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News Updates Please visit our new extensive Survey Poll Childhood physical abuse linked to later migraines NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Adults and teenagers who suffered physical abuse as children may have a heightened risk of migraines, two new studies suggest. In one study, Canadian researchers found that migraines were twice as common among adults with a history of childhood physical abuse compared to those who reported no such abuse. Similarly, the second study, of nearly 4,000 Taiwanese teenagers, found a higher prevalence of migraine among those who said they had ever been beaten by a family member. And the more frequent the abuse, the greater the chances of suffering migraines. Both studies, which appear in the journal Headache, point to an association between childhood physical abuse and migraine, but do not prove that abuse itself causes migraines in some people. The exact reasons for the connection are not clear. The Canadian study found that factors such as chronic stress and mood disorders like depression seemed to partly explain the relationship, but did not fully account for it. continue: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62O3X620100325 BBC: Abuse scandal shakes faith in Pope's birthplace If there is one place you would expect Pope Benedict to receive strong support, it is Traunstein. He grew up in this picture-postcard town in the foothills of the Bavarian Alps. The Holy Father is Traunstein's most famous son. In the town centre, groups of tourists have their photographs taken
next to Benedict's bust. There is even a "Benedict Trail"
which passes by some of the landmarks associated with Joseph Ratzinger.
"The abuse scandal comes as a shock," says another. "Now
people are leaving the Church." Vatican attacks media on 'Pope role' in sex abuse cases The Vatican has attacked the media over charges that the Pope failed to act against a US priest accused of abusing up to 200 deaf boys two decades ago. A Vatican newspaper editorial said the claims were an "ignoble" attack on the Pope and that there was no "cover-up". The head of the UK Catholic church said the Pope had made important changes to the way abuse was dealt with. The Catholic church has been hit by a series of allegations in Europe and the US over the past months. The latest allegations stem from the US, after it
emerged that Archbishops had complained in 1996 about a priest, Fr
Lawrence Murphy. Their complaints went to a Vatican office led by
the future Pope Benedict XVI, but apparently received no response.
BBC: Wisconsin's Catholic child abuse anguish What must it feel like to have lost 50 years of your life? For that is what 61-year old Arthur Budzinski has endured. Five long decades of personal pain. And he has to rely on others
to speak of his anguish. That is despite the fact that as a youngster he told adults around him what was happening. Despite the fact that later - as an adult himself - he has continued to fight for justice. All to no avail. Arthur and around 200 other boys are said to have been sexually abused at the school by Father Lawrence Murphy, a Catholic priest. He says he and others told members of the clergy back then that they
were being watched, touched and exploited by Fr Murphy. No-one listened.
Vatican Declined to Defrock U.S. Priest Who Abused Boys Top Vatican officials — including the future Pope Benedict XVI — did not defrock a priest who molested as many as 200 deaf boys, even though several American bishops repeatedly warned them that failure to act on the matter could embarrass the church, according to church files newly unearthed as part of a lawsuit. The internal correspondence from bishops in Wisconsin
directly to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future pope, shows that
while church officials tussled over whether the priest should be dismissed,
their highest priority was protecting the church from scandal. BBC News: Pope accepts resignation of Irish bishop John Magee The Pope has accepted the resignation of an Irish bishop found to have mishandled allegations of clerical sex abuse in his County Cork diocese. Bishop John Magee stepped aside in March 2009 after an independent report found his Cloyne Diocese had put children at risk of harm. "I take full responsibility for the criticism of our management
of issues in that report," he said on Wednesday. Anger and disappointment in Ireland as the
Pope's letter fails to heal In 1960, when she was 13, she was sexually abused by a chaplain at Crumlin Hospital Dublin - but didn't report the abuse until 1995. Then, she said, "All I got was lies and deceit from the archdiocese (of Dublin). I was bullied and threatened." Last year she discovered from a report by Judge Yvonne Murphy into the Dublin dioscese's handling of sex abuse allegations that the archbishop at the time knew of complaints about her abuser - and so did the Irish police. But nothing was done and the priest continued abusing children in his care. A softly-spoken woman of 63, Mrs Collins was not expecting much of the Pope's long-awaited apology yesterday. But even so, she was visibly disappointed. "I had no great hope for this letter but there's still a sense
of let-down," she said. "The Pope blames it all on the secularisation
of Irish society and the misinterpretation of canon law. He takes
no responsibility at all for the Vatican's role in the cover up of
abuse. There's no acknowledgement that it's a worldwide problem for
the Church, or that victims weren't just ignored, they were bullied
into silence." German archbishop says Church covered up sex abuse for decades The head of the German Bishops Conference, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, has admitted that the Roman Catholic Church consciously covered up cases of sexual abuse for decades. The weekly German news magazine Focus reported on Sunday that Archbishop Zollitsch, the leader of the German Roman Catholic Church, admitted during an interview with the publication that cases of child sex abuse were known and covered up. "Yes, we did have that," he said, but denied allegations that he personally had suppressed information. While most cases happened outside the Church, "assaults that
took place in such numbers within our institutions shame and frighten
me," Zollitsch told Focus. "Every single case darkens the
face of the entire Church," he said. Churchgoers should protest against Pope’s letter Letters to the Editor. Irish Examiner. Saturday, March 20, 2010 WITH the publication of the Pope’s letter concerning abuse by religious orders in Ireland imminent, may I ask people who have been so supportive of survivors of abuse in the past once again to show their solidarity with us by engaging in some form of protest in their church as the pontiff’s letter is being read. For many years, vulnerable children were raped, buggered and punished in a most brutal way. Many remain emotionally and psychologically damaged, fragile people ignored by the hierarchical ladder of the Catholic Church. Cardinal Ratzinger, prior to his election as Pope, instructed all bishops around the world to treat reports of child sexual abuse with the “utmost secrecy”. The perpetrators of what Pope Benedict has described as “heinous
crimes” were priests, Christian brothers and nuns. The victims
were children. Pope Offers Apology, Not Penalty, for Sex Abuse Scandal VATICAN CITY — Faced with a church sexual abuse scandal spreading across Europe, Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday apologized directly to victims and their families in Ireland, expressing “shame and remorse” for what he called “sinful and criminal” acts committed by clergy. But the pope did not require that Roman Catholic leaders be disciplined for past mistakes as some victims were hoping, nor did he clarify what critics see as contradictory Vatican rules they fear allow abuse to continue unpunished. “You have suffered grievously and I am truly sorry,”
the pope said in a long-awaited, eight-page pastoral letter to Irish
Catholics. “Your trust has been betrayed and your dignity has
been violated.” "The scandal of sexual abuse is not just an Irish problem. It's
a church scandal in many places and it is a church scandal in Germany,"
said Archbishop Robert Zollitsch in a statement after the release
of the Pope's letter covering sexual abuse of minors by clergy in
Ireland. Pope apology for Irish church sex abuse Pope Benedict XVI apologises to victims of child sex abuse by priests in Ireland and says bishops made "serious mistakes". "Many of you found that, when you were courageous enough to speak of what happened to you, no one would listen. Those of you who were abused in residential institutions must have felt that there was no escape from your sufferings. "It is understandable that you find it hard to forgive or be
reconciled with the Church. In her name, I openly express the shame
and remorse that we all feel." Click here to read the letter in full. http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/letters/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20100319_church-ireland_en.html Comment: Bruce Arnold Irish Independent 20th March 2010 The silence of our politicians is as shameful as Cardinal Brady professes
himself to be. They have had nothing whatever to say about their part
in the abuse of children and their responsibility for the inadequacies
in the law, or for the failure of the law to be implemented. This
has happened time and time again, and has been referred to, time and
time again, without lifting the pall of silence in which politicians
look the other way. We have been lectured by the media on the punishment
of abuse and questioned over what to do about the criminal concealment
of abuse by senior clerics. Yet, with a few commendable exceptions,
both personal and party, the politicians have generally subscribed
to that ultimate piece of hypocrisy – Hear no Evil, Speak no
Evil, See no Evil.
"I will never directly or indirectly, by means of a nod, or of a word, by writing, or in any other way, and under whatever type of pretext, even for the most urgent and most serious cause (even) for the purpose of a greater good, commit anything against this fidelity to the secret, unless a...dispensation has been expressly given to me by the Supreme Pontiff." THIS is the oath of secrecy the child victims of paedophile priest
Brendan Smyth were told to sign during their meetings with Cardinal
Sean Brady 35 years ago. Many people blame celibacy for Catholic sexual abuse. But it's much more likely to have played a role in the cover-up What role did celibacy play in the Catholic crisis? The most popular
argument seems to be that it played a simple and direct part, by producing
sexual frustration which then found inappropriate outlets. But that
has to be wrong. If paedophilia and the abuse of adolescents were
solely a response to sexual frustration, it wouldn't be perpetrated
mostly people who are free to find sexual gratification elsewhere.
And even in Ireland, it mostly was. The best figures I can find for
this come from a 2002 government-sponsored report which says that
5.8% of all boys sexually abused were abused by clergy or religious.
The corresponding figure for girls was 1.4%. So the overwhelming majority
of child abuse in Ireland was carried out by people who were not bound
to celibacy. In a speech to parliament Merkel ruled out the idea of a specific
investigation into the clergy. She agreed with clerics such as the
head of Germany's Catholic Church, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, that
abuse should be treated as a wider issue. Pope writes open letter in attempt to quell paedophile row Benedict uses St Patrick's Day address to urge Irish people to read message with 'an open heart and in a spirit of faith' The pope attempted to defuse growing anger in the Irish Republic over the sex abuse scandal today by urging people to read an open letter on the crisis "with an open heart and in a spirit of faith". Pope Benedict took the opportunity of St Patrick's Day to address
Irish members of his general audience, acknowledging the church had
been "severely shaken" and that he was deeply concerned. Could I Raise My Children In The Catholic Church? This morning my stomach turned when I heard NPR's story about more child rapes and cover-ups by priests in Ireland, and about the growing abuse scandal involving the Pope in Germany. I wondered to myself, "When we have kids, could I still raise them in the Church after what I just heard?" Democracynow.org (along with many other outlets) also reported on
the Irish story: "In 1975, Cardinal Sean Brady spoke with children
abused by a priest named Brendan Smyth. Instead of reporting the abuse
to the police, the Bishop asked the children to take a vow of silence.
A child abuse advocate said the priest continued to rape and abuse
children." On the German front: "Fanther Hullermann was
first accused of sexually abusing young boys in 1980, but Church officials,
including the future Pope, allowed him to stay in the church for thirty
years (and have contact with children), even after a 1986 conviction
of sexually abusing children." There goes my breakfast. A NORTHEAST victim of notorious paedophile priest Brendan Smyth has called for Cardinal Sean Brady to resign from his position as head of the Irish Catholic Church. 'Samantha' spoke on the LMFM programme Loosetalk about the horrific rape and abuse she suffered at the hands of Fr. Smyth in the 1970s. ' This guy (Smyth) raped and abused me, he took everything that should have been precious to me.' She said that the fact Cardinal Brady knew in 1975 about the claims of abuse meant he was 'directly involved' in the trauma that she and other children had suffered. 'He was the adult, we were the children in this. He had information about a man who was going around raping and abusing children, and he did nothing to stop it.' She said that her abuse began in 1974, and for five years after that
suffered the most brutal forms of sexual, physical and emotional abuse. A statement said he had been "banned from working with children and young people (but) broke this restriction". Pope Benedict XVI, then known as Joseph Ratzinger, was the archbishop of Munich at the time and agreed to let the priest stay in a rectory so that he could receive "therapy". Two years later, Hullermann was given pastoral duties in Bavaria
but in 1986 was fined and given an 18-month suspended jail sentence
after being convicted of molesting other children.
Father Peter Hullermann abused children during his time in the archdiocese of Munich and Freising, when the current Pope was the archbishop there. The archdiocese said he was "forbidden from any work with children",
but did not specify how he breached the ban.
"We are disappointed the pope has not even mentioned the scandal so far. A few words of compassion with the victims is the least we would have expected," Christian Weisner of "We are Church" told Deutsche Welle. In the past, Benedict XVI strongly condemned pedophilia and abuse; and on Monday March 15 the Vatican announced the pope was going to send a letter to Irish bishops detailing new measures to crack down on pedophile priests. Ireland was rocked by child sex abuse cases in 2009. But the pope has yet to comment directly on the scandal rocking his home country, Germany. Germany's Catholic youth organization has also called for a statement
from the pope. Chairman Dirk Taenzler told the Berliner Zeitung newspaper
that the "Catholic Church is in one of its worst crises since
1945." The Catholic church's most senior cleric in Ireland has rejected calls to resign over claims he helped cover up sex abuse investigations in the 1970s. Cardinal Sean Brady, primate of all-Ireland, admitted he was present at meetings where two abused teenagers were made to sign vows of silence. The meetings followed complaints of abuse against Fr Brendan Smyth, jailed in the 1990s for serial child abuse. "Frankly I don't believe that this is a resigning matter," the cardinal said. Cardinal Brady said he had been following church orders and that
there were no guidelines for him to follow.
Spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said there had been "aggressive" efforts to involve the Pope, but added: "It's clear that these attempts have failed." The Holy See's prosecutor meanwhile said that "to accuse the
current Pope of hiding [cases of abuse] is false". read also: FROM OTHER NEWS SITES Reuters via Yahoo! Vatican
says bid to link pope to abuse issue failed German Sex Abuse Scandal Includes The Pope A growing scandal in Europe over child sexual abuse by priests now
extends to the Vatican and Pope Benedict. Friday, the Pope's former
archdiocese in Germany acknowledged that while he was archbishop,
a priest who was suspected of abusing children was transferred to
another job — where he committed more abuses. Guest host Jacki
Lyden talks to Peter Wensierski of Der Spiegel about the sex abuse
scandal. The latest example, following the failures revealed last week in
the case of Tracey Fay, shows that the current fosterage and care
system in the State is largely unregulated and has involved abuse
by foster parents who have not been vetted.
"It is clearly
evident that in the past few days there have been some in Regensburg
and Munich who, with a certain dogged determination, have sought details
to personally implicate the Holy Father in the abuse issues,"
said Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi. Pope Benedict defends celibacy rule Pope Benedict today praised celibacy as "the sign of full devotion ... an expression of giving oneself to God and to others", making it clear that there no prospect of change. Amid calls within the Church for a discussion of celibacy, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, head of the German Bishops' Conference, said the German Church was taking steps to investigate numerous allegations of abuse in Catholic institutions, to counsel victims and to prevent a recurrence. Vienna Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn had called for the Church to
discuss taboo issues such as celibacy, priestly training and changed
social attitudes to sex. Since January, several Catholic-run institutions in Germany have been engulfed in a deepening scandal over allegations of sadistic and sexual abuse, with more than 150 pupils coming forward with horrifying tales of mistreatment, mostly during 1970s to 80s. However, as their complaints were ignored for decades, in most cases the statute of limitations has passed, meaning those involved could no longer be tried and brought to justice. Now members of German Chancellor's coalition government as well as
other parities are calling for an expansion of the amount of time
when an alleged victim can sue for punitive damages and for pain and
suffering until up to 20-30 years after the crime occurred. "I want to repeat here in Rome the apology that I made two weeks ago," Archbishop Robert Zollitsch of Freiburg said at a news conference following the meeting.
The pope has not commented himself on the allegation of both sexual and physical abuse that are to have taken place at Catholic schools across Germany in the 1970s and 1980s.
The church has come under heavy criticism after an elite Jesuit school
in Berlin admitted to the systematic sexual abuse of its pupils by
two Roman Catholic priests. More alleged victims have since come forward,
including a former member of the prestigious all-boys choir in Regensburg
led from 1964-1994 by the pope's brother, Georg Ratzinger. Catholic child abuse in proportion Many Catholic priests and religious have abused children in their care. But is the church's record worse than the world's? There seems to be no end to the scandals buffeting the Roman Catholic
church about the abuse of children; most recently in Germany, where
the headmaster a school associated with a choir once run by the pope's
elder brother Georg Ratzinger has been exposed as an abuser. And there
is no doubt that a lot of children were damaged for life by priests,
and that this was mostly covered up by the hierarchy until recently.
But was the Catholic church unfairly singled out? Aren't all children
vulnerable to exploitation, especially when they are poor and unwanted? By Robert Pigott - BBC News religious affairs correspondent As accusations of historic sexual abuse by Roman Catholics emerge in another European country, the Vatican has insisted it has dealt with "the very serious issue" promptly and decisively. After recent revelations of widespread abuse in Ireland, and claims of similar mistreatment of children by priests in Austria and Germany, Catholic bishops in the Netherlands have now set up an independent inquiry to look into allegations there. More than 200 reports of abuse have been made to a victims' support organisation in the last few days. Dutch bishops have offered their apologies to those who were abused.
Most of the alleged
abuse now being reported occurred decades ago. Experts say it often
takes years for victims to gather the courage to come forward and
deal with what happened to them. German law allows for criminal prosecution
only within 10 years of the alleged victim turning 18. The statute
of limitations for pursuing financial compensation through a civil
suit is three years. Former priest Bill Carney was named as one of the worst cases in Dublin's Catholic diocese in the Murphy report into clerical abuse there. However, for the last 10 years he has been free to live quietly in Britain. Newsnight's Olenka Frenkiel has investigated his case and tracked
him down in the Canary Islands.
Rev Georg Ratzinger, 86, who led the choir from 1964 to 1994, told
Bavarian Radio he knew nothing of any abuse at the "Regensburger
Domspatzen" (Regensburg Cathedral Sparrows) choir, which regularly
performs on tours in Germany and abroad.
Vatican chorister sacked for allegedly procuring male prostitutes for papal gentleman-in-waiting The Vatican was today rocked by a sex scandal reaching into Pope Benedict's household after a chorister was sacked for allegedly procuring male prostitutes for a papal gentleman-in-waiting. Angelo Balducci, a Gentleman of His Holiness, was caught by police
on a wiretap allegedly negotiating with Thomas Chinedu Ehiem, a 29-year-old
Vatican chorister, over the specific physical details of men he wanted
brought to him. Transcripts in the possession of the Guardian suggest
that numerous men may have been procured for Balducci, at least one
of whom was studying for the priesthood. Telephone intercepts collected as part of an extensive corruption
probe into Angelo Balducci showed that 40-year-old Nigerian Chinedu
Thomas Ehiem would find men on the "Pianeta Escort" (Planet
Escort) website and set up encounters between them and Balducci in
his apartment in Rome, the weekly said on Friday.
The interview coincided with a visit to Mexico made by Father Álvaro Corcuera L.C., currently the director of the Legion of Christ. During the interview, Lara Gutiérrez said that she met Fr. Maciel in 1970, when she was 19 years old. Maciel was 56 at the time. He told her that his name was “Raúl Rivas” and that he was a widower.
A report into alleged abuse at a monastic school in Ettal, meanwhile,
said that minors "were massively abused over decades, sexually,
physically and psychologically" by several monks in the past. His statement attempts to dictate to us in the same way the inquisition did, how Christians should behave. Saying directly that it would be anti-christian of us to feel the church should pay its own bills for its own abuse with its own billions which it throttled from our grandparents, whom they also abused, physically, emotionally, psychologically and sexually. Evidence of sexual abuse
by clergy, according to the Murphy report, can be traced as far back
as 320 a.d. and the first treatment centres for paedophile priests
were created in 1940, named servants of the Paracletes. These centres
were opened all over the world.
March 2010 |
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