Showing posts with label clergy sex abuse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label clergy sex abuse. Show all posts
Friday, October 31, 2025
SMART Newsletter #185 - November 2025 - Information on Jeffrey Epstein, Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre
S.M.A.R.T.
E-mail: SMARTNEWS@aol.com
Important:
Information in this issue includes:
The Survivorship Trafficking and Extreme Abuse Online Conference 2026 https://survivorship.org/the-survivorship-trafficking-and-extreme-abuse-online-conference-2026/
Trauma, Dissociation, and Surviving a Psychopathic Father
My father was a psychopath. He trafficked me. He subjected me to ritual abuse and mind control from a young age. It’s difficult to write those words—even now—as a licensed psychologist, a speaker, a writer, and someone who is nationally recognized for my work in the field of dissociative disorders. But I share them because they are the truth. And because for decades, I was forced to live in silence.
Each part of me—of my system—holds pieces of our story. Our strength. Our survival. DID is not chaos; it is order in the face of terror. It is the nervous system doing its job to keep a child alive when no one else would.
Prince Andrew to give up Duke of York title and honors amid Jeffrey Epstein developments King Charles III’s brother said that “the continued accusations about me” were distracting from the work of the royal family. Oct. 17, 2025 By Nick Duffy
Email calling Epstein a ‘supreme friend’ adds new fuel to royal scandal
“As you know, I did not, absolutely not, say the ‘P word’ about you but understand it was reported that I did,” she wrote. “I know you feel hellaciously let down by me. You have always been a steadfast, generous and supreme friend to me and my family.” The duchess was “taken in” by Epstein’s lies, her spokesperson said Sunday.
Virginia Giuffre Family’s Emotional Statement After Prince Andrew Stripped of Title: ‘Today, She Declares Victory’
In her memoir, Giuffre detailed how she met Andrew on March 10, 2001, in Maxwell’s London home and recalled posing for a now-infamous picture with him taken on her Kodak FunSaver. After going out to dinner and dancing at a club, Maxwell allegedly told her, “When we get home, you are to do for him what you do for Jeffrey,” she wrote.
Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice – October 21, 2025 by Virginia Roberts Giuffre (Author)
Virginia Giuffre did not name former prime minister she claimed raped her, for fear of murder Bill Bowkett 10/30/2025 Virginia Giuffre omitted the name of a former prime minister who allegedly raped her from memoir because she feared he would kill her, according to her ghost-writer. Amy Wallace, who spent four years working on the autobiography, said Prince Andrew’s accuser was constantly worried about her “physical safety and threats”.
What is ‘ritual abuse’? Sky News given exclusive access to call centre helping victims Sky’s Alice Porter has spoken to experts at the National Association for People Abused in Childhood. Supervisor Sam Booth recalls the types of abuse she has come across, including ‘Satanic ritual abuse’. Tuesday 23 September 2025
AI fuelling a new one age of child abuse – 600,000 victims in Britain alone
The figures are based on a synthesis of 14 UK studies and show, that 4.4 percent of British children – roughly 608,763 out of the 13.8 million aged 0–17 – have been raped or sexually assaulted before adulthood….
Archdiocese agrees to $230M settlement in clergy sex abuse case, attorneys say The New Orleans Archdiocese has agreed to a $230 million settlement for survivors of clergy sexual abuse By JACK BROOK /REPORT FOR AMERICA Associated Press September 8, 2025
Bishop Kortu Brown Calls for Africa-wide Campaign to End Ritualistic Killings at Pepperdine University Human Trafficking Colloquium in Nigeria October 27, 2025
The organizers, in a statement to participants, hope that the event will mark a critical moment for the future of human trafficking on the African continent. The Executive Director of Sudreau Global Justice Institute, Prof. Cameron McCollum and Attorney General & Commissioner for Justice of Lagos State of Nigeria, Honorable Lawal Pedro San, FCIArb further hoped that the colloquium provided a space for leaders, advocates, practitioners and policymakers to develop strategies to eliminate ritual abuse and sacrifice in Africa and beyond.
Sanwo-Olu Leads African Leaders to Unite Against Human Trafficking, Ritual Abuse, Sacrifice 23 October. 2025
Binta urged participants to break the culture of silence, strengthen victim support systems, and promote regional and global collaboration, adding that “the lives of our children, women, and men are too precious to be sacrificed at the altar of greed, culture, or superstition”.
Sex Abuse, Satanic Rites Described in Charges against Gilroy Foster Mom By Vicente Vera September 24, 2025 describes abuse allegations
The following year, the home was subject of multiple complaints that included allegations of an unsafe environment and that the operator’s conduct posed a risk to children’s safety. No action was taken in response to the complaints.
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Boston Archdiocese settles with 7 alleged victims of clergy abuse, Globe’s Spotlight team on clergy sex abuse, “Kots Kaal Pato” ritual of animal murdering is banned
Boston Archdiocese settles with 7 alleged victims of clergy abuse
By Brian MacQuarrie Globe Staff March 28, 2016
The Archdiocese of Boston has agreed to settlements involving cash and counseling with seven people who say they were sexually abused by priests, including one case that stretches back to the 1930s, according to the attorney for the alleged victims.
Two other settlements with religious orders have been reached in cases involving priests who allegedly abused victims while they worked in the archdiocese, according to the attorney, Mitchell Garabedian.
Another, separate settlement with the Carmelite Order involved a brother who had been accused of abuse in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles before being assigned to a chapel at the Northshore Mall in Peabody.
In all, the 10 settlements paid $778,500 and involved allegations of sexual abuse in every decade from the 1930s through the 1980s, Garabedian said. The attorney said he also reached agreements in six other cases across the country, including four in New Jersey.
The agreements carried no admission of liability.
Recent priest abuse settlements
The settlements are the latest reminders of the breadth of the crisis that rocked the archdiocese after the Globe reported in 2002 that abuse had occurred over decades, and that church officials transferred abusive priests to other parishes and routinely hid cases from the public and parishioners.
The Globe’s investigation into the abuse was chronicled in the movie “Spotlight” and earned the newspaper a Pulitzer Prize in 2003.....
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/03/28/boston-archdiocese-settles-with-victims-clergy-abuse-attorney-says/wlGixSXHESrNKuznIEwHkI/story.html
Key reports from Globe’s Spotlight team on clergy sex abuse
March 11, 2016
The Boston Globe’s 2001-2002 investigation into sexual abuses by clergy in the Catholic Church resulted in more than 600 stories, with eight Globe reporters playing key roles. The first history-changing report was the work of Spotlight editor Walter V. Robinson, and reporters Sacha Pfeiffer, Michael Rezendes, and Matt Carroll. As the scope of the story widened, four other reporters joined the effort: Stephen Kurkjian, Thomas Farragher, Michael Paulson, and Kevin Cullen.
Here is a sampling of their work:
1. This Globe column by Eileen McNamara got the investigation rolling when new Globe editor Martin Baron read it in July 2001 and asked the Spotlight Team to pursue a wider look at abusive priests and what the church leadership knew.
2. The story that changed everything: The Spotlight Team’s first major report, published Jan. 6, 2002.
3. A few weeks later, the Spotlight Team widened the horrifying picture to include scores of priests.
2002: Church allowed abuse by priest for years
Why did it take a succession of three cardinals and many bishops 34 years to place children out of John J. Geoghan’s reach?
2002: Scores of priests involved in sex abuse cases
More on the story behind the ‘Spotlight’ movie
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/03/11/key-reports-from-globe-spotlight-team-clergy-sex-abuse/s7qc7M3W2nmLs5ULN8ILHJ/story.html
“Kots Kaal Pato” ritual of animal murdering is finally banned
By Yucatan Times
Wed, Mar 23rd, 2016
Almost one year after the online magazine Vice published an article about an unknown tradition practiced in a small town in Yucatan: “Kots Kaal Pato”, this barbaric practice has been finally prohibited by the local and state authorities.
This ritual that takes place in the town of Citilcum involved filling up piñatas with small animals, like iguanas, birds, kittens and possums, and beating them to dead....
Local animal shelters and pro animal defense groups took notice immediately and began to collect signatures through the Change.org website in order to ban this barbaric tradition. The online petition reached more than 750,000 signatures from around the world and even Mexican celebrities, like Eugenio Derbez and Sasha Sokol, helped gathered signatures through twitter. However, the government kept silent and it seemed there was no finding a solution.
Finally, with the help of the Humane Society International (HSI), local church members, pro animal defense groups, animal shelters, and the Municipality of Izamal, Kots Kaal Pato will be officially banned on April 23, almost a year after the article was published in Vice (May, 2015). As part of the agreement with HIS, authorities will only promote the organization of traditions in which no animals will be injured or killed....
http://www.theyucatantimes.com/2016/03/kots-kaal-pato-ritual-of-animal-murdering-is-finally-banned/
By Brian MacQuarrie Globe Staff March 28, 2016
The Archdiocese of Boston has agreed to settlements involving cash and counseling with seven people who say they were sexually abused by priests, including one case that stretches back to the 1930s, according to the attorney for the alleged victims.
Two other settlements with religious orders have been reached in cases involving priests who allegedly abused victims while they worked in the archdiocese, according to the attorney, Mitchell Garabedian.
Another, separate settlement with the Carmelite Order involved a brother who had been accused of abuse in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles before being assigned to a chapel at the Northshore Mall in Peabody.
In all, the 10 settlements paid $778,500 and involved allegations of sexual abuse in every decade from the 1930s through the 1980s, Garabedian said. The attorney said he also reached agreements in six other cases across the country, including four in New Jersey.
The agreements carried no admission of liability.
Recent priest abuse settlements
The settlements are the latest reminders of the breadth of the crisis that rocked the archdiocese after the Globe reported in 2002 that abuse had occurred over decades, and that church officials transferred abusive priests to other parishes and routinely hid cases from the public and parishioners.
The Globe’s investigation into the abuse was chronicled in the movie “Spotlight” and earned the newspaper a Pulitzer Prize in 2003.....
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/03/28/boston-archdiocese-settles-with-victims-clergy-abuse-attorney-says/wlGixSXHESrNKuznIEwHkI/story.html
Key reports from Globe’s Spotlight team on clergy sex abuse
March 11, 2016
The Boston Globe’s 2001-2002 investigation into sexual abuses by clergy in the Catholic Church resulted in more than 600 stories, with eight Globe reporters playing key roles. The first history-changing report was the work of Spotlight editor Walter V. Robinson, and reporters Sacha Pfeiffer, Michael Rezendes, and Matt Carroll. As the scope of the story widened, four other reporters joined the effort: Stephen Kurkjian, Thomas Farragher, Michael Paulson, and Kevin Cullen.
Here is a sampling of their work:
1. This Globe column by Eileen McNamara got the investigation rolling when new Globe editor Martin Baron read it in July 2001 and asked the Spotlight Team to pursue a wider look at abusive priests and what the church leadership knew.
2. The story that changed everything: The Spotlight Team’s first major report, published Jan. 6, 2002.
3. A few weeks later, the Spotlight Team widened the horrifying picture to include scores of priests.
2002: Church allowed abuse by priest for years
Why did it take a succession of three cardinals and many bishops 34 years to place children out of John J. Geoghan’s reach?
2002: Scores of priests involved in sex abuse cases
More on the story behind the ‘Spotlight’ movie
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/03/11/key-reports-from-globe-spotlight-team-clergy-sex-abuse/s7qc7M3W2nmLs5ULN8ILHJ/story.html
“Kots Kaal Pato” ritual of animal murdering is finally banned
By Yucatan Times
Wed, Mar 23rd, 2016
Almost one year after the online magazine Vice published an article about an unknown tradition practiced in a small town in Yucatan: “Kots Kaal Pato”, this barbaric practice has been finally prohibited by the local and state authorities.
This ritual that takes place in the town of Citilcum involved filling up piñatas with small animals, like iguanas, birds, kittens and possums, and beating them to dead....
Local animal shelters and pro animal defense groups took notice immediately and began to collect signatures through the Change.org website in order to ban this barbaric tradition. The online petition reached more than 750,000 signatures from around the world and even Mexican celebrities, like Eugenio Derbez and Sasha Sokol, helped gathered signatures through twitter. However, the government kept silent and it seemed there was no finding a solution.
Finally, with the help of the Humane Society International (HSI), local church members, pro animal defense groups, animal shelters, and the Municipality of Izamal, Kots Kaal Pato will be officially banned on April 23, almost a year after the article was published in Vice (May, 2015). As part of the agreement with HIS, authorities will only promote the organization of traditions in which no animals will be injured or killed....
http://www.theyucatantimes.com/2016/03/kots-kaal-pato-ritual-of-animal-murdering-is-finally-banned/
Monday, April 14, 2014
U.N. to question Vatican again on clergy sex abuse
U.N. to question Vatican again on clergy sex abuse
Rachel Zoll April 14, 2014
NEW YORK (AP) — A second U.N. committee plans to question Vatican officials on failures to stop clergy sex abuse.
The hearing scheduled for May 5-6 in Geneva will look at whether the Vatican's record on child protection violates the U.N. Convention Against Torture. The Holy See ratified the treaty in 2002....
Last January, Vatican officials testified for eight hours before an obscure human rights committee on the scale of clergy sex abuse globally.
The Vatican was compelled to appear as a signatory to the U.N. Convention for the Rights of the Child, which requires governments to take all adequate measures to protect children from harm. The Holy See was one of the first states to ratify the treaty in 1990.
The U.N. committee issued a scathing report, accusing Vatican officials of systematically placing their own interests over those of victims. The Vatican condemned the findings as a reflection of "prejudiced" positions of anti-Catholic advocacy groups.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/04/14/un-vatican-clergy-sex-abuse/7706461/
Rachel Zoll April 14, 2014
NEW YORK (AP) — A second U.N. committee plans to question Vatican officials on failures to stop clergy sex abuse.
The hearing scheduled for May 5-6 in Geneva will look at whether the Vatican's record on child protection violates the U.N. Convention Against Torture. The Holy See ratified the treaty in 2002....
Last January, Vatican officials testified for eight hours before an obscure human rights committee on the scale of clergy sex abuse globally.
The Vatican was compelled to appear as a signatory to the U.N. Convention for the Rights of the Child, which requires governments to take all adequate measures to protect children from harm. The Holy See was one of the first states to ratify the treaty in 1990.
The U.N. committee issued a scathing report, accusing Vatican officials of systematically placing their own interests over those of victims. The Vatican condemned the findings as a reflection of "prejudiced" positions of anti-Catholic advocacy groups.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/04/14/un-vatican-clergy-sex-abuse/7706461/
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Clergy Abuse Victims Criticize Cardinal Dolan's Lobbying Efforts In Albany, Archdiocese must make priest abuse files public, judge rules, Clergy Abuse Documentary ‘BASTA’ to Premier at Boston International Film Festival on Easter Sunday
"This is a global epidemic which needs, and deserves, global awareness. There are 60 million adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse living in the United States alone. Survivors need to know that they are not alone and above all, there is always hope."
Clergy Abuse Victims Criticize Cardinal Dolan's Lobbying Efforts In Albany BY Glenn Blain March 19, 2014
Victims of clergy sex abuse are criticizing Timothy Cardinal Dolan’s efforts to boost charitable donations to schools.
Mary Caplan, co-director of the New York City chapter of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, issued a statement Wednesday blasting Dolan for lobbying Albany lawmakers this week to approve tax credits for those who donate to schools or other education-related groups.
“When they want money for their institutions, Catholic officials lobby hard and say they care deeply about kids,” Caplan said. “But when kids who were abused want a chance for justice, Catholic officials lobby hard to deny those kids their day in court. All across the US, Dolan and his brother bishops use all their political will and power and resources to block moves to reform archaic, predator-friendly statute of limitations laws that endanger kids and protect those who commit and conceal heinous child sex crimes.”
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2014/03/clergy-abuse-victims-criticize-cardinal-dolans-lobbying-efforts-in-albany
Archdiocese must make priest abuse files public, judge rules
JEAN HOPFENSPERGER , Star Tribune March 19, 2014
Judge tells the Twin Cities archdiocese to release all info about those credibly accused of sex abuse from 1970 to 1985.
The Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis must reveal hundreds of pages of information on priests accused of sexually abusing children, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Ramsey County District Judge John Van de North rejected church efforts to keep most of the documents under court seal, ordering that all information on priests who were “credibly accused” of abuse between 1970 and 1985 be filed with the court by March 31.
Information on priests whom the church determined were not “credibly” accused will remain sealed, Van de North ruled....
http://www.startribune.com/local/east/250859931.html
Clergy Abuse Documentary ‘BASTA’ to Premier at Boston International Film Festival on Easter Sunday
Merrimack Valley Production has announced that BASTA - No pity - No shame - No silence- has been selected to premiere at the Boston International Film Festival on Easter Sunday April 20th at Loews Theatre/AMC Boston Common on Tremont Street.
"This is a global epidemic which needs, and deserves, global awareness. There are 60 million adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse living in the United States alone. Survivors need to know that they are not alone and above all, there is always hope."
Boston Massachusetts (PRWEB) March 18, 2014
BASTA, a film documenting the emotional journey taken by simple men detailing their attempts to reach into the Vatican walls in search of help, hope and aid in healing a nation reeling from the effects of the clergy abuse crisis, will premiere at the Boston International Film Festival on Sunday, April 20th.
Attempting to battle the cover-up, shame and silence of clergy sexual abuse, three survivors from Boston Massachusetts, travel to Rome reaching behind the secret walls of The Vatican. Their weeklong effort becomes a decade long mission that exposes mind blowing statistics and unexpected worldwide results.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/03/prweb11674500.htm
Basta is a film documenting the story of the emotional journey taken by simple men detailing their attempts to reach behind and beyond the Vatican walls in search of help, hope and aid in healing a nation reeling from the effects of the clergy abuse scandal.
A decade after starting on a personal journey for justice, one man finds that success isn't always defined by achieving his goal, sometimes, it's defined by the attempt itself. And sometimes, in that attempt, you also find out who you are.
http://www.bastathemovie.com/About_The_Film.html
Clergy Abuse Victims Criticize Cardinal Dolan's Lobbying Efforts In Albany BY Glenn Blain March 19, 2014
Victims of clergy sex abuse are criticizing Timothy Cardinal Dolan’s efforts to boost charitable donations to schools.
Mary Caplan, co-director of the New York City chapter of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, issued a statement Wednesday blasting Dolan for lobbying Albany lawmakers this week to approve tax credits for those who donate to schools or other education-related groups.
“When they want money for their institutions, Catholic officials lobby hard and say they care deeply about kids,” Caplan said. “But when kids who were abused want a chance for justice, Catholic officials lobby hard to deny those kids their day in court. All across the US, Dolan and his brother bishops use all their political will and power and resources to block moves to reform archaic, predator-friendly statute of limitations laws that endanger kids and protect those who commit and conceal heinous child sex crimes.”
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2014/03/clergy-abuse-victims-criticize-cardinal-dolans-lobbying-efforts-in-albany
Archdiocese must make priest abuse files public, judge rules
JEAN HOPFENSPERGER , Star Tribune March 19, 2014
Judge tells the Twin Cities archdiocese to release all info about those credibly accused of sex abuse from 1970 to 1985.
The Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis must reveal hundreds of pages of information on priests accused of sexually abusing children, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Ramsey County District Judge John Van de North rejected church efforts to keep most of the documents under court seal, ordering that all information on priests who were “credibly accused” of abuse between 1970 and 1985 be filed with the court by March 31.
Information on priests whom the church determined were not “credibly” accused will remain sealed, Van de North ruled....
http://www.startribune.com/local/east/250859931.html
Clergy Abuse Documentary ‘BASTA’ to Premier at Boston International Film Festival on Easter Sunday
Merrimack Valley Production has announced that BASTA - No pity - No shame - No silence- has been selected to premiere at the Boston International Film Festival on Easter Sunday April 20th at Loews Theatre/AMC Boston Common on Tremont Street.
"This is a global epidemic which needs, and deserves, global awareness. There are 60 million adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse living in the United States alone. Survivors need to know that they are not alone and above all, there is always hope."
Boston Massachusetts (PRWEB) March 18, 2014
BASTA, a film documenting the emotional journey taken by simple men detailing their attempts to reach into the Vatican walls in search of help, hope and aid in healing a nation reeling from the effects of the clergy abuse crisis, will premiere at the Boston International Film Festival on Sunday, April 20th.
Attempting to battle the cover-up, shame and silence of clergy sexual abuse, three survivors from Boston Massachusetts, travel to Rome reaching behind the secret walls of The Vatican. Their weeklong effort becomes a decade long mission that exposes mind blowing statistics and unexpected worldwide results.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/03/prweb11674500.htm
Basta is a film documenting the story of the emotional journey taken by simple men detailing their attempts to reach behind and beyond the Vatican walls in search of help, hope and aid in healing a nation reeling from the effects of the clergy abuse scandal.
A decade after starting on a personal journey for justice, one man finds that success isn't always defined by achieving his goal, sometimes, it's defined by the attempt itself. And sometimes, in that attempt, you also find out who you are.
http://www.bastathemovie.com/About_The_Film.html
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Church’s Lawyers Have SNAP in Their Sights, global online pedophile network
Church’s Lawyers Have SNAP in Their Sights - Victims’ advocacy group’s national director speaks to RD about a flurry of subpoenas, and fears of ongoing harassment
By Kathryn Joyce March 16, 2012
In October, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), the oldest, largest, and most visible peer counseling group for victims of clergy sex abuse in any denomination, received a subpoena from a Kansas City, Missouri, priest being prosecuted for sexually abusing an older male victim SNAP has never met. The subpoena demanded a sweeping range of documents and correspondence concerning thousands of the estimated 100,000-plus people SNAP has counseled over two decades.
In December, the group received a second subpoena from the other side of the state, from the Archdiocese of St. Louis, facing its own charges concerning the alleged abuse of a 19-year-old woman. SNAP has fought the requests, citing Missouri laws protecting the privacy of rape survivors, and describing the records-request as a coordinated Church effort to bully sex abuse victims into silence and harass a longtime opponent into bankruptcy.
While the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has denied that there is a national strategy for the Church to fight sex abuse cases more aggressively, even the Church’s staunchest defenders see the pattern. As William Donohue, the pugilistic president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, told the New York Times this week, bishops are going after SNAP because “SNAP is a menace to the Catholic Church.”....
Why do you think they are doing this?
What they’re trying to do is to discredit, derail, bankrupt, and silence SNAP. And to scare anyone—police, prosecutors, victims, concerned Catholics—from contacting us and reporting crimes and exposing corruption.
What they have said in court filings is we’re trying to get to the truth of this case. But if you think about it, the easiest way to get to the truth of John Doe BP v. Fr. Michael Tierney and the Kansas City Diocese and Jane Doe v. Fr. Joseph D. Ross and the St. Louis Archdiocese is to depose the parties, the people involved, John Doe and Jane Doe. And they haven’t even tried. In both cases, they haven’t even sought the records. In essence they’re using these two court cases as a ruse and a weapon.
http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/atheologies/5803/church%E2%80%99s_lawyers_have_snap_in_their_sightschurch%E2%80%99s_lawyers_have_snap_in_their_sights.hm
Italy police break up global online pedophile network
By Catherine Hornby, Reuters March 8, 2012
ROME - Italian police have broken up a pedophile network spanning at least 28 countries that used social media websites to swap pornographic images and videos of child abuse.
Ten people have been arrested in Italy, the United States, France and Portugal, and another 112 are being investigated on suspicion of child pornography, Italy's computer crime police bureau NIT said in a statement....
The data revealed an Italian-founded criminal group with more than 700 followers around the world, exchanging thousands of images and videos, NIT said. http://www.timescolonist.com/news/Italy+police+break+global+online+pedophile+network/6270037/story.html
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Lawyers: Bevilacqua ordered memo on priests to be shredded
Lawyers: Bevilacqua ordered memo on priests to be shredded
February 24, 2012
By John P. Martin, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua ordered aides to shred a 1994 memo that identified 35 Archdiocese of Philadelphia priests suspected of sexually abusing children, according to a new court filing.
The order, outlined in a handwritten note locked away for years at the archdiocese's Center City offices, was disclosed Friday by lawyers for Msgr. William J. Lynn, the former church administrator facing trial next month.
They say the shredding directive proves what Lynn has long claimed: that a church conspiracy to conceal clergy sex abuse was orchestrated at levels far above him.
"It is beyond doubt that Msgr. Lynn was completely unaware of this act of obstruction," attorneys Jeffrey Lindy and Thomas Bergstrom wrote.
Their motion asks Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina to dismiss the conspiracy and endangerment charges against Lynn, or to bar prosecutors from introducing Bevilacqua's videotaped testimony at trial....
The revelation is likely to further cloud Bevilacqua's complicated legacy in the handling of clergy sex abuse and could shape what happens at the historic trial, the first for a cleric accused of covering up sex abuse....
Prosecutors say that Lynn, as the secretary for clergy, recommended priests for assignments despite knowing or suspecting that they would sexually abuse children. Facing trial with him are two former parish priests accused of molesting a boy in the 1990s, the Rev. James J. Brennan and Edward Avery.
In their motion, Lynn's lawyers argue that the new documents show he was one of the few church officials trying to confront the issue of abuse.
After becoming secretary for clergy in 1992, they say, Lynn began combing the secret personnel files of hundreds of priests to gauge the scope of misconduct involving children. He did it, his lawyers said, because he "felt it was the right thing to do."
http://articles.philly.com/2012-02-24/news/31095897_1_church-lawyers-priests-abuse-complaints
February 24, 2012
By John P. Martin, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua ordered aides to shred a 1994 memo that identified 35 Archdiocese of Philadelphia priests suspected of sexually abusing children, according to a new court filing.
The order, outlined in a handwritten note locked away for years at the archdiocese's Center City offices, was disclosed Friday by lawyers for Msgr. William J. Lynn, the former church administrator facing trial next month.
They say the shredding directive proves what Lynn has long claimed: that a church conspiracy to conceal clergy sex abuse was orchestrated at levels far above him.
"It is beyond doubt that Msgr. Lynn was completely unaware of this act of obstruction," attorneys Jeffrey Lindy and Thomas Bergstrom wrote.
Their motion asks Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina to dismiss the conspiracy and endangerment charges against Lynn, or to bar prosecutors from introducing Bevilacqua's videotaped testimony at trial....
The revelation is likely to further cloud Bevilacqua's complicated legacy in the handling of clergy sex abuse and could shape what happens at the historic trial, the first for a cleric accused of covering up sex abuse....
Prosecutors say that Lynn, as the secretary for clergy, recommended priests for assignments despite knowing or suspecting that they would sexually abuse children. Facing trial with him are two former parish priests accused of molesting a boy in the 1990s, the Rev. James J. Brennan and Edward Avery.
In their motion, Lynn's lawyers argue that the new documents show he was one of the few church officials trying to confront the issue of abuse.
After becoming secretary for clergy in 1992, they say, Lynn began combing the secret personnel files of hundreds of priests to gauge the scope of misconduct involving children. He did it, his lawyers said, because he "felt it was the right thing to do."
http://articles.philly.com/2012-02-24/news/31095897_1_church-lawyers-priests-abuse-complaints
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Dialogue on Clergy Sex Abuse - Archbishop Diarmuid Martin
Annual Restorative Justice Initiative Conference Event
04-04-2011 Marquette Law School
Harm, Hope, and Healing: International Dialogue on the Clergy Sex Abuse Scandal April 4 & 5, 2011 Marquette Law School - Marquette University campus
(links to Archbishop Diarmuid Martin's Lecture
and viewing the conference)
http://law.marquette.edu/cgi-bin/site.pl?2216&deEvent_eventID=3256&date=04-04-2011
4/4/2011 Marquette Conference Address
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY - HARM, HOPE AND HEALING
Marquette University International Dialogue on the Clergy Sexual Abuse Scandal
THE TRUTH WILL MAKE YOU FREE: A PERSONAL JOURNEY
Lecture Notes of Most Rev. Diarmuid Martin
Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland
Marquette University, Milwaukee, 4th April 2011
Let me give you some brief statistical background into the extent of the abuse scandal in the Archdiocese of Dublin. In the period between 1940 and 2010 – as far as it has been possible to ascertain - allegations or suspicions of sexual abuse have been made against over 90 priests of the Archdiocese and against about 60 religious priests who held diocesan appointments. 10 Dublin priests, or former priests, have been convicted or have cases pending in the criminal courts. Two non-diocesan priests, who served in Dublin, have also been convicted in the criminal courts. The number of victims who have been individually identified is 570, but it is generally accepted that the number of children who were abused must run into thousands, possibly by about 10 priests who were clearly serial pedophiles....
I remember well the first complaint about the behaviour of a priest that arrived on my desk. I looked briefly at the priest’s file to see if there were any earlier indications about his behaviour. At the top of the file I found a yellow page saying “Inspected regarding CSA - Nothing found”. I felt however that I should look at the file in a little more detail and found that the very next document was an internal note: “Father X seems to be back to his old activities”. Clearly there was knowledge of “old activities” but no clear understanding that these activities indicated an on-going serious pattern of grooming which should clearly have raised red flags. The case was effectively dealt with respecting the appropriate norms; the priest was removed from ministry and the civil authorities informed....
If I take a Father Z, I can categorise him statistically in various ways. He can be statistically registered as one priest; it can be determined however that he abused perhaps one hundred known victims; there can be valid indications that he had probably abused hundreds more other children; the number of family members affected will then easily reach into the thousands. And that is just for one priest. And in Dublin you must multiply Father Z by about ten real serial abusers....
I tell these events not to re-open history, but to illustrate just how difficult it is to bring an institution around to the conviction that the truth must be told. All institutions have an innate tendency to protect themselves and to hide their dirty laundry. We have to learn that the truth has a power to set free which half-truths do not have. The first condition for restorative justice is that all parties are willing to tell the truth and to take ownership of the truth, even when the truth is unpleasant. As I said at a recent liturgy of lament in Dublin: “The truth will set us free, but not in a simplistic way. The truth hurts. The truth cleanses not like smooth designer soap but like a fire that burns and hurts and lances”....
http://www.dublindiocese.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2367&Itemid=1166
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Sirhan Sirhan 'hypno-programmed', Human rights law in clergy sex abuse suit
articles
1) 'He does not remember it': RFK killer seeks parole - Sirhan Sirhan's attorney suggests assassin was 'hypno-programmed'
2) Human rights law can be used in clergy sex abuse suit, judge rules - St. Paul lawyer's attacks on church show increasingly international reach
3) Strong Link Found Between Victimization, Substance Abuse
4) Missing Link, Newsletter of The Linkup (The Newsletter of the Survivors of Clergy Abuse)
'He does not remember it': RFK killer seeks parole - Sirhan Sirhan's attorney suggests assassin was
'hypno-programmed' 2/28/2011 LOS ANGELES AP
More than four decades after Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated, his convicted murderer wants to go free for a crime he says he can't remember.
It is not old age or some memory-snatching disease that has erased an act Sirhan Bishara Sirhan once said he committed "with 20 years of malice aforethought." It's been this way almost from the beginning. Hypnotists and psychologists, lawyers and investigators have tried to jog his memory with no useful result.
Now a new lawyer is on the case and he says his efforts have also failed. "There is no doubt he does not remember the critical events," said William F. Pepper, the attorney who will argue for Sirhan's parole Wednesday. "He is not feigning it. It's not an act. He does not remember it."....
Pepper also suggests Sirhan was "hypno-programmed," turning him into a virtual "Manchurian Candidate," acting robot-like at the behest of evil forces who then wiped his memory clean. It's the stuff of science fiction and Hollywood movies, but some believe it is the key.....
Pepper said in an interview with The Associated Press that he has had Sirhan examined several times by psychologist Daniel Brown of Harvard University, an expert in hypnosis of trauma victims. He will not disclose exactly what was accomplished in the sessions but said, "There have been substantial breakthroughs." http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41822218/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
also http://nhjournal.com/2011/02/28/assassin-maintains-he-can%E2%80%99t-remember-shooting-rfk/
Human rights law can be used in clergy sex abuse suit, judge rules - St. Paul lawyer's attacks on church show increasingly international reach By Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel Feb. 28, 2011
A federal law that allows U.S. courts to hear lawsuits involving human rights violations in other nations can be used in a case involving Catholic clergy sex abuse, a federal judge in Los Angeles ruled on Monday.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Josephine S. Tucker appears to be the first time the 200-year-old Alien Tort Statute has been used to pursue a sex abuse claim against the Catholic Church. And it illustrates the increasing international reach of victims attorney Jeffrey Anderson of St. Paul, Minn., who is suing the Vatican and has opened a practice in London to pursue cases in the United Kingdom. Anderson represents a number of victims in civil fraud cases against the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
"This is huge, very significant," said Anderson, who filed the case on behalf of a Mexican boy after seeing the law used to bring cases involving Japanese women conscripted as sex slaves in World War II. http://www.jsonline.com/features/religion/117108133.html
Strong Link Found Between Victimization, Substance Abuse
ScienceDaily (Feb. 28, 2011) — A strong link between victimization experiences and substance abuse has been discovered by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago....Researchers compared victimization experiences of unwanted sexual activity, neglect, physical violence, and assault with a weapon, across four sexual-identity subgroups -- heterosexual, gay or lesbian, bisexual, or "not sure." The study used data collected nationally from 34,635 adults from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions.
Hughes and her research team wondered if sexual-minority women and men are at a heightened risk for victimization. The results, Hughes said, showed that they are.
Lesbian and bisexual women were more than twice as likely as heterosexual women to report any victimization over their lifetime. Lesbians, gay men and bisexual women also reported a greater number of victimization experiences than did heterosexuals. Three times as many lesbians as heterosexual women reported childhood sexual abuse....
Gay men also had high rates of victimization, with about half of them reporting any lifetime victimization. They reported significantly higher rates of childhood sexual abuse, childhood neglect, partner violence and assault with a weapon than heterosexual men.
Not only are there higher rates of violence and victimization among sexual minorities, but there is also a higher rate of substance abuse, Hughes said.
Regardless of sexual identity, women who reported two or more victimization experiences had two to four times the prevalence of alcohol dependence, drug abuse or drug dependence as women who reported no victimization, she said.
The research also concluded that gay, lesbian and bisexual youth may use substances to cope with adverse psychological and interpersonal effects of victimization, increasing the risk for further victimization from others, she said.
The study was funded through grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, two of the National Institutes of Health. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110224161516.htm
Missing Link, Newsletter of The Linkup (The Newsletter of the Survivors of Clergy Abuse) The collection of 22 newsletters is at http://cityofangels8.blogspot.com
1) 'He does not remember it': RFK killer seeks parole - Sirhan Sirhan's attorney suggests assassin was 'hypno-programmed'
2) Human rights law can be used in clergy sex abuse suit, judge rules - St. Paul lawyer's attacks on church show increasingly international reach
3) Strong Link Found Between Victimization, Substance Abuse
4) Missing Link, Newsletter of The Linkup (The Newsletter of the Survivors of Clergy Abuse)
'He does not remember it': RFK killer seeks parole - Sirhan Sirhan's attorney suggests assassin was
'hypno-programmed' 2/28/2011 LOS ANGELES AP
More than four decades after Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated, his convicted murderer wants to go free for a crime he says he can't remember.
It is not old age or some memory-snatching disease that has erased an act Sirhan Bishara Sirhan once said he committed "with 20 years of malice aforethought." It's been this way almost from the beginning. Hypnotists and psychologists, lawyers and investigators have tried to jog his memory with no useful result.
Now a new lawyer is on the case and he says his efforts have also failed. "There is no doubt he does not remember the critical events," said William F. Pepper, the attorney who will argue for Sirhan's parole Wednesday. "He is not feigning it. It's not an act. He does not remember it."....
Pepper also suggests Sirhan was "hypno-programmed," turning him into a virtual "Manchurian Candidate," acting robot-like at the behest of evil forces who then wiped his memory clean. It's the stuff of science fiction and Hollywood movies, but some believe it is the key.....
Pepper said in an interview with The Associated Press that he has had Sirhan examined several times by psychologist Daniel Brown of Harvard University, an expert in hypnosis of trauma victims. He will not disclose exactly what was accomplished in the sessions but said, "There have been substantial breakthroughs." http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41822218/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
also http://nhjournal.com/2011/02/28/assassin-maintains-he-can%E2%80%99t-remember-shooting-rfk/
Human rights law can be used in clergy sex abuse suit, judge rules - St. Paul lawyer's attacks on church show increasingly international reach By Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel Feb. 28, 2011
A federal law that allows U.S. courts to hear lawsuits involving human rights violations in other nations can be used in a case involving Catholic clergy sex abuse, a federal judge in Los Angeles ruled on Monday.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Josephine S. Tucker appears to be the first time the 200-year-old Alien Tort Statute has been used to pursue a sex abuse claim against the Catholic Church. And it illustrates the increasing international reach of victims attorney Jeffrey Anderson of St. Paul, Minn., who is suing the Vatican and has opened a practice in London to pursue cases in the United Kingdom. Anderson represents a number of victims in civil fraud cases against the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
"This is huge, very significant," said Anderson, who filed the case on behalf of a Mexican boy after seeing the law used to bring cases involving Japanese women conscripted as sex slaves in World War II. http://www.jsonline.com/features/religion/117108133.html
Strong Link Found Between Victimization, Substance Abuse
ScienceDaily (Feb. 28, 2011) — A strong link between victimization experiences and substance abuse has been discovered by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago....Researchers compared victimization experiences of unwanted sexual activity, neglect, physical violence, and assault with a weapon, across four sexual-identity subgroups -- heterosexual, gay or lesbian, bisexual, or "not sure." The study used data collected nationally from 34,635 adults from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions.
Hughes and her research team wondered if sexual-minority women and men are at a heightened risk for victimization. The results, Hughes said, showed that they are.
Lesbian and bisexual women were more than twice as likely as heterosexual women to report any victimization over their lifetime. Lesbians, gay men and bisexual women also reported a greater number of victimization experiences than did heterosexuals. Three times as many lesbians as heterosexual women reported childhood sexual abuse....
Gay men also had high rates of victimization, with about half of them reporting any lifetime victimization. They reported significantly higher rates of childhood sexual abuse, childhood neglect, partner violence and assault with a weapon than heterosexual men.
Not only are there higher rates of violence and victimization among sexual minorities, but there is also a higher rate of substance abuse, Hughes said.
Regardless of sexual identity, women who reported two or more victimization experiences had two to four times the prevalence of alcohol dependence, drug abuse or drug dependence as women who reported no victimization, she said.
The research also concluded that gay, lesbian and bisexual youth may use substances to cope with adverse psychological and interpersonal effects of victimization, increasing the risk for further victimization from others, she said.
The study was funded through grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, two of the National Institutes of Health. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110224161516.htm
Missing Link, Newsletter of The Linkup (The Newsletter of the Survivors of Clergy Abuse) The collection of 22 newsletters is at http://cityofangels8.blogspot.com
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Dioceses oust abusers had pledged to monitor, child abuse witness death threats
Dioceses oust abusers they had pledged to monitor By RACHEL ZOLL (AP) 7/4/10
NEW YORK — At the peak of the Roman Catholic clergy sex abuse crisis, the discipline plan American bishops adopted prompted dioceses to remove nearly all accused clergy from the priesthood. Some of the men, however, were considered too old or sick to be kicked out. Instead, bishops barred those clerics from functioning as priests and promised to keep watch over them in supervisory programs that would keep the men far from children.
But interviews with canon lawyers, church child protection officials and experts who advise them found that, eight years after the plan was approved, few of those diocesan programs exist. Church leaders are more likely to oust a cleric from the priesthood than monitor him. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hlHdJHra37XaI5cjan-Cm_WJNdhQD9GOCFV80
Child abuse witnesses get death threats 04 Jul 2010 Police investigating claims of child abuse by Belgian clergy say they are probing death threats against witnesses and magistrates. The threats have been made to witnesses who gave information to the police and to the magistrates who may end up judging the case. Last month, police raided a meeting of Catholic bishops as part of a probe into allegations of child abuse by priests in Belgium. http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=133423§ionid=351020605
NEW YORK — At the peak of the Roman Catholic clergy sex abuse crisis, the discipline plan American bishops adopted prompted dioceses to remove nearly all accused clergy from the priesthood. Some of the men, however, were considered too old or sick to be kicked out. Instead, bishops barred those clerics from functioning as priests and promised to keep watch over them in supervisory programs that would keep the men far from children.
But interviews with canon lawyers, church child protection officials and experts who advise them found that, eight years after the plan was approved, few of those diocesan programs exist. Church leaders are more likely to oust a cleric from the priesthood than monitor him. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hlHdJHra37XaI5cjan-Cm_WJNdhQD9GOCFV80
Child abuse witnesses get death threats 04 Jul 2010 Police investigating claims of child abuse by Belgian clergy say they are probing death threats against witnesses and magistrates. The threats have been made to witnesses who gave information to the police and to the magistrates who may end up judging the case. Last month, police raided a meeting of Catholic bishops as part of a probe into allegations of child abuse by priests in Belgium. http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=133423§ionid=351020605
Friday, February 19, 2010
A Closer Look At Clergy Sex Abuse - In Ireland
A Closer Look At Clergy Sex Abuse - In Ireland, Dublin's Archbishop met with victims of clergy sex abuse today, following a closed door conversation between Pope Benedict XVI and 24 Irish Bishops. The gathering was prompted by several devastating reports released by the Irish government detailing decades of clergy abuse on thousands of children. We speak with Audrey Carville, who reports from Dublin for the BBC, we also speak with two victims of sex abuse: John Kelly, founder of the group Irish Survivors of Child Abuse, and attorney Helen McGonigle, of Greenwich, Rhode Island. http://www.hereandnow.org/2010/02/rundown-219-2/#2
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Clergy Sex Case vs. Vatican Moves Forward
from http://ritualabuse.us
Jeff Anderson & Associates: Clergy Sex Case vs. Vatican Moves Forward By: PR Newswire 3/3/09 Portland, Ore. - The following was released today by Jeff Anderson & Associates: The Vatican can be sued for a pedophile priest's crimes, according to a new appeals court ruling issued today. In a unanimous 60 page decision, a three judge panel in Portland, Oregon ruled that a man who was sexually assaulted in the 1960s by Fr. Andrew Ronan can pursue his civil lawsuit for damages against the Holy See. "In a rigid hierarchy like the Catholic church, decisions come from Rome, so it's crucial that Rome be held responsible for on-going cover ups of clergy sex crimes," said St. Paul attorney Jeff Anderson, who represents the alleged victim. "This ruling sends a clear signal that anyone who enables American kids to be molested will face legal consequences. It will help prevent future child assaults and cover ups of those assaults. It also signals that the Vatican is not above the law." Ronan is accused of molesting kids in his native Ireland. He was then sent to Chicago, where he allegedly abused again, and finally transferred to an Oregon Catholic school, where he reportedly assaulted the victim in this case. Ronan is now deceased. The case was argued by Professor Marci Hamilton, a Cardozo law school faculty member. Defending the Vatican was attorney Jeff Lena of Berkeley, CA. SOURCE Jeff Anderson & Associates http://www.andersonadvocates.com/ViewFile.aspx?ID=231
http://uk.sys-con.com/node/862696
Jeff Anderson & Associates: Clergy Sex Case vs. Vatican Moves Forward By: PR Newswire 3/3/09 Portland, Ore. - The following was released today by Jeff Anderson & Associates: The Vatican can be sued for a pedophile priest's crimes, according to a new appeals court ruling issued today. In a unanimous 60 page decision, a three judge panel in Portland, Oregon ruled that a man who was sexually assaulted in the 1960s by Fr. Andrew Ronan can pursue his civil lawsuit for damages against the Holy See. "In a rigid hierarchy like the Catholic church, decisions come from Rome, so it's crucial that Rome be held responsible for on-going cover ups of clergy sex crimes," said St. Paul attorney Jeff Anderson, who represents the alleged victim. "This ruling sends a clear signal that anyone who enables American kids to be molested will face legal consequences. It will help prevent future child assaults and cover ups of those assaults. It also signals that the Vatican is not above the law." Ronan is accused of molesting kids in his native Ireland. He was then sent to Chicago, where he allegedly abused again, and finally transferred to an Oregon Catholic school, where he reportedly assaulted the victim in this case. Ronan is now deceased. The case was argued by Professor Marci Hamilton, a Cardozo law school faculty member. Defending the Vatican was attorney Jeff Lena of Berkeley, CA. SOURCE Jeff Anderson & Associates http://www.andersonadvocates.com/ViewFile.aspx?ID=231
http://uk.sys-con.com/node/862696
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