Pope lands in Ireland amid priest abuse scandal

Pope Francis has arrived in Ireland on the first papal visit to the majority Roman Catholic nation for almost 40 years amid one of the worst sexual abuse scandals the Church has yet faced. The 81-year-old Pontiff will meet President Michael Higgins and Prime Minister Leo Varadkar during the two-day visit, that falls just a few days after the release of a Pennsylvania grand jury report detailing decades of clerical pedophilia and coverups. The Pope will also find Ireland a very different country to the one visited by John Paul II in 1979. The seismic social changes in Ireland over recent years are best symbolized by the election last year of Varadkar, who is gay, and the referendum three months ago that legalized abortion.

http://www.abc57.com/news/pope-lands-in-ireland-amid-priest-abuse-scanda 

Pope says 'outrage' justified over Irish Church abuse

Pope Francis spoke during his visit to Ireland Saturday of his shame over the "appalling crimes" of historic child abuse in the Catholic Church and said outrage was justified. However, he failed to specifically mention the current scandal raging over a US grand jury report documenting at least 1,000 cases of clerical pedophilia. "The failure of ecclesiastical authorities -- bishops, religious superiors, priests and others -- adequately to address these appalling crimes has rightly given rise to outrage, and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community. I myself share those sentiments," the Pope said.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/25/europe/pope-francis-ireland-visit-intl/index.html 

The Latest: Irish adoptee demands apology from Catholic nuns

DUBLIN (AP) — The Latest on Pope Francis' trip to Ireland (all times local): 8:20 p.m. Some of the Irish victims who met with Pope Francis are children who were forced to be adopted because they were born to single mothers or lived in Ireland's notorious "mother and baby homes." In a statement Saturday, they said they urged the pope to publicly state that their mothers had done nothing wrong and to encourage reconciliation between them. They said the pope apologized on behalf of the church.

https://www.chieftain.com/news/the-latest-pope-speaks-to-irish-minister-about-tuam-babies/article_1c0debdb-c03b-5cf8-9902-853bb817605f.html 

Pope speaks of shame over 'appalling crimes' of child abuse in Catholic Church

Pope Francis has spoken during his visit to Ireland of his shame over the "appalling crimes" of historic child abuse in the Catholic Church and said outrage was justified. However, he failed to specifically mention the current scandal raging over a US grand jury report documenting at least 1,000 cases of clerical pedophilia. Speaking to a hall in Dublin Castle packed with hundreds of political and religious dignitaries and foreign diplomats, Pope Francis said on Saturday "the failure of ecclesiastical authorities -- bishops, religious superiors, priests and others -- adequately to address these appalling crimes has rightly given rise to outrage, and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community. I myself share those sentiments."

https://www.nbc26.com/news/world/pope-speaks-of-shame-over-appalling-crimes-of-child-abuse-in-catholic-church

Pope says 'outrage' justified over Irish Church abuse

Pope Francis spoke during his visit to Ireland Saturday of his shame over the "appalling crimes" of historic child abuse in the Catholic Church and said outrage was justified. However, he failed to specifically mention the current scandal raging over a US grand jury report documenting at least 1,000 cases of clerical pedophilia.

https://www.keyt.com/news/pope-francis-visits-ireland-amid-priest-abuse-firestorm/786062258 

In Ireland, Pope Francis meets with Catholic Church sex abuse survivors

Pope Francis, on the first papal visit to Ireland Saturday in almost four decades, expressed "outrage" Saturday over the Catholic Church's cover-up of sex abuse and later met with eight survivors of what the Vatican called "clerical, religious and institutional abuse." Ireland is ground zero of the Catholic Church’s sex abuse crisis, with the institution under fire across the globe for its systemic failures to protect children or to punish bishops who hid the crimes.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/08/25/pope-francis-ireland-visit-sex-abuse-scandals/1096319002/ 

The Latest: Pope gets lukewarm reception in Ireland

DUBLIN — The Latest on Pope Francis’ trip to Ireland (all times local): 11 p.m. Pope Francis is facing a lukewarm reception and scattered protests on his trip to Ireland. Even his vow to rid the church of the “scourge” has been dismissed as a disappointment by some of Ireland’s wounded victims. But others who met with him in private say they’re heartened that he would respond to their plight, including two of the thousands of children who were forcibly put up for adoption for the shame of having been born to unwed mothers.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/the-latest-francis-departs-for-1st-papal-trip-to-ireland/2018/08/25/7f97ba78-a837-11e8-ad6f-080770dcddc2_story.html?utm_term=.73b92644ecd0 

Vatican condemns 'predator priests' in Penn. grand jury report

The Vatican on Thursday said the systematic coverup of sexual abuse at several Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania is "criminally and morally reprehensible." The director of the Vatican's Press Office, Greg Burke, issued a statement saying the Catholic Church takes the grand jury's investigation seriously and "condemns unequivocally" the sexual abuse of minors.

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2018/08/16/Vatican-condemns-predator-priests-in-Penn-grand-jury-report/3381534453328/?st_rec=5501535039412 

Nuns Arrested After Years Of Alleged Physical And Sexual Abuse At Orphanage

Eleven nuns were among the 12 people who were arrested and charged on Thursday for years of alleged physical and sexual abuse against children at a Catholic orphanage in Scotland. “Twelve people, 11 women and one man, ages ranging from 62 to 85 years, have been arrested and charged in connection with the non-recent abuse of children. All are subject of reports to (the) Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal. A further four individuals will be reported today. Inquiries are continuing, it would be inappropriate to comment further,” a spokesperson from Police Scotland, the national police force of Scotland, said, according to The Guardian.

https://www.newsweek.com/nuns-arrested-after-years-alleged-physical-and-sexual-abuse-orphanage-1088564 

Nuns charged in Smyllum Park child abuse investigation

Police examining claims of abuse over decades at Catholic home charge 12 people. 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.

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

Pope up against Vatican power, says Archbishop Diarmuid Martin

With less than a week to go to the papal visit, one of the leaders of the Catholic Church in Ireland has defended the Pope’s record of dealing with clerical child abuse, saying Francis is up against the might of the Vatican. However, Diarmuid Martin, Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, said he expects Pope Francis will “speak quite strongly” in relation to clerical sex abuse when he arrives in Ireland next Saturday for the World Meeting of Families. Saying sorry was not enough, he said in a homily delivered at St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral in Dublin, adding that the “structures that permit or facilitate abuse must be broken down and broken down forever”.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/pope-up-against-vatican-power-saysarchbishop-diarmuid-martin-863207.html 

Pennsylvania AG says cardinal "not telling the truth" about abuse scandal

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro told CNN on Sunday that Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington, has lied to defend himself after a shocking grand jury report detailed decades of systemic sexual abuse by hundreds of Catholic priests in the state. "Cardinal Wuerl is not telling the truth. Many of his statements in response to the Grand Jury Report are directly contradicted by the Church's own documents and records from their Secret Archives. Offering misleading statements now only furthers the cover up."

https://www.axios.com/pennsylvania-catholic-church-abuse-cardinal-wuerl-5ed2b841-8282-4880-8aeb-79775a04fdac.html 

US Catholics struggle to come to terms with back-to-back sex scandals- 'The devil exists everywhere'

Across the US, Catholics are searching for ways to respond to the constant sex-abuse scandals that have tarnished the institution in which they believe, with back-to-back scandals in the past two months. "Being a Catholic this week after hearing about the tragedies that occur inside the Catholic Church is unfortunate. But the devil exists everywhere and unfortunately he penetrates into the Catholic Church at times," said Steve Golla after leaving Sunday mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York.

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/world/us-catholics-struggle-come-terms-back-sex-scandals-devil-exists-everywhere?auto=5822282820001 

Pope says on side of victims of US 'predator' priests

"Victims should know that the pope is on their side," the Vatican said in a statement after a devastating US grand jury report published on Tuesday decried a systematic cover-up by the Catholic Church. ROME - Pope Francis is on the side of victims of more than 300 "predator" priests in the United States who are accused of abusing over 1,000 children across seven decades, the Vatican said Thursday. "Victims should know that the pope is on their side," the Vatican said in a statement after a devastating US grand jury report published on Tuesday decried a systematic cover-up by the Catholic Church. "Those who have suffered are his priority, and the Church wants to listen to them to root out this tragic horror that destroys the lives of the innocent," the statement said. "There are two words that can express the feelings faced with these horrible crimes: shame and sorrow," it said.

https://ewn.co.za/2018/08/17/pope-says-on-side-of-victims-of-us-predator-priests 

30 Pa. priests accused of sex abuse sent to center for treatment, but some advice ignor

In a nearly 900-page grand jury report on abuse by priests in the Catholic dioceses of Pennsylvania, the name St. Luke’s Institute keeps appearing. It was where Father Joseph Mueller was sent in April 1986 after he tried to pull down the pants of a teenager on multiple occasions, according to the report. The Rev. Richard Terdine, too, was sent there after he allegedly patted the genital area of a boy and massaged his back. In total, at least 30 priests were sent to St. Luke’s Institute, according to the report that goes back decades.

https://www.ydr.com/story/news/2018/08/17/pa-priests-accused-sexual-abuse-grand-jury-report-treated-institute-some-recommendations-ignored/1012247002/ 

Powerful video of Catholic abuse victim captivates Ireland ahead of Pope visit

A powerful video of a politician revealing he had been abused by priests has gone viral in Ireland ahead of this weekend’s visit from the Pope. Michael O’Brien was an audience member in 2009 on RTE’s Questions and Answers, and when given the microphone lambasted politicians’ response to the accusations of child rape in the Irish Catholic church. Trembling with emotion he told the panel, which included current Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar: ‘I got raped on a Saturday, got a merciful beating after it and he then came along the following morning and put Holy Communion in my mouth.

https://metro.co.uk/2018/08/22/powerful-video-of-catholic-abuse-victim-captivates-ireland-ahead-of-pope-visit-7872311/ 

Sister Simone Campbell: Catholic Sex Abuse Stems from “Monarchy” & Exclusion of Women from Power

For the first time in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, the pope has addressed a letter to the entire population of 1.2 billion Catholics on the topic of sex abuse by clergy. In the scathing 2,000-word letter, Pope Francis wrote, “We showed no care for the little ones; we abandoned them.” Last week in Pennsylvania, a grand jury report revealed how more than 300 Catholic priests sexually abused 1,000 children, and possibly thousands more, over seven decades and that the church leadership covered up the abuse. More than 1,000 Catholic theologians, educators and parishioners have called on all Catholic bishops to resign. We speak with Sister Simone Campbell, executive director of NETWORK, an advocacy group for Catholic social justice which organizes the Nuns on the Bus campaign. She’s the author of “A Nun on the Bus: How All of Us Can Create Hope, Change, and Community.”

https://www.democracynow.org/2018/8/21/sister_simone_campbell_catholic_sex_abuse 

Catholic School Might Trade Cardinal's Name for Black Nun's

The Baltimore archbishop is considering naming a new Catholic school after the nun who founded the first order of black nuns and started the country's first Catholic school for black children. The Baltimore archbishop is considering naming a new Catholic school after the nun who founded the first order of black nuns and started the country's first Catholic school for black children. The Baltimore Sun reports a school opening in 2020 might feature the Mother Mary Lange's name. It was originally supposed to be named for the late Cardinal William H. Keeler, accused of failing to act in the case of priests who abused children in Pennsylvania.

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/maryland/articles/2018-08-22/catholic-school-might-trade-cardinals-name-for-black-nuns 

US not alone in grappling with Catholic sex abuse, cover-up

Recent revelations of sexual misconduct and cover-up within the highest ranks of the U.S. Catholic Church have revived the sense of betrayal that devastated the American church's credibility after the first wave of scandal hit in 2002. But the United States is by no means alone: Cases of Catholic priests raping and molesting children, and of bishops covering up for them, have erupted on nearly every continent in recent years, with Pope Francis' native Latin America the latest to explode.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12111818 

They Promised Heaven But Led Me To Hell.

I wish to thank all the people who said NO to me, Because of them I did it myself... Trigger Warning... Please take care as you read my story.. I wrote everything in the book... because I want the world to know what happens to a child's mind... when they are abuse at any age of their lives... Children take abuse of all kinds as a punishment for being naughty and bold... We were innocent of the lies and punishment... which we were thrashed... raped... and abused for... We were little children... Boys and Girls who knew nothing about the world outside... the red brick walls... our abusers were god's servants and Jesus Brides... who ruled with an iron fist... and WOE BETIDE any child who could not do adult's work... they would be thrashed with-in an inch of their lives... Ann Free Spirit 

 https://www.amazon.com/They-Promised-Heaven-but-Hell-ebook/dp/B07GFMS5WC/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1534984007&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Promised+heaven+But+Led+me+To+Hell

Bishop apologises to Dunedin New Zealand: 'It's indefensible'

Every one knew what was happening to us children... boys and girls in the catholic orphanages... raped by the workers.. nuns and priest... you all knew and did not help us... I have lived a life of shame... pain and torment... but the worst thing was... you took from us children what we loved the most... our faith... when ever we talk about our lost of faith... the church turns her back on us... we were Jesus little Soldiers... we lost it all... because of what the servants of god did to our bodies... minds... and Souls... They want us to forgive them... for taking us babies away from our mothers arms... selling us babies to the highest bidders... adopting us out... then when they got sick of us... they took us back to be adopted out again and again... 5 times... you took ever thing from us babies... the catholic church stole us babies from our mother's arms... 2 and a half months old I was... and my mother suffered the rest of  her life... she lost her baby... and I lost my mother... I still grieve for her... Ann                                                             

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

The Bishop of Dunedin has apologised to the city and asked for forgiveness, after admitting the Catholic Church failed to protect children from paedophiles disguised as men of the cloth. And, as more victims continue to come forward, he has also added his voice to growing calls for churches to be included in the Government's upcoming Royal Commission into historic abuse.

https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/bishop-apologises-dunedin-its-indefensible 

Fox Valley priests are 'grieving' as they reckon with latest sex abuse scandal in Catholic Church

Early Sunday morning, before the 10:30 a.m. Mass, I sat down with my Sunday paper and read yet again about the scandal that just keeps giving — from sordid headlines to late-night jokes to massive mistrust among the faithful. And as I read these stories and editorials about the latest pedophilic priest cover-up in the Catholic Church — this one involving over 300 Pennsylvania clergy and 1,000 victims in a 70-year period according to a grand jury report in that state — I wondered if the priest would mention the scandal in the service I was about to attend.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/opinion/ct-abn-crosby-priest-scandal-st-0822-story.html 

'No more pain' victim wrote of Pa. priest sex abuse, as he and others took their own lives

In a detailed letter to the Diocese of Pittsburgh, a man outlined the extensive abuse he endured at the hands of a priest while serving as an altar boy in his hometown parish. He classified his experiences as sexual, physical and emotional abuse — memories that plagued his mind for years, and ones he certainly couldn't escape. The details recounted in his case, contained in last week's release of the Pennsylvania grand jury report on priest sex abuse, are graphic, describing situations involving anal and oral sex.

https://www.ydr.com/story/news/2018/08/21/pennsylvania-priest-sex-abuse-some-took-their-own-lives-others-considered-suicide-grand-jury-report/1042459002/ 

Statement of Adrian Dominican Sisters Regarding Clergy Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church

The General Council of the Adrian Dominican Sisters affirms the following statement on sexual abuse committed by Catholic priests issued by the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, of which the Congregation is a member. The recent news detailing the extensive and sometimes brutal sexual abuse committed by Catholic priests in the United States has left us at the Leadership Conference of Women Religious sickened and ashamed of the church we love, trusted, and have committed our lives to serve. We weep and grieve with all who over the decades have been victimized by sexual predators within the faith community and feel their pain as our own. We recognize that the damage done to many is irreparable.

http://www.wlen.com/2018/08/21/statement-of-adrian-dominican-sisters-regarding-clergy-sexual-abuse-in-the-catholic-church/ 

Richard Sipe helped uncover pattern of clergy sex abuse

When the Globe Spotlight team began its investigation of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, Richard Sipe was our guide, our teacher, our chief cheerleader. A gentle man with an easy laugh, he was also a former monk and priest, a psychotherapist, a scholar, and ideally suited to explain that the horrors we were discovering in Boston were not unusual — and quite probably part of a pattern throughout the church. Sipe, who was 85, died Wednesday in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/08/12/richard-sipe-helped-uncover-pattern-clergy-sex-abuse/QmHVHx8F0r6QsH0gk7GeaK/story.html 

Call for three cardinals to be removed from World Meeting of Families line-up

Survivors claim each has questions to answer about known clerical child abusers. A group representing clerical child sex survivors worldwide has written an open letter to Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin seeking the removal of three cardinals from World Meeting of Families (WMOF) events in Dublin later this month. Archbishop Martin is chairing the WMOF board. Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA) represents survivors in 15 countries and aims to hold the Vatican to account over clerical abuse of minors.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/call-for-three-cardinals-to-be-removed-from-world-meeting-of-families-line-up-1.3592507 

'The Catholic Church has blood on its hands' says abuse survivor

A victim of sexual abuse at Downside school in Somerset has hit out at the Catholic Church as a report into two institutions is published. The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse found monks covered up criminal offending at Downside and Ampleforth across 40 years. Responding to the report in a statement released by legal firm Slater and Gordon, the victim said: "I was vulnerable, broken and needed help from the church when I was a child.

https://www.premier.org.uk/News/UK/The-Catholic-Church-has-blood-on-its-hands-says-abuse-survivor 

I was 13 when the Pope came to Ireland and I was raped by a priest the next year'

Colm O’Gorman says he had believed Pope John Paul II when he said he loved the young people of Ireland – but instead, the pope protected his institution, not children. WHEN POPE JOHN Paul II came to Ireland I was 13 years old. Just over a year later, I was raped for the first time by a Roman Catholic priest. I am just one of very many victims of such abuse. Between 1936 and 1970, 137,000 children were detained in industrial schools and reformatories operated by the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland. The Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse investigated the treatment of children by the religious congregations which ran the institutions.

http://www.thejournal.ie/readme/colm-ogorman-pope-rape-abuse-church-catholic-4169924-Aug2018/ 

"They murdered something in me": Pennsylvania priest sex abuse survivors share stories

The first Pennsylvania statewide investigation into abuses by Catholic priests is expected to be released any day now. The grand jury report details allegations against more than 300 priests in six dioceses, covering more than 1.7 million parishioners. Attorney General Josh Shapiro led the 18 month-long investigation. CBS News' Nikki Battiste spoke with several victims who are sharing their stories for the first time. Survivors and their families tell us they've suffered through decades of trauma, and believe the report's release will be an important milestone in their fight for justice.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pennsylvania-priest-abuse-victims-share-their-stories-they-murdered-something-in-me/ 

CA Bishop Jaime Soto Covered Up Gay Sex Abuse

Court documents from sex abuse lawsuits are exposing the extent to which several California bishops covered up for serial abusers, while faithful Catholics are outraged that known gay priests are still being protected. Court documents released in the 2005 settlement show Sacramento Bp. Jaime Soto, Bp. William Johnson, then-auxiliary Bp. Michael Driscoll (all in the diocese of Orange) and Tijuana bishop Emilio Berlie all knew and covered up for priests known to be abusers.

https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/ca-bishops-still-covering-up-gay-sex-abuse 

Jury hears how priests used religious rituals and threats of hell to sexually abuse children in Pennsylvania

A grand jury report on child sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic church in Pennsylvania accuses priests of using religious rituals, symbols of faith and the threat of eternity in hell to sexually attack children over the years. State Attorney General Josh Shapiro calls it the "weaponisation of faith." The grand jury report, released today, provides numerous examples. It says several priests made a boy strip and pose as Jesus on the cross, and one used a crucifix to sexually attack a boy.

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/world/jury-hears-priests-used-religious-rituals-and-threats-hell-sexually-abuse-children-in-pennsylvania 

Sharing some thoughts about married priests

One of our readers, E.C., wanted to share some thoughts with us. When I started my journey back into Christianity about 7 years ago, I started with the Eastern Orthodox Church, where married priests with their wives and children were the norm, and an unmarried priest was seen as odd, but of course, quite welcome. It seems funny then that I settled on Roman Catholicism, where the priests make a promise of celibacy to their Bishops, never to have a spouse or children. I respect the priest who honestly wants and welcomes celibacy into his life and who knows how to handle that, but many men feel that they have no choice but to live this celibate life in order to have their priesthood.

https://maltesemarriedcatholicpriest.wordpress.com/2018/08/20/sharing-some-thoughts-about-married-priests/ 

‘It’s Really Hard to Be a Catholic’: The Pain of Reading the Sex Abuse Report

John Cabon stood quietly and crossed himself before a statue of the Virgin Mary outside St. Paul’s, the mother church of the Pittsburgh Diocese. “I keep the faith” said Mr. Cabon, 64, on the way to noon Mass. His sister, he said, had left the faith when explosive revelations of sexual abuse rocked the Roman Catholic Church in 2002. He had refused. “You don’t really believe everything, you know.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/15/us/priest-sexual-abuse-catholic-church.html 

Abuse survivor wants local Catholic Church to 'name names'

Vancouver's Roman Catholic archbishop and a victims' advocate respond to revelations of abuse of children by priests Pennsylvania. The recent revelations that the Catholic Church covered up the abuse of close to 1,000 children by 300 priests over several decades in Pennsylvania has shaken survivors of church abuse in B.C., victims’ advocate Leona Huggins of Coquitlam said Sunday. “I got a call from a survivor this morning,” said Huggins, who was abused by a Vancouver priest when she was a child. Huggins now volunteers with SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/abuse-survivor-wants-local-catholic-church-to-name-names 

Mary McAleese says Vatican tried to block documents on Irish sex abuse

Former Irish President Mary McAleese has revealed an old bid by the Vatican to prevent Ireland accessing Catholic Church documents. It wasn’t pursued when she expressed the view that the secrecy would place the church “flat on its back.” She told The Irish Times that the attempt in 2003 was “one of the most devastating moments in my presidency.” It occurred during a state visit to Italy when she had a private meeting with the then-Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Angelo Sodano.

https://www.irishcentral.com/news/irishvoice/mary-mcaleese-vatican-block-documents-irish-sex-abuse 

Pope must admit Vatican disregard for abused on Irish visit

Saying sorry it happened, sorry you were hurt, does not cut it any more. When Pope Francis comes to Ireland in two weeks’ time it will be 39 years since the last visit by a head of the Catholic Church. Since then the status of the church in Ireland has declined dramatically. Those identifying as Catholic are down by 20 per cent, according to the last census. Mass attendance has fallen away, seminaries and religious houses have closed, and parishes are now often run by a single priest.

https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/pope-must-admit-vatican-disregard-for-abused-on-irish-visit-1.3587800 

The ruin of souls

Like millions of Catholics, the members of my parish recite the same prayer at the end of every Mass: “St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle,” the congregation says in unison. “Be our protection against the wickedness and the snares of the devil….” Each Mass, this prayer brings to my mind whatever battle my church, my parish, or my family may be fighting. And currently, the battle where the Catholic Church needs St. Michael’s intercession is obvious. When saying the concluding words, in which we pray for protection from “all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls,” it’s hard these days not to think of one man in particular.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/the-ruin-of-souls 

The Royal Commission Inquiry Into Child Abuse in New Zealand... Is for STATE run homes only

 the royal commission inquiry is... ONLY for the STATE CARE... so why should I be happy about this guy... I feel my guts dropped out of me... ever time I see this come on here... is it not enough that us men and women... have been turned away time after time... even today as we fight for justice for all... but hey... lets all be happy that less than a 1/4... of the abused and raped men and women... will be well looked after... while the rest of us from the churches... are thrown onto the rubbish heap... my heart is bleeding... my spirit is broken... where is the help for the men and women... who were and still are... the unwanted children of the churches of New Zealand.... SHAME! ... SHAME!... SHAME on the New Zealand Prime Minster... and the New Zealand Government... Even though I am left with no hope... I will not go away... Ann

http://www.abuseinstatecare.royalcommission.govt.nz/News-Appointment-of-Executive-Director

Dark secret: Kiwi priest's victims tell of ruined lives

A paedophile priest who left a trail of victims in his wake was allowed to continue as a man of the cloth for nearly two decades after his offending was revealed to the Bishop of Dunedin. Survivors say it shows why the Catholic Church should be part of a Royal Commission into historic abuse. Chris Morris investigates. Forgiveness is a hard word to say, even now, for one of the innocent boys abused by a Catholic priest in Dunedin.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12099220 

NZ paedophile Catholic priest exposed

A Catholic priest who admitted abusing at least five children in New Zealand and earlier worked in Canberra was never reported to police, the church says. Five historical complaints were made in 1993 against Dominican Order member Father Michael Shirres, a priest and theologian who died in 1997, Auckland Bishop Patrick Dunn said on Wednesday. However, while Shirres confessed to offending over several decades, police were never alerted because the victims wanted privacy, the bishop said.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/aap/article-5989455/NZ-paedophile-Catholic-priest-exposed.html 

Chilean nuns claim they were sexually assaulted and 'forced to work like slaves'

Chilean nuns claim they were sexually assaulted and 'forced to work like slaves' by PRIESTS before being kicked out of their convent when they reported the crimes. A group of Catholic nuns in Chile were mortified after being sexually abused by priests who then banished them from the convent to keep them silent. The stunning claims were made by 23 nuns in Molina who have reported their crimes to a Papal envoy investigating sex abuse in the Church. Yolanda Tondreaux, one of the nuns, said: 'A priest touched my breast and kissed me on the lips. He touched me inappropriately. I feel disgusted.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5999841/Chilean-nuns-claim-sexually-assaulted-forced-work-like-slaves-PRIESTS.html 

He Preyed on Men Who Wanted to Be Priests. Then He Became a Cardinal.

As a young man studying to be a priest in the 1980s, Robert Ciolek was flattered when his brilliant, charismatic bishop in Metuchen, N.J., Theodore E. McCarrick, told him he was a shining star, cut out to study in Rome and rise high in the church. Bishop McCarrick began inviting him on overnight trips, sometimes alone and sometimes with other young men training to be priests. There, the bishop would often assign Mr. Ciolek to share his room, which had only one bed. The two men would sometimes say night prayers together, before Bishop McCarrick would make a request — “come over here and rub my shoulders a little”— that extended into unwanted touching in bed.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/16/us/cardinal-mccarrick-abuse-priest.html 

Jalandhar Bishop Franco Mulakkal case: Leaked phone talk reveals Cardinal George Alencherry knew nun’s plight

In a major setback to Syro-Malabar Catholic Church head Cardinal George Alencherry, a leaked phone conversation between him and the nun who raised rape allegation against Jalandhar Bishop Franco Mulakkal has revealed the Cardinal knew about the nun’s sufferings at the Jalandhar diocese.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2018/jul/20/jalandhar-bishop-franco-mulakkal-case-leaked-phone-talk-reveals-cardinal-george-alencherry-knew-nun-1845796.html 

US nuns demand action to end 'culture of silence' on abuse

The largest association of Roman Catholic nuns in the United States urged its members Monday to report any sexual abuse of religious sisters by clergy and demanded that church authorities "take action to end a culture of silence, hold abusers accountable and provide support to those abused." The Leadership Conference of Women Religious, which represents about 80 percent of Catholic sisters in the U.S., issued a statement Monday in response to an Associated Press report about several sisters coming forward recently to denounce assaults by priests and bishops.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12098280