Nuns performed acts of sadism on children, Australian inquiry finds

Sadistic nuns at a notorious Australian orphanage in Queensland dished out abuse in a toxic environment that festered due in part to inadequate government scrutiny, supervision and training, a royal commission has found.
The child sex abuse royal commission last year examined cruel treatment of 13 former residents of St Joseph's Orphanage, which was operated by the Sisters of Mercy between 1940 and 1975.
The men and women – now aged from their 50s to 80s – recalled abuse at Neerkol, ranging from public floggings and being walked on in high heels to being made to drape urine-soaked sheets over their heads.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/79205204/nuns-performed-acts-of-sadism-on-children-australian-inquiry-finds

Nuns abused children at four Catholic-run care homes, inquiry finds

Nuns at four Catholic-run care homes in Northern Ireland physically and emotionally abused children in their care, an inquiry has found. These nuns have helped to set up a school for transgender pupils in India The details emerged during an inquiry into historical institutional child abuse in Northern Ireland.
Judge Sir Anthony Hart who compiled the major report said there were also instances of sexual abuse at the homes carried out by priests and lay people. The Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry (HIA) was set up in 2012 to look into allegations of child abuse in 22 children’s homes and other residential institutions between 1922 to 1995.

http://metro.co.uk/2017/01/20/nuns-abused-children-at-four-catholic-run-care-homes-inquiry-finds-6393632/ 

Podcast: Ireland's buried babies

Catherine Corless has been haunted all her life by memories of the skinny children from a Catholic home for unmarried mothers in her Irish town. Now, her years of work have exposed the truth about what was hidden in the sewers beneath the home. Reuters correspondent Estelle Shirbon reports.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-audio-9june-idUSKBN1901Z2 

Nuns describe Catholic orphanage abuse claims as ‘a mystery’

NUNS from a charity accused of abusing children at a Catholic orphanage throughout the 1980s have said the claims were a “mystery” as the institution was described as “a safe haven” for deprived children. One local councillor had described it as a “showpiece” for childcare, the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry was told.
However Smyllum Park, in Lanark, has been the focus of claims children were systematically physically abused, and routinely humiliated for offences such as bedwetting.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15345613.Nuns_describe_orphanage_abuse_claims_as____a_mystery___/

Nuns have 'no evidence' of abuse at Smyllum orphanage

The head of a religious order which ran a controversial children’s home has described allegations of abuse as a “mystery”.
Sister Ellen Flynn, leader of the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul in Great Britain, told the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry her congregation could find “no evidence” of abuse taking place at Smyllum Park in Lanark, South Lanarkshire.

http://www.scotsman.com/glasgow/nuns-have-no-evidence-of-abuse-at-smyllum-orphanage-1-4474731 

Nun admits children were abused by stretched staff

NUNS who abused children at homes run by the Sisters of Nazareth were unsuited to work with young people, while staff took on too many children to care for them all properly, the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry heard yesterday.
The inquiry was told 257 former residents of the Catholic order’s four Scottish homes have started civil actions over alleged abuse, while an additional 147 have complained they suffered while in the sisters’ care. Sister Anna Maria Doolan, the UK regional superior in charge of the Sisters of Nazareth, told the inquiry there had been complaints against all four Nazareth houses, in Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Kilmarnock.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15348141.Nun_admits_children_were_abused_by_stretched_staff/ 

It’s the first apology I’ve heard ... it means a lot, says campaigner

JIM BUCKLEY has been campaigning for 19 years for an inquiry into the abuse he suffered in care, he said.
But the 72-year-old has waited more than six decades for an apology from the Sisters of Nazareth, to whom he and his three younger brothers were entrusted when he was just seven, after leukaemia left them without a mother and with a father who couldn’t cope.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15348148.It___s_the_first_apology_I___ve_heard_____it_means_a_lot__says_campaigner/?ref=rss 

Nuns say 'sorry' amid hundreds of child abuse allegations

More than 400 allegations of child abuse have been made against an order of nuns which ran four orphanages in Scotland until the 1980s. The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry heard details of 257 civil actions and a further 147 complaints made in connection with children’s homes run by the Sisters of Nazareth, the last of which closed in 1985.

The inquiry, before judge Lady Smith, also heard that 71 child residents of the homes were sent to Australia. Giving evidence on behalf of the congregation, Sister Anna Maria Doolan admitted children had been abused and said the order was “very sorry”.

http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/nuns-say-sorry-amid-hundreds-of-child-abuse-allegations-1-4475991

Institutional abuse: NI report scathing at how Nazareth homes were run

The Northern Ireland Historical Institutional Abuse inquiry (HIA) report last January was unequivocal in its findings about the Nazareth House (girls) and Nazareth Lodge (boys) homes in Belfast, both run by the Sisters of Nazareth. It investigated abuses in Northern Ireland residential institutions for children in the period between 1922 and 1995.

The HIA report concluded that at the homes in Belfast “the shortage of finance and its consequent impact on staffing levels and physical standards of care amounted to a form of neglect and constituted systemic abuse. Although both central government and the welfare authorities bore some responsibility, this was primarily the responsibility of the Sisters of Nazareth.” 

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/institutional-abuse-ni-report-scathing-at-how-nazareth-homes-were-run-1.3118654 

Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely in The Keepers

In this era of a White House that seems impervious to the concept of accountability, you might well think this column will be about President Donald Trump. That is a tempting topic to be sure given the constitutional Framers’ baseline belief in the fallibility of humans and the tendency to abuse power in light of Trump’s uncontrollable urge to turn every moment into a moment of self-adulation. But this column is about a more absolute power exercised in a corrupt way.

https://verdict.justia.com/2017/06/08/absolute-power-corrupts-absolutely-keepers 

Is The Institute Of Living Still Open? 'The Keepers' Highlights Father Maskell's Time At The Hospital

Netflix's new docuseries The Keepers is arguably both the most important and the most painful TV show of 2017. It addresses myriad issues that haven't received nearly enough attention — and one of them is the Catholic Church's response when allegations of abuse arise. When Jean Wehner (then known as Jane Doe) came forward to accuse Father Maskell of abuse in 1992, he was working at Holy Cross parish in Baltimore. Immediately after the allegations came to light, the Archdiocese sent Maskell to the Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut. (The Baltimore Sun reported that Maskell denied the accusations until his death in 2001.)

https://www.bustle.com/p/is-the-institute-of-living-still-open-the-keepers-highlights-father-maskells-time-at-the-hospital-59745 

Tuam babies buried at Mother and Baby Home could be identified

Irish Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Katherine Zappone announced that experts have been employed to assess the possibility of exhuming bodies buried at the Tuam Mother and Baby Home to identify the remains of the hundreds of babies believed to be buried there.
In an op-ed with the Irish Examiner, Zappone wrote that she felt there is a “real possibility” that the identities of these children could be discovered but that the process is “very complicated.”As such, forensic archaeologist Niamh McCullough has been appointed to lead a team of international experts to investigate the best possible next step in dealing with the Tuam babies scandal.

https://www.irishcentral.com/news/tuam-babies-buried-at-mother-and-baby-home-could-be-identified 

Depiction of Sisters of Charity like ‘elder abuse’, says Sr Stan

Nun was shocked by some of the ‘very distasteful’ media coverage of the order.  The depiction of the Sisters of Charity during the recent controversy over the transfer of the National Maternity Hospital to St Vincent’s hospital was akin to elder abuse, according to one of the order’s best-known members.

Sr Stanislaus Kennedy said she was shocked and surprised by the scale of the controversy over St Vincent’s and the criticisms levelled at her order. “It shook me, it really did.”

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/depiction-of-sisters-of-charity-like-elder-abuse-says-sr-stan-1.3105759 

My father saved my life': Tributes flow for child sex abuse victims' advocate Anthony Foster

It was the formidable force of a father's love that spurred Anthony Foster to become a high-profile advocate for child sex abuse victims. Mr Foster and his wife Chrissie dedicated two decades to seeking justice for sexual abuse victims within the Catholic Church.
Hundreds of people packed into the Melbourne Recital Centre to farewell Mr Foster at a state funeral on Wednesday. The 64-year-old hit his head in a fall last month. His family switched off his life support on May 26.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/my-father-saved-my-life-tributes-flow-for-child-sex-abuse-victims-advocate-anthony-foster-20170606-gwm0dw.html

10 things about Fr Maskell, Irish-American priest at centre of Netflix murder documentary The Keepers

NETFLIX’S latest documentary series, The Keepers, examines the case of Sister Catherine ‘Cathy’ Cesnik, a nun who was murdered after disappearing in Baltimore on November 7, 1969.
Her body was found on January 3, 1970 having suffered a skull fracture from a blow to the head. The show examines whether there is a link between her murder and allegations of abuse at a school she taught, Archbishop Keough High School.

http://irishpost.co.uk/10-things-fr-maskell-irish-american-priest-centre-netflix-murder-documentary-keepers/ 

ECM: Be pro-active in protecting Children from abuse

Malawi’s Diocesan Child Protection Coordinators (DCPC) and Catholic Secretariat Child Protection Focal Persons have been challenged to take a leading role in ensuring that children within and outside the Church are well protected.
ECM Secretary General Fr. Henry Saindi made the call when he opened a two-days induction training course on Child Protection at the Catholic Secretariat in Lilongwe, Malawi.

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/06/08/ecm_be_pro-active_in_protecting_children_from_abuse/1317801

Clann: Ireland’s Unmarried Mothers and their Children: Gathering the Data

Clann  EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST TO ATTEND FACILITATED MEETINGS WITH MINISTER ZAPPONE Important: the deadline for submission of expressions of interest is June 12th

Click here for further information

IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR CURRENT CLANN PROJECT WITNESSES AND NEW WITNESSES INTERESTED IN AVAILING OF STATEMENT-DRAFTING ASSISTANCE

http://clannproject.org/ 

Mother-and-baby home survivors accuse Zappone over redress

Survivors of Ireland’s mother-and-baby homes have accused Minister for Children Katherine Zappone of trying to get them not to push for State compensation for their detention.

In a letter to survivors, Ms Zappone has invited survivors of institutions under investigation by the Commission on Mother and Baby Homes to meetings, beginning with one in Dublin on June 30th. 

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/mother-and-baby-home-survivors-accuse-zappone-over-redress-1.3109883?utm_content=sf-man 

Convent that 'forced' young mothers to give up their babies

Children given up for adoption as babies are trying to trace the mothers who say they were pressured by Catholic nuns into giving them away.  Hundreds of teenage mothers who gave birth at a Roman Catholic convent in Britain had “no choice” but to give up their babies for adoption, it can be disclosed.

Despite desperately wanting to keep them, many of the women say they were forcefully encouraged to give up their babies by the convent’s nuns, who told them that as single women they would not make good mothers and did not deserve to have a child.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/10932969/Convent-that-forced-young-mothers-to-give-up-their-babies.html 

Downward trend in reports of new clerical child sex abuse allegations continues

The Catholic Church’s child protection watchdog received reports of 72 new allegations of clerical child sex abuse as well as 10 of physical and emotional abuse in the year to March 31st 2017, as a downward trend in such allegations continues.

The National Board for Safeguarding Children (NBSC), based at Maynooth, also received one allegation relating to boundary violation during the year and three where the abuse was unspecified. Most allegations related to a period from the 1950s to the 1990s, with a sharp drop after the year 2000.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/downward-trend-in-reports-of-new-clerical-child-sex-abuse-allegations-continues-1.3093486 

Baltimore braces for documentary on nun's death, sex abuse at Catholic school

Donna Von Den Bosch climbed to the attic of her home so she could watch the footage alone. The images flashed on her computer screen: the police car, the churches, the priests. Her heart raced. "I'm 60," she told herself, again and again. "I'm not 15 anymore."
Von Den Bosch was watching the trailer of the upcoming Netflix documentary "The Keepers." The seven-part series focuses on sexual abuse in the 1960s and '70s at Archbishop Keough High School and the unsolved 1969 disappearance and death of Sister Catherine Ann Cesnik, an English teacher at the Catholic school in Southwest Baltimore.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-the-keepers-20170511-story.html 

McAleese inquiry told of Tuam mother and baby home deaths in 2012

The head of the royal commission into child sexual abuse, Justice Peter McClellan, has referred 2,025 incidents of abuse to authorities since 2013, provoking 127 prosecutions to date.
McClellan will share the figures at the National Council of Churches conference in Melbourne on Tuesday via a video address. He will tell the conference the volume of referrals was so great that there may be further prosecutions once they had been fully assessed by police.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/may/16/royal-commission-has-led-to-more-than-100-child-abuse-prosecutions-says-head 

'The Keepers' recap, Episode 2: Jane Doe's story of abuse

Before we meet Jane Doe and hear her story, I feel compelled to make an observation: I was stunned Netflix didn’t precede this episode with a strongly worded caution about the content.
As this series generally and this episode in particular painfully make clear, there are a lot of survivors of childhood sexual abuse. And while it’s become trendy in certain circles to mock the concept of trigger warnings, post-traumatic stress disorder is a not uncommon occurrence among child sex abuse survivors.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/tv/tv-lust/bs-fe-keepers-recap-episode-2-story.html 

Women excluded from Magdalene scheme were denied fair procedure - court rules

Two former industrial school residents, who worked in laundries but were excluded from the Magdalene compensation scheme, were denied fair procedures in how the decision was reached, a High Court judge has ruled.

The women had claimed that as girls in industrial schools they were forced to work in the laundries. Mr Justice Michael White has directed the Department’s restorative justice unit (RJU) to reconsider the matter in light of his findings and in the context of a review involving the unit and Ombudsman’s office concerning the scope of the ex gratia scheme.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/high-court/women-excluded-from-magdalene-scheme-were-denied-fair-procedure-court-rules-1.3104831#.WTFA5c2M7S0.mailto 

Children of sin: Quebec and Irish orphans share stories of abuse under care of Catholic Church

In a tucked-away office at Montreal's Concordia University, a video conference connects two groups of survivors separated by an ocean but linked by their so-called "illegitimate" births — Quebec's Duplessis Orphans and the survivors of Ireland's Mother and Baby Homes.
One by one, they introduce themselves, starting with their names and where they were born: Mount Providence orphanage in Montreal, Saint Patrick's Home in Dublin, Baie-Saint-Paul orphanage in Quebec.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/duplessis-orphans-meet-irish-mother-baby-homes-1.4142930 

Laundries inquiry told of Tuam mother and baby home deaths in 2012

Galway Bay fm newsroom – The McAleese inquiry into Magdalene laundries was informed 5 years ago about “disturbing” infant death rates at the former Tuam Mother and Baby Home.
The information was sent by Professor Jim Smith of Boston College and the Justice for Magdalenes Research group, more than two years before the Tuam babies story made international headlines.

http://connachttribune.ie/laundries-inquiry-told-of-tuam-mother-and-baby-home-deaths-in-2012/ 

Katherine Zappone: I sometimes wonder what will they say on Reeling in the Years about 2017

JUST three years ago, a brave local historian called Catherine Corless shared her research about the Mother and Baby Home with an astonished and horrified public.
A brave survivor was also willing to tell her story. We all read, watched and listened as the shocking details unfolded of a mass grave in the grounds of the former Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, Co Galway.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/analysis/katherine-zappone-i-sometimes-wonder-what-will-they-say-on-reeling-in-the-years-about-2017-451486.html 

Co-defendant testifies against church minister charged with beating gay former congregant

One of the five people charged with trying to beat “homosexual demons” out of a fellow church member incriminated herself on the stand and admitted to throwing out the first blow in the attack.
Despite her attorney’s objections, Sarah Anderson, 30, testified that she told other leaders at Word of Faith Fellowship that Matthew Fenner had experienced “some kind of sexual sin or thought.”

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/co-defendant-testifies-word-faith-minister-article-1.3218230

Mother and son reunite

Mother and son reunite — almost 50 years after she says an Omaha priest forced her to give up her baby.  Her hands trembled as she held the letter. “Hello,” the note began. “I apologize for sending this to your office — it’s the only address I found.”
Her body shook as she read the next words in a message she’d awaited for decades and wondered if she’d ever receive: “I’m the person you were looking for.” Kathleen Chafin cried at her desk on that April day two years ago. As co-workers came to her side, she assured them she brimmed with joy, not sadness.

http://www.omaha.com/living/mother-and-son-reunite-almost-years-after-she-says-an/article_91d6c164-8063-55a3-bc1e-2911182205ac.html 

Bill Donohue, Catholic League Head Loser, Trashes Famed OC Catholic Sex-Abuse Survivor

Bill Donohue, for those of you who aren't mackerel snappers, is the Roger Ailes of the Catholic Church: a big, fat CHAVALA who depends on the elderly to fund his comfy lifestyle and be able to trash good people for a living. He's the head of the Catholic League, which is as relevant to modern-day Catholics as the rhythm method yet still gets play in conservative media. We've featured Donohue's whining before—like when he tried to accuse me of targeting only Catholic pedophiles instead of ALL pedophiles, or when he inadvertently defended Eleuterio Ramos, OC's worst-ever pedophile priest, a guy who admitted to molesting "at least" 25 boys.

http://www.ocweekly.com/news/bill-donohue-catholic-league-head-loser-trashes-famed-oc-catholic-sex-abuse-survivor-8131446 

Reported child abuse continues to rise in UK Catholic Church

Reported incidents of child abuse in the UK Catholic Church continue to rise, a new report today reveals. The small increase of just two per cent comes as the Church seeks to overhaul its safeguarding approach ahead of a national inquiry into institutions' responses to child sex abuse.
But it emerged some religious orders have still not signed up to the National Catholic Safeguarding Commission's guidance, notwithstanding mass resources dedicated to establishing a telephone helpline and trained safeguarding officers in each parish.

https://www.christiantoday.com/article/reported.child.abuse.continues.to.rise.in.uk.catholic.church/109496.htm 

Minister welcomes ‘historic decision’ by nuns to end role in maternity hospital

I would not believe a word told about the nuns here... they will just put the hospital under another name... their lies cover every evil deed they do... it is the money they are interested in... not the sick people... or for caring for the mothers and babies... gosh so many of us men and women today... remember the many years of torture... in their so called care... 25 years I had with nuns abusing me... and my story is one story of many worldwide... Ann 

 ====================================

Minister for Health Simon Harris has welcomed the decision by the Sisters of Charity to end their involvement in St Vincent’s Hospital and the planned new national maternity hospital.

Mr Harris described the announcement by the nuns as “a very significant development” for healthcare and added that the timing of “this historic decision” was very welcome.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/minister-welcomes-historic-decision-by-nuns-to-end-role-in-maternity-hospital-1.3100059?mode=amp#.WSvngEbwPXk.facebook 

Woman abused in church-run home returns to where she was 'truly happy'

A victim of historic child abuse at a Catholic Church children's home is to make an emotional return to her hometown in a bid to trace her long lost family.
Kate Walmsley, 60, was seven years old when she was taken from her home in Glasgow and placed in the care of the Sisters of Nazareth in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, following the break-up of her parents' marriage. While there she was regularly sexually assaulted by a priest and beaten by the nuns.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/woman-abused-in-churchrun-home-returns-to-where-she-was-truly-happy-35766060.html 

Victim of child abuse at infamous children's home returns to Scotland for vigil

Historic abuse survivor Kate Walmsley fought back tears as she told of the heartbreaking moment she was ripped from Scotland more than 50 years ago.
The mother of two was shipped from her home in Glasgow to the “giant doors” of an infamous children’s home in Derry, Northern Ireland, aged eight.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/victim-child-abuse-infamous-childrens-10524570 

Catholic Group Involved in Major Abuse Scandal Gives Up Role in Irish Maternity Hospital

For much of the 20th century, the “Magdalene Laundries” in Ireland, run in part by the Religious Sisters of Charity, were a horror show where young women were beaten, psychologically abused, and used as slave labor. It wasn’t until 2013, after a report detailing these crimes was released, that the Catholic Church groups and the Irish government apologized for their roles in letting this happen.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2017/05/30/catholic-group-involved-in-major-abuse-scandal-gives-up-role-in-irish-maternity-hospital/ 

AHPRA probes Catholic nun Lydia Allen over psychology credentials

A federal health watchdog is investigating a Catholic nun who has practised as a psychologist assessing candidates for the priesthood in Sydney for the past eight years despite allegedly being unregistered.
Sister Lydia Allen, who told a royal commission she conducts psychological assessments at the Seminary of the Good Shepherd in Homebush, is under investigation by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency which oversees the registration of health professionals.

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/ahpra-probes-catholic-nun-lydia-allen-over-psychology-credentials-20170529-gwfpsg.html 

Religious groups apologise to Scottish child abuse survivors

The abuse of children in care has been described as a source of “overwhelming shame” and “profound regret” as organisations including the Catholic Church and Church of Scotland offered their apologies to survivors.
 A number of religious orders and care providers used the first public hearing of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry to put on record their remorse for physical and sexual abuse dating back decades.

http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/religious-groups-apologise-to-scottish-child-abuse-survivors-1-4462304 

Sisters of Charity: Nuns end involvement in maternity hospital

An order of nuns has said it will have "no involvement" in a new Irish maternity hospital on land it controls. The move follows controversy over plans for a new National Maternity Hospital in Dublin.
In a statement on Monday, the Sisters of Charity said it would transfer ownership to a new charity. It includes three hospitals: St Vincent's University Hospital, St Vincent's Private Hospital and St Michael's Hospital, Dún Laoghaire.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40084300 

Church apology as abuse inquiry begins

The Catholic Church and Church of Scotland have offered apologies for the abuse of children in care at the first hearing of the national child abuse inquiry in Edinburgh today. 

The Inquiry is being headed by Lady Smith  who said it was a ‘tragedy’ many survivors had died without accountability for what happened to them, including a leading campaigner who died just weeks ago.

http://www.sconews.co.uk/news/53226/church-apology-as-abuse-inquiry-begins/ 

Northern Ireland abuse campaigner urges Scottish victims to come forward

In an interview with The Courier, Margaret McGuckin, 60, said the “horrendous” years she spent in the notorious Nazareth House orphanage in Belfast meant she “totally understood” what Dave Sharp had been through at the former St Ninian’s School run by the Christian Brothers in Falkland, Fife.
She has also encouraged other Scottish victims of abuse to come forward. Margaret, and fellow abuse victim Kate Walmsley, originally from Glasgow, travelled to Scotland this week to support Mr Sharp, and other abuse survivors, who held a vigil outside the start of the Scottish child abuse inquiry in Edinburgh.

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/scotland/439925/northern-ireland-abuse-campaigner-urges-scottish-victims-come-forward/?utm_source=facebook 

Man claiming sex abuse by priest at Mangilao church is 70th accuser

Another $5 million lawsuit is lodged against the church. 41-year-old G.J. alleges he was sexually molested and raped by Father Andrew Mannetta while he was an altar boy at the Catholic Church in Mangilao in the mid-1980s. During sleepovers at the rectory, the priest allegedly let the altar boys watch "softporn."

 http://www.kuam.com/story/35534043/2017/05/28/man-claimmg-sex-abuse-by-priest-at-mangilao-church-is-70th-accuser

George Pell: If police charge the Catholic Archbishop, we're in uncharted territory

As Victoria Police deliberate whether or not to lay charges against Cardinal George Pell, they are also weighing up whether to prosecute a potential world leader. This bold notion is not purple media prose. It is simply stating the facts.

Cardinal Pell strenuously denies the allegations made against him. The Ballarat-born 75-year-old is potentially the pope in waiting. All it takes is for Pope Francis to die suddenly, and one of the 120-odd Cardinals will be the next pope. It could be Cardinal Pell.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-31/george-pell-if-police-charge-thearchishop-were-in-new-territory/8565204 

Anthony Foster Tireless fighter Against catholiv church Sexual abuse

Clutching a photo of two smiling girls, Anthony Foster last year delivered a powerful statement about what had become his life’s mission.  “These are my girls,” he said before television cameras in Rome.

“A Catholic priest was raping them when this photo was taken so that’s why we’ve been fighting for so long… This was my perfect family. We created that, the Catholic Church destroyed it.”

http://postcourier.com.pg/anthony-foster-tireless-fighter-catholic-sex-abuse/ 

Former priest jailed for 22 years for 'horrific sexual abuse' of children in London

A former priest who subjected London children to decades of “horrific sexual abuse” including rape has been jailed for 22 years.
Eugene Fitzpatrick, 68, was found to have sexually assaulted one boy in Islington, as well as raping a boy at Our Lady St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Hackney. The offences were all committed in the 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s, police said.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/former-priest-jailed-for-22-years-for-horrific-sexual-abuse-of-children-in-london-a3552666.html 

Nightmare lingers for Navy vet in priest sex-abuse case

One of the worst panic attacks for Peter Marghella came during the Gulf War as he sat in a military tent in the sweltering heat of Bahrain.
For Marghella, a highly decorated U.S. Navy medical officer, the 17 years that had lapsed since his encounter with the Rev. Kenneth O'Connell at an upstate New York Boy Scout camp had done little to quell his nightmares.

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/2017/05/30/vet-priest-sex-abuse-case/355994001/ 

Trudeau seeks papal apology over Canada school abuse

ROME: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday urged Pope Francis to visit Canada to apologize to indigenous peoples for the Catholic Church’s treatment of aboriginal children in schools it ran there.
Starting in the late 19th century, about 30 percent of children of Canada’s native peoples, or about 150,000 children, were placed in what were known as “residential schools” in a government attempt to strip them of their traditional cultures and ancestral languages.

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1107281/world 

Netflix's Keepers doc prompts police to launch online sexual abuse forms

The release of Netflix's documentary series about the unsolved murder of a Baltimore nun has generated such a level of interest that police have created an online submission form in relation to the case.
“The Keepers” tells the tale of Keough High School’s English teacher Sr Cathy Cesnik, whom many suspect was murdered because she knew too much about sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

https://www.irishcentral.com/news/netflix-s-keepers-doc-prompts-police-to-launch-online-sexual-abuse-forms 

Question 7 - Marama Fox to the Minister for Children

The New York Catholic Church Paid Lobbyists $2.1 Million to Block Child Sex-Abuse Law Reform

From 2007 to the end of 2015, the New York Daily News reports, the New York Catholic Conference, led by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, paid top Albany lobbyists more than $2.1 million to help block legislation, including the Child Victims Act, that would make it easier for victims of child sex abuse to seek justice.
If passed, the bill—a version of which is still pending—would change New York state law to allow a one-year window in which victims older than 23 could bring lawsuits against their abusers. (Such victims are restricted from suing under the current law.)

http://gawker.com/the-new-york-catholic-church-paid-lobbyists-2-1-millio-1779601553 

Pope Francis: A good shepherd knows when to step down

A good shepherd knows when to step down from his church, and leave completely, Pope Francis has said.
In his sermon during Mass at the Vatican’s Santa Marta residence on Tuesday, Pope Francis said good shepherds realise they are “not the centre of history”. “Whether it’s large history or small history, I am not the centre, I am a servant,” the Pontiff added.

http://www.cathnewsusa.com/2017/05/pope-francis-good-shepherd-knows-step/?newsletter=1 

Farewell to a courageous, remarkable man

One story above all others which can reduce me to tears is the story of Anthony and Chrissie Foster. What heartbreak after so many years of fighting the Catholic Church for justice for their daughters, two of whom were sexually assaulted by a priest, that Anthony Foster died unexpectedly last week.
This is a man who endured years of stonewalling to find justice for the survivors of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, including two of his three daughters. As chairman of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Justice Peter McClellan said: “With dignity and grace, Anthony and Chrissie generously supported countless survivors and their families whilst also managing their own grief”.

http://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/story/4699955/a-tireless-advocate-for-the-survivors-of-abuse/