Legal Political

Bill would remove statute of limitations in Oregon for sex crimes against minors

Sat, 05 Mar 2011 23:08:15 +1100

Tag: usa

SALEM -- Part of the public fury that grew over former Gov. Neil Goldschmidt's admission that he sexually abused an underage girl was that he could not be prosecuted for the crime -- the statute of limitations had expired long ago.

Now Oregon lawmakers are considering a change that would eliminate the time limit on when someone accused of abuse or assault of a minor could be prosecuted.

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"I just think there is no rationale that we deny children the ability to seek justice later on in life," says Rep. Dave Hunt, D-Gladstone, who is pushing the proposed change in the law.

The proposal, contained in House Bill 3057, gets its first public hearing Monday and will likely generate a fight pitting prosecutors against defense attorneys. Some district attorneys say young sexual assault victims need extra protection. Defense lawyers say the change would make it far more difficult for people to make the case that they've been wrongly accused.

Oregon has a six-year statute of limitations on most sex crimes. However, the law allows a longer time period if the victim is under 18. In that case, the crime can be prosecuted any time before the victim turns 30, or within 12 years after the crime is reported to police or the Department of Human Services.

But even those extended time periods aren't always enough, says John Foote, Clackamas County district attorney.

"Child abuse is a lifelong event," he says. "It stays with people their whole lives. Sometimes society ends up paying for it. Sometimes the victim does."

The bill offers one more layer of protection if abusers understand they could be prosecuted long after the crime, Foote says. "When you're in the work we're in, protecting children, you realize these kids need all the protection they can get because the effects are so devastating."

Innocent defendants need protection, too, says Gail Meyer, lobbyist for the Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. Completely removing an already lengthy statute of limitations stacks the deck against them, she says.

In criminal cases, as opposed to civil ones, the defense has no right to depose witnesses, Meyer says. Most of the crimes fall under Measure 11's mandatory sentencing guidelines and it takes a 10-2 jury verdict to convict.

"Add that to a delayed report of 20, 30, 40 years, it's just too much," she says. "It just spells a disaster for justice."

Goldschmidt offers the most high-profile case in Oregon of a crime that went unreported until it was too late to prosecute. In May 2004, the former governor and Nike executive confessed that he had sex with an underage girl when he was Portland mayor in the 1980s. He kept the crime secret for years, in part by making payments to the victim as part of a court settlement.

Despite the criminal nature of his abuse, Goldschmidt faced no chance of prosecution. The bill Hunt is pushing would apply to offenses that occurred before or after the law's effective date, but would not allow prosecutors to open old cases.

Goldschmidt has since disappeared from public life, but community outrage hasn't let up. It flared again over reports of the recent death of his victim, and a story in The Oregonian in which the victim gave several interviews to former columnist Margie Boule that offered grim details of her abuse by Goldschmidt.

Hunt says the Goldschmidt case is far from the sole reason he introduced the bill. It's as much about reports of abuse within the Catholic Church and Boy Scouts as it is about Goldschmidt, he says.

Hunt's wife, Tonia Hunt, is executive director of the Children's Center of Clackamas County, which works with young abuse victims. As a result, he says, he hears stories on a daily basis about the terrible things that some adults do to minors.

"We want victims to come forward, whether they're still children or whether they're adults," Hunt says. "Ultimately, they're not going to heal or move on until justice has been promised and achieved."

-- Harry Esteve

http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/in..._of_l.html ...

Wash. Senate approves 2 child prostitution bills

Sat, 05 Mar 2011 00:13:20 +1100

Tag: usa

OLYMPIA, Wash. The state Senate has unanimously approved two bills aimed at fighting child prostitution, a crime that authorities say isn't common in Washington but occurs often enough to merit concern.

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"We know that our state is one of the most vulnerable in the country for human trafficking crimes due to our close proximity to Asia, our international border and our numerous public ports," state Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, told the Tri-City Herald. "This legislation will go far in continuing our efforts to end this modern-day form of slavery and helping prosecution efforts to bring criminals participating in the illicit trade to justice.

Kohl-Welles and fellow state Sen. Jerome Delvin, R-Richland, collaborated on the bills, which would expand the criminal definition of human trafficking and allow police to record telephone calls involving underage victims when they consent.

Kennewick police Chief Ken Hohenberg said Friday that he liked Delvin's surveillance proposal, Senate Bill 5545, because it doesn't further victimize minors.

Child prostitution is "one of those things where oftentimes they refer to it being a victimless crime, but it's not, because children are victims," Hohenberg said.

That bill would allow law enforcement to use a minor as a cooperating witness in an investigation, but only by electronic or telephonic communication with the suspect.

If victims "are willing to cooperate in an investigation, they should be able to do so in a way that protects them," Delvin said. "This bill lets predators know that if they target our children, we, as a state, will give law enforcement every tool in the box it needs to hold these criminals accountable."

Current law prohibits police from employing minors in sex trafficking investigations. It also prohibits police from recording conversations without the consent of both parties on the call.

Delvin's bill would provide an exemption to the state's two-party consent requirement to allow police to listen and record conversations with underage sex trafficking suspects.

Police would need the victim's consent and have probable cause to believe the conversation involves underage sex trafficking to make a recording. Prior approval by a judge would not be required.

Meanwhile, Kohl-Welles' proposal, Senate Bill 5546, expands the definition of human trafficking to include forced labor, involuntary servitude, commercial sexual abuse of a minor and criminal sex acts, as well as illegal harvesting or sale of human organs.

A second bill introduced by Kohl-Welles would authorize a portion of a $10 recording surcharge paid to county auditors to pay for housing for human trafficking victims and their families. That measure, Senate Bill 5482, has not gone before the full Senate.

The surveillance and definition bills now go to the House for consideration.

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/...z1FpCrIcYV
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McDonnell weighs change on filing sexual abuse lawsuits

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 05:43:06 +1100

Tag: usa

By WESLEY P. HESTER

Flipping through photographs five years ago, Becky Ianni came across an image that changed her life.

The photo was of a 9-year-old Ianni with Monsignor William T. Reinecke, a pastor at her family's Alexandria church who she says molested her for two years after befriending her family.

"He told me that God would be mad at me and I'd go to hell," said Ianni, now 53. "I figured what was happening was my fault and that God was punishing me because I was a bad person — I just buried it."

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Finding the photo awakened those buried emotions. "I just couldn't put it aside any longer," she said.

Ianni's was one of several stories that helped legislation to dramatically increase the time limit under which victims of sexual abuse can file lawsuits clear this year's General Assembly. Two identical bills that would increase the limit from the current two years to 20 are on Gov. Bob McDonnell's desk.

If signed, the legislation would allow victims 20 years from the time of the incident, their 18th birthday or — in the event of repressed memories — from the time the abuse is remembered, to file suit. There is no limitation on criminal charges.

Ianni was not the first to come forward with allegations against Reinecke, who took his own life in 1992, days after being confronted by a former altar boy with a similar story. Shortly after his suicide, another male parishioner accused him of sexual abuse.

Ianni eventually negotiated a settlement to pay for her therapy, but it was too late for a lawsuit.

The Catholic Church opposed the 20-year limit during this year's legislative session in the wake of a wave of scandals and lawsuits that last year rocked the church, the second such controversy in less than a decade.

"When we talk about civil lawsuits, we're talking about not only actual perpetrators, but third parties being sued," said Jeff Caruso, executive director of the Virginia Catholic Conference. He noted that those parties could include churches, schools and nonprofit groups.

"If one were to discover abuse when they were age 50, they would have until age 70 to file a lawsuit (about abuse) that could have occurred during their childhood," he added. "After a certain amount of time, memories fade, witnesses either die or can't be found ... records may not even exist any longer."

Caruso pointed out that 39 other states have a limitation of eight years or less and that only six have periods of 15 years or more.

* * * * *

Del. David B. Albo, R-Fairfax, who sponsored the legislation in the House of Delegates, said he did so on behalf of Protect, a national organization to help children.

Albo said current limitations "don't really make sense given the fact that these people who have been molested as kids don't think normally."

Even if victims don't block out the memories, they may not realize that what was done to them was illegal until they undergo therapy, Albo said.

"None of these people can get their stuff together to be able to file a lawsuit in time (under current law)," he said.

The legislation originally proposed extending the limit to 25 years. Some proposed eight years instead, before 20 was agreed upon in both versions of the bill.

"It's very, very scary that we've now gone from two years to 20," said Mary Devoy, founder of Reform Sex Offender Laws of Virginia.

Devoy said many are wrongfully accused of abuse and that proving innocence becomes much more difficult over time.

"Sexual claims are 'he said, she said,' and in Virginia, an accusation alone is sufficient to convict," Devoy said. "All you need is an angry ex who wants custody of the kids or who doesn't want to pay alimony, and it's a done deal."

Ianni saw things differently, calling 20 years "a good start."

"I wish there was no statute of limitations," she said, "but this is a big improvement. I know how long it took for me to come forward, and I'm not unusual. The average victim doesn't come forward until they're like 40."

McDonnell said Sunday that he would seek the advice of Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli before reviewing the bill.

"We're going to look at it," he said, adding that "there are some unique issues regarding sex offenses that would warrant extensions of the statute of limitations."

McDonnell said he is empathetic, having worked with abuse victims as a prosecutor.

"I understand that sometimes, for a variety of circumstances, it takes awhile for civil or criminal charges to be brought," he said.

Devoy said she hopes the governor will agree that 20 years was too long.

"A civil case is all about money," she said. "It's not about justice, it's not about locking up an offender, it's not about protecting the public or feeling safe. It's all about money."

Ianni disagreed, saying the change could protect children by encouraging victims to expose predators who might commit future abuse.

"None of us want another child to go through this," she said. "And rarely does a predator have one victim."

whester@timesdispatch.com

(804) 649-6976

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Proposed Pa. Bills Would Help Victims of Child Sex Abuse Seek Justice

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 22:55:43 +1100

Tag: usa

By David O'Reilly Philadelphia Inquirer

HARRISBURG - Spurred by last month's explosive grand jury report on child sex abuse by priests of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, two state lawmakers from the city introduced legislation Tuesday that would make it easier for victims of sexual assault to seek justice.

One bill proposes abolishing both the criminal and civil statutes of limitations on all future sexual attacks on children.

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Since 2006, victims whose cases had not expired under previous statutes have had until age 50 to bring criminal charges against their alleged assailants, and until age 30 to file civil suits.

The other new bill would create a two-year "window" of opportunity, starting in July, that would allow victims to sue no matter how long ago they were abused.

Introduced by Rep. Mike McGeehan, it is modeled on legislation adopted in 2007 by Delaware. By the time the "window" there closed in July 2009, 200 accusers had stepped forward. About 150 of them sued the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, which recently settled out of court for $77 million.

"It will be a difficult road" to win support of both houses of the Pennsylvania legislature and both parties, McGeehan predicted. But he voiced confidence that lawmakers would sign on once they learned the horrific consequences of child sex abuse.

A similar effort to open a civil "window" proved unsuccessful in 2006, following the first grand jury investigation into abusive clergy in the Philadelphia archdiocese.

A Democrat in his 11th term and a lifelong Catholic, McGeehan conceded that he was among the lawmakers who did not support the measure back then, even though the panel's report alleged that 63 current and former priests of the archdiocese had sexually assaulted minors over five decades. It also accused archdiocesan leaders of an "immoral cover-up" of those crimes.

Owing to the narrowness of Pennsylvania's criminal statute of limitations at that time, the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office did not criminally charge anyone.

"I was shocked by that first report, but not moved to act," McGeehan said after the news conference. He had given church leaders "the benefit of the doubt" that they would take the necessary steps to protect children and respond to victims. But the 2011 grand jury, he said, "blew the doors off the facade that they can police themselves."

Its report led to felony charges against two priests, one defrocked priest, and a parochial-school teacher for allegedly raping and sodomizing two altar boys in the 1990s. A monsignor who had served as Cardinal Bevilacqua's secretary for clergy was indicted on two counts of child endangerment for his role in assigning the priests.

The panel also asserted that the archdiocese had kept as many as 37 clergymen in active ministry despite accusations of inappropriate behavior with minors.

The legislators and victims who gathered Tuesday in the Capitol Rotunda stressed that sexual abuse was not a uniquely "Catholic" problem or one confined to clergy and that the proposed legislation was not targeted at the Catholic Church.

Rep. Louise Williams Bishop, also a Democrat, introduced the bill calling for the elimination of the statute of limitations on child-sex-abuse crimes. Should it become law, sexually assaulted children would have their entire lives to sue their assailants or to press criminal charges against them.

"It's time for broken lives to be put together again," said Bishop, who at the news conference was flanked by adult victims of child abuse. Several of them recounted, in quavering voices, the stories of their shattered lives.

Despite pledges of support from a handful of lawmakers who stepped to the microphones, the bills' prospects were uncertain.

After some legislators proposed the "window" statute in 2006, Rep. Thomas R. Caltagirone (D., Berks), then chairman of the House judiciary committee, pledged to defeat the measure, saying it sought only to win large monetary judgments for the victims. Caltagirone refused to call hearings that would have allowed victims to tell the committee about their abuse and its long-term psychological damage.

Now the minority chairman of the committee, Caltagirone said in a statement Tuesday that he remained opposed to a window.

"Our current laws ensure that those claims [of sexual assault] are filed in a timely manner when evidence in their claim is readily available," he said. "Over the last decade, the legislature developed what is believed to be a reasonable period of time to present such claims. A victim has been given 12 years past their 18th birthday to bring forth [civil] claims against an individual who committed an unspeakable act against them."

Through a spokeswoman, Rep. Ron Marsico (R., Dauphin), who now heads the judiciary committee, said he had not committed himself to the idea of a civil window. The spokeswoman said he told her that "the committee's plate is already full" with bills and that he could not predict whether these would make it to the floor for a vote this year.

In a one-sentence statement late Tuesday afternoon, the Philadelphia archdiocese said it was "reviewing the proposed legislation."

The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, a lobbying organization that represents the state's 10 Roman Catholic dioceses, including the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, said it had not had a chance to study the new bills.

However, Amy Hill, the conference's spokeswoman, said in a statement that it had in the past "opposed the idea of opening a 'window' . . . because it would be unworkable."

"Over time, memories fade, evidence is lost or never found, and in many instances, perpetrators or witnesses may be deceased," she said. "The passage of time makes it nearly impossible for a church or any other organization to defend itself against allegations from 30, 40, and 50 years ago."

In addition to Delaware, California passed a one-year civil window in 2003 that brought forward about 1,000 victims. Of those, 850 sued various Catholic dioceses, which settled the cases for an average of $1.2 million per victim.

Tag: statute_of_limitations

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Catholic church urging governor to veto Bill 34

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 01:46:51 +1100

Tag: guam

“The only way to prevent more sex crimes against children is to bring the sexual predators preying in our community to light, as is the intent of Bill 34. It is my sincere hope that the Bishop and his advisors reconsider their views on this measure.” ---- Sen. Benjamin J.F. Cruz

CONFLICT now surrounds the much-debated Bill 34 which has its author, Vice Speaker BJ Cruz, and the Archdiocese of Agana battling over the bill’s intention and legitimacy.

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The Archdiocese of Agana has urged Gov. Eddie Calvo to veto Bill 34 after senators passed it nine to six last week.

The bill received widespread criticism and unleashed a series of debates, accusations and scrutiny amongst lawmakers, the Catholic Church and members of the community.

Bill 34 will give a two-year window for victims of childhood sex abuse to pursue civil actions against their perpetrators.

It is a companion legislation to Bill 33, also authored by Cruz, which removes the statute of limitations on sex crimes against minors.

“Archbishop Anthony Sablan Apuron has spoken to a number of Senators about the Archdiocese’s concerns and also shared the Church’s view with the governor’s office,” a press release from the Archdiocese of Agana stated.

“We are hopeful that Governor Calvo will veto the bill,” it added.

Argument

The Archdiocese argued that while it supports Bill 33 because it prevents future abuse, Bill 34 “does nothing to protect our children.”

Although the Archdiocese acknowledged the personal and emotional debate that ensued during last week’s legislative session, it maintained that the bill, even as amended, is “flawed” and “vague” and could result in “unintended consequences.”

“Although lifting the statute of limitations in extreme cases of criminal behavior like murder or the sexual abuse of children is warranted, such actions should only be done with great care and prudence,” the media release stated.

“The Archdiocese of Agaña is committed to taking every step possible to protect our children from abuse, while encouraging all victims to come forward to report crimes that may have been perpetrated against them. We will continue our efforts in the coming months to support community efforts to eliminate abuse of children wherever it occurs,” it concluded.

Cruz

However, Cruz argued that Bill 34 does, in fact, protect children from being sexually abused.

“The only way to prevent more sex crimes against children is to bring the sexual predators preying in our community to light, as is the intent of Bill 34,” Cruz said. “It is my sincere hope that the Bishop and his advisors reconsider their views on this measure.”

In Cruz’s press release, he further argued that enacting Bill 33 into law without Bill 34 “would mean justice would wait perhaps years or even decades until a child victim has overcome his or her fears of the predator, before reporting the crime to the authorities; meanwhile the child sex predator continues the abuse.”

Window legislation is the “tried and true” means, the release states, that could assist in identifying pedophiles and child sex abuse predators.

“By identifying the child sex abuse predator, it is more likely that other victims will come forward and that the continued victimization of other children stops,” the release stated.

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Sex abuse reform call following Father Sultana revelations

Tue, 02 Nov 2010 04:46:46 +1100

Tag: australia

By Gavin King

PRIESTS should be forced by law to report every allegation of child abuse to authorities and end the cycle of trauma suffered by young victims and adult survivors of clergy sex abuse.

Child safety advocates and victim support groups yesterday called on the State Government to immediately upgrade mandatory reporting laws to include ministers of religion.

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In Queensland, the only professions mandated to report suspected abuse to authorities are doctors, nurses, Department of Communities officers and employees of licensed residential care services.

School principals and teachers are required to report suspected abuse in line with Education Queensland policy, but they are not legally mandated to do so.

South Australia is the only state in Australia to include ministers of religion in its mandatory reporting legislation, with an exemption for disclosures made in the confessional.

Priest abuse source of 'endless years of pain' | Cairns Bishop responds to abuse claims | I was abused by a priest, Cairns man claims

The call for changes to the state’s mandatory reporting law follows revelations that a Cairns man has launched a civil suit against the Catholic Church for abuse inflicted by Father Joseph Sultana at St Joseph’s School at Atherton between 1979 and 1982.

The man, now 38, told Cairns Bishop James Foley about the abuse in a meeting in November last year, but Bishop Foley did not report the matter to police.

Support group Adults Surviving Child Abuse spokeswoman Cathy Kezelman said the response by Bishop James Foley, published in full in The Cairns Post yesterday, was inadequate, insensitive and out of step with community expectations.

"Sadly, this story in The Cairns Post is reminiscent of so many stories that we’ve seen globally of the church not responding appropriately at the time or later when an adult is finally ready to confront the abuse," Dr Kezelman said.

"Generally, the victim is in fact being revictimised by the church closing ranks and treating it like it’s secret church business.

"The victim is the last one the church responds to with compassion.

"These are criminal acts and perpetrators need to be brought to justice.

"Victims need to be acknowledged, validated, heard and listened to and given appropriate and independent care outside of Catholic Church counselling services.

"We absolutely support priests being mandatory reporters in Queensland."

Tag: cairns qld

Cairns Queensland Australia

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US victims want new priest probe

Sun, 31 Oct 2010 00:20:43 +1100

Tag: usa

VICTIMS of paedophile priests in the USA are demanding an investigation into James Robinson’s time in California.

Former Catholic priest Robinson, who was known as Father Jim, was found guilty last week on 21 counts of abusing children he met while working in churches throughout the West Midlands between 1959 and 1983.

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But the disgraced clergyman escaped to the USA in the mid-1980s and served as a priest until 1993, when the Archdiocese of Los Angeles finally learned about his sordid past. The Sunday Mercury first revealed Father Robinson’s depraved crimes in the late 1990s and campaigned tirelessly for him to be extradited, which he finally was last year.

During Father Robinson’s time in the USA he served at three parishes across LA, and American victims of paedophile priests are now demanding to know why it took the authorities so long to learn about his vile past.

Joelle Casteix, regional director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, said: “The archdiocese never announced anything about Robinson.

“We don’t know what they know about him, or when they knew it, but we know that they never made an effort to reach out to potential victims.”

The network was formed in the wake of a sex abuse scandal that broke in 2002 at the Archdiocese of Boston, and eventually spread to congregations across the US.

In 2007, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the largest in the nation, paid a record $660 million to settle more than 500 claims of abuse by its priests.

Tod Tamberg, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, said they received no reports of Robinson abusing anyone during his time at three local churches.

He said: “If somebody comes forward, certainly we will turn that over to police and extend outreach to those people, should they come forward.”

Tamberg explained that the Los Angeles archdiocese received a letter in 1993 from a Catholic bishop in Birmingham, saying Robinson had been accused of sexual abuse, and that he was being recalled by to England.

At that point, Robinson’s priestly faculties in Los Angeles were revoked, and he was sent home.

“That’s the last we heard of him until 2008, when we received an anonymous phone call saying that he was running a trailer park in Southern California,” Tamberg said. “We turned that information over to the police.”

Tag: california

California

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Sex abuse and midterm elections -- Part II

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 02:21:42 +1100

Tag: usa

By Dennis Coday NCR Today

More reader input on Nov. 2 election campaigns in which sex abuse by clergy figures as an issue.

Kris Ward of the National Survivor Advocates Coalition, a sex abuse survivors group, told me that her group is urging Ohio voters to look at the record of Jon Husted, the Republican candidate for Ohio's Secretary of State.

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This is an important race, the ChillicotheGazatte.com tells us, because "it's redistricting time. The next secretary of state will be one of five people who will help draw legislative districts in 2011, which will carry considerable influence over which party controls each chamber of the Ohio General Assembly."

Husted is running against Maryellen O'Shaughnessy, a Democrat, and Charles R. Earl, a Libertarian.

Ward sent me a statement from her coalition that says that in 2005, when Husted was Ohio's Speaker of the House, he reneged on a pledge to support passage of a bill that would have greatly extended the statute of limitation for the sexual abuse of minors and would have provide a "window" that would have allowed those for whom the statute had passed to have their day in court.

I could not find a news source that shows that this is an issue in the Ohio race for Secretary of State, but Ward's group would like it to be an issue.

According the National Survivor Advocates Coalition, in 2005 when the statute of limitations legislation was being considered, its Dayton affiliate hand delivered 100 personal letters to then-Speaker Husted supporting the bill. "Upon receipt of the letters, Mr. Husted unequivocally pledged his support" the statement says.

The bill passed the Ohio Senate unanimously "– a feat nearly unheard of in legislation battles," the coalition statement says. The bill was strenuously opposed by the Ohio Catholic Conference.

When the bill arrived in the house, the coalition statement says, Husted failed to "use his considerable influence as Speaker of the House to shepherd legislation … [and] the bill was gutted."

The full statement from the National Survivor Advocates Coalition is on the groups Web site: www.nsacoalition.org.

Tag: ohio

Ohio USA

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child sex abuse is crime against humanity

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 02:07:59 +1100

Tag: vatican

Victims of clergy sex abuse from a dozen countries are gathering in Rome this weekend to launch a petition demanding the United Nations designate child sex abuse as a crime against humanity.

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Organizers said the Sunday gathering would mark the first time that abuse survivors from around the world gather for a day of healing and to demand greater action from the Vatican. A few hundred people are expected.

Organizers had hoped to stage the demonstration at the Vatican, but said they had to move it a few hundred meters (yards) away because the Holy See declined to give them access.

Organizer Gary Bergeron, abused as an altar boy by a Boston priest, said Friday the issue needs to be treated as a global one.

Vatican

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Victims: child sex abuse is crime against humanity

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 01:15:31 +1100

Tag: united_nations
Tag: italy

ROME (AP) — Victims of clergy sex abuse from a dozen countries are gathering in Rome this weekend to launch a petition demanding the United Nations designate child sex abuse as a crime against humanity.

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Organizers said the Sunday gathering would mark the first time that abuse survivors from around the world gather for a day of healing and to demand greater action from the Vatican. A few hundred people are expected.

Organizers had hoped to stage the demonstration at the Vatican, but said they had to move it a few hundred meters (yards) away because the Holy See declined to give them access.

Organizer Gary Bergeron, abused as an altar boy by a Boston priest, said Friday the issue needs to be treated as a global one.

Rome

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