News Story of the Day
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.
Jesus wept: There were 12 reported incidents of Christian pastors molesting kids — in just the last month
TOM BOGGIONI, 02 APR 2016, RawStory.com
The arrest of a Christian school principal in Port Angeles, Washington for sexually assaulting two pre-teen girls brings to light, once again, what appears to be an epidemic of sexual predators in Christian churches and schools.
According to the Crimes Against Children Research Center, 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 20 boys is a victim of child sexual abuse. The exact number of actual sexual assaults is unknown since many victims never speak up or, in some cases like Florida, the sexual assault is hushed up.
French diocese offices searched in pedophile priest case: source
By AFP Staff, March 30, 2016, news.yahoo.com
Lyon (AFP) - French investigators searched the offices of the diocese of Lyon on Wednesday over the alleged cover-up of a paedophile priest, a source close to the probe said.
The diocese said in a statement that the Archbishop of Lyon, Philippe Barbarin, who is under fire over his handling of the affair, "has said repeatedly that he is prepared to cooperate openly with the investigation".
The search of the offices is linked to the prosecution of Bernard Preynat, a priest who has admitted sexually abusing scouts that he was supervising in the Lyon area of central France more than 25 years ago.
Monsters enabled by New York’s sex crime statutes of limitations
By NY Daily News Staff, March 29, 2016, Nydailynews.com
The spotlight at the moment is on a Long Island foster care house of horrors where an accused predator took in dozens of boys over the course of two decades and allegedly subjected many of them to sexual abuse.
The spotlight has shone elsewhere before — many elsewheres.
More than 20 teachers at the prestigious Horace Mann School in the Bronx sexually abused more than 60 students.
Male religious orders may not be accountable to Catholic Church
By Peter Smith, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 28, 2016, Virginislandsdailynews.com
PITTSBURGH — Even as the leadership of a Hollidaysburg, Pa.-based Franciscan province is called to account in criminal court for its handling of a sex offender, the case is raising a broader question:
Just how accountable are male religious orders for following the U.S. Catholic Church’s zero-tolerance policy adopted in 2002?
Such orders are typically authorized by the pope and consist of priests and brothers who make specific vows, typically to poverty, chastity and obedience, with some orders having additional vows.
