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XPRIZE is excited to welcome Brooklyn based team, Air Co., into the finals of the $20M NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE. Air Co. has invented a proprietary technology that uses solar power to capture excess carbon from the air and transform it into the highest quality, purest alcohol on the planet. Air Vodka, the firm's first product will soon be appearing in bars and restaurants around New York City allows consumers to make actionable steps to a cleaner future with each bottle of vodka equal to the daily CO2 intake of eight trees.
Dr. Stafford Sheehan initially competed in the Semi-Finals of the Carbon XPRIZE as Team Catalyst. In 2017, Dr. Sheehan teamed up with Gregory Constantine after they met as featured members on Forbes' 30 Under 30 list. Rebranded under the name Air Co., the duo opened a distillery in Brooklyn in early 2019, and will supplement their operations with a scaled up demonstration plant currently being built in Ontario, Canada that was partially funded by the Ontario Centers of Excellence. The team is due to arrive in Calgary in early 2020 for their six month Carbon XPRIZE demonstration.
The Carbon XPRIZE is in the final round of competition, in which finalist teams are challenged to scale-up up their carbon conversion technologies under real world conditions at industrial test centers to compete for one of two grand prizes. Five teams will demonstrate their technologies at the Alberta Carbon Conversion Technology Centre in Calgary, and five will exhibit at the Wyoming Integrated Test Center in Gillette. Finalists are moving into these test centers and will be demonstrating their technologies through June 2020.
Air Co. will be joining fellow finalists C2CNT, CarbonCure, CERT, and the newly formed Carbon Upcycling Technologies/Newlight team on the Calgary track of the competition, demonstrating at the Alberta Carbon Conversion Technology Centre. Air Co. was invited by the Carbon XPRIZE panel of expert judges to re-enter the competition after a vacancy was created when Carbon Upcycling Technologies, a finalist from Calgary, combined with fellow finalist Newlight from Huntington Beach, California. Carbon Upcycling Technologies/Newlight are combining their unique capabilities in CO2-based nanoparticles and polymers in the Finals of the Carbon XPRIZE.


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Category Archives: Archdiocese of Kalamazoo
Bill Donohue, President of the Catholic League being sued for defamation against priest abuse survivor
Missouri (USA): Catholic church dares to defame a man after he accuses priest of sex abuse, claiming he is a drug-abusing murderer
INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI (USA) — The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights defamed a man who says he is a victim of priestly sex abuse as a drug-abusing murderer and a Catholic-hating bigot, the man claims in court.
Jon David Couzens Jr. sued The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, its President William Donohue, the KC Catholic League, KC Catholic League President Joe McLiney and KC Catholic League Capacity Secretary James O'Laughlin, in Jackson County Circuit Court.
Couzens claims Donohue defamed him in statements responding to the Kansas City Star's three-part series on priestly abuse, written by Judy Thomas in December 2011.
The series centered around Couzens' claims – and subsequent lawsuit against the KC Diocese, Msgr. Thomas O'Brien and Fr. Isaac True – that he and three other altar boys, one of whom committed suicide, were sexually abused in the early 1980s.
"Thomas' entire soap-opera yarn concerns the allegations of Jon David Couzens," Donohue said in a statement posted on the Catholic League's website.
"He says that a priest molested him and three other altar boys back in the early 1980s. But why should we believe a man who only now is coming forward with his tale – he never told a single soul – especially given the fact that he has been implicated in a murder? Thomas never told readers that on the night Mark Trader was murdered about a dozen years ago, Couzens got into a fight with him over a botched drug deal, and although another man was convicted, on appeal it was alleged that Couzens and two other men had 'motive to commit the murder and the opportunity to do so.' This is public record, so why the cover up?"
Couzens' attorney, Rebecca Randles, told Courthouse News she has no idea where Donohue came up with the drug and murder implications. Randles said in an interview that that to her knowledge Couzens has never been subject to any drug or murder-related charges.
In the lawsuit, Couzens claims that he reported Trader's murder in April 1992 to police, after the killer confessed to him. He claims in the lawsuit that he received a commendation from now-Sen. Claire McCaskill for his good citizenship in the murder investigation and trial.
Donohue ramped up his criticism in another statement on Dec. 8, 2011, speculating on the timing of Couzens' abuse lawsuit with the emergence of a lawsuit filed earlier that year against the K.C.
Diocese and priest Shawn Ratigan. That lawsuit claimed the Diocese waited nearly 6 months before reporting child pornography found on Ratigan's computer.
"Couzens may be a hero to the Star, but his character is indeed questionable: he was implicated in a murder," Donohue said in the statement. "Why hasn't the Star revealed this to its readers? Does it want to 'silence' its critics? Why did Couzens wait 30 years before he told his 'wrenching' tale? Because the time was ripe to cash in after Fr. Ratigan's name hit the papers?"
Randles said her client is not a gold-digger, and that the 30-year delay that Donohue finds suspicious is actually quite normal.
"If the memories are repressed or suppressed, there is no way to bring forth the accusations earlier," Randles said in the interview. "Also, the average age of (priest) abuse is 12. The average age to report is 42. So 30 years is a common time frame."
Couzens claims that Donohue's statements falsely portray him as a drug-abusing killer and a Catholic hating bigot. Donohue's statements were intended to incite and inflame people to confront Couzens, the lawsuit states.
As a result, Couzens says, he has been physically assaulted, cursed at on the streets, suffered emotional distress and loss of enjoyment of life.
Couzens said in a statement that he did not come forward just for himself.
"In the big picture it is a very sad thing that William Donohue and the Catholic League are attacking those who the Priesthood has already abused," Couzens said in the statement. "I am not doing this just for me. I now understand why other victims don't come forward. The things said about me are so cruel and offensive they cut to the core of my being. Others who don't have my support would cower under these attacks."
Randles said that statements such as Donohue's are a common tactic by the Catholic League against those who claim to be abused by priests. She said the Catholic League attempts to bully and harass victims to deter them from moving forward.
Catholic League officials did not respond to a request for comment.
Couzens seeks actual and punitive damages for defamation, invasion of privacy, and negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
"Mr. Donohue has been an outspoken and pugnacious defender of the church," Randles said. "It's our hope that he will align himself with things that are factually true."
Randles said Couzen's abuse lawsuit filed in 2011 against the KC Diocese and O'Brien is set for trial in April. The suit against True has been settled.
A priest rape survivor speaks not in hate…but in hope
You Parishioners on here find my postings insulting and degrading, you find my words disgusting and nasty. Well I would ask YOU to read this posting. It will NOT be full of my swears but it speaks the truth. I just want you all to hear, from the words of a Priest Rape Survivor why we cannot forgive you just yet.
When I was diagnosed with PTSD over my priest rape and soul torture, I thought it was bull. I believed that the ONLY people whom could be classified as someone with PTSD were soldiers or those in war zones. Then my therapist started explaining to me what a person whom they diagnose with PTSD goes through, what their life is like…it was like they wrote most of that definition for me.
Yet people still think what I went through can simply go away if I just get over it, forgive the priest, forgive the church, forgive those whom harmed me.
That if I just forget…somehow this will make me all better.
What those whom think this way do not realize, for 33 years I hid what that priest did to me. I felt guilty, I hated myself for what he did to me. I called myself the Antichrist because of it.
When I thought I was the ONLY one who got raped by a priest…once I came out and started raising my voice about this evil…I found there were tens of thousands of us. Then I found out what the leadership did to protect the rapists and not us. Then I found they continue to rape us and harm us by their actions against us.
They continue to deny us justice. They just wish we would shut up and go away. They insult us, denigrate us, call us faggots, say we enjoyed and wanted what happened to us. They call us liars and gold diggers. They say we should look at others whom do the same thing.
How can anyone with what I or others went through EVER hope to get any healing from this, hope to ever find it in our hearts to forgive those whom harmed us…when they continue to do this to us?
Whom do you think Jesus Christ is going to one day, heal our pain and wipe away our tears, take away the never ending nightmares we suffer from because what those whom called themselves priests, Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops and even Popes did to cover this evil up? I have some hope with Pope Francis…we survivors had none with Pope Benedict.
I onced loved the RCC with all of my heart and soul. When I was a young boy taking my Catechism and doing my First Communion…I was hooked to the beauty and the mysticism and most of all…the love of God and Jesus Christ. That I just had the incredible honor of having my first Communion, of taking the Holy Body and Blood of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into me and that meant the world to me at that moment.
That was taken away from me in one night due to the perversities of a priest. Whom that night decided his vows he made to God, Jesus Christ and all of us did not matter, that his lusts mattered, and in that night…he took the soul, the faith and the life of a scared, young boy whom had just ran away from a foster home and thought the next day he was going to go to prison til he was 18 for it.
So when YOU PARISHIONERS hear us survivors of these crimes against us, speak out in anger, speak out in pain, speak out in horror about the evils done to us…do not condemn us…help us…help us heal from all of this suffering, all of this pain. Stand up for us. Stand up for your children. I know if you are true to the church…you have some God children. Remember the vows YOU TOOK…to protect and defend the life of this baby…with your very own if you need to.
If this is true to your heart and soul, if you took vows like these and you felt them burn within you…then do this again. Take the vow again to stand up and defend the Children of the Roman Catholic Church.
Help us heal our pain, help us heal our suffering. Help us.
Former Promoter of Justice for Congregation of the Faith Addresses Canon Law Society about Abuse Situation: For Whom Is Canon Law Designed?
Former Promoter of Justice for Congregation of the Faith Addresses Canon Law Society about Abuse Situation: For Whom Is Canon Law Designed?
From the blog: Bilgrimage
Link: http://bilgrimage.blogspot.com/2013/10/former-promoter-of-justice-for.html
1. Pastoral leaders must find "the courage to tell victims to move on," to stop creating "a persona out of being victims."
2. "A tragic consequence of abuse is the loss of faith — a loss of faith in a God who is compassionate, merciful and loving. I have met victims who have renounced the faith as a consequence of what they suffered, and my attitude is silence and prayer."
3. "The victims evangelize us."
As long as we have bishops (with canonists who think as Rev. [Reginald] Whitt [of St. Paul-Minneapolis] does to advise them) who assume that their primary pastoral responsibility as bishops, bolstered by canon law itself, is to "save" pedophile priests while ignoring the needs of the people of God, we'll continue to have dangerous priests placed by bishops in positions in which they'll have access to minors. And we'll have cover-ups.
Catholic priest recalls fleeing after sex abuse confession
Catholic priest recalls fleeing after sex abuse confession
9/9/13 By Gillian Flaccus of Associated Press
From the link: http://news.msn.com/us/catholic-priest-recalls-fleeing-after-sex-abuse-confession?stay=1
The Rev. Carlos Rodriguez's account of his flight after confessing to molesting a boy was among files released Monday under the terms of a lawsuit settlement.
LOS ANGELES — The orders the Rev. Carlos Rodriguez got from his religious superiors after he confessed to molesting a 16-year-old boy just hours before were swift and decisive: Leave immediately. Check into a motel. Don't tell anyone where you are going. Await further instructions.
Rodriguez, then 31, picked up cash and waited by the phone. The next day, the regional leader of his religious order called and told him to book a plane ticket out of state. By the time the victim's family went to police, he had checked in at a residential treatment center for troubled priests in Maryland.
"I felt like a fugitive. But what else could I do under the circumstances. I had no other choice but to follow orders," he wrote years later in an essay that was included in his Vatican petition to be defrocked.
The essay was part of a 303-page confidential personnel file on the priest that was released Monday along with files for five other priests who were also accused of molesting children while working for their Roman Catholic religious orders — the Vincentians, the Norbertines and the Augustinians — while on assignment in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Rodriguez's file stands out because it includes a candid and detailed autobiographical account of his actions in 1987 and the steps his religious superiors took to shield him from the family and civil authorities.
The file also makes clear that officials with Rodriguez's religious order, the Vincentians, and the LA archdiocese worked together to intercede. Both knew of Rodriguez's confession, but no one spoke with police until the boy's family filed a police report a month later, according to the file.
"The thing that Carlos Rodriguez does is, he lays out the truth, the underbelly, and exposes that for all that it is," said Ray Boucher, a lead plaintiff attorney in the clergy litigation who secured the release of the files.
The religious order files are the second set to be released and more are expected in the coming weeks as religious orders comply with the final terms of a 2007 settlement with hundreds of clergy abuse victims in Los Angeles.
The archdiocese itself released thousands of pages under court order this year for its own priests, but the full picture of the problem has remained elusive without records from the religious orders, which routinely assigned priests to work in Los Angeles parishes.
Without access to Rodriguez, the police case dried up and the priest was back at work within seven months, where he molested two brothers. Rodriguez, who was defrocked in 1998, was convicted of that abuse 17 years later, in 2004, and sentenced to prison. He was released in 2008.
Now 57, he lives as a registered sex offender in Huntington Park, a gritty, industrial city southeast of Los Angeles. He has been accused of abuse in at least five civil lawsuits.
"It still weighs heavy on me," Rodriguez, who wore a cross around his neck, said on Monday when reached at his apartment. "It's nothing proud to talk about. I still feel remorse and it still hurts."
The Rev. Jerome Herff, the Vincentian regional provincial who told Rodriguez to leave LA after his 1987 confession and placed him back in ministry the following year, said he urged him to leave because the boy's family was irate and he feared for the priest's safety. The treatment center, he said, was recommended by a law enforcement authority, although he declined to say who.
"I did what I thought was best and had to be done and what happened, happened," Herff said in a brief phone interview. "I've lived with this for years and I just don't want to go back there anymore."
Rodriguez's troubles began when he took two teenage boys on a trip to the Grand Canyon in 1987, roughly a year after he was ordained. The three checked into a Holiday Inn in Flagstaff, Ariz., and in his essay, Rodriguez wrote he began molesting one teen who was asleep on the floor.
The boy awoke and the novice priest, terrified at being discovered, drove nearly 500 miles through the night to deliver both teens to their families and immediately went back to his parish, where he took a shower and confessed.
The Vincentians sent him to the residential treatment center. While there, Rodriguez fretted in letters home about the "seriousness of the law in Arizona" that could get him up to 15 years in prison and asked the Vincentians for character references that would convince the Arizona prosecutor not to press charges.
When the family contacted the Los Angeles police a month later, Rodriguez's superior told the investigating detective that the "church was aware of the situation and the defendant was currently hospitalized," according to court papers.
The victim's former attorney, Drew Antablin, said his client, who could not be reached for comment, was part of a larger settlement with the church in 2007.
After his release, Rodriguez was assigned to work for the archdiocese's office of family life in Santa Barbara in 1988 and then to St. Mary's Seminary in Santa Barbara. He took a leave of absence in 1993 after complaints of abuse surfaced again — but his superiors soon discovered he was saying Mass in a neighboring county in violation of his status.
In 1996, Rodriguez asked the Vatican to be defrocked and was exiled from the priesthood two years later.
In 2004, he pleaded guilty to molesting two brothers whom he met in 1988, just after his return to ministry. "He used his position in the church and used the victims' faith as a weapon against them," said Deputy District Attorney Anthony Wold, who handled that case. "It was outrageous and unforgiveable."
Associated Press Writer Greg Risling reported from Los Angeles and Huntington Park, Calif.
Cardinal Roger Mahony defends legacy on church abuse in blog
Cardinal Roger Mahony defends legacy on church abuse in blog
2/2/13 By Gillian Flaccus
From the link: http://news.msn.com/us/cardinal-defends-legacy-on-church-abuse-in-blog
On his blog on Friday, retired Cardinal Roger Mahony said he was ill-equipped to deal with sexually abusive clergy when he took over the archdiocese in 1985 and quickly sought to develop policies and consult with leaders in other dioceses.
LOS ANGELES — The public rebuke of retired Cardinal Roger Mahony for failing to take swift action against abusive priests adds tarnish to a career already overshadowed by the church sex abuse scandal but does little to change his role in the larger church.
Mahony can still act as a priest, keep his rank as cardinal and remain on a critical Vatican panel that elects the next pope.
While Archbishop Jose Gomez's decision to strip Mahony of his administrative and public duties was unprecedented in the American Roman Catholic Church, it was another attempt by the church to accept responsibility for the abuse scandal that has engulfed it.
Victims were quick to point out that Mahony's new, paired-down local standing was in stark contrast to his continued position among the prelates at the Vatican.
The decision "is little more than window dressing. Cardinal Mahony is still a very powerful prelate," Joelle Casteix, the Western regional director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, said at a Friday news conference outside the Los Angeles cathedral. "He's a very powerful man in Rome and still a very powerful man in Los Angeles."
The Vatican declined to comment Friday when asked if the Holy See would follow Gomez's lead and take action against Mahony.
Tod Tamberg, the archdiocese spokesman, said Mahony was in Rome several weeks ago for meetings unrelated to Thursday's announcement. He said he did not know if Pope Benedict XVI was aware of Gomez's announcement.
The cardinal and Gomez both declined interview requests from The Associated Press.
In a letter to Gomez posted on Mahony's blog Friday, the cardinal said he was ill-equipped to deal with sexually abusive clergy when he took over the archdiocese in 1985 and quickly sought to develop policies and consult with church leaders in other dioceses. He reminded Gomez that he was well aware when he took over in 2011 of the steps Mahony had taken to safeguard children.
"Not once over these past years did you ever raise any questions about our policies, practices, or procedures in dealing with the problem of clergy sexual misconduct involving minors. I have stated time and time again that I made mistakes, especially in the mid-1980s," he wrote.
"Unfortunately, I cannot return now to the 1980s and reverse actions and decisions made then. But when I retired as the active Archbishop, I handed over to you an archdiocese that was second to none in protecting children and youth."
Gomez's public criticism is almost unheard-of in the highly structured church institution and would have been cleared by the Vatican in advance, said the Rev. Thomas Doyle, a canon lawyer who worked for the Vatican's Washington, D.C., embassy.
"He's an archbishop — he cannot order a cardinal around," said Doyle, who co-authored a 1985 report warning of a coming clergy sex abuse scandal. "The Catholic church is a monarchy. If you're one of the princes of the realm and you're a duke, you don't dump on a prince without the king's permission or you're no longer a duke. That's what the deal is."
Gomez went as far as he could within this authority, but only the Pope has the power to sanction a cardinal or laicize him, he said.
Gomez made the announcement Thursday as the church was forced by a court order to turn over thousands of pages of confidential priest personnel files after a bruising, five-year legal fight. The archbishop also accepted a resignation request from one of Mahony's top aides, now-Bishop Thomas Curry.
The move came two weeks after other long-secret priest personnel records showed Mahony and Curry, in particular, worked behind the scenes to protect the church from the engulfing scandal.
Mahony is a member of three Vatican departments, including the Holy See's all-important economic affairs office, and he remains a member of the College of Cardinals. At 76, he is still eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope.
The Vatican's former sex crimes prosecutor, Bishop Charles Scicluna, has said Canon Law provides for sanctioning bishops who show "malicious or fraudulent negligence" in their work, but has acknowledged that such laws have never been applied in the case of bishops who covered up sex abuse cases.
In the past, lower-ranking members of the church hierarchy who have spoken out about their superior's handling of the clergy abuse crisis have been rebuked by the Holy See.
In 2010, for example, Viennese Cardinal Cristoph Schoenborn criticized the former Vatican No. 2, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, in an interview for his handling of a notorious sex abuse case. Schoenborn didn't use Sodano's name in his critique, but was nonetheless forced to come to Rome to explain himself to the pope and Sodano.
The Vatican publicly rebuked Schoenborn, saying that only the pope has authority to deal with accusations against a cardinal.
The Vatican's silence after Thursday's announcement indicates they were aware of it, said Patrick Wall, a former Benedictine monk and priest and vocal church critic who consults on clergy abuse cases.
"Gomez was as brilliant as a sniper the way he orchestrated this because he did not overstep his authority against the Pope and yet at the same time it appears that some type of penalty is being imposed," said Wall. "He cannot force Mahony to resign. It's brilliant and this has never happened in the U.S."
Mahony will reduce his public appearances, including numerous guest lectures nationwide on immigration reform, and no longer perform confirmations, Tamberg said. However, he remains a priest in good standing and will continue to live in a North Hollywood parish and can celebrate the sacraments with no restrictions, he said.
Several of the documents in the newly released files echo recurring themes that emerged over the past decade in dioceses nationwide, where church leaders moved problem priests between parishes and didn't call the police.
Studies commissioned by the U.S. bishops found more than 4,000 U.S. priests have faced sexual abuse allegations since the early 1950s, in cases involving more than 10,000 children — mostly boys.
In one instance, a draft of a plan with Mahony's name on it calls for sending a molester priest to his native Spain for a minimum of seven years, paying him $400 a month and offering health insurance. In return, the cardinal would agree to write the Vatican and ask them to cancel his excommunication, leaving the door open for him to return as a priest someday.
It was unclear whether the proposed agreement was enacted.
"I am concerned that the Archdiocese may later be seen as liable — for having continued to support this man — now that we have been put on notice that one of the young adults under his influence is suicidal," a top aide wrote in a memo about the priest to Mahony in 1995, urging him to stop paying benefits to the priest.
The cardinal added a handwritten note: "I concur — the faster, the better."
In another case, Mahony resisted turning over a list of altar boys to police who were investigating claims against a visiting Mexican priest who was later determined to have molested 26 boys during a 10-month stint in Los Angeles. "We cannot give such a list for no cause whatsoever," he wrote on a January 1988 memo.
Mahony, who retired in 2011 after more than a quarter-century at the helm of the archdiocese, has publicly apologized for mistakes he made in dealing with priests who molested children.
Associated Press writer Shaya Tayefe Mohajer contributed to this report.
Catholic priest sentenced to 50 years for child porn
Catholic priest sentenced to 50 years for child porn
9/12/13 By Associated Press
From the link: http://news.msn.com/crime-justice/catholic-priest-sentenced-to-50-years-for-child-porn?stay=1
Prosecutors had asked that he get 10 years in prison for each of five victims after he pleaded guilty to five counts of producing and trying to produce child porn.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City-area priest whose child pornography case led to a criminal conviction against a Roman Catholic bishop was sentenced Thursday to 50 years in federal prison.
Prosecutors had asked that the Rev. Shawn Ratigan be sentenced to 10 years in prison for each of five young victims after he pleaded guilty in August 2012 to five counts of producing and trying to produce child porn.
Ratigan, 47, was charged in May 2011 after police received a flash drive from his computer containing hundreds of images of children, most of them clothed, with the focus on their crotch areas.
Bishop Robert Finn, head of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, was convicted last September of one misdemeanor count of failing to report suspected child abuse to the state.
Prosecutors said the diocese learned about the photos on Ratigan's computer on Dec. 16, 2010, after a technician found them on the priest's laptop and alerted church officials. A day after the images were found, Ratigan missed Sunday Mass and was found unconscious in his garage with his motorcycle running and a suicide note nearby.
Instead of reporting Ratigan or the photos to law enforcement, as required by state law, Finn waited until the priest was released from the hospital and sent him out of state for psychiatric counseling.
When Ratigan returned to Missouri, Finn ordered him to stay at the Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Eucharist, a facility in Independence, where he could say Mass for the sisters.
The diocese turned the photos over to police in May 2011 after receiving reports that Ratigan had violated Finn's order to avoid contact with children.
For Minnesota Catholics, troubling new abuse scandal
For Minnesota Catholics, troubling new abuse scandal
By Amy Forliti of Associated Press
From the link: http://news.msn.com/us/for-minnesota-catholics-troubling-new-abuse-scandal?ocid=msnnw
Unlike other abuse revelations that have rocked theJennifer Haselberger, the allegations in Minnesota aren't decades old or involve perpetrators long retired or dead.
ST. PAUL, Minn. — When Jennifer Haselberger uncovered what looked like recent, troubling sexual behavior by several Minnesota priests — a stash of possible child pornography on one priest's computer hard drive, another with a well-documented history of sexual compulsion still leading a parish — she tried to ring alarm bells at the top ranks of the St. Paul-Minneapolis Archdiocese.
But Haselberger, who resigned last April as the archdiocese's chancellor for canonical affairs, said she felt ignored. She has since gone public with concerns that Minnesota's archbishop and top deputies failed to truly reform how they handle problem priests, despite repeated promises to do so.
"I do not believe it can be said that the archdiocese is honoring its promise to protect" children and young people, Haselberger said last week in a statement to the media.
Unlike many of the abuse revelations that have rocked the U.S. Catholic Church, the allegations Haselberger brought to light aren't decades old or involve perpetrators long retired or dead. They all happened after 2002, when U.S. bishops held a high-profile meeting in Dallas and approved broad policy changes meant to quickly remove predatory priests from parishes and restore the church's tattered credibility with millions of Catholics.
"They weren't just going to sweep stuff under the rug. They weren't going to move him around," said Joe Ternus, who in 2004 found what he called "a ridiculous amount of pornography" on the hard drive of a computer he purchased at a church rummage sale and that had belonged to Jonathan Shelley, a parish priest.
Ternus, whose parents and sister attended Shelley's church, turned the hard drive over to archdiocesan officials.
"I was given assurances that this wasn't going to happen, but that's exactly what happened," Ternus said.
Haselberger's allegations have the St. Paul-Minneapolis Archdiocese playing defense. Last week, Archbishop John Nienstedt accepted the hasty resignation of his top-ranking deputy, the Rev. Peter Laird, who wrote in his resignation letter that he hoped to "repair the trust of many, especially the victims of abuse." Nienstedt also convened what he said would be an independent task force to examine the way church leaders officials have handled accusations of sexual misconduct by priests.
But church leaders weren't initially so eager to deal with the cases. Minnesota Public Radio News obtained a letter from Nienstedt to Cardinal William Levada, the now-retired Vatican official who ran the office that oversees errant priests, spelling out who an archdiocese investigator found pornographic images on Shelley's hard drive that were at least "borderline illegal, because of the youthful looking male images."
"My staff has expressed concern the fact that CD-ROMs containing the images remain in the cleric's personnel file could expose the archdiocese, as well as myself, to criminal prosecution," Nienstedt wrote to Levada.
The archdiocese declined to make Nienstedt or Laird available for interviews. Spokesman Jim Accurso said media coverage of the recent allegations "leave a false impression about the commitment of the archdiocese to identify and address sexual misconduct by priests." He said eliminating any form of abuse is the "highest priority" for the archdiocese.
Tom Wieser, an attorney for the archdiocese, has called Haselberger "a disgruntled former employee." She worked at the archdiocese from 2008 to last April, when she resigned because of concerns about the way sexual abuse allegations were handled.
According to a police report, Haselberger found computer discs and a white three-ring binder in the vault last year that appeared to be evidence from a 2004 internal investigation into the images. A police report said Haselberger told Laird what she found, and was instructed to "put them back in the vault."
Shelley's lawyer said there was no child pornography on the disc. And an attorney for the archdiocese said a computer forensics expert also found no evidence to support Haselberger's allegations. Police also found no evidence of child pornography, but acknowledged they didn't have the computer itself.
Police received new information from Ternus on Friday, and on Tuesday afternoon they announced they were reopening the child pornography investigation. In his initial report, lead investigator Sgt. William Gillet openly wondered whether the archdiocese turned over all the pertinent evidence.
In the other case at issue, the Rev. Curtis Wehmeyer was allowed to remain in ministry despite ample evidence that archdiocesan leaders knew of sexual misconduct. He is now in prison for sexually abusing two children and possessing child pornography.
Haselberger told The Associated Press in an email Tuesday that she raised concerns with her superiors in 2008, and again last year.
"Having worked on similar cases in other dioceses, I was completely unprepared for the responses I received in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis," she wrote.
The new policies formulated by bishops in 2002 were specifically designed to quickly root out problem priests. One church leader instrumental in that process was Harry Flynn, Nienstedt's predecessor in St. Paul-Minneapolis. Flynn is implicated in some of the decisions that Haselberger brought to light; he could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
"Since 2002, there was a real sea change, and I believe most bishops got it," said Nicholas Cafardi, a former church canon lawyer who was involved in drawing up the new policies. Now a professor at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Cafardi said he would be personally shocked to learn that top officials in any diocese sheltered potential abusers since then.
Cafardi cautioned that he's not familiar with the new allegations, and noted in particular that finding a priest in possession of legal pornography raises thorny questions for his supervisors in the church. But if it's proven that church leaders failed to live up to the 2002 policies, he said, it would damage the church's efforts to move beyond past scandals.
"Any diocese that's not following that makes people question the credibility of the policy," he said. "That then harms the entire church in the U.S., because people will think if this bishop does it, then is another bishop doing it?"

subset: commoncrawl


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Welcome to to our site), a London escort agency with over 20 years of experience connecting Londoners and businessmen with professional London escorts. Open, 7 days a week from 9 am until 4 am, our team aims to introduce adult entertainment seekers with adult work providers at a time and place which best suits their needs.Currently, there are over 130 escorts in London available right now to meet for incalls or outcalls depending on where you are located in the capital.
Browse through our London escort gallery and find the right companion for you. We have escorts of all types who offer short 1 hour bookings up to overnight stays (herts escorts). Escort rates start from £150 per hour, but our gallery does cater to gentlemen seeking high class escorts in London, whose rates start from £300 an hour.Bookings are available at short notice, on the same day or made in advance. saar billard.
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According to a report published by the Telegraph revealed that 1 in 10 British men have paid for escort services (saarbillard.net/). The same report pulled from a total of over 6,000 men aged 16-74, also found that those most likely to have paid for escort services in the last five years are single men aged 25 to 34.So the question is, why are men meeting escorts? Charlotte Rose believes the demographic is changing towards the younger professional because of the large number of businessmen who visit London every year meeting with escorts to mix business with pleasure.
Another reason why men want to meet escorts in 2020 is because of how the industry has changed. Rebecca Dakin, an ex escort, believes that "over the last decade, the internet has increased awareness and availability of escorts". Due to the increased visibility of escorts in London across the internet, more escort service providers competition has lead to additional features making the industry more transparent than ever before.
London Escorts are now much more than call girls. As the industry has evolved, there is now a much wider range of escort services which can entice a greater audience to want to meet escorts. Now, there are a select number of escorts in London who offer massage, BDSM, Tantra and party girl services, meaning more gentlemen are able to live out their sexual or non-sexual fantasies much more accessible.
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Admiral Escorts has long history of satisfied clients with the best possible escort services in London.Top Vip ladies are waiting to meet you in any occasion you like .Might be a social date, city sightseeing with a model or accompany you to theatre or any other social event with beautiful Blonde Brunette Busty young or Slim Escort Girl.
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Growth Hormone Therapy
For children
Although a diagnosis of Prader-Willi syndrome for your child is overwhelming and confusing, there is something you can do straight away and that is to talk to your doctor about Growth Hormone Therapy (GHT). This treatment is recommended (download consensus statement) after years of research, trials and tests done to make this a safe therapy for PWS.
The immediate benefit is that it will strengthen muscle tone. It will also take away the typical features of PWS so that your child will take on his or her familial features. With stronger muscle tone, milestones will be reached quicker and more easily and with good muscle tone the child can keep up with his or her peers, work off calories more easily and benefit from a feeling of wellness and well-being.
Although some countries may not yet have GHT available, the cost of this treatment in many countries can make it attainable privately. Please talk to your doctor first.
For adults
Statement on the use of Growth Hormone in adults.


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Gold Collection 644 Navy Rug
Guaranteed safe & secure checkout
If you enjoy vivid colours, choose a chic rug from this collection. These distinctive contemporary rugs lead today's decorating trends with their saturated hues and solid combinations. The colours in these soft, plush rugs won't fade or bleed, and the rugs are easy to clean. Comprising of a dense 2cm pile and 100% Japanese acrylic yarn, this collection will surely be the new talking point of your room.
- Stylish, modern and bold
- 100% superior Japanese acrylic pile
- Hand tufted and carved
- Anti static
- Dense 2cm plush pile
- Made in China
IMPORTANT TIP: We recommend that an anti-slip pad such as Total Grip is used underneath rugs to prevent slippage between the rug and the surface it is placed on.
Please Note: Allow for a slight variation of colours depending on monitor settings.
This item cannot be delivered to a PO Box address.
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Love love love it!! Chair was delivered quickly and it's exactly as it appears on the website. It's for my daughter's room and she just loves it!
Beautiful rug!
Very professional and efficient service!
Beautiful Ginger Jar
Beautiful product exactly as described and great value for money. Love it, will shop again.
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The Everest rug is amazing !!
Love my rug and best service ever
I purchased a rug and didn't like it, the company were so helpful with the exchange. I don't think I've got better service anywhere. Highly recommend
Loving the Blues
My blue runners is exactly what I was expecting, fabulous service, quality, and delivery of my product.
I have no hesitation in recommending Millie & Maxwell. Thankyou 💙
Just the Thing
This rug is perfect for the purpose. It is a sandy and teal colour. It works well with the colour scheme. It can be washed and dried. I am very happy with my purchase. This is the third rug purchased from Millie and Maxwell. The customer service is excellent.
Lovely service will return
Absolutely lovely service from the customer service team. Personalised email upon receiving your order and fast efficient shipping. Amazing quality product also ♥


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Wow, what a great Idea. A small, economical car, whose block-like shape is both a symbol of its quirk and the reason for its utility. The kids will totally eat it for breakfast. Or maybe it'll be 55-year-old men. Eh, who cares, it'll sell like hotcakes. Kudos, Great Wall motors of China.
Scion's New xB Could Be Bigger, US Only [internal]