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Saturday, February 27, 2016

The Jesuits covered up for an abusive Brother and merely moved him to another school

The Jesuits covered up for an abusive Brother and merely moved him to another school

Jesuit priests and brothers operate some of Australia's most prominent  schools, with famous ex-students such as former prime minister Tony Abbott. After Brother Victor Higgs committed sexual offences against boys at one of these schools (St Ignatius College,  Adelaide), the Jesuits kept Brother Higgs as a member of the Jesuit Order and moved him to their famous Sydney school (St Ignatius College Riverview). One of the Adelaide victims finally reported Brother Higgs to the South Australian police and, on 29 January 2016, Higgs was jailed for some of his Adelaide offences. New South Wales police might now examine Brother Higgs' career in Sydney.


The image above is taken from Part 1: Ex-Jesuit accused of sexual abuse - http://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/investigative/113912-philippine-society-jesus-sex-abuse-case

According to statements made in the Adelaide District Court, Victor Thomas James Higgs was born in the late 1930s, the youngest of nine children. After a period of training with the Jesuits, he became a Brother in the Australia-wide Jesuit religious order in 1963, aged in his twenties. He later spent three years working at St Ignatius College in Athelstone, Adelaide (1968 to 1970, inclusive, when he was aged around 30). He mostly did administrative duties for the school, although he taught some classes (for example, in religious education and in commerce).

After a complaint by a parent in Adelaide, the Jesuits transferred Brother Higgs to St Ignatius Riverview, Sydney, where he spent ten years. The Jesuits kept him as a member of the Jesuit religious order until he retired in Sydney in 2001.

Higgs was interviewed by South Australian police in early 2013 regarding boys from St Ignatius, Adelaide. When charged, Higgs indicated that would plead not guilty, meaning that he would fight the charges in court. Eventually, nearly three years later, he changed his plea to guilty, which meant that no trial would be needed (a judge would merely have to impose a sentence).

On 29 January 2016, Higgs (aged 78) was sentenced in the Adelaide District Court for indecent assault of two boys at St Ignatius Adelaide (one charge for each boy). These were not the only allegations that police had made against Higgs in Adelaide. These two charges were those to which he finally agreed to plead guilty.

Judge Gordon Barrett sentenced Higgs to a maximum jail sentence of two years and three months jail. He said that Higgs would be able to apply for parole after serving one year behind bars.

In his sentencing remarks, Judge Barrett told Higgs:

"The first [charge] involved a boy who would have been about 12 at the time. You took him into your room, made him take down his pants and there fondled his genitals. You did so on the pretext of giving him sexual counselling and assessing his development. You touched him on only that one occasion.

"In relation to the other boy, he was about the same age. He had misbehaved in class. You made him turn up at the canteen where you got him to take his pants down and bend over. He was expecting to be caned for his misdemeanour. Instead you touched his buttocks with a feather duster. The boy asked you what you were doing. You told him to get out. He reported the matter to his parents who raised it with the school. Whether as a result of that report or for some quite other reason, I am not sure, but you left the college in Adelaide and moved to a brother school in Sydney.

"While the two offences consist of a single episode of touching each boy in the ways that I have described, and it is not alleged that you touched other boys, your behaviour has to be seen in a context. That context is that you used to get boys into a private room, make them take down their pants and look at their genitals. You engaged them in sexual talk. All of this, the charged and the uncharged acts, were on the pretext of checking the boys’ development or counselling them, but it is quite plain that you were doing nothing of the sort. You were engaging the boys in this way for your own sexual gratification.

"The reaction of the two boys to your offending is instructive. The first boy appears to have suffered sexual abuse at the hands of another teacher at the school and so it is hard to separate the effects of your offending from the effects of the other teacher’s offending. However, his account of what happened after he came out of your room where you had indecently assaulted him is indicative of the consequences of your offending. Other students noticed the boy come out of the room. They asked him if he had let you touch him. Whatever his response, the other students assumed he had. He was taunted, suggesting he [the boy] was a homosexual. It appears your proclivities were widely known among the students. That boy’s trust in teachers and trust in that school has been damaged forever. It has caused frictions in his own family. When he disclosed what had happened to them, they either did not want to know about it or they told him to get over it. He has continuing anger. In addition, although this may have more to do with the offending by the other teacher, he has had some sensitivities in his personal life.

"The other boy’s reaction was different. He stood up to you. He immediately told his parents. His parents did something about it. He has not provided a victim impact statement. I do not know, but it is possible that he has not been affected in the same way as the first boy. However, that is just chance..."

Judge Barrett said that originally Higgs claimed to the police that, in his encounters with the boys, he had merely been  "counselling" them about sexual matters.

In sentencing, Judge Barrett told Higgs:

"You did tell the police that you had counselled boys about sexual matters, but in that interview there is a surprising lack of insight into your own motivations and the likely harm that you were causing the students. You really conceded no more than that you went about a legitimate task in the wrong way.

"You have entered your guilty pleas at a very late stage...

"I will give you the credit that the law entitles you to for your guilty pleas. It is up to 10%. A more timely guilty plea would have reduced the anxiety of the victims and the witnesses further, and would have entitled you to a greater leniency...

"This is serious offending. It was a breach of trust for you to behave as you did to these boys. If you did not know before, you know now of the consequences that your offending can have, and has had. You are to be sentenced only for two charges to which you have pleaded. Each is a single act of indecent touching but the acts do have to be understood in their context.

"The maximum penalty for indecent assault at the time was seven years imprisonment. I must sentence you on the law as it was then. I will impose one prison sentence for both offences but take both into account. If it were not for your guilty pleas, I would have sentenced you to two-and-a-half years imprisonment. I reduce that by about 10% to two years and three months. I fix a non-parole period of one year.

"The question of suspension [that is, postponing the jail term] is a difficult one. You are elderly and in ill health. You have no other court appearances. In many ways, you have led a productive life. On the other hand, your behaviour was a gross breach of trust. The students and their parents were entitled to your protection, not your abuse.

"I think the offending is too serious for me to be able to suspend the sentence. I have shown what leniency I can in fixing the non-parole period which is lower than I would otherwise have fixed. You will have to serve the sentence. It will begin to run from today."

St Ignatius College, Riverview, Sydney
A Sydney newspaper reported in March 2015 that a retired Jesuit Brother, now in his late seventies, has been accused of committing sexual abuse at St Ignatius College Riverview, Sydney, when he worked there in the 1970s and early 1980s. A former Riverview student lodged this complaint with the Catholic Church authorities in 2004 but (according to the church) he did not want to report this Brother to the police, the newspaper said. Therefore, the retired Brother has not been charged by police in court in New South Wales.

Riverview has a long list of well-known ex-students who have gone on to carve out distinguished careers in politics, law and professional sport. Former students include former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, federal minister for agriculture Barnaby Joyce and former NSW Premier Nick Greiner. Others include Chief Justice Tom Bathurst of the Supreme Court of New South Wales and Australian Test fast bowler Jackson Bird.

Likewise, St Ignatius College Adelaide has some famous ex-students, including former federal Coalition leader Brendan Nelson, federal Coalition minister Christopher Pyne and leading legal figures like Federal Court Judge Anthony Besanko.

SOURCE: http://www.brokenrites.org.au/drupal/node/392


PLS WATCH THIS VID: Fiona Barnett tells Her Story [Survivor Trigger Warning - Graphic]

Thursday, February 25, 2016

'The church was corrupt to the core': meet the Oscar-nominated heroes of Spotlight

'The church was corrupt to the core': meet the Oscar-nominated heroes of Spotlight



The Boston Globe's painstaking investigation into paedophile priests led to arrests, lawsuits and an Oscar-tipped film. But their fight for justice isn't over yet

In January 2002, a newspaper in Boston broke a story that was to shake the Roman Catholic Church to its very foundations. It concerned the sexual abuse of children by more than 70 priests, and the systematic attempts by Cardinal Bernard Law, the Archbishop of Boston, to cover up their crimes.



For years, the Cardinal had been reassigning known paedophiles — moving them from parish to parish — effectively allowing them to prey on new victims. He had, moreover, been approving out-of-court settlements to their victims, in order to buy their silence.

The Boston Globe’s report was the result of a six-month investigation by the paper’s semi-autonomous Spotlight team — three men and one woman. It began when a new editor took over the paper and asked the team to follow up on a column about Rev John Geoghan, a local priest accused of having sexually abused dozens of young parishioners.

Not since The Washington Post broke the Watergate story in the 1970s had a small, dedicated team of investigative reporters had such an impact. They went on to win a Pulitzer Prize and spark investigations, not only in other American cities, but in 102 dioceses around the world, including Britain. In Ireland, it emerged, subsequent to the Boston findings, that the church had covered up the crimes of 46 paedophile priests.

And now their story has been made into a critically-acclaimed and Oscar-nominated film, Spotlight, directed by Tom McCarthy. - PLS CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING...



EXCLUSIVE: Queens woman, repeatedly raped by priest at 14, stunned to learn he's reinstated by Catholic Church — 'He'd tell me I would have to go to confess to making him impure'

EXCLUSIVE: Queens woman, repeatedly raped by priest at 14, stunned to learn he's reinstated by Catholic Church — 'He'd tell me I would have to go to confess to making him impure'




When Megan Peterson was 14, she was raped and sexually assaulted — sometimes inside the church confessional booth — over the course of a year by her parish priest.


So the abuse survivor was astounded to learn her tormentor, the Rev. Joseph Jeyapaul, was reinstated earlier this month by Catholic Church officials after a suspension of roughly the same duration of her time as a victim.

“It’s very clear what side the Church is on and it’s not about child protection or about morality,” said Peterson, a 26-year-old artist who now lives in Queens. “The bottom line is that the Church is not protecting children.” - Pls.Click HERE to continue reading...


Megan Peterson was deeply religious 14-year-old altar server and a singer in her Minnesota church choir when she says  Rev. Joseph Jeyapaul first raped her in his office. The priest was reinstated by the Catholic Church after a suspension of less than a full year. 


Sunday, February 21, 2016

Christianity and Culture

There are ten basic principles which reveal why humanism is now the dominant force in the United States. These ten principles must be grasped by Christians in order for them to understand why humanism has gained the upper hand.

1. A person’s beliefs, values and morals will always be reflected in the way that person lives. His life style will reflect his beliefs.

This law of life is taught in the Scriptures in such places as Pro. 23:7 and Matt. 12:33-37. Those who believe that they are only animals will generally live like one. Those who believe that they are the children of God and are called upon by God to take dominion over the earth will live in accordance with that idea.

2. The Scriptures command us to judge people on the basis of how they live.
When Jesus said in Matt. 7:1, “Judge not lest you be judged,” He was referring to the hypocrisy of the Pharisees who condemned people for doing certain sins that they themselves were actually doing (Matt. 7:5). When Jesus was speaking to His own disciples He told them to “judge righteous judgement” (John 7:24). We are called upon in Scripture to identify and to reject false prophets (Deut. 18:21, 22; Matt. 7:15-23). Paul warns us concerning those who would claim to be Christians but their lifestyle refutes that claim (Gal. 5:19-21). John tells us to identify people who live in disobedience to God’s Word as “liars” if they claim to be Christians (I John 2:4).

3. The culture of a nation reflects the life style of those who are involved in the culture-forming process.

The philosophers, artists, teachers, politicians, lawyers, judges, doctors, wealthy people, the clergy, media people, etc., will lead a nation either into wickedness or righteousness. The cutting edge of a culture always sets the standard for morality and justice. This cutting edge is generally composed of the professional people of that society. Their influence far exceeds their numbers.

4. We have the biblical responsibility to judge a culture on the basis of its laws because these laws are simply codified life styles.

It was on this basis that the Egyptian, Canaanite and Philistine cultures were judged worthy of destruction. Paul could condemn the Cretian culture as decadent (Tit. 1:10-13). We can condemn such modern cultures as Hitler’s Third Reich or the Soviet Union.

The concept of cultural relativism in which all cultures are to be viewed as good is condemned by Scripture. The people who usually teach the idea of cultural relativism are hypocrites because they also teach that Western or American culture is decadent and evil. They never seem to realize the contradiction between the two ideas. If all cultures are good, then how can they condemn American culture? How can they condemn Christian missionaries for spreading their culture in the Third World? Isn’t their culture good?

5. Pre-Christian, Greek, and Roman pagan cultures codified laws supporting abortion, infanticide, child abuse, rape, suicide, incest, murder for entertainment, etc., because these things were a part of their life style.

6. When enough Christians became involved in the culture forming process of the Roman Empire, they became the cutting edge of that culture. Their beliefs, values and morals led them to repeal pagan laws and to legislate biblical laws. Thus the state ended up forbidding the very things which the previous pagan culture had honored.

7. Western history, in term of its culture, was basically Christian because its laws reflected the beliefs, values and morals of the Scriptures.

Even to this day, there are many laws still on the books which reflect biblical morality. Those people who say, “You cannot legislate morality,” are absurd. Every law ever legislated was instituting somebody’s morality.

8. Christians in the United States during the 1920’s fell into a pietistic focus on one’s personal devotion to Christ that led them to abandon the culture-forming process.
It was assumed that it would be unspiritual for Christians to be involved in law, medicine, education, entertainment, government, art, etc. Their only concern was “soul winning.” This led them to abandon any attempt to influence their society for the good. This extreme separationism was in clear violation of Paul’s explicit statements in I Cor. 5:9-13.

9. Because Christians abandoned the culture-forming process, a vacuum was created in the United States and the humanists moved into this vacuum.

Instead of there being Christian lawyers, judges, politicians, teachers, artists, etc., Christians were only involved in evangelism or missions. The idea of “full time Christian service” meant only the clergy or missionary profession.

The vacuum created by the retreat of the Christians was filled by the humanists. Since they were now in control of the government, public education and the media, they have begun to reinstate the laws which reflect their pagan life style. This is why the laws are changing on such issues as abortion, infanticide, mercy killing, etc. Modern humanists are putting into law what they believe.

The historic understanding of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights is now being overthrown. Modern humanists do not believe in the historic meaning of the freedom of religion. If the humanists have their way, the freedom of religion will be limited to believing what you want but not the freedom to practice it!

As we document in The New Atheism and the Erosion of Freedom, modern humanists do not believe that Christians have the “freedom” to teach their religion to their children, witness, pass out tracts or show any public signs of religion. The only “freedom” they will allow is freedom from religion.

Modern laws which legalize such things as abortion come from humanists who are legislating their view of morality. They are legalizing their pagan life style while trying to criminalize Christian education, church camps and orphanages, personal evangelism, Christian TV and radio programs, etc. Their understanding of religious freedom is the same as found in the Soviet Union!

10. The only hope for Western culture is for Christians once again to take over the culture-forming process. Then when they are in control, to repeal the pagan laws and to reinstitute Christian laws. If they do not do this, modern pagans will soon be in a position to begin the same kind of persecution against the Church that their forefathers in the Roman Empire had done to the Christians earlier.

Since it took a full generation for Christians to lose control of the culture, it will probably take another generation to win it back. So, do not be fooled by those who look for easy answers and a “quick fix.” It won’t work! If God does not send us another mighty Reformation, Western culture will die.


Summary
Those of you who are students will have to be the generation that takes over our culture by becoming politicians, media people, artists, lawyers and judges. The survival of Western civilization falls on your shoulders. Only you can gain control of our culture and once again institute biblical laws which make up a just and orderly society. 


Questions for Discussion
1.    How is a culture formed?
2.    How did our culture become so pagan?
3.    Who allowed the humanists to take over?
4.    What is the “cutting edge” of a culture?
5.    Where do laws come from?
6.    Can you legislate morality or immorality?

Taken From How To Keep Your Faith While In College, Ch. 7

Source: FaithDefenders.com

 
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