Tag: pedogate
Pope Francis ‘slander’ comment angers Chile abuse victims
Pope Francis has triggered anger in Chile after accusing victims of a pedophile priest of slander
Francis said there was “no proof” for their claims that abuse by Father Fernando Karadima had been covered up by another man, Bishop Juan Barros.
“There is not one single piece of proof against him (Bishop Barros). It is all slander. Is that clear?” the Pope said.
One Karadima victim said the Pope’s earlier plea for forgiveness over clerical sex abuse was “empty”.
The Pope made his comments on Thursday before celebrating Mass outside the city of Iquique in northern Chile.
“The day someone brings me proof against Bishop Barros, then I will talk,” the Pope told journalists.
Lifetime of penance
Juan Carlos Cruz was one of the bishop’s accusers who was quick to condemn the Pope’s stance.
“As if I could have taken a selfie or photo while Karadima abused me and others with Juan Barros standing next to him watching everything,” he tweeted.
“These people are absolutely crazy, and @Pontifex (the Pope’s Twitter handle) is talking about reparation to the victims. Nothing has changed, and his plea for forgiveness is empty.”
Bishop of Osorno, Juan Barros, denies allegations he covered up his mentor’s abuse of boys
Another Barros accuser, James Hamilton, told a news conference the response revealed an “unknown face” of the pontiff.
“What the Pope has done today is offensive and painful, and not only against us, but against everyone seeking to end the abuses,” he said.
Earlier in his Chile trip, Francis had met victims of sexual abuse by priests in the country. He cried with them and said he felt “pain and shame” over the scandal.
The US-based NGO Bishop Accountability says almost 80 members of Catholic clergy have been accused of child sex abuse in Chile since 2000.
- Why Pope’s trip to Chile is a challenge
- Protesters challenge Pope on Church sex abuse
- Chile churches attacked before Pope visit
The Church suffered a body blow in Chile in 2010 when Father Karadima was publicly accused of molesting several teenaged boys in the capital, Santiago, starting in the 1980s.
Mr Cruz claims Bishop Barros was present when Father Karadima – then the bishop’s mentor – kissed and groped him and another boy.
While Bishop Barros has not been accused of abuse, the Pope has been criticised for appointing him bishop of Osorno in 2015. Barros’s ordination ceremony had to be cut short over protests in the cathedral.
Father Karadima was found guilty by the Vatican of abusing teenage boys in 2011 and sentenced to a lifetime of “penance and prayer”.
He never faced criminal prosecution in Chile as too much time had passed, but the judge who heard victims’ testimony in a year-long investigation described them as “truthful and reliable”.
Pope Francis arrived in Peru late on Thursday for a three-day visit which will conclude his two-nation South America trip.
Article via: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-42745170
Audio found of Corey Feldman naming alleged sexual predators
California cops just found an audio recording of the 1993 interview in which Corey Feldman has said he identified alleged sexual predators — after police previously claimed the former child actor never named names, according to a report.
The revelation by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office comes a month after the Los Angeles Police Department ended its probe into the “Stand By Me” star’s allegations of sexual abuse.
Feldman claimed in October that he had provided names of sexual predators in Hollywood to Santa Barbara County police in 1993 during their probe into Michael Jackson’s molestation charges.
The Sheriff’s Office at the time denied having any records of Feldman revealing such information — but now says it has unearthed recordings of the interview.
“In a container which included the original reports from the investigation, the Sheriff’s Office located some detective working copies of audio recordings made during the investigation,” spokeswoman Kelly Hoover told Fox News in a statement.
“A copy of Mr. Feldman’s interview was located. The recording is being turned over to the Los Angeles Police Department. Due to the fact that this case involves the alleged sexual abuse of a child, we are unable to comment further and any documentation or evidence related to this case is exempt from release.”
Feldman, 46, had claimed in a “Today” show interview that he “sat down and I gave them names. They’re on record. They have all this information.”
The actor has launched a campaign to raise $10 million in order to make a movie about sexual misconduct in the entertainment industry.
Feldman’s reps and the LAPD did not immediately respond to calls by Fox News for comment.
Feldman has said he filed a report with the LAPD alleging he was sexually abused as a child in the industry, but the department last month said his allegations are too old to be prosecuted.
“Los Angeles Police Department detectives are committed to protecting victims of sexual assault and will thoroughly investigate any report of a sex-related crime,” police told the LA Times in a statement.
“In the case of Corey Feldman, unfortunately, according to California law, the alleged occurrence is out of statute and robbery-homicide detectives have no other avenues to pursue this case.”
In a 2013 memoir, “Coreyography,” Feldman recounted abuse that he and late actor Corey Haim allegedly suffered as young performers — but he did not provide names.
During a recent appearance on “The Dr. Oz Show,” he identified one man he alleged had sexually molested him as Alphy Hoffman, owner of an underage club that was popular among Hollywood’s top teen stars.
During a prior appearance on the show, he named another of his alleged abusers as Jon Grissom, who had bit roles in some Feldman-Haim films, including “License To Drive” and “Dream a Little Dream.”
Article here: https://pagesix.com/2017/12/06/audio-found-of-corey-feldman-naming-alleged-sexual-predators/