• Vatican reporter to speak at VOTF -- Roman Catholic Church.
The Reading,
http://www2. townonline.com/ reading/arts Lifestyle/ view.bg? articleid=101682 ,
Thursday, October 7, 2004
WINCHESTER (MA): On Sunday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m., the Winchester Area Voice of the Faithful welcomes John L. Allen, Jr. to its weekly meeting at St. Eulalia's Church, 50 Ridge St., Winchester. Allen is the Vatican Correspondent for National Catholic Reporter and an analyst for CNN and National Public Reporter. His most recent book is "All the Pope's Men: The Inside Story of the How the Vatican Really Works" (Random House 2004).
Allen's topic will be, "The Sexual Abuse Crisis and the Role of the Laity: The View from the Vatican." Admission is free, and all are welcome to attend.
The Winchester Area Voice of the Faithful is a Catholic organization that has been meeting weekly on Monday evenings (holidays excluded) since May 13, 2002. Its goals are to support survivors of clergy abuse, to support priests of integrity, and to support structural change within the Catholic Church.
Members of the Winchester Area VOTF come from Winchester, Arlington, Lexington, Medford, Stoneham, Woburn, Burlington, and other surrounding towns and cities.
[Posted by Kathy Shaw at 06:50 PM]
(This is the first of the Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker,
www.ncrnews.org/abuse ,
for Fri October 08, 2004.)
INCOMPLETE LINKS: Refer back to "References 61" for methods of obtaining the URLs.
• Child porn shockwaves widen -- Anglican, Roman Catholic.
New Zealand Herald,
www.nzherald.co. nz/storydisplay. cfm?storyID= 3598871&the section=news& thesubsection= world ;
Oct.09.2004
AUSTRALIA: Ever since the internet emerged it has been accepted that pornography was one of its defining features.
But in the last two weeks Australians have been shocked and respected institutions shaken as a nationwide police crackdown uncovered huge numbers of men surfing the net for child pornography.
Teachers, health workers, police and the owner of a childcare centre are among those under investigation.
The Catholic education system is reeling after a teacher and a principal from two different Victorian schools were targeted by police this week for allegedly downloading child pornography.
Parishioners at St Philip's Anglican Church in Mount Waverley were left stunned on Sunday when a letter was read out during the service explaining that their vicar the Rev John Crump, 58, had admitted to possessing child pornography.
• Judge pushes back trial in class-action suit against diocese -- RCC.
WKYT,
www.wkyt.com/Global/story.asp?S=2406484 COVINGTON, Ky. -- A judge has pushed back a trial date for a class-action lawsuit against the Diocese of Covington, saying more time could produce a settlement in the case.
Special Judge John Potter on Thursday reset the trial date for April. The suit brought against the diocese allege a decades-long cover-up of sexual abuse by priests.
Potter said he has spoken with a representative of mediator Kenneth Feinberg, and he agreed more time could be beneficial.
"It increases the chance of the case settling," Potter said. "I think it would be beneficial for all parties to reach a settlement."
• NEW: Ohio priest leaves $96,000 for Flores to distribute in Mexico
[Schutte] -- RCC.
Express-News,
by Amy Dorsett, San Antonio Express-News, Web Posted Oct/08/2004 03:06 PM CDT
SAN ANTONIO (TX): When Father Robert Schutte died last January at the age of 89, he left a long list of beneficiaries, most of them standard. But the balance of his estate - nearly $96,000 - was earmarked for a man he'd never met with directions to be spent in a country he'd never visited.
This week, Archbishop Patrick Flores received Schutte's check from Ohio for $95,585.45, along with directions to disperse it to needy churches and missions in Mexico.
Flores, who routinely receives money from the estates of people he didn't know well, was still slightly taken aback by the bequest. ...
Schutte's life did not escape controversy. In the month before he died of pneumonia, he was placed on administrative leave following allegations of sexual abuse of a minor several decades ago, according to a Cincinnati-based Catholic newspaper.
Burns is clearly disappointed by the accusations.
"I have no idea if it's true or untrue," she said. "Everybody's looking for an extra dollar these days."
• Group Wants Church to Take Action Against Allegedly Abusive Priest
[Voss] -- RCC. USA to Haiti.
WISH,
www.wishtv.com/ Global/story. asp?S=2407 252&nav= 0Ra7RnvV ,
By Bonnie Druker
INDIANAPOLIS (IN) - A national organization was in Indianapolis Friday to deliver a message to Archbishop Daniel Buechlein.
The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) claim Father Ron Voss resigned from a Lafayette church ten years ago after eight sexual abuse allegations. They say he's now in Haiti working with children there.
On Friday afternoon, the group delivered a letter to the archdiocese of Indianapolis, but the office was closed.
"What we are really seeking today is we want Archbishop Beuchlein and his brothers to really reach out to people who may know Voss' crimes or experienced them and who may be able to call police and prosecutors. They may be able to pursue criminal charges against him," said David Clossey, national director of SNAP.
• Mistrust is clouding resolution of the clerical abuse issue -- RCC.
One in Four,
By Rónán Mullen - Irish Examiner
IRELAND: Some months back I was on Vincent Browne's radio programme discussing a new report, A Time to Listen - Confronting Child Sexual Abuse by Catholic Clergy, commissioned by Irish bishops.
One of the authors, Dr Hannah McGee, gave many startling findings from her research into sex abuse. For example, almost a third of women and a quarter of men had reported some kind of sexual abuse in childhood.
Vincent Browne was even more surprised by another fact - only a small proportion of the abuse reported, 3%, had been perpetrated by clergy or religious. "If the incidence of abuse of people is so high in our community, and the incidence of abuse by members of the clergy is so relatively low," Browne concluded, "the focus on abuse by clergy has been a bit unfair."
Other people had been making that point for a long time. Sex abuse by Church personnel is the most shocking and reprehensible, given what the Church is supposed to stand for and the trust placed in clergy by parents and children. But the excessive focus on clerical sexual abuse has cast a cloud over thousands of decent, hard-working priests and religious.
• Bishops insist they accept need for expert advice on abuse cases -- RCC.
One in Four,
http://oneinfour.org/news/news2004/expert ,
by Patsy McGarry, Religious Affairs Correspondent - Irish Times
IRELAND:
Catholic bishops have insisted they accept the principle of acting on expert professional advice when dealing with child sex abuse.
In a statement last night, the Irish Bishops Conference said they and relevant church bodies were committed to resolving difficulties which had arisen with the now dissolved Lynott working group. The group, headed by management consultant Ms Maureen Lynott, was set up by the church last year to prepare child protection guidelines.
It dissolved itself on September 16th following disagreement with the church steering committee. This week's autumn meeting of the Irish bishops at Maynooth is the first since then.
They said in their statement last night that they, the Conference of Religious of Ireland (CORI), and the Irish Missionary Union (IMU) - the bodies which sponsored the Lynott working group on behalf of the church in Ireland - were "determined to move forward and we are confident that our steering committee will bring this work to a successful conclusion". The process "for updating a child protection policy for the church is ongoing", they said.
• Davenport diocese hopes to settle claims before trial -- RCC.
Des Moines Register,
By SHIRLEY RAGSDALE, REGISTER RELIGION EDITOR, October 8, 2004
DAVENPORT (IA): Bishop William E. Franklin of Davenport announced Thursday that his Roman Catholic diocese is trying to settle the lawsuits and claims alleging child abuse by clergy before the first case goes to trial Nov. 1.
But if negotiations aren't successful, the diocese is likely to file for financial protection under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, he said.
"It is not in the best interest of all claimants or the diocese for the first case to go to trial," Franklin said in a statement. "Those litigating first would have first claim on diocese assets.
"Bankruptcy could also allow the diocese to continue its good works and programs serving the 100,000-plus Catholics of the diocese," Franklin said. "Bankruptcy does not shield assets from the just claims of creditors. It does provide victims, known and unknown, fair and equal access to the assets within a time frame established by the court, and the court would administer each of the claims."
Members of the Davenport-area Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests have asked the bishop to meet with and listen to parishioners before filing bankruptcy.
• Diocese's lawsuit deadline hits snag -- RCC.
Arizona Daily Star,
By Stephanie Innes
TUCSON (AZ): The federal trustee for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson's bankruptcy case has objected to a proposed 90-day deadline for filing some claims of sexual abuse by clergy.
A preliminary hearing on the diocese's suggested cutoff point for victims to come forward with claims of sexual abuse is scheduled for today.
Christopher J. Pattock, attorney for United States Trustee Ilene J. Lashinsky, filed an objection to the suggested deadline this week. Pattock contends that people who know they've been sexually abused but have not yet filed a lawsuit or reported the abuse to the diocese should not be subjected to a deadline on coming forward.
A trustee in bankruptcy cases is appointed by the court to take charge of the debtor's estate and has the power to investigate and examine the debtor in preparation for a reorganization.
• Abuse victims protest at Davenport diocese -- RCC.
Quad-Cities Online,
By Stephen Elliott, selliott@qconline.com
DAVENPORT (IA) -- They stood across the street from the federal courthouse in Davenport Wednesday, some victims of sexual abuse by priests, others family and support group members.
The Diocese of Davenport is contemplating bankruptcy in anticipation of large settlements with abuse victims. Protestors Wednesday asked the diocese to hold public meetings with parishioners before seeking court protection.
Rev. David Hitch, a priest of the Davenport Diocese since 1968, came out to support the victims. He carried a picture of his brother, Michael, on his shirt pocket.
The picture of Michael as a boy stood in stark contrast to the Michael Hitch standing near his brother on Thursday. The boy in the picture is smiling, filled with the innocence of youth.
• Man Facing Child Porn Charges Accused Of Molesting Boys [Hildreth] -- Methodist volunteer. Boys.
WNBC,
POSTED: 8:53 am EDT October 8, 2004
NEWARK, N.J. -- A former assistant scoutmaster jailed on federal child pornography charges was accused Thursday of molesting about a half-dozen boys from 1989 to 2004 in two several Essex County towns, the county prosecutor's office said.
Kevin Hildreth, 35, of Nutley, was a caretaker for three children in Nutley, where he fondled them and videotaped one in a sexually explicit act, the office said.
Hildreth is also charged with committing similar acts upon three children in Belleville, including confining a child in a locked room while he videotaped sexual abuse.
He is charged in Nutley with three counts of child endangerment and two counts of sexual assault by sexual contact. In Belleville, the charges include kidnapping and criminal restraint, seven counts of child endangerment, and sexual assault by sexual contact.
The prosecutor's office said many incidents happened while Hildreth was supervising children at the Wesley Methodist Church in Belleville, where he was a volunteer.
• Tucson Diocese victims have 6 months to file claim -- RCC. 20 accused, 100 complainants.
The Arizona Republic,
by Michael Clancy, Oct. 8, 2004
TUCSON (AZ) Individuals who say they were abused by Tucson Diocese priests have six months to come forward to file claims, under a Thursday court ruling.
Judge James A. Marlar of U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Tucson set an April 15 deadline as part of the diocese's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, cutting off any new claims of past sexual abuse.
The deadline's impact will be felt not only in Tucson but in the Phoenix Diocese, which was part of the Tucson Diocese until January 1970. Ten of the 28 abusive priests listed by the Tucson Diocese worked in the Phoenix area before then.
Depending on how many people file abuse claims, it could be the first time any U.S. diocese possesses comprehensive knowledge about the extent of sexual abuse in its past. The Tucson Diocese previously has identified 100 victims.
• Lawsuit against priests spills across border [Ensey, Urrutigoity; Society of St. John] -- RCC.
Times Leader (North-eastern Pennsylvania),
By MARK GUYDISH, mguydish@leader.net , Fri, Oct. 08, 2004
SCRANTON (PA) - The legal battle between two Diocese of Scranton priests and the man who accuses them of sexual abuse has spread into three courtrooms and two countries. So far, the priests are losing.
The civil lawsuit started in the U.S. Middle District court, where a man identified as John Doe and his parents accused the Revs. Eric Ensey and Carlos Urrutigoity of molesting him when he was a teenager.
The priests helped found the Society of St. John, which first settled in St. Gregory's Academy - a school for boys in Elmhurst attended by Doe - before moving to Shohola, Pike County. The alleged abuse began at St. Gregory's.
But the case has sprawled beyond the Middle District Court in Scranton because of psychological evaluations done on the two priests in Canada. Doe's attorney pushed for the right to see those documents, contending that doctor-patient privilege does not apply because results were shared with then-Bishop James Timlin.
Middle District Court Judge John E. Jones III agreed. Mandating tight confidentiality rules, he ordered Urrutigoity's evaluation results turned over. He delayed ruling on Ensey's results because he had not seen them.
• Judge sets six-month deadline for abuse victims with claims -- RCC.
Arizona Daily Sun,
By ARTHUR H. ROTSTEIN, Associated Press Writer, Oct/08/2004
TUCSON (AZ) -- A federal bankruptcy judge set a six-month deadline Thursday for victims of sexual abuse to come forward with claims against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson.
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge James Marlar gave victims until April 15 to file claims -- with some exceptions.
The diocese had sought a 90-day deadline to enable it to put together a complete list of creditors so that it can resolve its bankruptcy reorganization case.
Victims and victims' advocates objected to setting a deadline, and Marlar allowed three people who identified themselves as clergy sex abuse victims and one suing as a whistleblower to address the court.
"I believe I'm a victim," said Reginald Lewis, who asked Marlar not to institute any deadline. "I believe the church officials have knowledge of other victims they're not telling you about."
• Defrocked priest attends foster parent training [Janssen] -- RCC. "Reverend" learning to foster.
Des Moines Register,
http:// desmoinesregister. com/apps/pbcs. dll/article?AID=/ 20041007/NEWS08/ 410070417/ 1039/LIFE ,
ASSOCIATED PRESS, Oct/07/2004
IOWA: James Janssen, a former Davenport priest who was removed from the priesthood for allegations of sexual abuse of children, has attended a training session for foster and adoptive parents.
"Why James Janssen would be interested in that type of training is beyond me, but it certainly isn't a good thing as far as we're concerned," Davenport diocese attorney Rand Wonio said Wednesday.
The Rev. David Brownfield of Grand Mound, another diocese priest who has cared for children as a licensed foster parent, attended the meeting and said the instructor repeatedly referred to Janssen as Reverend while addressing the class of about 12.
He reported that Janssen - who faced two suspensions for treatment in the 1950s and 10 sex abuse lawsuits in two states since May 2003 - attended the training held Saturday by the Iowa Foster and Adoptive Parents Association, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport said.
• Vlazny atones for abuses -- RCC. $US340m claimed by 70.
Mail Tribune,
By JONEL ALECCIA, Oct 7, 2004
OREGON: Portland Archbishop John G. Vlazny urged Medford parishioners Wednesday to take personal responsibility for the abusive priest scandal that has rocked the Roman Catholic Church in Oregon and beyond.
"We are the ones at this time and place who must deal with the
negligence and sinfulness," Vlazny told the crowd of more than 150 gathered at Sacred Heart Church.
His remarks came during a special Ember Day service of fasting and reconciliation for abuse victims, the first Vlazny has held since the Archdiocese of Portland filed in July for bankruptcy protection against some 70 lawsuits demanding $340 million in claims.
Vlazny told church members to resist the impulse to ignore or deny the truth that, for years, many young girls and boys were sexually abused by members of the clergy. He acknowledged that church leaders failed to monitor or respond appropriately to the behavior.
[Emphasis added]
• Head of ad hoc sex abuse committee backs continuing 'zero tolerance' -- RCC.
Catholic News Service,
www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0405476.htm NEW YORK (CNS) -- The head of the U.S. bishops' Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse has strongly defended the removal from all ministry of any priest who admits to or is proven to have committed at least one act of child sex abuse.
"The reassignment of even one priest who then harms another child is utterly unacceptable," said Archbishop Harry J. Flynn of St. Paul-Minneapolis, committee chairman.
The protection of minors is the "overall and ultimate purpose" of prevention policies, he said in an article in the Oct. 18 issue of America, a national Catholic weekly magazine published in New York by the Jesuits.
The article appeared about a month before the U.S. bishops' Nov. 15-18 fall general meeting, when they are to review their program for preventing clergy sex abuse.
• A Massachusetts District Attorney's Clever Tactic in the Child Sex Abuse Wars: Bringing, then Dismissing, a Child Rape Indictment Against a Catholic Bishop -- RCC.
FindLaw,
By MARCI HAMILTON, hamilton02@aol.com , Thursday, Oct. 07, 2004
SPRINGFIELD (MA) Last week, a Hampden County, Massachusetts prosecutor indicted Bishop Thomas L. Dupre for child rape with two boys. Dupre was the first Roman Catholic Church bishop to be charged with the crime.
As soon as the charges had been made public, Dupre resigned and checked himself into St. Luke's, an institution that specializes in treating substance abuse and sexual perversions. The indictment was laudable - finally, and rarely, a victim of clergy abuse seemed likely to get some justice.
However, within hours, District Attorney William M. Bennett withdrew the indictment. Why? Apparently, because Dupre's attorneys filed papers arguing that the statute of limitations had run.
These events left many observers scratching their heads. Wouldn't the prosecutor have looked into the statute of limitations issue before he indicted?
Interestingly, it's possible that the prosecutor indicted even knowing the statute of limitations issue, and knowing the indictment had to be withdrawn. Indeed, this tactic - if it was used - in light of existing law was praiseworthy, as I will explain.
It Was Right to Indict, Even If the Indictment Had to Be Withdrawn An indictment's main function is to initiate a criminal case. But this indictment served other worthy functions, too. It expressed the prosecutors' view - and hence the people's view -- that Dupre indeed committed these loathsome crimes. And it set forth the evidence supporting that view.
• Pope names prelate who investigated Austria porn scandal to be bishop of diocese [2003-04 Krenn] -- RCC
North County Times,
www.nctimes. com/articles/ 2004/10/08/ special_ reports/ religion/ 17_49_1710_ 7_04.txt ,
By WILLIAM J. KOLE, Associated Press, Oct 8, 2004
VIENNA, Austria -- Pope John Paul II on Thursday named a prelate who investigated a child pornography scandal at a seminary to replace the bishop who resigned in the case, which rocked Austria's Roman Catholic Church and triggered an exodus of embittered believers.
John Paul accepted the resignation of Bishop Kurt Krenn as head of the diocese of St. Poelten and named as his successor Bishop Klaus Kueng, who had been appointed by the Vatican to investigate the scandal. Krenn had dismissed the scandal as a "childish prank."
The Austrian Bishops Conference said it hoped Kueng's appointment would help the church put the scandal behind it and enhance the "faithfulness and unity" of believers stung by the affair.
"The church is greater than its human weaknesses," Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn said, calling for "a new beginning in clarity and openness."
Kueng pledged to work for "reconciliation and renewal" to stop believers in overwhelmingly Catholic Austria from leaving the church. The Archdiocese of Vienna has said more than 10,000 people formally applied to have their names removed from church rolls as of Aug. 31.
• Diocese can show compassion for public [Janssen] -- RCC.
Quad-City Times
www.qctimes.com/ internal.php? story_id=1036 734&t=Opini on&c=22,1036734 IOWA: Father David Brownfield demonstrated the qualities shared by every priest we've met from the Davenport diocese: compassion, courage and honesty. Brownfield, of Grand Mound, spoke up publicly when he saw a defrocked colleague inexplicably attending a workshop for people involved with the care of foster children.
James Janssen was kicked out of the priesthood July 28 by Pope John Paul II following 10 civil lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by Janssen. The diocese acknowledges Janssen was pulled from parishes for past sexual abuse allegations. Yet there Janssen was, mingling at a Davenport meeting with people whose job it is to care for the most vulnerable children in our society.
Since the diocese years ago decided to protect rather than prosecute alleged pedophiles, there is nothing anyone can do. Had Janssen decided to take his interest in foster children to another state, it would have been likely people there would have appreciated his interest.
Except for one thing: The courage of his former parishioners to publicly pursue justice.
Because they didn't sit still for the diocese' complacency, civil suits exist exposing the allegations that led to Janssen being booted from the Catholic church. Do a Google search on Janssen and the first hits reveal news accounts of the lawsuits. It's likely now that even cursory background checks in any state would find those accounts and raise the appropriate red flags.
[COMMENT: Google and other Search Engine searches hit a Pharmaceutical Company and history about other Janssens, including a deceased professor, and a musician. To get the criminal priest, search for "James Janssen". Oops!COMMENT ENDS.]
[INSERT DATE]
• Altar boys' sex-abuse suit thrown out [Cason] -- RCC. Altar boys.
Press & Sun-Bulletin,
BY NANCY DOOLING
BINGHAMTON (NY) -- Six lawsuits filed by former altar boys claiming sexual abuse by a priest in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester decades ago have been recently dismissed by a state appeals court because they were not filed within the state's allotted time limit, an attorney said.
That's because New York has one of the most restrictive statutes of limitations in the nation, said the director of a national group that represents victims of clergy abuse.
David Clohessy, executive director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, based in Chicago, said the statutes in New York need to be extended. This would allow victims of abuse, much of it decades in the past, to pursue civil damages.
"Our hearts ache for these victims," Clohessy said.
Five of the six Rochester cases were filed in December 2002 against the diocese, the Holy See in Rome, and Albert Cason, a former priest of St. Patrick's Church in Owego, said attorney Ronald R. Benjamin of Binghamton, who represents the plaintiffs.
Six former alter boys alleged that Cason, a co-pastor at St. Patrick's Church from 1973 to 1985, sexually abused them. One plaintiff claimed he was sexually abused by Cason when he served a church in the Rochester suburb of Spencerport.
• Unfinished business for Richmond diocese -- RCC.
The Virginian-Pilot,
October 8, 2004
VIRGINIA: Legally, the Catholic Diocese of Richmond is off the hook in the $5.3 million lawsuit filed by a man who said he was sexually abused by a diocesan priest decades ago.
A Virginia Beach judge dismissed William Bruce Jeter's suit because the statute of limitations had expired.
Morally, however, diocese officials should look inward, and ask: Have we done enough to help Mr. Jeter? And shouldn't we apologize to Jeter for the suffering he's endured over the past several decades?
Recently installed Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo has no direct ties to the case. This affords him the distance to be both objective and pastoral.
A statement would be a powerful symbolic message to Jeter and the 200,000-plus members of the diocese.
• Catholic sex-abuse survivors put pressure on Abraham -- RCC.
Philadelphia Inquirer,
By Jim Remsen, INQUIRER FAITH LIFE EDITOR
PHILADELPHIA (PA): A delegation of Catholic sex-abuse survivors kept the pressure on District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham yesterday, presenting her with more than 300 letters urging her to file charges against the Archdiocese of Philadelphia if the grand jury investigating clerical abuse recommends criminal indictments.
Abraham attended the group's sidewalk news conference outside her office - the first time in six months she has appeared before the cameras to publicly discuss the long-running probe, now in its 29th month.
But after accepting the bins of letters, Abraham declined to discuss the status of the secret probe, citing a court gag order.
"We will be thorough and fair and right down the middle and asking all the appropriate questions," she said. "And that's as far as I can say right now."
Abraham stood tight-lipped beside John Salveson, director of the local Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), as Salveson called on her to issue a public report - and to be willing to become the first district attorney to prosecute officials of any diocese since the sex scandal engulfed the church in 2002.
• Former priest says he was out of state during alleged abuse [2003 Plunkett] -- RCC. Boy.
Quad-Cities Online,
By Jason M. Rodriguez, jrodriguez@qconline.com
IOWA: A former Mercer County priest accused of sexual misconduct has a witness that says he was in Kentucky on the dates prosecutors say the alleged incidents occurred.
Gregory James Plunkett, 58, New Windsor, appeared for trial Thursday in Mercer County Circuit Court wearing a black shirt, black pants and a visible cross across his neck. Prosecutors initially charged him in December 2003 with criminal sexual abuse for allegedly fondling a boy under the age of 17 on Nov. 29, "knowing (the victim) was unable to give knowing consent," according to court files.
This September, the charge was amended to read the incident occurred "on or about Nov. 25" with an added charge of attempted aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
Mr. Plunkett and longtime friend Marjorie Berglund testified Thursday that the two were at the Mother House of the Sisters of Loretto in Loretto, Ky., from Nov. 22 or 23rd through Nov. 30. The trial continues today beginning at 9:15 a.m. with the defense's witness, Dr. Eduardo Ricaurte of Rock Island. Dr. Ricaurte has treated Mr. Plunkett for mental-health issues for more than four years.
• Trials ordered in negligence suits [1970s Pritchard, < 1977 Noia] -- RCC.
Mercury News,
By Robin Evans
CALIFORNIA: Two church negligence lawsuits involving San Jose priests alleged to have sexually abused minors have been ordered to trial. But a suit by four Santa Cruz County men who said they were molested by a Felton priest has been thrown out.
In some of the first determinations of the fate of 160 such lawsuits against church officials in Northern California, Alameda Superior Court Judge Ronald Sabraw set a date of March 7 in claims by John Salberg and other alleged victims of the Rev. Joseph Pritchard. Some 20 former students of the former St. Martin of Tours School are suing for alleged molestations in the 1970s. Pritchard died in 1988.
Sabraw also ruled there is sufficient evidence for trial in the case of the Rev. Leonel Noia. A date will likely be set at a case management conference Nov. 17, said attorney Robert Tobin.
Noia pleaded no contest in 1976 to molesting one of two brothers while on a camping trip in the Santa Cruz Mountains. After a period of probation, he returned to service as a priest. Though popular as a pastor at San Jose's Five Wounds Portuguese National Church, he was removed from duty in 2002 under a zero-tolerance policy adopted by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops that year.
Officials of the San Jose and San Francisco dioceses, named in both cases, have said they had no prior notice of problems with either of the priests.
• Former priest to be retried for sex abuse [1994-95 Superiaso] -- RCC. Girl.
San Mateo Daily Journal,
Daily Journal wire report, bsb.
CALIFORNIA: A one-time priest accused of sexually abusing a young girl a decade ago will be retried on 18 felony counts, the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office announced Thursday.
Jose Superiaso, 50, a former priest at St. Andrew's Catholic Church in Daly City, acknowledged engaging in sexual intercourse between 30 and 40 times with a young girl he baby-sat in the mid-1990s.
The victim, now 22, first reported the alleged crimes in May of 2003. Superiaso was arrested on June 10 of that year, when the victim was lured back to the county from New Mexico.
However, in Sept. 17, a San Mateo County jury acquitted Superiaso on three of the 21 charges against him and deadlocked on the remaining 18 counts, forcing Superior Court Judge Robert Foiles to declare a mistrial. Because Superiaso was accused of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14, the girl's age at the time was crucial to the prosecution.
In a case without physical evidence, the prosecution relied on the testimony of the victim and her family. The victim testified that the abuse occurred in 1994 and 1995, when she was 12 and 13 years old.
• Judge issues key rulings in church abuse cases -- RCC.
Oakland Tribune,
By Gillian Flaccus, Associated Press
CALIFORNIA: A judge presiding over 160 Northern California clergy sex-abuse cases issued a number of key decisions Thursday, setting trial dates for some plaintiffs, throwing out claims made by others and allowing punitive damages in one case.
The decisions by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Ronald Sabraw continue a stream of recent rulings on constitutional and procedural issues as the judge clears the way for the first trials, now scheduled to begin in March, against Roman Catholic dioceses in Northern California.
In a decision that could have wider implications, Sabraw ruled that plaintiffs' attorneys can seek punitive damages against the church.
The ruling applies only to a single case involving the Diocese of Oakland, and Sabraw warned that "there are substantial grounds for difference of opinion" about the issue. He suggested the church take the issue before an appellate court.
The church had argued that allowing punitive damages was unconstitutional because the lawsuit was filed under a 2002 state law that temporarily suspended the statute of limitations in molestation cases.
[Posted by Kathy Shaw at 08:48 AM]
////////// End of Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker
www.ncrnews.org/abuse ,
Fri October 08, 2004
Abuse Chronology, visit: http://www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/ethics/ethcont100.htm
#### Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker,
www.ncrnews.org/abuse,
Sat, October 09, 2004 edition follows:- • Secret memo puts bishops on the spot [1996] -- RCC.
The Guardian,
www.guardian.co. uk/uk_news/story/0, 3604,1322297, 00.html ,
by Stephen Bates, religious affairs correspondent, Friday October 8, 2004
SCOTLAND: Allegations of serious shortcomings in the way the Catholic church in Scotland handles accusations of child abuse by its priests have been reported by the Catholic magazine The Tablet.
The allegations are apparently contained in a confidential 28-page report sent to the eight Scottish bishops this year by a non-Catholic lawyer who was briefly the director of the church's new child protection directorate.
The magazine quoted May Dunsmuir as saying: "Unacceptable levels of risk to children may have been and could remain present."
Ms Dunsmuir left the post after three months when she was headhunted by another child agency.
The report was said to allege that some bishops and priests had failed to understand the importance of making retrospective checks on clergy and others working with children, that one diocese had never offered any training in child protection, and that four others had offered no training in recent years.
It claimed that cases involving allegations against priests had been closed when they ought to have been left open and that bishops and priests appeared to be unaware that they needed to comply with the 2003 Protection of Children Act, which requires organisations to report individuals found to have committed breaches of child protection.
Last night a church spokesman said the magazine's report was unsubstantiated and based on "misinformed speculation". The Tablet could not have seen the report because it was confidential and had been sent only to the bishops.
Alan Draper, a former adviser to the church on child protection, was quoted by the magazine as saying: "Lots of bishops prefer to bury their heads in the sand and ignore what is going on around them. They seem unwilling to acknowledge the cases that have occurred, and to be open and honest about this problem with the laity, and even amongst themselves." Around the world the church has been accused by abuse victims of trying for many years to protect abusers and deny their activities, but it now faces huge legal bills and compensation claims in several countries for shielding wrongdoers. The Tablet maintained that it had seen a copy of the report with Ms Dunsmuir's initials on every page, but conceded that she had refused to speak to its reporter. It quoted the document as saying that to restore its reputation the church "must embrace with compassion and insight the very great reality that children are being abused in Scotland. In certain cases this has been perpetrated by priests, religious brothers and sisters and care workers employed by the church". The church spokesman said Ms Dunsmuir had parted on good terms with the bishops and they had been "devastated" to lose her expertise. Although she left in March, the church has still not appointed a successor. The Scottish church says it is implementing Ms Dunsmuir's recommendations. It would appoint a child protection adviser in each diocese and check with the Scottish Criminal Record Office all those working with children. Such measures fall short of the Nolan report recommendations being implemented by the church in England and Wales, which require the appointment of a child protection adviser in every parish. A spokesman for the Glasgow archdiocese said it did not regard any allegations of child abuse to be closed. "Any member of the clergy so accused is under constant monitoring to ensure there is no risk to children."
Special report:
Child protection Useful links:
The Children's Society;
Social Exclusion Unit - young runaways;
Children's Express; Internet Watch Foundation #
[Posted by Kathy Shaw at 10:43 AM]
• Another parish says it will join group trying to protect assets -- RCC.
Corvallis Gazette-Times,
The Associated Press, Oct 9, 2004
CENTRAL POINT, OREGON: - The group of Oregon parishes seeking to protect their assets from sex abuse claims against the Archdiocese of Portland is growing.
Officials at Shepherd of the Valley Catholic Church in Jackson County are the latest to indicate that they will "very likely" join the Committee of Parishes, a group representing at least 34 of the 124 parishes in Oregon.
• Trial Set For 'Pastor' Accused Of Preying On Women [Romero] -- Women.
10News.com ;
UPDATED: 5:11 pm PDT, October 8, 2004
SAN DIEGO (CA) -- A judge Friday set a Nov. 24 trial date for a pastor accused of using the fear of the devil to induce female members of his congregation to have sex with him.
Carlos Romero, 59, faces up to five years and eight months in prison if convicted of two counts of inducing sex by fear and one count of making a criminal threat.
At a hearing before Judge Peter Deddeh, the defendant -- free on $45,000 bail -- pleaded not guilty to the charges. Romero left the courthouse without speaking to reporters.
La Mesa police Sgt. Daniel Willis testified at a preliminary hearing last month that Romero told him in a phone conversation in June he felt sorry for telling three women who went to his church that the "devil would physically harm them and he could protect them if they had sex with him."
Willis said Romero told him he knew his actions were wrong and "wouldn't do it again."
• Nigerian priest nabbed for rape of 16 girls -- Girls.
Sunday Times (South Africa),
AFP, 15:53 - (SA), Thursday October 07, 2004
SOUTH AFRICA: Police have arrested a Nigerian priest for allegedly raping 16 teenage girls over several months, an official said.
The suspect was arrested in the town of Clocolan near South Africa's border with the tiny kingdom of Lesotho after the victims, who all studied at the same school, on Wednesday "decided to break the silence," police captain Veronica Ntepe said.
"These things have been going on for more than a year," she said.
"In March, he took a 13-year-old child to the mission and raped her and then gave her R20 to buy her silence.
The girl reported it to her mother, who took her to a doctor for a medical examination but unfortunately decided not to press charges," Ntepe said.
She said another victim, aged 14, was allegedly raped after the "priest took her to a shop, bought her some sweets and then took her to his room and showed her a film with pornographic content before raping her. He gave her money as well."
"All the victims were under 16," Ntepe said, adding that the suspect would appear in court on Monday.
She said endemic poverty in the area had led to other child abuse cases.
"There is another alleged rapist in the town who has been accused of violating several children in return for scraps of food. Unfortunately, we have not been able to arrest him and he is still at bay," she said.
"Sadly some people are saying that the children were prostituting themselves. Even if this is true, sex with a minor is illegal." #
• Priest arrested after girls raped [2004] -- Girls
Iafrica.com ;
Posted Thu, 07 Oct 2004
SOUTH AFRICA:A Nigerian priest was arrested after 16 girls alleged they were raped by him at his mission in Hlohlolwane, Clocolan, Free State police said on Thursday.
Captain Veronica Ntepe said the girls reported the crimes to their principal on Wednesday. The principal then contacted the police and the priest was arrested.
In an incident in March 2004, a 14-year-old girl alleged she was raped by the priest in his bedroom after he showed her a pornographic video.
The next day the girl, who slept at the mission with her parents' permission, was allegedly given R20, sent home, and told not to tell anyone about the incident.
However she told her mother about the incident. She took the daughter to a doctor for a medical examination.
• Ex-priest in guilty plea for teen sex [1970s-80s Hawkins] -- Anglican. Boys.
NEWS.com.au ;
By GAVIN LOWER, Law Reporter, October 8, 2004
AUSTRALIA: Former Tasmanian Anglican priest Garth Hawkins yesterday admitted sexually abusing a teenage boy 20 years ago.
Hawkins, who is already serving a 7-1/2-year sentence for abusing seven teenage boys in the 1970s and 80s, pleaded guilty in the Hobart Magistrates Court to indecent assault.
Prosecutor Michael Stoddart told the court the 15-year-old victim had gone on a camping trip just after Christmas 1984 with a group of other boys and another man.
• Catholic bishops to review abuse policy -- RCC.
Washington Times,
http:// washingtontimes. com/national/ 20041008-114622- 7058r.htm ,
ASSOCIATED PRESS, Oct 8, 2004
WASHINGTON (DC): The nation's Roman Catholic bishops said yesterday that they will spend the next nine months deciding whether to make any changes in the policy they enacted at the height of the clergy sex abuse crisis that includes permanently barring guilty priests from church work.
The review was mandated in the "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People," the document the bishops adopted at an emotional June 2002 assembly in Dallas. The prelates' aim was to restore badly shaken trust in their leadership.
The 2002 policy required dioceses to put safeguards in place against abuse and hire victim-assistance coordinators. Among other reforms, it outlined the process that bishops should follow in investigating molestation claims.
But the centerpiece of the plan was a pledge that any priest who molested a minor would never again be allowed to serve in the ministry. Victims demanded that the policy be adopted because some bishops previously had moved abusive clergy members among churches without telling parishioners, leaving children vulnerable.
[COMMENT: Cynics will say that the RCC is starting the long trek back to its previous policies. COMMENT ENDS.]
[INSERT DATE]
• Warning about ex-priest urged [1990s Voss] -- RCC.
Indianapolis Star,
By Robert King, robert.king@indystar.com , October 9, 2004
INDIANA: A former priest accused of abusing eight male teenagers in Indiana a decade ago poses an ongoing threat to children in Haiti, and the Catholic Church should do something to stop him, a national group that represents abuse victims said Friday.
The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, said Indiana's Catholic bishops also should do more to find others victimized by Ron Voss, who resigned his ministry in 1993 and now lives in Haiti.
"We would like to see the bishops do what Jesus Christ told us to do -- go out and find the lost and wounded sheep," David Clohessy, SNAP's national director, said at a news conference in front of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis headquarters.
Voss was a priest in the Diocese of Lafayette, which was the subject of a report that appeared in The Indianapolis Star in 1997. It documented claims of abuse against 16 priests, including Voss, and that diocese's effort to keep the cases quiet.
• Newark, N.J. Archdiocese to Pay Nine $1.1M -- RCC.
Guardian,
AP, Saturday October 9,
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - The Archdiocese of Newark has agreed to pay $1.1 million to nine people who sued the diocese over alleged sexual abuse by priests. The settlement, announced Friday, carries no admission of wrongdoing on the part of the archdiocese or any priest.
"There are no winners here," said Gregory Gianforcaro, who represented seven men and two women who alleged they were abused. "These men and women were sexually abused as children, and nothing will ever give them back the innocence they lost as children."
The amounts of the settlements vary. Gianforcaro declined to provide the range.
James Goodness, a spokesman for the archdiocese, said questions had been raised about the credibility of some claims, some of which date back 30 years. Only three of the allegations had been reported to the archdiocese before 2002, he said.
• Clergy sex abuse survivors speak out at series of forums [1980s]
KnoxNews.com
www.knoxnews.com/ kns/religion/ article/0,1406, KNS_315_ 3240305,00.html ,
By JEANNINE F. HUNTER, hunter@knews.com , October 9, 2004
TENNESSEE: Sitting in a West Knoxville bookstore, the 31-year-old animatedly discusses how to build computers and describes how his daughter's smile melts his heart.
His countenance dramatically changes when he describes how six months ago he almost took his life and how he disclosed to his mother that the man she thought was a spiritual mentor to her son had abused him 20 years earlier.
The father and husband will be among speakers at a series of forums held statewide to draw attention to clerical sexual abuse. The former priest that he accused is serving a prison term after admitting he and another man molested boys.
The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests of Tennessee, a support and advocacy group, and the Sunshine Alliance organized the free forums that continue through Friday, Oct. 15, during Breaking the Silence Week, "a week of awareness, education and transparency about clergy sexual abuse," according to www.breakingthesilenceweek.com. The Sunshine Alliance was established to address clerical abuse across religions.
Also among forum participants is Minneapolis resident Michael Wegs, who has filed a civil suit against Anthony J. O'Connell, former Diocese of Knoxville bishop. Wegs, an alumnus of now-closed St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Missouri, filed his suit in 2002 after learning of a legal settlement involving O'Connell and a fellow high school seminary student who had been abused 27 years ago.
• Diocese faces 21st sexual abuse lawsuit [1969-72 McFadden] -- RCC. Altar boy.
Sioux City Journal,
By Nick Hytrek, Oct 9, 2004
SIOUX CITY (IA): An anonymous man has filed the 21st sexual abuse lawsuit against the Diocese of Sioux City and a former priest.
Listed in court documents as John Doe, the man alleges that the Rev. George McFadden sexually abused him over a three-year period from 1969-72 while Doe was an altar boy at St. Francis Catholic Church in Jefferson, Iowa.
"... McFadden negligently and improperly used his job-created authority and influence as a minister to entice, coerce and/or counsel the minor (Doe) to engage in sexual conduct," said the lawsuit, filed this week in Woodbury County District Court.
Allegations against the diocese include negligent hiring and supervision, aiding and abetting and conspiracy. The diocese knew McFadden had previously sexually abused boys and girls while he was assigned to Sioux City parishes, but transferred him to other parishes to cover up his actions instead of stopping him, the lawsuit said.
Doe, who now lives in Oklahoma, is seeking damages in an unspecified amount for mental anguish and counseling. As a result of the abuse, the suit said, Doe now suffers anxiety, shame, difficulty sleeping, nightmares, loss of trust and self-esteem and withdrawal from others.
• Plea: Name offending priests -- RCC.
Commercial Appeal,
www.commercialappeal. com/mca/local_news/ article/0,1426,MCA_ 437_3242086,00.html ,
By Bill Dries, October 9, 2004
MEMPHIS (TN): State leaders of a national group that's been a vocal critic of the Catholic Church's handling of sexual abuse allegations against priests called Friday evening for Memphis church officials to name priests here who have been "credibly accused" of such abuse.
Susan M. Vance, co-director of the state chapter of SNAP (Survivors' Network of those Abused by Priests), also called on leaders of the Memphis diocese to document where and when those priests served.
As part of the Duran lawsuit, attorneys for the diocese admit that Duran abused the boy and that Duran admitted to church investigators in 2000 that he exposed himself to the teenager.
"If a chemical company said we have poisoned five, seven places around this state, but we're not going to tell you where they are ... that would never stand. This is really the very same thing," Vance said before a SNAP forum Friday evening at First Congregational Church in Cooper-Young.
"There has been a poisoning of the people of God and we are trying desperately to find and help those people."
• Pedophile-protecting priest criticizes Bush, Kerry over Iraq war -- RCC. Accusation that Greeley is "protecting a ring of predators."
Renew America,
by Matt C. Abbott, Oct 8, 2004
CHICAGO (IL): Forgive me for continuing to write about this matter, but I just can't resist. Father Andrew Greeley, the priest-author-columnist, is at it again.
By now, all of Greeley's readers should know that he is steadfastly against the Iraq war. In fact, it seems he's written more columns about it than I've written about him. Greeley's Oct. 8 column in the Chicago Sun-Times is no exception. But this time, he actually criticizes John Kerry for supporting the war. ...
Now, yes, Greeley does have the right to voice his opposition to the Iraq war. Not a few traditional Catholics (Greeley is, of course, not among them) have made clear their opposition to the war, even. But I have a lot - and I do mean a lot - more respect for them than for Greeley, and for this reason: The other Catholics aren't protecting a "ring of predators." Greeley is.
On May 30, 1984, choir director and professor Francis E. Pellegrini, an acquaintance of Greeley's, was found stabbed to death on Chicago's South side. Pellegrini had been stabbed 20 to 47 times. His dog had also been stabbed, but survived.
To date, the murder remains officially unsolved. But there is more to the story.
[Posted by Kathy Shaw at 03:50 AM]
////////// End of Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker
www.ncrnews.org/abuse ,
Sat, October 09, 2004
Abuse Chronology, visit: http://www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/ethics/ethcont100.htm
#### Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker,
www.ncrnews.org/abuse,
Sun October 10, 2004 edition follows:- • Ratzinger intervenes in St Pölten crisis. The Tablet,
www.thetablet.co. uk/cgi-bin/register. cgi/citw-#Europe , 9 October 2004
AUSTRIA: Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, visited Austria last week and attempted to calm the furore over the sex scandal at the St Pölten seminary. However, he was not helped by the Vatican's failure to confirm the resignation of the Bishop of St Pölten, Kurt Krenn, nor by Krenn's insistence that he remain number two in his diocese.
Krenn continued to give media interviews and headed most news bulletins in Austria for yet another week as the church crisis, following revelations in July of homosexual affairs and the downloading of child pornography at Krenn's
seminary in St Pölten, entered its third month. In an interview with the
Austrian daily Der Standard on 29 September Krenn confirmed he had sent
in his resignation to the Vatican. "Yes, I have resigned and am now emeritus
bishop of St Pölten," he said. "I will be the number two in the
diocese as soon as my successor is appointed. I did not resign for reasons of
ill health as I am perfectly well, and I certainly did not give in to public
pressure. I have always said, however, that I would comply with the Pope's wishes."
On 1 October Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna, in Britain for the Council of European Episcopal Conferences' meeting in Leeds, confirmed that Krenn's resignation had "arrived in Rome". It would be officially accepted and confirmed by the Vatican "within a few days", he said.
Interviewed by Austrian state television at Mariazell, where he celebrated Mass during a pilgrimage on 2 October, Ratzinger was asked why the Vatican had waited so long before intervening in St Pölten.
"Church management does not always function the way people want it to," the cardinal replied. It was important for Rome to proceed slowly and be quite
sure before acting, "but of course a fire can break out before we have
collected all the evidence". "In general we should all face crises
far more calmly," Ratzinger said.
The controversial beatification of the last Austrian emperor, Charles I, last Sunday, did not help the situation. Krenn is the head of the Prayer League for Charles's beatification and there was speculation he would be concelebrating the beatification with the Pope. The Habsburg family have always supported Krenn.
Two days before the beatification, Krenn said he would be going to Rome and had already bought his ticket. But at the last minute he announced that "under the circumstances" he had decided not to go.
In the meantime, without consulting the papal visitor, Bishop Klaus Küng, who is investigating Krenn's diocese on behalf of the Pope, Krenn decided to dismiss his popular - and long-suffering - vicar general, the auxiliary bishop
Heinrich Fasching. Küng immediately consulted Rome and re-instated Fasching,
saying that as the visitation was not yet over, Krenn's dismissal of Fasching was invalid. Whereupon Krenn told the media that it was "quite possible to discuss invalid matters with Rome", but according to canon law he was right and Küng was wrong. Austrian canon lawyers were consulted and seemed divided on the issue.
On Monday, as there was still no word from Rome, Catholic Action, Austria's largest Catholic lay association, said the Krenn affair was destroying all confidence in the Church and damaging the image of the clergy. Removing people from key posts and replacing them would not restore confidence in the Church. More transparency, especially as far as episcopal appointments were concerned, was imperative.
At the moment, immediate action on the part of the Vatican was called for.
At the same time statistics were published showing an alarming increase in the number of Catholics leaving the Church since the St Pölten scandal - which has resulted in the resignation of the seminary's rector and his deputy, as well as the conviction of a Polish seminarian for downloading some 17,000
images of child pornography - was revealed in July. Applications to withdraw
from parishes in the Archdiocese of Vienna rose by 36 per cent in July and by
another 40 per cent in August, according to church figures. Fr Paul Zulehner,
director of Vienna's Institute of Pastoral Theology, labelled the current wave
of defections from the Church as a kind of Austrian "Chernobyl". As
of 1 August, 10,709 people had left the Church during those two months and nearly
half a million Catholics had left in the last 10 years.
As The Tablet went to press, church sources confirmed that the Vatican would confirm Krenn's resignation and announce that Bishop Klaus Küng would succeed him as Bishop of St Pölten.
Christa Pongratz-Lippitt, Vienna
[Emphasis added]
[Posted by Kathy Shaw at 06:54 PM]
• A Rabbi Accused of Sexual Abuse Seeks to Reinvent Himself. [Winiarz aka Gafni] -- Judaism.
The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles,
www.jewishjournal. com/home/preview. php?id=12984 ,
by Gary Rosenblatt, The Jewish Week, Oct 1, 2004
UNITED STATES and ISRAEL: Prompting these thoughts in this season of repentance and forgiveness is the continuing saga of Rabbi Mordechai Gafni, 43, who in recent years has become an increasingly influential leader of the Jewish Renewal movement.
Born as Marc Winiarz, he came to New York from the Midwest for high school and college, became a youth leader and rabbi, was accused of sexual abuses and misconduct and started life anew in Israel 13 years ago with an Israeli name. He has left several rabbinic and educational posts, here and in Israel, amid a swirl of rumors and allegations spanning two decades.
Over time Gafni has assumed an increasingly high profile as a charismatic teacher, promoting what he calls a new, post-Orthodox stream of Judaism. He has been featured on Israeli television; written several books, including "Soul Prints: Your Path to Fulfillment," which was made into a PBS special; lectured extensively in the United States and Israel; served on the spiritual advisory council of Aleph: Alliance for Jewish Renewal, a national organization based in Philadelphia; led retreats at Elat Chayyim, a Jewish Renewal center in the Catskills; preached frequently at the Stephen S. Wise Temple in Los Angeles (see sidebar below); and founded Bayit Chadash ("new home"), a New Age Jewish community in Israel that he said strives "to restore the spark of holy paganism."
• Diocese code targets abuse Telegram & Gazette,
by Kathleen A. Shaw, T&G STAFF, kshaw@telegram.com
WORCESTER (MA) - The Diocese of Worcester, which has faced more than a dozen lawsuits in recent years alleging sexual abuse by priests, Friday issued a formal Code of Ministerial Conduct for all diocesan workers and volunteers who work with children and teenagers.
Signed by Bishop Robert J. McManus and Monsignor Thomas J. Sullivan, chancellor, the code takes effect Tuesday and is official diocesan law.
Bishop Robert J. McManus published the code Friday in The Catholic Free Press and it is posted on the diocesan Web site at www.worcesterdiocese.org. The bishop sent letters about it to all parishes. Copies of the code are being forwarded to the parishes and will be available at the Diocesan Ministries Convention on Oct. 15 and 16 at the Worcester Centrum Centre.
The Code of Ministerial Conduct is being implemented in conformance with Article 6 of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, issued by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2002.
The diocese reported to the American bishop's National Review Board that 45 priests of the diocese have been credibly accused of sexual misconduct since 1960 and $2.3 million has been paid out since then to settle civil lawsuits against the diocese.
The document is the result of consultations over 15 months with various groups within the diocese, including the Diocesan Review Committee, parish and school leaders, clergy and diocesan departments. It will be in effect for one year "in order that a broad consultation be undertaken among the lay faithful, consecrated persons, and clergy of the diocese," according to Bishop McManus's letter.
While the code will become law for the diocese Tuesday, a permanent Code of Ministerial Conduct will be adopted within one year.
• Pastor remanded in custody for rape [2004 Jacobs] -- Twelve Apostles Church. Female.
Ghana Web,
Twifo Praso (C/R), Oct 09, 2004 GNA -
GHANA: A pastor who raped a 19-year-old girl on the pretext of healing her mother was on Friday remanded on a provisional charge of rape by a district magistrate's court at Twifo-Praso.
The plea of John Jacobs of the Twelve Apostles church at Twifo-Asamoakrom was not taken and he is to be re-arraigned on Friday October 16.
Prosecuting, Inspector George Okine told the court that on September 27 the accused went to the victim's house and offered to heal her mother, Madam Ekua Mensimah, who was ill.
• Diocese has new rules for working with children -- RCC.
Fitchburg Sentinel and Enterprise,
By Rebecca Deusser, rdeusser@sentinelandenterprise.com
WORCESTER (MA) -- The Catholic Diocese of Worcester released a code of conduct Friday for all employees and volunteers who work with children.
"The Diocese of Worcester has implemented policies and programs to educate, train and guide our church community," said Bishop Robert McManus, in an announcement letter.
The diocese is implementing the Code of Ministerial Conduct, which stems from the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People enacted by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2002.
A section of the charter states: "There will be clear and well-publicized diocesan/eparchial standards of ministerial behavior and appropriate boundaries for clergy and for any other church personnel in positions of trust who have regular contact with children and young people."
The codes of conduct will become effective on Oct. 12 for one year, McManus' letter stated, while policies are evaluated by lay people and clergy. The diocese will then adopt a permanent code.
• Leaflets encourage involvement in diocese -- RCC.
Des Moines Register,
Oct 10, 2004
DAVENPORT (IA): The Catholics for Spiritual Healing, a new group formed to address sexual abuse by priests and its impact, will hand out leaflets to people attending Mass today at 14 parishes within the Davenport diocese.
The group is concerned about Davenport Bishop William Franklin's comments that the diocese may be declaring bankruptcy. Franklin has said declaring bankruptcy would be a fair way to compensate the people who have sued or filed claims against the diocese alleging abuse by priests. The bishop has said he hopes to settle the lawsuits and claims before the first case goes to trial next month.
The new group hopes to promote openness and involvement of the lay Catholics in the diocese's decision-making process.
More information about the organization is available at www.shcatholics.com .
• Trial wraps up in Mercer County priest abuse case [Plunkett] -- RCC. Boy.
Peoria Journal Star,
By JESSICA L. ABERLE, Saturday, October 9, 2004
ALEDO (IN) - A Mercer County judge took testimony from both the alleged victim and the defendant and other evidence under advisement Friday in the sexual abuse trial of a former priest.
Gregory J. Plunkett, 59, remained free on a $75,000 recognizance bond pending a ruling from Judge Walter Braud on felony charges of criminal sexual abuse and attempted aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
Both charges involve the same juvenile, a male younger than 17, and are the result of a Mercer County Sheriff's Department investigation that started in November.
Plunkett of New Windsor served as pastor of St. Catherine's Catholic Church in Aledo until the Peoria Diocese removed him and six other priests after sexual abuse allegations surfaced in May 2002.
• Newark Archdiocese Settles Abuse Cases -- RCC. $US1.1m,
9 victims
1010 WINS,
12:01 pm US/Eastern, Oct 9, 2004
NEWARK (NJ): The Archdiocese of Newark has agreed to pay $1.1 million to nine people who sued the diocese over alleged sexual abuse by priests.
The settlement, announced Friday, carries no admission of wrongdoing on the part of the archdiocese or any priest.
"There are no winners here," said Gregory Gianforcaro, the Phillipsburg lawyer representing seven men and two women with allegations against nine priests. "These men and women were sexually abused as children, and nothing will ever give them back the innocence they lost as children."
The amounts of the settlements vary, Gianforcaro said, but he declined to provide the range.
• Fewer Northern California cases increase likelihood of trials -- RCC.
Contra Costa Times,
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CALIFORNIA: More than 850 civil cases are pending against Roman Catholic dioceses in California, filed by plaintiffs who allege they were abused by priests and other church officials. Some of the cases date back more than 70 years.
District attorneys around the state also have filed a number of criminal cases against priests or former priests who served in California dioceses.
The most well-known cases nationwide are those brought against the Catholic church in Boston, where the national clergy-abuse scandal broke in 2002. The sex-abuse scandal there led to the resignation of former Cardinal Bernard Law and a settlement of $90 million for more than 550 plaintiffs. It is the largest individual settlement to date.
Many other dioceses around the country have settled similar claims. The Archdiocese of Portland, Ore., and the Diocese of Tucson, Ariz., have filed for bankruptcy, claiming they can't afford to pay the millions of dollars in civil judgments.
• Auditors to review diocese's abuse policies -- RCC.
News-Miner,
By MARY BETH SMETZER, Staff Writer
FAIRBANKS (AK): The Fairbanks Catholic Diocese will undergo a follow-up audit this week to see if it is in compliance with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.
At its June meeting, the national bishops group approved a second on-site audit of all 195 Catholic dioceses to be completed by the end of the year.
Fairbanks Bishop Donald Kettler expects auditors to begin the process here Monday.
Last year, auditors focused on surveying the extent of sexual abuse among the 195 dioceses nationwide and auditing each diocese's compliance with past and present sexual abuse policies. "Last time it was more subjective," Kettler said. "They talked to people. Checked all of our files, and mostly visited with people inside the diocese and the community to see their impressions of the process.
[COMMENT: The "past and present sexual abuse policies" were NOT complied with in most US RCC dioceses, nor in many other countries and other religions, too. Read this series if you doubt that! COMMENT ENDS.]
[INSERT DATE]
• Church abuse cases test how state handles lawsuits -- RCC. 850 complainants.
Modesto Bee,
By GILLIAN FLACCUS, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Last Updated: October 10, 2004
CALIFORNIA: The hundreds of sexual-abuse claims targeting the Roman Catholic Church in California have converged into one of the most complex civil cases the state's judicial system has ever faced.
More than 850 alleged victims are suing dioceses throughout the state, with millions of dollars in potential settlements at stake in a legal battle that involves more than 300 attorneys and dozens of church insurers. The scope is so vast that the lawsuits have been lumped geographically into three cases, known simply as Clergy I, Clergy II and Clergy III.
After nearly two years, the pace of the complicated legal drama is about to accelerate with the first significant steps toward possible resolution.
Several developments promise to propel the cases forward: Trial dates were set last week for a handful of Northern California cases; a key court hearing on public access to internal church documents is set for Wednesday; and Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles, leader of the nation's largest archdiocese, is expected to be deposed by year's end in cases related to his tenure in the Stockton and Fresno dioceses.
• Catholic victims group fights deadline -- RCC.
Arizona Daily Star, By Stephanie Innes
TUCSON (AZ): Members of a support group for people who have been sexually abused by priests has launched a campaign against a deadline to file claims of sexual molestation by Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson clergy.
"We want parishioners to ask Bishop (Gerald F.) Kicanas to drop the deadline," said Barbara Blaine, national president of SNAP - the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests - as she stood Friday outside St. Augustine Cathedral, 192 S. Stone Ave., during noon Mass.
"Our concern is that the publicity around the bankruptcy is having a negative effect on victims," she said.
Blaine and five other members of the group handed out brochures and held up protest signs in response to a deadline set Thursday in connection with the local diocese's federal Chapter 11 reorganization.
Federal Bankruptcy Court Judge James M. Marlar set the claim deadline for April 15, 2005 - six months from now - for anyone who wants compensation from the diocese because of sexual abuse.
• Deadline of April 15 set to file claims vs. diocese -- RCC.
Tucson Citizen,
www.tucsoncitizen. com/index.php? page=local&story_ id=100804a4_diocese ,
By BLAKE MORLOCK, Oct 8, 2004
TUCSON (AZ): Sex-abuse victims of the Catholic Church are grudgingly accepting an April 15 deadline for new claims to be filed against the Tucson Diocese.
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge James Marlar set the six-month deadline to help the diocese reorganize debts under bankruptcy rules.
Victims in Tucson and elsewhere urged Marlar not to put a deadline in place because victims who just remembered abuse or are recovering from repressed memory may need more time to gather the strength to pursue claims.
"It took me a good year before I could come forward," said Brian O'Connor, one of 11 victims to receive a settlement from the diocese in 2002. "We can't leave people behind."
The Tucson Diocese is the second diocese in the country to file for bankruptcy in the wake of sexual abuse settlements. The diocese had sought a 90-day deadline for victims to bring new claims.
• Former official leads church group -- RCC.
Boston Globe,
By Denise Dub, Globe Correspondent, October 10, 2004
BOSTON (MA): Former Lexington town manager Richard White said he is biding his time as interim director of Voice of the Faithful until another community hires him as its town manager.
White became director on Oct. 1 but said he would not seek a permanent position with the Newton-based group.
"I'm doing it now to keep busy and to provide structure and assistance to their association," he said Tuesday in a telephone interview.
Voice of the Faithful, according to spokeswoman Suzanne Morse, is a lay group established by Catholics in response to the clergy's sexual abuse scandal. Its goal is to support victims and survivors of abuse, support priests of integrity, and shape structural change within the church.
The organization has about 30,000 members in the United States and 39 other countries, in 207 parishes throughout the world.
[Posted by Kathy Shaw at 07:28 AM]
////////// End of Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker
www.ncrnews.org/abuse ,
Sun October 10, 2004
Abuse Chronology, visit: http://www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/ethics/ethcont100.htm
#### Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker,
www.ncrnews.org/abuse,
Mon October 11, 2004 edition follows:- • Trial set in priest abuse lawsuit; Church backed out of settlement with SR woman [Kimball] -- RCC. 700 claims statewide.
The Press Democrat,
http://www1. pressdemocrat.com/ apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=/20041009/NEWS/ 410090332/1033/ NEWS01 ;
By GUY KOVNER, Saturday, October 9, 2004
CALIFORNIA: Former Santa Rosa resident Roberta Saum's lawsuit against defrocked priest Don Kimball and Santa Rosa Bishop Daniel Walsh is among the first five cases set for trial out of more than 700 Catholic priest misconduct suits statewide.
"That's a breakthrough," said Hayward attorney Rick Simons, who is handling the sex abuse victims' cases from Northern and Central California.
Alameda County Judge Ronald Sabraw's order this week setting Saum's and four other cases for trial next year is the first for the hundreds of cases filed last year by alleged victims of decades-old child molestation by Catholic priests.
Saum's case was set for trial May 16. The scandal-roiled Santa Rosa diocese faces 10 additional lawsuits.
Attorneys on both sides said trial dates prompt settlements, and Sabraw ordered the lawyers to begin discussions by Dec. 6, including the possibility of a "global settlement" for about 160 cases consolidated before Sabraw.
[Posted by Kathy Shaw at 05:42 PM]
• Suspect in murder of priest found competent to stand trial [2000s Russell; 1968-69 Pilger] -- RCC. Altar boys.
Kentucky.com
Associated Press
LEXINGTON, Ky. - An Ohio man charged with murdering a retired Catholic priest and sex offender is competent to stand trial, a Fayette County Circuit Court judge ruled Monday.
Judge Rebecca Overstreet on Friday will set a trial date for Jason Anthony Russell, who is charged with killing Joseph Pilger, 78. Russell, 24, is also charged with burglary, theft and being a persistent felon. Russell has pleaded innocent to the charges. ...
Pilger pleaded guilty to sexual abuse in 1995 for abusing three brothers and their cousin in 1968 and 1969, when he was their pastor in Morganfield in western Kentucky. The victims were younger than 15 and serving as altar boys at the parish. After a plea bargain, Pilger received five years probation, beginning in January 1995.
• Talks on abuse policy this week -- RCC.
One in Four,
By Patsy McGarry, Religious Affairs Correspondent - Irish Times
IRELAND: The Catholic Church's steering group on Child Protection Policy is to meet management consultant Ms Maureen Lynott early this week.
Ms Lynott was chairwoman of the working group set up by the church last year to develop a comprehensive child protection policy for its institutions in Ireland.
It was sponsored by the Irish Bishops Conference, the Conference of Religious of Ireland and the Irish Missionary Union, all of which are represented on the steering group.
The working group disbanded on September 16th last following disagreement with the steering group over whether professionals or church leaders should make the final decision on how sex-abuse complaints were handled.
• Audit: Priest didn't steal [Allen] -- RCC. Porn.
Palm Beach Post,
By Rachel Harris, Monday, October 11, 2004
STUART (FL) - The longtime pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church who left abruptly in August did not steal from the parish or commit fraud, an independent audit has found.
But the Palm Beach Diocese still is investigating whether the Rev. Alden Christopher Allen, 52, misappropriated church money to build an addition to his home and to buy gay pornographic movies and sex toys, the acting pastor, the Rev. Gavin Badway, told parishioners Sunday.
Just two months after church leaders said Allen had left on sabbatical, Badway told people attending Mass that the parish is "at the middle of a battle" to learn the truth about Allen's alleged misdeeds, which have been "aired in newspapers for the whole world to see."
• Pastor facing sex assault charges [2000s Osajie] -- Pentecostal.
National Post,
www.canada.com/ national/nationalpost/ news/toronto/story. html?id=13e7f50e- ee6c-4500-9086- 838499bd6fcb ;
Sunday, October 10, 2004
TORONTO, CANADA -- A Toronto pastor for Nigerian Canadians is behind bars, accused of sexually assaulting a member of his congregation.
Forty-two-year-old Benny Osajie, who's charged with sexual assault and intimidation, was denied bail Saturday.
But loyal parishioners are standing behind Osajie, saying he's the victim of a bizarre power struggle between two churches.
• Pastor charged with sex crimes [2000s Osajie] -- Pentecostal.
The Sun
www.canoe.ca/ NewsStand/EdmontonSun/ News/2004/10/11/ 664674.html , Oct 11, 2004
TORONTO, CANADA -- A trusted Pentecostal pastor is expected to appear in court tomorrow after being accused of sexually assaulting one of his followers. Police say they are concerned there could be other alleged victims.
Benny Osajie was charged Friday with sexual assault and intimidation. The 42-year-old, who became a pastor two years ago, was remanded in custody Saturday.
Police launched their investigation after a parishioner filed a complaint against the suspect, who was once pastor of Christ's Chosen Church of God, which serves Toronto's Nigerian community. The incident allegedly occurred while the suspect was still with that church.
• Priests' secrets are safe, but is anyone else?
[Hughes, Sanders] -- RCC.
The Times-Picayune,
by James Gill, Sunday, October 10, 2004
NEW ORLEANS (LA): Three unnamed New Orleans priests are to be put on secret trial, and the archdiocese says it is under no obligation to reveal the verdicts.
That should really boost public confidence in the Catholic hierarchy's contrition for conniving at child rape and molestation for so many years.
Archbishop Alfred Hughes will decide the fate of a fourth priest, Pat Sanders, who is not accused of diddling kids but only because the two boys on whom he allegedly forced his attentions were 16 years old at the time, which was just before the church raised the age of majority to 18.
The church must be playing this one for laughs. Instead of sitting in judgment, Hughes should be on trial for his derelictions as a top aide to Cardinal Bernard Law, when notorious pedophile priests criss-crossed the Boston Archdiocese violating their young charges without let or hindrance.
The Vatican is prepared only to go after the small fish, although they could not have gotten away with their crimes without assistance from above. Many victims of the dirty priests say that complaining to bishops was just a waste of time.
We will not know what happens to the small fish slated for trial here unless the church should graciously decide to square with the public. "That would be decided on a case-by-case basis depending on the judgment of the archdiocese on the need to know," a spokesman explained.
[Emphasis added]
• Some say sex abuse was rampant at British boarding schools [1964-70] -- Caldicott School.
Houston Chronicle,
By SARAH LYALL,
Copyright 2004 New York Times News Service
LONDON, BRITAIN -- Tom Perry had not seen his school-age friend for about 35 years when he called him out of the blue with an urgent question about the boarding school they attended together: "Just as a matter of interest," he said, "did you like the place?"
It was a deliberate provocation.
"Bloody hell, Tom, the conversation bowls happily along and then you ask me a question like that," Perry recalled his friend protesting. But Perry, a businessman who turned 50 this year, invited him over to continue the conversation.
"There's no point in pratting about," Perry told him. "I must tell you that when I was at Caldicott, I was sexually abused." ...
So began a long process of facing up to the past for Perry, his friend, and at least half a dozen other men who say they were molested by teachers at the Caldicott School, in Buckinghamshire, between 1964 and 1970.
But it has been a bumpy and frustrating road. While one of the teachers pleaded guilty to abuse in 2003, the case against another, the school's former headmaster, was thrown out of court by a skeptical judge who said the events had happened so long ago as to make a fair trial impossible.
The judge's apparent lack of sympathy, the former students say, is of a piece with the general attitude of the British establishment, still disproportionately made up of men of a certain age and class who went to prep schools like Caldicott. Such men may be sympathetic when it comes to allegations of sexual misconduct in institutions like the Catholic Church, but acknowledging the abuse that took place at many boarding schools not so long ago is another matter altogether.
• Sex Scandals Has Diocese Talking Bankruptcy --RCC.
WHBF,
www.whbf.com/ Global/story.asp? S=2411335&nav= 0zGoRq0k DAVENPORT (IA): When worshipers walked out of Sunday morning Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, they found that someone left messages on their car windows.
Members of the Catholic Church For Spiritual Healing spent the morning placing flyers on windshields hoping to educate people about sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. The flyer also talks about the Davenport Diocese's plans to file for bankruptcy.
"Generally I don't like this form of advertisement," says Catholic, Greg Vens. "But this is a pretty serious issue and I think it's something that need to be discussed."
The Catholic Church For Spiritual Healing says this display is not an attack on their beliefs.
"We're all active members of the Catholic Church," says Ann Green as she passes out flyers. "We love the Catholic Church and we are looking for change and that's what this is about, this is not about our religion."
Friends and family of some victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priest say they have a right to be heard and informed.
"The decisions made need to involve us, it affect us." says Catholic, Mary Sundeen
• Alleged victim tried to protect others [Corbin] --RCC.
Republican,
By BILL ZAJAC, wzajac@repub.com , Monday, October 11, 2004
SPRINGFIELD (MA) - When the Catholic Church's local Review Board determined Joseph Dougherty's allegation of sexual abuse against a priest was credible, the retired city personnel director believed justice was close at hand.
All he wanted from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield was an assurance that his alleged abuser would not have access to other children in local churches. He didn't want others to experience the shame, embarrassment and degradation that has haunted him.
But, more than two years after meeting with the panel, frustrated devout Catholic Dougherty is still looking for his measure of justice. His displeasure with the diocese, he said, has forced him into taking steps - filing suit and sharing his story with the media - that he hoped would be avoided.
"The diocese has turned the process into something that has made me feel as if I did something wrong," said Dougherty.
Dougherty said the Review Panel thanked him for telling them about his abuse, because other local children were at risk by his alleged abuser, the Rev. Andre A. Corbin, a convicted molester.
[Posted by Kathy Shaw at 08:07 AM]
////////// End of Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker
www.ncrnews.org/abuse ,
Mon October 11, 2004
Abuse Chronology: http://www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/ethics/ethcont100.htm
#### Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker,
www.ncrnews.org/abuse,
Tue October 12, 2004 edition follows:- • Deacon Faces Child Porn Charges; Toledo diocese deacon suspended from ministry [Tynan] -- RCC.
ABC 13,
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvg/news/1012_deacon.html , Oct 12, 2004
TOLEDO (OH): A deacon in the Toledo Catholic diocese is facing federal charges of having child pornography. The diocese says it knew of these accusations for months and did not allow the deacon to be ordained as a priest.
J. Michael Tynan was scheduled to be ordained as a priest in June. But Bishop Leonard Blair says the diocese has been cooperating with the U.S. attorney's office. Today, those charges were filed against Tynan in federal court. He has not been summoned yet and that date has not been set at this point.
[Posted by Kathy Shaw at 05:49 PM]
• Suit against Father Diamond dismissed [1967-70 Diamond] -- RCC.
Fort Madison Daily Democrat,
by Gerry Baksys/Staff Writer
IOWA: A sexual abuse case brought against a deceased Catholic priest has been dismissed.
A lawsuit brought against Father Martin Diamond, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport, and the Church of All Saints in Keokuk was dismissed by the court after the judge found that the plaintiff failed to prove negligence on the part of the church. The lawsuit against Father Diamond was dismissed after he was declared dead.
"Because the plaintiff has presented no evidence raising a material question of fact as to whether the defendants knew or should have known of any sexual misconduct or tendencies to abuse children on the part of Father Diamond," the judge's ruling stated, "the court finds no duty to warn plaintiff of such dangers. Because the plaintiff's claims are all premised upon this duty to warn and protect plaintiff, defendants are entitled to summary judgment on these claims."
John Doe, as the alleged victim is identified in court documents, filed the lawsuit on January 19, 2003. In it, he claimed he was abused by Father Diamond at the Church of All Saints in Keokuk from 1967 through 1970, while he was 8-11 years old.
• Alleged Shanley victim testifies on repressed memory
[Shanley, Geoghan] -- RCC.
Boston Herald,
Associated Press, Tuesday, October 12, 2004
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - An alleged victim of Paul Shanley said Tuesday that he began to recover memories of his abuse by the defrocked priest in late 2001 and early 2002, after seeing media coverage of the growing sex abuse crisis in the Boston Archdiocese.
The 35-year-old man said Shanley, a central figure in the sex scandal that began in Boston before spreading to Catholic dioceses nationwide, molested him at St. Jean's Parish in Newton when he was a child.
He testified in Middlesex Superior Court Tuesday during a pretrial hearing to determine whether prosecutors can introduce evidence on repressed memory during Shanley's criminal trial, which is scheduled to begin on Jan. 18. It is Associated Press policy not to identify alleged victims of sexual abuse.
Under questioning by Shanley's lawyer, Frank Mondano, the alleged victim said he began using alcohol and drugs, including hallucinogens, at the age of 14. At times he experienced blackouts and he attempted suicide twice.
He got sober in 1999, but it was the press coverage leading up to the trial of another abusive priest, John Geoghan, in December 2001 and January 2002, that brought the memories flooding back, the man said.
• 'The power of purifying memory' -- RCC.
National Catholic Reporter,
http://ncronline. org/NCR_Online/ archives2/2004d/ 101504/101504p. php ,
By JASON BERRY, for Oct 15, 2004
UNITED STATES: Walker Percy spent most of his distinguished career 40 miles outside of New Orleans in the rustic town of Covington, La. The book-lined home overlooked a bend in the Bogue Falaya River, shaded by cypress and dogwood. From that pastoral setting he published, in 1971, Love in the Ruins, his third novel, a spiritual comedy as implied in the subtitle: The Adventures of a Bad Catholic at a Time Near the End of the World. The protagonist, a Bourbon-swigging psychiatrist and descendant of the utopian saint, Thomas More, is waiting for the apocalypse near his bayou. Tom More's wife "has run off with a heathen Englishman." Tom has invented a lapsometer to measure brain waves of sex and happiness. Mankind's dislocation -- Christ replaced by science -- is a leitmotif in this biting satire much as in Percy's five other novels.
Percy, who died in 1991, was quite orthodox; his literary striving was an existential quest to find some meaning for a fallen world. Tom More, eyeing the signs of spiritual violence, laughs at the weeds sprouting in society's cracks, resisting messages to save his soul. Read today, a generation later, the novel shows quite a strain of prophecy. ...
To be a Catholic these days is to embrace the isolation of Percy's priest in his perch. Demoralized lay folk recoil from an epic scandal that runs right back to the Vatican. Faithful to the Word, like Percy's lonely priest, one looks for omens of repair. Rome does not add up. The searching soul gazes at a great wall of structural mendacity, institutional lying by a hierarchy that refuses to confront its own dark underworld. I have written about this wall of mendacity since 1985, when I first reported on a cover-up of seven priests in Lafayette, La. At times I feel as if the wall has followed me, although church corruption is by no means the only topic I write about. But the scope of these events, a crisis that has altered countless people, keeps colliding with that wall in a narrative of its own. In college lectures, at conferences of survivors and reform groups, I listen to voices of hope, frustration and anger. "What can we do today to change this situation?" asked a lady at a recent Voice of the Faithful meeting in Winchester, Mass.
[Emphasis added]
• Three Plaintiffs Added To Lawsuit Over Orphanage [1950s-60s Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, Lammers] -- RCC.
WAVE,
4:30 p.m., October 12th, 2004
LOUISVILLE (KY) -- A lawsuit that alleges sexual abuse by a priest at a now-closed orphanage in Jefferson County added three plaintiffs Tuesday.
The alleged abuse occurred in the 1950s and 1960s at St. Thomas-St. Vincent Orphanage in Anchorage, according to the Jefferson County Circuit Court lawsuit.
The defendant is the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, an order based in Nelson County. The initial suit was filed in July, but other plaintiffs have been added by the week.
The two new plaintiffs are Rebecca Jackson, 50, Macrella Matthews, 57, and Keith Lauersdorf, 47, who lived at the orphanage. The two women accused the Rev. Herman J. Lammers of sexual abuse.
• Swaminarayan sect monks caught in sex video -- Asian religion. Woman.
Hindustan Times,
Indo-Asian News Service, October 9, 2004
AHMEDABAD, INDIA: Just three months after five of its monks were sentenced to death for killing their guru, the Vadtal branch of the Swaminarayan sect in Gujarat is in the news again for a VCD documenting the sexual exploits of two of its priests.
A VCD showing the two unidentified monks in compromising positions with a woman surfaced this week, shocking the followers of the more than a century old Vadtal faction of the influential Swaminarayan sect.
Following reports of the sex tape in a local daily, the group's main temple in Dabhoi in Vadodara district, 250 km from Ahmedabad, was closed on Friday as temple authorities steadfastly refused to react and police provided security to ward off any trouble.
• Archdiocese scolded in abuse case [Cincinnati Archdiocese, Albrecht] -- RCC.
Dayton Daily News,
www.daytondailynews. com/localnews/content/ localnews/daily/1012 priests.html?Ur Auth=aNaNUObNVUb TTUWUXUUUZTZU] UWU_UbUZU`Ua UcTYWYWZV ,
By Tom Beyerlein, Oct 12, 2004
XENIA (OH): A magistrate judge on Monday blasted the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati for failing to abide by court orders to turn over internal documents to the attorney of a man who said the Rev. Keith Albrecht molested him as a child and archdiocesan officials covered it up.
Magistrate George Reynolds gave the archdiocese a month to give up the documents as part of the pretrial discovery process or face monetary sanctions.
"You have held those documents hostage to your insistence to control discovery unilaterally. And that doesn't go," Reynolds told archdiocese attorney Kirk Wall at a hearing. "We're in litigation, and you're not supervising it — the court's supervising it. In four weeks, there will be sanctions if I don't get a good report (from opposing counsel Konrad Kircher)."
Access to the documents is critical for Kircher, who alleges Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk and other officials engaged in corrupt activities by covering up child molestation accusations against Albrecht and other priests. Internal documents may support Kircher's allegation that the statute of limitations hasn't expired in the case, Reynolds said.
• Church meets former child advisory body -- RCC.
One in Four,
by Patsy McGarry - Irish Times
IRELAND: A meeting between Catholic Church representatives and members of its former working group on child protection policy took place yesterday. The group, chaired by management consultant Ms Maureen Lynott, dissolved itself on September 16th following fundamental disagreement with the church representatives.
A statement from the Catholic Communications Office last night described the meeting as "constructive". It was reiterated that there is a large measure of agreement on the issues involved. Options on the way forward will now be considered by the full steering committee of the church's three sponsoring bodies, the Irish Bishops Conference, CORI, and the Irish Missionary Union. It was agreed both parties would meet again in early November.
• Avalanche Of Church Abuse Cases -- RCC. 850 complainants.
CBS News,
(CBS/AP), Oct 12, 2004
CALIFORNIA: Hundreds of sexual abuse claims targeting the Roman Catholic Church in California have converged into one of the most complex civil litigation cases the state's judicial system has ever faced.
More than 850 alleged victims are suing dioceses throughout the state, with millions of dollars in potential settlements at stake in a legal battle that involves more than 300 attorneys and dozens of church insurers. The scope is so vast that the lawsuits have been lumped geographically into three consolidated cases, known simply as Clergy I, Clergy II and Clergy III.
After nearly two years, the pace of the complicated legal drama is finally starting to accelerate. Some trial dates have been set, Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles is expected to be deposed by year's end in cases related to his tenure in the Stockton and Fresno dioceses and a hearing on public access to internal church documents is scheduled for Wednesday.
Legal analysts and attorneys agree that the developments, all of which involve Northern California cases, will affect settlement negotiations that have dragged on for months in Southern California - though exactly how is less certain.
• Archbishop, ex-Michigan seminary dean, dates church woes to '60s --RCC.
Deroit Free Press,
October 12, 2004, 7:16 AM
SEATTLE (WA) (AP) -- When Seattle Roman Catholic Archbishop Alexander J. Brunett was academic dean at a Roman Catholic seminary in the 1960s and complained about homosexuality among students, he was reassigned to parish work.
Brunett, a Detroit native, is a former academic dean at St. John's Provincial Seminary in Plymouth, Mich. He has been Seattle archbishop for seven years.
Brunett says the subculture he was fighting, including drugs and hippies, is at the root of many of the sexual abuse cases besetting the church today.
He says that many of the priests cited in sex abuse cases coming to light in recent years were ordained in the '60s.
"It seems to be the period from which all these problems are coming from. I was one that fought that, because I thought it was unhelpful," Brunett said. "I was right on the mark with these people." Brunett, 70, said he told his archbishop that the seminary had a "large colony of homosexual people" who went to gay bars, and he tried to keep some students from being ordained. In response, Brunett said, he was branded "counterproductive" and removed from the seminary. The seminary was not identified in an article in Seattle Post-Intelligencer. His biography does not say what years he served at St. John's. John Dearden was archbishop of Detroit from 1958 to 1980. Brunett said some of the gay seminarians he knew turned out to be pedophiles. He also cited a recent national study indicating 81 percent of minor victims of sexual abuse by priests were male. "One would not want to draw a tie (between homosexuality and child abuse), but I think it does raise the question," he said. #
• Church scandal may deepen -- RCC.
Cincinnati Enquirer,
By Janice Morse and Dan Horn,
XENIA, Ohio - A Mason lawyer told a judge Monday that he has seen documents showing that the Archdiocese of Cincinnati concealed priest sexual-abuse allegations from authorities, victims and its own priests.
Attorney Konrad Kircher also said that more of those documents will be disclosed because of a Greene County magistrate's ruling Monday, ordering the archdiocese to release to Kircher files of accused priests except where specifically exempt by law.
Kircher was arguing a civil case in Greene County involving allegations of sexual abuse against a priest.
"Victims and their families are going to finally know the truth," he said, "and they are finally getting some control over shedding light on what the archdiocese has known about these cases."
As quoted by Kircher, those documents show that a priest personnel director for the archdiocese wrote a memo to Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk in 1986 saying the church would risk being held responsible if a priest advised an abuse victim to go to a counselor outside the church.
• Policy will face first challenge [Inzerillo] -- RCC.
Worcester Voice,
http://worcestervoice. com/policy_will_ face_first_challenge.htm , October 12, 2004
