Rome rally against Church abuse

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Rome rally against Church abuse

Victims from across the world march seeking stronger action against abusive priests.

Victims of abuse by Catholic priests have staged a march in Rome, Italy's capital, to deliver a strong message to the Vatican. 

About one hundred victims and their relatives held a candle-lit vigil on the edge of St Peter's Square in the Vatican on Sunday, where they left messages for the pope.

The pope, among other leading Vatican officials, has issued apologies for the abuse, but the group wants more action against the perpetrators.

Survivor's Voice, the US group behind the protest, said that they were not given permission to enter the square collectively.

When Vatican a spokesman came to speak with organisers, a protester shouted "Shame'' in Italian.

"This isn't an attack on faith or religion, it's about behaviour and ethics," Marco Lodo Rizzini, a spokesman for child victims of abuse from Italy's Antonio Provolo Institute for the Deaf, said.

"The pope keeps saying child abuse is a crime, but he needs actually to take some concrete action."

Claims of abuse by members of the Roman Catholic Church have been heard across Europe and the US.

The church has been criticised for covering up such incidents and allowing the institution to become a haven for paedophilia.

Teen alleges rape at church.

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Teen alleges rape at church.

A Milton man was arrested following an investigation concerning a sexual assault that allegedly occurred at a Milton church.

Tuesday deputies arrested 24-year-old Nathaniel Baldwin on two counts of a sexual offense with a victim between the ages of 12 to 15 years of age. Baldwin was released after posting a bond of $10,000.

The incidents occurred at the Milton First Assembly of God on Dogwood Drive and at the suspect’s residence in January according to the report.

The investigation began into the matter on Jan. 27, when a deputy was dispatched to Milton High School concerning a sexual battery complaint.

The victim complained to officers they had been “raped” by Nathaniel Baldwin of Milton a week prior to the investigation

According to the victim, Baldwin had been a close friend of theirs for a couple of years, and both the victim and Baldwin attended the same church.

One incident in the report alleges, the victim was at the Milton First Assembly of God Church on Dogwood Drive on Jan. 20 and prior to services starting went to use the bathroom.

The victim told officers that when they came out of the bathroom, Baldwin was standing outside the door and grabbed them and then pulled them into another room that was dark.  They continued by saying that Baldwin held them on the ground and pulled off their shirt and bra and began “sucking and biting” the victim according to the report.

Baldwin then pulled the victim’s pants and underwear off and began groping them, and put his hand both over and inside the victim’s mouth to keep them from yelling according to the victim’s statement,

When officers asked what made Baldwin stop the actions, the victim stated that Baldwin looked at his watch and might have stopped because “church was about to start” according to the report.

The next day, the victim told officers that both they and a family member were dropped off at their grandmother’s house after school. The victim’s relative called Baldwin to pick them up to get something to eat, and afterwards they went to Baldwin’s residence.

According to the report, when the victim arrived at Baldwin’s house, the victim’s relative began playing video games in another room, and the victim got on Baldwin’s computer.

The victim told officers that Baldwin entered the computer room, closed the door, and put something in front of the door to block it.

The victim alleged Baldwin sat in a chair behind them and began groping and biting them as he did the day before, only this time, Baldwin bit more forcefully.

The victim told officers that they would send Baldwin text messages back and forth that stated “vulgar things” according to the report, but none of the texts sent from the victim suggested Baldwin perform such acts as he did.

On January 28, an officer was sent to the victim’s school to take photographs of the alleged injuries.  According to the report, several scratch marks and abrasions were seen on the upper part of the victim’s body.

Officers interviewed one of the victim’s friends who told officers that the victim had notified them of the same story about the incident on Thursday.

Deputies interviewed Baldwin on Feb. 17, who said that both he and the victim were “pretty close” and said that he was dating the victim according to the report.

He told officers that their friendship turned to dating in October 2009.  Baldwin told officers that he had kissed and made out with the victim in the past, and through text messages, the two would talk about things that they wanted to “do to each other” and said the victim would send him texts asking him to write role-playing scenarios to him according to the report.

Baldwin told officers that the received texts from the victim suggesting he “touch (them) further” according to the report.

The suspect admitted to the officers that both the incident at the church and his residence did occur, but believed them to be consensual.  He told officers that he did not bite her roughly, and suggested the bites were only “hickey oriented” according to the statement.

Baldwin also told officers that both texted about trying to find “a quiet spot to get away from everyone” and that when they were at the church that Wednesday, “they both found an empty room” and Baldwin admitted to the actions described by the victim that happened that day according to the report.

Survivors of Irish church child abuse speak out

IRELANDS SHAME-THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND CHILD ABUSE.

Child Abuse Continues to Plague the Catholic Church Across the Globe By Cassandra Clifford.

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Child Abuse Continues to Plague the Catholic Church Across the Globe By Cassandra Clifford.

The Catholic Church is once again making headlines, as yesterday many papers broke the news of German Bishop Walter Mixa’s resignation letter to Pope Benedict XVI. Mixa, has been accused of hitting children and is currently under investigation for misappropriating funds from a children’s home (DerSpiegel).  Today Mixa officially resigned from his post.

The Catholic church continues to be plagued by the growing child sexual abuse scandal. The reporting of abuse cases has reached astonishing heights in Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Poland, 70 new cases of abuse are reportedly under investigation in Switzerland. In addition, news broke this week that the Catholic church child sex scandal hits Brazil as priest, 83, is arrested over alter boy abuse allegations (Daily Mail).

While allegations and cases of abuse seem far from new in recent years the breaking new of abuses has led to a breaking of silence and more and more victims have continued to step forward. The level of abuses has undoubtedly rocked not only the Catholic community across the globe but all faiths.  However it is the extent of cover-up for such acts and perpetrators has been handled with-in the church over the last two decades that has left the vast majority of the population in utter dismay.

Across Europe the past few weeks has brought with it even more distrust and belief as more abuse cases are being brought forward.  This follows an escalating child abuse crisis in Ireland involving more than 15,000 children and cover-ups by church leaders from the 1930s to 1990s. The Pope issued an apology to the Irish victims of abuse last month, however many found it futile, as there was no resolution regarding the punishment of clergy many feel are responsible for the abuse.  Victims and critics say the apology failed to clarify Vatican rules on clerical obligations to report abuses to civil authorities and internal investigations into church abuses, skirting around addressing the cover-ups which kept the cases of abuse in the dark (The New York Times).

The abuse cover-ups are far reaching and seem to be more shocking as they emerge from the headlines across the globe. While the “scandal” emerged as silence broke on decade old cases, the extent to which issues of abuse have been kept a private affair appear to have become deeply rooted. Earlier this month a Catholic priest who had been criminally charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in Minnesota six years ago was found working in his home diocese in India despite warnings to the Vatican from an American bishop that he posed a risk to children (The New York Times).

In light of Mixa’s resignation today the churches actions against abuser in the ranks continue to be mixed. Many accused abusers receive little more than a slap on the wrist and a consensus on apologies and punishments appear to be mixed. DerSpiegel, questioned the reason for  many church represenatives citing, “relief” at the resignation;

“Relief from what, exactly? Is it a relief to have finally gotten rid of someone who has long been seen as a burden, given his loose tongue and his conservative attitudes? Or is it a relief to make a reconciliatory gesture to an enraged public which is demanding concrete action on the abuse crisis?”
The abuse scandal is truly a global one and as more and more cases are uncovered the Vatican is going to have to seek stronger action and consistency across the board to keep the faithful from loosing faith and placing the Catholic church in a position to which it can never bounce back.