• Cardinal urged to aid new law. [2003 Springfield Diocese] - Roman Catholic Church.
Chicago Tribune,
www.chicago tribune.com/news/ local/chicago/chi- 0312010117dec01, 1,5548610.story? coll=chi-newslocal chicago-hed ,
December 1, 2003
CHICAGO (IL): Two dozen advocates for victims of sexual abuse by Catholic
clergy picketed Holy Name Cathedral on Sunday afternoon and called on Cardinal Francis George to oppose challenges to a new state law that lengthens the statute of limitations for seeking civil damages in abuse cases.
The challenges are not from the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, the
advocates said, but George was asked to take a stand. One challenge has been made in an abuse suit filed in Cook County, said Barbara Blaine, president of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests [SNAP]. The archdiocese is one of the suit's many defendants but has not challenged the constitutionality of the law signed in July.
The Springfield diocese has challenged the law as a defendant in an abuse
suit scheduled for a hearing Tuesday in Sangamon County.
State Sen. Jacqueline Collins (D-Chicago), who sponsored the bill, said
the legal challenges reflect a lack of sincerity by some Catholic leaders.
"Practice what you preach," she said.
(Posted by Kathy Shaw, 9:11:12 AM, Poynter)
(This is the first of the Poynteronline Abuse Tracker edition for Monday, December 1, 2003.)
• About 33% of Irish think about 25% of priests are perverts: study. Belfast Telegraph, "Pervert priest cases badly handled: study,"
(http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=469036)
By David Quinn, newsdesk@belfasttelegraph.co.uk , December 1, 2003.
IRELAND: A major new study in the Republic is set to sharply criticise the Catholic
Church over its management of the clerical sex abuse problem and says that
its poor handling of it has damaged society at large.
The study, produced by the Royal College of Surgeons on behalf of the
Catholic hierarchy and due to be published this week, interviewed 1,000
adults in a telephone survey.
Among its findings is that "11% of those interviewed said that abuse was
so endemic that over 50% of clergy sexually abuse children".
It also found that 9% put the number of clerical sex abusers at between
30% and 49%, 13% put it at 20-29% while 47% said it was between 5% and
19%.
Only one in five respondents put the figure at less than 5%.
In a seeming contradiction, the survey also found that while the public
overestimates the prevalence of sex abusers among priests and religious,
it seriously underestimates the number that have been convicted of abuse.
In the ten-year period from 1992 to 2002, 49 clerics were found guilty of
child sexual abuse, but 62% of respondents put this figure at less than
half that.
The 400-page study was commissioned by the bishops in January 2001.
In addition to surveying public attitudes to clerical sex abuse, it also
examines the impact of abuse upon the victims, their families, the clerics
themselves, as on the community.
• Children's Advocate Raps Bishop Murphy Over 'Phony' Efforts.
LONG ISLAND (NY): A leading children's advocate tapped by Bishop William Murphy to help the Rockville Centre diocese clean up its sex abuse scandal called the
bishop's efforts "phony" and said she will no longer work with the
diocese.
Waving a sign that declared "The CEO Must Go!" and marching alongside 15
other protesters outside St. Agnes Cathedral Sunday, Laura Ahearn called
on Murphy to resign and lambasted him for failing to pay restitution to 45
alleged victims of sexual abuse by priests on Long Island.
Ahearn, the executive director of Parents for Megan's Law, charged that
Murphy is more concerned with "p.r. spin" than protecting children. She
also said he told her that when he was second-in-command in the
Archdiocese of Boston he had "no legal obligation" to call police when
cases of alleged sex abuse crossed his desk.
"That demonstrated that this is a person that is incapable of putting
children's safety as a priority over preventing scandal and protecting
child molesters," she said, adding, "We won't be part of his p.r. spin [= Public Relations twisty wordings and actions]."
-- Newsday,
www.newsday.com ,
By Bart Jones, November 30, 2003.
• Pedophile Priest: The Crimes of Father Geoghan.
The perception that child molesting was a rare crime perpetrated by a
small number of raincoat-clad misfits crumbled in the 1970s and '80s when
studies disclosed the astonishing prevalence of this crime and the outward
"normalcy" of its perpetrators.
-- Crime Magazine,
"Pedophile Priest: The Crimes of Father Geoghan,"
(http://www.crimemagazine.com/03/geoghan,1201.htm)
by Denise Noe,
December 1, 2003
• A priest by turns demanding and timid trod prison's path.
BOSTON (MA): Second of three parts:
On the eve of his first Christmas in prison, John J. Geoghan sat in his
cell on the brink of despair -- and surrender.
The torments he said he suffered at the hands of a few correction officers
had worn him down.
The sanction they had imposed for offenses Geoghan insisted were trumped
up stung too much: For 12 weeks, the defrocked priest's ability to talk
with or see his older sister Catherine had been taken away.
Since childhood, the two had been inseparable. And now she was his
treasured connection to the world beyond the walls.
And so, the 67-year-old Geoghan suggested he was ready to abandon the
losing battle he'd been waging against the guards and the rules of the
medium-security prison to which he'd been sentenced.
"After eighty-four days of no contact with my seriously ill sister, we are
finally back in contact, but only on the phone as I am afraid of our
safety in personal visits," Geoghan wrote in a Dec. 24, 2002, letter to a
legal adviser. ". . . I think I now have decided I am only interested in
survival and keeping out of difficulty so I do not lose contact with my
sister."
For Geoghan, survival meant not only securing his personal safety, but
continuing his unlikely bid to prove his innocence. He wanted to be free
to focus on the appeal of his conviction for fondling a 10-year-old boy in
a Waltham swimming pool.
Better to reserve his energies for that cause than to live in fear at
MCI-Concord.
Better perhaps to consider a transfer to another prison where he might be
left alone.
Boston Globe,
www.boston.com ,
By Thomas Farragher, Dec 1, 2003
• Church's handling of sex abuse 'damaged society'.
(http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=9&si=1086210&issue_id=10106)
-- Irish Independent,
IRELAND: A major new study sharply criticises the Catholic Church over its
management of the clerical sex abuse problem and says that its poor
handling of it has damaged society at large.
The study, produced by the Royal College of Surgeons on behalf of the
Catholic hierarchy and due to be published this next week, interviewed
1,000 adults in a telephone survey.
Among its findings is that "11pc of those interviewed said that abuse was
so endemic that over 50pc of clergy sexually abuse children".
It also found that 9pc put the number of clerical sex abusers at between
30 and 49pc, 13pc put it at 20-29pc while 47pc said it was between 5 and
19pc. Only one in five respondents put the figure at less than 5pc.
In a seeming contradiction, the survey also found that while the public
overestimates the prevalence of sex abusers among priests and religious,
it seriously underestimates the number that have been convicted of abuse.
In the ten-year period from 1992 to 2002, 49 clerics were found guilty of
child sexual abuse, but 62pc of respondents put this figure at less than
half that.
The 400-page study was commissioned by the bishops in January 2001. In
addition to surveying public attitudes to clerical sex abuse, it also
examines the impact of abuse upon the victims, their families, the clerics
themselves, as on the community.
Sunday, November 30, 2003
//////////////////// End of www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=46, Monday, December 1, 2003
########## Poynteronline Abuse Tracker, www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=46,
Tuesday, December 2, 2003 edition follows:- • Victim hopes for peace in sex abuse arbitration.
(http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/localRegional.bg?articleid=217)
-- Boston Herald,
By Robin Washington, Tuesday, December 2, 2003.
BOSTON (MA): More than a year after the Archdiocese of Boston twice dismissed Paul
Edwards' clergy sexual abuse claims, the church has agreed to settle with
the man its supporters once derided as a pathological liar.
Edwards, 36, who last year withdrew a suit charging abuse by
Monsignor Michael Smith Foster and the late Rev. William Cummings after
Foster's supporters labeled him a lifelong liar - accusations later proved
unfounded - told his story yesterday to an arbitrator who will decide the
settlement amount.
The terms are similar to the separate $85 million deal the church
struck with more than 500 other plaintiffs, with the exception that the
arbitrator cannot decide to withhold an award to Edwards.
At the conclusion of the three-hour session, the arbitrator said, "I
believe you," according to Edwards, his wife Shannon, victims' advocate
Susan Gallagher and lawyer Roderick MacLeish Jr.
"He was very moved. You could tell," said Edwards.
In the session, MacLeish peppered his client with detailed questions
about his alleged rape by Cummings and molestation by Foster.
(Posted by Kathy Shaw, Poynter)
• Multi-wife "prophet's rituals" snared own children and daughter of friend.
FOLSOM (California): The trial of a self-proclaimed prophet from Folsom accused of molesting his children in rituals couched in religious doctrine began Monday with
testimony so explicit it drew a groan from one juror.
Allen Rex Harrod, 56, faces a potential life term if convicted of the 32
counts of child molestation involving his sons, a daughter and the teenage
daughter of a friend entrusted to him for "religious training."
Prosecutor Chris Ore told jurors on Monday that Harrod was a "cult"
leader, who forced his daughters to perform sexual acts in order to win
favor and advance in the family hierarchy.
He said documents show that acts of molestation were outlined in
interpretations of Scripture written by Harrod, and that his children and
several wives were required to write journals of their sexual "offerings"
to Harrod as patriarch.
--Sacramento Bee, "Folsom couple's sex trial begins,"
(http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/7887163p-8825879c.html)
• Archdiocese of Cincinnati behind on fund-raising goal.www.journal-news.com ,
-- Hamilton Journal News,
By Katie Bunker,
HAMILTON (OH): The annual fund-raising drive by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati
is behind in its goal, Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk said Monday before
celebrating Mass in Hamilton.
"Our annual fund drive is down five percent," Pilarczyk said.
Pilarczyk celebrated Mass at the Mercy Franciscan at Schroder Retirement
Center for residents and friends of the retirement community.
Last week, the archdiocese pleaded no contest to charges that the
archdiocese failed to report priests' sexual abuse of children. Although
Pilarczyk did not address the child sex abuse scandal at mass, he did ask
parishioners to pray for more good priests, and for him.
"Many people have been very supportive (throughout the ordeal); many
people have not," Pilarczyk said.
A group of Catholic laity in Dayton, about 70 members of Voice of the
Faithful, have called on Pilarczyk to resign -- something he has no plans
to do, Pilarczyk said.
• To Volunteer at Church, First Be Fingerprinted.www.nytimes.com ,
-- The New York Times,
By Daniel J. Wakin, December 2, 2003 [?which is right?]
MADISON (NJ) Nov. 30: Theresa Mulvoy keeps track of sheet music, takes
attendance and gives a vocal boost as a volunteer for the children's choir
at St. Vincent Martyr Church here.
Soon she will also give her fingerprints.
Mrs. Mulvoy is one of thousands of volunteers and members of the staff and
clergy in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson who are expected to
undergo criminal background checks in the coming months. The scrutiny is
part of efforts by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to
repair the damage from the clerical sexual abuse scandal and to reassure
members that children are safe in the hands of the church.
Dioceses around the country are at various stages of investigating their
volunteers and employees, and many have been doing so to some degree for
years. But the efforts have grown more focused as auditors hired by the
bishop's conference are due to report in January on compliance with new
church guidelines.
• Bishop outlines abuse.
(http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/news/120203/Local/ST003.shtml)
-- Pensacola News Journal,
by Jenny LaCoste@PensacolaNewsJournal.com , Dec 2, 03.
FLORIDA: More than 65,000 Catholics from Pensacola to Tallahassee are receiving
letters this week from Bishop John Ricard assuring them the diocese is
doing all it can to protect children from sexual abuse.
The letter, mailed last week to parishioners in the 18 counties Ricard
supervises, offers apologies to anyone who has ever been abused by a
clergy member and promises to uphold the Charter for the Protection of
Children and Young People, adopted by the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops last year.
"I apologize for the Church's failure to act in the past as promptly as it
should have," Ricard said in the letter. "Children need and deserve a safe
and caring environment."
The letter also outlined how many priests in the diocese have been removed
because of allegations of sexual abuse.
In the past 28 years, six of 420 priests in the diocese have been removed
from service. None of those priests now serve in ministry, Ricard said.
Two other priests who were accused of abuse are now dead. The diocese has
offered support to 17 victims in that time frame, spending $456,761 on
settlements, counseling, medical costs and legal fees.
• Catholic Church officials say donations remain consistent.
(http://www.statenews.com/article.phtml?pk=21141)
-- The State News,
By DON JORDAN.
MICHIGAN: Almost two years after the Catholic Church's sexual child-abuse problems
became public, parishioners around the country continue to donate funds to
the church, despite the slump that experts predicted.
Locally, as Catholic parishes have received consistent donations over the
last two years, donations to the Diocese of Lansing have decreased by 27
percent.
"People have a different relationship with their parishes than they do
with the larger church in general," said Liz Schweitzer, a member of St.
John Catholic Student Parish's pastoral team. "If there is any fallout,
perhaps it takes a larger toll with national church collections."
The Diocese of Lansing's collections fell from more than $1.1 million to
just more than $825,000.
• Diocese must give up records.
(http://www.qctimes.com/internal.php?story_id=1021227&t=Local+News&c=2,1021227)
-- Quad-City Times,
By Kay Luna.
CLINTON, Iowa: A Clinton County judge has ordered the Diocese of
Davenport to produce all records from the past 50 years regarding sexual
misconduct by priests, but will allow victims' names to be kept
confidential.
The ruling was handed down last week by District Judge C.H. Pelton.
The diocese is compiling these documents as part of an independent panel'
s 50-year national study of alleged sexual misconduct in the church.
A national advocacy group for victims of abusive priests has sharply
criticized the Davenport diocese for its resistance to providing such
records in connection with six civil lawsuits alleging child sex abuse by
priests in Clinton and Scott counties.
• Lawyers say judge not biased vs. diocese.
(http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2003/12/02/loc_loc4dio.html)
-- The Cincinnati Enquirer,
By Jim Hannah, Dec 2, 2003
BURLINGTON (KY): Plaintiffs' lawyers have come to the defense of a Boone
County judge accused of being biased against the Covington Diocese in the
nation's first class-action lawsuit alleging sexual misconduct by priests.
Diocesan attorneys have petitioned Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice
Joseph Lambert to remove Circuit Judge Jay Bamberger, citing his
friendship with a trial consultant hired by the plaintiffs and the fact
that he knows some of the alleged victims.
Attorneys Stan Chesley, Bob Steinberg and Michael O'Hara, who represent
the victims, filed court papers Monday with Lambert. They accuse diocesan
attorneys of smearing Bamberger's reputation in order to have the case
reassigned.
"Defendant's tactic has been to make baseless accusations of unethical
behavior against ... Bamberger by filing a defective motion to recuse,
hoping to goad him into an angry response and then seek disqualification
based upon his alleged animosity toward defendant for questioning his
impartiality," Chesley wrote in his 25-page response to the request to
disqualify the judge.
• Behind walls, trouble built to a brutal end.
(http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2003/12/02/behind_walls_trouble_built_to_a_brutal_end/)
-- Boston Globe,
By Thomas Farragher, Dec 2, 2003.
SHIRLEY (MA): (Last of three parts).
On the day before he died, John J. Geoghan savored an unusual prison
pleasure.
He won his regular game of rummy in the back of the jailhouse gym.
"That was a rarity for John," said Robert K. Assad, a Fall River arsonist
who shared Geoghan's protective custody unit at the Souza-Baranowski
Correctional Center and was a regular at the card game. "We had to teach
him how to play."
The gleaming maximum-security prison that straddles the Lancaster-Shirley
line had been the defrocked priest's home since April.
There, he would complain to his fellow inmates and his lawyer, he was
still an occasional target of verbal taunts from prisoners who reviled him
as a brand of criminal worse, in their eyes, than a killer: a pedophile.
But he was relieved to be 18 miles and a world away from MCI-Concord,
where he felt some correction officers took pleasure in tormenting him.
From his new home in Cell No. 2 -- within 20 feet of the guards' duty
station -- Geoghan watched approvingly as his new keepers patrolled one of
the most secure units in one of the state's newest prisons.
"The unit is run strictly," Geoghan wrote in May to a legal adviser, in
correspondence reviewed by the Globe. "There is more isolation than
Concord but far greater security.
"I have experienced no problems with the guards within the unit. They do
their work well. . . . A very few make snide or inappropriate remarks.
Only a few directed at me."
• Nolin pleads not guilty in Falmouth case. [2000s].
(http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/nolinpleads2.htm)
-- Cape Cod Times,
By Amanda Lehmert, Monday, December 1, 2003.
BARNSTABLE (MA): Shackled in ankle cuffs, Paul Nolin pleaded not guilty in
Barnstable Superior Court yesterday to charges that he kidnapped and
murdered a 20-year-old Falmouth man.
Police arrested Nolin, 39, on the charges Oct. 2, two days before they
found the body of Jonathan Wessner partially buried by rocks on a private
Woods Hole beach.
It took three days of testimony in October and November to indict Nolin in
Superior Court. The indictment and arraignment in that court allows
prosecutors to move forward with the case.
Yesterday, Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe gave Nolin's
defense team a thick booklet of grand jury minutes from the second day of
testimony.
The minutes include some of what the jury heard from the Rev. Bernard
Kelly. Kelly, a Catholic priest, befriended Nolin after Nolin's 2000
release from prison, employed him as a handyman at St. Joseph parish in
Woods Hole, and allegedly has a sexual relationship with him.
• Cardinal urged to aid new law.www.chicagotribune.com ,
-- Chicago Tribune,
Published December 1, 2003.
CHICAGO (IL): Two dozen advocates for victims of sexual abuse by Catholic
clergy picketed Holy Name Cathedral on Sunday afternoon and called on
Cardinal Francis George to oppose challenges to a new state law that
lengthens the statute of limitations for seeking civil damages in abuse
cases.
The challenges are not from the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, the
advocates said, but George was asked to take a stand. One challenge has
been made in an abuse suit filed in Cook County, said Barbara Blaine,
president of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests. The archdiocese
is one of the suit's many defendants but has not challenged the
constitutionality of the law signed in July.
The Springfield diocese has challenged the law as a defendant in an abuse
suit scheduled for a hearing Tuesday in Sangamon County.
State Sen. Jacqueline Collins (D-Chicago), who sponsored the bill, said
the legal challenges reflect a lack of sincerity by some Catholic leaders.
"Practice what you preach," she said.
//////////////////// End of www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=46, Tuesday, December 2, 2003
•
MAKO:
Just posted -- PLEASE SIGN THIS AND PASS IT ON ..THANKS.
http://www.mako.org.au/petition.html ,
Life in Jail (No parole) For Sex Offenders Who Kill Their Victim/s.
-- e-mail of Dec 2, 2003
########## Poynteronline Abuse Tracker, www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=46,
Wednesday, December 3, 2003 edition follows:- • Church faces ADR dilemma.
(http://www.anglicanjournal.com/129/10/canada03.html)
-- Anglican Journal,
by Leanne Larmondin, Editor.
CANADA: Caught in a classic catch-22 situation, the Anglican Church of Canada is
weighing its response to last month's announcement from the federal
government about an alternative dispute resolution process (ADR) which
will compensate aboriginals for abuse suffered in church-run residential
schools.
On the one hand, if the church joins the government in amending a
controversial release form allowing native people the option to sue for
loss of language and culture, it opens itself up to further litigation. On
the other hand, if the church maintains the status quo and agrees to
compensate for only physical and sexual abuse, it risks the appearance of
contradicting the Archbishop Michael Peers' 1993 apology to native people
for the church's role in residential schools.
The dilemma was detailed in briefing paper for members of the
Council of General Synod (CoGS) at their November meeting. CoGS referred
the matter to the officers of General Synod, asking them to consult with
the Aboriginal Council of Indigenous Peoples before making a decision.
(Posted by Kathy Shaw, Poynter)
• Baptist pastor charged in sex abuse case [1999 on].
NORRISTOWN (PA): A pastor with connections to an Upper Hanover Baptist church
allegedly failed to timely report a case of suspected child abuse in
Pennsburg to authorities, according to documents filed by state police at
Skippack.
Nathan Pierce, 38, of Philadelphia, was recently cited for a summary
violation of a state law that requires people of certain professions,
including clergy and teachers, to report their knowledge of suspected
child abuse to authorities.
State police alleged a girl, while at the Valley Baptist Church, Otts and
Buck roads in Upper Hanover, reported to Pierce that she was being
sexually abused by a man. The abuse began in 1999, according to state
police.
"Under this act, the accused, who is a member of the clergy, is required
to report suspected child abuse," state police wrote in a public
information release referring to the state law.
-- Pottstown Mercury, "Pastor charged in sex abuse case,"
www.pottstownmercury.com ,
by Carl Hessler Jr. , chessler@pottsmerc.com .
BUT, see Pottstown Mercury, "Charges against pastor dropped,"
(http://www.pottstownmercury.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10610818&BRD=1674&PAG=461&dept_id=18041&rfi=6)
by Jason McKee, jmckee@pottsmerc.com .
• Boy accuser was abused previously.
(http://www.clarionledger.com/news/0312/03/ma02.html)
MISSISSIPPI
Clarion-Ledger
By Jerry Mitchell, jmitchell@clarionledger.com , Dec 3, 03
The minor accusing Dr. William Causey of molesting him was sexually abused
at least three years earlier by a respected church leader in north
Mississippi, court records show.
Testimony also showed the then-11-year-old boy had no counseling after
that molestation, although as a foster child he was in state Department of
Human Services' custody and, under DHS policy, should have received it.
Pat Flynn, who handled child-abuse cases when she was an assistant
attorney general, said it's essential for victims to get counseling to
break the pattern of abuse.
"The child needs to be reassured by a professional that none of this was
his fault, that he can protect himself, that he can be angry and that he
can tell," she said. ...
At the sentencing hearing, an unidentified church member testified
Reynolds was a pillar in the church at the time: "He was a youth leader.
He was a choir director. He was teaching. In fact, when all this first
came to light nobody believed it was happening because he was such an
outstanding member in our church. ... But it was going on at the same
time, and these kids here are victims today. ... I just think he needs
help, and I think also he should pay for the crimes that have been
committed."
• Leader of Lutheran panel ignored abuse, suit says [past 15 years].
(http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0312030095dec03,1,3629471.story?coll=chi-news-hed)
CHICAGO (IL):
-- Chicago Tribune,
By Manya A. Brachear, December 3, 2003.
Advocates for sex abuse victims are calling on the Chicago-based
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to remove the chairman of a study
on sexuality, saying that as a former seminary dean he knowingly ordained
a child sex abuser six years ago.
Victims charge that the chairman, Rev. James M. Childs, former dean of
Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio, ignored warnings that a
candidate for ministry presented a threat to children and ordained him
anyway.
In a civil lawsuit filed by the families of 14 victims in Marshall, Texas,
the church, the chairman and 27 others are accused of allowing a pastor to
commit acts of sexual assault and indecent behavior with children, for
which he was convicted in 2002.
That pastor, Gerald Patrick Thomas Jr., is serving time in a federal
prison in Florida for child pornography. At the end of that term, he will
return to Texas to serve a 397-year sentence on the most recent
convictions. He will be eligible for parole in February 28, 2083, said a
spokesman for the Texas Department of Corrections.
The Texas case is one of at least a half-dozen incidents in the last 15
years in which Lutheran pastors have been accused of sexually abusing
children. Attorneys for the victims say the pattern of abuse was
overshadowed by the crisis in the Catholic Church.
• Lawsuit against archdiocese is dismissed.
(http://www.courier-journal.com/localnews/2003/12/03ky/met-front-abuse12030-5293.html)
LOUISVILLE (KY):
The Courier-Journal,
By Jason Riley, jriley@courier-journal.com , Dec 3, 2003
In a ruling the Archdiocese of Louisville described as significant, a
judge has dismissed one of the remaining sexual-abuse lawsuits against
Roman Catholic officials, saying it was filed too late.
Jefferson Circuit Judge Stephen Ryan said the lawsuit, filed by Tonya
Blatz Francis in May, was barred under Kentucky's statute of limitations,
which he said began in April 2002, when the first of more than 200
lawsuits against the archdiocese was filed.
The archdiocese has long argued that the legal window for further lawsuits
closed in April, a year after widespread publicity surrounding the initial
filings charging that church leaders knew of abuse and covered it up.
Francis filed her lawsuit May 14, a month too late, according to Ryan's
ruling last week.
• Catholic groups challenge law giving accusers more time to sue.
(http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-abuse03.html)
-- Chicago Sun-Times,
By Christopher Wills, December 3, 2003.
SPRINGFIELD (IL): A new state law granting more time for lawsuits over sexual
abuse cases is being challenged by Catholic organizations, angering
advocates for abuse victims.
"It's our belief that the Catholic Church should not be leading the
charge to overturn a law that protects innocent victims," Barbara Blaine,
president of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests [SNAP], said
Tuesday. "The new law gives victims a chance to expose perpetrators."
Catholic officials, however, said there is no conflict between combating
sexual abuse within the church and making a legal argument.
"I think we're going to assert our right to defend our position in a
court of law," said Robert Gilligan, executive director of the Catholic
Conference of Illinois.
• Burke vows to fight abuse in move to St. Louis.
(http://www.wisinfo.com/journal/spjlocal/279255724424402.shtml)
-- Stevens Point Journal, AP.
ST. LOUIS (MO) (AP): The Wisconsin bishop tapped Tuesday to head St. Louis'
archdiocese pledged to bring to Missouri his open-door approach to victims
of clergy sexual abuse, drawing cautious praise from an advocacy group
that pushed for greater access.
Hours after being named by Pope John Paul II as St. Louis'
archbishop-elect, outgoing La Crosse, Wis., Bishop Raymond Burke said "I
would not tolerate any abuse of a child by a priest," calling such conduct
an "outrage."
With any complaint of clergy sexual abuse, Burke said, the accuser was
invited "to come to speak with me immediately" as part of a "very careful
process to protect the rights and dignity of those involved."
"I have always had the policy of meeting with anyone who has alleged
sexual abuse," he said. "And I will be disposed here to meet" with victims
of clergy sexual abuse.
When installed Jan. 26, Burke, 55, formally succeeds Justin Rigali, who in
October took the Philadelphia archdiocese's helm and became a cardinal
after more then nine years leading the St. Louis area's 550,000 Catholics.
• Proposed reversal of limitations laws doubted by some, but SNAP says Church ought not to challenge the proposals.
ILLINOIS (AP): A new state law granting more time for lawsuits stemming from sexual
abuse cases is being challenged in at least two Illinois courtrooms. The
law signed this summer threw out the old two-year time limit for filing
lawsuits against child molesters. The new deadline is the victim's 28th
birthday, although there can be exceptions. But attorneys in two abuse
lawsuits say the law is so vague that it's unconstitutional. They also say
applying it in cases where the old deadline has expired would deprive
defendants of their rights. One lawsuit against the Springfield Catholic
Diocese involves abuse by a former priest in the 1980s. The other alleges
abuse by a counselor at a Catholic high school in Cook County. The
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests [SNAP] argues it's wrong for
Catholic organizations to challenge the law.
-- WAND (AP), "Sex abuse laws,"
(http://www.wandtv.com/SendPage.asp?4634)
• Hardworking Wisconsin bishop follows Vatican policies precisely.www.stltoday.com ,
ST. LOUIS (MO):
-- Post-Dispatch,
by Patricia Rice, Post-Dispatch Religion Writer, Dec 02, 2003.
The Wisconsin bishop who will become the archbishop of St. Louis next
month is a staunch conservative who is expected to carry out most of the
initiatives Cardinal Justin F. Rigali introduced during the past nine
years.
Archbishop-elect Raymond L. Burke, 55, has been the bishop of La Crosse,
Wis., for the last nine years. The Vatican announced Tuesday that Burke
will succeed Rigali, who moved to Philadelphia in October as its
archbishop and a cardinal.
On Jan. 26, the former Vatican church lawyer will be installed as the St.
Louis archdiocese's ninth bishop and eighth archbishop at the St. Louis
Cathedral Basilica.
St. Louisans will get a hardworking bishop who follows the finest points
on all Vatican directions precisely, from major policies to revisions for
bows and nods at Mass.
• Local priest talks about abuse study.
(http://www.wqad.com/Global/story.asp?S=1548042&nav=1sW7JRNP)
-- WQAD.
ROCK ISLAND (IA): A Quad City area judge says it's time for the Davenport
Diocese to come clean because of one newly filed civil lawsuit against the
diocese.
Last week, a Clinton County judge ordered the diocese to release
information about all sexual abuse over the past 50 years.
The Davenport Diocese says it is helping protect the confidentiality of
the victims by not releasing the names before the ruling. The ruling now
opens the door for the diocese to fulfil a national request to help stop
sexual misconduct by priests.
While the Davenport Diocese refused to turn over its records, Bishop
Daniel Jenky of the Peoria Diocese continues to speak out on his plans to
stomp out abuse with in his diocese. That's why he already turned over the
needed information.
"I don't know if there's a real good purpose in resurrecting these
[incidents] just so we have some numbers," explains Monsignor Paul
Showalter of St. Pius Church in Rock Island.
• Diocese suspected abuse but did not alert police [1987].
(http://www.statesman.com/metrostate/content/auto/epaper/editions/wednesday/metro_state_f3dca8ea07a340db006c.html)
AUSTIN (TX):
-- American-Statesman,
By Eileen E. Flynn, Wednesday, December 3, 2003.
Bishop Gregory Aymond acknowledged Tuesday that the Catholic Diocese of
Austin suspected that a former priest had sexually abused minors before it
removed him from ministry in 1987 but did not notify the police.
"There is no indication that civil authorities were notified," Aymond
said. "Unfortunately, that was not the mode of operation for society as
well as the church."
The diocese recently paid a $250,000 settlement and more than $33,000 in
therapy costs to Houston lawyer Robert Scamardo, who claimed that former
Austin priest Dan Delaney and former lay youth minister James Reese
molested him in the 1970s.
Aymond said he has heard from other people who say they were abused by
Delaney, who was the diocesan director for the Catholic Youth Organization
and served at other parishes in the 25-county diocese. The diocese is
paying for counseling for those individuals, Aymond said.
• Church settles case with another alleged victim of clergy abuse.
(http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/337/metro/Church_settles_case_with_another_alleged_victim_of_clergy_abuse+.shtml)
BOSTON (MA):
-- Boston Globe, ,
By Ralph Ranalli, Dec 3, 2003.
The Archdiocese of Boston has agreed to settle a sexual abuse claim brought
by Paul R. Edwards, a Winchendon man who has alleged that he was abused by
a priest who is now dead, according to a lawyer and a church spokesman.
Additional allegations that Edwards was molested by the archdiocese's top
canon law specialist were not part of the settlement.
Edwards's case against the late Rev. William Cummings and the Rev. Michael
Foster were originally dismissed by the archdiocese and by Foster's
supporters, who attacked Edwards's credibility. After voluntarily
withdrawing his civil court claims in September, Edwards was excluded from
the $85 million settlement reached between the archdiocese and 540 alleged
victims of abuse.
Later that month, however, a church spokesman said that Archbishop Sean P.
O'Malley had ordered an internal review of the church's investigation into
Edwards's allegations against Cummings to determine whether they had been
thoroughly reviewed. O'Malley disclosed the review in a letter to
Edwards's supporters, who argued that the attacks on his credibility were
part of a smear campaign.
Three weeks ago, a lawyer for the church concluded that Edwards's claims
against Cummings were at least as credible as the claims of other alleged
victims who had been allowed to participate in the settlement, said the
Rev. Christopher Coyne, an archdiocese spokesman.
• Cases challenge new law extending deadline for abuse lawsuits.
(http://cbs2chicago.com/illinois/IL--SexualAbuse-in/resources_news_html)
-- CBS 2,
By Christopher Wills, Associated Press Writer,
Tuesday December 02, 2003.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP): A new state law granting more time for lawsuits
over sexual abuse cases is being challenged by Catholic organizations,
angering advocates for abuse victims.
"It's our belief that the Catholic Church should not be leading the
charge to overturn a law that protects innocent victims," Barbara Blaine,
president of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, said
Tuesday. "The new law gives victims a chance to expose perpetrators."
Catholic officials, however, said there is no conflict between combating
sexual abuse within the church and making a legal argument.
"I think we're going to assert our right to defend our position in a
court of law," said Robert Gilligan, executive director of the Catholic
Conference of Illinois.
The new law was signed this summer at the urging of SNAP and others who
said abuse victims need more time to understand what had happened to them
and decide whether to sue.
• "Priest Knew Too Much?"
(http://michnews.com/artman/publish/article_1848.shtml)
MichNews.com ,
by Matt C. Abbott,
WISCONSIN: The Rev. Alfred J. Kunz was a priest known and consulted by many in the
Catholic Church. He was a canon lawyer, meaning he had thorough expertise
in the laws of the Church - the Code of Canon Law, as it is known. He
also was a staunch defender of orthodoxy, not much liked by Catholic
liberals (at least, those who actually knew of him), and a thorn in the
side to those who desire to see authentic Christianity wiped off the face
of the earth.
In March of 1998, Fr. Kunz was found murdered. Brutally murdered. And
his murder remains unsolved. For a little background of the case, I give
you the following text, provided by Detective Kevin Hughes of the Dane
County Sheriff's Office:
"On March 4, 1998, at 7:00 a.m., the body of Fr. Alfred J. Kunz, DOB
4/15/30, was found in the hallway of St. Michael School. The school is in
the Village of Dane, population approximately 600, located in rural Dane
County 5 miles northwest of Madison, Wis., the state capital.
"Fr. Kunz was the victim of a homicide. His throat was cut with an edged
weapon severing the carotid artery. He died as a result of blood loss. The
body was discovered by a teacher arriving at the school and was found
lying in the hallway near the door to the father's living quarters in the
school. All the doors to the school were locked and there was no sign of
forced entry.
"Fr. Kunz was a traditional Roman Catholic priest, who had served at St.
Michael Church for 32 years. He had strong traditional orthodox Roman
Catholic views that were evidenced by the fact that he conducted Latin
Masses as well as English Masses. He was an expert in canon law, the law
of the Church, and as such many people nationwide consulted with him.
"On the night prior to the homicide, Fr. Kunz participated in the taping
of a religious radio talk program, which was to be aired at a later date.
After the taping, at 10:00 p.m., he was dropped off at St. Michael
Church/school by another priest. Subsequent to that, at about 10:30 p.m.,
he had a phone conversation with another priest.
"Investigators believe the killer is someone that Fr. Kunz knew and is
familiar with the village and St. Michael's. Fr. Kunz was probably not
fearful of the killer. The attack was cowardly, unprovoked, and
unexpected. The particular motive is unknown but may be related to
jealousy, revenge, betrayal, or any other issue which was personal to the
killer."
There are, of course, at least a few theories about who, or what, might
have been behind Kunz's murder. The prominent theory is that Kunz was
killed because he "knew too much." About what? About the sexual
misconduct of some men of the cloth. Men who were able to cover up their
misdeeds for years, even decades. Men who formed the underbelly of the
American church.
//////////////////// End of www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=46, Wednesday, December 3, 2003
• Pedophile jailed for 10 years . [No religion aspect noted]
AUSTRALIA: A former Queensland Police Service employee was jailed yesterday for 10 years for having an almost year-long sexual relationship with sisters aged six and eight and keeping graphic home movies of the attacks.
Brisbane District Court Judge Julie Dick also ordered Andrew Mark Hugh Dickeson to notify police of his address upon his release and report to them at least once every three months for 20 years.
-- News Interactive, The Courier-Mail, Brisbane,
http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,8049205%255E26462,00.html ,
By Tony Keim, December 3, 2003
• Is it possible to repair the Church?
UNITED STATES (VOTF):
Dear Friend,
As 2003 comes to a close, I am writing to thank you for supporting Voice of the Faithful and our work repairing the Catholic Church - an ambitious task we have only just begun. Some people have asked, "Is it possible to repair the Church?" I believe it is indeed possible and, more importantly, that we are called to do so.
The Catholic Church serves us in many ways - through the spiritual nourishment of our faith communities; through the Catholic education many of us have received; through the good works of Catholic hospitals and charities; and through the opportunity to serve others in need. Our faith calls on us now to aid our Church and bring it to health.
Voice of the Faithful is answering this call. We support survivors of sexual abuse and priests who serve our Church. We recognize our baptismal rights and responsibilities and the need to be part of the solution to the problems confronting our Church. This year, VOTF representatives have met with 25 Catholic bishops; these dialogues pave the way for greater collaboration.
There is still much to be done. In 2004, our goals include:
1) promoting the essential role of the laity in parishes and dioceses;
2) creating representative Parish Pastoral Councils, Finance Councils, and Child Safety Committees in every parish;
3) developing financial reporting standards for greater financial transparency and accountability, and;
4) working with survivor organizations for the release of diocesan audits and developing local action programs in response to these findings.
To accomplish these goals, we need your financial help. Implementing VOTF initiatives across the country requires significant resources. We must coordinate our efforts nationwide and worldwide; utilize information technology to connect all our members through the internet; develop materials to educate lay persons and support survivors and priests; and communicate with the media so that more people know what we are saying and doing, and why.
Repairing the Catholic Church will not happen quickly or easily. But with your help, it can happen. Please be as generous as you can in sending a tax-deductible, year-end donation to Voice of the Faithful. You can either make an on-line donation or print the mail-in donation form and send it to us.
May you enjoy the many blessings of the Advent Season, including the gift of friendship with the thousands of individuals who are the Voice of the Faithful.
Sincerely yours,
James E. Post,
President, Voice of the Faithful,
www.votf.org .
Voice of the Faithful is a 501(c) 3 tax-exempt organization under US law.
PO Box 423, Newton, MA 02464, USA.
[E-mail Dec 3, 2003]
########## Poynteronline Abuse Tracker, www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=46,
Thursday, December 4, 2003 edition follows:- • Charges against Baptist pastor dropped.
NORRISTOWN (PA): There was a bit of back-pedalling Wednesday morning in the
District Attorney's Office.
After reading the morning's headlines, which detailed the arrest of a
local church pastor, Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce L. Castor
Jr. called his second in command into the office.
"I asked Risa if she knew about the case, and she said, 'We didn't approve
that,'" Castor said, referring to First Assistant District Attorney Risa
Vetri Ferman.
Castor rummaged through the criminal statute from which the charges were
derived. He then reviewed the case and realized a mistake had been made.
"The charges were withdrawn immediately," Castor said.
-- Pottstown Mercury,
"Charges against pastor dropped,"
(http://www.pottstownmercury.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10610818&BRD=1674&PAG=461&dept_id=18041&rfi=6)
by Jason McKee, jmckee@pottsmerc.com .
(Posted by Kathy Shaw, Poynter)
• Teacher at private elementary charged with molesting 4 girls . [2000s] -- Bethany Covenant.
The Miami Herald,
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/7411883.htm ,
By Tere Figueras, tfigueras@herald.com , ~ December 4, 2003
MIAMI (FL): A 74-year-old teacher is facing charges he molested four girls -- three of them current students -- at a North Miami private school, police said.
The director of the school, Bethany Covenant, was also charged with
failing to report the alleged abuse, even after several teachers came to
her with tales of impropriety, according to police.
Samuel K. Morton surrendered to police Wednesday and was charged with four
felony counts of lewd and lascivious molestation on a child. The charge
carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.
School Director Joyce Cowan, 67, was charged with failure to report child
abuse, a misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of a year in jail.
Police began investigating Morton, who teaches at the small elementary
school of about 100 children at 125 NE 119th St., in late October. A
student told her mother that Morton had fondled her, said Detective
Kathleen Ruggiero, North Miami police spokeswoman.
• Abuse report cites efforts of Newark Archdiocese.
(http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-5/107052092835930.xml)
NEWARK (NJ):
-- Star-Ledger,
By Jeff Diamant, Thursday, December 04, 2003.
National auditors for Roman Catholic bishops gave the Newark Archdiocese
positive reviews for efforts to create a "safe environment" for children
and investigate clergy sex allegations after the church's sex abuse
crisis, Archbishop John J. Myers said in an archdiocese newspaper
published yesterday.
The column from Myers comes five weeks before the U.S. Conference of
Catholic Bishops plans to release data on how all 195 dioceses in the
country have reacted to it.
Kathleen McChesney, head of the conference's Office of Child and Youth
Protection, which conducted the audit, would not confirm or deny the
Newark results.
"I'm not going to comment on anybody's audit report until we get it all
done" on Jan. 6, she said.
Spokespeople for New Jersey's four other Roman Catholic dioceses declined
yesterday to comment on their final audit results or said they had not yet
learned them. Most said they expect positive results.
• IRISH CATHOLIC CHURCH SAYS SORRY TO SEX ABUSE VICTIMS.
Belfast Telegraph, "Church says sorry to sex abuse victims,"
(http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=469996)
By Marie Foy,
mfoy@belfasttelegraph.co.uk , December 4, 2003
IRELAND: The Catholic Church apologised to child sex abuse victims across Ireland
as a major report into the issue was published by Catholic clergy in
Dublin today.
Ireland's most senior Catholic, Archbishop of Armagh Sean Brady, was among
those who attended the launch of the document called "Time to Listen --
Confronting Child Sexual Abuse by Catholic Clergy in Ireland".
This is the first occasion internationally that the Church has
commissioned an independent study into the matter.
On behalf of the Irish Bishops Conference, Bishop John McAreavey, of
Dromore, said that the report's 19 recommendations were welcomed and over
half had already been implemented.
"The issues we have been coming to terms with anecdotally over the last
number of years have now been scientifically detailed in this report.
• Church Apologises for Child Abuse by Priests.
(http://www.news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2258976)
The Scotsman,
By Victoria Ward, PA News, ~ December 4, 2003
IRELAND: The Catholic Church today apologised to children abused by priests in
Ireland.
Publishing a long-awaited report in Dublin, Catholic Primate Archbishop
Sean Brady apologised for the failures of pastoral responsibility in
handling such cases and spoke of his "deepest sorrow" for the hurt caused.
He said the report – Time to Listen, Confronting Child Sexual Abuse by
Catholic Clergy in Ireland – made "painful reading".
The paper reveals that 94% of the public found out about child sex abuse
by clergy through the media.
• Judge lets convicted Nevada priest remain free on probation.
(http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2003/dec/03/120310076.html)
-- Las Vegas Sun,
By Ken Ritter, Associated Press,
LAS VEGAS (NV) (AP): A Catholic priest who pleaded guilty to abusing teenage
boys will remain free on probation for at least 60 more days after a judge
on Wednesday gave his lawyer and Nevada authorities more time to transfer
him to an out-of-state treatment center.
Clark County District Judge Donald Mosley did not specify where the Rev.
Mark Roberts would be sent for the remaining probation he received after
pleading guilty to lewdness and child abuse involving five teens at his
Henderson parish.
Prosecutor Doug Herndon said the judge prohibited disclosure of the
location.
Roberts' lawyer, George Foley Sr., called the secrecy necessary to thwart
those who "go out to deliberately frustrate the judge's orders."
• Bishop Criticized for Letting Suspended Monsignor Say Masses.www.nytimes.com ,
-- The New York Times,
By Bruce Lambert,
December 4, 2003.
LONG ISLAND (NY): A group of Roman Catholics on Long Island is criticizing their bishop for
allowing a few Masses to be celebrated by a former high church official
who was suspended from the ministry because of child-molestation
complaints.
The former official, Msgr. Alan J. Placa, was vice chancellor of the
Diocese of Rockville Centre. He supervised its hospitals and as a lawyer
helped forge its policies on sex-abuse cases.
Last year, Bishop William F. Murphy suspended Monsignor Placa, pending a
review of accusations that he molested boys decades ago, a charge he
vehemently denied. Since then, he has worked for the Giuliani Partners
firm run by his childhood friend Rudolph W. Giuliani.
On Tuesday, the Long Island chapter of Voice of the Faithful, which was
formed in reaction to church sex-abuse scandals, alerted its members that
Monsignor Placa had said Mass.
The chapter's co-chairwoman, Dr. Patricia Zirkel, said that he should not
be allowed to say Mass and that his actions violated Bishop Murphy's claim
that "there is no priest with any credible allegations of sexual abuse
made against him in any kind of pastoral ministry in this diocese."
• Church: 36 N.O. children abused since '50.
(http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1070523043204800.xml)
NEW ORLEANS (LA)
Times-Picayune
By Bruce Nolan
A review of priest personnel records conducted by the Archdiocese of New
Orleans for a national survey on clerical sex abuse shows credible
evidence that 10 Catholic priests have abused about three dozen children
since 1950.
The archdiocese shipped its findings to the Office of Child and Youth
Protection, the national church office that for a year has been gathering
data on clerical sexual abuse from the 195 Catholic dioceses in the United
States.
Church leaders hope that when released in February, the collected data
will offer the first clear picture -- to bishops as well as
parishioners -- of the scope of the sex abuse crisis that rocked the
Catholic Church last year.
But a spokesman for the archdiocese acknowledged that the research covers
only a small portion of the priests who worked in New Orleans in the past
54 years.
• Priest accused of molesting boy after dressing him up like Jesus [1980-83].
(http://www.dailyherald.com/cook/main_story.asp?intID=3795915)
-- Chicago Daily Herald,
By Sara Burnett,
Posted December 04, 2003.
ILLINOIS: A former DuPage County priest already facing sexual abuse charges molested
a teenage boy after dressing him like Jesus Christ and taking his picture,
an attorney for the victim said Wednesday.
The Rev. Fred Lenczycki abused the teen "on a regular and repeated basis"
between 1980 and 1983, when Lenczycki was a priest at St. Isaac Jogues
Catholic Church in Hinsdale, according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday in
DuPage County civil court.
The eight-count lawsuit also accuses the Diocese of Joliet and Bishop
Joseph L. Imesch of covering up widespread clergy abuse and creating an
environment that taught parishioners that "good" Catholics didn't report
misconduct.
Attorneys for the victim, who is now in his 30s and lives in rural
Illinois, are seeking more than $50,000 in damages per count.
In a statement, attorney Marc Pearlman said that on about a dozen
occasions, Lenczycki of Glen Ellyn dressed the teen - then 14 to 17 years
old - in robes to make him look like Christ. He took photos before abusing
him, Pearlman stated.
• Man claims priest abuse.
(http://news.statesmanjournal.com/article.cfm?i=71797)
-- Statesman Journal,
by Alan Gustafson, December 4, 2003.
STAYTON (OR): A 47-year-old man who claims that he was sexually molested by a Catholic priest in Stayton more than 30 years ago filed a $4 million lawsuit
Wednesday against the Archdiocese of Portland and Immaculate Conception
Parish.
The man, identified only as D.C., claims that the Rev. Henri Arata
befriended him as an 11- or 12-year-old altar boy and molested him
numerous times from 1967 through 1970, according to the lawsuit.
"This is a case of aggravated sex abuse that went on for a number of years
with a kid that not only was a parishioner and an altar boy but someone
who had a close relationship with this priest, as did his family," said
Michael S. Morey, a Lake Oswego lawyer representing D.C.
According to the complaint, Arata "used his position as priest to
manipulate, groom, seduce and sexually abuse" the boy.
Morey said his client now is married with three children. He works in the
education field and lives between Salem and Portland.
D.C. said the sexual abuse occurred at the priest's residence and at
Immaculate Conception Church in Stayton. Blaming himself, he kept the
abuse secret until May 2002. At that time, he said, he finally revealed it
to a minister.
• Priest charged with sex abuse accused again in lawsuit.
(http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-abuse04.html)
-- Chicago Sun-Times,
By Dan Rozek.
CHICAGO (IL):A suburban Roman Catholic priest already facing criminal charges that he
sexually abused three boys at a Hinsdale church nearly 20 years ago has
been hit with a civil lawsuit contending he molested another boy at the
same church.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday against the Rev. Fred Lenczycki in DuPage
County says the boy was molested beginning in 1980, when he was about 10
years old and serving as an altar boy at St. Isaac Jogues Catholic Church.
The suit identifies the alleged victim only as "John Doe 87."
It's not the first civil suit filed against Lenczycki, who last year
became the first priest in Illinois to be charged criminally since a
scandal involving repeated claims of sexual misconduct against priests and
cover-ups by church leaders surfaced.
• Seeking recognition of alleged sex abuse.
(http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpID=807&NewsID=509730&CategoryID=5800&show=localnews&om=1)
MARYLAND:
North East Booster,
Dec 3 03,
by Jennifer Przydzial,
More than 30 years have gone by since some students at Calvert Hall
College High School say they were sexually abused by a priest on the
school's faculty.
Now, members of an advocacy group say it is time for the school to take
responsibility for the incidents.
The 17 members of the group Abused by Calvert Hall Educators, or ACHE,
want the school to hire an independent company to contact every student
who attended the school from 1969 to 1973 - the years when the accused
priest was at Calvert Hall.
The company would ask students if they were victims of abuse and steer
them toward counseling services.
• Abuse by priest alleged in suit.www.chicagotribune.com ,
Chicago Tribune
Published December 4, 2003
HINSDALE (IL): A priest facing criminal charges of child sex abuse in DuPage
County now faces a civil suit from one of his alleged victims.
Rev. Frederick A. Lenczycki, a priest in the Roman Catholic Diocese of
Joliet, is being sued by an Illinois man, filing as John Doe 87. The
diocese and its bishop, Rev. Joseph Imesch, are also named in the suit.
According to his attorneys, the plaintiff alleges that in the early 1980s,
while he was an altar boy at St. Isaac Jogues Church in Hinsdale,
Lenczycki dressed him up in robes, photographed him and molested him.
Lenczycki was indicted in November 2002. He was charged with aggravated
criminal sexual abuse for allegedly fondling three 12-year-old male
students from the Hinsdale parish school.
>From 1973 to 1976, Lenczycki worked at Sts. Peter & Paul Church in
Naperville and, from 1976 to 1980, at the now-closed St. Charles Borromeo
Seminary High School in Lockport.
• 50 priests sign petition of dissatisfaction.
LONG ISLAND (NY): More than 50 Catholic priests expressing "sadness and a sense of
desperation" have signed a letter to Bishop William Murphy asking for a
meeting to address what they describe as widespread dissatisfaction and a
lack of confidence in his leadership among the clergy and laity in the
Diocese of Rockville Centre.
When the bishop learned about and saw a copy of the extraordinary petition
being circulated from rectory to rectory last month, he quickly agreed to
the meeting - even before the formal letter with the list of signatures
was sent to him last week.
The tone of the letter is respectful and conciliatory. It expresses hope
that if both sides meet in "a spirit of truth and humility" the effort to
repair the diocese will work. Yet, the two-page letter reveals a deep
chasm between the priests on the front lines in Long Island parishes and
their leader.
-- Newsday, "Bishop: We'll Talk,"
www.newsday.com ,
By Rita Ciolli, December 4, 2003
• Victims' threat on accused priest.
(http://www.themercury.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,8066551%255E3462,00.html)
The Mercury,
By MARGARETTA POS, Dec 5 03
AUSTRALIA: THE Catholic Church in Tasmania has been given an ultimatum - take action
within a week against a priest accused of sexual abuse, or two of his
alleged victims will out him.
The ultimatum was delivered through the media by lobby group Survivors
Confronting Child Abuse and Rape (SCAR), after a meeting with Archbishop
Adrian Doyle in Hobart yesterday.
At the meeting was an alleged victim of the priest, who accused him of
sexual assault at a time when she was vulnerable and he was her
counsellor.
She is the second alleged victim to come forward - a third is considering
doing so.
SCAR spokesman Steve Fisher said: "We give him a week."
Late yesterday, Archbishop Doyle released a statement saying he was
distressed to hear of a second complaint.
• Claims settled after apology.
(http://www.cincypost.com/2003/12/04/dioc120403.html)
-- The Cincinnati Post,
By Bob Driehaus,
KENTUCKY: A personal apology from the bishop has prompted one of the lead plaintiffs
in a class action lawsuit against the Covington Diocese to drop out of the
suit and settle his claim of sexual abuse by a priest.
Two others, sisters from Maysville, Ky., also reached settlements after
apologies from Bishop Roger Foys on behalf of the diocese.
The class-action lawsuit itself will continue without any changes, said
Stan Chesley, attorney for the class of victims who say they suffered
abuse at the hands of priests and others during the last 50 years.
The three who dropped out all requested that only their first names be
used for this story because of their ages at the time of the sex acts
committed against them.
• Former Altar Boy Files Lawsuit Against Suburban Priest.
(http://www.nbc5.com/news/2680672/detail.html?z=dp&dpswid=2265994&dppid=65193)
-- NBC 5
CHICAGO (IL): A former altar boy on Wednesday filed a civil lawsuit against a
priest who previously served at a Hinsdale parish that claims the priest
dressed him up like a baby Jesus and molested him.
NBC5's Mary Ann Ahern (http://www.nbc5.com/nbc5/1189302/detail.html)
reported that the man, who was not identified by name, thought he was the
only victim of the priest. However, when the Rev. Frederick Lenczycki's
(pictured, left) name surfaced 18 months ago in another case, the man, who
in his 30s, recognized the priest as his abuser. The man claimed the abuse
took place 20 years ago while he an altar boy at St. Isaac Jogues.
"In this case, he would actually dress him up in religious garb under the
pretense of a ceremony and take pictures of him," said Jeff Anderson, one
of the man's attorneys.
Lawyers filing the suit say the abuse continued for three years, Ahern
further reported.
"It was extremely confusing for this young man, as this kind of abuse
always is," Anderson said. "But [it was] particularly confusing because
Lenczycki is a very charismatic man, and was a powerful priest and was
revered by this family and this child and by many others."
• Church puts mansion on block.
(http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/localRegional.bg?articleid=282)
BOSTON (MA):
-- Boston Herald,
By Eric Convey, Jennifer Rosinski and Scott Van Voorhis,
Thursday, December 4, 2003.
The Archdiocese of Boston will shed the most visible symbol of its worldly
success to help bring an end to the darkest chapter in its history.
In a series of meetings yesterday, advisers to Archbishop Sean P.
O'Malley agreed to sell the three-story Commonwealth Avenue mansion - with
27.6 acres of park-like grounds - that had been home to Boston church
leaders from the 1920s until O'Malley moved into an apartment behind the
Cathedral of the Holy Cross last month.
There's no pricetag yet, but archdiocesan spokesman the Rev.
Christopher J. Coyne said church officials are "very confident" the
proceeds, along with insurance money, will be enough to fund an $85
million settlement with alleged victims of clergy sexual abuse.
The announcement comes just three days before O'Malley plans to brief
priests on the process for choosing which parishes to close next year.
"The main reason why we're announcing it at this time is to make it
very clear to the people of the archdiocese that the funding for the
settlement is not coming from the sale of present parish assets, from the
Capital Campaign or from the Catholic Appeal - as the archbishop
pledged," Coyne said.
• Humbling move marks a new era.
-- Boston Globe,
www.boston.com/ dailyglobe2/338/ metro/Humbling_ move_marks_a_ new_era+.shtml ,
By Michael Paulson, Dec 4, 2003
BOSTON (MA): Through much of the 20th century, the Italianate palazzo that was home to
each of Boston's cardinal-archbishops symbolized the glory of the Catholic
Church in Boston.
But over the last two years, as the church has been rocked by the sexual
abuse scandal, the house has come to symbolize a distance between the
leaders of the church and its laypeople.
Yesterday's announcement by the archdiocese that it plans to sell the
mansion, as well as 28 acres of surrounding property, marks a new era for
the archdiocese, which is trying to reestablish its credibility after
acknowledging that scores of priests allegedly sexually abused minors over
five decades.
"That house came to be a manifestation of the power and the glory and the
militancy of the archdiocese," said Thomas H. O'Connor, university
historian at Boston College. "It was presented in a Boston that up until
that time didn't accept Catholics, and it was unconsciously an
in-your-face presentation of what Cardinal [William H.] O'Connell felt the
church had grown to be by the 1920s."
• Diocese to sell residence.
Boston Globe,
www.boston. com/news/local/ massachusetts/ articles/ 2003/12/04/ diocese_to_ sell_residence ,
By Ralph Ranalli, Dec 4, 2003
BOSTON (MA): The Archdiocese of Boston will sell one of its most symbolic and coveted
properties, the ornate cardinal's residence in Brighton, and 28
surrounding acres to help pay the $85 million settlement with 540 victims
of clergy sexual abuse, a spokesman for Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley said
last night.
The surprise move -- church officials had said for more than a year that
the Brighton property would not be sold -- is part of a financing plan
announced by O'Malley. The plan fulfils the archbishop's pledge that no
parish assets or funds from the archdiocese's annual appeal and capital
campaigns would be used to pay for the clergy sexual abuse scandal, his
spokesman said.
O'Malley's "message is that he is a man of his word," the Rev. Christopher
J. Coyne said.
Under the plan, which O'Malley presented to the archdiocesan Finance
Council and two other advisory boards yesterday, the archdiocese will take
out one or more short-term loans to fund the entire $85 million settlement
and then pay back the lenders with proceeds from the sale of the Brighton
property and from an expected settlement with the church's insurance
companies.
The real estate to be sold includes the cardinal's residence and the
eastern half of the archdiocese's 60-acre property on Commonwealth Avenue.
The archdiocese is keeping the other half of the campus, which is the site
of St. John's Seminary, the chancery, and office buildings.
Coyne said the church has no buyer lined up, although one suitor is
certain to be expansion-hungry Boston College, which has had problems for
decades trying to extend its campus in the densely built, high-priced
area.
One commercial real estate specialist valued the package at no less than
$1 million per acre and possibly more than $3 million per acre. Those
prices would bring the archdiocese from $30 million to $100 million for
the property.
• Conte charged with 'strong arm tactics'.
(http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20031204/NEWS/312040446/1006/NEWSLETTERS07)
-- Telegram & Gazette,
By Richard Nangle, Dec 4, 2003
WORCESTER (MA): Houston lawyer Daniel J. Shea yesterday officially removed
himself from the case of his former client Sime Braio, whose lawsuit
charging Auxiliary Bishop George E. Rueger for rape was dismissed last
month.
After Mr. Braio dismissed him as his lawyer, Mr. Shea withdrew in
September and filed a motion to intervene in the case to protect his
financial interest. At the time he charged that Mr. Braio, who lives in
Shrewsbury, was being coerced into a secret settlement.
In his motion before Judge John P. Connor in Superior Court yesterday, Mr.
Shea said a criminal investigation into the case is ongoing and that he
has been asked to provide information that could affect the outcome.
District Attorney John J. Conte has said he was particularly interested in
Mr. Shea's contention that there is evidence linking Bishop Rueger to a
house at 51 Egypt Ave., Scituate, where Mr. Braio claimed he had been
taken and raped as a boy in the early 1960s.
"I would urge Mr. Shea that if he has any information in regards to that
matter, our investigation into that house has not been completed. If he
can aid us in that regard we certainly would like to have any information
he may have," Mr. Conte said. "It certainly would change the complexion of
our investigation.
"We do intend to interview anybody named in that statement as it relates
to 51 Egypt Ave. in Scituate. We have run the title and we've done
numerous things on it."
Mr. Braio's case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning he is free to
refile the charge if he so chooses. His handwritten motion read in part,
"Trooper Tom Greene of Auburn told me to do this."
Mr. Shea claims that Mr. Braio's written reference to Trooper Greene was
evidence that Mr. Braio had been harassed by state police to the point
where he chose to drop the case. Trooper Greene, Mr. Shea said, was
improperly acting in the role of a lawyer by advising Mr. Braio to
withdraw.
Mr. Conte said no one should be surprised that the head of his state
police investigative unit would be speaking with Mr. Braio, given the
nature of his charges against Bishop Rueger.
"Sime Braio was concerned whether dismissal of the civil suit would have
an impact on our criminal investigation," Mr. Conte said. "The state
police assured him that dismissal of the suits would have no impact on our
criminal investigation.
"Sime is talking to Tom Greene because Sime is an alleged victim in a
child rape case and we always talk to victims."
In a letter to Mr. Conte dated Nov. 21, Mr. Shea accused Mr. Conte of
orchestrating a state police effort to use "strong arm tactics" against
two other clients of his who have charged priests of the Catholic Diocese
of Worcester with sexual abuse. He said state police have made unannounced
and intimidating visits to those clients.
Wednesday, December 3, 2003
• Former parish housekeeper will not pursue discrimination claims.
(http://www.iobserve.org/rn1126b.html)
-- iobserve ,
By Father Bill Pomerleau, Observer staff,
SPRINGFIELD (MA): A former parish housekeeper at St. Mary, Mother of the
Church Parish in Lee announced Nov. 20 that she would not pursue a claim
of sexual discrimination against the Diocese of Springfield for its
handling of her dismissal from her job.
Her decision, which was announced in a press release from her Greenfield
lawyer, came as an unusual set of circumstances became known in the case
of Josephine DiZoglio.
DiZoglio, a single mother of a 9-year-old daughter, reported in May to the
Diocesan Misconduct Commission that Father Paul Laflamme, St. Mary's
parochial vicar, had two sexual encounters with her shortly after Easter.
She further reported that she was pregnant with Father Laflamme's child,
and had been harassed and fired from her part-time parish position by St.
Mary's pastor, Father Gary Dailey.
Father Laflamme has admitted to the sexual encounters, which he described
as a private relationship "of two persons -- one of whom is a man and the
other of whom is a woman" in a letter published in the Oct. 31 edition of The Catholic Observer.
In his letter, Father Laflamme stated that he was "awaiting any
substantial proof of the alleged results of my indiscretion and have every
intention to act responsibly should they be provided and confirmed."
• Church faces ADR dilemma.
(http://www.anglicanjournal.com/129/10/canada03.html)
-- Anglican Journal,
Leanne Larmondin.
EDITOR
CANADA: Caught in a classic catch-22 situation, the Anglican Church of Canada is
weighing its response to last month's announcement from the federal
government about an alternative dispute resolution process (ADR) which
will compensate aboriginals for abuse suffered in church-run residential
schools.
On the one hand, if the church joins the government in amending a
controversial release form allowing native people the option to sue for
loss of language and culture, it opens itself up to further litigation. On
the other hand, if the church maintains the status quo and agrees to
compensate for only physical and sexual abuse, it risks the appearance of
contradicting the Archbishop Michael Peers' 1993 apology to native people
for the church's role in residential schools.
The dilemma was detailed in briefing paper for members of the
Council of General Synod (CoGS) at their November meeting. CoGS referred
the matter to the officers of General Synod, asking them to consult with
the Aboriginal Council of Indigenous Peoples before making a decision.
//////////////////// End of www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=46, Thursday, December 4, 2003
• Liz Mullinar no longer with ASCA.AUSTRALIA -
To MAKO:
i am the director of asca (advocates for
survivors of child abuse)
would really like to arrange for an update of asca link on your website.
liz mullinar is no longer involved with asca. a difference of views and
direction led to the split and i feel confident that the note you have on
the asca link re offenders not being imprisoned would definately no longer
apply.
we have, since the split relocated our head office,
snip,snip
keep up the good work
- e-mail from MAKO Australia, Movement Against Kindred Offenders,
www.mako.org.au , also publicises where offenders live,
Dec 4, 2003.
Zero Tolerance for SEX OFFENDERS. www.mako.org.au ,
We all need to be uniting together ...
What we had to say regarding Mullinar's comments on the Today show can be seen at
http://www.mako.org.au/books.html .
[FOOTNOTE: Copied here, without comment. ASCA,
www.asca.org.au, Australia, is Advocates for Survivors of Child Abuse, founded by Liz Mullinar. For links to books she has co-authored, click carnalbooks.htm FOOTNOTE ENDS.]
Main text: Dec 4, 2003.
• Catholics guilty of bad management -- psychologists report.IRELAND: Catholic Church leaders in Ireland were guilty of bad management, according to a 332-page report of a survey conducted by psychologists at the Royal College of Surgeons, released on December 4. The report had been commissioned by the Church two years ago.
-- The Record , "Report admits failure over sex abuse; Irish bishops apologise over church's handling of sex-abuse cases," by Cian Molloy, CNS,
Thursday, December 11, 2003;
Report released Dec 4 03
########## Poynteronline Abuse Tracker, www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=46,
Friday, December 5, 2003 edition follows:- • Church faces more woes.
(http://www.cincypost.com/2003/12/05/priest120503.html)
The Cincinnati Post,
By Kimball Perry.
CINCINNATI (OH) - Since the Archdiocese of Cincinnati signed a historic agreement with
Hamilton County prosecutors two weeks ago, 15 more allegations of priest
sex abuse have been brought to prosecutors, including one that accuses the
current pastor at St. John Neumann in Pleasant Run of inappropriately
touching a boy more than 20 years ago at another parish.
Because the most recent of the alleged incidents happened decades ago, the
statute of limitations has expired and none can be prosecuted.
Some of the priests accused in the new allegations are dead.
One who isn't is the Rev. Thomas Feldhaus, now pastor of St. John Neumann.
He's on administrative leave during investigation of claims that he
inappropriately touched a child in 1979 while serving at St. Therese the
Little Flower parish in Mount Airy.
"Father Feldhaus expressed shock and did not acknowledge guilt," the
archdiocese noted in a release Thursday.
• Covington diocese settles 4 cases.
(http://www.cincypost.com/2003/12/05/diocese120503.html)
-- The Cincinnati Post, By Paul A. Long.
KENTUCKY: The Diocese of Covington announced Thursday it has settled with four more
victims of priest sexual abuse, and one of its attorneys said it is far
more likely to settle individual claims than a class-action lawsuit
pending in Boone County.
"My position is, I'm not going to settle the class-action," said Carrie
Huff, a Chicago attorney the diocese has hired to help with the
litigation. "That's a completely negative element."
Individual claims can receive individual attention -- including a meeting
with Bishop Roger Foys that many victims have found beneficial, Huff said.
But a class-action lawsuit necessarily advances an adversarial process,
with winners and losers, she said.
• Documents shared in priest sex-abuse case.
(http://www.kcchronicle.com/today/KCC/news/307087201760801.html)
Kane County Chronicle,
By Adam Kovac.
ST. CHARLES, Illinois: Prosecutors on Thursday shared documents with a defense
attorney outlining the latest sex abuse charges leveled at a former priest
accused of similar offenses in Geneva.
Mark A. Campobello, 38, of Belvidere, is accused of criminal sexual abuse
for sex acts with teenage girls at St. Peter Catholic Church in Geneva and
Aurora Central Catholic High School.
Copies of police reports and grand jury testimony that resulted in the
Aurora charges Oct. 31 were given to Campobello's attorney, Van Richards
of Elgin, which Richards said he would review before proceeding further.
Richards could file requests on Campobello's behalf when the case returns
before Kane County Judge Timothy Q. Sheldon in mid-January.
Campobello could be sentenced to up to 145 years in prison for the Geneva
offenses and up to an additional 21 years for the Aurora case if he's
convicted. He has pleaded innocent to both charges and is free on bond.
Prosecutors have not decided which case will go to trial first, but could
be closer to a decision if Richards does not file any requests, Assistant
Kane County State's Attorney Jody Gleason said.
Information on both cases is expected to be introduced at Campobello's
trial, regardless of which goes first, to boost the opportunity for a
lengthy sentence.
• Sex Abuse Sisters Awarded £60,000.http://icnorthernireland.icnetwork.co.uk ,
-- icNorthernIreland,
By Ivan McMichael, Dec 5 2003
NORTHERN IRELAND: Two middle-aged sisters who were sexually abused by a Catholic priest when they were children were awarded £60,000 in compensation at Belfast's High
Court yesterday.
The Londonderry sisters are now in their 50s and were not named to protect
their identities.
The damages were awarded against the Very Rev Dr Michael Bowen, Archbishop
of Southwark, London, where the pervert priest, Fr Bernard Gallagher, was
a seminarian when the offences occurred between 1960-64, while he was on
visits to his home in Londonderry.
Gallagher, now aged 64, was jailed for 18 months at Londonderry Crown
Court in 1995, when he admitted abusing the girls.
He was also a defendant in yesterday's civil action but the court was told
that the claim against him personally was not being proceeded with.
• Three Fairbanks diocese priests accused.
(http://www.adn.com/front/story/4484851p-4463467c.html)
FAIRBANKS (AK):
-- Anchorage Daily News,
By NICOLE TSONG, December 5, 2003
A Fairbanks Catholic Church official revealed Thursday that three priests
who served that diocese have been accused of sexually abusing minors in
the past.
One of the priests left Fairbanks 15 years ago and is living elsewhere,
while the other two are dead, he said.
The Rev. Richard Case, chancellor of the Diocese of Fairbanks, said one of
the dead priests is the Rev. Jules Convert. Well-publicized allegations
against Convert are the basis of a civil lawsuit filed by eight plaintiffs
this year against the diocese and the Society of Jesus, Oregon Province.
But Case would not identify the other dead priest or the third priest, who
he said is no longer in ministry.
Case said one allegation of sexual abuse of a minor was made by a person
in Alaska this year against the priest, who left Fairbanks years ago for
another diocese. The priest served in Fairbanks for around 30 years, he
said.
The Fairbanks diocese and the priest's current diocese are looking into
the allegation, Case said.
All American dioceses have been directed by the U.S. Conference of
Catholic Bishops to review records of their priests and deacons going back
to 1950 and report allegations of sexual abuse they uncover to the
bishop's National Review Board, which is studying the scope and cause of
sexual misconduct by Roman Catholic priests.
• Diocese fights for its privacy.
(http://www.adn.com/front/story/4484851p-4463468c.html)
ANCHORAGE (AK):
Anchorage Daily News
By NICOLE TSONG, December 5, 2003
Fairbanks church officials battling a lawsuit by several men who say they
were sexually abused by a Jesuit priest have asked the Alaska Supreme
Court to reverse a Superior Court decision that ordered the case forward
and required them to turn over records on the priest.
The Diocese of Fairbanks and the Society of Jesus, Oregon Province, had
sought to get the case thrown out by claiming the statute of limitations
had long passed on claims going back decades. But Bethel Judge Dale Curda
said in October he would not consider that argument until the defendants
had responded to the plaintiffs' complaint. The church defendants in
November asked the high court to throw out Curda's decision.
Some of the men say they were abused by the Rev. Jules Convert as far back
as the 1950s.
In his decision, Curda said in October that to rule without an opportunity
to learn what information church officials have may be unjust. He turned
down a request to reconsider his decision in November.
Church lawyers still have not responded formally to the complaint because
of the new petition.
The Rev. Richard Case, Fairbanks chancellor, said Thursday that the
diocese's records are skimpy and most of the people who might know
something -- including Father Convert himself -- are dead. The discovery
process also is long and expensive.
• Ex-priest faces new lawsuit [1980].
(http://www.theargusonline.com/Stories/0,1413,83~1971~1810833,00.html)
The Argus,
By Robert Airoldi,
HAYWARD (CA): A former Fremont priest who last month agreed to a $17 million
settlement in a sexual abuse case has been hit with another lawsuit.
The most recent suit involves a Fremont man, now 33, who claims that
Robert Freitas molested him on at least two separate occasions in 1980
while Freitas filled in for an absent priest at St. Leonard's Catholic
Church. Freitas worked at near- by Santa Paula Catholic Church at the
time.
St. Leonard's combined with Santa Paula about four years ago and the two
parishes assumed the name Our Lady of Guadalupe last spring.
The man came forward after a group-therapy session several months ago in
which another man spoke about childhood sexual abuse, said his attorney,
Rick Simons.
"Hearing that other story made him come forward," Simons said. "He wants
Freitas to take responsibility for his actions."
• Priest tells of his hell as abuse victim.
(http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=470345)
IRELAND:
Belfast Telegraph
By Marie Foy
mfoy@belfasttelegraph.co.uk, December 05, 2003
A Catholic priest has spoken out about his years of torment as a victim of
child sex abuse.
Fr Patrick McCafferty (40), said that over the years he often wished he
was dead and had even considered taking his own life.
Now he has decided to tell how he has battled to overcome the "living
hell" of his anguish in the hope that his story can help others.
Fr McCafferty, thought to be the first Irish cleric to talk publicly about
such experiences, said he wanted to "encourage anyone locked in by abuse
to break their silence".
In an interview with the Irish News, Fr McCafferty revealed how he was
abused by three unconnected people, all outside his family, in separate
periods as he was growing up.
His first horrific experience was at the hands of a female when he was
just four-years-old. Then at the age of six while living in Whiteabbey he
was abused by a male youth.
Later he was assaulted over a number of years by a man "in a position of
trust".
• Church tallies abuse, costs.www.timesunion.com ,
-- Albany Times Union,
By Brian Nearing,
Friday, December 5, 2003.
ALBANY (NY): The Albany Roman Catholic Diocese is investigating an additional
15 current or former priests for sexual abuse of children, a figure that
nearly matches the number already removed for credible allegations of
abuse.
In addition, the diocese has paid almost $4 million in victim settlements,
counseling costs and legal fees since 1950, according to a report released
Thursday by Bishop Howard J. Hubbard.
The report is the first time the diocese has publicly acknowledged the
scope of a scandal that erupted nearly two years ago and indicates that
the issue remains a problem for the diocese and its 400,000 Catholics in
the 14-county region.
"We believe knowing the full historical extent of this problem will help
make our current and future efforts to prevent clergy sexual abuse of
minors more effective," Hubbard said during a news conference at the
Pastoral Center on North Main Avenue.
He added that he was "surprised" by the "depth of the problem" shown in
the report, which will be included in a nationwide study by the John Jay
College of Criminal Justice in New York City.
• Bishops admit: We hid abuse to avoid scandal.
(http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=9&si=1088027&issue_id=10120)
-- Irish Independent,
IRELAND: Ireland's Catholic bishops have candidly admitted for the first time their
response to abuse victims in the past was motivated primarily by a desire
to avoid scandal.
The Primate of All Ireland, Archbishop Sean Brady of Armagh, delivered a
heartfelt apology to abuse victims for the hurt caused and damage done.
He was speaking at the launch of a groundbreaking study of clerical sex
abuse, for which bishops, priests, victims and abusers were interviewed
along with 1,000 members of the public.
The report, called 'Time to Listen', states: "The clergy and Church
personnel interviewed described how the goals of preventing scandal and
protecting the laity guided many decisions made in managing allegations of
child sexual abuse."
Thirty-five bishops participated in the study conducted by the Royal
College of Surgeons on behalf of the hierarchy. One stated frankly: "The
whole instinct on our part is that we must protect the Church, so let's
try and deal with this quietly . . . scandal was always regarded as one of
the really serious sins."
• Priest treatment centers operate quietly, but fears grow.www.kansascity.com ,
The Kansas City Star,
By Kevin Murphy,
DITTMER, Mo.: The treatment road for some priests caught up in the
Catholic Church's sex abuse scandal ends at one of two wooded retreats in
eastern Missouri.
The retreats are seen nationally by therapists and church officials as
places to send troubled priests for supervision and long-term residency.
Yet they are unknown to some neighbors and of pointed concern to people
who want to keep track of abusive clergy.
On Thursday, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests [SNAP] called on
the Archdiocese of St. Louis to release information about priests at the
retreats. But the archdiocese does not run the retreats, about 40 miles
southwest of St. Louis, or know who is there, a spokesman said.
Thirty-three priests stay at the retreats. Six are on convicted sex
offender lists kept by local sheriffs. At least four others admitted
molesting minors but were not prosecuted because the abuses occurred too
long ago.
Citing confidentiality concerns, retreat operators would not discuss
residents who are there because they committed sex crimes.
• Archbishop: I had to sell residence.
(http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/localRegional.bg?articleid=307)
-- Boston Herald,
By Eric Convey and Elisabeth J. Beardsley, Friday, December 5, 2003.
BOSTON (MA): Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley said he decided to sell the ornate residence
occupied by his predecessors for more than 70 years because "there really
were not a lot of choices left."
"(I) would have preferred to have another solution," he told The
Pilot newspaper, which is published by the Archdiocese of Boston. "(It's)
very important for the archdiocese to step up to the plate and make
whatever sacrifice is necessary to bring about a settlement and thus
further the process of healing and reconciliation in the archdiocese."
O'Malley was not available for interviews with the secular press
following the Wednesday decision to sell the property to help fund an $85
million settlement in clergy sexual molestation cases.
The Rev. Christopher J. Coyne, O'Malley's spokesman, said yesterday
the archdiocese needs to raise the money within two years to pay off
short-term notes it used to finance the settlement.
The church hopes to find a buyer within a year, he said.
• BC eyes archdiocese land; loans for church seen.
(http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/339/metro/BC_eyes_archdiocese_land_loans_for_church_seen+.shtml)
-- Boston Globe,
By Michael Paulson and Steve Bailey, Globe Staff, Globe Correspondent,
Dec 5, 2003.
BOSTON (MA): The Archdiocese of Boston's decision to sell 28 acres in Brighton,
including the longtime residence of the city's Catholic cardinals, set off
a frenzy of activity yesterday as Boston College officials began preparing
to bid for the property, which the college has long desired, and two banks
appeared ready to help the church with a massive loan.
The sale of the property is an essential piece of the church's plan to pay
off an $85 million settlement with alleged victims of sexual abuse by
priests. Two sources with knowledge of the arrangement said the
archdiocese expects to sign a deal today to borrow a portion of the money
from Citizens Bank and Century Bank, and that collateral for the loan will
likely include the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in the South End.
The church hopes to sign a two-year bridge loan, which would be repaid
from proceeds of the sale of the Brighton property and payments from two
insurance companies that provided coverage to the archdiocese for abuse
cases between 1977 and 1989. The archdiocese is now in mediation with the
insurance companies, Kemper and Travelers, and has said it is prepared to
file suit against them if a settlement can not be reached.
The sources with knowledge of the loan arrangement said that, in addition
to collateral in the form of church property, the loan would likely be
guaranteed by several prominent local Catholics, including Peter Lynch,
vice chairman of Fidelity Management & Research Co., and Robert J.
Morrissey, a Boston attorney. Lynch could not be reached last night and
Morrissey declined to comment.
• SNAP wants church to release names of alleged abusers.www.stltoday.com ,
ST. LOUIS (MO):
-- Post-Dispatch,
By Kim Bell, Dec 05, 2003.
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests [SNAP] on Thursday urged the
Archdiocese of St. Louis to "come clean" and release the names of all
abusive priests, known or suspected.
"Any number of these men are essentially roaming free," said David
Clohessy, the national director of SNAP. "It's crucial parents ask their
children about these men."
Members of the victims' group stood outside the chancery on Lindell
Boulevard with signs listing 30 church leaders - priests, a nun and three
brothers - who are alleged child molesters.
Each person listed had worked in the Archdiocese of St. Louis and has been
publicly accused of molesting a child, charged with a crime or is the
subject of a suit.
Parents may be unaware "these men were credibly charged or served time" if
church leaders simply remove them from their duties without going public,
Clohessy said.
Church leaders countered by saying they want to be open and honest but
don't want to risk releasing names of innocent priests.
"Our intention is full disclosure," Bishop Joseph F. Naumann said. But the
church doesn't want to be "recklessly releasing ... somebody's name
unjustly."
Minutes after the SNAP's outdoor news conference, Naumann held his own
media briefing inside the chancery. Naumann is administrator of the
archdiocese.
• Church abuse case tests new law.
(http://www.lincolncourier.com/news/03/12/03/a.asp)
-- Lincoln Courier,
By Lisa Kernek,
Copley News Service, Dec 3, 2003
SPRINGFIELD (IL): A lawsuit against the Catholic Diocese of Springfield has
become the first test case of a new state law extending the statute of
limitations on sexual-abuse cases.
The diocese challenged the constitutionality of the law during a hearing
Tuesday in Sangamon County Circuit Court. Associate Judge Steven Nardulli
did not rule on the issue.
The case is being watched closely by representatives of abuse survivors'
groups.
"If the church is successful in overturning the law, then Illinois reverts
back to these archaic laws that actually protect child molesters rather
than the children," said Barbara Blaine, president of Chicago-based
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. Blaine traveled to
Springfield to attend Tuesday's hearing.
• Priest Put On Administrative Leave Over Sexual Abuse Allegations [1979].
(http://www.wcpo.com/news/2003/local/12/04/pastor.html)
-- WCPO,
Dec 4, 03.
OHIO: Father Thomas Feldhaus, pastor of St. John Neumann Parish in Pleasant Run,
has been put on administrative leave by Cincinnati Archbishop Daniel
Pilarczyk, pending a child sexual abuse investigation.
According to the archdiocese, they received a phone call last month from a
family member of the accuser. However, the accuser said he would not speak
to the Archdiocesan Chancellor or to any other priest. The archdiocese
said, therefore, they have been unable to interview the accuser and his
accusation has not been confirmed by the church.
The accuser's family said the abuse took place on two occasions in 1979,
when the alleged victim was a minor.
According to a press release from the archdiocese, when the chancellor
approached Feldhaus, the priest expressed shock and did not acknowledge
guilt.
The allegation has also been brought to the Hamilton County Prosecutor's
office, the archdiocese said.
• Victims' threat to name 'abuser'.
(http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,8069940%255E2,00.html)
AUSTRALIA:
-- news.com.au ,
By Margaretta Posthe, December 5, 2003.
The Catholic Church in Tasmania has been given an ultimatum - take action
within a week against a priest accused of sexual abuse, or two of his
alleged victims will out him.
The ultimatum was delivered through the media by lobby group Survivors
Confronting Child Abuse and Rape, after a meeting with Archbishop Adrian
Doyle in Hobart yesterday.
At the meeting was an alleged victim of the priest, who accused him of
sexual assault at a time when she was vulnerable and he was her
counsellor.
She is the second alleged victim to come forward -a third is considering
doing so.
SCAR spokesman Steve Fisher said: "We give him a week."
Late yesterday, Archbishop Doyle released a statement saying he was
distressed to hear of a second complaint.
• Victims' group uses media to threaten archbishop.
(http://www.cathnews.com/news/312/36.php)
AUSTRALIA:
-- Catholic News.
Hobart's Archbishop Adrian Doyle has expressed his disappointment at a
victims' group's attempts to get him to act on alleged cases of clergy sex
abuse my making threats through the media.
Survivors Confronting Child Abuse and Rape (SCAR) issued an ultimatum
after a meeting with Archbishop Doyle yesterday. He was told through the
media that if he does not take action within a week against a priest
accused of sexual abuse, two of his alleged victims will out him.
Archbishop Doyle said in a statement late yesterday: "I am very
disappointed that the media has been used to call for me to take immediate
action when no such request was made during the meeting this morning."
"Despite no request being made for me to act I have, in fact, already
acted to arrange a meeting with the priest concerned to put this second
allegation to him.
• SNAP Calls For "Clean Slate" For Burke.
(http://www.ksdk.com/news/news_article_lc.asp?storyid=51139)
-- KSDK
ST. LOUIS (MO): The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, is
calling for the St. Louis Archdiocese to release the names of all priests
accused of sexual abuse.
"Let's do Archbishop Burke a favor. Let's come clean now so that next month
he can start with a clean slate so that he can begin healing the deep
wounds within our archdiocese," said SNAP member Barbara Dorris.
SNAP members delivered a letter to St. Louis Catholic leaders urging them
to include the names of alleged abusers from other archdiocese who used to
work in the St. Louis area. but Bishop Joseph Naumann says he needs proof
before revealing any names.
"We also feel a serious responsibility not to injure an innocent person's
reputation by releasing information that's based merely on suspicion,
innuendo or rumor."
• L.I. Bishop Will Meet 400 Priests in Effort to Heal Rift Over Abuse
Scandal.www.nytimes.com ,
-- The New York Times,
By Patrick Healy,
Dated Dec 4, First published December 5, 2003
ARDEN CITY, LONG ISLAND (NY): Bishop William F. Murphy, the leader of the
Diocese of Rockville Centre, has agreed to meet with the 400 priests he
oversees, a move that some Roman Catholics on Long Island are hailing as
one of the first positive moves the bishop has made to deal with the
church sex-abuse scandal.
Bishop Murphy agreed to meet after 50 Long Island priests signed a letter
calling for such a gathering. A church spokeswoman said it was
unprecedented for the bishop to agree to meet with priests after a
grass-roots request like this one.
The spokeswoman, Joanne C. Novarro, and priests and parishioners said they
hoped the meeting on Jan. 19, which will be closed to the public, would
help to heal the rift between bishop and priests in the wake of the
church's sexual-abuse crisis.
The long letter to Bishop Murphy, written by four priests and signed by
scores more, said they were not confident with the bishop's leadership and
were unhappy with the way he related to other priests and to members of
the church. Less strident than somber, the letter cited a "sadness and
sense of desperation" among priests on Long Island.
• Irish church issues apology to Catholics for sex scandals.
(http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-12/107060962936770.xml)
-- Star-Ledger,
By Shawn Pogatchnik, Associated Press.
DUBLIN, Ireland: Roman Catholic bishops, releasing a damning report on
their handling of child sex-abuse scandals, apologized yesterday and
promised to improve systems for protecting children.
The 332-page report, the fruit of two years of work by psychologists at
the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, detailed the damage the scandals
have done to victims, the church and wider society in this overwhelmingly
Catholic nation.
"This study makes painful reading, not least for a bishop," said
Archbishop Sean Brady, president of the Irish Bishops Conference and
leader of Ireland's 4 million Catholics. "It tells of mistakes made in
responding to those who came to the church seeking sensitivity and
compassion."
More than 100 Irish clergy have been convicted of sex offenses in the last
decade. The scandals toppled a government in 1994 after the Irish
attorney-general delayed extradition of a priest wanted on sex-abuse
charges in neighboring Northern Ireland.
• Accuser settles with diocese.
(http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2003/12/05/loc_kydiocese05.html)
-- The Cincinnati Enquirer,
By Jim Hannah, Dec 5, 2003
BURLINGTON, Kentucky: The lead plaintiff in the nation's first class-action lawsuit
alleging the Roman Catholic Diocese actively covered up sexual abuse by
its priests has settled his claim outside of court.
He is among 32 people who have reached out-of-court settlements with the
Covington Diocese totaling more than $6 million within the last three
months, church officials announced Thursday.
Officials would not release the dollar figure for individual claims.
The former lead plaintiff said the lawsuit process was impersonal.
The man, who said he was sexually abused as a child, said he was not
prepared for the attacks that attorneys representing the plaintiffs in the
suit have lobbed at the Covington Diocese. He said he found more peace in
resolving his claim directly with the diocese.
• Study details 2% clergy here commit abuse.
ALBANY (NY): Two percent, or 18 of the 814 priests who have worked in the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany since 1950, have committed child sex
abuse crimes, according to an in-depth study released Thursday.
According to the study by the John Jay School of Criminal Justice, there
are 15 current or former priests being investigated in the Albany Diocese.
Four of those priests are deceased, four are on voluntary leave, three
resigned from ministry before the allegations came forward and four are in
active ministry.
The study is part of a nationwide examination of clergy sex abuse from
1950 to June 2002 commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Bishops. On Feb.
27, the conference will issue findings for all 195 dioceses.
Albany Bishop Howard Hubbard said the raw data will help professionals
better understand the nature of child sex abuse, not only in the Catholic
Church but across the spectrum of professions.
"Why there has been these occurrences in the diocese or in any diocese
across the country is one of the things we our
selves are looking into answers to," Hubbard said. "First you have to have
data before you can analyze the causes."
-- Troy Record,
"Study details local clergy abuse,"
www.troyrecord.com ,
By James V. Franco,
Thursday, December 4, 2003
• State asks judge to seize priest's charity.
-- The Dallas Morning News,
www.dallasnews. com/localnews/ stories/ 120303 dnmetcasita. 2ca06.html ,
By Brooks Egerton, Dec 03, 2003.
TEXAS: Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott asked a judge Tuesday to seize a
suspended Dallas priest's immigration counseling service, saying the
charity has violated a deal that let it stay open after a state
investigation this summer.
Mr. Abbott accused Casita Maria's executive director, the Rev. Justin
Lucio, and his top aide of thwarting financial reforms pushed by their new
board of directors.
"Many of the circumstances leading to the problems discovered in the
investigation have not been rectified, and new problems have arisen," the
attorney general said in an Austin probate court filing. "Breaches of
fiduciary duty and unlawful acts ... have occurred."
Casita's board will support a temporary takeover, charity attorney Frank
Sommerville said, assuming that an agreement can be reached on how much to
pay a court-appointed receiver. The judge's decision could come this week.
(Posted by Kathy Shaw, Poynter)
//////////////////// End of www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=46, Friday, December 5, 2003
########## Poynteronline Abuse Tracker, www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=46,
Saturday, December 6, 2003 edition follows:- • Bacani accuser says she's happy over Vatican decision.
(http://www.inq7.net/brk/2003/dec/03/brkpol_4-1.htm)
-- inq7.net,
By Blanche Rivera, Inquirer News Service, Dec 03 2003
PHILIPPINES: The former secretary who has accused Novaliches Bishop Teodoro Bacani of
making sexual advances against her, is happy that he has been replaced as
head of the diocese.
The Vatican accepted Bacani's resignation last week and appointed San
Fernando Bishop Antonio Tobias to the post, but his installation has yet
to be announced.
An Inquirer source said the 35-year-old woman felt she had won justice,
and was glad she had brought her case to the Catholic church.
In her complaint filed before the Apostolic Nunciature in Manila, the
woman said her boss of five years had tried to hug and kiss her in his
office.
Papal Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Antonio Franco conducted an
investigation and submitted the results to Rome.
In accepting Bacani's resignation, the Vatican cited a provision of Canon
Law that says a bishop who has become unsuited to fulfil his ministry
should be requested to resign. But the Nunciature denied that Bacani had
been so requested.
The woman is said to be currently studying and working "somewhere in Metro
Manila." She quit Bacani's employ shortly before filing her complaint
early this year.
(Posted by Kathy Shaw, Poynter, 8:23:05 AM)
• One Year After Settlement, Church Abuse Issues Remain.
(http://www.thewmurchannel.com/news/2685405/detail.html)
-- TheWMURChannel.com.
CONCORD, N.H.: A year after a precedent-setting church sexual abuse
settlement in New Hampshire, some major issues still aren't settled.
Last December, the Diocese of Manchester avoided criminal charges by
agreeing to let state officials oversee how they handle church abuse
cases, but the oversight hasn't begun, and no one has agreed yet on who
will pay for it.
The diocese also is months behind in presenting a new sexual misconduct
policy and opening its financial books to the state. A spokeswoman for the
diocese said things have taken longer than anticipated, and the church
still is committed to living up to its agreement.
• Victims of priests' sex abuse tell all.
(http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20031205-034638-2575r.htm)
-- Washington Times, Dec 5 2003
BOSTON (MA) (UPI): Plaintiffs in an $85 million sexual molestation
lawsuit against the Catholic Church's Boston diocese are telling their
stories to arbitrators.
The arbitrators are to set payments between $80,000 and $300,000 for the
victims, depending on the severity of their abuse and its long-term
effects, the Boston Herald reported Friday.
Victims expect to get their checks by Dec. 22, said Mitchell Garabedian, a
lawyer who represents 120 plaintiffs who are taking part in the settlement
process.
Garabedian said he was leery of trusting church officials, since his
clients were burned by an archdiocesan about-face after a settlement was
announced last year.
• Diocese grades out well in audit on abuse rules.
(http://www.nj.com/news/expresstimes/pa/index.ssf?/base/news-9/1070705153272610.xml)
The Express-Times,
By Katherine Blok,
ALLENTOWN (PA): Insurance companies for the Diocese of Allentown have paid
$781,250 in settlements with alleged abuse victims in the 42 years since
the diocese was established, the diocese said Friday.
A prepared statement released by the diocese Friday for the first time
disclosed the amount of money it has spent on sex abuse allegations.
The diocese also spent $268,750 from its self-insurance program to settle
with alleged victims; $222,512 on counseling for priests accused of abuse;
and $42,547 on counseling for victims, according to the diocese.
The figures are part of the data the diocese submitted to the John Jay
College of Criminal Justice in New York, which has been commissioned to
study the nature and scope of sexual abuse problems within the U.S.
Catholic church.
Bishop Edward P. Cullen reported the figures in a letter published in this
week's edition of the diocesan newspaper, The AD Times.
• St. John Neumann's priest removed.
-- Journal News,
www.journal-news.com ,
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP (OH): Following the removal of its priest on Thursday amid an allegation of sexual misconduct that occurred more than two decades ago, Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk will preside over Mass today at St. John Neumann, said archdiocese spokesman Dan Andriacco.
The Rev. Thomas Feldhaus, in accordance with church law adopted last year
by United States bishops, was placed on administrative leave pending the
investigation of an allegation that he inappropriately touched a boy on
two occasions in 1979. The allegation has not been substantiated,
Andriacco said.
Parishioners on Friday expressed shock over the allegations levied against
Feldhaus, whom one church member described as a hard-working and dedicated
priest. Ordained a priest in 1976, he joined the parish as its fourth
pastor in 2001.
The church, which is located along the border of Butler and Hamilton
counties, draws nearly half of its 1,100-family membership from Fairfield,
said parish worker Rosemary Santel on Friday.
Before the church building was completed in 1985 at the corner of John
Gray and Winton roads, members worshiped in the clubhouse of the Fairfield
Community Golf Center across the street and in rented space at the Woodfox
Center in Fairfield.
• Judge off church case after ruling [early 1980s].
(http://www.cincypost.com/2003/12/06/arch120603.html)
CINCINNATI (OH):
-- The Cincinnati Post,
By Kimball Perry, Dec 6, 2003.
The Archdiocese of Cincinnati should lose a priest sex abuse lawsuit filed
against it, a Hamilton County judge acknowledged Friday, but she said she
just couldn't bring herself to make that ruling because she saw it as the
exact opposite of a decision she made minutes earlier on a similar
lawsuit.
As a result, the archdiocese received favorable rulings in both cases from
Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Melba Marsh, and she agreed to
step aside from the second case at the request of attorneys for the
plaintiff.
In the second case, archdiocese attorneys didn't respond in time to the
suit filed by an unnamed man who said he was "molested and raped" by the
Rev. Lawrence Strittmatter in the early 1980s. Marsh said the archdiocese
should be found in default and that the unnamed man should win and be
awarded money damages.
• Priest bids for shock probation [1956-82].
(http://www.courier-journal.com/localnews/2003/12/06ky/met-front-Miller12060-6427.html)
LOUISVILLE (KY):
-- The Courier-Journal,
By Jason Riley,
jriley@courier-journal.com , Dec 6 2003.
The Rev. Louis Miller, a Roman Catholic priest convicted earlier this year
of sexually abusing 29 children across four decades, will ask to be
released from prison after serving about six months of a 20-year sentence.
Miller's attorney, David Lambertus, will request during a 3:30 p.m.
hearing Monday that his client be released on shock probation, which
spares first-time offenders from going to prison for long periods.
Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Ann O'Malley Shake, who sentenced Miller in
May to 20 years in prison, will hear the motion; she said yesterday that
it's unlikely she will make any decision at that time.
Miller, who has been a priest in the Archdiocese of Louisville for 47
years, pleaded guilty in Shake's court in March to 50 criminal charges
involving 21 victims between 1956 and 1982.
• Nashville diocese found in compliance with sex abuse-prevention
guidelines.
(http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/03/12/43712551.shtml?Element_ID=
43712551)
-- Tennessean,
By Sheila Burke,
NASHVILLE (TN): The Roman Catholic Diocese of Nashville is in full compliance with a set of nationwide guidelines adopted by church officials to prevent child
sexual abuse, an audit has found.
The guidelines, known as the Charter for the Protection of Children and
Young People, were adopted in June 2002 by the United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops. The church was embroiled in scandal when they were
adopted, with stories of pedophile priests and cover-ups of abuse
dominating news across the country.
"We didn't have to do very much to adopt those new rules," said Rick
Musacchio, a spokesman for the diocese. "Many, many of the requirements
of that charter were already in place in the diocese of Nashville when
that charter was passed."
The audit, conducted for the Catholic Church by the Gavin Group of Boston,
praised the diocese for its policies promoting the healing of victims of
sexual abuse, The Tennessee Register, the official newspaper of the
diocese, reported yesterday.
• Diocese names retired judge as adviser.www.timesunion.com ,
-- Albany Times Union,
By Brian Nearing, Saturday, December 6, 2003.
ALBANY (NY): One day after he released a detailed report on the scope of the scandal of
priests' sexual abuse of children, Bishop Howard Hubbard announced Friday
his appointment of a retired state Court of Appeals judge to advise the
diocese on how to deal with victims.
Howard A. Levine, who left the bench in January, said Hubbard gave him a
"total blank check" [cheque] to develop a program for financial compensation and
counseling of victims.
"My only criteria for taking this job was independence," said Levine,
during a news conference with Hubbard at the Pastoral Center on North Main
Avenue. "I am sure that the diocese will give me access to all their
personnel files."
Levine, a Republican, was a Schenectady County district attorney before
beginning a judicial career that spanned more than 30 years. He served on
the Schenectady County Family Court and state Supreme Court before Gov.
Mario Cuomo appointed him to the state's highest court. He is now senior
counsel with the Albany firm of Whiteman Osterman & Hanna.
• Ex-priest hit with another lawsuit [1980].
(http://www.trivalleyherald.com/Stories/0,1413,86~10669~1813646,00.html)
Tri-Valley Herald,
By Robert Airoldi,
HAYWARD (CA): (and the rest is almost identical to "Ex-priest faces new lawsuit," The Argus,
(http://www.theargusonline.com/Stories/0,1413,83~1971~1810833,00.html)
• Accused diocese sues its insurer.
(http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/news/7429391.htm)
Contra Costa Times,
By Yomi S. Wronge,
San Jose Mercury News,
CALIFORNIA: One day before another alleged molestation victim sued the Diocese of
Oakland and a former Fremont priest, the diocese filed suit against its
insurance company for refusing to defend the church from a flurry of sex
abuse claims.
The diocese alleges that OneBeacon Insurance Group, formerly known as
Employer's Commercial Union Insurance Co., has refused to defend the
church and is unwilling to pay for any judgments or settlements stemming
from five abuse cases that allegedly took place in the 1970s.
Filed Tuesday, the lawsuit states that the policy was supposed to cover
the diocese from bodily injury caused by negligent acts of the bishop.
According to court documents, the insurance company has virtually ignored
the claims submitted by the diocese.
Lawyers for the diocese could not be reached for comment. Maggie Sheehan,
a spokeswoman for OneBeacon, said the company did not want to discuss the
suit, which was filed Tuesday in Alameda County.
• Jehovah's Witnesses want court order for secrecy. [1980s onwards]
Amarillo.com ; "Congregations want court order,"
(http://www.amarillonet.com/stories/120403/new_wantcourt.shtml)
By Jim McBride, jim.mcbride@amarillo.com , Dec 04 2003.
TEXAS: Jehovah's Witnesses congregations in Amarillo and Dumas are seeking a court order protecting them from releasing documents in a lawsuit filed by
a woman who claims a former church elder sexually abused her.
The negligence suit, filed earlier this year in 251st District Court, was filed by Amy B. against Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York,
Larry Kelley and several other organizations, including the Dumas Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses and the Amarillo-Southwest Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses.
According to the suit:
The Jehovah's Witnesses organization appointed Larry Kelley as a Dumas church elder sometime before 1988. Kelley, who performed a puppet show to
instruct the congregation's children, used his post to sexually abuse
children. In 1992, Kelley was convicted of indecency with a child.
While Kelley was a Dumas elder, church officials learned he was sexually abusing children in the congregation but did not report the abuse to
authorities or warn other church members.
Kelley later was transferred to the Amarillo congregation and abused other children, including the plaintiff, who was 8 at the time of the alleged
sexual abuse.
• Thief asks why big-time cases get different treatment.www.stltoday.com ,
-- Post-Dispatch,
by Bill McClellan,
Dec 05, 2003.
ST. LOUIS (MO): Earlier this year, as Keith Howard was slip-sliding back into his old
ways, he met a woman at a crack house. Such romances are almost always
doomed.
The woman was a prostitute. She sold her body for drugs. Howard told her
it was not necessary to debase herself. There was a better way to get
money. A person could steal.
Howard had done a lot of that. He is 43 years old and has been in and out
of trouble for 30 years. He got his start stealing cars. His first adult
beef was a stealing charge. Then he picked up a burglary charge, and was
sent to the workhouse. So began a pattern. With something approaching
pride, he says he has never been given probation. Always time. ...
After Howard was released, the prosecuting attorney took the case to the
grand jury, which indicted Howard on charges of second-degree robbery. He
was re-arrested in the middle of July. A public defender visited him in
October and told him the state had offered a deal: Plead guilty and get 15
years. Because of his past record, he is considered a persistent offender,
and the state could seek as much as 30 years.
Howard was unhappy with his offer. He still is. Like most guys in the
county jail, he compares his own situation to that of convicted
child-molester Brian Kuchar. "A child-molesting priest gets three years,
and they want me to take 15 for trying to steal a DVD?" Then, too, there
is Rush Limbaugh, whose drug addiction was a medical condition. "I tried
for years to get help," said Howard. "Even in prison I tried to get in a
program. I wouldn't be here except for drugs."
Friday, December 5, 2003
• Ryan, other lawyers told to watch tone.www.telegram.com ,
Telegram & Gazette,
By Richard Nangle,
WORCESTER (MA): Superior Court Judge John P. Connor Wednesday told all counsel
involved in a contentious civil lawsuit involving allegations of sexual
abuse by a priest to speak in a normal tone during depositions in the
case.
Judge Connor initially directed his remarks at lawyer Edward P. Ryan, who
represents the accused priest, then expanded them to include all lawyers
in the case.
In September, Judge Leila R. Kern denied Houston lawyer Daniel J. Shea's
request that Mr. Ryan be prohibited from taking part in depositions in the
case.
Timothy P. Staney of Worcester alleges in a lawsuit filed last year in
Worcester Superior Court that he was sexually abused as a child and
teenager by Raymond Tremblay, a religious education teacher at Holy Name
of Jesus parish, and later by the Rev. Jean Paul Gagnon, who was associate
pastor there.
Mr. Tremblay and Rev. Gagnon have denied the allegations.
Mr. Shea filed an emergency motion for a protective order on Sept. 12
asking that Mr. Ryan, who represents Rev. Gagnon, be barred from
participating in depositions in the case or that depositions involving Mr.
Ryan be conducted under direct court supervision.
Mr. Shea alleged that Mr. Ryan's conduct at a Sept. 11 deposition of Mr.
Staney's father, Joseph C. Staney, was outrageous and unprofessional. He
also noted that Timothy Staney is under the care of a psychologist and
psychiatrist.
Joanne L. Goulka, lawyer for the Worcester Diocese, said Mr. Ryan's
questioning of Joseph Staney was "not abusive or unwarranted" and was "no
more than skilled and incisive cross-examination."
In their written opposition to Mr. Shea's motion, Mr. Ryan and Ms. Goulka
asked that they be reimbursed for costs and fees incurred as a result of
Mr. Shea's decision not to have Timothy Staney appear at a scheduled Sept.
15 deposition and his lawyer's request for a protective order.
Judge Kern ordered Mr. Staney to pay costs and legal fees related to his
failure to appear.
(Posted by Kathy Shaw, Poynter)
//////////////////// End of www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=46, Saturday, December 6, 2003
########## Poynteronline Abuse Tracker, www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=46,
Sunday, December 7, 2003 edition follows:-
#####
• Priests won't write religion columns any more at Erie.
ERIE (PA): This column is brought to you by the leaders of the Catholic Diocese of Erie.
They didn't pay me to write it, but they left me with a blank space and a compelling need to fill it with an explanation of why no priest is writing this column.
The Rev. Jerome S. Simmons, a priest who works at Ecclesia spiritual renewal center, was to write today's Reflections. He has written eloquently in the past about trusting God in dark times and the need for stillness in our busy lives. We expected something similarly meaningful for Advent.
On Nov. 5, however, a letter on diocese stationery arrived at the newspaper office. It was polite but brief.
Simmons, along with Monsignor Robert J. Smith, vicar general of the diocese, and Monsignor Lawrence T. Speice, pastor of St. Anthony Catholic Church in Cambridge Springs, would not be writing any columns.
The reason? Their letter cited "the tenor of the Times in recent months."
They offered no further details, but we can be sure they weren't referring to years of stories about the good works of such Catholic institutions as St. Martin Center or regular reports on parish activities.
Clearly, this was a reference to the newspaper's scrutiny of the diocese's financial condition and especially to coverage of the priest sex abuse scandal.
My duties as editor of the Faith section lean to the lighter side of the paper's reporting on religion, so I wasn't directly involved in those stories. That said, I am no Pilate trying to wash my hands of involvement.
Stories about accusations against priests have been carefully researched and painstakingly reported. They are painful but necessary.
-- Erie Times-News,
"Priests stop columns,"
(http://goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20031129/LIFESTYLES03/111290268)
(Posted by Kathy Shaw, Poynter)
• Docs' help 'not enough' for erring priests. http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ceb/2003/12/08/news/docs.help.not.enough.for.erring.priests.html ,
-- Sun.Star ,
By Linette C. Ramos,
Sun.Star Staff Reporter, Dec 08, 2003.
PHILIPPINES: Psychiatric treatment has been prescribed for priests involved in sexual misconduct since the early 1980s, but psychiatrists believe that such treatment is not enough to reform erring members of the clergy.
Since it is not guaranteed that the priest will no longer commit sexual abuses after treatment is completed, church officials must assign the erring priest where he will not have contact with a possible victim, psychiatrists said.
They also believe that clergy members who repeatedly molest individuals have no place in the priesthood and should be defrocked if the offense is committed twice.
Dr. Cornelio Banaag Jr., president of the Asean Federation for Psychiatry and Mental Health, said psychiatric intervention may be futile if the priest is retained in the same environment.
He said that in cases of sexual misconduct involving priests in the country and in the United States, priests were able to commit offenses repeatedly because their victims were easily accessible.
• Clergy sex abuse scandal drags on, with no end in sight. http://www.insidevc.com/vcs/county_news/article/0,1375,VCS_226_2484868,00.html ,
-- Ventura County Star,
By Tom Kisken, tkisken@VenturaCountyStar.com ,
December 7, 2003.
CALIFORNIA: Victims are accusing retired and removed Southern California priests of molesting them as children in several hundred lawsuits filed over the past year. Police have a warrant out for a former cleric charged with abusing two boys in Santa Paula more than 10 years ago.
And yet two years after allegations of pedophile priests being transferred from parish to parish first rocked the Catholic church, the scandal seems like old news to some people.
Most of the names and many of accusations have been heard before. Some Catholics point to existing and reinforced policies for protecting children, also citing the accused priests forced out of ministry as proof the crises have been addressed.
"We think it happened. We think it's regrettable. We're carrying on," said Trudy Hayes, organist at Santa Clara Church in Oxnard, one of several Ventura County parishes that have been hit by allegations. "We're just going on."
The reaction makes Manny Vega of Oxnard think of how the shock that greeted the first battles in Iraq diminished as the casualties continued. No matter how tragic an event, people get used to it.
"I guess we all get desensitized. It's part of being human," Vega said. He is suing the Rev. Fidencio Silva for allegedly molesting him more than 20 years ago when he was an altar boy at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Oxnard.
Posted by Kathy Shaw 8:49:29 AM
• Miller's who apologised now wants "shock" release.
LOUISVILLE (KY): Just a few months after his sentencing for criminal sexual abuse of 21 children, Father Louis Miller wants out of prison. He has applied for shock probabtion and some of his abuse victims are outraged. Their anger comes from what they say is the possibility that a man accused in more than 80 sex abuse lawsuits could be back on the street.
"I am very sorry for all the pain I have inflicted upon you and your families," Miller told many of his victims when he was sentenced back in May. At that time he began a 20 year prison sentence for decades of sexually abusing children.
Six months later, Some of Miller's victims received a letter from the Commonwealth Attorney's office. The letter clearly spelled out that Miller was asking for shock probation.
"I wasn't surprised but I was angry that could even be a possibility," said Cal Pfeiffer. Pfeiffer was abused by Miller while he was a student at Holy Spirit. Pfeiffer did not file a lawsuit against the Archdiocese but he was there when Miller apologized to his victims.
-- WHAS 11,
"Victims speak out on Miller's shock request,"
http://www.whas11.com/topstories/WHAS11_TOPSTORY_MILLERSHOCKPROBATION.773e50ee.html ,
By Kerri Richardson, WHAS 11 News.
• Guard who revealed priest's slaying defended. http://www.heraldnet.com/Stories/03/12/7/17858598.cfm ,
-- HeraldNet, Associated Press, Dec 7, 2003.
BOSTON (MA): Civil liberties advocates have come to the defense of a prison guard who was suspended for talking to the media about the death of defrocked priest John Geoghan.
Robert Brouillette, the business agent for the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union, was suspended for 10 days for talking to reporters. Only the Corrections Department spokesman is authorized to speak to the media.
"When a homicide investigation is just under way, it's more than inappropriate for a staff person to make a comment," spokesman Justin Latini said.
But the American Civil Liberties Union said Friday that Brouillette was exercising his constitutional right to free speech and called on Gov. Mitt Romney and the prisons department to rescind the suspension.
"The suspension sends the message to public employees that they will be punished for speaking about matters of grave public concern," ACLU lawyer Sarah Wunsch said.
(Posted by Kathy Shaw, Poynter)
• Police: Priest beaten to death.
(http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/local/7433968.htm)
LEXINGTON (KY):
-- Herald-Leader,
By Andy Mead.
A retired Catholic priest and convicted sex offender found dead in his
home Friday died from "multiple blunt-force injuries," the Fayette County
Coroner's Office said yesterday.
Joseph J. Pilger, 78, apparently was killed sometime between Wednesday and
Friday, a police report said.
But officials offered nothing else on the death of the man whom neighbors
on Pleasant Pointe Drive knew as "Father Joe."
One of Pilger's victims, now an adult living in Florida, said yesterday he
had heard from family members who still live in Lexington about the
retired priest's death.
"It's not what I would have wished for him," said Dan Willett, 57, a
convenience-store manager in Orlando. "My feelings are that,
unfortunately, he didn't make his peace with God before it was too late."
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington issued a statement yesterday
expressing shock at the death.
• Child sex abuser quits Meyer ministry.www.stltoday.com ,
-- Post-Dispatch,
By Carolyn Tuft and Bill Smith, Dec 07, 2003.
ST. LOUIS (MO): Nearly every Friday night, Pastor Richard L. Jones led volunteers - often teenagers visiting from churches around the region - through St. Louis
streets seeking out homeless to help.
During their weekend visits, the teens would spend days and nights at the
St. Louis Dream Center, where they knew Jones as one of several pastors.
What they may not have known is that Jones, 39, is also a registered sex
offender.
But Jones' employer - Joyce Meyer Ministries of Fenton - knew Jones
previously had gone to prison for sexually assaulting two teen boys. The
boys were members of a youth group at another church where he had served
as pastor.
The ministry said Jones quit his job last week, after the Post-Dispatch
began inquiring about his criminal background. The ministry also said it
has changed its policy and no longer will hire anyone convicted of child
molestation or abuse to work where children are present.
The ministry hired Jones when he got out of prison five years ago. In May
2001, it assigned Jones to work at the St. Louis Dream Center, an
inner-city church and social service program just west of Fairground Park
at the corner of Margaretta and Clarence avenues.
• Teacher accused of sexual assault.
(http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2276294)
HOUSTON (TX):
-- Houston Chronicle,
By Peggy O'Hare.
A former physical education teacher and coach at Holy Spirit Episcopal
School in southwest Houston was arrested in Las Vegas Friday on charges of
molesting students here.
Christopher James Williams, 31, of the 5400 block of Apache in Las Vegas,
Nev., is charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child, two counts of
sexual performance by a child and two counts of indecency with a child,
criminal complaints show.
Investigators in the Houston Police Department's Juvenile Sex Crimes Unit
pursued the charges after allegations of the sexual abuse surfaced in the
fall. Williams was officially charged Monday and has been ordered held in
lieu of bonds totaling $500,000.
Sgt. Russell Shoemaker with the Las Vegas Internet Crimes Against Children
Task Force, said Las Vegas police arrested Williams Friday at The
Alexander Dawson School, where he has been a physical education teacher
and director of athletics since September. Williams is being held without
bail in Nevada's Clark County Detention Center.
• Abuse by priests in N.O. seems to be low.
(http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1070780696191590.xml)
-- Times-Picayune,
By Bruce Nolan.
NEW ORLEANS (LA): There are reasons for caution all around, but the emerging picture of clerical sexual abuse of children in New Orleans suggests Catholics in New
Orleans have experienced nothing like the frequency of abuse reported in
some other communities, including infamous hot spots such as Boston and
smaller centers of Catholic life such as Louisville, Ky.
With early data indicating that 1 or 2 percent [5 to 8% or more now: Dec 2003] of diocesan priests have been identified as abusers in the past half century, the New Orleans experience appears more in line with the national average, to the extent
that a credible average has been established.
That conclusion is studded with qualifications and may yet change.
A national survey of Catholic dioceses, which Catholic bishops have
pledged will be the most thorough accounting to date, will not be complete
until February. Results are being compiled by the John Jay College of
Criminal Justice.
Each of the nation's 195 Catholic dioceses is required to conduct such a
review, but they are made without independent verification. Victims groups
are calling the self-surveys suspect.
• Women's communications group honors Blade staff.
(http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20031207/NEWS08/112070103)
-- Toledo Blade, Dec 07, 2003.
TOLEDO (OH): Six Blade staff writers received top honors from the Toledo Professional
Chapter of the Association for Women in Communications during the recent
2003 Crystal Awards ceremony.
Michael D. Sallah, The Blade's national affairs writer, and David Yonke,
the newspaper's religion editor, were co-recipients of a Crystal in the
investigative news category for their series "Shame, Sin & Secrets."
The series detailed the sex-abuse crisis in the Roman Catholic Diocese of
Toledo and the ways in which church officials for decades engaged in a
practice of covering up sexual abuse of children. The Crystal is the
group's top prize.
• Six new priests, deacons ordained.
(http://abc.net.au/news/australia/tas/mettas-7dec2003-5.htm)
-- ABC, Dec 7, 2003.
AUSTRALIA: The ordination of six new Anglican priests and deacons in Hobart yesterday
revealed the extent of change within the church.
Most of the new leaders are women and all had to undergo a strict new
procedure which aims to stop abuse by church leaders.
Tasmanian Bishop John Harrower says all candidates were interviewed by
counsellors trained to deal with sexual abuse cases.
Bishop Harrower says comprehensive police checks were also done.
"I've let people know some months ago in my letters out to priests and to
the leadership in the diocese these are the people that we're moving ahead
to be ordained, and please if you've got any concerns come and see me," he
said.
"Of course from time to time people do that and then I have to carefully
consider that with my advisors and so forth and work it through."
• No conspiracy -- but if the bishop needs someone to blame -- blame me.
ERIE (PA): If you haven't noticed, the bishop is mad at us. Bishop Donald Trautman of
the Catholic Diocese of Erie doesn't like it when the newspaper reports on
stories that reflect badly on the Catholic Church or on him. He would
prefer that we forget the sexual abuse charges against the priests. Forget
the scandals. Perhaps, even forget the victims.
The problem is -- we can't. His reaction? I'm not talking to you anymore.
And I won't let any priests write their religious columns for you to read
in this paper, either. Basically, he's taking his ball, or in this case,
his priests, and going home.
He calls it a "conspiracy." We call it doing our job. Reporting the facts
is not an "attack," nor is it a "persecution." Despite what one priest
wrote in his parish bulletin, this is not a witch hunt or a vehicle to
embarrass or destroy the priesthood of the Diocese of Erie. That
perception is ridiculous.
Part of the role of a newspaper is to be the community watchdog. Our
mission to is report wrongdoings in government, schools, businesses,
churches --all aspects of the community.
Conspiracy? Hardly. Why would a newspaper with a predominately Catholic
staff and a readership that is 45 percent Catholic conspire against the
church? It makes no sense.
-- GoErie.com ,
"No conspiracy -- but if the bishop needs someone to blame -- blame me,"
(http://goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20031207/OPINION08/112070349)
Dec 07, 2003
• Retired priest found slain in Lexington.
Lexington police are investigating the killing of a
78-year-old retired Catholic priest who was a convicted sex offender.
LEXINGTON, Ky.: The Rev. Joseph Pilger was found dead at his home Friday night. An autopsy yesterday found the cause of death to be multiple blunt-force injuries, according to a statement from the Fayette County coroner's office, which ruled the death a homicide.
No arrests have been made. Pilger's landlord discovered his body, police
said.
Pilger's next-door neighbor, Karen Owens, told the Lexington Herald-Leader
that her neighbor "pretty much stayed inside."
Owens said Pilger's car, which had been at his residence earlier in the
day, was missing Friday night.
Pilger pleaded guilty to sexual abuse in 1995 for abusing three brothers
and their cousin in 1968 and 1969, when he was their pastor in Morganfield
in Western Kentucky. The victims were younger than 15 and serving as altar
boys at the parish.
After a plea bargain, Pilger received five years' probation beginning in
January 1995.
Earlier this year, Pilger was named in a sex-abuse lawsuit filed against
the dioceses of Lexington and Covington. Daniel Willett of Florida claimed
he was abused by Pilger in 1962 at St. Paul's School in Lexington. Pilger
declined to comment on the allegation in April.
-- The Courier-Journal,
"Retired priest found slain in Lexington,"
(http://www.courier-journal.com/localnews/2003/12/07ky/met-4-murd12070-2563.html)
Associated Press, Dec 07, 2003.
• EDITORIAL: Justice in secret.
(http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2003/Dec-07-Sun-2003/opinion/22736580.html)
NEVADA:
-- Review-Journal, Dec 07, 2003.
Mark Roberts, a priest at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church in
Henderson, who is still on the payroll of the church, pleaded guilty in a
January plea deal to one count of open and gross lewdness and four counts
of child abuse and neglect, after five teenage boys in the Henderson
church came forward to describe a series of bizarre, sexually themed
rituals to which they had been subjected by the priest.
Roberts could have received up to five years in jail, but District Judge
Donald Mosley instead sentenced him to three years' probation, to be
served in an in-house treatment facility.
Supposedly, he will be allowed to leave that facility only in the company
of a staff member or guard. Yet Missouri officials refused to let him be
transferred to a facility there, because one of his victims now lives in
that state. Could this betray some lack of confidence on the part of the
Missouri officials as to just how reliably strict Roberts' confinement
there would have been?
At any rate, Judge Mosley on Wednesday decided to send convict Roberts
somewhere else.
The only problem is, neither his victims, nor their families, nor the
public at large, gets to find out where that will be.
• Retired priest found dead at his home.
(http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/7428235.htm)
Herald-Leader,
By Scott Sloan, Saturday, December 6, 2003.
LEXINGTON (KY): Lexington police are investigating a homicide at the home of a 78-year-old retired Catholic priest and convicted sex offender.
Police were called about 6:15 p.m. yesterday to the home of Joseph J.
Pilger at 260 Pleasant Pointe Drive near Patchen Drive.
Police declined to identify the victim, but confirmed that he was in his
late 70s. Neighbors, however, identified the victim as Pilger, who, they
said, had been living at the residence since about 1999.
Pilger's landlord discovered his body after repeatedly attempting to
contact him, police said.
Police were treating the death as a homicide and declined to certify the
victim's name until family members can be contacted.
Members of the area's neighborhood watch group said they knew of Pilger's
criminal background but still found him to be likable, affectionately
calling him "Father Joe."
Lt. Dwayne Holman said pinpointing the trauma suffered by Pilger was
difficult.
"It's hard to say. He's an old guy, so I don't want to speculate," Holman
said.
• Police investigating death of priest convicted of sex abuse.
(http://www.whas11.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D7V97HBO0.html)
-- WHAS 11, Associated Press.
LEXINGTON (KY): Lexington police are investigating a homicide at the home of a 78-year-old retired Catholic priest and convicted sex offender.
Joseph Pilger was found dead in his home Friday night. An autopsy Saturday
found the cause of death to be multiple blunt force injuries, according to
statement from the Fayette County coroner's office.
No arrests have been made. Pilger's landlord discovered his body after
repeatedly attempting to contact him, police said.
Police are investigating the death as a homicide.
Pilger had lived alone, except for the past month, when a young man began
staying with him, Pilger's next-door neighbor, Karen Owens, told The
Lexington Herald-Leader. Owens said her neighbor "pretty much stayed
inside."
Owens said Pilger's car, which had been at his residence earlier in the
day, was missing Friday night.
• Donor backs church loans to fund payouts: $25M promise secures $90M in borrowing.
(http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/localRegional.bg?articleid=350)
-- Boston Herald,
By Eric Convey, Saturday, December 6, 2003.
BOSTON (MA): The Archdiocese of Boston is stretched so financially thin by imminent
settlements in clergy molestation cases that it had to turn to a private
donor for a $25 million loan guarantee, church officials said yesterday.
The guarantee was pivotal, they said, in securing $90 million in
loans that will be used to pay 541 plaintiffs and cover settlement-related
costs while the church liquidates land and battles with insurance
companies over the value of policies.
"It just was not (possible) without individual help," David W.
Smith, chancellor of the archdiocese, said in an interview just hours
after church officials signed papers finalizing the loans.
Nearly all the money will go to plaintiffs in checks that are to be
distributed Dec. 22.
The money will be repaid from two sources: the sale of the
archbishop's mansion with 27.6 surrounding acres and the proceeds of
likely court fights with insurance companies that covered the archdiocese
during the years abuse occurred.
Smith heaped praise on two banks that agreed to provide the money:
Citizens Bank, which lent $65 million, and Century Bank, which lent $10
million.
• Lexington Police Investigate Murder Of Convicted Sex Offender.
(http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=1553800&nav=0RZFJWWz)
-- WAVE 3, December 6th, 2003, 6 p.m.
LEXINGTON, Ky.: Police were investigating the murder of a 78-year-old man found dead in his home Friday night.
Fayette County Chief Deputy Coroner Steve McCrown pronounced Joseph Pilger
dead around 7 p.m. An autopsy found the cause of death to be multiple
blunt force injuries, McCrown said.
Pilger, a 78-year-old convicted sex offender and retired Catholic priest,
was found murdered inside his Lexington home.
Pilger pleaded guilty in the early 90s to sexually abusing five boys he
met through the church while working in the western part of the state.
That abuse happened in the 1960s.
Neighbors say Pilger had a young man living with him for the last month,
but that man's whereabouts now are not known. Pilger's car is also
missing.
• Retired Priest And Sex Offender Found Dead.
(http://www.wkyt.com/Global/story.asp?S=1553721&nav=4CALJWTK)
LEXINGTON (KY):
-- WKYT.
Lexington police are investigating a the murder a 78-year-old retired
Catholic priest and convicted sex offender.
Police were called to Joseph Pilger's Pleasant Pointe Drive home around
6:30 Friday night.
Detectives tell us Pilger's landlord found his body when he went to the
home after repeatedly failing to get in touch with him.
An autopsy is expected to be conducted today in Frankfort.
No preliminary cause of death was available.
In 1995, Pilger pleaded guilty to sexually abusing four boys in the late
sixties, when he pastored a church in Morganfield, Western Kentucky.
The victims were younger than 15 and serving as altar boys.
• Child rapist ordered to treatment center.
-- Telegram & Gazette,
By Gary V. Murray,
gmurray@telegram.com .
WORCESTER (MA): A convicted child molester who told investigators he received
some of the money allegedly stolen by a Fitchburg priest has been
committed to the Massachusetts Treatment Center for sex offenders for up
to 60 days.
Judge Elizabeth M. Fahey ordered the commitment of 43-year-old William
LaMontagne Thursday after finding probable cause to believe that Mr.
LaMontagne is a sexually dangerous person as defined under the law. The
finding followed a probable cause hearing in Worcester Superior Court on a
petition filed by Assistant District Attorney Peter J. Pratt seeking Mr.
LaMontagne's commitment to the treatment center in Bridgewater for one day
to life as a sexually dangerous person.
Mr. LaMontagne was sentenced to 12 to 15 years in state prison in 1989
after being convicted of raping and indecently assaulting a 3-year-old
girl, crimes he maintains he did not commit. He recently told law
enforcement authorities that he received some of the $250,000 the Rev.
Donald C. Ouellette is accused of stealing from Immaculate Conception
Church in Fitchburg, where he served as pastor.
Mr. LaMontagne said Rev. Ouellette gave him the money while Mr. LaMontagne
was an inmate at Concord State Prison. Rev. Ouellette's lawyer, Michael P.
McEvilly, has said the priest visited Mr. LaMontagne as part of a prison
ministry. Prosecutors have not said how much money Mr. LaMontagne alleges
he received from the priest.
Rev. Ouellette is awaiting trial in Worcester Superior Court on larceny
charges. He has pleaded not guilty.
Mr. LaMontagne has filed a motion for a new trial in connection with his
1989 convictions. He also has a sexual assault conviction in Rhode Island.
During the commitment ordered by Judge Fahey, Mr. LaMontagne will be
evaluated by two "qualified examiners," psychologists certified by the
state to render opinions about whether individuals are sexually dangerous.
Once the examiners issue their reports, prosecutors will decide whether
they will seek Mr. LaMontagne's commitment at a trial before a judge or
jury.
//////////////////// End of www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=46, Sunday, December 7, 2003
FOR GOOD TEACHINGS TO BE HEEDED, A BIG CLEAN-UP IS NEEDED
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