Thursday, September 22, 2011

Veiled French Muslim women flout ban in freedom bid...

This image shows Nicolas Sarkozy who is presid...Image via WikipediaA-Muslim-woman-in-a-niqab-007
|-|Veiled French Muslim women flout ban in freedom bid...

News from PARIS – A Frenchwoman who wears an Islamic face veil, despite a nationwide ban, wants to run for president in next year's elections.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Kenza Drider said she wants to defend the rights of all French women.

She is among a group of women mounting an attack on the law that has banned Muslim face veils from the streets of France since April. They want to prove the measure contravenes fundamental rights.

The law's backers, including President Nicolas Sarkozy, say the veils imprison women.
Drider said she plans to declare her candidacy Thursday in Meaux, a city east of Paris run by top conservative lawmaker and Sarkozy ally Jean-Francois Cope, who championed the veil ban.

Two other women stopped for wearing veils are facing trial Thursday, also in Meaux.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/12/french-veil-ban-woman-niqab-fined

http://blogging-along-with-pete.wallinside.com

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Monday, September 19, 2011

Accused priest denies his guilt - not guilty of male rape...

Accused priest Monsignor Ian Dempsey denies his guilt - not guilty of male rape...

Monsignor Ian Dempsey
Accused Catholic clergyman Ian Dempsey, with members of his parish in Adelaide's Brighton, makes a statement to the media yesterday. Picture: Kelly Barnes Source: The Australian
FLANKED by his parishioners, the senior Catholic clergyman accused in parliament of raping another priest has denied the allegations and said he may seek to make a statement in the Senate to clear his name. 

Monsignor Ian Dempsey fronted the media outside his Brighton parish in Adelaide's southern suburbs yesterday to deny having raped the leader of the Traditional Anglican Communion, Archbishop John Hepworth, more than 40 years ago.

"I am aware of John Hepworth's unsubstantiated allegations against me through an inquiry instigated by the archbishop," Monsignor Dempsey said yesterday.

"I have made it clear in writing to the inquiry that I categorically deny the allegations, which I note are said to relate to events that occurred some 45 years ago and have nothing at all to do with under-age people."

He later told The Australian that he was relieved to have finally spoken about the allegations, before going on a month of annual leave. Monsignor Dempsey said he would consider applying to the president of the Senate to address the allegations levelled against him by South Australian senator Nick Xenophon. "If they are the same privileges as the senator used last night, it could be an avenue whereby I could be able to correct some of the things he said which were inaccurate," Monsignor Dempsey said.
On Tuesday night, Senator Xenophon named Monsignor Dempsey as Archbishop Hepworth's last surviving alleged abuser, after the Adelaide Archdiocese ignored the independent MP's demands that Monsignor Dempsey be stood down during an investigation into the claims.

Senator Xenophon told the Senate that people of the parish had a right to know that the allegations had been outstanding for four years, and that the church leadership had failed to make "appropriate inquires" or stand the priest down.

The Archbishop of the Adelaide Diocese, Philip Wilson, yesterday attacked Senator Xenophon for naming Monsignor Dempsey and saying the church had not responded properly.

"We have shown Archbishop Hepworth every courtesy, sensitivity and care in the process," Archbishop Wilson said.

Senator Xenophon also questioned the appropriateness of the federal government's appointment of David Cappo, the vicar-general of the Adelaide Archdiocese, as chairman of Julia Gillard's new Mental Health Commission, due to the alleged delay in investigating Archbishop Hepworth's complaint.

Archbishop Wilson said he was "fully supportive of the manner in which Monsignor Cappo has given priority to this matter and the sensitive way in which he has dealt with it".

"I am deeply distressed that Senator Xenophon has named the priest in parliament," Archbishop Wilson said. "The damage to the priest's reputation is obvious and severe and -- in my opinion -- this serves to undermine the presumption of innocence which all of us are entitled to enjoy."

Archbishop Wilson said Monsignor Cappo had met Archbishop Hepworth on at least eight occasions between the time the issue was first raised in 2007 and February this year.

"On my behalf, Monsignor Cappo urged Archbishop Hepworth, at the end of each meeting, to give his permission to proceed with an investigation into the allegations," Archbishop Wilson said.

"On each occasion Archbishop Hepworth declined, indicating that he was not in a proper emotional state to deal with an investigation.

"He was also informed that if he was alleging any form of abuse, including rape, that this is a criminal allegation and he should go to the police."

Archbishop Hepworth said yesterday he had been encouraged to go to police only twice.

Archbishop Hepworth raised allegations on the weekend that he had been raped and sexually abused by Melbourne priest Ronald Pickering and father John Stockdale, who have both since died, while studying at the seminary in Adelaide aged 15. He also alleged he had been raped later by another priest, who Senator Xenophon named in parliament as Monsignor Dempsey.

Archbishop Hepworth did not regret Senator Xenophon naming Monsignor Dempsey in parliament.
"I have a sense of peacefulness now because I've done the best I could," he said.

Monsignor Dempsey has a right of reply in the Senate if he feels he has been defamed. He can write to the Senate president to have a formal right of reply, which is then referred to the Senate privileges committee. The committee can then decide on whether to release the statement and publish it in Hansard.

Senator Xenophon was yesterday criticised from all sides of politics for using parliamentary privilege to name Monsignor Dempsey.

Defence Minister Stephen Smith said members of parliament needed to tread carefully when airing allegations under privilege.

"If you are a member of parliament and have the benefit of parliamentary privilege you need to use that very carefully," Mr Smith said. "And when you name an individual or individuals in the parliament you firstly have to be sure and clear of your ground and you have to have made a considered and deliberate judgment as to why that's necessary."

Liberal senator Simon Birmingham said parliamentary privilege should be used "cautiously, judiciously, sparingly".

"It's not the role of politicians to play police, prosecutor, judge and jury," Senator Birmingham said.
Nationals Senate leader Barnaby Joyce said that using parliamentary privilege circumvented rights and liberties.

"We've got to make sure that everybody has got a certain presumption of innocence until proven otherwise," Senator Joyce said.

"If you have got the story wrong, then you've done an incredible injustice to the person."
Senator Xenophon told The Australian he did not regret his actions but said he was baffled by the church's decision not to tell him that the priest was being sent on leave.

"All this could have been avoided (on Tuesday)," Senator Xenophon said.
"I just want to make it clear that all I was asking for was a proper investigation and if they had told me the priest in question was going on leave it could have changed the course of action."
Acknowledgements:   Additional reporting: Milanda Rout

Xenophon names and shames priest

Nick Xenophon has used parliamentary privilege to name a priest accused of raping an Archbishop.
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Senator Nick Xenophon names and shames rapist priest...

Australian Senator Nick Xenophon names and shames rapist priest...

Xenophon names and shames priest

Nick Xenophon has used parliamentary privilege to name a priest accused of raping an Archbishop.
Nick Xenophon
Senator Nick Xenophon has named a Catholic priest who is at the centre of rape allegations. AdelaideNow
UPDATE 6.50pm: THE Catholic priest who was last night named by Senator Nick Xenophon over sex abuse claims has today denied any wrongdoing. 
The priest had previously categorically denied raping Adelaide-based Anglican Archbishop John Hepworth decades ago.

He further denied the claims in a brief statement read to journalists this afternoon.

Flanked by a supportive parishioner and chair of the parish council, the priest reiterated his denial.
"Firstly I wish to state I am aware of John Hepworth's unsubstantiated allegations against me through an inquiry instigated by the Archbishop of Adelaide.

"As the inquiry is ongoing I have nothing further to say apart from denying the allegations."
He said he was going on holiday this weekend, as arranged before the allegations surfaced over the weekend.
The independent SA Senator last night lobbed a grenade at the Adelaide archdiocese, naming the respected local priest that he claims is at the centre of rape allegations.

Senator Xenophon said the church only "has itself to blame''.

Naming the priest in the Senate, Senator Xenophon said: "This creates a serious moral dilemma for me. It has put me as a representative of the people of SA in a situation where I have privileged information.

"And the problem with privileged information is that it can be misused to benefit only a select few.
"The question is do the people that attend this priest's parish have a right to know that serious allegations of sexual assault have been levelled at their priest?

"If my family attended this church and if church leadership had refused to stand this priest down pending a proper investigation would I believe I had a right to know?'

Senate president John Hogg warned Senator Xenophon about the purposes of parliamentary privilege before he spoke.

Senator Xenophon said: "I don't provide this information to the Senate lightly.
"But ultimately I believe given the inaction of the Catholic Church in SA, by not setting up a proper process or standing the priest down, they have created a situation where an appropriate duty of care has not been shown to the parish.''

The South Australian Catholic Church had earlier asked Mr Xenophon not to name the priest.

“The priest concerned has categorically denied the allegations and has been a person of good standing in the archdiocese for a very long time,” the church said.
Senator Xenophon said he had received overwhelming public support for his decision to name the priest. He said he would continue his push for action by the Church.

“Today I have received a large volume of correspondence from constituents expressing serious concern about the way their claims of abuse have been processed by the Catholic Church in South Australia, and I will be working with those people in the coming days,” he said.
Victorian laws 'out of touch'
Senator Xenophon also said laws that gagged and detained "name them and shame them" crusader Derryn Hinch should be reformed.
Senator Xenophon told news.com.au Victorian laws "were demonstrably out of touch with community views and community concerns”.

Hinch, serving five months home detention, cannot praise the maverick Senator for naming the accused rapist – but his wife Chanel Hinch did just a few hours ago exclusively to news.com.au

“What this does is highlight the ludicrousness of the law currently in place in Victoria. This has to change soon," she said.

“I applaud Senator Xenophon for naming in Parliament last night a Catholic priest accused of sexual abuse.’’

News.com.au sought permission to interview Hinch from the Attorney General but this was denied.

A spokesperson for Victorian Attorney General said Hinch could not be spoken to and another for the Melbourne Magistrate’s court said this would not change unless a legal challenge was mounted to the existing court order banning him from speaking publicly.

Hinch was placed under home detention in July this year and gagged from working as a journalist or speaking to the media after he named two convicted sex offenders at a public rally and then again on his personal blog in 2008.

Lawyers acting for Mr Hinch fought all the matter way to the High Court, arguing that Victoria’s Sex Offenders Monitoring Act was unconstitutional because court proceedings must be conducted publicly but lost the case.

Hinch, who is currently recovering from a life-saving liver transplant, was sentenced to five months house arrest and banned from carrying out any media-related work including blogging, tweeting or giving interviews.

The court also banned others from carrying out media work for him.

Senator Xenophon said he had received overwhelming public support for his decision to name a priest accused of raping Adelaide-based Anglican Archbishop John Hepworth about 40 years ago. He would continue his push for action by the Church.

“Today I have received a large volume of correspondence from constituents expressing serious concern about the way their claims of abuse have been processed by the Catholic Church in South Australia, and I will be working with those people in the coming days,” he said.


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