'Time Of Light?' Or 'Darkness?': Boston-Area Catholics Struggle With Resurgence Of Sex Abuse Crisis

On Sunday, Christians around the world marked the Epiphany — the end of the Christmas season. It's a time that's especially profound right now for many Catholics. On the Epiphany 17 years ago, The Boston Globe published the first articles of its explosive exposé about priests in the Archdiocese of Boston sexually abusing children and church leaders covering it up.

https://www.wbur.org/news/2019/01/07/catholics-2018-clergy-sex-abuse-reactions 

Superior orders outspoken priest on sex-abuse scandal to ‘cease and desist’

A Catholic priest told to stop speaking out about certain aspects of the Church’s sexual-abuse scandal issued an appeal to Pope Francis for permission to keep talking about the crisis. Father Mark Goring, a member of the Companions of the Cross priestly community and director of the Catholic Charismatic Center in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, was told by an unnamed superior to “cease and desist” last Friday.

https://catholiccitizens.org/issues/clerical-abuse/82921/superior-orders-outspoken-priest-on-sex-abuse-scandal-to-cease-and-desist/ 

Save your prayers: Arthur Baselice Jr. wants justice for his late son, not empty words from Pope Francis

Prayers do not work... when we were kids being raped and abuse.... by the Catholic Church.. The first thing we thought of was praying for help.... from the brides of Jesus Christ and servants of God... we believed that Jesus and God could save us if we were good.... but in the eyes of the nuns and priest.... we were the devils sons and daughters... so we had no hope in ever being saved by Jesus or God... we would kneel down and cry in our hands... telling Jesus about being good all day... and asking Him if He would take us away... not knowing that we would have to die first... before we would be at peace with Him... we wanted so much to be safe... and Jesus was our only Hope...

We would tell Jesus about the pain we were in... but never saying anything bad about the abuse they were doing to us... we were just looking for some one to love us... some one who would take us far away from the nuns and priest... We never once heard back from them... the catholc church took us away from our families... so as they could have full control over us... they did not care way back then... and they do not care now... about the children who’s lives they destroyed... If they do like they say they do... then why have they not come forward to tell of the crimes... they have done to Jesus helpless.. innocent children... whose souls they stole from us... Ann Free Spirit

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Pope Francis chastised American Bishops in a complete mishandling of sex abuse by the clergy in a letter penned earlier this month. “The Church’s credibility has been seriously undercut and diminished by these sins and crimes, but even more by the efforts made to deny or conceal them,” Francis wrote. “This has led to a growing sense of uncertainty, distrust and vulnerability among the faithful.”

http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/news/save-your-prayers-arthur-baselice-jr-wants-justice-for-his/article_ab33b252-1490-11e9-8538-23c35569e574.html 

Maryland attorney general: Hotline for clergy abuse victims

Maryland's top law enforcement official on Thursday announced a phone hotline for victims to report child sex abuse associated with a place of worship or school across the U.S. state, which is steeped in Catholicism like few others. Attorney General Brian Frosh announced the creation of the hotline in Baltimore, home to the country's first bishop, first cathedral, first diocese and first archdiocese.

https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/nation-world/national/article224245655.html

French court to rule in March on cardinal’s alleged abuse cover-up

LYON: A court trying a French cardinal on charges he covered up the sexual abuse of minors by one of his priests will render its verdict on March 7, the judge in the case said yesterday. The court in Lyon, southeast France, has spent the past four days trying Philippe Barbarin, the city’s 68-year-old archbishop, and five of his former aides.

https://www.thesundaily.my/world/french-court-to-rule-in-march-on-cardinal-s-alleged-abuse-cover-up-CK369325 

Only a third of US Catholics think priests are honest or ethical

Poll shows confidence in church at record low after report on sexual abuse in Pennsylvania. The proportion of US Catholics who regard priests as honest and ethical has plummeted to a record low of fewer than one in three, according to a survey. The fall of 18 percentage points between 2017 and 2018 is attributed to the last year’s scandals over clerical sexual abuse. Fewer than half of the Catholics surveyed by Gallup said they had confidence in organised religion, a drop of eight percentage points over the period.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/11/a-third-of-us-catholics-think-priests-are-not-honest-or-ethical 

For Dallas police detective, investigating Catholic sex-abuse cases a full-time job.

Dallas police Detective David Clark has spent eight years investigating the horrors of child exploitation — a job that still motivates him because he gets to catch abusers, even if it takes years. “What really gets me is somebody is living their life and thinking they got away with something,” he said. Now, Clark’s full-time focus at the Dallas Police Department is on investigating sex-abuse allegations — including many that are decades-old — by Catholic clergy members.

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2019/01/11/dallas-police-detective-investigating-catholic-sex-abuse-cases-full-time-job 

Wuerl knew of McCarrick abuse allegations, according to Catholic officials

Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl knew of sexual misconduct allegations against ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick and reported them to the Vatican in 2004, church officials confirmed Thursday evening, despite portraying himself since last summer as unaware of any complaints surrounding McCarrick.

http://www.philly.com/news/nation-world/wuerl-mccarrick-abuse-allegations-vatican-catholic-officials-20190111.html 

Some clergy abuse victims being denied access to church compensation funds

A nationally-recognized victim advocate says some of those who've been abused by Roman Catholic clerics are being shut out of newly-created compensation programs being set up by dioceses and archdioceses, including one established last month in Philadelphia. Marci Hamilton is a Penn law professor and founder of the Philadelphia-based Child USA organization.

https://kywnewsradio.radio.com/articles/news/some-clergy-abuse-victims-being-denied-access-church-compensation-funds 

US ex-priest sentenced to 14 years

A former Catholic priest who had admitted to sexually abusing children in the US state of Pennsylvania was sentenced Friday to up to 14 years in prison — the second clergyman to be jailed in the wake of a damning statewide grand jury report. David Poulson, 65 — who served as a priest for four decades in the Diocese of Erie — had entered a guilty plea in October after being accused of sexual assault and attempted sexual assault of two boys, aged eight and 15, in the 2000s.

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/418488-us-ex-priest-sentenced-to-14-years 

The Catholic Church Is a Worldwide Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice

Let us be plain. The institutional Roman Catholic Church as it currently exists is a prima facie international criminal conspiracy to obstruct justice. Absent the scent of incense, this would be the easiest RICO case any prosecutor ever brought. Consider what we've learned just in the last week. 1) Illinois attorney general Lisa Madigan announced that her investigation had discovered that the identities of more than 500 priests against whom charges of sexual abuse had been lodged were still being kept secret by the institutional church in that state. From the Chicago Tribune:

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a25643425/catholic-church-sex-abuse-scandals-michigan-oregon-alaska/ 

In Christmas address, Pope Francis vows church will ‘never again’ cover up clergy sex abuse

Pope Francis used his annual Christmas address to demand that priests who have raped and molested children turn themselves in and to promise that the church would “never again” cover up clergy sex abuse. “Let it be clear that before these abominations, the church will spare no effort to do all that is necessary to bring to justice whosoever has committed such crimes," Francis said to an assembled crowd of cardinals and bishops of the Roman Curia at the Vatican. “Convert and hand yourself over to human justice, and prepare for divine justice.”

http://www.philly.com/news/pope-clergy-abuse-never-again-christmas-speech-catholic-francis-20181221.html 

OUR VIEW: Church must end abuse cover-up.

The cover-up of decades of sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests is real and widespread. It has made victims of thousands of Americans. In August, after two years of investigation, a grand jury in Pennsylvania identified more than 1,000 people who had been victims of sexual abuse by priests over 70 years, with thousands more whose records either were lost or who were afraid to come forward.

https://www.mywebtimes.com/2018/12/20/our-view-church-must-end-abuse-cover-up/ax9471v/ 

Are suppression orders obsolete in the digital age?

Shortly after midnight on Tuesday, December 11, Google sent an email to everyone signed up to its “what’s trending in New Zealand” service. In its subject heading, the generic no-reply email named the 26-year-old man accused of murdering British backpacker Grace Millane, whose body was found by police on the outskirts of Auckland. It said more than 100,000 searches had been made of the man’s name.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/are-suppression-orders-obsolete-in-the-digital-age-20181220-p50nk1.html

Sexual abuse survivor Darryl Smith to share his story at the Vatican

A survivor of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church will share his story at the Vatican. Dunedin man Darryl Smith will meet with Catholic bishops, and potentially Pope Francis, during a global summit on clergy sexual abuse in Rome in February. Smith claims he was first abused as a 6-year-old at Christchurch's Marylands School, a Catholic institution for children with learning difficulties, in 1971.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/109655401/sexual-abuse-survivor-darryl-smith-to-share-his-story-at-the-vatican 

Catholic order releases names of Hi-Line priests with “credible” claims of abuse

Catholic order releases names of Hi-Line priests with “credible” claims of abuse By John KelleherJanuary 3, 2019 image_print (Havre Herald) HAVRE – The West Province of the Jesuits, a Catholic order of priests, has released the names of priests who once served on the Hi-Line and have “credible claims of sexual abuse of a minor” lodged against them. All of the priests are now deceased.

https://www.missoulacurrent.com/general/2019/01/priets-credible-abuse/

LETTER: Catholic leaders 'need to own this crisis'

Regarding your article (“Investigation: 500 clergy accused of abuse across state”), Bishop Paprocki referred to a “virtuous intent to protect the faithful from scandal” that prevented the Catholic church from effectively dealing with sexual abuse. Based on reports from Illinois, Pennsylvania and others, it would seem this “virtuous intent” was of hiding and covering up abuse.

https://jg-tc.com/opinion/letters/letter-catholic-leaders-need-to-own-this-crisis/article_a468ff42-8685-5264-8328-fcf31d128f2f.html 

Vatican Knew About Legionary Founder Maciel’s Abuse From 1943

The head of the Vatican’s dicastery for religious life blames ‘a mafia’ for the cover-up, adding those responsible ‘were not the Church.’ Cardinal João Bráz de Aviz, the prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, has disclosed that the Vatican had documents on the abusive conduct of the disgraced founder of the Legionaries of Christ, Father Marcial Maciel, from as long ago as 1943.

http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/vatican-knew-about-legionary-founder-maciels-abuse-since-1943 

Priests demand Cardinal Dinardo resign

Tim Lennon held back tears as he reflected back on a photo of him at 12 years old. It was at that age that he recalled being violently abused by a Sioux City priest. Now as an adult, Tim Lennon is the President of the Survivors' Network of those Abused by Priests, also known as SNAP. It is through this group, Tim strides to make sure this type of abuse never happened to anyone else.

https://www.siouxlandproud.com/news/local-news/priests-demand-cardinal-dinardo-resign/1679476262 

How pope must change in 2019

Pope Francis did not have the year he thought he was going to have. It began this way: marked by sniping about his reform tendencies, especially where Catholic Church teaching on the family is concerned. As the Vatican geared up for its 2018 synod assembly – a meeting of bishops from around the world who gather in Rome to advise the pope on different issues, this year on youth and vocations – talk that the 2014 and 2015 synod meetings on the family had been rigged in favor of a reformist agenda circulated among anti-Francis factions.

https://www.postguam.com/forum/how-pope-must-change-in/article_2a43e4da-0bdc-11e9-9bc2-2b55b9495080.html

Philippines' Duterte under fire for saying he 'touched' maid

MANILA: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte drew outrage Sunday (Dec 30) after saying he "touched" his maid when he was a teenager, with women's rights groups accusing him of attempted rape and encouraging sexual abuse. Duterte frequently sparks uproar with his comments on women, including rape jokes and boasting about adultery.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/philippines-duterte-touched-maid-sexual-abuse-11073616 

Sexual abuse survivor calls for resignation of Catholic leader following abuse cover-up

Nationwide, stories of sexual abuse by priests in the Catholic Church have made headlines. This afternoon, a Siouxland native shared his story of surviving sexual abuse by a former Sioux City priest and why he and other survivors are calling for the resignation of a leader in the catholic church accusing him of covering up that abuse for years here in Siouxland and in other Diocese in the country.

https://siouxlandnews.com/news/local/sexual-abuse-survivor-calls-for-resignation-of-catholic-leader-following-abuse-cover-up 

Catholic Bishops Still Don’t Get It

Recent revelations that U.S. bishops are still concealing allegations of clergy sexual abuse made headlines this past summer and again this Christmas season. A grand jury investigation in Pennsylvania found that bishops in that state failed to report abuse committed by 300 priests against 1,000 children. A report by the Illinois attorney general concluded that bishops in the state withheld the names of more than 500 priests accused of sexually abusing minors.

https://theglobepost.com/2018/12/31/us-bishops-child-abuse/ 

2018: The Year of the Whistleblower

On Oct. 19, the Feast of the North American Martyrs, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò issued his third “testimony” taking aim at an alleged Vatican cover up of sexual misconduct by Archbishop Theodore McCarrick. The date of Archbishop Viganò’s latest letter underscored his assessment of the damage that clerical predators, aided by a powerful homosexual subculture, have wreaked on the lives of their victims and on the moral credibility of the Church.

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/2018-the-year-of-the-whistleblower 

When covering Catholic wars over sex, it's clear there are questions the Gray Lady refuses to ask

You have read this story before. You can count on reading it again and again. In recent years, American newsrooms have produced a river of stories about LGBTQ Catholics who have lost their jobs in Catholic schools, parishes or other institutions. In most cases they were fired after announcing a same-sex marriage or taking part in some other public act stating their views on sexuality.

https://www.getreligion.org/getreligion/2018/12/30/when-covering-catholic-wars-over-sex-its-clear-there-are-questions-the-grey-lady-refuses-to-ask 

I was fortunate to immigrate to this country but now the system is broken: your say

My mother, sister and I immigrated to this land of opportunity and freedom in 1953. My father arrived a year earlier, having first learned English, worked three jobs to provide a home for his family's arrival. And needed a sponsor. The price for living in this great country? Work hard (at any job) to provide for your family, speak English, and become as asset to America. Today? Come in illegally, expect free housing, free food and free medical care.

https://www.news-press.com/story/opinion/readers/local/2018/12/31/fortunate-immigrate-country-but-now-system-broken-your-say/2417954002/ 

Top two Vatican communications officers depart ahead of major summit on abuse

The two figures most responsible for the Vatican’s media interactions resigned Monday. Vatican head spokesman Greg Burke and his deputy Paloma Garcia Ovejero, who both handle most of the day-to-day dealings with the media, are departing just as the Roman Catholic Church will face a global summit addressing the issue of sexual abuse in the church.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/top-two-vatican-communications-officers-depart-ahead-of-major-summit-on-abuse 

Catholic Church Ellis defence scrapped in 'momentous day' for abuse survivors

After an 11-year battle, survivors of institutional child abuse locked out of suing for compensation will be able to launch civil claims from today. Key points: The so-called "Ellis defence", which prevented abuse survivors from suing unincorporated organisations including churches and other institutions, is today abolished after the NSW Government removed a legal road block. The move came after recommendations from the Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sex Abuse.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-01/catholic-church-ellis-defence-scrapped-from-new-years-day/10675890