CANADA
The Ottawa Citizen
Neco Cockburn, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Thursday, November 30, 2006
A publication ban protecting the name of an Alexandria-Cornwall Roman Catholic diocese employee at the Cornwall sex abuse inquiry will remain in place until next week.
A judge withdrew from a hearing the matter Thursday.
Commission lawyer Peter Engelmann asked Justice Denis Power to recuse himself because of his involvement as a lawyer in civil legal proceedings that involved a central witness about 10 years ago. This witness will testify at the inquiry into historical child sexual abuse in the Cornwall area in January.
WILMINGTON (DE)
The News Journal
By SEAN O’SULLIVAN, The News Journal
Posted Thursday, November 30, 2006 at 5:59 pm
WILMINGTON -- A federal judge today tossed out a majority of the lawsuit filed by a Navy officer who claimed to have been molested while he was a student at the prestigious Archmere Academy in the 1980s.
An attorney says it is still possible, however, for Chief District Judge Sue L. Robinson to enter a default judgment against the priest whom Cmdr. Kenneth J. Whitwell said sexually assaulted him. That would allow Whitwell to recover damages.
In her ruling today, Robinson granted a motion to dismiss filed by the school, the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington and Bishop Michael Saltarelli. Robinson found that Delaware law should apply to the institutional defendants, meaning a two-year statute of limitations on Whitwell’s claims applied and expired before the lawsuit was filed last year.
NEW YORK
Newsday
BY JOHN MORENO GONZALES
Newsday Staff Writer
November 30, 2006, 1:50 PM EST
In a proceeding in which he detailed a suicide attempt and acknowledged years of grappling with sexually compulsive behavior, Roosevelt-based Roman Catholic priest Thomas G. Saloy pleaded guilty today to a single count of possession of child pornography.
Wearing a green sweater and black slacks, the slightly built cleric firmly admitted to Judge Joseph F. Bianco that he had knowingly kept at least three sexually explicit images of minors in rectory computer, a felony that could cost him 5 years in prison or a psychological treatment facility. Saloy was put on administrative leave by the church after his Nov. 17 arrest.
Saloy, 45, who served for nearly a decade at Our Lady of Grace Roman Catholic Church in West Babylon before transferring to Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Church in Roosevelt earlier this year, told the judge he had sought counseling as early as 2000, when he joined a group called Sexual Compulsives Anonymous.
NEW YORK
WABC
(New York - WABC, November 30, 2006) - A Roosevelt priest revealed he attempted to commit suicide as he pleaded guilty to a single count of child pornography Thursday.
Officials say Roman Catholic priest Thomas G. Saloy admitted that he kept at least three sexually explicit images of minors in a rectory computer at Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Church in Roosevelt.
The 45-year-old priest was put on administrative leave by the church after his November 17 arrest.
He reportedly told Judge Joseph F. Bianco that he had sought counseling as early as 2000, when he joined a group called Sexual Compulsives Anonymous.
NEW YORK
Reuters
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Roman Catholic priest from New York's borough of Queens pleaded guilty on Thursday to possessing more than 600 images of child pornography, the U.S. attorney's office said.
Rev. Thomas Saloy, 45, of Queen Elizabeth of the Most Holy Rosary Church, was arrested this month after he requested a child pornography image from an undercover police detective while online.
WILMINGTON (DE)
The News Journal
By GARY SOULSMAN, The News Journal
Posted Thursday, November 30, 2006 at 11:26 am
Catholic Bishop Michael Saltarelli is asking parishes and missions to dedicate the Advent season to the victims of clergy sexual abuse.
As head of the Diocese of Wilmington, the bishop is also asking each pastor to celebrate a special Advent prayer service, Mass or Eucharistic Holy Hour for the healing of those who’ve been harmed by clergy sexual abuse.
"Our efforts to protect God's children must be complemented by these spiritual efforts on behalf of victims and their families," the bishop said today.
Advent, a period of preparation for the birth of Jesus, begins in the diocese’s 57 parishes on Sunday and continues until Christmas. It’s a time of joy but also one of penance to prepare for Christmas, said Bob Krebs, diocese spokesman.
AUBURN (ME)
Sun Journal
By Christopher Williams , Staff Writer
Thursday, November 30, 2006 PHOTO GALLERY
AUBURN - A retired priest told police he was unhappy with the woman who accused Lewiston's Mayor Lionel Guay of groping her.
So, shortly after Guay was acquitted on all charges of unlawful sexual touching and assault, the priest sent Danielle Ramon two mailings taking her to task for making the allegations.
In his missives, the Rev. Bertrand Poussard, 64, of Waterville, called Ramon "ugly" and a "bitch." He insinuated that she was fat and a lesbian. He sent her copies of newspaper clippings about the trial, underlining text and making written asides directed at her in the margins. ...
Reacting to Poussard's written warning, a spokesman for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests or SNAP said Poussard should be criminally charged.
"It's always hard for victims of sex crimes to come forward," saidAbuse Tracker Director David Clohessy of St. Louis. "It's even tougher when they're met with harassment."
COLUMBUS (OH)
The Columbus Dispatch
By Dennis M. Mahoney
The Columbus Dispatch
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
The Columbus Roman Catholic Diocese is urging people to report any abuse by a priest who served in the diocese in the 1980s.
Robin Miller, spokeswoman for the diocese, said in a statement yesterday that pastors at St. Patrick Church in Columbus and Holy Trinity Church in Somerset in Perry County will tell parishioners of abuse accusations already made against the Rev. Aaron Cote.
Parishioners will be urged to report any new allegations to the diocese's victim-assistance coordinator, Monsignor Stephan Moloney, and to law-enforcement authorities, she said.
Cote, a Dominican priest, has been accused of sexually abusing a teenager while Cote was pastor at Holy Trinity from 1987 to 1989. Now an adult, the accuser told a former teacher of the abuse in 2005, but he has been unwilling to discuss it with authorities.
NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger
Thursday, November 30, 2006
BY ALI WINSTON
JERSEY JOURNAL
A priest, accused by his former parishioners of leaving the Hudson County congregation with dozens of relics and more than $500,000 in donations unaccounted for, had bounced from one congregation to another before landing at St. De metrios Greek Orthodox Church in Jersey City, archdiocese officials said.
The Very Rev. Kyrillos Markopoulos, a native of Greece, first ar rived in the U.S. as an ordained priest in the Old Style Calendarist sect, which is separate from the mainstream Greek Orthodox Church. He first opened a "storefront" church -- St. Rafael, Nicholas and Irene -- in Astoria, Queens, in the early 1980s, said Bishop Savas of Troas, chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of New York.
NORWICH (CT)
Norwich Bulletin
By JOHN PENNEY
Norwich Bulletin
NORWICH -- The Diocese of Norwich has settled a priest molestation case for $1.1 million.
According to the offices of the Reardon Law Firm, Michael J. Long of Waterford brought suit against the Norwich Roman Catholic Diocese and St. Mary Star of the Sea Church of New London in 2002.
Long sued the diocese and church for damages suffered when he was molested in 1978 by the Rev. Bruno Primavera, the associate pastor at St. Mary at the time. Long was 15 at the time of the molestation. The lawsuit, which involved four years of litigation, ended with the largest settlement paid by the Norwich Diocese in a priest molestation case.
Attorney Joseph Sweeney of the Halloran & Sage law firm in Hartford represented the Diocese of Norwich in the proceedings. Sweeney said Primavera served in the diocese temporarily, before transferring in 1980 to a parish in Toronto.
Sweeney said Primavera was defrocked by the church in 1990 after some "trouble" in New Mexico. Primavera died in February.
"Something happened that is very troublesome," Sweeney said. "The diocese deeply regrets any pain Mr. Long experienced because of this episode and hopes he will use the settlement to get whatever help he needs."
CONNECTICUT
The Day
By Bethe Dufresne
A Waterford man has been awarded $1.1 million in a lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich over molestation he suffered by a priest in 1978.
The plaintiff's attorney, Robert I. Reardon of New London, called it the largest settlement ever paid by the Norwich Diocese in a priest molestation case. The lawsuit was brought by Michael J. Long of Waterford in 2002 and was settled Sept. 14 in Hartford Superior Court. Reardon announced the award Wednesday.
Attorney Joseph T. Sweeney of Halloran & Sage in Hartford, representing the diocese, said Wednesday that two more lawsuits against the diocese regarding priest molestation are still left to be resolved.
Long sued the diocese and St. Mary's Star of the Sea Church in New London for damages suffered when he was molested at age 14-15 by Father Bruno Primavera, then associate pastor at St. Mary's.
Sweeney said that Primavera has since died.
JOLIET (IL)
Chicago Tribune
By Hal Dardick
Tribune staff reporter
Published November 30, 2006
A Will County judge Wednesday dismissed a child sexual abuse claim against a former priest and the Catholic Diocese of Joliet, saying the clock on the statute of limitations had run out.
But Circuit Judge Gerald Kinney gave attorney Michael Bolos the right to file an amended complaint that might bolster his argument that the statute had not expired.
As part of the case against the former priest, Bolos sought to make public two depositions that former Bishop Joseph Imesch gave in cases filed against two other priests, as was done earlier this year in a DuPage County case. That effort is on hold, Bolos said after Kinney's ruling.
Bolos' client sued the diocese of Joliet earlier this year, alleging Michael Gibbney, once pastor of Mary Queen of Heaven Church in Elmhurst and St. Dominic Church in Bolingbrook, repeatedly molested him in the late 1970s, starting when he was 11 years old.
UTAH
Deseret Morning News
By Ben Winslow
Deseret Morning News
The woman accusing Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs of forcing her into a child bride marriage remains willing to testify against him, her lawyer said.
"I think when the full story comes out, it will be compelling," lawyer Roger Hoole said outside a court hearing in Salt Lake City's 3rd District Court on Monday. "She's a strong witness and we're looking forward to finishing up the preliminary hearing."
Hoole is representing the woman known in court documents as "Jane Doe IV." She says that at age 14, she was told by FLDS leaders she would be marrying her 19-year-old first cousin. When she objected to the union, Washington County prosecutors said Warren Jeffs threatened her "salvation."
DAYTON (OH)
Dayton Daily News
By Rob Modic
Staff Writer
Thursday, November 30, 2006
DAYTON — A Montgomery County grand jury on Wednesday indicted a Riverside pastor on 11 counts of sexual battery and a prosecutor said more charges "are expected."
Dennis Bowling, 45, remained in the county jail in lieu of $2 million bail as prosecutors arranged for more witnesses to appear before a grand jury.
Bowling, pastor of Kingdom Harvest Church, 2360 Valley Pike, for 19 years was arrested last week after a group of women from the congregation told police he had sexually assaulted several female members of the church.
Prosecutor Mathias H. Heck Jr. said eight counts were approved on Nov. 22 that involved Bowling and a 15-year-old girl during September.
The 11 counts handed up Wednesday each charge an offense that happened during the three-month period after Sept. 1. However, they do not indicate if they stem from assaults on one child or more.
NORWICH (CT)
WTNH
(Norwich-AP, Nov. 29, 2006 7:35 PM) _ The Diocese of Norwich agrees to pay one-point-one-million dollars to settle a sexual abuse claim.
Lawyers for the alleged victim, Michael Long of Waterford, say he was 15 years old when he was molested nearly thirty years ago by the Reverend Bruno Primavera.
Primavera was associate pastor of Saint Mary's Star of the Church Sea in New London at the time of the alleged abuse in 1978.
TUCSON (AZ)
Tucson Citizen
HEIDI ROWLEY,
Tucson Citizen
Former University of Arizona President Peter Likins and two Pima County sheriff's deputies will be honored Friday during the department's 21st annual awards banquet.
The banquet recognizes members of the department and the community for acts of heroism, contributions to the community or injuries in the line of duty. ...
Likins was also a member of the Diocese of Tucson Child Abuse and Sexual Misconduct Police Review Committee.
IOWA CITY (IA)
Press-Citizen
By The Associated Press
An Iowa City Catholic school and its former principal are asking a judge to dismiss lawsuits that implicate them in the sexual abuse of several students more than 40 years ago.
Regina High School and Lawrence Soens are being sued by more than a dozen men who claim they were sexually abused at the school.
Regina and Soens filed papers this month in Scott County District Court, asking a judge to dismiss some of the allegations based on lack of evidence.
Soens, a retired Sioux City bishop who served as Regina principal from 1959-1967, asked the court to dismiss the case of a man who says Soens sexually abused him in the 1960s when he attended Regina.
Regina's request involves the lawsuit filed by 13 men who claim Soens abused them while attending the school.
OAKLAND (CA)
Contra Costa Times
By Rebecca Rosen Lum
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
A national officer for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will take over as chancellor for the 87-parish Oakland Diocese, which covers Contra Costa and Alameda counties.
The move will mean a return to the Bay Area for Sister Glen Anne McPhee, secretary of education for the national organization, who grew up in Berkeley and attended St. Mary Magdalene Parish there.
She starts work Jan. 2. As chancellor, she will oversee schooling and communications. for the diocese. ...
She will oversee Catholic schools, the Catholic Youth Organization, communications, public relations, evangelization, catechetics, or teaching, and the lay ecclesial ministers council. She will also supervise outreach to survivors of clergy sexual abuse, including "No More Secrets," a program Flannery created.
She will have complete freedom to design and launch new programs said the Rev. George Mockel, vicar general for the diocese.
MEMPHIS (TN)
Commercial Appeal
By James Dowd
November 29, 2006
A retired priest of the Catholic Diocese of Memphis, who now lives in Nashville, faces new charges of sexually molesting a teenage boy more than two decades ago.
In a suit filed Tuesday in Circuit Court, plaintiff Henry Scott Baker, 41, alleged that as a teenager he was sexually abused by Rev. Paul St. Charles, who retired in 1986. The alleged abuse occurred in 1980 or 1981 when St. Charles was pastor at Church of the Ascension at 3680 Ramill.
GALLUP (NM)
Gallup Independent
By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Staff Writer
GALLUP — When Navajo County Superior Court Judge Gloria J. Kindig sentenced James M. Burns, a former Catholic priest with the Diocese of Gallup, to prison for two counts of sexual conduct with a minor, she ordered that he be registered as a sex offender.
Anyone who thinks that means Burns is now listed on the Arizona Department of Public Safety's sex offender Web site can think again.
He's not. And he's not alone in that exemption. Because of Arizona state law, not all convicted sex offenders are listed on the Web site. The state classifies sex offenders with risk assessment scores of Level 1 (Low) to Level 2 (Intermediate) or Level 3 (High), and only sex offenders at the latter two levels require public notification like the Web site listing.
What that means is a person can be living next to a convicted sex offender in Arizona and not know it. And for sex offenders like Burns, past information is hard to obtain without searching police reports and court files, and current information may be withheld from the public.
PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia Inquirer
By David O'Reilly
Inquirer Staff Writer
Gov. Rendell yesterday signed into law four pieces of legislation that broaden Pennsylvania's criminal code for investigating and punishing child sex abuse and other sex offenses.
The bills include most of the measures called for in a 2005 Philadelphia grand jury report on clergy sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
"I'm thrilled, especially for the children of this state," Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham said in a telephone interview minutes before the signing ceremony. Her office conducted the grand jury investigation and issued its report.
Donna Farrell, spokeswoman for the Philadelphia Archdiocese, said it was "very pleased" Rendell had signed the legislation. "We think it sends a message that children are a priority in Pennsylvania, and keeping them safe is everyone's responsibility," Farrell said.
FRESNO (CA)
San Luis Obispo Tribune
Associated Press
FRESNO, Calif. - Attorneys for an Army staff sergeant who claims he had been molested by a Catholic priest told jurors Tuesday that their client struggled to turn his life around after enduring sexual abuse.
Juan Rocha, 31, alleges that the Rev. Eric Swearingen of the Diocese of Fresno molested him between the ages of 12 and 15, when he was an altar boy at parishes in Fresno and Bakersfield.
Attorneys for Swearingen, who's now pastor of Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Fresno, acknowledge the priest allowed Rocha to sleep in his room at church rectories. But the Kern and Fresno County district attorney's offices decided not to file criminal charges against Swearingen after investigating Rocha's allegations in 2002, church officials said.
All behavior behind closed doors was appropriate, the diocese's lawyer, Carey Johnson, told jurors in opening statements of a civil trial Tuesday.
HARRISBURG (PA)
Centre Daily Times
By Martha Raffaele
The Associated Press
HARRISBURG -- Gov. Ed Rendell on Wednesday signed a package of bills intended to toughen penalties for sex offenders who prey on children, including a measure that would make changes recommended by a Philadelphia grand jury that investigated abuse by Roman Catholic priests.
The legislation would give alleged victims of child-sex crimes until their 50th birthday to file criminal complaints, 20 years longer than current law allows. Employers and supervisors could be held criminally liable if they know of alleged abuse by employees who care for children but fail to stop it, and caregivers would have to report suspected abuse regardless of whether the victim reports it.
The grand jury recommended legislative reforms in a September 2005 report that documented alleged assaults on minors by more than 60 priests in the Philadelphia Archdiocese since 1967. The report also accused church leaders of covering up the abuse.
The panel said that, under the law at the time, too much time had elapsed for criminal charges to be filed against the church or the priests.
FORT WORTH (TX)
The Dallas Morning News
12:00 AM CST on Thursday, November 30, 2006
By BROOKS EGERTON / The Dallas Morning News
FORT WORTH – Bishop Kevin Vann apologized profusely Wednesday for sexual abuses by priests of the Fort Worth Catholic Diocese, but he repeatedly declined to criticize the cover-ups that left some clergymen in ministry and sometimes enabled them to hurt more people.
'Not being here at the time those decisions were made, I can't say they should have done this or that,' said Bishop Kevin Vann. He apologized for priests' sexual abuses, which were detailed in documents released Tuesday. "Not being here at the time those decisions were made, I can't say they should have done this or that," said the diocesan leader, who succeeded the late Bishop Joseph Delaney last year.
His remarks, made at a news conference, angered victims of the seven priests whose personnel files were unsealed Tuesday after a 19-month court battle by The Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
FORT WORTH (TX)
The Dallas Morning News
12:00 AM CST on Thursday, November 30, 2006
Court documents unsealed this week reveal the extent of sexual abuse in the Fort Worth Diocese and the cover-up by the late Bishop Joseph Delaney. Despite everything we've all read regarding this travesty in recent years, nothing dulls the shock. Nothing ever should.
The documents are outrageous on three fronts: one, in the disgusting detail of the acts these priests performed on children; two, in showing that Catholic officials kept these men in ministry despite it all; and three, in the plain fact that if their leaders had had their way, Catholics would never have learned any of this.
That they did learn of it is in large part due to the dogged reporting of this newspaper, in particular Brooks Egerton, as well as state District Judge Len Wade, who at the request of The Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, reversed his earlier order sealing abuse lawsuit records.
Fort Worth's new bishop, Kevin Vann, wisely chose not to appeal the new ruling and now has to live with the fallout of a situation he did not cause but inherited. Painful? Excruciating, no doubt. Yet it must be done to rebuild the trust squandered by his predecessor, who cared more about saving face than saving children from abuse.
FORT WORTH (TX)
Star-Telegram
By DARREN BARBEE
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
FORT WORTH -- Fort Worth Bishop Kevin Vann said Wednesday he is seeking to have two priests accused of sexual abuse defrocked.
"We are close to completing a process I began months ago to submit Philip Magaldi's case to the Holy See [in Vatican City] for laicization," Vann said at a press conference. "[Rudolf] Rentería's case is already in Rome awaiting their decision."
Vann said he is studying the feasibility of monitoring the two priests while the effort to remove them from the priesthood is pending. He added that such action would only be taken "subject to their individual rights."
FORT WORTH (TX)
Star-Telegram
The negative impact of wrongdoing by powerful people ripples beyond the immediate individuals and institutions involved.
Misconduct by a few federal lawmakers paints all politicians as corrupt and "only in it for themselves." The outrages by WorldCom and Enron executives have stockholders questioning the veracity of CEOs and presidents in other large U.S. corporations.
Sexual abuse cases involving Roman Catholic priests in one diocese raise eyebrows and under-the-breath questioning of all clergy.
As one of 10 Boston priests who were barred from ministry after being accused of sexual misconduct said, "All of us are being fed to the wolves."
The "wolves" to which he referred are the media, and the extensive coverage of the allegations of sexual abuse by priests no doubt nibbled on innocent men along with those who deserved it. But it's difficult to work up sympathy for the upper ranks of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth after reading the details of Star-Telegram staff writer Darren Barbee's eye-opening report of what the diocese's own files revealed about obfuscation by church leaders.
ROME
National Catholic Register
BY EDWARD PENTIN
Register Correspondent
December 3-9, 2006 Issue
Posted 11/29/06 at 8:00 AM
ROME — Rome’s largest English-speaking national seminaries are detecting an increase in numbers of vocations after a less fruitful period in the early part of the decade.
The Pontifical North American College, the Venerable English College and the Pontifical Irish College are all reporting higher numbers of candidates for the priesthood compared to a few years ago.
“We’ve seen a steady increase to the diocesan priesthood in the United States, and we are now seeing the benefit of that in the college,” said Father Dennis Gill, media spokesman at the North American College. He noted that vocations to religious orders are “still suffering quite a bit,” but that the college had experienced a “measurable increase.” ...
Like the North American College, the Irish College has been forced to deal with the fallout from clerical abuse scandals in Ireland.
“We like to think we’re emerging from a difficult and dark time,” Msgr. Bergin said. “There’s light on the horizon.”
WISCONSIN
Hudson Star-Observer
Meg Heaton Hudson Star-Observer
Published Wednesday, November 29, 2006
"There’s a hole in the dike now. Let’s hope it keeps going.”
That’s how Tom O’Connell characterized the news last week that Delaware Bishop Michael Saltarelli would make public the names of 20 priests who have been found to have sexually abused children or who have admitted to sexual abuse.
The move was the first since the O’Connell family filed a lawsuit last August against the bishops of all 194 Catholic dioceses across the country demanding that the names of predatory priests be made public.
Dan O’Connell and James Ellison were shot to death at the O’Connell Family Funeral Home in 2002. A St. Croix County judge found that there was probable cause to believe that the late Fr. Ryan Erickson committed the murders after he was confronted by Dan about the sexual abuse of minors. Erickson hung himself in December 2003 after being questioned by police about the murders.
FORT WORTH (TX)
The Dallas Morning News
05:07 PM CST on Wednesday, November 29, 2006
By BROOKS EGERTON / The Dallas Morning News
Fort Worth Catholic Bishop Kevin Vann apologized Wednesday for the sexual abuse committed by priests who formerly worked in the diocese.
At a news conference at the diocese headquarters Wednesday afternoon, the bishop described himself as "embarrassed, disheartened, appalled and angered" at material described in court records released Tuesday.
The court records showed Fort Worth Catholic Diocese leaders systematically helped predator priests stay in ministry for two decades by concealing information from parishioners, police and the public.
The records, which The Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Star-Telegram obtained after a 19-month legal battle, contain more than 700 pages from the personnel files of seven priests that the diocese had fought to keep secret.
"This sinful and criminal behavior is extraordinarily painful for those who have suffered abuse," said Bishop Vann. "As a church, we are united to that pain. Though we cannot experience it at the same level as those how have been directly violated, our unity within the body of Christ makes that pain our own as well."
EL SALVADOR
Houston Chronicle
Reuters
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — The Catholic Church in El Salvador begged forgiveness today for a priest who raped an altar boy and now faces charges he abused other children.
The priest, Jose Daniel Rivas, 60, will face a preliminary hearing into accusations that he sexually assaulted two children, and police are investigating three other possible cases, prosecutors said.
The priest was sentenced Tuesday for raping an 11-year-old boy last year in the town of San Cristobal, east of the capital.
"This situation saddens us. We have to ask God's forgiveness and hope this never happens again," San Salvador Archbishop Fernando Saenz told the televisor network Telemundo.
EL SALVADOR
Catholic World News
San Salvador, Nov. 29, 2006 (CNA/CWNews.com) - Archbishop Fernando Saenz Lacalle of San Salvador called on Catholics this week to pray for “the holiness of priests and religious” in response to the scandal caused by the conviction of a Franciscan priest to 20 years in prison for the sexual abuse of a minor.
Archbishop Saenz said the case of Father Jose Daniel Rivas, 58, was cause for great sadness in the Church in El Salvador, especially because of, “the sacred character, in this case, of the offender, and we should pray much and ask the Lord our God to never let such a thing happen again.”
HARRISBURG (PA)
Yahoo!
Wednesday November 29, 3:30 pm ET
HARRISBURG, Pa., Nov. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell today signed into law four measures that will help protect Pennsylvania citizens - particularly children - from sex offenders, as well as aid police and prosecutors in their efforts to put such offenders behind bars.
"Today is an extraordinary day for victims of sexual assault in Pennsylvania and especially for the youngest victims," Governor Rendell said while signing a bill which establishes tough mandatory sentences for those who sexually assault children. The measure is known as Jessica's Law, named after a 9-year-old Florida girl who was kidnapped and murdered by a convicted sex offender.
"We are strengthening the Endangering the Welfare of Children statute, closing loopholes in the child abuse reporting law and dramatically extending the period of time during which we can prosecute sexual offenders who victimize children," Governor Rendell said. "It is past time that the criminals who commit these despicable acts receive the severe punishment they deserve."
CHICAGO (IL)
NBC 5
CHICAGO -- A suburban priest who stepped down from parish ministry after allegations surfaced that he may have abused two youths in the 1980s has filed a defamation lawsuit against his accusers.
The Rev. Robert Stepek, pastor of St. Albert the Great Parish in Burbank, voluntarily stepped down in May as the allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced. He argues in the complaint filed Tuesday that the accusations are false.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago is investigating the allegations. ...
Jeff Anderson, an attorney for the accusers, said he is confident Stepek's suit will be dismissed.
"This is a guy who is not only deep in denial, he is defiant. When it comes to him, nothing comes as a surprise," Anderson said. "Frankly, he is out of control on many levels. This is a guilty man doing very serious things to revictimize those he has already harmed once."
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests called the lawsuit "a desperate attempt" and said the church has conducted a complete investigation.
WISCONSIN
River Falls Journal
Ron Brochu, Forum Communications,
Published Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Bishop Raphael Fliss on Monday revealed he had removed Edward Beutner from the priesthood in 2002 after accusations of sexual abuse emerged.
That response, however, falls short of what is expected by victims, their representatives said Monday, leaving them to continually suffer from their injuries and fear additional people might be victimized.
Buetner, a former priest, had served at St. Ann's parishes in Somerst and at St. Bridget's in River Falls from 1973-74 and during 2002 at the St. Thomas More Newman Center on the campus of the University of River Falls.
FORT WORTH (TX)
Star-Telegram
THE REV. JAMES BERNARD HANLON
Ordained: June 6, 1981
Died: Feb. 17, 1990
Assignments: St. Michael, Bedford; Holy Family, Fort Worth; St. John the Apostle, North Richland Hills; St. Maria Goretti, Arlington; St. Patrick, Fort Worth; St. Rita et al., Ranger; medical leave, 1989
The diocese learned in 1989 that the Rev. James Hanlon had been diagnosed as HIV positive. The files indicate that diocese officials did not know about the diagnosis until he was no longer in active ministry. Cirrhosis of the liver, not HIV or AIDS, was cited as a factor in his death, according to the files and his death certificate.
FORT WORTH (TX)
NBC5i
Leaders in the Fort Worth Roman Catholic Diocese were not forthcoming about the extent of sexual abuse allegations against half a dozen priests and helped them stay in the ministry, according to 700 pages of secret files released Tuesday by a judge.
The files involve clergymen accused of misconduct with minors. They show how Bishop Joseph P. Delaney, who died last year, and his top assistants -- the Rev. Robert Wilson and the Rev. Joseph Schumacher -- dealt with accusers and the priests.
Documents show that diocese leaders and other church officials counted the days until the risk of civil liability had passed in dealing with one accuser; allowed one priest who admitted abusing a child to keep working until his death; and withheld details about accusations to minimize public fallout.
In that 1995 case, a priest admitted to Delaney that he had abused three boys, but Delaney initially publicly spoke of just one victim, in part to control "how the matter is aired."
LOUISVILLE (KY)
The Courier-Journal
By Peter Smith
psmith@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
Five Louisville men cannot sue two Roman Catholic dioceses in Wisconsin for allegedly failing to stop a known abuser before he could hurt them, an appeals court in that state said yesterday .
Too much time has passed for the lawsuit, filed in 2005 by five men abused by former parochial-school teacher Gary Kazmarek, the Court of Appeals of District 1 ruled.
Kazmarek is serving a 13-year prison sentence for molesting the five between 1968 and 1973, when they were younger than 15 and he was teaching and coaching at Our Mother of Sorrows Catholic School in Louisville.
The plaintiffs were among 243 people who shared in a $25.7 million settlement with the Archdiocese of Louisville.
FRESNO (CA)
Fresno Bee
By Pablo Lopez / The Fresno Bee 11/29/06 04:18:21
On one side of the Fresno courtroom stood the plaintiff — former altar boy Juan Rocha, 31, and a decorated Army staff sergeant.
The defendant is Father Eric Swearingen, 45, pastor of Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Fresno's Woodward Park.
In a civil trial that began Tuesday in Fresno County Superior Court, jurors have to determine whether Swearingen sexually molested Rocha in the late 1980s and early '90s when he was between 12 and 15 years old.
Lawyers agreed that Swearingen allowed Rocha to sleep in his room at church rectories in Fresno and Bakersfield. In dispute is what happened behind closed doors.
CANADA
Ottawa Sun
Wed, November 29, 2006
By Canadian Press
CORNWALL — A priest who was acquitted of sexually abusing a teenage boy will not suffer undue harm if his name is once again in the public realm, the Cornwall Public Inquiry judge ruled Tuesday.
Commissioner Normand Glaude dismissed a motion by the Alexandria-Cornwall Roman Catholic Diocese to enact a publication ban on the name of a priest expected to be identified in allegations being made by a witness this week.
In delivering his reasons for the decision, Glaude said the priest has been the subject of media attention in the past and would not be significantly impacted by additional publicity. Glaude also said it his not his intention to find fault when hearing any allegations made against any individual.
“I will not and cannot try or re-try the allegations that were made against him (the priest),” said Glaude, “nor will I make findings of criminal or civil responsibility.”
The name of the priest is protected under an interim publication ban while lawyers for the diocese seek a stay of the ruling prior to a judicial review of the decision. The Ontario Divisional Court was expected to decide Wednesday whether to extend the publication ban until such time as a judicial review can be heard.
MARLBORO (MA)
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
By Elaine Thompson TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
ethompson@telegram.com
MARLBORO— For the second time in four years, a priest at St. Michael Catholic Church has been suspended or placed on leave because of an allegation of sexual abuse.
The Archdiocese of Boston, announced yesterday that the Rev. Steven W. Poitras, St. Michael’s parochial vicar, has been placed on administrative leave as a result of an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor in 1994. The archdiocese has initiated a preliminary investigation and forwarded the complaint to the state attorney general and the Essex County district attorney’s office, the statement read. A spokesman for the Essex County district attorney said that office does not confirm or deny an investigation.
The statement did not provide any details on the allegations or where the sexual abuse allegedly occurred.
“The decision to place Father Poitras on administrative leave does not represent a determination of his guilt or innocence,” the archdiocese said in a written statement.
Parishioners in the culturally diverse 3,000-plus family church community were notified during Masses last weekend.
“We were shocked … shocked to death. Everybody cried,” 58-year-old Celeste Braga, a native of the Azores and a Parish Council member, said in a telephone interview yesterday. “Even Father Walter (A. Carreiro) cried. He could hardly say what happened. It is a big loss that we are experiencing in our church.” She said “Father Steve,” as he is affectionately known, has been at St. Michael for about six years.
NEW JERSEY
The Jersey Journal
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
By ALI WINSTON
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER
Parishioners at a Jersey City church are furious with their former priest, who was reassigned more than two months ago - leaving unaccounted for more than a half-million dollars in donations and dozens of religious relics and icons.
In addition, all the records at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church on Summit Avenue maintained during the 131/2-year tenure of the Very Rev. Kyrillos Markopoulos - marriage licenses, baptismal certificates, receipt books for donations, even the church's property deed - are missing.
CHICAGO (IL)
Belleville News-Democrat
Associated Press
CHICAGO - A suburban priest who stepped down from parish ministry after allegations surfaced that he may have abused two youths in the 1980s has filed a defamation lawsuit against his accusers.
The Rev. Robert Stepek, pastor of St. Albert the Great Parish in Burbank, voluntarily stepped down in May as the allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced. He argues in the complaint filed Tuesday that the accusations are false.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago is investigating the allegations.
"There's nothing more damaging to a priest's reputation than an allegation that he engaged in the type of misconduct with minors that Father Stepek is accused of having done," said Phillip Zisook, Stepek's lawyer.
Stepek's suit seeks more than $1 million in punitive damages from the accusers and states that they inflicted emotional stress upon him.
CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune
By Gerry Doyle
Tribune staff reporter
Published November 29, 2006
A Burbank priest removed from ministry this month after allegations that he abused two youths were found to be credible by church authorities is suing his accusers.
The lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, claims that the two defendants, identified as John Doe 1 and John Doe 2, defamed Rev. Robert Stepek, pastor of St. Albert the Great Parish. The suit alleges that the accusations of abuse in the 1980s, leveled in May, were false and came as retaliation for slights against the two men committed about 20 years ago.
"There's nothing more damaging to a priest's reputation than an allegation that he engaged in the type of misconduct with minors that Father Stepek is accused of having done," said Stepek's lawyer, Phillip Zisook.
John Doe 2, an undergraduate seminarian in 1987, asked Stepek for a letter of recommendation, which he did not provide, the lawsuit states. The youth said that he would retaliate, the lawsuit states.
CHICAGO (IL)
WQAD
CHICAGO A Chicago-area priest who stepped down from parish ministry after allegations surfaced that he may have abused two youths has filed a defamation lawsuit against his accusers.
In a complaint filed in Cook County yesterday, the Reverend Robert Stepek argues that the abuse accusations are false. He is pastor of St. Albert the Great Parish in Burbank.
Stepek's suit seeks more than one-(M) million dollars in punitive damages.
The lawsuit identifies the defendants as John Doe One and John Doe Two.
FORT WORTH (TX)
Star-Telegram
By DARREN BARBEE
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
Editor's note: This report was originally published June 5, 2005.
"T admits to being attracted to adolescents in every way, including sexually."
-- Bishop Joseph Delaney's notes, June 12-13, 1988, shortly before he hired the Rev. Thomas Teczar
"His time in therapy was very intense and painful but very successful. He no longer has the need to seek out adolescents for companions. ... Because of all the other good qualities for ministry in T's life, S feels he will be a very successful priest."
-- Delaney's notes from a June 14, 1988, conversation with Gilbert Skidmore, Teczar's therapist
"I am willing to give Father Teczar an opportunity to get back into active ministry, fully aware of the possible risks that may be involved. ... Please pray with me that my decision will be of benefit to all concerned and for the good of souls."
-- Delaney in a July 13, 1988, letter to Bishop Timothy Harrington in Worcester, Mass.
"I laid down a request that he not have any social relationships with anyone under 25 in future."
-- Delaney's notes from a Jan. 25, 1991, meeting with Teczar to discuss the priest's meetings with two young men in Bedford
TEXAS
Star-Telegram
By Eva-Marie Ayala
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
A former pastor convicted of raping three women has been temporarily moved to an East Texas prison.
Terry Hornbuckle, 44, was sent to the Gurney Unit transfer facility near Tennessee Colony in Anderson County last week. He will likely remain there until he is processed to be moved to a permanent facility where he will serve out his 15-year sentence, officials said.
FORT WORTH (TX)
Star-Telegram
THE REV. WILLIAM REECE HOOVER
Ordained: May 28, 1955, Dallas-Fort Worth
Died: Oct. 19, 1996
Assignments: St. James, Dallas; Holy Cross, Dallas; St. Patrick, Fort Worth; Christ the King, Dallas; Blessed Sacrament, Dallas; St. Cecilia, Dallas; St. Edward, location not known; St. Thomas, location not known; Holy Name, Fort Worth; St. Patrick, Fort Worth
The Rev. William Hoover was a fixture at St. Patrick Cathedral in downtown Fort Worth. Even after an allegation was raised against him in 1995, he continued to receive support from his congregation.
That year, Bishop Delaney announced that Hoover had admitted to molesting a child at Boy Scout outings while serving as the Scouts' chaplain about 38 years earlier.
After learning of the allegation, Hoover's congregation held at least one prayer service, "a Holy Hour for Father William Hoover." They also prayed for the victim.
NORTH ANDOVER (MA)
Eagle-Tribune
By Drake Lucas , Staff writer
Eagle-Tribune
NORTH ANDOVER - The Rev. Steve Poitras was perhaps best remembered in town for faking that he had cancer while he was an assistant priest at St. Michael Church in 1994.
This week, he was also accused of sexual abuse of a minor during the same time. Poitras left St. Michael Church in early 1995.
The Very Rev. John Delaney, vicar of the Lawrence area Catholic churches who came to St. Michael Church in 2000, said the allegation did not come from a parishioner of St. Michael Church and the abuse was not alleged to have happened at a church event. No other information about the victim was available.
Poitras was placed on leave from his current position as parochial vicar at St. Michael's parish in Hudson, and the archdiocese is investigating the allegation.
The Essex County district attorney is also aware of the allegation but would not confirm or deny there is an investigation. North Andover police are not investigating any allegations.
Bernice Subach, a parishioner at St. Michael Church who also attended when Poitras was there, said she does not believe the allegation against him. She said he was a great person, even after Poitras told the parish he had lied about having cancer.
HUDSON (MA)
Boston Globe
By Charles A. Radin, Globe Staff | November 28, 2006
The Rev. Steven Poitras, associate pastor of St. Michael Parish in Hudson, has been placed on administrative leave pending investigation of an allegation that he sexually abused a child in 1994, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston announced yesterday.
The Massachusetts attorney general's office and the Essex district attorney's office have been notified of the accusation, the archdiocese said in a statement; an internal investigation has also been launched. "The decision to place Father Poitras on administrative leave does not represent a determination of his guilt or innocence," the archdiocese said.
Kelly Lynch of the archdiocese's public relations firm, said parishioners were notified by the parish priest at Masses last weekend that Poitras was being put on leave because of an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor.
She would not provide specifics of the alleged abuse, citing "the confidential nature of the investigation."
She said the alleged abuse did not occur at the parish to which Poitras was assigned.
MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Globe
By Charles A. Radin, Globe Staff | November 29, 2006
A leader of the now-closed Sacred Heart Parish in Medford has quit the pastoral council of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston to protest what he describes as the church's failure to ease the pain of parish closings in the Medford area.
Jack Coakley, 46, said yesterday that he resigned five weeks before the end of his two-year term both as a protest and as a last-ditch effort to get Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley to pay attention to young and middle-aged people he said are walking away from the church because of parish closings and other problems. Coakley submitted his resignation last Friday.
The council is a group of about 50 members of the laity and six clergy that advises O'Malley on matters of concern at the parish level in the archdiocese.
Coakley was cochairman of the Sacred Heart parish council when the archdiocese announced in 2004 that Sacred Heart and about 80 other parishes would be closed and their members merged into other congregations as part of the archdiocese's efforts to cope with a financial crisis caused by declining church attendance and the clergy sexual-abuse scandal.
JACKSONVILLE (FL)
Times-Union
Jacksonville Film Events, the non-profit organization that organizes the Jacksonville Film Festival, Reel People and Books Alive, will present a screening of the documentary Hand of God at 7:15 p.m. on Monday at The Atlantic Theatres off Atlantic Boulevard in Atlantic Beach.
Hand of God portrays the experience of a survivor of Catholic clergy abuse. As filmed by his brother, this is an outspoken and sometimes humorous look at a family's attempt to regain its spiritual footing.
Filmmaker Joe Cultrera grounds the story of his brother Paul's abuse in the details of their Sicilian-American Catholic upbringing. The film is making the rounds of independent film festivals across the country.
The filmmaker will be in attendance for questions after the film. Tickets are $10, and are available at the door.
FORT WORTH (TX)
The China Post
2006/11/29
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP)
Leaders in the Fort Worth Roman Catholic Diocese withheld information about the extent of sexual abuse allegations against half a dozen priests and helped them stay in the ministry, according to secret files released by a judge.
The 700 pages, released on Tuesday, show how the late Bishop Joseph P. Delaney and his top assistants dealt with accusers and the priests.
Documents show that diocese leaders and other church officials counted the days until the risk of civil liability had passed in dealing with one accuser; allowed one priest who admitted abusing a child to keep working until his death; and withheld details about accusations to minimize public fallout.
State District Judge Len Wade released parts of the files after diocese attorneys tried to keep them closed for about a year, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and The Dallas Morning News reported in their online editions Tuesday.
FORT WORTH (TX)
The Dallas Morning News
01:05 AM CST on Wednesday, November 29, 2006
The events that led to Tuesday's release of Fort Worth Catholic Diocese records began in 2003, when two Texas men filed a lawsuit alleging that the Rev. Thomas Teczar had sexually abused them when they were boys. They accused diocese officials of covering up the priest's prior misconduct in Massachusetts as part of a broader pattern of concealing clergy abuse.
Tarrant County state District Judge Len Wade oversaw the Teczar litigation and ordered the diocese to give the men records on seven other priests who had been accused of abuse. But the judge, at the diocese's request, sealed the records from the public and barred the accusers from discussing them publicly.
In 2005, The Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Star-Telegram asked Judge Wade to unseal the material, saying that Texas court records are by law public.
"The Morning News has a history of fighting in the courts to obtain information vital to public health and well-being," Editor Bob Mong said. "Our readers rightly expect as much of us. We also have a long and distinguished legacy of challenging the unnecessary sealing of important documents and records."
Lawyers for the diocese and the seven other priests sought to keep the records sealed, arguing that most of the clerics were no longer in ministry and were entitled to privacy. They have also maintained that there was no pattern of cover-up and that releasing the records would chill the free exercise of religion.
PORTLAND (OR)
The Oregonian
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
JESSICA BRUDER
A former Portland church youth leader surrendered to police this month after being accused of taking nude pictures and playing sexual games with three teenage boys, all members of New Song Church in Northeast Portland.
Jeremey Steven Thompson, 30, was indicted Nov. 20 in Clackamas County on two counts of child sex abuse and two counts of encouraging child sex abuse.
Police said that last summer Thompson drove the boys naked to Bagby Hot Springs, where he photographed the boys, ages 16 and 17, and led them in a salacious game of truth or dare.
BEDFORD (VA)
The Roanoke Times
By Mike Allen
981-3236
BEDFORD -- Troubled by unwanted sexual thoughts that he believed came from demons, a 13-year-old boy turned to someone he trusted for answers: his church's youth coordinator, Joseph Steven Shrewsbury.
But Shrewsbury told the boy that to get rid of the demon, the boy had to act out what the demon wanted, a Bedford County prosecutor said.
Tuesday morning, Shrewsbury, 30, pleaded guilty to 12 counts of taking indecent liberties with a minor, two counts of aggravated sexual battery and one count of carnal knowledge for molesting the boy in August 2005.
Assistant Bedford County Commonwealth's Attorney Wes Nance said prosecutors will ask a judge to sentence Shrewsbury to serve about 15 to 20 years in the penitentiary.
FORT WORTH (TX)
Star-Telegram
By DARREN BARBEE
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
FORT WORTH -- In public, Fort Worth Bishop Joseph P. Delaney and his trusted subordinates often spoke of the importance of being honest and open about allegations of sexual abuse by priests.
But the moral and spiritual leaders of the Fort Worth Roman Catholic Diocese buried key facts about six men accused of molesting children in their secret archive, known as the confidential files.
On Tuesday, state District Judge Len Wade released portions of the files after about a year of legal maneuvering by attorneys to keep them closed. The files, which were sealed as part of a sexual abuse lawsuit against the diocese, reveal that Delaney and other church leaders sometimes intentionally misled the public, their congregations and the priests' accusers.
In the documents, those leaders describe how they hid payments to one victim while counting the days until the civil statute of limitations had expired and how they moved accused priests to other parishes.
CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Sun-Times
November 29, 2006
BY STEPHANIE GEHRING Daily Southtown
A Burbank priest filed a defamation lawsuit Tuesday against the two brothers who accused him of molesting them more than 20 years ago.
The Rev. Robert Stepek, former pastor of St. Albert the Great Catholic Church is asking for more than $1 million in punitive damages from the brothers, claiming they falsely accused him of criminal wrongdoing, sexual misconduct and deviant behavior out of revenge.
Pastor claims retaliation
Stepek said he refused to write a letter of recommendation for one brother who wanted to attend a graduate seminary school, saying the boy "had character deficiencies" that made him unsuitable for the priesthood.
He also claims the brothers are retaliating for a 2005 incident in which Stepek refused to pay for incomplete and unsatisfactory construction work at St. Albert. The brothers have a financial stake in a company that did work at the church, according to court papers.
MADISON (WI)
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
By Ryan J. Foley
Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. – Five men, including one from Indiana, who were sexually abused by a Catholic school teacher in Kentucky cannot sue two Roman Catholic dioceses in Wisconsin for allegedly covering up the man’s abuse of dozens of children in the 1960s, a state appeals court ruled Tuesday.
The District 1 Court of Appeals said the lawsuit by the men – Kenneth Hornback of Harrison County, Ind., and Dennis L. Bolton, Ronald W. Kuhl, David W. Schaeffer and Glenn M. Bonn, all of Louisville – is barred by the statute of limitations.
The plaintiffs’ lawyer criticized the ruling, and a national advocacy group for abuse victims called it “disgraceful.”
“The notion that kids ‘knew or should have known at the time of the assaults that they had been injured’ flies in the face of common sense and common decency,” said Barbara Dorris, a spokeswoman for the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, citing part of the ruling.
CALIFORNIA
Petaluma Argus Courier
Published: Wednesday, Nov 29, 2006
By STEPHAN PASSALACQUA
Emotions run high in the area of child sexual abuse, particularly when committed by those who abuse positions of trust. The Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office takes its responsibility seriously to ensure that these cases are reported promptly so that we may take immediate action to bring the perpetrators to justice. Under California’s child abuse mandated reporting law, failure to report suspected cases of abuse is a misdemeanor.
The intent of the mandated reporting law is to protect the most vulnerable members of our community, our children. Immediately reporting suspected abuse allows law enforcement to take swift measures to apprehend the perpetrators and ensure the safety of any child at risk.
In these cases, there is an urgency that will never be compromised.
That is why the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office has acted decisively to hold Bishop Daniel Walsh accountable for violating the law. Consistent with past practice, and as has been the case this year with more than 1,000 people facing misdemeanor charges, Bishop Walsh is eligible to take part in what is known as a pre-filing diversion program. If he does not successfully complete this rigorous four-month program, the misdemeanor charge for failing to report suspected child abuse will automatically be filed.
FORT WORTH (TX)
Star-Telegram
These articles contain sexually explicit language that may be offensive to some readers.
THE REV. PHILIP ANTHONY MAGALDI
Incardinated: Jan. 30, 1995
Assignments: St. Mary, Henrietta; St. John the Apostle, North Richland Hills
Over the Rev. Philip Magaldi's flamboyant career, he weathered perjury charges in New England and served time in a halfway house for embezzling $123,400 from his Rhode Island parish.
The diocese kept quiet about the first sexual abuse complaint against him in 1997. But a second, startlingly similar allegation -- and the threat of publicity -- about two years later forced Bishop Delaney to remove the priest from ministry.
Details of one allegation were not revealed until the documents were released Tuesday.
FORT WORTH (TX)
Star-Telegram
These articles contain sexually explicit language that may be offensive to some readers.
THE REV. JOHN HOWLETT
Religious order: Pallottine Society
Assignments: St. Mary, Graham; St. Brendan, Stephenville
Church leaders held their breath when complaints of sexual abuse resurfaced against the Rev. John Howlett in mid-1993. They placated the mother of female accusers -- who had come forward years before -- while hoping she would not go to the authorities or file a lawsuit before the statute of limitations expired.
At least three more women would later come forward to tell similar stories of betrayal, broken faith and childhoods destroyed because, they said, Howlett abused them. One woman told the diocese that the priest habitually sought sexual gratification from her beginning when she was 9. Another said she was 5 when Howlett began molesting her.
The files do not indicate any effort to contact police about the allegations. Today, Howlett lives in Dublin, Ireland, where he faces some restrictions on his travel and public appearances imposed by his religious order, the Pallottines.
FORT WORTH (TX)
Star-Telegram
These articles contain sexually explicit language that may be offensive to some readers.
THE REV. JAMES JOSEPH REILLY
Ordained: Oct. 14, 1945, Dallas-Fort Worth
Died: May 2, 1999
Assignments: Christ the King, Dallas; Sacred Heart, Wichita Falls; St. George, Fort Worth; Sacred Heart, Wichita Falls; Immaculate Conception, Denton; St. John parish and school, Ennis; St. Andrew, Laneri High School, Fort Worth; St. Augustine and Holy Spirit Seminary, Dallas; Holy Spirit Seminary; Our Lady Queen of Peace, Wichita Falls; St. Maria Goretti, Arlington; Holy Trinity Seminary
Monsignor James Reilly drifted out of life in the fog of Alzheimer's disease in 1999, even as painful memories kept his accusers coming forward.
As one man wrote to the diocese in 2000, "It's amazing that, even though he's dead, he still exerts some control in my life."
FORT WORTH (TX)
Star-Telegram
THE REV. RUDOLF JOHN RENTERIA
Ordained: Aug. 18, 1979
Assignments: St. Matthew, Arlington; Sacred Heart, Wichita Falls; Holy Family et al., Vernon; St. Philip the Apostle, Lewisville; Holy Family, Fort Worth; St. Paul's Hospital, Dallas
The June 29, 2002, news release was technically correct: Bishop Delaney was removing the Rev. Rudolf Rentería from active ministry because of a single accusation that he had abused a minor in 1981.
The news release stated that no other allegations of sexual misconduct with a minor had been made against Rentería during his time in Wichita Falls, Vernon or Lewisville.
But Delaney made no mention of another sex abuse allegation involving an 18-year-old that had more recently come to his attention.
MIAMI (FL)
Local 10
MIAMI -- Another lawsuit has been filed against the Archdiocese of Miami alleging that a priest repeatedly molested an altar boy over a lengthy period of time.
Attorney Jeffrey Herman announced the suit filed on behalf of a man who had served as an altar boy at St. Timothy Church. The suit alleges that the Rev. Gustavo Miyares groomed John Kleer by, among other things, giving him special attention and offering him wine which was intended for use in Mass.
Herman said, "He (Kleer) was betrayed by Miyares and it's time he paid the consequences."
The suit alleges that in the early 1980s, after he gradually gained Kleer's trust, Miyares began to sexually abuse him. Kleer said that when he questioned the sexual touching, Miyares told him that these were the kind of things that boys did to become a priest. Kleer was about 12 years old at the time of the alleged abuse.
MIAMI (FL)
CBS 4
Click PLAY On The Video Player For Kleer's Interview
Marybel Rodriguez
Reporting
(CBS4) MIAMI An attorney who has specialized in bringing sex abuse lawsuits against the Archdiocese of Miami announced the filing of another suit, involving alleged sexual abuse of a minor by a former Miami priest.
John Kleer, the alleged victim, joined Attorney Jeffrey Herman in making the announcement, claiming he had been sexually assaulted by Father Gustavo Miyares. It claims that Kleer was abused on many occasions in the 80’s when he was an altar boy, including at the church rectory,
Unlike many victims who have remained anonymous as they file their lawsuits, Kleer decided to bring his story to the public. He's 39-years-old now, married, and has a 12-year-old daughter.
"I can't hide it anymore," said Kleer. "It's destroyed me."
CALIFORNIA
CBS 5
(BCN) MARIN SNAP, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is handing out leaflets to parents whose children attend the St. Anselm School in Ross.
SNAP spokesman Joey Piscitelli said the protest is over the return of Rev. John Schwartz to the Saint Anselm parish for the Christmas season.
Schwartz took a leave of absence in October 2005 while the Archdiocese of San Francisco investigated the priest's alleged sexual misconduct in Oregon.
The diocese informed parish members this week that its investigation concluded the allegations "were not sustainable" and Schwartz would return to the Ross church until he takes up a new assignment at the end of the year.
FORT WORTH (TX)
KTEN
FORT WORTH, Texas Files released today show leaders of the Fort Worth Roman Catholic Diocese weren't forthcoming on the extent of sexual abuse allegations against some priests.
The files show how Bishop Joseph P. Delaney, who died last year, and his top assistants dealt with accusers and the priests.
Documents show diocese leaders and other church officials counted the days until the risk of civil liability had passed in dealing with one accuser.
ZIMBABWE
New Zimbabwe
By Mduduzi Mathuthu
Last updated: 11/28/2006 21:54:57
Tuesday, November 29, 2006
Pastor Admire Kasi, the disgraced priest of infidelity who was defrocked by the Zimbabwe Assemblies of God (ZAOGA) church has, until last week, been denying that he has been sleeping with gospel singer Ivy Kombo for years.
After temporarily setting camp in the United Kingdom with the singer – purportedly to “spread the word of God” -- the bumbling pastor returned to Zimbabwe last week to announce he is getting married next February.
I don’t care about his marriage.
I do care, however, when Christian values are perverted by a man who curiously insists on being referred to as a pastor – despite years of telling lies and deceiving his suffering ex-wife, Sarah.
FORT WORTH (TX)
Fox News
FORT WORTH, Texas — Leaders in the Fort Worth Roman Catholic Diocese withheld information about the extent of sexual abuse allegations against half a dozen priests and helped them stay in the ministry, according to secret files released by a judge Tuesday.
The 700 pages show how the late Bishop Joseph P. Delaney and his top assistants dealt with accusers and the priests.
Documents show that diocese leaders and other church officials counted the days until the risk of civil liability had passed in dealing with one accuser; allowed one priest who admitted abusing a child to keep working until his death; and withheld details about accusations to minimize public fallout.
State District Judge Len Wade released parts of the files after diocese attorneys tried to keep them closed for about a year, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and The Dallas Morning News reported in their online editions Tuesday.
The newspapers and several of the priests' accusers asked Wade to release the secret files _ notes, memos and e-mails created and maintained by diocese leaders.
FORT WORTH (TX)
WFAA
06:17 PM CST on Tuesday, November 28, 2006
By BRAD WATSON / WFAA-TV
Despite years of battling by the Fort Worth Catholic Diocese's attorneys, hundreds of pages of documents that contain information on how leaders dealt with allegations of sexual abuse against several priests were released Tuesday.
The documents released include internal notes, memos, letters and e-mails created and maintained by diocese leaders.
A judge presiding over one of the abuse cases released the 700 pages of documents, which show a diocese in turmoil and leaders agonizing over what to do over the allegations. It also reveals steps some took to mislead the public and keep the accused priests working.
The lawsuits against the Fort Worth Catholic Diocese covered six priests accused of sexual misconduct, some of which were allegedly against children.
The result decades later, said one abuse victim who is one of 11 former altar boys who settled a suit against the Rev. James Reilly, is continued pain.
CALIFORNIA
KTVU
POSTED: 8:29 pm PST November 28, 2006
MARIN CO. -- An organization of victims sexually abused by priests is protesting the return of a priest to a Marin County church Tuesday afternoon.
SNAP, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is handing out leaflets to parents whose children attend the St. Anselm School in Ross. SNAP spokesman Joey Piscitelli said the protest is over the return of Rev. John Schwartz to the Saint Anselm parish for the Christmas season.
Schwartz took a leave of absence in October 2005 while the Archdiocese of San Francisco investigated the priest's alleged sexual misconduct in Oregon.
The diocese informed parish members this week that its investigation concluded the allegations "were not sustainable" and Schwartz would return to the Ross church until he takes up a new assignment at the end of the year.
Piscitelli and other SNAP members claim the diocese hand-picked a panel for the investigation and its conclusion that Schwartz is credible was to be expected.
ROSS (CA)
Fresno Bee
ROSS, Calif. (AP) - A priest accused in a civil lawsuit of sexual abuse allegations will be returning to his previous assignment at St. Anselm Church in Ross.
Parishioners at the church were told Sunday that the Rev. John Schwartz was returning after an independent investigation by the Archdiocese of San Francisco concluded that the accusations against him were not credible.
Schwartz was scheduled to come back to the church next month for the Christmas season, but will be assigned to another parish after the holidays, officials said.
Schwartz was on vacation when the news of the $4 million lawsuit became public, and took a voluntary leave after the archdiocese said it would conduct an investigation.
FORT WORTH (TX)
Sioux City Journal
1:15 AM
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- Leaders in the Fort Worth Roman Catholic Diocese withheld information about the extent of sexual abuse allegations against half a dozen priests and helped them stay in the ministry, according to secret files released by a judge Tuesday.
The 700 pages show how the late Bishop Joseph P. Delaney and his top assistants dealt with accusers and the priests.
Documents show that diocese leaders and other church officials counted the days until the risk of civil liability had passed in dealing with one accuser; allowed one priest who admitted abusing a child to keep working until his death; and withheld details about accusations to minimize public fallout.
State District Judge Len Wade released parts of the files after diocese attorneys tried to keep them closed for about a year, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and The Dallas Morning News reported in their online editions Tuesday.
HUDSON (MA)
Milford Daily News
By Peter Reuell
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
HUDSON -- Parishioners at St. Michael Church yesterday called the Rev. Steven Poitras a "personable, dedicated" priest, and expressed shock and anger at a recently revealed allegation of sexual misconduct.
In a statement released Monday, the Archdiocese of Boston said Poitras had been suspended from his post as the second-ranking priest at the Manning Street church after being accused of sexual abuse of a minor.
According to the statement, the alleged abuse took place in 1994, when Poitras was assigned to a church in North Andover.
After receiving the allegation, archdiocese officials notified the state attorney general's office and the Essex County district attorney, and launched a preliminary investigation.
Parishioners, however, yesterday seemed reluctant to believe the allegations.
"He's a very nice person," Antonio Goncalves said outside the church. "It was very pleasant to have Mass with him."
MIAMI (FL)
Miami Herald
BY LAURA MORALES
llmorales@MiamiHerald.com
Another former altar boy has filed a lawsuit in Miami-Dade County claiming that the Rev. Gustavo Miyares, a Hialeah Catholic priest, sexually abused him in the early 1980s.
The suit is the second in as many months against Miyares, who resigned last month from his post at Hialeah's Immaculate Conception Church.
In the first suit, a former altar boy accused Miyares and the Rev. Pedro Jove of fondling and raping him while attending a summer camp in 1981 at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach.
In the latest suit, a 35-year-old Collier County man who did not want to be identified said Miyares touched him inappropriately and that the abuse continued for more than three years when he was an altar boy at St. Timothy Catholic Church.
FLORIDA
Sun-Sentinel
By Madeline Baró Diaz
Miami Bureau
Posted November 29 2006
A Sunrise man filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the Archdiocese of Miami, saying a priest abused him more than 20 years ago when he was an altar boy at a south Miami-Dade County church.
John Kleer, 35, said he came forward after another man sued the archdiocese in October, accusing the same priest, the Rev. Gustavo Miyares, of abusing him after they met at a Catholic summer camp in Boynton Beach. Miyares, longtime pastor of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Hialeah, resigned after the allegations came to light and can no longer serve as a priest.
"It literally jolted me," Kleer said. "I felt I could come forward and it wasn't just me against a priest."
The suit filed in Miami-Dade court accuses the archdiocese of concealing information about Miyares' abuse of children and seeks more than $10 million in damages.
FORT WORTH (TX)
The Dallas Morning News
12:00 AM CST on Wednesday, November 29, 2006
By BROOKS EGERTON / The Dallas Morning News
Fort Worth Catholic Diocese leaders systematically helped predator priests stay in ministry for two decades by concealing information from parishioners, police and the public, court records unsealed Tuesday show.
The records, which The Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Star-Telegram obtained after a 19-month legal battle, contain more than 700 pages from the personnel files of seven priests that the diocese had fought to keep secret.
Nearly half of the records deal with numerous sexual abuse complaints against the Rev. Philip Magaldi, who said Tuesday night that he remains in ministry despite diocesan statements to the contrary. The priest was an old friend of the late Bishop Joseph Delaney, who supervised all seven clergymen and appeared in the documents to have been motivated at times by fear of bad publicity.
"There is no way that – that I can defend myself before God or before the people of the diocese or before the world if ... [a reporter for The Dallas Morning News], for instance, tomorrow morning, published all of this," Bishop Delaney told Father Magaldi during one confrontation over an abuse complaint, according to the records. "There would be no defense."
FORT WORTH (TX)
The Dallas Morning News
12:00 AM CST on Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Here are details from church files unsealed Tuesday about seven priests accused of sexual abuse or inappropriate touching. All the records deal with complaints made to church officials during the tenure of Bishop Joseph Delaney, who died last year. There is no sign that police were notified about any of the priests. To read more of the court documents, go to DallasNews.com.
The Rev. Philip Magaldi
Initial allegation: He offered dinner and drinks to an 18-year-old who came to him for confession in 1995, hugged him, groped his buttocks, kissed him and paid him to administer enemas.
Where he worked then: St. John the Apostle, North Richland Hills
When reported: 1997
Priest's response then: Father Magaldi denied abusing the young man but admitted paying for the enemas, saying he needed help with a medical condition.
Diocesan response: Church investigators found the priest "guilty of sexual exploitation" and recommended that he be ordered to do volunteer work. Bishop Delaney left him at St. John and barred him from supervising altar boys – but, as previously reported, let him continue as chaplain of the diocesan Boy Scouts program.
What happened next: In 1998, a Massachusetts man said that Father Magaldi, while a priest in Rhode Island in the 1970s, had abused him for years, sometimes with enemas. The priest denied ever meeting the accuser. Bishop Delaney told the priest he had to remove him from ministry while investigating. But Father Magaldi kept working until 1999, when the Massachusetts man threatened to sue. After a suspension and the death of the accuser, he returned to part-time ministry. The priest was accused of misconduct with boys at his new job and removed again.
The priest today: He was allowed to continue his ministry at a retirement home until August 2006, when new Bishop Kevin Vann revoked all his priestly powers. Father Magaldi said Tuesday that he has defied the bishop's orders and remains in ministry at the home.
CANADA
CBC News
Last Updated: Tuesday, November 28, 2006 | 12:29 PM ET
CBC News
A Catholic priest accused of child sexual abuse will have his identity kept private at the Cornwall public inquiry, the commissioner has ruled — but only until Thursday at 5 p.m. unless a court decides otherwise.
The inquiry is looking into the way public and private institutions in Cornwall responded to scores of allegations of child sexual abuse made against prominent people in the eastern Ontario community over several decades.
Commissioner Normand Glaude dismissed a request Monday from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cornwall-Alexandria to put a publication ban on the priest's identity, but has given lawyers time to appeal.
Glaude did put a temporary ban in place while the diocese seeks a review of the ruling in the Ontario court of justice.
Until Thursday evening, the media cannot publish anything that might identify the priest and a live internet broadcast of the proceedings will be suspended while witnesses testify about him.
FORT WORTH (TX)
The Dallas Morning News
01:50 PM CST on Tuesday, November 28, 2006
By BROOKS EGERTON / The Dallas Morning News
A judge on Tuesday unsealed more than 700 pages of church records that show how Fort Worth Catholic Diocese leaders helped priests accused of sexual abuse stay in ministry.
The records cover seven clergymen who served under Bishop Joseph Delaney, who died last year. His successor, Bishop Kevin Vann, has said he hopes the records’ release “will mark the beginning of a new era for the Diocese of Fort Worth and for our larger community.”
“It is extremely distressing and painful to have read these files,” Bishop Vann said this summer. “I find it all the more painful because I grew up surrounded by great examples of what the priesthood should be.”
The events that led to the records’ release began in 2003, when two Texas men filed a lawsuit alleging that an eighth priest had sexually abused them when they were boys. They accused diocese officials of covering up the Rev. Thomas Teczar’s prior misconduct in Massachusetts as part of a broader pattern of concealing clergy abuse.
Tarrant County state District Judge Len Wade oversaw the Teczar litigation and ordered the diocese to give the men records on other priests who had been accused of abuse. But the judge, at the diocese’s request, sealed the records from the public and barred the accusers from discussing them publicly.
CANADA
Ottawa Sun
Tue, November 28, 2006
By Canadian Press
CORNWALL — Another priest has lost his battle to keep his identity secret at a public inquiry probing the institutional response to allegations of child sexual abuse here.
Commissioner Normand Glaude dismissed a motion by the Alexandria-Cornwall Roman Catholic Diocese seeking a publication ban on the identity of a priest expected to be mentioned during the course of testimony at the hearings this week.
Following the ruling, lawyers for the diocese said they will seek a judicial review of the decision, so Glaude has put in place an interim publication ban on the priests' identity until Thursday at 5 p.m. The diocese has until then to seek a stay of the ruling while it waits for the Ontario Divisional Court to review the decision.
The interim ban prevents the media from reporting the priests name or any identifying factors related to him.
MADISON (WI)
Star Tribune
Associated Press
Last update: November 28, 2006 – 9:48 AM
MADISON, Wis.— Five men sexually abused by a Catholic school teacher in Kentucky cannot sue two Roman Catholic dioceses in Wisconsin for allegedly covering up the man's abuse of dozens of children in the 1960s, a state appeals court ruled Tuesday.
The District 1 Court of Appeals said the lawsuit by the men — Kenneth Hornback of Harrison County, Ind., and Dennis L. Bolton, Ronald W. Kuhl, David W. Schaeffer and Glenn M. Bonn, all of Louisville — is barred by the statute of limitations.
The five men were among 243 plaintiffs compensated under a $25.7 million church abuse settlement with the Archdiocese of Louisville. They were all under age 15 when they were sexually abused by Gary Kazmarek, a Catholic school teacher and coach in Louisville, between 1968 and 1973.
FORT WORTH (TX)
Star-Telegram
By DARREN BARBEE
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH -- Secret files that detail sexual-abuse allegations against several Fort Worth Roman Catholic priests -- and that some say offer evidence that church leaders failed to act -- were released this morning, ending months of legal wrangling.
The files comprise about 700 pages. They were sought by some of the priests' accusers as well as the Star-Telegram and The Dallas Morning News.
The documents apparently cover allegations made since the diocese was founded in 1969 through the early 2000s.
The files contain information about the clergymen Philip Magaldi, James Reilly, William Hoover, Rudolf Renteria, James Hanlon, John Howlett and Joseph Tu Ngoc Nguyen.
HUDSON (MA)
CBS 4
(CBS4) BRIGHTON An allegation of sexual abuse of a minor has prompted the Archdiocese of Boston to place a vicar at a Hudson parish on administrative leave.
The archdiocese released a statement which said Rev. Steven Poitras, who serves at St. Michael's Parish, is accused of sexually abusing a minor in 1994.
Attorney General Tom Reilly and the Essex County District Attorney's office have been notified about the incident, and according to the archdiocese, a preliminary investigation into the allegation has been initiated.
"The decision to place Father Poitras on administrative leave does not represent a determination of his guilt or innocence as it pertains to this allegation," the archdiocese said in a written statement.
ROSS (CA)
Marin Independent Journal
Nancy Isles Nation
Article Launched:11/28/2006 01:33:35 AM PST
A priest who was on leave from a Ross church while under investigation for sexual abuse allegations will return to his assignment next month for the Christmas season.
The Rev. John Schwartz had been in residence at St. Anselm's Church on Shady Lane until last October, when a civil lawsuit in Oregon seeking $4 million named him as an abuser.
Schwartz was on vacation when the news of the lawsuit became public, and he took a voluntary leave after the Archdiocese of San Francisco said it would conduct an independent investigation of the allegations.
Parishioners at St. Anselm's were told on Sunday that the accusations were not credible and that Schwartz would return to the church. He is expected to be assigned to another parish after the holidays.
HUDSON (MA)
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
The Associated Press
BOSTON— A priest at a Hudson church has been placed on leave by the Roman Catholic Boston Archdiocese pending an investigation into an allegation that he sexually abused a child in 1994, church officials said.
Parishioners at St. Michael Parish were notified at Masses last weekend that their associate pastor, the Rev. Steven Poitras, had been suspended.
The state attorney general's office and the Essex district attorney's office have been notified and the archdiocese is conducting an internal investigation, church officials said in a statement.
"The decision to place Father Poitras on administrative leave does not represent a determination of his guilt or innocence," the archdiocese said.
The archdiocese did not elaborate on the details of the alleged abuse.
CALIFORNIA
Index-Tribune
By David Bolling INDEX-TRIBUNE NEWS EDITOR
11.28.06 - Xavier Ochoa, the fugitive Sonoma priest charged with multiple counts of child sex abuse, remains at large as Sonoma County sheriff's detectives continue efforts to secure his extradition and arrest. Local and federal law enforcement authorities believe he is somewhere in his native Mexico.
Sheriff's Det. Greg Miller said Monday that efforts to locate and arrest Ochoa are ongoing, but there is no new definitive information on his location, and attempts to secure permission from the Mexican government for the priest's extradition have been going slowly.
MIAMI (FL)
Herald-Tribune
BY KELLI KENNEDY
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
MIAMI -- A woman who claims a priest forced her to have sex, got her pregnant and then encouraged her to have an abortion, sued the Archdiocese of Miami Monday for negligence and vicarious liability.
The woman, identified as Jane Doe No. 30, is a Haitian immigrant who came to the United States to attend nursing school. She attended St. Vincent De Paul Church, where she received spiritual counseling from Father Marc Presume in 2005. The woman, who is in her early 20s, also received financial aid from the archdiocese to pay for her schooling, the lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court said.
She resisted sexual advances made by Presume, but he told her if she refused to have sex, the church would stop her financial assistance, the lawsuit said.
She had sex with him on several occasions and became pregnant. Presume told her to have an abortion, but she refused and gave birth to a boy, the lawsuit alleges.
WASHINGTON (DC)
Catholic Online
11/27/2006
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) – Bishop Daniel F. Walsh of Santa Rosa, Calif., agreed Nov. 20 to enroll in a diversion counseling program in lieu of facing possible criminal charges for his delay in reporting allegations that one of his priests sexually abused a minor.
Bishop Walsh publicly apologized for failing to report the alleged abuse to authorities immediately and said he would accept "whatever punishment is imposed."
In other recent developments concerning clergy sex abuse:
- Ohio's nine dioceses have joined to set up a $3 million fund for independent counseling for victims of childhood abuse at the hands of Ohio church personnel.
- The Diocese of Pittsburgh, Pa., announced a new spiritual outreach program for abuse victims.
LOUISIANA
The Times-Picayune
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
By Bruce Nolan
A Delaware Catholic bishop recently disclosed to his flock that a priest who served in several parishes around New Orleans in the 1980s and '90s was suspended on grounds that he sexually abused a minor more than 26 years ago.
The Rev. Paul Calamari had left New Orleans in 1997 and was living under the jurisdiction of Bishop Michael Saltarelli of the Diocese of Wilmington in 2003 when his privilege to say Mass and perform other priestly duties was lifted, Saltarelli reported in his diocesan newspaper on Nov. 17.
Calamari was among 20 priests the Wilmington diocese removed from ministry between 1985 and 2003 on "admitted, corroborated, or otherwise substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of minors," Saltarelli said.
Calamari was ordained in New Orleans and served at St. Raphael, Our Lady of the Holy Rosary and Our Lady of Perpetual Help parishes, said the Rev. William Maestri of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Calamari was also the archdiocese's director of religious education for a time, Maestri said.
Calamari left New Orleans on medical leave for treatment at St. John Vianney Center in Downingtown, Pa., a psychiatric center for priests and other church ministers, Maestri said.
TUCSON (AZ)
Tucson Citizen
By Anne T. Denogean
Tucson Citizen
Bishop Manuel Moreno will be laid to rest today. But the conflicted feelings about a good and decent man who failed to protect his flock will linger.
Under Moreno, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson was shaken to its core by a sex abuse scandal that he could have done much more to prevent.
"I don't think that I've forgiven him," said Tucsonan Michael Moylan, who settled with the diocese last year over accusations that he was molested at age 16 by a local priest.
Moreno "didn't molest me, but he made it so that I could be molested because he hid the fact of what he knew," said Moylan, 36. "He knew Father Kevin was a child molester, and he let him come in."
Moreno allowed Kevin Barmasse to come to the Tucson diocese in 1983 after the priest was accused of molesting a boy in Lakewood, Calif. Barmasse, who has returned to California, has never been convicted of a crime.
TUCSON (AZ)
Tucson Citizen
By BLAKE MORLOCK
Tucson Citizen
Bishop Manuel D. Moreno's death still hasn't sunk in for Troy Gray, who settled a lawsuit in 2005 with the Diocese of Tucson over sexual abuse allegations.
Moreno knew Gray's family and his picture is in photos taken during Gray's confirmation.
Moreno allowed the Rev. Kevin Barmasse into the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson despite allegations of predatory behavior against the priest from southern California, and Barmasse molested Gray as a boy, Gray's lawsuit alleged.
Moreno's death left Gray conflicted.
HUDSON (MA)
Boston Globe
By Charles A. Radin, Globe Staff | November 28, 2006
The Rev. Steven Poitras, associate pastor of St. Michael Parish in Hudson, has been placed on administrative leave pending investigation of an allegation that he sexually abused a child in 1994, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston announced yesterday.
The Massachusetts attorney general's office and the Essex district attorney's office have been notified of the accusation, the archdiocese said in a statement; an internal investigation has also been launched. "The decision to place Father Poitras on administrative leave does not represent a determination of his guilt or innocence," the archdiocese said.
Kelly Lynch of the archdiocese's public relations firm, said parishioners were notified by the parish priest at Masses last weekend that Poitras was being put on leave because of an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor.
She would not provide specifics of the alleged abuse, citing "the confidential nature of the investigation."
CHICAGO (IL)
Daily Herald
BY SHEILA AHERN
Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Monday, November 27, 2006
The longtime pastor of the Misión San Juan Diego church in Arlington Heights has resigned while the Archdiocese of Chicago continues to investigate an alleged sexual assault that took place in the church's rectory.
The Rev. Moises Marin resigned and a few weeks ago a new priest took over his duties, said Susan Burritt, director of media relations for the Archdiocese of Chicago.
"(Marin) voluntarily resigned," Burritt said. "He is still a priest of the archdiocese, but currently he does not have an assignment."
A 26-year-old Palatine man alleges he was sexually assaulted by the Rev. Juan Sanchez-Espinoza on Aug. 5 at the parish's rectory, which is located in Palatine. Sanchez-Espinoza was living at the San Juan Diego rectory at the time, but he was not assigned to the parish, Burritt said.
UXBRIDGE (MA)
The Catholic Free Press
By Tanya Connor
Members of St. Mary Parish in Uxbridge expressed gratitude and support for their pastor after learning last weekend that Bishop McManus was placing him on leave because of a sexual misconduct confession. They expressed appreciation for how the bishop handled the situation and spoke of banding together, not leaving the Church. ...
Father Doherty, 58, became pastor there in 2000. Prior to entering seminary in 1991 he was an announcer and disk jockey for radio station WNEB in Worcester. He was ordained in 1995 and was associate pastor at St. Patrick Parish in Whitinsville and St. Mary Parish in Shrewsbury. Previous jobs and ministries included being announcer and operations manager at radio station WPLM in Plymouth, teaching music in public schools, serving with the Salesians of Don Bosco and helping at his parish, St. Christopher’s in Worcester.
“As Bishop McManus revealed the heartbreaking news of his obligation to remove Father Paul as our pastor, my heart sank,” parishioner Kathy Desjardin said in a letter she sent the parish.
“However, I felt an inner strength, having worked very closely with Father Paul over the last several years” with the faith formation program, Boy Scout Troup 25 and prayer shawl ministry. “I have every intention of continuing to serve the church.”
She said a parishioner who had been sexually abused as a child told her it took her more than 40 years to forgive the perpetrator, who was not a priest. This woman asked that the parish forgive Father Doherty and wondered what they could do to console him, she said. Mrs. Desjardin suggested wrapping him in one of their prayer shawls, which they make as a way of praying and showing care for the sick and suffering.
“He’s been suffering for about a month,” Father John E. Kelley, St. Mary’s senior priest, said of Father Doherty, adding that the pastor appeared very depressed.
CANADA
CBC News
Last Updated: Monday, November 27, 2006 | 10:27 AM ET
CBC News
The Cornwall inquiry into child sexual abuse allegations is months behind schedule, thanks in part to a flood of lawyers' motions seeking to keep information from the public, the lead counsel says.
The inquiry is looking into how authorities dealt with scores of sexual abuse allegations against prominent members of the eastern Ontario community over several decades.
It was set to conclude on June 30. But Peter Engelmann, the lead counsel for the inquiry, now estimates that the proceedings will continue for some time.
He said the inquired has been delayed partly by an unusually high number of lawyers' motions, such as one scheduled to be heard Monday from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall.
DAVENPORT (IA)
Quad-City Times
By Michl Uhde, Davenport and Barbara Blaine, Chicago | Friday, November 24, 2006
Bishop Martin J. Amos has just taken over the divided and troubled Davenport diocese. We believe that he must take bold steps to bring the healing that this Catholic community truly deserves.
After years and years of horrific child molestation scandals, we hear the same sentiment from exasperated Catholics all across the country: “I just want to know if my pastor is an abuser or if he helped to hide the abusers.” This concern is reflected in surveys of parishioners, too. They just want to know the truth.
Franklin unilaterally stopped all progress toward healing by rushing into federal court essentially begging a judge to halt both the truth from emerging and the diocesan responsibility toward victims in the future.
Bishop Amos should heed the somewhat encouraging advice of the Pope himself, who said just two weeks ago: “It is important to establish the truth of what happened in the past, to take whatever steps are necessary to prevent it from occurring again, and, above all, to bring healing to the victims and to all those affected by these egregious crimes.”
PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia Daily News
THE GRAND JURY process started by District Attorney Lynne Abraham in 2002 to investigate the charges of abuse by Catholic priests was long, difficult and frustrating.
Two separate grand juries took three years to preside over hours of wrenching testimony from victims of abuse, resistance from the archidioecese, pressure from prosecutors and the public for results. And after all that, the grand jury concluded that no charges could be filed against offending priests or the church itself because of the limitations of state law.
But the grand jury's final report, released last year, did not become a toothless exercise destined to be filed and forgotten. Instead, it has led to results potentially much more lasting than the prosecution of the prients in the 63 cases of abuse the grand jury focused on, or the 40 they ultimately documented: It helped change in the very state law that governs such crimes to ensure that justice for abuse victims is better served in the future.
Last week, the State Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 1054, which finally adds teeth to the state's lax sex-abuse laws.
TUCSON (AZ)
KVOA
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Two days of Catholic rites for a former bishop who died earlier this month are set to begin in Tucson on Monday.
Bishop Emeritus Manuel D. Moreno of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson died Nov. 17 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease and prostate cancer.
A walking procession for Moreno will begin at 10 a.m. Monday, which would have been Moreno's 76th birthday. Services will begin at 10 a.m. followed by visitation. Recitations of the rosary will occur at 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. A vigil service is set for 7 p.m., followed by visitation until 10 p.m.
The funeral service is set for 11 a.m. on Tuesday, followed by Moreno's burial at Holy Hope Cemetery.
Moreno was the first Hispanic bishop of the Tucson diocese, a position he held for 21 years.
The end of his tenure was marked by a spate of civil lawsuits over the sexual abuse of children by local clergy that resulted in a $14 million settlement in January 2002.
DELAWARE
The News Journal
By CHANNING GREENE
DELAWARE VOICE
Having lived in New Mexico and Vermont for 20 years, until moving to Delaware recently, I see the pattern of sexual immorality among Catholic priests repeating itself, to the detriment of the church spiritually and even financially, as insurance companies increasingly refuse to bail out dioceses.
The requirement for priestly celibacy is a major source of the problem. There is no biblical requirement, or even a suggestion, for celibacy within the "clergy." In fact, New Testament standards for elders assume a married state, and evaluates a candidate according to how well his marriage is going and how he manages his children.
As a candidate for eldership in a local church, with 10 years of pulpit experience, I was thoroughly grilled recently by the elders on this area of my life. One advantage of this particular group is their concern for mutual accountability.
UTAH
The Guardian
Ed Pilkington in New York
Thursday November 23, 2006
The Guardian
A woman sobbed in court in Utah on Tuesday as she described how she had been forced into marriage at the age of 14 by the leader of a notorious polygamist sect.
In the most high profile legal action against polygamists since the national guard raided the community in 1953, Warren Jeffs, of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, was brought before the court in St George to hear the evidence against him.
Mr Jeffs, who is revered as a prophet, is charged with assisting the statutory rape of the girl by arranging her marriage. His accuser, referred to as Jane Doe IV, spent four hours describing her three-year marriage to her first cousin. She said that when she was told she was to be married she protested that she was too young, but Mr Jeffs said it was God's calling. "The prophet has revealed this is your mission and duty and what you need to do," he allegedly told her.
SALT LAKE CITY (UT)
PR Newswire
SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recognizes that the prosecution of polygamist Warren Jeffs is generating substantial media coverage and that Jeffs' group refers to its members as fundamentalist Mormons. That is causing problems for reporters trying to help their readers, viewers and listeners distinguish between Jeffs' followers and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In the public mind, the word "Mormon" has come to mean something very specific. It conjures up images of Mormon missionaries on bikes, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Mormon temples. It has become a synonym for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Consequently, when "Mormon" is used to describe polygamist groups, it causes great confusion about our beliefs among the general public and frustration to our members, which number over 12 million worldwide.
KINGMAN (AZ)
azfamily
03:27 PM Mountain Standard Time on Friday, November 24, 2006
Associated Press Report
KINGMAN — A judge in Mohave County turned down a defense request for a new trial for a polygamous Colorado City man convicted in October of having sex with an underage girl.
David Romaine Bateman, 49, was convicted of felony sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor and faces up to two years in prison on each count. He also could be sentenced to probation only.
Defense lawyer Bruce Griffin argued Tuesday that Bateman should get a new trial because a key prosecution witness, Richard Holm, overheard Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith's opening statements. Holm is a former member of Bateman's church, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Griffin also said prosecutors should have revealed more about Holm's history with his former wife, and that a juror's negative feelings about church leader Warren Jeffs should have been revealed before trial.
Judge James Chavez turned aside the challenges, saying none affected Bateman's fair trial rights. He reset Bateman's sentencing for Dec. 15.
ST. GEORGE (UT)
The Vancouver Sun
Daphne Bramham, Vancouver Sun
Published: Saturday, November 25, 2006
ST. GEORGE, Utah - Sara Hammon wept in a Utah courtroom this week as another young woman testified how she was forced at age 14 to marry her 19-year-old first cousin by Warren Jeffs, the prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
"It [the testimony] ripped my heart out," Hammon said.
Eighteen years ago, Hammon was also 14, living in the FLDS town of Hildale, Utah and engaged to be married.
But Hammon escaped, unlike the young woman who is the state's star witness against Jeffs who is charged with two counts of rape as an accomplice. Jeffs has an estimated 15,000 followers, including about 500 who live in seclusion in Bountiful, B.C. Another 700 or so fundamentalist Mormons in Bountiful follow Winston Blackmore. The woman, who is now 20 and pregnant, spent four hours testifying against Jeffs at a preliminary hearing
FORT WORTH (TX)
CBS 11
(CBS 11 News) FORT WORTH The bishop of The Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth is asking for God's forgiveness. Sunday, Bishop Kevin Vann publicly acknowledged sexual misconduct by some clergy members.
The bishop addressed victims of Monsignor James Reilly in a mass of reparation.
It was standing room only at Saint Maria Goretti Catholic Church in Arlington as Bishop Vann publicly acknowledged the sexual abuse of minors at the hands of Monsignor Reilly.
"In the name of the church, I offer an apology to those abused and their families for this and at the same time, petition the Lord for forgiveness. I also beg the forgiveness of those involved," Bishop Vann said.
NORTHERN IRELAND
One in Four
The Irish Times
A priest from the diocese of Derry appeared in court yesterday charged with six sex abuse offences. The priest, who cannot be named, is alleged to have committed the offences between August 1972 and November 1980.
He is charged with four counts of indecently assaulting a female, one of indecently assaulting a boy and one of committing an act of gross indecency towards the same boy.
IRELAND
Irish Independent
A CATHOLIC diocese has been forced to borrow hundreds of thousands of euro to compensate victims of clerical sex abuse.
The Diocese of Ferns in Co Wexford is expected to pay up to €10m in settlements to those abused by priests over a number of past decades.
At the annual meeting of its Finance Committee this week, it was revealed €4.7m has bee paid out in 29 cases settled.
A further 20 cases which are believed to reach €5m to settle are now pending against the diocese. Some of the cases are at an advanced stage.
CAIRO (NY)
Daily Freeman
By Ariel Zangla, Freeman staff 11/26/2006
CAIRO - A group comprising local Roman Catholic parishioners says its priest was not serving in Hudson during the time when he allegedly abused a boy who later became a priest.
The group Grassroots Effort of Parishioners from Sacred Heart/St. Mary's/Our Lady of Knock Parish Community said in a letter earlier this month that the Rev. Jeremiah Nunan did not begin serving at St. Mary's in Hudson until June 18, 1971. Nunan's accuser, the Rev. Mark Jaufmann, says he was sexually abused between the ages of 10 and 13. But that means the abuse would have to have taken place between 1967 and 1969, the parishioners' letter stated.
"Obviously, Father Nunan was not at that parish during those years," they wrote.
The letter said Nunan was assigned to St. Mary's in Little Falls, N.Y., from January 1967 to August 1968 and then Our Lady of Assumption in Latham from September 1968 to June 1971.
WILMINGTON (DE)
The News Journal
Posted Sunday, November 26, 2006
OUR VIEW
The pompous arrogance of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales -- who run Salesianum School -- exemplifies the worst of the Catholic Church's handling of its sexual abuse scandals. An attorney for the Oblates flatly told The News Journal there are no plan to release the names of accused priests. Likewise, the Norbertine Fathers, who operate Archmere Academy, have refused to respond on the question of releasing names. The same goes for the Capuchin Franciscan Friars.
They are the only three religious orders in Delaware that have priests with allegations of sexual abuse against them.
Two weeks ago, Bishop Michael Saltarelli released the names of 20 priests against whom there are what is categorized as "substantiated allegations of sexual abuse against minors." Because religious orders operate differently than dioceses -- their only commonality is the pope -- and separate from the diocese bishop, Bishop Saltarelli could only recommend that the orders release the names of the seven religious order priests with credible allegations against them.
MOLINE (IL)
Quad-City Times
By Dustin Lemmon | Sunday, November 26, 2006
While visiting the Vatican last week, Bill Christman of Moline delivered a letter to the pope about the sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of a former Quad-City area priest and spoke with a high-ranking official from the church about clergy abuse.
Christman said he was abused by William Wiebler, who died in September, and was one of the first local abuse victims to come forward in 2002.
Last year, Christman won a $180,000 settlement from the diocese and in the process started a reconciliation with the church through the help of the Rev. Bob Gruss, chancellor of the Davenport Diocese, and the Rev. Richard Barclift of St. Patrick’s Parish in Andalusia, Ill.
Gruss and former Davenport Diocese Bishop William Franklin wrote letters to the Vatican to help arrange Christman’s meeting with Msgr. Robert Deeley, an official with the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith.
SYRACUSE (NY)
The Post-Standard
Sunday, November 26, 2006
By Renée K. Gadoua
Staff writer
The Wilmington, Del., bishop has released the names of 20 priests with "admitted, corroborated or otherwise substantiated" allegations of sexual abuse, spurred by the arrest of a retired Delaware priest living in Syracuse since 1993.
Syracuse Bishop James Moynihan does not plan to change his policy of not releasing names, said Danielle Cummings, assistant chancellor and diocesan spokeswoman.
"He's committed to continuing on with the program, which is working in the diocese," Cummings said.
In addition to protecting the confidentiality of priests and victims, Moynihan cites the Eighth Commandment "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor" to defend his policy, which he has followed since the clergy sex-abuse scandal erupted in January 2002.
AUSTRALIA
Adelaide Now
COLIN JAMES, LEGAL AFFAIRS EDITOR
November 27, 2006 01:15am
A DISGRACED Anglican priest wants his prison sentence for child sexual abuse reduced, claiming his "genuine love" for his young male victim was not taken into account.
Raymond Frederick Ayles, 61, formerly of Queensland, sought leave to appeal against his four-year prison sentence for indecently assaulting Ian Michael Tolley, of Para Hills, in the 1970s. Ayles was found guilty three months ago in the District Court of sexually abusing Mr Tolley while he was a 14-year-old altar boy at St Augustine's Parish, Para Hills.
Ayles, who was 28 and priest in charge of the parish, pleaded guilty to one count of indecent assault but denied he had committed buggery with Mr Tolley, now aged 47.
Judge Andrea Simpson found him not guilty of buggery and four counts of indecent assault before sentencing him to four years in prison with a two-and-a-half-year non-parole period.
NEBRASKA
Lincoln Journal Star
BY LISA BENNETT
Earlier this month, a U.S. district judge dismissed the last of five sexual abuse lawsuits against Omaha’s Boys Town. Attorney Patrick Noaker told the court that his client, Lance Rivers, was uncommunicative in an Arizona psychiatric ward. As a result, Noaker said, he was unable to further prosecute the lawsuit.
In another courtroom 10 months ago, a Douglas County District judge dismissed the suit of Todd Rivers, Lance Rivers’ brother. Todd Rivers had argued that repressed memories of abuse suffered at the hands of a priest and a teacher in the 1980s prevented him from taking earlier action. The court didn’t agree and said that Todd Rivers’ lawsuit exceeded the Nebraska statue of limitations on child sexual assault.
The case of another Boys Town alleged victim, James Duffy, also was dismissed because the statute had expired.
NEW YORK
Albany Times Union
By BOB GARDINIER, Staff writer
First published: Saturday, November 25, 2006
The state Supreme Court Appellate Division has struck down a fine and sanctions against attorney John Aretakis that had been imposed by an acting Supreme Court judge who accused the lawyer of making unfounded accusations against him.
In 2005, Aretakis represented a man accused of rape in a case heard by acting state Supreme Court Justice Christian F. Hummel in Rensselaer County. Aretakis, who represents dozens of alleged victims of sexual abuse by priests, accused Hummel of bias favoring the Albany Roman Catholic Diocese in other matters he had before Hummel. He had previously asked the judge to recuse himself from some of the civil cases. He also made a request that Hummel recuse himself from the rape case, and Hummel refused.
In August 2003, Hummel dismissed a lawsuit filed by Aretakis that had accused the diocese of intentionally discouraging victims from coming forward to lodge complaints. In September 2003, Aretakis alleged Hummel engaged in secret communications with diocese officials or attorneys and notified them about a ruling before informing him.
OHIO
The Columbus Dispatch
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Dennis M . Mahoney
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Authorities are looking into an allegation that a Roman Catholic priest molested a teenage boy while serving at a Perry County church in the late 1980s.
The Rev. Aaron Cote, a Dominican priest who is on leave from ministry in Providence, R.I., was accused by a man of molesting him while Cote was pastor at Holy Trinity Church in Somerset from 1987 to 1989. For a year before that, Cote worked at St. Patrick Church in Downtown Columbus.
The allegation was reported to Cote’s Dominican superiors in New York in summer 2005 by a teacher in Somerset, who said the former student recently had confided to her that Cote had molested him.
CALIFORNIA
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
By Tim Townsend
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
11/22/2006
A 17-year-old Los Angeles resident who said he was sexually abused two years ago by former St. Louis pastor and community leader Sylvester Laudermill Jr. filed a lawsuit against him Tuesday. It was the second civil lawsuit alleging sexual abuse of a minor filed against Laudermill and the African Methodist Episcopal Church in two days.
On Monday, a 25-year-old man from St. Louis filed a lawsuit against Laudermill in St. Louis Circuit Court alleging that the former pastor began abusing him in 1995 when he was 14 or 15.
The Los Angeles resident, who filed his suit as John Doe through his guardian Jane Doe, alleged that the abuse took place at Laudermill's most recent church, Ward AME in Los Angeles, in November 2004. That was the same month Laudermill started as pastor there after 10 years at St. Peter AME Church at Margaretta and Shreve avenues in north St. Louis.
PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia Inquirer
By David O'Reilly and Julie Shaw
Inquirer Staff Writers
Heeding the call of the Philadelphia grand jury that investigated clergy sex crimes, the Pennsylvania Senate yesterday approved broad expansions of laws protecting victims of childhood sex abuse.
The bill passed unanimously, and a spokesman for Gov. Rendell said he expects to sign it into law.
Senate Bill 1054 closes loopholes for reporting abuse, and criminalizes the concealing of abuse by an abuser's supervisors. The House version passed last week, 191-1.
The bill also extends, from 30 to 50, the age by which future victims can bring criminal charges against an abuser; expands the state's "Megan's Law" reporting requirement; and requires criminal-background checks of workers at residential foster, adoptive, and family day-care facilities.
LOUISIANA
The Advocate
By ADRIAN ANGELETTE
Advocate staff writer
Published: Nov 22, 2006
A seventh former south Louisiana altar boy who claims an ex-Baton Rouge area priest molested him in the 1970s has settled his lawsuit with the diocese.
Exact terms of the agreement are confidential, but the attorney for the diocese said Tuesday the case was settled for less than $100,000.
All seven claims of sexual abuse that have settled, and another seven that remain active in the 19th Judicial District Court, allege that former priest Christopher Springer molested altar boys.
CALIFORNIA
LA Daily News
NOW that the path has been cleared for some 100 lawsuits against the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, we can only hope that Cardinal Roger Mahony will come clean once and for all.
Three years ago, the lawsuits had been put on hold in hopes that out-of-court settlements could be reached. But during that time, Mahony stonewalled on releasing key diocesan personnel records, and most cases were never settled.
Now, plaintiffs hope, as the trials go forward and discovery begins, the cardinal will have no choice but to come to the bargaining table. If nothing else, subpoenas might force him to turn over information that - for the benefit of victims, as well as all Catholics in the archdiocese he serves - he should have turned over a long time ago.
ILLINOIS
Chicago Tribune
Published November 22, 2006
COOK COUNTY -- A Palatine man filed a sexual-abuse lawsuit Tuesday against the Catholic Bishop of Chicago, described as a legal corporation, and two priests, both of whom were asked to leave an Arlington Heights church in August.
The plaintiff, identified in the suit only as John Doe, alleged that he was sexually abused on Aug. 5 by Rev. Juan Sanchez-Espinosa, then an associate priest at Mission San Juan Diego.
The man visited Espinosa and Rev. Moises Marin at the parish house on South Jewel Street in Palatine, according to the lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court.
The plaintiff says Espinosa and Marin gave him beer and tequila and may have put something in his food or drink to make him lose consciousness.
PENNSYLVANIA
The Morning Call
By Chris Parker Of The Morning Call
A Schuylkill County Catholic priest on probation for possessing huge amounts of child pornography made at least three clandestine trips to New York City, once taking the 7-year-old daughter of a stripper on a 31/2-hour excursion and later taking pictures of her.
The Rev. Ronald Yarrosh, former assistant pastor at St. Ambrose Church in Schuylkill Haven, also was discovered to have amassed a new collection of illicit photographs.
Baldwin also ordered the destruction of all of the pornography Yarrosh had stashed in a Luzerne County storage unit and a vacant Jim Thorpe home.
PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Daily News
By MICHAEL HINKELMAN
hinkelm@phillynews.com 215-854-2656
A federal judge yesterday threw out a sexual abuse-related class-action lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and its current and former leaders.
A dozen individuals filed the suit in June alleging that archdiocesan officials violated civil racketeering, or RICO, statutes and conspiracy laws when they allegedly covered up sexual abuse of minors by priests.
U.S. District Judge Legrome D. Davis said the plaintiffs should seek another route for redress.
WASHINGTON (DC)
National Catholic Register
BY MARY ANN SULLIVAN
Register Correspondent
November 26-December 2, 2006 Issue
Posted 11/22/06 at 8:00 AM
WASHINGTON — It wasn’t on the agenda for the meeting of the U.S. bishops conference, but bishops are being urged to no longer require sex abuse prevention programs for children.
The bishops’ conference’s Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People in 2002 mandated dioceses to have so-called “safe environment” programs. Some parents and advocacy groups have criticized the programs for introducing age-inappropriate sexual concepts to children and for placing the burden of resisting sexual advances on defenseless minors.
Now the Catholic Medical Association is recommending that bishops stop child protection programs that are based on “empowerment” models — those that train the child to protect himself in an abusive situation.
TOLEDO (OH)
The Beacon Journal
Associated Press
TOLEDO, Ohio - A priest found guilty of choking and stabbing a nun will not be allowed out of prison while he appeals his conviction, an appeals court ruled.
Ohio's 6th District Court of Appeals on Tuesday rejected the request to release the priest on bond while he appeals the case.
A jury in May found the Rev. Gerald Robinson guilty of killing Sister Margaret Ann Pahl while she was preparing a hospital chapel for Easter weekend services in 1980. He was sentenced to a mandatory term of 15 years to life in prison.
He is being held at Hocking Correctional Facility in Nelsonville, about 60 miles southeast of Columbus.
PINEVILLE (MO)
KansasCity.com
Associated Press
PINEVILLE, Mo. - A pastor accused in a case of alleged ritual sex abuse by several leaders at two southwest Missouri church communes will have a pretrial conference next month after pleading not guilty to abusing a girl from his congregation.
George Otis Johnston, 63, was arraigned Tuesday on nine felony counts of child molestation and statutory sodomy. Those charges are split between eight counts for acts alleged to have happened in Newton County and one count from neighboring McDonald County. The abuse was alleged to have begun when the girl was 11 and lasted until she was 15.
Johnston, pastor of Grandview Valley Baptist Church North in rural Granby near Neosho, has also pleaded not guilty to eight similar counts in Newton County of abusing the girl's younger sister over an eight-year period beginning when she was 8.
WINCHESTER (MA)
Woburn Advocate
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
WINCHESTER-Kathleen Dwyer, a survivor of incest and priest ritual, sexual and spiritual abuse as a child, will speak to Winchester Area Voice of the Faithful's weekly meeting on Monday, Dec. 4. The meeting is at 7:30 p.m. at St. Eulalia's Parish, 50 Ridge St., Winchester. Admission is free, and all are welcome.
Dwyer is co-director of the Truth and Recognition Coalition and is a member of several of several other survivors of sexual abuse support groups. Ms. Dwyer is also an artist, poet and writer, and is a contributing author in the forthcoming book, "Predatory Priests The Sexual-Abuse Crisis and the Catholic Church."
The Truth and Recognition Coalition is a nonprofit organization that was formed to create a process for truth telling and to create a permanent verbal and visual historical record of the widespread crimes of sexual abuse by clergy. This will be the first formal introduction to The Truth and Recognition Coalition project. A videotape of Dwyer giving her testimony about her abuse will be shown as an example of the work that the coalition is in the process of recording. Ms. Dwyer will then speak about the TRC Project and she and other members of the coalition will be available to answer questions.
MASSACHUSETTS
ShrewsburyChronicle
By Joyce Kelly/ Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - Updated: 07:44 PM EST
The Rev. Paul Doherty, a former associate pastor who served at St. Mary’s Church in Shrewsbury, has admitted to molesting a youth more than 30 years ago, according to a statement issued by Worcester Diocese Bishop Robert J. McManus.
Doherty, 58, served at St. Mary’s from June 1999 to Sept. 2000, under Rev. Paul O’Connell, an associate judicial vicar who is now retired and in residence at St. Ann’s Church on Rte. 9.
At Doherty’s request, he and McManus met last Friday, Nov. 17, at McManus’ Worcester residence.
During the meeting, Doherty confided he had engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior with a minor more than 30 years ago, McManus said.
Doherty did not provide details about the victim’s identity or residence, according to Raymond Delisle, spokesman for the Worcester Diocese.
WASHINGTON
The Seattle Times
By Janet I. Tu
Seattle Times staff reporter
Settlements have been reached in several cases involving sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests or brothers.
The Jesuit order in the Northwest has settled a lawsuit against the Rev. Michael Toulouse, a Jesuit priest who taught at Seattle University from about 1950 to 1976. Toulouse died in 1976.
The lawsuit was filed in 2005 by a man who accused Toulouse of molesting him in the Jesuit residence at the school in 1968 when he was 12 years old.
The case was settled Monday for $350,000.
MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press
BY KEVIN HARTER
Pioneer Press
A former altar boy filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Duluth accusing a retired priest of molesting him and accusing the bishop of the Superior Diocese of taking no action on several complaints about the priest.
Identified only as John Doe 113, the 55-year-old Superior man accused the Rev. Edward F. Beutner of sexually abusing him as a teenager. Filed by St. Paul attorney Jeff Anderson, the suit also alleges several complaints made to Bishop Raphael Fliss about Beutner in the past few years were ignored.
The suit seeks more than $50,000 in damages.
CHARLESTON (SC)
The Post and Courier
BY NOAH HAGLUND
Tyrone Moore appears on South Carolina's sex offender registry.
On Sundays, he also appears behind the pulpit at a nondenominational North Charleston church.
Police on Tuesday arrested the senior pastor at Full Word Ministries on a new charge of second- degree criminal sexual conduct.
FORT WORTH (TX)
The Dallas Morning News
Diocese settles abuse suit
By DOUG J. SWANSON / The Dallas Morning News
The Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth has settled a lawsuit by 11 men who said they were sexually molested by a priest more than 20 years ago, the attorney for the men said Wednesday.
The men will receive an undisclosed cash settlement "in the seven figures" and a public apology, said their attorney, Tahira Khan-Merritt.
A state court lawsuit the men filed this year in Fort Worth alleged that the Rev. James Reilly sexually abused them at St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church in Arlington in the 1970s and 1980s. Father Reilly is deceased.
FORT WORTH (TX)
Star-Telegram
By DARREN BARBEE
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
The 11 men who sued the Fort Worth Roman Catholic Diocese, saying they were sexually abused as altar boys by the Rev. James Reilly, wanted his name to disappear.
They wanted it removed from plaques, statues, buildings and any other objects in the 28-county diocese. One of the men, now a professor at an Austin university, still feels disgust thinking about the building at St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church in Arlington that bears the priest's name.
Despite the fact that some of the allegations date back more than 20 years -- past the legal deadline for such lawsuits -- the diocese agreed Wednesday to a settlement with the men, who said they were as young as 8 when they were abused. The settlement will pay the group at least $1 million, though exact financial terms weren't revealed, at the men's request.
FORT WORTH (TX)
Houston Chronicle
Associated Press
FORT WORTH — The Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth has settled a lawsuit filed by 11 men who accused an Arlington priest of sexually abusing them while they were serving as altar boys.
All the terms of today's settlement will not be revealed. But it includes at least $1 million and requires the diocese to pay for one year of counseling for each of the men, attorney Tahira Khan Merritt said in today's online edition of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
"I think that the closing of this part of the case will bring some closure to the guys," said Merritt, who represented the men.
The 11 men accused the Rev. James Reilly of fondling and kissing them while serving at St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church in Arlington. Reilly, who led the parish from November 1967 to September 1987 and was an instructor at Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving, died in 1999 from complications of Alzheimer's.
BURLINGTON (VT)
WCAX
BURLINGTON, Vt. -- A lawyer representing a longtime Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington attorney accused of withholding church documents in a sex abuse case wants the judge in the case to recuse himself, saying the judge's impartiality is in question.
In a motion filed Wednesday, Ritchie Berger said Chittenden Superior Court Judge Ben Joseph used the word "wrongdoing" during two recent court hearings centered on church attorney William O'Brien, which he said raises doubts about whether Joseph can be impartial in deciding whether O'Brien should be sanctioned.
"Such an expressed pre-judgment by Judge Joseph demonstrates his bias against Mr. O'Brien and the diocese and raises substantial doubt as to Judge Joseph's impartiality, thus manding his recusal from this case," Berger said in his motion.
POTTSVILLE (PA)
Centre Daily Times
The Associated Press
POTTSVILLE -- A Roman Catholic priest was sentenced to four to 10 years in state prison Tuesday after a judge revoked his probation for sexual abuse of children.
Schuylkill County President Judge William E. Baldwin told the Rev. Ronald J. Yarrosh, 57, that buying child pornography, taking a stripper's 7-year-old daughter to lunch and drinking alcohol were all violations of his probation. Defense lawyer Christopher Hobbs described Yarrosh's acts while on probation as "misguided actions."
The Allentown Diocese relieved Yarrosh of his duties when he was charged in 2004. In August 2005, Yarrosh was sentenced to three to 23 months in prison for a theft charge for taking more than $23,000 from St. Ambrose Church in Schuylkill Haven, where Yarrosh was an assistant pastor.
WEST PALM BEACH (FL)
Palm Beach Post
By Eliot Kleinberg
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 24, 2006
WEST PALM BEACH — Kevin Sidaway and the Archdiocese of Miami were back before a judge this week in a struggle that had its origins 40 years ago, has been in the courts for a decade, and continues even though the priest at the heart of it has died.
Sidaway, now 50, says he's one of several Lake Worth-area boys molested by the Rev. Rocco D'Angelo in the 1960s. Church leaders told parents D'Angelo would be sent somewhere where he couldn't threaten children. Instead, they transferred him to Florida's Gulf Coast, where he allegedly molested more boys over the ensuing decades.
When Sidaway found out in the mid-1990s, he was so furious he sought criminal charges against D'Angelo. But because in the 1960s rape was defined only as an attack on a female, prosecutors could do nothing.
BURLINGTON (VT)
Times Argus
November 24, 2006
Associated Press
BURLINGTON — A longtime lawyer for Vermont's Catholic diocese, who faced possible sanctions for alleged misconduct in a suit charging sex abuse by a priest, has withdrawn from the case.
"The unfortunate and personal attacks by plaintiff's counsel ... have made it increasingly difficult for me to properly represent my client," William O'Brien wrote in his withdrawal notice, filed Monday at Chittenden Superior Court.
Jerome O'Neill, the lawyer representing people who have charged they were sexually abused by Vermont priests, had asked the court to impose penalties on O'Brien, saying the lawyer who had represented the diocese for 16 years had "willfully" hid church documents and ignored requests to find diocesan paperwork that O'Neill had a right to see.
"That withdrawal motion was something drawn up by his lawyer to try to give him a face-saving basis for getting out of this case," O'Neill said Tuesday. "It's something he should have done years ago."
SEATTLE (WA)
New Mexican
The Associated Press
November 24, 2006
SEATTLE -- The Jesuit order in the Northwest has settled a lawsuit against the Rev. Michael Toulouse, a priest who taught at Seattle University from about 1950 to 1976, the year he died.
The Seattle Archdiocese also has recently reached settlements in some of its priest abuse cases, including three against the Rev. James McGreal, whom the Vatican has permanently barred from ministry.
The plaintiff in the Jesuit case, who sued in 2005, claims the abuse occurred in 1968 at a Jesuit residence at Seattle University when he was 12. He settled for $350,000 dollars on Monday.
The Very Rev. John Whitney, head of the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesuits, said "we admitted the allegation from the very beginning. I said I believed the survivor suffered what he had talked about. Litigation was about just compensation."
WILMINGTON (DE)
Yahoo!
WILMINGTON, De., Nov. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- A family whose relative was murdered by a priest and who has filed a non-monetary, first of its kind lawsuit against the USCCB and all US Catholic bishops is releasing Delaware's Catholic bishop from the suit.
In August, 2006, the O'Connell family of Hudson, WI, filed a unique lawsuit against all US bishops seeking a non-monetary injunction that would force them to reveal the names of all proven, admitted, and credibly accused abusive priests. Several weeks ago, Michael Saltarelli, Bishop of Wilmington (DE) was served with that suit.
The family is now writing Saltarelli to advise him he will be dropped as a defendant since Saltarelli recently disclosed names of 20 pedophile priests in his diocese.
ALBANY (NY)
Capital News 9
Updated: 11/20/2006 6:54 PM
By: Staff
The leader of a clergy abuse victims group is suing the city of Albany. Mark Lyman was arrested back in April after protesting outside of Holy Cross Church.
The DA's office eventually dropped the charges. But now Lyman, the local director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, says his civil rights were violated, he was assualted, and that his bail was set at an excessive amount.
The leader of a clergy abuse victims group is suing the city of Albany.
Lyman and attorney John Aretakis, met to discuss the $5 million lawsuit against the city.
ALBANY (NY)
Albany Times Union
By MARC PARRY, Staff writer
First published: Tuesday, November 21, 2006
ALBANY -- A critic of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany who was arrested for protesting too near one of its churches is now suing the city for allegedly violating his civil rights.
The $5 million federal lawsuit concerns the arrest of Mark Lyman in April for allegedly violating a restraining order while protesting outside the Church of the Holy Cross.
The suit marks at least the third federal lawsuit filed against the city and the police department over the last month. The other two are unrelated cases and allege officers used excessive force against handcuffed prisoners.
TEXAS
Ethics Daily
Bob Allen
11-20-06
A Baptist pastor in Texas will apparently remain in the pulpit after reportedly settling a lawsuit claiming sexual abuse of a minor.
Sources familiar with the case told EthicsDaily.com settlement in principle was reached in a lawsuit filed June 8 against Larry Reynolds, pastor of Southmont Baptist Church in Denton, Texas, alleging years ago he had sexual relations with a girl that began when she was 14 and continued for seven years.
The woman, now 37, also named the Baptist General Convention of Texas, Southern Baptist Convention and Denton Baptist Association in the suit, alleging negligence and fraudulent concealment.
Sources say the suit is being settled out of court for an undisclosed amount of money, while the plaintiff and her lawyer agree never to mention it again except to a therapist.
GEORGIA
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
BY S.A. REID
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 11/20/06
Mega church pastor Bishop Earl Paulk and two staff members who are suing him for sexual misconduct will get their day in court this spring.
DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Mark Anthony Scott set the trial date for April 2 at a hearing Monday.
In their lawsuit, Mona and Bobby Brewer accuse the Chapel Hill Harvester Church pastor of coercing Mona Brewster into a 14-year affair. Paulk admits to a brief sexual encounter, but says Mona initiated it. The Brewers are former Chapel Hill Harvester Church leaders.
Paulk also denies the couple's allegation that they which also claims the couple loaned Paulk $400,000 to settle a previous sexual misconduct lawsuit.
ST. LOUIS (MO)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
By Tim Townsend
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
11/21/2006
A 25-year-old man who says he was sexually abused as a minor by a former St. Louis pastor and community leader filed a lawsuit Monday against the pastor, the Rev. Sylvester Laudermill Jr., and the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the denomination Laudermill served.
The man, who filed the suit as John Doe T, said in the lawsuit that Laudermill began abusing him in 1995 "in the church parsonage and other locations" when he was 14 or 15. He has said previously that a sexual relationship with Laudermill lasted until he was 21.
Laudermill, 48, was pastor at St. Peter AME Church at Margaretta and Shreve avenues from 1994 to 2004 and served with numerous clergy-activist groups, including Metropolitan Congregations United for St. Louis. In 2004, Laudermill returned to his native Los Angeles, where he was pastor of Ward AME, the denomination's second-largest church in Los Angeles, until he stepped down in May. Neither Laudermill nor his attorney returned calls for comment Monday.
CALIFORNIA
San Francisco Chronicle
Jim Doyle, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
The bishop of the Santa Rosa Catholic Diocese has agreed to undergo a four-month counseling program rather than face misdemeanor charges for failing to immediately notify Sonoma County law enforcement officials about a priest's alleged molestation of underage boys.
Bishop Daniel Walsh plans to enter a "pre-filing diversion" program in lieu of being charged with violating a state law requiring the clergy and others to report evidence of sexual abuse in a timely manner.
"He's happy to have the opportunity to go into a diversion program," Deirdre Frontczak, a diocese spokeswoman, said Monday.
"We looked at this matter very closely," said District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua. "Bishop Walsh admitted wrongdoing, has no prior record, and is eligible to enroll in this program."
CALIFORNIA
Mercury News
By Kim Curtis
Associated Press
Santa Rosa Bishop Daniel Walsh will not face criminal charges for failing to report child abuse allegations if he completes four months of counseling, the Sonoma County district attorney said Monday.
Walsh admitted wrongdoing in order to be eligible for the so-called diversion program that will help him avoid misdemeanor charges, District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua said.
In August, sheriff's department investigators said they had enough evidence to pursue a criminal case against Walsh for failing to quickly report abuse by the Rev. Xavier Ochoa, who fled to Mexico before authorities could arrest him.
Ochoa, 68, worked at St. Francis Solano Church in Sonoma before admitting misconduct during a meeting April 28 with Walsh and two other church officials.
CALIFORNIA
The Press Democrat
By GUY KONVER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Rank-and-file Catholics supported the decision not to prosecute Santa Rosa Bishop Daniel Walsh for allegedly failing to report suspected child abuse, while advocates for victims of sex abuse by priests railed against it.
One critic called it a "sweetheart deal" between the 69-year-old bishop and Sonoma County District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua, while local Catholics called it an acceptable response to a thorny legal and moral issue.
"It seems like a reasonable way to pursue a reconciliation, if you will," said John Storm, a retired federal probation officer and member of Holy Spirit Parish in Santa Rosa.
COVINGTON (KY)
The Cincinnati Enquirer
ENQUIRER STAFF REPORT
COVINGTON – The pastor of St. John Church and St. Ann Mission has been placed on administrative leave after a sexual abuse allegation was reported to officials.
The allegation involves an incident that apparently occurred at least 25 years ago, according to a statement released Monday by the Covington Diocese. The person bringing the allegation, now an adult, has no affiliation with either parish or its Prince of Peace School.
Bishop Roger Foys informed parishioners of the allegation during masses this past weekend.
UNITED STATES
San Luis Obispo Tribune
Associated Press
The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People adopted by the bishops in 2002 directs clergy to comply with civil laws on reporting abuse.
No church official has been criminally prosecuted for failing to properly report child sexual abuse. And recent incidents show some dioceses are maintaining the status quo rather than bringing accused priests to justice.
Last year, the Archdiocese of Chicago hired independent investigators to learn why it failed to follow its own child protection plan and allowed the Rev. Daniel McCormack to stay in the ministry for several months after he was accused of abuse. The March audit found a widespread breakdown in communication that put young people at risk.
And in Arizona, a priest indicted in 2003 on 13 counts of child molestation while working in a Phoenix parish escaped prosecution by seeking shelter in the Rome headquarters of his religious order, the Salvatorians. An Italian court last month ordered that he be extradited, but he fled days after the ruling.
CALIFORNIA
CBS
11/20/06 8:25 PST
SANTA ROSA (BCN)
The Santa Rosa Catholic Diocese said Bishop Daniel Walsh intends to enroll in and successfully complete a diversion program that will spare him from criminal charges regarding his failure to immediately report a priest's alleged lewd conduct with an underage boy.
Sonoma County District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua announced this morning that Walsh will be able to enroll in a counseling diversion program for first-time misdemeanor offenders.
Those offenders are referred to the Adult Diversion Services program run by the California Human Development Corporation, Passalacqua said. If Walsh successfully completes the four-month counseling diversion program, no formal criminal charges will be filed, Passalacqua said.
UXBRIDGE (MA)
Milford Daily News
By Danielle Williamson and Joyce Kelly/ Daily News Staff
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
UXBRIDGE -- Days after the Worcester bishop told them their priest is on leave for engaging in "inappropriate sexual behavior with a minor more than 30 years ago," the St. Mary's community is coping with the loss of Father Paul.
The Rev. Paul Doherty was placed on paid administrative leave Friday after he told Bishop Robert J. McManus of the sexual conduct, which occurred decades before he entered the priesthood, the Diocese of Worcester announced this week.
The pastor of St. Mary's Parish since September 2000, Doherty, 58, was also involved with the administration of Our Lady of the Valley Regional School at the church. Worcester diocese spokesman Raymond Delisle said letters went home with all students yesterday notifying parents of Doherty's departure.
PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia Daily News
I SWEAR TO GOD, yesterday's shameful attempts to derail sex-abuse legislation from a vote in the Pennsylvania Senate makes me think it's time we elected some 10-year-olds to state office and gave them voting power.
If we had a few kids in the Capitol, Senate Bill 1054 would've passed by now.
But thanks to some last-minute, wrongheaded and disgraceful dissembling yesterday on the merits of the measure, the Senate was forced to postpone a vote on it until today.
The Senate may opt not to vote on the bill at all. Or the bill may get so buried under new amendments that no legislator would feel comfortable giving it the "yes" vote it deserves.
ERIE (PA)
NEPA News
The Associated Press 11/21/2006
Testimony in the church tribunal of a priest accused of sexual abuse has concluded, but it could be months before the judges' decision is made public, a spokesman for the Diocese of Erie said.
Msgr. Charles M. Kavanagh, once a leading figure in the Archdiocese of New York, was suspended in May 2002 after he was accused of molesting a former seminarian. He has vehemently denied the charges.
Following an internal investigation by the archdiocese, the case was referred to the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which determines how to proceed.
The Congregation found the allegations merited a trial. But because of publicity about the case in New York, the trial was held in the Diocese of Erie.
DELAWARE
The News Journal
By BETH MILLER, The News Journal
Posted Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Some alumni and parents of students at Salesianum School and Archmere Academy on Monday urged the religious orders that run the private Catholic schools to release the names of any priests accused of sexual abuse.
Bishop Michael A. Saltarelli last week released the names of 20 priests -- including 18 from the Diocese of Wilmington -- against whom there are substantiated allegations of sexual abuse against minors. He sent letters recommending that each religious order with priests ministering here do likewise, diocesan spokesman Robert G. Krebs said.
None has done so yet, but Paul George hopes that will change. George is a 1965 alumnus of Salesianum and the classmate of the Rev. Carmen Vignola, one of the deceased priests on Saltarelli's list.
CALIFORNIA
KESQ
SAN FRANCISCO Prosecutors in Sonoma County say a local Catholic will not face criminal charges for failing to report child abuse allegations against a priest if he completes four months of counseling.
Santa Rosa Bishop Daniel Walsh admitted wrongdoing to be eligible for the so-called diversion program.
In August, sheriff's investigators said they had enough evidence to pursue a case against Walsh for not reporting abuse by Reverend Xavier (HA-vee-AIR) Ochoa.
Ochoa, who worked at St. Francisco Solano Church in Sonoma, revealed the alleged abuse to Walsh but fled to Mexico before authorities could arrest him. Walsh waited three days before reporting the allegations, a delay the sheriff's department said gave Ochoa time to leave the country.
VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Service
By Carol Glatz
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The sexual abuse of children by priests is only "the tip of an iceberg" of the wider scope of abuse perpetrated against the world's children, a Vatican official said.
U.S. Archbishop John P. Foley, head of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, said there is "a much wider and even more tragic story of child abuse that takes place, first of all, in the family and then, in many ways, throughout society."
Archbishop Foley made the remarks Nov. 20 during a film festival in Bucharest, Romania, dedicated to children. Nov. 20 also marked Universal Children's Day, established by the United Nations to promote the welfare and rights of the world's children.
In his speech, released the same day by the Vatican, the archbishop said "the violation of children's rights is one of the contemporary sins crying out to heaven for vengeance."
UXBRIDGE (MA)
TheBostonChannel.com
WORCESTER, Mass. -- The pastor of a Roman Catholic church in Uxbridge has been suspended by the Worcester Diocese after telling the bishop last week that he had inappropriate sexual contact with a minor more than 30 years ago before his ordination.
The Rev. Paul J. Doherty, who was ordained in 1995, was placed on administrative leave after telling Bishop Robert J. McManus about the incident during a meeting on Friday requested by Doherty.
Doherty, 58, was an associate pastor at St. Patrick church in Whitinsville and St. Mary's in Shrewsbury before being named pastor of St. Mary's in Uxbridge six years ago.
UXBRIDGE (MA)
Boston Globe
By David Abel, Globe Staff | November 20, 2006
A 58-year-old priest who has served as pastor of St. Mary's Parish in Uxbridge for six years was placed on administrative leave during the weekend after admitting "inappropriate sexual behavior" with a minor more than 30 years ago, before he took his vows, church officials said yesterday.
Father Paul J. Doherty , who was ordained at the Diocese of Worcester in 1995, was relieved of duty after confessing to Bishop Robert J. McManus during a meeting on Friday that Doherty had requested at the bishop's residence in Worcester. It was not clear yesterday what prompted Doherty to request the meeting.
Raymond Delisle, a spokesman for the Diocese of Worcester, said the church has referred the matter to the Worcester district attorney's office. Officials at the district attorney's office could not be reached last night.
Delisle said he did not know when or where the alleged crime occurred, but he said the church is moving to strip Doherty of his powers as a priest permanently.
CALIENTE (NV)
The Dallas Morning News
12:00 AM CST on Monday, November 20, 2006
Associated Press
CALIENTE, Nev. – Room 15 seems like an unlikely place for a wedding.
There are no flower-covered arbors, pews or unity candles waiting to be lighted. It's just an apartment-style motel room with a bed, a dresser, a table and a couch. A door off the kitchenette leads to a small patio with a fire pit.
But there were dozens of weddings at the quaint Caliente Hot Springs Motel, "world famous" for its warm, therapeutic waters.
Dozens of religious unions were arranged between underage girls and men from a polygamist church whose leader, Warren Jeffs, stands accused of rape as an accomplice for marrying a 14-year-old to her older first cousin.
The leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Mr. Jeffs, 50, will be in a Utah court Tuesday for a hearing to determine whether prosecutors have enough evidence to try him on two first-degree felony charges.
LONG ISLAND (NY)
Newsday
BY BRANDON BAIN
STAFF WRITER; Emerson Claridge contributed to this article.
November 20, 2006
Parishioners at churches in Babylon and Roosevelt where the Rev. Thomas G. Saloy most recently presided over said yesterday they were shocked and saddened of his arrest on federal child pornography charges, while some said they would pray for him.
"We're just shocked, I guess we're all humans and he's in a position of trust as a priest," said Thomas Quigley of West Babylon. "But it's not going to shake my faith in Catholicism."
Saloy, 45, who has been placed on administrative leave by Bishop William Murphy, was arrested Friday after authorities said they found some 1,300 sexually explicit photos and video clips of children on his rectory computer. Authorities said the pastor also had racy online conversations with detectives who posed as teenagers.
If convicted, Saloy, who is currently at Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Centre after authorities noted a "suicidal gesture" during his arrest, faces a maximum prison sentence of 10 years, a lifetime of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.
LOS ANGELES (CA)
NBC 4
LOS ANGELES -- A spokesman for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles said prosecutors told church officials not to tell parents that the dean of students at Daniel Murphy Catholic High School was under investigation for sex crimes, it was reported Saturday.
Tod Tamburg of the archdiocese said prosecutors told church officials not to tell parents about the investigation of John Joseph Malburg, but Sandi Gibbons of the District Attorney's Office denied it.
Prosecutors "never told them not to tell the parents," Gibbons told the Los Angeles Times. "They were told not to tell the suspect we were investigating him but never told not to tell the parents."
Tamberg stood by his statement, "regardless of what the D.A.'s office may have told you," he wrote in an e-mail to The Times.
EUROPE
Irish Independent
FRANCO Zeffirelli, the film, theatre and opera director, talked candidly about his sexuality yesterday, including the advances of a Catholic priest at his first school and his hatred of the word "gay".
His return to La Scala opera house after a long absence coincides with publication of his autobiography, which includes frank revelations about his sexuality, including the claim that Aristotle Onassis had once tried to seduce him on his yacht.
Zeffirelli, who first admitted 10 years ago that he had "sexual experiences with men", said that he had become aware of homosexuality while attending a Catholic school in Florence. Zeffirelli was brought up by his father's British secretary in Fascist-era Florence after the death of his mother. He said that he had intimate contact with a priest there. The priest, after "satisfying his desire", had knelt in tears and begged his forgiveness.
TUCSON (AZ)
Tucson Citizen
RENEE SCHAFER HORTON
Nearly five years ago, I sat in a sunlit dining room in a house tucked off East 22nd Street and made Bishop Manuel Moreno cry. We were in his home, far from the interruptions and eavesdropping of the diocesan offices, to do an interview for an article I was doing about his silver jubilee as a bishop.
We sat at his dining room table and went through the details of his life: son of Mexican immigrants, young migrant farmworker, first in his family to go to college, graduate of UCLA with a rabid devotion to the Bruins and the Dodgers, seminarian, ordained priest with a deep love of parish life, and, in spite of his protests, eventually a bishop.
When we got to present-day events, I asked Moreno about the clergy sexual abuse crisis. I wanted to know one thing: When he'd heard reports of abuse and then confronted priests about the allegations, why did he believe the priests' contentions that abuse had not occurred?
"Because," he said, without hesitation, "why would a priest lie to his bishop?" He looked at me as if I might have the answer, his eyes nearly begging me for one. Then he broke down, apologizing between sobs for being unprofessional.
UXBRIDGE (MA)
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
By Linda Bock TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
lbock@telegram.com
UXBRIDGE— Bishop Robert J. McManus has removed the Rev. Paul J. Doherty as pastor of St. Mary’s Parish, and reported him to local law enforcement authorities, because Rev. Doherty confided to the bishop on Friday that he had engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior with a minor more than 30 years ago.
Bishop McManus attended one Mass on Saturday and all three Masses yesterday at St. Mary’s Church, 77 Mendon St. (Route 16), to inform parishioners of his decision. He read a prepared statement at all Masses.
“I come before you tonight with a saddened heart to announce that I have placed Father Paul Doherty on administrative leave so as to undergo spiritual and psychological treatment,” Bishop McManus said. The bishop told parishioners that Rev. Doherty, who has served as pastor of the parish since September 2000, asked to meet with him Friday. It was the day after Bishop McManus returned from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore.
“During the meeting, Father confided to me that he had engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior with a minor more than 30 years ago. Because of the serious nature of this admission, I had to relieve Father of his duties as pastor of the parish and to remove his faculties as priest,” Bishop McManus said.
The announcement means Rev. Doherty may not celebrate Mass or present himself as a cleric by wearing a priest’s clothing. The term “faculties” refers to the permission priests have from their local bishop to function as priests and administer sacraments.
WILMINGTON (DE)
The News Journal
By GARY SOULSMAN, The News Journal
Posted Monday, November 20, 2006
One of the Sunday Bible readings in Catholic churches spoke of "stars falling from heaven."
And in the last few days in the Diocese of Wilmington, it has felt like stars were falling.
That's because of the release of the names of 20 priests with credible sexual allegations against them, said the Rev. Joseph Cocucci.
While preaching Sunday, the rector of the Cathedral of St. Peter in Wilmington called this a time of sadness and crisis in the diocese. He also acknowledged the harm done to Catholics of good will -- priests and parishioners alike.
IRELAND
Irish Independent
A LANDMARK US court case aims to make an Irish archdiocese financially liable for child sex abuse committed in America by an Irish priest.
Senior Irish church figures have been questioned in connection with the case. It is being taken in San Joaquin, Orange County in California.
The case, which centres on paedophile priest Oliver O'Grady, is the first to try to make a diocese in one country financially liable for abuse carried out in another. It lists the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly as a co-defendant.
To date, the Vatican has strongly resisted any attempt to link abuse in one jurisdiction with church organisations in another country.
The Manila Times
By Eric F. Mallonga
SIMON PETER, Christ’s pri mordial fisher of men, established the beginnings of the Catholic Church in Rome’s Vatican City, skillfully veering away from the controversial ancestral lands where Israel now stands. Simon Peter did not veer from the teachings of his Master Jesus Christ, who repeatedly stressed the greatness of children and the need to imbibe their attributes to enter the kingdom of heaven. Simon Peter’s ring, known as “The Fisherman’s Ring,” had been passed on to the popes that came after him, with the mission of following in the footsteps of the compassionate, loving, child-oriented Christ. ...
The Vatican, through Ratzinger, allegedly maneuvered the removal of Father Tom Doyle, a canon solicitor who aggressively criticized the Vatican’s handling of child-abuse claims. Doyle claims that Crimen was “an explicit written policy to cover up cases of child sexual abuse by the clergy, to punish those who would call attention to these crimes by the churchmen.” As Panorama reported, Ratzinger clarified Church law on the clerical pedophilia issue in 2001 by ordering that the Vatican must have “exclusive competence” for child-abuse cases. Doyle says: “It’s all controlled by the Vatican and at the top of the Vatican is the pope so Josef Ratzinger was in the middle of this for most of the years that Crimen was enforced.”
KENTUCKY
WCPO
Reported by: Richard Chiles
Web produced by: Neil Relyea
Photographed by: 9News
First posted: 11/19/2006 10:42:17 AM
A Northern Kentucky priest has been placed on leave following charges of sexual abuse.
Parishioners at St.John's in Covington are in a reflective mood as they prepare for mass this morning.
The Diocese of Covington placed Father Douglas Fortner on leave earlier this week.
Bishop Roger Foys explained to parishioners at the church that there is a credible allegation of sexual abuse that is currently being investigated.
UXBRIDGE (MA)
Diocese of Worcester
November 19, 2006, Worcester, MA – Most Rev. Robert J. McManus, Bishop of Worcester, shared the following announcement at all the Masses this weekend at St. Mary Parish, Uxbridge.
“I come before you tonight with a saddened heart to announce that I have placed Fr. Paul Doherty on administrative leave so as to undergo spiritual and psychological treatment. At Fr. Doherty’s request, he and I met this past Friday, November 17 at my residence in Worcester. During that meeting Father confided to me that he had engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior with a minor more than thirty years ago. Because of the serious nature of this admission, I had to relieve Father of his duties as pastor of the parish and to remove his faculties as a priest.”
“I truly realize that this kind of news is a shock for you as it has been for me. I ask that you join me in prayer for the parish and school communities, as well as for those who have been hurt in any way by sexual misconduct. And, of course, please keep Fr. Paul in your prayers.”
PINEVILLE (MO)
Neosho Daily News
PINEVILLE - George Otis Johnston, the pastor of Grandview Valley Baptist Church in Granby, will be arraigned on eight charges Tuesday morning in McDonald County, including two first degree statutory sodomy counts, five second degree statutory sodomy counts, and three charges of child molestation.
Fortieth Circuit Court Judge Timothy Perigo will preside in the case.
Pre-trial conferences have been set for Dec. 4 and Feb. 23 in eight other felony child sexual abuse counts.
The charges stem from allegations made by two former members of Johnston's church, who say the pastor sexually abused them on several occasions when they were children.
MISSOURI
News-Leader
John Leibrecht, bishop of the Springfield-Cape Girardeau Catholic Diocese, is one of 178 bishops named as defendants in a civil child sex abuse lawsuit brought by the family of a murdered Wisconsin man.
According to a news release, Leibrecht is among bishops who have recently been served with the suit by a county sheriff.
The local bishop did not comment.
Diocesan spokeswoman Recy Moore said Leibrecht confirmed he had been served last week and has turned the matter over to the diocesan attorney.
HARRISBURG (PA)
Evening Sun
By MARTHA RAFFAELE
Associated Press Writer
Article Launched:11/17/2006 09:56:03 AM EST
HARRISBURG — Changes to Pennsylvania's child sex-abuse laws, including some recommended by a grand jury that investigated alleged abuse by Philadelphia priests, are slated to be considered by the state Senate next week in the final days of the legislative session.
If the Senate joins the House in approving the measure, victims of child-sex crimes will have until their 50th birthday — 20 years longer than current law allows — to file criminal complaints. Employers and supervisors could be held criminally liable if they know of alleged abuse by employees who care for children but fail to stop it, and caregivers would have to report suspected abuse regardless of whether the victim reports it.
The House of Representatives amended a Senate bill that was passed in June before approving the measure 191-1 on Tuesday. Final Senate approval is needed before it would be sent to Gov. Ed Rendell.
CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Sun-Times
November 19, 2006
BY MONIFA THOMAS Staff Reporter
Earlier this year, the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago published a list of current and former priests accused of sexually abusing minors.
The archdiocese released the list to be more transparent while it faced scrutiny over its handling of abuse allegations against the Rev. Daniel McCormack.
But questions about the thoroughness of that list arose Saturday when a Bellwood man spoke publicly for the first time about his alleged molestation in the early 1970s by a priest at St. Procopius Church on the city's West Side.
Because he belongs to a separate order within the Catholic Church, the priest who Michael Calvin says molested him repeatedly between the ages of 13 and 17, would not have been included on the list of accused clergy.
TUCSON (AZ)
Arizona Daily Star
By Stephanie Innes, Kimberly Matas and Carla McClain
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 11.19.2006
Tucson bishop emeritus Manuel D. Moreno, who died at his Tucson home Friday night, was, by all accounts, a humble and gracious servant of God and a comfort to his parishioners.
But Moreno also was a man who supported his favorite baseball team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, regardless of their record, and he was a fan of the raucous Tex-Mex band Little Joe Y La Familia. ...
But financial woes paled in comparison to the sexual abuse scandal that erupted in the late 1990s, when the diocese was hit with a spate of civil lawsuits alleging decades-old cases of sexual abuse by diocesan priests.
Culminating in a $14 million settlement in 2002 with 10 men who said they were sexually abused as children by four members of the local clergy during the 1960s, '70s and '80s, that scandal took a terrible personal toll on Moreno, those close to him said. He and his predecessor, Bishop Green, were accused of failing to report abuse they knew was occurring.
"The number of acts and the awful behaviors that are alleged are overwhelming," Moreno wrote in his report to the diocese on the lawsuits in October 2001. "I was shocked and dismayed to learn of the allegations, and there is just no way I can prepare you for what is alleged ... ."
CLEVELAND (OH)
Quad-City Times
By Deirdre Cox Baker | Sunday, November 19, 2006
CLEVELAND — If bets were made on the future of Bishop Martin Amos, the smart money would have placed his next assignment in Youngstown, Ohio, a city without a Roman Catholic leader for almost two years.
But when the call came from Rome, Amos, a lifelong resident of this metropolitan area, learned instead that he would be sent to Davenport. Two days earlier, Davenport had become just the fourth Catholic diocese in the United States to declare bankruptcy because of the clergy sexual abuse scandal.
Amos, 64, pulls no punches when asked about the challenge ahead. In an interview Nov. 8 in a Cleveland rectory, he said there are positives about taking on the new leadership role.
“I know I can’t wreck it; that’s a positive,” he said, laughing in a charming, engaging manner.
WILMINGTON (DE)
The News Journal
By MIKE CHALMERS, The News Journal
Posted Sunday, November 19, 2006
Two priests identified for the first time last week as accused child molesters apparently had tried to put the allegations behind them and slip quietly into private life.
Gerard Smit, 82, and Paul Calamari, 52, both were ordained in Louisiana but had worked in the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, diocesan officials said.
The diocese named them and 18 diocesan priests Thursday, saying there had been substantiated allegations of child sexual abuse against them. The diocese has not released the specific allegations against them or any of the other priests.
Smit, who lives in a Bear apartment, refused to comment Friday on the allegations or the diocese's decision to name him publicly. Calamari, of Harrisburg, could not be reached for comment.
MARYDEL (MD)
The News Journal
By BETH MILLER and RACHAEL JACKSON, The News Journal
Posted Sunday, November 19, 2006
Many in the sleepy town of Marydel, Md. -- population 143 -- love the soft-spoken retired priest who lives on Main Street.
"Father Doug," as residents call him, has been a trusted friend, a helping hand and a comforting presence.
"To look and talk to him, you'd never know," said Perry Manning, 43, as she made a ham and cheese sub at the Main Street Market on Friday.
Now they do.
They know why the Rev. Douglas W. Dempster retired from the ministry early. They know why he moved back to their little town on the Delaware line, where he lives in a corner house with his cocker spaniel, Tillie.
They have known Dempster for a long time. He had served Immaculate Conception parish there for 13 years earlier in his ministry. And he has been back for 13 years since his retirement in 1993.
But Thursday, Marydel learned the rest of the story -- from Bishop Michael A. Saltarelli of the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington. Dempster was one of 20 priests Saltarelli says have "admitted, corroborated or otherwise substantiated"
LOS ANGELES (CA)
Contra Costa Times
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES - After a three-year delay, a court has opened the way for pretrial investigations to begin in more than 100 lawsuits filed by people claiming they were sexually molested by Roman Catholic priests.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Haley Fromholz released the claims for trial after a freeze that stalled discovery and other pretrial investigation. The freeze was imposed as lawyers for victims and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles spent years attempting to settle more than 570 claims, covering 60 years, without trials.
The decision involves 32 priests and only about 20 percent of the claims arising from the church scandal.
Katherine Freberg, an Irvine lawyer who represents 41 people who say they are victims, said she sent demands for documents to the church Thursday.
CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune
Published November 19, 2006
The Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago and a Catholic religious order are investigating allegations of sexual abuse that have been made against a priest while he was assigned to a Pilsen parish.
The complaints against the priest, a member of the Benedictine order, surfaced after lawyers for a Bellwood man said they reached an undisclosed financial settlement in April with the archdiocese and the Order of St. Benedict.
At a news conference Saturday, Michael Calvin, 47, said that between the ages of 13 and 17, he was molested several times a month in a church-owned apartment that the priest called "the clubhouse."
Calvin was joined at the news conference outside the St. Procopius Church rectory, 1641 S. Allport St., by his attorney, Phillip Aaron, and Barbara Blaine of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
TUCSON (AZ)
The New York Times
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: November 18, 2006
Filed at 9:57 p.m. ET
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- Bishop emeritus Manuel D. Moreno, the son of a migrant farmworker who rose to became the nation's sixth Hispanic bishop and led the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson for 21 years, has died. He was 75.
Moreno died Friday night at his home in Tucson surrounded by friends and family after a long battle with prostate cancer and Parkinson's disease, according to Fred Allison, a spokesman for the diocese. ...
He was also forced to deal with lawsuits stemming from allegations of sexual abuse by priests in the diocese -- including accusations that he had covered up abuses during his tenure.
Moreno admitted in a 2001 deposition knowing nine years earlier that a priest likely had sexually abused children but that he had not been truthful about it to the Vatican or the diocese. Still, he denied in February 2002 that he had lied to the Vatican or southern Arizona's Catholics.
MALTA
Malta Independent
by Marisa Micallef
It’s very odd isn’t it, this value the Vatican puts on men, priests to be more precise, being celibate? Sadly, the only time we ever really discuss the sexuality of priests is when one of them is accused or found guilty of fondling little children. Are we expected to believe that priests are either all celibate or men who prey on little boys and sometimes girls? It’s just a terrible image of those who are meant to spread the words of Christ and keep his values alive among us, isn’t it? Do these two totally contrasting images that both the Church and the media bombard us with reflect reality at all?
If it does it certainly isn’t a very good advertisement for recruiting healthy in mind and body men to the priesthood. In fact, the Church is finding it next to impossible to recruit men in the developed world, though trade is still booming in this world, where presumably a priest is relatively well off compared to the terrible poverty around him, so it is still an attractive proposition.
Mind you these Third World priests just get on with it and ignore these silly stuffy rules on celibacy that celibate men insist on. Instead of preying on young boys and girls, or whores, or easily impressionable simple minded parishioners, or whatever hidden sexual gratification they can manage, which is the only sexual activity of priests we hear about in the West, these Third World priests have relationships with real, normal women, and often marry them!
ALABAMA
Press-Register
Saturday, November 18, 2006
By BRENDAN KIRBY
Staff Reporter
Catholic Church officials have turned over records from a Foley priest's psychological counseling sessions to the plaintiff's lawyers in a lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Mobile, complying with an Alabama Supreme Court order last week.
Steve Martino, who represents plaintiff Linda Ledet, said he believes the Rev. Paul Zoghby's counseling records help his client's case. Ledet has alleged that the archdiocese reneged on its agreement to pay for her treatment following what she describes as sexual harassment by Zoghby.
But Martino said he could not reveal the contents of documents because Mobile County Circuit Judge Sarah Stewart has ordered both sides not to divulge the records to anyone else.
LONG ISLAND (NY)
Rhinelander Daily News
By FRANK ELTMAN
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. - A Roman Catholic priest, after pleading not guilty to possessing child pornography at his federal court arraignment, was released Friday after voluntarily agreeing to enter a secure psychiatric facility.
The Rev. Thomas G. Saloy, 45, an administrator at the Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Church in Roosevelt, was arrested on Friday following an investigation that commenced more than a year ago when the priest's name appeared in an unrelated case in Wisconsin.
His attorney said the priest eventually would be transferred to a program in Maryland that treats sex offenders.
PENNSYLVANIA
Delco Times
Stephanie Whalen, Of the Times Staff
11/18/2006
Members of the House passed a measure Wednesday that would tighten child sex abuse laws in Pennsylvania. The decision comes more than a year after the Philadelphia grand jury cited glitches in current Pennsylvania law for allowing the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and more than 60 of its priests to slip through the cracks.
The Archdiocese and some of its priests avoided criminal charges in 2005, after victims had come forward too late to report sexual abuse.
Senate Bill 1054, which passed the House 191-1, would now allow victims of child-sex crimes an extra 20 years to report abuse, or until their 50th birthday.
The legislation also expands the definition of who must report sexual abuse and increases requirements of sex offenders listed on the state’s Megan’s Law Web site.
It passed with flying colors Wednesday in the House, after first being approved in the Senate in June. All of Delco’s representatives voted in favor of SB 1054 with the exception of Greg Vitali.
NEW YORK
The Journal News
By GARY STERN
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: November 18, 2006)
Daniel Donohue, a Peekskill native who accused Monsignor Charles Kavanagh of luring him into an inappropriate, sexually charged relationship when Donohue was a seminarian during the late 1970s, testified yesterday before a panel of priests that will decide Kavanagh's fate.
His testimony came on the last day of a closed, weeklong church trial in Erie, Pa., where the case was moved to avoid media attention.
Donohue, now 42 and a father of four, said he refused to sign an oath of secrecy and told the panel of three priests that he opposed the closed nature of the trial.
"I spoke of why I would not give up my voice, my truth," he said by phone. "I told them that this secrecy caused my abuse."
Donohue said that when one of his sisters testified this week and refused to promise confidentiality, she was told that she could be subject to papal discipline.
UNITED STATES
The Tidings
By unanimous voice vote the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Nov. 13 approved spending $335,000 next year to fund the first phases of a massive study of the causes and context of clergy sexual abuse of minors in the U.S. Catholic Church.
Bishop Gregory M. Aymond of Austin, Texas, chairman of the bishops' Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People, told the bishops that the New York-based John Jay College of Criminal Justice --- which in 2004 completed an extensive study commissioned by the bishops on the nature and extent of clergy sexual abuse of minors --- needs funding in 2007 for the first three phases of its follow-up study on the causes and context of the abuse.
The college expects to obtain outside funding for the more expensive last three phases of the new study, but it wants to maintain momentum in that study and sees progress on the first three phases as a factor that will help bring in funding for the rest, according to materials presented to the bishops.
Patricia O'Donnell Ewers, chairwoman of theAbuse Tracker Review Board overseeing the bishops' compliance with their child protection charter, told the bishops, "I can't emphasize enough how important this study is for society as a whole" as well as for the church.
CANADA
Daily Courier
By Chuck Poulsen
Saturday, November 18, 2006, 12:01 AM
Natives who were students — prisoners — in residential schools are coming to the end of that long road with one more knotty issue to resolve: lost records.
If compensation is to be made, natives must prove the number of years they were in residence. But for many in the Okanagan who attended schools in Cranbrook, Kamloops and other places, those records, some from as far back the 1930s, have disappeared.
“Both my mother and father were in residential school in Kamloops,” said Ray Derickson of the Westbank First Nation. “But when I went to find the records, there were none at all for my father (who was there during the ’30s).
I was able to find records for only three years for my mother even though she was there for nine years.
“I think it’s time for the government to admit that it’s just trying to save money on the payout.”
His father, Richard, is dead, but Derickson is hoping that if he can prove his dad attended the Kamloops school, the payout will go to Richard’s estate.
LOS ANGELES (CA)
Los Angeles Times
By Peter Y. Hong and Paul Pringle, Times Staff Writers
November 18, 2006
A months-long delay in notifying parents about sexual abuse allegations at a Catholic high school raised questions Friday about whether the Los Angeles Archdiocese violated its own reform policies in molestation cases.
Parents at Daniel Murphy Catholic High School were told Friday that John Joseph Malburg had been accused of abusing three students and another minor over the last decade.
He was fired in July but continued to videotape an unsuspecting minor in the shower for two months, according to a criminal complaint.
Malburg is also charged in a political corruption scandal involving the city of Vernon.
Archdiocesan spokesman Tod Tamberg has said prosecutors asked church officials not to inform parents of the Malburg abuse investigation.
But the district attorney's office and Los Angeles Police Department said they made no such request.
ANCHORAGE (AK)
Anchorage Daily News
By TATABOLINE BRANT
Anchorage Daily News
Published: November 16, 2006
Last Modified: November 16, 2006 at 02:01 AM
A longtime Anchorage pastor wanted on charges he sexually abused a 15-year-old girl turned himself in Wednesday afternoon, though the man's lawyer claims his client should never have been jailed.
Police had been looking for Dwight Donald Greene, 50, for at least two days; the pastor and sports coach was wanted on a felony warrant alleging four counts of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor. Police say Greene fondled a girl who attended his small congregation at Calvary Chapel of Anchorage.
Greene's attorney, Steve Wells, said Greene is innocent of the charges and was not hiding from authorities but waiting to see what would happen with a motion filed in court to kill the warrant.
Wells fumed in an interview Wednesday night that Greene, given his ties to the community and his lack of criminal history, should have been summoned to court and not jailed.
OHIO
Toledo Blade
By DAVID YONKE
BLADE RELIGION EDITOR
Ohio's eight Catholic dioceses - including Toledo - and one Byzantine eparchy have set up a $3 million fund to provide counseling for abuse victims who are reluctant to ask the church for help.
The funds have been deposited with Fifth Third Bank and claim forms are available online. A three-person independent panel will decide if the allegations are credible and how much money individuals will receive to be used for counseling, said Timothy Luckhaupt, executive director of the Columbus-based Catholic Conference of Ohio.
"This is completely separate from the church," he said in an interview yesterday.
The idea for the fund arose during the emotional hearings last spring over Senate Bill 17, in which more than 100 victims testified before the legislature, he said.
A revised version of the bill extended the statute of limitations for victims of childhood sexual abuse.
CLEVELAND (OH)
The Cincinnati Post
Associated Press
CLEVELAND - Survivors of childhood sexual abuse by clergy say a new $3 million assistance fund set up by Ohio bishops is merely a publicity stunt.
The Diocese of Cleveland, seven other Roman Catholic dioceses in Ohio and the Parma Byzantine Eparchy have contributed money to create the voluntary Counseling Assistance Fund aimed at victims who no longer trust the church to help them.
The Catholic Conference is alerting mental health agencies and is asking all the state's parishes to publicize the fund at weekend Masses.
Barbara Blaine, president of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, criticized the fund as "one more public relations move that's basically designed to forestall any real legislative reform." She said the Catholic Conference fought hard this year against an effort in the General Assembly to allow abuse victims an extra year to file civil lawsuits after the current deadline expires.
CANADA
CBC News
Last Updated: Friday, November 17, 2006 | 4:09 PM ET
CBC News
The commissioner of a public inquiry in Cornwall, Ont., has rejected a publication ban on the identity of a former priest accused but never convicted of sexually abusing nine boys who are now adults.
Lawyers for Rev. Charles MacDonald, 73, applied for a ban on use of the priest's name, anything that might identify him and any allegations of criminal wrongdoing at the inquiry, arguing allegations against MacDonald haven't been proven in court.
Justice Normand Glaude, the inquiry's commissioner, said MacDonald continues to be presumed innocent.
But he agreed with opponents of the ban who argued the former priest has been featured in many media stories and is an important figure in the inquiry.
ERIE (PA)
The New York Times
By ANDY NEWMAN
Published: November 18, 2006
For four hours yesterday, in a classroom-size space in a church administration building near Erie, Pa., Daniel Donohue told three judges in clerical collars about his high school friendship with a charismatic priest who would become the chief fund-raiser for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York.
Mr. Donohue, who spoke by phone after testifying, told the panel of judges his version of how that friendship, with Msgr. Charles M. Kavanagh, grew abusive and manipulative, and said the priest twice crossed the line and sexually abused him by lying down with him and rubbing his face and body against him.
Mr. Donohue, 42, is the accusing witness in the church trial of Monsignor Kavanagh, the most prominent priest in the archdiocese named in the sexual abuse scandal and the only priest from the archdiocese who has been granted a canonical trial. Yesterday he was not present.
The trial, Mr. Donohue said, is hardly an ideal process. He was asked to swear an oath of silence, which he refused to do, he told the priests, on the principle that the church’s policy of silence is what has allowed priests to abuse young people with impunity for decades. Mr. Donohue chafes against his role as the star witness for the archdiocese, the very institution that he said protected Monsignor Kavanagh for years.
LONG ISLAND (NY)
The New York Times
By BRUCE LAMBERT and NICOLE COTRONEO
Published: November 18, 2006
A Roman Catholic priest was charged yesterday with possessing more than 1,300 pornographic pictures and videos involving children, which were found on a computer he kept in the rectory of the Long Island church where he has worked for several months.
The priest, the Rev. Thomas G. Saloy, 45, an administrator at the Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Church in Roosevelt, pleaded not guilty in Federal District Court in Central Islip. After his computer was seized Nov. 9, he attempted suicide and was admitted to Mercy Medical Center, a Catholic hospital in Rockville Centre. Yesterday the judge, Chief Magistrate Michael L. Orenstein, agreed with a request by the defense and prosecutors that Father Saloy be returned to locked quarters at the hospital.
Father Saloy stood silently during his arraignment. Later, his lawyer, Peter Rubin, disputed the prosecutors’ claims, saying there were only a few pictures stored on the computer and describing them as “unsolicited.” Speaking to reporters, Mr. Rubin noted that Father Saloy was not accused of abusing minors, meeting them or trying to meet them.
COLORADO
Denver Post
By Eric Gorski
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated:11/17/2006 10:02:52 PM MST
As lawyers suing the Denver Roman Catholic Archdiocese prepare to press forward without a star witness, the archdiocese's chief legal counsel says the death of defrocked priest Harold Robert White is "symptomatic of the injustice" of allowing lawsuits involving decades-old events to proceed.
White, the subject of more than two-dozen lawsuits against the archdiocese, died last week of an apparent heart attack at age 73 while vacationing in Cancun, Mexico, with a Denver priest who was a longtime friend.
In an e-mailed response to a question about the legal implications of White's death, archdiocesan legal counsel Charles Goldberg noted the archdiocese has settled some of the lawsuits involving White, who is accused of child sexual abuse stretching over two decades.
"In the cases that have not settled, all parties have now lost Bob White's testimony," Goldberg said. "His death is symptomatic of the injustice of permitting lawsuits to go forward involving events, as in these cases, 30 to 50 years later."
LOS ANGELES (CA)
Los Angeles Times
By John Spano, Times Staff Writer
November 18, 2006
More than 100 lawsuits filed by people who say they were sexually molested by Roman Catholic priests were jump-started this week after a three-year legal hiatus.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Haley J. Fromholz released the claims for trial after a freeze that had stalled discovery and other pretrial investigation. The freeze was imposed as lawyers for victims and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles spent years trying to resolve more than 570 claims covering 60 years without trials.
The decision involves 32 priests and only about 20% of the claims arising from the church scandal, but it could be a sign that litigation is beginning to move ahead. Katherine K. Freberg, an Irvine lawyer who represents 41 people who say they are victims, said she sent demands for documents to the church Thursday.
Thirty-three claims have already been settled by religious orders rather than by the archdiocese, and 46 others are near settlement, according to lawyers involved.
ERIE (PA)
Los Angeles Times
By Ellen Barry, Times Staff Writer
November 18, 2006
ERIE, PA. — This is as close to a courtroom as Daniel Donohue can hope to get: a nondescript room in a church office building, where three priests on Friday carried out a legal procedure that dates to the 12th century.
The experience was at once ordinary and archaic. A tape recorder sat next to him, beeping occasionally. Behind him sat the "promoter of justice," the New York Archdiocese's equivalent of a district attorney. When Donohue walked in, he was asked to sign an oath not to discuss the case again.
Donohue, who five years ago accused a priest of sexual abuse, went into the trial with deep reservations. But when he emerged four hours later, he said he felt something important had taken place.
"It wasn't short and it wasn't sweet and it wasn't sugarcoated. There were tears," said Donohue, 42, who refused to sign the oath and was free to speak to reporters afterward. The accused man, Msgr. Charles Kavanagh, has refused to comment on the trial, citing the Vatican's request for confidentiality.
WILMINGTON (DE)
The News Journal
By BETH MILLER, The News Journal
Posted Saturday, November 18, 2006
An attorney for the religious order that runs Salesianum School said Friday there were no plans to release the names of oblates accused of sexual abuse.
That's despite a recommendation from Bishop Michael A. Saltarelli of the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, who on Thursday released the names of 20 priests with substantiated allegations against them and recommended that religious orders operating in the diocese do the same. The diocese includes all of Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Maryland -- about 220,000 Catholics in all, church officials say.
Religious orders do things differently than dioceses, said Vincent Morrison, who represents the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. When oblates are removed from public ministry for such reasons, they are not just released into the community.
"That would not happen with an oblate," Morrison said, "because any oblate, wherever they are, if there are credible and substantiated allegations of inappropriate contact with a minor, that oblate is removed from ministry and placed in a closely supervised environment."
ERIE (PA)
New York Post
By JEANE MacINTOSH
November 18, 2006 -- ERIE, Pa. - The man who accused the New York Archdiocese's former top fund-raiser of sexual misconduct turned the tables on a three-priest court set to hear him testify yesterday - insisting they first talk to him about sex abuse and the Catholic Church.
"I asked these three men, before I revealed my story and shared my pain, to tell me the first time they knew sexual abuse was a problem and what they had done about that problem" during their careers, Daniel Donohue told reporters after he testified.
"They did it," Donohue, now 42, said. "And it wasn't short, it wasn't sweet and it wasn't sugar-coated. There were tears all around."
He said that one of the three priests serving as judges in the canonical trial was in tears as he talked about "people he knew that had been abused."
LONG ISLAND (NY)
New York Daily News
BY RICHARD WEIR and JOHN MARZULLI
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
A popular Long Island priest was arrested yesterday on child pornography charges after investigators raided a church rectory and found his computer packed with dirty pictures.
Authorities said the Rev. Thomas Saloy tried to kill himself earlier this week after the FBI discovered 1,300 still photographs and video clips of children engaged in sexually explicit activities.
The frail-looking 45-year-old pleaded not guilty yesterday in a federal court in Central Islip to criminal charges that could put him in prison for 10 years.
Federal Magistrate Michael Orenstein ordered Saloy held in a hospital psychiatric ward.
LONG ISLAND (NY)
Newsday
BY JOHN MORENO GONZALES
STAFF WRITER; Staff writer Jennifer Sinco Kelleher contributed to this story.
November 18, 2006
Federal agents arrested a Roman Catholic priest based in Roosevelt Friday on child pornography charges after authorities said he stored 1,300 sexually explicit images of children on his rectory computer and engaged in sexually laced chats with detectives posing as teenage boys.
The Rev. Thomas G. Saloy, 45, an administrator at the Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Church in Roosevelt, was arrested Friday morning after a yearlong investigation, authorities said, in which he used America Online screen names to talk to minors about sex and set up exchanges of child pornography with adults and youths.
Saloy made a "suicidal gesture" during his arrest, federal prosector Allen L. Bode said Friday during the bespectacled cleric's arraignment in U.S. District Court in Central Islip. Magistrate Michael L. Orenstein ordered Saloy confined to a psychological ward at Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Centre until Nov. 27. Orenstein cited a court agreement and said Saloy would then be transferred pending further proceedings to the St. Luke Institute in Silver Spring, Md., which has treated clerics for sexual disorders.
CENTRAL ISLIP (NY)
WCBS
(CBS/AP) CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. A Roman Catholic priest on faces charges of possession of child pornography following an investigation that began more than a year ago, said the U.S. attorney's office.
Thomas G. Saloy, 45, an administrator at the Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Church in Roosevelt, was arrested Friday morning and scheduled to appear in federal court on Long Island before Chief Magistrate Judge Michael L. Orenstein.
The name of Saloy's attorney was not immediately available.
According to a criminal complaint unsealed Friday, after FBI agents seized computer equipment near Milwaukee in September 2005, they found an e-mail on a computer hard drive from Saloy, allegedly depicting sexually explicit images of boys.
CANADA
Montreal Gazette
Philippe de Maupeou, a high-profile Roman Catholic priest in the city's Plateau Mont Royal district, has been suspended from his pastoral duties after accusations of sexual abuse.
IOWA
Des Moines Register
By TONY LEYS
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
November 17, 2006
Two Iowa priests accused of sexually abusing minors have been removed from the priesthood by Pope Benedict XVI, the Des Moines Diocese announced Thursday.
Bishop Joseph Charron had requested the action against Richard Wagner and John Ryan, and the men agreed to it, a diocese spokeswoman said. If they had fought the request, the pope could have ordered them defrocked. Instead, he ordered them "laicized," which carries similar effects but a less punitive connotation.
Catholic leaders announced in 2003 that the men and a third priest were being relieved of all priestly duties because of credible accusations that they had molested minors.
Wagner, 71, was a high-profile priest, serving as principal of Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines from 1971 to 1976. Allegations against him surfaced in 1993. They concerned abuse of a female high school student in the late 1980s, when Wagner was pastor at St. Mary Parish in Red Oak. After the allegations were made, the church quietly removed Wagner from Red Oak, sent him to treatment, then allowed him to continue a restricted ministry in Des Moines.
NORWAY
Aftenposten
A new report has charted about 1,100 sexual assaults in Christian settings over the past decade, or two per week on average since 1996.
The Church Resource Center against Violence and Sexual Assault handed in their report to the Church Synod on Thursday, newspaper Bergens Tidende reports.
"The first years we focused on assaults on women by men. In recent years we have also seen that men are victims of assault. About 100 of the 1,100 cases we reported concern sexual attacks on men," Center leader Elisabeth Torp told the newspaper.
Torp expressed concern about the trend and said the report made a strong impression on the Synod.
As recently as last week a priest in the Glåmdal area was jailed for assaulting a minor.
PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
By David O'Reilly
Inquirer Staff Writer
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced yesterday that the Vatican has laicized one of its former priests, Francis J. Gallagher, for sexually abusing minors. As a result, he may no longer function as a Catholic priest.
Gallagher, who was removed from active ministry in 2002, had requested laicization, according to the archdiocese. He served in four parishes and two high schools of the archdiocese after he was ordained in 1973.
Gallagher was identified in the 2005 Philadelphia grand-jury report on sex abuse in the archdiocese as an example of the archdiocese's mishandling of abusive priests.
After he was arrested in 1989 in Sea Isle City, N.J., for soliciting sex with two young men, "he later admitted to sexually abusing two adolescent brothers," according to the report. Nevertheless, in 1991 he was made a vicar at Immaculate Conception parish in Jenkintown, and in 2000, he was reassigned to Mary, Mother of the Redeemer parish in North Wales.
PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia Inquirer
Who will watch over the youngest victims of sexual abuse?
It took more than a year after a Philadelphia grand jury report on sexual abuse by Catholic priests, but Harrisburg lawmakers in the state House of Representatives finally answered that question this week: They will.
Joining the Senate, which acted in June, House members on Wednesday gave their overwhelming support to key changes in Pennsylvania's child sex-abuse laws.
The legal overhaul - now requiring the Senate's concurrence on amendments - seeks to close several troubling loopholes in state law.
It was as a result of a loophole on reporting abuse allegations that officials in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia managed to duck responsibility for rousting priests who abused parish children.
ANCHORAGE (AK)
Anchorage Daily News
Published: November 17, 2006
Last Modified: November 17, 2006 at 02:37 AM
ANCHORAGE -- Pastor charged with sexual assault, denies fondling teenager at church.
A longtime pastor accused of sexually abusing a 15-year-old church-goer made his first court appearance Thursday at the Anchorage Jail, while his lawyer once again maintained his innocence.
The accused man, Dwight Donald Greene, 50, said nothing during the brief proceeding. About a dozen of his family members and other supporters sat in the pews of the courtroom. When the judge told Greene he faced four counts of second-degree sexual assault, one young woman in the audience burst out crying.
Outside the courtroom, Wells said the accusations against Greene are false. He said the 15-year-old girl is lying. He said the girl may have made the claims of sexual abuse because she was angry at Greene.
DELAWARE
The News Journal
By MIKE CHALMERS, The News Journal
Posted Friday, November 17, 2006
The release of the identities of 20 priests credibly accused of child sexual abuse shows the need for a change in Delaware's statute of limitations for civil lawsuits, two legislators said Thursday.
Their bill, which would give victims more time to sue their molesters, will get another chance in the General Assembly in January, said Sen. Karen Peterson, D-Stanton, and Rep. Greg Lavelle, R-Sharpley. Victims would have 25 years after they turn 18 to sue their abusers, instead of within two years of reporting the abuse, as the law now requires.
Both chambers supported the bill earlier this year, but the legislative session ran out before they could agree on the details.
The bill would give victims time to fully understand the impact of the abuse, Peterson said. Counseling and therapy sessions can cost victims as much as $90,000, she said.
WILMINGTON (DE)
The News Journal
Posted Friday, November 17, 2006
OUR VIEW
Wilmington Bishop Michael Saltarelli took the right step Thursday when he released the names of priests accused of sexually molesting minors.
He accomplished three things for the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington. This aligned the diocese with the church’s position that victims need to be supported and encouraged to come forward and seek help.
Publication of the 20 names in the diocese's weekly newspaper moved the local leadership beyond a long-drawn and unbalanced preoccupation with defending fellow clergymen before their day in court. Those against whom the diocese received “admitted, corroborated or otherwise substantiated” allegations include eight living priests, plus two who once ministered in the Wilmington diocese but were accused of abuse elsewhere.
WILMINGTON (DE)
The News Journal
By BETH MILLER, The News Journal
Posted Friday, November 17, 2006
About 10 priests who were ordained by religious orders and are serving in the Diocese of Wilmington have credible allegations of child sexual abuse against them, diocese officials have said.
But their names were not on the list of such priests released Thursday by Bishop Michael A. Saltarelli.
Unless those priests are assigned to a diocesan ministry, the diocese does not supervise their activities, diocese spokesman Robert G. Krebs said. And allegations against those priests are investigated by the orders, he said.
All names known by the diocese, though, have been released to the Attorney General's Office in the past, Krebs said, and Saltarelli has recommended that the superiors of those orders release the names of their accused priests.
WILMINGTON (DE)
Bishop Accountability
Bishop Accountability has posted on its site photographs and biographical information on the accused priests in the Diocese of Wilmington. The diocese this week released the names.
WILMINGTON (DE)
The News Journal
By BETH MILLER, MIKE CHALMERS and GARY SOULSMAN, The News Journal
Posted Friday, November 17, 2006
For the first time, parents in the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington have the names of diocesan priests accused of sexually abusing children. They know which parishes they worked in and when they were there.
For the first time, victims can say their allegations against these abusers have been "admitted, corroborated or otherwise substantiated" to the satisfaction of Bishop Michael A. Saltarelli and the Diocesan Review Board he appointed to investigate allegations.
And for the first time, some victims who have never spoken about the abuse they suffered may find the courage to tell someone and get the help experts say they need to recover.
Reversing a long-standing policy, Saltarelli on Thursday released the names of the 20 diocesan priests in the diocese's weekly newspaper, The Dialog.
ERIE, PA
New York Post
By JEANE MacINTOSH in Erie, Pa., and DAN MANGAN in N.Y.
November 17, 2006 -- Catholic officials are threatening to excommunicate witnesses at a top New York priest's sexual misconduct trial if they dare discuss their testimony outside the church court, The Post has learned.
That extremely unusual threat is being wielded even as the priest's accuser, former Catholic high school student Daniel Donohue, and victim advocates have requested Monsignor Charles Kavanagh's church trial in Erie, Pa., be made open to the public.
As the Catholic Church's stiffest sanction, excommunication normally is reserved for the most serious offenses - such as heresy and getting an abortion - and bars its targets from receiving Communion and other sacraments.
"Obviously, it shows that the value of these church leaders is secrecy, it's not protecting children," said Barbara Blaine, president of The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "What an irony, isn't it, if the punishment is more severe for telling about being abused than for actually committing the actual abuse?"
COLORADO
Rocky Mountain News
By Jean Torkelson, Rocky Mountain News
November 17, 2006
The death of accused sex abuser and ex-priest Harold Robert White while he was vacationing with a Denver priest opens up fresh leads in pending lawsuits, an attorney suing the archdiocese said Thursday.
White, 73, died Tuesday of an apparent heart attack while vacationing in Cancun, Mexico, with the Rev. Ed Poehlmann, pastor at Presentation of Our Lady Parish in Denver, according to another priest.
In the 1990s, Poehlmann was pastor of a Minturn parish that was one of White's last assignments before leaving the active ministry. Since then, White has been accused of sexually abusing children from the 1960s on. He was defrocked in 2004.
"I was shocked to learn (White) was vacationing not only with a priest, but a priest who apparently was his immediate superior on his last assignment," said Jeff Herman, an attorney involved in 19 of the 30 lawsuits filed against either White or Leonard Abercrombie, a priest who died in 1994.
LOS ANGELES (CA)
The Baytown Sun
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A man who says he was molested by a Roman Catholic priest almost 10 years ago sued cardinals in Los Angeles and Mexico on Thursday, claiming they knew of the allegations and protected the priest.
The plaintiff, now 22, claims in the Superior Court lawsuit that Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahoney and Mexican Cardinal Norberto Rivera enabled the Rev. Nicolas Aguilar to molest more than 60 boys in the two countries.
Calls to Mahoney and Rivera were not immediately returned Thursday.
The plaintiff, identified as "Juan Doe 100," claims he was abused in 1997 in Mexico at age 13. He alleges the abuse occurred after Aguilar returned to his job with the Diocese of Tehuacan following similar accusations while working in Los Angeles for a year.
DELAWARE
WBAL
DOVER, Del. -- The Catholic Diocese of Wilmington on Thursday released the names of 20 priests against whom it received substantiated allegations of child sexual abuse.
The list of names was printed in Thursday's edition of the diocese's weekly newspaper, The Dialog.
It includes eight living priests accused of abusing minors in the diocese and two others who ministered in the diocese but were accused of abuse elsewhere.
Of the 20 priests listed, the names of 10 had previously been released publicly, either by the diocese or by the media, officials said.
The list includes only the names of priests employed by the diocese, not those employed by religious orders.
Bishop Michael Saltarelli said in a letter accompanying the list that he released the names after extensive consultation with the Diocesan Review Board, a mostly lay panel formed to comply with the 2002 U.S. bishops' Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.
Saltarelli also said the recent arrest of the Rev. Francis G. DeLuca in Syracuse, N.Y., was a factor in his decision.
DES MOINES (IA)
KTIV
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Two Roman Catholic priests alleged to have sexually abused minors have been defrocked by Pope Benedict 16th.
The pope granted the requests concerning John Ryan and Richard Wagner on October 13th, which means they can no longer act or identify themselves as priests.
A statement released today by the Des Moines Diocese said an allegation review committee determined that accusations of sexual abuse of minors were credible.
A recommendation to defrock the two men was made in 2003 to the bishop, who passed it on to the pope. The diocese statement says the men have not been allowed to function as priests since 2003.
ST. LOUIS (MO)
WQAD
ST. LOUIS A St. Louis judge says he'll decide soon on a request to reconsider his dismissal of sex abuse charges against a former priest and the Archdiocese of St. Louis.
Circuit Court Judge Timothy Wilson heard arguments from both sides today.
An attorney for plaintiff Herbert Graham cited a recent Missouri Supreme Court ruling that changed the state deadline for filing sexual abuse lawsuits.
Graham, of Decatur, Illinois, says he was sexually molested in the 1980s by former priest Michael McGrath, but didn't realize the harm that had been done until 1998. He sued five years later.
ANCHORAGE (AK)
KTVA
Associated Press
Article Last Updated:11/16/2006 11:46:54 AM AKST
A long-time Anchorage pastor has turned himself into police and is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday. Fifty-year-old Dwight Donald Greene of Calvary Chapel of Anchorage was wanted on a felony warrant. Police had been looking for him for two days.
Greene is facing four counts of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor after a 15-year-old girl accused the pastor of fondling her. But Greene's lawyer, Steve Wells, says the girl is lying and his client never should have been jailed.
LOS ANGELES (CA)
CBS 2
(CBS) LOS ANGELES Another Mexican citizen sued Cardinal Roger Mahony Thursday and a cardinal in Mexico, alleging both share responsibility for sexual abuse the plaintiff claims he suffered at the hands of a priest who served in both countries.
Identified in court papers as Juan Doe, the man, now 22, filed his lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court. He alleges negligence, sexual battery and conspiracy.
Like Joaquin Aguilar Mendez, a Mexican citizen, 25, who filed a similar lawsuit in September, the new plaintiff maintains the Archdiocese of Los Angeles allowed the Rev. Nicholas Aguilar to go to Mexico to escape molestation charges in Los Angeles.
In Mexico, Aguilar sexually abused the plaintiff Mendez in 1997 when he was 13 and taking church classes, according to the lawsuit.
IRELAND
Irish Independent
A FILM about Irish paedophile ex-priest Oliver O'Grady is one of 15 documentaries which have been shortlisted for a possible Oscar nomination.
The documentary, entitled 'Deliver Us From Evil' and directed by Amy Berg, caused controversy both here and abroad after it showed footage of O'Grady ogling young children in Dublin's Merrion Square and at an unnamed school.
O'Grady (60), from Limerick, admitted in the film he still got aroused at the sight of children and showed no remorse for abusing 25 children when he was a parish priest in California.
WILMINGTON (DE)
Bishop Accountability
Bishop Accountability has posted to its site a copy of The Dialog, which lists names of priests accused of sexual abuse in that diocese. The Dialog is the official newspaper of the Diocese of Wilmington, Del.
IOWA
Des Moines Register
REGISTER STAFF REPORTS
November 16, 2006
Two Iowa priests accused of sexually abusing minors have been removed from
the priesthood by Pope Benedict XVI, the Des Moines Diocese announced
Thursday.
Bishop Joseph Charron had requested the action against Richard Wagner and
John Ryan, and the men agreed to it. If they’d fought the request, the pope
could have ordered them defrocked, which would have carried similar effects
but a more punitive connotation.
WILMINGTON (DE)
Catholic Online
11/16/2006
The Dialog (www.cdow.org)
WILMINGTON, Del. (The Dialog) - Bishop Michael A.Saltarelli has released the names of 18 diocesan priests - eight still living - about whom the diocese has received “admitted, corroborated or otherwise substantiated” allegations of sexual abuse of minors.
In a list accompanying a letter to the faithful of the Diocese of Wilmington in the Nov.16 Dialog, official newspaper of Diocese of Wilmington, the bishop also includes the names of two living priests from other dioceses who ministered here and were accused of sexual abuse elsewhere.
The list does not include when or where the abuse occurred or how many minors were involved.
Of the 20 priests listed, the names of 10 had previously been released publicly, either by the diocese or by media outlets, as The Dialog went to press. The list does not include names of any accused religious-order priests who worked in the diocese. In his letter, Bishop Saltarelli says he is disclosing the names after “extensive consultation” with the Diocesan Review Board, the largely lay panel formed to comply with the U.S. bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People issued in 2002.
DELAWARE
FoxNews
Thursday, November 16, 2006
DOVER, Delaware — A Catholic diocese on Thursday released the names of 20 priests who had been accused of child sexual abuse, including 10 names that had not previously been released publicly.
The list was printed in Thursday's edition of the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington's weekly newspaper, The Dialog, after one former priest was arrested last month in his New York state hometown and accused of sexually abusing a boy there.
In a letter accompanying the list, Bishop Michael Saltarelli said that by disclosing the priests' names and locations, "we perhaps in some way may help prevent or deter any further incidents."
The list includes eight priests accused of abusing minors in the diocese and two others who ministered in the diocese but were accused of abuse elsewhere.
CANADA
CBC News
Last Updated: Thursday, November 16, 2006 | 12:49 PM ET
A publication ban should be imposed at a public inquiry in Cornwall to prevent the further victimization of a priest accused of sexually abusing nine boys, the priest's lawyers say.
The public inquiry is examining the way authorities handled dozens of allegations of sexual abuse against prominent members of the community around Cornwall, Ont., spanning several decades.
James Foord, a lawyer for 73-year-old Rev. Charles MacDonald, told the inquiry Wednesday that MacDonald has for 14 years been a victim himself — a victim of the media.
"This commission should not unnecessarily facilitate any further victimization," Foord said.
UNITED STATES
10News
Michelle Krish -- 10News.com Managing Editor
POSTED: 11:22 am PST November 16, 2006
UPDATED: 11:46 am PST November 16, 2006
There is a lawsuit under way that's trying to get the Roman Catholic Church to come clean regarding the background of some of its priests.
More than 175 American Catholic bishops have been named as defendants, including Robert Brom of San Diego.
The suit asks that all bishops disclose the names of roughly 5,000 proven and accused abusive priests.
COLORADO
Rocky Mountain News
By Jean Torkelson, Rocky Mountain News
November 16, 2006
Accused sex abuser and ex-priest Harold Robert White died Tuesday of an apparent heart attack while vacationing in Cancun, Mexico.
White, 73, was at the center of several sex abuse lawsuits against the Archdiocese of Denver. He left the active ministry in the 1990s and was defrocked in 2004.
White was accused of multiple incidents of sexual abuse of children. He was a parish priest from the 1950s through the 1990s. He and the late Leonard Abercrombie, a priest who died in 1994, have been named in separate lawsuits filed in Denver District Court. A total of 30 suits have been filed and four were settled this week with mediation arranged by the Archdiocese of Denver.
Jeff Herman, a Miami attorney who handles 12 lawsuits against White, said Thursday that because White's death closes off the opportunity to question him in court, it becomes even more important for the archdiocese to open up all its documents related to White.
WILMINGTON (DE)
The News Journal
By BETH MILLER, The News Journal
Posted Thursday, November 16, 2006 at 12:04 pm
Diocese of Wilmington Bishop Michael A. Saltarelli today released the names of 20 priests against whom the diocese has received “admitted, corroborated or otherwise substantiated” allegations of sexual abuse of minors.
The list, released in today’s editions of the diocese’s weekly newspaper, The Dialog, includes eight living priests plus two who once ministered in the Wilmington diocese but were accused of abuse elsewhere. The Diocese of Wilmington includes all of Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Maryland, which has about 220,000 Catholics, according to diocese officials.
The list does not include the names of any religious order priests.
Accompanying the list, the newspaper printed a letter from Saltarelli, who says he has released the names after “extensive consultation” with the Diocesan Review Board. The recent arrest of the Rev. Francis G. DeLuca on similar charges in Syracuse was a factor in Saltarelli’s decision. ...
Diocese of Wilmington priests
Edward B. Carley (1917-1998)
Eugene F. Clarahan (1925-1999)
Francis P. Cornely (1924-1975)
Francis G. DeLuca (1929-)
Douglas W. Dempster (1937-)
Henry J. Dreyer (1903-1969)
Edward F. Dudzinski (1950-)
Richard F. Gardiner (1916-1989)
William E. Irwin (1938-2005)
John A. Lind (1931-1997)
Leonard J. Mackiewicz (1931-1994)
Kenneth J. Martin (1945-)
Joseph A. McGovern (1949-)
Walter D. Power (1918-1998)
Francis J. Rogers (1954-)
John A. Sarro (1941-)
Carmen D. Vignola (1946-1989)
Charles W. Wiggins (1957-)
Priests from other dioceses
Paul Calamari (1944-)
Gerard C. Smit (1924-)
CANADA
Ottawa Sun
Thu, November 16, 2006
By Canadian Press
CORNWALL — Lawyers for a priest are asking the judge overseeing a public inquiry to ban publication of any details and statements regarding criminal allegations against their client.
A lawyer representing Rev. Charles MacDonald filed a motion Wednesday suggesting that hearing unfounded allegations against the priest will make him factually guilty in the eyes of the public.
John MacDonald, a man who claims the priest sexually assaulted him in the 1960s and 1970s, is expected to testify at the inquiry investigating the institutional response to allegations of decades of child sexual abuse in the Cornwall area.
“When the complainant takes the stand ... he will, under oath, make public allegations alleging serious criminal allegations against the applicant,” Giuseppe Cipriano writes in the motion application. “Such evidence will be on a live webcast and then available to the public through transcripts available on the commission website.”
BROCKPORT (NY)
Rochester Democrat & Chronicle
The Rev. Peter Enyan-Boadu, 52, a Roman Catholic priest who served as pastor of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was charged with three counts of harassment and one count each of forcible touching and attempted forcible touching. The charges, misdemeanors, were filed by a female co-worker.
Enyan-Boadu was arraigned in Brockport Village Court on Friday, then released, said Brockport Police Chief Daniel Varrenti. Enyan-Boadu is due back in court on Dec. 6.
COLORADO
Denver Post
By Eric Gorski
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 11/16/2006 02:40:04 AM MST
Harold Robert White, the defrocked priest at the center of the most sweeping clergy abuse scandal ever to strike the Denver Roman Catholic Archdiocese, has died of an apparent heart attack while vacationing in Cancun, Mexico, officials said.
White's attorney, Douglas Tisdale of Denver, said in a brief statement that White, 73, died Tuesday afternoon of a "sudden heart attack." He said White's family is making final arrangements and requested privacy as they grieve. Tisdale declined to comment further, citing pending lawsuits against White.
White was in Mexico with the Rev. Edward Poehlmann, a Denver priest and a seminary classmate of White's, said the Rev. Patrick Kennedy, who served White's home parish, Holy Family in Denver, when White was studying for the priesthood.
Kennedy, who is retired, said White admitted to him that some but not all of the claims against him were true and that he was sorry. That is the fullest description to date of White's reaction to allegations that he molested boys over a three-decade career spanning Colorado parishes from mountains to plains.
KNOXVILLE (TN)
Metro Pulse
Fr. Anthony J. O’Connell
When the Diocese of Knoxville was founded on June 7, 1988, Pope John Paul II named Father Anthony J. O’Connell the first bishop of this newly founded diocese. At the time, O’Connell had been serving as director of vocations for the Diocese of Jefferson City, Mo., a position he began in 1969.
He continued to move up the Catholic hierarchy when, in 1998, the Pope appointed him bishop of a larger diocese in Palm Beach, Fla. The Palm Beach Catholics were quick to voice their approval of the energetic clergyman.
“When he left, he had a glowing send-off, because he was the founding bishop,” says Father Vann Johnston, who is a spokesman for the Knoxville diocese. He had done much to get the diocese off on the right foot. He was well loved.”
Then, in 2002, the public first started hearing about the sex scandals within the clergy. At first, it seemed to be isolated in Boston. In hopes of reassuring the faithful, many Florida bishops, led by the archbishop of Miami, issued a statement condemning the actions of the priests charged with pedophilia. O’Connell’s name was among the signers.
Many Knoxville Catholics couldn’t believe that, about a week after the bishops of Florida released their statement, a former priest by the name of Christopher Dixon told a newspaper in Missouri that he had been abused when he was a 15-year-old seminary student. Dixon said he had gone to O’Connell for advice after being molested by two other priests—Dixon went on to say that O’Connell had abused him several times over the next two years, under the guise of spiritual guidance.
UTAH
Deseret Morning News
By Ben Winslow
Deseret Morning News
New trial dates have been set for four of eight polygamist men facing sex crimes charges.
The Mohave County Attorney's Office in Arizona said Wednesday that sentencing has been scheduled for Nov. 29 in the case against David Bateman, 49, who was convicted recently of sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor.
Prosecutors say the Colorado City, Ariz., man was 44 when he had sex with a 17-year-old girl.
Over the next two months, trials will commence in Kingman, Ariz., for the remaining four men, facing similar charges. All are believed to be members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church, based in the polygamist border towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City.
PHILDELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
By David O'Reilly and Angela Couloumbis
Inquirer Staff Writers
The state House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a multipart bill yesterday that would expand Pennsylvania's child sex-abuse laws.
Senate Bill 1054, passed by the Senate in June and amended in the House, now returns to the Senate for a final vote without amendments. Lawmakers say they expect a vote early next week.
If passed and signed, the laws would:
Expand the definition of who must report knowledge of sex abuse to civil authorities. Current law obliges employers and supervisors to report abuse only if the child informs them.
Make employers and supervisors criminally liable if they facilitate abuse or fail to provide adequate protection for children in their care.
Allow adult victims of child sex abuse to bring criminal charges against their abusers by age 50. Current law cuts off at age 30.
UNITED KINGDOM
The Didcot Herald
A PRIEST cleared of child sex allegations in South Africa could resume his duties in the pulpit of his village church near Wantage as soon as Sunday.
Parishioners who have supported him since the accusation was first made last April are expected to give him a warm welcome when he returns.
Father Tony Hogg, 52, who is vicar of Hanney, Denchworth and East Challow, was expected home last night after a charge of indecent assault on a ten-year-old boy was dropped by prosecutors in Cape Town earlier this week.
He was accused of sexually abusing the street child during a charity trip to the country. Father Hogg denied the allegation.
BROCKPORT (NY)
WCAX
BROCKPORT, N.Y. A 52-year-old Roman Catholic priest is accused of forcibly touching a female co-worker.
The Reverend Peter Enyan-Boadu was arrested and charged with three misdemeanor counts of harassment and one of forcible touching. He was arraigned before a Brockport village judge on Friday and released, to return to court on December 6th.
The Diocese of Rochester said in a statement that Enyan-Boadu requested and was granted a personal leave of absence until final disposition of the charges.
TUCSON (AZ)
Arizona Daily Star
About 200 people prayed for the health of ailing Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson Bishop Emeritus Manuel D. Moreno during a special noontime Mass at St. Augustine Cathedral today.
Current Tucson Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas, who presided over the Mass, asked for God's healing grace and power. Those in attendance joined hands and recited the Lord's Prayer for the retired bishop, who is at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix recovering from surgery. He had an operation Monday night to relieve pressure in his brain caused by bleeding. ...
While bishop, Moreno was active in promoting the rights of immigrants and illegal entrants. He also faced a spate of civil lawsuits alleging decades-old cases of sexual abuse by diocesan priests, and was bishop in 2002, when the diocese reached a $14 million settlement with 10 men who said they were sexually abused as children by four members of the local clergy during the 1960s, '70s and '80s. Those close to Moreno say the sexual abuse scandal also took a toll on him.
BALTIMORE (MD)
The Examiner
BALTIMORE -
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops voted unanimously this week at a meeting in Baltimore to support research into why priests molest children. Bishops approved spending $335,000 of parishioners’ donations to explore the “causes and context” of clergy abuse.
“By approving the proposal, bishops are saying we are serious about this; we haven’t retreated from our original position, and we’ll stay on this until we can find the causes that prevent these terrible things from happening,” said Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, archbishop emeritus of Washington.
How ridiculous. First and foremost, these “terrible things” happen to be felonies. Are the bishops members of Congress or men of the cloth? The need to understand the situations in which clergy abuse children speaks to a need to justify their crimes and those who aided, abetted and covered up, not root out the criminals.
If the bishops really cared about Catholics, the second thing they should do to priests caught abusing children is kick them out of the church. The first thing they should do is call police.
ANCHORAGE (AK)
KTVA
Associated Press
Article Last Updated:11/15/2006 12:47:29 PM AKST
Anchorage police are looking for a long-time Anchorage pastor and high school softball coach. Fifty-year-old Dwight Donald Greene of Calvary Chapel of Anchorage is wanted on a felony warrant. He is facing four counts of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor.
AMITE (LA)
The Advocate
By DEBRA LEMOINE
Advocate Florida parishes bureau
Published: Nov 16, 2006
AMITE — The first of the seven members of a Ponchatoula church charged by a grand jury with raping children will go on trial in August, District Judge Doug Hughes ordered Wednesday.
Austin “Trey” Bernard III, 38, of Hammond will be tried on two counts of aggravated rape starting Aug. 27 in 21st Judicial District Court in Amite. No trial date has been set for the other six indicted members of the congregation.
Bernard is among the nine members of the now-defunct Hosanna Church in Ponchatoula arrested in May 2005 in an investigation focusing on complaints of alleged rape of children. He also is the only one of the seven indicted who has not gotten out of jail on bond.
Some of those arrested allegedly told investigators that the sexual abuse was part of a Satanic ritual. No physical evidence of the alleged rites were found during searches at the church and the suspects’ homes, investigators have said.
MINNESOTA
St. Paul Pioneer Press
A former Lutheran pastor has been sentenced to a year in a jail and 10 years of probation for charges stemming from the sexual assault of one of his parishioners.
James Michael Holthus, 52, must also pay a $6,000 fine and $6,219 in restitution. He must complete sex offender treatment and register as a predatory offender. If he violates his probation, he can be sent to prison for 21 months.
Blue Earth County District Judge Kurt Johnson handed down the toughest sentence he could without departing from state guidelines Monday before a packed courtroom of more than 50 people.
"My hope is, now that this matter is taken care of, the healing can begin," Johnson said. "I hope people can move on because that's what needs to be done."
In August, Holthus pleaded guilty to a felony charge of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct. He admitted to sexually touching a man to whom he also was giving religious advice as pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lake Crystal.
PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The Living Church Foundation
11/15/2006
A coalition of clergy and laity called unsuccessfully for the resignation of the Rt. Rev. Charles E. Bennison, Jr., during the Diocese of Pennsylvania’s convention Nov. 11.
Members of the group stood on nearby street corners and near the entrance to Philadelphia Cathedral to hand out pamphlets and to hold protest signs. The bishop’s opponents, including elected members of the standing committee, accuse him of spending more than $10 million in unrestricted funds “without canonical authority and without the consent of the standing committee.”
During the convention, however, the calls for Bishop Bennison’s resignation focused on how he responded when, as a rector in California more than 30 years ago, he learned that his brother, John, had engaged in sexual relations with a 14-year-old girl. He dismissed his brother as the parish’s youth minister, but did not inform the girl’s parents or police.
OHIO
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Thursday, November 16, 2006
David Briggs
Plain Dealer Religion Reporter
Ohio's Catholic bishops are reaching out to survivors of childhood sexual abuse with a new program that will allow victims to get counseling independent of the church.
In what appears to be the first voluntary program of its kind in the country, the Diocese of Cleveland and seven other dioceses and the Parma Byzantine Eparchy have contributed $3 million to the fund for victims of childhood sexual abuse who no longer trust the church to help them.
"It's the right thing to do," Timothy Luckhaupt, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Ohio, said in an interview Wednesday. "We've harmed people. We should help them."
KANSAS
The Johnson County Sun
Sheri Baker-Rickman, Staff Writer November 16, 2006
Two murders in St. Croix County, Wis., have led to all U.S. bishops being served and named as defendants in a civil child sex abuse lawsuit.
Archbishop Joseph Naumann, head of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, and Bishop Paul Coakley, head of the Salina Catholic Diocese, are included in the suit.
Filed in Wisconsin in August, the suit seeks no money but asks a state judge to force Catholic bishops nationwide to disclose the names of about 5,000 "proven, admitted and credibly accused abusive priests in the U.S."
The suit is brought by the family of Dan O'Connell, a Wisconsin man who died of a gunshot wound in February 2002 with co-worker James Ellison, also shot to death, at the O'Connell Family Funeral Home in Hudson, Wis.
LOS ANGELES (CA)
Reuters
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Oscar voters named 15 documentaries on Wednesday to the short list of films vying for Academy Award nominations, including global warming movie "An Inconvenient Truth" with former U.S. vice president Al Gore.
Other documentaries range from "Deliver Us from Evil," which tells of sexual abuse by a Catholic priest, to "Shut Up and Sing," which follows country singers The Dixie Chicks after they criticized the Iraq war and President George W. Bush.
FRANKFORT (KY)
The Courier-Journal
By Peter Smith
psmith@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Faced with a turnover of members, the state Supreme Court has postponed all oral arguments scheduled for this week -- including one involving a former priest appealing a Bullitt County sexual-abuse conviction.
Because of last week's elections, three new members of the seven-member court will be seated on or before Jan. 1.
Chief Justice Joseph Lambert's chief of staff, Jason Nemes, said if arguments had been held this week it would have meant the current court would have heard the arguments while the new court would have issued the rulings. He said it would have been likely the new court would want to rehear arguments in many of the nine cases. "It wouldn't have been fair to the new justices, lawyers or the parties," Nemes said.
The arguments have been rescheduled for February.
PEORIA (IL)
Journal Star
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
By MICHAEL MILLER
of the Journal Star
PEORIA - Accusing Bishop Daniel Jenky of not caring "about the lost and wounded sheep," representatives of a support group for victims of sexual abuse by clergy urged Roman Catholics in the Diocese of Peoria today to stop giving money to their parishes.
Jeff Jones, leader of the Peoria affiliate of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, said Jenky has "ignored our request that he more aggressively reach out to victims."
The group recently asked Jenky and then parishes to have support-group meetings announced in churches, which Jenky then instructed pastors not to do.
FRANKFORT (KY)
The Courier-Journal
By Peter Smith
psmith@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
FRANKFORT, Ky. — The state Supreme Court has postponed, until Feb. 14, oral arguments in an appeal by a former Catholic priest convicted of abusing two boys in Bullitt County.
Chief Justice Joseph Lambert canceled oral arguments in all cases scheduled for November, including that of Daniel C. Clark, whose hearing was slated for Tuesday morning.
Clark’s attorney, David Lambertus, said his client — who has served three years of a 10-year sentence for molesting two Bullitt County boys — deserves a new trial because a judge allowed testimony that he should have excluded and excluded evidence that he should have allowed.
Lambertus also argues that Bullitt Circuit Judge Thomas Waller failed to instruct the jury correctly.
ST. PAUL (MN)
Yahoo!
Wednesday November 15, 3:43 pm ET
ST. PAUL, Minn., Nov. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- 178 Catholic Bishops have been named as defendants in an unprecedented civil child sex abuse lawsuit brought by the family of a murdered Wisconsin man. The following Bishops have recently been served with the lawsuit by a county sheriff:
Bishop Sylvester Ryan, Diocese of Monterey in CA
Bishop Robert Brom, Diocese of San Diego (CA)
Bishop Jude Speyrer, Diocese of Lake Charles (LA)
Bishop Michael Jarrell, Diocese of Lafayette (LA)
Bishop John Leibrecht, Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau (MO)
Bishp Joseph Pepe, Diocese of Las Vegas (NV)
Bishop Joseph Martino, Diocese of Scranton (PA)
Bishop Charles Grahmann, Diocese of Dallas (TX)
NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Telegraph
15 November 2006
A Londonderry court has heard claims that a former lay preacher subjected two sisters to a litany of sexual abuses starting when they were six years old.
James Doherty (72), from Milltown View in the Waterside, denies 25 charges ranging from gross indecency to anal rape against two sisters who attended the same church as him.
He faces 21 charges relating to the younger sister, now 36, dating back to 1976.
Starting her evidence yesterday, the younger sibling gave a brief and sometimes tearful account of the first incidents she remembered.
ANCHORAGE (AK)
Anchorage Daily News
By MEGAN HOLLAND
Anchorage Daily News
Published: November 15, 2006
Last Modified: November 15, 2006 at 05:27 AM
Police were hunting Tuesday night for a longtime Anchorage pastor and high school softball coach who has been accused of sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl.
Dwight Donald Greene, 50, was wanted on a felony warrant for four counts of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor. Police said Greene had been "evading" them for more than a day.
Greene's lawyer, though, said his client is not guilty of the charges. He said Greene is not hiding and court papers have been filed in an effort to kill the warrant.
He would not say where his client was Tuesday night.
Greene is accused of fondling a teen who was a member of his small congregation at Calvary Chapel of Anchorage in the 1800 block of West Northern Lights Boulevard.
TUCSON (AZ)
Tucson Citizen
Our thoughts are with retired Catholic Bishop Manuel D. Moreno of Tucson as he recuperates from surgery in Phoenix for a blood clot in his brain.
Moreno was bishop of the Diocese of Tucson from 1982 until his retirement in 2003, struggling with the spate of lawsuits filed from 1997 to 2001 alleging child sexual abuse by local priests.
Moreno, who was accused of covering up the abuse, introduced a policy in 2002 mandating that suspected child abuse be reported to law enforcement, abuse prevention methods be enacted and guilty priests be defrocked.
IRELAND
Western People
BISHOP John Fleming, in a letter to the priests and people of Killala diocese, has launched an appeal for funds for the parishes and the diocese of Killala.
Eighteen years after the last appeal - by Bishop Thomas Finnegan in 1988 --Bishop Fleming has appealed to the people of the diocese to increase the weekly contribution because ‘with the decline in weekly Mass attendance, the income we receive from the envelopes has not increased in line with inflation.’ Extra funds are needed not just to sustain the present level of services but to focus on a number of clear priorities. A six-point plan for the diocese into the future is envisaged. This will include programmes for the spiritual welfare of young people; the development of the gifts and energies of lay people at a time when priest numbers are declining; adult faith formation; an enhancement of the celebration of Mass by raising standards of music, reading, liturgy; and new forms of support for priests as they become fewer and older. A special concern will be an acceptable level of support for retired priests in terms of income, accommodation and health care. ...
•900,000, has been “set aside for issues which may arise from the past. . . thank God, to date, the diocese has not been asked to make payments for the sexual abuse of children and further I wish to state that no money collected at parish level will be given to compensation in any sexual abuse case,” the bishop said.
COLUMBUS (OH)
Toledo Blade
COLUMBUS — The Ohio Board of Education yesterday revoked the teaching certificates of five current or former priests who have been disciplined by their Roman Catholic dioceses after allegations of child molestation.
MEMPHIS (TN)
Commercial Appeal
By James Dowd
Contact
November 15, 2006
New allegations of clergy sex abuse have been leveled against the Catholic Diocese of Memphis, stemming from claims that in the late '90s a local priest molested a teenage girl in the confession room of Blessed Sacrament Church.
In a suit filed in Circuit Court Monday, the plaintiff, listed simply as Jane Doe No. 3, alleged multiple counts of sexual abuse by Father Joseph Nguyen between 1997 and 1999. The Vietnamese-American woman who lives in Memphis claimed the abuse began after she underwent counseling from the priest following the death of her younger brother in 1996.
According to the suit, Nguyen sexually assaulted the girl on dozens of occasions during visits to her home and at the church, where he was supposed to be hearing her confession.
The lawsuit seeks damages in excess of $10 million.
This is the third time in two months that Nguyen has been accused of sexual abuse. In a suit filed Sept. 14, a 23-year-old woman listed as Jane Doe now living in California claimed Nguyen molested her between 1994 and 1999.
BALTIMORE (MD)
The News Journal
By BETH MILLER, The News Journal
Posted Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Child sexual abuse by priests continues today because predatory priests have been transferred quietly around the United States and the world, into communities unaware of the dangers they pose to children.
That is the message of victims of clergy sexual abuse and advocates who protested the suppression of those priests' names this week during the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops annual meeting in Baltimore.
Diocese of Wilmington Bishop Michael A. Saltarelli, who is attending the conference, is among the bishops who have guarded the names of suspected predatory priests. The Wilmington diocese has acknowledged credible allegations against at least 30 former priests. Pressed to release the names last year by The News Journal, diocesan officials said they saw no compelling reason to do so.
The recent case of the Rev. Francis G. DeLuca, 77, may force them to reconsider.
CARROLLTON (IL)
Quincy Herald-Whig
By Rodney Hart
Herald-Whig Staff Writer
CARROLLTON, Ill. — A former Plainville and Carrollton pastor who pleaded guilty to aggravated criminal sexual abuse was sentenced Monday to four years of probation.
Jeffrey D. Heberlein, 43, pleaded guilty Sept. 22 to having inappropriate sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl in Carrollton. He could have received up to four years in prison. He was a pastor at two Carrollton churches in 2003 and 2004 when the offenses took place, authorities said.
Heberlein was pastoring at Akers Chapel Church in Plainville for about two years when he made the guilty plea. He left that church last month.
Several Akers Chapel church members declined to comment when contacted by The Herald-Whig, but one member did say Heberlein was voted out by church members.
SPOKANE (WA)
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SPOKANE, Wash. -- A former housekeeper who alleges she found child pornography in a priest's room 10 years ago has sued the Catholic Diocese of Spokane and the priest.
In the lawsuit filed in Spokane County Superior Court on Monday, Katherine Muzzall alleges she was defamed by Bishop William Skylstad two years ago in a news release defending the Rev. Edward Marier.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.
Diocesan attorney Greg Arpin called the lawsuit frivolous.
"It's an abuse of the legal system, and we're going to fight it," he said. "The sad part is what this does to a person's life."
DENVER (CO)
Guardian
Tuesday November 14, 2006 9:01 PM
DENVER (AP) - Four men have agreed to settle sexual-abuse lawsuits against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Denver for $100,000 to $150,000 each after going through mediation, attorneys and church officials said.
Church officials confirmed the settlements Monday but would not discuss details. The men's attorney, Jeff Herman of Miami, provided the amounts of the settlement.
``Mediation provided a venue to try to get some closure and they obviously felt this was the right decision for them,'' Herman said.
The four were among 30 people who sued the archdiocese claiming they were sexually abused by former priest Harold Robert White or the late Rev. Leonard Abercrombie. In his only public comment on the claims, White has said the allegations contained ``half truths.''
SOUTH AFRICA
Oxford Mail
By Andrew Ffrench
A clergyman was yesterday cleared of sexually abusing a 10-year-old street child during a charity trip in South Africa.
Father Tony Hogg, 52, was said to be "simply thankful" the charge of indecent assault against him had been dropped by prosecutors in Cape Town and will be returning to his parish near Wantage later this week.
The priest, vicar of Hanney, Denchworth and East Challow since 1991, had faced angry protests outside court and was attacked by street children at one appearance.
He needed a police escort again when he appeared before magistrates yesterday.
Father Hogg was told of the prosecution's decision to drop the case at Cape Town Magistrates' Court, but no reason was given for the withdrawal of charges.
PENNSYLVANIA
New York Post
By JEANE MACINTOSH
November 14, 2006 -- The New York Archdiocese's former top fund-raiser yesterday went on trial in a private Vatican court for alleged sexual misconduct as a priest - including a claim that he once jumped into bed with a Catholic-school boy.
CBC Newsworld
SEX CRIMES AND THE VATICAN
Monday November 13, 2006 at 10pm ET/PT on CBC Newsworld
Created in 1962, a now infamous document was issued in secret to bishops. Called Crimen Sollicitationis, it outlined procedures to be followed by bishops when dealing with allegations of child abuse, homosexuality and bestiality by members of the clergy. It swore all parties involved to secrecy on pain of excommunication from the Catholic Church.
This document was reissued in 2001 by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and sent to all bishops. Yet rather than ordering more openness and cooperation with the authorities as demanded by both law enforcers and the victims, he reiterated its policies and ensured that the Code of Silence be applied to all cases of child abuse involving a priest. Cardinal Ratzinger also instructed that all cases should now be referred to his office directly and that he would maintain 'exclusive competence' over the handling of allegations. This is the Catholic Church's policy to this day and Cardinal Ratzinger is now Pope Benedict XVI.
The policy laid out in the above document has led to systemic failure by the result that a significant number of priest have, in effect, been allowed to abuse again, and further children have been put at risk.
MISSOURI
Neosho Daily News
By John Ford / Daily News Associate Editor
Published: Monday, November 13, 2006 4:32 PM CST
Originally set for this morning, an arraignment for George Otis Johnston has been postponed.
Johnston, 63, the pastor of Grandview Valley Baptist Church, was to appear in Newton County Circuit Court Judge Timothy Perigo's Division I courtroom at 9:30 a.m. for the proceeding.
However, neither he, nor attorney Andy Wood, were in the courtroom at this time.
Called by the court, Wood came to the courtroom shortly before 10 a.m., telling the judge he was not notified by Newton County Division III Associate Circuit Court Judge Kevin Lee Selby of the court date.
Perigo then set an arraignment for 10 a.m. Nov. 21 in McDonald County, where Johnston will also be arraigned on a Class A felony charge of first degree child molestation. Perigo is presiding in both cases.
BALTIMORE (MD)
The Examiner
Jessica Novak, The Examiner
Nov 14, 2006
BALTIMORE - The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops voted unanimously Monday to support research into what leads some priests to abuse children.
Bishops from around the country have convened in Baltimore to tackle the issues facing the modern Catholic Church, and voted Monday to give $335,000 to research that would explore the causes and context of sexual abuse by the clergy.
Divided into three components, the study will review the historical context of sexual abuse, individual diocese’s responses to notorious cases of abuse after 1985, and the differences between priests accused of sexual abuse and sex offenders who are not priests.
BALTIMORE (MD)
WBAL
BALTIMORE, Md. -- Hundreds of bishops from across the United States convened in Baltimore for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and changing priorities is at the top of their list. ...
Some protestors wanted the bishops to face another issue -- that of abusive priests.
"I believe, if the policies we're asking for had been in place, I wouldn't have been abused, and hundreds of other children wouldn't have been abused," said Barbara Blaine, president of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
Blaine said her priest abused her in middle school, and now she's calling for change.
"We're asking … that documents be turned over to police, that bishops reveal the names of these predators," she said.
MILL CREEK TOWNSHIP (PA)
The New York Times
By ANDY NEWMAN
Published: November 14, 2006
MILL CREEK TOWNSHIP, Pa., Nov. 13 — In a small room in a long, boxy building perched on a hill, 441 miles from New York City, the trial is unfolding behind closed doors.
Msgr. Charles M. Kavanagh is undergoing a full church trial.
On one side is a prosecuting canon lawyer from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York. On the other is a canon lawyer for Msgr. Charles M. Kavanagh, once the archdiocese’s chief fund-raiser. Monsignor Kavanagh may be in the room, too.
Somewhere in the middle is the family of Daniel Donohue, who has accused Monsignor Kavanagh of committing sexual abuse by pressing against him while wearing only underwear 25 years ago when Mr. Donohue was a high school senior.
Monsignor Kavanagh, 69, is the most prominent priest from the New York Archdiocese to be swept up in the church sexual abuse scandal of recent years. He is also the first priest from the archdiocese in recent memory to undergo a full church trial. It began Monday morning in the administrative headquarters of the Diocese of Erie, just outside Erie city limits in Mill Creek.
MEMPHIS (TN)
WREG
MEMPHIS - A federal complaint was filed Monday alleging sexual abuse at the hands of a Memphis Catholic Priest. A young woman, only identified as Jane Doe No. 3 in the complaint, is seeking $10 million dollars in damages, claiming Father Joseph Nguyen molested her while he was a priest at Blessed Sacrament Church.
The complaint claims Father Nguyen counseled the girl in 1996 after the death of her younger brother. It goes on to claim Father Nguyen sexually assaulted the girl several times between 1997 and 1999, "at her home, as well as in the confession room of Blessed Sacrament Church."
Two other victims have already come forward, accusing Father Nguyen of abuse. A spokesperson for the Catholic Diocese of Memphis says Father Nguyen has been relieved of his "priestly duties." The spokesperson also says Nguyen no longer has contact with children or any other parishioners. The spokesperson would not say whether Nguyen is still in Memphis.
BALTIMORE (MD)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
By Ann Rodgers, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
BALTIMORE -- The president of the U.S. Catholic bishops has urged the government to put aside partisan politics in order to achieve a "responsible transition in Iraq." ...
The bishops also addressed that topic yesterday, approving $335,000 to help finance a ground-breaking study on the social, psychological and administrative factors that led to the abuse and to a failure by many bishops to remove abusers from ministry.
TUCSON (AZ)
Arizona Daily Star
By Stephanie Innes and Carla McClain
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 11.14.2006
advertisementManuel D. Moreno, retired bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson, was recovering late Monday following two hours of surgery that relieved pressure in his brain caused by bleeding.
Moreno, the 75-year-old bishop emeritus of Tucson, is at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix.
Though Moreno's eyes were closed throughout Monday and he wasn't speaking, Tucson Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas reported that Moreno blessed himself before he went into the operating room.
TUCSON (AZ)
Tucson Citizen
By HEIDI ROWLEY
Tucson Citizen
Bishop Manuel D. Moreno served the Catholic community of Tucson for 21 years, the last few marred by controversy when allegations of sexual abuse by priests surfaced.
In his resignation letter in March 2003, Moreno referred to that time period as "dark days" of "turmoil and difficulty, pain and anguish."
From 1997 to 2001, 11 lawsuits were filed against the diocese, Moreno, priests of the diocese and parishes by 16 plaintiffs who alleged child abuse by priests.
The lawsuits were settled in January 2002. Later in 2002, additional suits alleging abuse of children by priests were filed against Moreno and the diocese.
The suits led the diocese to file for bankruptcy in 2004. One year later, the church emerged from bankruptcy and set aside the beginnings of $22 million that will be paid to more than 50 victims, some of whom weren't able to file claims because the statute of limitations had passed.
CANADA
London Free Press
Tue, November 14, 2006
By CHIP MARTIN, FREE PRESS REPORTER
Londoners, including Roman Catholic Bishop Ronald Fabbro, are being invited to attend the London debut of a documentary film about sexual abuse by clergy.
Law firm Ledroit Beckett is providing free admission to Deliver Us from Evil, Friday at the Rainbow Cinemas in Galleria London.
The law firm has represented victims of abuse by Catholic priests, including Charles Sylvestre and Konstanty Przybylski, who were sentenced to three years and five years in prison, respectively, for their crimes.
Lawyer Robert Talach said Fabbro and other members of the Roman Catholic diocese of London have been asked to attend the event, which includes talks by an expert on abuse and a female victim.
DENVER (CO)
Denver Post
By Manny Gonzales
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated:11/13/2006 11:45:40 PM MST
Four people who are among 30 parties suing the Denver Roman Catholic Archdiocese involving allegations of sexual abuse by priests settled their cases through mediation, church officials confirmed Monday.
The archdiocese declined to reveal details about the settlements.
"We prefer to allow the settlement process to run its full course," archdiocese spokeswoman Jeanette DeMelo said. "We're not going to talk about any particular case at this time."
Miami attorney Jeffrey Herman confirmed that one of the settlements involved Roger Colburn of Strasburg, who filed a lawsuit last year accusing the late Rev. Leonard Abercrombie of molesting him on a camping trip 36 years ago.
OAKLAND (CA)
Inside Bay Area
By Jason Dearen, STAFF WRITER
Article Last Updated:11/14/2006 02:48:32 AM PST
OAKLAND — A new sex abuse lawsuit has been filed against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland by a woman who claims a San Leandro-based priest molested her in the 1970s.
The 48-year-old plaintiff, identified in the suit as Jane Roe, claims she was molested by the Rev. Joseph Ferriera at Our Lady of Good Counsel in San Leandro in 1973 and 1974.
"The perpetrator would touch the plaintiff in inappropriate places, including the plaintiff's breasts and buttocks. ... The perpetrator also kissed the plaintiff on the cheeks, french kissed her, and often rubbed his erect penis against her body," the suit states.
The woman claimed the priest warned her not to tell anybody and said to her, "Daddy should never know about the special love we have for each other."
OAKLAND (CA)
Inside Bay Area
By Rebecca Rosen Lum, MEDIA NEWS STAFF
Article Last Updated:11/14/2006 02:34:24 AM PST
OAKLAND — The Rev. Mark Weisner of Oakland's Catholic Diocese pulled a chair up to the computer in his rectory office, logged onto "Shield the Vulnerable," and scrolled through an illustrated program that teaches how to recognize and report child abuse.
The 90-minute interactive Web site presents statistics, facts and case studies, with the viewer answering true-false and multiple-choice questions about sample scenarios. There's even a crossword puzzle.
"I found it very engaging," said Weisner, the diocese's spokesman.
The interactive course for priests, employees and volunteers of the Oakland Diocese went live Aug. 14. Since then, nearly 12,000 people have clicked through the course, said Ralph Yanello, the Walnut Creek attorney who developed it.
He runs http://www.LawRoom.com, which advises employers on sexual harassment and other workplace compliance issues.
CALIFORNIA
The Orange County Register
By PEGGY LOWE
The Orange County Register
Supervisor Bill Campbell swapped his parish priest with a politico for nomination to a county board after victims were outraged about the priest's role in a sexual abuse scandal.
Campbell nominated Bruce Matthias, who has long been active in GOP circles, to the Human Relations Commission. His appointment is up for a vote today at the Board of Supervisors' weekly meeting.
The new candidate comes on the heels of Campbell's controversial re-nomination of Monsignor John Urell last month. Urell was a high-ranking member of the Orange County Diocese's administration and was named as part of the cover-up that led the diocese to settle with abuse victims last year for $100 million.
Just a few days after the nomination became public, with abuse victims and their advocates blasting it, Urell pulled his name from consideration. The priest said he had become a "distraction" to the board's work. Campbell, who attends St. Norbert's Parish, where Urell is pastor, said he was "sorry I reopened a wound for him by this happening."
PEORIA (IL)
Journal Star
Friday, November 10, 2006
By MICHAEL MILLER
of the Journal Star
PEORIA - A representative of a sex-abuse survivors group finally got a letter for Bishop Daniel Jenky delivered to a Catholic Diocese of Peoria staff member Wednesday - thanks to a meat delivery.
After speaking to reporters, Barbara Dorris of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests pressed a buzzer at the front door of the chancery, where the bishop's office is located, 607 NE Madison, but said she was told on an intercom that no one could come to the front door to receive the letter.
SNAP representatives have twice before attempted to hand-deliver letters to Jenky, but no one has answered the door.
This time, though, a man delivering a box of meat buzzed the intercom and gave his name. The staffer opened the door to get the box. She then took the letter from Dorris, who asked her to give it to Jenky.
SPAIN
eiTB
11/13/2006
A Spanish Roman Catholic priest was jailed for two years on Monday for sexually abusing a boy during visits to the child's home to help with his homework, a Madrid court said.
Rafael Sanz Nieto, 74, touched the boy's genitals during regular visits to his home for two years from 1999 when the victim was 13, Madrid's Provincial Court said in a sentence in which it also fined the priest.
The court ruled the Archbishopric of Madrid was also partly responsible for the crime, for failing to protect the boy, which means it would have to pay the 30,000 euro ($38,580) fine if Sanz Nieto was unable to raise the money.
The Spanish church has largely escaped the floods of sexual abuse cases which have hit other parts of the Catholic world. But Catholicism has steadily lost ground in Spain's once devout but increasingly secular society.
BALTIMORE (MD)
Catholic Online
By George P. Matysek Jr. and Paula Glover
11/13/2006
Catholic News Service
BALTIMORE (CNS) – Two by two, all the bishops of the United States returned to their spiritual home Nov. 12 when they solemnly processed into Baltimore's radiantly restored Basilica of theAbuse Tracker Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary for a special Mass celebrating the old cathedral's $32 million restoration.
Recreating a similar procession from when the first Catholic cathedral in the United States opened in the early 19th century, 243 bishops marched from the Enoch Pratt Free Library across the street from the basilica -- making their way through two long lines of 130 Knights of Columbus festooned in brightly colored capes and feathered hats. ...
Before the 15-minute procession began outside, small groups of protesters carried signs in support of victims of clergy sexual abuse and the ordination of women. Others called for the bishops to deal more forcefully with Catholic politicians who support keep abortion legal.
BALTIMORE (MD)
Quad-City Times
By Rachel Zool | Monday, November 13, 2006
BALTIMORE (AP) — There was a time when the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was a powerful force for bringing the church’s moral teachings to bear on national policy debates.
In the 1970s, the bishops led the fight against abortion after Roe v. Wade. During the Cold War, they drew international notice when they questioned the morality of nuclear deterrence.
But the bishops now face a different world — one where their moral authority has been diminished by the clergy sex abuse crisis, where money for church programs is scarce and where many American Catholics have little understanding of, or regard for, church teaching.
At a national meeting starting today in Baltimore, the bishops are expected to make changes that adjust to their new circumstances. They will channel resources away from broad social pronouncements and focus more on defining Catholicism for an often uninvolved flock.
AUSTRALIA
ABC
Sunday, 12 November 2006. 07:42 (AEST)Sunday, 12 November 2006. 08:42 (ACDT)Sunday, 12 November 2006. 05:42 (AWST)
The head of the Anglican Church in Australia says he is concerned media coverage of the latest abuse case involving a former clergyman may make other victims reluctant to come forward.
Former priest Robert Francis Sharwood, 62, was jailed last week for abusing a teenager in Brisbane's west in the 1970s.
The victim has reportedly accused Brisbane Archbishop Phillip Aspinall of failing him, saying the Anglican Primate did not tell police about a letter he had involving Sharwood.
Film Threat
by KJ Doughton
(2006-11-14)
Meet Father Oliver O’Grady, a former Catholic Priest whose bland face and unthreatening manner betray the fact that he’s also a serial pedophile. Over a twenty-year spree of rape and sodomy, this self-proclaimed “people person” betrayed church families and sexually molested their children. But you’d never expect such offenses from “Father Ollie,” a seemingly passive man whose kind eyes suggest support and sanctuary. Watching him saunter through a family park in Ireland, where children pop in and out of the periphery, it’s horrifying to consider that O’Grady was deported here after a lengthy incarceration and prison sentence in America. He’s a free man now, living amongst youngsters.
Father O’Grady is a piece of work. But “Deliver Us From Evil,” the sobering, hair-raising documentary from Amy Berg, doesn’t tire itself out trying to incriminate its perplexing villain. O’Grady does that all by himself. In a heavy Irish brogue, this disgraced Man of the Cloth deflects accountability the way Jackie Chan dodges an opponents’ punch. He speaks of his misdeeds in an oddly disconnected manner. Hear him attribute his own foul behavior to others: “They should have followed up.” “That’s when their situation began.” With O’Grady, it seems, it’s always someone else’s situation.
MALTA
The Malta Independent
by Marisa Micallef
If I had two pick on two incredibly distasteful manifestations of the two supposed bulwarks of Maltese life – religion and politics – in recent weeks, it could be most clearly seen in the group who rose in defence of a man/priest allegedly involved in sexual abuse, and the hounding of certain businessmen outside the Labour Party headquarters.
In the first case, we all should know that an organisation that bans sex, that makes groups of people congregate only with their own sex, that makes these people responsible for our most precious charges, our children, is bound to produce a fair share of abusers among the many angels. It does. Sexual abuse is committed by priests (“mhux ovvja” as most of us would say), and in some of the Church’s institutions it is rampant.
There are many people I know who attended certain schools in Malta and who speak of fondling and the like from certain Church members, their teachers, mentors and supposed protectors. But going public and accusing anyone years later is as impossible to countenance as women who are raped in Malta speaking out in public or in our courts. After all, if you expose it you then get raped by the media, so people absorb these experiences, sometimes speak to their nearest and dearest about it, but generally remain scarred all their lives.
PUEBLO (CO)
Rocky Mountain News
By Associated Press
November 13, 2006
PUEBLO - A Denver man's claim that he was molested by a priest in the 1970s is credible, a spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pueblo said.
Matt Cortez, 45, has alleged he was sexually abused by Andrew Burke while Burke was a priest at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Pueblo.
"I believe that what he said happened to him happened to him," Monsignor Mark Plewka said.
Others also have accused Burke of abuse. Cortez's nephew, now in his early 30s and living in Denver, alleges Burke molested him after Burke left the priesthood.
AUSTRALIA
The Courier Mail
Brian Williams and Paul Osborne
November 12, 2006 11:00pm
POLICE are investigating two further complaints against a former Anglican priest who was jailed last week for sexually assaulting a boy in the 1970s.
Robert Francis Sharwood, 62, was sentenced to jail after a Brisbane District Court jury found him guilty of sodomy and sexual assault involving a boy.
Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane Philip Aspinall yesterday confirmed two other complaints were being investigated.
"There are two more complainants in the matter and those matters are in the hands of police," Dr Aspinall said.
"I can't say anything about where they are from."
Dr Aspinall also wrote to church congregations defending his and the church's role over allegations of a failure to act in the sexual abuse case.
AUSTRALIA
ABC
An Adelaide lawyer has welcomed a Catholic Church proposal to deal with abuse claims outside the court.
It is understood the Archdiocese of Adelaide is planning a new complaints handling system.
Its aim is to deal with physical and sexual abuse claims against the Goodwood Orphanage in Adelaide.
Lawyer Peter Humphries acts for a group of alleged victims and he is pleased with the proposal, but wants to negotiate some changes.
PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
By David O'Reilly
Inquirer Staff Writer
Episcopal Bishop Charles E. Bennison Jr. deflected a call for his resignation at yesterday's annual diocesan convention, despite angry denunciations of his fiscal practices and the cover-up decades ago of his brother's sex abuse.
Last week, the diocesan standing committee asked the denomination's presiding bishop to investigate Bennison for spending more than $10 million of diocesan money without the committee's approval.
Yesterday, he sought to stave off criticism early by telling delegates that he "never" spent any diocesan money "without the approbation of the requisite body."
Bennison then apologized once again for his "extremely misguided" failure to report his brother John's abuse of a minor in the California parish where they both worked in the 1970s.
PALM BEACH (FL)
Pal Beach Post
Palm Beach Post Editorial
Sunday, November 12, 2006
The Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach and Bishop Gerald Barbarito have a long way to go to deliver on the promises of transparency and accountability made to parishioners who have witnessed too much scandal in recent years.
After two priests were accused of mishandling more than $8.6 million from a Delray Beach parish, Bishop Barbarito said the diocese would strengthen regulations and oversight to restore its credibility. But prosecutors barely had finished filing grand-theft charges against the Revs. John Skehan and Francis Guinan when allegations of similar abuses surfaced in Stuart. Parishioners at St. Joseph Catholic Church say the diocese ignored them when they complained about how the Rev. Chris Allen was handling the church's money.
In 2004, Dave Schoonover and a group of other St. Joseph's parishioners told the bishop's vicar general, Rev. Charles Notabartolo, that they were concerned about Allen's spending. Mr. Schoonover collected evidence indicating that the priest was spending at least three times his salary. Allen ordered a bookkeeper to set aside cash for his personal account and made regular $2,000 deposits into it. Rev. Notabartolo dismissed the claims with a familiar dodge: Parish priests control the parish coffers.
PUEBLO (CO)
The Pueblo Chieftain
By PATRICK MALONE
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN
A spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of Pueblo has acknowledged that a Denver man's claim that he was molested by a priest in the 1970s is credible.
“I believe that what he said happened to him happened to him,” said Monsignor Mark Plewka.
Plewka was referring to allegations by 45-year-old Matt Cortez that he had been sexually abused by Andrew Burke while Burke was a priest at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Pueblo.
“When I met with Mr. Cortez, an apology was offered,” Plewka said.
AUSTRALIA
The West Australian
12th November 2006, 14:52 WST
Queensland police are investigating two further complaints against a former Anglican priest who was jailed last week for sexual assault of a boy.
Robert Francis Sharwood, 62, was sentenced to jail after a jury in the Brisbane District Court found him guilty of sodomy, allowing sodomy and sexual assault involving a boy between 1974 and 1976.
The Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane, Dr Philip Aspinall, confirmed two other complaints were being investigated.
"There are two more complainants in the matter and those matters are in the hands of police," Dr Aspinall said.
CALIFORNIA
Napa Valley Register
By L. PIERCE CARSON, Register Staff Writer
Sunday, November 12, 2006 1:11 AM PST
The ripped-from-the-headlines slant is less compelling than the spellbinding portraits drawn by the outstanding cast of "Doubt," Bronx-born John Patrick Shanley's award-winning drama that opened mid-week at San Francisco's Golden Gate Theater
Winner of both Pulitzer Prize and Tony awards, "Doubt" chronicles the suspicions that a parochial school principal has about the possible sexual misconduct of the parish priest. Set in a Bronx Catholic school in 1964, a strong-willed woman wrestles with conscience and uncertainty as she is faced with concerns about one of her male colleagues.
This new play by the Academy Award-winning author of the film "Moonstruck" dramatizes topical issues within a world re-created with knowing detail and a judicious eye.
IOWA
Quad-City Times
By Dustin Lemmon | Sunday, November 12, 2006
This week when Moliner and clergy abuse victim Bill Christman travels to Rome, he hopes to tell Vatican leaders — and possibly the pope — about the impact two local priests had on his recovery and reconciliation with the church.
As a child, Christman was abused by former local priest William Wiebler, who died in September, and he was one of the first local abuse victims to come forward and confront the church and Wiebler in 2002.
Like many of the local abuse victims, Christman was angry with the church for the way it supervised Wiebler and handled his allegations. When he first met the Rev. Bob Gruss, chancellor of the Davenport Diocese, a man he now calls his friend, Gruss was impressed by his intensity.
AUSTRALIA
Adelaide Now
November 12, 2006 12:15am
THE Catholic Church has moved to settle dozens of complaints for physical and sexual abuse lodged by former residents of the Goodwood Orphanage.
In a major development in the long-running issue, the Archdiocese of Adelaide and the Sisters of Mercy, the Irish order of nuns which ran the orphanage, have set up a formal program to deal with the complaints and resultant compensation claims.
The program is aimed at avoiding costly, drawn-out court action with abuse victims; and is modelled on similar, successful "restorative justice" programs in Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
Under the program the Archdiocese is inviting former residents to lodge complaints about their treatment at the orphanage which may have included physical and sexual abuse, hardship and deprivation.
BRENTWOOD (PA)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Saturday, November 11, 2006
A Roman Catholic priest charged with stealing more than $81,000 from the parish he served has been placed on probation for 18 months as part of a program that could eventually allow him to clear his record.
Allegheny Common Pleas Judge Robert Gallo on Thursday also ordered the Rev. Leroy DiPietro, 64, to pay $895 in court fees and perform 200 hours of community service as part of the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program for first-time offenders.
Prosecutors accused Father DiPietro of stealing the money from St. Sylvester Church in Brentwood from July 1999 through late last year. They said Father DiPietro, who was arraigned in August, took money from weekly collections and money deposited for votive candles.
Law.com
The NBC television series "To Catch a Predator," which features confrontations with men allegedly seeking sex with minors online, may be popular with viewers, but not with criminal defense attorneys, who claim the show raises a range of civil rights issues.
Seating an unbiased jury when a client's face has been splashed all over national television is nearly impossible, they argue. Miranda rights and search-and-seizure issues are also compromised by the show, they add. ...
Chat logs spoke loud and clear to one federal judge who, in August, convicted Maryland Rabbi David Kaye -- snared in an NBC investigation -- of traveling across state lines to have sex with who he thought was a 13-year-old boy he met on the Internet. U.S. v. Kaye, No. 1:06 cr205 (E.D. Va.).
In his opinion, U.S. District Judge James C. Cacheris cited chat logs as "providing more than sufficient evidence that defendant persuaded, enticed and induced the young boy to engage in a sexual act."
Charlotte Weekly
At one point, Oliver O’Grady was a priest and a pedophile. Today, he’s only the latter. O’Grady is the scariest brand of monster, the kind we openly invite into our home. He’s a disgusting predator wolf whose sheep’s clothing happens to have a white collar.
Amy Berg’s devastating “Deliver Us From Evil” questions how lies, perjury, cover-ups and outright ignorance in the church’s highest offices allowed a known sex offender to prey on unsuspecting parishioners in quiet California towns from 1976 to 1984. The director builds O’Grady’s video confession using candid interviews, deposition footage and clips of the abuser’s victims. The result is unflinching and uncomfortable as it depicts the emotional scars suffered by O’Grady’s targets, but the film’s messages of awareness and intolerance remain relevant and can’t be preached enough.
DARIEN (CT)
The Advocate
By Stephen P. Clark
Staff Writer
Published November 11 2006
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport has assigned a new priest to replace the Rev. Michael Madden, who resigned in August from St. John Church in Darien after helping expose his boss for allegedly stealing more than $1 million from the parish.
The Rev. Christopher Samele, 56, started his new assignment as parochial vicar at the parish Oct. 20.
Since his ordination in 2003 by Bishop William Lori, Samele has served as parochial vicar of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Fairfield.
MCALLEN (TX)
The Monitor
November 11,2006
Michael Barnett
Monitor Staff Writer
McALLEN — A former church education director is accused of having sex with an underage female student in the church’s office.
Jose Abram Gutierrez, 28, formerly of San Juan Diego Church in McAllen, was arrested and arraigned Friday on child sexual assault and indecency charges. A judge set his total bond at $150,000.
Brownsville Diocese spokeswoman Brenda Nettles Riojas said Gutierrez was fired Wednesday, the same day a witness filed a report with McAllen police.
The witness, a church volunteer, told police that on Tuesday night he looked through a church window and saw Gutierrez and the girl lying on the office floor touching each other sexually, according to a probable cause affidavit filed with McAllen police.
ARIZONA
The Arizona Republic
Michael Clancy
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 10, 2006 04:29 PM
Neither the Diocese of Phoenix nor civil authorities are supervising more than half a dozen priests who are under suspension for sexually abusing children, but remain in the priesthood.
One of them, Wilputte "Lan" Sherwood, has dropped out of sight, failing to report to his probation officer since June 2005. When he was convicted 12 years earlier, he admitted to having sex with 1,840 people, including 22 minors, mostly picked up as hitchhikers.
While the church has offered the priests a recovery plan that includes counseling, officials say they cannot require the priests to follow through. Nor can they require them to keep in contact. advertisement
Police and probation officers don't always track the priests either. Many of them have not been convicted of abuse, and some have completed probationary periods.
ERIE (PA)
The Derrick
The proceedings are closed to the public, because the trial will follow canon law.
A Catholic priest accused of abusing a teen-age boy more than 20 years ago will go on trial Monday in Erie County, but the proceedings will be closed to the public.
That is because the trial will follow canon law - the legal system for the Catholic Church - instead of U.S. criminal law. Only the verdict will be made known.
The unusual case was detailed Friday in an Erie Times-News story.
Daniel Donohue, 42, has accused Monsignor Charles Kavanaugh of having a relationship with him that involved inappropriate touching. At the time, Donahue said, he was a student at a New York school run by the priest.
SCRANTON (PA)
Times Leader
By DAVE JANOSKI djanoski@leader.net
SCRANTON – Gail MacKenzie-Fromm, the Diocese of Scranton’s new compliance officer for policies to prevent child sex abuse, sees her job as helping to “protect God’s children.”
MacKenzie-Fromm’s hiring to the newly created position is the latest step in the diocese’s “continuing efforts to provide safe environments for children,” according to an announcement in this week’s Catholic Light, the diocesan newspaper.
MacKenzie-Fromm, who joins the diocese after 11 years as a sales representative in the pharmaceutical industry, will be charged with ensuring the schools and parishes conduct background checks of all employees and any volunteers who spend 20 hours or more per week with children.
“We want to let child sex abusers out there know that the Catholic Church is not a place you can hide,” MacKenzie-Fromm said in a phone interview Friday.
WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
By Bronislaus B. Kush TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
bkush@telegram.com
WORCESTER— Strangely, George “Skip” Shea believes his heavy drinking problem during his teenage years saved his life.
“At the time, alcohol helped me cope,” said the 46-year-old Uxbridge man.
Alcoholism was one of many demons that Mr. Shea tangled with after he was allegedly abused by the Rev. Thomas H. Teczar and the Rev. Robert Shauris at St. Mary’s Church in Uxbridge during the 1970s.
Mr. Shea, who eventually agreed to an out-of-court settlement with the Diocese of Worcester, recounts his emotional battles and his turbulent life during a multimedia show at 8 tonight at Razzo Hall at Clark University. The presentation, part of the MassBay Film Festival, follows the 6 p.m. screening of “Hand of God,” a documentary that chronicles the life of a Salem man who had been sexually abused as a child by a priest.
Mr. Shea refers to his program as a “theatrical memoir” and presents his story through paintings and poetry.
PITTSBURGH (PA)
Pittsburgh Catholic
by: Robert P. Lockwood
With the assistance of a victim, the Diocese of Pittsburgh has launched a new outreach effort to those harmed by clergy sexual abuse.
Citing the mandate of the U.S. bishops’ “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” that “the first obligation of the church with regard to the victims is for healing and reconciliation,” Father Frank Almade, diocesan secretary for ministerial leadership, has mailed to every parish “new materials that will reach out to those who have been harmed.”
The diocese has provided and advertised a toll-free line for abuse victims (1-888-808-1235) since 2002, but this additional material was developed with a victim of clergy abuse to extend a spiritual outreach, as well as counseling and support.
The new outreach material sent to every parish in the diocese includes a poster, a card and a brochure written by an abuse victim. A new page for victims and their families has also been posted on the diocesan Web site (www.diopitt.org).
MOBILE (AL)
Times Daily
By GARRY MITCHELL
Associated Press Writer
Last Updated:November 10. 2006 1:40PM
Published: November 10. 2006 1:40PM
The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that a Mobile woman's lawyer should get the psychological counseling documents on a Roman Catholic priest for use in her lawsuit against the church that involves alleged sexual misconduct.
The Rev. Paul G. Zoghby contended the documents sought by lawyers for a former parishioner, Linda Ledet, are confidential and were released only to Archbishop Oscar Lipscomb as his "spiritual counselor."
Lipscomb had restored Zoghby to the ministry after he underwent counseling at a New York monastery and hospital for sexual misconduct.
A Mobile County judge granted Ledet's lawyers use of the documents with some court restrictions, but the church's attorney appealed that decision, leading to Thursday's state Supreme Court order.
GERMANTOWN (MD)
Gazette
by Melissa A. Chadwick
Staff Writer
County police have received the name of a teacher who told them a former priest at Mother Seton Parish sexually abused a student in Ohio in the late 1980s and are continuing to investigate similar allegations made by a former Germantown resident.
Attorneys in a local lawsuit filed against the Rev. Aaron Joseph Cote filed a motion last month requesting the teacher’s name, which had been redacted from communications between her and the Order of Dominican Fathers and Brothers, of which Cote is a member.
District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Natalia M. Combs Greene recently granted the motion.
‘‘Given the allegations in this matter the Court thinks that the information sought is relevant,” the judge wrote.
KENTUCKY
The Cincinnati Post
Post staff report
A special judge said he will hold a hearing in December to help him determine how to split up the fees for attorneys who filed a class-action lawsuit against the Diocese of Covington.
Robert McGinnis, who regularly presides in Harrison, Pendleton, Nicholas, and Robertson counties, said he will hear arguments in the case Dec. 7.
Covington attorney Barbara Bonar has said she is entitled to part of the millions of dollars in fees the lawsuit is expected to generate. But Stan Chesley and Robert Steinberg, the lead attorneys in the lawsuit, said she did little work and deserves no payment.
The lawsuit, which alleged a cover-up of 50 years of sexual abuse by priests and others in the diocese, was settled for $84 million. A previous judge in the case ruled attorneys deserve 22 percent of that money as it is paid out.
CANADA
CBC News
Last Updated: Friday, November 10, 2006 | 11:05 AM ET
A Cornwall-area priest is seeking a publication ban on his identity at a public inquiry into sexual abuse allegations, an inquiry that has already been criticized as too secretive.
The Cornwall public inquiry is examining how authorities responded to dozens of child sexual abuse allegations against prominent members of the southeastern Ontario community over several decades. Only one person was ever convicted, despite more than 100 charges laid against 15 people.
Journalists and media outlets have argued that the inquiry isn't truly public, because it is withholding evidence and has imposed a large number of publication bans.
But Ottawa lawyer James Foord is seeking yet another publication ban to protect the identity of his client, Rev. Charles MacDonald.
AUSTRALIA
The Australian
November 11, 2006
God's special concern to protect the vulnerable and the defenceless is to shine through the life of the church. So if it ever came about that the weak or vulnerable are harmed by the actions of the church, it is a fundamental betrayal of justice, of God and the gospel of Christ. Dealing with this matter in the life of the church, justly and with care for the most vulnerable, goes to the heart of God's mission.
- Archbishop Phillip Aspinall, presidential address to the synod of the Brisbane diocese, June 2002
WHETHER religious leaders - in this case in the Anglican Church - have abandoned the belief that forgiving the sin of child sexual abuse also forgives the crime that was perpetrated was thrown into grave doubt in the Brisbane District Court this week. The conviction and jailing of Anglican priest Robert Sharwood for the abuse of a boy beginning in 1974 when the child was 13 demonstrated yet again that although senior church leaders knew Sharwood had admitted the crime, it was not reported to police in almost three decades.
Instead, Sharwood was appointed to a leading Brisbane boys school, the Anglican Grammar School (Churchie), where he remained as chaplain for 18 years until the victim blew the whistle in 2002.
PINEVILLE (MO)
Neosho Daily News
By John Ford / Daily News Associate Editor
Published: Thursday, November 9, 2006 4:43 PM CST
PINEVILLE - George Otis Johnston was bound over for trial this morning on a felony charge of child molestation in McDonald County.
An arraignment has been set for 10 a.m. Nov. 21 in McDonald County Circuit Court in Pineville. Judge Timothy Perigo will preside.
McDonald County Associate Circuit Court Judge John LePage issued the ruling this morning after hearing testimony from a 17-year-old woman who alleged Johnston gave her “the holy kiss” - a French kiss - and groped her breasts, buttocks and vagina areas through her clothes on several occasions before and after services at Grand Valley Independent Baptist Church in Powell.
Johnston's nephew, Raymond Lambert, is pastor of the McDonald County Church, and the Granby man's church is an offshoot of the McDonald County congregation.
COLUMBUS (OH)
Toledo Blade
By JIM PROVANCE
BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU
COLUMBUS - The State Board of Education plans on Tuesday to revoke the teaching certificates of five current or former priests who have been disciplined by their respective Roman Catholic dioceses following child molestation allegations.
They are not fighting the state action. In all five cases, their respective dioceses had come to the conclusion that the allegations against them were in the least "credible."
No complaints, however, were ever filed with the state, and none of the other mechanisms in place to monitor licensees detected them. None is currently teaching. One holds administrative certificates making him eligible to work in public schools while the rest hold credentials strictly for private and religious schools.
IRELAND
The Donegal News
BY KATE HEANEY
BISHOP of Raphoe Rev Philip Boyce DD returned from meeting Pope Benedict XV1 in Rome having had a private audience with the Pontiff.
His visit was undertaken as part of the "Ad Limina Apostolorum" which sees the Bishops of Ireland visit the Vatican and pray at the tombs of the Apostles every five years. The recent visit should have taken place during the pontificate of Pope John Paul11, however the late Pope's illness prevented this. ...
The issue of clerical child sexual abuse was discussed among the senior churchmen. Bishop Boyce said that Pope Benedict, from his time as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, had been aware of the problem and scars left by child sexual abuse committed by clerics.
"He urged the bishops to continue their efforts to rebuild confidence, to establish the truth of what happened in the past, to respect principles of justice, to bring healing to all who suffered and to make safe environments for the young.
AUSTRALIA
news.com.au
By Tony Koch
November 11, 2006 12:00am
THE Anglican Primate of Australia, Archbishop Phillip Aspinall, has been accused of failing to act on evidence of child sexual abuse by the victim of a pedophile priest who was jailed this week.
The Queensland man, who was sexually abused over three years as a teenager by the priest, claimed Archbishop Aspinall did not tell police about an incriminating letter he was sent in 2002 -- just four months after he was appointed head of the Brisbane diocese.
On Thursday, Robert Francis Sharwood, 62, was sentenced in the Brisbane District Court to two years and nine months' jail, suspended after he served a year.
A jury found him guilty of sodomy, allowing sodomy and sexual assault of the victim between 1974 and 1976.
WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
By Richard Duckett TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
rduckett@telegram.com
The Rev. Joseph Birmingham that Joe Cultrera remembers seemed a robust, amiable sort of person.
Years later, in the knowledge now of what happened to his older brother, Paul, Cultrera has had to recast those memories.
At the St. James School in Salem when Joe Cultrera was a young student, the priest would often stop into the classroom for no apparent reason.
“I look back now and remember things. He would come into classrooms and joke. He was very physical. He would hug kids. Now I look back — what was this all about?” Cultrera said.
His brother has far more frightening reasons to remember Birmingham. Paul Cultrera was repeatedly sexually abused by Birmingham in the mid-1960s .
It wasn’t until nearly 30 years later that Paul broke his silence and told his brother. It turned out that other people also had horrific recollections of Birmingham, who was apparently moved from church to church by Boston Roman Catholic archdiocese officials.
Joe Cultrera traces his brother’s story and the attempt to make Roman Catholic representatives face up to what happened in the documentary “Hand of God,” which will have two screenings in Worcester this weekend.
PEORIA (IL)
Journal Star
Thursday, November 9, 2006
By MICHAEL MILLER
of the Journal Star
PEORIA - A former Peoria pastor has been dismissed from the Roman Catholic priesthood by the Vatican over accusations of sexual misconduct, the diocese announced Thursday evening.
Thomas R. Miller, who is in his mid-50s, was initially accused in 2004 of having sexual contact with a minor in Bloomington in 1979. At the time of the accusation, Miller was the popular pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Parish, 6001 N. University St. He had served earlier in his career at St. Bernard Parish in Peoria, as well as Holy Trinity in Bloomington and Schlarman High School in Danville.
The man who made the initial accusation against Miller is now in his late 30s. The diocese said more accusations followed the first. A diocesan sexual misconduct commission advised Bishop Daniel Jenky that the allegations against Miller were credible. A full investigation by the diocese followed before the case was sent to Rome.
MCALLEN (TX)
The Monitor
November 10,2006
Marc B. Geller
Monitor Staff Writer
McALLEN — A recently released report detailing the misuse of funds to start up Baptist churches in the Rio Grande Valley elicited shock and relief from members of the region’s Baptist community.
During a six-year period spanning 1999 to 2005, three pastors claimed to have started 258 new churches in the Valley using more than $1.3 million from the Dallas-based Baptist General Convention of Texas.
Today, however, as few as five of those churches actually exist, according to an independent investigation the convention commissioned. Many of the churches existed only on paper. Others were Bible study groups that did not qualify for the church-starting funds.
NEW YORK
The Journal News
By GARY STERN
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: November 9, 2006)
The long-awaited church trial of Monsignor Charles Kavanagh, the best known New York priest removed from ministry during the sex-abuse crisis of 2002, will take place next week in Erie, Pa.
The trial before a panel of priests is set to begin Monday and wrap up Friday — the day when Kavanagh's accuser will testify.
The Archdiocese of New York announced in January that the Vatican had granted a church trial to Kavanagh, who was the archdiocese's chief fundraiser until 2002. At that time, a former student of Kavanagh's, Daniel Donohue, who grew up in Peekskill, charged that Kavanagh lured him into an inappropriately close, but non-sexual relationship during the late 1970s.
"I expect to be heard, to deliver whatever truth and message that I can," Donohue said this afternoon.
PEORIA (IL)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
ASSOCIATED PRESS
11/10/2006
PEORIA, Ill. (AP) -- Monsignor Thomas R. Miller has been dismissed from the priesthood by the Vatican over accusations of sexual misconduct with minors, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria announced Thursday evening.
The penalty imposed by Rome takes effect immediately, and bars Miller from all pastoral offices and priestly duties, the diocese said.
Miller, who is in his mid-50s, was initially accused in 2004 of having sexual contact with a minor in Bloomington in 1979. At the time of the accusation, Miller was pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Peoria. He had earlier served at St. Bernard Parish in Peoria, Holy Trinity in Bloomington and at Schlarman High School in Danville.
WORCESTER (MA)
Worcester Magazine
By Robert Newton
The hardest part about being a little guy running a new film festival in an under-screened, between-the-markets market like Worcester is that many people, by virtue of having not had adequate access to alternative fare, have no concept of the concept whatsoever.
This is despite whatever amount of grassroots pavement-pounding you have done to make them aware of who you are and what you do. Either that or they think that your festival, by default and previous experience, is a gathering of effete intellectuals comparing and contrasting arcane bodies of work by dead foreign directors, in discussions where they get to roll out their ¸bersnob dictionary words like “oeuvre” (not in relation to appetizers), “zeitgeist” and “effete.” Unless you’re Sundance or Cannes, chances are that your festival falls into one of those two groups, at least as far as the general public is concerned. ...
Hand Of God: Part of what we’re all about is encouraging people to tell stories of their own, which is why Salem, Mass. native Joe Cultrera’s extremely personal documentary about his abuse at the hands of his priest in the 1960s is such a good match for us. Joe will be on hand after the Friday screening for what will surely be an emotionally charged Q&A.
AUSTRALIA
The Australian
Kevin Meade
November 10, 2006
THE Anglican Church ignored the needs of a teenage boy who was sexually abused by a priest for more than two years, a judge said yesterday before sentencing the disgraced former cleric to a year in jail.
Robert Francis Sharwood, 62, was convicted in the Brisbane District Court yesterday of 11 counts of sexually abusing the boy in the 1970s.
Judge Fleur Kingham said Sharwood was counselled and forgiven by the church and allowed to remain a priest after his abuse was exposed.
"Unfortunately (the victim's) needs were not addressed by the church," Judge Kingham said. "He received no counselling."
MALTA
The Malta Independent
by Daphne Caruana Galizia
People have been dashing off letters to the newspapers to claim that those who are writing about Fr Anthony Mercieca of Gozo are doing so only because he is a priest. Perhaps they would prefer to live in a society where such behaviour is met with complete silence, possibly imposed by the religious authorities with the backing of the state.
Well, of course we are doing so only because he is a priest. If he had been a clerk in a government office the story would not have carried the same significance. A priest is in a position of high respect and even higher trust.
Worst of all is the trotting out of the Biblical chestnut, ‘let he who is without sin cast the first stone’. The people who rush to quote this overlook the fact that the sin in question was that of prostitution – or more likely, adultery – and that we have no idea whether Christ’s instruction was made in particular reference to that sin rather than to sin in general. He may simply have been suggesting that it was hypocritical for those men to be casting stones at a woman for sleeping around when they were the ones who had been sleeping with her.
TOLEDO (OH)
Toledo Blade
Convicted murderer Gerald Robinson's attorney filed documents yesterday with an Ohio appellate court in an attempt to get the 68-year-old priest released from a state prison.
For the second time in a month, Perrysburg attorney John Donahue is asking a court to set Robinson free while his appeal for killing a nun in 1980 proceeds through the judicial system. The new motion, which includes unknown sealed documents, was given yesterday to the 6th District Court of Appeals in Toledo and seeks his release from a mandatory 15 years-to-life prison sentence.
Like a similar plea made last month in Lucas County Common Pleas Court, Mr. Donahue questioned the circumstantial evidence and testimony that jurors considered during their deliberations to convict Robinson on May 11 of killing Sister Margaret Ann Pahl.
CANADA
Ottawa Sun
By Canadian Press
CORNWALL — Albert Roy broke down in tears Wednesday as he remembered a day when he was a teenager and he came home to find the man who was sexually abusing him visiting his family.
“He was having dinner with my mom,” Roy, tears running down his cheeks, told an inquiry probing the response to allegations of child sexual abuse in this eastern Ontario city.
“My mom made me go with him,” he said. ...
Lawyers for a priest are expected to seek some sort of gag order on a man scheduled to testify at the inquiry in the near future.
Giuseppe Cipriano, an attorney representing Rev. Charles MacDonald, has told commission staff he intends to file a notice of motion relating to a Cornwall man who alleges he was sexually abused by the priest in the early 1970s.
Although publication bans have been used by previous courts on complainants related to charges laid against the priest, the man went public in 1995.
Commission counsel confirmed Wednesday that a motion will be heard on Tuesday, but it’s unclear exactly what Cipriano will be seeking — a publication ban on either person’s identity, a ban on evidence or a request to hear the matter in a closed session. Cipriano has until 5 p.m. Thursday to file the motion.
Creative Loafing
BY MATT BRUNSON
Published 11.08.06
We'll get to Brad and Will and Russell in a moment, but first we need to pay our respects to Deliver Us From Evil. It may be the least publicized and most obscure of the seven titles covered this week, but it also happens to be the best.
A documentary with the power to affect even the most jaded of moviegoers, this feature-length expose from former CNN investigative journalist Amy Berg centers on Oliver O'Grady, a priest who over the course of three decades managed to sexually molest dozens -- some say hundreds -- of children throughout the state of California (his youngest victim was nine months old). In a perfect world, a bullet would have been put in his brain a long time ago; instead, O'Grady served seven years in prison and is now leading a peaceful life in his native Ireland. This is where Berg caught up with O'Grady, and one of the strengths of the picture is the complete access she had in being able to interview her subject at length. The scenes in which O'Grady waves off his past crimes as little more than youthful indiscretions -- he chuckles a lot when talking about the past -- are deeply disturbing, and his amusement while recollecting his former escapades belie his feeble claims that he's sorry for his actions and seeks forgiveness.
DAVENPORT (IA)
Des Moines Register
By SHIRLEY RAGSDALE
REGISTER RELIGION EDITOR
November 9, 2006
Davenport, Ia. - Parties involved in the bankruptcy of the Davenport Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church discussed the diocese's assets at a creditors' meeting Wednesday.
The meeting was the first opportunity for federal bankruptcy court officials and creditors to question diocese representatives about filings related to the assets.
The meeting, conducted by Assistant U.S. Bankruptcy Trustee James Snyder, focused on amended documents that set the diocese assets at more than $9.1 million, with about $4.5 million of that in real estate.
Just after declaring bankruptcy last month, the diocese in court filings said it had $4.5 million in assets.
DAVENPORT (IA)
Gazette
The attorney for alleged clergy sexual abuse victim of the Roman Catholic diocese of Davenport dug for information Wednesday at a meeting on the financial state of the diocese that could be used to link parish property to the diocese.
The question by Craig Levien who represents 25 alledged sexual abuse victims were part of a creditors meeting held in the federal Courthouse in Davenport.
The hour and 40-minute meeting, which was not a court proceeding, was meant to provide information on the finances of the diocese. The diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Oct. 10 after determining it would not be able to meet the claims of clergy sexual abuse victims.
DAVENPORT (IA)
Quad-City Times
By Dustin Lemmon | Thursday, November 09, 2006
A creditors meeting Wednesday in U.S Bankruptcy Court between the Davenport Diocese and victims of sexual abuse had some tense moments as attorneys clashed over the church’s assets.
A U.S. trustee who supervised the meeting and asked questions of his own had to ask the claimants’ attorney Craig Levien and the diocese attorney, Richard Davidson, to get along so they could get through the meeting.
Davidson accused Levien of grandstanding for the audience of media and attorneys when he asked Char Maaske, the diocese chief financial officer, about attempts the diocese has made to pay victims.
A few moments later, Davidson interrupted Levien and argued that he was misusing the meeting, which provides testimony that’s not to be used in court, when he questioned Maaske about the value of a small farm the diocese owns. Levien noted that the land was appraised at $110,639 but was purchased for $221,511 in 1998. Levien then accused Davidson of being the one who was grandstanding.
CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles Times
November 9, 2006
THE LAST MONTH hasn't been a good one for Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles.
First came the release of a documentary, "Deliver Us from Evil," in which admitted pedophile priest and serial molester Oliver O'Grady accuses Mahony of having protected him instead of his child victims. The film has been well received, but Mahony's office says many of the details are untrue.
Then a 1981 letter came to light in which Mahony warned a Mexican priest accused of molestation to stay out of the state or face being turned over to authorities. The cardinal's supporters say it is evidence of Mahony acting to prevent molestation; victims see it as another instance of Mahony acting to prevent priests from facing justice and to keep the public in the dark.
Both of these embarrassments hail from another time and place — the Central Valley in the 1980s, when Mahony was bishop of the Diocese of Stockton. If nothing else, they are another reminder that, until the truth is revealed, the molestation secrets of the Roman Catholic Church's past will continue to fester.
SCRANTON (PA)
The Times-Tribune
SCRANTON — A preliminary hearing for jailed former priest Albert Liberatore Jr. on a Megan’s Law violation was postponed Wednesday in Central Court because of the unavailability of a prosecution witness.
Magisterial District Judge Laura Turlip Murphy reduced Mr. Liberatore’s bail from $25,000 to $10,000, but it won’t mean his freedom. He remains in the Luzerne County Correctional Facility on a probation detainer.
Mr. Liberatore, who pleaded guilty in 2005 to crimes related to the sexual abuse of minors, was charged by Lackawanna County detectives Nov. 3 for failing to register a change of address as a sex offender.
Detectives alleged he had been living in Scranton despite being registered at an address in the Stroudsburg area.
AUSTRALIA
The West Australian
9th November 2006, 18:25 WST
A former Anglican priest has been jailed for 12 months for having sex with a teenage male organist he mentored more than 30 years ago.
Robert Francis Sharwood, 62, of Brisbane, was found guilty by a District Court jury in Brisbane of four charges including one each of carnal knowledge and permitting carnal knowledge and two of indecent assault, but acquitted on another charge of gross indecency.
Sharwood had already pleaded guilty to another seven charges relating to the sexual relationship between January, 1974, and March, 1976, while he was an assistant curate at a parish in Brisbane's south-west.
AUSTRALIA
ABC
Thursday, 9 November 2006. 19:44 (AEST)Thursday, 9 November 2006. 20:44 (ACDT)Thursday, 9 November 2006. 17:44 (AWST)
A former Anglican priest has been jailed by a Brisbane judge for sexually abusing a teenage boy more than 30 years ago.
Robert Francis Sharwood, 62, pleaded guilty in the District Court to seven charges of sexual assault and was found guilty of four more.
Judge Fleur Kingham jailed him for two years and nine months, to be suspended after one year.
CANADA
Ottawa Citizen
Trevor Wilhelm, The Windsor Star
Published: Wednesday, November 08, 2006
WINDSOR, Ont. — Canada has long been a “dumping ground” for American sex abuser priests, who come here either to flee prosecution or are transferred by churches hoping to keep things quiet, according to experts and victims.
“It’s bad and bound to get worse,” said David Clohessy, national director of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) in St. Louis. “As predator priests become more fearful of getting caught and bishops become more worried about scandal, both the temptation and incidents of transferring dangerous men will become greater. It’s very safe to say there are dozens and dozens of cases.”
Meanwhile, Tuesday, alleged sex abuse victims launched lawsuits against two former Windsor priests, who co-incidentally lived across the hall from each other at St. Peter’s Seminary in London, Ont., when one of them was abusing children in his room.
MANCHESTER (NH)
National Catholic Register
BY MARY ANN SULLIVAN
Register Correspondent
November 12-18, 2006 Issue
MANCHESTER, N.H. — The Diocese of Manchester, N.H., needed to find a curriculum that satisfied the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ requirement that every diocese have a program to prevent sex abuse. None that they looked at seemed appropriate.
The diocese wanted something that incorporated parents into the program and was rooted in the Catholic faith.
So-called safe environment programs, designed to help children identify and resist potential abusers, have come under fire by some parents for the graphic nature of instruction and the fact that they place the burden on children to resist abuse. The Register has been examining them one by one.
The Catholic Medical Association has recommended that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops no longer require dioceses to have safe-environment programs for children and adolescents and discontinue all “child-empowerment” programs for preventing sexual abuse.
LOUISVILLE (KY)
Worldwide Faith News
by Jerry Van Marter
LOUISVILLE - An additional member is being sought for a panel created in 2004 to investigate allegations of physical and/or sexual abuse at Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) overseas boarding schools for the children of missionaries.
The four-member Independent Abuse Review Panel (IARP) is seeking a replacement for Nancy Poling of Evanston, IL, a developmental educator who resigned for personal reasons.
The other three member of the panel are the Rev. James Evinger of Rochester, NY, a clinical researcher at the University of Rochester Medical Center who specializes in clergy sexual abuse; Dr. Sarah Rieth of Charlotte, NC, an Episcopal priest and psychotherapist who specializes in the spiritual healing of adult survivors of sexual abuse; and Dr. Carolyn Winfield, a former social worker who now works in the field of child welfare policy development.
The IARP grew out of a case of physical and sexual abuse of more than 20 children at a Presbyterian boarding school for children of missionaries in Congo from the 1940s to the 1970s. The perpetrator, the Rev. Bill Pruitt, died in August 1999 before he could be brought to trial by Grace Presbytery in Texas.
ILLINOIS
Southwest News-Herald
By CHUCK SALVATORE
The Review Board of the Archdiocese of Chicago has determined there is reasonable cause to suspect that the Rev. Robert Stepek has committed sexual abuse of minors.
According to a letter read during all Masses this past weekend at St. Albert the Great Church, 5535 W. State Road, in Burbank, Stepek’s case will now be sent to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican for review and determination.
Stepek was the pastor at St. Albert Parish.
Allegedly, two brothers came forward and claimed they were sexually abused by Stepek more than 20 years ago while Stepek worked at St. Symphorosa Church on Chicago’s Southwest Side during the 1980s.
“Stepek is acting like a predator who has been outed. He made his case in front of the review board and they didn’t find it credible with the victim statements,” said Barbara Blaine, president of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP.
UNITED KINGDOM
National Catholic Register
BY GREG WATTS
Register Correspondent
November 12-18, 2006 Issue
Posted 11/8/06 at 8:00 AM
LONDON — When Father Dominic McKenna suddenly disappeared one day during Lent 2005 from Our Lady of Hal church in Camden Town, London, parishioners were baffled.
And they were stunned when it emerged that the popular priest was under police investigation over allegations of sexual abuse 30 years earlier.
Father McKenna, who was well known for his work with drug addicts, alcoholics and the homeless, was alleged to have committed gross indecency while he was working as a teacher before he became a priest. The man who brought the allegation claimed it had happened when he was 12.
Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor of Westminster suspended Father McKenna, 54, and put him on administrative leave. He was placed in a secret address.
This August, the police dropped the charges. However, Father McKenna has still not returned to his parish. He is currently undergoing a “risk assessment” by the Catholic Office for the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults, which last year investigated 40 clergy accused of abuse.
MIAMI (FL)
Local 10
MIAMI -- A Miami priest has been fired by the high school where he worked after nude photographs of him were discovered on the Internet.
According to school officials at Palmer Trinity High School, the Rev. Adrian Parry was dismissed from his position as assistant chaplain and history teacher.
The pictures show Parry interacting sexually with another man, who is also nude. The pictures are too graphic to be fully displayed.
No criminal charges have been filed against Parry. There was no word from the Episcopal Archdiocese regarding the incident.
CANADA
CD98.9
Victims of convicted Priest, Father Charles Sylvestre have started a support group. The 40 victims have began meeting in Chatham to discuss their ordeals, and lend support to each other.
CAPE COD (MA)
Providence Journal
01:00 AM EST on Wednesday, November 8, 2006
BREWSTER, Mass.
Letter to Sam Sutter
Dear Sam:
CONGRATULATIONS on your election as the next district attorney of Bristol County, Mass., and congratulations as well on your decision to reopen the Highway Murders case.
My first reaction when I read that in the papers was: Wow, finally someone with the guts to tackle the big one. Then I thought, wait a minute. He doesn't take office for two months! Is he warning someone? And what's it mean, anyway, to reopen a murder investigation (into the serial slaughter of 11 women over a six-month period of 1988) when it was never closed by either of the D.A.'s who came before you, whatever you think about their pursuit of those responsible? ...
Paul Nolin's path from convicted rapist to convicted killer is a study in how the Treatment Center operates, and why we should all be worried about its future.
Nolin's primary therapist was a Catholic priest named Donald Turlick, a licensed counselor with a private practice on Cape Cod and a résumé that features Kenny Junier and Michael Kelley as previous patients whose freedom he recommended.
After Nolin was released from prison he moved into the priest's home in Mashpee, next door to the Cape Cod Children's Museum.
Turlick's fellow Catholic priest Bernard Kelly, a friend since their seminary days in the 1950s, then employed Nolin as a handyman at St. Joseph's, in Woods Hole, and at his home in the Cummaquid village, in Yarmouth.
To Father Kelly, Bridgewater is known as "the university," and Nolin was a graduate, someone he can entrust with the keys to the church despite Nolin's rape and torture of a young boy whom he tied to a tree and left in the woods.
PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
By David O'Reilly
Inquirer Staff Writer
Citing a "total breakdown of trust," the standing committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania has asked the denomination's leadership to investigate Bishop Charles E. Bennison Jr.'s handling of diocesan finances and remove him from office.
The committee's actions come as Bennison is still trying to quiet critics who have called for his resignation based on his handling of a sex-abuse case involving his brother more than 30 years ago.
The 10-member committee alleges that the bishop has "repeatedly usurped" its authority and "misappropriated" more than $10 million of diocesan assets to develop a summer camp in Maryland and pay diocesan operating expenses.
FLEMINGTON (NJ)
The Express-Times
Wednesday, November 08, 206
By TOM QUIGLEY
The Express-Times
FLEMINGTON | A convicted child molester still holding the title of a Roman Catholic priest pleaded not guilty Friday to sexually assaulting another child.
The Rev. John Banko is serving a 15-year sentence in the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Avenel, N.J., after a 2002 conviction.
The former pastor of St. Edward the Confessor Roman Catholic Church in Milford was found guilty of molesting an 11-year-old St. Edward's altar boy in 1993.
A Hunterdon County grand jury in September indicted Banko in a separate case that involved the sexual assault of a child under the age of 13.
The priest stood before Superior Court Judge Roger F. Mahon in shackles and prison garb with his head slightly bowed.
MIAMI (FL)
Orlando Sentinel
Posted November 8, 2006
MIAMI -- An advocacy group for people abused by clergy has asked the Catholic Archdiocese of Miami to reveal the names of all priests who have committed sexual abuse.
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, said Monday that it faxed and mailed a letter to Archbishop John Favalora asking him to release the names of all proven, admitted or "credibly accused" clergy within the archdiocese.
SNAP plans to make a similar request of the Diocese of Palm Beach.
The group connected its latest requests to the case of former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, the Republican who resigned from Congress after the discovery of his sexually explicit Internet exchanges with young male pages.
Foley said that when he was 13 he was molested by the Rev. Anthony Mercieca, who between 1965 and 2002 served in parishes from Homestead to North Palm Beach. Mercieca admitted he fondled Foley.
JEFFERSON CITY (MO)
The Kansas City Star
The Associated Press
JEFFERSON CITY | The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday reversed the conviction of a Roman Catholic priest found guilty of sexually abusing a child, saying the statute of limitations had run out.
The Rev. Thomas Graham was convicted in August 2005 and later sentenced to 20 years in prison for the sexual abuse of a boy in the late 1970s in the rectory of St. Louis’ Old Cathedral.
Graham has denied the allegations. The St. Louis Archdiocese said when Graham was convicted that it investigated the allegation in 1994 and “did not find it to be substantiated.”
OAKLAND (CA)
Oakland Tribune
By Rebecca Rosen Lum, MEDIANEWS STAFF
Article Last Updated:11/08/2006 02:48:47 AM PST
OAKLAND — Oakland Diocese's the Rev. Mark Weisner pulled a chair up to the computer in his rectory office, logged onto Shield the Vulnerable, and scrolled through a fancifully illustrated program that teaches how to recognize and report child abuse.
The 90-minute interactive Web site presents statistics, factual information and case studies, with the viewer answering true or false and multiple-choice questions about sample scenarios. There's even a crossword puzzle.
"I found it very engaging," said Weisner, the diocese's spokesman.
The interactive course for priests, employees and volunteers of the Oakland Diocese went live Aug. 14. Since then, nearly 12,000 people have clicked through the course, said Ralph Yanello, the Walnut Creek attorney who developed the program.
National
From the Editor's Desk
When I began covering religion in the early 1980s, I would not have listed as even a remote concern how to cover a sex abuse scandal or the swirl of institutional dynamics that would issue from it.
Nor do I take any pride in realizing, a quarter of a century later, that a distinguishing element of my journalism career will likely be my involvement in covering one of the ugliest and most damaging stories in modern Christian history.
I can’t tell you the number of times I and others in newsrooms in New York when I was there, and later here in Kansas City, have said, out of desperation, “No more sex abuse stories. Let’s get on with other things.” We always knew that we would not adhere to that exasperated order to ourselves. We couldn’t. Because always there was another revelation of abuse, another group of victims who would come forward, another batch of documents showing that this or that bishop had lied, covered up, countersued victims, moved more priests, endangered more kids.
SPOKANE (WA)
National
By MICHAEL NEWALL
Spokane, Wash.
On a warm Wednesday last May at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Parish here, carefree kids in short pants and skirts file out of ranch-style school buildings. They walk down the shrub-lined walkway and into the dimly lit church. The weekly student Mass begins with the sound of an organ and off-key singing. Some kids daydream; others whisper. The altar girl bites her lip in laughter. Soon, a flush-faced upperclassman races through a reading from the Acts of the Apostles: “God has overlooked the times of ignorance but now he demands that all people everywhere repent.”
Deacon Kelly Stewart, in his soft, reassuring tone reads the Gospel according to John.
“I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.”
A breeze blows through the rangy pines as the kids shuffle back to class. Parents chitchat about carpools and camping trips. The conversation turns to whispers when someone brings up the bitter bankruptcy battle threatening the existence of Assumption Parish, threatening the existence of the entire Spokane diocese.
“We sympathize with the victims and feel they should be compensated,” said Linda Morse, who has two children in Assumption School, wringing her hands and speaking in the same anguished voice that would surface so often during interviews here.
“But where does it all stop?” she continued. “When is enough enough?”
MISSOURI
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
By Robert Patrick
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
11/07/2006
The Missouri Supreme Court overturned the sodomy conviction and 20-year prison sentence of a local Catholic priest today, severely limiting prosecutors’ ability to go after allegations of decades-old sexual abuse.
The unanimous decision by all the judges on the court is "clean-cut and crystal clear," said Christian Goeke, one of the lawyers representing the Rev. Thomas Graham. Goeke said that the court decision means that there is a three-year limit on sodomy charges and that the other similar cases that had been filed or were awaiting the outcome of the Graham case are now dead.
St. Louis prosecutors indicted Graham in 2002 and a jury convicted him last year of sodomizing a teenage boy in the Old Cathedral in St. Louis sometime in the 1970s. Jurors recommended 20 years in prison and Circuit Judge Angela Turner Quigless followed that recommendation, but Graham has been out on bond pending the outcome of his appeal.
CANADA
London Free Press
By JANE SIMS, FREE PRESS JUSTICE REPORTER
Two more lawsuits have been filed against the Roman Catholic diocese of London involving alleged sexual misconduct by two priests -- one well-known from another sex-abuse lawsuit and the other deceased for more than 30 years.
Statements of claim were filed in London on behalf of Richard Corbett of Wheatley and Mary Jane Haslam of MacGregor by the London law firm Ledroit Beckett.
The claims have not been proven in court.
In his $4-million lawsuit, Corbett, 57, claims he was abused in 1964 and 1965 by Rev. Barry Glendinning at Windsor's Our Lady of Guadalupe parish, where Glendinning was the priest.
ROME
Catholic World News
Rome, Nov. 07 (CWNews.com) - The Church will punish pedophile priests, but will not act simply on the basis of rumors, according to Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos (bio - news).
In a conversation with the "Rome Reports" television news agency, the outgoing prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy said that the sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests is a real problem, but one that has been "inflated by certain people who have an interest" in exaggerating the scope of the offenses.
The Church will show no partiality toward priests who have molested children, the Colombian cardinal assured "Rome Reports," adding that the Vatican is not afraid of exploring the facts and rendering an accurate judgment. What does concern Church leaders, he said, is "the deformation of public opinion."
COLORADO
KRDO
By Anna Jensen
Former pastor and evangelical leader Ted Haggard has been accused of using drugs and carrying on a relationship with gay male prostitute Mike Jones. Now that he's admitted to some drug involvement, will anything happen legally?
The El Paso County District Attorney's office isn't shedding any light on what may happen, saying they can't comment because the Denver D.A. is actively investigating the claims. Jones claims he hooked Haggard up with a meth dealer. Defense attorney Dennis Hartley says the biggest hurdle for prosecutors would be to find the actual dealer to provide independent evidence.
The Denver D.A. needs to show probable cause, which Hartley says would most likely be accomplished by a grand jury indictment. He thinks, with what's come out so far, it's a weak case. He says Haggard's letter admitting to some guilt is "vague and innocuous."
WORCESTER (MA)
City of Worcester
*DIRECTOR APPEARANCE: JOE CULTRERA
How does a film about Catholic clergy abuse not descend into depression? It helps when the victim doesn't act like one but uses his own intellect and humor to fight back. Unlike any other look at this topic, the film is a poetic and provocative tale of one survivor and his family. Beyond the headlines, statistics and ecclesiastical spin, filmmaker Joe Cultrera grounds the story of his brother Paul in the details of their Sicilian-American Catholic upbringing. From baptism to abuse; silence to dialogue; resignation to action, the film follows one person's internal and external journey from potential priest to scathing critic.
Nov. 11: 6:00pm, Razzo Hall @ Clark U.
WISCONSIN
Green Bay Press-Gazette
By Andy Nelesen
anelesen@greenbaypressgazette.com
A Brown County judge on Monday refused to step down from a lawsuit against the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay.
Lawyers for David Schauer, a man molested by a priest in the late '80s, had demanded Brown County Circuit Court Judge Mark Warpinski recuse himself from the case because he's Catholic, served on the Board of Education for Notre Dame Academy and because a settlement letter to the court was made public by a Green Bay Press-Gazette reporter.
The Green Bay diocese, the defendant in Schauer's lawsuit, opposed the recusal. Schauer, 28, of Marshfield, has sued the diocese, Ss. Peter and Paul School and Hawkeye Security Insurance Co., alleging that the diocese and school officials were aware that the former priest preyed on boys and failed to protect students.
COLORADO
Rocky Mountain News
Paul Campos
The sad case of Ted Haggard, the politically powerful evangelical minister from Colorado Springs who was forced to resign last week after allegations he had a sexual relationship with a male prostitute from whom he purchased crystal methamphetamine, has elicited some astonishing comments.
Perhaps the single most astounding reaction came from Mark Driscoll, a Seattle-area preacher who was recently named one of America's 25 most influential pastors by The Church Report. "It is not uncommon to meet pastors' wives who really let themselves go," Driscoll noted.
"They sometimes feel that because their husband is a pastor, he is therefore trapped into fidelity, which gives them cause for laziness. A wife who lets herself go and is not sexually available to her husband in the ways that the Song of Songs is so frank about is not responsible for her husband's sin, but she may not be helping him either."
UNITED STATES
Midland Reporter-Telegram
Shanna Sissom City Editor
Midland Reporter-Telegram
11/07/2006
It was like a late 1980s flashback, only worse when Ted Haggard, president of theAbuse Tracker Association of Evangelicals was accused of homosexual acts and drug use.
His first response was to deny the allegations brought by a gay prostitute, but later acknowledged guilt of "sexual immorality" and called himself a "deceiver and a liar" in a prepared statement read Sunday to his Colorado Springs, Colo. megachurch congregation.
The whole mess reminded me of when the Rev. Jimmy Swaggart on CNN called rival televangelist Jim Bakker a "cancer in the body of Christ" during Bakker's sex scandal, not too long before Swaggart faced his own collapse after being caught with a hooker at a seedy motel.
Swaggart's exposure brought on an emotionally-charged service the following Sunday at his world headquarters in Baton Rouge, La., where he tearfully declared before God and TV cameras, "I have sinned!" Later, he would be caught again.
NEW LONDON (CT)
Norwich Bulletin
NEW LONDON -- Jury selection will begin Nov. 20 for the coming trial of a Norwich pastor accused of sexual assault of the daughter of a church member.
Charles Johnson Jr., of 35 Fourteenth St., former pastor of the Norwich Assembly of God, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree sexual assault and two counts of risk of injury to a minor. He appeared in New London Superior Court Monday.
He was arrested in February after a three-month investigation conducted by Norwich police and the state Department of Children and Families.
NEW YORK
Albany Times Union
By MARC PARRY, Staff writer
First published: Tuesday, November 7, 2006
An attorney known for battling the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany has been sanctioned for improper pretrial publicity in a New York City sex abuse case.
A state Supreme Court justice found that John Aretakis violated a rule governing trial publicity by lawyers by providing deposition transcripts to the press.
Justice Debra James ordered Aretakis to refrain from "any further violations." She ordered him to pay all legal costs connected to the matter. And she summoned him to court for a Nov. 15 hearing "on the amount of such costs and any sanctions to be paid" by Aretakis.
The case involves a teenager's claims against her grandmother, Leila Hadley Luce, and her deceased step-grandfather, magazine publishing scion Henry Luce III.
BURBANK (IL)
CBS 2
Mike Parker
Reporting
(CBS) BURBANK A suburban priest is fighting back against allegations of sexual abuse.
The Archdiocese of Chicago suspended Father Robert Stepek over the weekend. Now Stepek is speaking out to CBS 2's Mike Parker.
"I'm very angry," Stepek said.
Unlike most priests who have been accused of sexually abusing minors, Stepek is disputing the charges in public. The priest, who was removed from his duties at St. Albert the Great Parish in Burbank, says the allegations are lies and are part of a vendetta.
MALTA
Malta Today
Reference is made to the article “Gozitan clergy abuse scandal rocks Maltese Church’s omerta”, written by Mr Karl Schembri, and published in the ‘MaltaToday’ on the 22 October 2006.
Archbishop Mgr Joseph Mercieca fully rejects the gratuitous insinuations and allegations levelled against him by Mr Karl Schembri.
The following are three instances where Mr Schembri claimed that:
1. The Archbishop “steadfastly ignored warnings from foreign dioceses about priests who had child abuse records and were named and blamed in the foreign and national press”. False.
2. “Mgr Mercieca was in fact responsible for handpicking” a particular priest “who after learning of child abuse reports to Canadian police was rushed to Malta and posted as a spiritual director in a girl’s secondary school in Malta.” Also, “incredibly the Maltese Archbishop posts him as a spiritual director at …” False.
FLORIDA
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
By Madeline Baró Diaz
Miami Bureau
Posted November 7 2006
An advocacy group for people abused by clergy has asked the Archdiocese of Miami to reveal the names of all priests who have committed sexual abuse.
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, said on Monday it faxed and mailed a letter to Archbishop John Favalora asking him to release the names of all proven, admitted or "credibly accused" clergy within the archdiocese. It was one of several requests it has made, the group said.
They also asked the archdiocese to reveal the status of those priests, to publish the information and to visit all the parishes where the priests served.SNAP plans to make a similar request of the Diocese of Palm Beach.
The group connected its latest requests to the case of former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, the Republican who resigned from Congress after the discovery of his sexually explicit Internet exchanges with young male pages.
CHICAGO (IL)
Daily Southtown
November 7, 2006
By Stephanie Gehring Staff writer
A Catholic priest removed from his Burbank parish is trying to villainize two brothers who accused him of sexual abuse, attorneys for the now-grown men said Monday.
The Chicago Catholic Archdiocese removed the Rev. Robert Stepek from St. Albert the Great Catholic Church on Saturday after an internal church investigation found the allegations of sexual abuse against the two boys were credible.
On Sunday, Stepek said he was innocent and the allegations against him were a form of revenge over past disputes. He also claimed the two men wanted to embarrass him on his 25th anniversary as a priest.
"Stepek is a man who is used to having power and using that power for inappropriate means," said Marc Pearlman, an attorney for the two brothers said Monday. "He is in a situation where he is again trying to victimize these two men and again make them feel powerless."
UNITED STATES
Kansas City Star
By GRANT GALLICHO
Religion News Service
A scene near the end of “Deliver Us From Evil,” Amy Berg’s disturbing new documentary on clergy sexual abuse, should be burned into the mind of every Catholic bishop:
Bob Jyono sits on a sofa beside his daughter Ann, 39, who was regularly raped between the ages of 5 and 12 by the Rev. Oliver O’Grady. He blurts out in anguish, “There is no God. I do not believe in a god. All right?” Ann bursts into tears, covering her face with both hands.
The scene crystallizes one of the most tragic aspects of the Catholic Church’s sex-abuse scandal: By tolerating abuser priests, a bishop whose job is to nourish the faith of his people can be responsible for destroying it.
A sober movie that asks tough questions, offers incisive portraits of victims and perpetrators, and conveys the necessary context should be mandatory viewing for bishops. Regrettably, “Deliver Us From Evil” is not that film. Rather, its biases and arguments are mirror images of the ones deployed by those who defend the church’s behavior in the abuse scandal.
The centerpiece of the movie is Berg’s stomach-turning interviews with O’Grady, an admitted abuser. But when the film tries to tell the wider story of clergy abuse, it relies almost entirely on commentators with ties to victims’ advocacy groups — especially plaintiffs’ attorneys — who have a vested interest in some facts and conveniently ignore others.
AUSTRALIA
The Australian
Kevin Meade
November 07, 2006
THE Anglican Church waited 26 years before reporting to police that one of its priests had a sexual relationship with a teenage boy, but a jury took just six hours yesterday to convict the pedophile cleric on four child abuse charges.
Robert Francis Sharwood, 62, was found guilty of sodomy, permitting sodomy, and two charges of indecent assault. The jury acquitted him of one count of gross indecency.
Before the trial started in the Brisbane District Court last week, Sharwood pleaded guilty to seven charges of sexually assaulting the boy.
MISSOURI
Daily Journal
A Catholic priest with local ties has been permanently dismissed from the priesthood due to allegations of sexual abuse.
On Friday, St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke announced in the Archdiocese's St. Louis Reviewonline that Pope Benedict XVI approved the dismissal of James Gummersbach and three other suspended St. Louis archdiosean priests accused of sexually abusing children. Gummersbach had served at the Immaculate Conception Church in Park Hills from 1979 to 1981.
Gummersbach, James Funke, Bryan Kuchar and Michael Seidel were laicized or "permanently dismissed from the clerical state" by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The archdiocese suspended the four men between 1986 and 2002 after it determined that each had been credibly accused of sexually abusing a minor. All four had been prohibited from acting or representing themselves as priests.
ALBANY (NY)
New York Post
AP
November 6, 2006 -- ALBANY - A priest who says he was sexually abused as a boy by a priest has filed a $2 million lawsuit against a program set up by the Albany Roman Catholic Diocese in 2004 to investigate such claims.
The Rev. Mark Jaufmann filed last week in U.S. District Court against the Independent Mediation Assistance Program. The suit says IMAP made Jaufmann feel as if what happened to him had been his fault.
Jaufmann, 49, who's with the Ecumenical Catholic Communion in California, says the Rev. Jeremiah Nunan abused him at St. Mary's Church in Hudson.
Nunan, who took a leave of absence in February amid the allegations, most recently served at Sacred Heart Parish in Cairo and Our Lady of Knock Mission in East Durham in Greene County.
UNITED STATES
The Dallas Morning News
We must end their escape across borders, say BARBARA BLAINE and DAVID CLOHESSY
12:00 AM CST on Monday, November 6, 2006
Last month, a civil lawsuit was filed that accuses two of the world's most prominent Catholic officials, Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles and Cardinal Norberto Rivera of Mexico City, of shuffling a serial predator from country to country. The priest faces criminal charges of molesting dozens of boys.
Just over two weeks ago, our group – the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, or SNAP – sounded the alarm that a notorious pedophile priest from Ireland, Oliver O'Grady, is on the move again. Mr. O'Grady, defrocked, imprisoned and eventually deported to his native land, is reportedly heading abroad again, possibly to France or Canada.
On Oct. 25, a civil lawsuit was filed in Florida accusing a Catholic priest of molesting a boy. The cleric is a Malta native who was sent to Brazil, the United States, Haiti, back to the United States, and now lives in Malta again.
That same day in California, we in SNAP helped warn the public about two abusive priests from Stockton who are believed to be have fled to Mexico with the help of church authorities.
COLORADO SPRINGS (CO)
ClickOnDetroit
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Members of the New Life Church were stunned and brought to tears by the Rev. Ted Haggard's confessions of "sexual immorality," then accepted his plea for forgiveness with open arms.
Haggard apologized Sunday in a letter read from the pulpit of the 14,000-member church he founded.
Some in the standing-room-only crowd wiped away tears and embraced each other as they heard Haggard's words read by a member of the board that fired him a day earlier.
NEBRASKA
Ralston Recorder
More than 125 volunteers at St. Gerald's School and its youth organizations have taken classes in Safe Environment training. It's a requirement by the Archdiocese of Omaha as part of a revised policy for anyone on staff or volunteering with children.
There are no exemptions for any reason - not if you were voted Mother of the Year or you're a teacher with a doctorate in psychology. As long as you plan to volunteer in the Catholic schools in which children in kindergarten through 12th grade are involved, you have taken Safe Environment training.
"Our staff has been certified and through our newsletters, we've kind of warned our parents and others that they need to be certified," said Principal Dave Garland.
COLORADO
Rocky Mountain News
By Fernando Quintero, Rocky Mountain News
November 6, 2006
The waiter gushed when he recognized Mike Jones, the former gay escort who brought down one of Colorado Springs' most powerful evangelical pastors just days before the election.
"You know, you're a hero," he said, patting Jones' muscular shoulder. "I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart."
Jones, who said he confessed to having sex with the Rev. Ted Haggard last week to influence voters to support a referendum that would grant equal rights to same-sex couples and oppose an amendment that would declare marriage as only between a man and woman, was basking in the adoration that came in between condemnation.
"I'm getting so much support at a time that I'm really needing it," Jones said Sunday. "It feels nice to get words of encouragement."
DAVENPORT (IA)
Sioux City Journal
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) -- The incoming bishop of the Davenport diocese is asking the church not to throw him an extravagant celebration at his installation service this month.
Martin Amos' request comes a few weeks after the diocese filed for bankruptcy to protect itself from sexual abuse claims that have cost it $10.5 million since 2004.
"He's considering the financial situation of the diocese," says diocese spokesman David Montgomery.
Montgomery says no money has been set aside for the celebration service because all the diocese's assets are under protection of the bankruptcy court. The diocese is taking donations throughout its 22 counties in eastern Iowa to cover the costs.
CHICAGO (IL)
NBC 5
CHICAGO -- The Chicago Archdiocese has suspended another priest after sexual abuse allegations surface.
Father Robert Stepek, 51, who voluntarily removed himself this past May, was officially suspended Saturday by the archdiocese amid allegations he abused minors at Saint Symphorosa Church in the early 1980's.
The announcement was made at Saint Albert the Great Church in Burbank, where Stepek most recently worked.
"I don't believe any of it. Fr. Stepek has been one of the most perfect pastors I've ever seen in my life," said parishioner MaryLou Karmuda.
"If you believe in some sort of God or religion at all, it's just disheartening to hear stuff like this," said a male parishioner.
BURBANK (IL)
CBS 2
(CBS) BURBANK The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago says it has removed a southwestern suburban pastor from the ministry after an independent review board found that accusations of sexual abuse against him are credible.
The Rev. Robert Stepek has been on leave from St. Albert the Great Parish in Burbank since May after allegations surfaced that he sexually abused at least two minors more than 20 years ago.
Stepek was asked to step down while the independent Review Board of the Archdiocese conducts an investigation into the claims. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and the Cook County state's attorney's office were also informed of the alleged abuse, which is said to have taken place in the 1980s.
But as CBS 2's Mai Martinez reports, some of his parishioners are demanding he be reinstated.
The message outside St. Albert the Great Church was clear Sunday morning. Parishioners want their pastor, Father Robert Stepek back.
CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Sun-Times
November 6, 2006
BY MAUREEN O'DONNELL Staff Reporter
A Burbank priest is fighting back against allegations he sexually abused two minors, saying there has been bad blood between him and his accusers for years, and they are looking for money.
"I deny it completely. It's a money issue. It's a vendetta," said the Rev. Robert Stepek.
The lawyer for his accusers swung back just as hard Sunday, saying Stepek's comments show "he's not only a molester, but an angry, mean-spirited molester -- and in denial.''
Stepek went further, saying he thinks priests are being presumed guilty because of outrage about the Rev. Daniel McCormack, who is accused in another Chicago abuse case.
CHICAGO (IL)
Daily Southtown
November 6, 2006
By Courtney Greve Staff writer
The Rev. Robert Stepek believes silence implies guilt when a Catholic priest is accused of sexual abuse.
that's why the former pastor of St. Albert the Great Parish in Burbank decided to speak up Sunday, the day after allegations against him were deemed credible and he was removed from ministry by the Archdiocese of Chicago.
"I want to make it very clear that I am innocent," he said. "The allegations are unfounded and completely false."
Plenty of St. Albert parishioners believe Stepek.
AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald
November 6, 2006 - 9:39PM
A former Anglican curate has been found guilty in Brisbane of having sex with a teenage organist he was mentoring during the 1970s.
Robert Francis Sharwood, 62, of Brisbane, had pleaded not guilty in the District Court in Brisbane to five charges including one each of carnal knowledge and permitting carnal knowledge and two of indecent assault, and to a charge of gross indecency.
A jury found Sharwood guilty of the first four charges, but not guilty of the gross indecency charge.
CALIFORNIA
Contra Costa Times
By Rebecca Rosen Lum
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
The Rev. Mark Weisner of the Oakland Diocese pulled a chair up to the computer in his rectory office, logged onto "Shield the Vulnerable" and scrolled through a fancifully illustrated program that teaches how to recognize and report child abuse.
The 90-minute interactive program on the Web site presents statistics, factual information and case studies, with the viewer answering true-false and multiple-choice questions about sample scenarios. There's even a crossword puzzle.
"I found it very engaging," said Weisner, the diocese's spokesman.
The interactive course for priests, employees and volunteers of the Oakland Diocese went live Aug. 14. Since then, nearly 12,000 people have clicked through the course, said Ralph Yanello, the Walnut Creek attorney who developed the program.
COLORADO SPRINGS (CO)
WFRV
(AP) COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. Less than 24 hours after he was fired from the pulpit of the evangelical megachurch he founded, the Rev Ted Haggard confessed to his followers Sunday that he was guilty of sexual immorality.
In a letter that was read to the congregation of the New Life Church by another clergyman, Haggard apologized for his acts and requested forgiveness.
"I am so sorry for the circumstances that have caused shame and embarrassment for all of you," he said, adding that he had confused the situation by giving inconsistent remarks to reporters denying the scandal.
"The fact is I am guilty of sexual immorality. And I take responsibility for the entire problem. I am a deceiver and a liar. There's a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I have been warring against it for all of my adult life," he said.
COLORADO
Denver Post
By Chuck Plunkett
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated:11/05/2006 01:01:13 AM MST
Colorado Springs - Ted Haggard, the beleaguered pastor of one of the nation's most influential evangelical churches, was fired Saturday after admitting "sexually immoral conduct."
Haggard's New Life Church issued a statement saying he had been removed. But the church's oversight board, which was investigating accusations Haggard had sex with a gay prostitute and used methamphetamine, offered no details of its findings.
Church officials said that Haggard was out of town with his family Saturday and that a letter and an apology from him would be read to the congregation today.
COLORADO
KRDO
By Marshall Zelinger
He built the New Life Church from a basement to a congregation of more than 14,000, but an independent board has fired Pastor Ted Haggard.
"Our investigation and Pastor Haggard's public statements have proven without a doubt that he has committed sexually immoral conduct," the Board of Overseers wrote in a news release.
However, the board wouldn't tell NewsChannel 13 what exactly "sexually immoral conduct" meant.
COLORADO
Denver Post
By Joey Bunch and Katharine Bernuth
Denver Post Staff Writers
Article Last Updated:11/05/2006 12:56:03 AM MST
Colorado Springs - As a young trio played contemporary Christian music, worshipers stood, closed their eyes and stretched out their hands as if they were hung on a cross.
Teenagers and adults had joined together Saturday afternoon to pray for their senior pastor, Ted Haggard, at the World Prayer Center on the New Life Church campus.
Haggard's giant picture hovers over the water fountains in the lobby. His presence, if not his face or name, is seemingly everywhere on this scenic campus, which faces Pikes Peak and the blue-green foothills of the Rocky Mountains.
Pastor Ted, as everyone calls him, is their rock star, and certainly their rock.
COLORADO
Denver Post
By Kirk Mitchell
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated:11/05/2006 12:59:05 AM MST
The prostitute who went public with allegations of gay sex and drug use with the Rev. Ted Haggard said he was saddened to learn Saturday the popular pastor had been fired.
"I hadn't heard that," Michael Forest Jones said. "I didn't want to ruin his life or his family's life."
Jones, 49, was reached on his cellphone as he arrived at Denver International Airport from a trip to New York, where he had just finished one of his numerous media appearances over the past few days talking about Haggard's alleged indiscretions.
WISCONSIN
St. Paul Pioneer Press
June 2000: The Rev. Ryan Erickson is ordained and assigned to St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Hudson, Wis., as associate pastor.
Feb. 5, 2002: Funeral home director Daniel O'Connell, 39, and University of Minnesota intern James Ellison, 22, are found shot to death at the O'Connell Family Funeral Home in Hudson. O'Connell is a parishioner.
February 2002: St. Patrick's School principal critical of Erickson alleges a supporter of the priest harassed and threatened her the same week O'Connell and Ellison are slain. Police are called, but no charges are filed. The principal later resigns.
Also in 2002: The first of 11 women files a complaint with the bishop against another associate priest assigned to St. Patrick's, alleging he engaged in inappropriate touching and had made sexually suggestive comments. The priest is barred in 2005 from presiding at Mass and is suspended from all public ministry.
WISCONSIN
St. Paul Pioneer Press
BY KEVIN HARTER
Pioneer Press
If the Rev. Ryan Erickson was a murderous devil, as many at St. Patrick's Catholic Church believe, the Rev. John Parr is an answered prayer, sent to reconcile the spiritually fractured parish in Hudson, Wis.
In the past four years in the parish, an associate priest has been accused of killing a parishioner and another man to conceal the molestation of a boy, and another was accused of inappropriately touching women. And when the senior pastor retired, he said he knew nothing about allegations against either of the associates.
Parishioners were skeptical of their leaders. They were angry that warning signs were ignored. And they were quitting their church.
Then Parr arrived from Wausau, Wis., in September 2004. He would soon learn of the divisions within the 1,900-family parish. And it would get worse when Erickson became a murder suspect weeks later.
NEW JERSEY
Star-Ledger
Sunday, November 05, 2006
BY NYIER ABDOU
Star-Ledger Staff
A former Milford priest who is serving a 15-year prison sentence for sexually assaulting an altar boy has pleaded not guilty to new molestation charges, police said.
The Rev. John M. Banko, 60, of Hamilton, was back in court Friday facing new charges that, while a pastor in Hunterdon County, he as saulted another boy under the age of 16, Hunterdon County First Assistant Prosecutor Steven Lember said.
Although Banko has not formally applied for a public defender, one stood with him Friday to enter a plea of not guilty on charges of first-degree aggravated sexual as sault and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, Lember said.
Banko, known to his parishioners as "Father Jack," was convicted in December 2002 of performing oral sex on an 11-year-old altar boy in the sacristy of a Roman Catholic church's community center after two Sunday Masses more than a decade ago.
CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Sun-Times
November 5, 2006
BY MONIFA THOMAS Staff Reporter
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago announced Saturday that a southwest suburban pastor has been removed from ministry after an independent review board found that accusations of sexual abuse against him are credible.
The Rev. Robert Stepek has been on leave from St. Albert the Great Parish in Burbank since May after allegations surfaced that Stepek sexually abused at least two minors more than 20 years ago.
Stepek was asked to step down while the independent Review Board of the Archdiocese conducted an investigation into the claims. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and the Cook County state's attorney's office were also informed of the alleged abuse, which is said to have taken place in the 1980s.
On Saturday, a letter from the archdiocese was read to parishioners at St. Albert during evening mass, stating that Stepek was removed from ministry following the completion of the review board's investigation, archdiocese spokeswoman Susan Burritt said.
CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Tribune
Published November 5, 2006
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago has found reasonable cause to suspect a southwest suburban pastor sexually abused at least two youths more than 20 years ago, church officials said Saturday.
Rev. Robert Stepek, pastor of St. Albert the Great Church in Burbank, was asked in May by Cardinal Francis George to temporarily step down while authorities investigated the allegations.
Rev. Gustavo Garcia-Siller, auxiliary bishop of Chicago, read a statement to parishioners Saturday night during mass at St. Albert. He said the archdiocese's review board had found evidence to suspect that the sexual abuse of minors occurred.
The review board recommended that Stepek not take part in any form of ministry, which Cardinal George accepted, Garcia-Siller said.
Stepek's case will be sent to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican for a review and determination. Until then, Stepek will live and be supervised in a private setting away from his parish, Garcia-Siller said in the statement.
PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
By David O'Reilly
Inquirer Staff Writer
The mother of a teenager sexually abused decades ago by the brother of Episcopal Bishop Charles E. Bennison Jr. yesterday renewed her allegation that Bennison knowingly concealed his brother's abuse, and she said it was "up to the diocese" to decide whether he should stay on.
At a forum at St. Thomas Church in Fort Washington, she said Bennison's version of events surrounding the abuse contained "many inaccuracies, if not lies."
She said she had traveled reluctantly from California to the Philadelphia area to "set the record straight."
The woman, a white-haired widow who asked that her name not be used, still lives in the Upland, Calif., parish where, the Rev. John Bennison has admitted, he abused her daughter in the early 1970s.
NEW YORK
Daily Freeman
By Ariel Zangla, Freeman staff 11/05/2006
A ROMAN Catholic priest who alleges he was sexually abused by another priest as a child in Columbia County has filed a $2 million lawsuit against the Independent Mediation Assistance Program.
The Rev. Mark Jaufmann filed the lawsuit last week in U.S. District Court, alleging that IMAP was not independent of the Albany Roman Catholic Diocese, as it advertised. He also named retired Court of Appeals Justice Howard Levine, the law firm Whiteman, Osterman and Hanna, and the New York State Dispute Resolution Association as defendants in the case. Levine, senior counsel for Whiteman, Osterman and Hanna, administers IMAP.
"The suit is entirely without merit, and we very much look forward to responding to it in the proper forum, the court system," Levine said.
A priest with the Ecumenical Catholic Communion in California, Jaufmann, 49, said he was sexually abused as a child by a priest who, until recently, had been serving in Greene County. Jaufmann said he was abused by the Rev. Jeremiah Nunan while he was a parishioner at St. Mary's Church in Hudson.
MALTA
The Malta Independent
by David Lindsay
Some three weeks ago, the suggestion that the ramifications of the acts of a single Gozitan decades ago could end up swaying the balance of power in the United States would have seemed ludicrous.
But since Fr Anthony Mercieca’s admission that he had what he described as “inappropriate” relations with a young boy while serving as a priest in Florida, the suggestion appears all the more plausible.
As the American electorate goes to the polls on Tuesday in what is expected to be a close battle for control of the American Congress and one in which the Democrats hope to wrest power in both houses from the Republicans, they will be weighing a lot of issues, not least of which will be the Bush administration’s handling, or mishandling, of Iraq.
But also on their minds will be the recently revealed actions of the Republican Party and allegations that it had tried to cover up accusations that the now disgraced Republican congressman Mark Foley had sent lascivious emails to underage congressional pages.
GREEN BAY (WI)
Yahoo!
Saturday November 4, 4:53 pm ET
GREEN BAY, Wis., Nov. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- A Green Bay Judge has set an unusual court hearing for this Monday in a civil child molestation case involving an abusive Catholic priest who is behind bars.
Brown County Circuit Court Judge Mark Warpinski has been asked to recuse himself from the case by the victim's attorney for alleged bias. Monday's hearing will focus strictly on this issue.
Attorney Jeff Anderson of St. Paul, who has handled hundreds of clergy sex abuse cases, has filed a motion asking Warpinski, a Catholic, to step aside in a molestation case filed against Fr. Donald Buzanowski and the Green Bay Catholic diocese. The plaintiff is David Schauer of Marshfield.
COLORADO SPRINGS (CO)
CBS 13
(AP) COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. The Rev. Ted Haggard agreed to resign Saturday from his New Life Church after its independent investigative board recommended removal, saying he was guilty "of sexually immoral conduct."
"We, the Overseer Board of New Life Church, have concluded our deliberations concerning the moral failings of Pastor Ted Haggard," a statement from the church said. "Our investigation and Pastor Haggard's public statements have proven without a doubt that he has committed sexually immoral conduct."
The Rev. Ted Haggard said Friday he bought methamphetamine and received a massage from a male prostitute. But the influential Christian evangelist insisted he threw the drugs away and never had sex with the man.
FLEMINGTON (NJ)
The Express-Times
Saturday, November 04, 206
By TOM QUIGLEY
The Express-Times
FLEMINGTON | A convicted child molester still holding the title of a Roman Catholic priest pleaded not guilty Friday to sexually assaulting another child.
The Rev. John Banko is serving a 15-year sentence in the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Avenel, N.J., after a 2002 conviction.
The former pastor of St. Edward the Confessor Roman Catholic Church in Milford was found guilty of molesting an 11-year-old St. Edward's altar boy in 1993.
A Hunterdon County grand jury in September indicted Banko in a separate case that involved the sexual assault of a child under the age of 13.
The priest stood before Superior Court Judge Roger F. Mahon in shackles and prison garb with his head slightly bowed.
NEW JERSEY
Courier News
By PAMELA SROKA
Staff Writer
The former Milford priest convicted of sexually assaulting a child pleaded not guilty Friday to a new set of charges of similar offenses.
John M. Banko, who already is serving 15 years at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Avenel, had been indicted on one count of first-degree aggravated sexual assault and one count of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
Hunterdon County Public Defender David Hamilton, who represented Banko on Friday morning, entered a not-guilty plea for the former priest during the arraignment in Superior Court in Hunterdon County .
Banko, dressed in tan prison garb, shackles and handcuffs, answered "yes" when Superior Court Judge Roger F. Mahon, sitting in Flemington, asked if he would be applying for a public defender to represent his case. Banko remained silent the rest of the hearing.
SCRANTON (PA)
Times Leader
By KRIS WERNOWSKY kwernowsky@leader.net
SCRANTON – A defrocked priest from the Diocese of Scranton was jailed Friday afternoon on charges that he violated the terms of his probation.
Albert Liberatore Jr., 42, a registered sex offender, was lodged in the Luzerne County Correctional Facility on two violations of the state’s Megan’s Law.
According to court papers:
Under the terms of Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law, Liberatore is required to report to state police when he changes his address.
Liberatore had been living with his father at a home at 906 W. Locust St. in Scranton but a detective from the Lackawanna County District Attorney’s Office learned the former priest was still registered at a home in Stroudsburg.
BARTOW (FL)
The Ledger
By Jason Geary
The Ledger
BARTOW - A Catholic priest accused of stalking and attacking a Lakeland woman has been proving to be an "ornery" and uncooperative defendant in court.
Walter Fisher, also known as Wladyslaw Gorak, has served as a parochial vicar, or assistant pastor, at the Church of the Resurrection in South Lakeland.
After being found mentally unfit to stand trial, Fisher, 50, must pay for a Polish interpreter so that another mental health evaluation can be done to determine whether he is competent to proceed in his criminal case.
Because he has been determined to not be indigent, Fisher is responsible for paying for such things. He continues to receive a salary and business allowance of $1,891 monthly from the Archdiocese of Newark, N.J., court records state. ...
On Oct. 12, 2004, the woman said Fisher forced his way into her home by breaking the chain lock on her door and pulled the telephone from the jack, an arrest report states.
He started removing his clothes, held her tightly, ripped her skirt and blouse off, and forced her to the floor, the report said.
She fought back by "kicking, punching, and biting" him, the report states.
After managing to free herself, she grabbed her skirt, ran outside and hid until Fisher left, the report states.
DELRAY BEACH (FL)
Palm Beach Post
By Lona O'Connor
Palm Beach Post Religion Writer
Saturday, November 04, 2006
After two priests were accused of mishandling more than $8.6 million from a Delray Beach parish, Bishop Gerald Barbarito promised the faithful that henceforth they could expect transparency and accountability from the diocese. He noted that since he arrived in 2003, he had taken steps to strengthen diocese regulations for protecting the cash that comes from the collection plate.
St. Joseph Catholic Church parishioner Dave Schoonover and others who have sought fiscal accountability from the Diocese of Palm Beach vigorously dispute that it is pursuing transparency.
Parishioners of St. Patrick Church in Palm Beach Gardens brought information about possible financial misdealings by the Rev. Francis Guinan, its pastor at the time. Vicar General Richard Murphy told them he saw nothing suspicious and suggested they drop their complaints.
JACKSONVILLE (FL)
First Coast News
By First Coast News Staff
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Trinity Baptist is responding to our First Coast News investigation of Pastor Bob Gray and claims of a cover-up.
First Coast News brought you stories of people from Trinity and alleged victims who say Trinity leadership knew Gray was a pedophile but covered it up.
Pastor Tom Messer has now issued this statement:
"I am not ignoring the situation but am committed to doing what is most important and that is to have church."
COLORADO
KRDO
By Scott Harrison
If Mike Jones is telling the truth about his accusations against Colorado Springs pastor Ted Haggard, why did Jones fail a lie detector test Friday?
Jones explains his flunking the polygraph test on being tired. However, a local expert says that's possible, but unlikely. James Earle of the JHE Consultant Group has 43 years of experience as a polygraph examiner. "Part of our job is to determine are they okay to test?" he says.
Earle says illegal drugs, alcohol and mental illness can affect the results of a lie detector test, but most examiners usually do not test people who have those factors. He also says an examiner who is inexperienced and not well-trained can be confused by some test subjects. "Maybe I'm moving around and I don't see you moving. You're doing something very subtle (that) I don't see."
COLORADO
Spero News
Friday, November 03, 2006
by William Donohue
Yesterday, five organizations, including Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) and Voice of the Faithful, held a news conference in Denver demanding that the Denver Archdiocese release "all church documents relating to clergy sex abuse."
Those making this absurd demand have blown their credibility and should be dismissed as witch hunters. To begin with, it is absurd for any institution to simply dump confidential personnel files on the lap of strangers. To take but one industry - the media - there is not a single newspaper (beginning with the Denver Post), magazine, television network or radio station that would hand its personnel files over to me. Ergo, what's good for the media is good for the Catholic Church.
UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian
Paul Lewis
Saturday November 4, 2006
The Guardian
A spiritual group whose "living god" founder has been accused of sexually abusing young boys has become an accredited partner of the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme, the Guardian can reveal.
Last night pressure was mounting on the charity to break its links with the group whose followers are devoted to the preachings of 79-year-old holy man, Sai Baba.
About 200 young people will fly to India in two weeks' time on a humanitarian pilgrimage run by Sai Youth UK, a division of the Sri Sathya Sai Organisation. The teenagers and young men earn their Duke of Edinburgh awards for humanitarian work, chiefly distributing medical aid. ...
The Indian living god, the paedophilia claims and the Duke of Edinburgh awards
For decades male former devotees have alleged that the guru molested them during so-called "interviews". During the last youth pilgrimage, in 2004, young people were granted group interviews with the guru after administering medical aid to villages surrounding Sai Baba's ashram in Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh, although there was no evidence of abuse.
CALIFORNIA
The Tidings
In response to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles' aggressive implementation of education programs to prevent child sexual abuse over the past four years, hundreds of parishes have formed Safeguard the Children oversight committees.
Members of these committees, including clergy, religious, school staff and parishioners, meet regularly to discuss ways to improve children's safety in their particular church community. Thanks to the dedicated work of these volunteer committee members, many parishes have made changes in their policies, procedures and physical plant to keep children safe from sexual predators.
St. Anastasia in Westchester was one of the first parishes to establish a Safeguard the Children committee back in the summer of 2004. Following the committee's recommendation, St. Anastasia School parents are required to complete the three-hour VIRTUS "Protecting All God's Children Awareness Session for Adults" before volunteering in the classroom or playground. "They can't help out unless they do it," said principal Rosemary Connolly. No prospective parent volunteer, she added, has ever complained about investing the time to take the VIRTUS training.
CALIFORNIA
World Socialist
By Joanne Laurier
4 November 2006
Sexual abuse of children and teenagers by Roman Catholic priests emerged as a major national scandal in 2002, primarily due to the trial of defrocked priest John Geoghan in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since then, new accusations about past and recent abuses have surfaced on a regular and appalling basis.
Filmmaker Amy Berg, as a reporter for CBS and later CNN, spent four years investigating pedophile priests. In the course of her work, she became acquainted with Cardinal Roger Mahony of the Los Angeles Archdiocese, who is alleged to have allowed more than 550 clerics under his jurisdiction to sexually abuse minors.
While a bishop in Stockton, California, Mahony directly supervised Father Oliver O’Grady from 1980 to 1985. Berg’s documentary, Deliver Us from Evil, examines O’Grady’s 20-year career as a priest in northern California, during which time he molested hundreds of boys and girls of all ages, including a nine-month-old infant. O’Grady would often gain access to his victims by seducing a parent. The response of Mahony and the Catholic officialdom was to move O’Grady from one parish to another as accusations arose.
O’Grady was obviously a deeply disturbed individual, in need of psychiatric treatment and being separated from society. The cold-blooded, calculated activities of his superiors were even more reprehensible. According to Berg’s film, the Church knew as of 1973 that the priest was raping and sodomizing children. Further, Church officials were aware prior to his ordination that O’Grady was a pedophile.
PENNSYLVANIA
Carlisle Sentinel
By Tatiana Zarnowski, November 2, 2006
When the jury forewoman read the first "Guilty," in a loud, clear voice, Lane Hurley breathed "Oh, God," sighed loudly and put his head in his hands.
His victim's family members also invoked the Creator after they tearfully embraced following the announcement Thursday evening that Hurley, 56, was found guilty on all four charges relating to sexual abuse of his then 10-year-old niece in 1997.
"This is a family of faith," the mother of the victim, who is now 19, told The Sentinel afterward.
The jury found Hurley, a former minister, guilty of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault and corruption of minors after two and a half hours of deliberation.
IRELAND
International Herald Tribune
The Associated PressPublished: November 4, 2006
DUBLIN, Ireland: Prime Minister Bertie Ahern has proposed a national referendum on children's rights designed to ensure that past decades of abuse, particularly in Catholic Church-run institutions, cannot happen again.
Ahern made his pledge Friday night at the start of the annual conference of his governing Fianna Fail party, which is aiming for a third straight win in national elections next year.
Fianna Fail, which is pronounced "FEEN-uh Fall" and means "Soldiers of Destiny" in Gaelic, is the hearty perennial of Irish politics. It has won the most seats in Dail Eireann, Ireland's key lower house of parliament, in every election since 1932 and appears on course to do so again in 2007.
Ahern said the rights of children had traditionally been overlooked in Irish law — and proposed a national referendum, most likely to be held in March, to insert a new clause in Ireland's 1937 constitution spelling out these rights.
ST. LOUIS (MO)
My Fox
By JIM SALTER
Associated Press Writer
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Four priests suspended by the Archdiocese of St. Louis amid allegations that they sexually abused children have been laicized, or permanently removed from the priesthood, the archdiocese said Friday.
Among the four is Bryan Kuchar, 41, who was released from jail in August after serving three years for molesting a 14-year-old boy. Also laicized were James Funke, James Gummersbach and Michael Seidel.
The effort to remove the men began with a request from Archbishop Raymond Burke and required approval from the pope. The moves means they are forbidden to function or represent themselves in any way as priests. The action also means the archdiocese is no longer has responsibility for their support.
MISSOURI
Neosho Daily News
By John Ford / Daily News Associate Editor
Published: Friday, November 3, 2006 4:02 PM CST
A Newton County judge has recused himself for the second time in the George Otis Johnston case.
Division III Associate Circuit Court Judge Kevin Lee Selby effectively took himself off the case for the second time.
An arraignment has been set for 9:30 a.m. Nov. 13 in Circuit Court Judge Timothy Perigo's Division I courtroom in Neosho.
Johnston, the pastor of Grandview Valley Baptist Church, was to be arraigned Thursday afternoon on nine felony child sexual abuse counts stemming from allegations made by a 20-year-old former member of his church.
COLORADO
Rocky Mountain News
By Todd Hartman, Rocky Mountain News
November 4, 2006
The Rev. Ted Haggard finds himself walking in the familiar footsteps of powerful people who put themselves in high-risk situations that threaten career and family life.
The extent of Haggard's relationship with former male escort Mike Jones, 49, is still in dispute - Haggard denies the man's claims that they had a three-year sexual affair. But the senior pastor of New Life Church has admitted he received a massage from Jones and bought drugs, which he said he never used.
Those are potentially devastating actions for the head of a 14,000-member evangelical empire and a national leader of the conservative Christian movement, a man who has warned against gay marriage and has championed a family-oriented, Christ-centered lifestyle.
LODI (CA)
Lodi News-Sentinel
By Ross Farrow
News-Sentinel Staff Writer
Last updated: Friday, Nov 03, 2006 - 06:52:33 am PST
Maria Jyono was delighted when she learned that an Irish priest was coming to St. Anne's Catholic Church. Jyono was born and raised in Ireland, but she moved to her husband's native Lodi in the 1960s.
Jyono missed her native land, so Oliver O'Grady was a welcome sight to her when he came to Lodi in 1971. They hit it off immediately.
"Deliver Us From Evil" debuts today at Lodi Stadium 12, playing five times beginning at 11:35 a.m. One O'Grady victim, Nancy Sloan of Fairfield, along with Jyono and her husband Bob, will participate in a question-and-answer session after the 7:40 p.m. showing.
LODI (CA)
Lodi News-Sentinel
By Ross Farrow
News-Sentinel Staff Writer
Last updated: Friday, Nov 03, 2006 - 05:28:24 pm PST
"Deliver Us From Evil," a documentary about Oliver O'Grady, who sexually abused untold numbers of children during the seven years he was at St. Anne's Catholic Church and 22 years he served in the Stockton Diocese, was shown for the first time in Lodi today.
"It was disturbing; it's so local," said Emi Fujii, one of several Stockton residents who drove up to Lodi to see the movie, which drew 27 patrons for the 11:35 showing. "I wonder if there were victims in the audience who never came forward."
DENVER (CO)
Rocky Mountain News
By Jean Torkelson, Rocky Mountain News
November 4, 2006
The Archdiocese of Denver is preparing to pay six-figure settlements to some of the plaintiffs alleging clergy sex abuse, their attorney said Thursday.
Miami-based attorney Jeff Herman said "between five and 10" of his clients are close to finalizing mediation agreements for amounts "in the classical six-figure category."
But he said it was premature to give details because "there are many I's to dot and T's to cross" before the settlements are finalized.
Herman represents 19 clients suing the archdiocese in Denver District Court.
COLORADO SPRINGS (CO)
CNN
By Josh Levs
CNN
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (CNN) -- As evangelical Christians absorbed the news of the Rev. Ted Haggard's admission he bought methamphetamine -- but did not take the drug -- his church reeled with shock and heartache.
Haggard has led the 14,000-member New Life Church for 21 years.
"The response in our church is sadness and surprise," said the Rev. Rob Brendle, an associate pastor at New Life.
But, Brendle added, "We believe in him and we stand with him."
In a telephone interview shortly after Haggard acknowledged having contacted Mike Jones for a massage and purchased meth, Brendle said no one at the church sensed Haggard may have been up to surreptitious activities.
UNITED STATES
Guardian
Friday November 3, 2006 10:01 PM
By The Associated Press
A look at a few of the major U.S. religious figures who lost their positions following allegations of sexual misconduct.
---
James Bakker - Bakker left his PTL Ministries empire in 1987 after admitting an extramarital affair with Jessica Hahn, a former church secretary. He served five years in federal prison on fraud and conspiracy charges for illegally soliciting millions of dollars from followers.
---
Jimmy Swaggart - Resigned from the Assemblies of God in 1988 after a fellow preacher released photos of Swaggart with a prostitute. In 1991, he was stopped for a traffic violation while driving in a red-light district in California with a woman who said she was a prostitute.
ST. LOUIS (MO)
Post-Dispatch
By Tim Townsend
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
11/03/2006
St. Louis Archbishop Raymond L. Burke announced today that Pope Benedict XVI had approved the laicization, or defrocking of four St. Louis archiocesan priests.
James A. Funke, James L. Gummersbach, Bryan M. Kuchar and Michael L. Seidel were "permanently dismissed from the clerical state" by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, according to an archdiocesan statement.
COLORADO
Newsweeks
WEB EXCLUSIVE
By Andrew Murr
Nov. 3, 2006 - Denver fitness consultant and former gay escort Mike Jones came forward this week charging that he had a three-year sexual relationship for pay with megachurch pastor Ted Haggard. Haggard, a married father of five, is the leader of the 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo., and the president of the politically connectedAbuse Tracker Association of Evangelicals, which has 30 million members nationwide. On Thursday, Haggard resigned as pastor and as NAE president pending an investigation.
COLORADO SPRINGS (CO)
9NEWS.COM
COLORADO SPRINGS - Pastor Ted Haggard came out of his house Friday morning and admitted to 9NEWS he bought meth from a gay escort in Denver.
VIDEO: HAGGARD ADDRESSES ALLEGATIONS
ST. LOUIS (MO)
St. Louis Review
Four suspended priests of the archdiocese have been dismissed from the priesthood, Archbishop Raymond L. Burke has announced.
The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has laicized, or permanently dismissed from the clerical state, James A. Funke, James L. Gummersbach, Bryan M. Kuchar and Michael L. Seidel. All four men had what was determined to be credible allegations of sexual abuse of a minor against them.
Their priestly faculties had been suspended by the archdiocese and they were forbidden to function or represent themselves as priests.
A statement from the archdiocese noted that Archbishop Burke, after a careful examination of the allegations against the men, asked that the proceedings be undertaken to return the men to the lay state.
COLORADO SPRINGS (CO)
Christian News Wire
COLORADO SPRINGS, Nov. 3 /Christian Newswire/ -- Focus on the Family founder and Chairman James C. Dobson, Ph.D., issued the following statement today after learning the Rev. Ted Haggard had acknowledged some "indiscretions" involving accusations made against him by a gay prostitute in Denver:
"All of us at Focus on the Family are heartsick over the allegation, not yet confirmed, that Ted has had a private life with a homosexual for several years. We will await the outcome of this story, but the possibility that an illicit relationship has occurred is alarming to us and to millions of others.
"Ted has been my close friend and colleague for many years. He has been used mightily to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Colorado Springs and around the world. He will continue to be my friend, even if the worst allegations prove accurate. Nevertheless, sexual sin, whether homosexual or heterosexual, has serious consequences and we are extremely concerned for Ted, his family and his church.
COLORADO SPRINGS (CO)
ABC News
By CATHERINE TSAI
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. Nov 3, 2006 (AP)— Evangelist Ted Haggard admitted Friday that he bought methamphetamine and received a massage from a gay prostitute who claims he was paid for drug-fueled trysts by the outspoken gay marriage opponent.
Haggard resigned Thursday as president of theAbuse Tracker Association of Evangelicals and stepped down as leader of his Colorado megachurch while the two groups investigate the allegations.
Talking to reporters outside his house Friday, Haggard denied the sex allegations but said that he did buy meth from the man because he was curious.
"I bought it for myself but never used it," he said. "I was tempted, but I never used it."
COLORADO
Los Angeles Times
By Stephanie Simon, Times Staff Writer
10:40 AM PST, November 3, 2006
DENVER -- The president of theAbuse Tracker Assn. of Evangelicals, who resigned Thursday amid an investigation into allegations that he had repeatedly paid for sex with a male prostitute, has acknowledged some of the accusations are true, according to an official of his church.
The Rev. Ted Haggard, who regularly consulted with the White House on policy matters, is on administrative leave from his Colorado Springs, Colo., New Life Church, which is investigating the allegations.
New Life's acting pastor said Haggard had acknowledged some of the accusations were true, according to the Associated Press. In an e-mail to congregants, Ross Parsley wrote that the church's four-member board of overseers had met with Haggard.
"It is important for you to know that he confessed to the overseers that some of the accusations against him are true. He has willingly and humbly submitted to the authority of the board of overseers, and will remain on administrative leave during the course of the investigation," the e-mail stated.
A copy was obtained by KMGH-TV in Denver.
COLORADO
Time
By RITA HEALY/DENVER
Posted Friday, Nov. 03, 2006
"I did not have a homosexual relationship with a man in Denver," Ted Haggard said with a calm specificity during an interview with a Denver TV reporter on Wednesday night as controversy broke around him. " I am steady with my wife. I'm faithful to my wife." Nevertheless, the pastor of one of the most prominent mega-churches in the country — and one of President George W. Bush's advisors on evangelical issues — has taken a leave of absence from his own 14,000-member New Life Church and temporarily resigned as president of the 30-million-memberAbuse Tracker Association of Evangelicals, which represents more than 45,000 evangelical churches across the U.S., after Mike Jones, a gay massage therapist — and self described professional male escort in Denver — told local radio and TV stations that he sold Haggard gay sex for three years. Jones also said that Haggard used drugs with him. Haggard was one of Time's 25 Most Important Evangelicals in 2005. Last night, New Life Church's acting senior pastor Ross Parsley told Denver's KTTV News that Haggard had confessed to some of the alleged indiscretions. In a statement released Thursday, Haggard said, "I will seek both spiritual advice and guidance."
In an interview with Time, Jones described the alleged relationship as "strictly sex" and "no emotions." He says the encounters occurred "about once a month." Jones says that Haggard "never brought up anything about what he did for a living. He always went by the name Art. The only thing he brought up about his personal life was that he was married. He never talked about the church, nothing. He said he was from Kansas City." Jones says he did not discover who "Art" was for "about two and a half years." Then, he says, "one time I was watching the History Channel and they were doing a show on the antichrist, and lo and behold his face popped up as an expert. I went, omigod it's Art, that's the guy I'm seeing." Jones says he decided to expose Haggard because of the alleged hypocrisy. "Here's a guy who put himself on a really high pedestal for millions and millions of followers, and he let them down. And his family." He adds, "I could have blackmailed him. God, I could use the money. I could have blackmailed him; that would have been really easy to do. But I didn't. So no, there's no backing behind me at all. I came out on my own." The Rocky Mountain News says that Jones appeared in bankruptcy court last year and told the judge he's an unemployed fitness consultant. Haggard claims not to know who Jones is. "What did you say his name is again?" he asked a reporter at one point.
COLORADO
Rocky Mountain News
By Rocky Mountain News
November 3, 2006
Embattled minister Ted Haggard this morning admitted receiving a massage from the Denver man who claims to have exchanged sex for money with the Colorado Springs church leader for three years.
Haggard was driving out of his home with his wife Gayle and three of his five children when he gave a brief interview to a gathering of reporters.
Haggard stepped down Thursday as president of theAbuse Tracker Association of Evangelicals and as pastor of the 14,000-member New Life Church of Colorado Springs after Michael Jones, 49, said he had been having paid sex with Haggard once a month for three years and helped provided him with methamphetamine.
This morning, Haggard said he had never had sex with Jones but said he did buy methamphetamine out of curiosity.
Haggard said he never consumed it but threw it away.
COLORADO
The New York Times
By NEELA BANERJEE
Published: November 3, 2006
The Rev. Ted Haggard, the former president of theAbuse Tracker Association of Evangelicals and one of the nation’s most influential Christian leaders, has conceded that some of the accusations that led him to resign are true, a church official said today.
Ted Haggard, the former president of the U.S.Abuse Tracker Association of Evangelicals, resigned on Thursday after being accused of having a sexual relationship with a male escort.
In an e-mail message sent to parishioners and obtained by local news media, Ross Parsley, the acting pastor of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo., said, “It is important for you to know that he confessed to the overseers that some of the accusations against him are true.”
Mr. Haggard, 50, resigned from the national association and stepped aside as head pastor of the 14,000 member New Life Church on Thursday, one day after a former male prostitute in Denver said in television and radio interviews that he had had a three-year sexual relationship with Mr. Haggard.
CHARLESTON (SC)
WCBD
Thursday, Nov 02, 2006 - 04:23 PM
Charleston...it's known as the Holy City. Yet, Ann Brentwood says it holds many sins. Sins Catholic priests commit against young children. Brentwood said, "We have 10-15 victims here now and we believe there's enough of a core group to begin a support group." Brentwood cordinates SNAP or the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
SNAP aims to help help victims and stop priest molestation. Brentwood said, "There are many perpetrators listed from this diocese and pleasantly surprised to see some were in fact convicted." A bishop accountability website lists accused priests across the nation. The Charleston, South Carolina Diocese names 11 publicly accused priests. Five convicted, two charged and four accused. Yet, the website only includes priests whose victims came forward. Brentwood believes there are many priests not included on the site.
Brentwood said, "We're talking about lots of oral sex, sodomy, rape. We need to start calling it that." She said priests start by getting children alone, then gain the child's trust. Brentwood knows. She says her priest sexually assaulted her from the age of six to ten.
PENNSYLVANIA
Tribune-Review
By Bob Stiles
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, November 3, 2006
A Roman Catholic priest accused of asking a man for sexual favors on a Greensburg street waived his right to a preliminary hearing Thursday.
The Rev. Stephen Thomas Forish, 61, of McAdoo, Schuylkill County, a priest of the Diocese of Allentown and a psychologist who practiced in Armstrong County, had been scheduled to appear yesterday before District Judge James Albert, of Greensburg, on charges of harassment and disorderly conduct.
State police Cpl. Gregory Sullenberger, of the Greensburg barracks, confirmed yesterday that Forish had reached a plea agreement with prosecutors, but he declined to reveal the terms. Sullenberger also wouldn't say what Forish allegedly said, but confirmed the alleged victim is a man.
ALLENTOWN (PA)
The Express-Times
Friday, November 03, 206
A Diocese of Allentown priest accused of asking a man for sexual favors on a western Pennsylvania street waived his right to a preliminary hearing Thursday.
Monsignor Stephen Thomas Forish, 61, of McAdoo, Schuylkill County, a diocesan priest and a psychologist who practiced in Armstrong County, appeared before District Judge James Albert of Greensburg, Pa., on charges of harassment and disorderly conduct.
State police Cpl. Gregory Sullenberger, of the Greensburg barracks, confirmed Thursday that Forish had reached a plea agreement with prosecutors, but he declined to reveal the terms. Sullenberger wouldn't say what Forish allegedly said to merit the charges.
Forish in 1996 was acquitted of charges he offered a man money in exchange for sex on a Bethlehem street corner.
PENNSYLVANIA
WPXI
KITTANNING, Pa. -- A Catholic priest with a tainted past went on to become a psychologist.
Now he is accused of sexual misconduct.
In court Thursday afternoon, psychologist Stephen Forish waived his right to a preliminary hearing and the case will now go to trial.
A patient who trusted him broke her silence only to Target 11.
The former patient agreed to talk Target 11 as long as her identity was concealed.
The woman said she's angry and upset, because she feels betrayed by the man she trusted to help her with her fears and anxieties.
UNITED STATES
Voice of the Faithful
11/1/06 - America magazine is the publication of the Jesuits in the United States. It has a circulation of about 45,000 in what is considered an educated readership of clerics, theologians, and active laity. Many Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) members like myself may be subscribers, whether in quite that elevated company or not.
It is therefore disheartening to learn that America just rejected an advertisement for VOTF’s Accountability petition to bishops that seeks full funding of the sexual abuse “causes and context” study, the naming of all credibly accused priests, and the establishment of effective finance councils with public release of financial reports in every parish. This rejection raises some interesting questions, especially in light of editorial decisions by America in its recent coverage of statutes of limitations reform.
Many may remember that Jesuit editor Fr. Thomas Reese was essentially removed in 2005 under pressure from American bishops upset over the magazine’s openness to nuanced coverage of subjects like communion for political figures and homosexuality. Whatever the intricacies of resignation/removal strategies, he was out. So, the new management walks a fine line in the culture wars among liberals and conservatives, or orthodox and heterodox, if you prefer, and all shades in between. It is not an enviable position to be in. Some balancing may have been in order, but what is their direction, since more head-rolling, whether voluntary or forced, is certainly unpalatable.
COLORADO
Denver Post
By Felisa Cardona
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated:11/02/2006 11:46:04 PM MST
By the time Michael Forest Jones was 13 years old, he knew he could use his looks and his body to his advantage.
The 49-year-old gay man started working as an escort - he prefers that term to prostitute - when he was 25. He made more than $200 from clients who answered his ad for a massage.
"People thought I was good-looking, with a nice body," Jones said. "It just slowly transpired, and I decided to try it."
The muscular, blue-eyed Jones posted ads offering a massage on Rentboy.com and in gay publications. He claims that the Rev. Ted Haggard - known to him, Jones says, as "Art" until recently - contacted him three years ago after reading one of his ads.
COLORADO
Denver Post
By Karen E. Crummy and Kevin Simpson
Denver Post Staff Writers
Article Last Updated:11/02/2006 11:30:28 PM MST
Evangelical pastor Ted Haggard is only alleged to have had a three-year sexual relationship with a male prostitute, but in politics, even a hint of something like that can be enough to sink a campaign.
The potential scandal may be enough to affect Tuesday's vote on the state constitutional ban on gay marriage or the domestic-partnerships initiative, some political watchers say. But who might benefit is anybody's guess.
Especially since gay marriage and benefits are usually bedrock issues and not prone to wavering opinions.
COLORADO
Denver Post
By Erin Emery
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated:11/02/2006 11:34:08 PM MST
Colorado Springs - Frank Whitworth has fought for gay rights in Colorado Springs since the early 1990s, and he hopes Colorado Springs takes a lesson from a male prostitute's allegation that he had a long-standing sexual relationship with New Life Church pastor Ted Haggard.
"I hope that instead of vilifying Ted, that the community will take a lesson that we should lighten up and not condemn people for who they are," said Whitworth, who founded Ground Zero when voters in the state passed Amendment 2, which prohibited municipalities from passing laws that protected gays. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled the law was unconstitutional.
Across Colorado Springs on Thursday, people were stunned by allegations made against Haggard, one of the community's most prominent leaders.
COLORADO
Los Angeles Times
By Stephanie Simon, Times Staff Writer
November 3, 2006
DENVER — The president of theAbuse Tracker Assn. of Evangelicals resigned Thursday after his Colorado Springs, Colo., mega-church opened an investigation into allegations that he had repeatedly paid for sex with a male prostitute.
The Rev. Ted Haggard, who regularly consults with the White House on policy matters, told a Denver television station that he "never had a gay relationship with anybody" and had been faithful to his wife of 28 years. ...
A lengthy profile in Harper's magazine — which is quoted approvingly on Haggard's website — recounts how he built New Life Church in part by hanging out at gay bars and inviting the patrons to come to his sermons and be saved.
COLORADO
Colorado Springs Gazette
By PAUL ASAY and DEEDEE CORRELL THE GAZETTE
The Rev. Ted Haggard resigned Thursday as president of theAbuse Tracker Association of Evangelicals after a male escort said Haggard paid him for sex over a three-year period.
Haggard, senior pastor of the 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs, also put himself on administrative leave from New Life while a panel of outside church leaders investigates the accusations.
Haggard denied the allegations made by Denver resident Mike Jones, and so far no conclusive evidence has verififed the claims. But KKTV reported late Thursday that acting senior pastor Ross Parsley said Haggard has admitted to some of the indiscretions. He did not say what Haggard admitted to, the station said.
“There has been some admission of indiscretion, not admission to all of the material that has been discussed. But there is an admission of some guilt,” Parsley told the Colorado Springs station.
COLORADO
The Raw Story
Mike Sheehan
Published: Friday November 3, 2006
The leader of an influential Christian 'megachurch' who has ties to the White House has resigned his authority amid allegations that he had used drugs and had a homosexual affair with a male prostitute.
The Rev. Ted Haggard, who until Thursday was President of theAbuse Tracker Association of Evangelicals, has apparently admitted to some of the claims made by Mike Jones, a bodybuilder and personal trainer based in Denver, Colorado.
Jones claimed Wednesday on a Colorado radio talk show that he'd had a sexual affair with a prominent pastor, but did not give names at the time. Jones and Haggard were later identified by a Denver TV news station.
COLORADO
The Washington Post
By RACHEL ZOLL
The Associated Press
Friday, November 3, 2006; 4:30 AM
-- The head of theAbuse Tracker Association of Evangelicals, who has stepped down while his church investigates a claim he paid a man for sex, had been working to broaden the evangelical agenda, raising the profile of the group but also drawing criticism from old guard leaders.
The Rev. Ted Haggard of Colorado had continued to fight abortion and acceptance of gay relationships in his three years as association president, recently championing a proposed ban on same-sex marriage on his home state's ballot. But he also prioritized anti-poverty work and environmental activism. The association recently started a project called "Re:Vision," meant to advance a "broad biblical agenda" to include improving health care and ending racism.
COLORADO SPRINGS (CO)
WEAR
November 03, 2006 06:21 EST
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) -- Some members of Ted Haggard's Colorado church say the allegations can't be true.
One church member calls the claims about gay sex and drugs "ridiculous." E.J. Cox says "people are always saying stuff about Pastor Ted."
Another New Life church member, Brian Boals, says "it's political, right before the elections."
COLORADO
The Washington Times
Ted Haggard, prominent Colorado pastor and rising conservative political star, has stepped away from church duties amid gay sex charges.
Haggard, head of the 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo., was accused of paying a gay prostitute for sex, the Denver Post reported Friday.
Saying he could not continue to minister in the face of such accusations, Haggard, 50, placed himself of administrative leave at his church and resigned as president of theAbuse Tracker Association of Evangelicals.
In interviews with the Post and others, Michael Forest Jones, 49, of Denver alleged he had sex with Haggard regularly over a 3-year period and shared drugs with him. Haggard, the father of five, denied the charges.
COLORADO SPRINGS (CO)
The Times and Democrat
By CATHERINE TSAI
Friday, November 03, 2006
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The president of theAbuse Tracker Association of Evangelicals, an outspoken opponent of gay marriage, has given up his post while a church panel investigates allegations he paid a man for sex.
The Rev. Ted Haggard resigned as president of the 30 million-member association Thursday after being accused of paying the man for monthly trysts over the past three years.
COLORADO SPRINGS (CO)
KFOX
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- There are reports of an admission in an alleged gay sex scandal involving an evangelical leader.
The Rev. Ted Haggard has stepped down as head of theAbuse Tracker Association of Evangelicals amid accusations that he regularly had sex and did drugs with a gay man he met over the Internet.
Haggard also stepped down as head of his 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo., pending an investigation by a church panel.
Haggard, a married father of five, told KUSA-TV in Denver that he "never had a gay relationship with anybody" and is faithful to his wife.
But the acting senior pastor at New Life told a Colorado Springs television station that Haggard has admitted that some of the accusations are true. The Rev. Ross Parsley didn't say which ones.
CARLISLE (PA)
phillyburbs.com
The Associated Press
CARLISLE, Pa. - A former minister was convicted in a retrial on charges that he molested a 10-year-old niece while staying with her family nearly a decade ago.
Lane Hurley, 56, of Norfolk, Va., buried his face in his hands and moaned as a Cumberland County jury convicted him Thursday night of aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault, corruption of minors and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse.
The jury deliberated two hours following Hurley's second trial in three years on charges that he sexually abused the girl while living with her family in Dickinson Township in the summer of 1997.
Hurley will face a minimum of 5 years in state prison when sentenced next month. After the jury delivered its verdict, Judge J. Wesley Oler Jr. doubled Hurley's bail to $300,000, ordered him to surrender his passport and barred him from having contact with children other than his 5-year-old daughter.
CHARLESTON (SC)
ABC News 4
Thursday November 02, 2006 5:27pm Reporter: Sarah DeMarco
Charleston, SC - Victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church are being urged to come forward and confront the Diocese of Charleston. Now a national organization of survivors is asking the Bishop of Charleston to do more about his accused clergy.
Ann Brentwood spent nearly 50 years thinking she did something wrong. Around age 6, she was abused for the first time by a Priest. The emotions still haunt her. "Anger. I just kept seeing this happen over and over again and a strong desire to do something to stop it," says Brentwood.
She's now starting Charleston's first SNAP chapter, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, hoping victims will be able to clear their minds of a secret they've kept inside for years. "I think they're ashamed. They do believe it was their fault. They see by past experience in the Church that when they do come forward, often times they're again, not believed, sometimes discredited," says Brentwood. She says the Catholic Church has admitted to having more than 6,000 abusive priests. Here in Charleston, the Diocese of Charleston has turned the names of a total of 26 clergy members over to the Solicitor's Office. All with allegations of sexual abuse against them.
DENVER (CO)
Summit Daily News
BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
November 2, 2006
DENVER - The Denver Roman Catholic Archdiocese says it still hopes to reach settlements with more than two dozen people who say they were molested or sexually assaulted by clergy.
Jeanette DeMelo, spokeswoman for the archdiocese, said Wednesday that some settlement papers were signed and other deals are still pending.
"Some are still being worked out, but we're pretty sure we'll have a positive outcome with those, so we want to wait and see," she said. "The archdiocese is very pleased this approach we proposed in goodwill is succeeding to help some of those people who have come forward."
DENVER (CO)
Denver Post
By Howard Pankratz
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated:11/02/2006 10:14:37 PM MST
Five organizations demanded Thursday that Denver Roman Catholic Archbishop Charles Chaput release all records about sexually abusive priests and church employees who may have covered up the priests' actions.
But the archdiocese rejected the demands, contained in a letter and made at a Denver news conference, saying the files are confidential.
"Those are personnel files. Those are protected. We want to protect the rights of everyone involved in this," said Jeanette DeMelo, spokeswoman for the archdiocese.
On Wednesday, the Denver Archdiocese and lawyers who have filed suits alleging sex abuse by clergy on behalf of roughly 30 plaintiffs announced that as many as one-third have agreed to out-of-court settlements with the archdiocese or are close to doing so.
BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe
By Charles A. Radin, Globe Staff | November 3, 2006
When he died 2 1/2 years ago, the Rev. Robert W. Bullock was widely known as a leader of the priests who called on Cardinal Bernard F. Law to resign because of his mishandling of cases of sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy.
But as Bullock's colleagues and friends said yesterday at the opening at Boston College of an archive of Bullock's sermons, correspondence, articles, and photographs, the late priest's forthright stand in the abuse crisis was just the last in a lifetime of occasions when he stood up for truth-telling, especially in the church he loved.
Bullock, they said, backed young priests who were under pressure for their anti-Vietnam War activism. He was instrumental in getting Cardinal Richard J . Cushing to affirm that Catholics could be conscientious objectors.
He delved deeply into the Holocaust and the roots of Christian anti-Semitism long before such explorations became popular.
To those who knew him, it was no surprise that Bullock was as outraged over the sexual-abuse scandal as he was about the Holocaust.
FLORIDA
Law.com
Rebecca Riddick
Daily Business Review
November 3, 2006
In David Roth and Gerald Richman, legal observers agree that disgraced former congressman Mark Foley has retained two of the most capable lawyers in Palm Beach County, Fla., to guide him through an obstacle course of possible criminal and civil liability that may arise from his conduct with young congressional pages.
But at the same time, other South Florida attorneys who earn their livings trying to shield clients from jail terms and financial penalties wonder whether Foley and his advisers made the right choice by going public with the news that the former lawmaker is an alcoholic who was abused as a child.
While Foley remains secluded in an alcohol treatment center in Arizona, federal and state are continuing investigations into possible criminal conduct.
Investigators are looking into how far communications between the former Republican lawmaker and teenage former congressional pages proceeded and whether Foley solicited sexual contact with any minors, regardless of whether actual physical contact was made.
CANADA
London Free Press
By CP
The Roman Catholic bishop of London says his predecessor let a pedophile priest continue ministering despite a sexual abuse complaint in 1989.
Bishop Ronald Fabbro says it wasn't until 1993, when another victim complained to the diocese, that the priest was forced to retire.
Fabbro says Charles Sylvestre should have been pulled out of ministry after John Sherlock learned of the 1989 allegation.
DAVENPORT (IA)
Quad-City Times
By Deirdre Cox Baker | Friday, November 03, 2006
Incoming Bishop Martin Amos, newly chosen as the eighth man to hold that title with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport, has asked for a low-key installation service later this month, and the diocese is poised to deliver just that.
“No money is set aside for this event. All our assets are currently under the protection of the bankruptcy court,” diocese spokesman David Montgomery said Thursday.
A special collection is being taken throughout the church’s 22-county eastern Iowa region to pay for the pared-down celebration since the diocese declared bankruptcy last month. That was two days before the Vatican announced the appointment of Amos and that it had accepted the retirement of Bishop William Franklin.
COLORADO
Gay.com
published Thursday, November 2, 2006
The president of the 30-million-memberAbuse Tracker Association of Evangelicals resigned his post and took leave from his church Thursday, one day after a gay male escort claimed having a three-year sexual relationship with him, the Associated Press reported.
Ted Haggard, one of America's leading Christian-right figures, is the founder and senior pastor of the 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs.
COLORADO
AlterNet
UPDATE at bottom...
Video has been removed at request of the station... you can still watch it HERE.
A male prostitute says that he sold sex to the president of theAbuse Tracker Association of Evangelicals for 3 years:
A gay man and admitted male escort claims he has had an ongoing sexual relationship with a well-known Evangelical pastor from Colorado Springs.
Mike Jones told '9 Wants to Know' Investigative Reporter Paula Woodward he has had a "sexual business" relationship with Pastor Ted Haggard for the past three years.
Haggard is the founder and senior leader of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs. The church has 14,000 members.
[AMERICAblog]
Haggard was named one of America's 25 most influential evangelicals by Time Magazine. He directs the 30-million memberAbuse Tracker Association of Evangelicals, the largest evangelical association in America.
Haggard denies the allegations and speculates that these revelations have something to do with his support of an anti-gay marriage ballot iniative in Colorado.
As Haggard said in the documentary Jesus Camp, "If the evangelicals vote, they determine the election."
COLORADO SPRINGS (CO)
Rocky Mountain News
November 2, 2006
COLORADO SPRINGS — The Rev. Ted Haggard stepped aside as senior pastor of the 14,000-member New Life Church and resigned today as president of theAbuse Tracker Association of Evangelicals amid allegations by a former gay male escort that the two had a three-year sexual relationship.
The church issued a statement saying Haggard "could not continue to minister under the cloud created by the accusations made on Denver talk radio this morning."
Haggard has said that the escort is lying.
COLORADO SPRINGS (CO)
U.S. Newswire
COLORADO SPRINGS. Nov. 2 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Focus on the Family founder and Chairman James C. Dobson, Ph.D., issued the following statement today addressing an allegation by a male prostitute in Denver that Ted Haggard was one of his clients:
"It is unconscionable that the legitimate news media would report a rumor like this based on nothing but one man's accusation. Ted Haggard is a friend of mine and it appears someone is trying to damage his reputation as a way of influencing the outcome of Tuesday's election -- especially the vote on Colorado's marriage-protection amendment -- which Ted strongly supports.
COLORADO
The Gazette
November 02, 2006
By PAUL ASAY and DEEDEE CORRELL THE GAZETTE
The Rev. Ted Haggard, senior pastor at New Life Church, resigned today as president of the 30-million-memberAbuse Tracker Association of Evangelicals, following allegations he paid a Denver man for sex over the last three years.
He also placed himself on administrative leave from New Life Church, pending an investigation of his accuser’s claims, a move church officials said is standard after allegations of impropriety.
He said in a statement this afternoon that he could “not continue to minister under the cloud created by the accusations made on Denver talk radio this morning.”
Several religious leaders quickly rallied behind Haggard.
COLORADO
Editor & Publisher
By Anna Crane
Published: November 02, 2006 3:00 PM ET updated 7:45 PM ET
NEW YORK Yesterday, Denver area residents tuned to radio or TV started hearing about allegations by self-proclaimed male escort Mike Jones, suggesting that he had a sexual business relationship with nationally known Colorado Springs evangelical leader Rev. Ted Haggard for three years. Today, area newspapers debated how to cover the story.
Late today, Haggard ended the caution when he stepped down.
The story broke Wednesday morning when Jones went on air at a Denver radio station to expose his alleged relationship with the married and anti-gay rights Haggard. That evening, Denver NBC affiliate KUSA-TV 9News ran an interview with Haggard.
Haggard, founder of the 14,000-member New Life Church, has denied the accusations but said in a statement released by the church today that he could "not continue to minister under the cloud created by accusations made on Denver talk radio this morning." He has placed himself on administrative leave.
At first, no factual evidence of any relationship between the two men surfaced -- although Jones claimed to have phone messages and other evidence. That made the story difficult to cover, said Jeff Thomas, editor of The Gazette in Colorado Springs, Colo.
COLORADO
KKTV
Updated: 3:59 PM Nov 2, 2006
KKTV
Rev. Ted Haggard, Senior Pastor of New Life Church, said Thursday that he could "not continue to minister under the cloud created by the accusations made on Denver talk radio this morning."
A gay man and admitted male escort claims he has had an ongoing sexual relationship with Haggard. Mike Jones came forward on Denver talk radio saying he has had a "sexual business" relationship with Pastor Ted Haggard for the past three years.
Haggard has placed himself on administrative leave, pending investigation, spiritual counsel, and a decision by the church's board of overseers. He has also resigned as the president of theAbuse Tracker Association of Evangelicals, an organization that represents millions of people.
COLORADO
beliefnet
By Adelle M. Banks
Religion News Service
Colleagues of Ted Haggard, the president of theAbuse Tracker Association of Evangelicals, are dismissing claims that he has been involved in a sexual relationship with a gay Denver man.
Male escort Mike Jones told Denver's KUSA-TV on Wednesday (Nov. 1) that Haggard had paid him for sex for the last three years.
"People may look at me and what I've done as immoral but I think I had to do the moral thing in my mind and that is expose someone who is preaching one thing but doing the opposite behind everybody's back," Jones told the TV station in an interview.
COLORADO
365Gay.com
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
November 2, 2006 - 3:00 pm ET
(Denver, Colorado) A Denver male hustler claims to have had a pay-for-play relationship for several years with evangelist Ted Haggard - one of the leaders of the move to ban same-sex marriage in Colorado.
Mike Jones first made the revelation to television station KUSA and then repeated them on a Denver radio talk show.
Haggard, whose TV program is watched by millions across the country is the senior pastor at the 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs and is president of the multimillion- memberAbuse Tracker Association of Evangelicals. Haggard denies Jones' allegations but a leader of the mega-church said Thursday the charges are being investigated.
According to Jones he had a three-year sexual business relationship with Haggard.
COLORADO
365Gay.com
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
November 2, 2006 - 7:00 pm ET
(Denver, Colorado) Evangelist Ted Haggard, one of the leaders of a proposed amendment to ban same-sex marriage in Colorado, stepped down from the ministry of his 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs after a male escort alleged he had a three year pay-for-sex affair with Haggard.
Haggard denies the affair, but in an afternoon news conference said that he was stepping down to allow church elders to conduct an investigation. Haggard also said he was voluntarily resigning as president of the multimillion- memberAbuse Tracker Association of Evangelicals.
But while Haggard denies having a gay affair, the man who alleges the pastor paid him for sex is sticking by his statements.
COLORADO SPRINGS (CO)
TheDenverChannel.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
From New Life Church
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Rev. Ted Haggard, Senior Pastor of New Life Church, stated today that he could "not continue to minister under the cloud created by the accusations made on Denver talk radio this morning." He, therefore, placed himself on administrative leave, pending investigation, spiritual counsel, and a decision by the church's board of overseers. Pastor Haggard said, "I am voluntarily stepping aside from leadership so that the overseer process can be allowed to proceed with integrity. I hope to be able to discuss this matter in more detail at a later date. In the interim, I will seek both spiritual advice and guidance."
Under the governing structure of New Life Church, there is a board of overseers consisting of four senior pastors of other congregations. Those overseers have authority to conduct an inquiry, to discipline the senior pastor, to remove him from his position, or to restore him to ministry. The overseers of New Life Church are: Rev. Larry Stockstill, Senior Pastor of Bethany World Prayer Center, in Baker, Louisiana; Rev. Mark Cowart, Senior Pastor of Church For All Nations in Colorado Springs; Rev. Tim Ralph, Senior Pastor of New Covenant Fellowship in Larkspur, Colorado; and Rev. Michael Ware, Senior Pastor of Victory Church in Westminister, Colorado.
COLORADO
Denver Post
By Eric Gorski, Felisa Cardona and Manny Gonzales
Denver Post Staff Writers
Article Last Updated:11/02/2006 05:15:40 PM MST
Ted Haggard (Post file)Ted Haggard, one of the most prominent evangelical pastors in the nation, resigned today as president of theAbuse Tracker Association of Evangelicals amid allegations that he carried on a three-year sexual relationship with a male prostitute.
Haggard, founder of the 14,000-member New Life Church, has denied the accusations but said in a statement released by the church today that he could "not continue to minister under the cloud created by accusations made on Denver talk radio this morning."
He has placed himself on administrative leave pending investigation, spiritual counsel and a decision by the church's board of overseers, the church's legal counsel said. Haggard founded the church in 1985.
"I am voluntarialy stepping aside from leadership so that the overseer process can be allowed to proceed with integrity. I hope to be able to discuss this matter in more detail at a later date," Haggard's statement said.
The former prostitute, Mike Jones, 49, of Denver, went public with the accusations on Tuesday, saying he felt compelled to do so because he believes Haggard, a strong opponent of same-sex unions, has been hypocritical. Haggard is married with five children.
COLORADO
First Coast News
By KUSA-TV
DENVER, CO -- A gay man and admitted male escort claims he has had an ongoing sexual relationship with a well-known Evangelical pastor from Colorado Springs.
Mike Jones told 9 Wants to Know Investigative Reporter Paula Woodward he has had a "sexual business" relationship with Pastor Ted Haggard for the past three years.
Haggard is the founder and senior leader of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs. The church has 14,000 members. He is also president of theAbuse Tracker Association of Evangelicals, an organization that represents millions of people.
Haggard is married with five children and an outspoken critic of gay marriage. Jones broke his silence Wednesday morning on talk radio.
In an exclusive interview Wednesday night, Haggard denied the claims and told 9NEWS he is prepared for his own church to investigate them.
"I did not have a homosexual relationship with a man in Denver," said Haggard. "I am steady with my wife. I'm faithful to my wife."
COLORADO
Christianity Today
by Collin Hansen | posted 11/02/2006 06:04PM
Ted Haggard resigned Thursday afternoon as president of theAbuse Tracker Association of Evangelicals, amid allegations that surfaced Wednesday about involvement with a male prostitute. Haggard also placed himself on administrative leave as senior pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, pending a church investigation.
Denver TV station KUSA aired a segment Wednesday night where Mike Jones said Haggard maintained a "sexual business" relationship with him over three years. Jones discussed the relationship on radio station KHOW Wednesday morning, but identified him only as a national religious leader rather than by name.
Reached outside his home, Haggard told KUSA, "I’ve never had an affair with anybody. I am steady with my wife. I am faithful with my wife."
On Wednesday afternoon, when Haggard announced he had resigned as NAE president, he said he would seek spiritual counsel and entrust New Life Church’s board of overseers to conduct an investigation.
Before hearing word Haggard had resigned from NAE, evangelical leaders criticized Colorado media for publishing unverified reports based only on the prostitute.
COLORADO SPRINGS (CO)
Ledger-Enquirer
CATHERINE TSAI
Associated Press
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The leader of the 30 million-memberAbuse Tracker Association of Evangelicals, a vocal opponent of the drive for same-sex marriage, resigned Thursday after being accused of paying for sex with a man in monthly trysts over the past three years.
The Rev. Ted Haggard also stepped aside as head of his 14,000-member New Life Church while a church panel investigates, saying he could "not continue to minister under the cloud created by the accusations."
The investigation came after a 49-year-old man told a Denver radio station that Haggard paid him to have sex.
Haggard, a married father of five, denied the allegations in an interview with KUSA-TV late Wednesday: "Never had a gay relationship with anybody, and I'm steady with my wife, I'm faithful to my wife."
In a written statement, Haggard said: "I am voluntarily stepping aside from leadership so that the overseer process can be allowed to proceed with integrity. I hope to be able to discuss this matter in more detail at a later date. In the interim, I will seek both spiritual advice and guidance."
COLORADO
Alaska Report
November 2nd, 2006
Denver, Colorado - Republican Pastor Ted Haggard has resigned as president of theAbuse Tracker Association of Evangelicals after a male escort claimed he has been having a sexual relationship with the pastor for the past three years.
A statement from the New Life Church says Pastor Ted Haggard resigned as president of theAbuse Tracker Association of Evangelicals Thursday and put himself on leave from his church.
Haggard is the founder and senior leader of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs. The church has 14,000 members.
The statement says Haggard could "not continue to minister under the cloud created by the accusations."
Mike Jones, a gay man and admitted male escort, said on talk radio Wednesday he and Haggard had been in a "sexual business" relationship for the past three years.
COLORADO SPRINGS (CO)
MSNBC
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Rev. Ted Haggard stepped down as president of the influentialAbuse Tracker Association of Evangelicals on Thursday after being accused of carrying on an affair with a gay man.
Haggard also stepped down as head of his 14,000-member New Life Church pending an investigation by a church panel, saying he could "not continue to minister under the cloud created by the accusations."
The investigation came after a 49-year-old man told a Denver radio station that Haggard paid him to have sex.
BALTIMORE (MD)
The Examiner
Ron Cassie, The Examiner
Nov 2, 2006 5:00 AM
BALTIMORE - A half-dozen middle-aged men from the Greater Baltimore Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests and supporters from the Greater Baltimore Voice of the Faithful held a small rally Wednesday calling “upon Cardinal [William] Keeler to admit that the Archdiocese of Baltimore covered up for predator priests at the expense of its children.”
Keeler — who took over the Archdiocese in 1989, long after the most recent charges of abuse — has apologized publicly for the past abusive priests’ behavior. However, the victims repeated several times, he has not offered an apology for the Archdiocese’s earlier role in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s in failing to address the issue openly and honestly.
Francis Bacon, a retired businessman who graduated from Calvert Hall in 1952, said he didn’t even tell his wife what had happened until after they had been married for 28 years. An active member of his St. Francis of Assisi parish in north Baltimore, he’s forgiven the priest whom he said locked him in a classroom and gym equipment room — in the very same building where the Archdiocese now has its headquarters at 320 Cathedral St.
CANADA
Canada.com
Trevor Wilhelm, CanWest News Service; Windsor Star
Published: Thursday, November 02, 2006
WINDSOR, Ont. - A former bishop in southwestern Ontario allowed a pedophile priest to continue ministering despite a complaint of sexual abuse in 1989, says the current bishop of the London diocese.
Charles Sylvestre should've been pulled out of public ministry after then-bishop John Sherlock learned of the allegation involving a young girl, Ronald Fabbro said.
Instead, Sylvestre was sent briefly for alcohol abuse counselling and put back to work ministering to Roman Catholics in the diocese, which covers the counties Middlesex, Elgin, Norfolk, Oxford, Perth, Huron, Lambton, Kent, and Essex.
It wasn't until 1993, when another of Sylvestre's victims complained to the diocese that Sherlock forced the priest to retire, Fabbro revealed for the first time during an interview with the Windsor Star.
AUSTRALIA
The Courier Mail
Mark Oberhardt
November 02, 2006 11:00pm
AN Anglican priest accused of molesting a teenage boy 30 years ago asked his replacement in the parish to ignore rumours about his behaviour, a court heard.
The evidence came from bishop of the western region, Robert Nolan, one of two high-ranking Anglican priests who gave evidence yesterday in the trial of Robert Francis Sharwood, the former curate of St Matthews church at Sherwood, in Brisbane's west.
Sharwood, now 62, is on trial for child-sex offences allegedly committed between 1974 and 1976.
He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of indecent assault, carnal knowledge against the order of nature, permitting carnal knowledge against the order of nature, and gross indecency.
Before evidence was called Judge Fleur Kingham told the jury that Sharwood had pleaded guilty previously to seven counts of indecent assault involving the same complainant.
The Crown alleges that from 1974 to 1976 Sharwood had a sexual relationship with the boy that developed through their mutual love of music.
NEW ZEALAND
Sydney Morning Herald
November 2, 2006 - 10:29AM
Two Catholic clergy extradited from Australia to face child sex charges have been bailed to appear in court early next year in New Zealand.
In Christchurch District Court, Judge David Saunders granted the bail without plea and allowed a change of address next week as part of their bail terms.
Their address on bail remains suppressed, though it is known they will remain in New Zealand.
SAN DIEGO (CA)
sandiego.com
Posted: 11/01/2006 at 11:50:17 PM PST
Updated: 11/01/2006 at 11:50:16 PM PST
by Welton Jones
A robed priest, lighted softly in front of stained-glass windows, delivers a homily as the opening scene of John Patrick Shanley’s drama “Doubt,” now at the Civic Theatre, and nearly the first words are:
“Last year, when President Kennedy was assassinated, we all...”
Now that’s efficient play-writing. The period is established exactly with one phrase. Each part of Shanley’s work is like that. Consider the movie “Moonstruck”: One of the most lyrical screenplays ever written creates every character with a mere flick of the brush, yet they tend to dwell forever in memory.
Here, Shanley has turned his formidable efficiency on the anguish of a world ruled by a patriarchal priesthood pledged to celibacy yet humanly vulnerable to misbehavior.
FLORIDA
Bradenton Herald
BRIAN SKOLOFF
Associated Press
WEST PALM BEACH - Former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley is remaining in treatment for alcoholism beyond his initial 30-day stay, his attorney said Wednesday.
Foley checked into a 30-day treatment program at the Sierra Tucson center in Catalina, Ariz., near Tucson, on Oct. 1. It was not immediately clear how long Foley would remain there.
"I can't say any information other than he's still there," Foley's civil attorney, Gerald Richman, told The Associated Press.
The Florida Republican resigned from Congress in September after he was confronted with sexually explicit computer messages he had sent to male teenage congressional pages. His attorneys have since said that Foley is gay, suffers from alcohol addiction and was molested by a Catholic priest as a teenage altar boy.
The Rev. Anthony Mercieca, who has retired to the island nation of Malta, has admitted having inappropriate encounters with Foley, including massaging him in the nude and skinny-dipping together. He denies ever having sex with Foley. Church officials are investigating whether Mercieca also had inappropriate contact with others.
DALLAS (TX)
WFAA
By JOE SIMNACHER / The Dallas Morning News
A suspended Catholic priest whose years of assistance to poor immigrants was tainted by allegations of financial and sexual misconduct has died.
The Rev. Justin Lucio, 63, died late Tuesday at Methodist Dallas Medical Center hours after he suffered a heart attack at his Dallas home.
"His body just failed," said Michael Warrior, an immigration lawyer and longtime friend. He said Father Lucio never regained consciousness.
Father Lucio had been in good spirits recently and returned about two weeks ago from a vacation in Acapulco, Mexico.
MALTA
The Malta Independent
by Daphne Caruana Galizia
The priest who is branding Gozo for the American market appears to have instructed a lawyer. This may help stop him from digging himself in deeper with remarks to the US media about the beauty of a relationship between a man in his 30s and a pubescent boy, but still it looks ugly. This is not how we wish to see our priests, tangled up in a scandal involving a boy, and then engaging lawyers to untangle them. It’s even worse when the lawyer begins the campaign to save Fr Anthony Mercieca from the red teeth and claws of America with some eyebrow-raising remarks of his own. “In the wake of the onslaught of accusations levelled against him, Fr Anthony Mercieca believes that nothing that had happened between him and Mark Foley, some 40 years ago, could provide solid grounds for legal action against him. He therefore considers the aggressive and unfavourable exposure as being unfair and unjustified,” Dr Alfred Grech told a newspaper.
LOS ANGELES (CA)
Reuters
By Gregg Kilday
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Deliver Us From Evil," which examines the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic church, and "Iraq in Fragments," in which Iraqis recount life during wartime, are among the films nominated for the 22nd annual Distinguished Documentary Achievement Awards.
The other three nominated feature documentaries, announced Wednesday by the International Documentary Assn., were: the political-campaign saga "Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?," the Broadway expose "Showbusiness: A Season to Remember" and the displaced-musician story "Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars."
EVANSVILLE (IN)
Courier & Press
By SUSAN ORR
Courier & Press staff writer 461-0783 or orrs@courierpress.com
Thursday, November 2, 2006
The priest who served St. Theresa and St. Joseph parishes resigned abruptly last week, and representatives from the Diocese of Evansville say he offered no explanation for his leaving.
The Rev. William Traylor, 56, had served both parishes since 2001.
In 2004, Catholic Church officials forced Traylor to take a four-month leave of absence to seek counseling in St. Louis. Traylor had been caught looking at pornographic material on a parish computer during a summer social at St. Joseph. A child was in the same room at the time, on the other side of a 6-foot-high partition.
BALTIMORE (MD)
WJZ
Derek Valcourt
Reporting
(WJZ) A sidewalk news conference took the form of a protest Wednesday, as demonstrators joined to call for Cardinal William Keeler to address issues of molestation in the Catholic church.
Wednesday's news conference was held outside the Archdiocese of Baltimore headquarters at 320 Cathedral Street.
WJZ's Derek Valcourt spoke with organizers of the demonstration who say they want Baltimore's Catholic leader to follow Pope Benedict's actions by addressing abuse in the clergy.
"The fact is that I have forgiven [my abuser], but I can't forgive my church heirarchy because they let this thing happen," said abuse victim Francis Bacon.
Survivors of sexually abusive clergy, members of the Greater Baltimore Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), and the Greater Baltimore Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) were all represented at the conference.
DAVENPORT (IA)
Quad-Cities Online
By Darla M. Wiese, dmwiese@qconline.com
After filing for bankruptcy last month, The Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport is working to cut its budget and is seeking donations to help the diocese survive.
"All the money we use to operate our bishop staff comes from donations," diocese spokesman David Montgomery said. "In the past, those donations were not enough to cover all expenses and so we relied on other things like investments. Now those investments are gone, and we are relying totally on donations."
To keep the diocese alive, Mr. Montgomery said every budget that can be cut is being cut. He said some employees even have volunteered to have their pay reduced. Other budget cuts include travel expenses and even magazine subscriptions, he said.
CHICAGO (IL)
ABC 7
October 31, 2006 - A Vincentian priest was sentenced Tuesday to 87 months in prison and ordered to pay a $1,500 fine for possessing images of child pornography.
U.S. District Judge Blanche Manning imposed the high end of the advisory penalty guideline range of 70 to 87 months on Daniel Schulte, 54, of St. Louis, Mo., according to Assistant U.S. Atty. Scott Drury. In addition to the prison term, Schulte was ordered to serve three years supervised release and pay a $1,500 fine.
Schulte pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of possessing a computer hard drive that contained images of child porn produced using materials that had been mailed and transported in interstate and foreign commerce.
He admitted in his plea agreement that on Feb. 28, 2005, he possessed and maintained a Maxtor hard drive, manufactured in Singapore, that contained still and video images of child pornography.
CANADA
Toronto Star
Nov. 1, 2006. 08:08 PM
TARA BRAUTIGAM
CANADIAN PRESS
ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Newfoundland NDP Leader Lorraine Michael has won a fiercely fought provincial byelection, fending off worries about the party's future into next year's election.
Michael captured 1,968 votes to defeat Conservative candidate Jerome Kennedy, who received 1,595. ...
Michael, a former Roman Catholic nun who left the church in 1993 after its handling of sexual abuse allegations, became leader in May after Jack Harris decided to step down.
PHILADELPHIA (PA)
International Herald Tribune
The Associated Press Published: November 1, 2006
PHILADELPHIA: The leader of the Episcopal Church's Diocese of Pennsylvania sent an e-mail to clergy and lay leaders apologizing for failing to properly investigate or report allegations of sexual abuse by his brother who was a parish youth minister during the 1970s.
"I sincerely apologize if any lack of action on my part 30 years ago has caused hurt or distress," Bishop Charles E. Bennison Jr. wrote.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Sunday that while he was a young rector in a California parish, Bennison failed to contact law enforcement or church officials when he discovered that his brother, a parish youth minister, had sexually abused a 14-year-old girl.
Bennison said in an e-mail Tuesday that "to the best of my memory," he learned of the abuse in 1974 when the girl's mother informed him. He said he confronted his brother and "told him to leave the parish's employ." He said he did not report the abuse to civil or church authorities because the girl's parents had not chosen to do so.
ST. PAUL (MN)
Yahoo!
ST. PAUL, Minn., Nov. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- 178 Catholic Bishops have been named as defendants in an unprecedented civil child sex abuse lawsuit brought by the family of a murdered Wisconsin man. The following Bishops have recently been served with the lawsuit, bringing the total number served to 158.
Oscar Lipscomb, Archdiocese of Mobile (AL)
Tod Brown, Diocese of Orange (CA)
Daniel Walsh, Diocese of Santa Rosa (CA)
DENVER (CO)
Denver Post
By Eric Gorski
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated:11/02/2006 02:10:24 AM MST
As many as one-third of the roughly 30 plaintiffs who have sued the Denver Roman Catholic Archdiocese for alleged clergy sexual abuse have either agreed to out-of-court settlements or are on the verge of doing so, according to officials involved in the negotiations.
In May, Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput announced the archdiocese had hired a former state district judge as a mediator and committed an undisclosed "very large" sum of money in an attempt to negotiate lawsuit settlements by the end of October.
But in late August, Jeffrey Herman of Miami, one of the attorneys representing the largest group of plaintiffs, announced an impasse over money.
Jeanette DeMelo, spokeswoman for the archdiocese, said Wednesday that some settlement papers were signed, while other deals were close to being finalized or still under discussion.
UNITED STATES
Philadelphia City Paper
by Lewis Whittington
Published: Nov 1, 2006
When ex-Florida Congressman Mark Foley named Father Anthony Mercieca, his childhood priest, as his sexual abuser, it was another stick of dynamite in an already explosive scandal. More startling were the priest's comments from his home in Malta to "let bygones be bygones." Mercieca admitted to "fondling" Foley, but was adamant about there not being any "penetration."
Foley's rehab confessions echoed the common observation that the abused becomes the abuser, even though he stated that his experiences with Mercieca were not causative. Sexual forensics aside, the priest, and perhaps Foley, both have value systems that accommodate sexual advances toward people who are not consenting adults.
One of the dirtiest open secrets woven into the fabric of American life is a knowledge and tolerance of the sexual collusion of minors. Many families have quietly dealt with it for generations, sweeping incidents under the rug or denying that they occur.
I was sexually "fondled" and put in sexually compromising positions at the hands of an adult male relative in the 1960s, starting when I was about 8. I was coaxed into oral sex and I have one distinct recollection of being anally penetrated. Only years later would I understand that these activities would be considered molestation and rape.
VATICAN CITY
beliefnet
By Kristine Crane
Religion News Service
Vatican City--Pope Benedict XVI said the Catholic Church must "take whatever steps are necessary" to address the clergy sex abuse scandal, but victims' groups immediately accused the pope of not going far enough.
"It is important to establish the truth of what happened in the past, to take whatever steps are necessary to prevent it from occurring again, to ensure that the principles of justice are fully respected and, above all, to bring healing to the victims and to all those affected by these egregious crimes," the pope said Saturday (Oct. 28) in a speech to Irish bishops making their regular "ad limina" visit to the Vatican.
The pope, making his most direct extensive remarks about sexual abuse in his young papacy, acknowledged the "heart-rending" sex abuse cases that have occurred in Ireland, which many have likened to the scandal that erupted in the U.S. church in 2002.
"The wounds caused by such acts run deep, and it is an urgent task to rebuild confidence and trust where these have been damaged," the pope said.
The Chicago-based Survivors Network of Those Abused By Priests (SNAP), however, issued a statement urging "actions not words" and said "the pope is merely acknowledging what millions of Catholics have known for years."
"He should call on all bishops in the world, asking them to reveal the names of the predators in all the dioceses throughout the world, most of whose names have never been made public, so children remain at risk of being abused by them," SNAP president Barbara Blaine said.
CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Sun-Times
November 1, 2006
BY STEVE WARMBIR Staff Reporter
When he was a child, the Rev. Daniel Schulte experienced horrific abuse.
As an adult, he kept images of horrific child abuse on his computer, including a 34-minute video of a man raping a young girl who was tied up.
For that, Schulte was sentenced to 7 years and 3 months in prison, the maximum under advisory federal sentencing guidelines for possessing child pornography.
There is no evidence that Schulte, 54, a Vincentian priest who worked at St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates in 2005 as hospital chaplain, abused any children.
AMARILLO (TX)
Amarillo Globe-News
By Phillip Yates
phillip.yates@amarillo.com
The Amarillo Diocese has removed a priest from a Borger Catholic Church after investigating allegations of inappropriate conduct with adults, diocese officials said Tuesday.
The Rev. Michael Colwell, vicar general of the Amarillo Diocese, said the diocese started an investigation Oct. 2 after learning of the allegations surrounding Rev. Patrick Carathers, who pastored at St. John's Catholic Church in Borger.
Colwell stressed the allegations do not involve minor children.
Colwell said the reported inappropriate conduct occurred about a year ago. He declined to describe the reported inappropriate conduct, but added that it was not violent.
DAVENPORT (IA)
WHO
DAVENPORT, Iowa The Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport will cut its budget by nearly eight percent and is seeking donations to help pay for the installation ceremony of its new bishop.
The diocese, which filed for bankruptcy this month to deal with priest sex abuse cases, is looking for ways to cut 276-thousand dollars from its three-point-six (m) million dollar budget.
Spokesman David Montgomery says some options include cutting down on travel expenses and conferences, while some employees have offered to cut their salaries.
He also says parishes will seek donations to help pay for the installation ceremony of the new bishop.
UNITED STATES
The Hilltop
Miranda Teel
11/1/06
Nation & World
While an alter boy at Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church in Lake Wood, Fl., 13-year-old Congressman Mark Foley engaged in a two-year inappropriate sexual relationship with Anthony Mercieca, a Catholic priest. Foley faults this prior molestation for his misconduct with the page boys.
Foley's case, along with Pope Bendict XVI's recent comments about sexual abuse in the church have resurfaced the issue beleaguering the Catholic church.
A Link?
California psychiatrist Dr. Mohan Nair, specializing in sexual disorders and adolescent adult psychiatry, believes there is a link between celibacy in priesthood and the numerous cases of sexual abuses of alter boys.
"The bottom line is, individuals that can't handle their sexual urges are drawn into priesthood as an attempt to mask these feelings, and then in turn act out inappropriate sexual feelings on these boys," Nair said.
In recent times, the subject of celibacy for Catholic priests has again stepped into the forefront of the media.
OHIO
The Columbus Dispatch
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Bill Eichenberger
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
In April 2004, religion editor David Yonke was tipped off by a Toledo Blade colleague to a story that every newspaperman dreams of — and hopes never to experience.
A Roman Catholic priest was about to be arrested in the 1980 slaying of an elderly nun.
A cold case was about to become very warm.
The ensuing trial and conviction of the Rev. Gerald Robinson for the murder of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl propel the new Yonke book, Sin, Shame, & Secrets: The Murder of a Nun, the Arrest of a Priest, and Cover-up in the Catholic Church.
"The truth really is stranger than fiction in this case," Yonke wrote recently in an e-mail exchange with The Dispatch.
AUSTRALIA
The Courier Mail
Mark Oberhardt
November 01, 2006 11:00pm
AN ANGLICAN priest was fired from his job at a leading Brisbane private school after allegations were made he had a sexual relationship with a teenage boy from his parish nearly 30 years earlier.
The former headmaster of Brisbane's Anglican Grammar School, David Scott, told a District Court trial he "terminated" Robert Francis Sharwood's employment as a teacher and assistant chaplain in February 2002.
Mr Scott, now the headmaster of Newington College in Sydney, said that after allegations about the 1970s offences were made to a school board member he raised them with Sharwood, who had moved to the school in the mid-1980s.
He said he recalled Sharwood made no comment other than to say the matters were dealt with "long ago".
CHICAGO (IL)
The New York Times
Filed at 6:56 p.m. ET
CHICAGO (AP) -- A Roman Catholic priest charged with possessing violent child pornography was sentenced Tuesday to more than seven years in prison by a federal judge who said she could not ''help but be appalled.''
The Rev. Daniel Schulte, 54, must register as a sex offender when he is released from his 87-month sentence, give up computers and never have unsupervised access to minors, District Judge Blanche M. Manning said.
''He has victimized young children, possibly scarring them for life,'' Manning said, giving Schulte the maximum under federal guidelines. ''The court cannot help but be appalled.''
In a quiet voice, Schulte said he was sorry about ''the children whose innocence I've stolen by downloading child pornography'' and apologized for ''the embarrassment and scandal I've caused for others.''
JACKSONVILLE (FL)
First Coast News
By Jeannie Blaylock
First Coast News
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Some people were shocked. Others weren't surprised for a second when former Trinity pastor Bob Gray was charged with molesting children years ago.
Those who weren't surprised say it's because they told current pastor Tom Messer and other key leaders in the 1990s and they hushed it all up.
Trinity Baptist, a prominent church on the First Coast, is known for solid academics, exciting football, and thousands of loyal worshippers.
But now Trinity Baptist Church is facing allegations of a cover-up. Is it true?
For months First Coast News has been investigating. It's taken months because some people struggled with coming forward.
Now, our investigation has uncovered new information never made public before.
VATICAN CITY
The Peninsula
Web posted at: 11/1/2006 7:36:18
Source ::: REUTERS
VATICAN CITY • Pope Benedict yesterday named Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes, a champion of human rights and social justice, to head the powerful Vatican department that oversees Catholic priests around the world.
Hummes, until now archbishop of Sao Paolo, had himself been considered a leading candidate for the papacy in the conclave that elected Benedict in April, 2005, as successor to the late Pope John Paul.
His appointment as head of the Congregation for the Clergy, which oversees matters regarding the world’s 400,000 Catholic priests as well as some aspects of religious education, underscores the importance of the world’s largest Catholic country for the Vatican.
He will now become the leading Brazilian in the Vatican and among his duties will be handling some aspects of the priestly sexual abuse scandals that have rocked the Catholic Church around the world.
BOSTON (MA)
WorldNetDaily
Posted: November 1, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Mary Jo Anderson
WorldNetDaily.com
Popular prevention programs adopted by U.S. Catholic bishops in the wake of the sex-abuse scandal that embroiled the Catholic Church in the United States should be abandoned as ineffective and possibly injurious, conclude medical experts.
At the 75th annual meeting of the Catholic Medical Association's Education Conference, held in Boston October 27-28, professionals recommended the U.S. bishops "rescind the safe-environment mandate as it applies to children and adolescents and discontinue all child-empowerment programs for preventing child sexual abuse."
In response to the abuse scandal, the American bishops adopted the "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People" in June of 2002. The charter was revised and reaffirmed in 2005.
Each diocese was to implement a "child protection" or "safety education" program. The program was intended reassure parents the bishops' were taking measures to insure the safety of their children.
However, many parents objected that the "safety" programs were little more than graphic sex education texts that they found to be disturbing and inappropriate for the ages most at risk.
PENNSYLVANIA
The Philadelphia Inquirer
By David O'Reilly
Inquirer Staff Writer
Episcopal Bishop Charles E. Bennison Jr., in an e-mail to diocesan clergy and lay leaders, said yesterday he was "profoundly sorry" for failing to report or properly investigate his brother's sexual abuse of a minor three decades ago.
"I sincerely apologize if any lack of action on my part 30 years ago has caused hurt or distress," he wrote in the electronic message.
"... Had I known in the mid-70s what I know about clergy sexual misconduct... I would have immediately sought to find out the truth of the situation from the victim herself, would have reported the facts of the case to the proper civil and ecclesiastical authorities, and would not have allowed family and job considerations to impair my judgment," he wrote.
His apology came in response to a report in Sunday's Inquirer that, while a young rector at a California parish, Bennison had failed to contact either law enforcement or church officials after he discovered that his brother, John, had sexually abused a 14-year-old parish girl. His brother was serving as parish youth minister. The abuse continued for at least three years.