Good news for women.  Lavetta Elk, 26, is a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe from Wounded Knee, SD.  Sgt. Joseph Kopf, an Army recruiter, raped Elk after she inquired about joining the Army.  In April, Elk was awarded $600K in damages for the “pain and suffering” she endured.  The basis of this verdict was the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868.

 “Punching, flogging, assault and bodily attacks, hitting with the hand, kicking, ear pulling, hair pulling, head shaving, beating on the soles of the feet, burning, scalding, stabbing, severe beatings with or without clothes, being made to kneel and stand in fixed positions for lengthy periods, made to sleep outside overnight . . .

 As I was presenting a workshop recently on how we should challenge the roadblocks which the church can present to battered women and affirm the resources, I noticed one participant was very quiet and reserved.

The movie “Doubt” depicts the enormous complexity of the possibility of sexual abuse of a child by a Catholic priest. Fr. Flynn is portrayed by Phillip Seymour Hoffman as a likable, middle aged priest deeply engaged in the life of the parish and school. He is open and progressive and wants to lead the parish forward.

Twenty years ago, 14 people were shot and killed in a classroom at a University in Montreal, Quebec, where they were studying engineering. Last week 14 people were shot and killed in an immigrant social service center in Binghamton, New York, where they were studying English.

There are times when the contradictions of life overtake me. I was flying home from the east coast last week and one of those times intruded. On the plane, I sat next to a mother and father and their two-year-old daughter; in front of them sat their five-year-old son and eight-year-old daughter. I was struck immediately by how thoughtful and respectful the parents were with the children and the siblings were with each other.

 The responses I have received from some readers of the previous blog are not surprising. Some readers are critical, some supportive and some puzzled by my take on the Rihanna-Chris Brown assault case.

On February 8, 2009, 19-year-old Chris Brown and 20-year-old Rihanna, music icons scheduled to perform that evening at the Grammys, engaged in an argument while inside a vehicle that escalated into a fight. Rihanna suffered visible injuries and was treated at a hospital. The next day Chris Brown surrendered himself to authorities.

In baseball, there is an old saying about the game:  "It ain't over 'til it's over."  It's the reminder that you can't leave after the seventh inning and assume you know the outcome.  As we have seen cases of sexual abuse by clergy emerge in recent years, it might be easy to assume that we have seen the worst of it.  Yet the news continues to inform us of  cases still waiting to be heard and justice still waiting to be experienced.  It's definitely not over yet.

Like millions of other Americans on January 20, I was flooded with memories and emotions as I watched Barack Obama be sworn in as our President.