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Stay OUT of CHURCH! Keep your children safe!!!

Whited Sepulchers

Church continues support of sex-abuse

Nun recalls sexual abuse horror

Willow Creek Chicago pastor resigns, admits to 'sexual impurity'
Michael Crutcher

THE Catholic Church continues to let a priest hold a position of authority in Brisbane despite admitting he once sexually abused a fellow priest.

The Courier-Mail has obtained a letter signed by the five most powerful men in the Queensland church, including Archbishop John Bathersby, admitting that they responded poorly to the victim's complaint and that they acknowledged that he continued to suffer from the abuse.

The revelation hits the news just as Archbishop Bathersby sacked rebel priest Peter Kennedy from St Mary's at South Brisbane, urging him to retire from the priesthood for contradicting accepted church teaching.

The Courier-Mail cannot name the abuser or his younger victim because of legal reasons.

Police were not called on to investigate the series of incidents, which occurred between 1997 and 2000. The church apologised in 2006 after the victim's family had engaged a lawyer because they were not satisfied with the church's response.

The newspaper has seen correspondence dealing with the case, in which Archbishop Bathersby refers to the victim being "annoyed" by the perpetrator. The correspondence is a revealing insight into the workings of the Queensland church hierarchy, in which Archbishop Bathersby makes it clear that his authority is not to be challenged.

The letter of apology to the victim was signed on October 30, 2006, by the bishops of Queensland's five dioceses - Bathersby (Brisbane), Brian Heenan (Rockhampton), James Foley (Cairns), William Morris (Toowoomba) and Michael Putney (Townsville).

"We acknowledged the impact that the actions of (priest's name withheld) had upon you," the five bishops wrote.

"We regret that we did not respond more adequately and we offer you our sincere apology for the hurt you experienced at the time, and its ongoing effects upon your life."

It is understood the perpetrator was demoted from a position in the aftermath of the findings but he still retains authority in his current role.

The victim of the assault had complained about three separate incidents on church property, including two when another priest was sleeping in the same house unaware of the approaches.

He told other priests of the incidents but did not formally seek action from church leaders until 2002.

The victim and his family have refused to speak with The Courier-Mail, other than to claim they were satisfied with the resolution and were angry that the matter had been brought to its attention.

The perpetrator did not return the newspaper's calls.

Archbishop Bathersby would not be interviewed regarding this story. The church also refused to respond to questions but released a statement confirming "that there was a complaint of inappropriate behaviour brought by one priest against another in 2006".

"At the request of the complainant, the matter was not made public. It is still his wish that the matter remain confidential," the statement read.

"The Church can confirm there have been no further complaints received about the priest referred to in this matter either before or after this incident occurred."

Letters show that the victim was later given "two periods of special leave with a cost estimate of $3000 each".

The victim was advised to claim any bills from his counselling through Medicare and that the church would pay the difference for anything above the rebate.

The church admitted last year that another priest - convicted pedophile Ron McKiernan - was still celebrating Mass in Brisbane despite having served time in jail.

Another priest still serves in Queensland despite being fined by a court almost 13 years ago for a sexual offence in a public toilet.

Claims that the Catholic Church had covered up sexual abuse became a damaging sidelight to last year's World Youth Day celebrations in Sydney.

Australia's Catholic leader Cardinal George Pell spoke of "the lusts of the flesh" in a speech to World Youth Day pilgrims.

Victims group Broken Rites said inadequate responses from the church were sometimes as damaging as the initial abuse.

http://www.news.com.au


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Nun recalls sexual abuse horror

Ananthakrishnan G

The explosive life story of a Kerala nun, 'Amen - Oru Kanyasthreeyude Atmakatha' (Amen Autobiography of a Nun), by Sister Jesmi, is selling briskly in the state with its publishers having ordered a third reprint of 2,000 copies within weeks of its release.

Not long ago, a study had claimed that 25% nuns were unhappy in convents. Now, there's more embarrassment for the church with Sister Jesmi, once associated with the Congregation of Mother of Carmel under the Catholic Church, recounting her harrowing ecclesiastical life in the autobiography which, she says, forced her to leave the convent. The revelations could further rattle the clergy that's already in a spot with the Abhaya murder case.

Born C Meamy Raphael, Jesmi writes in her autobiography that she got her first rude shock when she was a Novitiate. ''At a retreat for novices, I noticed girls in my batch were unsettled about going to the confession chamber. I found that the priest there asked each girl if he could kiss them. I gathered courage and went in. He repeated the question. When I opposed, he quoted from the Bible which spoke of divine kisses,'' she writes.

Her second shock was from an ordained nun. ''I was sent to teach plus-two students in St Maria College. There, a new sister joined to teach Malayalam; she was a lesbian. When she tried to corner me, I had no way but to succumb to her wishes. She would come to my bed in the night and do lewd acts and I could not stop her,'' she writes.

In Bangalore for a refresher course in English, she writes, ''I was told to stay at the office of a priest respected for his strong moral side. But when I reached the station, he was waiting there and hugged me tight on arrival. Later in the day, he took me to Lalbagh and showed me cupid struck couples and tried to convince me about the need for physical love. He also narrated stories of illicit relations between priests and nun to me. Back in his room, he tried to fondle me and when I resisted, got up and asked angrily if I had seen a man. When I said no, he stripped himself, ejaculated and forced me to strip,'' Jesmi recounts.

''It's a very courageous work. It's not easy for a person who has lived 30 years in a convent to bring out the undesirable things that happened there, particularly matters like jealousy and backbiting between sisters in responsible position,'' said M V Pylee, first vice chancellor of Cochin University of Science and Technology.

indiatimes.com
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Willow Creek Chicago pastor resigns, admits to 'sexual impurity'

The pastor of Willow Creek Chicago -- the city campus of the evangelical megachurch Willow Creek Community Church -- has resigned and admitted to "sexual impurity," a church spokesman said.

The pastor, Rev. Steve Wu, could not be reached, and the church would not specify what took place.

Wu, 43, moved from California's Silicon Valley in early 2006, hired by senior pastor Rev. Bill Hybels to lead Willow Creek Chicago, the downtown branch of the South Barrington-based church.

Under Wu, Willow Creek Chicago began holding Sunday services at the historic Auditorium Theatre in October 2006, becoming Willow Creek's fifth campus and drawing a diverse congregation of more than 1,200 worshipers to the new church.

Willow Creek Community Church is one of the most influential evangelical churches in the nation with more than 20,000 members who worship at six locations throughout Illinois, as well as an international church community.

During Sunday services on Jan. 25, one of the church Elders, Greg Haecker, read a brief statement to the Willow Chicago congregation announcing Wu's resignation effective immediately.

The statement said: "He admitted to sexual impurity and has taken full responsibility for his sin. He has expressed a desire to participate in a restoration process."

The statement also said Todd Katter has agreed to serve as interim campus pastor while the church searches for Wu's replacement.

"We would ask you to pray diligently for Steve in these difficult days," the statement concluded.

Willow's director of communication Ted Allen Miller said he could not comment further on the church's definition of sexual impurity. But he said the church learned about the misconduct when Wu came to church leaders and admitted inappropriate actions.

Hybels apparently held high hopes for Wu when he appointed him to the prestigious spot as pastor of Willow Creek Chicago. According to a church press release, Hybels said when he met Wu, "he knew God had spoken."

Wu has a unique background, with roots in corporate and ministry settings. In Silicon Valley, Wu held leadership roles in Genesis Technology Inc. and Twin Peaks Software. After that, he entered religious life and started a church. Before moving to Chicago, he was a pastor at Crosswinds Church in the San Francisco Bay area.

In the 2006 church news release announcing his arrival, Wu expressed excitement about his new role as pastor of Willow Chicago.

"I so look forward to the day we can say, 'Look what God has done in this place,' " he said.


-- Margaret Ramirez

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com


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