Clergy Child Molesters (107) — References/Chronology

• Church victims angry at delay - Roman Catholic Church. Won't name newly-accused abusers. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
   Cincinnati Post, www.cincypost.com/2004/12/16/arch121604.html , By Kimball Perry, Dec-16-2004
   CINCINNATI (OH), USA: A group representing victims of priest sex abuse called Wednesday for the dispersal of a $3 million victim compensation fund paid for by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and urged that any new victims be paid from other money.
   "We think it's outrageous that the archdiocese is further delaying justice," said Dan Frondorf, a Cincinnati spokesman for Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP). [ http://www. survivors network.org ]
   The archdiocese actually is not involved in determining who qualifies for the fund and how much they are awarded. The process involves a fund administrator and a tribunal to decide how the money is disbursed.
   That doesn't matter, Frondorf said. "This entire settlement fund is their creation," he said of the archdiocese.[...] [Continues]
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INTENTION: A challenge to RELIGIONS to PROTECT CHILDREN
Series starts: www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/ethicscontents.htm   Visit http://www.ncrnews.org/abuse
   INCOMPLETE LINKS: Refer back to "References 61" for methods of obtaining the URLs.
   SNAP held a press conference Wednesday to ask the archdiocese to identify the newly accused priest sex abusers, to divide the $3 million victims compensation fund among the 132 individuals who applied by the September deadline and compensate any new victims with money from other sources.
   "They've been sitting on this since September, so certainly they have had ample time," said Christy Miller, a SNAP spokeswoman from West Chester.
   But Andriacco said the archdiocese plans to spend no more than the $3 million already pledged.
   "We will allocate the $3 million among all of the victims who came forward by the September deadline," Andriacco said.
   Andriacco had said Tuesday that the archdiocese paid the $3 million last year, but corrected that Wednesday to say the money is in an archdiocesan account set aside for the victim compensation fund. Interest earned on the account will be added to the amount paid out, he said.
   Andriacco noted that SNAP complained about the fund when it was created and urged victims not to participate in it, but now is complaining that money from the fund isn't being "paid fast enough."[...]
   Part of the 2003 plea agreement called for the archdiocese to report to Hamilton County prosecutors all new allegations of sex abuse by church employees.
   "Any information or accusations we have, have been turned over to the prosecutor. We are required to do it in Hamilton County, but we are doing it in all counties," Andriacco said.
   The Archdiocese of Cincinnati includes parishes in 19 counties from Columbus to Cincinnati and serves more than 500,000 Catholics.#
   [COMMENT: But, if the Divinity was with them, there would not be even one clergyman offender. Read the parables of Jesus again -- in not one case was there a soul-stealing shepherd, harvester, or fisherman. Judas was the serious offender among the Apostles. COMMENT ENDS.] [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 08:42 AM] (This is the first of the Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker, www.ncrnews.org/abuse , for Thu December 16, 2004.)
• Fellow clergy welcome priests' dismissal [1970s-1990 Doyle, Collins] - RCC. Boys. Ireland flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
   Irish Examiner, By Dan Collins, Dec/17/2004
   IRELAND: The Irish Conference of Priests has welcomed the dismissal by the Pope of two members of the clergy convicted of sexual abuse.
   The priests, James Doyle and Donal Collins, had worked in the Ferns diocese. Collins was given a four-year sentence in 1998, with three years then suspended, for incidents of sexual abuse against boys which took place in the 1970s and 1980s.
  In 1990, Doyle was convicted of indecent assault on a teenage boy in 1990 and received a suspended sentence of one year.
   Yesterday, Fr John Littleton, president of the Irish Conference of Priests, welcomed the "dismissal of the men from the clerical state". It was not the first time that the Pope had taken this step. If priests misbehave seriously then serious disciplinary measures should be taken against them and it was a good means to protect children, said Fr Littleton. [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 09:30 PM]
• Victim Walks Out of Priest's Sentencing [Stein] - RCC. Boy United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
   WBAY, www.wbay.com/Global/story.asp?S=2703578&nav=51s7UI7c , By Natalie Arnold, ~ Dec 16, 2004
   WISCONSIN: The victim in a clergy sexual assault case angrily walked out of a Brown County courtroom Thursday when his abuser was sentenced. Father James Stein was sentenced to one year in the county jail.
   His victim, Mark Hodek, and his family asked the judge to give the Catholic priest at least five years in a state prison for sexually assaulting him when Hodek was 14 years old.
   Stein faced three charges of second-degree sexual assault against a child. He pleaded no contest to one, and the other two were dismissed.
   Hodek waited 16 years for this day to see Father Stein finally punished, but he couldn't bear to sit for one more second during the priest's sentencing, bursting from the courtroom to a nearby elevator.
• Mandatory Child Abuse Reporting [Hintz, Higbee] - Girl, minor.
   WHO, December 16th, 2004
   DES MOINES (IA) - Iowa's mandatory reporter law is more important than ever. Child sex abuse is all over Iowa headlines recently.
   In Carroll, students are accusing fellow students of sexual harassment and accusing the school of failing to stop it. In the metro, Johnston youth pastor Mike Hintz is charged with sexual exploitation by a counselor for a relationship with a 17-year-old girl. In Centerville, a jury recently acquitted former teacher Tim Higbee of sexually abusing a student.
   We looked into the state law designed to protect children. If your child is showing signs he or she is abused, people like teachers, doctors and counselors have to report it to the Department of Human Services (D.H.S.), but we found out there are a couple of interesting exceptions to the law.
• Priest again misses sentencing in sodomy case [< 1995, 2003 Ryan] - RCC. Boy.
   Newsday www.newsday.com/ news/local/longisland /ny-liprie164086031 dec16,0,6143187. story?coll=ny-linews- headlines ; BY ALFONSO A. CASTILLO, December 16, 2004
   LONG ISLAND (NY): A suspended Catholic priest who has pleaded guilty to charges that he sodomized a 6-year-old boy failed to appear at a scheduled sentencing for the second time in Riverhead yesterday, prompting prosecutors to threaten arrest if he doesn't show again.
   The Rev. Barry Ryan, 56, of Palm City, Fla., confessed to abusing the boy in a private home on Long Island while visiting last year. Ryan, who served in parishes in Brooklyn and Queens in the 1970s and '80s, was suspended from priestly duties in 1995, following accusations that he engaged in inappropriate sexual activities while working as an Air Force chaplain in Mobile, Ala.
   Ryan pleaded guilty in October to the charge, formally called second-degree course of sexual conduct against a child. Because he is dying from liver cancer, prosecutors and the victim's family agreed on a sentence of only 2 years, possibly to be served outside of prison.
   But Ryan failed to attend two scheduled court dates in the past week, at which he was to receive his sentence from County Court Judge Ralph Gazillo. Instead Ryan remained in a Maryland hospice where he is receiving medical treatment.
• An Unshakable 'Doubt' - RCC. New play.
   Washington Post, www.washington post.com/wp- dyn/articles/ A3514-2004Dec15. html , By Peter Marks, Washington Post Staff Writer, Page C01, Thursday, December 16, 2004
   NEW YORK -- "Doubt" is the wonderfully apt title of John Patrick Shanley's remarkable new play about paranoia and pedophilia in the Catholic Church.
   Where the molesting of a child is concerned, the doubt of others is of comfort to the guilty and a torment for the falsely accused, and in Shanley's 90-minute work, the sowing of doubt is also a springboard to a provocative study of the tenuous nature of faith and the inconstancy of justice.
   Anchored by a moving, riveting performance by Cherry Jones -- to whom Shanley has bequeathed her most rewarding part since her Tony-winning star turn in "The Heiress" nearly a decade ago -- "Doubt" is a reminder that there's life yet in the well-made play. A simple story told well remains a powerful tool in the hands of a playwright with something he's burning to get off his chest.
   In "Doubt," Shanley -- who despite a trunkful of produced plays is best known for his screenplay for "Moonstruck" -- deals passionately and, yes, even amusingly with a subject that's been treated countless times in articles and documentaries, in made-for-television specials and feature films.
   That the topic retains the ability to rub nerves raw suggests that as a society we are still learning to grapple with its tragic impact, and also that many people both in and out of the faith remain deeply confused by the church's seeming complicity in a number of the cases that have come to light.
• Priest abused them, two charge in suit [1977-80 Johnston] - RCC. Boys.
   St. Louis Post-Dispatch, www.stltoday. com/stltoday/ news/stories. nsf/stlouiscity county/story/ 54DD80A0D12D912 A86256F6C0018 F861?OpenDocument& Headline=Priest+ abused+them,+two+charge+in+suit ; ~ Dec 16, 2004
   MISSOURI: Two men filed a lawsuit Wednesday claiming that a Roman Catholic priest, Robert F. Johnston, sexually abused them as young teenagers at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Valley Park.
   In 2002, the church removed Johnston as pastor of Our Lady of Providence parish in Crestwood after a victim came forward and Johnston admitted abusing the boy more than 20 years before.
   It's unclear whether that victim is one of the two men who filed the lawsuit. Timothy Dempsey, 41, of Pacific, claims that Johnston repeatedly molested him from 1977 to 1980.
   The second man, listed as John Doe in the lawsuit, alleges similar acts during the same period. He is in his 40s and lives in St. Charles.
   The suit, filed in St. Louis Circuit Court, also names the St. Louis Archdiocese and Archbishop Raymond Burke as defendants.
• Church crisis hurts parochial schools -- RCC.
   Newsday, BY DICK RYAN, December 16, 2004
  Dick Ryan of West Islip is the author of "Holy Human: Stories of Extraordinary Catholics."
   LONG ISLAND (NY): Sister Dorothy was the best teacher I ever had and that includes all those who ever stood, statues with chalk, at high school or college blackboards.
   She was my first-grade teacher back on Manhattan's West Side and she taught us things about ourselves and God and crayons that were as simple as they were stunning.
   The Sister Dorothys have always been the jewels of Catholic education but unfortunately, when problems arise today, the focus always pounces on something else for a solution.
   For instance, with today's 57 regional and parish Catholic schools on Long Island mired in a huge drop in enrollment, the church honchos are naturally lunging for solutions with the official language of the Catholic Church: money.
   With the announcement of plans for a new Diocesan Education Foundation that will fund scholarships and other "special programs," there is also the proposal for still another annual collection, as well as a slick marketing campaign that will not only help fill the seats with tuition-paying kids but also fill the coffers of the schools' budgets. ...
   To the surprise of nobody in the pews, the research people may discover that the answer to all those questions is exactly the same.
   There is a pervasive malaise in today's Catholic Church that feeds on the mistrust and sense of betrayal spawned by the sex-abuse scandal but that is also soured by church leadership's veneration of image, money and anti-abortion, their grand obsession and their version of the Holy Trinity.
   And some find it ironic, if not chilling, that children and money always seem to be at the center of many of the crises in today's church, with very differing focuses between parents and prelates.
• Major Rabbinical Council Slammed For Releasing Names in Sexual Abuse Case [Tendler] - Judaism. Women.
   Forward, By Rukhl Schaechter and Eric J. Greenberg, December 17, 2004
   NEW YORK: The nation's leading Orthodox rabbinical organization is being accused of betraying women who say they were sexually abused or harassed by a prominent New York rabbi hailed for counseling women about their troubled marriages.
   Critics of the Rabbinical Council of America are blasting the group for giving Rabbi Mordecai Tendler and his attorney, Arnold Kriss, a copy of an internal report on the sexual harassment allegations, including the names of women who claimed Tendler harassed them. Kriss has vehemently denied the allegations against his client.
   The RCA - the major association of Modern Orthodox rabbis - is being roundly criticized by outside experts, as well several women who say that when they cooperated with the investigation they never gave permission for their names to be shared.
   Tendler, the scion of a prominent rabbinic family, is the son of Yeshiva University Professor Rabbi Moshe Tendler, a leading Orthodox expert on bioethical issues, and a grandson of the late Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, the Orthodox world's most respected religious arbiter for much of the 20th century.
   Based on past experiences with Tendler and with his supporters, several women who cooperated with the RCA investigation said that they are scared about possible retaliation against them.
   One of the alleged victims who cooperated with the investigation, Jillian Gordon, 42, slammed the RCA's decision to give Tendler the report as "a betrayal of women, an act of extreme negligence and indiscretion, and a violation of privacy."
• Diocese Upholds Sex Abuse Charges Against Priest [1982-93 Keating] - RCC. Girls, Woman.
   The Palladium Times www.pall-times.com/art icles/2004/ 12/16/news/ news4.txt , Dec 16, 2004
   SYRACUSE (NY) (AP) -- The Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse said Wednesday it was removing a 65-year-old priest from ministry after finding sufficient evidence he may have sexually abused three young girls and a woman in the 1980s.
   A second priest, meanwhile, was cleared of sexual abuse allegations.
   Church officials said sufficient evidence was found incriminating the Rev. Thomas F. Keating, who allegedly abused three young sisters while serving as pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Cortland from 1982 to 1993. The sisters were 12, 13 and 14 at the time and attended the church's grade school.
   Keating also was accused of sexually abusing a woman who had gone to him in 1982 to tell him she had been raped by another priest.
   Spokeswoman Danielle Cummings said the diocese's finding does not mean Keating is guilty, but his case had raised "serious concerns."
• Sackings mark tougher line against clerical sex abusers - RCC. Ireland flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
   Irish Independent www.unison.ie/ irish_independent/ stories.php3?ca= 36&si=1305248 &issue_id=11819 , ~ Dec 16, 2004
   IRELAND: It is a rare thing for a Pope to directly and summarily dismiss a priest from the clerical state. It will only happen in the most extreme and serious circumstances.
   Usually, a priest will only be dismissed - "defrocked" to use the popular term - after he is tried by an ecclesiastical court in his own diocese.
   If he is found guilty of the offence in question, and it could easily be an offence that has nothing to do with civil law, for example, breaking the seal of the confessional, he can appeal the decision to Rome.
   All of this can takes years.
   However, under procedures introduced by the Vatican in 2001, a Bishop can now short-circuit this process by sending a particularly serious case directly to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF).
• Vatican confirms dismissals of Irish priests [Collins, Doyle] - RCC. Boys.
   RTE News, 13:49, December 16, 2004
   IRELAND: A spokesman for the Vatican has confirmed that Pope John Paul II has dismissed two priests of the Ferns Diocese in Co Wexford from the clerical state.
   The official in the powerful Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith would not name the two priests concerned, but said they had been convicted by the civil courts of child abuse.
   Fr Donal Collins was a given a four-year sentence with three years suspended in 1998 for indecent assault and gross indecency against teenage boys.
   In 1990 Fr James Doyle was convicted of indecent assault on a teenage boy and given a suspended sentence of one year.
• Pope Dismisses Convicted Priests [? Doyle, ? Collins] - RCC.
   The Scotsman, http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3894776 , By Louise Hogan, PA, ~ Dec 16, 2004
   IRELAND: The Pope has dismissed two Irish priests who were convicted in the courts of sexual abuse, it was confirmed today.
   The move is believed to be the first time the Vatican has directly dismissed Irish priests using a new fast-track procedure to remove those judged to have committed offences.
   A spokesman for the Bishop of the Ferns Diocese, Dr Eamonn Walsh, said: "The diocese confirms that two priests, previously convicted of child sexual abuse, have been dismissed from the clerical state.
   "The dismissal of a priest from the clerical state is a supreme decision of the Holy Father."
   The effect of dismissal from the clerical state is a permanent separation from all ministry, including the loss of all rights associated with the priesthood and the loss of authorisation to exercise ministry in the name of the Church.
   Dr Walsh made an application to the Vatican to have the two men removed.
   A spokesman for the diocese would not confirm the identities of the men.
   Two priests of the Ferns diocese, James Doyle and Donal Collins, have been convicted of sexual abuse.
• Pope dismisses two Irish priests - RCC.
   Ireland Online, 12:01:15, Dec/16/2004
   IRELAND: The Pope has dismissed two Irish priests who were convicted in the courts of sexual abuse, it was confirmed today.
   The move is believed to be the first time the Vatican has directly dismissed Irish priests using a new fast-track procedure to remove those judged to have committed offences.
   A spokesman for the Bishop of the Ferns Diocese, Dr Eamonn Walsh, said: "The diocese confirms that two priests, previously convicted of child sexual abuse, have been dismissed from the clerical state.
   "The dismissal of a priest from the clerical state is a supreme decision of the Holy Father."
• Trade magazine may set trend - Christian Churches' leaders. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
   ascentral.com ; [? azcentral] by Glenn Swain, Special for the ABG, Dec. 16, 2004
   Steve Kane is altering the dry-as-dust image of trade publications.
   ARIZONA: The publisher and editor in chief of Church Executive, a Phoenix-based monthly magazine designed for church administrators, executives and managers of the largest Christian churches throughout the United States, tackles controversial topics with edgy stories and editorials on church sexual abuse scandals, an Episcopal gay bishop and thorny tax-exemption issues.
   "We're not muckrakers; we're dealing with issues that most trade publications don't want to put the resources or the intellect into," Kane said.
   "The response has been overwhelmingly positive. We've never had anyone call and say, 'Shame on you for doing that.' They can tell when we've made an effort and tried to do something that's worth their time.
   "Trade magazines have a bad rap. They're looked at as being low-grade with copy wrapped around ads. We're serious about adding genuine substance to the magazine and doing legitimate journalism."
• Fears about sexual abuse persist [Dominican] - RCC. Abusers at seminary! Near school!
   Oakland Tribune, www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82~1726~2601392,00.html , By Laura Ernde, ~ Dec 16, 2004
   OAKLAND (CA) -- Neighbors of a Catholic seminary that is housing seven suspected child molesters say their meeting with church leaders Tuesday night did nothing to assuage their concerns.
   "I would say they made matters worse, trying to soft-soap things. This has become like a cesspool," neighbor Jerry Ratch said after leaving the closed-door meeting at St. Albert's Priory in Oakland's upscale Rockridge neighborhood.
   Ratch and more than 30 other invited guests -- including neighbors and parents of students at two local schools -- spent nearly three hours meeting with leaders of the Western Dominican Province, the Catholic
   order that runs the seminary. Province spokeswoman Carla Hass said she was disappointed the church wasn't able to persuade more people sufficient precautions are being taken to ensure that the men don't pose a threat.
• Diocese: No proof against Quinn - RCC. Quinn cleared, again.
   Observer-Dispatch, by ROCCO LaDUCA, Thu, Dec 16, 2004
   UTICA (NY) -- An internal investigation by the Catholic Diocese of Syracuse found "insufficient evidence" to substantiate allegations that the Rev. James Quinn sexually abused a youth more than 30 years ago, the diocese announced Wednesday.
   Whenever allegations of sexual abuse are brought against a member of the diocese, church law dictates certain procedures must be followed to investigate, diocesan spokeswoman Danielle Cummings said.
   "Our obligation is to learn the truth to the best of our ability," Cummings said, "and at this point, after a lengthy investigation over a 19-month period, the diocese has found that there is insufficient evidence to substantiate these allegations."
   In a $150 million lawsuit, Quinn is accused of repeatedly sexually abusing John Zumpano in the 1960s while he was a student at St. Agnes Church, where Quinn was an assistant pastor.
   Zumpano's lawsuit was dismissed by the state Supreme Court, and that dismissal was upheld by the state Appellate Division last month. Now, Zumpano's attorney, Frank Policelli, will ask the Appellate Division for permission Monday to bring Zumpano's case to the Court of Appeals.
• Priest removed [1980s Keating] - RCC. Girls, woman.
   News 10 Now, By Al Nall, News 10 Now Web Staff, Updated 6:46 AM, Dec/16/2004
   NEW YORK: The Syracuse Diocese says its investigation into repeated allegations against Father Keating revealed there was significant evidence he may have sexually abused three young girls and a woman in the 1980s.
   The alleged abuse occurred while he served as pastor at St Mary's Church in Cortland.
   The attorney for the victims says the Diocese should have taken action a long time ago, to protect the community from a sexual predator.
   "I know that Father Keating has been denying that he abused all of these people for two years. And now I think his own employer has indicated on the record that his denials have been false. So it certainly eases the burden of proving the actual abuse occurred," said John Aretakis who is the victims' attorney.
• Bishop rules in case of Maine pastor accused of sexual abuse [Keating] - RCC.
   Press & Sun-Bulletin, www.pressconnects. com/today/top stories/stories/ to121604s136491.shtml , BY NANCY DOOLING, ~ Dec 16, 2004
   NEW YORK: A Roman Catholic priest, who was removed Wednesday from his Town of Maine church as a result of sexual-abuse claims at a former parish, will ask the Vatican to reinstate him, his attorney said Wednesday.
   Thomas F. Keating, 65, will appeal his removal by Syracuse Diocese Bishop James M. Moynihan and expects to be exonerated, said Barry Abbott, a White Plains lawyer who represents the priest.
   "Father Keating is deeply saddened by the bishop's actions and is disappointed in the bishop's refusal to hear from witnesses on his behalf, address facts uncovered by his investigation and consider the motives of his accusers," Abbott said in a statement.
   Three of Keating's accusers, meanwhile, also issued a statement Wednesday, calling Moynihan's announcement "a small measure of comfort."
• Abuse payoffs may take longer - RCC. More priest abusers than expected.
   Cincinnati Enquirer, http://news.enquirer. com/apps/pbcs. dll/article? AID=/20041216/ NEWS01/412160375 , By Janice Morse, ~ Dec 16, 2004
   CINCINNATI (OH): Victims of sexual abuse by priests of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati will have to wait longer than expected for compensation, and the claims involve more priests than previously reported, officials said Wednesday.
   Matt Garretson, a lawyer overseeing the $3 million victims' fund, says he misjudged processing time because he underestimated the number of victims and priests.
   Garretson expects to finish work on 132 claims in late February. He had hoped to complete processing by year's end, but said he based that date on an estimated 90 people filing by the Sept. 1 deadline.
   "I owe it to each and every one of these victims to be fair and accurate ... we validate every claim so we can say we reserved the fund for the true victims of abuse."
• Decision over sex abuse charges expected today [Ridsdale] - RCC. Australia flag; Aust. National Flag Assn. 
   The Courier, www.thecourier. com.au/detail. asp?class=news& subclass=local& category=general% 20news&story_id= 358524&y=2004&m=12 ; Thursday, 16 December 2004
   AUSTRALIA: A decision is expected today (Friday) on whether former Ballarat priest Gerald Ridsdale will face more sex abuse charges.
   A meeting was held at Ballarat Police Station earlier this week between the Director of Public Prosecutions Paul Coghlan QC, more alleged victims and Detective Sergeant Kevin Carson, who investigated their complaints.
   Mr Coghlan said yesterday that he expected an announcement on whether more charges would follow would be made today.
   In August, Mr Coghlan declined to press further charges against Mr Ridsdale, which was deemed not in the public interest.
   However, Mr Coghlan later offered to meet the complainants and reconsider his decision. [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 07:51 AM]
////////// End of Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker www.ncrnews.org/abuse , Thu December 16, 2004
Abuse Chronology: http://www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/ethics/ethcont107.htm
For good teachings to be heeded, a big clean-up is needed.
• No 'right' to preach until sex abuse stops. - RCC. Australia flag; Aust. National Flag Assn. 
   The West Australian, Letter e-mailed Thu Dec 16, 2004
   PERTH: Joe Parkinson of the Goody Bioethics Centre is quite comfortable in his belief that people (including homosexuals) have only a conditional right to a child (16/12). The heading "No 'right' to a child" is sure to draw flak.
   To follow his line, might I ask if a mother of five, living on a rubbish tip in the Third World, has a "right" to a child? Did the father have any right to sex?
   Two major religions -- Islam and Catholicism -- teach that children to any number are right in marriage, but poverty reigns where they hold sway. Many in the Christian fold have already asked: What expertise do these faith leaders have in this matter?
   Certainly Australians have seen that child sex abuse among clergy of various faiths, not just Catholic and Anglican, and their transfers to other parishes and even overseas (for example, the Salesians), points to a fundamental problem inside the heads of the Churches' leaderships.
   Their problems begin when anyone asks just what the Bible genuinely says in among the forgeries, mistranslations and plain failure to understand even the "received text".
   Christian leaders of today have not taught us why the early Church delayed baptism because it was the only method they knew for forgiving sins, and why they imposed severe loss of rights for baptised people who fell into sin.
   Today's leaders ought to explain these early practices, and what penalties they imposed on "boy sex" people, before they continue telling us about human sexuality and procreation rights. Or must we mention Galileo and Joan of Arc yet again?
   [COMMENT: Father Joe Parkinson is the director of a Catholic-Church organisation, the L.J.Goody Bioethics Centre, 39 Jugan St, Glendalough, WA 6016. COMMENT ENDS.] [Dec 16, 04]
• Donations requested for huge Internet archive of clergy sex abuse.
   Bishop Accountability ( BishopAccountability.org | P.O. Box 54-1375 | Waltham | MA | 02454-1375, United States) "Donate by December 31 to make bishops accountable," E-mail from Paul Baier, December 16, 2004
   WALTHAM (MA) USA: Dear Friend, You want bishops held accountable. Because they knew priests were raping children. And because they did not move heaven and earth to make it stop.
   What can you do today? You can help build an on-line library to document the clergy sex abuse crisis in the Church.
   Your year-end gift ( http://rs6.net/tn. jsp?t=4qayszaab.0.6 rndwzaab.6jshwxn6. 13315&p=http%3A% 2F%2Fwww.bishop- accountability.org% 2F%23donations ) of $25, $50, $100 or $500 will fund BishopAccountability.org ( http://rs6.net/tn. jsp?t=4qayszaab. 0.4rndwzaab.6jshwxn6. 13315&p=http% 3A%2F%2Fwww. bishop-accountability.org ) -- the only Web site collecting all the documents of this crisis.
   To make your tax-deductible contribution before January 1, click here ( http://rs6.net/tn. jsp?t=4qayszaab.0.6rn dwzaab.6jshwxn6.13315& p=http%3A%2F%2F www.bishop- accountability.org% 2F%23donations ).
   Enable us to post documents found in secret church files and courthouses. Eloquent and damning documents, such as:
  • The chancellor's written oath ( http://rs6.net/tn. jsp?t=4qayszaab.0.asnd wzaab.6jshwxn6.13315& p=http%3A%2F%2 Fwww.bishop- accountability.org%2Fia- davenport%2Farchives%2F DingmanOath.htm ) -- sworn on a Bible -- that he would keep secret about a pedophile priest
  • The future bishop's letter ( http://rs6.net/tn. jsp?t=4qayszaab.0.csnd wzaab.6jshwxn6.13315&p= http%3A%2F%2Fwww. bishop-accountability.org%2 Fma-boston%2F archives%2FPattern AndPractice%2F McCormackLetter.htm ) assuring the worried father that the parish priest posed no danger to a 13-year-old boy -- though the official knew the priest had just been treated for molesting minors
  • The heartbreaking affidavit ( http://rs6.net/tn. jsp?t=4qayszaab.0.dsn dwzaab.6jshwxn6.13315& p=http%3A%2F%2F www.bishop-accountability. org%2Fia-davenport% 2Farchives%2F JohnDoeIII-ex-01.pdf ) in which a victim recalls the beauty of his childhood before his molestation.
       You'll make facts of this crisis instantly accessible ... to everyone who needs them:- Law enforcement officials. Survivors. Priests. Scholars and researchers. Journalists. Parish council members. Legislators. And bishops themselves.
       By helping preserve a comprehensive public record, you will help ensure that this crisis will not happen again. Please make your tax-deductible gift to BishopAccountability.org today.
       If you have already responded to a letter from me asking for your support, thank you very much for your help, and apologies for this email request. Thanks and best wishes for a wonderful New Year.
       -- Paul Baier, BishopAccountability.org, Inc., email: staff@bishop-accountability.org staff@bishop- accountability.org , phone: 781 910 5467, web: www.bishopaccountability.org [Emphasis added]
       [COMMENT: Well, this looks like an attempt to document EVERYTHING about the failure by one Church. What about the other religious organisations who have done the same thing, and hidden, transferred, "bent" the truth, etc.? COMMENT ENDS.] [Dec 16, 04]
    Abuse Chronology: http://www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/ethics/ethcont107.htm
    For good teachings to be heeded, a big clean-up is needed.
    #### Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker, www.ncrnews.org/abuse, Fri December 17, 2004 edition follows:-
    • Court clerk pleads guilty to sex charge [? 2000s Garcia] - Religion not named. Girl United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       The Daily Journal, www.ukiahdaily journal.com/ Stories/0,1413, 91~3089~2604 306,00.html , ~ Dec 17, 2004
       CALIFORNIA: In an unusually swift resolution to a potentially charged case, Daniel Aram Garcia, 47, a county Superior Court clerk and pastor at a Redwood Valley church, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor of 14 or 15 years old.
       The maximum penalty is three years in prison.
       Held previously on a $500,000 bond, Garcia was released on his own recognizance and will go home to his wife in Willits until his sentencing Jan. 27.
       Outraged comments are already circulating through the legal establishment in Ukiah that Garcia's position as a court clerk resulted in a lenient deal for him. Sources who have heard about the investigation allege that Garcia's admissions alone could have put him behind bars for many years.
       Since Garcia's arrest Tuesday, his attorney, Jan Cole-Wilson, told the court she met in intensive talks with the District Attorney's Office and an agreement was reached to allow Garcia to plead to the one count and the DA would drop two other counts against Garcia. Those were oral copulation with a child under 16 and sexual penetration with a foreign object with a child under 16. Either of those would have raised the penalty to up to eight years in prison. A charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child was never filed by the DA although recommended by police. That charge comes with a maximum 16 years in prison.
       DA Norm Vroman, appearing in court for the people, said the second and third counts were dropped, but, under a procedure known as a "Harvey waiver," they would be considered by the judge during sentencing.[...]
       He said since Garcia's arrest, he had gotten several calls from mothers of teenage daughters in the area who worried whether Garcia had had any inappropriate contact with their children, but Vroman said he is convinced Garcia's sexual abuse case was a "one-victim situation."# [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 04:50 PM]
    • Albany pastor convicted of sexually abusing his daughter [? 2000s Sullivan] - Liberty Christian Center. Girl.
       KATU, www.katu.com/ stories/73514. html , December 17, 2004
       ALBANY, Ore. - A jury has found a 36-year-old Albany pastor guilty of two counts of first-degree sexual abuse on his daughter.
       Jurors deliberated for a day-and-a-half in the trial of Timothy Sean Sullivan, pastor of the Liberty Christian Center.
       The victim, now 12, is Sullivan's daughter from an earlier relationship.
       Sullivan's wife, in-laws, and supporters from his church were with Sullivan throughout his six-day trial.
       Upon the reading of the verdict, Sullivan removed his glasses, slumped in his chair, and wept. Behind him in the benches, so did his family.
    • Archbishop urged acknowledgment of priest's sex-abuse guilt [Green] - RCC. Australia flag; Aust. Nat. Flag Assn. 
       Catholic World News, www.cwnews.com/ news/viewstory. cfm?recnum= 34106 , Dec 17, 2004
       HOBART (Tas) Australia (CWNews.com) - An Australia archbishop has urged the Catholic faithful to recognize the guilt of an influential priest who entered a guilty plea on charges of sexual abuse, although the cleric has avoided a prison sentence.
       Archbishop Adrian Doyle of Hobart, Tasmania, remarked: "Everyone, including all Catholics in this archdiocese, must accept that Philip Green committed the offenses which he acknowledge in court." Msgr. Green received a 3-month suspended sentence after pleading guilty to indecent conduct charges.
       The charges against Msgr. Green had precipitated a heated debate, with some loyal Catholics insisting that the priest was innocent, while others became highly critical of the archbishop's failure to take earlier action against the accused cleric. Archbishop Doyle has rejected public demands for his resignation.#
    • Attorneys Back In Court In NorCal Priest Sex Abuse Case - RCC. 150 cases.
       KTVU, POSTED 12:36 pm PST December 17, 2004
       OAKLAND, Calif. -- Attorneys in a mega-case involving more than 150 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by priests throughout Northern California are back in court today to resolve a host of pretrial procedural issues.
       Alameda County Superior Court Judge Ronald Sabraw, who is overseeing the cases, wants to refine and narrow the issues in the cases before the first of them go to trial next March.
       The alleged sex abuse victims are suing Roman Catholic Church officials under a bill passed in the state Legislature in 2002 which lifted the statute of limitations, for one year only, on lawsuits filed against churches, schools and other institutions where employees allegedly molested children.
       That bill allowed victims of abuse dating back many years, even as far back as the 1930s, to file suit during a one-year window in 2003.
       One of the issues being discussed today is a request by defense lawyers for church officials that Sabraw narrow a previous ruling by a special court master that church officials give to the alleged victims' attorneys documents from the perpetrator priests' personnel files.
    • Albany pastor convicted of sex abuse [? 2000s Sullivan] - Liberty Christian Center. Girl.
       KGW, Associated Press, 09:06 AM PST on Friday, December 17, 2004
       ALBANY, Ore. -- A jury has found a 36-year-old Albany pastor guilty of two counts of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor.
       Jurors deliberated for a day-and-a-half in the trial of Timothy Sean Sullivan, pastor of the Liberty Christian Center.
       The victim, now 12, is related to Sullivan.
       Sullivan's wife, in-laws, and supporters from his church were with Sullivan throughout his six-day trial.
       Upon the reading of the verdict, Sullivan removed his glasses, slumped in his chair, and wept. Behind him in the benches, so did his family. He maintained his innocence throughout the trial and took the stand in his own defense.
    • Child rapist implicates six co-accused [1970s-2000s Silvino] - ? RCC. Boys. Portugal flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       The Australian, www.theaustralian. news.com.au/common/ story_page/0,5744, 11720238% 255E2703,00.html , AFP, December 18, 2004
       LISBON, PORTUGAL: The chief accused in a high-profile trial of seven people charged in Portugal with sexual abuse of minors from a state-run institution has admitted his guilt on the witness stand and confirmed the charges against his co-defendants.
       "I, along with the other defendants, am guilty of what is listed in the indictment," said Carlos Silvino, 48, a former driver at Casa Pia, a 224-year-old network of 10 homes and schools that care for about 4000 children.
       Silvino, nicknamed "Bibi", told the court how he, a former Casa Pia inmate, had been raped "virtually every evening" from the age of four to 13, particularly by "two teachers, two educators, five older students and a priest".
       Most of the abuse was alleged on boys aged between 12 and 16.
       A 62-year-old woman is also among the seven accused. She is has been charged with providing her home as a venue for some of the crimes.
       The case has shattered public trust in the authorities, especially after reports that children had been complaining of the abuse since the mid-1970s, but no action was taken.
       Silvino, who is charged with 634 offences, including 598 counts of sexual abuse of minors, is also accused of procuring children for wealthy child molesters for more than 20 years.
       "I took some boys to these homes. I have dates and addresses where they went to make movies, attend parties or sex orgies," he said.[...]
       The trial, which also involves a former television star and a retired ambassador, began under tight security at a Lisbon courthouse on November 25.
       Silvino arrived at the court yesterday in a windowless van wearing a bullet-proof vest and escorted by armed members of an elite police protection corps.
       His testimony is seen as vital in the case against several of the other accused, including television personality Carlos Cruz and former ambassador to South Africa Jorge Ritto.
       Silvino was first questioned by police in 1975 when he was 19 after he was caught raping a 10-year-old boy at the institution. Two years later he began working at Casa Pia, where he remained as a staff member until 2002.
       Lawyers have said they expect the trial to last at least until mid-2005. More than 700 witnesses are expected to be called, including several under 16. The trial resumes on Monday.# [Bolding added]
    • Archdiocese Not Releasing Names Of Priests Being Investigated - RCC. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Fox 19, www.fox19.com/ Global/story. asp?S=2698818 , ~ Dec 17, 2004
       CINCINNATI (OH): The Cincinnati Archdiocese says they are not sure how many, if any, more priests have been accused of sexually abusing children. The group called Survivors Network of Those Abused By Priests, or SNAP, believes the archdiocese should release the names of priests who are currently being investigated.
       The victims also got word this week that a $3,000,000 settlement fund will not be paid out this year but instead early next year.
       SNAP's Christy Miller says, "Our biggest concern in all of this is that there are other child molesters out there currently serving in ministry and that they could possible still be abusing children."
    • Kerry priest defrocked by Pope over alleged sex assault [Kerry name withheld; Ferns - Doyle, Collins] Ireland flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Ireland Online, 11:17:58, Dec/17/2004 -
       IRELAND: The diocese of Kerry has confirmed that one of its priests has been defrocked by Pope John Paul II.
       The diocese refused to provide any further details, but the Vatican is believed to have taken the decision in August.
       The priest in question hasn't been in active ministry for 10 years, but he worked in several parishes in Kerry during the 1980s.
       At one time, he was the subject of a garda investigation into an alleged sexual assault, but the DPP decided not to prosecute.
       Yesterday, the diocese of Ferns also confirmed that two of its priests - believed to be James Doyle and Donal Collins - had been removed from the priesthood by the Pope in light of their convictions for child sex abuse.
    • Priest gets probation in assault [? 2004 Pereppadan] - RCC. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags  India flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       The Boston Globe, By David Abel, Globe Staff, December 17, 2004
       BRIGHTON (MA): A 36-year-old Roman Catholic priest from India has admitted to improperly touching the chest of a 16-year-old girl while living and working at Our Lady of the Presentation Parish in Brighton, officials said yesterday.
       As part of a plea agreement, Varghese Pereppadan admitted last week to charges of indecent assault and battery, said David Procopio, a spokesman for the Suffolk district attorney's office.
       Pereppadan was sentenced to one year of probation, in which he cannot have contact with the victim or be in the presence of minors without supervision, Procopio said. If he returns home, the Archdiocese of Boston has agreed to notify his parish in India of the sentence.
       If he does not violate the agreement, the charges will be dropped after a year, Procopio said.
       "We determined that it was in her best interest to have this case resolved," Procopio said. "Certainly, it's a serious accusation. But he had no prior record, and this was a single incident, not a pattern of improper conduct." [Bolding added]
    • Priest gets year in jail in 1988 child abuse [1988, 1991 Stein (Norbertine)] - RCC. DNA demanded. Boy. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Green Bay News-Chronicle, www.gogreenbay.com/page.html?article=129078 , By Ray Barrington, ~ Dec 17, 2004
       WISCONSIN: A former Norbertine priest who entered a no-contest plea in August for fondling a 14-year-old boy in 1988 received one year in the Brown County Jail rather than the maximum 10 years in prison.
       Judge Sue Bischel sentenced James Stein to 10 years in prison, but stayed the sentence, giving him 10 years probation.
       She said, however, that she could not let him go without some incarceration because of a sexual assault conviction in an incident involving a college student in 1991 and two other similar incidents with other minors that were dropped as part of a plea bargain. She sentenced him to a year in the county jail, with good behavior and Huber Law privileges.
       Along with the probation, Stein will be required to continue counseling, pay court costs, and provide a DNA sample for possible future use.
    • Clergymen face court over sex abuse allegations [1950s-80s RCC Marist, "chaplain," Seventh Day Adventist] - Boys Australia flag; Aust. National Flag Assn. 
       ABC (Australia), www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1268039.htm , ~ Dec 17, 2004
       AUSTRALIA: Three Victorian men with links to various churches will soon be summonsed to appear before court in Adelaide for alleged sex offences against children.
       Members of the South Australian Police Paedophile Taskforce visited Victoria this week and reported three men for sex offences that allegedly occurred between the 1950s and the 1980s.
       The taskforce's Detective Superintendent Grant Steven says it is important to investigate allegations of sexual abuse against children, regardless of the time frame.
       "These matters aren't closed off and it's simply a matter of time in many of these cases before we're able to take action," he said.
       In the latest development, a 71-year-old former Marist Brother teacher in country South Australia has been reported for an alleged offence against a 12-year-old in 1958.
       A 72-year-old former Chaplain in the Adelaide Hills was also reported for an alleged offence against another 12-year-old boy between 1975 and 1976.
       A 55-year-old former leader with the Seventh Day Adventist Church was reported for offences including rape against three boys in the 1980s.
    • Sex abuse lawsuit closing in on deal [1960s Thoennes] - RCC. Boy. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       St. Cloud Times, http://miva.sctimes. com/miva/cgi-bin/ miva?CMN/Local/read. mv+20041217 043708+4+ , By David Unze, dunze@stcloudtimes.com , 17 December, 2004
       MINNESOTA: A Stearns County judge is scheduled to hear arguments today that likely will settle a clergy sex-abuse lawsuit against St. Cloud Diocese and a former priest.
       Attorneys have agreed to what's known as a "hi-low" settlement of the claims made by Wayne Eller against a former diocesan priest.
       Two settlement amounts have been agreed on, and Judge Elizabeth Hayden's ruling on today's arguments will determine which settlement is triggered, said Jeffrey Anderson, the attorney representing Eller.
       Eller has accused James Thoennes of molesting him in the mid-1960s at a Sauk Centre home where Thoennes' parents lived. Lawyers for the diocese, Thoennes and Bishop John Kinney are arguing that Eller's claims should be dismissed because they were filed years after the statute of limitations had expired.
       That rule provides a time frame in which to file sexual-abuse lawsuits after the abuse occurred or was recalled.[...]
       Eller was a student at St. Anthony's Church in St. Cloud when the abuse by Thoennes occurred, he said in his lawsuit.
       The diocese removed Thoennes from his last assignment -- at St. Mary's Villa Nursing Home in Pierz -- in 1993, when an allegation surfaced that he inappropriately touched a resident there.
       Kinney sent Thoennes a letter in June 2002 informing Thoennes that he had been removed from priestly ministry.#
    • Pope dismisses 2 priests in Ireland for sex abuses [Doyle, Collins] - RCC. Boys. Ireland flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Billings Gazette, www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2004/12/17/build/world/75-abuse-priest.inc , Associated Press, Dec 17, 2004
       DUBLIN, Ireland - Pope John Paul II has defrocked two priests convicted of sexually abusing children in Ireland, an unprecedented move in this predominantly Catholic nation, church officials confirmed Thursday.
       "The diocese confirms that two priests, previously convicted of child sexual abuse, have been dismissed from the clerical state," said the Rev. John Carroll, spokesman for Ireland's southeast Ferns Diocese, which has been hard hit by sex abuse scandals.
       The church declined to identify either man, but only two priests from the Ferns diocese have been convicted of such abuse: James Doyle and Donal Collins.
       Collins received a four-year sentence in 1998 for abusing several boys; Doyle received a one-year suspended sentence in 1990 for abusing one boy. The church rarely defrocks priests, even those found guilty of crimes, and the decision was the first time the Vatican has dismissed a priest in Ireland over sexual abuse.
       In this case, Ferns Bishop Eamonn Walsh sent a file to the Vatican requesting the two men's dismissal, a request granted last month by the pope in what Carroll called "a supreme decision" that cannot be appealed.
    • Lawsuit against priest rejected [1973-74 McGlynn] - RCC. Girl. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       The Kansas City Star, www.kansascity. com/mld/kansas city/news/104 35171.htm , By KEVIN MURPHY, ~ Dec 17, 2004
       MISSOURI: Reversing a recent decision, a Jackson County judge Thursday dismissed a lawsuit that alleges sexual abuse by a now-retired Kansas City priest.
       Circuit Judge John R. O'Malley ruled that the statute of limitations has expired on Teresa White's claim that the Rev. Francis McGlynn sexually abused her in 1973 and 1974, when she was 17.
       White alleged in a lawsuit filed 14 months ago that McGlynn abused her while she was taking courses from him at an Independence church to prepare for marriage. McGlynn denied the charges.
       Three weeks ago, O'Malley denied a motion by the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph to dismiss the suit. Attorneys for the diocese argued that White was required to file the suit within the five-year statute of limitations after she turned 21.
    • Ferns child sex abuse report delayed until March - RCC. Ireland flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Online.ie , 08:00:07+00, Dec-17-2004
       IRELAND: The inquiry into clerical child sex abuse in the diocese of Ferns has reportedly been forced to delay its report into the matter until next March.
       Reports this morning said the document was expected to have been presented to Health Minister Mary Harney before Christmas.
       However, due to difficulties in locating witnesses and to some further investigations being conducted, the inquiry has been forced to delay the report until March at the earliest.
    • Victim's mother wants accused clergy named [Stein] - RCC. Boy. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Green Bay Press-Gazette, www.greenbay pressgazette. com/news/archive/ local_19075 406.shtml , By Andy Nelesen, anelesen@greenbaypressgazette.com , ~ Dec 17, 2004
       WISCONSIN: Moments after a Brown County judge sentenced the Rev. James Stein to 10 years probation and a year in jail for molesting her then-14-year-old son, Alice Hodek asked that Bishop David Zubik provide information about priests accused of sexual misconduct.
       However, her demand differed from a request made after the preliminary hearing of another priest Dec. 2. Rather than release the names to the public, Hodek asked that Zubik release the clergy names to Catholic school officials and lay church leaders.
       "Most of these individuals are now mandatory reporters of child sexual abuse under state law," Hodek said. "They have a right to this information and will act responsibly with it."
       In response to the earlier call for names, Zubik issued a written statement defending his decision.
       "Any member of the clergy who has a credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor against him has been permanently removed from ministry," Zubik wrote. "It's equally important to protect the rights of those who are falsely accused or those who have died and are not able to come to their own defense.
    • Taskforce charges church officials [1982-86 SDA; 1958 Marist] - Seventh Day Adventist; RCC. Boys. Australia flag; Aust. National Flag Assn. 
       NEWS.com.au ; www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11718324%5E421,00.html , December 17, 2004
       AUSTRALIA: South Australia's Pedophile Task Force has charged three former church officials with sex offences, some dating back more than 40 years.
       Taskforce detectives travelled to Victoria this week to charge the men, police said today.
       A 71-year-old former Marist Brother and teacher in country SA was charged with one count of indecent assault alleged to have occurred in 1958 against a 12-year-old boy.
       A 55-year-old former church leader with the Seventh Day Adventists was charged with one count of rape, 13 counts of indecent assault and three counts of gratifying prurient interest.
       The offences were alleged to have occurred between 1982 and 1986 against three boys in various country locations in SA.
    • Church 'should apply to sack all priests found guilty of abuse' - RCC. 25 priests convicted so far. Ireland flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Irish Independent, www.unison.ie/ irish_independent/ stories.php3?ca= 9&si=1307673 &issue_id=11839 , Last Updated 15:21 GMT Friday, 17 December, 2004,
       IRELAND: The Irish Catholic hierarchy should apply to the Pope to have all of the 25 diocesan priests so far convicted of child sexual abuse dismissed from the clerical state, a victim support group leader said yesterday.
       Mr Colm O'Gorman, head of the support group One in Four, reacting to the news, reported in yesterday's Irish Independent, that the Pope has 'sacked' two priests of the Ferns diocese following a request to do so from the acting Bishop of Ferns, Dr Eamonn Walsh.
       Mr O'Gorman, who was a victim of the Ferns priest, the late Fr Sean Fortune, described the dismissal of the two priests as "an appropriate response that should be welcomed, although it comes 14 years after the sentencing of one of the priests".
       He said: "I think where a priest has been convicted he should never again be [in the possession of] the authority he used as a way of abusing children in the past. This will mean laicisation in practice." [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 05:18 AM]
    ////////// End of Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker www.ncrnews.org/abuse , Fri December 17, 2004
    Abuse Chronology: http://www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/ethics/ethcont107.htm
    For good teachings to be heeded, a big clean-up is needed.
    • Virtus training system to prevent child sex abuse; 'A situation that's been with us for centuries'. - RCC. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       The Tidings (the weekly newspaper of the Los Angeles RC Archdiocese, est. 1895), "Awakening the community to sexual abuse awareness," www.the- tidings.com/ 2004/1217/ virtus.htm , By Paula Doyle, Friday, December 17, 2004
       LOS ANGELES (California) USA: St. Robert Bellarmine School principal June Rosena has a passion to protect children. Besides her 37-year career as a Catholic educator, Rosena has had a 20-year private practice as a licensed marriage and family therapist where she counsels people in crisis, including child victims and adult survivors of sexual abuse. Picture of lady, no name on original website
       She can easily speak for four hours straight about the devastating effects of child abuse, and she has riveted audiences as a Virtus child protection facilitator. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles implemented the Virtus training program in response to the national clergy sexual abuse crisis.
       "I find it so rewarding to give the Virtus talks," said Rosena, who holds a Ph.D in psychology. "Thank God for this long overdue awakening for a situation that's been with us for centuries."
       The statistics are staggering: one in four women and one in eight men experience sexual abuse during their lifetime. The perpetrators include parents, siblings, relatives, friends, teachers, coaches, clergy, religious and strangers --- in short, they can be anyone who has access to children.
       Rosena estimates that she has spoken to 800 people at six different schools in the San Fernando Valley, including St. Francis Xavier in Burbank, Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in Sun Valley, St. Genevieve in Panorama City, St. Elizabeth in Van Nuys, St. Patrick in North Hollywood and St. Robert Bellarmine (school and parish) in Burbank.
       "I try to reach people's souls," said Rosena. In her presentations, she shares stories that she has heard first-hand from sexual abuse clients and students she has encountered over her long career in education. So far, she's not had to repeat any stories in eight different talks.
       In 20 years of counseling, she has had a minimum of two dozen clients with a history of childhood sexual abuse. "I've never had a client that's been abused by priests," noted Rosena.
       When she gives the Virtus training, she sees many people crying in the audience. "There are a lot of surviving adult victims of child abuse," said Rosena. "I try to give them a feeling of empowerment --- they can be champions for the next generation."
    What to watch for
       According to Rosena, perpetrators will groom a community, in many cases acting like child advocates. Adults should be suspicious of anyone who wants to be alone with a child, Rosena emphasized. As recommended in the Virtus training, people responsible for children's safety should identify secluded areas on their facility and keep them locked when not in use.
       "Perpetrators think rules don't apply to them," warned Rosena. Consequently, adults must monitor who has access to children at all times.
       Signs of child abuse include sudden personality changes, self-destructive activity such as "cutting" or suicidal behavior, a loss of interest in school and/or a drop in grades, obsessive body washing or a lapse in personal hygiene and an increase in paranoia.
       As stated in the Virtus training materials, one or more signs of abuse does not mean that a child is being sexually abused, but may mean the child is experiencing some kind of problem. If a child demonstrates any one of the signs, say experts, a trusted adult should talk with the child about activities, friends and time away from home. Any suspicions of child abuse should be communicated to someone in authority such as a police officer or a member of child protective services.
       "The Virtus training provides valuable information for anyone, especially parents," said Rosena. For more information on reporting incidents of child abuse, call the Los Angeles Department of Children's Services, (213) 351-5602, or the national child abuse hotline, (800) 540-4000.
       [COMMENT: 4th last par.: "Consequently, adults must monitor who has access to children at all times." Yeah, rather -- "Married laypeople must monitor at all times clerics who have access to children." COMMENT ENDS.] [Dec 17, 04]
    #### Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker, www.ncrnews.org/abuse, Sat December 18, 2004 edition follows:-
    • Priest sentenced to prison on fundamentalists' false charges [1997 + Das] -- RCC. India flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       AsiaNews (an RCC internet publication), www.asianews. it/view.php? l=en&art=2138 , by Nirmala Carvalho, 17 December, 2004
       MUMBAI, INDIA: (AsiaNews) - Fr Christo Das, a priest who has devoted his life to Tribals in the Diocese of Dumka in Jharkhand, a central Indian state governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was sentenced to three years in prison on false charges brought against him by Hindu fundamentalists, this according to Mgr Julius Marandi, Bishop of the same diocese.
       Fr Christo Das, Vice-Principal of St Joseph's School at Guhiyajori in Dumka district, was sentenced on December 13 to three years in prison on sodomy charges dating back to 1997.
       Dumka Court judge G N Pandey gave Fr Das a month to appeal to a higher court.
       Speaking to AsiaNews, Bishop Marandi said after hearing the decision: "We are shocked and saddened by the court's decision. We were expecting justice and a favourable court order. We will appeal to the district court and hope we will get justice there".
       He added that people are holding vigils and praying "for justice to be done" in the diocese's convents and parishes.
       The Bishop explained that Fr Das is a dedicated priest who has devoted his life to help Tribals. What better evidence of this than the fact that the entire Tribal population of Dumka Diocese is supporting him.
       Unfortunately, "there are one or two Tribals who have been manipulated by the fundamentalists to press charges," he said. "Raising the issue of sexual misconduct is proof enough that their intent was to discredit the priest. Father Das himself is convinced that the charges are designed to stop his work on behalf of Tribals," he explained.
       On September 2, 1997, Father Das was stripped and paraded naked after charges were levelled against him for allegedly sodomising a 14-year-old tribal boy attending his school.
       Church officials are convinced that fundamentalist groups opposed to the Church and its work are behind the accusations. But they also acted with the consent of government authorities and local law enforcement officials who were present at Father Das's public humiliation.
       Numerous rallies have taken place to protest against Father Das's arrest and the false charges.
       Diocesan sources say that "this is all a conspiracy".
       According to a Jesuit priest who spoke on condition of anonymity, the judge was compelled to come down against the priest because the area is high-risk. "Just the day before he rendered his decision, he had to move his family off to an undisclosed location".
       Jharkhand is rich in iron-ore and Tribals are exploited as casual or unskilled labourers.
       The Church has been engaged in educating them about their rights under the law but its mission in favour of social justice irks Hindu fundamentalists who would prefer to have a more compliant Tribal population to better exploit ad intimidate them.
       Church officials are convinced that fundamentalist groups opposed to the Church and its work are behind the accusations. But they also acted with the consent of government authorities and local law enforcement officials who were present at Father Das's public humiliation.
       Numerous rallies have taken place to protest against Father Das's arrest and the false charges.
       Diocesan sources say that "this is all a conspiracy".
       According to a Jesuit priest who spoke on condition of anonymity, the judge was compelled to come down against the priest because the area is high-risk. "Just the day before he rendered his decision, he had to move his family off to an undisclosed location".
       Jharkhand is rich in iron-ore and Tribals are exploited as casual or unskilled labourers.
       The Church has been engaged in educating them about their rights under the law but its mission in favour of social justice irks Hindu fundamentalists who would prefer to have a more compliant Tribal population to better exploit ad intimidate them.# [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 07:42 AM]
       [COMMENT: Message sent to AsiaNews via internet webpage, 8.35 am WST Dec 19, 2004: Our prayers go out for Fr Christo Das, sent to prison for allegedly sinning against a boy, and God. I fully appreciate that the charges might be false. However, there is much temptation. Do your readers get to read about such news as might be found on http://www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/ethics/ethcont107.htm or on the National Catholic Reporter's webpage http://www.ncrnews.org/abuse ? Our Church is fighting the Divine command to "be fruitful and multiply" if she insists on unmarried men going to hot climates to spread the Gospel. Buon Natale! [Wording edited 21 Dec 04] COMMENT ENDS.]
    • Catholic priest gets probation for improperly touching girl in Brighton [? 2004 Pereppadan] - RCC. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags  India flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Allston-Brighton Tab, By Casey Lyons/ Correspondent, Friday, December 17, 2004
       BRIGHTON (MA): A Catholic priest who improperly touched a 16-year-old girl earlier this summer admitted to sufficient facts and acknowledged the complaint against him during criminal proceedings on Monday.
       Father Varghese Pereppadan, 36, was sentenced to a one-year probationary period in a deal between the victim, the victim's family and the district attorney's office.
       Pereppadan admitted to the court that he touched the chest of the victim, whom he knew, over her clothes. The incident took place on July 28 inside Our Lady of the Presentation Church in Oak Square, Brighton.
       The priest, who is visiting from India, apologized to his accuser last week and accepted a one-year probationary period. During the next year, Pereppadan will be barred from seeing the victim and will have no unsupervised contact with minors. [Bolding added]
    • North Valley Priest Receiving Treatment [? 2000s Lastiri] - RCC. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       ABC 30, http://abclocal. go.com/kfsn/ news/121804_nw_ lastiri.html
       MERCED (CA): A letter from the Diocese, obtained by Action News, says Father Jean Michael Lastiri is currently receiving treatment at Saint Luke's Institute in Maryland after being removed from Saint Patrick's Catholic Church in Merced.
       He was disciplined after being charged with using the internet to solicit male relationships.
       Action News has learned the church bulletin this weekend will contain a message from Bishop John Steinbock, noting his financial officer is looking at checks [cheques] issued to Father Lastiri, which may have been used improperly.
    • Priest admits child porn charges [? 2000s Walsh] - RCC. Making pornographic images. Britain / United Kingdom flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       BBC News, http://news.bbc. co.uk/2/hi/uk_ news/england/ oxfordshire/ 4105219.stm , ~ Dec 18, 2004
       BRITAIN: A 50-year-old Roman Catholic priest has pleaded guilty to 19 charges relating to child pornography. Priest Picture: Banbury Guardian
       Father Alexander Bede Walsh, who served in Banbury, Oxfordshire, until earlier this year, admitted charges of making indecent images of children.
       The charges relate to offences in March this year, after which Father Walsh resigned from his post at St John the Evangelist Church in Banbury.
    • Charge against priest dropped although case still under review [? 2000s Garcia] - RCC. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       KOLD, www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=2709250 Associated Press, December 18, 2004
       TUCSON, Ariz. A charge against a Tucson priest accused of failing to report possible abuse has been dropped.
       However, the Pima County Attorney's Office says the case remains under review.
       Prosecutors say the Reverend Raul Valencia Garcia still could be charged with violating state law on reporting suspected child sexual abuse -- a possible felony.
       Until recently, Valencia Garcia was an associate pastor at St. Monica's Catholic Church.
       He's now working at St. Jude's Catholic Church in San Luis.
       Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson spokesman Fred Allison had no comment on the dropped charge.
    • Jury indicts priest [? 2000s Fernandes] - RCC. Disseminating.
       Herald News, by Daniel Fowler, Dec/18/2004
       NEW BEDFORD (MA) -- Father Stephen A. Fernandes was indicted by a grand jury this week on two counts of possession of child pornography and one count of disseminating obscene material to minors, said Joseph DeMedeiros, a spokesman for the Bristol County District Attorney's Office.
       DeMedeiros said the embattled pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Parish will be arraigned in Superior Court at a later date.
       Fernandes, a former pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul Parish in Fall River, was originally arraigned in District Court in early November when he pleaded not guilty to a single count of possession of child pornography.
       Bringing a case before the grand jury is standard procedure for cases involving serious charges because one can receive a maximum sentence of only 2.5 years in District Court.
    • Polish priest offered plea [2002 Kramek] - RCC. Girl. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags  Poland flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       New Britain Herald, By JULIE A. VARUGHESE, Dec/18/2004
       NEW BRITAIN (CT) -- The visiting Polish priest who was arrested two years ago for allegedly sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl will appear Dec. 21 in New Britain Superior Court to accept or reject a plea bargain offered by the state.
       Father Roman Kramek, 42, of Sacred Heart Church, 158 Broad St., was arrested Dec. 24, 2002 for allegedly having non-consensual sex with a girl while her grandmother was in the kitchen of an apartment.
       The details of the plea bargain could not be obtained from the State's Attorney's Office Friday afternoon after Kramek appeared in court that day.
       According to court records, Kramek came over to the girl's apartment, and was let in by her grandmother. When the girl arrived home in the afternoon of Dec. 18, he sat on the living room couch with her and allegedly asked her about a previous sexual assault she experienced. He then allegedly touched her inappropiately.
    • Archdiocese reaches settlement over abuse [McGreal, 1970s Jaeger] - RCC. 15 complainants. $US1.8m settlement follows other payouts. Minors. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Seattle Times, http://seattle times.nwsource. com/html/local news/2002123 516_dige18m.html , ~ Dec 18, 2004
       SEATTLE (WA): Mediation talks this week between the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle and 15 people with claims of abuse by priests resulted in a $1.8 million settlement.
       The archdiocese reached a definitive settlement with 12 people, including two parents of a man who said he'd been molested, and is close to a settlement with a 13th person, said archdiocese attorney Michael Patterson.
       Twelve of the claims involved past molestation by the Rev. James McGreal, generally considered the archdiocese's most notorious offender.
       Civil suits against McGreal, who is barred from ministry and living in a supervised church facility in Missouri, have resulted in multimillion-dollar settlements.
       The other claim involved past molestation by the Rev. David Jaeger, who admitted in court proceedings years ago to inappropriately touching about 10 minors at a Catholic youth camp in the 1970s.
       Jaeger is currently on administrative leave, and a decision on whether he should remain in ministry is being reviewed by the Vatican.#
    • Senior gets three years for abuse [Decades ago, Moran] - Church-run schools. Indigenous boys. Canada flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Edmonton Sun, www.canoe.ca/ NewsStand/ EdmontonSun/ News/2004/12/18/ 788249-sun.html , CP, Dec 18, 2004
       NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C., CANADA -- An elderly man convicted of abusing native children in Mission and Kamloops has been given three years in prison.
       Gerald Moran, 75, was convicted of abusing the children at native residential schools decades ago.
       Moran was charged after an RCMP investigation looked at physical and sexual abuse in 14 church-run schools across the province.
       Moran, sentenced in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster, was a boys' supervisor in schools in Kamloops and Mission.
       The charges resulted from work done by the RCMP Native Indian Residential Schools Task Force, created in December 1994 to investigate complaints of historic physical and sexual abuse at the church-run residential schools around the province.
    • Man sentenced to 9 months for molesting teen [2002-03 Howells] - Congregational. Boy. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       The Express-Times, By RUDY MILLER, Saturday, December 18, 2004
       EASTON (PA) -- A Sunday school teacher was sent to prison Friday for endangering the welfare of a 15-year-old boy.
       Donald Howells, 42, of Wilson Borough, was sentenced to nine months to two years in prison by Northampton County Judge Stephen G. Baratta.
       Howells was convicted of the misdemeanor charge during a jury trial that ended Oct. 15. He was acquitted of multiple felonies, including 20 counts each of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault and statutory sexual assault and a single count of corruption of minors.
       The boy testified during the trial that Howells, a former youth leader and Sunday school teacher at the First Evangelical Congregational Church on North 10th Street in Easton, molested him more than 50 times between August 2002 and July 2003.
       Howells testified he did not molest the boy. His attorney, Steven Goldman, said the boy is emotionally unstable and made up the story to win his mother's approval. She testified she disapproved of the way Howells treated her son.
    • Police chief and the notorious pedophile [~ 1980s Ellmore] - Anglican. Girl. Australia flag; Aust. National Flag Assn. 
       Sydney Morning Herald, www.smh.com. au/news/National/ Police-chief- and- the-notorious- pedophile/2004/12/18/ 1103312780727.html ; By John Kidman, The Sun-Herald, December 19, 2004
       AUSTRALIA: Police Commissioner Ken Moroney was once involved in a failed investigation into an Anglican priest who later became one of the state's most notorious pedophiles.
       The revelation comes just a week after calls by NSW's top officer for a national summit on the growing menace of child abuse.
       The case, which revolved around a complaint of indecent assault of an eight-year-old girl, occurred more than 20 years ago when Mr Moroney was a sergeant at West Wyalong.
       Documents obtained by The Sun-Herald indicate police were reluctant to proceed because of the delicacy of placing such a young witness before a court without corroborative evidence.
       The law finally caught up with the accused, Robert Ellmore, who is serving an 11-year jail term. His conviction in February 2002 caused a furore when it was learnt senior Anglicans knew of the allegations years earlier.
       [COMMENT: See how much disgrace to religion the cowardice and stupidity of the Anglican bishops has led to. This man might lose his job through trying to shield religion. COMMENT ENDS.]
    • Pastor convicted of molesting daughter [? 2000s Sullivan] - Liberty Christian Center. Girl. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       OregonLive.com The Associated Press, 1:02 a.m. PT, Dec/18/2004,
       ALBANY, Ore. (AP) - A Linn County jury convicted a minister, Timothy Sean Sullivan, on two counts of sexual abuse involving his 12-year-old daughter.
       Jurors deliberated a day and a half before convicting Sullivan, 36, the pastor of Liberty Christian Center, on Thursday. The daughter, now 12, is from a previous relationship.
       Sullivan's wife, in-laws, and supporters from his church were with Sullivan throughout his six-day trial.
       After the verdict Sullivan removed his glasses, slumped in his chair, and wept. Behind him in the benches, so did his family.
       Before being handcuffed, he had time to talk quietly to his family, who embraced him across the bar. He handed over his jacket, tie, watch and wedding ring to his family.
       Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 10. Judge John McCormick raised his bail from $100,000 to $200,000.
    • Catholic bishops urged not to cut back on audits - RCC.
       Toledo Blade, http://toledo blade.com/apps/ pbcs.dll/article? AID=/20041218/ NEWS10/412180320 , by David Yonke, BLADE RELIGION EDITOR, Saturday, December 18, 2004
       UNITED STATES: Two national organizations that have closely monitored the nation's clerical sexual abuse crisis are asking U.S. Roman Catholic bishops to reverse their decision to cut back on the number of on-site audits that investigate dioceses' compliance with child-protection procedures.
       Voice of the Faithful, a Catholic lay group, and Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests [SNAP], a victims' advocacy group, have asked the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to rescind their decision to scale back on the annual audits mandated by U.S. bishops in 2002.
       The new procedures, adopted in November, end the requirement for outside auditors to visit dioceses if they were found to be in full compliance with the new safeguards in 2003 and 2004. Instead, such dioceses would fill out questionnaires on compliance.
       A spokesman for the USCCB said the revision is intended to make the process more efficient, not to undermine the bishops' reforms.
       In 2003, 90 percent of U.S. dioceses were found in full compliance with the safeguards adopted by U.S. bishops in Dallas in 2002. Final nationwide tallies for 2004 have not been reported, but the Toledo diocese was found to be in full compliance both years.
    • $1.8 million church abuse settlement [1960s +]- RCC. $US1.8m to 12 complainants.
       Seattle Post-Intelligencer, http://seattlepi. nwsource.com/local/ 204356_settle18.html , ~ Dec 18, 2004
       SEATTLE (WA): The Archdiocese of Seattle said yesterday that it had reached a settlement of $1.8 million with 12 people who had been sexually abused as children by two priests.
       The abuse dates to the 1960s, according to a statement that the archdiocese issued last night. It did not name the priests involved.
       The settlement was reached through mediation talks, the archdiocese said.
       A spokesman for the archdiocese could not be reached for comment last night.
       Archbishop Alexander Brunett apologized to the victims in the statement.
    • Zubik won't name alleged abusers [1988 Stein] - RCC. Boy.
       Green Bay Press-Gazette, www.greenbay pressgazette. com/news/arch ive/local_190 84632.shtml , By Andy Nelesen, anelesen@greenbaypressgazette.com , ~ Dec 18, 2004
       GREEN BAY (WI): In the face of another round of pressure to release names of clergy accused of sexual misconduct, Bishop David Zubik continues to hold fast in his stance to keep the names secret.
       However, he maintains the church is taking steps to hold clergy accountable.
       "We have taken and are taking seriously the matter of preventing the sexual abuse of children by clergy," Zubik said in a release issued late Thursday.
       "This is evident in the immediate removal from ministry anyone who commits such a heinous act," Zubik said. "It is evident in our consistent procedure of turning over all allegations to civil authorities, who have the power and authority to investigate, determine credibility and prosecute.
       "It is evident in our notification to worshipping communities and the media when a priest has been removed."
       Zubik's statement was prompted by the sentencing of the Rev. James Stein on Thursday in Brown County Circuit Court. Stein received 10 years' probation and a year in jail for molesting a boy in 1988.
    • Criminal case against ex-priest is pending [Dominguez] - RCC. 6 boys.
       The Press-Enterprise, By MICHAEL FISHER, 01:23 AM PST on Saturday, December 18, 2004
       CALIFORNIA: Prosecutors are considering whether to file charges against a former Inland priest accused in civil litigation of sexually abusing six teenage boys, Riverside County sheriff's officials said.
       Over the past several months, detectives in Perris have been investigating molestation accusations targeting Jesus A. Dominguez, Riverside County sheriff's Lt. Peter Herrera said. Their findings were forwarded to the Riverside County district attorney's office for review earlier this month, he said.
       "We worked a case that is currently at the DA's office, and they will decide whether or not to prosecute the case," said Herrera, who did not have any specifics on the accusations.
       Prosecutors said they could not confirm nor deny whether they were reviewing the case.
       Dominguez, 55, could not be located for comment.
       The Rev. Howard Lincoln, spokesman for the Diocese of San Bernardino, said the diocese is unaware of any criminal investigation of Dominguez, who spent more than a decade in the diocese.
    • Catholic Church told to give personnel files to plaintiffs by Dec. 28 - RCC.
       The Daily Review, www.dailyreview online.com/Stories/ 0,1413,88~10973~ 2605962, 00.html , By Glenn Chapman, STAFF WRITER, ~ Dec 18, 2004
       OAKLAND (CA)-- Catholic church officials have until three days after Christmas to turn over personnel files of priests accused of sexual abuse to attorneys, an Oakland judge ordered Friday.
       If there are portions of records that defense lawyers believe shouldn't be revealed, they must specify the pages and the legal reasoning by Dec. 21, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Ronald Sabraw told a courtroom packed with attorneys involved in the approximately 160 civil suits combined under the title "Clergy III."
       Those challenges should go beyond concerns about privileged relationships, such as attorney-client or doctor-patient, which will be addressed in an itemized log to be filed with the court, Sabraw said.
    • Cardinal admits he provoked anger in abuse row - RCC. Ireland flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Irish Independent, www.unison.ie/ irish_independent/ stories.php3?ca= 9&si=1308053 &issue_id=11844 , ~ Dec 18, 2004
       IRELAND: The former Archbishop of Dublin, Cardinal Desmond Connell, has acknowledged that his retirement helped the Church in Ireland because he had become the main "lightning rod" for public anger over the clerical sex abuse issue.
       The cardinal said he regretted more was not done to help the victims of abuse, but stated that not all convicted abusers should be removed from the priesthood because this might not always be the best way to protect children.
       Cardinal Connell was giving his first interview since his retirement in April after 16 years at the helm of the country's biggest diocese.
       His time in office coincided with the eruption of public outrage over clerical sex abuse cases and the response of Church leaders to those cases.
       He stressed that he did not retire because of the scandals, saying he had reached the age of retirement in any case, but he acknowledged: "My retirement was helpful. Rightly or wrongly, I became nationally the object of anger." [Bolding added.] [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 06:47 AM]
       [COMMENT: After centuries of protecting criminal clergy, the cardinal now expects the Faithful to believe him when he says not to remove offenders from the clergy because this "might not always be the best way to protect children". Perhaps he ought to read Jesus's opinion on seducers, in the millstone statement, Matthew 18:6, Mark 9:42, and Luke 17:2. Then browse through the parables, and see if the Good Shepherd spent time looking for a sinful SHEPHERD, FISHERMAN, or REAPER. COMMENT ENDS.]
    ////////// End of Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker www.ncrnews.org/abuse , Sat December 18, 2004
    Abuse Chronology: http://www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/ethics/ethcont107.htm
    For good teachings to be heeded, a big clean-up is needed.
    • South Australia starts inquiry into children in State care. - "Orphanages" and fostering again under spotlight. Australia flag; Aust. National Flag Assn.  South Australia (State) flag; Aust. Nat. Flag Assn. 
       Barry Coldrey, www.BarryColdrey.com , e-mail of December 18, 2004
       ADELAIDE (SA) Australia: There is another Inquiry into Children in State Care. This has commenced in South Australia and some of you on this list will know more about the Inquiry than I do.
       The Inquiry, led by Mr Justice Mullighan, will explore all the controversial issues concerned with the fate of children, including child migrants, who found their way into South Australian state care from around the 1940s onwards.
       Their phone number for enquiries and comments is: 1800 258 668
       Their address to which you each might care to send submissions, books, published articles - relevant to the Inquiry - is Children in State Care Inquiry, G.P.O. Box 858, Adelaide, SA, 5001 Australia. [Dec 18, 04]
    #### Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker, www.ncrnews.org/abuse, Sun December 19, 2004 edition follows:-
    • Perjury charges urged against Mahony [? 1980s O'Grady, 1998, 2004 Mahony] - RCC. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags  Mexico flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       The Record (USA), www.recordnet. com/articlelink/ 121804/news/art icles/121804- gn-14.php , By Jeffrey M. Barker, (The Associated Press contributed to this report), Published Saturday, December 18, 2004
       STOCKTON (CA) -- A group of people sexually victimized by Catholic priests asked the San Joaquin County district attorney this week to consider perjury charges against Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony.
       Mahony was bishop of Stockton from 1980-85. Late last month, he gave a deposition to attorneys preparing to go to trial  in molestation lawsuits against Northern California dioceses.
       The group, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, wrote in a letter to District Attorney John Phillips that Mahony's comments during the deposition contradicted testimony he gave here during a 1998 civil trial against the Rev. Oliver O'Grady.
       O'Grady was found guilty here in 1993 of four counts of lewd and lascivious acts against minors -- crimes he committed while under Mahony's supervision.
       Assistant District Attorney Jim Willett said Friday his office had not received the letter from SNAP and could not comment on the allegations.
       A transcript of Mahony's recent deposition became available last week. In it, Mahony discusses two Mexican priests under his supervision who were accused of sexually molesting children. He said he immediately dismissed both of the priests.
       But he said the O'Grady case was different because he did not have the proof that he had in the other two cases. # [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 12:59 PM] [Bolding added]
    • Struggling to keep the faith - RCC. 8 parishes have 24-hr vigils to save churches. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       USNews, www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/041227/usnews/27church.htm , By Bret Schulte, ~ Dec 19, 2004
       UNITED STATES: Nearly three years after a series of staggering revelations of sexual abuse by its clergy, the Roman Catholic Church is still working its way through the fallout, with equal amounts of pain and hope. In Boston, where the story first broke, the archdiocese faces financial ruin. More than 80 churches are slated to be closed as church authorities fight a $10 million annual deficit, brought on by dying parishes and a 50 percent decline in donations since 2002.
       Yet for all their anger, area Catholics seem to be clinging even more tenaciously to their faith, with many parishioners fighting to have the closings reversed. That would include people like Ian Driscoll of St. Anselm in Sudbury, one of eight parishes staging 24-hour protest vigils. Ian is 12.
       After school, he goes home to eat, do his homework, and practice the trumpet. Then he goes to the church, where he sleeps every night, usually accompanied by his mother. He made plans to skip a Boy Scout trip last weekend so he could spend the night at the church as part of a celebration marking the vigil's 100th day. "When you have something, you don't care about it as much," he says. "But once you're going to lose it, you like it more."
       A lot of American Catholics are reacting like Ian. In Boston, an $85 million settlement with more than 500 victims exacerbated an existing crisis for an overextended archdiocese in need of an overhaul. A mountain of pending lawsuits has forced three dioceses to declare bankruptcy this year, and in Los Angeles, a record settlement may be in the offing. As a result of the sex scandal, the American Catholic Church is no longer governed solely by all-powerful bishops. Sex-abuse victims, police investigators, attorneys, prosecutors, and insurance companies have forced a new openness in the church and unbolted the door to lay Catholics clamoring to get involved.
       Reform. For a church that thinks in centuries rather than years, all the change has come as a bolt of lightning. While the scandal was still producing headlines, U.S. bishops convened in Dallas in June 2002 to create codes of church conduct and enacted a "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People" that includes a controversial "zero tolerance" policy for priests who commit sexual abuse. Bishops understood that "the priority of the church now is to restore trust and heal hurt," says Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson.
       After some initial skepticism, Pope John Paul II endorsed the policy. The charter also opened up the church to lay supervision by creating a national review board of prominent Catholics to oversee reforms and an Office of Child and Youth Protection to implement the new "safe environment" program for children. At the local level, review boards are being created while pastoral and finance councils, stocked in large part by lay people, are being rejuvenated. "The Catholic Church is going to be the safest place for children in the country sometime soon," says the Rev. Thomas Reese, editor of the Jesuit magazine America.
    • Theatre defends actions over play - Sikhs revolt against free speech. Britain / United Kingdom flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       BBC News, http://news.bbc. co.uk/2/hi/uk_ news/england/ west_midlands/ 4109315.stm , 17:32 GMT, Sunday, December 19, 2004
       BRITAIN: theatre at the centre of a major demonstration says it did all it could to prevent any outbreak of trouble.
       Hundred of Sikhs protested outside the Birmingham Repertory Theatre against a play - Behzti (Dishonour) - depicting sex abuse and murder in a temple.
       In a statement, theatre said short of "blatant censorship" and cancelling the production, it could not have done more to appease the Sikh community.
       Five police officers were hurt during struggles at theatre on Saturday. ...
       Mohan Singh, a local Sikh community leader, said: "When they're doing a play about a Sikh priest raping somebody inside a gurdwara, would any religion take it?"
       [COMMENT: Isn't it strange that the Christian community, which has been bearing the pain of repeated newsitems about rapes and child abuse by Christian clergy (and supposedly Christian laypeople, too) , and hearing of plays exposing organised Christianity's disgraces in Ireland and the USA, somehow manages not to have riots outside theatres? Or are some groups in modern British society living such separate lives that they don't know what the indigenous people are suffering? COMMENT ENDS.]
    • Theatre attacks Sikh play protest. [This version sighted 10.02am Dec 20, 2004] Fiction about rape and murder in temple.
       BBC News, http://news.bbc. co.uk/2/hi/uk_ news/england/ west_midlands/ 4109315.stm , Last Updated: 17:32 GMT, Sunday, 19 December, 2004
       ENGLAND: A Birmingham theatre has condemned a violent demonstration against a play which has angered the Sikh community.
       Several police officers were hurt and two people were arrested during the protest against Behzti - a play about sex abuse and murder in a Sikh temple.
       Hundreds of Sikhs gathered outside Birmingham Repertory Theatre and a few tried to storm their way in, forcing Saturday's show to be halted.
       Managers said they deplored "the illegal actions of some protesters".
      
    theatre has taken the lead in consulting with community members about the play over the last few months
    Birmingham Rep
    Anger at Sikh 'slur'
    A 'provocative' writer
       Talks will now be held between the police, theatre managers and community leaders on Monday to try to resolve the dispute which turned violent at 1845 GMT on Saturday evening.
       Behzti (Dishonour), written by Sikh playwright Gurpreet Bhatti, has a scheduled run at theatre until the end of December and explores issues of sexual abuse, manipulation and relationships inside a Gurdwara, a Sikh place of worship.
       theatre says it is a work of fiction and makes no comment about Sikhism as a faith or its followers in general.
       It said short of "blatant censorship" and cancelling the production, it could not have done more to appease the Sikh community.
       "theatre has taken the lead in consulting with community members about the play over the last few months and, as a result, several changes were made to the show before it went into production," a spokeswoman added.
       "theatre also invited the Sikh community to write a statement expressing its views on the play and this has both been given to every audience member and also read out in the auditorium before each performance."
    Mohan Singh, a local Sikh community leader
    Sikh community leader Mohan Singh (centre) says feelings are running high
       But Mohan Singh, a local Sikh community leader, said: "When they're doing a play about a Sikh priest raping somebody inside a gurdwara, would any religion take it?"
       The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Birmingham, Vincent Nichols, said the play was offensive to people of all faiths.
       "The right to freedom of expression has corresponding duties to the common good.
       "Such a deliberate, even if fictional, violation of the sacred place of the Sikh religion demeans the sacred places of every religion."
       theatre said more than 800 people had to be evacuated, security guards were attacked and thousands of pounds' worth of damage was caused.
       A foyer door was destroyed, windows were broken in a restaurant and demonstrators smashed equipment backstage.
       A spokeswoman added: "95% of the people evacuated were families and children who had come to see our Christmas show The Witches or to attend Christmas parties in our hospitality suites."
       'Respect public'
       Supt Russell Smith, from West Midlands Police, said: "Our stance is to enable people to make a peaceful protest.
       "But they have to respect the public and they have to respect the people who want to actually attend."
       The MP for Perry Barr, Birmingham, Khalid Mahmood, said: "This whole thing is very unfortunate, particularly in a place like Birmingham, where we've enjoyed a huge amount of religious and racial integration."
       [COMMENT: The integration myth continues. Talks will be held to ask an organised group of people to behave peacably in the Queen's domains!!! Or is that too much to expect, in this Brave New World? COMMENT ENDS.] [Emphasis added.] [19 December, 2004]
    • Sex-abuse priest gets 93 years in jail [Bompani] - RCC. 15 boys. Brazil flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Ninemsnm, http://news. ninemsn.com.au/ article.aspx? id=24847 , 11:55 AEDT, Sun Dec 19 2004
       BRAZIL AP - A Roman Catholic priest in south-eastern Brazil had been sentenced to 93 years in jail for molesting young boys, the cleric's attorney said.
       Father Alfieri Eduardo Bompani, 60, was arrested in 2002 after 15 men came forward with allegations that he had abused them over a 15-year period. It was unclear when the abuse began or what age the men were at the time.
       "The sentence was extremely harsh and unjust especially since my client is absolutely innocent," Bompani's attorney, Abramo Rubens Cutter, said in a telephone interview.
       The sentence handed down by Judge Marcelo Siqueira was largely symbolic, since in Brazil the statutory limit for any crime is 30 years.
    • Group wants priest information - RCC. 16 new accused. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Cincinnati Enquirer, http://news. enquirer.com/ apps/pbcs.dll/ article?AID=/ 20041219/NEWS01/ 412190431/ 1056/news01 , Dec 19, 2004
       CINCINNATI (OH): A victim-rights group is urging a national Catholic panel to pressure Cincinnati's archbishop to disclose information on 16 priests newly accused of sexual abuse.
       Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests sent a letter Friday to the National Review Board, a committee of laypersons appointed by bishops to monitor the church's sex-abuse scandal.
       The Cincinnati Archdiocese earlier this year said that 49 priests had been accused of sexual abuse.
       But this week, an attorney appointed to independently oversee a victim-compensation fund said he had received 132 allegations involving 65 priests.
       The newly accused priests could be abusers of adults, not children, officials said, possibly accounting for the different numbers. Archdiocese spokesman Dan Andriacco said names of priests are withheld unless allegations are deemed "credible" after an investigation.
    • Flaws in church system let another scandal strike [Hughes] - RCC. Not keeping 1983 money rules. Car for young man.
       Star-Ledger, BY TOM FEENEY, Star-Ledger Staff, Sunday, December 19, 2004
       NEW JERSEY: Catholic Church law has required since 1983 that every pastor appoint a committee of lay members to help set spending priorities and manage the parish's money.
       But when the Rev. Joseph Hughes was allegedly taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from an off-the-books bank account at Holy Cross Parish in Rumson for his own use, he didn't need to worry about being caught by a finance council looking over his shoulder.
       He simply never appointed one.
       The Catholic Church has been reeling for two years with revelations about clergy sex abuse. But critics say the arrest of Hughes last month and the disclosure this month of an investigation involving a former Morris County priest suggest the church has not done enough to address another scandal: theft of parish funds by priests.
       "I would guess that there have been many, many more priests that have abused parish finances than ever abused children," said Maria Cleary, regional coordinator of the reform group Voice of the Faithful in the Paterson, Newark and Metuchen dioceses. "The church has never done enough to stop it."
       In the case of Hughes, authorities in Monmouth County allege he used money raised at golf tournaments and other charitable events to travel, dine and lavish a $57,000 BMW and other gifts on the young man who was the head of maintenance at the parish. Hughes has been free on bail since his arrest last month.
    • Church backs minister, despite sex charges [? 2000s Ballard] - Straightway Ministries. Minor.
       WECT, www.wect.com/Global/story.asp?S=2708913&nav=2gQcULFG , Reported by Ashley Hayes ahayes@wect.com , DECEMBER 18, 2004
    Rev. Jonathan Ballard
    Rev. Jonathan Ballard
    Associate Pastor Scott Holden
    Associate Pastor Scott Holden
    Straightway Ministries, logo and name on wall

       WILMINGTON (NC) -- Despite the news of their pastor's arrest, members of Straightway Ministries say they are standing behind Reverend Jonathan Ballard.
       "We love him wholeheartedly and believe in him," says Associate Pastor Scott Holden. Holden and about 20 members of the church came together Friday night to show their support of the minister.
       Rev. Ballard was arrested Wednesday at Straightway Ministries, on Highway 421 in New Hanover County.
       Rev. Ballard is charged with several sex offenses involving a minor from his congregation. He's being held in the New Hanover County Jail under a $10 million bond. It's an amount his sister Michelle Ballard-Dempsy says is completely unfounded.
       The Sheriff's Office says the bond is high because Ballard poses a danger to children.
    • Some question $10M bond for pastor accused of sex offense [? 2000s Ballard] - Straightway Ministries. Minor.
       The Charlotte Observer, www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/10449925.htm , Associated Press, ~ Dec 19, 2004
       WILMINGTON, N.C. - A minister facing felony sex abuse charges is being held on a $10 million bond, a figure some suggest is unusually high.
       The Rev. Jonathan W. Ballard, 34, was charged Wednesday with six counts of indecent liberties with a child and three counts of first-degree sex offense with a child. A magistrate set the $10 million bond that night.
       Dick Ellis, spokesman for the state Administrative Office of Courts, said a number of factors can determine the bond amount, including the nature and circumstances of the alleged offense, the weight of evidence, and potential for jumping bond.
       Ellis also said a $10 million bond sounds high.
       T.A. Smith, a child abuse investigator with the New Hanover County sheriff's office, said the bond was high because Ballard is a flight risk and "a lot of (church) members would do anything to get him out." Smith also said Ballard has relatives in other states.
    • DA defends plea agreement [Garcia] - Religion not named. Girl
       The Daily Journal, www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/Stories/0,1413,91~3089~2606629,00.html , December 18, 2004
       CALIFORNIA: District Attorney Norm Vroman said Friday that people in law enforcement or the legal community who think favors were given to Daniel Aram Garcia or that Garcia was allowed to plead to something that results in a lesser punishment because he worked for the courts are incorrect.
       "That couldn't be further from the truth," he said. "Those people have no knowledge of the facts of the case. When people shoot their mouths off, it's usually out of ignorance."
       Garcia pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of lewd and lascivious conduct with a 14- or 15-year-old, which comes with a possible jail term of 18 months, two years or three years.
       Vroman dropped charges of oral copulation with a child under 16 and sexual penetration with a foreign object of a child under 16. He did not file a charge of continuous sexual abuse although police thought they had made a case for it.
    • New Chapter for Prosecutor Who Went by the Book
       The New York Times, By JOHN M. BRODER, Published: December 19, 2004
       PHOENIX, (AZ) Dec. 15 - Richard M. Romley, the flinty former marine who has served as prosecuting attorney of Maricopa County for the past 16 years, is retiring at the end of the month after taking down hundreds of killers and drug dealers, seven state legislators and one Roman Catholic bishop.
       Mr. Romley, 55, a Republican, is weighing a run for governor or a seat in Congress in 2006. He said he would consider a job in the Bush administration, perhaps as drug czar or secretary of veterans affairs. After nearly two decades in the limelight, he is unlikely to fade away quietly.
       Mr. Romley's critics call him self-righteous, inflexible and a tough and unforgiving boss. His admirers say the same thing.
       Mr. Romley, whose legs were blown off by a land mine in Vietnam in 1969, confesses to a streak of self-righteousness. "I think it's my salvation," he said in an interview this week. "I'm very outspoken. I say what I believe in. People know where I stand."
    • Charge against priest dropped; Accused of not reporting possible abuse [? 2004 García] - RCC. $US14m gone already.
       Fox 11, www.fox11az.com/ news/local/stories/ 121804ccjrkmsb priest.22a5bf08.html , By Stephanie Innes / ARIZONA DAILY STAR, 08:45 PM MST on Saturday, December 18, 2004
       ARIZONA: "The case has been dismissed. However, there is still some follow-up to do and it's under review," David Berkman, chief criminal deputy county attorney, said Friday.
       Berkman said the Rev. Raúl Valencía García still could be charged with violating state law on reporting suspected child sexual abuse - a possible felony. If he is charged, Berkman predicted it would happen within the next 60 days.
       Valencía García, 45, did not return a phone call Friday afternoon. Until recently, he was an associate pastor at St. Monica's Catholic Church, 212 W. Medina Road, but now he is working at St. Jude's Catholic Church in San Luis, near Yuma. He was ordained in June 2003. [...]
       Tucson police arrested Valencía García on Nov. 23 on suspicion of failing to report his knowledge of an allegation of a sexual act between a 16-year-old girl and a 26-year-old male St. Monica's church volunteer. The abuse allegation remains under investigation.
       State law requires anyone who "reasonably" believes a minor has been abused to report the information to authorities within 72 hours.
       Police say they learned about the abuse allegation from a worker at the girl's school on Oct. 18. According to police reports, the girl is a member of a St. Monica's youth group that until recently was led by Valencía García. Police say Valencía García told them on Nov. 17 that he'd known about the abuse allegation but that he had been busy and failed to report it.
       Intensive training on reporting laws, abuse prevention and background checks was implemented after the diocese reached a $14 million settlement in 2002 with 10 men who said they were sexually abused as altar boys.#
    • Former Orlando priest accused of misconduct [1980s Emerson] - RCC.
       Orlando Sentinel, By Amy C. Rippel | Sentinel Staff Writer, Posted December 19, 2004
       ORLANDO (FL): A Roman Catholic priest who served in the Catholic Diocese of Orlando -- at an Orlando church and possibly one in DeLand in the late 1980s -- was placed on administrative leave after an allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor, authorities said.
       The Rev. Richard Emerson, 52, served in the Orlando area for more than two years in the late 1980s, said Brian Olszewski, communications director for the Catholic Diocese of Gary, Ind., where Emerson most recently served. Olszewski said the allegation "has to do with an incident that took place in the late 1980s when he was in the Diocese of Orlando."
       Orlando diocese spokeswoman Carol Brinati said he served at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church on Edgewater Drive. Orlando Sentinel records show that Emerson possibly served at St. Peter's Catholic Church in DeLand in 1990.
       Olszewski said the Indiana diocese learned of the allegation about eight weeks ago from officials at the Orlando diocese. After an investigation by an Indiana diocese team, parishioners at northwest Indiana churches where Emerson served were notified of the allegation.
    • Priest accused of abuse while serving in Florida [1980s Emerson] - RCC.
       The Ledger, www.theledger. com/apps/pbcs. dll/article?AID=/ 20041218/APN/ 412181031 , The Associated Press, Published Saturday, December 18, 2004
       GARY, Ind. - A northwest Indiana Roman Catholic priest, accused of sexual misconduct that allegedly occurred while he was serving in Florida, has been placed on administrative leave.
       Gary Bishop Dale J. Melczek took the action against the Rev. Richard Emerson, 52, of Hammond, after the diocese's response team reviewed the allegations, diocese spokesman Brian T. Olszewski said in a news release Saturday.
       He is restrained from public ministry or contact with minors pending a Vatican review, the release said. Emerson, who was ordained in 1978 in the Gary diocese, has been pastor of Michigan City's Notre Dame parish since July 2003.
       According to the allegations, Emerson engaged in sexual misconduct with a minor in the late 1980s while he was a priest in the Diocese of Orlando.
    • Diocese places priest on leave [1980s Emerson] - RCC.
       Post-Tribune, Post-Tribune staff and wire report, Dec. 19, 2004
       GARY (IN) - A Northwest Indiana Roman Catholic priest, accused of sexual misconduct that allegedly occurred while he was serving in Florida, has been placed on administrative leave.
       Gary Bishop Dale J. Melczek took the action against the Rev. Richard Emerson, 52, of Hammond after the diocese's response team reviewed the allegations, diocese spokes-man Brian T. Olszewski said in a news release Saturday. [Next two sentences are as above newsitems.]
    • Archdiocese loses money: report - RCC.
       Daily Southtown, By Allison Hantschel, Sunday, December 19, 2004
       CHICAGO (IL): Most churches and schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago continue to run in the red, even as parishioners' contributions rise, according to the archdiocese's annual financial report released Thursday.
       "Archdiocesan leadership understands the challenges to successfully continuing this mission, and is pursuing innovative ways to manage our revenues and expenses," Cardinal Francis George said in a statement. "Despite the difficulties of the present financial situation, we will meet those challenges."
       The 374 parishes, 235 elementary schools and six high schools in the archdiocese lost nearly $50 million last year, an increase from a $36 million loss the year before.
       And while parishioner contributions rose nearly 4 percent last year, church attendance fell, the report said.
       Eight in 10 parishes had trouble breaking even.
      The archdiocese pastoral center, which runs the local church, cut its deficit from $88.5 million in 2003 to $8 million last year.
       In the past year several dioceses across the country have declared bankruptcy, including Portland, Ore., and Spokane, Wash. Both of those dioceses cited soaring costs of lawsuits over priest sexual abuse.
       The Archdiocese of Chicago spent $18.2 million to settle sexual abuse claims in the past year, and archdiocesan officials said none of those settlement payments came from parish contributions.
       "Bankruptcy is not an issue for the archdiocese at this point," said archdiocese finance director Thomas Brennan, citing nearly $950 million in assets the local church still holds. "We're not even close to that point."
    ////////// End of Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker www.ncrnews.org/abuse , Sun December 19, 2004
    Abuse Chronology: http://www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/ethics/ethcont107.htm
    For good teachings to be heeded, a big clean-up is needed.
    #### Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker, www.ncrnews.org/abuse, Mon December 20, 2004 edition follows:-
    • Second person settles sex-abuse case against ex-priest, archdiocese
       The Kansas City Star, www.kansascity. com/mld/kansascity /news/local/ 10461636.htm , By JIM SUHR, Associated Press, Posted on Mon, Dec. 20, 2004
       ST. LOUIS (MO) - A second person molested by a former priest now imprisoned for sexual misconduct has settled his lawsuit against St. Louis' archdiocese and the one-time clergyman, a victims' advocacy group said Monday.
       Attorneys refused to discuss specifics about the settlement involving the Rev. Bryan Kuchar, including the payout that a source close to the matter said involved "six figures."
       The settlement is the latest of 22 reached this year through mediation by the Archdiocese of St. Louis, with at least three other cases pending, said Bernard Huger, an attorney for the archdiocese. Of the $2,101,800 in total payouts for those settlements, $742,144 has been paid by insurance and the rest by archdiocese reserves, Huger said.
       "Our goal is to assist people with healing," Huger said. "We do want to listen to the people (making claims), hear what's said and see what kind of support and assistance can be provided. The goal is to move towards healing; it doesn't all happen in one day." [Posted by kshaw at 08:36 PM]
    • Mediators say agreements reached in 47 of 112 abuse reports
       Duluth News Tribune www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/10462346.htm , Associated Press
       MILWAUKEE (WI) - Mediators said Monday they had resolved 47 claims of clergy sexual abuse in the Milwaukee Roman Catholic Archdiocese.
       The archdiocese's independent clergy sexual abuse mediation system had received a total of 112 reports of abuse since it started in January. Mediators said 22 cases are in the mediation process, and nine others are under investigation.
       Confidentiality provisions in the agreements prohibit church officials and mediators from saying how the archdiocese resolved the claims, said Christine Harris Taylor, a coordinator with the mediation system.
       Peter Isely, Milwaukee spokesman for the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, said some settlements ranged from $20,000 to $50,000.
    • Former priest enters guilty plea [1995 Hopkins] - RCC.
       Philadelphia Inquirer www.philly.com /mld/philly/ 10461139.htm , By John Shiffman
       PENNSYLVANIA: A defrocked Catholic priest who grew up in Northeast Philadelphia pleaded guilty today to sexually assaulting an altar boy in Camden County in 1995.
       By pleading guilty to second-degree assault, James F. Hopkins, who had been living in Palm City, Fla., will face five to 10 years in state prison. Prosecutors withdrew a first-degree sexual assault charge that carried up to 20 years in prison.
       Under a plea agreement negotiated by Assistant Camden County Prosecutor Donna Spinosi, Hopkins will also be required to register under Megan's Law.
       Superior Court Judge Linda Baxter set sentencing for March 4.
    • Journalist responds to Legion's "disinformation strategy" - RCC.
       Renew America, www.renewamerica.us/columns/abbott/041220 , by Matt C. Abbott, December 20, 2004
       In response to my previous column on the Legionaries of Christ controversy, I received the following e-mail from journalist Jason Berry, co-author of the book 'Vows of Silence':
       "I would like to counter an impression your readers may have regarding Father Marcial Maciel in the book that Gerald Renner and I published, 'Vows of Silence.'
       "You noted that the Legion website [ www.legionaryfacts.org ] refers to 'false allegations against Father Maciel, the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi to distort the record of Pope John Paul II and undermine his teachings.'
       "The Legion's disinformation strategy suggests that in order to discredit Pope John Paul II (God bless him), two seasoned journalists, both Catholics, would spend years of research to promote false charges. Two hard facts are at the center of the book.
       "1) In 1976 a priest who left the Legion, with his bishop's support, sent documents to Rome, accusing Maciel of abusing himself and other seminarians. A second priest, and ex-Legionary, vouched to Rome that he too was abused by Maciel. The Vatican did nothing then, nor as accusations widened when other men came forward in later years.
       "2) The Legion claims the charges were disproven. This is not true. The Vatican, as we report in depth, did investigate Maciel in the 1950s for drug abuse - not pedophilia - and reinstated him. The victims filed charges of sex abusing and profaning the confessional in 1998 at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, after years of trying to reach the pope. The case was accepted as canonically valid, and then halted by Cardinal Ratzinger. That is why the Vatican has never declared Maciel innocent.
       "'Vows of Silence' praises Pope John Paul for many achievements, especially as a catalyst in dismantling Soviet communism. We criticize his negligence on the clergy sex abuse crisis in many countries and failing to confront a deeper crisis in the priesthood. We do not treat Maciel as an isolated scandal. The issue is not dogma, but papal leadership ignoring church laws - and the truth."
       Matt C. Abbott is the former executive director of the Illinois Right to Life Committee and the former director of public affairs for the Chicago-based Pro-Life Action League. He is a Catholic journalist and commentator. He can be reached at mattcabbott@hotmail.com.
       © Copyright 2004 by Matt C. Abbott, http://www.renew america.us/columns/ abbott/041220
    Recent articles by Matt C. Abbott:
  • Author's view on Legion of Christ controversy
  • The candy cane controversy
  • The Toledo diocese, sex abuse, and a woman's death
  • Survivor: abuse by women religious 'rampant'
  • Pedophile priests took victims to morgue Dec 10, 2004
  • A letter from a victim of nun abuse
  • Everything you ever wanted to know about canon law (but were afraid to ask!) #
    • MC priest accused of sexual misconduct [Emerson] - RCC.
       Herald-Argus, www.heraldargus. com/content/story. php?storyid=5506 , By LAURA MALLORY, Monday December 20, 2004
       LONG BEACH / INDIANA - Rev. Richard Emerson, current pastor of Notre Dame Catholic Church in Michigan City and former pastor of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in LaPorte, was placed on administrative leave Saturday after allegations of sexual misconduct from more than 10 years ago.
       Bishop Dale Melczek, head of the Gary Diocese, made the announcement to stunned Notre Dame parishioners at both Saturday's and Sunday's Masses. He also read and handed out a letter explaining the situation in detail.
       "Father Emerson had received permission ... to minister in the Diocese of Orlando (Florida) between October 1987 and December 1997 in order to be closer to his mother and father who were experiencing some illness," wrote Melczek.
       "I was notified by the Diocese of Orlando earlier this year that they had received an allegation of sexual misconduct against Father Emerson. The alleged sexual misconduct with a minor took place in the late 1980s."
       Melczek's letter went on to state that the matter has been turned over to civil authorities in Florida and Indiana.
       The Gary Diocese was first made aware of the situation six to eight weeks ago, but had to go through several steps before deciding to put Emerson on leave, said a diocese spokesman.[...] In the meantime, Melczek has appointed Rev. Ted Nordquist, current pastor at St. Joseph's, to serve as administrator of Notre Dame. ...
    • Editorial: On-site church audits best
       Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Last Updated: Dec. 19, 2004
       UNITED STATES: "Trust but verify" was a sound basis for policy when President Reagan applied it toward the former Soviet Union. It would be an equally sound policy for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to adopt toward the 195 Catholic dioceses across the country. Instead, the conference seems to be moving toward a policy of "just trust," something that may not be very reassuring for victims of clergy sexual abuse, the general public or parishioners in the pews.
       Last month, the bishops decided to reduce the number of U.S. dioceses that will receive full on-site audits of their child protection programs next year. We don't agree with some critics that this is a signal the bishops are abandoning their promise to deal seriously with clergy who abuse children and with church officials who provide cover for the abusers. We do think that most bishops, like Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan, are sincere in their desire to protect children.
       But we're not sure those bishops realize how much work remains to be done to re-establish public trust in the church, and we suspect the new policy is a turn in the wrong direction.
    • Bishops support Sikh community over controversial play - Sikh. Britain / United Kingdom flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Ekklesia www.ekklesia. co.uk/content/ news_syndication/ article_041220sikh. shtml
       BRITAIN: The Anglican and Catholic bishops of Birmingham have publicly expressed their support to the city's Sikh community over a play which they say portrays the Sikh religion in an offensive way.
       The Archbishop of Birmingham, Rt Rev Vincent Nichols, lent his support on Sunday, and the Bishop of Birmingham, John Sentamu, expressed his sympathy with the Sikh community on Radio 4's Today Programme, on Monday.
       On Saturday, Birmingham Repertory theatre had to cancel the production of Behzti - which means dishonour in Punjabi - after several hundred people tried to disrupt the production.
       It is written by actress-turned-playwright Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti - herself a Sikh - and is scheduled to run until the end of December.
       Mohan Singh, a local Sikh community leader, said: "When they're doing a play about a Sikh priest raping somebody inside a gurdwara, would any religion take it?"
    • Sikh leaders to meet police over play protest - Sikh.
       Reuters, www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=641113
       LONDON, Britain: (Reuters) - Sikh leaders in the Midlands will hold talks with police today after hundreds of angry protesters stormed a theatre to protest against a play that depicts sexual abuse and murder in a Sikh temple.
       Three officers were hurt and three men arrested but later released on police bail after a peaceful protest against a Saturday night performance of the play turned violent, police said on Sunday.
       The play "Behzti" (Dishonour), by Sikh writer Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti, is described as a "black comedy".
       It was not scheduled for Sunday, but another performance at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre is planned for Monday night.
       "There are meetings due to take place tomorrow (Monday). One between the police and the Rep Theatre and one between police and representatives of the Sikh community," a police spokeswoman said.
    • Daycare employee confesses to molesting 7 children [? 2003-04 Redmon] - Christian Church. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       WHAS, www.whas11.com/ news/local/stories/ 121904ccjrwhas childabuse.278f0 af7.html 11:12 PM EST on Sunday, December 19, 2004
       KENTUCKY: An employee at a Pleasure Ridge Park church daycare center allegedly sexually abused at least seven 4-year-old boys, police said Sunday.
       The pastor at Highland Park Christian Church told congregants Sunday that 46-year-old Brian Redmon had confessed to the crimes. Redmon, a man with no prior record, now faces 17 charges of first-degree sodomy and 14 counts of first-degree sexual abuse. Police believe there may be other victims.
       "Redmon talked with us openly about his involvement in fondling children and also performing oral sex on some of them," said Detective Rhonda Speaker of the Crimes Against Children Unit.
       Redmon worked at Highland Park Christian Church from December 2003 until October 2004. From October until November 2004, he worked at Southside Christian Childcare.
       "There are really no words to express how much we hurt for the families involved," said Pastor Clint Palmer.
    • Orlando parishioners told of sex-abuse claim [1980s Emerson] - RCC.
       Orlando Sentinel, By Christopher Sherman, Posted December 20, 2004
       ORLANDO (FL): The Catholic Diocese of Orlando told the congregation of a local church Sunday that a visiting priest who worked there in the late 1980s is being investigated for possible sexual misconduct.
       After an early morning phone call from the diocese about the allegation against the Rev. Richard Emerson, the Rev. Thomas Barrett told parishioners of St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church on Edgewater Drive that anyone with knowledge of misconduct should contact police and church authorities.
       "I ask that you pray for the victim," he told parishioners.
       Longtime church member Sallie Amato said she had spoken about Emerson with other members who are active in the church.
       "No one remembers him -- I've been here since the '50s," Amato said.
    • Bishop urges prayer after priest removed [1980s Emerson] - RCC.
       Post-Tribune, www.post-trib. com/cgi-bin/ pto-story/news/ z1/12-20-04_ z1_news_10.html , By John Grant Emeigh
       MICHIGAN CITY (IN) - Parishioners at a Michigan City church shocked by accusations of sexual misconduct against one of its priests were told to pray and begin healing during a visit Sunday morning by the head of the Diocese of Gary.
       About 100 people braved a blizzard that morning to hear Bishop Dale J. Melczek address the issue during the 8 a.m. service at Notre Dame Church, according to diocese public relations official Brian T. Olszewski.
       The diocese announced Saturday that the Rev. Richard Emerson, 52, was placed on administrative leave after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced. Emerson, a native of Hammond, is accused of engaging in sexual activity with a minor while working as a priest in Florida in the 1980s.
      Olszewski said Melczek assured the congregation that their "pastoral needs" will continue to be met in the absence of Emerson.
    • Author's view on Legion of Christ controversy [1950s Legionaries of Christ] - RCC.
       Renew America, by Matt C. Abbott, December 19, 2004
       MINNESOTA: Archbishop Harry Flynn of St. Paul and Minneapolis recently threw down the gauntlet - at least in one respect. In an Oct. 22, 2004 letter to Father Anthony Bannon, territorial director of the Legionaries of Christ ( www.legionariesofchrist.org ), Flynn effectively banned the controversial religious order from the archdiocese, citing concerns of a "parallel Church." (To see a copy of the correspondence, visit www.regainnetwork.org .)
       I asked journalist Lee Podles, whose upcoming book, A Harsh Light: Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church, was featured in a previous column, what he thinks of LegionaryFacts.org, a site dedicated to refuting past sex abuse allegations against the founder of the Legion, Father Marcial Maciel.
       "The issues are complex, and I make no judgment," says Podles, who devotes the following passage in his book to the Maciel controversy:
       "The potentially most damaging allegations...are the subject of Jason Berry's and Gerald Renner's book, Vows of Silence, which examines in detail what he considers the Vatican's 'failure to investigate serious charges' in which seminarians allege that Maciel abused them in the 1950s.
       The charges and countercharges are murky, and much depends on one's appraisals of the character of the accusers. The Legion is disliked and even hated by some Catholics (and not only liberal Catholics).
       A successful attack on Maciel would discredit not only him, but also the Legion. The bishops and the Vatican tolerated abuse by unknown priests for decades; the bishops and the Vatican would have an even greater motive to cover-up allegations against Maciel.
       The Legionaries are a large and rapidly growing organization, extremely important in keeping Hispanics in the Catholic Church; the Vatican is not eager to discover any evidence its founder might be a pederast and homosexual.
       But the failure to conduct a thorough investigation means that there will always be a shadow on Maciel's name, even if he is completely innocent."
    [Posted by K. Shaw at 07:33 AM]
    ////////// End of Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker www.ncrnews.org/abuse , Mon December 20, 2004
    Abuse Chronology: http://www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/ethics/ethcont107.htm
    For good teachings to be heeded, a big clean-up is needed.
    #### Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker, www.ncrnews.org/abuse, Tue December 21, 2004 edition follows:-
    • Supreme Court: No time limit applies in sodomy cases [1970s Graham] - RCC.
       St. Louis Post-Dispatch, www.stltoday. com/stltoday/ news/stories.nsf/ missouristatenews/ story/BD44A6CDA5B CE68786256F71007 B70D4?OpenDocument& Headline=Supreme+ Court%3A++No+time+ limit+applies+ in+sodomy+cases ; By Jim Suhr, Associated Press, Dec/21/2004
       ST. LOUIS (MO) (AP) -- Affirming a lower court's stance that no time limit applies to prosecuting someone for sodomy, Missouri's highest court Tuesday refused to hear the case of a Roman Catholic priest accused of child sex abuse during the 1970s.
       The Missouri Supreme Court's ruling, without comment, upheld a September ruling by the Missouri Court of Appeals that reversed a St. Louis judge's determination that too much time had passed for the Rev. Thomas Graham to be charged with the clergy abuse.
       In asking Missouri's high court to hear the case, Graham attorney Art Margulis labeled the matter "of profound significance," suggesting that a ruling unfavorable to his client might spur more prosecutions involving sexual abuse by clergy.
       Margulis directed questions about Tuesday's ruling to his co-counsel Christian Goeke, who said "we expected this was an issue the (Supreme Court) would take up simply because of its widespread ramifications." [Posted by kshaw at 05:27 PM]
    • Man testifies against L.A. priest in sex abuse hearing [2001 Lopez] - RCC.
       Union-Tribune, By Gillian Flaccus, ASSOCIATED PRESS, 1:29 p.m. December 21, 2004
       LOS ANGELES (CA) - A young man testified in court Tuesday that a Roman Catholic priest molested him in the cleric's bedroom in 2001.
       The witness was the first of three to be called during a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to try the Rev. Fernando Lopez on abuse charges.
       Lopez, 40, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of felony lewd acts with a child, a felony count of sexual battery by restraint, two misdemeanor counts of child molestation and one misdemeanor count of sexual battery.
       The priest, who was suspended by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in July, was arrested in September and is being held in lieu of $500,000 bail.
       The preliminary hearing was delayed nearly three hours because court officials had to find a room big enough to accommodate 80 parishioners who showed up to support Lopez.
       The first witness, a 23-year-old man whose name is being withheld, said he was abused about four years ago in a building near St. Thomas the Apostle Church after he sought out Lopez for advice because he was feeling depressed and alone.
       Testifying through a Spanish-language interpreter, the witness said Lopez invited him to his bedroom, helped the victim undress and then forced him to masturbate Lopez.
    • Second person settles sex-abuse case against ex-priest, archdiocese [? 1990s Kuchar] - RCC.
       KMOV, 04:00 PM CST on Monday, December 20, 2004
       ST. LOUIS (MO) (AP) -- A second person sexually abused by a former priest now imprisoned for sexual misconduct has settled his lawsuit against St. Louis' archdiocese and the one-time clergyman, a victims' advocacy group said Monday.
       Attorneys for both sides of the case naming the Rev. Bryan Kuchar did not return telephone calls seeking specifics about the settlement, including the payout that a source close to the matter said involved "six figures."
       A spokesman for the Archdiocese of St. Louis said that organization might comment later.
       The victim, unidentified publicly but described as now being in his early 20s, filed suit in April, claiming to have been sexually abused by Kuchar more than 10 times in the rectory of the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica, where the priest lived. The boy was 16 at the time.
    • Editorial: Priest's sentence leaves doubt [1988 Stein (Norbertine)] - RCC.
       Green Bay Press-Gazette www.greenbaypressgazette.com/news/archive/opinion_19080051.shtml
       GREEN BAY (WI): Another former priest was sentenced for sexual misconduct Thursday. James Stein, a former Norbertine, was given a year in jail and 10 years probation for a molestation that was committed in 1988. Prosecutors and the victim had asked for five years in prison, half of the maximum possible penalty.
       It was a tough spot for Judge Sue Bishel. She looked at the crime - molestation of a 14-year-old - and at the life the former priest has lived since. She looked at the therapy he has gotten and the remorse he expressed.
       Bishel said the case was handled differently because Stein was a priest at the time of the offense. "But for the fact that this gentleman was formerly a priest, (prosecutors) would not, I do not believe, be recommending a prison sentence," she said.
       But Stein was a priest at the time and we do expect more of people in the clergy. We want to be able to trust them when we are at our most vulnerable. That trust has been violated and the light sentence exasperates the issue of public trust.
    • Accused priest's mission was to care for parents [1980s Emerson] - RCC.
       Gary Post-Tribune www.post-trib.com/cgi-bin/pto-story/news/z1/12-21-04_z1_news_12.html
       INDIANA / LONG BEACH - The Rev. Richard Emerson asked for an assignment to Florida so he could be closer to his ailing parents.
       It was that assignment a few years ago that has now led to accusations of sexual misconduct against the 53-year-old priest.
       Emerson was placed on administrative leave this weekend from Notre Dame Catholic Church at U.S. 12 and Moore Road. The parish was informed by Bishop Dale Melczek, who made the decision pending further investigation.
       The Gary diocese isn't disclosing much more about the allegation.
       According to diocese spokesman Brian Olszewski, the person making the accusation was a minor when the alleged inappropriate conduct occurred.
    • Board members rip archbishop over sex-abuse issue [2004 Brunett] - RCC.
       The Seattle Times, http://seattletimes. nwsource.com/html/ localnews/2002125832 _catholic21m.html , By Janet I. Tu
       SEATTLE (WA): Several prominent members of an independent board charged with reviewing cases of Roman Catholic priests accused of sexual abuse sent a scathing letter to Seattle Archbishop Alexander Brunett yesterday, attacking him on several key points.
       Among their chief concerns:
  • That the archbishop may be misleading the public by suggesting the problem of sexually abusive priests is over.
  • That there's no evidence Brunett has put safeguards they recommended in place.
  • That Brunett challenged their authority to write a report critical of church policies, that he tried to get them to accept a softened version of the report, and that he published the original version in October only after board members threatened to resign.
       The letter also expressed surprise that Brunett was disbanding the case-review board and expressed concern that a new board yet to be formed may not be independent enough. And it criticized Brunett's decision to delay releasing the names of offending priests until after the Vatican had decided their fate.
    • Stance on priest abuse troubles task force [2004 Brunett] - RCC.
       Post-Intelligencer, http://seattlepi. nwsource.com/ local/204630_ church21.html , By CLAUDIA ROWE
       SEATTLE (WA): A body of judges, lawyers and experts in child sexual abuse has accused Seattle Archbishop Alex Brunett of being unrealistic, and possibly misleading, in assuring the public that priests here are unlikely to molest minors in the future.
       Further, the archbishop's insistence that priest sexual abuse is an old issue, long ago resolved -- in addition to his refusal to make public a list of accused clerics -- has led six of the 10 members of his independent Case Review Board to write Brunett a letter denouncing his approach.
       "We cannot go into the night silently," said Mike McKay, former U.S. attorney for Western Washington and a member of the board who spent more than a year examining allegations of priest abuse. "This suggests a lack of diligence that concerns me deeply."
       Brunett, he added in an interview, had fought the board members at every turn, attempting to modulate the critical tone of their final report and refusing to publish it until they threatened to quit in protest. The full, 28-page document was eventually released, as originally written, in October. It is available online at the archdiocese's Web site ( www.seattlearch.org ).
    • Court wants Egan subpoena enforced [2004 Egan; 1990s Castaldo] - RCC.
       Greenwich Time, By Ivan H. Golden, December 21, 2004
       CONNECTICUT: A Connecticut court has asked New York authorities to enforce a subpoena against Cardinal Edward Egan, of the Archdiocese of New York, ordering him to answer questions under oath in a sexual abuse case involving a former Stamford priest.
       Judge Chase Rogers, of state Superior Court in Stamford, issued the request last week in response to a motion from a Stamford lawyer whose client, identified in court papers as "John Doe," claims he was molested in the early 1990s by the Rev. John J. Castaldo while Castaldo was a priest at St. Teresa Church in Trumbull. Rogers also asked New York authorities to enforce a subpoena against the Rev. Kevin Mackin, of Loudenville, N.Y.
       The motion from the plaintiff's lawyer states that Egan and Mackin, "are important witnesses whose testimony is critical evidence in this case." Egan was head of the Diocese of Bridgeport in 1992, the year Castaldo was transferred from St. Teresa Church in Trumbull to St. Mark's Parish in Stratford. Mackin was president-rector of the Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora, N.Y., in 1985, the year Castaldo was dismissed from the seminary.
       According to the motion, "Cardinal Egan had access to considerable information indicating John Castaldo was not fit for service as a priest in the Diocese" and that he, "had and ignored other information indicating Castaldo was not fit to serve as a priest."
    • $3.8 million settles 23 sex abuse suits
       St. Louis Post-Dispatch, By Robert Patrick, Dec/20/2004
       ST. LOUIS (MO): The Archdiocese of St. Louis this year agreed to pay nearly $3.8 million to settle 23 civil suits alleging sexual abuse by clergy, including two suits settled last week, according to a church lawyer.
       The settlements do not resolve open criminal cases or end the suits against individual priests, said Bernard Huger, a lawyer representing the archdiocese.
       Huger said about $742,000 of the settlement total was covered by insurance. The church is still fighting with its insurance company over whether a nearly $1.7 million settlement reached in June will be covered.
       Last week, the alleged victims of Michael McGrath and Romano Ferraro resolved their cases in a mediated settlement, joining two other victims who have settled their cases since August for a total of $270,000, Huger said Monday.
    • Priest asks to return to church -- RCC. Rev. Patrick Magee charges dropped. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags  Ireland flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Asbury Park Press, www.app.com/app/story/0,21625,1150266,00.html , By RICHARD QUINN, TOMS RIVER BUREAU
       BAY HEAD (NJ) -- A Catholic priest formerly accused of sexual abuse -- the charges were dropped three months ago after the accuser committed suicide -- has asked the Diocese of Trenton to put him back in the borough parish he used to lead.
       The Rev. Patrick Francis Magee, who was pastor at Sacred Heart Roman Catholic parish until the charges surfaced, met with Bishop John M. Smith last week and "asked to return to his assignment in Bay Head," diocesan spokeswoman Audra Miller said in a statement released Monday.
       Magee's move was expected since the charges were dropped and he was allowed to return to the United States from Ireland. The diocese would put no timetable on when a decision will be made on his request.
       Magee's case began in December 2003, when he was arrested in Ireland. He was visiting family in County Down, Northern Ireland, when a man accused him of sexual abuse in incidents said to have occurred there more than 30 years ago. Magee was a seminary student at the time, according to the Trenton diocese.
    • Neb. Priest Receives Probation [2000s Kruse] - Church not stated.
       Yankton Press & Dakotan, www.yankton.net/ stories/122104/ community_2004 1221030.shtml
       CENTER, Neb. -- A priest who formerly served area parishes has received one year of probation as part of a plea agreement involving sexually-explicit material.
       The Rev. Jay Kruse, 50, formerly of Verdigre, Neb., has pleaded guilty to one count of Attempted Possession of Visual Depiction of Sexually Explicit Content. The charge is a Class I misdemeanor.
       Kruse entered the plea in Knox County District Court. He had originally been charged with two counts of Possession of Visual Depiction of Sexually Explicit Conduct, a Class IV felony.
       Kruse served St. Wenceslaus parish in Verdigre and St. William's parish in Niobrara, Neb., from June 2002 to June 2004.
       District Judge Patrick Rogers presided at the sentencing. Knox County Attorney John Thomas prosecuted the case, while Omaha attorney James Schaefer represented Kruse.
       Court records indicate the charges involve images of juveniles, according to the Knox County Court Clerk's office.
       The matter was investigated by the Nebraska State Patrol and the Nebraska State Patrol Computer Crimes Unit.
    • Judge prohibits release of tapes of former priest [Campobello] - RCC. Girl.
       Daily Herald, By Tona Kunz, Posted Tuesday, December 21, 2004
       ILLINOIS: The public won't get to hear a secretly taped conversation where a teenager tries to get a former Geneva priest to admit to sexually abusing her unless the priest's civil lawsuit goes to trial, a judge ruled Monday.
       Kane County Judge F. Keith Brown continued indefinitely the protective order prohibiting the release of the six audio tapes and their transcripts to the public or press.
       He said release of the tapes could tamper the jury pool and impinge on the fairness of a trial against former priest Mark Campobello, the Rockford Catholic Diocese and Bishop Thomas Doran. Brown cited attorney rules of conduct that prohibit the disclosure of information that may be testified to in trial.
       Once the information was testified to at trial, it would become public, but that may never happen. An attorney for the diocese and Doran has said previously both parties are willing to negotiate a settlement.
       Shorewood attorney Keith Aeschliman sought the tapes on behalf of two women who claim they were sexually abused by Campobello while one was a teenager at St. Peter's Church in Geneva and the other at Aurora Central Catholic High School. [Posted by kshaw at 07:38 AM]
    ////////// End of Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker www.ncrnews.org/abuse , Tue December 21, 2004
    Abuse Chronology: http://www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/ethics/ethcont107.htm
    For good teachings to be heeded, a big clean-up is needed.
    #### Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker, www.ncrnews.org/abuse, Wed December 22, 2004 edition follows:- Britain / United Kingdom flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
    • Children abused in home 'Most evil of men' jailed for 14 years [Carragher; McCallen, Mackay, Holdcroft (Brothers of the Christian Schools)] - RCC. 9 boys.
       Yorkshire Post Today, www.yorkshiretoday. co.uk/ViewArticle2. aspx?SectionID=55& ArticleID=908848 , by Dave Mark, dave.mark@ypn.co.uk , 22 December 2004
       BRITAIN: He was described by the children he tormented and by the policeman who caught him as "the most evil of men".
       Last night, the former principal of a Catholic care home who visited 25 years of sexual abuse on boys there was facing the possibility of spending the rest of his life behind bars.
       In what was said to be "as bad a case of gross breach of trust as one can imagine", Brother James Carragher - previously hailed as an internationally-respected champion of children's welfare - systematically abused disturbed young boys at St William's Community Home, Market Weighton, between 1968 and 1992.
       The 14-year jail term imposed yesterday came seven years after he walked free from prison having served five years of a seven-year sentence imposed after he pleaded guilty to one count of b*ggery, one count of attempted b*ggery and 12 counts of indecent assault involving nine boys at St William's between 1972 and 1980.
       Yesterday Carragher, 64 and living in Oxford, was convicted of five counts of b*ggery and 11 counts of indecent assault, following a 10-week trial. Even if paroled, Carragher will be in his mid-70s if he ever walks free from jail. The case involved 43 witnesses - many of whom were serving prisoners and several of whom were serving life prison sentences themselves.
       During the period under investigation, about 2,000 male children passed through the home along with about 500 staff. Det Supt Richard Kerman said: "James Garragher is the most evil man I have ever met and I do not say that lightly.
       "He was in a position of trust as principal of the home and he used that position to abuse vulnerable children who had difficult backgrounds and who needed care and protection. During his contact with police he has never displayed any remorse."
       Following sentencing, Humberside Chief Crown Prosecutor, Nigel Cowgill said: "This was an appalling case of child abuse over a 20-year period and a gross breach of trust by a man in a position of considerable authority against particularly vulnerable young boys.
       "By denying his crimes, Carragher has put the victims and witnesses in this case through the ordeal of reliving their abuse by giving evidence at court."
       Carragher was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment on each count of b*ggery to run concurrently and to two years imprisonment on each count of indecent assault to run concurrently, making a total of 14 years in all.
       Sentencing Carragher, Judge Lawler QC said it was "as bad a case of gross breach of trust as one can imagine" and "a very substantial catalogue of abuse over a very prolonged period."
       The court heard that Carragher targeted boys who were vulnerable and whom he thought he could manipulate by using a combination of systematic grooming and threats.
       He sexually abused one boy while he was ill in bed with a fever. He targeted another boy while he was unable to go home following the death of his mother.
       Another carer at the home, Peter Bower-Guyler, was acquitted of eight counts of indecent assault, three counts of b*ggery and one count of aiding and abetting b*ggery. They related to allegations of abuse by Bower-Guyler while he was working at the home between March 1966 and December 1974.
       Humberside Crown Prosecution Service worked closely with the police and courts to apply for special measures applications for two of the witnesses, one of whom required substantial personal assistance to give evidence. They both gave their evidence via TV link rather than face the defendants in the courtroom.
       The court lifted reporting restrictions on the trial following a hearing yesterday at Sheffield Crown Court at which Humberside Crown Prosecution Service offered no evidence against three further defendants, Anthony McCallen, Benedict Mackay and John Holdcroft.
       Mr Cowgill added: "Having spoken with witnesses who have been through the ordeal of giving evidence at trial once already, we took the view that there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction."
       James Carragher worked at St. William's as a member of the Brothers of the Christian Schools between April 1968 and 1990.
       He joined St William's as a teacher but became Principal in 1976.
       St. William's Community Home opened in 1856 and was an approved school. It became an assisted community home under the Children's Act of 1969.
       It was run by the Brothers of the Christian Schools on behalf of the Middlesbrough Diocese Catholic Child Welfare Society and was intended to provide accommodation and education for emotionally or behaviourally disturbed boys.
       The Brothers are laymen although they take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.
       The home closed in 1992, before Carragher was jailed. The same year Catholic priest Antony McCallen, a former worker at the home, was jailed for three-and-a-half years for offences against young children.# [Bolding added] [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 03:55 PM]
    • Egan to give deposition in suit against priest [1990s Castaldo] - RCC. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Greenwich Times, By Ivan H. Golden, December 22, 2004
       CONNECTICUT: Cardinal Edward Egan of the Archdiocese of New York will answer questions under oath in a Connecticut civil lawsuit involving allegations of sexual abuse against a former Stamford priest.
       A spokesman for the New York Archdiocese issued a brief statement yesterday afternoon, saying that Egan would cooperate with a subpoena for him to give a deposition in the case.
       "During the Cardinal's years in the Bridgeport Diocese, there was never any indication of any sort of sexual misbehavior on the part of the priest in question," The statement read. "The Cardinal has indicated that he will cooperate with the court in this matter."
       Lawyers for "John Doe," a Bridgeport man who claims in a lawsuit that he was molested in the early 1990s by the Rev. John Castaldo, want to question Egan about why Castaldo was transferred so frequently between parishes in the 1990s.
       Egan was head of the Bridgeport Diocese from 1988 through 2000, and lawyers for "John Doe" wrote in a motion last week that Egan, "had access to considerable information indicating John Castaldo was not fit for service as a priest in the Diocese."
    • Sex case reopened [Ridsdale] - RCC. Boys. Australia flag; Aust. National Flag Assn. 
       The Advertiser (Adelaide), Thursday, 23 December 2004
       AUSTRALIA: Notorious paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale, who once worked in Inglewood, could face more charges after the case against him was recently reopened.
       It is believed the Catholic church first became aware of Ridsdale's sexual abuse of children, mostly altar boys, while he was the parish priest at Inglewood in 1975.
       However, he was not brought to justice until 1993.
       The following year he was sentenced to 18 years in jail, with a 15-year non-parole period, after pleading guilty to 46 charges.
       Described as Australia's most notorious paedophile, Ridsdale could be released in 2009.
       However, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Paul Coghlan QC, has indicated more charges could be laid against the man.
    • Michigan appeals court: Statute of limitations expired on church sex abuse case [1972-76 Burkholder] - RCC. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       MLive.com ; By TIM MARTIN, The Associated Press, 1:27 p.m. ET, Dec/22/2004
       LANSING, Mich. (AP) - The statute of limitations has expired on a sexual abuse claim against a former Roman Catholic priest and the Archdiocese of Detroit, the Michigan Court of Appeals said in a ruling released Wednesday.
       The Wayne County case, filed by a plaintiff identified only as John Doe, stemmed from allegations of sexual abuse from 1972 to 1976 against Robert Burkholder. The case later was amended to cover another claim of sexual abuse from 1983 in Hawaii.
       The alleged abuse took place while the plaintiff and his family attended Immaculate Heart of Mary parish in Detroit.
       The suit was filed in December 2002. A county judge ruled last year that the case could go forward, but the court of appeals reversed that decision.
       "While we are thoroughly sympathetic with the plight of sexual abuse victims, especially those victimized by Catholic priests, our courts are constrained to correctly apply statutes of limitation and their exceptions in every case," the appeals court majority said in its decision.
    • Detroit Archdiocese Responds to Cases Involving Clergy Sexual Abuse - RCC.
       Yahoo! Finance; 3:58 pm ET, Wednesday December 22, 2004
       DETROIT (MI) Dec. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- This month, the Archdiocese of Detroit has been involved in two separate court rulings relating to the issue of clerical sexual abuse. On Tuesday, December 21st, in a two-to-one ruling, the Michigan Court of Appeals rejected an effort to suspend the statute of limitations in a case involving the Detroit archdiocese. The lower court ruling, if allowed to stand, would have impacted not only Catholic clergy, but possibly any number of institutions and professions, including doctors, lawyers and teachers. The following is a statement from the archdiocesan director of communications on the Appeals Court ruling:
       "We are grateful the Court of Appeals accepted the legal argument presented. Our state and its citizens have been well served by the statute of limitations; it provides a reasonable amount of time for individuals to pursue civil complaints.
    • Pope defrocks Md. priest accused of sex abuse [1989-92 Blackwell] - RCC.
       Baltimore Sun, By Brian Witte, The Associated Press, December 22, 2004
       BALTIMORE (MD): Pope John Paul II has defrocked a priest accused of sexually abusing a parishioner who shot the Baltimore cleric years later as publicity mounted over the child abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church, The Associated Press has learned.
       The pope decided in October to dismiss Maurice Blackwell "from the clerical state," and the Archdiocese of Baltimore received the official documents earlier this month from the Vatican, archdiocese spokesman Sean Caine said today.
       Blackwell, 58, is scheduled to go on trial Jan. 3 on four counts of child sexual abuse against Dontee Stokes. The alleged abuse began in 1989 and ended in 1992 -- a decade before the Baltimore barber shot Blackwell in front of the priest's home. Blackwell has denied sexually abusing Stokes, who was a teenager at the time.
       Blackwell's trial has been postponed five times, and the archdiocese received word from Rome just before one of his previously scheduled trial dates. Caine said the archdiocese decided then not to make a public statement about Blackwell's defrocking out of consideration for how it could affect potential jurors.
    • Former pastor facing 20 counts [2004 Holtey] - RCC. Child porn.
       Union-Tribune, By Onell R. Soto, December 22, 2004
       CALIFORNIA: A Roman Catholic priest whose Point Loma parish office was raided by federal agents and San Diego police in May has been charged with 20 misdemeanor counts of possessing child pornography.
       The Rev. Gary Michael Holtey has not been arrested, has been cooperating with authorities through his lawyer and is scheduled to be arraigned today in San Diego Superior Court, a prosecutor said yesterday.
       Deputy City Attorney Judy Taschner said she will ask a judge to set bail at $50,000.
       Holtey is one of more than 100 people in San Diego and Imperial counties linked to child-pornography sites through credit card transactions in an international investigation, authorities said.
       Agents searched the St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church and Academy parish office and found printouts of child erotica and pornography, gay pornography videos, film negatives of nude males, two computers and WebTV, a device used for accessing the Internet on a television, according to court documents.
    • Kramek accepts deal [2000s Kramek] - RCC. Girl. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags  Poland flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       New Britain Herald, By JULIE A. VARUGHESE, Dec/22/2004
       NEW BRITAIN (CT) -- The visiting Roman Catholic priest from Poland who sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl in her grandmother's apartment pleaded guilty Tuesday in New Britain Superior Court.
       Roman Kramek, 42, a former priest at Sacred Heart Church, 158 Broad St., will be sentenced Feb. 17 to nine months in prison and 10 years of probation. According to his attorney, William Dow, he will return to Poland after serving his sentence.
       He is required to register as a sex offender and provide a DNA sample to the state police upon his release from prison. A pre-sentencing investigation will be conducted during which the priest's background and his thoughts on the case and the impact on the victim's life will be reported and presented to Judge Susan Handy.
       Kramek appeared in a suit and had his hands clasped behind his back for most of the hearing. When Judge Joan Alexander, who is filling in for presiding Judge Handy, accepted his plea, he put his hands to his face and covered his eyes and nose. Later, Dow would not comment on whether the defendant felt any remorse for the victim.
       The victim, seated in the front row next to victim's advocate Kitt Tierney, appeared timid and was not seated facing front toward the defendant; rather, her body was turned toward Tierney and she was tearful. [Bolding added]
    • Priest Pleads Guilty To Sex With Girl [2002 Kramek] - RCC. Girl. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Hartford Courant, By JOANN KLIMKIEWICZ, December 22, 2004
       NEW BRITAIN (CT) -- An hour after accepting a plea agreement on charges he sexually assaulted a teenage girl who sought his counseling, the Rev. Roman Kramek sat in the New Britain office of one of his supporters Tuesday and struggled to hold back all he's wanted to say since Christmas 2002.
       "It has been psychological torture for me for two years," Kramek said in Polish through an interpreter. "And now I'm glad it's over."
       Close to the anniversary of the Christmas Eve arrest that cast an uncomfortable spotlight on the Polish American community in New Britain, the priest - who had only meant to be on temporary assignment from Poland - accepted a nine-month prison sentence with 10 years of probation.
       Earlier in Superior Court in New Britain, Kramek avoided trial and a possible 10-year sentence by accepting a plea deal that offered him the minimum for a second-degree sexual assault conviction.
       As much as Kramek, 42, said he wanted to speak Tuesday, one of his supporters insisted he wait until his Feb. 17 sentencing, on the advice of his attorney.
       "I want to say a lot," he said. "The worst thing is silence." [Bolding added]
    • Investigation of claim against priest was short [1980s Emerson] - RCC.
       Orlando Sentinel, By Christopher Sherman and Mark I. Pinsky, Sentinel Staff Writers, Posted December 22, 2004
       ORLANDO (FL): The Orlando police detective who handled the allegation of sexual misconduct against a visiting priest said the case never advanced beyond an informal investigation because there was not enough evidence the encounter was lewd.
       A visiting Roman Catholic priest from the Diocese of Gary, Ind., the Rev. Richard Emerson, was accused of grabbing a preteen boy in the groin or hitting him in the pelvic area on the sideline of a soccer game in Orlando in the late 1980s, said Detective Jonathan O'Hern of the department's Crimes Against Children unit.
       "We determined that it probably wasn't sufficient to establish any lewd conduct," O'Hern said. There were not accusations of sexual comments or advances, he said.
       The Diocese of Gary investigated the charges against Emerson from late May of 2004, when it received them from the Diocese of Orlando, until Dec. 18, when it announced Emerson's suspension.
       That suspension "was based solely upon the Florida allegation," said Brian Olszewski, a spokesman for the Indiana diocese.
    • Cardinal Subpoenaed in Priestly Abuse Lawsuit - RCC.
       The New York Times, By ALISON LEIGH COWAN and WINNIE HU, Published December 22, 2004
       NEW YORK: For the first time since becoming archbishop of New York in 2000, Cardinal Edward M. Egan is expected to testify as a witness in a civil lawsuit alleging sexual abuse by a priest, the cardinal's spokesman and lawyers involved in the case confirmed yesterday.
       Lawyers for the plaintiff, identified as John Doe in court documents, told Judge Chase Rogers of State Superior Court in Stamford, Conn., last week that they needed the cardinal to testify to ensure that the cardinal's comments about the case would be available before the case goes to trial, tentatively scheduled for Jan. 11.
       Joseph Zwilling, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York, said he fully expected the cardinal to cooperate with the subpoena, as did two lawyers involved in the case. The issuance of a subpoena calling upon him to testify was first reported by The Greenwich Time yesterday.
       Mr. Zwilling said that it was not the first time that Cardinal Egan had been deposed about alleged sexual misconduct in the church, though it would be the first time since he left Bridgeport to become archbishop of the New York archdiocese in June 2000. He became cardinal in February 2001. [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 12:40 AM]
    ////////// End of Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker www.ncrnews.org/abuse , Wed December 22, 2004
    Abuse Chronology: http://www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/ethics/ethcont107.htm
    For good teachings to be heeded, a big clean-up is needed.
    #### Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker, www.ncrnews.org/abuse, Thu December 23, 2004 edition follows:-
    • Jury finds priest not guilty of sex assault - RCC. Fr Chris Conroy acquitted. Ireland flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Wicklow People, www.unison.ie/ wicklow_people/ stories.php3? ca=34&si=1309925& issue_id=11856 , ~ Dec 23, 2004
       IRELAND: The Wicklow priest cleared of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl says he is preparing for 'the happiest Christmas I'll ever have'.
       Fr. Chris Conroy (71) of 10 Rocky Road, Wicklow, was found not guilty of the offence at Wicklow Circuit Court by a unanimous decision of the jury on Friday.
       He told the Wicklow People this week that he had suffered over the last two years but said he never worried for a minute. If he had not been exonerated, he said it would have been 'the biggest travesty of justice'.
       'Here was an innocent man accused of something like this. I preserved my dignity at all times. I didn't have to go into the stand. This case was disproven beyond all reasonable doubt without my evidence,' he stated.
       After the charges were brought against him, Fr. Conroy was suspended from all external religious duties, which he said was a terrible thing to happen to a priest.
       He was hurt that he was not allowed to say the funeral Mass for a former student and could not perform marriage and baptism ceremonies for friends and family members. [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 05:28 PM]
    • Church agreement on child abuse guidelines - RCC.
       One in Four, http://oneinfour.org/news/news2004/asgree , by Patsy McGarry, Religious Affairs Correspondent, Irish Times , ~ Dec 23, 2004
       IRELAND: The Catholic Church in Ireland has moved a step closer towards having in place guidelines on child-protection policy.
       At a meeting yesterday its representatives agreed that professional directors of child protection, rather than a bishop or religious superior, should have responsibility for receiving and reporting allegations of abuse to the civil authorities. Meanwhile it will remain the responsibility of the bishop/superior to suspend/stand down the accused priest or religious, on consideration of recommendations of the director of child protection.
       It was agreed also that the church would set up a national board on child protection which will have responsibility for the implementation of its policy as well as for auditing and publishing reports on its work.
       It will further decide how many directors of child protection there will be on the island and the areas for which they will be responsible.
    • 265,000 Euro paid out to two of the abuse victims, says bishop - RCC. €275,000 for just one diocese last year.
       One in Four, "265,000 Euro paid out to abuse victims, says bishop," http://oneinfour. org/news/news 2004/paid , by Gordon Deegan - Irish Examiner, ~ Dec 23, 2004
       IRELAND: The Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh confirmed yesterday that the diocese paid out over a quarter of a million euro last year in the compensation for the past sexual abuse of children by priests.
       In publishing the diocese's annual accounts for 2003, Bishop Walsh confirmed that a total of 265,000 euro was paid to two victims of sexual abuse last year.
       A spokesman for the diocese is in the process of making a payment to a third victim. He declined to say how much had been paid to each victim, saying the bishop did not wish to comment on individual cases.
       The vast proportion of the monies paid to the two victims came from a general church trust fund, the Stewardship Trust, established by the Irish Catholic Bishops to cover claims of clerical sex abuse. The accounts show that the trust paid 252,622 euro while the diocese paid 79,981 euro towards the trust in 2003.
    • Minnesota archbishop bars Legionaries from his archdiocese [Legionaries of Christ] - RCC. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Catholic News Service, www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0407003.htm , By Jerry Filteau, ~ Dec 23, 2004
       WASHINGTON (DC) (CNS) -- In a letter made public by an Internet posting in December, Archbishop Harry J. Flynn of St. Paul-Minneapolis informed parish heads that the Legionaries of Christ are "not to be active in any way in the archdiocese."
       He also instructed them that the Legionaries' lay associate movement, Regnum Christi, is to be "kept completely separate from all activities of the parishes and the archdiocese." The lay organization should not be allowed to use parish or archdiocesan property for any meeting or program, he said.
       The St. Paul-Minneapolis Archdiocese is not the first to bar the Legionaries, a religious order of priests whose approach to ministry and methods of vocations recruitment and seminary formation have been a source of controversy. The Diocese of Columbus, Ohio, has had a similar policy toward the Legionaries and Regnum Christi since October 2002.
    • Egan faces grilling in sex lawsuit - RCC. Altar boy.
       New York Daily News www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/264753p-226770c.html , ~ Dec 23, 2004
       CONNECTICUT: Edward Cardinal Egan said yesterday he will testify in a sex-abuse lawsuit against a former Connecticut priest who once worked for him.
      "I will be there and I will be on time," Egan told reporters, after delivering gifts to emotionally disturbed children in the Bronx.
       Egan said he learned this week that he had been subpoenaed in the suit, brought by a Bridgeport man who says he was molested while serving as an altar boy in 1991 and 1992.
       Egan headed the Diocese of Bridgeport before becoming the archbishop of New York in 2000.
       Egan also offered a brief defense of accused priest John Castaldo.
       "The young man who is being accused of something never did anything out of line during my time there," Egan said.
    • Priest in sex abuse claim [1957 Murray] - Anglican. Australia flag; Aust. National Flag Assn. 
       Herald Sun, by Liam Houlihan, religious affairs reporter, Dec 23, 2004
       AUSTRALIA: Two sexual misconduct complaints have been lodged against Australia's highest profile Anglican priest.
       The Rev Father James Murray, religious affairs editor for The Australian newspaper, has been accused by two former students of groping and "far worse".
       The accusations have been formally lodged with the professional standards unit of the Melbourne and Sydney diocese of the Anglican Church.
       Father Murray has confirmed two complaints of a sexual nature were lodged against him.
      The alleged incidents are claimed to have happened about 47 years ago at a Melbourne Anglican secondary school for boys.
       Contacted by the Herald Sun last night, Father Murray, 77, said he was loath to comment without legal advice.
    • High-profile priest to face probe [1957 Murray] - Anglican. Males.
       The Age, www.theage.com. au/news/National/ Highprofile-priest- to-face-probe/ 2004/12/23/1103 391894907.html ; By Catharine Munro, December 24, 2004
       AUSTRALIA: The Anglican Church will appoint a senior lawyer to investigate complaints of sexual misconduct by a well-known priest and journalist.
       Father James Murray, 77, a retired clergyman and religious affairs editor at The Australian, yesterday confirmed that the church was looking into events that allegedly occurred 47 years ago.
       But he would neither confirm nor deny whether the claims filed in March by two men were true because he could not remember the complainants, he said.
       "I'm not against the truth being told and I certainly am not a person who would be anything but ashamed of the behaviour," Father Murray said.
       He refused to comment further and said he would be interviewed by church investigators next month.
       "The church's processes is the one that will have to be gone through," he said.
    • Lawyer to examine cost of clergy sexual abuse crisis United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       The Catholic Telegraph (the official newspaper of the RCC Archdiocese of Cincinnati), www.catholiccincinnati.org/tct/dec2404/122404lawyer.html, Dec 24, 2004
       DAYTON DEANERY, DAYTON (OH) - "The Wounded Body of Christ: Sexual Abuse in the Church" series will continue at the University of Dayton as attorney and professor Patrick Schiltz discusses the issue of "Too Much Law, Too Little Justice: How Lawyers Helped to Turn a Clergy Sexual Abuse Problem Into a Clergy Sexual Abuse Crisis."
       Schiltz, who holds the St. Thomas More Chair in Law at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis, will speak at 7 p.m. Jan. 10 in the Sears Recital Hall in the Jesse Philips Humanities Center on UD's campus. The presentation is free and open to the public.
       "I will focus on the role that lawyers, especially the church's own lawyers, played in creating the clergy sexual abuse crisis and I will talk about how those same lawyers now have the opportunity to help the church emerge from the crisis," Schiltz said.
       According to Schiltz, clergy sexual abuse has become uncommon during the past decade but litigation continues to increase. The amount of settlements continues to rise, causing financial problems for several dioceses.
       "Dioceses, for the first time, have turned to the bankruptcy courts for protection," Schiltz said. "Three dioceses have now filed for bankruptcy, and more are sure to follow."
    • Gospel class sex abuse of kids charged [2000s Montoya] - Mormon, and bailiff. Girls.
       The Salt Lake Tribune, www.sltrib.com/ utah/ci_2496266 , By Matt Canham, Last Updated 10:10:23 AM, Dec/23/2004
       SYRACUSE (UT): A gospel teacher at a Mormon ward in Syracuse allegedly fondled four young girls, some of them while they were praying or coloring religious pictures in his class. Aaron Marcos Montoya, 32, of Syracuse, is charged in Farmington's 2nd District Court with five counts of aggravated sexual abuse, a first-degree felony punishable by up to life in prison. On Wednesday, Montoya, who was booked into the Davis County Jail on Tuesday, appeared in Farmington's 2nd District Court, where bail was set at $100,000. Montoya works as a bailiff at the Scott M. Matheson Courthouse in Salt Lake City. The Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office, which provides security to the building, has placed Montoya on paid administrative leave.
    • Clerics involved in 1 percent of child sexual abuse: NGO - Mosques and churches mentioned, and 47 murders. Pakistan flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Daily Times, www.dailytimes. com.pk/default .asp?page=story_ 23-12-2004_pg7_31 , By Shahzad Raza, Dec 23, 2004
       ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN: Clerics were involved in only one percent of over 1,200 cases of child sexual abuse (CSA) committed during the first three quarters of 2004, say statistics compiled by non-government organisation (NGO) Sahil.
       The statistics revealed that 1,218 children were abused from January 2004 to September 2004. The figures only mentioned the cases reported in 27 newspapers. It was observed that a majority of the cases had not been reported.
       The statistics showed 434 of the total CSA cases were committed by elderly cousins or other acquaintances of children. It added 176 cases occurred at the victims' homes, 74 in fields, 31 in streets, 18 in jungles, 15 at workplaces, six in mosques, two in hotels, one in a church and one case in jail.
       The statistical report said the places of CSA crimes in 461 cases were not reported in newspapers. It observed that the CSA rate in Pakistan was still touching the astonishing figure of 4.5 children a day, which was almost equal to that in year 2003.
       During the first three quarters of the year 2004, around 197 girls were raped and 105 boys were sodomised. It was reported that 34 girls and 13 boys were murdered after being sexually assaulted.
    • LDS teacher faces charges of sex abuse [2000s Montoya] - Mormon. Girls. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Deseret Morning News, http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,600099747,00.html , By Pat Reavy, Thursday, December 23, 2004
      SYRACUSE (UT) - An LDS Primary teacher was accused of molesting young girls in his class during church and at his home.
       Aaron Marcos Montoya, 32, who is also a Salt Lake County sheriff's officer, was charged in 2nd District Court with five counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child. The charges included the aggravated enhancement because Montoya was in a position of trust in his church duties.
       Two of the victims were allegedly molested at a ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints near 4500 West and 1700 South in Syracuse on Dec. 12. The attacks allegedly occurred in Montoya's Primary classroom while other students were present, Syracuse police Sgt. Mark Sessions said.
       Two victims were allegedly attacked in Montoya's house near 1300 South and 3900 West over the past month, Sessions said. The young girls were at the house visiting Montoya's children, he said.
    • Syracuse Police Arrest Primary Teacher On Child Sex Abuse Suspicion [2000s Montoya] - Mormon. Girls.
       KSL http://tv.ksl.com/ index.php? nid=39&sid=1 40534 , ~ Dec 23, 2004
       SYRACUSE (UT): Police in Syracuse, Utah have arrested a primary teacher on suspicion of child sexual abuse. He's accused of abusing 4 children in his class. Sandra Yi joins us with more.
       The suspect is also a law enforcement officer. They say, that's what makes this case even more disturbing. The suspect, 32-year old Aaron Montoya, is a corrections officer with the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office. He's also a Primary teacher in his L-D-S congregation.
       Montoya is accused of fondling 4 of his students, ages 5 and 6, during class. Police aren't sure if any of the other kids witnessed the acts. They say there were as many as 6 children in the classroom, and there could be more victims.
    • Former pastor on trial for sexual abuse [Molia] - Assembly of God. 2 girls.
       San Bernardino Sun, www.sbsun.com/ Stories/0,1413, 208~12588~2609 642,00.html , By JOE NELSON , ~ Dec 23, 2004
       SAN BERNARDINO (CA) - A former church pastor sexually abused two sisters for six years at their homes and in remote areas of the city, threatening to kill one of them and later begging for forgiveness, a prosecutor argued Monday in Superior Court.
       "This is a unique and complicated case. ... Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction,' Deputy District Attorney Jane Templeton said in her closing argument in the trial of John Molia, 69, of San Bernardino.
       Molia, a former pastor of First Assembly of God Church in San Bernardino, faces two felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 and special allegations of having multiple victims.
       He could be sent to prison for 15 years to life if convicted.
    • Decision on clergymen's extradition expected in February [? 1955 +, 2003-04 St John of God clergy] - RCC. Students. Australia flag; Aust. National Flag Assn.  New Zealand flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Stuff, www.stuff.co. nz/stuff/0, 2106,3137923 a11,00.html , 24 December 2004
       SYDNEY and NEW ZEALAND: A Sydney magistrate said yesterday he would hand down a decision in mid-February as to whether three St John of God clergymen would be extradited to New Zealand to face historic child abuse charges.
       The trio - two brothers and a priest - face 64 charges of sexual abuse of students at Christchurch's Marylands school, which was run by the St John of God order between 1955 and its closure 30 years later.
       Magistrate Hugh Dillon heard final submissions in Downing Centre Local Court yesterday from lawyers for the three men and the Australian Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, who are seeking to extradite the trio, aged 82, 69 and 57, - on behalf of New Zealand.
       The men were arrested just after Christmas last year, but their case has dragged out the full year, bogged down by a logjam in the Sydney courts and the complex legal argument that developed in the case.
       Mr Dillon said at the beginning of the week he had hoped to give his decision this week, but it became apparent yesterday that he would run out of time.
    • 26 men file two lawsuits against archdiocese [1940s-70s Christian Brothers] - RCC. 26 boys. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Seattle Times, http://seattletimes. nwsource.com/text/2002 125745_dige21m.html , ~ Dec 23, 2004
       SEATTLE (WA): Twenty-six men have filed two lawsuits against the Seattle Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church and the Congregation of Christian Brothers religious order, claiming past sexual abuse at Briscoe Memorial School, a now-defunct boarding school in Kent, and at Seattle's O'Dea High School.
       The suits were filed Friday in King County Superior Court.
       Both Briscoe, which closed in 1970, and O'Dea were owned by the Seattle archdiocese and managed by the Christian Brothers.
       The abuses alleged in the suits range from the 1940s to the 1970s. Plaintiffs described physical and sexual abuse at Briscoe, including whippings and beatings, late-night molestations, oral sex and rape.
       Brother Daniel Casey, with the Christian Brothers-Brother Rice Province, said he hadn't seen the lawsuits and declined to comment. Brothers with the Christian Brothers-Eastern American Province and their attorneys did not return calls seeking comment.
       Greg Magnoni, Seattle archdiocese spokesman, said "we're confident [the Christian Brothers] will respond appropriately to these lawsuits."
    • Audit pegs diocese's deficit at $20m - RCC. Annual loss double budget.
       The Boston Globe, By Michael Paulson and Stephen Kurkjian, December 23, 2004
       BOSTON (MA): The Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, reeling from the aftereffects of the clergy sexual abuse crisis, spent $20 million more than it took in during the last fiscal year, according to a new audit.
       The unusually large deficit -- twice what Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley has said the archdiocese is losing annually -- reflects costs associated with the sale of 43 acres of land in Brighton to Boston College, but also illustrates the archdiocese's dire financial condition.
       The archdiocese faces continuing liabilities, including multiple lawsuits by people who assert they are victims of abuse by priests, which led the accounting firm, Grant Thornton LLP, to decline to express any opinion about the church's financial statements.
       The archdiocese "is involved in numerous lawsuits relating to claims of sexual misconduct by certain individuals beyond the claims covered under the December 2003 settlement agreement," the audit says.
       Neither church leaders nor lawyers could estimate the potential financial impact of the abuse claims, the audit said, but "the nature and magnitude of the potential effects of these claims on the financial statements is significant."
    • Sex-offense registry mandatory for priest [Stein (Norbertine)] - RCC. Boy.
       Press-Gazette, www.greenbay pressgazette. com/news/archive/ local_19137276.shtml/a> , By Andy Nelesen, anelesen@green baypress gazette.com , ~ Dec 23, 2004
       GREEN BAY (WI): The judge who sentenced former Norbertine priest James Stein to a year in jail and 10 years probation for molesting a 14-year-old boy has reversed part of her decision and now will require the 44-year-old man to register for life as a sex offender.
       In a ruling issued Tuesday, Brown County Circuit Court Judge Sue Bischel wrote that, immediately after leaving the bench on Dec. 16, she second-guessed her decision not to require Stein to register.
       "... At the end of the day, (I) became concerned that neither myself nor the attorneys had complete information regarding this issue because it was first raised at the conclusion of this very difficult hearing," Bischel wrote in her ruling.
       Bischel alerted the lawyers involved that she planned to revisit the matter and discovered that an additional section of Wisconsin law governs who must register as a sex offender and for how long.
    • Mothers organize local chapter of anti-abuse network [Stein (Norbertine)] - RCC.
       Press-Gazette, www.greenbay pressgazette. com/news/arch ive/local_1914 9606.shtml , By Jean Peerenboom, jpeerenb@greenbay pressgazette.com , ~ Dec 23, 2004
       GREEN BAY (WI): Two mothers whose sons accused Catholic clergy of sex abuse are starting a local chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests [SNAP]. On Wednesday, they delivered a letter to Bishop David Zubik of the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay asking for his support.
       "We want him to put our contact information in The Compass, the diocesan newspaper, and on the diocesan Web site," said Alice Hodek, who is starting the chapter with Judith Schauer.
       At the same time, Hodek said the group is asking the bishop to contact leaders of other local church denominations to do the same.
       Tony Kuick, communications director for the diocese, accepted the letter on the bishop's behalf. "I extended the bishop's prayers to the Hodek family and said the bishop is willing to meet the Hodeks after the first of the year."
       Hodek's son, Mark, was a victim of former Norbertine priest James Stein, who was sentenced last week to 10 years' probation and a year in jail with work-release privileges.
    • Backsliding on priestly deeds [Brunett] - RCC.
       Seattle Times, http://seattle times.nwsource. com/html/editorial sopinion/2002127917 _arched23.html , Editorial, ~ Dec 23, 2004
       SEATTLE (WA): Ecclesiastical process is a tiresome, worn-out dodge used by American Catholic bishops to paper over virtually every step of the sexual-abuse scandal by priests.
       Two years ago, Seattle Archbishop Alexander Brunett offered a pithy observation that suggested he shared the frustration of the laity with bishops who spoke one way and acted another: "Our people are waiting for some kind of sign at all that we recognize we have some culpability in this matter," he said.
       Now it appears Brunett is backsliding himself, delaying the release of a half-dozen names of offending priests until after the Vatican has looked at their cases.
       The archbishop rightly has been challenged by the diocese's own independent review board, which looked at local cases of priests accused of sexual abuse. Brunett is trying to shoulder aside a distinguished and credentialed panel of Catholics and non-Catholics worried about the future of the church and the treatment of the scandal's victims.
    • Allegation: Abuse by priest was long-term [1986-93 Emerson] - RCC.
       Northwest Indiana Times, www.thetimes online.com/articles/ 2004/12/23/news/ lake_county/f522 46c6334c72148 6256f73001 4827e.txt ; BY CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN, Special to The Times, ~ Dec 23, 2004
       ORLANDO (FL) - A letter sent from the Catholic Diocese of Orlando to the Orange-Osceola State Attorney's Office in June detailed sexual-abuse allegations against a visiting Indiana priest accused of molesting an Orlando boy for several years.
       The Rev. Richard Emerson, who was placed on administrative leave Saturday by the Diocese of Gary, was accused of sexually abusing an Orlando boy from the time he was 11 until he was nearly 18 in 1993, the June 10 letter said.
       Emerson, 52, now a pastor at Notre Dame in Michigan City, cannot take part in any public ministry nor have contact with minors while on administrative leave. The Hammond native has a long history with churches in the region, including ministering at Munster's St. Thomas More Church from 1996 to 2003.
       The alleged victim, now 29, contacted the Orlando diocese through his attorney on May 25, alleging Emerson had taken him on trips to Key West, Chicago, Colorado and Indiana during the seven-year period. On a final trip to Indiana, he allegedly confronted Emerson, who admitted he "had a problem" and offered the teen $800 to keep quiet, according to the letter.
    • Priest pleads innocent in kiddie porn case [2004 Holtey] - RCC. Pornography - men, children.
       North County Times, www.nctimes.com/ articles/2004/12/ 23/news/sandiego/ 19_19_3312_22_04.txt , By North County Times wire services, Dec 23, 2004
       SAN DIEGO (CA) - A Roman Catholic priest from Point Loma, included in an international probe of child pornography, pleaded innocent Wednesday to misdemeanor possession of child porn charges and was jailed on $40,000 bail.
       The Rev. Gary Michael Holtey, 59, was ordered into custody by San Diego Superior Court Commissioner Robert C. Rice despite arguments from defense attorney Daniel Williams that the defendant traveled from a Maryland rehabilitation center to make his court appearance.
       Agents searched the St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church and Academy parish office on May 6 and found printouts of child erotica and pornography, gay porn videos, film negatives of nude men and computer equipment, according to court documents.
       "The defendant has a sexual preference for young boys," said Deputy City Attorney Judy Taschner, in arguing for $50,000 bail. "All minors are potential victims in his presence."
       Taschner said Holtey left the state during the investigation, and authorities consider the defendant a flight risk and a danger to young boys he might come into contact with.
       But Williams said the San Diego Catholic Diocese in providing financial and emotional support for Holtey's stay at the Maryland rehabilitation facility, where he is getting counseling.
    • Priest to serve 15 to 21 months for receiving child porn over the Internet [2000s Figurelle] - RCC.
       NEPA News, The Associated Press, December 22, 2004
       PENNSYLVANIA: A Roman Catholic priest who pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography over the Internet was sentenced to 15 to 21 months in federal prison.
       The Rev. Elwood F. Figurelle, 71, the former pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Church in Mount Union, also must pay a $20,000 fine and participate in counseling. A federal judge in Williamsport also sentenced Figurelle to three years of supervised release.
       "I got caught up in a very evil industry," Figurelle said at his sentencing Monday.
       Figurelle in October 2003 pleaded guilty to a charge of taking obscene material from interstate commerce.
       Prosecutors said they discovered the offense in February 2003 when Figurelle asked a computer store to transfer files from his old hard drive to a new computer he had just bought. Store employees turned the old hard drive over to the FBI after finding file names indicating they might contain child pornography.
    • Asia ; Ex-priest asks HK court to halt sex abuse case [1975- 77 Lee] - RCC. China flag; Mooney's MiniFlags Hong Kong (+ China) flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Asia News, www.keralanext.com/news/?id=80189 , ~ Dec 23, 2004
       HONG KONG: - A former Roman Catholic priest facing sex abuse charges in Hong Kong asked a court on Wednesday to halt all legal proceedings against him because the alleged offences took place too long ago to afford him a fair trial.
       Stanislaus Lee, now a 53-year-old self-employed interpreter, has been charged with four counts of indecently assaulting a boy between 1975 and 1977.
       The victim was 12 and Lee was training to be a priest at the time of the first alleged offence, which according to court documents took place in a school dormitory.
       This is the second time a serving or defrocked cleric has been charged with sex crimes in Hong Kong and the case could turn the spotlight back on sex abuse cases involving Roman Catholic clergy around the world.
       The clean-shaven Lee sat expressionless as his lawyer, Peter Duncan, told the district court that the alleged offences took place too long ago to allow a fair trial to take place.
    • Former priest pleads guilty to teen rape [1975, 1978 Campbell] - RCC. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Telegram & Gazette, By Milton J. Valencia, Dec 23, 2004
       WORCESTER (MA) - The man shook his head in bewilderment as he took the stand in Superior Court yesterday, confronting his former priest, who minutes earlier had pleaded guilty to molesting him as a teenager.
       "Where do you begin ... to describe the certain pain people like this do to little children?" said the man, who is listed in court records only by his initials, J.H., in an effort to conceal his identity.
       "We took a pedophile off the street today, so he can never do this again."
       James D. Campbell, a former Catholic priest in Warwick, R.I., pleaded guilty to rape, admitting he took J.H. and another teenager to a restaurant in Uxbridge nearly 30 years ago and molested them on different occasions.
       Mr. Campbell, who was last known to be living with the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in Pennsylvania, will be sentenced Jan. 10 on charges of rape, two counts of assault and battery, two counts of furnishing alcohol to a minor, and unnatural and lascivious acts.
       The assistant district attorney and Mr. Campbell's lawyer recommended a 90-day jail term followed by 10 years of probation. Superior Court Judge Peter W. Agnes Jr. will consider the recommendation Jan. 10.
       J.H. said in a victim impact statement yesterday that he is a "compassionate" man and so he agreed with the recommended sentence. Still, he lashed out at his former priest, who was an assistant pastor at St. Joseph's Church in Rhode Island, saying he showed no compassion at all while pleading guilty.
       "This guy just doesn't get it," J.H. said, urging Judge Agnes to keep in mind the "scar" the former priest left.
       "I know you understand, and I know the court understands, but he just doesn't get it. I did what I had to do and I feel justice has been served," he said.
       Mr. Campbell pleaded guilty to taking two teenagers to a restaurant in Uxbridge in 1975 and 1978, plying them with alcohol and molesting them. J.H., who was 16 in 1975, told police he was molested by the former priest, who was 32 at the time, after they had a meal. They returned to the priest's car and the priest began touching him and putting his hand under his clothing, he told police.
       A second victim, who was 14 at the time, told police Mr. Campbell bought her a meal and drinks and began touching her. She began to complain and the priest grew apologetic and did not rape her, according to statements made in court yesterday. [Bolding added]
    • Ruling restrains priest sex suits [1970s] - Various religions.
       Detroit Free Press, BY JIM SCHAEFER, December 23, 2004
       MICHIGAN - In a ruling that could stop lawsuits involving old allegations of sexual abuse by clergy in Michigan, a divided state Court of Appeals said Wednesday a man who claimed abuse in the 1970s cannot sue because he waited too long.
       Lawyers for plaintiffs and victims' advocates decried the ruling, which they said puts Michigan behind states such as California, where legislative changes have allowed victims of decades of abuse by Catholic priests to file lawsuits.
       The appeals court ruling upholds Michigan's statute of limitations, which requires victims in such cases to sue within three years of the abuse.
       "What some judges don't understand is that many, many victims deny and minimize what happened and don't even understand they've been hurt," said David Clohessy, the St. Louis-based national director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests [SNAP].
       "It's only after the fourth failed marriage and the fifth DUI and the sixth bar fight that we begin to understand those horrible childhood incidents still cause us suffering and self-destructive behavior."
    • Board criticism of archbishop grows - RCC.
       The Seattle Times, http://seattle times.nwsource. com/html/local news/2002128384_ catholic23m.html , By Janet I. Tu, ~ Dec 23, 2004
       SEATTLE (WA): A seventh member of a 10-person board charged with reviewing cases of Roman Catholic priests accused of sexual abuse has signed on to a letter critical of some of Seattle Archbishop Alexander Brunett's actions.
       Bill Lennon, a state-certified provider of sex-offender treatment and director of a counseling practice in Bellevue, said yesterday that he had been out of the country when six of the board members met earlier this month. That meeting was to discuss how they would respond after receiving a Dec. 3 letter from the archbishop saying the board essentially would be disbanded.
       In a letter of response sent Monday, the six criticized Brunett for, among other things, suggesting future abuses by local priests were unlikely to happen; not releasing the names of offending priests until after the Vatican has decided their fates; and trying to soften a board report critical of church policies, and releasing it in October only after board members threatened to resign.
       Lennon said yesterday he faxed a copy of his signed letter to board chairman Terrence Carroll, a retired King County Superior Court judge, to send on to the archbishop. "I believed in the statements that we were making," Lennon said of his decision. [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 08:17 AM]
    ////////// End of Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker www.ncrnews.org/abuse , Thu December 23, 2004
    Abuse Chronology: http://www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/ethics/ethcont107.htm
    For good teachings to be heeded, a big clean-up is needed.
    #### Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker, www.ncrnews.org/abuse, Fri December 24, 2004 edition follows:-
    • Geoghan slay suspect makes claims [Druce] -- RCC. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Telegram & Gazette, By Milton J. Valencia, Dec 24, 2004
       WORCESTER (MA) - The inmate accused of killing defrocked pedophile priest John J. Geoghan in prison claimed in court yesterday that prison guards have interfered with his case, read his mail and listened to phone conversations, depriving him of his right to access to a lawyer.
       Joseph L. Druce submitted a motion through his lawyer seeking to have the case dismissed on the grounds of interference. Superior Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman did not comment on the motion yesterday, but urged Mr. Druce's court-appointed lawyer, John H. LaChance, to make arrangements with the superintendent of the state prison in Walpole, where Mr. Druce is being held, to assure the defendant that his rights are being preserved.
       Mr. LaChance did not argue on behalf of Mr. Druce's motion, but did say that his client has been so obsessed with the concern jail guards are reading his mail and monitoring his telephone conversations that he has difficulty communicating with him to prepare for the trial.
       Mr. Druce has been moved to several prisons since the Aug. 23, 2003, killing of Mr. Geoghan, who was incarcerated for fondling a 10-year-old boy. Mr. Geoghan had been at the center of the Boston Archdiocese sex-abuse scandal. Mr. Druce, 38, was serving a life sentence at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley for the 1998 murder of a gay man.
       Mr. Druce allegedly attacked Mr. Geoghan in his cell after jamming the door shut to prevent anyone from intervening. He allegedly told investigators after Mr. Geoghan's death that he killed the former priest "to save the children."
       Mr. LaChance has informed the court that he plans an insanity defense, and has won approval to subpoena Mr. Druce's medical records, as well as records compiled in a state investigation into the killing.
       A report by a three-member commission found that failures in the inmate classification system, disciplinary procedures and internal investigative processes in the state Department of Correction contributed to circumstances leading to the killing of Mr. Geoghan.
       Yesterday, Mr. LaChance notified the court that several of the records he has obtained through subpoenas have been sent to the clerk's office for review by the district attorney's office. However, Judge Hillman, acting on a request by Mr. LaChance, immediately sealed those records outside the view of the defense and the prosecution.
       Mr. Druce complained in court yesterday that he is being harassed by jail guards pushing for him to enter a guilty plea rather than allow sensitive information - such as records in the investigative report, called the Delaney report - to be released at trial. [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 09:25 AM]
    • Church needs €50m over next 10 years for sex abuse victims - RCC. Ireland flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Irish Independent, www.unison.ie /irish_independent/ stories.php3?ca=9& si=1310917 &issue_id=11869 , by David Quinn, Religious Affairs Correspondent, Issue date Fri, Dec 24 04
       IRELAND: The Catholic hierarchy will have to find up to €50m over the next 10 years to compensate sex abuse victims, pay for their counselling services and fund a revamped and expanded child protection service, the Irish Independent has learned.
       The news comes as a €10m trust set up by the bishops using insurance funds is expected to run out within the next 12 months because of abuse payouts.
       The result is that each of the 26 dioceses in the country will have to draw increasingly on their own resources to maintain the fund.
       How they do this will be left up to each bishop, but the sale of property is certain to be one source of funds while there could also be special collections from churchgoers.
       Already the Diocese of Killaloe has drawn on money raised by the sale of land around the bishop's house to make a contribution in the region of €40,000 to the trust.[...]
       Ferns has already warned that its own funds are "almost exhausted" as a result of abuse claims and assets such as land and property could be sold off.
       Future bankruptcies of dioceses, as has happened already in the United States, cannot be ruled out, although at this stage it is unlikely that parish property will be affected as such property belongs to the parish, strictly speaking, and not to the diocese.#
    • A noted theologian addresses VOTF - RCC. Donald B Cozzens speaks. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Reading Advocate Thursday, December 23, 2004
       WINCHESTER (MA): On Thursday, Dec. 2 the Winchester Area Voice of the Faithful welcomed noted theologian and author Fr. Donald B Cozzens, Ph.D., to a special meeting at St. Eulalia's Church in Winchester. About 100 people were in attendance.
       Cozzens was ordained in 1965. He is currently writer-in-residence at John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio where he teaches in the religious studies department. He has been trained as a pastoral theologian and psychologist, earned an MA from Notre Dame and a doctorate in psychology from Kent State. Cozzens has spoken on many radio and television programs as well as at meetings around the world.
       Cozzens is the author of two award-winning and best-selling books, "The Changing Face of the Priesthood" (Paulist Press, 2000), which was translated into more than 6 languages, and "Sacred Silence: Denial and the Crisis in the Church" (Liturgical Press, 2002). "The Changing Face of the Priesthood" was written after 20 years of research.
       Cozzens's new book, "Faith That Dares to Speak" (Liturgical Press 2004) has an entire chapter devoted to Voice of the Faithful.
       The theme of Cozzens's talk was that the Roman Catholic Church is the last feudal system in the West and that its response to the clergy sexual abuse crisis was consistent with its feudal structure, namely to protect resources by secrecy and denial.
       Cozzens believes that the role of the laity is to challenge the Church to have accountability and transparency. According to Cozzens, Voice of the Faithful has shown the courage and maturity to speak truth to power.
       Cozzens further stated that the scandal of clergy sexual abuse has touched priests, bishops and laity. For priests, the crisis has meant the collapse of respect.
       Some priests have shrunk their worlds to the boundaries of their parishes, while others fear false accusations of sexual misconduct.
       Bishops have far too often been loyal toward the Church hierarchy, their fellow bishops, and the whole institutional Church, rather than the most vulnerable - the victims of abuse - which is required by the Gospel.
    • Judge dismisses molestation case against pastor's 14-year-old son - Baptist. Girl.
       Seattle Post-Intelligencer, http://seattlepi. nwsource.com/local/ aplocal_story.asp? category=6420&slug=WA%20 Pastor's%20Son ; THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, ~ Dec 24, 2004
       EVERETT, Wash. -- A judge has dropped a sexual abuse charge against a pastor's 14-year-old son, ruling that the chief prosecution witness, a 5-year-old girl, was not competent to testify.
       Judge Thomas J. Wynne halted the trial Thursday in Juvenile Court after more than three days of testimony by more than a dozen witnesses before a packed courtroom.
       Pastor Paul A. Stoot Sr. of Greater Trinity Missionary Baptist Church began a campaign to change state law after his son, 13 at the time, was questioned by a police detective for more than two hours in January without the teenager's parents or a defense lawyer present.
       The boy was charged with first-degree molestation by improperly touching the girl, age 3 at the time, while she was staying with his family in the summer of 2002.
       Police said the teenager confessed, but last month Judge Ronald C. Castleberry barred the use of his statement as evidence, ruling that it was coerced and that the boy did not understand his rights.
    • Convicted bishop halfway through community service [O'Brien] - RCC. Had admitted child abusers were transferred and nobody was warned.
       Arizona Daily Sun, By ANABELLE GARAY, Associated Press Writer, Dec/24/2004
       PHOENIX (AZ) -- The retired Catholic bishop who was convicted in a fatal hit-and-run has completed half of the community service hours he was ordered to perform as part of his sentence.
       Bishop Thomas O'Brien, former leader of the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix, was halfway through the required 1,000 community service hours by last week, said diocese spokeswoman Mary Jo West.
       O'Brien has kept regular weekly appointments at a hospital and nursing home, ministering to patients and residents, West said. ...
       O'Brien resigned in June 2003 after police arrested him on suspicion of striking 43-year-old pedestrian Jim Reed with his car and leaving the scene of the accident.
       Shortly before his arrest, O'Brien had signed an agreement with the prosecutor's office that protected him from any potential charges of criminal cover-up related to allegations of abuse by clergy.
       In the agreement, O'Brien acknowledged that priests accused of sexual misconduct had been allowed to work with children and were sometimes transferred to other parishes without the knowledge of supervisors or parishioners.
    • Correction: Priest Shot-Defrocked story [1993 Blackwell] - RCC.
       The Charleston Gazette http://wvgazette. com/section/APNews /News/ap0611n , ~ Dec 24, 2004
       BALTIMORE (AP) (MD) -- In a Dec. 22 story about the defrocking of a priest for sexual abuse, The Associated Press erroneously reported the chronology of the case involving Maurice Blackwell. He was not returned to his parish after acknowledging a relationship with a teenager.
       Blackwell was accused of sexually abusing Dontee Stokes in 1993 at his parish in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The priest denied the allegation, was given psychological treatment and allowed to return to his parish.
       Subsequently, a second person accused Blackwell of abusing him in the early 1970s. Blackwell acknowledged a relationship had occurred with that person, and the archdiocese removed him from the ministry in 1998.
    • Boy-B*ggering Bingo!
       Orange County Weekly, www.ocweekly.com/ink/05/16/news-arellano2.php , by Gustavo Arellano, ~ Dec 24, 2004
       CALIFORNIA: Now that the Orange diocese sex-abuse scandal is officially settled - a Dec. 6 conference disclosed the total at a record-breaking $100 million - pundits will speak of winners and losers. You'll hear of Orange Bishop Tod D. Brown, the church's reputation, NAMBLA. But here are five winners and five losers that won't get as much coverage:
       THE WINNERS
       Manly & McGuire: The Costa Mesa-based law firm primarily deals with real-estate law but represented 30 of the 87 cases against the Orange diocese. The tenacity of its three lead employees - attorneys John Manly (nicknamed "Mad Dog" Manly by church lawyers), Ryan DiMaria and monk-turned-researcher Patrick Wall - ensured that the settlement included the public release of priest-personnel files victims claim will show church complicity in their molestations. Thanks to their bulldog reputation, Manly, DiMaria and Wall are pursuing similar cases across the country. Next giant to slay: the Los Angeles Archdiocese.
       Judge Jim Gray: In 2001, Gray ordered the Orange and Los Angeles dioceses to pay DiMaria $5.2 million for abuse he alleged at the hands of Michael Harris, the former principal of Mater Dei and Santa Margarita high schools. At the time, it was the largest single-plaintiff, pretrial settlement in the history of the Catholic Church. More significantly, Gray forced Brown to disclose psychological records that diagnosed Harris with a sexual attraction to young boys. DiMaria vs. Harris came before the Boston archdiocese sex scandal and established a precedent for every priestly molestation case since.
    • Church follow-up lacking [2000s Brunett] - RCC.
       Post-Intelligencer, http://seattlepi. nwsource.com/ opinion/205053_ bishoped.html , SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD, , ~ Dec 24, 2004
       SEATTLE (WA): The majority on a prestigious citizen review panel has signed an alarming letter to Seattle Archbishop Alex Brunett highly critical of his approach to dealing with the reality of child sexual abuse by priests.
       After studying the allegations of priests abusing children in the Seattle Archdiocese, seven of the 10 members of the Case Review Board endorsed the letter. Board member Mike McKay, former U.S. attorney, said Brunett's approach "suggests a lack of diligence."
       The board chairman, retired King County Superior Court Judge Terrence Carroll, said Brunett had shown a "tendency to minimize things" on the child abuse issue. McKay said the archbishop tried to blunt the tenor of the board's final report and even refused to publish it until the members threatened to resign in protest. The letter said Brunett was trying to silence "disagreements or potentially unfavorable analyses of Archdiocesan actions."
       These allegations are appalling.
    • Former Hong Kong priest cleared of sexual abuse case [1975-77 Lee] China flag; Mooney's MiniFlags Hong Kong (+ China) flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       The Star, http://thestar. com.my/news/ story.asp?file=/ 2004/12/24/ latest/20299 FormerHon&sec= latest , Dec 24, 2004
       HONG KONG (AP) - A former Roman Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy in the 1970s in Hong Kong walked free Friday after a judge dropped the case, saying it would be impossible to have a fair trial over the decades-old matter.
       Government prosecutor Steve Chui said the victim, now 42, was very disappointed with the ruling.
       "He was very emotional and was crying," Chui said, adding that the Department of Justice will study the ruling before considering whether to appeal.
       District Court Judge Patrick Li accepted the arguments by the lawyer of former Hong Kong priest Stanislaus Lee that the defendant could not get a fair trial because evidence had been destroyed, and potential witnesses had died or could not recall what happened.
       Lee, 53, was accused of four counts of indecent assault for sexually abusing the boy in 1975-1977.
       The judge granted the defense's request for a "permanent stay of proceedings" to end the trial.
    • Former DeLand priest accused of sexual misconduct [1980s Emerson] - RCC. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       The Daytona Beach News-Journal, December 24, 2004
       FLORIDA: An Indiana priest who served one year at St. Peter's Catholic Church in DeLand has been placed on administrative leave after a church panel found "credible evidence" to support sexual misconduct allegations against him.
       The case against the Rev. Richard Emerson, associate pastor of St. Peter's for one year beginning in January 1990, has now been turned over to a Vatican group to advise the bishop in Gary, Ind., how to proceed.
       Emerson could not be reached for comment.
       The case against him stems from a sexual abuse complaint lodged with the Orlando diocese in May, according to diocese spokeswoman Carol Brinati. Church officials turned over the information to the State Attorney's Office in Orlando and the Gary diocese where Emerson has worked for most of the last 28 years.
       A 29-year-old man complained Emerson had abused him for seven years, beginning when he was 11, according to a June 10 diocesan letter to the state attorney quoted Thursday by the Orlando Sentinel.
       Emerson worked at three Central Florida churches from 1987 to 1991 so he could be close to his ailing parents, Gary Diocese spokesman Brian Olszewski said.
    • Suspended priest sentenced [Ryan] - RCC. 6-y-o boy.
       Newsday, BY ZACHARY R. DOWDY, December 24, 2004
       NEW YORK: Barry Ryan, the suspended and ailing Catholic priest who pleaded guilty to repeatedly molesting a 6-year-old Suffolk boy, said yesterday that he looks forward to his own imminent death as he was sentenced in Suffolk County Court.
       Ryan, 56, of Palm City, Fla., is suffering from advanced liver cancer and has just a few months to live, doctors have said.
       The boy's family often let Ryan stay with them soon after he was diagnosed with cancer, and he admitted that he repaid the kindness shown to him by doing "this terrible thing."
       He told the father of his victim that he begs for the family's forgiveness as he sat in a wheelchair in Judge Ralph Gazzillo's Riverhead courtroom, flanked by attorneys.
       Gazzillo, who delivered an impassioned assessment of the case from the bench, said no case "has been more disturbing nor more troubling than this."
       Gazzillo gave Ryan the negotiated sentence of 2 years.
       But Ryan is not expected to see the inside of a prison, said Rosamaria Abbate, the Suffolk prosecutor who handled the case. His terminal illness may take his life before the date he is supposed to go into custody, which Gazzillo set for July 7, 2005.
    • U.S. courts to track sealings, closures
       Star-Ledger, BY JOHN P. MARTIN AND KATE COSCARELLI, Thursday, December 23, 2004
       NEW JERSEY: After several years of debate, U.S. judges in New Jersey have enacted a rule to require courts to record whenever documents are sealed and courtrooms are closed to the public in civil matters.
       Supporters hailed the change as an important step in maintaing public access to the workings of the justice system. Parties typically ask the court to seal records or courtrooms because they want to prevent the release of sensitive or damaging information.
       Tracking such sealings or courtroom closures had been nearly impossible in New Jersey, where roughly three dozen federal judges preside over thousands of cases in courthouses in Newark, Trenton and Camden.
       But as early as next month -- when a public comment period ends -- the federal court in New Jersey will maintain and post a report on its Web site detailing the cases that involve sealings and closures.
       The rule also requires New Jersey's federal judges to explain why they are approving such actions. ...
       The issue has been percolating since the early 1990s, but drew newfound attention in the wake of corporate and clergy sex abuse scandals, Drake University Law School Professor Laurie Doré said.
    • Lawsuit Dismissed Against Bishop [MacArthur] - RCC.
       KELOLAND Television, www.keloland. com/News/News Detail4514.cfm? ID=22,36778
       SOUTH DAKOTA: A federal judge has dropped a retired bishop from a lawsuit filed by a Florida woman who claims she was molested by a Roman Catholic priest in the 1960s.
       US District Judge Lawrence Piersol has granted a motion by Bishop Paul V. Dudley to dismiss for the plaintiff's failure to state a claim.
       The sexual-abuse lawsuit will continue against the Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and the Reverend Bruce MacArthur.
       In February, Piersol dropped current Sioux Falls Bishop Robert Carlson from the suit.
    • 3 ex-students settle abuse lawsuit [1970s-80s Christian Brothers] - RCC. Boys.
       San Francisco Chronicle, by Katherine Seligman, Friday, December 24, 2004
       CALIFORNIA: Three former students at De La Salle High School in Concord who say they were sexually abused by counselors or teachers have received $6.3 million to settle three lawsuits against the Catholic order that operates the school, attorneys and plaintiffs said Thursday.
       The former students, all now in their 30s and 40s, say the alleged abuse by members of the Christian Brothers Order happened during the mid-1970s to early '80s. One man says a teacher molested him on a school-sanctioned ski trip, and a second says a counselor abused him at a youth retreat in Napa.
       In a third case, a former student says a different counselor repeatedly molested him during sessions off campus. The Christian Brothers order, which runs the prestigious private school, had transferred that counselor to Concord despite knowing that he had relationships with "sexual overtones" at another school, according to a 1968 letter from a Christian Brothers provincial leader that came to light after the lawsuit was filed.
       "His behavior around me was as if he was entitled to touch me at any time," said plaintiff Chris Barbour, 41. He said the counselor had molested him during sessions that he had sought out as a result of an earlier incidence of sexual abuse unconnected to the Christian Brothers. [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 07:59 AM]
    ////////// End of Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker www.ncrnews.org/abuse , Fri December 24, 2004
    Abuse Chronology: http://www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/ethics/ethcont107.htm
    For good teachings to be heeded, a big clean-up is needed.
    #### Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker, www.ncrnews.org/abuse, Sat December 25, 2004 edition follows:-
    • Roman Kramek Must Account [2002 Kramek] - RCC. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags  Poland flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Hartford Courant, December 24, 2004
       NEW BRITAIN (CT) -- Roman Kramek, the Polish priest accused of sexually assaulting a teenage New Britain girl during a counseling session two years ago, has pleaded guilty in exchange for a nine-month prison sentence and 10 years of probation. The Rev. Kramek's courtroom plea brings this case to a legal conclusion of sorts. Yet it is still something short of a resolution.
       The Rev. Kramek is due for sentencing Feb. 17. Before authorizing this plea deal, the court should require the Rev. Kramek to publicly acknowledge wrongdoing and apologize to his victim.
       Finally, after serving his sentence, the Rev. Kramek is likely to face deportation to Poland. The Hartford archdiocese should ensure that his home diocese is aware of his disgrace. Only when the Rev. Kramek has publicly admitted the full extent of his betrayal - and he is defrocked - can this case be considered resolved.
       Since his release from jail on bond two years ago, the Rev. Kramek has been surrounded by a fervent corps of supporters. Even after his appearance in Superior Court on Tuesday (and despite his own confession after the arrest), these supporters steadfastly maintain the Rev. Kramek's innocence. [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 07:48 PM]
    • NCR publisher looks back at church, forward to time -- RCC. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       The Kansas City Star, www.kansascity. com/mld/kansas city/living/ 10492856.htm , By BILL TAMMEUS, (816)-234-4437, tammeus@kcstar.com tammeus@kcstar.com , Posted on Sat, Dec. 25, 2004
       KANSAS CITY (MO): When Tom Fox became editor of the National Catholic Reporter in 1980, he never imagined what he now sees in the Catholic Church.
       Back then Pope John Paul II was relatively new at the Vatican. Fox says he thought "that this was a great time when I could ... really look at issues of the world - where Christianity is really practiced. We'd be focused outside on all the major faith issues, the major social justice issues, the mercy issues, the preaching issues. What I had not anticipated was that we were just entering into a kind of retrenchment" within the church.
       But the church was "just beginning to turn inward," says Fox, who will leave the Kansas City-based independent publication Jan. 1 after spending eight years as publisher.
       Under this pope, he says, the church began to see the world "as evil, as basically flawed. The counterpoint to that is that the church is impeccable. What that led to very quickly was an inability of the church to be self-reflective."
       As that happened, Fox says, he began to get calls and letters from people in the church in pain, people who thought their voices were being stilled, scholars the Vatican was forbidding to teach in Catholic settings, even people who alleged sexual abuse by priests.
       So Fox changed his original NCR agenda to let the publication focus on those stories. The independent weekly was writing about abusive priests as early as 1985 - more than 15 years before it became a national scandal noticed by the secular press.
       "In 1986," Fox says, "we wrote a front-page editorial saying there is now clearly a dual pattern, not only of the abuse but of the cover-up, and it was happening all over the place.
       In the late '80s, we were being viewed as destroying the church because we were focusing on a lot of these institutional issues. ... It was very, very painful and a very lonely kind of period. It's not like we decided, 'Let's be the loving critic.' "
       But even today, NCR, with a circulation of 44,000 in 81 countries, maintains what amounts to a lover's quarrel with the church.
       Leaving that struggle doesn't mean Fox will lose touch with what's happening in Catholicism. His passion for the church runs deep, he says, and so does his concern for its leadership.
       For instance, he wonders what will happen to the church when this pope, who appears to be near the end of his long reign, is gone.
       But Fox describes himself as "more optimistic about the next pope than most people. Over the years I've seen the disaffection of the top members of the hierarchy. There are a lot of people, whether they're moderates or conservatives, who know that this agenda is not working. The longer it's in place, the more they're upset."
       Fox believes that all but a few of the 130 or so eligible voters in the College of Cardinals are angry about being shut out of Vatican decision-making.
       "Only about six of those (130) have any authority to make decisions in the Catholic Church today," he says. "The other 120 have to go to these six in order to make an important decision on anything that's meaningful. And those 120 are very upset with the six, by and large."
       So, Fox says, the leaders who will choose the next pope first will make sure none of the current inner leaders will get elected.
       "Then," he says, "you have to find someone who is going to share authority. ... If that's the case, then what could come out of this is someone who is more open to discussion. That's all you need. We don't need a liberal pope. In fact, a liberal pope at this point would not be helpful. What you need is a moderate who could argue the case from all sides."
       Fox says he's puzzled why John Paul II, given his frail health due to Parkinson's disease, doesn't resign.
       "I don't think you can find many bishops today who think this pope should stay," he says. "I think that if you had a secret ballot of the world's bishops, it would be 98 percent to 2 that this pope should step aside. He's not running the church. ...
       "What could lead an allegedly spiritually motivated person to play the role that he's playing, to feel that he alone, and no one else in the church, has the capacity or the calling to lead it? It's beyond me."
       Fox also worries about how the church has handled the sex abuse scandal.
       "I still don't think that the bishops get it," he says. "What is it they don't get? Many of them just don't get the enormous loss of credibility and faith that this pattern of ecclesial abuse has left. And the only way - the only way - to get back on track is to really work with laypeople.
       "It's only the laypeople who can re-establish the credibility of the bishops. They can't re-establish their own credibility. It's like the bishops are all in the middle of quicksand and the laity are all around the edges with ropes, and the bishops are saying, 'No, we can handle this ourselves.' "
       Fox served as NCR editor until 1997, when he became publisher. Another Tom - Thomas W. Roberts - became editor then, a position he still holds. When Fox leaves next week, Sister Rita Larivee, the associate publisher, will become acting publisher.
       Fox has told NCR he needs six months just to relax and think about what he wants to do with his life, now that he's 60 years old. After that he expects to remain connected to the publication in some as yet unknown way.
       "NCR is the best thing going," he says. "It's upholding a vision of church that is open, inclusive and puts the Beatitudes and the social teachings at the center.
       "It's just that after 25 years I felt there was other leadership that could take over, and I didn't need to be the conductor. I was running on borrowed time, and I wasn't able to find the time to renew myself. It's as simple as that."
       For the next several months, Fox plans to read, write, practice yoga (which he does with his wife, Kim) and jog.
       "I'm not very practiced yet at relaxation," he says, "but I'm going to work at it." He also plans to ponder how to spend his remaining years.
       "Maybe I'll be a candy striper at the KU Medical Center," he says. "Or maybe I'll be a writer of some kind. I want to make a contribution. It's just that I need time."# [Bolding added] [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 08:56 AM]
       [COMMENT: The Roman Catholic Church, judging by mediaeval and earlier documents, has nearly always seen itself as perfect, and the "world" as wicked. A careful reading of past Papal Encyclicals from about 300 to 1900 would teach Mr Fox this basic fact. He would also see, repeatedly, "outside the Church there is no salvation," a sentiment hardly likely to lead the Church leaders to critically examine themselves, their bibles, books, teachings and procedures. The Second Vatican Council put this doctrine aside, but does the leopard change its spots? - FPP 28-29 Dec 04. COMMENT ENDS.]
    • Sex abuse suspect may face new counts; Young girls: Police, prosecutors hurry to prepare added charges and request a higher bail for the former LDS Primary teacher [2000s Montoya] - Mormon. Girls.
       The Salt Lake Tribune, www.sltrib.com/ utah/ci_2497146 By Stephen Hunt, Last Updated Dec/25/2004
       SYRACUSE (UT): A Mormon children's gospel teacher charged with fondling four young Syracuse girls - some of them as they prayed or colored religious pictures - is now suspected of sexually abusing four other young girls, prosecutors said Friday.
       Aaron Marcos Montoya, 32, was charged Wednesday in Davis County with five counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, first-degree felonies that carry mandatory prison terms of five years to life.
       On Thursday, police interviewed four more alleged victims who came forward following news reports about Montoya's arrest.
       Deputy Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings said that after interviewing the new set of alleged victims, police hustled to prepare a probable cause statement to ensure Montoya would not bail out of the Davis County Jail, where he has been since his arrest on Tuesday.
       Rawlings said Friday that he anticipated Montoya's initial bail amount of $100,000 would be doubled by these fresh allegations, which should keep him behind bars.
    • $4 million face-lift is set at St. Augustine - RCC.
       Arizona Daily Star, www.dailystar. com/dailystar/ dailystar/ 54091.php , By Stephanie Innes, ~ Dec 24, 2004
       TUCSON (AZ): St. Augustine Cathedral and the crumbling walls and buildings that surround it are slated for a $4 million makeover.
       Financing for restoring the Downtown cathedral is being handled by a private group that calls itself Friends of St. Augustine's and has stepped in to raise funds and oversee the restoration.
       The group will operate in a way similar to Patronato San Xavier, which was founded in 1978 as a nonprofit group dedicated to the preservation of Mission San Xavier del Bac.
       "We are hoping that people of all faiths will come forward and help us," said Rosie P. Garcia, a 51-year-old Sunnyside High School teacher who is chairwoman of the new group's nine-member board of directors. ...
       But attorneys for a majority of the plaintiffs in the pending legal actions are critical.
       Tucson attorney Lynne M. Cadigan, who with law partner Kim E. Williamson is representing plaintiffs in 18 of the 22 lawsuits, called the funding plans a clear manipulation of the legal system. [Bolding added]
    • Calif. order to pay $6.3M to settle suits [1970s-80s Christian Brothers] - RCC. Boys.
       Modesto Bee, The Associated Press, Last Updated 06:15:18 AM PST December 25, 2004,
       CONCORD, Calif. (AP) - A Roman Catholic religious order has agreed to pay $6.3 million to settle lawsuits brought by three former students who were sexually abused by counselors and teachers  at an elite private school in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
       The largest of the three settlements, at $4 million, would be one of the biggest in California for a plaintiff in a clergy sexual abuse case, attorneys and victims advocates said Friday.
       The abuse occurred when the plaintiffs, now in their 30s and 40s, attended the Concord school operated by the Christian Brothers religious order. One man said a teacher molested him on a school-sponsored ski trip, and another said a counselor molested him at a retreat in Napa.
       The third man says another counselor repeatedly molested him during off-campus sessions. The order had transferred the abuser to Concord even though he was known to have had relationships with "sexual overtones" at another school, according to a 1968 letter from a Christian Brothers provincial leader that the order turned over as part of the lawsuit. [Bolding added]
    • 22 priest sex-abuse suits denied [1961-87 Strittmatter] - RCC. Statue of Limitations
       Cincinnati Post, www.cincypost. com/2004/12/25/ arch122504.html , By Kimball Perry, Dec 25, 2004
       CINCINNATI (OH): Because they didn't report their allegations until after the statute of limitations had expired, 22 people who accused former Elder High principal Father Lawrence Strittmatter of sex abuse cannot proceed with lawsuits.
       That was Thursday's ruling by the Cincinnati-based Ohio First District Court of Appeals in upholding earlier rulings by four Hamilton County judges.
       Those four Common Pleas Court Judges -- Melba Marsh, Robert Ruehlman, Thomas Crush and David Davis -- threw out separate lawsuits brought by Strittmatter's accusers, saying the suits were filed after the two-year statute of limitations on such cases.
       Those who sued accused Strittmatter of sexually abusing them when they were students at Elder or Our Lady of Victory Parish and School. The suits noted Strittmatter's abuse lasted from 1961 until at least 1987. Their suits were filed between May and November 2003.
    • Court right to put no time limits on filing sex abuse charges [1970s Graham] - Church not named.
       News-Leader, http://springfield. news-leader.com/ opinions/today/ 1223-Courtright- 257547.html , ~ Dec 24, 2004
       MISSOURI: The Missouri Supreme Court's decision to allow a child sex abuse case from the 1970s to go to trial came down to plain English.
       Lawyers for the Rev. Thomas Graham argued that the statute of limitations had run out and that there was no way he could get a fair trial. Memories have faded; witnesses have died.
       A state appeals court, however, agreed with prosecutors. Missouri law says there is no deadline to file charges for crimes punishable by death or life in prison, which include sodomy. The Supreme Court, in declining to take the case, agreed with the appeals court.
       The decision is technically right. It also is philosophically correct.
       It may take years before a sexual-abuse victim is willing to step forward and confront the adult who betrayed his or her trust. When an institution stands behind that adult, it is even more difficult for the victim to find the courage to seek justice. [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 08:40 AM]
    ////////// End of Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker www.ncrnews.org/abuse , Sat December 25, 2004
    Abuse Chronology: http://www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/ethics/ethcont107.htm
    For good teachings to be heeded, a big clean-up is needed.
    #### Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker, www.ncrnews.org/abuse, Sun December 26, 2004 edition follows:-
    • Bishop took over under tough conditions - RCC. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       East Valley Tribune, www.eastvalley tribune.com/index .php?sty=33706 , By Lawn Griffiths, lgriffiths@aztrib.com , Tel. (480) 898-6522, for Monday, December 27, 2004
       Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted believes he has put priests on notice that misconduct won't be tolerated.
       PHOENIX (AZ): Out of the shadows of Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien's troubled tenure in leading the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix came Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted in December 2003.
       A year into his job as the Vatican's top agent in the Valley, Olmsted reflects a buoyant spirit and unassailable confidence that his stern, uncompromising approach - unflagging obedience to Rome - has restored trust across farflung parishes. Olmsted also believes he has put priests on notice that misconduct won't be tolerated.
       "Holiness" and "integrity" were words Olmsted, 57, used often in an interview late last week in his chancery office as he reflected on his first year as the shepherd for an estimated half-million Catholics across central and most of northern Arizona. He was installed Dec. 20, 2003, taking the symbolic crozier, or staff, and calling himself a "steward of hope and a servant of unity."
       The Vatican's choice of the Kansas native and bishop of Wichita came as a surprise. He was largely unknown, and the announcement of his name on Nov. 25, 2003, sent diocesan Catholics to their computer keyboards, searching Internet sites to find out what to expect. They found a man with heartland roots and strong credentials in administrative and teaching work in Rome and Ohio before being tapped as a bishop in 1999.
       "The greatest challenge for me is to be faithful every day to Christ and to the mission he gives us," Olmsted said. Not the task of getting to the bottom of the priest sexual abuse scandals, not trying to get nominal Catholics back into the pews, not trying to find more priests so additional parishes can be developed. [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 09:17 AM]
       [...] A severe priest shortage eased this year when a community of African priests came to serve parishes. More are coming from Argentina next year, and Olmsted said he was heartened by the number of young men who come to priest inquiry classes.
       The traditional Tridentine Mass, using traditional pre-Vatican II Latin liturgy, was reintroduced in the diocese last summer by Olmsted in response to requests by Catholics wanting the option. As many as 500 have been attending the weekly Mass at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Phoenix, which uses the 1962 missal.
       The downside, Olmsted said, is "we don't have a lot of priests who are able to celebrate the Tridentine Mass well" because so few are competent in Latin.
       One of Olmsted's knottiest issues came last spring when he ordered nine priests to remove their names from an interfaith letter supporting gay rights, the Phoenix Declaration, penned in January 2003 by No Longer Silent - Clergy for Justice. One by one, eight priests submitted in obedience to the bishop and pulled their endorsements. A retired priest did not.
       While the church needs to "lift up the dignity of every single person, including those with homosexual orientation," he said, "it would be going against the church's teachings for anyone to say that homosexual activity is right."
       Dignity is one thing, he said, but "the activities of the person cannot be approved if they are contrary to the church's teachings or just to natural law."
       A former priest, John Rusnak of Phoenix, who served three years as president of the area chapter of Call to Action, a national Catholic reform organization, said he has been disheartened by the church's direction and Olmsted's "predictable" positions. "He has proven to be a very faithful follower of the Roman line . . . It has just alienated me even further from the official church."
       But Olmsted said the church is evolving, and those changes called for by the Second Vatican Council 30 years ago are still being implemented by Pope John Paul II.
       "My effort is to be faithful to the church," he said. "Our faith is given to us. We don't make it up as we go along. We receive the sacred Scriptures. We receive the church's official teachings. Our purpose is to try to understand that as well as we can, to try to explain it and hand it on faithfully."#
    • Basu: Leading by living their faith - RCC. Victim's brother, a priest, speaks out.
       Des Moines Register, By REKHA BASU, REGISTER COLUMNIST, December 26, 2004
       DAVENPORT (IA): So many unpleasant things have been done in the name of religion this year that some people were left wondering where God was. ...
  • While the Davenport Catholic Diocese grappled with priest-abuse allegations, Father David Hitch of St. Mary's parish in Tipton showed he wouldn't be just another mouthpiece for the institution, that he stood with victims and for accountability. Hitch, whose own brother was one of the alleged victims, was quoted in this paper saying, "Personally, I wouldn't mind if the diocese had to stand trial for a case or two. . . . It may take going to trial for the people of the diocese to understand what the victims have been going through."
       David Clohessy is executive director for the Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests (SNAP) and calls Hitch "amazing."
       "It's extremely unusual for a priest to criticize a bishop, much less a diocese," he said, noting other statements Hitch had made. He called Davenport "the best example of where Catholic lay people stood with victims and helped make a big settlement. In the majority of cases, lay Catholics are bystanders, and in a few cases they work against the victims." [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 09:04 AM]
    ////////// End of Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker www.ncrnews.org/abuse , Sun December 26, 2004
    Abuse Chronology: http://www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/ethics/ethcont107.htm
    For good teachings to be heeded, a big clean-up is needed.
    #### Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker, www.ncrnews.org/abuse, Mon December 27, 2004 edition follows:-
    • Jury Sent Home in 'Mosque Rape' Trial [1996-97 Hussain] - Islam. Girl. Britain / United Kingdom flag; Mooney's MiniFlags  Pakistan flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       The Scotsman, http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3915198 , By Chris Court, PA, Tue 21 Dec 2004
       BRITAIN: A jury considering charges of rape and indecent assault by a former Muslim cleric on a 12-year-old girl at a mosque will continue to consider its verdicts tomorrow.
       The panel deliberated for just over three hours at Exeter Crown Court today before Judge Graham Cottle sent them home for the night.
       The accused, 42-year-old Manzoor Hussain of Ashley Road, Bristol, has pleaded not guilty to one charge of rape and four charges of indecent assault on the girl between July 1996 and March 1997 at the mosque in Bristol.
       The girl, now 21, has told the jury she was indecently assaulted and raped by Hussain when she attended classes at the mosque to learn the Koran. [Posted by Kathy Shawat 07:53 AM]
    • Former Muslim cleric gets 10 years for rape [1996-97 Hussain] - Islam. Girl.
       Web India 123, www.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=56222&cat=World , 7:32:51 AM IST, Dec 23 / December 24, 2004
       LONDON, England, BRITAIN: A former Muslim cleric of Pakistani origin has been jailed for 10 years for raping and sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl in a mosque where he was teaching.
       Manzoor Hussain, 42, of Bristol was convicted of one offence of rape and four of indecent assault. The offences took place at a mosque in the city between July 1996 and March the following year.
       At the time of the offences, Hussain was the imam at the mosque in Lower Cheltenham Place.
       The Exeter Crown Court was told the girl had kept the attacks secret for six years because she did not think she would be believed.
       Sentencing Hussein at Exeter Crown Court, Judge Graham Cottle said: "You were an elder in the community and a man to be revered and respected by children you taught. [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 07:55 AM] [Bolding added]
    • Foray into film noir - RCC. FILM "Bad Education" United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Sun-Sentinel, www.sun-sentinel. com/features/lifestyle/ sfl-almodovar-latdec27,0,125 7096.story?coll= sfla-features-headlines By Anne-Marie O'Connor, Los Angeles Times, Posted December 27 2004
       LOS ANGELES (CA): "Churches always give me such a feeling of peace," says Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar as he strides through a Catholic house of worship in Los Angeles. "Sometimes I wish I was a believer. Imagine coming to a place where you kneel down, recount all of your sins, and you are pardoned. Imagine how wonderful that would be. It is a marvelous invention."
       The unburdening of a long-held secret and its mortal consequences is a central thread of his latest film, Bad Education, a drama fueled by sexual tensions in the Catholic Church that stars Gael Garcia Bernal as the "homme fatale."
       For Almodóvar, Bad Education is something of a dark departure, a foray into film noir that he says is informed by the hard-boiled style of dated cinematic police thrillers as well as by the more ponderous meditations on power in The Godfather.
       "The idea of the Mafia is something very close to the church, and I'm not the first to allude to that. If you remember, in The Godfather you see the power of the Church and the Vatican. In The Godfather, the church is treated like a kind of Mafia," says Almodóvar.
       With a story driven by the transgressions of a pederast priest, Bad Education is "not exactly autobiographical," says the 52-year-old Almodóvar -- but it does draw on memories of his boyhood church school, where he said a priest molested a score of his classmates.
    • Focus on Christmas' true meaning urged
       Telegram & Gazette, www.telegram.com/ apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=/20041225/ NEWS/4122503 74/1008/NEWS SEVEN02 , By Kathleen A. Shaw, Telegram & Gazette Staff, kshaw@telegram.com , Dec 25, 2004
       WORCESTER (MA): As Christians through Central Massachusetts celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on this Christmas Day, area clergy are urging people to revisit the story of Jesus Christ's birth, look into the manger where he was born in Bethlehem more than 2,000 years ago and find the real meaning of that event.
       A number of area priests and ministers commented this week on Christmas from their perspective. ...
       The Rev. Bruce Teague, graduate of College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, and Catholic chaplain at Amherst College, said the Christmas story is the story of Emmanuel, which means God with us.
       "The divine story has become an only too human story. The Christmas narratives describes miraculous events: angels appearing to Mary, Magi from the East and those who are barren bearing fruit. But we also hear the joy of a woman giving birth. A child being born. A God being born as a human, vulnerable, fragile child. God is born into a living human history rooted in a family tree. We see a family forced to become refugees to protect their child."
       "God has become human so that God has embraced all of humanity, all of its weaknesses and vulnerabilities that nothing human is alien to God. Nothing can ever separate us from the love of God. It is our task as Christians to begin to see God in all, particularly those who are poor and outcasts. For those of us who have been victimized by clergy sexual abuse - God, too, has become a victim," he said.
    • It was a year of tears [11 priests accused] - RCC.
       The Morning Call, www.mcall.com/ news/local/all-5 reviewdec26,0,1944 278.story?coll=all- newslocal-hed , by Dan Sheehan, ~ Dec 27, 2004
       PENNSYLVANIA: The Lehigh Valley's year began with a killing and advanced through an increasingly dismal shuffle of homicides, scandals, sinkholes, lawsuits, catastrophic floods and horrific car wrecks.
       There were bright spots, of course, in 2004. Economic development boosters celebrated as camera giant Olympus America announced it would move its headquarters from New York to the Lehigh Valley in 2006, bringing hundreds of corporate jobs. ...
       Fallout from the sexual abuse scandals that have afflicted the Catholic Church in recent years settled in the Valley. Since January, 11 current and former priests from the Diocese of Allentown have been accused of abuse in lawsuits filed in Lehigh, Berks and Schuylkill counties. The suits remain in litigation.
    • Top 10 WMass news stories of 2004
       The Republican, Sunday, December 26, 2004
       SPRINGFIELD (MA): 1. Springfield Bishop Thomas L. Dupre retires abruptly, citing health reasons, on Feb. 11, a day after The Republican confronts him with allegations he molested two boys decades ago. He later becomes the first Catholic U.S. bishop indicted on sexual-abuse charges, but the district attorney declines to prosecute, citing the statute of limitations. [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 07:30 AM]
    ////////// End of Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker www.ncrnews.org/abuse , Mon December 27, 2004
    Abuse Chronology: http://www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/ethics/ethcont107.htm
    For good teachings to be heeded, a big clean-up is needed.
    #### Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker, www.ncrnews.org/abuse, Tue December 28, 2004 edition follows:-
    • A sorry state of affairs [Egan] - RCC. Britain / United Kingdom flag; Mooney's MiniFlags  United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       The Independent (Britain), http://news. independent. co.uk/uk/health_ medical/story. jsp?story=596429 , 28 December 2004
       BRITAIN: Timothy McVeigh didn't do it. Nor did Monica Lewinsky. Tony Blair said he'd done it even though he hadn't - and eventually got someone else (Patricia Hewitt) to do it for him. For different reasons, none of these three offered an adequate apology for doing wrong - and the world, it seems, is a poorer place because of it.
       Apology has never been the buzz word of the therapeutic community. Psychologists have preferred to focus on the healing benefits of forgiving and letting go. That could all change in 2005, however, with the publication in March of an authoritative new book claiming that the apology is "one of the most profound interactions that can occur between people".
       Arguing that forgiveness inevitably follows an effective apology and is impossible without it, Professor Aaron Lazare, Dean of the University of Massachusetts medical school and the author of On Apology, says saying sorry has the power "to heal humiliations, free the mind from deep-seated guilt, remove the desire for vengeance, and restore broken relationships". ...
       Another common pseudo-apology uses the conditional to avoid taking full responsibility for what has happened. Cardinal Edward Egan, of New York, qualified the apology he delivered at the height of the Catholic Church's paedophile crisis, three times in a sentence: "If in hindsight we also discover that mistakes may have been made as regards prompt removal of priests and assistance to victims, I am deeply sorry." Few were reassured.
       Typically, Tony Blair's apology for entering the Iraq war based on inaccurate information, delivered by Hewitt in October, offered an excuse - "it was an incredibly difficult decision" - alongside a conditional claim that despite the errors, "I don't think we were wrong to go in".
       Probably the most dangerous pseudo-apology is one that does not involve a subsequent change of behaviour. Instead of "love means never having to say you're sorry", it should be, "love is being able to say 'I'm sorry and I mean it'," says Ken Blanchard, in his book The One Minute Apology (HarperCollins). "An apology needs to be substantiated by a change in behaviour that recognises the hurt caused to others and demonstrates a commitment not to repeat the act."
       "Without a change in behaviour, saying sorry can be despicable," says Jim Waters, the NSPCC's development manager. "An apology can bring closure and even the rebuilding of a relationship between abuser and abused. But the words 'I'm sorry' can also be part of a process by which an abuser will return to repeat the abuse. And without a wholehearted commitment to change, this will inevitably happen in any situation where there is an element of addiction or repetitive behaviour."
       But even without receiving a sincere apology, the victims of an offence can recover. Saunders, who founded and is now director of the National Association of People Abused in Childhood (Napac), believes that effective therapy can help profoundly injured people to come to terms with their experience - even if they are not able to forgive. "There are Napac members who have been reconciled with abusers who have shown remorse and such forgiveness is very powerful. But it can't be imposed."
    MEA CULPA: HOW TO DO IT RIGHT
       Four reasons why people won't apologise
  • Fear that the recipient will lose respect, become smug, make a scene or withhold forgiveness.
  • The belief that, if you don't apologise, the offended party will remain unaware that any offence has been committed against them.
  • A strong desire not to feel weak, defeated, guilty or in any way a loser.
  • Ignorance about how to apologise properly.
       Four factors that make a good apology
  • A fully expressed sense of remorse, shame and humility on the part of the offender.
  • Specificity about the grievance: it can be helpful to list all the causes of offence.
  • A willingness to take responsibility for the offence - thereby assuring the victim that it was not their fault.
  • A willingness to make reparation where necessary, and - vitally - to go on to change harmful behaviour.# [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 08:46 AM]
    • Sex Abuse Lawsuits Add to Catholic Church Money Woes United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Reuters, www.reuters.com/ newsArticle. jhtml?type=our WorldNews&story ID=7191862 , By Deborah Zabarenko , 08:14 AM ET, Tue Dec 28, 2004
       WASHINGTON (DC) (Reuters) - First came the sex scandal. Then there were lawsuits. Now there are bankruptcies.
       And some economic analysts believe this could be just the beginning of the financial fallout from widespread charges of clerical sexual abuse within the U.S. Catholic Church.
       Nearly 11,000 people have accused priests of child sexual abuse from 1950 through 2002, according to a church-commissioned study released this year. There could be thousands more who have not yet come forward.
       The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has acknowledged this as its worst scandal and vowed to "heal the hurt that has happened," in the words of departing conference president Bishop Wilton Gregory.
       The question is how to pay for it.
       "Even without the sex abuse scandal, the Catholic Church was in deep financial difficulty," said Charles Zech, an economics professor at Villanova University who monitors church finances.
       Zech said the church's money troubles include the costs of deferred maintenance on church properties, the aging of its low-cost work force of priests and nuns and its disproportionate holdings in real estate -- often run-down inner-city buildings that are hard to sell.
       Frank Butler, president of a group of major donors to Catholic institutions, said the problems may go deeper.
       "Many of the archdioceses are very marginal operations, and the reason for that is they have a very aging infrastructure that includes the parishes and schools," Butler said from the Washington-based Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities, known as FADICA.
       In addition, American Catholics give less per person to their individual churches than Protestants or Jews do, Butler said, adding that those who do give are getting older.
       "Their donor base would seem to be shrinking," he said.    Continued ...
       Nearly three years after the pedophile scandal erupted in Boston, that archdiocese has sold real estate to help pay $87 million in claims by 541 people. The diocese in Orange, California, recently settled claims of 87 alleged abuse victims that reportedly will total more than the Boston settlement, with an average $1.1 million payment per plaintiff.
       Los Angeles, the largest archdiocese in the United States, could face hundreds of lawsuits, with some estimates putting a possible total settlement there at $1 billion or more.
    SETTLING SEXUAL ABUSE CLAIMS
       This is a small fraction of the U.S. Catholic Church's annual revenue, which in 2001 was an estimated $102 billion. For individual dioceses, though, such settlements can be devastating.
       Three dioceses -- Spokane, Washington; Portland, Oregon, and Tucson, Arizona -- have filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy code.[...]
    • Camden bishop views new post as a homecoming
       Courier-Post, By JIM WALSH, ~ Dec 28, 2004
       CAMDEN (NJ): Bishop Joseph A. Galante, who arrived here this year as the spiritual leader of South Jersey's Catholics, is preparing to learn more about his new home.
       "In January, I want to start getting out and meeting people in the parishes," says Galante, 66, who formerly was the No. 2 cleric in the Dallas diocese. "I'm hoping to do it three nights a week, just to listen to people's concerns."
       No schedule has yet been set for the sessions, which will also allow Galante to meet with local priests, nuns and other church personnel.
       Galante was installed April 30 as the seventh bishop of the Camden Diocese, which serves some 458,000 Catholics. He succeeded Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, who left in 2003 to head the Brooklyn Diocese.
       "I've probably never been happier in my life," said Galante, a native of Philadelphia who now is close to family members and to his longtime vacation home in North Wildwood. "I love the people here and I've been very warmly welcomed."
       In fact, Galante draws cautious approval from a spokeswoman for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a group that often is critical of church policies.
       "He certainly seems to be trying," says Barbara Polesir, a Cherry Hill woman who represents the group's South Jersey chapter. "He has met with a number of survivors and he seems to be trying to see their point of view.
       "So far, nothing concrete has been done, but I still believe he will be better (than previous bishops)," Polesir said.
       In a sermon at his installation Mass, Galante apologized to victims of clergy abuse. But he also strongly defended priests who had done no wrong, saying they represent the bulk of the clergy.
    • Divided results in molestation case - Assembly of God. Molia.
       The Press-Enterprise, By JOHN F. BERRY, Tuesday, December 28, 2004
       SAN BERNARDINO (CA) - A jury found a San Bernardino pastor not guilty of one charge of lewd acts on a child Monday and could not reach a decision on the other, court officials said.
       John Pepe Molia, 69, was arrested in 2002 and charged with the molestation of two underage sisters from his First Assembly of God Church congregation in San Bernardino.
       "My client maintained his innocence throughout," Rajan Maline, Molia's attorney, said Monday. "The jury saw it his way."
       Deputy District Attorney Jane Templeton was on vacation when the jury returned Monday.
       Her boss, Supervising Deputy District Attorney Dwight Moore, said Monday that he is unsure whether the district attorney's office will retry the charge that resulted in a hung jury. Moore said jurors voted 7-5 in favor of guilt on that charge.
    • Jury: Ex-pastor not guilty - Assembly of God. Molia.
       San Bernardino County Sun, www.sbsun.com/ Stories/0,1413, 208~12588~2621 289,00.html , By JOE NELSON, Staff Writer, ~ Dec 28, 2004
       SAN BERNARDINO (CA): A former San Bernardino church pastor was found not guilty Monday in San Bernardino Superior Court on one count of child molestation, while his jury deadlocked on another identical count.
       John Molia, 69, of San Bernardino will return to court Jan. 26 to find out if prosecutors will dismiss the remaining charge or go to bat.
       Deputy District Attorney Jane Templeton, who prosecuted Molia, was out of the office Monday and not present when the jury returned with its verdict after four days of deliberations. Supervising Deputy District Attorney Dwight Moore filled in.
       It was unclear Monday if county prosecutors will proceed with the case.
       Molia was charged in March 2003 with two counts of lewd acts on a child for the alleged molestations of two sisters, now 20 and 22, between October 1991 and October 1997. The sisters were members of Molia's Samoan congregation at the Revived Samoan Assembly of God in San Bernardino and also close family friends. [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 08:29 AM]
    ////////// End of Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker www.ncrnews.org/abuse , Tue December 28, 2004
    Abuse Chronology: http://www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/ethics/ethcont107.htm
    For good teachings to be heeded, a big clean-up is needed.
    #### Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker, www.ncrnews.org/abuse, Wed December 29, 2004 edition follows:-
    • Sex Abuse Training Program Raises Eyebrows - RCC. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Beliefnet,     www.beliefnet. com/story/158/ story_15874_ 1.html , By Ivan Gale, Religion News Service, Dec. 29, 2004
       NEW YORK, - On a recent Wednesday evening at St. Anselm's School in Brooklyn, more than 60 church volunteers, teachers and coaches sat quietly watching a video in a basement meeting room. Subway trains passed beneath the building, periodically rumbling the floor. Suddenly, the room let out a collective gasp.
       Onscreen, "Karl," a convicted pedophile, had just admitted molesting 500 young girls before being caught.
       The video, "A Time to Protect God's Children," is part of a required workshop for all employees and volunteers of the Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn who interact with children. In the aftermath of the priest sexual abuse scandal--in which the Brooklyn Diocese was hit with a $300 million sex abuse lawsuit--the Catholic Church is implementing the sexual abuse prevention training, called Virtus, in Brooklyn and 94 other dioceses across the country.
       The Virtus training is part of reforms adopted by Catholic bishops in 2002, which include establishing "safe environment" education programs. While Virtus is the most popular, some dioceses have created their own training sessions or bought other programs elsewhere.
       Church leaders say the video and training have been received favorably. But they have also sparked indignation, disgust, even painful disclosures by audience members who were victimized in their youth. Victims groups welcome the training, but also say it is fundamentally a move to protect the Catholic Church from financial liability. Others cast doubts on whether it will have much effect. [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 05:20 PM]
    • Springfield Diocese suspends priest accused of abuse [Devlin] - RCC.
       The Boston Globe, December 29, 2004
       SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- A western Massachusetts priest has been removed from ministry after he was accused of molesting a teenager in the 1970s.
       The Rev. Michael H. Devlin, 62, was most recently chaplain at Providence Place in Holyoke. He was suspended in October after his alleged victim told the diocese's Review Board that he was abused.
       After the panel investigated the person's claims, Bishop Timothy McDonnell decided to permanently suspend Devlin earlier this month.
       Laura Failla Reilly, the church's victim advocate, would not give many details of the allegation Wednesday. She said Devlin is accused of molesting a teenager several times while he was preaching at St. Thomas Parish in West Springfield and at All Souls Parish in Springfield.
       Reilly said Devlin is currently staying with relatives who live out of state. She said he has denied the allegations against him.
    • Denver Auxiliary Bishop Named San Antonio Archbishop - RCC. > $US5.2m
       TheDenverChannel.com , POSTED 2:46 pm MST, December 29, 2004
       DENVER (CO): For the Most Rev. Jose Horacio Gomez, becoming Roman Catholic archbishop of San Antonio will be a homecoming of sorts.
       Rev. Jose Horacio Gomez of Denver was picked to become the Roman Catholic archbishop of San Antonio.
       Pope John Paul II on Wednesday named Gomez -- an auxiliary bishop in Denver -- to succeed retiring Archbishop Patrick Flores, Texas' top Catholic clergyman for 25 years.
       A native of Monterrey, Mexico, Gomez worked at San Antonio's Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church from 1987 to 1999. And his grandparents were married at San Fernando Cathedral, the historic downtown church that dates to the 1730s. ...
       In 2000, a man held the archbishop and his longtime secretary hostage for nine hours with what he claimed to be a homemade grenade. When the case went to trial, it was difficult to tell whether Flores was a witness for the prosecution or defense, "because he was so compassionate about the guy who tried to kill him," said the Rev. Virgil Elizondo, former rector of San Fernando Cathedral.
       But the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests complained that Flores' compassion did not extend to sex abuse victims, despite his frequent apologies for not doing more to protect children against abuse by clergy.
       The archdiocese announced earlier this year that it paid more than $5.2 million over a 52-year period in settlements and counseling connected with sexual abuse of minors. It documented allegations against 20 priests by 58 victims.
    • Turning the camera on priest sex abuse - RCC. DOCUMENTARY "Holy Water-Gate"
       The Boston Phoenix, www.bostonphoenix. com/boston/news_ features/this_ just_in/documents/ 04366084.asp , BY DEIRDRE FULTON, ~ December 29, 2004
       BOSTON (MA): When the priest at her childhood parish, in Rhode Island, was convicted of child molestation, personal anguish and conflict led Mary Healey-Conlon to dig deeper into the scandal that rocked both her church and her faith.
       Holy Water-Gate: Abuse Cover-up in the Catholic Church, a new documentary about the clergy sex-abuse crisis, is the result of her quest - a project driven by her private attempt to cope and to heal.
       The film, which Healey-Conlon co-produced with Boston resident Louise Rosen, includes chilling testimony from a perpetrator priest who describes his abhorrent actions, and from a former abuse victim who later became a priest - and a children's-rights crusader - himself.
       The stories are so powerful that Healey-Conlon has arranged to have counselors available for audience members at next week's screening at the Coolidge Corner Theatre.
       In a phone interview with the Phoenix, the filmmakers talked about why society needs Holy Water-Gate to better understand the crisis, while victims need it to make sure the heat stays on the Catholic Church.
       Q: What do you think this film adds to general understanding of the abuse scandal?
       Mary Healey-Conlon: My hope is that it will certainly deepen the discussion and will also explain some of the dimensions of how this was allowed to happen, and the depths to which survivors still suffer. But most importantly, I think it's important for people to see and hear some of the faces behind the stuff they've read about but never seen. So in terms of their experience of a film, the fact that they get to see a perpetrator on camera whose statements speak so directly about the institutional mindset is very important.
    • Film on Abuse Cover-up in Catholic Church Wins Coveted CINE Golden Eagle Award [Silva] - RCC. FILM "Holy Water-Gate"
       YubaNet.com , By University of Rhode Island, Dec 29, 2004
       RHODE ISLAND: Holy Water-Gate: Abuse Cover-Up in the Catholic Church will premiere at the Coolidge Movie Theater, Brookline, Mass. on Monday, Jan. 10 at 7:30 p.m. The hour-long documentary was written, directed and produced by Warren, R.I. resident Mary Healey-Conlon, now a lecturer in communications and film studies at the University of Rhode Island.
       She has just been notified that she has won a CINE Golden Eagle Award. Prior recipients include Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Ken Burns.
       Motivated by abuse victims whose stories were being rejected and whose motives were being questioned, the independent filmmaker, who had worked as a legal assistant on behalf of some of the victims, picked up her camera in 1999 and began filming.
       Five years and $180,000 of personal debt later, Healey-Conlon finished editing the documentary last June. Holy Water-Gate has been sold to television channels in Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Spain, and Denmark. Negotiations are underway for French, German, and U.S. broadcasts.
       One of the first images in Healey-Conlon's documentary is a photo of her grandfather, Jim Healey, receiving a blessing, as he became one of the first ordained deacons in the Catholic Church in Rhode Island. Healey was a communicant of St. Matthews Church in Cranston where Father James Silva was pastor.
       Silva, Rhode Islanders would only learn years later, was sexually abusing children. The Diocese of Providence transferred the priest to 12 different parishes during the next 16 years where the pattern of abuse continued.
    • Princeton bus driver faces child porn charges [? 2000s Elms] - Storefront "Traditional Catholic Church". United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags  Germany flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Cincinnati Enquirer, http://news. enquirer.com/ apps/pbcs.dll/ article?AID=/ 20041228/NEWS01/ 412290331 , By Janice Morse, Tuesday, December 28, 2004
       ST. BERNARD (OH) - A man who serves as a storefront minister here and a bus driver for Princeton schools faces federal child-pornography charges, federal officials said today.
       Robert Elms, 49, also known as Father Dominic Elms of St. Mary's Traditional Catholic Church, surrendered today to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Cincinnati. A federal criminal complaint charges him with possessing and distributing child pornography.
       A U.S. District Magistrate Judge ordered Elms jailed without bond awaiting a hearing Thursday afternoon. Officials did not disclose where he was jailed.
       It remained unclear if Elms is an ordained minister, but he is not affiliated with the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, authorities said. Elms had worked as a bus driver for Princeton City Schools for 14 years and was placed on a medical leave today after school officials received a report he was sick.
       The charges against Elms stem from German authorities' investigation of a child pornography operation there a year ago, officials said. Immigration investigators in Virginia traced e-mails to Elms, then forwarded information to the Cincinnati immigration officials, court records indicated.
    • Child Porn Charges May Be Tip Of Iceberg [? 2000s Elms] - Storefront "Traditional Catholic Church". Boys. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       ChannelCincinnati.com ; POSTED 5:21 pm EST December 28, 2004, UPDATED 7:30 am EST December 29, 2004
       CINCINNATI (OH) -- The Princeton school bus driver and minister busted on child porn charges may be guilty of even more shocking crimes, News 5's Emily Longnecker reports.
       Robert Elms, who calls himself Father Dominic Elms, reportedly told authorities he's had sexual encounters with about 12 people under 18 years old over the past 20 years.
       Those reports also say Elms' most recent encounter happened just two weeks ago with two young boys from his parish and a student at Princeton High School.
       Elms, 49, had been a bus driver for the Princeton City Schools for 14 years. According to the district, someone called Tuesday requesting medical leave for him.
       "At no time has anyone come forward in the past to make an accusation against this particular bus driver," said Chris Gramke, Princeton schools spokeman
    • Filing reveals earlier incident [1996 Roberts] - RCC. Boy.
       Review-Journal www.reviewjournal. com/lvrj_home/ 2004/Dec-29-Wed- 2004/news/ 25562360.html , By GLENN PUIT, Dec 29, 2004
       NEVADA - Six years before his 2002 arrest for the sexual abuse of five boys, former Henderson priest Mark Roberts was in trouble with church leaders over an incident involving a young man, according to a civil deposition Roberts gave earlier this year.
       Around 1996, Roberts said, he was the subject of a church investigation into accusations he inappropriately touched a young man in a shower. The young man was homeless and had requested help washing his clothes, and Roberts took the young man to some apartments where Roberts was staying.
       "I asked him to take off his clothes, I would go wash them for him in the washing machine, and that he could take a shower. ... I bought him a scrub brush for his back and different shampoo and different things that he wanted," Roberts said.
       "The door of the bathroom was ajar, and so I went inside and I started washing him," Roberts said.
       Roberts said the young man reported the incident to then-Vicar General Patrick Leary, who placed Roberts on administrative leave as pastor of St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church in Henderson.
       Roberts denied the accusations, and he threatened to appeal any discipline to the church's highest officials in Rome.
    • Ariz. pastor held in Fla. sex counts [1996 + Enerson] - Assembly of God. Boy.
       The Arizona Republic, by Susan Carroll, Republic Tucson Bureau, Dec. 29, 2004
       DOUGLAS (AZ): A Douglas pastor has been arrested in the reputed molestation of a 6-year-old Florida boy in 1996 and admitted to sexually abusing children in North Carolina and Michigan, authorities said Tuesday.
       Robert Armand Enerson, 54, was booked into Cochise County Jail on Monday night on three charges of lewd assault on a child, said Lt. Carlos Guido Jr., a Douglas Police Department spokesman. Enerson, a pastor at the First Assembly of God in Douglas for two years, will be jailed pending extradition to Polk County, Fla., authorities said.
       "Obviously we're continuing the investigation to see if there are additional victims," Guido said.
       An affidavit prepared by Polk County investigators alleges that Enerson molested a boy repeatedly for about a week while serving as a pastor at the New Life Assembly of God in Wahneta, Fla., in 1996. The accuser, now 15, said Enerson entered a bedroom where the boy was playing video games and stroked the child's penis, according to the affidavit.
    • Cops: Pastor molested Polk boy in '96, 2 others [1996 + Enerson] - Assembly of God. Boys.
       Orlando Sentinel, By Amy L. Edwards, Posted December 29, 2004
       FLORIDA: A church pastor accused of molesting a Polk County boy eight years ago and suspected of having sexual relations with two boys in other states was arrested Monday in Arizona, authorities said.
       Robert A. Enersen, 54, now pastor of the First Assembly of God church in Douglas, Ariz., faces three counts of lewd assault on a child and is being held in an Arizona jail without bail, a Polk County Sheriff's Office report said.
       Enersen conducted youth services for about two months in 1996 at New Life Assembly of God in Wahneta, a small town south of Winter Haven, but he was not on staff at the church. Investigators said Enersen and the victim knew each other outside the church.
       In October, a boy who is now 15 told Polk detectives that Enersen inappropriately touched him on numerous occasions in November 1996, the report said.
       The boy told detectives he didn't initially report the lewd acts because "he was afraid of the suspect due to the size of the suspect," authorities said.
    • Pastor Arrested, Accused Of Molesting Boys In Florida, Other States [1996 + Enerson] - Assembly of God. Boys.
       Local 6, POSTED 5:49 am EST, December 29, 2004
       WINTER HAVEN, Fla. -- An Arizona church pastor accused of molesting a Florida boy eight years ago has been arrested, authorities said.
       Robert A. Enersen, 54, pastor of the First Assembly of God church in Douglas, Ariz., faces three counts of lewd assault on a child and is being held in an Arizona jail without bail after his Monday arrest, a Polk County (Fla.) sheriff's report said.
       The charges also include accusations from boys in Michigan and North Carolina.
       A representative with the Assemblies of God national headquarters said Tuesday the organization was not aware of Enersen's arrest. He does not have any prior documented cases of misconduct in his file, the representative said.
       Enersen conducted youth services for about two months in 1996 at New Life Assembly of God in Wahneta, Fla., a small town south of Winter Haven, Fla.
    • Former Wahneta Pastor Charged in Molestation [1996 Enersen] - Assembly of God. Boys.
       The Ledger, www.theledger. com/apps/pbcs. dll/article?AID=/ 20041229/NEWS/ 412290345/1004 , By Lauren Glenn, lauren.glenn@theledger.com , Dec 20, 2004
       BARTOW (FL) -- Arizona police arrested a former Wahneta youth pastor Monday on charges he molested a 6-year-old Polk County boy in 1996 and possibly abused other boys in Michigan and North Carolina.
       Robert Enersen, 54, who now lives in Douglas, Ariz., faces three charges of lewd assault on a child.
       According to a Polk County Sheriff's Office report, Enersen admitted to molesting the Polk County boy on several occasions.
       Enersen also admitted to molesting a 10-year-old boy in North Carolina several times. He continued abusing the boy until he turned 17, according to the report.
       Police also have accused Enersen of sexually abusing a Michigan boy. At the time of the alleged abuse in Polk County, Enersen, then 46, served as pastor at New Life Assembly of God in Wahneta, conducting youth services for about two months.
    • New Sex Charges Filed Against LDS Primary Teacher [Montoya] - Mormon. Girls.
       KUTV, http://kutv. com/topstories/ local_story_ 363144127.html , 10:36 am US/Mountain, Dec 28, 2004
       SYRACUSE (UT): A Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Primary teacher already charged with fondling four young Syracuse girls is now charged in the abuse of four additional girls.
       Aaron Marcos Montoya, 32, is now charged with nine counts of aggravated child sexual abuse and another possible victim will be interviewed Tuesday.
       Police say the new abuse allegations occurred in Montoya's home, his car, and at Pineview Reservoir.
       The newly discovered alleged victims range in age from 3 to 11.
       None of the allegations are connected to Montoya's job as a bailiff at the Matheson Courthouse in Salt Lake City. The Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office has placed Montoya on administrative leave.
    • Local Minister Arrested In International Child Porn Sting [2004 Elms] - "Traditional Catholic Church"
       WCPO, www.wcpo.com/news/2004/local/12/28/child_porn_late.html , Reported by 9News, Web produced by Neil Relyea, Photographed by 9News, 11:08:17 PM, Dec/28/2004
       OHIO: A Tri-state minister is behind bars without bond and faces child sex abuse charges.
       The St. Bernard man, who is also a school bus driver, is accused of abusing one of the students in his care.
       "We hope that the parents say as vigilant as possible with their kids, I mean there's nothing more important in the world than the safety of your children," said John Estep, mayor of St. Bernard.
       That's the message Estep has for parents after an international child pornography ring investigation led to an arrest in this Tri-state community.
       Federal law enforcement officers working with local police arrested Robert Elms, 49, on December 21 after they found computers containing child pornography at his storefront church on Tower Avenue.
       Elms is charged with possessing and distributing child pornography.
       "They found computers and other evidence of child pornography," said Lieutenant Bill Ungruhe, of the St. Bernard police department.
       A photograph from the website for "St. Mary's Traditional Catholic Church," identifies Elms as "Father Dominic."
    • Innocence Remembered - RCC. 2 clergy join the prayers.
       The Times-Picayune, By Bruce Nolan, Wednesday, December 29, 2004
       NEW ORLEANS (LA): Key local Catholic clergy for the first time Tuesday joined former victims of sexual abuse and their families in a public prayer service that supported victims and chastised some bishops who "frustrate" victims' search for justice.
       The late afternoon ceremony drew about two dozen men and women to the front of Notre Dame Seminary where they joined in prayer, singing and a shared symbolic meal. Most participants were members of the local chapter of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, a group of childhood sexual abuse victims and their relatives.
       But they were joined by the Rev. William Maestri, the spokesman for the Archdiocese of New Orleans, and the Rev. Pat Williams, the seminary's rector, prominent members of an archdiocese that has been accused by some of being insufficiently aggressive in responding to the sex-abuse crisis. Maestri and Williams prayed and sang with the group during the 15-minute event.
       Archbishop Alfred Hughes would have attended, but was visiting family in the Boston area over the holidays, Maestri said.
    • Catholic Church group: Rene Guerra mismanaged priests' sexual abuse cases [? 2000 Onyia] - RCC. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags  Nigeria flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       The Monitor, by James Osborne, December 29,2004
       EDINBURG (TX) - The Hidalgo County District Attorney's Office underwent renewed criticism Tuesday for its handling of sexual abuse cases involving priests from the Diocese of Brownsville.
       The local chapter of Call to Action, a Chicago-based group of self-described progressive Catholics, staged a press conference outside the Hidalgo County courthouse calling for District Attorney Rene Guerra to extradite the Rev. Basil Onyia, the Nigerian priest accused of sexually abusing a mentally retarded teenage girl in San Juan. Onyia fled to his native Nigeria in 2001, shortly after a warrant was issued for his arrest by the Pharr Police Department.
       The girl's family filed a lawsuit against the diocese, which was settled out of court.
       "We ... are here to express our continuing outrage and dissatisfaction with the lack of efforts to prosecute and hold perpetrators of several sexual abuse and sexual exploitation cases," said CTA President David Saavedra in a written statement.
    • Walsh looks back at '04 [Porter] United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Herald News, Gregg M. Miliote, Dec/29/2004
       NEW BEDFORD (MA) -- Bristol County District Attorney Paul F. Walsh is ready to tackle another year of criminal cases.
       But before he does, he recently took a look back at the past year during a wide-ranging interview with a Herald News reporter, concerning issues ranging from budgetary constraints put on his office to the high-profile cases of pedophile ex-priest James Porter and notorious convicted cult killer Carl Drew.
    Church plagued by sex abuse scandals
       Walsh, who has been at the forefront of the Roman Catholic Church abuse scandal, pushed hard this past year to keep Porter behind bars for good.
       Porter was set to be released this past January after serving 10 years in prison for molesting dozens of young boys during his tenure as a Diocese of Fall River priest.
       But Walsh halted that release by filing a sexually dangerous person petition against Porter with the Superior Court.
       Instead of being released, Porter was held at the Massachusetts Treatment Center in Bridgewater and had to attend a week's worth of emotionally charged testimony at a probable cause hearing to determine whether the commonwealth could go forward with a civil commitment trial.
    • More priests accused of abuse [1950s-60s Llorente, Nawn] - RCC.
       News-Miner, www.news-miner.com/Stories/0,1413,113~7244~2623981,00.html , By MARY BETH SMETZER, ~ December 29, 2004
       ALASKA: The number of priests accused of sexual abuse decades ago in Western Alaska doubled Tuesday when a man filed a civil lawsuit in Bethel Superior Court.
       The suit claims the two priests sexually abused the anonymous accuser at two different times while serving as missionaries in villages along Alaska's west coast and the lower Yukon River during the 1950s and 1960s.
       The Rev. Segundo Llorente and Francis Nawn, both deceased, are named as the assailants of plaintiff Jack Doe 1. The suit claims the man, who is a member of St. Peter's Catholic Church in Sheldon's Point, now known as Nunam Iqua, was sexually abused as a child along with others.
       The suit names the Catholic Bishop of Northern Alaska; the Society of Jesus, Oregon Province; and the Society of Jesus, Alaska, as defendants. Anchorage attorney Ken Roosa is representing Jack Doe 1 and dozens of others in suits filed on behalf of alleged victims of sexual abuse by two other Jesuit priests--the late Rev. Jules Convert and the Rev. Jim Poole, 81, founder of Catholic radio station KNOM in Nome. [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 07:19 AM]
    ////////// End of Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker www.ncrnews.org/abuse , Wed December 29, 2004
    Abuse Chronology: http://www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/ethics/ethcont107.htm
    For good teachings to be heeded, a big clean-up is needed.
    • Why the Catholic Church needs VOTF in 2005. - RCC. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Voice of the Faithful (USA), December 29, 2004
       UNITED STATES: Dear Friends: Christmas Week events underscore, once again, the need for Voice of the Faithful's work. And so, as 2004 comes to a close, I write to bring you up to date on what is happening in our Church. I ask you to continue to work for -- and pray for -- much needed reform. And I ask you, if possible, to make a year-end, tax deductible [in USA] contribution www.kintera.org/ TR.asp?ID= M665796025 5742210675565 to support our work in the future.
  • Last week, the Archbishop of Seattle disbanded a lay review board he had created and dismissed their recommendations for change. Six of the board's 10 members issued a statement condemning the action, and both of Seattle's daily newspapers condemned the action as well, terming it "backsliding."
  • On the east coast, two people at a church in Natick, MA, seeking to initiate a vigil in hopes of preventing the closing of their beloved church were arrested for trespassing after their pastor called the police. The next morning, with the support of the Archdiocesan officials, police from two towns descended on the church to remove five parishioners seeking to renew that vigil after Christmas Mass. Both of these actions display an arrogant disregard for the role of the laity in the Catholic Church.
  • And in November, the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops voted to administer self-audits as the chief means of monitoring the implementation of child safety protection policies initiated in response to the clergy sexual abuse scandal - over the objections of survivor groups and Voice of the Faithful. We now have made a formal request to the bishops to reverse this decision.
       From Seattle to Boston, New York to Chicago, Indianapolis to Atlanta, the work of reform must go on to return trust and moral authority to the Catholic Church and to prevent backsliding by the hierarchy.
    Voice of the Faithful IS making a difference.
  • In Massachusetts, a Mass organized by Voice of the Faithful this summer on Boston Common to promote healing in an archdiocese facing massive parish closings brought attention to the issues Catholics care about. Parishioners at eight churches slated for closure have taken responsibility for their faith community by successfully initiating ongoing vigils to spotlight those closings. In response to these vigils, Boston's Archbishop O'Malley named an independent lay committee to review all closings, and Catholics in one vigil parish have been given a second chance to keep their parish open. He also named one of VOTF's trustees to chair a lay board overseeing the sale of closed parishes to ensure the financial integrity of the process.
  • In the past year, Voice of the Faithful has brought together individuals in Louisiana, New York, New England, California, and Minnesota, to name but a few, to inform, educate, and motivate Catholics to take responsibility for their Church.
  • VOTF is keeping the issues of accountability and transparency in front of the national media, with coverage in The New York Times, LA Times, USA Today, Christian Science Monitor, CNN and Fox, as well as local coverage such media as the Seattle in Times, Seattle-Post-Intelligencer, Arizona Star, Boston Globe, and affiliates of NBC, ABC, CBS.
       We remain committed to our goals - to support survivors of clergy sexual abuse, to support priests of integrity, and to shape structural change with the Catholic Church - to create a stronger, more healthy Church.
       But to continue our work, we need your prayers, your actions in your dioceses and your parishes, and if possible, your charitable donations. Make a one-time gift, or commit to a monthly contribution. You can make your gift online at www.votf.org .
       Thank you for all that you do. We need your energy and commitment to achieve the kind of Catholic Church we all want. And I know that with that energy, we will one day be successful.
       Sincerely, James E. Post, President, Voice of the Faithful [Dec 29, 04]
    P.O. Box 423, Newton Upper Falls, MA 02464-0002 , USA.
    #### Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker, www.ncrnews.org/abuse, Thu December 30, 2004 edition follows:-
    • Clergy Abuse Support Groups Say Priest Violating Probation [Kuhn] - RCC. United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       WCPO, Reported by 9News, Web produced by Neil Relyea, Photographed by 9News, 9:36:13 PM, Dec/29/2004
       OHIO: Two local support groups for clergy sex abuse victims say a convicted priest is not living up to his probation, and they want the judge to do something about it.
       In July, Father Thomas Kuhn was sentenced to five years of supervised probation for public indecency and providing alcohol to minors while he worked as a Dayton-area priest.
       But the groups Voice of the Faithful and Survivors Network of those Abused say the former Elder High School principal has violated his parole several times. [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 07:51 AM]
    • Allegations shock parish employees [1980s Fushek] - RCC. Child.
       Azcentral.com , by Jim Walsh, The Arizona Republic, Dec. 30, 2004
       MESA (AZ): Staff members at St. Timothy's Parish in Mesa were shocked upon learning that their pastor was placed on administrative leave Wednesday pending the outcome of an investigation but remain confident he will be cleared.
       Tears welled in the eyes of the parish's gift shop manager when she was asked her reaction to allegations of a sexual nature leveled against Monsignor Dale Fushek.
       "It's shocking and saddening," Virginia West said. "It is a sad time, but we're very loyal to Monsignor (Fushek), and we will stand behind him." Fushek, the parish's pastor for 20 years, was placed on administrative leave by the Diocese of Phoenix when allegations surfaced involving a 14-year-old from two decades ago.
       The Rev. Carlos Gomez, the associate pastor, said a question-and-answer session will be held after tonight's 7 o'clock Mass.
    • Clinical therapist accused of having sex with girl, 16 [2004 Giberti] - Shining Light Assembly. Girl.
       Arizona Daily Star, By Becky Pallack and Sarah Garrecht Gassen, ~ December 30, 2004
       PHOENIX (AZ): A North Side clinical therapist and charter school director is in jail, charged with having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old patient since August.
       Richard E. Giberti, 42, was arrested Tuesday night and charged with two counts of sexual conduct with a minor, said Deputy Dawn Barkman, a spokeswoman for the Pima County Sheriff's Department. He is in jail in lieu of $250,000 bond.
       He can no longer work at a school, including TLC Charter School, which he opened in 2001.
       The victim's mother reported Giberti to deputies after she discovered sexually explicit e-mails between Giberti and her daughter Tuesday morning, Barkman said.
       The teen told her mother she was having a sexual relationship with Giberti, who had been her therapist since August. The Sheriff's Department would not reveal the specific type of counseling Giberti was providing the teen. ...
       Before he became a therapist, Giberti had careers as a pastor and businessman, according to a résumé posted online on the TLC Charter Schools Web site.
       He was a pastor of the Shining Light Assembly, a church in Maine, from 1990 to 1996. He provided therapy, including a weekly adolescent support group, at the church.
    • Clergy, Boy Scout Leader Named In Church Sex Suit [1970s Vidnansky (Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph)] - RCC. Nun.
       TheBostonChannel.com ; POSTED 7:37 am EST, December 30, 2004
       SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- A former nun who taught at a Catholic school in Holyoke, Mass., during the 1970s is one of four clergy members and a Boy Scout leader named in a sex abuse lawsuit filed by five men.
       One of the plaintiffs -- all of whom filed the suit anonymously under the name John Doe -- says he had a two-year sexual relationship with ex-nun Mary Jane Vidnansky. The man says she told him she became pregnant and had an abortion during their relationship. Vidnansky, who was once a member of the Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph, taught at Mater Dolorosa School in Holyoke.
       A lawyer for the plaintiffs says she left the order in the mid-1970s.
       Attorney Carmen Durso says his client has pictures of Vidnanski that were taken in his bedroom, a lock of her hair and a report card that she signed.
       "He ended the relationship when he started to become interested in people his own age," Durso told the Republican newspaper of Springfield. "He said she pursued him. He's really been shattered by the whole experience.
       Vidnansky could not be reached for comment by the newspaper. A telephone listing for her could not immediately be found on Thursday.
    • Diocese investigates monsignor [1980s Lehman] - RCC.
       East Valley Tribune, By Kristina Davis, ~ December 30, 2004
       MESA (AZ): A popular Mesa priest who founded the nation's largest Roman Catholic youth organization has been placed on administrative leave while church officials investigate claims he knew about sexual misconduct involving a teen 20 years ago, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix announced Wednesday.
       Monsignor Dale Fushek, pastor of St. Timothy Catholic Community in Mesa, is prohibited from priestly duties while investigators look into claims that he knew about sexual abuse at the church and was present during one of the incidents.
       Attorney Frank Verderame notified church officials Dec. 22 that a former parishioner claimed to have recovered repressed memories of sexual molestation by the Rev. Mark Lehman, who served 10 years in prison for molesting students in the late 1980s at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic School in Phoenix.
    • Late Western Alaska priests accused in new lawsuit [1950s-69s Llorente, Nawn; Convert, Poole] - RCC.
       Anchorage Daily News, The Associated Press, December 29, 2004
       FAIRBANKS (AK) - A man filed a lawsuit in Bethel this week that claims he was sexually abused by two priests while serving in Western Alaska villages during the 1950s and 1960s.
       The Revs. Segundo Llorente and Francis Nawn, both deceased, are named as the assailants of the plaintiff, identified as Jack Doe 1.
       According to the lawsuit, the man is a member of St. Peter's Catholic Church in Sheldon's Point, now known as Nunam Iqua. He claims he and others were sexually abused as children.
       Named as defendants are the Catholic Bishop of Northern Alaska and the Society of Jesus, Oregon Province; and the Society of Jesus, Alaska.
       Anchorage attorney Ken Roosa is representing the plaintiff. He also is representing dozens of others in lawsuits filed on behalf of alleged victims of sexual abuse by two other Jesuit priests, the late Rev. Jules Convert and the Rev. Jim Poole, 81, founder of Catholic radio station KNOM in Nome.
    • Six file sex abuse lawsuits against Worcester Diocese [1960s-70s] - RCC.
       Telegram & Gazette, The Associated Press, ~ December 30, 2004
       WORCESTER, Mass.- Five people who claim they were molested by priests have filed lawsuits against the Worcester Diocese, which this month sought to dismiss or limit other sexual abuse suits.
       Four men and a woman claim in the suits filed Tuesday in Worcester Superior Court that they were assaulted in the 1960s and 70s, according to their attorney, Carmen Durso.
       A sixth suit filed Tuesday against the diocese claims a layperson hired by a priest assaulted a boy. All are seeking unspecified damages.
       A spokesman for the diocese did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
       Superior Court Judge Jeffrey A. Locke hasn't ruled yet on a diocese motion to dismiss or limit lawsuits filed by a dozen men who claimed they were molested by priests.
    • Five people sue Worcester Diocese [1960s-70s] - RCC.
       Capital News 9, 10:43 PM, Dec/29/2004
       WORCESTER (MA): Five people who claim they were molested by priests have filed lawsuits against the Worcester Diocese.
       Four men and a woman allege they were assaulted in the 1960s and 1970s. Attorney Carmen Durso said a sixth suit filed against the diocese claims a layperson hired by a priest assaulted a boy.
       Earlier this month, the diocese sought to dismiss or limit other sexual abuse suits. Diocese lawyers cited First Amendment protections of religion and a 1971 state law that had limited the amount of liability that charitable institutions could face.
       Durso said the church should not be allowed to limit the size of the payouts because the abuse of children and shifting priests from parish to parish was not part of its charitable function.
    • 2 Brothers' Suit Accuses Priests of Molestation [1989-94 Van Handel, Heather (Franciscans)] - RCC. Seminary, and choir boys
       Los Angeles Times, By Fred Alvarez, ~ December 30, 2004
       CALIFORNIA: Two brothers have filed suit against the Franciscan Friars of California and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, alleging sexual abuse by two priests at a Santa Barbara seminary.
       The suit alleges that the brothers, now 22 and 25, were repeatedly molested while members of the boys choir at St. Anthony's Seminary from 1989 to 1994.
       The suit, filed Dec. 15 in Santa Barbara County Superior Court, identified the seminary priests as Robert Van Handel and Gerald Heather.
       Van Handel was convicted of child abuse in 1994, sentenced to eight years in prison and now lives in Santa Cruz as a registered sex offender, according to the lawsuit and court records. Heather is reportedly living overseas.
       According to the suit, the Friars and the archdiocese allowed Van Handel to establish and oversee the boys choir at St. Anthony's despite knowing the threat he posed to children. To date, 16 victims allegedly abused by Van Handel have been identified in Santa Barbara, the lawsuit said.
    • The Legal System and Clergy Abuse in 2004
       FindLaw, By MARCI HAMILTON, hamilton02@aol.com , Thursday, Dec. 30, 2004
       UNITED STATES: At the beginning of 2004, the legal system seemed to offer little, if any, recourse for clergy abuse victims. However, I am happy to report that, over the course of the year, the legal situation changed, at least to some extent - leaving victims with genuine reasons for optimism about the future.
       In this column, I will contrast the state of affairs with respect to legal recourse for clergy abuse victims, at the beginning of 2004, with the state of affairs now. I will also sketch what still needs to be done if we are to truly afford victims some justice for the grievous harms they suffered, and if we are to do our best to deter future victimization.
    The State of Affairs in January 2004
       Here was the legal situation at the start of this year:
       The situation in civil court was mixed, and dire in some states. Some state courts had held that a victim could not bring a civil cause of action involving sexual abuse by clergy against a religious institution - claiming wrongly that the First Amendment created a defense to such liability.
       Similarly, various states, such as Massachusetts and New Jersey, had laws on the books permitting nonprofit institutions such as churches to avoid liability for the tortious acts of their employees or volunteers.
       As I discussed in a previous column, there was a time when charitable immunity was the prevailing rule.
       It has been on the wane almost since it first appeared, though, because it runs counter to the deep-seated American belief in holding those who harm others responsible for their conduct.
       Nevertheless, some states still retain the doctrine, and when they do, it drastically reduces potential liability for the Church, even for abuse that it was well aware of, and not only did not stop, but actually facilitated.
    • Ex-nun named in sex-abuse suit [? 1970s Vidnansky (Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph); Devlin, ] - RCC.
       Republican, By STEPHANIE BARRY, sbarry@repub.com , Thursday, December 30, 2004
       SPRINGFIELD (MA) - In a first for the region, a former nun is among local clergy accused of sexually abusing minors in a suit filed yesterday by five men.
       The suit targeting the former nun, three priests and a former Boy Scout leader was filed in Hampden Superior Court the same day the local Catholic diocese removed the Rev. Michael H. Devlin, 62, from ministry in an unrelated case following molestation allegations.
       The suit, filed anonymously under the names John Doe, also accuses the Springfield Roman Catholic Diocese of conspiring to cover up the abuse, which allegedly began decades ago.
       All but former nun Mary Jane Vidnansky have previously been named in sexual abuse lawsuits. Two deceased priests - J. Roy Jenness and Thomas J. O'Connor - also are named in the lawsuit along with the Rev. Alfred C. Graves, former Boy Scout leader Bruce A. Mooney, the Boy Scouts of America and the diocese.
       One of five John Does behind yesterday's claim said the nun, once a member of the Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph who taught at Mater Dolorosa School in Holyoke, became pregnant during a two-year sexual relationship in the mid-1970s.
       A lawyer for the men said Vidnansky told the alleged victim she had had an abortion and left the order in 1976. He also said the plaintiff provided an old report card signed by Vidnansky, photographs of the woman he says were shot in his bedroom and a lock of her hair.
    • Abuse claims breathe life into dead priests' past [1956-57 Llorente, ?1960s Nawn (? Jesuits)] - RCC.
       Anchorage Daily News, By NICOLE TSONG, December 30, 2004
       ALASKA: A popular Jesuit priest -- the country's first Roman Catholic priest to serve in a state Legislature -- and his successor at a parish in Sheldon Point are accused in a lawsuit of separately molesting the same boy there beginning in the 1950s.
       The plaintiff says in the civil lawsuit filed Tuesday in Bethel Superior Court that the Rev. Segundo Llorente molested him four times in 1956 and 1957, when he was 6 and 7 years old. He also accuses the Rev. Francis Nawn of abusing him at least five times when he was a teenager. Both men are deceased.
       The plaintiff, who is identified in court papers as Jack Doe 1, seeks unspecified monetary damages from the Catholic Diocese of Fairbanks, Alaska Jesuits and the Jesuit province in Oregon, which is historically affiliated with the Fairbanks diocese.
       The lawsuit accuses the diocese and the Jesuits of knowing about the priests' sexual misconduct, of shifting them from parish to parish to conceal their activities and of "harboring them within the protective cloak of the church."
       Ronnie Rosenberg, director of human resources for the Fairbanks diocese, said she has found no indication that anyone complained about Nawn or Llorente while they served the diocese.
       "From what I can see of any records -- and I have been through just about every file in this building that would make sense to look at -- no, we were not aware of these sorts of allegations," she said.
    • Diocese, woman settle abuse suit [1978-84 Poole] - RCC.
       News-Miner, By MARY BETH SMETZER, ~ December 30, 2004
       FAIRBANKS (AK): One of three women to contact the Fairbanks Catholic Diocese alleging she suffered abuse at the hands of the priest who founded KNOM radio in Nome, the Rev. James Poole, has reached a monetary settlement with the diocese and the Society of Jesus, Oregon Province.
       Patricia Hess of Anchorage, represented by Fairbanks attorney Bill Satterberg, signed off on the undisclosed settlement agreement Dec. 13.
       Hess, who now lives in Anchorage, said she was a teenager living in Nome when she was sexually molested by Poole.
       She went public, offering her story, name and photograph to the media last spring after another woman, listed under the pseudonym Jane Doe, filed a lawsuit against Poole. Jane Doe stated she had been sexually molested by the priest more than 100 times from 1978 to 1984, starting when she was 10 years old. Hess said she saw Poole's face on television and memories started flooding back.
       Satterberg said the Dec. 13 agreement with Hess was done privately and his client has decided to keep the settlement confidential.
    • Phoenix Catholic official placed on leave over allegation of sexual nature [Fushek] - RCC.
       Azcentral.com , by Joseph A. Reaves, The Arizona Republic, 04:45 PM, Dec. 29, 2004
       PHOENIX (AZ): Monsignor Dale Fushek, founder of the nation's largest Roman Catholic youth organization, was placed on administrative leave Wednesday while his superiors investigate an allegation of a sexual nature brought by a former parishioner.
       A spokeswoman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix confirmed for The Arizona Republic that an attorney representing the parishioner alerted church leaders to the allegations Tuesday. "An allegation was brought to us by an attorney whose client claims a repressed memory involving Msgr. Dale Fushek," said Mary Jo West, communications director for the diocese.
       "We have not received a claim or demand for money. We're investigating the matter."
       Fushek's attorney, Michael Manning, said the diocese routinely puts priests on administrative leave while church officials investigate allegations. In this case, Manning said, he was certain Fushek was innocent.
       "I know from speaking with him that there is absolutely no grounds for these allegations," Manning said.
    • New sexual abuse lawsuits filed against diocesan priests [Bagley, Messier, Banach, O'Neil, Reilley, Carney] - RCC.
       Telegram & Gazette, By Kathleen A. Shaw, kshaw@telegram.com , ~ December 30, 2004
       WORCESTER (MA) - New civil lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by six priests of the Catholic Diocese of Worcester, three of whom have not been accused previously in legal action, were filed Tuesday in Worcester Superior Court.
       The suits name the Rev. John J. Bagley, former diocesan chancellor, who was removed in 2002 by former Bishop Daniel P. Reilly after another allegation was made; the Rev. Raymond P. Messier and the Rev. Henry S. Banach, who have civil suits involving other allegations pending against them; the Rev. Leo J. O'Neil, who is now retired; and the Rev. Bernard R. Reilley and Monsignor Michael L. Carney, both of whom are deceased. The suits were filed by Boston lawyer Carmen L. Durso.
       The suits list the following allegations:
       Rev. Bagley, now of Hyannis, allegedly assaulted a male victim in 1963 when he was assigned to Christ the King parish in Worcester. The alleged victim was about 15 at the time.
       Rev. Bagley was pastor of St. Mary's Church in North Grafton when he was removed from ministry in 2002 by Bishop Reilly after the bishop received another allegation of sexual abuse involving an underage youth who said he was sexually assaulted in 1967 at Christ the King parish.
       Rev. O'Neil, now retired, was assigned to St. Joseph Church in Barre in 1975 when he allegedly sexually abused a 14-year-old boy, then an orphan living at the Stetson Home for Boys in the same town.
       Monsignor Carney, who died in 1981, was assigned to St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Worcester in 1977 and 1978 when he allegedly sexually abused a 15-year-old boy.
       Rev. Reilley, who died in 1990, allegedly sexually assaulted a girl in Worcester. A woman alleges she was sexually assaulted by Rev. Reilley in her Worcester home starting in 1952 when she was about 2 and continuing until about 1958.
       Rev. Banach allegedly abused a boy age 12 or 13 in 1976 and 1977 when he was assigned to St. Hedwig parish in Southbridge. He is retired and living in Worcester. He has been accused of sexual abuse by three other men in a pending civil suit.
       Rev. Messier allegedly abused a boy about age 12 in 1976 and 1977 when he was serving at St. Joan of Arc parish in Worcester. The alleged assault happened at the priest's Charlton home.
       Rev. Messier was pastor of St. Francis of Assisi parish in Athol and St. Peter's parish in Petersham when he was removed from ministry in 2002 by Bishop Reilly after another allegation was made. He is now living in Charlton. He has been accused by three other men in a pending civil suit.
       The filing of these suits comes at a time when lawyers for alleged victims and the Worcester Diocese have been working to settle suits that were filed in 2002 and 2003.
       James Gavin Reardon, lawyer for the Worcester Diocese, said he has not seen the new lawsuits and cannot comment. He added, however, that the new allegations will be turned over to the office of District Attorney John J. Conte.
       Mr. Reardon said Mr. Durso frequently releases his lawsuits to the media before they are received by the diocese, which makes it difficult for the diocese to comment. He said that the lawsuits will be "answered in due course" within the courts.
       Mr. Durso said he is filing these suits before the end of the year to protect the legal rights of his clients under the statute of limitations laws of the state. The lawsuits all state the alleged victims did not make the connection between past abuse and difficulties in their lives until about 2002.
       He said had the diocese chosen to sit down and settle the suits out of court, further legal action might not have been necessary. "We could have had mediation talks," he said.
       Mr. Durso has been critical of the diocese for failing to hold settlement talks on the pending lawsuits and said the diocese's settlement figures, which range from $3,000 to $7,500, are the lowest being offered in the United States and the world. The diocese has said the suits they have offered to settle for these sums lack merit.
    • Accused ex-priest may be tested [1985-87 Szantyr] - RCC. Boy.
       Telegram & Gazette, By Gary V. Murray, gmurray@telegram.com , ~ December 30, 2004
       WORCESTER (MA) - A retired priest accused of sexually assaulting a child may undergo a psychiatric evaluation to determine whether he is mentally competent to stand trial.
       The Rev. John J. Szantyr, 73, of Waterbury, Conn., is awaiting trial in Central District Court on four counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of 14.
       The charges date back to the mid-1980s, when Rev. Szantyr was assigned to Our Lady of Czestochowa Parish on Ward Street.
       The sexual assaults are alleged to have occurred on various dates from June 1, 1985, to Dec. 12, 1987. The alleged victim, a boy, is now in his late 20s.
       The criminal complaints against Rev. Szantyr were issued in 2003, after the alleged victim told investigators the man he knew as "Father John" touched him in an indecent manner when he was a child attending Our Lady of Czestochowa and Rev. Szantyr was a priest assigned to the parish.
       A preliminary psychological examination of Rev. Szantyr by a court-designated forensic psychologist was conducted Dec. 16 at the request of Assistant District Attorney Joseph J. Reilly III, according to court records. The case was continued to Feb. 17 for a hearing to determine whether a further evaluation is in order and, if so, whether it should be done on an inpatient or outpatient basis, sources said.
       In his written motion for the preliminary evaluation conducted earlier this month, Mr. Reilly said Rev. Szantyr's lawyer, Edward P. Ryan Jr., had provided him with documentation that called into question Rev. Szantyr's competency to stand trial. [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 07:02 AM]
    ////////// End of Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker www.ncrnews.org/abuse , Thu December 30, 2004
    Abuse Chronology: http://www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/ethics/ethcont107.htm
    For good teachings to be heeded, a big clean-up is needed.
    Lowlights 2004: Religions' Laws on Clergy Child Abuse v. Humanity.
       December 30, 2004, revised Jan 03, 2005
       PERTH: Various religions during 2004 have been shown to have hidden and transferred clergy child sex abusers around the world.
    Vatican / Papal flag; Mooney's MiniFlags  United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags  But the promotion on May 27 by the Roman Catholic Church of the noted transferrer, the disgraced Boston Cardinal Bernard Law, to be Archpriest of a Roman Basilica, St Mary Major, surely added to doubts that the Vatican has any real contrition for the destruction of the innocence and faith of countless children, mainly boys.
       (For months Law had withstood the exposures of depraved priests, most deflowering young children, one who had procured an abortion for a girl he illegally had sex with, and one guilty of violence against a "housekeeper". His resignation in disgrace had finally been accepted on December 13, 2002.)
       With three Roman Catholic dioceses in the USA seeking bankruptcy protection, and the discovery of internet sex offences by various clergy, it has been a bad year for organised religion around the world.
       For Queenslanders in Australia, the year opened with the revelation of an affidavit that RC priest Michael Joseph McArdle of Queensland claimed to have made face-to-face sacramental confessions of his boy-sex activities on a weekly or fortnightly basis to about 30 priests over a 25-year period, or 1500 times, and the priests plus two bishops did nothing. The Sunday Mail, www.thesundaymail. news.com.au/ common/story_ page/0,5936,8365148% 255E902,00.html , Jan 11.
       More shame came as Bishop Thomas O'Brien of Phoenix (Ariz) was in court after a 2003 fatal hit-and-run accident. The prosecutor said he had deceptively "acted innocent". Phillyburbs.com , " Prosecutor: Bishop Deceptive After Crash," www.phillyburbs. com/pb-dyn/news/ 1-02112004-24 4901.html , Feb 11. He became the first US RC bishop known to be convicted of a felony. Washington Post, Feb 18
       Almost simultaneously, Bishop Thomas L. Dupre of Springfield (Mass.) resigned a day after being confronted by The Republican with accusations that he sexually abused two minor boys three decades ago when he was a priest. The Republican, "Dupre accused of abuse," http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf?/news/stories/021104dupre.html , Feb 11, 2004
       The RC Church had worked out how to financially support priests who had been dismissed after public revulsion caused the Church to do so. Questions began to be asked about the "incredible acts of charity by donors". The Republican, "Aid for former priest debated," http://masslive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-6/1077007688202200.xml?nnhf . Feb 17, 2004.
       Also around this time, Rev. John Minkler joined the ranks of priests who spoke out publicly later being found dead. (~ Feb 17, 04)
       According to US RC reformer Father Tom Doyle, the cause of the sexual abuse scandal was an age-old phenomenon caused by "clericalism" -- the mistaken conviction that clerics are better than other people. He spoke at Loyola University. The Advocate, www.2the advocate. com/stories/02 1704/new_chapl ain001.shtml , Feb 17, 04.
       In the United States, Patrick McSorley, who was victimized by defrocked priest John Geoghan, and had spoken on news media repeatedly, was found dead in a friend's apartment in the North End on Monday morning. Feb 23
    Western Australia, State flag; Aust. Nat. Flag Assn.  In Western Australia there have been several stirs over allegations that a Wesley College headmaster had logged on to hundreds of child pornography websites. (Feb 25 and following).
       In the USA, accusatory letters written by the "sudden death" whistleblower priest, John Minkler, kept coming to light (see Feb 25). A victim, Mr Pat Podvin, a high school principal who broke his silence a year previously, seems to have suicided around then.
       Fr Donald Ouellette admitted stealing $250,000 at Fitchburg parish, Massachusetts, from money donated for an elevator (lift). Portsmouth Herald, Feb 25.
       On February 27, 2004 the long-awaited US RC self-reporting audit report showed that that 10,667 children had been allegedly abused by 4,392 priests from 1950 to 2002. Fourteen cent of dioceses and many religious orders did not provide figures. Most victims were male, mainly 11 to 14 years old. About $572 million damages had been paid already. The finding that at least 4 percent of American Roman Catholic priests were involved in child sexual abuse differs markedly from the figure of "less than 1 percent" offered in 2002 by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Vatican spokesman. The audit report was displayed at http://www. catholic reviewboard. com .
       "Eighty priests have committed suicide since this began," said Father Scott Daugherty of California, in a discussion at St Anne's that focussed on the abusers' needs. (Feb 28)
    Norway flag; Mooney's MiniFlags  Sexual activity is being investigated in an Oslo diocese RC monastery, Norway. Nettavisen, March 26
       Accused pedophile priest Paul Shanley was a "human wrecking ball" who probably molested hundreds of people, a lawyer for four of the cleric's alleged male victims said on Monday as he announced a settlement of their lawsuits against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, USA. The settlement (amount not disclosed) came on top of the landmark $85 million settlement the archdiocese made last year to hundreds of people who say they were abused by its priests. Reuters, Apr 5 Among those settling was Gregory Ford, who it is said will receive more than $1.4 million. (The Boston Globe, Apr 6)
       Verlyne Gray, the ex-wife of RC ex-priest James Porter, who in 1992 told a court that her then-husband did not take part in sexual abuse, disclosed at Taunton (Mass.) for the first time that other victims of Porter were her own younger sister and another neighborhood girl who was not part of Porter's 1992 trial in the Twin Cities. Gray and the former babysitter gave testimony to help ensure that Porter -- one of the nation's most prolific known child molesters -- never gets out of prison. Apr 6 70-year-old ex-nun Anne Milner, a redhead just like Gray, showed an engagement ring Porter gave her, and said she would wait to marry him. He had been previously sentenced to 18 to 20 years prison. (Bristol County District Attorney Paul F. Walsh had initiated the hearings by filing a sexually dangerous person petition. Herald News Dec 29, 2004)
       A sentence of 397 years prison had been imposed last year on Gerald Patrick Thomas, a former minister of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Marshall, Texas, USA, for sex crimes involving boys he befriended and lured into a world of child pornography, videotaped indecency and sexual assault. A jury was being selected in a civil liability case involving his actions. [397 years is in the report.] Apr 6, 04 Since 2002, 700 US RC priests with credible allegations against them have been removed from ministry, said Kathleen McChesney, director of the Office of Child and Youth Protection of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) The Catholic Telegraph ~ Apr 7.
       At Milwaukee's St. Augustine RC church during a Feb. 29 healing service for those sexually abused by priests, a man shed tears as Fr. Tom Wittliff, pastor, presided at a rarely performed rite called a "public prayer after the desecration of a church." The 47-y-o man has alleged that he was sexually abused in the church more than 30 years ago by a priest, who denies it. ~ Apr 7
    Canada flag; Mooney's MiniFlags  Canadian Roman Catholic religious orders who operated Indian residential schools could cut their legal costs from abuse claims by signing a financial agreement with the federal government, said the deputy minister of Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada. Legal fees are believed to be in the millions of dollars to date. [Three other Canadian Churches also are expected to pay compensation.] Week of April 12
       Love and Norris attorney Kim Norris said she had spoken to more than 2,000 alleged victims of sexual abuse at the hand of Jehovah's Witness members. It is alleged that all levels of the JWs were negligent regarding sexual abuse. Four years ago, a Kentucky Jehovah's Witness elder named Bill Bowen resigned from the Jehovah's Witness Church after asking questions about a fellow elder who was accused of sexual molestation. He started a support group for Jehovah's Witness abuse victims called Silent Lambs. Napa Valley Register Apr 14
       The Roman Catholic church's mishandling of paedophile scandals among its clergy is not a modern phenomenon but has been going on for hundreds of years, the book Fallen Order, by Karen Liebreich, published today, reveals. He is the patron saint of Catholic schools, St Joseph Calasanz, founder of the the Piarist Order, canonised in 1767. Calasanz wrote to the headmaster of one of the order's schools in Naples in 1631 about a priest accused of abuse: "I want you to know that your reverence's sole aim is to cover up this great shame ..." The Guardian Apr 15, 04.
       Author of a pro-RC book, Dick Ryan, in Newsday called on the US RC bishops to stop their bullying and shrill rhetoric trying to ban presidential candidate John Kerry, a Catholic, from being given Holy Communion, because he has a pro-choice position on the issue of abortion. "Nobody likes bullies, especially a group of men who were invisible and timidly inarticulate at the height of the worst scandal in the history of their Church." www.newsday. com/news/opinion/ ny-vprya15375 8129apr15,0,3243 417.story?coll= ny-viewpoints- headlines, Apr 15
    United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags  Hawaii flag (USA State); Mooney's MiniFlags  Retired RC Bishop Joseph Ferrario of Honolulu died on December 12, 2003. The Wanderer obituary (Jan 1, 2004), written by Paul Likoudis, says that Ferrario was "the first American bishop to be publicly accused of being a homosexual predator ... . Ferrario ... had been immersed in numerous scandals since his appointment to Honolulu ... . His resignation followed a dramatic reversal, by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, of an illegal decree of excommunication he imposed on six Hawaii Catholics who were critical of his rule." Likoudis's book Amchurch Comes Out (2002) said that "Ferrario is enjoying his retirement on the golf courses of Maui." Ferrario's oppressive reign over Catholics in Hawaii was documented for years in the Catholic Lay Press, by journalist Jason Berry in his groundbreaking book, Lead Us Not Into Temptation; and by Likoudis. Crux News, www.cruxnews. com/NORNotes/ nor-16April04 .html , April 16. The three other US general-interest national Catholic newspapers did not mention these allegations.
       An Antiochian Eastern Orthodox bishop who begged not to be incarcerated for groping a woman's breast at a casino in 2003 was ordered to spend 28 days in jail, a newsitem from Traverse City (MI) read. Bishop Demetri Khoury, 55, implored 13th Circuit Judge Philip Rodgers Jr. to sentence him to community service Friday for attempted fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct. www.record- eagle.com/ 2004/apr/ 17bishop.htm , Apr 17.
       A naked vicar of the Church of England enlivened the quiet parish of Burnham-on-Crouch, [this is not a joke] Essex, England. Rev. Bob Locke, 41, married, was seeking women sex contacts, according to a webpage that caused the Bishop of Chelmsford, John Gladwin, to suspend him. Irish Independent, "Vicar suspended over nude website claims," www.unison. ie/irish_ independent/ stories.php3? ca= 27&si=1128771 &issue_id=10459 , ~ Apr 18
    Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) flag; Mooney's MiniFlags  Two girls aged six and seven years old had told a Zimbabwe magistrate last week that an Assemblies of God pastor had raped them in a secluded place on October 27 last year. Apr 20
       A pastor, 63, of Graceway Baptist Church, Michigan, USA, was arrested on charges related to sexually explicit e-mail correspondence with a person he thought was a 14-year-old former parishioner. A parent alerted law enforcement, who set up a "persona" to mimic the child. The pastor set up a meeting to engage in sexual activity. Apr 21, 04
       Leaders of the Dallas-based Lutheran synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America allowed a sexually abusive minister, Gerald Patrick Thomas Jr., to be assigned to a church in Marshall, Texas, an East Texas civil jury decided Thursday. The panel recommended awarding $36 million in damages to nine male victims. Other defendants had previously reached a settlement that included payment of $32 million. Apr 22
       The Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Kentucky, USA, has chosen a new president, to replace one who had been there 21 years, but had resigned in October 2003, alleged to have sexually misconducted himself with adult women. Apr. 23.
       Former Mormon Bishop David James Gomez has been charged in Utah, USA, with molesting several teenage boys ten to 13 years ago. Gomez is director of Utah Correctional Industries. Apr 23.
       Some at the US National Federation of Priests' Councils convention grilled Milwaukee RC Archbishop Timothy Dolan on celibacy, false abuse accusations, and priestly life. One wanted an official dialogue on celibacy and married priests. Delegates and leaders called for a serious restructuring of the priest-bishop relationship and a creative rethinking of the role of the priest in a church devastated by scandal. Beliefnet, Apr 23.
       A priest accused of the ritualistic slaying of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl 24 years ago pleaded not guilty in Toledo (Ohio) on Friday to an aggravated murder charge. May 8
       Justice Anne Burke, of Chicago, Illinois, USA, has resigned from the RCC National Review Board which inquires into clergy sex abuse, saying the bishops were manipulating it. Some bishops had tried strategy (unsuccessfully, as it turned out) to avoid having a second audit of conformity to the 2002 "safe child" policy. A prominent figure in the Roman Catholic sex abuse investigation has decided to step down from her post, and a letter obtained by the National Catholic Reporter reveals she felt the lay board she led was manipulated. This is a year after the first chairman, Frank Keating, resigned after comparing the bishops to the mafia, as many of them initially refused to cooperate with the lay board. May 11.
       Nine former students of a now-closed Massachusetts school for the deaf filed a lawsuit on Tuesday saying they had been sexually, physically and emotionally abused by the Roman Catholic Sisters of St. Joseph who operated the institution. The plaintiffs, all of whom are deaf and mute, said they were raped, fondled, beaten, stuffed into lockers and had their heads submerged in toilets by nuns. The plaintiffs were ages 4 to 18 at the time, specified in the lawsuit as 1944 to 1977. The New York Times May 12
       Veteran journalist/author Jason Berry told the Press Club in Mobile, USA, that the news media in the past had often succcumbed to pressure from the pulpit. The Church systematically covered up clergy child abuse. Also, the Vatican refused to discipline school-teaching Legion of Christ founder Marcial Maciel despite numerous affidavits from priests that Maciel had molested them repeatedly when they were in the seminary. [A move to examine the charges finally came in January 2005] June 22.
    Mexico flag; Mooney's MiniFlags  In Mexico parishioners were telling of a stream of young male visitors to Father Nicolás Aguilar's parish residence, giving Bishop (now Cardinal) Norberto Rivera a problem. So, in 1987, Aguilar got a fresh start in Southern California. Just nine months later, he was on the move again, leaving behind one of the largest child sexual abuse cases (26 boys) in the history of Los Angeles Archdiocese led by Cardinal Roger Mahony. Again, scandal was contained with the fugitive priest crossing a border, but in Mexico he was charged, but released on a technicality. [Both shuffling bishops, as cardinals, will have a vote for the next Pope!] The Dallas Morning News June 22.
       On stage, using the former Archbishop Bernard Cardinal Law's own words, an actor portrayed Law's role in the Boston priest sexual abuse scandal last night at Manchester, USA, in a jarring play about the scandal. Written by Michael Murphy, the play "Sin: A Cardinal Deposed" relies on the testimony of Law during pretrial depositions in cases involving sexual assaults by John Geoghan and Paul Shanley. June 22, 04.
       Catholic priest, convicted paedophile Frank Klep, 60, who has been wanted in Victoria, Australia, since 1998 on five charges of sexual assault, had been promoted by the Salesian Order to school principal after his conviction, and later they transferred him to Samoa without telling RC leaders there of his record. Suspected paedophile Salesians have also been sent to Fiji. The Age Jun 23.
       Five Anglican women in South Australia allege that the parish clergyman forced them to attend his house at night, where he would strip to his underwear and make them massage his legs. They allege they were bullied into providing the service, often into the early hours of the morning, and when they complained were harassed and hounded within the church. June 23.
    Italy flag; Mooney's MiniFlags  54-year-old Rev. Yusaf Dominic in the Archdiocese of Lahore, Pakistan, who is also Rev. Dominic Yousuf, 48, in the Italian Diocese of Savona-Noli, wanted in England on charges of child abuse, was found in Italy by the The Dallas Morning News though Scotland Yard had "failed" to find him. The article details the alleged deceptions and transfers of this priest who, if RC authorities were to be believed, works at parishes without the knowledge of the dioceses! British church leaders bailed the priest out of jail, and bishops in Pakistan knew he was a fugitive and let him work anyway. And he has recently served in the United States, apparently without undergoing a background check. (Part of a year-long investigation.) The Dallas Morning News, June 23
       Outside St Patrick's, Manhattan, USA, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests [SNAP] charged that the Salesians of Don Bosco could bring the sex-abusing priests back from overseas for trial. SNAP asked Catholics to withhold donations to the Salesians, citing a report that several Salesian priests have been allowed to travel abroad to avoid accusations of abuse. They include Rev. Frank Klep, ex Australia, and the Rev. Enrique Vasquez, who is hiding and ministering in Honduras. June 24, 04.
       In Boston, in spite of Cardinal Law resigning, the same coterie that worked with disgraced Cardinal Law -- chancellor David Smith, legal counsel Wilson Rogers Jr., auxiliary bishop Richard Lennon -- still surround the new RC Archbishop, Sean O'Malley. Bishops who worked closely with Law in the 1980s and 1990s, when the cardinal was shuffling abusive priests from one parish to another, now run various dioceses around the Northeast. Boston Magazine, July 2004
       Lawyers for sex-abuse claimants filed papers to stop the Tucson (Ariz.) RC Diocese from disposing of land and buildings, suspecting that such moves were to avoid paying damages. Tucson Citizen, July 2. This was a wise move. As 2004 progressed, three US dioceses filed for bankruptcy protection, thus halting dozens of victims' civil cases, and thus preventing the details being scrutinised in open court, and reaching a wider public.
    SENT OVERSEAS TO AVOID POLICE
    Samoa flag; Mooney's MiniFlags  The RC Salesian order (17,000 members) was slammed in Australia by some old boys on July 3. (The Age) Hush money claims were publicised.
       "The Salesians have been under siege since Melbourne priest Frank Klep, who was convicted in 1994 on four counts of sexually assaulting students at Rupertswood, was remanded in custody on his return to Melbourne from Samoa last week on further charges of sexual abuse in the 1970s." Klep had been sent by the Order to Samoa in 1998, even though it knew police were investigating him on new abuse allegations, the same issue reported. (The Age July 3). The order's Australian head said he knew of 35 offenders being removed from the order. He denied there had been a paedophile ring. The RC bishop in Samoa ordered the suspect clergy out, and so did the Samoan government. The head of the Salesian Catholic order of priests and brothers in Samoa, Father John M. Murphy, was reported to have left the country ahead of an investigation of how clergy abusers were being brought into Samoa. July 9, 04   The exposure of the Salesians and Catholic dioceses world-wide for transferring priests interstate and overseas was accelerated by the The Dallas Morning News. The paper had sent reporters overseas for months to prove that abusers were working again with and near children, and had listed 200, and intended to publish a series for a year. The international leader denied that Salesian offenders were being transferred to various countries.
       The US Catholic diocese of Portland, in the north-west US State of Oregon, was the first in that country to file for bankruptcy Part 11 protection. It faces millions in damages for sex abuse. (The Courier-Mail, July 7).
       The Canadian Indian Residential Schools Settlement Fund, formed last year to pay the Anglican Church's portion of proven abuse claims stemming from a national boarding school system for native children, has collected $11.6 million as of June 30, 2004 - close to half its $25 million target Anglican Journal, July 7
       A Presbyterian youth counsellor of Myers Park, North Carolina, Russ Miller, was arrested for having pornographic nude photos of adults and children. In his home they also found more than 200 undergarments belonging to little girls. ~ July 07
    Austria flag; Mooney's MiniFlags  St Poelten seminary in Austria, west of Vienna, lost its head, Father Ulrich Kuechl, when thousands of pictures of sexual acts with children and animals were found on its computers. News 24, www.news24. com/News24/ World/News/ 0,,2-10-1462_ 1553033,00. html , ~ July 7. News magazine Profil published pictures of St Poelten priests fondling and kissing trainee priests, and reported 40,000 porn pictures. BBC News, http://news. bbc.co.uk/2/ hi/europe/ 3887033.stm , July 12, 04. Bishop Kurt Krenn, who said it was just boyish pranks, resigned later under pressure.
       For the next year, The Dallas Morning News, Texas, will publish a monumental series exposing how Catholic churches across the globe transferred child-molesting priests to poorer, more isolated dioceses, and overseas. Orange County Weekly, July 9 - 15
    Ireland flag; Mooney's MiniFlags  The Christian Brothers in Ireland have allowed sexual and physical abuse for decades (One in Four organisation, Ireland, early July.) The Order said it would leave its schools and go to the mission fields ! (Sydney Morning Herald, July 11)
       On July 11 the The Dallas Morning News reported that a fugitive Franciscan friar from Canada was working in Los Angeles archdiocese. No-one -- not his Franciscan superiors nor Cardinal Roger Mahony in USA, nor the police in Canada nor the USA -- evidently was going to do anything about ordering or compelling him to return home to face justice. On July 13 the paper reported that Nicaraguan police said that they had arrested a man matching the description of a fugitive priest.
       "The arrest came as the international police agency Interpol accused Catholic leaders in Central America of hindering their search for [the priest], who fled a criminal investigation in Costa Rica in 1998 and has worked in ministry abroad for most of the time since. "Prosecutors in Costa Rica, meanwhile, are investigating whether the priest's bishop there, Angel San Casimiro, has broken the law by aiding [him]." (July 13)
       Former nun Eileen M. Rhoads, 65, was convicted in Virginia of two felonies, molesting a 10-year-old fifth-grader at a Catholic school 35 years ago. July 15
       In South Ausralia, the Salesian principal of St Mark's College stood aside after a child abuse allegations was lodged against him with an RC committee. The Age (Melbourne), July 15, 04
       Brothers of Charity leader of Ireland and Britain admitted that in the past an "authoritarian atmosphere in schools and institutions made even credible people afraid to complain". ~ July 16
    Italy flag; Mooney's MiniFlags  An Italian bishop, Carmelo Ferraro of Agrigento, reportedly had been aware of charges of sex abuse against one of his priests, Fr. Bruno Puleo, but took no action against him. Puleo was recently sentenced to two and one-half years in prison for the sexual abuse of a former seminarian from age 12. The National Catholic Reporter, July 16. The news report and an interview with the victim (in Italian): http://www. adista.it/ blu/sommario.htm
       The current head of the Australian RC Salesian teaching order, Fr Ian Murdoch, of Melbourne, had made two trips to Rome, 2002 and 2003, fearing the ordinary process would take too long, to persuade the Vatican to expel David Rapson, who had been sentenced to two years' jail in 1992 for sex abuse. July 19 Fr Murdoch had flown to Fiji to check an allegation of child abuse against Fr Julian Fox, the Salesian leader in Fiji, who was former head of them in Australia. The Age July 21 In spite of the Australian Salesians having paid $35,600 to another man who said he had been abused by him at the Rupertswood College, Victoria, in 1978-79, Fr Fox, now a linguist at the Rome headquarters, told The Age he did not abuse anyone and could not remember the students who accused him. Jul 21.
       Some Catholic clerics just misinterpret celibacy and never came to terms with their own sexuality, said Wunibald Müller, who heads a counselling center for priests in distress at Münsterschwarzach, Bavaria, Germany. Some are still looking for contacts with 14-year-olds. Deutsche Welle radio, www.dw-world. de/english/0,33 67,1433_A_1272 883_1_A,00. html?mpb=en , July 21.
       The Irish Christian Brothers' leaders knew they had child sex-abuse problems at least as early as the 1930s, and the RC Church already had rules against it. The Irish State didn't seem to be aware of it in institutions until 1977. July 22.
       US lawyers claim a 1962 Vatican document offers explosive evidence the Vatican sanctioned the relocation of church workers accused of sexual abuse and promoted a culture of secrecy in dealing with the cases. Lawyer Daniel Shea, of Houston, Texas, said a May 2001 letter to bishops from Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger - one of the most powerful figures in the Vatican after the Pope - clearly states the document was still church law. The Australian, July 23, 04. (To follow up, click http://www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/ethics/crimineepistula.htm )
       Two ex-seminarians said Monday in Missouri that they had settled sex abuse lawsuits against the Rev. Anthony O'Connell, a former Florida RC bishop accused of molesting them as teens while they attended a Missouri seminary. O'Connell will pay each $5000, and Jefferson City Diocese $27,000 and $20,000. Grand Forks Herald, July 26
    Ghana flag; Mooney's MiniFlags  The Agona Swedru High Court in Ghana last Thursday was told how the de-frocked Prophet Miritiah Jonah Jehu-Appiah, Akaboha III, of the Musama Disco Christo Church (MDCC) seduced two daughters of a woman with whom he had been in sexual relationship. The matter was before the court as part of an application by the Church leadership to have the court make a declaration that the defendant had been lawfully removed from office in February 2003. July 26 Monsignor Thomas Sullivan, liaison to District Attorney John Conte's office in Massachussets, has been exposed in a May 2004 deposition as keeping a secret set of secondary records. ~ July 26
       (During the previous year, the former Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane, Australia, Dr Peter Hollingworth, then Governor-General, had been called upon to resign for his permitting abusers to remain in the clergy, and resigned on May 25, 2003, re-emerging quietly in charity work about a year later.)
       Ex-Bishop Donald Shearman, one of the clergy Hollingworth had condoned, was officially "defrocked" (dismissed from the clergy) in Brisbane on August 25. (The Sunday Mail, Aug 25, 04)
    Australia flag; Aust. National Flag Assn.  Tasmania (Australia) flag; Aust. Nat. Flag Assn.  "Listen to the Children," Tasmanian Ombudsman's review of abuse allegations from people who had been in State care as children, Nov 24, 2004. It covered both "homes" and foster care. Allegations mostly were of sustained physical and emotional abuse, with sexual abuse, mainly of girls. One "home" -- Mt St Canice (Magdalen Home) run by Roman Catholic nuns -- was praised by ex-residents. However, most criticism was of the other Catholic and Salvation Army institutions (who cared for the bulk of those "in care"), but included others, including those run by the State Government. ... 62 claimants (25 per cent of the total) reported abuse in church run Homes. Most of the complaints were made against the Catholic Church followed by the Salvation Army. (p 23 / 34) [Overall,] Two thirds (154) of the claimants alleged that they had been sexually abused at some time. Allegations ranged from vaginal and anal intercourse, ... through to inappropriate touching and fondling. Most of the allegations involved the more serious forms of sexual abuse. (p 25 / 36) -- "Listen to the Children, November 24, 2004
    Pakistan flag; Mooney's MiniFlags  In Pakistan an NGO calculated that Muslim and Christian clerics had been involved in about 1 per cent of the 1,218 child sexual abuse cases reported in newspapers for the first nine months of 2004. Forty-seven children had been murdered after sexual assaults. Daily Times, Dec 23.
       In Ireland, 265,000 Euro had been paid to just two victims. (One in Four, Dec 23) €50m more will be needed from the Church over the next 10 years. Irish Independent, Dec 24 This is in spite of the huge contribution the Irish Government is making for those put into "industrial schools", such as orphans and wayward children. Ireland has advertised overseas for emigrant victims of physyical, psychological and sexual abuse to apply for compensation.
       The 838 Protestant sex-abusing clergy listed on a website, the convictions of Jehovah's Witnesses and various evangelicals, the child-trafficking charges brought against a London-based "bishop" who claimed he could give sterile couples babies (and he did! All the way from Africa!), and the Willis admission by the Vermont RCC, all added spice to the life of anyone following clergy abuse closely.
       So all anyone can do is say to the leaders of religions, "For God's sake, stop it!"
    http://www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/ethics/ethcont107.htm#lowlights
    [Dec 30, 04]
    Abuse Chronology: http://www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/ethics/ethcont107.htm
    For good teachings to be heeded, a big clean-up is needed.
    #### Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker, www.ncrnews.org/abuse, Fri December 31, 2004 edition follows:-
    • Lawyer says priest will be cleared of sex allegation United States of America flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       KOLD, /www.kold.com/ Global/story.asp?S= 2749372 , ~ December 31, 2004
       PHOENIX (AZ) - An attorney says a former top official in the Phoenix Catholic diocese will be cleared of allegations of sexual improprieties.
       Attorney Michael Manning says the allegation against Monsignor Dale Fushek (FYOO'-shek) is baseless and a source of disappointment for Fushek.
       Fushek is the pastor of St. Timothy Catholic Church in Mesa and the founder of large youth group.
       Bishop Thomas Olmsted placed Fushek on leave after an attorney notified the diocese that a client claimed to have recovered a repressed memory involving sexual improprieties by Fushek in 1985.
       An attorney for the accuser says his client's claim is true and that he will continue to pursue the case. [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 08:25 AM]
    • Church elaborates on priest's dark past - 2 boys.
       Star-Ledger, BY MARGARET McHUGH, Friday, December 31, 2004
       NEW JERSEY: A suspended priest charged with molesting teenage boys while working in Morris County had been blackballed 10 years ago by the Archdiocese of Newark when church officials determined he had committed "sexual misconduct" against two males, an archdiocesan spokesman said yesterday.
       Richard Mieliwocki, 58, left the Catholic church and became a social worker, continuing to deal with young men. He avoided having his license suspended in 1999 for inappropriate behavior by agreeing to weekly monitoring for three years, a consent order showed.
       Mieliwocki's past only now is catching up to him, and his case shows how someone with a checkered history can move from job to job without detection. Two of his employers said they knew nothing of the allegations against Mieliwocki when they hired him.
       "He went under the radar screen, and he's been passed along and passed along. There's something unconscionable about that," said the Rev. Joseph Hennen, director of the Daytop Village drug-treatment center in Mendham. Authorities say Mieliwocki victimized four of the center's residents.
       Newark Archdiocesan spokesman Jim Goodness revealed yesterday that Mieliwocki was removed from duty in February 1994 after the archdiocese found credence in two men's claims that Mieliwocki abused them beginning in 1988 at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in South Orange.
    • Ex-Williamstown priest accused of molesting teen
       Berkshire Eagle, ~ December 31, 2004
       SPRINGFIELD (MA) -- A Western Massachusetts priest who once served in Williamstown has been removed from the ministry after he was accused of molesting a teenager in the 1970s.
       The Rev. Michael H. Devlin, 62, was most recently chaplain at Providence Place in Holyoke. He was suspended in October after his alleged victim told the diocese's Review Board that he was abused. After the panel investigated the claims, Bishop Timothy McDonnell decided to permanently suspend Devlin earlier this month.
       Laura Failla Reilly, the church's victim advocate, would not give many details of the allegation Wednesday. She said Devlin is accused of molesting a teenager several times while he was affiliated with St. Thomas' Parish in West Springfield and at All Souls' Parish in Springfield.
       Devlin became the pastor of St. Patrick's Church in Williamstown in 1985. The Southworth Street church had 1,000 members at the time. He succeeded the Rev. Alfred C. Graves.
    • Parishioners stand behind Mesa priest on charge [1985 Fushek] - RCC.
       The Arizona Republic, by Jim Walsh, Dec. 31, 2004
       MESA (AZ): A Mesa church in crisis rallied behind a suspended priest Thursday, packing a forum to learn more about the allegations against Monsignor Dale Fushek.
       While most parishioners attending the forum and Mass at St. Timothy's Catholic Church said they support Fushek, others were reserving judgment until more is known about a man's allegation that Fushek watched as another priest molested him in 1985.
       "It's all lies. Anyone who knows Monsignor Dale knows it's lies," said Janet Maneke, who passed out "I support Monsignor Dale" buttons before the Mass. "We love Monsignor Dale. He's touched a lot of lives and done a lot of good."
       Parishioner Frank Casa said he was so impressed by Fushek while attending a retreat in Mexico that he encouraged parishes in his hometown of Rochester, N.Y., to adopt Fushek's Life Teen youth ministry.
       But Casa said he is preparing himself for the worst-case scenario while hoping Fushek is eventually cleared of wrongdoing.
       "I think we're all desperately hoping that this is not for real," Casa said. "On the other hand, there must be good reason to put him on administrative leave."
    • Police seize material from office of B.C. youth minister [2001, ? 2004 Firth] - Anglican. Boy, computer material. Canada flag; Mooney's MiniFlags  Mexico flag; Mooney's MiniFlags 
       Anglican Journal, http://anglicanjournal.com/131/01/canada18.html , ~ December 31, 2004
       CANADA: Police in South Delta, B.C., have seized "sensitive material" from the office of an Anglican youth pastor from Tsawwassen, B.C., who is currently in jail in Baja Peninsula, Mexico, over allegations of child sexual abuse.
       Last July 15, Mexican authorities arrested Brad Firth, supervisor of youth activities at St. David's church, for the alleged sexual assault in 2001 of a 14-year-old boy who attended a Bible camp at a church in the city of Ensenada. At the time of his arrest, Mr. Firth was in Mexico with a team of teens and and adults from the diocese who went to Tijuana to help a church-run orphanage.
       'Our concern is for the protection of our children and to ensure a fair trial we are trying to be as responsible with the information as possible, and everyone in the congregation is called to do the same.'
       Rev. Paul Woehrle, rector of St. David's church, said that members of his congregation have been "traumatized" by recent media reports about Mr. Firth's arrest and the seizure of material from his offices. He told Anglican Journal that concerns were raised over the fact that newspapers had carried photographs of Mr. Firth showing him with some children and youth of the community.
    • 8 homes planned for playing fields
       The Republican, By BILL ZAJAC, wzajac@repub.com , Friday, December 31, 2004
       WILBRAHAM (MA) - The planned construction of eight homes on Tinkham Road means neighbors and some athletic teams will lose a neighborhood recreation oasis where the homes will be built.
       But while some neighbors hate to see the 4.79 acres across from the entrance to Minnechaug Regional High School developed, they are taking some solace in the belief that their property values will rise as a result of the construction.
       "It was a great place for kids and dogs to run around, and many teams practiced there as well," said Sheila R. Albertson, whose 3 Edward St. home faces the property being developed by town resident and contractor Anthony Carnevale.
       Her neighbor Armand A. Zolla said he has enjoyed 38 years of the undeveloped land and practice fields in front of his home.
       But, he said, "Time marches on. Development was inevitable."
       The land was sold for $750,000 recently as part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield's $7.75 million settlement of clergy sexual abuse suits.
    • Legionaries Barred From Archdiocese
       MINNESOTA The Day Dec/31/2004
       Minneapolis - Archbishop Harry Flynn of St. Paul-Minneapolis has barred the Legionaries of Christ religious order from working in the archdiocese and prohibited its associated lay movement Regnum Christi from using archdiocesan property or parishes for its activities.
       The conservative Legionaries are a favorite of Pope John Paul II, but the order has been criticized by former seminarians and others for being too rigid, secretive and competitive with other officials within the Roman Catholic Church. Also, its founder, the Rev. Marcial Maciel of Mexico, has been accused of sexual abuse - allegations the religious order has denied.
       Flynn notified parishes of his decision in a Nov. 23 letter that was made public a month later by a group critical of the religious order. Dennis McGrath, a spokesman for the archdiocese, confirmed the letter's authenticity. The Diocese of Columbus, Ohio, enacted a similar ban in 2002, said Robin Miller, a spokeswoman for the Columbus diocese.
    • Audit: Phoenix diocese complies with sex-abuse policies
       KOLD, ~ December 31, 2004
       PHOENIX (AZ) - A recent audit shows the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix is following sex-abuse prevention policies.
       The examination assessed compliance with the U-S Conference of Catholic Bishops' Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.
       The Phoenix diocese had a half dozen priests and former priests indicted on sexual abuse charges in 2003.
       Auditors who examined the Phoenix diocese in early December found Bishop Thomas Olmsted has a policy for meeting with victims of sex abuse but hasn't had to do so.
       No allegations were made between the latest audit and one conducted in November 2003.
    • Group questions diocese delay
       GARY (IN) Post-Tribune By Jon Seidel / Post-Tribune staff writer Dec. 31, 2004
       A national group that defends victims of sexual abuse by priests has demanded an explanation from the Gary Diocese for the length of an investigation of a Michigan City priest.
       David Clohessy, national director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, sent a letter Thursday to Bishop Dale Melczek of the Diocese of Gary and to Bishop Thomas Wenski of the Diocese of Orlando to ask why it took eight months for them to respond to allegations made against the Rev. Richard Emerson.
       About two weeks ago, Melczek announced that Emerson, 52, a Hammond native, would be placed on administrative leave from his position as pastor of Michigan City's Notre Dame parish because allegations of sexual abuse made against him were judged to be credible.
       Emerson has been accused of engaging in sexual activity with a minor while working as a priest in the Orlando Diocese during the 1980s.
       The Rev. Brian Chadwick, the communications director for the Gary diocese, said no criminal charges have been filed against Emerson, although authorities in both Indiana and Florida have been informed. Emerson is restrained from public ministry or contact with minors pending a Vatican review, the diocese said earlier in a news release.
    • The Year In Keeping The Faith
       Orange County Weekly, by Gustavo Arellano ~ December 31, 2004
       CALIFORNIA: I don't know if you've noticed, but I've written a few stories about the Diocese of Orange sex-abuse scandal this year-31, actually. Most of them were well-researched, hard-hitting exposés critical of a church leadership that for decades refused to acknowledge the priestly pedophilia problem in Catholic Orange County. Some stories drew national attention, such as my piece about Orange Bishop Tod D. Brown's purchase of a $1.1 million manse for himself near South Coast Plaza. Others ran under the headlines "All Aboard the Pedo-Train!" and "Hide the B*ggering Priests!" or examined a mural at St. Joseph's in Santa Ana I lovingly refer to as "Boner Jesus."
       It's a living.
       Anyways, it's been tough covering an imploding Church, and not just because of the barrage of angry Catholic e-mails and phone messages. Shortly after I began the series, my parents took me aside. They're barely English-literate, but someone had apparently translated my "King of County Pedophiles" story for them, the article in which I excerpted a police report detailing how Father Eleuterio Ramos allowed three strangers in a San Diego motel room to blindfold a 14-year-old boy, then watched as they savagely gang-raped the teenager.
       My parents have never been the most devout of Catholics - papi rarely attends Mass, and I can't remember the last time mami took the Eucharist. Nevertheless, they ordered me to sit one night and yelled at me for a good hour. Orthodox or not, they're Mexican Catholics, and insulting the Church in our culture is as serious a sin as saluting the American flag. Why write badly about the Church? they demanded. Why bash God?
       At least my parents didn't shun me. Around summer, I started courting a woman whom I'd known for years. I was still raw from yet another heartbreak and figured the bona fide Sunday-school teacher would treat me with Christian love. Everything went dandy - chaste, unfortunately, but dandy - until I excitedly called her one night. I had just received accolades from friends for my "Lifestyles of the Rich and Pious" cover story. That would've been the article in which I described the Orange diocese's 10 most-expensive homes in luxuriant, numbers-crunching detail.
       She hadn't read the story; she didn't need to.
       "How could you invade the privacy of priests?" she asked gently, but in an offended tone that told me this was it. "Why do you always write so badly about the Church? Can't you write anything positive?"
       I saw her the other day at a baptism. She handed me a basket of chips.
       The most vicious scold, however, came courtesy of Father Timothy Freyer of St. Boniface Church in Anaheim. In late September, he set aside a full page of the parish bulletin in English and Spanish to trash my "Lifestyles of the Rich and Pious" piece. I didn't even mention St. Boniface in the story, but the pastor still felt moved enough to question my credibility. Incredibly, he also defended Brown's philosophy of moving priests out of spacious rectories and into private mini-estates far from the maddening faithful.
       This from the man who presided over my sister's quinceañera.
       Freyer's pseudo-bull was the closest I came this year to abandoning Catholicism - wait, you thought I was atheist? Or a Jew? Oh, ye of little faith: welcome to my cross.
       When I mention I'm Catholic, people smile. When people see the rosary hanging from my car's rear-view mirror and the St. Jude Thaddeus prayer card taped to my garage opener, they figure I'm into kitsch. When I mention I'm a practicing Catholic, their faces twist in disbelief. I know what they're thinking: How could I remain faithful to the Church when I spend much of my work day - an entire year! - eviscerating the Church with stories such as "Boy-B*ggering Bingo!"?
       The answer is simple: 11 a.m. Sunday Mass at St. Boniface.
       This is my home parish. This is where I learned about social justice, where I plan to marry - ladies, my e-mail is below - and where I hope to have my funeral, though not as soon as some would hope. It's also the parish that hosted one of the county's most notorious pederast priests, Father John Lenihan, the man who gave me my First Communion.
       The Orange diocese wouldn't defrock Lenihan for his crimes until 2001, and that was only after he admitted to having sexual relationships with adult women. But even during the late 1980s, when I was a kid there, it was common knowledge among St. Boniface parishioners that Lenihan raped girls while a priest at St. Norbert's in Orange during the 1970s. That didn't seem to bother anyone. Father John was a welcome presence in every facet of St. Boniface's energetic social and liturgical calendar: catechism classes, weddings, First Communions, pro-amnesty drives, everywhere. When he left St. Boniface for St. Edward in Dana Point in 1995, many of the faithful tearfully begged then-Orange Bishop Norman McFarland to keep Father John with us.
       At the time of my First Communion in 1988, I was too young to know what rape was, except that it had something to do with men being mean to women and, like watching an R-rated movie, it guaranteed Hell. As I prepared for that day, I remember asking my parents, catechism teachers, even other priests, why Father John was allowed to officiate over something so important if he had done something so bad. I heard the same half-explanation from everyone: "Father John has a problem."
       I didn't think much of it until late last year. That's when my editor asked if I could investigate the sex-abuse scandal plaguing the Catholic Diocese of Orange. I was noncommittal until a sex-abuse survivor visited the Weekly's offices carrying a stack of damning documents. Thanks to those, I discovered that 30 other priests shared Lenihan's "problem." That "problem" destroyed the lives of children into their adult years and, thanks to a December agreement between the church and victims, will now cost the faithful $100 million. It's the largest sex-abuse settlement in the history of the Catholic Church.
       "Father John has a problem."
       When I attend Mass and see the Vietnamese youth group selling car-wash tickets as a fund-raiser for their Christmas pageant because there's not enough money, I think about "Father John has a problem" and realize what a lie it was. Father John didn't have a problem; we did.
       Around Thanksgiving, my parents had that look again. Another article of mine translated by someone. That would've been the one called "More Bang, Please," which disclosed how Brown spent $350,000 on a PR firm to spin his pedo-lies.
       I wasn't seeking another confrontation. Earlier in the day, a sex-abuse victim who pleaded anonymity thanked me endlessly over the phone for my work. The person was one of about 20 different victims of priests who called to thank me over the past year. While I'm always grateful, the calls drain me - as much as I've grown accustomed to it, it's hard hearing a molestation survivor describe their preteen violation in devastating detail.
       By then, I was already refusing the Body of Christ from priests, preferring to receive the host from a lay Eucharistic minister. And still, when the collection basket passes my pew, I stare ahead.
       But my parents didn't want to hear about my theological problems this most recent evening. All they wanted to know was whether the $350,000 figure in my story was correct. Sí, sí, I tiredly assured them.
       They remained silent. "What you're doing is good, Gustavo," my mom finally said. She resumed watching some weepy telenovela. Our Virgin of Guadalupe statue above the television never looked so radiant. garellano@ocweekly.com # [Posted by Kathy Shaw at 07:43 AM]
    ////////// End of Clergy Sex Abuse Tracker www.ncrnews.org/abuse , Fri December 31, 2004
    Abuse Chronology: http://www.multiline.com.au/~johnm/ethics/ethcont107.htm
    For good teachings to be heeded, a big clean-up is needed.
    FOR GOOD TEACHINGS TO BE HEEDED, A BIG CLEAN-UP IS NEEDED
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