No sin for birth mothers to seek children'

It was never a mortal sin for adopted children or their birth mothers to seek one another, Pope Francis has told survivors of institutional abuse. During Saturday's meeting with the Coalition of Mother and Baby Home Survivors (CMABS), the pontiff moved to reassure both birth mothers and children who were adopted out by the Catholic Church that there was nothing sinful in trying to contact each other. In fact, it appears the opposite was true, he alluded to in reference to the Fourth Commandment in the Bible to 'honour thy mother and father'.

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/pope-francis-in-ireland/no-sin-for-birth-mothers-to-seek-children-37258929.html 

Vermont’s Attorney General Says He’s “Horrified” About The Abusive Orphanage — But Makes No Promises To Investigate

“We will continue to discuss what steps, if any, the Vermont Attorney General’s office will take in response to these allegations,” Vermont Attorney General T.J. Donovan said. Vermont’s attorney general on Wednesday said he was “horrified” about the abusive Catholic orphanage that was the subject of a multiyear BuzzFeed News investigation — but made no promises to do anything about it. “I am horrified and angry by the abuse of innocent children that occurred at St. Joseph's Orphanage. My heart breaks for all the victims that endured and suffered this abuse,” Attorney General T.J. Donovan said.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ellievhall/vermont-attorney-vermont-orphanage-nun-abuse 

BuzzFeed Investigation Details Decades Of Systemic Child Abuse At Vermont Orphanage

BuzzFeed contributor Christine Kenneally about her article investigating physical and sexual abuse by nuns at St. Joseph's Orphanage in Burlington, Vt. ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: Over the last few years, the U.S. has come to terms with patterns of child abuse in the Catholic Church. In other countries, these investigations have extended to Catholic orphanages. Canada, Australia, the U.K. and other European countries have conducted government investigations that exposed patterns of horrific abuse at Catholic orphanages. The U.S. has never had such a comprehensive accounting. And now a major investigation by BuzzFeed gives reason to believe that the same problems may have existed here in American orphanages. Christine Kenneally is an investigative reporter who spent years researching this story. Welcome to the program.

https://www.npr.org/2018/08/29/643062117/buzzfeed-investigation-details-decades-of-systemic-child-abuse-at-vermont-orphan 

Children murdered & sexualy abused in Catholic orphanage

'We saw nuns kill children': Horror claims about torture, sexual abuse and MURDER in Catholic orphanage in Vermont surface decades on ...

https://america.easybranches.com/vermont/1422851 

At a Catholic Orphanage in Vermont, Sex Abuse and Torture Ran Rampant

An investigative reporter for BuzzFeed News says she uncovered rampant abuse, including allegations of torture and murder, at a now-defunct Catholic orphanage in Vermont. She also claims the abuse was widespread in similar facilities across the entire United States. The in-depth report comes from Christine Kenneally describes a horrific situation at St. Joseph’s Orphanage in Burlington, Vermont, including anecdotes involving nuns physically abusing kids and — in one case — ordering older boys to “rape” a younger boy named Joseph. At a reunion for “survivors” of St. Joseph’s, several former residents shared their stories. Among the victims were Sally Dale, who reportedly went into the orphanage at age two and didn’t leave for another 20 years, and a man by the name of Joseph Barquin.

http://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2018/08/30/at-a-catholic-orphanage-in-vermont-sex-abuse-and-torture-ran-rampant/ 

Time is running out for the pope to pacify the faithful’s anger

The waves of scandal over clerical sexual abuse, and the Vatican’s weak response, are pushing lay Catholics to breaking point Harriet Sherwood @harrietsherwood Sun 26 Aug 2018 07.00 BST Last modified on Sun 26 Aug 2018 08.32 BST Shares 641 The pope being greeted at Dublin airport on Saturday The pope being greeted at Dublin airport on Saturday Photograph: Paul Faith/AFP/Getty Images When Pope Francis ascends the steps of his plane at Dublin airport on Sunday evening at the end of his 36-hour trip to Ireland, even he – the people’s pontiff, the champion of the poor – might feel a sense of relief on entering the cocoon of Aer Lingus’s business class.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/26/pope-time-running-out-pacify-faithful-anger-clerical-sexual-abuse

Ex-Vatican official accuses Pope Francis of covering up McCarrick’s sex abuse

A former high-ranking Vatican official says Pope Francis should step down from the papacy because he knew about sexual abuse allegations against an influential American cardinal — and participated in covering them up. Carlo Maria Viganò, a former papal nuncio (an ambassador-like position), wrote an 11-page open letter alleging that both Pope Francis and his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, knew about decades’ worth of allegations against Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington, DC. McCarrick was removed from active ministry in June and later resigned his cardinalship after revelations emerged that he had sexually abused generations’ worth of junior seminarians and young priests as a priest and then bishop in New Jersey. He is also accused of having sexually abused at least two minors.

https://www.vox.com/2018/8/26/17783168/pope-francis-vigano-cover-up-accusation-sex-abuse 

Francis meets eight Irish survivors, reportedly calls abuse cover-up 'caca'

Pope  Francis met eight survivors of clergy and institutional abuse on the first of his two-day visit to Ireland, in a 90-minute encounter several in the meeting called "cordial and polite." Support independent Catholic journalism. Among those included in the Aug. 25 meeting were Marie Collins, who resigned in frustration from the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors in 2017, and two persons who were forcibly separated from their mothers as babies at church-run institutional homes. "Pope Francis condemned corruption and cover up within the church as 'caca,' " said a statement made by the latter two survivors after the meeting. It specified: "Literally filth as one sees in a toilet, his translator clarified."

https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/francis-meets-eight-irish-survivors-reportedly-calls-abuse-cover-caca 

Pope in Ireland: Pope Francis begs for forgiveness for ‘open wound’ of church abuse

POPE Francis has begged for forgiveness from God for the "sins" committed by the Catholic Church in the abuse scandal as he called for firm action in pursuing justice for church abuse victims in Ireland. The Pope, 81, is on the first papal visit to Ireland in 39 years, one which has been full of painful reminders of his church’s disgraceful history in the country. Speaking today at the Marian shrine in Knock, Co Mayo Pope Francis told crowds that historic abuses by the Catholic Church were an “open wound” in Ireland. Pope Francis said: “This open wound challenges us to be firm and decisive in the pursuit of truth and justice. “I beg the Lord's forgiveness for these sins and for the scandal and betrayal felt by so many others in God's family.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1008665/pope-ireland-pope-francis-catholic-church-abuse 

Penitent Pope Francis describes paedophile priest cover-up as 'Caca - filth one sees in the toilet'

Pope Francis has met victims of abuse and mistreatment in Ireland, telling them that those who abuse children were the equivalent of human excrement. He spent 90 minutes speaking with eight Irish survivors of clerical, religious and institutional abuse during the first papal visit to Ireland since 1979. The Pontiff told of the two abuse survivors that 'those involved in corruption and cover up within the church are 'caca", with his translator clarifying: 'Literally filth as one sees in the toilet'.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6097159/Smiling-Pope-Francis-steps-plane-Dublin-papal-visit-Ireland.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. Paul Redmond, who was born in a home and given up for adoption at 17 days, urged the pope to publicly call on the six orders of Catholic nuns who ran the homes to accept responsibility for the traumas they caused, issue an apology, and pay for the costs of reconciliation inquiries.

https://www.tampabay.com/the-latest-irish-adoptee-demands-apology-from-catholic-nuns-ap_national6d8d944db47b46c3811641e342071b23 

Soft Cover Book: They Promised Heaven, But Led me To Hell.

This is a true story base on actual events of a New Zealand girl from birth, her young years in two catholic church orphanages. My crime, in the eyes of the catholic church nuns, was that I was born to an unwed mother who was raped and I was a daughter of the devil. The punishments for my sins started when I was eighteen months old in the nursery by three ladies workers for the nuns which were repeated most nights up to the age of five years old. My childhood was a life of abuse by nuns, the workers, older girls and a priest, the only way I could get through this was to be by myself or run away and hide, go and stay in the church and also climb as high as I could in the trees or jump the fences and hide in long grass. I also went to the police but that did me no good I was thrashed by the nuns when the police took me back to the orphanage.

https://store.bookbaby.com//bookshop/book/index.aspx?bookURL=They-Promised-Heaven-But-Led-Me-to-Hell2&b=p_fr-ve-bl