Lynn Beyak Won't Step Down From Senate Committee On Aboriginal Peoples

A Conservative senator who was criticized for praising “some good things,” about residential schools will not step down from the Senate committee on aboriginal peoples.
“I’ve made my statements and I stand by them,” Lynn Beyak told CBC News on Monday. She said she’s received “hundreds and hundreds and hundreds” of letters of support since saying that the positive side of residential schools went unacknowledged.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/03/27/lynn-beyak-senate_n_15647532.html 

Lawmakers eliminating time-frame protection for child sex offenders

Those who suffered sexual abuse and assault as children decades ago may soon be able to obtain justice by having their victimizers prosecuted. 

State Sen. Scott Bennett, D-Champaign, introduced Senate Bill 189 in January, which would eliminate the statute of limitations for all felony child abuse and sexual assault crimes. It already passed the Senate Criminal Law Committee, of which Bennett is a member, with a 10-0 vote March 7 and is now awaiting a full Senate vote, according to Illinois legislative records. 

http://www.columbiachronicle.com/metro/article_dc4bc788-0b6b-11e7-8a6a-f7ced1387bb1.html

Lawsuit accuses archdiocese of squandering money from cemetery fund

Two Orange County residents are suing the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, alleging that a Mission Hills cemetery has misused maintenance funds and left their family's gravesites in ruins.
Jodi Howard and William Howard, whose relatives are buried at San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Mission Hills, filed the class-action suit March 21 after they had difficulty finding the grave markers of their loved ones.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-cemetery-lawsuit-20170327-story.html 

Investigation, removal of Florida priest divides parish

A Florida pastor in ecclesial limbo, even after being cleared by a state attorney's investigation into taking financial advantage of an elderly parishioner, is being supported by parishioners who want him reinstated.
Fr. Christopher Senk, 67, pastor of St. Isabel Parish on Sanibel Island in the Diocese of Venice, Florida, was put on paid administrative leave Oct. 28 of last year by Bishop Frank Dewane until a church investigation is completed. Senk's case is being examined by the Vatican.

https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/investigation-removal-florida-priest-divides-parish 

Pastor kept child porn to research Cupid, love, trafficking, affidavit says

An associate pastor told police he kept child pornography on his computer “to remind himself of what other people like to look at,” according to a search warrant affidavit.
James Rankin, 78, also saved about 50 images of children engaging in pornography as part of research for “a possible lesson involving Cupid, love and human trafficking seven to eight years ago,” the search affidavit stated.

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/northeast-tarrant/article141073053.html

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/northeast-tarrant/article141073053.html#storylink=cpy

Govt spends $1m fighting abuse case - and loses

The Ministry of Social Development spent more than a million dollars paying private lawyers to fight claims of abuse at a state-funded bootcamp on Great Barrier Island before finally settling with victims for $340,000.
Settlement with four claimants to proceedings, the last of which came in February, followed a 12-year battle in the courts which also saw the Ministry stuck with costs due to Legal Aid of $369,000.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11824795 

No easy fixes for preventing abuse, warns Freier

THE Australian Primate, Dr Philip Freier, Archbishop of Melbourne, appearing before the Royal Com­mission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, has warned against seeking simple answers about abuse.
On the final day of the four-day hearing on the Anglican Church’s responses, a panel of six witnesses was questioned intensively about the causes of child sexual abuse in the Church, particularly focusing on clericalism. Dr Freier cautioned, however, that the propensity to abuse children was found in all forms of human community because “it is a deep thing in our human nature that we need to be very vigilant to protect against.”

https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2017/24-march/news/world/no-easy-fixes-for-preventing-abuse-warns-freier 

Assignment Record– Rev. Richard F. Gorman

Summary of Case: Richard Gorman was ordained for the Archdiocese of New York in 1982. His first assignment was as an assistant at St. Barnabas in the Bronx. From there he spent three years at Stepinac High School in White Plains before joining the faculty of Spellman High in the Bronx where, from 1997 on, he was in residence.
 From 1997 to 2004 Gorman was Associate Director of the Department of Social Research for Catholic Charities, after which he is noted in the Official Catholic Directory to have been retired for several years. In the early 2000s he earned a law degree. Gorman served as a judge for the archdiocese's Metropolitan Tribunal and, from 2010 to 2016, he was the Prison Apostolate director. Gorman was known for his community activism; for over twenty years he was chairman of Community Board 12 in the Bronx.

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

Lawsuits against Father DeCosta persist

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu has settled one of three civil lawsuits that allege a prominent retired Big Island priest sexually molested teenage boys decades ago, according to the attorney for the plaintiffs in the cases.
Oahu attorney Mark Gallagher said Monday the settlement of the 2013 suit brought by two men known only as John Roe 6 and 7, concerns only the diocese and “there is no dismissal of any claims against Father George DeCosta.”

http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/news/local-news/lawsuits-against-father-decosta-persist 

Come Down From Pulpit to Deal With Sexual Abuse, Catholic Leaders Told

ROME (Reuters) - Catholic leaders must come down "from the pulpit" to acknowledge that clergy sexual abuse of children and cover-ups had broken the Church's heart and to do more to prevent it, speakers at a conference said on Thursday.

The gathering at a pontifical university in Rome took place as the Vatican was still stinging from the shock resignation on March 1 of Marie Collins from a commission advising Pope Francis on how to root out sexual abuse.

Collins, who as a teenager was abused by a priest in Ireland, quit in frustration, citing "shameful" resistance to change within the Vatican.

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2017-03-23/come-down-from-pulpit-to-deal-with-sexual-abuse-catholic-leaders-told

Message in a bottle: Letters need humble response, say abuse survivors

Acknowledging correspondence and treating victims with respect is the very least church officials can offer, said survivors of clergy sex abuse.
Never letting a letter or email languish unanswered was such a key “best practice” of showing care and concern for victims of sexual abuse by clergy and religious that Marie Collins, an Irish survivor, stepped down from the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors over the issue.

http://catholicphilly.com/2017/03/news/world-news/message-in-a-bottle-letters-need-humble-response-say-abuse-survivors/ 

Mangilao man says priest took nude photos of him as a boy

A man said a former priest, who also was his scoutmaster, took nude photos of him at a Mangilao church rectory and sexually abused him in the early 1960s. John A.B. Pangelinan, 67, said he was about 11 or 12 when former priest Louis Brouillard sexually abused him in or around 1961 or 1962. Brouillard was a scoutmaster in the Boy Scouts of America.
Pangelinan, now living in Mangilao, is the 33rd man to file a Guam clergy sex abuse lawsuit. He's demanding at least $10 million in damages, double the minimum amount requested by others. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of Guam Friday afternoon, also names the Boy Scouts of America and the Boy Scouts of America Aloha Council Chamorro District as defendants.

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2017/03/24/mangilao-man-says-priest-took-nude-photos-him-boy/99571750/ 

Bathurst St Stanislaus’ College set for apology to student victims of paedophile priest

VICTIMS of historic sexual abuse at Bathurst’s St Stanislaus’ College will receive a formal public apology on June 16. Head of College Dr Anne Wenham announced the date for the apology following the sentencing of disgraced former priest Brian Spillane in the District Court last Thursday.
In a letter to the school community, Dr Wenham said details of Spillane’s crimes had been distressing to read and she was deeply sorry for what his young victims had experienced during their time as students at the college

http://www.juneesoutherncross.com.au/story/4478060/college-to-apologise-to-victims-of-paedophile-priest/?cs=4113 

NSW priest on bail after sex charges

A Catholic priest who allegedly abused a young boy on the NSW mid north coast almost four decades ago is due to face court next month after being granted conditional bail.
The victim, now 46, came forward in March 2014, a year after the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was established.

http://www.skynews.com.au/news/national/nsw/2017/03/24/nsw-priest-on-bail-after-sex-charges.html 

Cardinal O’Malley: Evangelization will have ‘no effect’ if the church doesn’t protect children

Opening today’s seminar at the Gregorian University in Rome on “Safeguarding children in homes and schools worldwide,” Cardinal Seán O’Malley, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, told participants: “Let there be no doubts, no other topic is more important for the life of the church.
If the church is not committed to child protection, our efforts at evangelization will be to no effect; we will lose the trust of our people and gain the opprobrium of the world.” Indeed, he said, “there is simply no justification in our day for failures to enact concrete safeguarding standards for our children, young men and women, and vulnerable adults.”

http://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2017/03/23/cardinal-omalley-evangelization-will-have-no-effect-if-church-doesnt-protect 

Child sex abuse report details diocese complaints

THE Anglican Church has admitted it tried to silence child sex abuse victims and cared more about its reputation than those who had been harmed.
Church records show 1082 people have made complaints about 569 alleged perpetrators in the Anglican Church in Australia, which includes 18 complaints in the Bathurst Diocese.

http://www.oberonreview.com.au/story/4546349/report-outlines-diocese-shame/ 

Christian Brothers papers show children being ‘sold into slavery’

Documents, including contracts that showed children being “effectively sold into slavery”, are at the centre of a dispute between the Christian Brothers and a former industrial school resident who retained the papers for more than 40 years.

Tom Wall, a former resident of St Joseph’s industrial school in Glin, Co Limerick, obtained the documents in 1973, when the Christian Brothers who were leaving Glin asked him to burn files on every resident. Mr Wall held onto his own file as well as a significant number of files on other residents. In 2015, he donated them to the University of Limerick so they could be maintained and catalogued.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/oireachtas/christian-brothers-papers-show-children-being-sold-into-slavery-1.3020770 

Judge In Msgr. Lynn Case Finds Prosecutorial Misconduct

The judge in the Msgr. William J. Lynn sex abuse case announced today that she had found evidence of prosecutorial misconduct serious enough to warrant a new trial for the defendant.
Judge Gwendolyn N. Bright stated that new evidence divulged in a Jan. 13th hearing by retired Detective Joseph Walsh "should have been provided to the defense" back in 2012 when Lynn was originally tried and convicted on one count of child endangerment.

 

http://www.bigtrial.net/2017/03/judge-in-msgr-lynn-case-finds.html

Connecticut priest gets prison time for helping teen buy explosives, build pipe bomb

A priest from East Windsor was sentenced to 9 months in prison Friday for helping a minor purchase explosives and build a pipe bomb, according to a release from the U.S. attorney’s office.

The Rev. Paul Gotta, 58, who lived at St. Philip Church in East Windsor, was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Robert Chatigny in Hartford.  Gotta pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly and willfully distributing an explosive material to an individual under 21 in July 2013.

http://www.registercitizen.com/general-news/20170324/connecticut-priest-gets-prison-time-for-helping-teen-buy-explosives-build-pipe-bomb 

A retired priest jailed for indecently assaulting a schoolboy in the 1970s must wait to hear the outcome of an appeal against his conviction.

Tadhg O'Dalaigh (73), of Woodview, Mount Merrion Avenue, Blackrock, had pleaded not   guilty at Cork Circuit Criminal Court to one count of indecently assaulting a 16-year-old boy at Colaiste Chroi Naofa in Carrignavar, Co Cork on a date unknown in 1979.
He was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to five years imprisonment with the final two suspended by Judge Donagh McDonagh on December 18, 2014.

https://www.sundayworld.com/news/courts/paedo-ex-priest-bring-conviction-appeal 

CNMI law to help clergy abuse survivors get help, justice

Three months after the CNMI lifted the statute of limitations on child sex abuse cases, retired Saipan bishop Tomas A. Camacho faced accusations he raped an altar boy in the 1970s. Camacho also is a former Guam priest.
That was in November, two months after Guam enacted a law that would allow victims of child sex abuse to sue their abusers and the institutions with which they are associated, at any time, paving the way for at least 18 former altar boys to file clergy sexual abuse lawsuits in the U.S. District Court of Guam.

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2017/03/25/cnmi-law-help-clergy-abuse-survivors-get-help-justice/97935338/ 

Abuse inquiry: Australian orphanage was 'feast of kids'

A former child migrant, sent from Wales to an Australian orphanage, has told a child abuse inquiry how it was a "feast of kids" for paedophiles working there.

Giving evidence, the anonymous 72-year-old said Brother Lawrence Murphy took him in to his bedroom twice, forcing him to perform sex acts.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-39131761?SThisFB&post_id=10204672433356106_10208952026143251#_=_ 

Issue of children who sexually abuse other children is not something that can be ignored

A recent string of high profile cases involving “celebrity perpetrators” along with a series of ongoing inquires into historical child abuse in the UK has brought sexual abuse into the public consciousness in an unprecedented way.
Similar inquiries are also underway internationally – notably the ongoing Australian Royal Commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse, which has spent the last four years hearing testimony from thousands of Australian survivors.

http://theconversation.com/issue-of-children-who-sexually-abuse-other-children-is-not-something-that-can-be-ignored-73478 

Foster child suicide: Lawyer for woman who killed herself after 55 placements calls for change

A lawyer is urging child protection authorities to learn from the recent death of one of her clients, who took her own life after enduring more than 55 foster care placements as a child.
"Jolene" was physically, emotionally and sexually abused from infancy and was admitted to hospital more than 100 times. A former nurse told the ABC Jolene regularly self-harmed so she could be admitted to hospital, because it was the only place she felt safe.

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-08/former-foster-childs-suicide-prompts-call-for-change/7010002

Paedophile priest Peter Searson worked under various bishops, including George Pell

For years, the Melbourne Catholic Archdiocese knew that Father Peter Searson was committing sexual offences against boys, girls and women but he was allowed to continue in parishes, including at the Doveton parish (in Melbourne's south-east), where he survived for years under the supervision of the regional bishop for the south-eastern suburbs, Auxiliary Bishop George Pell.
The Victoria Police investigated Searson for sexual offences in parishes but found it difficult to extract evidence from "loyal" church people. Eventually, after 35 years as a priest, the police managed to charge Searson with physical assault. Thus, Searson's abuse thus became public. The church authorities were forced to dump Searson from parish work. Hoping to protect the church's public image, the church also removed his name from the published list of retired priests.

http://www.brokenrites.org.au/drupal/node/19 

Research finds lack of coordination in child sexual abuse prevention

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has released a new research report that finds there are limited programs and services to help prevent child sexual abuse and those that do exist are not well coordinated.
The Royal Commission contracted researchers from the Institute of Child Protection Studies, Australian Catholic University, to examine the potential service needs of a range of target groups, with a focus on individuals concerned that they or someone they know may sexually harm or abuse a child.

https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/2017-03/research-finds-lack-of-coordination-in-child-sexua 

Former Twin Cities vicar general leaves the priesthood

A former vicar general of the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese who resigned early in the region’s three-year-plus clergy sexual abuse scandal, has now left the priesthood altogether.
Peter Laird in January was granted by Pope Francis a “request for laicization,” or dispensation from the obligations of the clerical state, according to a March 10 statement from Twin Cities Archbishop Bernard Hebda. Laird had made the request in January 2014. This May would have marked his 20^th anniversary of his ordination.

https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/former-twin-cities-vicar-general-leaves-priesthood

Court finds probable cause against former Tosa priest accused of sexually assaulting a child

The case against Robert Marsicek will continue after a Milwaukee County judge ruled that there is probable cause to move the proceedings forward.
The former St. Pius Church and School priest known as "Father Bob" is accused of three counts of felony first-degree sexual assault of a child. He appeared before a judge as part of a preliminary hearing at the Milwaukee County Courthouse March 6. The church and school are located at 2520 Wauwatosa Ave.

http://www.wauwatosanow.com/story/news/2017/03/14/court-finds-probable-cause-case-against-former-st-pius-priest/99159880/ 

Home States Kerala Kerala High Court gives priest, nuns accused in Kotiyoor rape case deadline to surrender

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday directed four accused in a case related to the rape of a minor girl by a parish priest in Kannur to surrender before the Investigating officer within five days.
The court issued the order while disposing off the bail pleas filed by Fr Thomas Therakam, former Child welfare Council (CWC) Chairman of Wayanad District, Sister Betty Jose, former member of CWC Sister Ophilla, Superintendent- Holy Infant Mary's Girls Home Adoption Center, Vythir, Wayanad and a midwife- Thankamma.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2017/mar/14/kerala-high-court-gives-priest-nuns-accused-in-kotiyoor-rape-case-deadline-to-surrender-1581379.html 

Abuse survivor asks Vatican cardinal for ‘honesty and clarity’

Abuse survivor Marie Collins, who quit a papal anti-abuse commission citing resistance to reform from the Roman Curia, has written an open letter to the Vatican's doctrine czar saying "No longer can dysfunction be kept hidden behind institutional closed doors."

In an open letter to the Vatican’s top doctrinal official, clerical abuse survivor Marie Collins, who recently resigned from the pope’s anti-abuse commission citing frustrations over resistance to reform within the Roman Curia, warns against a “denial and obfuscation” and insists that key reform moves recommended by the commission have been disregarded.

https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2017/03/14/abuse-survivor-asks-vatican-cardinal-honesty-clarity/ 

Research compares the recruitment and support of carers in out-of-home care across Australia

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has released a new research report examining carer recruitment, training and support policies and processes in place across Australia that aim to enhance the safety of children in out-of-home care and prevent sexual abuse.
The report, A national comparison of carer screening, assessment, selection and training and support in foster care, kinship and residential care, was commissioned by the Royal Commission and prepared by Inca Consulting.

https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/2017-03/research-compares-the-recruitment-and-support-of-c 

Fall from grace of the human face of Church hierarchy

HE rain was bucketing down for much of the morning, but nobody really minded, least of all the man who was up there on the stage in front of a crowd heading for 300,000.
The occasion was Pope John Paul’s appearance at Ballybrit Racecourse in Galway, as part of his Irish visit. It was September 29, 1979, and Eamonn Casey was in his element. He had been selected as the man to be the warm-up act for Pope John Paul II.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/fall-from-grace-of-the-human-face-of-church-hierarchy-445185.html

NY Wants To Expand Statute Of Limitations For Sex Abuse

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has introduced a revised version of the Child Victims Act that would remove the statute of limitations on prosecution of abusers in public and private institutions around the state.
Cuomo’s proposal would allow adults who were abused as children to file civil lawsuits up to 50 years after the attacks occurred, and would allow victims who couldn’t bring their cases to court due to current statute-of-limitations laws to have a one-year window to do so.

http://blog.au.org/church-state/march-2017-church-state/au-bulletin/ny-wants-to-expand-statute-of-limitations-for-sex 

Retired bishop gets more time to respond to sex abuse suit

Saipan retired Bishop Tomas A. Camacho has been granted more time to respond to a former altar boy’s lawsuit, alleging that the former Guam priest raped and sexually abused him in the 1970s.
Camacho has until March 31 to file his response because his attorney, William M. Fitzgerald, will be in the mainland for a medical check up.

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2017/03/01/retired-bishop-gets-more-time-respond-sex-abuse-suit/98514820/ 

Foster child suicide: Lawyer for woman who killed herself after 55 placements calls for change

"Jolene" was physically, emotionally and sexually abused from infancy and was admitted to hospital more than 100 times. A former nurse told the ABC Jolene regularly self-harmed so she could be admitted to hospital, because it was the only place she felt safe.
Jolene was suing the Department of Community and Family Services (DOCS) for failing to protect her, but took her own life two weeks ago, before the case made it to court. She was 28. Her lawyer, Neisha Shepherd, said Jolene left a will and she planned to continue the court action, on behalf of her estate.

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-08/former-foster-childs-suicide-prompts-call-for-change/7010002 

Urgent bill as 107 child sex offenders taken off register

Parliament is debating a bill under urgency that fixes a flaw in the Child Sex Offender Register which saw more than 100 offenders taken off it.  Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett introduced the bill on Tuesday and told MPs the register, set up in October last year, might not cover some offenders.
"There are 107 offenders who have been taken off the register who were intended to be on it," she said. "Any retrospective law is complicated, but we've seen a problem and we're moving to fix it urgently."

https://nz.news.yahoo.com/top-stories/a/34583984/urgent-bill-as-100-child-sex-offenders-taken-off-register/#page1 

Victim wants church to take responsibility for abuse

A man haunted by childhood memories of sexual abuse at a Catholic orphanage in Christchurch just wants someone to acknowledge there was wrongdoing. He "f***ed up" his life for 25 years living with the burden of the abuse's trauma, and today, eight years after speaking out to police and sitting through legal negotiations with a religious Order, he is angry, feeling no one has taken responsibility despite an out-of-court settlement.
Michael, 43, spoke to nzherald.co.nz about six years he spent at St Joseph's orphanage in Christchurch, the 25 following years he kept the sexual abuse he experienced there bottled up, and the eight years till today he has been frustrated trying to get his plight recognised.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10637322 

Catholic church investigating five cases of alleged abuse

New Zealand's Catholic church is investigating five historical cases of alleged sexual abuse, and victims' counsellors say the situation here is no better than scandal-plagued dioceses overseas.
It has been eight years since New Zealand's Catholic church apologised to its parishioners about how it had historically handled sexual abuse cases, after admitting to 38 cases of sexual abuse by priests and other men in its ranks.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10637043 

Bathurst forum for sexual abuse survivors

GREENS MLC David Shoebridge will host a public forum in Bathurst this week to support the survivors of historic sexual abuse at St Stanislaus’ College. Holding The Church to Account will discuss ways to make amends to the victims of abuse and how to make institutions accountable for past wrongs.
Mr Shoebridge said he was hosting the forum in response to the decision by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse not to hold a public hearing in Bathurst, despite the city’s chequered history.

http://www.westernadvocate.com.au/story/4524300/bathurst-forum-for-sexual-abuse-survivors/ 

Child abuse in Anglican Church to be examined

The extent of child sex abuse in the Australian Anglican Church will be laid bare as its leaders answer for what one bishop describes as a protection racket for pedophiles. Church records on child sex abuse claims will be released as its senior leaders face the royal commission's final Anglican hearing that begins in Sydney on Friday.
University of Sydney law professor Patrick Parkinson says there are pockets within the Anglican Church that have pretty appalling records of child abuse. 'There's definitely pockets of real shame in the Anglican Church,' Professor Parkinson told

http://www.skynews.com.au/news/national/nsw/2017/03/12/child-abuse-in-anglican-church-to-be-examined.html 

Reflections from the frontline in the war on Catholic child sex abuse

The presentation of victim impact statements is one of the most powerful and revealing parts of a child sexual abuse trial. Each one is different, a unique voice speaking out, usually after decades of painful, secretive silence. But there is a terrible consistency in the effect the abuse had on these people's lives:
"I feel pain and self-hatred. I tried to obliterate it with alcohol." "I've lost my right to a normal life." "I can no longer trust anyone, I always wonder whether they will betray my trust the way my abuser did." "I didn't know who to trust, so I trusted no one." "It made my life the living embodiment of hell."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-13/reflections-from-frontline-in-the-war-on-catholic-child-abuse/8337528

Taoiseach: Church needs to 'measure up' to compensating abuse victims

The Catholic church must measure up to its responsibility when it comes to compensating those who suffered abuse in institutions run by religious orders, Enda Kenny has said.
The Taoiseach urged church authorities to reflect on the issue following last week's revelation that orders have paid just 13% of a €1.5bn bill for a long-running inquiry, redress and compensation. Earlier on Sunday, Minister for Health Simon Harris called on the Vatican to put pressure on Catholic orders to stump up the agreed 50% share of the costs.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/taoiseach-church-needs-to-measure-up-to-compensating-abuse-victims-781304.html

Victim backs review

Paul Levey has never been back to Mortlake.  Not since he was sexually abused at the hands of disgraced paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale at the age of 14, while living with him at presbytery in the small western Victorian town in 1982.
“I don’t think I could ever bring myself to go back there,” he said.  “I only have horrible memories.”  Mr Levey was said he’d been left “gutted” to learn there were still plaques in south-western Victorian Catholic schools and churches honouring disgraced former Bishop of Ballarat Ronald Mulkearns.

http://www.thecourier.com.au/story/4506271/victim-backs-review/ 

Archdiocese of Hartford sued for alleged sexual abuse by former Guilford priest

The Archdiocese of Hartford has been sued by a former altar boy, claiming he was sexually abused by a priest who served three parishes in Greater New Haven.
The Rev. Daniel McSheffery has been accused of abusing the man, now 49 years old, between 1977 and 1982 when McSheffery was pastor of St. George Roman Catholic Church in Guilford.

http://www.nhregister.com/general-news/20170301/archdiocese-of-hartford-sued-for-alleged-sexual-abuse-by-former-guilford-priest 

Priest abused boy more than 250 times in ’70s, ’80s

A former altar boy is suing the Archdiocese of Hartford, saying he was molested by a priest in the 1970s and 1980s starting when he was 9 years old.
The lawsuit states Daniel McSheffery abused the man more than 250 times from 1977 to 1982 when McSheffery was a pastor at St. George Roman Catholic Church in Guilford.

http://wtnh.com/2017/03/02/suit-priest-abused-boy-more-than-250-times-in-70s-80s/ 

Quebec man accuses Pius X Secular Institute, Cardinal Lacroix of ignoring sex abuse

A $367,000 (US$274,000) lawsuit filed in Quebec Superior Court charged the Pius X Secular Institute and its officials of ignoring abuse that occurred on the institute grounds in Quebec City in the 1970s and 1980s.

Andre Lachance, 48, filed the suit claiming he was sexually abused by his uncle, Jean-Paul Lachance, a lay missionary and member of the institute. Andre Lachance, then a boy, claimed the abuse occurred when he was visiting his uncle, who committed suicide in 2014, after having been accused by two different plaintiffs of indecent exposure.

 

http://www.catholicregister.org/item/24498-quebec-man-accuses-pius-x-secular-institute-cardinal-lacroix-of-ignoring-sex-abuse 

Kerala priest Robin Vadakkumchery a habitual offender, it is not just the Catholic Church that protected him:

Father Robin Vadakkumchery has been in the news for being arrested on rape charges. He also admitted that he had raped a sixteen-year-old student and the buzz is that he offered her father Rs 10 lakh to accept responsibility for the girl’s pregnancy. According to local TV channels, statements given by other priests in secrecy reveal that the priest enjoyed clout within the clergy and occupied a top position despite the allegations that were brought against him earlier.

http://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/kerala-priest-robin-vadakkumchery-a-habitual-offender-it-is-not-just-the-catholic-church-that-protected-him-roy-matthew-mediaperson/572686/ 

Church Sex Scandal: Mexican Priest Gave Children Alcohol, Showed Them Porn, Abused Them, Gets 16 Years In Prison

A priest in southern Mexico has become the first member of the Catholic Church in the country ever to be convicted of sexual abuse. The Rev. Gerardo Silvestre Hernández, a priest in the Archdiocese of Antequera Oaxaca, was sentenced to 16 years and six months in prison last week for crimes committed against two minors between 2009 and 2010, according to the Catholic News Service. The priest was also ordered to pay damages to the victims of around $4000

http://www.ibtimes.com/church-sex-scandal-mexican-priest-gave-children-alcohol-showed-them-porn-abused-them-2501239 

Byrnes responds to recent sex abuse cases

Coadjutor Archbishop Michael Byrnes has asked Catholics in Guam to pray for all victims of clergy sexual abuse.
In a statement issued yesterday, Byrnes reacted to the latest five lawsuits filed in the District Court of Guam against the Archdiocese of Agana and former clergy who worked in parishes around the island. Children must be 'safeguarded'

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/byrnes-responds-to-recent-sex-abuse-cases/article_66fd3b3c-ff19-11e6-9e40-f784912e1b84.html 

Church must stand with victims of sexual abuse, not the perpetrators

The priest, Robin Vadakkumchery, was finally caught after the victim became pregnant and gave birth, which he tried to hush up, allegedly with the support of others in the church hierarchy.

The outburst of public anger against the Catholic Church in Kerala over the allegations of shielding a priest accused of raping a minor girl is reminiscent of similar events that have been happening in the United States for two decades. The priest, Robin Vadakkumchery, was finally caught after the victim became pregnant and gave birth, which he tried to hush up, allegedly with the support of others in the church hierarchy.

http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/editorial-dna-edit-church-must-stand-with-victims-of-sexual-abuse-not-the-perpetrators-2340625 

Cardinal O’Malley says voices of clergy sexual abuse survivors are critical

Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley vowed Thursday to make sure clergy sexual abuse victims have a voice on a Vatican panel addressing the crisis that rocked the Catholic Church, and he expressed frustration with resistance to change in some corners of the church.
His promise came a day after the lone clergy sexual abuse survivor serving on that papal commission resigned in exasperation with what she described as “shameful” Vatican foot-dragging.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/03/02/cardinal-malley-says-voices-clergy-sexual-abuse-survivors-are-critical/9gs3GnMU1m1rp5z4mMDqiI/story.html 

5 nuns, 2 doctors booked for hiding rape of a 16-year-old in which Priest is an accused

Kerala, March 4: On Saturday, Kerala police booked 8 for hiding the alleged rape of a 16-year old by a church priest. Later, the 16-year-old gave birth to a boy and the baby was later shifted to an orphanage. The eight booked include 5 nuns and 2 doctors too.

http://www.india.com/news/india/5-nuns-2-doctors-booked-for-hiding-rape-of-a-16-year-old-in-which-priest-is-an-accused-1893549/ 

Mea maxima culpa!

Kerala's influential Catholic Church is currently under a filthy storm following the eruption of a huge scandal pertaining to the abominable sexual abuse of a 16-year-old girl from a poor family by a very senior priest of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. The perpetrator of the evil act allegedly is Fr Robin Vadakkumchery, who has now been removed as the Vicar of a parish church in Kannur district, and the victim, a member of his parish, was a Plus 1 student in the school of which he was manager.

http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnists/edit/mea-maxima-culpa.html 

GEOFFREY ROBINSON. The Royal Commission.

I am convinced that there must be a full and open discussion of all aspects of the Church if we are ever to put this scandal behind us. Quite simply, we need a different church. The Royal Commission was not constrained by any Church laws or teachings and so came much closer to the heart of the problem.

I was a victim of child abuse myself, and one of the effects is that I simply cannot read, watch or talk about abuse continually. So I have not followed every detail of the wrap up sessions of the Royal Commission as well as I might have or some people expected me to. I prefer to leave abuse behind, though the Commission has made this hard to do.

http://johnmenadue.com/?p=9695 

Kerala minor rape: Priest promised cash to dad for taking blame

The Kerala Catholic priest, who allegedly raped a minor, had tried to foist the paternity of the child born to the victim on her own father, police said Tuesday.
An investigating officer of Kannur police said that in return Father Robin Vadakkancheril had promised to look after the family’s financial requirements in future. Father Robin, 48, who belonged to the Catholic Diocese of Mananthavady, was caught from Kochi on Monday.

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/kerala-minor-rape-priest-promised-cash-to-dad-for-taking-blame-4548719/ 

Alleged victim testifies she didn’t tell grand jury full extent of sex acts with Eugene priest

The alleged victim in a Eugene priest’s prostitution case told a jury on Tuesday that she was not completely truthful when testifying before a grand jury that returned a 10-count indictment against the priest last October.

The 18-­­ year-old woman — a key prosecution witness — returned to the witness stand during Daniel MacKay’s trial on Tuesday in an attempt to clear up confusion about what she asserts happened between her and the priest. The teenager testified Friday about a variety of sex acts that she says occurred during arranged meetings with MacKay.

http://registerguard.com/rg/news/local/35327753-75/teenager-testifies-she-didnt-tell-grand-jury-full-extent-of-sex-acts-with-eugene-priest.html.csp 

The Alleged Rape Of A Minor By Kerala Priest Highlights Why The Church Needs Public Scrutiny

The recent alleged rape of a minor girl by a vicar and what appears to be an attempted institutional cover up in Kerala has brought the Catholic Church under fire yet again. The vicar was an influential priest who had held important offices of power and the Church had apparently used its various apparatuses to protect him from the law.

This is not the first time that the Syro Malabar Church, the largest congregation of Catholics in the state, is at the centre of controversy. Over the years, many of its priests have been accused of various sexual offences and rights violations, and its institutions of cover-ups. Some have been punished by law, but many have managed to escape as the vicar in the latest rape case nearly did.

http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2017/03/02/the-alleged-rape-of-a-minor-by-kerala-priest-highlights-why-the/ 

Irish survivor Marie Collins's resignation from a papal commission on child protection exposes the Vatican

A FORMER trainee Catholic priest who gave evidence at the child abuse royal commission has slammed Pope Francis as “all words and no action” after the sudden resignation of the only abuse survivor on a Vatican commission for child protection.
Lawyer and former trainee priest Kieran Tapsell said he did not accept commentary that the Pope was “somehow prevented by an intransigent Curia” from acting quickly and decisively to change church responses to child sex crimes, after the resignation of Irish abuse survivor Marie Collins

http://www.cessnockadvertiser.com.au/story/4506195/child-sexual-abuse-will-be-blot-on-pope-francis/?cs=12 

John L. Allen Jr.: Why survivor’s exit from papal panel may be a blessing in disguise

Although the optics of the exit of the lone survivor serving as an active member of Pope Francis's anti-sex abuse commission aren't good, the reality is that naming survivors as members puts them in an extremely awkward spot, trapped between their loyalties to the Vatican and to fellow survivors.

In terms of the optics of the situation, there’s just no way in which the departure of Marie Collins, the only abuse survivor who was also an active member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, looks good for Pope Francis.

https://cruxnow.com/analysis/2017/03/01/survivors-exit-papal-panel-may-blessing-disguise/

Conspiracy hatched to hush up rape by priest: Police

KANNUR: A conspiracy was hatched to hush up the rape of a minor girl by Robin Vadakkancheril alias Mathew Vadakkancheril, a 48-year-old priest in Kottiyoor, police has said. The authorities of the hospital where the girl delivered the baby, and also the orphanage in Wayanad which took the baby under its care without informing the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), made serious lapses, they said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kozhikode/conspiracy-hatched-to-hush-up-rape-by-priest-police/articleshow/57471165.cms 

Church will not protect priests guilty of sexual abuse: Cardinal

Kochi: In a sign that ecclesiastical authorities are finally ready to admit the magnitude of the problem, Cardinal George Mar Alencherry, head of the Syro Malabar church, said on Saturday that the church unequivocally condemns clergy members involved in sexual abuse and child molestation cases and will under no circumstance protect the accused.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/church-will-not-protect-priests-guilty-of-sexual-abuse-cardinal/articleshow/57471121.cms 

Boy Scouts says it banned priest who admitted he molested Guam kids

The Boy Scouts of America banned from the scouting movement a priest accused of pedophilia who faces multiple sex-abuse cases in Guam, according to the head of the organization's Aloha Council.
The council, which has jurisdiction over the Boys Scouts' Guam chapter, was commenting on recent court cases filed in federal court against Louis Brouillard, a former Guam priest and former Boy Scouts troop master.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/boy-scouts-says-it-banned-priest-who-admitted-he-molested/article_9b1ad4c4-ffb9-11e6-821a-7f7ce882b274.html 

Kerala Bishop apologises for alleged rape by priest after Catholic body’s bizarre excuse

How will I console the daughter who was victimised and her parents?" Bishop writes.  Bishop of Mananthavady Archdiocese, Jose Porunnedom has apologised to the family of the survivor, who was allegedly raped and impregnated by Kottoyoor Parish vicar Fr. Robin Vadakkancheril.
In a letter written by the Bishop, appointing a new Vicar to the parish, he says that the incident has caused shame and spiritual loss to the diocese. He also said that he can understand the pain of other church representatives at Kottiyoor parish, who are struggling to come to terms with this situation and are not knowing how to react. He also urged the parish representatives like nuns, committee members and other priests to stay strong in their faith.

http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/kerala-bishop-apologises-alleged-rape-priest-after-catholic-body-s-bizarre-excuse-58113 

'It just blows me away': Judge stunned by church's legal aid to paedophile

A Victorian judge said evidence the Catholic Church continues to fund the legal defence of one of Australia's worst paedophiles, Robert Charles Best, "just blows me away".
On Monday Best, 76, pleaded guilty in the County Court of Victoria to sexually abusing 20 young victims between 1968 and 1988 at schools in Ballarat, Box Hill, Geelong and Moonee Ponds.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/its-hard-not-to-get-angry-judge-stunned-by-churchs-legal-aid-to-paedophile-20170220-gugz81.html 

Pair leads call for bishop’s resignation

Bishop Leslie Tomlinson, it is time to go. That is the message that two prominent critics of the Catholic Church have for the Bishop of Sandhurst Diocese after the revelations of the high rates of alleged sexual abuse by priests within the district.
Catherine Dooley from Tatura is a lifelong Catholic but in recent years has become a prominent critic of the church over what she believed was the mismanagement and lack of accountability within its structure.

http://www.sheppnews.com.au/2017/03/06/77147/pair-leads-call-for-bishops-resignation 

House, Senate child abuse bills both address statute of limitations, differ on retroactivity

Two separate bills to extend the statutes of limitation for victims of child sexual abuse have been introduced into the Pennsylvania General Assembly this year. Both would eliminate all age limits for criminal actions and civil lawsuits against alleged abusers going forward.
However, there is a major difference. A House of Representatives bill – introduced by state Rep. Mark Rozzi, a Democrat from Berks County, and supported by state Rep. Frank Burns from East Taylor Township – includes a two-year window in which past victims could file civil complaints against their alleged abusers. The Senate version does not contain any such retroactivity.

http://www.tribdem.com/news/house-senate-child-abuse-bills-both-address-statute-of-limitations/article_1fb104ea-fe09-11e6-8154-2b774e538b47.html 

Public hearing into nature, cause and impact of child sexual abuse

The scope and purpose of the public hearing is to inquire into:

1. The nature of child sexual abuse and related matters in institutional contexts in Australia and how community understanding of abuse has changed over time.
   
2. The extent of child sexual abuse in institutional contexts historically and in contemporary Australia, and challenges to identification and prevention.
   
3. The factors that contribute to the risk of child sexual abuse in institutional contexts:
   
   https://childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/2017-03/public-hearing-into-nature,-cause-and-impact-of-ch 

Victim Of Notorious Baltimore Priest Says Police Were In On Sexual Abuse

In the 60s and 70s, Father Joseph Maskell, a counselor at Archbishop Keough High School, was accused of molesting dozens of students — mostly women.
A recent WJZ investigation revealed many of those victims confided in 26-year-old Sister Cathy Cesnik just before her shocking murder nearly 50 years ago. “She confronted him and she lost her life for it,” says Teresa Lancaster.

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2017/02/27/victim-of-notorious-baltimore-priest-says-police-were-in-on-sexual-abuse/ 

23rd lawsuit filed against Catholic church for claims of sex abuse

The Archdiocese of Agana is now facing $115 million from 23 different sex abuse lawsuits filed against them.

Guam - Yet another sex abuse lawsuit has been filed against the Catholic church and once again former Guam priest Father Louis Brouillard is named as the perpetrator.

http://www.pacificnewscenter.com/local/12852 

'Criminally negligent': Catholic archbishops criticise church's handling of abuse scandal

Australia’s most senior Catholic leaders have conceded that the church’s handling of the child sexual abuse crisis was “hopelessly inadequate”, had catastrophic consequences, and amounted to “criminal negligence”.
Five of Australia’s metropolitan archbishops appeared before the child abuse royal commission on Thursday, asked to explain how the church had allowed the abuse of at least 4,444 children between between 1980 and 2015.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/feb/23/criminally-negligent-catholic-archbishops-criticse-churchs-handling-of-abuse-scandal?utm_source=Pew+Research+Center&utm_campaign=1fae9a3ee9-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_02_23&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3e953b9b70-1fae9a3ee9-399905477 

Suspended Eugene priest denies paying underage prostitute for sex

For one reason or another, Eugene priest Daniel MacKay struck up a relationship last summer with a 17-year-old girl who posted prostitution advertisements online.

Lane County prosecutors say it was a typical, sexual relationship between a prostitute and a regular customer. But MacKay’s lawyer told a jury on Friday that her client is innocent of criminal charges that accuse him of paying for sex with the girl on four separate occasions.

http://registerguard.com/rg/news/local/35310584-75/suspended-eugene-priest-denies-paying-underage-prostitute-for-sex.html.csp 

Pell smeared again on ABC. To hell with evidence

John Lyons accuses  Cardinal George Pell on the ABC's The Drum of transferring a "known pedophile" priest to another town, where he abused again, and says Pell covered up the reasons for the move. 

In fact, the royal commission heard Pell knew nothing of the pedophilia and the transfer was engineered by his bishop. Yet no panelist defended Pell.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/blogs/andrew-bolt/pell-smeared-again-on-abc-to-hell-with-evidence/news-story/b010d685a6595df3545c64bc63a63772 

No disciplinary proceedings to follow rapist ordinand Timothy Storey case

TWO clergy in the diocese of London who were strongly criticised for safeguarding failures in the case of an ordinand who was a rapist will not face proceedings under the Clergy Discipline Measure (CDM).
An independent review commissioned last year by the Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Richard Chartres, considered the diocese’s part in the case of Timothy Storey, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison after being convicted of three charges of rape and one of sexual assault against teenage girls (News, 22 April).

https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2017/24-february/news/uk/no-cdm-proceedings-to-follow-storey-case 

The Mental Health Effects of Child Sexual Abuse on Males

Many reasons have been put forward in an effort to explain a large amount of under-reporting or even undetected incidents of sexual abuse against boys.
Doctoral research conducted by Scott D. Easton hospitalized, ACSW, LMSW Boston College Graduate School of Social Work in March, 2012 demonstrated that the average reporting time was around 20 years.

http://www.groundreport.com/mental-health-effects-child-sexual-abuse-males/ 

‘Holy-crazy’ priest who dumped body parts in Hudson is only chaplain to get the chair in U.S.

On Sept. 5, 1913, neatly bound bundles of body parts sawn with surgical precision began washing up on the New Jersey shore of the Hudson River.
Over several days, authorities pieced together six fragments — minus the head, which never surfaced — into a single human being, a formerly robust young woman.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/manhattan/priest-threw-body-hudson-chaplain-executed-u-s-article-1.2982357 

the response of Geelong Grammar School to allegations of child sexual abuse of former students at the school

The report follows a public hearing in September and October 2015 which inquired into the response of Geelong Grammar’s school council, principals and other members of staff to concerns raised about inappropriate conduct, or complaints about child sexual abuse, by teaching and non-teaching staff at the school.
The Royal Commission heard evidence from 13 former students at the school who told the public hearing they were sexually abused by staff at the school between 1956 and 1989. The mothers of two former students also gave evidence.

https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/2017-02/report-into-geelong-grammar-school-released 

What I learned from a convicted sex offender

In light of ex-Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos’s remarks suggesting that mature 13-year-old boys and adult men can have consensual relationships, I want to share what I recently learned at the Global Summit on Child Sexual Abuse in the Jewish Community convened by Kol V’Oz. Listening to the male sex offender who was convicted of sexually abusing young boys in his Jewish community gave me pause about the areas we may have neglected to consider in our quest to prevent and address abuse when it arises in our institutions.

http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/what-i-learned-from-a-convicted-sex-offender/ 

Archbishop's QC friend 'allowed to commit abuse after evangelicals failed to report him'

A barrister at the centre of a child abuse scandal committed a series of sickening assaults against young men after leading evangelical groups failed to report him to the police, it is claimed.
John Smyth QC, a friend of the Archbishop of Canterbury, is accused of carrying out sadomasochistic attacks on boys he met at Christian camps in Britain and Zimbabwe.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/02/26/archbishops-qc-friend-allowed-commit-abuse-afterevangelicals/ 

POPE QUIETLY TRIMS SANCTIONS FOR SEX ABUSERS SEEKING MERCY, VICTIMS RESPOND

Pope Francis must remember that there is a difference between crime and sin. Child sex abuse is a crime for which the offender must be held accountable. While Francis may feel sorry for a predator, the only person with the right to forgive an abuser is the victim. And even then, the offender must be held accountable for his actions so that he may not go on to hurt others.
The Pope has created window dressing tribunals and commissions, but as far as we know he has yet to take actions that will actually protect children. This latest move is just another indication that it’s just “business as usual” inside the Vatican. We fear that children will continue to needlessly be placed at risk.

http://www.snapnetwork.org/pope_quietly_trims_sanctions_for_sex_abusers_seeking_mercy_victims_respond 

Pope Francis: Mercy For Child Molesters

Pope Francis has quietly reduced sanctions against a handful of pedophile priests, applying his vision of a merciful church even to its worst offenders in ways that survivors of abuse and the pope’s own advisers question.
One case has come back to haunt him: An Italian priest who received the pope’s clemency was later convicted by an Italian criminal court for his sex crimes against children as young as 12. The Rev. Mauro Inzoli is now facing a second church trial after new evidence emerged against him, The Associated Press has learned.

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/pope-francis-mercy-for-child-molesters/ 

Gough Whitlam and how Australia facilitated a child sexual abuse crisis

GOUGH Whitlam wrote a letter to Pope Benedict XVI in October, 2012, nearly four decades after his government granted formal diplomatic recognition to the Vatican, and only weeks before another Labor prime minister, Julia Gillard, established a royal commission that would expose the extent of child sexual abuse within the Australian Catholic Church.
Diplomatic relations with the Vatican from 1973 was a “memorable and significant initiative” of his government, Whitlam told the Pope. The relationship was one “which has always been maintained with deep mutual respect and consideration”.

http://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/story/4492365/gough-whitlam-and-how-australia-facilitated-a-child-sexual-abuse-crisis/?cs=2452 

Catholic leaders in Savannah to discuss priest sex abuse scandals

A three-day conference of Catholic church leaders will convene in Savannah beginning Sunday to discuss the church’s ongoing response to protecting children and youth in the wake of priest sex abuse scandals.
The 2017 Child and Youth Protection Catholic Leadership Conference will feature a number of speakers, including Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory of Atlanta who is co-hosting the event with Bishop Gregory J. Hartmayer of Savannah.

http://savannahnow.com/news/2017-02-25/catholic-leaders-savannah-discuss-priest-sex-abuse-scandals# 

No order for seminarian pedophilia test

The Vatican has directed Catholic seminaries to assess aspiring priests and brothers for homosexuality but not for an attraction to children, a royal commission has heard.

Sister Lydia Allen, who conducts assessments at a Homebush seminary in Sydney, said she didn't think there needed to be a direction to test those who wanted to enter the priesthood or a religious order for sexual tendencies towards children because it was just "obvious" it should be done.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/nsw/a/34407017/priests-need-more-in-the-field-training/#page1 

Vulnerable British children shipped to the colonies after WWII suffered 'unacceptable depravity' including torture, rape and slavery, abuse inquiry hears.

Vulnerable British children shipped overseas after the Second World War suffered 'unacceptable depravity' including torture, sexual abuse and slavery, the first day of the controversial public inquiry into child sexual abuse heard today.

Thousands of children, many of whom were in care, were relocated to distant corners of the British empire only to fall into the hands of sexual predators.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4263236/UK-child-abuse-inquiry-opens.html 

Children in state care allegedly medicated as punishment, Queensland's public guardian finds

Queensland children in residential care are being given medication to control their behaviour, without appropriate diagnosis and parental consent, the state's Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) says.

It has raised concerns a medication being used to chemically restrain children had serious side-effects and was being administered without consent of a parent or guardian.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-23/children-state-care-allegedly-medicated-punishment-qld/8296982 

Australian archbishops to ask Vatican for clarity on confession issues

Australia’s five archbishops said they would consider asking the Vatican for clarification on concerns raised in a government inquiry into sexual abuse of children in the church.
Among those concerns were whether the seal of confession includes only the sins confessed, not other information revealed in confession, and under what circumstances — specifically concerning an abuser — a priest could withhold absolution.

http://catholicphilly.com/2017/02/news/world-news/australian-archbishops-to-ask-vatican-for-clarity-on-confession-issues/ 

Pope quietly trims sanctions for sex abusers seeking mercy

Pope Francis has quietly reduced sanctions against a handful of pedophile priests, applying his vision of a merciful church even to its worst offenders. One case has come back to haunt him: An Italian priest who received the pope's clemency was later convicted by an Italian criminal court for his sex crimes against children as young as 12.

https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2017/02/25/pope-quietly-trims-sanctions-sex-abusers-seeking-mercy/