News Story of the Day
SNAP members spread the word at Crookston Cathedral Sunday morning
Protest of Priest planned around Valley this weekend
By Neil Carlson, April 15, 2016, Valley News Live
Crookston, Minn. Church goers in northwestern Minnesota can expect a protest of sorts this Sunday.
SNAP, the “Survivors Network of those abused by Priests”, plans to hand out leaflets opposing a decision by the church to lift the suspension of Father Joseph Jeyapaul. Jeyapaul was convicted of a sex crime in Greenbush, Minnesota and is now back in his home country of India.
Churches are discriminating against job seekers for being sex abuse victims — and it’s legal
By TOM BOGGIONI, Raw Story, April 15, 2016
Faced with what appears to be an epidemic of child sex abuse cases, U.S. churches have taken to asking prospective employees if they have ever been sexually assaulted based on the belief that a childhood attack may result in the victim becoming an potential abuser.
Writing at the Daily Beast, activist and journalist Zack Kopplin notes the rising tide of churches requesting the sexual history of job applicants as a condition of employment — including porn-viewing habits.
In Our Opinion: Statute of limitations for molesters is intolerable
TheDailyStar.com, April 14, 2016
“Statutes of limitations,” according to Lawyers.com, “are laws that set time limits on how long you have to file a ‘civil’ lawsuit, like a personal injury lawsuit, or how long the state has to prosecute someone for committing a crime.”
As far as we are concerned, the New York state Legislature doesn’t know a statute of limitations from the Statue of Liberty.
Two lawsuits accuse No. 2 leader at St. John's Abbey of abuse
By Staff and wire reports, APRIL 12, 2016, StarTribune
Two lawsuits accuse the former prior of St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minn., of abusing two former prep school students in the 1970s and early 1980s.
The lawsuits come after the abbey and its review board earlier this year cleared the Rev. Tom Andert, saying the allegations were unsubstantiated. Andert’s name has never been on the abbey’s list of those with credible allegations against them of the abuse of minors.
Sex-abuse bill lobbying in Catholic churches is over the top
By Bill White, April 9, 2016, The Morning Call
The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, part of the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese, is seen in Altoona, Pa. Two Catholic bishops who led a small Pennsylvania diocese helped cover up the sexual abuse of hundreds of children by more than 50 priests and other religious leaders over a 40-year period, according to a grand jury report.
We were dismayed to find this letter inserted in our church bulletin this past Sunday," wrote a local Catholic who contacted me last week about a letter from Allentown Diocese Bishop John Barres.
Barres' letter outlined the diocese's child sex-abuse prevention efforts — and then lobbied against state legislation that would change the statutes of limitations for such cases, asking parishioners to contact their legislators about its "detrimental effects."
EXCLUSIVE: The final insult - 'child molester' Catholic priest who committed suicide to evade justice said it was a 'gift' to his victims – after a life 'serving others'
8 April 2016,
- Father Virgilio Elizondo, 80, shot himself in the head after he was accused of molesting a young boy
- Notre Dame professor was leading Catholic intellectual but faced ruin before he shot himself in the head at San Antonio, Texas, home
- Now his suicide note is revealed and shows how he admitted being 'a sinner' but said: 'I have lived a life dedicated to serving others'
- Lawyer for the victim tells Daily Mail Online: 'Giving up your life is not a gift to any abused child, it's just a manipulation'
Mahony conferring confirmations at Saint Kateri
Sex abuse and molestation charges have rocked the Catholic Church for decades. Amid the allegations, one man whose career was tarnished by the scandals was retired L.A. Cardinal Roger Mahony.
On April 29, Mahony will confer the sacrament of confirmation to the teen class at Saint Kateri Catholic Church, and many parishioners and community members are outraged.
