ECA GLOBAL NEWS
YEAR END 2022
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At this time of year we are grateful for the support of ECA members, human rights advocates, associates, donors and friends who
have helped with the progress we have made in the past year and we appreciate your continued support as we look ahead to the critical work that still needs to be done as we continue our fight to hold accountable those who have violated the rights of children in church settings and as we seek justice for survivors. Together, we can create a safer and more just world for all. As ECA continues this important work in 2023 please consider a tax-deductible gift at this time to maintain our momentum. Thank you
for your continued support and for standing with us in this vital effort to make a difference. You can donate to our non-profit corporation, Ending Clergy Abuse USA, by sending a check to: Tim Law
Ending Clergy Abuse
5017 37th Ave SW
Seattle, Washington 98126 or click on the
DONATE button below.
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In 2023, ECA plans to reunite as a global group and return to Rome and
the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. We have scheduled meetings with various organizations and individuals and will continue to support worldwide efforts to end clergy abuse through social media, press events, financial assistance for grassroots efforts, and legal support for hearings before the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Committee on Torture, and other international forums. The recent appointment of a United States Ambassador to the Holy See has also added momentum to
ECA's efforts in Rome. There is much work to do
and there are many obstacles to overcome throughout the many global groups that are working tirelessly to end clergy sexual abuse. This newsletter will feature just a few member-states and the current issues that are present as we work to create the change we desire. ECA appreciates your ongoing support.
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THE CURRENT STATE OF THE CLERGY ABUSE CRISIS
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For over three decades survivors of childhood clergy sexual abuse have been revealing a global faith-based system of sexual trauma and institutional cover up in the church. Their witness and testimony require that Christians take a side — either with the fighting community of survivors or with the hierarchy of the church covering up these crimes. This painful and shocking continual public uncovering of sexual violence in the church has created a necessary crisis of faith for many Christians. A large number have left the church because of it. Those who remain sometimes wonder: Is Christianity worth saving? This presentation by survivor Peter Isely, informed by thirty years of public activism and advocacy with thousands of victims from around the world, will share his own personal and perhaps surprising
answer to this question as well as the current state of this crisis locally, nationally and globally.
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PEDOPHILLA IN THE AFRICAN CATHOLIC CHURCH - INVESTIGATION INTO A €10,000 RAPE IN THE CONGO
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DECEMBER 2022: Report by Mathieu Olivier Is the Catholic Church about to face a new paedophilia scandal linked to Africa? From Makoua to Namur, we investigated the charges of the alleged rape of a teenager in Congo-Brazzaville by a Belgian
priest. We have investigated the rape of a Congolese teenager in the late 1990s in Makoua, Congo-Brazzaville.
This sexual abuse – similar to the cases we denounced in Gabon – were allegedly committed by a Belgian priest, now working in the diocese of Namur, Belgium, and whose canonical trial could begin soon.
The facts also bring to light the practices of the Belgian Church, which has a very official price list – ranging from €2,500 to €25,000 – for making financial agreements with victims. More here. Of further note are recent reports of rape by African, not European clergy, more of which will be revealed. Read More here.
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NOVEMBER 2022: In a shocking case of repeat POCSO offence, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Mumbai has been booked for the second time by the Pune Police. More here.
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THE ITALIAN CLERGY SEX ABUSE CRISIS
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In her new book, Agnus Dei, Lucetta Scaraffia (historian, journalist, writer, teacher at the Sapienza University of Rome, columnist for Messaggero, Osservatore Romano, Sole 24 Ore and La Stampa) for the first time tries to understand the Italian situation, also comparing it with that of other countries, starting from the only archive on abuse available in Italy, that of the «Rete L'Abuso», founded and directed
by a survivor and ECA Member, Francesco Zanardi. A very worrying picture emerges, in the face of which the Church does not seem to budge. More here.
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IN MEXICO THE CHURCH IS SLOW IN CLERICAL ABUSE CASES
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Dado que en más de 20 años de crisis sucesivas y de “escándalos” por pederastia clerical, la Iglesia católica ha hecho muy poco y “ha sido muy lenta, opaca y oscura” en este tema, especialistas y sobrevivientes se pronunciaron porque el Estado asuma su responsabilidad de proteger los derechos de los niños, niñas y adolescentes. En el foro Los Derechos de la Infancia ante la Pederastia Clerical, Bernardo Barranco, especialista en asuntos religiosos, expuso que el camino ya no está “en interpelar a la Iglesia, sino en que el Estado atraiga el caso” como ha sucedido en Chile, Australia, Alemania y Francia. “Que acomode las legislaturas para que estén a favor de las víctimas y no (continúe) lo que hemos visto, que tienen que pasar por un periplo verdaderamente farragoso, con doble victimización, para poder hacer
llegar una denuncia de carácter penal”. More here.
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SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN THE CHURCH IN FRANCE
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NOVEMBER 2022: Desolation? Sadness? No, anger – tremendous anger! That's been the reaction of many Catholics after Archbishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort revealed this past week that no fewer than eleven French bishops currently stand accused of sexual abuse by the civil or ecclesiastical authorities. More here. NOVEMBER 2022: Bishops and sex abuse: Sex abuse revelations concerning a cardinal and another bishop in France have unveiled certain dysfunctions, especially how information is shared between bishops and the Vatican. Read More here.
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BISHOPS STILL KEEPING SECRETS
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OCTOBER 2022: Cardinal Blase Cupich is still keeping secrets on child sex abuse by order priests. The Archdiocese of Chicago, USA, for the first time has posted the names of credibly accused sex-offender priests from multiple Catholic religious orders — with many unexplained omissions. More here.
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PHOTOVOICE PROJECT WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF PADUA
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ECA Board Member, Photographer and Community Psychologist,Simone Padovani, is working with the University of Padua in Italy on a year-long research project to assist survivors of clergy sexual abuse.
Interested participants will be asked to collect a series of pictures accompanied by text that tell their daily life as survivors of abuse. In addition, participants will be interviewed and asked to answer a questionnaire that will investigate the quality of life, resilience, etc., according to the indications of the World Health Organization. A photographic report on the life of the survivor of sexual
abuse will be made and sent to the research group of the University of Padua for analysis.
FOR ANY QUESTIONS OR HELP PLEASE WRITE TO:
[email protected]
IN ENGLISH, SPANISH, PORTUGUESE OR ITALIAN
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PHOTO SHARING AND ECA FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
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This project is born to help victims, survivors and friends of ECA Global who would like to help themselves and help ECA raise funds for our projects.
ECA has provided guidelines that will assist you in understanding which kind of images or videos you can produce which can be distributed through 2 agencies: SHUTTERSTOCK AND ALAMY.COM.
We will assist you in how to prepare and send your images for upload to the agency portals and how the financial aspect works.
FOR ANY QUESTIONS OR HELP PLEASE WRITE TO:
[email protected]
IN ENGLISH, SPANISH, PORTUGUESE OR ITALIAN
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Sebastian Cuattromo, Argentina Survivor/Founder,
Adultxs por los derechos de la infancia
"As adult survivors of the crime of sexual abuse and as representatives of our collective association, we are happy to have met new colleagues who, like us, have the conviction
to fight to end the sexual abuse of children in the world. It was a great pleasure...
Hopefully we can continue to work together for justice for survivors and for the protection of today's children." Sebatián Cuattromo and Silvia Piceda
Founding members of the Civil Association “Adults for Children´s Rights”
Zero Tolerance + Zero Cover Up = Truth and Justice
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BE AN ECA SOCIAL MEDIA AMBASSADOR
ECA’s Social Media Ambassadors Program is an exciting and easy way FOR YOU to get involved with ECA and to encourage existing members who know and love the mission of ECA to spread the word about ECA globally.
ECA will utilize Social Media Ambassadors to direct strong social media campaigns and ECA messages to target specific regions and issues relating to the sexual abuse of children by clergy.
ECA has a number of campaigns in the pipeline and we need you to get involved. Together we will #EnditNOW!
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Go to https://smile.amazon.com/ and choose Ending Clergy Abuse USA as your charity.
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