ABUSE TRACKER

AUSTRALIA
SBS

AAP

A ring of police officers linked arms to shield Cardinal George Pell from about 100 journalists, photographers and camera operators who swarmed outside a Melbourne court.

The cardinal walked 100 metres from the office of his high-profile barrister Robert Richter QC to the front steps of the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court through perhaps the largest press pack the city has seen.

Scores of local and international reporters, plus members of the public, queued from early on Wednesday to ensure a seat in the court room to witness Pell’s appearance on historical sexual offences.

The demand for seats forced the court to allocate a second room, so more people could watch a live stream.

Pell, 76, arrived at the court just before 9am, after Victoria Police officers barged their way through the media pack making way for Pell and his lawyer.

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AUSTRALIA
3AW

Neil Mitchell says Cardinal George Pell should receive “some special treatment” at his first court appearance today.

The 3AW Mornings host predicted “bedlam” outside the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court when Cardinal Pell arrived.

Up to 100 local and international media are already camped outside, with supporters and protesters also there.

Neil Mitchell said it was undignified and dangerous.

“They won’t do it, but I think George Pell – to some extent – should get some special treatment today,” the 3AW Mornings host said.

“He should be taken in under the building, if possible.

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AUSTRALIA
The Guardian

The appearance of the cardinal in a Melbourne court on sexual abuse charges attracted the biggest crowd anyone can remember, but it was still wrapped in mystery, writes David Marr

David Marr

Wednesday 26 July 2017

My apologies. I can’t tell you what’s going on. A great billowing, lace-edged cloak of secrecy still surrounds the case of the Director of Public Prosecutions v. G Pell.

Months down the track, we don’t know what the charges are. Even if they fell into my lap, I would not say a word. Why not? Sorry, that’s a secret too.

Old timers round the Melbourne courts can’t remember the last time the public was left so much in the dark before a great criminal trial. It was certainly baffling for the press of the world who gathered outside the Melbourne magistrates court before dawn for what is usually one of the dreariest rituals of the criminal law: a filing hearing.

But this was entirely Cardinal Pell’s show. He didn’t need to turn up at all and we were only there because he wanted to brave the cameras. Twelve were lined up along the gutter by the time the sun came up. The queue of reporters at the door of the courts went half-way down the wheelchair ramp.

Pell hove in sight a little before 9am dressed all in black with a black overcoat over his arm and black brogues on his feet. He was entirely impassive. Businesslike. Obedient. He did what he was told.

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MEXICO
HuffPost

[Ex-priest Alberto Athie attacks Norberto Rivera for protecting pedophiles. The ex-priest mentioned that Norberto Rivera previously acknowledged in December 2016 that 15 cases of pedophilia had been investigated by the church and the cases were sent by him directly to Rome and the pope. These cases were not turned over to law enforcement, he maintained.”It should be remembered that the same cardinal accused ex-members of the Legionaries of Christ of defaming Marcial Maciel, and being in a plot against the church,” says Athie. Rivera made these statements knowing that Maciel had abused hundreds of his disciples and had two women and two children, one in Mexico and another in Spain.]

Luis Baylón Editor HuffPost México

Alberto Athié Gallo es un exsacerdote católico que colgó el habito tras comprobar directamente la protección que brindaba el cardenal Norberto Rivera Carrera a pederastas, declaró en 2007 a La Jornada.

En declaraciones más recientes publicadas por Jorge Ramos en Univisión, Athié Gallo arremetió contra el exarzobispo primado de México (Norberto Rivera sí presentó su renuncia al Papa Francisco), “el cardenal Rivera tiene un historial muy grave, muy delicado por encubrimiento de muchos sacerdotes pederastas, comenzando por Marcial Maciel”.

El exsacerdote menciona que previamente Norberto Rivera reconoció en diciembre de 2016, la existencia de 15 casos de casos de pederastia por los que había realizado las investigaciones correspondientes y por las que se resolvieron sentencias directamente desde Roma y por el papa.

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GEORGIA
The Brunswick News

By GORDON JACKSON gjackson@thebrunswicknews.com

WOODBINE — The author of a law that enables victims of child sexual abuse to file civil lawsuits against their attackers is proposing new legislation to strengthen the Hidden Predator Act.

State Rep. Jason Spencer, R-Woodbine, will hold a press conference at 9:30 a.m., Aug. 2, at the state capitol in Atlanta, where he will be joined by a bipartisan group of co-sponsors.

Organizations that knowingly cover up child sexual abuse could face civil lawsuits if the Hidden Predator Act of 2018 is approved during the next legislative session. Increasing the statute of limitations age for victims is another goal of the bill.

“I am holding this press conference in light of the recent developments regarding litigation implicating child sexual abuse cover-ups by various organizations,” Spencer said. “The details of these cases highlight the need for new and tougher changes to the current Hidden Predator Act. It is necessary that we address many of the injustices uncovered in recent child sexual abuse litigation and the shortcomings of a shortened statute of limitations.”

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NEW YORK
The New York Jewish Week

BY CHAIM LEVIN July 25, 2017

In a bid to turn up the pressure on Agudath Israel of America over its policies towards sexual abuse victims, activists and abuse survivors protested Sunday in front of the Novominsker shul in Borough Park, the second such protest this summer.

About 30 protesters — including at least 10 of whom said they were abused as children — spent nearly three hours demonstrating their frustration with Rabbi Yaakov Perlow, one of the leaders of Agudah. The charedi umbrella group is one of a few organizations in the Jewish community that has strongly objected to the Child Victims Act, a bill that would increase the statute of limitations for sex crimes committed against minors in New York State. Other groups opposed to the bill include the New York State Catholic Conference and the Boy Scouts of America; they argue that increasing the statute of limitations would expose them to potentially crippling legal bills.

Currently, a victim of childhood sexual abuse can bring charges or a lawsuit until the age of 23. The bill would extend that period until a survivor’s 28th birthday for felony criminal charges and until age 50 for civil cases. It also includes a one-year window to revive old cases.

Upper West Side Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal introduced the bill in the Assembly, where it passed. Midtown state Sen. Brad Hoylman sponsored it in the Senate where it was never voted on, marking the 11th year in a row that the bill has stalled.

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MASSACHUSETTS
NBC New York

[with video]

Convicted pedophile priest Paul Shanley has completed his prison sentence and is expected to be released this week.

Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who represented Shanley’s victims and numerous other victims of the Roman Catholic church child sex abuse scandal in Massachusetts, told NBC Boston that Shanley is set to be released on Friday. He is currently being held at the medium security Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater.

Shanley, one of the most notorious figures in the clergy sex abuse scandal, was sentenced in 2005 to 12 to 15 years in prison for raping a boy repeatedly at St. Jean’s Parish in Newton in the 1980s. He was defrocked after dozens of men came forward and said he had molested them when they were children.

During his trial, Shanley’s accuser, then a 27-year-old firefighter, said Shanley would pull him from Sunday catechism classes and rape and fondle him, beginning when he was 6 years old. The man said he recovered memories of the abuse as the clergy sex abuse scandal unfolded in the Archdiocese of Boston during the early 2000s.

“Even though he is an old man, and even though he’s served his time, I worry that, that No. 1, the population is still at risk, and No. 2, this is a terrible thing to put Shanley’s alleged victims through,” said Terence McKiernan of Bishop-Accountability.org.

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AUSTRALIA
9 News

Supporters of Cardinal George Pell are worried court proceedings against Australia’s most powerful Catholic could turn into a case of “get the bishop”.

Among the throng of media, protesters and public onlookers gathered outside Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, where the 76-year-old appeared on Wednesday facing historical sex abuse charges, was supporter Karen Baxter.

“We’re here to say this person needs to be given the benefit of the doubt,” she told AAP.

“We’re worried it’s going to be the sort of Azaria Chamberlain media pack, let’s just go get the bishop, you know.”

Ms Baxter said she had known Pell since he was a child and described him as polite, friendly and methodical.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Stuttgarter Zeitung

[In the past residential children were educated with penance to piety. Those who violated rules were severely punished. An outgrowth of this system was sexual abuse. Professor Benno Hafeneger, as was the case with the Brüdergemeinde Korntal-Münchingen – church, state, parents – many people were responsible for the residential education of the 1950s and 1960s. But the fate of a few children shows: All have failed. Nobody can escape the responsibility, says the scientist Benno Hafeneger. What influence did national socialism, later the GDR, have?]

Früher sollten Heimkinder mit Buße zur Frömmigkeit erzogen werden. Wer gegen Regeln verstieß, wurde hart bestraft. Ein Auswuchs dieses Systems war sexueller Missbrauch. Professor Benno Hafeneger untersucht, wie das bei der Brüdergemeinde war.

Korntal-Münchingen – Kirche, Staat, Eltern – für die Heimerziehung der fünfziger und sechziger Jahre waren viele verantwortlich. Doch das Schicksal etlicher Kinder zeigt: Alle haben versagt. Keiner könne sich der Verantwortung entziehen, sagt der Wissenschaftler Benno Hafeneger.

Herr Hafeneger, Sie äußern sich nicht im Detail zu Korntal. Gleichwohl sprechen Sie bereits von einem System der Gewalt. Schließen Sie in Korntal irgendetwas aus?

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AUSTRALIEN
Sueddeutsche

[Why it is so difficult for the Catholic Church to admit abuse?]

Von Matthias Drobinski

Kardinal George Pell ist zurück in seiner australischen Heimat; eine kurze Filmsequenz zeigt, wie er, von Singapur kommend, auf dem Flughafen von Melbourne von Polizisten und Sicherheitsleuten zu einer weißen Limousine geleitet wird. Es hat ja nicht das Heimweh den 76-Jährigen dazu gebracht, die lange Reise von Rom um die halbe Welt auf sich zu nehmen. Kardinal Pell, als Quasi-Finanzminister des Papstes einer der mächtigsten Männer im Vatikan, soll an diesem Mittwoch vor einem Gericht in Melbourne Rede und Antwort stehen. Der Vorwurf: “historische sexuelle Übergriffe”.

Was damit gemeint ist, bleibt unklar. Seit einigen Jahren gehen immer wieder Männer an die Öffentlichkeit und berichten, Pell habe sich an ihnen vergangen, als er Ende der siebziger Jahre Priester in Ballarat war, einer 80 000 Einwohner-Stadt nahe Melbourne. In seiner Zeit als Erzbischof von 1996 bis 2001 soll er außerdem dazu beigetragen haben, Missbrauchsfälle zu vertuschen. Die australische Justiz hält die Vorwürfe für schwerwiegend genug, um ein Verfahren einzuleiten. Und Papst Franziskus hat dem Kardinal die “Erlaubnis für eine Auszeit” gegeben. Seine Ämter in Rom ruhen.

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NORTH CAROLINA
Raw Story

TOM BOGGIONI
24 JUL 2017

A North Carolina church that is already under investigation for kidnapping a gay man and attempting to beat his homosexuality out of him is once again in the spotlight after it was revealed that church members have been importing worshipers from Brazil and turning them into slaves.

According to the Associated Press, the Word of Faith Fellowship recruits young members from two affiliated churches in Brazil to come to the U.S. on tourist and student visas where they are put to work on the church’s 35-acre compound in Spindale for no pay.

One man, identified as Andre Oliveira, told the AP that he was forced to work 15 hours a day, usually for no pay, cleaning offices and warehouses owned by the evangelical church. He well also forced to work at private businesses owned by some of the church’s ministers. Olivera stated that failure to comply resulted in beatings and shaming from the pulpit.

“They kept us as slaves,” Oliveira explained. “We were expendable. We meant nothing to them. Nothing. How can you do that to people — claim you love them and then beat them in the name of God?”

According to AP, “Under U.S. law, visitors on tourist visas are prohibited from performing work for which people normally would be compensated. Those on student visas are allowed some work, under circumstances that were not met at Word of Faith Fellowship.”

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NORTH CAROLINA
Christian Times

Jardine Malado
25 JULY, 2017

A North Carolina church allegedly used its branches in Brazil to entice its members to come to the U.S. and make them work for little or no pay.

An investigation conducted by The Associated Press (AP) has found that the Word of Faith Fellowship Church in Spindale, North Carolina used its two branches in Brazil to siphon a steady flow of young workers who came to the U.S. on tourist and student visas.

Andre Oliveira, one church member who was invited to Spindale when he was 18-years-old, recounted that the church leaders confiscated his passport and money when he arrived. He said that he was forced to work 15 hours a day, usually for no pay, cleaning warehouses for the church and toiling at business owned by senior ministers.

“They trafficked us up here. They knew what they were doing. They needed labor and we were cheap labor — hell, free labor,” he said, noting that the church leaders also beat and shamed members who deviated from the rules.

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NORTH CAROLINA
Christian Today

James Macintyre 25 July 2017

The controversial Word of Faith Fellowship used its two church branches in Brazil to siphon young labourers on tourist and student visas to its 35-acre compound in rural Spindale, North Carolina, to work as ‘slaves’, an investigation by the Associated Press (AP) has found.

The ‘slave pipeline’ was used by the secretive evangelical church despite US law requiring that visitors on tourist visas are prohibited from performing work for which people would normally be compensated. Those on student visas are allowed some work, under circumstances that were not met at the Word of Faith Fellowship.

Some 16 Brazilian former members told the AP they were forced to work, often for no pay, and physically or verbally assaulted.

One of those was Andre Oliveira, who answered the call to leave his Word of Faith Fellowship congregation in Brazil to move to the mother church in North Carolina at the age of 18, when his passport and money were confiscated by church leaders, supposedly for safekeeping.

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AUSTRALIA
Daily Examiner

Tim Howard | 26th Jul 2017

TWO ANGLICAN clergymen controversially returned to Holy Orders after being defrocked for their roles in covering up historic cases of child sex abuse, are unlikely to minister again.

Former Bishop of Grafton Keith Slater and Grafton Deacon Rev Pat Comben have been returned to Holy Orders this year after attempts to “depose” them in 2015.

The pair were found to have acted inappropriately to victims of the notorious North Coast Children’s Home who came to them seeking redress for past abuses.

The attempted defrocking came after an church inquiry into evidence of historic child sex abuse at the home at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

But last year Bishop Slater successfully appealed against the decision on the ground the diocese did not have the necessary powers to strip clergy of Holy Orders.

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GERMANY
The Tablet

26 July 2017 | by Christa Pongratz-Lippitt

‘This is not a matter of individual cases of abuse as Cardinal Müller always insisted when he was Bishop of Regensburg’

The Bishop of Regensburg, Rudolf Voderholzer, has asked the hundreds of victims in the Domspatzen choir scandal for forgiveness saying that he is “absolutely shattered” by the findings of the report released last week.

Published on 17 July, the report, commissioned by the diocese of Regensburg and compiled by the lawyer Ulrich Weber, stated that 547 boys were abused at the prestigious choir school in Regensburg, Bavaria, between the years 1945 and 1992.

Bishop Voderholzer’s response contrasted with that of former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Gerhard Muller, who was bishop of Regensburg form 2002 to 2012, who admitted that he “experienced shame for what has happened in the Church” but emphasised “everything that was possible and necessary was done” and refused to apologise.

“All this makes me feel deeply guilt-ridden and fills me with shame”, Bishop Voderholzer wrote in a pastoral letter that was read out in all the parishes in the Regensburg diocese on 23 July. “It weighs all the heavier as all these children were, in good faith, put in the trust of priests and church employees who were under obligation to act on behalf of Christ the Good Shepherd.”

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AUSTRALIA
Starts at 60

After being charged with multiple counts of child sexual assault Cardinal George Pell has appeared in a Melbourne court today.

His appearance resulted in chaos. Escorted by police there was a surge of people, including a large contingent of media from all over the world, calling out questions. Protesters and supporters had gathered early, holding posters showing their opposing thoughts on the matter.

Dressed in a black overcoat and his usual clerical garments, Cardinal Pell remained silent, staring mostly at the ground as he entered the court.

The court was only small, so only media who arrived early were able to witness the proceedings first hand.

The Cardinal’s barrister, Robert Richter, QC, spoke in the Melbourne Magistrates Court today and said Pell will plead not guilty to all charges, and will maintain his presumed innocence.

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AUSTRALIA
New Daily

Rachel Eddie
Reporter
@heyracheddie

A child sex abuse survivor has called Cardinal George Pell’s first court appearance a “momentous” and “symbolic day”.

Cardinal Pell, 76, fronted Melbourne Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday on historic child sex abuse charges from multiple complainants.

While the Cardinal was not required to enter a plea, his defence barrister Robert Richter, QC, told the courtroom: “I might indicate that Cardinal Pell pleads not guilty to all charges and will maintain the presumed innocence that he has.”

Cardinal Pell has repeatedly and strenuously denied the allegations.

Philip Nagle, a survivor of abuse by convicted Ballarat priest Stephen Francis Farrell, told The New Daily it was a relief to see Cardinal Pell face the allegations.

“It’s a very symbolic day today, because he entered the court as a normal man, not as the third-most powerful man in the Catholic Church,” Mr Nagle said.

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AUSTRALIA
Sky News

By Sharon Marris, News Reporter

The most senior Vatican official ever charged in the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal has denied the charges against him.

Cardinal George Pell, Pope Francis’s top financial adviser, made his first appearance at a court in Melbourne, Australia, since he was charged with multiple historical sex offences last month.

Full details of the charges faced by the 76-year-old have not yet been released to the public but there are multiple complainants in the case.

The Cardinal, Australia’s highest-ranking Catholic, did not say anything during his court appearance and, although no formal plea was entered, his lawyer told the court that he planned to plead not guilty.

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AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun

A large media scrum of journalists from around the world swamped Cardinal Pell as he arrived then left the court hearing, flanked by scores of police.

There was also a contingent of supporters, protesters and curious passersby.

In one of the most chaotic scenes ever witnessed at the court in William St, it almost took longer for Cardinal Pell to walk the 100m to his lawyer’s offices afterwards than the eight minute hearing.

He was flanked by a dozen police who largely managed to shield the Cardinal as media threw questions.

This is how the morning unfolded.

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AUSTRALIA
The Local (Italy)

AFP
news@thelocal.it
26 July 2017

Vatican finance chief Cardinal George Pell, a top advisor to Pope Francis, denied all charges of historical sexual abuse on Wednesday at his first appearance in an Australian court over the allegations.

The 76-year-old, the number-three figure in the Vatican, returned from Rome earlier this month to face the charges in Melbourne Magistrates Court.

Details of the charges have not been made public although police said they involved “multiple complainants”. The former Sydney and Melbourne archbishop has always maintained his innocence.

Looking sombre and frail, he attended the hearing with his lawyer, top criminal barrister Robert Richter, who told the court his client was not guilty – even though a formal plea is not required at this stage.

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AUSTRALIA
7 News

Megan Neil, Jacqui Le, Kaitlyn Offer and Angus Livingston – AAP on July 26, 2017

Cardinal George Pell’s first court appearance lasted only minutes under the intense glare of the world’s media, signalling the start of a lengthy legal fight by the highest-ranking Catholic official to be charged with sexual abuse.

The third most senior Vatican official did not have to be at the Melbourne Magistrates Court for the brief administrative hearing, nor again profess his innocence, but chose to do both.

High-profile barrister Robert Richter QC noted Pell did not have to enter a plea at this early stage but said he will plead not guilty to multiple historical sexual offence charges involving multiple complainants.

“For the avoidance of doubt and because of the interest, might I indicate that Cardinal Pell will plead not guilty to all the charges and will maintain his presumed innocence that he has,” Mr Richter told a packed courtroom.

Pell entered the court as he left it a short time later: shepherded by a ring of police officers, their arms linked, in an attempt to keep a 100-strong media contingent at bay as he walked the short distance to and from Mr Richter’s office.

Several photographers were knocked over as they climbed the steps to the court building.

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AUSTRALIA
Telegraph (UK)

Jonathan Pearlman, in melbourne
26 JULY 2017

Cardinal George Pell, one of the most powerful figures in the Vatican and Australia’s most senior Catholic, appeared in court to face historic sex assault offences and declared he was “not guilty” despite not yet being required to enter a plea.

Greeted by a mix of jeers and applause, Cardinal Pell, who has returned from the Vatican to try to clear his name, appeared tired but assured as he entered Melbourne Magistrates Court, which was packed with journalists and onlookers.

Wearing his clerical collar, Cardinal Pell did not speak during the six-minute hearing.

“For the avoidance of doubt and because of the interest might I indicate that Cardinal Pell pleads not guilty to all charges and will maintain his presumed innocence that he has,” Mr Richter told the court.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

By Staff Reporter
July 26 2017

The brother of victims’ campaigner Billy McConville, who died from cancer on Sunday, has said that the family now need the time and space to “quietly grieve” for him.

Mr McConville (50) suffered sexual and physical harm as an orphan at Rubane House in Co Down, where he was sent after the IRA murdered his mother, Jean McConville.

The Belfast man had recently been living at a hospice while bravely coping with cancer.

In recent days he had called on politicians to secure justice and compensation for abuse survivors, dragging himself from his hospital bed to support a Belfast rally.

Speaking before Billy’s funeral today, his brother Michael said: “Billy lived out his last days in a media spotlight campaigning for justice for the victims of institutional sexual and physical abuse, a cause he felt passionately about.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
ITV

The funeral of victims’ campaigner Billy McConville takes place later in west Belfast.

The 50-year-old passed away on Monday without seeing any form of justice or compensation for years of abuse he suffered in care following the abduction and murder of his mother Jean McConville in 1972.

A Requiem Mass will be held in St Paul’s Church on the Falls Road at 1pm followed by burial in Milltown Cemetery.

Michael McConville said his brother’s last days had been spent in the media spotlight as he campaigned for justice for other victims of institutional abuse, but now his family needed time and space to “quietly grieve”.

“When he was physically at his weakest he showed the greatest strength of character and we are proud of him for that,” he said ahead of the funeral.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
BBC News

Peter Robinson has called for immediate action to compensate abuse victims after payments recommended by a inquiry were delayed by Stormont’s collapse.

The ex-first minister suggested seeking “consensus” from political parties that could allow the payments to be set up in the absence of devolved government.

The Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) Inquiry recommended a state apology and compensation for victims.

But the collapse of Stormont in January meant the process was put on hold.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

July 26 2017

A brother of abuse victims campaigner Billy McConville has urged politicians in Northern Ireland to fulfil his dying wish and compensate those who suffered

Mr McConville, 50, died at the weekend after a battle with cancer. He was the son of IRA “Disappeared” murder victim Jean McConville.

After her killing in 1972, he was placed in residential care at Rubane House in Co Down, run by brothers from the De La Salle religious order. Mr McConville claimed he suffered sexual and physical harm in their care.

He appeared before a Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) public inquiry in 2014 to detail his experience and in the days before his death called on politicians to secure justice and compensation for abuse survivors, dragging himself from his bed to support a Belfast rally.

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AUSTRALIA
Associated Press

BY KRISTEN GELINEAU
ASSOCIATED PRESS

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Silent but defiant, Cardinal George Pell made his first court appearance in Australia on Wednesday on charges of sexual abuse, vowing through his lawyer to fight the allegations that have rocked Rome and threatened the pope’s image as a crusader against abusive clergy.

Pell, Australia’s highest-ranking Catholic and Pope Francis’ top financial adviser, is accused of sexually abusing multiple people years ago in his Australian home state of Victoria, making him the most senior Vatican official ever charged in the Catholic Church sex abuse crisis. Details of the charges have yet to be released to the public, though police have described them as “historical” sexual assault offenses – meaning crimes that occurred years ago.

Pell has not yet entered a plea. But on Wednesday, his lawyer told the court that the 76-year-old cardinal plans to formally plead not guilty at a future court date.

“For the avoidance of doubt and because of the interest, I might indicate that Cardinal Pell pleads not guilty to all charges and will maintain the presumed innocence that he has,” lawyer Robert Richter told the court. …

Anne Barrett Doyle of BishopAccountability.org, an archive of clerical sex abuse documents, said in a statement that while Wednesday’s hearing was procedural, its impact would be felt across the world.

“Whatever the outcome of the case against Pell, his presence today in a secular courtroom marks the victory of transparency over secrecy, and of the rule of law over the Vatican’s failed strategy of containment,” she said.

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AUSTRALIA
The Mirror (UK)

BY NATALIE EVANS
26 JUL 2017

The Pope’s financial adviser and third-highest cardinal in the Vatican has appeared in court charged with historical sexual offences.

Cardinal George Pell did not speak as he was escorted to and from court in his native Australia by police through a large crowd of media, protesters and supporters.

The 76-year-old was not required to enter a plea at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court.

Australian police said last month Pell had been summoned to appear on charges of “historical sexual offences” from multiple complainants.

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AUSTRALIA
Standard Republic

By Alexander Simon

An Australian court has begun the trial of the most senior Vatican official that has ever been charged in Catholic Church sex abuse scandals، according to “Press TV”.

Australia’s highest-ranking Catholic and Pope Francis’ top financial adviser، Cardinal George Pell، made his first court appearance on Wednesday after being charged last month with sexual abuse of multiple individuals years earlier in his Australian home state of Victoria.

While the details of the charges against the 76-year-old cleric — who has maintained his innocence — are yet to be revealed to the public، police have described them as historical sexual assault offenses، which means the alleged crimes happened years ago.

The development came after Australia’s Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse revealed earlier this year that seven percent of Catholic priests were accused of having sexually abused children across Australia over the past several decades.
Pell said nothing during his court appearance on Wednesday، and although he has still not entered a plea، his lawyer Robert Richter said at the brief hearing that the cardinal intended to formally plead not guilty at a future court date.

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AUSTRALIA
Christian Today

Joseph Hartropp 26 July 2017

Cardinal George Pell, the Pope’s financial adviser and highest-ranking figure in the Australian Catholic Church, was silent this morning as he entered Melbourne Magistrate’s Court where he faces charges of historic sex offences.

Pell announced late in June that he was taking leave following historic allegations of sex abuse.

Pell, 76, is the most senior Vatican official to have faced charges of sexual abuse. At a Vatican press conference in June, he strongly denied the accusations and plans to clear his name from the charges. ‘I am looking forward finally to having my day in court. I am innocent of these charges. They are false. The whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me,’ he said.

Today, he entered silent, surrounded by a gaggle of press and onlookers, into Melbourne Magistrate’s Court, where the small courtroom was also packed with reporters, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

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AUSTRALIA
Aljazeera

Vatican finance chief Cardinal George Pell made his first appearance in an Australian court on historical sex abuse charges on Wednesday, facing a massive media scrum before the primarily administrative hearing.

The 76-year-old, a top adviser to Pope Francis, returned from Rome earlier this month to face multiple charges in Melbourne relating to offences allegedly committed decades ago when he was a senior cleric in Australia.

Details of the charges have not been made public although police said they involved “multiple complainants”. The former Sydney and Melbourne archbishop has always maintained his innocence.

Pell has not yet entered a plea. On Wednesday, his lawyer Robert Richter told the court Pell planned to plead not guilty at a future court date.

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AUSTRALIA
Financial Times

by: Jamie Smyth in Sydney

The most senior Catholic priest ever to be charged with sex offences appeared in an Australian court on Wednesday in a case that has dealt a blow to the Church’s efforts to put decades of sexual abuse scandals behind it. 

Cardinal George Pell, the Vatican finance chief, was flanked by about a dozen police officers as he was led through onlookers and a media scrum to appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court. He did not reply to reporters’ questions and did not speak during the brief hearing. 

Cardinal Pell’s barrister, Robert Richter, told the court the 76-year-old would plead not guilty to all charges, which police said last month related to claims of “historical sexual offences” lodged by more than one person. 

The filing hearing, an administrative procedure, lasted just over five minutes. Prosecutors have until September 8 to prepare their brief of evidence related to the charges. 

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JAMAICA
The Gleaner

Damion Mitchell, Integration Editor

The sex-scandal-hit Moravian Church in Jamaica has adopted a new policy to govern the interaction of its leaders, workers and volunteers with children.

The policy was approved at the just-concluded 75th Provincial Synod held at the Bethlehem Moravian College in Malvern, St Elizabeth.

The Synod is the highest decision-making body of the Moravian Church in Jamaica.

In a release Tuesday evening, the church did not detail the provisions of the new policy and a copy could not be immediately obtained.

However, the church says the new Child Care and Protection Policy was developed based on the Child Care and Protection Act, adding that the guidelines will be supported by a programme of training and sensitisation of church leaders and staff.

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MASSACHUSETTS
The Patriot Ledger

By Fred Hanson
The Patriot Ledger

The scheduled release from prison of an ex-priest convicted of raping a child shows the need for changes in the state’s civil commitment law, an advocate for clergy sex abuse victims said.

BOSTON – A lawyer for victims of clergy sex abuse said the release of a former priest convicted of raping a child shows why the state’s civil commitment law needs to be changed.

Paul Shanley, who as a Catholic priest was assigned to Braintree’s St. Francis of Assisi Parish in the 1960s, will be released Friday from the Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater. He was convicted in 2005 of two counts each of child rape and indecent assault and battery on a child. He was sentenced to 12 to 15 years in prison.

Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said her office was unsuccessful in getting a civil commitment to keep Shanley, 86, in custody.

“The defendant will be monitored by the probation department for the next 10 years and has been ordered to have no contact with children under 16 years of age,” Ryan told WCVB-TV in a statement.

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MASSACUSETTS
WHDH

Tim Caputo

BOSTON (WHDH) — After more than a decade behind bars, convicted pedophile priest Paul Shanley will be released from prison this week, according attorney Mitchell Garabedian’s office.

Garabedian, who represented Shanley’s victims, told 7News that he will be released on Friday. A press conference announcing the news will be held Wednesday at 11:30 a.m.

Shanley, who was one of the central figures in Boston’s clergy sex abuse scandal, was convicted in 2005 of two counts of rape of a child and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child. The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office originally pushed for life in prison, but Shanley was sentenced to 12-15 years in prison.

Shanley, now 86, repeatedly raped and fondled a boy at a Newton parish in the 1980s. Shanley was known in the 1960s and ’70s as a priest who helped troubled children.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Herald

O’Ryan Johnson Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Those abused by defrocked pedophile priest Paul Shanley were “re-victimized” yesterday when they learned he is soon to be released from prison, according to a lawyer for the victims.

“They’re re-victimized,” said Mitchell Garabedian, who represented several of Shanley’s victims in their suit against the Archdiocese of Boston. “They feel like he should spend the rest of his life in jail. He’s a threat to innocent children.”

Shanley was convicted of two counts of rape of a child and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child in February 2005. He is expected to be released from Old Colony Correctional Center later this week.

“At sentencing our office requested that he be imprisoned for life,” said Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan in a statement. “Shanley was sentenced to a 12- to 15-year prison sentence. He is now scheduled to be released from that sentence and begin 10 years of supervised probation.”

Ryan said Shanley will be on probation for 10 years once he’s released. She said her office hired experts to examine Shanley, in an attempt to have him civilly committed after his release as a sexually dangerous person.

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MASSACHUSETTS
CNN

By Emanuella Grinberg, CNN

(CNN)A defrocked US Roman Catholic priest is set for release from prison 12 years after his conviction on child rape charges, a Massachusetts prosecutor said Tuesday.

Paul Shanley was among the first clergymen to stand trial after the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team unearthed allegations against priests of serial child sexual abuse and coverups by the Boston Archdiocese.

The scandal reverberated through the church, exposing similar allegations worldwide that compromised its moral authority and led to years of multimillion-dollar settlements.

Shanley was 74 years old when a Middlesex County jury convicted him in 2005 of repeatedly raping a boy from his parish in the 1980s. His victim, who was 27 years old during the trial, testified that Shanley regularly pulled him out of Sunday catechism class for what he called “special duties” and molested him in various rooms of St. John the Evangelist, a defunct parish in the Boston suburb of Newton. After one day of cross-examination from Shanley’s lawyer, who tried to cast doubt on the victim’s recollections and credibility, the victim begged the judge to not make him return to the stand.

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AUSTRALIA
Reuters

Byron Kaye

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Vatican treasurer Cardinal George Pell made a brief court appearance in his native Australia on Wednesday to face what police described as “historical sexual offences”, making him the most senior Roman Catholic official to face such accusations.

Pell, 76, a top adviser to Pope Francis, did not speak as he was escorted to and from Melbourne Magistrates’ Court by police through a large crowd of media, protesters and supporters. He was not required to enter a plea.

Australian police said last month Pell had been summoned to appear on charges of “historical sexual offences” from multiple complainants.

“For the avoidance of doubt … Cardinal Pell will plead not guilty to all charges, and will maintain the presumed innocence that he has,” Pell’s lawyer, Robert Richter, told the court.

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AUSTRALIA
Associated Press

BY KRISTEN GELINEAU
ASSOCIATED PRESS

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The most senior Vatican official ever charged in the Catholic Church sex abuse crisis made his first court appearance in Australia on Wednesday in a scandal that has stunned the Holy See and threatened to tarnish the pope’s image as a crusader against abusive clergy.

Cardinal George Pell, Australia’s highest-ranking Catholic and Pope Francis’ top financial adviser, has maintained his innocence since he was charged last month with sexually abusing multiple people years ago in his Australian home state of Victoria. The details of the allegations against the 76-year-old cardinal have yet to be released to the public, though police have described the charges as “historical” sexual assault offenses – meaning crimes that occurred years ago.

Pell entered the small courtroom dressed in a black suit, face devoid of expression as he took a seat behind his legal team. He said nothing during the brief hearing, which dealt largely with administrative matters. Though he has not yet entered a plea, his lawyer, Robert Richter, told the court that Pell planned to formally plead not guilty at a future court date.

“For the avoidance of doubt and because of the interest, I might indicate that Cardinal Pell pleads not guilty to all charges and will maintain the presumed innocence that he has,” Richter told the court.

The hearing lasted just minutes and was remarkably routine. Yet the image of one of the most powerful men in the Catholic Church standing before a cramped courtroom overflowing with journalists and spectators was anything but.

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AUSTRALIA
9 News

By Sean Davidson

A packed courtroom has heard Cardinal George Pell intends to plead not guilty to charges of historical sexual offences.

Cardinal Pell today made history as the first cardinal to face court over such offences, arriving at Melbourne Magistrates Court flanked by police who escorted him through a packed scrum of waiting journalists and demonstrators.

The court heard the case for less than six minutes, as the third-highest ranking member of the Catholic Church sat silently behind his defence team, including top Melbourne lawyer Robert Richter.

The 76-year-old looked back at the crowded room once before staring straight ahead during the proceedings.

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AUSTRALIA
National Catholic Reporter

Barney Zwartz | Jul. 25, 2017

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

The circus – as the media have been calling it – began around 5 a.m.* when a large CNN crew arrived outside the Melbourne Magistrate’s Court, though the mass-circulation Herald-Sun already had reporters there to notice that.

By 6 a.m. dozens of local and international media had arrived, followed by supporters of clergy abuse survivors about 7 a.m. They were all hoping to be in Courtroom 2, which has just 37 seats for public and press, at 10 a.m. Security guards had reportedly been there since 9:30 the night before.

Just before 9 the focus of all the attention arrived at court, Cardinal George Pell, the highest-ranked Catholic prelate to face sexual abuse charges. He was flanked by his legal team – including Robert Richter, one of Australia’s leading, and most expensive, barristers – and enclosed by a phalanx of about a dozen police.

At this point the inaccuracy of the epithet “circus” became apparent, for a circus is usually a highly choreographed and well-organised affair, and this was simply a heaving, shouting scrum. The cardinal, in a heavy black overcoat, remained silent as journalists fired a barrage of questions.

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AUSTRALIA
New York Times

By JACQUELINE WILLIAMS
JULY 25, 2017

MELBOURNE, Australia — Cardinal George Pell, one of Pope Francis’ top advisers, made his first court appearance in Australia on Wednesday after becoming the highest-ranking Roman Catholic prelate to be formally charged with sexual offenses.

Cardinal Pell, 76, was flanked by police officers as he entered Melbourne Magistrates’ Court through a thicket of camera crews, reporters and photographers.

He said nothing during the filing hearing, which lasted about six minutes.

One of the cardinal’s lawyers, Robert Richter, told the court that his client would plead not guilty to all charges and vehemently maintained his innocence. Magistrate Duncan Reynolds set the next court proceeding for Oct. 6.

Journalists from around the world started lining up outside the court as early as 5 a.m. to get a seat at the hearing, which was purely administrative in nature and allowed the magistrate to set dates for future hearings. …

The case will test the credibility of Francis’ efforts to foster greater accountability after abuse scandals that have shaken the church around the world.

In recent decades, more than 50 Roman Catholic bishops worldwide have been accused of sexually abusing children, according to BishopAccountability.org, an advocacy group in Massachusetts that documents sexual abuse in the church. Few, however, have faced criminal charges.

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AUSTRALIA
NBC News

by ALEX JOHNSON

Cardinal George Pell, the highest-ranking Vatican official ever charged in the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal, appeared in court for the first time Wednesday to face multiple counts of “historical sexual assault offenses.”

Pell, 76, who as Pope Francis’ top financial adviser is the No. 3 official at the Vatican, said nothing as he fought his way through a crowd of media and onlookers into Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday morning (Tuesday evening ET).

The hearing was a procedural session intended to set the dates of future hearings, and cameras weren’t allowed in the courtroom.

Police have released no details of the charges, other than to say they represented “multiple complainants.”

When the charges were announced last month, Pell promised to defend himself vigorously, saying, “The whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me.”

The charges came as yet another shock to the church, coming only four months after Pell appeared to side with critics of the Vatican’s handling of decades of sexual abuse allegations.

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AUSTRALIA
Daily Mail

[with video]

By Australian Associated Press

Cardinal George Pell has pleaded not guilty during his brief court appearance to face historical sexual offence charges involving multiple complainants.

Pell did not speak during the brief filing hearing, which lasted six minutes.

But his lawyer Robert Richter QC told the court the 76-year-old denies all charges.

‘Cardinal Pell pleads not guilty to all the charges and will maintain his presumed innocence that he has,’ Mr Richter told the court.

Cardinal Pell’s defence team did not ask the magistrate to excuse the cardinal from appearing when the case returns to court.

The 76-year-old has taken leave from his position as Vatican treasurer to return to Australia to fight historical sexual offence charges involving multiple complainants.

The third most powerful person in the Catholic Church was confronted with a massive contingent of Australian and international media on his arrival at court on Wednesday morning.

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AUSTRALIA
The Guardian

Calla Wahlquist

Cardinal George Pell has appeared in the Melbourne magistrates court charged with multiple historical sexual abuse offences.

Seated behind his lawyer, Robert Richter, QC, dressed in a simple black suit and clerical collar, Pell did not speak throughout the six-minute filing hearing.

Richter said that while Pell was not required to enter a plea unless and until the matter was committed for trial, he would, because of the media and public interest in the case, indicate a plea of not guilty now.

“Cardinal Pell will plead not guilty to all charges and will maintain the presumption of innocence,” he said.

Magistrate Duncan Reynolds ordered that the prosecution serve a brief of evidence by 8 September with Pell to return to court for a committal mention on 6 October.

Prosecutor Andrew Tinney, SC, said Pell was facing “multiple historic sexual offence charges with respect to multiple complainants”.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

AAP

CARDINAL GEORGE PELL’S FIRST COURT APPEARANCE

WHAT CHARGES DOES HE FACE?

Multiple historical sexual offence charges involving multiple complainants

Cardinal Pell denies all the allegations

HOW WAS HE CHARGED?

Pell was charged on summons on June 29 while he was in Rome. The charges were served on his legal representatives in Melbourne and filed in the Melbourne Magistrates Court.

WHAT IS WEDNESDAY’S COURT HEARING?

A filing hearing is the first step in the Magistrates Court.

It is a brief administrative hearing to set a timetable for the early part of the court process.

The magistrate will fix a date for a committal mention and a timetable for the exchange of information between the prosecution and defence.

That determines when the defence receives the prosecution’s brief of evidence (or hand-up brief) that contains all the evidence in the case in the form of witness statements, the accused’s record of interview and copies of exhibits.

The filing hearing may include any other directions the court believes are necessary, such as about the forensic examination of exhibits.

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AUSTRALIA
Crux

John L. Allen Jr. EDITOR

Australian Cardinal George Pell made his first court appearance in Melbourne early on Wednesday, fighting to clear his name from what police have described as ‘multiple’ complaints of ‘historical sexual offenses.’ In the brief hearing,

In the first step of what could be a long legal journey, Australian Cardinal George Pell appeared before a court in Melbourne on Wednesday morning for an initial hearing related to charges of sexual abuse, which established that the next act in the drama will come Oct. 6.

The hearing, which began at 10:00 a.m. local time and lasted just six minutes, was a procedural matter intended only to establish when prosecutors will turn over their evidence to defense attorneys and the next time Pell has to appear.

Although details of the charges against Pell have not been revealed, police spokespersons in the Australian state of Victoria, which included, Melbourne, say he’s been accused of “historical sexual offenses” from “multiple complainants.”

Pell has asserted his innocence vigorously.

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MINNESOTA
WDAY

By Andrew Hazzard

CROOKSTON, Minn. — A lawsuit filed by a northwest Minnesota man against against the Diocese of Crookston and its Bishop, Michael Hoeppner, saying the diocese covered up abuse and the bishop tried to coerce the victim into silence has reached its fourth judge in a series of recusals and is being contested on grounds some its counts are past the statute of limitations.

Ron Vasek says his efforts to become a deacon, the Roman Catholic Church’s highest lay position, were thwarted by the diocese after he told them he was abused by in 1971 by the Rev. Roger Grundhaus when he was 16 years old and on a mission trip in Ohio and that Bishop Hoeppner asked him to sign a letter retracting his claims in 2015.

Vasek, whose son Rev. Craig Vasek is a priest in the Diocese of Crookston, signed the letter under circumstances he described as blackmail.

A suit filed on Vasek’s behalf in May by St. Paul attorney Jeff Anderson, who specializes as an advocate for victims of abuse within the Catholic Church, is the first case in which a bishop has been sued for coercion, according to Anderson.

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NEW YORK
BishopAccountability.org

Summary of Case: Donald J. Whelan was a priest of the Archdiocese of New York, ordained in 1957. He was assigned to assist in Pearl River, Bronx and Nyack parishes before being named Administrator of a Newburgh parish in 1979. He left Newburgh in 1985 to return to Nyack as lead priest. He reportedly died in 1988.

Whelan was accused in a February 2004 lawsuit of having sexually abused a boy during 1964-1965, when the boy was ages 11-12 and Whelan was assigned to St. John Vianney parish in the Bronx. According to the suit, Whelan stepped in to help the boy’s mother after she and her husband divorced, leaving her alone with seven children. The abuse, including penetration, allegedly took place in the parish rectory, in a beach cabana and during overnight trips to the Rockaways. Whelan was said to have told the boy not to tell because it would hurt his mother, and no one would believe him.

Ordained: 1957
Died: 1988

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MASSACHUSETTS
WBUR

July 25, 2017

Denise Lavoie, The Associated Press

One of the most notorious figures in the Boston clergy sex abuse scandal has completed his prison sentence on child rape charges and will be released this week after two experts hired by prosecutors found he does not meet the legal criteria to be held as a sexually dangerous person.

Paul Shanley was known in the 1960s and ’70s for being a hip street priest who reached out to troubled youths. But in 2005 he was convicted of repeatedly raping and fondling a boy at a suburban parish in the 1980s, and he was sentenced to 12 to 15 years in prison.

Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said Tuesday that her office hired two psychiatric experts to evaluate Shanley, now 86 years old, to see if he should continue to be held after completing his sentence. Both experts told prosecutors that he does not meet the legal criteria for civil confinement as a sexually dangerous person.

Once Shanley is released Friday, he will begin 10 years of supervised probation.

Shanley was defrocked after dozens of men came forward and said he had molested them when they were children.

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KANSAS
KCTV

[with video]

Posted by Chris Oberholtz, Digital Content Manager

KANSAS CITY, KS (KCTV) –
Authorities say a Catholic priest charged in Wyandotte County with child sex crimes has been arrested in Maryland.

The Wyandotte County prosecutor’s office announced Tuesday that the Rev. Scott Kallal was charged Friday with two counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child. Online court records show the 35-year-old was arrested Monday in Rockville in Maryland’s Montgomery County.

Prosecutor’s office spokesman Jonathan Carter said he didn’t know whether Kallal had an attorney. No details were provided about the allegations.

The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas announced last week that Kallal was pulled from public ministry duties after two sources accused him of “boundary violations.” The archdiocese said its preliminary investigation “revealed violations of some of the archdiocese’s safe environment guidelines which all clerics, employees and volunteers are asked to observe when interacting with young people.”

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KANSAS
The Kansas City Star

BY JUDY L. THOMAS
jthomas@kcstar.com

JULY 25, 2017

A Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas who was suspended this month has been charged with two felony counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child.

The Wyandotte County District Attorney’s office said the alleged incidents took place in the summer and fall of 2015.

The Rev. Scott Kallal, 35, is being held at the Montgomery County Detention Center in Rockville, Md., after being picked up by the Maryland State Police, records show.

The archdiocese said it learned Monday that Kallal had been taken into custody.

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KANSAS
Fox 4

BY KERA MASHEK

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A Wyandotte County priest is now facing criminal charges. Father Scott Kallal is charged with two counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child, stemming from an incident involving a young girl at St. Patrick’s School in Kansas City, Kan. in 2015.

Parishioners at St. Pat’s and Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Overland Park just learned of the allegations the weekend of July 15-16, when it was announced during mass that Fr. Kallal had been relieved of his duties.

While incidents like this are relatively rare, the church says it remains committed to ensuring no child becomes a victim.

The inside of a Catholic Church is often beautiful, and a place where many find comfort. But allegations and criminal charges against church leaders like Fr. Scott Kallal can tarnish its prestige.

“The church is in the business of saving souls and in spiritual life. They’re experts in spirituality. But they’ve brought in experts now and worked together with them to ensure safety of children is a top priority,” said Carrie Cooper, director of the Office of Child and Youth protection for the Kansas City, Mo. Archdiocese.

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AUSTRALIA
3AW

Cardinal George Pell has just arrived at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court.

The 76-year-old has taken leave from his position as Vatican treasurer to return to Australia to fight historical sexual offence charges involving multiple complainants.

He was flanked by several police upon his arrival.

Local and international media have swarmed on the courtroom, with supporters of Cardinal Pell also outside court.

The appearance is expected to last just minutes, the first stage of a lengthy legal process.

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AUSTRALIA
BBC News

Cardinal George Pell has arrived at an Australian court, amid a large media scrum, to face charges of sexual assault.

The Vatican treasurer, 76, is accused of historical assaults involving “multiple complainants”, police in the state of Victoria said last month.

Cardinal Pell has said he will strenuously defend himself against the allegations.

Last month, Cardinal Pell said he was “looking forward” to his day in court.

Australia’s most senior Catholic figure arrived in his home country earlier this month, after being granted a leave of absence from the Vatican to fight the charges.

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AUSTRALIA
ABC News

[with video]

Cardinal George Pell has been escorted into the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court by police, surrounded by a large media scrum, ahead of his first appearance over historical sexual offence charges.

Australia’s most senior Catholic was charged by Victoria Police detectives late last month with offences involving multiple complainants.

Details of the allegations have not been made public.

He arrived at court with his legal team, including top criminal barrister Robert Richter QC.

Pell was taken through security as routine and there was a smattering of applause from a crowd inside the building.

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AUSTRALIA
Daily Mail

AFP

Vatican finance chief Cardinal George Pell arrived for his first appearance in an Australian court on historical sex abuse charges Wednesday, facing a huge media scrum ahead of the largely administrative hearing.

The 76-year-old, a top advisor to Pope Francis, returned from Rome earlier this month to face multiple charges in Melbourne relating to offences allegedly committed decades ago, when he was a senior cleric in Australia.

Details of the charges have not been made public although police said they involved “multiple complainants”. The former Sydney and Melbourne archbishop has always maintained his innocence.

Pell, looking sombre and frail, made no comment as he was escorted by a group of police through a crush of cameras, reporters and photographers outside the Melbourne Magistrates Court, which hears hundreds of cases a week for alleged crimes ranging from theft to murder.

Several photographers were knocked over in the melee.

He was not required to attend the hearing, which allows lawyers to discuss when the prosecution brief can be handed over and set out the next dates in what is expected to be a lengthy court process.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

Adam Cooper Tom Cowie Bhakthi Puvanenthiran

Cardinal George Pell has arrived at a Melbourne court to make his first appearance as the highest-ranking Catholic official to be charged with sexual abuse.

One of the most powerful people in the Catholic Church, Cardinal Pell, made the short trip from his lawyers’ offices on Lonsdale Street to Melbourne Magistrates Court just before 9am on Tuesday.

The 76-year-old has taken leave from his position as Vatican treasurer to return to Australia to fight historical sexual offence charges involving multiple complainants. Details of the charges are yet to be revealed.

Cardinal Pell was shepherded into court by a group of police officers through a crush of camera operators, reporters and photographers from across the country and the world.

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AUSTRALIA
The Guardian

Calla Wahlquist
Tuesday 25 July 2017

Cardinal George Pell has arrived at Melbourne magistrates court to appear on charges of multiple historic sexual offences.

Pell is the third highest ranking official in the Vatican and the highest ranking Catholic church official to be charged with sex offences.

The cardinal was shepherded into court by a group of police officers through a crush of camera operators, reporters and photographers. Pell did not answer any questions from the media. Several people clapped as he arrived.

He was screened by court security, like everyone else, and taken to a room in the court house.

Victoria police deputy commissioner Shane Patton said at a press conference announcing the charges that there were “multiple charges” and “multiple complainants,” but no further details have been released.

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AUSTRALIA
9 News

By Brett McLeod

If, as expected, George Pell walks into the Melbourne Magistrates Court this morning, he will make history.

Never before has a Cardinal appeared in a courtroom to answer charges of sex offences. Not in Melbourne, not in Australia, not anywhere else in the world.

Unless special arrangements are made the third-highest ranked member of the Catholic Church – the man dubbed the Vatican’s Accountant – will enter via the front steps, where he will encounter a media contingent which may well be larger than any ever seen on William Street.

While reports of swarms of international media being flown by the planeload into Melbourne are probably overstated, there’s likely to be little room for the Cardinal to walk through the phalanx of cameras and microphones.

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AUSTRALIA
7 News

The media and spectators are already lining up to ensure a seat in the Melbourne court room where Cardinal George Pell is expected to appear later on Wednesday.

Security has also been stepped up outside the Melbourne Magistrates Court, hours before Pell is scheduled to appear for a filing hearing.

The queue started forming before 7am, more than three hours before Pell’s scheduled 10am hearing.

The court has made no special arrangements for the appearance despite Pell’s high profile and the intense worldwide media attention.

More than 70 media, including many from international organisations like CCN and The Telegraph in London, are already in place outside the court in central Melbourne and have spilled onto the roadway.

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AUSTRALIA
9 News

By Sean Davidson
Jul 26, 2017

Journalists and supporters of abuse victims are lined up outside a Melbourne court ahead of Cardinal George Pell’s first appearance, which is expected to attract an unprecedented amount of international media attention.

Before the sun even rose and hours before the court opened, a line of people began to form outside the Melbourne Magistrates Court.

The court appearance has attracted media attention from around the world, with journalists from outlets like CNN, BBC News and The New York Times flying crews to Melbourne to watch history in the making.

If the 76-year-old, who is not required to attend the filing hearing, shows up it will be the first time in the world a Cardinal sat in court to face historical sexual assault charges.

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AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

Adam Cooper

Cardinal George Pell will be greeted by a large media pack when he fronts court for the first time on historical sex offence charges.

Reporters and camera crews began assembling outside Melbourne Magistrates Court on William Street well before 6am on Wednesday, ahead of Cardinal Pell’s scheduled appearance later in the morning.

International media also gathered outside the court, including a large crew from US news broadcaster CNN. Security has also been stepped up outside the court, with guards standing in front of the main doors.

Cardinal Pell will be in court for what should be a short administrative hearing, where his lawyers and prosecutors will discuss with the magistrate the timetable for his case, and the date of his next court appearance.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

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

A notorious predator, Fr. Paul Shanley, will be released from prison later this week after serving twelve years behind bars for raping a child.

[Boston Globe]

While we understand and respect the American judicial system, we fear for the safety of children now that Shanley has been released.

Research and experience teach us that age does not cure pedophilia. Often age gives predators an advantage. People may see an old man and assume he is harmless. That is not the case.

The Catholic Church has many treatment facilities for clergy and former clergy with sexual issues. We hope that they will insist Shanley live in a facility where he can receive treatment and where he will have no access to children.

Contacts – Melanie Jula (925-708-6175, melanie.sakoda@gmail.com), Joelle Casteix (949-322-7434, jcasteix@gmail.com), Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003, bdorris@SNAPnetwork.org)

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PENNSYLVANIA
WTAE

Brittany Hoke
Reporter

GREENSBURG, Pa. —
An advocacy group believes that Greensburg Bishop Edward Malesic may be withholding evidence, hidden in secret files known as Canon 489 files, pertaining to the arrest of the Rev. John T. Sweeney.

The group thinks the files could contain evidence of the sexual abuse of children.
Diocesan law describes the files as archives meant to be “kept secret, locked, and protected.”

On Tuesday, the Diocese said it has turned over every file on Sweeney, including the Canon 489 files, to the attorney general.

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AUSTRALIA
news.com.au

Liz Burke
news.com.au
@lizeburke

FOR Ballarat sex abuse survivor Phil Nagle, it’s a momentous day.

The 53-year-old has made the journey from his hometown to Melbourne and he’ll this morning head to the Melbourne Magistrates Court where Cardinal George Pell is due to answer historic sexual offence charges.

The powerful clergyman and senior Vatican figure is expected to be met by crowds of survivors and advocates, and a throng of local and international media, when he arrives for the filing hearing.

Mr Nagle has no links to the complaints against Cardinal Pell. Still, he says the court appearance is something he and others have been “waiting many years for”.

He says he’ll be in court to support the complainants, and hopes to see them and their claims respected by the court and by Pell’s legal team.

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BOSTON (MA)
Law Office of Carmen L. Durso
Law Offices of Mitchell Garabedian

CONVICTED Priest Child Sex Abuser PAUL SHANLEY will be released from Prison on Friday.

WEDNESDAY PRESS CONFERENCE, 11:30 a.m., at 175 Federal Street, Suite 1425, Boston, with survivors of sexual abuse by Shanley, attorneys Mitchell Garabedian and Carmen Durso, who have represented multiple other Shanley victims, and Jetta Bernier, Exec. Dir. of MASS KIDS, to discuss and protest why Sexually Dangerous Person civil proceeding to recommit Shanley will not occur.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Tribune-Democrat

By Mark Pesto
mpesto@tribdem.com

Todd Berkey
tberkey@tribdem.com

A federal appeals court on Monday upheld the conviction of a former Somerset County priest who was found guilty in 2015 of traveling to Honduras to sexually abuse orphans and sentenced last year to more than 16 years in federal prison.

The Rev. Joseph D. Maurizio Jr., who at the time of his September 2014 arrest was the pastor at Our Lady Queen of Angels Parish in Central City, had asked the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to overturn his conviction.

Maurizio and his attorneys had argued, according to the appeals court’s opinion, that his conviction should have been overturned because:

“the weight of the evidence did not support his conviction on counts relating to illicit sexual conduct with a minor and possession of child pornography”;

“the Government withheld material exculpatory evidence with respect to one of the counts of illicit sexual conduct with a minor”;

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MASSACHUSETTS
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston

“Paul Shanley’s crimes against children were reprehensible. No young person should ever have to experience such violations of their safety and dignity. We continue to assure all victims of abuse of our prayers and our concern. Any person who has been harmed by clergy sexual abuse, and in particular those who may need additional support at this time, are encouraged to contact the Archdiocese’s Office of Pastoral Support and Outreach at 617-746-5995.”

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MASSACHUSETTS
Fox 25

BOSTON – Convicted pedophile and defrocked priest Paul Shanley is set to be released from prison Friday.

In 2005, Paul Shanley was convicted of two counts of child rape and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child. Shanley was sentenced to a 12 to 15-year prison sentence. He is now set to be released on Friday and begin ten years of supervised probation and cannot have contact with children under the age of 16.

Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan released a statement to Boston 25 News:

“The Commonwealth is not legally permitted to seek that Shanley be confined further without expert testimony that he meets the legal criteria for civil confinement as a sexually dangerous person. To that end we hired two qualified examiners. We are awaiting their final reports; however both doctors have informed us that they have concluded that Shanley does not satisfy the legal criteria for a petition to be filed.
The defendant will be monitored by the probation department for the next ten years and has been ordered to have no contact with children under sixteen years of age. Our office continues to provide support and assistance to the victims in this matter.”

Other priest abuse victims are fighting his release, saying he is still a danger to the public. …

SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, has also expressed concern over Shanley’s release, saying in a statement:

“While we understand and respect the American judicial system, we fear for the safety of children now that Shanley has been released.
Research and experience teach us that age does not cure pedophilia. Often age gives predators an advantage. People may see an old man and assume he is harmless. That is not the case.
The Catholic Church has many treatment facilities for clergy and former clergy with sexual issues. We hope that they will insist Shanley live in a facility where he can receive treatment and where he will have no access to children.”

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MASSACHUSETTS
MassLive

By Dan Glaun dglaun@masslive.com

Paul Shanley, a former Boston Archdiocese priest convicted in 2005 of raping a young boy during the 1980s, will be released from prison on Friday, according to media reports.

Shanley has completed a 12 to 15 year sentence for abusing a boy he knew from religion classes he taught in Newton. The abuse occurred between 1983 and 1989, when the child was between the ages of six and 12.

Shanley now will be set free, the Middlesex District Attorney said in a statement, which acknowledged an unfruitful attempt by prosecutors to examine whether the ex-priest could be held in custody as a danger to the general public.

“The Commonwealth is not legally permitted to seek that Shanley be confined further without expert testimony that he meets the legal criteria for civil confinement as a sexually dangerous person,” the DA’s office said. “To that end we hired two qualified examiners. We are awaiting their final reports; however both doctors have informed us that they have concluded that Shanley does not satisfy the legal criteria for a petition to be filed.”

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MASSACHUSETTS
Reuters

Scott Malone

BOSTON (Reuters) – A defrocked U.S. Roman Catholic priest who was one of the first to be convicted when the church’s worldwide sex abuse scandal was first exposed more than a decade ago is due to be released from prison, a Massachusetts prosecutor said on Tuesday.

The now 86-year-old priest, Paul Shanley, was convicted in 2005 of repeatedly raping a boy over a period of years in the 1980s and was sentenced to 12 to 15 years in prison.

The scandal undermined the church’s moral authority and sapped its finances as it paid out billions of dollars in settlements.

“He is now scheduled to be released from that sentence and begin 10 years of supervised probation,” Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said in a statement. “The Commonwealth is not legally permitted to seek that Shanley be confined further without expert testimony that he meets the legal criteria for civil confinement as a sexually dangerous person.”

State regulations forbid disclosing Shanley’s date of release, according to a spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections, who said he remains in custody at the Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.

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ITALIA
Il Fatto Quotidiano

[Pedophile priests:Now that scandals emerge means the Church is acting.]

Francesco Antonio Grana
Vaticanista

Sulla pedofilia del clero non si può continuare a fare propaganda. Per decenni i vescovi che coprivano gli abusi sessuali dei loro preti sui bambini venivano valutati positivamente e perciò promossi. Era un titolo di merito agli occhi del Vaticano essere riusciti a tenere lo scandalo sotto silenzio, quando in realtà si trattava di reati gravissimi.

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ITALIA
Rete L’Abuso

[Monsignor Domenico Sigalini: “It is wrong to reduce pedophile priests to the lay state”.]

Secondo un’intervista a firma di Bruno Volpe pubblicata da La fede quotidiana monsignor Domenico Sigalini alla domanda “Cosa ne pensa della pedofilia nel clero” avrebbe risposto;

“Un orrore e un crimine orrendo e chi sbaglia deve pagare. Un prete che si macchia di questo è moralmente più grave. Però, lo ripeto, io non seguo il consenso e dico che è un errore e sbagliato ridurre allo stato laicale il prete pedofilo. Perché, ridotto alla stato laico e una volta maestro di ginnastica, per esempio, state certi che cambierà inclinazione?

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AUSTRALIA
Daily Examiner

Tim Howard | 26th Jul 2017

A FORMER defrocked Deacon of Grafton says the Anglican Church appears to have learned little from the traumas of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

Former Queensland Education Minister and Grafton City Councillor Pat Comben has been returned to Holy Orders, despite an admission of guilt to the offences that saw him defrocked as the Deacon of Grafton in July 2015.

The Royal Commission found the Diocese of Grafton had denied responsibility for sexual abuse, denied compensation to victims of abuse at its North Coast Children’s Home, failed to comply with its own policies and dealt with victims insensitively.

Mr Comben admitted that he as deacon had taken a legalistic approach to victims which is now seen to be in error. But Mr Comben, 67, said the church was now dealing with him in the same legalistic fashion.

He said when he learned former Bishop of Grafton, Keith Slater, had appealed against his defrocking and been successful because due process had not been followed, he realised the same rules could apply to him.

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UNITED STATES
Catholic League

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the foes of Cardinal George Pell:

The hoopla over Cardinal George Pell’s first day in court, July 26, rivals the media hysteria over OJ. There is one important difference: unlike OJ, the hyperventilation over Pell is confined to select quarters.

At the Melbourne courthouse there will be dozens of professional victims, men and women—mostly men—who claim to have been molested decades ago. Though Pell has never been found guilty of anything—and God knows rapacious lawyers have tried to nail him several times—he is being treated by victims’ advocates as if he were Jack the Ripper. Journalists are having a field day.

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MASSACHUSETTS
NBC Boston

By Eli Rosenberg and Marc Fortier

Convicted pedophile priest Paul Shanley is scheduled to be released from prison this week.

Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who represented Shanley’s victims and numerous other victims of the Catholic church child sex abuse scandal in Massachusetts, told NBC Boston that Shanley is set to be released on Friday. He is currently being held at the medium security Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater.

Shanley, one of the most notorious figures in the clergy sex abuse scandal, was sentenced in 2005 to 12 to 15 years in prison for raping a boy repeatedly at St. Jean’s Parish in Newton in the 1980s.

District Attorney Marian Ryan confirmed that Shanley is set to be released, but didn’t say exactly when. Upon release, she said he is scheduled to begin 10 years of supervised probation. He is not allowed to have contact with children under the age of 16.

Ryan said her office is not legally permitted to seek that Shanley be confined further without expert testimony that he meets the legal criteria for civil confinement as a “sexually dangerous person.”

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MASSACHUSETTS
CBS Boston

BOSTON (CBS) — Convicted pedophile priest Paul Shanley, one of the most notorious figures in the Boston Archdiocese sex abuse scandal, will be released from prison later this week.

Attorney Mitchell Garabedian told WBZ-TV Tuesday that Shanley, who is now 85, will be released from the Old Colony Correctional Center Friday.

Shanley was sentenced to 12 to 15 years in prison in 2005 after being convicted of two counts of rape of a child and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child.

He will be on probation for 10 years and will be ordered to have no contact with children under 16 years old.

He will not be ordered to wear a GPS bracelet, according to Garabedian.

The Middlesex District Attorney’s office said they hired two doctors to examine Shanley and determine if he “meets the legal criteria for civil confinement as a sexually dangerous person.” Without testimony from those doctors, the state isn’t able to further push for Shanley’s imprisonment.

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MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Globe

By Michael Levenson GLOBE STAFF JULY 25, 2017

Paul R. Shanley, a former “street priest” who became one of the most notorious figures in the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse scandal, is set to be released from prison this week, after serving 12 years behind bars for raping a Sunday school student in the early 1980s.

Middlesex prosecutors said they had hoped to have Shanley, 86, declared a “sexually dangerous person” which would require him to remain behind bars after his sentence was completed. But two doctors who examined the defrocked priest found that he did not meet the required criteria, prosecutors said.

“We are awaiting their final reports,” Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan’s office said in a statement Tuesday. “However, both doctors have informed us that they have concluded that Shanley does not satisfy the legal criteria for a petition to be filed.”

As a result, Shanley is set to be released from Old County Correctional Facility, a medium-security prison in Bridgewater. He will be monitored by the state Probation Department for the next 10 years and has been ordered to have no contact with children under the age of 16, Ryan’s office said.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Tribune-Review

BRIAN BOWLING | Tuesday, July 25, 2017

A federal jury had enough evidence to convict a Somerset County priest on charges of molesting Honduran orphans, an appeals court ruled Monday.

The decision by a three-judge panel of the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is the latest defeat for the Rev. Joseph Maurizio, 71, who contends he’s innocent.

He is serving his sentence at a low-security federal prison in Ohio with a projected release date of April 3, 2029, according to Bureau of Prison records.

His appeal attorney, Thomas J. Farrell, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined comment on the latest ruling. A spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown couldn’t be reached for comment.

The appellate court also denied Maurizio’s motion for a new trial based on the government withholding favorable evidence it obtained near the end of his 2015 trial.

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PENNSYLVANIA
PennLive

By Matt Miller mmiller@pennlive.com

A former Catholic priest from Somerset County who was convicted of engaging in “sexual tourism” to molest poor orphans in Honduras has lost an appeal of his nearly 17-year prison sentence.

That defeat came this week when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit rejected Joseph D. Maurizio Jr.’s claims that he didn’t receive a fair trial.

Maurizio, now 72, has consistently denied abusing children he met through ProNino Honduras, a charitable organization he co-founded in 1999. ProNino received considerable financial support from Maurizio’s parishioners and others who donated to another charity he created, Honduras Interfaith Ministries.

The Maurizio case is just one of scores of sex-abuse allegations leveled at priests and other religious leaders in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown.

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FLORIDA
Raw Story

TRAVIS GETTYS
25 JUL 2017

A Florida youth pastor charged with the cold-case murder of one teen and the sexual abuse of others wants his guns back while he awaits trial.

Ronnie Hyde pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and child pornography charges in March related to the 1994 slaying of 16-year-old Fred Laster, whose dismembered body was found in a Dumpster.

Laster’s decapitated torso was found behind a trash bin near Lake City, but the remains went unidentified until a DNA test in 2015 matched the slain teen to his twin sister.

Police said the 61-year-old Hyde befriended the runaway teen more than two decades ago as youth pastor at Strength for Living Church in Yulee, prosecutors said.

Investigators strongly suggested they suspect Hyde — who had been a counselor at Crosswater Community Church in Nocatee up to his arrest — is a suspect in other unsolved cases by plastering his face on eight billboards seeking information in the Jacksonville area.

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MASSACHUSETTS
WCVB

Mike Beaudet
5 Investigates Reporter

BOSTON —
Infamous pedophile priest Paul Shanley is scheduled to be released from prison later this week, 5 Investigates has learned, drawing outrage from priest abuse victims and their advocates, who say the now-86-year-old is still a danger to the public.

Shanley was convicted in 2005 of rape and indecent assault and battery on a person under the age of 14. The case that relied on the repressed memory of the victim, who said he was abused by Shanley between 1983 and 1989 when he was attending CCD classes at St. Jean’s Church in Newton.

Shanley was sentenced to 12 to 15 years in prison.

Some of Shanley’s other alleged victims and their attorneys are planning a press conference later this week, angry that Shanley has been is being released.

They have been told by the Middlesex District Attorney’s office that prosecutors had Shanley evaluated to see if he could be held after his prison sentence as a sexually dangerous person, but that those evaluations didn’t provide the evidence needed to proceed.

A spokesperson for the Massachusetts Department of Correction confirmed that Shanley is being held at the Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater but said regulations prevented the DOC from providing his scheduled date of release.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Tribune-Review

Editorial

A former pastor accused of sexually abusing a 10-year-old boy at St. Margaret Mary Church’s school in Lower Burrell during the 1991-92 academic year should cause all to wonder, in Psalm 13’s words, “How long, O Lord?”

Indeed, how long until pedophilia’s blight by church clergy upon innocent children is eradicated?

The Rev. John Thomas Sweeney, 74, of Greensburg, will plead not guilty to the single count of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse filed against him by the state Attorney General’s Office, his lawyer says. The alleged victim, now 35 and in the Coast Guard, didn’t report the abuse until last September, then testified before a state grand jury, which last year detailed horrific, widespread abuse and cover-ups in the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown.

This case seemingly lacked a cover-up. The Diocese of Greensburg said it was unaware until the victim came forward, then took action to keep the accused from acting as a priest and interacting with minors, and stayed mum at authorities’ request.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Altoona Mirror

Jul 25, 2017

Phil Ray

The conviction and 200-month prison sentence of a Somerset County priest for the sexual abuse of several children who were living at an orphanage in El Progresso, Honduras, was upheld Monday by a federal appeals court.

U.S. District Judge Kim R. Gibson 16 months ago sentenced the priest, Joseph D. Maurizio, now 71, of Central City, for the sexual abuse of two children, possession of child pornography consisting of nude photographs of several other children, and the use of charitable funds collected in the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown “to promote illicit sexual contact with a minor.”

Altoona attorney Steven P. Passarello represented Maurizio during the lengthy September 2015 trial.

The jury convicted Maurizio on five counts but acquitted him on three other charges.

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AUSTRALIA
NBC Montana

LUCIE MORRIS-MARR CNN
Posted: Jul 25, 2017

MELBOURNE, Australia (CNN) – One of the most senior figures in the Vatican will on Wednesday face a court in his native Australia on multiple charges of historical sexual assault offenses.

Cardinal George Pell will appear in the dock at Melbourne Magistrates Court for his first hearing since the charges were made by Victoria Police last month.

The 76-year-old, who has consistently and strenuously denied the charges, has been given a leave of absence from his role at the Holy See as Secretariat for the Economy while he fights the case in the city where he was once Archbishop.

Although expected to be brief, Wednesday’s court hearing marks a significant moment in Australia where Pell is the country’s most senior Catholic.

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UNITED STATES
The Wrap

Beatrice Verhoeven | May 23, 2017

Netflix’s new docuseries “The Keepers” is taking the nation by storm as its filmmakers attempt to solve the 1970 murder of Sister Catherine Cesnik, while investigating sexual abuse allegations by teenage students at a Baltimore high school. But will there be a follow-up season?

“I have no plans to continue documenting it,” filmmaker Ryan White told E! Online. “This was a painful process for a lot of the people involved…and it’s draining for them to have to retell the most horrific parts of their lives…but that’s not to say that I’m not excited to see what answers come out of it.”

“The Keepers” explores the murder of Sister Cathy, who disappeared in November 1969 and whose body was discovered in January of 1970. The coroner determined she was hit by a blunt object in the head. However, the documentary delves into a deeper issue — it uncovers the alleged sexual abuse at a Catholic school in Baltimore, Maryland. It is believed Sister Cathy was going to expose the sexual abuse scandal — and was killed for it.

The documentary features six victims who allege sexual abuse by one Father Joseph Maskell, who has since passed away. However, in a recent interview with TheWrap, White said he knew of at least 40 victims.

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UNITED STATES
SFGate

Beatrice Verhoeven, provided by The Wrap

Netflix’s “The Keepers” debuted two months ago, and since then, filmmaker Ryan White has seen positive developments in the case: More victims have spoken out and police are investigating further into Father Joseph Maskell’s past life.

“I am seeing that ‘The Keepers’ is having a positive impact, not just in the sense that more victims have come forward but it is also having a positive impact in showing people that they aren’t alone and that it’s possible to move forward and confront your painful past,” White told TheWrap during a recent interview.

White said that many new victims have come out of the woodwork since the series was released: “A lot of people watched the series and realized that they weren’t the only ones and now have the courage to talk about it. Hopefully, it will lead to a lot of healing.”

There has also been a lot of movement in terms of investigating Maskell. “The Keepers” explores the murder of Sister Catherine Cesnik, who disappeared in November 1969 and whose body was discovered in January of 1970. The documentary investigates whether Maskell had Sister Cathy killed because she was about to expose him and others for sexual abusing teenage students at Archbishop Keough High School. Maskell died in 2001, and until his death, he had denied the allegations.

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AUSTRALIA
The Australian

July 26, 2017

TESSA AKERMAN
ReporterMelbourne
@TessaAkerman

Catholic Church abuse victims from across Victoria — with no connection to the charges against George Pell — are expected to ­attend a court hearing for the cardinal at the Melbourne Magistrates Court this morning.

Philip Nagle, a Ballarat survivor of abuse by Christian Brother Stephen Farrell in the 1970s, had promised other survivors he would attend.

Cardinal Pell, Australia’s most senior Catholic, was charged last month with historical sex offences relating to multiple complainants. The court has yet to release the charges.

Mr Nagle said he wanted to see the complainants and their claims handled in a respectful way. He said it was important to make sure it was a just court case.

He said it did not matter that the hearing might only last a few minutes . “(It’s important) to witness it,” he said.

The Melbourne Magistrates Court has said it will be “business as usual” during the cardinal’s first court appearance.

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PENNSYLVANIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

The nation’s largest support group for survivors of sexual abuse in institutional settings today is demanding that the bishop of Greensburg, PA turn over all secret files pertaining to a priest arrested yesterday for sexual abuse.

[PennLive]

That priest, John T. Sweeney, was criminally charged for sexually abusing a 10-year-old boy in the 1990s.

Members of SNAP, the Survivors Network, (SNAPNetwork.org), believe that Greensburg Bishop Edward C. Malesic may be withholding evidence, hidden in secret files otherwise known as Canon 489 files. These files, that every bishop must keep according to church law, outline abuse allegations and include letters, memos, reports from parents and victims, psychological reports, witness accounts of abuse, and other important evidence that law enforcement can use to help bolster their case.

[Los Angeles Times]

“Sometimes, dioceses will hide these files in their lawyers’ offices under attorney-client privilege so that they can’t be subpoenaed,” said Judy Jones, Midwest Regional Leader, SNAP. “Other times, they just don’t turn them over. These files are so secret and so protected that law enforcement has to know exactly what they are asking for. Otherwise, men like Bishop Malesic are only going to turn over a sanitized file and then issue a statement saying that they knew ’nothing’ about allegations.”

Jones says that until now, Malesic’s efforts ­as well as the efforts of other bishops to be forthcoming about abuse­ have been failures.

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DEUTSCHLAND
BR

[Mixed reactions to the bishop’s pastoral word: “All this makes me deeply distressed and filled me with shame.” With these words, Regensburg bishop Rudolf Voderholzer apologized in a pastoral word for the victims of violence and abuse at the Domspatzen. He promised help to those affected. Bavarian governor Seehofer (CSU) praised the bishop’s apology as a “sincere gesture”.]

“All das macht mich zutiefst zerknirscht und erfüllt mich mit Scham.” Mit diesen Worten hat sich Regensburger Bischof Rudolf Voderholzer in einem Hirtenwort für die Gewalt- und Missbrauchsopfer bei den Domspatzen entschuldigt. Den Betroffenen versprach er Hilfe. Ministerpräsident Seehofer (CSU) lobte die Entschuldigung des Bischofs als “aufrichtige Geste”.

Voderholzers Hirtenwort wurde am Wochenende in den Gemeinden des Bistums verlesen. Der Bischof schreibt darin, dass er bei dem, was die Betroffenen in dem Abschlussbericht des Sonderermittlers Ulrich Weber schildern, “Entsetzen und Betroffenheit” spüre. Er könne deshalb nur in Demut um Entschuldigung bitten.

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DEUTSCHLAND
Regensburg Digital

[Did Bishop Voderholzer and his assistants in the episcopal ordinariat really learn from the mistakes regarding the far-reaching violence in the Domspatzen institution? Obviously not. A few days after the Domspatzen final report, Bishop Voderholzer went to the public with an extended appeal. He called for the first time for those who suffered bodily violence in church institutions to turn to the relevant authorities of the diocese. Voderholzer protects himself against his predecessor Gerhard Ludwig Müller.]

Von Robert Werner

Wenige Tage nach dem Domspatzen-Abschlussbericht geht Bischof Voderholzer mit einem erweiterten Aufruf an die Öffentlichkeit. In seinem aktuellen Hirtenwort ruft er neben den Betroffenen, die in kirchlichen Einrichtungen körperverletzende Gewalt erleiden mussten, erstmals auch Opfer sexueller Übergriffe auf, sich an die zuständigen Stellen des Bistums zu wenden. In Sachen Aufklärung der Vorfälle bei den Domspatzen stellt Voderholzer sich schützend vor seinen Vorgänger Gerhard Ludwig Müller.

An diesem Wochenende wurde in den katholischen Messfeiern der Diözese Regensburg ein Hirtenwort des Bischofs verlesen. Darin wendet sich Rudolf Voderholzer „mit einem sehr ernsten Thema“, sprich mit einer eher wissenschaftlich gehaltenen Zusammenfassung des Abschlussberichts von Rechtsanwalt Ulrich Weber, an seine „Liebe(n) Schwestern und Brüder in Christus, dem Herrn!“

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AUSTRALIA
YouTube

60 Minutes Australia: Sins of the father, part two

Published on Jul 23, 2017

There’s never been more scrutiny of the world’s major religions, with a series of sex abuse scandals and cover-ups testing the most faithful. But there’s an equally sinister doctrine being openly preached in small suburban churches scattered around Australia. They call themselves the Independent Baptists, a radical, non-aligned movement with no connection to the mainstream Australian Baptist Ministries. Under the extreme teachings of this church, women must submit to their husband’s every whim. Now one very brave victim of this evil doctrine has decided enough is enough. She lived through hell by being married to a so-called Christian pastor who raped her several times a day. She unfortunately discovered that this cruel dogma runs deep, as her own son, also a pastor, has now turned against her.
Reporter: Liam Bartlett

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UNITED KINGDOM
TG Daily

Awais Ahmed, 24th July 2017

Historical sex abuse victims are being denied thousands of pounds in criminal injuries compensation due to unfair time limits on making claims.

Children who were victims of sexual abuse have until their 20th birthday to apply for compensation if they reported the crime to the police before they reached 18 and campaigners are urging the government to change the regulations

The official line of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) is that victims of historic sex abuse have two years from their 18th birthday to make a claim if the crime was reported to police when they were children.

The same two-year rule also applies to survivors who make a complaint to the police as adults.

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority will still consider a criminal injuries compensation application if the time limit is not met, as long as it can be proved that there were exceptional circumstances preventing the application from being made sooner.

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ISRAEL
Manny Waks

Last week on Thursday (20 July), the Jerusalem District Court sentenced (Rabbi) Aharon Shlomo Lisson to a minimum of seven years for sexually abusing three brothers. Later that day, one of the courageous victims/survivors, Yaakov (Yankie) Rainitz, wrote a powerful public post in Hebrew about what transpired. Below is the unedited English version (published with Yankie’s permission):

​I don’t know where to start, from the beginning or maybe from the end. You have heard a lot about me. You have seen me flickering across your TV screen on news sites where they refer to me as ‘Y’! I have decided to reveal my identity. I am Yankie Rainitz and I am 21 years old. I studied for many years with a respected teacher who will go to jail next month for a very long time!

My life story has been paraded during the past two years numerous times on national television and on different internet sites. But today, I have decided for the first time to remove the cloak of secrecy and to reveal my identity through my Facebook page, to reveal a little of the stormy ocean in my life. I am doing this to encourage, strengthen, uplift and give hope to all those children and young people who are going through the abuse behind closed doors which I experienced.

I was 12 years old when I started Year 8, where the respected, righteous and revered Rabbi Aharon Shlomo Lisson was teaching. This man, known as ‘Rav Lisson’, would consistently praise me in front of my class mates and the Talmud Torah staff. He would give me presents and send notes of satisfaction home with me to my parents. In the community and at home, this man was known as something rare and special, a real angel.

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IRELAND
The Cork

24 July 2017
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie

Sinn Féin MEP Liadh Ní Riada has called for plans to sell Bessborough House to be frozen at least until a forensic dig of the grounds has been completed.

The Ireland South MEP was speaking after it was revealed that the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary confirmed that they intended to sell the site of the controversial former mother and baby home.

“A total of 470 infants, that we know of, died in Bessborough House between 1934 and 1953,” she said.

“It is a ghoulish and uncomfortable thought but it is plain to see that the small plot set aside for those infants in the cemetery on the site is simply not big enough to hold that many bodies; so where are they?

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UNITED KINGDOM
Telegraph and Argus

Jenny Loweth

A JURY has been sworn in to try a church minister accused of a string of alleged sexual offences dating back more than 30 years.

The Reverend John Wilson, 70, of Shann Avenue, Keighley, denies 24 charges of indecent assault, four allegations of conspiracy to commit indecent assault, two offences of rape and a count of sexual assault.

His wife, Mary Wilson, 79, of the same address, pleads not guilty to two charges of indecent assault and a single allegation of conspiracy to commit indecent assault.

A third accused, Laurence Peterson, 59, of Eric Street, Keighley, denies three charges of indecent assault and four allegations of conspiracy to commit indecent assault.

Wilson, who was a pastor at the Liberty Pentecostal Church in Sunderland Street, Keighley, appeared in the dock at Bradford Crown Court yesterday alongside with his wife and Peterson to witness the jury being sworn in.

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NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph

By Donna Deeney
July 24 2017

One of the victims of paedophile priest Brendan Smyth has said the Catholic Church has learned nothing in the two decades since the notorious child abuser died.

Smyth was jailed for more than 140 offences in 1994, dying of a heart attack behind bars on August 22, 1997.

Brendan Boland was abused by the twisted cleric for two years, starting from when he was an 11-year-old altar boy serving in his home parish in Dundalk, Co Louth.

In 1975, when Mr Boland was 14, he reported Smyth’s abuse of him and other children but was forced to sign a confidentiality agreement that prevented him from speaking about it to anyone.

Mr Boland told the Belfast Telegraph that the Catholic Church still had work to do to tackle clerical abuse.

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PENNSYLVANIA
WPXI

A local priest was charged with sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy more than 25 years ago and prosecutors say because of the time that has passed, they’re limited on the charges they can file.

One lawmaker says he’s trying to change that.

Retired priest John T. Sweeney last served as pastor at the Holy Family parish in West Newton before the diocese was made aware of this investigation and removed him.

One member told Channel 11 off-camera she doesn’t believe he would do something to harm a child.

Another woman, whose grandkids went there, now wants answers.

“These people are there and they’re supposed to give hope to these children and they’re taking it away,” said Diane Konopka.

Sweeney is charged with sexually abusing a boy in 1991 and 1992 while he was pastor at St. Margaret Mary in Lower Burrell.

“It’s important to note that we would have charged him with additional counts, but the statute of limitations had already expired on those other charges of indecent assault and corruption of the morals of minors,” Shapiro said, as he called for change.

State Rep. Joe Petrarca of the 55th District says there is legislation right now to remove the statute of limitations in criminal cases.

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AUSTRALIA
HuffPost

Eoin Blackwell Senior Associate Editor, HuffPost Australia

From rural Australia to the country’s most senior Catholic who, until last month, sat at the Pope’s right hand, Cardinal George Pell has lived most of his professional life under scrutiny and controversy.

But now, far removed from the protective halls of the Vatican city, the stalwart defender of the Catholic Church’s assets is preparing to face potentially legacy-defining allegations: multiple charges of historical sexual offences levelled against him by multiple complainants.

Pell, 76, who last month stepped away from his role as the Vatican’s finance chief, strenuously maintains his innocence.

His expected appearance at Melbourne Magistrate’s court on Wednesday marks just one stage of preliminary hearings into the multiple charges of historical sexual offences.

The details of the charges have not yet been made public.

The former Archbishop of Sydney and Melbourne volunteered to be interviewed by Victorian police in Rome in October last year. It was later announced he would be charged and he said he would come back to fight allegations he has described as a “character assassination” and a smear campaign.

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