WASHINGTON (DC)
Washington Post

Sept. 21, 2019

By Sarah Pulliam Bailey

The rector of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the country's largest Catholic church, has stepped aside from his role on Catholic University's board amid a church investigation, a spokeswoman for the basilica told The Washington Post on Friday.

Monsignor Walter Rossi, who has served on CUA's board since his 2005 appointment as rector of the basilica, requested a leave of absence on Aug. 27 until an investigation into him is finished. Rossi remains in active ministry, according to spokeswoman Jacquelyn Hayes.

Allegations of misconduct have included that Rossi directed young men to another priest who harassed them. The Archdiocese of Washington and the Diocese of Scranton - which launched the recent church investigation - have not said what exactly they are looking into.

During his leave, Rossi will not participate in any board activities, according to CUA spokeswoman Karna Lozoya. "We have no information that would lead us to do our own investigation at this time," she said, noting that university officials will cooperate with the church investigation.

NEW ORLEANS (LA)
WVUE TV

Sept. 21, 2019

By Rob Masson

A New Orleans area man who grew up in the neighborhood around Jesuit High School, filed a lawsuit Friday accusing a former janitor’s assistant of sexually abusing him.

The alleged victim came forward after seeing a FOX 8 report detailing similar allegations last year.

“Over time he began to show more and more interest,” Brad Dupree said.

He says when he was ten years old, former Jesuit High School janitor Pete Modica groomed then lured him onto campus. That’s where Dupree says Modica sexually abused him several times over a two year period.

“He would always come out in the yard, he gave kids sodas, he’s invite us into the building,” Dupree said. “I lived around the corner. He came to my house and met my mother and exchanged phone numbers. Most of the abuse occurred in his office, the chemistry lab and changing shower area.”

Dupree, who adds Modica introduced him to an assistant janitor named Gary Sanchez, alleges Sanchez also molested him at Sanchez’s apartment, at City Park and raped him in a janitorial closet on the third floor of Jesuit High School.

NEWCASTLE (AUSTRALIA)
Newcastle Herald

Sept 21, 2019

By Paul Osborne

He may have been a "small, powerless, adolescent soprano", but his voice will resonate for many years to come.

J, as he is known, is the central figure in Fallen - the first major book on the George Pell court case, written by Lucie Morris-Marr

Pell was convicted by a 12-member jury in December of sexually abusing J and another 13-year-old choirboy at Melbourne's St Patrick's Cathedral in 1996.

The second victim died after a drug overdose in 2014, but J was able to tell their story to police, a court and the world via the media.

The 78-year-old cardinal was sentenced to jail in March but is now taking the matter to the High Court, having failed to win an appeal.

Morris-Marr says whatever the result of Pell's High Court challenge, J would have made a difference.

"My sources in Rome say, yes, this is being taken very seriously," she told AAP.

"When Pope Francis announced the summit (on clerical sexual abuse) ... he realised if it was seen by the public that he wasn't doing something, it would affect his papacy and legacy.

WASHINGTON (DC)
Washington Post

Sept. 20, 2019

On becoming the bishop of Buffalo, Richard Malone let it be known that his episcopal motto would be "living the truth in love." Now Malone, ensnared in scandals and buffeted by allegations that he has covered up for priests accused of sexual abuse, has become a test case of whether bishops, who report only to the pope, will at last become accountable under a new policy adopted by Pope Francis last spring.

It has been a year since the bishop acknowledged "inadequacies" in his handling of abuse complaints involving minors as well as adults targeted by clergymen. Since then, reports of those "inadequacies" have multiplied. But Malone, who insists he has instituted reforms, has refused to resign even as some clergy in his own diocese and other prominent Catholics have said enough is enough. His tale encapsulates a basic feature of the church's clergy sex abuse scandals: professions of new procedures and policies to clean up the mess, juxtaposed with institutional inertia, resistance and denial.

When Malone assumed his current job, in 2012, it had already been a decade since the clerical abuse and coverup scandals, starting in Boston, had erupted across the country. Yet in Buffalo, one of the nation's largest dioceses, with some 600,000 Catholics, it took six years and, finally, a barrage of accusations involving local clergy, before he posted a list of 42 priests credibly accused of child sex abuse.

WICHITA (KS)
Associated Press

Sept. 21, 2019

Catholic Diocese names 15 priests accused of child sex abuse

The Catholic Diocese of Wichita has published a list naming 15 priests credibly accused of child sexual abuse.

It also on Friday released a letter from Bishop Carl Kemme saying the diocese will soon provide information on the substantiated allegations to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, which is conducting a statewide investigation of Catholic priests.

An allegation is considered substantiated if it is supported by documentation, witness statements, law enforcement or another reliable source, the diocese said. It is also considered substantiated if the priest admitted to it.

The diocese posted on its website Thursday evening the names of nine priests of the Wichita diocese against whom allegations have been substantiated. The other six priests have had allegations in similar lists published by other parishes and served in Wichita for a period of time, the diocese said in a news release.

Its website includes ordination dates, assignment histories and current status.

Most of the reported incidents occurred between the 1950s and 1980s, according to the diocese. Eleven of the clergy listed on the website are dead, and the others have been removed from the clergy.

The disclosures were made after “a comprehensive and independent audit” of all clergy files over the last several months by attorney Stephen Robinson, the diocese said.

Kemme in a letter written in English and Spanish - and a seven-minute video posted on YouTube - apologized to the victims and their families for the suffering due to the “criminal, sinful and horrific acts” by priests of the diocese. He encouraged any survivors who have not yet come forward to reveal their abuse to legal authorities or the diocese victim assistance coordinator.

“Owning our past is the first step in building a new future, one in which we will continue to diligently work hard as we have been for many years now, so that these violations to human dignity will never happen again,” Kemme said. “Many of the faithful will no doubt experience great anger in receiving this information. I share that anger.”

The disclosure in Kansas immediately faced criticism by some in the victim advocacy group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. The group said in an email that bishops have been posting predator priests names on church websites for 17 years, and said Kemme must explain his “irresponsible delay” in posting the list in Wichita.

NEW ORLEANS (LA)
The Advocate

Sept. 21, 2019

By Ramon Antonio Vargas

A Catholic Church deacon who was removed from ministry in 1988 following multiple child molestation accusations was jailed on a count of first-degree rape early Saturday, the first arrest of a clergyman in New Orleans on a sex-abuse charge since the church’s decades-old crisis reignited a little more than a year ago.

Details about what is just the latest criminal case against George Feldner Brignac, 84, weren’t immediately available. But records from the New Orleans Police Department and the city’s lockup show Brignac was booked in connection with a complaint made Aug. 28, 2018.

The address provided for that complaint is in the 3300 block of Esplanade Avenue, where Brignac worked as co-director of the altar boy program at Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in the 1970s and 1980s. He would face mandatory life imprisonment if convicted of first-degree rape, which has no statute of limitations — meaning prosecutors can try the case no matter how long ago the alleged crime occurred.

DALLAS (TX)
Morning News

Sept. 21, 2019

By Jennifer Emily

Mike Pedevilla has done a lot out of love for Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas since he graduated in 1983: He raised money. He organized alumni events. He stayed in close contact with his classmates.

And, last month, Pedevilla sued Jesuit and the Catholic Diocese of Dallas under the pseudonym John Doe, alleging he was molested by a priest and former president of the school when he was a student there in the 1980s.

The lawsuit names the priest, the Rev. Patrick Koch, a former Jesuit president who died in 2006 at the age of 78. And come next week it will name Pedevilla, who's decided to cast off his anonymity.

The Jesuits’ motto, Pedevilla said, is to be “men for others.” And that, he said, is exactly what he's doing by filing the lawsuit and revealing his identity.

"There may be some that say, 'Mike, what are you doing to Jesuit? I can't believe you're going to make this public, and you're going to deface Jesuit,' " Pedevilla said, sitting at his dining room table at his home in Grapevine.

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

Sept. 21, 2019

By Jeremy Roebuck

After eight years as the Roman Catholic archbishop of Philadelphia, Charles J. Chaput turns 75 next week, a milestone that will mark the beginning of the end for his tenure leading the ninth-largest diocese in the United States.

Under church law, prelates must offer to resign upon reaching that birthday, which comes Thursday for Chaput. It is up to Pope Francis to decide whether to accept it, reject it, or to keep the archbishop on until a successor can be named.

Church officials have said little about Chaput’s future. But he has made his intentions clear.

“I’m going to be retiring this year,” Chaput told a crowd at a panel discussion last month at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood. And speculation is already building among the region’s 1.5 million Catholics as to what — and more importantly, who — comes next.

The search could move swiftly or drag for years. Cardinal Justin Rigali, Chaput’s immediate predecessor, remained for more than a year after his 75th birthday. Before that, Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua stayed on until he was 80.

An archdiocesan spokesperson confirmed Friday that Chaput has sent his resignation to the Vatican and is waiting for a response. His departure will give the pope the chance to select a prelate more in his mold for one of the most active archdioceses in the nation.

BELFAST (NORTHERN IRELAND)
Belfast Telegraph

Sept. 21 2019

The former Bishop of Derry, Seamus Hegarty, has died aged 79.

Dr Hegarty passed away at Letterkenny University Hospital in Co Donegal on Friday.

He was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop McQuaid in St Patrick's College, Maynooth in 1966.

Following a period as a curate in Stranorlar, he was made Bishop of Raphoe in 1982 and later consecrated as Bishop of Derry in 1994.

In 2005, Dr Hegarty, who was born in Kilcar, Co Donegal in 1940, issued an apology to parishioners for failing to inform them some of their church contributions were going towards the Stewartship Trust Fund for victims of clerical sex abuse.

TAOS (NM)
Albuquerque Journal

Sept. 21, 2019

By Colleen Heild

The evening of Sept. 14, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Taos held a “healing Mass” for victims of clergy sexual and other abuse.

The next day, an admitted child sex abuser priest from California attended another special parish function – this time to celebrate the opening of the new proposed Benedictine monastery on the grounds of church property – just across the street from a public elementary school. Archbishop of Santa Fe John C. Wester officiated.

More than 15 years ago, Milton Walsh, who is described as a retired priest who isn’t permitted to “present” himself as one, was indicted on charges of molesting a 13-year-old boy in Northern California in 1984. His criminal prosecution was dropped after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a California law that would have extended the statute of limitations on certain sex crimes against children.

The victim, a former altar boy, eventually received an out-of-court settlement in a civil lawsuit filed against the Archdiocese of San Francisco in 2003.

Back then, the church promised to keep Walsh away from children and in “academic” settings, the victim’s lawyer told the Journal this week. In recent years, lawyers who represent victims of clergy sexual abuse and track offenders have listed Walsh’s whereabouts and his access to children as “unknown.”

Now, questions have surfaced about his presence in Taos.

BUFFALO (NY)
WGRZ TV

Sept. 20, 2019

By Steve Brown

Buffalo Catholic Bishop Richard Malone this week has been making indirect overtures to a group that’s rejected him, The Movement To Restore Trust.

But the efforts by the bishop were dismissed today by John Hurley, one of the founders of the group.

Asked if he would meet with Bishop Malone, Hurley said, “I don’t see any ... any reason to do that.”

After working for months on reform within the diocese to increase accountability of both the bishop and the diocese, Movement To Restore Trust announced it was calling on the Bishop to resign.

Malone has been widely criticized for his handling the clergy sex abuse crisis which has driven Bishop Malone to consider bankruptcy. And New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan is conducting an investigation into both Malone and the diocese.

Nonetheless, Malone this week sent signals he wanted to reconnect with Movement To Restore Trust. The Bishop stated a desire to resume reform work with Movement To Restore Trust in a one-on-one interview Wednesday with 2 On Your Side.

The same desire was communicated in a memo sent to all area priests Monday.

Hurley says “the bishop has become a symbol for all that is wrong.”

What Hurley fears is that if Malone stays as he has insisted he will do, damage the diocese will continue. There have been undisputed reports of attendance down at parish masses and a decline in donations and church collections.

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

Sept. 20, 2019

Finally, 17 years after US church officials began posting the names of priests accused of abuse on church websites, Wichita’s bishop has taken this step himself. Parents, police, parishioners, prosecutors and the public should look closely at this release and ask the bishop why it took so long for this list to be published.

Bishop Carl Kemme must also explain why the watchdog database BishopAccountability.org, has an additional priest that has been publicly accused of abusing children in Wichita who does not appear on the bishop’s list, Fr. Daniel B. Mulvihill. BishopAccountability also names a nun, Sister Agnesina Metzinger as a publicly accused abuser within the diocese.

Bishop Kemme should go back into his files and determine why there is a discrepancy between his list and publicly available information. We also want the bishop to take three additional steps.

First, he should include the photos and whereabouts of every one of the accused. Information about where those who are living are now is important because nearby parents and prospective employers should be warned about their background.

Photos are important because they helps victims identify those who assaulted them. It usually takes decades for survivors to come forward. They might only recall that everyone called the priest "Father Mac," not knowing whether he was Fr. Mack Smith or Fr. McGillicuty or Fr. MacArthur. Even parents who are long-time parishioners may have trouble remembering someone who may have worked in their church for just a few months.

Second, the bishop should also include the names of publicly accused brothers, sisters, and lay employees on his list. The full scope of abuse within the diocese is not told otherwise.

DENVER (CO)
Catholic News Agency

Sept. 20, 2019

By J. D. Flynn

Msgr. Walter Rossi has taken a leave of absence from the board of trustees at The Catholic University of America, while the priest is the subject of a canonical investigation for unspecified allegations of misconduct.

“Last month the chairman of the Board of Trustees approved Msgr. Rossi’s request to take a voluntary leave of absence pending the resolution of the investigation launched jointly by the Archdiocese of Washington and the Diocese of Scranton. During the leave of absence Msgr Rossi will not participate in any board activities,” Karna Lozoya, spokesperson for the university told CUA Sept. 20.

Lozoya told CNA that the university is “in contact with the Diocese of Scranton and the Archdiocese of Washington, who have jointly launched an investigation. We will cooperate with them as needed. We don’t have any information at this point to warrant our own investigation.”

In August, the Diocese of Scranton told CNA that it had commenced “the process of launching a full forensic investigation into the concerns that have been raised,” about Rossi, who is rector of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, which is adjacent to the campus of The Catholic University of America.

Rossi is a priest of the Diocese of Scranton.

“The Diocese of Scranton and Archdiocese of Washington will work jointly and cooperatively on undertaking a comprehensive investigation,” the diocese told CNA Aug. 14.

Concerns were raised about Rossi to Archbishop Gregory Aug. 13, during a question-and-answer session at a Theology on Tap, held at the Public Bar Live in the Dupont area of Washington. The event was broadcast live on Facebook.

During that session, Gregory called for an independent, forensic investigation of some allegations against Rossi.

Rossi has been accused of directing young men to Fr. Matthew Reidlinger, a priest friend of Rossi’s who is alleged to have sexually harassed them in phone calls and text messages. That accusation was made in 2013.

In August, Gregory said he was unfamiliar with the allegation.

“That’s news to me. And I am not doubting it, but I have not heard about [this situation].”

“I suspect – I hope – that there is a forensic investigation. But in today’s environment, even a forensic investigation that either proves or disproves, will not satisfy the people. But I would like to see that, I would like to see a forensic investigation of those allegations.”

TRENTON (NJ)
Patch

Sept. 20, 2019

By Karen Wall

A retired priest who served at St. Veronica Roman Catholic Church in Howell has been arrested and charged with sexually assaulting an underage girl in the late 1990s, authorities announced late Friday afternoon.

Father Brendan Williams, 78, of Lawrence, was arrested Friday and charged with second-degree sexual assault, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal and Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni announced.

Williams is accused of touching the intimate parts of the girl with his hand on at least three occasions from 1997 to 1999, authorities said. The girl was younger than 13 years old, they said.

St. Veronica was the last parish where Williams was pastor, according to information released by the Diocese of Trenton in February. Williams, who was ordained in 1965 had "multiple" credible accusations, the diocese said, and was removed from the ministry, though a 2012 report by the diocese publication the Trenton Monitor says he retired.

SAN ANTONIO (TX)
Rivard Report

Sept. 20, 2019

By Tim Hernandez

Panelists at a St. Mary’s University symposium Thursday discussed what still needs to be done at the local, national, and global level to address the sexual abuse scandals that have rocked the Catholic Church.

The panel of lay and religious people participating in The Crossroads Symposium, the inaugural event of St. Mary’s recently established Center for Catholic Studies, agreed that children needed to be at the center of policy and culture changes within the Catholic Church.

Since 2002, sexual abuse allegations have continued to surface across the globe, prompting an examination of how accusations were handled by the church. The majority of the occurrences were from 25 to as many as 60 years ago.

“Clergy sexual abuse of minors is a global issue,” said St. Mary’s President Thomas Mengler, who moderated the discussion.

Father Ron Rolheiser, president of the Oblate School of Theology, said working with victims of clergy sexual abuse gave him a first-hand look at the lasting damage of such abuse.

“I always thought [victim impact statements] were exaggerated until I began to work with survivors,” he said. “I found out they are not exaggerated. They are understated in terms of … there is no such thing as minor sexual abuse.”

To move forward, the church needs women in chancery offices, not just in consulting roles, but with real decision-making power, Rolheiser argued.

NEW ORLEANS (LA)
The Advocate

Sept. 20, 2019

By Ramon Antonio Vargas

Two janitors who were employed by Jesuit High School — despite prior charges of child sexual abuse — used their access at the Catholic prep's campus to molest a 10-year-old boy from the neighborhood in the late 1970s, according to a new lawsuit filed at Orleans Parish Civil District Court on Friday.

Bradley Dupree, now 50, claims in the suit he was abused by janitors Gary Sanchez and Peter Modica, who has been publicly linked to other child molestation cases over the last year. He is seeking damages from the school.

Dupree's suit is the latest turn in a child-abuse scandal that first erupted within the Catholic Church in the 1980s and has more recently reignited, damaging the venerable school along with many other Catholic institutions and orders.

“This robbed me of any potential I could have had,” Dupree, who works as a full-time caregiver for his mother in LaPlace, told reporters this week. “I’ve spent my entire life dealing with major depression, feeling worthless, having severe anxiety, insomnia, self-medicating with alcohol and drugs.

DENVER (CO)
Denver Catholic

Sept. 20, 2019

By Jared Staudt

There are many people who have either left the Church or are currently considering leaving because of the scandals of recent decades. We have felt pain and righteous anger at our leaders and have suffered scandal from their betrayal. For some, the grand jury reports and lack of accountability for bishops have been the last straw. It’s hard to blame people for feeling this way, but we have to ask with Peter, “to whom, Lord, shall we go?” (John 6:68).

Significantly, this question comes after many disciples walked out on Jesus for his teaching on the Eucharist, and it is the Eucharist that should be at the center of any response to the crisis. Peter answers his own question: “you have the words of everlasting life” (John 6:68). The Church is Jesus’ own body in the world, and we are members of his mystical body, given eternal life by consuming his own flesh at Mass. Without the Eucharist, Jesus’ presence in the flesh, the very heart of the Church, where would we be?

MELBOURNE (AUSTRALIA)
The Age

September 20, 2019

By Chip Le Grand

For more than four years, the fate of Australia’s most powerful Catholic cleric rested on the word of a former choirboy. For police, for the courts and the church, it all came down to the truthfulness, credibility and believability of a single witness, alone and unsupported in what he alleged against George Pell.

In an application lodged this week for special leave to appeal his case to the High Court, Pell’s legal team shifted ground. It is both a vindication of the choirboy and a last bid by Pell, now serving a six-year prison sentence, to have his child sex convictions quashed.

The Cardinal’s lawyers no longer question the credibility of the man who first told police in 2015 that Pell raped him and sexually assaulted a friend in St Patrick’s Cathedral when they were 13 years old.

They no longer dismiss Pell’s accuser as a fantasist or argue that the County Court jury should have done the same.

WICHITA (KS)
KSN News

Sept. 20, 2019

The Catholic Diocese of Wichita published a list of clergy who have substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of a minor Thursday.

The list includes nine priests of the diocese and six other clergy who served in the diocese and are published in reports from other dioceses. The names, assignment histories, ordination dates and current status are available on the diocese website.

The list includes these priests from within the Catholic Diocese of Wichita:
Paul Alderman
Robert Blanpied
Peter Duke
Robert K. Larson
Charles O’Connor
Robert Schleiter
Alonzo Smithhisler
Charles Walsh
William Wheeler

The list also includes these priests who worked in the Wichita diocese and were reported by another diocese or religious order:
Michael Baca (Diocese of Gallup, New Mexico)
John Habethier (Diocese of San Bernardino, California)
Stephen Muth (Eparchy of Parma, The Byzantine Catholic Church)
Thomas O’Donohue (Diocese of Salina, Kansas)
Robert Schleiter (also listed above)
Arthur J Van Speybroeck (Diocese of Salina, Kansas)
John Walsh (Diocese of Salina, Kansas)

According to the diocese, all of the listed priests have either been removed from the ministry or are deceased.

The list does not include any information about the kind of abuse, when or where the abuse took place, whether there were multiple reports of abuse against the priest or if the priest was removed from ministry as a result of the accusations or some other reason.

BUFFALO (NY)
Buffalo News

Sept. 20, 2019

By Jay Tokasz

Three new lawsuits alleging child sex abuse decades ago by Buffalo Diocese priests who are who now deceased assert that those priests likely live in hell as a result of their crimes.

The Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria law firm also cited Catholic Church doctrine in stating that its clients were unable to locate hell to serve the priests who molested them with a court summons and complaint.

The language, highly unusual for a legal document, was included in three lawsuits against the Buffalo Diocese filed this week.

Most of the more than 140 Child Victims Act lawsuits filed so far against the diocese don’t include much detail about the allegations of child sex abuse lodged against priests, and the complaints feature routine legal language in alleging the diocese was negligent in allowing abuse to occur.

But one paragraph in the filings by attorneys Richard P. Weisbeck Jr. and Christina M. Croglio is anything but routine.

LONDON (ENGLAND)
The Tablet

Sept. 20, 2019

By Christa Pongratz-Lippitt

It has now emerged that the Pope’s letter followed a lengthy conversation he had with Cardinal Walter Kasper about the German Church.

The prestigious German theological monthly Herder Korrespondenz has shed new light on the ongoing row between the German Church and elements in the Vatican over the Church’s plans for a “synodal procedure”.

The procedure will chart a way forward for the Church following the devastation caused by the abuse crisis, and the massive exodus of the faithful.

KOCHI (INDIA)
Goa Chronicle

Sept. 20, 2019

Kochi: In yet another shocking incident exposing the growing sexual abuse cases by Christian clergy in India, a 70-year old Catholic priest allegedly molested three minor girls when they visited him to seek blessings at his church office in Chendamangalam in Ernakulam district last month, the police said on Friday.

The pedophile priest, George Padayatty, vicar of a Syrian Catholic Church in Chendamangalam, has been absconding after a case was registered against him in connection with the incident, police said.

He has been charged under various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act), IndianExpose has learned.

The incident occurred a month ago when the nine-year old girls went to the priest’s office to seek his blessings after service in the Church.

The moot question is whether the Catholic Church will act on a detention and prevention mechanism.

CINCINNATI (OH)
WPCO TV

Sept. 19, 2019

The Archbishop of Cincinnati expects the Vatican to order a “full investigation” of the archdiocese's handling of allegations of sexual abuse against the Rev. Geoff Drew, archdiocese spokeswoman Jennifer Schack said Thursday.

Archbishop Dennis Schnurr has submitted a “full report” on Drew’s case to the Vatican via the apostolic nuncio — a diplomat who functions as an ambassador for the Catholic Church — in Washington, D.C., Schack told WCPO.

The Catholic News Agency reported those developments earlier this week.

“Archbishop Schnurr takes any accusations of sexual abuse very seriously, as well as any possible lapse in internal procedures for handling allegations,” Schack said.

Schack could not confirm whether Schnurr requested an investigation into Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Binzer’s handling of the Drew case.

PARIS (FRANCE)
Agence France Press

Sept. 20, 2019

A commission set up by the French Catholic Church to investigate allegations of child sex abuse by clerics received about 2,000 messages in its first three months, chairman Jean-Marc Sauve said today.

The independent body, looking into abuse claims dating back to the 1950s, was set up last year in response to a number of scandals that shook the Church in France and worldwide.

Composed of 22 legal professionals, doctors, historians, sociologists and theologians, the commission began work in June, when it called for witness statements and set up a telephone hotline.

Since then, “we have received 2,000 telephone calls, emails and letters,” Sauve told AFP, and 650 people have agreed to fill out a detailed questionnaire.

ROME (ITALY)
Crux

Sept. 20, 2019

By Elise Harris

Peruvian journalist Paola Ugaz, who’s faced a series of legal battles over the past 18 months linked to her reporting on a controversial Catholic lay movement, has launched a complaint against a prosecutor she says brought unfounded charges against her.

Already waiting for a court to recognize the withdrawal of a complaint for criminal defamation brought and then retracted by Archbishop Jose Antonio Eguren Anslemi of Piura, who’s part of the scandal-ridden Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV), Ugaz has opened an inquiry into a second legal notice she received in May alleging that she provided false testimony in a related case.

Ugaz pushed for the inquiry on grounds that when she was notified of the charge, which explained that an investigation had been opened into whether she had provided false testimony in a colleague’s legal battle with the same archbishop, she was never informed of the grounds upon which the investigation was based.

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

Sept. 19, 2019

Church officials in Washington D.C. have revised their child protection policy, claiming to add new protections. However, it is not policies that need to be changed, but the actions of those charged with enforcing those policies that needs to change if the faithful are to be protected.

Over the years we have often seen church officials tout policy changes as if having a few wrong words on paper is the reason that children and vulnerable adults have been abused by local priests or nuns and been ignored by bishops and cardinals. But it is not.

We believe that the reason for the church’s deeply-rooted and long-standing abuse and cover-up scandal is simple: it is because those who conceal abuse are virtually never sanctioned. To us, today’s move from church officials in Washington D.C. is another example of the ‘go to’ move by embattled church officials: tweak policy, pretend it is real reform, and hope folks buy it.

But what good is a policy when those who break it are not punished? There has been a national “zero tolerance” abuse policy for more than 17 years. Can anyone name more than a handful of Catholic employees in the country who have been suspended or fined or fired for violating even one part of that policy? Consequences for ignoring, hiding or enabling abuse in the church are basically non-existent.

BUFFALO (NY)
WIVB TV

Sept. 19, 2019

Bishop Malone says he’s close to making a decision on whether the Buffalo Diocese will file for bankruptcy but he says he’s not there yet.

Today on WBEN Radio, the bishop spoke about the decision to either litigate cases filed under the Child Victims Act or file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The bishop says there have been 138 cases filed against the diocese so far. He expects for there to be around 250 to 275 cases filed under the Child Victims Act.

Although the bishop is not tipping his hand yet, he did say that bankruptcy could be better for the victims of clergy sex abuse.

SOUTH BEND (IN)
The Observer

Sept. 20, 2019

University President Emeritus Fr. Theodore Hesburgh once called Notre Dame “a place where the Church does its thinking.”

Although the origin of Hesburgh’s words have been lost to time, their meaning remains clear: Notre Dame could be a sanctuary for Catholic reflection – a meeting ground for the Church to convene and bring about concrete change.

Next week marks the 14th annual Notre Dame Forum. Titled “‘Rebuild My Church’: Crisis and Response,” the conference aims to spark discussion about the Catholic Church sex abuse crisis brought forth by the 2018 Pennsylvania Grand Jury report.

As the face of Catholic scholarship in the U.S., perhaps Notre Dame is a fitting venue for this discussion by merit of its reputation alone. But there is a far greater reason we need this conference: Many in the tri-campus community feel the wounds of the crisis deeply.

WASHINGTON (DC)
Christian Post

September 19, 2019

By Leonardo Blair

Months after Pastor Victor S. Couzens of Inspirational Baptist Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, pleaded with his congregants to start giving again while assuring them that he had not used their donations to finance relationships with multiple women, his church’s sprawling building is now up for sale.

The church located at 11450 Sebring Drive is currently listed for sale for $8 million on the commercial real estate platform LoopNet.com.

“Perfect for campus/education facility, medical or industrial user and charitable pickup center office - many possibilities. Additional land available for expansion. Currently operating as a church in EXCELLENT condition with many amenities. Large parking lot,” reads the investment summary for the just over 59,000 square-foot building that was built in 1984.

The Christian Post reached out to both Couzens and his church Thursday to discuss what prompted the sale but a response was not immediately available from the church, which celebrated its 62nd anniversary on Sunday.

“We’re celebrating 62 years of this church’s existence, we’re so grateful to the Lord for 62 years of ministry of the Inspirational Church. Let’s praise God for 62 years. Our lives are better because of Inspirational. Our city is better because of Inspirational,” Couzens declared during a broadcast of his church’s worship service on Sunday.

Vanishing Predators blog

September 19, 2019

By Daniel Carlson

According to Ronald Reagan, the most terrifying words in the English language are: “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.” Many of us, upon hearing that comment, simply shake our heads for experience has taught us that government involvement often involves endless red tape, wholesale ineptitude, legal hurdles, and a thoroughgoing lack of concern on the part of the bureaucracy in question.

With Reagan’s sardonic remark in mind, it comes as no surprise that survivors of clergy abuse find it equally disheartening when Catholic prelates proclaim: “We’re from the Diocese, and we’re here to help.” Much like the ordeal we citizens must endure in the face of overriding governmental indolence, abuse victims have become accustomed to false promises, deception, and rigid stonewalling by Church hierarchy.

Consider, for example, the recent decision by the Diocese of Rochester, New York, to declare bankruptcy. Facing the potential of huge judgements for claims of past sexual abuse by its clergy, the Diocese (following the lead of nineteen other Catholic dioceses or archdioceses in the United States) decided to reorganize its finances. This decision halts all actions on civil suits already filed, and shifts those matters to the bankruptcy proceedings where release of information about abuse and cover-ups will be restricted.

Not to be outdone, the Archdiocese of New Orleans has gone even further. In its attempt to stymie victims of clergy abuse, its attorneys argue that a case known as the “NOLA No-call” lawsuit should block any litigation involving the Church. In the “No-call” matter, a New Orleans Saints fan sued claiming that the end of an NFL game should be replayed because of a blown call by a referee. The Louisiana Supreme Court, however, found that judges and juries should not second-guess decisions by a professional sports league enforcing its own rules.

CINCINNATI (OH)
FOX 19 TV

September 19, 2019

A Grand Jury in Lewis County, Ky, declined to indict a priest on allegations he inappropriately touched two teens, according to a spokesperson for Glenmary Home Missioners.

Manager of Communications John Stegeman said the alleged contact with Glenmary Father Dave Glockner occurred on Aug. 6 when two minor women were volunteering on a construction project at Emmaus Farm in Lewis County, Ky.

Stegeman says the Grand Jury returned a “no true bill,” which he says means it found no evidence that a crime was committed.

Glenmary will now hire an independent investigator and a review board will then advise Glenmary’s Executive Council on whether or not they find the allegations to be credible, according to Stegeman.

Father Glockner will continue to live at Glenmary’s residence in Fairfield and will remain removed from public ministry, Stegeman said.

LONDON (ENGLAND)
The Tablet

Sept. 19, 2019

Tension has arisen between the Catholic Church in Germany and the Vatican over the desire of German Catholics to have a greater say in how the Church is run. Responding to dismay among the laity about such scandals as the sexual abuse of children by clergy, the German bishops have proposed new structures of governance in accordance with the principle of “synodality”.

They implicitly recognise that certain views of the laity may be difficult to reconcile with the teachings of the present magisterium, but they also understand that unless the laity sees they are at last being treated as a respected partner and not just as a subordinate, the drift away from church membership will continue. The sensus fidei may, as it were, vote with its feet.

This initiative has prompted a warning from Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, that the German Church could find itself acting contrary to canon law, endangering church unity.

WASHINGTON (DC)
Catholic Standard

Sept. 19, 2019

By Mark Zimmerman

The Archdiocese of Washington’s Child Protection Policy was instituted in 1986 as one of the first such policies in the nation and has been used as a model for dioceses nationwide. The policy – which covers healing, reporting and prevention of abuse – was updated in 1993, 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2013 to incorporate enhancements in child protection mandates and oversight.

And in July 2019, the policy was again revised, with a new title that reflects its expanded scope, as the archdiocese’s Child Protection and Safe Environment Policy, to emphasize the importance of ensuring safe environments for people of all ages, protecting children from sexual abuse and adults from sexual harassment or abuses of power.

“Adding safe environment (provisions to the policy) is a game changer for the Church. It is showing community members that there is zero tolerance for abuse, regardless if you’re (victimized as) a child or an adult,” said Courtney Chase, the executive director of the Office of Child Protection and Safe Environment for the Archdiocese of Washington. “…It (the policy) is enhanced, because it incorporates safe environment and protection of all children as well as all adults.”

The revised policy’s introduction makes that expanded scope clear, stating, “All people – children and adults – have the right to be safe and protected from harm in any and all environments – home, school, religious institutions, neighborhoods, and communities. The Archdiocese of Washington embraces this right to safety and is dedicated to promoting and ensuring the protection of all children entrusted to our care and to all adults who receive pastoral care or serve our mission."

LAFATYETTE (LA)
KATC TV

Sept. 19, 2019

A judge has denied a motion for sentence reconsideration for convicted St. Landry Parish priest Michael Guidry.

Guidry’s attorney, Kevin Stockstill, was in court on Thursday to argue that the 10-year sentence Guidry received for molesting a juvenile should be reconsidered due to his advanced age and health concerns.

“I’m going to stick to my original sentence,” said 27th Judicial District Judge Alonzo Harris. “I haven’t heard anything that would change my mind.”

Back in April, Guidry was sentenced to 10 years in prison for child molestation, with three years suspended – meaning he will serve as much as seven years in prison. Guidry was transferred to the Dixon Correctional Facility in Jackson in June to begin his sentence.

His attorneys filed a motion for reconsideration of sentence in May, which stated that his sentence “is excessive and disproportionate and a needless imposition of pain and suffering” and therefore a violation of the state Constitution.

Guidry, 76, who most recently served at Saint Peter’s Church in Morrow, pleaded guilty in March to molesting a deacon’s son after giving him alcohol .

As part of his plea deal, Guidry was placed on the sex offender registry .

ST. JOSEPH (MO)
News-Press NOW

Sept. 18, 2019

By Jessika Eidson

On Sept. 6, the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph released the names of 24 clergy members that the organization believes to have substantiated allegations of abuse against children, including a former St. Joseph priest now serving 50 years in prison.

The release of these names follows the example of many dioceses in the United States, as the Catholic Church works to address what has been a decades-old issue in parishes across the country.

According to Carrie Cooper, director of the Office of Children and Youth Protection at the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, the list was compiled with the hopes that healing would occur for those who suffered the abuse and those whose faith was shaken because of the previous lack of transparency.

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

Sept. 19, 2019

A Catholic priest, who pleaded guilty to child sexual abuse and received the maximum term, will have his petition for reconsideration of the sentence heard tomorrow.

Fr. Michael Guidry admitted his guilt in March and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with three years suspended, the following month. In May Fr. Guidry filed a motion for reconsideration of his sentence, which will be heard today.

Our hearts go out to Oliver Peyton and his family. The priest’s maximum prison sentence no doubt offered this survivor and those who love him some small degree of healing. Now, having believed the matter to be over and done with, they are once again subjected to a stressful wait while the sentence is reconsidered.

We were grateful that Judge Alonzo Harris gave Fr. Guidry the maximum prison term, since Oliver received a life sentence when the cleric betrayed his trust and assaulted him. The judge appeared to recognize the great harm inflicted on a victim when he said at sentencing that “there are certain things in life we just can’t tolerate.”

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

Sept. 19, 2019

Yet another Fresno priest is accused of sex crimes and we beg those with information or suspicions about him to call police immediately.

Fr. Jesus Serna, also known as “Fr. Antonio,” was arrested in February for several alleged offenses. An Anglican cleric who from 2007 until 2017 at Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Church in Fresno, Fr. Serna is accused of sexually assaulting at least three parishioners who came to him for counseling and advice. To use his position of power in such a way is an obvious betrayal of those who came to him in good faith for help and healing.

We hope that the victims of Fr. Serna are receiving the support and help they deserve. Sadly, dozens of parishioners showed up for a court hearing this week to support the alleged abuser instead of his victims. Such public displays in behalf of a credibly accused abuser is extraordinarily hurtful and can deter victims, witnesses and whistleblowers from stepping forward and taking steps to protect others.

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

Sept. 19, 2019

According to media reports, a monk who reported witnessing and experiencing abuse at the hands of a popular Bakersfield priest is being sued for defamation. Aggressive perpetrators of sexual abuse sometimes resort to defamation lawsuits and other legal tactics to silence victims and intimidate witnesses. We fear that is what is happening in this situation.

Br. Justin Gilligan made eyewitness reports of observing questionable behavior involving minors by Msgr. Craig Harrison as well as a report of his own first-hand experience of being sexually harassed by Harrison. The Merced County District Attorney is still considering whether to file criminal charges against Harrison in relation to these and other allegations that he sexually abused minors. As we understand it, the Firebaugh police department also still is investigations allegations in that city.

Reporting abuse takes real courage. It takes even more courage if you’re a Catholic cleric reporting abuse by another and more powerful cleric. By his bravery, Br. Gilligan has likely made his career in the church tougher for himself. But more importantly, he has made the church a safer place for all, especially kids. We both admire him and feel grateful to him. And we stand in support of Br. Gilligan and hope the defamation case filed by Harrison is swiftly dismissed.

Brother Gilligan did not get Harrison placed on leave. The previous bishop of the Diocese of Fresno, Armando Ochoa, made that decision using the knowledge he and his staff accumulated from its own files and interviews. That information, according to media reports, spanned decades of alleged abuse and included interviews with alleged victims who are altogether unknown to Brother Gilligan. The only reason that Br. Gilligan is being sued is because he had the courage and strength to come forward publicly.

NEW YORK (NY)
Newsweek

Sept. 18. 2019

By Jeffrey Martin

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is opening 24 cases of alleged priest misconduct that were never investigated. Now, there are concerns that over 1,000 reports of possible sexual misconduct by clergy within the Catholic church were not reviewed properly.

In 2006, the DCFS entered an agreement with the Archdiocese of Chicago. Under the requirements of said agreement, the church was supposed to report any allegation of abuse they became aware of to the DCFS, regardless of the alleged victim's age. Under state law, these cases do not have to be reported to DCFS if the victim is no longer a minor.

The DCFS received 1,100 reports from the archdiocese under the agreement. But according to the Chicago Tribune, DCFS acting director Marc Smith was unaware of the reports until recently. Since those 24 cases were deemed to merit further investigation, a law firm was brought in to review the DCFS guidelines for processing notifications from the archdiocese.

After the recovery and researching of the reports, DCFS implemented inquiries in certain cases to ascertain if priests named in the reports still have access to minors. However, some reports only featured information about anonymous priests or alleged victims.

SAN DIEGO (CA)
Union-Tribune

Sept. 18, 2019

By John Wilkens

Childhood victims of clergy sex-abuse in San Diego and five other Roman Catholic dioceses in California can file for compensation under a program that started accepting claims this week.

The Independent Compensation Program, announced in May, is being run by lawyers Kenneth Feinberg and Camille Biros, two experienced adjudicators who handled the 9/11 victims fund, among others. They are also administering claims programs for abuse victims in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Colorado.

Officials said the church will have no control over who receives compensation, or how much.

“No amount of money will provide closure to victims,” Feinberg said in a statement. “But the program is a small step in helping victims secure some degree of financial security.”

ULTIMO (AUSTRALIA)
Australian Broadcast Company

Sept. 19, 2019

By Michael Collett

When George Pell lost his appeal against his child sex abuse convictions last month, the Vatican noted that he still had one legal avenue remaining.

"The Holy See recalls that the Cardinal has always maintained his innocence throughout the judicial process and that it is his right to appeal to the High Court," it said after the Victorian Court of Appeal handed down its judgment.

On Tuesday, the Cardinal's legal team officially launched its bid to have his convictions quashed by Australia's highest court, but that's not the only process still underway.

In February, the Vatican announced its own investigation into the case, giving the task to the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith.

That investigative body was founded in 1542 under a different name: the Sacred Roman and Universal Inquisition.

That's why the Congregation's history is tied up with the Inquisition (note: the Spanish Inquisition was a separate institution, though the Roman Inquisition achieved its own infamy with its trial of Galileo for his belief that the Earth revolves around the Sun).

But not long after its creation, according to the Vatican, the institution's responsibilities were extended to include "everything relating directly or indirectly to faith and morals".

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer

Sept. 19, 2019

By Maria Panaritis

It is time for life to cut Mike McDonnell a break — even if it’s 39 years overdue.

That time, it seems, may be nearer than ever.

Mike was 12 and serving as altar boy at St. Titus in East Norriton when the Rev. Francis Trauger sexually assaulted him. The parish at the time was a cesspool for priest predators in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. But rather than calling police as they learned about Trauger, church leaders moved him from parish to parish and kept it mum.

Mike was 38 when the same archdiocese got justice against Mike. He was prosecuted for taking $100,000 in church payments for therapy but spending it elsewhere. He went to only one of the 662 “therapy visits” he had claimed over several years, and submitted fake receipts for the rest. Mike was jailed in 2010 after failing to post any of his $110,000 bail. (By contrast: When his defrocked priest-abuser was arrested, only recently and for the first time in four decades, that guy didn’t have to post a penny of $250,000 in unsecured bail.)

TAMIL NADU (INDIA)
The Hindu

Sept. 18, 2019

By Aswathi Pacha

Over 27 years after the suspicious death of Sister Abhaya, the case's trial commenced at the Special Court of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Thiruvananthapuram on August 26.

Yesterday, the CBI made a surprise move by producing a retired professor, who had taught Abhaya at BCM College for Women, Kottayam, as an offside witness for the prosecution. The witness, Thressiama, told CBI Special Court judge that the conduct of the priests often appeared to be predatory and several students had complained to her that they had felt uncomfortable. However, senior counsel for the defence, B. Raman Pillai, told the court that the CBI had produced Ms. Thressiama without prior notice.

The court has scheduled to hear the case again on October 1.

MELBOURNE (AUSTRALIA)
The Age

September 18, 2019

Yesterday morning I wept as I read the special investigation report, "Seminary Sins" (The Age, 17/9). As an elderly Catholic, I am terribly ashamed and grief stricken at what has happened to so many children and young men under the church's watch.

For most of my life I, and so many others, had no idea of what was occurring but the church did. We were brought up to have absolute respect for, and trust in, the clergy who were supposedly above reproach and, thus, were never questioned. We can no longer plead ignorance, nor can we tolerate "business as usual" from an institution which is imbibed in secrecy, misogyny and denial.

I know many truly fine priests and I acknowledge with gratitude their ministry and friendship. Nonetheless I am choosing to "vote with my feet" and no longer regard myself as a Catholic. I now merely bestow upon myself the status of "freelance Christian."

FRESNO (CA)
KFSN TV

Sept. 18, 2019

By Jason Oliveira

The preliminary hearing for the Anglican priest accused in a series of sex crimes began in a Fresno County courtroom on Wednesday.

Jesus Serna was arrested back in February following a 13-month investigation.

Serna is facing a lengthy list of allegations for sexual misconduct involving at least three adult parishioners.

Dozens of supporters for the Anglican priest sat in attendance during Wednesday's preliminary hearing.

Known to his followers as Father Antonio, Serna served from 2007 until 2017 at Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Church in Fresno.

But it was during this time that law enforcement says Father Antonio would invite followers to his office where he would perform what he called a "healing ritual" that involved a massage table, oils and would more often than not lead to sexual contact.

One victim who was seeking marriage counseling testified Wednesday:
"He told me to take off all my clothes and said he was going to touch my penis. He told me it was part of the healing process"

According to police, Serna told his victims that this was a special ritual he learned while in India and that their semen needed to be examined to be healed.