The Catholic Boys New Zealand

The author of three books around the tough world of the SAS and infantry army, Mike Ledingham joins with two of his bothers to tell the story of their abuse by the same Catholic priest. On the face of it, the Ledinghams were a great example of a Catholic family with strong Irish roots growing up in New Zealand. The “faith” was strong in the family members, so much so the boys served as altar boys at the local church.

https://www.bms.co.nz/product-page/the-catholic-boys 

Survivor backs push to lift veil on church child abuse secret deals

A church abuse survivor has supported calls for religious groups to waive victims' secrecy obligations at Royal Commission hearings. Author Mike Ledingham​ welcomed Wednesday's announcement that Crown agencies would lift confidentiality obligations on State care abuse survivors. Simon Mount QC, counsel assisting the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry, said he expected churches to follow suit.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/114991825/survivor-backs-push-to-lift-veil-on-church-child-abuse-secret-deals 

'A Momentous Time For Survivors.' Hundreds of Sex Abuse Lawsuits Anticipated Today After New York State Passes Child Victims Legislation

It was the early 1950s and Peter Vajda was a boy attending a Catholic boarding school in the Bronx when he says a religious brother molested him. The brother is likely long dead, but the church survives. Just after midnight Wednesday morning, Vajda, now 75, filed a civil lawsuit naming the Archdiocese of New York as a defendant. Justice, he says, may have been delayed but he won’t let it be denied. “Now it’s their turn. Now it’s their time,” he told The Associated Press Monday. “And I want them to get everything they deserve in the way of punishment.”

https://time.com/5651719/new-york-child-victims-act-sex-abuse-lawsuits/ 

Lawsuit: Man regrets not exposing priest in late '70s to prevent other kids from sex abuse

A former Guam resident now living in California "extremely regrets" not exposing Father Raymond Cepeda in the late 1970s, which he said could have prevented the priest from also sexually abusing other children, according to one of two clergy sex abuse lawsuits filed on Wednesday. One of the latest plaintiffs is identified in federal court documents only with the initials U.U.U. to protect his privacy.

https://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2019/08/14/man-regrets-not-exposing-priest-70-s-prevent-others-abuse/2005788001/ 

Over 400 sex abuse suits filed in New York as litigation window opens

The Roman Catholic Church, the Boy Scouts, schools and hospitals, and the late financier Jeffrey Epstein are some of the targets named in a flurry of sex abuse lawsuits filed today in New York as the state began accepting cases once blocked by the statute of limitations. Hundreds of lawsuits were filed as plaintiffs rushed to take advantage of the one-year litigation window, created by state lawmakers this year to give people who say they were victims a second chance to sue over abuse that, in many cases, happened decades ago.

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/world/over-400-sex-abuse-suits-filed-in-new-york-litigation-window-opens 

Jehovah’s Witnesses, Boy Scouts Also Hit With Abuse Lawsuits

Victims of sex abuse in New York are filing cases not only against Catholics but against members of other organizations like the Jehovah's Witnesses and Boy Scouts as well. Various non-Catholic groups are being bombarded with lawsuits in New York on Wednesday as a one-year window on abuse claims is opened due to the Child Victims Act (CVA) sparked by corruption within the Catholic Church.

https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/jehovahs-witnesses-boy-scouts-also-hit-with-abuse-lawsuits 

Catholic Dioceses launch independent system to report misconduct by bishops

The Dioceses of the Boston Province have launched a third party, independent system to report abuse by Catholic bishops, according to a statement released Wednesday. The Bishops of the province have agreed to make a reporting system available now in the wake of Pope Francis’ landmark Vos estis letter and the nearly unanimous response to that letter by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in June 2019.

https://www.southcoasttoday.com/news/20190814/catholic-dioceses-launch-independent-system-to-report-misconduct-by-bishops 

Sex Abuse Victims of Boy Scouts, Catholic Clergy, Epstein Sue as New York Opens Litigation Window

The Roman Catholic Church, the Boy Scouts, schools and hospitals, the late financier Jeffrey Epstein are some of the targets named in a flurry of sex abuse lawsuits filed Wednesday in New York as the state began accepting cases once blocked by the statute of limitations. Hundreds of lawsuits were filed as plaintiffs rushed to take advantage of the one-year litigation window, created by state lawmakers this year to give people who say they were victims a second chance to sue over abuse that, in many cases, happened decades ago.

https://ktla.com/2019/08/14/sex-abuse-victims-of-boy-scouts-catholic-clergy-epstein-sue-as-new-york-opens-litigation-window/ 

Over 400 sex abuse suits filed as one-year window opens for litigation in New York state

The Roman Catholic Church, the Boy Scouts, schools and hospitals, the late financier Jeffrey Epstein are some of the targets named in a flurry of sex abuse lawsuits filed Wednesday in New York as the state began accepting cases once blocked by the statute of limitations. Hundreds of lawsuits were filed as plaintiffs rushed to take advantage of the one-year litigation window, created by state lawmakers this year to give people who say they were victims a second chance to sue over abuse that, in many cases, happened decades ago.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/08/15/world/crime-legal-world/400-sex-abuse-suits-filed-ny-litigation-one-year-window-opens/#.XVTlk0H7KUk 

George Pell's appeal against his child sex abuse convictions will be decided by a court next week

Cardinal George Pell could be released from custody next week if his appeal against his child sex abuse convictions is successful.
Key points: If the jury's verdict is judged to be unreasonable, Pell's conviction will be overturned If the judges find the court erred, a retrial could be ordered

The appeal outcome could itself be subject to a High Court appeal The Victorian Court of Appeal will rule on whether to overturn Pell's convictions for sexually abusing two choirboys when he was archbishop of Melbourne in the 1990s. It was announced today that judgment will be handed down on Wednesday, August 21.

A jury found Pell guilty last December of sexual penetration of a child under 16 and four counts of committing an indecent act with a child, making him the highest ranked Catholic cleric ever convicted of child sex abuse. Three judges have scrutinised the case and will take their seats behind the bench to announce their decision from 9:30am on Wednesday. The proceedings will be live streamed on the Supreme Court of Victoria's website. So what are the possible outcomes?

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-15/george-pells-child-sex-abuse-appeal-court-decision-explainer/11250226 

R.I. Catholic Diocese to turn over 70 years of records to attorney general

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence that will provide access to diocesan files and records dating back to 1950 as part of its ongoing review of allegations of clergy child sex abuse. The review, in conjunction with the Rhode Island State Police, is meant to identify any prosecutable cases and make sure that no credibly accused clergy members are in active ministry, according to a statement from the Attorney General’s Office.

https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20190723/ri-catholic-diocese-to-turn-over-70-years-of-records-to-attorney-general 

After new reports on German choir abuses, bishop vows to boost prevention

A German bishop has vowed to intensify “preventive measures” after two church-sponsored reports confirmed systemic violence and abuse at his diocese’s cathedral schools between 1945 and 1995, including 30 years when their famous choir was run by Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, brother of retired Pope Benedict XVI. “The goal (of the reports), using methods and mechanisms of social psychology, was to identify factors which encouraged these cases,” said Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg.

http://catholicphilly.com/2019/07/news/world-news/after-new-reports-on-german-choir-abuses-bishop-vows-to-boost-prevention/ 

Lawsuit: Priest forced Asan altar boy to clean bathroom in the nude then abused him in '72

A lawsuit filed on Thursday alleges Monsignor Jose Ada Leon Guerrero sexually abused an Asan altar boy in early 1970s, starting with forcing him to clean a church bathroom in the nude as punishment for telling on another boy's marijuana use. Leon Guerrero, now deceased, allegedly sexually abused the minor boy for two to three months before the youth quit being an altar boy in 1972, the lawsuit says.

https://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2019/07/25/lawsuit-priest-forced-asan-boy-clean-bathroom-naked-then-abused-him/1824319001/ 

Release of abuse allegations 'painful,' but 'right thing to do'

As the Archdiocese of St. Louis released a list of names of archdiocesan clergy with substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of a minor July 26, Archbishop Robert J. Carlson acknowledged that seeing the names "will be painful" and publishing them "will not change the past." "Nothing will" change the past "but publishing their names is the right thing to do," he said in a message to the faithful of the archdiocese, and it fulfills a promise he made last September to do so.

https://www.catholicregister.org/home/international/item/29970-release-of-abuse-allegations-painful-but-right-thing-to-do 

Monsignor tells girl to seek forgiveness, pray for accusing priest of sexual abuse

A former Guam resident now living in California on Wednesday filed a lawsuit alleging Father Raymond Cepeda sexually abused her around 1994 or 1995. The lawsuit says Monsignor Zoilo Camacho ordered the girl to seek God's forgiveness and say multiple prayers "for accusing Cepeda unjustly," causing the girl to feel abandoned and humiliated.

https://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2019/07/31/lawsuit-monsignor-tells-girl-pray-after-priest-accused-abuse/1875074001/ 

Devastating Report Confirms Ecclesiastical Abuse in Chile

The long history of sexual abuse and crime in the Catholic Church in Chile added another chapter with a devastating report on the deplorable attitude of late venerated Priest Renato Poblete. The report is the result of a canonical investigation conducted by the Society of Jesus following a complaint of sexual abuse, power and conscience presented by Marcela Aranda, who got pregnant with the priest and he forced her to have an abortion.

https://www.plenglish.com/index.php?o=rn&id=45003&SEO=devastating-report-confirms-ecclesiastical-abuse-in-chile 

Woman who kept her abuse by a priest secret for 66 years gets six-figure settlement

It took a brush with mortality to convince the now 85-year-old woman to “put all of her ducks in a row” and file a report against the Rev. Martin J. Fleming, her lawyer revealed Wednesday. Fleming in 1940 committed “two acts of childhood sexual abuse against 'Jane Doe' after her mother passed away,” attorney Michael Garabedian said in a statement. “She has been attempting to heal ever since.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/woman-who-kept-her-abuse-priest-secret-66-years-gets-n1037296 

Mural depicting Cardinal Pell painted near Vatican

Kneeling and shackled, Cardinal Goerge Pell is portrayed as shadowed by a demonic figure in a mural that popped up near the Vatican on Tuesday. The mural is the work of Australian artist Scott Marsh who had previously painted this image in Sydney. ROME - A large mural depicting Australian Cardinal George Pell shadowed by a demonic figure while handcuffed and wearing a prison tracksuit appeared on Tuesday about 50 yards away from the Vatican.

https://cruxnow.com/church-in-oceania/2019/07/31/mural-depicting-cardinal-pell-painted-near-vatican/ 

'Extensive violent abuse' at leading German choir school

The success of the choir had been more important than the wellbeing of the pupils, and the abuse had been worst in the preparatory school. Two new studies of the clerical abuse at the prestigious Regensburg Domspatzen choir, presented in Regensburg on 22 July, reject emeritus Pope Benedict’s view that the abuse scandal in the Catholic Church was a consequence of the pedagogy practised since the 1968 reform movement.

https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/11933/-extensive-violent-abuse-at-leading-german-choir-school- 

Best governance for Catholic organisations

A governance standard based on the corporate world may not be the best one for Catholic organisations, as their (Catholic groups’) outcomes are based on the Church’s mission and not profit. This was one of the points robustly discussed by 20 chief executive officers and chairs of Catholic business organisations from Australia and New Zealand at a programme hosted by the Australian Catholic University in Rome in the last week of May.

https://www.nzcatholic.org.nz/2019/07/25/best-governance-for-catholic-organisations/