Why Pope Francis has work cut out in changing Church

In this month's edition of the National Geographic Magazine, there is a front page picture with the headline "Pope Francis remakes the Vatican". However, on the inside there is a more subtle headline across two pages, which accords with my own point of view. It reads "Will the Pope change the Vatican, or will the Vatican change the Pope?"

This cuts to the heart of the current debate about the remarkable Pope Francis, who made headlines by being the first Latin-American, and the first Jesuit, to become Pontiff, and the first to adopt the name of St Francis.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/columnists/alf-mccreary/why-pope-francis-has-work-cut-out-in-changing-church-31419013.html 

Catholic Church failing to honour royal commission compassion pledge, alleged sex abuse victim Gina Swannell says

A woman who alleges she suffered horrific child sexual abuse at the hands of a priest has accused the Catholic Church of failing to honour its pledge to treat victims with more compassion.

Gina Swannell is suing the church for damages in relation to sexual abuse she allegedly suffered when she was six years old at the St Francis Xavier boarding school in Urana, New South Wales.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-02/alleged-sex-abuse-victim-sues-catholic-church/6666504 

Archdiocese releases statement about the arrest of Oscar Vasquez

The archdiocese released the following statement on July 27 regarding the arrest of Mr. Oscar Vasquez, pastoral associate of St. Anthony Parish in Indianapolis:
“The Archdiocese of Indianapolis has been informed that Mr. Oscar Vasquez, an employee of St. Anthony Parish in Indianapolis, was arrested by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and was charged with child molestation on July 27, 2015. Mr. Vasquez worked at the parish as a pastoral associate. The pastor informed people at all the Masses last weekend at St. Anthony Church about Mr. Vasquez’ arrest, and letters are being mailed to parishioners’ homes in both English and Spanish.

http://www.archindy.org/criterion/local/2015/07-31/arrest.html 

South African Christian preacher living in Australia faces deportation after being one of eight men charged with abuse of a 13-year-old girl

The South African Christian minister allegedly embroiled in a paedophile ring could be sent back to his homeland under new Australian immigration laws. Pastor David Volmer, a father-of-two from Banksia Grove in Perth, Western Australia, pleaded guilty to 12 child sex abuse charges. A 13-year-old girl was allegedly sexually exploited by a total of eight men over two years.

Now the 41-year-old South African, who moved to Perth's northern suburbs to set up an Acts Christian Church parish in 2013, faces being turfed out of the country after the law changed in December last year allowing Immigration Minister Peter Dutton to cancel a non-citizen’s visa if they are found guilty of a child sex crime within Australia,The Australian reported. 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3180014/South-African-Christian-preacher-living-Australia-faces-deportation-one-eight-men-charged-abuse-13-year-old-girl-father-advertised-sex-Craigslist.html 

Jehovah's Witness sex abuse response 'deficient': Royal Commission

A sexual abuse expert hired by the Jehovah's Witness Church told a royal commission the organisation failed to meet acceptable standards in its approach to child abuse allegations.
Under cross-examination, Monica Applewhite told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse the Jehovah's Witness Church did not meet "best practice" in handling abuse claims.

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/jehovahs-witness-sex-abuse-response-deficient-royal-commission-20150731-gioy2c.html 

Priest leaves jail, then back in court again on more child-abuse charges

In March 2015, Victorian Catholic priest Father Leslie Sheahan, now 84, was jailed for three months for indecently assaulting a nine-year-old girl in one of his parishes forty years ago. In July 2015, immediately after leaving jail, he was charged in court again with indecently assaulting two more girls from another of his early parishes. He is now awaiting the outcome of this new court case.
In both court cases, the charges were laid in the Ballarat Magistrates Court by detectives from the Sano Taskforce in the Victoria Police sex crimes squad in Melbourne.

http://brokenrites.org.au/drupal/node/351 

Ronald Mulkearns, former Bishop of Ballarat, compelled to front child abuse royal commission

The child abuse royal commission has confirmed it will compel former Bishop of Ballarat Ronald Mulkearns to give evidence later this year. Bishop Mulkearns oversaw the diocese from 1971 to 1997, when some of the region's worst paedophile priests, including Gerald Ridsdale, were abusing children.
He was excused from a state parliamentary inquiry into abuse in 2012 for medical reasons, but he appeared as a witness in the Geelong Magistrates Court on Wednesday for a separate case.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-30/former-bishop-of-ballarat-compelled-to-front-child-abuse-inquiry/6661398 

Crosiers sued for negligence amid sex abuse claims

Two men are suing a Roman Catholic religious order for alleged sexual abuse that occurred more than 30 years ago at a prep school in Onamia, Minn.

The complaints, filed Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court against the Crosier Fathers and Brothers, allege the two were each abused as minors by three clerics. One of the clerics, the Rev. Gerald Funcheon, was the subject of three suits filed in Ramsey County last November and December.

http://www.startribune.com/crosiers-sued-for-negligence-amid-sex-abuse-claims/318911901/ 

Pell and bishop before abuse inquiry

VICTIMS' advocates are sceptical a former Victorian bishop will reveal the full extent of what the church knew about pedophile priests when he and Cardinal George Pell appear before the child abuse royal commission.
CARDINAL Pell has already agreed to return from Rome to give evidence to the inquiry into widespread abuse in the Ballarat diocese.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/george-pell-to-appear-at-abuse-commission/story-fni0xqi4-1227463389204 

Advocates seek Vatican inquiry of Newark archbishop

In what might be the first formal complaint to a new Vatican tribunal, an advocacy group for clergy sexual abuse victims on Wednesday called for an investigation of Newark Archbishop John J. Myers and his handling of child molestation cases spanning three decades.
Eight members of Catholic Whistleblowers, a national group of church reformists, said they would be filing an 80-page document detailing Myers’ actions in various cases in Newark and at his former diocese in Peoria, Illinois. On Wednesday, they hand-delivered a copy of their grievances to Myers’ spokesman at the Newark chancery and said they would send another to the Vatican’s top U.S. diplomat in the coming days.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/advocates-seek-vatican-inquiry-of-newark-archbishop-1.1382658 

Lawsuit alleges child sexual abuse in Friends organization

A lawsuit filed July 17 in Multnomah County Circuit Court alleges that child sexual abuse occurred in the Friends (Quaker) church in Newberg from approximately 1987 to 1991.
The plaintiff, referred to by his initials “A.J.” in the suit, claims to have been sexually abused by former Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends youth superintendent Bruce Bishop when the youth was between the ages of 11 and 16 years old.

http://pamplinmedia.com/nbg/142-news/267863-142480-lawsuit-alleges-child-sexual-abuse-in-friends-organization 

George Pell to appear at abuse commission

Cardinal George Pell, and a bishop who was aware Australia's worst pedophile priest had abused boys when he moved him between parishes, will tell a royal commission what they knew about widespread abuse in the Ballarat diocese.
Cardinal Pell has already agreed to return from the Vatican to give evidence during the second stage of a public hearing into clergy abuse in the Victorian regional centre, which will be held in Melbourne from November 23.

http://www.skynews.com.au/news/national/2015/07/30/george-pell-to-appear-at-abuse-commission.html 

A bishop has a memory lapse about the alleged crimes of an ex-priest

A retired Australian Catholic bishop, Most Reverend Ronald Mulkearns, has been forced to appear in court to answer questions about a former priest, Robert Claffey (now aged 70), who is charged with multiple incidents of indecent assault against seven children.
In court on 29 July 2015, Bishop Mulkearns was forced to admit that, yes, he had known about Father Claffey's "misbehaviour" but claimed that he could not remember the details.

http://brokenrites.org.au/drupal/node/344 

Eight men arrested in WA over child abuse against teenage girl

ONE of eight men charged with the horrific sexual abuse of a 13-year-old girl in WA over a two-year period is her father who allegedly “facilitated” the paedophile ring, WA Police have revealed. Another man charged is Perth pastor and the former head of the WA Prison Fellowship Program, David Volmer.
The Sunday Times revealed earlier this month that Volmer, a married father of two from Banksia Grove in Perth’s northern suburbs, who is also known as Dawid Volmer, had been charged with and pleaded guilty to a dozen offences.

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/eight-men-arrested-in-wa-over-child-abuse-against-teenage-girl/story-fnhocxo3-1227461520638?sv=fe773895595c193490defb3088146879 

Former Saint Ignatius College priest Stanislaus John Hogan has sentence for child porn offences suspended on appeal

A PRIEST at a prestigious Adelaide private school who downloaded more than 1500 images of child pornography will walk from jail after his sentence was suspended on appeal.

Father Stanislaus John Hogan was sentenced in March this year to two years and six months’ jail, with a non-parole period of 10 months, after pleading guilty to one count of using a carriage service to access child pornography and one aggravated count of possessing child pornography.

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/national/former-saint-ignatius-college-priest-stanislaus-john-hogan-has-sentence-for-child-porn-offences-suspended-on-appeal/story-fnii5yv8-1227462203542