IOWA
Quad-City Times

Brian Wellner bwellner@qctimes.com

The Diocese of Davenport, which temporarily removed two priests from their ministries last month after allegations surfaced they inappropriately touched minors, has reinstated one of them, Bishop Martin Amos said Thursday.

The Rev. Robert Harness, pastor of Holy Family Church, Davenport, and the Rev. John Stack, chaplain at Mercy Medical Center, Clinton, were removed from their positions while an investigation was conducted.

As of Thursday, Harness will return to the ministry after a diocese investigation did not substantiate an allegation that he inappropriately touched a minor in 1990.

A review lasting a month conducted by a private detective found no wrongdoing by Harness, Amos said, adding he wanted to publicize the outcome "in the hope of helping to restore the good character of Father Harness."

SCOTLAND
East Lothian News

Published on 23/05/2013

Vandals have attacked Cardinal Keith O’Brien’s intended retirement home in the wake of the Pope ordering him to leave Scotland.

Police launched an investigation after four windows at Our Lady of the Waves RC Church and adjoining house were smashed.

ILLINOIS
WLS

May 23, 2013 (EVANSTON, Ill.) (WLS) -- Thomas Chmura, a monk from Wisconsin, is back on the streets after a Lake County judge agreed to reduce his bond.

Chmura is accused of trying to lure several underage girls in Antioch.

Bond for the 57-year-old was revoked earlier this month when court officials found children present at the Wisconsin abbey where he lived.

WISCONSIN/ILLINOIS
Enquirer-Herald

The Associated Press
WAUKEGAN, Ill. --
A Benedictine monk from Wisconsin who faces charges he tried to abduct four Illinois girls has been released on bond.

A Lake County judge lowered 57-year-old Thomas Chmura's bail from $150,000 to $50,000. Chmura previously was held in the Lake County jail since May 2. Chmura has pleaded not guilty. He lived at St. Benedict's Abbey in Benet Lake, Wis. He was arrested based on a description provided by one of the girls.

NEW YORK
The Jewish Week

New Evidence Could Harm Case Against Abuse Whistleblower

05/23/13

Hella Winston
Special Correspondent

New evidence has emerged that could deal a serious blow to Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes’ case against Sam Kellner, a chasidic Borough Park resident who was charged with extortion and perjury after he helped to convict a fellow chasid, Baruch Lebovits, on sex abuse charges.

The evidence, obtained by The Jewish Week, is an audiotape on which a young man makes statements that undermine his previous claims that Kellner paid him to fabricate allegations of sex abuse. The young man also makes statements indicating that powerful members of his own community pressured him to accuse Kellner of perjury.

“This tape should make clear what should be clear to any reasonable person — that Sam Kellner is not guilty of these charges,” Kellner’s attorney, Michael Dowd, told The Jewish Week.

Kellner, whose ordeal was the subject of a Jewish Week story in January, played an indirect but key role in the 2010 sex abuse conviction of Lebovits, a cantor and prominent member of the Munkacs chasidic community.

UNITED STATES
Washington Post

Christian Brothers religious order reaches deal with more than 400 child sex abuse victims

By Associated Press, Updated: Thursday, May 23

NEW YORK — The Christian Brothers have agreed to pay more than $16 million to people who were molested as children by members of the U.S. religious order.

The settlement was announced Thursday by attorneys for the Roman Catholic group and for more than 400 victims.

The Christian Brothers staffed schools and worked in dioceses in parts of the United States, including California, Hawaii, Illinois, New York and New Jersey, as well as in Canada.

Two groups that hold Christian Brothers’ assets sought federal bankruptcy protection in the face of the claims. A judge must approve the agreement.

MINNESOTA
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

By PATRICK CONDON
The Associated Press

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Adults who suffered childhood sexual abuse and want to file lawsuits against both abusers and the institutions that employed them will have greater access to Minnesota's court system under a bill awaiting Gov. Mark Dayton's signature.

In 1996, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that anyone over the age of 24 who alleged they were abused when they were children had no standing to file a lawsuit. Under the new law, that statute of limitations is lifted entirely for civil claims against abusers and for lawsuits on the grounds of negligence against schools, churches and other institutions. What that means is that anyone, no matter their age, will be able to file lawsuits over claims of sexual abuse that occurred when they were children.

"Right now, it's 24 and done," Rep. Steve Simon, DFL-Hopkins, the bill's chief House sponsor, said on Thursday. "No claim, no chance to confront your abuser in court. To me, this is about opening the courthouse doors that right now are slammed shut to childhood sex abuse victims."

The Senate passed the bill unanimously last week; it passed the House later the same day by a vote of 123-3. A spokeswoman for Dayton said he is likely to sign the bill.

UNITED STATES
Yahoo! News

NEW YORK (Reuters) - An order of the Roman Catholic Church has agreed to pay $16.5 million to more than 400 adults who said they were sexually abused as children by religious leaders, the parties announced on Thursday in separate statements.

The victims claimed abuse at schools and child-care facilities belonging to the Christian Brothers and the Christian Brothers of Ireland, Inc, in 17 U.S. states and Canada from the late 1940s or early 1950s until the 1980s, said James Stang, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs.

The settlement agreement reached in U.S. bankruptcy court also enables the victims to pursue more assets from the Christian Brothers such as real estate or insurance claims, Stang said.

A committee representing the accusers, who claimed abuse by mostly brothers of the order, agreed to the settlement terms.

In 2011, the Christian Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in response to the sexual abuse claims.

CANADA
Calgary Herald

BY THE CANADIAN PRESS MAY 23, 2013

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Survivors of abuse at the Mount Cashel Orphanage in St. John's, N.L. have reached a settlement with the Christian Brothers of Ireland worth more than $16.5 million.

The settlement with the Catholic religious order includes cash plus other assets that must still be approved in court.

Lawyer Geoff Budden represents 90 survivors from Newfoundland out of a total of 422 North American claimants.

He says the money will be distributed according to a court-ordered formula.

Budden says the settlement was reached by a committee of creditors that has worked with the Christian Brothers since its companies sought bankruptcy protection in the U.S.

VIRGINIA
NBC 12

By Rachel DePompa

RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) -
Pastor Geronimo Aguilar has temporarily stepped down from his positions as President of the Board and Pastor at the Richmond Outreach Center due to child sexual abuse charges.

The move was announced in a statement from the ROC's Board of Directors on the church's website Thursday afternoon.

"While we believe the accusations against him to be completely untrue and unfounded, we have accepted his request for a temporary leave of absence," the statement said. "Considering the severity of the charges, he feels and we sympathize that his family and these legal matters deserve his full attention."

The board voted to give Aguilar a paid leave of absence, according to the statement. The ROC's Executive Team will make day-to-day operational decisions and an outside, interim pastor will fill Aguilar's role.

Some Richmond faith leaders called for Aguilar to step down after prosecutors in Texas charged Aguilar with seven felony counts in two child sex abuse cases. The cases involve claims by two women dating back to 1996. Four of the counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child under 14, are first degree felonies that could carry life in prison.

VIRGINIA
WTVR

by Nick Dutton and Shelby Brown

RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) — CBS 6 News has learned that Geronimo Scott Aguilar, the pastor of the Richmond Outreach Center (ROC), will remain behind bars after an appearance in court Wednesday.
Earlier on Wednesday, a Richmond judge granted Aguilar a $50,000 bond and ordered him to be in Fort Worth by Friday. However, after lawyers discussed extradition details with Texas authorities, Aguilar waived extradition and was taken to jail.

Additionally, the judge said that if Fort Worth authorities do not pick up Aguilar by Friday, he will hold another hearing in which bond may be granted.

CBS 6 was in court when Aguilar signed extradition documents.

“He could be picked up as early as tomorrow .They’ve already pre-set bond there in Texas without a hearing at $100,000, so we’ll deal with bond when we get to Fort Worth,” said David Darlson.
The District Attorney’s Office in Tarrant County, Texas has formally charged the 43-year-old in in the first case with two counts of aggravated sex assault of a child under 14 and two counts of sexual assault of a child.

VIRGINIA
WTVR

May 23, 2013, by Scott Wise, Jerrita Patterson and Sandra Jones

RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) — Pastor Geronimo Aguilar, known as Pastor G, has stepped down as President of the Board and as Pastor of the Richmond Outreach Center, according to a statement on the ROC’s website.

This week Aguilar was charged in Texas with seven felony charges that stem from alleged sexual encounters with two minors in the 1990s.

According to the statement, Aguilar stepped down to “devote his time and energy to certain legal matters in Texas.”

The statement, signed by the Board of Directors of the Richmond Outreach Center, called the accusations against Aguilar “completely untrue and unfounded.”

“We, the Board of Directors, have voted to make this a paid leave of absence, considering the incredible contributions that Pastor Geronimo has made to The ROC as a founding member. Furthermore, we feel that it is not in the purview of the Board to act as either Judge or jury,” the statement read. “We look forward to Pastor Geronimo’s return, and we ask that you continue to keep him and his family in your prayers.”

The ROC’s Board of Directors said it has appointed “the Executive Team” to run the church’s day-to-day operations. Among its services, the ROC church provides religious and bible studies, homeless and prison ministries, addiction programs, family counseling and annual holiday events.

VIRGINIA
Richmond Times-Dispatch

Posted: Thursday, May 23, 2013

The board of directors of the Richmond Outreach Center said today that Pastor Geronimo Aguilar, facing sexual assault charges in Texas, will be on a paid leave of absence after his decision to temporarily step down as pastor and president of the board.

"We, the Board of Directors, have voted to make this a paid leave of absence, considering the incredible contributions that Pastor Geronimo has made to The ROC as a founding member. Furthermore, we feel that is not in the purview of the Board to act as either Judge or jury," the board said in an email.

"While we believe the accusations against him to be completely untrue and unfounded, we have accepted his request for a temporary leave of absence. Considering the severity of the charges, he feels and we sympathize that his family and these legal matters deserve his full attention," the email said.

The board said it is taking steps to hire an interim pastor from outside as an appointed executive team makes daily operations decisions at the ROC.

VIRGINIA
WRIC

Statement from the Board of Directors of the Richmond Outreach Center
May 23, 2013

Dear ROC Family and Friends,

It is with heavy hearts that we inform you that Pastor Geronimo has decided to temporarily step down as President of the Board and as Pastor of the Richmond Outreach Center to devote his time and energy to certain legal matters in Texas. While we believe the accusations against him to be completely untrue and unfounded, we have accepted his request for a temporary leave of absence. Considering the severity of the charges, he feels and we sympathize that his family and these legal matters deserve his full attention.

We, the Board of Directors, have voted to make this a paid leave of absence, considering the incredible contributions that Pastor Geronimo has made to The ROC as a founding member. Furthermore, we feel that it is not in the purview of the Board to act as either Judge or jury.

During this time, we have appointed the Executive Team to make decisions concerning the day-to-day operations of the Richmond Outreach Center. Also, we are actively pursuing an outside, interim pastor to serve on the Board of Directors, to assist with preaching duties, and to lend spiritual guidance.

VIRGINIA
WTVR

[with video]

May 23, 2013, by Tracy Sears

RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) – The future of the Richmond Outreach Center (ROC) and its ties to the city of Richmond remain uncertain, now that the ROC’s well known leader has been charged with several felonies relating to the sexual abuse of minors.

Since 2001, Pastor Geronimo Aguilar, known as Pastor G, has been a friend to underprivileged and troubled youth, reaching out to more than 11,000 people weekly through progressive ministries and programs.

Among its services, the ROC church provides religious and bible studies, homeless and prison ministries, addiction programs, family counseling and annual holiday events.

Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones says Aguilar’s dedication over the past decade has undoubtedly made a difference in the community.

“There’s a lot of good the church does in terms of working with young people and working with people who have addictions and people who need to have jobs and so forth,” Jones said.

CALIFORNIA
The Monterey County Herald

Herald Staff Report
Posted: 05/23/2013

The Irish Christian Brothers have agreed to pay $16.5 million to settle claims by more than 400 people who say they were physically and sexually abused by the order's brothers or others at schools operated by the Christian Brothers.

Among those alleged victims are five former Palma High School students who allege they were sexually assaulted by The Rev. Gerald Funcheon when he was a chaplain at the school from 1984 to 1985.

Funcheon admitted in sworn testimony he molested one of the men.

The settlement, which is expected to be finalized in coming weeks, is part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy the religious order filed in April 2011 in response to a tidal wave of sexual abuse lawsuits.

Palma High is not identified as one of the assets that will be used to pay the settlement. Though the school has historically been affiliated with the Irish Christian Brothers, the school's president, Brother Patrick Dunne, has said it is a separate corporate entity.

UNITED STATES
ABC News

NEW YORK May 23, 2013 (AP)

The Christian Brothers have agreed to pay more than $16 million to people who were molested as children by members of the U.S. religious order.

The settlement was announced Thursday by attorneys for the Roman Catholic group and for more than 400 victims.

The Christian Brothers staffed schools and worked in dioceses in parts of the United States, including California, Hawaii, Illinois, New York and New Jersey, as well as in Canada.

Two groups that hold Christian Brothers' assets sought federal bankruptcy protection in the face of the claims. A judge must approve the agreement.

CANADA
CBC News

Men who were abused by Christian Brothers at the Mount Cashel Orphanage and several schools in St. John's have reached a settlement with the Roman Catholic organization.

The settlement is the result of the work of a committee that was set up last year after the Christian Brothers declared bankruptcy. The committee has represented 422 victims across North America, including about 90 victims from Newfoundland and Labrador.

Geoff Budden, the lawyer representing the N.L. victims, and a member of that committee, said the total financial settlement is worth $16.5 million.

The settlement will also enable the abuse survivors to continue lawsuits against other parties who may share responsibility for decades of abuse.

Budden added that about 70 other victims of abuse from Mount Cashel, represented by other lawyers, are involved in the same lawsuit that the committee is involved with, but those victims have not yet arrived at a settlement.

ILLINOIS
Chicago Tribune

By Ruth Fuller
Special to the Tribune
3:16 p.m. CDT, May 23, 2013

A Benedictine monk charged with trying to lure several far north suburban girls into his car has been released on bond -- for a second time – and is now living with his father, authorities in Lake County said today.

Judge Christopher Stride agreed on May 17 to lower bond for Thomas Chmura, 57, from $150,000 to the original amount of $50,000 after Chmura found a new place to live, said defense attorney Robert Hauser.

Chmura’s original bond was revoked on May 2 when court officials checked the Wisconsin abbey where he had lived for more than 30 years and found children present, which violated conditions of the bond. Chmura is now living with his father in Lansing, Ill., Hauser said.

Chmura was arrested after investigators said he drove up to a 14-year-old girl in Antioch on April 25 and repeatedly asked her to get in his car before she ran off.

MASSACHUSETTS
WGBH

[video]

By WGBH NEWS

Attorney Eric MacLeish represented hundreds of people who, as children, had been sexually abused by priests in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. He joins us to talk about the abuse he suffered as a child, and his work changing the statute of limitations on child sex abuse laws.

NEW JERSEY/NEW YORK
NJ.com

[with video]

By David Cruz
NJ Today

A coalition of clergy and lay people from around the country call themselves the Catholic Whistleblowers. They gathered in New York City to assert themselves against what they see as a powerful entrenched bureaucracy turning a blind eye to the suffering of its most vulnerable members.

“I have yet to meet or even hear about a victim who has recounted that the bishop’s first response upon hearing their report of sexual abuse, was to reach out to them with any degree of compassion or concern. This is an abject disgrace,” said Canon Lawyer Father Tom Doyle.

They began forming nine months ago, without approval or cooperation from their individual diocese, bound by their desire to serve victims and to call on organizations like the National Council of Catholic Bishops to take action against those who they say have been complicit by covering up the abuse.

“We are here today to call upon Cardinal Dolan as president of the NCCB to use his influence to press the Vatican to remove Archbishop Myers from the Newark Archdiocese because of his mishandling of the Michael Fugee case. We appeal to all bishops and legislators to remove all statutes of limitations on child abuse cases as a means of demonstrating that our church is serious about pursuing truth and justice,” said Father Ron Lemmert of the Archdiocese of New York.

CANADA
The Telegram

Published on May 23, 2013

Barb Sweet

A new settlement has been reached with the Catholic lay order, the Irish Christian Brothers, that affects some 160 victims of sexual abuse at the former Mount Cashel orphanage in St. John’s, The Telegram has learned.

The settlement is part of a $16.5 million cash payment from the Christian Brothers affecting 400 men and women in the U.S. and Canada who were molested as children by members of the Christian Brothers.

The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors for The Christian Brothers Institute and The Christian Brothers of Ireland, Inc. has approved the terms and conditions of an agreed-to reorganization plan in the Chapter 11 cases of The Christian Brothers Institute and The Christian Brothers of Ireland, Inc. (In the United States, the Christian Brothers are the civil arms of the North American Province of the Congregation of Christian Brothers of Ireland.)

In response to sexual abuse claims, the Christian Brothers filed Chapter 11 cases on April 28, 2011 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. During the course of the Chapter 11 cases, more than 400 survivors of sexual and physical abuse filed claims with the Bankruptcy Court. The claims generally arise from the Christian Brothers’ operation/staffing of schools and child-care facilities from 17 U.S. states and Canada.

UNITED STATES
VOCM

The Committee representing hundreds of people who were molested as children by the Christian Brothers of Ireland has reached a settlement with the Catholic religious order. The financial settlement for abuse survivors is a cash payment of $16.5 million and should be filed within the next three weeks.

After the sexual abuse claims, the Christian Brothers filed bankruptcy in the Unites States. The filing lead to a reorganization plan which the Committee says will safeguard children from future abuse.

UNITED STATES
The Journal (Ireland)

OVER 400 SURVIVORS of institutional abuse in the United States are to receive compensation totalling $16.5 million after approving the terms of a bankruptcy by the North American branch of the ‘Irish’ Christian Brothers.

The survivors – acting as a committee of unsecured creditors – have approved a Chapter 11 deal for the Christian Brothers Institute and The Christian Brothers of Ireland, Incorporated, which is based in New York.

The money will be put up by the order itself and by one of its insurance carriers.

The amount shared by each survivor will be dramatically less than some of the settlements paid to some abuse survivors before the bankruptcy process began in 2011, but the settlement was nonetheless welcomed by an attorney representing the survivors.

VIRGINIA
Richmond Times-Dispatch

BY LOUIS LLOVIO Richmond Times-Dispatch

UPDATE: Geronimo Aguilar, senior pastor at the Richmond Outreach Center, will be handed over to Texas authorities in about 24 hours and taken to Fort Worth, Texas.

There, he faces seven felony charges relating to sexual acts with two minors alleged to have occurred in the 1990s.

UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY JOELLE CASTEIX ON MAY 23, 2013

Today's settlement is a true landmark for survivors of sexual abuse at the hands of Irish Christian Brothers and their employees. Because brave victims came forward, dozens of predators—some of whom were still in positions of power at schools and universities—have been exposed across the country. Communities including Chicago, Honolulu, Salinas, CA and Bergen County, NJ have now learned that many child sexual crimes and cover-ups happened in their local Irish Christian Brothers’ schools. Few groups of survivors have ever been able to expose so many criminals.

Were it not for brave Irish Christian Brothers survivors, accused and admitted predators would still be in schools, victims would still be suffering in silence and shame, and the truth would still be hidden.

But the journey for justice is not over. The victims in this settlement can still seek accountability from the schools where they were abused and where officials covered up abuse. Survivors can still seek truth from diocesan officials who turned a blind eye to the crimes at the Irish Christian Brothers' schools. We hope that they remain vigilant and continue to protect kids RIGHT NOW.

The Irish Christian Brothers should have done the right thing years ago. They should have reported molesters to the police. They should have reached out to victims. They should have warned communities about the danger. But they didn't. Instead, they waited to get exposed, and then used bankruptcy protection to avoid embarrassing civil trials. While it may be tempting to applaud the Brothers, we urge people to remember their decades-long cover-up of abuse in the United States, Canada and Ireland.

MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Globe

By Lauren Dezenski | GLOBE CORRESPONDENT MAY 23, 2013

Reverend Joseph F. Byrne has been reinstated in the ministry after the Archdiocese of Boston cleared the 69-year-old priest of sexual abuse allegations, the archdiocese said today.

Byrne was placed on administrative leave in May 2012 after someone contacted the archdiocese with an allegation that he had sexually abused a child in the 1970s. The allegation was found to be unsubtantiated, the archdiocese said.

According to Byrne’s assignment history, he served at St. Matthew’s parish in Dorchester from 1969 to 1975, then moved to St. John the Baptist Church in Quincy.

As a result of the investigation’s findings, Byrne is no longer on administrative leave and has been assigned the status of senior priest, the archdiocese said.

MASSACHUSETTS
Patch

By Ryan Grannan-Doll

A former Waltham priest has been cleared of allegations of sexual abuse against minors, according to the Boston Archdiocese.

Reverend Joseph F. Byrne, who previously served at Our Lady of the Comforter Afflicted in Waltham from 1994-2002, has been reinstated into his position after an investigation concluded the allegations were unsubstantiated, according to a Diocese statement. Byrne was previously placed on leave in May 2012 after the allegations surfaced. He had been been retired but was performing limited duties in Falmouth parishes.

“The allegation concerned conduct alleged to have occurred in the 1970s. Fr. Byrne is no longer on administrative leave and is assigned the status of Senior Priest,” the statement read.

IOWA
WQAD

May 23, 2013, by Shellie Nelson

Diocese officials say after evidence did not support the report, a Davenport priest accused of inappropriate contact will be restored to ministry.

Father Robert Harness, pastor of Holy Family Catholic Church in Davenport, was accused of inappropriately touching a minor in approximately 1990. Diocese officials said someone reported Father Harness inappropriately touched a minor during a game that was played at a high school retreat.
“The game was played in full view of as many as 50 students and 10 adults. None of the witnesses observed nor has anyone else reported any inappropriate behavior by Father Harness,” said Deacon David Montgomery of the Diocese of Davenport.

In keeping with the previously-established memorandum of understanding between the diocese and the Scott County Attorney, the diocese reported the allegation to the county attorney. In keeping with the memorandum of understanding, the diocese was required to remove Fr. Harness from active ministry until the month-long investigation was completed.

IOWA
Omaha.com

The Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa — A suspended Catholic priest in Davenport will return to the ministry after a diocese investigation did not substantiate an allegation that he inappropriately touched a minor in 1990.

Bishop Martin Amos of Davenport said Thursday that a monthlong review by a private detective found no wrongdoing by Father Robert Harness, pastor of Holy Family Church. Amos said he wanted to publicize the outcome "in the hope of helping to restore the good character of Father Harness."

Amos suspended Harness last month after someone claimed Harness improperly touched a minor during a game that was played at a high school retreat.

The investigation found the game was played in front of as many as 50 students and 10 adults, and no witnesses or anyone else reported seeing any inappropriate behavior.

UNITED STATES
The Worthy Adversary

Posted by Joelle Casteix on May 23, 2013

Two years after they sought bankruptcy protection to avoid more than 200 embarrasing civil sex abuse trials, the New York-based Irish Christian Brothers (ICB) have settled with more than 400 victims of child sexual abuse (in Canada and the United States) for $16.5 million.

This marks the end of the first step for many ICB victims. The settlement does not include the actual Irish Christian Brothers schools or the dioceses where they were located. Only the actual order was included in the settlement.

For victims in Hawaii, this means that they can still take legal action against Damien Memorial and the Diocese of Honolulu, whose officials, victims say, knew about abuse and covered it up. The same holds true for ICB victims across the country, including communities such as Bergen County, NJ; Salinas, CA; Chicago and Seattle.

But there is something very important to note about the ICB bankruptcy. While the battle is far from over, brave survivors in this case exposed dozens of predators who had been hidden in schools across the country. They were able to inform communities that convicted abusers such as Brother Thomas C. Ford and Br. Robert Brouillette taught children in more than 15 states. Survivors were able to show how serial predators such as Fr. Gerald Funcheon were sent to Hawaii to hide from allegations on the mainland.

VATICAN CITY
This Week

By Carmel Lobello

Rene Bruelhart, the head of the Vatican's new Financial Intelligence Authority, disclosed Wednesday that he had found six incidents of possible money laundering in the Vatican Bank from last year — marking the first step in what may be a new era of transparency for the scandal-stained institution.

The Vatican Bank, officially called the Institute for Religious Works (IOR), manages an estimated $5 billion in assets for religious orders and Catholic charities. A private entity, its inner workings have long been shrouded in secrecy. In 2012, following investigations of money laundering and probes into the behavior of the top brass, Forbes called the IOR "the most secret bank in the world."

The bank was founded in 1942 to safeguard and administer funds for Catholic organizations around the world, and got into trouble at the height of the Cold War, "when the Catholic Church was consumed by the threat of the Soviet Union," said TIME in a 2010 story about another Vatican probe. "In a sharply divided world, the Holy See found itself on the same side as the Mafia, whose Sicilian vote-buying operations propped up the Christian Democrats against the communists."

Then, in 1982, when Italy's second largest bank, Banco Ambrosiano, went bankrupt (allegedly due to mafia-related debt issues), the IOR was implicated as the bank's main shareholder. When Banco Ambrosiano's chairman, Roberto Calvi, was found hanging from London's Blackfriar's Bridge, his pockets stuffed with bricks and cash — a likely mafia murder that remains untried — the IOR's reputation took a beating. "The Vatican has been trying to shed its image as a murky financial center since," says the Financial Times.

UNITED STATES
Watch Keep

The SBC annual meeting is June 11-12 in Houston. The SBC pastors' conference is June 9-10, same place. Jack Graham is a featured discussion panel leader on the topic of "leadership." We are planning an awareness event outside the convention to stand for those abuse survivors who don't have a voice or whose voices are being callously ignored by pastors and leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Perhaps you may have a few minutes to simply come stand with us outside the convention in honor of those survivors who don’t have a voice? Details TBA...

I was interviewed by Bob Allen for a story in the Associated Baptist Press last week about a resolution proposed by a Baptist pastor for the upcoming SBC meeting and it includes my statements:

Sexual-abuse resolution proposed - Associated Baptist Press

Victims’ advocate Amy Smith, Houston representative of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said Lumpkins’ concern applies not only to organizations with informal SBC ties, but also to “celebrity leaders” within the denomination.

AUSTRALIA
ABC - Lateline

[with video]

Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Broadcast: 22/05/2013
Reporter: John Stewart

The NSW DPP says the prosecution of a school principal who sacked a teacher for abusing students but didn't inform police, would not be in the public interest.

Transcript

TONY JONES, PRESENTER: In the 1970s Brother Anthony Whelan was principal of St Patrick's College at Sutherland in Sydney. He sacked a teacher for abusing a series of boys at the school, but he did not inform the police. The victims say that if the police had been informed, the teacher may have been prevented from abusing other children. The NSW Director of Public Prosecutions says that prosecuting the former principal is not in the public interest. But abuse survivors say that justice has not been done. John Stewart reports.

JOHN STEWART, REPORTER: Brother Anthony Whelan was one of the most senior Catholic education officials in NSW. In 2008 he received an Order of Australia for services to education.

ANTHONY WHELAN, CATHOLIC BROTHER (Catholic Leadership Video): ... was the founding director of Catholic education in the southern region of the Archdiocese of Sydney. I've had roles at the Catholic Education Commission level.

JOHN STEWART: In the 1970s, Brother Whelan was the principal at St Patrick's College in southern Sydney where a group of high schoolboys were abused by a lay teacher called Thomas Keady.

TEXAS
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY JACKIE SOUTHEE ON MAY 23, 2013

Victims want new bishop to "come clean"
He was allegedly told about a predator in 2002
SNAP asks prelate: “What did you do then, what are you doing now?”
They urge El Paso's prelate to explain his role in a clergy sex abuse case
And victims also seek names of all child molesting clerics on church website

A support group for clergy sex abuse victims is urging El Paso’s new Catholic bishop to explain his involvement in a predator priest case and to post on the diocesan website the names of “proven, admitted and credibly accused predator priests.”

Leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests are writing Bishop Mark Seitz about a Kentucky predator priest, Fr. James Hargadon who was convicted of molesting boys.

[BishopAccountability.org]

In 2002, Hargadon was sued by John Kaelin of Waxahachie, Texas, who says the cleric molested him as a child in 1974 at a cabin in Rough River.

Kaelin also said that he reported the abuse to Seitz in 1990 when Seitz was a parish priest.

[BishopAccountability.org]

"If you are to earn the trust of your new flock, you must show - by deeds, not words - that you are capable of breaking from the long-standing hurtful patterns of secrecy that most of your colleagues are still trapped in today," SNAP says in its letter.

NEW JERSEY
Patch

By Devin McGinley

Michael Fugee's lawyer contended Wednesday that the embattled former Wyckoff pastor is innocent of charges he violated a court order in his continued work with children, northjersey.com reported.

Fugee was arrested and charged Monday with seven counts of contempt of a court order, for allegedly hearing confessions from minors around the state in violation of an agreement reached with prosecutors.

Prosecutors, Fugee, and the Archdiocese of Newark signed an agreement in 2007 that the pastor, who had been accused of sexual misconduct with a minor, could return to the priesthood under the condition that he no longer work with children.

UNITED STATES
Anglo-Cat on the Prowl

I believe that this qualifies as good news:

They call themselves Catholic Whistleblowers, a newly formed cadre of priests and nuns who say the Roman Catholic Church is still protecting sexual predators.Although they know they could face repercussions, they have banded together to push the new pope to clean house and the American bishops to enforce the zero-tolerance policies they adopted more than a decade ago.

The group began organizing quietly nine months ago without the knowledge of their superiors or their peers, and plan to make their campaign public this week. Most in the steering group of 12 have blown the whistle on abusers in the past, and three are canon lawyers who once handled abuse cases on the church’s behalf. Four say they were sexually abused as children.

The fact that one of this group is Rev. Thomas Doyle, who has been indefatigable in his zeal for justice for victims over three decades is immensely encouraging. The participation of Anne Barrett Doyle, of the indispensable resource BishopAccountability.org, which curates a wealth of primary documents as well as helpful context-providing summaries and timelines is also very encouraging.

MASSACHUSETTS
WCVB

BRAINTREE, Mass. —A Roman Catholic priest suspended a year ago after he was accused of child sexual abuse has been reinstated after the allegation was found to be unsubstantiated.

The Boston Archdiocese announced Thursday that the Rev. Joseph Byrne has returned to ministry and been granted senior priest status.

Byrne was suspended last May after the Archdiocese received an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor that was alleged to have occurred in the 1970s. It was reported to law enforcement.

Byrne was involved in limited ministry at a Falmouth church when he was suspended.

MASSACHUSETTS
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston

For Immediate Release

Contact: Kellyanne Dignan
kdignan@rasky.com
(617) 803-3444

Archdiocese of Boston Returns Rev. Joseph F. Byrne to Ministry

(Braintree, MA) May 23, 2013. The Archdiocese of Boston today made the following statement regarding Reverend Joseph F. Byrne:

"The Archdiocese of Boston today announced that the allegation of sexual abuse of a minor by Father Joseph F. Byrne has been found to be unsubstantiated. Fr. Byrne was placed on administrative leave in May 2012, after the Archdiocese received an allegation of sexual abuse of a child. The allegation concerned conduct alleged to have occurred in the 1970s. Fr. Byrne is no longer on administrative leave and is assigned the status of Senior Priest.

In reaching this decision, Cardinal Sean O'Malley reaffirmed his care and concern for all persons impacted by the reality of sexual abuse of children. The Cardinal and the Archdiocese remain committed to resolving cases of this nature in a manner that is as just as possible for all involved."

MASSACHUSETTS
The Patriot-Ledger

GateHouse Media New England
Posted May 23, 2013 @ 10:16 AM

BRAINTREE —
A Cape Cod priest removed from public ministry last May pending an investigation into a child abuse allegation against him has been cleared, the Boston Archdiocese announced Thursday.

The Rev. Joseph Byrne has been assigned the status of senior priest. The allegation against him dated to the early 1970s but was not reported until last year.

At the time he was suspended, he was retired but had what church officials called a “limited ministry” at St. Patrick’s Parish in Falmouth.

MASSACHUSETTS
NECN

May 23, 2013, 10:31 am

BRAINTREE, Mass. (AP) — A Roman Catholic priest suspended a year ago after he was accused of child sexual abuse has been reinstated after the allegation was found to be unsubstantiated.

The Boston Archdiocese announced Thursday that the Rev. Joseph Byrne has returned to ministry and been granted senior priest status.

Byrne was suspended last May after the Archdiocese received an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor that was alleged to have occurred in the 1970s. It was reported to law enforcement.

Byrne was involved in limited ministry at a Falmouth church when he was suspended.

UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY DAVID CLOHESSY ON MAY 23, 2013

We’re used to bishops backpedalling on clergy sex crimes. It’s worrisome, however, when newspapers backpedal on those crimes.

Lately, editors at two big city dailies have made unsettling decision in covering clergy sex cases.

For as long as I can remember (and I’ve been involved in this almost 25 years), virtually every news outlet has named clerics who are accused in civil lawsuits of assaulting kids. Ditto with other defendants who are high profile: coaches, teachers, doctors, politicians and the like. It’s a nearly universal practice and rarely even questioned (except sometimes by friends and relatives of the accused).

But last week, a new civil lawsuit was filed against a Chicago archdiocesan priest. The article about the case noted that local Catholic officials had, years ago, released a list of credibly accused clerics. Then, the Chicago Tribune story included this sentence:

“The Chicago Tribune is not naming the former priest sued Thursday because he is not on that list.”

[Chicago Tribune]

Is this is some sort of new Tribune policy - not naming accused child predators who are sued UNLESS their employer has identified them as credibly accused? And if so, what prompted this sudden and unexplained shift in the Tribune’s position? Do Tribune editors realize they’ve done something that few other editors have done?

Why does withholding the priest’s matter?

Because kids are safer when credibly accused child molesters are publicly identified.

DEUTSCHLAND
Stimme

Von unserem Redakteur Reto Bosch

Beilstein - Ein Seelsorger der evangelischen Landeskirche versucht, die Missbrauchsvorwürfe gegen die Spätregenmission in Beilstein aufzuarbeiten. Einige Opfer haben sich bereits gemeldet. Peter W. (Name geändert), der als Kind mehrere Jahre in Beilstein missbraucht worden war und sich der Stimme offenbart hatte, zweifelt am Erfolg des Aufarbeitungsprozesses. Er berichtet von anhaltendem Druck, der auf ihn ausgeübt werde. Inzwischen gibt es auch ein Gerichtsurteil gegen einen Spätregen-Prediger: Der 73-Jährige wurde in Südafrika zu fünf Jahren Haft verurteilt, weil er ein Mädchen elf Jahre lang sexuell missbraucht hatte.

Vertuscht

Peter W. wurde in den 70er Jahren über einen längeren Zeitraum hinweg sexuelle Gewalt angetan. Ähnliche Erfahrungen machten in Beilstein wohl auch andere Jungen. Der aktuelle Spätregen-Vorsitzende Martin Illig räumte der Stimme gegenüber ein, dass die Taten intern vermutlich bekannt waren, aber vertuscht worden sind. Weitere Missbrauchsvorwürfe gegen Spätregen-Mitglieder gibt es in den Niederlanden und der Schweiz. In Südafrika hat das Landgericht in Somerset West vergangene Woche einen heute 73-jährigen Prediger verurteilt.

DEUTSCHLAND
netzwerkB

Offener Brief an das Kriminologische Forschungsinstitut Niedersachsen, Herrn Prof. Dr. Christian Pfeiffer

1. Parallel-Justice für die Opfer von Straftaten,
2. Will die Deutsche Bischofskonferenz das Missbrauchsthema „aussitzen“?

Sehr geehrter Herr Prof. Pfeiffer,

haben Sie vielen Dank für Ihr freundliches Schreiben vom 6. Mai 2013 und die beiden beigefügten Texte.

Mit unserer Pressemitteilung vom 8. Januar 2013 teilte netzwerkB der Presse mit, dass nach unserer Auffassung die römisch-katholische Kirche nicht aufklären kann und will. Ein Beleg dafür war zweifelsfrei auch die hektische Aktenvernichtung.

U

IRELAND
Irish Independent

TOM TUITE – 23 MAY 2013

A FORMER priest awaiting trial on historic child sex-abuse charges does not have the right to anonymity, a judge has ruled.

William Carney is charged with 34 counts of indecent assault of eight boys and two girls at locations in Dublin and north-east Leinster from 1969 until 1989.

At Cloverhill District Court yesterday, Judge Grainne Malone lifted an earlier gagging order that prohibited the news media from naming the 62-year-old, who currently has no fixed address.

Her ruling followed submissions from lawyers for RTE, the 'Irish Times', the Irish Independent and Associated Newspapers, which publishes the 'Irish Daily Mail'.

CANADA
Truth and Reconciliation Commission

May 21, 2013

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC), will conduct a two-day hearing in Kamloops, BC.

Former students, their family members and others who have been affected by Canada’s Indian Residential Schools are invited to share their experiences with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC), Tuesday, May 28 and Wednesday, May 29 in Kamloops.

The event is co-hosted by Tk’emlups te Secwepemc. It takes place at Moccasin Square Gardens (Old Gym), 200-330 Chief Alex Thomas Way, beginning at 8:30 a.m. each day. The event will be webcast live.

NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

By Mark Mueller/The Star-Ledger

The Roman Catholic priest charged with violating a ban on ministry to children was released from jail late Tuesday, less than 12 hours after making his first appearance in a Bergen County courtroom.

The Rev. Michael Fugee, 52, walked out of the Bergen County Jail in Hackensack sometime after 7 p.m. A spokesman for the county sheriff’s department, which oversees the jail, declined to say who posted Fugee’s bail, which had been set at $25,000 with a 10 percent cash option.

The Archdiocese of Newark, to which Fugee is assigned, did not secure the priest’s release, said Jim Goodness, a spokesman for Archbishop John J. Myers. Goodness would not say whether Fugee was returned to a parish or other housing owned by the archdiocese.

Fugee was required to surrender his passport as a condition of the release.

AUSTRALIA
Catholica

by Dr Joseph F Dietrich

Introduction and summary...

Roman Catholic religious celibacy, when freely chosen, is the beautiful dedication of a mature person's whole life force to build a spiritual community of unmarried persons for the leadership and inspiration of the People of God.

However, this essay describes 'forced' celibacy in some men who follow celibacy only as a prerequisite for priesthood. 'Forced' celibacy can become for some individuals a way of life which contributes to a type of stress called 'critical incident stress'. The stress is critical because, for those who do not have the gift of celibacy, this life can overwhelm their typical ability to cope, contributing to atypical reactions of anger, fear, and sorrow; sometimes accompanied by sleeplessness, avoidance, and startle reactions; which can become acute (when these reactions last for more than a week); and even traumatic (where these reactions last for more than a month); where the person loses their sense of safety, experiences unusual intense emotional pain, and often, isolation. [c.f. American Psychiatric Association, 2000, Appendix I]

Dr Joe Dietrich is an former-cleric ordained 52 years ago and married 42 years ago to Sandra. Joe and Sandra are farmers with two children. He has spent 56 years as a counsellor, teacher, and alcohol-drug-addiction and trauma specialist. He lives in Wendover, Ontario. His full CV is available HERE.

In the case of 'forced' celibacy this has led to immaturity in relationships; to thinking that celibacy is protecting them; to rigidity in relationships; and hopelessness, assuming that celibacy cannot be changed. This condition can lead some to be so burdened by 'forced celibacy' that they seek their maturity outside of clerical celibacy, or criminally turn their sexual affection towards minors. Studies cited by Richard Sipe reveal that 'at any one time, as few as 50% of priests are actually celibate,' some have taken 'wives' and are having children by them. According to priests who have worked there, in some South American countries pastors are often not trusted unless they have a 'wife' and children.

MAINE
Portland Press Herald

A recent lawsuit reminds us how devastating the impact of crimes against children can be.
The Rev. James Vallely is long dead, but the harm he did is alive and well. The Roman Catholic priest left behind a long list of sexual abuse victims, both male and female, from his career in Portland, South Berwick and other parishes throughout the state from 1958 to 1988. He died in 1997 at the age of 75.

Vallely's name has come up repeatedly over the years as the sexual abuse scandal roiled the Catholic Church, starting in Boston and spreading across the country and even around the world. Every time a victim came forward, others found the courage to do the same.

Vallely was on a list the Diocese of Portland released in 2005 of deceased priests subject to sexual abuse allegations that had been substantiated by investigators. If Vallely and seven other priests had been alive in 2005, church officials said, their names would have been sent to Rome with the request that they be removed from the priesthood.

His name is in the news again because two brothers last week filed a lawsuit against the diocese, charging that they were abused by Vallely during the 1970s, at a time when the church either knew or should have known that he was a sexual predator.

The brothers say they have come forward now because they only recently found that Vallely's superiors had information that could have prevented their abuse.

VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Service

[full report - Vatican Information Service]

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The director of the Vatican's Financial Intelligence Authority said the Vatican will further amend its finance-related laws in the coming months, increase screening of account holders at the Vatican bank and continue assessing the potential risk that accounts could be used for money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

Rene Brulhart, the Swiss finance lawyer hired to monitor the legality and transparency of Vatican financial activity, presented his office's first report at a May 22 news conference.

The Vatican has "a very clear, strong commitment to fight money laundering and terrorism financing fully in line with its moral values, but also with its responsibility to become a credible partner in the international environment," he told reporters.

He said that in 2012, he received six reports of suspicious financial activities from Vatican offices and, after studying the cases, he forwarded two of the reports to the Vatican criminal court for further investigation and possible prosecution. It is up to the Vatican prosecutor to release information about the cases, which could involve money laundering, Brulhart said.

VIRGINIA/TEXAS
NBC 12

[with video]

By Rachel DePompa

RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) -
Prosecutors in Texas have formally charged Richmond Outreach Center Pastor Geronimo "G" Aguilar with seven felony counts in two child sex abuse cases.

Prosecutors say the allegations date back to 1996, and involve two victims. Aguilar faces four counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child under 14, with two counts for each victim. Those charges are first degree felonies that could carry life in prison. He also faces three counts of sexual assault of a child from the two alleged incidents. Those charges are second degree felonies that could carry up to 20 years in prison.

A Tarrant County, Texas judge set his bail at $100,000 for each case, or $200,000 total. However, Aguilar remains in Richmond as court proceedings continue over his travel to Texas.

A Richmond judge ordered Aguilar held on $50,000 bond in connection with the child sexual abuse charges in Texas Wednesday morning. The judge ordered Aguilar to report to Texas authorities by Friday at 4:30 p.m. to respond to the charges.

VIRGINIA
WRIC

RICHMOND, VA—ROC pastor Geronimo Aguilar, who surrendered himself Tuesday on charges of aggravated sexual assault of a minor, is expected to be extradited to Texas as early as Thursday on seven charges that, if convicted, could mean he'll spend the rest of his life in prison.

In a Wednesday deal, Aguilar, known as "Pastor G," was granted $50,000 bond, but a judge revoked bond as prosecutors appealed the decision, arguing Aguilar was a flight risk and Texas authorities had specifically asked bond not be granted.

Aguilar currently remains in police custody in Virginia. In return, Texas authorities will extradite the Richmond pastor back to that state. 8News has learned the extradition could take place Thursday morning, and a Texas hearing take place as soon as Friday.

Warrants out of Fort Worth, Texas charge Geronimo Aguilar, known as "Pastor G," with multiple felony charges stemming from two cases of alleged aggravated sexual assault of a minor.

MICHIGAN
Detroit Free Press

By Patricia Montemurri
Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

St. Thomas More Catholic Parish is asking parishioners to donate to an annual fund-raiser in “tribute” to Rev. Edward Belczak, its former pastor under FBI investigation for stealing or mishandling $429,000 from the Troy church.

In a May 17 letter, the parish’s current administrator, Msgr. John Zenz, wrote about the need to raise nearly $300,000 for the Archdiocese of Detroit’s annual Catholic Services Appeal and described it as “the best tribute you could give to Fr. Belczak’s ministry.”

The money is not intended for Belczak’s personal use or defense.

Zenz said today that he was “simply trying to acknowledge the strong tradition of parishioners’ support for the CSA and encourage them to continue to give this year.”

“I certainly didn’t intend to offend anyone on either side of the spectrum” of views concerning Belczak, said Zenz. “There are people who still love him and will always love him, and want his name to be mentioned. And there are others who are justifiably angry.”

NEW JERSEY
Nutley Sun

WEDNESDAY MAY 22, 2013
BY HASIME KUKAJ
STAFF WRITER
NUTLEY SUN

The seven-count complaint, against former Wyckoff priest Michael Fugee, is not tied to his involvement with Holy Family Church in Nutley. He is accused of disobeying a judicial order that apparently banned work with children

In a previous media interview, Holy Family Monsignor Paul Bochicchio said that Fugee had given talks to the parish's youth and had accompanied them on trips to Canada. Bochicchio has said that Fugee was supervised at all times, and that his involvement with Holy Family did not violate the agreement.

Fugee allegedly heard confessions from dozens of children on seven occasions from 2010 to December of last year, including twice at the Rochelle Park church where he was allowed to live and once in Paramus. The priest, who was arrested Monday at a Newark church where he had been living, was released from the Bergen County Jail on Tuesday after posting $25,000 bail, according to court records.

Fugee did not enter a plea, and the case will be sent to a grand jury, Bergen County authorities said.

UNITED STATES
National Survivor Advocates Coaltion

Editorial

The National Survivor Advocates Coalition (NSAC) salutes the Catholic Whistleblowers who are taking a public stand with a press conference today to encourage Roman Catholic Church insiders to report child sexual abuse by priests and nuns and to expose those who conceal.

Among the 12 co-founders are two founders of NSAC, Robert Hoatson and Sister Maureen Paul Turlish. We are grateful for the strength and purpose of their backbones.

We thank BishopAccountability.org’s Anne Barrett Doyle for seeing the similarities in their stories and bringing them together.

The overwhelming silence of priests and sisters in the last decade plus one year since the Boston incarnation let alone all the years before Boston needs a strong piercing. Perhaps the courage of this group will be the needed instrument to light shine in, deflate hypocrisy and remove stagnation and go along easiness.

Archbishop John Myers of the Diocese of Newark and Bishop Robert Finn of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph both need to be removed from their current seats of power yet the overwhelming numbers of clergy and religious in their dioceses go along with the emperor’s who have no clothes on. At best, they distance themselves with a shake of the head, or a vague “something ought to be done about it” or a “you can’t change the system” –bishops and religious community leaders hold the trump card of power.

UNITED STATES
Sexual Abuse CT

Posted by tremontsheldon on May 22, 2013

They call themselves Catholic Whistleblowers, a newly formed cadre of priests and nuns who say the Roman Catholic Church is still protecting sexual predators.

The Rev. James Connell, in Sheboygan, Wis., is a member of Catholic Whistleblowers.

Several members of the group, which includes priests and nuns, met in Manhattan last week.Although they know they could face repercussions, they have banded together to push the new pope to clean house and the American bishops to enforce the zero-tolerance policies they adopted more than a decade ago.

The group began organizing quietly nine months ago without the knowledge of their superiors or their peers, and plan to make their campaign public this week. Most in the steering group of 12 have blown the whistle on abusers in the past, and three are canon lawyers who once handled abuse cases on the church’s behalf. Four say they were sexually abused as children.Their aim, they say, is to support both victims and fellow whistle-blowers, and identify shortcomings in church policies. They hope to help not just minors, but also adults who fall prey to clergy who exploit their power for sex. They say that their motivation is to make the church better and safer, and to show the world that there are good priests and nuns in the church.

“We’ve dedicated our lives to the church,” the Rev. John Bambrick, a priest in the Diocese of Trenton, said at a meeting of the group last week in New York. “Having sex offenders in ministry is damaging to our ministry.”The group has sent a letter to Pope Francis asking him to take several significant steps to heal victims and restore the church’s credibility: revoke all oaths of secrecy, open the files on abuse cases, remove from office any bishops who obstructed justice and create an international forum for dialogue between survivors and church leaders.

UNITED STATES
Bilgrimage

William D. Lindsey

This is very important news: as Laurie Goodstein reports at New York Times yesterday and as Michael D'Antonio writes for Huffington Post, a group of twelve Catholic nuns and priests has organized to monitor and blow the whistle on cover-up of sexual abuse cases by the Catholic hierarchy. The group calls itself Catholic Whistleblowers, and has set up a website with a link that provides information about how you can support this valuable initiative.

The group has written a letter to Pope Francis (a copy is linked at the group's website), noting that its members are speaking and acting from the convictions of their consciences, and asking him to revoke the oaths of secrecy on which bishops rely to justify their cover-ups, open files on abuse cases, remove from office bishops who have flaunted justice in abuse cases, and set up an international forum for dialogue between survivors and church leaders.

As Goodstein notes for New York Times, these courageous Catholic leaders think a group of this sort is necessary because it continues to be demonstrated that some bishops in the U.S. ignore their own stated no-tolerance policy, while the annual audits of dioceses, which are based on self-reporting, keep providing clean bills of health to dioceses later found to have ignored the zero-tolerance policy by putting priests known to pose a danger to minors in direct contact with minors.

NEW JERSEY
God Discussion

BY AL STEFANELLI
ON MAY 22, 2013

The Rev. Michael Fugee, a fifty-two year old Priest, stood before a judge on 21 May 2013 to face charges for violating a court-ordered lifetime ban on working with children.

Bergen County investigators discovered that Fugee has heard confessions at youth retreats from minors on two occasions in 2010, and once again in 2012.

He was charged with seven counts of contempt of a judicial order, a 4th degree crime that carries a maximum prison sentence of eighteen 18 months.

Bergen County, NJ, Assistant Prosecutor Demetra Maurice who had authored the agreement in 2007, read seven counts that were levied against Fugee.

The agreement that Maurice made included an immediate and permanent cease and desist for Fugee to work with children as long as he remained in the priesthood.

UNITED STATES
TheMediaReport

In a stunning article that bravely veers from the media's usual, tired coverage of the Catholic Church abuse story, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Dorothy Rabinowitz has taken up the case of Fr. Gordon J. MacRae, who has been serving a 33½-to-67 year sentence in a New Hampshire state prison since 1994 on abuse charges.

Rabinowitz's article in the Wall Street Journal reports that MacRae was wrongfully convicted in a grave miscarriage of justice.

TheMediaReport.com has thoroughly examined Fr. MacRae's case before, and this is the second time that Rabinowitz has profiled MacRae, as she first reported about the priest for the Journal back in 2005.

In a nutshell, Fr. MacRae was convicted by a jury and imprisoned based on the claims of a single accuser named Thomas Grover, whom Rabinowitz aptly notes had "a considerable history of forgery, assault, theft and drug use."

n a nutshell, Fr. MacRae was convicted by a jury and imprisoned based on the claims of a single accuser named Thomas Grover, whom Rabinowitz aptly notes had "a considerable history of forgery, assault, theft and drug use."

In 1994, the then-27-years-old Grover claimed that Fr. MacRae sexually assaulted him over five consecutive weekly counseling sessions years earlier in 1983 when he was 15 years old. Asked why he would repeatedly return to a place where he had been brutally attacked the week before, Grover amazingly testified that he "had experienced 'out of body' episodes that had blocked his recollection" of previous abuse.

AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

EDITORIAL

The three concurrent inquiries into institutional child abuse are uncovering terrible suffering and will soon enough prompt calls for fairer measures of compensation. The federal royal commission does not tackle issues of reparations. But admissions by institutions such as the Catholic Church need to be dealt with beyond the inquiries.

Existing laws make it very difficult for victims to use the court system - and it is hardly preferable to have courts jammed with claims that prolong the wait for justice and increase the costs to the community.

This is particularly worrying as legal aid budgets are squeezed, compensation fund payouts limited and the allowable times for making a civil claim shrink.

While many victims will welcome the chance to tell their stories, governments need to co-ordinate a response to compensation. It should not be beyond the wit of governments to serve the needs of victims of crime while protecting the public purse.

Previous legislative attempts relating to the Stolen Generations are instructive.

UNITED STATES
U.S. Catholic

By Scott Alessi

As we approach the 11th anniversary of the U.S. Catholic bishops' Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, it is no secret that many church leaders are still falling down on the job when it comes to transparency surrounding the sexual abuse of minors and the handling of priests who commit these heinous crimes. We've had the saga of Bishop Robert Finn in Kansas City, the recent case of an abusive priest in Newark still being allowed to interact with minors, and examples of bishops failing to provide information and evidence to their own review boards. As former chair of the National Review Board Nicholas Cafardi told us in an interview last year, there's plenty of room for improvement.

Enter the Catholic Whistleblowers. A new group of Catholic priests, sisters, and laypeople--most of whom were already blowing the whistle on church failures when it comes to sex abuse--have banded together to form a new organization. What started as a support group for those who undergo the pressure (and sometimes, the negative stigma) that comes with being a whistle-blower has now grown into a public campaign to bring about change in the church.

Members of the group offered the New York Times varied responses on what the group's goals are: seeing those who covered up abuse held accountable, keeping children safe, clearing the church's name and restoring some level of credibility to those who devote their lives to the priesthood. All important goals, all of which are long overdue in the wake of the abuse that has taken place within the church.

IRELAND
Irish Times

A former priest awaiting trial on historic child sex abuse charges does not have the right to anonymity, a judge held yesterday.

William Carney, aged 62, is charged with 34 counts of indecent assault of eight boys and two girls, at locations in Dublin and north east Leinster from 1969 until 1989.

Yesterday at Cloverhill District Court, Judge Gráinne Malone lifted an earlier gag order prohibiting the media from naming the 62-year-old who currently has no fixed address.

Her ruling came following submissions from lawyers for RTÉ, The Irish Times , the Irish Independent and the Irish Daily Mail ’s publishers Associated Newspapers. The case was adjourned for two weeks.

John Fitzgerald BL, for RTÉ, said the constitution states that justice has to be administered in public, and he argued that the news media has to report on matters in the interest of the public.

UNITED STATES
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

By Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel May 22, 2013

In its first public action Wednesday, a national network of Catholic clergy and nuns founded in part by a Milwaukee-area priest called on the church to take a stronger stand against child sexual abuse in its ranks.

Eight members of the Catholic Whistleblowers gathered for a news conference in New York, home to Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who as head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, is considered the most influential American prelate.

The group urged Dolan to use his influence to help oust Newark, N.J., Bishop John Myers, who has been in the news in recent weeks for allowing a pedophile priest continued access to minors, in violation of an agreement with prosecutors.

In addition, members called on Catholic bishops to:

 Support proposed legislation in New York, Wisconsin and elsewhere, that would lift statutes of limitations on sex crimes against children. (A Wisconsin bill, known as the Child Victims Act, is expected to be re-introduced this legislative session.)

AUSTRALIA
The Australian Jewish News

THE Australian is expected to apologise this weekend after it claimed that former president of the Organisation of Rabbis of Australasia (ORA) Rabbi Dovid Freilich said that 95 per cent of Australian rabbis believe child sexual abuse charges should be dealt with internally.

Rabbi Freilich praised the article, “The Shunned”, that appeared in Saturday’s edition of The Australian, because he said that whatever can be done to stamp out the scourge of sexual abuse of children in society is to be commended and encouraged, but said that being misquoted was disappointing.

“I believe that the vast majority of rabbis in Australia firmly and categorically support the immediate reporting of child abuse to the police,” Rabbi Freilich said in a letter to The AJN and The Australian this week.

“This was always the official stance of the ORA.”

Senior writer at The Australian Kate Legge apologised to the rabbi when she was contacted by Rabbi Freilich this week.

VATICAN CITY
Firstpost

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The Vatican’s new financial watchdog said on Wednesday it had detected six possible attempts to use the Holy See to launder money last year, citing this as proof of its commitment to transparency.

The head of the Vatican’s Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA), presenting its first annual report, also said it would soon have stronger supervisory powers over the Vatican’s scandal-plagued bank, the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), dubbed the world’s most secretive bank by Forbes magazine.

The Vatican is trying to meet international standards to combat the financing of terrorism, money laundering and tax evasion, but the European anti-money laundering committee, Moneyval, said in July that the IOR still had some way to go. The FIA is due to report back in December.

Rene Bruelhart, the Swiss lawyer and anti-laundering expert who heads the FIA, said that of the six suspected cases of money laundering handled by his office in 2012, two were considered serious enough to be passed on to the Vatican’s prosecutor.

VATICAN CITY
Bloomberg Businessweek

By Chiara Vasarri
May 22, 2013

The Vatican said it stepped up efforts to improve financial transparency and prevent money laundering as pressure continues for compliance with international standards.

The Holy See and the Vatican City “have strengthened their efforts for the prevention and countering of money laundering and financing of terrorism” to represent an effective global partner, the Vatican Financial Intelligence Authority’s director, Rene Bruelhart, said in the agency’s annual report published today. Future challenges “are several and require perseverance.”

In July Moneyval, the Council of Europe’s monitoring body for money laundering and terrorism financing, gave the Vatican a mixed report card, saying it was making progress in complying with international standards on financial transparency, though it still needed to improve supervision of transactions. That report stressed the importance of independent supervision of the Vatican bank, which is formally called the Institute for the Works of Religion, or IOR.

VATICAN CITY
The Globe and Mail (Canada)

NICOLE WINFIELD
VATICAN CITY — The Associated Press
Published Wednesday, May. 22 2013

The Vatican took another step Wednesday to show greater financial transparency by publishing the first annual report from its financial watchdog agency and announcing new regulations to fight money laundering and terror financing.

The report from the Financial Intelligence Authority showed the agency received six internal reports on suspicious transactions in 2012, up from one a year earlier, and that two were sent onto Vatican prosecutors for investigation.

But the 10-page report made scant mention of any supervisory operations carried out in 2012. International financial authorities have recommended the agency conduct inspections and issue internal regulations to fight money laundering and terror financing.

The report also made no mention of the troubles that led to the suspension of credit card services inside the Vatican for several months, an embarrassment that inconvenienced the thousands of people who visit the Vatican and its museums each day.

The Vatican created the oversight agency in 2010 in a bid to shed its image as a secretive tax haven and improve its reputation in global financial circles following a series of scandals at its bank and a money laundering investigation launched by Rome prosecutors in 2010.

As part of that effort, the Holy See submitted itself to the Council of Europe’s Moneyval evaluation process, which assesses countries’ compliance with international anti-money laundering and anti-terror financing norms.

VATICAN CITY
CNN

By Alanna Petroff @AlannaPetroff May 22, 2013:

LONDON (CNNMoney)
Pope Emeritus Benedict had made cleaning up the Vatican's reputation for shady money a top priority, and Pope Francis is continuing the effort.

On Wednesday, a financial watchdog agency established in 2010 issued its first ever report on money laundering in a move to improve financial transparency in the city-state.

The document from the Financial Intelligence Authority shows six reports of "suspicious activity" in the past year, up from just one in 2011. It says the Vatican's prosecutors are investigating two of those reports for possible criminal activity, though it wouldn't elaborate further.

The 64-page report details how the Vatican is looking to crack down on money laundering and the financing of terrorist activities, alongside other international governments and agencies.

VATICAN CITY

The Autorità di Informazione Finanziara (AIF) of the Holy See and the Vatican City State has published and presented its first ever Annual Report to the public.

The report reviews the activities and statistics of AIF for full year 2012.

Over the course of the year, AIF reported the submission of 6 Suspicious Transaction Reports, up from only one in the previous year. AIF itself forwarded two Suspicious Transaction Reports to the Vatican Promoter of Justice for further investigation.

"The statistics and trends from 2012 are encouraging and indicates that the system is consistently improving" said Rene Brülhart, Director of AIF.

In 2012, AIF has also initiated the systematic screening and analysis of Cash Transaction Reports submitted by the obliged entities.

"In our efforts to tackle actively any potential abuse of the financial system, we initiated a close and constructive interaction with the Secretariat of State, the Gendarmeria, the Promoter of Justice and the institutions under our oversight in order to improve awareness and safety and ensure a coordinated internal cooperation in AML/CFT matters", said Director Brülhart.

A further important element of the report is the progress made in international cooperation that builds on the clear commitment of the Holy See to be a credible partner in the international fight against money laundering. 2012 saw the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with relevant authorities in Belgium and Spain. "It will continue to be our policy in 2013 to further strengthening international cooperation by signing several more Memorandum of Understanding with our partners in other relevant countries and jurisdictions" said Rene Brülhart.

VATICAN CITY
Vatican Information service

[the full report]

Vatican City, 22 May 2013 (VIS) – This afternoon in the Press Office of the Holy See, Rene Brulhart, director of the Vatican Financial Information Authority (L’Autorità di Informazione Finanziara, AIF), presented the AIF's first annual report, which examines their activities and statistics from 2012. The AIF is the competent authority of the Holy See and the Vatican City State for financial intelligence and for supervision and regulation in the prevention and countering of money laundering and financing of terrorism. It was established in 2010 and became operational in April of 2011.

“Over the course of the year,” reads a press release accompanying the conference, “AIF reported the submission of six Suspicious Transaction Reports, up from only one in the previous year. AIF itself forwarded two Suspicious Transaction Reports to the Vatican Promoter of Justice for further investigation.”

"The statistics and trends from 2012 are encouraging and indicates that the system is consistently improving," said Dr. Brulhart. In 2012, AIF also initiated the systematic screening and analysis of Cash Transaction Reports submitted by the obliged entities.

“In our efforts to actively tackle any potential abuse of the financial system,” continued Director Brulhart, “we initiated a close and constructive interaction with the Secretariat of State, the Gendarmeria, the Promoter of Justice and the institutions under our oversight in order to improve awareness and safety and ensure a coordinated internal cooperation in AML/CFT matters.”

A further important element of the report is the progress made in international cooperation that builds on the clear commitment of the Holy See to be a credible partner in the international fight against money laundering. 2012 saw the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with relevant authorities in Belgium and Spain. Dr. Brulhart stated that “it will continue to be our policy in 2013 to further strengthening international cooperation by signing several more Memorandum of Understanding with our partners in other relevant countries and jurisdictions.”

VATICAN CITY
euronews

The scandal plagued Vatican Bank has published the first annual report from its newly formed financial watchdog agency revealing that it had detected six possible attempts to use the Holy See to launder money last year.

As part of efforts to increase transparency it said it is now screening account-holders.

It also plans to beef up regulations and has enlisted an international agency to certify the bank’s compliance with anti-money laundering and anti-terror financing measures.

The Autorità Informazione Finanziaria issued a 10-page report, that contained little detail on any supervisory operations.

However the agency’s director Rene Bruelhart told reporters he had proof it is committed to doing a good job: “In 2012 we had six suspicious transaction reports, in comparison to 2011 when we had one suspicious transaction report, so this is a clear sign that the reporting system is starting to work.”

VATICAN CITY
Gazzetta del Sud

Vatican City, May 22 - The Vatican Bank was involved in one of the six transactions flagged by the Holy See's financial watchdog last year, the director of the Financial Information Authority (AIF) said Wednesday . Commenting on an annual report, Rene' Bruelhart did not specify on the contents of the transaction, beyond that it was not tied to terrorism. The Holy See has been trying without success to join the 'white list' of states that meet international standards on combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism. In a report last July, the Council of Europe's Moneyval department said that the Holy See had made progress on financial transparency, but added that more reforms were needed.

CHICAGO (IL)
Good Jesuit, Bad Jesuit

Jesuit officials in Chicago will pay $19.6 million to settle a civil lawsuit brought by six men who claim theyDonald McGuire, formerly of Oak Lawn, is serving a 25-year prison term after being convicted in Chicago in 2008 of federal charges that he brought a minor across state lines to engage in sex. He also was convicted in 2006 of molesting two boys in Wisconsin during the 1960s. were molested by a former priest and onetime spiritual advisor to Mother Teresa, an attorney for the plaintiffs said Monday.

“The amount of the settlement is reflective of the magnitude of misconduct by the top Jesuit officials,” said Jeff Anderson, an attorney for the plaintiffs.

CALIFORNIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY DAVID CLOHESSY ON MAY 22, 2013

Six men who were sexually violated as kids by a widely-known Jesuit priest, who worked in the Bay Area for five years, have reached a settlement totaling nearly $20 million.

[BishopAccountability.org]

We applaud their courage and strength.

The predator is Fr. Donald McGuire, now serving a 25 year prison sentence. From 1976 until 1981, he worked at the University of San Francisco and conducted freshman seminars, directed student retreats, and did counseling.

[BishopAccountability.org]

These six brave men have, despite their horrific pain, struggled to expose corruption by some of the top Jesuits in the US. More truth about awful church crimes and cover ups is being revealed and for that, Catholics should be grateful.

VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider

AIF director, René Brülhart, has presented the figures relating to the body’s anti-money laundering efforts

ANDREA TORNIELLI
VATICAN CITY

During the course of 2012, particularly in the last few months of that year, the AIF (Financial Information authority), the Vatican’s financial watchdog set up by Benedict XVI and led by President Attilio Nicora, has flagged 6 suspicious activities in the Vatican or in the Holy See’s bodies, against last year’s one suspicious activity. The Vatican Bank, (IOR) was found to be implicated in some suspicious transactions.

Two information requests were sent to domestic authorities and two reports to the Promoter of Justice, that is, the Vatican City State’s judicial authority. Last year, an information request was sent to foreign authorities and three were received by foreign authorities.

598 declared cross-border cash transactions of over ten thousand Euros were made throughout the course of 2012: 598 transfers were made to the Vatican and 1782 were made form the Vatican. This means 2.380 people entered or left the Vatican, declaring they had over ten thousand Euros in cash or bonds with them.

This is according to the first Financial Information Authority’s Annual Report for 2012, presented in the Vatican newsroom this morning by the director of the AIF, René Brülhart. He said: “The statistics and trends from 2012 are encouraging and indicates that the system is consistently improving."

Brülhart said the AIF has initiated the systematic screening and analysis of Cash Transaction Reports submitted by the obliged entities. “In our efforts to tackle actively any potential abuse of the financial system, we initiated a close and constructive interaction with the Secretariat of State, the Gendarmerie, the Promoter of Justice and the institutions under our oversight in order to improve awareness and safety and ensure a coordinated internal cooperation in AML/CFT matters” to prevent and counter money-laundering and the financing of terrorism.

IRELAND
Breaking News

A former priest awaiting trial on historic child sex abuse charges does not have the right to anonymity, a judge held today.

William Carney, aged 62, is charged with 34 counts of indecent assault of eight boys and two girls, at locations in Dublin and north east Leinster from 1969 until 1989.

Today at Cloverhill District Court, Judge Grainne Malone lifted an earlier gag order prohibiting the news media from naming the 62-year-old who currently has no fixed address.

Her ruling came following submissions from lawyers for RTE, The Irish Times, the Irish Independent and the Irish Daily Mail's publishers Associated Newspapers.

The case was adjourned for two weeks.

NEW JERSEY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY DAVID CLOHESSY ON MAY 22, 2013

Victims blast church “star chamber”
Group seeks end to secret abuse panel
SNAP: “Newark Catholic board should resign”
And replacements’ names should be made public
Parishioners should be able to vote on them, victims say

A support group for clergy sex abuse victims is urging members of a Newark Catholic church abuse panel to resign and speak out against their archbishop’s handling of clergy sex abuse cases. They also want the names of current and future board members to be made public and parishioners to have a voice in picking new board members.

Leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, are urging Catholics who belong to the Newark archdiocesan “review board” to “step down, speak out and become part of the solution, not part of the problem.” They have sent a letter today to the board members, via Newark Archbishop John Myers, who personally appointed each of them, and other archdiocesan staff.

“These are likely well-intentioned people whose qualifications and reputations are being used by Archbishop Myers to justify reckless, callous and possibly illegal moves that protect predator priests and endanger vulnerable kids,” said Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, SNAP’s outreach director. “For their own sakes, and the safety of Newark area families, they should step aside and join with victims, witnesses and whistleblowers who are working to expose corruption in the church.”

SNAP says that the case of Fr. Michael Fugee and other predator priests show that “there is something dreadfully wrong with how (Myers) handles abuse cases.”

Every Catholic diocese in the US is required to have a “review board” which purportedly “advises” each bishop about clergy sex abuse reports. In most dioceses, their names are public. But Myers refuses to identify who they are in Newark.

“Keeping board members’ identities secret deters abuse victims from reporting clergy sex crimes,” said Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, SNAP’s outreach director. “Why would I walk into a room of people to disclose horrific childhood trauma to people who might include my boss, my ex-husband, my next door neighbor or five defense lawyers? That’s just crazy.”

In dioceses in California, Iowa and elsewhere, SNAP says, review board members have quit in frustration or concern because their views were not heeded or information was withheld from them.

KANSAS CITY (MO)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY ABOTT DUROCHER ON MAY 21, 2013

Statement by SNAP leader Abott Durocher of Kansas City 314-616-5054, Hiabott@yahoo.com

These two new civil lawsuits are believed to be the sixth and seventh civil lawsuit involving Fr. Shawn F. Ratigan. Ratigan’s crimes led to the first-ever criminal prosecution of Bishop Robert Finn, the first US Catholic bishop found guilty of failing to report suspected child sex crimes to law enforcement.

The suits are believed to be among only a handful to use a little-known and rarely-used 2007 Missouri state law that makes it illegal to take pictures of people with their underwear showing without their consent (regardless of t heir age). That’s because while Ratigan took many photos that were child porn, he took many more that were illegal, hurtful and inappropriate but that didn't technically meet the legal definition of child porn.

In both cases, families were hurt and betrayed and deserve justice. We in SNAP urge every single family that was hurt by Ratigan, in any way to come forward and get help. Even though Ratigan is in prison and Bishop Finn has been prosecuted, it's possible that there are other Catholic employees who helped conceal Ratigan's crimes who might still be prosecuted.

So it's important that people with information about clergy sex crimes call police. It’s also important to remember that Ratigan kept on hurting kids even when he was allegedly being monitored by church employees. We see this again and again across the country: suspected and suspended sex offender clerics supposedly being “supervised” by fellow clerics. It’s a cheap but ineffective response.

MICHIGAN
CBS Detroit

TROY (WWJ) - Some local parishioners are upset about a Catholic solicitation in honor of a priest who is currently being investigated by the FBI for allegedly stealing money from a Troy church.

Saint Thomas More Parish is trying to raise about $300,000 to help support church activities – that’s nothing new. But this year, the church says it wants the money to be raised in honor of Father Edward Belczak, who was suspended by the Archdiocese of Detroit in January amid accusations that he mishandled at least $429,000 in church money over the past six years.

In a mailed solicitation letter to parishioners, the church says a donation to this year’s Catholic Services Appeal (CSA) is “the best tribute you could give to Fr. Belczak’s ministry.”

The letter goes on to say that not giving to the fund will only hurt the church in the long run. It also says that those who do not respond to the plea will continued to be contacted about the issue.

“Choosing not to contribute to CSA will harm only St. Thomas More parish and our own programs; it will not ‘send a message’ of frustration or disappointment to the Archbishop,” the letter reads.

Click here to read the letter (.pdf format)

NEW JERSEY
The Record

WEDNESDAY MAY 22, 2013
BY JEFF GREEN
STAFF WRITER

The lawyer representing the Rev. Michael Fugee, the Catholic priest accused of violating a judicial order never to work with children, vigorously defended his client this morning, insisting that he will be acquitted because he “acted in good faith” when he heard confessions of minors at parishes throughout New Jersey.

Fugee’s 2003 conviction on aggravated criminal sexual contact, based on allegations that emerged while he was assistant pastor at the Church of St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Wyckoff, was overturned on appeal. He later was admitted to a pre-trial probation program.

Michael D’Alessio, who was Fugee’s lawyer when he signed the 2007 agreement with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office barring him from working with kids, did not deny that the priest heard children’s confessions, which prosecutors outlined in seven criminal charges on Monday.

But he said Fugee, who was released on bail from the Bergen County Jail Tuesday night, never was “unsupervised” with children, a point he argued is a crucial element of the agreement.

“Father Fugee is not guilty of this offense,” D’Alessio said in an interview with The Record. “He did not under any circumstances violate a memorandum of understanding. He was very aware of it. He was aware of what he could do and not do.”

IRELAND
RTE News

A former priest who faces 34 charges of child sex abuse has no right to anonymity in court proceedings, a District Court judge has ruled.

Bill Carney, 62, is accused of the indecent assault of eight boys and two girls between 1969 and 1989.
A court order was granted prohibiting the publication of his name.

That order was lifted today at the District Court in Cloverhill after an application by lawyers for RTÉ and a number of newspapers.

UNITED KINGDOM
Staffordshire Newsletter

THE RECENT lifting of reporting restrictions on a series of trials for sexual abuse, child prostitution and trafficking in Telford have highlighted the vulnerability of young people in a number of ways for which church members, neighbours and schools should be alert, writes the Rt Reverend Geoff Annas.

"Children are vulnerable to all sorts of sexual and mental abuse," said the Bishop of Stafford and chair of the Diocese of Lichfield’s safeguarding team.

“I spent eight years as a social worker and never came across the degree of manipulation and abuse that this and other recent cases have highlighted. It is truly horrific and we continue to pray for survivors in all our communities.”

The police investigation into abuse and trafficking in Telford is at the heart of a Channel 4 documentary that will be shown tomorrow night (23).

AUSTRALIA
The Courier

By FIONA HENDERSON May 22, 2013

FORMER Ballarat bishop Ronald Mulkearns has been excused from giving evidence to the Victorian government inquiry into institutionalised sexual abuse.

Inquiry chairman Georgie Crozier said an independent neuropsychological assessment of Bishop Mulkearns had been undertaken by Dr Nathaniel Popp.

Bishop Mulkearns suffered a stroke several years ago, but it was revealed during an April 29 inquiry hearing at Parliament House he could still conduct Mass.

However, Ms Crozier said the recent testing showed Bishop Mulkearns could not provide reliable evidence from his time as Ballarat bishop.

Instead, she said the committee had several documents made available to it instead.

DEUTSCHLAND
dradio

Die Bundesregierung hat bislang 30 Millionen Euro an ehemalige Heimkinder ausgezahlt. Das geht aus einem Zwischenbericht über die Empfehlungen des Runden Tisches zur Heimerziehung hervor, der heute dem Kabinett vorlag. Die Betroffenen waren in der Nachkriegszeit zu Tausenden in Heimen betreut worden, die von Kirchen und anderen Trägern betrieben wurden. Viele von ihnen mussten beispielsweise in Waschküchen arbeiten oder Torf stechen, wurden geschlagen und drangsaliert. Der Hilfsfonds ist mit einem Finanzvolumen von 120 Millionen Euro ausgestattet, die vom Bund, den westdeutschen Bundesländern sowie der katholischen und evangelischen Kirche jeweils zu einem Drittel getragen wird.

DEUTSCHLAND
Focus

Der Hilfsfonds für Opfer der Heimerziehung hat bis Ende März rund 30 Millionen Euro ausbezahlt – 25 Millionen für ehemalige Heimkinder im Westen und 5 Millionen für Betroffene aus Ostdeutschland.

Dies geht aus dem Zwischenbericht über die Umsetzungen der Empfehlungen eines Runden Tisches zur Heimerziehung hervor, der am Mittwoch dem Bundeskabinett vorlag.

Der Hilfsfonds wird mit Geldern des Staates, der Kirchen und anderer Organisationen gespeist. Der Opferfonds für die Betroffenen im Westen hat Anfang 2012 seine Arbeit aufgenommen. Für ehemalige Heimbewohner in der DDR gibt es den Fonds seit Juli 2012.

CHICAGO (IL)
CBS Chicago

[with audio]

CHICAGO (CBS) – The lawyer for six men who accused a prominent Jesuit priest of sexually abusing them as children, said the approximately $3 million settlement for each victim is a small measure of justice in the case.

WBBM Newsradio’s Regine Schlesinger reports attorney Jeff Anderson said the $19.6 million settlement in the case of defrocked and imprisoned Jesuit priest Donald McGuire finally holds his superiors to account for covering up his crimes “for decades of concealment, and choices made by top officials to protect themselves and their reputation, at the peril of these then young kids; now young men.”

Lawyers who worked out the settlement said, for 40 years, the Jesuits moved McGuire around the globe, in order to protect him and their reputations, at the risk of all the boys he went on to rape.

“The Jesuits chose to protect him,” Anderson said. He described the coverup as “a long and sordid history of concealment.”

Anderson said Jesuit officials started receiving reports in 1964 that McGuire was sexually abusing boys he took with him on retreats around the world.

UNITED STATES
Why I Am Catholic

May 21, 2013 By Frank Weathers

You may recall the recent goings on in the Archdiocese of Newark related to the scandal of sexual abuse of minors. Well, a number of priests and religious have banded together to form a posse of sorts, and they call their little band of brethren the Catholic Whistleblowers. Laurie Goodstein of the New York Times shares the story up about them.

They call themselves Catholic Whistleblowers, a newly formed cadre of priests and nuns who say the Roman Catholic Church is still protecting sexual predators.

The group began organizing quietly nine months ago without the knowledge of their superiors or their peers, and plan to make their campaign public this week. Most in the steering group of 12 have blown the whistle on abusers in the past, and three are canon lawyers who once handled abuse cases on the church’s behalf. Four say they were sexually abused as children. ...

I don’t really know if the actions taken by Archbishop Myers tripped the switch on these folks deciding to band together. The impetus to do something had probably been building for a while. But if it was the straw that broke the camel’s back, so be it.

Back when Fr. Michael Fugee resigned his priesthood, I explained that everyone loses when these tragic events occur. And the damages are exacerbated when they are covered up.

Guess what? As of yesterday, the leadership failures in the Archdiocese of Newark have resulted in the arrest of Fr. Fugee for violation of the protection orders he promised to abide by a few years ago, and was allowed to ignore.

SCOTLAND
STV

Two nuns accused of physically abusing pupils at a residential school in the 1970s have been cleared.

Anne Kenny and Agnes Reville were both acquitted after a trial at Paisley Sheriff Court on Wednesday.

They had been accused of assaulting eight girls at Dalbeath Approved School in Bishopton, Renfrewshire, during the 1970s.

The trial had previously heard from former pupils who claimed the nuns had attacked them and placed them in a "punishment room" at the facility.

Kenny, 79, was known as Mother Rosaria at the time she was working at the school while 77-year-old Reville was identified as Mother Martin.

SCOTLAND
BBC News

Two nuns have been cleared of assaulting girls in their care at an approved school in Renfrewshire.

Anne Kenny, 79, known as Mother Rosaria, and Agnes Reville, 77, known as Mother Martin, had been accused of hitting pupils at Dalbeth Approved School in Bishopton in the 1970s.

Their trial at Paisley Sheriff Court heard claims that pupils were held in a cupboard and hit with a carpet beater.

UNITED KINGDOM
Crawley News

By Dave Comeau

A FORMER priest has been jailed for ten years for historic sexual abuse at an Ifield children's home.
Gordon Rideout abused boys and girls as young as five at Ifield Hall, a Barnardo's children's home which has since been demolished.

It was during his time as assistant curate at St Mary's Church in Southgate between 1962 and 1965 that he would visit the home and carry out the abuse.

Rideout, 74, from Polegate, East Sussex, was found guilty on Monday of 34 indecent assaults and two attempted rapes after a six-week trial at Lewes Crown Court. He was acquitted of one charge of indecent assault.

All of the crimes, apart from four indecent assaults on girls at an army base in Hampshire, were committed at the home.

Nigel Pilkington, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Gordon Rideout was in a position of trust, which he systemically abused, indecently assaulting the vulnerable youngsters that he met over a number of years.

"He was able to wander through Ifield Hall and the gardens, even visiting children when they were sick and alone in bed.

CANADA
Montreal Gazette

BY KEVIN DOUGHERTY, GAZETTE QUEBEC BUREAU CHIEF

QUEBEC — Justice Minister Bertrand St-Arnaud says he is sensitive to the arguments of victims of sexual abuse at the hands of priests and others in a position of authority that call for an end to time limits on civil lawsuits.

But St-Arnaud said Bill 22, set for adoption by the Quebec National Assembly this week, is nevertheless a “giant step forward” because it would extend Quebec’s statute of limitations on civil suits against criminals to 30 years in cases of sexual abuse and 10 years for other crimes.

At present, a crime victim must file suit within three years after a crime is committed or from the time the victim becomes aware of the impact of the crime. Arsenault said it may take years for victims to realize there is a link between their destructive behaviour and past abuse.

Bill 22’s changes mean cases dating back 27 years, that could not go to court, now may be heard.

Bill 22 is about increasing compensation under Quebec’s Crime Victims Compensation Act.

CHICAGO (IL)
Waiting for Godot to Leave

Frank Weathers has nailed it.

Lying Apologists, take note. Take 19.6 million notes.

The best line:

Meanwhile, the bridge of trust, so important for evangelizing, and which had been built so strongly, and maintained so carefully, was willfully neglected, and allowed to fall into disrepair. All because someone decided that it was more important to protect the reputation of the Church as an institution, than it was to maintain the actual health of the Body of Christ.

CHICAGO (IL)
Why I Am Catholic

May 21, 2013 By Frank Weathers

As you might guess, this turns out badly.

It’s timely that I posted something earlier about the sexual abuse scandals, whistleblowers, and how lying about them for Jesus has damaged the Church. And when I say Church, I mean the present, and future, faithful. Not the buildings, or the hierarchy. I mean the full Body of Christ in the world.

Manya Brachear of the Chicago Tribune has the scoop on how the headline above came to be from a story that hit the wires just a little while ago.

Internal church records released Tuesday show that Chicago Jesuits consciously concealed the crimes of convicted sex offender Donald McGuire for more than 40 years as the prominent Roman Catholic priest continued to sexually abuse dozens of children around the globe.

One letter written in 1970 by the Rev. John H. Reinke, then president of Loyola Academy in Wilmette, described McGuire’s presence at the school as “positively destructive and corrosive.” Instead of insisting he be removed from ministry or sent to treatment, he suggested a transfer to Loyola University.

NEW JERSEY
The Jewish Voice

After years of denying the allegations against him, a notorious Lakewood child molester has finally fessed up to his accused crimes.

Yeshiva teacher Yosef Kolko—- who is the nephew of notorious pedophile Rabbi Yehuda Kolko—- pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a young boy during summer camp six years ago.

When a religious council of Orthodox Jews refused to take legal action against the man, the victim’s family turned to the Office of the Ocean County Prosecutor for justice.

As a result of seeking prosecution outside the confines of the Orthodox world, the victim’s entire family was ostracized by residents of their NJ community. Likewise, several community members took it a step further hoping on board a “terror campaign” to bully the family into dropping charges against the teacher by distributed flyers throughout the town which proclaimed the boy’s father had made a “mockery” of the Tanakh by committing the “terrible deed” of using a secular jurisdiction.

WISCONSIN
Sheboygan Daily

Posted on Wednesday, May 22, 2013

by SheboyganDaily.com Staff

SHEBOYGAN – A Sheboygan priest will head to New York on Wednesday to call for more transparency in child sex abuse cases.

Rev. Jim Connell of St. Clement’s Church has formed a national whistleblowers group to make sure Catholic Church leaders follow through with that crackdown on abuse.

“As we continue down the road of trying to get the truth out so there really can be an understanding of the crisis, of all that has taken place, and the truth then being a road to justice and hopefully healing,” said Connell in an interview with Wisconsin Public Radio on Tuesday.

The organization is urging church insiders to report suspected sex abuse immediately and hold the church’s hierarchy responsible when it comes to removing priests.

NEW JERSEY
The Record

BY ABBOTT KOLOFF, REBECCA D. O’BRIEN AND JEFF GREEN
STAFF WRITERS
THE RECORD

The man who prosecutors said was the victim of a former Wyckoff priest put the blame squarely on church officials Tuesday for allowing the cleric to continue in ministry, promoting him to prestigious positions, and failing to stop him from working with children in violation of an agreement with law enforcement.

He said the arrest of the priest, the Rev. Michael Fugee, for failing to abide by that agreement “put some finality” to a saga that alienated him from the Catholic Church. And he was critical of the Archdiocese of Newark for allowing Fugee to continue in ministry despite his confession to groping him when he was 13.

“He should have been removed from the priesthood,” said the man, now 27, who lives in North Jersey and asked that his identity not be revealed. “I am happy he seems to be getting what he deserves, after 14 years. But there are mixed feelings, because he never should have had the opportunity to be around children.”

His statements came hours after Fugee appeared in Superior Court in Hackensack, wearing shackles and an orange jumpsuit, after being charged with seven counts of violating an agreement that barred him from working with children. As word of Fugee’s activities in parishes in Bergen County and elsewhere emerged, so did anger among parishioners on Tuesday.

NEW JERSEY
Spiritual Politics

Mark Silk | May 22, 2013

Even as Newark molester-priest Michael Fugee was being arrested and arraigned on charges of criminally violating a court order barring him from ministering to minors, his superiors in the archdiocese were once again changing their story. Now they are claiming to have…well, let’s review the bidding.

On April 28, Mark Mueller of the Star-Ledger reported that Fugee had been working with children, in contravention of the 2007 memorandum of understanding signed by both him and the archdiocese of Newark. “But,” Mueller reported, Archbishop John J. Myers’ spokesman Jim Goodness “denied the agreement had been breached, saying the archdiocese has interpreted the document to mean Fugee could work with minors as long as he is under the supervision of priests or lay ministers who have knowledge of his past and of the conditions in the agreement.”

On May 2, after Fugee resigned his ministry amid a media firestorm, Goodness made a U-turn on his denial:

Tonight, the spokesman sought to clarify his statements, saying that while it was “good” Fugee was under supervision, the priest did not seek permission from the archdiocese before participating in youth activities.

“He engaged in activities that the archdiocese was not aware of and that were not approved by us, and we would never have approved them because they are all in conflict with the memorandum of understanding,” Goodness said.

AUSTRALIA
Geelong Advertiser

Danny Lannen | May 22nd, 2013

SURVIVOR Chris Pianto sensed a welcome diluting of power as he watched Catholic Archbishop Denis Hart face Victoria's parliamentary inquiry into institutional sexual abuse.

Mr Pianto perceived panic at times in Archbishop Hart's responses to cross-examination and was pleased to hear parliamentary panel members give him orders rather than requests.

"I was really glad to see that they had that power to do that and that the church actually can be vulnerable," Mr Pianto said.

"They're not the most powerful people in the world. They can be put down by a parliamentary inquiry and probably even more seriously by royal commissioners.

AUSTRALIA
Crikey

JAMES ROSE | MAY 22, 2013

Child sexual abuse is now in the headlines, where it should be, but is it just the Church to blame? An IshMash on three watershed docos that offer answers.

Somewhere in Melbourne today in the back offices of the Catholic Church’s HQ, Archbishop Denis Hart must have his head in his hands. It’s hard to know whether that’s because he truly feels the power of the abuse his organisation has instituted, or because it’s happened on his watch and has become a growing pile of sorry business on his desk. His shaky performance in front of the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into state-wide institutional child abuse this week has ensured the Catholic Church is now under the kind of spotlight that makes people sweat and turn pale. But, it also emphasises the darkness around it.

Three documentaries that have aired in the last 12 months have all worked to flick the switch of the very harsh lights of public investigations here and elsewhere. Two BBC investigations into child sex abuse were recently nominated in the documentary section of the T-for-Television part of the BAFTAs earlier this month. Another, run on Australian TV, had a hand in prompting a Royal Commission into abuses of children here.

The BBC’s “The Shame of the Catholic Church” originally run in Ireland on “This World” on May 5th 2012, was the winner of the BAFTA TV documentary category, awarded earlier this month. Reporter Darragh McIntyre traces the movements of a few notorious paedophiles hiding behind the Church’s walls of trust in devoutly Catholic Donegal and beyond. Reprobates like former priests Eugene Green and Brendan Smith abused both boys and girls, in some cases in the sacristy behind a Virgin Mary statue in a local church.

ILLINOIS
Chicago Tribune

By Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune reporter

A church volunteer charged with the sexual abuse of a boy also worked with children at two Barrington schools and additional allegations of abuse are being investigated, officials said Tuesday.

Robert Sobczak, 19, of Hoffman Estates, who was charged this month with the sexual abuse of a minor at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, also worked in a Barrington Park District program called K.E.E.P. that provides before- and after-school services for children at Lines and Grove Avenue elementary schools, officials said.

Park District officials said they only learned of Sobczak's arrest through media accounts and were never informed by state or local investigators. Sobczak had worked in the K.E.E.P. program since August, officials said, but was terminated this month.

Both church and park district officials said Sobczak passed background checks, and park officials said he was always under the supervision of other staff. School officials said they were not aware of any other allegations of wrongdoing. But an Illinois Department of Children and Family Services spokesman said Tuesday that the agency has received two new claims of abuse involving Sobczak since Thursday and are investigating.

VIRGINIA
Richmond Times-Dispatch

BY LOUIS LLOVIO Richmond Times-Dispatch

Geronimo Aguilar, senior pastor of the Richmond Outreach Center, was arrested Tuesday afternoon by U.S. marshals for allegedly sexually assaulting two minors in Texas — charges that could land him in prison for decades.

Aguilar, 43, surrendered at his home in Richmond to a U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force at about 4 p.m., authorities said.

He is charged with sexually abusing two females, who are adults now, as children in Texas. Aguilar is due in court this morning and could be released on bond or extradited to Texas.
Aguilar heads the South Richmond church known as The ROC.

CHICAGO (IL)
WLS

[with video]

Leah Hope

May 21, 2013 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- Six men who say they were victims of former Jesuit priest Donald McGuire settle their sex abuse lawsuit for nearly $20 million.

McGuire is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence after being convicted in several sex abuse cases.

"This is an exhortation for truth transparency and accountability," Jeff Anderson, attorney, said. "It is our call today to action to this pope and to this order and all those like it to become transparent."

McGuire was tried and convicted for child sex abuse in Wisconsin and is currently serving time in federal prison for molesting an underage boy. He was removed from the priesthood in 2008.
"The size of this settlement points to the horrors and unbelievable damage that these victims endured," Barbara Blaine, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (S.N.A.P.), said.

WISCONSIN
Wisconsin Public Radio

By CHUCK QUIRMBACH

A priest from Sheboygan is a founding member of a new group of clergy that's monitoring sexual abuse cases in the Catholic Church.

The pope and other Catholic Church leaders have condemned sexual abuse committed by clergy. But Sheboygan priest James Connell says he and some other clergy members have formed a national whistleblowers group to make sure church leaders follow through with that crackdown on abuse: “As we continue down the road of trying to get the truth out so there really can be an understanding of the crisis, of all that has taken place, and the truth then being a road to justice and hopefully healing.

Connell says the new whistleblowers group has sent a letter to Pope Francis asking him to revoke oaths of secrecy, open files on abuse cases, and remove from office bishops who have obstructed justice. Father Connell says some of the whistleblowers were earlier pushed aside or punished by church leaders, but he says he senses public support for his group.

CHICAGO (IL)
NBC Chicago

An attorney for six men who claim they were abused by a now-defrocked priest says Jesuit officials have agreed to pay $19.6 million to settle his clients' lawsuit.

Attorney Jeff Anderson announced the settlement Monday. He said the amount reflects the "magnitude of misconduct" by Donald McGuire's superiors in the Chicago Province for the Society of Jesus.

Church officials have apologized and said they have taken steps to prevent sexual abuse.

"...We are painfully aware that in the past we did not do enough to prevent the abuse of children and vulnerable adults," said Fr. Timothy Kesicki in a statement. "We made mistakes by thinking that restrictive measures we undertook with regard to Donald McGuire would be effective."

CHICAGO (IL)
Big Pond News (Australia)

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Internal church records just released show Chicago Jesuits concealed the crimes of convicted sex offender Donald McGuire for more than 40 years as the prominent Roman Catholic priest continued to sexually abuse dozens of children around the globe.

One letter written in 1970 by the Reverend John H Reinke, then president of Loyola Academy in Illinois, described McGuire's presence at the school as 'positively destructive and corrosive'.

Instead of insisting he be removed from ministry or sent to treatment, he suggested a transfer to Loyola University.

'This whole situation has been so muddy and troublesome I just wanted to get it out of my mind from time to time,' wrote Reinke, who died in 2003.

The documents contributed to a $US19.6 million ($A20.09 million) settlement between the Jesuits and six men from four different states announced on Tuesday.

WISCONSIN
WITI

PEWAUKEE (WITI) — Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki has confirmed a priest with the Archdiocese will be leaving his pastoral duties, for personal reasons.

Father Sean O’Connell served as a priest at Queen of Apostles parish in Pewaukee.

In a statement, Archbishop Listecki said Father Sean is leaving the ministry due to “failing to exercise good judgement in a relationship he has had with an adult woman.”

Archbishop Listecki said: “Father Sean is rightfully embarrassed, ashamed and remorseful about his behavior, as he should be. Although we know we are imperfect beings and subject to temptation, this behavior is not something I expect from our priests. Father Sean will need to address his actions and he will receive assistance in doing so.”

UNITED STATES
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY DAVID CLOHESSY ON MAY 21, 2013

Over the past week, here’s a partial list of states where Catholic officials have said "no comment" about clergy sex abuse lawsuits and allegations: Missouri, New Mexico, New Jersey, and Illinois.

Whatever happened to the much-touted pledges by America's bishops to be "open and transparent" about clergy sex crimes? (And a related question: why does the Catholic hierarchy spend so much on public relations if their public relations people are just going to say “no comment” time and time again?)

This increasing silence is yet another of the many clear signs that the church hierarchy is moving backwards, not forwards, and is reneging on promises made under the hot glare of parishioner outrage and media attention that began back in 2002.

Perhaps, however, we should be grateful when Catholic bureaucrats say "no comment," because often, when they DO comment, they rub even more salt into the deep and fresh wounds of victims and Catholics.

In my town, the archdiocese recently announced that Fr. Leroy Valentine has been “permanently removed from active ministry,” some 31 years after the first child sex allegations against him surfaced.

NEW JERSEY
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY DAVID CLOHESSY ON MAY 21, 2013

An admitted predator priest was arrested yesterday at St. Antoninus Catholic parish, 337 S. Orange Ave. in Newark. Archbishop John Myers should explain why he recklessly put Fr. Michael Fugee at that parish, so near to children and within a mile (according to “Google maps”) of at least 11 schools and day care centers, including:

--Sunshine Day Care Center, 286 S. 7th St. (465 ft) (973 623 8400)

--United Community Day Care, 332 S. 8th St. (0.1 mi)

--Community Hills Early Learning, 85 Irvine Turner Blvd. (0.8 mi)

--Mommy's & Daddy's Childcare, 279 14th Ave (0.3 mi)

--Buds Hope Academy Daycare Center, 372 S Orange Ave. (0.1 mi) (973 424 0500)

--Harriet Tubman Elementary School (0.3 mi) (973 733 6934)

--Fourteenth Avenue Elementary School, 186 14th Ave.

NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger

By Star-Ledger Editorial Board
on May 21, 2013

It’s a relief to see the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office step in and do what the Catholic Church could not: protect children from a priest who confessed to sexually groping a 13-year-old boy.

The Rev. Michael Fugee, whom Newark Archbishop John J. Myers allowed to take kids on retreats and hear their private confessions, was arrested this week for violating a binding agreement that bars him from working with minors. Fugee is now charged with contempt of a judicial order, a fourth-degree crime that carries a maximum prison term of 18 months.

But remember, he wasn’t the only one who signed off on this agreement and then broke it. The archdiocese did, too. The prosecutor should press forward with this investigation and consider charging Myers with contempt, as well. This, however, would require a finding that Myers knowingly violated the agreement. Has he been questioned? He should be.

So should others in his inner circle. There can be no free pass for the hierarchy here. At the very least, Myers should step down. His behavior has prompted widespread outrage even within the church, because he repeatedly protected Fugee.

VIRGINIA/TEXAS
WTVR

[with video]

May 21, 2013, by Rob Cardwell

RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) -Richmond Pastor Geronimo Scott Aguilar surrendered without incident to the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force at his home in Richmond, Virginia about 4:00 p.m. local time, according to Fort Worth authorities.

Warrants were issued for Aguilar, known as Pastor G, charging him with aggravated sexual battery of a child under 14 in Tarrant County, Texas on Monday.

Aguilar’s attorney, David Carlson, said Aguilar was previously cleared by Texas investigators when two girls initially made the accusations in late 1990s.

“Seventeen or so years later, these things have resurfaced, for whatever reasons,” attorney David Carlson told CBS 6 reporter Mark Holmberg. “They’ve decided to proceed with an ex parte investigation. By ex parte, they have listened to one side of the story and have not even afforded him the opportunity to have any input.”

VIRGINIA/TEXAS
WRIC

Richmond, VA— 8News has learned that Texas authorities confirm Geronimo Aguilar is in custody, after surrendering without incident at his home in Richmond Tuesday afternoon. Two warrants had been issued for Aguilar's arrest earlier in the week.

Corporal Tracey Knight of the Fort Worth Police Department told 8News that Aguilar surrendered without incident to the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force at his Richmond home, at about 4:00 p.m. Tuesday.

The warrants out of Fort Worth, Texas charge Pastor G with aggravated sexual assault of a minor under 14 years old. Corporal Tracey Knight wrote,

"Due to the age of the victims at the time of the offense, this is an "Aggravated" charge. Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child Under 14 is a 1st degree felony in the State of Texas and is punishable by 5-99 years in prison and a fine not to exceed $10,000."

VIRGINIA/TEXAS
NBC 12

By Rachel DePompa

RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) -
Pastor Geronimo Aguilar from the Richmond Outreach Center surrendered to U.S. Marshals at his Richmond home Tuesday afternoon on child sexual abuse charges.

Texas police charged Aguilar with two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child under the age of 14 stemming from a complaint made in 2007 by two sisters in Anaheim, California. The women are now in their 20s, but were underage at the time of the alleged incidents. The alleged crimes date back 17 years, according to sources.

Pastor G's attorney says his client is innocent. Two men inside the ROC refused NBC12 crews attempts to try and talk with Pastor G at the church Tuesday.

The charges are felonies in Texas and could carry five and 99 years in prison as well as up to a $10,000 fine, if Aguilar is convicted.

UNITED STATES
Jeff Anderson & Associates

JEFFREY R. ANDERSON | 4:04 PM

A powerful new force has emerged in the fight against child sexual abuse and the protection of predator priests in the Catholic Church. This week, as profiled by Laurie Goodstein, in the New York Times, a group of Catholic Whistleblowers composed of nuns and priests have come together to provide an alternative viewpoint from inside the Church hierarchy concerning the state of child protection within the Catholic Church.

Despite assertions to the contrary, the Catholic Church still suffers from poor decision-making and the failure to prioritize children over the priesthood. As one recent example, in New Jersey, Archbishop of Newark John J. Myers permitted Rev. Michael Fugee to remain in ministry where was allowed to access children at parish youth groups. Fugee is now behind bars awaiting a Grand Jury’s determination of whether he violated an agreement with Prosecutors not to have unsupervised contact with children.

While the child protection movement has long been supported by courageous clergy and former clergy members—such as Thomas P. Doyle, Richard Sipe, and Patrick Wall—Catholic Whistleblowers can provide a collaborative insider voice for truth. With the righteous participation of nuns, such as Sisters Sally Butler and Maureen Paul Turlish, and priests, such as the Rev. Ronald Lemmert, Fr. Bambrick, and Msgr. Kenneth E. Lasch, this group is a veritable justice league of Catholic leadership calling for change.

To show they are a serious force for change, the Catholic Whistleblowers have written a letter to Pope Francis to provide guidance on how to reverse course and implement meaningful policy change on the church’s handling of child sexual abuse. The Catholic Whistleblowers call on the Pope to engage in some groundbreaking work: revoke all oaths of secrecy; open abuse files to the public; remove bishops who have obstructing the criminal investigation of child sexual abuse; and create an international dialogue between survivors and church leaders. These steps are monumental and absolutely necessary.

MISSOURI
San Francisco Chronicle

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Two new lawsuits have been filed against a Kansas City priest convicted of taking lewd photographs and the officials who oversaw him.

Plaintiff's attorney Rebecca Randles says the latest suits bring the total number of cases filed over the Rev. Shawn Ratigan's conduct to seven. Ratigan pleaded guilty in August to producing child pornography after police learned of hundreds of images of children, most of them clothed, with the focus on their crotch areas.

Ratigan's case led Bishop Robert Finn to be charged with failing to report suspected abuse because there was a delay in notifying authorities. Finn became the highest-ranking U.S. church official to be convicted of a crime related to the child sexual abuse scandal.

MISSOURI
The Kansas City Star

[JaneDoe127Petition.pdf - via Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests]

[JaneDoe39Petition.pdf - via Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests]

May 21

BY MARK MORRIS
The Kansas City Star

Civil suits accusing a Catholic priest and his superiors of child sexual abuse, child pornography allegations and fraud were filed Tuesday in Jackson County.

The two new actions alleged that Bishop Robert Finn and the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph aided and abetted the Rev. Shawn Ratigan as he sexually abused and engaged in “child pornographic offenses” with two young girls while Ratigan was employed as a priest.

Ratigan, who has pleaded guilty in federal court to producing child porn and awaits sentencing, also is named as a defendant in the suits. He has not, however, responded to other civil actions filed against him.

In a prepared statement, the diocese condemned Ratigan’s “immoral and destructive” behavior. With regards to the suit, the statement said the suits contained some factual inaccuracies and statements that were irrelevant to their claims.

Last week the diocese settled a similar case, filed in federal court on behalf of a young northern Missouri girl, for $600,000, the diocese’s largest settlement in a single priest sex abuse case.

CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune

By Manya Brachear
Tribune reporter
4:13 p.m. CDT, May 21, 2013

Lawyers for six plaintiffs on Tuesday announced a $19.6 million settlement of a lawsuit against the Chicago Province of the Society of Jesus involving allegations of sex abuse by now-defrocked Jesuit priest Donald McGuire.

Lawyers said the settlement not only recovers damages for the abuse, but also the efforts to cover it up, mislead authorities and move McGuire from place to place instead of removing him from ministry. Evidence of those efforts came to light in documents extracted during civil litigation in Cook County Circuit Court — documents that Jesuits denied prosecutors when McGuire was on trial in Wisconsin for molesting two students from Loyola Academy in Wilmette during trips near Lake Geneva in the 1960s, lawyers said. He was later convicted.

When the documents surfaced in 2011, the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests asked Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez to launch a grand jury investigation into the Chicago-based Jesuit province. Instead, lawyers for the six plaintiffs sought punitive damages.

NEW JERSEY
National Catholic Reporter

Brian Roewe | May. 21, 2013

Fr. Michael Fugee, the Newark, N.J., priest at the center of a child protection scandal in the state, was arrested Monday for violating a court agreement not to minister to children.

According to a statement released by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s office, Fugee was charged with seven counts of contempt of a judicial order, all fourth degree crimes, with a maximum prison sentence of 18 months. Bail was set for $25,000; Fugee remained in jail overnight.

His arraignment court hearing was scheduled for Tuesday morning. He has retained his own legal counsel, according to the Newark archdiocese.

The prosecutor’s office said that its investigation revealed seven instances where Fugee heard confessions from children in the past three years, as recently as December. Locations included the Claremont Retreat Center in Mt. Arlington (part of the Metuchen diocese), the Kateri Environmental Center in Wickatunk, and several parishes in Rochelle Park (part of the Newark archdiocese).

UNITED STATES
Albany Tribune

Bill Donohue

There was a time when we needed a group called Catholic Whistleblowers, but this assembly is a little too late: they missed the boat by a half-century. The homosexual scandal began in the mid-1960s and ended 20 years later. Today, it hardly exists. In 2012, there were six credible allegations made against approximately 40,000 priests. To put it differently, if someone said in 1955 that we must do something about polio, just after the approval of the Salk vaccine, we’d think him nuts.

One might think that a group called Catholic Whistleblowers would blow the whistle on bishops who are shielding molesting priests. But they can’t even name one. The best they can do is mention the arrest of Father Michael Fugee in Newark for violating a judicial order. In the 12 years since his case was thrown out of court—for groping a teenager while wrestling in front of family members—there have been no complaints. No matter, this is all about getting Archbishop John Myers, not Fugee.

Anne Barrett Doyle of BishopAccountability is responsible for forming the new group. If she is in earnest, she can begin her whistleblowing exercises by finally naming the 55 predator priests that her entity says Cardinal Timothy Dolan is hiding. She knows the accusations are a lie.

Sr. Maureen Turlish is another member, and she is known for calling allegations made agains t priests in the Philadelphia grand juries as “facts,” even though more than 20 of them are patently untrue. Fr. James Connell, now a hero to victims’ groups, was himself charged with covering up for the worst molester in the history of the Catholic Church in America. Fr. Thomas Doyle believes that Jesus Christ did not found the Catholic Church, and that the Mass is composed of “magic words.” Robert Hoatson, a former priest, picketed the building where the Catholic League is housed wearing a sign, “Cath. Lg. Opposed to Jesus.”

UNITED STATES
The American Conservative

By ROD DREHER • May 21, 2013

A new organization has launched:

They call themselves Catholic Whistleblowers, a newly formed cadre of priests and nuns who say the Roman Catholic Church is still protecting sexual predators.

“We’ve dedicated our lives to the church,” the Rev. John Bambrick, a priest in the Diocese of Trenton, said at a meeting of the group last week in New York. “Having sex offenders in ministry is damaging to our ministry.”

I find this incredibly heartening. Can’t tell you the number of conversations I had years ago, at the beginning of the scandal, with good Catholic priests who were disgusted by the cover-ups and the corruption, and who were themselves suffering for the sins of their abusive brother priests and — most notably — the bishops who covered up for them and made excuses. But it was extremely rare that these men would speak out. Extremely. If they had, they might have done some good. But they were afraid, or they were compromised personally, or … something. It’s hard to imagine who would have had more credibility in these matters than priests themselves — and how much good they might have done to restore the laity’s faith in the institutional church, simply by standing up and demanding that the bishops do the right thing.

MAINE
Portland Press Herald

By Scott Dolan sdolan@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

PORTLAND — Two brothers who served as altar boys in the 1970s are suing the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, claiming diocese officials knew the Rev. James Vallely was sexually abusing them and other young children but failed to act to stop it.

The brothers, Jeffrey and Frederick Conroy, each filed suit last week in Cumberland County Superior Court, accusing Vallely, who is now dead, of abusing them from 1976 through 1979 while they were altar boys at St. Michael’s Parish in South Berwick.

Their attorney, Mitchell Garabedian of Boston, said he has represented nine victims who say they were abused by Vallely from approximately 1958 to 1979.

“The children were approximately 8 to 16 years old at the time of the abuse,” Garabedian said. “The sexual abuse consisted of fondling and rape on multiple occasions for years of multiple children.”

ILLINOIS
Huffington Post

By Meredith Bennett-Smith

In May of 2002, the Rev. Donald O'Connor was relieved from his parish after the Catholic Diocese of Joliet in Illinois substantiated allegations of sexual abuse that occurred between 1967 and 1970, according to The Chicago Tribune.

Yet years after being removed from his position, O'Connor was still getting money from parishioners who had no idea they were paying an accused pedophile to pray for them, according to a local investigation.

Documents obtained by Chicago ABC affiliate WLS-TV show that mere weeks after O'Connor was barred from the ministry, the disgraced priest was offered a potentially lucrative job performing "mass intentions," a Catholic tradition that allows parishioners to pay priests for a personal prayer.

The payments were offered by Diocese Chancellor Sister Judith A. Davies in a letter sent on June 20, 2002, a month after O'Connor was officially dismissed, WLS-TV reports. If O'Connor was in need of stipends, he should contact Davies' secretary, and "a check will be issued every three months," the letter read, according to the station.

BEGLIE
VTM

[mit video]

39 slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik hebben zich vandaag verenigd voor een zogenaamde “class action”-zaak tegen de Belgische bisschoppen, de hogere oversten van de Belgische religieuzen en de Heilige stoel. Een “class-action”-zaak is een vordering van een groep mensen tegen de beschuldigden. Om die groepszaak te mogen houden, was er toestemming van de Gentse balie nodig.

De zaak werd ingeleid door het kantoor van advocaten Walter Van Steenbrugge en Christine Mussche. “Het gaat om mensen die vanaf de jaren ’50 misbruikt zijn, soms van hun drie tot 18 jaar, binnen een gezagsrelatie in de kerk. Ze zijn psychisch getekend voor het leven”, laat advocaat Van Steenbrugge weten. Er zijn maar vier mensen uit de anonimiteit getreden, de 35 anderen treden in de rechtszaak op bij volmacht. “In totaal hadden 140 mensen ons kantoor aangezocht maar die hebben door het misbruik geen vertrouwen meer in mensen”, zegt Van Steenbrugge.

BELGIE
Knack

(Belga) De rechtbank van eerste aanleg in Gent is niet bevoegd om te oordelen over de groepsvordering rond het misbruik in de kerk. Dat hebben de advocaten van de Heilige Stoel vandaag gepleit. "De immuniteit van de Heilige Stoel is niet voor discussie vatbaar. Bovendien kan de burgerlijke rechtbank niet oordelen omdat de strafrechtelijke zaak (rond de Operatie Kelk, nvdr.) nog lopende is."

Volgens de advocaten geldt de immuniteit van de Heilige Stoel. "Het leed staat buiten kijf, maar de Heilige Stoel draagt geen juridische verantwoordelijkheid. De verdediging identificeert de paus met de Heilige Stoel, maar de Rooms-katholieke kerk heeft geen rechtspersoonlijkheid", zei advocaat Raf Verstraeten. De verdediging wierp ook de verjaring op, waarbij gesteld werd dat 34 van de 39 eisers een aanvraag hebben ingediend voor financiële compensatie bij het centrum voor arbitrage inzake seksueel misbruik.

BELGIE
Knack

De rechtbank van eerste aanleg in Gent is niet bevoegd om te oordelen over de groepsvordering rond het misbruik in de kerk. Dat hebben de advocaten van de Heilige Stoel gepleit.

"De immuniteit van de Heilige Stoel is niet voor discussie vatbaar”, stellen de advocaten. "Het leed staat buiten kijf, maar de Heilige Stoel draagt geen juridische verantwoordelijkheid. De verdediging identificeert de paus met de Heilige Stoel, maar de Rooms-katholieke kerk heeft geen rechtspersoonlijkheid", zei advocaat Raf Verstraeten.

De verdediging wierp ook de verjaring op, waarbij gesteld werd dat 34 van de 39 eisers een aanvraag hebben ingediend voor financiële compensatie bij het centrum voor arbitrage inzake seksueel misbruik.

BELGIE
De Standaard

In Gent is vandaag voor de rechtbank van eerste aanleg de burgerrechtelijke zaak gestart tegen de Kerk die een groep slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik door geestelijken heeft aangespannen. Het gaat niet over de feiten an sich, maar over de doofpotoperatie, het zogenaamde schuldig verzuim door oversten. De slachtoffers eisen een schadevergoeding. Volgens de advocaten van de Heilige Stoel is de rechtbank niet bevoegd.

Volgens advocaat Walter Van Steenbrugge verenigt de groepsvordering tegen de Belgische bisschoppen, de hogere oversten van de Belgische religieuzen en de Heilige Stoel 39 slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik.

Het advocatenkantoor kreeg van de Gentse balie de toestemming om een collectieve vordering of ‘class action’-zaak in te stellen. De bedoeling van de klacht is om de aansprakelijkheid in hoofde van de Heilige Stoel, de Belgische bisschoppen en de hogere oversten te laten vaststellen. De burgerlijke zaak werd in 2011 ingeleid voor de rechtbank van eerste aanleg, maar wed dinsdag pas gepleit.

BELGIE
De Redactie

Volgens de advocaten van de Heilige Stoel, de top van de katholieke kerk, is de rechtbank van eerste aanleg in Gent niet bevoegd om te oordelen over de groepsvordering rond het misbruik in de kerk. Dat hebben ze vandaag gepleit. Over de zaak, die al dan niet losstaat van Operatie Kelk, zijn er veel vragen. Een uitspraak volgt ten vroegste op 1 oktober.

39 slachtoffers van misbruik hebben de Heilige Stoel in Rome, de Belgische bisschoppen en oversten, en bisschop Vangheluwe gedagvaard, omdat ze pedofiele priesters zouden hebben beschermd. De slachtoffers, die vertegenwoordigd worden door meester Walter Van Steenbrugge, eisen een schadevergoeding. Maar Fernand Keuleneer, de advocaat van de Belgische kerkoversten, denkt niet dat het zo ver zal komen.

UNITED STATES
Almost Diamonds

The classic picture we have of a child victim of sexual abuse in religious institutions is a boy being abused by a Catholic priest. There are a couple of good reasons for that.

The first is that the hierarchy of the Catholic Church has given us a central group of people we can point fingers at for the decades of inaction (or action against victims) in their churches. The victims of Catholic priests have a powerful central authority to deal with, and it’s given them reason to band together and reason for news media to report on their immense struggle to be acknowledged.

The other reason is that, again because the Catholic Church has a central authority, it has made it easier for researchers studying church-facilitated abuse to use the Church as a proxy for religious institutions more generally.

AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald

May 21, 2013

Anna Patty and Harriet Alexander

A coalition of 30 legal, community, health and women's organisations have complained to the United Nations about planned changes to the NSW victims' compensation scheme on the grounds they will particularly discriminate against women.

The groups which include Community Legal Centres NSW and Women's Legal Services have written to the UN special rapporteur on violence against women.

The Community Legal Centres NSW chairperson Anna Cody said the law will not only disadvantage thousands of victims already in the claims system, it will make it even harder for female victims of crime to claim in the future.

The complaint says the government bill runs counter to the UN's recommendations on reparation for women who have been subjected to violence.

KANSAS CITY (MO)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY DAVID CLOHESSY ON MAY 21, 2013

Two new suits filed against predator priest
He was convicted last year on child porn charges
In new approach, little-known Missouri law is used
It forbids surreptitious underwear pictures of anyone
Support group wants suspended clerics put in treatment centers

WHAT:
Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims will

-- announce two new civil lawsuits against the KC Catholic diocese and a jailed priest who pled guilty last August to child pornography, and

-- repeat and expand its plea that the bishop put all child molesting KC cleric into treatment centers, instead of letting them live unsupervised among unsuspecting families

WHEN:
TODAY, Tuesday, May 21, at 2:30 p.m.

WHERE:
Outside the Kansas City Catholic diocese headquarters, 20 West 9th (corner of Baltimore) in downtown Kansas City, MO

FLORIDA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

FLORIDA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY DAVID CLOHESSY ON MAY 21, 2013

Two brothers are suing a Catholic diocese saying they were molested by a priest who worked at St. Stephen Catholic Church in Winter Springs and other parishes in the Orlando area.

[The Republic]

[BishopAccountability.org]

We applaud these brave brothers for coming forward and seeking justice. Every time clergy sex abuse victims find the courage to speak up, kids become safer and truth becomes revealed.

We hope this step will help these courageous men heal. We are confident it will help Maine Catholics learn more about corruption in their church’s hierarchy.

Though Fr. Vallely may be elderly, it’s important to remember that advanced age doesn’t “cure” a pedophile. In fact, parents are often more apt to trust their children around a slow-moving elderly man, especially one who claims to be “spiritual.”

MAINE
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests

POSTED BY DAVID CLOHESSY ON MAY 21, 2013

Two brothers are suing a Maine Catholic diocese saying they were molested by a priest.

[ Posted by Kathy Shaw at 2:37 PM