Simon Danczuk says Goddard Inquiry will be “uncomfortable” but “necessary”

Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk has said a planned inquiry into allegations of historic child abuse in the town will be “uncomfortable” but “necessary”. http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/99486/cambridge-house-and-knowl-view-to-be-investigated-by-justice-lowell-goddard
His comments come after Justice Lowell Goddard, chairwoman of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, confirmed that two institutions in Rochdale will be included as part of the wide-ranging investigation.

http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/99501/simon-danczuk-says-goddard-inquiry-will-be-uncomfortable-but-necessary

Royals and MPs may give evidence in Westminster abuse probe over claims they had connections to paedophile gangs

MPs and royals could be ordered to give evidence over claims they had connections to paedophile gangs, it has been revealed.

Justice Lowell Goddard, the chairman of the landmark inquiry into historical child sex abuse, said politicians still serving at Parliament could be made to testify. Child abuse allegations against VIPs, the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches, schools, local councils and 'certain people of public prominence associated with Westminster' will be among 12 areas for initial scrutiny, she announced.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3336241/Child-abuse-MPs-priests-celebrities-centre-new-multi-million-pound-inquiry-judge-reveals.html 

Serving MPs, spies along with Catholic and Anglican churches to be investigated

MPs and the Catholic and Anglican churches will be investigated over historical child sex abuse claims in England and Wales, it has been announced. Former politicians, spies, councils, schools and youth offender institutions are also being scrutinised by the independent inquiry led by Justice Lowell Goddard.

Speaking in central London the judge set out 12 different lines of inquiry that will each hold public hearings with victims, witnesses and experts. Both churches as well as Lambeth, Nottinghamshire and Rochdale councils will be among the first areas of focus.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/uk/child-sexual-abuse-inquiry-serving-mps-spies-along-with-catholic-and-anglican-churches-to-be-investigated-34242400.html 

‘Child sex victims’ to sue former Labour MP Lord Janner for £2.5million

Six men who claim the politician abused them years ago plot High Court civil action.  LORD Janner is being sued for £2.5million by six men who claim he abused them years ago.
Details of the High Court civil action are to be served on the 87-year-old ex-Labour MP next week. The compensation claim emerged as Justice Lowell Goddard separately confirmed her £18million VIP child abuse inquiry will target politicians, celebrities and the church.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/6770498/Lord-Janner-hit-by-abuse-claims-and-potential-high-court-civil-action.html

Frustration over reporting and responding to sexual abuse at Melbourne Catholic school

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has heard evidence of sexual abuse at the Holy Family Parish Primary School in Doveton in Melbourne’s south-east and the experiences of survivors and teachers at the school who tried to speak out.
Abuse survivor Julie Stewart told the hearing she was sexually abused at the school by the parish priest, Father Peter Searson when she went to reconciliation in the confessional in 1984 and 1985. The former Principal of the Holy Family School Mr Graeme Sleeman told the Commission he recalled seeing Ms Stewart run away from the confessional and appearing very upset.

http://rct-law.com.au/legal-blog/2015/frustration-over-response-to-abuse-at-melbourne-catholic-school

Cardinal George Pell locked in two-front battle at the Vatican

Cardinal George Pell is fighting battles on two fronts, one financial and the other in the realm of church doctrine, an area in which he managed to irk Pope Francis.
The Australian cardinal is attacked in two new books by Italian journalists as a "spendthrift moraliser" who spent €500,000 ($730,000) in his first six months as Prefect of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy.

http://www.smh.com.au/world/cardinal-george-pell-locked-in-twofront-battle-at-the-vatican-20151126-gl9bha.html 

Court hears claims priest abused boy in chapel

The trial of a priest for alleged indecent assault at Rockwell College near Cashel in Co Tipperary in the 1980s has heard more evidence from his alleged victim. Fr Henry Moloney, 77, who lives in Dublin, worked as a music teacher in the Co Tipperary secondary school at the time of the alleged assaults.
He has pleaded not guilty to eight counts of indecent assault against a student over 30 years ago. Fr Moloney denies the eight charges which relate to allegations of indecent assault in the early 1980s.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/1125/749169-court-abuse/ 

Spotlight’s’ the movie sadly has many Dorchester connections

The very first scene in “Spotlight,” the new movie detailing how The Boston Globe exposed the pedophile priest scandal, is set at the Area C-11 police station in Dorchester. It’s the mid-1970s. In one room, a priest sits alone; in a second room, another priest assures a woman that the cleric who had just sexually assaulted her children would be reassigned and kept away from other potential victims.
But just the opposite occurred. As the Globe would report in 2002, the Boston Catholic archdiocese took such predator priests and reassigned them to other parishes over and over again, placing more young children in their paths. And Cardinal Law knew this and participated in this cover-up.

http://www.dotnews.com/columns/2015/spotlight-s-movie-sadly-has-many-dorchester-connections 

Does George Pell still have questions to answer over his handling of child sexual abuse claims?

Cardinal George Pell is due to re-appear before the Royal Commission next month over his handling of allegations of child sexual abuse. One survivor of abuse gives evidence for the first time and claims George Pell downplayed the conduct of her abuser at a previous parliamentary inquiry.
Show transcript
LEIGH SALES, PRESENTER: Next month, Catholic Cardinal George Pell will make his much-anticipated appearance before the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. New evidence about the case of Victorian predatory priest Peter Searson raises new questions for Cardinal Pell about how he managed allegations of sexual abuse.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-25/does-george-pell-still-have-questions-to-answer/6974426

Senior El Salvador priest fired over alleged sex with minors.

El Salvador's Roman Catholic Church said on Thursday it had fired a senior priest and former secretary of murdered Archbishop Oscar Romero after allegations that he had sex with a minor.
The Archdiocese of San Salvador said its preliminary investigation showed Jesus Delgado, 77, the third-ranking priest in the country's Catholic church, had sex with a minor aged between 9 and 17. The female victim, who is now 42, presented the allegations to the Salvadoran government.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-3335526/Senior-El-Salvador-priest-fired-alleged-sex-minor.html 

Ten Catholic Priests Charged With Child Sex Abuse In Spain

Ten Spanish priests were charged with child sex abuse by a court in the city of Granada on Tuesday in a case that came to light after Pope Francis spoke to one of the victims last year, according to media reports. The Roman Catholic priests, along with two church workers, are suspected of sexually abusing four teenage boys between 2004 and 2007.
The priests had been suspended by the Archdiocese of Granada and were arrested by police in November last year. The suspects, who face a possible prison term of 20 years each if found guilty, are currently free on bail pending trial, according to media reports.  

http://www.ibtimes.com/ten-catholic-priests-charged-child-sex-abuse-spain-1797234

Archbishop failed to act on serious concerns about priest, inquiry told

A former Melbourne archbishop failed to act on complaints about a predator priest who carried a gun to school and made students kneel between his legs during confession, the child sex abuse inquiry has heard.
Monsignor Thomas Doyle, former head of the Catholic Education Office, testified on Thursday that Archbishop Frank Little did nothing about complaints concerning Doveton Parish priest Peter Searson, despite receiving written warnings about his increasingly erratic behaviour.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/sex-abuse-commission-archbishop-failed-to-act-on-serious-concerns-about-priest-inquiry-told-20151126-gl8hfs.html 

County council to discover on Friday if they will be included in investigation

Alan Rhodes will make “an unreserved apology” to survivors of child abuse if Nottinghamshire County Council is found to have failed in its duty of care.

The leader of the county council was speaking ahead of tomorrow’s announcement by Lowell Goddard, chair of the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse, about which investigations will form the first part of the inquiry’s major work.

http://newarkadvertiser.co.uk/articles/news/Child-sexual-abuse-inquiry-County-council-to 

Stormont officials must give evidence over abuse inquiry victims

That excludes older victims, such as young women abused in Magdalene Laundry-type institutions. Stormont officials are to be compelled to give evidence to an Assembly committee on a controversy surrounding victims who fall outside the terms of the on-going Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) inquiry.

Members of the committee that scrutinises the Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) voted to trigger the exceptional step after a failed year-long quest to obtain information.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/stormont-officials-must-give-evidence-over-abuse-inquiry-victims-34237409.html 

Inquiry heard Searson carried a gun to school and a fetish for children

Catholic church accused of sending pedophile priests - including man with a 'fetish' for children going into confession - to a Melbourne parish because it was POOR.  The Catholic Church sent a string of pedophile priests, from the 1970s to 1990s, to a poor Melbourne parish because it did not care about disadvantaged parishioners, an inquiry has heard.

One of the pedophile priests sent to Doveton, 34km south of Melbourne, left because he was having sex with a number of women, while his successor told a girl he indecently assaulted in confession 'the Lord forgives you', the child abuse royal commission heard.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3333053/Catholic-church-accused-sending-pedophile-priests-Holy-Family-Primary-School-Melbourne-poor.html 

Child sex abuse inquiry to focus on churches and politicians

The independent inquiry into child sexual abuse in England and Wales will investigate allegations against politicians living and dead and a variety of public institutions, the chair has announced.
Judge Lowell Goddard revealed details of the first investigations to be carried out in public into child sexual abuse dating back decades. They cover institutions such as the Church of England, the Roman Catholic church, Westminster, and children’s homes in Nottinghamshire and the London borough of Lambeth, plus child abuse on the internet, and grooming and sexual exploitation in Rochdale, Devon, Cornwall, Oxford and Rotherham.

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/nov/27/child-sex-abuse-inquiry-to-focus-on-churches-and-politicians#_=_ 

People intimidated by priest who pointed a gun at student

A former director of Catholic Education at the Archdiocese of Melbourne has been questioned over why he did not take action against a parish priest who pointed a gun at students.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Response to Child Sexual Abuse heard more evidence about Father Peter Searson, when he was parish priest at a Doveton school in the 1980's.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-26/people-were-intimidated-by-priest-who-pointed-a-gun-at-students/6976656 

Children in 'danger' with priest: inquiry

A Melbourne teacher feared her students would be in danger from a parish priest during confession, an inquiry has heard.
Catholic Church authorities received hundreds of complaints about Father Peter Searson's strange behaviour but could not take action because the claims were not substantiated, the child abuse royal commission has heard.

http://www.skynews.com.au/news/national/2015/11/26/children-in--danger--with-priest--inquiry.html 

Archbishop 'in denial' about abuser priest

A Melbourne archbishop was blinded by loyalty to the priesthood when he ignored years of complaints from parishioners about a gun-toting pedophile priest, an inquiry has heard.
Hundreds of complaints about Doveton parish priest Peter Searson went nowhere because then Melbourne archbishop Frank Little did not want to believe it. Monsignor Thomas Doyle told the sex abuse royal commission that Archbishop Little was blinded to reality by his great respect for the priesthood and loyalty to priests.

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/11/26/archbishop-denial-about-abuser-priest 

Catholic Church in El Salvador suspends well-known priest, after he admits sex abuse of child

El Salvador's Roman Catholic Church announced Thursday it has suspended a well-known priest, saying he acknowledged sexually abusing a young girl.
Monsignor Jesus Delgado was the vicar general of the Archdiocese of San Salvador and was considered a close associate of assassinated Archbishop Oscar Romero. The 77-year-old Delgado is known affectionately as "Father Chus," the familiar form of the name Jesus. He has written two books about Romero, who was gunned down by a right-wing death squad on March 24, 1980.

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/52350144829c45a29969d7f53a8bae51/LT--Salvador-Bishop-Sex-Abuse 

Suspended priest allowed to return to work following investigation

A Perth priest suspended over allegations of historical abuse has been allowed to return to work, although he won’t be going back to his old parish.

The Catholic Church on Wednesday confirmed Father Tom Shields had been ordered to stand down in August while police investigated an accusation made against him. Church leaders alerted police after a complaint was made about Mr Shields, who was based at St John the Baptist church in Perth.

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/local/perth-kinross/suspended-priest-allowed-to-return-to-work-following-investigation-1.912453

Abuse royal commission: ex-archbishop Frank Little ‘refused to act’

Shocking details of former Melbourne archbishop Frank Little’s failure to deal with a gun-toting pedophile priest have emerged at the royal commission into child sex abuse.
Former Catholic Education Office chief Tom Doyle has ­revealed he went direct to the late archbishop about complaints regarding the wildly unpredictable Father Peter Searson. Little had refused to act.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/in-depth/abuse-royal-commission-ex-archbishop-frank-little-refused-to-act/story-fngburq5-1227624650347 

Pell fixed retirement pay for priest

Cardinal George Pell arranged for a pedophile priest to be paid from a retirement fund just days before he was charged, documents show.

The then Melbourne archbishop had placed Father Wilfred Baker on administrative leave once advised of the child abuse allegations by the Melbourne Response independent commissioner Peter O'Callaghan in May 1997.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/vic/a/30192056/pell-fixed-retirement-pay-for-priest/ 

Sex abuse commission: Rome 'pulled strings' on sex abuse cases, claims former priest

Top church officials in Rome called the shots on how to deal with child sex abuse cases involving Catholic clergy in Melbourne, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse has heard.
Former Melbourne priest Philip O'Donnell testified on Tuesday that he believed Australian archbishops were under strict instructions about how to handle child abuse allegations. "I don't think there's much doubt that Rome pulled the strings and instructed various bishops around Australia and around the world how to handle the matter," he said.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/sex-abuse-commission-rome-pulled-strings-on-sex-abuse-cases-claims-former-priest-20151124-gl6qxr.html 

Royal Commission: vandals lash Catholic Church in graffiti messages

VANDALS have lashed out at court and church buildings across the city over the Catholic Church’s handling of sex abuse cases.
Just a day after the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse continued its probe of the Melbourne Archdiocese vandals attacked the church’s Melbourne headquarters.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/royal-commission-vandals-lash-catholic-church-in-graffiti-messages/news-story/49600b81f762219586d19de22d440202

Teacher sex abuse 'stole my childhood'

Rape and grooming of innocent children... boys and girls... is still happening in New Zealand... Ann

====================

A young boy who was groomed and sexually abused by his primary school teacher says he feels like his childhood has been stolen as she is sentenced to more than 10 years behind bars.

Stacey Reriti, 31, was found guilty last month of seven sexual assaults for her relationship with the schoolboy over a three-year span while he was a student at her school.

https://nz.news.yahoo.com/top-stories/a/30208456/sex-abuse-teacher-to-be-sentenced/ 

Insurer Says Many Of Priest’s Victims Are Not Eligible For Compensation

Less than a year after the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup, N.M., released the names of 31 priests church officials admit had sexually abused their parishioners, there is now a possibility that some of those victims may not receive the financial compensation owed to them.
The controversy surrounds the abuse committed by Clement Hageman, who was a priest from 1930 until his death in 1975, and who was known by the Diocese of Gallup, as a pedophile for most of those years. Despite that knowledge, the diocese assigned Hageman to Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Holbrook from 1942 to 1952, and to Madre de Dios Parish in Winslow from 1965 to 1975.

http://www.azjournal.com/2015/11/20/insurer-says-many-of-priests-victims-are-not-eligible-for-compensation/ 

Special investigation: New Zealand'™s shameful record of child abuse

These children have died as a result of neglect, abuse, or maltreatment in New Zealand.

Click on the images to view details.  New Zealand remains one of the most dangerous countries in the developed world in which to grow up, despite efforts from successive governments.
Thirteen Kiwi kids have died in suspicious circumstances so far this year – one of the worst years on record and much higher than the annual average of nine.  Every second day, a child is admitted to hospital suffering from inflicted injuries, including burns, broken bones and head wounds – with Starship children's hospital in Auckland seeing more cases of serious abuse than ever before.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/73717177/special-investigation-new-zealands-shameful-record-of-child-abuse 

It's time to tackle New Zealand's appalling child homicide record

 The long-standing belief that this country is universally a paradise for youngsters has been shattered, revealed as a charade by a Fairfax study of child homicide in New Zealand. We should hang our heads in shame.
The heartbreaking photographs on the front of today's Weekend Press  bring into sharp focus the child abuse happening almost daily on the margins - but not exclusively the margins - of New Zealand society. The data investigation has uncovered the appalling truth about the children who have been abused, neglected and maltreated by parents and caregivers.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/opinion/74188995/editorial-its-time-to-tackle-new-zealands-appalling-child-homicide-record 

The last thing they saw was their mother holding the scissors

In 1999 Tania Tokana killed two of her children, Winiata, 3, and Simon, 1, at a urupa near Tirau in Waikato. It has been 16 years since Tania Tokona used scissors to hack her sons to death in a family cemetery in South Waikato. Winiata Matekino was three; Simon Matekino, 15 months.
Alexandria Matekino, who was two, was spared. In his first interview since that day, the children's father, Moses Matekino, said he blames himself. "I was angry at her and I was angry at myself because I wasn't there for my boys and my girl."

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/74001114/the-last-thing-they-saw-was-their-mother-holding-the-scissors.htmlf 

All The Pope’s Pedophiles – The downfall of Boston Catholicism

To say the Catholic Church is an institution in the City of Boston is a bit of an understatement. While the Church’s downfall in the city has been pronounced in the past several decades, mirroring the decline of Catholicism in America it America it seems, the Boston Globe put the nail in the coffin of the profound and pronounced influence of the Catholic Church in America.
Their Spotlight team, one of the best investigative journalism teams in the world, had many scalps over the years. Taking down the Catholic Church in Boston for decades of covering up incidents of priests and child rape might rank as their greatest accomplishment.

http://insidepulse.com/2015/11/23/all-the-popes-pedophiles-spotlight-reviewed/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebook 

Church makes it easier for victims to sue

The Catholic Church plans to make it a requirement for dioceses or religious orders to help sex abuse claimants identify who they should sue if they want take legal action.
The requirement is contained in guidelines published on Monday by the Truth, Justice and Healing Council and have been endorsed by the Church leadership. They will come into effect from January 1.

http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/news/breaking-news/church-makes-it-easier-for-victims-to-sue/news-story/375cd49cbdb6affe299d8945b746b9ab

Hillsong Church leader Brian Houston ignored conflict of interest when dealing with sex abuse claims against father

The royal commission into child abuse has found the head of the Hillsong Church Brian Houston ignored a conflict of interest in dealing with allegations of sexual abuse against his father.

Brian Houston was president of the Assemblies of God Pentecostal movement in 1999, when his father Frank Houston, a senior pastor at the Sydney Christian Life Centre, confessed to abusing a boy in New Zealand 30 years earlier.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-23/hillsong-leader-ignored-conflict-interest-commission-finds/6964172 

Christian Pastor Accused Of Repeatedly Raping Underage Sisters

Alfredo Huerta Zavala allegedly invoked the "name of God" and told the girls he'd been "chosen by Christ."  A Christian pastor in Mexico has been arrested over allegations that he raped two underage sisters more than 100 times over a four-year period.

Alfredo Huerta Zavala, 56, allegedly told the siblings -- who were 9 and 10 years old when the abuse is said to have begun -- that they should trust him "unconditionally" because he had been chosen by Christ, multiple media outlets in Mexico reported Wednesday.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/christian-pastor-rape-allegations_56503784e4b0258edb31b9f3 

Catholic Church does not rule out statute of limitations in abuse claims

The Catholic Church has not ruled out blocking compensation claims for child sexual abuse if it occurred before certain time limits.  The church's Truth, Justice and Healing Council released a set of guidelines for the way it deals with survivors' civil claims ahead of a royal commission hearing on the Melbourne Archdiocese's handling of historic abuse on Tuesday.
The guidelines – which church lawyers helped draft - reveal for the first time how it intends to deal with legal defences which survivors consider to be the biggest barriers to obtaining compensation from the church.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/catholic-church-does-not-rule-out-statute-of-limitations-in-abuse-claims-20151124-gl6w05.html 

The litany of child abuse by Catholic priests that no longer shocks the world

Not long ago, Tuesday morning’s revelations at the royal commission into institutional responses to child abuse would have made headlines round the world. Priest after priest in the Melbourne archdiocese of the Catholic church was caught abusing children. And for decades bishop after bishop ignored these crimes.
The priests were caught abusing as soon as they left the seminary. They kept abusing despite “treatment” and despite being shifted from parish to parish. The church knew what was going on and for a very long time no one called the police.

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/nov/24/the-litany-of-child-abuse-by-catholic-priests-that-no-longer-shocks-the-world 

Abuse victim urges national redress scheme

The federal government is adding to abuse victims' distress by not agreeing to a national redress scheme for survivors of institutional sexual abuse, a victim says.
Stephen Woods, who was abused by three Ballarat priests as a child, says the coalition's stance is compounding the situation for survivors. "The federal Liberal government refuses to help victims by coming to the table and seeing that as a whole society we need healing, we need a start," Mr Woods told AAP.

http://www.9news.com.au/national/2015/11/21/03/35/abuse-victim-urges-national-redress-scheme 

What happens in church doesn’t stay in church

As educators, we have had years of experience addressing and working with children who experience rejection, abuse and unhealthy control tactics. We have dealt with children in witness protection programs, foster care, homelessness, parental custody battles; alcoholism, drug and sex abuse by parents and guardians and, yes, even children subjected to sexual abuse by clergy.

Rejection at school is a daily occurrence for many students and an issue constantly addressed by administrators, teachers, counselors, school psychologists and social workers. Many, many times the rejection is a result of outside influences that teach children, intentionally or not, who to include and who to exclude. Developmentally, children may know what they are doing but do not understand the consequences of excluding others, the long term hurt and pain that it may cause.

http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/3185931-155/op-ed-what-happens-in-church-doesnt 

We're All Bad Catholics

The good news about the Catholic Church is it's like a big family. The bad news about the Catholic Church is... it's like a big family.
It’s not a secret that the big family called the Catholic Church is “one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic” while we members of the Catholic Church are often fragmented, sinful, prone to sectarianism, and often so consumed with internecine squabbling that we have no time to be apostolic.  It’s complicated and can sometimes result in a destructive feedback loop.

http://www.ncregister.com/blog/mark-shea/were-all-bad-catholics 

Journalists who broke church sex abuse scandal could not have foreseen the impact

How the world has changed in the 13 years since the Spotlight Team first revealed that the leader of the Catholic Church in Boston, Cardinal Bernard Law, allowed one of his priests to continue working even though Law knew that Fr. John Geoghan had spent his career sexually assaulting children.
Since the Globe uncovered a pattern of moving pedophile priests rather than stopping them, the scandal has spread to more than 100 cities across the nation and at least 100 more around the world. In the Boston archdiocese alone, more than 250 priests and brothers have been publicly accused of abusing minors. The Globe wrote 600 stories on priest sexual abuse in 2002 and won a Pulitzer Prize for revealing the coverup, which is chronicled in the new movie “Spotlight.”

http://mmc-news.com/news-journalists-who-broke-church-sex-abuse-scandal-could-not-have-foreseen-the-impact-332967.dbv 

Prosecutor: Hibbing priest aggressively targeted girls

A prosecutor has fired back against a Hibbing priest who is seeking to have his child sexual abuse charges dismissed, alleging that evidence shows the Rev. Brian Michael Lederer demonstrated a pattern of targeting young girls.

Assistant St. Louis County Attorney Jeff Vlatkovich said in a 13-page letter to 6th Judicial District Judge David Ackerson that allegations of inappropriate touching made by four girls, along along with suspected child pornography recovered from Lederer's computer, point to "an aggressive and/or sexual intent."

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/3886655-prosecutor-hibbing-priest-aggressively-targeted-girls 

Pope Francis's Words Seriously Fail to Assuage Victims of Clergy Sexual Abuse

A very controversial part of the Pope's visit to the U.S. involved his statements about the Catholic Church's long-running clergy sex abuse scandal. Writing for the Washington Post, Abby Ohlheiser, Michelle Boorstein, and Terrence McCoy noted that Pope Francis said during a prayer session at St. Matthew's Cathedral in Washington that the clergy-perpetrated sexual abuse crimes should "never repeat themselves."
But the three reporters also cited an array of comments ranging in tone from disappointed to outraged from a number of nonprofit organizations that have organized over the years to advocate for victims of Catholic clergy sexual abuse of children and adults.

http://www.abolishsexabuse.org/ 

Former pastor jailed for sex offences

Tonight marks the start of a jail sentence for a former Hutt Valley pastor found guilty of three sex offences against young girls.  Jone Conikeli, 42, was sentenced in the Wellington District Court today on one charge of assault with intent to commit sexual violation and two of indecently assaulting a child.
The first charge related to an incident in August last year when Conikeli forced his first victim, a 15-year-old, into a bathroom at his home, pulled down his trousers and tried to force her to perform oral sex on him.

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/regional/289052/former-pastor-jailed-for-sex-offences 

Echoes of Roast Busters case as boys caught sharing pics of lewd acts online

A group of secondary school boys who performed sexually degrading acts on drunken girls and then shared photos of the lewd behaviour online have been let off with a warning from police. The incident has drawn comparisons to the Roast Busters scandal of 2013, with the Secondary School Principals' Association saying police need to get tougher on this sort of behaviour to stamp it out.
Principals' Association executive member Patrick Walsh, who is also chairman of a Government working group on cyberbullying, declined to name the school involved in the latest incident, but said it happened earlier this year.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/73801203/echoes-of-roast-busters-case-as-boys-caught-sharing-pics-of-lewd-acts-online 

Andrew Little tear Paula Bennett to shreds in parliament

In just a few minutes on the house floor in the general debate, Labour leader Andrew Little tackled what has been a humiliating week for the government regarding human rights – then he shifted his aim to social development minister Paula Bennett.
The blast has been heralded as one of his more energetic performances after a headline-grabbing day at the Labour conference where he delivered a speech which was described by Audrey Young of the New Zealand Herald as the best speech by any Labour leader in years.

https://insightnz.wordpress.com/2015/11/15/watch-andrew-little-tear-paula-bennett-to-shreds-in-parliament/ 

A Home For Life

Alistair Wilkinson, himself a CYF caregiver, talks to carers about the trials and triumphs of taking on children whose birth parents can’t look after them, and asks, what's more important - a stable life with a new family or maintaining links to the birth family?

http://www.3news.co.nz/tvshows/thenation/a-home-for-life-2015111413#axzz3rW5fE4DD

Horrific accounts of three decades of abuse in Australian parish disclosed

One Melbourne parish. Four pedophile priests. One after another. For three decades, the chief spiritual leaders for Doveton's Holy Family Parish were its child parishioners' worst nightmares.
"It's like having a terrifying regime in there for a long period of time," the victims' advocate Helen Last said.  "To have them being very sick, very dysfunctional, pathological and some of them very violent, that keeps the parish quiet, keeps them frightened, highly anxious, confused, paranoid, and so they don't seek help."

http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/74209672/horrific-accounts-of-three-decades-of-abuse-in-australian-parish-disclosed 

St. Peter Damian on the ‘plague’ of homosexuality in the priesthood: are we reliving the past?

The "cancer" of sodomy among priests threatens to bring down the wrath of God upon the Church, according to a Catholic saint and doctor who addressed a similar crisis in the priesthood over 900 years ago.
In his Book of Gomorrah,  recently published in a new translation by Ite ad Thomam Books and Media, Damian takes special aim at the growing acceptability of homosexuality among the clergy, warning that it is “creeping through the clerical order, and indeed is raging like a cruel beast within the sheepfold of Christ.” He warns that unless this growing tolerance of homosexuality among clerics and the faithful is rooted out, “it is certain that the sword of divine fury is looming to attack, to the destruction of many.”

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/interview-how-st.-peter-damian-confronted-the-plague-of-homosexuality-in-th

Pell lawyers to question abuse victims

Cardinal George Pell's decision to bring in the "big guns" to question victims of pedophile priests could pave the way for stronger grilling of senior church officials.
Cardinal Pell's own legal team at the child abuse royal commission's Melbourne hearing will cross-examine victims, in direct opposition to the Catholic Church's stance that it will not question abuse survivors.

http://www.9news.com.au/national/2015/11/19/18/25/pell-lawyers-to-question-abuse-victims

Two men who say they were abused by New Mexico priests call for archdiocese disclosure

Brian Gutierrez began serving as an altar boy at age 7, and for many years, he said, “I really did believe I had the faith and the calling to be a priest.”
That was before he was raped in 1986 by Sabine Griego, who was a pastor at Queen of Heaven Parish in Albuquerque, he said. “I wanted to find out how to become a priest, and I was looking for him to help me with the vocation,” Gutierrez said.

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/two-men-who-say-they-were-raped-by-new-mexico/article_8577d353-a8cc-577f-870f-5e6b4ce04ba0.html 

A conference to fight child abuse in the Internet age

“The child is our greatest resource,” Atty. Katrina Legarda, Director of the National Network of Woman and Child Protection Units, remarked. Even the Catholic Church recognizes this. It is our individual duty to protect that child. The Philippines was the first country in Asia to create a law, Presidential Decree No. 603 which punishes child abuse.
Most child abuses are not reported and remain undocumented. It is a culture of violence and secrecy. Children conceal abuse for the following reasons: Lack of a trusted confidant; shame; abuser control; fear; respect for the family unit.

http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Opinion&title=a-conference-to-fight-child-abuse-in-the-internet-age&id=118910 

Sexual abuse lawsuit names two former Lombard priests

A former member of Lombard's St. Pius X Catholic Church is suing the Diocese of Joliet and two former priests claiming he was sexually abused as an 11-year-old in 1976.

According to the suit, filed Nov. 6 in Will County, Rev. Henry Slade caught the boy "skipping Mass and ordered him to go into the rectory at St. Pius X, and specifically to Slade's bedroom."

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20151119/news/151118743/ 

Former pupil’s film about Altrincham teacher’s sex abuse trial wins Royal Television Society award

A groundbreaking film about the sex abuse trial of a former Altrincham schoolteacher has won a Royal Television Society award. The report was broadcast on Granada Reports on the day Alan Morris, a former chemistry teacher at St Ambrose College in Hale Barns, was jailed for nine years for decades of abuse.
And now the team behind it has been recognised with the prize for Best Regional Story at the Royal Television Society North West awards, held in Manchester on Saturday.

http://altrincham.today/2015/11/18/former-pupils-film-about-altrincham-teachers-sex-abuse-trial-wins-royal-television-society-award/ 

Saturday Night Reparation

Last week I was asked by a 25-year-old co-worker whether I was intending to see Spotlight, the movie detailing The Boston Globe's investigative team's month's long Pulitzer-prize winning examination of the clergy sexual abuse of minors in the Archdiocese of Boston. She wanted to see the movie's portrayal of the Church but worried whether doing so might be subsidizing anti-Catholicism.
I was planning to go to see the movie, I told her, both so that I might be able to respond to the various questions I was being asked by those who had already seen it as well as out of a sense of witness and reparation. When she asked me to elaborate about the latter, I said that I thought it would be important for movie-goers to see a priest to convey that the Church isn't in denial about the evils committed and also to give them an opportunity to focus their anger if they should choose.

http://www.thebostonpilot.com/opinion/article.asp?ID=175251 

Doveton parish abuse horrors disclosed

One Melbourne parish. Four pedophile priests. One after another. For three decades, the chief spiritual leaders for Doveton's Holy Family Parish were its child parishioners' worst nightmares.
'It's like having a terrifying regime in there for a long period of time,' victims' advocate Helen Last said. 'To have them being very sick, very dysfunctional, pathological and some of them very violent, that keeps the parish quiet, keeps them frightened, highly anxious, confused, paranoid, and so they don't seek help.'

http://www.skynews.com.au/news/local/melbourne/2015/11/20/doveton-parish-abuse-horrors-disclosed.html 

Letters: Priest with history of sexually abusing young girls worked in Crookston diocese

CROOKSTON -- Catholic diocese records that were previously sealed show a priest with a history of sexually abusing young girls served in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Crookston likely in the 1950s.

The Rev. Francis Schenk, former bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Duluth, wrote several letters in 1960 and 1961 stating the Rev. Charles Gormly, who died in 1968, had a history of molesting girls and had been a priest in the Crookston diocese. The Duluth diocese admitted last December the allegations against Gormly are credible.

http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/3886510-letters-priest-history-sexually-abusing-young-girls-worked-crookston-diocese 

Jemez Springs facility transformed into priest rehabilitation center

Catholic priests sent to NM for treatment for years. For years, many priests suspected of sexual abuse and those who admitted to it were sent to the Servants of the Paraclete in Jemez Springs.
That wasn't the original purpose of the facility, but over the years it's become best known for that disturbing legacy. In the late 1940s, the servants were founded in northern New Mexico and opened a center near Jemez Springs. Its original purpose was to help priests with alcohol or emotional problems.

http://www.koat.com/news/jemez-springs-facility-transformed-into-priest-rehabilitation-center/36536384 

This Alabama pastor was a serial child rapist; victim shocked at 15-year sentence

An Alabama pastor might have escaped punishment for years of sexually abusing children if not for surprise testimony at a custody hearing two years ago.
Mack Charles Andrews Jr., 55, on Monday pleaded guilty to multiple charges of rape, sodomy, sexual abuse and attempted rape in exchange for 15 years in prison. Andrews will get credit for the two years – 783 days, to be exact – that he spent in the Clarke County Jail prior to sentencing.

http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/11/alabama_pastor_child_sex_abuse.html 

Deerfield church pastor pleads not guilty to child sex abuse

A pastor at an evangelical church in Deerfield was charged with the sexual abuse of a minor after he approached police and confessed to the inappropriate relationship, authorities said.
The pastor, Samuel Kee, "just walked into the police station and said he had to confess to a crime," Deerfield Deputy police Chief Tom Keane said. "We had to kind of work backward and locate the victim and talk to the victim and build the case."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/lake-county-news-sun/crime/ct-deerfield-pastor-sex-abuse-met-20151118-story.html 

Ashton Kutcher's Kabbalah Rabbi Faces Abuse Suit

A former executive of the Kabbalah Centre, a spiritual group rooted in Jewish mysticism and known for its celebrity devotees, went on trial on Tuesday in a lawsuit brought by a follower who says he plied her with alcohol and drugs, then groped her.
Yehuda Berg, 43, son of the late rabbi who founded the organization, testified that he struggled with substance abuse that led to his resignation as its co-director in 2014 but denied any sexual wrongdoing.

http://forward.com/news/breaking-news/325017/ashton-kutchers-kabbalah-rabbi-faces-abuse-suit/

Share your experience online form - further update

A further update on actions taken to address the problem with the ‘share your experience’ online form which affected the submission of web forms from 14 September to 2 October.
The Inquiry’s internal IT systems use technology which has a proven track record of security and resilience for managing sensitive information. Once documents are received within the Inquiry’s internal systems they are protected and are fully recoverable. Furthermore, we have in place a robust audit capability, which allows us to understand the full access history of any document.

https://www.iicsa.org.uk/news-and-updates/share-your-experience-online-form-further-update 

Truth Project Pilot launches in Liverpool

The Chair of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, Hon Lowell Goddard DNZM is today announcing the start of the Inquiry’s Truth Project Pilot in Liverpool.
She will visit organisations supporting victims and survivors of child sexual abuse to talk about the Truth Project and to hear about their hopes for how the Inquiry can provide an opportunity for victims and survivors to share their experiences.

https://www.iicsa.org.uk/news-and-updates/truth-project-pilot-launches-in-liverpool 

Protecting the privacy of victims and survivors

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse has secured a special legal ruling to protect the privacy and confidentiality of victims and survivors taking part in the Truth Project process.
To help us keep the process confidential, a legal ruling known as a Restriction Order is in place, which has been made to ensure that the Truth Project is, and remains, private and confidential.

https://www.iicsa.org.uk/news/protecting-privacy-victims-and-survivors 

Abuse royal commission: Pell’s team to cross-examine victims

A split has emerged at the highest levels of the Catholic Church over how to deal with child sex abuse victims who testify before the royal commission. The church’s Truth, Justice and Healing Council has been represented in the commission by law firm Gilbert and Tobin and has not cross-examined any of the survivor witnesses.
Cardinal George Pell will ­appear before the commission next month and has engaged a separate legal team to represent him and cross-examine witnesses who have given evidence.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/in-depth/abuse-royal-commission-pells-team-to-cross-examine-victims/story-fngburq5-1227616035744 

Alleged Newcastle paedophile network to be exposed by royal commission

A web of child sexual abuse in the Newcastle Anglican diocese has alleged links to politicians, business people, doctors and members of the city's legal fraternity, the ABC understands.

Inquiries into abuse incidents in the diocese are underway by a police strike force and the Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse. Several alleged paedophile rings with links to local schools and children's homes are also being investigated.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-19/newcastle-anglican-sexual-abuse-scandal-deepens/6954384 

Cardinal George Pell enlists top lawyers

CARDINAL George Pell's decision to bring in the "big guns" to question victims of paedophile priests could pave the way for stronger grilling of senior church officials.
Cardinal Pell's own legal team at the child abuse royal commission's Melbourne hearing will cross-examine victims, in direct opposition to the Catholic Church's stance that it will not question abuse survivors.

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/3505558/pell-enlists-top-lawyers/?cs=12 

California to propose an end to statute of limitations in rape cases

A California lawmaker plans to introduce legislation that would eliminate the statute of limitations on rape and some sexual assault cases, joining a handful of other U.S. states that have made the same move.
State Sen. Connie M. Leyva, D-Chino, said Monday that when the new legislative session begins in January, she will propose scrapping the 10-year statute of limitations on rape cases. The proposed bill would also apply to sexual assault cases involving lewd or lascivious acts, child sexual abuse, oral sex and sexual penetration.

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/11/10/ca-to-propose-end-statute-of-limitations-on-rape.html 

Vatican properties ‘used as brothels and massage parlours where priests pay for sex,’

Vatican-owned properties in Rome are operating as seedy saunas and massage parlours where priests pay for sex, according to the latest in a series of leaked reports to embarrass the Church.
It is also claimed that Vatican officials are allowing buildings to be rented out at peppercorn rents as favours to powerful colleagues and turning a blind eye to shady property deals, as well as allowing addresses to be used as red-light establishments.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/vatileaks-scandal-vatican-properties-used-as-brothels-and-massage-parlours-where-priests-pay-for-sex-a6729251.html 

Four charged with historic sexual abuse at children’s homes in Leeds

Three men and a woman have been charged with historic offences relating to sexual abuse at children’s homes in Leeds.
The four were arrested as part of Operation Polymer, an ongoing investigation into physical and sexual abuse at children’s homes in Leeds in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. 70-year-old Roy Lovatt from Redcar has been charged with five counts of indecent assault and seven counts of buggery. The charges relate to the former Thorp Arch Grange Children’s Home, in Wetherby, in the 1970s and 1980s.

http://www.itv.com/news/calendar/update/2015-11-10/four-charged-with-historic-sexual-abuse-at-childrens-homes-in-leeds/ 

Judge questions whether confession privilege should extend to Jehovah's Witnesses

A US judge is considering whether it is constitutional to have a law that protects the clergy of just one religious denomination from disclosing what is said to them in confession.
Delaware Superior Court Judge Mary Miller Johnston, who has served on the Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee to the Delaware State Bar Association and who is a member of the board of governors of Wesley Theological Seminary, is considering whether legislation should apply to elders in a Jehovah's Witnesses congregation.

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/judge.questions.whether.confession.privilege.should.extend.to.jehovahs.witnesses/70169.htm 

Chilean priest punished by the Vatican for abuse claims he is innocent

Fr Fernando Karadima told a court in Santiago he has never abused children A prominent priest who has been punished for sex abuse by the Vatican proclaimed his innocence in court yesterday, testifying in a case that three of his alleged victims brought against Chile’s Catholic Church.

According to a court transcript obtained by the Associated Press, Fr Fernando Karadima told the court in Santiago: “I don’t recognise the abuses, with children. Never, ever. I maintain my innocence… I never had sexual relations with those who accuse me.”

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2015/11/12/chilean-priest-punished-by-the-vatican-for-abuse-claims-he-is-innocent/ 

Court halts actions over Brendan Smyth child sex abuse

Three victims of dead paedophile priest sued Bishop and Cardinal for failing to protect them.  The Court of Appeal has halted three actions for damages brought against a Catholic Bishop in a representative capacity over the church’s alleged failure to act to prevent paedophile priest Fr Brendan Smyth sexually abusing children.

The three judge court on Thursday upheld a High Court decision stopping separate actions by a man, his sister and a cousin against the Bishop of Kilmore, Dr Leo O’Reilly, as representative of the Kilmore diocese.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/court-halts-actions-over-brendan-smyth-child-sex-abuse-1.2426972 

US cardinal hopeful new film will prompt focus on Church’s efforts on abuse

Spotlight chronicles the Boston Globe's uncovering of the clergy sex abuse scandal in the Archdiocese of Boston in 2002

Catholic leaders, including Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, have welcomed the attention paid to the Church after the US release of Spotlight, a film which chronicles the Boston Globe’s uncovering of the clergy sex abuse scandal in the Archdiocese of Boston in 2002.

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2015/11/12/us-cardinal-hopeful-new-film-will-prompt-focus-on-churchs-efforts-on-abuse/ 

Former governor-general apologises to victims of child sexual abuse at royal commission

TIM PALMER: Now to the latest from the child abuse royal commission, where the former headmaster of St Paul's School in Brisbane has conceded that he missed years of warning signs that two former staff members were molesting students.
Gilbert Case has spent hours in the witness box, where he was grilled by lawyers about his knowledge of the abuse at the time. He remains adamant that he wasn't aware of what was happening but conceded that his lack of action had allowed a number of lives to be painfully damaged.

http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2015/s4351598.htm?site=brisbane 

Chile Bishop Says He Knew Nothing of Priest's Sex Abuse

A bishop who has been defended by Pope Francis from critics who accuse him of covering up for Chile's most infamous pedophile priest said Friday that he had no knowledge of the man's sex abuse of young boys.

Bishop Juan Barros also said he didn't help the Rev. Fernando Karadima get a trip to France as the priest testified in court this week. Karadima said that Barros helped him get the trip for the 50th anniversary of his priesthood and that he had a "very sincere friendship" with the bishop.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/chile-bishop-knew-priests-sex-abuse-35186223 

Judge Cites Mom's Breast Cancer in Denying Custody of Children

In a bitter child custody battle, Alaina Giordano's terminal breast cancer has been a strike against her in court. A North Carolina judge denied Giordano primary custody of her two children in part because "the course of her disease is unknown" and "children who have a parent with cancer need more contact with the non-ill parent."

Giordano's unemployment was also cited as a factor in the April 25th District Court ruling that her two children must move from their home in Durham, N.C., to live primarily with their father, Kane Snyder in Chicago as of June 17. 

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/BreastCancerCenter/north-carolina-mom-breast-cancer-loses-custody/story?id=13546870 

Are People Emotionally Manipulating You? Here’s How to Stop it:

If you are reading this right now, then chances are you have been manipulated by someone at some point in your life.  There is also a good chance you are being manipulated right now.
Teachers, co-workers, relationship partners, friends, and family are usually the ones who end up manipulating us because we feel as though we can trust them.  Because we feel like we can trust them, we open ourselves up to persuasion, manipulation, and being emotionally abused by them.

http://thespiritscience.net/2015/07/26/are-people-emotionally-manipulating-you-heres-how-to-stop-it/ 

George Pell praised this paedophile priest, Fr Kevin O'Donnell

One of Australia's most notorious paedophile priests, Father Kevin O'Donnell, committed sexual crimes against children throughout his 50-year career in Melbourne Catholic parishes while his superiors and colleagues looked the other way. In his final years, he even received public praise from one of his superiors,
Bishop (later Cardinal) George Pell (see further down in this article, under the sub-heading "Praise from George Pell"). Eventually some of O'Donnell's victims (with help from Broken Rites) contacted the police and got O'Donnell convicted and jailed. Cardinal George Pell has some explaining to do about how the church covered up for Father Kevin O'Donnell.

http://www.brokenrites.org.au/drupal/node/62 

Church Spent Decades Stealing or Coercing Babies from Unwed Mothers

Ever the bastion of mercy and forgiveness for wayward women, Catholic church-run charities around the world stand accused of forcing unwed mothers to give up their babies for adoption — or lying and telling them their babies had died and then giving the babies away, anyway.
Depressingly, Operation Hand The Baby Over, You Hellbound Adultress wasn't a relic of Torquemada-era moralizing; the most recent cases of forced or coerced adoption are said to have occurred in the late 1980's. And punitive tactics used on pregnant women then sound oddly like language used in laws designed to be abortion deterrents today.

http://jezebel.com/5896835/church-spent-decades-stealing-or-coercing-babies-from-unwed-mothers 

Retired priest charged over alleged child sex abuse at Wetherby children’s home

A retired Roman Catholic priest is set to appear in court accused of historic sexual abuse offences at a West Yorkshire children’s home. Roy Lovatt, 70, from Redcar, has been charged with five counts of indecent assault and seven counts of a serious sexual offence. He will appear at Leeds Magistrates’ Court on December 9.

In a statement today, West Yorkshire Police said the charges against Lovatt relate to alleged abuse at the former Thorp Arch Grange Children’s Home, in Wetherby, in the 1970s and 1980s.

http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/top-stories/retired-priest-charged-over-alleged-child-sex-abuse-at-wetherby-children-s-home-1-7564080 

Victims prod DA to charge priest in unsolved murder

Six months ago, a high profile, unsolved, decades-old murder investigation in McAllen was re-opened by a new district attorney. Now, a victims group is writing the prosecutor and urging him to disclose the status of the case and file charges against the most widely known suspect.
A year and a half has passed since Ricardo Rodriguez won an election to become the prosecutor of Hidalgo County. During the campaign, he repeatedly pledged to re-examine the murder of Irene Garza, a 25 year old teacher.

http://www.snapnetwork.org/tx_victims_prod_da_to_charge_priest_in_unsolved_murder 

Man accused of child rape was friend of victim's family

A man who knew a Coeur d’Alene truck driver accused of abusing underage boys spoke out on Tuesday. He said the suspect abused one of his relatives. Court documents stated Kevin Sloniker, 30, is accused of sexually abusing ten different boys between 2005 and 2015.
Since this man's relative reported an incident of unwanted touching involving Sloniker, KREM 2 agreed to not reveal his identity so we will be referring to him as Ralph. He said he thought that Sloniker was socially awkward, but he was extremely surprised when these allegations against him surfaced.

http://www.krem.com/story/news/local/kootenai-county/2015/11/03/man-accused-child-rape-friend-victims-family/75129692/ 

Catholicism can and must change, Francis forcefully tells Italian church gathering

Pope Francis has strongly outlined anew a comprehensive vision for the future of the Catholic church, forcefully telling an emblematic meeting of the entire Italian church community here that our times require a deeply merciful Catholicism that is unafraid of change.
In a 49-minute speech to a decennial national conference of the Italian church -- which is bringing together some 2,200 people from 220 dioceses to this historic renaissance city for five days -- Francis said Catholics must realize: "We are not living an era of change but a change of era."

http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/catholicism-can-and-must-change-francis-forcefully-tells-italian-church-gathering 

Children dying roughly every second day in Irish Mother and Baby home

The Register of Deaths from Bessborough Mother and Baby home reveals that during certain months in the 1940s the death rate among children living in the home amounted to a child dying roughly every second day.

For many years, Bessborough Mother and Baby Home, in Co. Cork, run by the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, was an institution where pregnant and unmarried women were referred to before they gave birth as, at the time, having a child outside of marriage was considered a serious sin in Ireland.

http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Children-dying-roughly-every-second-day-in-Irish-Mother-and-Baby-home.html 

Paedophile convicted of molesting boys across three states denies he's 'delusional'

A convicted paedophile accused of molesting boys across three states has denied he's 'delusional' to proclaim his innocence.

Gregory Robert Knight started his teaching career in South Australia where he was found to have touched the penises of at least three teenage boys during school camps in 1977. He then moved to Queensland and worked at Brisbane Boys' College, where he was again subject to allegations of abuse.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3311443/Paedophile-convicted-molesting-boys-three-states-denies-s-delusional-claims-allegations-against-baseless.html 

Manhattan babysitter charged with sexually abusing child, may have other young victims as wel

A Manhattan babysitter has been charged with sexually abusing a kid he looked after for six years — and prosecutors believe he may have preyed on other kids as well.
Milton Narvaez, 38, was first looked at during "an investigation into the peer-to-peer sharing of images of child sexual assault," the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. The pedophile photo swap examination "has revealed that the defendant may have abused other children who have yet to be identified."

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/manhattan-babysitter-charged-sexually-abusing-child-article-1.2428658 

Opening Address: 7th Biennial International Research, Theory & Practice Conference

The Royal Commission first sat in public in April 2013. On that occasion I emphasised that Australians of recent generations have lived through a period of rapid change across many aspects of society. Many changes can be identified. One which is important for the work of the Royal Commission is the preparedness of the community to challenge authority and the actions of those in power in areas where this would not previously have been contemplated.
We have also seen significant changes in the manner in which power is distributed throughout the community. The women's movement and the fact that many women now hold positions of responsibility in government and business are markers of many of the changes that have occurred.

http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/media-centre/speeches/anzatsa-7th-biennial-conference 

Brisbane Grammar principal 'blamed victim of sexual abuse', inquiry hears

Witness BQA says principal Maxwell Howell, now deceased, interrupted abuse of BQA by counsellor Kevin Lynch, only to verbally abuse BQA.  The principal of Brisbane Grammar school interrupted an episode of sexual abuse in the office of counsellor Kevin Lynch only to verbally attack the student involved as a “sick individual”, the royal commission into child sex abuse has heard.
A witness who says he was groomed and abused by Lynch at Brisbane Grammar from 1980 to 1982 also recalled his shock at the fate of his one-time best friend Nigel Parodi, who had confided his abuse – also at Lynch’s hands – years before shooting three police officers and then himself in 2000.

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/nov/04/brisbane-grammar-principal-blamed-victim-of-sexual-abuse-inquiry-hears 

Jehovah's Witnesses destroyed notes about child sex abuse, inquiry told

Church elder tells royal commission that 1,006 allegations of abuse since 1950 were dealt with internally rather than reported them to police.  Jehovah’s Witnesses destroyed notes about child sexual abuse to stop them falling into the wrong hands and to “protect their wives”, a church elder has told a national hearing in Sydney.

The opening day of a royal commission hearing into abuse within the church has heard how 1,006 allegations of child abuse since 1950 were dealt with internally and never reported to police.

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/jul/27/jehovahs-witnesses-destroyed-notes-about-child-sex-abuse-inquiry-told 

Pope Francis: the theft of private documents will not divert me from the task of reform

Vatican City, 8 November 2015 (VIS) – After the Angelus prayer, the Holy Father addressed some words to those present on the events of recent days in the Vatican:

“I know that many of you are concerned by the news that has circulated in recent days regarding reserved documents of the Holy See that have been stolen and published. Therefore, I would like to say to you, first and foremost, that stealing those documents is a crime. It is a deplorable and unhelpful act. I myself had asked for that study to be undertaken; my collaborators and I were very familiar with the documents and measures had been taken that had started to bear fruit, including some that were visible”.

 

http://visnews-en.blogspot.co.nz/2015/11/pope-francis-theft-of-private-documents.html 

MO--Two sex offenders’ cases go to US Supreme Court

In most of the world, kids are even more vulnerable to predators than they are in the US. That’s why we hope the Supreme Court will uphold laws requiring convicted sex offenders to notify authorities when they move to a foreign country.
Two Kansas City men - Lester Nichols and Robert Lunsford - were convicted of sex crimes in unrelated cases and later moved - separately - to the Philippines. Neither of them updated their sex offender registrations. The question is: can or should they be required to do so?

http://www.snapnetwork.org/mo_two_sex_offenders_cases_go_to_us_supreme_court 

SCOTUS to Decide Reach of Sex Offender Registry

The Supreme Court on Friday said it will consider whether the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act requires sex offenders who move to a foreign country to notify their prior home state of their change of residence.
     At issue is are the cases of two men who lived on opposite sides of the Missouri River in the Kansas City Metropolitan area, were both convicted of sex crimes in unrelated cases prior to the enactment of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, and later moved -- again separately -- to the Philippines.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2015/11/06/scotus-to-decide-reach-of-sex-offender-registry.htm 

DE--Group applauds charges vs. church officials in sex case

We are grateful that these charges have been brought in the first place. All too often, law enforcement authorities pursue only the “low hanging fruit” in child sex cases: just the perpetrator. Far too rarely do prosecutors go after church officials who knew of or suspected the crimes but stayed silent or hid them.
Elders Joel Mulchansingh and William Perkins of the Seaford Kingdom Hall are accused of not reporting the sexual abuse by Katheryn Harris Carmean White, a fellow member of the congregation and a teacher’s aide at Seaford Middle School, when the victim’s mom told them about the crimes.

http://www.snapnetwork.org/de_group_applauds_charges_vs_church_officials_in_sex_case 

Judge holds hearing over state's claims that Jehovah's Witnesses didn't report child sex abuse

A Delaware judge is set to hear arguments in a civil lawsuit by the attorney general's claiming that elders of a Jehovah's Witnesses congregation failed to report an unlawful sexual relationship between a woman and a 14-year-old boy, both of whom were congregation members.
State law requires any person, agency, organization or entity who knows or in good faith suspects that a child is being abused or neglected to call a 24-hour hotline. The law specifically states that the reporting requirements apply to health care workers and organizations, school employees, social workers, psychologists and law enforcement officials.

http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/story/52dc58db424b470692ef7b95a843d319/DE--Child-Abuse-Reporting-Lawsuit 

Youth Pastor Sean Patrick Aday Accused of Sexual Assaults at Grace Community Church

A youth pastor at Grace Community Church of Saddleback Valley has been arrested for alleged sexual assaults of several females ranging from their late teens to early 20s at the Lake Forest place of worship, throughout Orange County and during church sponsored international trips to such locales as Moldova, Costa Rica and South Africa.
So far, Sean Patrick Aday, 38, of Lake Forest, has been arrested on suspicion of rape, sodomy, penetration with a foreign object and sexual assault of known victims, but investigators believes there may be others out there.

http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2015/11/sean_patrick_aday_grace_community_church.php 

Why every Religious Leader must see “Spotlight”

Spotlight is a film about the two institutions I hold most dear: newspapers and the Church, set in Boston, the city I have claimed as home.
I left the film full of rage, despondent, and convicted-  if you serve any religious institution, you need to see this film. Spotlight is the cautionary tale of an institution that is more invested in self-protection than the protection of the vulnerable.


http://reveverett.com/2015/11/08/why-every-religious-leader-must-see-spotlight/ 

Archbishop reveals concerns about recent cases of possible abuse by priests

ARCHBISHOP EAMON MARTIN has revealed that in the past year he has come across a number of situations where there were concerns that somebody vulnerable may have been abused by a priest.
Speaking to Eamonn Mallie on Irish TV, the leader of Ireland’s Catholics said, “Every single time that I come across anything now that potentially could be a criminal offence, it may not be a criminal offence, but potentially- we now have a system, we have a dedicated person”.

http://www.thejournal.ie/archbishop-abuse-case-2428577-Nov2015/

How cardinal disgraced in Boston child abuse scandal found a Vatican haven

When Cardinal Bernard Law was forced under public pressure to resign as archbishop of Boston in 2002, he was considered a pariah within the ranks of the American Catholic church.
In an editorial at the time, the Boston Globe – which had helped bring him down by exposing how the archdiocese had covered up years of sexual abuse by paedophile priests – said that Law had become the “central figure in a scandal of criminal abuse, denial, payoff and coverup that resonates around the world”.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/06/cardinal-bernard-law-disgraced-boston-child-abuse-scandal-vatican-haven-spotlight 

Petition Asking Vatican to Remove Syracuse Bishop Circulating

An online petition asking the Vatican to remove Bishop Robert Cunningham as head of the Syracuse Diocese now has more than 85,000 signatures.
Kevin Braney is one of the creators of the petition. He says a letter was sent to the Vatican requesting a meeting to present the petition in person. The Vatican has not replied to the request.

http://www.twcnews.com/nys/central-ny/news/2015/11/5/petition-asking-vatican-to-remove-bishop-circulating.html 

Dr. Francesca Immacolata Chaouqui is Released from Prison

Last weekend, following investigations, the Vatican Gendarmerie arrested a Spanish monsignor, Lucio Angel Vallejo Balda, and an Italian public relations expert, Dr. Francesca Immacolata Chaouqui, for their alleged roles in leaking confidential and reserved information regarding Vatican finances and other matters to Italian journalists who have just published two books mainly based on this information.
While Mgr. Vallejo Balda, 54, is still in a Vatican prison, Ms. Chaouqui, 33, is back in her home. She was released after being detained for a day and a half as she had begun to collaborate with the investigators.

http://americamagazine.org/content/dispatches/one-reason-why-italian-woman-vatileaks-2-was-released-prison 

CofE abuse victim criticises bishop's 'no cover-up' response

A man sexually abused as child by an East Sussex vicar has criticised the Church of England for suggesting there was no cover-up or collusion by clergy.
Bishop of Horsham the Rt Rev Mark Sowerby was speaking after retired clergyman Vickery House, 69, was jailed for six-and-a-half years for carrying out sex offences against a boy and three men in the 1970s and 1980s. Mr Sowerby said last week he had not yet been provided with evidence proving any cover-up by the church..

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-sussex-34737137 

Sex abuse victim walks through Newark to raise awareness, change laws

It was only a walk of about three miles along Broad Street – from Lincoln Park to Washington Park, and back. But, the Thursday morning walk through Newark made a difference for victims of sex abuse, its organizers said.
Fred Marigliano, who recently completed a 270-mile walk from Cape May to Mahwah to bring awareness to childhood sexual abuse, added a city walk to his agenda.  "A number of people from Newark reached out to me, asking why I hadn't walked through the city," Marigliano said Thursday.

 http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2015/11/sex_abuse_victim_walks_through_newark_to_support_s.html

Three waves of victims of clergy sexual abuse

There have basically been three “waves” of Catholic child sex abuse victims. First were many who no longer had ties to the church. Their faith had been stolen from them. So they had fewer fears about seeking justice. Then there were many who were abused in parish settings. They worried about their privacy, since parishes can be somewhat tightly knit. But they came forward anyway.
In recent years, many who were abused in Catholic high schools – even very expensive and prestigious ones – have begun coming forward. These schools are smaller than most parishes and even more tightly knit. They often have active and sometimes influential alumni groups. And the victims hurt at these schools often have conflicted feelings. On one hand, they were obviously and severely injured. On the other hand, however, many remain convinced they got a better education than they might have at another school.

http://www.snapnetwork.org/mo_three_waves_of_victims_of_clergy_sexual_abuse 

New Boy Scout Lawsuit Filed Victim Told the Boy Scouts About Abusive Leader – But Where’s the Secret File?

(St. Paul, Minnesota—November 05, 2015)—Yet another Minneapolis-area man filed a civil lawsuit against the Boy Scouts of America and the St. Paul-based Northern Star Council for alleged sexual abuse committed by his Scout leader.
Steven Parker was only eleven years old when he says he was first sexually abused by his Scout leader, Andrew Momont. According to court documents, the boy met Momont when he joined Troop 17, which was based out of the Olivet Baptist Church in Robbinsdale. Andrew Momont was the troop’s Assistant Scoutmaster. Andrew Momont’s father, Phillip Momont, was the Troop 17 Scoutmaster.

http://noakerlaw.com/new-boy-scout-lawsuit-filed/ 

Syracuse bishop takes positive step on reporting clergy sex abuse

Syracuse Roman Catholic Diocese Bishop Robert Cunningham, on left, listens as Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick talks at a news conference Oct. 28, 2015 in Binghamton, N.Y. On the right is Oswego County District Attorney Greg Oakes. The diocese reached an agreement with seven district attorneys in Central New York to immediately notify them if they suspect a priest or diocese official of sexually abusing a child.
Bishop Robert Cunningham took an important step toward reconciling with his flock last week when he agreed to immediately report allegations of sexual abuse against priests or other religious workers to the civil authorities. 

http://www.syracuse.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/11/syracuse_bishop_takes_positive_step_on_reporting_clergy_sex_abuse_editorial.html

Ministry with connections to Duggar family sued over abuse allegations, New Berlin pastor on defensive

A ministry with connections to the Duggar family is being sued -- and a New Berlin pastor has found himself on the defensive. He and others are accused of covering up years of sexual abuse allegations.
The lawsuit claims Pastor David York hid or ignored serious accusations of sexual misconduct against children -- not in New Berlin, but at a ministry in Illinois with a very controversial leader.

http://fox6now.com/2015/11/04/ministry-with-connections-to-duggar-family-sued-over-abuse-allegations-new-berlin-pastor-on-defensive/ 

German Diocese: Former Bishop Accused of Sexual Abuse

A Roman Catholic diocese in Germany says a man has made a "plausible" claim that he was sexually abused in the late 1950s and early 1960s by its then-bishop, who died in 1988.

The Hildesheim diocese in northern Germany said Friday that the man came forward earlier this year with the claim against the late Bishop Heinrich Maria Janssen. It said the current bishop's advisors on questions of sexual abuse considered the claim plausible, and that it made a payment to the man in "recognition of his suffering" at the recommendation of the German Bishops' Conference.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/german-diocese-bishop-accused-sexual-abuse-35016310