ABUSE TRACKER

CINCINNATI (OH)
The Catholic Telegraph

June 17, 2019

By Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr

Dear Friends in Christ,

Over the last several months, many of us have been outraged and horrified by revelations of sexual abuse and cover-ups of such abuse perpetrated by some bishops in our country. This past week, I, along with the other bishops of our nation, gathered in Baltimore for the spring general assembly of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The very important work of debating and voting on measures to eradicate the grave evil of sexual abuse from our Church, which we had planned to accomplish last fall at the plenary assembly, was finally able to be addressed. With the release of Pope Francis’ apostolic letter Vos estis lux mundi in May, we were ready at this assembly to take concrete steps forward and implement important procedures for accountability throughout the hierarchy of the Church in the United States.

At this most recent meeting, the bishops of our country approved three documents related to reporting and investigating claims of abuse or the intentional mishandling of such cases by bishops. These newly approved directives establish the following:

• Protocols to deal with bishops who were removed from office or resigned their office for reasons of sexual abuse or intentional mishandling of cases.

• Reaffirmation of the commitment bishops make to live according to the Gospel and to place themselves under the same high standards applied to their priests, deacons and lay personnel.

• Direction for dealing specifically with reporting and investigating complaints against bishops.

The bishops also approved the creation of a third-party reporting system designed to receive confidentially reports of sexual abuse or the intentional mishandling of abuse cases committed by bishops. The independence of such a system is meant to help prevent any member of the hierarchy from interfering in the investigation of alleged misconduct. Please see the attached press release from the USCCB for more information regarding this third-party reporting system. Currently in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, we have a reporting system already in place to handle abuse and misconduct allegations of all types, EthicsPoint. To make a report call, 1-888-389-0381.

These steps implemented by the USCCB are important in our response to the sin and crime of sexual abuse, but they are not the end. Until the scourge of sexual abuse is completely eradicated from the life of the Church, we will still have work to do. As members of the Church, we are all called to lives of holiness and meant to become saints in God’s Kingdom. There is absolutely no place in the Church for toleration of any kind of sexual abuse, especially committed against people who are particularly vulnerable for reasons of age, ability, or status. As your bishop, I promise to continue to do everything in my power to ensure a safe environment for all people – children and adults – involved with any of our various ministries.

I ask you to join me in praying for all the victims of sexual abuse and for a renewed commitment on the part of all of us to follow Christ more closely, so that the Church may once again shine out as a light to the nations by the witness of her holiness.

Sincerely yours in Christ,
Most Reverend Dennis M. Schnurr
Archbishop of Cincinnati

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

June 17, 2019

Two priests in the Diocese of Buffalo who had previously been removed from ministry for “unwanted sexual advances” towards adult parishioners have been reassigned, leading to outrage from area parishioners.

The simple question is, why take the risk? If these men have violated their sacred vow of celibacy and crossed personal boundaries in the past, how do we know that they will not do it again or with a more impressionable or pliable victim?

An internal diocesan review apparently determined that Frs. Gatto and Giangreco were suitable to return to ministry. But did that ministry need to be at a parish with a school? Are there not other diocesan tasks that would have better suited a person with a history of sexual misconduct? Surely there were more appropriate assignments?

We understand the confusion of parents in Buffalo and empathize with them. Hopefully their outcries in this case will lead to a change in how Church officials evaluate placement for clergy when their “improper conduct did not rise to the level that would require removal from active priestly ministry,” and will force them to be more thoughtful about these cases in the future.

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BAKERSFIELD (CA)
The Californian

June 17, 2019

By John Cox

A woman spoke out publicly Monday accusing the Rev. John Esquivel, a former priest at St. Joseph Catholic Church, of sexually abusing her when she worked at the church as a secretary during the mid-1980s.

Silvia Gomez Ray, now 52, said at a news conference in front of the church that she was 17 or 18 years old when she was groped and verbally abused by Monsignor Esquivel, who now works as a priest at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Reedley.

A representative of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, which advocates for victims of abuse within the Roman Catholic Church, said he has been contacted by three others who allege they were sexually abused by Esquivel, and that two of the accusers were 16 at the time. The representative, Joey Piscitelli, said he has filed allegations on their behalf with the state Attorney General, as well as with police in Bakersfield and Reedley.

Esquivel and a representative of the the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno, which oversees St. Joseph and St. Anthony of Padua, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday morning.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

June 17, 2019

A Pennsylvania bishop has reportedly kept hidden a second abuse report against one of his priests. We call on the prelate to learn from this serious mistake, and to aggressively seek out other victims who may still be suffering in shame and self-blame.

Greensburg Bishop Edward Malesic apparently did not tell parishioners, parents and the public that Monsignor Michael Matusak – who has already been removed from ministry because of one accusation – is now facing a second.

Why does this matter?

First, in the eyes of many, the difference between one accusation and two accusations is considerable. It is more likely that people would trust a cleric who faces one allegation than one who faces two, so for the safety of the vulnerable all allegations should be made public.

Second, this information could be helpful to police and prosecutors. The more information that law enforcement has about a case, the greater the probability of successfully charging, convicting and jailing those who commit or conceal these crimes.

We note that in this case the Diocese reportedly contacted the civil authorities “immediately” after receiving the second allegation. However, Church officials could have done more to help with the investigation by also making that accusation public, and by begging anyone with information to come forward.

Third, it is important for the well-being and healing of this second accuser. We can only imagine the pain that must be felt by a survivor when they see their allegation ignored publicly, but it must seem as though that person and their suffering do not matter at all to Church officials.

Finally, it is important for the credibility of Catholic Church. On the heels of yet another week of “reform” by American bishops, stories like this help illustrate how far the hierarchy still has to go in responding properly to cases of abuse. If prelates want to avoid undercutting their own credibility and that of their colleagues, they must learn from situations like this and learn quickly.

We hope every person who may have seen, suspected or suffered crimes or cover ups in the Greensburg diocese – whether by Msgr. Matusak or any other church official – will come forward, make a report to police, and start healing.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

June 17, 2019

Church members are prohibited from suing church officials, according to contracts that some large Protestant churches are asking congregants to sign. These contracts – often called ‘covenants’ – are dangerous documents that will make it even harder to expose church staff who commit or conceal crimes like sexual abuse.

Major evangelical churches in Dallas, Minneapolis and Washington, D.C. – and likely elsewhere – apparently urge new members to sign away their legal rights when they join up. We hope, as information on these contracts becomes more widely available to the public, that no parishioner will sign one of these these pro-secrecy contracts and that any church considering their use will decline to pursue this idea.

The New York Times last week reported on The Village Church in Texas using these stunning contracts.

According to VICE News, it’s “difficult to estimate just how ubiquitous these documents were in the American evangelical world, which according to Pew includes roughly a quarter of the population and nearly a fifth of millennials.” But according to the Wartburg Watch, it is happening in other places, too.

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Patheos blog

June 16, 2019

By Barry Duke

THE Pope believes that some of his ambassadors (nuncios) are stabbing him in the back – and he wants them to stop immediately.

According to this report, he addressed more than 100 nuncios in on Thursday, reminding them that they have a responsibility as papal representatives not to criticise him or to join groups hostile to the Roman curia.

It is therefore irreconcilable to be a pontifical representative criticizing the Pope behind his back, having blogs or even joining groups hostile to him, to the curia and to the Church of Rome.

Pope Francis said that he desired to share some simple precepts to help the papal diplomats live out their mission, referring to a 4,000 word document which is a “Ten Commandments” of sorts for nuncios and their co-workers throughout the world.

One of the ten precepts outlined in the document is titled, “The Nuncio is a man of the Pope.” The section states that:

Certainly every person could have reservations, likes and dislikes, but a good nuncio cannot be hypocritical.

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NEW YORK (NY)
VICE News

May 3, 2019

By Barry Meier

Helen W. wasn’t born a Mormon, but she embraced the religion when she was 17 and it embraced her back.

When her son Alex was born with a heart defect and developmental disabilities, it was the Mormon Church that paid for his operations and treatments. When her second son, Zachary, was born eighteen months later, it was the members of her Martinsburg, West Virginia, congregation who helped find babysitters. And when Helen and her husband needed life guidance or wisdom, they turned to their bishop.

Bishops of the Mormon Church — or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as it’s formally called — are laymen, not professional clerics. Helen’s bishop, Donald Fishel, had worked full-time as a utility company lineman before his retirement. But as a Mormon bishop, he played an all-encompassing role in his congregants’ lives.

A bishop oversees the spiritual well-being of his followers, instructing them how to act in accordance with the teachings of Mormonisms; and he oversees tithing, the practice of giving 10 percent of one’s income to the church. He also tends to their everyday needs, providing marriage counseling, arranging for financial aid, finding jobs for the unemployed, mentoring teenagers, and filling other roles. A bishop is “your go-to for everything,” says Helen. “You have a problem, you have a concern, financial concerns, anything. The bishop’s door is always open. You go to your bishop and ask their advice.”

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Patheos blog

June 15, 2019

By Sarahbeth Caplin

The annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention took place this week on the heels of multiple stories about how sexual abuse thrived in Southern Baptist churches. Making matters even more complicated is the fact that these churches effectively run independently; there’s no “Baptist Pope” who can force them to follow a certain set of rules. Within the faith, the most damning thing that the SBC can do is kick out a problematic church.

But having a culture where victims are taken seriously and defended, even when the abuser is a church leader, is one way to prevent many of the problems. And that’s why abuse survivors planned a peaceful protest outside the Alabama building where the annual meeting took place.

Among the changes they demanded were a centralized database of sex offenders among the SBC’s 47,000 churches, mandatory abuse prevention training for all Southern Baptist leaders and volunteers, and a solid commitment to respecting women. (The Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News created an SBC offender database as part of a major investigation into the denomination, but it’s telling that the database came from outsiders and not the SBC itself.)

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NEW YORK (NY)
VICE News

Jun 17, 2019

By Carter Sherman

Two months ago, when he was still a Southern Baptist pastor, Stephen Bratton testified in favor of a Texas bill that could have allowed women who get abortions to be charged with homicide, a crime punishable by death in the Lone Star State.

On Friday, the 43-year-old was charged with continuous sex abuse of a child. He stands accused of molesting a teenage relative for two years, including “sexual intercourse multiple times a day or several times a week,” a Harris County deputy said this weekend, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Bratton posted a $50,000 bond on Saturday, the Chronicle reported. The Associated Press could not locate a phone number for Bratton, nor find his attorney, on Sunday.

The charges against Bratton also come just a week after Southern Baptist leaders gathered in Birmingham, Alabama, to discuss sex abuse reform after recent reports found hundreds of clergy and staff were accused of sexual misconduct over the past 20 years. The pastors voted to form a committee to examine allegations that churches failed to adequately deal with claims of sex abuse, and to make it clear that the Southern Baptist Convention can expel churches for mishandling such claims.

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NEW YORK (NY)
WBGO TV

June 17, 2019

By Joe Hernandez

A compensation fund for New Jersey victims of sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church will begin accepting claims on Saturday.

The first-of-its-kind fund in the Garden State will offer financial settlements to survivors of clergy sex abuse and comes amid an investigation by state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal into possible sexual abuse and cover-ups in the Catholic Church.

“Some survivors are really intimidated by a court proceeding process. You have to really think about the traumatic impact this sort of institutional abuse has had on someone,” said Patricia Teffenhart, executive director of the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault.

“On the other hand, not all survivors will want to go back to the institution that caused them harm,” she added.

The compensation fund opens just a few weeks after New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law expanding the state’s civil statute of limitations on sexual abuse and giving survivors who were previously time-barred from suing two years to file a claim in court.

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ROME (ITALY)
Crux

June 17, 2019

By Inés San Martín

While much attention has been paid over the past days and weeks to the ins and outs of the spring meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, that doesn’t mean the rest of the Church simply went on “pause” while the Americans did their thing.

In fact, the past week has been a busy period all over the Catholic map. Here’s a small sampling from the Church south of the border, offering a reminder that the word “Catholic” does indeed mean “universal.”

The upcoming Synod on the Amazon
On Monday, after this week’s Angelus went to print, the Vatican released the working document for an upcoming summit of bishops from the Amazon region, which will take place in Rome this October, bringing together prelates from countries that make up a vast region considered one of the world’s two lungs.

Speaking about the synod, Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes, the general relator (more or less, chairman), said that if the bishops request it, Pope Francis would be open to ordaining “viri probati,” married men of proven virtue, as priests.

“The shortage of priests and, therefore, the absence of the Eucharist in the Amazonian communities, is a great limitation,” Hummes said last week while he was in Francis’ native Argentina. “In fact, for its inhabitants the Eucharist is something rare, not part of their daily life.”

However, he said, for the Catholic Church the Eucharist is “fundamental and necessary” to develop a community faithful to Jesus Christ.

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LITTLE ROCK (AR)
Bilgrimage

June 16, 2019

By William Lindsey

This is a continuation of an essay by Ruth Krall, the first half of which was posted a few days ago. As that previous posting noted, this essay, entitled “Religious Leader Sexual Abuse: A Pan-Denominational Approach,” continues Ruth’s analysis of religious leader sexual abuse of vulnerable individuals from the standpoint of public health. It proposes that “any effort to eliminate sexual abuse as a public health problem must, therefore, be both a national and an international effort. It must also be pan-denominational — reaching into multiple religious communities.” Here’s the second half of Ruth’s outstanding essay — note that footnote numbers begin in medias res because this part of Ruth’s essay links to the part previously posted:

Organizational Management Equivalencies

The equivalent here for me is financial embezzlement. Let’s say a bank employee is emptying the cash drawer on a regular basis for his own use. This behavior would not be tolerated. The individual would be (1) fired and (2) reported to civil law enforcement agencies. Given the magnitude of the theft, she or he would also be publicly outed by means of news media.

Many years ago now, I watched as one of my alma maters became aware of financial embezzlement by its business manager. He was fired on the spot and an announcement was placed in the annual alumni newsletter so that all alums would have accurate information about what had occurred. I am guessing — but do not know — that this institution’s governing board and president wished to forestall rumor-mongering among its alums as well as in the larger community in which the school was located.

In another situation, as a very young mid-level administrator, I watched a narrative of embezzlement unfold inside my organization. A subordinate financial officer reported his department head boss to the governing body of this institution. The subsequent — and very quiet — investigation revealed that the mid-level administrator was indeed cooking the books. He was fired on the spot and immediately escorted off the premises. A brief and very terse announcement was made to local media by the organization’s president. I learned of this episode the way my neighbors did — by televised news reports that evening. By the next day, many more internal details were visible inside the organization’s various departments.

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FRESNO (CA)
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

She speaks publicly now for the first time

Her alleged abuser is still in active ministry

At least four other victims have come forward

SNAP calls on Diocese of Fresno to “aggressively reach out” to other victims

What:
At a news conference, a child sex abuse victim who was sexually abused by a Reedley priest will name her abuser publicly for the first time and share her experiences as an abuse victim within the Diocese of Fresno.

When:
Monday, June 17 at 10:45am

Where:
Outside of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 1515 Baker St. in Bakersfield, CA

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ROME (ITALY)
Crux

June 17, 2019

By Inés San Martín

When the bishops from the Amazon region gather in Rome next October, they will discuss the ordination of “elderly people,” preferably indigenous, to guarantee that the remote communities in the region have access to the sacraments.

“Affirming that celibacy is a gift for the Church, it is requested that, for the most remote areas of the region, the possibility of priestly ordination for elderly people is studied,” says a document preparing the upcoming Synod of Bishops on the Amazon.

The document goes on to say that the elderly people ordained in remote areas should “preferably [be] indigenous people, respected and accepted by their community, even if they already have a family that is established and stable, in order to ensure the Sacraments that accompany and sustain the Christian life.”

Though the three language versions of the document speak of “people” and not men, it is referring to the ordination of what are known as the viri probati, married men of proven virtue, many of whom already serve as permanent deacons.

The shortage of priests in the Amazon region has long been at the center of debate, as has been the possibility of ordaining the viri probati. However, whenever he’s been approached about the issue, Pope Francis is clear that priestly celibacy is not up for grabs, despite the fact that it is a discipline the Catholic Church and not doctrine.

History’s first Latin American pope has been particularly attentive to the argument in favor of the viri probati in the Amazon or the Pacific Islands, where the mostly indigenous faithful can go months without seeing a priest.

As the debate over the ordination of “proven men” in remote areas reignites, it is worth noting that many eastern rite Catholic Churches allow married men to be ordained. In addition, the Catholic Church allows some married Protestant clergy who convert to remain in priestly ministry.

The document released by the Vatican on Monday, known as the “instrumentum laboris,” will set the ground work for the Synod of Bishops on the Amazon, that will take place in Rome Oct. 6-27.

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PITTSBURGH (PA)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

June 14, 2019

By Andrew Goldstein

An attorney Friday criticized Greensburg Bishop Edward Malesic for failing to tell the public that a monsignor — who was removed from ministry because of a credible allegation of sexual abuse — faced at least one other accusation.

But the Catholic Diocese of Greensburg said the second allegation against Monsignor Michael Matusak is under investigation, and he had already been removed from ministry when the accusation was made.

Adam Horowitz, an attorney recognized nationally for representing victims of sexual assault and abuse, said Bishop Malesic misled the public by withholding information.

“This is another example of America’s bishops failing at their promises of transparency and openness — and the importance of the public and the media in holding them accountable,” Mr. Horowitz said in a statement. “Public safety depends upon it, and survivors deserve better.”

He said he represents a woman who accused Monsignor Matusak of sexually abusing her from 1973 to 1976 while he was a deacon preparing for his ordination at St. Hedwig in Franklin Township. Fayette County. He said the alleged abuse continued after Monsignor Matusak’s ordination.
The woman also said Monsignor Matusak stalked and harassed her for nearly 20 more years, even telling her that he would leave the priesthood for her, according to Mr. Horowitz.

Jerry Zufelt, a spokesman for the Greensburg diocese, said Mr. Horowitz reported the second allegation to the diocese in March. He said the diocese immediately contacted PA ChildLine and law enforcement, and the investigation is ongoing.

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BIRMINGHAM (AL)
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

June 14, 2019

I’m honored, truly honored, to be among you. Thanks so much for having me here. By way of background, I was molested by a priest as a kid. So were four of my brothers. One of them went on to become a priest. And he went on to molest kids himself. And now you know why, for more than 30 years, I’ve been with SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

It’s ironic that we’re in ALABAMA – the state in which Rosa Parks sat down. She sparked an amazing movement.

And this movement – the Baptist child safety movement – was sparked by someone else who’s with us in Alabama today: our dear friend and trusted mentor and guiding light and moral force – Christa Brown.

It’s also ironic that we’re in BIRMINGHAM, with the Baptists. Both have a sordid history of treating vulnerable groups poorly.

With Birmingham, of course, it was African Americans. Exhibit A: It’s nickname. Some used dynamite to intimidate the vulnerable so often, that the city was once known as “Bombingham.”

With the Baptists, of course, it’s innocent kids, vulnerable adults and wounded victims. Exhibit A: the meanest public comment ever made about SNAP came from a high ranking Baptist official. A decade ago, Paige Patterson said that our group SNAP is “just as reprehensible as sex criminals.”

Think about the mind-set behind that remark: abuse victims are “just as reprehensible as sex criminals.”

https://ethicsdaily.com/sbc-seminary-president-labels-clergy-sex-abuse-victims-group-evil-doers-cms-12262/

But change is coming. Mahatma Gandhi knows about change. He said “First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win.”

Congratulations on reaching the third phase: Baptist officials are fighting you. And you will win.

Now, a quick observation and a quick question.

The observation: Not coincidentally, it was mostly women who organized both movements: Ella Baker, Unita Blackwell, Fannie Lou Hamer, and of course the many women who put together this terrific rally.

If these names don’t ring a bell, I hope you’ll look them up. Unita Blackwell, for instance, just passed away. There’s a terrific NYT obit. It’s on my fridge at home. It’s on line too. You’ll find it inspiring, I guarantee it.

And if you don’t know the names of the rally organizers, I hope you’ll meet them. They too are inspiring.

Now, the quick question: What do you think you’ll get when you put a microphone in front of an old white guy who’s been doing the same thing for 30 years? Advice of course. Here it comes: 30 years of advocacy summed up in 15 words of advice, ready?

Fixate on prevention. Ignore church officials. Ignore church promises. Create outside pressure. Make heads roll.

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BIRMINGHAM (AL)
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

June 14, 2019

Wow. Look at all of you! Back in 2007, when David Clohessy and I stood outside the SBC annual meeting in San Antonio, just a few steps from the Alamo, there were 10 of us that day.

And now – look at you. HERE is where hope resides. Right here. It’s not over there with those religious leaders. No. It is here with you.

For those who don’t know me, I was sexually abused as a kid by a Southern Baptist pastor … but THAT was only the beginning of the nightmare. I also survived all the horrific aftermath of what so many others did in trying to silence me and bully me. I wrote a book about it all … but in truth, my story is dreadfully common.

It is a bloody awful road that SO MANY OF US have traveled in this blind-eyed faith group.

Almost every Baptist survivor I’ve ever spoken with has said that the trauma from the INSTITUTIONAL betrayal far exceeded the trauma from the abuse itself.

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CHARLESTON (WV)
The Intelligencer

June 16, 2019

Editor, News-Register:

While Catholics lament the behavior of our leadership, I have hope for the future. Profligate spending is difficult to digest. Abusive behavior from leaders cannot be tolerated and victims must receive justice from their church.

We have a right to be angry.

While attending a conference at Franciscan University of Steubenville, we began with discouragement. By the end of the weekend, we left with renewed hope. It was apparent the Catholic Church is thriving at FUS and throughout our country. We met people from dioceses nationwide who shared outstanding things happening in their churches. We concluded the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston is being purified by fire and new growth will rise from the ash heap.

In the early 1200s, God called St. Francis of Assisi to “Rebuild My Church.” In the spirit of St. Francis, consider encouraging one another and the faithful clergy to rebuild once again!

It may take time, but the blood of martyrs over the last 2,000 years and today worldwide creates fertile conditions for fresh growth. Scandals will likely continue as long as people are in charge, but I cannot forget our church’s positive influence on the world: orphanages; hospitals; education systems; the defense of all forms of life; artwork; music; and, the largest charitable organization on the globe.

The foremost reason I could never leave the Catholic Church is the peace I receive in the Eucharist, established by Jesus at the last supper, and offered in mass every hour of every day around the planet.

St. Augustine, bishop in North Africa, said a prayer in the late 300s that was on target: “Our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” There is hope.

John Faini, Wheeling

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ROME (ITALY)
Crux

Jun 17, 2019

By Paulina Guzik

It was a very hot day when Archbishop Charles Scicluna, the Vatican’s point man on the fight against clerical sexual abuse, met Polish bishops on June 14. The temperature was as high as expectations that the word “dismissal of bishops” would come out of his mouth.

In the end, his visit may inaugurate Poland as the testing ground for the new Vatican norms on sexual abuse and cover-up.

Vox estis lux mundi (“You are the light of the world”), the new pontifical law that came into life on June 1, “for the first time in the history of the Church – creates a positive obligation to denounce”- told the Maltese archbishop in an interview for Polish Television. It also protects those who report.

The title of the document was the mantra of Scicluna’s two-hour long speech and his Q&A session for Polish bishops. It may also become a sword that Scicluna brought to Poland. He thoroughly explained the law that will eventually cut heads off bishops who put their reputation first and ignore victims.

“Victims are not enemies of the Church,” Scicluna told the Polish episcopate, “but wounded sheep.”

Scicluna praised the plans and procedures decided by the episcopal conference throughout the years. But then he asked: “What are the facts?”

“He forced us to examine our conscience,” a Polish bishop told Crux after Scicluna’s speech.

Victor, survivor of clerical sexual abuse told TVP in an interview on Sunday: “What I want from the bishops is that their actions don’t deny their words. If they don’t decide to be shepherds – he stressed – it’s better that they give away their purple caps,” adding that he feels betrayed by Polish hierarchy.

Scicluna was invited by the Polish bishops last year, and many, including survivors, thought he may bring a message from the pope to the country shaken by sex abuse and abuse of power scandals revealed in the movie “Tell No One,” in which victims confront their abusers on camera.

Ten days before his trip, Scicluna had a private audience with Pope Francis.

“The pope knew I was coming to Poland, and he asked me to greet Polish people in a special way on his behalf,” he told Polish Television – “but I’m not here as his envoy.” He then added that his long-planned visit providentially happened in an important moment of the history of the Church in Poland.

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BALTIMORE (MD)
Crux

June 17, 2019

By Christopher White

When the U.S. Catholic bishops gathered for their semi-annual meeting last week, the burning outsider question was what steps they would take to combat the clerical sexual abuse scandals that are once again scarring the Church in America.

For insiders, however, that question took on a highly specific focus: Would anyone finally sit in Ted McCarrick’s chair?

In reality, there is no chair formally designated for the disgraced former priest and cardinal whose downfall opened the floodgates for the latest wave of the abuse crisis, but, symbolically, his empty chair during recent meetings has come to represent something more.

McCarrick’s absence – once a towering figure in this august body – was a reminder of the betrayal many feel, and his name has become synonymous with the failings of the collective body of bishops and the source of rage for Catholics across the country.

In a room full of hundreds of chairs – none of which are actually reserved – one chair was just be assumed to be off-limits. It was his chair, where he had sat for years.

As a reporter focused on the Catholic Church, many people often ask me what it’s like to cover the U.S. bishops. Each year they hold two national meetings – gathering every November in Baltimore for a general assembly, and again in June at a rotating location – and making sense of their seating habits has been just one facet of coming to understand the customs and routines of this body of men.

At the level of public perception, the conference is often taken to be the governing body of the Catholic Church in America. In reality, the conference has little real power, since under Church law there’s no authority between the individual bishop and the pope. Nevertheless, decisions taken here matter, because most bishops make a good-faith effort to abide by them.

There are 441 Catholic bishops in the U.S., more than 270 of whom are in active ministry, making the U.S. body one of the largest conferences in the world. Retired members are also invited to attend – although after a decision taken at last week’s meetings, the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), can now bar emeriti bishops who have been removed from office for grave reasons.

Ann Rodgers, the director of communications for the diocese of Pittsburgh, told me that the work of “mapping the room” where the U.S. bishops meet is one of the first essential tasks during the formal meetings of the USCCB.

Rodgers, who began attending these meetings in 1988 when she was a newspaper reporter and since going to work for a diocese in 2013 has helped the USCCB’s communication team when the bishops get together, said that as soon as the meetings get underway she and several other staffers go row by row to determine who is occupying each seat.

Once the chart is completed, USCCB president Cardinal Daniel DiNardo and General Secretary Monsignor Brian Bransfield draw on that list when bishops hold up a card seeking to make an intervention during the meeting.

“Sometimes you watch the president calling on someone ten rows back and you might think, ‘Gosh, he has a great memory.’ In reality, he’s using the list,” said Rodgers.

The seating chart also serves other purposes – namely, to locate bishops when the hundreds of interview requests from reporters like myself are submitted.

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

When It Is In Your Power

June 11, 2019

By April C. Armstrong

Last May, I publicly revealed what it was like as a female student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary from 2004-2007 when Paige Patterson was president. Anonymous stories had appeared before mine, but as far as I know, mine was the first to come out with a name attached. Telling a deeply personal truth in a very public way is not easy to do, but every alternative seemed worse. Continued silence was unthinkable. I could not tell it anonymously for a variety of reasons. I had always had a good reputation among most people at Southwestern, so I wasn’t afraid of what people I knew would say about me in response. It ultimately extended far beyond my circle, however.

After reading what I had to say, Beth Moore tweeted at me that I was “brave” and had acted “not out of bitterness but out of love for Jesus & the church.” She was partly right. I don’t consider myself bitter; a great deal of emotional labor over the past dozen years has ensured that you can’t apply that adjective to me, though I believe we should avoid both praise and criticism for any survivor’s emotional responses. And if courage is doing something you find frightening, then I suppose what I did was a form of bravery, though I had less fear doing it than not doing it. And yes, I did this out of love. But I didn’t do this out of love for the church, per se.

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

WASHINGTON (DC)
Catholic News Service

June 14, 2019

By Carol Zimmerman

The gathering of U.S. bishops June 11-13 in Baltimore was anything but business as usual.

“The spring meetings are usually more pastoral, and the November meeting has a heavier agenda,” said Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, who said this meeting had a “sense of urgency” and momentum to it, both in the smaller group gatherings and when the bishops were all together.

“We were here for specific task … and by God’s grace we will move forward,” he said during a June 12 news conference.

The bishops typically meet twice a year as a body. The spring meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is usually in June at different locations each year, and sometimes it is a retreat. The fall meeting in recent years has always been in Baltimore. This year’s spring meeting was switched somewhat last minute to the Baltimore location where the bishops were not the only ones in the hotel space but were adjacent to other conference gatherings.

The other time a spring bishops’ meeting was almost entirely devoted to the church crisis was the 2002 meeting in Dallas, just months after the church was reeling from a clergy sexual abuse crisis that made headlines in The Boston Globe.

But where that meeting focused on misconduct by priests, this year’s meeting looked at responding to the misconduct of some bishops and the failure of some bishops to properly address abuse.

Since their two general assemblies last year, the bishops have been confronted with an overwhelming need to prove to U.S. Catholics that abuse within their own ranks won’t be tolerated. They were hit with allegations last summer that one of their own, former Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, had committed abuses over decades. Then just a week before the spring meeting, details emerged from the Vatican-ordered investigation of retired Bishop Michael J. Bransfield of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, highlighting financial and sexual improprieties.

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

GLASGOW (SCOTLAND)
The Scottish Sun

June 15, 2019

By Laura Paterson

THE Catholic Church in Scotland have been urged to create independent safeguarding watchdog to “rebuild trust” following abuse scandals.

The Independent Review Group (IRG) believes it would be a “crucial step to promote transparency and restore credibility” of the church.

They are also calling for the church to provide more support for abuse survivors within the community.

The group found a good start had been made on implementing the McLellan Commission recommendations but much more needs to be done.

IRG was set up by the church in 2017 to monitor its response to a major review of safeguarding and child protection.

They want each diocese to have a clear policy statement on access and support for survivors, an independent person they can approach for advice, and to consider including survivor representation on safeguarding decision-making bodies.

It also recommends further refining safeguarding audits, which should be independently scrutinised, and having a national training plan on the issue.

The report states: “The Bishop’s Conference of Scotland should give detailed and urgent consideration to the creation of a strengthened, resourced and independent SCSS with appropriate professional support as a crucial step to promote transparency and restore credibility.”

It continues: “Much still needs to be done to ensure victims of abuse are seen, heard and supported by the church and the process of healing begins to take place.

“Improvement in policy and openness to learning from the audit process will start to shift culture.

“However, investment is required to develop a properly resourced professional safeguarding service.

“Commitment to create a dedicated, independent safeguarding service which supports the development needs of the eight dioceses; drives consistency; is empowered to independently investigate concerns or complaints and can act without bias in all its affairs is critical to rebuilding trust with congregations and the general public.”

Group chairwoman Baroness Helen Liddell said: “The problem of how the church is perceived is a universal one and signals the need for real and far-reaching change.

“The vigour with which change is brought about, and is seen to be brought about, will determine whether credibility and trust can ever be restored.

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WARSAW (POLAND)
Catholic News Agency

June 14, 2019

As the Catholic Church in Poland continues to respond to sex abuse by clergy, Archbishop Charles Scicluna, a leading Vatican expert on prosecuting sex crimes under church law, attended the bishops’ plenary assembly to discuss child and youth protection.

Scicluna told the Catholic news source KAI that he wanted to encourage the bishops “to implement the very good guidance points that they themselves adopted” in 2013, Reuters reported.

“I have a great hope that Polish bishops will do what is needed…I hope this situation can be repaired,” said Scicluna, who took part in a June 14 session of the 383rd Plenary Assembly of the Polish Bishops’ Conference in Walbrzych.

“My very strong message to the bishops of Poland this morning was – we need to pass from very good documents to an example of best practice,” the archbishop said.

He said rules alone are not enough unless they are implemented. Parishioners need to know to whom they can report suspected abuse.

Scicluna urged anyone aware of a coverup to report it to Church authorities. In cases where high-ranking bishops are involved, they should report the coverup to Poland’s papal nuncio, the Associated Press reported.

In a May 22 letter, the Polish bishop’s conference spoke out against clergy sexual abuse and pledged both to continue to “eliminate factors conducive to crime” and to adopt a more sensitive attitude toward victims.

“We admit that as shepherds of the Church we have not done everything to prevent these harms,” they said, thanking the victims who have come forward and urging those who have not to report their abuse to both Church and state authorities.

A documentary about clerical sex abuse in Poland, titled “Tell No One,” was produced and recently released by filmmaker brothers Tomasz and Marek Sekielski. Millions of viewers have watched it on YouTube.

Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki of Poznan, President of the Polish bishops’ conference, thanked the filmmakers on May 13. He said he was “deeply moved and saddened” by the film.

“I am convinced that this film, too, will result in an even more stringent compliance with the guidelines for the protection of children and young people in the Church,” he said, noting Pope Francis’ recent instructions in the document “Vos estis,” which includes rules on the prevention of and response to sexual abuse by clergy.

Close to 400 Polish priests were accused of sexual abuse of minors, with alleged incidents dating as far back as 1950 with as many as 625 potential victims, according to a study commissioned by the Episcopal Conference of Poland and released in March 2019. These accusations were submitted to Poland’s bishops starting in the year 1990 until 2018.

The study covered data collected from the more than 10,000 parishes in Poland, and included religious orders.

According to the report, 382 priests were accused of abuse during the time covered. Of the clerics accused, 284 were diocesan priests, and 98 belonged to a religious order. Figures provided by the Holy See Press Office in 2016 reported there are 156 bishops and some 30,661 priests in Poland.

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CHARLESTON (WV)
Gazette Mail

June 14, 2019

By Jennifer Haselberger

America’s Catholic bishops are gathering this week to debate new measures to hold bishops and cardinals more accountable in cases of clergy sex abuse. They’ll likely say the problem is largely in the church’s past. What they won’t say is that they already know how to largely eliminate sexual misconduct with minors but won’t do it: Get out of youth ministry.

During the nearly 10 years I spent working as a canon lawyer in different dioceses in the United States, I saw firsthand that the U.S. church accepts the sexual abuse of minors as the cost of doing business the American way.

The American church’s business model relies on programs aimed at children and young males who might become priests. Those youth ministry programs, which happen outside the core worship experience, are where abuse happens. U.S. church officials know this, and they could reduce the abuse that still happens by getting out of the youth ministry business, but they won’t.

It is well established that Catholic scouting, summer camps, retreats, youth days and other programming designed to, as one upcoming Wisconsin program’s brochure called “Totally Yours” puts it, “ignite the hearts” of young Catholics create contexts in which young people are particularly vulnerable to exploitation and mistreatment. There is ample evidence that, even in the post-”Spotlight” era, predators among the clergy and the laity seek out these opportunities to connect with Catholic youth.

The Vatican’s own press kit for the pope’s global “Meeting On the Protection of Minors” in February described a timeline of the church’s response to abuse. It noted that in Slovenia’s communist dictatorship, from 1945 to 1992, “Catholic education was almost nonexistent and for this reason the potential abusers did not have direct contact with minors.”

Yet, since 2002 the Catholic Church has doubled down on these forms of outreach, prioritizing its need to evangelize and develop the next generation of Catholics over the safety and well-being of the same.

It also turns a blind eye to the ongoing problem of clergy singling out some children for special attention under the guise of fostering vocations to the priesthood or religious life.

This remains a concerning factor in many of the cases of abuse that have occurred post-2002. Yet, the church does little, if anything, to combat this. Instead, it uses wording like this on a Seattle archdiocesan vocations blog, telling priests to “draw a young man aside” and use praise and “sincerity” to encourage him to consider the priesthood.

In any other context, this would be labeled grooming.

However, the church needs to address its priest shortage. As a result, parents and other guardians are socialized to relinquish oversight and even good judgment when it is a question of encouraging a child along this path.

There are countless other examples of the Catholic Church prioritizing its methods of operating over the safety of children.

The lack of willingness to confront the problem of clergy sex abuse of minors, and yet the drive to cover it up, are what led me to resign in 2013 as the chancellor for canonical affairs for the Archdiocese of Minneapolis-St. Paul and bring everything I saw into the light as a whistleblower.

Dioceses like my own could delay expanding youth programming until it has fully functional, empirically supported and evidence-based methods in place for ensuring the safety of these programs. Instead, it continues to create new programs, like the annual archdiocesan Youth Day, which was first held in 2013. The archdiocese had learned about abuse by the Rev. Curtis Wehmeyer in 2012, and although it had years worth of information about the potential danger the priest posed, it pretended that it had no indication of any potential for harm. I went public with my information the week before the event, and the county attorney launched an investigation that resulted in charges.

We don’t know if expanding the priesthood beyond an all-male, celibate clergy would eliminate sexual abuse, but the Catholic Church has made it clear that it won’t consider it even if it did. Likewise, the church is unwilling to embrace a shared-governance model including its laity, even though the primary agenda item for this week’s meeting is developing a means of addressing the frequent abuses and misuses that result from its current narrow concentration of power. Also, advocates for children continue to be outraged by the Catholic Church’s refusal to embrace seemingly common-sense reporting requirements because of some competing evangelization goal. For example, the church is fighting state laws requiring clerics to report sexual abuse they hear in the confessional, claiming such proposals violate religious freedom. As a canon lawyer, I can tell you such proposals can be easily accommodated within Catholic theology.

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

WASHINGTON (DC)
Catholic News Service

June 25, 2019

Using social media, preaching, newspaper columns and letters read at Mass, the Los Angeles Archdiocese and California’s other Catholic dioceses planned a special push over the June 15-16 weekend asking Catholics to urge their representatives in the state Assembly to reject a confession bill.

S.B. 360 — which passed in the California Senate May 23 in a 30-2 vote — would force priests to disclose information about child sexual abuse that they learn when they are hearing another priest’s confession or when hearing the confession of a co-worker.

The bill is expected to have a vote in the lower house, the California State Assembly, in September.

“Our lawmakers have good intentions. They want to prevent child abuse,” Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez said in a letter he issued June 10 that is to be read at all June 15 and 16 Masses in the archdiocese. “But there is no evidence that this legislation will do that. Instead, it threatens a practice that is essential to our faith and religious identity.”

“We need your help to protect this sacrament of the church and to keep confession sacred,” he said. “And we need to continue our commitment to building a society where every child is loved, protected and safe.”

The Catholic Church in California set up a new website, KeepTheSeal.com, which is a hub that gives people easy access to materials about S.B. 360 as well as a way to send emails to their legislators.

As it is in many U.S. states, California requires priests, teachers, social workers, doctors and other professionals to be “mandated reporters.” That means by law they are required to report any case of suspected abuse to authorities.

There is currently an exemption in California law for any clergy member “who acquires knowledge or a reasonable suspicion of child abuse or neglect during a penitential communication.”

For Catholics, that penitential communication would be in the confessional.

“The sacrament of penance and reconciliation, what we call confession, was the first gift that Jesus gave to the world after rising from the dead,” Archbishop Gomez said in his letter. “On the first Easter night, he breathed his Holy Spirit into his apostles, his first priests, and he granted them the awesome power to forgive sins in his name.

“Jesus gave us this gift so that we could always come to him, personally, to confess our sins and seek his forgiveness and the grace to continue on our Christian journey.”

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BALTIOMORE (MD)
Reality Asserts Itself

June 13, 2019

PAUL JAY: Welcome back to Reality Asserts Itself. I’m Paul Jay. We’re continuing our discussion with former Catholic priest, and now Episcopal priest, Matthew Fox. Thanks for joining us again.

MATTHEW FOX: Thank you, Paul.

PAUL JAY: And as you’ve been–if you’ve been watching, and you really should go back to Part 1 to understand where we’re at–but Matthew was a Catholic priest who got in the crosshairs of the Inquisition, led by Cardinal Ratzinger, and was first–well, first of all silenced, and then asked to leave the Dominican order; more or less turfed, and continued to speak out. And here he is speaking out.

You’ve been–when we first interviewed, Pope Francis had just been appointed. And you, and I have to say I, were pretty dubious about Francis in terms of his history in Latin America. Some connections to not Opus Dei directly, but an Italian version of something like Opus Dei that Francis seemed to have some connection of. And the whole history of the last 30 some-odd, 40 years. You describe the Catholic Church as being as decrepit as the Borgias. But he surprised you. And he seemed to have surprised a lot of people with his positions on climate change and his speaking out on inequality, and other kinds of issues. And essentially a kind of social democrat.

But you’ve not been satisfied with his response on the issue of the church and the covering up of crimes of priests of pedophilia. So what has been the Pope’s response and why are you not satisfied with it?

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PARIS (FRANCE)
LaCroix International

June 16, 2019

Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta is the man Pope Francis trusts to lead the world-wide fight against pedophilia in the Church.

And that’s just as well because he is set to meet with bishops of the powerful Polish Catholic Church, which is facing a wave of revelations about sexual abuse by priests.

A plenary session has been scheduled for June 14 in Swidnica, south western Poland, at which the bishops will meet Archbishop Scicluna.

When on May 16 they announced the visit, the Polish bishops were careful to specify that he was responding to an invitation made a year earlier. But it is difficult not to make the link between this visit and the release on May 11 of a documentary implicating several Polish bishops in the alleged protection of pedophile priests.

Directed and produced by two brothers, Tomasz and Marek Sekielski, ‘Tell No One’ is highly critical of Polish church authorities.It explicitly names alleged attackers, as well as bishops suspected of having remained silent, and cites evidence to back-up various claims.

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ROME (ITALY)
Daily Beast

June 16, 2019

By Barbie Latza Nadeau

There are few scandals in the sordid history of the American Catholic church more painful than the saga of former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, a high-ranking prince of the church who fell from grace amid a slew of lies and cover-ups.

McCarrick was forced to resign and later defrocked after credible allegations that he sexually abused a boy from the age of 11 until the young man was 29, starting long before the Boston Spotlight probe and Pennsylvania Grand Jury report came to define priests behaving badly.

It was well known in certain Catholic circles that the cardinal liked to entertain six or more seminarians in his five-bedroom New Jersey beach house with the assumption that the odd man out would share his bed.

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SPRINGFIELD (MA)
The Republican

June 16, 2019

By Anne-Gerard Flynn

Springfield Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski will meet Thursday with an alleged clergy sex abuse victim, who says he told a diocesan Review Board a year ago that he had been sexually abused decades ago by the late Bishop Christopher J. Weldon.

The Review Board has disputed that his June 2018 testimony included allegations of direct abuse by Weldon, though three individuals present say he named Weldon.

Rozanski, who was in Baltimore this past week for a U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops meeting where clergy abuse was among the topics discussed, was said to have found the allegations involving Weldon “deeply troubling.”

It is unclear what resolution will come from the meeting between the alleged victim and Rozanski, but the situation highlights the difficulty for those coming forth with accusations of sexual misconduct involving a deceased bishop.

An area of legal conflict in the Springfield diocese has been how far back it was aware of clergy sex abuse. This has been an issue particularly associated with Weldon’s 27 years as bishop and any allegations made against clergy at that time. There are concerns as well that pertinent files kept by Weldon may have been destroyed after his death in 1982 by the executor of his will — who had himself faced claims of sexual abuse.

E.J. Fleming’s book “Death of an Altar Boy” makes the argument that Weldon knew early on from detectives that then diocesan priest Richard Lavigne — who pleaded guilty in 1992 to molesting two boys and was later removed from the clerical state by the Vatican — was a suspect in the unsolved 1972 murder of 13-year-old altar boy Danny Croteau.

The diocese has argued it was not aware until 1986 of an accusation of abuse against Lavigne, who was the subject of at least 37 claims of abuse of a minor, and continued to minister as a priest until 1991.

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LONG ISLAND (NY)
Newsday

June 16, 2019

By Bart Jones

The Diocese of Rockville Centre is holding off on releasing a list of clergy members accused of sexual abuse, a decision that shows the delicate balance of speed and accuracy.

Most victims advocates argue the diocese has had plenty of time — years — to pull together an accurate list. A few activists, though, along with church analysts point out that getting the list right should be a top priority, regardless of how long it takes.

Bishop John Barres hasn’t commented directly; a diocesan spokesman, Sean Dolan, described the release of a list now as “premature.”

“The tradition of American Justice affords all persons the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. Therefore, the diocese cooperates with law enforcement on all accusations and also engages additional independent, professional investigations,” Dolan said in a statement.

New York’s seven other dioceses and two-thirds of the 198 nationwide have released lists. Rockville Centre serves 1.4 million Catholics, making it the eighth largest in the country.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Catholic News Service

June 16, 2019

By Chaz Muth

Church scholars assert the concept of the seal of confession was given to the apostles by Jesus, eventually morphing into the sacrament of penance, providing the faithful with an opportunity to confess their sins and to be reconciled with God.

The soul-cleansing, sacred practice is private, confidential and repeatable.

Governmental leaders have challenged the priest-penitent privilege of the seal of confession since at least the 14th century, prompting priests to sacrifice their freedom and sometimes their lives protecting that confidentiality.

In the wake of renewed attention on the clergy child sexual abuse scandals, 21st-century lawmakers in Australia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Chile, and the U.S. have introduced measures that would compel priests to report to civil authorities information related to child abuse and neglect learned in the confessional.

“There are many reasons why we are seeing challenges to the seal of confession today,” said Father Ronald T. Kunkel, theology professor at Mundelein Seminary at the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Illinois, near Chicago.

The Church has suffered “self-inflicted wounds” to its reputation and credibility from the clergy sex abuse crisis, making the seal of confession vulnerable to governmental intrusion, Kunkel told Catholic News Service in an April interview.

“There have been terrible sins and crimes that have been committed, including by members of the hierarchy,” he said. “But, I think in many cases this is being used as an excuse in order to further marginalize the Church in our society today.”

That reaction has been echoed by countless theologians, canon lawyers, priests and penitents throughout the U.S., particularly in California, where a bill is making its way through the state legislature that attempts to amend its mandatory reporting laws to require priests to provide civil authorities with information about child abuse or neglect confessed by priests or co-workers during the sacrament of penance.

Critics of that legislation, S.B. 360, call it governmental overreach that clearly violates religious freedoms enjoyed in the U.S., as well as its tradition of separation of church and state. Some also fear that authorities could send someone in to confess to abuse in order to prosecute the priest for failing to report it.

Supporters of the California bill say it closes a loophole in a law that provides cover for pedophile priests – and other criminals – who receive absolution from the sin of child sexual abuse without being held accountable by society. They believe it emboldens such penitents to continue to victimize others.

Laws making it an offense for a priest’s failure to report the confessions of child sex abuse have already been passed in three Australian states and similar acts are being considered in Chile.

“I think it’s worth noting that the mandatory reporting statutes, the clergy-penitent privilege, and the seal of confession, these three doctrines if you will, are all in tension with each other,” said Mary Graw Leary, a professor of law at The Catholic University of America in Washington and a former prosecutor specializing in the abuse and exploitation of children and women. “They all serve very positive social goods. But, these kinds of circumstances bring them in tension with each other and it’s a very difficult problem to solve.”

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STATEN ISLAND (NY)
June 16, 2019

By Joseph Ostapiuk

To some it was a safe haven, an environment where struggling children put their lives back on track.

Others, however, claim it was a place where predators preyed upon their vulnerabilities.

Former residents of the Mission of the Immaculate Virgin, Mount Loretto, are embroiled after a bombshell court filing alleged that a woman who attended the haven suffered physical and sexual abuse at the hands of several nuns and at least one lay person.

Sly Francis, 61, a former NYPD detective and a resident of Mount Loretto from 1963 to 1972, said that he never previously heard of allegations or rumors that nuns sexually abused any of the residents.

“I can’t dismiss her allegations,” said Francis, who attended Mount Loretto from the ages of 6 to 15, “but I never witnessed anyone or never heard of anyone — a female or male — being sexually abused by the nuns.”

While Francis admitted that both nuns and priests at the school doled out discipline to students “because of behavior,” he said that he was never abused.

Francis, a chronic runaway as a child after his parents divorced, said that his time at the manor “saved” his life.

At only five years old, Francis would go into the street “for weeks at a time” and said that he often ended up “in strange people’s houses” before being told he would be forced to go to a reform school. However, a priest at Mount Loretto reached out to Francis’ mother, and he soon after attended the mission.

“The kids that were there became my family, and it put me on the right path,” Francis said.

The court filing was made by Robin Campbell, whose maiden name is Robin Miller. Miller lived at the Pleasant Plains mission between the ages of 6 and 11, from 1960 through 1966, according to documents filed in Manhattan state Supreme Court.

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CHICAGO (IL)
CBS TV

June 15, 2019

A priest at Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish in Chicago was reinstated Saturday after he was accused of sexual abuse and asked to step aside from his duties in January.

Cardinal Blase Cupich said Father Patrick Lee cooperated with civil authorities and the Archdiocese of Chicago during the investigation.

Cupich said both state officials and the independent review board of the archdiocese determined the allegations against Lee were unfounded.

In an email to the Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish, Cupich said:

“These have been difficult days and months for you as a parish. You have shown great patience as each jurisdiction has completed its process. I thank you for doing so. Father Lee has also suffered, as you well know, but he has offered that suffering freely, convinced of the need for us as a Church to keep our word that the protection and safety of our children remains the priority.”

Cupich shared his letter with other parishes in the Archdiocese of Chicago and the media to “see that Father Lee’s good name is restored.”

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Patheos blog

June 15, 2019

By Msgr. Eric Barr

The U.S. Bishops had an unimpressive week at their biannual meeting. That means this first paragraph will be boring. But take heart! It shall get better. They approved three measures to help alleviate last year’s iteration of the sex abuse crisis, namely, the ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick controversy. First, they approved a way for a bishop to discipline another bishop within his diocese. Next, they approved norms to codify Pope Francis’ February Conference on Sex Abuse results. And finally, they approved a non-binding agreement to deal with bishops and have the same expectations of bishops as they do of their priests and deacons. Yawn. Boring and not very satisfying, and fairly useless in fixing the bishops’ mistakes concerning the sex abuse crisis.

FIRST, LET’S KILL ALL THE LAWYERS–OKAY, NOT REALLY
For sure, the measures will be somewhat helpful. But they do not undue the first mistake the bishops ever made concerning the issue of sexual abuse. That was the embrace of the legal system, both ecclesiastical and civil, as the first response to the crisis. Sexual abuse by priests did not begin in 2002, but the Church stood on the cusp of a major decision that year. How would the episcopacy treat this concern? The bishops tried their best but failed. Why? Of all the choices before them on how to handle the situation they decided to lawyer up. They forsook their role as shepherds and cast their lot with lawyers, seeing themselves as CEOs with a need to protect the institution.

What happened next was not the lawyers’ fault. They were simply doing what they had been asked to do by the Church. Apply civil law, protect the institution, and keep the amounts dictated by lawsuits low enough to not bankrupt individual dioceses. The bishops, of course, also tried to apply pastoral justice, trying to care for the victim and punishing the perpetrator. It did not work out very well. Casting their lot with the lawyers simply exacerbated a trend that had appeared decades before. The bishops were relinquishing their role as shepherds and becoming CEOs, executives of their individual companies (dioceses) under the umbrella corporation of the Universal Catholic Church. Simply take a look at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ meetings. In their black suits and with somber demeanor, the bishops do not look or act like shepherds. They look like Chief Executive Officers at worst and at best like those elderly bankers in the original Mary Poppins movie, totally out of touch with real life, anxious only to protect the wealth of the bank. That sounds terribly harsh but the optics are clear–these meetings stress law and order, not pastoral care and practice

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LOS ANGELES (CA)
Catholic News Service

June 15, 2019

Using social media, preaching, newspaper columns and letters read at Mass, the Los Angeles Archdiocese and California’s other Catholic dioceses planned a special push over the June 15-16 weekend asking Catholics to urge their representatives in the state Assembly to reject a confession bill.

S.B. 360 – which passed in the California Senate May 23 in a 30-2 vote – would force priests to disclose information about child sexual abuse that they learn when they are hearing another priest’s confession or when hearing the confession of a co-worker.

The bill is expected to have a vote in the lower house, the California State Assembly, in September.

“Our lawmakers have good intentions. They want to prevent child abuse,” Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez said in a letter he issued June 10 that is to be read at all June 15 and 16 Masses in the archdiocese. “But there is no evidence that this legislation will do that. Instead, it threatens a practice that is essential to our faith and religious identity.”

“We need your help to protect this sacrament of the Church and to keep confession sacred,” he said. “And we need to continue our commitment to building a society where every child is loved, protected and safe.”

The Catholic Church in California set up a new website, KeepTheSeal.com, which is a hub that gives people easy access to materials about S.B. 360 as well as a way to send emails to their legislators.

As it is in many U.S. states, California requires priests, teachers, social workers, doctors and other professionals to be “mandated reporters.” That means by law they are required to report any case of suspected abuse to authorities.

There is currently an exemption in California law for any clergy member “who acquires knowledge or a reasonable suspicion of child abuse or neglect during a penitential communication.”

For Catholics, that penitential communication would be in the confessional.

“The sacrament of penance and reconciliation, what we call confession, was the first gift that Jesus gave to the world after rising from the dead,” Gomez said in his letter. “On the first Easter night, he breathed his Holy Spirit into his apostles, his first priests, and he granted them the awesome power to forgive sins in his name.

“Jesus gave us this gift so that we could always come to him, personally, to confess our sins and seek his forgiveness and the grace to continue on our Christian journey.”

Catholics confess their sins not to a man but to God – the priest “stands in the place of Jesus,” he said, and the confessor’s words are “addressed to God.”

“That is why the priest has the sacred duty to keep the seal of the confessional and never to disclose what he hears in sacramental confession for any reason,” Gomez added. “This ancient practice ensures that our confessions are always intimate communications with Jesus alone.”

He added, “We cannot allow the government to enter into our confessionals to dictate the terms of our personal relationship with Jesus. Unfortunately, that is what this legislation would do.”

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HOUSTON (TX)
Houston Chronicle

June 15, 2019

By Nicole Hensley

Former Grace Family Baptist Church pastor Stephen Bratton, 43, was arrested Friday and charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child.

The former pastor of a Southern Baptist church in north Harris County has been arrested in connection with an allegation that he molested a teenage relative for about two years, court records show.

Stephen Bratton, who stepped down from the Grace Family Baptist Church in Cypress Station last month, has since been released from custody at the Harris County Jail after posting a $50,000 bond.

The investigation began on May 16 after Bratton allegedly confessed to three Southern Baptist clergy members that he abused the child, according to court documents. Two of Bratton’s co-pastors, Aaron Wright and Erin Frye, called the Harris County Sheriff’s Office to their church on Bammel Westfield Road to take a report that same day, while the third pastor, David Shiflet, said he referred the complaint to the Department of Family Protective Services.

Bratton, 43, was charged Friday with continuous sexual abuse of a child, Senior Deputy Thomas Gilliland said Saturday.

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ST. PETERSBURG (FL)
Florida Politics

June 15, 2019

By Michael Sheedy

The bishops of the United States just concluded their annual summer meeting. One of the key topics was Pope Francis’ Apostolic Motu Proprio, modifying norms in response to sexual abuse.

In her June 11 opinion piece, Sen. Lauren Book cited this directive, noting that the Holy Father’s recent directive does not include a requirement to report allegations of abuse to law enforcement.

Existing Church law in the United States already requires notifying public authorities.

The U.S. Church has had such a policy since 2002 when the bishops adopted the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.”

Pope Francis’ modification applies to the universal Church worldwide and, in some countries, unfortunately, calling the police is not a safe thing to do.

The type of internal Church law outlined by Pope Francis is separate from any investigation by civil authorities. In no way does a Church investigation interfere with or replace a civil investigation.

The Motu Proprio does not replace the Charter. Rather, it strengthens protections already in place and supports current policies to create a safe environment for children and vulnerable adults, discipline offenders, and assist with healing for victims and survivors.

Since 2002, the Charter with its zero-tolerance provision, as well as requirements for background checks and safe environment training for employees and volunteers is working.

While Catholic leaders have had to confront painful, shameful yet historical failures and to facilitate healing for those harmed, the changes implemented have significantly decreased incidences of sexual abuse by clergy or church personnel.

While the bishops continue to be open to improving practices as they did in response to Pope Francis’ Moto Proprio, what the Church is doing right can help others in eliminating the scourge of sexual abuse that has harmed so many children and their families.

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RALEIGH (NC)
WRAL TV

June, 14, 2019

By Laura Leslie

A bill to extend the statute of limitations for victims of childhood sexual abuse to sue their abusers is moving forward in the state House after a passionate debate Wednesday pitting victims’ rights against concerns about business liability and false accusations.

House Bill 37 would extend the civil statute of limitations, currently at three years – a period set during the 19th century – to 20 years after a victim of child sexual abuse becomes an adult at 18.

Under criminal law, there is no statute of limitations for prosecuting child sexual abuse. But the standard of proof is higher, and prosecutors often won’t take older cases because of the difficulty of presenting evidence beyond a reasonable doubt of a crime two or three or several decades old.

Rep. Dennis Riddell, R-Alamance, argued that lengthening the window to age 38 would give victims the chance to mature and settle into their own lives, which is when many begin to come to terms with abuse they suffered in childhood.

Rep. Sarah Stevens, R-Surry, tried to amend the bill to lower the age to 28, offering a 10-year window instead of 20. She said it would be “nightmare” for an accused person to prove he or she didn’t commit a crime alleged to have occurred so many years ago.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Catholic News Service

June 15, 2019

As the U.S. Catholic bishops met in Baltimore to discuss new mechanisms to hold themselves accountable on sex abuse, the Southern Baptist Convention was wrestling with the same vexing issue at its annual meeting June 11-12 in Birmingham, Alabama.

Rocked by media reports that revealed Southern Baptist pastors, church employees and volunteers sexually abused more than 700 people, most of them children, over the past two decades, the nation’s largest Protestant denomination took new steps to expel member churches that cover up or mishandle sexual abuse allegations.

“This was a defining moment for the Southern Baptist Convention,” said the Rev. J.D. Greear, the pastor of The Summit Church in Durham, North Carolina, who serves as president of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Greear told reporters that the Southern Baptist Convention wants to ensure that its member churches are safe environments for children and vulnerable people, and that the convention will consider “all solutions” that could include advocating for legislation to amend statute of limitations on sex abuse crimes.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Sojourners Magazine

July 2019

By Jenna Barnett

DURING REV. HEIDI Hankel’s interview for the lead pastor position at Philadelphia’s Bethesda Presbyterian Church, she learned that one of the church’s deacons was under investigation by law enforcement for allegedly sexually abusing a member of the youth group. Hankel was later offered the job.

No one would blame even the bravest of pastors for turning it down, but fortunately for that small Presbyterian church, Hankel is a reverend who likes to hop down in the trenches to be with her parishioners. She was afraid, she said, but also propelled by her faith to address the violence openly and holistically. She took the job.

“I didn’t know if they would fire me,” said Hankel. “But I felt at least I could stand before God one day and say I handled this well.”

Hankel had a simple answer for why it is so important for church leaders to loudly and actively work to prevent and address abuse: “God isn’t silent. And if God isn’t silent, we as his body—his hands and feet—should not be silent.”

During the past couple of years, silence has given way to a chorus of abuse accusations against Christian leaders across the country: More than 300 priests in Pennsylvania, 100-plus Southern Baptist youth pastors in Texas, a handful of megachurch pastors across the country. While Christians have grieved these revelations of violence, those in leadership have often prioritized the perpetrators over the victims—the reputation of the church over its mission. In summer 2018, reports emerged that the then-president of a prominent Southern Baptist Convention seminary, Paige Patterson, had counseled abuse victims to stay with their violent husbands, once advising a survivor of rape to forgive the assailant instead of reporting the violence. In response, the seminary thanked Patterson for his longstanding commitment to the SBC and appointed him president emeritus—with compensation. (A week later, after an outcry, the seminary board stripped him of that title and of all “benefits, rights, and privileges.”)

Before Hankel was hired, the pastor and appointed lay leaders of Bethesda Presbyterian had already taken a few important steps to support the victim. First, they ensured separation of the perpetrator and the victim, though this was made easy when the perpetrator submitted a formal letter of membership resignation. The church offered to pay for professional counseling for the victim and the victim’s family, which Hankel considers an important form of reparations in sexual abuse situations. And they informed the denominational leadership.

Around the time that Hankel began her position as head pastor, law enforcement’s investigation closed, with the abuser accepting a plea deal. Until that point the abuse had been kept confidential within the church’s leadership team. But after talking with the victim and the family, Hankel decided that members of the church needed to know what had happened. Without disclosing the victim’s identity or gender, Hankel called a congregational meeting to tell them how the church failed and the specific steps they would take to try to ensure no one was ever victimized again.

That was precisely the moment when Bethesda Presbyterian distinguished itself from other churches: Where other churches have tried to cover up this type of violence, relocate the perpetrator, or dismiss a leader without explanation, this small church insisted on pulling back the curtains on the abuse to bring it fully into the light. That kind of light leaves no room for ambiguity about God’s preferential favor to the vulnerable and abused. It is an Ephesians 5 kind of light: “for while it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly, everything exposed by the light becomes visible, and everything that becomes visible is light.”

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DENVER (CO)
Catholic News Service

June 15, 2019

Representatives of lay organizations expressed caution over the steps taken by U.S. bishops to boost accountability and transparency in dealing with clergy sexual abuse, saying future actions by the bishops will determine how successful the initiatives ultimately will be.

Full collaboration with laypeople will be the key to the success of the measures adopted by the bishops, they said in a series of statements following the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ spring general assembly in Baltimore June 11-13.

“Catholics are looking for robust actions and long-term solutions to the twin crises of abuse and leadership failures,” Kim Smolik, CEO of the Leadership Roundtable, said in a June 13 statement.

“While the bishops took important initial steps, more remains to be done to address the root causes and create a new culture of leadership that values accountability, transparency and co-responsibility with clergy and laity,” she said.

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Patheos blog

June 12, 2019

By Michael Stone

Father Dominic Valanmahal, a Catholic priest in India, is under fire after claiming that autistic children are animals caused by porn, masturbation, homosexuality, and adultery.

Father Valanmahal, a Catholic priest from the state of Kerala, recently delivered a fiery sermon where he claimed that autistic children were animals, while blaming autism and hyperactivity on parents who engage in pornography, masturbation, homosexuality, and adultery.

In his sermon Father Valanmahal asked:

Why does this generation have autism and hyperactivity? That is to say, mentally retarded children are in abundance?

Father Valanmahal continued:

Adultery, masturbation, homosexuality, porn, if you are addicted to these, I say to you in the name of God. . .when you get married and have children, there is a high possibility of bearing these type of children.

They lead an animal-like life. They copulate like animals. They bear children like animals. Therefore those children also, will be like animals.

The remarks from the insensitive and intellectually incompetent priest have been met with righteous outrage. In particular, there has been an outpouring of support for preventing Father Valanmahal from leading a Catholic retreat in Ireland.

The Irish Times reports:

An invitation sent to controversial priest Fr Dominic Valanmahal to lead a retreat in Ireland should be withdrawn, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has said.nHUs

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Wartburg Watch

June 13, 2019

By Dee Parsons

I am still recuperating and catching up on some interesting things which will see the light in posts in the coming weeks. However, I realized that I wanted to look again at membership convenants in light of the Matt Chandler scandal in the NYT: Attorneys Boz Tchividjian and Mitch Little Help a Sex Abuse Victim in Her Quest to Hold Matt Chandler and The Village Church Accountable

Please reread the NYT (link in above post) and pay particular attention to the statements surrounding the “You can’t sue the church, you signed the *covenant.*”

I plan to write more on this subject and have someone helping compile a number of comments regarding Chandler coming out of the conference. Chandler appeared and made a statement about his *problem* at the convention that was promptly removed from the website. Thankfully, Leonardo Blair posted it on You Tube. I found Chandler’s statement to be self indulgent. Maybe that’s why the SBC removed the video. They are beginning to understand “optics.*

After viewing the video, you may want to read an old post which I added below the video. It was one of many post I wrote proving that membership covenants are legal documents to help the church prevent you from suing them when they do something really, really bad. It also allows them to do some really, really bad things to you.

In that post, if you are concerned that you have signed one of these contracts, we have a suggestion on how to get out of it.

Folks, do not sign these things. Caveat emptor and all that jazz.

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NEW YORK (NY)
VICE News

June 13, 2019

Evangelical megachurches are leaning on a favorite tool of corporations to protect themselves from liability in the MeToo era.

In Alabama, leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the country, gathered for their annual meeting, with sex abuse squarely atop the agenda. Meanwhile, 900 miles to the north, in Baltimore, US Catholic bishops met to discuss next steps in addressing the same problem, which has become a festering institutional crisis across the globe. But whereas sexual violence in the Catholic Church has been on the national radar for decades, similar crimes in the evangelical community didn’t hit the mainstream until the past year or two, exploding in February with a six-part investigative series by the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News that documented 400 Southern Baptist leaders and volunteers accused of misconduct. Following the articles’ release, the Southern Baptist Convention put out the “Caring Well” report, an acknowledgement of past lapses that offered some guidance on how to deal with abuse allegations. It was presented at the Tuesday meeting as well, where congregants voted on amendments aimed at curbing sexual abuse and racism.

The Southern Baptists met again Wednesday, praying at length after being inundated with horrific stories of criminal sexual abuse. But among the items some members of the faith hoped they might address was something you wouldn’t expect to find in either Testament: the use of binding arbitration to settle disagreements between churches and their parishioners.

In the New York Times on Monday, Elizabeth Dias reported that The Village, one of the most prominent evangelical churches in America, has new members sign agreements containing language that could prevent them from suing, and potentially force those with complaints into binding arbitration, which almost always happens in private. Such deals, which have become well-known in recent years for helping shield corporate abuses (sexual and otherwise), have an air of relative novelty in a religious context. Certainly, it’s hard to imagine Billy Graham asking someone to sign one.

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ALBANY (NY)
News Channel 13

June 13, 2019

For the first time ever, a 49-year-old father is going public with his story of alleged priest sex abuse decades earlier.

NewsChannel 13 exclusively obtained “complainant’s statements” submitted by Michael Harmon to the lawyers for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, which confirmed it had forwarded to state prosecutors for review. According to Harmon’s statements, throughout his teenage years he was molested by a former priest in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany named Edward Pratt. Additionally, Harmon claims he was threatened with arrest when he went to the bishop at the time for help.

Now decades later, Harmon and others are starting to speak out as attorneys across New York State and beyond are preparing lawsuits under the recently passed Child Victims Act.

Mary DeTurris Poust, a spokeswoman for the Roman Catholic Diocese in Albany, told NewsChannel 13, “Edward Pratt was permanently removed from ministry by Bishop Howard J. Hubbard in 2002 following credible allegations of sexual abuse against minors. We continue to be horrified by reports of child sexual abuse, even years after the fact. We want to walk with survivors and try to help them bring some measure of healing to the scars we know can never be completely removed from their lives. Each time we have to revisit a story like this, we are angered and saddened anew by the way these survivors were robbed of their innocence and their childhoods, the way their families and their futures were ripped apart. Know that Bishop Edward Scharfenberger and the Diocese of Albany are actively working to do whatever we can to bring healing and justice to those who were sexually abused by clergy in this Diocese.”

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INDINAPOLIS (IN)
Indianapolis Star

June 14, 2019

By Emily Sabens

When writer Norbert Krapf returned to his home state of Indiana after spending more than 30 years in Long Island, he finally felt ready to confront the abuse he experienced from his church’s priest as a young boy in Jasper.

During a one-year span, Krapf wrote 325 poems, many of which were published in his book “Catholic Boy Blues” in 2015.

“It was almost volcanic,” Krapf said. “I felt like I was finally able to write about it, and the poems just kept coming over that year.”

Krapf said he always pictured transforming the poems into a play. (He even mentioned it in the preface of his book.) Now, that dream is becoming a reality this weekend at IndyFringe.

The play version of “Catholic Boy Blues” features a cast of five who tell the story of James, who is based on Krapf, as he attends therapy and confronts the abuse he experienced as a child.

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WINNIPEG CANADA)
CBC News

June 14, 2019

A Winnipeg man is suing a Roman Catholic archdiocese, alleging he was sexually abused by an official at a former Catholic school more than 50 years ago.

The abuse is alleged to have taken place at the former Sainte-Marie School on Des Meurons Street in Winnipeg in September or October, 1964, when the man was a young student there.

It names the school, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Boniface and two unnamed school officials as defendants.

The plaintiff, who CBC is not naming, alleges a priest who served as the school’s “spiritual advisor” made sexual advances on him, facilitated by a nun who was the plaintiff’s teacher. The plaintiff doesn’t know their names, the suit says.

The suit alleges the advances led to “an incident of masturbation involving the [advisor].”

The man, who is Métis, also alleges the nun publicly chastised, demeaned and humiliated him because of his heritage for the following two years, until 1966, while she was his teacher.

The sexual abuse and humiliating attacks left the man with psychological issues that continue to this day, including panic attacks and nightmares, the suit says.

The allegations have not been proven in court.

Richard Fréchette, a spokesperson for the archdiocese, confirmed Friday the organization has been served with the lawsuit.

Fréchette said in a news release, the archdiocese began an internal investigation after it was contacted by an individual who shared a story of abuse in the summer of 2018.

He said the church stands in solidarity with victims of sexual abuse.

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PHOENIX (AZ)
KTAR TV

June 14, 2019

A former Phoenix Catholic priest is facing multiple sex crime charges after being returned to Maricopa County by U.S. Marshals from Italy.

Joseph John Henn, 70, is facing multiple counts of child molestation, attempted child molestation, sexual conduct with a minor and attempted sexual conduct with a minor for crimes allegedly committed in the late 1970s to early 1980s.

During the time of the reported crimes, Henn was a Father in the Salvatorian Order of the Catholic Church in Phoenix.

“Pursuing justice for crime victims is a constant source of motivation for law enforcement and prosecutors no matter how long it may take or how far we have to go,” Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery said in a press release.

“The recent arraignment of Joseph Henn illustrates our commitment to justice and further reflects the reality that neither position nor title will shield someone who harms children from accountability.”

Henn, who was originally indicted on charges in 2003, fled to Italy to avoid prosecution. He was arrested in Rome in 2005 before he was able to escape extradition.

On May 29, however, Italian law enforcement officials found Henn in Rome, taking him into custody. Deputy U.S. Marshals traveled to Rome where they took Henn back to Arizona.

“Child sexual abuse is a major issue in the United States and the world,” David Gonzales, U.S. Marshal for the District of Arizona, said in a press release.

“The United States Marshals Service will always place a high priority on assisting federal, state, local, and foreign law enforcement agencies in locating and apprehending fugitive sex offenders.”

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DENVER (CO)
Catholic News Agency

June 15, 2019

Two priests accused of sexually abusing minors at a school for deaf children in Argentina will stand trial Aug. 5.

The priests and a former employee at the Antonio Provolo institute will face charges of the abuse of more than 20 children, the AP noted.

One of the priests involved is Fr. Nicola Corradi, who is a member of the Company of Mary, an Italian religious community which operates schools for deaf children in several countries, including Argentina and Italy. The schools are named for Antonio Provolo, a nineteenth-century Italian priest who founded Corradi’s religious community.

Corradi was arrested in 2016 along with Fr. Horacio Corbacho and other employees in connection with the abuse allegations, and the school was closed down.

Sr. Kosako Kumiko, a religious sister with the school, was arrested in May 2017 for charges of facilitating and covering-up sexual abuse at the school. Some students have also accused the sister of sexual abuse, though she has maintained her innocence.

Corradi, now 83, was first accused of abuse in 2009, when 14 Italians reported that they had been abused by priests, religious brothers, and other adults at the Provolo Institute in Verona, over the course of several decades.

After an investigation, five priests were sanctioned by the Vatican. Corradi, then living in Argentina, was among those accused of abuse, but was not arrested or otherwise sanctioned.

In 2014, Corradi was the subject of a letter sent to Pope Francis from victims of sexual abuse who were concerned about the priests ongoing ministry, despite the accusations against him. In 2015, the group handed a list of priests accused of abuse to the Pope in person, according to the Washington Post.

The group reportedly did not hear back from Pope Francis, but did hear from a Vatican official, Archbishop Giovanni Becciu, who wrote to the group in 2016 to tell them that he had informed the Italian bishops’ conference of their request for an investigation.

Later that year, Corradi, as well as Corbacho and another employee of the school, were arrested. However, according to a Washington Post report, it was civil authorities who decided to take action against Corradi and remove his access to children, while the Church in Argentina was not fully cooperative with the investigation, according to local officials.

“I want Pope Francis to come here, I want him to explain how this happened, how they knew this and did nothing,” a 24-year-old alumna of the Provolo Institute told the Washington Post in February.

Prosecutors in the case told the Washington Post that children at the school were “fondled, raped, sometimes tied up and, in one instance, forced to wear a diaper to hide the bleeding. All the while, their limited ability to communicate complicated their ability to tell others what was happening to them. Students at the school were smacked if they used sign language.”

“They were the perfect victims,” Gustavo Stroppiana, the chief prosecutor in the case, told the Washington Post, because the students were typically from poor families and had communication limitations.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
NPR All Things Considered

June 14, 2019

By Tom Gjelten

Catholics and Southern Baptists have both faced clergy sex abuse allegations. Leaders of both denominations met this week to discuss their problems.

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LITTLE ROCK (AR)
Bilgrimage blog

June 13, 2019

By William Lindsey

I recently had the privilege of publishing an essay by Ruth Krall entitled “Prolegomena: An Act of Re-Thinking” (here and here). That essay challenged readers to re-think how we’ve come to view the phenomenon of sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable people in religious contexts, and to consider applying terms and concepts from the realm of public health (e.g., epidemic, endemic, or pandemic) to this phenomenon.

“Prolegomena” is the first in a multi-part set of essasys on which Ruth has been working, with the title (for the entire series), “Recapitulation: Affinity Sexual Violence in a Religious Voice.” In her manuscript gathering essays together under that title, Ruth includes a dedicatory note acknowleding the influence of her father Carl S. Krall on her life, work, and thought. It reads,

In Memory, Carl S. Krall, 1901-1963

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SUNBURY (PA)
Daily Item

June 15, 2019

The U.S. Catholic Bishops establishing their own hotline for reporting sexual abuse allegations within the Church and the Church in Pennsylvania spending millions of dollars in legislative lobbying efforts relating to legal rights for abuse victims are both inappropriate, especially in the face of evidence that more than 1,000 children were molested by hundreds of predator Roman Catholic priests in six Pennsylvania dioceses.

U.S. Catholic Bishops on Wednesday voted to establish a hotline for reporting allegations that church leaders are involved in abuse or covering up for priests. Hotline operators would relay allegations to regional supervisory bishops, according to The Associated Press.

“I’ve been completely unsatisfied with their response,” said Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who presented the landmark clergy abuse case to a grand jury last year.

“Their big idea was to set up a hotline coming back to the church, that’s covering up the cover-up,” he said during an interview this week with CNHI newspapers, including The Daily Item.

Shapiro also blasted church funding for efforts to sway state legislation relating to the time limits victims have to bring lawsuits against alleged abusers. New York and New Jersey, among other states, have passed laws creating avenues for adult victims of child sex abuse to file lawsuits even if the statute of limitations in their cases have expired.

Those reforms have stalled in the Pennsylvania Legislature over opposition from the insurance industry and lobbyists for the Catholic church.

“What I find unconscionable is that the bishops are lobbying to stop these reforms from passing,” Shapiro said. “They’ve spent millions of dollars of parishioners’ money to lobby lawmakers to have less accountability and less protections for victims.”qr0tronceefg

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ROCKLAND (NY)
Rockland/Westchester Journal News

June 13, 2019

By Nancy Cutler

Retired acting New York State Supreme Court Judge Charles Apotheker said he struggled with his decision to identify himself as a victim of accused serial sexual predator Dr. Reginald Archibald, who is believed to have abused thousands of children during his tenure as an esteemed pediatric endocrinologist at Rockefeller University Hospital.

The 72-year-old Apotheker, though, knew he could help other victims. He knew his own “outing” would make it more difficult to ignore accusations about decades of molestations by the now-deceased doctor.

“I was angry. I was angry there were naked pictures of me and hundreds of others that no one can find. I was angry for parents, like mine,” said Apotheker, reflecting on his father, who died 30 years ago, and mother, who he lost five years ago, and their trust in this doctor who was so highly recommended. “They would feel so guilty.”

Retired acting New York State Supreme Court Judge Charles Apotheker in his Stony Point office June 12, 2019. He was a victim of Rockefeller University Hospital Dr. Archibald, who has been accused of molesting young boys.Buy Photo
Retired acting New York State Supreme Court Judge Charles Apotheker in his Stony Point office June 12, 2019. He was a victim of Rockefeller University Hospital Dr. Archibald, who has been accused of molesting young boys. (Photo: Peter Carr/The Journal News)

So, Apotheker — a former Haverstraw Town Court and Rockland County Court judge who served in drug court and then was supervising judge for town and village justice courts in the 9th Judicial District — came forward. He wrote a compelling op/ed in the New York Law Journal that was published this month.

Apotheker remembers going on the bus with his mom, traveling from the Bronx to Rockefeller in Manhattan. He was 13 and it was around 1960. He remembers going into the hospital, into Archibald’s office, posing for pictures, naked, for the doctor, who then measured his penis. Then, Apotheker said, everything goes blank. He cannot recall going home. He cannot recall another appointment with the doctor two years later. He only knows about the appointment because he petitioned to get his hospital records after he and other Archibald patients were contacted in early October 2018.

Archibald, who lived for years in Westchester County, treated approximately 9,000 children over his 40 years at Rockefeller. Like Apotheker, those children were often treated for stunted growth an

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

NEW YORK (NY)
Daily Beast

June 14, 2019

By Pilar Menendez

As a New Jersey priest in the 1970s and 1980s, John Capparelli liked to arrange wrestling matches for parish boys. He gave them skimpy Speedos to wear, took pictures of them grappling, and even joined in—using the rough-housing as an excuse to sadistically grope the kids.

“Capparelli kind of played the role of being that cool adult that you hung out with,” one of his victims, Rich Fitter, told the Daily Beast last week. “I have no doubt in my mind now that he was a sociopath.”

After his sexual abuse came to light in the late 1980s, Capparelli was sent to a rehab for clergy with sexual problems, removed from parish ministry and eventually suspended from performing priestly duties. However, he continued to teach—while secretly running a porn website that featured young wrestlers.

It took two decades and several lawsuits to finally defrock Capparelli and get him ousted from the classroom. By then, he had left New Jersey and moved to a two-bedroom home in a quiet neighborhood in Henderson, Nevada, where neighbors noticed he always had a steady stream of young male visitors.

Then, three months ago, there was a shocking development in the saga of the predator priest: He was found shot dead inside his home by police who were asked to check on the 70-year-old. The motive was initially unclear, raising the obvious question of whether his death could somehow be related to his sordid past.

The answer, it turned out, was no—and yes.

The person police say murdered Capparelli was not one of the teens he molested so many years ago. But the investigation revealed that while Capparelli had left behind New Jersey and his collar, he did not abandon his obsession with wrestling.

According to police, the disgraced clergyman was killed by a young man who answered his online ad seeking out “young and good looking men” willing to wrestle for him.

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

PITTSBURGH (PA)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

June 13, 2019

By Peter Smith

A Haitian court is hearing allegations that a worker for a large Ohio-based international aid ministry allegedly sexually abused minors in Haiti.

Christian Aid Ministries of Berlin, Ohio — which is supported by various Mennonite, Amish and related groups — said in a statement Tuesday it became aware of “serious allegations” against the worker several weeks ago, when it “promptly discharged” him. It said it has been cooperating with authorities.

The ministry said the alleged perpetrator — which the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has separately confirmed to be Jeriah Mast — left Haiti for the United States amid the allegations. He has not yet appeared before the Haitian court in the city of Petit-Goave to face the allegations.

“We understand that the individual made a confession to leaders in his local church in the U.S. and has reported himself to Ohio state legal authorities,” the Christian Aid Ministries statement said.

Mr. Mast’s church in Holmes County, Ohio, confirmed his confession in a statement Wednesday.

“He confessed multiple instances of immoral sexual relationships with boys, which began in his youth,” the online statement from Shining Light Christian Fellowship said. “He acknowledged to living a life of deception and hypocrisy. He also confessed that he lied to cover up his sins.”

Mr. Mast also met with local law enforcement in Holmes County, the church said, and provided investigators with the names of his victims. Holmes County is home to Christian Aid Ministries and to Ohio’s largest concentration of conservative Mennonites and Amish.

The church statement said that Mr. Mast is no longer allowed to be alone with boys, is going to a licensed counselor for treatment and will be “accounted for at all times” by a support team.

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

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
WHYY Radio

June 14, 2019

By Joe Hernandez

A compensation fund for New Jersey victims of sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church will begin accepting claims on Saturday.

The first-of-its-kind fund in the Garden State will offer financial settlements to survivors of clergy sex abuse and comes amid an investigation by state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal into possible sexual abuse and cover-ups in the Catholic Church.

“Some survivors are really intimidated by a court proceeding process. You have to really think about the traumatic impact this sort of institutional abuse has had on someone,” said Patricia Teffenhart, executive director of the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault.

“On the other hand, not all survivors will want to go back to the institution that caused them harm,” she added.

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

OWENSBORO (KY)
WEHT TV

June 14, 2019

By Amanda Mueller

A Bowling Green man has filed a complaint with the Vatican against Diocese of Owensboro Bishop William Medley.

The Survivors Network of victims abused by Priests, or SNAP, presented the details in a news conference in Owensboro on Friday.

The complaint questions Bishop Medley’s actions while he served as the personnel director for the Diocese of Louisville in the 1990’s.

“A moment of silence to remember our brothers and sisters […] who are no longer with us.”

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests asked for a moment of silence for victims before calling for action.

“We’re calling on the Kentucky Attorney General to launch a statewide investigation into clergy sex crimes and coverups here,” stated Missouri SNAP director David Clohessy.

The call comes after Michael Montgomery of Bowling Green filed a formal complaint, alleging Owensboro Bishop William Medley was “complicit in the covering up of abuse of the diocese’s children by assisting in assigning priests with credible allegations of sexual abuse to positions where children were expected to be involved.”

“To sit up there, and not address these… the statute of limitations is long gone,” said Montgomery.

The accusations stem from memos Medley sent during his time in the Diocese of Louisville.

One of those memos discusses placement of Father Joseph Stoltz who was receiving treatment at the time.

The memo reads in part “I think if we wanted to unofficially assign him to Saint William, pending the outcome of his six month therapy, he might be open to this.”

It goes on to say “Given Joe’s history, Saint William might be a very good assignment, in that there are so few youth and children who participate in that parish.”

SNAP and Montgomery also allege that two priests were left off the list of “credibly accused priests” released by the Owensboro Diocese in April.

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

ROME (ITALY)
Crux

June 15, 2019

By Claire Giangravè

More people have come forward to accuse Archbishop Luigi Ventura, the papal representative to France, of inappropriate behavior and groping. The Vatican diplomat currently is entrenched in a scandal after three men accused him of the same behavior earlier this year.

“We spoke with the Nuncio and he kept putting his hands on our legs while speaking with us, especially to the youngest priests who were with me,” said one alleged victim in a phone interview with Crux June 13.

The meeting took place in November 2018 at the Vatican’s embassy in Paris. The man was accompanied by a deacon and a priest, who at first thought that Ventura’s behavior “could have been normal” and even “paternal.”

However, when the time came to take a picture, the nuncio’s intentions became clear.

“I took my mobile phone, to see what the perfect angle was to take the picture. He came behind me as if to look at how the picture was. That’s when he put his hands on my buttocks for about five seconds,” said the man, who wishes to remain anonymous.

“I was so shocked I couldn’t react,” he added.

An Italian, Ventura was appointed as a papal representative to France in September 2009 by emeritus Pope Benedict XVI.

The incident at the nunciature is similar to that described by Paris City Hall employee Mathieu de La Souchère, 27, who was the first to come forward accusing Ventura of inappropriate touching during a January 2019 New Year’s Eve event.

“When Monsignor Ventura’s car arrived, I came to pick him up and he started saying that I looked very beautiful, that he thought I was a very handsome man and he kept groping me,” De La Souchère told Crux in a June 12 phone interview.

“He did so with insistence, it wasn’t something nice. He was very determinate,” he said, adding that the event to him qualified as sexual abuse.

De La Souchère claims to have been groped on the buttocks three times by Ventura. The first time when he greeted the nuncio at his car, the second while going up the elevator and the third time as he accompanied the bishop toward the mayor’s office, where – being the veteran diplomat – he was supposed to initiate the celebrations.

The last time, there were four eyewitnesses who work at Paris City Hall who claim to have seen the groping take place.

“He was groping. There was no doubt about that,” one of the eyewitnesses told Crux, “we could not believe it.”

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

KANSAS CITY (MO)
National Catholic Reporter

June 15, 2019

By Christine Schenk

During this season of Pentecost I find myself searching for hope in the midst of horrific stories about financial corruption by a West Virginia bishop, priests who raped and sexually abused my religious sisters, and bishops from eight states in the Northeast who spent over 10 million dollars lobbying against sex abuse victims.

I am outraged to learn that Baltimore Archbishop William Lori — who was delegated by the Vatican to investigate Wheeling-Charleston Bishop Michael Bransfield — had accepted over $10,500 in gifts from him. In his final report to Rome, Lori decided to delete his own name as well as those of ten other influential prelates who had also accepted financial gifts from the Wheeling bishop.

Bransfield bestowed his monetary gifts over ten years while young priest assistants were simultaneously complaining (to no avail) that he was sexually harassing them.

Lori told the Washington Post that if he had included the names of high-ranking churchmen (among whom were Cardinals Donald Wuerl, Timothy Dolan and Kevin Farrell) it could suggest that there were “expectations for reciprocity” but he had found “no evidence to suggest this.”

After the Washington Post story, nine of the prelates involved, including Lori, pledged to return the money to the Wheeling-Charleston diocese.

Along with the still-unfinished scandal involving defrocked Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, it is difficult to ignore ever-mounting evidence that the clerical system governing the Catholic church is in a significant state of decay.

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

BAKERFIELD (CA)
Bakersfield Californian

June 15, 2019

By Robert Price

Reader: This article (“Suspended priest Craig Harrison, back from self-exile, formulates his defense,” June 9) is a load of crap. Once again Robert Price is doing Monsignor Craig Harrison’s bidding. Is this what The Californian is about now? Trying to protect an alleged child predator before the investigation even completes?

Has this paper ever, in its entire history, gone to interview a person suspected of child abuse before charges were filed to see how they are handling the suspicion and planning out their defense? Of course not. This is absolutely, mind numbingly, insane.

This paper and reporter have zero credibility. So done.

Tell me what the purpose of this article was, if not to give Craig some helpful, fluffy PR? Literally, what are the need-to-know facts this hot take is dishing us? Nothing. That’s what.

— Bran Ram, from Facebook

Price: If I’m doing Monsignor Harrison’s bidding (once again?), it has to be news to him. For the two weeks prior to that column’s publication, I had been trying to convince him, through his attorney, to sit down with me and talk about his circumstances. He finally agreed, but with no small amount of trepidation. I guess you could say he relented and did my bidding.

You might be correct that The Californian has never interviewed a person suspected of child abuse before charges were filed. Why? Because we rarely learn about cases of alleged child abuse until after charges are filed. That’s what makes this case unique and therefore, in my mind, worthy of special attention. Harrison has not been charged but, as your words seem to confirm, has been saddled with a presumption of guilt. The aspect of the story that struck me was the extrajudicial limbo in which he finds himself. Guilty or innocent, his life is in a holding pattern. My intent was to portray that state of affairs. Not paint him innocent, not paint him guilty — just illustrate his awkward purgatory.

Reader: What an absolutely pathetic article. Are there now six victims or just five? Are there unknown victims? How deep is the investigation going? But yet, The Californian wants to support the alleged suspect and to hell with all the victims.

— Steve Loftus, from Facebook

Price: The Californian wants to support the alleged suspect and to hell with all the victims? Well, we’d better make some changes because the weight of “con” stories vs. “pro” is way out of whack.

By my count we have published 20 staff-written articles that provide details or background on one or more of the accusations against Harrison. We broke the story in the first place. We tracked down and were the first to interview the two men whose accusations precipitated Harrison’s suspension. Parishioners and other supporters of Harrison’s were every bit as livid about that coverage, especially the work of reporter Stacey Shepard, as today’s critics appear to be.

By my count we have published four staff-written articles that shed a different light on the situation without dwelling on the specifics of the accusations. One was our coverage of the rally of support held at Harrison’s parish. Our story mentioned the anti-abuse demonstrators who showed up for the occasion, so it was hardly a strictly pro-Harrison story, even though I’ll label it as one for our present purposes. Another was my interview with Roy Keenan, one of Harrison’s sons, whose personal story is tragically harrowing in its own right. Another was Harrison’s statement about the accusations against him. And now we’ve got the column of mine you’re referencing.

Twenty to four might indeed strike many as biased — in precisely the opposite direction you suggest.

Reader: Bakersfield Californian, stop doing spin stories on this man. It’s clear you have some hidden reason. He is accused of sexually abusing children and you do stories on him like he is the victim. Sick and tired of hearing about this person.

— Linda Flores, from Facebook

Price: As soon as you come up with the hidden reason, please share.

I’m sorry you’re sick and tired of hearing about Craig Harrison. One like-minded reader phoned me to declare that no one is interested in hearing more about him (even though she said she read every word of that column herself). The fact is, this Craig Harrison-comes-home column is one of The Californian’s most-read stories of the year thus far. Our analytics show readership in Ao Nang, Thailand; Medellin, Colombia; Melbourne, Australia; the Santuario di Bom Jesus di Monte pilgrimage site in Portugal; Minato, Tokyo, Japan; the Borgomanero commune of northern Italy; and Budapest, Hungary. Including North America, I count five continents.

•••

Reader: Thanks for your article about Monsignor Craig. It was interesting and well written. I am a casual friend of Monsignor Craig and a strong supporter. I am very concerned that revealing that he is “living in his home on 20th street in Bakersfield” (with a photo) may lead some anti-Catholic, anti-Craig person to go there.

— Allan Wilson

Price: Fair point. The photo caption specified his street; my story was more vague about the location of his home. Perhaps the caption should have been fuzzier, but there are probably a hundred houses on Harrison’s very long street. Our standard phrasing in reporting locations is, for example, the 100 block of Maple Street – but that’s for crime stories and obviously this is a different animal.

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

PHOENIX (AZ)
Arizona Republic

June 15, 2019

By Lauren Castle

Two Catholic religious orders recently released lists naming 65 clergy accused of sexual abuse against minors dating back decades; 27 of the men served in Arizona.

The newly released information comes as American bishops met this week in Baltimore for a conference that focused on how to respond to the church’s sex-abuse crisis, which has increasingly caught the attention of state prosecutors across the U.S.

The Franciscan Friars of the Province of Saint Barbara, based in Oakland, California, released its list of credible abuse claims in late May. The claims stretch as far back as the 1930s, and the most recent claim is from the 1980s. More than two dozen on the list had assignments in Arizona, from St. Mary’s in Phoenix to St. Xavier del Bac near Tucson. Most of the accused have long since died.

In a letter, Father David Gaa, provincial minister for the Franciscan Friars of Saint Barbara, said the list is a commitment to transparency and accountability. “The victims, their families, and the People of God deserve transparency,” the letter says.

A Catholic religious order that founded University of Notre Dame and Holy Cross College in Indiana released a list of credible sex abuse claims involving minors on Wednesday. The Congregation of Holy Cross’ list dates back to the 1940s.

Two of the accused clergy served in Phoenix.

“Over the last two decades, but particularly in the last year, we have all become more aware of the problem of sexual abuse of children within the Catholic Church and its mishandling,” Rev. William Lies, the provincial superior of the order, said in a letter published with the list.

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

DES MOINES (IA)
Des Moines Register

June 13, 2019

By Rekha Basu

I recently got to meet and talk to the New Jersey governor, who last month signed a law that this column has repeatedly advocated for in Iowa. It greatly increases the statute of limitations for victims to file suit over sex offenses committed when they were children.

Currently in Iowa, lawsuits must be brought within four years from the time someone discovers they were sexually abused and harmed by it. New Jersey victims will, as of December, have seven years from when they first realized the harm they suffered from such abuses – up to age 55. They are currently limited to age 20 and two years from that recognition.

In Iowa, where civil claims must be brought within four years of discovering the abuse and injury, state Sen. Janet Petersen (D-Des Moines) has repeatedly attempted to raise the time frame to 25 years after a victim turns 18. She says research shows the average child victim comes forward only at 52. She has been urged on by numerous Iowa victims of child sexual abuse, but has met with intransigence from the Legislature’s Republican majority.

The executive director of the Iowa Catholic Conference, Tom Chapman, has lobbied against the civil limitations bill, emailing a Register reporter that “The passage of time makes it difficult for any accused person or institution to defend themselves.”

The Iowa Catholic Conference also registered in opposition to a change in state law on sex abuse by a counselor, therapist or school employee. It currently requires claims to be filed within five years of ending therapy or leaving school, but Petersen had tried to get any limit removed if the victim was under 18.

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

NEW YORK (NY)
VICE News

June 14, 2019

God had a busy Tuesday this week.

In Alabama, leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the country, gathered for their annual meeting, with sex abuse squarely atop the agenda. Meanwhile, 900 miles to the north, in Baltimore, US Catholic bishops met to discuss next steps in addressing the same problem, which has become a festering institutional crisis across the globe. But whereas sexual violence in the Catholic Church has been on the national radar for decades, similar crimes in the evangelical community didn’t hit the mainstream until the past year or two, exploding in February with a six-part investigative series by the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News that documented 400 Southern Baptist leaders and volunteers accused of misconduct. Following the articles’ release, the Southern Baptist Convention put out the “Caring Well” report, an acknowledgement of past lapses that offered some guidance on how to deal with abuse allegations. It was presented at the Tuesday meeting as well, where congregants voted on amendments aimed at curbing sexual abuse and racism.

The Southern Baptists met again Wednesday, praying at length after being inundated with horrific stories of criminal sexual abuse. But among the items some members of the faith hoped they might address was something you wouldn’t expect to find in either Testament: the use of binding arbitration to settle disagreements between churches and their parishioners.

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

Patheos blog

May 30, 2019

By Libby Lane

Two stories came across my radar earlier this month. Each dealt with different aspects of what the Catholic Church is (and is not) doing on preventing child sexual abuse. The upshot is this: the Church is still dragging its heals. Preventing child sexual abuse and holding abusers accountable is simply not on the top of their priority list. Instead, they’re prioritizing things like protecting the Church from local hostility, and ensuring that penitents have access to confession and the forgiveness it brings, without having to face legal consequences for their actions.

First, there was this article:

Pope Francis issues groundbreaking law requiring priests, nuns to report sex abuse, cover-up

The law mandates that the world’s 415,000 Catholic priests and 660,000 religious sisters inform church authorities when they have “well-founded motives to believe” abuse has occurred.

This is good, right? Well, sort of. The problem is that this new regulation still does not require priests to report sexual abuse (including sexual abuse of children) to local law enforcement. No, really. Have a look:

The law doesn’t require them to report to police. The Vatican has long argued that doing so could endanger the church in places where Catholics are a persecuted minority. But it does for the first time put into universal church law that they must obey civil reporting requirements where they live, and that their obligation to report to the church in no way interferes with that.

Reporting child sexual abuse … could endanger the church? This logic seems suspect to me. Maybe don’t abuse children if you’re worried that civil authorities will be angry with you for abusing children.

The regulation says that the priests and other Catholic Church employees must obey civil reporting requirements where they’re located. Okay. However, many countries don’t have mandatory reporting laws. Additionally, it seems odd to me that one universal organization could have such different rules on something like reporting child sexual abuse. Isn’t part of the point that you can walk into any Catholic Church in the world and find the same prayers, the same rituals, the same format and structure? Why not have something universal here, as well?

Look, I’m glad that priests and nuns will now be required to report suspicions of abuse to church authorities. But I don’t for a minute trust those authorities to do the right thing with that information.

Case in point, the next article. This is an article in a Catholic newspaper. It’s written by Bishop Robert Barron of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Barron is upset about a bill before the legislature in California.

SB 360, a piece of proposed legislation currently making its way through the California state senate, should alarm not only every Catholic in the country, but indeed the adepts of any religion. In California, as in almost every other state, clergy members (along with a variety of other professionals, including physicians, social workers, teachers, and therapists) are mandated reporters — which is to say, they are legally required to report any case of suspected child abuse or neglect to law enforcement. However, California clergy who come by this knowledge in the context of “penitential communication” are currently exempted from the requirement. SB 360 would remove the exemption.

Oh lord. Seriously?

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

SUPERIOR (WI)
Catholic Herald

June 14, 2019

As Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Superior, I reach out with sympathy to offer my apologies on behalf of the Catholic Church for the clergy sexual abuse of the past in our Diocese. I am committed to a “no cover-up” policy for any report of abuse, and am working toward a transparency disclosure list of abuser priests in our Diocese.

In response to the State of Wisconsin and Lincoln County notices that David Malsch has been approved by the court to be released from his custodial treatment, I again offer my sincere apologies to the many victims and their families who suffered abuse by the former Fr. Malsch. As Bishop I fully support the law enforcement work and court system’s accountability and incarceration of Mr. Malsch for the past 26 years.

David Malsch is no longer a Catholic priest. When the allegations were made against David Malsch in 1993, a diocesan priest and other professionals immediately reported him to the proper legal authorities, and cooperated with law enforcement and diocesan investigations. David Malsch was removed immediately from priestly and parish ministry, and has never functioned again as a priest. He was laicized by the Congregation for Clergy in Rome, Italy, in response to the Diocese of Superior petition, and his priestly faculties were removed permanently. He was charged, prosecuted and convicted in 1993 in Marathon County (Wausau), and was sentenced to prison and custodial treatment by the judge for the Child Enticement felony crime he committed.

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

ROME (ITALY)
Crux

June 14, 2019

By Ines San Martin

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of an auxiliary bishop-elect in Santiago, Chile, after he made controversial comments on the sexual abuse crisis, women in the Church, and the Jewish community.

“The Holy Father has accepted the resignation of Father Carlos Eugenio Irarrázaval Errázuriz as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Santiago,” said a statement released by the local church.

“The decision was fruit of a dialogue and joint discernment, in which Pope Francis has valued the spirit of faith and humility of the priest, in favor of unity and the good of the pilgrimage church in Chile,” it continued.

Santiago has been hard-hit by the clerical sexual abuse scandal, with its two former archbishops being subpoenaed by local prosecutors to give testimony after being accused of covering up cases of abuse.

Irarrázaval got into trouble just one day after his appointment in late May, when he said there’s no benefit in continuing to stir the pot – using the local colloquialism “stirring reheated rice is worthless” – when it comes to the abuse scandals in Chile.

This caused uproar among survivors of clerical sexual abuse.

But he didn’t stop there: The following day, in an interview with CNN Chile, he said that “since there was no woman seated at the table in the Last Supper” they had no role in the Church. According to Irarrázaval, this was a choice Jesus made, and not “for ideological reasons.”

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

DETROIT (MI)
Detroit Free Press

June 12, 2019

By Niraj Warikoo

An advocacy group that monitors abuse by Catholic Church leaders called upon the Archdiocese of Detroit on Tuesday to update its list of priests accused of sexual abuse, saying it needs to do more to alert the public about problems with clergy.

Gathering outside the office of the Archdiocese of Detroit, leaders with Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) said that the Archdiocese has not done enough to publicly name priests facing credible abuse allegations.

In March, SNAP held a news conference outside the archdiocesan office in Detroit, saying there were 28 additional Catholic priests that should be on the public list. SNAP said the Archdiocese has not moved quickly enough to add more priests to the list, a claim the Archdiocese denies.

“There are more names that should be on the list,” Jeanne Hunton, the new Michigan director for SNAP, told the Free Press. “The longer those people go unnamed, the longer victims will be victimized.”

SNAP also called upon state legislators in Michigan to not cut funding for the office of Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is leading investigations into Catholic clergy abuse in Michigan. And SNAP said that drug charges should be filed against a former Catholic priest in Michigan accused of abuse.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
Religion News Service

June 14, 2019

By Daniel Burke

It’s been a rough year for the Catholic bishops in the United States.

Several — including a former cardinal — have been accused of sexual harassment and other misconduct. Other bishops have allegedly covered up the sins and crimes of other clergy.

Since the sexual abuse crisis escalated last summer, more than one in four of Americans Catholics say they have scaled back Mass attendance or cut donations to their parish, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center.

This week, at their annual meeting in Baltimore, the bishops said they’ve received the message.

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

NASHVILLE (TN)
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

Four clerics are left off ‘accused’ priest list

Both were deemed ‘credibly accused’ by their bosses

SNAP: “How many other predators are still being hidden?”

Support group also wants Catholic high school field re-named

It honors a church official who ‘ignored or hid’ abuse reports, man says

Tennessee attorney general should investigate 3 dioceses, SNAP argues

WHAT:
Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, clergy molestation victims will disclose that two credibly accused predator priests

–have spent time in the Nashville area,

–attracted no public attention here, and

–are NOT on the Nashville diocese’s ‘accused’ clergy list.

They will blast Nashville Catholic officials for the omissions, question how many other predators are still being hidden, and insist that the bishop post a FULL list of priests, brothers, nuns, seminarians, and bishops who have violated others (and include their whereabouts, photos and full work histories).

The victims will also prod local Catholic officials to re-name an athletic field that honors a once high-ranking priests who, they say, ignored or hid clergy sex crimes.

Finally, they’ll also urge anyone else who saw, suspected or suffered clergy sex crimes or cover ups to “come forward, speak up, get help and call police, so that a predator or enabler might be charged, convicted and jailed, which would make kids safer.”

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

OWENSBORO (KY)
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

June 14, 2019

Bowling Green “cradle Catholic” worries about abuse

Clergy sex victims enthusiastically endorse his effort

They also want Owensboro ‘accused cleric’ list expanded

SNAP: Local church official leave some alleged predators off

Group divulges ‘two credibly accused’ priests who worked here

SNAP: “They’re ‘under the radar’ & may have hurt local kids too”

“Victims, witnesses should call KY state politicians,” group says

WHAT

Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, two Kentucky men and a nationally known clergy sex abuse victims will:

–disclose that a disillusioned Bowling Green Catholic is filing a rare, ten page formal complaint about Owensboro’s bishop with the Vatican,

–disclose for the first time that at least two credibly accused predator priests worked in the Owensboro area are but have attracted no public attention here and are NOT on the diocese’s official ‘credibly accused’ list.

They will also prod

–Owensboro’s Catholic bishop to add these names to his “accused” clergy list, and

–anyone who saw, suspected or suffered clergy sex crimes or cover ups in Kentucky to contact lawmakers about conducting a statewide investigation into this crisis.

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ST. LOUIS (MO)
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

June 13, 2019

In letter to top law enforcement officials across the US, survivors concerned that bishops “self-policing” policy will continue abuse and cover ups.

This morning, the US Bishops in Baltimore passed an new internal policy church which they claim will finally hold abuser bishops and bishops who have covered up sex crimes accountable for potential criminal conduct. The new measures, victims say, do not recognize and are in potential violation of US state and federal laws. Currently 20 US attorneys general and the US Department of Justice are actively investigating church officials for abuse and cover up of sex crimes.

“What the bishops pass today in Baltimore absolutely needs a larger review from state and US law enforcement officials,” said Peter Isely, Founding Member of Ending Clergy Abuse Global. “It is stunning that the bishops have once again under the euphemism of ‘reform’ created yet one more iteration of a self-policing mechanism that does little but protect and hide criminal abusers and complicit bishops from justice.”

According to the measures passed by the bishops today, criminal evidence of abuse and cover up will continue to be directed to the Vatican and under the authority of the Pope and the Holy See, not US law.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
SNAP/Ending Clergy Abuse

June 14, 2019

To the Attorneys General currently investigating cases of clergy sex abuse,

We are leaders of two of the United States’ foremost groups dealing with the issue of clergy sex abuse. While our organizations personnel and makeup may differ, we stand together in order to support survivors of clerical abuse and to advocate for change that prevents future cases of abuse from ever occurring in the first place.

For decades, we have heard promises from church officials regarding their efforts to clean-up the culture of cover-up and abuse that has permeated the Catholic Church. Yet it has been the actions taken by you that has finally given us hope for true, meaningful reform.

This week in Baltimore, America’s bishops gathered together and approved several changes in their internal policies related to sexual abuse. True to what we have seen in the past, these changes include no specific involvement from secular officials concerning sex crimes by clergy and church officials, and do not require the reporting of allegations to local, state or federal law enforcement. These measures, in effect, further codify and cement a system of internal reporting and investigation that could impede current investigations you are conducting. Once again, under the euphemism of ‘reform,’ church leaders in the U.S. have created, as they have for years, another iteration of a self-policing mechanism that does little but protect and hide criminal abusers and complicit bishops from justice.

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ROCKLAND (NY)
Rockland/Westchester Journal News

June 13, 2019

By Frank Esposito

A new filing in New York Supreme Court alleges a former Maryknoll priest in Westchester County abused a young boy for about eight years throughout the 1960s.

But this case is different.

Ralph Gallagher, the victim, took his own life. Now his family is taking action on his behalf.

The alleged perpetrator, Ed Flanagan, a priest who served at the Church of Saint John and Saint Mary in Chappaqua, died in 2016.

Now attorney Barbara Hart, of Lowey Dannenberg in White Plains, is asking for a third party to be brought in to keep track of records and notify other potential victims about the case.

This latest filing on June 7 comes after the February signing of the Child Victims Act. The act provides a one-year, one-time-only period to seek civil action, regardless of how long ago the abuse occurred.

That window to file opens in August, but this filing asks that the court appoint a special third-party to preserve records and assume other related duties.

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DENVER (CO)
Catholic News Agency

June 14, 2019

By Hannah Brockhaus

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Fr. Carlos Eugenio Irarrázaval Errazuriz as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Santiago de Chile. Irarrázaval was criticized last month for some polemical statements about the Jewish people.

Irarrázaval, 53, was named an auxiliary of Santiago May 22, and his episcopal consecration was scheduled to take place July 16.

A June 14 statement from the Santiago archdiocese said Irarrázaval will continue in his role as a parish priest at Sacred Heart of Jesus church in Providencia, an outer suburb of Santiago.

The decision for Irarrázaval to resign “was the fruit of dialogue and joint discernment, in which Pope Francis valued the spirit of faith and humility of the priest, in favor of the unity and good of the Church that is a pilgrim in Chile,” according to the statement.

Irarrázaval apologized to the Jewish community at the end of May after he made some controversial statements in an interview with CNN Chile May 23.

In the interview, the priest was asked about the role of women in the Church, to which he said: “we all have to ensure that they can do what they may want to do. Obviously, Jesus Christ marked out for us certain guidelines, and if we want to be the Church of Jesus Christ, we have to be faithful to Jesus Christ.”

“Jewish culture is a male dominated culture to this day,” he continued. “If you see a Jew walking down the street, the woman goes ten steps behind. But Jesus Christ breaks with that pattern. Jesus Christ converses with women, converses with the adulteress, with the Samaritan woman. Jesus Christ let women care for him.”

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MORGANTOWN (WV)
The Dominion Post

June 13, 2019

By David Beard

A group called Lay Catholic Voices for Change has submitted a letter to the Rev. William Lori, Archbishop of Baltimore and Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, expressing its outrage over the sex abuse and financial mismanagement scandals currently troubling the diocese.

The 44 signatories from 19 churches claim their right to participate in crafting solutions to the problems and spell out five areas with specific recommendations for change. They seek Lori’s response to the letter by June 28.

They have also publicly released the letter in the form of an online petition at change.org and are encouraging fellow Catholics from the diocese to sign on in support.

They say, “We have associated ourselves in response to the sexual abuse scandal, which we see as linked to a broad crisis of political and financial corruption within our Diocese and throughout the Church, to the detriment of clergy and laypeople alike. … We are outraged that the scandal of clergy sex abuse in our Church has been prolonged and perpetuated by coverups in the DWC. We are also troubled and appalled by the coverup in our diocese of Bishop Bransfield’s outrageous spending.”

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UNITED STATES
Slate

June 13, 2019

By Matthew Dessem

Bohemian Rhapsody director Bryan Singer has agreed to pay $150,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging that he raped Cesar Sanchez-Guzman in 2003, the Los Angeles Times reports. Sanchez-Guzman, who was 17 at the time of the alleged assault, wrote in his complaint that he was attending a party on Lester Waters’ yacht when Singer lured him into a private room, forced him to perform oral sex, performed oral sex on him, and raped him, despite his protests. Singer has consistently and flatly denied Sanchez-Guzman’s claims, saying he didn’t know him at all.

The settlement was the product of negotiations between Singer’s attorneys and Sanchez-Guzman’s bankruptcy trustee Nancy James, not Sanchez-Guzman himself. Singer’s accuser filed for bankruptcy in 2014; when he sued Singer three years later, his bankruptcy trustee reopened his case on the grounds that his creditors had an interest in the proceeds, if there were any. In a filing on Wednesday, James recommended the court approve a settlement of $150,000, noting that Sanchez-Guzman had not produced any evidence he attended the 2003 party. Singer’s attorneys said in a statement that agreeing to the settlement was a business decision, not an admission of guilt:

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FRANCE
BBC News

June 13, 2019

Children of Roman Catholic priests who felt “silenced” by the Church for decades will share their stories with bishops in Paris for the first time.

Bishops will meet members of the French association Les Enfants du Silence (The Children of Silence) on Thursday.

At their own request, the sons and daughters of priests will speak about their fathers, neglect and suffering.

Their existence is a sensitive issue for the Church, which expects priests to adhere to a strict rule of celibacy.

In an unprecedented series of meetings beginning on Thursday afternoon, children who say they have been “silenced” and “humiliated” by the Church will have the opportunity to share their experiences.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
The Amerian Conservative

June 11, 2019

By Rod Dreher

I mentioned earlier that the Southern Baptist Convention is going to take up the problem of sexual abuse in the denomination at its meeting this week. Elizabeth Dias of The New York Times has an infuriating story about how one Baptist megachurch in suburban Dallas handled — and failed to handle — a case of alleged abuse by a youth pastor. The church is The Village Church, in Flower Mound. Excerpts:

Christi Bragg listened in disbelief. It was a Sunday in February, and her popular evangelical pastor, Matt Chandler, was preaching on the evil of leaders who sexually abuse those they are called to protect. But at the Village Church, he assured his listeners, victims of assault would be heard, and healed: “We see you.”

Ms. Bragg nearly vomited. She stood up and walked out.

Exactly one year before that day, on Feb. 17, 2018, Ms. Bragg and her husband, Matt, reported to the Village that their daughter, at about age 11, had been sexually abused at the church’s summer camp for children.

Since then, Matthew Tonne, who was the church’s associate children’s minister, had been investigated by the police, indicted and arrested on charges of sexually molesting Ms. Bragg’s daughter.

Ms. Bragg waited for church leaders to explain what had happened and to thoroughly inform other families in the congregation. She waited for the Village to take responsibility and apologize. She waited to have even one conversation with Mr. Chandler, a leader she had long admired.

But none of that ever came.

“You can’t even take care of the family you know,” she remembered thinking as she walked out of the large auditorium. “Don’t tell more victims to come to you, because you’re just going to cause more hurt.”

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BIRMINGHAM (AL)
WIAT TV 42

June 11, 2019

By Phil Pinarski & Michael Clark

Survivors of sexual abuse rallied outside the Southern Baptist Convention Tuesday in hopes of raising awareness about problems in the religious organization.

The rally came just after SBC leadership voted on a constitutional bylaw change that would allow the SBC to deal with churches that don’t handle abuse.

SBC leaders also approved the creation of a new credentials’ committee.

Some survivors would like to see more done by the church.

A few dozen people gathered outside the BJCC with signs and a loudspeaker as they shared their message with people leaving the convention.

“I want to call the SBC on the abuse and their cover-ups, no longer can you continue to patronize us with your fancy words and little action,” said Rev. Ashley Easter, an advocate for abuse victims.

The topic of abuse is front and center after numerous allegations in recent years. Leaders want victims to know they are listening.

“I think our posture should be to listen to all of those who have survived this trauma and to commit to work to make sure that every church is doing everything possible to prevent abuse and care for those being abused,” said Russell Moore, who is president of the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission.

Survivors at the rally told CBS 42 that they have heard promises before and are hopeful for lasting changes.

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BALTIMORE (MD)
Associated Press

June 4, 2019

By Don Rush

The nation’s Roman Catholic bishops approved new steps this week to deal more strongly with the clergy sex-abuse crisis.

But activists and others say the moves leave the bishops in charge of policing themselves and potentially keep law enforcement at arm’s length.

As their national meeting in Baltimore concluded Thursday, the bishops stopped short of mandating that lay experts take part in investigating priests accused of child molestation or other misconduct.

They also did not specify a procedure for informing the police of abuse allegations fielded by a newly proposed hotline.

The meeting followed a string of abuse-related developments that have presented the bishops and the 76-million-member U.S. church with unprecedented challenges. Many dioceses around the U.S. have been targeted by prosecutors demanding secret files.

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INDIANAPOLIS (IN)
Indianapolis Star

June 14, 2019

By Holly V. Hays

The Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend this week identified two more priests who church officials said were “credibly” accused of sexually abusing a minor.

The update, released June 11, added two names to the list, bringing the total number of accused priests to 22.

Neither served in the Indianapolis area during their time in the ministry, according to information provide by the diocese.

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WARSAW (POLAND)
Associated Press

June 14, 2019

By Monika Scislowska

The Vatican’s sex crimes prosecutor, Archbishop Charles Scicluna, met with Poland’s Catholic bishops on Friday to share his experience in tracking crimes, after the Polish Church admitted knowing about hundreds of cases over the years where priests abused minors.

Scicluna attended the bishops’ plenary session Friday in Walbrzych, southwestern Poland, for a discussion about “protecting children and youths,” the Episcopate said.

Bishop Piotr Libera tweeted that Scicluna’s remarks were “extremely interesting.”

Scicluna told Poland’s Catholic news agency KAI that he would like to “encourage Poland’s bishops to implement the very good guidance points that they themselves adopted” in 2013.

He later told a news conference it was not enough to have rules but “we need to implement what the documents say” and people in parishes should know who to turn to in the Church when they suspect abuse.

Scicluna urged every person aware of a cover-up to report it to higher church authorities or in the case of high-ranking bishops, to the papal nuncio in Poland.

Scicluna, a Maltese archbishop, and expert in church law, has been instrumental in revealing facts about priestly sex abuse and cover-up by Chilean church leaders for Pope Francis. In February at the Vatican, he gave a tutorial on preventing sex abuse to a summit of church leaders convened by Francis in reaction to the global sex abuse and cover-up crisis that has undermined credibility in the Church.

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PROVIDENCE (RI)
Providence Journal

June 13, 2019

By Katherine Gregg

In a surprise development that came to light Thursday, the day of a Senate vote on sex-abuse legislation, a state court spokesman confirmed that a 2010 case filed by Sen. Donna Nesselbush’s law firm against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence is still open.

With the case number — “PC 2010-6437” — inexplicably missing from the court’s online registry of civil cases until The Journal inquired about it, court spokesman Craig Berke said the case will be brought to the attention of the presiding justice of the Superior Court, Alice Gibney.

Nesselbush is the lead sponsor of the Senate version of the bill to give victims more time to sue the molesters who sexually abused them as children, and the institutions — including the Catholic Church — that allegedly shielded them from exposure. While the legislation is not church-specific, many of the victims who testified, including another lawmaker’s now 66-year-old sister, told of sexual abuse by their parish priests.

Nesselbush referred questions about the pending legal case to a law partner who has not yet responded to inquiries.

The mystery court case centers on defrocked priest Michael LaMountain, who on Jan. 29, 1999, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting five boys from the 1970s to the 1990s. Under a plea agreement, LaMountain was sentenced to nine 12-year suspended sentences, to run concurrently.

With his plea, LaMountain, now dead, became the sixth Rhode Island priest convicted that decade of sexually abusing children, at a point in time when there were 38 people suing the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, saying that the church hierarchy did not supervise its priests.

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AUSTIN (TX)
KXAN TV

June 14, 2019

By Matthew Prendergast

An elderly Austin Catholic priest accused of touching a woman in hospice care in a sexual manner accepted a plea deal Wednesday in what was supposed to be his pre-court appearance.

Rev. Gerold Langsch, 75, faced a Class A misdemeanor assault by contact charge. Langsch pleaded no contest Wednesday. A no contest plea effectively does not admit guilt but allows the court to determine punishment.

Langsch was accused of going to the victim’s home in October 2018 to administer her last rites, according to documents filed in court. The woman was in hospice care because she was suffering from several medical conditions, including complications with diabetes.

According to the arrest affidavit, while Langsch was anointing the victim with holy water during her last rites he began touching her inappropriately and asked, “does that feel good?”

The victim’s family immediately reported it to police and in March 2019, she was presented with a photo lineup, during which she identified Langsch as the man who assaulted her, according to the affidavit.

Austin police say assault by contact is typically classified as a Class C misdemeanor. However, this case was upgraded to a Class A misdemeanor because the victim was disabled.

In court Wednesday, Langsch was addressed by a member of the victim’s family.

“You are nothing more than a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” the person said. “We will never trust another father or the Catholic Church again.”

Langsch was sentenced to 300 days probation probated over two years, as well as a $1,000 fine. If he violates the probation, he could spend up to 300 days in jail and be penalized with a $4,000 fine.

Since the allegations in 2018, three other victims have come forward, according to the judge in Langsch’s case. She added that all the victim’s approved of the agreement and Langsch’s sentencing. The Catholic Church has an official record of all the allegations.

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NEW YORK (NY)
New York Times

June 13, 2019

by Liam Stack

America’s Roman Catholic bishops voted on Thursday to enact a new oversight system intended to hold them accountable for abuse and cover-ups, a move meant to restore faith in a church whose epidemic of misconduct has driven away parishioners and attracted the attention of state and federal law enforcement.

The move was endorsed at a high-stakes gathering in Baltimore of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. It came one month after Pope Francis issued a sweeping edict that ordered church officials around the world to report cases of sexual abuse — and attempted cover-ups — to their superiors. The decree gave bishops one year to establish new procedures.

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DETROIT (MI)
Detroit Free Press

June 14, 2019

By Niraj Warikoo

Archbishop of Detroit Allen Vigneron said that Catholic leaders in Michigan “will begin work immediately” to implement a series of measures for accountability of bishops on sexual abuse cases that was approved Thursday by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) at their annual meeting.

In Baltimore, the bishops approved this week three measures that were in line with guidelines issued by Pope Francis in May that called for more responsibility among Catholic bishops in responding to sexual abuse by clergy and to stop shielding abusers. Critics have raised concerns about some bishops in the U.S. covering up sexual abuse by clergy.

The Catholic bishops, which included Vigneron, voted for a third-party reporting system allowing people to make confidential reports and a new oversight model where metropolitan bishops — such as Vigneron — have more responsibility over other bishops.

The bishops also voted to “restrict the ministry of retired bishops accused of sexual abuse or negligence,” said the Archdiocese of Detroit.

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DETROIT (MI)
Detroit News

June 13, 2019

By Beth LeBlanc

None of the priests facing sexual misconduct charges stemming from Attorney General Dana Nessel’s investigation into clergy abuse in Michigan will get help paying for their legal defense from the Michigan dioceses where they used to work.

Most will, however, continue receiving retirement benefits through their diocesan retirement plans because pensions are protected by federal law.

For others not yet of retirement age, Michigan’s various dioceses are required by canon or church law to provide “sustenance” for their priests leading up to and even after a potential guilty verdict.

In May, Nessel charged five priests who had worked in three Michigan dioceses with sexual misconduct charges as part of the attorney general’s investigation in clergy sexual abuse in Michigan’s seven dioceses. At the time, Nessel said the charges were “just the tip of the iceberg” and more legal action is expected.

The priests charged included the Revs. Neil Kalina, 63, and Patrick Casey, 55, who had served in the Detroit archdiocese; the Revs. Timothy Michael Crowley, 70, and Vincent DeLorenzo, 80, who served in the Lansing diocese; and the Rev. Jacob Vellian, 84, a visiting priest from India working in the Kalamazoo diocese in the 1970s at the time of the alleged incident.

None of the charged priests were involved in active ministry at the time Nessel announced charges. All of the priests, with the exception of Vellian, have been arraigned on their charges and face sentences that carry maximum penalties ranging from 15 years to life in prison.

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CHEYENNE (WY)
Casper Star-Tribune

June 13, 2019

By Seth Klamann

The Diocese of Cheyenne published Wednesday the names of 11 priests who have faced credible allegations of abuse, most of whom were accused of the misconduct while serving in Wyoming.

The Wyoming Catholic Register newsletter publicly acknowledged abuse allegations against 10 new priests, nearly a year after the diocese announced it had reopened an investigation into former bishop Joseph Hart and found the accusers of the former leader of the Wyoming Catholic church credible.

In a column accompanying the list of names, Bishop Steven Biegler apologized to those he said had been abused by clergy.

“On behalf of the church, I apologize to each victim, not only for the misconduct of those who committed sexual abuse, but also for the failure of any Church leader who did not take appropriate action after having received a report of an allegation,” Biegler wrote. “Finally, I pledge to do all that we can to assist with your healing and to learn from errors in our past.”

The release comes amid a period of renewed scrutiny for the Catholic Church across the country. Last year across several states, dioceses and state governments released the names of those accused of abuse. A diocese in southern Alabama named 29 men who were credibly accused. In August, a grand jury in Pennsylvania wrote that more than 300 Catholic priests had abused more than 1,000 children over a period of several decades. The Jesuits, a Catholic order, released their own lists late last year, which included the names of two priests who served for a time at St. Stephens, on the Wind River Reservation. The allegations in those cases stemmed from incidents that did not occur at the reservation school.

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NEW YORK (NY)
America Magazine

June 13, 2019

By Michael J. O’Loughlin

U.S. Catholic bishops voted overwhelmingly in Baltimore on Thursday to adopt new protocols aimed at holding themselves accountable for committing sexual abuse themselves and for mishandling accusations of abuse made known to them. While the new protocols are designed to include laypeople at every stage of an investigation—they advise that bishops “should” include laypeople by way of an office in their chanceries—lay reform groups and victim advocates say they are unsatisfied, as the new rules stop just short of requiring such involvement.

In response to a new Vatican law enacted in June, detailed in the motu proprio“Vos estis lux mundi,” which requires bishops around the world to create structures aimed at bishop accountability, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops voted to create a third-party reporting hotline; to adopt a procedure for receiving those complaints and include laypeople to investigate them; and to compile into one place existing measures that restrict the public ministry of retired bishops who leave office “for grave reason.” Bishops also approved a code of conduct that they say binds them to the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

According to one new protocol, a metropolitan bishop, who oversees bishops in a geographic area, “should” appoint “a qualified lay person to receive reports” from the hotline about misconduct by a bishop. If the report is deemed credible and if the Vatican orders an investigation into a bishop, the metropolitan “should appoint an investigator chosen from among the lay persons previously identified by the province.” Additionally, the metropolitan bishop “should also make use of qualified experts” who are “chosen predominantly from among lay persons.”

Cardinal Blase Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago and an adviser to Pope Francis who participated in the February meeting at the Vatican of bishops from around the world to discuss sex abuse, drafted the amendment that strengthened the language about including laypeople in investigations. But because the Vatican’s own law stops short of mandating lay involvement—though it does say laypeople can be involved—some U.S. bishops said they could not require lay involvement. Many bishops pointed out that they already rely on lay expertise for assistance in many areas and that it would be highly unlikely to to conduct an investigation without laypeople.

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CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune

June 13, 2019

By Ted Slowik

Walking into the Cathedral of St. Raymond in Joliet and seeing a display featuring the late Most Rev. Daniel Ryan triggers a flood of painful memories and unleashes a range of emotions.

I feel angry that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet would prominently display a picture of a cleric who engaged in sexual misconduct. I feel frustrated by how little seems to have changed, despite platitudes by church leaders about how much they have done to protect children.

I feel sadness about the apparent lack of understanding by church leaders and empathy for the many people I met and listened to over the years who shared with me their experiences of Joliet clergy who had sexually abused children.

I feel that if church leaders understood the depth of pain felt by survivors of childhood sexual abuse and truly cared about creating a culture where children are safe from sexual predators, they would remove the photo of Ryan from the display in the entryway to the cathedral.

I began hearing the stories, researching court files and investigating clergy abuse in the Joliet Diocese in 2002 while working for a Joliet newspaper. The work was emotionally draining. I felt obligated to share the stories of survivors at a time when few people in positions of authority in the church or state would advocate on their behalf.

Seventeen years later, I feel diocesan leaders still fail to grasp how the display of Ryan’s picture might offend people who were sexually abused by priests.

“It is one thing to acknowledge that an abuser worked at the parish, but quite another for his image to be displayed prominently,” said Zach Hiner, executive director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

“While it may seem minor to church officials, to survivors and supporters, small actions like this illustrate that church officials still do not fully understand the lifelong toll that abuse can have. If they did, they wouldn’t display these photos, prominently or otherwise,” Hiner said.

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BALTIMORE (MD)
Religion News Service

June 13, 2019

By Jack Jenkins

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has passed a slate of long-awaited measures designed to combat sex abuse and hold church leadership accountable for mishandling cases, including creating a national hotline operated by an outside group for reporting incidents of abuse or their cover-up.

“I’m confident that the idea of doing (investigations) in-house is long gone,” said a cautiously upbeat Cardinal Joseph Tobin of New Jersey after the reforms passed Thursday morning (June 13) — informed by a recent papal document — at the bishops’ spring meeting.

But the bishops stopped short of handing power to lay Catholics or abuse survivors in those investigations, sparking a debate that revolves around whether doing so would overstep guidelines outlined in a document issued by Pope Francis after a Vatican summit on abuse in February.

Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich and other clerics were able to insert language into the resolutions stating that metropolitan bishops — who would oversee the investigations of fellow bishops — “should” rely on qualified lay persons. The inclusion of lay people is also among a moral “commitment” the bishops adopted Thursday morning on how to deal with sexual misconduct.

But the language fell short of requiring bishops to take lay input, an important distinction that left victims advocates saying stronger measures are needed.

Other clerics, such as Bishop William Shawn McKnight of Jefferson City, Mo., made clear that they support lay involvement regardless.

“I believe it should be mandatory that we involve laity in the investigation of any case of sexual abuse by a bishop — or corruption, cover-up, involving the same,” McKnight said during the second day of voting. “I believe we should do that because that is the Catholic thing to do.”

He added: “Lay involvement should be mandatory to make darn sure that we bishops do not harm the church in the way bishops have harmed the church — especially what we have become aware of this past year.”

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UNITED STATES
USCCB

June 13, 2019

1.) Protocol Regarding Available Non-Penal Restrictions on Bishops

2.) Affirming Our Episcopal Commitments

3.) Directives for the Implementation of the Provisions of Vos estis lux mundi Concerning Bishops and their Equivalents

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BALTIMORE (MD)
Philadelphia Inquirer

June 13, 2019

By Jeremy Roebuck

The nation’s Roman Catholic bishops overwhelmingly — though not unanimously — approved a new framework Thursday for policing their own conduct, hoping it would be enough to stanch a series of scandals that brought to light sexual misconduct and inaction within their ranks over the past year.

The measures include a new code of conduct, guidelines for restricting the ministry of retired problem prelates and a new system through which the church will investigate bishops accused of mishandling abuse complaints or facing such allegations themselves. On Wednesday the bishops also approved a national hotline that would take allegations from victims of abuse by bishops.

But victims and their advocates responded with a collective shrug, saying the reforms still leave too much power in the hands of a hierarchy that has repeatedly failed to hold itself accountable.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, whose investigation of abuse in Pennsylvania dioceses that was released last year, creating an international uproar, said Thursday in a statement on Twitter: “Clergy abuse victims should contact law enforcement – not a Church hotline. That only serves to cover up the cover up. Our clergy abuse hotline has received 1,803 calls. We follow up on every one of them. The Church cannot be trusted to police itself.”

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BALTIMORE (MD)
The Philadelphia Inquirer

June 12, 2019

By Jeremy Roebuck

Roman Catholic bishops in the United States voted Wednesday to launch an independent national hotline for fielding complaints of sexual abuse or cover-up involving members of the hierarchy.

Although many implementation details must be worked out, the decision is the most concrete step U.S. bishops have taken to hold themselves more accountable after a tumultuous year for the church.

The hotline is one of four proposals up for debate this week at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ annual spring conference. It had wide support among the prelates, although some prelates questioned the deadline approved Wednesday for activation — May 31, 2020.

“There’s an urgency to get this up and running as soon as possible,” said Cardinal Blase Cupich, archbishop of Chicago. “Corporations that man hotlines for crisis moments are able to do it quickly, and I would hope that we would be able to do it as well.”

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LANSING (MI)
Lansing State Journal

June 12, 2019

By Megan Banta

A jury on Wednesday found former Michigan State University dean William Strampel guilty of misconduct in office and willful neglect of duty.

That makes him the first former or current MSU official to be convicted following the Michigan Attorney General’s investigation into MSU and its handling of convicted sex offender Larry Nassar, who worked in the university’s sports medicine clinic.

After more than five hours of deliberation, jurors found that evidence supported the Attorney General’s argument that Strampel, 71, used his power as dean of MSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine to proposition and control female medical students.

Jurors also determined there was enough evidence to support prosecutors’ argument that Strampel displayed “complete indifference” as to whether Nassar was following protocols meant to decrease risk for the university following a complaint of sexual assault in 2014.

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PENNSYLVANIA
TribLive

June 12, 2019

By Deb Erdley

Lawyers for clergy sexual abuse survivors say a Pennsylvania Superior Court ruling handed down Tuesday could open a path for many old claims previously timed out to go to a jury.

Writing in a 38-page opinion, a three-judge panel overturned a Blair County judge’s decision to dismiss a clergy sexual abuse complaint as outside the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse, which expires at the alleged victim’s 30th birthday.

The judges said the church’s apparent failure to notify parishioners of abuse allegations raised the specter of conspiracy and fraudulent concealment as questions for a jury.

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UNITED STATES
America: The Jesuit Review

June 12, 2019

By Ashley McKinless

I thought I had lost the capacity to be surprised by the misconduct of bishops after the past year of scandal. But as I read The Washington Post’s report on the financial abuses committed by Bishop Michael J. Bransfield, who was recently removed as head of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston in West Virginia, I could not believe what I was learning. Fueled by revenues from a Texas oil field donated to the diocese over a century ago, the bishop in one of this country’s poorest states was living a life of luxury and cutting four- and five-figure checks to fellow clerics—including certain priests who accused Bransfield of sexual harassment.

I knew who I needed to talk to process this news: my mom. And not just because she is the reason I am Catholic. Kathy McKinless also happens to have served as the acting chief financial officer for the Archdiocese of Washington, served on the volunteer finance council of the Diocese of Arlington, was an expert witness in a banking fraud trial and, as a partner at the accounting firm KPMG, audited dioceses and religious organizations. If anyone could explain to me how exactly a bishop could travel by chartered jet and decorate his office with $100 worth of fresh flowers each day—or at least reassure me this was not normal behavior—it was she.

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CHESTERFIELD (VA)
WWBT NBC 12 News

June 10, 2019

By Kelly Avellino

Several religious organizations and church leaders face an $82 million lawsuit in a child sex abuse case involving eight boys, that stemmed in Colonial Heights and Chesterfield.

Attorneys with the law firm Breit Cantor says the boys were abused by a youth group leader at Immanuel Baptist Church between 2008 and 2015.

Added to the lawsuit on Monday were the following Baptist groups:
Southern Baptist Convention
Baptist General Association of Virginia
Petersburg Baptist Association

“They had the power to do more and to help protect these children and to warn these families of these abusers,” said attorney Kevin Biniazan, who represents the plaintiffs.

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WASHINGTON (DC)
PBS NewsHour

June 12, 2019

The Southern Baptist Convention is the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S., with nearly 15 million members. Now, it’s facing a reckoning over allegations of sex abuse and concealment revealed by a Houston Chronicle investigation. Judy Woodruff speaks to Rachael Denhollander, a survivor of sexual abuse both by the church and Larry Nassar, about her optimism for the forthcoming reforms.

Judy Woodruff:

With nearly 15 million members, the Southern Baptist Convention is the largest Protestant denomination in the United States. Now it is facing a reckoning of its own over sexual abuse.

A Houston Chronicle investigation found hundreds of clergy or staff allegedly committed abuse or misconduct over two decades. This week, delegates of Southern Baptist churches approved changes for the first time to make it easier to expel churches that cover up sexual abuse cases.

Rachael Denhollander was the first woman to publicly accuse Larry Nassar. He’s the former sports doctor at Michigan State University who was convicted of assaulting multiple girls and women.

Denhollander spoke at the convention on a panel with fellow sexual abuse survivors and is on the denomination’s sex abuse study group. She is also the author of “What Is a Girl Worth?: My Story of Breaking the Silence and Exposing the Truth about Larry Nassar and USA Gymnastics.”

Rachael Denhollander, thank you very much for being with us.

So, you — we know now that the church has made these changes. You have been talking to a number of survivors. I want to understand what your sense is of just how widespread this abuse was.

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