A short book containing the Blogger's Correspondence with R.J. Neuhaus following his "Feathers of Scandal" defense of Fr. Marcial Maciel, Founder of the Legion of Christ, accused of sexual abuse of his seminarians; together with subsequent revelations, the author's analysis and recent Vatican actions;
Pope Benedict on Maciel in "Light of the World",
Psychological Profile of Maciel as Psychopath Guru
Victim Troy Bramlage, with attorney Jeff Anderson, spoke to the media Tuesday. Their lawsuit forced St. John’s Abbey to release the files on priests credibly accused of child sex abuse. “So many offenders were allowed access to so many kids for so many years,” said Anderson. In a major lawsuit monks as this prestigious school are accused of widespread sexual abuse of minors and students under their care
One priest reported 200 sexual encounters, including some with students at St. John’s University and prep school.
Another recorded the names of dozens of boys he brought to a cabin, some of whom he sexually abused.
Another abuser was paid $30,000 by St. John’s Abbey to support him as he left the clergy.
These are among findings from the first batch of personnel files from St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville made public Tuesday. The abbey was required to release its internal files on priests credibly accused of child sex abuse as part of a lawsuit settled earlier this year. It marks the first time the abbey — implicated in clergy abuse cases for two decades — has opened its confidential files.
A woman at the centre of a "gruesome" child sex abuse ring which passed children round "like toys" has been given a life sentence.
Marie Black, 34, of Norwich, was convicted at Norwich Crown Court of 23 charges, including rape and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
Victims were abused at parties and may have been offered in raffles.
"The case is the most harrowing it has been my misfortune to try," said Judge Nicholas Coleman.
"I and the jurors had to listen to the truly gruesome detail of what took place.
"Your conduct towards these children can only be described as utterly depraved - the children were subjected to sexual abuse of the worst kind.
"They were simply passed around like toys," he said.
Protect the public
The charges related to five young children over a 10-year period.
Michael Rogers, 46, from Romford, north east London, was found guilty of 14 counts, including cruelty, rape and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
Jason Adams, 44, from Norwich, was convicted of 13 similar counts.
Both were sentenced to 24 years.
Analysis: Julian Sturdy, BBC East
The severity of the sentence means Marie Black has become one of the UK's most notorious paedophiles.
Yet still she cries her innocence. She sobbed quietly and occasionally shook her head as her sentence was read out.
Judge Nicholas Coleman said he had "had enough" of legal argument from her barrister and went at it both barrels.
For Marie Black life inside will be tough. Already she has had to move prisons several times.
The men were also made subject to sexual harm prevention orders, which allows the court to impose restrictions deemed necessary to protect the public.
All three had denied the charges against them, with Black accused of 26 counts and found guilty of 23.
Seven others stood trial, six of whom were cleared of all charges.
'Corrupted woman'
Judge Coleman said: "You, Marie Black, were the constant factor in all of these crimes.
"The offences included adults conspiring to rape children at so-called sex parties.
"You used them for your own, and for others', sexual gratification."
Black was told she could only be considered for parole after 12 years.
Image copyrightNorfolk PoliceImage captionCarol Stadler was found guilty of assault causing actual bodily harm
He said there was evidence the children were taken to other parts of the country where they were raffled for abuse by others.
Black did not give evidence and was described by her barrister Sarah Elliott QC as "clearly a vulnerable, corrupted woman".
"The impetus for abusing the children comes from Adams and Rogers," she said.
"She was vilified throughout the trial and was blamed by everybody to exculpate themselves."
However, barristers representing Adams and Rogers rejected the notion that they had manipulated her.
'Naive man'
Isabella Forshall QC, for Adams, said he had no previous convictions for sexual offences and Black was "the common denominator between all the offences."
Ann Cotcher QC said Rogers was a "naive" man who had sought to help Black and was not the instigator of sexual and physical abuse.
Co-defendant Carol Stadler, 59, from Norwich, was found guilty of assault causing actual bodily harm, but cleared of nine other charges including serious sexual assaults.
She is due to be sentenced.
Six others - Anthony Stadler, 63, Nicola Collins, 36, Andrew Collins, 52, Judith Fuller, 31, Denise Barnes, 43, and Kathleen Adams, 85, all from Norwich - stood trial but were cleared of all counts.
Alberto Athie has come from Mexico City to present his work for the Defense of Children and Victims of Sexual Abuse and Violence at the Annual S.N.A.P. conference presently underway at the Westin Hotel in the City of Alexandria, VA.
Another witness in the case was murdered in January, and seven others have been attacked in recent months
A key witness in an ongoing rape case involving a self-proclaimed Indian religious leader waskilled on Friday, the second death and latest in a long string of attacks on those planning to testify against the guru.
The
prospective witness, Kripal Singh, was shot by two assailants in the
district of Shahjahanpur in the country’s northern state of Uttar
Pradesh, Indian broadcaster NDTV reported.
The
duo were on a motorcycle and warned Singh not to depose against the
“godman,” Asaram Bapu, before shooting him and fleeing. The 35-year-old
Singh was then rushed to a nearby hospital where he died of his
injuries, police said.
Singh was an employee at a transport firm owned by a man whose daughter was allegedly raped by Bapu at his ashram in 2013.
The
74-year-old self-styled guru is currently in prison in the western city
of Jodhpur, where that ashram was located, and has been there since
September 2013. He was also accused of a second rape by two sisters —
which he reportedly perpetrated along with his son — at another of his
ashrams in the state of Gujarat two months after initially being jailed.
Akhil
Gupta, Bapu’s former cook and a primary witness in the Gujarat rape
case, was shot dead in another north Indian town in January, and theIndian Expressnewspaperreports that police have begun a joint investigation to determine whether he was a victim of the same killers.
Seven other witnesses in the case against Bapu (who is infamous for his 2012statements blaming the victimof India’s most notorious rape case in New Delhi) have been attacked.
Recent
developments in Bapu’s case coincide with multiple deaths connected to
another high-profile investigation in India. Two people connected to
what is being called the“Vyapam” scandal—
a scheme to rig entrance examinations for medical schools and
government jobs across the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh — died
last week. Those deaths, that of a journalist reporting on the
conspiracy and the dean of a medical college who was compiling evidence
against those involved, took place under mysterious circumstances and
are the latest in a string of close to 40 fatalities since the Vyapam
scandal broke in 2013.
Here is the news of the passing of a Legionary, who was a Novice Master, accused of several counts of sexual assault of seminarians under his care in the USA and Ireland. The Legion recognized his crimes but did not punish him except to say that he would no longer be in touch with minors...
again I inform you of the death of a Legionary. It is Fr. Guillermo Izquierdo who, for the past year approximately, was living at the Santisima Trinidad Residence in Aravaca, Madrid, where he could recevied the medical attentions of which he could not receive at home. He died this evening of a respiratory attack while at dinner.
Let us pray the Lord, rich in mercy, for his eternal rest,
Very affectionately in Christ and the Legion,
Eduardo Robles-Gil, LC.
¡Venga tu Reino!
Muy queridos padres y hermanos:
Nuevamente les comunico el fallecimiento de un legionario. Se trata
del P. Guillermo Izquierdo quien, desde hace aproximadamente un año
residía en la Residencia Santísima Trinidad, en Aravaca, Madrid, en
donde podía recibir las atenciones médicas que ya no era posible
dispensarle en casa. Murió esta tarde por un paro respiratorio mientras
cenaba. Pidamos al Señor, rico en misericordia, por su eterno descanso.
Afectísimo en Cristo y la Legión, P. Eduardo Robles Gil, L.C.
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