VOLUME 11 |ISSUE 2 |2020 2931
cases related to 10 sex crimes, according to the court’s
statement.” (Yahoo News, 12/19/19)
A report finds L’Arche founder sexually abused 6 women
“An internal report reveals that L’Arche founder Jean Vanier,
a respected Canadian religious figure whose charity work
helped improve conditions for the developmentally disabled in
multiple countries over half a century, sexually abused at least
six women. Vanier died last year in Paris at age 90. According to
the report seen by the AP Saturday, the women’s descriptions
provide evidence enough to show that Vanier engaged in
‘manipulative sexual relationships’ over a period from 1970
to 2005. The report does not rule out potential other victims.
During the inquiry, commissioned by L’Arche last year and
carried out by the independent, U.K.-based GCPS Consulting
group, six adult, non-disabled women said Vanier had engaged
in sexual relations with them as they were seeking spiritual
direction. According to the report, the women, who have no
links to each other, reported similar facts and Vanier’s sexual
misconduct was often associated with alleged ‘spiritual and
mystical justifications.’ A statement released by L’Arche France
Saturday stressed that some women still have ‘deep wounds.’
Vanier’s actions show ‘he had a psychological and spiritual
hold on these women,’ the statement said, adding that nothing
suggests that disabled people may have been involved.”
(WUSA9, 02/22/20)
Disgraced religious order tried to get abuse victim to lie
“The cardinal’s response was not what Yolanda Martínez had
expected—or could abide. Her son had been sexually abused
by a priest of the Legion of Christ, a disgraced religious order.
And now she was calling Cardinal Valasio De Paolis—the
Vatican official appointed by the pope to lead the Legion and
to clean it up—to report the settlement the group was offering,
and to express her outrage. The terms: Martínez’s family would
receive 15,000 euros ($16,300) from the order. But in return,
her son would have to recant the testimony he gave to Milan
prosecutors that the priest had repeatedly assaulted him when
he was a 12-year-old student at the order’s youth seminary in
northern Italy. He would have to lie. The cardinal did not seem
shocked. He did not share her indignation.” (AP News, 02/17/20)
Pope tells scandal-marred Legion they still haven’t
reformed
“...In [his January 26, 2020 weekly] speech, Francis gave his most
extensive comments to date about the Legion [of Christ] and
[its founder Father Marcial] Maciel, who was hailed during
the papacy of St. John Paul II for his purported orthodoxy and
ability to attract vocations and donations. The Legion scandal
sullied John Paul’s legacy since he and his aides turned a blind
eye to evidence, including documentation in the Vatican dating
from the 1940s, that Maciel was a drug addict, pedophile and
religious fraud. Francis said that while the Legion cannot deny
that Maciel founded the order, ‘you can no longer consider
him an example of holiness to imitate’—a reference to the fact
that some Legionaries still keep photos of him and read the
writings of a man they considered a living saint. Francis said the
cult of personality Maciel created to run the order ‘in some way
polluted’ the original spiritual inspiration for the Legion.” (Crux,
02/29/20)
Multilevel marketing groups [MLMs] are often seen as a
great money-making opportunity. For this mum, the reality
was anything but…
“It was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Instead, it ended up costing Brisbane mum Suzie McDarra
thousands—and almost ruined her relationship with her son.
For those who haven’t had a friend invite them to a Tupperware
party, who haven’t been asked whether they want to ‘invest
in an exciting business opportunity,’ multi-level marketing
companies (or MLMs) might seem a bit foreign. But worldwide,
they’re part of a multi-billion-dollar industry. Some of the
bigger brands in Australia you may have heard of include
DoTERRA, Arbonne, Rodan and Fields and Herbalife. Given
49-year-old Suzie had been running her own successful small
business as a massage therapist for a decade, she wasn’t new
to the idea of building a client base or taking risks. … Living
week to week, Suzie thought that selling a product that she
already used, from a … company that promised her a ‘passive
income,’ would be a great way to get ahead as a single parent.
She knew that selling products on the side wouldn’t be as
labour intensive, and hoped it would be a way for her to make
extra money while she continued to spend most of her time
on the business. But for her, it soon became apparent that the
promise didn’t live up to the reality. … Within the first year of
selling for the MLM, … she barely took a holiday … And when
she told her upline that it took much more than the estimated
10-15 hours a week to turn a profit, she was told it was her fault.
… But the second year she said she ‘spent every spare minute
mentally distracted’ [and] … her son started attempting to run
away from home … Crunching the numbers, Suzie discovered
that over the three years she’d been selling … she’d earned
$16,500, but she had actually spent $19,300. … ‘I’ve definitely
lost friends … you become so obsessed,’ she said. Her biggest
regret, however, is the time she lost with her son…” (ABC News,
02/10/20)
Mormon Church misled members on $100 billion tax-
exempt investment fund, whistleblower alleges
“A former investment manager alleges in a whistleblower
complaint to the Internal Revenue Service that the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has amassed about $100
billion in accounts intended for charitable purposes, according
to a copy of the complaint obtained by The Washington Post.
The confidential document, received by the IRS on Nov. 21,
accuses church leaders of misleading members—and possibly
breaching federal tax rules—by stockpiling their surplus
donations instead of using them for charitable works. It also
accuses church leaders of using the tax-exempt donations
to prop up a pair of businesses. A spokesman for the church
did not respond to detailed questions from The Post about the
cases related to 10 sex crimes, according to the court’s
statement.” (Yahoo News, 12/19/19)
A report finds L’Arche founder sexually abused 6 women
“An internal report reveals that L’Arche founder Jean Vanier,
a respected Canadian religious figure whose charity work
helped improve conditions for the developmentally disabled in
multiple countries over half a century, sexually abused at least
six women. Vanier died last year in Paris at age 90. According to
the report seen by the AP Saturday, the women’s descriptions
provide evidence enough to show that Vanier engaged in
‘manipulative sexual relationships’ over a period from 1970
to 2005. The report does not rule out potential other victims.
During the inquiry, commissioned by L’Arche last year and
carried out by the independent, U.K.-based GCPS Consulting
group, six adult, non-disabled women said Vanier had engaged
in sexual relations with them as they were seeking spiritual
direction. According to the report, the women, who have no
links to each other, reported similar facts and Vanier’s sexual
misconduct was often associated with alleged ‘spiritual and
mystical justifications.’ A statement released by L’Arche France
Saturday stressed that some women still have ‘deep wounds.’
Vanier’s actions show ‘he had a psychological and spiritual
hold on these women,’ the statement said, adding that nothing
suggests that disabled people may have been involved.”
(WUSA9, 02/22/20)
Disgraced religious order tried to get abuse victim to lie
“The cardinal’s response was not what Yolanda Martínez had
expected—or could abide. Her son had been sexually abused
by a priest of the Legion of Christ, a disgraced religious order.
And now she was calling Cardinal Valasio De Paolis—the
Vatican official appointed by the pope to lead the Legion and
to clean it up—to report the settlement the group was offering,
and to express her outrage. The terms: Martínez’s family would
receive 15,000 euros ($16,300) from the order. But in return,
her son would have to recant the testimony he gave to Milan
prosecutors that the priest had repeatedly assaulted him when
he was a 12-year-old student at the order’s youth seminary in
northern Italy. He would have to lie. The cardinal did not seem
shocked. He did not share her indignation.” (AP News, 02/17/20)
Pope tells scandal-marred Legion they still haven’t
reformed
“...In [his January 26, 2020 weekly] speech, Francis gave his most
extensive comments to date about the Legion [of Christ] and
[its founder Father Marcial] Maciel, who was hailed during
the papacy of St. John Paul II for his purported orthodoxy and
ability to attract vocations and donations. The Legion scandal
sullied John Paul’s legacy since he and his aides turned a blind
eye to evidence, including documentation in the Vatican dating
from the 1940s, that Maciel was a drug addict, pedophile and
religious fraud. Francis said that while the Legion cannot deny
that Maciel founded the order, ‘you can no longer consider
him an example of holiness to imitate’—a reference to the fact
that some Legionaries still keep photos of him and read the
writings of a man they considered a living saint. Francis said the
cult of personality Maciel created to run the order ‘in some way
polluted’ the original spiritual inspiration for the Legion.” (Crux,
02/29/20)
Multilevel marketing groups [MLMs] are often seen as a
great money-making opportunity. For this mum, the reality
was anything but…
“It was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Instead, it ended up costing Brisbane mum Suzie McDarra
thousands—and almost ruined her relationship with her son.
For those who haven’t had a friend invite them to a Tupperware
party, who haven’t been asked whether they want to ‘invest
in an exciting business opportunity,’ multi-level marketing
companies (or MLMs) might seem a bit foreign. But worldwide,
they’re part of a multi-billion-dollar industry. Some of the
bigger brands in Australia you may have heard of include
DoTERRA, Arbonne, Rodan and Fields and Herbalife. Given
49-year-old Suzie had been running her own successful small
business as a massage therapist for a decade, she wasn’t new
to the idea of building a client base or taking risks. … Living
week to week, Suzie thought that selling a product that she
already used, from a … company that promised her a ‘passive
income,’ would be a great way to get ahead as a single parent.
She knew that selling products on the side wouldn’t be as
labour intensive, and hoped it would be a way for her to make
extra money while she continued to spend most of her time
on the business. But for her, it soon became apparent that the
promise didn’t live up to the reality. … Within the first year of
selling for the MLM, … she barely took a holiday … And when
she told her upline that it took much more than the estimated
10-15 hours a week to turn a profit, she was told it was her fault.
… But the second year she said she ‘spent every spare minute
mentally distracted’ [and] … her son started attempting to run
away from home … Crunching the numbers, Suzie discovered
that over the three years she’d been selling … she’d earned
$16,500, but she had actually spent $19,300. … ‘I’ve definitely
lost friends … you become so obsessed,’ she said. Her biggest
regret, however, is the time she lost with her son…” (ABC News,
02/10/20)
Mormon Church misled members on $100 billion tax-
exempt investment fund, whistleblower alleges
“A former investment manager alleges in a whistleblower
complaint to the Internal Revenue Service that the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has amassed about $100
billion in accounts intended for charitable purposes, according
to a copy of the complaint obtained by The Washington Post.
The confidential document, received by the IRS on Nov. 21,
accuses church leaders of misleading members—and possibly
breaching federal tax rules—by stockpiling their surplus
donations instead of using them for charitable works. It also
accuses church leaders of using the tax-exempt donations
to prop up a pair of businesses. A spokesman for the church
did not respond to detailed questions from The Post about the
