Australian Court Convicts Cardinal Pell On Child Sex Abuse Charges

With the lifting today of a gag order that had been imposed by Australian courts,  NPR reports on the conviction last December of Australian Catholic Cardinal George Pell on five counts of historical child sexual offenses dating back decades.  Pell, now 77, once served as Archbishop in Melbourne. Pell had been a top advisor on the Vatican's budget to Pope Francis. He was removed from the College of Cardinals last October. Pell will be sentenced tomorrow. (Reports had surfaced outside of Australia last December of the conviction.)  [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]

Pope Francis Addresses Bishops' Summit On Protection of Minors

New York Times reports today:

Pope Francis ended a landmark Vatican meeting on clerical sexual abuse with an appeal “for an all-out battle against the abuse of minors,” which he compared to human sacrifice, but his speech did not offer concrete policy remedies demanded by many of the faithful.

Zenit has both extensive excerpts and the full text of the Pope's remarks ending the Summit on the Protection of Minors in the Church, Feb. 21-24, 2019 attended by some 190 bishops.

Class Action Filed Hours After New York's Child Victims Act Is Signed

Just hours after New York's new Child Victims Act extending the statute of limitations for sex abuse claims was signed into law (see prior related posting), a class action lawsuit was filed in federal district court for the Northern District of New York. Rome (NY) Sentinel reports in part:

The Rev. Paul F. Angelicchio, of Rome, has been named in a lawsuit accusing him of sexually abusing a teenage altar boy when the priest worked at a church in Onondaga County in the late 1980s.

... Angelicchio was placed on a leave of absence by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse in late 2016 to investigate the claims. Church officials deemed the accusations not credible at the time and Angelicchio soon returned to service.

The lawsuit, filed on Feb. 14, also accuses two Syracuse-area priests who were named by the Diocese in December as having “credible” accusations of sexual abuse made against them. Those priests, Charles Eckermann and James F. Quinn, are both deceased.

Angelicchio was not among the priests listed by the Diocese in December.

Former Cardinal McCarrick Defrocked By Vatican Over Sex Abuse

In the Vatican yesterday, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a statement (full text) announcing that former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick has been "dismiss[ed] from the clerical state," i.e. defrocked.  McCarrick had already resigned from the College of Cardinals over allegations of past sexual misconduct. In laicizing McCarrick, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith found him guilty of "solicitation in the Sacrament of Confession, and sins against the Sixth Commandment with minors and with adults, with the aggravating factor of the abuse of power." Vatican News reported on the action against McCarrick.  An analysis of the news Crux says in part:

The four dioceses in the U.S. in which McCarrick served over the course of his long career - New York; Metuchen, New Jersey; Newark; and Washington, D.C., are all conducting separate investigations, a result of the fact that a request by the leadership of the U.S. bishops’ conference for a Vatican-sponsored apostolic investigation was turned down by Francis.

New Jersey Dioceses Release Names of Accused Priests

North Jersey Record reports that the five Catholic dioceses in New Jersey yesterday posted the names of 188 priests who have been credibly accused of sexually abusing children over past decades.79 of the priests listed are still living. In a letter to the faithful of the Archdiocese of Newark, Cardinal James Tobin announced that a new Independent Victim Compensation Program has been established.

New York Extends Statute of Limitations For Childhood Sexual Abuse Cases

AP reports that the New York state legislature yesterday gave final passage to A02863, the Child Victims Act (full text). Last week, the Catholic Church dropped its opposition to the bill when it was amended to treat public and private schools the same.  Gov. Andrew Cuomo says that he will sign the bill. A press release from Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie summarizes the bill's provisions:

The Child Victims Act would give childhood sexual abuse survivors an additional five years to seek criminal charges against perpetrators by changing when the statute of limitations clock begins to run. Under the bill, the five year period within which charges could be brought would not start until the victim reaches age 23, rather than 18.

For civil cases involving sex offenses against a child, the statute of limitations would be tolled and a lawsuit by a victim would be permitted up until the victim turns 55 years of age. The legislation includes a one year look-back window for survivors who are not able to seek recourse under current law. This one-year look-back window would take effect six months after the bill is signed into law.

[Thanks to Tom Rutledge for the lead.]

Mormon Church Sued In Tribal Court Over Abuse of Student

AP reports on a lawsuit filed Tuesday against the Mormon Church in a Navajo Tribal Court. Plaintiff, identified only as LB, was part of the Mormon Church's Indian Student Placement Program which began in the 1940's and was designed to give educational opportunities to Native American children.  LB alleges that he was sexually molested three times in the 1980's by a Church bishop who lived across the street from the foster family with whom LB had been placed.  The suit seeks damages for failure to supervise participants in the program and for failing to report the abuse to authorities or to the victim's family.  The Church has contended that Tribal Courts lack jurisdiction over the lawsuit.

Vatican's Delay of U.S. Bishops Proposals Explained

AP reports today that the surprising Vatican directive to U.S. bishops last November precluding them from discussing proposed standards of conduct for bishops (see prior posting) stemmed from the fact that the Vatican had received a draft of the proposals only 4 days before the U.S. bishops' conference began. According to AP's report on a letter from Vatican Cardinal Marc Oulett:

While [Conference of Bishops President Cardinal Daniel] DiNardo blamed the Vatican, the letter from Ouellet suggests that the Vatican thought DiNardo had tried to pull a fast one by intentionally withholding legally problematic texts until the last minute.

Suit Against Atlanta Archdiocese For Past Sex Abuse

A lawsuit was filed in a Georgia state trial court yesterday against the Atlanta Catholic Archdiocese by a man who was the victim of priest sexual abuse over 40 years ago when he was 12 to 15 years old.  According to AP, the suit alleges:

The Archdiocese and Archbishop of Atlanta owed a duty of reasonable care to protect minor parishioners who were altar boys at St. Joseph’s church.

It also contends that the Archdiocese's failure to report the alleged abuse constituted a public nuisance.

Illinois AG Says Catholic Church Is Delinquent In Reporting On Offending Priests

A press release from Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office yesterday says that preliminary findings in an investigation begun in August show that the Catholic Church in Illinois has not fully disclosed information on priests accused of sexual abuse:

Attorney General Lisa Madigan today released preliminary findings of her ongoing investigation into the Catholic Church. While the six dioceses in Illinois have now publicly identified 185 clergy members as having been “credibly” accused of child sexual abuse, Madigan’s investigation has found that the dioceses have received allegations of sexual abuse of at least 500 additional priests and clergy members in Illinois....

The investigation has revealed that allegations frequently have not been adequately investigated by the dioceses or not investigated at all. In many cases, the Church failed to notify law enforcement authorities or Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) of allegations of child sexual abuse. Among the common reasons the dioceses have provided for not investigating an allegation is that the priest or clergy member was deceased or had already resigned at the time the allegation of child sexual abuse was first reported to the diocese.

“By choosing not to thoroughly investigate allegations, the Catholic Church has failed in its moral obligation to provide survivors, parishioners and the public a complete and accurate accounting of all sexually inappropriate behavior involving priests in Illinois,” Madigan said. “The failure to investigate also means that the Catholic Church has never made an effort to determine whether the conduct of the accused priests was ignored or covered up by superiors.”

Santa Fe Archdiocese Files Under Chapter 11

In a letter from Archbishop John Wester (full text) dated Nov. 29, the Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe (NM) announced that it is filing for Chapter 11 Reorganization order the federal Bankruptcy Code in order to deal with the growing number of clergy sexual abuse claims.  The letter says in part:

Given our desire to care for all victim survivors, and given the fact that we have settled over 300 claims, but that such claims continue to be filed, I see this as the wisest and most prudent course to take. It is very important that everyone understand that we have not taken this step to avoid responsibility. On the contrary, we firmly believe that Chapter 11 is the most merciful and equitable way for the Archdiocese to address its responsibility to the victim survivors, to continue to meet its commitment to prevent abuse, and to continue its mission to all those who depend on the outreach of the Church. 

The cost of settlement of the over 300 cases which included insurance funds totaled approximately $52 million dollars of which the Archdiocese paid a substantial amount. Currently we have approximately 40 pending cases, which we need to address in a caring and Christ-like manner.

AP has additional background.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Says Names of 11 Priests Should Be Redacted From Grand Jury Report

In In re: Fortieth Statewide Investigating Grand Jury, (PA Sup. Ct., Dec. 3, 2018), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in a 6-1 decision held that because of insufficient due process protections, the names of 11 priests petitioning the court should be redacted permanently from the publicly released grand jury report on sexual misconduct by Catholic clergy. The majority said in part:

... [T]he supervising judge’s limited review and approval of a grand jury report for public release gives it an imprimatur of official government sanction which carries great weight in the eyes of the public, and, thus, may compound the harm to a person’s reputation who is wrongly named therein. As such, we ordered the temporary redaction of Report 1 while we addressed the challenges to it. In the absence of any other viable remedy, we are compelled to find that these  redactions, with respect to Petitioners, must be made permanent.

We acknowledge that this outcome may be unsatisfying to the public and to the victims of the abuse detailed in the report. While we understand and empathize with these perspectives, constitutional rights are of the highest order, and even alleged sexual abusers, or those abetting them, are guaranteed by our Commonwealth’s Constitution the right of due process. It is the unfortunate reality that the Investigating Grand Jury Act fails to secure this right, creating a substantial risk that Petitioners’ reputations will be irreparably and illegitimately impugned....

Justice Baer filed a concurring opinion. Justice Dougherty also filed a concurring opinion, setting out procedures which he believes would provide adequate due process. Chief Justice Saylor dissented (full text), arguing that petitioners should be provided hearings (and an opportunity to testify, if they did not do so before the grand jury) before a judicial officer at which they are "provided the opportunity to advocate that the grand jury’s particularized findings of criminal and/or morally reprehensible conduct are not supported by a preponderance of the evidence." Philadelphia Tribune reports on the decision.

Suit Against Scranton Diocese Over Priest Sexual Abuse

In another lawsuit growing out of the Pennsylvania grand jury report released in August, a teenage sexual abuse victim-- now 29 years old-- filed suit on Tuesday against the Diocese of Scranton, three bishops, and former priest Jeffrey Paulish.  Paulish, who served several months in jail for abusing another 15-year old boy, was named in the grand jury report. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Lawyers say they plan to subpoena the diocese for information about Paulish’s history in the diocese.

The grand jury report found that Paulish was transferred 11 times in his 18 years as a priest and was given leaves of absence both before and after their client says he was abused. They think that could mean that current Bishop Joseph Bambera was aware of Paulish’s abusive behavior before he was arrested in 2013.

Parents Sue Archdiocese and Pre-School Over Sexual Abuse

A suit was filed yesterday in a Pennsylvania state trial court against the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and a pre-school, St. Francis Learning Center, by parents of three toddlers who were sexually abused by a lay teacher.  The suit charges that the defendants did not properly screen the teacher and did not notify parents when other children made accusations against the teacher.  The Archdiocese said it promptly reported accusations to authorities. The teacher is serving a 4 to 8 year sentence after pleading guilty. AP reports on the lawsuit.

At Pope's Request, U.S. Bishops Postpone Vote On New Conduct Standards

Crux reports that in a surprise move, on Sunday night the Holy See notified Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, that the Pope wants U.S. bishops to postpone their vote on new standards of conduct for bishops and the creation of an outside commission to enforce it. The Pope wants the vote to wait until after a Feb. 21-24 international bishops' conference on clerical sex abuse.  In his opening address to the USCCB General Assembly in Baltimore yesterday (full text), Cardinal DiNardo said in part:

in light of this morning’s news, the nature of my address changes. We remain committed to the specific program of greater episcopal accountability that we will discuss these days. Consultations will take place. Votes will not this week. But we will prepare ourselves to move forward.

Guam Archdiocese Plans Chapter XI Filing

Guam's Archdiocese of Agana announced yesterday that it plans to file for bankruptcy reorganization within the next 90 days. The Archdiocese said that this is the most expeditious way to handle sexual abuse claims. Guam Daily Post, reporting on the Archdiocese's announcement, says that more than 180 sexual abuse claims against the Archdiocese are pending.

Canadian Diocese Wins Suit Against Insurance Company That Refused Coverage For Abuse Victims

In Aviva Insurance Company of Canada v. L’Évêque catholique romain de Bathurst, (NB Court of Appeal, Oct. 18, 2018), the New Bunswick Court of Appeal held that the Catholic Diocese of Bathurst is entitled to $3.35 million damages against its insurance company that refused to cover amounts paid to victims of clergy sexual abuse. The court said in part:

While the underlying facts of this litigation are most disturbing, at its core this is a breach of contract case involving a diocese that, over the years, purchased general public liability insurance from an insurer, which, many years later, when claims were made, wrongfully denied coverage. The question on appeal is whether the diocese is entitled to damages for breach of contract in amounts that involve the costs of, and payments made through, a conciliation process the diocese set up as a result of its insurer’s denial of coverage....

The Diocese’s right to damages did not rest on it being legally obligated to make the conciliation payments. The correct legal test is one of reasonableness; the trial judge was bound to follow this test and determine whether the conciliation process and the resulting payments were a reasonable response to breach of contract. I conclude the actions of the Diocese did constitute a reasonable response, within the boundaries of the law, to Aviva’s wrongful denial of coverage.

CNS reports on the decision.

D.C. Opens Investigation of Local Clergy Sexual Abuse Charges

The Washington Post reported yesterday that the office of the District of Columbia Attorney General has opened a civil investigation into charges of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Washington. Earlier this month, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of the Diocese's Archbishop Cardinal Donald Wuerl after controversy over his handling of abuse claims as head of the Pittsburgh (PA) Diocese. (See prior posting.) According to yesterday's Post report:

D.C. statutes allow the attorney general to subpoena documents and seek penalties against a nonprofit — up to and including dissolving it — if it “has exceeded or abused and is continuing to exceed or abuse the authority conferred upon it by law” or if it “has continued to act contrary to its nonprofit purposes.”

[Attorney General Karl] Racine said that any felony crimes his office discovers in the course of its probe would be forwarded to the U.S. attorney. Racine’s staff could also prosecute any violations of the District’s mandated reporting requirements — which would be misdemeanors — separately from the civil investigation.

Law Firm Releases Report On Abusive Priests In California

A law firm that is suing to obtain release by three Catholic dioceses in the San Francisco Bay area of the names of all clergy accused of sexual misconduct yesterday released its own report. The 66-page report lists the names and provides background information on 212 accused priests. (Full text of report.)  The report was compiled from various public sources of information. Fox 2 News has reactions to the report.

In Chile, Court Awards Damages In Priest Sexual Abuse Case As Investigations Continue

In Chile, the Ninth Chamber Court of Appeals in Santiago has awarded the equivalent of $670,000(US) to three victims of sex abuse by former Catholic priest  Fernando Karadima who was removed from the priesthood by Pope Francis a few weeks ago.  According to  yesterday's Santiago Times, the award against the Archdiocese of Santiago comes in a suit in which Cardinals Francisco Javier Errázuriz and Ricardo Ezzati are accused of covering up Karadima's abuses. The Santiago Times adds:

According to a cadastre published by the Chilean National Prosecutor’s Office at the end of August, there are currently 119 investigations in progress against 167 persons related to the Church and 178 victims quantified, 79 of whom were minors when the events occurred.

Meanwhile, Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of five Chilean bishops, after last May the 34 bishops of the country presented their resignation en bloc to the pontiff in the Vatican after acknowledging that they had committed “serious errors and omissions”.