused Archbishop Apuron of raping him when he was 13-years-old. Denton was an altar boy at the time at Mt. Carmel church in Agat where Apuron was a priest. In August 2015 Denton lodged an official complaint with the Vatican. Toves in 2014 alleged his cousin, when he was a seminarian several years ago, was sexually abused by the Archbishop. His cousin however never came forward and the Archdiocese therefore did not investigate the claim.

In recent weeks two other people came forward making sex abuse allegations against Apuron which he has vehemently denied. Archbishop Apuron has responded that he is the victim of a malicious smear campaign because he had uncovered financial discrepancies within the Archdiocese and was cleaning up the Church.

Concerned Catholics protesting outside the Cathedral this morning say that although they accept Archbishop Savio’s call to restore peace, harmony and unity they still want Archbishop Apuron to resign or be removed. The Pope appointed Archbishop Savio “sede plena” which means that Archbishop Apuron keeps his title but must fully comply with the Apostolic Administration. In a media release the concerned Catholics believe that because Apuron continues to cling to his title he may continue to “wield some kind of influence on the lives of us Catholics here”.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
Daily Times

I’m a lawyer, as the words at the end of this column signal to the eagle-eyed reader. I’m proud of my profession, of its capacity to craft some semblance of justice for victims, and of its overriding goal of order and equity. One of my favorite quotes is spoken by Thomas More in “A Man For All Seasons” when he tries to explain to an incredulous man named Roper why laws are necessary, even when they end up protecting the guilty: “When the last law was down, and the Devil turned ‘round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man’s laws not God’s. And if you cut them down, and you’re just the man to do it, do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I’d give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety’s sake.”

I’m beginning to think that the Pennsylvania Legislature is taking its lead from Roper, the man who wanted to abolish those evil laws that, in some unfortunate but necessary instances, protect the criminals among us. Of course, the members don’t feel that way at all. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Last month, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed, by a very wide margin, House Bill 1947, which is ostensibly designed to make it easier for the victims of sexual abuse to obtain justice. The exact parameters of that justice are translated into both penal and monetary terms, with provisions that eliminate the statute of limitations for prosecuting abusers at the criminal end, and that extend the window in which victims can sue for money damages at the civil end. Like Roper in “A Man For All Seasons,” the representatives seem to believe that statutes of limitations are bad things, legal obstacles to a true and tangible justice that can be deposited in a bank account.

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

MALAYSIA
Straits Times

Shannon Teoh Malaysia Bureau Chief In Kuala Lumpur

The rows of longhouses where the crimes took place are located near Taman Tun Dr Ismail, an upscale suburb less than 15km from downtown Kuala Lumpur.

It was in one of these dwellings that Briton Richard Huckle lived for over a year, separated by thin wooden walls from his victims who ranged in age from just six months to 13 years old.

The longhouses are provided by the Kuala Lumpur city council for blue-collar families, with each longhouse consisting of several family homes. It is a far cry from the neat bungalows and posh condos at Taman Tun Dr Ismail but, then again, in Malaysia as in much of the Third World, the rich and the poor often live side by side.

Huckle, 30, sexually abused 23 Malaysian children repeatedly, with British investigators saying there could have been up to 200 child victims during the nine years he spent around Kuala Lumpur’s suburbs.

Since news of his crimes broke last week, revulsion and deep anger have gripped many Malaysians.

Sky News reported on Huckle’s blog hidden on the dark Web – an encrypted part of the Internet often used for illegal activities.

“It’s not often in child porn that you can compare the bodies of a five-year-old and a 12-year-old that are the same girl,” he wrote.

“I’m sure I’ll have plenty more sex with (her) in the future… I hope, from the images you have seen, (you) enjoyed watching her grow.”

According to investigation papers seen by The Sunday Times, Huckle targeted vulnerable communities which were “extremely trustworthy, naive, close-knit, religious and poorly educated”.

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

WEST VIRGINIA
The Daily Beast

Brandy Zadrozny

Blue Creek Academy was an abusive hell on earth, former students say—and the principal who ran it is now heading up a new Bible school in another state.

Jacob* dressed himself in a camouflage jacket and a matching beanie on the summer morning he ran away into the West Virginia hills. At 14 years old, he was one of the youngest, smallest, and longest-attending students at Blue Creek Academy, a religious reform school for boys from which he was desperate to escape.

Blue Creek Academy was made up of an old schoolhouse and several cabins situated on a remote campground in central West Virginia. A mission of the nearby Independent Fundamental Baptist church, pastor James Waldeck advertised Blue Creek as an “alternative to today’s degenerate, secular culture and education methods,” and took in boys who had been in trouble at home—both locally and from as far away as Texas—to be reformed. Its principal, 35-year-old JR Thompson, had reopened the church’s campgrounds in 2010, renamed it Blue Creek Academy, and marketed the boarding school, which he ran with his wife, Hannah, as a godly answer for “at-risk” teens with emotional and behavioral disabilities and Christian parents with $1,000 a month to spend on their salvation.

“We can’t wait to watch God move as he helps us snatch troubled souls out of Satan’s hand,” Thompson wrote on the school’s now-defunct website.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
Tribune-Democrat

The pope’s approval of procedures for ousting bishops who fail to take steps to protect children from abusive priests is a delayed reaction to a crisis – but a step we welcome nevertheless.

Now the pope’s archbishops and the state Senate should join Francis in taking the fate of children more seriously.

A bill that would eliminate the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse has passed the state House and awaits a vote in the Senate. The bill would treat future child sexual abuse cases like murder cases – that there is no deadline for when criminal charges may be filed.

The bill would also extend the deadline for filing civil action from age 30 to age 50 for victims who could have been violated decades before.

The legislation was sparked by outrage over the report in February that said more than 50 priests and religious leaders in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown had sexually abused hundreds of children over many years – and that two bishops, the late James Hogan and the retired Joseph Adamec – had moved the offenders from parish to parish and even paid off families to keep the abuse quiet.

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

AUSTRALIA
Daily Examiner

Tim Howard | 12th Jun 2016

THE Bishop of Grafton Sarah Macneil has described her apology to a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of a predecessor as an “attempt to right an ancient wrong”.

Rev Macneil apologised to Beth Heinrich, during her sermon at the 8am service in Christ Church Cathedral this morning.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
The Mercury

By Kathleen E. Carey, kcarey@21st-centurymedia.com, @dtbusiness on Twitter
POSTED: 06/12/16

In its efforts to squash a bill allowing victims of sexual abuse more time to seek civil recourse, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia has launched a campaign that some state representatives say includes lies, misinformation and threats.

The church maintains this legislation could have devastating”impacts on parishes and services as it encourages parishioners to lobby against HB 1947, extending the time an abuse victim can file a civil suit from when they turn 30 years old to 50 years old and removing immunity for organizations found to be grossly negligent.

In a fact sheet distributed at churches regarding the bill last weekend, the archdiocese states the church does not oppose the elimination of the criminal statute of limitations, but it does the civil component due to a lower standard of proof and the impact it would have on the archdiocese.

The bill passed the House of Representatives by a 180-15 vote in April and the state Senate Judiciary Committee plans to hold a hearing on the matter Monday. At that hearing state Attorney General Kathleen Kane is expected to make a statement, and state Solicitor General Bruce L. Castor Jr. will testify.

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

IRELAND
Church Militant

By Anthony Murphy

Last week I spoke to an Irish bishop about the latest scandal to hit St. Patrick’s seminary in Maynooth. While he himself did not want to go on the record, he did acknowledge that the Irish bishops were aware of some of the concerns about the seminary but were unable to act because the complaints made by seminarians were always anonymous. Is he serious? Does he really expect anything other than an anonymous complaint?

To understand the fear of speaking out openly and why seminarians chose to suffer in silence we first need to visit the Gulag.

Lessons From the Gulag

There is a story told by that great Russian writer and Nobel laureate, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, in his book “The Gulag Archipelago,” about a gathering which was held in 1938 in honor of Stalin. At this gathering there were many speeches. Stalin was not even in the room, but every time his name was mentioned in a speech, the people rose to their feet with thunderous applause. At the end of the evening, there was a call for one more cheer in honor of Stalin. Solzhenitsyn writes, “For three minutes, four minutes, five minutes, the stormy applause, rising to an ovation, continued.”

Who would be the first to stop clapping? Nobody dared — there were guards from the NKVD all around the room keeping an eye out for those who might not be “real” supporters. Thus the applause continued. Solzhenitsyn goes on to say, “It was becoming insufferably silly, even to those who really adored Stalin.” The applause went on, continuing for six, seven, eight minutes. “They were done for! Their goose was cooked! They couldn’t stop now till they collapsed with heart attacks.”

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

NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand Herald

The Government is being asked to investigate alleged abuse within the Catholic Church, to give closure to survivors before they die.

Peter Hercock, a former chaplin at Sacred Heart College in Lower Hutt, has admitted two charges of rape, one of attempted rape and four of indecently assaulting a girl aged between 12 and 16.

He was last month sentenced to six years and seven months in jail, four decades after his offending began.

One of his victims, Ann-Marie Shelley, 60, is calling on the Government to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry into sexual abuse in the New Zealand Catholic Church.

It follows a Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse in Australia, which has looked into child sex abuse reported in the Victorian city of Ballarat.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
Raw Story

BETHANIA PALMA MARKUS
11 JUN 2016

Advocates for clergy sex abuse victims in Pennsylvania are claiming that lobbying and intimidation tactics by the Roman Catholic Church will result in lawmakers either diluting or defeating a bill that would let victims sue for crimes that occurred decades ago, Philly.com reports Saturday.

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Mark Rozzi, a Democrat who is himself a victim of clergy abuse.

“It looks like they’re going to remove my amendment,” Rozzi told Philly.com. “Victims, oh my God, they’re going to be devastated.”

The bill, if passed, would allow victims as old as 50 to sue attackers and their employers for violations that occurred as far back as the 1970s. Currently, victims have 12 years to pursue the matter after turning 18. After the age of 30, the statute of limitations prevents them from legal action. Rozzi hopes to give victims more time.

Sources told Philly.com that Solicitor General Bruce L. Castor Jr. is planning to testify Monday in front of the Senate that the legislation is unconstitutional, giving lawmakers an excuse to back away from supporting it. As solicitor general, Castor has the power to make legal calls for the state attorney general’s office.

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

NEW YORK
New York Daily News

MICHAEL O’KEEFFE
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Saturday, June 11, 2016

Manny Waks says he was sexually abused as a child in Melbourne, Australia, by a member of the Brooklyn-based Chabad-Lubavitch sect.

And like many other victims around the globe, the activist says, he’s been unable to get justice from the organization because of New York’s statute of limitations. Under New York State law, survivors have to file lawsuits by their 23rd birthday.

Waks, the founder of a group called Kol v’Oz that combats sexual abuse in the Jewish community, wants the Melbourne community where he grew up — and thousands of other Chabad-Lubavitch institutions around the world — to implement programs to detect and prevent sexual abuse. But the Chabad-Lubavitch leadership has refused to push those institutions to take steps to hold predators responsible.

He fears the organization will continue to ignore the danger without the leverage provided by lawsuits.

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

NEW ZEALAND
Stuff

[with video]

FLORENCE KERR
June 12 2016

A Catholic Church rape survivor has slammed church policy of not informing police when the church gets a complaint of sexual abuse.

Ann-Marie Shelley, 60, was raped by former Catholic priest Peter Hercock in the 1970s. Hercock was jailed for six years and seven months in May 2016. She was paid $25,000 by the church.

Shelley was horrified that a 59-year-old woman used fake documents to support her claim that she was raped by a priest to gain access to the church’s wealth, receiving $188,190.17, before the church became aware of the fraud.

“What this woman did is despicable,” she said. “She makes it difficult for other survivors to come forward because they will fear they won’t be believed.”

But while she condemned the fraud, she equally believes the church should have reported the abuse allegation to police.

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

NEW ZEALAND
Stuff

FLORENCE KERR
June 12 2016

Police only became aware of a woman’s claims she was raped by a Palmerston North Catholic priest who abused her with a knife and a broken bottle when the church learned it had been duped out of the payments it had made to her.

The woman, who has name suppression, appeared at the Morrinsville District Court on Wednesday, June 8, to be sentenced on one charge of obtaining by deception $188,190.17 from the Catholic Church, which paid for various medical operations and psychological tests in relation to the abuse claim.

The woman supplied fake medical reports to the church to support the claim.

The fraud was discovered only when the church queried one of the reports with a health provider.

In 2013, the woman told the Palmerston North Catholic Diocese that a priest had raped her. The alleged rape and sexual abuse were reported to have happened in October 1985.

The complaint was handled in-house by the Palmerston North Catholic Diocese Protocol Committee, which deals with allegations of sexual abuse by clergy.

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

IRELAND
Donegal Now

Women and children who may have suffered abuse in care homes are being sought as part of a new investigation.

The investigation centres on four ‘mother and baby homes’ in the Republic, including one in Donegal.

The homes are Stranorlar County Home in Donegal, St Kevin’s Institution in Dublin, Cork City County Home and Thomastown County Home in Kilkenny.

A Commission of Investigation has been set up to look at alleged abuse in the homes.

The commission want to hear from anyone who lived at the homes for any length of period.

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

ITALY
Church Militant

By Juliana Freitag

The archdiocese of Brindisi-Ostuni reportedly has a network of homosexual, sexually abusive priests.

The first offense came to public light when the Italian investigative TV show “Le iene” received an anonymous email stating that underage boys in Brindisi had suffered sex abuse at the hands of Fr. Giampero Peschiulli, 73. The program then commissioned youthful-looking actors (one who claimed to be 16) to meet with the priest, and then secretly recorded their actions. Footage shows Fr. Peschiulli caressing the faces of the male actors and aggressively hugging and kissing them — all while wearing his Roman collar. The episode, titled “The Smooching Priest,” aired toward the end of 2014.

The airing led to police inquiries, resulting in several accusations from victims of sexual assault going as far back as 2002. The parents of some of the victims declared they had sought help from the archbishop of Brindisi-Ostuni at the time, Msgr. Rocco Talucci, who “seemed surprised at the fact that the youngsters were talking about the abuse, and invited the victims not to press charges and not share the incidents with anyone else.”

The accusations that eventually led to the priest’s prosecution in January of this year involved two of his altar boys, who revealed they had been suffering abuse since 2012, when both of them were under 14. The boys explained in detail how Peschiulli approached them when he was already in Mass vestments. He had a preference for boys, they claimed, always getting rid of any females in his presence, whom he referred to as “little whores only interested in sex.”

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

ITALY
Church Militant

By Juliana Freitag

Read the first part of this series here.

Father Francesco Caramia, the name mentioned in one of Fr. Peschiulli’s conversations with his friend, was the priest in charge of the parish in the neighborhood of Bozzano, in Brindisi, and one of Abp. Talucci’s “favorites.” In December 2015, Caramia left his ministry claiming “health problems,” when in reality he was being investigated — not because of Peschiulli’s accusations against him, but because a pediatrician denounced him for sexually abusing a boy between 2007 and 2010, when the victim was only nine years old.

Last February the victim was heard and his declarations included the threats made by the 42 year-old priest: “He forced me to perform sexual acts with him. It would also happen in the sacristy. Sometimes he would push me hard and threaten me, telling me that if I spoke to anyone he would find a way to make my father lose his job and his house.” He also said Fr. Caramia promised him he could be an altar server in exchange for the acts.

Caramia is denying the charges, and is currently waiting for the conclusion of the investigation in complete liberty, being very active on social media. The archdiocese of Brindisi-Ostuni released a note on the case:

The Archbishop of Brindisi found out with distress about a priest in town facing charges of very serious transgressions. The accused firmly rejects the accusations and claims to be able to defend himself adequately… . Monsignor Caliandro trusts the Judiciary and awaits the results of the inquiries. If the crimes are confirmed to be true, the diocesan authority shall act with determination and the greatest regard for the victims, following the teachings of Pope Francis and his immediate predecessors.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
Catholics4Change

JUNE 11, 2016 BY SUSAN MATTHEWS

Supporters for HB 1947 will gather at 8am and noon on Monday at the Capitol steps (3rd Street between Walnut and North) in Harrisburg. Monday is the day senators will meet for hearings on the constitutionality of the bill.

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

UNITED STATES
The Guardian (UK)

Amanda Holpuch in New York
@holpuch
Saturday 11 June 2016

To understand Donald Trump’s rise, it is worth considering the emergence of female masturbation courses in China, according to author Frank Browning, whose latest book, The Fate of Gender, was released in the US on Tuesday.

The book, which only gives a brief nod to the presumptive Republican nominee, explores the science behind one of the most prominent movements of our time – the democratization of gender – and the reaction from those in traditional positions of power: men.

“There is a resentment that transfuses western society having to do with this change of a role of authority and power, and Donald Trump responds to that,” Browning told the Guardian in a phone call from his home in France. …

In discussing violence against those repressed groups in predominantly Catholic countries, Browning writes: “The Vatican, of course, regularly denounces any form of domestic violence, but human rights workers argue that it is the underlying teaching of the church in the light of the gender equality movement that continues to fuel what can only be seen as an intensifying gender war.”

The church is also mentioned as a marker for how quickly things have changed – Browning writes that while same-sex couples openly parenting a child 50 years ago could have been imprisoned for child abuse, a priest is more likely to be imprisoned on such charges today, as the clergy sex abuse scandal has shown.

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

UNITED STATES
The Catholic Whistleblowers

By: the Catholic Whistleblowers Steering Committee

Passing the Child Victims Act would help to protect children, while bringing into the spotlight the names of perpetrators of child sexual abuse and thus warn the community. Passing this Act also would provide a route to justice for victims who deserve such a route.

Furthermore, on its website, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops says: “Regardless of when the abuse occurred, a cleric against whom there is an established or admitted act of child sexual abuse is permanently removed from the priesthood. There is no statute of limitations for removing a cleric who has sexual {sic} abused a minor from public ministry in the Catholic Church” (emphasis by underscore added).[1]

How did this come to be? In 2003 Pope John Paul II authorized a change in church procedures so that the church’s statute of limitations would never again prevent the church from dealing with an abuser priest, no matter how long in the past the crime occurred. Then, on May 21, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI formalized into church law the authority that Pope John Paul II had granted in 2003.

This change in church law is retroactive which explains how the church has been able to deal with very old cases. Moreover, the change concerns both the crime of sexual abuse of a minor or of a vulnerable adult and also the actions to recover compensation for damages incurred because of the crime. Thus, it regards both “criminal” law and “civil” law, as we would say in the United States.

The key to the “civil” component of the change in the church’s statute of limitations is found in canon 1729, §1 of the Code of Canon Law which provides that within the penal (criminal) trial itself an injured party can bring a contentious action (a civil action) to repair damages incurred as a result of the crime.

Thus, the change in the statute of limitations (referred to as “prescription” in Canon Law) applies to both the crime of sexual abuse of a minor or of a vulnerable adult by a cleric and also to the damages incurred because of the crime. The “civil” action gets included with the “criminal” action.

So, while Catholic Church secrecy does not give us all the details of clergy sexual abuse cases as would American courts, clearly church law provides for both “criminal” and “civil” retroactive dealing with sexual abuse of a minor or of a vulnerable adult by a priest.

Hence, Catholic bishops in the United States should support comparable changes to states’ statutes of limitations.
________________________________________
[1] Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “Did you know … ?“, 2013,http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/child-and-youth-protection/upload/Did-You-Know-2013-2.pdf [See: #13]

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

DEUTSCHLAND
Katholisch

[Once a priest is ordained that ordination is never invalid, according to canon law. But what does it mean when a priest is suspended or laicized?]

“Die einmal gültig empfangene heilige Weihe wird niemals ungültig”, heißt es im Kirchenrecht. Was bedeutet es dann, wenn von der Suspendierung eines Priesters die Rede ist? Oder wenn er gar “laisiert” wird? Katholisch.de erklärt die Begriffe.

Suspendierung

Bei einer Suspendierung wird dem Diakon oder Priester die Ausübung von Amtshandlungen untersagt. Sie wird vom Ortsbischof verhängt und ist als vorübergehende Maßnahme gedacht. Als sogenannte Beugestrafe soll sie bezwecken, dass der Betroffene die Verhaltensweisen oder Auffassungen, die mit der kirchlichen Lehre nicht vereinbar sind und zu der Suspendierung geführt haben, aufgibt.

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

VATIKAN
kathpress

Vatikanstadt, 10.06.2016 (KAP) Das vom Papst eingeführte neue Verfahren zur Amtsenthebung von Bischöfen schützt die Diözesanleiter nach Ansicht des langjährigen vatikanischen Chefermittlers in Missbrauchsfällen besser vor Denunziationen. Die neuen Vorschriften böten Bischöfen auch “eine gewisse Sicherheit”, sagte der Erzbischof von Malta, Charles Scicluna (57), im “Radio Vatikan”-

Scicluna war vor seinem Wechsel nach Malta in der Glaubenskongregation als eine Art Staatsanwalt für die kirchenrechtliche Ahndung von sexuellem Missbrauch durch Priester tätig.

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

VATIKAN
Katholisch

[The new rules in the pope’s directive on holding bishops accountable for covering-up abuse gives certain security to bishops, according to Archbishop Charles Scicluna.]

Das vom Papst eingeführte neue Verfahren zur Amtsenthebung von Bischöfen schützt die Bistumsleiter nach Ansicht des langjährigen vatikanischen Chefermittlers in Missbrauchsfällen besser vor Denunziationen. Die neuen Vorschriften böten Bischöfen auch “eine gewisse Sicherheit”, sagte der Erzbischof von Malta, Charles Scicluna (57), Radio Vatikan.

Die Regelung garantiere eine festgelegte Prozedur, wie im Fall von Anzeigen wegen Vernachlässigung der Amtspflichten vorzugehen sei, erklärte Scicluna. Demnach habe ein Bischof nun das Recht, sich zu verteidigen, wenn eine vatikanische Kongregation Ermittlungen gegen ihn aufnehme. Scicluna war vor seinem Wechsel Ende 2012 nach Malta in der Glaubenskongregation als eine Art Staatsanwalt für die kirchenrechtliche Ahndung von sexuellem Missbrauch durch Priester tätig.

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

UTAH
Watson

Nun sind es schon vier mutmassliche Opfer sexuellen Missbrauchs in einem Programm für indigene Pflegekinder der mormonischen Kirche. Ein viertes Mitglied des Volkes der Navajo verklagt die «Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints», da führende Geistliche nicht genug unternommen hätten, um ihn vor dem sexuellen Missbrauch durch seinen Pflegevater zu schützen.

Der Mann, der in den Akten nur als L.K. bezeichnet wird, hatte in einer Klage vor einem Gericht der Navajo Nation im US-Bundesstaat Utah schwere Vorwürfe gegen die Führung der Kirche erhoben. Während seiner Zeit in dem Programm für indigene Pflegekinder in den Siebzigerjahren habe er sich an einen Pfadfinderführer und einen Sozialarbeiter der Kirche gewandt, schreibt die Zeitung «Salt Lake Tribune».

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

FRANKREICH
Katholisches

[Cardinal Philippe Barbarin of France was questioned by police on whether he may have covered-up sexual abuse of minors.]

(Paris) Kardinal Philippe Barbarin, der Erzbischof von Lyon und Primas von Gallien, wurde heute von der Polizei einvernommen. Dabei geht es um den Vorwurf, der Kardinal könnte einen 25 Jahre zurückliegenden sexuellen Mißbrauch eines Priesters vertuscht haben.

Seit Wochen steht der Kardinal im Blitzlichtgewitter der französischen Presse. Wegen seines Ranges in der Katholischen Kirche berichten auch internationale Medien. Barbarin wurde als Zeuge gehört. Gegen ihn wurde keine Anklage erhoben.

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

VATICAN CITY
Billings Gazette

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican said Friday it has shelved plans to bring in an external auditor for its consolidated financial statements but has kept PricewaterhouseCoopers on for consulting services.

The Vatican announced in December that it had hired PwC as its external auditor, part of financial czar Cardinal George Pell’s march to bring the Holy See’s finances in line with international standards.

But the Vatican suspended the contract in April after questions arose about the contract’s scope and who had signed it: Pell and the head of the Council for the Economy’s audit committee.

The Vatican said Friday only its own auditor general, Libero Milone, is legally responsible for auditing its consolidated financial statements, as with any sovereign state.

The contract has been revised, with PwC assisting Milone and other Vatican offices with consulting services.

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

VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Register

by Edward Pentin 06/10/2016

After first suspending accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers’ external audit of Vatican finances in April, the Holy See has now definitively cancelled PwC’s full involvement in the financial inspection.

In a statement released today, the Vatican said the audit would now be executed by the Vatican’s own Auditor General. It added that PwC would henceforth “play an assisting role” and be “available to those dicasteries that wish to avail themselves of its support and consulting services.”

The Register revealed in April that the Secretariat of State had suspended the external audit just four months after it had begun its work. The news came as a surprise to Cardinal George Pell, the prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, who had not been given advance notice of the suspension which was ordered by the Secretariat of State in a letter sent to all Vatican entities.

Together with the body that oversees the Secretariat — the Council for the Economy headed by Cardinal Reinhard Marx — he had commissioned accountancy giant PwC to carry out the audit in a bid to bring accountability and transparency to the Vatican’s finances and make sure they matched international standards.

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

ROME
The Guardian (UK)

Stephanie Kirchgaessner
Friday 10 June 2016

The Vatican has summoned an American nun whose Kentucky-based order has run afoul of the church in the past to come to Rome and respond to “areas of concern”, raising questions about whether the Vatican is embarking on another crackdown on liberal-minded US sisters.

The Congregation of the Sisters of Loretto said in a statement that the Vatican had sent a letter, dated 1 January, in which it said it wanted to discuss issues with Pearl McGivney, the order’s president, that had been raised during a now-closed 2010 investigation into American nuns. That investigation by the Vatican had examined a certain “secular mentality” within some religious groups, as well as a “feminist spirit”, a church official said at the time.

The news, first reported by Global Sisters Report, comes more than a year after Pope Francis made the unexpected decision to end a separate investigation by the Vatican into the Leadership Conference on Women Religious, the major umbrella group of US nuns. That decision, announced in April 2015, was seen as an important shift by the Vatican, which had been accused of being heavy-handed in its treatment of the US sisters based on the concerns of conservatives who feared that many were straying from the church’s core teaching.

The Vatican did not respond to a request for comment.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
Philly Voice

BRIAN HICKEY
PhillyVoice Staff

“We know in faith that Jesus seeks us out. He wants to heal our wounds, to soothe our feet which hurt from traveling alone, to wash each of us clean of the dust from our journey.”

Those words were delivered by Pope Francis to inmates at Curran Fromhold Correctional Facility during his September visit to the city.

Speaking of which, remember all that goodwill those heady days just nine months ago engendered?

I do, thanks in part to the knee-jerk giddiness that accompanied seeing the pontiff in his Fiat as it cruised up North Seventh Street one afternoon.

Strike that: I did until I read Thursday’s story about the Archdiocese of Philadelphia going full Trump-mode against believers who dare stand up for the rights of sexual-abuse victims. Now, not so much.

At the center of this mess is state Rep. Nick Miccarelli, a Delaware County Republican who the church decided to call out in the weekly bulletin distributed to Mass-goers at his home parish, St. Rose of Lima in Eddystone.

“JUST SO YOU ARE AWARE,” it read (all-caps theirs), “State Representative Miccarelli voted in favor of House Bill 1947 which states that private institutions can be sued as far as 40 years ago for millions of dollars, while public institutions may not be sued for any crimes committed in the past.”

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

VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information Service – Bollettino

Vatican City, 10 June 2016 – As previously noted, with respect to the relationship between the Holy See and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) it was deemed useful to suspend auditing activity to examine the meaning and scope of certain contract clauses, as well as to examine the manner in which the contract was executed.

Together with PwC, those issues were duly examined in an atmosphere of serene collaboration, resolving the questions originally identified. In particular, it was recognised that, by law, the task of performing the financial statement audit is entrusted to the Office of the Auditor General (URG), as is normally the case for every sovereign state. Given that, in conformity with the legal framework in force this institutional responsibility falls upon the URG, PwC will play an assisting role and will also be available to those dicasteries that wish to avail themselves of its support and consulting services.

It is important to clarify that, contrary to what has been reported by some sources, the suspension was not due to considerations regarding the integrity or the quality of PwC’s work, nor is it attributable to the desire of one or more entities of the Holy See to hinder reforms. The path towards a correct and appropriate implementation of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) is normally complex and prolonged. That path requires a series of legislative choices as well as the adoption of administrative and accounting procedures, which are presently under development.

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

UNITED STATES
Catholic Culture

By Phil Lawler Jun 10, 2016

Another scandal is brewing at the Vatican.

This time the subject will not be sex, but that other rich lode of corruption: money.

Shady deals at the Vatican bank, the Institute for Religious Works (IOR), have brought disgrace on the Holy See in the past (if you don’t know what I mean, search on “Roberto Calvi”), and more conventional problems in the past few years (try “Nunzio Scarano”). But now the IOR is under new management, run by lay professionals, and appears fully committed to transparency.

Unfortunately the offices of the Roman Curia are not ready to make the same commitment. Today’s announcement that the Vatican will not proceed with an external audit, but rely instead on internal controls, represents a victory for the sort of halfway disclosure that Richard Nixon characterized as the “modified, limited hangout”—a commitment to (as one high-ranking Vatican official put it) “full accountability, yes, but let’s keep our problems in-house.”

In today’s announcement the Vatican press office took special pains to deny the charges made by some analysts that the audit by PricewaterhouseCooper had been suspended because some Vatican agencies (notably the Secretariat of State) were dragging their feet on financial disclosures. “The commitment to the economic-financial audit of the Holy See and of the State of Vatican City has been, and remains, a priority,” the statement insisted.

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

AUSTRALIA
Sky News

A 64-year-old man has been arrested and extradited from NSW to Western Australia to face 64 historical child sex abuse charges.

It will be alleged that between 1978 and 1983, he sexually abused 10 children aged 10 to 16 under his care at the Warminda Hostel in East Victoria Park, Perth, WA police said in a statement on Saturday.

The hostel for Aboriginal children was run by Methodist and Uniting Church agencies at the time.

The man was arrested on Friday by Taskforce Tonalite and is due to face Perth Magistrates Court on Saturday.

He has been charged with 12 counts of rape, 23 of indecent treatment of children under 14 years, 11 of indecent practices between males, eight of indecent assault of a female, six of indecent assault of a male, and four of indecent acts.

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

MINNESOTA
Star Tribune

By Bernard A. Hebda
June 10, 2016

Thank you for publishing Zach Czaia’s “An open letter to the new archbishop” (May 29). While I haven’t met him, Zach seems representative of a segment of this local Catholic Church that inspires me: people in the pew who care deeply for those who have been harmed. He’s one of many who have continued to stay engaged, who ask how we as a faith community might more faithfully live out the Gospel, and who challenge me to lead our church in an authentic response to our present situation.

I am praying that there are indeed many more like Zach who want “to do more” so that those who have been harmed in the church may experience true healing. The archdiocese has long been funding counseling for those who come forward to report abuse. Like Zach, however, we’re hoping to do even more. Our Plan of Reorganization commits us to creating a $500,000 fund to assist victims desiring counseling. Individuals or parishes who desire to augment that fund are free to do so.

Like Zach, we acknowledge that the pain of our brothers and sisters is real. In filing for bankruptcy, the archdiocese opted to move beyond contentious relationships. Instead of potentially painful and lengthy litigation with individual claimants, the process enables us to rely on the court to determine how our resources should be fairly allocated to compensate all of those with claims against the archdiocese. As a result, we have been able to invest our legal resources into working with our insurers, overseeing the divestiture of our real estate and marshaling our other financial resources, all in order that we might offer “the most for the most.”

Convincing insurance companies of their legal obligation to pay victims has been a challenging task. The reorganization plan confirms, however, that those efforts have borne results. Not only is there $65 million immediately available for the claimants, but also rights to other insurance coverage that could augment that number.

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

KENTUCKY
Tristate Homepage

The Catholic Diocese of Owensboro is set to suspend another priest this year.

Eyewitness News obtains a letter written by Bishop William Medley about an investigation into allegations made against Father Freddie Byrd, the Priest at St. Ann’s Parish in Morganfield.

The Bishop, saying in the letter, that an adult has come forward alleging Father Byrd had inappropriate contact with him back in 1983, when the man was just 17 years old.

According to the letter, Father Byrd was not a Priest at the time.

The Bishop continued in the letter saying:

“Even though this allegation dates back more than thirty years, It is the policy of the Catholic Church in the United States that even one substantiated allegation of abuse is cause for removal from the public ministry. We cannot consider this allegation substantiated, but the Diocesan Review Board believes this allegation to have sufficient merit to act immediately.”

Father Richard Powers will serve as Administrator Pro Tempore at St. Ann’s for the coming months.

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

MINNESOTA
KSTP

Nate Leding
Created: 06/10/2016

A former court stenographer claims the Saint Paul Minneapolis Archdiocese may be hiding assets in its bankruptcy case including ancient jewels.

A letter submitted Thursday to the court by the stenographer claims the Archdiocese dropped off three shoe boxes to Bockstruck Jewelers in the mid-1990s.

He claims the boxes were filled with ancient jewels and art from the 19th Century.

He claims each worth at least $130,000.

In late May, the Archdiocese filed a bankruptcy reorganization plan that would set aside at least $65 million to pay clergy abuse victims and other creditors.

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

MAINE
Foster’s

PORTLAND, Maine — The Vatican has dismissed from the clergy a priest, who had served in South Berwick, among other Maine communities, because of substantiated child sexual abuse finding against him.

A final decision has been returned from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican regarding Antonin R. Caron, ordained a priest for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, who has been retired since 1994, according to a press release issued Friday by the diocese. Caron had at one time served at St. Michael Parish in South Berwick.

The Holy See has dismissed Caron from the clerical state for a substantiated claim of sexual abuse of a minor. The complaint was received from an individual in November of 2012 who reported that the sexual abuse occurred in the early 1980s.

After receiving the complaint, the Diocesan Office of Professional Responsibility conducted a full investigation and, as with every report of possible sexual abuse of a minor by a church representative, immediately notified public authorities, the press release said. Upon completion of the investigation, the case was referred to the Diocesan Review Board, an independent review entity comprised mostly of lay people, which confirmed the findings of the Office of Professional Responsibility that the claim of abuse was substantiated.

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

UNITED STATES
Mennonite World Review

Jun 10, 2016 by Janie Beck Kreider and Mennonite Church USA

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Mennonite Church USA Executive Board affirmed recommendations from a sexual abuse prevention panel and accepted the resignation of board member Isaac Villegas during meetings June 2-4.

Executive director Ervin Stutzman reported that the board of Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Va., Virginia Mennonite Conference and Lindale Mennonite Church in Linville, Va., have agreed to an outside investigation into their responses to abuse allegations against Luke Hartman, former vice president of enrollment at EMU, that will be conducted by an independent team unaffiliated with MC USA.

Stutzman emphasized that it is not a criminal investigation and that outside investigators will have no legal authority to demand documents or collect a body of information that would lead to a legal conclusion. Because of these dynamics, he said the full cooperation of all the institutions is voluntary, yet absolutely necessary.

“We are working together to bring the truth to light,” he said. “This process goes beyond what a criminal investigation can do. Our ultimate concern has to do with healing in our church, so we must address its ethos, how we treat victims of sexual abuse and listen to their stories, and how we treat one another and our church leaders.”

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

TEXAS
Baptist Standard

June 10, 2016
By KEN CAMP / MANAGING EDITOR

WACO—David Garland hopes people think about Baylor University in totally different ways by this time next year.

The university’s interim president wants other schools to think of Baylor when they look for an example to follow in terms of compliance with Title IX, the law that prohibits sexual discrimination—including sexual harassment or assault—in educational institutions that receive federal funds.

But when the general public hears about Baylor, Garland hopes sexual violence is the last thing that comes to mind.

“We have implemented all kinds of checks and balances to protect our students,” he said, identifying students’ safety as “Priority One for us.”

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

MALTA
Times of Malta

Saturday, June 11, 2016, 00:01 by John Guillaumier, St Julian’s

In 2010, the Times of Malta reported that “a total of 84 allegations of child abuse, involving 45 Maltese priests, were reported to a Church response team over the last 11 years”. Since then, we never heard of those allegations of child abuse involving 45 Maltese priests.

The allegations were swept under the Church’s carpet. Last May 6, this newspaper reported that: “Five people had their pastoral activity restricted by the Church after its so-called Safeguarding Commission investigated 46 people last year following claims of abuse.”

The obvious question needs to be asked: who are these ‘people’? Were the ‘five people’ who had their pastoral activity restricted by the Church priests?

The record shows that in dioceses in Ireland, the US, Canada, Australia, Germany, Austria and The Netherlands, the Catholic Church was more interested in safeguarding its reputation than in safeguarding children from paedophile priests. “We don’t focus on whether the person is guilty or not,” said Andrew Azzopardi, the head of the Church’s Safeguarding Commission.

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

CANADA
Ottawa Citizen

ANDREW DUFFY, OTTAWA CITIZEN

Two women who say they were victimized by Rev. Barry McGrory at Holy Cross Parish in the 1970s want the Ottawa Police Service to re-open a criminal investigation of the Catholic priest.

The women have both contacted lawyer Robert Talach, who will formally ask the police to launch a new investigation.

In Canada, there is no statute of limitations on sexual assault.

“They want the justice that was denied them in past,” said Talach, a London, Ont. lawyer who has represented dozens of clergy sexual abuse victims.

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

UNITED STATES
Crux

Christopher WhiteJune 11, 2016
CRUX CONTRIBUTOR

What supporters of legislation to extend the statute of limitations for suing the Church are hailing as “reform” actually threatens the institution that is now the very facilitator of responding to sexual abuse in the United States. If passed, these measures would directly imperil the local schools and parishes that have become the safest places for children in the country.

Almost fifteen years after the Boston Globe’s devastating reporting on clerical sexual abuse in the United States, the Church remains under scrutiny for its treatment of minors. Whereas the 2002 coverage exposed cover-up at the highest level of Church authority and provided a spotlight on a much-needed area of reform, today’s headlines should be offering a very different story.

Since then, the Church has enacted a zero tolerance policy for sexual abusers, and, if any priest commits a single act of abuse, he is forever removed from his ministry. On June 4, Pope Francis took an important step to take this policy even further when he outlined a plan for the removal of bishops who have been negligent in their handling of abuse cases.

In the United States, the Church has instituted mandatory background checks for any individual that works with minors-far surpassing the standards of any public institution. Every diocese in the U.S. has also established Safe Environment programs that are responsible for complying with canon and civil law, along with outside monitoring and oversight.

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

UTAH
Think Progress

BY RACHEL CAIN JUN 10, 2016

A member of the Navajo Nation filed a lawsuit this week against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) for inadequately protecting him from sexual and physical abuse he allegedly experienced during his participation in a Mormon foster program for Native American children. He is the fourth Navajo in recent months to sue the Mormon church for its neglectful oversight during the program—and more victims may still come forward.

The Indian Student Placement Program began in the 1940s and allowed Native American families to send their baptized children voluntarily to live with white Mormon families during the academic year, where they had access to better education. By the time the program ended in 2000, approximately 40,000 Native Americans from 60 different tribes, though predominantly Navajos, had participated in the program.

The program began at a time when the Mormon church believed it carried a responsibility to bring Native Americans to their faith. Many Mormons believed that Native Americans were the descendants of Lamanites, one of the lost tribes of Israel.

L.K., the latest victim to file a lawsuit, was in seventh grade when he says his now-deceased foster father sexually abused and whipped him. He confided in officials with the Indian Student Placement Program. They told him to stay with the family for the rest of the school year. The abuse continued.

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

OREGON
The Oregonian

By Aimee Green | The Oregonian/OregonLive

Attorneys for a girl who was molested by a church youth leader in The Dalles filed a $5 million lawsuit this week against the church — claiming it should have learned how to protect children from sexual predators after a previous church leader molested a child.

First Christian Church failed to develop child-protection protocols that might have stopped Michael Cele Stephens from molesting the girl starting when she was 12 or 13, the lawsuit says.

Stephens was sentenced in April to 15 years in prison for sexually abusing the girl and five other girls, ages 13 to 15, according to a story in The Dalles Chronicle newspaper. The story quotes a prosecutor as saying Stephens met the girls through church or a 4-H Club and that a prosecutor said the girls reacted to the abuse with “cutting, drug abuse, suicidal thoughts.”

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

RHODE ISLAND
Providence Journal

By Karen Lee Ziner
Journal Staff Writer

Posted Jun. 10, 2016

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) accused Roman Catholic Bishop of Providence Thomas J. Tobin of “keeping hidden” the names of “at least 95 accused predator priests in Rhode Island.”

At a news conference outside the Cathedral of Saints Peter & Paul, they demanded that Tobin “publicly reveal the names of all accused abusive clerics, and post their names, photos, whereabouts and work histories on his diocesan website.”

The group also said that “five predator priests who abused elsewhere also worked in Rhode Island” have remained “under the radar” in the state.

Bishop Tobin was out of the office and not available for comment, said diocesan spokeswoman Carolyn Cronin. The diocese issued a statement:

“There is nothing new in what SNAP is requesting today. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence has a consistent policy and practice of reporting every allegation of clergy sex abuse of minors to law enforcement. The diocese is not aware of any priests currently in ministry who have credible allegations of sexual abuse of minors against them.”

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

IRELAND
The Corkman

PUBLISHED
11/06/2016

A priest in the Diocese of Cloyne falsely accused of child sex abuse has called on the Catholic Church to put proper structures in place to protect priests who have been the subject of malicious and spurious allegations of child sexual abuse.

Fr Tim Hazelwood (57) from Castletownroche in North Cork has spent the past six years fighting to clear his name after he was accused anonymously of child sex abuse.

He spoke this week of how he was left to his own devices to do so with little support from the church.

Fr Hazelwood, who served in Fermoy, Youghal, Banteer, Dungourney, Charleville, Blarney and is now in Killeagh, said he was going public about his own experience as he knew of other priests who had been similarly abandoned by the Church after they were falsely accused of child sex abuse.

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

PENNSYLVANIA
Voice of the Faithful, Greater Philadelphia

On Monday, June 13, there is a Judiciary Committee Hearing scheduled at 8:00 am to consider the constitutionality of House Bill 1947.

Archbishop Chaput has stated that HB1947 is targeting private institutions, and the Catholic Church; which is incorrect. Former Montgomery County District County Bruce Castor is scheduled to testify about the bill.

Voice of the Faithful/Greater Philadelphia is asking for supporters of HB 1947 to go to the Capitol Building in Harrisburg Monday morning to show solidarity for passage of the bill. It is absolutely essential that as many people as possible attend Monday’s hearing in Harrisburg.

Read House Bill 1947 Here.

Listen to Representative Mark Rozzi’s Video Below:

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

CANADA
The Telegram

Barb Sweet
Published on June 10, 2016

A chilling number from the 1957 roster of Mount Cashel was read out in Courtroom No. 2 at Newfoundland Supreme Court this morning.

Among the 10 Christian Brothers serving at Mount Cashel in February of that year, four were ultimately convicted of crimes against children.

Outside court, one of the John Does in the civil lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Episcopal Corp. of St. John’s was not shocked by the number because of what he has said were his experiences with physical and sexual abuse at the hands of certain members of the lay order Christian Brothers. He left the orphanage a couple years before 1957.

“I think it’s old news,” he said.

He reflected on his own disclosure after the scandal that broke in the late 1980s and of subsequently learning the extent of abuse — the boys didn’t talk of it to each while at the orphanage.

“Later on, when I looked back and saw the number, it’s not that there were sexual perpetrators, but that there were so many,” he said. “There’s the thing — it was systemic. It’s not just an odd one, a mutant personality there.”

In court, Geoff Budden, lawyer for former residents of the orphanage during the period late 1940s to early ’60s, and Mark Frederick, a lawyer representing the Episcopal Corp., read into the record the transcript of a current day high-ranking Christian Brothers’ official Anthony Murphy.

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

VATICAN CITY
Religion News Service

By Rosie Scammell

VATICAN (RNS) The Vatican has signed a new deal with international accountants, weeks after the unprecedented audit of the Holy See’s finances came to an abrupt halt.

PricewaterhouseCoopers will advise the city-state’s auditor general, the Vatican said on Friday (June 10).

Resumption of PwC’s work comes almost two months after the original audit was suspended. The surprise decision earlier this year followed great fanfare in December when the Vatican announced its first external audit would take place, a move that had been hailed as a new era of transparency in the traditionally secretive Vatican.

The Vatican on Friday denied there were any internal battles or attempts to derail the financial overhaul.

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

FRANCE
L’Express

[Pedophilia: A court in France decided Friday afternoon that there are no limitations on allegations of sexual abuse by Father Bernard Preynat.]

Les magistrats de la cour d’appel de Lyon ont décidé que les abus sexuels reprochés au prêtre lyonnais Bernard Preynat, commis il y a plus de 25 ans, n’étaient pas prescrits, selon des avocats des deux parties.

Les magistrats de la cour d’appel de Lyon ont décidé que les abus sexuels reprochés au prêtre lyonnais Bernard Preynat, il y a plus de 25 ans, n’étaient pas prescrits, a-t-on appris vendredi auprès des avocats des deux parties. Ils ont ainsi suivi les réquisitions du parquet général qui avait plaidé le 20 mai pour la non-prescription des faits reprochés à ce religieux dans la principale affaire de pédophilie qui secoue depuis plusieurs mois le diocèse de Lyon.

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