This photograph was sent to me. It was suggested that it was put on the blog. I hope there are no objections – if there are, email the blog,  and it will be taken down.

 

It was before my time at Mirfileld …. any names.

 

ABUSE ROUND-UP FROM THE RECENT PRESS

 

       “SNAP WRITES A LETTER TO THE BISHOP OF YAKIMA: ‘WITHDRAW!’”

(From an original Report by Dan Morris-Young is NCR – Paraphrase and additions by Brian Mark Hennessy)

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) have asked, in a letter to Yakima Bishop Joseph Tyson, to remove himself from “his race for chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People.” (The SNAP letter to Tyson is signed by David Clohessy of St. Louis, director of SNAP, and by Robert Fontana of Seattle, founder of the central Washington chapter of “Voice of the Faithful”).

SNAP charged that Tyson had “done virtually nothing to undo the damage” done by past clerical sex abusers in the Yakima diocese and those who shielded them. A diocesan official on November 11th responded that “almost without exception, our people express gratitude for the increased awareness they have gained – information that most are not receiving anywhere else” on sex abuse. In an email to NCR, Msgr. Robert Siler, Yakima chancellor and moderator of the curia, wrote: “We have beefed up our training program this past year, introducing live ‘Virtus’ abuse prevention training sessions in English and Spanish that take 2.5 to 3 hours. We have trained more than 1,000 employees and volunteers. I have personally conducted 80 percent of those training sessions.”

To some, such comments are nothing less than a smoke screen to divert attention from the matter of Bishop Tyson’s suitability for the post he seeks to gain. In a news release, SNAP says that when Tyson “publicly expressed hopes that he would ‘take immediate steps to warn Mexican families and officials about the Deacon, named Ramirez, and tell the full truth about allegations against Fr. Darrel Mitchell.” SNAP claims Tyson, in fact, did neither.

In a 2003 public letter, Tyson’s predecessor Bishop Carlos Sevilla, wrote, “Deacon Aaron Ramirez avoided prosecution by fleeing to Mexico in August 1999 and was, in July 2000, subsequently laicized (which means that, by a decree of the Pope, Aaron Ramirez is no longer in any way to be identified or function as an ordained minister of the Church).” Ramirez was accused of abuse of a 17-year-old boy in 1999. It has been reported that Ramirez became an Episcopal priest and that he was released from Episcopal ministry in 2006.

Mitchell was accused of having nude pictures of boys on his computer in 2003. In 2014, SNAP criticized Tyson “for quietly putting Mitchell, who had been suspended twice, back into parish work,”. However, according to Siler, Mitchell “was returned to ministry by Bishop Carlos Sevilla, S.J., prior to Bishop Tyson coming to the Diocese, after a recommendation to do so by the Diocesan Lay Advisory Board. Fr. Mitchell voluntarily requested an assignment outside of parish ministry, and has done stellar work as director of Calvary Cemetery in Yakima. He has been given permission to do weekend sacramental ministry by both Bishop Sevilla and Bishop Tyson, following review and approval by the Lay Advisory Board. He has served the Church well in that capacity.”

In a statement forwarded to the National Catholic Reporter, Tyson said: “I was asked by the USCCB leadership if I would be willing to be nominated for the chairmanship of the Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People, along with Bishop (Timothy) Doherty. I agreed. I do not view Bishop Doherty (bishop of Lafayette) as an ‘opponent,’ as SNAP characterizes it, but as a fellow bishop who is deeply committed to the protection of children and youth, as am I, and I am honored to be nominated.”

In other words, Bishop Tyson did not see that his previous inaction on the issues surrounding Ramirez and Mitchell as being “wanting” in a more robust response. This is somewhat out of kilter with the ‘Key Mission Responsibilities’ of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People, which states that the role to which Bishop Tyson aspires includes: “Advising the bishops on all matters related to child and youth protection and the restoring of “trust” between the bishops and the Church including a sensitivity to the impact on culturally diverse communities”.

In the event, the election did not favour Tyson and a press briefing was issued stating: “Bishop Timothy L. Doherty of Lafayette, Indiana, chairman-elect of the Committee on Protection of Children and Young People in a 128-86 vote over Bishop Joseph J. Tyson of Yakima, Washington”.

Well done SNAP!

 

“CONFUSING VATICAN ACTION IN THE CASE OF THE ARCHBISHOP OF GUAM”

(By Joshua J. McElwee National Catholic Reporter – Paraphrase and additions by Brian Mark Hennessy)

Archbishop Apuron of the Pacific Island of Guam, has been accused of having inappropriate physical contact with at least five young altar boys in the 1960s and ’70s. The allegations emerged in May when one of the boys, now 52, came forward, prompting others to do the same. The Archbishop has denied the allegations and Guam civil authorities have not charged him with any crimes. Guam’s Catholics, however, were led to expect that Apuron would undergo a canonical trial. This had been expressed to them in a letter in September that was sent to each of the island’s 26 churches. However, a new “universal law” was signed by Pope Francis last June in which it was specified that a bishop’s negligence in response to clergy sexual abuse could lead to his “removal from office” – and all mention of a canonical trial appeared to have been dropped by the Vatican. That move is now the subject of criticism from some survivors’ advocates, who said that the change did not live up to an earlier promise to create a new Vatican tribunal to judge bishops who do not act appropriately when told of allegations of abuse.

Public reaction in Guam to the Vatican’s new approach, however, suggests that the Pope will need to deliver prompt and credible enforcement from Rome if the church is to regain the laity’s confidence. Mitchell Garabedian, the Boston lawyer who played a key role in uncovering the scandal that was featured in the film “Spotlight,” told the National Catholic Reporter that “History has shown us that the Catholic Church is incapable of objectively investigating itself in clergy sexual abuse cases.”

The fact is, as most Vatican watchers will know, that the Vatican has long had the power to remove an offending diocesan prelate, but has rarely used it. A papal spokesman says that Francis’ new order is designed to broaden that power by making it easier to fire a bishop, particularly “when there is negligence in cases of sexual abuse.” The order stresses that any accused bishop will be entitled to defend himself, but that the Pope will exercise the ultimate judgment in investigations. Some say that it is encouraging that Pope Francis is using his authority to push the Vatican machinery to act. Nevertheless, the church faithful will be watching to see whether diocesan leaders will ever be made answerable for their part in sexual abuse itself or in allowing the sexual abuse of children to continue when much of it could have been stopped.

The parishioners of the Dioceses of Guam, meanwhile, have been watching and waiting anxiously and the Guam civil authorities have taken the precaution to revoke the statute of limitations on hearing such allegations. The latest news at the beginning of November is somewhat of a surprise to many for it now appears that Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, whom Pope Francis appointed in June to step-in over Archbishop Anthony Apuron, has informed reporters that all the conditions for a “trial” have now been put in place. “I’m going to receive some news, some updates later,” said Hon, who has been serving as the archdiocese’s apostolic administrator while also remaining the second-in-command of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. The Archbishop also reported that the “Holy Father has expressly granted His Excellency Msgr. Byrnes all the faculties, rights and obligations of the Archbishop of Agana, civilly and ecclesiastically without any exception. In other words, as coadjutor archbishop, Msgr. Byrnes has the complete right of responsibility over everything concerning the archdiocese,” said Hon.

One way or another, it seems that Archbishop Apuron is on his way out – but will it be in the form of a “dishonorable discharge” or by sentence of a Canonical Court ratified by the Commander in Chief, Pope Francis? We wait with baited breath! Nevertheless, the fate of Apuron may not end the controversy in the Island of Guam, for other members of the Guam clergy have also been publicly accused of molesting altar boys and boy scouts, including the Rev. Louis Brouillard and the late Rev. Antonio Cruz. The alleged abuses happened in the 1950s and 1970s and are yet to be resolved by the Vatican. When you turn over a stone, you never know what lies beneath!

One thing that is certain to survive in the memory of onlookers if Apuron is found guilty of sexually abusing boys, however he is sidelined in the future, will be his abject hypocrisy. This was demonstrated by his stark and controversial comment: “Islamic fundamentalists clearly understand the damage that homosexual behavior inflicts on a culture. That is why they repress such behavior by death. Their culture is anything but one of self-absorption. It may be brutal at times, but any culture that is able to produce wave after wave of suicide bombers (women as well as men) is a culture that at least knows how to value self-sacrifice”.

Quite what the World’s LGBT communities will make of that from out of the mouth of one credibly accused of seriously abusing young boys I cannot imagine!

 

 

“EXACTLY WHAT IS CARDINAL PELL ACCUSED OF?”

(Credits are due to the “National Catholic Reporter”, “Crux”, “Australian Broadcasting Corporation” and the “L’Osservatore Romano” as paraphrased by Brian Mark Hennessy)

Cardinal George Pell, the de facto treasurer of the Vatican and Australia’s most senior Catholic cleric, is being investigated, as most readers will know, in connection with multiple allegations of child sexual assault that date back four decades. A top Australian police official, Graham Ashton, chief police commissioner of the Australian state of Victoria, has confirmed a report by the government-run Australian Broadcasting Corporation which stated that detectives were investigating and had submitted an account of the allegations against Cardinal Pell to Victoria’s Director of Public Prosecutions. “We investigated and are still investigating,” Mr. Ashton said in an interview with the radio station 3AW in Melbourne, when asked about the inquiry. Earlier, the police had refused to indicate whether the Cardinal was the subject of the investigation, which the ABC had reported. However, in an email, the police said, “Detectives are investigating allegations of historical sexual assaults committed in Ballarat East between 1976 and 1980 and East Melbourne between 1996 and 2001.” The email added: “A brief of evidence has been prepared and presented to the Director of Public Prosecutions for advice. Once the advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions is received it will be reviewed. However, as with any investigation, it remains a decision for the Victoria police as to whether charges will be laid.”

Cardinal Pell, now aged 75, was elevated to his current rank of Cardinal in 2003 by Pope John Paul II. Following his summons to the Vatican, he became the Catholic Church’s Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy. His financial acumen on behalf of the Australian Catholic Church was spotted by Pope Francis following his accession and Cardinal Pell was later entrusted by Pope Francis with improving the Holy See’s financial planning, auditing and reporting. In the process, financial functions, previously conducted by other arms of the Holy See, were ceded to Cardinal Pell.

In 2013, Australia established a Royal Commission to conduct an investigation into matters of “great national importance” ie: sexual abuse of children within institutions. As archbishop of Melbourne in 1996, Cardinal Pell co-ordinated the response by the church in the city to allegations of child sexual abuse. Later in 2012, he complained that the news media had begun a campaign against the Catholic Church and since then he has had to answer questions continually about abuse allegations before both the Royal Commission and a Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry. In 2014, he apologized to a former altar boy who was abused by a priest, and he has also said that victims of abuse have the right to sue the church. When questioned in Rome recently in a live television interview regarding his actions in relation to his management of Child Sexual Abuse as a bishop and archbishop he appeared to demonstrate historical, naïve unconcern and disregard of matters relating to child abuse. The result was that the international press poured scorn upon his faltering submissions and responses to the Inquiry.

It is of note that having been appointed as the “Vatican’s Banker”, Cardinal Pell took over many responsibilities for financial affairs from other Departments of the Vatican – notably from the Vatican Secretary of State. Following accusations against Cardinal Pell of a failure to deal adequately with reports of child abuse, that situation has been reversed by Pope Francis who has issued a legal edict, delineating new divisions of responsibility between the Vatican’s Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (under the control of the Vatican Secretary of State) and the Secretariat of the Economy run by Cardinal Pell. According to John L Allen Jnr, a “Vatican Watcher” writing for “Crux”, “There are many ways of analyzing the fault lines in the Vatican, but perhaps the most time-honored is the tension between an Italian old guard and pretty much everybody else. By conventional political logic, the Pope’s new legal edict saw the Italians notch a fairly big win over the New World Cardinal Pell”.

No meaningful explanation, however, has been given by the Vatican for this reversal in the portfolio of Cardinal Pell, but the timing of it shortly after Cardinal Pell was publicly questioned by the Australian Inquiry into allegations of child abuse in the Catholic Church is curious. If the Vatican wanted to be protective of Cardinal Pell they would surely have left things at the level of the “status quo” until the Inquiry had concluded its investigations. Pulling the rug out from under the feet of Cardinal Pell at such a sensitive moment in the proceedings does nothing to suggest that they have confidence in any positive outcome for Cardinal Pell in the Commission’s eventual findings. We will have to wait and see before we can judge, but we cannot help wondering if the Vatican has seen already what is written in the writings on the proverbial wall.

So, what is it that Cardinal Pell himself has actually been accused of – apart from the mismanagement of allegation of child sexual abuse by subordinate clergy in Australia? Well, Cardinal Pell was born and grew up in Ballarat, a Victorian country town. After being ordained as a priest, he began work in his hometown area, best known as a center for gold mining in the 1850s. The “ABC” network reported that two men have said that Cardinal Pell sexually abused them at a swimming pool in Ballarat in the 1970s. “Ballarat”, if you recall from the text above, is where the current investigations by the Australian Police are concentrated. Moreover, one of the accusers Lyndon Monument, has mention Cardinal Pell by name. He told the ABC broadcaster. “I didn’t like it, but because it was the church (and) he was George Pell, we just weren’t game ever to say anything.”

In a statement to the ABC, the cardinal’s office denied the allegations. “Claims he has sexually abused anyone, in any place, at any time in his life are totally untrue and completely wrong,” the statement said. The details of the evidence have not been fully published, but one thing is certain in the world of today that was less than certain historically – is that evidence put forward by Victims alleging historical child sexual abuse is more likely to be given the most serious and grave of considerations today – and believed – than it was in the past. Gone are the days when a white collar around a cleric’s neck would be considered to be the emblem of sacrosanct and impeccable Godly righteousness that it once was. If Cardinal Pell does have anything to hide, he needs to start concocting his letter of resignation now. It may be, of course, that the Prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith – or indeed the Vatican Secretary of State, on behalf of Pope Francis, has already sent him, just in case he needs it, a draft for consideration!

 

 

Father Patrick Wilkinson and Father Rinaldo  Ronzani — does anybody know which missions they are working in.

Are they still Comboni Missionaries.

Mark Murray

 

THE TRUE SCALE OF THE GLOBAL BETRAYAL OF INNOCENCE

(By Brian Mark Hennessy)

It is very difficult at times to understand fully the extent of the grave and widespread proliferation of child abuse throughout the world. As a parent, as so many readers maybe, it is also impossible to imagine how utterly shattered you would be if you were to discover that a child of your own had been abused in any way. Yet somewhere in this world, daily, perhaps hourly, many parents do come to learn that the innocence of the childhood of a son or a daughter has been ravaged by a sexual predator of children. In most cases that information will come as an incomprehensible and bewildering shock that promotes inordinate anger. I remember my mother’s reaction when I told her how I had been abused by a priest of the Comboni Missionary Order when I was a seminarian at the Mirfield St Peter Claver’s Seminary of the Comboni Missionary Order in the 1960s. I told my mother during a “heart to heart” when she was in her eighties and I was, by then, in my sixties. There was a look of horror on her face. It was incomprehensible to her. She was struck by a sense of great grief that she did not know at the time – and guilt for never having been able to protect me from the sexual onslaught I suffered over a two-week period at the hands of a Catholic priest when locked into the infirmary that he controlled. Her deep distress had made me wish that I had never opened my mouth. At that moment I would have gladly kicked myself for not remaining silent.

My father had already passed away by then. He was Irish to the very core and an un-swerving, un-compromising, totally committed Catholic. My mother blessed the fact that he had never known of the abuse – because she knew that it would have destroyed utterly both his life and his faith. In some ways it did. I had been his first-born son. He had coaxed me from the touch-line at every football match that I had played. He had bought me my first cricket bat and taught me how to keep it “springy” with linseed oil. He had made me a fishing rod out of a bamboo cane so that together we could catch ravenous crabs in the seaside pools. We were intimately connected. We were almost as one being. He was so proud on the day that I went to the seminary and would have thanked God for that blessing. Following the abuse, however, I rejected him. I conflated the abuse of a priest with my father’s strict Catholicism – and I hardly ever visited my father again – until he was on his death-bed. My years since have been spent in deep remorse for my act of callousness – if that is what it was.

In the sixties when my abuse had been perpetrated against me, the world was a different place. Communications were slower. I remember writing letters to old school friends – and then watching the postman go from door to door for weeks, if not months, in anticipation of receiving a letter in reply. Once received it would be read over and over again – and shared with all. How different it is today. We finger a message to someone the other side of the world on our hand-held devices and often receive a response in minutes – if not seconds. We can even conduct a digital chat in real time. The technological world has shrunk the delivery time of all communications and broadened our knowledge of world events. Whether or not that is a good thing, or what we wish for, we now have the brutality of the world at our finger-tips. We can no longer be ignorant of distant wars, geological or tempestuous catastrophes and human suffering of all kinds. We need to ask ourselves sometimes whether this is making us more and more immune to suffering or if it increases our concern. If the former indifference is the mainstream reaction, then the future of the world will become dispassionate and heartless. We must not allow this to happen.

I will tell you why that is an imperative – by way of an example. At the time that I was abused by a priest in the 1960s, child sexual abuse did not repeatedly hit the headlines – and other forms of physical and psychological child cruelty and torture were not a regular feature of the pages of the daily press as they sometimes are today. The heartless use of children as child soldiers was virtually unheard of – and ritual killings of African albino youths would have been beyond our imaginations.

That was then, but to this mix today, we must add the enormous scale of the sale of children into slavery, child prostitution and the use of children to provide pornographic literature and film to satisfy depraved adult appetites. In the 1960s when I was abused by a priest, the population of England was about forty million. The population of children today in the Philippines in which I temporarily reside, is the same as the total population of England in 1960 – about forty million.

It is difficult to imagine an England in the 1960s comprised totally of children – but think on it for a moment. Think that everybody you would or could possibly meet or see was a child. Now imagine if the scope of child sexual abuse in that fictitious England was the same as it is estimated to be today in the Philippines – almost 25% of all children – in other words 10 million children. In my 1960’s example of a fictitious England of 40 million children, one in every four children you would see or meet would have been abused. I ask the reader to stop for a minute and ask yourself, “How does that make you feel?” Are you horrified – or are you immune to the force of this shocking statistic?

That figure of 10 million is almost incomprehensible, but that is the estimate of Bernadette Madrid, head of the University of the Philippines-Manila child protection unit. Madrid stated, during the Third Forensic Science Symposium organized by UP Diliman-Natural Sciences Research Institute that overall, “24.4 percent of Filipino children have experienced sexual abuse. If you divide that by gender, 28.7% of the victims of sexual abuse were boys, while 20.1 % were girls. What it means is that at least one in four children in the Philippines has experienced sexual abuse. If you have a hundred million population (as the Philippines does today) of which 40 million are children, then one fourth of that would be at least 10 million. That’s 10 million children in one country (the Philippines) that have experienced sexual abuse.”

Moving on, I accept that it is not possible to extrapolate the numbers of children sexually abused in the Philippines to a global figure around the whole of the world – for there is no direct evidence for such a calculation. Yet we do know that significant numbers, mostly estimates made by researchers, of abused children have been revealed in many countries. In the United States, for example, which has a population more than three times that of the Philippines, the “Peaceful Hearts Foundation” has asserted that their informed estimate of the number of child abuse “Survivors” in the United States is about 42 million out of a total population today of well over 300 million. In percentage terms that is lower than in the Philippines. Nevertheless, their research indicates that, “Most children are abused by someone they know and trust. Of these, an estimated 60% of perpetrators of sexual abuse are known to the child, but are not close family members; they are friends, babysitters, childcare providers, neighbors etc. About 30% of the perpetrators are family members, e.g., fathers, mothers, brothers, uncles, aunts, cousins. Just 10% of perpetrators are strangers to the child. In most cases, the perpetrator is male regardless of whether the victim is a boy or girl.

Above, I have only provided figures from two countries of the estimated extent of child sexual abuse. Those two countries have a joint population of about 450 million and an estimated combined incidence of 52 million children who have been sexually abused. The population of the world in August 2016 was 7.5 billion. Whilst it would be statistically wrong to attempt it, if a simple extrapolation of the global number of child sexual abuse victims from that number could even be reasonably contemplated – it would exceed 800 million children. God forbid that it is anything like that, but we simply do not know – and never will. One reason for this is that many abused children will never reveal the extent of the abuse committed against them and will possibly never understand and nor be able to define how their future lives will be affected by the psychological trauma.

Abused children have no powers to defend themselves. They are helpless to fend off predators. They rely, often in vain, on the adults of this world to protect them. Many child Victims may have self-perceptions of shame and guilt. Some accept, for the most part that what has happened has happened. Others are so frequently abused that they may even believe it is the norm. Thus, Victims themselves are often very slow to come forward with information. My own experience, was that over many years I needed to rationalize the fact of my innocence and expel any sense of shame and complicity out of the original abuse scenario before I could even begin to categorise it as “abuse”.

Such rationalization can take a very long time. William J. Cromie of the Harvard News Office wrote about such phenomena following investigations at Harvard University. He stated: “When questioned closely by psychologists from Harvard University about their feelings, victims of childhood sexual abuse revealed some surprising impressions. First, the abuse apparently was not seen as traumatic, terrifying, life threatening, or violent at the time. “It hurt,” said one man who was raped as a boy, and after a while I knew it was wrong, but not at the beginning.”

Only two out of the 27 interviewed at Harvard recalled feeling traumatized at the time, report the psychologists Susan Clancy and Richard McNally. Some psychologists believe that forgetting childhood sexual abuse is a deep-seated unconscious blocking out of the event, an involuntary mechanism that automatically keeps painful memories out of consciousness. However, Clancy and McNally’s work leads them to conclude that it’s just ordinary forgetting. Clancy asserts, “Memories of childhood sexual assault can slip from awareness in the same way that ordinary memories can.”

However, that “everyday forgetting” does not necessarily exclude voluntary suppression, insufficient reminders, or memory avoidance. McNally adds: “A failure to think about something is not the same as being unable to remember it”. The research also showed that later when the violations were recalled, all 27 of those assaulted reported multiple negative effects from the abuse, such as loss of trust in people, difficulties with relationships, sexual problems, loss of self- esteem, mental health problems, or alienation”.

It can be deduced from that statement of McNally that it may be that the adult “recovered” memories of the assaults are often seen as traumatic, rather than the childhood event itself being seen that way, and thus the recall of the event is what is responsible for the adverse impacts later in the Victim’s life. I can relate to that experience, because my adult sudden awareness that I was abused when I was a minor caused nothing less than a “panic attack” – during which I swayed back and forth with my head in my hands and crying repeatedly out loud, “Oh my God, he abused me! Oh my God, he abused me!”

There is another reason, however, why many children throughout the world have not yet even begun to fully unravel themselves from the shifting obscurities of the recesses of their minds. Of course, many may never do so. Nevertheless, every Survivor of abuse is aware of the power of those, whom necessarily, they would need to accuse if they were to “go public”. They know it as “power’ because that is the nature of the physical and moral pressure that was exerted upon them at the time of abuse by the abuser. Survivors of child abuse were “Victims” in every sense of the word at the time of the abuse for they had no ability to fully understand, in a mature sense, what was happening to them, let alone the physical strength to repel the adult abuser – who had gone to some lengths, in most cases, to befriend the guileless child in the first instance.

If the abuse took place in an institutional context, the “image” of the powerful abuser may be extended to other members of the same institution and even to the institution itself. In this context, an extension of antipathetical wariness may have been enhanced by the Victim’s sense of embedded “Institutional Denial”. When that is indeed evident, the “Denial” can be formidable in both its character and execution. The Catholic Church, for example, have shown themselves, globally, to be willing to expend billions in US dollar terms, to protect themselves. In comparison, a large number of Victims have no such resources to risk on a legal suit of unknown outcomes. When Victims seek to reveal their abuse, they know, intrinsically, that they will be taking on not just the abuser, but the whole institute which has deep pockets – and they know that institutes are in the mode of “denial” – even when they are fully aware that the abuse took place.

A Victim’s realisation that they will face such institutional denial and the institution’s almost limitless resources at every juncture may not just be daunting, but overwhelming. That is why so many Victims are not prepared to seek justice – and remain forever silent. Of course, there is a psychological impact to such silence –  because “not telling the story” perpetuates many of the adverse impacts related to the abuse. I know myself that there are a number of Victims, who were abused at the Comboni Missionaries’ Mirfield seminary who, so far, have been reluctant for a variety of reasons to take a leap into the unknown and seek justice. Many have simply not yet come to terms with the psychological impacts of the abuse.

My personal experience of such “institutional denial” is that the Institution, the Comboni Missionary Order of Verona Italy, will go to the extremes in their outright denial of the endemic abuse at their Mirfield seminary establishment – even in the face of previous statements made by themselves to the effect that they were aware of the abuse. The other tactic they use is “silence” and they believe that that makes them unaccountable in some way. Knowing the truth of the abuse that I personally experienced, however, I do not buy their guise of innocence – in whatever cloak of mendacity they dress up their denials. They have shown themselves, in extremis, to be mendaciously callous – as has been demonstrated by their recent, unsuccessful attempt to destroy one victim with false criminal charges in the Italian Criminal Tribunal of Verona.

Globally, the Catholic Church, behind whose facade the Comboni Missionary Order hides, has made many attempts to prevent cases of abuse getting into a court-room. Recently, in New York, the Diocese of the economically-astute, long-term strategist, Cardinal Dolan, expended some $2-million alone simply to obstruct a proposed time limit extension on getting abuse cases to court. They use “Denial” and “Obstruction” – in every which sense it may be facilitated – to choke off the evidence of their ageless complicity in the crimes of child sexual abuse. Their reputations for so doing are not so much just “tarnished” as “obliterated”.

My purpose here, however, is not to beat my drum once again about the gross failures of the Comboni Missionary Order of Verona, Italy, to admit, finally, the sexual abuse committed by members of their Order that has been known to them for some five long decades already. Nor is it to revisit, specifically, the vacuous chuntering of the Catholic Cardinal Archbishop of New York about the “merciful” nature of his legal protectionism. I want the readers of this blog today to remember that scandalous, indeed horrifying, potential figure of the world-wide scale of depraved adult sexual and other forms of cruel, physical and psychological abuse of gullible, innocent children. That potential, but impossible figure to verify, is 800 million and greater than the combined populations of the United States, Brazil, Russia and the Philippines. It is an incomprehensible figure of child victims of abuse. Even if you halve it to 400 million – or divide it again to 200 million – it remains incomprehensible and shocking beyond belief. Whatever the true figure is, we shall never know, but I have faith that most readers, who for the first time are confronted with the potential, global scale of child abuse, will be both distressed and horrified at such an adult “ betrayal of innocence”.

I give the last word to the UN Special Rapporteur Report (2014) on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, Najat Maalla M’jid: “Changes in the nature and extent of the sale and sexual exploitation of children reveal preoccupying trends. Even though this issue has gained increased visibility over the past years, thanks to the joint efforts of numerous stakeholders, millions of children worldwide are still victims of sexual exploitation today and have their childhood stolen. The phenomenon has developed and become increasingly complex. Risk factors are growing and multiplying. The social tolerance for these crimes, impunity, corruption and precarious socio-economic situations remain among the most challenging obstacles to overcome in combating this scourge”.

It is quite clear that statistically, just because you do not hear of sexual abuse of children in your own neighborhood – you should not believe for a moment that it is not there. If you do hear of it, or even suspect the possibility of it, my plea is that you have the courage to report it. I know it is a challenge to do so – as on two occasions in my life I felt compelled to do so – and did so. It is not easy, especially if the person you are reporting is a neighbour or is otherwise known to you. Whatever the circumstances, it is your adult duty to protect the helpless child. We have provided details of whom you may contact on this blog before, but we repeat it again below. In addition, if you yourself have been abused as a child and you are still affected by the impacts of that abuse, then do seek help. To that end we include helplines in our list.

 

WORLDWIDE LIST OF FIRST RESPONDER TELEPHONE NUMBERS FOR REPORTING SUSPICIONS OF INSTANCES OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE AND HELPLINES FOR THOSE SUFFERING THE EFFECTS OF CHILD ABUSE

 

United Kingdom

Reporting Abuse as a first Responder in the United Kingdom – always call the Police on the 999 emergency Police number or the 101 non-emergency Police number.

Alcoholics Anonymous (GB) : help@alcoholics-anonymous,org.uk or Tel 0800 9177 650

UK National Drugs Helpline: 0800 77 66 00

Drug Wise: Twitter @DrugWise UK, or Tel 077121 52 99 36, or harry@drugwisw.org.uk

Drug Rehabilitation: info@openmindsrehab.com or Tel 01978 312 120 (daytime) or 07736 248 851 (nights)

Narcotics Anonymous UK helpline: 0300 999 1212

Lifeline heloline: 0161 839 2054

NSPCC – Action for Children: Help@nspcc.org.uk

NSPCC – Adult Callers: 0808 800 5000, Childline 0800 1111

National Helpline: help@stopitnow.org.uk or Tel 0808 1000 900

NAPAC Supporting Recovery from Childhood Abuse: info@napac.org.uk

Survivors Trust : 0808 801 0818

National Suicide Prevention Samaritans UK & ROI  Hotline: +44 (0) 8457 90 90 90 (UK – local rate) Hotline: +44 (0) 8457 90 91 92 (UK minicom) Hotline: 1850 60 90 90 (ROI – local rate) Hotline: 1850 60 90 91 (ROI minicom) Website: samaritans.org E-mail Helpline: jo@samaritans.org Survivors UK, Unit 1, Queen Anne Terrace, Sovereign Court, The Highway, London E1W 3HH: info@survivorsuk.org

Rape Crisis England and Wales: rcewinfo@rapecrisis.org.uk

Mind – the Mental Health Charity for those who have suffered Sexual Abuse:

Adult Helpline 0844 847 7879, Parent and child helpline 1800 155 1800

Bishops’ Conference of Scotland Catholic Safeguarding Organisation: tcampbell@scottishcatholicsafeguarding.org.uk

National Office for Safeguarding children in the Catholic Church in Ireland, St Patrick’s College, Maynooth, Co. Kildare: ann.doyle@safeguarding.ie and teresa.devlin@safeguarding.ie

Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland: sbnisupport@hscni.net

Tusla – Child and Family Agency, Brunel Building, Heuston South Quarter, Dublin, Republic of Ireland: info@tusla.ie

The Church’s Child Protection Advisory Service: info@ccpas.co.uk

Terence McKiernan, Bishop Accountability Organisation: terry@bishop-accountability.org and ann@bishop-accountability.org

United Kingdom Childrens’ Helplines  There-4-Me Childline UK – 0800 1111 Muslim Youth Helpline – 0808 808 2008 Childline Scotland – 0800 44 1111 NSPCC: English – 0808 800 5000 Welsh – 0808 100 2524 Bengali – 0800 096 7714 Gujurati – 0800 096 7715 Hindi – 0800 096 7716 Punjabi – 0800 096 7717 Urdu – 0800 096 7718  Breathing Space – 0800 838587 Connexions – 080 800 13 2 19 Birmingham Space – 0800 072 5070  Samaritans – 08457 90 90 90 Runaway Helpline – 0808 800 70 70 Careline – 0181 514 1177 Youth 2 Youth – 020 8896 3675 Girls Space – 0800 072 5070 Get Connected – 0800 808 4994 Support Line – 020 8554 9004 Muslim Youth Helpline – 0808 808 2008

United States of America

Survivors of sexual abuse living in the United States of America and Canada are advised, (without any liability of this site), to consider making contact with the following help organisations and professionals who are able to assist…..

Alcoholism: Alcoholics Anonymous meetings exist throughout the world and the doors are always open to newcomers. Start here to find a meeting in your area: www.aa.org/pages/en_US/find-local-aa. Once you get comfortable, look for a sponsor who honors your trauma background. If you are the loved one of an alcoholic, start here to find local Al-Anon or Alateen meetings: al-anon.org/find-a-meeting.

Other substance abuse: Narcotics Anonymous meetings also are held in many places. Start here to find a meeting: www.na.org/meetingsearch.

Childhelp: A resource about child abuse and neglect for kids, parents and teachers is at www.childhelp.org.

International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation: a resource for professionals and the public. Its website includes a “find a therapist” link here: www.isst-d.org/default.asp?contentID=18.

International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies: Though primarily a resource for professionals, it does offer a “Find a Clinician” link at www.istss.org/find-a-clinician.aspx.

MaleSurvivor.org: This is, in my opinion, the best resource available for male sexual abuse survivors. It is directed by clinicians, survivors, academics, researchers and advocates who serve for limited terms. MaleSurvivor.org offers recovery weekends, a great reading list, resources for finding a therapist, safe chat rooms for survivors, and more.

Mental Health America: an advocacy and support agency with local affiliates all over the country (www.mentalhealthamerica.net). It offers a wealth of information about mental health issues and can help you find local affiliates and other mental health resources. They also have online mental health screenings that help individuals and loved ones get a sense of what mental health issue they may be confronting.

National Center on Elder Abuse: As more people are living longer, elder abuse is becoming a greater national problem. This group (www.ncea.aoa.gov) has online resources about elder abuse. Their elder care locator will help you find the local agency to whom to report elder abuse: eldercare.gov/Eldercare.NET/Public/Index.aspx or 800-677-1116.

National Domestic Violence Hotline: Resources for survivors and individuals in current domestic violence situations, including abusers: 800-799-SAFE, or www.thehotline.org.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: A 24/7 resource for anyone thinking about suicide and for friends and relatives concerned about a loved one: 800-273-TALK, or www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org.

RAINN (Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network): RAINN is a good resource for those who have been sexually assaulted as adults or as young people: rainn.org/get-information.

Sidran Traumatic Stress Institute: Sidran’s website offers a host of information for survivors and for loved ones (www.sidran.org/resources/for-survivors-and-loved-ones), an extensive reading list (www.sidran.org/resources/essential-readings-in-trauma) and links to many other resources (www.sidran.org/resources/links).

Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests: SNAP (www.snapnetwork.org) is an effective social justice advocacy organization that works to prevent child sexual abuse, especially by clergy.

SNAP Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, PO Box 6416, Chicago, IL 60680-6416: davidgclohessy@gmail.com

SNAP USA: snap.dorris@gmail.com and bdorris@SNAPnetwork.org

Terence McKiernan, Bishop Accountability Organisation: terry@bishop-accountability.org and ann@bishop-accountability.org

Voice of the Faithful, Boston USA: office@votf.org

United States of America Childrens’ Helplines: National Runaway Switchboard– 1-800-621-4000, Childhelp USA – 1800 422 4453, Covenant House – 1800 999 9999

 

List of International Helplines to assist our Worldwide Readers in Reporting Child Abuse

Europe

Albania Child Helpline- +355 4 2308 20

CISMAI Italian Network of Agencies against Child Abuse: segreteria@cismai.org

Save the Children Italy: info@savethechildrenitaly and info@crin.org

Save the Children –Brussels, Geneva & Addis Ababa advocacy offices: info@savethechildren.be, geneva.info@savethechildren.org and fwandabwa@savechildren.org

CBM Christian Child Protection: contact@cbm.org and press-international@cbm.org

GESPCAN German Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect: library@nationalcac.org

ISPCAN The International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect: ispcan@ispcan.org

Austria Telefonhilfe fur Kinder und Jugendliche – 147

Belgium Kinder- en Jongerentelefoon Vlaanderen VZW – 0800 15 111 ChildFocus – 110, Ecoute Enfants – 103 Bosnia and Herzegovina  Udruzenje roditelja tesko bolesne djece u BiH CLL line – 00387 65 341 298  

Bulgaria National Hotline for Children  – +359 2 981 93 00 

Croatia Hrabri telefon (Brave Phone)– 0800 0800

Cyprus Hotline for missing children – 116 000

Czech Republic The Safety Line – 800 155 555

Denmark BørneTelefonen (Children phone) – 35 55 55 55

Estonia Patient groups – 126., AIDS helpline – 645 5555, NGO Lifeline – CONFIDENCE WHEN LIFE TÜDINUILE – 655 8088 or 1707, “Psychology Crisis intervention” NGO Lifeline (Prof. Psychologists) – 631 4300, YOUNG LINE CHAT – 646 1111, Tallinn Family Centre -6556 088 Finland, Child and Youth Phone – 0800 120400

France, Allo Enfance Maltraitee  – 119

Germany, Kinder- und Jugendtelefon Nummer ggen Kummer e.V.  – 0800 111 0333 Greece, Hamogelo – 1056

Hungary, Kek Vonal – 06 80 505 000

Iceland, RedCross– 1717

Ireland, Child Line – 1800 666 666 Italy, SOS il Telefono Azzurro-19696

Latvia, Child Helpline – 800 9000 or 116111

Lithuania, Childline – 8 800 11111

Luxembourg, 12345 Kanner- Jugendtelefon – 12345

Macedonia, SOS Helpline for Children and Youth – +389 2246 6588

Malta, Supportline – 179 

Netherlands, Landelijk Overleg Kindertelefoon – 0800 0432

Norway, Røde Kors telefonen for barn og ungdom (Red Cross Helpline) – 0800 33 321

Poland, Helpline.org.pl – 800 100 100

Portugal, SOS Criança– 27 793 16 17 / 800 20 26 51

Spain, Fundación ANAR – 900 20 20 10 Sweden, BRIS – 0200 230 230 Switzerland, 147 Telephonhilfe fur Kinder und Jugendliche – 147

Serbia, NAcionalna DEcija Linija- NADEL Srbija – 0800123456

Slovakia Linka detskej istoty: 1116 111, www.ldi.sk (child helpline) Hľadané deti: 116 000 (missing and sexually abused children)

Slovenia, Tom National Telephone Network – 080 1234 Turkey, ALO – 183 Ukraine, The Odessa Samaritans Peer Line – 482 221 744

Asian Continent

Armenia Child Protection Hotline – +3741240150 or 240160

Azerbaijan ETIMAD Sumgayit – 23131

Belarus Smorgon Information Centre on children rights education/SICCRE  – +375 1592 33 129

National helpline for domestic violence victims – 8-801-100-8-801

Brunei Helpline Kebajikan – 141  or+673 238 0664;+673 238 0667;+673 238 0668 

Hong Kong, Against Child Abuse Hotline – +852-27551122

Iran, The Helping voice – +98-21-850 1414 or +98-21-850 1415

Kazakhstan, Child Helpline – 150

Korea, South, Hot Line 1391 / Rescue Line for Children – 1577 or 1391, Youth Hotline – 1388 

Mongolia, Friends 1979 – 1979

Nepal, Child Workers in Nepal – 427 1000 Pakistan, Madadgaar Children and Women Help Line – 111 911 922

Russia, Hotline for Children, Teenagers and Parents (Magadan) – +7 41322 20878, Moscow Childline – +7 095 735 8484, Teenage social-psychological support (Tomsk) – +7 83822 244442

SE Asia & Asia Pacific Region

National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect Australia: contact@napcan.org.au., SNAP Australia: snapspaner@gmail.com, Australia Kids Help Line – +61 7 1800 55 1800

New Zealand Safeguarding Organisation: admin@safeguardingchildren.org.nz

New Zealand, The Kids Help Foundation Trust  – 0800 942 8787, Youthline Charitable Trust  – 0800 376 633, Kidsline – 0800 543 754 India, Childline India Foundation -1098

Indonesia, TESA – 129 

Japan Childline Support Center Japan (NPO) – 0120-99-7777

Philippines, Bantay Bata 163 – 163

Philippines Save the Children: Address: Supporter Care team Midland Building, 1040 EDSA, Magallanes Village, Makati City 1232 Call us: Please call (02) 851-3702 or (02) 853-2142, Fax us: Send us a fax on (02) 853-0215

For volunteer and internship:Volunteer.PH@savethechildren.org

Singapore, Tinkle Friend – 1800 2744 788

T’ai-wan, 113 woman and children protection helpline– 113

Thailand, Saidek – 1387

Vietnam, Childline – 1800 1567

Near East and Africa

SASPCAN South African Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect: admin@childlinesa.org.za

ANPPCAN African Network for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (Uganda & Ethiopia) regional@anppcan.org

Enfants Solidaires d’Afrique et du Monde: info@esamsolidarity.org

Botswana, Childline Botswana- 0800 3900 900

Egypt Hotline for Children – 16000

Gambia 199 Helpline – 199

Israel, L.O./Combat violence against women – 09952 8927 Jordan, 110 for Families and Children – 110

Kenya, Chidline- 116

Namibia, Lifeline/Childline Namibia – 926461226894

Nigeria, Human Development Initiatives – 0806 353 1872

Palestine, Sawa Child Protection Helpline – 121 

South Africa, Childline South Africa – 08000 55555 Senegal, Centre GINDDI – 800 88 88

Uganda, 0800 111 222

 Zimbabwe, Childline – 961

Yemen, YMHA – 236622

Caribbean, Central and South America

Antigua & Barbuda Friends Hotline Antigua and Barbuda – 800 4357

Argentina 102 Childhelpline – 102

Brasil TECA – +55 21 2589 5656, 123Alô! – +55 21 2197-1500 

Chile Fono Infancia – 800 200 818

Colombia Telefono Amigo – 106

Costa Rica LÃnea Cuenta Conmigo- +506 800 2244-911 Dominican Republic Linea Telefonica para Auxilio – 538-6151

Jamaica, Friends Hotline – +1-888-991-4505 or 977 5754 Mexico, Acercatel – 01800 110 10 10

Panama, Tu Linea – 147

Paraguay, FONO Ayuda – 559 200 or 147 Peru, Fundación ANAR – +51 0800 22210 Trinidad & Tobago, Childline – 800 4321 ot 131

Uruguay, Linea Azul Servicio Telefónico – 800 50 50