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Judge bans campaign against child abuse in Wangaratta

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 20:49:15 +1000

Tag: australia

A JUDGE has banned a campaign against child abuse in a country town under an unprecedented court order.

Police have removed flyers promoting White Balloon Day from the windows of pubs, shops, offices and cafes in Wangaratta.

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The campaign was shut down under an order by County Court judge Michael McInerney to remove potential jury bias in the trial of a man facing sex charges.

Handed down on Tuesday, the extraordinary order prohibits "from this day forward" the display or distribution of White Balloon Day flyers, as well as displaying white balloons in support of the cause.

The period includes national White Balloon Day next Tuesday, part of Child Protection Week to be launched by Family and Community Services Minister Jenny Macklin.

White Balloon Day, organised by child protection advocacy group Bravehearts, has run for 13 years.

The campaign won a state award in 2005, presented by then police minister Tim Holding, for drawing attention to child abuse.

Bravehearts founder Hetty Johnston said the ban was made with the best intentions.

"However, we are disappointed by the judge's decision as it means this local community is unable to participate in peaceful White Balloon Day activities like the rest of Australia," she said.

"Our activities on White Balloon Day are largely focused on people wearing white, and purchasing a white balloon or some of our other merchandise to raise funds for the cause. We are not vigilantes."

A business owner whose flyers were taken down by police said townsfolk were "gobsmacked".

"They (police) showed us the form, and then they just went and took down the signs. I think people are pretty dismayed."

Victims of crime advocate Noel McNamara said he was disgusted and will write to the Attorney-General opposing the injunction.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/judg...5769306654

HELL ON THE WAY TO HEAVEN

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:23:37 +1000

Tag: australia

An Australian mother’s love. The power of the Catholic Church. A fight for justice over child sexual abuse.

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Description of book

Chrissie and Anthony Foster were like any other young family, raising their three daughters in suburban Melbourne with what they hoped were the right values.

Chrissie could not have known that the stranger-danger she feared actually lurked in the presbytery attached to the girls' Catholic primary school. Father Kevin O'Donnell, a long-term paedophile, lived and worked there.

Two of their young daughters became victims of O'Donnell. And once the truth was revealed, the Fosters began a battle to find out how this could have happened.

The Church offered silence, lies, denials and threats. Meanwhile, their daughters tried to piece together their fractured lives.
This is the chilling true story that made national and international headlines.

Chrissie Foster's heartbreaking account of her family's suffering, and their determination to stand up for themselves against the might of the Catholic Church, is testament to the strength of a mother's love, and the resilience of the human spirit.

Product Details

ISBN: 9781742741024

Format:eBook

Imprint:RHA eBooks Adult

Published:01/09/10

Subject:Autobiography/Biography
Books by Foster & Kennedy

http://www.randomhouse.com.au/Books/H...024/eBook/

Prevent Child Sexual Abuse. PASS ERIN’S LAW.

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:56:40 +1000

Tag: usa

Targeting: The President of the United States, The U.S. Senate, and The U.S. House of Representatives
Started by: Sarah Robin

Prevent Child Sexual Abuse, by schools educating children on sexual abuse in a child friendly manner. PASS ERIN'S LAW at the state and federal level.

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"Growing up in Illinois public schools every year I was educated with my classmates on tornado drills, fire drills, bus drills, stranger danger, and learned the 8 steps to say "NO" to drugs through D.A.R.E.. As a child I never had to take cover because of a real tornado. I never had to stop, drop, and roll or run out of a burning building. I never had to evacuate a school bus due to an emergency, but I had the knowledge to know what to do if any of those situations happened. Where was the drill on how to escape a child molester? Where was the lesson plan on sexual abuse, safe touches, and safe secrets? It never came. I was not educated on "How to Tell Today or How to Get Away." I was never educated on "My Body Belongs to Me." When a grown man lay on top of me at 6 1/2 years old and threaten to tie me to a bed if I did not lay still and be quiet as he raped me or when my teenage cousin locked me behind closed doors and warned me "this is our little secret, no one will believe you, this will destroy our family" as he sexually abused me on a bed I stayed silent. When I was raped and sexually abused as a child I did not know what to do. My body seemed to belong to the men that used and abused it was the message I learned, because I was getting no other message." - Erin Merryn, child sexual abuse survivor, activist, public speaker, and author of "Stolen Innocence" and "Living for Today."

One in three girls and one in six boys will be sexually abused (i.e., rape, voyeurism, sexual dialogue, fondling, touching of the genitals, vaginal, anal, or oral rape and forcing children to participate in pornography or prostitution) before their eighteenth birthday.

Currently, while there are programs in schools that educate kids about saying ‘no' to drugs - there are no programs in schools that educate children in a child friendly way about what is a good touch and what is a bad touch.

However, Erin's Law, is a bill that requires that children be educated by law in schools on sexual abuse in a child friendly manner, for the purpose of informing and protecting students from sexual abuse.

Under Erin's Law, school districts implement would be mandated to educate students on sexual abuse. In addition school boards will adopt age appropriate curriculum on sexual abuse education to students in grades pre-k through 12th grade. The sexual abuse curriculum will include; "(1) A clear definition to students on sexual abuse and how to prevent becoming a victim. "How to Tell Today" & "How to Get Away" (2) Educating elementary level children on appropriate touches: safe and unsafe touches. (3) Educating elementary level children on safe and unsafe secrets and not allowing anyone to keep you silent. (4) Identifying safe people in children's lives they can talk to if someone touches them inappropriately. (5) Providing information to parents on warning signs of sexual abuse (6) Providing parents with resources of help if child reports abuse. (7) Information printed in student-handbook on sexual abuse."

Education in schools is an effective method for preventing children from falling prey to sexual abuse or stay silent if it does occur. When a child is sexually abused they are scared, frightened, and don't know what to do. Children who are sexually abused often don't tell anyone they have been sexually abused, because they feel ashamed and guilty, they fear that they will anger their perpetrator, or because their perpetrators threatens them not to stay quiet and/or telling the child that no one will believe them, which can often times lead for the abuse to last for years at a time.

Over 90% of child sexual abuse victims know their perpetrator in some way whether it be a parent, other relative, teacher, babysitter, family friend, neighbor, etc. Therefore a lot of the times child sexual abuse victims don't have a loving parent to tell them what is a good touch and a bad touch.

As a result, it is vital to pass Erin's Law to prevent more children from becoming victims of sexual abused, so that schools can teach children in a child friendly manner about what is a good touch and a bad touch and when someone touches them in a bad way, that it is never okay, it's not their fault, and that they need to tell a responsible adult.

Child sexual abuse survivor, Erin Merryn, is currently working to get Erin's Law passed in some of the state legislatures around the country, and then she plans to take it to the U.S. Congress and have it signed into law by the president.

Please sign the petition to get Erin's Law passed. Also contact your legislators at the state and federal level and urge them to pass Erin's Law.

Please also check out Erin Merryn's website http://www.erinmerryn.net/

Here is a copy of Erin's Law that is currently in the Illinois state legislature, that will be used for other state legislatures and the U.S. Congress.

The name of this law is Erin's Law.

Each school district may adopt and implement a policy addressing sexual abuse of children that may include age-appropriate curriculum for students in pre-K through 5th grade; training for school personnel on child sexual abuse; educational information to parents or guardians provided in the school handbook on the warning signs of a child being abused, along with any needed assistance, referral, or resource information; available counseling and resources for students affected by sexual abuse; and emotional and educational support for a child of abuse to continue to be successful in school.

Any policy adopted may, but is not limited to, address the following:

(1) methods for increasing teacher, student, and parent awareness of issues regarding sexual abuse of children, including knowledge of likely warning signs indicating that a child may be a victim of sexual abuse:

(2) actions that a child who is a victim of sexual abuse should take to obtain assistance and intervention; and

(3) available counseling options for students affected by sexual abuse.

SECTION 2. The Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Abuse of Children is created. The Task Force shall establish strategies for reducing child sexual abuse throughout Illinois.

The task force consists of nine members appointed as follows:

(1) five members appointed by the governor;

(2) one members appointed by the President of the Senate;

(3) one member appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate;

(4) one member appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

(5) one member appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives;

Members of the task force must be individuals who are actively involved in the fields of the prevention of child abuse and neglect and child welfare. The appointment of members must reflect the geographic diversity of the state.

The task force shall elect a presiding officer by a majority vote of the membership of the task force. The task force shall meet at the call of the presiding officer.

The task force shall establish strategies for reducing child sexual abuse in Illinois. In establishing those strategies, the task force shall:

(1) gather information concerning child sexual abuse throughout the state;

(2) receive reports and testimony from individuals, state and local agencies, community-based organizations, and other public and private organizations;

(3) create goals for state policy that would prevent child sexual abuse; and

(4) submit a final report with its final strategic goals and plans to the Office of the Governor and the State Legislature by April 30, 2011.

The aforementioned strategic plan may include proposals for specific statutory changes and methods to foster cooperation among state agencies and between the state and local government.

The task force shall consult with employees of the Department of Children and Family Services, the Criminal Justice Information Agency, the Department of State Police, the Illinois State Board of Education and any other State agency or department as necessary to accomplish the task force's responsibilities under this Act.

Petitions by Change.org|Start a Petition »

http://criminaljustice.change.org/pet..._erins_law

Bishops vow to report abuse to authorities

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:05:32 +1000

Tag: germany

GERMAN CATHOLIC bishops have vowed to report to state prosecutors all suspected cases of clerical child abuse.

Guidelines presented yesterday are the answer of the Catholic Church in Germany to a wave of abuse cases that came to light earlier this year.

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“The terrible events and experiences of the past months showed us that the guidelines from 2002 were not precise enough,” said Bishop Stephan Ackermann of Trier, a special abuse commissioner of the church.

“Thus, we put the guidelines under critical scrutiny and tightened them up further.”

Under the 2002 regulations, the onus was on bishops to conduct their own internal investigation. Only in “proven” cases of abuse were suspects “encouraged” to present themselves to the authorities. Bishops could “if necessary” contact the police – but there was no obligation.

Now, church authorities are obliged to contact the police, except where the victim requests that no action be taken.

This would only happen, Bishop Ackermann said, if there was no chance of the perpetrator having other victims, and it was legally permissible to do so.

This point was queried by Germany’s federal justice minister, who has clashed repeatedly with the church over reporting of abuse.

“German law has no provision for the permission of the victim being required to pursue a perpetrator of child abuse,” said Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger.

Germany’s clerical abuse scandal came to light in January with revelations of decades of abuse at a leading Berlin school run by the Jesuit order.

Other scandals soon emerged involving the Benedictines, other religious orders and regular priests.

Reflecting the independence of religious orders within the church, the new guidelines do not oblige order heads to report child abuse allegations.

Instead, heads of orders are “urgently advised” to contact the diocesan bishop.

The guidelines define child abuse in line with German legal provisions and provide clearer procedures for setting up investigative committees.

All meetings between bishops and alleged victims are to be logged, and the superiors of a priest or church employee with a record of child abuse are to be informed of this every time they are moved.

All church employees in contact with children will be required to present good-conduct certificates to police.

Abuse campaigners criticised the guidelines for not addressing the issue of compensation.

http://clericalwhispers.blogspot.com/...se-to.html

True News: Catholic Child Abuse

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:04:15 +1000

Tag: usa
Tag: youtube

If this is what is going on in the 21st century, imagine what was going on in the Middle Ages… Some facts and realities behind the recent Catholic scandals about child sexual abuse. From Freedomain Radio References/Text fdrurl.com

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http://www.mikeadkinsonline.com/true-...ild-abuse/

Sex allegations shock Kerala Church

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:57:10 +1000

Tag: india

Kerala Church has been rocked by the release of a controversial book which accuses its clergy of a range of misdemeanours and abuses. An official has responded by describing the book as “an all-out attempt to malign the Church.”

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Here Is The Heart Of The Priest, the autobiography of Shibu Kalaparamban, a former member of the Vincentian congregation, was officially launched on Sep. 2.

It alleges that Catholic priests and nuns have broken the vows of chastity and engaged in sexual sins including homosexuality, child abuse and illicit relations. The author narrates confessions he has heard, to substantiate his allegations.

Kalaparamban, who was a priest for 13 years, told ucanews.com that “homosexuality and blue films have become part of religious life.”

Father Paul Thelakat, spokesperson for the Syro-Malabar Church said he has “read the book and feel very sorry about what is written. It is unfortunate.” He went on to say that the book “finds only perversions in the Church.”

Father Thelakat also alleges that the Papal seminary in Pune, where the former priest was trained, advised his superiors not to ordain him but they did so out of compassion.

“It is a pity he was a priest throughout these years and he has heard confessions and given spiritual guidance. He has simply betrayed the trust of the faithful, divulging even confessional secrets to the public,” Father Thelakat said.

Kalapramban, who now lives in Qatar and was suspended when he left Kerala without permission, claimed that he wrote the book only after “detailed thought and discussions.”

A similar controversy broke out in Kerala in 2009, when the autobiography of former nun Jesme alleged a prevalence of sexual abuse and lesbianism in Catholic convents.

Source: UCAN

http://www.cathnewsindia.com/2010/09/...la-church/

Church supports White Balloon Day

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:52:34 +1000

Tag: australia

The Catholic Church will throw its support behind a national campaign against child sexual assault for the first time.

The church announced on Thursday that it would support Bravehearts' White Balloon Day campaign during Child Protection Week, September 5 to 12.

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More than 1300 Catholic parishes and nearly 1700 Catholic schools around the country will display white balloons on Tuesday September 7 and Sunday, September 12, in a show of support for the protection of young people.

Bravehearts' founder Hetty Johnston said the group was proud to be working with the church.

"The Catholic Church's lead involvement in White Balloon Day marks publicly their active involvement in being part of changing the culture of silence around child sexual assault," she said in a statement.

"I am delighted to finally realise what has been a long term goal for the Bravehearts' organisation, and hope this signals a new way forward for all churches globally."

Sister Angela Ryan, of the Catholic Church National Committee for Professional Standards, said churches and schools were committed to raising awareness of and fighting against child abuse.

"We are happy to accept the invitation from Bravehearts to participate in this national campaign by flying white balloons outside our churches and schools during Child Protection Week," she said in a statement.

The Catholic Church will be joined by thousands of other schools and church groups.

White Balloon Day

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-...14r4c.html

Dublin's Archbishop Martin has not discussed resignations with Pope

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:50:29 +1000

Tag: ireland

Irish analysts continue to scrutinize Pope Benedict’s decision not to accept the resignations of two Dublin auxiliary bishops.

The key question being asked: whether the Pope’s choice reflects a setback for Dublin’s Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, who clearly wished for the two bishops to step down.

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Last week the Irish Times reported that after “exhaustive discussions” with the Pope, Archbishop Martin had been assured of the Pontiff’s full support.

Now the Irish Catholic has exploded that notion, revealing that the archbishop has not met with the Pope, nor discussed the handling of the sex-abuse scandal, since the February meeting of all the Irish bishops in Rome.

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/...e/2010/09/

The Irish Times `papal talks' story unfounded

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:49:15 +1000

Tag: ireland

By Garry O'Sullivan Editor

It seemed like an amazing scoop for The Irish Times newspaper last week when it was able to reveal that not only was Dublin's Archbishop Martin still in favour with the Pope but that he had recently had 'exhaustive discussions' with the Pope who backed him fully on his strategy in Dublin.

The report was made from Rimini in Italy where Archbishop Martin was giving a speech to a gathering of Communion and Liberation members.

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Those back in Ireland who speculated that Archbishop Martin might have been embarrassed by the Vatican decision not to accept the resignations of his two auxiliary bishops were told by The Irish Times sources that they were out of touch with what was really going on in Italy and the Vatican.

The problem with this is that Archbishop Martin did not meet the Pope recently when he was in Italy. Nor did he have a discussion with him. In fact, the Pope has not met Archbishop Martin or Cardinal Brady since he met all the Irish bishops last February nor has the Pope had any discussions with the Archbishop since then. In response to questions from this paper, a spokeswoman for the Archbishop of Dublin confirmed this saying that ''The archbishop hasn't had any discussions with the Pope since the bishop's meeting last February.''

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/...e/2010/09/

Irish cardinal will not resign after scandals, he says

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:38:05 +1000

Tag: ireland

Armagh, Northern Ireland (CNN) -- Months after the revelation that he helped cover up for one of Ireland's most notoriously abusive priests, the country's top Catholic churchman, Cardinal Sean Brady, says he has "moved on" and will not resign.

"I've moved on there, I think, and I got a lot of support in my decision," he told CNN in a rare interview.

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Brady was part of an internal church investigation into Father Brendan Smyth in 1975, he confirmed early this year. He did not report his findings to the police and asked two teenagers who gave him evidence to sign oaths of secrecy.

In March, Brady apologized for his role in the Smyth investigation.

"I want to say to anyone who has been hurt by any failure on my part that I apologize to you with all my heart," he said at his home church, St. Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh.

Smyth died in prison in 1997, having been convicted in both the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom of child abuse.

Deeply Catholic Ireland has been profoundly shaken by a series of government-backed reports that found Catholic clergy committed physical and sexual abuse of children across the country going back at least 70 years.

Church officials systematically hushed up the abuse, the reports found.

Brady said he was not aware of criticism of the church's response to the reports from within the clergy.

Told that there are priests who say the crisis has hurt the morale of the clergy, Brady said: "I haven't met many of those priests, to be honest."

But child abuse by Catholic clergy in Ireland has become such a widespread scandal that Pope Benedict XVI addressed it in an unprecedented pastoral letter to Irish Catholics earlier this year.

The pope is due to visit England and Scotland later this month, which will put him just across the Irish sea from Ireland.

But Brady said he was not disappointed Benedict was not coming.

"The pope has already reached out to us by sending us a pastoral letter," he said, adding he hoped Benedict would come to Ireland in the future.

But one critic said if the Catholic Church had responded differently, a papal visit could improve matters.

"The visit could have helped if the church had admitted that it had acted wrongly in the cover-up. But they are not admitting overall responsibility, just blaming individual priests," said Maeve Lewis of the charity One in Four, which counsels victims of sexual abuse.

In the wake of the scandals, three out of four Irish adults said Brady should resign, a poll for the Irish Times newspaper found in June.

But Brady told CNN he would not.

"I have re-evaluated my position and I have decided to continue as the archbishop of Armagh," he said.

Only one in 10 Irish people think the church has responded adequately to the most recent investigation, summarized in the document known as the Murphy report, the Irish Times poll found.

More than eight out of 10 -- 83 percent -- felt the church had not done enough to respond to the report, which looked into the abuse of children in the Archdiocese of Dublin.

CNN's Richard Allen Greene contributed to this report.

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/eur...;wom=false