Law Change May Target Church Assets; about time and the churches should be tax as well...

Sweeping changes to the law could invalidate a controversial legal tactic that prevents survivors of child abuse from suing the Catholic Church. The bill to be introduced into the Victorian parliament this year could expose billions of dollars of assets owned by the Catholic Church and other religious organisations to potential legal action for the first time in more than a decade.

https://vision.org.au/radio/news/law-change-may-target-catholic-church-assets/ 

Ex-Chilean seminarian: Meeting with Vatican abuse investigator 'intense'

NEW YORK — A former Chilean seminarian who accused a current bishop of abuse cover-up met with a Vatican investigator and said he finally felt he had been heard. Juan Carlos Cruz met for nearly four hours Feb. 17 with Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, a longtime expert on clergy sex abuse. Cruz, who currently lives and works in Philadelphia, said that this is the first time he felt Church officials had listened to how, as a seminarian, he was sexually abused by Father Fernando Karadima, a Chilean priest. Cruz maintains that now-Bishop Juan Barros of Osorno, Chile, witnessed some of the abuse. In a statement Feb. 17, Cruz called his meeting "a good experience," one he described as emotional and at times "very intense and very detailed." He also said he thought it was "eye-opening" for the archbishop. "I leave here very hopeful today," Cruz told reporters after the meeting.

http://stlouisreview.com/article/2018-02-23/nation-and-world 

Sexual abuse survivors in Victoria to be able to sue churches as Government moves to end 'Ellis defence'

Survivors of sexual abuse will soon be able to sue churches in Victoria, as the State Government moves to close a legal loophole. Currently, laws in the state prevent victims from being able to take legal action against some non-incorporated organisations, like churches. Attorney-General Martin Pakula said the new legislation was in response to a key recommendation from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-24/survivors-of-sexual-abuse-to-be-able-to-sue-churches/9481000 

Church leads march vs killings, divorce

CHURCH leaders and members of catholic groups on Saturday gathered at the Quirino Grandstand to protest moves in congress to legalize divorce and the continued drug killings. About 2,000 Catholics joined the protest rally dubbed “Walk for Life,” which was initiated by the Church.

http://www.manilatimes.net/church-leads-march-vs-killings-divorce/382553/ 

Celibacy Not Easy

Popular Uyo-based Catholic priest and radio preacher, Rev. Fr. Patrick Henry Edet, who resigned from the priesthood last year, is set to wed. Edet, who was a Roman Catholic priest for 11 years, announced this week that he will be getting married next month. As for whom he will be getting married to, he said she would be revealed next week. He made the announcement during his Grace Family Church service.

https://independent.ng/celibacy-not-easy/ 

A complete loss of moral authority

In his February 18 column “Prayer move a rejection of Christ”, Ken Orr asks why, in seven generations, we have changed dramatically from a Christian nation dedicated to love, truth and justice, to an increasingly agnostic, secular humanist society that has lost its way? While I agree with Tony Lee that a morality instilled by fear of the supernatural provides no sound basis for good behaviour, I think that there is another reason; the complete loss of moral authority by the Catholic Church.

http://gisborneherald.co.nz/opinion/3247315-135/a-complete-loss-of-moral-authority 

Ireland Tells State-Run Schools: Stop Steering Pupils to Religion Class

Ireland’s state-run secondary schools can no longer assume that their students will receive religious instruction, the government has said, directing the schools to offer alternative classes — a striking move in a country where education has long been dominated by the Roman Catholic Church. Irish law already states that government-run schools cannot require students to take religion classes, which have been dominated by Christian doctrine. But that law has had limited effect, as schools have routinely enrolled all students in the courses unless their parents opted out

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/21/world/europe/ireland-schools-religion.html?emc=edit_tnt_20180221&nlid=63876270&tntemail0=y 

Excluding Church from inquiry would be an 'abject failure'

One of the world's leading authorities on child sex abuse in the Church says it will be a colossal waste of people's money if the government excludes churches from the Royal Commission into abuse in state care. However, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the inquiry would focus on those in state care because that's where the government has a duty of responsibility. US Catholic cleric Father Tom Doyle first blew the whistle on the global scandal of clerical abuse in 1984, and has given expert evidence since, including at Australia's Royal Commission.

https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/351020/excluding-church-from-inquiry-would-be-an-abject-failure 

Hunter victims in trans-Tasman push for expanded NZ child abuse inquiry

AUSTRALIAN victims of notorious St John of God Brother Bernard McGrath have urged New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to expand a child abuse royal commission after McGrath’s fight against extradition from New Zealand stopped the Australian royal commission from a public inquiry into the Catholic order.

http://www.dailyadvertiser.com.au/story/5243590/hiding-behind-a-paedophile-victims-push-for-nz-inquiry-to-expand/ 

New Zealand PM urged to expand royal commission over St John of God child-sex abuse

Australian victims of notorious St John of God Brother Bernard McGrath have urged New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to include churches in a child abuse royal commission after McGrath's fight against extradition from New Zealand stopped the Australian royal commission from a public inquiry into the Catholic order.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/new-zealand-pm-urged-to-expand-royal-commission-over-st-john-of-god-childsex-abuse-20180221-h0wfnd.html 

Cardinal Pell’s legal team seeks medical records of accusers

The legal team representing Cardinal George Pell have been accused of a “fishing expedition” over plans to get medical records from his alleged victims. Melbourne Magistrates Court heard on Friday how court subpoenas are planned for the complainants in the historic sexual abuse case against the Vatican treasurer.

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2018/02/09/cardinal-pells-legal-team-seeks-medical-records-accusers/ 

The PM and premiers forgot about sexual abuse compensation

When the nation’s premiers and chief ministers fronted the media on Friday, following their COAG meeting with the prime minister, there was one notable issue missing from the post-meeting remarks.
Admittedly, the COAG agenda was jam-packed with important matters requiring effective coordination across the different levels of government. The states and territories were particularly vocal about their share of the cash allocations from the federal government, either for Indigenous housing or hospitals.

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2018/02/09/coag-sexual-abuse-compensation/ 

Proposal to extend statute of limitations for reporting sexual abuse gets hearing at state Capitol

The Prairie Middle School case involving school administrators being accused of not reporting child abuse to police took center stage at the state Capitol on Monday.
The issue is the belief the case against the administrators soon might be dropped because of the statute of limitations. It’s currently 18 months and the incident involving reporting at Prairie Middle School happened in 2014.

http://kdvr.com/2018/02/05/proposal-to-extend-statute-of-limitations-for-reporting-sexual-abuse-gets-hearing-at-state-capitol/ 

100s of child porn images, LSD, ecstasy found in Boise priest’s home, prosecutor says

Hundreds of images of child pornography and drugs including marijuana, ecstasy and LSD were found in the home of a retired Boise priest, a prosecutor said at a Monday court hearing. Longtime Catholic Rev. W. Thomas Faucher, 72, was brought into court in a wheelchair Monday evening for his arraignment on 14 different charges.
Most of the crimes involve Idaho’s law against child pornography: He is charged with 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a child, and two counts of distributing sexually exploitative material involving children. His last two charges are both for drug possession. All of the charges are felonies except for both drug counts.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/crime/article198567664.html

Pope Francis, a brewing crisis and 'feminine genius'

The biggest error Catholic leaders have made regarding the church’s response to priests abusing children has been the exclusion of women leading the policy-making process. The last couple of weeks have not been what anyone in his or her right mind would call the most brightly shining moment in the current pontificate.
First, the cardinal in charge of the Roman Curia’s office on the laity blocked Ireland’s former president, Mary MacAleese, from speaking at an International Woman’s Day event originally scheduled to take place inside the Vatican. In response, the organizers simply moved the venue to the nearby Jesuit headquarters.

https://international.la-croix.com/news/pope-francis-a-brewing-crisis-and-feminine-genius/6914 

Letter to the editor: Cardinal should warn pope about his position on clerical sex abuse

In the face of Pope Francis’ continued denial that he has seen evidence of either clerical sex abuse or of church leaders’ cover-up in Chile, Cardinal Sean O’Malley could do no better than emulate the example of his distant kinsman, Columbanus, an Irish missionary to Europe.
Columbanus, in the seventh century, chastised Pope Boniface IV for failing to provide leadership at another time of crisis. In 613 A.D., he wrote: “Be vigilant, I beg you Pope, be vigilant, and again I say, be vigilant … . (This) storm threatens the wreck of the ship of the church … . Keep watch, for the water has already made its entrance into the vessel, and the ship is in jeopardy.”

https://www.pressherald.com/2018/02/09/letter-to-the-editor-cardinal-should-warn-pope-about-his-position-on-clerical-sex-abuse/ 

No paradigm shifts, Weigel says -- but church history is full of them.

George Weigel's latest offering at First Things, titled "The Catholic Church doesn't do 'paradigm shifts,' " may not be as morally offensive as Fr. Romanus Cessario's defense of Pope Pius IX's kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara, but it is, in its way, just as ridiculous as an intellectual proposition, maybe even more so.
Weigel takes issue with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin's observation that Amoris Laetitia represents a paradigm shift in the way the church approaches the subject of family and marriage. Weigel notes that the Scriptures provide evidence of such shifts, as when St. Paul came to realize that salvation was, through Jesus Christ, available to the Gentiles, or the introduction of Greek philosophical referents in the first chapter of the Gospel of John.

https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/distinctly-catholic/no-paradigm-shifts-weigel-says-church-history-full-them 

Timeline of institutional child sex abuse cases

January 24, 2018 Dr Lawrence G. Nassar, former doctor for American gymnastics team, sentenced to 40 to 175 years for multiple sex crimes. Nassar accused of molesting girls for years under the guise of giving them examinations or medical treatment. Some were as young as 6. Many of them were Olympic gymnasts.
January 2017 Ireland’s Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry (HIA) studies allegations of child abuse in 22 homes and residential institutions between 1922 to 1995.

http://gulfnews.com/news/asia/australia/timeline-of-institutional-child-sex-abuse-cases-1.2170527 

Pope Francis’ reputation on sex abuse ‘has gone from bad to worse’

From his advocacy for migrants to opening up the Sistine Chapel to Rome’s homeless, Pope Francis has been an outspoken voice for people suffering on the margins. But the 81-year-old pontiff’s appeals on behalf of the downtrodden are being overshadowed by the way he is dealing with victims of clerical sexual abuse.
“This is a situation which the Pope has mishandled, and it’s gone from bad to worse,” Marie Collins, a former member of a pontifical commission on clerical sex abuse, who herself was abused by a priest when she was 13 years old, told Religion News Service.

https://www.catholicregister.org/home/international/item/26777-pope-francis-reputation-on-sex-abuse-has-gone-from-bad-to-worse

Australian victims of institutional sexual abuse to receive national apology: PM

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has pledged to deliver a national apology to victims of institutional child sex abuse before the end of 2018. In a surprise statement to parliament on Thursday morning, Turnbull said that "there is no more important obligation for every Australian adult than keeping our children safe from harm."

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-02/08/c_136958661.htm 

Key dates in pope defending bishop accused of abuse cover-up

Pope Francis' appointment of Bishop Juan Barros to head the small diocese of Osorno, Chile encountered opposition when it was announced three years ago and has contributed to a credibility crisis for the Chilean Catholic Church in the time since.
Barros was a protege of the Rev. Fernando Karadima, a charismatic priest who was sanctioned by the Vatican in 2011 for sexually abusing minors. Some of the victims allege that Barros witnessed the abuse, placing him at the scene when Karadima kissed and fondled minors. Barros has denied knowing of the abuse or covering up for Karadima.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/key-dates-pope-defending-bishop-accused-abuse-cover-52858267 

Time for enablers to truly share the pain of sexual abuse victims

Time for enablers to truly share the pain of sexual abuse victims. Shielding your children from harm is more than just instinct. Protecting him and her is something you will do to your dying breath. You would go to any length to prevent predators like Dr. Larry Nassar from doing to your son or daughter what he did to all his victims on the USA Gymnastics team and at Michigan State University.

http://savannahnow.com/opinion/editorial/2018-02-04/editorial-time-enablers-truly-share-pain-sexual-abuse-victims 

Created Equal' film uses women's ordination to address broader societal, legal issues

In recent years, the movie industry hasn't shied away from Catholicism — mostly seen through the lens of the sex abuse scandal. However, a new film seeks to expand the discussion on injustices both within the Catholic Church and society in general.
"Created Equal" — directed by Bill Duke and based on the novel by Roger A. Brown — begins with attorney Thomas "Tommy" Reilly (Aaron Tveit) being unwillingly assigned a pro-bono case for Sr. Alejandra "Allie" Batista (Edy Ganem).

https://www.ncronline.org/news/media/created-equal-film-uses-womens-ordination-address-broader-societal-legal-issues 

German talks on coalition govt move ahead as deadline looms

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and the center-left Social Democrats nudged closer Friday to an agreement on a coalition government after reaching new compromises on infrastructure, environment and other issues.
The two sides have set Sunday as a deadline to wrap up their negotiations, though they've budgeted two extra days for talks that they're widely expected to use. "Care over speed," is what's needed now, Social Democrats leader Martin Schulz told reporters.

http://www.wpxi.com/news/progress-on-german-government-talks-as-deadline-looms/693109547 

CULT NUNS Nuns ‘forced girl into satanic sex ritual where devil attacked her and buried her alive overnight in a drain’ at Smyllum Park orphanage

The traumatised former orphanage resident known only as ‘Janie’ told a child abuse inquiry a man referred to as the 'devil' assaulted her while she lay on a slab surrounded by candles. NUNS forced a girl to take part in a ‘satanic’ sex ritual at an orphanage, the child abuse inquiry heard yesterday. A former Smyllum Park resident known only as ‘Janie’ told the probe a man referred to as the “devil” assaulted her while she lay on a slab surrounded by candles.

https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/1938839/girl-forced-into-satanic-sex-ritual-where-devil-buried-her-alive-at-smyllum/ 

'UNCONVINCING' Charity who ran Smyllum Park Orphanage and allegedly abused children blasted by survivors’ group for ‘unconvincing’ apology

In Care Abuse Survivors said the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul were more interested in its previously 'good name' despite over 50 people coming forward to report mistreatment during Scotland's Child Abuse Inquiry. A SURVIVORS’ group has hit out at “unconvincing” apologies from a religious order that ran Smyllum Park Orphanage where kids were allegedly abused. John Scott QC, representing In Care Abuse Survivors (Incas), said the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul had shown a “sceptical attitude” amid shocking claims of historical abuse at the home in Lanark.

https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/2164147/smyllum-park-orphanage-lanark-child-abuse-nuns-apology-daughters-charity-st-vincent-de-paul/ 

Rebel Monk

In Germany, everybody has his own Martin Luther. Our view on the monk whose 95 Theses redefined Christianity 500 years ago depends on any number of variables: where you grew up (north or south, or East or West Germany), for example, and whether your parents were Communists. Luther is probably more interesting today than while he was alive.
The Luther who translated the Bible and reformed the corrupt Catholic Church is the Luther Germans are proud of. For some, Luther is a brave man who challenged the powerful. For others, he’s a spiritual leader whose ideas changed the world forever. There is also the fugitive Luther, the one who spent years hiding in the Wartburg, a fortress in southeast Germany. And there’s a darker side of Luther, the Luther who hated Jews, the Luther we don’t like.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/06/opinion/martin-luther.html?emc=edit_tnt_20180206&nlid=63876270&tntemail0=y 

Bid to enact 'Sherin's Law' in Texas gaining momentum: Report

HOUSTON: Efforts to have a new law in the US state of Texas which would make it a felony to leave a child alone at home is gathering steam and has won the support of a lawmaker in whose constituency 3-year-old Indian girl Sherin Mathews was found dead in a culvert, a media report said.
The decomposed body of Sherin was found in Richardson city in suburban Dallas on October 22, over two weeks after she was reported missing by her Indian-American foster father, Wesley Mathews.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/nri/us-canada-news/bid-to-enact-sherins-law-in-texas-gaining-momentum-report/articleshow/62790769.cms 

AP: Despite denial, Pope received abuse victim’s letter

AP: Despite denial, Pope received abuse victim’s letterPope Francis received an 8-page letter in 2015 detailing abuse at the hands of Fr Karadima, AP reports
Pope Francis received a victim’s letter in 2015 that graphically detailed sexual abuse at the hands of a priest and a cover-up by Chilean church authorities, contradicting the Pope’s recent insistence that no victims had come forward, the letter’s author and members of Pope Francis’ own sex- abuse commission have told The Associated Press.

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2018/02/05/ap-despite-denial-pope-received-abuse-victims-letter/ 

Scale of threat to children - Crackdown on abuse networks

A Garda raid on a home or business is just that— no more, no less. It implies no more than suspicion, and judgement of any kind cannot be reached until court proceedings conclude (if there are any.) Despite that innocent-until-proven-otherwise caveat, it does seem startling that gardaí felt it necessary to raid 31 homes across 12 counties as part of an investigation into the possession and distribution of child abuse images.
When the Catholic Church’s child abuse scandals started to come to light two decades ago, the initial reaction was a combination of anger and disbelief.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/views/scale-of-threat-to-children--crackdown-on-abuse-networks-826520.html 

Smyllum child abuse inquiry: Survivors’ group criticise ‘unconvincing’ apologies

A survivors’ group has criticised “unconvincing” apologies issued by a religious order which ran a notorious care home where children were allegedly abused. John Scott QC, representing the group In Care Abuse Survivors (Incas), claimed the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul had shown a “sceptical attitude” amid allegations of historical abuses said to have taken place at Smyllum Park orphanage in Lanark.

https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/smyllum-child-abuse-inquiry-survivors-group-criticise-unconvincing-apologies/ 

'UNCONVINCING' Charity who ran Smyllum Park Orphanage and allegedly abused children blasted by survivors’ group for ‘unconvincing’ apology

In Care Abuse Survivors said the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul were more interested in its previously 'good name' despite over 50 people coming forward to report mistreatment during Scotland's Child Abuse Inquiry/ A SURVIVORS’ group has hit out at “unconvincing” apologies from a religious order that ran Smyllum Park Orphanage where kids were allegedly abused. John Scott QC, representing In Care Abuse Survivors (Incas), said the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul had shown a “sceptical attitude” amid shocking claims of historical abuse at the home in Lanark.

https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/2164147/smyllum-park-orphanage-lanark-child-abuse-nuns-apology-daughters-charity-st-vincent-de-paul/ 

Nuns to face verdict over child abuse within weeks

A HIGH Court judge probing claims of abuse at an orphanage will publish her findings within weeks after hearing a catalogue of horrific allegations. Lady Smith said she would decide whether they were substantiated on the ‘balance of probabilities’.
This a lower threshold than the stipulation for a charge being proven beyond ‘reasonable doubt’ in criminal courts. The report on Smyllum Park in Lanark is likely to be published by the start of the next phase of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI), in late April. It emerged at an inquiry hearing in Edinburgh this week that nuns accused of abuse at the home could face prosecution.

https://www.pressreader.com/uk/scottish-daily-mail/20180202/282016147769100