Catholic priest pleads guilty to child pornography
sexual abuse

August 3, 2012
By: Matthew Hulet

In what seems to be an all too familiar sight in Catholic news, another priest is charged with some form of child pornography/abuse. A Kansas City Catholic priest plead guilty to federal child pornography charges on Thursday

http://www.examiner.com/article/catholic-priest-pleads-guilty-to-child-pornography

Yet another Philadelphia area Catholic priest is facing criminal charges for sexual abuse of a 10 year old altar boy. Suspended priest, Andrew McCormick, was arrested last week in the Philadelphia area.

He has been charged with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory sexual assault, sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child, corrupting the morals of a minor, indecent assault and indecent exposure.

http://www.pasexabusecrimevictimslawcenter.com/philadelphia-priest-mccormick-arrest-child-sex-abuse/

Pahalagama Somaratana Thera is one of the few Sri Lankan Buddhist monks to have been found guilty of child abuse inside or outside the country.

But if Children's Affairs Minister Tissa Karaliyadda is to be believed, child abuse in religious establishments by both Buddhist and Christian clergy in Sri Lanka is rampant.

Yet according to figures from Sri Lanka's National Child Protection Authority (NCPA), only three Buddhist monks have been convicted of child abuse in Sri Lanka in recent history.

One of those died from poison he drank after he was sentenced for raping a girl aged 13 in 2005.

Research carried out by the BBC Sinhala service has revealed that over the last decade, nearly 110 Buddhist monks have been charged for sexual and physical assaults on minors in Sri Lanka.

Many of these cases - especially those of a sexual nature - were barely reported by the Sri Lankan media and seldom resulted in convictions.

Louisiana priest arrested for theft

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A Roman Catholic priest who was the pastor of a Natchitoches church has been arrested on a charge he stole more than $250,000 in church funds

http://www.wafb.com/story/16114141/louisiana-priested-arrested-for-theft

Tip of the iceberg

The issue of child abuse by Buddhist monks is regarded as taboo in what is an overwhelmingly Buddhist country.

Continue reading the main story
Against that backdrop, the 3 May conviction of Pahalagama Somaratana Thera - who runs children's homes in Sri Lanka - has come as a surprise, as well as a shock, to many expatriate Sinhalese Buddhists in the UK.

Supporters of the monk were reported to be so convinced he would be acquitted and released that they planned a grand welcoming party for him during Sri Lanka's important Vesak Buddhist festival.

There are concerns that Thera's conviction may just be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to abuses in Sri Lankan Buddhist temples.

While in some cases monks are not directly accused of carrying out the abuses, they have been accused of failing to stop them.

Most Sri Lankan Buddhist temples have a constant stream of boys and adult male helpers who live there for short periods. It is not at all unusual for temples to seek help from youths in nearby villages to prepare for religious ceremonies and in the general day-to-day running of the buildings.

Report: Australian Police Prepare To Arrest Senior Catholic Bishops For Covering Up Child Sexual Abuse

http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2012/07/report-australian-police-prepare-to-arrest-catholic-bishops-for-covering-up-child-sexual-abuse-234.html