Nation and World briefs for December 18

Pope removes shroud of secrecy from clergy sex abuse cases

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis abolished the use of the Vatican’s highest level of secrecy in clergy sexual abuse cases Tuesday, responding to mounting criticism that the rule of “pontifical secrecy” has been used to protect pedophiles, silence victims and prevent police from investigating crimes.

Victims and their advocates cheered the move as long overdue, but cautioned that the proof of its effectiveness would come when the Catholic hierarchy is forced to respond to national inquiries, grand jury subpoenas and criminal prosecutors who are increasingly demanding all internal documentation about abusers.

“The carnival of obscurity is over,” declared Juan Carlos Cruz, a prominent Chilean survivor of clergy abuse and advocate for victims.

In a new law, Francis decreed that information in abuse cases must be protected by church leaders to ensure its “security, integrity and confidentiality.” But he said the rule of “pontifical secrecy” no longer applied to abuse-related accusations, trials and decisions under the Catholic Church’s canon law.

The Vatican’s leading sex crimes investigator, Archbishop Charles Scicluna, said the reform was an “epochal decision” that will facilitate coordination with civil law enforcement and open up lines of communication with victims.

US senator proposes money, oversight to boost dam safety

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on Tuesday called for more federal money and oversight to shore up the nation’s aging dams following an Associated Press investigation that found scores of potentially troubling dams located near homes and communities across the country.

Gillibrand said new legislation in the works should ensure that federal standards are in place to make dams more resilient to extreme weather events that are becoming more common because of a changing climate. She also called for greater funding for federal grants to fix unsafe dams that pose a risk to the public.

“We should not wait for a catastrophic dam failure or major flooding event to spur us to action,” Gillibrand, a Democrat from New York, said in a letter to leaders of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which is crafting a new water resources bill. Gillibrand is a member of the committee.

She cited an AP analysis published last month that used federal data and state open records laws to identify at least 1,688 high-hazard dams rated in poor or unsatisfactory condition as of last year in 44 states and Puerto Rico. The AP analysis noted that the actual number is almost certainly higher, because some states haven’t rated all their dams and several states declined to release full data.

The AP’s investigation focused on high-hazard dams — which could kill people if they were to fail — that were found by inspectors to be in the worst condition. Georgia led the way with 198 high-hazard dams in unsatisfactory or poor condition, followed by North Carolina with 168 and Pennsylvania with 145. New York had 48 such dams.

Mormons pulling 400,000 youths out of struggling Boy Scouts

KAYSVILLE, Utah — For decades, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was one of Boy Scouts of America’s greatest allies and the largest sponsor of troops. But on Jan. 1, the Utah-based faith will deliver the latest blow to the struggling organization when it pulls out more than 400,000 young people and moves them into a new global program of its own.

The change brings excitement and some melancholy for members of the faith and may push the Boy Scouts closer to the brink of bankruptcy as it faces a new wave of sex abuse lawsuits.

Losing the church will mean about an 18% drop in Boy Scout youth membership compared with last year’s numbers and mark the first time since the World War II era that the figure will fall below 2 million. At its peak in the 1970s, more than 4 million boys were Scouts.

Wayne Perry, a church member who is a past president of Boy Scouts of America and a current member of its national board, said the end of the long-term alliance will sting and force many regional councils in the U.S. West to lay off employees and sell some camps.

However, Perry said he’s hopeful the Boy Scouts can eventually bring back at least 20% of the Latter-day Saints Scouts who liked the experience and want to keep pursuing merit badges in activities ranging from camping and lifesaving to citizenship.

Venezuelan politicians resort to virtual lawmaking

CARACAS, Venezuela — Opposition lawmakers in Venezuela who say they fear persecution by President Nicolas Maduro’s government can now cast their votes though the cloud, the National Assembly decided Tuesday.

The opposition-led congress adopted a rules change that allows its members to virtually cast their votes and participate in debates. They can now participate in sessions from outside Venezuela or domestically without revealing their location.

It precedes a key vote on Jan. 5, when members of the National Assembly will decide whether opposition leader Juan Guaido will remain head of the body, allowing him to continue to claim to be interim president of Venezuela in his bid to oust Maduro.

Lawmakers loyal to Maduro walked out of the debate. They called the measure unconstitutional, vowing to take their case to the country’s Supreme Court, which is stacked with the socialist president’s allies. The pro-Maduro politicians said the change protects “fugitives of justice.”

The change stems from a struggle for control of Venezuela between Maduro and Guaido, who launched a campaign early this year with U.S. backing seeking to remove the leader and end the nation’s political confrontation.

Fifth fired Google worker files federal labor complaint

SAN FRANCISCO — A fifth former Google worker has filed a complaint with federal regulators accusing the company of improperly firing employees for labor organizing activity.

Kathryn Spiers, a security engineer, said Google fired her after she created a pop-up notification for employees to inform them of their labor rights.

In late November,Google fired four other workers for what the company said were violations of its data security policy. Those workers say they don’t believe they violated company policies and that Google was really firing them because they were all involved in various organizing activities at the company. Google disputes that.

Google is known for having one of the most outspoken workforces in tech. Employees have pushed back on issues ranging from the company’s handling of sexual misconduct allegations to its contracts with federal agencies.

But lately, some workers say, the company has been losing patience with its traditionally open culture and is cracking down on labor organizing.

Emails: NAACP leader chided women who made harassment claim

RALEIGH, N.C. — The NAACP’s national president chastised women who recently went public with a sexual harassment claim and he was reluctant to swiftly deal with the accusations against a former North Carolina officer, according to emails and recordings obtained by The Associated Press.

The emails also indicate that he knew about the complaint two years before he says he did.

NAACP President Derrick Johnson spoke in October at the state convention of the North Carolina conference, which was roiling because less than two weeks earlier, a former employee had held a news conference where she accused her supervisor of sexual harassment. With no news reporters present, he urged members not to further air the accusations in public, according to recordings provided to The Associated Press by a person who sought anonymity for fear of retribution.

Two people who attended the meeting confirmed Johnson’s statements. The emails were provided by a person who also sought anonymity because of fear of retribution.

Jazmyne Childs, a former youth and college director for the state chapter, had made a public statement on Sept. 25 saying she had endured unwanted physical contact and harassment starting shortly after her employment began in 2017. She identified the harasser as her supervisor, the Rev. Curtis Gatewood, who was running for president of the state chapter at the time of the news conference.