Portraits of resilience after clergy abuse

For those abused by priests, the violations are spiritual, the damage inflicted not just on the body and mind, but a system of beliefs. But children grow up. Some learn to cope with the horrors they experienced, some try to forget, others struggle to survive in the aftermath, and to come to terms with the harm that’s been done to them. Though wounded, they endure.

https://thepublicsradio.org/article/sundays-after-portraits-of-resilience-after-clergy-abuse 

Sundays After: Sisters bonded, and broken, in wake of abuse

In summer, they lived as white children, the light-skinned daughters of a father born of French lineage in Olga, North Dakota. During the school year, they were shipped off to the St. Paul’s Indian Mission School on the Yankton Reservation in South Dakota, where their Chippewa blood earned them free room and board.

https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2019/12/sundays-after-sisters-bonded-and-broken-in-wake-of-abuse/ 

'Marching to hell': Why young men are still choosing to become Catholic priests

Why are young men still choosing to become Catholic priests? It's a fair enough question to ask any trainee priest in the current Australian climate: who, today, is choosing to devote their entire lives to the Catholic Church? In their sexual prime, they're flocking to a career that demands they swear off sex.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=12275972 

Historical institutional abuse: Institutions told of compensation 'obligation'

The head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service has contacted six institutions, including some religious orders, about compensation for victims of historical institutional child abuse. In a letter, David Sterling said they all had an obligation to contribute to payments. Mr Sterling said the civil service would "pursue" state-led institutions and churches over compensation.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-50587906 

New sex abuse suits could cost Catholic Church over US$4 billion

At the end of another long day trying to sign up new clients accusing the Roman Catholic Church of sexual abuse, lawyer Adam Slater gazes out the window of his high-rise Manhattan office at one of the great symbols of the church, St. Patrick's Cathedral. "I wonder how much that's worth?" he muses.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/new-sex-abuse-suits-could-cost-catholic-church-over-us-4-billion-1.4710920 

Brother Bernard McGrath will be 106 when his jail sentence ends for crimes at Morisset's Kendall Grange school

CHILD sex offender Bernard McGrath didn't give a backward glance in November when he left a court for a jail sentence that won't end until 2053. The former St John of God Brother who headed a notorious Hunter "house of evil" - the Kendall Grange Special School for boys at Morisset - will be 106 when his time's up.

https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/6523081/house-of-evil-predator-jailed-until-2053-for-crimes-against-boys/?cs=9397 

‘The Pope Ignored Them’: Argentinian Priests Convicted Of Sexual Abuse Of Deaf Children

The global sex abuse and cover-up scandal that has devastated the reputation of the Catholic Church in recent decades emerged in the Pope’s homeland last Monday, as two Argentinian priests were found guilty of systematically molesting students of a Church-run school for deaf children. The cases revealed disturbing accusations that Pope Francis ignored victims for years, calling attention to the enduring problems within the institution that represents the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics.

https://citizentruth.org/the-pope-ignored-them-argentinian-priests-convicted-of-sexual-abuse-of-deaf-children/ 

Church fronts at royal commission hearing

New Zealand’s Catholic bishops and congregational leaders have, through legal counsel, told the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care that they are committed to having their errors and omissions being examined truthfully and openly. “All forms of abuse are unacceptable and indefensible and all people should have been safe in the care of Catholic entities in New Zealand."

https://www.nzcatholic.org.nz/2019/12/27/church-fronts-at-royal-commission-hearing/ 

Christian priest, Shalom Babu Tandi, accused of raping a minor girl who was in his care, absconding from arrest

In yet another barbaric incident committed by Chrisitan priests, a girl has been allegedly raped by a pastor in Jashpur district of Chhattisgarh. Reportedly, a Christian priest named Shalom Babu Tandi has been booked by Pathalgaon police station for the alleged rape of a minor girl in his care.

https://www.opindia.com/2019/12/chhattisgarh-christian-priest-rape-minor-girl-absconding/ 

Homeless pregnant teen says childhood mistreatment inspired her life's passion

Fostering supergran and Wicked Girl author Jeanie Doyle, 72 - who has looked over more than 100 children - reveals how as a child she suffered shocking cruelty and was abused by convent nuns after the tragic death of her mother. Every year on Jeanie Doyle’s birthday, the cards she receives don’t just fill up one mantelpiece, they spill across every room of the house.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/homeless-pregnant-teen-who-slept-21279426 

Lack of faith: Women raped by Colorado priest call for accountability from Archdiocese of Denver

Three sisters of the Catholic Church are breaking their silence, accusing a Colorado priest of violating their childhood, in the hope their confession will inspire others to come forward. Their message doesn’t stop there. A significant part of their motivation is holding the Archdiocese of Denver accountable for what they say was an overt cover-up that last more than five decades.

https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/investigations/lack-of-faith-women-raped-by-colorado-priest-call-for-accountability-from-archdiocese-of-denver 

HIA redress: ‘Long overdue... now it’s time to move on’, says victim

The passing of new legislation, ensuring that compensation will be paid to the survivors of institutional abuse, has been hailed as “long overdue” by a Derry man who suffered terrible abuse at a boys’ home in the city. The new Bill supports victims who suffered historical physical, sexual and emotional abuse in state and church-run homes in Northern Ireland.

https://www.derryjournal.com/news/people/hia-redress-long-overdue-now-it-s-time-to-move-on-says-victim-1-9134679 

Abuse survivor raped at foster homes, sexually abused by nun

Annasophia Calman told the Royal Commission of Inquiry into state and faith-based care that because of the abuse she doesn't know who she really is. Mrs Calman shared with the Commission the harrowing details of her violent family home publicly for the first time. "Nothing in our cupboards, beaten by our father while he was drunk and we had to be eating out of rubbish bins to survive." She told the inquiry it wasn't just physical violence she had to endure.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/402840/abuse-survivor-raped-at-foster-homes-sexually-abused-by-nun 

Defence of bishop too controversial

A popular children's author has been asked not to speak at a retreat for Catholic school principals in Central Otago, after defending a disgraced bishop's sexual relationship with a young woman. Joy Cowley hit the headlines last week, after writing a column in defence of former Catholic Bishop of Palmerston North, Charles Drennan, who resigned earlier this month after admitting a sexual relationship with a young woman.

https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/central-otago/defence-bishop-too-controversial 

Support for victims less than hoped

A ribbon-tying initiative in the Catholic Diocese of Dunedin has been launched to support victims of historic sexual abuse, but not everybody is happy. The Roman Catholic Bishop of Dunedin, the Most Rev Michael Dooley, wrote to all parishes last month, asking them to support the ''Loud Fences'' movement by tying ribbons in a designated area of the church on October 6.

https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/support-victims-less-hoped 

Claims disgraced bishop failed to safeguard people in diocese

This story was originally published on RNZ.co.nz and is republished with permission. Claims of a sex abuse cover-up and a failure to adequately protect women from sexual predation by a bipolar monk have surfaced in the diocese of disgraced bishop Charles Drennan.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/116760655/claims-disgraced-bishop-failed-to-safeguard-people-in-diocese 

Catholic Church mum on abuse investigation

The cone of silence has descended again on the Catholic Church's investigation into the handling of sexual abuse allegations by a former Dunedin bishop. It was confirmed last week New Zealand's top Catholic, Cardinal John Dew, the Archbishop of Wellington, had referred an investigation into former Dunedin Bishop John Kavanagh's actions to the Vatican.

https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/insight/catholic-church-mum-abuse-investigation 

Commemorative ribbons removed from outside Auckland church - again

The top Catholic in the Wellington area has written to church members imploring them not to remove commemorative ribbons tied to church railings. But a victim's advocate has said the 'Loud Fences' ribbons are still being removed from outside an Auckland Catholic church.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/116107967/commemorative-ribbons-removed-from-outside-auckland-church--again 

Savio Rodrigues and Joseph Kennedy petition PM Modi to take action

Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Goa Chronicles, Savio Rodrigues, and Director of Bluebugs Communications Pvt. Ltd R. Joseph Kennedy, have petitioned PM Narendra Modi to take urgent action against the rampant paedophilia in the Church. They are both the founders of Team Hail Mary, a team that seeks to highlight the crimes of the clergy

https://www.opindia.com/2019/09/sexual-abuse-by-clergy-savio-rodrigues-and-joseph-kennedy-petition-pm-modi-to-take-action-against-sexual-crimes-in-catholic-church/ 

Australian court to say if will hear Cardinal Pell’s appeal

CANBERRA, Australia — The most senior Catholic to be found guilty of sexually abusing children will learn this week whether Australia’s highest court will hear his appeal against convictions for molesting two choirboys in a Melbourne cathedral two decades ago.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/australian-court-to-say-if-will-hear-cardinal-pells-appeal/2019/11/10/10fd3cec-043d-11ea-9118-25d6bd37dfb1_story.html