Monday, September 26, 2011

Upcoming Professional Webinar: Moving through Ritual Abuse and Mind Control

Upcoming Professional Webinar: Moving through Ritual Abuse and Mind Control

REMINDER

Professional Webinar


Upcoming Professional Webinar:

Saturday, October 8, 2011
noon Pacific Time
Moving through Ritual Abuse and Mind Control
Presenter
: Ginny Fouts, LPC, LMFT

Ginny Fouts, LPC, LMFT, is founder of Innovative Therapies LLC. Mrs. Fouts has worked in the mental health field for 30 years in a variety of settings. She has experience helping individuals, couples, adolescents and groups, along with a wide-range of training working with those who have experienced severe trauma. Over the years she has seen counseling bring healing to many lives and relationships.

The webinar focus will be on how to recognize the signs for these types of traumas and different ways of healing. We will talk about the different types of programs and how not to get bogged down in the labyrinth of details. Ginny will discuss some of the different levels of programming so you will recognize in the early stages what levels, as a therapist, to look for and how to know you are making progress.

Upcoming Professional Webinars

In November Staci Sprout will begin the first in a series of Sexual Ethics Workshops. These Webinars will have CE’s attached. Please do let us know if you would like to be added to the email list for upcoming professional webinars.

REGISTRATION

Registration closes the Thursday evening before the webinar

To reserve a space in the webinar, e-mail Shamai at shamai@survivorship.org and give her this information:

1. Your name
2. The webinar you wish to attend
3. Amount and method of payment (check, PayPal, money order)
4. Your preferred e-mail address (so we can send you instructions)

You will receive a confirmation email immediately and a guide and instructions after the registration closes

COST

Professional Webinars are $50, which will include CEs when they are available.

The PayPal button is near the bottom of the page at http://www.survivorship.org/webinars.html

If you wish to pay by check please send it to: Survivorship, Family Justice Center, 470 27th Street, Oakland, CA 94612.

FUTURE WEBINARS (survivors and professionals)

Saturday, October 15
10 am Pacific Time (please note change of time)
Neil Brick
"Educating Others about Ritual Abuse"

Neil Brick is a survivor of ritual abuse. He founded S.M.A.R.T.
( http://ritualabuse.us ) a ritual abuse educational research resource with a ritual abuse newsletter and annual conferences. He is a member of the Survivorship Board of Directors. He is an advocate for getting the truth about ritual abuse out to the general public.

The webinar focus will be on how survivors can safely empower themselves by getting the truth out about the reality of ritual abuse to other child abuse survivors and the general public. Different ways of reaching the public and the media will be discussed.

Complete details on all our webinars are at http://www.survivorship.org/webinars.html

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Shamai@survivorship.org

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Abuse in the Jewish Community: Religious and Communal Factors

Abuse in the Jewish Community: Religious and Communal Factors that Undermine the Apprehension of Offenders and the Treatment of Victims
by Michael J. Salamon, Ph.D. Published by Urim Publications
ISBN 13: 978-965-524-064-1 2011

http://www.urimpublications.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=UP&Product_Code=Abuse&Category_Code=aaa

Friday, September 23, 2011

Pope German Visit: Religious Leader Talks With Sex Abuse Victims

Pope German Visit: Religious Leader Talks With Sex Abuse Victims

ERFURT, Germany — Pope Benedict XVI met with German victims of sexual abuse by priests and expressed "deep compassion and regret" at the suffering of those abused by members of the clergy, the Vatican said Friday....

Germany's Catholic church has seen the numbers of faithful leaving the congregation jump, after hundreds of people came forward last year with stories of having been physically or sexually abused by members of the clergy. Church leaders had expressed hope that Benedict's visit could help heal wounds left by the scandal.

Benedict has been accused by victims groups and their lawyers of being part of systematic practice of cover-up by church hierarchy for pedophile priests, in his earlier roles as an archbishop in Germany and later at the helm of the Vatican morals office....

http://goo.gl/Gfjhu

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/23/pope-german-visit-sex-abuse_n_978265.html

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Jaycee Dugard sues US over failure to monitor abductor

Jaycee Dugard sues US over failure to monitor abductor
Electronic monitoring of Garrido was considered 'too much of a hassle,' complaint says
9/22/2011 SAN FRANCISCO

Jaycee Dugard sued the federal government Thursday for failing to monitor the convicted sex offender who kidnapped her and held her captive for 18 years.

The complaint filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco said the mistakes by federal parole officers in the handling of Phillip Garrido's case are as "outrageous and inexcusable as they are numerous."

Had federal parole officers done their jobs, Dugard's lawyers allege, Dugard and her daughters would not have had to endure their years of captivity in a ramshackle compound tucked inside Garrido's Antioch backyard.

Garrido, who was convicted in 1977 of raping and kidnapping a 25-year-old woman, was on parole and under federal supervision when he kidnapped Dugard in 1991. He fathered Dugard's two children while he and his wife, Nancy, held her captive. The pair was been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to kidnapping and rape charges in the case.

The complaint alleges that the federal government's negligence allowed Garrido to be free to kidnap Dugard. The complaint said federal authorities were aware he was still dangerous yet failed to revoke his parole and send him back to prison....

It says Garrido tested positive for drugs and alcohol while on parole, a violation for a sex offender, but was never punished. It also says authorities ignored reports of sexual misconduct, including a complaint that Garrido showed up at his former victim's work and made an "alarming" comment to her.

"Inexplicably, the federal parole authorities responsible for Garrido's direct supervision disregarded the victim's concerns as mere hysteria," the documents say.

After the incident, Garrido's counselor recommended electronic monitoring, but his parole officer disregarded it as "too much of a hassle," according to the complaint.

The documents also allege federal parole officers did not follow up on a sexual harassment complaint by one of Garrido's co-workers....

She and her daughters already have received a $20 million settlement from the state of California for the failings of its law enforcement. The state took over Garrido's parole supervision in 1999.

Dugard, who was kidnapped when she was 11 years old, was reunited with her family in August 2009.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44629763/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/jaycee-dugard-sues-us-over-failure-monitor-abductor/

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

new ritual abuse blog

Jeannie Riseman now has a blog at http://ritualabuse.wordpress.com/
It consists of a collection of her writing for Survivorship and
others as well as her present writing.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Child abuse increased as economy crashed, study shows

Child abuse increased as economy crashed, study shows

Poverty, stress lead to harsher parenting and abuse, researchers say By Frederik Joelving 9/19/2011

As the U.S. economy began to tank, the number of abused kids landing in the hospital with severe brain injuries spiked, a new study shows. Anecdotes linking child abuse to the recession have surfaced before, but there had been no hard data to back the connection until now.

“It’s definitely disturbing,” said Elizabeth Gershoff, a psychologist who studies parenting but was not involved in the study.

Although there is no proof that financial hardship itself is causing the uptick in abuse, earlier research has tied parental stress to child maltreatment.

“Living in poverty for parents can be very stressful,” Gershoff, of the University of Texas at Austin, told Reuters Health. “And that in turn leads to harsher parenting.”

....In the three years leading up to the crash in December 2007, the rate of abusive head injuries was 8.9 per year per 100,000 kids. After the crash, the number jumped to 14.7 per 100,000.

“If what we are seeing is even close to generalizable, that is a lot of excess children,” said Dr. Rachel P. Berger, a child abuse expert at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh who co-authored the study.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44573194/ns/health/

Sunday, September 18, 2011

ICC Vatican Prosecution - Clergy Sex Victims File International Criminal Court Complaint Case Charges Vatican Officials with ‘Crimes Against Humanity’

ICC Vatican Prosecution -
Clergy Sex Victims File International Criminal Court Complaint Case Charges Vatican Officials with ‘Crimes Against Humanity’

At The Hague, Survivors and Leading Human Rights Group Issue Ground-Breaking Request for the Assertion of Jurisdiction by an International Court over Church Officials for Rape, Sexual Violence, and Torture by Clergy

September 13, 2011 – A survivor-led support group for clergy sex abuse victims today formally urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor to investigate the Vatican for crimes against humanity. Leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, together with their attorneys from the human rights organization the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), filed a lengthy and detailed complaint charging that Vatican officials tolerate and enable the systematic and widespread concealing of rape and child sex crimes throughout the world. Together with the complaint, they submitted more than 20,000 pages of supporting materials consisting of reports, policy papers, and evidence of the crimes by Catholic clergy committed against children and vulnerable adults.

SNAP members from Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and the U.S. traveled to The Hague to insist that the ICC take action and prosecute the Pope and three other high-ranking Vatican officials for their direct and superior responsibility for the crimes against humanity of rape and other sexual violence committed around the world.

http://www.ccrjustice.org/iccvaticanprosecution

2012 Ritual Abuse Conferences for Survivors and Clinicians

forwarded with permission

2012 Ritual Abuse Conferences for Survivors and Clinicians

A conference to help survivors of severe child abuse (ritual abuse) and torture will be held on August 10 - 12, 2012, between 8 - 5 PM Saturday and Sunday at the DoubleTree Hotel near Bradley International Airport, 16 Ella Grasso Turnpike, Windsor Locks, CT 06096 (between Hartford, CT and Springfield, MA). This conference will help educate survivors of this abuse and their helpers. Pre-registration is preferred. For information write S.M.A.R.T., P. O Box 1295, Easthampton, MA 01027-1295 E-mail: smartnews@aol.com, conference information is at: http://ritualabuse.us/smart-conference/

Ritual Abuse And Extreme Abuse Clinician's Conference 2012 - A one day conference preceding our regular conference will be open to licensed practitioners in related fields to discuss issues in working with clients suffering from ritual abuse and extreme abuse symptoms. Students studying in related fields and retired licensed practitioners may write smartnews@aol.com by e-mail for more information. Internet conference information is available at: http://ritualabuse.us/smart-conference/ritual-abuse-and-extreme-abuse-clinicians-conference-2012/

Friday, September 16, 2011

Survivorship Ritual Abuse Webinars for Clinicians and Survivors

Survivorship is pleased to announce a new webinar series for professionals beginning this October. We intend to provide webinars on a regular basis and are currently in the process of applying for CEs. Our speakers are trained professionals in the field with many years of experience both in the practical aspect of working with survivors of Ritual Abuse and Mind Control as well as having been speakers at professional conferences in the past.

Upcoming Professional Webinar:

Saturday, October 8, 2011
noon Pacific Time
Moving through Ritual Abuse and Mind Control
Presenter
: Ginny Fouts, LPC, LMFT

Ginny Fouts, LPC, LMFT, is founder of Innovative Therapies LLC. Mrs. Fouts has worked in the mental health field for 30 years in a variety of settings. She has experience helping individuals, couples, adolescents and groups, along with a wide-range of training working with those who have experienced severe trauma. Over the years she has seen counseling bring healing to many lives and relationships.

The webinar focus will be on how to recognize the signs for these types of traumas and different ways of healing. We will talk about the different types of programs and how not to get bogged down in the labyrinth of details. Ginny will discuss some of the different levels of programming so you will recognize in the early stages what levels, as a therapist, to look for and how to know you are making progress.

Upcoming Professional Webinars

In November Staci Sprout will begin the first in a series of Sexual Ethics Workshops. These Webinars will have CE’s attached. Please do let us know if you would like to be added to the email list for upcoming professional webinars.

Upcoming Webinar (for survivors and professionals):

Saturday, September 17
noon Pacific Time
Memory & Survivors

Presenter: Alikina

Most survivors have questions about their memory processes at some time: 'is it true, did it happen?' or 'why can't I remember?', or even 'why do I keep having intrusive memories?' As we heal, we also become aware of times when our memories seem different than how we've been lead to believe 'normal' memory works. We feel like we forget too much, or we have nearly perfect memories. Often questions about memories of abuse are addressed in therapy, groups, books, etc; but questions about the everyday workings of memory, and how abuse may be affecting our brain function, stay unanswered. This webinar will primarily focus on what current psychological science knows about basic memory processes, as well as issues unique to the survivor community, learning styles and how they affect memory, tricks to assist remembering, and plenty of Q & A time.

Alikina is a survivor of severe abuse and a current grad-school student halfway through her Master's Degree in Mental Health Counseling. She has presented articles and webinars for Survivorship in the past. She has worked with abuse survivors through community support organizations and been in therapy as both the client and the therapist, and plans to work with abuse and trauma survivors as her career path.

REGISTRATION

Registration closes the Thursday evening before the webinar

To reserve a space in the webinar, e-mail Shamai at shamai@survivorship.org and give her this information:

1. Your name
2. The webinar you wish to attend
3. Amount and method of payment (check, PayPal, money order)
4. Your preferred e-mail address (so we can send you instructions)
5. The name you will be using for the webinar. (This does not have to be your real name or your message board screen name.)

You will receive a confirmation email immediately and a guide and instructions after the registration closes

COST

Professional Webinars are $50, which will include CEs when they are available.
All other webinars are on a sliding scale from $50.00 to full scholarship.
The PayPal button is near the bottom of the page at http://www.survivorship.org/webinars.html

If you wish to pay by check please send it to: Survivorship, Family Justice Center, 470 27th Street, Oakland, CA 94612.

FUTURE WEBINARS (survivors and professionals)

Saturday, October 15
10 am Pacific Time (please note change of time)
Neil Brick
"Educating Others about Ritual Abuse"

Neil Brick is a survivor of ritual abuse. He founded S.M.A.R.T.
( http://ritualabuse.us ) a ritual abuse educational research resource with a ritual abuse newsletter and annual conferences. He is a member of the Survivorship Board of Directors. He is an advocate for getting the truth about ritual abuse out to the general public.

The webinar focus will be on how survivors can safely empower themselves by getting the truth out about the reality of ritual abuse to other child abuse survivors and the general public. Different ways of reaching the public and the media will be discussed.

PAST WEBINARS

Survivorship members may listen to past webinars in the members’ section.
For information on joining Survivorship, go to http://www.survivorship.org/about/membership.html

Complete details on all our webinars are at http://www.survivorship.org/webinars.html

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Shamai@survivorship.org

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

A Nation Betrayed: Secret Cold War Experiments Performed on our Children E-Book

A Nation Betrayed: Secret Cold War Experiments Performed on our Children E-Book

ANNOUNCEMENT OF E BOOK - On the tenth anniversary of the original printing of A Nation Betrayed: Secret Cold War Experiments Performed on our Children and Other Innocent People [Annotated] by Carol Rutz, you may now purchase it as an E-Book in the U.S at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005IDOXL6 or www.story-e-books.com

It is available in the United Kingdom http://www.amazon.co.uk/ and Germany http://www.amazon.de/

It is still available as soft cover from Carol Rutz:
http://my.dmci.net/~casey/

From the Author

My goal in writing this book is to expose the misuse of power that took place during the Cold War. Thousands of innocent children who have grown into adults are silently suffering from the effects of the experiments that were done to them by their own government. Many have been diagnosed incorrectly and institutionalized.

Others, like myself, were able to obtain competent medical help, and are struggling to heal from the physical and mental ravages upon our beings. How can we envision the future without visiting the past? Will we let this story lay in the shadows forever, or do we have the courage to address the wrongs and give survivors back their voices? You be the judge. Carol Rutz


"A Nation Betrayed" documents Carol Rutz's incredible journey from mind control victim to freedom. Her personal experience provides clear evidence of deeply hidden agendas within a shadow government.

Using electroshock, drugs, hypnosis, sensory deprivation and insidious trauma, Carol believes that the CIA conducted Mind Control Experiments on children in the government's attempt to create a Manchurian Candidate. Your tax dollars paid doctors working under government contract in the U.S. and Canada to participate in these and other experiments in ESP, Remote Viewing, Radiation and research with Chemical and Biological Warfare.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Maurice And Toni Johnson Accused Of Sexually Torturing Mentally Disabled Woman - David Lohr 9/9/11

A northeast Alabama couple has been arrested for allegedly torturing and sexually abusing a mentally disabled woman who was recently found naked and handcuffed to a bed.

Maurice Rex Johnson, 52, and Toni Renea Johnson, 40, have been charged with sodomy, sexual torture and unlawful imprisonment. The couple is accused of abusing a 23-year-old woman with profound mental disabilities inside their Attalla home for months, according to police....

Authorities are still trying to determine how long the victim was with the couple. At this point, investigators suspect she was there at least a couple of months.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/09/maurice-johnson-toni-johnson-torture-sex-abuse-mentally-disabled-woman_n_955635.html

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Is Sister Wives Hiding The Disturbing Truth About Polygamy?

Is 'Sister Wives' Hiding The Disturbing Truth About Polygamy?
9/7/11 - Sam Brower

Despite the recent well-publicized and deeply disturbing child molestation trial of self-proclaimed polygamist prophet Warren Jeffs, TV reality show polygamist Kody Brown and his trendy wives and family seem to be everywhere these days. Their TV show, "Sister Wives," is a big hit....

For more than seven years, as a private investigator I have been investigating and researching similar polygamous societies, but mainly the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) and its outlaw prophet, Warren Jeffs, who is now serving a sentence of life plus twenty years in a Texas prison....

I can only hope and pray that the depravity of child abuse and the degradation of women and children to the status of chattel will never be thought of in such a callous manner as simply- unconventional yet relatable.

In my world, unconventional doesn't mean four mommies showing up for back-to-school night; the FLDS do not send their kids to public schools. If they're lucky, the children may receive the equivalent of an eighth grade education before being sent out to work on a construction job, or to become mothers themselves.

Admittance into the bride pool can begin within a few weeks after a child's twelfth birthday. "Mother" is the person who raises and nurtures you as a "daughter in Zion" over the course of those short formative years. She then takes you by the hand and places it in the hand of a man decades older, in an arranged "spiritual sexual union," alongside that man's several or many other "sister wives."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-brower/sister-wives-_b_952693.html

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Father of victim says he will fight release of West Memphis 3

Father of victim says he will fight release of West Memphis 3
Sep 06, 2011 WEST MEMPHIS, AR -

(WMC-TV) - Steve Branch, the father of one of the three 8-year-old boys killed 18 years ago, said he will do everything in his power to overturn the law that allowed the West Memphis Three walk free.

Nearly three weeks ago, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, known as the West Memphis Three, were granted freedom with a rare Alford plea....
Branch said the release of the West Memphis Three is an abomination of the justice system.

"I couldn't believe that the justice system, the D.A. and the prosecutor would let this happen," he said.

After 18 years in prison, Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley walked free, despite the fact that a jury found them guilty of the murders of Christopher Byers, Michael Moore, and Branch's son Stevie Branch.

"All of a sudden, they called us the day before this happened," said Branch. "We didn't even have a chance to try to stop it."

Branch said the rare legal maneuver that set the men free is a danger to society. An Alford plea means a defendant admits guilt, but asserts innocent.

On the day of the West Memphis Three's release, Branch said he could not hold back and spoke out in court.

"I stop up in court and I tried to explain to the judge that if he followed through with this, that he was going to be opening Pandora's Box," he said. "He's going to be giving the key to every inmate that's on death row to those cell block doors to walk out, and all they have to do is admit that they killed somebody and they could be set free."

Branch said he fears this ruling will impact other cases.

"That's every state in the country," said Branch. "How many baby killers, rapists, serial killers are going to be set free because of this law? Because of what they've done. They're all going to come out here with us."

Branch criticized the celebrities who supported the defendants.

"Johnny Depp? A person who starred in the Ninth Gate in which he had to find clues in three books to raise Satan. Who? Wynona Ryder, who played in Bram Stoker's Dracula who fell in love with Dracula - who is the spawn of Satan. Marilyn Manson? Is he a poster boy for good will?" he asked.

Branch said they never spent a day in court, knew nothing about the case and garnered attention for the wrong three boys.

"The West Memphis Three were the three little boys," said Branch. "My son, little Stevie, and his two little buddies, Michael and Christopher."....

http://www.kait8.com/story/15400491/father-of-victim-says-he-will-fight-release-of-west-memphis-3

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Pastor Guilty Of Raping Teen, victim forced to confess her sin, the pregnancy

Ernest Willis, New Hampshire Man, Found Guilty Of Raping 15-Year-Old Tina Anderson; Pastor Sent Teen Off To Colorado (UPDATE) 9/6/11

Ernest Willis, a 52-year-old New Hampshire man, was found guilty of raping and impregnating a 15-year-old girl from his church who was shipped to Colorado by church leaders to give birth to his baby. Willis faces up to 54 years in prison for the sexual assault, The Denver Post reports. Willis will be sentenced Tuesday in Merrimack Superior Court.

UPDATE:

The Associated Press reports that Ernest Willis was sentenced Tuesday to 15 to 30 years in prison for raping Tina Anderson twice in 1997. Judge Larry Smukler said that Willis "robbed the girl of her childhood." But Willis was stoic and although he said he was "sorry and ashamed for this thoughtless act of sexual misconduct," he never admitted to forcible rape or to a second rape. Willis' lawyers said they are planning to appeal those convictions.

EARLIER:

Tina Anderson, who was 15 at the time of the rape, knew Willis from babysitting his children and from attending the same fundamentalist Baptist church in Concord, N.H.. The church pastor made young Anderson apologize to the congregation when she discovered that she was pregnant, but she was not allowed to tell the church goers that the pregnancy occurred because she was raped. With the consent of Anderson’s mother, the pastor then shipped the teenager to the home of a Colorado couple that she didn’t know and arranged for her baby to be adopted, according to ABC News.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/06/ernest-willis-new-hampshi_n_950332.html

New Hampshire Man Found Guilty of Rape of Tina Anderson
By SEAN DOOLEY and ALICE GOMSTYN
May 27, 2011

Ernest Willis, a New Hampshire man accused of raping and fathering a child with a 15-year-old girl from his church in 1997, was found guilty today of three counts of forcible rape and a count of felonious sexual assault.

Willis' case drew national headlines because his victim, Tina Anderson, who gave an exclusive interview to "20/20" last month, said she was forced to confess her "sin" -- the pregnancy -- in front of their congregation at Trinity Baptist Church, an Independent Fundamental Baptist Church (IFB) in Concord, N.H. The church's then-pastor, Chuck Phelps, helped arrange for Anderson to move thousands of miles away from home to live with an IFB family and give her child up for adoption....

In an April interview with "20/20," Anderson said that after being sexually assaulted twice by Willis, she was forced to stand before her Baptist congregation and confess her "sin" -- that she had become pregnant. She said she wasn't allowed to tell the group that the pregnancy happened because she was raped by Willis, a man twice her age.
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/new-hampshire-man-ernest-willis-found-guilty-rape-tina-anderson/story?id=13702833

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Vatican rejects cover-up claims over Cloyne report

Vatican rejects cover-up claims over Cloyne report
3 September 2011

The Vatican has rejected claims by Irish PM Enda Kenny that it sabotaged efforts by Irish bishops to report child-molesting priests to police.

It follows the damning Cloyne Report that showed how allegations of clerical sex-abuse in Cork had been covered up.

In a speech to parliament in July, Mr Kenny accused the Church of putting its reputation ahead of abuse victims.

The Vatican said it was "sorry and ashamed" over the scandal but said his claims were "unfounded"....

"The Holy See... in no way hampered or sought to interfere in any inquiry into cases of child sex abuse in the Diocese of Cloyne."

"Furthermore, at no stage did the Holy See seek to interfere with Irish civil law or impede the civil authority in the exercise of its duties."

'Misinterpretation'

Mr Kenny had told the Irish parliament that the report into how allegations of sex abuse by priests in Cork had been covered up showed change was urgently needed.
Enda Kenny Enda Kenny accused the Catholic Church of putting its reputation ahead of child rape victims

"The rape and torture of children were downplayed or 'managed' to uphold instead the primacy of the institution, its power, standing and 'reputation'," he said.

Parliament then passed a motion deploring the Holy See for "undermining child protection frameworks" after a letter to Irish bishops appeared to diminish Irish guidelines on reporting sex abuse by referring to them as "study guidelines".....

Released in July, the 400-page Cloyne Report found that Bishop John Magee - who stood down in March 2009 after serving as bishop of Cloyne since 1987 - had falsely told the government and the health service that his diocese was reporting all abuse allegations to authorities.

It also found that the bishop deliberately misled another inquiry and his own advisors by creating two different accounts of a meeting with a priest suspected of abusing a child - one for the Vatican and the other for diocesan files.

It discovered that, contrary to repeated assertions on its part, the Diocese of Cloyne did not implement the procedures set out in the Church protocols for dealing with allegations of child sex-abuse. It said the greatest failure was that no complaints, except one in 1996, were reported to the health authorities until 2008....
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14774142

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Child protection measures apply regardless of religious rules

Child protection measures apply regardless of religious rules
29 August 2011 - The Irish justice minister has said that forthcoming child protection measures, including mandatory reporting will "apply regardless of any internal rules of any religious grouping".

Alan Shatter was responding to comments made by Cardinal Sean Brady who defended the seal of confession.

Cardinal Brady stressed it was a "sacred and treasured" rite.

Mr Shatter said past failures in the Catholic Church had led paedophiles to believe they could act with "impunity".

Last month the Cloyne report was published.

It found the diocese failed to report all complaints of abuse to police.
Past failures

As a result, a number of child protection measures were announced under the legislation currently being drawn up.

A priest could be convicted of a criminal offence if they were told of a sexual abuse case and failed to report it to the civil authorities.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Mr Shatter said: "It is the failure in the past to make such reports that has led sexual predators into believing that they have impunity and facilitated paedophiles preying on children and destroying their lives."

Anyone who fails to declare information about the abuse of a child could face a prison term of five years....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-14707515