Utah’s Catholic Diocese has received ‘credible allegations’ of sexual abuse against 16 priests since 1990 — two of them this year

In the past three decades, the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City has received “credible allegations” of sexual abuse involving 16 priests. The letter, called “Report to the People of God of the Diocese of Salt Lake City,” is likely the first time Utah Catholics have received this type of accounting of sex abuse allegations against priests, said diocese spokeswoman Jean Hill. It also marks the first time the diocese acknowledged outside the parishes where he served that a second priest has been put on leave this year in connection to a sexual abuse allegation.

That allegation involved Father Jorge Martinez-Gomez, who was put on leave in early July after an “allegation of misconduct” involving a man. Parishioners at St. Francis of Assisi in Orem were told about the allegations involving the parochial vicar that month. A copy of the pulpit announcement was released to The Salt Lake Tribune on Thursday. It said that the alleged misconduct occurred in December 2016, but that the diocese was not made aware of the allegations until July 3. Martinez-Gomez was placed on leave that same day, according to the announcement, and the incident was reported to police officials. Last month, the diocese announced that Father David R. Gaeta — who is serving as pastor at St. Peter Parish in American Fork — was placed on leave while the state Division of Child and Family Services, police and the diocese investigate allegations of sexual misconduct involving at least two minors. In addition to the 16 priests accused since 1990, there have also been sexual abuse allegations against one religious brother and one seminarian. In total, the Salt Lake City diocese (which oversees all parishes in Utah) say there have been approximately 34 alleged victims of abuse from these allegations in the Beehive State, and the instances took place from 1960 to 2018.

Most of the allegations were made after the priests had left the priesthood, retired, moved to their home country or died, but the document said two priests were stripped of their church position. In 2004, then-Utah Bishop George H. Niederauer said in a statement that, from 1950 until 2002, there were 18 credible allegations of sexual abuse against 13 priests in the Diocese of Salt Lake City. That represented 2.7 percent of the 476 priests who served the diocese during those years, said Niederauer, who died last year. Solis wrote in Thursday’s letter, which will be published in the Intermountain Catholic newspaper, that the global Catholic Church has been “embroiled in a very shocking, painful, shameful sexual scandal” that has brought anger, pain and doubt to members. “On behalf of all my brother priests, and myself, I beg your forgiveness for [the offending clergymen’s] sins and failings," he wrote. "I assure you of our sincere efforts in providing a safe place for our children.”

The bishop asked Utah’s 300,000-plus Catholics to pray for the victims and their families to find healing, justice and peace, and to pray for priests “so they may continue to strive to be true shepherds of Christ dedicated in caring for their flock.” Solis, who assumed the diocese’s reins in March 2017, promised that any reports of sexual abuse in Utah will result in a priest’s temporary suspension, and mandatory reporting to DCFS and local police. Victims will be offered therapy, he wrote, and the suspension of a priest will be announced in his parish. Additionally, Solis said, the diocese will adhere to a “zero tolerance policy,” in which no priest or church minister found to have abused a minor or are “credibly accused of such sexual abuse” will be allowed to return to the ministry. “The Diocese of Salt Lake City is committed to carrying out this sacred duty responsibly and faithfully now and in the future,” he wrote. “With your support, we hope to provide a safe environment for all children and everyone.” Solis' letter was released the same day Pope Francis met with leaders of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to talk about the sex abuse scandals that have “lacerated” the church.

https://www.sltrib.com/news/2018/09/13/utahs-catholic-diocese/

Federal prosecutors weigh charges against former Obama White House counsel: Report

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are considering criminal charges against former White House counsel Greg Craig, who served during the first year of the Obama administration, as part of an investigation into former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, according to a new report. Sources familiar with the matter told CNN that prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York are investigating whether Craig failed to register as a foreign agent. They’re also weighing action against law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, where Craig was employed during the activity under investigation, the report said. An attorney for Craig told CNN his client “was not required to register under the Foreign Agent Registration Act.”

The charges were referred to the U.S. Attorney’s office by special counsel Robert Mueller’s team. The investigation relates to whether Craig lobbied on behalf of a group linked to Ukraine without registering with the Justice Department as a foreign agent, which is required under federal law. Details about the matter were included in superseding criminal charges filed Friday by Mueller’s office against Manafort. As part of a plea deal reached Friday, Manafort agreed to cooperate with the federal government. The filing alleged the law firm was “solicited” by Manafort on behalf of then-President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych and the Ukranian government's Ministry of Justice to write a report on the trial of a political rival of Yanukovych. Craig was the law firm’s partner who worked on the report and was involved in disseminating it to members of Congress and the media.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/federal-prosecutors-weigh-charges-against-former-obama-white-house-counsel-report

Texas school board votes to delete Hillary Clinton from history curriculum

Hillary Clinton could soon disappear from the history curriculum in Texas. The Texas state board of education voted Friday to remove the former Democratic presidential nominee and secretary of state from the history curriculum, the Dallas Morning News reported. The vote was preliminary, and the board will take a final vote on the change in November. The board can also make amendments to the curriculum before then.

Eliminating Clinton from the curriculum would not mean teachers could not teach about her, but rather they would no longer be mandated to do so. And the board is not making any changes to textbooks or other instructional material. Clinton, the first woman to win a major political party’s presidential nomination, had been included in the curriculum in a section about citizenship, where students evaluated “the contributions of significant political and social leaders in the United States.” Teachers in the work group who made the recommendation to the board told the news outlet that the state requires students to learn about too many historical figures. Students thus rely on memorizing dates and names instead of digesting the information, they said. To determine who was “essential” to learn about, they asked questions like, Did the person trigger a watershed change? Was the person from an underrepresented group? Will their impact stand the test of time? Not including Clinton in the curriculum will save teachers 30 minutes, the group estimated.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/texas-school-board-votes-delete-hillary-clinton-from-history-curriculum

>>3027816

While I don't disagree with the sentiment of what you are saying…I believe we don't have all the facts yet, so with that I think there is a strong chance we could also find a few surprising moments of our own.

>>3027884

I don't think this is a smart move on their part. Here's why: If we don't keep this out in the open, how will anyone recognize when someone else comes along pulling the same stunts she and Bill did, this needs to be kept in the sunlight for all to remember, because if we don't know our history it's doomed to repeat itself only the next time those generations might not be as lucky to dodge the bullet.

John Kerry team: Mike Pompeo’s rebuke is just ‘theatrics’

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s denunciation of former Secretary of State John Kerry’s meetings with Iranian officials is just “theatrics,” a spokesperson for the former Democratic senator said. “There’s nothing unusual, let alone unseemly or inappropriate, about former diplomats meeting with foreign counterparts,” the statement said. “Secretary Kissinger has done it for decades with Russia and China. What is unseemly and unprecedented is for the podium of the State Department to be hijacked for political theatrics." That reply echoed Pompeo’s criticism earlier Friday, when the former Republican lawmaker was asked if he agrees with President Trump’s contention that Kerry’s meetings with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif violate the law. Pompeo ducked the legal question, but condemned the encounters on other grounds. “What Secretary Kerry has done is unseemly and unprecedented,” Pompeo told reporters. “He was telling them to wait out this administration. … It’s inconsistent with what foreign policy of the United States is, as directed by this president, and it is beyond inappropriate for him to be engaged in this.”

Kerry has denied “coaching” Iranian officials on how to respond to Trump administration policies. “What I have done is tried to elicit from him what Iran might be willing to do in order to change the dynamic in the Middle East for the better,” Kerry told conservative talk show host Hugh Hewitt. Those conversations took place before Trump withdrew from the Iran deal, according to the Friday evening statement. “[I]n a long phone conversation with Secretary Pompeo earlier this year [Kerry] went into great detail about what he had learned about the Iranian’s view,” Kerry’s team said. “No secrets were kept from this administration. Like America’s closest allies, Kerry believes it is important that the commitments Iran made under the nuclear agreement, which took the world years to negotiate, remain effective. He was advocating for what was wholly consistent with U.S. policy at the time.”

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/john-kerry-team-mike-pompeos-rebuke-is-just-theatrics

>>3028039

We should get them back, but the only way she should have one is if it were for a means of torture, kek…find the one she especially hates, replicate it and place it in her padded cell:)

>>3028093

He isn't mad enough yet…he's going to be though, kek

>>3028116

Sorry that all I have…I would if I did though..just found it…

>>3028120

Indeed…so I see this as fuckery.

>>3028151

point taken…agreed

>>3028123

Indeed!

>>3028243

I wasn't hard to tell, kek