Christian Brother jailed for historical assaults on boys

A  FORMER Central Coast school principal was jailed last week for a minimum of three years over historical assaults against young boys.

Christian Brother Desmond Eric “Neil” Richards pleaded guilty to eight counts of indecent assault and two counts of sexual assault, with a further six charges taken into account during sentencing.

http://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/crime/christian-brother-jailed-for-historical-assaults-on-boys/news-story/6e6224b05c033cc7ed46d8d6b633a7a6 

Minneapolis pastor charged with beating boy as religious discipline

The pastor of a north Minneapolis church and his son were arrested last week on assault charges for beating a 12-year-old boy with a 2-by-4 and an electrical cord as religious discipline, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday.

Dong Wook Kim, 51, of Good News Church, at 3000 W. Broadway Av., was charged with two counts of assault in the second- and third-degree, and a single county of malicious punishment of a child, all felonies, prosecutors said. His 19-year-old son, Joo Seong Kim, faces the same charges.

http://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-pastor-charged-with-beating-boy-12-with-2-by-4-electrical-cord-as-religious-discipline/407636966/ 

Kendall House: Church payments to drugged girls an 'insult'

Payments to ex-residents of a church-run children's home where girls were routinely drugged, locked up and abused have been described as an "insult".

Hundreds of girls were sent to the Church of England Kendall House in Gravesend from the 1960s until it closed in 1986.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-kent-38401346?post_id=10204672433356106_10208393695265328#_=_ 

Assignment Record– Rev. Dale Anthony Guidry

Summary of Case: Dale Anthony Guidry was ordained for the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux LA in 1982. He assisted at a Galiano parish for three years, after which his status was "on leave." In 1987 he resurfaced in the Honolulu HI archdiocese, assisting briefly at St. Theresa's Co-Cathedral in Honolulu then, for several years, pastoring a parish in Wahiawa. Guidry left HI in 1991 and settled into work in the Diocese of Amarillo TX. There he lead parishes in Childress, Memphis, Turkey and Dalhart. In 1999, without explanation, the bishop removed Guidry from ministry. He was "absent on leave" thereafter.

http://www.bishopaccountability.org/Guidry_Dale_Anthony.html 

Church council readies for litigation

With 14 suits now targeting the Archdiocese of Agana and even more assuredly on the way, the financial arm of the church has been hard at working preparing for what could amount to millions of dollars in settlements to survivors of child sexual abuse.
“A lot has been happening,” said Richard Untalan, president of the Archdiocesan Finance Council (AFC).

http://www.postguam.com/news/local/church-council-readies-for-litigation/article_c5362d72-c831-11e6-91b1-af6a6e9283db.html 

In-care abuse inquiry will follow the evidence, vows John Swinney

Scotland's inquiry into the historic abuse of children in care will be able to follow the evidence and look at the wider system, John Swinney has said.
The Deputy First Minister gave the assurance to MSPs on Holyrood's Education Committee, having previously ruled out expanding the remit of the probe.

http://www.careappointments.co.uk/care-news/scotland/item/41072-in-care-abuse-inquiry-will-follow-the-evidence-vows-john-swinney 

Thank you for your support in 2016

The Royal Commission would like to thank the community for its continuing support and important contribution to our work in 2016.
In 2016 we conducted 14 public hearings, completed our 6,000^th private session, held an inaugural research symposium on children’s views of safety, and published nine case study reports. So far this year 8,713 people called our call centre, 5,552 sent emails and letters, and we have served 786 notices to produce.

https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/2016-12/thank-you-for-your-support-in-2016 

Former school head accused of child sexual abuse

David H. "Dave" DeRousse, 69, of West Monroe, recently was arrested in St. Clair County, Illinois.
As reported by the Belleville News-Democrat: State’s Attorney Brendan Kelly said DeRousse was charged with seven felony counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving a 10-year-old girl and a 12-year-old girl.

http://www.thenewsstar.com/story/news/crime/2016/12/20/former-school-head-accused-child-sexual-abuse/95658586/ 

Victim advocate hopes for statue of limitations reform in '17

Statute of limitations reform for victims of child sexual abuse nearly made it over the finish line in the state legislature in 2016.
But, it was hampered by complaints that a certain provision went against the Pennsylvania Constitution. Now, the state's Victim Advocate says she will be among those pushing for the measure to become law in the new year.

http://www.witf.org/news/2016/12/victim-advocate-hopes-for-statue-of-limitation-reform-in-17.php 

Spanish priest who claimed he leaked Vatican secrets after being 'blackmailed' by Italian lover freed early from prison by the Pope

A senior Vatican official has been granted forgiveness by the Pope and freed from jail after he was convicted of leaking secrets to journalists.

Spanish Monsignor Lucio Vallejo Balda was given 'conditional freedom' by Pope Francis, having served half of an 18-month sentence handed out by a Vatican court.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4054572/Spanish-priest-claimed-leaked-Vatican-secrets-blackmailed-Italian-lover-freed-early-prison-Pope.html 

Sex abuse victims apply for compensation from New York Archdiocese

More than 60 victims have applied to a program founded by Timothy Cardinal Dolan to compensate people sexually abused as children by clergy in the New York Archdiocese.

With still more time to apply, 65 people have provided accounts of abuse by priests when they were minors.

http://www.cathnewsusa.com/2016/12/sex-abuse-victims-apply-compensation-new-york-archdiocese/?newsletter=1 

Sex abuse law files sent to archdiocese

The Archdiocese of Agana received nearly 600 pages of documents related to the development of a law that lifted the civil statute of limitations on child sex abuse — which made it possible for at least 14 former altar boys to separately sue the Catholic Church over allegations that priests sexually abused them.
Sen. Frank B. Aguon Jr. released 589 pages of documents, in electronic form, related to Bill 326-33, which Aguon’s committee worked on. The Legislature passed the bill with a 13-0 vote. Gov. Eddie Calvo signed it into law on Sept. 23.

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2016/12/22/sex-abuse-law-files-sent-archdiocese/95687716/ 

1969: GONZAGA, SPOKANE POLICE GIVE PEDOPHILE PRIEST A FREE PASS

In 1961, John P. Leary, a Catholic priest and member of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) became president of Gonzaga University. Seen as a visionary leader in the realm of educational theory, Leary was beloved at the university and oversaw the school during a period of growth.

But in 1969, Leary left Spokane abruptly. A regional Jesuit leader told the community that Leary had resigned for health reasons, and the priest was reassigned to other posts in the western United States. The university released a similar statement.

http://www.inlander.com/spokane/1969-gonzaga-spokane-police-give-pedophile-priest-a-free-pass/Content?oid=2972235 

Lawsuit: Priest sexually abused boy in New Mexico

Another man has come forward with allegations of sexual abuse against a former New Mexico priest who until recently was on the lam.
The claim was filed in court in Albuquerque on Wednesday on behalf of 65-year-old man and former University of Albuquerque student. The man says The Rev. Art Perrault sexually abused him.

http://www.dailyprogress.com/lawsuit-priest-sexually-abused-boy-in-new-mexico/article_aa7789a6-329b-5e44-9022-419ef3bbf096.html 

Pastor jailed: Charged with five counts of child molestation

On Dec.20, Rev. Thomas J. Chantry was ordered held without bond in the Camp Verde jail, Chief Deputy County Attorney Dennis McGrane said.

Chantry, 46, was indicted in Yavapai County Superior Court on eight counts – five counts of child molestation and three of aggravated assault – for offenses committed in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when he worked at the Miller Valley Baptist Church.

http://m.dcourier.com/news/2016/dec/23/pastor-jailed-charged-five-counts-child-molestatio/ 

Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse

Four months ago, the Home Secretary invited me to chair the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. When I accepted, I said that I would lead this Inquiry with pace, confidence and clarity. I also said that I would build on the work of the Inquiry to date and overcome the challenges it faced.
While the Inquiry had made progress in some areas, I was concerned that it had struggled in a number of others and had failed to demonstrate progress overall. In addition, I did not believe that the Inquiry had consistently undertaken its work in a timely, inclusive and transparent way. It was apparent to me and the Panel that the Inquiry could not be delivered through a traditional public inquiry approach alone.

https://www.iicsa.org.uk/key-documents/935/view/IICSA%20Review%20Report_Final_alt_v4_ACCESS.pdf 

John Swinney confirms abuse inquiry will 'look beyond care homes'

SCOTLAND’S inquiry into the historic abuse of children in care will be able to look at the wider system, John Swinney has said.
The Deputy First Minister told MSPs that Lady Smith’s inquiry would be able to look at how reports of abuse were dealt with by authorities.

http://www.thenational.scot/news/14980937.John_Swinney_confirms_abuse_inquiry_will__look_beyond_care_homes_/ 

Argentina Investigates Alleged Sex Abuse at School

The children told prosecutors the two Roman Catholic priests repeatedly raped them by an image of the Virgin Mary inside the small school chapel in remote northwestern Argentina. Only their tormenters would have heard their cries because the other children at the school were deaf.

The clerical sex abuse scandal unfolding at the Antonio Provolo Institute for hearing impaired children in Mendoza province would be shocking enough on its own. Except that dozens of students in the Provolo Institute's school in Italy were similarly abused for decades, some of whom allegedly by the same priest who now stands formally charged of raping and molesting young deaf Argentines.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/argentina-probes-sex-abuse-deaf-school-vatican-knew-44361222 

Pope vows Vatican reform is real despite resistance

Pope Francis on Thursday conceded that his efforts at Vatican reform have attracted opposition -- both “open resistance,” offered in a spirit of constructive dialogue, and “hidden” and “malicious” resistance, which he said “sprouts in distorted minds."

n his annual speech to the Roman Curia on Thursday, Pope Francis presented a sweeping vision of reform for the Vatican’s central administration, outlining the values he wants that reform to embody and insisting that old bureaucratic patterns such as “promoting to remove” must come to an end.

https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2016/12/22/pope-vows-vatican-reform-real-despite-resistance/ 

Magnolia pastor indicted on sexual assault charges

Magnolia pastor Ronald Mitchell was indicted Thursday on four felony child sexual assault charges.
Mitchell, 57, pastors Body of Christ Church near Magnolia. He was arrested Nov. 1 after SWAT team member with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office raided the church and allegedly found evidence of the sexual assault.

http://www.chron.com/neighborhood/magnolia/news/article/Magnolia-pastor-indicted-on-sexual-assault-charges-10818517.php 

Knights of Malta rebuff Vatican probe into dismissal of leader;

Good on you Pope Francis... you show leadership for the world to see... Ann

 ===========================

Two days after the announcement that Pope Francis has established a group to look into the circumstances regarding the recent dismissal of the Order of Malta's former Grand Chancellor, the Knights responded – saying the decision was an internal matter.
The response follows the forced resignation of leader Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager, which some attribute to controversy regarding the order's charity branch being allegedly involved in distributing condoms in Myanmar to prevent HIV.

http://www.catholicworldreport.com/NewsBriefs/Default.aspx?rssGuid=knights-of-malta-rebuff-vatican-probe-into-dismissal-of-leader-75262/ 

Gilbert: 'He made me rethink the faith': Bishop Blaire's impact reached many

It may take up to two years for Pope Francis to act, but I'm sad nonetheless that the tenure of Bishop Stephen Blaire, who has led the Diocese of Stockton since 1999, is coming to an end.
Knowing him has made me rethink the faith in which I was raised. It's not easy to be a Catholic woman in the 21st century, or in the 20th or any other century for that matter. It's a patriarchal faith and its position on some issues, such as an opposition to birth control, makes my blood boil.

http://www.recordnet.com/entertainmentlife/20161224/gilbert-he-made-me-rethink-faith-bishop-blaires-impact-reached-many 

John Swinney confirms abuse inquiry will 'look beyond care homes'John

SCOTLAND’S inquiry into the historic abuse of children in care will be able to look at the wider system, John Swinney has said.
The Deputy First Minister told MSPs that Lady Smith’s inquiry would be able to look at how reports of abuse were dealt with by authorities.

http://www.thenational.scot/news/14980937.John_Swinney_confirms_abuse_inquiry_will__look_beyond_care_homes_/ 

Truth is the Catholic Church’s best argument

First the search for the truth, the trial. Then justice was served, and the Catholic priest was jailed. And then came mercy.
A few days ago, on Dec. 20, Pope Francis ordered the release of the Spanish priest Lucio Vallejo Balda who was sentenced and jailed for leaking files to journalists, after a painful trial that exposed plotting at the Vatican.

http://usa.inquirer.net/672/truth-catholic-churchs-best-argument 

Prosecutors ask judge to allow Cosby's accusers to testify

Prosecutors in Bill Cosby's sexual-assault case say he used his fame to gain the trust of women before knocking them out with pills and drinks so he could sexually assault them.

Bill Cosby used his fame to gain the trust of women before knocking them out with pills and drinks so he could sexually assault them, prosecutors argued Tuesday as they sought to persuade a judge to allow 13 of his accusers to testify in his upcoming sexual assault trial.knocking them out with pills and drinks so he could sexually assault them. 

http://www.usnews.com/news/entertainment/articles/2016-12-13/cosby-judge-to-weigh-potential-testimony-of-13-other-women

Priest in book row quits his parish role.

A priest from Motherwell who’s at the centre of a row over a book alleging sexual misconduct has quit his parish role. Fr Matthew Despard was accused by Bishop Joseph Toal of “causing considerable scandal” with his publication and offending many parishioners who could no longer attend mass because of him.

http://www.motherwelltimes.co.uk/news/priest-in-book-row-quits-his-parish-role-1-4316670 

TX--New Dallas Catholic bishop slammed by victims

Until last month, Juneau Bishop Edward Burns headed the US bishops sex abuse committee. For years, he had tangible power to protect kids. As best we can tell, he did little or nothing in that post. For years, he has an enormous bully pulpit. He could have used it to exhort church staff to act responsibly. As best we can tell, he never did.
Instead, he postured. He claimed, in an interview, he was “shocked” by an Altoona PA grand jury report that showed the same horrific cover ups that virtually every other US grand jury reported in every diocese that was investigated.

http://www.snapnetwork.org/tx_new_dallas_catholic_bishop_slammed_by_victims

TJHC welcomes new Vatican child sex abuse website

A new website launched by the Vatican this week detailing its efforts to protect children from sexual abuse by clergy has been welcomed by the Catholic Church’s Truth Justice and Healing Council (TJHC).
CEO of the TJHC, Francis Sullivan, said the official website for the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors is an important step towards the Church being more open and transparent.

http://www.therecord.com.au/news/national/tjhc-welcomes-new-vatican-child-sex-abuse-website/ 

El Salvador church fires 3 priests for sex abuse

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) " El Salvador's Roman Catholic Church has separated three men from the priesthood after they were found guilty by church officials of sexually abusing children.
One is Rev. Jesus Delgado, one of the country's best-known priests and a former top official in the San Salvador archdiocese.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11769502 

RI--National group blasts officials over school shrink

The state Health Department and state Board of Psychology must move more quickly to at least suspend Peter Kosseff. It doesn’t take a year to investigate the charges that he hurt kids by refusing to call 911.
In the years since his alleged wrongdoing at St. George, one wonders how many other possible cases of sexual violence has he kept silent about. How many other known or suspected child sex crimes is he hiding right now?  

http://www.snapnetwork.org/ri_national_group_blasts_officials_over_school_shrink

Cosby quips to courtroom security, 'Don't tase me, bro'

Bill Cosby greeted security officers with a joke Tuesday morning before a hearing in his sexual assault case, quipping, "Don't tase me bro," as they wanded him on his way into a suburban Philadelphia courtroom.
Prosecutors hope to call 13 other accusers to show that the 79-year-old comedian and actor had a pattern of drugging and molesting women. The defense will attack their credibility and relevance as they try to keep them off the witness stand at the trial, scheduled for the spring.

http://wwmt.com/news/entertainment/cosby-quips-to-courtroom-security-dont-tase-me-bro 

Lawsuit: Archdiocese still pays Brouillard

A lawsuit alleges that the Archdiocese of Agana still sends regular retirement payments to former Guam priest Louis Brouillard, who is accused in seven of the 13 clergy sex abuse lawsuits filed so far against the archdiocese and current and former Catholic priests on Guam.
Brouillard has publicly admitted to sexually abusing at least 20 boys while he was on Guam, from the late 1940s to 1981. Brouillard was ordained as a priest at the Archdiocese of Agana in 1948.

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2016/12/19/lawsuit-archdiocese-still-pays-brouillard/95602372/ 

137 19 Pedophile coaches stalk USA Gymnastics

Gym owners, governing body could have done more to protect children.  USA Gymnastics, one of the most prominent Olympic governing bodies in the nation, basked in the glow of Team USA's stunning performance in Rio de Janeiro last August.
But beneath the glittering image of the sport and its governing body, which inspires girls across the country to train as gymnasts, is a dark underbelly, revealed in an investigation by the IndyStar and USA TODAY Network.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2016/12/19/gymnastics-olympics-sexual-abuse-reporting-editorials-debates/95585134/ 

Judge sees progress in Twin Cities archdiocese’s child protection

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis remains on track with its agreement to protect children from sex abuse, a Ramsey County District judge said Tuesday morning.
Archdiocese and Ramsey County officials reached a settlement in December 2015 calling for an “aggressive” timeline to implement “substantial” cultural changes after allegations of sex abuse by a priest, Ramsey County Chief Judge Teresa Warner said. The Catholic archdiocese was accused of turning a blind eye toward repeated misconduct in the case.

http://www.twincities.com/2016/12/20/st-paul-archdiocese-minneapolis-child-protection-priests-sex-abuse-progress-judge-progress/ 

Assignment Record– Rev. Kenneth J. Cabral

Summary of Case: Kenneth Cabral was ordained for the Archdiocese of San Francisco in 1950. He became a priest of the Diocese of Oakland when it was established in 1962. Cabral served in parishes in Tracy, San Jose, Oakland, Martinez, Berkeley, Walnut Creek, Lafayette and San Leandro. He appears to have been active until 1986, after which the Official Catholic Directory shows a year where he does not appear at all, followed by sick leave status and then retirement. He is reported to have died in March 1996.

http://www.bishopaccountability.org/Cabral_Kenneth_J.html 

Catholic education charity faces inquiry over handling of child abuse claims

A statutory inquiry has been opened by the Charity Commission into the St Laurence Education Trust and Ampleforth Abbey, over the Catholic charities' handling of sexual abuse allegations.

The St Laurence Education Trust runs two prestigious independent Roman Catholic schools, the Ampleforth College and St Martin's Ampleforth.

http://www.secularism.org.uk/news/2016/12/catholic-education-charity-faces-inquiry-over-handling-of-child-abuse-claims 

Sexual abuse 'always known to be evil,' lawyer tells Mount Cashel lawsuit judge

Closing arguments began Wednesday in a civil lawsuit led by former Mount Cashel residents who claim church officials ignored reports of horrific abuse at the orphanage in Newfoundland.
Lawyers for about 60 claimants are in provincial Supreme Court, and say the Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of St. John's is liable for incidents dating back to the 1940s. Lawyer Geoff Budden said church officials knew or ought to have known what was happening.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/mount-cashel-lawsuit-1.3895908 

Bill Cosby shows wit, mental agility at court hearing despite lawyers' claims

Bill Cosby's lawyers insist the 79-year-old actor has vision and memory problems that make it difficult for him to help defend himself in his upcoming sexual assault trial.

But the actor seemed mentally fit on Tuesday in a suburban Philadelphia courtroom as he shouted out answers to questions meant for the prosecutor.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-14/bill-cosby-shows-wit-mental-agility-at-court-hearing-despite/8121384 

Cosby is back in court for 2nd day of sex assault hearing

Bill Cosby returned to court Wednesday for the second day of an important pretrial hearing in his sexual assault case as his lawyers prepared to argue that a judge should bar testimony from 13 women who have accused the 79-year-old entertainer of molesting them.
Prosecutors at this week’s pretrial hearing are trying to show that Cosby, who was once known as “America’s Dad” for his top-rated family sitcom, “The Cosby Show,” had a history of drugging and attacking young women. He is charged with sexually assaulting one woman in 2004, but prosecutors are hoping to call the other accusers to testify at his spring trial.

http://www.sanduskyregister.com/story/201612140018 

Camp Ramah Faces Decades-Old Accusation of Sexual Abuse

For four decades, a Jewish man says he did not tell anyone that a counselor at Camp Ramah in the Berkshires forced him to perform a sex act in the woods one summer as a boy. But now that his alleged abuser has been convicted in the sexual abuse of several children in Canada, the unnamed victim is filing a lawsuit against the Jewish sleepaway camp and its parent organization, the Jewish Theological Seminary.

http://forward.com/news/356918/camp-ramah-faces-decades-old-accusation-of-sexual-abuse/ 

WA--Seattle Catholic abuse secrecy continues, SNAP says

Archbishop Peter Sartain could have publicly disclosed the first time someone reported janitor Chuck Siddon’s alleged abuse. He could have done so the first time an abuse report against Siddon was deemed “credible.” He could have done so the first time the archdiocese was sued because of Siddon’s alleged crimes. He could have done so when the archdiocese first paid off one of Siddon’s alleged victims.
Instead, at every juncture, Sartain opts for secrecy over openness, until the bitter end. And even then, instead of providing the full truth, he provides self-serving “spin.”

http://www.snapnetwork.org/wa_seattle_catholic_abuse_secrecy_continues_snap_says 

Chicago-Area Priest Removed From Ministry for 'Inappropriate Relationship' Returns to Mexico

A Chicago-area priest who was removed from the ministry for an "inappropriate relationship" was hoping to start over in San Antonio, Texas, but has instead relocated to Mexico.

The San Antonio Archdiocese told NBC 5 that Fr. Marco Mercado "never had a formal assignment" and has returned to live with his family in Mexico. Mercado was formerly the rector of the Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine in Des Plaines.

http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/chicago-archdiocese-marco-mercado-406378595.html?akmobile=o&nms=y 

IL--Chicago’s Cardinal lets another wrongdoing cleric just move elsewhere

For the second time in five months, top Chicago Catholic officials are letting a priest who engaged in sexual misconduct move down the road to even more vulnerable and unsuspecting families where he’s apt to hurt others. It’s a continuation of the callous and irresponsible pattern of moving predators that Catholic staffers have engaged in for centuries.

http://www.snapnetwork.org/il_chicago_s_cardinal_lets_another_wrongdoing_just_move_elsewhere 

Prayer day for abuse victims set; Prayers do noit help to heal the victims/survivors.

New Zealand’s Catholic bishops have designated the first Friday of Lent next year as a day of prayer and penance for victims of abuse and violence in New Zealand.  In 2017, this day will fall on March 3, the Friday after Ash Wednesday.
The president of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, Bishop Patrick Dunn, said New Zealand has an alarmingly high incidence of domestic violence. This day would acknowledge the impact of such abuse and violence, both by members of the Church family, but also everywhere it occurs throughout New Zealand.

https://www.nzcatholic.org.nz/2016/12/16/prayer-day-abuse-victims-set/ 

Scale of national child abuse inquiry is a 'virtue', says chairwoman

There is no time frame on the national child abuse inquiry because new forms are emerging all the time, its chairwoman has said, adding that its vast scale is a "virtue".
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) intends to produce an interim report by March 2018, Professor Alexis Jay said, speaking after the publication of her review into the troubled inquiry.

http://www.itv.com/news/2016-12-16/scale-of-national-child-abuse-inquiry-is-a-virtue-says-chairwoman/ 

Paedophiles views to be taken into account in child sex abuse inquiry

THE DECISION for the child sex abuse inquiry to interview paedophiles has been met with outrage from victims’ support groups.

The troubled £100 million inquiry, currently chaired by Professor Alexis Jay has unveiled her delayed review after a series of crises have hampered the government investigation. However the review has already been met with outrage from various victims’ support groups as it was revealed that the public inquiry would talk to convicted paedophiles.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/744609/child-sex-abuse-inquiry-paedophiles-views-heard 

St. George's abuse victims frustrated by R.I. inaction on complaint

Nearly a year after receiving a complaint that a former boarding school psychologist did not do enough to address sexual abuse reports, Rhode Island licensing officials have not resolved it, leaving victims of abuse at the school frustrated at the slow pace.
Two women who were among at least 31 girls abused by a now-deceased athletic trainer at St. George's School in Middletown asked that psychologist Peter Kosseff's license be revoked. They tell The Associated Press they are bothered their complaints still are pending and Kosseff is still practicing.

http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20161212/st-georges-abuse-victims-frustrated-by-ri-inaction-on-complaint 

Church responds to latest sex abuse lawsuit

The Archdiocese of Agana on Monday issued a statement, responding to the latest child sexual abuse lawsuit filed against Guam clergy and the church.
Robert Aguon Perez, 45, on Dec. 7 sued the Rev. David Anderson and the archdiocese, alleging that Anderson started molesting him when he was an 11-year-old altar boy and then started raping him when he was 12 or 13 years old. The lawsuit states Anderson was a priest in Sinajana and a theology teacher at Father Duenas Memorial School.

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2016/12/13/church-responds-latest-sex-abuse-lawsuit/95358790/ 

Ampleforth College: charity watchdog to investigate handling of abuse claims

The Charity Commission has launched an investigation into safeguarding and the handling of sexual abuse allegations at a prestigious independent Catholic boarding school in North Yorkshire.
Police have been investigating allegations of historical sexual abuse at Ampleforth College, which has educated cultural luminaries such as the Downton Abbey creator, Julian Fellowes, the sculptor Antony Gormley and the actor Rupert Everett.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/dec/13/ampleforth-college-charity-watchdog-to-investigate-handling-of-abuse-claims 

Now Ampleforth faces charity probe linked to sex abuse claims

A YORKSHIRE religious community was today at the centre of a raft of new investigations linked to allegations of sexual abuse against students. The Charity Commission announced it was looking into Ampleforth Abbey’s handling of abuse claims at its two church schools near Malton.
At the same time, it emerged that North Yorkshire Police was investigating three new claims of abuse at the Benedictine monk-run institution.

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/crime/now-ampleforth-faces-charity-probe-linked-to-sex-abuse-claims-1-8287729 

Abuse claimants head back to court as Mount Cashel orphanage lawsuit winds down

Men who claim church officials ignored reports of horrific abuse at the Mount Cashel orphanage in Newfoundland are expected back in court Wednesday.
Their civil lawsuit will return to provincial Supreme Court as they argue the Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of St. John's should compensate them for incidents dating back to the 1940s.

http://www.metronews.ca/news/canada/2016/12/13/abuse-claimants-head-back-to-court-as-mount-cashel-orphanage-lawsuit-winds-down.html 

No child should grow up like this: UNSW launches report into institutional care

Cheryl Polock​ was just 4½ years old when her mother dropped her and her siblings on the doorstep of Dalwood Children's Home in Seaforth and simply walked away.
"I remember just being left at the door," Ms Polock, now 72, recalled. "My mother left without really saying anything. We were just abandoned. I didn't see much of my parents after that."

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/no-child-should-grow-up-like-this-unsw-launches-report-into-institutional-care-20161210-gt88ox.html 

Salesian priest charged with string of sex offences

A PRIEST who worked at schools linked to one of the state’s most notorious paedophile rings has been charged with sex offences, decades after allegations first surfaced.

Salesian priest Father Frank De Dood has been charged with a string of offences, including the rape and indecent assault of young boys, between 1978 and 1983.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/salesian-priest-charged-with-string-of-sex-offences/news-story/86d5e37aafafcaaf2d65eaf6a6bcacd5 

Dylan Voller gives evidence before NT royal commission, says he felt like he was 'going to die'

Teen inmate Dylan Voller says being hooded in a restraint chair and tear-gassed are the scariest things to have ever happened to him, and that he felt like he was "going to die".

The 19-year-old inmate at Darwin's adult prison is a key witness the royal commission into youth detention and child protection, and has spoken publicly for the first time, giving several hours of evidence.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-12/dylan-voller-evidence-nt-royal-commission-four-corners-don-dale/8112126 

Woman shares dark secret after 32 years of silence

Two years ago at the age of 42, a woman who KING is identifying by the initials of A.W., took the step of sharing a secret she’d kept since the age of 10.
She decided it was time to tell her parents the truth about what really happened on the last day of third grade at St. John Catholic School in Seattle, and the trauma the event and aftermath had caused for so many years. In 1983, in the school janitor’s office, the long-time school employee didn’t just touch the little 10-year-old inappropriately. A.W. admitted that the janitor, Chuck Siddons, had raped her.

http://www.king5.com/news/local/investigations/woman-shares-dark-secret-after-32-years-of-silence/369662462 

St. George's School Scandal Continues: Former Associate Chaplain Arraigned in Boston

The statute of limitations will not prevent Massachusetts from arraigning a priest who allegedly assaulted a St. George's School student more than 40 years ago.
Howard “Howdy” White Jr., 75, of Bedford, Pennsylvania, was arraigned today for allegedly assaulting a student in his care during two trips to Boston more than 40 years ago, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

http://patch.com/rhode-island/middletown/st-georges-school-scandal-continues-former-associate-chaplain-arraigned 

Former Bedford priest pleads not guilty to assault

A former Bedford Episcopal priest and New England school chaplain pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges that he sexually assaulted a teenage boy in Boston in the 1970s.
Howard “Howdy” White, 75, was arraigned on five counts of assault and battery, Suffolk County, Mass., District Attorney’s Office spokesman Jake Wark said in a news release. White, a Bedford resident, had worked for years as a part-time replacement priest at St. James Episcopal Church in Bedford before church officials suspended him in January.

http://www.altoonamirror.com/news/local-news/2016/12/former-bedford-priest-pleads-not-guilty-to-assault/ 

Hiding Behind the Cloth: Child Sexual Abuse and the Catholic Church

The existence of child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church has shocked many. In this article, the authors review the history of child sexual abuse in the church, the recent events that brought this tragedy into societal consciousness, and the efforts by the church to conceal the abuse. Two sources of empirical literature, the general psychological writing on priest sex abuse and the psychoanalytic literature, on child sexual abuse are compared. Both sources of literature seek explanation for priests' child sexual abuse within the structure and culture of the church rather than viewing the priest as a “typical” sex predator. The authors argue that, in fact, the guilty priests are child predators who differ little from other child predators.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1300/J070v16n03_04?needAccess=true

Roman Catholic Church child abuse in the Middle Ages

It may seem to some that the sexual abuse of children by the clergy is a recent, modern problem. Not so! In the Middle Ages the rules of some religious orders actually made provision for punishing monks who played around with little boys, which implies that this was a common activity! Among other offences — punishable by flagellation — was that of ‘indecencies of any kind with boys’ (and with other monks), and in this case the whipping was inflicted in public. That such a provision was deemed necessary certainly admits that abuses took place, at least on some occasions.

http://churchandstate.org.uk/2016/07/the-catholic-churchs-scandal-of-child-abuse-in-the-middle-ages/ 

The Catholic Church and Child Sexual Abuse in Twentieth-Century Ireland

In 1999, RTÉ, Ireland’s public service broadcaster, aired journalist Mary Rafferty’s three-part special, States of Fear. The exposé included interviews with survivors of Ireland’s industrial schools, state-funded Catholic institutions where poor and unwanted children were deposited for most of the twentieth century, and where many suffered physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. The series shocked Ireland, drawing such an intense public response that, before the final episode aired, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern issued an official apology on behalf of the Irish state for failing to intervene. The next year the government established an inquiry into the alleged abuses, led by High Court Justice Seán Ryan.

http://notchesblog.com/2016/07/14/who-knew-catholic-institutional-power-and-child-sexual-abuse-in-twentieth-century-ireland/ 

If the Catholic Church knows about abuse, they should be obliged by law to report it

Growing up in New Zealand in the 1950s and 60s, things were nothing like they are today.
There was no television or, for that matter, very much else to stimulate the senses. A new music sheet for the piano in our household was seen as something of a highlight. The other high point of the week was on Monday nights when Life with Dexter, a long running family serial was broadcast, which saw the family gathered around the valve radio.

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/the-soap-box-if-the-catholic-church-knows-about-abuse-they-should-be-obliged-by-law-to-report-it/ 

Why nuns are silent about sexual abuse within the Catholic church in India: It's never taken seriously

"If it comes out, it will be like a tsunami," the nun Manju Kulapuram said, earlier this year, about the rampant sexual abuse of women by the men of the Catholic church in India. Evidently, Kulapuram was onto something — and it’s across denominations, nor confined just to the Catholic church. Unlike other work places, which in theory are meant to have set up mandatory internal complaints committees, there is no formal institution in place that addresses sexual abuse inflicted by members of the clergy.

http://www.firstpost.com/india/why-nuns-are-silent-about-sexual-abuse-within-the-catholic-church-in-india-its-never-taken-seriously-3110280.html 

Child sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church

For the first time in this country, a report into child sexual abuse exposes an attempt by the Holy See to frustrate an inquiry in a sovereign, democratic republic as little as three years ago, not three decades ago. And in doing so, [we excavate] the dysfunction, the disconnection, the elitism that dominate the culture of the Vatican today...I want to make it clear, as Taoiseach, that when it comes to the protection of the children of this State, the standards of conduct which the Church deems appropriate to itself, cannot and will not, be applied to the workings of democracy and civil society in this republic. Not purely, or simply, or otherwise, because children have to be, and will be, put first.

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Child_sexual_abuse_in_the_Roman_Catholic_Church 

Sex Abuse and the Catholic Church: Why Is It Still a Story?

Times Insider delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how news, features and opinion come together at The New York Times. In this post, Laurie Goodstein, the national religion correspondent for The New York Times, provides personal insight into her recent article about a Pennsylvania grand jury report that the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown engaged in an extensive cover-up of sex abuse by as many as 50 priests and church officials.

In a connected podcast, Ms. Goodstein talks about what has — and hasn’t changed — since she started writing about sex abuse and the church 22 years ago. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/20/insider/sex-abuse-and-the-catholic-church-why-is-it-still-a-story.html?_r=0 

Question: "What is the cause of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church? Why are there pedophile priests in the Roman Catholic Church?"

Answer: In recent years, hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals have come forward claiming sexual abuse from priests in the Roman Catholic Church. Numerous "pedophile priests" have been identified. Sadly, rather than defrocking the priests (removing from the priesthood), the Catholic Church has in most instances attempted to cover up the sexual abuse by transferring the offending priest(s) to different parishes. The scandal and attempted cover-up continues to expand, reaching all the way to the papacy itself. So, what is the cause of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church? Why does pedophilia seem to be such a common problem among Roman Catholic priests?

https://gotquestions.org/Catholic-abuse.html 

Investigation reveals 'staggering' level of abuse by priests, Franciscans

Within the presentment Tuesday against members of the Franciscan Friars is the text of an interview with Anthony M. Criscitelli, one of three members of the order now facing charges related to the sexual abuse of children by Brother Stephen Baker at Bishop McCort Catholic High School.
Daniel J. Dye, deputy attorney general, lists a series of names, and after each one, Criscitelli confirms that the individual was a member of Franciscan Friars, Third Order Regular, Province of the Immaculate Conception – based in Hollidaysburg.

http://www.tribdem.com/news/investigation-reveals-staggering-level-of-abuse-by-priests-franciscans/article_5c6c6ae8-eadf-11e5-a11b-37762ea003cc.html 

Whistleblower Hoatson: Local child abuse 'secret' protected by culture, 'dome' of faith

The Catholic Church is deeply ingrained in the Johnstown region's identity.
Worshipers have celebrated and mourned together, lived lives of virtue, served their communities, and raised their children in the faith – all within the framework of the institution. But, that same structure allowed countless acts of alleged child sexual abuse to take place – and be covered up – in the opinion of Robert Hoatson, founder of Road to Recovery, a New Jersey-based advocacy group.

 http://www.tribdem.com/news/local_news/whistleblower-hoatson-local-child-abuse-secret-protected-by-culture-dome/article_c88a5eb0-dd0c-56a3-97d2-6126b2de4c01.html

New seminary doc talks clericalism, homosexuality, abuse prevention

The updated version of the Vatican's document on priestly formation, released Wednesday, deals with issues of clericalism, homosexuality, and the protection of minors, among other things.
“To be a good priest, in addition to having passed all the exams, a demonstrated human, spiritual and pastoral maturation is necessary,” Cardinal Beniamino Stella, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, told L'Osservatore Romano Dec. 7. He was commenting on The Gift of the Priestly Vocation, his department's new edition of its “fundamentals of priestly formation.”

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/catholicnews/2016/12/new-seminary-doc-talks-clericalism-homosexuality-abuse-prevention/ 

Teacher in Shrewsbury, Webster is fired after 1990s sex abuse reported

A local Catholic school teacher has been fired after allegations of sexual abuse that reportedly occurred in the early 1990s.
The alleged sexual abuse occurred before Derek P. Sylvester became a part-time music and theater arts teacher at St. Mary Elementary School in Shrewsbury and St. Joseph Elementary School in Webster, Raymond Delisle, spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester, said in a press release Saturday morning. He said that no information has come to the attention of either school of any inappropriate behavior by Mr. Sylvester while employed at any parish or diocesan school or toward any students of the schools.

http://www.telegram.com/news/20161203/teacher-in-shrewsbury-webster-is-fired-after-1990s-sex-abuse-reported 

Province, archdiocese face class action lawsuit on behalf of Indigenous former students of St. Eustache school

Two former students are launching a class action lawsuit over physical, sexual and emotional abuse they say they experienced at St. Eustache School in Saint Eustache, Man., throughout the 1960s at the hands of nuns who ran the school and a priest in the community.
The former students are suing the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions, the Archdiocese of Winnipeg and the Province of Manitoba on behalf of all Indigenous and Métis children who attended the school between 1960 and 1983, according to a statement of claim filed to the Court of Queen's Bench on Nov. 25.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/class-action-st-eustache-manitoba-1.3880684 

Church chair must ensure openness

former Scottish Secretary and former aide to Robert Maxwell – is used to taking on some of the trickier appointments in public life, but she has started her latest one with some tough talking. As chair of the group overseeing the response of the Catholic Church in Scotland to historic sex abuse, Baroness Liddell says there will be no box-ticking. Writing in The Herald, she also promises that, although a Catholic herself, she will be independent and fearless. A light will be shone into every corner of church procedure, she says.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/14945929.Church_chair_must_ensure_openness/ 

NZ Mothers forced to give up children for adoption deserve apology

It took months to piece together last night's story about women who were forced to give up their children for adoption during the baby boomer years.

I spoke to dozens of mothers who had their babies taken from them. Most are still too traumatised to consider sharing their stories publicly, and Debra Harris should be applauded for having the courage to speak out.

http://www.newshub.co.nz/opinion/opinion-mothers-forced-to-give-up-children-for-adoption-deserve-apology-2016032115 

Former west Belfast priest suspended following sexual assault allegation

A FORMER administrator of St Peter's Cathedral in Belfast has been interviewed by police over an alleged sexual assault.
It is understood the allegation against Father Hugh Kennedy is historical in nature and does not involve a child.  The 59-year-old cleric has been been suspended from ministry while the matter is investigated.

http://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2016/12/05/news/former-cathedral-priest-suspended-following-sexual-assault-allegation-817844/ 

Bishop suspends priest from ministry over assault claims

A former priest and cathedral clergyman in Northern Ireland has been suspended from ministry over allegations of sexual assault.

According to the Belfast Telegraph Hugh Kennedy, 59, was working as Administrator at St Peter's Cathedral in Belfast (above) until this year before working at More House, a Christian school in the Archdiocese of Westminster in London.

http://www.premier.org.uk/News/UK/Bishop-suspends-priest-from-ministry-over-assault-claims 

Notorious paedophile Brian Spillane convicted of more Stannies sex assaults

Notorious paedophile and former priest Brian Joseph Spillane​ has been found guilty of a string of sexual assaults on students at St Stanislaus College in Bathurst, it can now be revealed.
There has been a complete black-out on Spillane's cases, which have been running in Sydney courts over several years, including two consecutive trials this year.

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/notorious-paedophile-brian-spillane-convicted-of-more-stannies-sex-assaults-20161205-gt4hh1.html 

Swiss Catholic bishops create $500,000-fund for sex abuse victims

Catholic bishops in Switzerland have created a fund to help people sexually abused by clergy members in cases where the statute of limitations has passed, they said Monday.
The Swiss Bishops Conference (SBK) said it had created a reparations fund worth 500,000 Swiss francs ($495,000, 462,000 euros) to be used to pay sex abuse victims who no longer have the right to seek redress in court.

http://www.expatica.com/ch/news/Swiss-Catholic-bishops-create-500000-fund-for-sex-abuse-victims_852557.html 

Royal Commission reveals more than 80 church offenders preyed on Hunter children

More than 80 Catholic and Anglican Church priests and other representatives – including women - are alleged to have committed child sex crimes against Hunter children over decades, newly released data analysis and evidence to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has revealed.
The shocking figure includes claims and substantiated complaints against 51 alleged and convicted Hunter Catholic offenders from the 1940s to the 1990s, including 19 priests, 20 Marist Brothers, and 12 teachers, employees and volunteers, a report by the royal commission has found.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/royal-commission-reveals-more-than-80-church-offenders-preyed-on-hunter-children-20161205-gt4mpt.html 

Child abuse victims speak out as royal commission begins final stretch of public hearings

A year away from its final report, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has begun the process of re-examining some of the institutions it has scrutinised over the past three years.

The inquiry has been especially challenging for thousands of victims, many of whom have had to reveal their experiences to a public gallery and the nation.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-06/child-abuse-royal-commission-one-year-from-final-report/8094304 

What Pope Francis’ Favorite Movie Can Tell Us About His Vision For The Church

Pope Francis has often talked about his admiration for the film “Babette’s Feast.”
In 2010, when the pope was still Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, he told journalists that the Oscar-winning 1987 Danish film was his favorite movie. He’s talked about it in biographies and even used it as a teaching illustration in his apostolic exhortation on the family, “Amoris Laetitia,” or “The Joy of Love.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pope-francis-babettes-feast_us_583dd721e4b04b66c01c115b?section=us_religion 

Submissions for public hearing into Brisbane Grammar School and St Paul’s School

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has published the written submissions for the public hearing into Brisbane Grammar School and St Paul’s School in Queensland on its website.
The public hearing was held in November 2015 and inquired into the experience of former students of Brisbane Grammar School and St Paul’s School in Queensland.

https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/2016-12/submissions-for-public-hearing-into-brisbane-gramm 

NSW Stolen Generations receive compensation

The NSW government will offer survivors of the Stolen Generation financial compensation as part of a reparation package worth more than $73 million.
The reparations scheme offering one-off payments to survivors is in order to address the trauma and harm from forced removal of Aboriginal children by providing a reparations package.   Aboriginal Affairs Minister Leslie Williams says the package is a healing fund to address intergenerational trauma caused by historical government practices.

http://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2016/12/02/nsw-stolen-generations-receive-compensation 

TEC Faces Uncertain Clergy Future *

TEC Faces Uncertain Clergy Future * Eastern Michigan Bishop Acknowledges Demographic Decline * GAFCON Leader Decries Charges of Homophobia * Australia's Sex Scandals * English Cathedrals get Money Infusion * REC Presiding Bishop Dies
God's grown-up children. God never ceases to be our Father, and we never cease to be his children. But he wants us to become his grown-up children. Dependent and obedient we must always be, yet the obedience we are to give him must not be slavish, mechanical or grudging, but intelligent, glad and free ... God treats his children as adults, and gives us the responsibility to discern and decide for ourselves. In this way our obedience becomes creative. It fosters and does not inhibit our growth. --- John R.W. Stott 

http://www.virtueonline.org/tec-faces-uncertain-clergy-future-eastern-michigan-bishop-acknowledges-demographic-decline-gafcon

Case Study 46, November 2016, Sydney

The Royal Commission is holding a public hearing in Sydney from Monday 28 November 2016 commencing at 10:00am AEDT.
The public hearing will inquire into issues raised in the Royal Commission’s Consultation Paper on Criminal Justice.  Location    The hearing will be held at Level 17, Governor Macquarie Tower, 1 Farrer Place, Sydney.

http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/case-study/80a5ce56-638a-4fbb-a40b-cb0ad7e5dbd3/case-study-46,-november-2016,-sydney 

Cardinal Wuerl apologizes to man who brought abuse claim in ’88

Cardinal Donald Wuerl, head of the Washington archdiocese, apologized to Tim Bendig who was sexually abused by a priest as a boy. He "told the truth," Wuerl said, "about a priest who was a terrible danger to children and without his action that priest might have continued in the ministry."
A former bishop of Pittsburgh who now heads the Washington archdiocese has apologized for initially voicing doubts about a seminarian’s claims in 1988 that as a young boy he had been sexually abused by a priest.

https://cruxnow.com/ap/2016/12/01/cardinal-wuerl-apologizes-man-brought-abuse-claim-88/

Former FA chief approved 'gag' on Chelsea abuse victim

The Football Association’s former chief lawyer approved the gagging clause that prevented a Chelsea footballer from going public with allegations he was sexually abused by the club’s chief scout, The Daily Telegraph has been told.
James Bonington, Chelsea’s head of legal, who previously worked at the FA, ensured the strict confidentiality agreement was in place ­before the payment was made to Gary Johnson, who received £50,000 in July last year on condition he kept quiet about the abuse.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/12/02/former-fa-chief-approved-gag-chelsea-abuse-victim/ 

Catholic Priest Accused Of Assaulting Deaf Children In Argentina

Sexual abuse in Catholicism is a topic that brings forth major controversy. Over the years many Catholic leaders have been accused and found guilty of participating in sexual abuse and by the looks of it the accusations are not slowing down.
According to FOX News Latino, there is a full out investigation of sexual abuse of deaf children at a Catholic school in Argentina’s Mendoza province underway.

http://www.latintimes.com/horacio-corbacho-sexual-abuse-catholic-priest-accused-assaulting-deaf-children-405897 

Movie on revelations of priest sex abuse reminds us that victims’ pain never ends

Maine reporters heard the accounts of survivors too, and more may speak out in reaction to the film.
‘Spotlight” is a movie about journalism. If you haven’t seen it, you should.
It tells the true story of how a team of editors and reporters at the Boston Globe connected “isolated incidents” of sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests into a 2002 series of stories that exposed an institution more concerned with protecting its reputation than it was in protecting children.

http://www.pressherald.com/2015/12/02/greg-kesich-movie-on-revelations-of-priest-sex-abuse-a-reminder-that-victims-pain-never-ends/ 

350 victims report UK child sex abuse

Around 350 people have come forward to tell British police they were victims of child sexual abuse by football coaches, deepening a scandal that has rocked the sport.
The scale of the abuse began to emerge last week after a string of ex-footballers, including England internationals, told of the crimes inflicted upon them, including years of being repeatedly raped.

https://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/33386014/350-victims-report-uk-football-child-sex-abuse-police/#page1 

Church apology for a 14-year sexual relationship an Australian first

Just after 10am on Sunday, inside Victoria's oldest and busiest Catholic church, the congregation will hear something extraordinarily rare.
A senior church official will tell those seated in the pews at St Francis on Lonsdale Street that  their one-time priest, Tom Knowles, has become the first in Australia to be defrocked for having a "long-term inappropriate sexual relationship" with a woman.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/investigations/church-apology-for-a-14year-sexual-relationship-an-australian-first-20161130-gt0phr.html 

The sex abuse case against Father Anthony J. Cipolla

As I indicated earlier in this series, the Pittsburgh Diocese's mishandling and cover-up of the Father Anthony Cipolla Case in the late 1970s was the rule not the exception in the second-half of the 20th century. For almost every Catholic diocese in the world, the first concern of the Corporate Sole of each diocese regarding the management of clerical sex abuse, especially those involving pederasty – adult homosexual acts performed upon minor boys – was the avoidance of scandal at all costs, most especially the cost of justice. This misguided mindset, which was evident not only in the diocesan priesthood but in religious orders as well, was reinforced by the Vatican itself through generations of "progressive" popes in the Post-Conciliar era following the Second Vatican Council.

http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/engel/161203 

Some Catholics are ‘unnerved’ by current events in the Church, says Cardinal Pell

The cardinal said that conscience must refer to revealed truth and the moral law Cardinal George Pell has said that “a number of regularly worshipping Catholics” are “unnerved by the turn of events” in the Church.

In a talk at St Patrick’s Church, London, Cardinal Pell said one cause for concern was false theories of conscience and the moral law.

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2016/11/29/some-catholics-are-unnerved-by-current-events-in-the-church-says-cardinal-pell/ 

Football abuse scandal shows media must learn lessons from its silences

In the course of his heartbreaking account of the abuse he suffered at the hands of a paedophile football coach the former Tottenham and Liverpool player Paul Stewart mentioned that he had watched Spotlight, the film about the Boston Globe’s investigation of institutionalised sexual abuse with the city’s Catholic church.
As Stewart put it, the revelations in that case started relatively small, but the airing of them caused survivor accounts to snowball. That way, he judged, “the enormity of it became clear”.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/nov/30/media-failed-victims-failing-spotlight-abuse-football 

Royal Commission – the rabbis call on named to stand down

The Executive of the Rabbinical Council of Australia and New Zealand (RCANZ), The Rabbinical Council of New South Wales (RCNSW) and the Rabbinical Council of Victoria (RCV) have expressed their  deep distress by the contents of the report by the Royal Commission into child sexual abuse at Yeshiva Bondi and Yeshivah Melbourne.
In a joint statement the rabbis said: “Child sexual abuse has caused unimaginable suffering to the victims in our community, and RCANZ, RCNSW and RCV and their members are totally committed to removing this scourge from our community and from our institutions. We offer our deepest sympathies to the victims and commit ourselves to learning from the failures of the past.

http://www.jwire.com.au/royal-commission-rabbis-speak/ 

The Latest: Jury recommends 7 years for priest in sex case

The Latest on a Louisville priest being tried on sexual abuse charges (all times local): 7 p.m. A jury has recommended a seven-year sentence for a Louisville priest convicted of sexual abuse.
The Meade County jury earlier Tuesday found the Rev. Joseph Hemmerle guilty of one count of indecent or immoral practices with a child under 15 at his Catholic summer camp in the 1970s. He was found not guilty of a second count and faced up to 10 years in prison.

http://www.newschannel10.com/story/33819684/the-latest-priest-convicted-in-70s-summer-camp-case 

JCCV Statement on Royal Commission Report

The Jewish Community Council of  Victoria (JCCV) welcomes the report published yesterday by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse focusing on the responses of Yeshivah Melbourne and Yeshiva Bondi.  The findings in the report are no great surprise but nevertheless are highly disturbing and distressing.

All community organisations, community leaders and community members must be committed to the protection, health and safety of our children as the number one priority of the community.  Victims must be respected, listened to and supported.  Our institutions must be safe for our children, without exception.

http://www.jccv.org.au/news/1292/59/JCCV-Statement-on-Royal-Commission-Report.html 

KY--Victims applaud conviction of KY predator priest

A Louisville priest who was accused of molesting two children and spent 30 years running a camp for kids has been found guilty in his first trial.  He still awaits a second trial by a second alleged victim after the judge ruled to split the cases, even though both men say they were abused at the same camp. A support group for victims is praising those who helped prosecute the priest and begging others who “may have seen, suspected or suffered his crimes or church cover ups” to come forward.

http://www.snapnetwork.org/ky_victims_applaud_conviction_of_ky_predator_priest 

Penalty reform urged for NSW sex offenders

NSW's chief prosecutor has signalled a desire for reforms that would see those convicted of historical child sex crimes punished in line with tougher modern standards.
NSW Director of Public Prosecutions Lloyd Babb SC told the child abuse royal commission legislative change in sentencing historical child sex offences was desirable.

http://www.9news.com.au/national/2016/11/30/15/17/call-for-aboriginal-sexual-abuse-service

Australia's top rabbis urge Yeshivah leaders who failed abuse survivors to step down

Australia’s most senior orthodox rabbis have called on Jewish leaders who failed child abuse survivors to stand down from their public positions.
The rabbinical councils of Australia and New Zealand, New South Wales, and Victoria issued a joint statement on Wednesday in response to the royal commission’s damning findings against Yeshivah communities in Melbourne and Sydney.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/nov/30/australias-top-rabbis-urge-yeshivah-leaders-who-failed-abuse-survivors-to-step-down 

Woman accuses Albuquerque Bishop of sexual abuse

A Bishop who leads the Albuquerque chapter of one of the largest nationwide churches is accused of being a predator.
A woman claims he seduced her when she was a teen, then sexually abused her, and recently came onto her 6-year-old daughter. Bishop James L’Keith Jones of the Church of God in Christ, or COGIC, has been preaching in Albuquerque for years. But there may be a sinister side to the Bishop that Kimberly Pollard wants the public to know about.

http://krqe.com/2016/11/29/woman-accuses-albuquerque-bishop-of-sexual-abuse/ 

Archbishop Byrnes tells Guam "I belong to you"

History has been made. Hundreds of the island's faithful gathered for a morning prayer service to welcome and celebrate newly-appointed Archbishop Michael Byrnes. While he's scheduled to make his permanent move to Guam in January, the new leader of the island's Catholic faithful is visiting for the next few weeks to get acquainted with his new island home.
The arrival of Guam's new archbishop appears to already be closing the gap that has divided the local Catholic church for years. On Wednesday morning, just minutes before a Prayer for the Beginning of the Episcopal Ministry of Coadjutor Archbishop Michael Jude Byrnes service, dozens of members of the Neocatechumenal Way gathered in song to welcome him.

http://www.kuam.com/story/33822254/2016/11/Wednesday/archbishop-byrnes-tells-guam-i-belong-to-you 

New accusation of sexual abuse filed against church

One more case was filed alleging child molestation by local clergy, as the latest person to come forward is Norman J.D. Aguon. The 56-year -old man now lives in Oregon but previously lived in Malojloj during his childhood years. He alleges that between 1969 through 1973 starting when he was 13 years old he was an altar boy at San Isidro Church in Malojloj, where Father Louis Brouillard was the priest.
Like other he alleged that at the Carmelite monastery the priest would walk around naked and molested him on multiple occasions.  

http://www.kuam.com/story/33822449/two-new-accusations-of-sexual-abuse-filed-against-church

Victims advocate: Altoona-Johnstown diocese 'retrenching' in wake of abuse report

An alleged victim of child sexual abuse, who came forward shortly after a grand jury report was released that accused the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona–Johnstown of orchestrating a decades-long coverup of pedophilia within its ranks, now finds himself at odds with the diocese over a proposed settlement.
The now 34-year-old man claims he was abused by Brother Stephen Baker from approximately 1996 to 1998 ,when both were at what was then called Bishop McCort High School in Johnstown.

http://www.tribdem.com/news/victims-advocate-altoona-johnstown-diocese-retrenching-in-wake-of-abuse/article_6f5d5982-b681-11e6-ba55-7bcc90f1dec4.html