Bishop says church was not trying to hide files

The Latest on police searching the Catholic Diocese of Dallas (all times local): 4:30 p.m. Bishop Edward Burns has brushed aside statements in a police affidavit that his diocese stymied efforts to obtain files about clerical abuse, saying church officials are being as transparent as possible. The bishop for the Catholic Diocese of Dallas responded at a press conference to sworn statements from a city police investigator.

https://kristv.com/news/state-news/2019/05/15/the-latest-investigation-led-to-other-church-abuse-claims/ 

C’mon Pope Francis: You Can Do Better Than That

Pope Francis has received positive headlines for his new regulations requiring priests and members of orders to report child sex abuse to the governing bishop or superior, and some changes in the church’s investigation process. Lawmakers must stop waiting for the Church to fix itself.

https://verdict.justia.com/2019/05/10/cmon-pope-francis-you-can-do-better-than-that 

Pope orders abuse to be reported, bishops to be investigated

Pope Francis issued a groundbreaking new church law Thursday requiring all Catholic priests and nuns around the world to report clergy sexual abuse and cover-ups by their superiors to church authorities, in a new effort to hold the Catholic hierarchy accountable for failing to protect their flocks.

https://www.hotsr.com/news/2019/may/10/pope-orders-abuse-to-be-reported-bishop/

President criticises those who perpetuated and ignored institutional abuse

Welcoming survivors from the Christine Buckley Centre to the Aras today, a charity which supports those who suffered trauma while in industrial schools and other historic institutions, Michael D Higgins condemned those who turned a blind eye to the “trauma inflicted on children by the failures of the Irish state”, and “distortion of religious ideology” that perpetuated the abuse.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/president-criticises-those-who-perpetuated-and-ignored-institutional-abuse-923289.html 

Bishop Brennan, Diocese of Fresno issued a statement regarding victims of abuse by the clergy

Bishop Joseph Brennan of the Diocese of Fresno issued a statement regarding victims of abuse by the clergy. photo Bishop Joseph Brennan of the Diocese of Fresno issued a statement May 10, 2019 regarding victims of abuse by the clergy. Earlier this week, a protest was held in Fresno by the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, which is also known as SNAP. It's demanding that the bishop release a list of priests and clergy accused of sexual abuse. The group says the bishop's statement "falls short" of showing compassion for victims. In response to Brennan's statement Friday, SNAP says:

https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/local-news/bishop-brennan-diocese-of-fresno-issued-a-statement-regardingvictims-of-abuseby-the-clergy/1995761630 

Catholic missionaries woo ‘nones’ on college campuses

More than 20% of all adults and over a third of millennials in the United States are not affiliated with a religion. For at least a decade, this number has been on the rise. Sexual abuse by clergy and a poor response by the church hierarchy has led many young Catholics to lose trust in their religious institution. Some 36% of those without religious affiliation report having grown up Catholic.

https://the-journal.com/articles/138158 

Overdue crackdown

hose who created/encouraged the mindset that to even talk about sexual misconduct would invite the proverbial “fires of Hell” will now have to be wary ~ the principle of accountability has been established, and it will progressively extend itself into all spheres of the Church’s functioning. The revised legal framework that Pope Francis has just prescribed to deal with sexual abuse could go down in history as the most progressive reform that the Catholic church has initiated since the Second Vatican Council of the early 1960s.

https://www.thestatesman.com/opinion/overdue-crackdown-1502754234.html 

Seth Meyers Lives In A Bubble

In his NBC-TV show this week, Seth Meyers told viewers that “Pope Francis has announced new rules designed to change how the Catholic Church deals with abuse accusations, and not 2,000 years too soon.” This guy lives in a bubble. There is no town or city in America that houses more sexual predators per square inch than Hollywood, yet late-night talk show hosts rarely take shots at their own home-grown molesters.

https://www.eurasiareview.com/11052019-seth-meyers-lives-in-a-bubble-oped/ 

Religion in Quebec: The bigger picture

A cross-dressing sailor deported because of her hidden religion. Bans on Protestant and Jewish immigration. A mandatory anti-pope oath for public officials. A restaurant owner’s liquor licence revoked over his Jehovah’s Witness activism. Quebec was born as a Catholic colony and the vast majority of its population still identifies with the religion, but other faiths have long been part of the province’s fabric.

https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/since-quebecs-early-days-religion-has-been-a-burning-issue 

SNAP, with its fiery brand of victim advocacy and support, has critics and controversy

Joey Piscitelli, Esther Hatfield Miller and a woman who identified herself as CJ, all members of the Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests, hold signs and photos of themselves during a news conference outside the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno on Tuesday. They called on the bishop of the Fresno diocese to be more considerate of victims who are alleging abuse by popular Bakersfield priest Craig Harrison.

https://www.bakersfield.com/news/snap-with-its-fiery-brand-of-victim-advocacy-and-support/article_ad1fc3ce-736f-11e9-8e51-e38a1512a39c.html 

Very Deep Wound’: Sex Abuse Inaction Sees German Catholic Women Boycott Church

A grassroots women's organization in Germany has begun a week-long boycott of the Catholic church in the country in an effort to condemn sexual abuse by clergy members and open the priesthood to women. Protesters plan to hold rites outside German Catholic churches in 50 locations until May 18, according to Deutsche Welle.

https://sputniknews.com/society/201905121074926723-german-catholic-women-boycott-church/

How a Catholic AG Brought Prosecutors and Priests to the Table Over Issue of Child Sex Abuse

“As Attorney General of Georgia and a Roman Catholic myself, I remain concerned and angered by reports of abuse in the Catholic Church,” Chris Carr said. “Georgians—Catholic and Non-Catholic alike—need to be certain that reports of abuse anywhere and by anyone are taken seriously and handled properly.”

https://www.law.com/dailyreportonline/2019/05/08/how-a-catholic-ag-brought-prosecutors-and-priests-to-the-table-over-issue-of-child-sex-abuse/?slreturn=20190409002646 

Ex-judge tried to intimidate investigators of Saginaw Diocese sex scandal, Attorney General says

Former Appeals Court Judge Michael Talbot, who served as the Saginaw Diocese's delegate in overseeing allegations of sexual misconduct. Talbot left that position in Oct. 2018, the diocese said. When the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw last year appointed a former Michigan Court of Appeals judge to oversee its sexual abuse scandal, prosecutors weren’t happy. They decried the judge’s appointment as inappropriate.

https://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw-bay-city/2019/05/ex-judge-tried-to-intimidate-investigators-of-saginaw-diocese-sex-scandal-attorney-general-says.html 

The Seal of the Confessional Is Under Attack in California

In response to pending bill requiring Catholic priests to report child sex abuse learned about through the sacrament, priests insist on upholding sacred trust. California state Sen. Jerry Hill introduced a bill to the state Legislature on Feb. 20 that would require Catholic priests to report child sex abuse learned about in the confessional.

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/the-seal-of-the-confessional-is-under-attack-in-california

How to Write about Sex Abuse

It’s good to have a response from Paul Baumann to my article in the New Yorker (titled “Acts of Penance” in the April 15 print issue, and “What Do the Church’s Victims Deserve?” online). Paul is one of the hundred or so people I spoke with while reporting the article.

https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/how-write-about-sex-abuse

Missouri bishop urges broader approach to help survivors, parishes heal

Missouri Bishop W. Shawn McKnight of Jefferson City came face to face with a victim of sexual abuse long before he was a bishop, when a friend in college confided in him about a rape. That experience, as a friend of a person who has suffered similar trauma, seems to have shaped his approach as a vocal bishop denouncing the clergy sex abuse scandal, even if, at 50, he's one of the youngest and most junior members of the U.S. Catholic bishops.

 https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/missouri-bishop-urges-broader-approach-help-survivors-parishes-heal

New names surface in priest abuse scandal

An attorney representing sexual abuse victims announced new names of Catholic priests "credibly accused" of sexual abuse against minors, not publicly identified by the Archdiocese of Boston. Attorney Mitchell Garabedian said during Tuesday's press conference that his client, 37-year-old Nadine Tifft, was sexually abused as a minor at the hands of then Boston Archdiocese priest Rev. John Sweeney.

http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/news/ci_32619928/new-names-surface-priest-abuse-scandal 

AG's Office: Charges related to Catholic Church investigation could be announced soon

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel could announce charges related to her office's investigation into the Catholic Church soon. Nessel's spokeswoman, Kelly Rossman-McKinney, tells the Detroit News several assistant attorneys general are assigned to the investigation and have been working long hours on the case.

https://www.fox47news.com/news/local-news/ags-office-charges-related-to-catholic-church-investigation-could-be-announced-soon 

N.J. priest sex abuse hotline has generated ‘hundreds of leads,’ AG says. The phones were ‘ringing off the hook.’

N.J. Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said a state hotline to report sexual abuse by clergy has generated many investigative leads A special hotline to report sexual abuse by clergy has generated hundreds of possible leads for criminal investigators, according to New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal, who said the state’s five Catholic dioceses have been cooperating with his office.

https://www.nj.com/politics/2019/05/nj-priest-sex-abuse-hotline-has-generated-hundreds-of-leads-ag-says-the-phones-were-ringing-off-the-hook.html

Former Catholic priest ‘who got teen, 14, pregnant’ allowed to keep job as teacher

A TEACHER who got a 14-year-old girl pregnant while he was a Catholic priest can keep his job at a school, an arbitrator has ruled. Former Reverend Joseph DeShan, 59, began teaching in New Jersey in 1996 — six years after he impregnated the teen, who worked in his parish rectory in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the state ruling said.

https://www.thesun.ie/news/4067040/former-catholic-priest-who-got-teen-14-pregnant-allowed-to-keep-job-as-teacher/ 

George Weigel, wrong then, wrong now

The Catholic University of America decided to give the final guest speaker spot in its commendable series of four programs examining the priest sex abuse crisis to George Weigel. That was unfortunate, because his long-discredited narrative about the causes of the scandal and his illusory ideas about how to deal with it do a great disservice to the Catholic faithful in this moment when so much of the church is finally squaring up to the awful truth.

https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/editorial-george-weigel-wrong-then-wrong-now 

Pope Francis moves gay man to tears with consoling words about homosexuality and dignity

Pope Francis caused a man who identified as homosexual to cry when he told him that a person has “dignity” no matter if the person has homosexual tendencies “like this or has an attitude like this.” The man later interpreted the Pope’s words as an affirmation of his homosexuality and a message against those “who hold extreme religious views of anti-homosexuality.”

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/pope-francis-moves-gay-man-to-tears-with-consoling-words-about-homosexuality-and-dignity 

List Of 44 Sacramento-Area Priests Accused Of Sex Abuse Released

A Northern California newspaper has released a list of more than 40 Sacramento-area priests accused of sexual abuse. The Sacramento Bee published the list Tuesday containing the names of 44 priests and two permanent deacons in the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento. They were credibly accused of sexually abusing about 130 victims in the past 70 years.

https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2019/04/30/list-of-44-sacramento-area-priests-accused-of-sex-abuse-released/ 

Lawsuit seeks release of Boy Scout sexual abuse files

A man who said he was abused by a Boy Scouts troop leader in the 1980s announced a lawsuit against the organization Tuesday, joining others nationwide who are pushing to open long-secret files containing the names of scout volunteers who were banned or considered risks for child sexual abuse.

http://www.startribune.com/lawsuit-seeks-release-of-boy-scout-sexual-abuse-files/509276191/ 

Chilean bishops, prosecutors seek probe into sexual abuse committed by Church members

Chilean bishops and prosecutors signed an agreement to streamline criminal investigations of sexual abuse committed by members of the Catholic Church, the public ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. The cooperation agreement facilitates the exchange of information around cases involving the abuse of children and handicapped people, while protecting the identities of victims and witnesses.

https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/international/498508-chilean-bishops-prosecutors-seek-probe-into-sexual-abuse-committed-by-church-members 

Statewide investigation launched into sex abuse allegations in Catholic Church

Georgia has become the latest state to launch an investigation into past sexual abuse claims within the Catholic Church, Attorney General Chris Carr said Tuesday. The repercussions could be widespread. In Pennsylvania, a grand jury report identified hundreds of priests accused of molesting at least 1,000 minors over the past seven decades in that state.

https://www.ajc.com/news/state--regional/statewide-investigation-looks-at-sex-abuse-allegations-in-Catholic-Church/vDEyo8wwtCN57gRr20TchP/ 

Impregnated child but still teaching in NJ: Advocates fault limits on the law

A national organization representing sex-abuse survivors is calling on Catholic Church officials to help oust a defrocked priest who was once accused of impregnating an underage girl but who now works in this public school district. New Jersey 101.5 reported on Monday that a state Department of Education arbitrator blocked the district from firing middle school English teacher Joseph DeShan after parents raised concerns with his past.

https://nj1015.com/impregnated-child-but-still-teaching-in-nj-advocates-fault-limits-on-law/ 

Man Says His Alleged Abuser Was Not On Sacramento Diocese’s List

Kurt Hoffman was a freshman at Jesuit High School and on the swim team when he says his coach, Brother William Farrington, sexually assaulted him. "I was 14 years old in 1987 in the spring when he assaulted me," Hoffman said. Hoffman addressed the media Tuesday, the same day the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento released a list of more than 40 priests and deacons accused of sexual abuse. Cases were dated from the 1950s up to as recent as 2014.

https://fox40.com/2019/04/30/man-says-his-alleged-abuser-was-not-on-sacramento-dioceses-list/ 

2019-2020 Notre Dame Forum to address Church sex abuse crisis

The 2019-2020 Notre Dame Forum, titled “Rebuild My Church: Crisis and Response” will focus on the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, University President Fr. John Jenkins announced in press release Wednesday. “While we must never fail to be honest and forthright about terrible acts of abuse and failures of oversight, the forum is designed to be constructive and forward-looking,” Jenkins said in the release.

https://ndsmcobserver.com/2019/05/2019-2020-notre-dame-forum-to-address-church-sex-abuse-crisis/ 

'I was 10 years old': Sacramento man says he was abused by one of the priests on the list released list by the diocese

"He would give us alcohol and would get us drunk on the way home. He played little games and start touching the legs. It was hard to grow up as a kid with that in your mind." Anthony Cano, 59, says he was just 10 years old when he was abused by a Sacramento priest. His abuser was just named publicly, Tuesday, with the release of all the priests and deacons in the Sacramento diocese who have been credibly accused of sexually abusing minors and young people.

https://www.abc10.com/article/news/crime/i-was-10-years-old-sacramento-man-says-he-was-abused-by-one-of-the-priests-on-the-list-released-list-by-the-diocese/103-7c1e8de3-85b7-4a6d-a92c-c31268c811d6 

Church in Latin America faces crises from without and within

Colombian riot police block the way to the Colombian side in the Colombian-Venezuelan border in Cucuta April 2, 2019. There’s no such thing as a dull moment when it comes to the Catholic Church in Latin America, Pope Francis’s backyard and home to an estimated 40 percent of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics.

https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-americas/2019/05/01/church-in-latin-america-faces-crises-from-without-and-within/