How Catholic clergy ruled alongside the 'gay mafia', despots, and rent boys in Latin America
By Alan WeedonABC Australia
PHOTO: Catholic clergy who worked in Latin America stand accused of egregious abuses of power.
(Flickr: Eduardo Zaraté)
(Flickr: Eduardo Zaraté)
Over the past few years, Australians have been largely pre-occupied with revelations of decades of misconduct by the country's Catholic Church.
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, running from 2013 to 2017, found that 7 per cent of all Australian priests — or 1,880 alleged perpetrators — were accused of child sexual abuse between 1950 and 2010.
In some orders it was in excess of 40%.
It determined that the Australian Church was responsible for "catastrophic failures of leadership" over decades, where civil authorities were actively kept away from numerous allegations of abuse in parishes around the country.
In March 2019, one of the Vatican's highest-ranked officials, Cardinal George Pell, was prosecuted for the sexual abuse of two choirboys, which seemed to mark an apex in Australia's civil reckoning of the clergy's crimes.
However, for Frédéric Martel, a French journalist and author, the prosecution of Pell is just the tip of a global iceberg.
"When I was in Australia some people asked, 'Is the world speaking about Pell?', and I said no,"
Mr Martel told the ABC.
"Pell is one symptom among many others."
A picture of regional fiefdom: Mexico's Marcial Maciel
PHOTO: Certain Diocesan authorities were able to amass vast tracts of wealth in the Latin American Church. (Wikimedia Commons: Wilfredor)
Earlier this year, Mr Martel released In the Closet of the Vatican: Power, Homosexuality, Hypocrisy, a book that maps the presence of homosexuality within the Catholic Church's patriarchal hierarchy.
While it speculates that about 80 per cent of clergy are homosexual — who may or may not act on their desires — the process of writing the book put Mr Martel up against some of the clergy's most egregious crimes.
When he looked into the Latin American Church's late 20th century history, a picture of regional fiefdoms quickly emerged, with Mexico's Marcial Maciel telling one of the Church's darkest stories.
Maciel was the founder of the Legionaries of Christ order in 1941 — a group praised by Pope John Paul II for bringing in a record number of seminarians and money into Church coffers.
But by the end of century, Maciel would be accused of numerous instances of sexual abuse against children and his seminarians that stretched over decades.
By 2010, the Legionaries acknowledged that he had fathered a child with a long-term partner.
In the weeks after the official disclosure, a Mexican attorney alleged that Maciel fathered up to six children, after being asked to litigate on behalf of three of them.
PHOTO: Marcial Maciel faced numerous accusations of sexual abuse throughout his life.
(ABC Religion & Ethics)
Theology professor and Church historian Dr Massimo Faggioli, who has written extensively about the Church's sexual abuse crisis, told the ABC that cases like Maciel's were the product of a time where the protection and growth of the Catholic brand was paramount.
"If you brought to Rome a lot of money and young priests,
nobody is going to ask questions of you," Dr Faggioli said.
He said this coincided with Pope John Paul II's "automatic defence" posture when the clergy was accused of sexual abuse.
"There was a coordinated effort from the Vatican down to shield [priests] from secular justice."
Maciel was never prosecuted by Vatican or civil authorities in his lifetime — nor was he defrocked as a priest — and was only forced from the active ministry by Pope Benedict XVI, two years before his death in 2008.
'He finished his sexual relations by beating them'
There is much more to this story. Please go to ABC Australia for the complete post.
St. Xavier High School, Louisville, KY, releases names of brothers it says sexually abused children
Matthew Glowicki, Louisville Courier Journal
Archbishop Kurtz spoke during an interview in September 2018 on the process of repairing the Catholic church. Michael Clevenger, The Courier Journal
St. Xavier High School released a list of former brothers who it says sexually abused minors while either at the Louisville high school or at some point during their years of service.
Nine brothers appear on the list with "credible or established" acts of sexual abuse against youth, two of whom were assigned to St. X at the time of the abuse. Years spent at the high school are noted below.
Only Carbin and McCormack are noted as having credible allegations stemming from their time at St. X.
Brother "Ricardo" Albert Kerressey (1938-1942)
Brother "Francis Jerome" William Burns (1939-1940)
Brother "Alois" Donald O'Toole (1940-1941)
Brother "Brennan" John Devoe (1953-1960)
Brother "Bosco" Thomas Harrison (1956-1963)
Brother "Kentigern" William Carbin (1958-1962)*
Brother "Barton" George Gardiner (1959-1964)
Brother "Damian" John McMahon (1965-1974)
Brother "Pierre" James McCormack (1973-1984)*
See also: Catholic priest now faces 9 years in prison for sexual abuse
Brother Pierre McCormick (Photo: 1981 St. Xavier High School yearbook)
Allegations against Carbin surfaced in 2004 and 2011 regarding abuse in the early 1960s. He withdrew from the order in 1963, the year after his St. X assignment.
"The crisis of abuse in the Catholic Church requires ongoing response both to protect today's children and affirm, acknowledge and support past victims," St. X said in an email sent late Friday afternoon.
The news is part of a larger announcement by the Catholic Xaverian Brothers order, which on Friday released a list of current, former and deceased members dating back to the 1930s who sexually abused a minor.
"Recent revelations about sexual abuse of minors by priests and religious are leading the People of God to desire greater accountability from the leadership of the Church," the order said on its website. "We view this disclosure as part of our commitment now to preventing abuse and hope that it may assist survivors of abuse in their healing."
The organization also released a list of Xaverian Brothers who have a child sex abuse allegation against them that couldn't be fully investigated — perhaps due to a disclosure after the death of a brother or a lack of complete information about an alleged incident — "but for which there is a reasonable possibility (semblance of truth) that the alleged offense occurred."
That list, for those who worked at St. X, is:
Brother "Cosmas" Francis Dailey (1932, 1941)
Brother "Rudolph" Thomas Holihan (1934-1936)
Brother "Jerome" Leroy Lamont (1952-1957)
Brother "Remigius" Francis O'Lone (1952-1955)
Brother "Lucas" Charles Cummings (1967-1977)*
The allegation against Cummings stems from his time spent at St. X. The abuse allegation of a 1968 incident was reported in 2018, according to Xaverian Brothers.
According to an email sent by St. X, the list was created with the help of a retired FBI agent who reviewed decades of the order's records.
Xaverian Brothers' review board, "an independent board" of mostly lay professionals in psychology, law enforcement, canon law and human resources, evaluated accusations and investigations of those accusations to make a credibility judgement.
A court conviction or admission of guilt by the brother would also made the allegation credible, the order notes.
The Baltimore-based Xaverian Brothers was founded in Belgium in 1839 with a focus on education and is still affiliated today with schools across the country
St. X, an all-male, private, Catholic high school, has been sponsored by the Xaverian Brothers since 1864. It is part of the Archdiocese of Louisville's network of high schools.
Christian Brothers under financial pressure after paying $213 million in sex abuse compensation
By Farrah Tomazin and Chris Vedelago
The Sydney Morning Herald
The viability of the Christian Brothers is in doubt as the religious order is forced to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to settle an avalanche of compensation claims stemming from decades of child abuse.
The Age can reveal the Christian Brothers’ Australian wing has already spent more than $213 million on victims’ payouts and legal expenses in the past six years, with the order expecting to outlay at least another $134 million in the future.
The Christian Brothers have paid $213 million to compensate victims of sexual abuse.
CREDIT: ANGELA WYLIE
But as survivors continue to seek compensation under the National Redress Scheme, the Catholic order is relying on massive injections of cash from its regional headquarters to pay out people who were abused in its schools and orphanages.
Figures show that the Christian Brothers spent only $3.6 million on “legal and litigation expenses” in 2013, the year the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was established.
But this cost ballooned to $134 million in 2018 - nearly nine times what the group’s officials estimated it would be liable to pay for that year.
Despite the blowout, the order insists it will be able to meet its commitments to survivors through the continued “responsible management of our finances''.
“Responding to claims involves significant sums expended on compensation and other support services such as counselling and psychological services," a spokesman for the Christian Brothers Oceania Province said.
“Whilst these costs are significant, any financial consideration pales in comparison to the moral imperative of making sure that we acknowledge and respond to those who have suffered so greatly as a result of the abuse that they have endured."
The royal commission found the Christian Brothers were among the worst perpetrators of child abuse in the country, with 22 per cent of its religious members being identified as alleged abusers.
Among them were brothers Gerald Leo Fitzgerald, Edward Dowlan, and Robert Best from St Alipius in Ballarat - the same school that harboured notorious paedophile Gerald Ridsdale and became one of the most shocking examples of the church’s crimes and cover-ups.
But while the Christian Brothers signed up to the National Redress Scheme in February, it has not explained how it will meet the future costs of participating in the 10-year scheme when its Australian wing has repeatedly reported huge financial losses over the past six years.
Figures show that since 2013, the group’s regional governing body, Christian Brothers Oceania Province, has pumped up the local order through funding injections worth more than $203 million, according to documents filed with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.
Despite this, the group has continued to hemorrhage money: last year, for instance, the Christian Brothers generated nearly $22 million in revenue but spent $134 million on sex abuse claims. And even after receiving a $75 million contribution from the Oceania Province, it was still nearly $66 million in deficit.
The financial assistance came despite the Australian order holding substantial property assets and investments in the financial markets, although the profits from these have been key to maintaining their normal operations.
The Oceania Province will not disclose how these massive support payments are being funded or whether they are obligated to continue to make them.
But the fact that the Christian Brothers’ Australian wing is relying on massive funding injections to operate raises questions about the group’s future here.
Doubts emerged two years ago, when regional boss Peter Clinch told the royal commission the group was no longer seeking applications for its novitiate and suggested it could disappear from Australia within a few decades.
Asked during the inquiry if he thought the Christian Brothers would merely be a brand of schools run by lay people in 30 to 40 years, Mr Clinch replied: “I don’t even think the brand will be there.”
This is in stark contrast to a generation ago when the Christian Brothers, one of the Catholic Church's main teaching orders, ran and manned schools in cities across the nation. While many are still operating, almost all of those schools are run by lay staff dedicated to Catholic values.
The Christian Brothers’ decision to sign up to the National Redress Scheme came after years of legal battles with victims.
Last August, after a long-standing dispute, its trustees awarded Perth man Paul Bradshaw a record $1 million for the abuse he suffered in the 1950s and '60s at its Castledare and Clontarf orphanages in Western Australia.
The religious order also spent about $1.5 million funding the legal defence of Brother Best, whose victims numbered in the dozens. Some of them have since taken their own lives.
The Christian Brothers are not the only religious entity whose finances have come under the spotlight recently.
Late last month, The Sunday Age reported that the compensation scheme set up by convicted Cardinal George Pell, cost the Catholic Church $34.27 million between 1996 to March 2014 -but only $9.72 million, or 28 per cent of it, was used to compensate 307 child sex abuse victims.
The bulk of the money during that period was spent on other operational costs for the scheme, including $7.8 million for its Independent Commissioner Peter O’Callaghan, QC; $4.7 million on general legal fees; and $11 million on its pastoral arm, Carelink.
The church last week stood by the so-called Melbourne Response, pointing out that 234 victims have received “top-up payments” worth about $11 million since November 2014.
Catholic Diocese of Crookston, USA, settles clergy sex abuse lawsuit for $5-million
by Paul Jurgens
Fr. Patrick Sullivan (named in settlement with 15 child sex abuse victims)
ST PAUL, MN (KFGO) The diocese of Crookston, Minnesota has settled a lawsuit filed on behalf of child sex abuse survivors. The agreement is for $5-million.
A Twin Cities law firm says the agreement will result in payments to 15 abuse victims and keep the diocese from filing for bankruptcy. The names of priests will also be disclosed.
Attorney Jeff Anderson says the victims are taking back power that was stolen from them as children. He says the settlement will help with their healing and advance child protection in the diocese. Anderson says the abuse took place between 1969 and 2009.
Four other lawsuits against the diocese were settled earlier.
Former El Paso Catholic priest sentenced to 18 years
in prison in sexual assault case
Aaron Martinez, El Paso Times
A former El Paso Catholic priest was sentenced to 18 years in prison Tuesday after he was convicted the previous day on a dozen sexual abuse charges (4th story on link).
He was also sentenced to 10 years of probation on three counts of indecency with a child.
The sentences will be served concurrently.
Considering he's 69, I guess I can live with concurrent sentences.
Luna was facing up to life in prison on the aggravated sexual charges.
A jury of nine woman and three men reached the sentencing verdict Tuesday. The same jury convicted him Monday on all 12 charges.
The trial was held in the 120th District Court with Judge Maria Salas-Mendoza presiding.
Luna was arrested June 11, 2018, after one of his victims, who is now in her late 30s, reported that the former priest began sexually abusing her when she was 8 years in the 1990s at an El Paso church.
She reported the abuse in 2016 to the El Paso Police Department’s Crimes Against Children Unit. The El Paso Times does not identify victims of sexual abuse.
The victim said that when she was 8 years old Luna began "kissing her passionately" during confession, according to a complaint affidavit.
Luna continued to molest the girl as she grew older and began raping her when she was 12 years old, the complaint states.
The church where the abuse occurred is not named in court documents.
Luna had a close relationship with the girl's family, the victim told police. He would pick her up from home and school during the years she was abused, according to the complaint.
That's typical of pedophiles, to groom the family to gain access to the child.
He was accused of sexual assaulting several girls at an El Paso church from 1991 to 1998, according to court documents.
Several of Luna’s victims testified during his trial about the abuse and the lasting impact it had on them.
Luna sat feet from the victims Tuesday as they testified but did not make eye contact with them.
Bishop’s silence shows disregard for victims
of priest sexual abuse
Cote and his media relations director, Wayne Gignac, continue refusing to comment on the horrific amount of past cases of child rape and abuse at the hands of diocesan priests along with still pending litigation against the Diocese of Norwich. It adds to a growing perception of gross, ungodly irresponsibility and lack of care and concern for victims such as Tim McGuire.
Bob Sirkin
The Day
West Virginia attorney general calls on diocese to 'come clean' on remarkable allegations against former bishop
This Feb. 21, 2005, file photo, shows incoming bishop of the Wheeling-Charleston diocese, W.Va, Michael Bransfield in his new office, in Wheeling, W.Va. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston in West Virginia says Pope Francis has issued disciplinary action against its former bishop. (Photo: Dale Sparks, AP)
The pope on Friday banned former Bishop Michael Bransfield from the public ministry or even living in the Wheeling-Charleston diocese based on the findings of a church investigation of “allegations of sexual harassment of adults and of financial improprieties."
The pope's declaration, which stopped short of defrocking Bransfield, was posted on the website of the diocese of Wheeling-Charleston. It also requires Bransfield, who resigned in December, to make amends "for some of the harm he caused."
That probe had earlier found Bransfield guilty of sexual harassment of adults and misuse of church funds, spending them on dining, liquor, gifts, personal travel and luxury items.
The Washington Post, which obtained a copy of drafts of the investigation, reported in June that the church found that Bransfield spent $2.4 million in church money on travel, much of it personal, which included flying in chartered jets and staying in luxury hotels. Bransfield and several subordinates spent an average of nearly $1,000 a month on alcohol, the Post said, citing the confidential report.
West Virginia attorney general Patrick Morrisey on Friday called the pope's decision "only one step" toward resolving the Bransfield case. He called on the diocese to comply with subpoenas issued as part of state probe of the church's handling of the case..
"After decades of covering up and concealing the behavior of priests as it relates to sexual abuse, it is time for the Diocese to come clean with what it knows and release the Bransfield report and any other relevant materials," Morrisey said. "None of the allegations of financial improprieties and sexual abuse may have been revealed if not for our investigation – the public shouldn’t have to wait any longer for transparency."
Morrisey filed suit against the diocese and Bransfield in March alleging it knowingly employed pedophiles and failed to conduct adequate background checks for those working at the diocese’s schools and camps.
An amended complaint added allegations that the Diocese chose not to publicly disclose a report of child sexual abuse by a teacher in 2006.
A statement from the diocese after the state's suit was filed dismissed the allegations, saying it does not "fairly portray its overall contributions to the education of children in West Virginia nor fairly portray the efforts of its hundreds of employees and clergy who work every day to deliver quality education in West Virginia."
On Friday, the diocese announced that an independent auditor had been chosen to audit its accounts.
Theatre Director at Catholic Panorama City High School Charged on Suspicion of Possessing Child Porn
BY CINDY VON QUEDNOWKTLA
A video production and theatre director at a Catholic high school in Panorama City has been charged on suspicion of possessing child pornography, officials announced Friday.
LAPD officials did not elaborate on the material that was found in Doporto’s possession, but the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said he was charged with one count each of possessing child or youth pornography and possessing more than 600 images of child or youth pornography.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges on Friday.
Doporto was taken into custody at his North Hollywood home, the Los Angeles Times reported. His bail was set at $20,000 and he was released from custody, officials said.
Doporto appeared in photos in the Los Angeles Daily News in 2013 when the private Catholic high school was rehearsing for their rendition of “Cabaret.”
His LinkedIn page indicates he worked at the high school since 2001. The Times referred to the suspect as Doporto.
Anyone with information about Doporto or the case can call the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit of the LAPD at 562-624-4027.
St. Norbert Abbey releases list of 22 Norbertine priests known to have abused minors
Haley BeMiller, Green Bay Press-Gazette
St. Norbert Abbey, 1016 N. Broadway, De Pere. (Photo: USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)
The abbey on Friday released the list of names after an investigation into abuse allegations conducted by an outside organization. Rt. Rev. Dane Radecki, abbot of St. Norbert, said in a letter that he chose to publish the findings "in the spirit of accountability."
"My hope is that the 'release of names' will assist in the healing process for victims and survivors," Radecki wrote. "I profoundly apologize and ask forgiveness from those abused by the Norbertines of our Abbey."
Norbertines, also known as Premonstratensians, are part of an independent order of Catholic clergy that differ from diocesan priests. They're based locally at an abbey in De Pere and serve Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church and Holy Cross, among other parishes. Their priests also work at four Catholic schools, including St. Norbert College.
Only five of the 22 priests named are still alive, and 12 have multiple "credible" allegations against them. The abbey defines a credible allegation as one in which the priest confessed or "the preponderance of facts lead to the conclusion that the abuse probably took place."
The list includes three priests affiliated with other Norbertine foundations. A spokesman for the abbey said these allegations were reported to St. Norbert Abbey but would not clarify whether the abuse occurred in De Pere.
The investigation was conducted by Praesidium, an organization that helps Catholic dioceses and other organizations address child sexual abuse. Praesidium reviewed abbey files dating back to 1966 and found incidents of abuse from the 1940s to 1990s.
St. Norbert's investigation follows the release of a list by the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay earlier this year of 48 priests who sexually abused a minor. The diocese initially disclosed 46 names but added two more as additional survivors came forward.
The Archdiocese of Milwaukee has also named 48 priests who abused minors, and the state's other dioceses — Madison, La Crosse and Superior — have pledged to review their personnel files.
The abbey's findings also come amid heightened scrutiny of the Catholic church as survivors and their advocates call for greater transparency worldwide. Pressure is coming from the Vatican, too, as Pope Francis recently issued a decree requiring clergy to report abuse to church officials.
The St. Norbert spokesman declined a reporter's request to interview Radecki Friday.
St. Norbert Abbey list of priests who abused minors
Chart
Name Credible Allegations Current Status
Simon Becker Multiple Deceased
Robert Carsonr Multiple Deceased
Francis Clabots Multiple Deceased
Mark Falcone One Restricted from ministry
Angelo Feldkamp Multiple Deceased
Camillus Frigo Multiple Left the Abbey and ministry
Michael Frisch One Restricted from ministry
John Kohnke Multiple Deceased
Larry Mayer One Deceased
Francis McHugh One Deceased
Michael Kain One Deceased
Ernest LaMal Multiple Deceased
Martin Philipsen Multiple Deceased
Peter Pritzl Multiple Deceased
Robert Reppen One Deceased
David Rondou Multiple Deceased
Joseph Rohlinger One Deceased
Ralph Schmidt One Deceased
James Stein Multiple Left the Abbey and ministry
Robert Gaghan* One Deceased
Andrew “Andy” Polini* One Deceased
Edward Smith* Multiple Restricted from ministry
* Priest under another jurisdiction who served in De Pere
More information on these priests can be found on the Green Bay press Gazette
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