Clergy abuse survivors push for federal investigation into Catholic Church

Clergy abuse survivors push for federal investigation into Catholic Church 

By Daniel Burke, CNN Religion Editor Thu August 30, 2018

 

(CNN) Survivors of clergy sex abuse stood in front of the Vatican embassy in Washington on Thursday and urged two higher powers -- the Pope and the US Department of Justice -- to take concrete steps to prevent more abuses and hold abusers accountable.

 

"They have plenty of evidence," said Peter Isely, spokesman for the group Ending Clergy Abuse. "Let's launch this investigation. Let's do it now."

 

The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) and Center for Constitutional Rights have also sent a letter to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein demanding an "investigation and prosecution of high-level officials in the Catholic Church" for sexual crimes and cover-ups.

 

"It is long past time for the US Department of Justice to initiate a full-scale, nationwide investigation into the systemic rape and sexual violence, and cover-ups in the Catholic Church, and, where appropriate, bring criminal and/or civil proceedings against the hierarchy that enabled the violations," the groups said in the letter....

 

SNAP's letter demanding a federal investigation is dated August 15, one day after a damning report by a grand jury in Pennsylvania said there is credible evidence that 301 "predator priests" abused more than 1,000 children in six dioceses since 1947.

Because the statute of limitations had run out on most of the crimes, only two priests have been charged as a result of the two-year-long investigation.
But the Pennsylvania report has prompted officials in several other states, including Illinois and Missouri, to open inquiries into allegations of sexual misconduct by Catholic clergy.

SNAP said they have been asking for a federal investigation into the Catholic Church since 2003, during the church's last widespread scandal of clergy sex abuse....

 

In an explosive letter published Sunday, former Vatican ambassador Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò said that top church officials, including Pope Francis, knew that McCarrick had been accused of abusing seminarians but covered it up. Viganò also accused Francis of lifting restrictions placed on him by the previous pope, Benedict XVI.

 

Vigano wrote that documents backing up his accusations were in Vatican files in the Washington embassy, where he worked from 2011-2016, when he was removed by Pope Francis.

The Pope has said he will not comment on the accusations.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/30/us/church-abuse-investigation/index.html 

Milwaukee archdiocese settles with clergy abuse survivors for $21 million, Edward Heath abuse claims: Five forces investigating ex-PM

Milwaukee archdiocese settles with clergy abuse survivors for $21 million
Aug. 4, 2015 By SCOTT BAUER, Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee said Tuesday that it will pay $21 million to more than 300 victims of clergy abuse in a settlement that would end a four-year bankruptcy proceeding.

The proposed deal, which will be part of a reorganization plan submitted to a bankruptcy court later this month, was to be reviewed by a judge overseeing the case at a Nov. 9 hearing. Archbishop Jerome Listecki called the settlement a "new Pentecost," but an attorney for the victims, along with advocates for those abused by clergy, decried the settlement as a paltry amount.

Milwaukee is one of 12 Roman Catholic dioceses nationwide to file for bankruptcy in the past decade over a flood of abuse claims. The settlement announced Tuesday is among the smallest per-victim payments yet in these cases. The actual amount each victim receives will be determined by an appointee of the bankruptcy court....
http://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2015/08/04/apnewsbreak-milwaukee-archdiocese-settles-for-21-million 


Edward Heath abuse claims: Five forces investigating ex-PM
August 7, 2015

Edward Heath, who was prime minister from 1970 to 1974, died in 2005

Five police forces are investigating claims of historical child sexual abuse involving former PM Sir Edward Heath.

The Met, Wiltshire, Kent, Jersey and Hampshire forces are conducting separate inquiries into the late MP.

The BBC understands Wiltshire Police halted an inquiry into a brothel keeper in the 1990s after she said Sir Edward was involved in child sexual abuse.

The Sir Edward Heath Charitable Foundation said it was confident he would be cleared of any wrongdoing.
'Case dropped'

On Tuesday night, Hampshire became the fifth force to say it was investigating "allegations", but gave no further details.

The BBC's home affairs correspondent Dominic Casciani says claims made by the brothel keeper, that Sir Edward was a client, meant that she had left herself open to prosecution.

However, the case against her was allegedly discontinued between 1990 and 1995....

    Operation Midland: The BBC understands Sir Edward is being looked at as part of the operation examining claims that boys were abused by a group of powerful men at locations across southern England and in London in the 1970s and 1980s. It has focused on the Dolphin Square estate in Pimlico, south-west London.
    Operation Whistle: The States of Jersey Police has confirmed Sir Edward forms part of its investigation into historical allegations of abuse. It says some of the allegations relate to abuse "within institutions or by people of public prominence".
    Operation Hydrant: A nationally co-ordinated exercise to collate all allegations of historical abuse involving high profile-figures. The operation has been notified of Sir Edward being named in connection with an allegation of sexual assault in the 1960s....

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-33770021