St. George’s abuse victims file complaints about psychologist

Two victims of sexual abuse at the elite Rhode Island boarding school St. George’s have filed complaints with state licensing officials about the school’s former psychologist.

They tell The Associated Press that Peter Kosseff did not do enough to address and prevent abuse during his 35 years at the school, and they want his license revoked.

http://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2016/09/08/st-georges-abuse-victims-file-complaints-about-psychologist 

Marist head apologises as Catholic hearing closes

THE Marist Brothers have formally apologised to the family of Andrew Nash, whose suicide in 1974 at the age of 13 has been one of the prime symbols of the pain and suffering caused by child sexual abuse, examined at the Maitland-Newcastle Catholic hearing of the Royal Commission.
In an emotional seventh and final day of the Catholic case study, the head of the Marist Brothers in Australia, Brother Peter Carroll, acknowledged that three of its predatory brothers – Dominic, Patrick and Romuald – had many more victims than the dozens who had come forward so far.

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/4152828/marist-head-apologises-as-catholic-royal-commission-hearing-closes/?cs=12 

Church's legal team has until Monday to respond to lawsuit

Attorneys representing the Archdiocese of Agana and Archbishop Anthony Apuron have until Monday to file responses in a $2 million libel and slander lawsuit filed against them. The plaintiffs listed are Roy Quintanilla, Walter Denton, Roland Sondia, and Doris Concepcion on behalf of her son, the late Joseph "Sonny" Quinata.

http://www.kuam.com/story/33054813/2016/09/Thursday/churchs-legal-team-has-until-monday-to-respond-to-lawsuit 

Diocese Receives Final Notification on Carroll Case

GREEN BAY, Wis. (September 9, 2016) -- Bishop David L. Ricken received notification from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) at the Vatican that Michael Carroll has been found guilty of sexual abuse of minors and is permanently restricted from priestly duties and ordered to live a life of prayer and penance.
A life of prayer and penance, as defined by The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, states Carroll is no longer permitted to celebrate Mass publicly or to administer the sacraments. Furthermore, he is no longer able to wear clerical attire, or to present himself publicly as a priest.

http://www.gbdioc.org/news/2651-press-release.html 

Activist pastor will go to trial on child molestation charges

BRUNSWICK, Ga. - A Glynn County magistrate judge on Friday found probable cause to order Pastor Ken Adkins to stand trial in Superior Court on two counts of child molestation.
Adkins, 56, pastor of the Greater Dimensions Christian Fellowship, has drawn fire in the past for his remarks about homosexuals.  A young man who used to be a member of Adkins' church told the Georgia Bureau of Investigation that Adkins molested him in 2010, when the boy was under the age of 16.

http://www.news4jax.com/news/georgia/georgia-pastor-accused-of-aggravated-child-abuse__ 

Pennsylvania prosecutors swamped with child abuse reports

A nearly 40 percent increase in the number of reported cases of child abuse in Pennsylvania is straining the resources of county district attorneys' offices, with one prosecutor saying her staff is overwhelmed by the rising workload.

Prosecutors say they support a 2014 legislative overhaul of the state's child abuse law, which, among other things, expanded the definition of child abuse and made more adults legally responsible for reporting suspected cases of it. But they're having trouble keeping up with the resulting surge in abuse claims.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20160909_ap_6f47b06cfef244d985c34c73ab419b39.html 

Kansas City's Bishop Johnston On Asking For Forgiveness And Healing

Around a year ago, Bishop James Johnston came to Kansas City to lead the Catholics of northwest Missouri at a challenging time. He came in with an agenda not of his choosing: to clean up the mess of the sexual abuse scandal that engulfed his predecessor. But he also has hopes and priorities of his own.
Bishop Johnston spoke with guest host Brian Ellison on KCUR’s Central Standard about what his job entails, and about his journey from electrical engineer to getting the call from the Vatican to come to Kansas City.

http://kcur.org/post/kansas-citys-bishop-johnston-asking-forgiveness-and-healing#stream/0 

There would be thousands of victims': how the crimes of Brother Paschal Bartlett were kept quite

The sex crimes of Brother Paschal Bartlett were as numerous as they were horrific.
A member of the Franciscan order, he supervised altar boys for almost 50 years in various locations around Australia and New Zealand, exploiting his position of authority to sexually abuse them.

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/there-would-be-thousands-of-victims-how-the-crimes-of-brother-paschal-bartlett-were-kept-quiet-20160831-gr5rkb.html 

Insurer fights order to pay diocese for abuse settlements

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — An insurance company has appealed an order by a federal judge in Connecticut to reimburse the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford $945,000 for payments church officials made to settle sexual misconduct cases involving priests.
Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven ruled in July that Chicago-based Interstate Fire & Casualty breached a contract when it refused to reimburse the archdiocese for more than $1 million in payments made in four abuse cases involving minors.

http://wtnh.com/2016/09/06/insurer-fights-order-to-pay-diocese-for-abuse-settlements/ 

Catholic church to use late Ballarat bishop's estate to help victims of abuse

The multimillion-dollar estate of the former Ballarat bishop Ronald Mulkearns will be used to help victims of abuse, the Catholic diocese has said.  Mulkearns, who died in April, was blamed for allowing paedophile priests to continue to operate in Victoria.
The late bishop left a reported $2.1m to be used by the current bishop of Ballarat for the benefit of the diocese “at his absolute discretion”, according to the Herald Sun.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/sep/06/catholic-church-to-use-late-ballarat-bishops-estate-to-help-abuse-victims 

Men describe horrific abuse at hands of Marist Brothers in Newcastle

This story from the child abuse Royal Commission contains details you may find distressing. A group of men have described the horrific sexual abuse they received at the hands of Marist Brothers while at a high school run by the order in the New South Wales city of Newcastle.
Several of the abusers have since been jailed but the survivors say the scars of the abuse have stayed with them throughout their lives.

Pa. bill wants to lengthen time for sex abuse victims to report; Catholic Church pushes back

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is pushing towards a change to both the tort limit and the statute of limitations on childhood sexual abuse cases in both private and public institutions. This is being called House Bill 1947.
The statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse allegations provides a set length of time for criminal charges to be filed against a defendant. Currently the statute of limitations in Pennsylvania is 12 years after the victim reaches the age of 18. Tort is the amount of money a person can sue for in court.

http://www.theloquitur.com/house-bill-1947-causes-rise-in-the-catholic-church/#.V9IZNTU1eUl 

Priest who demanded homosexuals have a ‘celibate life’ suspended after being accused of molesting 15-year-old boy in the Bronx

A priest who once said homosexuals had to live a “celibate life” to be good Catholics has been accused of molesting a 15-year-old boy at a Bronx church about 30 years ago.
But without a change to the statute of limitations on child sex abuse in New York, the alleged crimes committed by the man of the cloth will forever go unpunished.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bronx-priest-suspended-child-sexual-abuse-charges-article-1.2780156 

Why We Name Names

“It is very tempting to take the side of the perpetrator.  All the perpetrator asks is that the bystander do nothing.  [The perpetrator] appeals to the universal desire to see, hear and speak no evil.  The victim, on the contrary, asks the bystander to share the burden of pain.  The victim demands action, engagement and remembering.”— Judith Herman

http://www.ourstoriesuntold.com/why-we-name-names/ 

The Church Continues to Break our Trust

Dear friends, Several weeks ago, my sister Lauren Shifflett announced her decision not to participate in the investigation taking place at Eastern Mennonite University by D. Stafford and Associates and explained her reasons why. I support her decision fully and after being asked to submit to an interview myself, I also have decided to decline.
My own full and detailed testimony was published on April 21st of this year on the public website OurStoriesUntold. I am asking DSA to please take my report into account.

http://www.ourstoriesuntold.com/i-am-walking-away-with-my-sister-heres-why/