How A SoCal Priest Preyed On Two Brothers And Destroyed An Immigrant Family

As federal prosecutors begin a first-ever investigation into child sexual abuse by Catholic priests in Pennsylvania, there's pressure mounting in Southern California to dig deeper into the local church's handling of abusive clergy. Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice sent subpoenas to several Pennsylvania dioceses, requesting internal church documents. The federal probe comes months after a state grand jury report detailed credible allegations by more than 1,000 victims against over 300 priests.

http://www.laist.com/2018/10/26/survivor_of_catholic_churchs_child_sex_abuse_scandal_calls_for_accountability_in_la.php 

Woman shares stories of horrific abuse at Vermont orphanage

News has an exclusive interview with an elderly woman 70 years after she left St. Joseph's Orphanage in Burlington, where she claims nuns physically and mentally abused her and other children. Burlington's Roman Catholic Diocese is waiving all nondisclosure agreements signed with the church, opening the door for victims to come forward with their stories. Bishop Christopher Coyne says the decision comes as authorities investigate allegations of abuse-- and even murder-- at the now-shuttered orphanage.

https://www.wcax.com/content/news/Woman-shares-stories-of-horrific-abuse-at-Vermont-orphanage-498584101.html 

Quarriers Village orphanage ‘like children’s prison’

A former orphanage resident has told how children were not aware of the world’s beauty because they were prisoners of an authoritarian system that let them down. The witness said that children who stayed at Quarriers Village in Renfrewshire had been left living as “charity cases”. She also claimed that records from her time at the establishment, where she lived from the late 1950s until the late 1960s, had been hidden from her by Quarriers.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/quarriers-village-orphanage-like-children-s-prison-czxjqr9gr 

Being Catholic among the chaos

It seems to me that an obvious question would be, if one was outside looking in on this awful and seemingly endless reporting of scandal within the Catholic Church in Vermont, and other parts of the world: So, what is it like being Catholic in all this chaos? Just when one thought that the awakening that started with the Boston revelations of sexual abuse of children by clergy years ago with it's shocking investigations, indictments and confessions were behind us; just when system-wide changes in education, updated safeguards and transparency have been taking hold; the horrific stories emerge from the shocking scandals in Pennsylvania.

https://www.benningtonbanner.com/stories/being-catholic-among-the-chaos,554539 

Wave of state attorneys general take on Catholic Church sex abuse

The Attorney General of Virginia Mark Herring announced Wednesday that his office was launching an "ongoing investigation" into possible sexual abuse and coverups by the Catholic dioceses in the state, the Washington Post reports. The big picture: Herring is not alone. Since the Pennsylvania grand jury's bombshell August report of egregious child sex abuse at the hands of Catholic priests, several other allegations of sexual abuse and ignorance on behalf of the Church have come to light. As a result, several other state investigations have followed.

https://www.axios.com/wave-of-state-attorneys-general-take-on-catholic-church-sex-abuse-2be8c5a7-83d0-4f9a-bed6-968789e43a44.html 

Preserve child sex abuse files, U.S. tells Catholics

The Justice Department has sent a sweeping request to every Roman Catholic diocese in the United States not to destroy documents related to the handling of child sexual abuse, a sign that the federal investigation into the church could grow far more extensive. Catholic bishops have been asked by the federal government to retain their files on a broad array of internal matters, including sexual abuse investigations, and the transfer of priests across state or international borders, or to treatment centers. The request includes documents contained in "secret archives" -- the confidential files that are kept by each diocese.

http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2018/oct/28/preserve-child-sex-abuse-files-u-s-tell/ 

How Curious: A Haunted Children's Home?

One night when Caleb Germany was in high school, he and some friends drove from Oklahoma City to Guthrie to see an abandoned building they had heard was a haunted orphanage. Germany asked How Curious: What’s the history of the building? Is it haunted? When Germany visited the building for the first time with five or six friends, he said it was huge, dilapidated and illuminated by one eerie yellow light that made every shadow seem menacing.

http://www.kgou.org/post/how-curious-haunted-childrens-home 

The MeToo of the Catholic Church - time to speak is now

According to Google Maps, St. Joseph-St. Thomas parish is a five-minute drive, via Amboy Road, from Our Lady Star of the Sea, where all four of my children were baptized. Tack on three minutes if you want to travel via Father Drumgoole Road, named for the Longford-born priest best known for housing and educating thousands of destitute Irish and other immigrant children on the once-rural South Shore of Staten Island.

https://www.irishcentral.com/news/irishvoice/metoo-catholic-church-abuse

Erie nuns knew about abusive sister decades ago

Original actions taken against the late Sr. Mary Carmel Skeabeck “appear to be insufficient by today’s standards,” according to Sisters of St. Joseph. Skeabeck was added to diocese’s list of accused on Monday. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern Pennsylvania started investigating child sexual-abuse allegations against one of its deceased members in May. A complaint from an abuse victim triggered the probe.

http://www.goerie.com/news/20181030/erie-nuns-knew-about-abusive-sister-decades-ago 

Scottish inquiry: Children endured abuse at sister-run orphanages

As scandals over sexual abuse and bullying in the Catholic Church spread globally in recent years, women religious orders seemed to have been spared the worst accusations. Yet the tidy image was jolted this October, when a congregation of nuns in Scotland faced charges in an official report of showing "no love, no compassion, no dignity and no comfort" to children in its care. "Catholics in Scotland are as horrified as anyone else, and I know from my own reporting experience how this hurts morale," said Daniel Harkins, editor of the Scottish Catholic Observer, Scotland's national Catholic newspaper.

https://www.globalsistersreport.org/news/trends/scottish-inquiry-children-endured-abuse-sister-run-orphanages-55557 

Why don't Catholic leaders express guilt about the abuse crisis?

I worried about hell a lot when I was 11 years old. My older brother once coaxed me into saying the first syllable of "helicopter" aloud. I panicked and cried hysterically for an hour, certain I was destined to suffer for eternity for uttering a blasphemy. I spent afternoons in my bedroom closet pawing glow-in-the-dark rosaries as I sought atonement for my perceived misdeeds.

https://www.chron.com/news/article/Why-don-t-Catholic-leaders-express-guilt-about-13327149.php 

ASK ELLIE: My parents won’t believe I was abused

Q: I was abused by someone in a religious sect when I was a child. I tried to tell my mom, but she didn't believe me. After finding out about sex abuse laws, I again tried telling my parents about my past abuse. But they said all of the victims are liars, which means they think I'm a liar. How can I get them to believe me? A: Sadly, if your parents are/were involved with that religious group, they’re refusing to accept that you could’ve been harmed by anyone who held their same belief system.

https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/living/ask-ellie-my-parents-wont-believe-i-was-abused-252501/ 

Here is Bill Shorten's national apology to the survivors of child sexual abuse

Opposition leader Bill Shorten delivered the following address in the House of Representatives on October 22 as part of the the national apology to the survivors of institutional child sexual abuse. I’d like to thank the Prime Minister for his sincere words. And I wish to begin with 26 words from the Royal Commission. I quote: We were treated as slaves, beaten and abused, used for their perverted desires. No love or kindness, no safety or warmth. Always hungry and always frightened.

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/here-is-bill-shortens-national-apology-to-the-survivors-of-child-sexual-abuse-2018-10 

Healing the soul and body: Sisters reunite as the nation says sorry to survivors of child sexual abuse

As Josephine Littlehawk stands on the forecourt outside Parliament House, a light wind blows her long, greying locks across her face. Her sister Katie Kellegher gently brushes them aside. This is all so new. These two sisters have not seen each other, touched each other, or spoken together for more than 40 years. “We don’t really know each other,” Katie says with a surprised laugh. “Don’t we?” says Jo. And her sister nods in agreement. Yes. Somehow, deep down, they do.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/healing-the-soul-and-body-sisters-reunite-as-the-nation-says-sorry-to-survivors-of-child-sexual-abuse-20181022-p50b54.html 

How Vermont’s Catholic Church hid decades of child abuse

BURLINGTON — Before Vermont Catholic Bishop Christopher Coyne invited questions at a recent press conference pledging cooperation with a current local and state investigation of past church-related misconduct, he turned to reporters with his own inquiry. “Want me to mike up?” he asked. “Any problem with the sound?”

https://vtdigger.org/2018/10/21/vermonts-catholic-church-hid-decades-child-abuse/ 

Hundreds 'sexually abused' at charity-run orphanages

Apologies open third phase of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry in Edinburgh. More than 360 people have made complaints of physical and sexual abuse against people at orphanages run by three voluntary organisations in Scotland, police have said. The announcement was made during the opening statements in phase three of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI) in Edinburgh on Tuesday.

https://stv.tv/news/scotland/1432126-hundreds-sexually-abused-at-charity-run-orphanages/

More than 360 abuse complaints made by former orphanage residents

The announcement was made during the opening statements in phase three of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry in Edinburgh on Tuesday. More than 360 people have made complaints of physical and sexual abuse against people at orphanages run by three voluntary organisations in Scotland, police have said. The announcement was made during the opening statements in phase three of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI) in Edinburgh on Tuesday.

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/uk-news/2018/10/23/more-than-360-abuse-complaints-made-by-former-orphanage-residents/ 

Irish Times view on Australian child abuse apology: echoes reverberate around the globe

Question of why trust was betrayed will be explored for many years in Ireland and Australia. The echoes from Australia were unmistakeable. Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s apology, on behalf of the state to people who as children had been abused in institutions, followed a five year Royal Commission inquiry. In Ireland a comparable apology was delivered 10 years before publication of the Ryan report which made similar findings about the abuse of children in such institutions in Ireland.

https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/editorial/irish-times-view-on-australian-child-abuse-apology-echoes-reverberate-around-the-globe-1.3671989 

Compensation plan for victims of childhood abuse in care

The Scottish government is to set up a financial compensation scheme for survivors of childhood abuse in care. An independent inquiry is looking in detail at historical abuse of children in care in Scotland, and has heard of hundreds of allegations being made. Deputy First Minister John Swinney told MSPs that legislation to establish a redress scheme would be passed inside the current parliamentary term. Addressing survivors directly, he said: "We believe you, and we are sorry."

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-45954052 

Britain sent child migrants to Australia – it’s running out of time to make reparations

SPECIAL FEATURE: The apology given by Prime Minister Scott Morrison to survivors of child sexual abuse has drawn fresh attention to questions of redress and compensation for British children sent to Australia as child migrants. Australia’s prime minister, Scott Morrison, has given a formal national apology to survivors of child sexual abuse in the wake of findings of the country’s major Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

https://www.australiantimes.co.uk/britain-sent-child-migrants-to-australia-its-running-out-of-time-to-make-reparations/ 

Nuns among 12 held over historical abuse at orphanage

Nuns are among 12 people who have been arrested over alleged historical abuse at an orphanage in Scotland, police have said. Eleven women and one man - aged between 62 and 85 - have been held as part of an investigation into the Smyllum Park home in Lanark, Police Scotland said. The orphanage was opened in 1864 and was run by the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul, a society for women within the Catholic Church.

https://www.msn.com/en-sg/news/crime/nuns-among-12-held-over-historical-abuse-at-orphanage/ar-BBMlQGt?li=BBr8YXK 

AG investigating claims that priest, nun sexually abused Beaver man in 1970s

After more than three decades of silence, a man who says he was sexually abused by a priest and a nun in Beaver is speaking out and working with state investigators. Johnny Hewko was an elementary student in the 1970s at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church, in Beaver, which is where he said the abuse happened. Hewko said he was abused once a week for nearly three years. Hewko said it had a devastating impact on his life.

https://www.wpxi.com/news/ag-investigating-claims-that-priest-nun-sexually-abused-beaver-man-in-1970s/491857412

Victims of a ‘reign of terror’ conducted by nuns at central Queensland orphanage to tell their stories

A FORMER resident of a central Queensland orphanage has told a national inquiry how nuns administered public floggings and forced bed-wetting children to stand with soiled sheets draped over their heads. Retired nurse Mary Adams, 64, suffered repeated emotional, physical and sexual mistreatment at the hands of nuns and priests at the Neerkol orphanage near Rockhampton in the 1950s and 1960s, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse heard.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/victims-of-a-reign-of-terror-conducted-by-nuns-at-central-queensland-orphanage-to-tell-their-stories/news-story/673cad0044f0831afcdaa485cdcdd6c0 

Nun Accused In Catholic Church Sex-Abuse Case

There were new allegations Tuesday of sexual abuse against the Catholic Church in San Diego, and for the first time locally, a nun was named as an abuser. NBC7/39 reported that the San Diego diocese might face as many as 80 more sexual-abuse lawsuits by the end of the year. The boy referred to in the civil complaint as John Roe was 10 years old in 1969. He was a resident student at a boarding-house school next to the San Diego mission that was run by a Roman Catholic order of nuns at the time.

https://www.poynter.org/news/nun-accused-catholic-church-sex-abuse-case

Horror claims about torture, sexual abuse and MURDER in Catholic orphanage in Vermont surface decades on

Sickening claims about torture, sexual abuse and even the murder of children in a Catholic orphanage have resurfaced decades after the alleged events. Public documents and witness interviews corroborate many details of the claims made by former residents of St. Joseph's Orphanage in Burlington, Vermont, according to a four-year investigation published on Monday by BuzzFeed News. The new report comes as governments in the UK, Ireland, Australia and elsewhere grapple with decades-old reports of horror inside Catholic orphanages.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6104697/Horror-claims-surface-torture-sexual-abuse-MURDER-Catholic-orphanage-Vermont.html 

New case of sexual abuse at convent school accepted by Catholic Church

In a "very rare" ruling, the Catholic Church has found a nun guilty of sexually abusing a child in her care, it has emerged. Following an inquiry, the Catholic Church has ruled Mother Lucia guilty of historic sexual and physical abuse against a Christchurch schoolboy "on the balance of probabilities". The prioress died in 1997, aged 90. In November 2015, a West Coast man, who did not want to be named, brought complaints against the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions under the church's Path to Healing protocol.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/94073054/New-case-of-sexual-abuse-at-convent-school-accepted-by-Catholic-Church 

Two women claim sexual abuse by Buffalo nun and priest

What happened to Carroll Becker at Christ the King School in Snyder more than 60 years ago scarred her for life. The Grand Island woman said she was picked on in first grade, but not just by her classmates. She said she was also targeted by Sister Pauline Terese, OSF, a Franciscan nun. “She’d get up in my face and make me stand up yell at me about being stupid and retarded and slow and I was so terrified, I didn’t know what was going on, I wet my pants,” Becker said Thursday at a news conference in front of her former school.

https://www.wkbw.com/news/i-team/i-team-two-women-claim-sexual-abuse-by-buffalo-nun-and-priest 

All Mother Teresa homes inspected amid baby-selling scandal

Police in Scotland have arrested and charged nuns and a number of other former staff in an investigation into alleged child abuse at a Catholic children’s home. The nuns are among 12 people who have been charged by detectives investigating detailed allegations of systematic physical and sexual abuse of children over many decades at Smyllum Park in Lanark. Police Scotland said another four former staff at the Catholic institution would be reported to the Crown Office, Scotland’s prosecution service, later on Thursday.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/aug/23/nuns-charged-in-investigation-into-child-abuse-at-smyllum-park?CMP=share_btn_fb 

Liam Neeson joins fight for Pope to confront truth about 800 children dumped in a mass grave by Irish NUNS

Pope Francis was greeted by rapturous crowds as he toured the streets of Dublin yesterday at the start of his historic visit to Ireland – only the second ever to the country by a Pontiff. It was a warmth that will no doubt have come as some relief, given the cold shadow of abuse now covering the Catholic Church. That shadow will be all-too apparent once again today when Francis travels to Knock and its famous shrine to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6098137/Tuam-scandal-cesspit-babies-Liam-Neeson-joins-fight-Pope-face-truth.html 

Child sexual abuse survivor, 96, recalls orphanage trauma ahead of national apology

Katie was six years old when she arrived at the orphanage run by the Sisters of Saint Joseph. Nine decades later, one of Australia's oldest survivors of child sexual abuse cannot forget the humiliation and pain she suffered during her years at the institution in Gore Hill on Sydney's north shore. "I've never known anyone in my life to be as cruel as those nuns were," the 96-year-old said. "I did say to them that I thought the good Lord wouldn't send me to hell because I'd been there for six years."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-21/sexual-abuse-survivor-reveals-gore-hill-orphanage-trauma/10377898 

Nuns and priests sexually abused and beat children at orphanage.

Children were sexually abused, beaten and humiliated as they lived in a climate of fear at an orphanage run by a religious order, an inquiry has found. Youngsters were hit with implements such as leather straps, crucifixes and a dog’s lead at Smyllum Park orphanage in Lanark, as well as at Bellevue House in Rutherglen, the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI) concluded. Chair Lady Smith said being hit was ‘a normal aspect of daily life’ for some children.

https://metro.co.uk/2018/10/11/nuns-and-priests-sexually-abused-and-beat-children-at-orphanage-8029461/

Nuns and priests sexually abused, humiliated and beat children with leather straps and crucifixes at an orphanage run by a religious order, inquiry finds

Children were sexually abused, beaten and humiliated as they lived in a climate of fear and control at an orphanage run by a religious order, an inquiry has found. Youngsters were beaten with leather straps, crucifixes and a dog's lead at Smyllum Park orphanage in Lanark, as well as at Bellevue House in Rutherglen, the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI) concluded. Chair Lady Smith said being hit was 'a normal aspect of daily life' for some children, and they found no love, compassion, dignity or comfort at the two institutions run by the nuns of the Catholic order the Daughters of Charity (DoC) of St Vincent de Paul.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6266183/Child-abuse-inquiry-disturbing-child-abuse-nuns-priests-Glasgow-orphanage.html 

Children´s homes were places of fear and abuse, inquiry finds

Children were sexually abused, beaten and humiliated as they lived in a climate of fear and coercive control at an orphanage run by a religious order, an inquiry has found. Youngsters were hit with implements such as leather straps, crucifixes and a dog’s lead at Smyllum Park orphanage in Lanark, as well as at Bellevue House in Rutherglen, the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI) concluded.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-6265611/Children-s-homes-places-fear-abuse-inquiry-finds.html 

The children had been sexually abused in Catholic orphanages since 1864

Researchers have studied the history of several orphanages in Catholic churches in Lanarkshire and found shocking facts of child abuse. Public organization, which is engaged in investigation of cases of ill-treatment of children has expressed serious concern about the frequent cases of pedophilia in the Catholic Church. However, the researchers found out that the previously known Catholic orphanages in Scotland was famous for an even more terrible sins.

https://kozpost.com/blog/the-children-had-been-sexually-abused-in-catholic-orphanages-since-1864/11502/ 

Alleged sexual abuse continued after warnings

For more than two decades, parents, victims, nuns and others reported alleged sexual assaults or raised other red flags about Fr. Arthur Perrault to Catholic priests and diocesan officials, including two archbishops. None of those warnings, according to court records, stopped him from preying on children here until he vanished from Albuquerque in 1992.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1232915/alleged-sexual-abuse-continued-after-warnings.html 

Class action request aimed at Quebec nuns for alleged physical, sexual abuse

The Sisters of Charity of Quebec said they were “surprised” and “troubled” by allegations that children who once stayed at the Mont d’Youville orphanage in Quebec City were sexually abused not only by lay educators but also by nuns. The allegations came in a revised petition to the Quebec Superior Court from a former orphanage resident seeking designation of a class action lawsuit, the first in Quebec province that named a women’s religious congregation.

https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-americas/2018/10/12/class-action-request-aimed-at-quebec-nuns-for-alleged-physical-sexual-abuse/ 

Kids’ home abuse survivors sue nuns for compensation

A GROUP of survivors of child abuse are to sue nuns who ran two Catholic residential homes near Glasgow for compensation. Thompsons Solicitors say they are currently pursuing 10 cases on behalf of those abused at Smyllum Park in Lanark and Bellevue House in Rutherglen. The legal firm are taking legal action against the Sisters of the Charity of Saint Vincent De Paul for their clients who suffered horrific abuse at the hands of the religious order.

https://www.pressreader.com/uk/evening-times/20181015/281539406923468 

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/horrifying-child-abuse-former-rutherglen-13432733

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse has published an unprecedented online anthology of sexual abuse in institutions, with 125 victims detailing the horrors they experienced in schools, sports clubs, churches and other groups. Accounts from the victims of abuse have been made available online as part of the inquiry’s Truth Project, in a drive to challenge the stigma surrounding child sexual abuse and encourage others to share their stories.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/oct/16/victims-of-child-sexual-abuse-detail-experiences-in-online-anthology 

Horrifying child abuse at former Rutherglen care home is revealed

The Scottish child abuse inquiry brings to light historic crimes at children's home run by Catholic Church. Children were subjected to horrifying abuse at a former children’s home run by the Catholic Church in Rutherglen, an investigation has revealed. A public inquiry has found that nuns, priests and staff at Bellevue House and also Smyllum Park in Lanark physically and sexually abused kids for many decades.

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/horrifying-child-abuse-former-rutherglen-13432733 

Child sex abuse was rife in Scottish Catholic care homes, inquiry finds

Violent and sexual abuse of children by priests and nuns, including beatings with crucifixes and dog leads, took place at two Catholic care homes over decades in Scotland, according to an inquiry report on Thursday. The report, the first chapter of a wider investigation led by Supreme court judge Lady Anne Smith, examined residential care for children by the order of the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul between 1917 and 1981 - particularly the Smyllum Park Orphanage in Lanark, central Scotland and Bellevue Children's Home near Glasgow.

https://www.euronews.com/2018/10/11/child-sex-abuse-was-rife-in-scottish-catholic-care-homes-inquiry-finds 

Time to end denials over child abuse in Catholic orders

RESULTS from the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry have been a long time coming. The inquiry itself got off to an inauspicious start with senior figures leaving amid claims of political interference. But its first official report is horrifically clear about the physical and sexual abuse, emotional torture and humiliation of children which took place at institutions run by the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul.

https://www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/16977707.time-to-end-denials-over-child-abuse-in-catholic-orders/ 

Class action request aimed at Quebec nuns for alleged physical, sexual abuse

The Sisters of Charity of Quebec said they were “surprised” and “troubled” by allegations that children who once stayed at the Mont d’Youville orphanage in Quebec City were sexually abused not only by lay educators but also by nuns. The allegations came in a revised petition to the Quebec Superior Court from a former orphanage resident seeking designation of a class action lawsuit, the first in Quebec province that named a women’s religious congregation.

https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-americas/2018/10/12/class-action-request-aimed-at-quebec-nuns-for-alleged-physical-sexual-abuse/ 

Child abuse was routine, says inquiry

Children were beaten with crucifixes, mocked if they were Protestants or Jewish and subjected to routine sexual abuse at orphanages run by Catholic nuns, an inquiry has found. The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI) set out harrowing details of life at Smyllum Park orphanage in Lanark, as well as at Bellevue House in Rutherglen, which were run by the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul as “places of fear, coercive control and threat”.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/child-abuse-was-routine-says-inquiry-g66dhgn7h 

Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry – Victims of sexual abuse assaulted and beaten with crucifixes in Catholic orphanage and care home launch legal action

At the end of last week the first interim report by the Scottish Child Inquiry found that kids did suffer the horrific abuse at Smyllum Park orphanage in Lanark and Bellevue House in Rutherglen. Nuns from the charity ran both houses of horror. They beat children with crucifixes and using rosary beads to inflict pain on their tiny victims, often because the terrified youngsters had wet their beds.Those kids were also emotionally abused, the probe found, by being beaten, put in cold baths and humiliated in ways that included having to “wear” their wet sheets.

https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/3347916/scottish-child-abuse-inquiry-victims-legal-action/ 

Past Catholic Church probes may answer present questions

Unlike most Vermonters, Jerry O’Neill wasn’t shocked by recent headlines reporting the horrific extent of past child abuse by Catholic Church personnel. From the first talk in the 1990s of nuns abusing orphans decades earlier to the final settlement in 2013 of a string of lawsuits involving priests molesting altar boys a half-century ago, the Burlington lawyer has litigated the most such cases in the state. “Any time you have news,” O’Neill says in the present MeToo moment, “it stirs memories in survivors and they come forward to people like me.”

https://vtdigger.org/2018/10/14/past-catholic-church-probes-may-answer-present-questions/ 

Alleged sexual abuse continued after warnings

For more than two decades, parents, victims, nuns and others reported alleged sexual assaults or raised other red flags about Fr. Arthur Perrault to Catholic priests and diocesan officials, including two archbishops. None of those warnings, according to court records, stopped him from preying on children here until he vanished from Albuquerque in 1992.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1232915/alleged-sexual-abuse-continued-after-warnings.html 

List of New Orleans priests credibly accused of sex abuse to be released: Details on timing, more

Yielding to calls from Catholics who have demanded a full accounting of local clerical abuse cases in the wake of other disclosures across the U.S., New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond and the leaders of four other Louisiana dioceses said Tuesday they will release the names of clergy members who have been "credibly accused" of child sexual abuse in the past 50 years. Aymond said the release of names “will be sooner rather than later,” though he stopped short of giving a firm date.

https://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/article_4f2589ac-d162-11e8-ae2b-7760af94315e.html 

Oscar Romero, Martyr for Salvadoran Revolution, Canonized by Pope Francis

The Embattled Pope wore Archbishop Romero’s blood soaked rope belt as he announced his canonization. Father Roy Bourgeois brings the reality into context. n 1980 there was a deep unrest in El Salvador. The U.S. was backing the oligarchs and the army junta that seized power in its war about to happen with the FMLN, the revolutionary guerrilla group seeking to overthrow the dictatorship. One of the men who publicly stood up to the dictatorship, a government that was known for murdering and torturing opponents, was Archbishop Oscar Romero. He was assassinated on his pulpit the day after giving a sermon denouncing the dictatorship, and calling on the United States to stop supporting the junta.

https://therealnews.com/stories/oscar-romero-martyr-for-salvadoran-revolution-canonized-by-pope-francis 

Victims of child sexual abuse detail experiences in online anthology

Accounts made available as part of independent inquiry’s Truth Project to encourage others to speak out, The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse has published an unprecedented online anthology of sexual abuse in institutions, with 125 victims detailing the horrors they experienced in schools, sports clubs, churches and other groups. Accounts from the victims of abuse have been made available online as part of the inquiry’s Truth Project, in a drive to challenge the stigma surrounding child sexual abuse and encourage others to share their stories.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/oct/16/victims-of-child-sexual-abuse-detail-experiences-in-online-anthology 

Inquiry finds vulnerable children were abused by nuns and priests

Catholic Church in Scotland has vowed to change its ways over child abuse, but actions speak louder than words, writes Martyn McLaughlin. Nearly five years have passed since the Catholic Church in Scotland took the first tentative steps on a journey many hoped would close the yawning gulf between its public statements and private deeds when it came to abuse. In November 2013, the Scottish Catholic Bishops asked the Very Reverend Dr Andrew McLellan, a former moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, to carry out an external review of safeguarding protocols and procedures.

https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/martyn-mclaughlin-church-still-to-keep-its-promises-on-child-abuse-1-4815828 

Wyoming Reopens Catholic Sex Abuse Case The case involves Bishop Emeritus Joseph Hart.

The Catholic Church, already beaten by blasts of sexual abuse allegations from around the world, will get another one. The Diocese of Cheyenne and Diocese of Green Bay have contacted local law enforcement authorities to reopen an old sexual abuse case involving a former priest, Bishop Emeritus Joseph Hart. Among the many cases against him, the police have zeroed upon one particular instance of a 14-year-old male allegedly abused by the priest in 1977.

https://www.worldreligionnews.com/religion-news/wyoming-reopens-catholic-sex-abuse-case 

Church’s ‘inaction continues to damage children’: US abuse victim sues Vatican in bid to identify predators

Over recent months, the Catholic church has been gripped by a global sexual abuse scandal – particularly in Australia, Chile and the US – with allegations that cases were covered up by top church officials. “I’m seeking the truth – that’s what this is all about,” 52-year-old Manuel Vega, who said he suffered five years of abuse by southern California parish priest Fidencio Silva-Flores when he was a choir boy, told a press conference in Los Angeles.

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2167086/churchs-inaction-continues-damage-children-us-abuse 

Florida and 12 other states now probing sex abuse linked to Catholic church

Florida’s attorney general said Thursday she is launching an investigation of potential sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic church, making Florida at least the 13th state with an ongoing statewide probe of the church. “Any priest that would exploit a position of power and trust to abuse a child is a disgrace to the church and a threat to society,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi in a statement. The Attorney General’s Office will coordinate its probe with local prosecutors and review records from all seven of Florida’s Catholic dioceses. It is also launching a tip line for victims.

https://www.wxxv25.com/2018/10/04/florida-and-12-other-states-now-probing-sex-abuse-linked-to-catholic-church/ 

Sexual Abuse At shelter Homes: Existing Mechanism Not Adequate To Deal With Problem, Says SC

The Supreme Court Thursday said the existing mechanism was “not adequate” to curb incidents of sexual abuse of children and girls at shelter homes and asked the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) to apprise it on the formulation of a child protection policy. A bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur asked the joint secretary of MWCD to appear before it on October 8 to assist the court in understanding what exactly was proposed to deal with issues like counselling and rehabilitation of such victims, conditions prevailing at child care institutions and formulation of child protection policy.

https://newscentral24x7.com/sexual-abuse-at-shelter-homes-existing-mechanism-not-adequate-to-deal-with-problem-says-sc/ 

Forgive me, sister

With allegations of rape levelled against priests, the ritual of confession is under scrutiny. As the National Commission for Women calls for its amendment, Lounge looks at the tussle between law and faith.
Kerala is in the midst of a socio-religious upheaval. Just a couple of months before the Supreme Court’s 29 September Sabarimala verdict, the state witnessed two allegations against church priests. Followers of the Roman Catholic and Malankara Orthodox Syrian churches saw these cases as proof of the mounting list of alleged sexual crimes committed by priests world over.

https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/Yb0v18pkUwZvMf56fBoqAM/Forgive-me-sister.html 

In Kavanaugh's church, a divide over his Supreme Court nomination

A couple of weeks ago, the prominent congregation of the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament parish stood united in its shared anger at what its priest, the Rev. Bill Foley called “silence and inaction” on the topic of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church. Not long after, another kind of sex abuse scandal hit much closer to home — and the response among those in the Northwest Washington parish appears to be one of quiet yet profound division.

https://www.wvgazettemail.com/in-kavanaugh-s-church-a-divide-over-his-supreme-court/article_ed667dd2-c420-574c-b0e3-8371972b878d.html 

Concerns over abuse redress information

New Zealand some thing to look forward to... as it has already happened to other countries worldwide... those up top and the survivors lawyers never lose out... no matter if they win or lose... they are paid with money... were as the survivors are joined up in one of their schemes... we already have our numbers... and God forbid... like as a child... we are now known by our numbers...

now wait for the countdown of who will be pushed aside... and those who keep bowing to them... will pass with all they can get... 

us men and women from the church homes and orphanages... have already being walk over... and discarded as though we are dirt to be walked upon...

now see the turn over of people judged by how you look and talk to them... in other words IF THEY LIKE YOU OR NOT... and if you stand there... and are too scared to talk even now... BE STRONG ...AND TELL THEM HOW IT AFFECTED YOU... YOUR FRIENDS... AND YOUR FAMILY ALL OF YOUR LIFE...

  =====================================

Even Leonie Sheedy's family don't know just how deeply the abuse she suffered in a children's home has affected her life. So why, the 64-year-old says, should she and other survivors be forced to reveal their deepest, most personal and most sensitive part of their lives to their abusers through the national redress scheme. "We shouldn't have to sell our souls for a lousy amount of money - of $72,000 average payment," Ms Sheedy told a federal parliamentary committee examining the scheme's implementation. "Give us some dignity please."

https://www.9news.com.au/2018/10/10/14/53/concerns-over-abuse-redress-information 

Justice for the victims

#MeToo and national issues revolving around the Supreme Court nomination and the current president cast a much-needed spotlight upon sexual abuse. Finally, there is a high profile investigation into the Catholic orphanage in Burlington. One issue is the children placed there as wards of the state of Vermont.

https://www.rutlandherald.com/opinion/letters/justice-for-the-victims/article_7d61ba39-ba2e-5453-b753-99db4fc86538.html 

A Catholic society used dreams of a medieval life and rebellion to groom young victims of abuse

The Society of Saint John's leader had red flags in his background but was allowed to set up at a boys' boarding school, where he was accused of abuse. On Dec. 18, 2001, a desperate North Carolina dad wrote a letter to the Vatican asking the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church to discipline a group of priests at a Pennsylvania boys’ boarding school who he said took turns sexually abusing his teenage son. The priests were members of an organization called the Society of Saint John, the father wrote, and Bishop James Timlin, then the head of the Diocese of Scranton, had allowed them to take up residence at St. Gregory’s Academy in Elmhurst, Pennsylvania.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/catholic-society-used-dreams-medieval-life-rebellion-groom-young-victims-n907661 

The Secret Results Of Vermont’s Investigation Into Sex Abuse By Priests

In the wake of a recent BuzzFeed News investigation that revealed widespread abuse of children at a Catholic orphanage in Vermont, the state’s attorney general convened a task force last month to investigate, pledging to stand up for the victims of abuse. But that office undertook a previous investigation into the abuse of Vermont children by Catholic clergy, in 2002, the results of which were never released.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/chrismcdaniel/the-secrets-of-vermonts-investigation-into-sex-abuse-by?ref=hpsplash 

Where’s my baby? How Canada confronted the scandal of forced adoption

And we the stolen babies need answers... and the love of our mother’s which was stolen from us... by the Catholic Church... WITHOUT A MOTHERS LOVE A CHILD’S SOUL DOES NOT GROW... Ann ================================================ 

Between 1945 and 1975, hundreds of thousands of unmarried Canadian women were forced to give up their children to adoptive parents. Andrew Buncombe talks to victims of this bleak chapter and asks why the Trudeau government refuses to apologise. It had been 50 years since Sandra Jarvie was told to sign a form consenting to give up her newborn baby. Yet when she tried to talk about it, all those decades later, her voice faltered, and her words were almost trapped. “I was totally numb. My baby was gone,” she says. “The social worker stood in front of me. Coldly, she said: ‘You will never see your baby again as long as you live. If you search for the baby, you’ll destroy his life and the lives of the adoptive parents.’”

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/canada-forced-adoption-scandal-baby-justin-trudeau-children-mothers-apologise-a8535061.html 

Child-sex abuse survivors and allies celebrate a victory in Pa. State House

If they needed a reminder, members of the Pennsylvania state Senate learned Monday night they are wearing a legislative bull's-eye for those intent on giving victims of child sexual abuse more pathways to justice this fall. That's where the battle over the proposed creation of a temporary, two-year window allowing abuse survivors who are otherwise time-barred from bringing a lawsuit against their perpetrators hangs in the balance. The measure - endorsed by the grand jury that issued this summer's scathing report documenting abuses and cover-ups within six Pennsylvania dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church - cruised to an easy first-round win in the state House of Representatives Monday.

https://www.pennlive.com/news/2018/09/survivors_and_allies_celebrate.html 

See Anything, Say Something?

The pros and cons of ‘mandated reporting.’ In Catholic parishes around the world, at elite private schools such as Phillips Exeter Academy and St. George’s School, and in institutions such as the U.S. Olympic Committee, people who knew about longstanding sexual abuse of children and teenagers ignored it or covered it up. A rash of “good people” did nothing, and evil prevailed. One way to try to prevent this from happening in the future is to legally require that employees of any child-serving organization report their suspicions about abuse to authorities. Most states already mandate that people in certain professions—doctors, members of law enforcement, public school teachers, and social workers, for instance—report suspected abuse or neglect. But everyone else, while encouraged to tell the authorities if they believe a child is being harmed, is not required on pain of punishment to do so.

https://www.weeklystandard.com/naomi-schaefer-riley/see-anything-say-something 

Pope: Priestly abuse scandals driving Catholic faithful away

ope Francis conceded Tuesday that priestly sex abuse scandals are outraging the Catholic faithful and driving them away, and said the church must change its ways if it wants to keep future generations. Francis referred directly to the crisis convulsing his papacy on the fourth and final day of his Baltic pilgrimage, which coincided with the release of a devastating new report into decades of sex abuse and cover-ups in Germany.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12131625 

Survivor group asks for deeper investigation of priests

Survivors of sexual abuse by priests and their supporters delivered a letter to Gov. Mike Parson on Wednesday, asking him to command Attorney General Josh Hawley to conduct a criminal investigation — and authorize him to use subpoena power in investigations — of alleged sexual abuse by Catholic Church officials in Missouri. Members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) said they wanted the governor to add teeth to an investigation Hawley began late last month.

http://www.newstribune.com/news/local/story/2018/sep/27/survivor-group-asks-deeper-investigation-priests/745284/ 

What Do the Cases Involving Bill Cosby, Clergy Sex Abuse, and Brett Kavanaugh Have in Common?

What Do the Cases Involving Bill Cosby, Clergy Sex Abuse, and Brett Kavanaugh Have in Common? Powerful Men Who Think Themselves Powerful Enough to Make Credible Accusations Disappear, But They Are Wrong. In the same week, Bill Cosby was sentenced and labeled a sex offender for drugging Andrea Constand and sexually assaulting her; Pennsylvania House members passed by overwhelming margins a strong bill for statutes of limitations reform for child sex abuse victims in response to Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s monumental grand jury report on six Catholic dioceses detailing craven abuse and callous cover-up going back 70 years; and the third woman emerged with accusations against Brett Kavanaugh for drunken sexual misconduct, including gang rape. In sum, there was a conviction of a sexual perpetrator, legal reform for sex assault victims, and more allegations from sexual assault victims.

https://verdict.justia.com/2018/09/27/what-do-the-cases-involving-bill-cosby-clergy-sex-abuse-and-brett-kavanaugh-have-in-common 

Cardinal linked to gay Vatican orgy urged leniency for sex abusers: German journalist

enjamin Leven, a German theologian and editor, relates in a new essay how, according to his Vatican sources, it was Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio who at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) promoted the attitude of a lenient approach toward priests who have committed crimes of sexual abuse. Coccopalmerio is also said to have put a word in for child abuser Don Mauro Inzoli. Pope Francis lifted sanctions from the defrocked Inzoli in 2014, returning his priestly faculties.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/influential-vatican-cardinal-close-to-francis-promoted-leniency-toward-abus 

A deep-rooted antidote to scandal-mania

A little girl, excitedly anticipating her first Communion, meets with the parish priest. As he quizzes her about the meaning of the sacrament, her little mind gets tongue-tied on the word “Eucharist,” and shy thing that she is, she blushes and drops her eyes to the floor. Then Father says to her, “Come, sit in my lap …” This precious soul is forced to receive her first Communion from the very priest that abused her two days earlier. She goes through the motions, but she is numb, frozen in fear, having literally been robbed of a robust and meaningful relationship with her spiritual father, her body, her sexuality and, most devastating of all, the Blessed Sacrament.

http://thecatholicspirit.com/commentary/your-heart-his-home/a-deep-rooted-antidote-to-scandal-mania/ 

His priest molested him as a kid. The Bishop told him to ask for forgiveness when he reported it.

An Indiana man has sued, alleging his former priest sexually abused him as a boy and the church hierarchy covered it up. The man, known as John Doe 1 in court papers, claims that Father James Grear molested him at a Catholic youth rally in 1982. The lawsuit names Grear, the church, and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette as defendants. The lawsuit alleges that after the rally, Doe returned to his rural home in another county and attended confession in his home church. Lafayette Bishop Raymond Gallagher was hearing confessions that day.

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2018/09/priest-molested-kid-bishop-told-ask-forgiveness-reported/ 

SNAP Wants Governor to order Hawley to Question Catholic Church Officials Under Oath

An organization that provides support for victims of clergy abuse called on Missouri’s governor on Wednesday to order Attorney General Josh Hawley (R) to use subpoenas during his clergy sex abuse investigation. St. Louis volunteer SNAP director David Clohessy prepares for a news conference on September 26, 2018 in Jefferson City (Brian Hauswirth photo) The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, which is known as SNAP, held a Wednesday news conference outside the Statehouse in Jefferson City.

https://www.ozarksfirst.com/news/snap-wants-governor-to-order-hawley-to-question-catholic-church-officials-under-oath/1479080404 

A ‘Circle Of Secrecy’ To Save Christian Priests Committing Sexual Abuse

Though sexual abuse of nuns or church goers has come out in the open only recently in India, there is no denying the fact that this has been occurring for ages. Only now the abuses are slowly being reported. The problem is the cover-up that happens from within the institution. Over the last few months, reports of sexual abuse by church authorities, particularly from Kerala, have been hogging headlines. One case that drew nation-wide attention was the alleged rape of a nun at a convent near Kottayam in Kerala by Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Missionaries of Jesus, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Jalandhar Roman Catholic church.

https://swarajyamag.com/culture/a-circle-of-secrecy-to-save-christian-priests-committing-sexual-abuse