From the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
By Suzanne Smith
Former policeman turned state parliamentarian, Troy Grant, told the special commission of inquiry into the handling of child sexual abuse in the Maitland-Newcastle diocese that members of the Catholic Church had interfered in his investigation into sexual abuse.
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By Annysa Johnson
In its first public action Wednesday, a national network of Catholics, mostly clergy and nuns, founded in part by a Milwaukee-area priest, called on bishops to take a stronger stand against child sexual abuse in the church.
Eight members of the Catholic Whistleblowers gathered for a news conference in New York, home to Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who as head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is considered the most influential American prelate.
The group urged Dolan to use his influence to help oust Newark, N.J., Archbishop John Myers, who has been in the news in recent weeks for allowing a pedophile priest continued access to minors, in violation of an agreement with prosecutors.
From WISN Channel 12
By Christina Palladino
SHEBOYGAN, Wis. —A Sheboygan priest will head to New York on Wednesday to call for more transparency in child sex abuse cases.
He told WISN 12 News reporter Christina Palladino it’s necessary for the church to heal.
The Rev. Jim Connell of St. Clement’s Church in Sheboygan is prepared to become an outspoken advocate for victims of sex abuse within the Catholic Church.
May 21
SNAPwisconsin.com
Fr. Jim Connell of Sheboygan, other clergy “whistleblowers” launch new national campaign today
Group formed to support clergy, others in coming forward on abuse and cover up
Statement by Peter Isely, SNAP Midwest Director (Milwaukee)
CONTACT: 414.429.7259
As featured in today’s New York Times, Fr. Jim Connell of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and other clergy who have come forward on the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church have launched a national “whistleblowers” website to invite and help others to do the same. The group’s website is http://www.catholicwhistleblowers.org/.
The group sent a letter today to Pope Francis asking him to take necessary steps to restore the church’s credibility, revoke all oaths of secrecy, open the files on abuse cases, remove from office any bishops who obstructed justice and create an international forum for dialogue between survivors and church leaders.
Connell is also a founding member of a pioneering group of clergy and survivors in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee who over the last two years have been working publically and privately together to end clerical sexual abuse in the local church, bring offenders to justice, and insist on full institutional accountability and transparency.
Connell and the other clergy in today’s Times story are demonstrating what real leadership looks like by Catholic clergy. By coming forward they have followed the path, difficult, necessary, and ultimately liberating, of the many clerical survivors around the country who preceded them. They have earned the trust and respect of survivors, the public and the church.
The clergy whistle blowers is a hard won beginning of, one can only hope, of how the sexual abuse crisis in the church will be resolved. It certainly cannot be done without clergy like Connell and others. And if clergy and other Catholic leaders finally come forward on this crisis, speak out, demand justice, then the longed for day may come when survivors will no longer need to.
SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We’ve been around for 23 years and have more than 10,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Visit us at SNAPwisconsin.com and SNAPnetwork.org.
From the Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-dantonio/real-christian-heroes-step-forward_b_3311754.html
By Michael D’Antonio
Twelve new apostles of truth — they call themselves The Catholic Whistleblowers — are raising their voices against a system of cover-up and denial, calling on Pope Francis to follow a six-point plan for ending the era of scandal caused by priests who have sexually abused children. Nuns and priests alike, the 12 Americans are asking for commonsense efforts including:
An international advisory board of abuse survivors to facilitate talks between church leaders and victims.
Revocation of pledges of secrecy to avoid scandal for bishops.
Full public access to documents relevant to abuse cases.
Removal of officials who facilitated abuse, obstructed justice or destroyed documents.
From the New York Times
By Laurie Goodstein
They call themselves Catholic Whistleblowers, a newly formed cadre of priests and nuns who say the Roman Catholic Church is still protecting sexual predators.
Although they know they could face repercussions, they have banded together to push the new pope to clean house and the American bishops to enforce the zero-tolerance policies they adopted more than a decade ago.
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Associated Press
By Bill
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A lawsuit filed against the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph and Bishop Robert Finn by a girl who was 2 years old when Kansas City priest Shawn Ratigan took pornographic photos of her has tentatively been settled for $600,000, a Minnesota attorney representing the girl said Wednesday.
Gregg Meyers of the St. Paul, Minn., law firm Jeff Anderson and Associates told The Associated Press about the deal before it had been officially announced. He said it was reached after a full day of mediation between the parties Tuesday, soon after U.S. District Judge Gary Fenner in Kansas City dismissed one of two counts in the suit.
From the Daily Herald
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20130514/news/705149764/
By Lee Filas
A Benedictine monk accused of attempting to lure four teens into his car on two occasions in Antioch pleaded not guilty Tuesday to child abduction charges that could put him in prison for up to three years.
Thomas J. Chmura, 57, with a listed address at St. Benedict’s Abbey in Benet Lake, Wis., entered his not guilty plea as his attorneys unsuccessfully petitioned a Lake County judge to lower his bond to $50,000 and allow him to reside at his adopted father’s home in Lansing, Ill.
From Fox 6 News
http://fox6now.com/2013/05/12/monk-charged-with-trying-to-abduct-girl-has-bond-raised/
By Katie DeLong
MILWAUKEE/ANTIOCH (WITI) — A Wisconsin monk charged with trying to abduct a 14-year-old girl in Antioch, Illinois almost got out of jail, before his bond was raised.
57-year-old Thomas Chmura paid his bail on Thursday, May 9th, but then, a judge tripled it and ordered him back into custody.
Prosecutors say the reason for that is because there is a children’s facility where Chmura works at Saint Benedict’s Abbey in Kenosha County.
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By Annysa Johnson
Wauwatosa police have launched a second investigation into a local priest who was removed from his posts at two parishes and schools for suspicion of inappropriate contact with children.
The department confirmed Monday that a new investigation of Father Robert Marsicek is ongoing but declined to provide additional information about the allegation.