Kidnap victim’s father takes up new challenge

Now that his daughter, Gina DeJesus, has returned home safely, Felix DeJesus has a new mission. And it’s possibly much bigger than the one he’s been on since Gina went missing in 2004.

Speaking outside his home on the city’s west side shortly after his daughter, now 23, came home on Wednesday, DeJesus said he will become an advocate for the safe return of all children.

“My job is never done,” DeJesus said. “Now, I’ve become an activist to help find the rest of the children that are missing.”

It’s a problem that’s plaguing the nation, he said. He called on the hundreds of neighbors and community members gathered outside his home, as well as people across the nation, to watch out for their kids—and their neighbors’ kids.

“Too many kids come up missing,” DeJesus said. “We have a problem across this nation, and it’s going to take all of us to fix this problem.”

On Monday, Amanda Berry, 27, was able to escape the home where she had been held captive since April 2003. After she called police, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight, 32, who went missing in 2002, were freed, as well.

Police on Thursday charged Ariel Castro, 52, the owner of the home where the women were kept, with four counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape. Castro’s brothers, Pedro, 54, and Onil, 50, were also taken into custody but were not charged.

At the DeJesus home on Wednesday, Gina DeJesus’ aunt, Sandra Ruiz, reminded her neighbors that a fourth west side Cleveland girl, Ashley Summers, who at age 14 went missing in 2007, is still missing.

“Now we must rally together to look for Ashley Summers,” Ruiz told the crowd.

Police continue to investigate Summers’ disappearance but so far have not linked her case with those of Berry, Knight, and Gina DeJesus.

Felix DeJesus, though, said that the community must remain vigilant and not give up.

“I knew my daughter was out there alive,” DeJesus said. “I knew she needed me. I never gave up.”

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Cleveland police reviewing handling of kidnap victim’s 911 call

Cleveland officials are investigating the handling of a call from kidnapping victim Amanda Berry to 911 on Monday.

Berry and two other women had been held captive in a Cleveland home for nearly a decade but were able to escape on Monday evening.

In a statement published on the department’s blog, Cleveland Public Safety Director Martin L. Flask acknowledged the public’s criticism of the dispatcher’s handling of the call for help from Berry. The call was released to the media on Monday, shortly after police revealed the women were found alive.

During the 911 call, Berry tells a dispatcher: “Hello, police, help me! I'm Amanda Berry … I've been kidnapped and I've been missing for ten years, and ... I'm here, I'm free now.”

The dispatcher, after verifying Berry’s whereabouts, tells the kidnap victim to talk to the police when they arrive. The dispatcher also tells Berry, who was pleading for police to come immediately, “We're going to send them as soon as we get a car open.”

And Berry responded, “No, I need them now before he [her alleged captor, Ariel Castro] gets back.”

Flask wrote that while the dispatcher followed department policies and procedures, “We have noted some concerns, which will be the focus of our review, including the call-taker’s failure to remain on the line with Ms. Berry until police arrived on scene.”

The dispatcher was not identified in the statement.

During a press conference on Tuesday, police officials said officers arrived at the home where the women were held captive within minutes of Berry’s call. When police arrived, they found Berry with her 6-year-old daughter, as well as Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight.

Berry, 27, had been missing since April 2003, when she was 16. DeJesus, 23, had been missing since 2004, when she was 14. Knight had been missing since 2002, when she was 20, according to police.

Police commended Berry as “a real hero” for breaking away from the home, calling police, and enabling the other women to escape, too.

Three brothers—Ariel Castro, 52; Pedro Castro, 54; and Onil Castro, 50—have been arrested and are expected to be charged on Wednesday.

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NM church members start victims fun after attack

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Members of a Catholic church where three people were stabbed during Mass a week ago launched an effort on Sunday to raise money for victims hurt in the attack.

The start of the campaign came as Sunday services resumed at St. Jude Thaddeus Church. Parishioners were also collecting cards and well wishes to give to families.

"God is working in and through all of life's circumstances," a message seeking donations said on the church's website. "Thank you for your prayers and concern and for answering God's call."

Police said Lawrence Capener stabbed three people on April 28 as Mass was ending because he thought a choir leader was a Mason. He has been charged with aggravated battery and was being held on $250,000 bail.

Santa Fe Archbishop Michael Sheehan re-consecrated the Albuquerque church on Wednesday by sprinkling holy water and spreading incense through the building. The move was part of a Catholic ritual required after a sacrilege has been committed at a church.

St. Jude Thaddeus' pastor, the Rev. John Daniel, said he believes parishioners have already forgiven Capener and continued to pray for him and his family.

"What can you do? This is what we are taught to do," he said.

Capener, 24, told police that he also tagged the Sandoval No. 76 Masonic Lodge in Rio Rancho with spray paint just before the stabbing attack, authorities said.

Police later found red and blue spray paint on signs, outside walls and a door. Investigators said he also left the message, "I hope you guess who I am."

Parishioners said they rarely saw Capener attend services but were aware that his mother is active in the church, which is on the city's Westside.

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NM church members start victims fund after attack

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Members of a Catholic church where three people were stabbed during Mass a week ago launched an effort on Sunday to raise money for victims hurt in the attack.

The start of the campaign came as Sunday services resumed at St. Jude Thaddeus Church. Parishioners were also collecting cards and well wishes to give to families.

"God is working in and through all of life's circumstances," a message seeking donations said on the church's website. "Thank you for your prayers and concern and for answering God's call."

Police said Lawrence Capener stabbed three people on April 28 as Mass was ending because he thought a choir leader was a Mason. He has been charged with aggravated battery and was being held on $250,000 bail.

Santa Fe Archbishop Michael Sheehan re-consecrated the Albuquerque church on Wednesday by sprinkling holy water and spreading incense through the building. The move was part of a Catholic ritual required after a sacrilege has been committed at a church.

St. Jude Thaddeus' pastor, the Rev. John Daniel, said he believes parishioners have already forgiven Capener and continued to pray for him and his family.

"What can you do? This is what we are taught to do," he said.

Capener, 24, told police that he also tagged the Sandoval No. 76 Masonic Lodge in Rio Rancho with spray paint just before the stabbing attack, authorities said.

Police later found red and blue spray paint on signs, outside walls and a door. Investigators said he also left the message, "I hope you guess who I am."

Parishioners said they rarely saw Capener attend services but were aware that his mother is active in the church, which is on the city's Westside.

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Fund launched to pay for physical therapy, counseling for Boston victims

An American flag is attached to a barrier near the site of the Boston bombings. (Dylan Stableford/Yahoo News)

The organizers of National High-5 Day have launched an initiative to help pay for physical therapy and mental health counseling for Boston Marathon bombing victims and first responders.

A campaign, found at Rally.org, was launched on National High-5 Day (April 18), three days after the bombings. It has so far collected nearly $5,000 from more than 1,500 supporters. The money is to be used specifically for services often not covered by victims' insurance companies.

The charitable organization was able to partner with Boston-area providers who were willing to offer discounted rates as part of the campaign. "They're lowering their usual rates so that each $5 donation will sponsor approximately five minutes of physical therapy or mental health care," Greg Harrell-Edge, the executive director of the National High-5 Project, explained to Yahoo News.

[Related: Photo of Boston cop's act of kindness goes viral]

Dr. Leon Scott, an EMT and first responder who was stationed at mile 26 of the marathon, recommended that the group focus its efforts on physical therapy and mental health fundraising, Harrell-Edge said.

The first recipient, another first responder to last week's attack, received mental health counseling on Wednesday, with National High-5 Day picking up the entire tab. The campaign is also in contact with the Boston Public Health Commission and Boston Emergency Medical Services to help coordinate care.

"We are scheduling conversations with other victims, but we're proud that the program is already going," Harrell-Edge said.

The campaign initially aimed to raise $5,555, with any additional money collected going to the One Fund, which has become a centralized feeder for charitable efforts in the wake of the bombings.

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U.S. victims of mass shootings seek control over donations

By Daniel Trotta

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Survivors of mass U.S. shootings have united to provide victims of future tragedies greater control over donations made after such events and to prevent nonprofit groups from holding onto money intended for families of the dead and wounded.

A group representing families of those killed at the Columbine, Virginia Tech and Aurora mass shootings wants to ensure any unspecified funds raised as a result of the Newtown shooting go directly to victims and their families.

Newtown, the Connecticut town where a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, has identified more than 60 funds raising money on behalf of victims or projects related to the shooting.

The families of some mass shooting victims want a National Compassion Fund established to manage future donations.

"Going back to Oklahoma City, we've seen families who have had to endure not only horrific loss, but also the unimaginable task of wrestling with Byzantine nonprofit bureaucracies to access financial relief intended for them," the families said in a statement. "It's time to stop the madness. We cannot watch this happen, yet again, in Sandy Hook."

The informal group, so far unnamed, has initiated talks with senior White House officials and two members of Congress about establishing an official fundraising operation for such tragedies, said Caryn Kaufman, a spokeswoman for the families. She declined to name the officials out of concern it might jeopardize the project.

The group is examining whether legislation or an executive order would be needed to create a federal or nonprofit entity that would coordinate donations after any future tragedy.

The project has won initial support from Kenneth Feinberg, the influential Washington lawyer who administered funds for victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks and several mass shootings.

Jerri Jackson, whose son Matt McQuinn was killed with 11 others in the 2012 movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado, wants it to be easier for future victims to receive aid.

"It's not a matter of if something else happens, it's when something else happens," Jackson said. "Immediately, a fund would be set up. It would be a trusted fund that people would feel they could give to and the money would go to the victims."

Jackson said she was forced to "jump through hoops in the midst of tragedy" to receive money raised in her son's name.

Nearly $5.9 million in Aurora donations were channeled to the Community First Foundation. When victims' families publicly complained about the pace of disbursement, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper called in Feinberg, who oversaw the disbursement within 45 days. The victims' fund was later shut down.

After the 2007 Virginia Tech University shooting that killed 32 people, more than $10 million spontaneously flowed to the university's fundraising foundation, university spokesman Larry Hincker said.

Because that foundation was only authorized to spend money on the university, an executive order from the governor was needed to disburse the funds to victims, Hincker said.

Michael Pohle, a member of the group whose son was killed at Virginia Tech, said: "What was so insulting was we had to fill out documents, have them notarized, and basically beg and apply for dollars."

Feinberg recognized some grieving survivors were upset but defended the disbursement process following both tragedies, noting the highly unusual circumstances, complex legal requirements and emotional strain on the families.

FAMILIES BAND TOGETHER

The ad hoc group of 64 people lost relatives in tragedies such as the September 11 attacks, the 2008 shooting at Northern Illinois University and the Sikh temple shooting last year at Oak Creek, Wisconsin.

The group has not involved the Sandy Hook families regarding the distribution of Newtown funds, saying it was too soon for those still grieving. Even so, the group was concerned about the confusion caused by having dozens of nonprofit groups collecting money in Newtown, said Kaufman, the group's spokeswoman.

Some of the Newtown funds were designated for a specific purpose, such as creating a playground or scholarship. In other cases, the funds refer to more general goals of supporting the victims. The group believes that money should go to the victims' families.

Feinberg has overseen disbursements of funds following September 11, the BP oil spill and several mass shootings. Though he is not affiliated with the group, he supports the concept Of having a protocol in place when a future tragedy occurs.

"I think it's a great idea," Feinberg said. "The question is: Is there the political will to do it?"

(This story was corrected in paragraph 12 to clarify that victims' fund, not foundation, was closed)

(Editing by Mary Milliken and Stacey Joyce)

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Abuse victims want pope to open Argentina files

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A U.S. group that tracks clergy abuse called on Pope Francis to apologize Tuesday for what it called the Argentine church's protection of two priests who were eventually convicted of abusing children.

The Bishop Accountability group cites the case of Father Julio Cesar Grassi, who ran the "Happy Children" foundation and was convicted of pedophilia in 2008, and Father Napoleon Sasso, convicted in 2007 of abusing girls at a soup kitchen in suburban Buenos Aires. Sasso had been moved to the kitchen by church authorities after he got into trouble for pedophilia in remote San Juan province.

Jorge Bergoglio, who became Argentina's cardinal in 2001, wasn't directly involved in any sex abuse scandals or coverups, but he failed to remove priests accused of sexually abusing their faithful, and refused to meet with the victims, their attorney Ernesto Moreau told The Associated Press.

"Bergoglio has been the strongest man in the Argentine church since the beginning of this century," Moreau said, and yet "the leadership of the church has never done anything to remove these people from these places, and neither has it done anything to relieve the pain of the victims."

Now Grassi is free on appeal, thanks in part to the church's report. Before he was convicted, he thanked Bergoglio for "never abandoning him."

Bishop Accountability co-director Anne Doyle says this shows Bergoglio was behind the curve in the Catholic church's global struggle to deal with sex abuse by its priests, which began in 2002 after thousands of cases became public in the United States and around the world.

"We would be alarmed if the archbishop Bergoglio had done this in the '60s or '70s. That would be sad and disturbing. But the fact that he did this just five years ago, when other bishops in other countries were meeting victims and implementing tough reporting laws, it puts him behind some of his American counterparts, that's for sure," Doyle told the AP.

The group said that to send a message of zero tolerance, Francis should tell the Buenos Aires archdiocese to release the complete files on these two cases; publicly identify any priests who are "credibly accused"; publicly endorse the mandatory reporting by church officials to law enforcement of any suspected abuse; admit that he was wrong to defend abusive priests; apologize to the victims of Grassi and Sasso; and offer to meet with the victims now.

Doyle noted that The Washington Post reported on these cases just as Francis was being installed as pope in a Vatican ceremony seen around the world.

"The victims of these two priests are the very children of God about whom he was speaking in his homily today," she said. "They are the most vulnerable of the poor. We hope that Francis will seize this as a priority and reach out to the victims and rectify his terrible insensitivity to them when he was archbishop."

Messages left by phone and email by the AP seeking comment from the Buenos Aires archbishopric's press office were not immediately returned Tuesday.

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Victims raise legal questions about retired pope

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Attorneys who have tried unsuccessfully for years to sue the Vatican over failures to stop clergy sex abuse are looking into whether former Pope Benedict XVI is more legally vulnerable in retirement, especially if he travels beyond the Vatican walls.

A U.S. lawyer for the Vatican argues that, like any former head of state, Benedict retains legal immunity regardless of whether he is in or out of office. But advocates for victims say immunity in this case should be tested, since modern-day courts have never before dealt with an emeritus pope.

"So much of this is unprecedented," said Pamela Spees, an attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York, which is pressing the International Criminal Court to investigate the Vatican's response to abusive priests as a crime against humanity. "There's nothing set in stone about it."

Benedict stepped down last week, becoming the first pontiff in six centuries to do so. Before he became head of the Roman Catholic Church in 2005, he spent more than two decades in charge of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican office that over the years gained authority to oversee abuse claims against clergy worldwide.

Still, his record on trying to end abuse stands above that of many other church officials.

Benedict spoke openly of ridding the church of "filth" and was the first pontiff to meet directly with victims, during a 2008 visit to the U.S.

He instructed the Rev. Marcial Maciel, founder of the conservative Legion of Christ religious order, who was favored by Pope John Paul II, to leave the ministry and lead a life of prayer and penance. Maciel had been accused for years of abusing young men.

Benedict also ordered bishops worldwide to craft guidelines on protecting children and keeping abusers out of the priesthood. Jeffrey Lena, a U.S. attorney for the Vatican, said that Benedict deserves "tremendous credit" for "recognizing the problem and helping to change the church's approach."

However, advocates for victims have criticized his reforms as half-steps.

As evidence, they point to the Maciel case. The pope never disclosed what the influential priest had done wrong. Only later was it confirmed that Maciel had molested seminarians and fathered at least three children. In Ireland, where church leaders had shielded guilty clerics from prosecution for decades, the Vatican during Benedict's pontificate refused or ignored repeated requests from state investigators for access to its case files.

Benedict's lengthy record dealing with the scandal before he was pope plays a part in the complaint against the church with the International Criminal Court. The court prosecutor, who can decide whether to open an inquiry, has not said whether he will act. Lena has called the effort, which was first filed in 2011, "ludicrous."

Spees said Benedict's resignation would play no role in the longshot case before the International Criminal Court. The world's only permanent war crimes tribunal, its prosecutor does not take into account traditional immunity claims.

However, she and others argue that at a minimum Benedict's resignation could help reduce resistance by prosecutors or other officials to take action against him.

Advocates point to how attitudes changed in the United States, where police and prosecutors once allowed local church officials to deal privately with priests' misconduct. After thousands of civil lawsuits revealed the scope of the abuse scandal, some American civil authorities began aggressively investigating whether Catholic leaders did enough to protect children.

And in staunchly Catholic Ireland, revelations by state investigators about abuse there led to an unprecedented dressing down of the Vatican in 2011 by Prime Minister Enda Kenny.

"They reframed the question," said Timothy Lytton, an Albany Law School professor and author of the book "Holding Bishops Accountable: How Lawsuits Helped the Catholic Church Confront Clergy Sex Abuse."

"Before 1984, nobody talked about it. Police wouldn't investigate it. Now, books are being written on the responsibility of the pope. All over Europe there are questions about the Vatican's role in all this and that is largely the results of lawsuits," he said.

Still, no lawsuit against the Vatican has come anywhere near a trial stage, and it's unclear whether Benedict will now be any easier to reach.

Of the thousands of abuse lawsuits filed against church officials, only a small number have named the Vatican as a defendant. They have come mostly from the United States, with a few from Ireland. In 2005, just months after the conclave that elected Benedict, a U.S. judge in Texas dismissed a lawsuit, ruling the pope had immunity as a head of state. The U.S. Justice Department had filed a motion arguing that allowing the suit to proceed would be "incompatible with the United States' foreign policy interests."

Many other lawsuits never got off the ground for a more mundane reason: No suit can proceed until the targeted person is officially notified.

Notes Lytton: "You can't hire a county sheriff to fly to Rome to knock on a door." Jeff Anderson, a Minnesota attorney who has represented thousands of clergy abuse victims over three decades, including in lawsuits against the Vatican, said in one case the Holy See returned the notification he sent stamped, "Do Not Want. Not Welcome."

Anderson says the lawsuits he has filed target the office of the papacy, not the man who served in it, so Benedict's resignation has no significance for any future U.S. civil suits.

Where the pope's novel status as a retiree could come into play, Anderson says, is if a government decides to take action against him.

Benedict has said he will retreat to a life of prayer in a monastery behind Vatican walls, leading victims groups to wonder whether preserving the former pope's legal immunity played a role in his choice of where to live out the rest of his days.

Lena insists immunity played no role in Benedict's decision. If the former pope does travel to another country, Lena said, he will be afforded the same dignities and protections given to any former high-ranking official. While the Vatican prepares the monastery for Benedict, he is staying in the town of Castel Gandolfo in the papal summer retreat which is technically part of the Holy See. The Vatican also has legal treaties that govern relations with Italy and many other countries and could provide additional protection from any legal action.

Still, some attorneys who fear Benedict will be targeted say they worry about the broad powers European magistrates hold to take legal action on behalf of their own citizens.

Nicholas Cafardi, a canon lawyer and professor at Duquesne Law School in Pittsburgh, who has worked with American bishops on abuse prevention, noted that in Europe, magistrates can, among other actions, arrest and detain officials before any trial. Next month, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, which has been a leading critical voice against bishops in the United States, plans a conference in Dublin for victims of abuse worldwide.

"Americans don't appreciate the vast powers that investigating magistrates have in Europe," Cafardi said. "It only takes one who wants to make a name for him or herself to issue an arrest warrant for the former pope."

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Victim's father makes case for U.S. assault weapons ban

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The father of a 6-year-old boy who was killed in the shooting massacre at a Connecticut school made a dramatic appeal on Wednesday for President Barack Obama's uphill bid to ban sales of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.

Testifying before a divided U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Neil Heslin, whose son Jesse Lewis was murdered in the December 14 shootings that killed 20 children and six adults, joined an emergency room doctor in recalling the damage done by such a weapon. Heslin held up a picture of his son during his testimony and at times his voice choked with emotion.

"I'm not here for sympathy. I'm here to speak up for my son," Heslin said. Lewis, hit twice in the head, "lost his life ... because of a gun that nobody needs and nobody should have a right to have," Heslin said.

Dr William Begg told the panel that each child who was killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, had three to 11 bullet wounds.

"The gun legislation that you are considering will make a difference," Begg said. "It could prevent future tragedies like Newtown."

The Democrat-led committee is expected to approve, on a party line vote of 10-8, a bill to outlaw military-style semi-automatic rifles and magazines with more than 10 bullets.

But the measure, one of four gun-control bills inspired by Sandy Hook, is likely to face a bipartisan roadblock on the floor of the Democrat-led Senate.

Most Republican lawmakers, along with several Democrats from rural states who strongly support gun rights, have lined up against the bill. They say its restrictions would amount to a violation of their constitutional right to bear arms.

Backers of the bill contend that although Americans have a right to own a gun, the U.S. government has a responsibility to protect citizens from undue risks.

Democrats on the Judiciary Committee have separated Obama's four gun control bills in an effort to get at least some of the less controversial measures, such as expanded background checks for all gun buyers, implemented.

The four bills would require improved background checks, ban assault weapons, crackdown on illegal gun trafficking and improve school safety.

The committee could vote on the measures as early as Thursday, though any member of the panel may ask that consideration of the bills be delayed for a week.

Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, who oversaw Wednesday's hearing, is chief sponsor of the bill that would renew a 10-year ban on assault weapons that expired in 2004.

Feinstein said that such firearms have been used in several mass slayings in recent years, including Newtown as well as Aurora, Colorado, Tucson, Arizona, and Blacksburg, Virginia.

"We cannot allow the carnage I have described to continue without taking action," Feinstein said.

Critics of her bill cited studies that found no evidence that the previous decade-long ban had any impact on the U.S. homicide rate.

Senator Charles Grassley, the panel's top Republican, said, "when something has been tried and not found to work, we should try different approaches rather than re-enacting that which failed."

Grassley and other Republicans in Congress have said increased treatment of the mentally ill and improved efforts to prevent such people from getting guns would be a more effective way of curbing gun-related violence.

(Editing by David Lindsey and Stacey Joyce)

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