And here is the news for the Pope

Tag: australia
When the Pope comes to Australia on 13 July 2008 for World Youth Day events, he will spend the first few days holidaying at a camp run by controversial Catholic organisation Opus Dei. This will give His Holiness time to catch up on Australia's latest scandals about the Catholic Church's youth-abuse. For example: On 3 July 2008 � ten days before the Pope's arrival in Australia � prosecutors filed new child-sex charges in the Ballarat Magistrates Court against Christian Brother Robert Charles Best, aged 67. The court has listed the charges for a mention on 25 September 2008, when the prosecution and defence can make submissions regarding a subsequent committal hearing. The charges include multiple counts of sexual offences against boys, allegedly committed at St Alipius boys' primary school in Ballarat East between 1970 and 1973 and at St Leo's College in Box Hill (Melbourne) in 1976. The prosecution file was compiled by the Ballarat Criminal Investigation Unit of the Victoria Police. Best was convicted in 1996 for sexual child-abuse, committed in the 1970s at Ballarat East. See some background about Best here. http://brokenrites.alphalink.com.au/n...age27.html


Father Paul Raymond Evans (who was originally a priest in the Salesian order, working at the Boys Town residential school in Engadine, NSW) is currently in a jury trial at the Sydney District Court on child-sex charges. It is possible that the trial might finish by July 18 � while the Pope is still in Australia. See more about Evans here. http://brokenrites.alphalink.com.au/n...evans.html


In Canberra on 23 June 2008, Marist Brother John William Chute (alias "Brother Kostka") was jailed for sexual child-abuse at a Canberra Catholic boys' school, Marist College. Kostka is in jail and therefore will not be able to welcome the Pope. See our story here. http://brokenrites.alphalink.com.au/n...ostka.html


On 25 June 2008, an Australian former employee of the Vatican (Brother Rodger Moloney) was convicted for sexually abusing intellectually-handicapped youths. And, while Australian taxpayers are paying mega-dollars to stage the Catholic Church's World Youth Day, the church has spent mega-dollars during the past five years trying to protect Brother Moloney. See our story here. http://brokenrites.alphalink.com.au/n...loney.html


Australian police are currently arranging to extradite a Catholic priest, Charles Alfred Barnett, 66, from Indonesia to South Australia, where he will face child abuse charges. Australian police allege that Father Barnett molested a number of boys, aged between 12 and 17, from 1977 to 1994, around Adelaide and Port Pirie, an Indonesian court was told. It is believed that Father Barnett was ordained into an Australia-wide religious order and that he may have also ministered in other Australian states (perhaps Queensland and New South Wales), as well as South Australia. See our story here. http://brokenrites.alphalink.com.au/n...rnett.html


The Sydney "Sun Herald", on Sunday 22 June 2008, reported that Father Ronald John McKeirnan (who was jailed in 1998 for sexual child-abuse) is still being harbored in the Brisbane archdiocese. The paper said that McKeirnan has been employed doing work on church websites, including websites that are relevant to youth. The Brisbane Catholic Leader, on 29 June 2008, confirmed that the Marist Brothers community in Brisbane still use Father McKeirnan to say Mass for the Brothers. See some background about McKeirnan here. http://brokenrites.alphalink.com.au/n...page2.html


The Catholic Church is paying big money to its lawyers to fight victims in the civil courts if victims try to sue the church. A feature article in the "Weekend Australian" (28 June 2008, page 25, by Ean Higgins and Nicola Berkovic) describes how the church is refusing to pay reasonable compensation to victims. The article says: "With the Pope due here next month, complaints of past child abuse by his church are growing." The heading on the article is: "Pontiff has chance to lift the church's pall of shame." The article is available on the internet. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/...37,00.html

Tag: pope
Tag: brisbane-archdiocese
Tag: marist-brother
Tag: boys-town
Tag: christian-brother
Tag: salesian-order

Tag: robert-charles
Tag: paul-raymond-evans
Tag: john-william-chute
Tag: rodger-moloney
Tag: charles-alfred-barnett
Tag: ronald-john-mckeirnan

Tag: broken-rites
Tag: world-youth-day
Tag: st-alipius-boys- primary-school-in-ballarat-east
Tag: st-leos-college-in-box-hill

Tag: adelaide
Tag: port pirie
Tag: queensland
Tag: new-south-wales
Tag: sydney
Tag: ballarat
Tag: canberra


The youth who attend World Youth Day in Sydney in July 2008 will certainly have plenty to talk about