ABUSE TRACKER

PENNSYLVANIA
PhillyVoice

BY RALPH CIPRIANO
PhillyVoice Contributor

At a bail hearing set for Tuesday morning, Msgr. William J. Lynn is expected to walk out of court as a free man.

The next move in the legal odyssey will be up to Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams.

Four years ago, it was Williams who successfully oversaw the prosecution of Lynn. The monsignor, who served as the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s secretary for clergy from 1992 to 2004, was convicted by a jury in 2012 on one count of endangering the welfare of a child. The trial judge, M. Teresa Sarmina, subsequently sentenced Lynn to three to six years in prison.

The act of child endangerment involved the transfer of the Rev. Edward V. Avery, a priest with a prior accusation of sex abuse, to a new parish, without any notice to parishioners. Avery subsequently pleaded guilty to deviate sexual intercourse with a former 10-year-old altar boy dubbed “Billy Doe.”

It was a “historic” prosecution, the district attorney proclaimed. Lynn became the first Catholic administrator in the country to be sent to jail in the church’s ongoing sex abuse scandal, not for touching anybody, but for failing to adequately supervise an abusive priest.

But last December, the state Superior Court overturned Lynn’s conviction, and ordered a new trial on the grounds that the trial judge had let in too much prejudicial evidence against the church. Williams appealed to the state Supreme Court. Last week, the state’s highest court denied the district attorney’s petition, clearing the way for Lynn’s freedom.

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FRANKREICH
Katholisch

Die französische Staatsanwaltschaft hat die Ermittlungen gegen Lyons Kardinal Philippe Barbarin eingestellt. Das berichten französische Medien am Montag. Es habe keine Hinweise auf mögliche Straftaten gegeben, hieß es.

Der Anwalt Barbarins, Andre Soulier, begrüßte die Entscheidung laut dem Fernsehsender France Info, betonte jedoch zugleich, diese komme nicht überraschend. Es gehe nun nicht darum, zu triumphieren oder Revanche zu fordern, sondern allein um die Feststellung, dass Barbarin und seine Mitarbeiter keine Fehler gemacht hätten. Der Kardinal sei in Gedanken stets bei den Opfern, so Soulier.

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AUSTRALIA
Canberra Times

Christopher Knaus

The passage of time will no longer be a barrier for ACT survivors of child sexual abuse to sue institutions like the Catholic church for justice.

The ACT government will introduce a bill on Tuesday to scrap time limits that prevent survivors from lodging civil claims too long after their abuse has occurred.

Such time limits have been criticised as “clearly inappropriate” for abuse victims, and fail to recognise the terrible psychological toll the crimes take.

The current statute of limitations is six years, which begins when the young person turns 18.

That limit would, for example, prevent more victims of Marist Brother John William Chute – who abused boys repeatedly at Marist College Canberra in the 1970s and 1980s – from now coming forward with a civil claim, unless they could adequately justify the delay.

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AUSTRALIA
7 News

Annette Blackwell – AAP on August 2, 2016

The first of two major inquiries into child sex abuse by clergy and workers from Australia’s main Christian churches starts in Newcastle, NSW on Tuesday.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse will spend two weeks investigating what senior Anglican clergy did to stop priest Peter Rushton and a pedophile network of clergy and church workers who operated in the Diocese of Newcastle for decades.

Rushton died in 2007 without ever being convicted.

There were believed to be up to 30 child sex abusers in the network, among them James Michael Brown who was jailed in 2012 for multiple offences against 20 boys while he was a youth worker.

Brown and Rushton were board members of the Anglican Church’s St Alban’s Boys Home at Aberdare, Cessnock.

In 2010 the Anglican Church named Rushton as a pedophile who organised boys to be abused by others.

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NEW YORK
New York Daily News

KENNETH LOVETT
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Updated: Monday, July 25, 2016

ALBANY — An upstate investor who has targeted Senate Republicans for not passing a measure making it easier for child sex abuse victims to seek justice hasn’t forgotten about the Assembly Democratic inaction on the issue this year.

Gary Greenberg, a child sex abuse survivor who has created a political action committee called Fighting For Children, has endorsed Rochester Democrat Rachel Barnhart, a long-time news anchor who is running a primary against three-term incumbent Harry Bronson.

“This endorsement is the only one I will be making in the Assembly,” he said. “The Assembly failed to take a vote on the Child Victims Act. Shame on them.”

Greenberg through his PAC will make a maximum $4,400 donation to Barnhart’s campaign.

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NEW YORK
New York Daily News

KENNETH LOVETT
DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF
Monday, August 1, 2016

ALBANY – The Democrat who won disgraced state Senate GOP Majority Leader Dean Skelos’ Long Island seat has the backing of a political action committee pushing for enactment of the Child Victims Act.

The Fighting for Children PAC, created by upstate investor and child sex abuse survivor Gary Greenberg, has endorsed Sen. Todd Kaminsky’s reelection. Kaminsky, a former federal prosecutor, won the seat in a special election in April.

“Todd’s work as a long time advocate for children’s issues and rights has allowed him to see firsthand the devastating impacts of child sex abuse,” Greenberg said.

Different versions of the Child Victims Act would either extend the time that child sex abuse victims can bring legal cases, or eliminate the time limit for doing so. The Senate Republicans blocked the measures from coming to a vote before the 2016 legislative session ended in June.

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FRANCE
Catholic Herald (UK)

AP

nsufficient evidence means that Cardinal Philippe Barbarin will not be prosecuted

A French prosecutor has thrown out the case of a prominent cardinal who was under investigation for alleged failure to report suspected paedophilia by a priest under his watch.

Lyon prosecutor Marc Cimamonti told The Associated Press on Monday that there wasn’t sufficient evidence against Cardinal Philippe Barbarin and the statute of limitations had expired for some of the allegations.

Barbarin had been questioned in June by investigators in the case of Rev. Bernard Preynat, a priest charged with sexual aggression and rape of a minor and accused of abusing boy scouts in the 1980s. Fr Preynat was removed from parish work in August 2015.

Barbarin said he was convinced Fr Preynat had reformed by 2007-2008 when they met. However, in April this year Barbarin admitted that “some mistakes” had been made in the management and nomination of certain priests.

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AFGHANISTAN
Independent (UK)

Siobhan Fenton @siobhanfenton

An Afghan cleric has defended his marriage to a six-year-old girl, saying she was a “religious offering” to him.

Mohammad Karim, who is believed to be in his sixties, was arrested after marrying the girl. He has told officials that he had been given the girl as a “religious offering” by her parents, Agence France-Presse reports.

However, her parents reportedly claim she was abducted without their consent from the Herat province.

He is being held by authorities in the central Ghor province, while investigations are underway.

Head of the Women Affairs Department in Ghor, Masoom Anwari, said: “This girl does not speak, but only repeats one thing: ‘I am afraid of this man’.”

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AFGHANISTAN
The Freethinker

Afghan Muslim cleric Mohammad Karim has been arrested after marrying a six-year-old girl.

According to this report, Karim – thought to be in his sixties – defended the marriage, saying she was a “religious offering” to him.

However, her parents claim she was abducted without their consent from the Herat province.

He is being held by authorities in the central Ghor province, while investigations are underway.

Head of the Women Affairs Department in Ghor, Masoom Anwari, said:
This girl does not speak, but only repeats one thing: ‘I am afraid of this man’.

The legal age for marriage in Afghanistan is 16 for women and 18 for men. However, child marriages continue to be common, particularly in rural areas.

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FRANCE
France 24

A French prosecutor on Monday dismissed a probe into allegations that Cardinal Philippe Barbarin covered up the sexual abuse of boy scouts, in a case that threatened to derail the career of France’s most prominent clergyman.

Barbarin, the archbishop of Lyon since 2002 and France’s highest-ranking Catholic prelate, had been accused of failing to remove a priest from his diocese when he became aware the man had sexually abused young boys 25 years ago.

The cardinal has said he learned in 2007 that the priest, Bernard Preynat, had been accused of sexually abusing scouts in the past.

Preynat was only charged in January after a victim who was allegedly abused in the 1980s realised in 2015 that the priest was still in service. Several other victims have also come forward.

Barbarin has said that when he learned of the priest’s past he immediately called a meeting with him and when he asked Preynat if he had committed further abuses since 1991 the priest swore he had not.

“You can reproach me for having believed him… but covering up means knowing and letting it happen,” Barbarin said, adding he had “absolutely never” done that.

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NEW YORK
Times Union

By Matthew Hamilton on August 1, 2016

Gotta catch ’em all — unless you’re a sex offender.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday directed the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to restrict sex offenders on parole from playing the popular Pokemon Go and similar games. Cuomo also sent a letter to game developer Niantic requesting the company’s help in barring sex offenders from playing the game.

DOCCS has imposed a new condition of sex offenders’ parole that prohibits them from downloading and engaging in any internet enabled gaming activities. The new regulation applies to nearly 3,000 Level 1, 2 and 3 sex offenders currently on parole, Cuomo’s office said.

Cuomo also directed the state Division of Criminal Justice Services to provide Niantic with the most up-to-date sex offender registry information and to contact Apple and Google to notify them of public safety concerns and to work with them to enhance user safety.

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GUAM
Pacific News Center

[with video]

Haidee V Eugenio, Pacific Daily News
August 2, 2016

Expert: Apuron is a ‘serial child molester’

Another former altar boy told senators Monday morning that a priest and two other church members sexually abused him in the 1950s.

He is the fifth person since May to publicly accuse Guam clergy of sexual assault. Three former Agat altar boys since May have accused Archbishop Anthony Apuron of sexually abusing them in the 1970s, when he was parish priest. The mother of a dead former altar boy also has accused Apuron of molesting her son in the 1970s.

Leo B. Tudela, now 73, said he was sexually abused on three separate occasions by three people, including a priest, connected to the Archdiocese of Agana when he came to Guam in 1956.

Tudela testified during a public hearing on a bill that would lift the statute of limitations on civil lawsuits against those who sexually abuse children.

“I have cried on many occasions since then and continue to have memory flashbacks of the horrible things that happened to me,” said Tudela, who broke down several times as he narrated his ordeal. “I feel cheated and molested by people who were supposed to be my protector, comforter and God’s guardian angels.”

The sexual abuse happened after Tudela, who lived in Saipan, was invited to come to Guam to attend Catholic school, he said. He was 13 years old.

He was born and raised in Saipan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and served as an altar boy at Mount Carmel Church in Chalan Kanoa, starting in 1954. Two other boys from Saipan and Tinian were invited to Guam at the time, he said.

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GUAM
Pacific Daily News

A deadline shouldn’t be imposed on justice.

Lawmakers should pass Bill 326-33, which would lift the 2-year civil statute of limitations in child sex abuse cases.

By removing the time restriction for suing child sex abusers, Sen. Frank Blas Jr.’s bill would give victims a better chance to seek justice. Blas recently revised the bill to strengthen it.

During a public hearing on the bill, three former altar boys who accused Archbishop Anthony Apuron of sexual abuse in the 1970s testified in support of the legislation. A man also testified and accused Apuron of raping his brother, a former altar boy.

When the hearing resumed Monday, a man came forward with other clergy sex abuse allegations.

As Guam and other jurisdictions address clergy sex abuse allegations, they are looking at reforms for child sexual abuse laws.

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GUAM
Senate Hearings on SOL Reform

[This testimony was given on August 1, 2016, in support of Guam Bill 326-33. A video of Tudela’s testimony is available here; scroll down to the second video and advance the video to 19:34. Tudela was introduced by Mr. Anthony B. San Nicolas, former Postmaster General of Guam; his remarks begin at 19:34. The video contains other testimony as well.]

While I was staying at the Capuchin Fathers Monastery [St. Fidelis Friary] in Agana Heights, one night in the early morning hours, I was awakened by someone touching my private area (penis) and massaging it. I was shocked, very frightened, scared and shaking to have a big shadow of a man sitting next to me. I started to cry as I could not believe what was going on. This was in the monastery of God and how could this be happening to me. He told me “it is okay, I am Brother Mariano.” I told him to please leave me alone but he continued to do what was doing. Finally, he got up and left the room. I took my blanket and covered my face and my whole body. I was crying and shaking. It was a night I would never forget. The next day, I told Brother Ferdinand Pangelinan what happened to me and soon after that, we were moved to Sinajana Catholic Church Rectory, to stay there.

While I was at the Sinajana Rectory [of St. Jude Thaddaeus parish], I met Father Louis Brouillard [at the time, Diocesan Chaplain of the Boy Scouts]. I believe he was teaching at St. Jude Catholic School and assisting Father Kieran [Hickey, OFM Cap, Superior Regular of the Diocese of Agana]. Father Louis invited me to come to Santa Teresita Church in Mangilao and help him as an Altar Boy and to clean the rectory. While I was staying there, I was told to join the Boy Scouts as part of my duty, along with the other three Altar Boys staying at the rectory.

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FRANCE
BBC News

Prosecutors in France have dropped an investigation into allegations that the Roman Catholic archbishop of Lyon failed to act against a priest accused of child sexual abuse.

Cardinal Philippe Barbarin was questioned by police in June over the case of Father Bernard Preynat, who is alleged to have abused boy scouts.

The French Catholic church has been accused of covering up abuse.

Cardinal Barbarin denied any wrongdoing but earlier admitted making mistakes.

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FRANCE
Daily Star

Agence France Presse

LYON: A French prosecutor on Monday dismissed a probe into allegations that Cardinal Philippe Barbarin covered up the sexual abuse of Scouts, in a case which shook the country’s Catholic Church.

Barbarin, the archbishop of Lyon in central France since 2002, had been accused of failing to remove a priest from his diocese when he became aware the man had sexually abused young boys 25 years ago.

At the end of a preliminary investigation in March, the prosecutor Marc Cimamonti had said the accusation that Barbarin had covered up the abuse had not been proven.

Barbarin has said he learnt in 2007 that the priest, Bernard Preynat, had been accused of sexually abusing Scouts in the past.

Preynat was only charged in January after a victim who was allegedly abused in the 1980s realised in 2015 that the priest was still in service. Several other victims have also come forward.

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FRANCE
Le Monde

Le procureur de Lyon a rendu sa décision, lundi 1er août, dans l’affaire dite « Barbarin » en classant sans suite l’enquête préliminaire ouverte en février pour « non-dénonciation » d’agressions sexuelles sur mineurs.

Au terme d’une enquête préliminaire ordonnée en mars, le procureur Marc Cimamonti a estimé que les infractions visées n’étaient pas constituées.

Période couverte par la prescription

Des victimes du père Bernard Preynat, mis en examen pour des agressions sexuelles commises il y a plus de vingt-cinq ans, reprochaient, en particulier au cardinal Barbarin, de ne pas avoir dénoncé les agissements du religieux à la justice et de l’avoir laissé en poste trop longtemps, jusqu’en août 2015, dans une paroisse où il était au contact d’enfants.

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FRANCE
France Soir

L’enquête pour “non-dénonciation” d’agressions sexuelles sur mineurs et “non-assistance à personne en danger”, dans laquelle le cardinal Philippe Barbarin a été mis en cause, a été classée sans suite, a indiqué ce lundi 1er à l’AFP le procureur de la République de Lyon. Des victimes du père Bernard Preynat, mis en examen fin janvier pour des agressions sexuelles commises sur des scouts lyonnais il y a plus de 25 ans, reprochaient en particulier au cardinal de ne pas avoir dénoncé les agissements du religieux à la justice et de l’avoir laissé en poste trop longtemps, jusqu’en août 2015, dans une paroisse où il était au contact d’enfants.

Au terme d’une enquête préliminaire ordonnée en mars, le procureur Marc Cimamonti a estimé que les infractions visées n’étaient pas constituées, notamment celle particulièrement sensible de la “non-dénonciation”. Plusieurs plaintes visant Mgr Barbarin, une des personnalités les plus influentes de l’Église catholique en France, et d’autres membres de l’Église avaient été déposées par des victimes du père Preynat, mis en examen pour des faits commis entre 1986 et 1991.

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FRANCE
The Local

A French prosecutor dismissed on Monday a probe into allegations that Cardinal Philippe Barbarin covered up the sexual abuse of scouts, in a case which shook the country’s Catholic Church.

Barbarin, the archbishop of Lyon in central France since 2002, had been accused of failing to remove a priest from his diocese when he became aware the man had sexually abused young boys 25 years ago.

Barbarin has said he learned in 2007 that the priest, Bernard Preynat, had been accused of sexually abusing Scouts in the past.

Preynat was only charged in January after a victim who was allegedly abused in the 1980s realised in 2015 that the priest was still in service.

Several other victims have also come forward.

Barbarin has said that when he learned of the priest’s past he immediately called a meeting with him and when he asked Preynat if he had committed further abuses since 1991 the priest swore he had not.

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IRELAND
The Register

A group of Irish trainee priests are being packed off to Roma, after claims some fathers-in-training at their existing berth in the Emerald Isle had developed a predilection for gay hookup site Grindr.

Catholic archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin, has reportedly pulled the diocese’s three trainees from St Partick’s College, Maynooth, citing “strange goings on” and a worrying “atmosphere” at the venerable seminary, The Irish Times reports.

“There seems to an atmosphere of strange goings-on there, it seems like a quarrelsome place with anonymous letters being sent around,” the archbish said obliquely. The three will instead continue their training at the Irish College in Rome.

The Irish Independent went into more detail, reporting that there had been accusations of “inappropriate” behaviour at Maynooth, with some seminarians apparently using Grindr.

The Irish Independent added that at least one other bishop is considering withdrawing his trainees from the Kildare college, which has 60 seminarians in all.

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IRELAND
Irish Mirror

BY BARRY ARNOLD

The three students will be sent to the Irish college in Rome in the autumn

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin will not be sending trainee priests to study at Maynooth’s national seminary the autumn.

The students for Dublin will instead be sent to the Irish college in Rome.

The move comes after it was reported seminarians at Maynooth had been using Grindr, a gay dating app, until recently.

Dublin Live reports that the Archbishop has denied that his decision is linked to the scandal, stating “I have my own reasons for doing this”.

But he added that he had made his decision “some months ago”.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

Sarah McDonald
PUBLISHED
01/08/2016

Pope Francis surprised the Irish Church when he announced the resignation of two Irish bishops.

Bishop Martin Drennan of Galway and Kilmacduagh and Bishop Seamus Freeman of Ossory both cited health concerns as their reason for stepping down three years early. The announcements were made last Friday.

While Bishop Drennan’s decision to retire appears to have been unexpected, there had been mounting disquiet in the diocese of Ossory over Bishop Freeman’s leadership in the face of a financial crisis linked to the spiralling costs of a renovation programme at St Mary’s Cathedral in Kilkenny.

Disagreements and concerns over the management of the project had caused some members of the diocesan finance committee to resign last year.
Last January, Bishop Freeman instigated a listening process within the diocese in a bid to allow all sides to be heard.

However, the process is believed to have exacerbated tensions, with some clergy voicing strong criticism of Bishop Freeman’s stewardship.

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IRELAND
Irish Independent

Sarah MacDonald
PUBLISHED
01/08/2016

The country’s largest Catholic diocese has confirmed it will not be sending any of its trainee priests to study at the national seminary in Maynooth this autumn.

Amid reports of a crisis at the Co Kildare seminary, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin has now opted to send his student priests to the Irish College in Rome.

The seminary is headed up by Dubliner Monsignor Ciaran O’Carroll, who has worked closely with Dr Martin in the past.

Three trainee priests from the archdiocese of Dublin will move to the Rome this autumn to further their studies and training.

The seminarians are all at various stages in their training.

There are roughly 60 resident seminarians studying at Maynooth.

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IRELAND
Dublin Live

1 AUG 2016

BY BARRY ARNOLD

Three students will instead be sent to the Irish college in Rome

Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin will be sending trainee priests to study at the National Seminary in Maynooth this Autumn.

Instead, three students will be sent to the Irish college in Rome, reports the Irish Independent.

The decision comes after it was reported that some seminarians have, until recently, been using the gay dating app Grindr.

The Archbishop has denied that his decision is linked to the scandal, stating “I have my own reasons for doing this”.

But he added that he had made his decision “some months ago”.

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IRELAND
Clare FM

1 August, 2016

The Archbishop of Dublin has denied that a rumoured gay sub culture at the National Seminary is the reason he’s not sending his trainee priests there.

According to the Irish Independent the three student priests will study at the Irish college in Rome instead.

It comes after the scandal in May where it was revealed that some seminarians in Maynooth had been using a gay dating app.

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IRELAND
98 FM

The Archdiocese of Dublin won’t be sending its trainee priests to the National Seminary in Maynooth.

It’s been confirmed the three students will instead be sent to the Irish college in Rome, the Irish Independent reports.

Suggestions had been made that a gay subculture exists at the Maynooth seminary, after it was revealed in May that some student priests had been using a gay dating app.

Dublin’s Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has denied that his decision is linked to the scandal.

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IRELAND
Sunday World

The country’s largest Catholic diocese has confirmed it will not be sending any of its trainee priests to study at the national seminary in Maynooth this autumn.

Amid reports of a crisis at the Co Kildare seminary, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin has now opted to send his student priests to the Irish College in Rome.

The seminary is headed up by Dubliner Monsignor Ciaran O’Carroll, who has worked closely with Dr Martin in the past.

Three trainee priests from the archdiocese of Dublin will move to the Rome this autumn to further their studies and training.

The seminarians are all at various stages in their training.

There are roughly 60 resident seminarians studying at Maynooth.

Archbishop Martin is a trustee of Maynooth along with the three other catholic archbishops in the Irish Church and a number of bishops.

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IRELAND/ROME
Irish Times

Paddy Agnew

The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has decided to cease sending trainee priests from the diocese to St Patrick’s College, Maynooth because of a worrying “atmosphere” at the national seminary.

Asked about the decision of the Dublin archdiocese to send its three seminary students next autumn to the Irish Pontifical College in Rome rather than to Maynooth, Dr Martin told The Irish Times: “I wasn’t happy with Maynooth…

“There seems to an atmosphere of strange goings-on there, it seems like a quarrelsome place with anonymous letters being sent around.

“I don’t think this is a good place for students,” he said. “However, when I informed the president of Maynooth of my decision, I did add ‘at least for the moment’.”

The Archbishop’s decision to send his students to Rome comes after anonymous letters were circulated in clerical circles about student activities in Maynooth, including an allegation that some seminarians had used a dating app.

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NEW JERSEY
Star-Ledger

Archbishop John Myers finally turned 75 Tuesday, the mandatory retirement age for bishops, and announced he intends to step down.

Blessed are we to be rid of this man. During his 15-year tenure as New Jersey’s highest-ranking Catholic, he protected pedophile priests and used church funds to expand an already large weekend house into an opulent retirement mansion.

He urged his flock to vote based on two issues — abortion and gay marriage — at the threat of being denied Holy Communion.

He refused to meet with any of the thousands of parishioners protesting his extravagance, who said the money would be better spent feeding the hungry or housing the homeless; or to answer questions from the press.

And now, in an exit interview with the Bergen Record, he is giving the Pope lessons on how to handle the media. Priceless.

The Catholic Church does tremendous good in this state. It’s not just the schools, the hospitals, the food pantries, and all the charity that helps hold communities together and bind its wounds. It is also a spiritual home that gives so many people meaning and solace. Myers will soon be just a bad memory.

But we hope Pope Francis replaces Myers quickly with someone more in line with his message of change. Could you ever imagine the “people’s pope” building himself a house with six bedrooms, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, three fireplaces, a three-car garage, an elevator and a hot tub?

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GUAM
KUAM

[with copy of Mr. Tudela’s full statement]

Updated: Jul 31, 2016

By Jason Salas

Another person has come forward, alleging members of Guam’s Catholic clergy of sexual molestation. Born in 1943, Leo Tudela, originally from Saipan, openly wept before the community as he detailed a series of traumatic events involving clergy after he came to Guam to attend Catholic school in the summer of 1956. Tudela testified at a continued public hearing at the Guam Legislature over a substitute version of Bill 326, which seeks to lift the statute of limitations for cases involving child sex abuse. Last week, Archbishop Anthony Apuron’s accusers testified at a similar public hearing for the bill.

While strongly urging passage of the legislation, Tudela shared his very personal and painful recollection of a series of events that happened to him when he was 13 years old. Now 73, he tearfully detailed how on three occasions, he was molested and forced to perform sexual acts upon himself.

Tudela began by describing how he came to Guam in the summer of 1956 to attend Catholic school, residing at the monastery in Agana Heights. One night, he recalled, he awoke to discover a man touching his penis, who Tudela said identified himself as “Brother Mariano”. He also detailed that while later staying in the rectory, one night he felt someone massaging his penis, who he identified as “Father Luis”.

Additionally, he said that while in the Boy Scouts, he was also told by a scout leader to remove his pants and masturbate. Tudela explained that altar boys were required to join the Boy Scouts – if they refused to perform lascivious acts, they would be forced to work duties around the campgrounds.

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GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Aug 01, 2016

By Krystal Paco

Dozens of picketers continued their Sunday ritual outside the Hagatna Cathedral holding signs directed towards Guam’s interim Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, telling him to stop collecting money for the Redemptoris Mater Seminary as well as messages to defrock Archbishop Anthony Apuron. Archbishop Hon was appointed by the Vatican to serve the Archdiocese of Agana as an apostolic administrator while Apuron has been placed on leave.

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National Catholic Register

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE — During his flight from Krakow to Rome on Sunday, Pope Francis gave a press conference to the journalists assembled aboard the papal plane. He reflected on the World Youth Day gathering in the Polish city, and the recent attempted coup in Turkey.

He also addressed abuse accusations against Cardinal Pell, the crisis in Venezuela, Islam and violence, and Panama – which will host the next World Youth Day.

Below is the full text of the July 31 press conference, translated by Catholic News Agency: …

Father Lombardi: Now we give the word to Frances D’Emilio, who is a colleague from the Associated Press, the large English-language agency

Frances D’Emilio, AP: Good evening. My question is a question that many are asking in these days because it has come to light in Australia that the Australian police would be investigating new accusations against Cardinal Pell, and that this time the accusations involve the abuse of minors that are very different from the previous accusations. So, the question that I ask which many others ask is: according to you, what would be the right thing for Cardinal Pell to do, given his serious situation and in such an important position and the confidence that he enjoys from you?

Pope Francis: Thank you. The first information that arrived was confusing. It was news from 40 years back that not even the police made a case about at first. It was a confusing thing. Then, all the rest of the accusations were sent to justice. Right now, they are in the hands of justice. And one mustn’t judge before justice judges, eh. If I were to say a judgement in favor of or against Cardinal Pell, it wouldn’t be good because I [would] judge before. It’s true that there there is doubt and there’s that clear principal of the law: in dubio pro reo (Editor’s note: the phrase is a Latin expression meaning in favor of the alleged guilty party), no? But, we must wait for justice and not make a first judgement ourselves, a media trial, or … because this doesn’t help. The judgement of gossip and then, one can…we don’t know what the result will be but be attentive to what justice decides. Once justice speaks, I will speak. Thank you.

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International Business Times

By Lara Rebello
August 1, 2016

Pope Francis has stated that he will not take a position in the case against cardinal George Pell and will allow justice to take its course regarding allegations that the Australian priest sexually abused children.

Speaking to reporters aboard the papal airplane, the Pope said that while waiting for the court to pass its judgement, it was important that there was no trial by media regarding Pell, who is the Vatican finance chief.

“We must avoid a media verdict, a verdict based on gossip,” he said during the flight back from Poland on 31 July. “It’s in the hands of the justice system and one cannot judge before the justice system.

“Justice has to take its course and justice by the media or justice by rumour does not help. After the justice system speaks, I will speak,” he said in response to a question, adding that he had his “doubts” regarding the case.

Victoria state police commissioner Graham Ashton had confirmed last week that the authorities were investigating Pell regarding complaints he molested children while still a young priest. The 75-year-old priest had earlier been accused of mishandling cases of abusive clergy when he was archbishop of Melbourne and later Sydney. He has denied all charges while criticising the Australian Broadcasting Corporation for mounting a smear campaign against him. He said that they had “no licence to destroy the reputation of innocent people”.

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MISSOURI
TheMediaReport

David Pierre

After years of haranguing the Catholic Church over its alleged “lack of transparency” in its handling of abuse cases, David Clohessy, the national director of the lawyer-funded hate group SNAP, is again not only defying a federal judge’s orders to hand over important documents in the case of a falsely accused priest, but he is also now orchestrating a fraudulent media campaign about it.

As we have reported before, Rev. Xiu Hui “Joseph” Jiang has filed a federal lawsuit against his accusers, SNAP, and members of the St. Louis police department for publicly and wrongfully accusing him of being a child molester.

After SNAP openly defied two court orders directing them to turn over important documents in its possession, Fr. Jiang’s lawyers are now asking the court to sanction SNAP for its contumacious refusal to obey the court’s discovery orders.

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UNITED KINGDOM
IOL

Arthur Martin and Rachel Watson

London – More than 30 million images of child sex abuse have been discovered and over 500 young victims have been identified by a major police operation.

Police in Scotland have charged 77 people with crimes against children, including the rape of some as young as three.

Other charges relate to sharing indecent images of children, grooming for sexual purposes, sexual extortion and indecent communication with children.

In one case, a computer with ten million images depicting child abuse was found. Police said it would take four full-time officers six months just to view the images uncovered.

Of the 523 victims and potential victims, 122 have been referred to child protection services.

The crackdown, called Operation Lattise, involved 134 separate investigations, carried out between June 6 and July 15. The victims were identified after the homes of 83 people were searched and 547 computers and other devices were seized.

Assistant Chief Constable Malcolm Graham of Police Scotland said some of the material involved abuse of babies. He described the online grooming of children and sharing of indecent images as a “national threat”.

Almost 400 charges have been brought so far – but police expect this figure to rise as they identify more suspects. Of those arrested, six are already registered sex offenders and four were in “positions of trust”. One suspect was found to be communicating with more than 110 children. …

Meanwhile, police probing an alleged sex abuse cover-up by Church of England leaders have interviewed Australian victims.

Former archbishop of York Lord David Hope of Thornes, 76, is being investigated for possible misconduct in public office over his handling of complaints of abuse by a fellow clergyman.

The late Rev Robert Waddington was suspected of having raped pupils at a north Queensland boarding school in the 1960s before allegedly abusing choir boys as the Dean of Manchester.

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GUAM
KUAM

[with video]

Updated: Aug 01, 2016

By Krystal Paco

A public hearing for a substitute version of Bill 326 turned into the tearful testimony of one alleged victim of child sex abuse by multiple members of the church. While Archbishop Anthony Apuron has had four alleged victims come forward and accuse him of molestation, three others of the Archdiocese of Agana stand accused as of today.

Not once, but three times 73-year-old Leo Tudela alleges he fell victim to child sex abuse in the church. In support of a substitute version of Bill 326, which lifts the statute of limitations for such cases, he detailed three painful and personal memories as a young altar boy leaving his home in Saipan to live in Guam to attend Catholic school. The year was 1956.

“While I was staying at the Capuchin Fathers Monastery in Agana Heights, one night in the early morning hours, I was awakened by someone touching my private area, my penis, and massaging and masturbating me,” he recalled, tearing up repeatedly. “He told me, ‘It’s okay. I’m Brother Mariano.’ I told him to please leave me alone, but he continued to do what he was doing.”

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GUAM
KUAM

Updated: Aug 01, 2016

By Krystal Paco

Longtime social worker and licensed mental health counselor Vincent Pereda testified in support of Bill 326. He also gave examples of the punishment that Archbishop Anthony Apuron would have faced if convicted of rape or molestation in today’s justice system.

He explained, “Had he been reported when he committed these criminal acts back in the 70s when he was a parish priest, he would today by current law be charged with 1st and 2nd degree criminal sexual conduct as 1st degree felonies, which are the most serious level of sexual conduct offenses. If convicted for these crimes, he would be facing a minimum of 15 years to life.”

Pereda was a member of the Archdiocesan Review Board, the group tasked with investigating sex abuse allegations in the church. Earlier this year, Pereda resigned from his position on the board because he recognized flaws in the policy that enabled the archbishop to make all the decisions, even if he was the accused perpetrator.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

JOANNE MCCARTHY
1 Aug 2016

EIGHT Anglican bishops and archbishops, including six current or past bishops of Newcastle, will give evidence during a royal commission public hearing from Tuesday into child sexual abuse in the Hunter region.

Former Newcastle Bishops Alfred Holland and Richard Appleby will give evidence in the first few days of the hearing after survivors Phillip D’Ammond and Paul Gray give evidence on Tuesday about being sexually abused as children.

The hearing will start with allegations about the late Anglican priest Peter Rushton, and sexual abuse of children at St Alban’s Children’s Home at Cessnock.

The list of 30 witnesses includes former Bishops of Newcastle Roger Herft and Brian Farran, former trustee and member of Newcastle Diocesan Council Keith Allen, former diocese registrar Peter Mitchell, former diocesan solicitor Robert Caddies, and former chancellor Paul Rosser, QC.

The witness list does not include former Anglican Dean of Newcastle Graeme Lawrence, despite the defrocked clergyman being named by the royal commission as a subject of inquiry into how the diocese responded to child sex allegations against him.

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AUSTRALIA
Newcastle Herald

IT has been a long time coming.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse will open its 42nd case study at Newcastle Courthouse at 10am on Tuesday. For two weeks it is expected to hear evidence about how Newcastle Anglican diocese has dealt with child sex allegations over decades.

More significantly, it will hear evidence from individuals within the diocese, including senior clergy, about what they did, or didn’t do, when allegations were raised by children, and when those children turned to the church for support years later as adults.

There will be shocks, and evidence of cruel and callous treatment by people purporting to be followers of Jesus Christ. There will be grief for victims of child sexual abuse who have not survived to see this day, and grief from survivors for lives they would have lived – but for abuse that darkened their childhoods.

There will be anger. Since the first royal commission public hearing in September 2013, into dreadful systemic failures in Scouts, Hunter Aboriginal Services and the Department of Community Services that allowed Steven Larkins to sexually abuse children for years, there has been anger and outrage, and rightly so.

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ROME
Religion News Service

By Josephine McKenna

ROME (RNS) Pope Francis says he will not address sexual abuse allegations against the Vatican’s finance minister, Cardinal George Pell, until Australian judicial authorities complete their investigation.

In a press conference on the papal flight returning from World Youth Day in Poland late Sunday, the pontiff said the allegations against Pell “are in the hands of the justice system” and the cardinal should not be judged “before the justice system judges.”

“If I were to make a judgment in favor or against Cardinal Pell that would not be good because I would be making a judgment first,” said the pope.

Pell, an Australian cardinal who as the Holy See’s finance chief is third in the Vatican hierarchy after Pope Francis and Secretary of State Pietro Parolin. He is the most senior figure in the Catholic Church to be accused of sexually abusing minors.

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SRI LANKA
Hiru News

An army official has been sexually abused by a Buddhist priest, after they started to communicate after meeting on Facebook. The 25-year-old Buddhist priest was arrested.

The army official is attached to Kanagarayankulam Army Camp in Vavuniya.

The priest has asked the army official to visit his Viharaya and had sexually abused him.

When the official fell ill at the camp he was forwarded for a medical checkup where it was found that he was sexually abused.

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AUSTRALIA
SBS

Survivors of child sexual abuse by clergy have said they’re saddened by the Pope’s lack of “compassion”. The Pope has said Cardinal George Pell should not face a trial by media, and says there are “doubts” over the allegations of abuse made against him.

By Sarah Abo
1 AUG 2016

In Poland for a Catholic Youth festival, the Pope addressed a range of issues afflicting the world: he prayed for war-torn Syria and urged young people not to become couch potatoes.

And as he returned to Rome, aboard the papal plane, Pope Francis was asked about the accusations made against Cardinal George Pell.

“The first news we received on this was confused,” he told reporters during the brief press conference.

“It was news from 40 years ago and even the police had not considered this case at the beginning because the information was confused.”

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Christian Today

James Macintyre 01 August 2016

Pope Francis has said that people should withhold judgement and not “gossip” about Cardinal George Pell, who has been accused of sexually abusing children in Australia during the 1970s.

Cardinal Pell has called for an investigation into Australia’s Victoria police and claimed he is the victim of a “scandalous smear campaign” after allegations against him emerged of historic sexual abuse towards children.

The comments from the Pope – who appointed Pell as head of the Vatican’s secretariat for the economy in 2014 -came as he was flying back from Poland after World Youth Day.

He said that no-one should judge Pell before justice has taken its course.

“The first information that arrived was confusing,” Pope Francis told journalists. “It was news from 40 years back that not even the police made a case about at first. It was a confusing thing. Then, all the rest of the accusations were sent to justice. Right now, they are in the hands of justice. And one mustn’t judge before justice judges, eh? If I were to say a judgement in favour of or against Cardinal Pell, it wouldn’t be good because I [would] judge before…we must wait for justice and not make a first judgement ourselves, a media trial…because this doesn’t help. The judgement of gossip and then, one can…we don’t know what the result will be but be attentive to what justice decides. Once justice speaks, I will speak.”

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