maandag, februari 28, 2011

Cardinal Rigali Avoids Prison ... For Now!




On January 21, 2011 the Philadelphia Grand Jury under District Attorney R. Seth Williams issued a Report on sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests.[1] The entire text (124 pages) is included in the attached PDF which you can download or view HERE. It is the finest, clearest, and most complete account of the pattern and practice of the Catholic Church in dealing with priests who abuse minors and their victims. If you want to know the real dynamics of the Catholic clerical system read this report.[2]
In short: the Grand Jury released what has been termed a "sordid" (in content) report on clergy sex abuse. This led to the arrest of a Catholic schoolteacher and three archdiocesan priests on rape, indecent sexual assault and other criminal charges:


- Fr. Charles Engelhardt, 64, an Oblate of St. Francis de Sales, is accused of orally sodomizing and molesting a 10-year-old altar boy in 1998 in the sacristy at St. Jerome Parish in Northeast Philadelphia.
- Fr. Edward Avery, 68, an Archdiocesan priest who was defrocked in 2006, is charged with the same offenses against the same boy. And ths boy's sixth-grade teacher at St. Jerome School, 48-year-old Bernard Shero, is accused of orally and anally sodomizing the then-11-year-old in the back of the teacher's car.
- Fr. James Brennan, 47, an Archdiocesan priest, is accused of forcing his penis into the buttocks of a 14-year-old former parishioner when he was in the priest's bed. At the time, the summer of 1996, Father Brennan was on leave from Cardinal O'Hara High School. In 1997, he was returned to active ministry and assigned to St. Jerome Parish.
Importantly, Monsignor William Lynn, former Vicar for clergy is charged with endangering the welfare of children for allowing the priests work in 1996 and 1998.


So much for the church's claim that clergy abuse is in the distant past.
Cardinal Bevilacqua who was not indicted, but whose hands were obviously dirty according to the 2005 Philadelphia Grand Jury Report (after 6 appearances), escapes an indictment again because he has "dementia" and cancer.

There have been priests accused and convicted of child rape before, but what is very significant for the entire church in the U.S. is that the supervising priest, William Lynn, is indicted for the endangerment of children. (Cf. LA and Mahony). The noose is getting closer to episcopal necks as investigations get more objective and the pattern of abuse in the system is laid out. Children are endangered precisely because cardinals know exactly what their Vicars do. Vicars do exactly what their boss wants. (Cardinals do exactly what their boss wants — that is the Pope.) Bishops and cardinals use an elaborate system of denial to cover their tracks. Chancery offices are filled with people who will take the "fall" for their boss. Bishops — especially cardinals — act like Hogan's Heroes Sergeant Schultz, they proclaim "I know nothing" or "they did it".[3] Or, as Governor Frank Keating portrayed them, as operating like "cosa nostra".

Cardinal Rigali was on the defense immediately once the report became public and he claimed, "there are no archdiocesan priests in ministry today who have an admitted or established allegation of sexual abuse of a minor against them". This, of course, is not what the Report laid out for all to examine. The Grand Jury could trace 37 credibly accused offenders who are still in ministry.

Rigali went on YouTube to reassure the faithful of his sadness for abuse, but he thumbs his nose at the problem and victims — all of the faithful — as he pulls a legalistic hat-trick when he insists, "Mistakes are one thing…Intentions are another". No evidence of effective reforms or real responsibility are evident in his statements. PR hustle, yes.

Cardinal Law was not pursued for criminal behavior, not because the Massachusetts Grand Jury Report lacked evidence, but because state law demanded "criminal intent" to convict.

It remains to be seen if Lynn will be convicted. Will he be a foil for his superiors? Will he tell what he knows in a criminal trial? A common church trick to avoid exposure is to have an indicted priest plead guilty, take his sentence and receive an annuity as reward.

Scrutiny of bishops and cardinals will not be dissuaded by protestations of sadness and sorrow for abuse. The time for apologies is over. Now is the time for responsibility.

This second Philadelphia Grand Jury after two years of investigation concluded that:

> The archdiocese lacked "urgency in its efforts to eradicate sexual abuse by its priests."


> The church appointed panel looking into the allegations dismissed credible charges against a priest by more than one independent victim.

> The actions of the archdiocese are simply not the actions of an institution that is serious about ending sexual abuse of children.

> The archdiocese remains focused on protecting its assets and reputation above all.



These conclusions are strikingly similar to previous Grand Jury Reports. Note
the first U.S. investigation to examine and assess the problem of sex abuse
in the diocese of Rockville Center, New York — the Suffolk County
Supreme Court Special Grand Jury published on January 17, 2002:

>"The history of the diocese [RC] demonstrates that as an onstitution they are incapable of properly handling issues relating to the abuse of children by priests.

>Officials used the hollow promise of treatment and reassignment for offenders and …monetary payments to … guarantee silence.

>The conduct of certain officials would have warranted criminalprosecution but for the fact that existing statutes are inadequate.



The Massachusetts Grand Jury reported on priest sex abuse in the Archdiocese of Boston on July 23, 2003. Its conclusions are so commensurate with the Philadelphia findings that if the locales are redacted the content would be indistinguishable. For
instance from Boston:

"The widespread abuse of children was due to institutional acceptance of abuse and a massive and pervasive failure of leadership. Officials knew the extent of the problem for many years before it became public. Officials did not inform authorities of allegations.
They withheld information from investigations. They failed to adequately investigate allegations. Officials transferred abusive priests to other parishes or dioceses. They failed to supervise priest abusers. In short they put children at risk for abuse. "

Why? To preserve image and save money.

There is no evidence that things have changed in Philadelphia since a prior Grand Jury Report was published in 2005. But this current report is more dangerous for the clerical establishment because it comes closer to laying indictable blame for continued clergy violation of minors exactly where it really is — with the boss, the cardinal, or at least at this stage with his vicar.
Until this message becomes operative, effective and implemented the Roman Catholic Church will continue to select, produce, hide, and defend sexually abusing priests.
A recent press headline may indicate change in the civic pressure on the modus operendi of bishops in the United States

"(Reuters) The Archbishop of Philadelphia and his predecessor were accused on
Monday [February 14] in a civil lawsuit of endangering children by concealing
the identity and sexual abuse of predatory priests from law enforcement to save
the church from a costly scandal. Among the seven people and three institutions
named in the lawsuit filed in Common Pleas Court in Philadelphia were the
current Archbishop Cardinal Justin Rigali, his predecessor Cardinal Anthony
Bevilacqua, Monsignor William Lynn, the Rev. Richard Cochrane and Martin
Satchell, who has left the priesthood. The lawsuit accuses the Archdiocese, the
sixth largest in the United States with 1.5 million Catholics, of implementing
"programs and procedures that were misrepresented to the public as providing
help to victims of childhood sexual abuse by clergy, but were instead
maliciously used to develop information to protect the
Archdiocese".

zondag, februari 27, 2011

NCRV Rondom 10, 26/2/2011 misbruik in instellingen en pleegzorg

"Hadden we het maar geweten", was het briefje van een groepsleider die orthopedagoog - en bepaald niet Neerlands grootste schlemiel ook, werd. En er bleef niets meer over van die man met wie ik een lange middag had - en nog veel langere voorbereiding nodig had om die middag en avond aan te kunnen - waarin ik zoveel leerde. En bepaald niet alleen over moed.
Maar tot aan vandaag kan ik geen antwoord vinden op die vraag: hoe kun je het in hemelschristusnaam niet hebben geweten? Wat heb je dan gedaan met de kinderen van een ander? Met hun ouders? Hun families? Hun gezinnen? Hun kinderen? Hun kindskinderen?
Wat heb je dan gedaan in je toezichthoudende teambesprekingen hoe jongens in het kader van hun onder toezicht behandeling met hun groepsleidster naar bed gingen opdat zij zouden leren met sexualiteit en sex om te gaan?

Maar tot aan vandaag ben ik, ondanks veelvuldig proberen, óók niet in staat de integriteit van die zin van die man niet te geloven...

Misschien is dat dan wel de zin van die Commissie Samson.
Die verpletterende mededeling van haar voorzitter, ook bepaald niet neerlands grootste schlemiel "Wij hebben geen mededelingen gekregen vanuit de jeugdzorg zélf, wat mij ook wel verbaast"

En aan dat onverantwoordde zooitje vertrouwde Nederland haar kinderen toe.
Een zooitje dat tot op heden weigert de verantwoording te nemen voor hun zorg en bij een Commissie Samson geen melding doet van wat niet anders kán dan dat zij het óók wisten.
Jazeker, ik geloof die uitspraak van Mevr. Samson - Geerlings.
Ik heb het ze de afgelopen jaren van doelgericht zoeken, met uitzondering van 1, horen zeggen, horen zwijgen tot aan horen krijsen aan toe.

Er is geen vernietigender oordeel over die kinderbeschermingsinternaten mogelijk als uitgesproken door het zwijgen nu van die beroepskrachten tov. die Cie. Samson en de verbazing van haar voorzitter.

Wordt het geen tijd voor 'n nieuw onderzoek?
Hoe is het in vredesnaam mogelijk geweest dat je niet seksueel misbruikt werd in die van zich van verantwoordelijkheid afwentelende kolonie van tot vandaag aan toe vrijwillig gekozen blind- en doofstomheid?


Onderzoelsraad voor veiligheid:

januari 2011, kindermishandeling met fatale afloop


çok teşekkür ederim Yilmaz, Özdal, Cevat, Hassan, Nazmi, Mehmet, Martin, Mustafa, Paul, Ghazi, Adem, Sam, Rudi, Louise en Merjem !!

Senate Forced Adoption Inquiry has extended the time frame for submissions to 31 st March 2011



Senate Inquiry into commonwealth Contribution to Former Forced Adoption Policies and Practices.

Al ontvangen bijdragen bron
Senate Forced Adoption Inquiry has extended the time frame for submissions to 31 st March 2011

This is an opportunity that I and others believe will be a great chance to get Commonwealth Government action, and interest in our struggle for recognitionof what has been done to us, and many thousands of others; mothers, fathers,children, siblings, grandparents, aunties, uncles and cousins who were separatedunlawfully, unnecessarily and forever from their families.

Some time ago the 'Australian Apology Alliance' requested Jenny Macklin to raisepast adoption practices with her state counterparts after calls for an apologyor inquiry from women coerced into giving up their babies.
This was followed by an AIFS report generally considered to be utterly inadequate, and encouraged the Alliance to align with several W.A. mothers who approached Labor politician David Templeman for support, who together with Dr. Kim Hames, the Deputy Premier of W.A., brought about the now historical apology.
This West Australian Government Apology has created much interest around the world; the very first government to ever take such an historical and momentousaction to raise public tolerance and understanding of regret for a cruel socialinjustice suffered silently for so long, by so many.

A lot of work, time, tears and frustration have gone into this labour of love for our stolen children, but due to the other states of Australia's apathy,this Senate Inquiry will be our chance to right the wrongs of this blot on Australia's history.
But, we need more mothers and everyone affected by the punitive practices of the past to speak up, tell their stories of the pain and trauma, but if not for themselves, tell for those who are no longer withus; the mothers who could not take the pain any more, and all those children who believed that life was not worth living because their mothers "supposedly gave them away".

Please encourage all your contacts to put some words together, even if only acouple of paragraphs - remain anonymous or reveal as much as you want. Ifeveryone wrote a small submission it would take them years to read there were somany of us, but sadly many won't or can't, but we can encourage, and help those who feel they do no know how to, and make this last chance a resounding successand maybe an 'Australia Wide Apology' might come out of this wonderful opportunity.

Barbara Maison
Apology Alliance




zaterdag, februari 26, 2011

Former priest remanded on child porn charges

Irish Examiner
February 25, 2011

A defrocked priest accused of possession of thousands of pornographic images of children, was remanded on continuing bail today pending directions from the DPP.

Oliver O'Grady (aged 65), with an address at a hostel, in Dublin 2, had been arrested on December 10 last.

At his fourth appearance at Dublin District Court today, Judge Cormac Dunne remanded the defendant to appear again on March 25 next. Earlier in the case, Detective Garda Johanna Doyle of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation had said that further charges were being contemplated.

Previously, the court had heard that the defendant had lived at various addresses in Ireland since he was deported from the United States, in 2001. He rents a lock-up facility and a postbox to store his personal belongings. As part of his bail conditions he must sign on twice daily at Harcourt Terrace garda station.

Mr O'Grady also gave an undertaking earlier not to seek travel documentation and has surrendered his passport to gardaí.

The material allegedly confiscated included images and videos on a USB key, an external hard drive and a laptop. Det-Gda Doyle had told the court earlier: “We are talking about thousands upon thousands of images of child pornography. Children from the age of two and three up to teenage boys and girls.”

vrijdag, februari 25, 2011

Murphy, Deliver us from evil; met de complimenten: de professor en het hofnarretje

Net als zovele anderen wordt ik afgesloten van gas en licht.
In mijn geval over 14 dagen.

De reden: ik heb een IQ hoger dan 70 - 85 !
En weigerde de doofpot.

NCRV altijd wat

woensdag, februari 23, 2011

systemleavers

Jan Nelissen geeft misbruik toe

Omroep Zeeland

WIJCHEN (ANP) - De 88-jarige salesianer pater Jan N. heeft toegegeven dat hij in de jaren tachtig meerdere minderjarige jongens seksueel heeft misbruikt maar ontkent dat hij ze heeft gedrogeerd en daarna verkracht. Dat heeft de pater woensdag verklaard tegen de rechtbank in Middelburg in een voorlopig getuigenverhoor over een misbruikzaak binnen de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk.

bron
Ook heeft hij zich schuldig gemaakt aan seksueel misbruik toen hij in de jaren zeventig directeur was van een tehuis van de salesianen van Don Bosco in Rijswijk. Hij kreeg daarom ontslag.
Toen N. in 1984 solliciteerde naar de functie van pastoraal medewerker in Terneuzen, is niet over het misbruikverleden van de pater gesproken, bijvoorbeeld met toenmalig bisschop Huub Ernst van het bisdom Breda. Ook in de parochie in Terneuzen kwam het verleden van de priester niet ter sprake.

RIJSWIJK – Het bisdom Breda wist niets van het seksueel misbruik door een pater Salesiaan voordat hij in Terneuzen ging werken. Dat heeft de pater verklaard tijdens een verhoor achter gesloten deuren in Wijchen, zijn huidige woonplaats.
Het eerdere misbruik vond plaats toen hij directeur was van een tehuis in Rijswijk.

Betasting
In Terneuzen heeft de pater zich twintig jaar geleden schuldig gemaakt aan seksueel misbruik van vijf of zes jongens, onder wie de nu 34-jarige X. De pater ontkent dat er sprake is geweest van drogering of verkrachting, het bleef volgens hem bij betasten.

Schadevergoeding
X wil mogelijk een procedure beginnen tegen het bisdom om schadevergoeding te krijgen.

Die Missbrauchsbeauftragte Christine Bergmann:„ Die Gesellschaft muss noch aufmerksamer werden Niemand darf wegsehen“


Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung
Autor: Uwe Westdörp
Osnabrück. Wie steht es um den Schutz der Kinder vor sexuellem Missbrauch? Was ist seit Beginn der jüngsten Enthüllungen bereits passiert, was ist noch zu tun? Die Missbrauchsbeauftragte der Bundesregierung, Christine Bergmann, zieht Bilanz.

Frau Bergmann, vor etwas mehr als einem Jahr lösten Berichte über sexuellen Missbrauch am Berliner Canisius-Kolleg eine Aufklärungswelle aus. Hat sich der Schutz der Kinder seither verbessert?
Es ist viel passiert. Die Öffentlichkeit ist stärker sensibilisiert, auch das Wissen über das Ausmaß von sexuellem Missbrauch ist heute sehr viel größer, und es wird häufig schneller reagiert. In Berlin gab es etwa einen Missbrauchsfall auf der Kinderintensivstation einer Klinik. Als eines der Opfer sich den Eltern offenbarte, haben diese den Fall sofort ernst genommen. Und die Klinik hat gar nicht erst versucht, etwas zu vertuschen. Früher gab es dagegen oft das Problem, dass Opfern nicht geglaubt worden ist.

Wie viele Menschen haben sich bisher bei Ihrer Anlaufstelle gemeldet?
Über 1 0. 0 0 0.
Es gab rund 9000 Anrufe, außerdem gingen etwa 2000 Briefe und Mails bei uns ein. Und die Anlaufstelle wird auch aktuell immer noch sehr stark in Anspruch genommen.

Aus welchen Bereichen kommen die Anrufer?
Das hat sich im Laufe der Monate verschoben. Anfangs meldeten sich in der Mehrzahl Betroffene aus den Institutionen, das hatte auch mit der öffentlichen Debatte zu tun. Die Bilanz sieht aber heute so aus, dass mehr als 50 Prozent der von uns registrierten Fälle sich im familiären Umfeld zugetragen haben.

Melden sich mehr Männer oder mehr Frauen?
Im familiären Bereich sind es deutlich mehr Frauen, im Bereich der Institutionen mehr Männer als Frauen. Die Alterspanne reicht von acht bis 89 Jahren. Das Durchschnittsalter liegt bei 47 Jahren.

Die öffentliche Debatte konzentriert sich zurzeit auf finanzielle Entschädigungen. Ist das auch das Hauptthema bei den Gesprächen mit den Betroffenen?
Nein, keineswegs. Die Themen, die bei uns am häufigsten genannt werden, sind Therapie und Beratung. Ganz häufig kommt zudem der Hinweis: Sorgt dafür, dass den Kindern von heute nicht das passiert, was wir erleben mussten. Beim Thema Entschädigung ist vor allem die gesellschaftliche Anerkennung wichtig. Dass den Betroffenen geglaubt wird, dass ihnen Schlimmes widerfahren ist. Das liegt auch daran, dass ihnen ja häufig von den Tätern die Schuld zugeschoben worden ist.

Die Jesuiten wollen Missbrauchsopfern 5000 Euro zahlen. Auch die katholischen Bischöfe haben sich auf Zahlungen geeinigt. Was wird aus dem gemeinsamen Fonds, den der Runde Tisch einrichten will?
Dort, wo klare Verantwortung besteht, etwa in Jesuiten-Kollegs, wird niemand gehindert, finanzielle Einzellösungen anzubieten. Im Übrigen befasst sich der Runde Tisch Anfang März mit dem Thema Entschädigung. Es wird hierbei auch um die Verlängerung der Fristen, in denen zivilrechtliche Ansprüche verjähren, gehen, und um Änderungen im Opferentschädigungsgesetz. Ein weiteres wichtiges Thema, das im Kontext von Hilfen gesehen werden muss, ist die bereits genannte Forderung der Betroffenen nach ausreichenden Therapie- und Beratungsangeboten, sodass es ein weites Feld für eine gemeinsame Fondslösung gibt.

Mitte bis Ende Mai wollen Sie dem Runden Tisch Ihre Empfehlungen unterbreiten. Was werden Sie in den Vordergrund stellen?
Für die Betroffenen haben Beratungs- und therapeutische Leistungen ganz klar den Vorrang. Und das werde ich so weitergeben.

Das Koblenzer Landgericht verhandelt einen Fall aus dem Westerwald, in dem es um sexuellen Missbrauch in Hunderten Fällen geht. Ist es nicht beängstigend, dass solche Vorgänge über Jahre im Dunkeln bleiben?
Die Dunkelziffer ist mit Sicherheit sehr hoch. Die Kriminalstatistik weist für 2009 bundesweit etwa 13000 Fälle von sexuellem Missbrauch von Kindern und Jugendlichen aus. Aber das sind nur die Fälle, die zur Anzeige gebracht wurden. Und man muss davon ausgehen, dass die tatsächliche Zahl um ein Vielfaches höher ist.

Was kann man tun, um Licht ins Dunkel zu bringen?
Wenn man Kindern mehr Glauben schenkt, sie in rechtlichen Verfahren besser begleitet, dann wird es vermutlich auch mehr Anzeigen geben. Zudem muss die Gesellschaft noch besser informiert sein. Man muss fragen: Wissen alle, an wen sie sich in einem Verdachtsfall wenden können, sind Beratungsstellen in der Nähe bekannt? Ganz wichtig ist auch, dass die Gesellschaft noch aufmerksamer wird. Niemand darf wegsehen. Denn es ist kaum vorstellbar, dass so schreckliche Dinge geschehen wie im Westerwald, und das bekommt angeblich keiner mit. Alle, die mit Kindern und Jugendlichen arbeiten, müssen so weit geschult werden, dass sie Verdachtsmomente erkennen können und auch wissen, wie sie damit umgehen müssen.

Welches sind die wichtigsten Warnsignale?
Wichtig ist zu erkennen, wenn sich ein Kind verändert. Die einen werden aggressiv, andere ziehen sich zurück. Wie Kinder auch immer reagieren – Veränderungen können deutliche Signale sein.
Wichtig ist zu erkennen, wenn sich ein Kind verändert. Die einen werden aggressiv, andere ziehen sich zurück. Wie Kinder auch immer reagieren – Veränderungen können deutliche Signale sein.

Was sind Ihre Hoffnungen für die Zeit nach dem Runden Tisch?
Es ist enorm wichtig, dass konkrete Maßnahmen folgen. Es muss sich jeder Verein, jeder Verband, jede Kita, jede Schule mit dem Thema auseinandersetzen und prüfen: Gibt es Fortbildungsbedarf? Wissen alle, was zu tun ist, wenn morgen ein Verdachtsfall gemeldet wird?






dinsdag, februari 22, 2011

citaat

[...]THE CATHOLIC Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin and the Cardinal Archbishop of Boston Seán O’Malley yesterday washed the feet of a representative number of victims of clerical child sex abuse in “an act of humble service” at Dublin’s Pro-Cathedral.
At the beginning of a moving 90-minute liturgy “of lament and repentance”, prepared in the main by abuse victims themselves, Archbishop Martin and Cardinal O’Malley both prostrated themselves in silent prayer before the altar which was dominated by a large, bare, wooden cross, symbolising the cross of Jesus Christ.
Most of the readings, which included excerpts from the Ryan and Murphy reports, were by victims or relatives of abuse victims.

A woman victim read from Matthew’s gospel about Jesus and children, and his words that “anyone who is the downfall of one of these little ones . . . would be better drowned in the depths of the sea.”

Among the eight people who had their feet washed were Marie Collins, abused as a child by Fr Paul McGenis, Darren McGavin whose abuse led to former priest Fr Tony Walsh being sentenced to 16 years imprisonment last December, and Christine Buckley who was abused in Dublin’s Goldenbridge orphanage.
Archbishop Martin asked God’s forgiveness “for the sins of bishops and religious superiors, when they failed to respond as good shepherds to victims of abuse by priests and religious.”
He sought forgiveness too “for indifference in the face of human suffering, for putting the institutional Church before the safety of children, for covering up crimes of abuse, and by so doing actually causing the sexual abuse of more children.”
He asked God’s forgiveness “for the deaf ear, the blind eye and the hard of heart.”
Cardinal O’Malley, who is leading the apostolic visitation to Dublin sent by Pope Benedict,said “we confess that we are guilty and our sins fill us with dismay.” He also said “on behalf of the Holy Father, I ask forgiveness for the sexual abuse of children perpetrated by priests and the past failures of the Churchs hierarchy, here and in Rome . . . to respond appropriately to the problem of sexual abuse”.

Archbishop Martin said “no one, no one who shared any responsibility for what happened in . . . this archdiocese can ask forgiveness of these who were abused without first recognising the injustice done and their own failure for what took place.”

He said “I, as Archbishop of Dublin . . . ask forgiveness of God and I ask from each of you for the first steps of forgiveness from the victims of abuse.”
He expressed “immense gratitude” to thoAfbeelding toevoegense men and women who, “despite the hurt it cost them . . . had the courage to speak out, to speak out, to speak out and to speak out again and again, courageously and with determination even in the face of unbelief and rejection.”
All victims were indebted to them, he said, as was “the Church in Dublin and worldwide and everyone here today.”

He apologised “in my own name” for “the insensitivity and even hurtful and nasty reactions that you have encountered. I appeal to you to continue to speak out. There is still a long path to journey in honesty before we can truly merit forgiveness.”
[...]"

Two victims made unplanned contributions at the service

Belang Window !

De Vertrouwenscentra voor Kindermishandeling zijn tegen een meldingsplicht voor seksueel misbruik. Ze wijzen verder op het gevaar van minderjarige daders, die later pedofiel worden. Dat bleek zopas tijdens de hoorzittingen van de Kamercommissie Seksueel Misbruik in de Kerk.

Bij de zes Vlaamse Vertrouwenscentra voor Kindermishandeling werden in 2010 10.756 mishandelde kinderen gemeld. Dat zijn er 29 per dag. In 20% van die gevallen ging het om seksueel misbruik en binnen die laatste groep ging het in 65% van de dossiers over incest. Het aantal echte "vreemde" daders, die het slachtoffer niet kennen, is heel klein.

Stef Anthoni beklemtoonde dat we niet eenzijdig op seksueel misbruik mogen focussen. "Bij de meeste mishandelde kinderen zijn meerdere vormen va mishandeling aanwezig: seksueel,emotioneel, lichamelijk.
De gevolgen van alle vormen van kindermishandeling zijn dan ook dezelfde."

Anthoni wil geen extra meldpunten voor seksueel misbruik "omdat het aantal doorverwijscentra hierdoor stijgt", maar hij wil ook niet dat één centrum alle klachten gaat centraliseren, omdat dit een afschrikkingseffect zal hebben en nieuwe drempels voor de hulpverlening zal opwerpen.

De Vertrouwenscentra willen de situatie van het kind als uitgangspunt nemen. Ze zijn voor een samenwerking tussen justitie en de hulpverlening en steunen de protocollen die dat mogelijk maken.

Anthoni waarschuwde voor een eenzijdig repressieve aanpak van seksueel misbruik in gezagsrelaties, zoals die na de verontwaardiging over de zaak-Van Gheluwe dreigt.

In plaats van het aantal samenwerkingsprotocollen tussen hulpverlening en gerecht te beperken, wil Anthoni dit aantal juist uitbreiden. "Niet alle organisaties waar mensen met kinderen werken, niet alle jeugd- of sportclubs, hebben een protocol waarin staat wat bij seksueel misbruik precies moet gebeuren (wie moet optreden? Wanneer moet men naar het gerecht gaan? e.d.) en dat zou best veranderen."

Anthoni vond verder dat de hulpverlening van de Vertrouwenscentra verder moeten worden uitgebouwd.

Hij zei dat hij in Antwerpen voor alle vormen van mishandeling in 5% van de gevallen naar justitie stapt om klacht in te dienen. "In Antwerpen worden de mogelijkheden om geval per geval samen te werken met het parket uitgetest".

De Vertrouwenscentra zijn dan ook volledig tegen een meldingsplicht, zoals bv. Renaat Landuyt (sp.a) die voorstelt. "Dat zal een omgekeerd effect hebben, men zal minder melden, kinderen zullen afgeschrikt worden om iets te zeggen, de hulpverlening zal een imago van verklikkers krijgen."

Maar Anthoni sprak zich wel uit voor het Nederlandse voorstel om vanaf 2013 een meldcode in te voeren. "Hulpverleners die kindermishandeling of huiselijk geweld vermoeden worden in Nederland verplicht om een aantal stappen te volgen, bv. contact opnemen met de Vertrouwenscentra voor Advies. Bij misbruik door een professioneel (leraar, dokter e.d.) moet het bestuur ingelicht worden. Onderzoek wijst uit dat dit het aantal meldingen zal verdrievoudigen", betoogde Anthoni.

De directeur van het Antwerpse Vertrouwenscentrum zei dat de zes Vlaamse Vertrouwenscentra recentelijk met een aantal nieuwe tendensen worden geconfronteerd:
* De jongste vijf tot tien jaren stijgt het misbruik door minderjarigen zelf. Het gaat daarbij om ernstige vormen van seksuele misbruik, regelmatige orale en anale seks. Onderzoek wijst uit dat 10% van deze jonge geweldplegers later veel kans maken om zich tot pedofiel te ontwikkelen.
* De Vertrouwenscentra ontvangen vooral meldingen over geweld in gezinnen, maar de definitie van het gezin wijzigt. De situatie wordt almaar complexer en bovendien moeten de Vertrouwenscentra de jongste jaren ook meer tussenkomen bij seksueel misbruik in scholen en internaten.

Tot slot waarschuwde Anthoni de Kamercommissie Seksueel Misbruik dat ze aanbevelingen moet opmaken voor àlle seksueel geweld, ook voor intrafamiliaal geweld. Want dat is nog steeds de hoofdmoot.
---------
Child Focus kreeg vorig jaar zo'n 600 klachten binnen over seksueel misbruik. Dat zijn er meer dan tien per week. Een vijfde van deze meldingen ging over nieuwe technologieën: internet, gsm e.d. Bij 80% van de gevallen kende het slachtoffer de dader. 85% van die klachten gaan over intrafamiliaal seksueel misbruik. Er waren echter slechts 6 klachten over seksueel misbruik door geestelijken.

Kristine Kloeck dat justitie en hulpverlening "gelijkwaardige partners" moeten zijn, zoals dat al was bepaald in het samenwerkingsprotocol dat over dit thema werd gesloten in 1998. "Geen van beide groepen kan deze problematiek alleen aanpakken, multidisciplinaire samenwerking is cruciaal. De concurrentie tussen justitie en hulpverlening moet voorbij zijn."

Child Focus had dan ook alleen maar positieve ervaringen met de huidige samenwerkingsprotocollen en vond het goed dat men geval per geval wil gaan overleggen wat de beste oplossing in een zaak van seksueel misbruik van minderjarigen is.

Child Focus wil ook geen recht wil krijgen om zich burgerlijke partij te stellen bij seksueel misbruik van kinderen. Momenteel kan Child Focus dit wél bij sekstoerisme en bij kinderpornografie.

Kloeck hekelde het enorme tekort aan onderzoek: "We weten niet welke begeleidingen werken, noch hoe groot het seksueel misbruik precies is."

...moet de kinderen worden geleerd om weerbaar te zijn."
Nog op het vlak van preventie stelde Kloeck vast dat kandidaten voor een baan momenteel alleen maar vooraf gescreend worden in het onderwijs. Dat moet veralgemeend worden naar alle sectoren waar mensen werken met kinderen.

Kloeck zei verder dat de helft van de huidige daders al seksueel afwijkend gedrag had als minderjarige. "Daar is veel te weinig aandacht voor en er is ook amper begeleiding".

De directeur vond verder dat de opvang en begeleiding van slachtoffers van seksueel misbruik volledig gratis moeten zijn.

Eerder zei Kloeck al dat de slachtoffers niet gebaat zijn bij een verlenging van de verjaringstermijn voor seksueel misbruik.
----------
Daniël Martin, de voorzitter van het Nationaal Forum voor het Slachtofferbeleid, gaf zopas drie grote aanbevelingen mee aan de Kamercommissie Seksueel Misbruik in de Kerk.
Het Nationaal Forum vertegenwoordigt alle slachtofferorganisaties en behartigt hun belangen.
1. Verleng de verjaringstermijn niet. Die is nu al lang genoeg. Maar geef de slachtoffers wel de mogelijkheid om nog klacht in te dienen, ook als de feiten verjaard zijn. Het belangrijkste voor de slachtoffers is dat ze gehoord worden.
2. Er is géén nieuw centraal meldpunt voor seksueel misbruik in gezagsrelaties nodig. Er is nu hulpverlening genoeg op alle mogelijke niveaus. Maak de hulpverlening niet nog ondoorzichtiger.
3. De huidige samenwerkingsakkoorden tussen gemeenschappen en federale overheid en tussen de hulpverlening en de parketten moeten niet worden gewijzigd. De slachtoffers worden goed geholpen door de huidige akkoorden.

De drie aanbevelingen staan haaks op wat tot nu toe in de Kamercommissie Seksueel Misbruik werd voorgesteld.

maandag, februari 21, 2011

Het naif- optimisme van Adriaenssens, apekool


Ik ben gek op wetenschappers!
De ziekte van de stilte

Peter Adriaenssens over de woede en de pijn van slachtoffers








"Wat de boer niet kent dat vreet ie niet"
(uit: Het Groene Boekje )









"Willen we naar de Dam? Dan gáán we naar de Dam!"


















bron





bron

Internationaal Strafhof misdaden tegen de mensheid: Criminal Charges against Dr. Joseph Ratzinger,Pope of the Roman Catholic Church




bron
en complete tekst






Dit maal niet onderbouwd met Wikipedia

Top Phila. Priest Suspended for Alleged Child Endangerment

A former top Roman Catholic church official in Philadelphia has been placed on administrative leave following charges of endangering children in connection with sexual abuse by priests.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia said Sunday that parishioners at Saint Joseph parish in Downingtown were informed in weekend Masses that Monsignor William Lynn, 60, was placed on administrative leave Friday.

Lynn was secretary of the clergy and a top archdiocese official from 1992 to 2004. He was accused in a scathing grand jury report of putting pedophiles in posts where they had contact with youngsters. Felony endangering charges were filed earlier this month, and Lynn was also named in a civil lawsuit last week.

Philadelphia's cardinal, Justin Rigali, has released numerous statements and a video expressing his sympathy for the alleged victims and has promised his full cooperation. He has also brought on a former Philadelphia assistant district attorney to help with an internal investigation.
New Allegations of Sex Abuse by Local Priests

Lynn's attorney has said that his client doesn't concede that he knew he was putting children at risk.

Liturgy of Lament and Repentance

November 27 2009
'All I got was lies and deceit, I was bullied and threatened'

If only they had stopped him then.
But I was surprised to find out how much was known about my abuser.
The auxiliary bishop at the time wanted him reported to gardai because he considered child sexual abuse one of the worst crimes a priest could commit. John Charles McQuaid overruled him.
I was staggered that the church hierarchy knew so much. And that here was an opportunity within a year or two of my abuse in 1960 to have reported him to the gardai.
We know that others were abused in the years afterwards and it is just appalling to me that a known abuser was allowed to continue.
I am horrified by the fact that the gardai knew about it at the time and did nothing.
In fact, the gardai took the case to Archbishop McQuaid instead of dealing with it themselves. They abdicated their responsibilities, handing it back to the Church to deal with it.
Why?
I am disgusted to think that someone else could have been spared abuse at the hands of my abuser.
That the gardai did nothing at the time about it; that the archbishop did nothing about it and when he (McQuaid) did nothing -- the gardai did not follow it up.
It was all brushed under the carpet and my abuser left free to go on abusing children in the future. I was so naive when I reported my abuse to the diocese in 1995. I thought at the time this concern about whether I should proceed with my complaint was kindness on their part -- that they were worried about me.
But as I began dealing with the gardai, with the support of my husband Ray and son Peter to whom I am eternally grateful, all I got was lies and deceit from the archdiocese.
Danger
I was bullied and threatened.
Their legalistic approach was devoid of humanity. Morality and justice didn't come into it.
All that simply because I wanted a man, who I knew was a danger to children, to be taken out of contact with them. I didn't care if he went to jail or got a long or a short sentence.
I could not believe that the men at the very top of the diocese were fighting me and looking on me as the enemy. I had to go public because, if children were to be safe, other people had to know what the reality was.
How could they sleep at night knowing they left so many abusers on the loose?
It was like putting a wolf into a chicken coop.
I would like the men at the top who did all of this covering up to actually come out and speak for themselves.
They committed, in my view, equally criminal acts by protecting the abusers.
They knew what these men were doing and, as the insurance policy shows, they knew what child abuse was.
There is no escape for them now.
- Marie Collins
Irish Independent

Marie Collins was abused by a cleric identified as Fr Edmondus in the report.

20/02/2011

Answers to some questions posed by contributors yesterday.

The liturgy was not set up as a stunt by the Pope or the diocese etc…. This liturgy was prepared by a survivor in 2009 was seen by a number of prominent survivors and survivor groups in Dublin 2009/2010. Their comments and suggestions on the wording etc… were incorporated, changes made etc…. The washing of the feet was in the liturgy at this time it was not suggested or imposed by any representative of the Diocese. Eventually after many drafts the liturgy was shown to the Diocese and then left with them. Today it went forward with the wording as written predominantly by survivors unchanged.

As to who was involved in the feet washing today. Far from there being no women there were in fact five women and three men. Among the women were one survivor of residential abuse, two survivors of abuse by diocesan priests, one mother of a survivor, one spouse of a survivor. There were two male survivors of abuse by diocesans priests and one male institutional abuse survivor. They were of various ages. The majority of those taking part have campaigned for justice for the abused and were not “passive” survivors as suggested by one contributor here.

There were a number of times during the afternoon when those who wished to protest came up on the altar and spoke. What they had to say was powerful and was heard. When they had finished speaking they each received an enthusiastic round of applause from the congregation.

I took part today and I do not regret doing so. My abuser did not take my Christian belief from me and the Catholic Church did not take my Christian belief from me. As a Christian if someone asks my forgivness I do not turn my back. If they are not sincere then that is something they must live with. Today the Archbishop asked forgivness of survivors for the way the Catholic Church has hurt and damaged those abused as children (the wording was more extensive than this). He asked forgiveness for how bishops, religious leaders etc.. covered up abuse and by so doing caused further children to be abused etc….. none of what he said was glib or evasive.

None of this has to mean a single thing to any survivor.None of this has anything to do with the justice which so many are still seeking. Everyone is free to see all this as a charade or a stunt or anything else they wish. But for those survivors to whom it did mean something it is not fair that they should be vilified by fellow survivors.

zondag, februari 20, 2011

Reflections of Archbishop Martin at the Liturgy of Lament and repentance at St. Mary's Pro Cathedral , 20th February 2011

"There are moments where silence and listening are more important than words and what we say."


RTÉ news 20.35



"This afternoon is only a first step. It would be easy for all of us to go away this afternoon somehow feeling good but feeling also “that is that now”, “it’s over”, “now we can get back to normal”.
The Archdiocese of Dublin will never be the same again. It will always bear this wound within it. The Archdiocese of Dublin can never rest until the day in which the last victim has found his or her peace and he or she can rejoice in being fully the person that God in his plan wants them to be. "



zaterdag, februari 19, 2011

Platjes

Aard en omvang van seksueel misbruik
Het onderzoek naar de aard en omvang van seksueel misbruik van kinderen die onder verantwoordelijkheid van de overheid in de jeugdzorg zijn geplaatst, gebeurt in drie deelonderzoeken. Onderscheid wordt gemaakt tussen recente en oudere gevallen van misbruik. Dit heeft te maken met de werking van het autobiografisch geheugen van mensen, de beschikbaarheid van betrouwbare bronnen en de relevantie voor de huidige praktijk.

Wat zou een passend woord zijn voor dat gevoel over dat ene zinnetje geschreven door zo'n domme idioot ? De lastige behoefte tot het uitdelen van een doodschop en de neiging tot het indienen van een rekening voor alweer een dag uit mijn leven?
Wetenschappelijke schijtluizen zijn er altijd nog twee, daarmee eentje teveel.

En aan de minachtende ontkenning verzameld in 25 woorden is het woord wetenschap niet toe te kennen.
Rest schijtluizen?

73 woorden + 2

Misschien is dat woord er wel niet en heeft een mens mede daarom wenkbrauwen.

89


Karadima Found Guilty

New York Times
By Alexei Barrionuevo and Pascale Bonnefoy
February 18, 2011

SÃO PAULO, Brazil — After an internal investigation, the Vatican found the Rev. Fernando Karadima guilty of sexually abusing minors in Chile and ordered him to retire to a “life of prayer and penitence,” the archbishop of Santiago said Friday.

The ruling, announced by the archbishop, Ricardo Ezzati, said that Father Karadima, 80, would be relocated to a place where he would have no contact with his former parishioners or “persons that have been spiritually guided by him.”

The accusations by former parishioners against Father Karadima last year stunned Chile, a conservative and predominantly Roman Catholic nation unaccustomed to questioning its priests, especially one as revered as Father Karadima. He had trained five bishops and dozens of priests, acting as a spiritual leader and father figure for young men who later accused him of molesting them.

The decision is a rare case of a powerful church figure being called to account for the charges of sexual abuse that have swept the Catholic world the past few years.

The Vatican decision “is going to mark a before and after in the way the Chilean Catholic Church proceeds in cases like these, or at least it should,” said Antonio Delfau, a Jesuit priest in Santiago, the capital. “From now on, every case of sexual abuse must be treated with meticulous care and not be based on the gut feeling of a given church official.”

For the accusers, including at least four men who said Father Karadima abused them when they were young parishioners, the decision was a long-awaited vindication. One original accuser said the abuse began when he was 14.

“At last the truth was revealed and acknowledged,” said an emotional Juan Carlos Cruz, 47. “This was like having a father who abused you and a mother who slapped you in the face,” he said of the Catholic Church. “Now I feel like this mother has taken me in.”

President Sebastián Piñera reacted to the decision by vowing that his government would “defend children and minors from sexual abuse with all the strength in the world and force of the law.”

Father Karadima has not been prosecuted criminally. A judge investigating the accusations against him closed the case late last year, ruling that there was not enough evidence to charge him.
An appeals court in Santiago is still deciding whether to reopen the criminal investigation. It remains unclear whether the Vatican’s decision will prod the Chilean authorities to do so.

The Vatican ruling announced Friday said that Father Karadima was subject to “lifelong prohibition from the public exercise of any ministerial act, particularly confession and the spiritual guidance of any category of persons.”
In consideration of his age, the Vatican deemed it appropriate “to impose on the accused his retirement to a life of prayer and penitence, also in reparation to the victims of his abuses,” said the ruling, read by Archbishop Ezzati.
If he violates the conditions of the ruling, Father Karadima could face stricter sanctions, including removal from the priesthood, the archbishop said.

Juan Pablo Bulnes, Father Karadima’s lawyer, said the priest maintained his innocence and would appeal the Vatican’s decision. He said the priest, respecting the ruling, had already retired to a religious convent in Santiago, away from anyone in his El Bosque parish.

The Chilean Catholic Church referred the case to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith last June, sending a 700-page investigative report to the Vatican.
Last month, the Vatican quietly issued its ruling and informed the Chilean church on Jan. 16. Archbishop Ezzati said he notified Father Karadima the next day and immediately identified a new residence for him.

Alexei Barrionuevo reported from São Paulo, and Pascale Bonnefoy from Santiago, Chile.

vrijdag, februari 18, 2011

kerk asiel, Léonards Tahrir 'Vangheluwe zal België moeten verlaten' Egyptische kerken dringen aan op seculiere grondwet





Aartsbisschop André-Joseph Léonard vermoedt dat het Vaticaan de Brugse bisschop Roger Vangheluwe zal verplichten België te verlaten en zijn kerkelijke functies zal afnemen.
Léonard deed zijn uitspraak gisteren tijdens een onmoeting met leerlingen van een middelbare school in Puurs, schrijft Het Laatste Nieuws. Een beslissing is er echter nog niet.


's lands wijs




Deetman: 1000 daders

donderdag, februari 17, 2011

Oproep Deetman

soveel verwonding vir waarheid
soveel verwoesting
so min het oorgebly vir oorlewing


"Dat wat jou ontmenselijkt, zal onontkoombaar ook mij ontmenselijken" !

Neurenberg of collectief geheugenverlies? Een derde weg, Desmond Tutu



bron













PS: Omdat het

cit. "[...]
Hierbij gaat het om personen die werkzaam zijn of zijn geweest in het kader van de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk. Als voorzitter roep ik hen op zich bij de commissie te melden.
Dat plegers zich melden is van belang voor het onderzoek. [...]"

lijkt het mij,
gezien de brief van Paus Benedictus XVI dd. 19 -2-2010 en de uitspraken hierover vandaag nog weer 'ns bevestigd door de
KNR en de Nederlandse bischopsconferentie
naast de bevindingen van de Commissie Deetman mbt. Hulp en Recht
en de reactie hierop van de KNR en de Nederlandse Bisschopsconferentie
en niet in de laatste plaats de uitspraak van BXVI over Mensenrechten

gekoppeld aan de erkenning van de zo graag gehanteerde noodzaak "het in die tijd zien" en de in Nederland nog steeds erkende waarde van het simpel boerenfatsoen

vanzelfsprekend dat in geval van overlijden overige verantwoordelijken als congregatiebesturen, collega's, overig personeel - met voorbijgaan aan de privacy bescherming van de overledene - van hun kennis melding doen.




Gezien het onderzoek van de Commissie lijkt het mij bovendien redelijk te verwachten dat de Hr. Deetman bovendien géén bezwaren zal hebben tegen meldingen van anderen dan directe m/v daders van seksueel misbruik rooms katholieke m/v plegers van seksueel misbruik,
resp. seksueel misbruik gepleegd door niet- rooms katholieken in een rooms katholieke setting.


Waarmee dus ook zich als kerkelijk functionarissen uitgevenden van al dan niet in Nederland (en België) erkende kerken, organisaties, clubjes en overig loslopende flapdrollen met een pastorale zending geilend op/ zoekend naar (vroegere resp jeugd-) slachtofferervaringen met RK seksueel misbruik gebruik kunnen maken van de buiten het SMPR-IKON omroeppastoraat danwel de GGZ aangeboden meldingsmogelijkheid en in het reine kunnen komen met hun (recente) verleden/heden.




woensdag, februari 16, 2011

Inseln der Macht; élite- jesuiten Aloisiuskolleg Bonn – Bad Godesberg







De wereld draait door



foto John Gutmann, culture shock















Liturgy of Lament and Repentance
On next Sunday 20th February at 3pm a Liturgy of Lament and Repentance for the sexual abuse of children by priests and religious will be held in St. Mary’s Pro-Cathedral, within the framework of the Apostolic Visitation of the Archdiocese of Dublin.
The liturgy will ask the forgiveness of God and of all survivors for the failure of those Church leaders and many others in the family of the Church to respond with love, integrity, honesty, understanding and compassion to the pain and distress of survivors.
During the liturgy which has been prepared principally by survivors, Cardinal Sean O’Malley and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin will wash the feet of a group of people who have suffered in various ways through abuse. ENDS

Note to Editors
* Please note photographs will be made available to press following the liturgy as at the request of those taking part, media access to the Cathedral may be restricted.

Further information
Dublin Diocesan Communications Office 01 8360723
Dublin Diocese Website


bron: Paddy Doyle, The God Squad

vrijdag, februari 11, 2011











Levanta o braço
Faz dele uma barra
Que venha a brisa
Lavar-nos a cara
Seremos muitos
Seremos alguém

Cantai rapazes
Dançai raparigas
E vós altivas
Cantai também.

Zeca, Enquanto há força

Statement from the District Attorney on the arrest of four Philadelphia Clergy Members and Teacher

Office of the District Autorney Philadelpia
10-2-2011


Philadelphia, February 10, 2011: The District Attorney’s Office today charged four people with sexually assaulting two young boys over the course of several years. Three priests — 68 year old Edward Avery, 64 year old Charles Engelhardt, and 47 year old James Brennan — and a parochial school teacher, 48 year old Bernard Shero, were all charged with rape, indecent sexual assault and other criminal charges.

60 year old Monsignor William Lynn, the Secretary for Clergy for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia under Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, has been charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child in connection with the assaults.
Avery and Engelhardt are charged with assaulting a 10 year old boy at St. Jerome Parish from 1998 to 1999. Bernard Shero is charged with assaulting the same boy there in 2000. James Brennan is accused of assaulting a different boy, a 14 year old, in 1996.
From 1992 until 2004, Msgr. Lynn was responsible for investigating reports that priests had sexually abused children. He was in charge of recommending appropriate action to ensure that priests could not reoffend against other children. The Grand Jury found that Msgr. Lynn endangered children, including the victims in these most recent cases, by knowingly allowing dangerous priests to continue in the ministry in roles in which they had access to children.
Avery, Engelhardt, Shero and Brennan are all facing a maximum of 67 years in prison if convicted of all charges.
Msgr. Lynn is facing a maximum of 14 years in prison if convicted of all charges.

Along with recommending criminal charges, the Grand Jury also recommended that the Archdiocese of Philadelphia overhaul its procedures for assisting victims and for removing priests accused of molesting minors.

The District Attorney’s Office has set up a special phone line and email account to help victims who have been sexually abused by a member of the clergy. If you are a victim you are urged to call 215-686-8783 or email da.victimservices@phila.gov.

Today I announce the results of a new grand jury investigation of clergy sexual abuse, and the arrest of three priests and a parochial school teacher for raping and assaulting two young boys in their care.

The grand jury has also voted to charge another priest who supervised two of the abusers, who knew they were dangerous, but who chose to expose them to new victims.

As a Roman Catholic myself, this is not a happy thing for me to have to do.
The criminal acts that occurred here are not representative of my religion. They are the bad acts of individual men. I recognize all the good that the Roman Catholic Church has done and continues to do in the world. But I am sworn to uphold the law, and I will do what is necessary to protect children.

As you know, this is the second time a Philadelphia grand jury has investigated evidence of sexual abuse within the Archdiocese. There have been many changes for the better since the original investigation. Victims are receiving counseling and support, and the church is reporting some abusers to law enforcement, something that never happened in the past. This investigation, in fact, began as a result of reports received from the Archdiocese. The church is to be commended for these improvements.

As the grand jury investigation reveals, however, further improvements are still needed. The grand jury found that victims have been misled into believing that their statements to Archdiocese representatives are confidential, that victims have been pressed to sign releases of their psychiatric and other records, and that investigations by church employees have been conducted in a manner that was not evenhanded. There must be more separation between the things the church does in the name of helping victims and the things the church does in an effort to protect itself from financial liability and ill repute.

Even more troubling, the grand jury believed that many priests – dozens of them – have remained in ministry despite solid, credible allegations of abuse. It is time for the church to remove all credibly accused priests from ministry, and to put protection of children ahead of protection from scandal.

Above all, victims of sexual abuse need to know that they can and should contact law enforcement directly. You do not need to go through the Archdiocese first. We will conduct our own, independent investigation, regardless of the church’s decision about how to handle the case.
Following the recommendations of the grand jury, the District Attorney’s Office today charged the three priests and the teacher with rape, indecent sexual assault and other criminal charges.
Charles Engelhardt, 64, an Oblate priest, is accused of orally sodomizing and molesting a 10-year-old altar boy in 1998 in the sacristy at St. Jerome Parish in Northeast Philadelphia. Edward Avery, 68, an Archdiocesan priest who was defrocked in 2006, is charged with the same offenses against the same boy. And this boy’s sixth-grade teacher at St. Jerome School, 48-year-old Bernard Shero, is accused of orally and anally sodomizing the then-11-year-old in the back of the teacher’s car.
James Brennan, 47, an Archdiocesan priest, is accused of forcing his penis into the buttocks of a 14-year-old former parishioner when he was in the priest’s bed. At the time, the summer of 1996, Father Brennan was on leave from Cardinal O’Hara High School. In 1997, he was returned to active ministry and assigned to St. Jerome Parish.

A word about Monsignor Lynn, the former Secretary of Clergy for the Archdiocese who was not himself an abuser but is being charged today for knowingly endangering the children he was supposed to defend. The previous grand jury concluded that prosecution of high-level Archdiocese officials would be inappropriate on the evidence then available. The primary problem was the statute of limitations. In addition, in the absence of evidence that the actions of these officials led to the abuse of any juveniles who could be identified at that time, it would be difficult to meet our statutory burden of proving that the officials had a supervisory role in relation to the victims.

This time, however, we have far more specific evidence, within the statute of limitations, directly linking Monsignor Lynn’s actions to the abuse of two new victims. He had all the information he needed to protect them. Instead, he lied to parishioners and went out of his way to put known abusers into contact with adolescents, resulting in assaults against at least two more young boys. Let this be a clarion call. This behavior will not be tolerated.

I love my church but I detest the criminal behavior of priests who abuse or allow the abuse of children. I know ultimately they will be judged by higher authority. For now, it is my responsibility as the elected District Attorney, of all the citizens of Philadelphia, to hold them accountable.