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300 priests named in 1000 cases of sexual abuse in Catholic Church

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A new grand jury report says that internal documents from six Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania show that more than 300 “predator priests” have been credibly accused of sexually abusing more than 1,000 child victims.

“We believe that the real number of children whose records were lost or who were afraid ever to come forward is in the thousands,” the grand jury report says.

“Priests were raping little boys and girls, and the men of God who were responsible for them not only did nothing; they hid it all. For decades. Monsignors, auxiliary bishops, bishops, archbishops, cardinals have mostly been protected; many, including some named in this report, have been promoted.”

The lengthy report, released Tuesday afternoon, investigates clergy sexual abuse daying back to 1947 in six dioceses: Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton.

Pennsylvania’s two other dioceses, Philadelphia and Altoona-Johnstown, have been the subjects of earlier grand jury reports, which found similarly damaging information about clergy and bishops in those dioceses.

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“There have been other reports about child sex abuse within the Catholic Church. But never on this scale,” the grand jurors wrote in Tuesday’s report.

“For many of us, those earlier stories happened someplace else, someplace away. Now we know the truth: it happened everywhere.”
The grand jurors said that “almost every instance of abuse we found is too old to be prosecuted.” But charges have been filed against two priests, one in Erie diocese and another in Greensburg diocese, who have been accused of abusing minors.

“We learned of these abusers directly from their dioceses — which we hope is a sign that the church is finally changing its ways,” the grand jurors said. “And there may be more indictments in the future; investigation continues.”

At a news conference announcing the report’s release, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro called it the “largest, most comprehensive report into child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church ever produced in the United States.”

Musings From Abroad

UAE’s IRH to consider stake in Zambia’s Lubambe copper mine

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A division of the International Holding Company of Abu Dhabi, International Resources Holding (IRH), has announced that it plans to submit a proposal for a share in Zambia’s Lubambe Copper Mine.

 

The deal has opened up more potential to profit from Africa’s second-largest copper producer, according to IRH, which just acquired a 51% stake in Mopani Copper Mines in Zambia.

 

 

Even after Chinese firm JCHX Mining agreed to buy the stake, it was reported on March 22 quoting sources, indicating that IRH, a division of the most valuable company in Abu Dhabi, is interested in purchasing an 80% stake in Lubambe held by EMR Capital.

 

 

“IRH’s commitment (at Mopani), has opened doors for additional investment opportunities in Zambia, including an intention to bid for a stake in the Lubambe Copper Mine,” the company said.

 

Due to the company’s interest in Lubambe, which may be among Zambia’s biggest copper mines, a bidding battle between Shanghai-listed JCHX, a mine maintenance and contracting company, and itself may result.

 

Wealthy oil companies from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have recently begun to follow China’s lead and engage in African businesses to acquire resources to diversify their economies and capitalize on the move to electric vehicles (EVs). In addition to making bids for mining projects, IRH stated that it was actively investigating a range of investment prospects.

 

“In the forthcoming years, our goal is to seek diversification opportunities beyond copper… (with) targeted investments in other pivotal energy transition minerals, such as cobalt, nickel, rare earth elements, manganese, graphite, and the 3T minerals – tin, tungsten, and tantalum,” it said.

 

The Zambian government currently plans to increase copper production from approximately 850,000 metric tonnes to 3 million metric tonnes annually by 2032.

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Musings From Abroad

China, Zambia’s major creditor, cooperating on debt rework— Official

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A spokesperson of Zambia’s foreign ministry has stated that one of its major creditors, China, has remained supportive of Zambia’s debt restructuring.

The diplomat did not, however, disclose whether China approved of a planned agreement the country in southern Africa made with foreign bondholders.

On Monday, Zambia and the bondholder group announced that they had come to a fresh understanding to restructure $3 billion in foreign notes. The proposal was given the go-ahead by Zambia’s formal creditors, the largest of which is China.

On Monday, Zambia announced that it has reached a deal with a group of private creditors on the restructuring of $3 billion of its foreign notes, which is a noteworthy achievement that brings the country closer to ending its lengthy debt restructuring.

Being the first nation in Africa to miss payments on its foreign debt during the Covid-19 outbreak, they have expressed a strong desire for the debt to be restructured. Unfortunately, the protracted delays in the process have strained the local financial systems, impeded desperately needed investments, and delayed economic progress.

Zambia defaulted more than three years ago and its debt rework process has hit many obstacles, including in November when the official creditors rejected a previous bond deal because it did not offer comparable debt relief to theirs.

“China, as co-chair of the Zambian Debt Committee, has made concerted efforts with all parties concerned to promote significant progress in the disposal of Zambia’s debt,” Lin Jian, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a regular press conference.

“China will also continue to coordinate and cooperate with all parties concerned to steadily advance the work related to Zambia’s debt disposal,” he said when asked for China’s response to the latest bondholder deal.

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