Victims of clergy abuse across Pa. brace for 'very bad stories' in huge grand jury report

After nearly two years of investigating sexual abuse of children within six Catholic dioceses across Pennsylvania, a grand jury is getting close to issuing its report. State Rep. Mark Rozzi, a survivor of clergy abuse and an advocate for statute of limitations reform, has told The Morning Call and PennLive that the grand jury investigation would be wrapping up this month or next. Rozzi’s office did not respond to a request for comment on this matter.

https://www.ydr.com/story/news/2018/05/10/priest-sex-abuse-clergy-catholic-bishop-pedophile-pennsylvania-grand-jury-report-diocese-vatican/596878002/ 

Former Erie Diocese Bishop Donald Trautman Releases Statement on Arrest of Ex-Priest

First, I wish to express my prayerful support for all victims of sexual abuse. I abhor the evil of sexual abuse. Secondly, in relation to the arrest of David Poulson, I wish to emphasize there was no cover-up of sexual abuse. In 2010, I received a fourth-hand allegation about Poulson’s contact with a young adult man. There was no allegation of physical abuse or of contact with a minor. I contacted diocesan counsel. I then immediately tried to contact the young man.

What can Catholics moms do if they want their children to remain Catholic? Let go.

When you have children, everyone tells you that your life is going to change. They mean this in both the best and the worst possible ways: There are the predictable losses (lost sleep, lost money, lost time) as well as the wholly unexpected gains of loving a child beyond reason, beyond yourself. What people do not tell you is that your children are bound to make unexpected and sometimes bewildering choices—and those choices have the power to change you. Children will shake your sense of identity, challenge your beliefs and fundamentally alter who you are.

https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2018/05/04/what-can-catholics-moms-do-if-they-want-their-children-remain-catholic-let-go 

Catholic Moms: What is your experience of raising your children in the faith?

Over 500 respondents took part in our informal survey on Catholic motherhood, conducted via America’s email newsletter and social media platforms. Twenty-five percent told America that one or more of their children had left the church, and only 1 percent said that one of their children had entered the priesthood or a religious order. The quarter of respondents whose children left the church provided some clear reasons for their departure. The sexual abuse crisis, instances of bullying at Catholic schools, disagreement with church teaching and objections to the treatment of L.G.B.T. people by Catholics were all cited by mothers as factors in their children’s decision to leave.

https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2018/05/04/catholic-moms-what-your-experience-raising-your-children-faith 

Garda called in over images of gay sex act on Irish church altar

The Catholic Church has urged the Garda to investigate images apparently showing a man in priest's vestments performing a sex act on the altar of an Irish church. It is understood that several senior clerics, including bishops, have been made aware of the shocking images over recent days. A Catholic diocese has reported the matter to police and a full investigation is expected to follow. The diocese declined to comment further for legal reasons in view of "the criminal nature of the alleged incident". A source who obtained the images, and who wants to remain anonymous, described what is depicted as happening in the church as "an abomination".

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/republic-of-ireland/garda-called-in-over-images-of-gay-sex-act-on-irish-church-altar-36871700.html 

In a Town of 2,000, Three Consecutive Priests Abused Children for 30 Years

When the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, New York recently released a list of priests credibly accused of child sex abuse, parishioners in Angola, 20 miles to the south, were in disbelief. Because on that list were four priests who had served their town of just over 2,000 people. What … set Most Precious Blood [the parish church] apart from other parishes was the span in which one accused priest after another worked in the parish for nearly 30 consecutive years.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2018/04/30/in-a-town-of-2000-three-consecutive-priests-abused-children-for-30-years/ 

The evil of silence

It’s also teachers, Scout leaders, Little League coaches and more. Pedophiles know their prey: who the most vulnerable are; where to find them; how to approach them and, critically, how to silence them. Too often, they move from place to place, finding new targets while the public is left in an ignorance that, in some instances, has been deliberately imposed by institutional leaders. It needs to change. The point, already well enough known, was made plain in stories appearing in the weekend’s editions of The Buffalo News. On Saturday, leaders of the Park School announced that four former educators may have engaged inappropriately and sexually with students there in the 1970s and 80s.

http://buffalonews.com/2018/05/01/editorial-the-evil-of-silence/ 

Who is Cardinal George Pell? All you need to know about the Catholic church sex abuse claims

Cardinal George Pell, Australia’s highest-ranking Catholic, will stand trial over historical sex offence charges after Melbourne magistrate Belinda Wallington found substantial evidence. Pell’s lawyers argued that accusations he sexually abused multiple people in his home state of Victoria are untrue and should be dismissed. Pope Francis’s former finance minister denies all charges and it was decided that the former Vatican treasurer would face trial after a four-week long hearing in the County Court. Here’s everything you need to know about who George Pell is, the allegations, the trial and the charges made against the former Vatican treasurer.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5678899/Who-Cardinal-George-Pell-need-know-Catholic-church-sex-abuse-claims.html 

I thought I had failed my kids spiritually—then I went to my daughter’s parish

Accustomed as I am to attending Mass alone, it was with great joy that I recently went to Mass at my daughter’s parish. Let me pause and note: I have waited a long time to say anything like the phrase “my daughter’s parish.” Although my four daughters were raised in the Catholic Church—and in fact sometimes felt like they lived in the local parish office during the years their mother was the director of religious education—they have not embraced their Catholicism as adults. Catholic parents know the tiny knife to the heart when, even though their adult children have turned out to be kind and thoughtful people, they reject the institutional church. The stab is not fatal, but it hurts.

https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2018/05/01/i-thought-i-had-failed-my-kids-spiritually-then-i-went-my-daughters-parish 

NYS Exposed: Who’s opposed to giving child sex abuse victims more time to file lawsuits?

Should victims of child sex abuse be able to sue their abusers decades later? The New York State Legislature is considering extending the statute of limitations on child sex crimes but there are some big organizations spending thousands of dollars to fight it. Currently, someone who is sexually abused as a child has until the age of 23 to press criminal charges against his or her abuser. Under the proposed legislation, a victim would have until his 28th birthday to file criminal charges and his 50th birthday to file civil charges.

http://www.whec.com/news/ny-child-abuse-act/4889124/ 

Rundown Of Sex Abuse Within The Catholic Church

atican finance chief Cardinal George Pell on Tuesday became the highest-ranked Catholic ever to be sent to trial for sex offences, adding to a series scandals facing the church globally. Here is a rundown of notable cases: Australia Cardinal George Pell, the third highest member of the Vatican hierarchy, has been ordered to stand trial on “multiple” historical sex charges, which he denies. His case coincided with a public enquiry that found that seven percent of priests were presumed to have committed paedophilic acts in Australia between 1950 and 2010.

https://www.channelstv.com/2018/05/01/rundown-of-sex-abuse-within-the-catholic-church/ 

Cardinal George Pell back in court over historical abuse charges

Vatican Treasurer Cardinal George Pell faced his first appearance at a higher court Wednesday, one day after a Melbourne magistrate ordered him to stand trial on multiple charges of historical abuse. Pell is the most senior figure in the Catholic Church to face criminal charges for alleged assault. He is on leave from the Vatican while he contests the claims. On Tuesday he entered a formal plea of not guilty to all charges at the County Court of Victoria. Magistrate Belinda Wallington dropped around half the charges on Tuesday but found enough evidence was presented during pre-trial hearings to take the case to trial.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/05/01/asia/cardinal-george-pell-trial-may-intl/index.html 

Top aide to Pope Francis Cardinal George Pell pleades 'not guilty' to multiple sex abuse charges ahead of trial

Melbourne: Vatican finance chief Cardinal George Pell became the highest-ranked Catholic ever to be sent to trial over historic sex offences on Tuesday, with the elderly priest vowing to fight the charges. The 76-year-old was impassive throughout the hearing in Melbourne that ordered him to face a jury on "multiple" charges, although half of the allegations against him, including some of the most serious, were thrown out. "Not guilty", the top aide to Pope Francis said loudly and without hesitation when asked his plea, a stance he has taken since first being charged last year.

https://www.firstpost.com/world/top-aide-to-pope-francis-cardinal-george-pell-pleades-not-guilty-to-multiple-sex-abuse-charges-ahead-of-trial-4452019.html 

Sean Kirst: In priest abuse fallout, two survivors find themselves outside the lines

Jonpaul Okal and Robert Swierat have never met. They grew up in separate parts of Western New York, and their lives took different turns. But they share the same wounds. Both say they were sexually abused as children by Catholic priests in their communities, accounts supported by their families. One says he was assaulted in the basement recreation room in his home, the other in a bedroom and shower while staying at a residence for priests who taught in a Lancaster high school. In both situations, the accused priests have been identified as abusive in unrelated cases.

http://buffalonews.com/2018/03/28/sean-kirst-in-priest-abuse-fallout-two-survivors-find-themselves-outside-the-lines/ 

Crying out

There was such a powerful, and youthful, confluence of events the last few days that speak well of the future. The event that caught the most media attention was the “March for Our Lives” rallies last Saturday that involved hundreds of thousands of Americans, mostly young, in major cities of the United States, as well as in other countries. The mobilizations were organized to demand tighter gun laws, following the Feb. 14 mass shooting at a high school in Florida, where a lone gunman killed 17. The next day, Pope Francis delivered a homily for Palm Sunday that was also well covered by international media, with the homily addressing young people. The most quoted passage from the homily, used for headlines, was the Pope’s call to young people: “You have it in you to shout.”

http://opinion.inquirer.net/112059/crying-out